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TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to FET and MOSFET transistors, and more particularly the invention relates to field effect transistors having channel regions extending vertically from a supporting substrate between horizontally disposed source and drain regions.
BACKGROUND ART
Metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) technology is a dominant electronic device technology in use today. Performance enhancement between generations of devices is generally achieved by reducing an overall size of the device, resulting in an enhancement in device speed. This size reduction is generally referred to as device scaling. As MOSFETs are scaled to channel lengths below about 100 nm, conventional MOSFETs suffer from several problems. In particular, interactions between the source and drain of the MOSFET degrade an ability of the gate to control whether the device is on or off. The degradation in control ability phenomenon is called a short-channel effect (SCE). Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) MOSFETs are formed with an insulator (usually, but not limited to, silicon dioxide or sapphire) below an active region of the device, unlike conventional bulk MOSFETs, which are formed directly on silicon substrates, and hence have silicon below all active regions. SOI is generally considered advantageous as it reduces unwanted coupling between the source and the drain of the MOSFET through the region below the channel. Other techniques, such as separation by implantation of oxygen (SIMOX) functions similarly to SOI. The reduction in coupling in SOI and SIMOX is often achieved by ensuring that all the silicon in the MOSFET channel region can be either inverted or depleted by the gate (called a fully depleted MOSFET). As device size is scaled, however, ensuring a fully depleted channel region becomes increasingly difficult, since the distance between the source and drain is reduced. The reduced distance results in an increased interaction with the channel thus reducing gate control and increasing short channel effects.
A double-gate MOSFET structure places a second gate in the device, such that there is a gate on either side of the channel. The double- gate allows gate control of the channel from both sides, reducing SCE. Additionally, when the device is turned on using both gates, two conduction (i.e., inversion) layers are formed, allowing for better channel control. An extension of the double-gate concept is a surround-gate or wraparound-gate concept, where the gate is placed such that it completely or almost-completely surrounds the channel, providing improved gate control. These surround-gate and wraparound-gate concepts are also formed on SOI or SIMOX and are referred to as FinFET devices due to the silicon-etched fin produced above the oxide/insulator level.
Such a FinFET device is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,802, entitled “FinFET Transistor Structures Having a Double Gate Channel Extending Vertically from a Substrate and Methods of Manufacture,” issued to Hu et al. FIG. 1 illustrates a FinFET transistor 100 in accordance with Hu et al. The FinFET transistor 100 is fabricated on an insulative layer 101 (e.g., SIMOX) and includes a silicon drain island 103 and a silicon source island 105 connected by a silicon fin or channel 107 . The drain island 10 , source island 105 , and channel 107 are each covered by a dielectric layer 109 , and a gate 111 extends across the channel 107 and is isolated from the channel 107 by a gate oxide (not shown explicitly) and the dielectric layer 109 . Inversion layers are formed on either side of the channel 107 . However, the FinFET transistor 100 still relies on photolithography for minimum feature sizes (e.g., a width of the channel 107 and the gate 111 ).
There is a need in the integrated circuit art for obtaining increasingly smaller devices without sacrificing device performance. The small device size requires small device regions, precise and accurate alignment between regions, and minimization of parasitic resistances and capacitances. Device size can be reduced by putting more reliance on fine line lithography, but as discussed below, it becomes impractical or impossible to continue to reduce feature size and achieve the required greater increase in alignment accuracy. As lithography is pushed to a limit, yield and production throughput decrease.
Four governing performance parameters of a photolithographic system are limit-of-resolution, L r , level-to-level alignment accuracy, depth-of-focus, and throughput. For purposes of this discussion, limit-of-resolution, level-to-level alignment, and depth-of-focus are physically constrained parameters.
Typical photolithographic techniques are limited by physical constraints of a photolithographic system involving actinic radiation wavelength, λ, and geometrical configurations of projection system optics. According to Rayleigh's criterion,
L r = 0.61 λ NA
where NA is the numerical aperture of the optical system and is defined as NA =n sin α, where n is the index of refraction of a medium which the radiation traverses (usually air for this application, so n≅1) and α is a half-angle of the divergence of the actinic radiation. For example, using deep ultraviolet illumination (DUV) with λ=193 nm, and NA=0.7, the lower limit of resolution is 168 nanometers (1680 Å). Techniques such as phase-shifted masks can extend this limit downward, but photomasks required in this technique are extremely expensive. This expense becomes greatly compounded with a realization that an advanced semiconductor process may employ more than 25 photomasks.
Along with the limit-of-resolution, the second parameter, level-to-level alignment accuracy becomes more critical as feature sizes on photomasks decrease and a number of total photomasks increases. For example, if photomask alignment by itself causes a reduction in device yield to 95% per layer, then 25 layers of photomask translates to a total device yield of 0.95 25 =0.28 or 28% yield (assuming independent errors). Therefore, a more complicated mask, such a phase-shifted mask is not only more expensive but device yield can suffer dramatically.
Further, although the numerical aperture of the photolithographic system may be increased to lower the limit-of-resolution, the third parameter, depth-of-focus, will suffer as a result. Depth-of-focus is inversely proportional to NA 2 . Therefore, as NA increases, limit-of-resolution decreases but depth-of-focus decreases more rapidly. The reduced depth-of-focus makes accurate focusing more difficult especially on non-planar features such as “Manhattan Geometries” becoming increasingly popular in advanced semiconductor devices.
Therefore, what is needed is a method of forming a FinFET device with minimum design geometries substantially smaller than achievable with photolithography. Further, the FinFET device must be fabricated by a process that is reproducible and fully adaptable to high-volume semiconductor fabrication processes.
SUMMARY
An SOI transistor is fabricated by a highly modified FinFET technology. The FinFET implementation disclosed utilizes design rules far smaller than may be achieved through conventional lithography by fabricating nitride spacers to define device geometries on underlying semiconducting layers. Lateral device geometries relate to a thickness, rather than a width, of a deposited dielectric layer.
In an exemplary embodiment, a method for forming a highly modified FinFET transistor includes providing a substrate having a base, an insulative layer, and a semiconducting layer and forming a pedestal region from the semiconducting layer. The pedestal region is surrounded with a first dielectric layer where an uppermost surface of the first dielectric layer is substantially coplanar with an uppermost surface of the pedestal region. A second dielectric material is then formed over a first uppermost portion of the pedestal region leaving an exposed uppermost portion of the pedestal region not covered by the second dielectric material. A third dielectric material is formed conformally over the second dielectric material and the exposed portion of the pedestal region. Horizontal regions of the third dielectric material are etched, leaving a first dielectric spacer where the first dielectric spacer overlies a protected portion of the pedestal region. Substantially all portions of the second dielectric material are then removed followed by removing substantially all portions of the pedestal region that are not laterally in close proximity to or underlying the protected portion, thereby forming a fin. The fin is doped with a dopant having a first type of majority carrier and the doped fin thus forms a channel region of the transistor. Transistor gate, drain, and source are then formed in association with the channel region to complete the device.
In another exemplary embodiment, a highly modified FinFET transistor includes a fin fabricated from a first portion of a first semiconducting layer where the semiconducting layer overlies an insulating layer (e.g., SOI or SIMOX). A minimum lateral dimension of the fin is related to a thickness of a dielectric formed over the fin and used to form a dielectric spacer rather than relying on a limit of resolution of a particular photolithographic tool. A gate region comprised of a second semiconducting material overlies the fin, the fin being doped with a majority carrier of a first type. A drain region is formed on a second portion of the semiconducting material adjacent to the fin, the drain region being located on a first side of the gate region, the drain region being doped with a majority carrier of a second type. A source region is formed on a second portion of the semiconducting material adjacent to the fin, the source region being distal to the drain region and located on a second side of the gate region, the source region being doped with the majority carrier of the second type.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a FinFET device of the prior art.
FIGS. 2A-2L show various stages in an exemplary process flow for producing a self-aligned nanometer-level transistor.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
With reference to FIG. 2A , a substrate 201 A has a insulative layer 201 B, and an unetched semiconductor layer 201 C 1 . In a specific exemplary embodiment the substrate 201 A, the insulative layer 201 B, and the (unetched) semiconductor layer 201 C 1 is a commonly available combination material—a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer. Another combination material incorporating the aforementioned three layers is a wafer produced as a separation by implantation of oxygen (SIMOX). However, a skilled artisan will recognize that other appropriate materials for the substrate 201 A or the (unetched) semiconductor layer 201 C 1 materials include, for example, elemental semiconductors such as germanium, compound semiconductors such as group III-V, and II-VI materials, and semiconducting alloys. Additionally, the substrate 201 A may be comprised of a non-semiconducting material such as, for example, a photomask blank or reticle. The term “substrate,” as used herein, may thus be interpreted to be either a base, such as the substrate 201 A, or a combination material including a base, an insulative layer, and a semiconductor layer.
The etched semiconductor layer 201 C is patterned and etched to produce the pedestal shape shown in FIG. 2A by techniques known to a person of skill in the art. For example, after appropriate masking, if the (unetched) semiconductor layer 201 C 1 is comprised of silicon, silicon may be etched with, for example, dry-etch techniques. Once the etched semiconductor layer 201 C 1 has been formed, a fill oxide 203 , a pad oxide 205 A, and a first nitride layer 207 A are added to and around the etched semiconductor layer 203 C 1 . The fill oxide 203 may be, for example, a high-density plasma (HDP) generated silicon dioxide film or an oxide produced by various other chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques. The pad oxide 205 A may be, for example, thermally grown or produced by CVD techniques. The nitride layer 207 A may also be produced by CVD techniques comprising silicon nitride deposition techniques. In a specific exemplary embodiment, the pad oxide 205 A is 50 Å-200 Å in thickness, the first nitride layer 207 A is 500 Å-1500 Å in thickness, and a total height of the fill oxide 203 is dependent on a thickness of the (unetched) semiconductor layer 201 C 2 . The nitride layer 207 A will be used as “Hard” mask. If the starting material used is SOI, the height of the etched semiconductor layer 203 C 1 is about 0.20 μm-1.0 μm. Although exact fabrication procedures and sequences for producing the fill oxide 203 , the pad oxide 205 A, or the first nitride layer 207 A are not given herein, such fabrication procedures are readily known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
With reference to FIG. 2B , a first mask layer 209 is deposited and patterned, partially overlapping an uppermost section of the first nitride layer 207 A. The first mask layer 209 may be, for example, tetra-ethoxysilane (TEOS) deposited to a thickness of about 1000 Å-3000 Å. A second nitride layer 211 A ( FIG. 2C ) is then conformally deposited over the first mask layer 209 . A thickness, t s , of the second nitride layer 211 A is typically less than 2000 Å. The thickness, t s , defines a thickness of an eventual semiconductor fin produced (discussed infra). Consequently, an actual thickness, t s , of the second nitride layer 211 A is less important than the fabrication techniques described herein so long as the thickness, t s , is chosen to closely match an expected thickness of the fin produced.
A dry-etch (e.g., a reactive-ion etch (RIE)) optimized to remove primarily horizontal portions of the second nitride layer 211 A produces a nitride spacer 211 B ( FIG. 2D ). The first mask layer 209 is then removed ( FIG. 2E ) by etching in accordance with methods known in the semiconductor arts. For example, depending upon a chemical composition of a given layer, etching may be accomplished through various wet etch (e.g., in hydrofluoric acid, such as contained in a standard buffered oxide etch, or orthophosphoric acid) or dry-etch techniques (e.g., RIE).
FIG. 2F provides a multi-view indication of a relationship between the nitride spacer 211 B and other features in the fabrication process such as the first nitride layer 207 A. The plan view of FIG. 2F shows that the nitride spacer 211 B is actually a square ring that once surrounded the now-etched first mask layer 209 . Section A-A of FIG. 2F indicates only that portion of the nitride spacer 211 B that will be used to form the etched semiconductor fin (described infra). An area underlying the nitride layer 207 A will eventually become the active area of the transistor. Section B-B indicates portions of the nitride spacer 211 B lying outside of the active area, the active area being confined primarily to an area within the fill oxide 203 .
With reference to FIG. 2G , a photoresist mask layer 213 is applied over the fill oxide 203 , the first nitride layer 207 A, and the nitride spacer 211 B . The photoresist mask layer 213 is then patterned forming an open channel over portions of both the fill oxide 203 and the active area. The open channel area allows an etchant to remove underlying layers of material in the active area (Section C-C, FIG. 2G ). A highly selective dry etch (e.g., RIE) may be used to remove the underlying layers within the channel. The nitride spacer 211 B serves as a hard mask to the underlying etched semiconductor layer 201 C 1 thus allowing an etched semiconductor fin (“fin”) 201 C 2 to be formed (Section A-A). Portions of the etched semiconductor layer 201 C 1 remain in the active area bounded by the fill oxide 203 . These portions will later form source and drain regions, discussed infra. Notice that an original surface height of the fill oxide 203 may also be lowered due to aggressive etching required to clear the underlying layers down to an uppermost portion of the insulative layer 201 B. The insulative layer 201 B acts as an etch-stop; thus, timing issues are eliminated.
In addition to selectively etching and forming the fin 201 C 2 through dry-etch techniques, a skilled artisan will recognize that other etch techniques may be employed as well. In FIG. 2H , the photoresist mask layer 213 ( FIG. 2G ) has been stripped. The nitride spacer 211 B and the etched first nitride layer 207 B have also been removed with, for example, a high-selectivity etchant (e.g., wet-etched). The high-selectivity etchant may be optimized to remove silicon nitride while having little if any effect on silicon or silicon dioxide. A cross-sectional view of the fin 201 C 2 is presented in Section A-A while Section B-B indicates a transverse slice through the fin 201 C 2 and a relationship of the fin to remaining portions of the etched semiconductor layer 201 C 1 which will become source and drain regions of a FET transistor.
With reference to FIG. 2I , the etched pad oxide 205B has been stripped from the fin 201 C 2 and a sacrificial oxide 215 has been formed over the fin 201 C 2 . If the fin 201 C 2 is comprised of any material subject to oxidation (e.g., silicon), the sacrificial oxide 215 may be thermally grown. This oxidation repairs any surface damage of the fin 201 C 2 after, for example, a dry-etch step. An oxide spacer layer 217 A is then conformally formed (e.g., deposited) over the fin 201 C 2 and surrounding areas. The plan view of FIG. 2I provides an illustration of how the conformally deposited oxide spacer layer 217 A produces open areas on either side of the fin 201 C 2 . Additionally, the oxide spacer 217 A surrounds the fin 201 C 2 (as indicated in Sections A-A and C-C). Relative thicknesses t s , and t 2 of various parts of the film stack are chosen such that a thickness of t s , is greater than a thickness of t 2 . ( FIG. 2I should be viewed in a relative and not an absolute sense. Therefore, as is the case with all patent figures, FIG. 2I is not necessarily to scale. Therefore, it is to be understood that t 1 , is thicker than t 2 .
In FIG. 2J , the oxide spacer layer 217 A is etched anisotropically primarily etching the oxide spacer layer 217 A from sidewalls of the fin 201 C 2 , leaving etched oxide spacers 217 B of sides of the active area. Lateral dimensions in two directions on a fabricated device may be made extremely small through a use of spacers as described herein. This two-dimensional size reduction is due both to a small size of the nitride spacer 211 B ( FIG. 2G ) as well as a minimum width between the oxide spacers 217 B. Consequently, the fin 201 C 2 can theoretically possess lateral dimensions of 30 Å in each direction (i.e., x-y) or less.
A preoxidation clean is performed to fully clean sidewalls of the fin 201 C 2 prior to forming a gate oxide (not shown) over the fin 201 C 2 . A dopant may be added to the fin 201 C 2 as well, forming a channel region of the FinFET transistor. A polysilicon layer 219 is then conformally applied ( FIG. 2K ). A planarization step is performed, planarizing a top portion of the polysilicon layer 219 to be substantially coplanar with uppermost portions of the fill oxide 203 and the etched first nitride layer 207 B. The planarization may be accomplished by, for example, a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) system and process, using the uppermost portion of the etched first nitride layer 207 B as an etch stop.
With reference to FIG. 2L , an etching process (either dry-etch or wet-etch) is used to remove the remaining portions of the etched first nitride layer 207 B and the etched pad oxide layer 205 B remaining above each portion of the etched semiconductor layer 201 C 1 in the active area (i.e., the area bounded laterally by the fill oxide 203 . Standard transistor fabrication techniques are then employed to produce final features required for the FinFET transistor device, such as doping regions of the etched semiconductor layer 201 C 1 thus producing source and drain regions as indicated.
In the foregoing specification, the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident to a skilled artisan that various modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. For example, skilled artisans will appreciate that although specific layers are called out, such as oxide and nitride, other films (e.g., other dielectric films) with similar etch characteristics (e.g., high etch-selectivity differences) could be readily employed as well. Further, the exemplary embodiments called out specific techniques and specific processes for making a FinFET transistor. Similar techniques may be employed to produce other device types as well or a series of mixed device types. As defined and fabricated herein, adjacent devices require no additional barrier layers to isolate the devices (such as, for example, shallow trench isolation (STI) regions) since the fill oxide layer 203 surrounding each device may be employed as a barrier layer. Therefore, the specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. | A field effect transistor (FET) device structure and method for forming FETs for scaled semiconductor devices. Specifically, FinFET devices are fabricated from silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers in a highly uniform and reproducible manner. The method facilitates formation of FinFET devices with improved and reproducible fin height control while providing isolation between source and drain regions of the FinFET device. | Provide a concise summary of the essential information conveyed in the context. | [
"TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates generally to FET and MOSFET transistors, and more particularly the invention relates to field effect transistors having channel regions extending vertically from a supporting substrate between horizontally disposed source and drain regions.",
"BACKGROUND ART Metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) technology is a dominant electronic device technology in use today.",
"Performance enhancement between generations of devices is generally achieved by reducing an overall size of the device, resulting in an enhancement in device speed.",
"This size reduction is generally referred to as device scaling.",
"As MOSFETs are scaled to channel lengths below about 100 nm, conventional MOSFETs suffer from several problems.",
"In particular, interactions between the source and drain of the MOSFET degrade an ability of the gate to control whether the device is on or off.",
"The degradation in control ability phenomenon is called a short-channel effect (SCE).",
"Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) MOSFETs are formed with an insulator (usually, but not limited to, silicon dioxide or sapphire) below an active region of the device, unlike conventional bulk MOSFETs, which are formed directly on silicon substrates, and hence have silicon below all active regions.",
"SOI is generally considered advantageous as it reduces unwanted coupling between the source and the drain of the MOSFET through the region below the channel.",
"Other techniques, such as separation by implantation of oxygen (SIMOX) functions similarly to SOI.",
"The reduction in coupling in SOI and SIMOX is often achieved by ensuring that all the silicon in the MOSFET channel region can be either inverted or depleted by the gate (called a fully depleted MOSFET).",
"As device size is scaled, however, ensuring a fully depleted channel region becomes increasingly difficult, since the distance between the source and drain is reduced.",
"The reduced distance results in an increased interaction with the channel thus reducing gate control and increasing short channel effects.",
"A double-gate MOSFET structure places a second gate in the device, such that there is a gate on either side of the channel.",
"The double- gate allows gate control of the channel from both sides, reducing SCE.",
"Additionally, when the device is turned on using both gates, two conduction (i.e., inversion) layers are formed, allowing for better channel control.",
"An extension of the double-gate concept is a surround-gate or wraparound-gate concept, where the gate is placed such that it completely or almost-completely surrounds the channel, providing improved gate control.",
"These surround-gate and wraparound-gate concepts are also formed on SOI or SIMOX and are referred to as FinFET devices due to the silicon-etched fin produced above the oxide/insulator level.",
"Such a FinFET device is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,802, entitled “FinFET Transistor Structures Having a Double Gate Channel Extending Vertically from a Substrate and Methods of Manufacture,” issued to Hu et al.",
"FIG. 1 illustrates a FinFET transistor 100 in accordance with Hu et al.",
"The FinFET transistor 100 is fabricated on an insulative layer 101 (e.g., SIMOX) and includes a silicon drain island 103 and a silicon source island 105 connected by a silicon fin or channel 107 .",
"The drain island 10 , source island 105 , and channel 107 are each covered by a dielectric layer 109 , and a gate 111 extends across the channel 107 and is isolated from the channel 107 by a gate oxide (not shown explicitly) and the dielectric layer 109 .",
"Inversion layers are formed on either side of the channel 107 .",
"However, the FinFET transistor 100 still relies on photolithography for minimum feature sizes (e.g., a width of the channel 107 and the gate 111 ).",
"There is a need in the integrated circuit art for obtaining increasingly smaller devices without sacrificing device performance.",
"The small device size requires small device regions, precise and accurate alignment between regions, and minimization of parasitic resistances and capacitances.",
"Device size can be reduced by putting more reliance on fine line lithography, but as discussed below, it becomes impractical or impossible to continue to reduce feature size and achieve the required greater increase in alignment accuracy.",
"As lithography is pushed to a limit, yield and production throughput decrease.",
"Four governing performance parameters of a photolithographic system are limit-of-resolution, L r , level-to-level alignment accuracy, depth-of-focus, and throughput.",
"For purposes of this discussion, limit-of-resolution, level-to-level alignment, and depth-of-focus are physically constrained parameters.",
"Typical photolithographic techniques are limited by physical constraints of a photolithographic system involving actinic radiation wavelength, λ, and geometrical configurations of projection system optics.",
"According to Rayleigh's criterion, L r = 0.61 λ NA where NA is the numerical aperture of the optical system and is defined as NA =n sin α, where n is the index of refraction of a medium which the radiation traverses (usually air for this application, so n≅1) and α is a half-angle of the divergence of the actinic radiation.",
"For example, using deep ultraviolet illumination (DUV) with λ=193 nm, and NA=0.7, the lower limit of resolution is 168 nanometers (1680 Å).",
"Techniques such as phase-shifted masks can extend this limit downward, but photomasks required in this technique are extremely expensive.",
"This expense becomes greatly compounded with a realization that an advanced semiconductor process may employ more than 25 photomasks.",
"Along with the limit-of-resolution, the second parameter, level-to-level alignment accuracy becomes more critical as feature sizes on photomasks decrease and a number of total photomasks increases.",
"For example, if photomask alignment by itself causes a reduction in device yield to 95% per layer, then 25 layers of photomask translates to a total device yield of 0.95 25 =0.28 or 28% yield (assuming independent errors).",
"Therefore, a more complicated mask, such a phase-shifted mask is not only more expensive but device yield can suffer dramatically.",
"Further, although the numerical aperture of the photolithographic system may be increased to lower the limit-of-resolution, the third parameter, depth-of-focus, will suffer as a result.",
"Depth-of-focus is inversely proportional to NA 2 .",
"Therefore, as NA increases, limit-of-resolution decreases but depth-of-focus decreases more rapidly.",
"The reduced depth-of-focus makes accurate focusing more difficult especially on non-planar features such as “Manhattan Geometries”",
"becoming increasingly popular in advanced semiconductor devices.",
"Therefore, what is needed is a method of forming a FinFET device with minimum design geometries substantially smaller than achievable with photolithography.",
"Further, the FinFET device must be fabricated by a process that is reproducible and fully adaptable to high-volume semiconductor fabrication processes.",
"SUMMARY An SOI transistor is fabricated by a highly modified FinFET technology.",
"The FinFET implementation disclosed utilizes design rules far smaller than may be achieved through conventional lithography by fabricating nitride spacers to define device geometries on underlying semiconducting layers.",
"Lateral device geometries relate to a thickness, rather than a width, of a deposited dielectric layer.",
"In an exemplary embodiment, a method for forming a highly modified FinFET transistor includes providing a substrate having a base, an insulative layer, and a semiconducting layer and forming a pedestal region from the semiconducting layer.",
"The pedestal region is surrounded with a first dielectric layer where an uppermost surface of the first dielectric layer is substantially coplanar with an uppermost surface of the pedestal region.",
"A second dielectric material is then formed over a first uppermost portion of the pedestal region leaving an exposed uppermost portion of the pedestal region not covered by the second dielectric material.",
"A third dielectric material is formed conformally over the second dielectric material and the exposed portion of the pedestal region.",
"Horizontal regions of the third dielectric material are etched, leaving a first dielectric spacer where the first dielectric spacer overlies a protected portion of the pedestal region.",
"Substantially all portions of the second dielectric material are then removed followed by removing substantially all portions of the pedestal region that are not laterally in close proximity to or underlying the protected portion, thereby forming a fin.",
"The fin is doped with a dopant having a first type of majority carrier and the doped fin thus forms a channel region of the transistor.",
"Transistor gate, drain, and source are then formed in association with the channel region to complete the device.",
"In another exemplary embodiment, a highly modified FinFET transistor includes a fin fabricated from a first portion of a first semiconducting layer where the semiconducting layer overlies an insulating layer (e.g., SOI or SIMOX).",
"A minimum lateral dimension of the fin is related to a thickness of a dielectric formed over the fin and used to form a dielectric spacer rather than relying on a limit of resolution of a particular photolithographic tool.",
"A gate region comprised of a second semiconducting material overlies the fin, the fin being doped with a majority carrier of a first type.",
"A drain region is formed on a second portion of the semiconducting material adjacent to the fin, the drain region being located on a first side of the gate region, the drain region being doped with a majority carrier of a second type.",
"A source region is formed on a second portion of the semiconducting material adjacent to the fin, the source region being distal to the drain region and located on a second side of the gate region, the source region being doped with the majority carrier of the second type.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a FinFET device of the prior art.",
"FIGS. 2A-2L show various stages in an exemplary process flow for producing a self-aligned nanometer-level transistor.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION With reference to FIG. 2A , a substrate 201 A has a insulative layer 201 B, and an unetched semiconductor layer 201 C 1 .",
"In a specific exemplary embodiment the substrate 201 A, the insulative layer 201 B, and the (unetched) semiconductor layer 201 C 1 is a commonly available combination material—a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer.",
"Another combination material incorporating the aforementioned three layers is a wafer produced as a separation by implantation of oxygen (SIMOX).",
"However, a skilled artisan will recognize that other appropriate materials for the substrate 201 A or the (unetched) semiconductor layer 201 C 1 materials include, for example, elemental semiconductors such as germanium, compound semiconductors such as group III-V, and II-VI materials, and semiconducting alloys.",
"Additionally, the substrate 201 A may be comprised of a non-semiconducting material such as, for example, a photomask blank or reticle.",
"The term “substrate,” as used herein, may thus be interpreted to be either a base, such as the substrate 201 A, or a combination material including a base, an insulative layer, and a semiconductor layer.",
"The etched semiconductor layer 201 C is patterned and etched to produce the pedestal shape shown in FIG. 2A by techniques known to a person of skill in the art.",
"For example, after appropriate masking, if the (unetched) semiconductor layer 201 C 1 is comprised of silicon, silicon may be etched with, for example, dry-etch techniques.",
"Once the etched semiconductor layer 201 C 1 has been formed, a fill oxide 203 , a pad oxide 205 A, and a first nitride layer 207 A are added to and around the etched semiconductor layer 203 C 1 .",
"The fill oxide 203 may be, for example, a high-density plasma (HDP) generated silicon dioxide film or an oxide produced by various other chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques.",
"The pad oxide 205 A may be, for example, thermally grown or produced by CVD techniques.",
"The nitride layer 207 A may also be produced by CVD techniques comprising silicon nitride deposition techniques.",
"In a specific exemplary embodiment, the pad oxide 205 A is 50 Å-200 Å in thickness, the first nitride layer 207 A is 500 Å-1500 Å in thickness, and a total height of the fill oxide 203 is dependent on a thickness of the (unetched) semiconductor layer 201 C 2 .",
"The nitride layer 207 A will be used as “Hard”",
"mask.",
"If the starting material used is SOI, the height of the etched semiconductor layer 203 C 1 is about 0.20 μm-1.0 μm.",
"Although exact fabrication procedures and sequences for producing the fill oxide 203 , the pad oxide 205 A, or the first nitride layer 207 A are not given herein, such fabrication procedures are readily known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.",
"With reference to FIG. 2B , a first mask layer 209 is deposited and patterned, partially overlapping an uppermost section of the first nitride layer 207 A. The first mask layer 209 may be, for example, tetra-ethoxysilane (TEOS) deposited to a thickness of about 1000 Å-3000 Å.",
"A second nitride layer 211 A ( FIG. 2C ) is then conformally deposited over the first mask layer 209 .",
"A thickness, t s , of the second nitride layer 211 A is typically less than 2000 Å.",
"The thickness, t s , defines a thickness of an eventual semiconductor fin produced (discussed infra).",
"Consequently, an actual thickness, t s , of the second nitride layer 211 A is less important than the fabrication techniques described herein so long as the thickness, t s , is chosen to closely match an expected thickness of the fin produced.",
"A dry-etch (e.g., a reactive-ion etch (RIE)) optimized to remove primarily horizontal portions of the second nitride layer 211 A produces a nitride spacer 211 B ( FIG. 2D ).",
"The first mask layer 209 is then removed ( FIG. 2E ) by etching in accordance with methods known in the semiconductor arts.",
"For example, depending upon a chemical composition of a given layer, etching may be accomplished through various wet etch (e.g., in hydrofluoric acid, such as contained in a standard buffered oxide etch, or orthophosphoric acid) or dry-etch techniques (e.g., RIE).",
"FIG. 2F provides a multi-view indication of a relationship between the nitride spacer 211 B and other features in the fabrication process such as the first nitride layer 207 A. The plan view of FIG. 2F shows that the nitride spacer 211 B is actually a square ring that once surrounded the now-etched first mask layer 209 .",
"Section A-A of FIG. 2F indicates only that portion of the nitride spacer 211 B that will be used to form the etched semiconductor fin (described infra).",
"An area underlying the nitride layer 207 A will eventually become the active area of the transistor.",
"Section B-B indicates portions of the nitride spacer 211 B lying outside of the active area, the active area being confined primarily to an area within the fill oxide 203 .",
"With reference to FIG. 2G , a photoresist mask layer 213 is applied over the fill oxide 203 , the first nitride layer 207 A, and the nitride spacer 211 B .",
"The photoresist mask layer 213 is then patterned forming an open channel over portions of both the fill oxide 203 and the active area.",
"The open channel area allows an etchant to remove underlying layers of material in the active area (Section C-C, FIG. 2G ).",
"A highly selective dry etch (e.g., RIE) may be used to remove the underlying layers within the channel.",
"The nitride spacer 211 B serves as a hard mask to the underlying etched semiconductor layer 201 C 1 thus allowing an etched semiconductor fin (“fin”) 201 C 2 to be formed (Section A-A).",
"Portions of the etched semiconductor layer 201 C 1 remain in the active area bounded by the fill oxide 203 .",
"These portions will later form source and drain regions, discussed infra.",
"Notice that an original surface height of the fill oxide 203 may also be lowered due to aggressive etching required to clear the underlying layers down to an uppermost portion of the insulative layer 201 B. The insulative layer 201 B acts as an etch-stop;",
"thus, timing issues are eliminated.",
"In addition to selectively etching and forming the fin 201 C 2 through dry-etch techniques, a skilled artisan will recognize that other etch techniques may be employed as well.",
"In FIG. 2H , the photoresist mask layer 213 ( FIG. 2G ) has been stripped.",
"The nitride spacer 211 B and the etched first nitride layer 207 B have also been removed with, for example, a high-selectivity etchant (e.g., wet-etched).",
"The high-selectivity etchant may be optimized to remove silicon nitride while having little if any effect on silicon or silicon dioxide.",
"A cross-sectional view of the fin 201 C 2 is presented in Section A-A while Section B-B indicates a transverse slice through the fin 201 C 2 and a relationship of the fin to remaining portions of the etched semiconductor layer 201 C 1 which will become source and drain regions of a FET transistor.",
"With reference to FIG. 2I , the etched pad oxide 205B has been stripped from the fin 201 C 2 and a sacrificial oxide 215 has been formed over the fin 201 C 2 .",
"If the fin 201 C 2 is comprised of any material subject to oxidation (e.g., silicon), the sacrificial oxide 215 may be thermally grown.",
"This oxidation repairs any surface damage of the fin 201 C 2 after, for example, a dry-etch step.",
"An oxide spacer layer 217 A is then conformally formed (e.g., deposited) over the fin 201 C 2 and surrounding areas.",
"The plan view of FIG. 2I provides an illustration of how the conformally deposited oxide spacer layer 217 A produces open areas on either side of the fin 201 C 2 .",
"Additionally, the oxide spacer 217 A surrounds the fin 201 C 2 (as indicated in Sections A-A and C-C).",
"Relative thicknesses t s , and t 2 of various parts of the film stack are chosen such that a thickness of t s , is greater than a thickness of t 2 .",
"( FIG. 2I should be viewed in a relative and not an absolute sense.",
"Therefore, as is the case with all patent figures, FIG. 2I is not necessarily to scale.",
"Therefore, it is to be understood that t 1 , is thicker than t 2 .",
"In FIG. 2J , the oxide spacer layer 217 A is etched anisotropically primarily etching the oxide spacer layer 217 A from sidewalls of the fin 201 C 2 , leaving etched oxide spacers 217 B of sides of the active area.",
"Lateral dimensions in two directions on a fabricated device may be made extremely small through a use of spacers as described herein.",
"This two-dimensional size reduction is due both to a small size of the nitride spacer 211 B ( FIG. 2G ) as well as a minimum width between the oxide spacers 217 B. Consequently, the fin 201 C 2 can theoretically possess lateral dimensions of 30 Å in each direction (i.e., x-y) or less.",
"A preoxidation clean is performed to fully clean sidewalls of the fin 201 C 2 prior to forming a gate oxide (not shown) over the fin 201 C 2 .",
"A dopant may be added to the fin 201 C 2 as well, forming a channel region of the FinFET transistor.",
"A polysilicon layer 219 is then conformally applied ( FIG. 2K ).",
"A planarization step is performed, planarizing a top portion of the polysilicon layer 219 to be substantially coplanar with uppermost portions of the fill oxide 203 and the etched first nitride layer 207 B. The planarization may be accomplished by, for example, a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) system and process, using the uppermost portion of the etched first nitride layer 207 B as an etch stop.",
"With reference to FIG. 2L , an etching process (either dry-etch or wet-etch) is used to remove the remaining portions of the etched first nitride layer 207 B and the etched pad oxide layer 205 B remaining above each portion of the etched semiconductor layer 201 C 1 in the active area (i.e., the area bounded laterally by the fill oxide 203 .",
"Standard transistor fabrication techniques are then employed to produce final features required for the FinFET transistor device, such as doping regions of the etched semiconductor layer 201 C 1 thus producing source and drain regions as indicated.",
"In the foregoing specification, the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof.",
"It will, however, be evident to a skilled artisan that various modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.",
"For example, skilled artisans will appreciate that although specific layers are called out, such as oxide and nitride, other films (e.g., other dielectric films) with similar etch characteristics (e.g., high etch-selectivity differences) could be readily employed as well.",
"Further, the exemplary embodiments called out specific techniques and specific processes for making a FinFET transistor.",
"Similar techniques may be employed to produce other device types as well or a series of mixed device types.",
"As defined and fabricated herein, adjacent devices require no additional barrier layers to isolate the devices (such as, for example, shallow trench isolation (STI) regions) since the fill oxide layer 203 surrounding each device may be employed as a barrier layer.",
"Therefore, the specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to devices for weaning nursing animals, and, in particular, a weaning device worn by a mare for weaning a foal from physical and emotional dependency.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Young animals during initial stages of development require ready access to the mammary glands of the parent and acquire a physical and emotional dependency thereon. After such initial growth, however, it is desirable to wean the young animal from such dependency. The procedure is difficult and often traumatic occasionally resulting in physical as well as emotional damage to the foal. While certain gear has been proposed for physically denying access, the approaches have generally been unsatisfactory for foals and mares inasmuch as the bonds regarding nursing are strong, and the daily physical activities, running and frolicking, readily dislodge proposed restraining gear. Accordingly, physical separation of the foal from the mare until weaning is effected is still the most commonly used technique. Such separation results in extreme anguish for both the mare and foal.
Numerous types of weaning gear have been proposed for other nursing animals, particularly cattle. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 486,766 to Chase discloses a protective udder bag for cows for preventing undesired access by a calf. Various leather belts are coupled to the bag for retention. The leather materials are prone to loosening due to realignment in normal environments requiring continuing adjustment.
A similar approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,114,632 to N wherein leather straps support the front and rear of the covering bag. The disposition of the retaining harness would not be effective for maintaining position during rolling and other activities uniquely favored by horses. Further like devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,523,820 to Cox, 1,633,4068 to Jenkins, 1,848,586 to Thompson, and 455,618 to Helm.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,251,886 to Hawkins discloses a foal weaner wherein a harness worn by a mare includes a plurality of leather straps for maintaining position of the protective pad. The straps tend to reposition in use and must be frequently retightened to prevent dislodging.
Accordingly a need continues to exist for weaning gear, particularly adapted to the needs of mares and foals, that is readily positioned on the mare for effectively limiting access by the foals, and maintains position without the need for adjustment during normal activities of the mare until weaning of the foal is effected.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The foregoing needs are accomplished in accordance with the present invention by a foal weaning gear that is readily attached in position on the mare and resiliently withstands environmental and physical conditions of use without dislodging. The foal weaning gear includes an absorbent protective pad that conforms to the mammary anatomy of the mare and is resiliently triaxially biased into comfortable and secure position by an encircling adjustable girth belt wrapped forwardly of the rear legs and a pair of elastic tethering straps diverging rearwardly from the top of the girth belt over the back of the mare and attached to the rear corners of the protective pad providing rearward and upward biasing. A loose fitting padded collar is disposed over the neck of the mare. An elastic back strap extends along the back of the mare and interconnects the collar with the top of the girth belt providing a continuous forward biasing on the girth belt and tethering straps to maintain position of the protective pad notwithstanding normal movement activities of the mare. The back strap also flexes to accommodate normal neck movement for the mare without undue restraint. Elastic flank straps, extending along the rear legs between the girth belt and the tethering straps, provide lateral biasing for maintaining pad position during normal frolicking and rolling activities. The weaning gear thus provides affirmative positioning of the protective pad without adjustment over extended periods thereby denying access to the foal and effectively weaning the foal quickly and without physical or emotional trauma.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a weaning gear for a mare that may be used for denying access to a foal without supplemental adjustment.
Another object of the invention is to provide a foal weaning gear that may be readily secured to a nursing mare and does not interfere with normal physical activities.
A further object of the invention is to provide a readily secured comfortable wearing gear for a nursing mare that remains in position throughout the weaning period and withstands environmental conditions without adjustment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a mare provided with foal weaning gear in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2 is an opposed side elevational view of the foal weaning gear;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the foal weaning gear in the assembled condition removed from the mare;
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the foal weaning gear in a partially unassembled condition;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken along line 5 — 5 in FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged top view of the girth belt illustrating the connections with the tethering straps and back strap;
FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view showing the attachment of the flank strap to the tethering strap;
FIG. 8 is an enlarged side view showing the adjustment strap for the girth belt; and
FIG. 9 is an enlarged top view showing the attachment between the collar and the back strap.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the drawings for the purpose of describing the preferred embodiment and not for limiting same, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a mare 10 provided with a foal weaning gear 12 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention. As hereinafter described in detail, the weaning gear 12 covers the mammary glands of the mare for assisting in weaning a nursing foal.
The weaning gear 12 comprises a lower protective pad 20 secured to the back of the mare 10 by girth belt 22 , a pair of tether straps 24 and flank straps 26 . The girth belt 22 is resiliently connected to a collar 28 by an elastic back strap 30 .
The protective pad 20 is formed of a woven absorbent material and has a front end stitched to the lower portion of the girth belt 22 and the corners of the rear end stitched to the rear ends of the tether straps 24 . The protective pad has curved sides, such that the protective pad 20 in use overlies and conforms to the mammary anatomy of the mare 10 .
The girth belt 22 is an elongated member of sufficient length to encircle the mare forwardly of the rear legs. The girth belt 22 is formed of a natural or synthetic padded material such as a fleece, comfortable when worn and resistant to environmental damage. The overall length of the girth belt 22 is slightly longer than the contact area on the mare to accommodate varying sized mares. As shown in FIG. 5, the ends of the girth belt 22 are provided with engagable hook and eye fastening strips 40 for facilitating preliminary alignment on the mare. As also shown in FIG. 8, an adjustment strap 42 is attached at a lower end 44 to the lower section of the girth belt 22 and carries a snap hook 46 at the upper end 48 that is releasably connected to an apertured connecting member 50 attached to the girth belt 22 on the opposite side of the fastening strips 40 . Accordingly, the effective length of the adjustment strap 42 may be adjusted to provide a comfortable, secure mounting of the girth belt 22 on the mare.
Referring additionally to FIGS. 3 and 4, the tether straps 24 are a sliding buckle adjustable construction of material. The tether straps 24 have lower ends respectively connected to the rear outer comers of the pad 20 and carry snap hook fasteners 60 at the opposite ends. The fasteners 60 are connected to a fastener loop 62 attached to the top center of the girth belt 22 for securing the pad 20 in position (FIG. 6 ).
The flank straps 26 have an adjustable sliding buckle and are of elastic construction and are attached at forward ends to the sides of the girth belt and include garter-type fasteners 64 at the rearward ends that are connected with a button 70 attached to the midsection of the tether straps 24 (FIG. 7 ). The flank straps 26 may be adjusted to resiliently tension the tether straps 24 to maintain a continuous biasing on the pad, notwithstanding normal activities of the mare.
The collar 28 is an elongated padded member adapted to loosely encircle the neck of the mare adjacent the forelegs. The collar 28 may be formed in a continuous loop or have the ends thereof interconnected by releasable fasteners, such as hook and loop fasteners. The collar 28 carries a button 80 on the top surface engaged by a garter-type fastener 82 on the back strap 30 (FIG. 9 ).
The back strap 30 is also a sliding buckle adjustable and elastic construction having a looped rear end threaded through a loop fastener 84 connected at the top center of the girth belt 22 and having a garter-type fastener 82 at the front end connected with the retaining button 80 on the collar 28 . The back strap 30 provides continuous forward biasing of the girth belt 22 to maintain positioning of the protective pad 20 while accommodating full neck movement during movement and feeding.
The above described weaning gear 12 is mounted by initially disconnecting the various straps, opening the girth belt 22 and approximately positioning the latter on the back of the mare. The hook and loop fastening strips 40 are secured to loosely position the girth belt 22 . The tether straps 24 and the pad are pulled rearwardly between the rear legs and the free ends hooked with fasteners 60 to the attachment loop 62 on the girth belt 22 for positioning the protective pad 20 in conformity with the mammary gland. The buckles on the tether straps 24 are adjusted as required to provide an affirmative comfortable fit. The collar 28 is then disposed over the neck and the back strap 30 connected between the collar 28 and the girth belt 22 . The length of the back strap 30 is likewise adjusted for affirmative and comfortable biasing. After achieving the initial fitting, the flank straps 26 are attached and adjusted to provide secure lateral positioning of the pad during normal activities.
The weaning gear 12 is preferably worn continuously until effective weaning of the foal has been achieved. In actual use, the weaning gear has been demonstrated to provide rapid weaning with minimal physical and emotional anguish to the foal enabling the foal to remain in desired proximity with the mare throughout the weaning period. After weaning is completed, the weaning gear is removed and conventionally washed prior to subsequent use.
Having thus described a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will now be appreciated that the objects of the invention have been fully achieved, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The disclosures and description herein are intended to be illustrative and are not in any sense limiting of the invention, which is defined solely in accordance with the following claims. | A foal weaning gear for wear by a nursing mare to deny access by a foal includes a protective pad disposed over the mammary glands and resiliently held in position by a plurality of adjustable straps providing continuous triaxial resilient biasing of the protective pad throughout normal physical activities of the mare without requiring ongoing adjustment during the weaning period. | Summarize the patent information, clearly outlining the technical challenges and proposed solutions. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to devices for weaning nursing animals, and, in particular, a weaning device worn by a mare for weaning a foal from physical and emotional dependency.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Young animals during initial stages of development require ready access to the mammary glands of the parent and acquire a physical and emotional dependency thereon.",
"After such initial growth, however, it is desirable to wean the young animal from such dependency.",
"The procedure is difficult and often traumatic occasionally resulting in physical as well as emotional damage to the foal.",
"While certain gear has been proposed for physically denying access, the approaches have generally been unsatisfactory for foals and mares inasmuch as the bonds regarding nursing are strong, and the daily physical activities, running and frolicking, readily dislodge proposed restraining gear.",
"Accordingly, physical separation of the foal from the mare until weaning is effected is still the most commonly used technique.",
"Such separation results in extreme anguish for both the mare and foal.",
"Numerous types of weaning gear have been proposed for other nursing animals, particularly cattle.",
"For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 486,766 to Chase discloses a protective udder bag for cows for preventing undesired access by a calf.",
"Various leather belts are coupled to the bag for retention.",
"The leather materials are prone to loosening due to realignment in normal environments requiring continuing adjustment.",
"A similar approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,114,632 to N wherein leather straps support the front and rear of the covering bag.",
"The disposition of the retaining harness would not be effective for maintaining position during rolling and other activities uniquely favored by horses.",
"Further like devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,523,820 to Cox, 1,633,4068 to Jenkins, 1,848,586 to Thompson, and 455,618 to Helm.",
"U.S. Pat. No. 1,251,886 to Hawkins discloses a foal weaner wherein a harness worn by a mare includes a plurality of leather straps for maintaining position of the protective pad.",
"The straps tend to reposition in use and must be frequently retightened to prevent dislodging.",
"Accordingly a need continues to exist for weaning gear, particularly adapted to the needs of mares and foals, that is readily positioned on the mare for effectively limiting access by the foals, and maintains position without the need for adjustment during normal activities of the mare until weaning of the foal is effected.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The foregoing needs are accomplished in accordance with the present invention by a foal weaning gear that is readily attached in position on the mare and resiliently withstands environmental and physical conditions of use without dislodging.",
"The foal weaning gear includes an absorbent protective pad that conforms to the mammary anatomy of the mare and is resiliently triaxially biased into comfortable and secure position by an encircling adjustable girth belt wrapped forwardly of the rear legs and a pair of elastic tethering straps diverging rearwardly from the top of the girth belt over the back of the mare and attached to the rear corners of the protective pad providing rearward and upward biasing.",
"A loose fitting padded collar is disposed over the neck of the mare.",
"An elastic back strap extends along the back of the mare and interconnects the collar with the top of the girth belt providing a continuous forward biasing on the girth belt and tethering straps to maintain position of the protective pad notwithstanding normal movement activities of the mare.",
"The back strap also flexes to accommodate normal neck movement for the mare without undue restraint.",
"Elastic flank straps, extending along the rear legs between the girth belt and the tethering straps, provide lateral biasing for maintaining pad position during normal frolicking and rolling activities.",
"The weaning gear thus provides affirmative positioning of the protective pad without adjustment over extended periods thereby denying access to the foal and effectively weaning the foal quickly and without physical or emotional trauma.",
"Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a weaning gear for a mare that may be used for denying access to a foal without supplemental adjustment.",
"Another object of the invention is to provide a foal weaning gear that may be readily secured to a nursing mare and does not interfere with normal physical activities.",
"A further object of the invention is to provide a readily secured comfortable wearing gear for a nursing mare that remains in position throughout the weaning period and withstands environmental conditions without adjustment.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a mare provided with foal weaning gear in accordance with the invention;",
"FIG. 2 is an opposed side elevational view of the foal weaning gear;",
"FIG. 3 is a plan view of the foal weaning gear in the assembled condition removed from the mare;",
"FIG. 4 is a plan view of the foal weaning gear in a partially unassembled condition;",
"FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken along line 5 — 5 in FIG. 1;",
"FIG. 6 is an enlarged top view of the girth belt illustrating the connections with the tethering straps and back strap;",
"FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view showing the attachment of the flank strap to the tethering strap;",
"FIG. 8 is an enlarged side view showing the adjustment strap for the girth belt;",
"and FIG. 9 is an enlarged top view showing the attachment between the collar and the back strap.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings for the purpose of describing the preferred embodiment and not for limiting same, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a mare 10 provided with a foal weaning gear 12 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention.",
"As hereinafter described in detail, the weaning gear 12 covers the mammary glands of the mare for assisting in weaning a nursing foal.",
"The weaning gear 12 comprises a lower protective pad 20 secured to the back of the mare 10 by girth belt 22 , a pair of tether straps 24 and flank straps 26 .",
"The girth belt 22 is resiliently connected to a collar 28 by an elastic back strap 30 .",
"The protective pad 20 is formed of a woven absorbent material and has a front end stitched to the lower portion of the girth belt 22 and the corners of the rear end stitched to the rear ends of the tether straps 24 .",
"The protective pad has curved sides, such that the protective pad 20 in use overlies and conforms to the mammary anatomy of the mare 10 .",
"The girth belt 22 is an elongated member of sufficient length to encircle the mare forwardly of the rear legs.",
"The girth belt 22 is formed of a natural or synthetic padded material such as a fleece, comfortable when worn and resistant to environmental damage.",
"The overall length of the girth belt 22 is slightly longer than the contact area on the mare to accommodate varying sized mares.",
"As shown in FIG. 5, the ends of the girth belt 22 are provided with engagable hook and eye fastening strips 40 for facilitating preliminary alignment on the mare.",
"As also shown in FIG. 8, an adjustment strap 42 is attached at a lower end 44 to the lower section of the girth belt 22 and carries a snap hook 46 at the upper end 48 that is releasably connected to an apertured connecting member 50 attached to the girth belt 22 on the opposite side of the fastening strips 40 .",
"Accordingly, the effective length of the adjustment strap 42 may be adjusted to provide a comfortable, secure mounting of the girth belt 22 on the mare.",
"Referring additionally to FIGS. 3 and 4, the tether straps 24 are a sliding buckle adjustable construction of material.",
"The tether straps 24 have lower ends respectively connected to the rear outer comers of the pad 20 and carry snap hook fasteners 60 at the opposite ends.",
"The fasteners 60 are connected to a fastener loop 62 attached to the top center of the girth belt 22 for securing the pad 20 in position (FIG.",
"6 ).",
"The flank straps 26 have an adjustable sliding buckle and are of elastic construction and are attached at forward ends to the sides of the girth belt and include garter-type fasteners 64 at the rearward ends that are connected with a button 70 attached to the midsection of the tether straps 24 (FIG.",
"7 ).",
"The flank straps 26 may be adjusted to resiliently tension the tether straps 24 to maintain a continuous biasing on the pad, notwithstanding normal activities of the mare.",
"The collar 28 is an elongated padded member adapted to loosely encircle the neck of the mare adjacent the forelegs.",
"The collar 28 may be formed in a continuous loop or have the ends thereof interconnected by releasable fasteners, such as hook and loop fasteners.",
"The collar 28 carries a button 80 on the top surface engaged by a garter-type fastener 82 on the back strap 30 (FIG.",
"9 ).",
"The back strap 30 is also a sliding buckle adjustable and elastic construction having a looped rear end threaded through a loop fastener 84 connected at the top center of the girth belt 22 and having a garter-type fastener 82 at the front end connected with the retaining button 80 on the collar 28 .",
"The back strap 30 provides continuous forward biasing of the girth belt 22 to maintain positioning of the protective pad 20 while accommodating full neck movement during movement and feeding.",
"The above described weaning gear 12 is mounted by initially disconnecting the various straps, opening the girth belt 22 and approximately positioning the latter on the back of the mare.",
"The hook and loop fastening strips 40 are secured to loosely position the girth belt 22 .",
"The tether straps 24 and the pad are pulled rearwardly between the rear legs and the free ends hooked with fasteners 60 to the attachment loop 62 on the girth belt 22 for positioning the protective pad 20 in conformity with the mammary gland.",
"The buckles on the tether straps 24 are adjusted as required to provide an affirmative comfortable fit.",
"The collar 28 is then disposed over the neck and the back strap 30 connected between the collar 28 and the girth belt 22 .",
"The length of the back strap 30 is likewise adjusted for affirmative and comfortable biasing.",
"After achieving the initial fitting, the flank straps 26 are attached and adjusted to provide secure lateral positioning of the pad during normal activities.",
"The weaning gear 12 is preferably worn continuously until effective weaning of the foal has been achieved.",
"In actual use, the weaning gear has been demonstrated to provide rapid weaning with minimal physical and emotional anguish to the foal enabling the foal to remain in desired proximity with the mare throughout the weaning period.",
"After weaning is completed, the weaning gear is removed and conventionally washed prior to subsequent use.",
"Having thus described a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will now be appreciated that the objects of the invention have been fully achieved, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.",
"The disclosures and description herein are intended to be illustrative and are not in any sense limiting of the invention, which is defined solely in accordance with the following claims."
] |
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 233,556 filed Feb. 11, 1981, now abandoned.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to apparatus and method for casting, and, more particularly, to apparatus and method for continuously casting hollow round billets, tubes and the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Continuous casting in general is a process by which the uninterrupted flow of molten metal enters one end of the casting apparatus, is solidified, and is withdrawn at the other end having the desired configuration. Continuous casting of steel for high quality steel products, such as pipes, tubes and the like, of necessity must be carefully controlled. For example, the casting temperature of the molten metal has to be maintained within a certain range during the cast. To assure the internal and surface quality of the finished product, defects, such as porosity, cracks, segregation and inclusions of the casting, should be minimized or be such that they are not harmful. This requires controlled feeding of liquid metal, casting speed and cooling rate.
Continuous cast steel usually is hot deformed in further processes to produce a homogeneous end product with acceptable quality and soundness. The deformation from the cast size to finished size usually would be at least 4:1 and could be as high as 15:1 for some products. To withstand successfully such further deformation while desired quality of the end product is achieved, the cast material must be of high quality with minimum defects as aforesaid.
For reasons of economy it is desirable to maximize the amount of liquid steel cast as a batch or heat. Heats of 200 tons of liquid steel are common. Heats of 300 tons or more are in operation or proposed. To cast such large amounts of liquid steel within a certain time and at an acceptable speed, multiple strands per machine are required; but it has been found that the maximum should not exceed six strands from the operational and engineering standpoint. For example, to cast 200 tons of liquid steel the casting time should not be more than 90 minutes. For solid billets casting speeds of over 100 inches per minute are reported but most machines have casting speeds between 30 and 80 inches per minute.
In modern casting machines for steel a distributor or tundish feeds molten metal into the molds of the individual strands. Metering is by stopper rod or sliding gate made of high temperature refractory. A water cooled oscillating mold initiates the solidification process. As soon as a crust of sufficient thickness and strength is formed by the mold, water spray cooling is applied to complete the solidification process.
The cross section of the cast steel is determined by the intended subsequent deformation to finished product and the casting mold and an adequate opening in the tundish to feed steel into the mold are, accordingly, appropriately sized. The tundish opening should be sufficient to prevent clogging. Furthermore, a large mold size favors flotation of liquid steel impurities which easily could be trapped in the solidifying steel. It is generally agreed that the minimum thickness of cast steel should not be less than 4 inches.
Since continuous casting has proven to be an energy saving process for steel production with higher overall productivity for capital investment and labor than other steel manufacturing processes, it has found increasing acceptance. Approximately 21% of the world steel production in 1979 was continuously cast, but the percentage was less for the steel pipes.
For relatively high production of seamless steel pipes from solid round billets, conventionally such solid billets are pierced to form hollow round billets (or hollow rounds) which then are further processed by various operations to form finished pipes. The solid round billets themselves are produced either by the traditional ingot process with the ingots being rolled to billet size or by casting billets on a continuous casting machine. Billets can be cast to size or cast at a relatively larger section and then rolled to desired billet size. One problem using such technique, though, is that continuously cast billets usually have internal defects generally concentrated towards the axial center thereof. Such defects are a cause for inside quality problems of the finished pipe produced therefrom.
To avoid using the above mentioned piercing process and its attendant disadvantages in forming hollow round from solid round, attempts have been made to cast directly hollow round billets. The aforesaid defects, then, would be confined internally of the billet wall, i.e. not at the external or internal wall surfaces of the hollow billet. Therefore, such internally confined defects would not detrimentally affect the inside or outside surface quality of the finished pipe.
In one prior casting machine hollow rounds were cast directly in a U-shape mold with withdrawal in an upward direction. Such machine was based on the principle of "Communicating Vessels" and no internal plug was required. However, such machine has not been widely commercially accepted.
Hollow round steel billets also have been cast by a centrifugal process. This process has found particular application for stainless steel and special alloy steel pipes with limited production.
On an experimental and low production basis hollow round has been cast using an internal water cooled plug for primary inside cooling and water spray for secondary inside cooling. The plug normally oscillates with the outside mold. However, casting hollow round with such internal plug and spray cooling has encountered many problems. For example, internal explosions have occurred after an internal breakout when liquid steel has come in contact with water or steam. Venting and detecting devices, therefore, are necessary to avoid explosive conditions, but such devices increase the complexity of the equipment and do not necessarily assure that explosions will be avoided.
Another problem encountered by such latter type of direct casting machines has been the contracting of the inner annulus of the solidifying steel as it cools and the freezing thereof to the plug. The friction forces between plug and annulus, then, cause cracking and rehealing to the inside surface thereof, which is detrimental to the inside surface quality of the finished pipe. Tapered and corrugated plug surfaces in addition to the oscillation as well as an expandable/contractable plug have been suggested and tried to try to overcome these problems but have not been totally successful.
The as-cast macro-structure of the material formed by the prior techniques for direct cating of hollow rounds has not been particularly suitable for further processing in an elongator. Processing the hollow rounds in an elongator is the first step in high production mills to reduce the wall thickness. Two or three contoured rolls with inclined axes rotate the billet and advance it over an internal mandrel. The billet rotates around its axis with a surface speed between 800 and 1200 feet per minute imposing tangential stresses on the inside and outside surface by the centrifugal forces. Since the tangential stresses on the inside surface far exceed the stresses on the outside surface, the relative low strength of the macrostructured material often will rupture inside reducing the quality of the finished product. Hollow round billets cast with a plug and inside spray cooling have been processed in presses or in a pilgrim mill which forges the wall axially. After every forging process the billet is turned 90°. These processes, though, are low production operations and are economical only in certain cases.
Further, it has been found that the wall thickness of the hollow round billets formed by prior direct casting techniques varies over the whole length. Such variations could detrimentally affect the wall tolerance of the finished pipe. Using additional plugs in the secondary cooling zone centered by a magnetic field has been suggested for improvement of wall thickness uniformity.
It will be appreciated that it would be desirable to eliminate the aforesaid problems encountered in making hollow round billets, tubes and the like, especially by direct continuous casting. Both external and internal surface defects should be avoided and good ductility should be maintained to permit facile, high speed elongation while quality of the finished product is held. It also is desirable to maximize production speed, to minimize machine space requirements and to minimize capital and labor costs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus and process to cast hollow round steel billets or tubings. The casting machine apparatus is compact and capable of high production operation. The hollow round billets produced are of superior quality and can be processed in known operations to finished pipes, especially in high production installations.
Fundamentally, the apparatus includes a fixed ring-like water cooled mold or die, forming an annular ring area into which molten steel is delivered from a tundish or the like. The axial length of such ring area is adequately long to allow sufficient cooling of the cast steel passing axially therealong such that a containment skin is formed to contain molten steel therewithin before the casting leaves the ring area. Axially beyond the ring area is a movable mandrel inside the casting. The mandrel has several functions including cooling the inside surface of the casting by direct rolling engagement therewith and applying force radially to the inside surface of the casting holding constant the round or cylindrical hollow interior of the casting while enhancing subsequent ductility. Preferably there is minimum relative slippage between the mandrel surface and the inside surface of the casting; this enhances the cooling and force aplying functions while maintaining the high quality characteristic of the inside surface of the casting. Therefore the mandrel is of somewhat smaller diameter than the inside diameter of the casting and is water cooled.
The mandrel is rotated in engagement with the inside surface of the casting such that each point at the circumference of the mandrel describes a hypocycloidal curve or a curve which is close to a hypocycloid. The mandrel is referred to below, therefore, as a hypocycloidal mandrel and the process may be referred to as an inside rolling process. The hypocycloidal mandrel is rotated by two concentric shafts that rotate independently of each other. The inside of the mandrel body is connected to the shafts by a link mechanism.
The mandrel structure includes an inner steel structure and enveloping the inner structure a hollow cylinder made from material with high thermal conductivity. A gap between these two members provides a flow path for the cooling water.
Although the relative movement between the mandrel and inside surface of the casting is very small, friction that does exist therebetween, for example due to differential expansion of the casting along the length of the mandrel as the casting cools, could be reduced by applying a suitable oil to the interfacial surface. Also to correct for slippage between the mandrel and casting each shaft may be driven individually by respective motors at least one of which should have a continuously variable speed control.
Efficient extraction of heat from the inside of the hollow round billet or casting is by conduction transfer by direct contact with the outside cylinder of the mandrel and convection transfer from the cylinder to flowing water in the mandrel. A pipe extension at the end of the mandrel may have spray nozzles to spray cooling water on the inside surface of the casting. The heat extracted at the inside of the hollow round, then, will be by a combination of conduction and convection by the mandrel and spray cooling. The length of the mandrel should be such that an internal breakout, i.e. release of molten steel from containment within the body of the casting by the skin thereof, is impossible. The rotating nozzles help to assure unform cooling of the inner annulus.
The water cooled stationary die immediately above the hypocycloidal mandrel has the same diameter as the inside diameter of the hollow round billet being cast. The hypocycloidal mandrel, rotating at a predetermined speed, continues the inside solidification process of the casting as it passes from the die to the mandrel. The direction of the rotation is immaterial, and the speed of the mandrel is determined by the rate of heat extraction and the deformation rate of the casting material.
As the casting cools, the thickness of the solidified inner annulus increases, the volume of steel changes, and the inside diameter decreases. Such inside diameter decrease would tend to freeze the inner annulus to a stationary cylindrical mandrel by the shrinkage forces, and the ferro static pressure of the liquid core of the casting would add to such forces. However, the total of such forces is counteracted normal to their line of action by the hypocycloidal mandrel as it is rotated about the hollow interior of the casting. Such counteraction is in compression thus avoiding or minimizing any shearing which might rupture or tear the sensitive inner skin improving safety of operation and smoothness and roundness of the inside surface of the hollow round.
A hypocycloidal mandrel in accordance with the invention having cylindrical configuration would deform the inner annulus by the amount of shrinkage and at a rate that is a function of the mandrel rotational speed. Such deformation could be increased or decreased by tapering the mandrel. Moreover, such deformation will increase the ductility of the cast steel.
The combined heat extraction at the inside and outside of the cast billet, withdrawal speed and the wall thickness of the billet determine the metallurgical length. It is independent of the diameters. The metallurgical length is an important design factor for the length of the mandrel and the length of the casting machine and desirably should be minimized.
The casting machine for hollow round billets with the hypocycloidal mandrel in accordance with the invention may be a sraight or stick machine or alternatively a straight-bend machine. The straight portion of both types of machines is normally, but not necessarily exclusively, vertical. In a stick machine casting, solidification and cutting to billet length is accomplished while the billet is vertically oriented. The billet is tilted to a horizontal position for run-out. In a straight-bend machine casting and solidification are accomplished while the billet is vertically oriented; after the billet has or almost has solidified, it is bent to a horizontal orientation and then cut to billet length for run-out.
With the forcegoing in mind, a primary object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for continuous casting of hollow round billets or the like improved in the noted respects.
Another object is to facilitate cooling and to effect the same in an efficient manner in continuous cast hollow round.
An additional object is to expedite cooling of continuous cast hollow round.
A further object is to minimize the metallurgical length of cast hollow round.
Still another object is to reduce the cost of manufacturing hollow round billets, especially by a continuous casting method.
Still an additional object is to improve the quality of hollow round billets, including, for example, surface quality, ductility, deformability, and of the end product formed therefrom.
Still a further object is to increase the speed of production of cast hollow round billets.
Even another object is to facilitate subsequent deformation of hollow round billets.
Even an additional object is to minimize the cost for equipment and labor to manufacture hollow round billets and to minimize the size of such equipment and/or the space required therefore.
Even a further object is to provide a rotating mandrel, especially of hypocycloidal type, for use in manufacturing hollow round billets, especially of steel.
Yet another object is to improve the safety in manufacturing hollow round billets, especially by a continuous direct casting method.
Yet an additional object is to provide an inside rolling process for use in the manufacturing of hollow round billets.
Yet a further object is to prevent freezing of a continuous cast hollow round billet to an internal mandrel or die.
Yet even another object is to maintain uniformity in continuous directly cast hollow round billets.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds. p To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends the invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawings setting forth in detail a certain illustrative embodiment of the invention, this being indicative, however, of but one of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the annexed drawings:
FIG. 1 is a schematic elevation view, partly broken away in section, of a hollow round continuous casting machine in accordance with the present invention;
FIGS. 2 and 3 are section views through the hypocycloidal mandrel of the machine of FIG. 1, line a--a being the line of continuation between FIGS. 2 and 3;
FIG. 4 is a section view of the hypocycloidal mandrel looking generally in the direction of the arrows 4--4 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a section view of the hypocycloidal mandrel looking generally in the direction of the arrows 5--5 of FIG. 2;
FIGS. 6 and 7 schematically depict the kinematics of the hypocycloidal mandrel;
FIG. 8 is a schematic partial view of the casting machine showing the application of forces for the deformation of the inner annulus by the inside rolling process; and
FIG. 9 is a schematic partial view of the hypocycloidal mandrel with an extension pipe for inside spray cooling of the cast hollow round.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now in detail to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like parts in the several figures, and initially to FIG. 1, a continuous casting machine for casting hollow round billets or the like, generally referred to herein as billets or castings, of steel or other material is generally indicated at 1. The casting machine 1 is shown in the process of casting a single hollow round billet or casting 2; however, it will be appreciated that the machine 1 may include means for simultaneously casting plural strands or castings 2. In the preferred embodiment the machine 1 would be capable of simultaneously casting plural strands.
The machine 1 includes a ring-shape mold assembly 3, which is formed by a conventional cylindrical mold 4 cooled by water flowing through one or more passages 5 therein and a fixed cylindrical mandrel 6, a rotatable hypocycloidal mandrel 7, and a drive assembly 8 for rotating the mandrel 7. Nozzles 10 may be provided to spray cooling water or other material on the outer surface of casting 2 after the latter has left the ring-shape mold assembly 3 further to cool the casting. A tundish 11 delivers molten steel 12, or other material, as desired, via a conventional valve 13 to the material inlet end 14 of the ring-shape mold assembly 3.
It is the purpose of the fixed mandrel 6 to commence cooling of the casting 2 to effect initial formation of the inner annulus 16; it is the purpose of the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 to continue such cooling thereby to further solidification and formation of the inner annulus 16 while also preferably applying a compression force thereto ultimately to increase ductility and surface quality of the finished casting.
Ordinarily molten steel delivered into the ring-shape mold assembly 3 forms a molten cylindrical annulus near the inlet end 14, the boundary of that annulus being defined by the confronting surfaces of the mold 4 and fixed mandrel 6. The portions of such ring of molten steel in contact with or at least near the cylindrical mold 4 or fixed mandrel 6 begin to cool and, therefore, to solidify due to contact therewith. An outer annulus 15 and an inner annulus 16 of the casting 2, then, begin to form and define boundaries for containment of still liquid molten steel 17 therewithin. Preferably the axial lengths of the mold 4 and fixed mandrel 6 are such that the strength of the respective annuli 15, 16 is adequate to contain the molten steel 17 without break-out thereof when the casting leaves the ring-shape mold assembly 3; moreover, the axial length of the fixed mandrel 6 preferably is sufficiently short to avoid the possibility of freezing of the casting thereto as the casting solidifies and the diameter of the inner hollow volume thereof shrinks. Preferably the axis of the ring-shape mold assembly 3 is oriented substantially in a vertical direction, as is shown, for example, in FIG. 1, to use gravity to help draw the casting 2 down out from the ring-shape mold assembly 3. Additional conventional means also may be used to draw the casting 2 from the mold assembly 3; such further means also may include conventional cut-off means for cutting the casting 2 into discrete sections.
The machine 1 is located in a building, for example, being secured to fixed support structures, such as floors or beams 20 which are illustrated in FIG. 1. Electric motors 22, 23 and gear assemblies 24, 25 in the drive assembly 8 are mounted on the fixed building support 20, and a machine housing portion 26 also is mounted on a building support 20. The fixed mandrel 6 and the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 are supported by the housing 26, as can be seen more clearly in FIG. 2. The housing 26 may be bolted to the support 20 or may be held thereto by wedges 27, 28 which are moved by a hydraulic cylinder arrangement 29. When the hydraulic pressure is relieved, for example, on the cylinder 29, the housing 26, including the mandrels 6, 7 may be lifted by an overhead crane attached to eyes 30.
To achieve the desired rotational format for the hypocycloidal mandrel 7, such mandrel is rotated about its own axis, and that axis in turn is moved around a further axis, as will be described in greater detail below. To achieve such movement of the mandrel 7, rotational input is provided from the respective motors 22, 23 and gear assemblies 24, 25 via drive shafts 31, 32. The hypocycloidal mandrel 7 is mounted on inner and outer shafts 35, 36, which are turned by chain drive connections 37, 38 to the respective drive shafts 31, 32, as is shown most clearly in FIG. 2. The drive shafts 31, 32 are rotatably mounted in the housing 26 by bearings 39, and the inner and outer shafts 35, 36 similarly are mounted for support by the housing 27 in concentric relation by respective bearings 40.
Referring now in detail to FIGS. 2 and 3, the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 is formed by concentric outer and inner cylinders 50, 51. The outer cylinder 50 preferably is formed of highly thermally conductive material to effect efficient thermal energy transfer with respect to the surface 52 of the inner annulus 16 over which such cylinder rolls. The inner cylinder 51 strengthens the hypocycloidal mandrel 7, facilitates mounting thereof, and defines with the outer cylinder 50 a gap 53 through which water may flow, as is indicated by the arrows 54 to effect the desired cooling. The cylinders 50, 51 preferably are mechanically connected at the bottom ends thereof, for example by mechanical means including a plate or cap 55, and additional means may be provided as well to effect mechanical interconnection of the cylinders to maintain their fixed relative relation as a substantially integral body forming the hypocycloidal mandrel.
Both the inner and outer shafts 35, 36 are concentrically mounted by the bearings 40 relative to the housing 26 for rotation about a common axis 56. Rotation of the inner shaft 35 provides the rotational input to rotate the hypocycloidal mandrel 7. However, circular cross-section displacement shanks 57 axially displaced along the outer shaft 36 cause the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 actually to rotate about an axis 58, as will be described further below. The shanks 57 are generally of cylindrical formation having a limited axial extent relative to the length of the outer shaft 36; the axis 58 is the center axis of the cylindrical displacement shanks 57.
For connecting the mandrel cylinders 50, 51 to the inner shaft 35, the inner cylinder 51 has in its lower end a plurality of internal lugs 60 all of which are of the same size and respective groups of which are axially aligned, as will become more apparent from the following description. More specifically, each of the lugs 60 has a central bore 61. A first linking mechanism 62 for mechanically coupling the inner shaft 35 to the lugs 60 includes a contoured plate 63, which is fixedly attached to the inner shaft 35 by means not shown, and eccentric pins 64, each of which has a cylindrical mid portion 65 generally aligned with a respective axis 66, and offset end portions 67 generally aligned with a further axis 68. The mid portion 65 passes through a bore 69 in the plate 63, and the end portions 67 pass through the bores 61 in the lug 60. The eccentricity of the eccentric pins 64 is defined as the spacing between the axes 66, 68, and such spacing will be the same as the spacing between the axes 56, 58; and all of such axes are parallel, as is illustrated.
For connecting the mandrel cylinders 50, 51 to the outer shaft 36, lugs 60 in the upper end of inner cylinder 51 are coupled to the outer shaft by a second linking mechanism 70. The second linking mechanism 70 includes the displacement shank 57, a bearing sleeve 71, a further contoured plate 72, and straight pins 73, which pass through bores 61 in the lugs 60 and through a bore 74 in the plate 72. The bearing sleeve 71 allows the contoured plate 72 and the outer shaft 36 to rotate independently; the circular or cylindrical displacement shank 57, though, translates or rotates the axis 58 about which the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 rotates about the axis 56 in direct response to rotation of the outer shaft 36.
Briefly referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, plan views of the first and second linking mechanisms 62, 70 are illustrated. The contoured plate 63 has a cylindrical opening at which it is secured to the inner shaft 35 and also has four arms 63a-63d (letter suffixes are used to identify repetitive parts). The bores 69 through the plate 63 are located on the circumference of a bore circle 75, the center of which is at the axis 56, and each of the bores 69 is angularly equidistantly spaced along the bore circle 75. The axis 68 along which the end portions 67 of the eccentric pins 64 extend is illustrated, although for the sake of clarity, the lugs 60 are not seen in FIG. 4. Concavities 76 in the inside wall of the cylinder 51 may be provided to accommodate the ends of the arms 63a-63d, for example, as is seen with respect to the arm 63c.
In the second linking mechanism 70 illustrated in FIG. 5, the relative orientation of the circular plan displacement shank 57, bearing sleeve 71, and contour plate 72 is seen. The four bores 74a-74d are centered on a further bore circle 77 that is of the same diameter as the bore circle 75 mentioned above but has its center located on the axis 58. The bores 74a-74d are angularly equidistantly spaced along the bore circle 77 and generally are positioned in fixed alignment with the bores 61 in respective vertically aligned lugs 60 (not shown in FIG. 5). As the outer shaft 36 rotates, it will be appreciated that axis 58 will travel in a circle illustrated in phantom at 78 around the axis 56.
The intended motion imparted to the hypocycloidal mandrel 7, referring to FIG. 5, is as follows. Rotation of the inner shaft 35, for example, in a counterclockwise direction, will tend to rotate the mandrel cylinders 50, 51 counterclockwise, too. The outer shaft 36, though, including the shank 57 rotates in a clockwise direction. Such clockwise rotation will tend to maintain a line of contact between the surfaces of the outer cylinder 50 and the surface of the inner annulus 16, whereby the outer cylinder 50 tends to roll around the internal surface of the inner annulus 16 causing such line of contact, which is substantially parallel to the other axes mentioned above, to travel about the circular plan of surface, as is seen in FIG. 5, for example.
From the foregoing it will be evident that the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 is attached to the inner shaft 35 by a series of levers or lever arms 63a-63d of the plate 63 and eccentric pins 64. Further levers represented, for example, by the respective apices of the plate 72, which have the same geometric bore location as the levers 63a-63d effectively fixedly mounted to the inner shaft 35, rotate freely on the shanks 57; such levers are connected to the corresponding inside bores 61 of respective lugs 60 by the straight pins 74a-74d. As is seen in FIGS. 2-5, the eccentricity of the eccentric pins 64 (and thus the spacing of the axes 66, 68), and the spacing of the axes 56, 58 (and thus the spacing of the center of the circular shaft 35, which also is the center of the bore circle 75, and the center of the circular shank 57, which also is the center of the bore circle 77) are equal. Such equality permits the desired complex rotation and translation effective in the movement of the hypocycloidal mandrel 7.
If both shafts 35, 36 are rotated in relatively opposite directions, such that the product of the angular velocity of the inner shaft 35 and the distance of the bores 69 of the levers 63a-63d from the axis 56 is equal to the product of the angular velocity of the outer shaft 36 and the eccentricity, for example the distance between the axes 56, 58, then the axes 68 of the respective bores 61 in the lugs 60 of the hypocycloidal mandrel will trace a hypocycloidal curve. All of the mentioned levers and connecting points to the shafts 35, 36 and to the mandrel structure 7 have to be such that the bore axes follow the path of the same predescribed hypocycloid.
For stable optimum operation the ratio of the radius of the bore circles 75, 77 for the respective levels mentioned to the eccentricity should be a natural number. The line of contact between the mandrel 7 and the casting 2, then, will return to its original position after successive full rotations of the mandrel equal to such ratio. The design of the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 can be simplified significantly by selecting the ratio of the radius of bore circle to eccentricity as an even number and by using the contoured plates 63, 72, as described, to provide the desired lever connections between the mandrel and the respective shafts 35, 36. The number of bores for straight and eccentric pins for any given contoured plate 63 or 72, should be an even number and preferably should be the same as the mentioned ratio; this number of bores may be reduced but should not be so small that the stability of the mandrel 7 would be impaired.
The number of hypocycloids traced by the respective bore axes is the number of the mentioned ratio plus one. Moreover, the ratio selected will determine the outside diameter of the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 and the number of rotations of the respective shafts 35, 36 during operation. For example, the outside diameter of the mandrel 7 should be equal to the inside diameter of the hollow round casting 2, say where such casting initially leaves the area of the fixed mandrel 6 and comes into contact with the hypocycloidal mandrel 7, minus twice the eccentricity. One rotation of the mandrel 7 is obtained by rotating the outer shaft 36 360° while rotating the inner shaft in the relatively opposite direction by an amount of 360° divided by the selected ratio.
For example, assume that the inside diameter of the casting 2 were 4 inches and the speed of the mandrel were 300 rotations per minute, i.e. the line of contact between the mandrel and the surface of the inner annulus 16 were intended to travel around the circumference of such surface 300 times per minute. Assume further that the eccentricity were selected to be 0.140625 inch and the radius of the bore circle for the contoured plates 63, 72 were selected at 1.125 inches. The ratio, then, would be 1.125 divided by 0.14062 and would equal 8. Therefore, for each complete rotation of the inner shaft 35, the outer shaft 36 must make eight rotations for every point at the circumference of the mandrel 7 to return to its original position while tracing nine hypocycloids relative to the inner circumference of the casting 2. Thus, 300 rotations per minute for the mandrel would require the outer shaft 36 to rotate 300 times per minute and the inner shaft 35 to rotate 45 times in that same time period.
Thus, the ratio of the rotational frequencies of the two shafts 35, 36 is eight, the same as the mentioned selected ratio. Also, although each contoured plate would be connected by eight pins to the mandrel inner cylinder 51, it would be possible to reduce the number of those connections to, for example, four in order to simplify the structure and to minimize space requirements.
In the example illustrated in the drawings, there are four connections of each contoured plate 63, 72 to the inner cylinder 51 of the mandrel structure 7. In this preferred embodiment of the invention, then, the selected ratio mentioned above would be four and, accordingly, five hypocycloids will be traced by each axis 68 at the circumference of an imaginary circle coupling the cusps of the hypocycloids before each axis returns to its original position.
The rolling movement of the outside surface of the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 at the surface of the inner annulus 16 of a casting 2 is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. The distance between axes 66 and 68 is the eccentricity of the eccentric pins 64 and is equal to the distance between the common axis 56 of the shafts 35, 36 and the center axis 58 of the shanks 57.
Referring to FIG. 6, at the original relative positions of the mandrel 7 and inner annulus 16 such that there is a line of contact therebetween symbolized at the point A, the axis 68a of one axially aligned group of lugs 60 is at the cusp of two adjacent hypocycloids 80a, 80e. The axes 68b, 68c, 68d of the other three groups of respectively axially aligned lugs 60 also are located on the paths of respective hypocycloids 80b, 80c, 80d. The outside diameter of the mandrel 7 and the inside diameter of the inner annulus 16 are in contact along the line A, as was mentioned. This is the area at which highly efficient cooling of the inner annulus 16 occurs due to direct surface to surface conduction. As the inner shaft 35 rotates, say counterclockwise, by an angle 81 from the original position 82 the outer shaft 36 rotates clockwise by an angle 83 from the original position 82. The amount of rotation or magnitude of angle 83 must be four times that of the angle 81 during the same time interval, e.g. if the angle of rotation 81 were 72° counterclockwise, then the angle of rotation 83 must be 288° clockwise. Such relation between angles of rotation is based on constant respective rotational frequencies of inner and outer shafts with the ratio of such rotational frequencies being four, as was discussed above.
During the mentioned 72° of counterclockwise rotation of the inner shaft 35 and the 288° of clockwise rotation of the outer shaft 36, the axis 68a traces the first hypocycloid 80a and travels to the next cusp of the five hypocycloids shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 arriving to the position shown, then, in FIG. 7. During such rotation of the shafts 35, 36, the axes 68b, 68c, 68d also travel on respective hypocycloidal curves 80 to the respective positions shown in FIG. 7. Since the radial distance of each axis 68 to the outside diameter of the mandrel 7 is equal and the mandrel structure itself is a rigid body, the hypocycloids 80 traced by the axes 68 may be considered translated to the outside diameter or surface of the mandrel 7. Subsequently, when the mandrel 7 rolls from engagement with the inner annulus 16 along line of contact represented by point B in FIG. 7 in a clockwise direction along the surface of the inner annulus 16 tracing of hypocycloidal curves 80 will continue in a counterclockwise direction. It will be appreciated that the translation of the hypocycloids from the axes 68 to the outside surface of the mandrel 7 is not a true translation. More specifically, since the curve 84 actually is not a hypocycloid, some slipping will occur between the surface of the mandrel and the surface of the inner annular 16. However, if the mandrel 7 were to roll without any slip inside the inner annulus 16, the curve traced by any point on the outside of the mandrel body 7 would be the hypocycloid 85 or 86, for example. Thus, point A would travel to point B(1); point A(1) would travel to point B; and point C would be the point of intersection of the two hypocycloids.
Ordinarily the slip between the two surfaces would be minimal. However, further minimization can be effected by adjustably controlling the relative speed of the motors 22, 23, say be silicon-controlled-rectifier means or other conventional means. By such adjustment curve 84 would tend to approach or to coincide with curve 85 from point A to point C and to coincide with curve 86 from point C to point B.
Referring back to FIGS. 2 and 3, cooling water is fed through pipe 90 in the housing 26 to bore 91 of the inner shaft 35. A rotary pressure joint 92 connects the stationary pipe 90 to the rotating shaft 35. The water is distributed to the gap 53 of the mandrel structure 7 by channel 93 at the bottom of the mandrel. The boundaries of channel 93 are cap 55 at one side and plates 94 and 95 at the other side. Plate 94 is rigidly connected to inner cylinder 51 and plate 95 is rigidly connected to the inner shaft 35. Seals between the faces of plate 94 and 95 prevent leakage of water. Transition from the movable mandrel 7 to the housing 26 is by channel 96, which is part of the mandrel 7 to channel 97. Channel 97 is an integral part of cap 98 which is part of the housing 26. Seals 99 confine the water to channel 96 and 97. Exit of water is by opening 100 of the housing 26. Arrows 54 in FIGS. 2 and 3 indicate the flow of water as described but the flow could be reversible. Moreover, as is seen in FIG. 2, the water also may provide cooling for the fixed mandrel 6. Water flow may be provided by pump means, not shown.
FIG. 8 indicates the deformation of the inner annulus 16 during the casting of the hollow round billet 2 to increase the ductility of the steel. As heat is extracted from the inner annulus 16 by the water cooled hypocycloidal mandrel 7 the inner annulus 16 cools and tries to contract exerting forces 110. In addition the ferrostatic pressure 111 of the liquid steel 17 acts on the outside surface of the inner annulus 16. Both forces, the shrinking forces 110 and the ferrostatic pressure 111 act in the same direction and are additive. Counteracting forces 110 and 111 are the reactive forces 112 of the mandrel 7 at the line of contact between the hypocyloidal mandrel 7 and inside surface of inner annulus 16. Since the direction of the forces is normal to their line of action the as-cast macrostructured steel of the inner annulus 16 is deformed by compression only. The amount of deformation and deformation rate can be controlled by the rolling speed of mandrel 7, the length of mandrel 7, and the outside shape of mandrel 7, which can be cylindrical as outlined by line 113 or tapered as outlined by line 114.
If additional inside spray cooling is desired for casting hollow round steel billets 2, the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 could be modified as shown in FIG. 9. A pipe extension 115 is added to cap 55. The pipe extension 115 is closed at the bottom but has opening 116 connecting to channel 93 of the mandrel 7. The pipe extension 115 is rotated with the mandrel 7 and is equipped with spray nozzles 117. Feeding of the spray nozzles could be either through bore 91 of the inner rotating shaft 35 or through gap 53 of the mandrel 7. Feeding through bore 91 would divide the incoming cooling water to channel 93 and gap 53 for mandrel-cooling and opening 116 for spray cooling. Feeding through gap 53 could apply the total amount of cooling water for mandrel-cooling first, followed for the use of spray cooling. In this case the inner shaft 35 may be a solid shaft. Solid and dotted arrows in FIG. 9 indicate the flow of water as proposed in either case. Rotation of nozzles 117 causes the spray pattern at the inside wall of inner annulus 16 to be uniform avoiding hot spots at the inside surface of the hollow round steel billet 2 which could be detrimental to further processing to finished pipes.
Variations in scope and spirit of the described preferred embodiment could be construed and are therefore included in this invention. Furthermore, the steels cast by the preferred embodiment would be of grades used for the manufacture of steel pipes, but all manufactured items made of ferrous, non-ferrous and plastic material for which this invention could be applicable are also included in the spirit and scope thereof. | The invention provides an apparatus and process to cast continuously high quality hollow round steel billets or tubes. The hollow round steel billets are produced by a compact, high production casting machine incorporating a rotating hypocycloidal mandrel for inside cooling and deformation of the solidified steel. The outside cooling is by traditional mold and spray cooling. The adjustable rolling movement of the mandrel controls the uniform heat extraction from the inner annulus as well as the deformation and deformation rate of the as-cast steel to increase the ductility. The inside of the hollow round billet so formed is substantially round and the inside surface is smooth to facilitate high quality and further processing to finished pipes in conventional high production machinery. | Briefly describe the main idea outlined in the provided context. | [
"This application is a continuation of application Ser.",
"No. 233,556 filed Feb. 11, 1981, now abandoned.",
"TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates generally to apparatus and method for casting, and, more particularly, to apparatus and method for continuously casting hollow round billets, tubes and the like.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Continuous casting in general is a process by which the uninterrupted flow of molten metal enters one end of the casting apparatus, is solidified, and is withdrawn at the other end having the desired configuration.",
"Continuous casting of steel for high quality steel products, such as pipes, tubes and the like, of necessity must be carefully controlled.",
"For example, the casting temperature of the molten metal has to be maintained within a certain range during the cast.",
"To assure the internal and surface quality of the finished product, defects, such as porosity, cracks, segregation and inclusions of the casting, should be minimized or be such that they are not harmful.",
"This requires controlled feeding of liquid metal, casting speed and cooling rate.",
"Continuous cast steel usually is hot deformed in further processes to produce a homogeneous end product with acceptable quality and soundness.",
"The deformation from the cast size to finished size usually would be at least 4:1 and could be as high as 15:1 for some products.",
"To withstand successfully such further deformation while desired quality of the end product is achieved, the cast material must be of high quality with minimum defects as aforesaid.",
"For reasons of economy it is desirable to maximize the amount of liquid steel cast as a batch or heat.",
"Heats of 200 tons of liquid steel are common.",
"Heats of 300 tons or more are in operation or proposed.",
"To cast such large amounts of liquid steel within a certain time and at an acceptable speed, multiple strands per machine are required;",
"but it has been found that the maximum should not exceed six strands from the operational and engineering standpoint.",
"For example, to cast 200 tons of liquid steel the casting time should not be more than 90 minutes.",
"For solid billets casting speeds of over 100 inches per minute are reported but most machines have casting speeds between 30 and 80 inches per minute.",
"In modern casting machines for steel a distributor or tundish feeds molten metal into the molds of the individual strands.",
"Metering is by stopper rod or sliding gate made of high temperature refractory.",
"A water cooled oscillating mold initiates the solidification process.",
"As soon as a crust of sufficient thickness and strength is formed by the mold, water spray cooling is applied to complete the solidification process.",
"The cross section of the cast steel is determined by the intended subsequent deformation to finished product and the casting mold and an adequate opening in the tundish to feed steel into the mold are, accordingly, appropriately sized.",
"The tundish opening should be sufficient to prevent clogging.",
"Furthermore, a large mold size favors flotation of liquid steel impurities which easily could be trapped in the solidifying steel.",
"It is generally agreed that the minimum thickness of cast steel should not be less than 4 inches.",
"Since continuous casting has proven to be an energy saving process for steel production with higher overall productivity for capital investment and labor than other steel manufacturing processes, it has found increasing acceptance.",
"Approximately 21% of the world steel production in 1979 was continuously cast, but the percentage was less for the steel pipes.",
"For relatively high production of seamless steel pipes from solid round billets, conventionally such solid billets are pierced to form hollow round billets (or hollow rounds) which then are further processed by various operations to form finished pipes.",
"The solid round billets themselves are produced either by the traditional ingot process with the ingots being rolled to billet size or by casting billets on a continuous casting machine.",
"Billets can be cast to size or cast at a relatively larger section and then rolled to desired billet size.",
"One problem using such technique, though, is that continuously cast billets usually have internal defects generally concentrated towards the axial center thereof.",
"Such defects are a cause for inside quality problems of the finished pipe produced therefrom.",
"To avoid using the above mentioned piercing process and its attendant disadvantages in forming hollow round from solid round, attempts have been made to cast directly hollow round billets.",
"The aforesaid defects, then, would be confined internally of the billet wall, i.e. not at the external or internal wall surfaces of the hollow billet.",
"Therefore, such internally confined defects would not detrimentally affect the inside or outside surface quality of the finished pipe.",
"In one prior casting machine hollow rounds were cast directly in a U-shape mold with withdrawal in an upward direction.",
"Such machine was based on the principle of "Communicating Vessels"",
"and no internal plug was required.",
"However, such machine has not been widely commercially accepted.",
"Hollow round steel billets also have been cast by a centrifugal process.",
"This process has found particular application for stainless steel and special alloy steel pipes with limited production.",
"On an experimental and low production basis hollow round has been cast using an internal water cooled plug for primary inside cooling and water spray for secondary inside cooling.",
"The plug normally oscillates with the outside mold.",
"However, casting hollow round with such internal plug and spray cooling has encountered many problems.",
"For example, internal explosions have occurred after an internal breakout when liquid steel has come in contact with water or steam.",
"Venting and detecting devices, therefore, are necessary to avoid explosive conditions, but such devices increase the complexity of the equipment and do not necessarily assure that explosions will be avoided.",
"Another problem encountered by such latter type of direct casting machines has been the contracting of the inner annulus of the solidifying steel as it cools and the freezing thereof to the plug.",
"The friction forces between plug and annulus, then, cause cracking and rehealing to the inside surface thereof, which is detrimental to the inside surface quality of the finished pipe.",
"Tapered and corrugated plug surfaces in addition to the oscillation as well as an expandable/contractable plug have been suggested and tried to try to overcome these problems but have not been totally successful.",
"The as-cast macro-structure of the material formed by the prior techniques for direct cating of hollow rounds has not been particularly suitable for further processing in an elongator.",
"Processing the hollow rounds in an elongator is the first step in high production mills to reduce the wall thickness.",
"Two or three contoured rolls with inclined axes rotate the billet and advance it over an internal mandrel.",
"The billet rotates around its axis with a surface speed between 800 and 1200 feet per minute imposing tangential stresses on the inside and outside surface by the centrifugal forces.",
"Since the tangential stresses on the inside surface far exceed the stresses on the outside surface, the relative low strength of the macrostructured material often will rupture inside reducing the quality of the finished product.",
"Hollow round billets cast with a plug and inside spray cooling have been processed in presses or in a pilgrim mill which forges the wall axially.",
"After every forging process the billet is turned 90°.",
"These processes, though, are low production operations and are economical only in certain cases.",
"Further, it has been found that the wall thickness of the hollow round billets formed by prior direct casting techniques varies over the whole length.",
"Such variations could detrimentally affect the wall tolerance of the finished pipe.",
"Using additional plugs in the secondary cooling zone centered by a magnetic field has been suggested for improvement of wall thickness uniformity.",
"It will be appreciated that it would be desirable to eliminate the aforesaid problems encountered in making hollow round billets, tubes and the like, especially by direct continuous casting.",
"Both external and internal surface defects should be avoided and good ductility should be maintained to permit facile, high speed elongation while quality of the finished product is held.",
"It also is desirable to maximize production speed, to minimize machine space requirements and to minimize capital and labor costs.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus and process to cast hollow round steel billets or tubings.",
"The casting machine apparatus is compact and capable of high production operation.",
"The hollow round billets produced are of superior quality and can be processed in known operations to finished pipes, especially in high production installations.",
"Fundamentally, the apparatus includes a fixed ring-like water cooled mold or die, forming an annular ring area into which molten steel is delivered from a tundish or the like.",
"The axial length of such ring area is adequately long to allow sufficient cooling of the cast steel passing axially therealong such that a containment skin is formed to contain molten steel therewithin before the casting leaves the ring area.",
"Axially beyond the ring area is a movable mandrel inside the casting.",
"The mandrel has several functions including cooling the inside surface of the casting by direct rolling engagement therewith and applying force radially to the inside surface of the casting holding constant the round or cylindrical hollow interior of the casting while enhancing subsequent ductility.",
"Preferably there is minimum relative slippage between the mandrel surface and the inside surface of the casting;",
"this enhances the cooling and force aplying functions while maintaining the high quality characteristic of the inside surface of the casting.",
"Therefore the mandrel is of somewhat smaller diameter than the inside diameter of the casting and is water cooled.",
"The mandrel is rotated in engagement with the inside surface of the casting such that each point at the circumference of the mandrel describes a hypocycloidal curve or a curve which is close to a hypocycloid.",
"The mandrel is referred to below, therefore, as a hypocycloidal mandrel and the process may be referred to as an inside rolling process.",
"The hypocycloidal mandrel is rotated by two concentric shafts that rotate independently of each other.",
"The inside of the mandrel body is connected to the shafts by a link mechanism.",
"The mandrel structure includes an inner steel structure and enveloping the inner structure a hollow cylinder made from material with high thermal conductivity.",
"A gap between these two members provides a flow path for the cooling water.",
"Although the relative movement between the mandrel and inside surface of the casting is very small, friction that does exist therebetween, for example due to differential expansion of the casting along the length of the mandrel as the casting cools, could be reduced by applying a suitable oil to the interfacial surface.",
"Also to correct for slippage between the mandrel and casting each shaft may be driven individually by respective motors at least one of which should have a continuously variable speed control.",
"Efficient extraction of heat from the inside of the hollow round billet or casting is by conduction transfer by direct contact with the outside cylinder of the mandrel and convection transfer from the cylinder to flowing water in the mandrel.",
"A pipe extension at the end of the mandrel may have spray nozzles to spray cooling water on the inside surface of the casting.",
"The heat extracted at the inside of the hollow round, then, will be by a combination of conduction and convection by the mandrel and spray cooling.",
"The length of the mandrel should be such that an internal breakout, i.e. release of molten steel from containment within the body of the casting by the skin thereof, is impossible.",
"The rotating nozzles help to assure unform cooling of the inner annulus.",
"The water cooled stationary die immediately above the hypocycloidal mandrel has the same diameter as the inside diameter of the hollow round billet being cast.",
"The hypocycloidal mandrel, rotating at a predetermined speed, continues the inside solidification process of the casting as it passes from the die to the mandrel.",
"The direction of the rotation is immaterial, and the speed of the mandrel is determined by the rate of heat extraction and the deformation rate of the casting material.",
"As the casting cools, the thickness of the solidified inner annulus increases, the volume of steel changes, and the inside diameter decreases.",
"Such inside diameter decrease would tend to freeze the inner annulus to a stationary cylindrical mandrel by the shrinkage forces, and the ferro static pressure of the liquid core of the casting would add to such forces.",
"However, the total of such forces is counteracted normal to their line of action by the hypocycloidal mandrel as it is rotated about the hollow interior of the casting.",
"Such counteraction is in compression thus avoiding or minimizing any shearing which might rupture or tear the sensitive inner skin improving safety of operation and smoothness and roundness of the inside surface of the hollow round.",
"A hypocycloidal mandrel in accordance with the invention having cylindrical configuration would deform the inner annulus by the amount of shrinkage and at a rate that is a function of the mandrel rotational speed.",
"Such deformation could be increased or decreased by tapering the mandrel.",
"Moreover, such deformation will increase the ductility of the cast steel.",
"The combined heat extraction at the inside and outside of the cast billet, withdrawal speed and the wall thickness of the billet determine the metallurgical length.",
"It is independent of the diameters.",
"The metallurgical length is an important design factor for the length of the mandrel and the length of the casting machine and desirably should be minimized.",
"The casting machine for hollow round billets with the hypocycloidal mandrel in accordance with the invention may be a sraight or stick machine or alternatively a straight-bend machine.",
"The straight portion of both types of machines is normally, but not necessarily exclusively, vertical.",
"In a stick machine casting, solidification and cutting to billet length is accomplished while the billet is vertically oriented.",
"The billet is tilted to a horizontal position for run-out.",
"In a straight-bend machine casting and solidification are accomplished while the billet is vertically oriented;",
"after the billet has or almost has solidified, it is bent to a horizontal orientation and then cut to billet length for run-out.",
"With the forcegoing in mind, a primary object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for continuous casting of hollow round billets or the like improved in the noted respects.",
"Another object is to facilitate cooling and to effect the same in an efficient manner in continuous cast hollow round.",
"An additional object is to expedite cooling of continuous cast hollow round.",
"A further object is to minimize the metallurgical length of cast hollow round.",
"Still another object is to reduce the cost of manufacturing hollow round billets, especially by a continuous casting method.",
"Still an additional object is to improve the quality of hollow round billets, including, for example, surface quality, ductility, deformability, and of the end product formed therefrom.",
"Still a further object is to increase the speed of production of cast hollow round billets.",
"Even another object is to facilitate subsequent deformation of hollow round billets.",
"Even an additional object is to minimize the cost for equipment and labor to manufacture hollow round billets and to minimize the size of such equipment and/or the space required therefore.",
"Even a further object is to provide a rotating mandrel, especially of hypocycloidal type, for use in manufacturing hollow round billets, especially of steel.",
"Yet another object is to improve the safety in manufacturing hollow round billets, especially by a continuous direct casting method.",
"Yet an additional object is to provide an inside rolling process for use in the manufacturing of hollow round billets.",
"Yet a further object is to prevent freezing of a continuous cast hollow round billet to an internal mandrel or die.",
"Yet even another object is to maintain uniformity in continuous directly cast hollow round billets.",
"These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds.",
"p To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends the invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawings setting forth in detail a certain illustrative embodiment of the invention, this being indicative, however, of but one of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the annexed drawings: FIG. 1 is a schematic elevation view, partly broken away in section, of a hollow round continuous casting machine in accordance with the present invention;",
"FIGS. 2 and 3 are section views through the hypocycloidal mandrel of the machine of FIG. 1, line a--a being the line of continuation between FIGS. 2 and 3;",
"FIG. 4 is a section view of the hypocycloidal mandrel looking generally in the direction of the arrows 4--4 of FIG. 3;",
"FIG. 5 is a section view of the hypocycloidal mandrel looking generally in the direction of the arrows 5--5 of FIG. 2;",
"FIGS. 6 and 7 schematically depict the kinematics of the hypocycloidal mandrel;",
"FIG. 8 is a schematic partial view of the casting machine showing the application of forces for the deformation of the inner annulus by the inside rolling process;",
"and FIG. 9 is a schematic partial view of the hypocycloidal mandrel with an extension pipe for inside spray cooling of the cast hollow round.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now in detail to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like parts in the several figures, and initially to FIG. 1, a continuous casting machine for casting hollow round billets or the like, generally referred to herein as billets or castings, of steel or other material is generally indicated at 1.",
"The casting machine 1 is shown in the process of casting a single hollow round billet or casting 2;",
"however, it will be appreciated that the machine 1 may include means for simultaneously casting plural strands or castings 2.",
"In the preferred embodiment the machine 1 would be capable of simultaneously casting plural strands.",
"The machine 1 includes a ring-shape mold assembly 3, which is formed by a conventional cylindrical mold 4 cooled by water flowing through one or more passages 5 therein and a fixed cylindrical mandrel 6, a rotatable hypocycloidal mandrel 7, and a drive assembly 8 for rotating the mandrel 7.",
"Nozzles 10 may be provided to spray cooling water or other material on the outer surface of casting 2 after the latter has left the ring-shape mold assembly 3 further to cool the casting.",
"A tundish 11 delivers molten steel 12, or other material, as desired, via a conventional valve 13 to the material inlet end 14 of the ring-shape mold assembly 3.",
"It is the purpose of the fixed mandrel 6 to commence cooling of the casting 2 to effect initial formation of the inner annulus 16;",
"it is the purpose of the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 to continue such cooling thereby to further solidification and formation of the inner annulus 16 while also preferably applying a compression force thereto ultimately to increase ductility and surface quality of the finished casting.",
"Ordinarily molten steel delivered into the ring-shape mold assembly 3 forms a molten cylindrical annulus near the inlet end 14, the boundary of that annulus being defined by the confronting surfaces of the mold 4 and fixed mandrel 6.",
"The portions of such ring of molten steel in contact with or at least near the cylindrical mold 4 or fixed mandrel 6 begin to cool and, therefore, to solidify due to contact therewith.",
"An outer annulus 15 and an inner annulus 16 of the casting 2, then, begin to form and define boundaries for containment of still liquid molten steel 17 therewithin.",
"Preferably the axial lengths of the mold 4 and fixed mandrel 6 are such that the strength of the respective annuli 15, 16 is adequate to contain the molten steel 17 without break-out thereof when the casting leaves the ring-shape mold assembly 3;",
"moreover, the axial length of the fixed mandrel 6 preferably is sufficiently short to avoid the possibility of freezing of the casting thereto as the casting solidifies and the diameter of the inner hollow volume thereof shrinks.",
"Preferably the axis of the ring-shape mold assembly 3 is oriented substantially in a vertical direction, as is shown, for example, in FIG. 1, to use gravity to help draw the casting 2 down out from the ring-shape mold assembly 3.",
"Additional conventional means also may be used to draw the casting 2 from the mold assembly 3;",
"such further means also may include conventional cut-off means for cutting the casting 2 into discrete sections.",
"The machine 1 is located in a building, for example, being secured to fixed support structures, such as floors or beams 20 which are illustrated in FIG. 1. Electric motors 22, 23 and gear assemblies 24, 25 in the drive assembly 8 are mounted on the fixed building support 20, and a machine housing portion 26 also is mounted on a building support 20.",
"The fixed mandrel 6 and the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 are supported by the housing 26, as can be seen more clearly in FIG. 2. The housing 26 may be bolted to the support 20 or may be held thereto by wedges 27, 28 which are moved by a hydraulic cylinder arrangement 29.",
"When the hydraulic pressure is relieved, for example, on the cylinder 29, the housing 26, including the mandrels 6, 7 may be lifted by an overhead crane attached to eyes 30.",
"To achieve the desired rotational format for the hypocycloidal mandrel 7, such mandrel is rotated about its own axis, and that axis in turn is moved around a further axis, as will be described in greater detail below.",
"To achieve such movement of the mandrel 7, rotational input is provided from the respective motors 22, 23 and gear assemblies 24, 25 via drive shafts 31, 32.",
"The hypocycloidal mandrel 7 is mounted on inner and outer shafts 35, 36, which are turned by chain drive connections 37, 38 to the respective drive shafts 31, 32, as is shown most clearly in FIG. 2. The drive shafts 31, 32 are rotatably mounted in the housing 26 by bearings 39, and the inner and outer shafts 35, 36 similarly are mounted for support by the housing 27 in concentric relation by respective bearings 40.",
"Referring now in detail to FIGS. 2 and 3, the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 is formed by concentric outer and inner cylinders 50, 51.",
"The outer cylinder 50 preferably is formed of highly thermally conductive material to effect efficient thermal energy transfer with respect to the surface 52 of the inner annulus 16 over which such cylinder rolls.",
"The inner cylinder 51 strengthens the hypocycloidal mandrel 7, facilitates mounting thereof, and defines with the outer cylinder 50 a gap 53 through which water may flow, as is indicated by the arrows 54 to effect the desired cooling.",
"The cylinders 50, 51 preferably are mechanically connected at the bottom ends thereof, for example by mechanical means including a plate or cap 55, and additional means may be provided as well to effect mechanical interconnection of the cylinders to maintain their fixed relative relation as a substantially integral body forming the hypocycloidal mandrel.",
"Both the inner and outer shafts 35, 36 are concentrically mounted by the bearings 40 relative to the housing 26 for rotation about a common axis 56.",
"Rotation of the inner shaft 35 provides the rotational input to rotate the hypocycloidal mandrel 7.",
"However, circular cross-section displacement shanks 57 axially displaced along the outer shaft 36 cause the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 actually to rotate about an axis 58, as will be described further below.",
"The shanks 57 are generally of cylindrical formation having a limited axial extent relative to the length of the outer shaft 36;",
"the axis 58 is the center axis of the cylindrical displacement shanks 57.",
"For connecting the mandrel cylinders 50, 51 to the inner shaft 35, the inner cylinder 51 has in its lower end a plurality of internal lugs 60 all of which are of the same size and respective groups of which are axially aligned, as will become more apparent from the following description.",
"More specifically, each of the lugs 60 has a central bore 61.",
"A first linking mechanism 62 for mechanically coupling the inner shaft 35 to the lugs 60 includes a contoured plate 63, which is fixedly attached to the inner shaft 35 by means not shown, and eccentric pins 64, each of which has a cylindrical mid portion 65 generally aligned with a respective axis 66, and offset end portions 67 generally aligned with a further axis 68.",
"The mid portion 65 passes through a bore 69 in the plate 63, and the end portions 67 pass through the bores 61 in the lug 60.",
"The eccentricity of the eccentric pins 64 is defined as the spacing between the axes 66, 68, and such spacing will be the same as the spacing between the axes 56, 58;",
"and all of such axes are parallel, as is illustrated.",
"For connecting the mandrel cylinders 50, 51 to the outer shaft 36, lugs 60 in the upper end of inner cylinder 51 are coupled to the outer shaft by a second linking mechanism 70.",
"The second linking mechanism 70 includes the displacement shank 57, a bearing sleeve 71, a further contoured plate 72, and straight pins 73, which pass through bores 61 in the lugs 60 and through a bore 74 in the plate 72.",
"The bearing sleeve 71 allows the contoured plate 72 and the outer shaft 36 to rotate independently;",
"the circular or cylindrical displacement shank 57, though, translates or rotates the axis 58 about which the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 rotates about the axis 56 in direct response to rotation of the outer shaft 36.",
"Briefly referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, plan views of the first and second linking mechanisms 62, 70 are illustrated.",
"The contoured plate 63 has a cylindrical opening at which it is secured to the inner shaft 35 and also has four arms 63a-63d (letter suffixes are used to identify repetitive parts).",
"The bores 69 through the plate 63 are located on the circumference of a bore circle 75, the center of which is at the axis 56, and each of the bores 69 is angularly equidistantly spaced along the bore circle 75.",
"The axis 68 along which the end portions 67 of the eccentric pins 64 extend is illustrated, although for the sake of clarity, the lugs 60 are not seen in FIG. 4. Concavities 76 in the inside wall of the cylinder 51 may be provided to accommodate the ends of the arms 63a-63d, for example, as is seen with respect to the arm 63c.",
"In the second linking mechanism 70 illustrated in FIG. 5, the relative orientation of the circular plan displacement shank 57, bearing sleeve 71, and contour plate 72 is seen.",
"The four bores 74a-74d are centered on a further bore circle 77 that is of the same diameter as the bore circle 75 mentioned above but has its center located on the axis 58.",
"The bores 74a-74d are angularly equidistantly spaced along the bore circle 77 and generally are positioned in fixed alignment with the bores 61 in respective vertically aligned lugs 60 (not shown in FIG. 5).",
"As the outer shaft 36 rotates, it will be appreciated that axis 58 will travel in a circle illustrated in phantom at 78 around the axis 56.",
"The intended motion imparted to the hypocycloidal mandrel 7, referring to FIG. 5, is as follows.",
"Rotation of the inner shaft 35, for example, in a counterclockwise direction, will tend to rotate the mandrel cylinders 50, 51 counterclockwise, too.",
"The outer shaft 36, though, including the shank 57 rotates in a clockwise direction.",
"Such clockwise rotation will tend to maintain a line of contact between the surfaces of the outer cylinder 50 and the surface of the inner annulus 16, whereby the outer cylinder 50 tends to roll around the internal surface of the inner annulus 16 causing such line of contact, which is substantially parallel to the other axes mentioned above, to travel about the circular plan of surface, as is seen in FIG. 5, for example.",
"From the foregoing it will be evident that the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 is attached to the inner shaft 35 by a series of levers or lever arms 63a-63d of the plate 63 and eccentric pins 64.",
"Further levers represented, for example, by the respective apices of the plate 72, which have the same geometric bore location as the levers 63a-63d effectively fixedly mounted to the inner shaft 35, rotate freely on the shanks 57;",
"such levers are connected to the corresponding inside bores 61 of respective lugs 60 by the straight pins 74a-74d.",
"As is seen in FIGS. 2-5, the eccentricity of the eccentric pins 64 (and thus the spacing of the axes 66, 68), and the spacing of the axes 56, 58 (and thus the spacing of the center of the circular shaft 35, which also is the center of the bore circle 75, and the center of the circular shank 57, which also is the center of the bore circle 77) are equal.",
"Such equality permits the desired complex rotation and translation effective in the movement of the hypocycloidal mandrel 7.",
"If both shafts 35, 36 are rotated in relatively opposite directions, such that the product of the angular velocity of the inner shaft 35 and the distance of the bores 69 of the levers 63a-63d from the axis 56 is equal to the product of the angular velocity of the outer shaft 36 and the eccentricity, for example the distance between the axes 56, 58, then the axes 68 of the respective bores 61 in the lugs 60 of the hypocycloidal mandrel will trace a hypocycloidal curve.",
"All of the mentioned levers and connecting points to the shafts 35, 36 and to the mandrel structure 7 have to be such that the bore axes follow the path of the same predescribed hypocycloid.",
"For stable optimum operation the ratio of the radius of the bore circles 75, 77 for the respective levels mentioned to the eccentricity should be a natural number.",
"The line of contact between the mandrel 7 and the casting 2, then, will return to its original position after successive full rotations of the mandrel equal to such ratio.",
"The design of the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 can be simplified significantly by selecting the ratio of the radius of bore circle to eccentricity as an even number and by using the contoured plates 63, 72, as described, to provide the desired lever connections between the mandrel and the respective shafts 35, 36.",
"The number of bores for straight and eccentric pins for any given contoured plate 63 or 72, should be an even number and preferably should be the same as the mentioned ratio;",
"this number of bores may be reduced but should not be so small that the stability of the mandrel 7 would be impaired.",
"The number of hypocycloids traced by the respective bore axes is the number of the mentioned ratio plus one.",
"Moreover, the ratio selected will determine the outside diameter of the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 and the number of rotations of the respective shafts 35, 36 during operation.",
"For example, the outside diameter of the mandrel 7 should be equal to the inside diameter of the hollow round casting 2, say where such casting initially leaves the area of the fixed mandrel 6 and comes into contact with the hypocycloidal mandrel 7, minus twice the eccentricity.",
"One rotation of the mandrel 7 is obtained by rotating the outer shaft 36 360° while rotating the inner shaft in the relatively opposite direction by an amount of 360° divided by the selected ratio.",
"For example, assume that the inside diameter of the casting 2 were 4 inches and the speed of the mandrel were 300 rotations per minute, i.e. the line of contact between the mandrel and the surface of the inner annulus 16 were intended to travel around the circumference of such surface 300 times per minute.",
"Assume further that the eccentricity were selected to be 0.140625 inch and the radius of the bore circle for the contoured plates 63, 72 were selected at 1.125 inches.",
"The ratio, then, would be 1.125 divided by 0.14062 and would equal 8.",
"Therefore, for each complete rotation of the inner shaft 35, the outer shaft 36 must make eight rotations for every point at the circumference of the mandrel 7 to return to its original position while tracing nine hypocycloids relative to the inner circumference of the casting 2.",
"Thus, 300 rotations per minute for the mandrel would require the outer shaft 36 to rotate 300 times per minute and the inner shaft 35 to rotate 45 times in that same time period.",
"Thus, the ratio of the rotational frequencies of the two shafts 35, 36 is eight, the same as the mentioned selected ratio.",
"Also, although each contoured plate would be connected by eight pins to the mandrel inner cylinder 51, it would be possible to reduce the number of those connections to, for example, four in order to simplify the structure and to minimize space requirements.",
"In the example illustrated in the drawings, there are four connections of each contoured plate 63, 72 to the inner cylinder 51 of the mandrel structure 7.",
"In this preferred embodiment of the invention, then, the selected ratio mentioned above would be four and, accordingly, five hypocycloids will be traced by each axis 68 at the circumference of an imaginary circle coupling the cusps of the hypocycloids before each axis returns to its original position.",
"The rolling movement of the outside surface of the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 at the surface of the inner annulus 16 of a casting 2 is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7.",
"The distance between axes 66 and 68 is the eccentricity of the eccentric pins 64 and is equal to the distance between the common axis 56 of the shafts 35, 36 and the center axis 58 of the shanks 57.",
"Referring to FIG. 6, at the original relative positions of the mandrel 7 and inner annulus 16 such that there is a line of contact therebetween symbolized at the point A, the axis 68a of one axially aligned group of lugs 60 is at the cusp of two adjacent hypocycloids 80a, 80e.",
"The axes 68b, 68c, 68d of the other three groups of respectively axially aligned lugs 60 also are located on the paths of respective hypocycloids 80b, 80c, 80d.",
"The outside diameter of the mandrel 7 and the inside diameter of the inner annulus 16 are in contact along the line A, as was mentioned.",
"This is the area at which highly efficient cooling of the inner annulus 16 occurs due to direct surface to surface conduction.",
"As the inner shaft 35 rotates, say counterclockwise, by an angle 81 from the original position 82 the outer shaft 36 rotates clockwise by an angle 83 from the original position 82.",
"The amount of rotation or magnitude of angle 83 must be four times that of the angle 81 during the same time interval, e.g. if the angle of rotation 81 were 72° counterclockwise, then the angle of rotation 83 must be 288° clockwise.",
"Such relation between angles of rotation is based on constant respective rotational frequencies of inner and outer shafts with the ratio of such rotational frequencies being four, as was discussed above.",
"During the mentioned 72° of counterclockwise rotation of the inner shaft 35 and the 288° of clockwise rotation of the outer shaft 36, the axis 68a traces the first hypocycloid 80a and travels to the next cusp of the five hypocycloids shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 arriving to the position shown, then, in FIG. 7. During such rotation of the shafts 35, 36, the axes 68b, 68c, 68d also travel on respective hypocycloidal curves 80 to the respective positions shown in FIG. 7. Since the radial distance of each axis 68 to the outside diameter of the mandrel 7 is equal and the mandrel structure itself is a rigid body, the hypocycloids 80 traced by the axes 68 may be considered translated to the outside diameter or surface of the mandrel 7.",
"Subsequently, when the mandrel 7 rolls from engagement with the inner annulus 16 along line of contact represented by point B in FIG. 7 in a clockwise direction along the surface of the inner annulus 16 tracing of hypocycloidal curves 80 will continue in a counterclockwise direction.",
"It will be appreciated that the translation of the hypocycloids from the axes 68 to the outside surface of the mandrel 7 is not a true translation.",
"More specifically, since the curve 84 actually is not a hypocycloid, some slipping will occur between the surface of the mandrel and the surface of the inner annular 16.",
"However, if the mandrel 7 were to roll without any slip inside the inner annulus 16, the curve traced by any point on the outside of the mandrel body 7 would be the hypocycloid 85 or 86, for example.",
"Thus, point A would travel to point B(1);",
"point A(1) would travel to point B;",
"and point C would be the point of intersection of the two hypocycloids.",
"Ordinarily the slip between the two surfaces would be minimal.",
"However, further minimization can be effected by adjustably controlling the relative speed of the motors 22, 23, say be silicon-controlled-rectifier means or other conventional means.",
"By such adjustment curve 84 would tend to approach or to coincide with curve 85 from point A to point C and to coincide with curve 86 from point C to point B. Referring back to FIGS. 2 and 3, cooling water is fed through pipe 90 in the housing 26 to bore 91 of the inner shaft 35.",
"A rotary pressure joint 92 connects the stationary pipe 90 to the rotating shaft 35.",
"The water is distributed to the gap 53 of the mandrel structure 7 by channel 93 at the bottom of the mandrel.",
"The boundaries of channel 93 are cap 55 at one side and plates 94 and 95 at the other side.",
"Plate 94 is rigidly connected to inner cylinder 51 and plate 95 is rigidly connected to the inner shaft 35.",
"Seals between the faces of plate 94 and 95 prevent leakage of water.",
"Transition from the movable mandrel 7 to the housing 26 is by channel 96, which is part of the mandrel 7 to channel 97.",
"Channel 97 is an integral part of cap 98 which is part of the housing 26.",
"Seals 99 confine the water to channel 96 and 97.",
"Exit of water is by opening 100 of the housing 26.",
"Arrows 54 in FIGS. 2 and 3 indicate the flow of water as described but the flow could be reversible.",
"Moreover, as is seen in FIG. 2, the water also may provide cooling for the fixed mandrel 6.",
"Water flow may be provided by pump means, not shown.",
"FIG. 8 indicates the deformation of the inner annulus 16 during the casting of the hollow round billet 2 to increase the ductility of the steel.",
"As heat is extracted from the inner annulus 16 by the water cooled hypocycloidal mandrel 7 the inner annulus 16 cools and tries to contract exerting forces 110.",
"In addition the ferrostatic pressure 111 of the liquid steel 17 acts on the outside surface of the inner annulus 16.",
"Both forces, the shrinking forces 110 and the ferrostatic pressure 111 act in the same direction and are additive.",
"Counteracting forces 110 and 111 are the reactive forces 112 of the mandrel 7 at the line of contact between the hypocyloidal mandrel 7 and inside surface of inner annulus 16.",
"Since the direction of the forces is normal to their line of action the as-cast macrostructured steel of the inner annulus 16 is deformed by compression only.",
"The amount of deformation and deformation rate can be controlled by the rolling speed of mandrel 7, the length of mandrel 7, and the outside shape of mandrel 7, which can be cylindrical as outlined by line 113 or tapered as outlined by line 114.",
"If additional inside spray cooling is desired for casting hollow round steel billets 2, the hypocycloidal mandrel 7 could be modified as shown in FIG. 9. A pipe extension 115 is added to cap 55.",
"The pipe extension 115 is closed at the bottom but has opening 116 connecting to channel 93 of the mandrel 7.",
"The pipe extension 115 is rotated with the mandrel 7 and is equipped with spray nozzles 117.",
"Feeding of the spray nozzles could be either through bore 91 of the inner rotating shaft 35 or through gap 53 of the mandrel 7.",
"Feeding through bore 91 would divide the incoming cooling water to channel 93 and gap 53 for mandrel-cooling and opening 116 for spray cooling.",
"Feeding through gap 53 could apply the total amount of cooling water for mandrel-cooling first, followed for the use of spray cooling.",
"In this case the inner shaft 35 may be a solid shaft.",
"Solid and dotted arrows in FIG. 9 indicate the flow of water as proposed in either case.",
"Rotation of nozzles 117 causes the spray pattern at the inside wall of inner annulus 16 to be uniform avoiding hot spots at the inside surface of the hollow round steel billet 2 which could be detrimental to further processing to finished pipes.",
"Variations in scope and spirit of the described preferred embodiment could be construed and are therefore included in this invention.",
"Furthermore, the steels cast by the preferred embodiment would be of grades used for the manufacture of steel pipes, but all manufactured items made of ferrous, non-ferrous and plastic material for which this invention could be applicable are also included in the spirit and scope thereof."
] |
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/643,932, filed Jan. 14, 2005.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This application discloses a novel process for the preparation of himbacine analogs useful as thrombin receptor antagonists. The invention disclosed herein is related to those disclosed in the co-pending patent applications corresponding to U.S. provisional application Ser. Nos. 60/643,927; 60/644,464; and, 60/644,428, all four applications having been filed on the same date.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Thrombin is known to have a variety of activities in different cell types and thrombin receptors are known to be present in such cell types as human platelets, vascular smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts. Thrombin receptor antagonists may be useful in the treatment of thrombotic, inflammatory, atherosclerotic and fibroproliferative disorders, as well as other disorders in which thrombin and its receptor play a pathological role. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,063,847, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference.
One thrombin receptor antagonist is compound A, and salts thereof:
This compound is an orally bioavailable thrombin receptor antagonist derived from himbacine. Compound A may be synthesized from Compound 2A:
wherein R 2 is selected from the group consisting of alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, and heteroaryl and R 3 , R 4 and R 5 are each independently selected from the group consisting of H, alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, arylalkyl, and heteroaryl; or, R 4 and R 5 , together with the carbon atom to which they are attached, form a 5- to 7-membered ring having from 0-3 heteroatoms as ring members.
Processes for the synthesis of similar himbacine analog thrombin receptor antagonists are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,063,847, and U.S. application Ser. No. 10/412,982, and the synthesis of the bisulfate salt of a particular himbacine analog is disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 10/755,066, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present application provides an improved process for preparing himbacine analogs from compound 2A. The improved process may allow for at least one of easier purification by crystallization, easier scalability, and improved process yield on the desired enantiomer.
One aspect of the invention is a process for preparing Compound 1:
wherein R 1 and R 2 are each independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, and heteroaryl; and R 8 is selected from the group consisting of halogen, —CF 3 , C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 1 -C 6 alkoxy, and —COOR 9 , wherein R 9 is selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 alkyl, phenyl, and benzyl, comprising:
(a) reducing a Compound 2A:
wherein R 2 is as defined above, and R 3 is H, alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, arylalkyl or heteroaryl; R 4 and R 5 are each independently selected from the group consisting of H, alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, arylalkyl, and heteroaryl; or, R 4 and R 5 , together with the carbon atom to which they are attached, form a 5- to 7-membered ring having from 0-3 heteroatoms as ring members, to form 2B:
followed by hydrolysis of 2B to yield a compound of formula 3:
wherein R 2 is as defined above;
(b) aminating Compound 3 to yield Compound 4:
wherein R 2 is as defined above, and R 6 and R 7 are each independently selected from the group consisting of H, alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, and heteroaryl;
(c) converting Compound 4 to Compound 5:
wherein R 1 and R 2 are as defined above;
(d) converting Compound 5 to Compound 6:
wherein R 1 and R 2 are as defined above; and
(e) reacting Compound 6 with compound 7:
to prepare Compound 1. In some embodiments, Compound 7 is treated with a base, and the carbanion product is then reacted with Compound 6. Preferably, the base is an organometallic compound. More preferably, the base is an organolithium compound. Still more preferably, the base is LDA.
In some embodiments, R 1 is alkyl. In some embodiments, R 1 is ethyl. In some embodiments, R 8 is 3-fluoro. In some embodiments, R 2 is alkyl. In some embodiments, Compound 7 has the structure 7A:
wherein said compound 7A is prepared by esterifying Compound 8:
with a phosphate ester to yield Compound 7A. In some embodiments, said phosphate ester is a dialkyl halophosphate. In some embodiments, the dialkyl halophosphate is diethyl chlorophosphate. In some embodiments, Compound 8 is prepared by reacting 3-bromo-5-methyl pyridine with 3-fluorophenylboronic acid.
In some embodiments, R 2 is methyl. In some embodiments, R 3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl, and arylalkyl. In some embodiments, R 3 is arylalkyl. In some embodiments, R 3 is benzyl.
In some embodiments, R 4 and R 5 , taken together with the carbon to which they are attached, form a five-membered heterocyclic ring. In some embodiments, the five-membered heterocyclic ring contains three carbon atoms and two oxygen atoms. In some embodiments, R 6 and R 7 are each H.
In some embodiments, Compound 2A is reduced with hydrogen in the presence of a noble metal catalyst.
In some embodiments, Compound 3 is aminated with an ammonium salt in the presence of a noble metal catalyst. In some embodiments, the ammonium salt is ammonium formate. In some embodiments, the noble metal catalyst is palladium on carbon.
In some embodiments, Compound 4 is converted to Compound 5 by reacting Compound 4 with an alkyl haloformate. In some embodiments, the alkyl haloformate is an alkyl chloroformate. In some embodiments, the alkyl chloroformate is ethyl chloroformate.
In some embodiments, Compound 5 is converted to Compound 6 by reacting Compound 5 with oxalyl chloride in the presence of DMF, followed by reduction.
In some embodiments, Compound 2A is prepared by cyclizing Compound 9:
wherein R 2 , R 3 , R 4 and R 5 are as defined above. In some embodiments, R 4 and R 5 , taken together with the hydrogen to which they are attached, form a five-membered heterocyclic ring. R 3 is arylalkyl. In some embodiments, R 3 is benzyl.
In some embodiments, the invention encompasses a process for preparing Compound A:
said process comprising:
(a) hydrolyzing Compound 2B:
to yield Compound 3:
(b) aminating Compound 3 to yield Compound 4:
(c) converting Compound 4 to Compound 5:
(d) converting Compound 5 to Compound 6:
(e) converting Compound 6 to Compound A:
In some embodiments, Compound 6 is reacted with Compound 7A:
to yield Compound A. In some embodiments, Compound 7A is treated with a base, and the carbanion product is then reacted with Compound 6. In some embodiments, the base is an organometallic compound. In some embodiments, the organometallic compound is an organolithium compound. In some embodiments, the organolithium compound is LDA. In some embodiments, Compound 7A is prepared by esterifying Compound 8:
with a phosphate ester to yield Compound 7A. In some embodiments, the phosphate ester is a dialkyl halophosphate. In some embodiments, the dialkyl halophosphate is diethyl chlorophosphate. In some embodiments, the esterification is conducted in the presence of a base. In some embodiments, the base is a dialkyl lithium amide. In some embodiments, the dialkyl lithium amide is diisopropyl lithium amide. In some embodiments, Compound 8 is prepared by reacting 3-bromo-5-methylpyridine with 3-fluorophenylboronic acid. In some embodiments, R 1 is alkyl. In some embodiments, R 1 is ethyl. In some embodiments, Compound 2B is hydrolyzed with a mineral acid. In some embodiments, Compound 3 is aminated with an ammonium salt in the presence of a noble metal catalyst. In some embodiments, the ammonium salt is ammonium formate. In some embodiments, the noble metal catalyst is palladium on carbon. In some embodiments, Compound 4 is converted to Compound 5 by reacting Compound 4 with an alkyl haloformate. In some embodiments, the alkyl haloformate is an alkyl chloroformate. In some embodiments, the alkyl chloroformate is ethyl chloroformate. In some embodiments, Compound 5 is converted to Compound 6 by reacting Compound 5 with oxalyl chloride in the presence of DMF, followed by hydrogenation in the presence of tert-amine. In some embodiments, Compound 2B is prepared by cyclizing Compound 9:
wherein R 3 is as defined above. In some embodiments, R 3 is arylalkyl. In some embodiments, R 3 is benzyl.
In some embodiments, Compound 1 is further reacted with an organic or inorganic acid to form a pharmaceutically acceptable salt. In some embodiments, the acid is selected from the group consisting of hydrochloric, sulfuric, phosphoric, acetic, citric, oxalic, malonic, salicylic, malic, fumaric, succinic, ascorbic, maleic, and methanesulfonic acids. In some embodiments, the pharmaceutically acceptable salt is the bisulfate salt.
Another aspect of the invention is a novel compound 3:
wherein R 2 is selected from the group consisting of alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, and heteroaryl.
Another aspect of the invention is a novel compound 4:
wherein R 2 is selected from the group consisting of alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, and heteroaryl,
and R 6 and R 7 are each independently selected from the group consisting of H, alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, and heteroaryl. Still another aspect of the present invention is a novel compound of the following formula:
wherein R 1 and R 2 are each independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, and heteroaryl, and
R 1 is selected from the group consisting of alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, and heteroaryl.
In some embodiments, the invention encompasses any of the following compounds:
A further understanding of the invention will be had from the following detailed description of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The following definitions and terms are used herein or are otherwise known to a skilled artisan. Except where stated otherwise, the definitions apply throughout the specification and claims. Chemical names, common names and chemical structures may be used interchangeably to describe the same structure. These definitions apply regardless of whether a term is used by itself or in combination with other terms, unless otherwise indicated. Hence, the definition of “alkyl” applies to “alkyl” as well as the “alkyl” portions of “hydroxyalkyl,” “haloalkyl,” “alkoxy,” etc.
Unless otherwise known, stated or shown to be to the contrary, the point of attachment for a multiple term substituent (two or more terms that are combined to identify a single moiety) to a subject structure is through the last named term of the multiple term substituent. For example, a cycloalkylalkyl substituent attaches to a targeted structure through the latter “alkyl” portion of the substituent (e.g., structure-alkyl-cycloalkyl).
The identity of each variable appearing more than once in a formula may be independently selected from the definition for that variable, unless otherwise indicated.
Unless stated, shown or otherwise known to be the contrary, all atoms illustrated in chemical formulas for covalent compounds possess normal valencies. Thus, hydrogen atoms, double bonds, triple bonds and ring structures need not be expressly depicted in a general chemical formula.
Double bonds, where appropriate, may be represented by the presence of parentheses around an atom in a chemical formula. For example, a carbonyl functionality, —CO—, may also be represented in a chemical formula by —C(O)—, or —C(═O)—. One skilled in the art will be able to determine the presence or absence of double (and triple bonds) in a covalently-bonded molecule. For instance, it is readily recognized that a carboxyl functionality may be represented by —COOH, —C(O)OH, —C(═O)OH or —CO 2 H.
The term “heteroatom,” as used herein, means a nitrogen, sulfur or oxygen atom. Multiple heteroatoms in the same group may be the same or different.
As used herein, the term “alkyl” means an aliphatic hydrocarbon group that can be straight or branched and comprises 1 to about 24 carbon atoms in the chain. Preferred alkyl groups comprise 1 to about 15 carbon atoms in the chain. More preferred alkyl groups comprise 1 to about 6 carbon atoms in the chain. “Branched” means that one or more lower alkyl groups such as methyl, ethyl or propyl, are attached to a linear alkyl chain. The alkyl can be substituted by one or more substituents independently selected from the group consisting of halo, aryl, cycloalkyl, cyano, hydroxy, alkoxy, alkylthio, amino, —NH(alkyl), —NH(cycloalkyl), —N(alkyl) 2 (which alkyls can be the same or different), carboxy and —C(O)O-alkyl. Non-limiting examples of suitable alkyl groups include methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, t-butyl, n-pentyl, heptyl, nonyl, decyl, fluoromethyl, trifluoromethyl and cyclopropylmethyl.
“Alkenyl” means an aliphatic hydrocarbon group (straight or branched carbon chain) comprising one or more double bonds in the chain and which can be conjugated or unconjugated. Useful alkenyl groups can comprise 2 to about 15 carbon atoms in the chain, preferably 2 to about 12 carbon atoms in the chain, and more preferably 2 to about 6 carbon atoms in the chain. The alkenyl group can be substituted by one or more substituents independently selected from the group consisting of halo, alkyl, aryl, cycloalkyl, cyano and alkoxy. Non-limiting examples of suitable alkenyl groups include ethenyl, propenyl, n-butenyl, 3-methylbut-enyl and n-pentenyl.
Where an alkyl or alkenyl chain joins two other variables and is therefore bivalent, the terms alkylene and alkenylene, respectively, are used.
“Alkoxy” means an alkyl-O— group in which the alkyl group is as previously described. Useful alkoxy groups can comprise 1 to about 12 carbon atoms, preferably 1 to about 6 carbon atoms. Non-limiting examples of suitable alkoxy groups include methoxy, ethoxy and isopropoxy. The alkyl group of the alkoxy is linked to an adjacent moiety through the ether oxygen.
The term “cycloalkyl” as used herein, means an unsubstituted or substituted, saturated, stable, non-aromatic, chemically-feasible carbocyclic ring having preferably from three to fifteen carbon atoms, more preferably, from three to eight carbon atoms. The cycloalkyl carbon ring radical is saturated and may be fused, for example, benzofused, with one to two cycloalkyl, aromatic, heterocyclic or heteroaromatic rings. The cycloalkyl may be attached at any endocyclic carbon atom that results in a stable structure. Preferred carbocyclic rings have from five to six carbons. Examples of cycloalkyl radicals include cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, cycloheptyl, or the like.
“Alkynyl” means an aliphatic hydrocarbon group comprising at least one carbon-carbon triple bond and which may be straight or branched and comprising about 2 to about 15 carbon atoms in the chain. Preferred alkynyl groups have about 2 to about 10 carbon atoms in the chain; and more preferably about 2 to about 6 carbon atoms in the chain. Branched means that one or more lower alkyl groups such as methyl, ethyl or propyl, are attached to a linear alkynyl chain. Non-limiting examples of suitable alkynyl groups include ethynyl, propynyl, 2-butynyl, 3-methylbutynyl, n-pentynyl, and decynyl. The alkynyl group may be substituted by one or more substituents which may be the same or different, each substituent being independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, aryl and cycloalkyl.
The term “aryl,” as used herein, means a substituted or unsubstituted, aromatic, mono- or bicyclic, chemically-feasible carbocyclic ring system having from one to two aromatic rings. The aryl moiety will generally have from 6 to 14 carbon atoms with all available substitutable carbon atoms of the aryl moiety being intended as possible points of attachment. Representative examples include phenyl, tolyl, xylyl, cumenyl, naphthyl, tetrahydronaphthyl, indanyl, indenyl, or the like. If desired, the carbocyclic moiety can be substituted with from one to five, preferably, one to three, moieties, such as mono-through pentahalo, alkyl, trifluoromethyl, phenyl, hydroxy, alkoxy, phenoxy, amino, monoalkylamino, dialkylamino, or the like.
“Heteroaryl” means a monocyclic or multicyclic aromatic ring system of about 5 to about 14 ring atoms, preferably about 5 to about 10 ring atoms, in which one or more of the atoms in the ring system is/are atoms other than carbon, for example nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur. Mono- and polycyclic (e.g., bicyclic) heteroaryl groups can be unsubstituted or substituted with a plurality of substituents, preferably, one to five substituents, more preferably, one, two or three substituents (e.g., mono-through pentahalo, alkyl, trifluoromethyl, phenyl, hydroxy, alkoxy, phenoxy, amino, monoalkylamino, dialkylamino, or the like). Typically, a heteroaryl group represents a chemically-feasible cyclic group of five or six atoms, or a chemically-feasible bicyclic group of nine or ten atoms, at least one of which is carbon, and having at least one oxygen, sulfur or nitrogen atom interrupting a carbocyclic ring having a sufficient number of pi (π) electrons to provide aromatic character. Representative heteroaryl (heteroaromatic) groups are pyridinyl, pyrimidinyl, pyrazinyl, pyridazinyl, furanyl, benzofuranyl, thienyl, benzothienyl, thiazolyl, thiadiazolyl, imidazolyl, pyrazolyl, triazolyl, isothiazolyl, benzothiazolyl, benzoxazolyl, oxazolyl, pyrrolyl, isoxazolyl, 1,3,5-triazinyl and indolyl groups.
The term “heterocyclic ring” or “heterocycle,” as used herein, means an unsubstituted or substituted, saturated, unsaturated or aromatic, chemically-feasible ring, comprised of carbon atoms and one or more heteroatoms in the ring. Heterocyclic rings may be monocyclic or polycyclic. Monocyclic rings preferably contain from three to eight atoms in the ring structure, more preferably, five to seven atoms. Polycyclic ring systems consisting of two rings preferably contain from six to sixteen atoms, most preferably, ten to twelve atoms. Polycyclic ring systems consisting of three rings contain preferably from thirteen to seventeen atoms, more preferably, fourteen or fifteen atoms. Each heterocyclic ring has at least one heteroatom. Unless otherwise stated, the heteroatoms may each be independently selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen atoms.
The terms “Hal,” “halo,” “halogen” and “halide,” as used herein, mean a chloro, bromo, fluoro or iodo atom radical. Chlorides, bromides and fluorides are preferred halides.
The following abbreviations are defined as follows: LDA is lithium diisopropylamide; EtOH is ethanol; Me is methyl; Et is ethyl; Bu is butyl; n-Bu is normal-butyl, t-Bu is tert-butyl, OAc is acetate; KOt-Bu is potassium tert-butoxide; NBS is N-bromosuccinimide; NMP is 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone; DMA is N,N-dimethylacetamide; n-Bu 4 NBr is tetrabutylammonium bromide; n-Bu 4 NOH is tetrabutylammonium hydroxide, n-Bu 4 NHSO 4 is tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulfate, and equiv. is equivalents.
General Syntheses
The following scheme illustrates a process for preparing Compound 1 from Compound 2B:
Step 1: Compound 2B may be prepared from compound 2A according to the process described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,063,847. It may be converted to Compound 3 by reaction with an acid in a solvent. Suitable acids include strong acids such as, for example, hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid. Hydrochloric acid is preferred. The solvent may be any organic solvent that does not interfere with the reaction. Acetone is a particularly preferred solvent. According to one aspect of the present invention, Compound 2B is converted to Compound 3 by reaction with 1N hydrochloric acid in acetone as solvent.
Step 2: Compound 3 is subsequently aminated, under suitable amination conditions, to yield Compound 4. The amination may be conducted with an aminating agent. According to one aspect of the invention, the aminating agent is an ammonium salt, for example ammonium formate. The amination is preferably conducted in a solvent, preferably an alcohol, for example a lower alkanol. Ethanol is preferred. Following the addition of the aminating agent, the reaction mixture is combined with a noble metal catalyst. Various noble metal catalysts are suitable, such as palladium or platinum on various types of carriers. More than one noble metal may be used as the catalyst. A preferred catalyst is palladium on an activated carbon support.
Step 3: The amine moiety of Compound 4 is then converted to the corresponding carbamate 5. The conversion may be conducted with an alkyl haloformate. Ethyl chloroformate is preferred. It may be advantageous to conduct the reaction in the presence of a base, such as a strong aqueous base. Suitable non-limiting examples of appropriate bases include the alkali metal hydroxides. Sodium hydroxide is preferred. Following completion of the reaction, Compound 5 may be isolated by crystallization.
Step 4: The carbamate acid 5 is subsequently converted to the carbamate aldehyde 6. This may be done with, for example, oxalyl chloride in the presence of a solvent. Catalytic amounts of DMF may be employed. Suitable solvents include organic solvents, for example THF. Excess oxalyl chloride is then removed, and the reaction mixture is subjected to reducing conditions. Hydrogenation conditions are preferred. Suitable hydrogenation conditions include providing hydrogen gas at a pressure ranging from 50 to 200 psi, for example 100 psi. The hydrogenation is advantageously conducted in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst and a tert-amine such as, for example, lutidine. Such catalysts are known to those of ordinary skill in the art and include, for example, noble metals on a support. A preferred hydrogenation catalyst is palladium on activated carbon.
Step 5: The aldehyde functionality on Compound 6 is subsequently reacted with the phosphate ester 7 to yield Compound 1, as follows:
The reaction above is preferably conducted in a solvent and by treating Compound 7 with a base prior to reacting it with Compound 6. Suitable solvents include organic solvents, such as tetrahydrofuran. Preferred bases include organometallic compounds, examples of which include alkyl lithium compounds, lithium hexadimethylsilazide, sodium hexadimethylsilazide, lithium diisopropyl amide, n-butyl lithium and the like. A preferred base is LDA.
According to one aspect of the invention, the preferred phosphate ester is the following compound 7A:
Compound 7A may be prepared from Compound 8 by treating Compound 8 with diethylchlorophosphate:
Compound 8 may be obtained by the process described by Kyoku, Kagehira et al in “Preparation of (haloaryl)pyridines,” (API Corporation, Japan). Jpn. Kokai Tokkyo Koho (2004). 13 pp. CODEN: JKXXAF JP 2004182713 A2 20040702. Compound 8 is subsequently reacted with a phosphate ester, such as a dialkyl halophosphate, to yield Compound 7A. Diethylchlorophosphate is preferred. The reaction is preferably con ducted in the presence of a base, such as a dialkylithium amide, for example diisopropyl lithium amide.
Compound 1 may be further reacted with an organic acid to form a pharmaceutically acceptable salt. Suitable acids include, but are not limited to, for example, hydrochloric, sulfuric, phosphoric, acetic, citric, oxalic, malonic, salicylic, malic, fumaric, succinic, ascorbic, maleic, and methanesulfonic acids. In general, any acid capable of forming a pharmaceutically acceptable salt with Compound 1 may be suitable.
Specific Synthesis
EXAMPLE 1
Preparation of Compound 3
To a reactor equipped with an agitator, thermometer and nitrogen, were added about 10.5 kg of 2B, 68 L of acetone and 68 L of 1N aqueous hydrochloric acid solution. The mixture was heated to a temperature between 50 and 6° C. and agitated for about 1 hour before cooling to room temperature. After the reaction was judged complete, the solution was concentrated under reduced pressure to about 42 L and then cooled to a temperature between 0 and 5° C. The cooled mixture was agitated for an additional hour. The product 3 was filtered, washed with cooled water and dried to provide an off-white solid (6.9 kg, yield 76%). m.p. 251° C. 1 H NMR (DMSO) δ 12.8 (s, 1H), 4.72 (m, J=5.90 Hz, 1H), 2.58 (m, 2H), 2.40 (m, J=6.03 Hz, 2H), 2.21 (dd, J=19.0, 12.8 Hz, 3H), 2.05 (m, 1H), 1.87 (q, J=8.92 Hz, 1H), 1.75 (m, 1H), 1.55 (m, 1H), 1.35 (q, J=12.6 Hz, 1H), 1.27 (d, J=5.88 Hz, 3H). MS (ESI) M+1 m/z calcd. 267, found 267.
EXAMPLE 2
Preparation of Compound 4
7.4 kg of ammonium formate was dissolved in 9 L of water at 15-25° C., and then cooled to 0-10° C. 8.9 kg of Compound 3 was charged at 0-15° C. followed by an addition of 89 L of 2B ethyl alcohol. The batch was cooled to 0-5° C. 0.9 kg of 10% Palladium on carbon (50% wet) and 9 L of water were charged. The batch was then warmed to 18-28° C. and agitated for 5 hours, while maintaining the temperature between 18-28° C. After the reaction was judged complete, 71 L of water was charged. The batch was filtered and the wet catalyst cake was then washed with 80 L of water. The pH of the filtrate was adjusted to 1-2 with 4N aqueous hydrochloric acid solution. The solution was used in the next process step without further isolation. The yield is typically quantiative. m.p. 216.4° C. 1 H NMR (D 2 O+1 drop HCl) δ 3.15 (m, 1H), 2.76 (m, 1H), 2.62 (m, 1H), 2.48 (dd, J-5.75 Hz, 1H), 1.94 (m, 2H), 1.78 (m, 2H), 1.38 (m, 2H), 1.20 (m, 6H), 1.18 (m, 1H), 0.98 (q, J=2.99 Hz, 1H).
EXAMPLE 3
Preparation of Compound 5
To a three-necked round bottomed flask equipped with an agitator, thermometer and a nitrogen inlet tube was added a solution of Compound 4 in aqueous ethanol (100 g active in 2870 ml). The solution was concentrated to about 700 ml under reduced pressure at 35° C. to 40° C. to remove ethyl alcohol. The resultant homogeneous mixture was cooled to 20° C. to 30° C. and its pH was adjusted to range from 12 to 13 with 250 ml of 25% sodium hydroxide solution while maintaining the temperature at 20-30° C. Then 82 ml of ethyl chloroformate was slowly added to the batch over a period of 1 hour while maintaining the batch temperature from 20° C. to 30° C. and aged for an additional 30 minutes. After the reaction was judged complete, the batch was acidified to pH 7 to 8 with 10 ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid (37%) and 750 ml of ethyl acetate. The pH of the reaction mixture was further adjusted to pH 2 to 3 with 35% aqueous hydrochloric acid solution. The organic layer was separated and the aqueous layer was extracted again with 750 ml of ethyl acetate. The combined organic layers were washed twice with water (200 ml). Compound 5 was isolated from the organic layer by crystallization from ethyl acetate and heptane mixture (1:1 mixture, 1500 ml) at about 70° C. to 80° C. The solid was filtered at 50° C. to 60° C., washed with heptane and then dried to provide an off-white solid (yield 50%). m.p. 197.7° C. 1 HNMR (CD 3 CN) δ 5.31 (brs, 1H), 4.67 (dt, J=16.1, 5.9 Hz, 1H), 4.03 (q, J=7.1 Hz, 2H), 3.41 (m, 1H), 2.55-2.70 (m, 2H), 1.87-1.92 (m, 1H), 1.32-1.42 (m, 1H), 1.30 (d, J=5.92 Hz, 3H), 1.30-1.25 (m, 6H), 0.98 (qt, J=15.7, 3.18 Hz, 2H). MS (ESI) M+1 m/z calculated 340, found 340.
EXAMPLE 4
Preparation of Compound 7A
To a 10 L three-necked round bottomed flask equipped with an agitator, thermometer and a nitrogen inlet tube, was added 200 g of Compound 8 (1.07 mol, from Synergetica, Philadelphia, Pa.). THF (1000 mL) was added to dissolve Compound 8. After the solution was cooled to −80° C. to −50° C., 2.0 M LDA in hexane/THF (1175 mL, 2.2 eq) was added while maintaining the batch temperature below −50° C. After about 15 minutes of agitation at −80° C. to −50° C., diethyl chlorophosphate (185 mL, 1.2 eq) was added while maintaining the batch temperature below −50° C. The mixture was agitated at a temperature from −80° C. to −50° C. for about 15 minutes and diluted with n-heptane (1000 mL). This mixture was warmed up to about −35° C. and quenched with aqueous ammonium chloride (400 g in 1400 mL water) at a temperature below −10° C. This mixture was agitated at −15° C. to −10° C. for about 15 minutes followed by agitation at 15° C. to 25° C. for about 15 minutes. The aqueous layer was split and extracted with toluene (400 mL). The combined organic layers were extracted with 2N hydrochloric acid (700 mL) twice. The product-containing hydrochloric acid layers were combined and added slowly to a mixture of toluene (1200 mL) and aqueous potassium carbonate (300 g in 800 mL water) at a temperature below 30° C. The aqueous layer was extracted with toluene (1200 mL). The organic layers were combined and concentrated under vacuum to about 600 ml and filtered to remove inorganic salts. To the filtrate was added n-heptane (1000 ml) at about 55° C. The mixture was cooled slowly to 40° C., seeded, and cooled further slowly to −10° C. The resulting slurry was aged at about −10° C. for 1 h, filtered, washed with n-heptane, and dried under vacuum to give a light brown solid (294 g, 85% yield). m.p. 52° C. (DSC onset point). 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ 8.73 (d, J=1.5 Hz, 1H), 7.85 (dd, J 1 =8.0 Hz, J 2 =1.5 Hz, 1H), 7.49 (dd, J 1 =8.0 Hz, J 2 =1.3 Hz, 1H), 7.42 (m, 1H), 7.32 (d, J=7.8 Hz, 1H), 7.24 (m, 1H), 7.08 (dt, J 1 =8.3 Hz, J 2 =2.3 Hz, 1H), 4.09 (m, 4H), 3.48 (d, J=22.0 Hz, 2H), 1.27 (t, J=7.0 Hz, 6H). MS (ESI) for M+H calcd. 324, found 324.
EXAMPLE 5
Preparation of Compound 6
To a three-neck flask equipped with an agitator, thermometer and nitrogen inert were added the crude product solution of Compound 5 (containing about 31 g. of Compound 5 in 300 mL solution) and anhydrous DMF (0.05 mL). After the mixture was agitated for 5 minutes, oxalyl chloride (12.2 mL) was added slowly while maintaining the batch temperature between 15 and 25° C. The reaction mixture was agitated for about an hour after the addition and checked by NMR for completion of reaction. After the reaction was judged complete, the mixture was concentrated under vacuum to 135 mL while maintaining the temperature of the reaction mixture below 30° C. The excess oxalyl chloride was removed completely by two cycles of vacuum concentration at below 50° C. with replenishment of toluene (315 mL) each time, resulting in a final volume of 68 mL. The reaction mixture was then cooled to 15 to 25° C., after which THF (160 mL) and 2,6-lutidine (22 mL) were added. The mixture was agitated for 16 hours at 20 to 25° C. under 100 psi hydrogen in the presence of dry 5% Pd/C (9.0 g). After the reaction was judged complete, the reaction mixture was filtered through celite to remove catalyst. More THF was added to rinse the hydrogenator and catalyst, and the reaction mixture was again filtered through celite. Combined filtrates were concentrated under vacuum at below 25° C. to 315 mL. MTBE (158 mL) and 10% aqueous solution of phosphoric acid (158 mL) were added for a thorough extraction at 10° C. to remove 2,6-lutidine. Then phosphoric acid was removed by extracting the organic layer with very dilute aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution (about 2%), which was followed by a washing with dilute brine. The organic solution was concentrated atmospherically to a volume of 90 mL for solvent replacement. IPA (315 mL) was added to the concentrated crude product solution. The remaining residual solvent was purged to ≦0.5% of THF (by GC) by repeated concentration under vacuum to 68 mL, with replenishment of IPA (315 mL) before each concentration. The concentrated (68 mL) IPA solution was heated to 50° C., to initiate crystallization. To this mixture n-heptane (68 mL) was added very slowly while maintaining the batch temperature at 50° C. The crystallizing mixture was cooled very slowly over 2.5 hours to 25° C. Additional n-heptane (34 mL) was added very slowly into the suspension mixture at 25° C. The mixture was further cooled to 20° C., and aged at that temperature for about 20 hours. The solid was filtered and washed with a solvent mixture of 25% IPA in n-heptane, and then dried to provide 19.5 g of a beige colored solid of Compound 6. (Yield: 66%) m.p. 169.3° C. 1 H NMR (CD 3 CN) δ 9.74 (d, J=3.03 Hz, 1H), 5.42 (br, 1H), 4.69 (m, 1H), 4.03 (q, J=7.02 Hz, 2H), 3.43 (qt, J=3.80, 7.84 Hz, 1H), 2.67 (m, 2H), 2.50 (dt, J=3.00, 8.52 Hz, 1H), 1.93 (d, J=12.0 Hz, 2H), 1.82 (dt, J=3.28, 9.75 Hz, 2H), 1.54 (qd, J=3.00, 10.5 Hz, 1H), 1.27 (d, J=5.97 Hz, 3H), 1.20 (m, 6H), 1.03−0.92 (m, 2H). MS (ESI) m/z (M + +1): calcd. 324, found 324.
EXAMPLE 6
Preparation of Compound A
To a three-neck flask equipped with an agitator, thermometer and nitrogen inertion was added 7A (13.0 g), THF (30 mL). The mixture was cooled to below −20° C. after which lithium diisopropylamide (2M, 20 mL) was slowly added. The reaction mixture was agitated for an additional hour (Solution A). To another flask was added 6 (10.0 g) and THF (75 mL). The mixture was stirred for about 30 minutes and then slowly transferred into the solution A while maintaining the temperature below −20° C. The mixture was stirred at below −20° C. for an additional hour before quenching the reaction by adding 20 mL of water. The reaction mixture was warmed to 0° C. and the pH was adjusted to about 7 by addition of 25% H 2 SO 4 (11 mL). The mixture was further warmed to 20° C. and then diluted with 100 mL of ethyl acetate and 70 mL of water. The two phases that had formed were separated and the aqueous layer was extracted with 50 mL of ethyl acetate. The solvents THF and ethyl acetate were then replaced with ethanol, and the Compound A was precipitated out as a crystalline solid from ethanol with seeding at 35 to 40° C. After cooling to 0° C., the suspension was stirred for an additional hour and then the product was filtered and washed with cold ethanol. The product was dried at 50-60° C. under vacuum to provide an off-white solid. Yield: 12.7 g, (90%). m.p. 104.9° C. (DSC onset point). 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ 8.88 (d, J=2.4 Hz, 1H), 8.10 (dd, J=8.2, 2.4 Hz, 1H), 7.64 (1H), 7.61 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 1H), 7.55 (m, J=8.2, 6.2 Hz, 1H), 7.51 (d, J=8.0 Hz, 1H), 7.25 (dt, J=9.0, 2.3 Hz, 1H), 7.08 (d, J=8.0 Hz, 1H), 6.68 (dd, J=15.4, 9.4 Hz, 1H), 6.58 (d, J=9.6 Hz, 1H), 4.85 (dd, J=14.2, 7.2 Hz, 1H), 3.95 (dd, J=14.2, 7.1 Hz, 2H), 3.29 (m, 1H), 2.66 (m, J=12.0, 6.4 Hz, 1H), 2.33 (m, 2H), 1.76 (m, 4H), 1.30 (d, J=5.6 Hz, 3H), 1.19 (m, 4H), 1.14 (t, J=7.2 Hz, 3H), 0.98 (m, 1H), 0.84 (m, 1H). MS (EI) m/z: calcd. 492, found 492.
EXAMPLE 7
Preparation of an Acid Salt (Bisulfate) of Compound A
Compound 1A (5 g) was dissolved in about 25 mL of acetonitrile. The solution was agitated for about 10 minutes and then heated to about 50° C. About 6 mL of 2M sulfuric acid in acetonitrile was added into the heated reaction mixture. The solid salt of Compound A precipitated out during the addition of sulfuric acid in acetonitrile. After addition of sulfuric acid solution, the reaction mixture was agitated for 1 hour before cooling to room temperature. The precipitated solid was filtered and washed with about 30 mL of acetonitrile. The wet solid was dried under vacuum at room temperature for 1 hour and at 80° C. for about 12 hours to provide about 5 g white solid (yield 85%). m.p. 217.0° C. 1 H NMR (DMSO) 9.04 (s, 1H), 8.60 (d, J=8.1 Hz, 1H), 8.10 (d, J=8.2 Hz, 1H), 7.76 (d, J=10.4, 1H), 7.71 (d, J=7.8 Hz, 1H), 7.60 (dd, J=8.4, 1.8 Hz, 1H), 7.34 (dd, 8.4, 1.8 Hz, 1H), 7.08 (d, J=8.0 Hz, 1H), 7.02 (m, 1H), 6.69 (d, J=15.8 Hz, 1H), 4.82 (m, 1H), 3.94 (dd, J=14.0, 7.0 Hz, 2H), 3.35 (brs, 1H), 2.68 (m, 1H), 2.38 (m, 2H), 1.80-1.70 (m, 4H), 1.27 (d, J=5.8 Hz, 3H), 1.21 (m, 2H), 1.13 (t, J=7.0 Hz, 3H), 0.95 (m, 1H, 0.85 (m, 1H). MS (EI) m/z calcd. 590, found 492.
While the present invention has been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments set forth above, many alternatives, modifications and variations thereof will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. All such alternatives, modifications, and variations are intended to fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention. | The present invention relates to an improved process for preparing himbacine analogs. The compounds are useful as thrombin receptor antagonists. The improved process may allow for at least one of easier purification by crystallization, easier scalability, and improved process yield on the desired enantiomer.
An example of a step in the synthesis of such a himbacine analog is as follows: | Provide a concise summary of the essential information conveyed in the given context. | [
"This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser.",
"No. 60/643,932, filed Jan. 14, 2005.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION This application discloses a novel process for the preparation of himbacine analogs useful as thrombin receptor antagonists.",
"The invention disclosed herein is related to those disclosed in the co-pending patent applications corresponding to U.S. provisional application Ser.",
"Nos. 60/643,927;",
"60/644,464;",
"and, 60/644,428, all four applications having been filed on the same date.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thrombin is known to have a variety of activities in different cell types and thrombin receptors are known to be present in such cell types as human platelets, vascular smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts.",
"Thrombin receptor antagonists may be useful in the treatment of thrombotic, inflammatory, atherosclerotic and fibroproliferative disorders, as well as other disorders in which thrombin and its receptor play a pathological role.",
"See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,063,847, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference.",
"One thrombin receptor antagonist is compound A, and salts thereof: This compound is an orally bioavailable thrombin receptor antagonist derived from himbacine.",
"Compound A may be synthesized from Compound 2A: wherein R 2 is selected from the group consisting of alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, and heteroaryl and R 3 , R 4 and R 5 are each independently selected from the group consisting of H, alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, arylalkyl, and heteroaryl;",
"or, R 4 and R 5 , together with the carbon atom to which they are attached, form a 5- to 7-membered ring having from 0-3 heteroatoms as ring members.",
"Processes for the synthesis of similar himbacine analog thrombin receptor antagonists are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,063,847, and U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 10/412,982, and the synthesis of the bisulfate salt of a particular himbacine analog is disclosed in U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 10/755,066, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present application provides an improved process for preparing himbacine analogs from compound 2A.",
"The improved process may allow for at least one of easier purification by crystallization, easier scalability, and improved process yield on the desired enantiomer.",
"One aspect of the invention is a process for preparing Compound 1: wherein R 1 and R 2 are each independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, and heteroaryl;",
"and R 8 is selected from the group consisting of halogen, —CF 3 , C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 1 -C 6 alkoxy, and —COOR 9 , wherein R 9 is selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 alkyl, phenyl, and benzyl, comprising: (a) reducing a Compound 2A: wherein R 2 is as defined above, and R 3 is H, alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, arylalkyl or heteroaryl;",
"R 4 and R 5 are each independently selected from the group consisting of H, alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, arylalkyl, and heteroaryl;",
"or, R 4 and R 5 , together with the carbon atom to which they are attached, form a 5- to 7-membered ring having from 0-3 heteroatoms as ring members, to form 2B: followed by hydrolysis of 2B to yield a compound of formula 3: wherein R 2 is as defined above;",
"(b) aminating Compound 3 to yield Compound 4: wherein R 2 is as defined above, and R 6 and R 7 are each independently selected from the group consisting of H, alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, and heteroaryl;",
"(c) converting Compound 4 to Compound 5: wherein R 1 and R 2 are as defined above;",
"(d) converting Compound 5 to Compound 6: wherein R 1 and R 2 are as defined above;",
"and (e) reacting Compound 6 with compound 7: to prepare Compound 1.",
"In some embodiments, Compound 7 is treated with a base, and the carbanion product is then reacted with Compound 6.",
"Preferably, the base is an organometallic compound.",
"More preferably, the base is an organolithium compound.",
"Still more preferably, the base is LDA.",
"In some embodiments, R 1 is alkyl.",
"In some embodiments, R 1 is ethyl.",
"In some embodiments, R 8 is 3-fluoro.",
"In some embodiments, R 2 is alkyl.",
"In some embodiments, Compound 7 has the structure 7A: wherein said compound 7A is prepared by esterifying Compound 8: with a phosphate ester to yield Compound 7A.",
"In some embodiments, said phosphate ester is a dialkyl halophosphate.",
"In some embodiments, the dialkyl halophosphate is diethyl chlorophosphate.",
"In some embodiments, Compound 8 is prepared by reacting 3-bromo-5-methyl pyridine with 3-fluorophenylboronic acid.",
"In some embodiments, R 2 is methyl.",
"In some embodiments, R 3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl, and arylalkyl.",
"In some embodiments, R 3 is arylalkyl.",
"In some embodiments, R 3 is benzyl.",
"In some embodiments, R 4 and R 5 , taken together with the carbon to which they are attached, form a five-membered heterocyclic ring.",
"In some embodiments, the five-membered heterocyclic ring contains three carbon atoms and two oxygen atoms.",
"In some embodiments, R 6 and R 7 are each H. In some embodiments, Compound 2A is reduced with hydrogen in the presence of a noble metal catalyst.",
"In some embodiments, Compound 3 is aminated with an ammonium salt in the presence of a noble metal catalyst.",
"In some embodiments, the ammonium salt is ammonium formate.",
"In some embodiments, the noble metal catalyst is palladium on carbon.",
"In some embodiments, Compound 4 is converted to Compound 5 by reacting Compound 4 with an alkyl haloformate.",
"In some embodiments, the alkyl haloformate is an alkyl chloroformate.",
"In some embodiments, the alkyl chloroformate is ethyl chloroformate.",
"In some embodiments, Compound 5 is converted to Compound 6 by reacting Compound 5 with oxalyl chloride in the presence of DMF, followed by reduction.",
"In some embodiments, Compound 2A is prepared by cyclizing Compound 9: wherein R 2 , R 3 , R 4 and R 5 are as defined above.",
"In some embodiments, R 4 and R 5 , taken together with the hydrogen to which they are attached, form a five-membered heterocyclic ring.",
"R 3 is arylalkyl.",
"In some embodiments, R 3 is benzyl.",
"In some embodiments, the invention encompasses a process for preparing Compound A: said process comprising: (a) hydrolyzing Compound 2B: to yield Compound 3: (b) aminating Compound 3 to yield Compound 4: (c) converting Compound 4 to Compound 5: (d) converting Compound 5 to Compound 6: (e) converting Compound 6 to Compound A: In some embodiments, Compound 6 is reacted with Compound 7A: to yield Compound A. In some embodiments, Compound 7A is treated with a base, and the carbanion product is then reacted with Compound 6.",
"In some embodiments, the base is an organometallic compound.",
"In some embodiments, the organometallic compound is an organolithium compound.",
"In some embodiments, the organolithium compound is LDA.",
"In some embodiments, Compound 7A is prepared by esterifying Compound 8: with a phosphate ester to yield Compound 7A.",
"In some embodiments, the phosphate ester is a dialkyl halophosphate.",
"In some embodiments, the dialkyl halophosphate is diethyl chlorophosphate.",
"In some embodiments, the esterification is conducted in the presence of a base.",
"In some embodiments, the base is a dialkyl lithium amide.",
"In some embodiments, the dialkyl lithium amide is diisopropyl lithium amide.",
"In some embodiments, Compound 8 is prepared by reacting 3-bromo-5-methylpyridine with 3-fluorophenylboronic acid.",
"In some embodiments, R 1 is alkyl.",
"In some embodiments, R 1 is ethyl.",
"In some embodiments, Compound 2B is hydrolyzed with a mineral acid.",
"In some embodiments, Compound 3 is aminated with an ammonium salt in the presence of a noble metal catalyst.",
"In some embodiments, the ammonium salt is ammonium formate.",
"In some embodiments, the noble metal catalyst is palladium on carbon.",
"In some embodiments, Compound 4 is converted to Compound 5 by reacting Compound 4 with an alkyl haloformate.",
"In some embodiments, the alkyl haloformate is an alkyl chloroformate.",
"In some embodiments, the alkyl chloroformate is ethyl chloroformate.",
"In some embodiments, Compound 5 is converted to Compound 6 by reacting Compound 5 with oxalyl chloride in the presence of DMF, followed by hydrogenation in the presence of tert-amine.",
"In some embodiments, Compound 2B is prepared by cyclizing Compound 9: wherein R 3 is as defined above.",
"In some embodiments, R 3 is arylalkyl.",
"In some embodiments, R 3 is benzyl.",
"In some embodiments, Compound 1 is further reacted with an organic or inorganic acid to form a pharmaceutically acceptable salt.",
"In some embodiments, the acid is selected from the group consisting of hydrochloric, sulfuric, phosphoric, acetic, citric, oxalic, malonic, salicylic, malic, fumaric, succinic, ascorbic, maleic, and methanesulfonic acids.",
"In some embodiments, the pharmaceutically acceptable salt is the bisulfate salt.",
"Another aspect of the invention is a novel compound 3: wherein R 2 is selected from the group consisting of alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, and heteroaryl.",
"Another aspect of the invention is a novel compound 4: wherein R 2 is selected from the group consisting of alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, and heteroaryl, and R 6 and R 7 are each independently selected from the group consisting of H, alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, and heteroaryl.",
"Still another aspect of the present invention is a novel compound of the following formula: wherein R 1 and R 2 are each independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, and heteroaryl, and R 1 is selected from the group consisting of alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, and heteroaryl.",
"In some embodiments, the invention encompasses any of the following compounds: A further understanding of the invention will be had from the following detailed description of the invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The following definitions and terms are used herein or are otherwise known to a skilled artisan.",
"Except where stated otherwise, the definitions apply throughout the specification and claims.",
"Chemical names, common names and chemical structures may be used interchangeably to describe the same structure.",
"These definitions apply regardless of whether a term is used by itself or in combination with other terms, unless otherwise indicated.",
"Hence, the definition of “alkyl”",
"applies to “alkyl”",
"as well as the “alkyl”",
"portions of “hydroxyalkyl,” “haloalkyl,” “alkoxy,” etc.",
"Unless otherwise known, stated or shown to be to the contrary, the point of attachment for a multiple term substituent (two or more terms that are combined to identify a single moiety) to a subject structure is through the last named term of the multiple term substituent.",
"For example, a cycloalkylalkyl substituent attaches to a targeted structure through the latter “alkyl”",
"portion of the substituent (e.g., structure-alkyl-cycloalkyl).",
"The identity of each variable appearing more than once in a formula may be independently selected from the definition for that variable, unless otherwise indicated.",
"Unless stated, shown or otherwise known to be the contrary, all atoms illustrated in chemical formulas for covalent compounds possess normal valencies.",
"Thus, hydrogen atoms, double bonds, triple bonds and ring structures need not be expressly depicted in a general chemical formula.",
"Double bonds, where appropriate, may be represented by the presence of parentheses around an atom in a chemical formula.",
"For example, a carbonyl functionality, —CO—, may also be represented in a chemical formula by —C(O)—, or —C(═O)—.",
"One skilled in the art will be able to determine the presence or absence of double (and triple bonds) in a covalently-bonded molecule.",
"For instance, it is readily recognized that a carboxyl functionality may be represented by —COOH, —C(O)OH, —C(═O)OH or —CO 2 H. The term “heteroatom,” as used herein, means a nitrogen, sulfur or oxygen atom.",
"Multiple heteroatoms in the same group may be the same or different.",
"As used herein, the term “alkyl”",
"means an aliphatic hydrocarbon group that can be straight or branched and comprises 1 to about 24 carbon atoms in the chain.",
"Preferred alkyl groups comprise 1 to about 15 carbon atoms in the chain.",
"More preferred alkyl groups comprise 1 to about 6 carbon atoms in the chain.",
"“Branched”",
"means that one or more lower alkyl groups such as methyl, ethyl or propyl, are attached to a linear alkyl chain.",
"The alkyl can be substituted by one or more substituents independently selected from the group consisting of halo, aryl, cycloalkyl, cyano, hydroxy, alkoxy, alkylthio, amino, —NH(alkyl), —NH(cycloalkyl), —N(alkyl) 2 (which alkyls can be the same or different), carboxy and —C(O)O-alkyl.",
"Non-limiting examples of suitable alkyl groups include methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, t-butyl, n-pentyl, heptyl, nonyl, decyl, fluoromethyl, trifluoromethyl and cyclopropylmethyl.",
"“Alkenyl”",
"means an aliphatic hydrocarbon group (straight or branched carbon chain) comprising one or more double bonds in the chain and which can be conjugated or unconjugated.",
"Useful alkenyl groups can comprise 2 to about 15 carbon atoms in the chain, preferably 2 to about 12 carbon atoms in the chain, and more preferably 2 to about 6 carbon atoms in the chain.",
"The alkenyl group can be substituted by one or more substituents independently selected from the group consisting of halo, alkyl, aryl, cycloalkyl, cyano and alkoxy.",
"Non-limiting examples of suitable alkenyl groups include ethenyl, propenyl, n-butenyl, 3-methylbut-enyl and n-pentenyl.",
"Where an alkyl or alkenyl chain joins two other variables and is therefore bivalent, the terms alkylene and alkenylene, respectively, are used.",
"“Alkoxy”",
"means an alkyl-O— group in which the alkyl group is as previously described.",
"Useful alkoxy groups can comprise 1 to about 12 carbon atoms, preferably 1 to about 6 carbon atoms.",
"Non-limiting examples of suitable alkoxy groups include methoxy, ethoxy and isopropoxy.",
"The alkyl group of the alkoxy is linked to an adjacent moiety through the ether oxygen.",
"The term “cycloalkyl”",
"as used herein, means an unsubstituted or substituted, saturated, stable, non-aromatic, chemically-feasible carbocyclic ring having preferably from three to fifteen carbon atoms, more preferably, from three to eight carbon atoms.",
"The cycloalkyl carbon ring radical is saturated and may be fused, for example, benzofused, with one to two cycloalkyl, aromatic, heterocyclic or heteroaromatic rings.",
"The cycloalkyl may be attached at any endocyclic carbon atom that results in a stable structure.",
"Preferred carbocyclic rings have from five to six carbons.",
"Examples of cycloalkyl radicals include cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, cycloheptyl, or the like.",
"“Alkynyl”",
"means an aliphatic hydrocarbon group comprising at least one carbon-carbon triple bond and which may be straight or branched and comprising about 2 to about 15 carbon atoms in the chain.",
"Preferred alkynyl groups have about 2 to about 10 carbon atoms in the chain;",
"and more preferably about 2 to about 6 carbon atoms in the chain.",
"Branched means that one or more lower alkyl groups such as methyl, ethyl or propyl, are attached to a linear alkynyl chain.",
"Non-limiting examples of suitable alkynyl groups include ethynyl, propynyl, 2-butynyl, 3-methylbutynyl, n-pentynyl, and decynyl.",
"The alkynyl group may be substituted by one or more substituents which may be the same or different, each substituent being independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, aryl and cycloalkyl.",
"The term “aryl,” as used herein, means a substituted or unsubstituted, aromatic, mono- or bicyclic, chemically-feasible carbocyclic ring system having from one to two aromatic rings.",
"The aryl moiety will generally have from 6 to 14 carbon atoms with all available substitutable carbon atoms of the aryl moiety being intended as possible points of attachment.",
"Representative examples include phenyl, tolyl, xylyl, cumenyl, naphthyl, tetrahydronaphthyl, indanyl, indenyl, or the like.",
"If desired, the carbocyclic moiety can be substituted with from one to five, preferably, one to three, moieties, such as mono-through pentahalo, alkyl, trifluoromethyl, phenyl, hydroxy, alkoxy, phenoxy, amino, monoalkylamino, dialkylamino, or the like.",
"“Heteroaryl”",
"means a monocyclic or multicyclic aromatic ring system of about 5 to about 14 ring atoms, preferably about 5 to about 10 ring atoms, in which one or more of the atoms in the ring system is/are atoms other than carbon, for example nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur.",
"Mono- and polycyclic (e.g., bicyclic) heteroaryl groups can be unsubstituted or substituted with a plurality of substituents, preferably, one to five substituents, more preferably, one, two or three substituents (e.g., mono-through pentahalo, alkyl, trifluoromethyl, phenyl, hydroxy, alkoxy, phenoxy, amino, monoalkylamino, dialkylamino, or the like).",
"Typically, a heteroaryl group represents a chemically-feasible cyclic group of five or six atoms, or a chemically-feasible bicyclic group of nine or ten atoms, at least one of which is carbon, and having at least one oxygen, sulfur or nitrogen atom interrupting a carbocyclic ring having a sufficient number of pi (π) electrons to provide aromatic character.",
"Representative heteroaryl (heteroaromatic) groups are pyridinyl, pyrimidinyl, pyrazinyl, pyridazinyl, furanyl, benzofuranyl, thienyl, benzothienyl, thiazolyl, thiadiazolyl, imidazolyl, pyrazolyl, triazolyl, isothiazolyl, benzothiazolyl, benzoxazolyl, oxazolyl, pyrrolyl, isoxazolyl, 1,3,5-triazinyl and indolyl groups.",
"The term “heterocyclic ring”",
"or “heterocycle,” as used herein, means an unsubstituted or substituted, saturated, unsaturated or aromatic, chemically-feasible ring, comprised of carbon atoms and one or more heteroatoms in the ring.",
"Heterocyclic rings may be monocyclic or polycyclic.",
"Monocyclic rings preferably contain from three to eight atoms in the ring structure, more preferably, five to seven atoms.",
"Polycyclic ring systems consisting of two rings preferably contain from six to sixteen atoms, most preferably, ten to twelve atoms.",
"Polycyclic ring systems consisting of three rings contain preferably from thirteen to seventeen atoms, more preferably, fourteen or fifteen atoms.",
"Each heterocyclic ring has at least one heteroatom.",
"Unless otherwise stated, the heteroatoms may each be independently selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen atoms.",
"The terms “Hal,” “halo,” “halogen”",
"and “halide,” as used herein, mean a chloro, bromo, fluoro or iodo atom radical.",
"Chlorides, bromides and fluorides are preferred halides.",
"The following abbreviations are defined as follows: LDA is lithium diisopropylamide;",
"EtOH is ethanol;",
"Me is methyl;",
"Et is ethyl;",
"Bu is butyl;",
"n-Bu is normal-butyl, t-Bu is tert-butyl, OAc is acetate;",
"KOt-Bu is potassium tert-butoxide;",
"NBS is N-bromosuccinimide;",
"NMP is 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone;",
"DMA is N,N-dimethylacetamide;",
"n-Bu 4 NBr is tetrabutylammonium bromide;",
"n-Bu 4 NOH is tetrabutylammonium hydroxide, n-Bu 4 NHSO 4 is tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulfate, and equiv.",
"is equivalents.",
"General Syntheses The following scheme illustrates a process for preparing Compound 1 from Compound 2B: Step 1: Compound 2B may be prepared from compound 2A according to the process described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,063,847.",
"It may be converted to Compound 3 by reaction with an acid in a solvent.",
"Suitable acids include strong acids such as, for example, hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid.",
"Hydrochloric acid is preferred.",
"The solvent may be any organic solvent that does not interfere with the reaction.",
"Acetone is a particularly preferred solvent.",
"According to one aspect of the present invention, Compound 2B is converted to Compound 3 by reaction with 1N hydrochloric acid in acetone as solvent.",
"Step 2: Compound 3 is subsequently aminated, under suitable amination conditions, to yield Compound 4.",
"The amination may be conducted with an aminating agent.",
"According to one aspect of the invention, the aminating agent is an ammonium salt, for example ammonium formate.",
"The amination is preferably conducted in a solvent, preferably an alcohol, for example a lower alkanol.",
"Ethanol is preferred.",
"Following the addition of the aminating agent, the reaction mixture is combined with a noble metal catalyst.",
"Various noble metal catalysts are suitable, such as palladium or platinum on various types of carriers.",
"More than one noble metal may be used as the catalyst.",
"A preferred catalyst is palladium on an activated carbon support.",
"Step 3: The amine moiety of Compound 4 is then converted to the corresponding carbamate 5.",
"The conversion may be conducted with an alkyl haloformate.",
"Ethyl chloroformate is preferred.",
"It may be advantageous to conduct the reaction in the presence of a base, such as a strong aqueous base.",
"Suitable non-limiting examples of appropriate bases include the alkali metal hydroxides.",
"Sodium hydroxide is preferred.",
"Following completion of the reaction, Compound 5 may be isolated by crystallization.",
"Step 4: The carbamate acid 5 is subsequently converted to the carbamate aldehyde 6.",
"This may be done with, for example, oxalyl chloride in the presence of a solvent.",
"Catalytic amounts of DMF may be employed.",
"Suitable solvents include organic solvents, for example THF.",
"Excess oxalyl chloride is then removed, and the reaction mixture is subjected to reducing conditions.",
"Hydrogenation conditions are preferred.",
"Suitable hydrogenation conditions include providing hydrogen gas at a pressure ranging from 50 to 200 psi, for example 100 psi.",
"The hydrogenation is advantageously conducted in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst and a tert-amine such as, for example, lutidine.",
"Such catalysts are known to those of ordinary skill in the art and include, for example, noble metals on a support.",
"A preferred hydrogenation catalyst is palladium on activated carbon.",
"Step 5: The aldehyde functionality on Compound 6 is subsequently reacted with the phosphate ester 7 to yield Compound 1, as follows: The reaction above is preferably conducted in a solvent and by treating Compound 7 with a base prior to reacting it with Compound 6.",
"Suitable solvents include organic solvents, such as tetrahydrofuran.",
"Preferred bases include organometallic compounds, examples of which include alkyl lithium compounds, lithium hexadimethylsilazide, sodium hexadimethylsilazide, lithium diisopropyl amide, n-butyl lithium and the like.",
"A preferred base is LDA.",
"According to one aspect of the invention, the preferred phosphate ester is the following compound 7A: Compound 7A may be prepared from Compound 8 by treating Compound 8 with diethylchlorophosphate: Compound 8 may be obtained by the process described by Kyoku, Kagehira et al in “Preparation of (haloaryl)pyridines,” (API Corporation, Japan).",
"Jpn.",
"Kokai Tokkyo Koho (2004).",
"13 pp. CODEN: JKXXAF JP 2004182713 A2 20040702.",
"Compound 8 is subsequently reacted with a phosphate ester, such as a dialkyl halophosphate, to yield Compound 7A.",
"Diethylchlorophosphate is preferred.",
"The reaction is preferably con ducted in the presence of a base, such as a dialkylithium amide, for example diisopropyl lithium amide.",
"Compound 1 may be further reacted with an organic acid to form a pharmaceutically acceptable salt.",
"Suitable acids include, but are not limited to, for example, hydrochloric, sulfuric, phosphoric, acetic, citric, oxalic, malonic, salicylic, malic, fumaric, succinic, ascorbic, maleic, and methanesulfonic acids.",
"In general, any acid capable of forming a pharmaceutically acceptable salt with Compound 1 may be suitable.",
"Specific Synthesis EXAMPLE 1 Preparation of Compound 3 To a reactor equipped with an agitator, thermometer and nitrogen, were added about 10.5 kg of 2B, 68 L of acetone and 68 L of 1N aqueous hydrochloric acid solution.",
"The mixture was heated to a temperature between 50 and 6° C. and agitated for about 1 hour before cooling to room temperature.",
"After the reaction was judged complete, the solution was concentrated under reduced pressure to about 42 L and then cooled to a temperature between 0 and 5° C. The cooled mixture was agitated for an additional hour.",
"The product 3 was filtered, washed with cooled water and dried to provide an off-white solid (6.9 kg, yield 76%).",
"m.p. 251° C. 1 H NMR (DMSO) δ 12.8 (s, 1H), 4.72 (m, J=5.90 Hz, 1H), 2.58 (m, 2H), 2.40 (m, J=6.03 Hz, 2H), 2.21 (dd, J=19.0, 12.8 Hz, 3H), 2.05 (m, 1H), 1.87 (q, J=8.92 Hz, 1H), 1.75 (m, 1H), 1.55 (m, 1H), 1.35 (q, J=12.6 Hz, 1H), 1.27 (d, J=5.88 Hz, 3H).",
"MS (ESI) M+1 m/z calcd.",
"267, found 267.",
"EXAMPLE 2 Preparation of Compound 4 7.4 kg of ammonium formate was dissolved in 9 L of water at 15-25° C., and then cooled to 0-10° C. 8.9 kg of Compound 3 was charged at 0-15° C. followed by an addition of 89 L of 2B ethyl alcohol.",
"The batch was cooled to 0-5° C. 0.9 kg of 10% Palladium on carbon (50% wet) and 9 L of water were charged.",
"The batch was then warmed to 18-28° C. and agitated for 5 hours, while maintaining the temperature between 18-28° C. After the reaction was judged complete, 71 L of water was charged.",
"The batch was filtered and the wet catalyst cake was then washed with 80 L of water.",
"The pH of the filtrate was adjusted to 1-2 with 4N aqueous hydrochloric acid solution.",
"The solution was used in the next process step without further isolation.",
"The yield is typically quantiative.",
"m.p. 216.4° C. 1 H NMR (D 2 O+1 drop HCl) δ 3.15 (m, 1H), 2.76 (m, 1H), 2.62 (m, 1H), 2.48 (dd, J-5.75 Hz, 1H), 1.94 (m, 2H), 1.78 (m, 2H), 1.38 (m, 2H), 1.20 (m, 6H), 1.18 (m, 1H), 0.98 (q, J=2.99 Hz, 1H).",
"EXAMPLE 3 Preparation of Compound 5 To a three-necked round bottomed flask equipped with an agitator, thermometer and a nitrogen inlet tube was added a solution of Compound 4 in aqueous ethanol (100 g active in 2870 ml).",
"The solution was concentrated to about 700 ml under reduced pressure at 35° C. to 40° C. to remove ethyl alcohol.",
"The resultant homogeneous mixture was cooled to 20° C. to 30° C. and its pH was adjusted to range from 12 to 13 with 250 ml of 25% sodium hydroxide solution while maintaining the temperature at 20-30° C. Then 82 ml of ethyl chloroformate was slowly added to the batch over a period of 1 hour while maintaining the batch temperature from 20° C. to 30° C. and aged for an additional 30 minutes.",
"After the reaction was judged complete, the batch was acidified to pH 7 to 8 with 10 ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid (37%) and 750 ml of ethyl acetate.",
"The pH of the reaction mixture was further adjusted to pH 2 to 3 with 35% aqueous hydrochloric acid solution.",
"The organic layer was separated and the aqueous layer was extracted again with 750 ml of ethyl acetate.",
"The combined organic layers were washed twice with water (200 ml).",
"Compound 5 was isolated from the organic layer by crystallization from ethyl acetate and heptane mixture (1:1 mixture, 1500 ml) at about 70° C. to 80° C. The solid was filtered at 50° C. to 60° C., washed with heptane and then dried to provide an off-white solid (yield 50%).",
"m.p. 197.7° C. 1 HNMR (CD 3 CN) δ 5.31 (brs, 1H), 4.67 (dt, J=16.1, 5.9 Hz, 1H), 4.03 (q, J=7.1 Hz, 2H), 3.41 (m, 1H), 2.55-2.70 (m, 2H), 1.87-1.92 (m, 1H), 1.32-1.42 (m, 1H), 1.30 (d, J=5.92 Hz, 3H), 1.30-1.25 (m, 6H), 0.98 (qt, J=15.7, 3.18 Hz, 2H).",
"MS (ESI) M+1 m/z calculated 340, found 340.",
"EXAMPLE 4 Preparation of Compound 7A To a 10 L three-necked round bottomed flask equipped with an agitator, thermometer and a nitrogen inlet tube, was added 200 g of Compound 8 (1.07 mol, from Synergetica, Philadelphia, Pa.).",
"THF (1000 mL) was added to dissolve Compound 8.",
"After the solution was cooled to −80° C. to −50° C., 2.0 M LDA in hexane/THF (1175 mL, 2.2 eq) was added while maintaining the batch temperature below −50° C. After about 15 minutes of agitation at −80° C. to −50° C., diethyl chlorophosphate (185 mL, 1.2 eq) was added while maintaining the batch temperature below −50° C. The mixture was agitated at a temperature from −80° C. to −50° C. for about 15 minutes and diluted with n-heptane (1000 mL).",
"This mixture was warmed up to about −35° C. and quenched with aqueous ammonium chloride (400 g in 1400 mL water) at a temperature below −10° C. This mixture was agitated at −15° C. to −10° C. for about 15 minutes followed by agitation at 15° C. to 25° C. for about 15 minutes.",
"The aqueous layer was split and extracted with toluene (400 mL).",
"The combined organic layers were extracted with 2N hydrochloric acid (700 mL) twice.",
"The product-containing hydrochloric acid layers were combined and added slowly to a mixture of toluene (1200 mL) and aqueous potassium carbonate (300 g in 800 mL water) at a temperature below 30° C. The aqueous layer was extracted with toluene (1200 mL).",
"The organic layers were combined and concentrated under vacuum to about 600 ml and filtered to remove inorganic salts.",
"To the filtrate was added n-heptane (1000 ml) at about 55° C. The mixture was cooled slowly to 40° C., seeded, and cooled further slowly to −10° C. The resulting slurry was aged at about −10° C. for 1 h, filtered, washed with n-heptane, and dried under vacuum to give a light brown solid (294 g, 85% yield).",
"m.p. 52° C. (DSC onset point).",
"1 H NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ 8.73 (d, J=1.5 Hz, 1H), 7.85 (dd, J 1 =8.0 Hz, J 2 =1.5 Hz, 1H), 7.49 (dd, J 1 =8.0 Hz, J 2 =1.3 Hz, 1H), 7.42 (m, 1H), 7.32 (d, J=7.8 Hz, 1H), 7.24 (m, 1H), 7.08 (dt, J 1 =8.3 Hz, J 2 =2.3 Hz, 1H), 4.09 (m, 4H), 3.48 (d, J=22.0 Hz, 2H), 1.27 (t, J=7.0 Hz, 6H).",
"MS (ESI) for M+H calcd.",
"324, found 324.",
"EXAMPLE 5 Preparation of Compound 6 To a three-neck flask equipped with an agitator, thermometer and nitrogen inert were added the crude product solution of Compound 5 (containing about 31 g. of Compound 5 in 300 mL solution) and anhydrous DMF (0.05 mL).",
"After the mixture was agitated for 5 minutes, oxalyl chloride (12.2 mL) was added slowly while maintaining the batch temperature between 15 and 25° C. The reaction mixture was agitated for about an hour after the addition and checked by NMR for completion of reaction.",
"After the reaction was judged complete, the mixture was concentrated under vacuum to 135 mL while maintaining the temperature of the reaction mixture below 30° C. The excess oxalyl chloride was removed completely by two cycles of vacuum concentration at below 50° C. with replenishment of toluene (315 mL) each time, resulting in a final volume of 68 mL.",
"The reaction mixture was then cooled to 15 to 25° C., after which THF (160 mL) and 2,6-lutidine (22 mL) were added.",
"The mixture was agitated for 16 hours at 20 to 25° C. under 100 psi hydrogen in the presence of dry 5% Pd/C (9.0 g).",
"After the reaction was judged complete, the reaction mixture was filtered through celite to remove catalyst.",
"More THF was added to rinse the hydrogenator and catalyst, and the reaction mixture was again filtered through celite.",
"Combined filtrates were concentrated under vacuum at below 25° C. to 315 mL.",
"MTBE (158 mL) and 10% aqueous solution of phosphoric acid (158 mL) were added for a thorough extraction at 10° C. to remove 2,6-lutidine.",
"Then phosphoric acid was removed by extracting the organic layer with very dilute aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution (about 2%), which was followed by a washing with dilute brine.",
"The organic solution was concentrated atmospherically to a volume of 90 mL for solvent replacement.",
"IPA (315 mL) was added to the concentrated crude product solution.",
"The remaining residual solvent was purged to ≦0.5% of THF (by GC) by repeated concentration under vacuum to 68 mL, with replenishment of IPA (315 mL) before each concentration.",
"The concentrated (68 mL) IPA solution was heated to 50° C., to initiate crystallization.",
"To this mixture n-heptane (68 mL) was added very slowly while maintaining the batch temperature at 50° C. The crystallizing mixture was cooled very slowly over 2.5 hours to 25° C. Additional n-heptane (34 mL) was added very slowly into the suspension mixture at 25° C. The mixture was further cooled to 20° C., and aged at that temperature for about 20 hours.",
"The solid was filtered and washed with a solvent mixture of 25% IPA in n-heptane, and then dried to provide 19.5 g of a beige colored solid of Compound 6.",
"(Yield: 66%) m.p. 169.3° C. 1 H NMR (CD 3 CN) δ 9.74 (d, J=3.03 Hz, 1H), 5.42 (br, 1H), 4.69 (m, 1H), 4.03 (q, J=7.02 Hz, 2H), 3.43 (qt, J=3.80, 7.84 Hz, 1H), 2.67 (m, 2H), 2.50 (dt, J=3.00, 8.52 Hz, 1H), 1.93 (d, J=12.0 Hz, 2H), 1.82 (dt, J=3.28, 9.75 Hz, 2H), 1.54 (qd, J=3.00, 10.5 Hz, 1H), 1.27 (d, J=5.97 Hz, 3H), 1.20 (m, 6H), 1.03−0.92 (m, 2H).",
"MS (ESI) m/z (M + +1): calcd.",
"324, found 324.",
"EXAMPLE 6 Preparation of Compound A To a three-neck flask equipped with an agitator, thermometer and nitrogen inertion was added 7A (13.0 g), THF (30 mL).",
"The mixture was cooled to below −20° C. after which lithium diisopropylamide (2M, 20 mL) was slowly added.",
"The reaction mixture was agitated for an additional hour (Solution A).",
"To another flask was added 6 (10.0 g) and THF (75 mL).",
"The mixture was stirred for about 30 minutes and then slowly transferred into the solution A while maintaining the temperature below −20° C. The mixture was stirred at below −20° C. for an additional hour before quenching the reaction by adding 20 mL of water.",
"The reaction mixture was warmed to 0° C. and the pH was adjusted to about 7 by addition of 25% H 2 SO 4 (11 mL).",
"The mixture was further warmed to 20° C. and then diluted with 100 mL of ethyl acetate and 70 mL of water.",
"The two phases that had formed were separated and the aqueous layer was extracted with 50 mL of ethyl acetate.",
"The solvents THF and ethyl acetate were then replaced with ethanol, and the Compound A was precipitated out as a crystalline solid from ethanol with seeding at 35 to 40° C. After cooling to 0° C., the suspension was stirred for an additional hour and then the product was filtered and washed with cold ethanol.",
"The product was dried at 50-60° C. under vacuum to provide an off-white solid.",
"Yield: 12.7 g, (90%).",
"m.p. 104.9° C. (DSC onset point).",
"1 H NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ 8.88 (d, J=2.4 Hz, 1H), 8.10 (dd, J=8.2, 2.4 Hz, 1H), 7.64 (1H), 7.61 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 1H), 7.55 (m, J=8.2, 6.2 Hz, 1H), 7.51 (d, J=8.0 Hz, 1H), 7.25 (dt, J=9.0, 2.3 Hz, 1H), 7.08 (d, J=8.0 Hz, 1H), 6.68 (dd, J=15.4, 9.4 Hz, 1H), 6.58 (d, J=9.6 Hz, 1H), 4.85 (dd, J=14.2, 7.2 Hz, 1H), 3.95 (dd, J=14.2, 7.1 Hz, 2H), 3.29 (m, 1H), 2.66 (m, J=12.0, 6.4 Hz, 1H), 2.33 (m, 2H), 1.76 (m, 4H), 1.30 (d, J=5.6 Hz, 3H), 1.19 (m, 4H), 1.14 (t, J=7.2 Hz, 3H), 0.98 (m, 1H), 0.84 (m, 1H).",
"MS (EI) m/z: calcd.",
"492, found 492.",
"EXAMPLE 7 Preparation of an Acid Salt (Bisulfate) of Compound A Compound 1A (5 g) was dissolved in about 25 mL of acetonitrile.",
"The solution was agitated for about 10 minutes and then heated to about 50° C. About 6 mL of 2M sulfuric acid in acetonitrile was added into the heated reaction mixture.",
"The solid salt of Compound A precipitated out during the addition of sulfuric acid in acetonitrile.",
"After addition of sulfuric acid solution, the reaction mixture was agitated for 1 hour before cooling to room temperature.",
"The precipitated solid was filtered and washed with about 30 mL of acetonitrile.",
"The wet solid was dried under vacuum at room temperature for 1 hour and at 80° C. for about 12 hours to provide about 5 g white solid (yield 85%).",
"m.p. 217.0° C. 1 H NMR (DMSO) 9.04 (s, 1H), 8.60 (d, J=8.1 Hz, 1H), 8.10 (d, J=8.2 Hz, 1H), 7.76 (d, J=10.4, 1H), 7.71 (d, J=7.8 Hz, 1H), 7.60 (dd, J=8.4, 1.8 Hz, 1H), 7.34 (dd, 8.4, 1.8 Hz, 1H), 7.08 (d, J=8.0 Hz, 1H), 7.02 (m, 1H), 6.69 (d, J=15.8 Hz, 1H), 4.82 (m, 1H), 3.94 (dd, J=14.0, 7.0 Hz, 2H), 3.35 (brs, 1H), 2.68 (m, 1H), 2.38 (m, 2H), 1.80-1.70 (m, 4H), 1.27 (d, J=5.8 Hz, 3H), 1.21 (m, 2H), 1.13 (t, J=7.0 Hz, 3H), 0.95 (m, 1H, 0.85 (m, 1H).",
"MS (EI) m/z calcd.",
"590, found 492.",
"While the present invention has been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments set forth above, many alternatives, modifications and variations thereof will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.",
"All such alternatives, modifications, and variations are intended to fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention."
] |
REFERENCE TO EARLIER-FILED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a Continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/889,975 titled “Broadband Cable Network Utilizing Common Bit-Loading,” filed Jul. 12, 2004, now pending, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 10/778,505 titled “Network Interface Device and Broadband Local Area Network Using Coaxial Cable,” filed Feb. 13, 2004, now abandon, which is a continuation of U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 09/910,412 titled “Network Interface Device and Broadband Local Area Network Using Coaxial Cable,” filed Jul. 21, 2001, now an issued patent, U.S. Pat. No. 7,594,249 Issued on Feb. 14, 2009, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/288,967 titled “Network Interface and Broadband Local Area Network Using Coaxial Cable,” filed May 4, 2001, all of which applications are incorporated herein, in their entirety, by this reference. This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 10/322,834 titled “Broadband Network for Coaxial Cable Using Multi-carrier Modulation,” filed Dec. 18, 2002, now an issued patent, U.S. Pat. No. 7,295,518 Issued on Nov. 13, 2007, which is a continuation of U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 10/230,687 titled “Broadband Network for Coaxial Cable Using Multi-carrier Modulation,” filed Aug. 29, 2002, now abandoned, which claims the benefit of the following U.S. Provisional Applications: (a) Ser. No. 60/316,820 titled “Broadband Local Area Network Using Coaxial Cable,” filed Aug. 30, 2001; (b) Ser. No. 60/363,420 titled “Method of Bit and Energy Loading to Reduce Interference Effects in Devices Sharing a Communication Medium,” filed Mar. 12, 2002; and (c) Ser. No. 60/385,361 titled “Power Loading to Reduce Interference Effects in Devices Sharing a Communication Medium,” filed Jun. 3, 2002, all of which applications are incorporated herein, in their entirety, by this reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of Invention
[0003] The invention relates to broadband communication networks, and in particular to broadband communication networks utilizing coaxial cable.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] The worldwide utilization of external television (“TV”) antennas for receiving broadcast TV, and of cable television and satellite TV is growing at a rapid pace. These TV signals from an external TV antenna, cable TV and satellite TV (such as from direct broadcast satellite “DBS” system) are usually received externally to a building (such as a home or an office) at a point-of-entry (“POE”). There may be multiple TV receivers and/or video monitors within the building and these multiple TV receivers may be in signal communication with the POE via a broadband cable network that may include a plurality of broadband cables and broadband cable splitters. Generally, these broadband cable splitters distribute downstream signals from the POE to various terminals (also known as “nodes”) in the building. The nodes may be connected to various types of customer premise equipment (“CPE”) such as cable converter boxes, televisions, video monitors, cable modems, cable phones and video game consoles.
[0006] Typically, these broadband cables and broadband cable splitters are implemented utilizing coaxial cables and coaxial cable splitters, respectively. Additionally, in the case of cable TV or satellite TV, the multiple TV receivers may be in signal communication with the broadband cable network via a plurality of cable converter boxes, also known as set-top boxes (“STBs”), that are connected between the multiple TV receivers and the broadband cable network via a plurality of network nodes.
[0007] Typically, a STB connects to a coaxial cable from a network node (such as the wall outlet terminal) to receive cable TV and/or satellite TV signals. Usually, the STB receives the cable TV and/or satellite TV signals from the network node and converts them into tuned TV signals that may be received by the TV receiver and/or video signals that may be received by a video monitor.
[0008] In FIG. 1 , an example known broadband cable network 100 (also known as a “cable system” and/or “cable wiring”) is shown within a building 102 (also known as customer premises or “CP”) such as a typical home or office. The broadband cable system 100 may be in signal communication with an optional cable service provider 104 , optional broadcast TV station 106 , and/or optional DBS satellite 108 , via signal path 110 , signal path 112 and external antenna 114 , and signal path 116 and DBS antenna 118 , respectively. The broadband cable system 100 also may be in signal communication with optional CPEs 120 , 122 and 124 , via signal paths 126 , 128 and 130 , respectively.
[0009] In FIG. 2 , another example known broadband cable system is shown within a building (not shown) such as a typically home. The cable system 200 may be in signal communication with a cable provider (not shown), satellite TV dish (not shown), and/or external antenna (not shown) via a signal path 202 such as a main coaxial cable from the building to a cable connection switch (not shown) outside of the building. The cable system 200 may include a POE 204 and main splitter 206 , a sub-splitter 208 , and STBs A 210 , B 212 and C 214 .
[0010] Within the cable system 200 , the POE 204 may be in signal communication with main splitter 206 via signal path 216 . The POE 204 may be the connection point from the cable provider which is located external to the building of the cable system 200 . The POE 202 may be implemented as a coaxial cable connector, transformer and/or filter.
[0011] The main splitter 206 may be in signal communication with sub-splitter 208 and STB A 210 via signal paths 218 and 220 , respectively. The sub-splitter 208 may be in signal communication with STB B 212 and STB C 214 via signal paths 222 and 224 , respectively. The main splitter 206 and sub-splitter 208 may be implemented as coaxial cable splitters. The STB A 210 , B 212 and C 214 may be implemented by numerous well known STB coaxial units such as cable television set-top boxes and/or satellite television set-top boxes. Typically, the signal paths 202 , 216 , 218 , 220 , 222 and 224 may be implemented utilizing coaxial cables.
[0012] In an example operation, the cable system 200 would receive CATV, cable and/or satellite radio frequency (“RF”) TV signals 226 via signal path 202 at the POE 204 . The POE 204 may pass, transform and/or filter the received RF signals to a second RF signal 228 that may be passed to the main splitter 206 via signal path 216 . The main splitter 206 may then split the second RF signal 228 into split RF signals 230 and 232 . The split RF signal 230 is then passed to the sub-splitter 208 and the split RF signal 232 is passed to the STB A 210 via signal paths 218 and 220 , respectively. Once the split RF signal 232 is received by the STB A 210 , the STB A 210 may convert the received split RF signal 232 into a baseband signal 238 that may be passed to a video monitor (not shown) in signal communication with the STB A 210 .
[0013] Once the split RF signal 230 is received by the sub-splitter 208 , the sub-splitter 208 splits the received split RF signal 230 into sub-split RF signals 234 and 236 that are passed to STB B 212 and STB C 214 via signal paths 222 and 224 , respectively. Once the sub-split RF signals 234 and 236 are received by the STB B 212 and STB C 214 , respectively, the STB B 212 and STB C 214 may convert the received sub-split RF signals 234 and 236 into baseband signals 240 and 242 , respectively, that may be passed to video monitors (not shown) in signal communication with STB B 212 and STB C 214 .
[0014] As the utilization of the numbers and types of CPEs in buildings increase (such as the number of televisions, video monitors, cable modems, cable phones, video game consoles, etc., increase in a typical home or office environment), there is a growing need for different CPEs to communicate between themselves in a network type of environment within the building. As an example, users in a home may desire to play network video games between different rooms in home environment utilizing the coaxial cable network installed throughout the home. Additionally, in another example, users in a home may want to share other types of digital data (such video and/or computer information) between different rooms in a home.
[0015] Unfortunately, most broadband cable networks (such as the examples shown in both FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 ) presently utilized within most existing buildings are not configured to allow for easy networking between CPEs because most broadband cable networks utilize broadband cable splitters that are designed to split an incoming signal from the POE into numerous split signals that are passed to the different nodes in different rooms.
[0016] As an example, in a typical home the signal splitters are commonly coaxial cable splitters that have an input port and multiple output ports. Generally, the input port is known as a common port and the output ports are known as tap ports. These types of splitters are generally passive devices and may be constructed using lumped element circuits with discrete transformers, inductors, capacitors, and resistors and/or using strip-line or microstrip circuits. These types of splitters are generally bi-directional because they may also function as signal combiners, which sum the power from the multiple tap ports into a single output at the common port.
[0017] However, presently many CPEs utilized in modern cable and DBS systems have the ability to transmit as well as receive. If a CPE is capable of transmitting an upstream signal, the transmitted upstream signal from that CPE typically flows through the signal splitters back to the POE and to the cable and/or DBS provider. In this reverse flow direction, the signal splitters function as signal combiners for upstream signals from the CPEs to the POE. Usually, most of the energy from the upstream signals is passed from the CPEs to the POE because the splitters typically have a high level of isolation between the different connected terminals resulting in significant isolation between the various CPEs.
[0018] The isolation creates a difficult environment to network between the different CPEs because the isolation results in difficulty for transmitting two-way communication data between the different CPEs. Unfortunately, CPEs are becoming increasingly complex and a growing number of users desire to connect these multiple CPEs into different types of networks.
[0019] Therefore, there is a need for a system and method to connect a variety of CPEs into a local network, such as local-area network (“LAN”), within a building such as a home or office. Additionally, there is a need for a system and method to connect a variety of CPEs into a local network, such as a LAN, within a building such as a home or office while allowing the utilization of an existing coaxial cable network within the building.
SUMMARY
[0020] A broadband cable network (“BCN”) for determining a common bit-loading modulation scheme for communicating between a plurality of nodes in the BCN is disclosed. The BCN may include a transmitting node within the plurality of nodes where the transmitting node is capable of sending a probe signal to the plurality of nodes, and at least one receiving node within the plurality of nodes in signal communication with the transmitting node. The at least one receiving node is capable of transmitting a first response signal in response to receiving the probe signal. The first response signal includes a first bit-loading modulation scheme determined by the at least one receiving node. The transmitting node is further capable of determining the common bit-loading modulation scheme from the first response signal.
[0021] The BCN may further include a sub-plurality of receiving nodes within the plurality of nodes wherein the sub-plurality of receiving nodes are capable of transmitting a sub-plurality of response signals in response to receiving the probe signal. The sub-plurality of response signals may include other bit-loading modulation schemes and each bit-loading modulation scheme may be determined by a receiving node within the sub-plurality of receiving nodes. The transmitting node may be capable of determining the common bit-loading modulation scheme from the first response signal and the sub-plurality of response signals.
[0022] As an example of operation, the BCN is capable of transmitting a probe signal from the transmitting node to the plurality of receiving nodes and receiving a plurality of response signals from the corresponding receiving nodes of the plurality of receiving nodes, wherein each of the response signals includes a bit-loading modulation scheme determined by the corresponding receiving node. The BCN is further capable of determining the common bit-loading modulation scheme from the received plurality of response signals.
[0023] Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] The invention can be better understood with reference to the following figures. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.
[0025] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an example implementation of a known broadband cable system within a building.
[0026] FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of another example implementation of a known broadband cable system within the building shown in FIG. 1 .
[0027] FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of an example implementation of a broadband cable network (“BCN”) within a building.
[0028] FIG. 4 shows a functional diagram showing the communication between the different nodes shown in the BCN of FIG. 3 in a unicast mode.
[0029] FIG. 5 shows another functional diagram showing the communication between the different nodes shown in the BCN of FIG. 3 in a broadcast mode.
[0030] FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of an example implementation of the BCN shown in FIG. 3 when node A is communicating to node B.
[0031] FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of another example implementation of the BCN shown in FIG. 3 when node A is communicating to node C.
[0032] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of an example implementation of the BCN shown in FIG. 3 when node C is communicating to node B.
[0033] FIG. 9 shows a plot of the transfer function versus frequency for the channel path between node A and node B and the channel path between node A and node C shown in both FIGS. 6 and 7 .
[0034] FIG. 10A shows a plot of the bit-loading constellation versus carrier number for the channel path between node A and node B shown in FIG. 9 .
[0035] FIG. 10B shows a plot of the bit-loading constellation versus carrier number for the channel path between node A and node C shown in FIG. 9 .
[0036] FIG. 10C shows a plot of the bit-loading constellation versus carrier number for the resulting broadcast channel path between node A and node B and node A and node C based on the constellations shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B .
[0037] FIG. 11 shows a flowchart illustrating the method performed by the BCN shown in FIG. 3 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0038] In the following description of the preferred embodiment, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration a specific embodiment in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
[0039] In FIG. 3 , a block diagram of an example implementation of a broadband cable network (“BCN”) 300 utilizing common bit-loading within a customer premises (“CP”) 302 is shown. The CP 302 may be a building such as a home or office having a plurality of customer premises equipment (“CPE”) 304 , 306 and 308 in signal communication with the BCN 300 via a plurality of corresponding CPE signal paths 310 , 312 and 314 . The BCN 300 may be in signal communication optionally with an external antenna (not shown), cable provider (not shown) and/or direct broadcast satellite (“DBS”) provider (not shown) via external BCN path 316 .
[0040] The BCN 300 may include a point-of-entry (“POE”) 320 , a splitter network 322 and a plurality of nodes such as node A 324 , node B 326 and node C 328 . The splitter network 322 may be in signal communication with the POE 320 , via signal path 330 , and the plurality of nodes 324 , 326 and 328 via signal paths 332 , 334 and 336 , respectively. The nodes 324 , 326 and 328 may be in signal communication with the CPEs 304 , 306 and 308 via signal paths 310 , 312 and 314 , respectively.
[0041] In an example operation, the BCN 300 receives input radio frequency (“RF”) signals from optionally the external antenna (not shown), cable provider (not shown) and/or direct broadcast satellite (“DBS”) provider (not shown) at the POE 320 via external BCN path 316 . The BCN 300 then passes the input RF signals from POE 320 to the splitter network 322 , via signal path 330 , and the splitter network 322 splits the input RF signal into split RF signals that are passed to the nodes 324 , 326 and 328 via signal paths 332 , 334 and 336 , respectively. It is appreciated by those skilled in the art that the BCN 300 may be implemented as a coaxial cable network utilizing coaxial cables and components.
[0042] In FIG. 4 , a functional diagram 400 showing the communication between various nodes 402 , 404 and 406 corresponding to the nodes in the BCN 300 , FIG. 3 , is shown. The nodes 402 , 404 and 406 may be interconnected between node pairs utilizing corresponding inter-node channels between the node pairs. It is appreciated by those skilled in the art that even if the nodes are individually connected with one another via a signal inter-node channel between the node pairs, each inter-node channel between node pairs may be asymmetric. Therefore, inter-node channels between node A 402 , node B 404 and node C 406 may be asymmetric and therefore utilize different bit-loading modulation schemes depending on the direction of the signals between the nodes. As a result, the typically asymmetric inter-node channels between node A 402 , node B 404 and node C 406 may be described by the corresponding direction-dependent node channels AB, BA, AC, CA, BC and CB.
[0043] As an example, node A 402 is in signal communication with node B 404 via signal paths 408 and 410 . Signal path 408 corresponds to the AB channel and signal path 410 corresponds to the BA channel. Additionally, node A 402 is also in signal communication with node C 406 via signal paths 412 and 414 . Signal path 412 corresponds to the AC channel and signal path 414 corresponds to the CA channel. Similarly, node B 404 is also in signal communication with node C 406 via signal paths 416 and 418 . Signal path 416 corresponds to the BC channel and signal path 418 corresponds to the CB channel.
[0044] In this example, the AB channel corresponds to the channel utilized by node A 402 transmitting to node B 404 along signal path 408 . The BA channel corresponds to the reverse channel utilized by node B 404 transmitting to node A 402 along signal path 410 . Similarly, the AC channel corresponds to the channel utilized by node A 402 transmitting to node C 406 along signal path 412 . The CA channel corresponds to the reverse channel utilized by node C 406 transmitting to node A 402 along signal path 414 . Moreover, the BC channel corresponds to the channel utilized by node B 404 transmitting to node C 406 along signal path 416 . The CB channel corresponds to the reverse channel utilized by node C 406 transmitting to node B 404 along signal path 418 .
[0045] In example of operation, in order for node A 402 to transmit the same message to both node B 404 and node C 406 using the AB channel along signal path 408 and AC channel along signal path 412 , node A 402 will need to transmit (i.e., “unicast”) the same message twice, once to node B 404 and a second time to node C 406 because channel AB and channel AC may utilize different bit-loading modulation schemes.
[0046] In FIG. 5 , another functional diagram 500 showing the communication between various nodes 502 , 504 and 506 corresponding to the nodes in the BCN 300 , FIG. 3 , is shown. In FIG. 5 , node A 502 may transmit a message in a broadcast mode (also known as a “multicast” mode) simultaneously to node B 504 and node C 506 using an A-BC channel via signal path 508 . The message transmission utilizing the A-BC channel, along signal path 508 , is the equivalent of simultaneously transmitting a broadcast message from node A 502 to node B 504 via an AB channel along signal path 510 and to node C 506 via an AC channel along signal path 512 in a fashion that is similar to transmission described in FIG. 4 . However, in order to insure that both node B 504 and node C 506 receive the transmissions broadcast signal from node A 502 , node A 502 utilizes a bit-loading modulation scheme that is known as a common bit-loaded modulation scheme. The common bit-loaded modulation scheme transmitted via the A-BC channel, along signal path 508 , is a combination of the bit-loading modulation scheme transmitted via the AB channel, along signal path 510 , and the AC channel, along signal path 512 .
[0047] It is appreciated by those skilled in the art that the different channels typically utilize different bit-loading modulation schemes because the channels are physically and electrically different in the cable network. Physically the channels typically vary in length between nodes and electrically vary because of the paths through and reflections from the various cables, switches, terminals, connections and other electrical components in the cable network. Bit-loading is the process of optimizing the bit distribution to each of the channels to increase throughput. A bit-loading scheme is described in U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 10/322,834 titled “Broadband Network for Coaxial Cable Using Multi-carrier Modulation,” filed Dec. 18, 2002, which is incorporated herein, in its entirety, by reference.
[0048] The BCN may operate with waveforms that utilize bit-loaded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). Therefore, the BCN may transmit multiple carrier signals (i.e., signals with different carrier frequencies) with different QAM constellations on each carrier. As an example, over a bandwidth of about 50 MHz, the BCN may have 256 different carriers which in the best circumstances would utilize up to 256 QAM modulation carriers. If instead the channel is poor, the BCN may utilize BPSK on all the carriers instead of QAM. If the channel is good in some places and poor in others, the BCN may utilize high QAM in some parts and lower types modulation in others.
[0049] As an example, in FIG. 6 , a block diagram of an example implementation of the BCN 600 is shown. The BCN 600 may be in signal communication with a cable provider (not shown), satellite TV dish (not shown), and/or external antenna (not shown) via a signal path 602 such as a main coaxial cable from the customer premises to a cable connection switch (not shown) outside of the customer premises.
[0050] The BCN 600 may include a POE 604 and main splitter 606 , a sub-splitter 608 , nodes A 610 , B 612 and C 614 , and STBs A 616 , B 618 and C 620 . Within the BCN 600 , the POE 604 may be in signal communication with main splitter 606 via signal path 622 . The POE 604 may be the connection point from the cable provider which is located external to the customer premises of the BCN 600 . The POE 604 may be implemented as a coaxial cable connector, transformer and/or filter.
[0051] The main splitter 606 may be in signal communication with sub-splitter 608 and node C 614 via signal paths 624 and 626 , respectively. The sub-splitter 608 may be in signal communication with node A 610 and node B 612 via signal paths 628 and 630 , respectively. The main splitter 606 and sub-splitter 608 may be implemented as coaxial cable splitters. Node A 610 may be in signal communication with STB A 616 via signal path 632 . Similarly, node B 612 may be in signal communication with STB B 618 via signal path 634 . Moreover, node C 614 may be in signal communication with STB C 620 via signal path 636 . STBs A 616 , B 618 and C 620 may be implemented by numerous well known STB coaxial units such as cable television set-top boxes and/or satellite television set-top boxes. Typically, the signal paths 602 , 622 , 624 , 626 , 628 , 630 , 632 , 634 and 636 may be implemented utilizing coaxial cables.
[0052] As an example of operation, if node A 610 transmits a message to node B 612 , the message will propagate through two transmission paths from node A 610 to node B 612 . The first transmission path 640 travels from node A 610 through signal path 628 , sub-splitter 608 and signal path 630 to node B 612 . The second transmission path includes transmission sub-paths 642 and 644 . The first sub-path 642 travels from node A 610 through signal path 628 , sub-splitter 608 , signal path 624 , main splitter 606 and signal path 622 to POE 604 . The second sub-path 644 travels from POE 604 , through signal path 622 , main splitter 606 , signal path 624 , sub-splitter 608 and signal path 630 .
[0053] The first transmission path 640 is typically very lossy and experiences a high amount of attenuation because of the isolation between the outputs of sub-splitter 608 . The second transmission path, however, does not experience the attenuation of the first transmission path 640 . The second transmission path results from the transmission of message signal 646 from node A 610 to the POE 604 along the first sub-path 642 which results in a reflected message signal 648 from the POE 604 . The reflected message signal 648 results from impedance mismatches between the POE 604 and the rest of the BCN 600 .
[0054] As another example, in FIG. 7 , another block diagram of an example implementation of the BCN 700 is shown. Similar to FIG. 6 , in FIG. 7 , the BCN 700 may be in signal communication with a cable provider (not shown), satellite TV dish (not shown), and/or external antenna (not shown) via a signal path 702 such as a main coaxial cable from the customer premises to a cable connection switch (not shown) outside of the customer premises.
[0055] The BCN 700 may include a POE 704 and main splitter 706 , a sub-splitter 708 , nodes A 710 , B 712 and C 714 , and STBs A 716 , B 718 and C 720 . Within the BCN 700 , the POE 704 may be in signal communication with main splitter 706 via signal path 722 . The POE 704 may be the connection point from the cable provider which is located external to the customer premises of the BCN 700 . The POE 704 may be implemented as a coaxial cable connector, transformer and/or filter.
[0056] The main splitter 706 may be in signal communication with sub-splitter 708 and node C 714 via signal paths 724 and 726 , respectively. The sub-splitter 708 may be in signal communication with node A 710 and node B 712 via signal paths 728 and 730 , respectively. The main splitter 706 and sub-splitter 708 may be implemented as coaxial cable splitters. Node A 710 may be in signal communication with STB A 716 via signal path 732 . Similarly, node B 712 may be in signal communication with STB B 718 via signal path 734 . Moreover, node C 714 may be in signal communication with STB C 720 via signal path 736 . STBs A 716 , B 718 and C 720 may be implemented by numerous well known STB coaxial units such as cable television set-top boxes and/or satellite television set-top boxes. Typically, the signal paths 702 , 722 , 724 , 726 , 728 , 730 , 732 , 734 and 736 may be implemented utilizing coaxial cables.
[0057] As an example of operation, if node A 710 transmits a message to node C 714 , the message will propagate through two transmission paths from node A 710 to node C 714 . The first transmission path 740 travels from node A 710 through signal path 728 , sub-splitter 708 , signal path 724 , main splitter 706 and signal path 726 to node C 714 . The second transmission path includes transmission sub-paths 742 and 744 . The first sub-path 742 travels from node A 710 through signal path 728 , sub-splitter 708 , signal path 724 , main splitter 706 and signal path 722 to POE 704 . The second sub-path 744 travels from POE 704 , through signal path 722 , main splitter 706 , and signal path 726 to node C 714 .
[0058] The first transmission path 740 is typically very lossy and experiences a high amount of attenuation because of the isolation between the outputs of sub-splitter 708 and main splitter 706 . The second transmission path, however, does not experience the attenuation of the first transmission path 740 . The second transmission path results from the transmission of message signal 746 from node A 710 to the POE 704 along the first sub-path 742 which results in a reflected message signal 748 from the POE 704 . The reflected message signal 748 results from mismatches between the POE 704 and the rest of the BCN 700 .
[0059] As still another example, in FIG. 8 , another block diagram of an example implementation of the BCN 800 is shown. Similar to FIGS. 6 and 7 , in FIG. 8 , the BCN 800 may be in signal communication with a cable provider (not shown), satellite TV dish (not shown), and/or external antenna (not shown) via a signal path 802 such as a main coaxial cable from the customer premises to a cable connection switch (not shown) outside of the customer premises.
[0060] The BCN 800 may include a POE 804 and main splitter 806 , a sub-splitter 808 , nodes A 810 , B 812 and C 814 , and STBs A 816 , B 818 and C 820 . Within the BCN 800 , the POE 804 may be in signal communication with main splitter 806 via signal path 822 . The POE 804 may be the connection point from the cable provider which is located external to the customer premises of the BCN 800 . The POE 804 may be implemented as a coaxial cable connector, transformer and/or filter.
[0061] The main splitter 806 may be in signal communication with sub-splitter 808 and node C 814 via signal paths 824 and 826 , respectively. The sub-splitter 808 may be in signal communication with node A 810 and node B 812 via signal paths 828 and 830 , respectively. The main splitter 806 and sub-splitter 808 may be implemented as coaxial cable splitters. Node A 810 may be in signal communication with STB A 816 via signal path 832 . Similarly, node B 812 may be in signal communication with STB B 818 via signal path 834 . Moreover, node C 814 may be in signal communication with STB C 820 via signal path 836 . STBs A 816 , B 818 and C 820 may be implemented by numerous well known STB coaxial units such as cable television set-top boxes and/or satellite television set-top boxes. Typically, the signal paths 802 , 822 , 824 , 826 , 828 , 830 , 832 , 834 and 836 may be implemented utilizing coaxial cables.
[0062] As an example of operation, if node C 814 transmits a message to node B 812 , the message will propagate through two transmission paths from node C 814 to node B 812 . The first transmission path 840 travels from node C 814 through signal path 826 , main splitter 806 , signal path 824 , sub-splitter 808 and signal path 830 to node B 812 . The second transmission path includes two transmission sub-paths 842 and 844 . The first sub-path 842 travels from node C 814 through signal path 826 , main splitter 806 , and signal path 822 to POE 804 . The second sub-path 844 travels from POE 804 , through signal path 822 , main splitter 806 , signal path 824 , sub-splitter 808 and signal path 830 to node B 812 .
[0063] The first transmission path 840 is typically very lossy and experiences a high amount of attenuation because of the isolation between the outputs of sub-splitter 808 and main splitter 806 . The second transmission path, however, does not experience the attenuation of the first transmission path 840 . The second transmission path results from the transmission of message signal 846 from node C 814 to the POE 804 along the first sub-path 842 which results in a reflected message signal 848 from the POE 804 . The reflected message signal 848 results from mismatches between the POE 804 and rest of the BCN 800 .
[0064] In FIG. 9 , a plot 900 of the maximum bit-loading constellation 902 versus frequency 904 is shown for the channel path utilized by node A to transmit to node B and the channel path utilized by node A to transmit to node C. Line 906 represents the AB channel and line 908 represents the AC channel. The AB channel has a null 910 that represents the reflection distance from the POE to node B. The AC channel has nulls 912 and 914 . Null 912 represents the reflection distance from the POE to node C and null 914 represents a harmonic that is a multiple value of the value of null 912 . In general, the nulls are caused by the properties, e.g., amplitudes and time delays, that are unique to each transmission path in the network.
[0065] Returning to FIG. 5 , the BCN, in order to insure that both node B 504 and node C 506 are able to receive a broadcast signal transmitted from node A 502 , utilizes a bit-loading modulation scheme that is known as the common bit-loaded modulation scheme. The common bit-loaded modulation scheme transmitted via the A-BC channel, along signal path 508 , is a combination of the bit-loading modulation scheme transmitted via the AB channel, along signal path 510 , and the AC channel, along signal path 512 .
[0066] Therefore, in FIG. 10A , a plot 1000 of carrier frequency signals of various bit-loading constellations 1002 versus carrier number 1004 for the AB channel path between node A and node B is shown. Line 1006 represents the AB channel and follows an envelope of the constellation sizes of the 8 different carrier number signals within the AB channel. As an example, within the AB channel carrier number signals 1 and 8 may transmit at a constellation size of 256 QAM, carrier number signals 2 , 3 and 7 may transmit at a constellation size of 128 QAM, carrier number signals 4 and 6 may transmit at a constellation size of 64 QAM, and carrier number signal 5 may be OFF (i.e., no carrier signal of any constellation size may be transmitted because of the null in the channel characteristics).
[0067] Similarly in FIG. 10B , a plot 1008 of carrier frequency signals of various bit-loading constellations 1010 versus carrier number 1012 for the AC channel path between node A and node C is shown. Line 1014 represents the AC channel and follows an envelope of the constellation sizes of the 8 different carrier number signals within the AC channel. As an example, within the AC channel carrier number signals 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 and 8 may transmit at a constellation size of 128 QAM, carrier number signal 5 may transmit at a constellation size of 256 QAM, and carrier number signals 3 and 7 may be OFF (again, no carrier signals may be transmitted because of nulls in the channel characteristics).
[0068] In FIG. 10C , a plot 1016 of the common carrier frequency signals of various bit-loading constellations 1018 versus carrier number 1020 for the A-BC channel path between node A and nodes B and C is shown. In this example, plot 1016 shows that within the A-BC channel, carrier number signals 1 , 2 and 8 may transmit at a constellation size of 128 QAM, carrier number signals 4 and 6 may transmit at a constellation size of 64 QAM, and carrier number signals 3 , 5 and 7 are OFF. These carrier number signal values are the result of comparing the carrier number signals from the AB channel in FIG. 10A and the corresponding carrier number signals from the AC channel in FIG. 10B and choosing the lowest corresponding modulation value for each carrier number. The resulting common carrier frequency signals in FIG. 10C graphically represent signals utilizing the common bit-loaded modulation scheme. These signals would be able to transmit information from node A to node B and node C simultaneously.
[0069] FIG. 11 shows a flowchart 1100 illustrating the method performed by the BCN shown in FIG. 3 . In FIG. 11 , the process starts in step 1102 . In step 1104 , a transmitting node transmits a probe signal from the transmitting node to a plurality of receiving nodes. In response, the receiving nodes receive the probe signal from the transmitting node. In step 1106 , a receiving node of the plurality of receiving nodes receives the probe signal through the appropriate channel path of transmission. The receiving node then determines the transmission characteristics of the channel path from the transmitting node to the receiving node in step 1108 and in response to the determined transmission characteristics of the channel path, the receiving node determines a bit-loaded modulation scheme for the transmission characteristics of the channel path in step 1110 . It is appreciate by those skilled in the art that the transmission characteristics of the channel path may be determined by measuring the metric values of the channel path. Examples of the metric values may include the signal-to-noise ratio (also known as the “SNR” and “S/N”) and/or the bit-error rate (“BER”) or product error rate (PER), or power level or similar measurement of the received signal at the corresponding remote device. Additionally, other signal performance metric values are also possible without departing from the scope of the invention.
[0070] The receiving node then, in step 1112 , transmits a response signal to the transmitting node, informing the transmitting node of the recently-determined bit-loaded modulation scheme.
[0071] The transmitting node then receives a plurality of response signals, in step 1114 , from the corresponding receiving nodes wherein each of the response signals informs the transmitting node of the corresponding bit-loaded modulation scheme determined by each of the plurality of receiving nodes. In response to receiving the plurality of response signals, the transmitting node, in step 1116 , compares the plurality of bit-loaded modulation schemes from the corresponding received plurality of response signals and, in step 1118 , determines the common bit-loaded modulation scheme. Once the transmitting node determines the common bit-loaded modulation scheme, the transmitting node, in step 1120 , transmits a broadcast signal relaying the common bit-loaded modulation scheme to the plurality of receiving nodes. This broadcast signal may either contain handshake information from the transmitting node to the plurality of receiving nodes or it may actually be a communication message containing information such as video, music, voice and/or other data.
[0072] In decision step 1122 , if all the nodes in BCN have performed the handshake process that determines the common bit-loaded modulation scheme in steps 1102 through 1120 , the handshake process is complete and process ends in step 1124 , at which time the BCN may begin to freely transmit information between the various nodes. If instead, there are still nodes in the BCN that have not performed the handshake process that determines the common bit-loaded modulation scheme in steps 1102 through 1120 , the process then returns to step 1126 . In step 1126 , the BCN selects the next node in the BCN and the process steps 1102 to 1122 repeat again. Once all the nodes in the BCN have preformed the handshake process, the handshake process is complete and process ends in step 1124 at which time the BCN may begin to freely transmit information between the various nodes.
[0073] The process in FIG. 11 may be performed by hardware or software. If the process is performed by software, the software may reside in software memory (not shown) in the BCN. The software in software memory may include an ordered listing of executable instructions for implementing logical functions (i.e., “logic” that may be implemented either in digital form such as digital circuitry or source code or in analog form such as analog circuitry or an analog source such as an analog electrical, sound or video signal), may selectively be embodied in any computer-readable (or signal-bearing) medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that may selectively fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. In the context of this document, a “computer-readable medium” and/or “signal-bearing medium” is any means that may contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The computer readable medium may selectively be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. More specific examples, that is “a non-exhaustive list” of the computer-readable media, would include the following: an electrical connection (electronic) having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette (magnetic), a RAM (electronic), a read-only memory “ROM” (electronic), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) (electronic), an optical fiber (optical), and a portable compact disc read-only memory “CDROM” (optical). Note that the computer-readable medium may even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, via for instance, optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in a suitable manner if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory.
[0074] While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible that are within the scope of this invention. | A broadband cable network (“BCN”) for determining a common bit-loading modulation scheme for communicating between a plurality of nodes in the BCN is disclosed. The BCN may include a transmitting node within the plurality of nodes where the transmitting node is capable of sending a probe signal to the plurality of nodes, and at least one receiving node within the plurality of nodes in signal communication with the transmitting node. The at least one receiving node is capable of transmitting a first response signal in response to receiving the probe signal. The first response signal includes a first bit-loading modulation scheme determined by the at least one receiving node. The transmitting node is further capable of determining the common bit-loading modulation scheme from the first response signal. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the invention. | [
"REFERENCE TO EARLIER-FILED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a Continuation application of U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 10/889,975 titled “Broadband Cable Network Utilizing Common Bit-Loading,” filed Jul. 12, 2004, now pending, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Utility application Ser.",
"No. 10/778,505 titled “Network Interface Device and Broadband Local Area Network Using Coaxial Cable,” filed Feb. 13, 2004, now abandon, which is a continuation of U.S. Utility application Ser.",
"No. 09/910,412 titled “Network Interface Device and Broadband Local Area Network Using Coaxial Cable,” filed Jul. 21, 2001, now an issued patent, U.S. Pat. No. 7,594,249 Issued on Feb. 14, 2009, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.",
"No. 60/288,967 titled “Network Interface and Broadband Local Area Network Using Coaxial Cable,” filed May 4, 2001, all of which applications are incorporated herein, in their entirety, by this reference.",
"This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. Utility application Ser.",
"No. 10/322,834 titled “Broadband Network for Coaxial Cable Using Multi-carrier Modulation,” filed Dec. 18, 2002, now an issued patent, U.S. Pat. No. 7,295,518 Issued on Nov. 13, 2007, which is a continuation of U.S. Utility application Ser.",
"No. 10/230,687 titled “Broadband Network for Coaxial Cable Using Multi-carrier Modulation,” filed Aug. 29, 2002, now abandoned, which claims the benefit of the following U.S. Provisional Applications: (a) Ser.",
"No. 60/316,820 titled “Broadband Local Area Network Using Coaxial Cable,” filed Aug. 30, 2001;",
"(b) Ser.",
"No. 60/363,420 titled “Method of Bit and Energy Loading to Reduce Interference Effects in Devices Sharing a Communication Medium,” filed Mar. 12, 2002;",
"and (c) Ser.",
"No. 60/385,361 titled “Power Loading to Reduce Interference Effects in Devices Sharing a Communication Medium,” filed Jun. 3, 2002, all of which applications are incorporated herein, in their entirety, by this reference.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1.",
"Field of Invention [0003] The invention relates to broadband communication networks, and in particular to broadband communication networks utilizing coaxial cable.",
"[0004] 2.",
"Related Art [0005] The worldwide utilization of external television (“TV”) antennas for receiving broadcast TV, and of cable television and satellite TV is growing at a rapid pace.",
"These TV signals from an external TV antenna, cable TV and satellite TV (such as from direct broadcast satellite “DBS”",
"system) are usually received externally to a building (such as a home or an office) at a point-of-entry (“POE”).",
"There may be multiple TV receivers and/or video monitors within the building and these multiple TV receivers may be in signal communication with the POE via a broadband cable network that may include a plurality of broadband cables and broadband cable splitters.",
"Generally, these broadband cable splitters distribute downstream signals from the POE to various terminals (also known as “nodes”) in the building.",
"The nodes may be connected to various types of customer premise equipment (“CPE”) such as cable converter boxes, televisions, video monitors, cable modems, cable phones and video game consoles.",
"[0006] Typically, these broadband cables and broadband cable splitters are implemented utilizing coaxial cables and coaxial cable splitters, respectively.",
"Additionally, in the case of cable TV or satellite TV, the multiple TV receivers may be in signal communication with the broadband cable network via a plurality of cable converter boxes, also known as set-top boxes (“STBs”), that are connected between the multiple TV receivers and the broadband cable network via a plurality of network nodes.",
"[0007] Typically, a STB connects to a coaxial cable from a network node (such as the wall outlet terminal) to receive cable TV and/or satellite TV signals.",
"Usually, the STB receives the cable TV and/or satellite TV signals from the network node and converts them into tuned TV signals that may be received by the TV receiver and/or video signals that may be received by a video monitor.",
"[0008] In FIG. 1 , an example known broadband cable network 100 (also known as a “cable system”",
"and/or “cable wiring”) is shown within a building 102 (also known as customer premises or “CP”) such as a typical home or office.",
"The broadband cable system 100 may be in signal communication with an optional cable service provider 104 , optional broadcast TV station 106 , and/or optional DBS satellite 108 , via signal path 110 , signal path 112 and external antenna 114 , and signal path 116 and DBS antenna 118 , respectively.",
"The broadband cable system 100 also may be in signal communication with optional CPEs 120 , 122 and 124 , via signal paths 126 , 128 and 130 , respectively.",
"[0009] In FIG. 2 , another example known broadband cable system is shown within a building (not shown) such as a typically home.",
"The cable system 200 may be in signal communication with a cable provider (not shown), satellite TV dish (not shown), and/or external antenna (not shown) via a signal path 202 such as a main coaxial cable from the building to a cable connection switch (not shown) outside of the building.",
"The cable system 200 may include a POE 204 and main splitter 206 , a sub-splitter 208 , and STBs A 210 , B 212 and C 214 .",
"[0010] Within the cable system 200 , the POE 204 may be in signal communication with main splitter 206 via signal path 216 .",
"The POE 204 may be the connection point from the cable provider which is located external to the building of the cable system 200 .",
"The POE 202 may be implemented as a coaxial cable connector, transformer and/or filter.",
"[0011] The main splitter 206 may be in signal communication with sub-splitter 208 and STB A 210 via signal paths 218 and 220 , respectively.",
"The sub-splitter 208 may be in signal communication with STB B 212 and STB C 214 via signal paths 222 and 224 , respectively.",
"The main splitter 206 and sub-splitter 208 may be implemented as coaxial cable splitters.",
"The STB A 210 , B 212 and C 214 may be implemented by numerous well known STB coaxial units such as cable television set-top boxes and/or satellite television set-top boxes.",
"Typically, the signal paths 202 , 216 , 218 , 220 , 222 and 224 may be implemented utilizing coaxial cables.",
"[0012] In an example operation, the cable system 200 would receive CATV, cable and/or satellite radio frequency (“RF”) TV signals 226 via signal path 202 at the POE 204 .",
"The POE 204 may pass, transform and/or filter the received RF signals to a second RF signal 228 that may be passed to the main splitter 206 via signal path 216 .",
"The main splitter 206 may then split the second RF signal 228 into split RF signals 230 and 232 .",
"The split RF signal 230 is then passed to the sub-splitter 208 and the split RF signal 232 is passed to the STB A 210 via signal paths 218 and 220 , respectively.",
"Once the split RF signal 232 is received by the STB A 210 , the STB A 210 may convert the received split RF signal 232 into a baseband signal 238 that may be passed to a video monitor (not shown) in signal communication with the STB A 210 .",
"[0013] Once the split RF signal 230 is received by the sub-splitter 208 , the sub-splitter 208 splits the received split RF signal 230 into sub-split RF signals 234 and 236 that are passed to STB B 212 and STB C 214 via signal paths 222 and 224 , respectively.",
"Once the sub-split RF signals 234 and 236 are received by the STB B 212 and STB C 214 , respectively, the STB B 212 and STB C 214 may convert the received sub-split RF signals 234 and 236 into baseband signals 240 and 242 , respectively, that may be passed to video monitors (not shown) in signal communication with STB B 212 and STB C 214 .",
"[0014] As the utilization of the numbers and types of CPEs in buildings increase (such as the number of televisions, video monitors, cable modems, cable phones, video game consoles, etc.",
", increase in a typical home or office environment), there is a growing need for different CPEs to communicate between themselves in a network type of environment within the building.",
"As an example, users in a home may desire to play network video games between different rooms in home environment utilizing the coaxial cable network installed throughout the home.",
"Additionally, in another example, users in a home may want to share other types of digital data (such video and/or computer information) between different rooms in a home.",
"[0015] Unfortunately, most broadband cable networks (such as the examples shown in both FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 ) presently utilized within most existing buildings are not configured to allow for easy networking between CPEs because most broadband cable networks utilize broadband cable splitters that are designed to split an incoming signal from the POE into numerous split signals that are passed to the different nodes in different rooms.",
"[0016] As an example, in a typical home the signal splitters are commonly coaxial cable splitters that have an input port and multiple output ports.",
"Generally, the input port is known as a common port and the output ports are known as tap ports.",
"These types of splitters are generally passive devices and may be constructed using lumped element circuits with discrete transformers, inductors, capacitors, and resistors and/or using strip-line or microstrip circuits.",
"These types of splitters are generally bi-directional because they may also function as signal combiners, which sum the power from the multiple tap ports into a single output at the common port.",
"[0017] However, presently many CPEs utilized in modern cable and DBS systems have the ability to transmit as well as receive.",
"If a CPE is capable of transmitting an upstream signal, the transmitted upstream signal from that CPE typically flows through the signal splitters back to the POE and to the cable and/or DBS provider.",
"In this reverse flow direction, the signal splitters function as signal combiners for upstream signals from the CPEs to the POE.",
"Usually, most of the energy from the upstream signals is passed from the CPEs to the POE because the splitters typically have a high level of isolation between the different connected terminals resulting in significant isolation between the various CPEs.",
"[0018] The isolation creates a difficult environment to network between the different CPEs because the isolation results in difficulty for transmitting two-way communication data between the different CPEs.",
"Unfortunately, CPEs are becoming increasingly complex and a growing number of users desire to connect these multiple CPEs into different types of networks.",
"[0019] Therefore, there is a need for a system and method to connect a variety of CPEs into a local network, such as local-area network (“LAN”), within a building such as a home or office.",
"Additionally, there is a need for a system and method to connect a variety of CPEs into a local network, such as a LAN, within a building such as a home or office while allowing the utilization of an existing coaxial cable network within the building.",
"SUMMARY [0020] A broadband cable network (“BCN”) for determining a common bit-loading modulation scheme for communicating between a plurality of nodes in the BCN is disclosed.",
"The BCN may include a transmitting node within the plurality of nodes where the transmitting node is capable of sending a probe signal to the plurality of nodes, and at least one receiving node within the plurality of nodes in signal communication with the transmitting node.",
"The at least one receiving node is capable of transmitting a first response signal in response to receiving the probe signal.",
"The first response signal includes a first bit-loading modulation scheme determined by the at least one receiving node.",
"The transmitting node is further capable of determining the common bit-loading modulation scheme from the first response signal.",
"[0021] The BCN may further include a sub-plurality of receiving nodes within the plurality of nodes wherein the sub-plurality of receiving nodes are capable of transmitting a sub-plurality of response signals in response to receiving the probe signal.",
"The sub-plurality of response signals may include other bit-loading modulation schemes and each bit-loading modulation scheme may be determined by a receiving node within the sub-plurality of receiving nodes.",
"The transmitting node may be capable of determining the common bit-loading modulation scheme from the first response signal and the sub-plurality of response signals.",
"[0022] As an example of operation, the BCN is capable of transmitting a probe signal from the transmitting node to the plurality of receiving nodes and receiving a plurality of response signals from the corresponding receiving nodes of the plurality of receiving nodes, wherein each of the response signals includes a bit-loading modulation scheme determined by the corresponding receiving node.",
"The BCN is further capable of determining the common bit-loading modulation scheme from the received plurality of response signals.",
"[0023] Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description.",
"It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0024] The invention can be better understood with reference to the following figures.",
"The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.",
"In the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.",
"[0025] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an example implementation of a known broadband cable system within a building.",
"[0026] FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of another example implementation of a known broadband cable system within the building shown in FIG. 1 .",
"[0027] FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of an example implementation of a broadband cable network (“BCN”) within a building.",
"[0028] FIG. 4 shows a functional diagram showing the communication between the different nodes shown in the BCN of FIG. 3 in a unicast mode.",
"[0029] FIG. 5 shows another functional diagram showing the communication between the different nodes shown in the BCN of FIG. 3 in a broadcast mode.",
"[0030] FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of an example implementation of the BCN shown in FIG. 3 when node A is communicating to node B. [0031] FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of another example implementation of the BCN shown in FIG. 3 when node A is communicating to node C. [0032] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of an example implementation of the BCN shown in FIG. 3 when node C is communicating to node B. [0033] FIG. 9 shows a plot of the transfer function versus frequency for the channel path between node A and node B and the channel path between node A and node C shown in both FIGS. 6 and 7 .",
"[0034] FIG. 10A shows a plot of the bit-loading constellation versus carrier number for the channel path between node A and node B shown in FIG. 9 .",
"[0035] FIG. 10B shows a plot of the bit-loading constellation versus carrier number for the channel path between node A and node C shown in FIG. 9 .",
"[0036] FIG. 10C shows a plot of the bit-loading constellation versus carrier number for the resulting broadcast channel path between node A and node B and node A and node C based on the constellations shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B .",
"[0037] FIG. 11 shows a flowchart illustrating the method performed by the BCN shown in FIG. 3 .",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0038] In the following description of the preferred embodiment, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration a specific embodiment in which the invention may be practiced.",
"It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.",
"[0039] In FIG. 3 , a block diagram of an example implementation of a broadband cable network (“BCN”) 300 utilizing common bit-loading within a customer premises (“CP”) 302 is shown.",
"The CP 302 may be a building such as a home or office having a plurality of customer premises equipment (“CPE”) 304 , 306 and 308 in signal communication with the BCN 300 via a plurality of corresponding CPE signal paths 310 , 312 and 314 .",
"The BCN 300 may be in signal communication optionally with an external antenna (not shown), cable provider (not shown) and/or direct broadcast satellite (“DBS”) provider (not shown) via external BCN path 316 .",
"[0040] The BCN 300 may include a point-of-entry (“POE”) 320 , a splitter network 322 and a plurality of nodes such as node A 324 , node B 326 and node C 328 .",
"The splitter network 322 may be in signal communication with the POE 320 , via signal path 330 , and the plurality of nodes 324 , 326 and 328 via signal paths 332 , 334 and 336 , respectively.",
"The nodes 324 , 326 and 328 may be in signal communication with the CPEs 304 , 306 and 308 via signal paths 310 , 312 and 314 , respectively.",
"[0041] In an example operation, the BCN 300 receives input radio frequency (“RF”) signals from optionally the external antenna (not shown), cable provider (not shown) and/or direct broadcast satellite (“DBS”) provider (not shown) at the POE 320 via external BCN path 316 .",
"The BCN 300 then passes the input RF signals from POE 320 to the splitter network 322 , via signal path 330 , and the splitter network 322 splits the input RF signal into split RF signals that are passed to the nodes 324 , 326 and 328 via signal paths 332 , 334 and 336 , respectively.",
"It is appreciated by those skilled in the art that the BCN 300 may be implemented as a coaxial cable network utilizing coaxial cables and components.",
"[0042] In FIG. 4 , a functional diagram 400 showing the communication between various nodes 402 , 404 and 406 corresponding to the nodes in the BCN 300 , FIG. 3 , is shown.",
"The nodes 402 , 404 and 406 may be interconnected between node pairs utilizing corresponding inter-node channels between the node pairs.",
"It is appreciated by those skilled in the art that even if the nodes are individually connected with one another via a signal inter-node channel between the node pairs, each inter-node channel between node pairs may be asymmetric.",
"Therefore, inter-node channels between node A 402 , node B 404 and node C 406 may be asymmetric and therefore utilize different bit-loading modulation schemes depending on the direction of the signals between the nodes.",
"As a result, the typically asymmetric inter-node channels between node A 402 , node B 404 and node C 406 may be described by the corresponding direction-dependent node channels AB, BA, AC, CA, BC and CB.",
"[0043] As an example, node A 402 is in signal communication with node B 404 via signal paths 408 and 410 .",
"Signal path 408 corresponds to the AB channel and signal path 410 corresponds to the BA channel.",
"Additionally, node A 402 is also in signal communication with node C 406 via signal paths 412 and 414 .",
"Signal path 412 corresponds to the AC channel and signal path 414 corresponds to the CA channel.",
"Similarly, node B 404 is also in signal communication with node C 406 via signal paths 416 and 418 .",
"Signal path 416 corresponds to the BC channel and signal path 418 corresponds to the CB channel.",
"[0044] In this example, the AB channel corresponds to the channel utilized by node A 402 transmitting to node B 404 along signal path 408 .",
"The BA channel corresponds to the reverse channel utilized by node B 404 transmitting to node A 402 along signal path 410 .",
"Similarly, the AC channel corresponds to the channel utilized by node A 402 transmitting to node C 406 along signal path 412 .",
"The CA channel corresponds to the reverse channel utilized by node C 406 transmitting to node A 402 along signal path 414 .",
"Moreover, the BC channel corresponds to the channel utilized by node B 404 transmitting to node C 406 along signal path 416 .",
"The CB channel corresponds to the reverse channel utilized by node C 406 transmitting to node B 404 along signal path 418 .",
"[0045] In example of operation, in order for node A 402 to transmit the same message to both node B 404 and node C 406 using the AB channel along signal path 408 and AC channel along signal path 412 , node A 402 will need to transmit (i.e., “unicast”) the same message twice, once to node B 404 and a second time to node C 406 because channel AB and channel AC may utilize different bit-loading modulation schemes.",
"[0046] In FIG. 5 , another functional diagram 500 showing the communication between various nodes 502 , 504 and 506 corresponding to the nodes in the BCN 300 , FIG. 3 , is shown.",
"In FIG. 5 , node A 502 may transmit a message in a broadcast mode (also known as a “multicast”",
"mode) simultaneously to node B 504 and node C 506 using an A-BC channel via signal path 508 .",
"The message transmission utilizing the A-BC channel, along signal path 508 , is the equivalent of simultaneously transmitting a broadcast message from node A 502 to node B 504 via an AB channel along signal path 510 and to node C 506 via an AC channel along signal path 512 in a fashion that is similar to transmission described in FIG. 4 .",
"However, in order to insure that both node B 504 and node C 506 receive the transmissions broadcast signal from node A 502 , node A 502 utilizes a bit-loading modulation scheme that is known as a common bit-loaded modulation scheme.",
"The common bit-loaded modulation scheme transmitted via the A-BC channel, along signal path 508 , is a combination of the bit-loading modulation scheme transmitted via the AB channel, along signal path 510 , and the AC channel, along signal path 512 .",
"[0047] It is appreciated by those skilled in the art that the different channels typically utilize different bit-loading modulation schemes because the channels are physically and electrically different in the cable network.",
"Physically the channels typically vary in length between nodes and electrically vary because of the paths through and reflections from the various cables, switches, terminals, connections and other electrical components in the cable network.",
"Bit-loading is the process of optimizing the bit distribution to each of the channels to increase throughput.",
"A bit-loading scheme is described in U.S. Utility application Ser.",
"No. 10/322,834 titled “Broadband Network for Coaxial Cable Using Multi-carrier Modulation,” filed Dec. 18, 2002, which is incorporated herein, in its entirety, by reference.",
"[0048] The BCN may operate with waveforms that utilize bit-loaded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM).",
"Therefore, the BCN may transmit multiple carrier signals (i.e., signals with different carrier frequencies) with different QAM constellations on each carrier.",
"As an example, over a bandwidth of about 50 MHz, the BCN may have 256 different carriers which in the best circumstances would utilize up to 256 QAM modulation carriers.",
"If instead the channel is poor, the BCN may utilize BPSK on all the carriers instead of QAM.",
"If the channel is good in some places and poor in others, the BCN may utilize high QAM in some parts and lower types modulation in others.",
"[0049] As an example, in FIG. 6 , a block diagram of an example implementation of the BCN 600 is shown.",
"The BCN 600 may be in signal communication with a cable provider (not shown), satellite TV dish (not shown), and/or external antenna (not shown) via a signal path 602 such as a main coaxial cable from the customer premises to a cable connection switch (not shown) outside of the customer premises.",
"[0050] The BCN 600 may include a POE 604 and main splitter 606 , a sub-splitter 608 , nodes A 610 , B 612 and C 614 , and STBs A 616 , B 618 and C 620 .",
"Within the BCN 600 , the POE 604 may be in signal communication with main splitter 606 via signal path 622 .",
"The POE 604 may be the connection point from the cable provider which is located external to the customer premises of the BCN 600 .",
"The POE 604 may be implemented as a coaxial cable connector, transformer and/or filter.",
"[0051] The main splitter 606 may be in signal communication with sub-splitter 608 and node C 614 via signal paths 624 and 626 , respectively.",
"The sub-splitter 608 may be in signal communication with node A 610 and node B 612 via signal paths 628 and 630 , respectively.",
"The main splitter 606 and sub-splitter 608 may be implemented as coaxial cable splitters.",
"Node A 610 may be in signal communication with STB A 616 via signal path 632 .",
"Similarly, node B 612 may be in signal communication with STB B 618 via signal path 634 .",
"Moreover, node C 614 may be in signal communication with STB C 620 via signal path 636 .",
"STBs A 616 , B 618 and C 620 may be implemented by numerous well known STB coaxial units such as cable television set-top boxes and/or satellite television set-top boxes.",
"Typically, the signal paths 602 , 622 , 624 , 626 , 628 , 630 , 632 , 634 and 636 may be implemented utilizing coaxial cables.",
"[0052] As an example of operation, if node A 610 transmits a message to node B 612 , the message will propagate through two transmission paths from node A 610 to node B 612 .",
"The first transmission path 640 travels from node A 610 through signal path 628 , sub-splitter 608 and signal path 630 to node B 612 .",
"The second transmission path includes transmission sub-paths 642 and 644 .",
"The first sub-path 642 travels from node A 610 through signal path 628 , sub-splitter 608 , signal path 624 , main splitter 606 and signal path 622 to POE 604 .",
"The second sub-path 644 travels from POE 604 , through signal path 622 , main splitter 606 , signal path 624 , sub-splitter 608 and signal path 630 .",
"[0053] The first transmission path 640 is typically very lossy and experiences a high amount of attenuation because of the isolation between the outputs of sub-splitter 608 .",
"The second transmission path, however, does not experience the attenuation of the first transmission path 640 .",
"The second transmission path results from the transmission of message signal 646 from node A 610 to the POE 604 along the first sub-path 642 which results in a reflected message signal 648 from the POE 604 .",
"The reflected message signal 648 results from impedance mismatches between the POE 604 and the rest of the BCN 600 .",
"[0054] As another example, in FIG. 7 , another block diagram of an example implementation of the BCN 700 is shown.",
"Similar to FIG. 6 , in FIG. 7 , the BCN 700 may be in signal communication with a cable provider (not shown), satellite TV dish (not shown), and/or external antenna (not shown) via a signal path 702 such as a main coaxial cable from the customer premises to a cable connection switch (not shown) outside of the customer premises.",
"[0055] The BCN 700 may include a POE 704 and main splitter 706 , a sub-splitter 708 , nodes A 710 , B 712 and C 714 , and STBs A 716 , B 718 and C 720 .",
"Within the BCN 700 , the POE 704 may be in signal communication with main splitter 706 via signal path 722 .",
"The POE 704 may be the connection point from the cable provider which is located external to the customer premises of the BCN 700 .",
"The POE 704 may be implemented as a coaxial cable connector, transformer and/or filter.",
"[0056] The main splitter 706 may be in signal communication with sub-splitter 708 and node C 714 via signal paths 724 and 726 , respectively.",
"The sub-splitter 708 may be in signal communication with node A 710 and node B 712 via signal paths 728 and 730 , respectively.",
"The main splitter 706 and sub-splitter 708 may be implemented as coaxial cable splitters.",
"Node A 710 may be in signal communication with STB A 716 via signal path 732 .",
"Similarly, node B 712 may be in signal communication with STB B 718 via signal path 734 .",
"Moreover, node C 714 may be in signal communication with STB C 720 via signal path 736 .",
"STBs A 716 , B 718 and C 720 may be implemented by numerous well known STB coaxial units such as cable television set-top boxes and/or satellite television set-top boxes.",
"Typically, the signal paths 702 , 722 , 724 , 726 , 728 , 730 , 732 , 734 and 736 may be implemented utilizing coaxial cables.",
"[0057] As an example of operation, if node A 710 transmits a message to node C 714 , the message will propagate through two transmission paths from node A 710 to node C 714 .",
"The first transmission path 740 travels from node A 710 through signal path 728 , sub-splitter 708 , signal path 724 , main splitter 706 and signal path 726 to node C 714 .",
"The second transmission path includes transmission sub-paths 742 and 744 .",
"The first sub-path 742 travels from node A 710 through signal path 728 , sub-splitter 708 , signal path 724 , main splitter 706 and signal path 722 to POE 704 .",
"The second sub-path 744 travels from POE 704 , through signal path 722 , main splitter 706 , and signal path 726 to node C 714 .",
"[0058] The first transmission path 740 is typically very lossy and experiences a high amount of attenuation because of the isolation between the outputs of sub-splitter 708 and main splitter 706 .",
"The second transmission path, however, does not experience the attenuation of the first transmission path 740 .",
"The second transmission path results from the transmission of message signal 746 from node A 710 to the POE 704 along the first sub-path 742 which results in a reflected message signal 748 from the POE 704 .",
"The reflected message signal 748 results from mismatches between the POE 704 and the rest of the BCN 700 .",
"[0059] As still another example, in FIG. 8 , another block diagram of an example implementation of the BCN 800 is shown.",
"Similar to FIGS. 6 and 7 , in FIG. 8 , the BCN 800 may be in signal communication with a cable provider (not shown), satellite TV dish (not shown), and/or external antenna (not shown) via a signal path 802 such as a main coaxial cable from the customer premises to a cable connection switch (not shown) outside of the customer premises.",
"[0060] The BCN 800 may include a POE 804 and main splitter 806 , a sub-splitter 808 , nodes A 810 , B 812 and C 814 , and STBs A 816 , B 818 and C 820 .",
"Within the BCN 800 , the POE 804 may be in signal communication with main splitter 806 via signal path 822 .",
"The POE 804 may be the connection point from the cable provider which is located external to the customer premises of the BCN 800 .",
"The POE 804 may be implemented as a coaxial cable connector, transformer and/or filter.",
"[0061] The main splitter 806 may be in signal communication with sub-splitter 808 and node C 814 via signal paths 824 and 826 , respectively.",
"The sub-splitter 808 may be in signal communication with node A 810 and node B 812 via signal paths 828 and 830 , respectively.",
"The main splitter 806 and sub-splitter 808 may be implemented as coaxial cable splitters.",
"Node A 810 may be in signal communication with STB A 816 via signal path 832 .",
"Similarly, node B 812 may be in signal communication with STB B 818 via signal path 834 .",
"Moreover, node C 814 may be in signal communication with STB C 820 via signal path 836 .",
"STBs A 816 , B 818 and C 820 may be implemented by numerous well known STB coaxial units such as cable television set-top boxes and/or satellite television set-top boxes.",
"Typically, the signal paths 802 , 822 , 824 , 826 , 828 , 830 , 832 , 834 and 836 may be implemented utilizing coaxial cables.",
"[0062] As an example of operation, if node C 814 transmits a message to node B 812 , the message will propagate through two transmission paths from node C 814 to node B 812 .",
"The first transmission path 840 travels from node C 814 through signal path 826 , main splitter 806 , signal path 824 , sub-splitter 808 and signal path 830 to node B 812 .",
"The second transmission path includes two transmission sub-paths 842 and 844 .",
"The first sub-path 842 travels from node C 814 through signal path 826 , main splitter 806 , and signal path 822 to POE 804 .",
"The second sub-path 844 travels from POE 804 , through signal path 822 , main splitter 806 , signal path 824 , sub-splitter 808 and signal path 830 to node B 812 .",
"[0063] The first transmission path 840 is typically very lossy and experiences a high amount of attenuation because of the isolation between the outputs of sub-splitter 808 and main splitter 806 .",
"The second transmission path, however, does not experience the attenuation of the first transmission path 840 .",
"The second transmission path results from the transmission of message signal 846 from node C 814 to the POE 804 along the first sub-path 842 which results in a reflected message signal 848 from the POE 804 .",
"The reflected message signal 848 results from mismatches between the POE 804 and rest of the BCN 800 .",
"[0064] In FIG. 9 , a plot 900 of the maximum bit-loading constellation 902 versus frequency 904 is shown for the channel path utilized by node A to transmit to node B and the channel path utilized by node A to transmit to node C. Line 906 represents the AB channel and line 908 represents the AC channel.",
"The AB channel has a null 910 that represents the reflection distance from the POE to node B. The AC channel has nulls 912 and 914 .",
"Null 912 represents the reflection distance from the POE to node C and null 914 represents a harmonic that is a multiple value of the value of null 912 .",
"In general, the nulls are caused by the properties, e.g., amplitudes and time delays, that are unique to each transmission path in the network.",
"[0065] Returning to FIG. 5 , the BCN, in order to insure that both node B 504 and node C 506 are able to receive a broadcast signal transmitted from node A 502 , utilizes a bit-loading modulation scheme that is known as the common bit-loaded modulation scheme.",
"The common bit-loaded modulation scheme transmitted via the A-BC channel, along signal path 508 , is a combination of the bit-loading modulation scheme transmitted via the AB channel, along signal path 510 , and the AC channel, along signal path 512 .",
"[0066] Therefore, in FIG. 10A , a plot 1000 of carrier frequency signals of various bit-loading constellations 1002 versus carrier number 1004 for the AB channel path between node A and node B is shown.",
"Line 1006 represents the AB channel and follows an envelope of the constellation sizes of the 8 different carrier number signals within the AB channel.",
"As an example, within the AB channel carrier number signals 1 and 8 may transmit at a constellation size of 256 QAM, carrier number signals 2 , 3 and 7 may transmit at a constellation size of 128 QAM, carrier number signals 4 and 6 may transmit at a constellation size of 64 QAM, and carrier number signal 5 may be OFF (i.e., no carrier signal of any constellation size may be transmitted because of the null in the channel characteristics).",
"[0067] Similarly in FIG. 10B , a plot 1008 of carrier frequency signals of various bit-loading constellations 1010 versus carrier number 1012 for the AC channel path between node A and node C is shown.",
"Line 1014 represents the AC channel and follows an envelope of the constellation sizes of the 8 different carrier number signals within the AC channel.",
"As an example, within the AC channel carrier number signals 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 and 8 may transmit at a constellation size of 128 QAM, carrier number signal 5 may transmit at a constellation size of 256 QAM, and carrier number signals 3 and 7 may be OFF (again, no carrier signals may be transmitted because of nulls in the channel characteristics).",
"[0068] In FIG. 10C , a plot 1016 of the common carrier frequency signals of various bit-loading constellations 1018 versus carrier number 1020 for the A-BC channel path between node A and nodes B and C is shown.",
"In this example, plot 1016 shows that within the A-BC channel, carrier number signals 1 , 2 and 8 may transmit at a constellation size of 128 QAM, carrier number signals 4 and 6 may transmit at a constellation size of 64 QAM, and carrier number signals 3 , 5 and 7 are OFF.",
"These carrier number signal values are the result of comparing the carrier number signals from the AB channel in FIG. 10A and the corresponding carrier number signals from the AC channel in FIG. 10B and choosing the lowest corresponding modulation value for each carrier number.",
"The resulting common carrier frequency signals in FIG. 10C graphically represent signals utilizing the common bit-loaded modulation scheme.",
"These signals would be able to transmit information from node A to node B and node C simultaneously.",
"[0069] FIG. 11 shows a flowchart 1100 illustrating the method performed by the BCN shown in FIG. 3 .",
"In FIG. 11 , the process starts in step 1102 .",
"In step 1104 , a transmitting node transmits a probe signal from the transmitting node to a plurality of receiving nodes.",
"In response, the receiving nodes receive the probe signal from the transmitting node.",
"In step 1106 , a receiving node of the plurality of receiving nodes receives the probe signal through the appropriate channel path of transmission.",
"The receiving node then determines the transmission characteristics of the channel path from the transmitting node to the receiving node in step 1108 and in response to the determined transmission characteristics of the channel path, the receiving node determines a bit-loaded modulation scheme for the transmission characteristics of the channel path in step 1110 .",
"It is appreciate by those skilled in the art that the transmission characteristics of the channel path may be determined by measuring the metric values of the channel path.",
"Examples of the metric values may include the signal-to-noise ratio (also known as the “SNR”",
"and “S/N”) and/or the bit-error rate (“BER”) or product error rate (PER), or power level or similar measurement of the received signal at the corresponding remote device.",
"Additionally, other signal performance metric values are also possible without departing from the scope of the invention.",
"[0070] The receiving node then, in step 1112 , transmits a response signal to the transmitting node, informing the transmitting node of the recently-determined bit-loaded modulation scheme.",
"[0071] The transmitting node then receives a plurality of response signals, in step 1114 , from the corresponding receiving nodes wherein each of the response signals informs the transmitting node of the corresponding bit-loaded modulation scheme determined by each of the plurality of receiving nodes.",
"In response to receiving the plurality of response signals, the transmitting node, in step 1116 , compares the plurality of bit-loaded modulation schemes from the corresponding received plurality of response signals and, in step 1118 , determines the common bit-loaded modulation scheme.",
"Once the transmitting node determines the common bit-loaded modulation scheme, the transmitting node, in step 1120 , transmits a broadcast signal relaying the common bit-loaded modulation scheme to the plurality of receiving nodes.",
"This broadcast signal may either contain handshake information from the transmitting node to the plurality of receiving nodes or it may actually be a communication message containing information such as video, music, voice and/or other data.",
"[0072] In decision step 1122 , if all the nodes in BCN have performed the handshake process that determines the common bit-loaded modulation scheme in steps 1102 through 1120 , the handshake process is complete and process ends in step 1124 , at which time the BCN may begin to freely transmit information between the various nodes.",
"If instead, there are still nodes in the BCN that have not performed the handshake process that determines the common bit-loaded modulation scheme in steps 1102 through 1120 , the process then returns to step 1126 .",
"In step 1126 , the BCN selects the next node in the BCN and the process steps 1102 to 1122 repeat again.",
"Once all the nodes in the BCN have preformed the handshake process, the handshake process is complete and process ends in step 1124 at which time the BCN may begin to freely transmit information between the various nodes.",
"[0073] The process in FIG. 11 may be performed by hardware or software.",
"If the process is performed by software, the software may reside in software memory (not shown) in the BCN.",
"The software in software memory may include an ordered listing of executable instructions for implementing logical functions (i.e., “logic”",
"that may be implemented either in digital form such as digital circuitry or source code or in analog form such as analog circuitry or an analog source such as an analog electrical, sound or video signal), may selectively be embodied in any computer-readable (or signal-bearing) medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that may selectively fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions.",
"In the context of this document, a “computer-readable medium”",
"and/or “signal-bearing medium”",
"is any means that may contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.",
"The computer readable medium may selectively be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium.",
"More specific examples, that is “a non-exhaustive list”",
"of the computer-readable media, would include the following: an electrical connection (electronic) having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette (magnetic), a RAM (electronic), a read-only memory “ROM”",
"(electronic), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) (electronic), an optical fiber (optical), and a portable compact disc read-only memory “CDROM”",
"(optical).",
"Note that the computer-readable medium may even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, via for instance, optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in a suitable manner if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory.",
"[0074] While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible that are within the scope of this invention."
] |
PRIORITY CLAIM UNDER 35 U.S.C. 119(E)
This application claims the benefit, under 35 USC 119(e), of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/217,317 filed Jul. 10, 2000, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
ORIGIN OF THE INVENTION
The invention described herein was made in the performance of work under a NASA contract and by an employee of the United States Government and is subject to the provisions of Public Law 96-517 (35 U.S.C. 202) and may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefore. In accordance with 35 U.S.C. 202, the contractor elected not to retain title.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the field of cryogenic testing of material to determine the thermal performance of a material or system of materials.
One valuable technique for testing the thermal performance of materials, preferably insulation material, is boil-off testing. Boil-off testing is accomplished by filling a vessel with a fluid which boils below ambient temperature. Although the preferred fluid is the cryogen liquid nitrogen, other fluids such as liquid helium, liquid methane, liquid hydrogen, or known refrigerants may be used. Once the vessel is filled with the cryogenic fluid, the vessel is surrounded with the testing material. A calorimetry method is then used to determine the thermal conductivity of the testing material by first determining the amount of heat that passes through the test material to the vessel containing cryogenic fluid. The cryogenic fluid boil-off rate from the vessel is directly proportional to the heat leak rate passing through the test material to the cryogenic fluid in the vessel. For a test material under a set vacuum pressure, the apparent thermal conductivity (k-value) is determined by measuring the flow rate of cryogenic boil-off at given warm and cold boundary temperatures across the thickness of the sample.
Although cryogenic boil-off techniques and devices have been prepared to determine the thermal conductivity of insulation material, the previous techniques and devices are undesirable for a variety of reasons. First, few such cryogenic devices are in operation because of their impracticality from an engineering point of view. The previous cryogenic boil-off devices made it extremely difficult to obtain accurate, stable measurements and required extremely long set up times. Prior testing devices also needed highly skilled personnel that could oversee the operation of the cryogen testing device for extended periods of time, over 24 hours to many days in some cases. Additionally, constant attention was required to operate previous cryogenic testing devices to make the necessary fine adjustments required of the testing apparatus. Second, prior cryogenic testing devices contained the limitation that they did not permit the testing of continuously rolled products which are commonly used insulation materials. The testing of high performance materials such as multilayer insulation requires extreme care in fabrication and installation. Inconsistency in wrapping techniques is a dominant source of error and poses a basic problem in the comparison of such materials. Improper treatment of the ends or seams can render a measurement several times worse than predicted. Localized compression effects, sensor installation, and outgassing are further complications. Third, measurements of various testing parameters were not carefully determined or controlled in previous testing devices. Measurement of temperature profiles for insulation material was either not done or was minimal because of the practical difficulties associated with the placement, feed-through, and calibration of the temperature sensors. Vacuum levels were restricted to one or two set points or not actively controlled altogether. Fourth, previous cryogenic testing devices required complex thermal guards having cryogenic fluid filled chambers to reduce unwanted heat leaks (end effects) to a tolerable level. The previous technique for providing thermal guards, filling guard chambers with the cryogen, caused much complexity both in construction and operation of the apparatus. Known techniques add the further complication of heat transfer between the test chamber and the guard chambers due to thermal stratification of the liquid within the chambers
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To eliminate or minimize the foregoing and other problems, a new method of fabricating and testing cryogen insulation systems has been developed. In particular, the present invention ad overcomes the foregoing problems by providing a cryogenic testing apparatus having a boil-off calorimeter system for calibrated measurement of the apparent thermal conductivity (k-value) of a testing material, preferably insulation material, at a fixed vacuum level. The cryogenic testing apparatus includes a vacuum chamber that contains an inner vessel that receives cryogenic fluid, for example liquid nitrogen, helium, hydrogen, methane or other known refrigerants. The apparatus incorporates a number of design features that minimize heat leak, except through specific portions of the inner vessel. For example, the top and the bottom of the inner vessel are abutted with thermal guards, such as silica aerogel composite plugs, to ensure thermal stability of the cryogenic environment. The inner vessel with the thermal guards is called a cold mass assembly upon which the test specimen is installed. The heat leak rate through the top and bottom of the inner vessel is reduced to a fraction of the heat leak through the sidewalls of the vessel. Temperature sensors are placed between layers of the testing material that is wrapped around the cold mass assembly to obtain temperature-thickness profiles. The apparent thermal conductivity (k-value) of the testing material is determined by measuring the boil-off flow rate of the cryogenic fluid and temperature differential between a cold boundary temperature and a warm boundary temperature for a known thickness of the testing material.
During the preferred use, the cold mass assembly is easily and quickly removed from the vacuum chamber and placed on an insulation-wrapping machine preferably using special handling tools. Temperature sensors, preferably thermocouples, are placed at various thicknesses within the testing material. A first temperature sensor on the inner vessel is designated the cold boundary temperature sensor. The cold boundary temperature may also be determined from the known boil-off temperature of the cryogenic fluid. A second temperature sensor on the outer surface of the testing material is designated the warm boundary temperature ID sensor. The warm boundary temperature sensor may be placed at any known distance from the inner vessel. After the testing material is secured to the cold mass assembly, the cold mass assembly is installed within the vacuum chamber using a special handling tool such that the insulation test specimen remains undisturbed and untouched. Preferably, the cold mass assembly is suspended by a plurality of support threads, such as three KEVLAR threads with hooks and hardware for attachment and length adjustment. KEVLAR threads have a low thermal conductivity, a high tensile strength and greatly resist elongation. Therefore, a relatively small diameter KEVLAR thread is preferred to minimize any additional heat transfer to the inner vessel. Once the cold mass assembly is secure, the handling tool is removed, and the vacuum chamber is sealed, the cryogenic fluid is supplied to the inner vessel, preferably using a specially designed funnel and fill tube, until the inner vessel is full and at a constant temperature. The vacuum chamber is maintained at a constant vacuum, using a preferred vacuum pumping and gas metering system, and a set sidewall temperature, using a preferred electrical heater system. The temperature differential between the cold boundary temperature and the warm boundary temperature of the testing material is measured by the temperature sensors and these values, along with the boil-off flow rate and the material thickness, are used to compute the comparative k-value. Calibration of the device, that is, determination of the total parasitic heat leak rate or “end effects”, is accomplished by testing a material with a known k-value under the pressure and temperature conditions of interest. The actual k-value will therefore by slightly lower than the comparative k-value.
The present invention will overcome many shortcomings of the previous cryogenic boil-off devices. First, the testing device is more practical from an engineering viewpoint as compared with the previous devices. The present device can be employed in an automatic operation that requires little oversight by the operator. The design of the preferred silica aerogel i stacks as thermal guards is high performance and robust so that heat leak performance does not drift over time, thus resulting in a system calibration having long-term reliability and repeatability. The unique funnel and fill tube design allows for a one step cooling, filling and thermal stabilization process and eliminates the need for separate fill and vent ports in the inner vessel. This single port for filling and venting is constructed, in part, from thin wall stainless steel bellows which greatly increase the length of the path for conduction of heat from the vacuum chamber to the inner vessel. The parasitic heat leak to the inner vessel is therefore reduced to a minimum. Second, the present invention allows for the testing of large size prototype material systems in typical actual-use configurations. Of critical importance to the present invention is the ability to test continuously rolled insulation materials. This is highly desirable because other forms of insulation material, such as seamed blankets, can drastically affect the test results producing inaccurate readings in many cases. Although testing of continuously rolled insulation material is the preferred material to be tested by this device, a variety of other materials, other forms of material, or other components, may also be tested using the device. For example, bulk fill materials are tested using a containment sleeve with low thermal conductivity supports at the top and bottom. Other materials, including rigid or flexible types and clam-shell or blanket forms, are tested by afflixing the test specimen to the outside circumference of the cold mass assembly using tapes, wires, or other suitable means of attachment. Additionally, the ability to quickly change out the test article with another material is accomplished by the present invention. Third, a means for measuring the temperature profile across a known thickness of the insulation material is accomplished in order to characterize and understand the performance of the insulation system. Full range vacuum levels, varying from high vacuum to soft vacuum to atmospheric pressure, to higher pressures can be tested with a single device. Different residual gases such as air, nitrogen, helium, or carbon dioxide can be supplied to the vacuum chamber. The vacuum level can be maintained at a very steady value for long periods of time with accurate vacuum control and measurement. Fourth, the use of the preferred custom designed silica aerogel composite stacks for thermal guards eliminates the need for guard chambers containing cryogenic fluid. This feature also eliminates the problem of the effect of thermal stratification of the liquid inside the test chamber.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a side view of the cryogenic boil-off device that is constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 depicts a funnel and fill tube assembly for cooling and filling the cold mass assembly in the device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 depicts handling tools for removal of the cold mass assembly from the vacuum chamber and wrapping of the cold mass assembly with a testing material;
FIG. 4 is a graph showing the comparative k-values in milliwatts per meter-Kelvin as a function of cold vacuum pressure in microns (millitorr) for various testing materials over a wide range of vacuum levels;
FIG. 5 is a graph showing the comparative k-value and the liquid nitrogen boil-off flow rate as a function of cold vacuum pressure for a typical series of tests;
FIG. 6 is a graph showing the total heat leak rate in milliwatts into the cold mass inner vessel as a function of cold vacuum pressure for a typical series of tests;
FIG. 7 is a graph showing the temperature profile across the thickness of the test material as a function of time for a typical test; and
FIG. 8 is a graph showing the nitrogen boil off flow rate and the volume of liquid nitrogen in the inner vessel as a function of time for a typical test (weight in pounds and gas flow rate in standard cubic centimeters per minute).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Turning now to a detailed consideration of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 shows a cryogenic boil-off device 10 with an inner vessel 12 enclosed within a vacuum chamber 14 . The inner vessel 12 is made from any suitable material but is preferably a stainless steel cylinder having a top 2 and a bottom 4 . The inner vessel 12 preferably has a socket weld 6 in the top 2 for securing the lower half of a cryogenic feed tube 20 to the inner vessel 12 . A double ended connector 8 having a first connection 7 within the inner vessel 12 and a second connection 9 external to the inner vessel 12 is preferably welded into the bottom 4 of the inner vessel 12 . Although the exact dimensions of the inner vessel are not critical, the surface area of the side of the inner vessel 12 is substantially larger, i.e., at least four times greater, than the surface area of the ends.
The inner vessel 12 is positioned between two thermal guards, a top thermal guard 16 and a bottom thermal guard 18 . The top thermal guard 16 and bottom thermal guard 18 are each preferably a stack of silica aerogel composite discs 27 with a highly reflective film layer 17 , such as silverlux reflective films or double-aluminized mylar films, between each disc 27 . The preferred aerogel composite material is a nanoporous, extremely high surface area silica product reinforced by fiberglass, similar to the material by Aspen Systems, Inc in Marlborough, Mass. The top thermal guard 16 and bottom thermal guard 18 may be made from any suitable minsulation material as an alternative to the preferred silica aerogel composite material, such as balsa wood, cork, polyurethane foam, polystyrene foam and other insulating foams or materials. In a prototype of the invention, the discs 27 were approximately 5 inches in diameter and 1 inch in thickness. A total of five discs were used per stack for a thermal guard 5 inches in length. The stacks are held together by lacings of thread 25 , preferably KEVLAR, between end caps 19 and the inner vessel 12 . Also, one wrap of reflective film or foil goes around the circumference of each thermal guard stack of discs 27 . However, the dimensions of the discs 27 may vary depending of the size of the inner vessel 12 and the amount of insulation needed to reduce the unwanted heat loss. The top thermal guard 16 has a hole 13 to allow for the passage of the cryogenic feed tube 20 . The bottom thermal guard 18 also has a hole 11 to allow for the passage of a bottom handling tool 214 , as discussed below. The hole 11 in the bottom thermal guard may be filled with insulating material during testing to minimize heat leak through the hole 11 . The top thermal guard 16 and the bottom thermal guard 18 are secured by preferably glass-fabric-reinforced epoxy composite G-10 end caps 19 which are laced to the inner vessel 12 using fine lacings of thread 25 , preferably aromatic polyamide fiber threads known as KEVLAR. The top thermal guard 16 , bottom thermal guard 18 , composite end caps 19 and inner vessel 12 are attached to form a cold mass assembly 21 .
The cryogenic fluid, preferably liquid nitrogen, is delivered to the inner vessel 12 through the cryogenic feed tube 20 . Any fluid, cryogenic or non-cryogenic, that boils below ambient conditions may be used, for example liquid helium, liquid hydrogen, liquid nitrogen, liquid oxygen, liquid methane, and other refrigerants. The cryogenic feed tube 20 passes through a feedthrough port 22 in a top of the vacuum chamber 23 , preferably a flange, through the hole 13 in the top thermal guard 16 , and is fitted onto the socket weld 6 at the top 2 of the inner vessel 12 . The cryogenic feed tube 20 is preferably constructed from thin-wall tubing and thin-wall bellows and contains a type VCR coupling 24 which allows for cryogenic fluid filling, venting and boil-off Although the cryogenic feed tube 20 may be any suitable dimension, in a prototype of the invention the cryogenic feed tube 20 was approximately ½ inch in diameter and approximately 19 inches long. The bellows portion of this overall length is maximized in order to minimize the heat leak to the inner vessel. A funnel and fill tube 15 , as shown in FIG. 2, is preferably employed to deliver the liquid to the inner vessel 12 , and allows for the cooling and filling of the inner vessel 12 with the given cryogenic fluid. The funnel 15 has a large fluid receiving portion 210 connected to tubing 212 that extends through the cryogen feed tube 20 to the bottom of the inner vessel 12 . A series of small holes 214 in the wall of the lower portion of the tubing 212 allows for the inner vessel 12 to be fed with liquid cryogen. The tubing 212 is sized smaller than the inside diameter of the feed tube 20 such that the vent gas may exit the inner vessel 12 during the filling process. The cryogenic feed tube 20 and funnel and fill tube 15 permit the combined filling and venting of the inner vessel 12 so that additional ports in the inner vessel are unnecessary. Any additional ports would increase the unwanted heat leak from the inner vessel 12 and introduce additional complications during installation and removal of the cold mass assembly 21 .
The entire cold mass assembly 21 , including the inner vessel 12 , top thermal guard 16 and bottom thermal guard 18 , is disposed within the vacuum chamber 14 . Preferably, the inner vessel 12 is suspended by a plurality of threads 26 , preferably aromatic polyamide fiber threads known as KEVLAR, attached to adjustable eye-hooks in the flange 23 of the vacuum chamber 14 . The vacuum chamber 14 also contains temperature sensor feed through ports 28 , a vacuum measuring port 30 , and a vacuum pump port 31 for regulating and controlling the temperature and pressure of the vacuum chamber 14 . It is important to clarify that all the preferred dimensions listed are designed to first and foremost reduce the heat leak to the inner vessel 12 , also known as “parasitic” heat, to as small as possible for the full range of vacuum. Although the dimensions listed above disclose one preferred embodiment, a variety of dimensions may be suitable for the present invention as long as the “parasitic” heat leak remains small. The dimensional features described are also intended to take into account the handling, installation, and safety features.
To facilitate testing of a testing material 32 using the cryogenic boil-off device 10 , the cold mass assembly 21 may be removed from the vacuum chamber 14 and installed on an insulation-wrapping machine, e.g. an 18-inch wide wrapping machine, preferably using a specialized tool 300 as depicted in FIG. 3 . But first, the top 23 of the vacuum chamber with the cold mass assembly 21 attached is lifted and put on an open work stand. The specialized tool 300 has a T-handled portion 210 , a top handling tool 212 , and a bottom handling tool 214 . The T-handled portion 210 attaches to the top handling tool 212 at a threaded screw connection 216 . The top handling tool 212 also has an inner vessel attachment 218 so that the top handling tool 212 may be attached to the bottom 4 of the inner vessel 12 at the first connection 7 of the double ended connector 8 . The top handling tool 212 is afixed to the bottom 4 of the inner vessel 12 by passing the top handling tool 212 through the lower half of the cryogen feed tube 20 and through the inner vessel 12 until the top handling tool 212 abuts the bottom 4 of the inner vessel 12 where the inner vessel attachment 218 attaches to the first connection 7 of the double ended connector 8 . The bottom handling tool 214 has an outer attachment 220 for connecting with the inner vessel 12 . The bottom handling tool 214 is placed through hole 11 in the bottom thermal guard 18 until it abuts the bottom 4 of the inner vessel 12 . The outer attachment 220 attaches to the second connection 9 of the double ended connector 8 . Once the top handling tool 212 and the bottom handling tool 214 are attached to the inner vessel, the cold mass assembly 21 may be lowered using the T-handled portion 210 until the bottom handling tool 214 contacts the lower surface of the work stand. The suspension threads 26 are unhooked, the VCR fitting 24 is disconnected, and then the T-handled portion 210 can be disconnected from the top handling tool 212 . The cold mass assembly 21 can then be conveniently handled and placed on the wrapping machine using the top handling tool 212 and the bottom handling tool 214 .
A plurality of temperature sensors 37 , 39 are positioned at various known thicknesses with in the testing material 32 . At least one temperature sensor 39 is positioned on the inner vessel 12 to measure the cold boundary temperature. However, the inner temperature sensor 39 may be optional since the inner temperature should closely approximate to the known boiling point of the cryogen. At least one temperature sensor 37 is positioned on the outer surface of the testing material 32 to measure the warm boundary temperature. Any known temperature sensor 37 , 39 , for example thermocouples, may be used to measure the temperature at the various thickness of the testing material 32 . Additional temperature sensors may be placed at various thicknesses in the testing material 32 . After the testing material 32 is secured to the cold mass assembly 21 and the temperature sensors 37 , 39 are in place, the specialized tool 300 and the cold mass assembly 21 are suspended from the top 23 of the vacuum chamber, preferably by threads 26 such as aromatic polyamide fiber threads known as KEVLAR. Since KEVLAR has a high tensile strength and a strong resistance to elongation, a relatively small diameter thread may be used to support the inner vessel 12 resulting in less heat loss through the thread 26 . The T-handled portion 210 is slid through the cryogenic feed tube 20 and connected to the top handling tool 212 . Once the cold mass assembly 21 is raised up by using the T-handled portion 210 and the VCR fitting 24 is tightened, it is then secured by preferably three threads 26 having length adjustment hardware. The bottom handling tool 214 and the top handling tool 212 with the T-handled portion 210 are removed. Bottom hole 11 is plugged with insulation material, such as fiberglass, and the temperature sensor wires are connected to feed through 28 . The top 23 of the vacuum chamber with the cold mass assembly 21 attached and testing specimen 32 installed is then lifted from the work stand and lowered into the vacuum chamber 14 . Evacuation and heating of the vacuum chamber 14 are performed as required. Cryogenic fluid is supplied to the inner vessel 12 through the cryogenic feed tube 20 preferably using the funnel 15 . The vacuum chamber 14 is then stabilized to maintain a constant vacuum and temperature, preferably using a blanket heater 41 that is controlled or set to certain warm temperatures. The temperature at the warm boundary layer and the cold boundary layer are measured by the temperature sensors 37 , 39 and these values are used to compute the comparative k-value. As stated earlier, the cold boundary temperature may be determined from the known cryogenic fluid boiling point temperature based on the ambient pressure. The comparative apparent thermal conductivity (k-value) is determined by using the Fourier heat conduction equation: Heat Transfer Rate = k ( Area ) ( Δ T ) Δ x
where,
k=apparent thermal conductivity (k-value)
ΔT=temperature difference between the warm boundary surface and the cold boundary surface
Δx=thickness of the testing material=(d o −d i )/2
The equation is modified for use of the cylindrical vessel to: Q = 2 π kl ( Δ T ) ln ( d 0 d i )
where:
l=effective length of the cold mass inner vessel
d o =outer diameter of insulation (warm boundary)
d i =inner diameter of insulation (cold boundary)
Q=(Mdot)×(H fg )
H fg =Heat of vaporization of the cryogen
Mdot=Mass flow rate of the boil-off gas
The mass flow rate (or boil off flow rate) is measured, typically, by two ways: flow meter and weight scale. The entire apparatus 10 is typically placed on a weight scale. Flow from one is simply used to check the flow from the other.
The surface area for a typical 1-inch thick insulation test article is 407 in 2 . The measurable heat gain of the preferred embodiment of the invention is estimated to be from 0.100 to 40 watts corresponding to a nitrogen boil-off flow rate of 25 to 9,666 standard cubic centimeters per minute. The preferred operating temperature range is 77 to 373 K while the preferred operating pressure range is 1×10 −6 torr to 1,000 torr. Test article installation, evacuation and heating of the vacuum chamber 14 , filling the inner vessel 12 with the cryogenic liquid, stabilization, and boil-offtest can be accomplished in a single day. The top and bottom thermal guards 16 , 18 preferably made from silica aerogel composite stacks provide efficient thermal guarding (approximately 10% maximum of the total system heat leak depending on test specimen thickness and vacuum level test conditions). The test results obtained from this cryogenic boil-off device 10 have long-term repeatability and reliability.
FIG. 4 shows the comparative k-values in milliwatt per meter-Kelvin as a function of cold vacuum pressure in microns (or millitorr) for a variety of testing materials. The various materials that have been tested are shown in the legend in the lower right hand corner of the graph. This graph shows that the cryogenic boil-off device 10 can be used over a wide range of pressures from high vacuum to soft vacuum to no vacuum (ambient pressure). Previous cryogenic devices were specific to a set pressure region, either high vacuum or low vacuum.
FIG. 5 shows that the comparative apparent thermal conductivity of a given testing material has a similar relation to the boil-off flow rate. Eight test points (or vacuum levels) are shown for this example test series K122.
FIG. 6 shows the total heat leak rate in milliwatts of the cryogenic boil-off device 10 for a given testing material. The total heat leak is in direct proportion to the boil-off flow rate.
FIG. 7 shows the temperature profile versus time in hours of a plurality of temperature sensors in the testing material for a specific single test of the example test series K122. Temperature sensors were placed on the outside of the testing material 32 , at various thicknesses within the testing material 32 , on the inner vessel 12 , and on the side of the vacuum chamber 14 . The temperatures remain constant throughout the duration of the test which is critical in obtaining the desired steady-state thermal performance of the insulation test specimen.
FIG. 8 shows the nitrogen boil-off flow rate in standard cubic centimeters per minute for the same specific test. The weight in pounds of the liquid nitrogen remaining inside the cold mass versus time in hours is also shown. The flow rate is measured by a mass flow meter (or other suitable flow meter) connected by a flexible tube to the top of the cryogenic feed tube 20 and by having the entire cryogenic boil-off device 10 placed on a scale and recording the weight over time. The flowrate of the gas from the cryogenic boil-off device 10 declines sharply at the beginning of the test and levels off for the duration of the test. It is important to note that the flowrate of the boil-off gas remains stable for a sufficiently long period of time coincident with stability of the pressure and all temperatures inside the vacuum chamber.
Although the present invention has been disclosed in terms of a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that numerous additional modifications and variations could be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. | A multi-purpose thermal insulation test apparatus is used for testing insulation materials, or other components. The test apparatus is a fluid boil-off calorimeter system for calibrated measurement of the apparent thermal conductivity (k-value) of a specimen material at a fixed vacuum level. The apparatus includes an inner vessel for receiving a fluid with a normal boiling point below ambient temperature, such as liquid nitrogen, enclosed within a vacuum chamber. A cold mass assembly, including the inner vessel and thermal guards, is suspended from the top of the vacuum chamber. Handling tools attach to the cold mass assembly for convenient manipulation of the assembly and for the installation or wrapping of insulation test materials. Liquid nitrogen is typically supplied to the inner vessel using a fill tube with funnel. A single port through the top of the vacuum chamber facilitates both filling and venting. Aerogel composite stacks with reflective films are fastened to the top and the bottom of the inner vessel as thermal guards. The comparative k-value of the insulation material is determined by measuring the boil-off flow rate of gas, the temperature differential across the insulation thickness, and the dimensions (length and diameters) of the test specimen. | Summarize the key points of the given patent document. | [
"PRIORITY CLAIM UNDER 35 U.S.C. 119(E) This application claims the benefit, under 35 USC 119(e), of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/217,317 filed Jul. 10, 2000, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.",
"ORIGIN OF THE INVENTION The invention described herein was made in the performance of work under a NASA contract and by an employee of the United States Government and is subject to the provisions of Public Law 96-517 (35 U.S.C. 202) and may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefore.",
"In accordance with 35 U.S.C. 202, the contractor elected not to retain title.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the field of cryogenic testing of material to determine the thermal performance of a material or system of materials.",
"One valuable technique for testing the thermal performance of materials, preferably insulation material, is boil-off testing.",
"Boil-off testing is accomplished by filling a vessel with a fluid which boils below ambient temperature.",
"Although the preferred fluid is the cryogen liquid nitrogen, other fluids such as liquid helium, liquid methane, liquid hydrogen, or known refrigerants may be used.",
"Once the vessel is filled with the cryogenic fluid, the vessel is surrounded with the testing material.",
"A calorimetry method is then used to determine the thermal conductivity of the testing material by first determining the amount of heat that passes through the test material to the vessel containing cryogenic fluid.",
"The cryogenic fluid boil-off rate from the vessel is directly proportional to the heat leak rate passing through the test material to the cryogenic fluid in the vessel.",
"For a test material under a set vacuum pressure, the apparent thermal conductivity (k-value) is determined by measuring the flow rate of cryogenic boil-off at given warm and cold boundary temperatures across the thickness of the sample.",
"Although cryogenic boil-off techniques and devices have been prepared to determine the thermal conductivity of insulation material, the previous techniques and devices are undesirable for a variety of reasons.",
"First, few such cryogenic devices are in operation because of their impracticality from an engineering point of view.",
"The previous cryogenic boil-off devices made it extremely difficult to obtain accurate, stable measurements and required extremely long set up times.",
"Prior testing devices also needed highly skilled personnel that could oversee the operation of the cryogen testing device for extended periods of time, over 24 hours to many days in some cases.",
"Additionally, constant attention was required to operate previous cryogenic testing devices to make the necessary fine adjustments required of the testing apparatus.",
"Second, prior cryogenic testing devices contained the limitation that they did not permit the testing of continuously rolled products which are commonly used insulation materials.",
"The testing of high performance materials such as multilayer insulation requires extreme care in fabrication and installation.",
"Inconsistency in wrapping techniques is a dominant source of error and poses a basic problem in the comparison of such materials.",
"Improper treatment of the ends or seams can render a measurement several times worse than predicted.",
"Localized compression effects, sensor installation, and outgassing are further complications.",
"Third, measurements of various testing parameters were not carefully determined or controlled in previous testing devices.",
"Measurement of temperature profiles for insulation material was either not done or was minimal because of the practical difficulties associated with the placement, feed-through, and calibration of the temperature sensors.",
"Vacuum levels were restricted to one or two set points or not actively controlled altogether.",
"Fourth, previous cryogenic testing devices required complex thermal guards having cryogenic fluid filled chambers to reduce unwanted heat leaks (end effects) to a tolerable level.",
"The previous technique for providing thermal guards, filling guard chambers with the cryogen, caused much complexity both in construction and operation of the apparatus.",
"Known techniques add the further complication of heat transfer between the test chamber and the guard chambers due to thermal stratification of the liquid within the chambers SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To eliminate or minimize the foregoing and other problems, a new method of fabricating and testing cryogen insulation systems has been developed.",
"In particular, the present invention ad overcomes the foregoing problems by providing a cryogenic testing apparatus having a boil-off calorimeter system for calibrated measurement of the apparent thermal conductivity (k-value) of a testing material, preferably insulation material, at a fixed vacuum level.",
"The cryogenic testing apparatus includes a vacuum chamber that contains an inner vessel that receives cryogenic fluid, for example liquid nitrogen, helium, hydrogen, methane or other known refrigerants.",
"The apparatus incorporates a number of design features that minimize heat leak, except through specific portions of the inner vessel.",
"For example, the top and the bottom of the inner vessel are abutted with thermal guards, such as silica aerogel composite plugs, to ensure thermal stability of the cryogenic environment.",
"The inner vessel with the thermal guards is called a cold mass assembly upon which the test specimen is installed.",
"The heat leak rate through the top and bottom of the inner vessel is reduced to a fraction of the heat leak through the sidewalls of the vessel.",
"Temperature sensors are placed between layers of the testing material that is wrapped around the cold mass assembly to obtain temperature-thickness profiles.",
"The apparent thermal conductivity (k-value) of the testing material is determined by measuring the boil-off flow rate of the cryogenic fluid and temperature differential between a cold boundary temperature and a warm boundary temperature for a known thickness of the testing material.",
"During the preferred use, the cold mass assembly is easily and quickly removed from the vacuum chamber and placed on an insulation-wrapping machine preferably using special handling tools.",
"Temperature sensors, preferably thermocouples, are placed at various thicknesses within the testing material.",
"A first temperature sensor on the inner vessel is designated the cold boundary temperature sensor.",
"The cold boundary temperature may also be determined from the known boil-off temperature of the cryogenic fluid.",
"A second temperature sensor on the outer surface of the testing material is designated the warm boundary temperature ID sensor.",
"The warm boundary temperature sensor may be placed at any known distance from the inner vessel.",
"After the testing material is secured to the cold mass assembly, the cold mass assembly is installed within the vacuum chamber using a special handling tool such that the insulation test specimen remains undisturbed and untouched.",
"Preferably, the cold mass assembly is suspended by a plurality of support threads, such as three KEVLAR threads with hooks and hardware for attachment and length adjustment.",
"KEVLAR threads have a low thermal conductivity, a high tensile strength and greatly resist elongation.",
"Therefore, a relatively small diameter KEVLAR thread is preferred to minimize any additional heat transfer to the inner vessel.",
"Once the cold mass assembly is secure, the handling tool is removed, and the vacuum chamber is sealed, the cryogenic fluid is supplied to the inner vessel, preferably using a specially designed funnel and fill tube, until the inner vessel is full and at a constant temperature.",
"The vacuum chamber is maintained at a constant vacuum, using a preferred vacuum pumping and gas metering system, and a set sidewall temperature, using a preferred electrical heater system.",
"The temperature differential between the cold boundary temperature and the warm boundary temperature of the testing material is measured by the temperature sensors and these values, along with the boil-off flow rate and the material thickness, are used to compute the comparative k-value.",
"Calibration of the device, that is, determination of the total parasitic heat leak rate or “end effects”, is accomplished by testing a material with a known k-value under the pressure and temperature conditions of interest.",
"The actual k-value will therefore by slightly lower than the comparative k-value.",
"The present invention will overcome many shortcomings of the previous cryogenic boil-off devices.",
"First, the testing device is more practical from an engineering viewpoint as compared with the previous devices.",
"The present device can be employed in an automatic operation that requires little oversight by the operator.",
"The design of the preferred silica aerogel i stacks as thermal guards is high performance and robust so that heat leak performance does not drift over time, thus resulting in a system calibration having long-term reliability and repeatability.",
"The unique funnel and fill tube design allows for a one step cooling, filling and thermal stabilization process and eliminates the need for separate fill and vent ports in the inner vessel.",
"This single port for filling and venting is constructed, in part, from thin wall stainless steel bellows which greatly increase the length of the path for conduction of heat from the vacuum chamber to the inner vessel.",
"The parasitic heat leak to the inner vessel is therefore reduced to a minimum.",
"Second, the present invention allows for the testing of large size prototype material systems in typical actual-use configurations.",
"Of critical importance to the present invention is the ability to test continuously rolled insulation materials.",
"This is highly desirable because other forms of insulation material, such as seamed blankets, can drastically affect the test results producing inaccurate readings in many cases.",
"Although testing of continuously rolled insulation material is the preferred material to be tested by this device, a variety of other materials, other forms of material, or other components, may also be tested using the device.",
"For example, bulk fill materials are tested using a containment sleeve with low thermal conductivity supports at the top and bottom.",
"Other materials, including rigid or flexible types and clam-shell or blanket forms, are tested by afflixing the test specimen to the outside circumference of the cold mass assembly using tapes, wires, or other suitable means of attachment.",
"Additionally, the ability to quickly change out the test article with another material is accomplished by the present invention.",
"Third, a means for measuring the temperature profile across a known thickness of the insulation material is accomplished in order to characterize and understand the performance of the insulation system.",
"Full range vacuum levels, varying from high vacuum to soft vacuum to atmospheric pressure, to higher pressures can be tested with a single device.",
"Different residual gases such as air, nitrogen, helium, or carbon dioxide can be supplied to the vacuum chamber.",
"The vacuum level can be maintained at a very steady value for long periods of time with accurate vacuum control and measurement.",
"Fourth, the use of the preferred custom designed silica aerogel composite stacks for thermal guards eliminates the need for guard chambers containing cryogenic fluid.",
"This feature also eliminates the problem of the effect of thermal stratification of the liquid inside the test chamber.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a side view of the cryogenic boil-off device that is constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention;",
"FIG. 2 depicts a funnel and fill tube assembly for cooling and filling the cold mass assembly in the device of FIG. 1;",
"FIG. 3 depicts handling tools for removal of the cold mass assembly from the vacuum chamber and wrapping of the cold mass assembly with a testing material;",
"FIG. 4 is a graph showing the comparative k-values in milliwatts per meter-Kelvin as a function of cold vacuum pressure in microns (millitorr) for various testing materials over a wide range of vacuum levels;",
"FIG. 5 is a graph showing the comparative k-value and the liquid nitrogen boil-off flow rate as a function of cold vacuum pressure for a typical series of tests;",
"FIG. 6 is a graph showing the total heat leak rate in milliwatts into the cold mass inner vessel as a function of cold vacuum pressure for a typical series of tests;",
"FIG. 7 is a graph showing the temperature profile across the thickness of the test material as a function of time for a typical test;",
"and FIG. 8 is a graph showing the nitrogen boil off flow rate and the volume of liquid nitrogen in the inner vessel as a function of time for a typical test (weight in pounds and gas flow rate in standard cubic centimeters per minute).",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Turning now to a detailed consideration of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 shows a cryogenic boil-off device 10 with an inner vessel 12 enclosed within a vacuum chamber 14 .",
"The inner vessel 12 is made from any suitable material but is preferably a stainless steel cylinder having a top 2 and a bottom 4 .",
"The inner vessel 12 preferably has a socket weld 6 in the top 2 for securing the lower half of a cryogenic feed tube 20 to the inner vessel 12 .",
"A double ended connector 8 having a first connection 7 within the inner vessel 12 and a second connection 9 external to the inner vessel 12 is preferably welded into the bottom 4 of the inner vessel 12 .",
"Although the exact dimensions of the inner vessel are not critical, the surface area of the side of the inner vessel 12 is substantially larger, i.e., at least four times greater, than the surface area of the ends.",
"The inner vessel 12 is positioned between two thermal guards, a top thermal guard 16 and a bottom thermal guard 18 .",
"The top thermal guard 16 and bottom thermal guard 18 are each preferably a stack of silica aerogel composite discs 27 with a highly reflective film layer 17 , such as silverlux reflective films or double-aluminized mylar films, between each disc 27 .",
"The preferred aerogel composite material is a nanoporous, extremely high surface area silica product reinforced by fiberglass, similar to the material by Aspen Systems, Inc in Marlborough, Mass.",
"The top thermal guard 16 and bottom thermal guard 18 may be made from any suitable minsulation material as an alternative to the preferred silica aerogel composite material, such as balsa wood, cork, polyurethane foam, polystyrene foam and other insulating foams or materials.",
"In a prototype of the invention, the discs 27 were approximately 5 inches in diameter and 1 inch in thickness.",
"A total of five discs were used per stack for a thermal guard 5 inches in length.",
"The stacks are held together by lacings of thread 25 , preferably KEVLAR, between end caps 19 and the inner vessel 12 .",
"Also, one wrap of reflective film or foil goes around the circumference of each thermal guard stack of discs 27 .",
"However, the dimensions of the discs 27 may vary depending of the size of the inner vessel 12 and the amount of insulation needed to reduce the unwanted heat loss.",
"The top thermal guard 16 has a hole 13 to allow for the passage of the cryogenic feed tube 20 .",
"The bottom thermal guard 18 also has a hole 11 to allow for the passage of a bottom handling tool 214 , as discussed below.",
"The hole 11 in the bottom thermal guard may be filled with insulating material during testing to minimize heat leak through the hole 11 .",
"The top thermal guard 16 and the bottom thermal guard 18 are secured by preferably glass-fabric-reinforced epoxy composite G-10 end caps 19 which are laced to the inner vessel 12 using fine lacings of thread 25 , preferably aromatic polyamide fiber threads known as KEVLAR.",
"The top thermal guard 16 , bottom thermal guard 18 , composite end caps 19 and inner vessel 12 are attached to form a cold mass assembly 21 .",
"The cryogenic fluid, preferably liquid nitrogen, is delivered to the inner vessel 12 through the cryogenic feed tube 20 .",
"Any fluid, cryogenic or non-cryogenic, that boils below ambient conditions may be used, for example liquid helium, liquid hydrogen, liquid nitrogen, liquid oxygen, liquid methane, and other refrigerants.",
"The cryogenic feed tube 20 passes through a feedthrough port 22 in a top of the vacuum chamber 23 , preferably a flange, through the hole 13 in the top thermal guard 16 , and is fitted onto the socket weld 6 at the top 2 of the inner vessel 12 .",
"The cryogenic feed tube 20 is preferably constructed from thin-wall tubing and thin-wall bellows and contains a type VCR coupling 24 which allows for cryogenic fluid filling, venting and boil-off Although the cryogenic feed tube 20 may be any suitable dimension, in a prototype of the invention the cryogenic feed tube 20 was approximately ½ inch in diameter and approximately 19 inches long.",
"The bellows portion of this overall length is maximized in order to minimize the heat leak to the inner vessel.",
"A funnel and fill tube 15 , as shown in FIG. 2, is preferably employed to deliver the liquid to the inner vessel 12 , and allows for the cooling and filling of the inner vessel 12 with the given cryogenic fluid.",
"The funnel 15 has a large fluid receiving portion 210 connected to tubing 212 that extends through the cryogen feed tube 20 to the bottom of the inner vessel 12 .",
"A series of small holes 214 in the wall of the lower portion of the tubing 212 allows for the inner vessel 12 to be fed with liquid cryogen.",
"The tubing 212 is sized smaller than the inside diameter of the feed tube 20 such that the vent gas may exit the inner vessel 12 during the filling process.",
"The cryogenic feed tube 20 and funnel and fill tube 15 permit the combined filling and venting of the inner vessel 12 so that additional ports in the inner vessel are unnecessary.",
"Any additional ports would increase the unwanted heat leak from the inner vessel 12 and introduce additional complications during installation and removal of the cold mass assembly 21 .",
"The entire cold mass assembly 21 , including the inner vessel 12 , top thermal guard 16 and bottom thermal guard 18 , is disposed within the vacuum chamber 14 .",
"Preferably, the inner vessel 12 is suspended by a plurality of threads 26 , preferably aromatic polyamide fiber threads known as KEVLAR, attached to adjustable eye-hooks in the flange 23 of the vacuum chamber 14 .",
"The vacuum chamber 14 also contains temperature sensor feed through ports 28 , a vacuum measuring port 30 , and a vacuum pump port 31 for regulating and controlling the temperature and pressure of the vacuum chamber 14 .",
"It is important to clarify that all the preferred dimensions listed are designed to first and foremost reduce the heat leak to the inner vessel 12 , also known as “parasitic”",
"heat, to as small as possible for the full range of vacuum.",
"Although the dimensions listed above disclose one preferred embodiment, a variety of dimensions may be suitable for the present invention as long as the “parasitic”",
"heat leak remains small.",
"The dimensional features described are also intended to take into account the handling, installation, and safety features.",
"To facilitate testing of a testing material 32 using the cryogenic boil-off device 10 , the cold mass assembly 21 may be removed from the vacuum chamber 14 and installed on an insulation-wrapping machine, e.g. an 18-inch wide wrapping machine, preferably using a specialized tool 300 as depicted in FIG. 3 .",
"But first, the top 23 of the vacuum chamber with the cold mass assembly 21 attached is lifted and put on an open work stand.",
"The specialized tool 300 has a T-handled portion 210 , a top handling tool 212 , and a bottom handling tool 214 .",
"The T-handled portion 210 attaches to the top handling tool 212 at a threaded screw connection 216 .",
"The top handling tool 212 also has an inner vessel attachment 218 so that the top handling tool 212 may be attached to the bottom 4 of the inner vessel 12 at the first connection 7 of the double ended connector 8 .",
"The top handling tool 212 is afixed to the bottom 4 of the inner vessel 12 by passing the top handling tool 212 through the lower half of the cryogen feed tube 20 and through the inner vessel 12 until the top handling tool 212 abuts the bottom 4 of the inner vessel 12 where the inner vessel attachment 218 attaches to the first connection 7 of the double ended connector 8 .",
"The bottom handling tool 214 has an outer attachment 220 for connecting with the inner vessel 12 .",
"The bottom handling tool 214 is placed through hole 11 in the bottom thermal guard 18 until it abuts the bottom 4 of the inner vessel 12 .",
"The outer attachment 220 attaches to the second connection 9 of the double ended connector 8 .",
"Once the top handling tool 212 and the bottom handling tool 214 are attached to the inner vessel, the cold mass assembly 21 may be lowered using the T-handled portion 210 until the bottom handling tool 214 contacts the lower surface of the work stand.",
"The suspension threads 26 are unhooked, the VCR fitting 24 is disconnected, and then the T-handled portion 210 can be disconnected from the top handling tool 212 .",
"The cold mass assembly 21 can then be conveniently handled and placed on the wrapping machine using the top handling tool 212 and the bottom handling tool 214 .",
"A plurality of temperature sensors 37 , 39 are positioned at various known thicknesses with in the testing material 32 .",
"At least one temperature sensor 39 is positioned on the inner vessel 12 to measure the cold boundary temperature.",
"However, the inner temperature sensor 39 may be optional since the inner temperature should closely approximate to the known boiling point of the cryogen.",
"At least one temperature sensor 37 is positioned on the outer surface of the testing material 32 to measure the warm boundary temperature.",
"Any known temperature sensor 37 , 39 , for example thermocouples, may be used to measure the temperature at the various thickness of the testing material 32 .",
"Additional temperature sensors may be placed at various thicknesses in the testing material 32 .",
"After the testing material 32 is secured to the cold mass assembly 21 and the temperature sensors 37 , 39 are in place, the specialized tool 300 and the cold mass assembly 21 are suspended from the top 23 of the vacuum chamber, preferably by threads 26 such as aromatic polyamide fiber threads known as KEVLAR.",
"Since KEVLAR has a high tensile strength and a strong resistance to elongation, a relatively small diameter thread may be used to support the inner vessel 12 resulting in less heat loss through the thread 26 .",
"The T-handled portion 210 is slid through the cryogenic feed tube 20 and connected to the top handling tool 212 .",
"Once the cold mass assembly 21 is raised up by using the T-handled portion 210 and the VCR fitting 24 is tightened, it is then secured by preferably three threads 26 having length adjustment hardware.",
"The bottom handling tool 214 and the top handling tool 212 with the T-handled portion 210 are removed.",
"Bottom hole 11 is plugged with insulation material, such as fiberglass, and the temperature sensor wires are connected to feed through 28 .",
"The top 23 of the vacuum chamber with the cold mass assembly 21 attached and testing specimen 32 installed is then lifted from the work stand and lowered into the vacuum chamber 14 .",
"Evacuation and heating of the vacuum chamber 14 are performed as required.",
"Cryogenic fluid is supplied to the inner vessel 12 through the cryogenic feed tube 20 preferably using the funnel 15 .",
"The vacuum chamber 14 is then stabilized to maintain a constant vacuum and temperature, preferably using a blanket heater 41 that is controlled or set to certain warm temperatures.",
"The temperature at the warm boundary layer and the cold boundary layer are measured by the temperature sensors 37 , 39 and these values are used to compute the comparative k-value.",
"As stated earlier, the cold boundary temperature may be determined from the known cryogenic fluid boiling point temperature based on the ambient pressure.",
"The comparative apparent thermal conductivity (k-value) is determined by using the Fourier heat conduction equation: Heat Transfer Rate = k ( Area ) ( Δ T ) Δ x where, k=apparent thermal conductivity (k-value) ΔT=temperature difference between the warm boundary surface and the cold boundary surface Δx=thickness of the testing material=(d o −d i )/2 The equation is modified for use of the cylindrical vessel to: Q = 2 π kl ( Δ T ) ln ( d 0 d i ) where: l=effective length of the cold mass inner vessel d o =outer diameter of insulation (warm boundary) d i =inner diameter of insulation (cold boundary) Q=(Mdot)×(H fg ) H fg =Heat of vaporization of the cryogen Mdot=Mass flow rate of the boil-off gas The mass flow rate (or boil off flow rate) is measured, typically, by two ways: flow meter and weight scale.",
"The entire apparatus 10 is typically placed on a weight scale.",
"Flow from one is simply used to check the flow from the other.",
"The surface area for a typical 1-inch thick insulation test article is 407 in 2 .",
"The measurable heat gain of the preferred embodiment of the invention is estimated to be from 0.100 to 40 watts corresponding to a nitrogen boil-off flow rate of 25 to 9,666 standard cubic centimeters per minute.",
"The preferred operating temperature range is 77 to 373 K while the preferred operating pressure range is 1×10 −6 torr to 1,000 torr.",
"Test article installation, evacuation and heating of the vacuum chamber 14 , filling the inner vessel 12 with the cryogenic liquid, stabilization, and boil-offtest can be accomplished in a single day.",
"The top and bottom thermal guards 16 , 18 preferably made from silica aerogel composite stacks provide efficient thermal guarding (approximately 10% maximum of the total system heat leak depending on test specimen thickness and vacuum level test conditions).",
"The test results obtained from this cryogenic boil-off device 10 have long-term repeatability and reliability.",
"FIG. 4 shows the comparative k-values in milliwatt per meter-Kelvin as a function of cold vacuum pressure in microns (or millitorr) for a variety of testing materials.",
"The various materials that have been tested are shown in the legend in the lower right hand corner of the graph.",
"This graph shows that the cryogenic boil-off device 10 can be used over a wide range of pressures from high vacuum to soft vacuum to no vacuum (ambient pressure).",
"Previous cryogenic devices were specific to a set pressure region, either high vacuum or low vacuum.",
"FIG. 5 shows that the comparative apparent thermal conductivity of a given testing material has a similar relation to the boil-off flow rate.",
"Eight test points (or vacuum levels) are shown for this example test series K122.",
"FIG. 6 shows the total heat leak rate in milliwatts of the cryogenic boil-off device 10 for a given testing material.",
"The total heat leak is in direct proportion to the boil-off flow rate.",
"FIG. 7 shows the temperature profile versus time in hours of a plurality of temperature sensors in the testing material for a specific single test of the example test series K122.",
"Temperature sensors were placed on the outside of the testing material 32 , at various thicknesses within the testing material 32 , on the inner vessel 12 , and on the side of the vacuum chamber 14 .",
"The temperatures remain constant throughout the duration of the test which is critical in obtaining the desired steady-state thermal performance of the insulation test specimen.",
"FIG. 8 shows the nitrogen boil-off flow rate in standard cubic centimeters per minute for the same specific test.",
"The weight in pounds of the liquid nitrogen remaining inside the cold mass versus time in hours is also shown.",
"The flow rate is measured by a mass flow meter (or other suitable flow meter) connected by a flexible tube to the top of the cryogenic feed tube 20 and by having the entire cryogenic boil-off device 10 placed on a scale and recording the weight over time.",
"The flowrate of the gas from the cryogenic boil-off device 10 declines sharply at the beginning of the test and levels off for the duration of the test.",
"It is important to note that the flowrate of the boil-off gas remains stable for a sufficiently long period of time coincident with stability of the pressure and all temperatures inside the vacuum chamber.",
"Although the present invention has been disclosed in terms of a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that numerous additional modifications and variations could be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a hand-operated spray pump, and more particularly the hand-operated spray pump being formed by modifying the structure of a hollow rode, a piston and the like, which constitute a hand-operated spray pump, whereby the spray pump has a precompression function and a further lower defect rate in manufacturing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Hand-operated spray pumps have been widely used for their convenience to eject liquids or emulsion contents in a fixed amount in the cosmetic field. Particularly, since the hand-operated spray pumps have charactistics of storing the contents in a vessel and easily spraying them in a fixed amount, they have been widely used and the relevant technologies have steadily been developed.
[0003] The hand-opera spray pump generally comprises a housing forming the exterior of pump; a closure serving as fixing the housing to a pump vessel; a hollow rod providing an inner passage from an upper button including a spray nozzle to the interior space of the housing; a piston engaged with the hollow rod, the piston moving upward and downward along the inner wall of the housing; a spring being placed on the inner bottom of the housing; and a ball serving as opening and shutting an lower entrance of the housing.
[0004] The technology associated with the hand-operated spray pump has been developed in connection with various modifications of constitutional elements, i.e., modifications of the configuration and function thereof. For example, the procedure that the liquid content compressed in the housing flows into the interior of the hollow rod, was carried out by the configuration of the rod itself in the early stage of development, however, in order to solve the problem thereof in a mass product, a stem was used as a separate element, the stem forming a plurality of small inflow slits when it is joined to the bottom of the cylindrical hollow rod.
[0005] In addition to the technical development for solving the problem in a molding field as above, the configuration for solving so called “dropping phenomenon” was also been developed, in which the dropping phenomenon means the phenomenon that, on spraying the liquid content by pushing the button down, a part of the liquid content falls off the nozzle in not a spray form but a drop form Such developed pump is configured to precompress the liquid content in the housing, prior to inflow of the liquid content into the interior of the hollow rod. For instance, the space of a certain length exists on the adjoining portion of the piston and the rod so that, when the button is pushed down for ejection of the liquid content, the liquid content does not flow into the hollow rod in an initial descent step and instead is compressed in the housing. In another configuration, a separate slim ring is installed for precompression.
[0006] As illustrated as above, a plurality of spray pump operated in the precompression manner have been known in the prior art and one representative example of them is U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,759. In FIG. 6, illustrated is the device disclosed in this patent, wherein a piston 750 comprises a cylindrical sleeve 760 and an outer seal lip 770 connected thereto, and the outer upper portion of a hollow rod 550 on which an inner top 762 of cylindrical sleeve 760 of the piston 750 adjoins is inclined outward. The portion of the piston 750 , on which a vertical extending part 860 of the stem 850 adjoins, is an outer bottom 764 of cylindrical sleeve 760 . In a resting mode, as the outer bottom 764 of cylindrical sleeve 760 of the piston 750 comes into contact with the vertical extending part 860 of stem 850 , a sealing takes place so that an inner passage is shut between a housing interior space (A) and the hollow rod 550 . In a compression mode, the hollow rod 550 descends in the state that the sealing between the outer bottom 764 of piston 750 and the vertical extending part 860 of stem 850 is maintained, so that the inner top 762 of cylindrical sleeve 760 ascends along the inclined plane 552 of hollow rod 550 . Accordingly, the housing interior space (A) is further compressed, and when the pressure reaches the fair extent, the liquid content flows into the interior passage of hollow rod 550 by opening the above sealed portion. As a result, the sealed portion and the inclined plane are key elements in the above U.S. patent. However, it is not easy to manufacture the piston 550 of such configuration in a massive product.
[0007] Plastic parts are generally manufactured in the injection molding method of using a mold, in which the mold consisting of two mold units is generally used, and a melted plastic material is provided with the interior space that the mold units form Referring to FIGS. 7A to 7 C which illustrate the injection molding procedure using the piston mold 2000 , the problem associated with the above U.S. patent can be easily understood For manufacture of the piston 750 , a space 2750 is formed by interlock of a lower mold 2100 and an upper mold 2120 wherein a part of outer and inner shapes of the piston 750 are carved in the lower mold 2100 and the remaining outer and inner shapes are carved in the upper mold 2120 , and then a melt which has been in a runner 2130 flows into the space 2750 through a gate 2140 . Herein, the melt is filled in the cylindrical space starting from the bottom thereof and then is divided at the intersecting portion of a cylindrical sleeve 2760 and an outer seal lip 2770 . By the way, the air which has been in the space corresponding to the outer seal lip 2770 can exhaust through a parting line 2150 of the upper and lower molds 2100 , 2120 , whereas the air which has been in the upper space corresponding to the cylindrical sleeve 2760 cannot exhaust Accordingly, it is difficult to manufacture a bottom 2762 of the cylindrical sleeve 2760 in a perfect form, the bottom 2762 being the portion where a sealing takes place for precompression as mentioned above, so that the defect rate in manufacturing is very high. As a result, the perfect precompression cannot be achieved in the above U.S. patent so that the dropping phenomenon occurs.
[0008] In a spray pump which is operated by the combination of very fine parts, most of the parts being made of polyethylene or polypropylene in an error range according to the fine molding, the defect rate of manufacture is very important actor. In order to remove the air of the portion 2762 , and the configuration of molding apparatus requires the air-removing passage; however, such apparatus is a high price due to the characteristic of fine configuration so that a diversity of developments to solve this problem have been tried for a long time. Moreover, it is also difficult to ascertain whether a fine part manufactured has a defect, thereby raising a production cost.
[0009] Therefore, the structure of spray pump capable of solving said problems is strongly required.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0010] An object of the present invention is to provide a finger-operated spray pump of simple configuration that the precompression can be achieved and the dropping phenomenon does not occur.
[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide a finger-operated spray pump of which the defect rate in a mass product is very low and the ascertainment of defect can be easily carried out.
[0012] A hand-operated spray pump of the present invention to accomplish these objects comprises,
[0013] a housing forming the exterior of pump;
[0014] a closure joining the housing to a vessel containing a liquid content, the closure being engaged to the outer surface of the housing;
[0015] a hollow rod providing an interconnecting passage between a button having a spray nozzle and the interior space of housing;
[0016] a housing cap fixing the hollow rod in the housing and sealing the interior of housing from the exterior, the housing cap being inserted between the housing and the hollow rod;
[0017] a piston moving upward and downward along the inner wall of housing, the piston being installed to the lower portion of hollow rod;
[0018] a stem forming a plural of inflow slits in combination with the hollow rod, the stem being combined to the bottom of hollow rod;
[0019] a spring supporting the stem, the spring being positioned in the lower interior space of housing; and
[0020] a ball opening and closing a lower entrance of the housing;
[0021] wherein the piston comprises an inner part in contact with the bottom of hollow rod and an outer part in contact with the inner wail of housing, the outer part extending downward from the bottom of inner part and being spread to be pressed a little about the inner wall of housing,
[0022] the stem comprises an axial part being inserted to an inflow passage of the bottom of hollow rod, a horizontal part extending horizontally from the bottom of axial part, and a vertical part extending upward and downward from the horizontal part,
[0023] whereby, in a resting or compression mode, the inner surface of the outer part of piston comes into contact with the outer top of the axial part of stem to make a sealing, whereas in an ejection mode, the outer part of piston is further spread and thereby the sealing portion with the axial part is separated to remove the sealing.
[0024] The term “resting mode” in the present specification means the state that the pump is not in a non-operation, the term “compression mode” means the state that the pump is just prior to ejection of the liquid content by pushing the button down, and the term “ejection mode” means the state that the liquid contents is ejected after the compression mode.
[0025] One of the features of the present invention is that the piston moves in integration with the hollow rod and, in the resting mode, the liquid content which is contained in the interior space of housing by the ball placed on the lower entrance of housing is sealed by combination of the outer part of piston and the vertical part of stem and, in the compression mode, the piston integrated with the hollow rod moves downward with maintaining the close contact with the stem so that the liquid content is compressed (recompressed) and, in the ejection mode, as the pressure reaches the fair extent, the outer part of piston is further spread so that the compressed liquid content flows into the inflow passage of hollow rod through the inflow slits which are formed between the hollow rod and the stem.
[0026] Accordingly, the liquid content compressed in the interior space of housing removes a sealing by further spreading the cylindrical outer part of piston to accomplish the spraying procedure ultimately, whereby the instantaneous ejection can take place. Furthermore, since the liquid content is compressed as the vertical par of stem moves a little upward along the inclined inner surface of the outer part of piston, the effect of precompression is very high, and a small molding error in the stem and piston does not cause any problem on operation, whereby the dropping phenomenon does not occur.
[0027] In another embodiment, in order to reinforce the joint of the housing and the closure, the upper portion of housing includes a top protruding part to be hung on the inner top of closure and a middle projection to support the inner bottom of closure. Moreover, the housing cap which works as fixing the hollow rod to the housing consists of an inner wall and an outer wall, in which a small projection is formed on the middle of the outer wall to reinforce the engagement with the housing. Therefore, the spray pump of the present invention can be easily manufactured and also assembled by a simple configuration thereof.
[0028] Materials of the constitutional elements in the present invention are not particularly restricted but, in consideration of the easiness of molding and the price, polypropylene resin is desirable to most of constitutional elements and polyethylene resin is desirable to the piston needing a rather resilient property, wherein the polyethylene resin includes the high density polyethylene (HDPE), the low density polyethylene (LDPE), the linear low density polyethylene (LLPDE), etc. and the LLDPE is particularly preferable. The ball and spring are preferably made of stainless steel.
[0029] As shown below, the description refers to the drawing in order to describe the present invention more in detail, thereby, the scope of the invention is however not to be interpreted as a limitation of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0030] [0030]FIG. 1A shows a hand-operated spray pump according to an embodiment of the present invention being in the resting mode that a button is not pushed down. The hand-operated spray pump 100 comprises a closure 300 joining a housing 200 of the multistair type to a vessel (not shown), a button 400 including a nozzle 410 , a hollow rod 500 connecting the interior space of housing 200 to the button 400 by an interconnecting passage, a housing cap 600 guiding the upward-downward movement of hollow rod 500 and Ding it to the housing 200 , a piston 700 moving upward and downward along the inner wall of housing 200 wherein the piston 700 is installed on the lower portion of hollow rod 500 , a stem 800 being engaged to the bottom of hollow rod 500 , a spring 900 being positioned between the stem 800 and the lower portion of housing 200 , and a ball 1000 being placed on a lower entrance of housing 200 .
[0031] [0031]FIG. 2 shows the detailed configuration of piston 700 and its neighbor elements being in the resting mode. The piston 700 comprises an inner part 710 being in contact with the lower portion 510 of hollow rod 500 and an outer part 720 being in contact with the inner wall of housing 200 , in which the outer part 720 is rather compressed. The outer part 720 is configured to extend laterally from the bottom of inner part 710 and then further downward than the inner part 710 . In particular, the outer part 720 is spread outward so that the lower diameter thereof is larger than the upper diameter. Accordingly, the outer portion 772 of the outer part 720 comes into contact with the inner wall of housing 200 in the rather compressed state. The piston 700 is engaged to the lower portion 510 of hollow rod 500 so that, in order to secure the engagement, a projection 712 is formed on an inner surface 710 of piston 700 .
[0032] Meanwhile, the stem 800 comprises an axial part 810 being inserted into the bottom of hollow rod 500 , a horizontal part 820 extending horizontally from the bottom of axial part 810 , and a vertical part 830 extending upward and downward from the horizontal part 820 . In the state that the stem 800 joins to the hollow rod 500 , a plurality of inflow slits 812 , 814 , through which the liquid content flows into the inflow passage 520 of hollow rod 500 , are formed on such joint portion.
[0033] In the resting mode or compression mode, the outer top 832 of the vertical part 830 of stem 800 comes into contact with the inner surface 724 of the outer part 720 of piston 700 so that the interior space (A) of housing 200 is closed.
[0034] [0034]FIG. 1B shows the state that the liquid content is ejected by pushing the pump of FIG. As a button 400 is pushed down, the hollow rod 500 moves downward, whereby the piston 700 and stem 800 which are integrated with the hollow rod 500 also move down The liquid content being in the housing interior space (A) is compressed by downward-movement of the piston 700 , but the sealing between the piston 700 and the stem 800 is continuously maintained. When the pressure reaches the fair extent, the outer part 720 of piston 700 is spread so as to reduce the excessive pressure, as illustrated in FIG. 3, whereby the sealing between the outer part 720 and the vertical part 830 is removed and thus the liquid content being in the housing interior space (A) flows through the inflow slits 812 , 814 .
[0035] Referring to FIG. 5, in a mold 2000 for molding the piston of the present invention, a melt (melted plastic resin) being in a runner 2130 flows through a gate 2140 to fill a space 2710 corresponding to the inner part 710 of piston 700 and, after a consecutive ascent, fill a space 2720 corresponding to the outer part 720 . Herein, the air which has remained in the interior space of mold 2000 can exhaust from the space 2720 through the parting line 2150 of mold 2000 . Accordingly, the problem mentioned in the above U.S. patent does not take place. Moreover, even when the bottom of outer part 720 is not manufactured in a perfect form, the problem associated with the operation of pump does not take place.
[0036] [0036]FIG. 4 shows the joint configuration of the housing 200 , closure 300 , hollow rod 400 and housing cap 600 in detail.
[0037] The upper portion of housing 200 includes atop protruding part 210 , which is hung on the top 312 of closure joint part 310 , and a small projection 220 which is engaged to the bottom 314 of closure joint part 310 , so that joint of the housing 200 and closure 300 is further reinforced. By such configuration for joint, an excessive force needs not be applied to the closure 300 for maintenance of the joint and thereby the closure 300 is not destroyed by stress in its fabrication and operation procedure. Meanwhile, a small projection 610 is formed on the inner surface of housing cap 600 so as to reinforce joint between the housing cap 600 and housing 200 , and the inner wall of housing 200 is recessed so as to fix the position that the housing cap 600 is inserted, as illustrated above.
[0038] The present invention being thus descried, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention and all such modifications would be obvious to one skilled in the art.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0039] [0039]FIG. 1A is a vertical cross-sectional view of a hand-operated spray pump being in the resting mode, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0040] [0040]FIG. 1B is a vertical cross-sectional view of the hand-operated spray pump being in the ejection mode.
[0041] [0041]FIG. 2 is a partial magnified view of a piston and its surrounding elements of FIG. 1A.
[0042] [0042]FIG. 3 is a partial magnified view of a piston and its surrounding elements of FIG. 1B.
[0043] [0043]FIG. 4 is a partial magnified view of showing the joint configuration of a closure, housing, and housing cap of FIG. 1A.
[0044] [0044]FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of a mold for manufacturing a piston according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0045] [0045]FIG. 6 is a partial magnified view of a piston and its surrounding elements in the prior art.
[0046] [0046]FIGS. 7A to 7 C are vertical and horizontal cross-sectional views of a mold for manufacturing the piston of FIG. 6.
DESIGNATION OF THE REFERENCE NUMBERS
[0047] [0047] 100 : hand-operated spray pump
[0048] [0048] 200 : housing
[0049] [0049] 300 : closure
[0050] [0050] 400 : button
[0051] [0051] 500 : hollow rod
[0052] [0052] 600 : housing cap
[0053] [0053] 700 : piston
[0054] [0054] 800 : stem
[0055] [0055] 900 : spring
[0056] [0056] 1000 : ball
[0057] [0057] 2000 : piston mold
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0058] As described above, the hand-operated spray pump of the present invention has the precompression function despite a simple configuration and can be easily manufactured and assembled, whereby the defect rate in a massive product is very low. Furthermore, the hand-operated spray pump can be operated without any problem even when its constitutional elements are manufactured with a small molding error and it is easy to ascertain if the manufactured elements have a defect, so that the spray pump having a high performance can be manufactured in a low price. | The present invention relates to a hand-operated spray pump, and more particularly the hand-operated spray pump with the modified configuration of a hollow rode, a piston and the like, which constitute a hand-operated spray pump, whereby the spray pump has a precompression function and a further lower defect rate in manufacturing. | Briefly outline the background technology and the problem the invention aims to solve. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to a hand-operated spray pump, and more particularly the hand-operated spray pump being formed by modifying the structure of a hollow rode, a piston and the like, which constitute a hand-operated spray pump, whereby the spray pump has a precompression function and a further lower defect rate in manufacturing.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Hand-operated spray pumps have been widely used for their convenience to eject liquids or emulsion contents in a fixed amount in the cosmetic field.",
"Particularly, since the hand-operated spray pumps have charactistics of storing the contents in a vessel and easily spraying them in a fixed amount, they have been widely used and the relevant technologies have steadily been developed.",
"[0003] The hand-opera spray pump generally comprises a housing forming the exterior of pump;",
"a closure serving as fixing the housing to a pump vessel;",
"a hollow rod providing an inner passage from an upper button including a spray nozzle to the interior space of the housing;",
"a piston engaged with the hollow rod, the piston moving upward and downward along the inner wall of the housing;",
"a spring being placed on the inner bottom of the housing;",
"and a ball serving as opening and shutting an lower entrance of the housing.",
"[0004] The technology associated with the hand-operated spray pump has been developed in connection with various modifications of constitutional elements, i.e., modifications of the configuration and function thereof.",
"For example, the procedure that the liquid content compressed in the housing flows into the interior of the hollow rod, was carried out by the configuration of the rod itself in the early stage of development, however, in order to solve the problem thereof in a mass product, a stem was used as a separate element, the stem forming a plurality of small inflow slits when it is joined to the bottom of the cylindrical hollow rod.",
"[0005] In addition to the technical development for solving the problem in a molding field as above, the configuration for solving so called “dropping phenomenon”",
"was also been developed, in which the dropping phenomenon means the phenomenon that, on spraying the liquid content by pushing the button down, a part of the liquid content falls off the nozzle in not a spray form but a drop form Such developed pump is configured to precompress the liquid content in the housing, prior to inflow of the liquid content into the interior of the hollow rod.",
"For instance, the space of a certain length exists on the adjoining portion of the piston and the rod so that, when the button is pushed down for ejection of the liquid content, the liquid content does not flow into the hollow rod in an initial descent step and instead is compressed in the housing.",
"In another configuration, a separate slim ring is installed for precompression.",
"[0006] As illustrated as above, a plurality of spray pump operated in the precompression manner have been known in the prior art and one representative example of them is U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,759.",
"In FIG. 6, illustrated is the device disclosed in this patent, wherein a piston 750 comprises a cylindrical sleeve 760 and an outer seal lip 770 connected thereto, and the outer upper portion of a hollow rod 550 on which an inner top 762 of cylindrical sleeve 760 of the piston 750 adjoins is inclined outward.",
"The portion of the piston 750 , on which a vertical extending part 860 of the stem 850 adjoins, is an outer bottom 764 of cylindrical sleeve 760 .",
"In a resting mode, as the outer bottom 764 of cylindrical sleeve 760 of the piston 750 comes into contact with the vertical extending part 860 of stem 850 , a sealing takes place so that an inner passage is shut between a housing interior space (A) and the hollow rod 550 .",
"In a compression mode, the hollow rod 550 descends in the state that the sealing between the outer bottom 764 of piston 750 and the vertical extending part 860 of stem 850 is maintained, so that the inner top 762 of cylindrical sleeve 760 ascends along the inclined plane 552 of hollow rod 550 .",
"Accordingly, the housing interior space (A) is further compressed, and when the pressure reaches the fair extent, the liquid content flows into the interior passage of hollow rod 550 by opening the above sealed portion.",
"As a result, the sealed portion and the inclined plane are key elements in the above U.S. patent.",
"However, it is not easy to manufacture the piston 550 of such configuration in a massive product.",
"[0007] Plastic parts are generally manufactured in the injection molding method of using a mold, in which the mold consisting of two mold units is generally used, and a melted plastic material is provided with the interior space that the mold units form Referring to FIGS. 7A to 7 C which illustrate the injection molding procedure using the piston mold 2000 , the problem associated with the above U.S. patent can be easily understood For manufacture of the piston 750 , a space 2750 is formed by interlock of a lower mold 2100 and an upper mold 2120 wherein a part of outer and inner shapes of the piston 750 are carved in the lower mold 2100 and the remaining outer and inner shapes are carved in the upper mold 2120 , and then a melt which has been in a runner 2130 flows into the space 2750 through a gate 2140 .",
"Herein, the melt is filled in the cylindrical space starting from the bottom thereof and then is divided at the intersecting portion of a cylindrical sleeve 2760 and an outer seal lip 2770 .",
"By the way, the air which has been in the space corresponding to the outer seal lip 2770 can exhaust through a parting line 2150 of the upper and lower molds 2100 , 2120 , whereas the air which has been in the upper space corresponding to the cylindrical sleeve 2760 cannot exhaust Accordingly, it is difficult to manufacture a bottom 2762 of the cylindrical sleeve 2760 in a perfect form, the bottom 2762 being the portion where a sealing takes place for precompression as mentioned above, so that the defect rate in manufacturing is very high.",
"As a result, the perfect precompression cannot be achieved in the above U.S. patent so that the dropping phenomenon occurs.",
"[0008] In a spray pump which is operated by the combination of very fine parts, most of the parts being made of polyethylene or polypropylene in an error range according to the fine molding, the defect rate of manufacture is very important actor.",
"In order to remove the air of the portion 2762 , and the configuration of molding apparatus requires the air-removing passage;",
"however, such apparatus is a high price due to the characteristic of fine configuration so that a diversity of developments to solve this problem have been tried for a long time.",
"Moreover, it is also difficult to ascertain whether a fine part manufactured has a defect, thereby raising a production cost.",
"[0009] Therefore, the structure of spray pump capable of solving said problems is strongly required.",
"SUMMARY OF INVENTION [0010] An object of the present invention is to provide a finger-operated spray pump of simple configuration that the precompression can be achieved and the dropping phenomenon does not occur.",
"[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide a finger-operated spray pump of which the defect rate in a mass product is very low and the ascertainment of defect can be easily carried out.",
"[0012] A hand-operated spray pump of the present invention to accomplish these objects comprises, [0013] a housing forming the exterior of pump;",
"[0014] a closure joining the housing to a vessel containing a liquid content, the closure being engaged to the outer surface of the housing;",
"[0015] a hollow rod providing an interconnecting passage between a button having a spray nozzle and the interior space of housing;",
"[0016] a housing cap fixing the hollow rod in the housing and sealing the interior of housing from the exterior, the housing cap being inserted between the housing and the hollow rod;",
"[0017] a piston moving upward and downward along the inner wall of housing, the piston being installed to the lower portion of hollow rod;",
"[0018] a stem forming a plural of inflow slits in combination with the hollow rod, the stem being combined to the bottom of hollow rod;",
"[0019] a spring supporting the stem, the spring being positioned in the lower interior space of housing;",
"and [0020] a ball opening and closing a lower entrance of the housing;",
"[0021] wherein the piston comprises an inner part in contact with the bottom of hollow rod and an outer part in contact with the inner wail of housing, the outer part extending downward from the bottom of inner part and being spread to be pressed a little about the inner wall of housing, [0022] the stem comprises an axial part being inserted to an inflow passage of the bottom of hollow rod, a horizontal part extending horizontally from the bottom of axial part, and a vertical part extending upward and downward from the horizontal part, [0023] whereby, in a resting or compression mode, the inner surface of the outer part of piston comes into contact with the outer top of the axial part of stem to make a sealing, whereas in an ejection mode, the outer part of piston is further spread and thereby the sealing portion with the axial part is separated to remove the sealing.",
"[0024] The term “resting mode”",
"in the present specification means the state that the pump is not in a non-operation, the term “compression mode”",
"means the state that the pump is just prior to ejection of the liquid content by pushing the button down, and the term “ejection mode”",
"means the state that the liquid contents is ejected after the compression mode.",
"[0025] One of the features of the present invention is that the piston moves in integration with the hollow rod and, in the resting mode, the liquid content which is contained in the interior space of housing by the ball placed on the lower entrance of housing is sealed by combination of the outer part of piston and the vertical part of stem and, in the compression mode, the piston integrated with the hollow rod moves downward with maintaining the close contact with the stem so that the liquid content is compressed (recompressed) and, in the ejection mode, as the pressure reaches the fair extent, the outer part of piston is further spread so that the compressed liquid content flows into the inflow passage of hollow rod through the inflow slits which are formed between the hollow rod and the stem.",
"[0026] Accordingly, the liquid content compressed in the interior space of housing removes a sealing by further spreading the cylindrical outer part of piston to accomplish the spraying procedure ultimately, whereby the instantaneous ejection can take place.",
"Furthermore, since the liquid content is compressed as the vertical par of stem moves a little upward along the inclined inner surface of the outer part of piston, the effect of precompression is very high, and a small molding error in the stem and piston does not cause any problem on operation, whereby the dropping phenomenon does not occur.",
"[0027] In another embodiment, in order to reinforce the joint of the housing and the closure, the upper portion of housing includes a top protruding part to be hung on the inner top of closure and a middle projection to support the inner bottom of closure.",
"Moreover, the housing cap which works as fixing the hollow rod to the housing consists of an inner wall and an outer wall, in which a small projection is formed on the middle of the outer wall to reinforce the engagement with the housing.",
"Therefore, the spray pump of the present invention can be easily manufactured and also assembled by a simple configuration thereof.",
"[0028] Materials of the constitutional elements in the present invention are not particularly restricted but, in consideration of the easiness of molding and the price, polypropylene resin is desirable to most of constitutional elements and polyethylene resin is desirable to the piston needing a rather resilient property, wherein the polyethylene resin includes the high density polyethylene (HDPE), the low density polyethylene (LDPE), the linear low density polyethylene (LLPDE), etc.",
"and the LLDPE is particularly preferable.",
"The ball and spring are preferably made of stainless steel.",
"[0029] As shown below, the description refers to the drawing in order to describe the present invention more in detail, thereby, the scope of the invention is however not to be interpreted as a limitation of the invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0030] [0030 ]FIG. 1A shows a hand-operated spray pump according to an embodiment of the present invention being in the resting mode that a button is not pushed down.",
"The hand-operated spray pump 100 comprises a closure 300 joining a housing 200 of the multistair type to a vessel (not shown), a button 400 including a nozzle 410 , a hollow rod 500 connecting the interior space of housing 200 to the button 400 by an interconnecting passage, a housing cap 600 guiding the upward-downward movement of hollow rod 500 and Ding it to the housing 200 , a piston 700 moving upward and downward along the inner wall of housing 200 wherein the piston 700 is installed on the lower portion of hollow rod 500 , a stem 800 being engaged to the bottom of hollow rod 500 , a spring 900 being positioned between the stem 800 and the lower portion of housing 200 , and a ball 1000 being placed on a lower entrance of housing 200 .",
"[0031] [0031 ]FIG. 2 shows the detailed configuration of piston 700 and its neighbor elements being in the resting mode.",
"The piston 700 comprises an inner part 710 being in contact with the lower portion 510 of hollow rod 500 and an outer part 720 being in contact with the inner wall of housing 200 , in which the outer part 720 is rather compressed.",
"The outer part 720 is configured to extend laterally from the bottom of inner part 710 and then further downward than the inner part 710 .",
"In particular, the outer part 720 is spread outward so that the lower diameter thereof is larger than the upper diameter.",
"Accordingly, the outer portion 772 of the outer part 720 comes into contact with the inner wall of housing 200 in the rather compressed state.",
"The piston 700 is engaged to the lower portion 510 of hollow rod 500 so that, in order to secure the engagement, a projection 712 is formed on an inner surface 710 of piston 700 .",
"[0032] Meanwhile, the stem 800 comprises an axial part 810 being inserted into the bottom of hollow rod 500 , a horizontal part 820 extending horizontally from the bottom of axial part 810 , and a vertical part 830 extending upward and downward from the horizontal part 820 .",
"In the state that the stem 800 joins to the hollow rod 500 , a plurality of inflow slits 812 , 814 , through which the liquid content flows into the inflow passage 520 of hollow rod 500 , are formed on such joint portion.",
"[0033] In the resting mode or compression mode, the outer top 832 of the vertical part 830 of stem 800 comes into contact with the inner surface 724 of the outer part 720 of piston 700 so that the interior space (A) of housing 200 is closed.",
"[0034] [0034 ]FIG. 1B shows the state that the liquid content is ejected by pushing the pump of FIG. As a button 400 is pushed down, the hollow rod 500 moves downward, whereby the piston 700 and stem 800 which are integrated with the hollow rod 500 also move down The liquid content being in the housing interior space (A) is compressed by downward-movement of the piston 700 , but the sealing between the piston 700 and the stem 800 is continuously maintained.",
"When the pressure reaches the fair extent, the outer part 720 of piston 700 is spread so as to reduce the excessive pressure, as illustrated in FIG. 3, whereby the sealing between the outer part 720 and the vertical part 830 is removed and thus the liquid content being in the housing interior space (A) flows through the inflow slits 812 , 814 .",
"[0035] Referring to FIG. 5, in a mold 2000 for molding the piston of the present invention, a melt (melted plastic resin) being in a runner 2130 flows through a gate 2140 to fill a space 2710 corresponding to the inner part 710 of piston 700 and, after a consecutive ascent, fill a space 2720 corresponding to the outer part 720 .",
"Herein, the air which has remained in the interior space of mold 2000 can exhaust from the space 2720 through the parting line 2150 of mold 2000 .",
"Accordingly, the problem mentioned in the above U.S. patent does not take place.",
"Moreover, even when the bottom of outer part 720 is not manufactured in a perfect form, the problem associated with the operation of pump does not take place.",
"[0036] [0036 ]FIG. 4 shows the joint configuration of the housing 200 , closure 300 , hollow rod 400 and housing cap 600 in detail.",
"[0037] The upper portion of housing 200 includes atop protruding part 210 , which is hung on the top 312 of closure joint part 310 , and a small projection 220 which is engaged to the bottom 314 of closure joint part 310 , so that joint of the housing 200 and closure 300 is further reinforced.",
"By such configuration for joint, an excessive force needs not be applied to the closure 300 for maintenance of the joint and thereby the closure 300 is not destroyed by stress in its fabrication and operation procedure.",
"Meanwhile, a small projection 610 is formed on the inner surface of housing cap 600 so as to reinforce joint between the housing cap 600 and housing 200 , and the inner wall of housing 200 is recessed so as to fix the position that the housing cap 600 is inserted, as illustrated above.",
"[0038] The present invention being thus descried, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways.",
"Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention and all such modifications would be obvious to one skilled in the art.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0039] [0039 ]FIG. 1A is a vertical cross-sectional view of a hand-operated spray pump being in the resting mode, according to an embodiment of the present invention.",
"[0040] [0040 ]FIG. 1B is a vertical cross-sectional view of the hand-operated spray pump being in the ejection mode.",
"[0041] [0041 ]FIG. 2 is a partial magnified view of a piston and its surrounding elements of FIG. 1A.",
"[0042] [0042 ]FIG. 3 is a partial magnified view of a piston and its surrounding elements of FIG. 1B.",
"[0043] [0043 ]FIG. 4 is a partial magnified view of showing the joint configuration of a closure, housing, and housing cap of FIG. 1A.",
"[0044] [0044 ]FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of a mold for manufacturing a piston according to an embodiment of the present invention.",
"[0045] [0045 ]FIG. 6 is a partial magnified view of a piston and its surrounding elements in the prior art.",
"[0046] [0046 ]FIGS. 7A to 7 C are vertical and horizontal cross-sectional views of a mold for manufacturing the piston of FIG. 6. DESIGNATION OF THE REFERENCE NUMBERS [0047] [0047] 100 : hand-operated spray pump [0048] [0048] 200 : housing [0049] [0049] 300 : closure [0050] [0050] 400 : button [0051] [0051] 500 : hollow rod [0052] [0052] 600 : housing cap [0053] [0053] 700 : piston [0054] [0054] 800 : stem [0055] [0055] 900 : spring [0056] [0056] 1000 : ball [0057] [0057] 2000 : piston mold INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY [0058] As described above, the hand-operated spray pump of the present invention has the precompression function despite a simple configuration and can be easily manufactured and assembled, whereby the defect rate in a massive product is very low.",
"Furthermore, the hand-operated spray pump can be operated without any problem even when its constitutional elements are manufactured with a small molding error and it is easy to ascertain if the manufactured elements have a defect, so that the spray pump having a high performance can be manufactured in a low price."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to precipitation-hardenable martensitic stainless steels and in particular to a precipitation-hardenable martensitic stainless steel that provides a unique combination of machinability, processability, and toughness.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The known precipitation-hardenable stainless steels provide high hardness and strength through an age-hardening heat treatment in which a strengthening phase is formed in the relatively, more ductile matrix of the alloy. Such alloys have been used principally in components for aerospace applications. Another type of stainless steel that is designed to provide relatively high strength is the so-called “straight” martensitic stainless steel. An example of such a steel is AISI Type 416 alloy. Such steels achieve high strength when they are quenched from a solution or austenitizing temperature and then tempered. Although there are free-machining grades of the straight martensitic stainless steels, there has not been any known martensitic precipitation-hardenable stainless steel that could be classified as a truly “free-machining” grade. In other words, none of the known grades of precipitation-hardenable martensitic stainless steels contain more than about 0.15% of a free-machining additive such as sulfur or selenium. Because of the simplicity of heat treating the precipitation-hardenable martensitic stainless steels compared to the straight martensitic stainless steels, it would be desirable to have a precipitation-hardenable martensitic stainless steel that provides true free-machining capability.
Hitherto, attempts have been made to produce martensitic precipitation-hardenable stainless steels that provide “enhanced machinability” relative to the standard grades. Such attempts have included the use of limited amounts of free-machining additives such as sulfur or selenium. Alloys have been described that may contain up to relatively high amounts of such additives, e.g., up to 0.40 weight percent, up to 0.5 weight percent, or up to 0.15 weight percent of sulfur or selenium. However, there has not been a commercially produced precipitation-hardenable martensitic stainless steel that actually contains more than about 0.036 weight percent of sulfur or selenium.
The principal reason for the unavailability of a true free-machining precipitation-hardenable martensitic stainless steel is that the presence of the usual free-machining additives such as sulfur and selenium adversely affects important properties of the precipitation-hardenable grades of stainless steels. For example, the presence of sulfur in a known grade of precipitation-hardenable stainless steel has resulted in poor processability, such that the steel tears or splits during hot working or cracks during cold processing or quenching. Also, the presence of sulfur adversely affects the toughness and ductility of the alloy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a free-machining, precipitation-hardenable martensitic stainless steel, having a unique combination of machinability, processability, and toughness. The broad, intermediate, and preferred compositional ranges of the steel alloy of the present invention are as follows, in weight percent:
Broad
Intermediate
Preferred
C
0.030 max.
0.025 max.
0.020 max.
Mn
0.75 max.
0.50 max.
0.50 max.
Si
0.75 max.
0.50 max.
0.50 max.
P
0.040 max.
0.035 max.
0.030 max.
S
0.15-0.35
0.15-0.30
0.17-0.25
Cr
14.0-15.5
14.0-15.5
14.5-15.0
Ni
5.0-6.0
5.0-6.0
5.0-5.5
Mo
0.50-1.2
0.50-1.0
0.70-1.0
Cu
3.0-4.0
3.0-4.0
3.2-3.8
Nb
0.10-0.30
0.10-0.25
0.10-0.20
N
0.030 max.
0.025 max.
0.020 max.
B
0.010 max.
0.005 max.
0.005 max.
The balance of the alloy is essentially iron, except for the usual impurities found in commercial grades of martensitic, precipitation-hardenable stainless steels and trace amounts of other elements which may vary from a few thousandths of a percent up to larger amounts that do not objectionably detract from the desired combination of properties.
The foregoing tabulation is provided as a convenient summary and is not intended to restrict the lower and upper values of the ranges of the individual elements of the alloy of this invention for use in combination with each other, or to restrict the ranges of the elements for use solely in combination with each other. Thus, one or more of the element ranges of the broad composition can be used with one or more of the other ranges for the remaining elements in the preferred composition. In addition, a minimum or maximum for an element of one preferred embodiment can be used with the maximum or minimum for that element from another preferred embodiment. Throughout this application, the term “percent” or the symbol “%” means percent by weight, unless otherwise indicated.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The precipitation hardenable alloy according to this invention contains at least about 14.0% and preferably at least about 14.5% chromium in order to provide the desired level of corrosion resistance. Too much chromium promotes the formation of an undesirable amount of ferrite in this alloy, which adversely affects the toughness and ductility provided by the alloy. Accordingly, the alloy contains not more than about 15.5% and preferably not more than about 15.0% chromium.
Sulfur benefits the machinability of this alloy and at least about 0.15%, preferably at least about 0.17%, sulfur is present in order to obtain a significant improvement in machinability, particularly form-tool machinability. The alloy contains not more than about 0.35%, better yet not more than about 0.30%, and preferably not more than about 0.25% sulfur because too much sulfur adversely affects the processability, toughness, and the corrosion resistance of this alloy.
Nickel promotes the formation of austenite when the alloy is heated at an elevated temperature so that the alloy will readily form martensite during quenching from the elevated temperature. Nickel also contributes to corrosion resistance and toughness in this alloy. Good toughness is important not only for cold processability, but also to inhibit cracking of the alloy when it is quenched, a problem that typically arises in stainless steels containing elevated amounts of sulfur. Nickel also promotes the formation of reverted austenite during the age-hardening process. The presence of a limited amount of reverted austenite in the alloy is beneficial to the toughness of the alloy. For these reasons, the alloy according to this invention contains at least about 5.0% nickel.
Excessive nickel depresses the martensite transformation temperature, which leads to retained austenite after the alloy is quenched. The presence of retained austenite adversely affects the strength capability of the alloy. Therefore, the alloy contains not more than about 6.0% nickel and preferably not more than about 5.5% nickel.
Molybdenum contributes to the corrosion resistance of the alloy, particularly resistance to pitting-type corrosion. Molybdenum also benefits the toughness and ductility provided by this alloy. Accordingly, the alloy contains at least bout 0.50%, and preferably at least about 0.70% molybdenum. Molybdenum promotes the formation of ferrite, too much of which, as noted above, adversely affects the toughness and ductility of this alloy. Therefore, the alloy contains not more than about 1.2% and preferably not more than about 1.0% molybdenum.
At least about 3.0%, preferably at least about 3.2%, copper is present in this alloy as a precipitation hardening agent. During the age hardening heat treatment, the alloy achieves substantial strengthening through the precipitation of fine, copper-rich particles from the martensitic matrix. Too much copper adversely affects the hot workability of the alloy. Therefore, the alloy contains not more than about 4.0% and preferably not more than about 3.8% copper.
At least about 0.10% niobium is present in this alloy primarily as a stabilizing agent against the formation of chromium carbonitrides which are deleterious to the corrosion resistance of the alloy. Too much niobium causes excessive formation of niobium carbides, niobium nitrides, and/or niobium carbonitrides which adversely affect the good machinability provided by this alloy. Too many niobium carbonitrides also adversely affect the alloy's toughness. Furthermore, excessive niobium results in the formation of an undesirable amount of ferrite in this alloy. Therefore, the alloy contains not more than about 0.30%, better yet not more than about 0.25%, and preferably not more than about 0.20% niobium. Those skilled in the art will recognize that tantalum may be substituted for some of the niobium on a weight percent basis. However, tantalum is preferably restricted to not more than about 0.05% in this alloy.
A small but effective amount of boron may be present in amounts up to about 0.010%, preferably up to about 0.005%, to benefit the hot workability and toughness of this alloy.
The balance of the alloy composition is iron except for the usual impurities found in commercial grades of martensitic precipitation-hardenable stainless steels intended for similar use or service. For example, the interstitial elements carbon and nitrogen are restricted to low levels in this alloy in order to benefit the machinability and processability of the alloy, especially during cold processing and quenching. Therefore, the alloy contains not more than about 0.030%, better yet, not more than about 0.025%, and preferably not more than about 0.020% of each of carbon and nitrogen. Other elements such as manganese, silicon, and phosphorus are also maintained at low levels because they adversely affect the good toughness provided by this alloy. More specifically, this alloy contains not more than about 0.75% and preferably not more than about 0.50% manganese because manganese combines with sulfur to form manganese sulfides which adversely affect the corrosion resistance of the alloy. Silicon is typically added to provide deoxidation of the alloy during refining. However, silicon promotes the formation of ferrite in this alloy. Therefore, the alloy contains not more than about 0.75% and preferably not more than about 0.50% silicon. This alloy contains not more than about 0.040%, better yet, not more than about 0.035%, and preferably not more than about 0.030% phosphorus because it adversely affects the toughness and the machinability of this alloy.
The alloy according to this invention is preferably arc-melted in air (ARC), but can also be melted by vacuum induction melting (VIM). The alloy can be refined by vacuum arc remelting (VAR). The alloy may be produced in various product forms including billet, bar, rod, and wire. The alloy is preferably hot worked from a temperature of about 2150-2350° F. The alloy is solution treated by heating at about 1800-2000° F. for about one-half to one hour and then rapidly quenched, preferably with water. The alloy is then aged to final strength by heating at about 900-1150° F. for up to about 4 hours, followed by cooling in air. The alloy may be used to fabricate a variety of machined, corrosion resistant parts that require high strength and good toughness. Among such end products are valve parts, fittings, fasteners, shafts, gears, combustion engine parts, components for chemical processing equipment and paper mill equipment, and components for aircraft and nuclear reactors.
The unique combination of properties provided by the alloy according to the present invention will be appreciated better in the light of the following examples.
WORKING EXAMPLES
To demonstrate the unique combination of properties provided by the alloy according to the present invention, two experiments were carried out. In the first experiment, Example I, the machinability of the alloy was compared to two known commercial grades of stainless steels. In the second experiment, Example II, the impact toughness of the alloy was compared to a known precipitation- hardenable stainless steel.
Example I
For this experiment two 400 lb. heats having weight percent compositions according to the present invention were vacuum induction melted under a partial pressure of argon gas. The weight percent compositions of the two examples of the present alloy, Alloy 1 and Alloy 2, are set forth in Table 1 below together with the weight percent compositions of a commercial heat of Type 303 stainless steel, and a commercial heat of a 17Cr-4Ni precipitation-hardenable stainless steel.
TABLE 1
Type
Elmt./Alloy
Alloy 1
Alloy 2
303
17Cr—4Ni
C
0.018
0.020
0.061
0.025
Mn
0.30
0.30
1.74
0.62
Si
0.40
0.39
0.59
0.40
P
0.020
0.019
0.035
0.020
S
0.16
0.31
0.34
0.026
Cr
14.79
14.83
17.49
15.32
Ni
5.02
5.00
8.54
4.48
Mo
0.75
0.75
0.52
0.27
Cu
3.52
3.51
0.35
3.49
Nb
0.21
0.21
0.05
0.21
N
0.020
0.021
0.038
0.013
B
0.003
0.003
—
0.0020
The balance of each composition is iron and usual impurities. The Type 303 stainless steel was selected because it is a known free-machining grade of austenitic stainless steel. The 17Cr-4Ni precipitation-hardenable stainless steel was selected for the comparison because it is a known precipitation-hardenable stainless steel with enhanced machinability relative to other precipitation-hardenable stainless grades.
Alloys 1 and 2 were cast as 7½ inch square ingots. After solidification, the ingots were forged to 4 inch square billets from a temperature of 2300° F. The forged billets were then aged by heating at 620° C. for 4 hours and then cooled in air. The aged billets were then cogged to 2.125 inch round bars from a temperature of 2000° F. and hot rolled to 0.6875 inch round from a temperature of 2300° F. The 0.6875 inch bars of each heat were then solution annealed by heating at a temperature of 1040° C. for 1 hour and then water quenched. The annealed bars were straightened, turned to 0.637 inch round, restraightened, and then surface ground to 0.625 inch round. Inspection of the bars revealed a single isolated surface crack in one bar of the lower-sulfur heat, Alloy 1. No such problems were encountered with the higher sulfur heat, Alloy 2. Those results indicate a low and acceptable propensity for cracking during cold processing and quenching from the annealing temperature.
The 17Cr-4Ni material was obtained as 10 inch x 8 inch continuously cast billet which was hot rolled to 0.6875 inch round bar from 1950° F. The bar material was aged at 620° C. for 4 hours and then cooled in air. It was then solution annealed at 1040° C. for 1 hour and quenched in water. The bar material was then straightened, cut, and further processed to 0.625 inch round.
The Type 303 material was obtained as coiled rod which was hot rolled and then quenched in water from the hot rolling temperature. The resulting bar was shaved and then cold drawn to 0.625 inch round.
The machinability of each alloy was evaluated on an automatic screw machine. Two sets of tests were conducted. The first compared the machinability of Alloy 1 to the sample of the 17Cr-4Ni precipitation-hardenable stainless steel. The second test compared the machinability of Alloys 1 and 2 to the Type 303 austenitic stainless steel.
In the first machinability test, duplicate tests were conducted on the 0.625 inch round bars of Alloy 1 and the 17Cr-4Ni precipitation-hardenable stainless steel. A form tool was used to machine the bars of each composition to provide parts having a contoured surface. This test was conducted with a spindle speed of 150.6 surface feet per minute (SFM) and a tool feed rate of 0.002 inches per revolution (ipr). A given trial was terminated for one of two reasons (i) growth of the part diameter exceeding 0.003″ as a result of tool wear or (ii) at least 300 parts were machined without exceeding 0.003″ part growth. Tool failure, a third reason for test termination, was not experienced in this testing. The results of the first machinability test are set forth in Table 2 below, including the number of parts machined (Parts Machined) and the amount of growth in the diameter of the machined parts when the test was terminated (Part Growth).
TABLE 2
Alloy
Parts Machined
Part Growth
Alloy 1
300
0.0002 in.
300
0.0004 in.
17Cr—4Ni
90
0.0037 in.
80
0.0044 in.
In the second machinability test, duplicate tests were conducted on the 0.625 inch round bars of Alloys 1 and 2 and the Type 303 stainless steel. As in the first test, a form tool was used to machine the bars of each composition to provide parts having a contoured surface. This test was conducted at a spindle speed of 178.5 SFM and a feed rate of 0.002 ipr. A given trial was terminated for one of the following reasons: (i) growth of the part diameter exceeding 0.003″ as a result of tool wear, (ii) at least 300 parts were machined without the 0.003″ part growth, or (iii) tool failure. The results of the second machinability test are set forth in Table 3 below, including the number of parts machined (Parts Machined).
TABLE 3
Parts Machined
Alloy
1
240
250
2
400
470
Type 303
330
270
The data presented in Table 2 show that the precipitation-hardenable stainless steel according to this invention provides clearly superior machinability relative to the enhanced-machinability grade of precipitation-hardenable stainless steel. In addition, the data of Table 3 show that the alloy of this invention provides machinability that is comparable to that of Type 303 alloy. Thus, the alloy of this invention can be readily used in place of that alloy for those applications requiring higher strength, without sacrificing machinability or corrosion resistance.
Example II
For this experiment four small heats having the weight percent compositions set forth in Table 4 below were vacuum induction melted under a partial pressure of argon gas. Alloys 3-5 are examples of the alloy according to the present invention. Heat A is a comparative composition of a known precipitation-hardenable stainless steel alloy.
TABLE 4
Elmt./Alloy
Alloy 3
Alloy 4
Alloy 5
Heat A
C
0.019
0.020
0.018
0.014
Mn
0.49
0.49
0.50
0.49
Si
0.43
0.43
0.44
0.44
P
0.022
0.024
0.022
0.023
S
0.15
0.16
0.15
0.024
Cr
15.51
15.51
15.02
15.49
Ni
5.03
5.06
5.04
4.86
Mo
0.51
0.71
0.71
0.27
Cu
3.15
3.14
3.21
3.16
Nb
0.20
0.20
0.19
0.18
N
0.014
0.014
0.013
0.011
B
0.002
0.0025
0.003
0.002
The balance of each composition is iron and usual impurities.
Each of the heats was cast as a 2¾ inch ingot. The ingot of each heat was heated at 2300° F. for 2 hours and then press forged to 13/4 inch square bar. The bar was reheated to 2300° F. and press forged to 1⅛ inch square bar. Standard 0.394 inch square Charpy V-notch (CVN) specimens were prepared from the 11/g inch square bars as follows. The bar was solution treated at 1900° F. for 1 hour and then quenched in water. The as-quenched bar material was then machined to form the CVN specimens. The specimens were then aged at 900° F. for 4 hours and then cooled in air.
Four impact specimens from each heat were tested in accordance with ASTM E 23. The results of the impact testing are presented in Table 5 below including the impact strength (IMPACT STRENGTH) in foot-pounds (ft-lbs). The four individual readings (1, 2, 3, 4) and the average (Average) of the four readings are presented.
TABLE 5
IMPACT STRENGTH (ft-lbs)
1
2
3
4
Average
Alloy 3
12.25
14.5
14.25
14.0
13.8
Alloy 4
11.5
13.25
14.25
14.5
13.4
Alloy 5
12.0
11.75
12.5
12.5
12.2
Heat
7.5
5.75
4.75
6.5
6.1
A
The data in Table 5 show that the alloy according to the present invention does not have reduced impact toughness compared to the known alloy, even though the alloy of this invention contains significantly more sulfur than the known alloy.
The terms and expressions that have been employed herein are used as terms of description and not of limitation. There is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions to exclude any equivalents of the features described or any portions thereof. It is recognized, however, that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed. | A free-machining, precipitation-hardenable, martensitic stainless steel is described that provides a unique combination of machinability, processability, and toughness. The broad compositional range of the steel alloy of the invention is as follows, in weight percent:
C
0.030 max.
Mn
0.75 max.
Si
0.75 max..
P
0.040 max.
S
0.15-0.35
Cr
14.0-15.5
Ni
5.0-6.0
Mo
0.50-1.2
Cu
3.0-4.0
Nb
0.10-0.30
B
0.010 max.
N
0.030 max.
The balance of the alloy is iron and the usual impurities found in commercial grades of martensitic precipitation-hardening stainless steels intended for similar use or service. | Summarize the document in concise, focusing on the main idea's functionality and advantages. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to precipitation-hardenable martensitic stainless steels and in particular to a precipitation-hardenable martensitic stainless steel that provides a unique combination of machinability, processability, and toughness.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The known precipitation-hardenable stainless steels provide high hardness and strength through an age-hardening heat treatment in which a strengthening phase is formed in the relatively, more ductile matrix of the alloy.",
"Such alloys have been used principally in components for aerospace applications.",
"Another type of stainless steel that is designed to provide relatively high strength is the so-called “straight”",
"martensitic stainless steel.",
"An example of such a steel is AISI Type 416 alloy.",
"Such steels achieve high strength when they are quenched from a solution or austenitizing temperature and then tempered.",
"Although there are free-machining grades of the straight martensitic stainless steels, there has not been any known martensitic precipitation-hardenable stainless steel that could be classified as a truly “free-machining”",
"grade.",
"In other words, none of the known grades of precipitation-hardenable martensitic stainless steels contain more than about 0.15% of a free-machining additive such as sulfur or selenium.",
"Because of the simplicity of heat treating the precipitation-hardenable martensitic stainless steels compared to the straight martensitic stainless steels, it would be desirable to have a precipitation-hardenable martensitic stainless steel that provides true free-machining capability.",
"Hitherto, attempts have been made to produce martensitic precipitation-hardenable stainless steels that provide “enhanced machinability”",
"relative to the standard grades.",
"Such attempts have included the use of limited amounts of free-machining additives such as sulfur or selenium.",
"Alloys have been described that may contain up to relatively high amounts of such additives, e.g., up to 0.40 weight percent, up to 0.5 weight percent, or up to 0.15 weight percent of sulfur or selenium.",
"However, there has not been a commercially produced precipitation-hardenable martensitic stainless steel that actually contains more than about 0.036 weight percent of sulfur or selenium.",
"The principal reason for the unavailability of a true free-machining precipitation-hardenable martensitic stainless steel is that the presence of the usual free-machining additives such as sulfur and selenium adversely affects important properties of the precipitation-hardenable grades of stainless steels.",
"For example, the presence of sulfur in a known grade of precipitation-hardenable stainless steel has resulted in poor processability, such that the steel tears or splits during hot working or cracks during cold processing or quenching.",
"Also, the presence of sulfur adversely affects the toughness and ductility of the alloy.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a free-machining, precipitation-hardenable martensitic stainless steel, having a unique combination of machinability, processability, and toughness.",
"The broad, intermediate, and preferred compositional ranges of the steel alloy of the present invention are as follows, in weight percent: Broad Intermediate Preferred C 0.030 max.",
"0.025 max.",
"0.020 max.",
"Mn 0.75 max.",
"0.50 max.",
"0.50 max.",
"Si 0.75 max.",
"0.50 max.",
"0.50 max.",
"P 0.040 max.",
"0.035 max.",
"0.030 max.",
"S 0.15-0.35 0.15-0.30 0.17-0.25 Cr 14.0-15.5 14.0-15.5 14.5-15.0 Ni 5.0-6.0 5.0-6.0 5.0-5.5 Mo 0.50-1.2 0.50-1.0 0.70-1.0 Cu 3.0-4.0 3.0-4.0 3.2-3.8 Nb 0.10-0.30 0.10-0.25 0.10-0.20 N 0.030 max.",
"0.025 max.",
"0.020 max.",
"B 0.010 max.",
"0.005 max.",
"0.005 max.",
"The balance of the alloy is essentially iron, except for the usual impurities found in commercial grades of martensitic, precipitation-hardenable stainless steels and trace amounts of other elements which may vary from a few thousandths of a percent up to larger amounts that do not objectionably detract from the desired combination of properties.",
"The foregoing tabulation is provided as a convenient summary and is not intended to restrict the lower and upper values of the ranges of the individual elements of the alloy of this invention for use in combination with each other, or to restrict the ranges of the elements for use solely in combination with each other.",
"Thus, one or more of the element ranges of the broad composition can be used with one or more of the other ranges for the remaining elements in the preferred composition.",
"In addition, a minimum or maximum for an element of one preferred embodiment can be used with the maximum or minimum for that element from another preferred embodiment.",
"Throughout this application, the term “percent”",
"or the symbol “%”",
"means percent by weight, unless otherwise indicated.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION The precipitation hardenable alloy according to this invention contains at least about 14.0% and preferably at least about 14.5% chromium in order to provide the desired level of corrosion resistance.",
"Too much chromium promotes the formation of an undesirable amount of ferrite in this alloy, which adversely affects the toughness and ductility provided by the alloy.",
"Accordingly, the alloy contains not more than about 15.5% and preferably not more than about 15.0% chromium.",
"Sulfur benefits the machinability of this alloy and at least about 0.15%, preferably at least about 0.17%, sulfur is present in order to obtain a significant improvement in machinability, particularly form-tool machinability.",
"The alloy contains not more than about 0.35%, better yet not more than about 0.30%, and preferably not more than about 0.25% sulfur because too much sulfur adversely affects the processability, toughness, and the corrosion resistance of this alloy.",
"Nickel promotes the formation of austenite when the alloy is heated at an elevated temperature so that the alloy will readily form martensite during quenching from the elevated temperature.",
"Nickel also contributes to corrosion resistance and toughness in this alloy.",
"Good toughness is important not only for cold processability, but also to inhibit cracking of the alloy when it is quenched, a problem that typically arises in stainless steels containing elevated amounts of sulfur.",
"Nickel also promotes the formation of reverted austenite during the age-hardening process.",
"The presence of a limited amount of reverted austenite in the alloy is beneficial to the toughness of the alloy.",
"For these reasons, the alloy according to this invention contains at least about 5.0% nickel.",
"Excessive nickel depresses the martensite transformation temperature, which leads to retained austenite after the alloy is quenched.",
"The presence of retained austenite adversely affects the strength capability of the alloy.",
"Therefore, the alloy contains not more than about 6.0% nickel and preferably not more than about 5.5% nickel.",
"Molybdenum contributes to the corrosion resistance of the alloy, particularly resistance to pitting-type corrosion.",
"Molybdenum also benefits the toughness and ductility provided by this alloy.",
"Accordingly, the alloy contains at least bout 0.50%, and preferably at least about 0.70% molybdenum.",
"Molybdenum promotes the formation of ferrite, too much of which, as noted above, adversely affects the toughness and ductility of this alloy.",
"Therefore, the alloy contains not more than about 1.2% and preferably not more than about 1.0% molybdenum.",
"At least about 3.0%, preferably at least about 3.2%, copper is present in this alloy as a precipitation hardening agent.",
"During the age hardening heat treatment, the alloy achieves substantial strengthening through the precipitation of fine, copper-rich particles from the martensitic matrix.",
"Too much copper adversely affects the hot workability of the alloy.",
"Therefore, the alloy contains not more than about 4.0% and preferably not more than about 3.8% copper.",
"At least about 0.10% niobium is present in this alloy primarily as a stabilizing agent against the formation of chromium carbonitrides which are deleterious to the corrosion resistance of the alloy.",
"Too much niobium causes excessive formation of niobium carbides, niobium nitrides, and/or niobium carbonitrides which adversely affect the good machinability provided by this alloy.",
"Too many niobium carbonitrides also adversely affect the alloy's toughness.",
"Furthermore, excessive niobium results in the formation of an undesirable amount of ferrite in this alloy.",
"Therefore, the alloy contains not more than about 0.30%, better yet not more than about 0.25%, and preferably not more than about 0.20% niobium.",
"Those skilled in the art will recognize that tantalum may be substituted for some of the niobium on a weight percent basis.",
"However, tantalum is preferably restricted to not more than about 0.05% in this alloy.",
"A small but effective amount of boron may be present in amounts up to about 0.010%, preferably up to about 0.005%, to benefit the hot workability and toughness of this alloy.",
"The balance of the alloy composition is iron except for the usual impurities found in commercial grades of martensitic precipitation-hardenable stainless steels intended for similar use or service.",
"For example, the interstitial elements carbon and nitrogen are restricted to low levels in this alloy in order to benefit the machinability and processability of the alloy, especially during cold processing and quenching.",
"Therefore, the alloy contains not more than about 0.030%, better yet, not more than about 0.025%, and preferably not more than about 0.020% of each of carbon and nitrogen.",
"Other elements such as manganese, silicon, and phosphorus are also maintained at low levels because they adversely affect the good toughness provided by this alloy.",
"More specifically, this alloy contains not more than about 0.75% and preferably not more than about 0.50% manganese because manganese combines with sulfur to form manganese sulfides which adversely affect the corrosion resistance of the alloy.",
"Silicon is typically added to provide deoxidation of the alloy during refining.",
"However, silicon promotes the formation of ferrite in this alloy.",
"Therefore, the alloy contains not more than about 0.75% and preferably not more than about 0.50% silicon.",
"This alloy contains not more than about 0.040%, better yet, not more than about 0.035%, and preferably not more than about 0.030% phosphorus because it adversely affects the toughness and the machinability of this alloy.",
"The alloy according to this invention is preferably arc-melted in air (ARC), but can also be melted by vacuum induction melting (VIM).",
"The alloy can be refined by vacuum arc remelting (VAR).",
"The alloy may be produced in various product forms including billet, bar, rod, and wire.",
"The alloy is preferably hot worked from a temperature of about 2150-2350° F. The alloy is solution treated by heating at about 1800-2000° F. for about one-half to one hour and then rapidly quenched, preferably with water.",
"The alloy is then aged to final strength by heating at about 900-1150° F. for up to about 4 hours, followed by cooling in air.",
"The alloy may be used to fabricate a variety of machined, corrosion resistant parts that require high strength and good toughness.",
"Among such end products are valve parts, fittings, fasteners, shafts, gears, combustion engine parts, components for chemical processing equipment and paper mill equipment, and components for aircraft and nuclear reactors.",
"The unique combination of properties provided by the alloy according to the present invention will be appreciated better in the light of the following examples.",
"WORKING EXAMPLES To demonstrate the unique combination of properties provided by the alloy according to the present invention, two experiments were carried out.",
"In the first experiment, Example I, the machinability of the alloy was compared to two known commercial grades of stainless steels.",
"In the second experiment, Example II, the impact toughness of the alloy was compared to a known precipitation- hardenable stainless steel.",
"Example I For this experiment two 400 lb.",
"heats having weight percent compositions according to the present invention were vacuum induction melted under a partial pressure of argon gas.",
"The weight percent compositions of the two examples of the present alloy, Alloy 1 and Alloy 2, are set forth in Table 1 below together with the weight percent compositions of a commercial heat of Type 303 stainless steel, and a commercial heat of a 17Cr-4Ni precipitation-hardenable stainless steel.",
"TABLE 1 Type Elmt.",
"/Alloy Alloy 1 Alloy 2 303 17Cr—4Ni C 0.018 0.020 0.061 0.025 Mn 0.30 0.30 1.74 0.62 Si 0.40 0.39 0.59 0.40 P 0.020 0.019 0.035 0.020 S 0.16 0.31 0.34 0.026 Cr 14.79 14.83 17.49 15.32 Ni 5.02 5.00 8.54 4.48 Mo 0.75 0.75 0.52 0.27 Cu 3.52 3.51 0.35 3.49 Nb 0.21 0.21 0.05 0.21 N 0.020 0.021 0.038 0.013 B 0.003 0.003 — 0.0020 The balance of each composition is iron and usual impurities.",
"The Type 303 stainless steel was selected because it is a known free-machining grade of austenitic stainless steel.",
"The 17Cr-4Ni precipitation-hardenable stainless steel was selected for the comparison because it is a known precipitation-hardenable stainless steel with enhanced machinability relative to other precipitation-hardenable stainless grades.",
"Alloys 1 and 2 were cast as 7½ inch square ingots.",
"After solidification, the ingots were forged to 4 inch square billets from a temperature of 2300° F. The forged billets were then aged by heating at 620° C. for 4 hours and then cooled in air.",
"The aged billets were then cogged to 2.125 inch round bars from a temperature of 2000° F. and hot rolled to 0.6875 inch round from a temperature of 2300° F. The 0.6875 inch bars of each heat were then solution annealed by heating at a temperature of 1040° C. for 1 hour and then water quenched.",
"The annealed bars were straightened, turned to 0.637 inch round, restraightened, and then surface ground to 0.625 inch round.",
"Inspection of the bars revealed a single isolated surface crack in one bar of the lower-sulfur heat, Alloy 1.",
"No such problems were encountered with the higher sulfur heat, Alloy 2.",
"Those results indicate a low and acceptable propensity for cracking during cold processing and quenching from the annealing temperature.",
"The 17Cr-4Ni material was obtained as 10 inch x 8 inch continuously cast billet which was hot rolled to 0.6875 inch round bar from 1950° F. The bar material was aged at 620° C. for 4 hours and then cooled in air.",
"It was then solution annealed at 1040° C. for 1 hour and quenched in water.",
"The bar material was then straightened, cut, and further processed to 0.625 inch round.",
"The Type 303 material was obtained as coiled rod which was hot rolled and then quenched in water from the hot rolling temperature.",
"The resulting bar was shaved and then cold drawn to 0.625 inch round.",
"The machinability of each alloy was evaluated on an automatic screw machine.",
"Two sets of tests were conducted.",
"The first compared the machinability of Alloy 1 to the sample of the 17Cr-4Ni precipitation-hardenable stainless steel.",
"The second test compared the machinability of Alloys 1 and 2 to the Type 303 austenitic stainless steel.",
"In the first machinability test, duplicate tests were conducted on the 0.625 inch round bars of Alloy 1 and the 17Cr-4Ni precipitation-hardenable stainless steel.",
"A form tool was used to machine the bars of each composition to provide parts having a contoured surface.",
"This test was conducted with a spindle speed of 150.6 surface feet per minute (SFM) and a tool feed rate of 0.002 inches per revolution (ipr).",
"A given trial was terminated for one of two reasons (i) growth of the part diameter exceeding 0.003″ as a result of tool wear or (ii) at least 300 parts were machined without exceeding 0.003″ part growth.",
"Tool failure, a third reason for test termination, was not experienced in this testing.",
"The results of the first machinability test are set forth in Table 2 below, including the number of parts machined (Parts Machined) and the amount of growth in the diameter of the machined parts when the test was terminated (Part Growth).",
"TABLE 2 Alloy Parts Machined Part Growth Alloy 1 300 0.0002 in.",
"300 0.0004 in.",
"17Cr—4Ni 90 0.0037 in.",
"80 0.0044 in.",
"In the second machinability test, duplicate tests were conducted on the 0.625 inch round bars of Alloys 1 and 2 and the Type 303 stainless steel.",
"As in the first test, a form tool was used to machine the bars of each composition to provide parts having a contoured surface.",
"This test was conducted at a spindle speed of 178.5 SFM and a feed rate of 0.002 ipr.",
"A given trial was terminated for one of the following reasons: (i) growth of the part diameter exceeding 0.003″ as a result of tool wear, (ii) at least 300 parts were machined without the 0.003″ part growth, or (iii) tool failure.",
"The results of the second machinability test are set forth in Table 3 below, including the number of parts machined (Parts Machined).",
"TABLE 3 Parts Machined Alloy 1 240 250 2 400 470 Type 303 330 270 The data presented in Table 2 show that the precipitation-hardenable stainless steel according to this invention provides clearly superior machinability relative to the enhanced-machinability grade of precipitation-hardenable stainless steel.",
"In addition, the data of Table 3 show that the alloy of this invention provides machinability that is comparable to that of Type 303 alloy.",
"Thus, the alloy of this invention can be readily used in place of that alloy for those applications requiring higher strength, without sacrificing machinability or corrosion resistance.",
"Example II For this experiment four small heats having the weight percent compositions set forth in Table 4 below were vacuum induction melted under a partial pressure of argon gas.",
"Alloys 3-5 are examples of the alloy according to the present invention.",
"Heat A is a comparative composition of a known precipitation-hardenable stainless steel alloy.",
"TABLE 4 Elmt.",
"/Alloy Alloy 3 Alloy 4 Alloy 5 Heat A C 0.019 0.020 0.018 0.014 Mn 0.49 0.49 0.50 0.49 Si 0.43 0.43 0.44 0.44 P 0.022 0.024 0.022 0.023 S 0.15 0.16 0.15 0.024 Cr 15.51 15.51 15.02 15.49 Ni 5.03 5.06 5.04 4.86 Mo 0.51 0.71 0.71 0.27 Cu 3.15 3.14 3.21 3.16 Nb 0.20 0.20 0.19 0.18 N 0.014 0.014 0.013 0.011 B 0.002 0.0025 0.003 0.002 The balance of each composition is iron and usual impurities.",
"Each of the heats was cast as a 2¾ inch ingot.",
"The ingot of each heat was heated at 2300° F. for 2 hours and then press forged to 13/4 inch square bar.",
"The bar was reheated to 2300° F. and press forged to 1⅛ inch square bar.",
"Standard 0.394 inch square Charpy V-notch (CVN) specimens were prepared from the 11/g inch square bars as follows.",
"The bar was solution treated at 1900° F. for 1 hour and then quenched in water.",
"The as-quenched bar material was then machined to form the CVN specimens.",
"The specimens were then aged at 900° F. for 4 hours and then cooled in air.",
"Four impact specimens from each heat were tested in accordance with ASTM E 23.",
"The results of the impact testing are presented in Table 5 below including the impact strength (IMPACT STRENGTH) in foot-pounds (ft-lbs).",
"The four individual readings (1, 2, 3, 4) and the average (Average) of the four readings are presented.",
"TABLE 5 IMPACT STRENGTH (ft-lbs) 1 2 3 4 Average Alloy 3 12.25 14.5 14.25 14.0 13.8 Alloy 4 11.5 13.25 14.25 14.5 13.4 Alloy 5 12.0 11.75 12.5 12.5 12.2 Heat 7.5 5.75 4.75 6.5 6.1 A The data in Table 5 show that the alloy according to the present invention does not have reduced impact toughness compared to the known alloy, even though the alloy of this invention contains significantly more sulfur than the known alloy.",
"The terms and expressions that have been employed herein are used as terms of description and not of limitation.",
"There is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions to exclude any equivalents of the features described or any portions thereof.",
"It is recognized, however, that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed."
] |
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for absolute interferometric testing of plane surfaces where interfering wavefronts created by an interferometer are recorded and analyzed.
BACKGROUND
Interferometric measuring procedures can provide a highly accurate analysis of sample surfaces. Computer-assisted analysis of interferograms allows measuring resolutions perpendicular to the sample surface better than approximately 1:100 of the measuring-light's wavelength. However, interferometry can determine only relative differences between two sample surfaces. Absolute testing, i.e., the comparison of a sample surface relative to a mathematical plane, requires calibration of the interferometer so that deviations of the measuring surface itself, relative to the mathematical plane, are known with appropriate accuracy.
A known method for absolute testing of plane surfaces has been described by J. Schwider et al. in "Optica Acta, " Volume 13, Issue 2, pages 103-119 (1966), and by J. Schwider, in "Optica Acta," Volume 14, Issue 4, pages 389-400 (1967). It is based on the classical procedure of measuring double combinations of three plane surfaces in a Fizeau interferometer relative to each other where the plane surfaces are the reflectors of the interferometer. However, this method is limited by a reflectance problem relating to the inversion of the plane surfaces relative to the coordinate system of the recording camera, and absolute testing is possible only along a central straight line.
The just-named authors have improved this testing procedure to the extent that absolute testing of plane surfaces relative to a suitably selected mathematical plane may be carried out successively along as many central straight lines as desired and even along eccentric straight lines. To accomplish this, the plane surfaces must be rotated and shifted repeatedly about their surface normal by suitable angles relative with respect to each other; and after each rotation or shifting, an interferogram must be displayed and analyzed. For example, eleven interference images are required in order to test a sample on six central and nine eccentric straight lines. However, while this method permits absolute testing of the plane surfaces on a grid of straight lines, between the straight lines there are always regions where the sample surfaces remain unknown. Also, this prior art method requires that, at all times, two of the three samples must be transparent at the wavelength of the measuring light. Furthermore, any inadvertent tilting of the plane surfaces during rotation or shifting leads to erroneous analytical values.
It has been suggested that the reflectance problem referred to above could be avoided by using an auxiliary mirror to measure a total of four plane surfaces relative to each other. A more detailed investigation, however, has shown that this suggested method also provides absolute testing only along a single straight line.
The reflectance problem does not occur when global polynominal graphs are used as a basis for plane surfaces, and such a method for the surface absolute testing of plane surfaces is described in "Optical Engineering," Volume 23, page 379 (1984). However, since a global polynominal graph acts as a low-pass filter, a loss of spatial resolution must be accepted when using this prior art method.
Another known method for surface absolute testing of plane surfaces is the Ritchey-Common test described by F. M. Kuchel in "Summaries of the Papers Presented at the Optical Fabrication and Testing Workshop," Oct. 21 to 23, 1986, Seattle, pages 114-119. Like the Twyman-Green interferometer, this method is based on the autocollimation principle. Wavefront disturbances caused by the interferometer are initially determined during three separate method steps. During two additional method steps, a sample surface is inserted in the divergent measuring-beam path of the interferometer at different incident angles, and another interferogram is recorded in each case. These five interferograms can then be used to calculate the deviations of the sample surface from a mathematical plane. However, this analysis requires extensive mathematical computation due to the fact that (a) the equidistant pixel grid of the camera is projected on the sample surface in a non-equidistant grid, (b) the pixel spacing of the projected grid also varies as a function of the incident angle, and (c) the relation between the measured wavefront disturbance and the deviation of the sample surface from a mathematical plane also varies across the diameter of the measuring beam. Because of the inclined incidence of the divergent measuring beam, this method requires an extremely time-consuming conversion, by local interpolation, between the pixels of a total of three different pixel grids.
Therefore, the invention herein is directed to providing an interferometric method which solves the problems identified above, and which achieves the absolute surface testing of plane surfaces with high spatial resolution and a minimum of mathematical computation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention comprises a method wherein two surfaces to be tested are inserted simultaneously in the measuring-light path of an interferometer so that the measuring beam impinges on each of the two surfaces at a different incident angle, and the wavefront disturbances caused by the two plane surfaces are determined; thereafter, at least one of said incident angles is changed, and the wavefront disturbances are again determined.
According to the inventive method, the two plane surfaces to be tested are inserted in the interferometer at the same time; and the interferometer's two reflectors, i.e., the reference-beam reflector and the measuring-beam reflector, remain in their same orientation relative to each other, both as to distance and as to their respective virtual images which are projected onto the surface of the interferometer's sensor. Similarly, when the incident angle of the measuring beam is altered relative to each of the respective plane surfaces, the inventive method does not change the orientation of the virtual images of the two plane surfaces relative to each other. Therefore, the method of the invention eliminates the above-mentioned reflectance problem, and absolute surface testing is possible.
Absolute testing is carried out during at least three method steps in each of which an interferogram is recorded and used to prepare a phase diagram, i.e., a dot-matrix grid of the phase difference between the measuring beam and the reference beam. During a first method step, an interferogram of the empty interferometer is recorded, and a first phase diagram is prepared based solely on the relative positions of the reference-beam and measuring-beam reflectors. During a second step, the two plane surfaces to be tested are inserted in the interferometer's measuring-beam path, each plane surface being positioned at a different incident angle to the measuring beam, and a second phase diagram is prepared. During a third step, at least one of the two different incident angles is changed, and a third phase diagram is prepared. It should be noted that the order of these method steps is of no importance.
In many cases, an additional interferogram may still have to be prepared either (a) after one of the plane surfaces has been shifted, parallel to the incident plane, in the plane of the plane surface, or (b) after an incident angle has been changed a second time. This fourth interferogram is then used to prepare a fourth phase diagram.
A plurality of different methods is known for the preparation of said phase diagrams themselves, and none of these is discussed in detail here. A good overview of a number of these known methods, as well as their advantages and disadvantages, has been provided by B. Dorband's doctoral thesis, University of Stuttgart (1986), to which reference is made here. Depending on which known method is used, additional method steps may become necessary. For instance, if the phase diagrams are prepared by using a phase-stepping method, an additional time shift of the phase relation is required, e.g., by shifting the reference reflector along the optical axis.
When the interferometer has a telecentric measuring-beam path, the phase values of the first phase diagram can simply be deducted from the phase values of the remaining phase diagrams at each measured point, thereby eliminating the influence of the interferometer on these phase diagrams. Further analysis, i.e., the calculation of wavefront disturbances caused by a plane surface, requires only the solution of linear equation systems. This can be done with a computer using commercially available software.
The equation system to be solved is simplified when the incident angles of both plane surfaces are changed and when an integral multiple of the cosine of one incident angle corresponds to a different integral multiple of the cosine of the other incident angle. A local interpolation between the measured points is not required in this case. This applies also when the interferograms are recorded by a camera on a discrete pixel grid. However, since the statistical uncertainties used to determine wavefront disturbances increase with higher integrals of such multiples, the quotient of the integral multiple should be limited to a value of 2.
For reasons of symmetry, the change of the incident angles should be made by merely interchanging the incident angles. This can be accomplished by interchange of the two plane surfaces themselves. The wavefront disturbances of both plane surfaces are then determined with the same statistical uncertainty.
The incident angles selected may require additional steps in which the plane surfaces are also shifted laterally. Such shifting is often needed because the plane surface with the smaller incident angle, as a rule, is not completely illuminated. When this plane surface is shifted twice, once in each direction, with each shift being over a distance of one-half of the illuminated zone, it is assured that even the wavefront disturbances at the edge of the measuring zone can be determined with great statistical certainty. If a discrete pixel grid is used for plane testing, shifting should amount to an integral multiple of the pixel distance. Depending upon the deviation of the plane surfaces from a mathematical plane and upon the desired degree of accuracy, the shifting should deviate from an integral multiple of the pixel distance by less than 1/10th of the pixel distance.
Again for reasons of symmetry, it is recommended that, following the interchange of the incident angles, the second plane surface should also be shifted twice, the shift in each direction again being over a distance of one-half of the illuminated zone. When these further steps are taken, a total of seven interferograms are recorded. Possible tilting of the plane surfaces relative to each other (e.g., as a result of the shifting) can be calculated and taken into consideration when the wavefront disturbances by the plane surfaces are computed.
The inventive method may be carried out with a Michelson interferometer as well as with a Fizeau interferometer. However, a Fizeau interferometer permits a more compact design.
To carry out the inventive method, the usual interferometer base plate is provided with several positioning aids which can be used to position the plane surfaces and the interferometer reflector in the path of the measuring light during the individual method steps. The positioning aids comprise individual mounting units for carrying, respectively, the interferometer's measuring-beam reflector and each of the two plane surfaces to be tested. A plurality of track means are fixed to the base plate in predetermined locations. The track means can receive and hold respective ones of said mounting units in three-point mountings to assure high reproducibility of their relative positioning. With this special interferometer apparatus, the interferometer itself can be readily calibrated, and plane surfaces can be measured in an absolute manner. Further, one of the measured plane surfaces may thereafter be substituted for the interferometer's measuring-beam reflector for purposes of recalibration. The wavefront disturbance of all the surfaces are recorded and stored, and no special measures are required to assure the long-term stability of this interferometric arrangement.
When the apparatus of the invention is incorporated in a Fizeau interferometer, calibration may be facilitated if one of the two plane surfaces has a bar grid on it and if, depending on the incident angle, special reflection coefficients are selected for this bar-grid plane surface.
DRAWINGS
FIGS. 1a-1c schematically illustrate the optical path of a preferred interferometric arrangement for the absolute testing of plane surfaces according to the invention, each figure showing the arrangement modified for different method steps;
FIG. 1d is a more detailed, but still simplified, schematic illustration of the measuring-beam path of FIG. 1b;
FIG. 1e is similar to FIG. 1d, but illustrating the measuring-beam path of FIG. 1c; and
FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a Fizeau interferometer modified to carry out the inventive method for absolute testing of plane surfaces.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1a shows, schematically, the optical path of a Michelson interferometer. A laser (L) generates a parallel light beam which is expanded by a telescope (T) and deflected by a beam splitter (S) into a measuring-beam path (M) and a reference-beam path (RF). A first interferometer reflector (I) reflects the reference-beam, and a second interferometer reflector (H) reflects the measuring-beam. Both optical paths, which are reflected back on themselves, are directed by beam splitter (S) to a camera sensor (K). Camera sensor (K) records a spatially resolved image resulting from the interference of the reference beam with the measuring beam, i.e., an interferogram.
The lengths of the optical paths of the reference beam (RF) and the measuring beam (M) are different. However, the difference between the path lengths is less than the coherence length of laser (L).
The interferometer reflector (I) in reference-beam path (RF) is tilted out of the vertical incidence by a small angle (ε) (shown greatly enlarged). Therefore, even if all reflective surfaces in the optical path are absolutely flat, a spatial carrier frequency (f o ) will be modulated on the interferogram so that it will exhibit a periodic intensity distribution.
Actual plane surfaces, however, always differ slightly in elevation from the mathematical plane and thus produce spatial wavefront disturbances Φ(x,y). Therefore, the interferogram recorded by camera sensor (K) has an intensity distribution
I(x,y)=α(x,y)+b(x,y) cos [2πf.sub.o x+Φ(x,y)]
whereby it is assumed that camera sensor (K) is in the x,y plane and that the x axis is in the plane of the drawing. A computer (R) is used to compute the spatial wavefront Φ(x,y) by means of the 3-step algorithm described in the above-cited doctoral thesis by B. Dorband.
In FIG. 1a, each reflective plane surface (H,I,S) is associated with a right-handed coordinate system, the x axes of which are in the plane of the drawing and the z axes of which are parallel to each surface normal, respectively. The coordinate axes of each plane surface are provided with an index reference sign corresponding to the reference letter used to identify the respective plane surface. Hence, (x I , y I , z I ) represents the coordinate system of the reference-beam reflector (I); (x H , y H , z H ) represents the coordinate system of the measuring-beam reflector (H); and (x S , y S , z S ) represents the coordinate system of beam splitter (S).
The wavefront disturbance Φ(x,y) is composed additively of the wavefront disturbances of the individual plane surfaces:
Φ(x,y)=Φ(x.sub.I,y.sub.I)+Φ.sub.H (x.sub.H,y.sub.H)-2Φ.sub.S (x.sub.S,y.sub.S) [1]
with the proviso that the beam splitter (S) has only a single reflective surface.
FIGS. 1b and 1c show modified arrangements of the same Michelson interferometer illustrated in FIG. 1a. Therefore, identical components have the same reference letters as in FIG. 1a. In FIGS. 1b and 1c, two plane surfaces (A,B) to be tested are arranged successively in the measuring-beam path (M) of the interferometer. In FIG. 1b, the measuring beam is reflected first at a first incident angle (α) by the first plane surface (A) and thereafter at a second incident angle (β) by the second plane surface (B). The measuring beam (M) is then reflected back on itself by interferometer reflector (H). The path of the measuring light (M) in both FIGS. 1b and 1c is the same length as the measuring-beam path (M) of FIG. 1a.
In FIG. 1c both plane surfaces (A,B) have been rotated relative to their positions in FIG. 1b in such a manner that the measuring beam is reflected by first plane surface (A) at an angle (β) and by second plane surface (B) at an angle (α).
Both plane surfaces (A,B) are also associated with a right-handed coordinate system (x A ,y A ,z A ) and (x B ,y B ,z B ), respectively, the z axes (z A ,z B ) of which are located perpendicular to each respective plane surface and the x axes (x A ,x B ) of which are located in the drawing plane parallel to each respective plane surface (A,B).
In each of the arrangements illustrated in FIGS. 1b and 1c, both plane surfaces (A,B) are inserted in the measuring-beam path at the same time, and the virtual images of the interferometer reflectors (H,I), as projected on camera sensor (K), remain in the same relative orientation as in FIG. 1a. Hence, there is no reflectance problem.
When the various components are positioned in each of the just-described arrangements, additional interferograms are recorded by camera sensor (K), and both plane surfaces (A,B) add further contributions Φ A (x A ,y A ), Φ B (x B ,y B ) to the total wavefront disturbance Φ(x,y). In the arrangement of FIG. 1b, the total wavefront disturbance is ##EQU1## with the proviso that the positions at which the measuring beam is reflected by each plane surface (A,B) are a function of the respective incident angle (α,β). That is, the wavefront disturbances Φ A ,Φ B of the two plane surfaces (A,B) describe the wavefront disturbances which would result between the respective plane surfaces with perpendicular angles of incidence. Therefore, as a result of incident angles (α,β), values are obtained which are smaller by factors cos α and cos β, respectively. The factors "2" in equation (2) take into account the double reflection by each of the two plane surfaces (A,B).
Two more interferograms are recorded after first plane surface (A) has been shifted by a distance Δx A (corresponding to an integral multiple of the pixel pitch on the first plane surface in x a direction). First, a shift is made in the positive x A direction (arrow P b2 ), then, in the negative x A direction (arrow Pb 3 ). The total wavefront disturbances for these shifts are: ##EQU2## after shifting in the direction of arrow (P b2 ), and: ##EQU3## after shifting the plane surface (A) in the direction of arrow (Pb 3 ).
When the apparatus is positioned in the arrangement shown in FIG. 1c, three additional interferograms are recorded by camera sensor (K) and analyzed by computer (R). However, this time it is the second plane surface (B) which is similarly shifted along its x B axis between recordings, again by a distance Δx B which corresponds to an integral multiple of the pixel pitch on second plane surface (B) in the x B direction.
Taking into consideration the now interchanged incident angles, the measured wavefront disturbances in the plane of camera sensor (K) result, respectively: ##EQU4## in the not shifted case; ##EQU5## after shifting in the direction of arrow (P c2 ) (+x B direction); and ##EQU6## after shifting in the direction of arrow (P c3 ) (-x B direction).
Further analysis takes place by solving this equation system with respect to contributions Φ A and Φ B for the wavefront disturbances of both plane surfaces (A,B). This analysis is simplified by the selection of the incident angles (α,β). They are selected in such a manner that cos α=2cos β. An image of the discrete pixel grid of camera sensor (K) is thereby formed on discrete pixel grids on the plane surfaces (A,B) which are identical on both plane surfaces and during all steps. This is illustrated by the detail drawings of FIGS. 1d and 1e which show examples of five discrete pixels (K -2 ) to (K 2 ) of camera sensor (K) in the x direction. As shown in FIG. 1d, the light rays (M -2 , M -1 , M 0 , M 1 , M 2 ) generate a pixel-by-pixel image of the even-numbered pixels (B 4 , B 2 , B O , B -2 , B -4 ) of second plane surface (B), via the central pixels (A -2 , A -1 , A 0 , A 1 , A 2 ) of first plane surface (A), on the pixels (K -2 , K -1 , K 0 , K 1 , K 2 ) of camera sensor (K).
Next, first plane surface (A) is shifted by two pixels in the x A direction, which corresponds to one-half of the illuminated zone of this plane surface. After shifting in the direction of the arrow (Pb 2 ), an image of the pixels of this portion of plane surface (A), identified by an index smaller by 2 (i.e., pixels A -4 , A -3 , A -2 , A 1 , A 0 ), is generated on even-numbered pixels (B 4 , B 2 , B 0 , B -2 , B -4 ) of second plane surface (B) and on pixels (K -2 - K 2 ) of camera sensor (K). Similarly, after shifting first plane surface (A) by two pixels in the direction of the arrow (Pb 3 ), an image of the pixels of first plane surface (A), identified by an index greater by 2 (i.e., pixels A 0 , A 1 , A 2 , A 3 , A 4 ), is generated on the same even-numbered pixels (B 4 , B 2 , B 0 , B -2 , B -4 ) of second plane surface (B) and on the pixels (K -2 - K 2 ) of camera sensor (K).
FIG. 1e shows the formation of an image of the pixels (K -2 , K -1 , K 0 , K 1 , K 2 ) of camera sensor (K) when the incident angles (α,β) of the two plane surfaces (A,B) are interchanged. With this arrangement, an image of only the even-numbered pixels (A -4 , A -2 , A 0 , A 2 , A 4 ) of first plane surface (A) is generated.
It is essential that a distinct discrete pixel grid (A -4 - A 4 ) and (B -4 - B 4 ), respectively, be associated with the two plane surfaces (A,B) and that, when the interferograms are recorded, images of the points of these pixel grids be superimposed and projected on the pixels (K -2 - K 2 ) of camera sensor (K). By this arrangement, an interpolation between pixels is not required.
The equation system consisting of the above-identified seven equations (equations [1] to [7]) may be expressed as follows: ##STR1## The error matrix (F) then is a matrix with 4·m -2 columns and 6·m lines, where m represents the number of pixels of camera sensor (K) in the x direction. Vector Φy lists the wavefront disturbances (ΦA, ΦB) of both plane surfaces (A,B) between each other for 2 m -1 pixels in the x A and x B directions, respectively. Line vector ΔΦy lists the corresponding wavefront disturbances:
ΔΦ.sub.b1 =Φ.sub.b1 -Φ.sub.a, ΔΦ.sub.b2 =Φ.sub.b2 -Φ.sub.a, ΔΦ.sub.b3 =Φ.sub.b3 -Φ.sub.a,
ΔΦ.sub.c1 =Φ.sub.c1 -Φ.sub.a, ΔΦ.sub.c2 =Φ.sub.c2 -Φ.sub.a, ΔΦ.sub.c3 =Φ.sub.c3 -Φ.sub.a,
for m pixels of camera sensor (K) in the x direction (i.e., a total of 6 m values). The values of vectors Φ y and ΔΦ y must all be taken at the same y values.
The linear equation system [8] must be solved for each column of camera sensor (K) in y direction. With a commercially available CCD camera having 512×512 pixels, the equation system must be solved 512 times. However, the error matrix (F) is not a function of x and y and thus represents a constant. The individual coefficients of (F) are either 0, cos α or cos β.
By multiplying the equation system [8] with the transposed error matrix (F T ) and the matrix (F T F) -1 , which is inverse to (F T F), the solution is ##STR2## with the weighted matrix (G).
The constant weighted matrix (G) is stored in computer (R), thereby permitting a fast computation of wavefront disturbances Φ A (x A ,y A ), Φ B (x B ,y B ) in all points (x A ,y A ) of first plane surface (A), and in all points (x B ,y B ) of second plane surface (B).
With wavefront disturbances Φ A (x A ,y A ) in points (x A ,y A ), the deviations ΔZ A of first plane surface (A) in the Z A direction from a mathematical plane, can be computed with the equation
2×2 πΔz.sub.A (x.sub.A,Y.sub.A)/λ=Φ.sub.A (x.sub.A,y.sub.A)
when wavelength λ of the laser (L) is known.
The same applies to deviations Δz B (x B ,y B ) of the second plane surface (B).
The square root of the sum of squares of the coefficients of one line of the weighted matrix (G) is a measurement of the statistical uncertainty with which wavefront disturbances (Φ A ) and (Φ B ) are determined. Inasmuch as the weighted matrix (G) is the same for all columns of the camera sensor (K) in the y direction, the statistical uncertainty is not a function of the y value. It can be demonstrated that the statistical uncertainty in the center of first plane surfaces (A) is only slightly greater than the uncertainty exhibited by all the wavefront disturbances (Φ a1 , Φ b1 , Φ b2 , Φ b3 , Φ c1 , Φ c2 , Φ c3 ) in the center of the first plane surfaces (A). This uncertainty increases slightly at either end of the measuring range in the ±x A direction. It can be demonstrated that substantial statistical errors are caused by uncertainties attributable to the wavefront disturbance Φ a of the empty interferometer. These errors can be reduced considerably by repeated measurement of the wavefront disturbance Φ a .
Because of the symmetrical arrangement of the invention, the statistical uncertainty just discussed above applies equally to both first plane surface (A) and second plane surface (B).
By using the above-disclosed equation system [8], 4.m -2 unknowns for the wavefront disturbances of both plane surfaces (A,B) are computed for each column of camera sensor (K) in the y direction. A total of 6.m equations are available, i.e., the equation system is redundant. On the other hand, the solutions so far do not yet take into account a possible tilting of the plane surfaces (A,B) during shifting. Such tilting, however, would result in inaccurate measuring results. Therefore, the same analysis is carried out once again; however, now only the wavefront disturbances ΔΦ b2 , ΔΦ b3 , ΔΦ c2 , ΔΦ c3 are used for analysis. If this second analysis provides different wavefront disturbances Φ A2 (x A , y A ) or Φ B2 (x B , y B ), tilting or length changes of the measuring-beam path (M) have occurred. The latter can be computed from the differences Φ A (x A , y A )-Φ A2 (x A , y A ) and Φ B (x B , y.sub. B)-Φ B2 (x B , y B ), respectively, where these differences must disappear when suitable tilting or length changes are taken into consideration. Each of the equations [2] to [7] may have added to the left side an additional phase surface to be determined in the form of a plane equation r i x+s i y+t i , where the index i identifies the respective phase surface corresponding to each respective equation [2] through [7]. It should be understood that the coefficients s 2 , s 5 , t 2 and t 5 can be selected freely; that all remaining coefficients can be clearly determined mathematically; and that, due to the symmetry discussed above, a few coefficients are equal or have the same value with opposite signs.
FIG. 2 shows a second preferred embodiment of apparatus for carrying out the inventor's method for absolute testing of plane surfaces. This second embodiment essentially comprises a Fizeau interferometer. Most of the components in this embodiment correspond to similar components illustrated in FIGS. 1a to 1e. Therefore, these similar components are identified with the same reference letters and numbers, accompanied by the additional index "6".
As different from a Michelson interferometer, the paths of the measuring beam and the reference beam in a Fizeau interferometer have a common range (G 6 ). The reference-beam reflector (I 6 ) is partially reflecting and has the shape of a wedge. A spatial frequency filter (F 6 ) is provided in front of the camera sensor (K 6 ) to filter out light reflected by the front surface (I 6v ) of reflector (I 6 ).
The measuring process is analogous to that described in conjunction with FIGS. 1a to 1e. The topography of the plane surfaces (A 6 , B 6 ) can be represented by a graph on a monitor (MO 6 ) after having been analyzed by a computer (R 6 ).
FIG. 2 shows the first plane surface (A 6 ) having an incident angle (α 6 ), and the second plane surface (B 6 ) having an incident angle (β 6 ), in the path of the measuring beam (M 6 ). These two plane surfaces (A 6 , B 6 ) as well as the interferometer reflector (H 6 ) are each fixed to respective mounting units (P A , P B , P H ).
Fixed to base plate (Bp 6 ) are a plurality of T-shaped tracks (J 61 , J 62 , J 63 , J 64 ) each of which is provided with respective grooves (N 61 , N 62 , N 63 , N 64 ). Spheres (not illustrated) fixed to the underside of mounting units (P A , P B , P H ) can be releasably and alternatively engaged with said grooves (N 61 -N 64 ) to provide each plane surface (A,B) and reflector (H 6 ) with respective three-point supports that assure stability and reproducibly accurate positioning. (NOTE: Appropriate tracks are provided also beneath the reflector mounts (P A , P B , P H ) in the positions as illustrated; however, they are hidden by the reflector mounts (P A , P B , P H ) and hence are not shown.)
In order to interchange the incident angles (α 6 , β 6 ), the reflector mount (P A ) supporting the first plane surface (A 6 ) is moved to track (J 61 ) and reflector mount (P B ), which supports the second plane surface (B 6 ), is placed on track (J 64 ). The reflector mount (P H ) supporting the interferometer reflector (H 6 ) is also moved, being placed on track (J 63 ).
In order to measure the wavefront disturbance of the empty interferometer, both plane surfaces (A 6 , B 6 ) are removed from the interferometer's measuring-beam path, and reflector (H 6 ) is placed on track (J 62 ).
Each of the reflector mounts (P A , P B ) for both plane surfaces (A 6 , B 6 ) is provided with a micrometer screw (M A , M B ) which permits shifting each plane surface (A 6 , B 6 ) in the drawing plane and parallel to its respective plane surface (A 6 , B 6 ).
After both plane surfaces (A 6 , B 6 ) have been tested absolutely, the interferometer may be calibrated by inserting one of the two plane surfaces (A 6 , B 6 ) in place of measuring-beam reflector (H 6 ). However, when using the Fizeau-interferometer embodiment, such calibration may be a problem in that the plane surfaces (A 6 , B 6 ) being tested require the highest possible reflection coefficent to assure that high-contrast interferograms will be recorded. Also, for the same reason, the interferometer reflector (H 6 ) should have only a low reflection coefficient.
This problem can be solved if the second plane surface (B 6 ) is divided into alternating opaque and reflective bars. The reflective bars should be wider than the opaque bars. For absolute testing, the plane surface (B 6 ) is tested in the zero order of diffraction. It will exhibit a high reflection coefficient. In order to calibrate the interferometer, when plane surface (B 6 ) replaces interferometer reflector (H 6 ), it is arranged on a pivot in such a manner that light reflected in the ± first order of diffraction passes through the spatial frequency filter (F 6 ). The reflection coefficient of the ± first order of diffraction is considerably lower than the reflection coefficient of the zero order of diffraction.
Wavefront disturbances caused by dividing errors can be eliminated in that a first measurement is carried out in the + first order of diffraction and a second measurement in the - first order of diffraction.
FIGS. 1a to 1c and FIG. 2 show light paths arranged in such a manner that symmetrical testing conditions exist for both plane surfaces (A, B, A 6 , B 6 ). In case symmetrical testing conditions are not desired, the interferometer reflector (H, H 6 ) may be provided as close to the second plane surface (B, B 6 ) as possible. A telescope, which may be inserted between the beam splitter (S, S 6 ) and the camera sensor (K, K 6 ), can be used to generate an image of the second plane surface (B, B 6 ) on camera sensor (K, K 6 ) in order to test said second plane surface (B, B 6 ) with greater precision. | A relatively simple interferometric method for the absolute testing of plane surfaces is disclosed, along with special apparatus for carrying out the inventive method. Two plane surfaces to be tested (A 6 ,B 6 ) are inserted simultaneously into the interferometer's measuring-beam path so that the measuring beam is reflected from each plane surface at two respective and different incident angles (α, β). During successive steps, the plane surfaces (A 6 ,B 6 ) are angularly repositioned and shifted so that at least one of the incident angles (α, β) is changed. Interferograms are recorded during each step and analyzed mathematically. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the concept presented in the passage. | [
"TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for absolute interferometric testing of plane surfaces where interfering wavefronts created by an interferometer are recorded and analyzed.",
"BACKGROUND Interferometric measuring procedures can provide a highly accurate analysis of sample surfaces.",
"Computer-assisted analysis of interferograms allows measuring resolutions perpendicular to the sample surface better than approximately 1:100 of the measuring-light's wavelength.",
"However, interferometry can determine only relative differences between two sample surfaces.",
"Absolute testing, i.e., the comparison of a sample surface relative to a mathematical plane, requires calibration of the interferometer so that deviations of the measuring surface itself, relative to the mathematical plane, are known with appropriate accuracy.",
"A known method for absolute testing of plane surfaces has been described by J. Schwider et al.",
"in "Optica Acta, "",
"Volume 13, Issue 2, pages 103-119 (1966), and by J. Schwider, in "Optica Acta,"",
"Volume 14, Issue 4, pages 389-400 (1967).",
"It is based on the classical procedure of measuring double combinations of three plane surfaces in a Fizeau interferometer relative to each other where the plane surfaces are the reflectors of the interferometer.",
"However, this method is limited by a reflectance problem relating to the inversion of the plane surfaces relative to the coordinate system of the recording camera, and absolute testing is possible only along a central straight line.",
"The just-named authors have improved this testing procedure to the extent that absolute testing of plane surfaces relative to a suitably selected mathematical plane may be carried out successively along as many central straight lines as desired and even along eccentric straight lines.",
"To accomplish this, the plane surfaces must be rotated and shifted repeatedly about their surface normal by suitable angles relative with respect to each other;",
"and after each rotation or shifting, an interferogram must be displayed and analyzed.",
"For example, eleven interference images are required in order to test a sample on six central and nine eccentric straight lines.",
"However, while this method permits absolute testing of the plane surfaces on a grid of straight lines, between the straight lines there are always regions where the sample surfaces remain unknown.",
"Also, this prior art method requires that, at all times, two of the three samples must be transparent at the wavelength of the measuring light.",
"Furthermore, any inadvertent tilting of the plane surfaces during rotation or shifting leads to erroneous analytical values.",
"It has been suggested that the reflectance problem referred to above could be avoided by using an auxiliary mirror to measure a total of four plane surfaces relative to each other.",
"A more detailed investigation, however, has shown that this suggested method also provides absolute testing only along a single straight line.",
"The reflectance problem does not occur when global polynominal graphs are used as a basis for plane surfaces, and such a method for the surface absolute testing of plane surfaces is described in "Optical Engineering,"",
"Volume 23, page 379 (1984).",
"However, since a global polynominal graph acts as a low-pass filter, a loss of spatial resolution must be accepted when using this prior art method.",
"Another known method for surface absolute testing of plane surfaces is the Ritchey-Common test described by F. M. Kuchel in "Summaries of the Papers Presented at the Optical Fabrication and Testing Workshop,"",
"Oct. 21 to 23, 1986, Seattle, pages 114-119.",
"Like the Twyman-Green interferometer, this method is based on the autocollimation principle.",
"Wavefront disturbances caused by the interferometer are initially determined during three separate method steps.",
"During two additional method steps, a sample surface is inserted in the divergent measuring-beam path of the interferometer at different incident angles, and another interferogram is recorded in each case.",
"These five interferograms can then be used to calculate the deviations of the sample surface from a mathematical plane.",
"However, this analysis requires extensive mathematical computation due to the fact that (a) the equidistant pixel grid of the camera is projected on the sample surface in a non-equidistant grid, (b) the pixel spacing of the projected grid also varies as a function of the incident angle, and (c) the relation between the measured wavefront disturbance and the deviation of the sample surface from a mathematical plane also varies across the diameter of the measuring beam.",
"Because of the inclined incidence of the divergent measuring beam, this method requires an extremely time-consuming conversion, by local interpolation, between the pixels of a total of three different pixel grids.",
"Therefore, the invention herein is directed to providing an interferometric method which solves the problems identified above, and which achieves the absolute surface testing of plane surfaces with high spatial resolution and a minimum of mathematical computation.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention comprises a method wherein two surfaces to be tested are inserted simultaneously in the measuring-light path of an interferometer so that the measuring beam impinges on each of the two surfaces at a different incident angle, and the wavefront disturbances caused by the two plane surfaces are determined;",
"thereafter, at least one of said incident angles is changed, and the wavefront disturbances are again determined.",
"According to the inventive method, the two plane surfaces to be tested are inserted in the interferometer at the same time;",
"and the interferometer's two reflectors, i.e., the reference-beam reflector and the measuring-beam reflector, remain in their same orientation relative to each other, both as to distance and as to their respective virtual images which are projected onto the surface of the interferometer's sensor.",
"Similarly, when the incident angle of the measuring beam is altered relative to each of the respective plane surfaces, the inventive method does not change the orientation of the virtual images of the two plane surfaces relative to each other.",
"Therefore, the method of the invention eliminates the above-mentioned reflectance problem, and absolute surface testing is possible.",
"Absolute testing is carried out during at least three method steps in each of which an interferogram is recorded and used to prepare a phase diagram, i.e., a dot-matrix grid of the phase difference between the measuring beam and the reference beam.",
"During a first method step, an interferogram of the empty interferometer is recorded, and a first phase diagram is prepared based solely on the relative positions of the reference-beam and measuring-beam reflectors.",
"During a second step, the two plane surfaces to be tested are inserted in the interferometer's measuring-beam path, each plane surface being positioned at a different incident angle to the measuring beam, and a second phase diagram is prepared.",
"During a third step, at least one of the two different incident angles is changed, and a third phase diagram is prepared.",
"It should be noted that the order of these method steps is of no importance.",
"In many cases, an additional interferogram may still have to be prepared either (a) after one of the plane surfaces has been shifted, parallel to the incident plane, in the plane of the plane surface, or (b) after an incident angle has been changed a second time.",
"This fourth interferogram is then used to prepare a fourth phase diagram.",
"A plurality of different methods is known for the preparation of said phase diagrams themselves, and none of these is discussed in detail here.",
"A good overview of a number of these known methods, as well as their advantages and disadvantages, has been provided by B. Dorband's doctoral thesis, University of Stuttgart (1986), to which reference is made here.",
"Depending on which known method is used, additional method steps may become necessary.",
"For instance, if the phase diagrams are prepared by using a phase-stepping method, an additional time shift of the phase relation is required, e.g., by shifting the reference reflector along the optical axis.",
"When the interferometer has a telecentric measuring-beam path, the phase values of the first phase diagram can simply be deducted from the phase values of the remaining phase diagrams at each measured point, thereby eliminating the influence of the interferometer on these phase diagrams.",
"Further analysis, i.e., the calculation of wavefront disturbances caused by a plane surface, requires only the solution of linear equation systems.",
"This can be done with a computer using commercially available software.",
"The equation system to be solved is simplified when the incident angles of both plane surfaces are changed and when an integral multiple of the cosine of one incident angle corresponds to a different integral multiple of the cosine of the other incident angle.",
"A local interpolation between the measured points is not required in this case.",
"This applies also when the interferograms are recorded by a camera on a discrete pixel grid.",
"However, since the statistical uncertainties used to determine wavefront disturbances increase with higher integrals of such multiples, the quotient of the integral multiple should be limited to a value of 2.",
"For reasons of symmetry, the change of the incident angles should be made by merely interchanging the incident angles.",
"This can be accomplished by interchange of the two plane surfaces themselves.",
"The wavefront disturbances of both plane surfaces are then determined with the same statistical uncertainty.",
"The incident angles selected may require additional steps in which the plane surfaces are also shifted laterally.",
"Such shifting is often needed because the plane surface with the smaller incident angle, as a rule, is not completely illuminated.",
"When this plane surface is shifted twice, once in each direction, with each shift being over a distance of one-half of the illuminated zone, it is assured that even the wavefront disturbances at the edge of the measuring zone can be determined with great statistical certainty.",
"If a discrete pixel grid is used for plane testing, shifting should amount to an integral multiple of the pixel distance.",
"Depending upon the deviation of the plane surfaces from a mathematical plane and upon the desired degree of accuracy, the shifting should deviate from an integral multiple of the pixel distance by less than 1/10th of the pixel distance.",
"Again for reasons of symmetry, it is recommended that, following the interchange of the incident angles, the second plane surface should also be shifted twice, the shift in each direction again being over a distance of one-half of the illuminated zone.",
"When these further steps are taken, a total of seven interferograms are recorded.",
"Possible tilting of the plane surfaces relative to each other (e.g., as a result of the shifting) can be calculated and taken into consideration when the wavefront disturbances by the plane surfaces are computed.",
"The inventive method may be carried out with a Michelson interferometer as well as with a Fizeau interferometer.",
"However, a Fizeau interferometer permits a more compact design.",
"To carry out the inventive method, the usual interferometer base plate is provided with several positioning aids which can be used to position the plane surfaces and the interferometer reflector in the path of the measuring light during the individual method steps.",
"The positioning aids comprise individual mounting units for carrying, respectively, the interferometer's measuring-beam reflector and each of the two plane surfaces to be tested.",
"A plurality of track means are fixed to the base plate in predetermined locations.",
"The track means can receive and hold respective ones of said mounting units in three-point mountings to assure high reproducibility of their relative positioning.",
"With this special interferometer apparatus, the interferometer itself can be readily calibrated, and plane surfaces can be measured in an absolute manner.",
"Further, one of the measured plane surfaces may thereafter be substituted for the interferometer's measuring-beam reflector for purposes of recalibration.",
"The wavefront disturbance of all the surfaces are recorded and stored, and no special measures are required to assure the long-term stability of this interferometric arrangement.",
"When the apparatus of the invention is incorporated in a Fizeau interferometer, calibration may be facilitated if one of the two plane surfaces has a bar grid on it and if, depending on the incident angle, special reflection coefficients are selected for this bar-grid plane surface.",
"DRAWINGS FIGS. 1a-1c schematically illustrate the optical path of a preferred interferometric arrangement for the absolute testing of plane surfaces according to the invention, each figure showing the arrangement modified for different method steps;",
"FIG. 1d is a more detailed, but still simplified, schematic illustration of the measuring-beam path of FIG. 1b;",
"FIG. 1e is similar to FIG. 1d, but illustrating the measuring-beam path of FIG. 1c;",
"and FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a Fizeau interferometer modified to carry out the inventive method for absolute testing of plane surfaces.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1a shows, schematically, the optical path of a Michelson interferometer.",
"A laser (L) generates a parallel light beam which is expanded by a telescope (T) and deflected by a beam splitter (S) into a measuring-beam path (M) and a reference-beam path (RF).",
"A first interferometer reflector (I) reflects the reference-beam, and a second interferometer reflector (H) reflects the measuring-beam.",
"Both optical paths, which are reflected back on themselves, are directed by beam splitter (S) to a camera sensor (K).",
"Camera sensor (K) records a spatially resolved image resulting from the interference of the reference beam with the measuring beam, i.e., an interferogram.",
"The lengths of the optical paths of the reference beam (RF) and the measuring beam (M) are different.",
"However, the difference between the path lengths is less than the coherence length of laser (L).",
"The interferometer reflector (I) in reference-beam path (RF) is tilted out of the vertical incidence by a small angle (ε) (shown greatly enlarged).",
"Therefore, even if all reflective surfaces in the optical path are absolutely flat, a spatial carrier frequency (f o ) will be modulated on the interferogram so that it will exhibit a periodic intensity distribution.",
"Actual plane surfaces, however, always differ slightly in elevation from the mathematical plane and thus produce spatial wavefront disturbances Φ(x,y).",
"Therefore, the interferogram recorded by camera sensor (K) has an intensity distribution I(x,y)=α(x,y)+b(x,y) cos [2πf.",
"sub.",
"o x+Φ(x,y)] whereby it is assumed that camera sensor (K) is in the x,y plane and that the x axis is in the plane of the drawing.",
"A computer (R) is used to compute the spatial wavefront Φ(x,y) by means of the 3-step algorithm described in the above-cited doctoral thesis by B. Dorband.",
"In FIG. 1a, each reflective plane surface (H,I,S) is associated with a right-handed coordinate system, the x axes of which are in the plane of the drawing and the z axes of which are parallel to each surface normal, respectively.",
"The coordinate axes of each plane surface are provided with an index reference sign corresponding to the reference letter used to identify the respective plane surface.",
"Hence, (x I , y I , z I ) represents the coordinate system of the reference-beam reflector (I);",
"(x H , y H , z H ) represents the coordinate system of the measuring-beam reflector (H);",
"and (x S , y S , z S ) represents the coordinate system of beam splitter (S).",
"The wavefront disturbance Φ(x,y) is composed additively of the wavefront disturbances of the individual plane surfaces: Φ(x,y)=Φ(x.",
"sub.",
"I,y.",
"sub.",
"I)+Φ.",
"sub.",
"H (x.",
"sub.",
"H,y.",
"sub.",
"H)-2Φ.",
"sub.",
"S (x.",
"sub.",
"S,y.",
"sub.",
"S) [1] with the proviso that the beam splitter (S) has only a single reflective surface.",
"FIGS. 1b and 1c show modified arrangements of the same Michelson interferometer illustrated in FIG. 1a.",
"Therefore, identical components have the same reference letters as in FIG. 1a.",
"In FIGS. 1b and 1c, two plane surfaces (A,B) to be tested are arranged successively in the measuring-beam path (M) of the interferometer.",
"In FIG. 1b, the measuring beam is reflected first at a first incident angle (α) by the first plane surface (A) and thereafter at a second incident angle (β) by the second plane surface (B).",
"The measuring beam (M) is then reflected back on itself by interferometer reflector (H).",
"The path of the measuring light (M) in both FIGS. 1b and 1c is the same length as the measuring-beam path (M) of FIG. 1a.",
"In FIG. 1c both plane surfaces (A,B) have been rotated relative to their positions in FIG. 1b in such a manner that the measuring beam is reflected by first plane surface (A) at an angle (β) and by second plane surface (B) at an angle (α).",
"Both plane surfaces (A,B) are also associated with a right-handed coordinate system (x A ,y A ,z A ) and (x B ,y B ,z B ), respectively, the z axes (z A ,z B ) of which are located perpendicular to each respective plane surface and the x axes (x A ,x B ) of which are located in the drawing plane parallel to each respective plane surface (A,B).",
"In each of the arrangements illustrated in FIGS. 1b and 1c, both plane surfaces (A,B) are inserted in the measuring-beam path at the same time, and the virtual images of the interferometer reflectors (H,I), as projected on camera sensor (K), remain in the same relative orientation as in FIG. 1a.",
"Hence, there is no reflectance problem.",
"When the various components are positioned in each of the just-described arrangements, additional interferograms are recorded by camera sensor (K), and both plane surfaces (A,B) add further contributions Φ A (x A ,y A ), Φ B (x B ,y B ) to the total wavefront disturbance Φ(x,y).",
"In the arrangement of FIG. 1b, the total wavefront disturbance is ##EQU1## with the proviso that the positions at which the measuring beam is reflected by each plane surface (A,B) are a function of the respective incident angle (α,β).",
"That is, the wavefront disturbances Φ A ,Φ B of the two plane surfaces (A,B) describe the wavefront disturbances which would result between the respective plane surfaces with perpendicular angles of incidence.",
"Therefore, as a result of incident angles (α,β), values are obtained which are smaller by factors cos α and cos β, respectively.",
"The factors "2"",
"in equation (2) take into account the double reflection by each of the two plane surfaces (A,B).",
"Two more interferograms are recorded after first plane surface (A) has been shifted by a distance Δx A (corresponding to an integral multiple of the pixel pitch on the first plane surface in x a direction).",
"First, a shift is made in the positive x A direction (arrow P b2 ), then, in the negative x A direction (arrow Pb 3 ).",
"The total wavefront disturbances for these shifts are: ##EQU2## after shifting in the direction of arrow (P b2 ), and: ##EQU3## after shifting the plane surface (A) in the direction of arrow (Pb 3 ).",
"When the apparatus is positioned in the arrangement shown in FIG. 1c, three additional interferograms are recorded by camera sensor (K) and analyzed by computer (R).",
"However, this time it is the second plane surface (B) which is similarly shifted along its x B axis between recordings, again by a distance Δx B which corresponds to an integral multiple of the pixel pitch on second plane surface (B) in the x B direction.",
"Taking into consideration the now interchanged incident angles, the measured wavefront disturbances in the plane of camera sensor (K) result, respectively: ##EQU4## in the not shifted case;",
"##EQU5## after shifting in the direction of arrow (P c2 ) (+x B direction);",
"and ##EQU6## after shifting in the direction of arrow (P c3 ) (-x B direction).",
"Further analysis takes place by solving this equation system with respect to contributions Φ A and Φ B for the wavefront disturbances of both plane surfaces (A,B).",
"This analysis is simplified by the selection of the incident angles (α,β).",
"They are selected in such a manner that cos α=2cos β.",
"An image of the discrete pixel grid of camera sensor (K) is thereby formed on discrete pixel grids on the plane surfaces (A,B) which are identical on both plane surfaces and during all steps.",
"This is illustrated by the detail drawings of FIGS. 1d and 1e which show examples of five discrete pixels (K -2 ) to (K 2 ) of camera sensor (K) in the x direction.",
"As shown in FIG. 1d, the light rays (M -2 , M -1 , M 0 , M 1 , M 2 ) generate a pixel-by-pixel image of the even-numbered pixels (B 4 , B 2 , B O , B -2 , B -4 ) of second plane surface (B), via the central pixels (A -2 , A -1 , A 0 , A 1 , A 2 ) of first plane surface (A), on the pixels (K -2 , K -1 , K 0 , K 1 , K 2 ) of camera sensor (K).",
"Next, first plane surface (A) is shifted by two pixels in the x A direction, which corresponds to one-half of the illuminated zone of this plane surface.",
"After shifting in the direction of the arrow (Pb 2 ), an image of the pixels of this portion of plane surface (A), identified by an index smaller by 2 (i.e., pixels A -4 , A -3 , A -2 , A 1 , A 0 ), is generated on even-numbered pixels (B 4 , B 2 , B 0 , B -2 , B -4 ) of second plane surface (B) and on pixels (K -2 - K 2 ) of camera sensor (K).",
"Similarly, after shifting first plane surface (A) by two pixels in the direction of the arrow (Pb 3 ), an image of the pixels of first plane surface (A), identified by an index greater by 2 (i.e., pixels A 0 , A 1 , A 2 , A 3 , A 4 ), is generated on the same even-numbered pixels (B 4 , B 2 , B 0 , B -2 , B -4 ) of second plane surface (B) and on the pixels (K -2 - K 2 ) of camera sensor (K).",
"FIG. 1e shows the formation of an image of the pixels (K -2 , K -1 , K 0 , K 1 , K 2 ) of camera sensor (K) when the incident angles (α,β) of the two plane surfaces (A,B) are interchanged.",
"With this arrangement, an image of only the even-numbered pixels (A -4 , A -2 , A 0 , A 2 , A 4 ) of first plane surface (A) is generated.",
"It is essential that a distinct discrete pixel grid (A -4 - A 4 ) and (B -4 - B 4 ), respectively, be associated with the two plane surfaces (A,B) and that, when the interferograms are recorded, images of the points of these pixel grids be superimposed and projected on the pixels (K -2 - K 2 ) of camera sensor (K).",
"By this arrangement, an interpolation between pixels is not required.",
"The equation system consisting of the above-identified seven equations (equations [1] to [7]) may be expressed as follows: ##STR1## The error matrix (F) then is a matrix with 4·m -2 columns and 6·m lines, where m represents the number of pixels of camera sensor (K) in the x direction.",
"Vector Φy lists the wavefront disturbances (ΦA, ΦB) of both plane surfaces (A,B) between each other for 2 m -1 pixels in the x A and x B directions, respectively.",
"Line vector ΔΦy lists the corresponding wavefront disturbances: ΔΦ.",
"sub.",
"b1 =Φ.",
"sub.",
"b1 -Φ.",
"sub.",
"a, ΔΦ.",
"sub.",
"b2 =Φ.",
"sub.",
"b2 -Φ.",
"sub.",
"a, ΔΦ.",
"sub.",
"b3 =Φ.",
"sub.",
"b3 -Φ.",
"sub.",
"a, ΔΦ.",
"sub.",
"c1 =Φ.",
"sub.",
"c1 -Φ.",
"sub.",
"a, ΔΦ.",
"sub.",
"c2 =Φ.",
"sub.",
"c2 -Φ.",
"sub.",
"a, ΔΦ.",
"sub.",
"c3 =Φ.",
"sub.",
"c3 -Φ.",
"sub.",
"a, for m pixels of camera sensor (K) in the x direction (i.e., a total of 6 m values).",
"The values of vectors Φ y and ΔΦ y must all be taken at the same y values.",
"The linear equation system [8] must be solved for each column of camera sensor (K) in y direction.",
"With a commercially available CCD camera having 512×512 pixels, the equation system must be solved 512 times.",
"However, the error matrix (F) is not a function of x and y and thus represents a constant.",
"The individual coefficients of (F) are either 0, cos α or cos β.",
"By multiplying the equation system [8] with the transposed error matrix (F T ) and the matrix (F T F) -1 , which is inverse to (F T F), the solution is ##STR2## with the weighted matrix (G).",
"The constant weighted matrix (G) is stored in computer (R), thereby permitting a fast computation of wavefront disturbances Φ A (x A ,y A ), Φ B (x B ,y B ) in all points (x A ,y A ) of first plane surface (A), and in all points (x B ,y B ) of second plane surface (B).",
"With wavefront disturbances Φ A (x A ,y A ) in points (x A ,y A ), the deviations ΔZ A of first plane surface (A) in the Z A direction from a mathematical plane, can be computed with the equation 2×2 πΔz.",
"sub.",
"A (x.",
"sub.",
"A,Y.",
"sub.",
"A)/λ=Φ.",
"sub.",
"A (x.",
"sub.",
"A,y.",
"sub.",
"A) when wavelength λ of the laser (L) is known.",
"The same applies to deviations Δz B (x B ,y B ) of the second plane surface (B).",
"The square root of the sum of squares of the coefficients of one line of the weighted matrix (G) is a measurement of the statistical uncertainty with which wavefront disturbances (Φ A ) and (Φ B ) are determined.",
"Inasmuch as the weighted matrix (G) is the same for all columns of the camera sensor (K) in the y direction, the statistical uncertainty is not a function of the y value.",
"It can be demonstrated that the statistical uncertainty in the center of first plane surfaces (A) is only slightly greater than the uncertainty exhibited by all the wavefront disturbances (Φ a1 , Φ b1 , Φ b2 , Φ b3 , Φ c1 , Φ c2 , Φ c3 ) in the center of the first plane surfaces (A).",
"This uncertainty increases slightly at either end of the measuring range in the ±x A direction.",
"It can be demonstrated that substantial statistical errors are caused by uncertainties attributable to the wavefront disturbance Φ a of the empty interferometer.",
"These errors can be reduced considerably by repeated measurement of the wavefront disturbance Φ a .",
"Because of the symmetrical arrangement of the invention, the statistical uncertainty just discussed above applies equally to both first plane surface (A) and second plane surface (B).",
"By using the above-disclosed equation system [8], 4.",
"m -2 unknowns for the wavefront disturbances of both plane surfaces (A,B) are computed for each column of camera sensor (K) in the y direction.",
"A total of 6.",
"m equations are available, i.e., the equation system is redundant.",
"On the other hand, the solutions so far do not yet take into account a possible tilting of the plane surfaces (A,B) during shifting.",
"Such tilting, however, would result in inaccurate measuring results.",
"Therefore, the same analysis is carried out once again;",
"however, now only the wavefront disturbances ΔΦ b2 , ΔΦ b3 , ΔΦ c2 , ΔΦ c3 are used for analysis.",
"If this second analysis provides different wavefront disturbances Φ A2 (x A , y A ) or Φ B2 (x B , y B ), tilting or length changes of the measuring-beam path (M) have occurred.",
"The latter can be computed from the differences Φ A (x A , y A )-Φ A2 (x A , y A ) and Φ B (x B , y.sub.",
"B)-Φ B2 (x B , y B ), respectively, where these differences must disappear when suitable tilting or length changes are taken into consideration.",
"Each of the equations [2] to [7] may have added to the left side an additional phase surface to be determined in the form of a plane equation r i x+s i y+t i , where the index i identifies the respective phase surface corresponding to each respective equation [2] through [7].",
"It should be understood that the coefficients s 2 , s 5 , t 2 and t 5 can be selected freely;",
"that all remaining coefficients can be clearly determined mathematically;",
"and that, due to the symmetry discussed above, a few coefficients are equal or have the same value with opposite signs.",
"FIG. 2 shows a second preferred embodiment of apparatus for carrying out the inventor's method for absolute testing of plane surfaces.",
"This second embodiment essentially comprises a Fizeau interferometer.",
"Most of the components in this embodiment correspond to similar components illustrated in FIGS. 1a to 1e.",
"Therefore, these similar components are identified with the same reference letters and numbers, accompanied by the additional index "6".",
"As different from a Michelson interferometer, the paths of the measuring beam and the reference beam in a Fizeau interferometer have a common range (G 6 ).",
"The reference-beam reflector (I 6 ) is partially reflecting and has the shape of a wedge.",
"A spatial frequency filter (F 6 ) is provided in front of the camera sensor (K 6 ) to filter out light reflected by the front surface (I 6v ) of reflector (I 6 ).",
"The measuring process is analogous to that described in conjunction with FIGS. 1a to 1e.",
"The topography of the plane surfaces (A 6 , B 6 ) can be represented by a graph on a monitor (MO 6 ) after having been analyzed by a computer (R 6 ).",
"FIG. 2 shows the first plane surface (A 6 ) having an incident angle (α 6 ), and the second plane surface (B 6 ) having an incident angle (β 6 ), in the path of the measuring beam (M 6 ).",
"These two plane surfaces (A 6 , B 6 ) as well as the interferometer reflector (H 6 ) are each fixed to respective mounting units (P A , P B , P H ).",
"Fixed to base plate (Bp 6 ) are a plurality of T-shaped tracks (J 61 , J 62 , J 63 , J 64 ) each of which is provided with respective grooves (N 61 , N 62 , N 63 , N 64 ).",
"Spheres (not illustrated) fixed to the underside of mounting units (P A , P B , P H ) can be releasably and alternatively engaged with said grooves (N 61 -N 64 ) to provide each plane surface (A,B) and reflector (H 6 ) with respective three-point supports that assure stability and reproducibly accurate positioning.",
"(NOTE: Appropriate tracks are provided also beneath the reflector mounts (P A , P B , P H ) in the positions as illustrated;",
"however, they are hidden by the reflector mounts (P A , P B , P H ) and hence are not shown.) In order to interchange the incident angles (α 6 , β 6 ), the reflector mount (P A ) supporting the first plane surface (A 6 ) is moved to track (J 61 ) and reflector mount (P B ), which supports the second plane surface (B 6 ), is placed on track (J 64 ).",
"The reflector mount (P H ) supporting the interferometer reflector (H 6 ) is also moved, being placed on track (J 63 ).",
"In order to measure the wavefront disturbance of the empty interferometer, both plane surfaces (A 6 , B 6 ) are removed from the interferometer's measuring-beam path, and reflector (H 6 ) is placed on track (J 62 ).",
"Each of the reflector mounts (P A , P B ) for both plane surfaces (A 6 , B 6 ) is provided with a micrometer screw (M A , M B ) which permits shifting each plane surface (A 6 , B 6 ) in the drawing plane and parallel to its respective plane surface (A 6 , B 6 ).",
"After both plane surfaces (A 6 , B 6 ) have been tested absolutely, the interferometer may be calibrated by inserting one of the two plane surfaces (A 6 , B 6 ) in place of measuring-beam reflector (H 6 ).",
"However, when using the Fizeau-interferometer embodiment, such calibration may be a problem in that the plane surfaces (A 6 , B 6 ) being tested require the highest possible reflection coefficent to assure that high-contrast interferograms will be recorded.",
"Also, for the same reason, the interferometer reflector (H 6 ) should have only a low reflection coefficient.",
"This problem can be solved if the second plane surface (B 6 ) is divided into alternating opaque and reflective bars.",
"The reflective bars should be wider than the opaque bars.",
"For absolute testing, the plane surface (B 6 ) is tested in the zero order of diffraction.",
"It will exhibit a high reflection coefficient.",
"In order to calibrate the interferometer, when plane surface (B 6 ) replaces interferometer reflector (H 6 ), it is arranged on a pivot in such a manner that light reflected in the ± first order of diffraction passes through the spatial frequency filter (F 6 ).",
"The reflection coefficient of the ± first order of diffraction is considerably lower than the reflection coefficient of the zero order of diffraction.",
"Wavefront disturbances caused by dividing errors can be eliminated in that a first measurement is carried out in the + first order of diffraction and a second measurement in the - first order of diffraction.",
"FIGS. 1a to 1c and FIG. 2 show light paths arranged in such a manner that symmetrical testing conditions exist for both plane surfaces (A, B, A 6 , B 6 ).",
"In case symmetrical testing conditions are not desired, the interferometer reflector (H, H 6 ) may be provided as close to the second plane surface (B, B 6 ) as possible.",
"A telescope, which may be inserted between the beam splitter (S, S 6 ) and the camera sensor (K, K 6 ), can be used to generate an image of the second plane surface (B, B 6 ) on camera sensor (K, K 6 ) in order to test said second plane surface (B, B 6 ) with greater precision."
] |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This present application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/925,834, filed Jan. 10, 2014, entitled “ANATOMICALLY CORRECT GAME CALL,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field of the Disclosure
[0003] The embodiments described herein relate to a game call that is man-made, but anatomically correct. The game call may include structures that mimic actual anatomic features found in actual mammal or bird species. The call is designed to produce a more natural call.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Current game calls are designed to mimic the sound or call of a particular animal usually a mammal or bird. Present game calls are designed for amplification purposes only and the call itself cannot duplicate the pitch and/or tone made by the specific species the call is designed for. Instead, current game calls rely on the skill and knowledge of the caller to attempt to adequately mimic the sound of a desired animal.
[0006] Present game calls are not anatomically correct. Game calls that appear to mimic the anatomical structure of an animal do not include the correct inner anatomy of the mouth and nose of an animal. The lack of correct inner anatomy of the mouth, nose, and/or throat may lead to a call that is inauthentic and/or lacks the proper tone and/or pitch. Animals resonate sound by pushing air from their lungs, which passes the trachea, vocal chords, and exits through the mouth and nasal passageways. A game call that does not include the accurate structure of the mouth, nasal passageways, and trachea opening simply cannot create an authentic sound of the desired animal, which may be a mammal or a bird.
SUMMARY
[0007] The present disclosure is directed to a game call that overcomes some of the problems and disadvantages discussed above.
[0008] One embodiment is a mouth operated game call comprising a body, a cavity within the body, and a single opening at a first end of the body, the single opening at the first end in communication with the cavity. The call comprises a mouth piece connected to the first end of the body, a bore in the mouth piece in communication with the cavity within the body. The call includes an opening at a second end of the body, the opening at the second end in communication with the cavity. The call includes a first aperture in the body in communication with the cavity and a second aperture in the body in communication with the cavity, the first and second apertures being located closed to the second end of the body than the first end of the body.
[0009] The first and second apertures of the call may be in communication with the cavity via an internal passage within the body and an internal opening. The call may include a longitudinal upstanding structure within the cavity, at least a portion of the upstanding structure being positioned adjacent the opening at the second end. The longitudinal upstanding structure may be shaped to mimic a tongue. The entire length of the upstanding structure may be integral with the body. The body of the call at the second end may include an upper portion and a lower portion that are separated by the second opening. The call may include a plurality of ridges on the upper portion. The ridges on the upper portion may be positioned at the outer edges of the upper portion. The cavity of the body may have a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion, the first portion being a bore having a first diameter, the second portion being a bore having a second diameter that differs from the first diameter, and the third portion that separates the body at the second end into an upper portion and a lower portion. The body may be comprised of plastic. The call may include a reed connected to the mouth piece.
[0010] One embodiment is a mouth operated game call comprising a body, a cavity within the body, and a single opening at a first end of the body, the single opening at the first end in communication with the cavity. The call includes an opening at a second end of the body, the opening at the second end in communication with the cavity. The call includes a first and second aperture in the body in communication with the cavity, the first and second apertures being located closer to the second end of the body than the first end of the body.
[0011] The call may include a longitudinal upstanding structure within the cavity, at least a portion of the upstanding structure being positioned adjacent the opening at the second end. The longitudinal structure may be shaped to mimic a tongue. The entire length of the upstanding structure may be integral with the body. The body at the second end may comprise an upper portion and a lower portion separated by the second opening. The first and second apertures may be in communication with the cavity via a third opening in the upper portion. The call may include a passage within the upper portion of the body that connects the third opening with the first and second aperture, the passage being separate from the cavity of the body. The call may include a structure that divides the passage into a first portion connected to the first aperture and a second portion connected to the second aperture. The call may include a plurality of ridges on the upper portion. The upper portion of the call may include a first set of protrusions on an outer edge within the cavity and a second set of protrusions on an outer edge within the cavity opposite the first set of protrusions. The lower portion of the call may include a first set of protrusions positioned adjacent the second end of the body. The opening at the first end of the body may have a smaller diameter than the opening at the second end of the body. The body may be comprised of plastic. A portion of the exterior of the body may include a camouflage pattern. The call may include a reed positioned adjacent the single opening at the first end of the body.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 shows a side view of one embodiment of a game call.
[0013] FIG. 2 shows a top view of one embodiment of a game call.
[0014] FIG. 3 shows a bottom view of one embodiment of a game call.
[0015] FIG. 4 shows an interior view of an upper portion of one embodiment of a game call.
[0016] FIG. 5 shows an interior view of a lower portion of one embodiment of a game call.
[0017] FIG. 6 shows a side view of one embodiment of a game call.
[0018] FIG. 7 shows a bottom view of one embodiment of a game call.
[0019] FIG. 8 shows a top view of one embodiment of a game call.
[0020] FIG. 9 shows an interior view of an upper portion of one embodiment of a game call.
[0021] FIG. 10 shows an interior view of a lower portion of one embodiment of a game call.
[0022] FIG. 11 shows a side view of one embodiment of a game call.
[0023] FIG. 12 shows a top view of one embodiment of a game call.
[0024] FIG. 13 shows a bottom view of one embodiment of a game call.
[0025] FIG. 14 shows an interior view of an upper portion of one embodiment of a game call.
[0026] FIG. 15 shows an interior view of a lower portion of one embodiment of a game call.
[0027] FIG. 16 shows an embodiment of a reed system that may be used in with a game call.
[0028] FIG. 17 shows an embodiment of a reed system that may be used in with a game call.
[0029] While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0030] The game call of the present disclosure may be hand cast, sculpted, and measured off an actual animal, such as a mammal or bird. The game call may include the structures that mimic anatomical structures of the upper and lower jaw, external and internal mouth, gingiva or gums, external and internal nose, trachea, epiglottis, and/or nasal pharynx. The game call may include the structures that mimic actual anatomical structures of the animal including lips, tongue, pharynx, oropharynx, oral mucosa, laryngeal pharynx, soft and/or hard palate, teeth, nasal cavities and passages, sinuses, septum, nasal airway, and/or the junction of the nasal passage to the trachea. The exterior of the game call may include sculpting of the nose pad and surrounding tissue, muzzle and/or bone structure and muscle, and the upper and lower jaw. The inner mouth and/or inner nasal areas may include flocking and/or soft membranes for sound dampening, acoustics, and/or vibration. The mouth opening may be modeled to be accurate according to the specified animal, such as a mammal or bird. The exterior of the game call may be camouflaged to help conceal the device and/or may be colored to match the coloring of a specified animal. The game call may include an adjustable epiglottis/trachea device mechanism may be located rearward of the trachea and tongue or nasal junction to add back pressure, which may cause the need of less air to produce accurate pitch and/or tone to reproduce an accurate sound. The game call may be modeled with accurate anatomical details of a specified animal. The anatomical structures may create a sound that is more authentic with the appropriate pitch and/or tone of the sound typically produced by the animal.
[0031] FIG. 1 shows a side view of one embodiment of a game call 200 , which may be anatomically correct for water fowl, such as a goose. The call 200 includes a body portion 100 that roughly corresponds to a head portion of the water fowl connected to a mouth piece 120 . The mouth piece 120 includes a bore that is in communication with a cavity within the interior of the body 100 . The mouth piece 120 may use a reed system, such as shown in FIG. 16 and/or FIG. 17 . A user may blow through the mouth piece 120 connected to the body 100 to create a sound that mimics the actual sound made from the desired water fowl, such as a goose. The body 100 includes a first opening 30 (shown in FIG. 4-5 ) at a first end of the body 100 and a second opening 20 as a second end of the body 100 .
[0032] The game call 200 includes structures that mimic the anatomical features of the animal that the call 200 is designed to replicate the sound of. For example, the call 200 , in particular the body 100 portion of the call 200 , may include apertures 10 in an upper portion 5 of the body 100 that affect the sound produced when air is blown through the call 200 via the mouth piece 120 . The body 100 may also include an upstanding structure 25 that affects the sound produced. The upstanding structure 25 may be a longitudinal structure that is positioned adjacent the second end of the body 100 . The structure 25 may mimic a tongue of a desired animal. The structure 25 may be integral to the body 100 unlike an actual tongue of an animal. In other words, the structure 25 may be integral or connected to the body 100 along its entire length. The body 100 may include a series of grooves 40 adjacent the second opening 20 . The grooves 40 may affect the sound produced by the call 200 . The grooves 40 may mimic teeth plates present in water fowl.
[0033] FIG. 2 shows a top view of a portion of a call 200 . The body 100 of the call 200 may include at least two apertures 10 that are in communication with the cavity within the body 100 . The upper portion 5 may include an end structure 45 that mimics the bean found on a beak of a water fowl, which may affect the sound produced by the call 200 . FIG. 3 shows a bottom view of the lower portion 15 of the body 100 of the call 200 . The call 200 may be formed by various mechanisms to form a call that mimics the anatomical structure of an animal as discussed herein. The call 200 may be formed of various plastics or other materials that would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. For example, the call 200 may be comprised of polystyrene, glass-filled nylon, or other various plastics.
[0034] FIG. 5 shows an interior view of the lower portion 15 of the body 100 with the mouth piece 120 removed. Likewise, FIG. 4 shows an interior view of the upper portion 5 of the body 100 with the mouth piece 120 removed. The upper and lower portions 5 and 15 form an interior cavity through which a user may blow through to produce a sound of a desire animal. The interior portions of the body 100 may be configured to include various structures that mimic anatomical features of a desired animal so that the call 200 produces an authentic sound. The cavity may include a first portion 31 adjacent the first opening 30 , a second portion 32 , and a third portion 33 . The first and second portions 31 and 32 are generally enclosed by the body 100 and may have different diameters. The diameter of the first portion 31 may be smaller than the diameter of the second portion 32 . As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , each of the portions 31 and 32 may not have a constant diameter. The third portion 33 of the cavity may be positioned adjacent the second opening 20 , which may correspond to the mouth of the specified animal. Thus, the third portion 33 of the cavity may not be entirely enclosed, but rather be open to the exterior by gaps between the upper and lower portions 5 and 15 .
[0035] The upper and lower portions 5 and 15 may include grooves 40 that affect the sound produced by the call 200 . The grooves 40 may be positioned to mimic teeth plates of a water fowl, such as a goose. The lower portion 15 may include a longitudinal upstanding structure 25 that extends from the body 100 toward the cavity. The structure 25 may mimic a tongue of an animal except that it is integrally formed or connected to the lower portion 15 along its entire length. The interior of the upper portion 5 of the body 100 may include various features 11 , 50 , and 55 that may affect the sound as air is blown through the body 100 . For example, the features 50 and 55 may mimic various hard palate details such as a salivary gland and feature 11 may mimic a nasal junction. The body 100 may include internal passage(s) 12 as shown in FIG. 2 that connects internal feature 11 with external apertures 5 in the upper portion 5 of the body 100 . A reed (shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 ) may help the user in combination with the anatomically correct head portion 100 to reproduce an authentic water fowl sound.
[0036] FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of a call 300 . The call could be configured to produce a sound that mimics various animals. For example, the call could be used to mimic the sound of various big game animals such as deer, elk, moose, antelope, etc. The call 300 includes an upper portion 305 a and a lower portion 305 b that from a cavity within the call 300 . The call 300 may be formed by joining the two portions 305 a and 305 b together or the call 300 may be formed with the two portions being integrated into a single call 300 . The call has a first end 310 through which a user will blow and a second end 320 . The first end 310 includes a first opening 315 , which may mimic the size and/or shape of the trachea of a desired animal for the call 300 to replicate the sound of. The second end 320 includes a second opening 325 from which the produced sound will be projected from. The second opening may replicate the mouth opening of an animal. A portion of the exterior of the call 300 may include a color or pattern, such as camouflaged pattern 301 as shown in FIG. 6 , which may prevent the visual detection of the call 300 by wildlife. The camouflage pattern 301 may cover the entire exterior of the call 300 or only a portion of the call 300 as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
[0037] FIG. 7 shows a bottom view of the lower portion 305 b of the call 300 and FIG. 8 shows a top view of the call 300 . The call may include a third opening 340 (shown in FIG. 9 ) in the interior that provides communication between the cavity within the call and a passage 341 in the upper portion 305 a of the call. The passage 341 connects the third opening 340 with apertures 335 on the exterior of the upper portion 305 a of the call 300 . The passage 341 may include a structure 344 that divides the passage 341 into two portions 343 with each portion being connected to a single aperture 335 on the exterior of the upper portion 305 a of the call 300 . The second end 320 of the upper portion 305 a of the call 300 may include a structure 345 adjacent to the exterior apertures 335 , which may affect the sound produced by the call 300 . The structure 345 may mimic the nose pad of an animal, which could be soft and/or comprised of flocking. The passage 341 in the call 300 may mimic a sinus or nasal passageway of an animal and the apertures 335 may mimic nostril openings of an animal.
[0038] The third opening 340 (shown in FIG. 9 ) on the interior of the call 300 may be positioned within a first portion 316 (shown in FIG. 10 ) of the cavity of the call 300 . The interior of the call 300 may include structures 346 adjacent to the third opening 340 that mimic epiglottis of an animal. The first portion 316 may be adjacent to the first opening 315 . The upper portion 305 a of the call 300 may include a junction 385 between the first portion 316 and the second portion 317 (shown in FIG. 10 ) of the cavity that mimics the soft palate of an animal. The call 300 may include a second portion 317 of the cavity that has a larger diameter than the first portion 316 . The interior of the upper portion 305 a of the call 300 may include a plurality of ridges 390 that affect the sound produce by the call 300 when a user blows through the first opening 315 . The ridges 390 may be transverse ridges that mimic palatine ridges of an animal. The upper portion 305 a of the call 300 may include a structure 395 that mimics the hard palate of an animal. A portion of the upper portion 305 a that corresponds to the second portion 317 of the cavity may include a structure that mimics the hard palate of an animal. The upper portion 305 a may include a plurality of projections 373 located along the edge of the cavity that affect the sound of the call 300 . The second end 320 of the upper portion 305 a may include various structures 374 - 376 and 380 that mimic various structures on the upper portion of the mouth of an animal that may affect the sound of the call 300 . For example, the structures 374 - 376 and 380 may mimic a lip, incisive papilla, a cheek papilla, and/or a pad, which may be soft and/or comprised of a soft material such as rubber. The game call may include an adjustable epiglottis/trachea device mechanism 313 located in the first portion 316 of the cavity to add back pressure, which may cause the need of less air to produce accurate pitch and/or tone to reproduce an accurate sound.
[0039] The upper portion 305 a may include a plurality of projections 371 and 372 along the edge of the cavity that affect the sound as air is blown through the call. The projections 371 and 372 may mimic the size, shape, and/or location of molars and premolars of an animal. The lower portion 305 b may include a plurality of projections 370 located at the second end 320 of the call 300 that affect the sound of the call 300 . The plurality of projections 370 may mimic incisors of an animal. The second end 320 of the lower portion 305 b may include various structures 350 , 355 , and 360 that mimic various structures on the lower portion of the mouth of an animal that may affect the sound of the call 300 . For example, the structures 350 , 355 , and 360 may mimic a cheek papilla, gingiva, and/or a lip. The interior of the lower portion 305 b of the call 300 may include a longitudinal upstanding structure 330 location in a third portion 318 of the cavity. The structure 330 may affect the sound of the call. The structure 330 may mimic the tongue of an animal except that the structure 330 is integral and/or connected to the lower portion 305 a along its entire length. The user may use a reed (shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 ) and/or a mouth piece in connection with the tracheal opening 315 . Alternatively, the user may simply blow through the tracheal opening 315 to reproduce an authentic elk, or other animal, sound.
[0040] FIG. 11 shows a side view of one embodiment 600 of a game call, which may be anatomically correct for water fowl, such as a duck. The call 600 includes a body portion 500 that roughly corresponds to a head portion of the water fowl connected to a mouth piece 520 . The mouth piece 520 includes a bore that is in communication with a cavity within the interior of the body 500 . A user may blow through the mouth piece 520 connected to the body 500 to create a sound that mimics the actual sound made from the desired water fowl, which in this case may be a duck. The body 500 includes a first opening 430 (shown in FIG. 14-15 ) at a first end of the body 500 and a second opening 420 as a second end of the body 500 .
[0041] In the embodiment of the game call 600 shown in FIGS. 11-15 , the body 500 includes structures that mimic the anatomical features of a duck that are designed to replicate the sound of a duck. For example, the call 600 , in particular the body 500 portion of the call 600 , may include apertures 410 in an upper portion 405 of the body 500 that affect the sound produced when air is blown through the call 600 via the mouth piece 520 . The body 500 may also include an upstanding structure 425 that affects the sound produced. The upstanding structure 425 may be a longitudinal structure that is positioned adjacent the second end of the body 500 . The structure 425 may mimic a duck tongue. However, the structure 425 may be integral or connected to the body 500 along its entire length thus differing from an actual tongue of a duck. The body 500 may include a series of grooves 440 adjacent the second opening 420 . The grooves 440 may affect the sound produced by the call 600 . The grooves 440 may mimic teeth plates present in a duck.
[0042] FIG. 12 shows a top view of a portion of a call 600 . The body 500 of the call 600 may include at least two apertures 410 that are in communication with the cavity within the body 500 . The two external apertures 410 may be in communication with the cavity via an internal passage(s) 412 and an internal opening 411 (shown in FIG. 14 ). The upper portion 405 may include an end structure 445 that mimics the bean found on a beak of a duck, which may affect the sound produced by the call 600 . FIG. 13 shows a bottom view of the lower portion 415 of the body 500 of the call 600 . The call 600 may be formed by various mechanisms to form a call 600 that mimics the anatomical structure of a duck, as discussed herein. The call 600 may be formed of various plastics or other materials that would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
[0043] FIG. 15 shows an interior view of the lower portion 415 of the body 500 with the mouth piece 520 removed. Likewise, FIG. 14 shows an interior view of the upper portion 405 of the body 500 with the mouth piece 520 removed. The upper and lower portions 405 and 415 form an interior cavity through which a user may blow through to produce a sound of a desire animal, such as a duck. The interior portions of the body 500 may be configured to include various structures that mimic anatomical features of a duck so that the call 600 produces an authentic sound. The cavity may include a first portion 431 adjacent the first opening 430 , a second portion 432 , and a third portion 433 . The first and second portions 431 and 432 are generally enclosed by the body 500 and may have different diameters. The diameter of the first portion 431 may be smaller than the diameter of the second portion 432 . As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 , each of the portions 431 and 432 may not have a constant diameter. The third portion 433 of the cavity may be positioned adjacent the second opening 420 , which may generally correspond to the mouth of a duck. Thus, the third portion 433 of the cavity may not be entirely enclosed, but rather be open to the exterior by gaps between the upper and lower portions 405 and 415 of the body 500 .
[0044] The upper and lower portions 405 and 415 may include grooves 440 that affect the sound produced by the call 600 . The grooves 440 may be positioned and/or configured to mimic teeth plates of a duck. The lower portion 415 may include a longitudinal upstanding structure 425 that extends from the body 500 into the cavity. The structure 425 may mimic a tongue of a duck except that it is connected to the lower portion 415 of the body 500 along its entire length. The interior of the upper portion 405 of the body 500 may include various features 411 , 450 , and 455 that may affect the sound as air is blown through the body 500 . For example, the features 450 and 455 may mimic various hard palate details such as a salivary gland and feature 411 may mimic a nasal junction.
[0045] FIG. 16 shows one embodiment of a reed system 700 that may be used with a game call 200 , 300 , or 600 . The reed system 700 includes a mouth piece 720 and a reed 710 . Reed adjustment adapters 730 are positioned adjacent the reed 710 and may be used to change the position and thus, the sound produced by the reed 710 in combination with the mouth piece 720 and a game call 200 , 300 , or 600 . The mouth piece 720 may be used in place of the mouth pieces 120 and/or 520 discussed herein.
[0046] FIG. 17 shows one embodiment of a reed system 800 that may be used with a game call 200 , 300 , or 600 . The reed system 800 includes a mouth piece 820 and a reed 810 . Reed adjustment adapters 830 are positioned adjacent the reed 810 and may be used to change the position and thus, the sound produced by the reed 810 in combination with the mouth piece 820 and a game call 200 , 300 , or 600 . The mouth piece 820 may be used in place of the mouth pieces 120 and/or 520 discussed herein.
[0047] Although this invention has been described in terms of certain preferred embodiments, other embodiments that are apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, including embodiments that do not provide all of the features and advantages set forth herein, are also within the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined only by reference to the appended claims and equivalents thereof. | A game call for the producing of sounds that mimic animal sounds better than conventional game calls. The call may include various structures of that mimic or correspond to various features found in the mouth, nasal passageways, and/or trachea opening of an animal. The body of the call may be connected to a mouth piece to enable a user to provide a sound by blowing air through the call. | Briefly summarize the main idea's components and working principles as described in the context. | [
"CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This present application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/925,834, filed Jan. 10, 2014, entitled “ANATOMICALLY CORRECT GAME CALL,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.",
"BACKGROUND [0002] 1.",
"Field of the Disclosure [0003] The embodiments described herein relate to a game call that is man-made, but anatomically correct.",
"The game call may include structures that mimic actual anatomic features found in actual mammal or bird species.",
"The call is designed to produce a more natural call.",
"[0004] 2.",
"Description of the Related Art [0005] Current game calls are designed to mimic the sound or call of a particular animal usually a mammal or bird.",
"Present game calls are designed for amplification purposes only and the call itself cannot duplicate the pitch and/or tone made by the specific species the call is designed for.",
"Instead, current game calls rely on the skill and knowledge of the caller to attempt to adequately mimic the sound of a desired animal.",
"[0006] Present game calls are not anatomically correct.",
"Game calls that appear to mimic the anatomical structure of an animal do not include the correct inner anatomy of the mouth and nose of an animal.",
"The lack of correct inner anatomy of the mouth, nose, and/or throat may lead to a call that is inauthentic and/or lacks the proper tone and/or pitch.",
"Animals resonate sound by pushing air from their lungs, which passes the trachea, vocal chords, and exits through the mouth and nasal passageways.",
"A game call that does not include the accurate structure of the mouth, nasal passageways, and trachea opening simply cannot create an authentic sound of the desired animal, which may be a mammal or a bird.",
"SUMMARY [0007] The present disclosure is directed to a game call that overcomes some of the problems and disadvantages discussed above.",
"[0008] One embodiment is a mouth operated game call comprising a body, a cavity within the body, and a single opening at a first end of the body, the single opening at the first end in communication with the cavity.",
"The call comprises a mouth piece connected to the first end of the body, a bore in the mouth piece in communication with the cavity within the body.",
"The call includes an opening at a second end of the body, the opening at the second end in communication with the cavity.",
"The call includes a first aperture in the body in communication with the cavity and a second aperture in the body in communication with the cavity, the first and second apertures being located closed to the second end of the body than the first end of the body.",
"[0009] The first and second apertures of the call may be in communication with the cavity via an internal passage within the body and an internal opening.",
"The call may include a longitudinal upstanding structure within the cavity, at least a portion of the upstanding structure being positioned adjacent the opening at the second end.",
"The longitudinal upstanding structure may be shaped to mimic a tongue.",
"The entire length of the upstanding structure may be integral with the body.",
"The body of the call at the second end may include an upper portion and a lower portion that are separated by the second opening.",
"The call may include a plurality of ridges on the upper portion.",
"The ridges on the upper portion may be positioned at the outer edges of the upper portion.",
"The cavity of the body may have a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion, the first portion being a bore having a first diameter, the second portion being a bore having a second diameter that differs from the first diameter, and the third portion that separates the body at the second end into an upper portion and a lower portion.",
"The body may be comprised of plastic.",
"The call may include a reed connected to the mouth piece.",
"[0010] One embodiment is a mouth operated game call comprising a body, a cavity within the body, and a single opening at a first end of the body, the single opening at the first end in communication with the cavity.",
"The call includes an opening at a second end of the body, the opening at the second end in communication with the cavity.",
"The call includes a first and second aperture in the body in communication with the cavity, the first and second apertures being located closer to the second end of the body than the first end of the body.",
"[0011] The call may include a longitudinal upstanding structure within the cavity, at least a portion of the upstanding structure being positioned adjacent the opening at the second end.",
"The longitudinal structure may be shaped to mimic a tongue.",
"The entire length of the upstanding structure may be integral with the body.",
"The body at the second end may comprise an upper portion and a lower portion separated by the second opening.",
"The first and second apertures may be in communication with the cavity via a third opening in the upper portion.",
"The call may include a passage within the upper portion of the body that connects the third opening with the first and second aperture, the passage being separate from the cavity of the body.",
"The call may include a structure that divides the passage into a first portion connected to the first aperture and a second portion connected to the second aperture.",
"The call may include a plurality of ridges on the upper portion.",
"The upper portion of the call may include a first set of protrusions on an outer edge within the cavity and a second set of protrusions on an outer edge within the cavity opposite the first set of protrusions.",
"The lower portion of the call may include a first set of protrusions positioned adjacent the second end of the body.",
"The opening at the first end of the body may have a smaller diameter than the opening at the second end of the body.",
"The body may be comprised of plastic.",
"A portion of the exterior of the body may include a camouflage pattern.",
"The call may include a reed positioned adjacent the single opening at the first end of the body.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0012] FIG. 1 shows a side view of one embodiment of a game call.",
"[0013] FIG. 2 shows a top view of one embodiment of a game call.",
"[0014] FIG. 3 shows a bottom view of one embodiment of a game call.",
"[0015] FIG. 4 shows an interior view of an upper portion of one embodiment of a game call.",
"[0016] FIG. 5 shows an interior view of a lower portion of one embodiment of a game call.",
"[0017] FIG. 6 shows a side view of one embodiment of a game call.",
"[0018] FIG. 7 shows a bottom view of one embodiment of a game call.",
"[0019] FIG. 8 shows a top view of one embodiment of a game call.",
"[0020] FIG. 9 shows an interior view of an upper portion of one embodiment of a game call.",
"[0021] FIG. 10 shows an interior view of a lower portion of one embodiment of a game call.",
"[0022] FIG. 11 shows a side view of one embodiment of a game call.",
"[0023] FIG. 12 shows a top view of one embodiment of a game call.",
"[0024] FIG. 13 shows a bottom view of one embodiment of a game call.",
"[0025] FIG. 14 shows an interior view of an upper portion of one embodiment of a game call.",
"[0026] FIG. 15 shows an interior view of a lower portion of one embodiment of a game call.",
"[0027] FIG. 16 shows an embodiment of a reed system that may be used in with a game call.",
"[0028] FIG. 17 shows an embodiment of a reed system that may be used in with a game call.",
"[0029] While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein.",
"However, it should be understood that the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed.",
"Rather, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0030] The game call of the present disclosure may be hand cast, sculpted, and measured off an actual animal, such as a mammal or bird.",
"The game call may include the structures that mimic anatomical structures of the upper and lower jaw, external and internal mouth, gingiva or gums, external and internal nose, trachea, epiglottis, and/or nasal pharynx.",
"The game call may include the structures that mimic actual anatomical structures of the animal including lips, tongue, pharynx, oropharynx, oral mucosa, laryngeal pharynx, soft and/or hard palate, teeth, nasal cavities and passages, sinuses, septum, nasal airway, and/or the junction of the nasal passage to the trachea.",
"The exterior of the game call may include sculpting of the nose pad and surrounding tissue, muzzle and/or bone structure and muscle, and the upper and lower jaw.",
"The inner mouth and/or inner nasal areas may include flocking and/or soft membranes for sound dampening, acoustics, and/or vibration.",
"The mouth opening may be modeled to be accurate according to the specified animal, such as a mammal or bird.",
"The exterior of the game call may be camouflaged to help conceal the device and/or may be colored to match the coloring of a specified animal.",
"The game call may include an adjustable epiglottis/trachea device mechanism may be located rearward of the trachea and tongue or nasal junction to add back pressure, which may cause the need of less air to produce accurate pitch and/or tone to reproduce an accurate sound.",
"The game call may be modeled with accurate anatomical details of a specified animal.",
"The anatomical structures may create a sound that is more authentic with the appropriate pitch and/or tone of the sound typically produced by the animal.",
"[0031] FIG. 1 shows a side view of one embodiment of a game call 200 , which may be anatomically correct for water fowl, such as a goose.",
"The call 200 includes a body portion 100 that roughly corresponds to a head portion of the water fowl connected to a mouth piece 120 .",
"The mouth piece 120 includes a bore that is in communication with a cavity within the interior of the body 100 .",
"The mouth piece 120 may use a reed system, such as shown in FIG. 16 and/or FIG. 17 .",
"A user may blow through the mouth piece 120 connected to the body 100 to create a sound that mimics the actual sound made from the desired water fowl, such as a goose.",
"The body 100 includes a first opening 30 (shown in FIG. 4-5 ) at a first end of the body 100 and a second opening 20 as a second end of the body 100 .",
"[0032] The game call 200 includes structures that mimic the anatomical features of the animal that the call 200 is designed to replicate the sound of.",
"For example, the call 200 , in particular the body 100 portion of the call 200 , may include apertures 10 in an upper portion 5 of the body 100 that affect the sound produced when air is blown through the call 200 via the mouth piece 120 .",
"The body 100 may also include an upstanding structure 25 that affects the sound produced.",
"The upstanding structure 25 may be a longitudinal structure that is positioned adjacent the second end of the body 100 .",
"The structure 25 may mimic a tongue of a desired animal.",
"The structure 25 may be integral to the body 100 unlike an actual tongue of an animal.",
"In other words, the structure 25 may be integral or connected to the body 100 along its entire length.",
"The body 100 may include a series of grooves 40 adjacent the second opening 20 .",
"The grooves 40 may affect the sound produced by the call 200 .",
"The grooves 40 may mimic teeth plates present in water fowl.",
"[0033] FIG. 2 shows a top view of a portion of a call 200 .",
"The body 100 of the call 200 may include at least two apertures 10 that are in communication with the cavity within the body 100 .",
"The upper portion 5 may include an end structure 45 that mimics the bean found on a beak of a water fowl, which may affect the sound produced by the call 200 .",
"FIG. 3 shows a bottom view of the lower portion 15 of the body 100 of the call 200 .",
"The call 200 may be formed by various mechanisms to form a call that mimics the anatomical structure of an animal as discussed herein.",
"The call 200 may be formed of various plastics or other materials that would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.",
"For example, the call 200 may be comprised of polystyrene, glass-filled nylon, or other various plastics.",
"[0034] FIG. 5 shows an interior view of the lower portion 15 of the body 100 with the mouth piece 120 removed.",
"Likewise, FIG. 4 shows an interior view of the upper portion 5 of the body 100 with the mouth piece 120 removed.",
"The upper and lower portions 5 and 15 form an interior cavity through which a user may blow through to produce a sound of a desire animal.",
"The interior portions of the body 100 may be configured to include various structures that mimic anatomical features of a desired animal so that the call 200 produces an authentic sound.",
"The cavity may include a first portion 31 adjacent the first opening 30 , a second portion 32 , and a third portion 33 .",
"The first and second portions 31 and 32 are generally enclosed by the body 100 and may have different diameters.",
"The diameter of the first portion 31 may be smaller than the diameter of the second portion 32 .",
"As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , each of the portions 31 and 32 may not have a constant diameter.",
"The third portion 33 of the cavity may be positioned adjacent the second opening 20 , which may correspond to the mouth of the specified animal.",
"Thus, the third portion 33 of the cavity may not be entirely enclosed, but rather be open to the exterior by gaps between the upper and lower portions 5 and 15 .",
"[0035] The upper and lower portions 5 and 15 may include grooves 40 that affect the sound produced by the call 200 .",
"The grooves 40 may be positioned to mimic teeth plates of a water fowl, such as a goose.",
"The lower portion 15 may include a longitudinal upstanding structure 25 that extends from the body 100 toward the cavity.",
"The structure 25 may mimic a tongue of an animal except that it is integrally formed or connected to the lower portion 15 along its entire length.",
"The interior of the upper portion 5 of the body 100 may include various features 11 , 50 , and 55 that may affect the sound as air is blown through the body 100 .",
"For example, the features 50 and 55 may mimic various hard palate details such as a salivary gland and feature 11 may mimic a nasal junction.",
"The body 100 may include internal passage(s) 12 as shown in FIG. 2 that connects internal feature 11 with external apertures 5 in the upper portion 5 of the body 100 .",
"A reed (shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 ) may help the user in combination with the anatomically correct head portion 100 to reproduce an authentic water fowl sound.",
"[0036] FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of a call 300 .",
"The call could be configured to produce a sound that mimics various animals.",
"For example, the call could be used to mimic the sound of various big game animals such as deer, elk, moose, antelope, etc.",
"The call 300 includes an upper portion 305 a and a lower portion 305 b that from a cavity within the call 300 .",
"The call 300 may be formed by joining the two portions 305 a and 305 b together or the call 300 may be formed with the two portions being integrated into a single call 300 .",
"The call has a first end 310 through which a user will blow and a second end 320 .",
"The first end 310 includes a first opening 315 , which may mimic the size and/or shape of the trachea of a desired animal for the call 300 to replicate the sound of.",
"The second end 320 includes a second opening 325 from which the produced sound will be projected from.",
"The second opening may replicate the mouth opening of an animal.",
"A portion of the exterior of the call 300 may include a color or pattern, such as camouflaged pattern 301 as shown in FIG. 6 , which may prevent the visual detection of the call 300 by wildlife.",
"The camouflage pattern 301 may cover the entire exterior of the call 300 or only a portion of the call 300 as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.",
"[0037] FIG. 7 shows a bottom view of the lower portion 305 b of the call 300 and FIG. 8 shows a top view of the call 300 .",
"The call may include a third opening 340 (shown in FIG. 9 ) in the interior that provides communication between the cavity within the call and a passage 341 in the upper portion 305 a of the call.",
"The passage 341 connects the third opening 340 with apertures 335 on the exterior of the upper portion 305 a of the call 300 .",
"The passage 341 may include a structure 344 that divides the passage 341 into two portions 343 with each portion being connected to a single aperture 335 on the exterior of the upper portion 305 a of the call 300 .",
"The second end 320 of the upper portion 305 a of the call 300 may include a structure 345 adjacent to the exterior apertures 335 , which may affect the sound produced by the call 300 .",
"The structure 345 may mimic the nose pad of an animal, which could be soft and/or comprised of flocking.",
"The passage 341 in the call 300 may mimic a sinus or nasal passageway of an animal and the apertures 335 may mimic nostril openings of an animal.",
"[0038] The third opening 340 (shown in FIG. 9 ) on the interior of the call 300 may be positioned within a first portion 316 (shown in FIG. 10 ) of the cavity of the call 300 .",
"The interior of the call 300 may include structures 346 adjacent to the third opening 340 that mimic epiglottis of an animal.",
"The first portion 316 may be adjacent to the first opening 315 .",
"The upper portion 305 a of the call 300 may include a junction 385 between the first portion 316 and the second portion 317 (shown in FIG. 10 ) of the cavity that mimics the soft palate of an animal.",
"The call 300 may include a second portion 317 of the cavity that has a larger diameter than the first portion 316 .",
"The interior of the upper portion 305 a of the call 300 may include a plurality of ridges 390 that affect the sound produce by the call 300 when a user blows through the first opening 315 .",
"The ridges 390 may be transverse ridges that mimic palatine ridges of an animal.",
"The upper portion 305 a of the call 300 may include a structure 395 that mimics the hard palate of an animal.",
"A portion of the upper portion 305 a that corresponds to the second portion 317 of the cavity may include a structure that mimics the hard palate of an animal.",
"The upper portion 305 a may include a plurality of projections 373 located along the edge of the cavity that affect the sound of the call 300 .",
"The second end 320 of the upper portion 305 a may include various structures 374 - 376 and 380 that mimic various structures on the upper portion of the mouth of an animal that may affect the sound of the call 300 .",
"For example, the structures 374 - 376 and 380 may mimic a lip, incisive papilla, a cheek papilla, and/or a pad, which may be soft and/or comprised of a soft material such as rubber.",
"The game call may include an adjustable epiglottis/trachea device mechanism 313 located in the first portion 316 of the cavity to add back pressure, which may cause the need of less air to produce accurate pitch and/or tone to reproduce an accurate sound.",
"[0039] The upper portion 305 a may include a plurality of projections 371 and 372 along the edge of the cavity that affect the sound as air is blown through the call.",
"The projections 371 and 372 may mimic the size, shape, and/or location of molars and premolars of an animal.",
"The lower portion 305 b may include a plurality of projections 370 located at the second end 320 of the call 300 that affect the sound of the call 300 .",
"The plurality of projections 370 may mimic incisors of an animal.",
"The second end 320 of the lower portion 305 b may include various structures 350 , 355 , and 360 that mimic various structures on the lower portion of the mouth of an animal that may affect the sound of the call 300 .",
"For example, the structures 350 , 355 , and 360 may mimic a cheek papilla, gingiva, and/or a lip.",
"The interior of the lower portion 305 b of the call 300 may include a longitudinal upstanding structure 330 location in a third portion 318 of the cavity.",
"The structure 330 may affect the sound of the call.",
"The structure 330 may mimic the tongue of an animal except that the structure 330 is integral and/or connected to the lower portion 305 a along its entire length.",
"The user may use a reed (shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 ) and/or a mouth piece in connection with the tracheal opening 315 .",
"Alternatively, the user may simply blow through the tracheal opening 315 to reproduce an authentic elk, or other animal, sound.",
"[0040] FIG. 11 shows a side view of one embodiment 600 of a game call, which may be anatomically correct for water fowl, such as a duck.",
"The call 600 includes a body portion 500 that roughly corresponds to a head portion of the water fowl connected to a mouth piece 520 .",
"The mouth piece 520 includes a bore that is in communication with a cavity within the interior of the body 500 .",
"A user may blow through the mouth piece 520 connected to the body 500 to create a sound that mimics the actual sound made from the desired water fowl, which in this case may be a duck.",
"The body 500 includes a first opening 430 (shown in FIG. 14-15 ) at a first end of the body 500 and a second opening 420 as a second end of the body 500 .",
"[0041] In the embodiment of the game call 600 shown in FIGS. 11-15 , the body 500 includes structures that mimic the anatomical features of a duck that are designed to replicate the sound of a duck.",
"For example, the call 600 , in particular the body 500 portion of the call 600 , may include apertures 410 in an upper portion 405 of the body 500 that affect the sound produced when air is blown through the call 600 via the mouth piece 520 .",
"The body 500 may also include an upstanding structure 425 that affects the sound produced.",
"The upstanding structure 425 may be a longitudinal structure that is positioned adjacent the second end of the body 500 .",
"The structure 425 may mimic a duck tongue.",
"However, the structure 425 may be integral or connected to the body 500 along its entire length thus differing from an actual tongue of a duck.",
"The body 500 may include a series of grooves 440 adjacent the second opening 420 .",
"The grooves 440 may affect the sound produced by the call 600 .",
"The grooves 440 may mimic teeth plates present in a duck.",
"[0042] FIG. 12 shows a top view of a portion of a call 600 .",
"The body 500 of the call 600 may include at least two apertures 410 that are in communication with the cavity within the body 500 .",
"The two external apertures 410 may be in communication with the cavity via an internal passage(s) 412 and an internal opening 411 (shown in FIG. 14 ).",
"The upper portion 405 may include an end structure 445 that mimics the bean found on a beak of a duck, which may affect the sound produced by the call 600 .",
"FIG. 13 shows a bottom view of the lower portion 415 of the body 500 of the call 600 .",
"The call 600 may be formed by various mechanisms to form a call 600 that mimics the anatomical structure of a duck, as discussed herein.",
"The call 600 may be formed of various plastics or other materials that would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.",
"[0043] FIG. 15 shows an interior view of the lower portion 415 of the body 500 with the mouth piece 520 removed.",
"Likewise, FIG. 14 shows an interior view of the upper portion 405 of the body 500 with the mouth piece 520 removed.",
"The upper and lower portions 405 and 415 form an interior cavity through which a user may blow through to produce a sound of a desire animal, such as a duck.",
"The interior portions of the body 500 may be configured to include various structures that mimic anatomical features of a duck so that the call 600 produces an authentic sound.",
"The cavity may include a first portion 431 adjacent the first opening 430 , a second portion 432 , and a third portion 433 .",
"The first and second portions 431 and 432 are generally enclosed by the body 500 and may have different diameters.",
"The diameter of the first portion 431 may be smaller than the diameter of the second portion 432 .",
"As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 , each of the portions 431 and 432 may not have a constant diameter.",
"The third portion 433 of the cavity may be positioned adjacent the second opening 420 , which may generally correspond to the mouth of a duck.",
"Thus, the third portion 433 of the cavity may not be entirely enclosed, but rather be open to the exterior by gaps between the upper and lower portions 405 and 415 of the body 500 .",
"[0044] The upper and lower portions 405 and 415 may include grooves 440 that affect the sound produced by the call 600 .",
"The grooves 440 may be positioned and/or configured to mimic teeth plates of a duck.",
"The lower portion 415 may include a longitudinal upstanding structure 425 that extends from the body 500 into the cavity.",
"The structure 425 may mimic a tongue of a duck except that it is connected to the lower portion 415 of the body 500 along its entire length.",
"The interior of the upper portion 405 of the body 500 may include various features 411 , 450 , and 455 that may affect the sound as air is blown through the body 500 .",
"For example, the features 450 and 455 may mimic various hard palate details such as a salivary gland and feature 411 may mimic a nasal junction.",
"[0045] FIG. 16 shows one embodiment of a reed system 700 that may be used with a game call 200 , 300 , or 600 .",
"The reed system 700 includes a mouth piece 720 and a reed 710 .",
"Reed adjustment adapters 730 are positioned adjacent the reed 710 and may be used to change the position and thus, the sound produced by the reed 710 in combination with the mouth piece 720 and a game call 200 , 300 , or 600 .",
"The mouth piece 720 may be used in place of the mouth pieces 120 and/or 520 discussed herein.",
"[0046] FIG. 17 shows one embodiment of a reed system 800 that may be used with a game call 200 , 300 , or 600 .",
"The reed system 800 includes a mouth piece 820 and a reed 810 .",
"Reed adjustment adapters 830 are positioned adjacent the reed 810 and may be used to change the position and thus, the sound produced by the reed 810 in combination with the mouth piece 820 and a game call 200 , 300 , or 600 .",
"The mouth piece 820 may be used in place of the mouth pieces 120 and/or 520 discussed herein.",
"[0047] Although this invention has been described in terms of certain preferred embodiments, other embodiments that are apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, including embodiments that do not provide all of the features and advantages set forth herein, are also within the scope of this invention.",
"Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined only by reference to the appended claims and equivalents thereof."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to the soft pedal of an upright piano or more specifically the mechanism that are triggered by depressing the soft pedal of an upright piano. Depressing the soft pedal causes the playing of the piano to occur at a lower volume than that without depressing the soft pedal.
[0003] When the soft pedal is depressed to reduce the volume of the piano, a detrimental effect called “lost motion” occurs, where the piano key is depressed without any resulting motion of the hammer of the piano action. Lost motion is undesirable by the pianist. This invention removes lost motion resulting from the soft pedal of an upright piano.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] The soft pedal mechanism reduces piano playing volume by rotating the entire row of hammers of a piano action slightly towards the piano strings, thereby moving the hammers of the piano actions closer to the piano strings. This rotation results in less distance for the hammers to travel in order to strike the piano strings, yielding less time for the hammers to accelerate before striking the piano strings. This results in lower piano volumes brought about by lower energy hammer strikes on the piano strings.
[0006] As discussed in detail below, the rotation of the hammers in the piano causes gaps to appear between the jacks and the hammer butts of the piano actions. This gap is what creates lost motion. This invention is a device that attaches to each piano action of an upright piano that functions to rotate the row whippens along with the row of hammers in order to close the gap that causes lost motion.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] It is an aspect of this invention to provide a lost motion compensation device that may be attached to the whippen of an upright piano at one end of the device and attached to the rest rail of an upright piano at the other end of the device to cause the whippen to rotate along with the rest rail, as the soft pedal on the upright piano is depressed and released to move the rest rail.
[0008] It is an aspect of the lost motion compensation device to provide a rigid hinged connection between the whippen of an upright piano action and the rest rail of an upright piano to cause the whippen to rotate or move along with the rest rail as the rest rail is rotated or moved by depressing or releasing the soft pedal on an upright piano.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a piano key, a piano action, a damper action, and a piano string of an upright piano action without the lost motion compensator device, with piano key at rest.
[0010] FIG. 2 is a prospective view of a piano key, a piano action, a damper action, and a piano string of an upright piano action without the lost motion compensator device, with piano key at rest.
[0011] FIG. 3 is a blowup view of a piano key, a piano action, a damper action, and a piano string of an upright piano action without the lost motion compensator device, with piano key at rest, without depressing the soft pedal.
[0012] FIG. 4 is a blowup view of a piano key, a piano action, a damper action, and a piano string of an upright piano action without the lost motion compensator device, with piano key at rest, while depressing the soft pedal.
[0013] FIG. 5 is a prospective view a piano key, a piano action, a damper action, and a piano string of an upright piano action with the lost motion compensator device, with piano key at rest.
[0014] FIG. 6 is a blowup view of a piano key, a piano action, a damper action, and a piano string of an upright piano action with the lost motion compensator device, with piano key at rest, without depressing the soft pedal.
[0015] FIG. 7 is a blowup view of a piano key, a piano action, a damper action, and a piano string of an upright piano action with the lost motion compensator device, with piano key at rest, while depressing the soft pedal.
[0000]
DEFINITION LIST
Term
Definition
1
Piano Key
2
Balance Point of Piano Key
3
Dowel Capstan
4
Whippen
5
Jack
6
Hammer Butt
7
Hammer Butt
8
Piano String(s)
9
Capstan/Whippen contact point
10
Jack/Hammer Butt contact point
11
Gap between Jack and Hammer Butt
12
Rest Rail at Full Strike Position
13
Rest Rail at Soft Strike Position
14
Rest Rail Cloth
15
Hammer Shank
16
Full Strike Distance
17
Soft Strike Distance
18
Lost Motion Compensating Lever
19
Lost Motion Rod
20
Lifter Clip
21
Lifter Rod
22
Lifter Connector
23
Lost Motion Lever Operated
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0016] An upright piano action comprises the following interconnected subcomponents: a dowel capstan 3 , a whippen 4 , a jack 5 , a hammer butt 6 , a damper lever (depicted, not labelled), a hammer shank 15 , and a hammer 7 . Basically, when a piano player presses down on a piano key 1 , this causes the back side of piano key 1 to rise upwards in response. The back side of the piano key 1 then pushes upwards on the dowel capstan 3 , which in turn pushes upwards on the whippen 4 , causing the whippen 4 to rotate. As the whippen 4 rotates, it pushes on the damper lever, rotating the damper lever in the opposite direction, to lift damper off the piano string(s) 8 . The rotating whippen 4 also pushes upwards on the jack 5 , lifting the jack 5 upwards. Jack 5 in turn pushes upwards on hammer butt 6 , causing the hammer butt 6 to rotate, which causes hammer shank 15 and hammer 7 to rotate. Rotation of hammer shank 15 causes the hammer 7 to strike one or more piano strings 8 , thereby creating music or sound in the piano.
[0017] FIG. 3 depicts an upright piano action with both the soft pedal (not depicted) and the piano key 1 at rest and not depressed. We can see that the hammer shank 15 rests upon the rest rail cloth 14 and the rest rail 12 . In FIG. 3 , rest rail 12 is positioned at the full strike distance 16 . As depicted, in this state, there is no gap between the jack 5 and hammer butt 6 at the location marked 10 .
[0018] FIG. 4 depicts an upright piano action with the soft pedal fully depressed and the piano key 1 at rest. In FIG. 4 , rest rail 13 is positioned at the soft strike distance 17 . When the soft pedal is depressed, this rotates the rest rail of the piano action from position 12 to position 13 , thereby changing the strike distances of the hammers 7 from distance 16 to distance 17 . When this occurs, a gap 11 forms between jack 5 and hammer butt 6 .
[0019] Gap 11 is what causes lost motion in the piano action. Lost motion results when the piano key 1 is depressed to raise jack 5 , which rises by the length of gap 11 without touching hammer butt 6 . Lost motion does not result in any movement of hammer 7 . It is piano key motion without any corresponding hammer motion. Hence it is lost motion. Lost motion is a problem for most pianists.
[0020] To remedy lost motion, this invention uses a lost motion compensation device that causes the whippen 4 to rotate towards the piano strings 8 along with rest rail 12 , 13 , as the soft pedal is depressed. Rotation of the whippen 4 causes hammer butt 6 to rise along with the rest rail in order to prevent gap 11 from forming. This design prevents lost motion from occurring.
[0021] Referencing FIG. 5 , lost motion compensation device comprises: a lost motion compensating lever 18 , a lost motion rod 19 , a lifter clip 20 , lifter rod 21 , and a lifter connector 22 . Lifter connector 22 is attached to rest rail 12 , 13 and functions to provide a hinged connection to lifter rod 21 . Lifter rod 21 is a rigid oblong member connected to lifter connector 22 at one end and attached lifter clip 20 at the other end. Lifter clip 20 is attached to lost motion rod 19 and functions to securely connect lifter rod 21 to lost motion rod 19 . Lost motion rod 19 is a rigid oblong member. Lifter rod 21 and lost motion rod 19 are positioned essentially perpendicular to each other where the lower end of lifter rod is attached to the middle area of lost motion rod 19 . Lost motion rod 19 extends beyond whippen 4 , to run just underneath whippen 4 . Lost motion compensating lever 18 is a rigid oblong member that is rigidly connected to the heel of whippen 4 at the end opposite the piano strings 8 . Lost motion compensating lever 18 is long enough to extend beyond lost motion rod 19 as depicted in the FIGS. 5-7 .
[0022] With this design, as the soft pedal is depressed, thereby causing the rest rail 12 , 13 to rotate towards the piano stings 8 , the soft pedal also lifts up on the heel of the whippen 4 and rotates the whippen 4 along with the rest rail 12 , 13 towards the piano strings 8 . The lost motion compensation device is rigid structure with a hinged connection to rest rail 12 , 13 that functions to cause the whippen 4 of an upright piano action to mirror the motion of the rest rail 12 , 13 as the soft pedal is depressed and released. Thus, with the lost motion compensation device, the gap 11 between jack 5 and hammer butt 6 is eliminated.
[0023] FIG. 6 depicts an upright piano action with both the soft pedal (not depicted) and the piano key 1 at rest and not depressed. We can see that the hammer shank 15 rests upon the rest rail cloth 14 and the rest rail 12 . In FIG. 5 , rest rail 12 is positioned at the full strike distance 16 . As depicted, in this state, there is no gap between the jack 5 and hammer butt 6 at the location marked 10 .
[0024] FIG. 7 depicts an upright piano action with the soft pedal fully depressed and the piano key 1 at rest. In FIG. 7 , rest rail 13 is positioned at the soft strike distance 17 . When the soft pedal is depressed, this rotates the rest rail of the piano action from position 12 to position 13 , thereby changing the strike distances of the hammers 7 from distance 16 to distance 17 .
[0025] The piano action in FIG. 7 includes a lost motion compensation device so we see that the lost motion compensation device pulls whippen 4 up along with rest rail 13 , thereby preventing gap 15 from forming. Instead we see a gap-less connection at 10 .
[0026] There must one lost motion compensation device attached to all piano actions in the piano. Thus, there are typically 88 lost motion compensation devices on each piano. | Lost motion compensation device is a mechanical device that rigidly and pivotally connects the rest rail of an upright piano to the front end of the whippen of an upright piano to cause the two member to rotate in unison as the rest rail is rotated by depressing and releasing the soft pedal on an upright piano. | Summarize the patent document, focusing on the invention's functionality and advantages. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1.",
"Field of the Invention [0002] This invention relates to the soft pedal of an upright piano or more specifically the mechanism that are triggered by depressing the soft pedal of an upright piano.",
"Depressing the soft pedal causes the playing of the piano to occur at a lower volume than that without depressing the soft pedal.",
"[0003] When the soft pedal is depressed to reduce the volume of the piano, a detrimental effect called “lost motion”",
"occurs, where the piano key is depressed without any resulting motion of the hammer of the piano action.",
"Lost motion is undesirable by the pianist.",
"This invention removes lost motion resulting from the soft pedal of an upright piano.",
"[0004] 2.",
"Description of Related Art [0005] The soft pedal mechanism reduces piano playing volume by rotating the entire row of hammers of a piano action slightly towards the piano strings, thereby moving the hammers of the piano actions closer to the piano strings.",
"This rotation results in less distance for the hammers to travel in order to strike the piano strings, yielding less time for the hammers to accelerate before striking the piano strings.",
"This results in lower piano volumes brought about by lower energy hammer strikes on the piano strings.",
"[0006] As discussed in detail below, the rotation of the hammers in the piano causes gaps to appear between the jacks and the hammer butts of the piano actions.",
"This gap is what creates lost motion.",
"This invention is a device that attaches to each piano action of an upright piano that functions to rotate the row whippens along with the row of hammers in order to close the gap that causes lost motion.",
"BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] It is an aspect of this invention to provide a lost motion compensation device that may be attached to the whippen of an upright piano at one end of the device and attached to the rest rail of an upright piano at the other end of the device to cause the whippen to rotate along with the rest rail, as the soft pedal on the upright piano is depressed and released to move the rest rail.",
"[0008] It is an aspect of the lost motion compensation device to provide a rigid hinged connection between the whippen of an upright piano action and the rest rail of an upright piano to cause the whippen to rotate or move along with the rest rail as the rest rail is rotated or moved by depressing or releasing the soft pedal on an upright piano.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0009] FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a piano key, a piano action, a damper action, and a piano string of an upright piano action without the lost motion compensator device, with piano key at rest.",
"[0010] FIG. 2 is a prospective view of a piano key, a piano action, a damper action, and a piano string of an upright piano action without the lost motion compensator device, with piano key at rest.",
"[0011] FIG. 3 is a blowup view of a piano key, a piano action, a damper action, and a piano string of an upright piano action without the lost motion compensator device, with piano key at rest, without depressing the soft pedal.",
"[0012] FIG. 4 is a blowup view of a piano key, a piano action, a damper action, and a piano string of an upright piano action without the lost motion compensator device, with piano key at rest, while depressing the soft pedal.",
"[0013] FIG. 5 is a prospective view a piano key, a piano action, a damper action, and a piano string of an upright piano action with the lost motion compensator device, with piano key at rest.",
"[0014] FIG. 6 is a blowup view of a piano key, a piano action, a damper action, and a piano string of an upright piano action with the lost motion compensator device, with piano key at rest, without depressing the soft pedal.",
"[0015] FIG. 7 is a blowup view of a piano key, a piano action, a damper action, and a piano string of an upright piano action with the lost motion compensator device, with piano key at rest, while depressing the soft pedal.",
"[0000] DEFINITION LIST Term Definition 1 Piano Key 2 Balance Point of Piano Key 3 Dowel Capstan 4 Whippen 5 Jack 6 Hammer Butt 7 Hammer Butt 8 Piano String(s) 9 Capstan/Whippen contact point 10 Jack/Hammer Butt contact point 11 Gap between Jack and Hammer Butt 12 Rest Rail at Full Strike Position 13 Rest Rail at Soft Strike Position 14 Rest Rail Cloth 15 Hammer Shank 16 Full Strike Distance 17 Soft Strike Distance 18 Lost Motion Compensating Lever 19 Lost Motion Rod 20 Lifter Clip 21 Lifter Rod 22 Lifter Connector 23 Lost Motion Lever Operated DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0016] An upright piano action comprises the following interconnected subcomponents: a dowel capstan 3 , a whippen 4 , a jack 5 , a hammer butt 6 , a damper lever (depicted, not labelled), a hammer shank 15 , and a hammer 7 .",
"Basically, when a piano player presses down on a piano key 1 , this causes the back side of piano key 1 to rise upwards in response.",
"The back side of the piano key 1 then pushes upwards on the dowel capstan 3 , which in turn pushes upwards on the whippen 4 , causing the whippen 4 to rotate.",
"As the whippen 4 rotates, it pushes on the damper lever, rotating the damper lever in the opposite direction, to lift damper off the piano string(s) 8 .",
"The rotating whippen 4 also pushes upwards on the jack 5 , lifting the jack 5 upwards.",
"Jack 5 in turn pushes upwards on hammer butt 6 , causing the hammer butt 6 to rotate, which causes hammer shank 15 and hammer 7 to rotate.",
"Rotation of hammer shank 15 causes the hammer 7 to strike one or more piano strings 8 , thereby creating music or sound in the piano.",
"[0017] FIG. 3 depicts an upright piano action with both the soft pedal (not depicted) and the piano key 1 at rest and not depressed.",
"We can see that the hammer shank 15 rests upon the rest rail cloth 14 and the rest rail 12 .",
"In FIG. 3 , rest rail 12 is positioned at the full strike distance 16 .",
"As depicted, in this state, there is no gap between the jack 5 and hammer butt 6 at the location marked 10 .",
"[0018] FIG. 4 depicts an upright piano action with the soft pedal fully depressed and the piano key 1 at rest.",
"In FIG. 4 , rest rail 13 is positioned at the soft strike distance 17 .",
"When the soft pedal is depressed, this rotates the rest rail of the piano action from position 12 to position 13 , thereby changing the strike distances of the hammers 7 from distance 16 to distance 17 .",
"When this occurs, a gap 11 forms between jack 5 and hammer butt 6 .",
"[0019] Gap 11 is what causes lost motion in the piano action.",
"Lost motion results when the piano key 1 is depressed to raise jack 5 , which rises by the length of gap 11 without touching hammer butt 6 .",
"Lost motion does not result in any movement of hammer 7 .",
"It is piano key motion without any corresponding hammer motion.",
"Hence it is lost motion.",
"Lost motion is a problem for most pianists.",
"[0020] To remedy lost motion, this invention uses a lost motion compensation device that causes the whippen 4 to rotate towards the piano strings 8 along with rest rail 12 , 13 , as the soft pedal is depressed.",
"Rotation of the whippen 4 causes hammer butt 6 to rise along with the rest rail in order to prevent gap 11 from forming.",
"This design prevents lost motion from occurring.",
"[0021] Referencing FIG. 5 , lost motion compensation device comprises: a lost motion compensating lever 18 , a lost motion rod 19 , a lifter clip 20 , lifter rod 21 , and a lifter connector 22 .",
"Lifter connector 22 is attached to rest rail 12 , 13 and functions to provide a hinged connection to lifter rod 21 .",
"Lifter rod 21 is a rigid oblong member connected to lifter connector 22 at one end and attached lifter clip 20 at the other end.",
"Lifter clip 20 is attached to lost motion rod 19 and functions to securely connect lifter rod 21 to lost motion rod 19 .",
"Lost motion rod 19 is a rigid oblong member.",
"Lifter rod 21 and lost motion rod 19 are positioned essentially perpendicular to each other where the lower end of lifter rod is attached to the middle area of lost motion rod 19 .",
"Lost motion rod 19 extends beyond whippen 4 , to run just underneath whippen 4 .",
"Lost motion compensating lever 18 is a rigid oblong member that is rigidly connected to the heel of whippen 4 at the end opposite the piano strings 8 .",
"Lost motion compensating lever 18 is long enough to extend beyond lost motion rod 19 as depicted in the FIGS. 5-7 .",
"[0022] With this design, as the soft pedal is depressed, thereby causing the rest rail 12 , 13 to rotate towards the piano stings 8 , the soft pedal also lifts up on the heel of the whippen 4 and rotates the whippen 4 along with the rest rail 12 , 13 towards the piano strings 8 .",
"The lost motion compensation device is rigid structure with a hinged connection to rest rail 12 , 13 that functions to cause the whippen 4 of an upright piano action to mirror the motion of the rest rail 12 , 13 as the soft pedal is depressed and released.",
"Thus, with the lost motion compensation device, the gap 11 between jack 5 and hammer butt 6 is eliminated.",
"[0023] FIG. 6 depicts an upright piano action with both the soft pedal (not depicted) and the piano key 1 at rest and not depressed.",
"We can see that the hammer shank 15 rests upon the rest rail cloth 14 and the rest rail 12 .",
"In FIG. 5 , rest rail 12 is positioned at the full strike distance 16 .",
"As depicted, in this state, there is no gap between the jack 5 and hammer butt 6 at the location marked 10 .",
"[0024] FIG. 7 depicts an upright piano action with the soft pedal fully depressed and the piano key 1 at rest.",
"In FIG. 7 , rest rail 13 is positioned at the soft strike distance 17 .",
"When the soft pedal is depressed, this rotates the rest rail of the piano action from position 12 to position 13 , thereby changing the strike distances of the hammers 7 from distance 16 to distance 17 .",
"[0025] The piano action in FIG. 7 includes a lost motion compensation device so we see that the lost motion compensation device pulls whippen 4 up along with rest rail 13 , thereby preventing gap 15 from forming.",
"Instead we see a gap-less connection at 10 .",
"[0026] There must one lost motion compensation device attached to all piano actions in the piano.",
"Thus, there are typically 88 lost motion compensation devices on each piano."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to currency handling machines, and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for automatically identifying types of currency.
Automatic currency identifying systems are becoming more and more prevelant with the increase need for automation in currency handling. Broadly, two types of such systems are used. In a first of such systems, a particular type of currency, such as a specific dollar denomination, is automatically counted while all other dollar denominations are rejected. In a second type of such system, all the currencies are accepted and are sorted based upon their denomination. In each of these machine types, however, the basic idea is the same, namely, to be able to accurately identify indicia on the currency to provide a proper determination of its denomination or type.
In many prior art systems, the currency is scanned either in total or in part to determine information about the currency and compare this information to stored information. However, in these prior art systems, the information and comparison is carried out at a testing station where the information detected is directly compared with the stored information. As a result, the currency must be momentarily stopped at which time the comparison can be carried out. Such momentary stoppage provides a non-uniform flow of the currency and results in difficulties during high speed operation. Additionally, if the currency was even partially mutilated, cut or smeared, the prior art devices would not be able to provide an identification of the currency and the currency was rejected.
A further problem is that the currency may tend to arrive at the detection station in a non-aligned position. Lateral displacement along the transport mechanism may occur so that the scanning elements will not always be viewing the same parts of the currency. A lateral shift in the currency will cause the information to change. Additionally, the currency may arrive at a skewed angle with respect to the transport mechanism, so that again the information scanned will not always be consistent.
In many prior art mechanisms, numerous mechanical aligning devices are utilized to ensure that the currency is in an identical position for each scanning operation. Should currency arrive in a position other than the standard aligned position, the currency will normally be rejected. However, such aligning equipment makes the operation of the transport mechanism more complex and prone to breakdown. Also, it results in the rejection of a great number of the currency thereby requiring the constant monitoring of the automatic system by personnel. As a result, the prior art mechanisms are not fully automatic in that a great amount of the currency must still be counted and identified manually.
It is understood that in the present specification and claims, that the term "currency" is utilized in the broad sense, and includes all paper currency, stock certificates, bonds, stamps and similar items generally requiring identification, and, especially those items which have uniform patterns representing particular denominations or types.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide an automatic currency identifying system which avoids the aforementioned problems of prior art devices.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an automatic currency identifying system which scans the currency and stores the scanned information to compare the stored scanned information with predetermined standard information, thereby permitting identification of the currency "on the fly" and permitting more time for analysis and processing of the data.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an automatic currency identifying system which can accommodate lateral shifts and angular skewing of the currency.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic currency identifying system which scans the currency to determine information about a portion of its graphic pattern, its lateral displacement and its skew angle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an automatic currency identifying system which can be used to sort currency based upon the denomination of the currency.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic currency identifying system which can receive a stack of currency and count those of a particular type or denomination, rejecting all other types or denominations.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic currency identifying system which detects information about the currency, including its lateral shift and skew angle, and provides an initial tentative identification of the currency based upon compensating for lateral shift and statistical analysis of the scanned information.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic currency carrying system which gives two levels of identification: an initial tentative determination based upon statistical analysis, and a second, more detailed determination, based upon a full comparison with stored information.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an automatic currency identifying system which provides an output identifying the currency type when a predetermined percentage of the region scanned compares favorably with predetermined data.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide an automatic currency identifying system utilizing a microprocessor which is capable of providing a statistical analysis of information scanned.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will, in part, be pointed out with particularity, and will, in part, become obvious from the following description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which form an integral part thereof.
Briefly, the invention provides for an automatic currency identifying system including a transport means for moving the currency past a detecting position. A scanning means at the detecting position scans a portion of the moving currency and provides scanned information about the currency. The scanned information is retained in a storage means. A memory means contains stored information concerning the currency. A comparison means compares the scanned information, as it is retained, together with the stored information in the memory means, and provides an output signal upon the concurrence of a predetermined number of items of information therebetween. A computer data processing means is also provided which can analyze and process the data for suitable comparisons.
In an embodiment of the invention, the scanning means includes means for detecting a lateral shift in the currency as well as any skew angle of the currency. A microprocessor is then utilized to control the operation of the system and provide proper identification of the currency. The microprocessor can have stored therein the information for the various denominations assuming an aligned position of the currency. Then, utilizing the information on the lateral shift and skew angle of the currency being scanned, the microprocessor can index the scanned information and rearrange it to provide corrected information which is compensated for the effect of lateral shift and/or skew angle. The compensated scanned information will then be compared with the stored information for the aligned currency.
Alternatively, the processor can rearrange the stored data based upon the scanned lateral shift and skew angle and then carry out the comparison with the actual scanned information. In addition, the microprocessor can provide a tentative or partial identification so that the incoming data need only be compared to a few patterns from memory to accurately identify the particular denomination of the currency being scanned.
In lieu of rearranging the data scanned, or the stored data, the memory in the processor can contain patterns corresponding to various degrees of lateral shift and various angles of skew, then the microprocessor can compare the scanned information with everything in the files. However, to reduce the time required for processing the data, the microprocessor can select only those files from memory which correspond to the measured lateral shift and/or skew angle for comparison with the incoming data.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of the automatic currency identifying system of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the transport mechanism;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a detailed embodiment of the logic useful for one embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 4a and 4b schematically explain positioning of the scanned elements;
FIGS. 5a, 5b, 6a and 6b schematically explain the operation of determining the skew angle.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to FIG. 1, the system of the present invention includes a transport mechanism 10 having a belt 12 driven by drive wheels 14, 16. It is understood that, in general, many of the numerous types of transport mechanisms well known in the art could be utilized. A scanner 17 including a plurality of detectors 18, can be directly incorporated into the transport mechanism to scan the passing currency as they are transported from one portion of the machine to another. Alternately, the scanner can be placed separate from the transport mechanism.
The information from the detectors 18 is sent to a memory device 19 such as one included in the microprocessor system 22, which acts upon the information. Stored within the processor system are storage units containing predetermined information concerning types or denominations of currency to be identified. The storage may contain information concerning a variety of denominations of currency such as one dollar bills, ten dollar bills, twenty dollar bills, etc. The detectors can then compare the information scanned with the information stored to identify the currency being scanned. In such systems, the currency entered into the transport mechanism would include a variety of currency denominations and each particular currency would then be separately identified. Alternatively, the storage may contain information or permit operator selection of information pertaining only to a single type or denomination of currency, and the identification system will count only those bills of the particular stored denomination or type, while rejecting all other types.
The output from the microprocessor system 22 is sent to a display 24 which can display the number counted of each particular denomination or the number of bills of a particular stored or selected type or denomination.
At the end of the transport mechanism there is shown a sorter 26 having a plurality of bins 28. Slideways 30 are provided to guide the bills 20 into the appropriate bin 28. A lever or doorway 32 is placed at the opening of the various slides. The doorways 32 are controlled from the output of the microprocessor along lines 34. When the microprocessor determines that a particular denomination of bill has been identified, it will signal the corresponding doorway to open at the appropriate time permitting the bill 20 to enter into that bin. Alternately, if only a particular type of denomination is to be counted, then the microprocessor will signal the corresponding bin to accept all bills identified as being of that denomination, while rejecting all others. Although a particular sorter and transport arrangement has been shown, it is understood that any type of such apparatus could be utilized with the currency identifying system of the present invention.
A more detailed description of the transport mechanism is shown in FIG. 2 wherein there is provided a stack of bills 36 contained on a support 38 and held by means of a pressure lever 40. A vacuum roller 42 initially pulls the bills 20 onto the transport surface 44 and is then carried on the belt 45 driven by the rollers 46. As the bill passes the detectors 48, the denomination is identified and the result used to control a lever having a first position 50 shown in solid lines, and a second position 52 shown in dotted lines. In its first position 50, the bill will pass into bin 54 past the rollers 56 and the counters 58. This bin holds the bills that are accepted and counts them. When the lever is in position 52, the bill will pass into the bin 60 containing the rejected bills. The position control of the lever will be determined by the output from the detectors which output has been processed through comparitors in the microprocessor.
The scanning mechanism consists of a plurality of electro-optical devices. Each device contains a light source, for example a light emitting diode, and a photoresponsive receiver, for example a phototransistor. Light from each light source is focused on the surface of the currency to be identified, and light received therefrom is optically collected and focused on the photoreceiver. A typical electro-optical device used as an element in the sensor is the Optron Unit Model No. OPF 125 manufactured by Optron Inc., Carolton, Texas. The scanner unit can include a plurality of elements positioned to view a portion of the bill, as well as a leading edge detector, a trailing edge detector and detectors for the lateral shift, as will be hereinafter explained.
Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a simplified embodiment of the present invention. The scanning devices 62 are positioned to scan graphic patterns on the passing currency. A leading edge sensor 64 is also positioned in the detector to detect the leading edge of the graphic image on the currency. As such leading edge is detected, the signal is fed to a Schmidt trigger 66 which develops a trigger pulse controlling the flip-flop 68, which produces an enable pulse to cause the clock pulse generator 70 to begin operation. The enable pulse also is fed to the denomination counters 72, 74, 76 and 78, respectively, causing them to respectively count the number of bills of the denominations, $1.00, $5.00, $10.00 and $20.00.
The scanners 62 view the patterns and indicia on the surface of the bill. The scanners are arranged in a predetermined geometrical array so that they will view certain portions of the bill needed for proper identification. The scanners supply their output to a memory means, shown as a parallel-in-serial-out register 80.
Storage units 82, 84, 86 and 88 are respectively provided with preset information concerning the particular denominations $1.00, $5.00, $10.00 and $20.00. The storage units shown are programmable read only memories (PROMs) which contain the information concerning the bill and can be pulsed to provide serial output of the information.
The output from the clock pulse generator 70 is fed to the register 80 as well as the PROMs 82-88. The output from the register 80 is fed to a series of exclusive OR gates 90, 92, 94, 96 which respectively also receive information from each of the PROMs 82-88. The output from the exclusive OR gates 90-96 are respectively fed to the counters 72-78 which also receive the clock pulses from the clock pulse generator 70. A clock counter 98 counts the number of clock pulses and when a predetermined count has been reached, provides a reset pulse to the flip-flop 68 which then terminates operation of the clock pulse generator. The count set on the clock counter 98 is generally the same as the number of scanning elements in the scanner.
The operation of the circuit described is as follows: when the leading edge of the currency is detected, it causes the flip-flop 68 to operate the clock generator 70. The information scanned by the scanning elements 62 is stored in parallel into the register 80. The clock pulses then pulse out this information serially, bit by bit. The information in the PROMs 82-88 are also serially clocked. The exclusive OR gates 90-96 produce a bit by bit comparison of the scanned information with each of the stored information. When a bit concurrence is detected by one of the gates, it is counted in its respective counter. When a predetermined count is achieved by any counter, it will produce an output signal. The output signal can be displayed, as for example by means of the indicator display 100.
By way of example, if eight scanning elements are utilized, eight clock pulses will be generated by the clock generator 70 before the clock counter 98 turns off the generator by means of a reset pulse to the flip-flop 68. With an acceptable piece of currency being scanned, each of the clock pulses cause the gates 90-96 to compare the scanned and stored information and, with each pulse at least one of the counters 72-78 will increase its count. For example, if a $1.00 bill has been scanned, then the exclusive OR gate 90 should provide coincidence pulses between the information in the PROM 82 and the register 80. The counter 72 can be preset for a predetermined number, as for example 6. Therefore, when a minimum of 6 coincidence pulses are achieved, the counter 72 will provide an output indicating that a $1.00 bill has been scanned. In a similar manner, each of the other counters operate to count the coincidence for the denomination of the currency to which it is set.
The circuit shown in FIG. 3 can be connected to a sorter, whereby the output of each of the counters is utilized to control a lever or gate on a particular bin. When a particular counter indicates that sufficient coincidence has been reached to identify the denomination of the bill, its output will open the gate, permitting the bill to enter the bin and be properly stacked.
Alternately, it is possible to utilize the circuit shown in FIG. 3 to select a particular denomination to be accepted. Utilizing the switches 102, a particular switch can be selected in accordance with a particular denomination desired. For example, the switch 104 can be depressed, whereby the system will only count and accept $10.00 denominations. When the switch 104 is depressed, and when the $10.00 counter produces an output indicating that the denomination of the bill scanned is a $10.00 bill, no outputs will be provided from the gates 106-112, no alarm will be sounded, and the bill will be counted. However, should any of the other counters provide an output, or should the $10.00 counter not provide an output then the alarm 114 will be sounded, indicating that the scanned bill is not of the desired denomination. Additionally, the output can be connected to a lever or gate to place the accepted bills in one bin and the rejected bills in another bin, as shown in FIG. 2.
By setting the counters at a percentage of the total number of scanning elements, perfect agreement between the bits from the memory and those from the scanning unit is not required. In this way, variations from bill to bill or markings on the surface of the bill from usage will not prevent proper identification. The use of the storage means 80 to accept the information from the scanner, and then compare the stored information with the scanned information temporarily held in the register, is a key aspect of the invention. In this manner, the information can be obtained "on the fly". The currency need not be held during the scanning operation. The information is fed into the register in parallel format, requiring only a few microseconds to register the data from the bill into the register 80. The remaining time, while the bill is in transit and before the next bill enters the scanner, the circuitry can process the data and identify the particular denomination. The identification can, therefore, be carried out while the bill is in transit and the bill need not be held in any particular position during the processing and comparison operation.
FIG. 3 shows a simplified embodiment of the invention. However, a more complex version is also contemplated. In such a complex system, a microprocessor is utilized as the basic control means together with programmable memories connected to the microprocessor.
The scanning elements can be positioned in a variety of manners to detect the information from the currency. Each particular scanning element is of the electro-optical devices heretofore described. As shown in FIG. 4a, sensors 116 are arranged in a mosaic array pattern to cover a particular corner or area of the currency being scanned. Alternately, as shown in FIG. 4b, the elements can be arranged in a single row of scanner elements 118. Utilizing the single row of scanner elements, as the bill passes over the scanner, the sensors are strobed to read along several successive lines across the bill. The strobing has the effect of producing a virtual mosaic array such as is shown in FIG. 4a.
The strobing of the scanner elements of FIG. 4b would be accurately controlled in order that the lines used would be properly registered with respect to the printed images on the bill. The strobing action can be controlled by a strobe clock timer circuit. Such clock timer can be synchronized with the transport drive mechanism shown in FIG. 2. The belt can be imprinted along one edge with a series of closely spaced fiducial marks or lines, shown schematically as 120 in FIG. 2. These marks are scanned by an electro-optical sensor similar to the sensors in the actual scanning device. When the belt is in action, these marks develop a timing signal from the sensor which, in turn, is used as a synchronizing signal to control the frequency of the strobe clock timer. In this manner, the strobe timing is controlled so that the locations of the sensors viewing the lines along the bill are independent of speed variations of the transport. It is to be appreciated that the timing signal may be derived from other points in the mechanical drive system.
As with any mechanical transport, there may very well occur variations in the position of the currency with respect to the scanner. The currency usually moves in a direction transverse to the scanner. However, as it approaches the scanner, it may have a lateral shift or may by angularly skewed. As a result, the scanner may not always scan the identical area on the currency.
When using a microprocessor, it is possible to accommodate lateral shifts of the currency as it arrives at the detecting position, as well as skewing of the currency. The microprocessor can have stored in its memory, patterns corresponding to various degrees of lateral shifts and various angles of skew. When the scanned information arrives, it can be compared with all of the stored patterns in the memory in order to obtain an identification.
In order to reduce the time required for processing of the data, the lateral shift and skew angle of the currency can be measured, and based upon such measured information, the microprocessor can select only those files from memory which correspond to the measured lateral shift and/or skew angle.
The microprocessor can also be used to rearrange either the incoming data or the stored data. In this type of approach, only a single set of patterns are stored in the microprocessor memory for each denomination. The stored patterns represent the currency in an aligned position. Using the information on the lateral shift and skew angle of the detected currency, the scanned information can be indexed and compensated. The compensated information will then be compared with the stored information. Alternatively, the scanned input information will remain as detected and instead, the stored information can be indexed for comparison to the scanned information, even if the currency is shifted laterally or angularly. In addition, the microprocessor can provide a tentative or partial identification so that the incoming data need only be compared to a few patterns from memory to accurately identify the particular denomination of the currency being scanned.
The lateral displacement of the bill can be measured by means of the lateral edge position sensors 122 shown in FIG. 4b. These sensors, viewing the graphic or printed portion of the bill, produce one type of output which is markedly different from another output when the margin or the area not covered by the bill is viewed. The microprocessor can then use the difference in these output signal levels to determine the approximate lateral position of the bill and appropriately index the data received from the scanner. By way of example, if the scanner consists of a linear array of 12 sensors, and the lateral sensors are similar elements with the same spacing as the scanner elements, and if there is exact registration, it is assumed that only 8 elements are required for the scanner. By using only 8 elements of the 12 element array, lateral shift approximately equal to the spacing of two elements on either side can be accommodated. As the position of any bill laterally moves with respect to the scanner, the microprocessor selects data from the appropriate 8 elements of the scanner which are actually viewing the bill. By this type of indexing of the data, the information corresponding with those 8 scanner elements in approximate registration with the desired scan area are then selected for processing. This effectively eliminates the need for storing additional information for each of a plurality of lateral positions and the microprocessor need only store information corresponding to an exact registration of the bill. Lateral shifts are thereby compensated by indexing of the scanned information. Similarly, the stored information could have been indexed.
In order to reduce the information time required to determine variations in skew angle, it is first necessary to measure the skew angle involved. To achieve this, two leading edge sensors are used, shown in FIG. 5, as 124 and 126, producing outputs A and B. As shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b, when a properly aligned bill moves across the scanning elements, it will cross both leading edge sensors 124 and 126 at approximately the same time. As a result, the signals A and B will occur at substantially identical times, with no time difference therebetween. However, as shown in FIGS. 6a and 6b, if the bill approaches with a skew angle, it will cause one of the sensors to produce an output before the other. For the direction of skew shown in FIG. 6a, sensor 124 will produce the A output before sensor 126 will produce its B output. As a result, a time difference, ΔT, will occur, as shown in FIG. 6b. Combining this information with information on the speed of the transport mechanism, as described earlier in connection with the timing signals on the transport device, it is possible to convert the time displacement, ΔT, into a measure of the angle of skew.
The microprocessor system 22 can be programmed to process the incoming data in accordance with certain statistical mathematics. As a result, a tentative identification of the denomination of the bill can then be obtained. This information is then used, together with the skew angle information, to direct the computer to perform a bit by bit comparison of the incoming data together with the appropriate memory file. If the percentage of matching bits exceeds a preset level, the identification is confirmed and the appropriate identification signal is rendered. If the tentative identification and the bit by bit comparison do not agree, then no proper identification has been achieved.
In order to minimize the memory capacity required for the storage of the skew patterns, the area to be scanned is preferably located as near as possible to the leading edge of the bill. The reason for this is that for any given skew angle the linear distance subtended by this angle diminishes towards the leading edge. It has been found that there are graphic areas or geometry which are unique to each denomination. Generally, such unique areas will be used. In most cases, sufficient data for computer pattern recognition is contained in the corner of the bill where the numeral or numerals designating the denomination normally appear. In addition, it is to be noted that the numeral zone is located near the leading edge where the skew effects are minimized.
Programming of the larger memory units used with the microprocessor system can be accomplished by several methods. One method involves a graphic analysis of each denomination and type of currency to be identified in all possible orientations of lateral shift and skew angles. The analysis is preferably done with the aid of a computer wherein the computer essentially determines the optimum programming of the microprocessor memory unit.
Another method would involve using the scanner and the microprocessor system to program itself in a "learning mode". This requires the use of a large number of bills to be passed through the currency identifier and have the scanner unit scan each in a particular lateral shift and skew angle position. The data derived therefrom is then processed by the microprocessor unit to a programmable memory unit to thereby program the memory.
Referring now to FIG. 4b, trailing edge sensors 128 are also provided near the trailing edge of the bill to ensure that a complete or whole bill is being examined. If the trailing edge sensors 128 do not view a portion of the bill simultaneously with the leading edge sensors being triggered, then the microprocessor recognizes that a complete bill is not being viewed and the bill will be ejected in a manner similar to an unidentifiable bill.
Other sensors viewing broad areas of the bill containing predominantly white regions may be used to sense "unfit bills" by the effect of discoloration on the output of the photosensor. "Unfit bills" are usually yellowed in a normally white area due to handling. The yellowing as well as surface changes due to wrinkling and wear cause corresponding diminution in photo-response at the output of the sensors.
There has been disclosed heretofore, the best embodiments of the invention presently contemplated. However, it is to be understood that variations and modifications in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto. | A method and apparatus for automatically identifying paper currency, stocks, stamps, and the like, by optically examining and viewing regions on the currency. The graphic pattern scanned is stored as signal information and then compared with signals representing predetermined standard information on the pattern of the currency. An identification is obtained upon the concurrence of a predetermined amount of the two information signals being compared. The system can accommodate lateral shifts of the currency and skew angles of arrival of the currency, and still provides a suitable identification. In the case of lateral shifts, it can either compensate for the shift or provide comparisons with a plurality of standard information signs, each for a different lateral displacement. In the case of the skew angle, it can compare the scanned information with a stored file of different patterns, each representing a different skew angle, or can use statistical mathematics to provide a tentative identification which is then used to select a proper memory file. The system can be used either to sort currency, or to identify a particular denomination while rejecting all other currency denominations. | Briefly describe the main idea outlined in the provided context. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to currency handling machines, and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for automatically identifying types of currency.",
"Automatic currency identifying systems are becoming more and more prevelant with the increase need for automation in currency handling.",
"Broadly, two types of such systems are used.",
"In a first of such systems, a particular type of currency, such as a specific dollar denomination, is automatically counted while all other dollar denominations are rejected.",
"In a second type of such system, all the currencies are accepted and are sorted based upon their denomination.",
"In each of these machine types, however, the basic idea is the same, namely, to be able to accurately identify indicia on the currency to provide a proper determination of its denomination or type.",
"In many prior art systems, the currency is scanned either in total or in part to determine information about the currency and compare this information to stored information.",
"However, in these prior art systems, the information and comparison is carried out at a testing station where the information detected is directly compared with the stored information.",
"As a result, the currency must be momentarily stopped at which time the comparison can be carried out.",
"Such momentary stoppage provides a non-uniform flow of the currency and results in difficulties during high speed operation.",
"Additionally, if the currency was even partially mutilated, cut or smeared, the prior art devices would not be able to provide an identification of the currency and the currency was rejected.",
"A further problem is that the currency may tend to arrive at the detection station in a non-aligned position.",
"Lateral displacement along the transport mechanism may occur so that the scanning elements will not always be viewing the same parts of the currency.",
"A lateral shift in the currency will cause the information to change.",
"Additionally, the currency may arrive at a skewed angle with respect to the transport mechanism, so that again the information scanned will not always be consistent.",
"In many prior art mechanisms, numerous mechanical aligning devices are utilized to ensure that the currency is in an identical position for each scanning operation.",
"Should currency arrive in a position other than the standard aligned position, the currency will normally be rejected.",
"However, such aligning equipment makes the operation of the transport mechanism more complex and prone to breakdown.",
"Also, it results in the rejection of a great number of the currency thereby requiring the constant monitoring of the automatic system by personnel.",
"As a result, the prior art mechanisms are not fully automatic in that a great amount of the currency must still be counted and identified manually.",
"It is understood that in the present specification and claims, that the term "currency"",
"is utilized in the broad sense, and includes all paper currency, stock certificates, bonds, stamps and similar items generally requiring identification, and, especially those items which have uniform patterns representing particular denominations or types.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide an automatic currency identifying system which avoids the aforementioned problems of prior art devices.",
"A further object of the present invention is to provide an automatic currency identifying system which scans the currency and stores the scanned information to compare the stored scanned information with predetermined standard information, thereby permitting identification of the currency "on the fly"",
"and permitting more time for analysis and processing of the data.",
"A further object of the present invention is to provide an automatic currency identifying system which can accommodate lateral shifts and angular skewing of the currency.",
"Still another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic currency identifying system which scans the currency to determine information about a portion of its graphic pattern, its lateral displacement and its skew angle.",
"It is another object of the present invention to provide an automatic currency identifying system which can be used to sort currency based upon the denomination of the currency.",
"Still another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic currency identifying system which can receive a stack of currency and count those of a particular type or denomination, rejecting all other types or denominations.",
"Still another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic currency identifying system which detects information about the currency, including its lateral shift and skew angle, and provides an initial tentative identification of the currency based upon compensating for lateral shift and statistical analysis of the scanned information.",
"Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic currency carrying system which gives two levels of identification: an initial tentative determination based upon statistical analysis, and a second, more detailed determination, based upon a full comparison with stored information.",
"A further object of the present invention is to provide an automatic currency identifying system which provides an output identifying the currency type when a predetermined percentage of the region scanned compares favorably with predetermined data.",
"Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide an automatic currency identifying system utilizing a microprocessor which is capable of providing a statistical analysis of information scanned.",
"These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will, in part, be pointed out with particularity, and will, in part, become obvious from the following description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which form an integral part thereof.",
"Briefly, the invention provides for an automatic currency identifying system including a transport means for moving the currency past a detecting position.",
"A scanning means at the detecting position scans a portion of the moving currency and provides scanned information about the currency.",
"The scanned information is retained in a storage means.",
"A memory means contains stored information concerning the currency.",
"A comparison means compares the scanned information, as it is retained, together with the stored information in the memory means, and provides an output signal upon the concurrence of a predetermined number of items of information therebetween.",
"A computer data processing means is also provided which can analyze and process the data for suitable comparisons.",
"In an embodiment of the invention, the scanning means includes means for detecting a lateral shift in the currency as well as any skew angle of the currency.",
"A microprocessor is then utilized to control the operation of the system and provide proper identification of the currency.",
"The microprocessor can have stored therein the information for the various denominations assuming an aligned position of the currency.",
"Then, utilizing the information on the lateral shift and skew angle of the currency being scanned, the microprocessor can index the scanned information and rearrange it to provide corrected information which is compensated for the effect of lateral shift and/or skew angle.",
"The compensated scanned information will then be compared with the stored information for the aligned currency.",
"Alternatively, the processor can rearrange the stored data based upon the scanned lateral shift and skew angle and then carry out the comparison with the actual scanned information.",
"In addition, the microprocessor can provide a tentative or partial identification so that the incoming data need only be compared to a few patterns from memory to accurately identify the particular denomination of the currency being scanned.",
"In lieu of rearranging the data scanned, or the stored data, the memory in the processor can contain patterns corresponding to various degrees of lateral shift and various angles of skew, then the microprocessor can compare the scanned information with everything in the files.",
"However, to reduce the time required for processing the data, the microprocessor can select only those files from memory which correspond to the measured lateral shift and/or skew angle for comparison with the incoming data.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings: FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of the automatic currency identifying system of the present invention;",
"FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the transport mechanism;",
"FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a detailed embodiment of the logic useful for one embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIGS. 4a and 4b schematically explain positioning of the scanned elements;",
"FIGS. 5a, 5b, 6a and 6b schematically explain the operation of determining the skew angle.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIG. 1, the system of the present invention includes a transport mechanism 10 having a belt 12 driven by drive wheels 14, 16.",
"It is understood that, in general, many of the numerous types of transport mechanisms well known in the art could be utilized.",
"A scanner 17 including a plurality of detectors 18, can be directly incorporated into the transport mechanism to scan the passing currency as they are transported from one portion of the machine to another.",
"Alternately, the scanner can be placed separate from the transport mechanism.",
"The information from the detectors 18 is sent to a memory device 19 such as one included in the microprocessor system 22, which acts upon the information.",
"Stored within the processor system are storage units containing predetermined information concerning types or denominations of currency to be identified.",
"The storage may contain information concerning a variety of denominations of currency such as one dollar bills, ten dollar bills, twenty dollar bills, etc.",
"The detectors can then compare the information scanned with the information stored to identify the currency being scanned.",
"In such systems, the currency entered into the transport mechanism would include a variety of currency denominations and each particular currency would then be separately identified.",
"Alternatively, the storage may contain information or permit operator selection of information pertaining only to a single type or denomination of currency, and the identification system will count only those bills of the particular stored denomination or type, while rejecting all other types.",
"The output from the microprocessor system 22 is sent to a display 24 which can display the number counted of each particular denomination or the number of bills of a particular stored or selected type or denomination.",
"At the end of the transport mechanism there is shown a sorter 26 having a plurality of bins 28.",
"Slideways 30 are provided to guide the bills 20 into the appropriate bin 28.",
"A lever or doorway 32 is placed at the opening of the various slides.",
"The doorways 32 are controlled from the output of the microprocessor along lines 34.",
"When the microprocessor determines that a particular denomination of bill has been identified, it will signal the corresponding doorway to open at the appropriate time permitting the bill 20 to enter into that bin.",
"Alternately, if only a particular type of denomination is to be counted, then the microprocessor will signal the corresponding bin to accept all bills identified as being of that denomination, while rejecting all others.",
"Although a particular sorter and transport arrangement has been shown, it is understood that any type of such apparatus could be utilized with the currency identifying system of the present invention.",
"A more detailed description of the transport mechanism is shown in FIG. 2 wherein there is provided a stack of bills 36 contained on a support 38 and held by means of a pressure lever 40.",
"A vacuum roller 42 initially pulls the bills 20 onto the transport surface 44 and is then carried on the belt 45 driven by the rollers 46.",
"As the bill passes the detectors 48, the denomination is identified and the result used to control a lever having a first position 50 shown in solid lines, and a second position 52 shown in dotted lines.",
"In its first position 50, the bill will pass into bin 54 past the rollers 56 and the counters 58.",
"This bin holds the bills that are accepted and counts them.",
"When the lever is in position 52, the bill will pass into the bin 60 containing the rejected bills.",
"The position control of the lever will be determined by the output from the detectors which output has been processed through comparitors in the microprocessor.",
"The scanning mechanism consists of a plurality of electro-optical devices.",
"Each device contains a light source, for example a light emitting diode, and a photoresponsive receiver, for example a phototransistor.",
"Light from each light source is focused on the surface of the currency to be identified, and light received therefrom is optically collected and focused on the photoreceiver.",
"A typical electro-optical device used as an element in the sensor is the Optron Unit Model No. OPF 125 manufactured by Optron Inc., Carolton, Texas.",
"The scanner unit can include a plurality of elements positioned to view a portion of the bill, as well as a leading edge detector, a trailing edge detector and detectors for the lateral shift, as will be hereinafter explained.",
"Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a simplified embodiment of the present invention.",
"The scanning devices 62 are positioned to scan graphic patterns on the passing currency.",
"A leading edge sensor 64 is also positioned in the detector to detect the leading edge of the graphic image on the currency.",
"As such leading edge is detected, the signal is fed to a Schmidt trigger 66 which develops a trigger pulse controlling the flip-flop 68, which produces an enable pulse to cause the clock pulse generator 70 to begin operation.",
"The enable pulse also is fed to the denomination counters 72, 74, 76 and 78, respectively, causing them to respectively count the number of bills of the denominations, $1.00, $5.00, $10.00 and $20.00.",
"The scanners 62 view the patterns and indicia on the surface of the bill.",
"The scanners are arranged in a predetermined geometrical array so that they will view certain portions of the bill needed for proper identification.",
"The scanners supply their output to a memory means, shown as a parallel-in-serial-out register 80.",
"Storage units 82, 84, 86 and 88 are respectively provided with preset information concerning the particular denominations $1.00, $5.00, $10.00 and $20.00.",
"The storage units shown are programmable read only memories (PROMs) which contain the information concerning the bill and can be pulsed to provide serial output of the information.",
"The output from the clock pulse generator 70 is fed to the register 80 as well as the PROMs 82-88.",
"The output from the register 80 is fed to a series of exclusive OR gates 90, 92, 94, 96 which respectively also receive information from each of the PROMs 82-88.",
"The output from the exclusive OR gates 90-96 are respectively fed to the counters 72-78 which also receive the clock pulses from the clock pulse generator 70.",
"A clock counter 98 counts the number of clock pulses and when a predetermined count has been reached, provides a reset pulse to the flip-flop 68 which then terminates operation of the clock pulse generator.",
"The count set on the clock counter 98 is generally the same as the number of scanning elements in the scanner.",
"The operation of the circuit described is as follows: when the leading edge of the currency is detected, it causes the flip-flop 68 to operate the clock generator 70.",
"The information scanned by the scanning elements 62 is stored in parallel into the register 80.",
"The clock pulses then pulse out this information serially, bit by bit.",
"The information in the PROMs 82-88 are also serially clocked.",
"The exclusive OR gates 90-96 produce a bit by bit comparison of the scanned information with each of the stored information.",
"When a bit concurrence is detected by one of the gates, it is counted in its respective counter.",
"When a predetermined count is achieved by any counter, it will produce an output signal.",
"The output signal can be displayed, as for example by means of the indicator display 100.",
"By way of example, if eight scanning elements are utilized, eight clock pulses will be generated by the clock generator 70 before the clock counter 98 turns off the generator by means of a reset pulse to the flip-flop 68.",
"With an acceptable piece of currency being scanned, each of the clock pulses cause the gates 90-96 to compare the scanned and stored information and, with each pulse at least one of the counters 72-78 will increase its count.",
"For example, if a $1.00 bill has been scanned, then the exclusive OR gate 90 should provide coincidence pulses between the information in the PROM 82 and the register 80.",
"The counter 72 can be preset for a predetermined number, as for example 6.",
"Therefore, when a minimum of 6 coincidence pulses are achieved, the counter 72 will provide an output indicating that a $1.00 bill has been scanned.",
"In a similar manner, each of the other counters operate to count the coincidence for the denomination of the currency to which it is set.",
"The circuit shown in FIG. 3 can be connected to a sorter, whereby the output of each of the counters is utilized to control a lever or gate on a particular bin.",
"When a particular counter indicates that sufficient coincidence has been reached to identify the denomination of the bill, its output will open the gate, permitting the bill to enter the bin and be properly stacked.",
"Alternately, it is possible to utilize the circuit shown in FIG. 3 to select a particular denomination to be accepted.",
"Utilizing the switches 102, a particular switch can be selected in accordance with a particular denomination desired.",
"For example, the switch 104 can be depressed, whereby the system will only count and accept $10.00 denominations.",
"When the switch 104 is depressed, and when the $10.00 counter produces an output indicating that the denomination of the bill scanned is a $10.00 bill, no outputs will be provided from the gates 106-112, no alarm will be sounded, and the bill will be counted.",
"However, should any of the other counters provide an output, or should the $10.00 counter not provide an output then the alarm 114 will be sounded, indicating that the scanned bill is not of the desired denomination.",
"Additionally, the output can be connected to a lever or gate to place the accepted bills in one bin and the rejected bills in another bin, as shown in FIG. 2. By setting the counters at a percentage of the total number of scanning elements, perfect agreement between the bits from the memory and those from the scanning unit is not required.",
"In this way, variations from bill to bill or markings on the surface of the bill from usage will not prevent proper identification.",
"The use of the storage means 80 to accept the information from the scanner, and then compare the stored information with the scanned information temporarily held in the register, is a key aspect of the invention.",
"In this manner, the information can be obtained "on the fly".",
"The currency need not be held during the scanning operation.",
"The information is fed into the register in parallel format, requiring only a few microseconds to register the data from the bill into the register 80.",
"The remaining time, while the bill is in transit and before the next bill enters the scanner, the circuitry can process the data and identify the particular denomination.",
"The identification can, therefore, be carried out while the bill is in transit and the bill need not be held in any particular position during the processing and comparison operation.",
"FIG. 3 shows a simplified embodiment of the invention.",
"However, a more complex version is also contemplated.",
"In such a complex system, a microprocessor is utilized as the basic control means together with programmable memories connected to the microprocessor.",
"The scanning elements can be positioned in a variety of manners to detect the information from the currency.",
"Each particular scanning element is of the electro-optical devices heretofore described.",
"As shown in FIG. 4a, sensors 116 are arranged in a mosaic array pattern to cover a particular corner or area of the currency being scanned.",
"Alternately, as shown in FIG. 4b, the elements can be arranged in a single row of scanner elements 118.",
"Utilizing the single row of scanner elements, as the bill passes over the scanner, the sensors are strobed to read along several successive lines across the bill.",
"The strobing has the effect of producing a virtual mosaic array such as is shown in FIG. 4a.",
"The strobing of the scanner elements of FIG. 4b would be accurately controlled in order that the lines used would be properly registered with respect to the printed images on the bill.",
"The strobing action can be controlled by a strobe clock timer circuit.",
"Such clock timer can be synchronized with the transport drive mechanism shown in FIG. 2. The belt can be imprinted along one edge with a series of closely spaced fiducial marks or lines, shown schematically as 120 in FIG. 2. These marks are scanned by an electro-optical sensor similar to the sensors in the actual scanning device.",
"When the belt is in action, these marks develop a timing signal from the sensor which, in turn, is used as a synchronizing signal to control the frequency of the strobe clock timer.",
"In this manner, the strobe timing is controlled so that the locations of the sensors viewing the lines along the bill are independent of speed variations of the transport.",
"It is to be appreciated that the timing signal may be derived from other points in the mechanical drive system.",
"As with any mechanical transport, there may very well occur variations in the position of the currency with respect to the scanner.",
"The currency usually moves in a direction transverse to the scanner.",
"However, as it approaches the scanner, it may have a lateral shift or may by angularly skewed.",
"As a result, the scanner may not always scan the identical area on the currency.",
"When using a microprocessor, it is possible to accommodate lateral shifts of the currency as it arrives at the detecting position, as well as skewing of the currency.",
"The microprocessor can have stored in its memory, patterns corresponding to various degrees of lateral shifts and various angles of skew.",
"When the scanned information arrives, it can be compared with all of the stored patterns in the memory in order to obtain an identification.",
"In order to reduce the time required for processing of the data, the lateral shift and skew angle of the currency can be measured, and based upon such measured information, the microprocessor can select only those files from memory which correspond to the measured lateral shift and/or skew angle.",
"The microprocessor can also be used to rearrange either the incoming data or the stored data.",
"In this type of approach, only a single set of patterns are stored in the microprocessor memory for each denomination.",
"The stored patterns represent the currency in an aligned position.",
"Using the information on the lateral shift and skew angle of the detected currency, the scanned information can be indexed and compensated.",
"The compensated information will then be compared with the stored information.",
"Alternatively, the scanned input information will remain as detected and instead, the stored information can be indexed for comparison to the scanned information, even if the currency is shifted laterally or angularly.",
"In addition, the microprocessor can provide a tentative or partial identification so that the incoming data need only be compared to a few patterns from memory to accurately identify the particular denomination of the currency being scanned.",
"The lateral displacement of the bill can be measured by means of the lateral edge position sensors 122 shown in FIG. 4b.",
"These sensors, viewing the graphic or printed portion of the bill, produce one type of output which is markedly different from another output when the margin or the area not covered by the bill is viewed.",
"The microprocessor can then use the difference in these output signal levels to determine the approximate lateral position of the bill and appropriately index the data received from the scanner.",
"By way of example, if the scanner consists of a linear array of 12 sensors, and the lateral sensors are similar elements with the same spacing as the scanner elements, and if there is exact registration, it is assumed that only 8 elements are required for the scanner.",
"By using only 8 elements of the 12 element array, lateral shift approximately equal to the spacing of two elements on either side can be accommodated.",
"As the position of any bill laterally moves with respect to the scanner, the microprocessor selects data from the appropriate 8 elements of the scanner which are actually viewing the bill.",
"By this type of indexing of the data, the information corresponding with those 8 scanner elements in approximate registration with the desired scan area are then selected for processing.",
"This effectively eliminates the need for storing additional information for each of a plurality of lateral positions and the microprocessor need only store information corresponding to an exact registration of the bill.",
"Lateral shifts are thereby compensated by indexing of the scanned information.",
"Similarly, the stored information could have been indexed.",
"In order to reduce the information time required to determine variations in skew angle, it is first necessary to measure the skew angle involved.",
"To achieve this, two leading edge sensors are used, shown in FIG. 5, as 124 and 126, producing outputs A and B. As shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b, when a properly aligned bill moves across the scanning elements, it will cross both leading edge sensors 124 and 126 at approximately the same time.",
"As a result, the signals A and B will occur at substantially identical times, with no time difference therebetween.",
"However, as shown in FIGS. 6a and 6b, if the bill approaches with a skew angle, it will cause one of the sensors to produce an output before the other.",
"For the direction of skew shown in FIG. 6a, sensor 124 will produce the A output before sensor 126 will produce its B output.",
"As a result, a time difference, ΔT, will occur, as shown in FIG. 6b.",
"Combining this information with information on the speed of the transport mechanism, as described earlier in connection with the timing signals on the transport device, it is possible to convert the time displacement, ΔT, into a measure of the angle of skew.",
"The microprocessor system 22 can be programmed to process the incoming data in accordance with certain statistical mathematics.",
"As a result, a tentative identification of the denomination of the bill can then be obtained.",
"This information is then used, together with the skew angle information, to direct the computer to perform a bit by bit comparison of the incoming data together with the appropriate memory file.",
"If the percentage of matching bits exceeds a preset level, the identification is confirmed and the appropriate identification signal is rendered.",
"If the tentative identification and the bit by bit comparison do not agree, then no proper identification has been achieved.",
"In order to minimize the memory capacity required for the storage of the skew patterns, the area to be scanned is preferably located as near as possible to the leading edge of the bill.",
"The reason for this is that for any given skew angle the linear distance subtended by this angle diminishes towards the leading edge.",
"It has been found that there are graphic areas or geometry which are unique to each denomination.",
"Generally, such unique areas will be used.",
"In most cases, sufficient data for computer pattern recognition is contained in the corner of the bill where the numeral or numerals designating the denomination normally appear.",
"In addition, it is to be noted that the numeral zone is located near the leading edge where the skew effects are minimized.",
"Programming of the larger memory units used with the microprocessor system can be accomplished by several methods.",
"One method involves a graphic analysis of each denomination and type of currency to be identified in all possible orientations of lateral shift and skew angles.",
"The analysis is preferably done with the aid of a computer wherein the computer essentially determines the optimum programming of the microprocessor memory unit.",
"Another method would involve using the scanner and the microprocessor system to program itself in a "learning mode".",
"This requires the use of a large number of bills to be passed through the currency identifier and have the scanner unit scan each in a particular lateral shift and skew angle position.",
"The data derived therefrom is then processed by the microprocessor unit to a programmable memory unit to thereby program the memory.",
"Referring now to FIG. 4b, trailing edge sensors 128 are also provided near the trailing edge of the bill to ensure that a complete or whole bill is being examined.",
"If the trailing edge sensors 128 do not view a portion of the bill simultaneously with the leading edge sensors being triggered, then the microprocessor recognizes that a complete bill is not being viewed and the bill will be ejected in a manner similar to an unidentifiable bill.",
"Other sensors viewing broad areas of the bill containing predominantly white regions may be used to sense "unfit bills"",
"by the effect of discoloration on the output of the photosensor.",
""Unfit bills"",
"are usually yellowed in a normally white area due to handling.",
"The yellowing as well as surface changes due to wrinkling and wear cause corresponding diminution in photo-response at the output of the sensors.",
"There has been disclosed heretofore, the best embodiments of the invention presently contemplated.",
"However, it is to be understood that variations and modifications in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.",
"It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to timing recovery of a source node service clock frequency at a destination node in a broadband asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network where the source and destination nodes receive reference timing signals derived from a single master clock.
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is a packet oriented technology for the realization of a Broadband Integrated Services Network (BISDN). By using ATM, network resources can be shared among multiple users. Moreover, various services including voice, video and data can be multiplexed, switched, and transported together under a universal format. Full integration will likely result in simpler and more efficient network and service administration and management. However, while conventional circuit-switching is optimized for real-time, continuous traffic, ATM is more suitable for the transport of bursty traffic such as data. Accommodation of constant bit rate (CBR) services is, however, an important feature of ATM, both for universal integration and for compatibility between existing and future networks. In the transport of a CBR signal through a broadband ATM network, the CBR signal is first segmented into 47-octet units and then mapped, along with an octet of ATM Type I Adaptation Layer (AAL) overhead, into the 48-octet payload of the cell. The cells are then statistically multiplexed into the network and routed through the network via ATM switches.
It is essential to the proper delivery of such CBR service traffic in a broadband network that the clock controlling the destination node buffer be operating at a frequency precisely matched to that of the service signal input at the source node in order to avoid loss of information due to buffer over- or under-flow. However, unlike the circuit-switched transport of service data wherein the clock frequency at the destination node may be traced directly back to that of the source node by the regular, periodic arrival of the CBR traffic, transport in an ATM network inherently results in cell jitter, i.e. the random delay and aperiodic arrival of cells at a destination node, which essentially destroys the value of cell arrival instances as a means for directly recovering the original service signal input frequency.
Such cell jitter, generally the result of the multiplexing of transport cells in the broadband network and the cell queuing delays incurred at the ATM switches in the network, is substantially unpredictable. Thus, little is known about the cell arrival time beyond the fact that the average cell delay is a constant, assuming that the ATM network provides sufficient bandwidth to ensure against loss of cells within the network. As a means for closely approximating the service signal frequency at the destination node, some consideration had previously been given to utilizing a direct extension of circuit-switched timing recovery practices which rely entirely upon a buffer fill signal as the basis for recovery of the source timing. However, due to the lack of knowledge of statistics of the cell jitter, this approach would have required a phase-locked loop with very low cut-off frequency (in the order of a few Hz) and would thus have resulted in excessive converging time and degradation of jitter and wander performance.
A number of schemes have been proposed to improve upon such a conventional manner of recovering service timing in the presence of cell jitter, yet none has achieved this end economically and without extensive control systems of notable complexity. Singh et al., for example, in "Adaptive Clock Synchronization Schemes For Real-Time Traffic In Broadband Packet Networks," 8th European Conference on Electrotechnics, Stockholm, Sweden, June 1988, and "Jitter And Clock Recovery For Periodic Traffic In Broadband Packet Networks," IEEE Globecom '88, Florida, December 1988, have proposed algorithms which attempt to more closely estimate cell jitter statistics and derive timing recovery from those indications. These adaptive approaches, suggested to be applicable to both synchronous and non-synchronous networks, rely upon the interaction of increasingly complex algorithms which would require the noted extensive controls for implementation.
These prior art schemes described above can be classified as non-synchronous techniques, which are based on the simple fact that the expected value of the network cell jitter is zero and thus rely on phase filtering. Synchronous techniques, on the other hand, utilize the fact that common timing is available at both the transmitter and the receiver. In a synchronous broadband ATM network, such as the Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) prescribed by American National Standard, ANSI T1.105-1988, "Digital Hierarchy Optical Interface Rates and Formats Specification," Mar. 10, 1988, the network source and destination node control clocks are synchronized to the same timing reference. As a result, there is no necessity for relying upon any extraneous phenomenon such as instants of cell arrival to provide a datum base for determining the relative frequencies of those control clocks. The effect of cell jitter caused by multiplexing and switching delays in the network is therefore of little consequence in any procedure for circuit transporting CBR service, which is based, as is the present invention, on an actual synchrony of node timing. Thus being devoid of concern for cell jitter, this process is free to simply determine the difference in frequency between the CBR service signal input at the source node and the source/destination node timing clock(s).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,188 issued on Oct. 2, 1990 to Chi-Leung Lau, co-inventor herein, discloses a synchronous frequency encoding technique (SFET) for clock timing in a broadband network. The SFET takes advantage of the common timing reference at both the source and the receiver. At the source, the asynchronous service clock is compared to the network reference clock. The discrepancy between properly chosen submultiples of the two clocks is measured in units of a preassigned number of slip cycles of network clock. This clock slip information is conveyed via a Frequency Encoded Number (FEN) which is carried in the ATM Adaptation Layer (AAL) overhead. At the receiver, the common network clock and the FEN are used to reconstruct the service clock. This timing recovery process does not rely on any statistics of the cell jitter except that it has a known, bounded amplitude. Therefore, the recovered clock has jitter performance comparable to that of the circuit-switched network.
An alternative proposed approach is known as Time Stamp (TS). In the Time Stamp approach (see, for example, Gonzales et al, "Jitter Reduction in ATM Networks", Proceedings ICC'91, 9.4.1-9.4.6), the network clock is used to drive a multi-bit counter (16-bits in the proposal), which is sampled every fixed number of generated cells (e.g., 16). Thus, a fixed number, N, of service clocks cycles is used as the measuring yardstick. The sampled value of the 16-bit counter is the TS that inherently conveys the frequency difference information. Because of the size of the TS (2 octets), it has been proposed that the TS be transmitted via the Convergence Sublayer (CS) overhead. Thus the TS is a 16-bit binary number occurring once every N service clock cycles. Differences in successive TSs represent the quantized values of M, where M is the number of network clock cycles during the fixed TS period. At the receiver, the TS period is reconstructed from the received TSs and the network clock. A free-running 16-bit counter is clocked by the network clock and the output of the counter is compared to the received TSs which are stored in a TS FIFO. A pulse is generated whenever there is a match between the TS and the 16-bit counter. The service clock is recovered by supplying the resultant pulse stream as the reference signal to a multiply-by-N phase locked loop (PLL).
A comparison of the SFET approach and the TS approach reveals advantages and disadvantages for each. In the SFET approach there is a relatively stringent requirement on the derived network clock since it must be slightly larger than the service clock. Advantageously, however, a convergence sublayer is not required to transmit the FEN and only small overhead bandwidth is required to transmit the necessary information. On the other hand, the TS approach is more flexible in that it does not require stringent relationships between the service clock and the network derived clock and can therefore support a range of service bit rates. Disadvantageously, however, a rigid convergence sublayer structure is required to transmit the TS, which adds complexity and makes inefficient use of the overhead bandwidth.
An object of the present invention is to achieve synchronous timing recovery with an approach that has the advantages of both the SFET and TS approaches, specifically, the efficiency of SFET and the flexibility of TS.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
As described hereinabove, the TS approach requires a large number of bits (16-bits in the example), to represent the number of network clock cycles within a time interval defined by a fixed number (N) of service clock cycles. In accordance with the present invention, the number of bits required to represent the number of network clock cycles within that time interval is substantially reduced. This is possible through the realization that the actual number of network clock cycles, M (where M is not necessarily an integer), deviates from a nominal known number of cycles by a calculable deviation that is a function of N, the frequencies of the network and service clocks, and the tolerance of the service clock. Specifically, therefore, rather than transmitting a digital representation of the quantized actual number of network clock cycles within the interval, only a representation of that number as it exists within a defined window surrounding an expected, or nominal, number of network clock pulses is transmitted from a source node to a destination node in an ATM network. This representation will be referred to hereinafter as the Residual Time Stamp (RTS). By selecting the number of bits, P, so that all 2 P possible different bit patterns uniquely and unambiguously represent the range of possible numbers of network clock cycles within the fixed interval that is defined by N service clock cycles, the destination node can recover the service clock from the common network clock and the received RTS.
At the source node, a free-running P-bit counter counts clock cycles in a clock signal derived from the network clock. The service clock, which is derived from the incoming data signal to be transmitted over the ATM network, is divided by the factor of N to produce a pulse signal having a period (the RTS period) which defines the time interval for measuring the number (modulo 2 P ) of derived network clock pulses. At the end of each RTS period, the current count of the free-running P-bit counter is sampled. That sampled value is the RTS, which is transmitted via the adaptation layer. Since the service clock from which the RTS period is defined and the derived network clock are neither synchronized nor integrally related in frequency, the actual number of derived network clock cycles in a RTS period is unlikely to be an integer. Thus, when sampled at the end of each RTS period, the increment in the count of the P-bit counter is a quantized version of the count (modulo 2 P ) of pulses in the RTS interval as modified by any accumulated fractional counts from a previous interval.
At the destination node, after the AAL is processed, the successive RTSs are converted into a pulse signal which has periods between pulses defined by the fixed integral numbers of derived network clock pulses that correspond to the conveyed RTS periods. Specifically, a free-running P-bit counter is driven by the derived network clock. A comparator compares this count with a stored received RTS and produces a pulse output upon a match. Since the count of the P-bit counter matches the stored RTS every 2 P derived network clock cycles, comparator output pulses that do not actually represent the end of the RTS period are inhibited by gating circuitry. This gating circuitry includes a second counter that counts the derived network clock cycles occurring since the end of the previous RTS period. When this second counter reaches a count equal to the minimum possible number of derived network clock pulses within an RTS period, the next comparator pulse output produced upon a match between the RTS and the count of the P-bit counter, is gated-through to the output and resets the second counter. The resultant gated through output pulse stream drives a multiply-by-N phase locked loop to recover the service clock.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 are timing diagrams showing the RTS concept of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing apparatus, in accordance with the present invention, for generating the RTS at the source node of an ATM network;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing apparatus, in accordance with the present invention, for reconstructing the service clock at the destination node of an ATM network; and
FIG. 4 are timing diagrams showing the gating function at the apparatus of FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The concept of the Residual Time Stamp is described with reference to FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, and in the description hereinafter, the following terminology is used:
f n --network clock frequency, e.g. 155.52 MHz;
f nx --derived network clock frequency, ##EQU1## where x is a rational number; f s --service clock frequency;
N--period of RTS in units of the service clock (f s ) cycles;
T n --the n-th period of the RTS in seconds;
±ε--tolerance of the source clock frequency in parts per million;
M n (M nom , M max , M min )--number of f nx cycles within the n-th (nominal, maximum, minimum) RTS period, which are, in general, non-integers.
As can be noted in FIG. 1, during the n-th period, T n , corresponding to N service clock cycles, there are M n network derived clock cycles. As aforenoted, since the service clock and the network clock are neither synchronized nor integrally related in frequency, this number of derived network clock cycles is not an integer. Since all practical timing recovery techniques transmit only integer values, the fractional part of M n must be dealt with. Simple truncation or rounding of the fractional part in each RTS time slot is not permissible, as this would lead to a "random walk" type error accumulation. Rather, it is necessary to accumulate the fractional parts at the transmitter and use the accumulated value to modify the transmitted integer quantity. Since it is most convenient to generate RTS by an asynchronous counter, as will be described hereinafter in conjunction with the description of FIG. 2, a "truncation" operation is natural, reflecting the fact that an asynchronous counter's output does not change until the subsequent input pulse arrives. To formalize these notions, S n is defined as the truncated value of M n after accounting for the left over fractional part, d n , from the (n-1)-th interval, viz.,
S.sub.n =[M.sub.n +d.sub.n ] (1)
and
d.sub.n+1 =d.sub.n +M.sub.n -S.sub.n (2)
where [a] denotes the largest integer less than or equal to a. Since for accurate clocks, the range of M n , is very tightly constrained, i.e., M max -M min =2y<M n , the variation in S n is also much smaller than its magnitude. It follows from Equation (1) that
[M.sub.min +d.sub.n ]≦S.sub.n ≦[M.sub.max +d.sub.n ](3)
Since the maximum and minimum of d n are 1 and 0 respectively, S n is bounded by,
[M.sub.min ]≦S.sub.n ≦[M.sub.max ]+1 (4)
This implies, that the most significant portion of S n carries no information and it is necessary to transmit only its least significant portion. This, therefore, is the essential concept of the RTS. The minimum resolution required to represent the residual part of S n unambiguously is a function of N, the ratio of the network derived frequency to the service frequency, and the service clock tolerance, ±ε. The maximum deviation, y, between the nominal number of derived network clock pulses in an RTS period, M nom , and the maximum or minimum values of M (M max or M min ) is given by, ##EQU2## where M nom equals ##EQU3##
A specific numerical example can be considered for clarity of understanding. As illustrative derived network clock frequency and service clock frequencies could be given by f nx =155.52 MHZ (for x=1), and f s =78.16 MHz (nominal), respectively. A typical RTS sampling period (N) is 3008, which corresponds to a period of 8 cells and a 47-octet payload per cell (47 bytes/cell×8 bits/byte×8 cells per RTS period). Using these numbers, M nom =5985.2119. If it is further reasonable to assume that the service clock tolerance is 200 parts per million, i.e., ±200×10 -6 . From equation (5), therefore, y=1.197, which demonstrates that it is superfluous to transmit the full S n in each RTS sampling period and transmission of the last few (P) bits of S n is sufficient. This P-bit sample is the Residual-TS (RTS).
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the source node of an ATM network showing apparatus for generating and transmitting the RTS. The basic network clock, C, shown at 10, serves as the reference for timing of all nodes of the synchronous network being here considered. This clock, having a frequency f n , is divided in frequency by a rational factor x by a divider 11 to produce a derived network clock having a frequency f nx . Preferably, x would be an integer value. The dividing factor is chosen so that the P bits available can unambiguously represent the number of derived network clock cycles within an RTS period. In the case where ##EQU4## is less than or equal to two, as in the example above, it can be shown that a 3-bit RTS is sufficient.
The derived network clock, f nx , drives a P-bit counter, which is continuously counting these derived network clock pulses, modulo 2 P . The service clock, f s , on lead 13, which is derived from the service data signal (not shown) to be transmitted over the ATM network, is divided in frequency by N, the desired RTS period in units of f s cycles, by divide-by N circuit 14. As shown in FIG. 2, the output of divider 14 is a pulse signal in which T n is its n-th period. At every T seconds (N source clock cycles) latch 15 samples the current count of counter 12, which is then the P-bit RTS to be transmitted. As aforedescribed, this number represents the residual part of S n and is all that is necessary to be transmitted to recover the source clock at the destination node of the network.
Each successive RTS is incorporated within the ATM adaptation layer overhead by AAL processor 16. The associated data to be transmitted (not shown) is also processed by processor 16 to form the payload of the cells, which are then assembled by an ATM assembler 17, which adds an ATM header for transmission over the network 18.
With reference again to the previous example, a four-bit counter (P=4) can be assumed to be used. Since M nom =5985.2119 and 5985.2119 (modulo 16)=1.2119, a typical RTS output sequence when the source is at nominal frequency will be as follows;
. . . 5,6,7,9,10,11,12,13,15,1,2, . . .
Since the counter 16, in effect, quantizes by truncation, the RTS changes only by integer values. The changes in RTS are such that their average is exactly equal to M nom (modulo 2 P ). In this example, the changes are either 1 or 2 with the change of 2 occurring either every 4 or 5 RTSs in such a way that the average interval is 1/0.2119=4.7198. In general, successive RTSs are related by
RTS.sub.n+1 =RTS.sub.n +S.sub.n =RTS.sub.n +[d.sub.n +M.sub.n ](modulo 2.sup.P) (6)
In order to guarantee that no information is lost due to the modulo arithmetic, i.e., that the transmitted RTS represents S n unambiguously, it can be seen from equation (4) that the number of bits used for transmission must satisfy:
2.sup.P ≧[M.sub.max ]-[M.sub.min ]+2 (7)
Thus, in the example above, the number of bits allocated to the RTS must be 3 or greater. It can be noted that the number of bits necessary to unambiguously represent the number of derived network clock cycles within the RTS period is substantially less than the number of bits that would be required to represent the absolute number of clock cycles within the same interval. In the example above, for example, a 13-bit number would be required to represent M nom .
If equation (7) is satisfied, knowledge of M nom in the receiver at the destination node along with the received RTSs can be used to reproduce the service clock from the synchronous network clock. FIG. 3 shows one receiver implementation for reproducing the service clock from the received RTSs. At the receiver the common network clock 10 is available as it was at the transmitter. As in the transmitter, a divider 31 divides the network clock frequency, f n by the same factor of x as divider 11 in the source node, to produce the same derived network clock signal having a frequency f nx as was used by the transmitter at the source node of FIG. 2.
In a structure paralleling the transmitter in FIG. 2, a disassembler 32 processes the ATM headers received from the network 18 and passes the payload to an AAL processor 33. In addition to extracting the transmitted data (not shown), processor 33 extracts the periodic transmitted RTSs, which are sequentially stored in a FIFO 34, which is used to absorb the network cell jitter. The earliest received RTS in FIFO 34 is compared by P-bit comparator 35 with the count of a free running P-bit counter 36, driven by the derived network clock, f nx . Whenever the output of counter 36 matches the current RTS, comparator 35 generates a pulse. Since counter 36 is a modulo 2 P counter, the RTS in FIFO 34 matches the count of counter 36 every 2 P derived network clock pulses, f nx . The output of comparator 35 thus consists of a train of pulses that are separated, except for the first pulse, by 2 P cycles of the derived network clock. In order to select the output pulse of comparator 35 that corresponds to the end of the fixed period of the transmitted service clocks, which is the period per RTS to be recovered, gating circuitry 37 is employed. Gating circuitry 37, which includes a counter 38, a gating signal generator 39, and an AND gate 40, gates only that pulse output of comparator 35 produced after counting, from the last gated output pulse, a minimum number, M l , of derived network clock cycles. This minimum number, M l , is given by:
M.sub.l =[M.sub.nom ]-2.sup.(P-1) (8)
This ensures that [M max ]-2 P <M l <[M min ], and thus the gating pulse is guaranteed to select the correct RTS.
The gating function is best explained in conjunction with the timing diagrams of FIG. 4. Initially, it can be assumed that gating signal generator 39 is set to keep AND gate 40 open. Comparator 35 compares the first RTS in FIFO 34 with the free-running count of counter 36. When the count of counter 36 matches this first RTS, shown in FIG. 4 as "2", comparator 35 produces a pulse which is gated through AND gate 40. This gated output pulse resets gating signal generator 39 thereupon turning off AND gate 40, resets the counter of counter 38 to zero, and reads the next stored RTS, "5", in FIFO 34. When counter 36 reaches the count of "5", comparator 35 produces another output pulse. AND gate 40, however, is OFF and remains off until counter 38 counts M l derived network clock cycles. Therefore, as noted in FIG. 4, all the subsequent matches of the RTS, "5" and the count of counter 36, which occur every 2 P derived network clock cycles, are blocked by AND gate 40. These subsequent pulses are blocked until counter 38 reaches a count of that minimum number of clock cycles that can comprise the fixed interval to be recovered from the RTS. After counting M l derived network clock cycles, counter 38 generates a pulse which signals gating signal generator 39 to open AND gate 40. The next pulse produced by comparator 35 upon the match between the RTS in FIFO 34 and the count of counter 36 is gated through AND gate 40. This pulse, as before, resets counter 38, resets gating signal generator 39, and reads-in the next stored RTS to the output of FIFO 34. The resultant time difference between output pulses of AND gate 40 is the desired fixed time interval, S n , to be recovered from the transmitted RTSs. As previously defined in equation (1), S n is the truncated value in the nth interval, after accounting for a left over portion from the (n-1)-th interval, of the actual number of derived network clock cycles within the fixed interval defined by N source clock cycles. As can be noted, S n modulo (2 P ) is equal to the difference of the RTSs associated with the pulses matched by comparator 35 right before and right after the reset. Thus in FIG. 4, for the n-th period, this is the difference between "5" and "2", or "3", and for the (n+1)-st period, this is the difference between "9" and "5" or "4". The resultant pulse train at the output of gating circuitry 37 can be seen to duplicate the signal at the source node of the network, which is defined by N service clock cycles, as modified by the quantization effect of the RTSs. This pulse stream is input to a multiply-by N phase-locked loop 41 which multiplies the frequency by the factor of N and smooths out the variation of the reproduced periods. The resultant output clock signal, f r , is the reproduced service timing signal, which can be employed by the circuitry at the destination node.
The above-described embodiment is illustrative of the principles of the present invention. Other embodiments could be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. | A Residual Time Stamp (RTS) technique provides a method and apparatus for recovering the timing signal of a constant bit rate input service signal at the destination node of a synchronous ATM telecommunication network. At the source node, a free-running P-bit counter counts cycles in a common network clock. At the end of every RTS period formed by N service clock cycles, the current count of the P-bit counter, defined as the RTS, is transmitted in the ATM adaptation layer. Since the absolute number of network clock cycles likely to fall within an RTS period will fall within a range determined by N, the frequencies of the network and service clocks, and the tolerance of the service clock, P is chosen so that the 2 P possible counts, rather than representing the absolute number of network clock cycles an RTS period, provide sufficient information for unambiguously representing the number of network clock cycles within that predetermined range. At the destination node, a pulse signal is derived in which the periods are determined by the number of network clock cycles represented by the received RTSs. This pulse signal is then multiplied in frequency by N to recover the source node service clock. | Identify and summarize the most critical technical features from the given patent document. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to timing recovery of a source node service clock frequency at a destination node in a broadband asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network where the source and destination nodes receive reference timing signals derived from a single master clock.",
"Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is a packet oriented technology for the realization of a Broadband Integrated Services Network (BISDN).",
"By using ATM, network resources can be shared among multiple users.",
"Moreover, various services including voice, video and data can be multiplexed, switched, and transported together under a universal format.",
"Full integration will likely result in simpler and more efficient network and service administration and management.",
"However, while conventional circuit-switching is optimized for real-time, continuous traffic, ATM is more suitable for the transport of bursty traffic such as data.",
"Accommodation of constant bit rate (CBR) services is, however, an important feature of ATM, both for universal integration and for compatibility between existing and future networks.",
"In the transport of a CBR signal through a broadband ATM network, the CBR signal is first segmented into 47-octet units and then mapped, along with an octet of ATM Type I Adaptation Layer (AAL) overhead, into the 48-octet payload of the cell.",
"The cells are then statistically multiplexed into the network and routed through the network via ATM switches.",
"It is essential to the proper delivery of such CBR service traffic in a broadband network that the clock controlling the destination node buffer be operating at a frequency precisely matched to that of the service signal input at the source node in order to avoid loss of information due to buffer over- or under-flow.",
"However, unlike the circuit-switched transport of service data wherein the clock frequency at the destination node may be traced directly back to that of the source node by the regular, periodic arrival of the CBR traffic, transport in an ATM network inherently results in cell jitter, i.e. the random delay and aperiodic arrival of cells at a destination node, which essentially destroys the value of cell arrival instances as a means for directly recovering the original service signal input frequency.",
"Such cell jitter, generally the result of the multiplexing of transport cells in the broadband network and the cell queuing delays incurred at the ATM switches in the network, is substantially unpredictable.",
"Thus, little is known about the cell arrival time beyond the fact that the average cell delay is a constant, assuming that the ATM network provides sufficient bandwidth to ensure against loss of cells within the network.",
"As a means for closely approximating the service signal frequency at the destination node, some consideration had previously been given to utilizing a direct extension of circuit-switched timing recovery practices which rely entirely upon a buffer fill signal as the basis for recovery of the source timing.",
"However, due to the lack of knowledge of statistics of the cell jitter, this approach would have required a phase-locked loop with very low cut-off frequency (in the order of a few Hz) and would thus have resulted in excessive converging time and degradation of jitter and wander performance.",
"A number of schemes have been proposed to improve upon such a conventional manner of recovering service timing in the presence of cell jitter, yet none has achieved this end economically and without extensive control systems of notable complexity.",
"Singh et al.",
", for example, in "Adaptive Clock Synchronization Schemes For Real-Time Traffic In Broadband Packet Networks,"",
"8th European Conference on Electrotechnics, Stockholm, Sweden, June 1988, and "Jitter And Clock Recovery For Periodic Traffic In Broadband Packet Networks,"",
"IEEE Globecom '88, Florida, December 1988, have proposed algorithms which attempt to more closely estimate cell jitter statistics and derive timing recovery from those indications.",
"These adaptive approaches, suggested to be applicable to both synchronous and non-synchronous networks, rely upon the interaction of increasingly complex algorithms which would require the noted extensive controls for implementation.",
"These prior art schemes described above can be classified as non-synchronous techniques, which are based on the simple fact that the expected value of the network cell jitter is zero and thus rely on phase filtering.",
"Synchronous techniques, on the other hand, utilize the fact that common timing is available at both the transmitter and the receiver.",
"In a synchronous broadband ATM network, such as the Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) prescribed by American National Standard, ANSI T1.105-1988, "Digital Hierarchy Optical Interface Rates and Formats Specification,"",
"Mar. 10, 1988, the network source and destination node control clocks are synchronized to the same timing reference.",
"As a result, there is no necessity for relying upon any extraneous phenomenon such as instants of cell arrival to provide a datum base for determining the relative frequencies of those control clocks.",
"The effect of cell jitter caused by multiplexing and switching delays in the network is therefore of little consequence in any procedure for circuit transporting CBR service, which is based, as is the present invention, on an actual synchrony of node timing.",
"Thus being devoid of concern for cell jitter, this process is free to simply determine the difference in frequency between the CBR service signal input at the source node and the source/destination node timing clock(s).",
"U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,188 issued on Oct. 2, 1990 to Chi-Leung Lau, co-inventor herein, discloses a synchronous frequency encoding technique (SFET) for clock timing in a broadband network.",
"The SFET takes advantage of the common timing reference at both the source and the receiver.",
"At the source, the asynchronous service clock is compared to the network reference clock.",
"The discrepancy between properly chosen submultiples of the two clocks is measured in units of a preassigned number of slip cycles of network clock.",
"This clock slip information is conveyed via a Frequency Encoded Number (FEN) which is carried in the ATM Adaptation Layer (AAL) overhead.",
"At the receiver, the common network clock and the FEN are used to reconstruct the service clock.",
"This timing recovery process does not rely on any statistics of the cell jitter except that it has a known, bounded amplitude.",
"Therefore, the recovered clock has jitter performance comparable to that of the circuit-switched network.",
"An alternative proposed approach is known as Time Stamp (TS).",
"In the Time Stamp approach (see, for example, Gonzales et al, "Jitter Reduction in ATM Networks", Proceedings ICC'91, 9.4[.",
"].1-9.4[.",
"].6), the network clock is used to drive a multi-bit counter (16-bits in the proposal), which is sampled every fixed number of generated cells (e.g., 16).",
"Thus, a fixed number, N, of service clocks cycles is used as the measuring yardstick.",
"The sampled value of the 16-bit counter is the TS that inherently conveys the frequency difference information.",
"Because of the size of the TS (2 octets), it has been proposed that the TS be transmitted via the Convergence Sublayer (CS) overhead.",
"Thus the TS is a 16-bit binary number occurring once every N service clock cycles.",
"Differences in successive TSs represent the quantized values of M, where M is the number of network clock cycles during the fixed TS period.",
"At the receiver, the TS period is reconstructed from the received TSs and the network clock.",
"A free-running 16-bit counter is clocked by the network clock and the output of the counter is compared to the received TSs which are stored in a TS FIFO.",
"A pulse is generated whenever there is a match between the TS and the 16-bit counter.",
"The service clock is recovered by supplying the resultant pulse stream as the reference signal to a multiply-by-N phase locked loop (PLL).",
"A comparison of the SFET approach and the TS approach reveals advantages and disadvantages for each.",
"In the SFET approach there is a relatively stringent requirement on the derived network clock since it must be slightly larger than the service clock.",
"Advantageously, however, a convergence sublayer is not required to transmit the FEN and only small overhead bandwidth is required to transmit the necessary information.",
"On the other hand, the TS approach is more flexible in that it does not require stringent relationships between the service clock and the network derived clock and can therefore support a range of service bit rates.",
"Disadvantageously, however, a rigid convergence sublayer structure is required to transmit the TS, which adds complexity and makes inefficient use of the overhead bandwidth.",
"An object of the present invention is to achieve synchronous timing recovery with an approach that has the advantages of both the SFET and TS approaches, specifically, the efficiency of SFET and the flexibility of TS.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As described hereinabove, the TS approach requires a large number of bits (16-bits in the example), to represent the number of network clock cycles within a time interval defined by a fixed number (N) of service clock cycles.",
"In accordance with the present invention, the number of bits required to represent the number of network clock cycles within that time interval is substantially reduced.",
"This is possible through the realization that the actual number of network clock cycles, M (where M is not necessarily an integer), deviates from a nominal known number of cycles by a calculable deviation that is a function of N, the frequencies of the network and service clocks, and the tolerance of the service clock.",
"Specifically, therefore, rather than transmitting a digital representation of the quantized actual number of network clock cycles within the interval, only a representation of that number as it exists within a defined window surrounding an expected, or nominal, number of network clock pulses is transmitted from a source node to a destination node in an ATM network.",
"This representation will be referred to hereinafter as the Residual Time Stamp (RTS).",
"By selecting the number of bits, P, so that all 2 P possible different bit patterns uniquely and unambiguously represent the range of possible numbers of network clock cycles within the fixed interval that is defined by N service clock cycles, the destination node can recover the service clock from the common network clock and the received RTS.",
"At the source node, a free-running P-bit counter counts clock cycles in a clock signal derived from the network clock.",
"The service clock, which is derived from the incoming data signal to be transmitted over the ATM network, is divided by the factor of N to produce a pulse signal having a period (the RTS period) which defines the time interval for measuring the number (modulo 2 P ) of derived network clock pulses.",
"At the end of each RTS period, the current count of the free-running P-bit counter is sampled.",
"That sampled value is the RTS, which is transmitted via the adaptation layer.",
"Since the service clock from which the RTS period is defined and the derived network clock are neither synchronized nor integrally related in frequency, the actual number of derived network clock cycles in a RTS period is unlikely to be an integer.",
"Thus, when sampled at the end of each RTS period, the increment in the count of the P-bit counter is a quantized version of the count (modulo 2 P ) of pulses in the RTS interval as modified by any accumulated fractional counts from a previous interval.",
"At the destination node, after the AAL is processed, the successive RTSs are converted into a pulse signal which has periods between pulses defined by the fixed integral numbers of derived network clock pulses that correspond to the conveyed RTS periods.",
"Specifically, a free-running P-bit counter is driven by the derived network clock.",
"A comparator compares this count with a stored received RTS and produces a pulse output upon a match.",
"Since the count of the P-bit counter matches the stored RTS every 2 P derived network clock cycles, comparator output pulses that do not actually represent the end of the RTS period are inhibited by gating circuitry.",
"This gating circuitry includes a second counter that counts the derived network clock cycles occurring since the end of the previous RTS period.",
"When this second counter reaches a count equal to the minimum possible number of derived network clock pulses within an RTS period, the next comparator pulse output produced upon a match between the RTS and the count of the P-bit counter, is gated-through to the output and resets the second counter.",
"The resultant gated through output pulse stream drives a multiply-by-N phase locked loop to recover the service clock.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 are timing diagrams showing the RTS concept of the present invention;",
"FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing apparatus, in accordance with the present invention, for generating the RTS at the source node of an ATM network;",
"FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing apparatus, in accordance with the present invention, for reconstructing the service clock at the destination node of an ATM network;",
"and FIG. 4 are timing diagrams showing the gating function at the apparatus of FIG. 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The concept of the Residual Time Stamp is described with reference to FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, and in the description hereinafter, the following terminology is used: f n --network clock frequency, e.g. 155.52 MHz;",
"f nx --derived network clock frequency, ##EQU1## where x is a rational number;",
"f s --service clock frequency;",
"N--period of RTS in units of the service clock (f s ) cycles;",
"T n --the n-th period of the RTS in seconds;",
"±ε--tolerance of the source clock frequency in parts per million;",
"M n (M nom , M max , M min )--number of f nx cycles within the n-th (nominal, maximum, minimum) RTS period, which are, in general, non-integers.",
"As can be noted in FIG. 1, during the n-th period, T n , corresponding to N service clock cycles, there are M n network derived clock cycles.",
"As aforenoted, since the service clock and the network clock are neither synchronized nor integrally related in frequency, this number of derived network clock cycles is not an integer.",
"Since all practical timing recovery techniques transmit only integer values, the fractional part of M n must be dealt with.",
"Simple truncation or rounding of the fractional part in each RTS time slot is not permissible, as this would lead to a "random walk"",
"type error accumulation.",
"Rather, it is necessary to accumulate the fractional parts at the transmitter and use the accumulated value to modify the transmitted integer quantity.",
"Since it is most convenient to generate RTS by an asynchronous counter, as will be described hereinafter in conjunction with the description of FIG. 2, a "truncation"",
"operation is natural, reflecting the fact that an asynchronous counter's output does not change until the subsequent input pulse arrives.",
"To formalize these notions, S n is defined as the truncated value of M n after accounting for the left over fractional part, d n , from the (n-1)-th interval, viz.",
", S.sub.",
"n =[M.",
"sub.",
"n +d.",
"sub.",
"n ] (1) and d.sub.",
"n+1 =d.",
"sub.",
"n +M.",
"sub.",
"n -S.",
"sub.",
"n (2) where [a] denotes the largest integer less than or equal to a. Since for accurate clocks, the range of M n , is very tightly constrained, i.e., M max -M min =2y<M n , the variation in S n is also much smaller than its magnitude.",
"It follows from Equation (1) that [M.",
"sub.",
"min +d.",
"sub.",
"n ]≦S.",
"sub.",
"n ≦[M.",
"sub.",
"max +d.",
"sub.",
"n ](3) Since the maximum and minimum of d n are 1 and 0 respectively, S n is bounded by, [M.",
"sub.",
"min ]≦S.",
"sub.",
"n ≦[M.",
"sub.",
"max ]+1 (4) This implies, that the most significant portion of S n carries no information and it is necessary to transmit only its least significant portion.",
"This, therefore, is the essential concept of the RTS.",
"The minimum resolution required to represent the residual part of S n unambiguously is a function of N, the ratio of the network derived frequency to the service frequency, and the service clock tolerance, ±ε.",
"The maximum deviation, y, between the nominal number of derived network clock pulses in an RTS period, M nom , and the maximum or minimum values of M (M max or M min ) is given by, ##EQU2## where M nom equals ##EQU3## A specific numerical example can be considered for clarity of understanding.",
"As illustrative derived network clock frequency and service clock frequencies could be given by f nx =155.52 MHZ (for x=1), and f s =78.16 MHz (nominal), respectively.",
"A typical RTS sampling period (N) is 3008, which corresponds to a period of 8 cells and a 47-octet payload per cell (47 bytes/cell×8 bits/byte×8 cells per RTS period).",
"Using these numbers, M nom =5985.2119.",
"If it is further reasonable to assume that the service clock tolerance is 200 parts per million, i.e., ±200×10 -6 .",
"From equation (5), therefore, y=1.197, which demonstrates that it is superfluous to transmit the full S n in each RTS sampling period and transmission of the last few (P) bits of S n is sufficient.",
"This P-bit sample is the Residual-TS (RTS).",
"FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the source node of an ATM network showing apparatus for generating and transmitting the RTS.",
"The basic network clock, C, shown at 10, serves as the reference for timing of all nodes of the synchronous network being here considered.",
"This clock, having a frequency f n , is divided in frequency by a rational factor x by a divider 11 to produce a derived network clock having a frequency f nx .",
"Preferably, x would be an integer value.",
"The dividing factor is chosen so that the P bits available can unambiguously represent the number of derived network clock cycles within an RTS period.",
"In the case where ##EQU4## is less than or equal to two, as in the example above, it can be shown that a 3-bit RTS is sufficient.",
"The derived network clock, f nx , drives a P-bit counter, which is continuously counting these derived network clock pulses, modulo 2 P .",
"The service clock, f s , on lead 13, which is derived from the service data signal (not shown) to be transmitted over the ATM network, is divided in frequency by N, the desired RTS period in units of f s cycles, by divide-by N circuit 14.",
"As shown in FIG. 2, the output of divider 14 is a pulse signal in which T n is its n-th period.",
"At every T seconds (N source clock cycles) latch 15 samples the current count of counter 12, which is then the P-bit RTS to be transmitted.",
"As aforedescribed, this number represents the residual part of S n and is all that is necessary to be transmitted to recover the source clock at the destination node of the network.",
"Each successive RTS is incorporated within the ATM adaptation layer overhead by AAL processor 16.",
"The associated data to be transmitted (not shown) is also processed by processor 16 to form the payload of the cells, which are then assembled by an ATM assembler 17, which adds an ATM header for transmission over the network 18.",
"With reference again to the previous example, a four-bit counter (P=4) can be assumed to be used.",
"Since M nom =5985.2119 and 5985.2119 (modulo 16)=1.2119, a typical RTS output sequence when the source is at nominal frequency will be as follows;",
"5,6,7,9,10,11,12,13,15,1,2, .",
"Since the counter 16, in effect, quantizes by truncation, the RTS changes only by integer values.",
"The changes in RTS are such that their average is exactly equal to M nom (modulo 2 P ).",
"In this example, the changes are either 1 or 2 with the change of 2 occurring either every 4 or 5 RTSs in such a way that the average interval is 1/0.2119=4.7198.",
"In general, successive RTSs are related by RTS.",
"sub.",
"n+1 =RTS.",
"sub.",
"n +S.",
"sub.",
"n =RTS.",
"sub.",
"n +[d.",
"sub.",
"n +M.",
"sub.",
"n ](modulo 2.",
"sup.",
"P) (6) In order to guarantee that no information is lost due to the modulo arithmetic, i.e., that the transmitted RTS represents S n unambiguously, it can be seen from equation (4) that the number of bits used for transmission must satisfy: 2.",
"sup.",
"P ≧[M.",
"sub.",
"max ]-[M.",
"sub.",
"min ]+2 (7) Thus, in the example above, the number of bits allocated to the RTS must be 3 or greater.",
"It can be noted that the number of bits necessary to unambiguously represent the number of derived network clock cycles within the RTS period is substantially less than the number of bits that would be required to represent the absolute number of clock cycles within the same interval.",
"In the example above, for example, a 13-bit number would be required to represent M nom .",
"If equation (7) is satisfied, knowledge of M nom in the receiver at the destination node along with the received RTSs can be used to reproduce the service clock from the synchronous network clock.",
"FIG. 3 shows one receiver implementation for reproducing the service clock from the received RTSs.",
"At the receiver the common network clock 10 is available as it was at the transmitter.",
"As in the transmitter, a divider 31 divides the network clock frequency, f n by the same factor of x as divider 11 in the source node, to produce the same derived network clock signal having a frequency f nx as was used by the transmitter at the source node of FIG. 2. In a structure paralleling the transmitter in FIG. 2, a disassembler 32 processes the ATM headers received from the network 18 and passes the payload to an AAL processor 33.",
"In addition to extracting the transmitted data (not shown), processor 33 extracts the periodic transmitted RTSs, which are sequentially stored in a FIFO 34, which is used to absorb the network cell jitter.",
"The earliest received RTS in FIFO 34 is compared by P-bit comparator 35 with the count of a free running P-bit counter 36, driven by the derived network clock, f nx .",
"Whenever the output of counter 36 matches the current RTS, comparator 35 generates a pulse.",
"Since counter 36 is a modulo 2 P counter, the RTS in FIFO 34 matches the count of counter 36 every 2 P derived network clock pulses, f nx .",
"The output of comparator 35 thus consists of a train of pulses that are separated, except for the first pulse, by 2 P cycles of the derived network clock.",
"In order to select the output pulse of comparator 35 that corresponds to the end of the fixed period of the transmitted service clocks, which is the period per RTS to be recovered, gating circuitry 37 is employed.",
"Gating circuitry 37, which includes a counter 38, a gating signal generator 39, and an AND gate 40, gates only that pulse output of comparator 35 produced after counting, from the last gated output pulse, a minimum number, M l , of derived network clock cycles.",
"This minimum number, M l , is given by: M.sub.",
"l =[M.",
"sub.",
"nom ]-2.",
"sup.",
"(P-1) (8) This ensures that [M max ]-2 P <M l <[M min ], and thus the gating pulse is guaranteed to select the correct RTS.",
"The gating function is best explained in conjunction with the timing diagrams of FIG. 4. Initially, it can be assumed that gating signal generator 39 is set to keep AND gate 40 open.",
"Comparator 35 compares the first RTS in FIFO 34 with the free-running count of counter 36.",
"When the count of counter 36 matches this first RTS, shown in FIG. 4 as "2", comparator 35 produces a pulse which is gated through AND gate 40.",
"This gated output pulse resets gating signal generator 39 thereupon turning off AND gate 40, resets the counter of counter 38 to zero, and reads the next stored RTS, "5", in FIFO 34.",
"When counter 36 reaches the count of "5", comparator 35 produces another output pulse.",
"AND gate 40, however, is OFF and remains off until counter 38 counts M l derived network clock cycles.",
"Therefore, as noted in FIG. 4, all the subsequent matches of the RTS, "5"",
"and the count of counter 36, which occur every 2 P derived network clock cycles, are blocked by AND gate 40.",
"These subsequent pulses are blocked until counter 38 reaches a count of that minimum number of clock cycles that can comprise the fixed interval to be recovered from the RTS.",
"After counting M l derived network clock cycles, counter 38 generates a pulse which signals gating signal generator 39 to open AND gate 40.",
"The next pulse produced by comparator 35 upon the match between the RTS in FIFO 34 and the count of counter 36 is gated through AND gate 40.",
"This pulse, as before, resets counter 38, resets gating signal generator 39, and reads-in the next stored RTS to the output of FIFO 34.",
"The resultant time difference between output pulses of AND gate 40 is the desired fixed time interval, S n , to be recovered from the transmitted RTSs.",
"As previously defined in equation (1), S n is the truncated value in the nth interval, after accounting for a left over portion from the (n-1)-th interval, of the actual number of derived network clock cycles within the fixed interval defined by N source clock cycles.",
"As can be noted, S n modulo (2 P ) is equal to the difference of the RTSs associated with the pulses matched by comparator 35 right before and right after the reset.",
"Thus in FIG. 4, for the n-th period, this is the difference between "5"",
"and "2", or "3", and for the (n+1)-st period, this is the difference between "9"",
"and "5"",
"or "4".",
"The resultant pulse train at the output of gating circuitry 37 can be seen to duplicate the signal at the source node of the network, which is defined by N service clock cycles, as modified by the quantization effect of the RTSs.",
"This pulse stream is input to a multiply-by N phase-locked loop 41 which multiplies the frequency by the factor of N and smooths out the variation of the reproduced periods.",
"The resultant output clock signal, f r , is the reproduced service timing signal, which can be employed by the circuitry at the destination node.",
"The above-described embodiment is illustrative of the principles of the present invention.",
"Other embodiments could be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention."
] |
This is a continuation, of application Ser. No. 742,585, filed Nov. 17, 1976, abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to coke oven batteries and, more particularly, to an electro-mechanical interlock system for the gates on the usual coal bunker and the controls for operating the larry car along the top of the coke oven battery.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is customary to provide a large coal bunker at one end of a coke oven battery that is supplied with coal by a belt conveyor carrying coal from a coal pile, located at some distance from the battery, to the coal bunker. The coal bunker is so designed that the conventional larry car can be located under the coal bunker from which coal is discharged into the coal hoppers on the larry car.
The coal bunker usually has a number of discharge gates, equal to the number of coal hoppers on the larry car, that are shear gates of the counterweighted type. Most of the in-service conventional larry cars have a travel control circuit interlocked with a loading rack on the larry car that opens the bunker gates when the larry car is properly spotted under the bunker. Thus, the larry car, in theory at least, cannot travel as long as the loading rack and the bunker gates are in the open position.
Despite the fact that the loading rack may be interlocked with the travel circuit of the larry car, the loading rack can be closed and the larry car can move while the bunker gates are still open. This results in a major coal spillage. These major coal spills generally result in the loss of production in the battery and in a very costly cleanup project.
Some operators of coke oven batteries have tried various devices to prevent the travel of the larry car while the bunker gates are open. Such devices have included mechanical limit switches on the gate frame to shut off the electrical power to the larry car while the gates are open. But, despite such preventive devices that have tried, major coal spills still are a serious problem in coke oven battery operations.
Usually the major coal spills occur because (1) the gates do not close because a counterweight is used and it is not a reliable device to move the gates from open to closed position; (2) the design of "dogs" on the loading rack and the gate frame make it easy for the loading rack "dog" to slip past the "dog" on the gate frame without closing the gates; and (3) the difference in vertical height of a loaded larry car compared to an empty larry car makes it practically impossible to maintain limit switch connection between the gate frame and the larry car.
Those skilled in the art will recognize, however, from the following description of one embodiment of the present invention how it ensures a proper interlock between the bunker gates and the electrical travel control circuit of the larry car, and thereby avoids such costly coal spills.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A method for preventing coal spills at a coke oven coal bunker includes spotting the larry car at the bunker and opening a flow control device on the bunker to allow coal to flow into hoppers on the larry car. Simultaneously, electric power to the travel circuit of the larry car is interrupted and an interlock circuit is energized, whereby electric power to the travel circuit of the larry car is not restored until the flow control device is closed. When the flow control device is closed, electric power is again restored to the travel circuit of the larry car which is mobile again.
For a further understanding of the invention and for features and advantages thereof, reference may be made to the following description and the drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of equipment in accordance with the invention, for practicing the method of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the drawings
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a coke oven battery showing the relation of a coal bunker to a larry car and coke oven chambers of the battery;
FIG. 2 is a view along line II--II of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 3 is a schematic electrical circuit diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIG. 1, a coke oven battery II is shown as comprising N ovens, and at one end there is shown a conventional larry car 13 that travels on rails 15 on top of the battery 11. At the left-hand end, as shown in FIG. 1, of the coke oven battery 11, there is a coal bunker 17 that is a large receptacle for coal, supplied to it in a conventional manner.
As shown in FIG. 2, the coal bunker has four discharge funnels 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d, and the discharge funnels are provided with slidable closures or gates 21a, 21b, 21c and 21d. The four slidable closures or gates are interconnected by means of rods 23 or the like rigid connectors, and a wire rope 25 is connected in a conventional manner to gate 21a, as shown in FIG. 3. The wire rope 25 cooperates with a sheave 27 and is connected to a counterweight 29.
The larry car 13 is provided with four coal hoppers 31a, 31b, 31c and 31d, which are positioned in line with the four charging holes 33a, 33b, 33c and 33d in each one of the coke oven chambers 1, 2, 3--N-1, N.
Referring to FIG. 3, it shows schematically a pair of gate dogs 35, 37 connected to gates 21b and 21c, respectively. In actual practice, however, the gate dogs 35, 37 would be spaced quite close together, and they would be secured to the rods 23 or the like rigid connectors that move the gates 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d in the manner described hereinafter. As shown, the gate dogs 35, 37 are pivotally mounted to the structure.
Beneath the gate dogs 35, 37 there is shown a loading rack 39 on which is mounted a rack dog. The loading rack 39 is mounted on the larry car in actual practice (FIG. 3 is a schematic showing) and the rack dog coacts with the gate dogs 35, 37. The gate dogs 35, 37 are pivotable so as to allow the rack dog to move from a position not between the gate dogs to the position between the gate dogs, as shown in FIG. 3. Associated operatively with the loading rack 39 is a powered pinion 43. The loading rack 39 also carries a probe 45 that projects outwardly from it so as to coact with a lever portion 47 of a limit switch 49.
Mounted to a wall of the coal bunker 17, at a convenient location, is a signal or photo-electric transmitter 51 which is directionally oriented toward a signal receiver or photo-electric receiver 53 mounted to the larry car 13. Between the signal or photo-electric transmitter 51 and the signal or photo-electric receiver 53 is a buffer plate 55 that is attached to and that moves with the wire rope cable 25.
In service, after the larry car 13 has discharged its load of coal into an empty coke oven chamber, the larry car 13 moves on the rails 15 to a spot beneath the coal bunker 17. The pinion 43 may then be rotated by an electric motor (not shown) under the control of the larry car operator. The loading rack 39 and the rack dog move to the right (as shown in FIG. 3) so as to engage the rack dog with the gate dog 37. The gates 21a, 21b, 21c and 21d then slide laterally toward the right to an open position. As the loading rack 39 moves toward the right (FIG. 3) the probe 45 contacts the lever 47 of the normally open limit switch 49, and closes it.
The limit switch 49 is in a control circuit with a relay R1 and a time delay relay, TDR2, receiving electric power from power lines 57.
When the limit switch 49 closes, both R1 and TDR2 are energized. Relay R1 closes the normally open contactors R1C1 which are in an interlock electrical circuit, also receiving power from the lines 57.
As the bunker gates 21a, 21b, 21c and 21d move laterally to the open position, the buffer plate 55 is raised. Then a signal from the transmitter 51 is received by the receiver 53 and the interlock circuit is energized. Relay R3 is then energized, and the normally open contactors R3C2 close, thereby locking in the interlocking circuit. R3 also opens normally closed (N.C.) contactors R3C1, thereby shutting off the electric power to the larry car travel circuit. R3 also opens normally closed contactors R3C3.
If there is a malfunction of the photo-electric transmitter 51, or if the photo-electric receiver 53, R3 should not be energized, R3C3 contactors would remain closed; the time delay relay, TDR2, would time out; and normally open contactors TDR2C would close, sounding an audible and/or visible alarm 59. The alarm warns the larry car operator that the bunker gates 21a, 21b, 21c and 21d are still open. Nevertheless, the power supply to the larry car travel circuit has not been cut off. The larry car operator knows then that he must not try to move the larry car.
Now, assuming there is no malfunction in the circuitry and apparatus, when the larry car is loaded, the pinion 43 is rotated so that the bunker gates 21a, 21b, 21c and 21d close. As the loading rack moves to the left, as viewed in FIG. 3, the limit switch 49 opens; the gates move to the closed position; and the buffer plate 55 moves to a position between the signal or photo-electric transmitter 51 and the signal or photo-electric receiver 53, where shown in FIG. 3. Then, R1, TDR2 and R3 are de-energized, thereby returning all contactors to their normal position, and providing power to the larry car travel circuit.
Should the loading rack move to the left and in some manner fail to close the bunker gates, the limit switch 14 will close, but electric power will not be restored to the larry car travel circuit because the signal or photo-electric transmitter is still energizing the signal or photo-electric receiver; the buffer plate being in the raised position. When R1 is de-energized by the opening of the limit switch 49, contactors R1C1 open, but R3 is still energized since the interlock circuit is locked in by contactors R3C2. Thus, R3C1 contactors remain open and the larry car travel circuit does not receive power from the power lines. The larry car then cannot move.
From the foregoing description of one embodiment of the invention, those skilled in the art should recognize many important features and advantages of it, among which the following are particularly significant:
That the invention provides a means for interlocking the travel circuit of a larry car with the coal bunker gates without a direct mechanical or physical contact, thereby providing positive assurance that the bunker gates are closed before the larry car can move from beneath the coal bunker; and
That the interlock of the present invention is effected by a signal produced by the opening of the coal bunker gates and transmission of this signal to the travel circuit of the larry car does not require any physical contact between the larry car and the bunker gate mechanism.
While the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings and described herein includes a photo-electric transmitter and a photo-electric receiver, for transmitting a signal from the coal bunker gate mechanism to the larry car, those skilled in the art will recognize that other signal transmitting means may be used if preferred. Such other means may include light beams, magnetic proximity switches and air streams. Also, the circuit on the larry car that receives the signal and controls the supply of power to the larry car travel circuit may include various alarms, fail-safe circuits and the like, that one skilled in the art may prefer to use.
Although the invention has been described herein with a certain degree of particularity it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only as an example and that the scope of the invention is defined by what is hereinafter claimed. | Slidable gates controlling the flow of coal from a coal bunker into hoppers on a larry car are opened, and simultaneously electric power to the travel circuit of the larry car is interrupted through control circuitry. Also, simultaneously a signal from a transmitter is received by a receiver and an interlock system is activated that prevents power from being restored to the travel circuit larry car until the gates are closed. When the gates are closed, the signal does not reach the receiver and all circuits return to normal and electric power to the travel circuit of the larry car is restored. | Briefly describe the main invention outlined in the provided context. | [
"This is a continuation, of application Ser.",
"No. 742,585, filed Nov. 17, 1976, abandoned.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The present invention relates to coke oven batteries and, more particularly, to an electro-mechanical interlock system for the gates on the usual coal bunker and the controls for operating the larry car along the top of the coke oven battery.",
"Description of the Prior Art It is customary to provide a large coal bunker at one end of a coke oven battery that is supplied with coal by a belt conveyor carrying coal from a coal pile, located at some distance from the battery, to the coal bunker.",
"The coal bunker is so designed that the conventional larry car can be located under the coal bunker from which coal is discharged into the coal hoppers on the larry car.",
"The coal bunker usually has a number of discharge gates, equal to the number of coal hoppers on the larry car, that are shear gates of the counterweighted type.",
"Most of the in-service conventional larry cars have a travel control circuit interlocked with a loading rack on the larry car that opens the bunker gates when the larry car is properly spotted under the bunker.",
"Thus, the larry car, in theory at least, cannot travel as long as the loading rack and the bunker gates are in the open position.",
"Despite the fact that the loading rack may be interlocked with the travel circuit of the larry car, the loading rack can be closed and the larry car can move while the bunker gates are still open.",
"This results in a major coal spillage.",
"These major coal spills generally result in the loss of production in the battery and in a very costly cleanup project.",
"Some operators of coke oven batteries have tried various devices to prevent the travel of the larry car while the bunker gates are open.",
"Such devices have included mechanical limit switches on the gate frame to shut off the electrical power to the larry car while the gates are open.",
"But, despite such preventive devices that have tried, major coal spills still are a serious problem in coke oven battery operations.",
"Usually the major coal spills occur because (1) the gates do not close because a counterweight is used and it is not a reliable device to move the gates from open to closed position;",
"(2) the design of "dogs"",
"on the loading rack and the gate frame make it easy for the loading rack "dog"",
"to slip past the "dog"",
"on the gate frame without closing the gates;",
"and (3) the difference in vertical height of a loaded larry car compared to an empty larry car makes it practically impossible to maintain limit switch connection between the gate frame and the larry car.",
"Those skilled in the art will recognize, however, from the following description of one embodiment of the present invention how it ensures a proper interlock between the bunker gates and the electrical travel control circuit of the larry car, and thereby avoids such costly coal spills.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A method for preventing coal spills at a coke oven coal bunker includes spotting the larry car at the bunker and opening a flow control device on the bunker to allow coal to flow into hoppers on the larry car.",
"Simultaneously, electric power to the travel circuit of the larry car is interrupted and an interlock circuit is energized, whereby electric power to the travel circuit of the larry car is not restored until the flow control device is closed.",
"When the flow control device is closed, electric power is again restored to the travel circuit of the larry car which is mobile again.",
"For a further understanding of the invention and for features and advantages thereof, reference may be made to the following description and the drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of equipment in accordance with the invention, for practicing the method of the invention.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a coke oven battery showing the relation of a coal bunker to a larry car and coke oven chambers of the battery;",
"FIG. 2 is a view along line II--II of FIG. 1;",
"and FIG. 3 is a schematic electrical circuit diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG. 1, a coke oven battery II is shown as comprising N ovens, and at one end there is shown a conventional larry car 13 that travels on rails 15 on top of the battery 11.",
"At the left-hand end, as shown in FIG. 1, of the coke oven battery 11, there is a coal bunker 17 that is a large receptacle for coal, supplied to it in a conventional manner.",
"As shown in FIG. 2, the coal bunker has four discharge funnels 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d, and the discharge funnels are provided with slidable closures or gates 21a, 21b, 21c and 21d.",
"The four slidable closures or gates are interconnected by means of rods 23 or the like rigid connectors, and a wire rope 25 is connected in a conventional manner to gate 21a, as shown in FIG. 3. The wire rope 25 cooperates with a sheave 27 and is connected to a counterweight 29.",
"The larry car 13 is provided with four coal hoppers 31a, 31b, 31c and 31d, which are positioned in line with the four charging holes 33a, 33b, 33c and 33d in each one of the coke oven chambers 1, 2, 3--N-1, N. Referring to FIG. 3, it shows schematically a pair of gate dogs 35, 37 connected to gates 21b and 21c, respectively.",
"In actual practice, however, the gate dogs 35, 37 would be spaced quite close together, and they would be secured to the rods 23 or the like rigid connectors that move the gates 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d in the manner described hereinafter.",
"As shown, the gate dogs 35, 37 are pivotally mounted to the structure.",
"Beneath the gate dogs 35, 37 there is shown a loading rack 39 on which is mounted a rack dog.",
"The loading rack 39 is mounted on the larry car in actual practice (FIG.",
"3 is a schematic showing) and the rack dog coacts with the gate dogs 35, 37.",
"The gate dogs 35, 37 are pivotable so as to allow the rack dog to move from a position not between the gate dogs to the position between the gate dogs, as shown in FIG. 3. Associated operatively with the loading rack 39 is a powered pinion 43.",
"The loading rack 39 also carries a probe 45 that projects outwardly from it so as to coact with a lever portion 47 of a limit switch 49.",
"Mounted to a wall of the coal bunker 17, at a convenient location, is a signal or photo-electric transmitter 51 which is directionally oriented toward a signal receiver or photo-electric receiver 53 mounted to the larry car 13.",
"Between the signal or photo-electric transmitter 51 and the signal or photo-electric receiver 53 is a buffer plate 55 that is attached to and that moves with the wire rope cable 25.",
"In service, after the larry car 13 has discharged its load of coal into an empty coke oven chamber, the larry car 13 moves on the rails 15 to a spot beneath the coal bunker 17.",
"The pinion 43 may then be rotated by an electric motor (not shown) under the control of the larry car operator.",
"The loading rack 39 and the rack dog move to the right (as shown in FIG. 3) so as to engage the rack dog with the gate dog 37.",
"The gates 21a, 21b, 21c and 21d then slide laterally toward the right to an open position.",
"As the loading rack 39 moves toward the right (FIG.",
"3) the probe 45 contacts the lever 47 of the normally open limit switch 49, and closes it.",
"The limit switch 49 is in a control circuit with a relay R1 and a time delay relay, TDR2, receiving electric power from power lines 57.",
"When the limit switch 49 closes, both R1 and TDR2 are energized.",
"Relay R1 closes the normally open contactors R1C1 which are in an interlock electrical circuit, also receiving power from the lines 57.",
"As the bunker gates 21a, 21b, 21c and 21d move laterally to the open position, the buffer plate 55 is raised.",
"Then a signal from the transmitter 51 is received by the receiver 53 and the interlock circuit is energized.",
"Relay R3 is then energized, and the normally open contactors R3C2 close, thereby locking in the interlocking circuit.",
"R3 also opens normally closed (N.C.) contactors R3C1, thereby shutting off the electric power to the larry car travel circuit.",
"R3 also opens normally closed contactors R3C3.",
"If there is a malfunction of the photo-electric transmitter 51, or if the photo-electric receiver 53, R3 should not be energized, R3C3 contactors would remain closed;",
"the time delay relay, TDR2, would time out;",
"and normally open contactors TDR2C would close, sounding an audible and/or visible alarm 59.",
"The alarm warns the larry car operator that the bunker gates 21a, 21b, 21c and 21d are still open.",
"Nevertheless, the power supply to the larry car travel circuit has not been cut off.",
"The larry car operator knows then that he must not try to move the larry car.",
"Now, assuming there is no malfunction in the circuitry and apparatus, when the larry car is loaded, the pinion 43 is rotated so that the bunker gates 21a, 21b, 21c and 21d close.",
"As the loading rack moves to the left, as viewed in FIG. 3, the limit switch 49 opens;",
"the gates move to the closed position;",
"and the buffer plate 55 moves to a position between the signal or photo-electric transmitter 51 and the signal or photo-electric receiver 53, where shown in FIG. 3. Then, R1, TDR2 and R3 are de-energized, thereby returning all contactors to their normal position, and providing power to the larry car travel circuit.",
"Should the loading rack move to the left and in some manner fail to close the bunker gates, the limit switch 14 will close, but electric power will not be restored to the larry car travel circuit because the signal or photo-electric transmitter is still energizing the signal or photo-electric receiver;",
"the buffer plate being in the raised position.",
"When R1 is de-energized by the opening of the limit switch 49, contactors R1C1 open, but R3 is still energized since the interlock circuit is locked in by contactors R3C2.",
"Thus, R3C1 contactors remain open and the larry car travel circuit does not receive power from the power lines.",
"The larry car then cannot move.",
"From the foregoing description of one embodiment of the invention, those skilled in the art should recognize many important features and advantages of it, among which the following are particularly significant: That the invention provides a means for interlocking the travel circuit of a larry car with the coal bunker gates without a direct mechanical or physical contact, thereby providing positive assurance that the bunker gates are closed before the larry car can move from beneath the coal bunker;",
"and That the interlock of the present invention is effected by a signal produced by the opening of the coal bunker gates and transmission of this signal to the travel circuit of the larry car does not require any physical contact between the larry car and the bunker gate mechanism.",
"While the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings and described herein includes a photo-electric transmitter and a photo-electric receiver, for transmitting a signal from the coal bunker gate mechanism to the larry car, those skilled in the art will recognize that other signal transmitting means may be used if preferred.",
"Such other means may include light beams, magnetic proximity switches and air streams.",
"Also, the circuit on the larry car that receives the signal and controls the supply of power to the larry car travel circuit may include various alarms, fail-safe circuits and the like, that one skilled in the art may prefer to use.",
"Although the invention has been described herein with a certain degree of particularity it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only as an example and that the scope of the invention is defined by what is hereinafter claimed."
] |
This is a division of application Ser. No. 923,742, filed July 11, 1978.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The term "complement" refers to a complex group of proteins in body fluids that, working together with antibodies or other factors, play an important role as mediators of immune, allergic, immunochemical and/or immunopathological reactions. The reactions in which complement participates take place in blood serum or in other body fluids, and hence are considered to be humoral reactions.
With regard to human blood, there are at present more than 11 proteins in the complement system. These complement proteins are designated by the letter C and by number: C1, C2, C3 and so on up to C9. The complement protein C1 is actually an assembly of subunits designated C1q, C1r and C1s. The numbers assigned to the complement proteins reflect the sequence in which they become active, with the exception of complement protein C4, which reacts after C1 and before C2. The numerical assignments for the proteins in the complement system were made before the reaction sequence was fully understood. A more detailed discussion of the complement system and its role in the body processes can be found in, for example, Bull. World Health Org., 39, 935-938 (1968); Ann. Rev. Medicine, 19, 1-24 (1968); The John Hopkins Med. J., 128, 57-74 (1971); Harvey Lectures, 66, 75-104 (1972); The New England Journal of Medicine, 287, 452-454; 489-495; 545-549; 592-596; 642-646 (1972); Scientific American, 229, (No. 5), 54-66 (1973); Federation Proceedings, 32, 134-137 (1973); Medical World News, October 11, 1974, pp. 53-66; J. Allergy Clin. Immunol., 53, 298-302 (1974); Cold Spring Harbor Conf. Cell Prolifieration 2/Proteases Biol. Control/229-241 (1975); Ann. Review of Biochemistry, 44, 697 (1975); Complement in Clinical Medicine, Disease-a-Month, (1975); Complement, Scope, December 1975; Annals of Internal Medicine, 84, 580-593 (1976); "Complement: Mechanisms and Functions", Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J. (1976); Essays Med. Biochem., 2, 1-35 (1976); Hospital Practice, 12, 33-43 (1977); Perturbation of Complement in Disease, Chap. 15 in Biological Amplification Systems in Immunology (Ed. Day and Good), Plenum, New York and London (1977); Am. J. Clin. Pathology, 68, 647-659 (1977).
The complement system can be considered to consist of three sub-systems: (1) a recognition unit (C1q) which enables it to combine with antibody molecules that have detected a foreign invader; (2) an activation unit (C1r, C1s, C2, C4, C3) which prepares a site on the neighboring membrane; and (3) an attack unit (C5, C6, C7, C8 and C9) which creates a "hole" in the membrane. The membrane attack unit is non-specific; it destroys invaders only because it is generated in their neighborhood. In order to minimize damage to the host's own cells, its activity must be limited in time. This limitation is accomplished partly by the spontaneous decay of activated complement and partly by interference by inhibitors and destructive enzymes. The control of complement, however, is not perfect, and there are times when damage is done to the host's cells. Immunity is, therefore, a double-edged sword.
Activation of the complement system also accelerates blood clotting. This action comes about by way of the complement-mediated release of a clotting factor from platelets. The biologically active complement fragments and complexes can become involved in reactions that damage the host's cells, and these pathogenic reactions can result in the development of immune-complex diseases. For example, in some forms of nephritis, complement damages the basal membrane of the kidney, resulting in the escape of protein from the blood into the urine. The disease disseminated lupus erythematosus belongs in this category; its symptoms include nephritis, visceral lesions and skin eruptions. The treatment of diphtheria or tetanus with the injection of large amounts of antitoxin sometimes results in serum sickness, an immune-complex disease. Rheumatoid arthritis also involves immune complexes. Like disseminated lupus erythematosus, it is an autoimmune disease in which the disease symptoms are caused by pathological effects of the immune system in the host's tissues. In summary, the complement system has been shown to be involved with inflammation, coagulation, fibrinolysis, antibody-antigen reactions and other metabolic processes.
In the presence of antibody-antigen complexes the complement proteins are involved in a series of reactions which may lead to irreversible membrane damage if they occur in the vicinity of biological membranes. Thus, while complement constitutes a part of the body's defense mechanism against infection it also results in inflammation and tissue damage in the immunopathological process. The nature of certain of the complement proteins, suggestions regarding the mode of complement binding to biological membranes and the manner in which complement effects membrane damage are discussed in Annual Review in Biochemistry, 38, 389 (1969); Journal of Immunology, 119, 1-8, 1195, 1358-1364, 1482 (1977).
A variety of substances have been disclosed as inhibiting the complement system, i.e., as complement inhibitors. For example, the compounds 3,3'-ureylenebis[6-(2-amino-8-hydroxy-6-sulfo-1-naphthylazo)benzenesulfonic acid], tetrasodium salt (chlorazol fast pink), heparin and a sulphated dextran have been reported to have an anticomplementary effect, British Journal of Experimental Pathology, 33, 327-339 (1952). German Pat. No. 2,254,893 or South African Pat. No. 727,923 discloses certain 1-(diphenylmethyl)-4-(3-phenylallyl)piperazines useful as complement inhibitors. Other chemical compounds having complement inhibiting activity are disclosed in, for example, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 12, 415-419; 902-905; 1049-1052; 1053-1056 (1969); Canadian Journal of Biochemistry, 47, 547-552 (1969); The Journal of Immunology, 104, 279-288 (1970); The Journal of Immunology, 106, 241-245 (1971); The Journal of Immunology, 111, 1061-1066 (1973); Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 317, 539-548 (1973); Life Sciences, 13, 351-362 (1973); Journal of Immunology, 113, 584 (1974); Immunology, 26, 819-829 (1974); Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 17, 1160-1167 (1974); Biochim. Biophys. Res. Comm., 67, 225-263 (1975); Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 256, 441-450 (1975); Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 19, 634-639, 1079 (1976); Journal of Immunology, 118, 466 (1977); Arch. Int. Pharmacodyn., 226, 281-285 (1977); Biochem. Pharmacol. 26, 325-329 (1977); Journal Pharm. Sci., 66, 1367-1377 (1977); Chem. Pharm. Bull., 25, 1202-1208 (1977); Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 484, 417-422 (1977) and Journal Clin. Microbiology, 5, 278-284 (1977).
It has been reported that the known complement inhibitors epsilon-aminocaproic acid and tranexamic acid have been used with success in the treatment of hereditary angioneurotic edema, a disease state resulting from an inherited deficiency or lack of function of the serum inhibitor of the activated first component of complement (C1 inhibitor). The New England Journal of Medicine, 286, 808-812 (1972), 287, 452-454 (1972); Ann. Intern. Med., 84, 580-593 (1976); J. Allergy and Clin. Immunology, 60, 38-40 (1977).
It has also been reported that the drug pentosan-polysulfoester has an anticomplementary activity on human serum, both in vitro and in vivo, as judged by the reduction in total hemolytic complement activity; Pathologie Biologie, 25, 33-36, 25 (2), 105-108, 25 (3), 179-184 (1977).
It is known that the compound Suramin is moderately active as a complement inhibitor, and possesses the structure: ##STR1##
It now has been discovered that certain modifications of this structure provide compounds with enhanced inhibitory activity. This invention is based on such modifications.
The following publications, pertaining to the chemistry of Suramin, are related to the preparation of the novel compounds of this invention:
Bayer & Co., D.R.P. 278,122, June 22, 1913 [C.A. 9, 1096(1915)]
Bayer & Co., D.R.P. 288,272, Jan. 23, 1914 [C.A. 10, 2279(1916)]
Bayer & Co., D.R.P. 288,273, Feb. 21, 1914 [C.A. 10, 2279(1916)]
Frdl. 12, 185-186, 191-195 (1914-1916)
Danish Pat. No. 20,743 (1915)
Austrian Pat. No. 72,298 (1916)
Austrian Pat. No. 72,303 (1916)
U.S. Pat. No. 1,218,654 (1917)
U.S. Pat. No. 1,218,655 (1917)
Austrian Pat. No. 73,381 (1917)
U.S. Pat. No. 1,308,071 (1919)
E. Fourneau, J. Trefouel, Mme. J. Trefouel and J. Vallee, Acad. Sci. Comp. Rend., 178, 675-676 (1924)
E. Fourneau, F. Trefouel and J. Vallee, Ann. de L'Institut Pasteur, 38 (2), 81-114 (1924)
B. Heymann, Zeitschrift Ang. Chem., 37, 585-589 (1924)
British Pat. No. 224,849 (1925)
U.S. Pat. No. 1,606,624 (1926)
J. E. R. McDonagh, Brit. Med. J., 693-696 (1926) [Chem. Zentralblatt, 1769-1770 (1926 II)]
W. Roehl, Arch. Schiff. Trop. Hyg., 30 (1), 103-111 (1926)
Poulenc Freres, D.R.P. 427,857, April 20, 1926 [Frdl. 15, 1434-1436(1928)]
I. E. Balaban and H. King, J. Chem. Soc., 3068-3097 (1927)
H. Bauer and J. Becker, Arb. Staatsinst. Exptl. Therap., 16 pp. (1928)
U.S. Pat. No. 1,968,820 (1934)
O. Yu. Magidson, O. S. Madaeva and M. V. Rubtzov, Khim. Farm. Prom., 2, 89-94 (1935) [C.A., 30, 4492 (1936)]
U.S. Pat. No. 2,126,180 (1938)
P. Pratsi and L. Raffa, Farmaco Sci e Tec (Pavia), 1, 21-34 (1946)
A. Spinks, Biochem. J., 42, 109-116 (1948)
E. D. Wills and A. Wormall, Biochem. J., 47, 158-170 (1950)
German Pat. No. 890,952 (1953) [C. A. 52, 14693 (1958)]
A. Adams, J. N. Ashley and H. Bader, J. Chem. Soc., 3739-3744 (1956) [C. A. 51, 4375i]
Publications related to the biological use of Suramin compounds for the purpose of inhibiting the complement system, including humans, as determined by the in vivo and in vitro testing of the blood serum of warm-blooded animals are:
B. Stuber and K. Lang, Arch. Exptl. Path. Pharmacol., 154, 41-49 (1930) [C. A. 25, 3067(1931)]
F. Klopstock, Zeitschrift fur Immunitatsforschung und experimentalle Therapie, 75, 348-354 (1932)
H. J. Schmid, Schweiz. Med. Woch., 96, 1267-1269 (1966)
K. Lauenstein, Bayer-Symposium I, 25-30 (1969)
J. S. C. Fong and R. A. Good, Clin. Exp. Immunol., 10, 127-138 (1972)
V. Eisen and C. Loveday, Br. J. Pharmac., 49, 678-687 (1973)
D. Brackertz and F. Kueppers, Allergol. Et Immunopath., 11, 163-168 (1974)
E. Raepple, H-U. Hill and M. Loos, Immunochemistry, 13 (3), 251-255 (1976)
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is concerned with ureylenebis[substituted-phenylenecarbonyl(and sulfonyl)imino-substituted-phenylenesulfonylimino-naphthalenetrisulfonic acids] and all pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, having complement inhibiting activity, which are new compounds of the general formulae: ##STR2## wherein R, R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and methyl; and A is a pharmaceutically acceptable salt cation.
This invention is also concerned with compounds of the formulae: ##STR3## wherein R, R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and methyl; and A is a pharmaceutically acceptable salt cation; said compounds being useful as intermediates for the preparation of the complement inhibiting compounds described above. Some of the intermediate compounds also possess complement inhibiting activity.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The novel intermediate amine compounds of the invention are prepared by reacting the appropriate 8-amino-1,3,5(and 1,3,6)-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid trialkali metal salt with a nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride such as m-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride, 3-nitro-p-toluenesulfonyl chloride and 2-methyl-5-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride, for 1.5-36 hours in an aqueous solution made alkaline with alkali metal hydroxide, anhydrous alkali metal carbonate or alkali metal acetate trihydrate. After neutralization, the solution is diluted with absolute ethanol to provide the corresponding nitro-substituted-phenylenesulfonylimino-1,3,5(and 1,3,6)-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trialkali metal salt.
Hydrogenation of the preceding nitro trialkali metal salts using 10% palladium-carbon catalyst, filtration, concentration and treatment with absolute ethanol provides the corresponding amino-substituted-phenylenesulfonylimino naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trialkali metal salt compounds.
The amino compounds above, dissolved in aqueous media and made alkaline with either alkali metal hydroxide or anhydrous alkali metal carbonate are reacted once more with the above listed nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride or a nitrobenzoyl chloride such as m-nitrobenzoyl chloride or 3-nitro-p-toluoyl chloride for 1.5-36 hours. After neutralization, the solution is diluted with absolute ethanol to provide the corresponding nitro-substituted-phenylenecarbonyl (and sulfonyl)imino-substituted-phenylenesulfonylimino-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trialkali metal salt.
The novel intermediate amine compounds of the invention are then obtained by hydrogenation of the above nitro compounds using 10% palladium-carbon catalyst in water as previously described, filtration and evaporation of the filtrate produces a residue which is dissolved in water and precipitated with absolute ethanol to provide the desired product.
The novel ureylene compounds of the invention, which are active complement inhibitors, are then provided by treatment of the above intermediate amine compounds with phosgene in aqueous media made alkaline with alkali metal carbonate or pyridine, neutralization, and precipitation from aqueous solution with alcohol.
This invention is concerned with a method of inhibiting the complement system in a body fluid, such as blood serum, which comprises subjecting body fluid complement to the action of an effective complement inhibiting amount of a compound encompassed within the formulae hereinabove. The method of use aspect of this invention is also concerned with a method of inhibiting the complement system in a warm-blooded animal which comprises administering to said animal an effective complement inhibiting amount of a compound encompassed within the formulae hereinabove. Body fluid can include blood, plasma, serum, synovial fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, or pathological accumulations of fluid such as pleural effusion, etc.
Compounds of the present invention find utility as complement inhibitors in body fluids and as such may be used to ameliorate or prevent those pathological reactions requiring the function of complement and in the therapeutic treatment of warm-blooded animals having immunologic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, certain kinds of glomerulonephritis, certain kinds of auto-allergic hemolytic anemia, certain kinds of platelet disorders and certain kinds of vasculitis. The compounds herein may also be used in the therapeutic treatment of warm-blooded animals having non-immunologic diseases such as paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, hereditary angioneurotic edema (treated with Suramin, etc.) and inflammatory states induced by the action of bacterial or lysosomal enzymes on the appropriate complement components as for example, inflammation following coronary occlusion. They may also be useful in the treatment of transplant rejection and as blood culture or transport mediums.
The compounds of the present invention may be administered internally, e.g., orally, or parenterally, e.g., intra-articularly, to a warm-blooded animal to inhibit complement in the body fluid of the animal, such inhibition being useful in the amelioration or prevention of those reactions dependent upon the function of complement, such as inflammatory process and cell membrane damage induced by antigen-antibody complexes. A range of doses may be employed depending on the mode of administration, the condition being treated and the particular compound being used. For example, for intravenous or subcutaneous use from about 5 to about 50 mg/kg/day, or every six hours for more rapidly excreted salts, may be used. For intra-articular use for large joints such as the knee, from about 2 to about 20 mg/joint per week may be used, with proportionally smaller doses for smaller joints. The dosage range is to be adjusted to provide optimum therapeutic response in the warm-blooded animal being treated. In general, the amount of compound administered can vary over a wide range to provide from about 5 mg/kg to about 100 mg/kg of body weight of animal per day. The usual daily dosage for a 70 kg subject may vary from about 350 mg to about 3.5 g. Unit doses of the acid or salt can contain from about 0.5 mg to about 500 mg.
While in general the sodium salts of the acids of the invention are suitable for parenteral use, other sadts may also be prepared, such as those of primary amines, e.g., ethylamine; secondary amines, e.g., diethylamine or diethanol amine; tertiary amines, e.g., pyridine or triethylamine or 2-dimethylaminomethyldibenzofuran; aliphatic diamines, e.g., decamethylenediamine; and aromatic diamines, can be prepared. Some of these are soluble in water, others are soluble in saline solution, and still others are insoluble and can be used for purposes of preparing suspensions for injection. Furthermore, as well as the sodium salt, those of the alkali metals, such as potassium and lithium; of ammonia; and of the alkaline earth metals, such as calcium or magnesium, may be employed. It will be apparent, therefore, that these salts embrace, in general, derivatives of salt-forming cations.
The compounds of the present invention may also be administered topically in the form of ointments, creams, lotions and the like, suitable for the treatment of complement dependent dermatological disorders.
Moreover, the compounds of the present invention may be administered in the form of dental pastes, ointments, buccal tablets and other compositions suitable for application periodontally for the treatment of periodontitis and related diseases of the oral cavity.
In therapeutic use, the compounds of this invention may be administered in the form of conventional pharmaceutical compositions. Such compositions may be formulated so as to be suitable for oral or parenteral administration. The active ingredient may be combined in admixture with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, which carrier may take a wide variety of forms depending on the form of preparation desired for administration, i.e., oral or parenteral. The compounds can be used in compositions such as tablets. Here, the principal active ingredient is mixed with conventional tabletting ingredients such as corn starch, lactose, sucrose, sorbitol, talc, stearic acid, magnesium stearate, dicalcium phosphate, gums, or similar materials as non-toxic pharmaceutically acceptable diluents or carriers. The tablets or pills of the novel compositions can be laminated or otherwise compounded to provide a dosage form affording the advantage of prolonged or delayed action or predetermined successive action of the enclosed medication. For example, the tablet or pill can comprise an inner dosage and an outer dosage component, the latter being in the form of an envelope over the former. The two components can be separated by an enteric layer which serves to resist disintegration in the stomach and permits the inner component to pass intact into the duodenum or to be delayed in release. A variety of materials can be used for such enteric layers or coatings, such materials including a number of polymeric acids or mixtures of polymeric acids with such materials as shellac, shellac and cetyl alcohol, cellulose acetate and the like. A particularly advantageous enteric coating comprises a styrene maleic acid copolymer together with known materials contributing to the enteric properties of the coating. The tablet or pill may be colored through the use of an appropriate non-toxic dye, so as to provide a pleasing appearance.
The liquid forms in which the novel compositions of the present invention may be incorporated for administration include suitable flavored emulsions with edible oils, such as, cottonseed oil, sesame oil, coconut oil, peanut oil, and the like, as well as elixirs and similar pharmaceutical vehicles. Sterile suspensions or solutions can be prepared for parenteral use. Isotonic preparations containing suitable preservatives are also desirable for injection use.
The term dosage form, as described herein, refers to physically discrete units suitable as unitary dosage for warm-blooded animal subjects, each unit containing a predetermined quantity of active component calculated to produce the desired therapeutic effect in association with the required pharmaceutical diluent, carrier or vehicle. The specification for the novel dosage forms of this invention are indicated by characteristics of the active component and the particular therapeutic effect to be achieved or the limitations inherent in the art of compounding such an active component for therapeutic use in warm-blooded animals as disclosed in this specification. Examples of suitable oral dosage forms in accord with this invention are tablets, capsules, pills, powder packets, granules, wafers, cachets, teaspoonfuls, dropperfuls, ampules, vials, segregated multiples of any of the foregoing and other forms as herein described.
The complement inhibiting activity of the compounds of this invention has been demonstrated by one or more of the following identified tests: (i) Test Code 026 (C1-inhibitor)--This test measures the ability of activated human C1 to destroy fluid phase human C2 in the presence of C4 and appropriate dilutions of the test compound. An active inhibitor protects C2 from C1 and C4; (ii) Test Code 035 (C3-C9 inhibitor)--This test determines the ability of the late components of human complement (C3-C9) to lyse EAC 142 in the presence of appropriate dilutions of the test compound. An active inhibitor protects EAC 142 from lysis by human C3-C9; (iii) Test Code 036 (C-Shunt inhibitor)--In this test human erythrocytes rendered fragile are lysed in autologous serum via the shunt pathway activated by cobra venom factor in the presence of appropriate dilutions of the test compound. Inhibition of the shunt pathway results in failure of lysis; (iv) Forssman Vasculitis Test--Here, the well known complement dependent lesion, Forssman vasculitis, is produced in guinea pigs by intradermal injection of rabbit anti-Forssman antiserum. The lesion is measured in terms of diameter, edema and hemorrhage and the extent to which a combined index of these is inhibited by prior intraperitoneal injection of the test compound at 200 mg/kg is then reported, unless otherwise stated; (v) Forssman Shock Test--Lethal shock is produced in guinea pigs by an i.v. injection of anti-Forssman antiserum and the harmonic mean death time of treated guinea pigs is compared with that of simultaneous controls; (vi) Complement Level Reduction Test--In this test, the above dosed guinea pigs, or others, are bled for serum and the complement level is determined in undiluted serum by the capillary tube method of U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,376 and compared to undosed control guinea pigs; and (vii) Cap 50 Test--Here, appropriate amounts of the test compound are added to a pool of guinea pig serum in vitro, after which the undiluted serum capillary tube assay referred to above is run. The concentration of compound inhibiting 50% is reported.
The results appear in Table I together with results of tests code 026, 035, 036 and Cap 50, showing that the compounds of the invention possess significant activity compared to Suramin.
TABLE I__________________________________________________________________________Biological Activities Cl C-Late Shunt Inhi- 026* 035* bition 036* Compound Wells Wells Wells Cap 50*__________________________________________________________________________Suramin +4** +2** -- 3618,8'-[Ureylenebis[(m-phenylenesulfonyl-imino) (4-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)- +3 +1 N >500imino]]di-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonicacid, hexasodium salt8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[(1,3-phenylenesul-fonylimino)-1,3-phenylenesulfonyl]- +4 +5 +1** >500imino]]di-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonicacid, hexasodium salt8,8'-[Ureylenebis [[[(6-methyl-3,1-phen-ylene)sulfonyl]imino]-[[ (6-methyl-3,1-phenylene)sulfonyl]imino]]]di-1,3,6- +3 +1 N >500naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexa-sodium salt__________________________________________________________________________ *Code designation for tests employed as referred herein. **Activity in wells a serial dilution assay. Higher well number indicates higher activity. The serial dilutions are twofold. N = Negative (no activity)
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
EXAMPLE 1
8-(3-Metanilamido-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt
A mixture of 25.0 g of p-toluenesulfonic acid and 95.0 ml of concentrated nitric acid is heated on a steam bath for 30 minutes. The solution is poured into 250 ml of water and evaporated at reduced pressure. A small quantity of water is added and the mixture is evaporated again. This step is repeated two additional times to remove all of the nitric acid. The mixture is neutralized with a saturated solution of sodium carbonate and evaporated affording a yellow solid. The solid is slurried with absolute ethanol, collected by filtration and washed twice with both ethanol and ether to give 10.3 g of product. The filtrate is allowed to stand and the solid formed is collected and washed as above to provide 10.0 g of additional product and a total of 20.3 g of 3-nitro-p-toluenesulfonic acid, sodium salt.
A mixture of 20.0 g of the above compound, 250 ml of thionyl chloride and 20.0 ml of dimethylformamide is refluxed for 16 hours. The excess thionyl chloride is removed by distillation, then the mixture is cooled and ether is added. The mixture is evaporated and the crude product is distilled under vacuum. The fraction recovered at a pressure of 1.0-1.5 mm of mercury and a boiling point of 152°-154° C. provides 11.5 g of 3-nitro-p-toluenesulfonyl chloride.
To a warm solution of 106.4 g of (80.5%) 8-amino-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid in 100 ml of water and 45.0 ml of 5 N sodium hydroxide is slowly added 500 ml of absolute ethanol with vigorous stirring for 30 minutes. The mixture is cooled to room temperature and filtered. The precipitate is washed with 80% aqueous ethanol, ethanol and ether and dried in vacuo at 110° C. for 16 hours to give 103.7 g of 8-amino-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.
An 8.0 g portion of 3-nitro-p-toluenesulfonyl chloride is added to a stirred solution of 7.2 g of 8-amino-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid trisodium salt, and 1.7 g of anhydrous sodium carbonate in 30.0 ml of water with separation of an oil. The mixture is stirred for 16 hours and then is evaporated. The residue is dissolved in water and absolute ethanol is added to provide a precipitate. The product is collected and washed with ethanol and ether. The filtrate is evaporated and the residue is precipitated as above to provide additional product. A third crop is obtained from the final filtrate to provide a total of 8.6 g of 8-(3-nitro-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.
A mixture of 8.0 g of 8-(3-nitro-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalene trisulfonic acid trisodium salt, 160 ml of water and 800 mg of 10% palladium on carbon catalyst is hydrogenated on a Parr shaker until no additional hydrogen is absorbed. The resulting mixture is filtered through diatomaceous earth and the filtrate is evaporated. The residue is dissolved in hot water and filtered. The filtrate is triturated with ethanol until cloudiness persists, then is allowed to stand at room temperature for 16 hours. The mixture is filtered and the filtrate evaporated to afford a gummy material which is dissolved in a small amount of water and triturated with ethanol. An additional 200 ml of ethanol is added and the mixture is stirred for one hour to provide a solid. The solid is collected and washed with ethanol and ether to yield 4.6 g of 8-(3-amino-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt as a light tan powder.
To a stirred solution of 2.0 g of 8-(3-amino-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid trisodium salt and 342 mg of anhydrous sodium carbonate in 10 ml of water is added 1.5 g of m-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride. The mixture is stirred for 16 hours. An additional 170 mg of anhydrous sodum carbonate is added followed by 750 mg of m-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride and the mixture is stirred for an additional 16 hours. The reaction mixture is evaporated and the residue dissolved in hot water. A product is precipitated on the addition of absolute ethanol. The product is collected, washed with ethanol and ether and dried. Additional product is collected from the filtrate and is washed and dried as above. The above fractions of product are combined and dissolved in water, then 2.5 ml of 5 N sodium hydroxide is added and the mixture is stirred for 30 minutes. The mixture is acidified with glacial acetic acid and evaporated. The residue is dissolved in hot water and precipitated with ethanol. The product is collected and washed twice with ethanol and ether and dried to yield 700 mg of 8-(3-m-nitrobenzenesulfonamido-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.
A mixture of 550 mg of 8-(3-m-nitrobenzenesulfonamido-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt, 30.0 ml of water and 65.0 mg of 10% palladium on carbon catalyst is hydrogenated on a Parr shaker for 1.75 hours. The resulting mixture is filtered through diatomaceous earth and the filtrate is evaporated. The crude material is dissolved in a minimum of hot water and triturated with ethanol. The resulting solid (A) is collected by filtration and washed with ethanol and ether. The filtrate is evaporated and the residue dissolved in water. Ethanol is added and the solution is evaporated to yield a white powder (B). Fractions (A) and (B) are combined and dried to yield 500 mg of the desired product.
EXAMPLE 2
8,8'-[Ureylenebis[(m-phenylenesulfonylimino) (4-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)imino]]di-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt
Phosgene gas is bubbled into a solution of 400 mg of the product of Example 1, 20.0 ml of water and 55.0 mg of anhydrous sodium carbonate until the reaction mixture is acidic to Congo Red indicator. The solution is neutralized with sodium carbonate then an additional 55.0 mg of sodium carbonate is added and phosgenation is repeated until the reaction mixture is acidic. The solution is neutralized with sodium carbonate and the excess sodium carbonate is decomposed with acetic acid. The reaction mixture is evaporated and the residue is dissolved in hot water and filtered. The filtrate is triturated with ethanol and allowed to cool. The precipitate formed is collected and washed with ethanol and ether then is re-precipitated from water and ethanol and collected and washed as above. The product is dried to yield 336 mg of the desired product as a tan powder.
EXAMPLE 3
8-(3-Metanilamido-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 1, employing 8-amino-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid provides the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 4
8,8'-[Ureylenebis[(m-phenylenesulfonfylimino) (4-methyl-3,1-phenylsulfonyl)imino]]di-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 2, phosgenation of the product of Example 3 provides the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 5
8-[N 3 -(m-Aminophenylsulfonyl)metanilamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt
To a stirred solution of 21.9 g of 8-amino-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt and 11.4 g of anhydrous sodium carbonate in 280 ml of water is added 24.0 g of m-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride. The mixture is stirred at room temperature for 16 hours, then an additional 1.0 g of sodium carbonate and 2.0 g of m-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride are added and stirring is continued for 3 hours longer. The mixture is evaporated and the residue is dissolved in 200 ml of water. A copious amount of absolute ethanol is added and the solid formed is collected and washed with ethanol and ether, then is dried to yield 26.1 g of 8-m-nitrobenzenesulfonamido-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.
A mixture of 26.1 g of 8-m-nitrobenzenesulfonamido-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt, 175 ml of water and 2.09 g of palladium on carbon catalyst is hydrogenated in a Parr shaker until no additional hydrogen is absorbed. The resulting mixture is filtered through diatomaceous earth and the filtrate is evaporated. The residue is dissolved in 60.0 ml of water and, with stirring, 400 ml of absolute ethanol is added to precipitate a solid. The mixture is allowed to stir for 2 hours, then is filtered. The product is washed with absolute ethanol and ether to give 25.3 g of 8-metanilamido-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.
To a stirred solution of 11.26 g of 8-metanilamido-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt and 4.72 g of anhydrous sodium carbonate in 200 ml of water is added 10.0 g of m-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride. The mixture is stirred for 18 hours and is filtered. A copious amount of absolute ethanol is added to the filtrate, with stirring, to provide a precipitate. The mixture is stirred for one hour, then the solid is separated and washed with absolute ethanol and ether to yield 8.9 g of 8-[N 3 -(m-nitrophenylsulfonyl)metanilamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.
A mixture of 8.9 g of 8-[N 3 -(m-nitrophenylsulfonyl)metanilamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt, 90.0 ml of water and 1.0 g of 10% palladium on carbon catalyst is hydrogenated as previously described. The resulting mixture is filtered through diatomaceous earth and the filtrate is evaporated. The residue is dissolved in 25.0 ml of water, then absolute ethanol is added to precipitate the product. The precipitate is collected, is washed with ethanol and ether and dried to yield 6.1 g of the desired product.
EXAMPLE 6
8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[(1,3-phenylenesulfonylimino)-1,3-phenylenesulfonyl]imino]]di-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt
Phosgene is bubbled into a solution of 3.95 g of the product of Example 5 and 2.6 ml of pyridine in 35.0 ml of water until acidic to Congo Red indicator paper. An additional 1.5 ml of pyridine is added and phosgene is bubbled in again until acidic. The mixture is neutralized with pyridine and is poured into 450 ml of stirred absolute ethanol to provide a gum. The supernatant is decanted, the gum is triturated with additional absolute ethanol to yield a solid (A, (1.8 g) which is collected and washed with ethanol and ether. The supernatant above is evaporated. The residue is triturated with a copious amount of absolute ethanol and filtered. The solid (B) is washed with ethanol and ether to provide 2.5 g of material.
Fractions (A) and (B) above are combined and dissolved in 25.0 ml of water. The solution is basified to pH 8-9 with 5 N sodium hydroxide then is neutralized with acetic acid. The solution is added dropwise to 400 ml of stirred absolute ethanol to yield a precipitate. Stirring is continued for one hour, then the precipitate is separated, washed with absolute ethanol and ether and dried to yield 2.0 g of the desired product.
EXAMPLE 7
8-[N 3 -(m-Aminophenylsulfonyl)metanilamido]-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 5, employing 8-amino-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt provides the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 8
8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[(1,3-phenylenesulfonylimino)-1,3-phenylenesulfonyl]imino]]di-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt
Phosgenation (according to procedure of Example 6) of the product of Example 7 provides the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 9
8-[5-(5-Amino-o-toluenesulfonamido)-o-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt
To a boiling solution of 100 g of 5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonic acid in 110 ml of water is added a solution of 53.6 g of sodium chloride in 150 ml of boiling water. The reaction mixture solidifies and is heated to boiling with the addition of sufficient water to provide solution. Then some of the water is boiled off and the mixture is allowed to stand for 16 hours. The solid formed is collected and dried to yield 92.5 g of 5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonic acid sodium salt.
A mixture of 50.0 g of 5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonic acid sodium salt, 125 ml of thionyl chloride and 1.3 ml of dimethylformamide is stirred and refluxed for 3 hours. The excess thionyl chloride is distilled off and the residue is reevaporated twice with ether. The residue is extracted with ether and methylene chloride. The extracts are evaporated and the residue is dissolved in ether and filtered. The filtrate is concentrated while adding petroleum ether, then is placed in an ice box for 16 hours. The solid formed is collected and dried to yield 33.4 g of 2-methyl-5-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride.
A mixture of 17.0 g of 8-amino-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt, 17.5 g of 2-methyl-5-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride and 7.8 g of anhydrous sodium carbonate in 210 ml of water is stirred at room temperature for 18 hours, then an additional 0.5 g of sodium carbonate and 1.0 g of 2-methyl-5-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride is added and stirring is continued for 18 hours longer. The reaction mixture is evaporated and 100 ml of water is added with stirring. The mixture is filtered and 900 ml of absolute ethanol is added to the filtrate with stirring. The mixture is stirred for 2 hours, then the precipitate is collected, washed with ethanol and ether and dried to yield 20.8 g of 8-(5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.
A mixture of 20.0 g of 8-(5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt, 90.0 ml of water and 2.0 g of 10% palladium on carbon catalyst is hydrogenated as described in Example 1. The reaction mixture is filtered through diatomaceous earth and the filtrate is evaporated. The residue is dissolved in a minimum amount of water, then is added dropwise to 800 ml of stirred absolute ethanol. The mixture is stirred for 2 hours and allowed to stand for 48 hours. A light yellow solid is collected, washed with ethanol and ether, then is dried to yield 15.0 g of 8-(5-amino-o-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.
A mixture of 7.0 g of 8-(5-amino-o-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt, 5.35 g of 2-methyl-5-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride and 2.5 g of anhydrous sodium carbonate in 120 ml of water is stirred at room temperature for 7 hours, then an additional 0.5 g of sodium carbonate and 1.0 g of 2-methyl-5-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride is added and stirring is continued. After 16 hours, 0.5 g of sodium carbonate and 1.0 g of acid chloride is added again and stirring is continued for several hours. The reaction mixture is filtered and the filtrate is concentrated and precipitated crops isolated as formed. The product crops are combined to yield 6.0 g of 8-[5-(5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonamido)-o-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.
A mixture of 6.0 g of 8-[5-(5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonamido)-o-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt, 70.0 ml of water and 920 mg of 10% palladium on carbon catalyst is hydrogenated as previously described. The resulting mixture is filtered through diatomaceous earth and the filtrate is evaporated. The residue is dissolved in 30 ml of water and added with stirring to 300 ml of absolute ethanol forming a gum. The supernatant is decanted and the gum is triturated with ethanol to provide a solid which is collected by filtration and washed with ethanol and ether to yield 1.4 g of product. Additional product (1.5 g) is precipitated from the supernatant above and is collected and washed as above and the filtrates above are evaporated and triturated with ethanol to provide 1.8 g of product. The above fractions are combined and dried to yield 4.15 g of the desired product.
EXAMPLE 10
8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[[(6-methyl-3,1-phenylene)sulfonyl]imino]-[[(6-methyl-3,1-phenylene)sulfonyl]imino]]]di-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt
Phosgene gas is bubbled through a solution of 4.0 g of the product of Example 9 and 2.54 ml of pyridine in 35.0 ml of water with vigorous stirring until the solution becomes acidic to Congo Red indicator paper. An additional 1.3 ml of pyridine is added and the solution is phosgenated again until acidic to Congo Red indicator. The mixture is neutralized with pyridine and poured into 650 ml of absolute ethanol with stirring. Stirring is continued for 30 minutes and the precipitate is collected and washed with ethanol and ether. The material is dried, then is dissolved in 20 ml of water. The solution is made alkaline (pH 8-9) with 5 N sodium hydroxide, then neutralized with glacial acetic acid and added to 400 ml of absolute ethanol with stirring. The solution is concentrated to provide a precipitate. The solid is separated then washed with ethanol and ether and dried to yield 1.0 g of the desired product.
EXAMPLE 11
8-[5-(5-Amino-o-toluenesulfonamido)-o-toluenesulfonamido]- 1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 9, employing 8-amino-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt provides the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 12
8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[[(6-methyl-3,1-phenylene)sulfonyl]imino]-[[(6-methyl-3,1-phenylene)sulfonyl]imino]]]di-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt
Following the phosgenation procedure of Example 10, the amine of Example 11 is converted into the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 13
8-[3-(3-Amino-p-toluamido)-p-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 1, reaction of 8-(3-amino-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt with 3-nitro-p-toluoyl chloride followed by reduction with palladium on carbon catalyst provides the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 14
8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[[(4-methyl-3,1-phenylenecarbonyl)imino](4-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)]imino]]di-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 2, the amino product of Example 13 is treated with phosgene to produce the ureylene, the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 15
8-[3-(3-Amino-p-toluamido)-p-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 1 with 8-amino-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt provides 8-(3-amino-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt. Reaction of the latter with 3-nitro-p-toluoyl chloride followed by reduction with palladium on carbon catalyst provides the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 16
8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[[(4-methyl-3,1-phenylenecarbonyl)imino](4-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)]imino]]di-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 2, the amino product of Example 15 is treated with phosgene to produce the ureylene, the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 17
8-[3-(3-Aminobenzamido)-p-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 1, reaction of 8-(3-amino-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt (Example 14) with 3-nitrobenzoyl chloride followed by reduction with palladium on carbon catalyst provides the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 18
8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[(3,1-phenylenecarbonylimino)(4-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)]imino]]di-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 2, the amino product of Example 17 is treated with phosgene to produce the ureylene, the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 19
8-[3-(3-Aminobenzamido)-p-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 1, reaction of 8-(3-amino-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt with 3-nitrobenzoyl chloride followed by reduction with palladium on carbon catalyst provides the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 20
8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[(3,1-phenylenecarbonylimino)(4-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)]imino]]di-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 2, the amino product of Example 19 is treated with phosgene to produce the ureylene, the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 21
8-[5-(5-Amino-o-toluamido)-o-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 1, reaction of 8-amino-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid with 5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonyl chloride provides 8-(5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt, followed by reduction with palladium on carbon catalyst provides 8-(5-amino-o-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.
The preceding product is then reacted with 5-nitro-o-toluoyl chloride to yield 8-[5-(5-amino-o-toluamido)-o-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.
EXAMPLE 22
8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[[(6-methyl-3,1-phenylenecarbonyl)imino](6-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)]imino]]di-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 2, the amino product of Example 21 is treated with phosgene to produce the ureylene, the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 23
8-[5-(5-Amino-o-toluamido)-o-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 1, reaction of 8-amino-1,3,6-napthalenetrisulfonic acid, with 5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonyl chloride provides 8-(5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt, followed by reduction with palladium on carbon catalyst provides 8-(5-amino-o-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.
The preceding product is then reacted with 5-nitro-o-toluoyl chloride to yield 8-[5-(5-amino-o-toluamido)-o-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.
EXAMPLE 24
8,8'-([Ureylenebis[[[(6-methyl-3,1-phenylenecarbonyl)imino](6-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)]imino]]di-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 2, the amino product of Example 23 is treated with phosgene to produce the ureylene, the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 25
8-[N-(m-Aminobenzoyl)metanilamido]-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 1, reaction of 8-amino-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt with 3-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride provides, after reduction, 8-(metanilamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt. Treatment with m-nitrobenzoyl chloride, reducing the product therefrom provides the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 26
8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[(3,1-phenylenecarbonylimino)-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl]imino]]di-1,3,5-naphthalene-trisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 2, treatment of the product of Example 25 with phosgene generates the ureylene, the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 27
8-[N-(m-Aminobenzoyl)-metanilamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 1, reaction of 8-amino-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt with 3-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride provides, after reduction, 8-(metanilamido)-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt. Treatment with m-nitrobenzoyl chloride, reducing the product therefrom provides the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 28
8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[(3,1-phenylenecarbonylimino)-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl]imino]]di-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 2, treatment of the product of Example 27 with phosgene generates the ureylene, the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 29
8-[3-(5-Amino-2,4-dimethylbenzamido)-p-toluene-sulfonamido]-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 1, reaction of 8-(3-amino-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt with 5-nitro-2,4-dimethylbenzoyl chloride generates 8-[3-(5-nitro-2,4-dimethylbenzamido)-p-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt. Reduction with palladium on carbon catalyst gives the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 30
8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[[(4,6-dimethyl-3,1-phenylenecarbonyl)imino](4-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)]imino]]di-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 2, phosgenation of the product from Example 29 provides the proudct of the Example.
EXAMPLE 31
8-[3-(5-Amino-2,4-dimethylbenzamido)-p-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 1, reaction of 8-(3-amino-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt with 5-nitro-2,4-dimethylbenzoyl chloride generates 8-[3-(5-nitro-2,4-dimethylbenzamido)-p-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt. Reduction with palladium on carbon catalyst gives the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 32
8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[[(4,6-dimethyl-3,1-phenylene-carbonyl)imino](4-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)]imino]]di-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt
Following the procedure of Example 2, phosgenation of the product from Example 31 provides the product of the Example.
EXAMPLE 33
Preparation of Compressed Tablet
______________________________________Ingredient mg/Tablet______________________________________Active Compound 0.5-500Dibasic Calcium Phosphate N.F. qsStarch USP 40Modified Starch 10Magnesium Stearate USP 1-5______________________________________
EXAMPLE 34
Preparation of Compressed Tablet--Sustained Action T1 Ingredient? mg/Tablet? Active Compound as Aluminum 0.5-500 (as acid Lake*, Micronized equivalent) Dibasic Calcium Phosphate N.F. qs Alginic Acid 20
EXAMPLE 35
Preparation of Hard Shell Capsule
______________________________________Ingredient mg/Capsule______________________________________Active Compound 0.5-500Lactose, Spray Dried qsMagnesium Stearate 1-10______________________________________
EXAMPLE 36
Preparation of Oral Liquid (Syrup)
______________________________________Ingredient % W/V______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Liquid Sugar 75.0Methyl Paraben USP 0.18Propyl Paraben USP 0.02Flavoring Agent qsPurified Water qs ad 100.0______________________________________
EXAMPLE 37
Preparation of Oral Liquid (Elixir)
______________________________________Ingredient % W/V______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Alcohol USP 12.5Glycerin USP 45.0Syrup USP 20.0Flavoring Agent qsPurified Water qs ad 100.0______________________________________
EXAMPLE 38
Preparation of Oral Suspension (Syrup)
______________________________________Ingredient % W/V______________________________________Active Compound as Aluminum 0.05-5Lake, Micronized (acid equivalent)Polysorbate 80 USP 0.1Magnesium Aluminum Silicate,Colloidal 0.3Flavoring Agent qsMethyl Paraben USP 0.18Propyl Paraben USP 0.02Liquid Sugar 75.0Purified Water qs ad 100.0______________________________________
EXAMPLE 39
Preparation of Injectable Solution
______________________________________Ingredient % W/V______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Benzyl Alcohol N.F. 0.9Water for Injection 100.0______________________________________
EXAMPLE 40
Preparation of Injectable Oil
______________________________________Ingredient % W/V______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Benzyl Alcohol 1.5Sesame Oil qs ad 100.0______________________________________
EXAMPLE 41
Preparation of Intra-Articular Product
______________________________________Ingredient Amount______________________________________Active Compound 2-20 mgNaCl (physiological saline) 0.9%Benzyl Alcohol 0.9%Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose 1-5%pH adjusted to 5.0-7.5Water for Injection qs ad 100%______________________________________
EXAMPLE 42
Preparation of Injectable Depo Suspension
______________________________________Ingredient % W/V______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5 (acid equivalent)Polysorbate 80 USP 0.2Polyethylene Glycol 4000 USP 3.0Sodium Chloride USP 0.8Benzyl Alcohol N.F. 0.9HCl to pH 6-8 qsWater for Injection qs ad 100.0______________________________________
EXAMPLE 43
Preparation of Dental Paste
______________________________________Ingredient % W/W______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Zinc Oxide 15Polyethylene Glycol 4000 USP 50Distilled Water qs 100______________________________________
EXAMPLE 44
Preparation of Dental Ointment
______________________________________Ingredient % W/W______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Petrolatum, White USP qs 100______________________________________
EXAMPLE 45
Preparation of Dental Cream
______________________________________Ingredient % W/W______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Mineral Oil 50Beeswax 15Sorbitan Monostearate 2Polyoxyethylene 20 SorbitanMonostearate 3Methylparaben USP 0.18Propyl Paraben USP 0.02Distilled Water qs 100______________________________________
EXAMPLE 46
Preparation of Topical Cream
______________________________________Ingredient % W/W______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Sodium Lauryl Sulfate 1Propylene Glycol 12Stearyl Alcohol 25Petrolatum, White USP 25Methyl Paraben USP 0.18Propyl Paraben USP 0.02Purified Water qs 100______________________________________
EXAMPLE 47
Preparation of Topical Ointment
______________________________________Ingredient % W/W______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Cholesterol 3Stearyl Alcohol 3White Wax 8Petrolatum, White USP qs 100______________________________________
EXAMPLE 48
Preparation of Spray Lotion (non-Aerosol)
______________________________________Ingredient % W/W______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Isopropyl Myristate 20Alcohol (Denatured) qs 100______________________________________
EXAMPLE 49
Preparation of Buccal Tablet
______________________________________Ingredient g/Tablet______________________________________Active Ingredient 0.003256 × Sugar 0.29060Acacia 0.01453Soluble Starch 0.01453F. D. & C. Yellow No. 6 Dye 0.00049Magnesium Stearate 0.00160 0.32500______________________________________
The final tablet will weigh about 325 mg. and may be compressed into buccal tablets in flat faced or any other tooling shape convenient for buccal administration.
EXAMPLE 50
Preparation of Lozenge
______________________________________Ingredient g/Lozenge______________________________________Active Ingredient 0.0140Kompact® Sugar (Sucrest Co.) 0.71386 × Sugar 0.4802Sorbitol (USP Crystalline) 0.1038Flavor 0.0840Magnesium Stearate 0.0021Dye qsStearic Acid 0.0021 1.4000______________________________________
The ingredients are compressed into 5/8" flat based lozenge tooling. Other shapes may also be utilized. | Novel ureylenebis[substituted-phenylenecarbonyl(and sulfonyl)imino-substituted-phenylenesulfonylimino-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid hexaalkali metal salts], useful as inhibitors of the complement system of warm-blooded animals, the amino-substituted phenylenecarbonyl (and sulfonyl)imino-substituted-phenylenesulfonylimino-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trialkali metal salts, which are new intermediates for the preparation of the active ureylenes, and the process for their preparation. | Summarize the patent information, clearly outlining the technical challenges and proposed solutions. | [
"This is a division of application Ser.",
"No. 923,742, filed July 11, 1978.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The term "complement"",
"refers to a complex group of proteins in body fluids that, working together with antibodies or other factors, play an important role as mediators of immune, allergic, immunochemical and/or immunopathological reactions.",
"The reactions in which complement participates take place in blood serum or in other body fluids, and hence are considered to be humoral reactions.",
"With regard to human blood, there are at present more than 11 proteins in the complement system.",
"These complement proteins are designated by the letter C and by number: C1, C2, C3 and so on up to C9.",
"The complement protein C1 is actually an assembly of subunits designated C1q, C1r and C1s.",
"The numbers assigned to the complement proteins reflect the sequence in which they become active, with the exception of complement protein C4, which reacts after C1 and before C2.",
"The numerical assignments for the proteins in the complement system were made before the reaction sequence was fully understood.",
"A more detailed discussion of the complement system and its role in the body processes can be found in, for example, Bull.",
"World Health Org.",
", 39, 935-938 (1968);",
"Ann.",
"Rev. Medicine, 19, 1-24 (1968);",
"The John Hopkins Med.",
"J., 128, 57-74 (1971);",
"Harvey Lectures, 66, 75-104 (1972);",
"The New England Journal of Medicine, 287, 452-454;",
"489-495;",
"545-549;",
"592-596;",
"642-646 (1972);",
"Scientific American, 229, (No.",
"5), 54-66 (1973);",
"Federation Proceedings, 32, 134-137 (1973);",
"Medical World News, October 11, 1974, pp. 53-66;",
"J. Allergy Clin.",
"Immunol.",
", 53, 298-302 (1974);",
"Cold Spring Harbor Conf.",
"Cell Prolifieration 2/Proteases Biol.",
"Control/229-241 (1975);",
"Ann.",
"Review of Biochemistry, 44, 697 (1975);",
"Complement in Clinical Medicine, Disease-a-Month, (1975);",
"Complement, Scope, December 1975;",
"Annals of Internal Medicine, 84, 580-593 (1976);",
""Complement: Mechanisms and Functions", Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J. (1976);",
"Essays Med.",
"Biochem.",
", 2, 1-35 (1976);",
"Hospital Practice, 12, 33-43 (1977);",
"Perturbation of Complement in Disease, Chap.",
"15 in Biological Amplification Systems in Immunology (Ed.",
"Day and Good), Plenum, New York and London (1977);",
"Am.",
"J. Clin.",
"Pathology, 68, 647-659 (1977).",
"The complement system can be considered to consist of three sub-systems: (1) a recognition unit (C1q) which enables it to combine with antibody molecules that have detected a foreign invader;",
"(2) an activation unit (C1r, C1s, C2, C4, C3) which prepares a site on the neighboring membrane;",
"and (3) an attack unit (C5, C6, C7, C8 and C9) which creates a "hole"",
"in the membrane.",
"The membrane attack unit is non-specific;",
"it destroys invaders only because it is generated in their neighborhood.",
"In order to minimize damage to the host's own cells, its activity must be limited in time.",
"This limitation is accomplished partly by the spontaneous decay of activated complement and partly by interference by inhibitors and destructive enzymes.",
"The control of complement, however, is not perfect, and there are times when damage is done to the host's cells.",
"Immunity is, therefore, a double-edged sword.",
"Activation of the complement system also accelerates blood clotting.",
"This action comes about by way of the complement-mediated release of a clotting factor from platelets.",
"The biologically active complement fragments and complexes can become involved in reactions that damage the host's cells, and these pathogenic reactions can result in the development of immune-complex diseases.",
"For example, in some forms of nephritis, complement damages the basal membrane of the kidney, resulting in the escape of protein from the blood into the urine.",
"The disease disseminated lupus erythematosus belongs in this category;",
"its symptoms include nephritis, visceral lesions and skin eruptions.",
"The treatment of diphtheria or tetanus with the injection of large amounts of antitoxin sometimes results in serum sickness, an immune-complex disease.",
"Rheumatoid arthritis also involves immune complexes.",
"Like disseminated lupus erythematosus, it is an autoimmune disease in which the disease symptoms are caused by pathological effects of the immune system in the host's tissues.",
"In summary, the complement system has been shown to be involved with inflammation, coagulation, fibrinolysis, antibody-antigen reactions and other metabolic processes.",
"In the presence of antibody-antigen complexes the complement proteins are involved in a series of reactions which may lead to irreversible membrane damage if they occur in the vicinity of biological membranes.",
"Thus, while complement constitutes a part of the body's defense mechanism against infection it also results in inflammation and tissue damage in the immunopathological process.",
"The nature of certain of the complement proteins, suggestions regarding the mode of complement binding to biological membranes and the manner in which complement effects membrane damage are discussed in Annual Review in Biochemistry, 38, 389 (1969);",
"Journal of Immunology, 119, 1-8, 1195, 1358-1364, 1482 (1977).",
"A variety of substances have been disclosed as inhibiting the complement system, i.e., as complement inhibitors.",
"For example, the compounds 3,3'-ureylenebis[6-(2-amino-8-hydroxy-6-sulfo-1-naphthylazo)benzenesulfonic acid], tetrasodium salt (chlorazol fast pink), heparin and a sulphated dextran have been reported to have an anticomplementary effect, British Journal of Experimental Pathology, 33, 327-339 (1952).",
"German Pat. No. 2,254,893 or South African Pat. No. 727,923 discloses certain 1-(diphenylmethyl)-4-(3-phenylallyl)piperazines useful as complement inhibitors.",
"Other chemical compounds having complement inhibiting activity are disclosed in, for example, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 12, 415-419;",
"902-905;",
"1049-1052;",
"1053-1056 (1969);",
"Canadian Journal of Biochemistry, 47, 547-552 (1969);",
"The Journal of Immunology, 104, 279-288 (1970);",
"The Journal of Immunology, 106, 241-245 (1971);",
"The Journal of Immunology, 111, 1061-1066 (1973);",
"Biochim.",
"Biophys.",
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"It has been reported that the known complement inhibitors epsilon-aminocaproic acid and tranexamic acid have been used with success in the treatment of hereditary angioneurotic edema, a disease state resulting from an inherited deficiency or lack of function of the serum inhibitor of the activated first component of complement (C1 inhibitor).",
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"Pathologie Biologie, 25, 33-36, 25 (2), 105-108, 25 (3), 179-184 (1977).",
"It is known that the compound Suramin is moderately active as a complement inhibitor, and possesses the structure: ##STR1## It now has been discovered that certain modifications of this structure provide compounds with enhanced inhibitory activity.",
"This invention is based on such modifications.",
"The following publications, pertaining to the chemistry of Suramin, are related to the preparation of the novel compounds of this invention: Bayer &",
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"Hill and M. Loos, Immunochemistry, 13 (3), 251-255 (1976) SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention is concerned with ureylenebis[substituted-phenylenecarbonyl(and sulfonyl)imino-substituted-phenylenesulfonylimino-naphthalenetrisulfonic acids] and all pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, having complement inhibiting activity, which are new compounds of the general formulae: ##STR2## wherein R, R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and methyl;",
"and A is a pharmaceutically acceptable salt cation.",
"This invention is also concerned with compounds of the formulae: ##STR3## wherein R, R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and methyl;",
"and A is a pharmaceutically acceptable salt cation;",
"said compounds being useful as intermediates for the preparation of the complement inhibiting compounds described above.",
"Some of the intermediate compounds also possess complement inhibiting activity.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The novel intermediate amine compounds of the invention are prepared by reacting the appropriate 8-amino-1,3,5(and 1,3,6)-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid trialkali metal salt with a nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride such as m-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride, 3-nitro-p-toluenesulfonyl chloride and 2-methyl-5-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride, for 1.5-36 hours in an aqueous solution made alkaline with alkali metal hydroxide, anhydrous alkali metal carbonate or alkali metal acetate trihydrate.",
"After neutralization, the solution is diluted with absolute ethanol to provide the corresponding nitro-substituted-phenylenesulfonylimino-1,3,5(and 1,3,6)-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trialkali metal salt.",
"Hydrogenation of the preceding nitro trialkali metal salts using 10% palladium-carbon catalyst, filtration, concentration and treatment with absolute ethanol provides the corresponding amino-substituted-phenylenesulfonylimino naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trialkali metal salt compounds.",
"The amino compounds above, dissolved in aqueous media and made alkaline with either alkali metal hydroxide or anhydrous alkali metal carbonate are reacted once more with the above listed nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride or a nitrobenzoyl chloride such as m-nitrobenzoyl chloride or 3-nitro-p-toluoyl chloride for 1.5-36 hours.",
"After neutralization, the solution is diluted with absolute ethanol to provide the corresponding nitro-substituted-phenylenecarbonyl (and sulfonyl)imino-substituted-phenylenesulfonylimino-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trialkali metal salt.",
"The novel intermediate amine compounds of the invention are then obtained by hydrogenation of the above nitro compounds using 10% palladium-carbon catalyst in water as previously described, filtration and evaporation of the filtrate produces a residue which is dissolved in water and precipitated with absolute ethanol to provide the desired product.",
"The novel ureylene compounds of the invention, which are active complement inhibitors, are then provided by treatment of the above intermediate amine compounds with phosgene in aqueous media made alkaline with alkali metal carbonate or pyridine, neutralization, and precipitation from aqueous solution with alcohol.",
"This invention is concerned with a method of inhibiting the complement system in a body fluid, such as blood serum, which comprises subjecting body fluid complement to the action of an effective complement inhibiting amount of a compound encompassed within the formulae hereinabove.",
"The method of use aspect of this invention is also concerned with a method of inhibiting the complement system in a warm-blooded animal which comprises administering to said animal an effective complement inhibiting amount of a compound encompassed within the formulae hereinabove.",
"Body fluid can include blood, plasma, serum, synovial fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, or pathological accumulations of fluid such as pleural effusion, etc.",
"Compounds of the present invention find utility as complement inhibitors in body fluids and as such may be used to ameliorate or prevent those pathological reactions requiring the function of complement and in the therapeutic treatment of warm-blooded animals having immunologic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, certain kinds of glomerulonephritis, certain kinds of auto-allergic hemolytic anemia, certain kinds of platelet disorders and certain kinds of vasculitis.",
"The compounds herein may also be used in the therapeutic treatment of warm-blooded animals having non-immunologic diseases such as paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, hereditary angioneurotic edema (treated with Suramin, etc.) and inflammatory states induced by the action of bacterial or lysosomal enzymes on the appropriate complement components as for example, inflammation following coronary occlusion.",
"They may also be useful in the treatment of transplant rejection and as blood culture or transport mediums.",
"The compounds of the present invention may be administered internally, e.g., orally, or parenterally, e.g., intra-articularly, to a warm-blooded animal to inhibit complement in the body fluid of the animal, such inhibition being useful in the amelioration or prevention of those reactions dependent upon the function of complement, such as inflammatory process and cell membrane damage induced by antigen-antibody complexes.",
"A range of doses may be employed depending on the mode of administration, the condition being treated and the particular compound being used.",
"For example, for intravenous or subcutaneous use from about 5 to about 50 mg/kg/day, or every six hours for more rapidly excreted salts, may be used.",
"For intra-articular use for large joints such as the knee, from about 2 to about 20 mg/joint per week may be used, with proportionally smaller doses for smaller joints.",
"The dosage range is to be adjusted to provide optimum therapeutic response in the warm-blooded animal being treated.",
"In general, the amount of compound administered can vary over a wide range to provide from about 5 mg/kg to about 100 mg/kg of body weight of animal per day.",
"The usual daily dosage for a 70 kg subject may vary from about 350 mg to about 3.5 g. Unit doses of the acid or salt can contain from about 0.5 mg to about 500 mg.",
"While in general the sodium salts of the acids of the invention are suitable for parenteral use, other sadts may also be prepared, such as those of primary amines, e.g., ethylamine;",
"secondary amines, e.g., diethylamine or diethanol amine;",
"tertiary amines, e.g., pyridine or triethylamine or 2-dimethylaminomethyldibenzofuran;",
"aliphatic diamines, e.g., decamethylenediamine;",
"and aromatic diamines, can be prepared.",
"Some of these are soluble in water, others are soluble in saline solution, and still others are insoluble and can be used for purposes of preparing suspensions for injection.",
"Furthermore, as well as the sodium salt, those of the alkali metals, such as potassium and lithium;",
"of ammonia;",
"and of the alkaline earth metals, such as calcium or magnesium, may be employed.",
"It will be apparent, therefore, that these salts embrace, in general, derivatives of salt-forming cations.",
"The compounds of the present invention may also be administered topically in the form of ointments, creams, lotions and the like, suitable for the treatment of complement dependent dermatological disorders.",
"Moreover, the compounds of the present invention may be administered in the form of dental pastes, ointments, buccal tablets and other compositions suitable for application periodontally for the treatment of periodontitis and related diseases of the oral cavity.",
"In therapeutic use, the compounds of this invention may be administered in the form of conventional pharmaceutical compositions.",
"Such compositions may be formulated so as to be suitable for oral or parenteral administration.",
"The active ingredient may be combined in admixture with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, which carrier may take a wide variety of forms depending on the form of preparation desired for administration, i.e., oral or parenteral.",
"The compounds can be used in compositions such as tablets.",
"Here, the principal active ingredient is mixed with conventional tabletting ingredients such as corn starch, lactose, sucrose, sorbitol, talc, stearic acid, magnesium stearate, dicalcium phosphate, gums, or similar materials as non-toxic pharmaceutically acceptable diluents or carriers.",
"The tablets or pills of the novel compositions can be laminated or otherwise compounded to provide a dosage form affording the advantage of prolonged or delayed action or predetermined successive action of the enclosed medication.",
"For example, the tablet or pill can comprise an inner dosage and an outer dosage component, the latter being in the form of an envelope over the former.",
"The two components can be separated by an enteric layer which serves to resist disintegration in the stomach and permits the inner component to pass intact into the duodenum or to be delayed in release.",
"A variety of materials can be used for such enteric layers or coatings, such materials including a number of polymeric acids or mixtures of polymeric acids with such materials as shellac, shellac and cetyl alcohol, cellulose acetate and the like.",
"A particularly advantageous enteric coating comprises a styrene maleic acid copolymer together with known materials contributing to the enteric properties of the coating.",
"The tablet or pill may be colored through the use of an appropriate non-toxic dye, so as to provide a pleasing appearance.",
"The liquid forms in which the novel compositions of the present invention may be incorporated for administration include suitable flavored emulsions with edible oils, such as, cottonseed oil, sesame oil, coconut oil, peanut oil, and the like, as well as elixirs and similar pharmaceutical vehicles.",
"Sterile suspensions or solutions can be prepared for parenteral use.",
"Isotonic preparations containing suitable preservatives are also desirable for injection use.",
"The term dosage form, as described herein, refers to physically discrete units suitable as unitary dosage for warm-blooded animal subjects, each unit containing a predetermined quantity of active component calculated to produce the desired therapeutic effect in association with the required pharmaceutical diluent, carrier or vehicle.",
"The specification for the novel dosage forms of this invention are indicated by characteristics of the active component and the particular therapeutic effect to be achieved or the limitations inherent in the art of compounding such an active component for therapeutic use in warm-blooded animals as disclosed in this specification.",
"Examples of suitable oral dosage forms in accord with this invention are tablets, capsules, pills, powder packets, granules, wafers, cachets, teaspoonfuls, dropperfuls, ampules, vials, segregated multiples of any of the foregoing and other forms as herein described.",
"The complement inhibiting activity of the compounds of this invention has been demonstrated by one or more of the following identified tests: (i) Test Code 026 (C1-inhibitor)--This test measures the ability of activated human C1 to destroy fluid phase human C2 in the presence of C4 and appropriate dilutions of the test compound.",
"An active inhibitor protects C2 from C1 and C4;",
"(ii) Test Code 035 (C3-C9 inhibitor)--This test determines the ability of the late components of human complement (C3-C9) to lyse EAC 142 in the presence of appropriate dilutions of the test compound.",
"An active inhibitor protects EAC 142 from lysis by human C3-C9;",
"(iii) Test Code 036 (C-Shunt inhibitor)--In this test human erythrocytes rendered fragile are lysed in autologous serum via the shunt pathway activated by cobra venom factor in the presence of appropriate dilutions of the test compound.",
"Inhibition of the shunt pathway results in failure of lysis;",
"(iv) Forssman Vasculitis Test--Here, the well known complement dependent lesion, Forssman vasculitis, is produced in guinea pigs by intradermal injection of rabbit anti-Forssman antiserum.",
"The lesion is measured in terms of diameter, edema and hemorrhage and the extent to which a combined index of these is inhibited by prior intraperitoneal injection of the test compound at 200 mg/kg is then reported, unless otherwise stated;",
"(v) Forssman Shock Test--Lethal shock is produced in guinea pigs by an i.v. injection of anti-Forssman antiserum and the harmonic mean death time of treated guinea pigs is compared with that of simultaneous controls;",
"(vi) Complement Level Reduction Test--In this test, the above dosed guinea pigs, or others, are bled for serum and the complement level is determined in undiluted serum by the capillary tube method of U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,376 and compared to undosed control guinea pigs;",
"and (vii) Cap 50 Test--Here, appropriate amounts of the test compound are added to a pool of guinea pig serum in vitro, after which the undiluted serum capillary tube assay referred to above is run.",
"The concentration of compound inhibiting 50% is reported.",
"The results appear in Table I together with results of tests code 026, 035, 036 and Cap 50, showing that the compounds of the invention possess significant activity compared to Suramin.",
"TABLE I__________________________________________________________________________Biological Activities Cl C-Late Shunt Inhi- 026* 035* bition 036* Compound Wells Wells Wells Cap 50*__________________________________________________________________________Suramin +4** +2** -- 3618,8'-[Ureylenebis[(m-phenylenesulfonyl-imino) (4-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)- +3 +1 N >500imino]]di-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonicacid, hexasodium salt8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[(1,3-phenylenesul-fonylimino)-1,3-phenylenesulfonyl]- +4 +5 +1** >500imino]]di-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonicacid, hexasodium salt8,8'-[Ureylenebis [[[(6-methyl-3,1-phen-ylene)sulfonyl]imino]-[[ (6-methyl-3,1-phenylene)sulfonyl]imino]]]di-1,3,6- +3 +1 N >500naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexa-sodium salt__________________________________________________________________________ *Code designation for tests employed as referred herein.",
"**Activity in wells a serial dilution assay.",
"Higher well number indicates higher activity.",
"The serial dilutions are twofold.",
"N = Negative (no activity) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION EXAMPLE 1 8-(3-Metanilamido-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt A mixture of 25.0 g of p-toluenesulfonic acid and 95.0 ml of concentrated nitric acid is heated on a steam bath for 30 minutes.",
"The solution is poured into 250 ml of water and evaporated at reduced pressure.",
"A small quantity of water is added and the mixture is evaporated again.",
"This step is repeated two additional times to remove all of the nitric acid.",
"The mixture is neutralized with a saturated solution of sodium carbonate and evaporated affording a yellow solid.",
"The solid is slurried with absolute ethanol, collected by filtration and washed twice with both ethanol and ether to give 10.3 g of product.",
"The filtrate is allowed to stand and the solid formed is collected and washed as above to provide 10.0 g of additional product and a total of 20.3 g of 3-nitro-p-toluenesulfonic acid, sodium salt.",
"A mixture of 20.0 g of the above compound, 250 ml of thionyl chloride and 20.0 ml of dimethylformamide is refluxed for 16 hours.",
"The excess thionyl chloride is removed by distillation, then the mixture is cooled and ether is added.",
"The mixture is evaporated and the crude product is distilled under vacuum.",
"The fraction recovered at a pressure of 1.0-1.5 mm of mercury and a boiling point of 152°-154° C. provides 11.5 g of 3-nitro-p-toluenesulfonyl chloride.",
"To a warm solution of 106.4 g of (80.5%) 8-amino-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid in 100 ml of water and 45.0 ml of 5 N sodium hydroxide is slowly added 500 ml of absolute ethanol with vigorous stirring for 30 minutes.",
"The mixture is cooled to room temperature and filtered.",
"The precipitate is washed with 80% aqueous ethanol, ethanol and ether and dried in vacuo at 110° C. for 16 hours to give 103.7 g of 8-amino-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.",
"An 8.0 g portion of 3-nitro-p-toluenesulfonyl chloride is added to a stirred solution of 7.2 g of 8-amino-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid trisodium salt, and 1.7 g of anhydrous sodium carbonate in 30.0 ml of water with separation of an oil.",
"The mixture is stirred for 16 hours and then is evaporated.",
"The residue is dissolved in water and absolute ethanol is added to provide a precipitate.",
"The product is collected and washed with ethanol and ether.",
"The filtrate is evaporated and the residue is precipitated as above to provide additional product.",
"A third crop is obtained from the final filtrate to provide a total of 8.6 g of 8-(3-nitro-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.",
"A mixture of 8.0 g of 8-(3-nitro-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalene trisulfonic acid trisodium salt, 160 ml of water and 800 mg of 10% palladium on carbon catalyst is hydrogenated on a Parr shaker until no additional hydrogen is absorbed.",
"The resulting mixture is filtered through diatomaceous earth and the filtrate is evaporated.",
"The residue is dissolved in hot water and filtered.",
"The filtrate is triturated with ethanol until cloudiness persists, then is allowed to stand at room temperature for 16 hours.",
"The mixture is filtered and the filtrate evaporated to afford a gummy material which is dissolved in a small amount of water and triturated with ethanol.",
"An additional 200 ml of ethanol is added and the mixture is stirred for one hour to provide a solid.",
"The solid is collected and washed with ethanol and ether to yield 4.6 g of 8-(3-amino-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt as a light tan powder.",
"To a stirred solution of 2.0 g of 8-(3-amino-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid trisodium salt and 342 mg of anhydrous sodium carbonate in 10 ml of water is added 1.5 g of m-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride.",
"The mixture is stirred for 16 hours.",
"An additional 170 mg of anhydrous sodum carbonate is added followed by 750 mg of m-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride and the mixture is stirred for an additional 16 hours.",
"The reaction mixture is evaporated and the residue dissolved in hot water.",
"A product is precipitated on the addition of absolute ethanol.",
"The product is collected, washed with ethanol and ether and dried.",
"Additional product is collected from the filtrate and is washed and dried as above.",
"The above fractions of product are combined and dissolved in water, then 2.5 ml of 5 N sodium hydroxide is added and the mixture is stirred for 30 minutes.",
"The mixture is acidified with glacial acetic acid and evaporated.",
"The residue is dissolved in hot water and precipitated with ethanol.",
"The product is collected and washed twice with ethanol and ether and dried to yield 700 mg of 8-(3-m-nitrobenzenesulfonamido-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.",
"A mixture of 550 mg of 8-(3-m-nitrobenzenesulfonamido-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt, 30.0 ml of water and 65.0 mg of 10% palladium on carbon catalyst is hydrogenated on a Parr shaker for 1.75 hours.",
"The resulting mixture is filtered through diatomaceous earth and the filtrate is evaporated.",
"The crude material is dissolved in a minimum of hot water and triturated with ethanol.",
"The resulting solid (A) is collected by filtration and washed with ethanol and ether.",
"The filtrate is evaporated and the residue dissolved in water.",
"Ethanol is added and the solution is evaporated to yield a white powder (B).",
"Fractions (A) and (B) are combined and dried to yield 500 mg of the desired product.",
"EXAMPLE 2 8,8'-[Ureylenebis[(m-phenylenesulfonylimino) (4-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)imino]]di-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt Phosgene gas is bubbled into a solution of 400 mg of the product of Example 1, 20.0 ml of water and 55.0 mg of anhydrous sodium carbonate until the reaction mixture is acidic to Congo Red indicator.",
"The solution is neutralized with sodium carbonate then an additional 55.0 mg of sodium carbonate is added and phosgenation is repeated until the reaction mixture is acidic.",
"The solution is neutralized with sodium carbonate and the excess sodium carbonate is decomposed with acetic acid.",
"The reaction mixture is evaporated and the residue is dissolved in hot water and filtered.",
"The filtrate is triturated with ethanol and allowed to cool.",
"The precipitate formed is collected and washed with ethanol and ether then is re-precipitated from water and ethanol and collected and washed as above.",
"The product is dried to yield 336 mg of the desired product as a tan powder.",
"EXAMPLE 3 8-(3-Metanilamido-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt Following the procedure of Example 1, employing 8-amino-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid provides the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 4 8,8'-[Ureylenebis[(m-phenylenesulfonfylimino) (4-methyl-3,1-phenylsulfonyl)imino]]di-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt Following the procedure of Example 2, phosgenation of the product of Example 3 provides the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 5 8-[N 3 -(m-Aminophenylsulfonyl)metanilamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt To a stirred solution of 21.9 g of 8-amino-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt and 11.4 g of anhydrous sodium carbonate in 280 ml of water is added 24.0 g of m-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride.",
"The mixture is stirred at room temperature for 16 hours, then an additional 1.0 g of sodium carbonate and 2.0 g of m-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride are added and stirring is continued for 3 hours longer.",
"The mixture is evaporated and the residue is dissolved in 200 ml of water.",
"A copious amount of absolute ethanol is added and the solid formed is collected and washed with ethanol and ether, then is dried to yield 26.1 g of 8-m-nitrobenzenesulfonamido-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.",
"A mixture of 26.1 g of 8-m-nitrobenzenesulfonamido-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt, 175 ml of water and 2.09 g of palladium on carbon catalyst is hydrogenated in a Parr shaker until no additional hydrogen is absorbed.",
"The resulting mixture is filtered through diatomaceous earth and the filtrate is evaporated.",
"The residue is dissolved in 60.0 ml of water and, with stirring, 400 ml of absolute ethanol is added to precipitate a solid.",
"The mixture is allowed to stir for 2 hours, then is filtered.",
"The product is washed with absolute ethanol and ether to give 25.3 g of 8-metanilamido-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.",
"To a stirred solution of 11.26 g of 8-metanilamido-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt and 4.72 g of anhydrous sodium carbonate in 200 ml of water is added 10.0 g of m-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride.",
"The mixture is stirred for 18 hours and is filtered.",
"A copious amount of absolute ethanol is added to the filtrate, with stirring, to provide a precipitate.",
"The mixture is stirred for one hour, then the solid is separated and washed with absolute ethanol and ether to yield 8.9 g of 8-[N 3 -(m-nitrophenylsulfonyl)metanilamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.",
"A mixture of 8.9 g of 8-[N 3 -(m-nitrophenylsulfonyl)metanilamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt, 90.0 ml of water and 1.0 g of 10% palladium on carbon catalyst is hydrogenated as previously described.",
"The resulting mixture is filtered through diatomaceous earth and the filtrate is evaporated.",
"The residue is dissolved in 25.0 ml of water, then absolute ethanol is added to precipitate the product.",
"The precipitate is collected, is washed with ethanol and ether and dried to yield 6.1 g of the desired product.",
"EXAMPLE 6 8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[(1,3-phenylenesulfonylimino)-1,3-phenylenesulfonyl]imino]]di-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt Phosgene is bubbled into a solution of 3.95 g of the product of Example 5 and 2.6 ml of pyridine in 35.0 ml of water until acidic to Congo Red indicator paper.",
"An additional 1.5 ml of pyridine is added and phosgene is bubbled in again until acidic.",
"The mixture is neutralized with pyridine and is poured into 450 ml of stirred absolute ethanol to provide a gum.",
"The supernatant is decanted, the gum is triturated with additional absolute ethanol to yield a solid (A, (1.8 g) which is collected and washed with ethanol and ether.",
"The supernatant above is evaporated.",
"The residue is triturated with a copious amount of absolute ethanol and filtered.",
"The solid (B) is washed with ethanol and ether to provide 2.5 g of material.",
"Fractions (A) and (B) above are combined and dissolved in 25.0 ml of water.",
"The solution is basified to pH 8-9 with 5 N sodium hydroxide then is neutralized with acetic acid.",
"The solution is added dropwise to 400 ml of stirred absolute ethanol to yield a precipitate.",
"Stirring is continued for one hour, then the precipitate is separated, washed with absolute ethanol and ether and dried to yield 2.0 g of the desired product.",
"EXAMPLE 7 8-[N 3 -(m-Aminophenylsulfonyl)metanilamido]-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt Following the procedure of Example 5, employing 8-amino-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt provides the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 8 8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[(1,3-phenylenesulfonylimino)-1,3-phenylenesulfonyl]imino]]di-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt Phosgenation (according to procedure of Example 6) of the product of Example 7 provides the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 9 8-[5-(5-Amino-o-toluenesulfonamido)-o-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt To a boiling solution of 100 g of 5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonic acid in 110 ml of water is added a solution of 53.6 g of sodium chloride in 150 ml of boiling water.",
"The reaction mixture solidifies and is heated to boiling with the addition of sufficient water to provide solution.",
"Then some of the water is boiled off and the mixture is allowed to stand for 16 hours.",
"The solid formed is collected and dried to yield 92.5 g of 5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonic acid sodium salt.",
"A mixture of 50.0 g of 5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonic acid sodium salt, 125 ml of thionyl chloride and 1.3 ml of dimethylformamide is stirred and refluxed for 3 hours.",
"The excess thionyl chloride is distilled off and the residue is reevaporated twice with ether.",
"The residue is extracted with ether and methylene chloride.",
"The extracts are evaporated and the residue is dissolved in ether and filtered.",
"The filtrate is concentrated while adding petroleum ether, then is placed in an ice box for 16 hours.",
"The solid formed is collected and dried to yield 33.4 g of 2-methyl-5-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride.",
"A mixture of 17.0 g of 8-amino-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt, 17.5 g of 2-methyl-5-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride and 7.8 g of anhydrous sodium carbonate in 210 ml of water is stirred at room temperature for 18 hours, then an additional 0.5 g of sodium carbonate and 1.0 g of 2-methyl-5-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride is added and stirring is continued for 18 hours longer.",
"The reaction mixture is evaporated and 100 ml of water is added with stirring.",
"The mixture is filtered and 900 ml of absolute ethanol is added to the filtrate with stirring.",
"The mixture is stirred for 2 hours, then the precipitate is collected, washed with ethanol and ether and dried to yield 20.8 g of 8-(5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.",
"A mixture of 20.0 g of 8-(5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt, 90.0 ml of water and 2.0 g of 10% palladium on carbon catalyst is hydrogenated as described in Example 1.",
"The reaction mixture is filtered through diatomaceous earth and the filtrate is evaporated.",
"The residue is dissolved in a minimum amount of water, then is added dropwise to 800 ml of stirred absolute ethanol.",
"The mixture is stirred for 2 hours and allowed to stand for 48 hours.",
"A light yellow solid is collected, washed with ethanol and ether, then is dried to yield 15.0 g of 8-(5-amino-o-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.",
"A mixture of 7.0 g of 8-(5-amino-o-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt, 5.35 g of 2-methyl-5-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride and 2.5 g of anhydrous sodium carbonate in 120 ml of water is stirred at room temperature for 7 hours, then an additional 0.5 g of sodium carbonate and 1.0 g of 2-methyl-5-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride is added and stirring is continued.",
"After 16 hours, 0.5 g of sodium carbonate and 1.0 g of acid chloride is added again and stirring is continued for several hours.",
"The reaction mixture is filtered and the filtrate is concentrated and precipitated crops isolated as formed.",
"The product crops are combined to yield 6.0 g of 8-[5-(5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonamido)-o-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.",
"A mixture of 6.0 g of 8-[5-(5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonamido)-o-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt, 70.0 ml of water and 920 mg of 10% palladium on carbon catalyst is hydrogenated as previously described.",
"The resulting mixture is filtered through diatomaceous earth and the filtrate is evaporated.",
"The residue is dissolved in 30 ml of water and added with stirring to 300 ml of absolute ethanol forming a gum.",
"The supernatant is decanted and the gum is triturated with ethanol to provide a solid which is collected by filtration and washed with ethanol and ether to yield 1.4 g of product.",
"Additional product (1.5 g) is precipitated from the supernatant above and is collected and washed as above and the filtrates above are evaporated and triturated with ethanol to provide 1.8 g of product.",
"The above fractions are combined and dried to yield 4.15 g of the desired product.",
"EXAMPLE 10 8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[[(6-methyl-3,1-phenylene)sulfonyl]imino]-[[(6-methyl-3,1-phenylene)sulfonyl]imino]]]di-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt Phosgene gas is bubbled through a solution of 4.0 g of the product of Example 9 and 2.54 ml of pyridine in 35.0 ml of water with vigorous stirring until the solution becomes acidic to Congo Red indicator paper.",
"An additional 1.3 ml of pyridine is added and the solution is phosgenated again until acidic to Congo Red indicator.",
"The mixture is neutralized with pyridine and poured into 650 ml of absolute ethanol with stirring.",
"Stirring is continued for 30 minutes and the precipitate is collected and washed with ethanol and ether.",
"The material is dried, then is dissolved in 20 ml of water.",
"The solution is made alkaline (pH 8-9) with 5 N sodium hydroxide, then neutralized with glacial acetic acid and added to 400 ml of absolute ethanol with stirring.",
"The solution is concentrated to provide a precipitate.",
"The solid is separated then washed with ethanol and ether and dried to yield 1.0 g of the desired product.",
"EXAMPLE 11 8-[5-(5-Amino-o-toluenesulfonamido)-o-toluenesulfonamido]- 1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt Following the procedure of Example 9, employing 8-amino-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt provides the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 12 8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[[(6-methyl-3,1-phenylene)sulfonyl]imino]-[[(6-methyl-3,1-phenylene)sulfonyl]imino]]]di-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt Following the phosgenation procedure of Example 10, the amine of Example 11 is converted into the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 13 8-[3-(3-Amino-p-toluamido)-p-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt Following the procedure of Example 1, reaction of 8-(3-amino-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt with 3-nitro-p-toluoyl chloride followed by reduction with palladium on carbon catalyst provides the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 14 8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[[(4-methyl-3,1-phenylenecarbonyl)imino](4-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)]imino]]di-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt Following the procedure of Example 2, the amino product of Example 13 is treated with phosgene to produce the ureylene, the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 15 8-[3-(3-Amino-p-toluamido)-p-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt Following the procedure of Example 1 with 8-amino-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt provides 8-(3-amino-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.",
"Reaction of the latter with 3-nitro-p-toluoyl chloride followed by reduction with palladium on carbon catalyst provides the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 16 8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[[(4-methyl-3,1-phenylenecarbonyl)imino](4-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)]imino]]di-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt Following the procedure of Example 2, the amino product of Example 15 is treated with phosgene to produce the ureylene, the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 17 8-[3-(3-Aminobenzamido)-p-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt Following the procedure of Example 1, reaction of 8-(3-amino-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt (Example 14) with 3-nitrobenzoyl chloride followed by reduction with palladium on carbon catalyst provides the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 18 8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[(3,1-phenylenecarbonylimino)(4-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)]imino]]di-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt Following the procedure of Example 2, the amino product of Example 17 is treated with phosgene to produce the ureylene, the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 19 8-[3-(3-Aminobenzamido)-p-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt Following the procedure of Example 1, reaction of 8-(3-amino-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt with 3-nitrobenzoyl chloride followed by reduction with palladium on carbon catalyst provides the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 20 8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[(3,1-phenylenecarbonylimino)(4-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)]imino]]di-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt Following the procedure of Example 2, the amino product of Example 19 is treated with phosgene to produce the ureylene, the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 21 8-[5-(5-Amino-o-toluamido)-o-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt Following the procedure of Example 1, reaction of 8-amino-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid with 5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonyl chloride provides 8-(5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt, followed by reduction with palladium on carbon catalyst provides 8-(5-amino-o-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.",
"The preceding product is then reacted with 5-nitro-o-toluoyl chloride to yield 8-[5-(5-amino-o-toluamido)-o-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.",
"EXAMPLE 22 8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[[(6-methyl-3,1-phenylenecarbonyl)imino](6-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)]imino]]di-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt Following the procedure of Example 2, the amino product of Example 21 is treated with phosgene to produce the ureylene, the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 23 8-[5-(5-Amino-o-toluamido)-o-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt Following the procedure of Example 1, reaction of 8-amino-1,3,6-napthalenetrisulfonic acid, with 5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonyl chloride provides 8-(5-nitro-o-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt, followed by reduction with palladium on carbon catalyst provides 8-(5-amino-o-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.",
"The preceding product is then reacted with 5-nitro-o-toluoyl chloride to yield 8-[5-(5-amino-o-toluamido)-o-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.",
"EXAMPLE 24 8,8'-([Ureylenebis[[[(6-methyl-3,1-phenylenecarbonyl)imino](6-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)]imino]]di-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt Following the procedure of Example 2, the amino product of Example 23 is treated with phosgene to produce the ureylene, the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 25 8-[N-(m-Aminobenzoyl)metanilamido]-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt Following the procedure of Example 1, reaction of 8-amino-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt with 3-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride provides, after reduction, 8-(metanilamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.",
"Treatment with m-nitrobenzoyl chloride, reducing the product therefrom provides the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 26 8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[(3,1-phenylenecarbonylimino)-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl]imino]]di-1,3,5-naphthalene-trisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt Following the procedure of Example 2, treatment of the product of Example 25 with phosgene generates the ureylene, the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 27 8-[N-(m-Aminobenzoyl)-metanilamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt Following the procedure of Example 1, reaction of 8-amino-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt with 3-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride provides, after reduction, 8-(metanilamido)-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.",
"Treatment with m-nitrobenzoyl chloride, reducing the product therefrom provides the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 28 8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[(3,1-phenylenecarbonylimino)-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl]imino]]di-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt Following the procedure of Example 2, treatment of the product of Example 27 with phosgene generates the ureylene, the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 29 8-[3-(5-Amino-2,4-dimethylbenzamido)-p-toluene-sulfonamido]-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt Following the procedure of Example 1, reaction of 8-(3-amino-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt with 5-nitro-2,4-dimethylbenzoyl chloride generates 8-[3-(5-nitro-2,4-dimethylbenzamido)-p-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.",
"Reduction with palladium on carbon catalyst gives the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 30 8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[[(4,6-dimethyl-3,1-phenylenecarbonyl)imino](4-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)]imino]]di-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt Following the procedure of Example 2, phosgenation of the product from Example 29 provides the proudct of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 31 8-[3-(5-Amino-2,4-dimethylbenzamido)-p-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt Following the procedure of Example 1, reaction of 8-(3-amino-p-toluenesulfonamido)-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt with 5-nitro-2,4-dimethylbenzoyl chloride generates 8-[3-(5-nitro-2,4-dimethylbenzamido)-p-toluenesulfonamido]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, trisodium salt.",
"Reduction with palladium on carbon catalyst gives the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 32 8,8'-[Ureylenebis[[[(4,6-dimethyl-3,1-phenylene-carbonyl)imino](4-methyl-3,1-phenylenesulfonyl)]imino]]di-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid, hexasodium salt Following the procedure of Example 2, phosgenation of the product from Example 31 provides the product of the Example.",
"EXAMPLE 33 Preparation of Compressed Tablet ______________________________________Ingredient mg/Tablet______________________________________Active Compound 0.5-500Dibasic Calcium Phosphate N.F. qsStarch USP 40Modified Starch 10Magnesium Stearate USP 1-5______________________________________ EXAMPLE 34 Preparation of Compressed Tablet--Sustained Action T1 Ingredient?",
"mg/Tablet?",
"Active Compound as Aluminum 0.5-500 (as acid Lake*, Micronized equivalent) Dibasic Calcium Phosphate N.F. qs Alginic Acid 20 EXAMPLE 35 Preparation of Hard Shell Capsule ______________________________________Ingredient mg/Capsule______________________________________Active Compound 0.5-500Lactose, Spray Dried qsMagnesium Stearate 1-10______________________________________ EXAMPLE 36 Preparation of Oral Liquid (Syrup) ______________________________________Ingredient % W/V______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Liquid Sugar 75.0Methyl Paraben USP 0.18Propyl Paraben USP 0.02Flavoring Agent qsPurified Water qs ad 100.0______________________________________ EXAMPLE 37 Preparation of Oral Liquid (Elixir) ______________________________________Ingredient % W/V______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Alcohol USP 12.5Glycerin USP 45.0Syrup USP 20.0Flavoring Agent qsPurified Water qs ad 100.0______________________________________ EXAMPLE 38 Preparation of Oral Suspension (Syrup) ______________________________________Ingredient % W/V______________________________________Active Compound as Aluminum 0.05-5Lake, Micronized (acid equivalent)Polysorbate 80 USP 0.1Magnesium Aluminum Silicate,Colloidal 0.3Flavoring Agent qsMethyl Paraben USP 0.18Propyl Paraben USP 0.02Liquid Sugar 75.0Purified Water qs ad 100.0______________________________________ EXAMPLE 39 Preparation of Injectable Solution ______________________________________Ingredient % W/V______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Benzyl Alcohol N.F. 0.9Water for Injection 100.0______________________________________ EXAMPLE 40 Preparation of Injectable Oil ______________________________________Ingredient % W/V______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Benzyl Alcohol 1.5Sesame Oil qs ad 100.0______________________________________ EXAMPLE 41 Preparation of Intra-Articular Product ______________________________________Ingredient Amount______________________________________Active Compound 2-20 mgNaCl (physiological saline) 0.9%Benzyl Alcohol 0.9%Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose 1-5%pH adjusted to 5.0-7.5Water for Injection qs ad 100%______________________________________ EXAMPLE 42 Preparation of Injectable Depo Suspension ______________________________________Ingredient % W/V______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5 (acid equivalent)Polysorbate 80 USP 0.2Polyethylene Glycol 4000 USP 3.0Sodium Chloride USP 0.8Benzyl Alcohol N.F. 0.9HCl to pH 6-8 qsWater for Injection qs ad 100.0______________________________________ EXAMPLE 43 Preparation of Dental Paste ______________________________________Ingredient % W/W______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Zinc Oxide 15Polyethylene Glycol 4000 USP 50Distilled Water qs 100______________________________________ EXAMPLE 44 Preparation of Dental Ointment ______________________________________Ingredient % W/W______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Petrolatum, White USP qs 100______________________________________ EXAMPLE 45 Preparation of Dental Cream ______________________________________Ingredient % W/W______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Mineral Oil 50Beeswax 15Sorbitan Monostearate 2Polyoxyethylene 20 SorbitanMonostearate 3Methylparaben USP 0.18Propyl Paraben USP 0.02Distilled Water qs 100______________________________________ EXAMPLE 46 Preparation of Topical Cream ______________________________________Ingredient % W/W______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Sodium Lauryl Sulfate 1Propylene Glycol 12Stearyl Alcohol 25Petrolatum, White USP 25Methyl Paraben USP 0.18Propyl Paraben USP 0.02Purified Water qs 100______________________________________ EXAMPLE 47 Preparation of Topical Ointment ______________________________________Ingredient % W/W______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Cholesterol 3Stearyl Alcohol 3White Wax 8Petrolatum, White USP qs 100______________________________________ EXAMPLE 48 Preparation of Spray Lotion (non-Aerosol) ______________________________________Ingredient % W/W______________________________________Active Compound 0.05-5Isopropyl Myristate 20Alcohol (Denatured) qs 100______________________________________ EXAMPLE 49 Preparation of Buccal Tablet ______________________________________Ingredient g/Tablet______________________________________Active Ingredient 0.003256 × Sugar 0.29060Acacia 0.01453Soluble Starch 0.01453F.",
"D. &",
"C. Yellow No. 6 Dye 0.00049Magnesium Stearate 0.00160 0.32500______________________________________ The final tablet will weigh about 325 mg.",
"and may be compressed into buccal tablets in flat faced or any other tooling shape convenient for buccal administration.",
"EXAMPLE 50 Preparation of Lozenge ______________________________________Ingredient g/Lozenge______________________________________Active Ingredient 0.0140Kompact® Sugar (Sucrest Co.) 0.71386 × Sugar 0.4802Sorbitol (USP Crystalline) 0.1038Flavor 0.0840Magnesium Stearate 0.0021Dye qsStearic Acid 0.0021 1.4000______________________________________ The ingredients are compressed into 5/8"",
"flat based lozenge tooling.",
"Other shapes may also be utilized."
] |
BACKGROUND
The invention relates to controlling pulses in optical microscopy.
Various techniques for optical microscopy can be used to construct an image of a portion of a tissue sample. Some techniques for optical microscopy use nonlinear optical interactions in the tissue being imaged to provide an optical signal that can be measured to construct the image of the tissue. Nonlinear optical techniques facilitate acquisition of images deep within a sample to form, for example, three-dimensional images of biomedical samples hidden underneath non-transparent tissues, or images of defects and impurity contents situated inside light absorbing materials.
Nonlinear optical microscopy techniques include, for example, multiphoton excitation techniques such as two-photon-excited fluorescence laser scanning microscopy (2PLSM), techniques based on three-wave mixing such as second-harmonic generation, and techniques based on four-wave mixing such as third-harmonic generation and coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS). Multiphoton excitation of a sample by a laser can be combined with any of a variety of optical detection techniques including fluorescence emission, harmonic generation, Raman or Brillouin scattering, or with non-optical thermal or electronic detection techniques.
In linear optical microscopy, the photons of an optical wave incident on a tissue sample are either scattered by the tissue or excite target molecules (e.g., fluorescent dyes) to provide signal photons that are collected by an imaging system to generate a detected signal. The detected signal depends linearly on the incident optical wave intensity. In nonlinear optical microscopy, the detected signal depends nonlinearly on the incident optical wave intensity, or in some cases, depends on the intensities of multiple interacting optical waves. However, the efficiency of nonlinear interactions are typically weak and therefore call for optical waves with high peak intensities. Ultrafast modelocked lasers are used to provide pulses with high peak intensity and short time duration (full-width half-maximum (FWHM) time duration). Modelocking provides regularly spaced pulses having a well-defined shape (e.g., approximately Gaussian).
SUMMARY
In one aspect, in general, the invention features a method for imaging a sample. The sample is characterized by a limit on incident optical energy absorbed over a given time period. The method includes providing at least one input optical wave that includes pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 100 picoseconds and a pulse energy sufficiently large such that a sufficient number of consecutive pulses absorbed by the sample would exceed the limit. The method also includes directing the input optical wave to focus on a first portion of the sample; detecting energy from an output optical wave generated from a nonlinear optical interaction in the first portion of the sample with the input optical wave; and generating a representation of the first portion of the sample based on the detected energy from the output optical wave.
Aspects of the invention can include one or more of the following features.
The input optical wave includes pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 500 picoseconds.
The input optical wave includes pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 1 nanosecond.
The input optical wave includes pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 10 nanoseconds.
The input optical wave includes pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 100 nanoseconds.
The method further includes temporarily preventing the input optical wave from reaching the sample.
Temporarily preventing the input optical wave from reaching the sample includes periodically preventing the input optical wave from reaching the sample.
Temporarily preventing the input optical wave from reaching the sample includes preventing the optical wave from reaching the sample before a number of consecutive pulses are absorbed by the sample would exceed the limit.
The nonlinear optical interaction comprises multi-photon absorption.
The nonlinear optical interaction comprises two-photon absorption.
The output optical wave comprises a fluorescence emission from the sample.
The fluorescence emission from the sample comprises emission from a fluorescent molecule in the sample.
The nonlinear optical interaction comprises wave mixing.
The nonlinear optical interaction comprises four-wave mixing.
The nonlinear optical interaction comprises coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering.
Providing at least one input optical wave, directing the input optical wave, and detecting energy from the output optical wave comprise: providing at least two input optical waves that include pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 100 picoseconds; directing the input optical waves to focus on a first portion of the sample; and detecting energy from an output optical wave generated from a wave mixing interaction in the first portion of the sample with each of the input optical waves.
Providing at least two input optical waves comprises providing signal and idler optical waves generated from parametric downconversion of a pump optical wave that includes pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 100 picoseconds.
The method further includes moving the input optical wave relative to the sample to focus on a second portion of the sample; detecting energy from an output optical wave generated from a nonlinear optical interaction in the second portion of the sample with the input optical wave; generating a representation of the second portion of the sample based on the detected energy from the output optical wave; and generating an image of the sample that includes the representation of the first portion of the sample and the representation of the second portion of the sample.
In another aspect, in general, the invention features a method for imaging a sample including providing at least one input optical wave that includes pulses that are approximately uniformly spaced by a time delay; directing the input optical wave to focus on a first portion of the sample; detecting energy from an output optical wave generated from a nonlinear optical interaction in the first portion of the sample with the optical wave during a first time period that is about equal to or longer than the time delay; temporarily preventing the input optical wave from reaching the sample during a second time period that is long enough for most of an amount of heat built up in the sample by the input optical wave during the first time period to be dissipated; and generating a representation of the first portion of the sample based on the detected energy from the output optical wave.
Aspects of the invention can include one or more of the following features.
The first time period is short enough to prevent damage to the sample caused by the amount of heat built up in the sample by the input optical wave during the first time period.
The first time period is shorter than 500 milliseconds.
The first time period is shorter than 100 milliseconds.
The first time period is shorter than 10 milliseconds.
The first time period is shorter than 1 millisecond.
The first time period is longer than twice the time delay.
Detecting the energy from the output optical wave and temporarily preventing the input optical wave from reaching the sample are repeated approximately periodically during multiple respective first and second time periods with the input optical wave directed to focus on different portions of the sample.
Detecting energy from the output optical wave during the first time period comprises processing detected energy during respective time windows that are shorter than the time delay and rejecting detected energy from the sample outside of the time windows.
The time windows are synchronized to respective pulses in the input optical wave.
Rejecting detected energy from the sample outside of the time windows comprises preventing detection of energy from the sample outside of the time windows.
Rejecting detected energy from the sample outside of the time windows comprises preventing processing of portions of a stored signal that correspond to energy detected outside of the time windows.
The method further includes moving the input optical wave relative to the sample to focus on a second portion of the sample.
The input optical wave is moved relative to the sample during the second time period.
Moving the input optical wave relative to the sample comprises moving the input optical wave without moving the sample.
Moving the input optical wave relative to the sample comprises moving the sample without moving the input optical wave.
The method further includes detecting energy from an output optical wave generated from a nonlinear optical interaction in the second portion of the sample with the input optical wave; generating a representation of the second portion of the sample based on the detected energy from the output optical wave; and generating an image of the sample that includes the representation of the first portion of the sample and the representation of the second portion of the sample.
The input optical wave includes pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 100 picoseconds.
The input optical wave includes pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 1 nanosecond.
The time delay is between about 1 microsecond and about 1 millisecond.
The time delay is between about 10 microseconds and about 100 microseconds.
The nonlinear optical interaction comprises multi-photon absorption.
The nonlinear optical interaction comprises two-photon absorption.
The output optical wave comprises a fluorescence emission from the sample.
The fluorescence emission from the sample comprises emission from a fluorescent molecule in the sample.
The nonlinear optical interaction comprises wave mixing.
The nonlinear optical interaction comprises four-wave mixing.
The nonlinear optical interaction comprises coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering.
Providing at least one input optical wave, directing the input optical wave, and detecting energy from the output optical wave comprise: providing at least two input optical waves that include pulses; directing the input optical waves to focus on a first portion of the sample; and detecting energy from an output optical wave generated from a wave mixing interaction in the first portion of the sample with each of the input optical waves.
Providing at least two input optical waves comprises providing signal and idler optical waves generated from parametric downconversion of a pump optical wave that includes pulses.
In another aspect, in general, the invention features a system for imaging a sample characterized by a limit on incident optical energy absorbed over a given time period. The system includes a source of at least one input optical wave that includes pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 100 picoseconds and a pulse energy sufficiently large such that a sufficient number of consecutive pulses absorbed by the sample would exceed the limit; a microscope configured to direct the input optical wave to focus on a first portion of the sample; and a detection sub-system configured to detect energy from an output optical wave generated from a nonlinear optical interaction in the first portion of the sample with the input optical wave, and generate a representation of the first portion of the sample based on the detected energy from the output optical wave.
Aspects of the invention can include one or more of the following features.
The source is configured to temporarily prevent the input optical wave from reaching the sample.
Temporarily preventing the input optical wave from reaching the sample includes periodically preventing the input optical wave from reaching the sample.
Temporarily preventing the input optical wave from reaching the sample includes preventing the optical wave from reaching the sample before a number of consecutive pulses are absorbed by the sample would exceed the limit.
The system further includes excitation optics between the source and the microscope configured to periodically prevent the input optical wave from reaching the sample.
The detection sub-system is configured to process energy that has been detected within time windows corresponding to the pulses.
The detection sub-system is configured to prevent detection of energy outside of the time windows.
The detection sub-system is configured to remove portions of a signal corresponding to energy detected outside of the time windows.
Aspects of the invention can have one or more of the following advantages.
Techniques described herein for managing the timing of an excitation optical wave and the associated signal collection may reduce potential for damage due to heat, and increase quality of the signal (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio). Since the pulses are relatively long (e.g., >100 ps) and the pulse repetition rate is relatively low (e.g., <1 MHz), time gated signal processing can be performed at speeds that the detection electronics can handle. Without a need for an ultrafast laser, the system for nonlinear optical microscopy applications will be compact, reliable, and simple to operate. The fixed and the tunable near infrared wavelengths of some of the laser sources are able to penetrate biological tissues or materials such as silicon to reveal images embedded deep inside these samples. In wavelength scanning applications as in mode-selective molecular or biological imaging, the wavelength of lasers with relatively longer pulses can be tuned or scanned relatively easily and rapidly compared to short pulse tunable lasers.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. In case of conflict with publications, patent applications, patents, and other references mentioned incorporated herein by reference, the present specification, including definitions, will control.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, and from the claims.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a diagram of a nonlinear optical microscopy system.
FIG. 2A is a plot of intensity of an input optical wave.
FIG. 2B is a plot of the position of the input optical wave of FIG. 2A relative to a sample.
FIG. 2C is a plot of intensity of an output optical wave.
FIG. 3 is a diagraph of a system for two-photon-excited fluorescence laser scanning microscopy (2PLSM).
FIG. 4A is an AFM image of the photoresist film sample.
FIG. 4B is a 2PLSM image of a photoresist film sample.
FIGS. 5A and 6A are two-dimensional 2PLSM images of fluorosphere samples.
FIGS. 5B and 6B are three-dimensional 2PLSM images of fluorosphere samples.
FIG. 7A is a 2PLSM image of an onion sample.
FIG. 7B is a white-light confocal microscopy image of the onion sample.
DESCRIPTION
Some techniques for obtaining high-quality images of a sample using nonlinear optical microscopy include the use of an input optical wave comprising a series of optical pulses each having a high peak electric field intensity. There are factors that limit the highest intensity that can be tolerated in a sample (e.g., a biological tissue sample). Two limiting factors are optical damage and thermal damage of the sample. Optical damage includes damage of the sample caused by a large electric field intensity, which places a limit on the peak power density (W/cm 2 ) of pulses. Thermal damage includes damage of the sample caused by heating of the sample to above a tolerable temperature due to absorption of the optical energy over time, which places a limit on the average power density of a stream of pulses, or on the energy density (J/cm 2 ) or “fluence” of each pulse and the pulse repetition rate.
The limits on characteristics of an optical wave associated with limiting optical and thermal damage depend on the sample. For many biological samples (e.g., cells or viruses), a typical optical damage limit on peak power density is approximately 10-100 GW/cm 2 , and a typical thermal damage limit on average power density is approximately 10 MW/cm 2 . In many cases, thermal damage is more limiting than optical damage. Typically, short pulse lasers with pulse durations in the picosecond and sub-picosecond regime are used to provide pulses with relatively high peak power density for high-quality imaging, but relatively low average power density (due to low pulse energy) to reduce the potential for thermal damage to the sample. Short pulse lasers can be, in general, relatively complex, difficult to operate, and expensive compared to lasers with longer pulse durations.
Various classes of lasers can become less complex, easier to operate, and less expensive as the pulse durations become longer (e.g., >100 ps, >500 ps, >1 ns, >10 ns, or >100 ns). Another benefit of longer pulse durations is the associated reduction in minimum linewidth of the spectrum of the optical wave. Some spectroscopic techniques, such as CARS, scan the peak wavelength of a source's spectral line to probe the spectral properties of a sample. Not only is such wavelength scanning more complex in a short pulse source, but the spectral resolution attainable is lower due to the larger minimum linewidth. When optical wave from a short pulse source is coupled into an optical fiber (e.g., to improve delivery and alignment of the optical wave into a microscope), group velocity dispersion may result in chirping and temporal distortion of the pulses. Nonlinear processes may also occur in the fiber, altering the spectral characteristics of the optical wave.
Coherent optical sources that provide long pulse duration optical waves (e.g., >100 ps) have been deemed by some as not suitable for nonlinear optical microscopy due to potential for damage to a sample and the lower image quality resulting from a reduced peak power density. However, by controlling the timing characteristics and delivery of an optical wave to a sample as described herein, it is possible to achieve high quality (e.g., low noise) images in nonlinear optical microscopy of the sample using longer pulse sources while satisfying damage constraints. Compact solid state pulsed lasers such as diode-laser-pumped Q-switched Nd ion doped YAG, YVO4, and YLF lasers, and Yb:doped fiber lasers and amplifiers can provide intense pulses with a time duration from a few nanoseconds to tens of nanoseconds and with excellent beam quality. The pulse repetition rates for these sources can be on the order of 1 kHz to 1 MHz. Such sources are compact, simple, and relatively inexpensive compared to short pulse lasers. The peak power of these lasers can be in the 1-10 kW range, about 10 times less than typical short pulse lasers with pulse durations in the picosecond and sub-picosecond regime. The typical pulse energy of these diode-laser pumped solid state lasers is correspondingly higher than that of short pulse lasers by about 100 to 500 times.
By managing the timing of an excitation optical wave and the associated signal collection, it is possible to avoid thermal damage while producing high-resolution microscopic images of good quality. Thermal damage can result from a rapid increase in temperature following accumulation of absorbed energy. If the excitation optical wave is temporarily prevented from reaching (or being absorbed in) the sample before the temperature reaches a destructive value, then accumulated heat has time to dissipate away from the sample so that damage does not occur.
1 System Overview
Referring to FIG. 1 , in a nonlinear optical microscopy system 100 , a source 102 provides an input optical wave 104 that includes pulses that are approximately uniformly spaced by an inter-pulse time delay τ. The source 102 is a long-pulse source such that each pulse has a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than about 100 picoseconds. Excitation optics 106 direct the input optical wave 104 to a microscope 108 that focuses the wave 104 onto a portion of a sample 110 to be imaged. The input optical wave 104 serves as input for a nonlinear optical interaction in that portion of the sample 110 . The excitation optics 106 can direct the optical wave 104 to the microscope 108 over free space or guided within an optical fiber, for example. For free space delivery, the excitation optics 106 can include a lens followed by a pinhole followed by another lens to clean up the transverse mode of the beam from the source 102 and to adapt the diameter of the beam to the diameter of an entrance window of a microscope objective lens 120 to provide adequate spatial resolution. The excitation optics 106 can also include attenuation elements such as neutral density filters or a polarization rotator and polarizer pair for controlling the intensity of the input optical wave 104 .
The nonlinear optical interaction in the sample 110 can generate an output optical wave 112 A that travels in a forward direction relative to the input optical wave 104 to be detected in a “trans-collection” mode, and/or an output optical wave 112 B that travels in a backward direction relative to the input optical wave 104 to be detected in an “epi-collection” mode. The output optical waves 112 A and 112 B are directed by mirrors 115 A and 115 B, respectively, to a detection sub-system 114 to generate an image of the sample 110 . The output optical waves 112 A and 112 B can represent a fluorescence signal, or an optical harmonic signal, or a Raman shifted or anti-Stokes shifted signal of the input optical wave 104 , for example. Due to the nature of nonlinear optical processes, generation of these signals is typically substantially localized to the focus of the input optical wave 104 , where the intensity is greatest. This transverse and longitudinal localization of the interaction at the beam focus enables three-dimensional discrimination of the imaged location.
The output optical wave 112 A is detected in a trans-collection mode at a first detector 116 A, and the output optical wave 112 B is detected in an epi-collection mode at a second detector 116 B. In trans-collection mode, the forward propagating output optical wave 112 A can be collected after propagating through the sample 110 to the detector 116 A. In epi-collection mode, the backward propagating output optical wave 112 B can be propagate back through the microscope objective lens 120 and through a dichroic beam splitter (DBS) 122 that reflects most of the input optical wave 104 and transmits most of the output optical wave 112 B. In either mode, the output optical waves 112 A and 112 B can be filtered by one or more narrowband filters to discriminate from the intense input optical wave 104 and focused by one or more lenses before being detected. The detection sub-system 114 can include any of a variety of detector types including a photodiode, a charge-coupled device, or photon counters such as a photomultiplier or an avalanche photodiode.
The nonlinear optical microscopy system 100 can include components such as galvanometric mirrors to move the input optical wave 104 (e.g., within the excitation optics 106 ), a motorized/piezoelectric stage to move the sample 110 , or both, to scan over different portions of the sample 110 and build up an image (over x and y dimensions). Three-dimensional images can be obtained by further moving the microscope objective focus (e.g., by a piezoelectric transducer) to take image “slices” in different planes (along a z dimension). The image can be represented, for example, as a collection of image elements such as “pixels” of a two-dimensional image, or a “voxels” of a three-dimensional image that represent a property of the sample 110 based on the energy detected from the output optical waves 112 A and/or 112 B. For example, a property of the sample 110 may be related to an intensity of fluorescence emission resulting from 2PLSM, and the energy in the output optical waves 112 A and/or 112 B collected in response to one of the pulses in the input optical wave 104 can quantify that property at a sample location. Each image element can be represented as scalar data or vector data (e.g., representing spectral properties of a portion of the sample 110 ) stored on a memory storage medium. For example, the detection sub-system 114 can include a computer system 124 having a memory storage medium such as a hard drive.
Some implementations of the system 100 use more than one input optical wave from the source 102 . For example, an implementation of the system 100 for CARS microscopy uses two input optical waves having different frequencies. The difference of the frequencies corresponds to the Raman transition frequency of the sample 110 . The two optical waves mix in a nonlinear interaction in the sample 110 to generate a CARS output optical wave that is detected.
A tunable optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pumped by a pulsed laser can be used as the source 102 of two substantially collinear output optical waves: a signal wave and an idler wave. If the OPO is pumped with a pulsed wave, the signal and idler waves will include pulses that are automatically overlapped in time. The sum of the frequencies of the signal wave and the idler wave equals the frequency of the pump wave. Techniques for tuning the OPO include, for example, tuning the pump frequency and/or tuning the phase matching condition among the pump, signal, and idler. The difference of the signal and idler frequencies (and wavelengths) then can be scanned appropriately to excite the Raman transitions of the chemical bonds of the sample species that is to be imaged. An example of a tunable OPO that can be used as a source is described in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/318,234, filed on Dec. 23, 2005, incorporated herein by reference.
An advantage of using an OPO is that the signal, idler and output CARS signal wavelengths fall in the transmission window of most tissues so that absorption and scattering loss are kept to a minimum, allowing for penetration of the light deep inside the tissue sample to make images that cannot be observed by visible microscopy or short pulse scanning microscopy at 790 nm, a commonly used wavelength in short pulse microscopes. The output spectral bandwidth of about 1 cm −1 of nanosecond OPOs can be much narrower than that of most femtosecond or picosecond OPOs, thus the system 100 will be able to obtain a CARS signal spectrum with better spectral resolution and better species selectivity.
Other types of sources can be used for nonlinear interactions with multiple input optical waves. For example, the source 102 can include an OPO pumped by a second harmonic of a laser and various combinations of the fundamental, SHG-pump, signal, and idler waves can be used as input optical waves.
2 System Operation
Referring to FIGS. 2A-2C , the system 100 is configured to collect an output optical wave 112 A and/or 112 B generated from the nonlinear optical interaction in the sample 110 during a collection time period t coll , and to temporarily prevent the optical wave 104 from reaching the sample 110 during a cooling time period t cool . The cooling time period is long enough for most of an amount of heat built up in the sample 110 by the optical wave 104 during the collection time period to be dissipated. For example, the source 102 can include a switching mechanism that periodically stops pumping the source 102 (e.g., by turning off a power supply) to quench a lasing process that generates the optical wave 104 . Alternatively, instead of quenching or otherwise shutting off the source 102 , the system 100 can block or divert the optical wave 104 , for example, using an optical device (e.g., an acousto-optic modulator) or a mechanical device (e.g., a electromechanical shutter or a piezoelectrically controlled mirror) within the excitation optics 106 .
For typical diode-laser-pumped solid state lasers, to provide an average power density below the thermal damage limit, the collection time period t coll can be in the range of about 1 msec to 500 msec for a given portion of the sample that is being imaged with a beam spot size at the focal plane of the optical wave 104 of about 0.25 μm 2 to 1 μm 2 . Since no signal is detected during the cooling time period t cool , this cooling time can be used to move the optical wave 104 relative to the sample 110 to focus on a different portion of the sample to be imaged (or “imaging spot”). Thus, the speed of scanning across imaging spots of the sample 110 does not need to be faster than the distance between neighboring spot locations divided by t cool . The collection time period t coll is large enough to ensure sufficient signal is collected. In some implementations t coll is large compared to the inter-pulse time delay τ to encompass multiple pulses (i.e., t coll >2τ), and is typically large enough to encompass tens or hundreds of pulses or more to excite the sample 110 during a collection time period at an imaging spot. For a collection time period of 500 ms, an optical wave 104 with a pulse repetition rate of 100 kHz would have 50,000 consecutive pulses absorbed by the sample 110 at each imaging spot. Alternatively, in some implementations, a single pulse could be sufficient to provide adequate signal.
FIG. 2A shows a plot of intensity I(t) of the input optical wave 104 at the sample 110 over a time span of a periodic waveform that shows two collection time periods separated by one cooling time period. In this example, to facilitate visualization, only three pulses occur within the collection time period. FIG. 2B shows a plot of a position x(t) of the optical wave 104 relative to the sample 110 in a linear scan across the sample. In this example, the cooling and scanning are synchronized such that the optical wave 104 is substantially stationary during each collection time period, and moves during each cooling time period. In other examples, the optical wave 104 may be stationary over multiple collection and cooling time periods.
To provide high quality images, sufficient signal energy (e.g., photon counts) from the output optical waves 112 A and/or 112 B should be collected during the collection time period to provide a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The SNR can be increased by using time gated signal processing to process signal energy from the output optical waves 112 A and/or 112 B within limited detection time windows t det corresponding to each pulse. A controller (e.g., a computer) can use an electronic trigger pulse (e.g., from a driver that controls the pulsing of the source 102 ) to time the gating of the detection sub-system 114 to process energy that has been detected within the window t det .
FIG. 2C shows a plot of intensity I(t) of the output optical waves 112 A and/or 112 B generated from the nonlinear optical interaction in the sample 110 . The shape of the “signal pulses” in the wave (along with other characteristics such as spectrum, spatial mode, and propagation direction) depends on the specific interaction being utilized. The detection sub-system 114 is gated to process light detected within the detection time window t det , but not to process light that is detected or would have been detected outside of this window. In this way, the detection sub-system 114 is likely to receive signal information based on the energy in the signal pulses that arrive at the detection sub-system 114 at a predictable time based on the regular excitation pulses, but to reject the noise that occurs outside of the window. Thus, potential noise from optical, electronic, and/or mechanical sources, for example, instead of from the nonlinear optical interaction is rejected. This increases the SNR and the resulting quality of the image.
Any of a variety of techniques can be used to perform the time gated signal processing. Gating can occur on-line, for example, by using electronic trigger pulses to gate a power supply within the detection sub-system 114 or to gate electronic amplifiers or photon counters within the detection sub-system 114 . Alternatively, the gating can occur off-line by storing a detected signal into a computer and digitally processing the signal according to timing information. Thus, in an on-online approach, the detection sub-system 114 is configured to prevent detection of energy outside of the detection time windows, and in an off-line approach, the detection sub-system 114 is configured to remove portions of a signal corresponding to energy detected outside of the detection time windows.
Various techniques can be used in combination with the time gated signal processing. A technique that uses a lock-in amplifier or a boxcar amplifier for phase-sensitive signal detection is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,356,088, incorporated herein by reference.
3 Working Example
The following is a working example of two-photon-excited fluorescence laser scanning microscopy (2PLSM) using an implementation of the nonlinear optical microscopy system 100 .
Referring to FIG. 3 , a system 300 was used for 2PLSM to obtain fluorescence images of different sample species. After repeated scans, no damage to the samples were observed. The spatial resolution of the images obtained was less than 0.5 μm. A Q-switched Nd:YAG laser was used as a source 302 of an input optical wave 304 with a 1064 nm wavelength, a beam diameter of about 9 mm, a 10 kHz pulse repetition rate, and a 19 ns FWHM pulse width. Mirrors 306 directed the optical wave 304 into a microscope 308 . A spatial filter 310 cleaned the spatial mode of the optical wave 304 and a lens 312 modematched the spatial mode into the microscope 308 . The microscope 308 included a dichroic beam splitter (DBS) 314 to direct the optical wave 304 into a 40× objective lens 316 with a 0.8 numerical aperture (NA) in air. Each sample 318 was deposited on a glass slide placed on an x-y translation stage 320 equipped with a piezoelectric nanopositioner with a full scan range of 100 μm in each of the x and y directions. Fine adjustment in the z direction was performed with a one-dimensional piezoelectric transducer 322 attached to the objective lens 316 .
A fluorescence optical wave 324 was collected by a lens 326 with a 0.68 NA, passed through a set 328 of narrowband bandpass filters, and detected by an avalanche photodiode single-photon counting module 330 in trans-collection mode. The photon counts were processed by a computer 332 to generate digital image to be stored and displayed. The fluorescence optical wave 324 was also collected back through the microscope 308 by a lens 336 , passed through a set 338 of narrowband bandpass filters, and detected by an avalanche photodiode single-photon counting module 340 in epi-collection mode. A CCD detector 344 also collected a non-fluorescence image of the sample 318 from excitation light that leaked through the DBS 314 was reflected by a DBS 342 .
Gated signal detection synchronized to the pulses of the input optical wave 304 was used to reduce any background signal to below the electronic noise limit of a few counts per second. The average power in the input optical wave 304 was typically around 16.5 mW, corresponding to a peak power of 90 W, a peak intensity of about 5.5 GW/cm 2 , and a single pulse fluence of about 105 J/cm 2 . A computer controlled the gating of the laser source 302 to start and stop the pulsed output from the laser so that the pulses were applied while the flurescence optical wave 324 was being collected and stopped while the sample 318 was being scanned.
The collection time period t coll was selected to limit the total fluence absorbed during t coll to below the damage threshold of the sample 318 . This collection time period was experimentally determined for each sample species and was between about 50-100 ms. With these settings, the photon count per collection time period ranged from a few tens to several hundreds with a background count of less then five in each case. Under these conditions, the time it took to scan an image of 30 μm×30 μm was about 10-30 minutes. For other samples and/or excitation wavelengths, the thermal damage limits may allow scan times to be decreased by increasing the pulse repetition rate and reducing t coll .
3.1 Sample 1: Photoresist Film
One sample imaged was an approximately 1 μm thick film of photoresist deposited on a glass slide and patterned into a two-dimensional (tetragonal) array of round holes (with diameter of ˜3.2 μm and a depth of ˜1.2 μm) using photolithography. FIG. 4B shows a 2PLSM image of the photoresist film sample. The photoresist polymer of which the film was composed yields a reasonable fluorescence signal at around 650 nm from two-photon excitation of ˜10 mW of 1064 nm radiation, even though its fluorescence quantum yield is small compared to typical fluorescent dyes. The image shows clearly the openings etched into the photoresist by the photolithographic process, including a grid of fine lines that possibly resulted from optical interference due to the photolithographic process used to make the pattern. The spacing between the lines of the grid is about 1 μm. These features also appear in an atomic force microscope (AFM) image (with resolution<10 nm) of the same photoresist film shown in FIG. 4A .
3.2 Sample 2: Fluorospheres A
Another sample imaged was an emulsion of ˜1.0 μm diameter fluorescent polystyrene microspheres (also called “molecular probes” or “fluorospheres”) deposited into the patterned ˜6.0 μm diameter holes of a photoresist film similar to that of Sample 1. FIG. 5A shows a two-dimensional 2PLSM image of the fluorosphere sample, and FIG. 5B shows a three-dimensional 2PLSM image of the fluorosphere sample. Various structural features of the deposition of the fluorospheres can be discerned from both images, including: (A) clusters of multiple fluorospheres in respective holes, (B) three distinguishable fluorospheres deposited into a hole, (C) two distinguishable fluorospheres deposited into a hole, and (D) a single fluorosphere deposited into a hole. In this example, the number of fluorospheres can be discerned by the size of the detected fluorescent portions of the image.
3.3 Sample 3: Fluoroshperes B
Another sample imaged was a dilute emulsion of ˜0.5 μm diameter fluorescent polystyrene microspheres (also called “molecular probes” or “fluorospheres”) deposited into the patterned ˜2.9 μm diameter holes of a photoresist film. FIG. 6A , shows a two-dimensional 2PLSM image of the fluorosphere sample, and FIG. 6B shows a three-dimensional 2PLSM image of the fluorosphere sample. These images provide an estimate of the spatial resolution achieved in the 2PLSM imaging process using the system 300 . From the slope of the three-dimensional image of a single bead, the spatial resolution achieved was <0.5 μm, close to the theoretical limit of ˜0.35 μm due to diffraction of the 1064 nm laser wavelength within the system 300 in a two-photon process.
3.4 Sample 4: Onion
Another sample imaged was a ˜50 μm thin slice of fresh onion skin that had been soaked in a Rhodamine 6G in water solution (10-3 molar) for six hours, as an example of 2PLSM applied to biological imaging. FIG. 7A shows a 2PLSM image of the onion sample, and FIG. 7B shows an image of the onion sample obtained by conventional white-light confocal microscopy. The structure of onion cell wall can be clearly identified. For this sample, the average power of the input optical wave 304 was about 22.3 mW, and no damage to the onion sample was observed through repeated scans.
Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. | A method for imaging a sample is described. The sample is characterized by a limit on incident optical energy absorbed over a given time period. The method includes providing at least one input optical wave that includes pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 100 picoseconds and a pulse energy sufficiently large such that a sufficient number of consecutive pulses absorbed by the sample would exceed the limit. The method also includes directing the input optical wave to focus on a first portion of the sample; detecting energy from an output optical wave generated from a nonlinear optical interaction in the first portion of the sample with the input optical wave; and generating a representation of the first portion of the sample based on the detected energy from the output optical wave. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the invention. | [
"BACKGROUND The invention relates to controlling pulses in optical microscopy.",
"Various techniques for optical microscopy can be used to construct an image of a portion of a tissue sample.",
"Some techniques for optical microscopy use nonlinear optical interactions in the tissue being imaged to provide an optical signal that can be measured to construct the image of the tissue.",
"Nonlinear optical techniques facilitate acquisition of images deep within a sample to form, for example, three-dimensional images of biomedical samples hidden underneath non-transparent tissues, or images of defects and impurity contents situated inside light absorbing materials.",
"Nonlinear optical microscopy techniques include, for example, multiphoton excitation techniques such as two-photon-excited fluorescence laser scanning microscopy (2PLSM), techniques based on three-wave mixing such as second-harmonic generation, and techniques based on four-wave mixing such as third-harmonic generation and coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS).",
"Multiphoton excitation of a sample by a laser can be combined with any of a variety of optical detection techniques including fluorescence emission, harmonic generation, Raman or Brillouin scattering, or with non-optical thermal or electronic detection techniques.",
"In linear optical microscopy, the photons of an optical wave incident on a tissue sample are either scattered by the tissue or excite target molecules (e.g., fluorescent dyes) to provide signal photons that are collected by an imaging system to generate a detected signal.",
"The detected signal depends linearly on the incident optical wave intensity.",
"In nonlinear optical microscopy, the detected signal depends nonlinearly on the incident optical wave intensity, or in some cases, depends on the intensities of multiple interacting optical waves.",
"However, the efficiency of nonlinear interactions are typically weak and therefore call for optical waves with high peak intensities.",
"Ultrafast modelocked lasers are used to provide pulses with high peak intensity and short time duration (full-width half-maximum (FWHM) time duration).",
"Modelocking provides regularly spaced pulses having a well-defined shape (e.g., approximately Gaussian).",
"SUMMARY In one aspect, in general, the invention features a method for imaging a sample.",
"The sample is characterized by a limit on incident optical energy absorbed over a given time period.",
"The method includes providing at least one input optical wave that includes pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 100 picoseconds and a pulse energy sufficiently large such that a sufficient number of consecutive pulses absorbed by the sample would exceed the limit.",
"The method also includes directing the input optical wave to focus on a first portion of the sample;",
"detecting energy from an output optical wave generated from a nonlinear optical interaction in the first portion of the sample with the input optical wave;",
"and generating a representation of the first portion of the sample based on the detected energy from the output optical wave.",
"Aspects of the invention can include one or more of the following features.",
"The input optical wave includes pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 500 picoseconds.",
"The input optical wave includes pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 1 nanosecond.",
"The input optical wave includes pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 10 nanoseconds.",
"The input optical wave includes pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 100 nanoseconds.",
"The method further includes temporarily preventing the input optical wave from reaching the sample.",
"Temporarily preventing the input optical wave from reaching the sample includes periodically preventing the input optical wave from reaching the sample.",
"Temporarily preventing the input optical wave from reaching the sample includes preventing the optical wave from reaching the sample before a number of consecutive pulses are absorbed by the sample would exceed the limit.",
"The nonlinear optical interaction comprises multi-photon absorption.",
"The nonlinear optical interaction comprises two-photon absorption.",
"The output optical wave comprises a fluorescence emission from the sample.",
"The fluorescence emission from the sample comprises emission from a fluorescent molecule in the sample.",
"The nonlinear optical interaction comprises wave mixing.",
"The nonlinear optical interaction comprises four-wave mixing.",
"The nonlinear optical interaction comprises coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering.",
"Providing at least one input optical wave, directing the input optical wave, and detecting energy from the output optical wave comprise: providing at least two input optical waves that include pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 100 picoseconds;",
"directing the input optical waves to focus on a first portion of the sample;",
"and detecting energy from an output optical wave generated from a wave mixing interaction in the first portion of the sample with each of the input optical waves.",
"Providing at least two input optical waves comprises providing signal and idler optical waves generated from parametric downconversion of a pump optical wave that includes pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 100 picoseconds.",
"The method further includes moving the input optical wave relative to the sample to focus on a second portion of the sample;",
"detecting energy from an output optical wave generated from a nonlinear optical interaction in the second portion of the sample with the input optical wave;",
"generating a representation of the second portion of the sample based on the detected energy from the output optical wave;",
"and generating an image of the sample that includes the representation of the first portion of the sample and the representation of the second portion of the sample.",
"In another aspect, in general, the invention features a method for imaging a sample including providing at least one input optical wave that includes pulses that are approximately uniformly spaced by a time delay;",
"directing the input optical wave to focus on a first portion of the sample;",
"detecting energy from an output optical wave generated from a nonlinear optical interaction in the first portion of the sample with the optical wave during a first time period that is about equal to or longer than the time delay;",
"temporarily preventing the input optical wave from reaching the sample during a second time period that is long enough for most of an amount of heat built up in the sample by the input optical wave during the first time period to be dissipated;",
"and generating a representation of the first portion of the sample based on the detected energy from the output optical wave.",
"Aspects of the invention can include one or more of the following features.",
"The first time period is short enough to prevent damage to the sample caused by the amount of heat built up in the sample by the input optical wave during the first time period.",
"The first time period is shorter than 500 milliseconds.",
"The first time period is shorter than 100 milliseconds.",
"The first time period is shorter than 10 milliseconds.",
"The first time period is shorter than 1 millisecond.",
"The first time period is longer than twice the time delay.",
"Detecting the energy from the output optical wave and temporarily preventing the input optical wave from reaching the sample are repeated approximately periodically during multiple respective first and second time periods with the input optical wave directed to focus on different portions of the sample.",
"Detecting energy from the output optical wave during the first time period comprises processing detected energy during respective time windows that are shorter than the time delay and rejecting detected energy from the sample outside of the time windows.",
"The time windows are synchronized to respective pulses in the input optical wave.",
"Rejecting detected energy from the sample outside of the time windows comprises preventing detection of energy from the sample outside of the time windows.",
"Rejecting detected energy from the sample outside of the time windows comprises preventing processing of portions of a stored signal that correspond to energy detected outside of the time windows.",
"The method further includes moving the input optical wave relative to the sample to focus on a second portion of the sample.",
"The input optical wave is moved relative to the sample during the second time period.",
"Moving the input optical wave relative to the sample comprises moving the input optical wave without moving the sample.",
"Moving the input optical wave relative to the sample comprises moving the sample without moving the input optical wave.",
"The method further includes detecting energy from an output optical wave generated from a nonlinear optical interaction in the second portion of the sample with the input optical wave;",
"generating a representation of the second portion of the sample based on the detected energy from the output optical wave;",
"and generating an image of the sample that includes the representation of the first portion of the sample and the representation of the second portion of the sample.",
"The input optical wave includes pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 100 picoseconds.",
"The input optical wave includes pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 1 nanosecond.",
"The time delay is between about 1 microsecond and about 1 millisecond.",
"The time delay is between about 10 microseconds and about 100 microseconds.",
"The nonlinear optical interaction comprises multi-photon absorption.",
"The nonlinear optical interaction comprises two-photon absorption.",
"The output optical wave comprises a fluorescence emission from the sample.",
"The fluorescence emission from the sample comprises emission from a fluorescent molecule in the sample.",
"The nonlinear optical interaction comprises wave mixing.",
"The nonlinear optical interaction comprises four-wave mixing.",
"The nonlinear optical interaction comprises coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering.",
"Providing at least one input optical wave, directing the input optical wave, and detecting energy from the output optical wave comprise: providing at least two input optical waves that include pulses;",
"directing the input optical waves to focus on a first portion of the sample;",
"and detecting energy from an output optical wave generated from a wave mixing interaction in the first portion of the sample with each of the input optical waves.",
"Providing at least two input optical waves comprises providing signal and idler optical waves generated from parametric downconversion of a pump optical wave that includes pulses.",
"In another aspect, in general, the invention features a system for imaging a sample characterized by a limit on incident optical energy absorbed over a given time period.",
"The system includes a source of at least one input optical wave that includes pulses that each have a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than 100 picoseconds and a pulse energy sufficiently large such that a sufficient number of consecutive pulses absorbed by the sample would exceed the limit;",
"a microscope configured to direct the input optical wave to focus on a first portion of the sample;",
"and a detection sub-system configured to detect energy from an output optical wave generated from a nonlinear optical interaction in the first portion of the sample with the input optical wave, and generate a representation of the first portion of the sample based on the detected energy from the output optical wave.",
"Aspects of the invention can include one or more of the following features.",
"The source is configured to temporarily prevent the input optical wave from reaching the sample.",
"Temporarily preventing the input optical wave from reaching the sample includes periodically preventing the input optical wave from reaching the sample.",
"Temporarily preventing the input optical wave from reaching the sample includes preventing the optical wave from reaching the sample before a number of consecutive pulses are absorbed by the sample would exceed the limit.",
"The system further includes excitation optics between the source and the microscope configured to periodically prevent the input optical wave from reaching the sample.",
"The detection sub-system is configured to process energy that has been detected within time windows corresponding to the pulses.",
"The detection sub-system is configured to prevent detection of energy outside of the time windows.",
"The detection sub-system is configured to remove portions of a signal corresponding to energy detected outside of the time windows.",
"Aspects of the invention can have one or more of the following advantages.",
"Techniques described herein for managing the timing of an excitation optical wave and the associated signal collection may reduce potential for damage due to heat, and increase quality of the signal (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio).",
"Since the pulses are relatively long (e.g., >100 ps) and the pulse repetition rate is relatively low (e.g., <1 MHz), time gated signal processing can be performed at speeds that the detection electronics can handle.",
"Without a need for an ultrafast laser, the system for nonlinear optical microscopy applications will be compact, reliable, and simple to operate.",
"The fixed and the tunable near infrared wavelengths of some of the laser sources are able to penetrate biological tissues or materials such as silicon to reveal images embedded deep inside these samples.",
"In wavelength scanning applications as in mode-selective molecular or biological imaging, the wavelength of lasers with relatively longer pulses can be tuned or scanned relatively easily and rapidly compared to short pulse tunable lasers.",
"Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.",
"In case of conflict with publications, patent applications, patents, and other references mentioned incorporated herein by reference, the present specification, including definitions, will control.",
"Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, and from the claims.",
"DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram of a nonlinear optical microscopy system.",
"FIG. 2A is a plot of intensity of an input optical wave.",
"FIG. 2B is a plot of the position of the input optical wave of FIG. 2A relative to a sample.",
"FIG. 2C is a plot of intensity of an output optical wave.",
"FIG. 3 is a diagraph of a system for two-photon-excited fluorescence laser scanning microscopy (2PLSM).",
"FIG. 4A is an AFM image of the photoresist film sample.",
"FIG. 4B is a 2PLSM image of a photoresist film sample.",
"FIGS. 5A and 6A are two-dimensional 2PLSM images of fluorosphere samples.",
"FIGS. 5B and 6B are three-dimensional 2PLSM images of fluorosphere samples.",
"FIG. 7A is a 2PLSM image of an onion sample.",
"FIG. 7B is a white-light confocal microscopy image of the onion sample.",
"DESCRIPTION Some techniques for obtaining high-quality images of a sample using nonlinear optical microscopy include the use of an input optical wave comprising a series of optical pulses each having a high peak electric field intensity.",
"There are factors that limit the highest intensity that can be tolerated in a sample (e.g., a biological tissue sample).",
"Two limiting factors are optical damage and thermal damage of the sample.",
"Optical damage includes damage of the sample caused by a large electric field intensity, which places a limit on the peak power density (W/cm 2 ) of pulses.",
"Thermal damage includes damage of the sample caused by heating of the sample to above a tolerable temperature due to absorption of the optical energy over time, which places a limit on the average power density of a stream of pulses, or on the energy density (J/cm 2 ) or “fluence”",
"of each pulse and the pulse repetition rate.",
"The limits on characteristics of an optical wave associated with limiting optical and thermal damage depend on the sample.",
"For many biological samples (e.g., cells or viruses), a typical optical damage limit on peak power density is approximately 10-100 GW/cm 2 , and a typical thermal damage limit on average power density is approximately 10 MW/cm 2 .",
"In many cases, thermal damage is more limiting than optical damage.",
"Typically, short pulse lasers with pulse durations in the picosecond and sub-picosecond regime are used to provide pulses with relatively high peak power density for high-quality imaging, but relatively low average power density (due to low pulse energy) to reduce the potential for thermal damage to the sample.",
"Short pulse lasers can be, in general, relatively complex, difficult to operate, and expensive compared to lasers with longer pulse durations.",
"Various classes of lasers can become less complex, easier to operate, and less expensive as the pulse durations become longer (e.g., >100 ps, >500 ps, >1 ns, >10 ns, or >100 ns).",
"Another benefit of longer pulse durations is the associated reduction in minimum linewidth of the spectrum of the optical wave.",
"Some spectroscopic techniques, such as CARS, scan the peak wavelength of a source's spectral line to probe the spectral properties of a sample.",
"Not only is such wavelength scanning more complex in a short pulse source, but the spectral resolution attainable is lower due to the larger minimum linewidth.",
"When optical wave from a short pulse source is coupled into an optical fiber (e.g., to improve delivery and alignment of the optical wave into a microscope), group velocity dispersion may result in chirping and temporal distortion of the pulses.",
"Nonlinear processes may also occur in the fiber, altering the spectral characteristics of the optical wave.",
"Coherent optical sources that provide long pulse duration optical waves (e.g., >100 ps) have been deemed by some as not suitable for nonlinear optical microscopy due to potential for damage to a sample and the lower image quality resulting from a reduced peak power density.",
"However, by controlling the timing characteristics and delivery of an optical wave to a sample as described herein, it is possible to achieve high quality (e.g., low noise) images in nonlinear optical microscopy of the sample using longer pulse sources while satisfying damage constraints.",
"Compact solid state pulsed lasers such as diode-laser-pumped Q-switched Nd ion doped YAG, YVO4, and YLF lasers, and Yb:doped fiber lasers and amplifiers can provide intense pulses with a time duration from a few nanoseconds to tens of nanoseconds and with excellent beam quality.",
"The pulse repetition rates for these sources can be on the order of 1 kHz to 1 MHz.",
"Such sources are compact, simple, and relatively inexpensive compared to short pulse lasers.",
"The peak power of these lasers can be in the 1-10 kW range, about 10 times less than typical short pulse lasers with pulse durations in the picosecond and sub-picosecond regime.",
"The typical pulse energy of these diode-laser pumped solid state lasers is correspondingly higher than that of short pulse lasers by about 100 to 500 times.",
"By managing the timing of an excitation optical wave and the associated signal collection, it is possible to avoid thermal damage while producing high-resolution microscopic images of good quality.",
"Thermal damage can result from a rapid increase in temperature following accumulation of absorbed energy.",
"If the excitation optical wave is temporarily prevented from reaching (or being absorbed in) the sample before the temperature reaches a destructive value, then accumulated heat has time to dissipate away from the sample so that damage does not occur.",
"1 System Overview Referring to FIG. 1 , in a nonlinear optical microscopy system 100 , a source 102 provides an input optical wave 104 that includes pulses that are approximately uniformly spaced by an inter-pulse time delay τ.",
"The source 102 is a long-pulse source such that each pulse has a full-width half-maximum time duration of more than about 100 picoseconds.",
"Excitation optics 106 direct the input optical wave 104 to a microscope 108 that focuses the wave 104 onto a portion of a sample 110 to be imaged.",
"The input optical wave 104 serves as input for a nonlinear optical interaction in that portion of the sample 110 .",
"The excitation optics 106 can direct the optical wave 104 to the microscope 108 over free space or guided within an optical fiber, for example.",
"For free space delivery, the excitation optics 106 can include a lens followed by a pinhole followed by another lens to clean up the transverse mode of the beam from the source 102 and to adapt the diameter of the beam to the diameter of an entrance window of a microscope objective lens 120 to provide adequate spatial resolution.",
"The excitation optics 106 can also include attenuation elements such as neutral density filters or a polarization rotator and polarizer pair for controlling the intensity of the input optical wave 104 .",
"The nonlinear optical interaction in the sample 110 can generate an output optical wave 112 A that travels in a forward direction relative to the input optical wave 104 to be detected in a “trans-collection”",
"mode, and/or an output optical wave 112 B that travels in a backward direction relative to the input optical wave 104 to be detected in an “epi-collection”",
"mode.",
"The output optical waves 112 A and 112 B are directed by mirrors 115 A and 115 B, respectively, to a detection sub-system 114 to generate an image of the sample 110 .",
"The output optical waves 112 A and 112 B can represent a fluorescence signal, or an optical harmonic signal, or a Raman shifted or anti-Stokes shifted signal of the input optical wave 104 , for example.",
"Due to the nature of nonlinear optical processes, generation of these signals is typically substantially localized to the focus of the input optical wave 104 , where the intensity is greatest.",
"This transverse and longitudinal localization of the interaction at the beam focus enables three-dimensional discrimination of the imaged location.",
"The output optical wave 112 A is detected in a trans-collection mode at a first detector 116 A, and the output optical wave 112 B is detected in an epi-collection mode at a second detector 116 B. In trans-collection mode, the forward propagating output optical wave 112 A can be collected after propagating through the sample 110 to the detector 116 A. In epi-collection mode, the backward propagating output optical wave 112 B can be propagate back through the microscope objective lens 120 and through a dichroic beam splitter (DBS) 122 that reflects most of the input optical wave 104 and transmits most of the output optical wave 112 B. In either mode, the output optical waves 112 A and 112 B can be filtered by one or more narrowband filters to discriminate from the intense input optical wave 104 and focused by one or more lenses before being detected.",
"The detection sub-system 114 can include any of a variety of detector types including a photodiode, a charge-coupled device, or photon counters such as a photomultiplier or an avalanche photodiode.",
"The nonlinear optical microscopy system 100 can include components such as galvanometric mirrors to move the input optical wave 104 (e.g., within the excitation optics 106 ), a motorized/piezoelectric stage to move the sample 110 , or both, to scan over different portions of the sample 110 and build up an image (over x and y dimensions).",
"Three-dimensional images can be obtained by further moving the microscope objective focus (e.g., by a piezoelectric transducer) to take image “slices”",
"in different planes (along a z dimension).",
"The image can be represented, for example, as a collection of image elements such as “pixels”",
"of a two-dimensional image, or a “voxels”",
"of a three-dimensional image that represent a property of the sample 110 based on the energy detected from the output optical waves 112 A and/or 112 B. For example, a property of the sample 110 may be related to an intensity of fluorescence emission resulting from 2PLSM, and the energy in the output optical waves 112 A and/or 112 B collected in response to one of the pulses in the input optical wave 104 can quantify that property at a sample location.",
"Each image element can be represented as scalar data or vector data (e.g., representing spectral properties of a portion of the sample 110 ) stored on a memory storage medium.",
"For example, the detection sub-system 114 can include a computer system 124 having a memory storage medium such as a hard drive.",
"Some implementations of the system 100 use more than one input optical wave from the source 102 .",
"For example, an implementation of the system 100 for CARS microscopy uses two input optical waves having different frequencies.",
"The difference of the frequencies corresponds to the Raman transition frequency of the sample 110 .",
"The two optical waves mix in a nonlinear interaction in the sample 110 to generate a CARS output optical wave that is detected.",
"A tunable optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pumped by a pulsed laser can be used as the source 102 of two substantially collinear output optical waves: a signal wave and an idler wave.",
"If the OPO is pumped with a pulsed wave, the signal and idler waves will include pulses that are automatically overlapped in time.",
"The sum of the frequencies of the signal wave and the idler wave equals the frequency of the pump wave.",
"Techniques for tuning the OPO include, for example, tuning the pump frequency and/or tuning the phase matching condition among the pump, signal, and idler.",
"The difference of the signal and idler frequencies (and wavelengths) then can be scanned appropriately to excite the Raman transitions of the chemical bonds of the sample species that is to be imaged.",
"An example of a tunable OPO that can be used as a source is described in U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 11/318,234, filed on Dec. 23, 2005, incorporated herein by reference.",
"An advantage of using an OPO is that the signal, idler and output CARS signal wavelengths fall in the transmission window of most tissues so that absorption and scattering loss are kept to a minimum, allowing for penetration of the light deep inside the tissue sample to make images that cannot be observed by visible microscopy or short pulse scanning microscopy at 790 nm, a commonly used wavelength in short pulse microscopes.",
"The output spectral bandwidth of about 1 cm −1 of nanosecond OPOs can be much narrower than that of most femtosecond or picosecond OPOs, thus the system 100 will be able to obtain a CARS signal spectrum with better spectral resolution and better species selectivity.",
"Other types of sources can be used for nonlinear interactions with multiple input optical waves.",
"For example, the source 102 can include an OPO pumped by a second harmonic of a laser and various combinations of the fundamental, SHG-pump, signal, and idler waves can be used as input optical waves.",
"2 System Operation Referring to FIGS. 2A-2C , the system 100 is configured to collect an output optical wave 112 A and/or 112 B generated from the nonlinear optical interaction in the sample 110 during a collection time period t coll , and to temporarily prevent the optical wave 104 from reaching the sample 110 during a cooling time period t cool .",
"The cooling time period is long enough for most of an amount of heat built up in the sample 110 by the optical wave 104 during the collection time period to be dissipated.",
"For example, the source 102 can include a switching mechanism that periodically stops pumping the source 102 (e.g., by turning off a power supply) to quench a lasing process that generates the optical wave 104 .",
"Alternatively, instead of quenching or otherwise shutting off the source 102 , the system 100 can block or divert the optical wave 104 , for example, using an optical device (e.g., an acousto-optic modulator) or a mechanical device (e.g., a electromechanical shutter or a piezoelectrically controlled mirror) within the excitation optics 106 .",
"For typical diode-laser-pumped solid state lasers, to provide an average power density below the thermal damage limit, the collection time period t coll can be in the range of about 1 msec to 500 msec for a given portion of the sample that is being imaged with a beam spot size at the focal plane of the optical wave 104 of about 0.25 μm 2 to 1 μm 2 .",
"Since no signal is detected during the cooling time period t cool , this cooling time can be used to move the optical wave 104 relative to the sample 110 to focus on a different portion of the sample to be imaged (or “imaging spot”).",
"Thus, the speed of scanning across imaging spots of the sample 110 does not need to be faster than the distance between neighboring spot locations divided by t cool .",
"The collection time period t coll is large enough to ensure sufficient signal is collected.",
"In some implementations t coll is large compared to the inter-pulse time delay τ to encompass multiple pulses (i.e., t coll >2τ), and is typically large enough to encompass tens or hundreds of pulses or more to excite the sample 110 during a collection time period at an imaging spot.",
"For a collection time period of 500 ms, an optical wave 104 with a pulse repetition rate of 100 kHz would have 50,000 consecutive pulses absorbed by the sample 110 at each imaging spot.",
"Alternatively, in some implementations, a single pulse could be sufficient to provide adequate signal.",
"FIG. 2A shows a plot of intensity I(t) of the input optical wave 104 at the sample 110 over a time span of a periodic waveform that shows two collection time periods separated by one cooling time period.",
"In this example, to facilitate visualization, only three pulses occur within the collection time period.",
"FIG. 2B shows a plot of a position x(t) of the optical wave 104 relative to the sample 110 in a linear scan across the sample.",
"In this example, the cooling and scanning are synchronized such that the optical wave 104 is substantially stationary during each collection time period, and moves during each cooling time period.",
"In other examples, the optical wave 104 may be stationary over multiple collection and cooling time periods.",
"To provide high quality images, sufficient signal energy (e.g., photon counts) from the output optical waves 112 A and/or 112 B should be collected during the collection time period to provide a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).",
"The SNR can be increased by using time gated signal processing to process signal energy from the output optical waves 112 A and/or 112 B within limited detection time windows t det corresponding to each pulse.",
"A controller (e.g., a computer) can use an electronic trigger pulse (e.g., from a driver that controls the pulsing of the source 102 ) to time the gating of the detection sub-system 114 to process energy that has been detected within the window t det .",
"FIG. 2C shows a plot of intensity I(t) of the output optical waves 112 A and/or 112 B generated from the nonlinear optical interaction in the sample 110 .",
"The shape of the “signal pulses”",
"in the wave (along with other characteristics such as spectrum, spatial mode, and propagation direction) depends on the specific interaction being utilized.",
"The detection sub-system 114 is gated to process light detected within the detection time window t det , but not to process light that is detected or would have been detected outside of this window.",
"In this way, the detection sub-system 114 is likely to receive signal information based on the energy in the signal pulses that arrive at the detection sub-system 114 at a predictable time based on the regular excitation pulses, but to reject the noise that occurs outside of the window.",
"Thus, potential noise from optical, electronic, and/or mechanical sources, for example, instead of from the nonlinear optical interaction is rejected.",
"This increases the SNR and the resulting quality of the image.",
"Any of a variety of techniques can be used to perform the time gated signal processing.",
"Gating can occur on-line, for example, by using electronic trigger pulses to gate a power supply within the detection sub-system 114 or to gate electronic amplifiers or photon counters within the detection sub-system 114 .",
"Alternatively, the gating can occur off-line by storing a detected signal into a computer and digitally processing the signal according to timing information.",
"Thus, in an on-online approach, the detection sub-system 114 is configured to prevent detection of energy outside of the detection time windows, and in an off-line approach, the detection sub-system 114 is configured to remove portions of a signal corresponding to energy detected outside of the detection time windows.",
"Various techniques can be used in combination with the time gated signal processing.",
"A technique that uses a lock-in amplifier or a boxcar amplifier for phase-sensitive signal detection is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,356,088, incorporated herein by reference.",
"3 Working Example The following is a working example of two-photon-excited fluorescence laser scanning microscopy (2PLSM) using an implementation of the nonlinear optical microscopy system 100 .",
"Referring to FIG. 3 , a system 300 was used for 2PLSM to obtain fluorescence images of different sample species.",
"After repeated scans, no damage to the samples were observed.",
"The spatial resolution of the images obtained was less than 0.5 μm.",
"A Q-switched Nd:YAG laser was used as a source 302 of an input optical wave 304 with a 1064 nm wavelength, a beam diameter of about 9 mm, a 10 kHz pulse repetition rate, and a 19 ns FWHM pulse width.",
"Mirrors 306 directed the optical wave 304 into a microscope 308 .",
"A spatial filter 310 cleaned the spatial mode of the optical wave 304 and a lens 312 modematched the spatial mode into the microscope 308 .",
"The microscope 308 included a dichroic beam splitter (DBS) 314 to direct the optical wave 304 into a 40× objective lens 316 with a 0.8 numerical aperture (NA) in air.",
"Each sample 318 was deposited on a glass slide placed on an x-y translation stage 320 equipped with a piezoelectric nanopositioner with a full scan range of 100 μm in each of the x and y directions.",
"Fine adjustment in the z direction was performed with a one-dimensional piezoelectric transducer 322 attached to the objective lens 316 .",
"A fluorescence optical wave 324 was collected by a lens 326 with a 0.68 NA, passed through a set 328 of narrowband bandpass filters, and detected by an avalanche photodiode single-photon counting module 330 in trans-collection mode.",
"The photon counts were processed by a computer 332 to generate digital image to be stored and displayed.",
"The fluorescence optical wave 324 was also collected back through the microscope 308 by a lens 336 , passed through a set 338 of narrowband bandpass filters, and detected by an avalanche photodiode single-photon counting module 340 in epi-collection mode.",
"A CCD detector 344 also collected a non-fluorescence image of the sample 318 from excitation light that leaked through the DBS 314 was reflected by a DBS 342 .",
"Gated signal detection synchronized to the pulses of the input optical wave 304 was used to reduce any background signal to below the electronic noise limit of a few counts per second.",
"The average power in the input optical wave 304 was typically around 16.5 mW, corresponding to a peak power of 90 W, a peak intensity of about 5.5 GW/cm 2 , and a single pulse fluence of about 105 J/cm 2 .",
"A computer controlled the gating of the laser source 302 to start and stop the pulsed output from the laser so that the pulses were applied while the flurescence optical wave 324 was being collected and stopped while the sample 318 was being scanned.",
"The collection time period t coll was selected to limit the total fluence absorbed during t coll to below the damage threshold of the sample 318 .",
"This collection time period was experimentally determined for each sample species and was between about 50-100 ms.",
"With these settings, the photon count per collection time period ranged from a few tens to several hundreds with a background count of less then five in each case.",
"Under these conditions, the time it took to scan an image of 30 μm×30 μm was about 10-30 minutes.",
"For other samples and/or excitation wavelengths, the thermal damage limits may allow scan times to be decreased by increasing the pulse repetition rate and reducing t coll .",
"3.1 Sample 1: Photoresist Film One sample imaged was an approximately 1 μm thick film of photoresist deposited on a glass slide and patterned into a two-dimensional (tetragonal) array of round holes (with diameter of ˜3.2 μm and a depth of ˜1.2 μm) using photolithography.",
"FIG. 4B shows a 2PLSM image of the photoresist film sample.",
"The photoresist polymer of which the film was composed yields a reasonable fluorescence signal at around 650 nm from two-photon excitation of ˜10 mW of 1064 nm radiation, even though its fluorescence quantum yield is small compared to typical fluorescent dyes.",
"The image shows clearly the openings etched into the photoresist by the photolithographic process, including a grid of fine lines that possibly resulted from optical interference due to the photolithographic process used to make the pattern.",
"The spacing between the lines of the grid is about 1 μm.",
"These features also appear in an atomic force microscope (AFM) image (with resolution<10 nm) of the same photoresist film shown in FIG. 4A .",
"3.2 Sample 2: Fluorospheres A Another sample imaged was an emulsion of ˜1.0 μm diameter fluorescent polystyrene microspheres (also called “molecular probes”",
"or “fluorospheres”) deposited into the patterned ˜6.0 μm diameter holes of a photoresist film similar to that of Sample 1.",
"FIG. 5A shows a two-dimensional 2PLSM image of the fluorosphere sample, and FIG. 5B shows a three-dimensional 2PLSM image of the fluorosphere sample.",
"Various structural features of the deposition of the fluorospheres can be discerned from both images, including: (A) clusters of multiple fluorospheres in respective holes, (B) three distinguishable fluorospheres deposited into a hole, (C) two distinguishable fluorospheres deposited into a hole, and (D) a single fluorosphere deposited into a hole.",
"In this example, the number of fluorospheres can be discerned by the size of the detected fluorescent portions of the image.",
"3.3 Sample 3: Fluoroshperes B Another sample imaged was a dilute emulsion of ˜0.5 μm diameter fluorescent polystyrene microspheres (also called “molecular probes”",
"or “fluorospheres”) deposited into the patterned ˜2.9 μm diameter holes of a photoresist film.",
"FIG. 6A , shows a two-dimensional 2PLSM image of the fluorosphere sample, and FIG. 6B shows a three-dimensional 2PLSM image of the fluorosphere sample.",
"These images provide an estimate of the spatial resolution achieved in the 2PLSM imaging process using the system 300 .",
"From the slope of the three-dimensional image of a single bead, the spatial resolution achieved was <0.5 μm, close to the theoretical limit of ˜0.35 μm due to diffraction of the 1064 nm laser wavelength within the system 300 in a two-photon process.",
"3.4 Sample 4: Onion Another sample imaged was a ˜50 μm thin slice of fresh onion skin that had been soaked in a Rhodamine 6G in water solution (10-3 molar) for six hours, as an example of 2PLSM applied to biological imaging.",
"FIG. 7A shows a 2PLSM image of the onion sample, and FIG. 7B shows an image of the onion sample obtained by conventional white-light confocal microscopy.",
"The structure of onion cell wall can be clearly identified.",
"For this sample, the average power of the input optical wave 304 was about 22.3 mW, and no damage to the onion sample was observed through repeated scans.",
"Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the use of foam to speed a startup portion of a Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) process in parallel horizontal wells. Specifically, the invention relates to the use of foam to increase a pressure gradient between horizontal injector and producer wells, after an initial localized steam breakthrough.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
World energy supplies are quite substantially impacted by the world's heavy oil resources. Indeed, heavy oil comprises 2,100 billion barrels of the world's total oil reserves. Processes for the economic recovery of these viscous reserves are clearly important.
Asphaltic, tar and heavy oil are typically in deposits near the surface with overburden depths that span a few feet to a few thousand feet. In Canada vast deposits of this oil are found in Athabasca, Cold Lake, Celtic, Lloydminster and McMurray reservoirs. In California heavy oil is found in the South Belridge, Midway Sunset, Kern River and other reservoirs.
In the large Athabasca and Cold Lake bitumen deposits oil is essentially immobile--unable to flow under normal natural drive primary recovery mechanisms. Furthermore, oil saturations in these formations are typically large. This limits the injectivity of a fluid (heated or cold) into the formation. Furthermore, many of these deposits are too deep below the surface to effectively and economically mine.
In-situ techniques for recovering viscous oil and bitumens have been the subject of much previous investigation and can be split into 3 categories: 1) cyclic processes involving injecting and producing a viscosity reducing agent; 2) continuous steaming processes which involve injecting a heated fluid at one well and displacing oil to another set of wells; and 3) a relatively new Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage process (SAGD) by R. M. Butler (U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,485).
Cyclic steam or solvent stimulation in these two reservoirs is severely hampered by the lack of any significant steam injectivity into the respective formations. Hence, in the case of vertical wells a formation fracture is required to obtain any significant injectivity into the formation. Some success with this technique has been obtained in the Cold Lake reservoir at locations not having any significant underlying water aquifer. However, if a water aquifer exists beneath the vertical well located in the oil bearing formation, fracturing during steam injection results in early and large water influx during the production phase. This substantially lowers the economic performance of wells. In addition, cyclic steaming techniques reduce the economic viability of the process. Clearly, steam stimulation techniques in Cold Lake and Athabasca deposits are severely limited.
Vertical well continuous steaming processes are not technically or economically feasible in very viscous bitumen reservoirs. Oil mobility is simply far too small to be produced from a cold production well as is done in California type of reservoirs. Steam injection from one well and production from a remote production well are not possible unless a formation fracture is again formed. Formation fractures between wells are very difficult to control and there are operational problems associated with fracturing in a controlled manner so as to intersect an entire pattern of wells. Hence, classical steam flooding, even in the presence of initial fluid injectively when artificially induced by a fracture, has significant limitations.
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,485; Butler, 1982) describes a parallel set of horizontal wells spaced relatively close together. In this process both wells are pre-heated by conduction. As fluid between the wells warms, a pressure difference is applied between the upper and lower wells to drive the fluid from between the wells. A SAGD startup process has been described in detail (Edmunds, N. R. and Gittins, S. D.; CIM Paper No. 91-65). When steam breaks through at some point between the horizontal wells, the pressure difference disappears and large amounts of steam are produced from the lower well. At this point in the startup, temperature control at the wellhead begins and produced steam volumes are throttled, placing the rest of the startup process in a gravity dominated regime.
Steam begins to rise upwardly and spreads laterally along the length of the well. The process is completely governed by gravity due to the imposition of steam trap control. For long wells a complete formation of a steam chamber along the length of the wellbore may take several months--thereby reducing the effectiveness of the long wellbore.
Complicating this problem is a substantial impossibility of drilling two perfectly parallel horizontal wells--either from a tunnel or from the surface. It is more probable that the two wells will have some wavy characteristics (sinuosity). Hence, steam breakthrough is more likely to occur at the point of closest spacing of the two wells. A picture of the initial breakthrough looks like two very long horizontal wells (say 500 meters) with only 1 or 2 meters having steam communication. The steam chamber can now grow only slowly along the length of the well.
Therefore, what is needed is a method of forcing the steam/liquid communication zone between wells to grow laterally, during the startup phase, at a rate substantially faster than that obtained by pure gravity drainage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed to a method to reduce startup time in a Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) process where parallel horizontal wells are used to remove hydrocarbonaceous fluids from a formation or reservoir. In the practice of this invention, steam is circulated within upper and lower horizontal wells while maintaining a substantial pressure gradient between said wells. By maintaining this pressure gradient, hot fluids are forced from the upper well into the lower well. Steam is continuously circulated until it breaks through from the upper to said lower well which causes a steam breach zone to come into existence.
A surfactant is added to liquid entering the upper well along with steam in an amount sufficient to generate foam and fill the steam breach zone. The foam filled steam breach zone causes an increase in the pressure gradient, between the two wells. An increase in the pressure gradient causes a complete steam chamber to be formed, along the wells which causes substantial increased displacement of hydrocarbonaceous fluids between said wells. Increased displacement of hydrocarbonaceous fluids allows the near well areas to be heated substantially more quickly than before possible, thereby reducing startup time during a SAGD process.
It is therefore a primary object of this invention to substantially reduce the time of startup in the creation of a steam chamber during a Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage process.
Another object of this invention is to combine the use of foam with dual horizontal wells to improve steam process performance by reducing startup time.
It is also an object of this invention to augment a gravity drainage process during startup by increasing the pressure gradient between well pairs after steam first breaches an area between the wellbores.
These and other objects of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art when reading this specification and appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional, axial, schematic view of a dual horizontal well pair where vertical sinuousity has been depicted as would exist in a pair of wells drilled in a formation.
FIG. 2 is a schematical representation which demonstrates steam breakthrough at the point of closest approach between two superimposed horizontal wells.
FIG. 3 demonstrates schematically foam formation in a steam breached zone between two superimposed horizontal wells.
FIG. 4 is a schematic representation that demonstrates a lateral growth of a steam/liquid/foam region between superimposed horizontal wells.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In order to provide additional clarity to the invention, the current method of startup is described in order to contrast the old startup method with the new startup method. Current startup procedures detailed herein may be found in the recent publication "Effective Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage to Long Horizontal Well Pairs" by N. R. Edmunds and S. D. Gittins on page 65-2 of the CIM proceedings for 1991. The startup section from that paper is quoted below.
"SAGD with parallel wells depends on the existence of fluid communication between the injector and producer. In the McMurray field, the initial bitumen viscosity and saturation are so high that communication must be developed artificially before SAGD can proceed. The Phase A startup procedure. . . used a combination of conduction heating followed by a mild steamflood, implemented by circulating steam in both wells with a pressure differential (at the wellhead) of about 350 kPa.
Thermal conduction can be used to heat the sand in the vicinity of the wellbore, regardless of fluid transmissibility, by circulating hot fluid in the well. For an isolated single well, heating is very slow at radii greater than a meter or so, but simulations showed that when a second hot well is nearby, conduction is surprisingly effective in the space between the wells for separations of several meters; useful temperatures can be generated in a few months. This delay is more than compensated for by predictability: the thermal properties of oil sand are well known and fairly homogeneous, so that conduction heating is virtually guaranteed if simple conditions are met.
Once the bitumen is marginally mobile, at around 50-100 degrees C., hot water can displace enough of it to finger through and initiate rapid convective heating. Under a small pressure differential, the ensuing steamflood takes only a few days to reach the producer, while at the same time the new steam chamber begins growing up and out due to SAGD.
The discussion now returns to the three dimensional, long well pair. . . . It is easy to see how an initial startup can be created,. . ., by applying a pressure differential. After the first breakthrough, however, it is not possible to maintain a significant pressure difference without driving huge volumes of steam directly from injector to producer (Emphasis added). It will be shown. . . that no pressure differential is in fact required: startup can occur by gravity alone at any cross section of the well pair where the liners are kept hot, they are within a certain distance of each other, and there is reasonable permeability between them.
At this point it is useful to review how wellbore conditions are controlled, and what happens after the initial breakthrough, in a real well pair of significant length. As reported. . ., the proper injection rate is that which maintains the desired steam chamber pressure by replacing any steam that is condensed at the expanding front. This is accomplished at an [Underground Test Facility] UTF with an industrial pressure controller at the wellhead.
The Phase A production control scheme essentially controlled temperature, rather than pressure or rate. The temperature set point was chosen based on the flowing pressure, so that fluids were produced to maintain the wellhead temperature a specified value below the boiling point of water. Correct drawdown was automatically maintained, since no steam could be produced but neither could production accumulate and cool at the bottom of the chamber. This scheme is called steam trap control, because it mimics the function of standard industrial thermodynamic steam trap.
The most important point. . . is that, if the permeability is good, gravity alone is sufficient to allow startup; in other words a SAGD process can be operated at an injector annulus pressure that is identical to the producer annulus pressure. The startup could be characterized as heating the bitumen and then letting it fall through the sand into the producer.
As an example of how fast this can be, the superficial velocity of bitumen falling through a column of porous media having equal pressures at top and bottom can be calculated from Darcy's Law. In consistent units, ##EQU1## where k o is the effective permeability to bitumen and u o is the bitumen viscosity. For Athabasca bitumen at about 200° C., and 5 Darcy's effective permeability, the resulting superficial velocity will be . . . about 40 cm/day."
From the discussion presented in Edmunds and Gittins and detailed above, it is clear that: startup is controlled by conduction and then, after steam communication, gravity.
Conduction begins the process by interwell heating until steam circulated in the upper well breaks through at the lower wellbore. After breakthrough at the lower well steam is throttled back and gravity drainage continues to power the startup.
In the practice of the present invention, startup begins by making use of interwell conduction heating precisely as used in the old startup method as is shown in FIG. 1. Both wells are steam circulated to provide conduction heating in the interwell region. A fixed, nonzero pressure gradient held between the upper and lower wellbore slowly convects hot water and steam from the upper well to the lower well. When sufficiently warmed, first water and then steam breaks through at a small, localized area between the wellbores.
As steam breakthrough occurs, the pressure gradient between the wellbores vanishes for reservoirs having reasonable permeability. As noted in the discussion above, further clearance of oil between the wellbores occurs by gravity drainage alone.
At the time of breakthrough, 1-2% solution of a high temperature, commercial surfactant (SD-1020, a non-ionic surfactant by Chevron for example) is added to liquid injected in the upper well. In addition, one mole percent (1 mol. %) of nitrogen is added to the injection steam. The foam should not be pre-formed so as to minimize axial pressure gradients within the wellbore. Steam, rather than being choked back in the production well, continues to be produced. As surfactant solution flows past the point of communication some of it flows into the porous medium. Vapor and liquid surfactant solution are known to generate in-situ foam within a porous medium. Thus, the breach between the two parallel horizontal wellbores is partially plugged temporarily.
Foam formation within the steam breached zone between wells permits a pressure gradient to be maintained after steam breakthrough between wells--in contrast to the current method where the pressure gradient vanishes as steam breaks through. This is the key to a faster startup. As more steam is formed between the wells, more foam forms continuously permitting a pressure gradient to exist between the upper and lower wellbores.
Once the entire length of the horizontal well pair has experienced steam communication, surfactant injection is stopped. The total volume of surfactant between well pairs will be small and easily removed by produced fluids.
After surfactant injection is stopped, steam trap control is begun thereby choking off steam at the production wellbore and initiating typical SAGD chamber rise.
As is shown in FIG. 1, upper horizontal well 12 and lower horizontal well 20 are drilled into formation or reservoir 10. Wells 12 and 20 contain slots or perforations 14. An interwell region 18 is positioned between wells 12 and 20. Steam is circulated into wells 12 and 20 via tubing 16. Steam exiting tubing 16 is directed into reservoir 10 via slots 14 in wells 1 and 20. Steam is continuously circulated in wells 12 and 20 while maintaining a significant pressure gradient between both wells. Wellbore or well arrangements which permit continuous circulation are discussed by Butler in U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,485 which issued on Aug. 17, 1982. This patent is incorporated by reference herein. As the interwell region or zone 18 between wells 12 and 20 warms, hot fluid is forced from upper well 12 to lower well 20 by the pressure gradient.
When enough heating has taken place, water channels through from upper well 12. Steam channels through post water break through. FIG. 2 provides a schematic representation of steam filled breached zone 22. At the time of steam breakthrough, the pressure differential vanishes. Gravity takes over as the dominant mechanism of draining the oil between wells.
At this point, surfactant and 1.0 mole % nitrogen are added to a liquid stream with enough concentration (1-2%) to generate a relatively strong foam 24 in steam breached zone 22 in interwell region 18. The production or lower well 20 is not put on steam trap control although the total amount of steam produced may be regulated. A pressure gradient now exists as a result of the flow resistance caused by foam 24 between wellbores 12 and 20 as shown in FIG. 3. This added pressure gradient aids gravity in displacing the oil from between wellbores 12 and 20.
As an example consider the former numerical example (1) with an additional component from the pressure. Here the equation for the flow velocity is: ##EQU2## where ΔP is the pressure differential between wellbores and L is the interwell wellbore spacing. Numerically, the flow velocities, as a function of increased pressure for an interwell spacing of 7 meters, are shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1______________________________________Influence of Small Interwell Pressure Gradient onInterwell Displacement Velocity k.sub.o Δ/μ.sub.o L k.sub.o P.sub.o g/μ.sub.o = U.sub.o q U.sub.o + (cm/ΔP (psia) (cm/day) (cm/day) day U.sub.o + /U.sub.o g______________________________________0.00 0.000 39.4 39.4 1.000.01 0.046 39.4 39.5 1.000.10 0.427 39.4 39.9 1.011.00 4.410 39.4 43.8 1.1110.0 44.20 39.4 83.6 2.1250.0 220.8 39.4 260.0 6.60______________________________________
As can be seen from the above table, even relatively small pressure gradient increases can substantially increase the displacement velocity. Increased displacement velocities are directly related to reduced startup time. The faster the steam zone communicates in the lateral direction along the two wellbores, the faster a full SAGD process can start producing oil.
FIG. 4 depicts the lateral steam foam in interwell region 18 between the wellbores 12 and 20 prior to chamber rise. Increased rates of propagation in interwell region 18 result in a faster startup time for the whole SAGD process thereby reducing the steam oil ratio and increasing process performance. Although wellbore 12 and 20 are shown in an above and below relationship, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that other wellbore arrangements will work similarly e.g., side by side.
Obviously, many other variations and modifications of this invention as previously set forth may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention as those skilled in the art readily understand. Such variations and modifications are considered part of this invention and within the purview and scope of the appended claims. | A method for reducing the time during which steam moves in a lateral direction between two parallel superimposed horizontal wells when utilizing a Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) process. Foam is added while injecting steam into an upper horizontal well once steam breakthrough occurs in an interwell region. Foam enters the interwell region thereby causing an increased pressure gradient. This increased pressure gradient adds to the gravity force thereby providing a greater interstitial oil velocity which increases oil drainage between wells during startup. | Identify the most important claim in the given context and summarize it | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the use of foam to speed a startup portion of a Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) process in parallel horizontal wells.",
"Specifically, the invention relates to the use of foam to increase a pressure gradient between horizontal injector and producer wells, after an initial localized steam breakthrough.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION World energy supplies are quite substantially impacted by the world's heavy oil resources.",
"Indeed, heavy oil comprises 2,100 billion barrels of the world's total oil reserves.",
"Processes for the economic recovery of these viscous reserves are clearly important.",
"Asphaltic, tar and heavy oil are typically in deposits near the surface with overburden depths that span a few feet to a few thousand feet.",
"In Canada vast deposits of this oil are found in Athabasca, Cold Lake, Celtic, Lloydminster and McMurray reservoirs.",
"In California heavy oil is found in the South Belridge, Midway Sunset, Kern River and other reservoirs.",
"In the large Athabasca and Cold Lake bitumen deposits oil is essentially immobile--unable to flow under normal natural drive primary recovery mechanisms.",
"Furthermore, oil saturations in these formations are typically large.",
"This limits the injectivity of a fluid (heated or cold) into the formation.",
"Furthermore, many of these deposits are too deep below the surface to effectively and economically mine.",
"In-situ techniques for recovering viscous oil and bitumens have been the subject of much previous investigation and can be split into 3 categories: 1) cyclic processes involving injecting and producing a viscosity reducing agent;",
"2) continuous steaming processes which involve injecting a heated fluid at one well and displacing oil to another set of wells;",
"and 3) a relatively new Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage process (SAGD) by R. M. Butler (U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,485).",
"Cyclic steam or solvent stimulation in these two reservoirs is severely hampered by the lack of any significant steam injectivity into the respective formations.",
"Hence, in the case of vertical wells a formation fracture is required to obtain any significant injectivity into the formation.",
"Some success with this technique has been obtained in the Cold Lake reservoir at locations not having any significant underlying water aquifer.",
"However, if a water aquifer exists beneath the vertical well located in the oil bearing formation, fracturing during steam injection results in early and large water influx during the production phase.",
"This substantially lowers the economic performance of wells.",
"In addition, cyclic steaming techniques reduce the economic viability of the process.",
"Clearly, steam stimulation techniques in Cold Lake and Athabasca deposits are severely limited.",
"Vertical well continuous steaming processes are not technically or economically feasible in very viscous bitumen reservoirs.",
"Oil mobility is simply far too small to be produced from a cold production well as is done in California type of reservoirs.",
"Steam injection from one well and production from a remote production well are not possible unless a formation fracture is again formed.",
"Formation fractures between wells are very difficult to control and there are operational problems associated with fracturing in a controlled manner so as to intersect an entire pattern of wells.",
"Hence, classical steam flooding, even in the presence of initial fluid injectively when artificially induced by a fracture, has significant limitations.",
"Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,485;",
"Butler, 1982) describes a parallel set of horizontal wells spaced relatively close together.",
"In this process both wells are pre-heated by conduction.",
"As fluid between the wells warms, a pressure difference is applied between the upper and lower wells to drive the fluid from between the wells.",
"A SAGD startup process has been described in detail (Edmunds, N. R. and Gittins, S. D.;",
"CIM Paper No. 91-65).",
"When steam breaks through at some point between the horizontal wells, the pressure difference disappears and large amounts of steam are produced from the lower well.",
"At this point in the startup, temperature control at the wellhead begins and produced steam volumes are throttled, placing the rest of the startup process in a gravity dominated regime.",
"Steam begins to rise upwardly and spreads laterally along the length of the well.",
"The process is completely governed by gravity due to the imposition of steam trap control.",
"For long wells a complete formation of a steam chamber along the length of the wellbore may take several months--thereby reducing the effectiveness of the long wellbore.",
"Complicating this problem is a substantial impossibility of drilling two perfectly parallel horizontal wells--either from a tunnel or from the surface.",
"It is more probable that the two wells will have some wavy characteristics (sinuosity).",
"Hence, steam breakthrough is more likely to occur at the point of closest spacing of the two wells.",
"A picture of the initial breakthrough looks like two very long horizontal wells (say 500 meters) with only 1 or 2 meters having steam communication.",
"The steam chamber can now grow only slowly along the length of the well.",
"Therefore, what is needed is a method of forcing the steam/liquid communication zone between wells to grow laterally, during the startup phase, at a rate substantially faster than that obtained by pure gravity drainage.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention is directed to a method to reduce startup time in a Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) process where parallel horizontal wells are used to remove hydrocarbonaceous fluids from a formation or reservoir.",
"In the practice of this invention, steam is circulated within upper and lower horizontal wells while maintaining a substantial pressure gradient between said wells.",
"By maintaining this pressure gradient, hot fluids are forced from the upper well into the lower well.",
"Steam is continuously circulated until it breaks through from the upper to said lower well which causes a steam breach zone to come into existence.",
"A surfactant is added to liquid entering the upper well along with steam in an amount sufficient to generate foam and fill the steam breach zone.",
"The foam filled steam breach zone causes an increase in the pressure gradient, between the two wells.",
"An increase in the pressure gradient causes a complete steam chamber to be formed, along the wells which causes substantial increased displacement of hydrocarbonaceous fluids between said wells.",
"Increased displacement of hydrocarbonaceous fluids allows the near well areas to be heated substantially more quickly than before possible, thereby reducing startup time during a SAGD process.",
"It is therefore a primary object of this invention to substantially reduce the time of startup in the creation of a steam chamber during a Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage process.",
"Another object of this invention is to combine the use of foam with dual horizontal wells to improve steam process performance by reducing startup time.",
"It is also an object of this invention to augment a gravity drainage process during startup by increasing the pressure gradient between well pairs after steam first breaches an area between the wellbores.",
"These and other objects of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art when reading this specification and appended claims.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional, axial, schematic view of a dual horizontal well pair where vertical sinuousity has been depicted as would exist in a pair of wells drilled in a formation.",
"FIG. 2 is a schematical representation which demonstrates steam breakthrough at the point of closest approach between two superimposed horizontal wells.",
"FIG. 3 demonstrates schematically foam formation in a steam breached zone between two superimposed horizontal wells.",
"FIG. 4 is a schematic representation that demonstrates a lateral growth of a steam/liquid/foam region between superimposed horizontal wells.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In order to provide additional clarity to the invention, the current method of startup is described in order to contrast the old startup method with the new startup method.",
"Current startup procedures detailed herein may be found in the recent publication "Effective Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage to Long Horizontal Well Pairs"",
"by N. R. Edmunds and S. D. Gittins on page 65-2 of the CIM proceedings for 1991.",
"The startup section from that paper is quoted below.",
""SAGD with parallel wells depends on the existence of fluid communication between the injector and producer.",
"In the McMurray field, the initial bitumen viscosity and saturation are so high that communication must be developed artificially before SAGD can proceed.",
"The Phase A startup procedure.",
"used a combination of conduction heating followed by a mild steamflood, implemented by circulating steam in both wells with a pressure differential (at the wellhead) of about 350 kPa.",
"Thermal conduction can be used to heat the sand in the vicinity of the wellbore, regardless of fluid transmissibility, by circulating hot fluid in the well.",
"For an isolated single well, heating is very slow at radii greater than a meter or so, but simulations showed that when a second hot well is nearby, conduction is surprisingly effective in the space between the wells for separations of several meters;",
"useful temperatures can be generated in a few months.",
"This delay is more than compensated for by predictability: the thermal properties of oil sand are well known and fairly homogeneous, so that conduction heating is virtually guaranteed if simple conditions are met.",
"Once the bitumen is marginally mobile, at around 50-100 degrees C., hot water can displace enough of it to finger through and initiate rapid convective heating.",
"Under a small pressure differential, the ensuing steamflood takes only a few days to reach the producer, while at the same time the new steam chamber begins growing up and out due to SAGD.",
"The discussion now returns to the three dimensional, long well pair.",
"It is easy to see how an initial startup can be created,.",
", by applying a pressure differential.",
"After the first breakthrough, however, it is not possible to maintain a significant pressure difference without driving huge volumes of steam directly from injector to producer (Emphasis added).",
"It will be shown.",
"that no pressure differential is in fact required: startup can occur by gravity alone at any cross section of the well pair where the liners are kept hot, they are within a certain distance of each other, and there is reasonable permeability between them.",
"At this point it is useful to review how wellbore conditions are controlled, and what happens after the initial breakthrough, in a real well pair of significant length.",
"As reported.",
", the proper injection rate is that which maintains the desired steam chamber pressure by replacing any steam that is condensed at the expanding front.",
"This is accomplished at an [Underground Test Facility] UTF with an industrial pressure controller at the wellhead.",
"The Phase A production control scheme essentially controlled temperature, rather than pressure or rate.",
"The temperature set point was chosen based on the flowing pressure, so that fluids were produced to maintain the wellhead temperature a specified value below the boiling point of water.",
"Correct drawdown was automatically maintained, since no steam could be produced but neither could production accumulate and cool at the bottom of the chamber.",
"This scheme is called steam trap control, because it mimics the function of standard industrial thermodynamic steam trap.",
"The most important point.",
"is that, if the permeability is good, gravity alone is sufficient to allow startup;",
"in other words a SAGD process can be operated at an injector annulus pressure that is identical to the producer annulus pressure.",
"The startup could be characterized as heating the bitumen and then letting it fall through the sand into the producer.",
"As an example of how fast this can be, the superficial velocity of bitumen falling through a column of porous media having equal pressures at top and bottom can be calculated from Darcy's Law.",
"In consistent units, ##EQU1## where k o is the effective permeability to bitumen and u o is the bitumen viscosity.",
"For Athabasca bitumen at about 200° C., and 5 Darcy's effective permeability, the resulting superficial velocity will be .",
"about 40 cm/day.",
""",
"From the discussion presented in Edmunds and Gittins and detailed above, it is clear that: startup is controlled by conduction and then, after steam communication, gravity.",
"Conduction begins the process by interwell heating until steam circulated in the upper well breaks through at the lower wellbore.",
"After breakthrough at the lower well steam is throttled back and gravity drainage continues to power the startup.",
"In the practice of the present invention, startup begins by making use of interwell conduction heating precisely as used in the old startup method as is shown in FIG. 1. Both wells are steam circulated to provide conduction heating in the interwell region.",
"A fixed, nonzero pressure gradient held between the upper and lower wellbore slowly convects hot water and steam from the upper well to the lower well.",
"When sufficiently warmed, first water and then steam breaks through at a small, localized area between the wellbores.",
"As steam breakthrough occurs, the pressure gradient between the wellbores vanishes for reservoirs having reasonable permeability.",
"As noted in the discussion above, further clearance of oil between the wellbores occurs by gravity drainage alone.",
"At the time of breakthrough, 1-2% solution of a high temperature, commercial surfactant (SD-1020, a non-ionic surfactant by Chevron for example) is added to liquid injected in the upper well.",
"In addition, one mole percent (1 mol.",
"%) of nitrogen is added to the injection steam.",
"The foam should not be pre-formed so as to minimize axial pressure gradients within the wellbore.",
"Steam, rather than being choked back in the production well, continues to be produced.",
"As surfactant solution flows past the point of communication some of it flows into the porous medium.",
"Vapor and liquid surfactant solution are known to generate in-situ foam within a porous medium.",
"Thus, the breach between the two parallel horizontal wellbores is partially plugged temporarily.",
"Foam formation within the steam breached zone between wells permits a pressure gradient to be maintained after steam breakthrough between wells--in contrast to the current method where the pressure gradient vanishes as steam breaks through.",
"This is the key to a faster startup.",
"As more steam is formed between the wells, more foam forms continuously permitting a pressure gradient to exist between the upper and lower wellbores.",
"Once the entire length of the horizontal well pair has experienced steam communication, surfactant injection is stopped.",
"The total volume of surfactant between well pairs will be small and easily removed by produced fluids.",
"After surfactant injection is stopped, steam trap control is begun thereby choking off steam at the production wellbore and initiating typical SAGD chamber rise.",
"As is shown in FIG. 1, upper horizontal well 12 and lower horizontal well 20 are drilled into formation or reservoir 10.",
"Wells 12 and 20 contain slots or perforations 14.",
"An interwell region 18 is positioned between wells 12 and 20.",
"Steam is circulated into wells 12 and 20 via tubing 16.",
"Steam exiting tubing 16 is directed into reservoir 10 via slots 14 in wells 1 and 20.",
"Steam is continuously circulated in wells 12 and 20 while maintaining a significant pressure gradient between both wells.",
"Wellbore or well arrangements which permit continuous circulation are discussed by Butler in U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,485 which issued on Aug. 17, 1982.",
"This patent is incorporated by reference herein.",
"As the interwell region or zone 18 between wells 12 and 20 warms, hot fluid is forced from upper well 12 to lower well 20 by the pressure gradient.",
"When enough heating has taken place, water channels through from upper well 12.",
"Steam channels through post water break through.",
"FIG. 2 provides a schematic representation of steam filled breached zone 22.",
"At the time of steam breakthrough, the pressure differential vanishes.",
"Gravity takes over as the dominant mechanism of draining the oil between wells.",
"At this point, surfactant and 1.0 mole % nitrogen are added to a liquid stream with enough concentration (1-2%) to generate a relatively strong foam 24 in steam breached zone 22 in interwell region 18.",
"The production or lower well 20 is not put on steam trap control although the total amount of steam produced may be regulated.",
"A pressure gradient now exists as a result of the flow resistance caused by foam 24 between wellbores 12 and 20 as shown in FIG. 3. This added pressure gradient aids gravity in displacing the oil from between wellbores 12 and 20.",
"As an example consider the former numerical example (1) with an additional component from the pressure.",
"Here the equation for the flow velocity is: ##EQU2## where ΔP is the pressure differential between wellbores and L is the interwell wellbore spacing.",
"Numerically, the flow velocities, as a function of increased pressure for an interwell spacing of 7 meters, are shown in Table 1.",
"TABLE 1______________________________________Influence of Small Interwell Pressure Gradient onInterwell Displacement Velocity k.sub.",
"o Δ/μ.",
"sub.",
"o L k.sub.",
"o P.sub.",
"o g/μ.",
"sub.",
"o = U.sub.",
"o q U.sub.",
"o + (cm/ΔP (psia) (cm/day) (cm/day) day U.sub.",
"o + /U.",
"sub.",
"o g______________________________________0.00 0.000 39.4 39.4 1.000.01 0.046 39.4 39.5 1.000.10 0.427 39.4 39.9 1.011.00 4.410 39.4 43.8 1.1110.0 44.20 39.4 83.6 2.1250.0 220.8 39.4 260.0 6.60______________________________________ As can be seen from the above table, even relatively small pressure gradient increases can substantially increase the displacement velocity.",
"Increased displacement velocities are directly related to reduced startup time.",
"The faster the steam zone communicates in the lateral direction along the two wellbores, the faster a full SAGD process can start producing oil.",
"FIG. 4 depicts the lateral steam foam in interwell region 18 between the wellbores 12 and 20 prior to chamber rise.",
"Increased rates of propagation in interwell region 18 result in a faster startup time for the whole SAGD process thereby reducing the steam oil ratio and increasing process performance.",
"Although wellbore 12 and 20 are shown in an above and below relationship, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that other wellbore arrangements will work similarly e.g., side by side.",
"Obviously, many other variations and modifications of this invention as previously set forth may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention as those skilled in the art readily understand.",
"Such variations and modifications are considered part of this invention and within the purview and scope of the appended claims."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
[0001] This patent application is a divisional of copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/939,307, filed Aug. 24, 2001 which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/269,095, filed Feb. 15, 2001.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] This invention was made in part with Government support under DOE Contract No. W-7405-Eng-82. The Government may have certain rights in this invention.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention relates generally to superconductivity, and more particularly relates to a method of manufacturing superconducting magnesium diboride objects.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The recent discovery of superconductivity in magnesium diboride (MgB 2 ) having a superconducting transition temperature (T c ) of approximately thirty nine degrees Kelvin (39K) introduced a new, simple binary intermetallic superconductor having three atoms per formula unit. MgB 2 has a T c that is higher by almost a factor of two of any known non-oxide and non-C 60 -based compound. Measurements of the boron isotope effect in MgB 2 , which is an indication of the extent to which phonons mediate superconductivity, are consistent with the superconductivity being mediated via electron-photon coupling. Measurements of the upper critical field, H c2 (T), the thermodynamic critical field, H c (T), and the critical current, J c , indicate that MgB 2 is a type-II superconductor with properties that are consistent with an intermetallic superconductor that has a T c of approximately 40 K.
[0005] It is believed that MgB 2 forms via a process of diffusion of magnesium (Mg) vapor into boron grains. Superconducting wire, tape, and film can be used for research and applied purposes. For example, superconducting wire can be used for making superconducting magnets, fault-current limiters, and for power transmission. Films can be used to make Josephson junctions, SQUIDS (superconducting quantum interference devices), micro-electronic interconnects and other devices. The films can also be used to coat microwave cavities and other objects.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] It is an object of the instant invention to provide a method of manufacturing magnesium diboride wires, tapes, and films. It is a further object of the instant invention to provide a method of manufacturing magnesium diboride wire using boron filaments and films using boron films.
[0007] In view of the above objects, it is an object of the instant invention to provide a method of manufacturing magnesium diboride wire and films utilizing simple cost effective techniques.
[0008] In accordance with an embodiment of the instant invention, a method of manufacturing magnesium diboride wire or film comprises the steps of exposing boron filaments, tape, or film to Mg vapor for a predetermined time and temperature to form MgB 2 wire, tape or film, removing the formed MgB 2 wire, tape or film from the Mg vapor, and either quenching the MgB 2 wire, tape or film to near ambient temperatures or quenching the reaction vessel to near ambient temperatures and removing the MgB 2 wire, tape or film from the reaction vessel.
[0009] In accordance with an alternate embodiment of the instant invention, a method of manufacturing magnesium diboride wire, tape or film comprises the steps of: a) sealing at least one boron filament, tape or film and magnesium into a tantalum (Ta) or similarly inert tube with excess magnesium with respect to MgB 2 ; b) protecting the tantalum from oxidation (e.g., sealing the Ta tube in quartz) ; c) heating the sealed Ta tube at 950 C. for two hours or less for a boron filament diameter of 100 micrometers (with differing heating times and temperatures for differing thicknesses of boron used); d) quenching the Ta tube to room temperature and removing the formed magnesium diboride wire, tape or film from the Ta
[0010] Other objectives and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
[0012] [0012]FIG. 1 a is a flow diagram for illustrating a methodology for manufacturing magnesium diboride wire;
[0013] [0013]FIG. 1 b is a flow diagram for illustrating an alternate methodology for manufacturing magnesium diboride wire;
[0014] [0014]FIG. 2 a is a cross-sectional view of a boron filament used in the manufacturing of magnesium diboride wire;
[0015] [0015]FIG. 2 b is a cross-sectional view of magnesium diboride wire made in accordance with the teachings of the instant invention;
[0016] [0016]FIG. 3 is an image of magnesium diboride wires made in accordance with the teachings of the instant invention;
[0017] [0017]FIG. 4 is a graphic illustration of the magnetization divided by an applied magnetic field of 25 Oe for a zero field cooled magnesium diboride wire made in accordance with the teachings of the instant invention;
[0018] [0018]FIG. 5 is a graphical plot illustrating the relationship between the electrical resistivity of magnesium diboride wire and temperature;
[0019] [0019]FIG. 6 is an expanded view of the resistivity data of FIG. 5 near the superconducting transition temperature; and
[0020] [0020]FIG. 7 is a graphic illustration of H c2 (T) data inferred from the resistivity data similar to that shown in FIG. 5; and
[0021] [0021]FIG. 8 is a graphic illustration of the superconducting critical current density as a function of an applied field for temperatures ranging from 5K to 35K in increments of 5K.
[0022] While the invention will be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, there is no intent to limit it to those embodiments. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0023] While the instant invention may be used to manufacture magnesium diboride (MgB 2 ) objects such as MgB 2 wire, tape, and film, the instant invention will be described using MgB 2 wire. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the process used to make the MgB 2 wire can also be used to make MgB 2 film, tape or any other form or structure by turning boron having a similar morphology (i.e., form) into MgB 2 via exposure to magnesium vapor. For example, boron coatings on cavities or other devices could be turned into MgB 2 coatings. Turning now to FIG. 1 a , the steps to manufacture magnesium diboride (MgB 2 ) wire are shown. Boron filaments are fed into a reaction chamber or vessel (step 100 ). The boron filaments may be continually fed into the reaction vessel or pre-cut to a specified length. The boron filaments are exposed to Mg vapor in the reaction vessel for a predetermined time and temperature to form MgB 2 wire (step 102 ). The vapor pressure is determined by the reaction vessel temperature using well established vapor pressure versus temperature curves as known in the art. The minimum exposure time increases with increasing filament diameter and decreases with increasing temperature. For example, a 100 micrometer diameter boron filament that is exposed to Mg vapor heated to or near 950 C. for approximately two hours forms MgB 2 wire. A 140, 200, or 300 micrometer diameter filament must be heated longer than two hours for the transformation to be completed. The 140 and 200 micrometer diameter filaments form wire when exposed to Mg vapor heated to or near 950 C. for near 6 hours and the 300 micrometer diameter filaments form wire when exposed to Mg vapor heated to or near 950 C. for near 15 hours. During the heating step, MgB 2 wire is formed as a result of the reaction between the boron filaments and the Mg vapor. After the MgB 2 wire has been formed, the MgB 2 wire is removed from the reaction vessel (step 104 ). The MgB 2 wire is quenched to near ambient temperatures or is cooled at a predetermined ramp rate.
[0024] The same process is used for other boron objects. For example, MgB 2 films are created by depositing boron film on a substrate inert to the Mg vapor such as strontium titanate. The film is deposited using pulsed laser deposition or other known methods of deposition. Once the boron film is deposited on the substrate, the film is placed or fed into a reaction vessel and exposed to Mg vapor for a predetermined time and temperature. For example, a one micrometer thick boron film that is exposed to Mg vapor heated to or near 950 C. for approximately a half hour forms MgB 2 film. After the MgB 2 film is formed, the film is removed from the reaction vessel and either quenched to near ambient temperature or is cooled at a predetermined ramp rate.
[0025] Turning now to FIG. 1 b , the steps to manufacture magnesium diboride (MgB 2 ) wire using an alternate embodiment are shown. Boron filaments and magnesium are placed into a tantalum (Ta) or other inert tube such as niobium, molybdenum, tungsten, and possibly iron and some steels (step 110 ). The nominal ratio of magnesium to boride in the Ta tube is Mg 2 B. While a nominal ratio of Mg 2 B was used, those skilled in the art will recognize that other ratios may be used provided that there is excess magnesium with respect to MgB 2 (i.e., the ratio of Mg:B is greater than 1:2). The Ta tube is then sealed in quartz or an equivalent material to protect the Ta from oxidation at elevated temperatures (step 112 ). Those skilled in the art will recognize that other methods of providing such protection can be used. The sealed Ta tube is placed in a box furnace at a temperature of 950 C. for approximately two hours (step 114 ). The Ta tube is then removed and cooled to room temperature (step 116 ). MgB 2 wire forms during the temperature soak at 950 C. and the wire is removed when the Ta tube is near room ambient temperature (step 118 ).
[0026] Now that the manufacturing processes have been described, the characteristics of the MgB 2 wire formed will now be described. Turning now to FIGS. 2 a and 2 b , the boron filament 200 and MgB 2 wire 210 are shown. In FIG. 2 a , a cross-section of a boron filament 200 is shown. The boron filament diameter 202 is 100 μm and it has a tungsten/tungsten boride core 204 having a diameter of approximately 15 μm. The tungsten/tungsten boride core 204 is part of the boron filament 200 and does not appear to be effected by the exposure of the boron filament 200 to magnesium. As discussed hereinbelow, the tungsten/tungsten boride core 204 does not seem to effect the superconducting properties of the resulting MgB 2 wire. While a 100 μm diameter filament was used, it should be recognized that other diameters and boron tapes may be used with appropriate changes in temperature and time of exposure to Mg vapor. FIG. 2 b shows a cross-section of MgB 2 wire 210 produced after steps 100 - 104 or 110 - 118 are taken. In FIG. 2 b , the MgB 2 wire 210 has a diameter 212 of approximately 160 μm. The increased diameter of the MgB 2 wire 210 is consistent with observations that there is an expansion associated with the formation of MgB 2 powders during synthesis.
[0027] [0027]FIG. 3 shows an image of the resulting MgB 2 wire segments 300 . As can be seen, there has been significant warping and bending of the boron filament 200 as a result of the reaction with the magnesium vapor at high temperature. Although the MgB 2 wire segments 300 are somewhat brittle, the integrity of the filament segments is preserved during the exposure to the Mg vapor (i.e. the boron filaments 200 do not decompose or turn into powder). The MgB 2 wire may be encased in a sleeve to increase mechanical stability of the MgB 2 wire.
[0028] Based upon a diameter 212 of 160 μm and measuring the length and mass of several MgB 2 wire segments 300 , the density of the wire is determined to be approximately 2.4 g/cm 3 . This is to be compared with a theoretical value of 2.55 g/cm 3 for a single crystal sample using lattice parameters a=3.14 Å and c=3.52 Å for the hexagonal unit cell. This implies that the MgB 2 wire segments 300 are probably better than approximately 90% of the theoretical density. It should be noted that the small tungsten/tungsten boride core would come in as a roughly 10% correction, and therefore is within the level of uncertainty.
[0029] Turning now to FIG. 4, the temperature-dependent magnetization of MgB 2 wire is shown. The data were taken after the MgB 2 wire segments 300 were cooled in a zero magnetic field and then warmed in a field of 25 Oe (Oersteds). Taking into account the aspect ratio of the MgB 2 wire segments, a susceptibility very close to a value of −¼π, which is the value expected for total shielding and a demagnetization factor close to zero, was obtained. The superconducting transition temperature (T c ) of 39.4 K is determined from these data by using an onset criterion (2% of −¼π). The width of the temperature transition (10%-90%) is 0.9 K.
[0030] Turning now to FIG. 5, the temperature-dependent electrical resistivity of MgB 2 wire segments 300 formed by the process of the present invention is shown. The resistivity, ρ, at room temperature has a value of 9.6 μOhm-cm whereas ρ at 77 Kelvin has a value of 0.6 μOhm-cm and ρ at 40 Kelvin has a value of 0.38 μOhm-cm. This leads to a residual resistivity ratio of RRR equal to 25.3. The resistivity for temperatures just above T c is lower by a factor of ten to twenty over existing superconducting materials such as Nb 3 Sn. This means that the MgB 2 wire may manifest less need to be encased in a relatively higher conducting sleeve (such as copper) as required by materials such as Nb 3 Sn to keep wire resistance down in the event that temperature rises above the superconducting transition temperature of the material being used. It should be noted that the shape of the resistivity curve and the RRR values are qualitatively the same as the shape and RRR values observed for sintered pellets of polycrystalline Mg 10 B 2 . The resistivity of the sintered pellet samples of polycrystalline Mg 10 B 2 is approximately 1 μOhm-cm at 40 K. This somewhat higher value of the calculated resistivity for the sintered pellet samples of polycrystalline Mg 10 B 2 is consistent with the sintered pellet sample having an actual density substantially lower than either the MgB 2 wire or the theoretical value.
[0031] The temperature-dependent resistivity shown in FIG. 5 can be fit by a power law of ρ=ρ 0 +ρ 1 T α with α approximately equal to 2.6 between the superconducting critical temperature, T c , and 200 Kelvin. This is comparable to the power law R=R 1 +R 1 T α1 , with α 1 approximately equal to 2.8, found for the sintered Mg 10 B 2 pellet samples over a comparable temperature range. Due to the similarity of the two power laws, those skilled in the art will recognize that that the resistivity of MgB 2 will not have a linear slope for temperatures between T c and 300 Kelvin. On the other hand, using an average Fermi velocity of ν F =4.8·10 7 cm/s and a carrier density of 6.7·10 22 el/cm 3 (two free electrons per unit cell) the electronic mean free path is estimated to be approximately 600 Å at T c . This is clearly an approximate value of the electronic mean free path, but with an estimated superconducting coherence length of approximately 50 Å, these values place MgB 2 wire segments 300 well within the clean limit, which those skilled in the art will recognize as a indication of high sample quality. This indicates that superconducting properties such as the upper critical field and critical current may be improved by the judicious addition of impurities.
[0032] The superconducting transition temperature, T c =39.4 K, can be determined from both the magnetization and resistivity data shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. This value is slightly higher than the T c =39.2 K value determined for isotopically pure Mgl B 2 , but is significantly lower that T c =40.2 K for Mg 10 B 2 . The value is consistent with an approximate 80% natural abundance of 11 B. It should be noted that the superconducting transition is both relatively high and sharp in the MgB 2 wire segments 300 . This means that either very few impurities are being incorporated into the MgB 2 wire segments 300 or that what few impurities are being incorporated are having very little effect on either resistivity or T c . FIG. 6 shows an expanded view of the temperature-dependent resistivity data of FIG. 5 near the superconducting transition temperature T c .
[0033] The temperature dependence of the upper critical field, H c2 (T), is illustrated in FIG. 7. For each field, three data points are shown. The three data points are onset temperature, temperature for maximum dρ/dT, and completion temperature. Qualitatively these data are similar to the H c2 (T) data inferred from measurements on Mg 10 B 2 sintered pellets. Quantitatively, at an H of 9 T, the width of the resistive transition for a MgB 2 wire segments 300 is roughly half of the width found for the sintered Mg 10 B 2 pellet samples. These data are consistent with the wire sample being of comparable or better quality as the sintered pellet samples.
[0034] Turning now to FIG. 8, data on the critical current J c is shown. The open symbols, represented generally as 400 , are J c values extracted from direct measurements of the current dependent voltage across the MgB 2 wire segment 300 at given temperature and applied field values. The filled symbols, represented generally as 402 , are J c values inferred from magnetization loops by application of the Bean model. The temperature values are incremented every 5K and range from 5K to 35K. 5K measurements and extrapolations are generally illustrated at line 404 , 10K measurements and extrapolations are generally illustrated at line 406 , 15K measurements and extrapolations are generally illustrated at line 408 , 20K measurements and extrapolations are generally illustrated at line 410 , 25K measurements and extrapolations are generally illustrated at line 412 , 30K measurements and extrapolations are generally illustrated at line 414 , and 35K measurements and extrapolations are generally illustrated at line 416 . The dashed lines connect data sets taken at the same temperature. The direct measurement of J c was limited to values below approximately 200 A/cm 2 due to resistive heating from the leads attached to the MgB 2 wire segment 300 and contact resistance. As can be seen, the extrapolations of the directly measured, low J c , data and the Bean-model-inferred, high J c , data match up moderately well. In comparison to the J c data for a sintered pellet of Mg 10 B 2 , c for the MgB 2 wire segment 300 is roughly a factor of two higher at low fields and temperatures and over an order of magnitude higher at high fields.
[0035] A simple technique of producing low resistivity, high density, high T c MgB 2 in wire, tape, or film form via exposure of boron filaments, tape, or film to Mg vapor has been presented. The resulting MgB 2 wire has approximately 90% the theoretical density of MgB 2 and measurements of the temperature dependent resistivity reveal that MgB 2 is highly conducting in the normal state. The room temperature resistivity has a value of 9.6 μOhm-cm whereas the resistivity at a temperature of 40 K is 0.38 μOhm-cm. This means that even in the normal state, MgB 2 wires can carry significant current densities. This should be compared with the resistivity of Nb 3 Sn, which has a resistivity value of 11 μOhm-cm at a temperature of 20K and a resistivity value of 80 μOhm-cm at a temperature of 300 K.
[0036] The MgB 2 wires can be used for both research and applied purposes. Examples include, but are not limited to, superconducting magnets, power transmission lines, fault-current limiters, and micro-electronic circuits (e.g. SQUIDS or interconnects). It should be noted that boron filaments and tapes are produced in a variety of sizes and of arbitrary lengths and that different applications may require different sizes of MgB 2 wires or tapes. The conversion of boron filaments or tapes into MgB 2 wire or tapes as part of a continuous process leads to the possibility of simple manufacturing of light weight, high T c , wires or tapes with remarkably small normal state resistivities. Additionally, the process used in creating the MgB 2 wire or tape can be used to turn boron coatings on cavities or other devices into high-quality superconducting films.
[0037] The foregoing description of various embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise embodiments disclosed. Numerous modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments discussed were chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled. | A process to produce magnesium diboride objects from boron objects with a similar form is presented. Boron objects are reacted with magnesium vapor at a predetermined time and temperature to form magnesium diboride objects having a morphology similar to the boron object's original morphology. | Identify and summarize the most critical features from the given passage. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS [0001] This patent application is a divisional of copending U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 09/939,307, filed Aug. 24, 2001 which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/269,095, filed Feb. 15, 2001.",
"STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT [0002] This invention was made in part with Government support under DOE Contract No. W-7405-Eng-82.",
"The Government may have certain rights in this invention.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0003] The present invention relates generally to superconductivity, and more particularly relates to a method of manufacturing superconducting magnesium diboride objects.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004] The recent discovery of superconductivity in magnesium diboride (MgB 2 ) having a superconducting transition temperature (T c ) of approximately thirty nine degrees Kelvin (39K) introduced a new, simple binary intermetallic superconductor having three atoms per formula unit.",
"MgB 2 has a T c that is higher by almost a factor of two of any known non-oxide and non-C 60 -based compound.",
"Measurements of the boron isotope effect in MgB 2 , which is an indication of the extent to which phonons mediate superconductivity, are consistent with the superconductivity being mediated via electron-photon coupling.",
"Measurements of the upper critical field, H c2 (T), the thermodynamic critical field, H c (T), and the critical current, J c , indicate that MgB 2 is a type-II superconductor with properties that are consistent with an intermetallic superconductor that has a T c of approximately 40 K. [0005] It is believed that MgB 2 forms via a process of diffusion of magnesium (Mg) vapor into boron grains.",
"Superconducting wire, tape, and film can be used for research and applied purposes.",
"For example, superconducting wire can be used for making superconducting magnets, fault-current limiters, and for power transmission.",
"Films can be used to make Josephson junctions, SQUIDS (superconducting quantum interference devices), micro-electronic interconnects and other devices.",
"The films can also be used to coat microwave cavities and other objects.",
"BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] It is an object of the instant invention to provide a method of manufacturing magnesium diboride wires, tapes, and films.",
"It is a further object of the instant invention to provide a method of manufacturing magnesium diboride wire using boron filaments and films using boron films.",
"[0007] In view of the above objects, it is an object of the instant invention to provide a method of manufacturing magnesium diboride wire and films utilizing simple cost effective techniques.",
"[0008] In accordance with an embodiment of the instant invention, a method of manufacturing magnesium diboride wire or film comprises the steps of exposing boron filaments, tape, or film to Mg vapor for a predetermined time and temperature to form MgB 2 wire, tape or film, removing the formed MgB 2 wire, tape or film from the Mg vapor, and either quenching the MgB 2 wire, tape or film to near ambient temperatures or quenching the reaction vessel to near ambient temperatures and removing the MgB 2 wire, tape or film from the reaction vessel.",
"[0009] In accordance with an alternate embodiment of the instant invention, a method of manufacturing magnesium diboride wire, tape or film comprises the steps of: a) sealing at least one boron filament, tape or film and magnesium into a tantalum (Ta) or similarly inert tube with excess magnesium with respect to MgB 2 ;",
"b) protecting the tantalum from oxidation (e.g., sealing the Ta tube in quartz) ;",
"c) heating the sealed Ta tube at 950 C. for two hours or less for a boron filament diameter of 100 micrometers (with differing heating times and temperatures for differing thicknesses of boron used);",
"d) quenching the Ta tube to room temperature and removing the formed magnesium diboride wire, tape or film from the Ta [0010] Other objectives and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0011] The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.",
"In the drawings: [0012] [0012 ]FIG. 1 a is a flow diagram for illustrating a methodology for manufacturing magnesium diboride wire;",
"[0013] [0013 ]FIG. 1 b is a flow diagram for illustrating an alternate methodology for manufacturing magnesium diboride wire;",
"[0014] [0014 ]FIG. 2 a is a cross-sectional view of a boron filament used in the manufacturing of magnesium diboride wire;",
"[0015] [0015 ]FIG. 2 b is a cross-sectional view of magnesium diboride wire made in accordance with the teachings of the instant invention;",
"[0016] [0016 ]FIG. 3 is an image of magnesium diboride wires made in accordance with the teachings of the instant invention;",
"[0017] [0017 ]FIG. 4 is a graphic illustration of the magnetization divided by an applied magnetic field of 25 Oe for a zero field cooled magnesium diboride wire made in accordance with the teachings of the instant invention;",
"[0018] [0018 ]FIG. 5 is a graphical plot illustrating the relationship between the electrical resistivity of magnesium diboride wire and temperature;",
"[0019] [0019 ]FIG. 6 is an expanded view of the resistivity data of FIG. 5 near the superconducting transition temperature;",
"and [0020] [0020 ]FIG. 7 is a graphic illustration of H c2 (T) data inferred from the resistivity data similar to that shown in FIG. 5;",
"and [0021] [0021 ]FIG. 8 is a graphic illustration of the superconducting critical current density as a function of an applied field for temperatures ranging from 5K to 35K in increments of 5K.",
"[0022] While the invention will be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, there is no intent to limit it to those embodiments.",
"On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0023] While the instant invention may be used to manufacture magnesium diboride (MgB 2 ) objects such as MgB 2 wire, tape, and film, the instant invention will be described using MgB 2 wire.",
"Those skilled in the art will recognize that the process used to make the MgB 2 wire can also be used to make MgB 2 film, tape or any other form or structure by turning boron having a similar morphology (i.e., form) into MgB 2 via exposure to magnesium vapor.",
"For example, boron coatings on cavities or other devices could be turned into MgB 2 coatings.",
"Turning now to FIG. 1 a , the steps to manufacture magnesium diboride (MgB 2 ) wire are shown.",
"Boron filaments are fed into a reaction chamber or vessel (step 100 ).",
"The boron filaments may be continually fed into the reaction vessel or pre-cut to a specified length.",
"The boron filaments are exposed to Mg vapor in the reaction vessel for a predetermined time and temperature to form MgB 2 wire (step 102 ).",
"The vapor pressure is determined by the reaction vessel temperature using well established vapor pressure versus temperature curves as known in the art.",
"The minimum exposure time increases with increasing filament diameter and decreases with increasing temperature.",
"For example, a 100 micrometer diameter boron filament that is exposed to Mg vapor heated to or near 950 C. for approximately two hours forms MgB 2 wire.",
"A 140, 200, or 300 micrometer diameter filament must be heated longer than two hours for the transformation to be completed.",
"The 140 and 200 micrometer diameter filaments form wire when exposed to Mg vapor heated to or near 950 C. for near 6 hours and the 300 micrometer diameter filaments form wire when exposed to Mg vapor heated to or near 950 C. for near 15 hours.",
"During the heating step, MgB 2 wire is formed as a result of the reaction between the boron filaments and the Mg vapor.",
"After the MgB 2 wire has been formed, the MgB 2 wire is removed from the reaction vessel (step 104 ).",
"The MgB 2 wire is quenched to near ambient temperatures or is cooled at a predetermined ramp rate.",
"[0024] The same process is used for other boron objects.",
"For example, MgB 2 films are created by depositing boron film on a substrate inert to the Mg vapor such as strontium titanate.",
"The film is deposited using pulsed laser deposition or other known methods of deposition.",
"Once the boron film is deposited on the substrate, the film is placed or fed into a reaction vessel and exposed to Mg vapor for a predetermined time and temperature.",
"For example, a one micrometer thick boron film that is exposed to Mg vapor heated to or near 950 C. for approximately a half hour forms MgB 2 film.",
"After the MgB 2 film is formed, the film is removed from the reaction vessel and either quenched to near ambient temperature or is cooled at a predetermined ramp rate.",
"[0025] Turning now to FIG. 1 b , the steps to manufacture magnesium diboride (MgB 2 ) wire using an alternate embodiment are shown.",
"Boron filaments and magnesium are placed into a tantalum (Ta) or other inert tube such as niobium, molybdenum, tungsten, and possibly iron and some steels (step 110 ).",
"The nominal ratio of magnesium to boride in the Ta tube is Mg 2 B. While a nominal ratio of Mg 2 B was used, those skilled in the art will recognize that other ratios may be used provided that there is excess magnesium with respect to MgB 2 (i.e., the ratio of Mg:B is greater than 1:2).",
"The Ta tube is then sealed in quartz or an equivalent material to protect the Ta from oxidation at elevated temperatures (step 112 ).",
"Those skilled in the art will recognize that other methods of providing such protection can be used.",
"The sealed Ta tube is placed in a box furnace at a temperature of 950 C. for approximately two hours (step 114 ).",
"The Ta tube is then removed and cooled to room temperature (step 116 ).",
"MgB 2 wire forms during the temperature soak at 950 C. and the wire is removed when the Ta tube is near room ambient temperature (step 118 ).",
"[0026] Now that the manufacturing processes have been described, the characteristics of the MgB 2 wire formed will now be described.",
"Turning now to FIGS. 2 a and 2 b , the boron filament 200 and MgB 2 wire 210 are shown.",
"In FIG. 2 a , a cross-section of a boron filament 200 is shown.",
"The boron filament diameter 202 is 100 μm and it has a tungsten/tungsten boride core 204 having a diameter of approximately 15 μm.",
"The tungsten/tungsten boride core 204 is part of the boron filament 200 and does not appear to be effected by the exposure of the boron filament 200 to magnesium.",
"As discussed hereinbelow, the tungsten/tungsten boride core 204 does not seem to effect the superconducting properties of the resulting MgB 2 wire.",
"While a 100 μm diameter filament was used, it should be recognized that other diameters and boron tapes may be used with appropriate changes in temperature and time of exposure to Mg vapor.",
"FIG. 2 b shows a cross-section of MgB 2 wire 210 produced after steps 100 - 104 or 110 - 118 are taken.",
"In FIG. 2 b , the MgB 2 wire 210 has a diameter 212 of approximately 160 μm.",
"The increased diameter of the MgB 2 wire 210 is consistent with observations that there is an expansion associated with the formation of MgB 2 powders during synthesis.",
"[0027] [0027 ]FIG. 3 shows an image of the resulting MgB 2 wire segments 300 .",
"As can be seen, there has been significant warping and bending of the boron filament 200 as a result of the reaction with the magnesium vapor at high temperature.",
"Although the MgB 2 wire segments 300 are somewhat brittle, the integrity of the filament segments is preserved during the exposure to the Mg vapor (i.e. the boron filaments 200 do not decompose or turn into powder).",
"The MgB 2 wire may be encased in a sleeve to increase mechanical stability of the MgB 2 wire.",
"[0028] Based upon a diameter 212 of 160 μm and measuring the length and mass of several MgB 2 wire segments 300 , the density of the wire is determined to be approximately 2.4 g/cm 3 .",
"This is to be compared with a theoretical value of 2.55 g/cm 3 for a single crystal sample using lattice parameters a=3.14 Å and c=3.52 Å for the hexagonal unit cell.",
"This implies that the MgB 2 wire segments 300 are probably better than approximately 90% of the theoretical density.",
"It should be noted that the small tungsten/tungsten boride core would come in as a roughly 10% correction, and therefore is within the level of uncertainty.",
"[0029] Turning now to FIG. 4, the temperature-dependent magnetization of MgB 2 wire is shown.",
"The data were taken after the MgB 2 wire segments 300 were cooled in a zero magnetic field and then warmed in a field of 25 Oe (Oersteds).",
"Taking into account the aspect ratio of the MgB 2 wire segments, a susceptibility very close to a value of −¼π, which is the value expected for total shielding and a demagnetization factor close to zero, was obtained.",
"The superconducting transition temperature (T c ) of 39.4 K is determined from these data by using an onset criterion (2% of −¼π).",
"The width of the temperature transition (10%-90%) is 0.9 K. [0030] Turning now to FIG. 5, the temperature-dependent electrical resistivity of MgB 2 wire segments 300 formed by the process of the present invention is shown.",
"The resistivity, ρ, at room temperature has a value of 9.6 μOhm-cm whereas ρ at 77 Kelvin has a value of 0.6 μOhm-cm and ρ at 40 Kelvin has a value of 0.38 μOhm-cm.",
"This leads to a residual resistivity ratio of RRR equal to 25.3.",
"The resistivity for temperatures just above T c is lower by a factor of ten to twenty over existing superconducting materials such as Nb 3 Sn.",
"This means that the MgB 2 wire may manifest less need to be encased in a relatively higher conducting sleeve (such as copper) as required by materials such as Nb 3 Sn to keep wire resistance down in the event that temperature rises above the superconducting transition temperature of the material being used.",
"It should be noted that the shape of the resistivity curve and the RRR values are qualitatively the same as the shape and RRR values observed for sintered pellets of polycrystalline Mg 10 B 2 .",
"The resistivity of the sintered pellet samples of polycrystalline Mg 10 B 2 is approximately 1 μOhm-cm at 40 K. This somewhat higher value of the calculated resistivity for the sintered pellet samples of polycrystalline Mg 10 B 2 is consistent with the sintered pellet sample having an actual density substantially lower than either the MgB 2 wire or the theoretical value.",
"[0031] The temperature-dependent resistivity shown in FIG. 5 can be fit by a power law of ρ=ρ 0 +ρ 1 T α with α approximately equal to 2.6 between the superconducting critical temperature, T c , and 200 Kelvin.",
"This is comparable to the power law R=R 1 +R 1 T α1 , with α 1 approximately equal to 2.8, found for the sintered Mg 10 B 2 pellet samples over a comparable temperature range.",
"Due to the similarity of the two power laws, those skilled in the art will recognize that that the resistivity of MgB 2 will not have a linear slope for temperatures between T c and 300 Kelvin.",
"On the other hand, using an average Fermi velocity of ν F =4.8·10 7 cm/s and a carrier density of 6.7·10 22 el/cm 3 (two free electrons per unit cell) the electronic mean free path is estimated to be approximately 600 Å at T c .",
"This is clearly an approximate value of the electronic mean free path, but with an estimated superconducting coherence length of approximately 50 Å, these values place MgB 2 wire segments 300 well within the clean limit, which those skilled in the art will recognize as a indication of high sample quality.",
"This indicates that superconducting properties such as the upper critical field and critical current may be improved by the judicious addition of impurities.",
"[0032] The superconducting transition temperature, T c =39.4 K, can be determined from both the magnetization and resistivity data shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.",
"This value is slightly higher than the T c =39.2 K value determined for isotopically pure Mgl B 2 , but is significantly lower that T c =40.2 K for Mg 10 B 2 .",
"The value is consistent with an approximate 80% natural abundance of 11 B. It should be noted that the superconducting transition is both relatively high and sharp in the MgB 2 wire segments 300 .",
"This means that either very few impurities are being incorporated into the MgB 2 wire segments 300 or that what few impurities are being incorporated are having very little effect on either resistivity or T c .",
"FIG. 6 shows an expanded view of the temperature-dependent resistivity data of FIG. 5 near the superconducting transition temperature T c .",
"[0033] The temperature dependence of the upper critical field, H c2 (T), is illustrated in FIG. 7. For each field, three data points are shown.",
"The three data points are onset temperature, temperature for maximum dρ/dT, and completion temperature.",
"Qualitatively these data are similar to the H c2 (T) data inferred from measurements on Mg 10 B 2 sintered pellets.",
"Quantitatively, at an H of 9 T, the width of the resistive transition for a MgB 2 wire segments 300 is roughly half of the width found for the sintered Mg 10 B 2 pellet samples.",
"These data are consistent with the wire sample being of comparable or better quality as the sintered pellet samples.",
"[0034] Turning now to FIG. 8, data on the critical current J c is shown.",
"The open symbols, represented generally as 400 , are J c values extracted from direct measurements of the current dependent voltage across the MgB 2 wire segment 300 at given temperature and applied field values.",
"The filled symbols, represented generally as 402 , are J c values inferred from magnetization loops by application of the Bean model.",
"The temperature values are incremented every 5K and range from 5K to 35K.",
"5K measurements and extrapolations are generally illustrated at line 404 , 10K measurements and extrapolations are generally illustrated at line 406 , 15K measurements and extrapolations are generally illustrated at line 408 , 20K measurements and extrapolations are generally illustrated at line 410 , 25K measurements and extrapolations are generally illustrated at line 412 , 30K measurements and extrapolations are generally illustrated at line 414 , and 35K measurements and extrapolations are generally illustrated at line 416 .",
"The dashed lines connect data sets taken at the same temperature.",
"The direct measurement of J c was limited to values below approximately 200 A/cm 2 due to resistive heating from the leads attached to the MgB 2 wire segment 300 and contact resistance.",
"As can be seen, the extrapolations of the directly measured, low J c , data and the Bean-model-inferred, high J c , data match up moderately well.",
"In comparison to the J c data for a sintered pellet of Mg 10 B 2 , c for the MgB 2 wire segment 300 is roughly a factor of two higher at low fields and temperatures and over an order of magnitude higher at high fields.",
"[0035] A simple technique of producing low resistivity, high density, high T c MgB 2 in wire, tape, or film form via exposure of boron filaments, tape, or film to Mg vapor has been presented.",
"The resulting MgB 2 wire has approximately 90% the theoretical density of MgB 2 and measurements of the temperature dependent resistivity reveal that MgB 2 is highly conducting in the normal state.",
"The room temperature resistivity has a value of 9.6 μOhm-cm whereas the resistivity at a temperature of 40 K is 0.38 μOhm-cm.",
"This means that even in the normal state, MgB 2 wires can carry significant current densities.",
"This should be compared with the resistivity of Nb 3 Sn, which has a resistivity value of 11 μOhm-cm at a temperature of 20K and a resistivity value of 80 μOhm-cm at a temperature of 300 K. [0036] The MgB 2 wires can be used for both research and applied purposes.",
"Examples include, but are not limited to, superconducting magnets, power transmission lines, fault-current limiters, and micro-electronic circuits (e.g. SQUIDS or interconnects).",
"It should be noted that boron filaments and tapes are produced in a variety of sizes and of arbitrary lengths and that different applications may require different sizes of MgB 2 wires or tapes.",
"The conversion of boron filaments or tapes into MgB 2 wire or tapes as part of a continuous process leads to the possibility of simple manufacturing of light weight, high T c , wires or tapes with remarkably small normal state resistivities.",
"Additionally, the process used in creating the MgB 2 wire or tape can be used to turn boron coatings on cavities or other devices into high-quality superconducting films.",
"[0037] The foregoing description of various embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description.",
"It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise embodiments disclosed.",
"Numerous modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings.",
"The embodiments discussed were chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.",
"All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/726,405, filed on Oct. 13, 2005; and this application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/438,879, filed May 23, 2006, which is a Divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/876,181, filed on Jun. 24, 2004, (now abandoned) which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/483,346, filed on Jun. 27, 2003.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a fabric article cleaning regimen, more particularly a fabric article cleaning regimen employing a hydrophilic, aqueous-based pretreating composition in combination with a lipophilic laundering system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Conventional in-home laundry cleaning is carried out with large amounts of water, typically in a washing machine at the consumer's home, or in a dedicated place such as a coin laundry. Although washing machines and laundry detergents have become quite sophisticated, the conventional water-based laundry process still fails to remove some soils from fabric articles. A wide variety of “pre-treatment” compositions and devices are available to the consumer to assist in soil removal. These compositions often require a subsequent aqueous wash to complete soil removal.
[0004] However, existing domestic pre-treatment systems or home dry cleaning kits can leave undesirable residues on clothing articles, even after an extended period of drying, and may visibly spread the soil over a larger area and/or creating rings around the original soil. Even with subsequent laundering (i.e., washing) treatment, these residues may still be visible.
[0005] Therefore, it is desirable to have a regimen for removing all types of soils, including hydrophilic and lipophilic soils, from fabric articles with minimal residue or fabric shrinkage or damage. It is also desirable that such regimen includes a pretreatment to preferentially remove at least one different type of soils (e.g., hydrophilic soils) when the subsequent laundering system preferentially removes another type of soils (e.g., lipophilic soils). It is further desirable to have fabric pretreatment that results in minimal fabric shrinkage or damage, and minimal dye or soil redeposition during subsequent laundering process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention fulfills those desirable outcomes described above by providing a fabric article treatment regimen that comprises an aqueous foam pretreatment step to preferentially remove at least a first type of soils (typically hydrophilic soils, but hydrophobic soils may also beneficially removed) and a non-aqueous laundering step to preferentially remove a second type soils (typically lipophilic soils). Preferably, the non-aqueous laundering step is capable of reducing re-deposition of the first type of soils. The foam pretreatment provides slow and even action between the treating agents and the stains. The treating agents as well as the non-aqueous wash medium are gentle to the fabrics.
[0007] A garment stain removal kit containing the pretreating composition, the instructions of the treatment regimen, and optionally, the foam generating applicator, is provided.
[0008] The objects, features and advantages of the invention are further borne out in the following detailed description, examples and appended claims.
[0009] All percentages, ratios and proportions herein are on a weight basis based on an undiluted composition, unless otherwise indicated.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0000] Definitions
[0010] “Fabric article” as used herein means any article that is customarily cleaned in a conventional laundry process or in a dry cleaning process. As such the term encompasses articles of clothing, linen, drapery, and clothing accessories. The term also encompasses other items made in whole or in part of fabric, such as tote bags, furniture covers, tarpaulins and the like.
[0011] “Stain” or “soil” as used herein means any undesirable substance on a fabric article that is the target of removal. Generally, stains are found only on a portion of the article and are generated by accidental contact between the soil and the fabric article. The term “hydrophilic stain” as used herein means that the stain is comprised of water at the time it first came in contact with the fabric article, or the stain retains a significant portion of water on the fabric article. Hydrophilic stain comprises one or more of the following exemplary hydrophilic soils: beverages, many food soils, water soluble dyes, bodily fluids such as sweat, urine or blood, outdoor soils such as grass stains and mud. The term “hydrophobic stains” means the stain comprises primarily of lipophilic soils, which have high solubility in or affinity for the lipophilic fluid. Examples of lipophilic soils include, but are not limited to body soils, such as mono-, di-, and tri-glycerides, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, non-polar hydrocarbons, waxes and wax esters, lipids; and laundry materials such as nonionic surfactants; and mixtures thereof.
[0012] “Pretreated fabric article” as used herein means a fabric article that has been contacted with a pretreatment foam composition of the present invention prior to subsequent contact with a lipophilic fluid wash medium.
[0013] “Average molecular weight” as used herein means the weight average molecular weight as determined using gel permeation chromatography according to the protocol found in Colloids and Surfaces A. Physico Chemical & Engineering Aspects, Vol. 162, 2000, pg. 107-121.
[0000] Aqueous Foam Composition
[0014] The aqueous foam composition of the present invention comprises a hydrophilic stain removal agent, such as bleaches, enzymes, or soil repellents; a surfactant, such as silicone-containing surfactants; a foaming agent such as amine oxides, betaines or primary alkylamine surfactants; water and optionally an adjunct ingredient, such as perfumes, pH modifiers, soil release polymers or organic solvents.
[0015] In typical embodiments, the aqueous foam compositions comprise from about 0.0001% to about 20%, preferably from about 0.001% to about 10%, more preferably from about 0.5% to about 3% by weight of the composition of a hydrophilic stain removal agent; from about 0.01% to about 40%, preferably from about 0.01% to about 25%, more preferably from about 0.1% to about 10%, and more preferably from about 0.5% to about 2% by weight of the composition of a surfactant; from about 0.1% to about 25%, preferably from about 0.5 to about 10%, more preferably from about 1% to about 5% by weight of the composition of a foaming agent; and from about 50% to about 99%, preferably from about 70% to about 95%, more preferably from about 80% to about 90% by weight of composition of water; and optionally, from about 0.001% to about 10%, preferably from about 0.01% to about 5%, more preferably from about 0.1% to about 2% by weight of the composition of an adjunct.
[0016] In one embodiment, the aqueous foam composition comprises at least about 0.01 wt % bleach and/or at least about 0.001 wt % enzyme and/or at least about 0.01 wt % soil repellent; at least about 0.1 wt % silicone-containing surfactant; at least about 0.01 wt % amine oxide; and at least about 50 wt % water.
[0017] In another embodiments, the aqueous foam composition may be formulated to be effective in removing stains yet gentle to the fabric, for example, color-safe. For example, a color-safe bleach such as hydrogen peroxide may be included in the composition. In still another embodiment, the composition may be formulated to have a pH in the range of from about 6 to about 10, preferably from about 8 to about 10. A pH modifier may be used to control the pH of the composition. In yet another embodiment, the aqueous foam composition may be formulated to minimize the soil redeposition, especially in the laundering process. For example, a soil repellent may be included in the composition to provide such benefit.
[0018] The aqueous composition herein typically has a viscosity of less than about 5 Pa*s, preferably from about 0.05 Pa*s to about 5 Pa*s, more preferably from about 0.075 Pa*s to about 2 Pa*s, and even more preferably from about 0.1 Pa*s to about 0.4 Pa*s. The viscosity herein is measured on a Brookfield viscometer model #LVDVII+ at 20° C. The spindle used for these measurements is a S31 spindle with the appropriate speed to measure compositions of different viscosities
[0000] A. Hydrophilic Stain Removal Agent
[0019] Hydrophilic stain removal agents (which may also provide in certain formulations according to the present invention hydrophobic stain removal benefits) include, but are not limited to, bleaches, enzymes, soil repellents and soil release polymers. When present, the hydrophilic stain removal agent generally comprises from about 0.0001% to about 20%, preferably from about 0.01% to about 10%, more preferably from about 0.1% to about 5% by weight of the aqueous foam composition. It is recognized that amount of specific hydrophilic stain removal agent may vary from the above general ranges in certain embodiments. Exemplary hydrophilic stain removal agents are described below.
[0000] (i) Bleach
[0020] Bleach suitable for use herein contains one or more bleaching agents, preferably peroxygen bleaches, and more preferably hydrogen peroxide.
[0021] Suitable peroxygen bleaches to be used herein are selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen peroxide; organic or inorganic peracids; hydroperoxides; diacyl peroxides; and mixtures thereof.
[0022] Suitable activated peroxygen sources include, but are not limited to, preformed peracids, a hydrogen peroxide source in combination with a bleach activator, or a mixture thereof. Nonlimitng examples of preformed peracids include percarboxylic acids and salts; percarbonic acids and salts; perimidic acids and salts; peroxymonosulfuric acids and salts; persulphates such as monopersulfate; peroxyacids such as diperoxydodecandioic acid (DPDA); magnesium peroxyphthalic acid; perlauric acid; perbenzoic and alkylperbenzoic acids; and mixtures thereof. Another example is phthaloylamino peroxy caproic acid (PAP), as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,487,818, 5,310,934, 5,246,620, 5,279,757 and 5,132,431. PAP is available from Ausimont Spa under the tradename Euroco®. Suitable sources of hydrogen peroxide include, but are not limited to, compounds selected from the group consisting of perborate compounds, percarbonate compounds, perphosphate compounds and mixtures thereof. Suitable types and levels of activated peroxygen sources are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,576,282, 6,306,812 and 6,326,348.
[0023] Bleach activator is a compound that reacts with hydrogen peroxide to form a peracid. The peracid thus formed constitutes the activated bleach Suitable bleach activators include, but are not limited to, perhydrolyzable esters and perhydrolyzable imides such as, tetraacetyl ethylene diamine, octanoylcaprolactam, benzoyloxybenzenesulphonate, nonanoyloxybenzenesulphonate, benzoylvalerolactam, dodecanoyloxybenzenesulphonate.
[0024] Suitable bleach boosters include, but are not limited to, those described U.S. Pat. No. 5,817,614.
[0025] In one embodiment, the bleaching agents are color-safe bleaches such as peroxygen bleaches provided by a hydrogen peroxide source. The hydrogen peroxide source may comprise any compound that produces perhydroxyl ions on contact with water. Suitable water-soluble sources of hydrogen peroxide for use herein include percarbonates, perborates and persilicates and mixtures thereof.
[0026] In another embodiment, the bleaching agents are hydrogen peroxide aqueous solutions where in the hydrogen peroxide content ranges is at least about 1%, or at least about 5%, and less than about 50%, or less than about 25%. In a specific embodiment, a 30% hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution is used.
[0027] Other bleaching agents may also be used, including catalytic metal complexes such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,282, U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,936, WO 00/332601, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,225,464; bleaching enzymes such as those described in US 2005/003988A1; photo bleaches such as those described in US 2004/0266648A1; and hypohalite bleaches.
[0028] When present, bleach comprises from about 0.01% to about 20%, preferably from about 0.1% to about 10%, more preferably from about 0.5% to about 3%, by weight of the aqueous foam composition.
[0000] (ii) Enzymes
[0029] Suitable enzymes for use herein include protease, amylase, lipase, cellulase, carbohydrase including mannanase and endoglucanase, and mixtures thereof. Enzymes can be used at their art-taught levels, for example, at levels recommended by suppliers such as Novozymes and Genencor. Typical levels in the compositions are from about 0.0001% to about 5%. When enzymes are present, they can be used at very low levels, e.g., from about 0.001% or lower, in certain embodiments of the invention.
[0000] (iii) Soil Repellents
[0030] The term “soil repellent” as used herein refers to materials that provide one or more of the following advantages: reducing the oleophilicity or hydrophilicity of fabric or fiber surface, inhibiting wicking of oily/hydrophobic or hydrophilic soils into the fabric or fiber bundles, and providing oil or water repellency during normal wear. Nonlimiting examples of soil repellents suitable for use herein include:
[0031] (a) an amphophilic polymer having at least one unit carrying a cationic functional group and its counterion and at least one unit having a hydrophobic character, the two are bonded together via an oligomeric or polymeric chain selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl alcohol, polyalkylene glycols, polysaccharides, acrylic polymers and copolymers thereof, such as those polymers described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,394;
[0032] (b) alkyl polysiloxanes, alkoxy polysiloxanes, alkylalkoxy polysiloxanes, fluorinated polysiloxanes, polyester modified polysiloxanes, amino goup-contianing polysiloxanes, such as those siloxane polymers described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,923,653; U.S. Pat. No. 2,962,290; U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,744; U.S. Pat. No. 5,759,685; U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,917; U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,470; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,676,733;
[0033] (c) fluorinated polyethers, organofluoro compounds having a fluorocarbon portion and a hydrocarbon portion, as well as alkyl, alkoxy, ester, urea, or isocyanate groups, such as those compounds described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,175; U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,939; U.S. Pat. No. 6,509,433; US 2005/0171279A1, and references therein.
[0034] When present, the soil repellent comprises from about 0.01% to about 20%, preferably from about 0.1% to about 10%, more preferably from about 0.5% to about 3%, by weight of the aqueous foam composition.
[0000] (iv) Soil Release Polymers
[0035] The term “soil-release” as used herein refers to the ability of the fabric article to be washed or otherwise treated to remove soils that have come into contact with the fabric article. The soil release polymers may not wholly prevent the attachment of soil to the fabric article, but may hinder such attachment and improve the cleaning of the fabric article. Nonlimiting examples of soil release polymers are described below.
[0036] Examples of fluorine-containing soil release polymers (fluoro-SRPs) useful in the present invention can be a polymer derived from perfluoroalkyl monomers, or from a mixture of perfluoroalkyl monomers and alkyl (meth)acrylate monomers. Exemplary fluoro-SRPs are commercially available under the tradename Repearl F35® in an aqueous suspension form from Mitsubishi, and under the tradenames Zonyl 7060®, Zonyl 8300®, and Zonyl 8787® from DuPont. Other suitable fluoro-SRPs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,451,717; WO 01/98384; WO 01/81285; JP 10-182814; JP 2000-273067; WO 98/4160213, and WO 99/69126.
[0037] Exemplary silicone-containing soil release polymers (Si-SRPs) are commercially available as DF104®, DF1040®, SM2125®, SM2245®, SM2101®, SM2059® from GE, and Dow Coming 75SF® Emulsion.
[0038] Suitable Si-SRPs have a weight-average molecular weight in the range from about 1000 to about 10,000,000, or from about 5000 to about 5,000,000, or from about 10,000 to about 1,000,000. For example, when the Si-SRP is a curable aminosilicone, it tends to have a low molecular weight from about 1000 to about 100,000. The curable Si SRP is relatively flowable when applied to the fabrics and can be cured to form a film-like layer over the fabric surface. In other examples, Si-SRPs having molecular weight higher than 100,000 can be deposited onto fabric surface without further curing.
[0039] Also suitable for use as soil release polymer in the present invention are water soluble modified celluloses which include, but are not limited to: carboxymethylcellulose, hydroxypropylcellulose, methylcellulose, and like compounds. These compounds, and other suitable compounds, are described in Kirk Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 4 th Edition, vol. 5, pages 541-563, under the heading of “Cellulose Ethers”, and in the references cited therein.
[0040] Another class of suitable soil release polymers may comprise block copolymers of polyalkylene terephthalate and polyoxyethylene terephthalate, and block copolymers of polyalkylene terephthalate and polyethylene glycol. These compounds are disclosed in details in are discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,358,914 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,879.
[0041] Another class of soil release polymer is a crystallizable polyester comprising ethylene terephthalate monomers, oxyethylene terephthalate monomers, or mixtures thereof. Examples of this polymer are commercially available as Zelcon 4780® (from DuPont) and Milease T® (from ICI). A more complete disclosure of these soil release agents is contained in EP 0 185 427 A1.
[0042] When present, the soil release polymer comprises from about 0.01% to about 20%, preferably from about 0.1% to about 10%, more preferably from about 0.5% to about 3%, by weight of the aqueous foam composition.
[0000] B. Surfactants
[0043] Surfactants useful herein aid in the wetting of the fabric being pretreated and therefore may be selected from a wide variety of known surfactant materials as long as the surfactant used. is either completely removed by the subsequent non-aqueous laundering step, or if not removed (in whole or only in part) then the surfactant is not recognized after the laundering step by the consumer as a stain on the fabric that has been pretreated. Silicone-containing surfactants are preferred for use in the pretreatment compositions useful herein, alone or in combination with other surfactants.
[0044] Silicone-containing surfactants suitable for use herein contain at least one hydrophilic portion and at least one lipophilic portion. Suitable silicone-containing surfactants typically have the following general formulas:
Y u -(L t -X v ) x —Y′ w (I)
L y -(X v —Y u ) x -L′ z (II)
[0045] and mixtures thereof;
[0000] wherein L and L′ are solvent compatibilizing (or lipophilic) moieties, which are independently selected from:
[0000]
(a) C1-C22 alkyl or C4-C12 alkoxy, linear or branched, cyclic or acyclic, saturated or unsaturated, substituted or unsubstituted;
(b) siloxanes having the formula:
M a D b D′ c D″ d
wherein a is 0-2; b is 0-1000; c is 0-50; d is 0-50, provided that a+c+d is at least 1;
[0049] M is R 1 3-e X e SiO 1/2 wherein R 1 is independently H, or an alkyl group, X is hydroxyl group, and e is 0 or 1;
[0050] D is R 4 2 SiO 2/2 wherein R 4 is independently H or an alkyl group;
[0051] D′ is R 5 2 SiO 2/2 wherein R 5 is independently H, an alkyl group or (CH 2 ) f (C 6 Q 4 ) g O—(C 2 H 4 O) h —(C 3 H6O) i (C k H 2k ) j —R 3 , provided that at least one R 5 is (CH 2 ) f (C 6 Q 4 ) g O—(C 2 H 4 O) h —(C 3 H 6 O) i (C k H 2k ) j —R 3 , wherein R 3 is independently H, an alkyl group or an alkoxy group, f is 1-10, g is 0 or 1, h is 1-50, i is 0-50, j is 0-50, k is 4-8; C 6 Q 4 is unsubstituted or substituted; Q is independently selected from H, C 1-10 alkyl, C 2-10 alkenyl, and mixtures thereof; and
[0052] D′ is R 6 2 SiO 2/2 wherein R 6 is independently H, an alkyl group or (CH 2 ) l (C 6 Q 4 ) m (A) n -[(T) o -(A′) p -] q -(T′) r Z(G) s , wherein 1 is 1-10; m is 0 or 1; n is 0-5; o is 0-3; p is 0 or 1; q is 0-10; r is 0-3; s is 0-3; C 6 Q 4 is unsubstituted or substituted; Q is independently selected from H, C 1-10 alkyl, C 2-10 alkenyl, and mixtures thereof; A and A′ are each independently a linking moiety representing an ester, a keto, an ether, a thio, an amido, an amino, a C 1-4 fluoroalkyl, a C 1-4 fluoroalkenyl, a branched or straight chained polyalkylene oxide, a phosphate, a sulfonyl, a sulfate, an ammonium, and mixtures thereof; T and T′ are each independently a C 1-30 straight chained or branched alkyl or alkenyl or an aryl which is unsubstituted or substituted; Z is a hydrogen, carboxylic acid, a hydroxy, a phosphato, a phosphate ester, a sulfonyl, a sulfonate, a sulfate, a branched or straight-chained polyalkylene oxide, a nitryl, a glyceryl, an aryl unsubstituted or substituted with a C 1-30 alkyl or alkenyl, a carbohydrate unsubstituted or substituted with a C 1-10 alkyl or alkenyl or an ammonium; G is an anion or cation such as H + , Na + , Li + , K + , NH 4 + , Ca +2 , Mg +2 , Cl − , Br − , I − , mesylate or tosylate; and D″ can be capped with C 1 -C 4 alkyl or hydroxy groups;
[0053] Y and Y′ are hydrophilic moieties, which are independently selected from hydroxy; polyhydroxy; C1-C3 alkoxy; mono- or di-alkanolamine; C1-C4 alkyl substituted alkanolamine; substituted heterocyclic containing O, S, N; sulfates; carboxylate; carbonate; and when Y and/or Y′ is ethoxy (EO) or propoxy (PO), it must be capped with R, which is selected from the group consisting of:
(i) a 4 to 8 membered, substituted or unsubstituted, heterocyclic ring containing from 1 to 3 hetero atoms; and
[0055] (ii) linear or branched, saturated or unsaturated, substituted or unsubstituted, cyclic or acyclic, aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbon radicals having from about 1 to about 30 carbon atoms;
[0056] X is a bridging linkage selected from O; S; N; P; C1 to C22 alkyl, linear or branched, saturated or unsaturated, substituted or unsubstituted, cyclic or acyclic, aliphatic or aromatic, interrupted by O, S, N, P; glycidyl, ester, amido, amino, PO 4 2− , HPO 4 − , PO 3 2− , HPO 3 − , which are protonated or unprotonated;
u and w are integers independently selected from 0 to 20, provided that u+w≧1; t is an integer from 1 to 10; v is an integer from 0 to 10; x is an integer from 1 to 20; and y and z are integers independently selected from 1 to 10.
[0062] Nonlimiting examples of surfactants having the above formula include: alkanolamines/alkanolamides; phophate/phosphonate esters; gemini surfactants including, but are not limited to, gemini diols, gemini amide alkoxylates, gemini amino alkoxylates; capped nonionic surfactants; capped silicone surfactants such as nonionic silicone ethoxylates, silicone amine derivatives; alkyl alkoxylates; polyol surfactants; and mixtures thereof.
[0063] One class of silicone-containing surfactants are derived from poly(dimethylsiloxane). These silicone-containing surfactants include polyether siloxanes, typically with a weight average molecular weight from 500 to 20,000 daltons. Examples of silicone-containing surfactants described herein above may be found in EP 1,043,443A1, EP 1,041,189A1 and WO 01/34,706 (all assigned to GE Silicones); U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,705, U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,977, U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,473, and EP 1,092,803A1 (all assigned to Lever Brothers); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,890,892, US 2003/0060396A1, and US 2004/0266643A1 (assigned to Procter & Gamble).
[0064] Nonlimiting commercially available examples of suitable silicone-containing surfactants are TSF 4446® (ex. General Electric Silicones), XS69-B5476® (ex. General Electric Silicones); Jenamine® HSX (ex. DelCon) and Y12147® (ex. OSi Specialties).
[0065] Additional examples of silicone-containing surfactants suitable for use herein include, but are not limited to, the polyalkyleneoxide polysiloxanes having a dimethyl polysiloxane hydrophobic moiety and one or more hydrophilic polyalkylene side chains and have the general formula:
R 1 —(CH 3 ) 2 SiO—[(CH 3 ) 2 SiO] a —[(CH 3 )(R 1 )SiO] b —Si(CH 3 ) 2 —R 1
wherein a+b are from about 1 to about 50, preferably from about 3 to about 30 , more preferably from about 10 to about 25, and each R 1 is the same or different and is selected from the group consisting of methyl and a poly(ethyleneoxide/propyleneoxide) copolymer group having the general formula:
—(CH 2 ) n O(C 2 H 4 O) c (C 3 H 6 O) d R 2
with at least one R 1 being a poly(ethyleneoxide/propyleneoxide) copolymer group, and wherein n is 3 or 4, preferably 3; total c (for all polyalkyleneoxy side groups) has a value of from 1 to about 100, preferably from about 6 to about 100; total d is from 0 to about 14, preferably from 0 to about 3; and more preferably d is 0; total c+d has a value of from about 5 to about 150, preferably from about 9 to about 100 and each R 2 is the same or different and is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, an alkyl having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and an acetyl group, preferably hydrogen and methyl group. Examples of these surfactants may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,705,562 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,613, both of which are assigned to Dow Corning Corporation.
[0066] Examples of this type of surfactants are the Silwet® surfactants which are available from CK Witco, OSi Division, Danbury, Connecticut. Preferred Silwet® surfactants are L-7600, L-7602, L-7604, L-7605, L-7657, and mixtures thereof.
[0067] Another suitable silicone surfactant is SF-1488®, which is available from GE silicone fluids.
[0068] A preferred silicone-containing surfactant is Dow Corning Q2-5211 (made by Dow Corning; CAS#: 67674-67-3) which is described as a 3-(polyoxyethylene)propyl heptamethyltrisiloxane compound.
[0000] C. Foaming Agent
[0069] Any material (including surfactants) that stabilizes the foam structure of the pretreatment composition is useful as a foaming agent. Surfactants may provide both the fabric wetting benefit described above for the surfactant component of the pretreatment composition and act as a foaming agent.
[0070] Non-limiting examples of foaming agents include: water-soluble amine oxides containing alkyl and hydroxyalkyl moieties; and betaines, including alkyl betaines, sulfo betaines and hydroxy betaines.
[0071] Suitable foaming agents also include amine surfactants such as primary alkylamines having from about 6 to about 22 carbon atoms; nonlimiting examples include oleylamine (commercially available from Akzo under the trade name ARMEEN OLD), dodecylamine (commercially available from Akzo under the trade name ARMEEN 12D), branched C 16 -C 22 alkylamine (commercially available from Rohm & Haas under the trade name PRIMENE JM-T.
[0000] Optional Adjunct Ingredients
[0072] The aqueous foam compositions may optionally comprise at least one adjunct ingredient. The adjunct ingredients can vary widely and can be used at widely ranging levels. When a cleaning adjunct is used, it is used generally at a level of at least about 0.01%, preferably at least about 0.5%, more preferably at least about 1%, and typically less than about 20%, preferably less than about 10%, more preferably less than about 5%, by weight of the composition. However, some adjunct ingredients may be present in specific amounts different from the general amount above.
[0073] Perfumes and perfumery adjunct ingredients useful in the compositions of the present invention include a wide variety of natural and synthetic chemical ingredients, including, but not limited to, aldehydes, ketones, esters, and the like. Also included are various natural extracts and essences which can comprise complex mixtures of ingredients, such as orange oil, lemon oil, rose extract, lavender, musk, patchouli, balsamic essence, sandalwood oil, pine oil, cedar, and the like. Finished perfumes may comprise extremely complex mixtures of such ingredients. Pro-perfumes are also useful in the present invention. Such materials are those precursors or mixtures thereof capable of chemically reacting, e.g., by hydrolysis, to release a perfume, and are described in patents and/or published patent applications to Procter and Gamble, Firmenich, Givaudan and others.
[0074] Suitable solvents adjunct ingredients, in addition to water, include C1-C6 alcohols, C2-C6 diols, glycols, ethers, and mixtures thereof.
[0075] When solvent is used, it is used typically at a level of at least about 0.1%, preferably at least about 1%, more preferably at least about 2%, and typically less than about 30%, preferably less than about 20%, more preferably less than about 10%, by weight of the aqueous foam composition.
[0076] Nonlimiting examples of pH modifiers adjunct ingredients include the following buffering systems: D(+)-Tartaric acid and sodium hydroxide buffer, citric acid and sodium hydroxide, citric acid and sodium citrate, succinic acid and sodium hydroxide, Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (or Tris) and sodium hydroxide, potassium dihydrogen phosphate and sodium hydroxide.
[0077] Suitable odor control adjunct ingredients, which may optionally be used as finishing agents, include agents include, cyclodextrins, odor neutralizers, odor blockers and mixtures thereof. Suitable odor neutralizers include aldehydes, flavanoids, metallic salts, water-soluble polymers, zeolites, activated carbon and mixtures thereof.
[0078] Other cleaning adjunct ingredients suitable for use in the compositions of the present invention include, but are not limited to, builders including the insoluble types, such as zeolites including zeolites A, P and the so-called maximum aluminum P, and the soluble types such as the phosphates and polyphosphates, any of the hydrous, water-soluble or water-insoluble silicates, 2,2′-oxydisuccinates, tartrate succinates, glycolates, NTA and many other ethercarboxylates or citrates; chelants including EDTA, S,S′-EDDS, DTPA and phosphonates; inorganic thickeners such as clays, silicates; water soluble organic thickeners such as carboxylated vinyl polymers, incuding polyacrylics, polyacrylamides, ethoxylated cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, xanthum gums, guar gums, alginates; optical brighteners; processing aids such as crisping agents and/fillers; anti-redeposition agents; hydrotropes, such as sodium, or calcium cumene sulfonate, potassium napthalenesulfonate, or the like; thickeners; alkalinity sources or alkalis such as those based on sodium or potassium including the hydroxides, carbonates, bicarbonates and sulfates and the like; non-silicone surfactants, such as nonionic, anionic, cationic surfactants; dye transfer inhibiting agents, anti-microbial agents, enzyme stabilizers, antibacterial agents, fabric softening agents such as quaternary ammonium compounds (quats) or esterquats; and combinations of one or more of these adjunct ingredients.
[0000] Non-Aqueous Wash Medium
[0079] The non-aqueous wash medium useful herein comprises one or more lipophilic fluids. In one embodiment, the non-aqueous wash medium comprises more than 50%, preferably more than 80% by weight of the wash medium of linear and/or cyclic siloxanes, preferably cyclic siloxanes, and more preferably decamethyl cyclopentasiloxanes, (“D5”). In another embodiment, the non-aqueous wash medium comprises lipophilic fluids wherein cyclic siloxanes comprise more than 50%, preferably more than 80% by weight of the lipophilic fluid. In yet another embodiment, the non-aqueous wash medium comprises a predominant fluid which is a siloxane, preferably a cyclic siloxane.
[0080] As used herein, the term “predominant fluid” does not require the fluid to be present at more than 50 wt % of a fluid mixture. For example, in a mixture of siloxane and three fluids, A, B, and C, having the weight percent: silicone: 30%, B: 25%, C: 25%, D: 20%, siloxane is by the present definition the predominant fluid.
[0081] “Lipophilic fluid” as used herein means any liquid or mixture of liquid that is immiscible with water at up to 20% by weight of water. In general, a suitable lipophilic fluid can be fully liquid at ambient temperature and pressure, can be an easily melted solid, e.g., one that becomes liquid at temperatures in the range from about 0° C. to about 60° C., or can comprise a mixture of liquid and vapor phases at ambient temperatures and pressures, e.g., at 25° C. and 1 atm. pressure.
[0082] The suitable lipophilic fluid may be non-flammable or, have relatively high flash points and/or low VOC (volatile organic content) characteristics, these terms having conventional meanings as used in the dry cleaning industry, to equal to or exceed the characteristics of known conventional dry cleaning fluids.
[0083] Non-limiting examples of suitable lipophilic fluid materials include siloxanes, other silicones, hydrocarbons, glycol ethers, glycerine derivatives such as glycerine ethers, perfluorinated amines, perfluorinated and hydrofluoroether solvents, low-volatility nonfluorinated organic solvents, diol solvents, other environmentally-friendly solvents and mixtures thereof.
[0084] “Siloxane” as used herein means silicone fluids that are non-polar and insoluble in water or lower alcohols. Linear siloxanes (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,747, and 5,977,040) and cyclic siloxanes are useful herein, including the cyclic siloxanes selected from the group consisting of octamethyl-cyclotetrasiloxane (tetramer), dodecamethyl-cyclohexasiloxane (hexamer), decamethyl-cyclopentasiloxane (pentamer, commonly referred to as “D5”) and mixtures thereof. A suitable siloxane comprises more than about 50% cyclic siloxane pentamer, or more than about 75% cyclic siloxane pentamer, or at least about 90% of the cyclic siloxane pentamer. Also suitable for use herein are siloxanes that are a mixture of cyclic siloxanes having at least about 90% (or at least about 95%) pentamer and less than about 10% (or less than about 5%) tetramer and/or hexamer.
[0085] The lipophilic fluid can include any fraction of dry-cleaning solvents, especially newer types including fluorinated solvents, or perfluorinated amines. Some perfluorinated amines such as perfluorotributylamines, while unsuitable for use as lipophilic fluid, may be present as one of many possible adjuncts present in the lipophilic fluid-containing composition.
[0086] Other suitable lipophilic fluids include, but are not limited to, diol solvent systems e.g., higher diols such as C 6 or C 8 or higher diols, organosilicone solvents including both cyclic and acyclic types, and the like, and mixtures thereof.
[0087] Non-limiting examples of low volatility non-fluorinated organic solvents include for example OLEAN® and other polyol esters, or certain relatively nonvolatile biodegradable mid-chain branched petroleum fractions.
[0088] Non-limiting examples of glycol ethers include propylene glycol methyl ether, propylene glycol n-propyl ether, propylene glycol t-butyl ether, propylene glycol n-butyl ether, dipropylene glycol methyl ether, dipropylene glycol n-propyl ether, dipropylene glycol t-butyl ether, dipropylene glycol n-butyl ether, tripropylene glycol methyl ether, tripropylene glycol n-propyl ether, tripropylene glycol t-butyl ether, tripropylene glycol n-butyl ether.
[0089] Non-limiting examples of other silicone solvents, in addition to the siloxanes, are well known in the literature, see, for example, Kirk Othmer's Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, and are available from a number of commercial sources, including GE Silicones, Toshiba Silicone, Bayer, and Dow Corning. For example, one suitable silicone solvent is SF-1528 available from GE Silicones.
[0090] Non-limiting examples of suitable glycerine derivative solvents include 2,3-bis(1,1-dimethylethoxy)-1-propanol; 2,3-dimethoxy-1-propanol; 3-methoxy-2-cyclopentoxy-1-propanol; 3-methoxy-1-cyclopentoxy-2-propanol; carbonic acid (2-hydroxy-1-methoxymethyl)ethyl ester methyl ester; glycerol carbonate and mixtures thereof.
[0091] Cleaning, detersive and/or fabric care agents may optionally be added to the non-aqueous wash medium. Nonlimiting examples of these agents are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,660,703; 6,673,764; 6,734,153; 6,746,617; 6,828,295; 6,894,014; 2003/0119699A1; 2005/0000027A1; 2005/0000030A1; 2005/0003981A1.
[0000] Foam-Generating Applicator
[0092] The aqueous foam composition is preferably dispensed from a foam-generating applicator. The applicator comprises a vessel having a hollow body for containing the composition and a foam-generating dispenser which is operatively attached, directly or indirectly, to the vessel for generating a foam. The foam-generating dispenser may generate a foam via any method, such as a chemical reaction, an enzyme reaction and/or a mechanical action. A mechanical action typically involves imparting a gas, such as air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, directly into the composition in a turbulent manner as it dispenses, so as to physically form a foam of the composition.
[0093] One embodiment of the foam-generating dispenser may include an air injection piston, a pump, an impinging surface, a mesh or net, and/or a sprayer. An exemplary foam-generating applicator is described in details in US 2004/0229763A1. Other nonlimiting examples of foam-generating applicators suitable for use herein include T8900, OpAd FO 8203 and 7512 series foamers from Afa-polytek, Holmond, The Netherlands; Ti, F2 and WR-F3 series foamers from Airspray International, Inc., North Pompano Beach, Fla. USA; TS-800 and Mixor series foramers from Saint-Gobain Calmar, Inc., City of Industry, Calif., USA; pump foamers and squeeze foamers from Daiwa Can Company, Tokyo, Japan; TS1 and TS2 series foamers from Guala Dispensing USA Inc., Hillsborough, N.J., USA; and YT-87L-FP, YT-87L-FX and YT-97 series foamers from Yoshino Kogyosho CO., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.
[0094] When the aqueous composition is dispensed from the foam-generating applicator, an aqueous foam composition useful in the present invention is produced.
[0095] Foam to weight ratio is a measurement of the mL of foam generated per gram of composition. The foam-generating applicator useful herein generates a foam having a foam to weight ratio of greater than about 2 mL/g, preferably from about 3 mL/g to about 10 mL/g, more preferably from about 4 mL/g to about 8 mL/g.
[0096] Foam to weight ratio is measured as follows: a volumetric measuring device, such as a graduated cylinder is weighed to get a tare weight. Then, the composition is dispensed, using the foam-generating applicator, if appropriate, into a graduated cylinder a set number of strokes for non-continuous dispensing applicators or for a set time period for continuous dispensing applicators. Typically, ten strokes are applied to non-continuous applicators (pumps, sprayers) or ten seconds are used with continuous applicators. The dispensing rate in the test should be consistent with the dispensing rate during normal usage scenarios, for example, 120 strokes per minute for trigger sprayers, or 45 strokes per minute for palm pumps.
[0097] The volume of foam generated is measured in mL using the volumetric measuring device (graduated cylinder). The volumetric measuring device containing the dispensed composition is weighed in grams. The tare weight of the volumetric measuring device is subtracted from this weight. The result is the grams of the composition dispensed. Finally, the foam to weight ratio in mUg is calculated by dividing the volume of foam generated (in mL) by the weight composition dispensed (in g).
[0000] Methods
[0098] The aqueous foam composition may be applied to a stain, preferably a hydrophilic stain, on a fabric article in need of treatment by the foam-generating applicator. Once the composition is applied, it is allowed sufficient time for the composition, more specifically the stain removal agents, to penetrate the fabric and to become associate with the soils. The fabric article is then washed in a non-aqueous medium in a washing machine according to standard laundering practice.
[0099] The aqueous foam compositions are typically used for direct treatment of a soil or stained area of a textile or garment. Specifically, an effective amount of the aqueous foam composition is dispensed (manually or mechanically) from a dispensing device and applied directly to the location of a stain on a soiled garment or fabric article, optionally onto the surrounding area of the stain. The dispensing device can be the foam-generating applicator described above. To make the manual application process convenient and effective for the consumers, the applicator may be further equipped with a spraying mechanism such as a pump and a spray nozzle, a squeezable container, a liquid permeable applicator tip made of porous materials such as sponges or fibrous mats, a spinnable brush tip, and the like.
[0100] In use, an effective amount of the composition is dispensed as a foam and applied substantially evenly to a localized area on the fabric or garment. In typical embodiments, from about 0.1 to about 900 mg, preferably from about 50 to about 750 mg, more preferably from about 100 to about 400 mg composition per gram of treated fabric is applied. In a specific embodiment wherein the hydrophilic stain removal agent is about 3wt % of the composition, the effective amount of the stain removal agent applied to the fabric is from about 0.03 mg to about 30 mg per gram of treated fabric.
[0101] The foam composition is allowed to penetrate the fabric. Because the high air/gas content in the foamed composition, the soil removal agents in the composition penetrate the fabric more slowly and more evenly than if the composition were dispensed as sprayed or misted droplets. This allows the treating agents in the composition to have more time to associate with the stains before the fabric article is placed inside a laundering machine. The pretreatment time is at least about 10 seconds, preferably from about 10 to about 900 seconds, more preferably from about 20 to about 600 seconds, even more preferably from about 30 to about 300 seconds.
[0102] In addition to longer action time, it is surprising to find that the hydrophilic soils loosened from the fabric exhibit a lesser tendency to redeposit onto the aqueous pretreated spot during the subsequent non-aqueous wash step. Without being bound by theory, it is believed that when an aqueous pretreat composition is applied as droplets, water in the composition is instantaneously absorbed/wicked into the fabric, to form concentrated spots on the pretreated fabrics; such concentrated water spots act like magnets attracting the hydrophilic soils in a non-aqueous wash medium. In contrast, the foam composition allows for more even distribution of the treating agents as well as the carrier (i.e., water); thus, there are no concentrated water spots on the pretreated fabric to attract hydrophilic soils.
[0103] In another embodiment, one may manually apply agitation or abrasion to the fabric at the locus of the stain and optionally the surrounding area. Such manipulation provides the mechanical action helpful for physically breaking up the stains. This is particularly useful for aged stains that have been left untreated for an extended period of time such as days or weeks, and may have hardened.
[0104] In another embodiment, the entire process may take place inside a laundering apparatus, in a hands-free manner. Thus, the fabric articles are placed inside a fabric article treating apparatus; the fabric articles may initially be contacted by an aqueous foam composition and subsequently contacted by a non-aqueous wash medium comprising lipophilic fluid, preferably more than 50 wt % cyclic siloxane. The apparatus may be capable of executing automated dosing of the aqueous foam composition and/or the lipophilic fluid by the apparatus.
[0000] Products Containing Compositions and Instructions for use
[0105] The aqueous foam compositions of the present invention are preferably included in a product. The product preferably comprises an aqueous composition in a container, preferably a foam-generating applicator in accordance with the present invention, and further comprises instructions for using the product to launder fabrics by contacting a fabric in need of treatment with an effective amount of the composition, preferably to a localized area, and followed by a non-aqueous wash treatment, such that the soils are removed from the laundered article. It is recognized that the foam-generating applicator may be provided separately, and the aqueous composition may be transferred to the separately acquired foam-generating applicator prior to use or dispensing.
[0106] The present invention therefore also encompasses the inclusion of instructions on the use of the compositions of the present invention with packages containing the compositions herein or with other forms of advertising associated with the sale or use of the compositions. The instructions may be included in any manner typically used by consumer product manufacturing or supply companies. Examples include providing instructions: on a label attached to the container holding the composition; on a sheet either attached to the container or accompanying it when purchased; or in advertisements, demonstrations, and/or other written or oral instructions which may be associated with the purchase or use of the compositions.
[0107] Specifically the instructions may include a description of the use of the composition, for instance: the recommended amount of composition to apply to a localized (e.g., stained) area; the recommended amount of time to wait for the composition to penetrate the pretreated fabric; and the recommended wash medium to used in the subsequent laundering step.
[0108] In one embodiment, the product may be a garment stain removal kit comprising: (a) a dispenser comprising a vessel and a foam-generating dispensing device; (b) an aqueous composition comprising a hydrophilic stain removal agent and water, the hydrophilic stain removal agent is selected from the group consisting of a bleach, an enzyme, a soil repellent, a soil release polymer, and mixtures thereof; and (c) a set of instructions for using the kit comprising the steps of: (i) placing the composition in the vessel, if the composition and the vessel are provided separately; (ii) using the dispenser to apply an effective amount of the composition to at least a stained portion of a garment, wherein the composition is dispensed from the dispenser as a foam having a foam to weight ratio of greater than about 2 mL/g and the effective amount is at least about 0.1 mg/g of treated fabric; (iii) allowing the composition to penetrate the garment for at least about 10 seconds; and (iv) placing the garment in a laundry apparatus and contacting the garment with a non-aqueous wash medium comprising a predominant fluid of cyclic siloxanes.
[0109] Non-limiting examples of aqueous foam pretreatment compositions useful herein include the following:
Ingredients Function Comp. 1 Comp. 2 Hydrogen peroxide Bleach 2% 3% Silicone surfactant Fabric Wetting 0.5% 1% (Dow Corning Q2-5211) Amine oxide Foaming agent 1% 2% Diethylene triamine Chelant 10 ppm 25 ppm pentaacetic acid (DTPA) Sodium hydroxide pH adjustment 600 ppm 1000 ppm Potassium chloride pH adjustment 400 ppm 800 ppm Citric acid pH adjustment 800 ppm 1200 ppm Water Carrier solvent/stain Balance Balance solvation
[0110] All documents cited in the Detailed Description of the Invention are, in relevant part, incorporated herein by reference; the citation of any document is not to be construed as an admission that it is prior art with respect to the present invention.
[0111] While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modification that are within the scope of this invention. | A fabric article cleaning regimen, more particularly a fabric article cleaning regimen employing a hydrophilic, aqueous-based pretreating composition in combination with a lipophilic laundering system | Analyze the document's illustrations and descriptions to summarize the main idea's core structure and function. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.",
"No. 60/726,405, filed on Oct. 13, 2005;",
"and this application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 11/438,879, filed May 23, 2006, which is a Divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 10/876,181, filed on Jun. 24, 2004, (now abandoned) which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.",
"No. 60/483,346, filed on Jun. 27, 2003.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to a fabric article cleaning regimen, more particularly a fabric article cleaning regimen employing a hydrophilic, aqueous-based pretreating composition in combination with a lipophilic laundering system.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Conventional in-home laundry cleaning is carried out with large amounts of water, typically in a washing machine at the consumer's home, or in a dedicated place such as a coin laundry.",
"Although washing machines and laundry detergents have become quite sophisticated, the conventional water-based laundry process still fails to remove some soils from fabric articles.",
"A wide variety of “pre-treatment”",
"compositions and devices are available to the consumer to assist in soil removal.",
"These compositions often require a subsequent aqueous wash to complete soil removal.",
"[0004] However, existing domestic pre-treatment systems or home dry cleaning kits can leave undesirable residues on clothing articles, even after an extended period of drying, and may visibly spread the soil over a larger area and/or creating rings around the original soil.",
"Even with subsequent laundering (i.e., washing) treatment, these residues may still be visible.",
"[0005] Therefore, it is desirable to have a regimen for removing all types of soils, including hydrophilic and lipophilic soils, from fabric articles with minimal residue or fabric shrinkage or damage.",
"It is also desirable that such regimen includes a pretreatment to preferentially remove at least one different type of soils (e.g., hydrophilic soils) when the subsequent laundering system preferentially removes another type of soils (e.g., lipophilic soils).",
"It is further desirable to have fabric pretreatment that results in minimal fabric shrinkage or damage, and minimal dye or soil redeposition during subsequent laundering process.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] The present invention fulfills those desirable outcomes described above by providing a fabric article treatment regimen that comprises an aqueous foam pretreatment step to preferentially remove at least a first type of soils (typically hydrophilic soils, but hydrophobic soils may also beneficially removed) and a non-aqueous laundering step to preferentially remove a second type soils (typically lipophilic soils).",
"Preferably, the non-aqueous laundering step is capable of reducing re-deposition of the first type of soils.",
"The foam pretreatment provides slow and even action between the treating agents and the stains.",
"The treating agents as well as the non-aqueous wash medium are gentle to the fabrics.",
"[0007] A garment stain removal kit containing the pretreating composition, the instructions of the treatment regimen, and optionally, the foam generating applicator, is provided.",
"[0008] The objects, features and advantages of the invention are further borne out in the following detailed description, examples and appended claims.",
"[0009] All percentages, ratios and proportions herein are on a weight basis based on an undiluted composition, unless otherwise indicated.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0000] Definitions [0010] “Fabric article”",
"as used herein means any article that is customarily cleaned in a conventional laundry process or in a dry cleaning process.",
"As such the term encompasses articles of clothing, linen, drapery, and clothing accessories.",
"The term also encompasses other items made in whole or in part of fabric, such as tote bags, furniture covers, tarpaulins and the like.",
"[0011] “Stain”",
"or “soil”",
"as used herein means any undesirable substance on a fabric article that is the target of removal.",
"Generally, stains are found only on a portion of the article and are generated by accidental contact between the soil and the fabric article.",
"The term “hydrophilic stain”",
"as used herein means that the stain is comprised of water at the time it first came in contact with the fabric article, or the stain retains a significant portion of water on the fabric article.",
"Hydrophilic stain comprises one or more of the following exemplary hydrophilic soils: beverages, many food soils, water soluble dyes, bodily fluids such as sweat, urine or blood, outdoor soils such as grass stains and mud.",
"The term “hydrophobic stains”",
"means the stain comprises primarily of lipophilic soils, which have high solubility in or affinity for the lipophilic fluid.",
"Examples of lipophilic soils include, but are not limited to body soils, such as mono-, di-, and tri-glycerides, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, non-polar hydrocarbons, waxes and wax esters, lipids;",
"and laundry materials such as nonionic surfactants;",
"and mixtures thereof.",
"[0012] “Pretreated fabric article”",
"as used herein means a fabric article that has been contacted with a pretreatment foam composition of the present invention prior to subsequent contact with a lipophilic fluid wash medium.",
"[0013] “Average molecular weight”",
"as used herein means the weight average molecular weight as determined using gel permeation chromatography according to the protocol found in Colloids and Surfaces A. Physico Chemical &",
"Engineering Aspects, Vol. 162, 2000, pg.",
"107-121.",
"[0000] Aqueous Foam Composition [0014] The aqueous foam composition of the present invention comprises a hydrophilic stain removal agent, such as bleaches, enzymes, or soil repellents;",
"a surfactant, such as silicone-containing surfactants;",
"a foaming agent such as amine oxides, betaines or primary alkylamine surfactants;",
"water and optionally an adjunct ingredient, such as perfumes, pH modifiers, soil release polymers or organic solvents.",
"[0015] In typical embodiments, the aqueous foam compositions comprise from about 0.0001% to about 20%, preferably from about 0.001% to about 10%, more preferably from about 0.5% to about 3% by weight of the composition of a hydrophilic stain removal agent;",
"from about 0.01% to about 40%, preferably from about 0.01% to about 25%, more preferably from about 0.1% to about 10%, and more preferably from about 0.5% to about 2% by weight of the composition of a surfactant;",
"from about 0.1% to about 25%, preferably from about 0.5 to about 10%, more preferably from about 1% to about 5% by weight of the composition of a foaming agent;",
"and from about 50% to about 99%, preferably from about 70% to about 95%, more preferably from about 80% to about 90% by weight of composition of water;",
"and optionally, from about 0.001% to about 10%, preferably from about 0.01% to about 5%, more preferably from about 0.1% to about 2% by weight of the composition of an adjunct.",
"[0016] In one embodiment, the aqueous foam composition comprises at least about 0.01 wt % bleach and/or at least about 0.001 wt % enzyme and/or at least about 0.01 wt % soil repellent;",
"at least about 0.1 wt % silicone-containing surfactant;",
"at least about 0.01 wt % amine oxide;",
"and at least about 50 wt % water.",
"[0017] In another embodiments, the aqueous foam composition may be formulated to be effective in removing stains yet gentle to the fabric, for example, color-safe.",
"For example, a color-safe bleach such as hydrogen peroxide may be included in the composition.",
"In still another embodiment, the composition may be formulated to have a pH in the range of from about 6 to about 10, preferably from about 8 to about 10.",
"A pH modifier may be used to control the pH of the composition.",
"In yet another embodiment, the aqueous foam composition may be formulated to minimize the soil redeposition, especially in the laundering process.",
"For example, a soil repellent may be included in the composition to provide such benefit.",
"[0018] The aqueous composition herein typically has a viscosity of less than about 5 Pa*s, preferably from about 0.05 Pa*s to about 5 Pa*s, more preferably from about 0.075 Pa*s to about 2 Pa*s, and even more preferably from about 0.1 Pa*s to about 0.4 Pa*s.",
"The viscosity herein is measured on a Brookfield viscometer model #LVDVII+ at 20° C. The spindle used for these measurements is a S31 spindle with the appropriate speed to measure compositions of different viscosities [0000] A. Hydrophilic Stain Removal Agent [0019] Hydrophilic stain removal agents (which may also provide in certain formulations according to the present invention hydrophobic stain removal benefits) include, but are not limited to, bleaches, enzymes, soil repellents and soil release polymers.",
"When present, the hydrophilic stain removal agent generally comprises from about 0.0001% to about 20%, preferably from about 0.01% to about 10%, more preferably from about 0.1% to about 5% by weight of the aqueous foam composition.",
"It is recognized that amount of specific hydrophilic stain removal agent may vary from the above general ranges in certain embodiments.",
"Exemplary hydrophilic stain removal agents are described below.",
"[0000] (i) Bleach [0020] Bleach suitable for use herein contains one or more bleaching agents, preferably peroxygen bleaches, and more preferably hydrogen peroxide.",
"[0021] Suitable peroxygen bleaches to be used herein are selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen peroxide;",
"organic or inorganic peracids;",
"hydroperoxides;",
"diacyl peroxides;",
"and mixtures thereof.",
"[0022] Suitable activated peroxygen sources include, but are not limited to, preformed peracids, a hydrogen peroxide source in combination with a bleach activator, or a mixture thereof.",
"Nonlimitng examples of preformed peracids include percarboxylic acids and salts;",
"percarbonic acids and salts;",
"perimidic acids and salts;",
"peroxymonosulfuric acids and salts;",
"persulphates such as monopersulfate;",
"peroxyacids such as diperoxydodecandioic acid (DPDA);",
"magnesium peroxyphthalic acid;",
"perlauric acid;",
"perbenzoic and alkylperbenzoic acids;",
"and mixtures thereof.",
"Another example is phthaloylamino peroxy caproic acid (PAP), as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,487,818, 5,310,934, 5,246,620, 5,279,757 and 5,132,431.",
"PAP is available from Ausimont Spa under the tradename Euroco®.",
"Suitable sources of hydrogen peroxide include, but are not limited to, compounds selected from the group consisting of perborate compounds, percarbonate compounds, perphosphate compounds and mixtures thereof.",
"Suitable types and levels of activated peroxygen sources are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,576,282, 6,306,812 and 6,326,348.",
"[0023] Bleach activator is a compound that reacts with hydrogen peroxide to form a peracid.",
"The peracid thus formed constitutes the activated bleach Suitable bleach activators include, but are not limited to, perhydrolyzable esters and perhydrolyzable imides such as, tetraacetyl ethylene diamine, octanoylcaprolactam, benzoyloxybenzenesulphonate, nonanoyloxybenzenesulphonate, benzoylvalerolactam, dodecanoyloxybenzenesulphonate.",
"[0024] Suitable bleach boosters include, but are not limited to, those described U.S. Pat. No. 5,817,614.",
"[0025] In one embodiment, the bleaching agents are color-safe bleaches such as peroxygen bleaches provided by a hydrogen peroxide source.",
"The hydrogen peroxide source may comprise any compound that produces perhydroxyl ions on contact with water.",
"Suitable water-soluble sources of hydrogen peroxide for use herein include percarbonates, perborates and persilicates and mixtures thereof.",
"[0026] In another embodiment, the bleaching agents are hydrogen peroxide aqueous solutions where in the hydrogen peroxide content ranges is at least about 1%, or at least about 5%, and less than about 50%, or less than about 25%.",
"In a specific embodiment, a 30% hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution is used.",
"[0027] Other bleaching agents may also be used, including catalytic metal complexes such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,282, U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,936, WO 00/332601, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,225,464;",
"bleaching enzymes such as those described in US 2005/003988A1;",
"photo bleaches such as those described in US 2004/0266648A1;",
"and hypohalite bleaches.",
"[0028] When present, bleach comprises from about 0.01% to about 20%, preferably from about 0.1% to about 10%, more preferably from about 0.5% to about 3%, by weight of the aqueous foam composition.",
"[0000] (ii) Enzymes [0029] Suitable enzymes for use herein include protease, amylase, lipase, cellulase, carbohydrase including mannanase and endoglucanase, and mixtures thereof.",
"Enzymes can be used at their art-taught levels, for example, at levels recommended by suppliers such as Novozymes and Genencor.",
"Typical levels in the compositions are from about 0.0001% to about 5%.",
"When enzymes are present, they can be used at very low levels, e.g., from about 0.001% or lower, in certain embodiments of the invention.",
"[0000] (iii) Soil Repellents [0030] The term “soil repellent”",
"as used herein refers to materials that provide one or more of the following advantages: reducing the oleophilicity or hydrophilicity of fabric or fiber surface, inhibiting wicking of oily/hydrophobic or hydrophilic soils into the fabric or fiber bundles, and providing oil or water repellency during normal wear.",
"Nonlimiting examples of soil repellents suitable for use herein include: [0031] (a) an amphophilic polymer having at least one unit carrying a cationic functional group and its counterion and at least one unit having a hydrophobic character, the two are bonded together via an oligomeric or polymeric chain selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl alcohol, polyalkylene glycols, polysaccharides, acrylic polymers and copolymers thereof, such as those polymers described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,394;",
"[0032] (b) alkyl polysiloxanes, alkoxy polysiloxanes, alkylalkoxy polysiloxanes, fluorinated polysiloxanes, polyester modified polysiloxanes, amino goup-contianing polysiloxanes, such as those siloxane polymers described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,923,653;",
"U.S. Pat. No. 2,962,290;",
"U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,744;",
"U.S. Pat. No. 5,759,685;",
"U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,917;",
"U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,470;",
"and U.S. Pat. No. 6,676,733;",
"[0033] (c) fluorinated polyethers, organofluoro compounds having a fluorocarbon portion and a hydrocarbon portion, as well as alkyl, alkoxy, ester, urea, or isocyanate groups, such as those compounds described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,175;",
"U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,939;",
"U.S. Pat. No. 6,509,433;",
"US 2005/0171279A1, and references therein.",
"[0034] When present, the soil repellent comprises from about 0.01% to about 20%, preferably from about 0.1% to about 10%, more preferably from about 0.5% to about 3%, by weight of the aqueous foam composition.",
"[0000] (iv) Soil Release Polymers [0035] The term “soil-release”",
"as used herein refers to the ability of the fabric article to be washed or otherwise treated to remove soils that have come into contact with the fabric article.",
"The soil release polymers may not wholly prevent the attachment of soil to the fabric article, but may hinder such attachment and improve the cleaning of the fabric article.",
"Nonlimiting examples of soil release polymers are described below.",
"[0036] Examples of fluorine-containing soil release polymers (fluoro-SRPs) useful in the present invention can be a polymer derived from perfluoroalkyl monomers, or from a mixture of perfluoroalkyl monomers and alkyl (meth)acrylate monomers.",
"Exemplary fluoro-SRPs are commercially available under the tradename Repearl F35® in an aqueous suspension form from Mitsubishi, and under the tradenames Zonyl 7060®, Zonyl 8300®, and Zonyl 8787® from DuPont.",
"Other suitable fluoro-SRPs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,451,717;",
"WO 01/98384;",
"WO 01/81285;",
"JP 10-182814;",
"JP 2000-273067;",
"WO 98/4160213, and WO 99/69126.",
"[0037] Exemplary silicone-containing soil release polymers (Si-SRPs) are commercially available as DF104®, DF1040®, SM2125®, SM2245®, SM2101®, SM2059® from GE, and Dow Coming 75SF® Emulsion.",
"[0038] Suitable Si-SRPs have a weight-average molecular weight in the range from about 1000 to about 10,000,000, or from about 5000 to about 5,000,000, or from about 10,000 to about 1,000,000.",
"For example, when the Si-SRP is a curable aminosilicone, it tends to have a low molecular weight from about 1000 to about 100,000.",
"The curable Si SRP is relatively flowable when applied to the fabrics and can be cured to form a film-like layer over the fabric surface.",
"In other examples, Si-SRPs having molecular weight higher than 100,000 can be deposited onto fabric surface without further curing.",
"[0039] Also suitable for use as soil release polymer in the present invention are water soluble modified celluloses which include, but are not limited to: carboxymethylcellulose, hydroxypropylcellulose, methylcellulose, and like compounds.",
"These compounds, and other suitable compounds, are described in Kirk Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 4 th Edition, vol.",
"5, pages 541-563, under the heading of “Cellulose Ethers”, and in the references cited therein.",
"[0040] Another class of suitable soil release polymers may comprise block copolymers of polyalkylene terephthalate and polyoxyethylene terephthalate, and block copolymers of polyalkylene terephthalate and polyethylene glycol.",
"These compounds are disclosed in details in are discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,358,914 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,879.",
"[0041] Another class of soil release polymer is a crystallizable polyester comprising ethylene terephthalate monomers, oxyethylene terephthalate monomers, or mixtures thereof.",
"Examples of this polymer are commercially available as Zelcon 4780® (from DuPont) and Milease T® (from ICI).",
"A more complete disclosure of these soil release agents is contained in EP 0 185 427 A1.",
"[0042] When present, the soil release polymer comprises from about 0.01% to about 20%, preferably from about 0.1% to about 10%, more preferably from about 0.5% to about 3%, by weight of the aqueous foam composition.",
"[0000] B. Surfactants [0043] Surfactants useful herein aid in the wetting of the fabric being pretreated and therefore may be selected from a wide variety of known surfactant materials as long as the surfactant used.",
"is either completely removed by the subsequent non-aqueous laundering step, or if not removed (in whole or only in part) then the surfactant is not recognized after the laundering step by the consumer as a stain on the fabric that has been pretreated.",
"Silicone-containing surfactants are preferred for use in the pretreatment compositions useful herein, alone or in combination with other surfactants.",
"[0044] Silicone-containing surfactants suitable for use herein contain at least one hydrophilic portion and at least one lipophilic portion.",
"Suitable silicone-containing surfactants typically have the following general formulas: Y u -(L t -X v ) x —Y′ w (I) L y -(X v —Y u ) x -L′ z (II) [0045] and mixtures thereof;",
"[0000] wherein L and L′ are solvent compatibilizing (or lipophilic) moieties, which are independently selected from: [0000] (a) C1-C22 alkyl or C4-C12 alkoxy, linear or branched, cyclic or acyclic, saturated or unsaturated, substituted or unsubstituted;",
"(b) siloxanes having the formula: M a D b D′ c D″ d wherein a is 0-2;",
"b is 0-1000;",
"c is 0-50;",
"d is 0-50, provided that a+c+d is at least 1;",
"[0049] M is R 1 3-e X e SiO 1/2 wherein R 1 is independently H, or an alkyl group, X is hydroxyl group, and e is 0 or 1;",
"[0050] D is R 4 2 SiO 2/2 wherein R 4 is independently H or an alkyl group;",
"[0051] D′ is R 5 2 SiO 2/2 wherein R 5 is independently H, an alkyl group or (CH 2 ) f (C 6 Q 4 ) g O—(C 2 H 4 O) h —(C 3 H6O) i (C k H 2k ) j —R 3 , provided that at least one R 5 is (CH 2 ) f (C 6 Q 4 ) g O—(C 2 H 4 O) h —(C 3 H 6 O) i (C k H 2k ) j —R 3 , wherein R 3 is independently H, an alkyl group or an alkoxy group, f is 1-10, g is 0 or 1, h is 1-50, i is 0-50, j is 0-50, k is 4-8;",
"C 6 Q 4 is unsubstituted or substituted;",
"Q is independently selected from H, C 1-10 alkyl, C 2-10 alkenyl, and mixtures thereof;",
"and [0052] D′ is R 6 2 SiO 2/2 wherein R 6 is independently H, an alkyl group or (CH 2 ) l (C 6 Q 4 ) m (A) n -[(T) o -(A′) p -] q -(T′) r Z(G) s , wherein 1 is 1-10;",
"m is 0 or 1;",
"n is 0-5;",
"o is 0-3;",
"p is 0 or 1;",
"q is 0-10;",
"r is 0-3;",
"s is 0-3;",
"C 6 Q 4 is unsubstituted or substituted;",
"Q is independently selected from H, C 1-10 alkyl, C 2-10 alkenyl, and mixtures thereof;",
"A and A′ are each independently a linking moiety representing an ester, a keto, an ether, a thio, an amido, an amino, a C 1-4 fluoroalkyl, a C 1-4 fluoroalkenyl, a branched or straight chained polyalkylene oxide, a phosphate, a sulfonyl, a sulfate, an ammonium, and mixtures thereof;",
"T and T′ are each independently a C 1-30 straight chained or branched alkyl or alkenyl or an aryl which is unsubstituted or substituted;",
"Z is a hydrogen, carboxylic acid, a hydroxy, a phosphato, a phosphate ester, a sulfonyl, a sulfonate, a sulfate, a branched or straight-chained polyalkylene oxide, a nitryl, a glyceryl, an aryl unsubstituted or substituted with a C 1-30 alkyl or alkenyl, a carbohydrate unsubstituted or substituted with a C 1-10 alkyl or alkenyl or an ammonium;",
"G is an anion or cation such as H + , Na + , Li + , K + , NH 4 + , Ca +2 , Mg +2 , Cl − , Br − , I − , mesylate or tosylate;",
"and D″ can be capped with C 1 -C 4 alkyl or hydroxy groups;",
"[0053] Y and Y′ are hydrophilic moieties, which are independently selected from hydroxy;",
"polyhydroxy;",
"C1-C3 alkoxy;",
"mono- or di-alkanolamine;",
"C1-C4 alkyl substituted alkanolamine;",
"substituted heterocyclic containing O, S, N;",
"sulfates;",
"carboxylate;",
"carbonate;",
"and when Y and/or Y′ is ethoxy (EO) or propoxy (PO), it must be capped with R, which is selected from the group consisting of: (i) a 4 to 8 membered, substituted or unsubstituted, heterocyclic ring containing from 1 to 3 hetero atoms;",
"and [0055] (ii) linear or branched, saturated or unsaturated, substituted or unsubstituted, cyclic or acyclic, aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbon radicals having from about 1 to about 30 carbon atoms;",
"[0056] X is a bridging linkage selected from O;",
"C1 to C22 alkyl, linear or branched, saturated or unsaturated, substituted or unsubstituted, cyclic or acyclic, aliphatic or aromatic, interrupted by O, S, N, P;",
"glycidyl, ester, amido, amino, PO 4 2− , HPO 4 − , PO 3 2− , HPO 3 − , which are protonated or unprotonated;",
"u and w are integers independently selected from 0 to 20, provided that u+w≧1;",
"t is an integer from 1 to 10;",
"v is an integer from 0 to 10;",
"x is an integer from 1 to 20;",
"and y and z are integers independently selected from 1 to 10.",
"[0062] Nonlimiting examples of surfactants having the above formula include: alkanolamines/alkanolamides;",
"phophate/phosphonate esters;",
"gemini surfactants including, but are not limited to, gemini diols, gemini amide alkoxylates, gemini amino alkoxylates;",
"capped nonionic surfactants;",
"capped silicone surfactants such as nonionic silicone ethoxylates, silicone amine derivatives;",
"alkyl alkoxylates;",
"polyol surfactants;",
"and mixtures thereof.",
"[0063] One class of silicone-containing surfactants are derived from poly(dimethylsiloxane).",
"These silicone-containing surfactants include polyether siloxanes, typically with a weight average molecular weight from 500 to 20,000 daltons.",
"Examples of silicone-containing surfactants described herein above may be found in EP 1,043,443A1, EP 1,041,189A1 and WO 01/34,706 (all assigned to GE Silicones);",
"U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,705, U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,977, U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,473, and EP 1,092,803A1 (all assigned to Lever Brothers);",
"and U.S. Pat. No. 6,890,892, US 2003/0060396A1, and US 2004/0266643A1 (assigned to Procter &",
"Gamble).",
"[0064] Nonlimiting commercially available examples of suitable silicone-containing surfactants are TSF 4446® (ex.",
"General Electric Silicones), XS69-B5476® (ex.",
"General Electric Silicones);",
"Jenamine® HSX (ex.",
"DelCon) and Y12147® (ex.",
"OSi Specialties).",
"[0065] Additional examples of silicone-containing surfactants suitable for use herein include, but are not limited to, the polyalkyleneoxide polysiloxanes having a dimethyl polysiloxane hydrophobic moiety and one or more hydrophilic polyalkylene side chains and have the general formula: R 1 —(CH 3 ) 2 SiO—[(CH 3 ) 2 SiO] a —[(CH 3 )(R 1 )SiO] b —Si(CH 3 ) 2 —R 1 wherein a+b are from about 1 to about 50, preferably from about 3 to about 30 , more preferably from about 10 to about 25, and each R 1 is the same or different and is selected from the group consisting of methyl and a poly(ethyleneoxide/propyleneoxide) copolymer group having the general formula: —(CH 2 ) n O(C 2 H 4 O) c (C 3 H 6 O) d R 2 with at least one R 1 being a poly(ethyleneoxide/propyleneoxide) copolymer group, and wherein n is 3 or 4, preferably 3;",
"total c (for all polyalkyleneoxy side groups) has a value of from 1 to about 100, preferably from about 6 to about 100;",
"total d is from 0 to about 14, preferably from 0 to about 3;",
"and more preferably d is 0;",
"total c+d has a value of from about 5 to about 150, preferably from about 9 to about 100 and each R 2 is the same or different and is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, an alkyl having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and an acetyl group, preferably hydrogen and methyl group.",
"Examples of these surfactants may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,705,562 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,613, both of which are assigned to Dow Corning Corporation.",
"[0066] Examples of this type of surfactants are the Silwet® surfactants which are available from CK Witco, OSi Division, Danbury, Connecticut.",
"Preferred Silwet® surfactants are L-7600, L-7602, L-7604, L-7605, L-7657, and mixtures thereof.",
"[0067] Another suitable silicone surfactant is SF-1488®, which is available from GE silicone fluids.",
"[0068] A preferred silicone-containing surfactant is Dow Corning Q2-5211 (made by Dow Corning;",
"CAS#: 67674-67-3) which is described as a 3-(polyoxyethylene)propyl heptamethyltrisiloxane compound.",
"[0000] C. Foaming Agent [0069] Any material (including surfactants) that stabilizes the foam structure of the pretreatment composition is useful as a foaming agent.",
"Surfactants may provide both the fabric wetting benefit described above for the surfactant component of the pretreatment composition and act as a foaming agent.",
"[0070] Non-limiting examples of foaming agents include: water-soluble amine oxides containing alkyl and hydroxyalkyl moieties;",
"and betaines, including alkyl betaines, sulfo betaines and hydroxy betaines.",
"[0071] Suitable foaming agents also include amine surfactants such as primary alkylamines having from about 6 to about 22 carbon atoms;",
"nonlimiting examples include oleylamine (commercially available from Akzo under the trade name ARMEEN OLD), dodecylamine (commercially available from Akzo under the trade name ARMEEN 12D), branched C 16 -C 22 alkylamine (commercially available from Rohm &",
"Haas under the trade name PRIMENE JM-T.",
"[0000] Optional Adjunct Ingredients [0072] The aqueous foam compositions may optionally comprise at least one adjunct ingredient.",
"The adjunct ingredients can vary widely and can be used at widely ranging levels.",
"When a cleaning adjunct is used, it is used generally at a level of at least about 0.01%, preferably at least about 0.5%, more preferably at least about 1%, and typically less than about 20%, preferably less than about 10%, more preferably less than about 5%, by weight of the composition.",
"However, some adjunct ingredients may be present in specific amounts different from the general amount above.",
"[0073] Perfumes and perfumery adjunct ingredients useful in the compositions of the present invention include a wide variety of natural and synthetic chemical ingredients, including, but not limited to, aldehydes, ketones, esters, and the like.",
"Also included are various natural extracts and essences which can comprise complex mixtures of ingredients, such as orange oil, lemon oil, rose extract, lavender, musk, patchouli, balsamic essence, sandalwood oil, pine oil, cedar, and the like.",
"Finished perfumes may comprise extremely complex mixtures of such ingredients.",
"Pro-perfumes are also useful in the present invention.",
"Such materials are those precursors or mixtures thereof capable of chemically reacting, e.g., by hydrolysis, to release a perfume, and are described in patents and/or published patent applications to Procter and Gamble, Firmenich, Givaudan and others.",
"[0074] Suitable solvents adjunct ingredients, in addition to water, include C1-C6 alcohols, C2-C6 diols, glycols, ethers, and mixtures thereof.",
"[0075] When solvent is used, it is used typically at a level of at least about 0.1%, preferably at least about 1%, more preferably at least about 2%, and typically less than about 30%, preferably less than about 20%, more preferably less than about 10%, by weight of the aqueous foam composition.",
"[0076] Nonlimiting examples of pH modifiers adjunct ingredients include the following buffering systems: D(+)-Tartaric acid and sodium hydroxide buffer, citric acid and sodium hydroxide, citric acid and sodium citrate, succinic acid and sodium hydroxide, Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (or Tris) and sodium hydroxide, potassium dihydrogen phosphate and sodium hydroxide.",
"[0077] Suitable odor control adjunct ingredients, which may optionally be used as finishing agents, include agents include, cyclodextrins, odor neutralizers, odor blockers and mixtures thereof.",
"Suitable odor neutralizers include aldehydes, flavanoids, metallic salts, water-soluble polymers, zeolites, activated carbon and mixtures thereof.",
"[0078] Other cleaning adjunct ingredients suitable for use in the compositions of the present invention include, but are not limited to, builders including the insoluble types, such as zeolites including zeolites A, P and the so-called maximum aluminum P, and the soluble types such as the phosphates and polyphosphates, any of the hydrous, water-soluble or water-insoluble silicates, 2,2′-oxydisuccinates, tartrate succinates, glycolates, NTA and many other ethercarboxylates or citrates;",
"chelants including EDTA, S,S′-EDDS, DTPA and phosphonates;",
"inorganic thickeners such as clays, silicates;",
"water soluble organic thickeners such as carboxylated vinyl polymers, incuding polyacrylics, polyacrylamides, ethoxylated cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, xanthum gums, guar gums, alginates;",
"optical brighteners;",
"processing aids such as crisping agents and/fillers;",
"anti-redeposition agents;",
"hydrotropes, such as sodium, or calcium cumene sulfonate, potassium napthalenesulfonate, or the like;",
"thickeners;",
"alkalinity sources or alkalis such as those based on sodium or potassium including the hydroxides, carbonates, bicarbonates and sulfates and the like;",
"non-silicone surfactants, such as nonionic, anionic, cationic surfactants;",
"dye transfer inhibiting agents, anti-microbial agents, enzyme stabilizers, antibacterial agents, fabric softening agents such as quaternary ammonium compounds (quats) or esterquats;",
"and combinations of one or more of these adjunct ingredients.",
"[0000] Non-Aqueous Wash Medium [0079] The non-aqueous wash medium useful herein comprises one or more lipophilic fluids.",
"In one embodiment, the non-aqueous wash medium comprises more than 50%, preferably more than 80% by weight of the wash medium of linear and/or cyclic siloxanes, preferably cyclic siloxanes, and more preferably decamethyl cyclopentasiloxanes, (“D5”).",
"In another embodiment, the non-aqueous wash medium comprises lipophilic fluids wherein cyclic siloxanes comprise more than 50%, preferably more than 80% by weight of the lipophilic fluid.",
"In yet another embodiment, the non-aqueous wash medium comprises a predominant fluid which is a siloxane, preferably a cyclic siloxane.",
"[0080] As used herein, the term “predominant fluid”",
"does not require the fluid to be present at more than 50 wt % of a fluid mixture.",
"For example, in a mixture of siloxane and three fluids, A, B, and C, having the weight percent: silicone: 30%, B: 25%, C: 25%, D: 20%, siloxane is by the present definition the predominant fluid.",
"[0081] “Lipophilic fluid”",
"as used herein means any liquid or mixture of liquid that is immiscible with water at up to 20% by weight of water.",
"In general, a suitable lipophilic fluid can be fully liquid at ambient temperature and pressure, can be an easily melted solid, e.g., one that becomes liquid at temperatures in the range from about 0° C. to about 60° C., or can comprise a mixture of liquid and vapor phases at ambient temperatures and pressures, e.g., at 25° C. and 1 atm.",
"pressure.",
"[0082] The suitable lipophilic fluid may be non-flammable or, have relatively high flash points and/or low VOC (volatile organic content) characteristics, these terms having conventional meanings as used in the dry cleaning industry, to equal to or exceed the characteristics of known conventional dry cleaning fluids.",
"[0083] Non-limiting examples of suitable lipophilic fluid materials include siloxanes, other silicones, hydrocarbons, glycol ethers, glycerine derivatives such as glycerine ethers, perfluorinated amines, perfluorinated and hydrofluoroether solvents, low-volatility nonfluorinated organic solvents, diol solvents, other environmentally-friendly solvents and mixtures thereof.",
"[0084] “Siloxane”",
"as used herein means silicone fluids that are non-polar and insoluble in water or lower alcohols.",
"Linear siloxanes (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,747, and 5,977,040) and cyclic siloxanes are useful herein, including the cyclic siloxanes selected from the group consisting of octamethyl-cyclotetrasiloxane (tetramer), dodecamethyl-cyclohexasiloxane (hexamer), decamethyl-cyclopentasiloxane (pentamer, commonly referred to as “D5”) and mixtures thereof.",
"A suitable siloxane comprises more than about 50% cyclic siloxane pentamer, or more than about 75% cyclic siloxane pentamer, or at least about 90% of the cyclic siloxane pentamer.",
"Also suitable for use herein are siloxanes that are a mixture of cyclic siloxanes having at least about 90% (or at least about 95%) pentamer and less than about 10% (or less than about 5%) tetramer and/or hexamer.",
"[0085] The lipophilic fluid can include any fraction of dry-cleaning solvents, especially newer types including fluorinated solvents, or perfluorinated amines.",
"Some perfluorinated amines such as perfluorotributylamines, while unsuitable for use as lipophilic fluid, may be present as one of many possible adjuncts present in the lipophilic fluid-containing composition.",
"[0086] Other suitable lipophilic fluids include, but are not limited to, diol solvent systems e.g., higher diols such as C 6 or C 8 or higher diols, organosilicone solvents including both cyclic and acyclic types, and the like, and mixtures thereof.",
"[0087] Non-limiting examples of low volatility non-fluorinated organic solvents include for example OLEAN® and other polyol esters, or certain relatively nonvolatile biodegradable mid-chain branched petroleum fractions.",
"[0088] Non-limiting examples of glycol ethers include propylene glycol methyl ether, propylene glycol n-propyl ether, propylene glycol t-butyl ether, propylene glycol n-butyl ether, dipropylene glycol methyl ether, dipropylene glycol n-propyl ether, dipropylene glycol t-butyl ether, dipropylene glycol n-butyl ether, tripropylene glycol methyl ether, tripropylene glycol n-propyl ether, tripropylene glycol t-butyl ether, tripropylene glycol n-butyl ether.",
"[0089] Non-limiting examples of other silicone solvents, in addition to the siloxanes, are well known in the literature, see, for example, Kirk Othmer's Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, and are available from a number of commercial sources, including GE Silicones, Toshiba Silicone, Bayer, and Dow Corning.",
"For example, one suitable silicone solvent is SF-1528 available from GE Silicones.",
"[0090] Non-limiting examples of suitable glycerine derivative solvents include 2,3-bis(1,1-dimethylethoxy)-1-propanol;",
"2,3-dimethoxy-1-propanol;",
"3-methoxy-2-cyclopentoxy-1-propanol;",
"3-methoxy-1-cyclopentoxy-2-propanol;",
"carbonic acid (2-hydroxy-1-methoxymethyl)ethyl ester methyl ester;",
"glycerol carbonate and mixtures thereof.",
"[0091] Cleaning, detersive and/or fabric care agents may optionally be added to the non-aqueous wash medium.",
"Nonlimiting examples of these agents are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,660,703;",
"6,673,764;",
"6,734,153;",
"6,746,617;",
"6,828,295;",
"6,894,014;",
"2003/0119699A1;",
"2005/0000027A1;",
"2005/0000030A1;",
"2005/0003981A1.",
"[0000] Foam-Generating Applicator [0092] The aqueous foam composition is preferably dispensed from a foam-generating applicator.",
"The applicator comprises a vessel having a hollow body for containing the composition and a foam-generating dispenser which is operatively attached, directly or indirectly, to the vessel for generating a foam.",
"The foam-generating dispenser may generate a foam via any method, such as a chemical reaction, an enzyme reaction and/or a mechanical action.",
"A mechanical action typically involves imparting a gas, such as air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, directly into the composition in a turbulent manner as it dispenses, so as to physically form a foam of the composition.",
"[0093] One embodiment of the foam-generating dispenser may include an air injection piston, a pump, an impinging surface, a mesh or net, and/or a sprayer.",
"An exemplary foam-generating applicator is described in details in US 2004/0229763A1.",
"Other nonlimiting examples of foam-generating applicators suitable for use herein include T8900, OpAd FO 8203 and 7512 series foamers from Afa-polytek, Holmond, The Netherlands;",
"Ti, F2 and WR-F3 series foamers from Airspray International, Inc., North Pompano Beach, Fla.",
"USA;",
"TS-800 and Mixor series foramers from Saint-Gobain Calmar, Inc., City of Industry, Calif.",
", USA;",
"pump foamers and squeeze foamers from Daiwa Can Company, Tokyo, Japan;",
"TS1 and TS2 series foamers from Guala Dispensing USA Inc., Hillsborough, N.J., USA;",
"and YT-87L-FP, YT-87L-FX and YT-97 series foamers from Yoshino Kogyosho CO.",
", Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.",
"[0094] When the aqueous composition is dispensed from the foam-generating applicator, an aqueous foam composition useful in the present invention is produced.",
"[0095] Foam to weight ratio is a measurement of the mL of foam generated per gram of composition.",
"The foam-generating applicator useful herein generates a foam having a foam to weight ratio of greater than about 2 mL/g, preferably from about 3 mL/g to about 10 mL/g, more preferably from about 4 mL/g to about 8 mL/g.",
"[0096] Foam to weight ratio is measured as follows: a volumetric measuring device, such as a graduated cylinder is weighed to get a tare weight.",
"Then, the composition is dispensed, using the foam-generating applicator, if appropriate, into a graduated cylinder a set number of strokes for non-continuous dispensing applicators or for a set time period for continuous dispensing applicators.",
"Typically, ten strokes are applied to non-continuous applicators (pumps, sprayers) or ten seconds are used with continuous applicators.",
"The dispensing rate in the test should be consistent with the dispensing rate during normal usage scenarios, for example, 120 strokes per minute for trigger sprayers, or 45 strokes per minute for palm pumps.",
"[0097] The volume of foam generated is measured in mL using the volumetric measuring device (graduated cylinder).",
"The volumetric measuring device containing the dispensed composition is weighed in grams.",
"The tare weight of the volumetric measuring device is subtracted from this weight.",
"The result is the grams of the composition dispensed.",
"Finally, the foam to weight ratio in mUg is calculated by dividing the volume of foam generated (in mL) by the weight composition dispensed (in g).",
"[0000] Methods [0098] The aqueous foam composition may be applied to a stain, preferably a hydrophilic stain, on a fabric article in need of treatment by the foam-generating applicator.",
"Once the composition is applied, it is allowed sufficient time for the composition, more specifically the stain removal agents, to penetrate the fabric and to become associate with the soils.",
"The fabric article is then washed in a non-aqueous medium in a washing machine according to standard laundering practice.",
"[0099] The aqueous foam compositions are typically used for direct treatment of a soil or stained area of a textile or garment.",
"Specifically, an effective amount of the aqueous foam composition is dispensed (manually or mechanically) from a dispensing device and applied directly to the location of a stain on a soiled garment or fabric article, optionally onto the surrounding area of the stain.",
"The dispensing device can be the foam-generating applicator described above.",
"To make the manual application process convenient and effective for the consumers, the applicator may be further equipped with a spraying mechanism such as a pump and a spray nozzle, a squeezable container, a liquid permeable applicator tip made of porous materials such as sponges or fibrous mats, a spinnable brush tip, and the like.",
"[0100] In use, an effective amount of the composition is dispensed as a foam and applied substantially evenly to a localized area on the fabric or garment.",
"In typical embodiments, from about 0.1 to about 900 mg, preferably from about 50 to about 750 mg, more preferably from about 100 to about 400 mg composition per gram of treated fabric is applied.",
"In a specific embodiment wherein the hydrophilic stain removal agent is about 3wt % of the composition, the effective amount of the stain removal agent applied to the fabric is from about 0.03 mg to about 30 mg per gram of treated fabric.",
"[0101] The foam composition is allowed to penetrate the fabric.",
"Because the high air/gas content in the foamed composition, the soil removal agents in the composition penetrate the fabric more slowly and more evenly than if the composition were dispensed as sprayed or misted droplets.",
"This allows the treating agents in the composition to have more time to associate with the stains before the fabric article is placed inside a laundering machine.",
"The pretreatment time is at least about 10 seconds, preferably from about 10 to about 900 seconds, more preferably from about 20 to about 600 seconds, even more preferably from about 30 to about 300 seconds.",
"[0102] In addition to longer action time, it is surprising to find that the hydrophilic soils loosened from the fabric exhibit a lesser tendency to redeposit onto the aqueous pretreated spot during the subsequent non-aqueous wash step.",
"Without being bound by theory, it is believed that when an aqueous pretreat composition is applied as droplets, water in the composition is instantaneously absorbed/wicked into the fabric, to form concentrated spots on the pretreated fabrics;",
"such concentrated water spots act like magnets attracting the hydrophilic soils in a non-aqueous wash medium.",
"In contrast, the foam composition allows for more even distribution of the treating agents as well as the carrier (i.e., water);",
"thus, there are no concentrated water spots on the pretreated fabric to attract hydrophilic soils.",
"[0103] In another embodiment, one may manually apply agitation or abrasion to the fabric at the locus of the stain and optionally the surrounding area.",
"Such manipulation provides the mechanical action helpful for physically breaking up the stains.",
"This is particularly useful for aged stains that have been left untreated for an extended period of time such as days or weeks, and may have hardened.",
"[0104] In another embodiment, the entire process may take place inside a laundering apparatus, in a hands-free manner.",
"Thus, the fabric articles are placed inside a fabric article treating apparatus;",
"the fabric articles may initially be contacted by an aqueous foam composition and subsequently contacted by a non-aqueous wash medium comprising lipophilic fluid, preferably more than 50 wt % cyclic siloxane.",
"The apparatus may be capable of executing automated dosing of the aqueous foam composition and/or the lipophilic fluid by the apparatus.",
"[0000] Products Containing Compositions and Instructions for use [0105] The aqueous foam compositions of the present invention are preferably included in a product.",
"The product preferably comprises an aqueous composition in a container, preferably a foam-generating applicator in accordance with the present invention, and further comprises instructions for using the product to launder fabrics by contacting a fabric in need of treatment with an effective amount of the composition, preferably to a localized area, and followed by a non-aqueous wash treatment, such that the soils are removed from the laundered article.",
"It is recognized that the foam-generating applicator may be provided separately, and the aqueous composition may be transferred to the separately acquired foam-generating applicator prior to use or dispensing.",
"[0106] The present invention therefore also encompasses the inclusion of instructions on the use of the compositions of the present invention with packages containing the compositions herein or with other forms of advertising associated with the sale or use of the compositions.",
"The instructions may be included in any manner typically used by consumer product manufacturing or supply companies.",
"Examples include providing instructions: on a label attached to the container holding the composition;",
"on a sheet either attached to the container or accompanying it when purchased;",
"or in advertisements, demonstrations, and/or other written or oral instructions which may be associated with the purchase or use of the compositions.",
"[0107] Specifically the instructions may include a description of the use of the composition, for instance: the recommended amount of composition to apply to a localized (e.g., stained) area;",
"the recommended amount of time to wait for the composition to penetrate the pretreated fabric;",
"and the recommended wash medium to used in the subsequent laundering step.",
"[0108] In one embodiment, the product may be a garment stain removal kit comprising: (a) a dispenser comprising a vessel and a foam-generating dispensing device;",
"(b) an aqueous composition comprising a hydrophilic stain removal agent and water, the hydrophilic stain removal agent is selected from the group consisting of a bleach, an enzyme, a soil repellent, a soil release polymer, and mixtures thereof;",
"and (c) a set of instructions for using the kit comprising the steps of: (i) placing the composition in the vessel, if the composition and the vessel are provided separately;",
"(ii) using the dispenser to apply an effective amount of the composition to at least a stained portion of a garment, wherein the composition is dispensed from the dispenser as a foam having a foam to weight ratio of greater than about 2 mL/g and the effective amount is at least about 0.1 mg/g of treated fabric;",
"(iii) allowing the composition to penetrate the garment for at least about 10 seconds;",
"and (iv) placing the garment in a laundry apparatus and contacting the garment with a non-aqueous wash medium comprising a predominant fluid of cyclic siloxanes.",
"[0109] Non-limiting examples of aqueous foam pretreatment compositions useful herein include the following: Ingredients Function Comp.",
"1 Comp.",
"2 Hydrogen peroxide Bleach 2% 3% Silicone surfactant Fabric Wetting 0.5% 1% (Dow Corning Q2-5211) Amine oxide Foaming agent 1% 2% Diethylene triamine Chelant 10 ppm 25 ppm pentaacetic acid (DTPA) Sodium hydroxide pH adjustment 600 ppm 1000 ppm Potassium chloride pH adjustment 400 ppm 800 ppm Citric acid pH adjustment 800 ppm 1200 ppm Water Carrier solvent/stain Balance Balance solvation [0110] All documents cited in the Detailed Description of the Invention are, in relevant part, incorporated herein by reference;",
"the citation of any document is not to be construed as an admission that it is prior art with respect to the present invention.",
"[0111] While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.",
"It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modification that are within the scope of this invention."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a systematic, method and apparatus for reliability monitoring and, more particularly, to a finite state machine as part of a microprocessor chip and used to control and enhance the reliability and/or the performance of the microprocessor system. The present invention further relates to the ability to capture the manner in which mean time to failure (MTTF) varies as a function of the input workload executing on the microprocessor or microprocessor-based system and using this information in either enhancing reliability or boosting microprocessor performance.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Advances in semiconductor (specifically, complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)) technology have been improving microprocessor performance steadily over the past few decades. However, such advances accelerate the onset of reliability problems. Specifically, one of the consequences of progressive scaling of device and interconnect geometries is the increase in average and peak power densities (and hence temperatures) across the chip.
[0005] The inherent increase in static (leakage) power with scaling into the deep sub-micron region, adds to these issues. In addition, the major components of leakage power increase with temperature, making the problem even harder to control. Despite advances in packaging and cooling technologies, it is an established concern, that the average and peak operating temperatures within key units inside a microprocessor chip will be higher with the progressive scaling of technology.
[0006] Already, to protect against thermal runaways, microprocessors (e.g., INTEL® Pentium 4™ and IBM® POWER5™) have introduced on-chip temperature monitoring devices, with mechanisms to throttle the processor execution speeds, as needed. The objective is to reduce on-chip power when maximum allowable temperatures are approached or exceeded.
[0007] Failure rates of individual components making up an integrated circuit (or a larger system) are fundamentally related to operating temperatures, i.e., these rates increase with temperature. As such, chips or systems designed to operate at a given average temperature range, are expected to fail sooner than specified, if that range is routinely exceeded during normal operating conditions.
[0008] Conversely, consider a case where a chip or system is designed to meet a certain mean time to failure (MTTF), at an assumed maximum operating temperature. In this case, the designed chip or system will be expected to have a longer lifetime, if the actual operating temperatures happen to be lower. Thus, it may be possible to “overclock” (or speed up) the processor during phases of the workload when the operating power and temperature values are well below the maximum temperatures assumed during the projection of expected MTTF.
[0009] Electromigration and stress migration effects in the chip interconnects are major sources of failures in a chip and, they both have a direct dependence on operating temperature. However, aspects of reliability degradation with CMOS scaling, are not solely due to the power and temperature implications. For example, time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) is an extremely important failure mechanism in semiconductor devices. With time, the gate dielectric wears down and fails when a conductive path forms in the dielectric.
[0010] With CMOS scaling, the dielectric thickness is decreasing to the point where it is only tens of angstroms. Coupled with the fact that there has been a general slowdown in the way the supply voltage is scaling down, the intrinsic failure rate due to dielectric breakdown is expected to increase.
[0011] Furthermore, TDDB failure rates also have a very strong temperature dependence. Thermal cycling effects, caused by periodic changes in the chip temperature are another factor that degrades reliability. Again, this factor is not directly related to the average operating temperature; rather, it is a function of the number of thermal cycles that the chip can go through before failure.
[0012] Since the power consumed by the chip (or system) varies with the executing workload, it is clear that the actual operating temperature and failure rate of a component (and hence of the system) depend on the workload.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] A reliability calculator and monitoring system that can be located on a microprocessor chip is disclosed. During program run or workload execution, it can collect information and estimate chip wide reliability by aggregating together the individual structures'reliability values for the various parts of the microprocessor floorplan.
[0014] The prior art lacks disclosure of workload-dependent variability of failure rates and overall MTTF of a microprocessor which is projected or estimated during program run and such transient or average reliability information is used to control the operation of the microprocessor. Currently, no online reliability assessments can be done for a chip after it is shipped. Traditionally, reliability assessments are done only at the back-end technology qualification stage and once a design is qualified no further steps are taken to equip a given released chip from susceptibility to reliability degradation and failures.
[0015] With the possible emergence of external hardware system attacks from thermal viruses (e.g. a piece of code written to exhaustively exercise an individual structure like a functional unit on-chip), the reliability of various on-chip structures of a microprocessor core can be stretched beyond their electromigration, gate-oxide breakdown, stress migration, and thermal cycling-tolerable limits, thereby leading to the failure of the chip.
[0016] An aspect of the present invention includes the adoption of a step-by-step methodology, based on fundamental formulations in the physics of temperature-sensitive degradation of chip reliability factors, of workload-dependent variation of failure rates and mean time to failure. Another aspect of this invention includes the adoption of a step-by-step methodology, based on fundamental formulations in the physics of CMOS technology scaling and temperature-insensitive degradation of chip reliability factors, of workload- and CMOS generation-dependent variation of failure rates and mean time to failure.
[0017] A system and method for projecting reliability to manage system functions includes an activity module which determines activity in the system. A reliability module interacts with the activity module to determine a reliability measurement for the module in real-time based upon the activity and measured operational quantities of the system. A management module manages actions of the system based upon the reliability measurement input from the reliability module. This may be to provide corrective action, to reallocate resources, increase reliability of the module, etc.
[0018] The present invention incorporates these methods in a computer module that can be integrated in a microprocessor for deriving the transient and steady-state reliability of a given microprocessor chip and using such information to control the operation of the microprocessor to enhance its overall reliability and/or boost performance.
[0019] Another aspect of the present invention is the implementation of variations of the methods in on-chip hardware controls that can be used to manage the microprocessor's power consumption (and performance) in response to changes in the projected reliability metrics of individual units or components, over time and as a function of the input workload.
[0020] These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0021] The invention will be described in detail in the following description of preferred embodiments with reference to the following figures wherein:
[0022] FIG. 1 is a block/flow diagram for a system/method for evaluating and managing reliability of a chip/module in accordance with one illustrative embodiment of the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment showing on-chip hardware-based or software-based projection and monitoring, for estimating reliability in accordance with the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of another embodiment showing projection and monitoring, for estimating reliability in accordance with the present invention;
[0025] FIG. 4 is a truth table of the “signals states” of the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 3 ;
[0026] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a reliability savings accumulator in accordance with the present invention; and
[0027] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of yet another embodiment for projection and monitoring for estimating reliability in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0028] The present invention includes systematic methods and devices for putting together a reliability monitoring and reliability enhancing system. The device may be implemented as a finite state machine as part of a microprocessor chip, and the method of use may be implemented to control and enhance the reliability of the microprocessor system.
[0029] With one-time only late-stage evaluation capability (which represents current state-of-the-art), microprocessor designs are likely to encounter post-silicon surprises in terms of severely reduced reliabilities that may cause a product to be prematurely withdrawn from the marketplace, for example. The present invention provides a “self-healing” mechanism (preferably, on-chip) that can help detect potential failure behavior and respond with a corrective action. In addition, the apparatus can also be used to raise and improve processor performance in situations where the microprocessor is operating below the temperature/power/reliability that it was designed for.
[0030] The present invention also offers the microprocessor designer the opportunity to design without hard and strict temperature guard band limits, hence reducing the cost of design.
[0031] In one aspect of the present invention, a microarchitecture-level reliability finite state machine is provided for dynamically estimating on-chip reliability, embodied in the form of either a software or hardware module, that is integrated as part of the microprocessor chip and is used to monitor and enhance the reliability of a microprocessor.
[0032] One embodiment either dynamically or a-priori divides the whole on-chip floorplan into a finite number of individual discrete structures or regions. Each individual region or structure potentially covers one or more functional units or other logic or memory structures on-chip. The individual regions or structures are each equipped with on-chip data sensors (for gathering instructions per cycle (IPC)/activity, power, and/or temperature data) that can be probed periodically to ascertain instant (transient or steady-state) respective values of the corresponding individual region or structure on chip.
[0033] The device in accordance with the present invention will periodically sample on-chip individual region/structure sensors during workload execution and use these individual regional/structure values in collaboration with other embedded reliability determinants to estimate individual regional/structure and chip-wide reliability on the fly.
[0034] The resulting reliability estimate(s) are then checked against original kept microprocessor reliability target(s) to ascertain whether or not an individual unit, region and/or structure on chip or the whole chip is degrading in reliability. If it is determined that the reliability of an individual unit, region or structure on-chip is deteriorating or there is the danger of a chip-wide reliability deterioration, the device may kick off one or more various corrective actions.
[0035] On the other hand, if it is determined that the processor is well below and within an earlier set acceptable reliability threshold, the device may apply actions to increase or boost the system performance. Based on the capabilities embedded in the design of the microprocessor, examples of these actions may include a triggering mechanism for chip-wide and/or individual region/structure voltage and/or frequency up and down scaling, job migration from one region to another, a slowdown/reduction in work per an affected region/structure, and/or an increase in the amount of work in a chip region/structure.
[0036] One major advantage of using the present invention is the ability to dynamically detect potential reliability problems across a chip that is already installed in the field and react to avert a failure due to reliability degradation. The present invention has the potential to work to counteract, e.g., thermal virus hardware breakdown threats on a chip. Another major advantage includes adjustment of a microprocessor's performance upwards in situations where it is found that the microprocessor is running far below a set reliability threshold.
[0037] The present invention provides reliability feedback, based on fundamental formulations in the physics of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology scaling and temperature-insensitive degradation of chip reliability factors, of workload and CMOS generation-dependent variation of failure rates and mean time to failure, to control chip or system reliability and performance.
[0038] Some of the known and researched failure mechanisms responsible for CMOS chip reliability include electromigration, stress migration, gate oxide breakdown and thermal cycling. There are many such mechanisms that affect on-chip reliability that are not discussed here in detail, but all such mechanisms can be incorporated in the reliability estimating tool of the present invention as described herein.
[0039] Electromigration occurs, especially in aluminum and copper interconnects due to the mass transport of conductor metal atoms in the interconnects. Conducting electrons transfer some of their momentum to the metal atoms of the interconnect. This “electron wind” driving force creates a net flow of metal atoms in the direction of electron flow. As the atoms migrate, there is depletion of metal atoms in one region and pile up in other regions. The depletion sites can see increased interconnect resistance or open circuits, and extrusions can occur at sites of metal atom pile up. Electromigration has an exponential dependence on temperature.
[0040] Extensive research has been performed by the material science and semiconductor community on modeling the effects of electromigration, and it is a well understood failure mechanism.
[0041] A model used for electromigration includes:
MTTF = A CV WH fp ⅇ E a kT
where A is a proportionality constant, C is the capacitance of the structure, V is the supply voltage, W is the width of interconnects modeled, H is the height of interconnects modeled, f is the operating frequency, p is the activity factor of utilization of the structure, E a is the activation energy for electromigration, k is Boltzmann's constant, and T is the temperature in Kelvin of the structure.
[0042] Much like electromigration, stress migration is a phenomenon where the metal atoms in the interconnects migrate. It is caused by mechanical stress due to differing thermal expansion rates of different materials in a device. A model used for stress migration includes:
MTTF = A T - T 0 - n ⅇ E a kT
where A is a proportionality constant, T is the temperature of the structure, T 0 is the stress free temperature or metal deposition temperature, E a is the activation energy for stress migration, and k is Boltzmann's constant.
[0043] Time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB), or gate oxide breakdown, is another failure mechanism in semiconductor devices. The gate dielectric wears down with time, and fails when a conductive path forms in the dielectric. The model used for TDDB includes:
MTTF = A ( 1 V ) ( a - bT ) ⅇ ( X + Y T + ZT ) kT
where A is a proportionality constant, V is the supply voltage, T is the temperature of the structure, and a, b, X, Y, and Z are fitting parameters.
[0044] Temperature cycles can cause fatigue failures. Damage accumulates every time there is a cycle in temperature, eventually leading to failure. Although all parts of the device experience fatigue, the effect is most pronounced in the package and die interface (for example, solder joints). The model used for thermal cycling includes:
MTTF = A ( 1 T - T ambient ) q
where A is a proportionality constant, T is the temperature of the structure, T ambient is the ambient temperature, and q is a structure dependent exponent.
[0045] To obtain the overall reliability of a processor, the effects of the above-mentioned different failure mechanisms and other prominent mechanisms not mentioned here are combined across different structures. This includes knowledge of lifetime distributions of the failure mechanisms, and is generally difficult. One model used in the industry is the sum-of-failure-rates (SOFR) model, which makes two assumptions to address this problem: (1) the processor is a series failure system, in other words, the first instance of any structure failing due to any failure mechanism causes the entire processor to fail; and (2) each individual failure mechanism has a constant failure rate (equivalently, every failure mechanism has an exponential lifetime distribution).
[0046] The above two assumptions imply (1) the MTTF of the processor, MTTF p , is the inverse of the total failure rate of the processor, λ p ; and (2) the failure rate of the processor is the sum of the failure rates of the individual structures due to individual failure mechanisms. Hence,
MTTF p = 1 λ p = 1 ∑ i = 1 j ∑ l = 1 k λ il
where λ il is the failure rate of the ith structure due to the lth failure mechanism.
[0047] The individual failure mechanism models can be made to provide failure rates for fixed instantaneous operating conditions even though when an application runs, these parameters all vary with time. This variation may be accounted for by: (1) calculating a failure rate based on instantaneous parameters; and (2) using an average over time of these values to determine the actual failure rate for each structure for each failure mechanism when running the application.
[0048] It should be understood that the elements shown in the FIGS. may be implemented in various forms of hardware, software or combinations thereof. Preferably, these elements are implemented in a combination of hardware, firmware and/or software on one or more appropriately programmed general-purpose digital computers or solid-state chips, which may include one or more of a processor, memory and input/output interfaces. A module referred to herein may include a chip, system of chips, integrated circuit, printed circuit board or a computer rendered simulation of a chip. Module and chip may be employed synonymously herein. A module may further include a chip design, printed circuit board or a software module in the context of computer implementations.
[0049] Referring now to the drawings in which like numerals represent the same or similar elements and initially to FIG. 1 , an illustrative overview of the present invention shows aspects of the present invention that can be applied to monitor, balance and enhance on-chip microprocessor reliability. For an on-chip system in accordance with the present invention, a plurality of sensors or feedback devices may employed to take measurements or monitor different characteristics/criteria in real-time. This assumes that various designated structures/regions have been assigned (divided into areas or regions) or created on-chip, making up the full chip, and are equipped with dedicated data sensors in block 99 .
[0050] Data sensors may include fabricated devices formed on the chip, such as transistors, diodes, capacitors, etc. or structures, such as registers, functional units and even additional chips. These devices/structure may be designed to measure parameters such as temperature, voltage, workload, frequency, number of operations, etc. As mentioned, these data sensors are used for collecting various data (power, frequency, activity, temperature, etc.), which are fed into a reliability estimating tool or calculator for the purpose of calculating the same.
[0051] One approach is described in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/829,741, to P. Bose et al., entitled, “SYSTEM AND METHOD OF WORKLOAD-DEPENDENT RELIABILITY PROJECTION AND MONITORING FOR MICROPROCESSOR CHIPS AND SYSTEMS,” filed Apr. 22, 2004 and incorporated herein by reference.
[0052] It is further assumed that there are available on the chip, various logic and resources that the system can use in making necessary instant decisions and in taking corrective actions. Some of these decisions may be to either improve reliability on various chip regions/structures or globally if it is noted that reliability is deteriorating, or to boost regional or full chip performance if it seen that the system is running far below a given reliability threshold and more performance can be harnessed without negatively impacting reliability. Some corrective actions may be the ability to adjust up and down the global or regional chip voltage, the ability to adjust up or down global or regional chip frequency, the ability to clock-gate or power-gate a given region or structure on chip, and the ability to move computation (job migration) from one section of the chip to another section. In particular, it may be possible to “overclock” (or speed up) the processor during phases of the workload when the reliability estimates are far lower from the expected chip MTTF.
[0053] As depicted in FIG. 1 , a flow/block diagram shows operations of a chip system in accordance with the present invention having regions divided and equipped with sensors as described above. The system probes regional data sensors in block 100 at pre-designated time intervals. The resulting data is then used by a reliability-estimating tool in block 101 with other preset data to calculate the instantaneous reliability.
[0054] With the assistance of preset data and thresholds, the system then determines whether there is a chip-wide reliability problem in block 102 . If the determination is yes, then a global corrective action is taken in block 103 . It is to be noted that a chip-wide reliability problem here can be considered in a plurality of ways. These may include, for example, either the chip-wide reliability is degrading, for which a corrective action should be taken, or the chip-wide reliability is notably too low, below the system's accepted threshold, again for which a performance boost corrective action may be taken.
[0055] In the absence of a chip-wide reliability problem, the system checks for individual structure/regional reliability problems in block 104 . If it is determined that such problems exist, then individual structure/regional corrective action may be taken in block 105 . If no reliability problem is registered in the present cycle or time period, the system takes no action and goes into a waiting mode to restart for the next invocation period in block 106 .
[0056] Referring to FIG. 2 , a reliability estimating tool or system 190 which may be implemented in hardware, firmware or software is illustratively shown. In one embodiment, on-chip activity is measured by employing functional unit counters CTR 1-N in counter array 200 , temperature sensors 201 , electrical/power sensors 202 , frequency sensors 203 and other sensors 204 . With these inputs, on-line real-time reliability calculations can be performed. The temperature, power, activity, etc. factors obtained from the counters CTR in array 200 and sensors 201 , 202 , 203 , 204 can be utilized by on-chip reliability evaluation hardware or circuitry 205 in the equations for individual failure mechanisms for the instantaneous reliability value 210 . These calculations may be performed on-chip or the data exported to another chip or device to perform the calculation.
[0057] In an alternate embodiment, mechanism 205 may be used as part of an operating system. For example, instead of having on-chip reliability calculation hardware, the readings from temperature sensors 201 , electrical/power sensors 202 , frequency sensors 203 , other sensors 204 and activity counters CTR 200 may be collated by an operating system where a kernel program can calculate processor reliability and output a projection or metric. Unit weights, W i , determined or generated in, for example, an unconstrained power profile of the chip in block 207 may be stored on-chip or off-chip in memory 206 , e.g., programmable read-only memory and employed to assist in the calculation of reliability projections.
[0058] Referring to FIG. 3 , an illustrative embodiment of the present invention shows an activity/instructions-per-cycle (IPC) monitor 301 used for collecting activity/IPC data and for projecting MTTF or reliability data (e.g., as performed with reference to FIG. 2 ). In addition, the embodiment employs a reliability savings accumulator 303 and reliability budget decision logic 304 .
[0059] The reliability savings accumulator 303 (one such embodiment is illustratively shown in FIG. 4 ) uses data information from the activity/IPC monitor 301 (“active flag”) and projects up or down (add or subtract) (e.g. in counter 407 of FIG. 5 ) the current MTTF reliability value. Reliability budget decision logic 304 makes use of the microprocessor's originally specified MTTF target 306 and current instant data from the reliability savings accumulator 303 in deciding whether the microprocessor's mean time to failure is varying with respect to an earlier specified threshold.
[0060] This embodiment also makes use of a throttle logic facility 302 , which provides logic and/or clock control signals 305 to the various functional units or regions/structures on chip. The throttle logic 302 is responsible for applying the necessary corrective action for either improving the microprocessor reliability or boosting microprocessor performance. If it is determined that the reliability of an individual region/structure on-chip is deteriorating or there is the danger of a chip-wide reliability deterioration, a “savings” signal or flag (e.g., ‘0’) is sent to the throttle logic 302 to kick off one or more various local or global corrective actions 305 .
[0061] If it is determined that the processor (e.g., monitor 301 ) is well below and within an acceptable reliability threshold, the embodiment sends a different “savings” signal (e.g., ‘1’) to the throttle logic 302 to apply actions that increase or boost the system performance, and this can either be local or global 305 .
[0062] Based on the capabilities embedded in the design of the microprocessor or system, examples of such actions may include voltage and/or frequency up and down scaling, job migration from one region to another, work slowdown/reduction in a region/structure, and an increase in the amount of work in a chip region/structure.
[0063] Referring to FIG. 4 , a truth table 310 of signal states for the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is provided. Active signals indicate whether the chip activity meets or exceeds a threshold amount (“1”) or is less than the threshold amount (“0”) as determined by monitor 301 . Savings signals indicate whether the reliability threshold meets or exceeds a threshold amount (“1”) or is less than the threshold amount (“0”), as determined by decision logic 304 . A speed/resource label is provided given the signal conditions of the active and savings signals, and UP and DOWN signals are determined accordingly as output of throttle logic 302 .
[0064] Referring to FIG. 5 , an illustrative embodiment of reliability savings accumulator 303 is shown. A system clock generator 405 provides a plurality of different clock signals (e.g., high CLK, nominal CLK and low CLK). In addition, a reliability accumulator counter clock 411 may be provided which is employed to trigger each cycle of the reliability monitoring process. A clock rate selector 403 is responsive to whether chip activity should be increased or decreased based up N-bit up/down counter 407 . Counter 407 is controlled by throttle logic 302 ( FIG. 3 ) as to when to record up/down counts. Up/down counts indicate changes to reliability values (e.g., MTTF) by projecting up or down the current MTTF reliability value.
[0065] In an illustrative example, when counter 407 indicates that a count threshold has been exceeded, clock rate selector 403 is notified to maintain the clock rate or adjust the clock rate in accordance with one of the plurality of clock signals. Other actions and conditions for regulating reliability are also contemplated.
[0066] In addition, the system scans global threshold and unit or local regions in block 401 to determine if reliability thresholds have been exceeded in each region, unit or other discrete area.
[0067] Logic devices such as NOR 402 , AND 403 , OR 405 , and inverter 409 may be replaced by other circuit configurations.
[0068] Referring now to FIG. 6 , another embodiment of the present invention is illustratively shown. A system 500 periodically samples on-chip individual region/structure sensors (e.g., architecture, power, temperature) 501 , 505 , 510 etc. during workload execution and uses resulting values in collaboration with other embedded reliability determinants like floorplan relative unit weights 515 to estimate individual regional/structure and chip-wide reliability on the fly (as described with reference to FIG. 2 ). The resulting reliability estimate(s) determined by a reliability calculator 520 are fed into reliability budget decision logic 525 where they are checked against original microprocessor MTTF reliability target(s) to ascertain whether or not an individual region/structure on chip or the whole chip is degrading in reliability or could use an upshot in reliability to improve performance.
[0069] Based on the determination, a signal is sent to throttle logic 530 , which based on the signal, can invoke a collection of corrective or performance actions 535 or no action at all. Examples or actions may include performing functions in other areas of a chip, adjusting the clock rate, turning on a cooling system, adjusting power globally or locally, etc.
[0070] Having described preferred embodiments of a method and apparatus for monitoring and enhancing on-chip microprocessor reliability (which are intended to be illustrative and not limiting), it is noted that modifications and variations can be made by persons skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that changes may be made in the particular embodiments of the invention disclosed which are within the scope and spirit of the invention as outlined by the appended claims. Having thus described the invention with the details and particularity required by the patent laws, what is claimed and desired protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims. | A system and method for projecting reliability to manage system functions includes an activity module which determines activity in the system. A reliability module interacts with the activity module to determine a reliability measurement for the module in real-time based upon the activity and measured operational quantities of the system. A management module manages actions of the system based upon the reliability measurement input from the reliability module. This may be to provide corrective action, to reallocate resources, increase reliability of the module, etc. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the concept presented in the passage. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1.",
"Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a systematic, method and apparatus for reliability monitoring and, more particularly, to a finite state machine as part of a microprocessor chip and used to control and enhance the reliability and/or the performance of the microprocessor system.",
"The present invention further relates to the ability to capture the manner in which mean time to failure (MTTF) varies as a function of the input workload executing on the microprocessor or microprocessor-based system and using this information in either enhancing reliability or boosting microprocessor performance.",
"[0003] 2.",
"Description of the Related Art [0004] Advances in semiconductor (specifically, complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)) technology have been improving microprocessor performance steadily over the past few decades.",
"However, such advances accelerate the onset of reliability problems.",
"Specifically, one of the consequences of progressive scaling of device and interconnect geometries is the increase in average and peak power densities (and hence temperatures) across the chip.",
"[0005] The inherent increase in static (leakage) power with scaling into the deep sub-micron region, adds to these issues.",
"In addition, the major components of leakage power increase with temperature, making the problem even harder to control.",
"Despite advances in packaging and cooling technologies, it is an established concern, that the average and peak operating temperatures within key units inside a microprocessor chip will be higher with the progressive scaling of technology.",
"[0006] Already, to protect against thermal runaways, microprocessors (e.g., INTEL® Pentium 4™ and IBM® POWER5™) have introduced on-chip temperature monitoring devices, with mechanisms to throttle the processor execution speeds, as needed.",
"The objective is to reduce on-chip power when maximum allowable temperatures are approached or exceeded.",
"[0007] Failure rates of individual components making up an integrated circuit (or a larger system) are fundamentally related to operating temperatures, i.e., these rates increase with temperature.",
"As such, chips or systems designed to operate at a given average temperature range, are expected to fail sooner than specified, if that range is routinely exceeded during normal operating conditions.",
"[0008] Conversely, consider a case where a chip or system is designed to meet a certain mean time to failure (MTTF), at an assumed maximum operating temperature.",
"In this case, the designed chip or system will be expected to have a longer lifetime, if the actual operating temperatures happen to be lower.",
"Thus, it may be possible to “overclock”",
"(or speed up) the processor during phases of the workload when the operating power and temperature values are well below the maximum temperatures assumed during the projection of expected MTTF.",
"[0009] Electromigration and stress migration effects in the chip interconnects are major sources of failures in a chip and, they both have a direct dependence on operating temperature.",
"However, aspects of reliability degradation with CMOS scaling, are not solely due to the power and temperature implications.",
"For example, time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) is an extremely important failure mechanism in semiconductor devices.",
"With time, the gate dielectric wears down and fails when a conductive path forms in the dielectric.",
"[0010] With CMOS scaling, the dielectric thickness is decreasing to the point where it is only tens of angstroms.",
"Coupled with the fact that there has been a general slowdown in the way the supply voltage is scaling down, the intrinsic failure rate due to dielectric breakdown is expected to increase.",
"[0011] Furthermore, TDDB failure rates also have a very strong temperature dependence.",
"Thermal cycling effects, caused by periodic changes in the chip temperature are another factor that degrades reliability.",
"Again, this factor is not directly related to the average operating temperature;",
"rather, it is a function of the number of thermal cycles that the chip can go through before failure.",
"[0012] Since the power consumed by the chip (or system) varies with the executing workload, it is clear that the actual operating temperature and failure rate of a component (and hence of the system) depend on the workload.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0013] A reliability calculator and monitoring system that can be located on a microprocessor chip is disclosed.",
"During program run or workload execution, it can collect information and estimate chip wide reliability by aggregating together the individual structures'reliability values for the various parts of the microprocessor floorplan.",
"[0014] The prior art lacks disclosure of workload-dependent variability of failure rates and overall MTTF of a microprocessor which is projected or estimated during program run and such transient or average reliability information is used to control the operation of the microprocessor.",
"Currently, no online reliability assessments can be done for a chip after it is shipped.",
"Traditionally, reliability assessments are done only at the back-end technology qualification stage and once a design is qualified no further steps are taken to equip a given released chip from susceptibility to reliability degradation and failures.",
"[0015] With the possible emergence of external hardware system attacks from thermal viruses (e.g. a piece of code written to exhaustively exercise an individual structure like a functional unit on-chip), the reliability of various on-chip structures of a microprocessor core can be stretched beyond their electromigration, gate-oxide breakdown, stress migration, and thermal cycling-tolerable limits, thereby leading to the failure of the chip.",
"[0016] An aspect of the present invention includes the adoption of a step-by-step methodology, based on fundamental formulations in the physics of temperature-sensitive degradation of chip reliability factors, of workload-dependent variation of failure rates and mean time to failure.",
"Another aspect of this invention includes the adoption of a step-by-step methodology, based on fundamental formulations in the physics of CMOS technology scaling and temperature-insensitive degradation of chip reliability factors, of workload- and CMOS generation-dependent variation of failure rates and mean time to failure.",
"[0017] A system and method for projecting reliability to manage system functions includes an activity module which determines activity in the system.",
"A reliability module interacts with the activity module to determine a reliability measurement for the module in real-time based upon the activity and measured operational quantities of the system.",
"A management module manages actions of the system based upon the reliability measurement input from the reliability module.",
"This may be to provide corrective action, to reallocate resources, increase reliability of the module, etc.",
"[0018] The present invention incorporates these methods in a computer module that can be integrated in a microprocessor for deriving the transient and steady-state reliability of a given microprocessor chip and using such information to control the operation of the microprocessor to enhance its overall reliability and/or boost performance.",
"[0019] Another aspect of the present invention is the implementation of variations of the methods in on-chip hardware controls that can be used to manage the microprocessor's power consumption (and performance) in response to changes in the projected reliability metrics of individual units or components, over time and as a function of the input workload.",
"[0020] These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [0021] The invention will be described in detail in the following description of preferred embodiments with reference to the following figures wherein: [0022] FIG. 1 is a block/flow diagram for a system/method for evaluating and managing reliability of a chip/module in accordance with one illustrative embodiment of the present invention;",
"[0023] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment showing on-chip hardware-based or software-based projection and monitoring, for estimating reliability in accordance with the present invention;",
"[0024] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of another embodiment showing projection and monitoring, for estimating reliability in accordance with the present invention;",
"[0025] FIG. 4 is a truth table of the “signals states”",
"of the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 3 ;",
"[0026] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a reliability savings accumulator in accordance with the present invention;",
"and [0027] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of yet another embodiment for projection and monitoring for estimating reliability in accordance with the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0028] The present invention includes systematic methods and devices for putting together a reliability monitoring and reliability enhancing system.",
"The device may be implemented as a finite state machine as part of a microprocessor chip, and the method of use may be implemented to control and enhance the reliability of the microprocessor system.",
"[0029] With one-time only late-stage evaluation capability (which represents current state-of-the-art), microprocessor designs are likely to encounter post-silicon surprises in terms of severely reduced reliabilities that may cause a product to be prematurely withdrawn from the marketplace, for example.",
"The present invention provides a “self-healing”",
"mechanism (preferably, on-chip) that can help detect potential failure behavior and respond with a corrective action.",
"In addition, the apparatus can also be used to raise and improve processor performance in situations where the microprocessor is operating below the temperature/power/reliability that it was designed for.",
"[0030] The present invention also offers the microprocessor designer the opportunity to design without hard and strict temperature guard band limits, hence reducing the cost of design.",
"[0031] In one aspect of the present invention, a microarchitecture-level reliability finite state machine is provided for dynamically estimating on-chip reliability, embodied in the form of either a software or hardware module, that is integrated as part of the microprocessor chip and is used to monitor and enhance the reliability of a microprocessor.",
"[0032] One embodiment either dynamically or a-priori divides the whole on-chip floorplan into a finite number of individual discrete structures or regions.",
"Each individual region or structure potentially covers one or more functional units or other logic or memory structures on-chip.",
"The individual regions or structures are each equipped with on-chip data sensors (for gathering instructions per cycle (IPC)/activity, power, and/or temperature data) that can be probed periodically to ascertain instant (transient or steady-state) respective values of the corresponding individual region or structure on chip.",
"[0033] The device in accordance with the present invention will periodically sample on-chip individual region/structure sensors during workload execution and use these individual regional/structure values in collaboration with other embedded reliability determinants to estimate individual regional/structure and chip-wide reliability on the fly.",
"[0034] The resulting reliability estimate(s) are then checked against original kept microprocessor reliability target(s) to ascertain whether or not an individual unit, region and/or structure on chip or the whole chip is degrading in reliability.",
"If it is determined that the reliability of an individual unit, region or structure on-chip is deteriorating or there is the danger of a chip-wide reliability deterioration, the device may kick off one or more various corrective actions.",
"[0035] On the other hand, if it is determined that the processor is well below and within an earlier set acceptable reliability threshold, the device may apply actions to increase or boost the system performance.",
"Based on the capabilities embedded in the design of the microprocessor, examples of these actions may include a triggering mechanism for chip-wide and/or individual region/structure voltage and/or frequency up and down scaling, job migration from one region to another, a slowdown/reduction in work per an affected region/structure, and/or an increase in the amount of work in a chip region/structure.",
"[0036] One major advantage of using the present invention is the ability to dynamically detect potential reliability problems across a chip that is already installed in the field and react to avert a failure due to reliability degradation.",
"The present invention has the potential to work to counteract, e.g., thermal virus hardware breakdown threats on a chip.",
"Another major advantage includes adjustment of a microprocessor's performance upwards in situations where it is found that the microprocessor is running far below a set reliability threshold.",
"[0037] The present invention provides reliability feedback, based on fundamental formulations in the physics of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology scaling and temperature-insensitive degradation of chip reliability factors, of workload and CMOS generation-dependent variation of failure rates and mean time to failure, to control chip or system reliability and performance.",
"[0038] Some of the known and researched failure mechanisms responsible for CMOS chip reliability include electromigration, stress migration, gate oxide breakdown and thermal cycling.",
"There are many such mechanisms that affect on-chip reliability that are not discussed here in detail, but all such mechanisms can be incorporated in the reliability estimating tool of the present invention as described herein.",
"[0039] Electromigration occurs, especially in aluminum and copper interconnects due to the mass transport of conductor metal atoms in the interconnects.",
"Conducting electrons transfer some of their momentum to the metal atoms of the interconnect.",
"This “electron wind”",
"driving force creates a net flow of metal atoms in the direction of electron flow.",
"As the atoms migrate, there is depletion of metal atoms in one region and pile up in other regions.",
"The depletion sites can see increased interconnect resistance or open circuits, and extrusions can occur at sites of metal atom pile up.",
"Electromigration has an exponential dependence on temperature.",
"[0040] Extensive research has been performed by the material science and semiconductor community on modeling the effects of electromigration, and it is a well understood failure mechanism.",
"[0041] A model used for electromigration includes: MTTF = A CV WH fp ⅇ E a kT where A is a proportionality constant, C is the capacitance of the structure, V is the supply voltage, W is the width of interconnects modeled, H is the height of interconnects modeled, f is the operating frequency, p is the activity factor of utilization of the structure, E a is the activation energy for electromigration, k is Boltzmann's constant, and T is the temperature in Kelvin of the structure.",
"[0042] Much like electromigration, stress migration is a phenomenon where the metal atoms in the interconnects migrate.",
"It is caused by mechanical stress due to differing thermal expansion rates of different materials in a device.",
"A model used for stress migration includes: MTTF = A T - T 0 - n ⅇ E a kT where A is a proportionality constant, T is the temperature of the structure, T 0 is the stress free temperature or metal deposition temperature, E a is the activation energy for stress migration, and k is Boltzmann's constant.",
"[0043] Time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB), or gate oxide breakdown, is another failure mechanism in semiconductor devices.",
"The gate dielectric wears down with time, and fails when a conductive path forms in the dielectric.",
"The model used for TDDB includes: MTTF = A ( 1 V ) ( a - bT ) ⅇ ( X + Y T + ZT ) kT where A is a proportionality constant, V is the supply voltage, T is the temperature of the structure, and a, b, X, Y, and Z are fitting parameters.",
"[0044] Temperature cycles can cause fatigue failures.",
"Damage accumulates every time there is a cycle in temperature, eventually leading to failure.",
"Although all parts of the device experience fatigue, the effect is most pronounced in the package and die interface (for example, solder joints).",
"The model used for thermal cycling includes: MTTF = A ( 1 T - T ambient ) q where A is a proportionality constant, T is the temperature of the structure, T ambient is the ambient temperature, and q is a structure dependent exponent.",
"[0045] To obtain the overall reliability of a processor, the effects of the above-mentioned different failure mechanisms and other prominent mechanisms not mentioned here are combined across different structures.",
"This includes knowledge of lifetime distributions of the failure mechanisms, and is generally difficult.",
"One model used in the industry is the sum-of-failure-rates (SOFR) model, which makes two assumptions to address this problem: (1) the processor is a series failure system, in other words, the first instance of any structure failing due to any failure mechanism causes the entire processor to fail;",
"and (2) each individual failure mechanism has a constant failure rate (equivalently, every failure mechanism has an exponential lifetime distribution).",
"[0046] The above two assumptions imply (1) the MTTF of the processor, MTTF p , is the inverse of the total failure rate of the processor, λ p ;",
"and (2) the failure rate of the processor is the sum of the failure rates of the individual structures due to individual failure mechanisms.",
"Hence, MTTF p = 1 λ p = 1 ∑ i = 1 j ∑ l = 1 k λ il where λ il is the failure rate of the ith structure due to the lth failure mechanism.",
"[0047] The individual failure mechanism models can be made to provide failure rates for fixed instantaneous operating conditions even though when an application runs, these parameters all vary with time.",
"This variation may be accounted for by: (1) calculating a failure rate based on instantaneous parameters;",
"and (2) using an average over time of these values to determine the actual failure rate for each structure for each failure mechanism when running the application.",
"[0048] It should be understood that the elements shown in the FIGS. may be implemented in various forms of hardware, software or combinations thereof.",
"Preferably, these elements are implemented in a combination of hardware, firmware and/or software on one or more appropriately programmed general-purpose digital computers or solid-state chips, which may include one or more of a processor, memory and input/output interfaces.",
"A module referred to herein may include a chip, system of chips, integrated circuit, printed circuit board or a computer rendered simulation of a chip.",
"Module and chip may be employed synonymously herein.",
"A module may further include a chip design, printed circuit board or a software module in the context of computer implementations.",
"[0049] Referring now to the drawings in which like numerals represent the same or similar elements and initially to FIG. 1 , an illustrative overview of the present invention shows aspects of the present invention that can be applied to monitor, balance and enhance on-chip microprocessor reliability.",
"For an on-chip system in accordance with the present invention, a plurality of sensors or feedback devices may employed to take measurements or monitor different characteristics/criteria in real-time.",
"This assumes that various designated structures/regions have been assigned (divided into areas or regions) or created on-chip, making up the full chip, and are equipped with dedicated data sensors in block 99 .",
"[0050] Data sensors may include fabricated devices formed on the chip, such as transistors, diodes, capacitors, etc.",
"or structures, such as registers, functional units and even additional chips.",
"These devices/structure may be designed to measure parameters such as temperature, voltage, workload, frequency, number of operations, etc.",
"As mentioned, these data sensors are used for collecting various data (power, frequency, activity, temperature, etc.), which are fed into a reliability estimating tool or calculator for the purpose of calculating the same.",
"[0051] One approach is described in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 10/829,741, to P. Bose et al.",
", entitled, “SYSTEM AND METHOD OF WORKLOAD-DEPENDENT RELIABILITY PROJECTION AND MONITORING FOR MICROPROCESSOR CHIPS AND SYSTEMS,” filed Apr. 22, 2004 and incorporated herein by reference.",
"[0052] It is further assumed that there are available on the chip, various logic and resources that the system can use in making necessary instant decisions and in taking corrective actions.",
"Some of these decisions may be to either improve reliability on various chip regions/structures or globally if it is noted that reliability is deteriorating, or to boost regional or full chip performance if it seen that the system is running far below a given reliability threshold and more performance can be harnessed without negatively impacting reliability.",
"Some corrective actions may be the ability to adjust up and down the global or regional chip voltage, the ability to adjust up or down global or regional chip frequency, the ability to clock-gate or power-gate a given region or structure on chip, and the ability to move computation (job migration) from one section of the chip to another section.",
"In particular, it may be possible to “overclock”",
"(or speed up) the processor during phases of the workload when the reliability estimates are far lower from the expected chip MTTF.",
"[0053] As depicted in FIG. 1 , a flow/block diagram shows operations of a chip system in accordance with the present invention having regions divided and equipped with sensors as described above.",
"The system probes regional data sensors in block 100 at pre-designated time intervals.",
"The resulting data is then used by a reliability-estimating tool in block 101 with other preset data to calculate the instantaneous reliability.",
"[0054] With the assistance of preset data and thresholds, the system then determines whether there is a chip-wide reliability problem in block 102 .",
"If the determination is yes, then a global corrective action is taken in block 103 .",
"It is to be noted that a chip-wide reliability problem here can be considered in a plurality of ways.",
"These may include, for example, either the chip-wide reliability is degrading, for which a corrective action should be taken, or the chip-wide reliability is notably too low, below the system's accepted threshold, again for which a performance boost corrective action may be taken.",
"[0055] In the absence of a chip-wide reliability problem, the system checks for individual structure/regional reliability problems in block 104 .",
"If it is determined that such problems exist, then individual structure/regional corrective action may be taken in block 105 .",
"If no reliability problem is registered in the present cycle or time period, the system takes no action and goes into a waiting mode to restart for the next invocation period in block 106 .",
"[0056] Referring to FIG. 2 , a reliability estimating tool or system 190 which may be implemented in hardware, firmware or software is illustratively shown.",
"In one embodiment, on-chip activity is measured by employing functional unit counters CTR 1-N in counter array 200 , temperature sensors 201 , electrical/power sensors 202 , frequency sensors 203 and other sensors 204 .",
"With these inputs, on-line real-time reliability calculations can be performed.",
"The temperature, power, activity, etc.",
"factors obtained from the counters CTR in array 200 and sensors 201 , 202 , 203 , 204 can be utilized by on-chip reliability evaluation hardware or circuitry 205 in the equations for individual failure mechanisms for the instantaneous reliability value 210 .",
"These calculations may be performed on-chip or the data exported to another chip or device to perform the calculation.",
"[0057] In an alternate embodiment, mechanism 205 may be used as part of an operating system.",
"For example, instead of having on-chip reliability calculation hardware, the readings from temperature sensors 201 , electrical/power sensors 202 , frequency sensors 203 , other sensors 204 and activity counters CTR 200 may be collated by an operating system where a kernel program can calculate processor reliability and output a projection or metric.",
"Unit weights, W i , determined or generated in, for example, an unconstrained power profile of the chip in block 207 may be stored on-chip or off-chip in memory 206 , e.g., programmable read-only memory and employed to assist in the calculation of reliability projections.",
"[0058] Referring to FIG. 3 , an illustrative embodiment of the present invention shows an activity/instructions-per-cycle (IPC) monitor 301 used for collecting activity/IPC data and for projecting MTTF or reliability data (e.g., as performed with reference to FIG. 2 ).",
"In addition, the embodiment employs a reliability savings accumulator 303 and reliability budget decision logic 304 .",
"[0059] The reliability savings accumulator 303 (one such embodiment is illustratively shown in FIG. 4 ) uses data information from the activity/IPC monitor 301 (“active flag”) and projects up or down (add or subtract) (e.g. in counter 407 of FIG. 5 ) the current MTTF reliability value.",
"Reliability budget decision logic 304 makes use of the microprocessor's originally specified MTTF target 306 and current instant data from the reliability savings accumulator 303 in deciding whether the microprocessor's mean time to failure is varying with respect to an earlier specified threshold.",
"[0060] This embodiment also makes use of a throttle logic facility 302 , which provides logic and/or clock control signals 305 to the various functional units or regions/structures on chip.",
"The throttle logic 302 is responsible for applying the necessary corrective action for either improving the microprocessor reliability or boosting microprocessor performance.",
"If it is determined that the reliability of an individual region/structure on-chip is deteriorating or there is the danger of a chip-wide reliability deterioration, a “savings”",
"signal or flag (e.g., ‘0’) is sent to the throttle logic 302 to kick off one or more various local or global corrective actions 305 .",
"[0061] If it is determined that the processor (e.g., monitor 301 ) is well below and within an acceptable reliability threshold, the embodiment sends a different “savings”",
"signal (e.g., ‘1’) to the throttle logic 302 to apply actions that increase or boost the system performance, and this can either be local or global 305 .",
"[0062] Based on the capabilities embedded in the design of the microprocessor or system, examples of such actions may include voltage and/or frequency up and down scaling, job migration from one region to another, work slowdown/reduction in a region/structure, and an increase in the amount of work in a chip region/structure.",
"[0063] Referring to FIG. 4 , a truth table 310 of signal states for the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is provided.",
"Active signals indicate whether the chip activity meets or exceeds a threshold amount (“1”) or is less than the threshold amount (“0”) as determined by monitor 301 .",
"Savings signals indicate whether the reliability threshold meets or exceeds a threshold amount (“1”) or is less than the threshold amount (“0”), as determined by decision logic 304 .",
"A speed/resource label is provided given the signal conditions of the active and savings signals, and UP and DOWN signals are determined accordingly as output of throttle logic 302 .",
"[0064] Referring to FIG. 5 , an illustrative embodiment of reliability savings accumulator 303 is shown.",
"A system clock generator 405 provides a plurality of different clock signals (e.g., high CLK, nominal CLK and low CLK).",
"In addition, a reliability accumulator counter clock 411 may be provided which is employed to trigger each cycle of the reliability monitoring process.",
"A clock rate selector 403 is responsive to whether chip activity should be increased or decreased based up N-bit up/down counter 407 .",
"Counter 407 is controlled by throttle logic 302 ( FIG. 3 ) as to when to record up/down counts.",
"Up/down counts indicate changes to reliability values (e.g., MTTF) by projecting up or down the current MTTF reliability value.",
"[0065] In an illustrative example, when counter 407 indicates that a count threshold has been exceeded, clock rate selector 403 is notified to maintain the clock rate or adjust the clock rate in accordance with one of the plurality of clock signals.",
"Other actions and conditions for regulating reliability are also contemplated.",
"[0066] In addition, the system scans global threshold and unit or local regions in block 401 to determine if reliability thresholds have been exceeded in each region, unit or other discrete area.",
"[0067] Logic devices such as NOR 402 , AND 403 , OR 405 , and inverter 409 may be replaced by other circuit configurations.",
"[0068] Referring now to FIG. 6 , another embodiment of the present invention is illustratively shown.",
"A system 500 periodically samples on-chip individual region/structure sensors (e.g., architecture, power, temperature) 501 , 505 , 510 etc.",
"during workload execution and uses resulting values in collaboration with other embedded reliability determinants like floorplan relative unit weights 515 to estimate individual regional/structure and chip-wide reliability on the fly (as described with reference to FIG. 2 ).",
"The resulting reliability estimate(s) determined by a reliability calculator 520 are fed into reliability budget decision logic 525 where they are checked against original microprocessor MTTF reliability target(s) to ascertain whether or not an individual region/structure on chip or the whole chip is degrading in reliability or could use an upshot in reliability to improve performance.",
"[0069] Based on the determination, a signal is sent to throttle logic 530 , which based on the signal, can invoke a collection of corrective or performance actions 535 or no action at all.",
"Examples or actions may include performing functions in other areas of a chip, adjusting the clock rate, turning on a cooling system, adjusting power globally or locally, etc.",
"[0070] Having described preferred embodiments of a method and apparatus for monitoring and enhancing on-chip microprocessor reliability (which are intended to be illustrative and not limiting), it is noted that modifications and variations can be made by persons skilled in the art in light of the above teachings.",
"It is therefore to be understood that changes may be made in the particular embodiments of the invention disclosed which are within the scope and spirit of the invention as outlined by the appended claims.",
"Having thus described the invention with the details and particularity required by the patent laws, what is claimed and desired protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims."
] |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Design patent application Ser. No. 29/165,620, entitled “Rocker Device,” filed Aug. 15, 2002, U.S. Pat. No. D,480,884 Attorney Docket No. FSHR-050/00US, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to an infant support device, and more particularly, to a frame for an infant rocker.
Conventional infant supports have various types of frames. Some infant supports are configured to be stationary or static while other infant supports are configured for movement with respect to a support surface. For example, some infant supports are configured to rock back and forth and are referred to generally as rockers.
The configuration of the frame of an infant support can determine the type of movement achieved by an infant support. For example, some infant supports have planar bases and resilient frames that allow the upper portion of the frame to move with respect to the ground. Other infant supports have rigid frames that are fixed relative to the ground. Still other infant supports, such as the infant rockers, have curved lower surfaces or bases that facilitate rocking of the infant support.
Thus, there is a need for a frame that facilitates both rocking and stationary use of an infant support. There is also a need for an infant support frame with an efficient design. A need also exists for an easily adjustable infant support that is reconfigurable between a rocking configuration and a static configuration.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An infant support includes a support frame. In one embodiment, the support frame includes side members and a cross member extending between the side members. In one embodiment, the cross member is a kick stand that can be selectively disposed in multiple positions. In one position, the kick stand is retracted and does not prevent movement of the infant support. In another position, the kick stand is extended and prevents movement of the infant support with respect to a support surface.
In one embodiment, the support frame includes a back support bar. The back support bar is coupled to the side members. The back support bar can be selectively disposed in multiple positions with respect to the support frame. In one embodiment, softgoods in the form of a seat can be disposed on the frame.
In another embodiment, the infant support is an infant rocker that includes a frame and a softgoods seat that can be used to support the weight of an infant. The infant support can include an output generator that outputs soothing or stimulating effects such as vibration and/or audible outputs. The infant support can include a toy bar coupleable to the frame. The toy bar can include multiple objects suspended therefrom.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a frame according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a top view of the frame illustrated in FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is a side view of the frame illustrated FIG. 1 .
FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of a frame in a stable configuration according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of a frame in a rocking configuration according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
An infant support includes a support frame. In one embodiment, the support frame includes side members and a cross member extending between the side members. In one embodiment, the cross member is a kick stand that can be selectively disposed in multiple positions. In one position, the kick stand is retracted and does not prevent movement of the infant support. In another position, the kick stand is extended and is configured to prevent movement of the infant support with respect to the support surface on which the frame is disposed.
In an alternative embodiment, the support frame includes a back support bar. The back support bar is coupled to the side members. The back support bar can be selectively disposed in multiple positions with respect to the remainder of the support frame. In one embodiment, a softgoods seat can be disposed on the frame to support the weight of an infant.
In another embodiment, the infant support is an infant rocker that includes a frame and a softgoods seat that can be used to support the weight of an infant. The infant support can include an output generator that outputs soothing or stimulating effects such as vibration and/or audible outputs. In one embodiment, the infant support can include a toy bar that is coupleable to the frame. The toy bar can include multiple objects suspended therefrom.
A support device according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 . In this embodiment, the support device 5 includes a frame 10 . Frame 10 includes side members 12 and 14 and several support or structural members 16 , 18 , 20 and 22 . Support or structural members 16 , 18 , 20 and 22 can be referred to alternatively as cross members because each is coupled to both side members 12 and 14 . In alternative embodiments, the frame can have any number of support or structural members.
Support member 16 can be referred to as a back portion or back support bar 16 . Back support bar 16 can be substantially U-shaped and is configured to support softgoods material (not illustrated in FIG. 1) thereon. The softgoods material can be any conventional fabric material on which an infant can be supported. Support member 20 is configured to support a front end (i.e., the end adjacent a foot support portion) of a softgoods seat disposed on the frame 10 .
Support member 18 is coupled to the lower portions of the side members 12 and 14 . Support member 18 provides additional stability to the frame 10 by maintaining a constant distance between the two side members. Support member 18 can also provide a ground-engaging contact surface to modify the rocking motion of the frame.
Support member 22 is pivotally coupled to the frame 10 and is selectively movable between an extended position and a retracted position, as discussed in greater detail below.
The frame 10 includes connection assemblies 30 , 50 that are configured to couple various components of the frame 10 together. Connection assembly 30 couples side member 12 and support member 16 . Similarly, connection assembly 50 couples side member 14 and support member 16 .
The connection assemblies 30 , 50 include a moveable portion 38 , 58 and a release mechanism 40 that allows the moveable portion 38 , 58 to move with respect to the frame 10 when the button 40 is pushed. The back support bar 16 is attached to the moveable portion 38 , 58 such that when the moveable portion 38 , 58 is moved, the back support bar 16 moves with respect to the side members 12 , 14 to vary the relative position of the back support bar 16 with respect to the side members 12 , 14 .
Each side member 12 , 14 has a generally curved shape that includes multiple curved portions. Referring to FIG. 1, side member 12 includes an upper portion 60 , a lower portion 62 , a rear portion 64 and a front portion 66 . The portions 60 , 62 , 64 and 66 form a continuous support frame. Similarly, side member 14 includes an upper portion 70 , a lower portion 72 , a rear portion 74 and a front portion 76 . The portions 70 , 72 , 74 and 76 form a continuous support frame.
In the illustrated embodiment, side members 12 and 14 are mirror images of one another. Accordingly, only side member 12 is discussed in detail where appropriate. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the configuration of side member 12 is illustrated.
The lower portion 62 of the side member 12 includes a lower surface that contacts a support surface, such as a floor. The lower portion 62 has a slightly curved configuration and a large radius of curvature. The extent of the curvature of the lower portion 62 determines the particular rocking motion imparted to the frame.
The upper portion 60 can have a greater radius of curvature than the lower portion 62 . However, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the upper portion 60 has a smaller radius of curvature than the lower portion 62 . As best illustrated in FIG. 2, the side members 12 , 14 are angled inwardly, the distance between the upper portions 60 , 70 being less than the distance between the lower portions 62 , 72 . The inward angle provides a wider footprint of the device 5 , thereby increasing the overall stability of the frame 10 .
In the illustrated embodiment, as best seen in FIG. 3, the side member 12 is approximately twice as long as it is tall. Moreover, the upper curved portion extends approximately twice the distance above the axis defined between the apices of the front and rear curved portions as the lower curved portion. This configuration provides an efficient design that allows a long, smooth rocking motion without sacrificing stability.
In the illustrated embodiment, the side members 12 , 14 also include rear feet 68 , 78 and front feet 69 , 79 . The feet 68 , 69 , 78 , 79 are configured to prevent the frame 10 from traveling too far and tipping over when rocking. The combination of the shape and dimension of side members 12 , 14 and the inclusion of feet 68 , 69 , 78 , 79 provides a stable support frame. The lower cross member 18 is attached to the side members 12 , 14 and is operative to provide rigidity to the frame as discussed above.
In the illustrated embodiment, the frame 10 also includes a front support member 20 . The front support member 20 is attached between the side members 12 , 14 . The front support member 20 is configured provide stiffness for the frame 10 and support a seat that is attachable to the frame 10 as will be discussed in greater detail below.
In the illustrated embodiment, the frame 10 also includes support member 22 . The support member 22 is pivotally coupled to the side members 12 , 14 at pivot portions 67 , 77 of the front feet 69 , 79 . The pivot portions 67 , 77 of the front feet 69 , 79 can pivot with respect to the front feet 69 , 79 . Thus, the support member 22 can be repositioned between an extended position in which it engages the ground to prevent the frame 10 from rocking, and a retracted or a folded position to allow the frame 10 to rock as discussed above. Detent assemblies (not illustrated) can be provided between the pivot portions 67 , 77 and the front feet 69 , 79 to maintain the support member 22 in the extended and retracted positions.
Each of the support members 16 , 18 , 20 , 22 described above may be attached to the side members 12 , 14 with any manner of conventional attachment means, including screws, bolts, rivets, friction fit, adhesive, welding, etc. Moreover, each of the support members 16 , 18 , 20 , 22 can be formed from lightweight metal tubing of sufficient strength to support the weight of an infant.
FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate an alternative embodiment of the invention. The illustrated rocker 100 includes a support frame 110 similar to frame 10 discussed above and further includes a seat 190 . The frame 110 includes side members 112 , 114 , and support members 116 , 118 , 120 and 122 .
Connection members 130 (only one visible in FIGS. 4 and 5) include an actuator 140 to allow the relative position of the back support bar 116 to be modified with respect to the side members 112 , 114 . The ability to move the back support bar 116 relative to the side members 112 , 114 allows the seat 190 to be positioned in multiple configurations (i.e., varying degrees of recline).
The seat 190 is substantially elliptical or oval in plan view and includes an upper seating surface 192 upon which an infant can be positioned and a lower foot portion 194 adjacent the upper seating surface 192 . The foot portion 194 and the upper seating surface 192 may be integrally formed or may be removably coupled. The seat 190 can be manufactured from fabric or similar material. Alternatively, the seat 190 may be manufactured from other flexible materials such as vinyl, molded plastic or the like. The seat 190 may include a quilted surface to provide greater comfort for the infant positioned therein and may be manufactured using multiple layers of fabric between which batting material may be accommodated. The seat 190 may also include a rigid backing (not illustrated) to provide additional support. The rigid backing may be integral to the seat 190 or may be detachable from the seat 190 . Alternatively, the rigid backing may also be removably or fixedly coupled to the frame 110 .
The seat 190 is adapted to be supported on the support frame 110 . To support the seat 190 on the frame 110 , attachments are provided such that when an infant is positioned on the seat 190 , the weight of the infant is carried by the support frame 110 so that the support frame 110 bears the load. The attachments may be in the form of pockets on a rear surface of the seat 190 that are adapted to engage the support frame 110 . For example, a first pocket can slidably receive the back support bar 116 , and a second pocket can slidably receive the front support member 120 . Alternatively, hook and loop fasteners, snaps, buttons, clips, pins, etc. may be used to couple the seat 190 to the frame 110 .
To maintain the infant securely in seat 190 , a belt 195 may be coupled to the seat 190 . The belt 195 can be provided with separable buckles for easy operation. Any infant restraint device known to those skilled in the art may be utilized with the seat 190 without departing from the scope of the invention. The belt 195 can be removed from the seat 190 such that the rocker can be used by older children as a rocking chair.
The rocker 100 can include a toy bar 197 suspended above the seat 190 (see FIG. 5 ). A fastener 198 is provided and configured to suspend an article 199 from the toy bar 197 within reach of an infant positioned on the upper seating surface 192 . In an alternative embodiment, several fasteners 198 and several articles 199 can be provided.
Each article 199 may be an infant toy or a variety of infant toys and may be removably or permanently attached to the fastener 198 by a fastener such as a hook and loop type fastener or a ring coupled through a fabric loop. The toy bar 197 can be removably coupled to the connection assemblies 130 by conventional methods.
In the illustrated embodiment, the rocker 100 includes an output generator 180 coupled to front support member 120 . The output generator includes at least one actuator switch 182 . The output generator includes a battery compartment (not illustrated) and is configured to output vibrations and/or soothing sounds such as music or other soothing and/or stimulating sounds. Any combination of outputs may be provided.
The vibrations generated by the output generator are imparted to the frame 110 and the seat 190 to sooth the infant or child using the rocker 100 . The sounds are emitted from a transducer such as a speaker contained in the output generator 180 . The vibrations and sounds are selected from vibration patterns and sounds saved in memory local to the electronics box and may include a variety of different vibrations and sounds.
In use, the device 100 can be utilized in a stationary configuration as illustrated in FIG. 4 . In such a configuration, the support member 122 is used as a kickstand to retain the position of the seat 190 relative to the support surface on which the device 100 is situated (i.e., to prevent rocking motion). Moreover, in the stationary configuration illustrated in FIG. 4, the rear feet (only rear foot 168 is illustrated) are biased toward the ground to provide greater stability.
To be utilized as a rocker, the support member 122 is retracted or nested with the lower portion of side members 112 , 114 as illustrated in FIG. 5 . The curvature of support member 122 can be substantially similar to that of the side members 112 , 114 such that it does not interfere with the rocking motion. Detent assemblies can be provided between pivoting portions 167 , 177 and feet 169 , 179 to maintain the support member 122 in the expanded or retracted configurations.
While particular, illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described, numerous variations and modifications exist that would not depart from the scope of the invention. For example, although the support members 22 , 122 are described as having a curved configuration, the support members 22 , 122 can be any configuration such that each provides the required stability in the expanded configuration and does not interfere with the rocking motion when in the retracted configuration.
Although the support members 16 , 18 , 20 , 22 , 116 , 118 , 120 , 122 are described as being formed from metal tubing, the support members may be formed from plastic or similar materials with sufficient strength to support the weight of an infant.
Although the support members 22 , 122 are described as being pivotally coupled to the corresponding frame, the support members 22 , 122 may be removably coupled to the frame such that each is coupled to the frame for use of the device in the static configuration and removed from the frame for use of the device in the rocker configuration.
While the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. | A support frame for a infant or child support device is disclosed. The frame includes oval shaped side members that provide a wide, safe base and a smooth rocking action to the rocker. The kickstand may be used to convert the support frame from a rocking configuration into a stable, non-rocking configuration. The support frame may also include a seat that can be removed from the support frame. | Identify and summarize the most critical features from the given passage. | [
"CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Design patent application Ser.",
"No. 29/165,620, entitled “Rocker Device,” filed Aug. 15, 2002, U.S. Pat. No. D,480,884 Attorney Docket No. FSHR-050/00US, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to an infant support device, and more particularly, to a frame for an infant rocker.",
"Conventional infant supports have various types of frames.",
"Some infant supports are configured to be stationary or static while other infant supports are configured for movement with respect to a support surface.",
"For example, some infant supports are configured to rock back and forth and are referred to generally as rockers.",
"The configuration of the frame of an infant support can determine the type of movement achieved by an infant support.",
"For example, some infant supports have planar bases and resilient frames that allow the upper portion of the frame to move with respect to the ground.",
"Other infant supports have rigid frames that are fixed relative to the ground.",
"Still other infant supports, such as the infant rockers, have curved lower surfaces or bases that facilitate rocking of the infant support.",
"Thus, there is a need for a frame that facilitates both rocking and stationary use of an infant support.",
"There is also a need for an infant support frame with an efficient design.",
"A need also exists for an easily adjustable infant support that is reconfigurable between a rocking configuration and a static configuration.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An infant support includes a support frame.",
"In one embodiment, the support frame includes side members and a cross member extending between the side members.",
"In one embodiment, the cross member is a kick stand that can be selectively disposed in multiple positions.",
"In one position, the kick stand is retracted and does not prevent movement of the infant support.",
"In another position, the kick stand is extended and prevents movement of the infant support with respect to a support surface.",
"In one embodiment, the support frame includes a back support bar.",
"The back support bar is coupled to the side members.",
"The back support bar can be selectively disposed in multiple positions with respect to the support frame.",
"In one embodiment, softgoods in the form of a seat can be disposed on the frame.",
"In another embodiment, the infant support is an infant rocker that includes a frame and a softgoods seat that can be used to support the weight of an infant.",
"The infant support can include an output generator that outputs soothing or stimulating effects such as vibration and/or audible outputs.",
"The infant support can include a toy bar coupleable to the frame.",
"The toy bar can include multiple objects suspended therefrom.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a frame according to an embodiment of the invention.",
"FIG. 2 is a top view of the frame illustrated in FIG. 1 .",
"FIG. 3 is a side view of the frame illustrated FIG. 1 .",
"FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of a frame in a stable configuration according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.",
"FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of a frame in a rocking configuration according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION An infant support includes a support frame.",
"In one embodiment, the support frame includes side members and a cross member extending between the side members.",
"In one embodiment, the cross member is a kick stand that can be selectively disposed in multiple positions.",
"In one position, the kick stand is retracted and does not prevent movement of the infant support.",
"In another position, the kick stand is extended and is configured to prevent movement of the infant support with respect to the support surface on which the frame is disposed.",
"In an alternative embodiment, the support frame includes a back support bar.",
"The back support bar is coupled to the side members.",
"The back support bar can be selectively disposed in multiple positions with respect to the remainder of the support frame.",
"In one embodiment, a softgoods seat can be disposed on the frame to support the weight of an infant.",
"In another embodiment, the infant support is an infant rocker that includes a frame and a softgoods seat that can be used to support the weight of an infant.",
"The infant support can include an output generator that outputs soothing or stimulating effects such as vibration and/or audible outputs.",
"In one embodiment, the infant support can include a toy bar that is coupleable to the frame.",
"The toy bar can include multiple objects suspended therefrom.",
"A support device according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 .",
"In this embodiment, the support device 5 includes a frame 10 .",
"Frame 10 includes side members 12 and 14 and several support or structural members 16 , 18 , 20 and 22 .",
"Support or structural members 16 , 18 , 20 and 22 can be referred to alternatively as cross members because each is coupled to both side members 12 and 14 .",
"In alternative embodiments, the frame can have any number of support or structural members.",
"Support member 16 can be referred to as a back portion or back support bar 16 .",
"Back support bar 16 can be substantially U-shaped and is configured to support softgoods material (not illustrated in FIG. 1) thereon.",
"The softgoods material can be any conventional fabric material on which an infant can be supported.",
"Support member 20 is configured to support a front end (i.e., the end adjacent a foot support portion) of a softgoods seat disposed on the frame 10 .",
"Support member 18 is coupled to the lower portions of the side members 12 and 14 .",
"Support member 18 provides additional stability to the frame 10 by maintaining a constant distance between the two side members.",
"Support member 18 can also provide a ground-engaging contact surface to modify the rocking motion of the frame.",
"Support member 22 is pivotally coupled to the frame 10 and is selectively movable between an extended position and a retracted position, as discussed in greater detail below.",
"The frame 10 includes connection assemblies 30 , 50 that are configured to couple various components of the frame 10 together.",
"Connection assembly 30 couples side member 12 and support member 16 .",
"Similarly, connection assembly 50 couples side member 14 and support member 16 .",
"The connection assemblies 30 , 50 include a moveable portion 38 , 58 and a release mechanism 40 that allows the moveable portion 38 , 58 to move with respect to the frame 10 when the button 40 is pushed.",
"The back support bar 16 is attached to the moveable portion 38 , 58 such that when the moveable portion 38 , 58 is moved, the back support bar 16 moves with respect to the side members 12 , 14 to vary the relative position of the back support bar 16 with respect to the side members 12 , 14 .",
"Each side member 12 , 14 has a generally curved shape that includes multiple curved portions.",
"Referring to FIG. 1, side member 12 includes an upper portion 60 , a lower portion 62 , a rear portion 64 and a front portion 66 .",
"The portions 60 , 62 , 64 and 66 form a continuous support frame.",
"Similarly, side member 14 includes an upper portion 70 , a lower portion 72 , a rear portion 74 and a front portion 76 .",
"The portions 70 , 72 , 74 and 76 form a continuous support frame.",
"In the illustrated embodiment, side members 12 and 14 are mirror images of one another.",
"Accordingly, only side member 12 is discussed in detail where appropriate.",
"Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the configuration of side member 12 is illustrated.",
"The lower portion 62 of the side member 12 includes a lower surface that contacts a support surface, such as a floor.",
"The lower portion 62 has a slightly curved configuration and a large radius of curvature.",
"The extent of the curvature of the lower portion 62 determines the particular rocking motion imparted to the frame.",
"The upper portion 60 can have a greater radius of curvature than the lower portion 62 .",
"However, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the upper portion 60 has a smaller radius of curvature than the lower portion 62 .",
"As best illustrated in FIG. 2, the side members 12 , 14 are angled inwardly, the distance between the upper portions 60 , 70 being less than the distance between the lower portions 62 , 72 .",
"The inward angle provides a wider footprint of the device 5 , thereby increasing the overall stability of the frame 10 .",
"In the illustrated embodiment, as best seen in FIG. 3, the side member 12 is approximately twice as long as it is tall.",
"Moreover, the upper curved portion extends approximately twice the distance above the axis defined between the apices of the front and rear curved portions as the lower curved portion.",
"This configuration provides an efficient design that allows a long, smooth rocking motion without sacrificing stability.",
"In the illustrated embodiment, the side members 12 , 14 also include rear feet 68 , 78 and front feet 69 , 79 .",
"The feet 68 , 69 , 78 , 79 are configured to prevent the frame 10 from traveling too far and tipping over when rocking.",
"The combination of the shape and dimension of side members 12 , 14 and the inclusion of feet 68 , 69 , 78 , 79 provides a stable support frame.",
"The lower cross member 18 is attached to the side members 12 , 14 and is operative to provide rigidity to the frame as discussed above.",
"In the illustrated embodiment, the frame 10 also includes a front support member 20 .",
"The front support member 20 is attached between the side members 12 , 14 .",
"The front support member 20 is configured provide stiffness for the frame 10 and support a seat that is attachable to the frame 10 as will be discussed in greater detail below.",
"In the illustrated embodiment, the frame 10 also includes support member 22 .",
"The support member 22 is pivotally coupled to the side members 12 , 14 at pivot portions 67 , 77 of the front feet 69 , 79 .",
"The pivot portions 67 , 77 of the front feet 69 , 79 can pivot with respect to the front feet 69 , 79 .",
"Thus, the support member 22 can be repositioned between an extended position in which it engages the ground to prevent the frame 10 from rocking, and a retracted or a folded position to allow the frame 10 to rock as discussed above.",
"Detent assemblies (not illustrated) can be provided between the pivot portions 67 , 77 and the front feet 69 , 79 to maintain the support member 22 in the extended and retracted positions.",
"Each of the support members 16 , 18 , 20 , 22 described above may be attached to the side members 12 , 14 with any manner of conventional attachment means, including screws, bolts, rivets, friction fit, adhesive, welding, etc.",
"Moreover, each of the support members 16 , 18 , 20 , 22 can be formed from lightweight metal tubing of sufficient strength to support the weight of an infant.",
"FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate an alternative embodiment of the invention.",
"The illustrated rocker 100 includes a support frame 110 similar to frame 10 discussed above and further includes a seat 190 .",
"The frame 110 includes side members 112 , 114 , and support members 116 , 118 , 120 and 122 .",
"Connection members 130 (only one visible in FIGS. 4 and 5) include an actuator 140 to allow the relative position of the back support bar 116 to be modified with respect to the side members 112 , 114 .",
"The ability to move the back support bar 116 relative to the side members 112 , 114 allows the seat 190 to be positioned in multiple configurations (i.e., varying degrees of recline).",
"The seat 190 is substantially elliptical or oval in plan view and includes an upper seating surface 192 upon which an infant can be positioned and a lower foot portion 194 adjacent the upper seating surface 192 .",
"The foot portion 194 and the upper seating surface 192 may be integrally formed or may be removably coupled.",
"The seat 190 can be manufactured from fabric or similar material.",
"Alternatively, the seat 190 may be manufactured from other flexible materials such as vinyl, molded plastic or the like.",
"The seat 190 may include a quilted surface to provide greater comfort for the infant positioned therein and may be manufactured using multiple layers of fabric between which batting material may be accommodated.",
"The seat 190 may also include a rigid backing (not illustrated) to provide additional support.",
"The rigid backing may be integral to the seat 190 or may be detachable from the seat 190 .",
"Alternatively, the rigid backing may also be removably or fixedly coupled to the frame 110 .",
"The seat 190 is adapted to be supported on the support frame 110 .",
"To support the seat 190 on the frame 110 , attachments are provided such that when an infant is positioned on the seat 190 , the weight of the infant is carried by the support frame 110 so that the support frame 110 bears the load.",
"The attachments may be in the form of pockets on a rear surface of the seat 190 that are adapted to engage the support frame 110 .",
"For example, a first pocket can slidably receive the back support bar 116 , and a second pocket can slidably receive the front support member 120 .",
"Alternatively, hook and loop fasteners, snaps, buttons, clips, pins, etc.",
"may be used to couple the seat 190 to the frame 110 .",
"To maintain the infant securely in seat 190 , a belt 195 may be coupled to the seat 190 .",
"The belt 195 can be provided with separable buckles for easy operation.",
"Any infant restraint device known to those skilled in the art may be utilized with the seat 190 without departing from the scope of the invention.",
"The belt 195 can be removed from the seat 190 such that the rocker can be used by older children as a rocking chair.",
"The rocker 100 can include a toy bar 197 suspended above the seat 190 (see FIG. 5 ).",
"A fastener 198 is provided and configured to suspend an article 199 from the toy bar 197 within reach of an infant positioned on the upper seating surface 192 .",
"In an alternative embodiment, several fasteners 198 and several articles 199 can be provided.",
"Each article 199 may be an infant toy or a variety of infant toys and may be removably or permanently attached to the fastener 198 by a fastener such as a hook and loop type fastener or a ring coupled through a fabric loop.",
"The toy bar 197 can be removably coupled to the connection assemblies 130 by conventional methods.",
"In the illustrated embodiment, the rocker 100 includes an output generator 180 coupled to front support member 120 .",
"The output generator includes at least one actuator switch 182 .",
"The output generator includes a battery compartment (not illustrated) and is configured to output vibrations and/or soothing sounds such as music or other soothing and/or stimulating sounds.",
"Any combination of outputs may be provided.",
"The vibrations generated by the output generator are imparted to the frame 110 and the seat 190 to sooth the infant or child using the rocker 100 .",
"The sounds are emitted from a transducer such as a speaker contained in the output generator 180 .",
"The vibrations and sounds are selected from vibration patterns and sounds saved in memory local to the electronics box and may include a variety of different vibrations and sounds.",
"In use, the device 100 can be utilized in a stationary configuration as illustrated in FIG. 4 .",
"In such a configuration, the support member 122 is used as a kickstand to retain the position of the seat 190 relative to the support surface on which the device 100 is situated (i.e., to prevent rocking motion).",
"Moreover, in the stationary configuration illustrated in FIG. 4, the rear feet (only rear foot 168 is illustrated) are biased toward the ground to provide greater stability.",
"To be utilized as a rocker, the support member 122 is retracted or nested with the lower portion of side members 112 , 114 as illustrated in FIG. 5 .",
"The curvature of support member 122 can be substantially similar to that of the side members 112 , 114 such that it does not interfere with the rocking motion.",
"Detent assemblies can be provided between pivoting portions 167 , 177 and feet 169 , 179 to maintain the support member 122 in the expanded or retracted configurations.",
"While particular, illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described, numerous variations and modifications exist that would not depart from the scope of the invention.",
"For example, although the support members 22 , 122 are described as having a curved configuration, the support members 22 , 122 can be any configuration such that each provides the required stability in the expanded configuration and does not interfere with the rocking motion when in the retracted configuration.",
"Although the support members 16 , 18 , 20 , 22 , 116 , 118 , 120 , 122 are described as being formed from metal tubing, the support members may be formed from plastic or similar materials with sufficient strength to support the weight of an infant.",
"Although the support members 22 , 122 are described as being pivotally coupled to the corresponding frame, the support members 22 , 122 may be removably coupled to the frame such that each is coupled to the frame for use of the device in the static configuration and removed from the frame for use of the device in the rocker configuration.",
"While the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.",
"Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents."
] |
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present technology relates to a method and system for extracting and managing text appearing in software applications that is to be translated in order to localize the software applications.
BACKGROUND OF THE TECHNOLOGY
[0002] Many software applications and packages are distributed throughout the world. An important aspect of such distribution is that the software is localized to each country in which it is distributed. Localization is the process of adapting software for a particular country or region. For example, the software must support the character set of the local language and must be configured to present numbers and other values in the local format. In addition, text strings that are presented to the user of the software should be presented in the local language.
[0003] Software companies that wish to sell their software internationally must invest considerable money and energy in localization efforts. Typically, software is developed in a single language, then localization is performed on the software. One major cost is the translation of text strings from the original language in which the software is developed into a number of local languages. In addition to the cost, this translation is typically very time consuming. If software is developed in stages, it may be necessary to perform these translations at each stage, which may mean that the same text strings are being translated multiple times.
[0004] A need arises for a technique by which text strings in software may be translated as part of a localization of the software, but which provides reduced cost, improved efficiency, and quicker turnaround of the translation process.
SUMMARY OF THE TECHNOLOGY
[0005] A method, system, and computer program for software localization extracts text from resource files, handles file management of the resource files, and uses a database for storage. Once the strings are extracted from the original resource files, the strings and corresponding meta-data required for file reconstruction are processed and stored into a common database. Messages are identified as new, changed, or old (previously translated) based on their being found in the database during processing. Once processing is complete, a file used for translation that contains only the changed and new messages is generated. This file has a standardized format that is compatible with translation tools used by those performing the actual translations. Once the translations are completed, the translated file is sent to the database via the same web service. The original resource files are then automatically recreated, substituting the translated text for the source. The original resource files may also be regenerated using the original strings that have been lengthened (using a multinational character set) to what might be an appropriate length expected from any language. Padding characters may include Japanese, Chinese or any Unicode characters.
[0006] A method for localizing software comprises extracting text strings in a first language from source files of a software development project, determining which of the extracted text strings are to be translated to a second language, generating and sending for translation a file including the text strings that are to be translated, receiving a file including text strings that have been translated to the second language, and reconstructing the source files of the software development project including text strings that have been translated to the second language.
[0007] The source files of the software development project are resource files and the text strings are extracted from the resource files. The text strings are extracted from the resource files based on rules defining a resource file format specification and defining a file encoding for each local language. The rules comprise regular expressions defining the resource file format.
[0008] The method further comprises storing the extracted text strings in a database, each extracted text string stored in a database entry comprising the extracted text string and information indicating whether the text string is to be translated. The extracted text strings that to be translated to a second language are determined based on the information indicating whether the text string is to be translated. The received text strings that have been translated to the second language are stored in the database, each translated text string stored in a database entry comprising the corresponding extracted text string in the first language. The source files of the software development project are reconstructed using the information stored in the database.
[0009] The file including the text strings that are to be translated is generated in a format compatible with translation tools to be used.
[0010] The method further comprises generating at least one of a pseudo translation of the text strings, a count of a number of text strings to be translated, and a count of a number of words in the text strings to be translated.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] Objects and advantages of the technology described in the present disclosure will be more clearly understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0012] FIG. 1 is an exemplary block diagram of a system in which the technology described in the present disclosure may be implemented.
[0013] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a software localization process.
[0014] FIG. 3 is an exemplary block diagram of a system in which the technology described in the present disclosure may be implemented.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] The present disclosure provides a technique for improved localization of software with automated handoff processing and standardized handoff formats. An example of this is shown in FIG. 1 , which is a block diagram of a system 100 in which software localization processing may be performed. A process of software localization that may be implemented in system 100 is shown in FIG. 2 . FIGS. 1 and 2 are best viewed in conjunction. Process 200 begins with step 202 , in which source code for a software project is developed. Source code for software that is being developed is stored and controlled by software configuration management (SCM) system 102 . SCM involves the management of security features and assurances through control of changes made to software, firmware, documentation, test procedures, and test documentation of a software system, throughout the development and operational life of the system. In particular, this involves the control of changes—including the recording thereof—that are made to the software, firmware, and documentation throughout the system lifecycle. SCM can be divided into two areas. One area of SCM concerns the storage of the entities produced during the software project, sometimes referred to as component repository management. The second area concerns the activities performed for the production and/or change of these entities; the term engineering support is often used to refer this second area.
[0016] Among the source files stored on SCM system 102 are source language files 104 . Source language files 104 typically include a plurality of resource files, and may also include other types of files, such as source code files, etc. Resource files are typically used to store structured data in a file, with each structure element being a resource in the file. For example, a software application may display a number of text strings in various screen displays, such as data entry displays, status displays, instruction displays, error messages, etc. In older software development, these text strings were typically embedded in the source code of the software application. In order to modify the text strings, the source code itself had to be modified, which required recompilation of the software and risked introducing programming errors in the software. In modern software, the text strings are stored in one or more resource files and are accessed by reference to a resource identifier. This provides the capability to modify the text strings by editing only the resource files, which is typically simpler and has a lower risk of introducing errors in the software. A further advantage of resource files is that, in order to localize the software, by translating the text strings to a local language, all the text strings to be translated are found in the resource files. Thus, only the resource files need be modified in order to localize the software; the source code files need not be involved.
[0017] However, the resource files of a software application include data other than text strings to be translated for localization. For example, the resource files may include screen display layouts, images to be displayed, audio, and/or video to be played, etc. Typically, a resource file includes the resource data, such as the text string, etc., and associated resource metadata, which includes information that describes characteristics of the resource data, such as the text string length, text string language, etc. The format of the resource file may vary depending upon the software development system used, the operating system on which the software development system runs, the target operating system for the software, etc.
[0018] In step 204 , a feature release of the software is built. In the software build, the programming code is compiled and linked, the resources are integrated with the programming code, and an executable package of files is generated. In addition, in step 206 , the resource files that are part of the source language files are organized. In a typical large software project, there may be hundreds of resource files. Typically, these are organized in a number of folders associated with, or corresponding to, the programming code files.
[0019] In step 208 , source file processing is performed. Source file processing includes extraction of the text strings from the resource files 104 by string extraction process 106 . String extraction process 106 extracts the text strings from resource files 104 and then the extracted text strings are stored in multinational string database 108 . Database 108 includes all extracted source language text strings, as well as all currently available local language text strings, which are translations of the source languages text strings.
[0020] Source file processing may include two modes of processing - baseline processing and insert processing. In baseline processing, all source language text strings in the resource files are extracted and entered into database 108 . As the name implies, this provides a baseline, known state for the localization process. Insert processing involves extraction and/or entry of new and modified text strings into database 108 . For example, the extracted source language text strings may be stored in database 108 based on an identifier. Likewise, the identifier may include information indicating the software project, the file path, the software key, and the instance of each source language text string.
[0021] When insert mode processing is performed, each newly extracted source language text string is compared to the currently stored source language text string for the same resource or string identifier. If the newly extracted text string is identical to the stored text string, then no modification has occurred (old string) and any stored local language translations for that resource or string identifier are still valid. In this case, the string does not need to be re-translated and this status is indicated in database 108 . If the newly extracted text string has been modified relative to the stored text string (changed string), or if there is no stored text string for that resource or string identifier (new string), then the newly extracted text string is stored, and a translation or a new translation is required. This status is likewise indicated in database 108 . For example, to insert a new string into database 108 , a new message identifier is created, text prior to the string is inserted into a preamble field of the database entry, the translatable flags are set appropriately, and the desired localized file encodings are set based on the locale.
[0022] String extraction process 106 accepts resource files in any known format and outputs the extracted text strings in a single file having a standardized format. This format decoding and encoding may be performed by special purpose decoding and encoding software developed for each file format. However, this format decoding and encoding may be performed by generic decoding and encoding software that is controlled by decoding and encoding rules for file format. These rules may define the input resource file format specification and the input/output file encoding for each local language to be output. The rules may have any suitable format, such as regular expressions defining the resource file format. A regular expression is a string that describes or matches a set of criteria, according to certain syntax rules. Regular expressions are used by many text editors and utilities to search and manipulate bodies of text based on certain patterns. The regular expressions defining the rules used in string extraction process 106 may identify the software key and string, as well as the text encoding.
[0023] Strings may be indicated in the resource files as being non-translatable. For example, where text strings must be displayed without alteration due to copyright, contractual, or standards obligations, the strings should be indicated as being non-translatable. This may be accomplished by a number of techniques, such as placing non-translatable strings in separate resource files from translatable strings, marking the non-translatable strings with instructions, symbols, etc. indicating that they are non-translatable, maintaining a list of non-translatable strings, etc. Strings that are indicated as non-translatable are omitted from the file of strings to be translated that is output from step 214 .
[0024] Additional processing may also be performed. For example, a pseudo translation of the text strings may be generated. A pseudo translation may be used to estimate the worst-case (longest) length of a text string once it is translated, without actually translating the string. A pseudo translation may be formed by padding the text string with multinational characters in order to estimate the worst-case length. This technique may be performed without using database 108 and provides a reasonable estimate of the worst-case length. If some local language translations have already been performed and stored in database 108 , then the worst-case lengths may be determined based on the lengths of the longest translations stored for each string in database 108 . In this embodiment, the lengths of the longest translations stored for each string in database 108 may be used as is, or the lengths may be adjusted, such as by increasing the lengths by some percentage.
[0025] Metrics may be calculated based on the status (new, changed, old) of the text strings. In particular, counts of the number of words and the number of strings that are to be translated may be calculated. These counts may then be used to obtain accurate estimates of the costs of performing a translation at any given point in the development process.
[0026] When it is time to have the translations of the source language text strings prepared for a particular local language, in step 214 a handoff file 110 having a standardized format and a reduced content is generated. The standardized format is a format that is compatible with translation tools used in translation process 112 . The standardized format eliminates issues that may arise due to the various formats that the resource files 104 may have. The format typically includes the source language text strings and metadata associated with each string, such as resource or string identifiers, language identifiers, etc. For example, handoff file 110 may be formatted as a standard Translation Memory Exchange (TMX) file, which uses Extended Markup Language (XML) statements. The reduced content is generated by including only those text strings for which a translation or a new translation is required. For example, only one handoff file may be generated for each local language regardless of the number of resource files in the software project that include text strings. The text strings from all such resource files are combined to form the single handoff file. In addition, when a handoff file 110 is generated, database 108 is updated to indicate this status.
[0027] In step 216 , handoff file 110 is transmitted to translation process 112 and translation is performed. Translation process 112 may be any type of translation process, such as a manual translation, a computer assisted manual translation, an automated translation, a partially manual and partially automated translation, etc. Handoff file 110 is in a standardized format, so it is compatible with the translation tools used in translation process 112 . Translation process 112 generates a translated handoff file 114 , which typically has a format similar to the format of handoff file 110 . Translated handoff file 114 typically includes the local language text strings and metadata associated with each string, such as resource or string identifiers, language identifiers, etc., and may include the original source language text strings that were included in handoff file 110 .
[0028] In step 218 , the information content in translated handoff file 114 is checked into database 108 . In particular, the local language text strings are stored in association with the source language text strings based on the resource or string identifier associated with the local language text strings and the source language text strings. Once the translated content has been stored in database 108 , the translated content may, at any time, be extracted for use, in step 220 , in generating a localized version of the software being developed.
[0029] In step 222 , the translations are validated and again checked into database 108 .
[0030] When it is desired to generate a localized version of the software, in step 220 , a process of reconstruction of the resource files 116 is performed. Process 116 accesses the translated strings stored in database 108 and the source language resource files 104 , replaces the source language text strings in the resource files with the corresponding translated text strings, and generates translated resource files 118 . For example, for each language variant, the preamble of each string entry in database 108 are extracted and the selected localized string is concatenated with the matching message identifier. New messages are inserted into database 108 , creating new message identifiers. The file encoding is configurable based on the file and the locale. Translated resource files 118 are then stored on SCM system 102 , so that localized versions of the software being developed can be built.
[0031] An exemplary block diagram of a software development system 100 , in which the present technology may be implemented, is shown in FIG. 3 . System 100 includes a plurality of systems, such as SCM system 300 A, database system 300 B, and translation system 300 C. Each system 300 A-C is typically a programmed general-purpose computer system, such as a personal computer, workstation, server system, and minicomputer or mainframe computer. Each system 300 A-C includes one or more processors (CPUs) 302 A-C, input/output circuitry 304 A-C, network adapter 306 A-C, and memory 308 A-C. CPUs 302 A-C execute program instructions in order to carry out the functions of the present technology. Typically, CPUs 302 A-C are one or more microprocessors, such as an INTEL PENTIUM® processor. FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment in which each system 300 A-C is implemented as a single computer system, each of which may include one or more CPUs 302 A-C. However, the present technology also contemplates embodiments in which each system 300 A-C is implemented as a plurality of networked computer systems, which may be single-processor computer systems, multi-processor computer systems, or a mix thereof.
[0032] Input/output circuitry 304 A-C provides the capability to input data to, or output data from, its respective system 300 A-C. For example, input/output circuitry may include input devices, such as keyboards, mice, touchpads, trackballs, scanners, etc., output devices, such as video adapters, monitors, printers, etc., and input/output devices, such as, modems, etc. Network adapter 306 A-C interfaces its respective system 300 A-C with network 310 . Network 310 may include one or more standard local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), such as Ethernet, Token Ring, the Internet, or a private or proprietary LAN/WAN.
[0033] Each memory 308 A-C stores program instructions that are executed by, and data that are used and processed by, each CPU 302 A-C to perform the functions of each system 300 A-C. Each memory 308 A-C may include electronic memory devices, such as random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, etc., and electromechanical memory, such as magnetic disk drives, tape drives, optical disk drives, etc., which may use an integrated drive electronics (IDE) interface, or a variation or enhancement thereof, such as enhanced IDE (EIDE) or ultra direct memory access (UDMA), Serial ATA, Firewire (IEEE 1394), or a small computer system interface (SCSI) based interface, or a variation or enhancement thereof, such as fast-SCSI, wide-SCSI, fast and wide-SCSI, etc, or a fiber channel-arbitrated loop (FC-AL) interface.
[0034] In the example shown in FIG. 3 , SCM system 300 A includes memory 308 A, which includes programming code 312 , resource files 314 , which include text strings 316 , and operating system 318 A. Programming code 312 includes the source code that defines the operations that are to be performed by the software. Resource files 314 include the resource data, such as the text strings 316 , etc., and associated resource metadata, which includes information that describes characteristics of the resource data, such as the text string length, text string language, etc. Operating system 318 A provides overall system functionality.
[0035] In the example shown in FIG. 3 , database system 300 B includes memory 308 B, which includes string entries 320 and operating system 318 B. String entries 320 are database entries representing text strings 316 that have been stored in database system 300 B. Each string entry 320 includes a preamble 322 and text strings 324 . The preamble 322 for an entry includes all of the data that occurs in the original resource file since the end of the previous string. Such information may include identifiers for each text string, translation status of each text string, etc. The identifier may include information indicating the software project, the file path, the software key, and the instance of each source language text string. Operating system 318 B provides overall system functionality.
[0036] In the example shown in FIG. 3 , translation system 300 C includes memory 308 C, which includes translation tools 326 and operating system 318 C. Translation tools 326 are tools that provide the capability to translate provided text strings. Translation tools may support any type of translation process, such as a manual translation, a computer assisted manual translation, an automated translation, a partially manual and partially automated translation, etc. Typical translation tools include storage for source language text strings 328 and storage for corresponding local language text strings 330 . Operating system 318 B provides overall system functionality.
[0037] Although SCM system 300 A, database system 300 B, and translation system 300 C are shown together as parts of system 100 , each system may actually be provided by and operated by different entities. For example, translation system is typically provided by and operated by a translation vendor that is a separate entity than the software developer that provides and operates SCM system 300 A. Likewise, database system 300 B may be provided and operated by either of these entities or by another entity, such as a localization support organization. The present technology contemplates any and all such entities that may provide and/or operate the described systems.
[0038] As shown in FIG. 3 , the present technology contemplates implementation on a system or systems that provide multi-processor, multi-tasking, multi-process, and/or multi-thread computing, as well as implementation on systems that provide only single processor, single thread computing. Multi-processor computing involves performing computing using more than one processor. Multi-tasking computing involves performing computing using more than one operating system task. A task is an operating system concept that refers to the combination of a program being executed and bookkeeping information used by the operating system. Whenever a program is executed, the operating system creates a new task for it. The task is like an envelope for the program in that it identifies the program with a task number and attaches other bookkeeping information to it. Many operating systems, including UNIX®, OS/2®, and WINDOWS®, are capable of running many tasks at the same time and are called multitasking operating systems. Multi-tasking is the ability of an operating system to execute more than one executable at the same time. Each executable is running in its own address space, meaning that the executables have no way to share any of their memory. This has advantages, because it is impossible for any program to damage the execution of any of the other programs running on the system. However, the programs have no way to exchange any information except through the operating system (or by reading files stored on the file system). Multi-process computing is similar to multi-tasking computing, as the terms task and process are often used interchangeably, although some operating systems make a distinction between the two.
[0039] Although specific embodiments of the present technology have been described, it will be understood by those of skill in the art that there are other embodiments that are equivalent to the described embodiments. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the technology is not to be limited by the specific illustrated embodiments, but only by the scope of the appended claims. | A method, system, and computer program for software localization extracts text from resource files, handles file management of the resource files, and uses a database for storage. A method for localizing software comprises extracting text strings in a first language from source files of a software development project, determining which of the extracted text strings are to be translated to a second language, generating and sending for translation a file including the text strings that are to be translated, receiving a file including text strings that have been translated to the second language, and reconstructing the source files of the software development project including text strings that have been translated to the second language. | Briefly describe the main invention outlined in the provided context. | [
"TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present technology relates to a method and system for extracting and managing text appearing in software applications that is to be translated in order to localize the software applications.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE TECHNOLOGY [0002] Many software applications and packages are distributed throughout the world.",
"An important aspect of such distribution is that the software is localized to each country in which it is distributed.",
"Localization is the process of adapting software for a particular country or region.",
"For example, the software must support the character set of the local language and must be configured to present numbers and other values in the local format.",
"In addition, text strings that are presented to the user of the software should be presented in the local language.",
"[0003] Software companies that wish to sell their software internationally must invest considerable money and energy in localization efforts.",
"Typically, software is developed in a single language, then localization is performed on the software.",
"One major cost is the translation of text strings from the original language in which the software is developed into a number of local languages.",
"In addition to the cost, this translation is typically very time consuming.",
"If software is developed in stages, it may be necessary to perform these translations at each stage, which may mean that the same text strings are being translated multiple times.",
"[0004] A need arises for a technique by which text strings in software may be translated as part of a localization of the software, but which provides reduced cost, improved efficiency, and quicker turnaround of the translation process.",
"SUMMARY OF THE TECHNOLOGY [0005] A method, system, and computer program for software localization extracts text from resource files, handles file management of the resource files, and uses a database for storage.",
"Once the strings are extracted from the original resource files, the strings and corresponding meta-data required for file reconstruction are processed and stored into a common database.",
"Messages are identified as new, changed, or old (previously translated) based on their being found in the database during processing.",
"Once processing is complete, a file used for translation that contains only the changed and new messages is generated.",
"This file has a standardized format that is compatible with translation tools used by those performing the actual translations.",
"Once the translations are completed, the translated file is sent to the database via the same web service.",
"The original resource files are then automatically recreated, substituting the translated text for the source.",
"The original resource files may also be regenerated using the original strings that have been lengthened (using a multinational character set) to what might be an appropriate length expected from any language.",
"Padding characters may include Japanese, Chinese or any Unicode characters.",
"[0006] A method for localizing software comprises extracting text strings in a first language from source files of a software development project, determining which of the extracted text strings are to be translated to a second language, generating and sending for translation a file including the text strings that are to be translated, receiving a file including text strings that have been translated to the second language, and reconstructing the source files of the software development project including text strings that have been translated to the second language.",
"[0007] The source files of the software development project are resource files and the text strings are extracted from the resource files.",
"The text strings are extracted from the resource files based on rules defining a resource file format specification and defining a file encoding for each local language.",
"The rules comprise regular expressions defining the resource file format.",
"[0008] The method further comprises storing the extracted text strings in a database, each extracted text string stored in a database entry comprising the extracted text string and information indicating whether the text string is to be translated.",
"The extracted text strings that to be translated to a second language are determined based on the information indicating whether the text string is to be translated.",
"The received text strings that have been translated to the second language are stored in the database, each translated text string stored in a database entry comprising the corresponding extracted text string in the first language.",
"The source files of the software development project are reconstructed using the information stored in the database.",
"[0009] The file including the text strings that are to be translated is generated in a format compatible with translation tools to be used.",
"[0010] The method further comprises generating at least one of a pseudo translation of the text strings, a count of a number of text strings to be translated, and a count of a number of words in the text strings to be translated.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0011] Objects and advantages of the technology described in the present disclosure will be more clearly understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: [0012] FIG. 1 is an exemplary block diagram of a system in which the technology described in the present disclosure may be implemented.",
"[0013] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a software localization process.",
"[0014] FIG. 3 is an exemplary block diagram of a system in which the technology described in the present disclosure may be implemented.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0015] The present disclosure provides a technique for improved localization of software with automated handoff processing and standardized handoff formats.",
"An example of this is shown in FIG. 1 , which is a block diagram of a system 100 in which software localization processing may be performed.",
"A process of software localization that may be implemented in system 100 is shown in FIG. 2 .",
"FIGS. 1 and 2 are best viewed in conjunction.",
"Process 200 begins with step 202 , in which source code for a software project is developed.",
"Source code for software that is being developed is stored and controlled by software configuration management (SCM) system 102 .",
"SCM involves the management of security features and assurances through control of changes made to software, firmware, documentation, test procedures, and test documentation of a software system, throughout the development and operational life of the system.",
"In particular, this involves the control of changes—including the recording thereof—that are made to the software, firmware, and documentation throughout the system lifecycle.",
"SCM can be divided into two areas.",
"One area of SCM concerns the storage of the entities produced during the software project, sometimes referred to as component repository management.",
"The second area concerns the activities performed for the production and/or change of these entities;",
"the term engineering support is often used to refer this second area.",
"[0016] Among the source files stored on SCM system 102 are source language files 104 .",
"Source language files 104 typically include a plurality of resource files, and may also include other types of files, such as source code files, etc.",
"Resource files are typically used to store structured data in a file, with each structure element being a resource in the file.",
"For example, a software application may display a number of text strings in various screen displays, such as data entry displays, status displays, instruction displays, error messages, etc.",
"In older software development, these text strings were typically embedded in the source code of the software application.",
"In order to modify the text strings, the source code itself had to be modified, which required recompilation of the software and risked introducing programming errors in the software.",
"In modern software, the text strings are stored in one or more resource files and are accessed by reference to a resource identifier.",
"This provides the capability to modify the text strings by editing only the resource files, which is typically simpler and has a lower risk of introducing errors in the software.",
"A further advantage of resource files is that, in order to localize the software, by translating the text strings to a local language, all the text strings to be translated are found in the resource files.",
"Thus, only the resource files need be modified in order to localize the software;",
"the source code files need not be involved.",
"[0017] However, the resource files of a software application include data other than text strings to be translated for localization.",
"For example, the resource files may include screen display layouts, images to be displayed, audio, and/or video to be played, etc.",
"Typically, a resource file includes the resource data, such as the text string, etc.",
", and associated resource metadata, which includes information that describes characteristics of the resource data, such as the text string length, text string language, etc.",
"The format of the resource file may vary depending upon the software development system used, the operating system on which the software development system runs, the target operating system for the software, etc.",
"[0018] In step 204 , a feature release of the software is built.",
"In the software build, the programming code is compiled and linked, the resources are integrated with the programming code, and an executable package of files is generated.",
"In addition, in step 206 , the resource files that are part of the source language files are organized.",
"In a typical large software project, there may be hundreds of resource files.",
"Typically, these are organized in a number of folders associated with, or corresponding to, the programming code files.",
"[0019] In step 208 , source file processing is performed.",
"Source file processing includes extraction of the text strings from the resource files 104 by string extraction process 106 .",
"String extraction process 106 extracts the text strings from resource files 104 and then the extracted text strings are stored in multinational string database 108 .",
"Database 108 includes all extracted source language text strings, as well as all currently available local language text strings, which are translations of the source languages text strings.",
"[0020] Source file processing may include two modes of processing - baseline processing and insert processing.",
"In baseline processing, all source language text strings in the resource files are extracted and entered into database 108 .",
"As the name implies, this provides a baseline, known state for the localization process.",
"Insert processing involves extraction and/or entry of new and modified text strings into database 108 .",
"For example, the extracted source language text strings may be stored in database 108 based on an identifier.",
"Likewise, the identifier may include information indicating the software project, the file path, the software key, and the instance of each source language text string.",
"[0021] When insert mode processing is performed, each newly extracted source language text string is compared to the currently stored source language text string for the same resource or string identifier.",
"If the newly extracted text string is identical to the stored text string, then no modification has occurred (old string) and any stored local language translations for that resource or string identifier are still valid.",
"In this case, the string does not need to be re-translated and this status is indicated in database 108 .",
"If the newly extracted text string has been modified relative to the stored text string (changed string), or if there is no stored text string for that resource or string identifier (new string), then the newly extracted text string is stored, and a translation or a new translation is required.",
"This status is likewise indicated in database 108 .",
"For example, to insert a new string into database 108 , a new message identifier is created, text prior to the string is inserted into a preamble field of the database entry, the translatable flags are set appropriately, and the desired localized file encodings are set based on the locale.",
"[0022] String extraction process 106 accepts resource files in any known format and outputs the extracted text strings in a single file having a standardized format.",
"This format decoding and encoding may be performed by special purpose decoding and encoding software developed for each file format.",
"However, this format decoding and encoding may be performed by generic decoding and encoding software that is controlled by decoding and encoding rules for file format.",
"These rules may define the input resource file format specification and the input/output file encoding for each local language to be output.",
"The rules may have any suitable format, such as regular expressions defining the resource file format.",
"A regular expression is a string that describes or matches a set of criteria, according to certain syntax rules.",
"Regular expressions are used by many text editors and utilities to search and manipulate bodies of text based on certain patterns.",
"The regular expressions defining the rules used in string extraction process 106 may identify the software key and string, as well as the text encoding.",
"[0023] Strings may be indicated in the resource files as being non-translatable.",
"For example, where text strings must be displayed without alteration due to copyright, contractual, or standards obligations, the strings should be indicated as being non-translatable.",
"This may be accomplished by a number of techniques, such as placing non-translatable strings in separate resource files from translatable strings, marking the non-translatable strings with instructions, symbols, etc.",
"indicating that they are non-translatable, maintaining a list of non-translatable strings, etc.",
"Strings that are indicated as non-translatable are omitted from the file of strings to be translated that is output from step 214 .",
"[0024] Additional processing may also be performed.",
"For example, a pseudo translation of the text strings may be generated.",
"A pseudo translation may be used to estimate the worst-case (longest) length of a text string once it is translated, without actually translating the string.",
"A pseudo translation may be formed by padding the text string with multinational characters in order to estimate the worst-case length.",
"This technique may be performed without using database 108 and provides a reasonable estimate of the worst-case length.",
"If some local language translations have already been performed and stored in database 108 , then the worst-case lengths may be determined based on the lengths of the longest translations stored for each string in database 108 .",
"In this embodiment, the lengths of the longest translations stored for each string in database 108 may be used as is, or the lengths may be adjusted, such as by increasing the lengths by some percentage.",
"[0025] Metrics may be calculated based on the status (new, changed, old) of the text strings.",
"In particular, counts of the number of words and the number of strings that are to be translated may be calculated.",
"These counts may then be used to obtain accurate estimates of the costs of performing a translation at any given point in the development process.",
"[0026] When it is time to have the translations of the source language text strings prepared for a particular local language, in step 214 a handoff file 110 having a standardized format and a reduced content is generated.",
"The standardized format is a format that is compatible with translation tools used in translation process 112 .",
"The standardized format eliminates issues that may arise due to the various formats that the resource files 104 may have.",
"The format typically includes the source language text strings and metadata associated with each string, such as resource or string identifiers, language identifiers, etc.",
"For example, handoff file 110 may be formatted as a standard Translation Memory Exchange (TMX) file, which uses Extended Markup Language (XML) statements.",
"The reduced content is generated by including only those text strings for which a translation or a new translation is required.",
"For example, only one handoff file may be generated for each local language regardless of the number of resource files in the software project that include text strings.",
"The text strings from all such resource files are combined to form the single handoff file.",
"In addition, when a handoff file 110 is generated, database 108 is updated to indicate this status.",
"[0027] In step 216 , handoff file 110 is transmitted to translation process 112 and translation is performed.",
"Translation process 112 may be any type of translation process, such as a manual translation, a computer assisted manual translation, an automated translation, a partially manual and partially automated translation, etc.",
"Handoff file 110 is in a standardized format, so it is compatible with the translation tools used in translation process 112 .",
"Translation process 112 generates a translated handoff file 114 , which typically has a format similar to the format of handoff file 110 .",
"Translated handoff file 114 typically includes the local language text strings and metadata associated with each string, such as resource or string identifiers, language identifiers, etc.",
", and may include the original source language text strings that were included in handoff file 110 .",
"[0028] In step 218 , the information content in translated handoff file 114 is checked into database 108 .",
"In particular, the local language text strings are stored in association with the source language text strings based on the resource or string identifier associated with the local language text strings and the source language text strings.",
"Once the translated content has been stored in database 108 , the translated content may, at any time, be extracted for use, in step 220 , in generating a localized version of the software being developed.",
"[0029] In step 222 , the translations are validated and again checked into database 108 .",
"[0030] When it is desired to generate a localized version of the software, in step 220 , a process of reconstruction of the resource files 116 is performed.",
"Process 116 accesses the translated strings stored in database 108 and the source language resource files 104 , replaces the source language text strings in the resource files with the corresponding translated text strings, and generates translated resource files 118 .",
"For example, for each language variant, the preamble of each string entry in database 108 are extracted and the selected localized string is concatenated with the matching message identifier.",
"New messages are inserted into database 108 , creating new message identifiers.",
"The file encoding is configurable based on the file and the locale.",
"Translated resource files 118 are then stored on SCM system 102 , so that localized versions of the software being developed can be built.",
"[0031] An exemplary block diagram of a software development system 100 , in which the present technology may be implemented, is shown in FIG. 3 .",
"System 100 includes a plurality of systems, such as SCM system 300 A, database system 300 B, and translation system 300 C. Each system 300 A-C is typically a programmed general-purpose computer system, such as a personal computer, workstation, server system, and minicomputer or mainframe computer.",
"Each system 300 A-C includes one or more processors (CPUs) 302 A-C, input/output circuitry 304 A-C, network adapter 306 A-C, and memory 308 A-C.",
"CPUs 302 A-C execute program instructions in order to carry out the functions of the present technology.",
"Typically, CPUs 302 A-C are one or more microprocessors, such as an INTEL PENTIUM® processor.",
"FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment in which each system 300 A-C is implemented as a single computer system, each of which may include one or more CPUs 302 A-C.",
"However, the present technology also contemplates embodiments in which each system 300 A-C is implemented as a plurality of networked computer systems, which may be single-processor computer systems, multi-processor computer systems, or a mix thereof.",
"[0032] Input/output circuitry 304 A-C provides the capability to input data to, or output data from, its respective system 300 A-C.",
"For example, input/output circuitry may include input devices, such as keyboards, mice, touchpads, trackballs, scanners, etc.",
", output devices, such as video adapters, monitors, printers, etc.",
", and input/output devices, such as, modems, etc.",
"Network adapter 306 A-C interfaces its respective system 300 A-C with network 310 .",
"Network 310 may include one or more standard local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), such as Ethernet, Token Ring, the Internet, or a private or proprietary LAN/WAN.",
"[0033] Each memory 308 A-C stores program instructions that are executed by, and data that are used and processed by, each CPU 302 A-C to perform the functions of each system 300 A-C.",
"Each memory 308 A-C may include electronic memory devices, such as random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, etc.",
", and electromechanical memory, such as magnetic disk drives, tape drives, optical disk drives, etc.",
", which may use an integrated drive electronics (IDE) interface, or a variation or enhancement thereof, such as enhanced IDE (EIDE) or ultra direct memory access (UDMA), Serial ATA, Firewire (IEEE 1394), or a small computer system interface (SCSI) based interface, or a variation or enhancement thereof, such as fast-SCSI, wide-SCSI, fast and wide-SCSI, etc, or a fiber channel-arbitrated loop (FC-AL) interface.",
"[0034] In the example shown in FIG. 3 , SCM system 300 A includes memory 308 A, which includes programming code 312 , resource files 314 , which include text strings 316 , and operating system 318 A. Programming code 312 includes the source code that defines the operations that are to be performed by the software.",
"Resource files 314 include the resource data, such as the text strings 316 , etc.",
", and associated resource metadata, which includes information that describes characteristics of the resource data, such as the text string length, text string language, etc.",
"Operating system 318 A provides overall system functionality.",
"[0035] In the example shown in FIG. 3 , database system 300 B includes memory 308 B, which includes string entries 320 and operating system 318 B. String entries 320 are database entries representing text strings 316 that have been stored in database system 300 B. Each string entry 320 includes a preamble 322 and text strings 324 .",
"The preamble 322 for an entry includes all of the data that occurs in the original resource file since the end of the previous string.",
"Such information may include identifiers for each text string, translation status of each text string, etc.",
"The identifier may include information indicating the software project, the file path, the software key, and the instance of each source language text string.",
"Operating system 318 B provides overall system functionality.",
"[0036] In the example shown in FIG. 3 , translation system 300 C includes memory 308 C, which includes translation tools 326 and operating system 318 C. Translation tools 326 are tools that provide the capability to translate provided text strings.",
"Translation tools may support any type of translation process, such as a manual translation, a computer assisted manual translation, an automated translation, a partially manual and partially automated translation, etc.",
"Typical translation tools include storage for source language text strings 328 and storage for corresponding local language text strings 330 .",
"Operating system 318 B provides overall system functionality.",
"[0037] Although SCM system 300 A, database system 300 B, and translation system 300 C are shown together as parts of system 100 , each system may actually be provided by and operated by different entities.",
"For example, translation system is typically provided by and operated by a translation vendor that is a separate entity than the software developer that provides and operates SCM system 300 A. Likewise, database system 300 B may be provided and operated by either of these entities or by another entity, such as a localization support organization.",
"The present technology contemplates any and all such entities that may provide and/or operate the described systems.",
"[0038] As shown in FIG. 3 , the present technology contemplates implementation on a system or systems that provide multi-processor, multi-tasking, multi-process, and/or multi-thread computing, as well as implementation on systems that provide only single processor, single thread computing.",
"Multi-processor computing involves performing computing using more than one processor.",
"Multi-tasking computing involves performing computing using more than one operating system task.",
"A task is an operating system concept that refers to the combination of a program being executed and bookkeeping information used by the operating system.",
"Whenever a program is executed, the operating system creates a new task for it.",
"The task is like an envelope for the program in that it identifies the program with a task number and attaches other bookkeeping information to it.",
"Many operating systems, including UNIX®, OS/2®, and WINDOWS®, are capable of running many tasks at the same time and are called multitasking operating systems.",
"Multi-tasking is the ability of an operating system to execute more than one executable at the same time.",
"Each executable is running in its own address space, meaning that the executables have no way to share any of their memory.",
"This has advantages, because it is impossible for any program to damage the execution of any of the other programs running on the system.",
"However, the programs have no way to exchange any information except through the operating system (or by reading files stored on the file system).",
"Multi-process computing is similar to multi-tasking computing, as the terms task and process are often used interchangeably, although some operating systems make a distinction between the two.",
"[0039] Although specific embodiments of the present technology have been described, it will be understood by those of skill in the art that there are other embodiments that are equivalent to the described embodiments.",
"Accordingly, it is to be understood that the technology is not to be limited by the specific illustrated embodiments, but only by the scope of the appended claims."
] |
PRIORITY CLAIM
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/567,136, filed Aug. 6, 2012, titled “Adaptive Partial Packet Decoding”, invented by Syed Aon Mujtaba, Kee-Bong Song, Yuchul Kim, Xiaowen Wang, Tarik Tabet, and Youngjae Kim, which claims benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/613,437, filed on Mar. 20, 2012. Both of the above-identified Applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties as though fully and completely set forth herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Embodiments described herein are related to the field of networked devices, and more particularly to a system and method for selectively invoking a process of partial packet decoding when link quality is sufficiently high.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
[0003] There are generally two types of network transmission systems, these being circuit-switched networks and packet-switched networks. In packet-switched networks, packets are transmitted in separate bursts. When packets are received, they are reassembled in the proper sequence to make up the message. In a circuit switched (CS) connection, packets are continuously sent from the network to the user equipment (UE), and vice versa. Hence, the receiver at the UE may be continuously decoding received packets.
[0004] In cellular networks, transmit (Tx) power for data transmission from the base station to the user equipment (e.g., the Dedicated Traffic Channel power in UMTS) is typically controlled to reduce co-channel interference, and also to save Tx power of the base station. In a CS connection, transmit power is controlled such that the base station uses the minimal amount of power to maintain link quality. However, the power control may not always be perfect. In some circumstances, the data packets received by the UE may have a higher SINR (Signal to Interference-and-Noise Ratio) than is necessary. Examples of such circumstances include one or more of the following: 1) the UE is very close to the base station, and the base station's transmit power cannot be lowered below its minimum Tx power limit; 2) the power control algorithm works imperfectly; 3) there is an inherent delay in the power control algorithm; and 4) excessive interference in the uplink channel makes it difficult for the base station to reliably decode transmission power control (TPC) bits sent by the UE.
[0005] Partial Packet Decoding (PPD) refers to a process whereby a data packet can be decoded based on partial reception of the packet even before the end of the packet has been reached. Partial packet decoding may be performed as long as the effective coding rate at the time of the decoding attempt is less than 1 . If the decoding attempt is successful, the UE can immediately turn its receiver off to save power until the end of the packet. If the decoding is unsuccessful, the UE can make another decoding attempt after a certain period of time with more data from the packet. The UE can make multiple decoding attempts until the end of packet is reached.
[0006] One problem with Partial Packet Decoding is that each decoding attempt on a partial packet consumes a certain amount of power. If the UE ends up with multiple decoding attempts just for one packet, the UE can consume more power than if only one decoding attempt was made on the complete packet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] In one embodiment, a method for adaptively invoking partial packet decoding may involve the following operations. The method may be performed by a User Equipment (UE) device (also referred to as a communication device) such as a mobile phone or mobile device when receiving packets from a base station.
[0008] The communication device may determine whether a first measure of quality of a communication link (i.e., a wireless link with the base station) is better than a first quality standard in response to the start of a transmission period or interval for a current packet. The first measure of quality may be based, e.g., on block error rate or bit error rate. The first measure may be a measure that has been computed based on previously received packets. The determination of whether the first measure of quality is better than the first quality standard is used to determine if partial packet decoding should be enabled, i.e., to determine whether the possibility of partial packet decoding should be investigated. If the first measure of quality is not better than the first quality standard, then the method determines that power should not be wasted on partial packet decoding, and partial packet decoding is disabled.
[0009] In response to determining that the first measure of quality is better than the first quality standard, then partial packet decoding is enabled. When partial packet decoding is enabled, the communication device may: obtain a second measure of the quality of the communication link; determine whether the second measure of the quality of the communication link is better than a second quality standard; and perform a partial packet decoding process on the current packet until the end of the current packet in response to determining that the second measure is better than the second quality standard.
[0010] There are a wide variety of possibilities for the second measure of quality. For example, the second measure of quality may be based on a signal to noise ratio (or, a signal to interference ratio, or, a signal to interference-and-noise ratio) associated with the communication link. The second measure of quality may be derived from information contained in the current packet, in associated control information that is sent to the communication device for decoding the packet, and/or in other channels (e.g., pilot channel of which transmit power and transmit sequence is known).
[0011] If the first measure of quality is not better than the first quality standard or the second measure of quality is not better than the second quality standard, the communication device may disable partial packet decoding, wait until the end of the current packet, and invoke packet decoding based on the fully-received contents of the current packet.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when the following detailed description of the embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following drawings.
[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system;
[0014] FIG. 2 illustrates a base station 102 in communication with user equipment 106 ;
[0015] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a user equipment device, according to one embodiment;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a flowchart for one embodiment of a method for selectively enabling a partial packet decoding process, based on block error rate and signal to noise ratio;
[0017] FIG. 5 is a flowchart for one embodiment of a method for selectively enabling a partial packet decoding process, based on block error rate and a composite of a signal to noise ratio and a number of power control DOWN commands;
[0018] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing one embodiment of a method for controlling the performance of a partial packet decoding process, based on two link quality tests; and
[0019] FIG. 7 illustrates the structure of a slot for the Dedicated Physical Channel (DPCH) in UTMS.
[0020] While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
Acronyms
[0021] The following acronyms are used in the present Patent Application.
[0022] APPD: Adaptive Partial Packet Decoding
[0023] BLER: Block Error Rate (same as Packet Error Rate)
[0024] BER: Bit Error Rate
[0025] CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access
[0026] CPICH: Common Pilot Indicator Channel
[0027] CRC: Cyclic Redundancy Check
[0028] CS: Circuit Switched
[0029] DL: Downlink
[0030] DPCH: Dedicated Physical Channel
[0031] DPDCH: Dedicated Physical Data Channel
[0032] DPCCH: Dedicated Physical Control Channel
[0033] DTCH: Dedicated Traffic Channel
[0034] Ec/Io: Ratio of chip energy of pilot channel to total power
[0035] NB: NodeB
[0036] PC: Power Control
[0037] PER: Packet Error Rate
[0038] PPD: Partial Packet Decoding
[0039] SINR: Signal to Interference-and-Noise Ratio
[0040] SIR: Signal to Interference Ratio
[0041] SNR: Signal to Noise Ratio
[0042] TPC: Transmit Power Control
[0043] TDM: Time Domain Multiplexing
[0044] TDMed: Time Domain Multiplexed
[0045] TFCI: Transport Format Combination Indicator
[0046] TTI: Transmission Time Interval
[0047] Tx: Transmission
[0048] UE: User Equipment
[0049] UL: Uplink
[0050] UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunication System
Communication System
[0051] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system. It is noted that the system of FIG. 1 is merely one example of a possible system, and embodiments of the invention may be implemented in any of various systems, as desired.
[0052] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102 which communicates over a transmission medium with one or more user devices 106 - 1 through 106 -N. Each of the user devices may be referred to herein as a “user equipment” (UE). Thus, the user devices are collectively referred to as UEs.
[0053] The base station 102 may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or cell site, and comprises hardware that enables wireless communication with the user devices 106 - 1 through 106 -N. The base station 102 may also be equipped to communicate with a network 100 . Thus, the base station 102 may facilitate communication between the user devices and/or between the user devices and the network 100 . When the communication system conforms to the UTMS standard, the base station 102 may be referred to as the “NodeB”. UTMS is a third generation (3G) mobile cellular technology.
[0054] The base station 102 and the UE devices may be configured to communicate over the transmission medium using any of various wireless communication technologies such as GSM, CDMA, WLL, WAN, WiFi, WiMAX etc.
[0055] FIG. 2 illustrates user equipment (UE) 106 (e.g., one of the devices 106 - 1 through 106 -N) in communication with the base station 102 . The UE 106 may be a device with wireless network connectivity such as a mobile phone, a hand-held device, a computer or a tablet, or virtually any type of wireless device. The UE 106 may include a processor that is configured to execute program instructions stored in memory. The UE 106 may perform any of the methods embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) that is configured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein, or any portion of any of the method embodiments described herein.
[0056] In some embodiments, the UE 106 is configured to adaptively employ Partial Packet Decoding (PPD). For example, in some embodiments the UE 106 may be configured to use Partial Packet Decoding only when the link quality is determined to be sufficient or “good enough”. As described herein, the quality of the link can be measured by any of various metrics, e.g., by one or more of the following metrics: the Block Error Rate (BLER), the Bit Error Rate (BER), the sequence of the downlink power control bits, the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) of the Uplink TPC bits signaled in the downlink, the SNR (Ec/Io) of the common pilot channel, e.g., Common Pilot Channel (CPICH) in UMTS, the SNR of the dedicated control channel, e.g., Dedicated Physical Control Channel (DPCCH) in UMTS, etc.
FIG. 3 —Exemplary Block Diagram of a UE
[0057] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a UE 106 . As shown, the UE 106 may include a system on chip (SOC) 200 , which may include portions for various purposes. For example, as shown, the SOC 200 may include processor(s) 202 which may execute program instructions for the UE 106 and display circuitry 204 which may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to the display 240 . The processor(s) 202 may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU) 240 , which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s) 202 and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 206 , read only memory (ROM) 250 , NAND flash memory 210 ) and/or to other circuits or devices, such as the display circuitry 204 , radio 230 , connector I/F 220 , and/or display 240 . In some embodiments, the MMU 240 may be included as a portion of the processor(s) 202 .
[0058] In the embodiment shown, ROM 250 may include a bootloader 252 , which may be executed by the processor(s) 202 during boot up or initialization. As also shown, the SOC 200 may be coupled to various other circuits of the UE 106 . For example, the UE 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash 210 ), a connector interface 220 (e.g., for coupling to the computer system), the display 240 , and wireless communication circuitry (e.g., for LTE, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, WiFi, etc.).
[0059] The UE device 106 may include at least one antenna, and in some embodiments multiple antennas, for performing wireless communication with base stations. For example, the UE device 106 may use antennas 235 and 237 to perform the wireless communication. The UE 106 may be configured to communicate wirelessly using multiple (e.g., at least two) radio access technologies (RATs).
[0060] As shown, the UE 106 may include a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) 310 , which may also be referred to as a smart card. The SIM 310 may take the form of a removable SIM card. As one example, the SIM 310 may be a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) 310 . In some embodiments, the SIM 310 may store a preferred roaming list (PRL) which is used for roaming on various telecommunication networks.
[0061] The processor 202 of the UE device 106 may be configured to implement part or all of the methods described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). In other embodiments, processor 202 may be configured as programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).
[0062]
FIG. 4
[0063] FIG. 4 is a flowchart diagram of one embodiment of a method for performing adaptive partial packet decoding. This method is performed by the UE 106 .
[0064] At 402 , the transmission time interval (TTI) starts for a current packet. When the TTI starts, the UE 106 performs the following operations.
[0065] At 404 , the method evaluates a first condition for enabling partial packet decoding (PPD) on the current packet. The first condition may be based on a Block Error Rate (BLER). More specifically, the method determines if the BLER is less than a BLER Threshold (TH BLER ). If not, then partial packet decoding is not used for the current packet as indicated at 406 . Thus, at 404 the method effectively implements a BLER-based PPD gating condition. In a power-controlled downlink channel, its BLER is updated every packet (or TTI) by the UE 106 , and the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) target is adjusted based on the current BLER. The BLER is thus used as a gating criterion for partial packet decoding. If BLER<TH BLER in the current packet TTI, then control passes to 408 . In an alternative embodiment, the Bit Error Rate (BER) may be used instead of BLER. Any of various other methods or techniques may be used to assess the quality of the communication link as a gating condition for applying PPD.
[0066] If the Block Error Rate (BLER) is less than the BLER Threshold (TH BLER ), then the method advances to 408 .
[0067] At 408 , the method measures a Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) for the first x milliseconds of the current packet. (In alternative embodiments, SIR or SINR may be measured instead of SNR.) In different embodiments, the value x may have different values in the range, e.g., from 2 to 18 milliseconds in UMTS. For example, the value x may have different values anywhere in the range from 1-5 to 15-20 milliseconds. In some embodiments, the first x milliseconds may cover a given fractional portion of the packet. The given fractional portion may range from, e.g., 30% to 70% of the packet. For example, the given fractional portion may range anywhere from 20-40% to 60-80%. In some embodiments, the method may make a plurality of SNR measurements during the first x milliseconds, and filter the SNR measurements with a digital filter (e.g., an IIR filter). For example, the packet may include a plurality of slots, and an SNR may be determined for each of the slots occurring in the first x milliseconds. The slot SNRs may then be filtered.
[0068] In one embodiment, the filter is an IIR filter of the form:
[0000] y n =(1−α)* y n−1 +α*SNR n ,
[0000] where SNR n denotes the n th SNR measurement of the first x milliseconds, where α is a positive constant that is less than one. The filter output value y n may also be denoted by f IIR (SNR n ). The IIR filter may be initialized with y 0 =0 (or with y 0 =SNR 0 ). Any of various other filter structures may be used.
[0069] At 410 , the method may evaluate a second condition for enabling partial packet decoding on the current packet. In one embodiment, the second condition is based on the SNR (or SIR or SINR) measured at 408 , e.g., based on the output value of the above-described filter at the end of the first x milliseconds. (The measured SNR represents a short term measure of link quality whereas the BLER represents a longer term measure of link quality.) In the power-controlled downlink channel, the UE 106 compares the measured SNR with the current SNR target for the downlink channel. For example, if f IIR (SNR)−SNR target >TH SNR , then link quality is declared to be good enough so that partial packet decoding may be enabled until the end of the current packet as indicated at 412 . (With partial packet encoding being enabled, the UE may make one or more attempts to decode the packet. Each attempt may be based on the amount of the packet data that has accumulated up to the time of the attempt. Of course, if a given attempt is successful (e.g., as indicated by a successful CRC test), no further attempt need be made.)
[0070] Conversely, if f IIR (SNR)−SNR target <TH SNR , then partial packet decoding is disabled for the current packet as indicated at 414 . After the current packet is fully received, a decoding based on the fully-received contents of the current packet is performed.
[0071] Any of various measures of link quality may be measured at 408 and used at 410 instead of (or, in addition to) SNR. For example, in various embodiments, one or more (or, two or more, or all) of the following conditions may be used.
[0072] 1) Power Control command-based: The number of DOWN commands in the past N power control commands is larger than a threshold M.
[0073] 2) CPICH SNR-based: f IIR (CPICH_SNR)>TH CPICH — SNR , where CPICH_SNR is the SNR derived from the Common Pilot Channel (CPICH).
[0074] 3) TPC-SNR based: f IIR (UL_TPC_SNR)>TH ULTPC — SNR , where UL_TPC_SNR is an SNR associated with the Uplink TPC that is sent through the DL channel, e.g., Dedicated Physical Control Channel (DPCCH) in UMTS, which is time-domain multiplexed (TDMed) with DPDCH.
[0075] With respect to condition 2) above, it is noted that TH CPICH — SNR can be dynamically updated considering zero, one or more factors, e.g., the relation between CPICH code power and DPCCH code power, and/or target SNR for downlink power control. “Code power” means the amount of transmit power allocated to a specific physical layer code channel.
[0076] With respect to condition 3) above, TH UL — TPC — SNR can be dynamically updated considering zero, one or more other factors, e.g., the relation between UL 13 TPC power and the power of a dedicated pilot, e.g., dedicated pilot power in DPCCH in UMTS, and/or target SNR for downlink power control.
[0077] FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the method for performing adaptive partial packet decoding. At 408 *, instead of SNR, the UE measures f IIR (CPICH_SNR). At 410 *, the UE evaluates the logical AND of the condition
[0000] f IIR ( CPICH — SNR )> TH CPICH — SNR
[0000] and the condition that the number of DOWN commands in the past N power control commands is larger than M. The remaining steps of this alternative embodiment are similar to the like numbered steps of the FIG. 4 embodiment.
[0078] FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a method for controlling the performance of partial packet decoding based on two measures of link quality. The method may be performed by the user equipment 106 of a communication system. See, e.g., FIGS. 1 and 2 . The method may include any subset of the features described above in connection with FIGS. 1-5 .
[0079] At 610 , the user equipment may determine whether a first measure of quality of a communication link is better than a first quality standard in response to a start of a transmission interval for a current packet. The first measure of quality may be block error rate or bit error rate, or any other desired measure.
[0080] At 615 , the user equipment may perform the operations 620 - 630 in response to determining that the first measure of quality is better than the first quality standard.
[0081] At 620 , the user equipment may obtain a second measure of the quality of the communication link. The second measure of quality may be any of those measures discussed above or any logical combination of those measures. The second measure may be a measure derived from the current packet, e.g., an initial portion of the current packet.
[0082] At 625 , the user equipment may determine whether the second measure of the quality of the communication link is better than a second quality standard. The determination may take the form of an inequality test, as variously described above.
[0083] At 630 , the user equipment may perform a partial packet decoding process on the current packet (until the end of the current packet) in response to determining that the second measure is better than the second quality standard. The partial packet decoding process may be performed as variously described above.
[0084] In some embodiments, the second measure of quality is a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of associated with the communication link. Alternatively, the second measure may be a signal to interference ratio (SIR) or a signal to interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) of associated with the communication link.
[0085] In some embodiments, the second measure includes a number of power control DOWN commands transmitted to the base station. See, e.g., FIG. 5 .
[0086] In some embodiments, the second measure of quality is based on information contained in the current packet, e.g., in the first x milliseconds of the current packet as described above.
[0087] In some embodiments, the partial packet decoding process on the current packet may include making one or more attempts to decode the current packet. Each of the one or more attempts is based on an amount of data of the current packet that has been received up to the time of the attempt.
[0088] In some embodiments, the partial packet decoding process is performed after waiting a predetermined amount of time from the start of the transmission interval, e.g., as variously described above. The predetermined amount of time is selected so that an effective coding rate of a received portion of the current packet after the predetermined amount of time is less than one.
[0089] In some embodiments, the action of obtaining the second measure of quality includes obtaining measurements for a predetermined amount of time from the start of the transmission interval, where the predetermined amount of time is selected so that an effective coding rate of a received portion of the current packet after the predetermined amount of time is less than one.
Downlink Power Control in UMTS
[0090] A. DTCH-Inner Loop PC (ILPC)
[0091] In some embodiments, in every slot (there are 15 slots in a 10 ms frame) a dedicated pilot is sent to the UE to measure received SIR. FIG. 7 shows one embodiment for the structure of a slot. The measured SIR may be compared against an SIR target that is derived from measured BLER. If SIR<SIR target , then the UE sends an UP(+) command to the base station 102 ; otherwise it sends a DOWN(−) command to the base station 102 . The UP command directs the base station to increase the power of its transmissions on the DL channel, e.g., DPDCH and DPCCH in UMTS. The DOWN command directs the base station to decrease the power of its transmissions on the DL channel, e.g., DPDCH and DPCCH in UMTS. One TPC command is sent from UE to the base station for every slot.
[0092] B. DTCH-Outer Loop PC (OLPC)
[0093] If BLER>BLER target , then the UE increases its SIR target by an amount Δ Plus in dB; otherwise the UE decreases its SIR target by an amount Δ Minus in dB. The parameters Δ Plus and Δ Minus may be selected to achieve a desired BLER. For example, Δ Plus =1 dB and Δ Minus =0.01 dB may be used to achieve a 1% BLER (i.e., one CRC error out of 100 packets). In practice, if there is no CRC error, OLPC keeps on stepping down SIR target by 0.01 dB. When a CRC error happens, SIR target is increased by 1 dB.
[0094] The BLER may be updated every TTI. (The TTI is 20 ms for DTCH in UMTS.) Whenever the BLER is updated, SIR target may also be updated.
[0095] Embodiments of the present invention may be realized in any of various forms. For example, in some embodiments, the present invention may be realized as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable memory medium, or a computer system. In other embodiments, the present invention may be realized using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. In other embodiments, the present invention may be realized using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.
[0096] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium may be configured so that it stores program instructions and/or data, where the program instructions, if executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method, e.g., any of a method embodiments described herein, or, any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or, any combination of such subsets.
[0097] In some embodiments, a computer system may be configured to include a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium, where the memory medium stores program instructions, where the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, where the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method embodiments described herein (or, any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or, any combination of such subsets). The computer system may be realized in any of various forms. For example, the computer system may be a personal computer (in any of its various realizations), a workstation, a computer on a card, an application-specific computer in a box, a server computer, a client computer, a hand-held device, a tablet computer, a wearable computer, etc.
[0098] Although the embodiments above have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications. | A user device receives packets from a base station. The user device may invoke decoding while the packet is still being received, based on the incomplete contents of a given packet. This “partial packet decoding” relies on the fact that the underlying information in the packet is encoded with redundancy (code rate less than one). If link quality is poor, the partial packet decoding is likely to be unsuccessful, i.e., to fail in its attempt to recover the underlying information. To avoid waste of power, the user device may be configured to apply one or more tests of link quality prior to invoking the partial packet decoding on a current packet. | Identify the most important claim in the given context and summarize it | [
"PRIORITY CLAIM [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 13/567,136, filed Aug. 6, 2012, titled “Adaptive Partial Packet Decoding”, invented by Syed Aon Mujtaba, Kee-Bong Song, Yuchul Kim, Xiaowen Wang, Tarik Tabet, and Youngjae Kim, which claims benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/613,437, filed on Mar. 20, 2012.",
"Both of the above-identified Applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties as though fully and completely set forth herein.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] Embodiments described herein are related to the field of networked devices, and more particularly to a system and method for selectively invoking a process of partial packet decoding when link quality is sufficiently high.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART [0003] There are generally two types of network transmission systems, these being circuit-switched networks and packet-switched networks.",
"In packet-switched networks, packets are transmitted in separate bursts.",
"When packets are received, they are reassembled in the proper sequence to make up the message.",
"In a circuit switched (CS) connection, packets are continuously sent from the network to the user equipment (UE), and vice versa.",
"Hence, the receiver at the UE may be continuously decoding received packets.",
"[0004] In cellular networks, transmit (Tx) power for data transmission from the base station to the user equipment (e.g., the Dedicated Traffic Channel power in UMTS) is typically controlled to reduce co-channel interference, and also to save Tx power of the base station.",
"In a CS connection, transmit power is controlled such that the base station uses the minimal amount of power to maintain link quality.",
"However, the power control may not always be perfect.",
"In some circumstances, the data packets received by the UE may have a higher SINR (Signal to Interference-and-Noise Ratio) than is necessary.",
"Examples of such circumstances include one or more of the following: 1) the UE is very close to the base station, and the base station's transmit power cannot be lowered below its minimum Tx power limit;",
"2) the power control algorithm works imperfectly;",
"3) there is an inherent delay in the power control algorithm;",
"and 4) excessive interference in the uplink channel makes it difficult for the base station to reliably decode transmission power control (TPC) bits sent by the UE.",
"[0005] Partial Packet Decoding (PPD) refers to a process whereby a data packet can be decoded based on partial reception of the packet even before the end of the packet has been reached.",
"Partial packet decoding may be performed as long as the effective coding rate at the time of the decoding attempt is less than 1 .",
"If the decoding attempt is successful, the UE can immediately turn its receiver off to save power until the end of the packet.",
"If the decoding is unsuccessful, the UE can make another decoding attempt after a certain period of time with more data from the packet.",
"The UE can make multiple decoding attempts until the end of packet is reached.",
"[0006] One problem with Partial Packet Decoding is that each decoding attempt on a partial packet consumes a certain amount of power.",
"If the UE ends up with multiple decoding attempts just for one packet, the UE can consume more power than if only one decoding attempt was made on the complete packet.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] In one embodiment, a method for adaptively invoking partial packet decoding may involve the following operations.",
"The method may be performed by a User Equipment (UE) device (also referred to as a communication device) such as a mobile phone or mobile device when receiving packets from a base station.",
"[0008] The communication device may determine whether a first measure of quality of a communication link (i.e., a wireless link with the base station) is better than a first quality standard in response to the start of a transmission period or interval for a current packet.",
"The first measure of quality may be based, e.g., on block error rate or bit error rate.",
"The first measure may be a measure that has been computed based on previously received packets.",
"The determination of whether the first measure of quality is better than the first quality standard is used to determine if partial packet decoding should be enabled, i.e., to determine whether the possibility of partial packet decoding should be investigated.",
"If the first measure of quality is not better than the first quality standard, then the method determines that power should not be wasted on partial packet decoding, and partial packet decoding is disabled.",
"[0009] In response to determining that the first measure of quality is better than the first quality standard, then partial packet decoding is enabled.",
"When partial packet decoding is enabled, the communication device may: obtain a second measure of the quality of the communication link;",
"determine whether the second measure of the quality of the communication link is better than a second quality standard;",
"and perform a partial packet decoding process on the current packet until the end of the current packet in response to determining that the second measure is better than the second quality standard.",
"[0010] There are a wide variety of possibilities for the second measure of quality.",
"For example, the second measure of quality may be based on a signal to noise ratio (or, a signal to interference ratio, or, a signal to interference-and-noise ratio) associated with the communication link.",
"The second measure of quality may be derived from information contained in the current packet, in associated control information that is sent to the communication device for decoding the packet, and/or in other channels (e.g., pilot channel of which transmit power and transmit sequence is known).",
"[0011] If the first measure of quality is not better than the first quality standard or the second measure of quality is not better than the second quality standard, the communication device may disable partial packet decoding, wait until the end of the current packet, and invoke packet decoding based on the fully-received contents of the current packet.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0012] A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when the following detailed description of the embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following drawings.",
"[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system;",
"[0014] FIG. 2 illustrates a base station 102 in communication with user equipment 106 ;",
"[0015] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a user equipment device, according to one embodiment;",
"[0016] FIG. 4 is a flowchart for one embodiment of a method for selectively enabling a partial packet decoding process, based on block error rate and signal to noise ratio;",
"[0017] FIG. 5 is a flowchart for one embodiment of a method for selectively enabling a partial packet decoding process, based on block error rate and a composite of a signal to noise ratio and a number of power control DOWN commands;",
"[0018] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing one embodiment of a method for controlling the performance of a partial packet decoding process, based on two link quality tests;",
"and [0019] FIG. 7 illustrates the structure of a slot for the Dedicated Physical Channel (DPCH) in UTMS.",
"[0020] While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail.",
"It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Acronyms [0021] The following acronyms are used in the present Patent Application.",
"[0022] APPD: Adaptive Partial Packet Decoding [0023] BLER: Block Error Rate (same as Packet Error Rate) [0024] BER: Bit Error Rate [0025] CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access [0026] CPICH: Common Pilot Indicator Channel [0027] CRC: Cyclic Redundancy Check [0028] CS: Circuit Switched [0029] DL: Downlink [0030] DPCH: Dedicated Physical Channel [0031] DPDCH: Dedicated Physical Data Channel [0032] DPCCH: Dedicated Physical Control Channel [0033] DTCH: Dedicated Traffic Channel [0034] Ec/Io: Ratio of chip energy of pilot channel to total power [0035] NB: NodeB [0036] PC: Power Control [0037] PER: Packet Error Rate [0038] PPD: Partial Packet Decoding [0039] SINR: Signal to Interference-and-Noise Ratio [0040] SIR: Signal to Interference Ratio [0041] SNR: Signal to Noise Ratio [0042] TPC: Transmit Power Control [0043] TDM: Time Domain Multiplexing [0044] TDMed: Time Domain Multiplexed [0045] TFCI: Transport Format Combination Indicator [0046] TTI: Transmission Time Interval [0047] Tx: Transmission [0048] UE: User Equipment [0049] UL: Uplink [0050] UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunication System Communication System [0051] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system.",
"It is noted that the system of FIG. 1 is merely one example of a possible system, and embodiments of the invention may be implemented in any of various systems, as desired.",
"[0052] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102 which communicates over a transmission medium with one or more user devices 106 - 1 through 106 -N.",
"Each of the user devices may be referred to herein as a “user equipment”",
"(UE).",
"Thus, the user devices are collectively referred to as UEs.",
"[0053] The base station 102 may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or cell site, and comprises hardware that enables wireless communication with the user devices 106 - 1 through 106 -N.",
"The base station 102 may also be equipped to communicate with a network 100 .",
"Thus, the base station 102 may facilitate communication between the user devices and/or between the user devices and the network 100 .",
"When the communication system conforms to the UTMS standard, the base station 102 may be referred to as the “NodeB.”",
"UTMS is a third generation (3G) mobile cellular technology.",
"[0054] The base station 102 and the UE devices may be configured to communicate over the transmission medium using any of various wireless communication technologies such as GSM, CDMA, WLL, WAN, WiFi, WiMAX etc.",
"[0055] FIG. 2 illustrates user equipment (UE) 106 (e.g., one of the devices 106 - 1 through 106 -N) in communication with the base station 102 .",
"The UE 106 may be a device with wireless network connectivity such as a mobile phone, a hand-held device, a computer or a tablet, or virtually any type of wireless device.",
"The UE 106 may include a processor that is configured to execute program instructions stored in memory.",
"The UE 106 may perform any of the methods embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions.",
"In some embodiments, the UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) that is configured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein, or any portion of any of the method embodiments described herein.",
"[0056] In some embodiments, the UE 106 is configured to adaptively employ Partial Packet Decoding (PPD).",
"For example, in some embodiments the UE 106 may be configured to use Partial Packet Decoding only when the link quality is determined to be sufficient or “good enough.”",
"As described herein, the quality of the link can be measured by any of various metrics, e.g., by one or more of the following metrics: the Block Error Rate (BLER), the Bit Error Rate (BER), the sequence of the downlink power control bits, the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) of the Uplink TPC bits signaled in the downlink, the SNR (Ec/Io) of the common pilot channel, e.g., Common Pilot Channel (CPICH) in UMTS, the SNR of the dedicated control channel, e.g., Dedicated Physical Control Channel (DPCCH) in UMTS, etc.",
"FIG. 3 —Exemplary Block Diagram of a UE [0057] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a UE 106 .",
"As shown, the UE 106 may include a system on chip (SOC) 200 , which may include portions for various purposes.",
"For example, as shown, the SOC 200 may include processor(s) 202 which may execute program instructions for the UE 106 and display circuitry 204 which may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to the display 240 .",
"The processor(s) 202 may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU) 240 , which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s) 202 and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 206 , read only memory (ROM) 250 , NAND flash memory 210 ) and/or to other circuits or devices, such as the display circuitry 204 , radio 230 , connector I/F 220 , and/or display 240 .",
"In some embodiments, the MMU 240 may be included as a portion of the processor(s) 202 .",
"[0058] In the embodiment shown, ROM 250 may include a bootloader 252 , which may be executed by the processor(s) 202 during boot up or initialization.",
"As also shown, the SOC 200 may be coupled to various other circuits of the UE 106 .",
"For example, the UE 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash 210 ), a connector interface 220 (e.g., for coupling to the computer system), the display 240 , and wireless communication circuitry (e.g., for LTE, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, WiFi, etc.).",
"[0059] The UE device 106 may include at least one antenna, and in some embodiments multiple antennas, for performing wireless communication with base stations.",
"For example, the UE device 106 may use antennas 235 and 237 to perform the wireless communication.",
"The UE 106 may be configured to communicate wirelessly using multiple (e.g., at least two) radio access technologies (RATs).",
"[0060] As shown, the UE 106 may include a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) 310 , which may also be referred to as a smart card.",
"The SIM 310 may take the form of a removable SIM card.",
"As one example, the SIM 310 may be a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) 310 .",
"In some embodiments, the SIM 310 may store a preferred roaming list (PRL) which is used for roaming on various telecommunication networks.",
"[0061] The processor 202 of the UE device 106 may be configured to implement part or all of the methods described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium).",
"In other embodiments, processor 202 may be configured as programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).",
"[0062] FIG. 4 [0063] FIG. 4 is a flowchart diagram of one embodiment of a method for performing adaptive partial packet decoding.",
"This method is performed by the UE 106 .",
"[0064] At 402 , the transmission time interval (TTI) starts for a current packet.",
"When the TTI starts, the UE 106 performs the following operations.",
"[0065] At 404 , the method evaluates a first condition for enabling partial packet decoding (PPD) on the current packet.",
"The first condition may be based on a Block Error Rate (BLER).",
"More specifically, the method determines if the BLER is less than a BLER Threshold (TH BLER ).",
"If not, then partial packet decoding is not used for the current packet as indicated at 406 .",
"Thus, at 404 the method effectively implements a BLER-based PPD gating condition.",
"In a power-controlled downlink channel, its BLER is updated every packet (or TTI) by the UE 106 , and the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) target is adjusted based on the current BLER.",
"The BLER is thus used as a gating criterion for partial packet decoding.",
"If BLER<TH BLER in the current packet TTI, then control passes to 408 .",
"In an alternative embodiment, the Bit Error Rate (BER) may be used instead of BLER.",
"Any of various other methods or techniques may be used to assess the quality of the communication link as a gating condition for applying PPD.",
"[0066] If the Block Error Rate (BLER) is less than the BLER Threshold (TH BLER ), then the method advances to 408 .",
"[0067] At 408 , the method measures a Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) for the first x milliseconds of the current packet.",
"(In alternative embodiments, SIR or SINR may be measured instead of SNR.) In different embodiments, the value x may have different values in the range, e.g., from 2 to 18 milliseconds in UMTS.",
"For example, the value x may have different values anywhere in the range from 1-5 to 15-20 milliseconds.",
"In some embodiments, the first x milliseconds may cover a given fractional portion of the packet.",
"The given fractional portion may range from, e.g., 30% to 70% of the packet.",
"For example, the given fractional portion may range anywhere from 20-40% to 60-80%.",
"In some embodiments, the method may make a plurality of SNR measurements during the first x milliseconds, and filter the SNR measurements with a digital filter (e.g., an IIR filter).",
"For example, the packet may include a plurality of slots, and an SNR may be determined for each of the slots occurring in the first x milliseconds.",
"The slot SNRs may then be filtered.",
"[0068] In one embodiment, the filter is an IIR filter of the form: [0000] y n =(1−α)* y n−1 +α*SNR n , [0000] where SNR n denotes the n th SNR measurement of the first x milliseconds, where α is a positive constant that is less than one.",
"The filter output value y n may also be denoted by f IIR (SNR n ).",
"The IIR filter may be initialized with y 0 =0 (or with y 0 =SNR 0 ).",
"Any of various other filter structures may be used.",
"[0069] At 410 , the method may evaluate a second condition for enabling partial packet decoding on the current packet.",
"In one embodiment, the second condition is based on the SNR (or SIR or SINR) measured at 408 , e.g., based on the output value of the above-described filter at the end of the first x milliseconds.",
"(The measured SNR represents a short term measure of link quality whereas the BLER represents a longer term measure of link quality.) In the power-controlled downlink channel, the UE 106 compares the measured SNR with the current SNR target for the downlink channel.",
"For example, if f IIR (SNR)−SNR target >TH SNR , then link quality is declared to be good enough so that partial packet decoding may be enabled until the end of the current packet as indicated at 412 .",
"(With partial packet encoding being enabled, the UE may make one or more attempts to decode the packet.",
"Each attempt may be based on the amount of the packet data that has accumulated up to the time of the attempt.",
"Of course, if a given attempt is successful (e.g., as indicated by a successful CRC test), no further attempt need be made.) [0070] Conversely, if f IIR (SNR)−SNR target <TH SNR , then partial packet decoding is disabled for the current packet as indicated at 414 .",
"After the current packet is fully received, a decoding based on the fully-received contents of the current packet is performed.",
"[0071] Any of various measures of link quality may be measured at 408 and used at 410 instead of (or, in addition to) SNR.",
"For example, in various embodiments, one or more (or, two or more, or all) of the following conditions may be used.",
"[0072] 1) Power Control command-based: The number of DOWN commands in the past N power control commands is larger than a threshold M. [0073] 2) CPICH SNR-based: f IIR (CPICH_SNR)>TH CPICH — SNR , where CPICH_SNR is the SNR derived from the Common Pilot Channel (CPICH).",
"[0074] 3) TPC-SNR based: f IIR (UL_TPC_SNR)>TH ULTPC — SNR , where UL_TPC_SNR is an SNR associated with the Uplink TPC that is sent through the DL channel, e.g., Dedicated Physical Control Channel (DPCCH) in UMTS, which is time-domain multiplexed (TDMed) with DPDCH.",
"[0075] With respect to condition 2) above, it is noted that TH CPICH — SNR can be dynamically updated considering zero, one or more factors, e.g., the relation between CPICH code power and DPCCH code power, and/or target SNR for downlink power control.",
"“Code power”",
"means the amount of transmit power allocated to a specific physical layer code channel.",
"[0076] With respect to condition 3) above, TH UL — TPC — SNR can be dynamically updated considering zero, one or more other factors, e.g., the relation between UL 13 TPC power and the power of a dedicated pilot, e.g., dedicated pilot power in DPCCH in UMTS, and/or target SNR for downlink power control.",
"[0077] FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the method for performing adaptive partial packet decoding.",
"At 408 *, instead of SNR, the UE measures f IIR (CPICH_SNR).",
"At 410 *, the UE evaluates the logical AND of the condition [0000] f IIR ( CPICH — SNR )>",
"TH CPICH — SNR [0000] and the condition that the number of DOWN commands in the past N power control commands is larger than M. The remaining steps of this alternative embodiment are similar to the like numbered steps of the FIG. 4 embodiment.",
"[0078] FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a method for controlling the performance of partial packet decoding based on two measures of link quality.",
"The method may be performed by the user equipment 106 of a communication system.",
"See, e.g., FIGS. 1 and 2 .",
"The method may include any subset of the features described above in connection with FIGS. 1-5 .",
"[0079] At 610 , the user equipment may determine whether a first measure of quality of a communication link is better than a first quality standard in response to a start of a transmission interval for a current packet.",
"The first measure of quality may be block error rate or bit error rate, or any other desired measure.",
"[0080] At 615 , the user equipment may perform the operations 620 - 630 in response to determining that the first measure of quality is better than the first quality standard.",
"[0081] At 620 , the user equipment may obtain a second measure of the quality of the communication link.",
"The second measure of quality may be any of those measures discussed above or any logical combination of those measures.",
"The second measure may be a measure derived from the current packet, e.g., an initial portion of the current packet.",
"[0082] At 625 , the user equipment may determine whether the second measure of the quality of the communication link is better than a second quality standard.",
"The determination may take the form of an inequality test, as variously described above.",
"[0083] At 630 , the user equipment may perform a partial packet decoding process on the current packet (until the end of the current packet) in response to determining that the second measure is better than the second quality standard.",
"The partial packet decoding process may be performed as variously described above.",
"[0084] In some embodiments, the second measure of quality is a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of associated with the communication link.",
"Alternatively, the second measure may be a signal to interference ratio (SIR) or a signal to interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) of associated with the communication link.",
"[0085] In some embodiments, the second measure includes a number of power control DOWN commands transmitted to the base station.",
"See, e.g., FIG. 5 .",
"[0086] In some embodiments, the second measure of quality is based on information contained in the current packet, e.g., in the first x milliseconds of the current packet as described above.",
"[0087] In some embodiments, the partial packet decoding process on the current packet may include making one or more attempts to decode the current packet.",
"Each of the one or more attempts is based on an amount of data of the current packet that has been received up to the time of the attempt.",
"[0088] In some embodiments, the partial packet decoding process is performed after waiting a predetermined amount of time from the start of the transmission interval, e.g., as variously described above.",
"The predetermined amount of time is selected so that an effective coding rate of a received portion of the current packet after the predetermined amount of time is less than one.",
"[0089] In some embodiments, the action of obtaining the second measure of quality includes obtaining measurements for a predetermined amount of time from the start of the transmission interval, where the predetermined amount of time is selected so that an effective coding rate of a received portion of the current packet after the predetermined amount of time is less than one.",
"Downlink Power Control in UMTS [0090] A. DTCH-Inner Loop PC (ILPC) [0091] In some embodiments, in every slot (there are 15 slots in a 10 ms frame) a dedicated pilot is sent to the UE to measure received SIR.",
"FIG. 7 shows one embodiment for the structure of a slot.",
"The measured SIR may be compared against an SIR target that is derived from measured BLER.",
"If SIR<SIR target , then the UE sends an UP(+) command to the base station 102 ;",
"otherwise it sends a DOWN(−) command to the base station 102 .",
"The UP command directs the base station to increase the power of its transmissions on the DL channel, e.g., DPDCH and DPCCH in UMTS.",
"The DOWN command directs the base station to decrease the power of its transmissions on the DL channel, e.g., DPDCH and DPCCH in UMTS.",
"One TPC command is sent from UE to the base station for every slot.",
"[0092] B. DTCH-Outer Loop PC (OLPC) [0093] If BLER>BLER target , then the UE increases its SIR target by an amount Δ Plus in dB;",
"otherwise the UE decreases its SIR target by an amount Δ Minus in dB.",
"The parameters Δ Plus and Δ Minus may be selected to achieve a desired BLER.",
"For example, Δ Plus =1 dB and Δ Minus =0.01 dB may be used to achieve a 1% BLER (i.e., one CRC error out of 100 packets).",
"In practice, if there is no CRC error, OLPC keeps on stepping down SIR target by 0.01 dB.",
"When a CRC error happens, SIR target is increased by 1 dB.",
"[0094] The BLER may be updated every TTI.",
"(The TTI is 20 ms for DTCH in UMTS.) Whenever the BLER is updated, SIR target may also be updated.",
"[0095] Embodiments of the present invention may be realized in any of various forms.",
"For example, in some embodiments, the present invention may be realized as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable memory medium, or a computer system.",
"In other embodiments, the present invention may be realized using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs.",
"In other embodiments, the present invention may be realized using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.",
"[0096] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium may be configured so that it stores program instructions and/or data, where the program instructions, if executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method, e.g., any of a method embodiments described herein, or, any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or, any combination of such subsets.",
"[0097] In some embodiments, a computer system may be configured to include a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium, where the memory medium stores program instructions, where the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, where the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method embodiments described herein (or, any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or, any combination of such subsets).",
"The computer system may be realized in any of various forms.",
"For example, the computer system may be a personal computer (in any of its various realizations), a workstation, a computer on a card, an application-specific computer in a box, a server computer, a client computer, a hand-held device, a tablet computer, a wearable computer, etc.",
"[0098] Although the embodiments above have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated.",
"It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications."
] |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] Application claims priority as a continuation of previously filed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/833,108 titled “Method for Providing an Inventory of Garments and Similar Items with Modular Inscriptions” filed by Paula McDermott Kiker on Aug. 23, 2015. Further said U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/833,108 is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/591,182 titled “Method for Providing an inventory of Garments and Similar Items with Modular Inscriptions” filed by Paula. McDermott Kiker on Aug. 21, 2012 that issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,149,075 on Oct. 6, 2015. Further, said U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/591,182 is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/154,945 titled “Garment with Customized Pocket inserts” filed by Paula McDermott Kiker on May 28, 2008. The entire disclosure of the above identified related applications are hereby fully incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to garments and similar items of the type that may be adorned with decorative or other inscriptions, or the like, which are intended to provide a visual flourish that is appropriate for sports activities and events, or the like, such as for school or church organizations, charities, non-profit and other organizations. The process for providing an inscribed garment is time consuming, requiring the entire garment to be available.
[0004] Brief Description of the Prior Art
[0005] Garments contemplated for use in the present invention include pullover jackets, “T” and other shirts, shorts, pants, coats, and the like. Garments as referred to herein also includes items that may be carried by the person, such as purses, pocket books, luggage, brief cases, computer and other bags, and the like. For exemplary purposes, a jacket will be discussed.
[0006] A pullover jacket typically is characterized by a clothing construction that facilitates its being slipped on and off over the head and shoulders. Such jackets often are provided with insignias, writings, symbols, illustrations, mottos, and other similar “inscriptions”, as that term is herein used in the specification and claims, which are chosen by individuals or organizations as a matter of personal preference or as an emblem of group identity.
[0007] In view of the many different colors and designs that often are ordered for immediate delivery, sales organizations that carry such outer garments have had to maintain unduly large and costly inventories in order to accommodate a diversity of customers. The pockets may be arranged on any part of the garment outer surface, such as, for example, on one or more sleeves, on one side of a frontal section, and/or on the back outer surface of the garment.
[0008] In U.S. Pat. No. 6,848,118, entitled “Pullover Jacket with Customized Decorative Band”, there is disclosed a product and process for providing a pullover body with a pre-selected band, using mating fasteners. The hand may contain lettering or other decorative materials. The resultant product does not provide for an insert into a pocket which has insignias on a flap component and thus is not easily selectively removable or replaceable either during the manufacturing process or subsequently during actual use by the customer in the event that an insignia is desired to be replaced by yet another insignia.
[0009] These problems necessitating a large inventory are not limited to pull over jackets. Any inscribed item, from bags to caps, also suffer from these issues.
[0010] Typically, when such inscriptions are needed, the inscription is made directly on the garment. Since these items tend to be large items, such as an article of clothing or a bag, they are cumbersome to inscribe, requiring specialized equipment. The customer may purchase the product, but it then needs to undergo a time-intensive inscription process by the seller or a sub-contractor before it is presented to the customer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The invention comprises a garment, as described and defined herein. The garment comprises a main body baying inner and outer surfaces. At least one pocket has a first inner surface and a first outer surface and defines a slot between the outer surface of the main body and the first inner surface of the pocket. The pocket is affixed to the outer surface of the main body, with the pocket: having an opening there into. An insert is selectively slidably receivable within and removable from the slot, said insert having a flap portion at one end thereof and protruding outside of and at least partially over the pocket and containing inscriptions thereon. As used herein “inscriptions” means any sort of writings, regardless of language used, in print or otherwise, letters, numbers, colors alone or in combination with other features, logos, and the like. Means, such as complimentary Velcro strips, buttons, snaps, hook and eye, or the like, are provided on the insert and a surface of either the pocket or the main body of the garment for selectively securing the insert within the pocket.
[0012] An inventory process of providing customized or non-customized garment units is also disclosed and claimed. The process is characterized by the steps of providing a number of first construction units, each such unit comprising: (a) a main body having inner and outer surfaces; (b) at least one pocket having a first inner surface and a first outer surface, and which defines a slot between the first inner surface of the pocket and the outer surface of the main body, said pocket being affixed to the outer surface of said main body, said pocket having an opening there into.
[0013] A selected number of second construction units are provided each of which comprises: (a) an insert selectively slideably receivable within and removable from said slot and through said opening, said insert having a flap portion at one end thereof and protruding outside of and at least partially over said pocket; and (b) means for selectively securing the insert within the pocket.
[0014] The process includes the steps of first acquiring an inventory of said first body construction units, said first body construction units being of different sizes and having a pocket of varying sizes and configurations affixed in various locations upon said outer surface.
[0015] Secondly, an inventory of said second construction units is acquired, said second construction units being of different sizes and configurations for complimentary receipt into said pockets.
[0016] Next, orders may be received for the garments from customers, such that the assembly provides customized garments consistent with the particular order. Thirdly, the inscriptions are applied as instructed in said orders onto a selected number of the flaps.
[0017] Fourthly, the selected first construction units are assembled with the selected second construction units by inserting one of the second construction units into each of the pockets of the first construction units and selectively but removeably securing each of said second construction units into position within each of said pockets, such that the flap portion of said second construction unit with said inscriptions thereon protrudes outwardly of said pocket.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] FIG. 1 is a frontal view of an outer garment of the present invention in the form of a jacket, with pockets and inserts on the exterior of one of the sleeves.
[0019] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a sleeve with the pocket and insert prior to affixation of the insert into the pocket.
[0020] FIG. 3 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 , and illustrating the pocket and insert provided on the front body of the garment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] Now with first reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 , there is shown an outer garment 1 , in the form of a pull over jacket or sweater. The garment consists of a hood portion 10 , which extends upwardly from a main body 11 of the garment 1 . Extending outwardly from the main body 11 are first and second, or left and right, sleeves 12 , each sleeve 12 having an opening 13 for light securement of a human arm there through.
[0022] The main body 11 of the garment 1 has a frontal pocket 16 of conventional construction, with flap portion 15 as a part thereof When stitched or otherwise permanently secured to the outer surface 18 , the pocket 16 provides an opening 16 A at its upper end. In combination with the stitching 19 of the pocket 16 to the outer surface 18 , the opening 16 A provides a slot 17 at the upper end of the pocket 16 . The slot 17 is thus defined between the first inner surface 18 A of the pocket 16 and the outer surface 18 of the sleeve 12 of garment 1 . It is through this opening 16 A that the insert 21 may be selectively inserted, secured and later removed, if desired, into and out of, the slot 17 of the pocket 16 .
[0023] The insert 21 includes as flap portion 22 at one end thereof which has a permanent fold 22 A. embedded thereon, by conventional manufacturing means. On a side 228 of the insert 21 is a rectangularly configured Velcro member 24 , which mates with a companion Velcro member 20 secured to the outer sleeve surface 18 of the garment 1 . The insert 21 also has an upper flap portion 22 which, when the insert 21 is securely placed within the pocket 16 ( FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 ), fold over, slightly, over the top of the pocket 16 , extending from a fold 22 A to the exterior end 2 C.
[0024] Prior to securing the insert 21 inside the pocket 16 , the flap 22 is inscribed with inscriptions 23 , such as Greek letters identifying a sorority or a fraternity, or other inscriptions desired by the customer.
[0025] Now with reference to FIG. 3 , the pocket 16 and insert 21 are shown secured together in place and on the front of the garment 1 . The geometric configuration of each of the pockets 16 and insert 21 need not be square or rectangular, or any other particular size or configuration, and may be placed on any of a number of desired locations upon the garment 1 .
[0026] It will be appreciated that the insert 21 need not necessarily be secured into the pocket 16 during manufacture, but may be provided as a separate part, such as with the garment 1 , and may be inserted into the pocket 16 at a later time and location by the customer.
[0027] It will also be appreciated that one of the benefits of the use of the present invention is that inserts having different inscriptions may be selectively inserted and removed from the pocket 16 , as desired by the customer.
[0028] The method of manufacture is as described above, under the “Summary of the invention” section of this disclosure, will be elaborated on below.
[0029] The inventory of garments 1 and inserts 21 may be obtained from a common source or independent sources. Store owners may decide to carry a set number of garments 1 but a larger number of inserts 21 with the intent of making sure they have enough inserts 21 to accommodate any requests made in a given period of time. This allows for more customer choice with less expense for the store owner. The inserts 21 may be designed such that when the garments 1 are later updated to reflect new fashion trends, the inserts 21 are still usable. In this exemplary embodiment, this would be done by keeping the pocket 16 of a minimum size. Sufficient stock of inserts 21 may be maintained to account for various pocket 16 designs and sizes. Insert 21 compatibility may be accomplished by other mechanisms.
[0030] In one exemplary embodiment, a customer may enter a store and request a garment 1 with a particular inscription. The customer selects the garment 1 and the appropriate inscription. The seller collects the appropriate garment 1 and insert 21 with the requested inscription. The seller then couples the insert with the garment to present to the customer. This allows a customized inscription with minimal wait. on the part of the customer. An example would be for a store that supplied garments 1 to local schools. Customers could come in and select their garment 1 , then request the insert 21 for their school. Additionally, the same customer could come in at a later time and request an insert 21 for an intermural team without needing an entirely new garment 1 .
[0031] In another exemplary embodiment, a customer may purchase one garment 1 but obtain multiple inserts 21 to create multiple customized garments 1 . An example could include one insert 21 designating their school with the school inscription, another insert 21 designating their affiliation with a fraternal organization along with their inscription, another insert 21 designating their affiliation with an intermural organization. In one single transaction, the customer will obtain multiple customized garments 1 with minimal investment
[0032] In another exemplary embodiment, a customer may wish to purchase an insert 21 with a non-standard inscription. An example would. be a person's initials, In this embodiment, the customer would select the garment 1 and provide specifications of the insert's 21 inscription. The inscription is then placed on the insert 21 and provided to the customer.
[0033] In another exemplary embodiment, garments 1 may be purchased from a supplier with the pocket 16 already installed. inserts 21 may be made by a separate supplier. This system allows a garment 1 to be customized without necessitating the entire garment 1 being customized.
[0034] In another exemplary embodiment, the garment 1 and the insert 21 are supplied independently of each other. The garment 1 may be supplied by an outside supplier, while the inserts 21 are made by a sub-contractor of the seller. Alternately, the garment 1 and the inserts 21 may be supplied by two different suppliers.
[0035] In another exemplary embodiment, the garment 1 may be obtained from a supplier and modified to become compatible with the inventory process. The garment 1 is received from a supplier and the pocket 16 is created on the garment 1 by any means know to those skilled in the art. One example would be sewing extra fabric on the outer surface of the garment I to create the pocket 16 compatible with the inventory process. This allows for the garment to supplied from multiple suppliers, but all made compatible with minimal modifications.
[0036] In another exemplary embodiment, the inserts 21 may be compatible with multiple garments 1 . In one example, a customer may want to have a jacket with their school inscription on the insert, and a gym bag with their intermural team inscription on the insert. There may come a time when the customer wants the school inscription on the gym bag and the intermural team inscription on the jacket. The inventory process allows the interchangeability of inserts 21 if the inserts 21 are of a standard size.
[0037] In another exemplary embodiment, a customer may wish to purchase a garment 1 with a inscription, but may be wary of making a large purchase if the garment 1 cannot readably be used without the inscription. in an example, a customer may purchase a jacket with their schools inscription on the insert 21 . The customer may be less inclined to purchase the jacket in question if there is no way to remove the school insignia in the future, allowing the jacket to be more versatile. This inventory process allows the customer to make a purchase confident that the garment 1 may be updated to reflect the customer's situation in the future.
[0038] In another exemplary embodiment, the inventory process may be used for any form of personal item where inscriptions are commonly exposed to the public, including but not limited to, jackets, shirts, and bags.
[0039] In another exemplary embodiment, the inventory process may be adapted to place an inscription on any item, regardless of type, as long as the pocket 16 may be placed on the item for inscription installation with the insert 21 .
[0040] Therefore, the present disclosed inventory process is well adapted to attain the ends and advantages mentioned as well as those that are inherent therein. The particular embodiments disclosed arc illustrative only, as the presently disclosed inventory process may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art and having the benefit of the teachings herein,
[0041] Having described some exemplary embodiments of the presently disclosed inventory process, it is believed that various modifications are within the purview of those in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. While numerous changes may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art, such changes are encompassed within the spirit of the disclosed inventory process as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of the process herein shown, other than those in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular exemplary embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and sprit of the present disclosed process. The terms in the claims have their plain, ordinary meaning unless otherwise explicitly and clearly defined by the patentee. | A product and process for providing customized garments. The garment comprises a main body having inner and outer surfaces. At least one pocket having a first inner surface and a first outer surface defines a slot between the outer surface of the main body and the first inner surface of the pocket. The pocket is affixed to the outer surface of the main body, with the pocket having an opening there into An insert is selectively slidably receivable within and removable from the slot The insert has a flap portion at one end thereof and protruding outside of and at least partially over the pocket and containing inscriptions thereon. The insert is secured within the pocket such that it is easily removable there from. An inventory process of manufacture and product of the process utilizing this product allows for rapid customization with existing inventory. | Briefly summarize the invention's components and working principles as described in the document. | [
"CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] Application claims priority as a continuation of previously filed U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 14/833,108 titled “Method for Providing an Inventory of Garments and Similar Items with Modular Inscriptions”",
"filed by Paula McDermott Kiker on Aug. 23, 2015.",
"Further said U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 14/833,108 is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 13/591,182 titled “Method for Providing an inventory of Garments and Similar Items with Modular Inscriptions”",
"filed by Paula.",
"McDermott Kiker on Aug. 21, 2012 that issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,149,075 on Oct. 6, 2015.",
"Further, said U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 13/591,182 is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 12/154,945 titled “Garment with Customized Pocket inserts”",
"filed by Paula McDermott Kiker on May 28, 2008.",
"The entire disclosure of the above identified related applications are hereby fully incorporated herein by reference.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to garments and similar items of the type that may be adorned with decorative or other inscriptions, or the like, which are intended to provide a visual flourish that is appropriate for sports activities and events, or the like, such as for school or church organizations, charities, non-profit and other organizations.",
"The process for providing an inscribed garment is time consuming, requiring the entire garment to be available.",
"[0004] Brief Description of the Prior Art [0005] Garments contemplated for use in the present invention include pullover jackets, “T”",
"and other shirts, shorts, pants, coats, and the like.",
"Garments as referred to herein also includes items that may be carried by the person, such as purses, pocket books, luggage, brief cases, computer and other bags, and the like.",
"For exemplary purposes, a jacket will be discussed.",
"[0006] A pullover jacket typically is characterized by a clothing construction that facilitates its being slipped on and off over the head and shoulders.",
"Such jackets often are provided with insignias, writings, symbols, illustrations, mottos, and other similar “inscriptions”, as that term is herein used in the specification and claims, which are chosen by individuals or organizations as a matter of personal preference or as an emblem of group identity.",
"[0007] In view of the many different colors and designs that often are ordered for immediate delivery, sales organizations that carry such outer garments have had to maintain unduly large and costly inventories in order to accommodate a diversity of customers.",
"The pockets may be arranged on any part of the garment outer surface, such as, for example, on one or more sleeves, on one side of a frontal section, and/or on the back outer surface of the garment.",
"[0008] In U.S. Pat. No. 6,848,118, entitled “Pullover Jacket with Customized Decorative Band”, there is disclosed a product and process for providing a pullover body with a pre-selected band, using mating fasteners.",
"The hand may contain lettering or other decorative materials.",
"The resultant product does not provide for an insert into a pocket which has insignias on a flap component and thus is not easily selectively removable or replaceable either during the manufacturing process or subsequently during actual use by the customer in the event that an insignia is desired to be replaced by yet another insignia.",
"[0009] These problems necessitating a large inventory are not limited to pull over jackets.",
"Any inscribed item, from bags to caps, also suffer from these issues.",
"[0010] Typically, when such inscriptions are needed, the inscription is made directly on the garment.",
"Since these items tend to be large items, such as an article of clothing or a bag, they are cumbersome to inscribe, requiring specialized equipment.",
"The customer may purchase the product, but it then needs to undergo a time-intensive inscription process by the seller or a sub-contractor before it is presented to the customer.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0011] The invention comprises a garment, as described and defined herein.",
"The garment comprises a main body baying inner and outer surfaces.",
"At least one pocket has a first inner surface and a first outer surface and defines a slot between the outer surface of the main body and the first inner surface of the pocket.",
"The pocket is affixed to the outer surface of the main body, with the pocket: having an opening there into.",
"An insert is selectively slidably receivable within and removable from the slot, said insert having a flap portion at one end thereof and protruding outside of and at least partially over the pocket and containing inscriptions thereon.",
"As used herein “inscriptions”",
"means any sort of writings, regardless of language used, in print or otherwise, letters, numbers, colors alone or in combination with other features, logos, and the like.",
"Means, such as complimentary Velcro strips, buttons, snaps, hook and eye, or the like, are provided on the insert and a surface of either the pocket or the main body of the garment for selectively securing the insert within the pocket.",
"[0012] An inventory process of providing customized or non-customized garment units is also disclosed and claimed.",
"The process is characterized by the steps of providing a number of first construction units, each such unit comprising: (a) a main body having inner and outer surfaces;",
"(b) at least one pocket having a first inner surface and a first outer surface, and which defines a slot between the first inner surface of the pocket and the outer surface of the main body, said pocket being affixed to the outer surface of said main body, said pocket having an opening there into.",
"[0013] A selected number of second construction units are provided each of which comprises: (a) an insert selectively slideably receivable within and removable from said slot and through said opening, said insert having a flap portion at one end thereof and protruding outside of and at least partially over said pocket;",
"and (b) means for selectively securing the insert within the pocket.",
"[0014] The process includes the steps of first acquiring an inventory of said first body construction units, said first body construction units being of different sizes and having a pocket of varying sizes and configurations affixed in various locations upon said outer surface.",
"[0015] Secondly, an inventory of said second construction units is acquired, said second construction units being of different sizes and configurations for complimentary receipt into said pockets.",
"[0016] Next, orders may be received for the garments from customers, such that the assembly provides customized garments consistent with the particular order.",
"Thirdly, the inscriptions are applied as instructed in said orders onto a selected number of the flaps.",
"[0017] Fourthly, the selected first construction units are assembled with the selected second construction units by inserting one of the second construction units into each of the pockets of the first construction units and selectively but removeably securing each of said second construction units into position within each of said pockets, such that the flap portion of said second construction unit with said inscriptions thereon protrudes outwardly of said pocket.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0018] FIG. 1 is a frontal view of an outer garment of the present invention in the form of a jacket, with pockets and inserts on the exterior of one of the sleeves.",
"[0019] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a sleeve with the pocket and insert prior to affixation of the insert into the pocket.",
"[0020] FIG. 3 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 , and illustrating the pocket and insert provided on the front body of the garment.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0021] Now with first reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 , there is shown an outer garment 1 , in the form of a pull over jacket or sweater.",
"The garment consists of a hood portion 10 , which extends upwardly from a main body 11 of the garment 1 .",
"Extending outwardly from the main body 11 are first and second, or left and right, sleeves 12 , each sleeve 12 having an opening 13 for light securement of a human arm there through.",
"[0022] The main body 11 of the garment 1 has a frontal pocket 16 of conventional construction, with flap portion 15 as a part thereof When stitched or otherwise permanently secured to the outer surface 18 , the pocket 16 provides an opening 16 A at its upper end.",
"In combination with the stitching 19 of the pocket 16 to the outer surface 18 , the opening 16 A provides a slot 17 at the upper end of the pocket 16 .",
"The slot 17 is thus defined between the first inner surface 18 A of the pocket 16 and the outer surface 18 of the sleeve 12 of garment 1 .",
"It is through this opening 16 A that the insert 21 may be selectively inserted, secured and later removed, if desired, into and out of, the slot 17 of the pocket 16 .",
"[0023] The insert 21 includes as flap portion 22 at one end thereof which has a permanent fold 22 A. embedded thereon, by conventional manufacturing means.",
"On a side 228 of the insert 21 is a rectangularly configured Velcro member 24 , which mates with a companion Velcro member 20 secured to the outer sleeve surface 18 of the garment 1 .",
"The insert 21 also has an upper flap portion 22 which, when the insert 21 is securely placed within the pocket 16 ( FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 ), fold over, slightly, over the top of the pocket 16 , extending from a fold 22 A to the exterior end 2 C. [0024] Prior to securing the insert 21 inside the pocket 16 , the flap 22 is inscribed with inscriptions 23 , such as Greek letters identifying a sorority or a fraternity, or other inscriptions desired by the customer.",
"[0025] Now with reference to FIG. 3 , the pocket 16 and insert 21 are shown secured together in place and on the front of the garment 1 .",
"The geometric configuration of each of the pockets 16 and insert 21 need not be square or rectangular, or any other particular size or configuration, and may be placed on any of a number of desired locations upon the garment 1 .",
"[0026] It will be appreciated that the insert 21 need not necessarily be secured into the pocket 16 during manufacture, but may be provided as a separate part, such as with the garment 1 , and may be inserted into the pocket 16 at a later time and location by the customer.",
"[0027] It will also be appreciated that one of the benefits of the use of the present invention is that inserts having different inscriptions may be selectively inserted and removed from the pocket 16 , as desired by the customer.",
"[0028] The method of manufacture is as described above, under the “Summary of the invention”",
"section of this disclosure, will be elaborated on below.",
"[0029] The inventory of garments 1 and inserts 21 may be obtained from a common source or independent sources.",
"Store owners may decide to carry a set number of garments 1 but a larger number of inserts 21 with the intent of making sure they have enough inserts 21 to accommodate any requests made in a given period of time.",
"This allows for more customer choice with less expense for the store owner.",
"The inserts 21 may be designed such that when the garments 1 are later updated to reflect new fashion trends, the inserts 21 are still usable.",
"In this exemplary embodiment, this would be done by keeping the pocket 16 of a minimum size.",
"Sufficient stock of inserts 21 may be maintained to account for various pocket 16 designs and sizes.",
"Insert 21 compatibility may be accomplished by other mechanisms.",
"[0030] In one exemplary embodiment, a customer may enter a store and request a garment 1 with a particular inscription.",
"The customer selects the garment 1 and the appropriate inscription.",
"The seller collects the appropriate garment 1 and insert 21 with the requested inscription.",
"The seller then couples the insert with the garment to present to the customer.",
"This allows a customized inscription with minimal wait.",
"on the part of the customer.",
"An example would be for a store that supplied garments 1 to local schools.",
"Customers could come in and select their garment 1 , then request the insert 21 for their school.",
"Additionally, the same customer could come in at a later time and request an insert 21 for an intermural team without needing an entirely new garment 1 .",
"[0031] In another exemplary embodiment, a customer may purchase one garment 1 but obtain multiple inserts 21 to create multiple customized garments 1 .",
"An example could include one insert 21 designating their school with the school inscription, another insert 21 designating their affiliation with a fraternal organization along with their inscription, another insert 21 designating their affiliation with an intermural organization.",
"In one single transaction, the customer will obtain multiple customized garments 1 with minimal investment [0032] In another exemplary embodiment, a customer may wish to purchase an insert 21 with a non-standard inscription.",
"An example would.",
"be a person's initials, In this embodiment, the customer would select the garment 1 and provide specifications of the insert's 21 inscription.",
"The inscription is then placed on the insert 21 and provided to the customer.",
"[0033] In another exemplary embodiment, garments 1 may be purchased from a supplier with the pocket 16 already installed.",
"inserts 21 may be made by a separate supplier.",
"This system allows a garment 1 to be customized without necessitating the entire garment 1 being customized.",
"[0034] In another exemplary embodiment, the garment 1 and the insert 21 are supplied independently of each other.",
"The garment 1 may be supplied by an outside supplier, while the inserts 21 are made by a sub-contractor of the seller.",
"Alternately, the garment 1 and the inserts 21 may be supplied by two different suppliers.",
"[0035] In another exemplary embodiment, the garment 1 may be obtained from a supplier and modified to become compatible with the inventory process.",
"The garment 1 is received from a supplier and the pocket 16 is created on the garment 1 by any means know to those skilled in the art.",
"One example would be sewing extra fabric on the outer surface of the garment I to create the pocket 16 compatible with the inventory process.",
"This allows for the garment to supplied from multiple suppliers, but all made compatible with minimal modifications.",
"[0036] In another exemplary embodiment, the inserts 21 may be compatible with multiple garments 1 .",
"In one example, a customer may want to have a jacket with their school inscription on the insert, and a gym bag with their intermural team inscription on the insert.",
"There may come a time when the customer wants the school inscription on the gym bag and the intermural team inscription on the jacket.",
"The inventory process allows the interchangeability of inserts 21 if the inserts 21 are of a standard size.",
"[0037] In another exemplary embodiment, a customer may wish to purchase a garment 1 with a inscription, but may be wary of making a large purchase if the garment 1 cannot readably be used without the inscription.",
"in an example, a customer may purchase a jacket with their schools inscription on the insert 21 .",
"The customer may be less inclined to purchase the jacket in question if there is no way to remove the school insignia in the future, allowing the jacket to be more versatile.",
"This inventory process allows the customer to make a purchase confident that the garment 1 may be updated to reflect the customer's situation in the future.",
"[0038] In another exemplary embodiment, the inventory process may be used for any form of personal item where inscriptions are commonly exposed to the public, including but not limited to, jackets, shirts, and bags.",
"[0039] In another exemplary embodiment, the inventory process may be adapted to place an inscription on any item, regardless of type, as long as the pocket 16 may be placed on the item for inscription installation with the insert 21 .",
"[0040] Therefore, the present disclosed inventory process is well adapted to attain the ends and advantages mentioned as well as those that are inherent therein.",
"The particular embodiments disclosed arc illustrative only, as the presently disclosed inventory process may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art and having the benefit of the teachings herein, [0041] Having described some exemplary embodiments of the presently disclosed inventory process, it is believed that various modifications are within the purview of those in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.",
"While numerous changes may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art, such changes are encompassed within the spirit of the disclosed inventory process as defined by the appended claims.",
"Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of the process herein shown, other than those in the claims below.",
"It is therefore evident that the particular exemplary embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and sprit of the present disclosed process.",
"The terms in the claims have their plain, ordinary meaning unless otherwise explicitly and clearly defined by the patentee."
] |
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/467,482 filed on Jan. 19, 1990, now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel process for preparing a halogenated alkyl. More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for preparing a halogenated alkyl comprising reacting a tertiary halogenated alkyl with an ethylene derivative in the presence of a liquid catalyst comprising aluminum chloride and an alkylbenzene.
2. Description of the Related Art
A halogenated alkyl can be prepared through an addition reaction of a tertiary halogenated alkyl and an ethylene derivative in the presence of a catalyst comprising aluminum chloride, and this reaction is known as a Friedel-Crafts related reaction (see, for example, G.A. Olah, "Friedel Crafts and Related Reactions", Vol. II, 1133 (1964), Interscience Publishers (N.Y.)).
The handling of aluminum chloride in an industrial scale is very difficult, since aluminum chloride solidifies and clogs a supply inlet or a supply line of a reaction system because it is a hygroscopic solid, or it tends to generate a corrosive gas which prevents smooth operation of a production apparatus and sometimes significantly deteriorates catalytic activity. It is difficult to handle aluminum chloride safely, since it generates a stimulative gas.
Further, aluminum chloride has a high catalytic activity only in a temperature range between -40° C. and -10° C. Therefore, it requires a cooling equipment and large energy costs. In addition, the use aluminum chloride provides a final product in an unsatisfactory yield of 50 to 75% at the highest.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One object of the present invention is to provide a catalyst for a reaction of a tertiary halogenated alkyl and an ethylene derivative to prepare a halogenated alkyl, which catalyst has a high catalytic activity at a comparatively high temperature and is safely and stably supplied.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel process for preparing a halogenated alkyl in a high yield.
These and other objects are accomplished by a process for preparing a halogenated alkyl of the formula: ##STR4## wherein R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are the same and different and each is a lower alkyl group, X is a chlorine atom or a bromine atom and Y is a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom, which process comprises reacting a tertiary halogenated alkyl of the formula: ##STR5## wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and X are the same as defined above with an ethylene derivative of the formula:
CH.sub.2 ═CH--Y (III)
wherein Y is the same as defined above in the presence of a liquid catalyst comprising aluminum chloride and an alkylbenzene of the formula: ##STR6## wherein R 4 , R 5 and R 6 are the same and different and each is a lower alkyl group or a hydrogen atom provided that at least one of them is a lower alkyl group.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the general formulas, the lower alkyl group for R 1 , R 2 and R 3 is preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms such as a methyl group, an ethyl group, a propyl group or a butyl group. The substituent Y includes the hydrogen atom and the halogen atoms such as a fluorine atom, a chlorine atom, a bromine atom and a iodine atom.
According to the present invention, the halogenated alkyl (I) is effectively prepared. Examples of the halogenated alkyl (I) are 1-chloro-3,3-dimethylbutane, 1-bromo-3,3-dimethylbutane, 1,1-dichloro-3,3-dimethylbutane, 1,1-dibromo-3,3-dimethylbutane, 1-bromo-1-chloro-3,3-dimethylbutane, 1-chloro-3,3-dimethylpentane, 1-bromo-3,3-dimethylpentane, 1,1-dibromo-3,3-dimethylpentane, 1,1-dichloro-3,3-dimethylpentane, 1-chloro-3,3,4-trimethylpentane, 1-bromo-3,3,4-trimethylpentane and the like.
As the halogen atom for X of the tertiary halogenated alkyl (II), a chlorine atom or a bromine atom is preferred.
Specific examples of the tertiary halogenated alkyl (II) are tert.-butyl chloride, tert.-butyl bromide, 2-chloro-2-methylbutane, 2-bromo-2-methylbutane, 2-chloro-2-methylpentane, 2-bromo-2-methylpentane, 2-chloro-2-methyl-hexane, 2-bromo 2-methylhexane, 2-chloro-2,3-dimethylbutane, 2-bromo-2,3-dimethylbutane and the like.
Specific examples of the ethylene derivative (III) are ethylene, vinyl fluoride, vinyl chloride, vinyl bromide and vinyl iodide.
The lower alkyl group for R 4 , R 5 and R 6 of the alkyl benzene (IV) is preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms such as methyl, ethyl, propyl or butyl. Specific examples of the alkylbenzene are toluene, xylene, mesitylene, ethylbenzene, cymene (e.g. m-cymene), cumene, tert.-butyltoluene, di-tert.-butyltoluene, diethylbenzene, diisopropylbenzene, methyldiisopropylbenzene (e.g. 1-methyl-3,5-diisopropylbenzene) and the like. Among them, ethylbenzene, m-cymene and 1-methyl-3,5-diisopropylbenzene are preferred. The isomers of the alkylbenzene which has two or three substituents on the benzene ring can be used. A mixture of two or more alkylbenzenes may be used.
The catalyst to be used in the present invention is a liquid catalyst comprising a complex compound of aluminum chloride and the alkylbenzene (IV). The catalyst may contain hydrogen chloride which may be produced in the production of the catalyst.
The catalyst of the present invention can be prepared in any preparation mode. For example, metal aluminum and the alkylbenzene (IV) are reacted in a specified ratio at a temperature of 30° C. to 150° C., preferably 40° C. to 110° C. under atmospheric pressure or elevated pressure while supplying hydrogen chloride gas. Alternatively, anhydrous aluminum chloride and the alkylbenzene (IV) are reacted in a specified ratio at a temperature of -30° C. to +150° C., preferably -20° C. to +110° C. under atmospheric pressure or elevated pressure while supplying hydrogen chloride gas.
In any case, amounts of the alkylbenzene (IV) and the hydrogen chloride gas are not critical. Preferably, the alkylbenzene (IV) is used in an amount of 0.3 to 10 moles, and the hydrogen chloride gas is used in an amount of 0.4 to 20 moles, per one mole of metal aluminum or anhydrous aluminum chloride. When the alkylbenzene (IV) is used in an excess amount, the formed complex compound and the alkylbenzene separate in two phases, and the complex compound can be easily recovered by any of conventional methods such as separation.
A concentration of aluminum chloride in the liquid catalyst is from 20 to 60 % by weight, preferably from 30 to 55% by weight.
A molar ratio of the tertiary halogenated alkyl (II) to the ethylene derivative (III) is not critical. Usually, said molar ratio is from 1:0.2 to 1:5, preferably from 1:0.5 to 1:3.
The amount of the catalyst to be used in the present process is from 0.001 to 0.3 mole, preferably from 0.005 to 0.1 mole in terms of aluminum chloride per one mole of the tertiary halogenated alkyl (II).
The reaction temperature in the present process is usually from -30° C. to +50° C. When the reaction temperature is lower than -30° C., the reaction rate becomes too low, while when the reaction temperature is higher than 50° C., the catalyst tends to be deactivated and/or side reactions tend to proceed. Preferably, the reaction temperature is from -15° C. to +20° C.
The reaction pressure is usually from 0 to 100 kg/cm 2 , preferably from 0 to 10 kg/cm 2 in view of handle-ability and apparatus design.
Although the reaction according to the present invention may be carried out in the absence of a solvent, a solvent which is inactive to the reaction can be used. Examples of the solvent are methylene dichloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, n-tridecane, n-pentane, o-dichlorobenzene and the like.
The produced halogenated alkyl (I) can be recovered from the reaction mixture by any of conventional methods such as distillation after removing the catalyst from the reaction mass by any of the conventional methods.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
Practically and presently preferred embodiments of the present invention will be illustrated by following examples.
Reference Examples 1, 2, 6-9, 12, 13 & 17
Preparation method (a) of the catalyst
In a pressure reaction vessel, the alkylbenzene shown in Table 1 and metal aluminum were charged in amounts shown in Table 1. Through the mixture, hydrogen chloride gas was bubbled at a temperature of Table 1 under pressure of Table 1.
During the reaction, generated hydrogen gas was removed continuously when the pressure was atmospheric pressure, or at certain intervals when the pressure is elevated pressure. When the excess amount of the alkylbenzene was used, a brown liquid complex compound (catalyst) comprising aluminum chloride and the alkylbenzene was recovered by separation.
The results are shown in Table 1.
Reference Examples 3-5, 10, 11 & 14-16
Preparation method (b) of the catalyst
In a pressure reaction vessel, the alkylbenzene shown in Table 1 and anhydrous aluminum chloride were charged in amounts shown in Table 1. Through the mixture, hydrogen chloride gas was bubbled at a temperature of Table 1 under pressure of Table 1.
When the excess amount of the alkylbenzene was used, a brown liquid complex compound (catalyst) comprising aluminum chloride and the alkylbenzene was recovered by separation.
The results are shown in Table 1.
EXAMPLES 1-7
In a 300 ml four-necked round glass flask equipped with a thermometer, a magnetic stirrer covered with polytetrafluoroethylene was placed, and the tertiary halogenated alkyl shown in Table 2 (0.5 mole) was charged and kept at 0° C.
Then, the liquid catalyst prepared in each of Reference Examples and the ethylene derivative shown in Table 2 (0.55 mole) were continuously charged over about 2 hours through different inlets under atmospheric pressure.
Since the reaction was exothermic, the internal temperature was adjusted at 0° C. with a cooling bath. After the supply of the liquid catalyst and the ethylene derivative, the internal temperature was kept at 0° C. for one hour to complete the reaction.
The conversion and the selectivity in Table 2 were calculated according to the following equations: ##EQU1## wherein A is an amount (mole) of the charged tertiary halogenated alkyl, B is an amount (mole) of the recovered tertiary halogenated alkyl, and C is an amount (mole) of the produced halogenated alkyl.
EXAMPLE 8
In the same manner as in Example 2 but keeping the internal temperature at about 8° C. and using 2.30% by mole of the liquid catalyst prepared in Reference Example 6, the reaction was carried out. The results are shown in Table 2.
COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1
In the same manner as in Example 1 but using commercially available anhydrous aluminum chloride particles which had been ground in place of the liquid catalyst of the present invention and charging it in one portion, the reaction was carried out. The results are shown in Table 2.
COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 2
In the same manner as in Example 8 but using the same anhydrous aluminum chloride as used in Comparative Example 1 in place of the catalyst of the present invention, the reaction was carried out. The results are shown in Table 2.
EXAMPLE 9
In a 300 ml glass autoclave equipped with a thermometer and a stirrer, the tertiary halogenated alkyl shown in Table 2 (0.5 mole) was charged, and the internal temperature was adjusted at 0° C.
Then, the liquid catalyst prepared in Reference Example 10 and the ethylene derivative shown in Table 2 (0.55 mole) were continuously charged over about 2 hours through different inlets under internal pressure of 0 to 2 kg/cm 2 .
Since the reaction was exothermic, the internal temperature was kept at 0° C. with a cooling bath. After the supply of the liquid catalyst and the ethylene derivative, the internal temperature was kept at 0° C. for one hour to complete the reaction.
After the reaction completed, the reaction product was analyzed in the same manner as in Example 1.
The results are shown in Table 2.
EXAMPLES 10, 11 & 12
In the same manner as in Example 9 but keeping the reaction temperature at -10° C. in Example 10, at -5° C. in Example 11 or +15° C. in Example 12 and using the catalyst shown in Table 2, the reaction was carried out. The results are shown in Table 2.
EXAMPLE 13
In the same manner as in Example 9 but adjusting the reaction pressure at 5 kg/cm 2 and using the catalyst shown in Table 2, the reaction was carried out. The results are shown in Table 2.
EXAMPLE 14
In the same manner as in Example 9 but using 1,2-dichloroethane (20 g) as a solvent and the catalyst shown in Table 2, the reaction was carried out. The results are shown in Table 2.
EXAMPLES 15-19
In the same manner as in Example 1 but using the tertiary halogenated alkyl, the ethylene derivative and the catalyst all shown in Table 2, the reaction was carried out. The results are shown in Table 2.
TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________Ref. Prepa- HCl gas ConcentrationEx. ration Alkylbenzene molar Temp. Pressure of aluminumNo. method (molar ratio.sup.1)) ratio.sup.2) (°C.) (kg/cm.sup.2) chloride (wt %)__________________________________________________________________________1 a Toluene (2.50) >4 70 0 362 a ↑ (1.50) >4 ↑ ↑ 463 b ↑ (4.00) 1.5 20-40 0-1 264 b ↑ (2.18) 1.5 ↑ ↑ 365 b ↑ (1.37) 1.5 5-20 ↑ 456 a Ethylbenzene (2.20) >4 70 0 367 a ↑ (1.20) 4 80-100 0-4 458 a m-Xylene (2.20) >4 70 0 369 a p-Cymene (1.73) >4 70 0 3610 b ↑ (0.89) 1.2 20-40 0-1 4611 b m-Cymene (1.22) 1.2 10-30 ↑ 4012 a 1-Methyl-3,5-diiso- 4.5 60-80 0-4 36 propylbenzene (1.14)13 a ↑ (0.41) 5.0 ↑ 0 5514 b ↑ (3.00) 0.8 20-40 ↑ 3615 b ↑ (0.75) 0.5 70-80 0-1 4716 b ↑ (0.60) 0.5 20-40 0 5117 a Mesitylene (1.26) 4.1 70-90 0 41__________________________________________________________________________ Note: .sup.1) A molar ratio of the alkylbenzene to metal aluminum or aluminum chloride. .sup.2) A molar ratio of HCl gas to metal aluminum or aluminum chloride.
TABLE 2__________________________________________________________________________ Catalyst Conver- Selec-Ex. Tertiary halogenated Ethylene Ref. Mol sion tivityNo. alkyl derivative Ex. No. %.sup.1) Product (%) (%)__________________________________________________________________________ 1 tert.-Butyl chloride Ethylene 1 1.63 1-Choro-3,3-dimethylbutane 99.1 83.0 2 ↑ ↑ 6 1.70 ↑ 99.1 90.9 3 ↑ ↑ 8 2.78 ↑ 98.6 78.2 4 ↑ ↑ 2 1.43 ↑ 99.0 84.4 5 ↑ ↑ 9 1.04 ↑ 98.5 86.4 6 tert.-Butyl bromide ↑ 1 1.00 1-Bromo-3,3-dimethylbutane 97.1 90.1 7 tert.-Butyl chloride Vinyl bromide 1 2.50 1-Bromo-1-chloro-3,3- 98.2 80.2 dimethylbutane 8 ↑ Ethylene 6 2.30 1-Chloro-3,3-dimethylbutane 98.2 81.5 9 ↑ ↑ 10 1.92 ↑ 100.0 86.710 ↑ ↑ 7 2.16 ↑ 100.0 88.311 ↑ ↑ 11 2.26 ↑ 98.7 89.212 ↑ ↑ 12 2.30 ↑ 98.9 85.913 ↑ ↑ 14 1.98 ↑ 99.9 85.114 ↑ ↑ 14 2.68 ↑ 94.8 86.515 ↑ Vinyl chloride 7 2.50 1,1-Dichloro-3,3- 97.3 80.1 dimethylbutane16 tert.-Butyl bromide ↑ 7 2.50 1-Bromo-1-chloro-3,3- 98.8 81.2 dimethylbutane17 tert.-Butyl chloride Ethylene 17 2.60 1-Chloro-3,3-dimethylbutane 98.2 77.618 2-Chloro-2-methylbutane ↑ 10 2.50 1-Chloro-3,3-dimethylpentane 98.7 76.819 2-Bromo-2-methylbutane Vinyl bromide 10 2.50 1,1-Dibromo-3,3- 98.9 77.0 dimethylpentaneC.1 tert.-Butyl chloride Ethylene AlCl.sub.3 1.63 1-Chloro-3,3-dimethylbutane 84.3 70.1C.2 ↑ ↑ ↑ 2.30 ↑ 75.8 64.0__________________________________________________________________________ Note: .sup.1) A mole percentage of aluminum chloride based on the tertiary halognenated alkyl. | A halogenated alkyl of the formula: ##STR1## wherein R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are the same or different and each is a lower alkyl group, X is chlorine atom or a bromine atom and Y is a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom is prepared in high conversion and high selectivity by reacting a tertiary halogenated alkyl of the formula: ##STR2## wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and X are the same as defined above with an ethylene derivative of the formula:
CH.sub.2 ═CH--Y (III)
wherein Y is the same as defined above in the presence of a liquid catalyst comprising aluminum chloride and an alkylbenzene of the formula: ##STR3## wherein R 4 , R 5 and R 6 are the same or different and each is a lower alkyl group or a hydrogen atom provided that at least one of them is a lower alkyl group. | Identify the most important claim in the given context and summarize it | [
"This application is a continuation of application Ser.",
"No. 07/467,482 filed on Jan. 19, 1990, now abandoned.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a novel process for preparing a halogenated alkyl.",
"More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for preparing a halogenated alkyl comprising reacting a tertiary halogenated alkyl with an ethylene derivative in the presence of a liquid catalyst comprising aluminum chloride and an alkylbenzene.",
"Description of the Related Art A halogenated alkyl can be prepared through an addition reaction of a tertiary halogenated alkyl and an ethylene derivative in the presence of a catalyst comprising aluminum chloride, and this reaction is known as a Friedel-Crafts related reaction (see, for example, G.A. Olah, "Friedel Crafts and Related Reactions", Vol. II, 1133 (1964), Interscience Publishers (N.Y.)).",
"The handling of aluminum chloride in an industrial scale is very difficult, since aluminum chloride solidifies and clogs a supply inlet or a supply line of a reaction system because it is a hygroscopic solid, or it tends to generate a corrosive gas which prevents smooth operation of a production apparatus and sometimes significantly deteriorates catalytic activity.",
"It is difficult to handle aluminum chloride safely, since it generates a stimulative gas.",
"Further, aluminum chloride has a high catalytic activity only in a temperature range between -40° C. and -10° C. Therefore, it requires a cooling equipment and large energy costs.",
"In addition, the use aluminum chloride provides a final product in an unsatisfactory yield of 50 to 75% at the highest.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One object of the present invention is to provide a catalyst for a reaction of a tertiary halogenated alkyl and an ethylene derivative to prepare a halogenated alkyl, which catalyst has a high catalytic activity at a comparatively high temperature and is safely and stably supplied.",
"Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel process for preparing a halogenated alkyl in a high yield.",
"These and other objects are accomplished by a process for preparing a halogenated alkyl of the formula: ##STR4## wherein R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are the same and different and each is a lower alkyl group, X is a chlorine atom or a bromine atom and Y is a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom, which process comprises reacting a tertiary halogenated alkyl of the formula: ##STR5## wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and X are the same as defined above with an ethylene derivative of the formula: CH.",
"sub[.",
"].2 ═CH--Y (III) wherein Y is the same as defined above in the presence of a liquid catalyst comprising aluminum chloride and an alkylbenzene of the formula: ##STR6## wherein R 4 , R 5 and R 6 are the same and different and each is a lower alkyl group or a hydrogen atom provided that at least one of them is a lower alkyl group.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the general formulas, the lower alkyl group for R 1 , R 2 and R 3 is preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms such as a methyl group, an ethyl group, a propyl group or a butyl group.",
"The substituent Y includes the hydrogen atom and the halogen atoms such as a fluorine atom, a chlorine atom, a bromine atom and a iodine atom.",
"According to the present invention, the halogenated alkyl (I) is effectively prepared.",
"Examples of the halogenated alkyl (I) are 1-chloro-3,3-dimethylbutane, 1-bromo-3,3-dimethylbutane, 1,1-dichloro-3,3-dimethylbutane, 1,1-dibromo-3,3-dimethylbutane, 1-bromo-1-chloro-3,3-dimethylbutane, 1-chloro-3,3-dimethylpentane, 1-bromo-3,3-dimethylpentane, 1,1-dibromo-3,3-dimethylpentane, 1,1-dichloro-3,3-dimethylpentane, 1-chloro-3,3,4-trimethylpentane, 1-bromo-3,3,4-trimethylpentane and the like.",
"As the halogen atom for X of the tertiary halogenated alkyl (II), a chlorine atom or a bromine atom is preferred.",
"Specific examples of the tertiary halogenated alkyl (II) are tert.",
"-butyl chloride, tert.",
"-butyl bromide, 2-chloro-2-methylbutane, 2-bromo-2-methylbutane, 2-chloro-2-methylpentane, 2-bromo-2-methylpentane, 2-chloro-2-methyl-hexane, 2-bromo 2-methylhexane, 2-chloro-2,3-dimethylbutane, 2-bromo-2,3-dimethylbutane and the like.",
"Specific examples of the ethylene derivative (III) are ethylene, vinyl fluoride, vinyl chloride, vinyl bromide and vinyl iodide.",
"The lower alkyl group for R 4 , R 5 and R 6 of the alkyl benzene (IV) is preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms such as methyl, ethyl, propyl or butyl.",
"Specific examples of the alkylbenzene are toluene, xylene, mesitylene, ethylbenzene, cymene (e.g. m-cymene), cumene, tert.",
"-butyltoluene, di-tert.",
"-butyltoluene, diethylbenzene, diisopropylbenzene, methyldiisopropylbenzene (e.g. 1-methyl-3,5-diisopropylbenzene) and the like.",
"Among them, ethylbenzene, m-cymene and 1-methyl-3,5-diisopropylbenzene are preferred.",
"The isomers of the alkylbenzene which has two or three substituents on the benzene ring can be used.",
"A mixture of two or more alkylbenzenes may be used.",
"The catalyst to be used in the present invention is a liquid catalyst comprising a complex compound of aluminum chloride and the alkylbenzene (IV).",
"The catalyst may contain hydrogen chloride which may be produced in the production of the catalyst.",
"The catalyst of the present invention can be prepared in any preparation mode.",
"For example, metal aluminum and the alkylbenzene (IV) are reacted in a specified ratio at a temperature of 30° C. to 150° C., preferably 40° C. to 110° C. under atmospheric pressure or elevated pressure while supplying hydrogen chloride gas.",
"Alternatively, anhydrous aluminum chloride and the alkylbenzene (IV) are reacted in a specified ratio at a temperature of -30° C. to +150° C., preferably -20° C. to +110° C. under atmospheric pressure or elevated pressure while supplying hydrogen chloride gas.",
"In any case, amounts of the alkylbenzene (IV) and the hydrogen chloride gas are not critical.",
"Preferably, the alkylbenzene (IV) is used in an amount of 0.3 to 10 moles, and the hydrogen chloride gas is used in an amount of 0.4 to 20 moles, per one mole of metal aluminum or anhydrous aluminum chloride.",
"When the alkylbenzene (IV) is used in an excess amount, the formed complex compound and the alkylbenzene separate in two phases, and the complex compound can be easily recovered by any of conventional methods such as separation.",
"A concentration of aluminum chloride in the liquid catalyst is from 20 to 60 % by weight, preferably from 30 to 55% by weight.",
"A molar ratio of the tertiary halogenated alkyl (II) to the ethylene derivative (III) is not critical.",
"Usually, said molar ratio is from 1:0.2 to 1:5, preferably from 1:0.5 to 1:3.",
"The amount of the catalyst to be used in the present process is from 0.001 to 0.3 mole, preferably from 0.005 to 0.1 mole in terms of aluminum chloride per one mole of the tertiary halogenated alkyl (II).",
"The reaction temperature in the present process is usually from -30° C. to +50° C. When the reaction temperature is lower than -30° C., the reaction rate becomes too low, while when the reaction temperature is higher than 50° C., the catalyst tends to be deactivated and/or side reactions tend to proceed.",
"Preferably, the reaction temperature is from -15° C. to +20° C. The reaction pressure is usually from 0 to 100 kg/cm 2 , preferably from 0 to 10 kg/cm 2 in view of handle-ability and apparatus design.",
"Although the reaction according to the present invention may be carried out in the absence of a solvent, a solvent which is inactive to the reaction can be used.",
"Examples of the solvent are methylene dichloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, n-tridecane, n-pentane, o-dichlorobenzene and the like.",
"The produced halogenated alkyl (I) can be recovered from the reaction mixture by any of conventional methods such as distillation after removing the catalyst from the reaction mass by any of the conventional methods.",
"PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION Practically and presently preferred embodiments of the present invention will be illustrated by following examples.",
"Reference Examples 1, 2, 6-9, 12, 13 &",
"17 Preparation method (a) of the catalyst In a pressure reaction vessel, the alkylbenzene shown in Table 1 and metal aluminum were charged in amounts shown in Table 1.",
"Through the mixture, hydrogen chloride gas was bubbled at a temperature of Table 1 under pressure of Table 1.",
"During the reaction, generated hydrogen gas was removed continuously when the pressure was atmospheric pressure, or at certain intervals when the pressure is elevated pressure.",
"When the excess amount of the alkylbenzene was used, a brown liquid complex compound (catalyst) comprising aluminum chloride and the alkylbenzene was recovered by separation.",
"The results are shown in Table 1.",
"Reference Examples 3-5, 10, 11 &",
"14-16 Preparation method (b) of the catalyst In a pressure reaction vessel, the alkylbenzene shown in Table 1 and anhydrous aluminum chloride were charged in amounts shown in Table 1.",
"Through the mixture, hydrogen chloride gas was bubbled at a temperature of Table 1 under pressure of Table 1.",
"When the excess amount of the alkylbenzene was used, a brown liquid complex compound (catalyst) comprising aluminum chloride and the alkylbenzene was recovered by separation.",
"The results are shown in Table 1.",
"EXAMPLES 1-7 In a 300 ml four-necked round glass flask equipped with a thermometer, a magnetic stirrer covered with polytetrafluoroethylene was placed, and the tertiary halogenated alkyl shown in Table 2 (0.5 mole) was charged and kept at 0° C. Then, the liquid catalyst prepared in each of Reference Examples and the ethylene derivative shown in Table 2 (0.55 mole) were continuously charged over about 2 hours through different inlets under atmospheric pressure.",
"Since the reaction was exothermic, the internal temperature was adjusted at 0° C. with a cooling bath.",
"After the supply of the liquid catalyst and the ethylene derivative, the internal temperature was kept at 0° C. for one hour to complete the reaction.",
"The conversion and the selectivity in Table 2 were calculated according to the following equations: ##EQU1## wherein A is an amount (mole) of the charged tertiary halogenated alkyl, B is an amount (mole) of the recovered tertiary halogenated alkyl, and C is an amount (mole) of the produced halogenated alkyl.",
"EXAMPLE 8 In the same manner as in Example 2 but keeping the internal temperature at about 8° C. and using 2.30% by mole of the liquid catalyst prepared in Reference Example 6, the reaction was carried out.",
"The results are shown in Table 2.",
"COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1 In the same manner as in Example 1 but using commercially available anhydrous aluminum chloride particles which had been ground in place of the liquid catalyst of the present invention and charging it in one portion, the reaction was carried out.",
"The results are shown in Table 2.",
"COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 2 In the same manner as in Example 8 but using the same anhydrous aluminum chloride as used in Comparative Example 1 in place of the catalyst of the present invention, the reaction was carried out.",
"The results are shown in Table 2.",
"EXAMPLE 9 In a 300 ml glass autoclave equipped with a thermometer and a stirrer, the tertiary halogenated alkyl shown in Table 2 (0.5 mole) was charged, and the internal temperature was adjusted at 0° C. Then, the liquid catalyst prepared in Reference Example 10 and the ethylene derivative shown in Table 2 (0.55 mole) were continuously charged over about 2 hours through different inlets under internal pressure of 0 to 2 kg/cm 2 .",
"Since the reaction was exothermic, the internal temperature was kept at 0° C. with a cooling bath.",
"After the supply of the liquid catalyst and the ethylene derivative, the internal temperature was kept at 0° C. for one hour to complete the reaction.",
"After the reaction completed, the reaction product was analyzed in the same manner as in Example 1.",
"The results are shown in Table 2.",
"EXAMPLES 10, 11 &",
"12 In the same manner as in Example 9 but keeping the reaction temperature at -10° C. in Example 10, at -5° C. in Example 11 or +15° C. in Example 12 and using the catalyst shown in Table 2, the reaction was carried out.",
"The results are shown in Table 2.",
"EXAMPLE 13 In the same manner as in Example 9 but adjusting the reaction pressure at 5 kg/cm 2 and using the catalyst shown in Table 2, the reaction was carried out.",
"The results are shown in Table 2.",
"EXAMPLE 14 In the same manner as in Example 9 but using 1,2-dichloroethane (20 g) as a solvent and the catalyst shown in Table 2, the reaction was carried out.",
"The results are shown in Table 2.",
"EXAMPLES 15-19 In the same manner as in Example 1 but using the tertiary halogenated alkyl, the ethylene derivative and the catalyst all shown in Table 2, the reaction was carried out.",
"The results are shown in Table 2.",
"TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________Ref.",
"Prepa- HCl gas ConcentrationEx.",
"ration Alkylbenzene molar Temp.",
"Pressure of aluminumNo.",
"method (molar ratio.",
"sup[.",
"].1)) ratio.",
"sup[.",
"].2) (°C.) (kg/cm.",
"sup[.",
"].2) chloride (wt %)__________________________________________________________________________1 a Toluene (2.50) >4 70 0 362 a ↑ (1.50) >4 ↑ ↑ 463 b ↑ (4.00) 1.5 20-40 0-1 264 b ↑ (2.18) 1.5 ↑ ↑ 365 b ↑ (1.37) 1.5 5-20 ↑ 456 a Ethylbenzene (2.20) >4 70 0 367 a ↑ (1.20) 4 80-100 0-4 458 a m-Xylene (2.20) >4 70 0 369 a p-Cymene (1.73) >4 70 0 3610 b ↑ (0.89) 1.2 20-40 0-1 4611 b m-Cymene (1.22) 1.2 10-30 ↑ 4012 a 1-Methyl-3,5-diiso- 4.5 60-80 0-4 36 propylbenzene (1.14)13 a ↑ (0.41) 5.0 ↑ 0 5514 b ↑ (3.00) 0.8 20-40 ↑ 3615 b ↑ (0.75) 0.5 70-80 0-1 4716 b ↑ (0.60) 0.5 20-40 0 5117 a Mesitylene (1.26) 4.1 70-90 0 41__________________________________________________________________________ Note: .",
"sup[.",
"].1) A molar ratio of the alkylbenzene to metal aluminum or aluminum chloride.",
"sup[.",
"].2) A molar ratio of HCl gas to metal aluminum or aluminum chloride.",
"TABLE 2__________________________________________________________________________ Catalyst Conver- Selec-Ex.",
"Tertiary halogenated Ethylene Ref.",
"Mol sion tivityNo.",
"alkyl derivative Ex.",
"No. %.",
"sup[.",
"].1) Product (%) (%)__________________________________________________________________________ 1 tert.",
"-Butyl chloride Ethylene 1 1.63 1-Choro-3,3-dimethylbutane 99.1 83.0 2 ↑ ↑ 6 1.70 ↑ 99.1 90.9 3 ↑ ↑ 8 2.78 ↑ 98.6 78.2 4 ↑ ↑ 2 1.43 ↑ 99.0 84.4 5 ↑ ↑ 9 1.04 ↑ 98.5 86.4 6 tert.",
"-Butyl bromide ↑ 1 1.00 1-Bromo-3,3-dimethylbutane 97.1 90.1 7 tert.",
"-Butyl chloride Vinyl bromide 1 2.50 1-Bromo-1-chloro-3,3- 98.2 80.2 dimethylbutane 8 ↑ Ethylene 6 2.30 1-Chloro-3,3-dimethylbutane 98.2 81.5 9 ↑ ↑ 10 1.92 ↑ 100.0 86.710 ↑ ↑ 7 2.16 ↑ 100.0 88.311 ↑ ↑ 11 2.26 ↑ 98.7 89.212 ↑ ↑ 12 2.30 ↑ 98.9 85.913 ↑ ↑ 14 1.98 ↑ 99.9 85.114 ↑ ↑ 14 2.68 ↑ 94.8 86.515 ↑ Vinyl chloride 7 2.50 1,1-Dichloro-3,3- 97.3 80.1 dimethylbutane16 tert.",
"-Butyl bromide ↑ 7 2.50 1-Bromo-1-chloro-3,3- 98.8 81.2 dimethylbutane17 tert.",
"-Butyl chloride Ethylene 17 2.60 1-Chloro-3,3-dimethylbutane 98.2 77.618 2-Chloro-2-methylbutane ↑ 10 2.50 1-Chloro-3,3-dimethylpentane 98.7 76.819 2-Bromo-2-methylbutane Vinyl bromide 10 2.50 1,1-Dibromo-3,3- 98.9 77.0 dimethylpentaneC[.",
"].1 tert.",
"-Butyl chloride Ethylene AlCl.",
"sub[.",
"].3 1.63 1-Chloro-3,3-dimethylbutane 84.3 70.1C[.",
"].2 ↑ ↑ ↑ 2.30 ↑ 75.8 64.0__________________________________________________________________________ Note: .",
"sup[.",
"].1) A mole percentage of aluminum chloride based on the tertiary halognenated alkyl."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This relates ladder safety devices. More particularly, it relates to a means for stabilizing a ladder supported by an aerial cable.
A common tool of a utility repairman and installer is the ordinary ladder. However, it has been found that ladders are a common source of injury because of their inherent instability. Various devices have been used to stabilize ladders which are used for climbing utility poles. One such device is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 423,175 filed Oct. 16, 1989 titled Pole Gripping Ladder Stabilizing Device invented by Kenneth H. Henson who is also the inventor in the present application. The Henson prior patent application describes a stabilizing device which is designed to be clamped to the telephone pole itself. However, in many cases a repair or installation must take place between utility poles.
In some cases utility installers and repairmen simply lean the ladder against the telephone wire. Obviously this method is fraught with risk to the user. Attachments to ladders so that a ladder may be used at mid-span between utility poles have been described. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 2,963,104 issued to Roth and U.S. Pat. No. 3,001,603 issued to Krause, both titled Conductor Spreaders and Ladder Hangers. The Roth and Krause patents show attachments at the far end of a ladder which include a plurality of slots which receive electrical conductors.
In a somewhat related area, U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,829 assigned to Valley Engineering, Inc. teaches the use of an attachment to a ladder for evacuating persons from chair aerial cable lifts. The Valley Engineering patent shows a hook mechanism which is clamped over the aerial cable near a chair having a person to be evacuated.
Other related patents include U.S. Pat. No. 1,994,369 issued to Risser and U.S. Pat. No. 1,961,289 issued to Garnder, both of which teach the use of attachments for ladders which contact a utility pole. However, it is believed that none of these above-described patents provide a commercially acceptable mechanism to safety use a ladder at mid-span between utility poles.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore one object of this invention to provide an improved means for stabilizing a ladder.
It is another object to provide a means for stabilizing a ladder which is used in conjunction with aerial cable.
It is another object to provide a device which enables a ladder to be more safety utilized in connection with aerial cable and which is easy to use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with one form of this invention there is provided a safety device for use with a ladder which includes a clamp which is connected to a ladder between first and second rungs, preferably adjacent rungs. A first mechanism is provided for securing the clamp to the first rung and a second mechanism is provided for securing the clamp to the second rung. A locking mechanism is connected to the clamp for securing the clamp to an aerial cable. Preferably the locking mechanism includes a portion which is swivelably mounted on the clamp so that when the locking mechanism comes in contact with the aerial cable it will rotate to a position which securely affixes the aerial cable to the clamp and thus stabilizing the ladder.
In the preferred form of the invention, the clamp includes two parallel plates forming a gap or cavity therebetween so that the swivelable portion of the locking mechanism may rotate therebetween.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, together with further objects and advantages thereof may be better understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of the apparatus of the subject invention.
FIG. 2 is a pictorial view of a ladder resting against an aerial cable between two utility poles utilizing the apparatus of FIG. 1 to secure the ladder to the aerial cable.
FIG. 3 is a partial side elevational view showing a portion of the ladder of FIG. 2 and a portion the apparatus of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a partial pictorial view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 attached to a ladder prior to its attachment to an aerial cable.
FIG. 5 is a partial pictorial view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 attached to a ladder and further attached to an aerial cable.
FIG. 6 is a partial side elevational view showing certain details of the locking mechanism of the apparatus of FIG. 1 as the aerial cable is being inserted into the locking mechanism.
FIG. 7 is an side elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 6 but with the aerial cable having been fully inserted into the locking mechanism.
FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 with one of the plates having been removed and with the swivelable portion of the locking mechanism in the downward position.
FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 8 but with the swivelable portion of the locking mechanism in its upward position.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now more particularly to the Figures, there is provided a safety device in the form of clamp 10 which is constructed so as to be readily attached between adjacent rungs of a ladder. Clamp 10 includes slot 12 located near the top thereof and slot 14 located near the bottom thereof. Slot 12 receives rung 16 of ladder 20, as shown in FIG. 2, and slot 14 receives rung 18 of ladder 20. Preferably the clamp is attached to the top two rungs of the ladder and is centered on the ladder for better balance. The ladder 20 with safety device or clamp 10 is attached to cable 42 between adjacent utility poles 2 and 4.
Slots 12 and 14 are spaced apart substantially the same distance as the space between adjacent rungs 16 and 18 so that the clamp may be snugly fitted between the adjacent rungs. Safety latch 22 is swivelably connected to the top portion of clamp 10 so that rung 16 is completely encircled by slot 12 and latch 22 when the latch is closed. Locking pin 24 is adapted to be received through holes 28 and 30 and through hole 26 of latch 22 for securing the latch 22 in place.
Clamp 10 includes two identical parallel plates 32 and 34. The plates are held apart by various spacers such as bolt or block 35, thereby forming a gap or space 36 between the plates. A swivelable portion 38 of cable lock 41 is connected to plates 32 and 34 by bolt 37. Bolt or block 39 is provided so that the swivelable portion 38 will not drop below the position shown in FIG. 1, thus the swivelable portion is in the ready position for receiving aerial cable 42 as shown in FIG. 6.
Also as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, swivelable portion 38 includes finger 40 which is in the horizontal position prior to contact with aerial cable 42. Rear extension 43 contacts stop 39 which is in the form of a bolt, to keep finger 40 in the horizontal position. This may also be seen in reference to FIG. 4 which shows the clamp 10 attached to ladder 20 and in position prior to contact with aerial cable 42.
In order to make a connection with aerial cable 42, the ladder 20 is pulled downwardly after contact is made between aerial cable 42 and finger 40. As shown in FIG. 6, locking clamp 38 begins to rotate as indicated by arrows 47 and 49 and cable 42 makes contact with curved surface 51 of swivelable portion 38 of the lock 41. The swivelable portion is rotated 90 ° so that cable 42 becomes captured between curved surface 51 and curved surface 53 which is located above cavity 55 which forms another portion of the lock 41. Thus the ladder 20 and the aerial cable become firmly attached to one another by use of the clamp 10 as shown in FIG. 5. Downward pressure of surface 53 on aerial cable 42 and the fact that swivelable portion 38 can't move because of the cable 42 being in cavity 55 insures that the ladder is locked to the cable.
An additional insurance against an unintentional unlocking of clamp 10 from the ladder hole 60 is made through plates 32 and 34 and pin 62 is attached to plate 32 as shown in FIG. 1. After swivelable portion 38 has been placed in the up position as shown in FIGS. 5, 7 and 9, pin 62 is inserted through hole 60 so that finger 40 abuts against pin 62. Thus swivelable portion 38 can't inadvertently drop to the down position.
As may be seen in FIGS. 7 and 9, finger 40 will abut against stop 35 so that it will not continue to rotate. Cable 42 itself will prevent swivelable locking mechanism 38 from rotating in the other direction. Thus the locking mechanism 41 is essentially self locking. These preferably curved surfaces 51 and 53 are made of a soft electrical insulator such as rubber so as to protect the aerial cable and to insulate the user of the ladder from electrical shock. Using the clamp safety device described above, safety problems which have been associated with ladders falling when repairs or installation between utility poles are substantially lessened. In order to release the ladder from the aerial wire once the person steps off the ladder, pin 62 is removed from hole 60 and the ladder is pushed upwardly thereby permitting the swivelable portion 38 to rotate in the opposite direction to that shown in FIG. 6 thereby freeing the aerial cable from the clamp.
From the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention it is apparent that many modifications may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. | There is provided a clamp for securing a ladder to an aerial cable such as telephone cable. The clamp includes first and second slots for attaching the clamp to adjacent rungs on the ladder. The clamp includes a locking mechanism, having a swivelable portion so that when the aerial cable contacts the swivelable portion the cable becomes fixed securely to the clamp thus safely supporting the ladder against the aerial cable. | Condense the core contents of the given document. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This relates ladder safety devices.",
"More particularly, it relates to a means for stabilizing a ladder supported by an aerial cable.",
"A common tool of a utility repairman and installer is the ordinary ladder.",
"However, it has been found that ladders are a common source of injury because of their inherent instability.",
"Various devices have been used to stabilize ladders which are used for climbing utility poles.",
"One such device is described in U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 423,175 filed Oct. 16, 1989 titled Pole Gripping Ladder Stabilizing Device invented by Kenneth H. Henson who is also the inventor in the present application.",
"The Henson prior patent application describes a stabilizing device which is designed to be clamped to the telephone pole itself.",
"However, in many cases a repair or installation must take place between utility poles.",
"In some cases utility installers and repairmen simply lean the ladder against the telephone wire.",
"Obviously this method is fraught with risk to the user.",
"Attachments to ladders so that a ladder may be used at mid-span between utility poles have been described.",
"Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 2,963,104 issued to Roth and U.S. Pat. No. 3,001,603 issued to Krause, both titled Conductor Spreaders and Ladder Hangers.",
"The Roth and Krause patents show attachments at the far end of a ladder which include a plurality of slots which receive electrical conductors.",
"In a somewhat related area, U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,829 assigned to Valley Engineering, Inc. teaches the use of an attachment to a ladder for evacuating persons from chair aerial cable lifts.",
"The Valley Engineering patent shows a hook mechanism which is clamped over the aerial cable near a chair having a person to be evacuated.",
"Other related patents include U.S. Pat. No. 1,994,369 issued to Risser and U.S. Pat. No. 1,961,289 issued to Garnder, both of which teach the use of attachments for ladders which contact a utility pole.",
"However, it is believed that none of these above-described patents provide a commercially acceptable mechanism to safety use a ladder at mid-span between utility poles.",
"OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is therefore one object of this invention to provide an improved means for stabilizing a ladder.",
"It is another object to provide a means for stabilizing a ladder which is used in conjunction with aerial cable.",
"It is another object to provide a device which enables a ladder to be more safety utilized in connection with aerial cable and which is easy to use.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one form of this invention there is provided a safety device for use with a ladder which includes a clamp which is connected to a ladder between first and second rungs, preferably adjacent rungs.",
"A first mechanism is provided for securing the clamp to the first rung and a second mechanism is provided for securing the clamp to the second rung.",
"A locking mechanism is connected to the clamp for securing the clamp to an aerial cable.",
"Preferably the locking mechanism includes a portion which is swivelably mounted on the clamp so that when the locking mechanism comes in contact with the aerial cable it will rotate to a position which securely affixes the aerial cable to the clamp and thus stabilizing the ladder.",
"In the preferred form of the invention, the clamp includes two parallel plates forming a gap or cavity therebetween so that the swivelable portion of the locking mechanism may rotate therebetween.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is set forth in the appended claims.",
"The invention itself, however, together with further objects and advantages thereof may be better understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of the apparatus of the subject invention.",
"FIG. 2 is a pictorial view of a ladder resting against an aerial cable between two utility poles utilizing the apparatus of FIG. 1 to secure the ladder to the aerial cable.",
"FIG. 3 is a partial side elevational view showing a portion of the ladder of FIG. 2 and a portion the apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a partial pictorial view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 attached to a ladder prior to its attachment to an aerial cable.",
"FIG. 5 is a partial pictorial view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 attached to a ladder and further attached to an aerial cable.",
"FIG. 6 is a partial side elevational view showing certain details of the locking mechanism of the apparatus of FIG. 1 as the aerial cable is being inserted into the locking mechanism.",
"FIG. 7 is an side elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 6 but with the aerial cable having been fully inserted into the locking mechanism.",
"FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 with one of the plates having been removed and with the swivelable portion of the locking mechanism in the downward position.",
"FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 8 but with the swivelable portion of the locking mechanism in its upward position.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now more particularly to the Figures, there is provided a safety device in the form of clamp 10 which is constructed so as to be readily attached between adjacent rungs of a ladder.",
"Clamp 10 includes slot 12 located near the top thereof and slot 14 located near the bottom thereof.",
"Slot 12 receives rung 16 of ladder 20, as shown in FIG. 2, and slot 14 receives rung 18 of ladder 20.",
"Preferably the clamp is attached to the top two rungs of the ladder and is centered on the ladder for better balance.",
"The ladder 20 with safety device or clamp 10 is attached to cable 42 between adjacent utility poles 2 and 4.",
"Slots 12 and 14 are spaced apart substantially the same distance as the space between adjacent rungs 16 and 18 so that the clamp may be snugly fitted between the adjacent rungs.",
"Safety latch 22 is swivelably connected to the top portion of clamp 10 so that rung 16 is completely encircled by slot 12 and latch 22 when the latch is closed.",
"Locking pin 24 is adapted to be received through holes 28 and 30 and through hole 26 of latch 22 for securing the latch 22 in place.",
"Clamp 10 includes two identical parallel plates 32 and 34.",
"The plates are held apart by various spacers such as bolt or block 35, thereby forming a gap or space 36 between the plates.",
"A swivelable portion 38 of cable lock 41 is connected to plates 32 and 34 by bolt 37.",
"Bolt or block 39 is provided so that the swivelable portion 38 will not drop below the position shown in FIG. 1, thus the swivelable portion is in the ready position for receiving aerial cable 42 as shown in FIG. 6. Also as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, swivelable portion 38 includes finger 40 which is in the horizontal position prior to contact with aerial cable 42.",
"Rear extension 43 contacts stop 39 which is in the form of a bolt, to keep finger 40 in the horizontal position.",
"This may also be seen in reference to FIG. 4 which shows the clamp 10 attached to ladder 20 and in position prior to contact with aerial cable 42.",
"In order to make a connection with aerial cable 42, the ladder 20 is pulled downwardly after contact is made between aerial cable 42 and finger 40.",
"As shown in FIG. 6, locking clamp 38 begins to rotate as indicated by arrows 47 and 49 and cable 42 makes contact with curved surface 51 of swivelable portion 38 of the lock 41.",
"The swivelable portion is rotated 90 ° so that cable 42 becomes captured between curved surface 51 and curved surface 53 which is located above cavity 55 which forms another portion of the lock 41.",
"Thus the ladder 20 and the aerial cable become firmly attached to one another by use of the clamp 10 as shown in FIG. 5. Downward pressure of surface 53 on aerial cable 42 and the fact that swivelable portion 38 can't move because of the cable 42 being in cavity 55 insures that the ladder is locked to the cable.",
"An additional insurance against an unintentional unlocking of clamp 10 from the ladder hole 60 is made through plates 32 and 34 and pin 62 is attached to plate 32 as shown in FIG. 1. After swivelable portion 38 has been placed in the up position as shown in FIGS. 5, 7 and 9, pin 62 is inserted through hole 60 so that finger 40 abuts against pin 62.",
"Thus swivelable portion 38 can't inadvertently drop to the down position.",
"As may be seen in FIGS. 7 and 9, finger 40 will abut against stop 35 so that it will not continue to rotate.",
"Cable 42 itself will prevent swivelable locking mechanism 38 from rotating in the other direction.",
"Thus the locking mechanism 41 is essentially self locking.",
"These preferably curved surfaces 51 and 53 are made of a soft electrical insulator such as rubber so as to protect the aerial cable and to insulate the user of the ladder from electrical shock.",
"Using the clamp safety device described above, safety problems which have been associated with ladders falling when repairs or installation between utility poles are substantially lessened.",
"In order to release the ladder from the aerial wire once the person steps off the ladder, pin 62 is removed from hole 60 and the ladder is pushed upwardly thereby permitting the swivelable portion 38 to rotate in the opposite direction to that shown in FIG. 6 thereby freeing the aerial cable from the clamp.",
"From the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention it is apparent that many modifications may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is A Divisional of a U.S. application Ser. No. 10/563,199, filed Sep. 1, 2006, which is a National Phase of International Patent Application No. PCT/GB2004/002865, filed Jul. 1, 2004, designating the U.S. and published in English on Jan. 13, 2005 as WO 2005/002618, which claims the benefit of British Patent Application No. 0315323.6, filed Jul. 1, 2003.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a vaccine composition, and in particular to a vaccine composition for use against canine infectious respiratory disease.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Canine infectious respiratory disease (CIRD) is a highly contagious disease common in dogs housed in crowded conditions such as re-homing centers and boarding or training kennels. Many dogs suffer only from a mild cough and recover after a short time, however in some cases a severe bronchopneumonia can develop (Appel and Binn, 1987). CIRD is rarely fatal but it delays re-homing of dogs at rescue centers and it causes disruption of schedules in training kennels as well as considerable treatment costs.
[0004] The pathogenesis of CIRD is considered to be multifactorial, involving several viruses and bacteria. The infectious agents considered to be the major causative pathogens of CIRD are canine parainfluenzavirus (CPIV) (Binn et al., 1967), canine adenovirus type 2 (CAV-2) (Ditchfield et al., 1962), and canine herpesvirus (CHV) (Karpas et al., 1968a and 1986b), canine respiratory coronavirus (CRCV) (WO 2004/011651 (The Royal Veterinary College) and Erles et al., 2003) and the bacterium Bordetella bronchiseptica ( B. bronchiseptica ) (Bemis et al., 1977a, Keil et al., 1998).
[0005] These viruses and bacterium have frequently been isolated during outbreaks and have been shown to cause respiratory symptoms or lung lesions in experimental infections (Appel and Percy 1970, Swango et al., 1970, Karpas et al., 1986b).
[0006] Also, human reovirus and mycoplasma species have been isolated from dogs with symptoms of CIRD (Lou and Wenner 1963, Randolph et al., 1993). Additional factors like stress may also be important.
[0007] B. bronchiseptica was reported as being a primary etiological agent in the respiratory disease “kennel cough” (Bemis et al., 1977b and Thompson et al., 1976). It predisposes dogs to the influence of other respiratory agents and frequently exists concurrently with them. Kennel cough can be reproduced by challenge with virulent B. bronchiseptica . Further, environmental factors such as cold, drafts, and high humidity, often typical conditions in dog kennels, increase susceptibility to the disease (Ellis et al., 2001). Antibiotics are generally recognised as poor agents to treat the primary disease (Ellis et al., 2001). In contrast, immunoprophylaxis for B. bronchiseptica provides a relatively effective means to aid in the control of disease.
[0008] The outstanding sign of B. bronchiseptica infection is a harsh, dry cough, which is aggravated by activity or excitement. The coughing occurs in paroxysms, followed by retching or gagging in attempts to clear small amounts of mucus from the throat. Body temperature may be elevated as secondary bacterial invasion takes place. Because kennel cough is highly contagious, the disease can readily be transmitted to susceptible dogs and produce a severe cough. The most severe signs are noted beginning two to five days following infection, but can continue for extended periods. Stress, particularly of adverse environmental conditions, may cause relapse during later stages of the disease.
[0009] Kennel cough is typically a condition of the upper airways and is characterized by nasal discharge and coughing. Whereas kennel cough mainly involves upper respiratory tract changes, the pathology of CIRD indicates that it is involved in lung damage and, in some cases, bronchopneumonia. Kennel cough is a milder syndrome than CIRD and does not have the wide range of pathology noted in CIRD. CIRD is also distinguished by an increased severity and mortality.
[0010] CIRD is a syndrome in dogs which present with respiratory signs ranging from mild to fatal disease. It is characterized by involvement of upper and lower airway infection with progression from inflammatory to exudative, edematous and sometimes hemorrhagic pathology which can be widespread within the lung tissues. CIRD can also occur in the absence of B. bronchiseptica , and indeed some dogs contract CIRD whilst having no detectable B. bronchiseptica , which indicates that kennel cough and CIRD are distinct infections.
[0011] We have also confirmed the association of B. bronchiseptica with respiratory disease while concluding that other agents are involved in respiratory disease (Chalker et al., 2003).
[0012] We have now shown that Streptococcus equi sub species zooepidemicus (see Example 1), Mycoplasma cynos (see Example 2), and a Chlamydophila (see Example 3) are associated with CIRD. As all the dogs in our study populations were vaccinated against CPIV and CAV-2, we have no new data to support the involvement of these viruses in CIRD. However we have also found an increased prevalence of canine herpesvirus in dogs with more severe respiratory symptoms (see Example 4).
[0013] Streptococcus equi sub species zooepidemicus ( S. zooepidemicus ) is an opportunist pathogen which is frequently isolated from a variety of animal hosts, not only from horses. It is often found as a commensal of the upper respiratory tract mucosa of mammals (Timoney et al., 1988; Quinn et al., 1999) and has been associated with several disease syndromes including lower airway disease, foal pneumonia and cervicitis in horses (Chanter, 1997; Biberstein and Hirsh, 1999), pneumonia in llamas (Biberstein and Hirsh, 1999), septicemia and arthritis in pigs (Timoney, 1987), mastitis in cows and goats (Timoney et al., 1988), septicemia in poultry, pericarditis and pneumonia in lambs (Timoney, 1987), lymphadenitis in guinea pigs (Quinn et al., 1999), glomerulonephritis in humans (Balter et al., 2000) and meningitis in humans (Ural et al., 2003). In dogs S. zooepidemicus has been associated with wound infections and septicemia (Quinn et al., 1999) and acute necrotizing hemorrhagic pneumonia (Garnett et al., 1982).
[0014] Although dogs in the latter stages of hemorrhagic streptococcal pneumoniae (HSP) share some histological features with dogs with CIRD, this is not the case in its early stages (see Chalker et al., 2003) and septic thrombi are present in HSP (Garnett et al., 1982). HSP has a rapid onset that was fatal in most cases without clinical signs, whereas with CIRD we see a slow onset with a huge range of clinical signs from nasal discharge, coughing, sneezing, retching, inappetance, pneumonia and bronchopneumonia.
[0015] Mycoplasma cynos ( M. cynos ) has been associated with canine urinary tract infection (Lang et al., 1984). It has also been identified in the lungs of a dog with distemper (Rosendal, 1978), and endobronchial inoculation of M. cynos was found to induce pneumonia in dogs (Rosendal & Vinther, 1977).
[0016] The canine distemper described by Rosendal (1978) is a complex disease following infection with canine distemper virus, various mycoplasma species and the bacterium Pseudomonas . This is a powerful combination of microbial challenges and, not surprisingly, results in pneumonia. The proportion of pathology due to the Mycoplasma spp. was not clear. Subsequent challenge with M. cynos was characterized by no signs of illness in the dogs although some local small inflammatory lesions were noted in 4 out of the 5 dogs inoculated. The significance of M. cynos in this syndrome was, as Rosendal stated, “difficult to assess”.
[0017] The Chlamydophila species associated with CIRD is very closely related to Chlamydophila abortus ( C. abortus ) by comparison of a 218 nucleotide sequence in the 23S rRNA gene. The nucleotide sequence of this region in this Chlamydophila species (SEQ ID NO: 1) is over 99% identical to that of C. abortus, 98.6% identical to Chlamydophila psittaci and 96.3% identical to Chlamydophila felis.
[0018] The Chlamydophila species was identified in the trachea and lungs of dogs with CIRD. By contrast, infection with C. abortus is typically associated with reproductive disorders, often leading to unwanted abortion, especially in sheep. C. abortus has not previously been described as having a role in respiratory infection in dogs.
[0019] There are very few publications regarding Chlamydiae species infecting dogs, and therefore very little is known of the biodiversity of canine Chlamydiae species. Recently, Chlamydia pneumoniae ( C. pneumoniae ) has been associated with athrosclerosis in dogs (Sako et al., 2002). An unidentified Chlamydophila spp. has also been identified in a dog with septic polyarthritis (Lambrechts et al., 1999).
[0020] C. psittaci has previously been isolated from feces, brain, liver, spleen, kidney and lung tissue of household dogs (Arizmendi et al., 1992; Fraser et al., 1985 and Gresham et al., 1996). Studies have demonstrated that 20% of the pet canine population in Germany and 10% in Japan have been exposed to and raised antibodies to Chlamydiaceae (Werth et al., 1987 and Fukushi et al., 1985). The prevalence of C. psittaci seropositive dogs in the UK is unknown (Gresham et al., 1996). Dogs infected with C. psittaci may develop sub-clinical chronic infections, athrosclerosis, arthritis, conjunctivitis or even respiratory disease (Gresham et al., 1996 and Storz 1988). Gresham et al., (1996) isolated C. psittaci from a dog with symptoms of respiratory disease although these symptoms were not as severe as those. in CIRD. It has been suggested that dogs may be potential reservoirs and, thereby, important in the epidemiology of human Chlamydiae infections (Gresham et al., 1996; Werth 1989). There is only one documented case of isolation in cell culture of C. psittaci from a naturally infected dog (Arizmendi et al., 1992), and one case of isolation from experimentally infected dogs (Young et al., 1972).
[0021] Vaccines are available against some of the infectious agents associated with CIRD, namely B. bronchiseptica as well as CPIV and CAV-2. However, despite the use of these vaccines, CIRD is still prevalent in kennels world-wide, which is possibly due to the vaccines not providing protection against all the infectious agents involved in CIRD.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0022] A first aspect of the invention thus provides a vaccine composition for vaccinating dogs comprising anyone or more of:
[0023] (a) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against S. zooepidemicus;
[0024] (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against M. cynos ; and
[0025] (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila.
[0026] It is appreciated that the composition may contain any two of these agents, for example (a) and (b), (a) and (c), or (b) and (c). The composition may contain all three of these agents (a), (b) and (c).
[0027] By an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a particular organism, we include the meaning that, when administered to a dog which is not immunocompromised or immunosuppressed, the agent induces the dog's immune system to produce antibodies which specifically bind to the organism. Thus the agent is capable of inducing a protective immune response against the particular organism.
[0028] Preferably, the antibody thus produced specifically binds the particular organism with a greater affinity than for any other molecule in the individual. Preferably, the antibody binds the particular organism with at least 2, or at least 5, or at least 10 or at least 50 times greater affinity than for any other molecule in the individual. More preferably, the antibody binds the particular organism with at least 100, or at least 1,000, or at least 10,000 times greater affinity than for any other molecule in the individual.
[0029] By an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a particular organism, we also include the meaning that, when administered to a dog which is not immunocompromised or immunosuppressed, the agent induces the dog's immune system to produce antibodies which specifically bind to macromolecules such as proteins that are secreted from the organism. The antibodies would specifically bind the secreted macromolecule, such as a toxin or hemolysin, and inactivate it, therefore reducing pathogenic changes in the host and disease severity, thus allowing the host to overcome infection. Thus, by an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a particular organism we include agents which are capable of raising an immune response to a part of the organism such as a secreted macromolecule.
[0030] Typically, an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog comprises inactivated or attenuated S. zooepidemicus , or an immunogenic fragment of S. zooepidemicus or a derivative thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said fragment or said derivative (in which case said fragment or said derivative comprises a polypeptide).
[0031] Streptococcus equi sub species zooepidemicus has been deposited at NCTC (Deposit No. 4676. S34), the ATCC (Deposit No. 43079) and the National Collection of Dairy Organisms (NCDO) (Deposit No. 1358), and is described by Farrow et at (1984).
[0032] By an “inactivated” component of a vaccine we include the meaning that the particular vaccine component, such as a bacteria, mycoplasma or virus, has been treated in such a way as to eliminate its capacity to cause disease, but still retains its ability to evoke protective immunity. By an “inactivated” vaccine component we include a killed organism.
[0033] Methods for inactivating and killing organisms such as bacteria, mycoplasma and viruses for use in a vaccine are well known in the art, and have been used, for example, in the preparation of some of the components for the dog vaccines described below.
[0034] There are several methods for inactivating micro-organisms for vaccine preparations. The simplest method is heat killing (for example, heating viruses to 58° C. for 30 minutes; boiling bacteria for 5 minutes or heating to 65° C. for 1 hour) or killing by mixing with formalin. You can also kill micro-organisms with a range of other chemicals, or by treatment with UV light.
[0035] By an “attenuated” component of a vaccine we include the meaning that the particular vaccine component, such as a bacteria, mycoplasma or virus, has been selected or otherwise treated in such a way as to greatly diminish its capacity to cause disease but still retains its ability to evoke protective immunity.
[0036] Methods for attenuating organisms such as bacteria, mycoplasma and viruses for use in a vaccine are well known in the art, and have been used, for example, in the preparation of some of the components for the dog vaccines described below.
[0037] You can attenuate microorganisms by prolonged passage in a different setting—i.e., cell culture for viruses or Chlamydophila , and on solid medium or a different host for bacteria, until a decline in virulence is noted. Alternatively you can point-mutate or delete specific genes in bacteria which are involved in virulence thus limiting the pathogenic potential of the organism, or mutate the organism so that it has a specific requirement for a chemical that is not present in the animal host and therefore cannot multiply and survive once in the host. Attenuation can also be performed in bacteria with chemical treatment and UV light treatment to cause point mutations in the genome.
[0038] An immunogenic fragment of S. zooepidemicus may be any fragment of S. zooepidemicus capable of raising a protective immune response in a dog. Thus when an immunogenic fragment of S. zooepidemicus is administered to a dog which is not immunocompromised or immunosuppressed, it induces the dog's immune system to produce antibodies which specifically bind to S. zooepidemicus.
[0039] Typically, the immunogenic fragment of a particular organism is a protein component of that organism. By a “protein component” of an organism we include the meaning of an entire protein, or a portion of a protein. It is appreciated that the protein fragment mayor may not be glycosylated. Thus by “protein” we also include glycoprotein. The amino acid sequence of a glycoprotein refers to the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide backbone of the glycoprotein, irrespective of the type, number, sequence and position of the sugars attached thereto.
[0040] S. zooepidemicus proteins include the cell surface protein precursors (Genbank Accession Nos. AAA86832 and BAD00711), Cpn60 (Genbank Accession No. AAM88472), M-like protein (Genbank Accession Nos. AAP33082, AAP33081, AAP33080, AAP33079, AAP22285, AAB92635, AAB92634, AAB92633, AAB92632, AAB92631, AAB92630, AAB92629, AAB92628, AAB92627, AAB92626, AAB92625, AAB92624, AAB92623, AAB92622, 2111310A and BAD00712), M-like protein precursor (Genbank Accession No. AAD37432), M-like protein Szp2 precursor (Genbank Accession No. AAF75674), M-like protein Szp3 precursor (Genbank Accession No. AAF75675), M-like protein Szp4 precursor (Genbank Accession No. AAF75676), the protein similar to Streptococcus pneumoniae ORF5 (Genbank Accession No. BAB16041), the putative metal binding/adhesin protein (Genbank Accession No. CAB56710), zoocin A immunity factor (Genbank Accession No. AAC46073) and the Szp proteins described by Walker et al. (1998, 2003; including Genbank Accession Nos. AAQ08488-AAQ08510).
[0041] Preferably, the immunogenic fragment of S. zooepidermicus , is a structural protein of S. zooepidermicus or an immunogenic portion thereof. More preferably, the immunogenic fragment of S. zooepidermicus is a secreted toxin, or hemolysin, or an adhesion/surface protein, or an immunogenic portion thereof.
[0042] Additional surface proteins can be isolated from a bacteria such as S. zooepidermicus by standard methods known to a person of skill in the art. Sambrook et al (2001) “ Molecular Cloning, a Laboratory Manual”, 3rd edition, Sambrook et al (eds), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., USA, incorporated herein by reference, describes general bacterial cloning techniques that would be used for this purpose.
[0043] If the agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog is a component of an organism, such as a protein, it may be isolated from a culture of the organism. More preferably, proteins are made by expression of a suitable DNA construct encoding the protein using recombinant DNA technology.
[0044] Suitable techniques for cloning, manipulation, modification and expression of nucleic acids, and purification of expressed proteins, are well known in the art and are described for example in Sambrook et at (2001), incorporated herein by reference.
[0045] Alternatively, proteins may be made using protein chemistry techniques for example using partial proteolysis of isolated proteins (either exolytically or endolytically), or by de novo synthesis. Peptides may be synthesized by the Fmoc-polyamide mode of solid-phase peptide synthesis as disclosed by Lu et al. (1981) J Org. Chem. 46:3433 and references therein.
[0046] By “a derivative” of an immunogenic fragment of an organism we include the meaning of a protein, or portion of a protein, which has been modified from the form in which it is naturally present in that organism, but which retains the ability to raise an immune response in a dog, such as the ability to induce the production of antibodies that specifically bind to that organism.
[0047] For example, a derivative may include a sequence variant of the protein or portion thereof which can be used to induce the production of antibodies which specifically bind to that organism. Typically, amino acid substitutions are made to improve the antigenicity of the vaccine. Preferably, the sequence variant is at least 90%, or at least 91%, or at least 92%, or at least 93%, or at least 94%, or at least 95% identical to the native sequence of that protein or portion thereof. More preferably, the sequence variant is at least 96%, or at least 97%, or at least 98%, or at least 99%, or at least 99.5% identical to the native sequence of that protein or portion thereof.
[0048] The percent sequence identity between two polypeptides may be determined using suitable computer programs, for example the GAP program of the University of Wisconsin Genetic Computing Group. The percentage identity between two nucleotide or two amino acid sequences can be determined using GCG version 10 (Genetics Computer Group, (1991), Program Manual for the GCG Package, Version 7, April 1991, 575 Science Drive, Madison, Wis., USA 53711). The GCG parameters used can be: Gap creation penalty 50, gap extension penalty 3 for DNA, and Gap creation penalty 8 and Gap extension penalty 2 for Protein. The percentage identity between two nucleotide or two amino acid sequences can also be determined using FASTA version 34 (Pearson W R. (1990) “Rapid and sensitive sequence comparison with FASTP and FASTA”. Methods Enzymot. 183:63-98). FASTA settings may be Gap open penalty −16 and Gap extension penalty-4.
[0049] It will be appreciated that percent identity is calculated in relation to polypeptides whose sequence has been aligned optimally.
[0050] The alignment may alternatively be carried out using the Clustal W program (Thompson et al., (1994) Nucleic Acids Res. 22:4673-80). The parameters used may be as follows:
[0051] Fast pairwise alignment parameters: K-tuple(word) size; 1, window size; 5, gap penalty; 3, number of top diagonals; 5. Scoring method: x percent.
[0052] Multiple alignment parameters: gap open penalty; 10, gap extension penalty; 0.05. Scoring matrix: BLOSUM.
[0053] Typically, the sequence variant has fewer than 100, or fewer than 50, or fewer than 40, or fewer than 30, or fewer than 20 amino acid residues different from the native sequence of that protein or portion thereof. More preferably, the sequence variant has 15 or 14 or 13 or 12 or 11 or 10 or 9 or 8 or 7 or 6 or 5 or 4 or 3 or 2 or only 1 amino acid residues different from the native sequence of that protein or portion thereof.
[0054] The sequence of the derivative may have been altered to enhance the immunogenicity of the agent, or it may have no effect on its immunogenicity. For example, the derivative may have had one or more amino acid sequences that are not necessary to immunogenicity removed.
[0055] By “derivative” we also include peptides in which one or more of the amino acid residues are chemically modified, before or after the peptide is synthesized, providing that the function of the peptide, namely the production of specific antibodies in vivo, remains substantially unchanged. Such modifications include forming salts with acids or bases, especially physiologically acceptable organic or inorganic acids and bases, forming an ester or amide of a terminal carboxyl group, and attaching amino acid protecting groups such as N-t-butoxycarbonyl. Such modifications may protect the peptide from in vivo metabolism. The peptides may be present as single copies or as multiples, for example tandem repeats. Such tandem or multiple repeats may be sufficiently antigenic themselves to obviate the use of a carrier. It may be advantageous for the peptide to be formed as a loop, with the N-terminal and C-terminal ends joined together, or to add one or more Cys residues to an end to increase antigenicity and/or to allow disulphide bonds to be formed. If the peptide is covalently linked to a carrier, preferably a polypeptide, then the arrangement is preferably such that the peptide of the invention forms a loop.
[0056] According to current immunological theories, a carrier function should be present in any immunogenic formulation in order to stimulate, or enhance stimulation of, the immune system. It is thought that the best carriers embody (or, together with the antigen, create) a T-cell epitope. The peptides may be associated, for example by cross-linking, with a separate carrier, such as serum albumins, myoglobins, bacterial toxoids and keyhole limpet hemocyanin. More recently developed carriers which induce T-cell help in the immune response include the B-hepatitis core antigen (also called the nucleocapsid protein), presumed T-cell epitopes, beta-galactosidase and the 163-171 peptide of interleukin-1. The latter compound may variously be regarded as a carrier or as an adjuvant or as both. Alternatively, several copies of the same or different peptides of the invention may be cross-linked to one another; in this situation there is no separate carrier as such, but a carrier function may be provided by such cross-linking. Suitable cross-linking agents include those listed as such in the Sigma and Pierce catalogues, for example glutaraldehyde, carbodiimide and succinimidyl 4-(N-maleimidomethyl)cyclohexane-1-carboxylate, the latter agent exploiting the —SH group on the C-terminal cysteine residue (if present).
[0057] If the peptide is prepared by expression of a suitable nucleotide sequence in a suitable host, then it may be advantageous to express the peptide as a fusion product with a peptide sequence which acts as a carrier. Kabigen's “Ecosec” system is an example of such an arrangement.
[0058] Typically, the polynucleotide encoding the immunogenic fraction of S. zooepidemicus encodes a structural protein, and more preferably a surface protein of S. zooepidemicus , or an immunogenic portion thereof, or a derivative thereof. The sequences of polynucleotides encoding various S. zooepidemicus proteins can readily be ascertained by reference to the above Genbank Accession Nos. However, the sequence of a polynucleotide encoding any immunogenic S. zooepidemicus protein can readily be determined by standard molecular biology techniques.
[0059] Typically, an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog comprises inactivated or attenuated M. cynos , or an immunogenic fragment of M. cynos or a derivative thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said fraction or said derivative.
[0060] Mycoplasma cynos been deposited at NCTC (Deposit No. 10142H831) and at the ATCC (Deposit No. 27544) and is described by Rosendal (1972).
[0061] Preferably, the immunogenic fragment of M. cynos is a structural protein of M. cynos or an immunogenic portion thereof, and more preferably, a surface protein of M. cynos or an immunogenic portion thereof or a derivative thereof. Surface proteins can be isolated from a mycoplasma such as M. cynos by standard methods known to a person of skill in the art.
[0062] Methods for identifying and isolating mycoplasma proteins are generally the same as for bacteria except that some genes may require specialized vectors that recognize the unique codon usage of mycoplasmas (see all chapters in Section B, on Genome Characterisation and Genetics, in Molecular and Diagnostic Procedures in Mycoplasmology. Vol. 1 Ed S. Razin & J. Tully. Academic Press Inc. 1995.)
[0063] The most efficacious mycoplasma vaccines tend to contain a heat- or formalin-inactivated whole cell or live attenuated vaccine, and therefore contain all, or at least the majority, of its proteins. Potential mycoplasma components for use as vaccines include proteins such the primary attachment structure membrane protein, believed to be about 45 kDA (equivalent to the P1 cytadhesin from M. pneumoniae and homologues such as MgPa from M. genitalium which are all part of a three gene operon), surface exposed proteins and other attachment proteins, membrane glycolipids, membrane polysaccharide fraction, lipoglycans and all those mentioned in the reviews of animal mycoplasma vaccines (Barile 1985 and Barile et al., 1985).
[0064] In an embodiment, the agent capable of raising an immune response against a Chlamydophila comprises inactivated or attenuated C. abortus , or an immunogenic fragment of C. abortus or a derivative thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said fraction or said derivative.
[0065] Chlamydophila abortus (ATCC deposit no. VR-656) was deposited by Everett et al. as ovine chlamydial abortion strain B-577.
[0066] In another embodiment, the agent capable of raising an immune response against a Chlamydophila comprises inactivated or attenuated C. psittaci , or an immunogenic fragment of C. psittaci or a derivative thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said fraction or said derivative.
[0067] Chlamydophila psittaci, also known as Chlamydia psittaci , has ATCC deposit no. VR-125 (Lillie (1930) page 1968, Int. J Syst. Bacteriol. 30:274 (AL)).
[0068] In a further embodiment, the agent capable of raising an immune response against a Chlamydophila comprises inactivated or attenuated C. felis , or an immunogenic fragment of C. felis or a derivative thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said fraction or said derivative.
[0069] Chlamydophila felis (ATCC deposit no. VR-120) was deposited by Everett et al. as feline pneumonitis strain No. 1.
[0070] In another embodiment, the agent capable of raising an immune response against a Chlamydophila comprises inactivated or attenuated Chlamydia muridarum (ATCC VR 123, MoPn; Everett et al., 1999 , Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 49: 431); Chlamydia pecorum (ATCC VR 628, Bo/E58; Fukushi and Hirai 1992 , Int. J Syst. Bacteriol. 42: 307); Chlamydia pneumoniae (Type strain: TW-183; Grayston et al., 1989 , Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 39: 88); Chlamydia suis (ATCC VR 1474, 845; Everett et al., 1999 , Int. J Syst. Bacteriol. 49: 431); or Chlamydia trachomatis (type species) (ATCC VR 571; Busacca 1935 Rake 1957 amend. Everett et al., 1999 , Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 30: 274(AL), or an immunogenic fragment thereof, or a derivative thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said fraction or said derivative.
[0071] An immunogenic fragment of C. abortus, C. psittaci or C. felis , or of C. muridarum, C. pecorum, C. pneumoniae, C. suis or C. trachomatis , can be any fragment thereof capable of raising a protective immune response in a dog. Typically the immunogenic fragment is a protein or a portion thereof. Preferably, the immunogenic fragment is a structural protein or an immunogenic portion thereof. More preferably, the immunogenic fragment is a surface protein, or an immunogenic portion thereof or a derivative thereof. As mentioned above, surface proteins can be isolated from a bacteria such as Chlamydophila by standard methods known to a person of skill in the art.
[0072] C. abortus proteins include 60 kD heat shock protein GroEL (Genbank Accession No. AAD26144), 60 kDa cysteine-rich membrane complex protein (Genbank Accession No. AAG60550), 90-kDa protein (Genbank Accession Nos. AAC44400, AAC44401), cysteine-rich outer membrane protein Omp-2 (Genbank Accession No. AAD09597), DnaK (Genbank Accession No. AAN77259), elongation factor P (Genbank Accession No. AAK72389), GrpE (Genbank Accession No. AAN77258), HrcA (Genbank Accession No. AAN77257), major outer membrane protein (Genbank Accession Nos. AAK00237, CAA36152, CAD29327), major outer membrane protein precursor (Genbank Accession Nos. AAD29103, AAD291 02, AAG53881, P16567), MutS (Genbank Accession No. AAD25864), Omp1 (Genbank Accession Nos. CAA06182, CAA06620, CAA06621, CAA06622, CAA06624, CAA06625, CAA06183, CAA06184), outer membrane protein (Genbank Accession No. AAB02850), outer membrane protein 2 (Genbank Accession No. AAD20336), POMP90A precursor (Genbank Accession No. AAC15922), POMP90B precursor (Genbank Accession No. AAC15924), POMP91A (Genbank Accession No. AAC15921), POMP91B precursor (Genbank Accession No. AAC15923), putative 98 kDa outer membrane protein (Genbank Accession No. AABI8188), putative outer membrane protein (Genbank Accession No. AABI8187), small cysteine-rich outer membrane lipoprotein (Genbank Accession No. AAG60549), cir-ruhplus protein (Genbank Accession No. AAG60551), and OmpA (Genbank Accession Nos. AAT36355 and AAT36356).
[0073] C. psittaci proteins include 60K cysteine-rich outer membrane protein precursors (Genbank Accession Nos. P23701, B39439, JC5204 and P27606); 60K cysteine-rich proteins (Genbank Accession Nos. CAA37592 and CAA37591); chaperonin homolog (Genbank Accession No. AAB22560); early upstream open reading frame (EUO) (Genbank Accession Nos. AAA23124, Q06566 and C36909); EUa protein homologue (Genbank Accession No. JC5207); ewe abortion protein (Genbank Accession No. 1601347A); genus specific protein (Genbank Accession No. AAB22559); high molecular weight cysteine-rich envelope protein (Genbank Accession No. AAB61619); histone HI-like protein (Genbank Accession Nos. AAA23132, JH0658, Q46204); hypA protein (Genbank Accession No. JL0116); hypB protein (Genbank Accession No. JLOI17); hypothetical proteins (Genbank Accession Nos. JC5206, NP — 052329, NP — 052332, NP — 052331, NP — 052330, NP — 052328, NP — 052327, NP — 052326, NP — 052325, NP — 052323, CAA44340, CAA44339, CAA44334, CAA44341, CAA44338, CAA44337, CAA44336, CAA44335, CAA44332, A39999, NP — 052324, CAA44333, S61492, S18143, C39999, D39999, E39999, F39999, S18148, G39999, H39999 and 139999); inclusion membrane proteins (Genbank Accession Nos. 2108371A, S61491); low molecular weight cysteine-rich envelope protein (Genbank Accession No. AAB61618); lysine-rich hypothetical protein LRO (Genbank Accession No. B36909); major outer membrane protein and precursors (Genbank Accession Nos. CAA31177, 2006276A 1616229A, AAA23148, AAA23147, AAA17396, 140864, 140740, AAA23146, CAA40300, AAK00262, AAK00250, AAK00249, AAK00248, AAK00247, AAK00246, AAK00245, AAK00244, AAK00243, AAK00242, AAK00241, AAK00240, CAC84081, A60341, A40371, B60109, A60109, MMCWPM, MMCWP3, Q00087, P10332 and AAQ91209); major sigma factor (Genbank Accession No. AAA50747); MutS (Genbank Accession Nos. AAD25866 and AAD25863); the N-terminal part of a protein of unknown function (Genbank Accession No. CAA90624); ORF 2 (Genbank Accession No. 2108371B); outer membrane protein 1 (Genbank Accession Nos. CAA76286 and CAB96859); outer membrane protein 3 precursor (Genbank Accession No. JC5203); protein of unknown function (Genbank Accession No. CAA90623); Putative polymorphic membrane protein (Genbank Accession Nos. AAL36963, AAL36962, AAL36961, AAL36960, AAL36959, AAL36958, AAL36957, AAL36956, and AAL36955); small cysteine-rich envelope protein envA precursor (Genbank Accession No. A39439); sulphur-rich proteins (Genbank Accession Nos. P28164, AAB61620 and JC5205); unknown protein (Genbank Accession Nos. AAB22561 and AAB22558); virulence plasmid parA family protein pGP5-D; (Genbank Accession No. Q46263); virulence plasmid protein pGP2-D (Genbank Accession No. Q46260); virulence plasmid protein pGP3-D (Genbank Accession No. Q46261); virulence plasmid protein pGP4-D (Genbank Accession No. Q46262); virulence plasmid protein pGP6-D (Genbank Accession No. Q46264), OmpA (Genbank Accession Nos. AAT36351 and AAT36354) and 60 kDa chaperonin protein (Genbank Accession No. AAT38208).
[0074] C. felis proteins include heat shock protein GroEL (Genbank Accession Nos. AAL38954 and AA0241 06); the major outer membrane protein (Genbank Accession Nos. AAK00238, AAK00239, AA024108 and CAA43409); MutS (Genbank Accession No. AAD25865); and the outer membrane protein 2 (Genbank Accession Nos. AAK38113, AAK38114, AAK38115, AAL89722, AA024107, AAQ19779).
[0075] In a preferred embodiment, the Chlamydophila protein used is an outer membrane protein such as the major outer membrane protein (MOMP). Other suitable Chlamydophila proteins include LPS or the OmcB protein.
[0076] Typically, the polynucleotide encoding the immunogenic fraction of C. abortus, C. psittaci or C. felis encodes a structural protein, and more preferably a surface protein, or an immunogenic portion thereof, or a derivative thereof. The nucleic acid sequence encoding the various proteins can readily be ascertained by reference to the above Genbank Accession Nos. and can readily be determined by standard molecular biology techniques.
[0077] In an embodiment, the agent capable of raising an immune response against a Chlamydophila comprises an inactivated or attenuated Chlamydophila having a 218 nucleotide partial sequence of the 23 S rRNA gene which has the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, or an immunogenic fragment thereof or a derivative thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said fraction or derivative. A Chlamydophila having a 218 nucleotide partial sequence of the 23S rRNA gene which has the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 may be found in, and isolated from, the trachea and lungs of dogs with CIRD, typically dogs with CIRD from re-homing centers and boarding or training kennels.
[0078] The Chlamydophila can be isolated from dogs by inoculating a tissue extract onto a McCoy cell line in the presence or absence of cycloheximide, culturing the cells for up to 10 days at 37° C. with 5% CO 2 and then extracting the Chlamydophila by freeze-fracturing the cells. This method is routinely used for isolating Chlamydophilas from birds, cats, humans, and other hosts. The fragment of the 23S rRNA gene can be amplified from the Chlamydophila using the PCR conditions described in Example 3, and the sequence obtained can be verified by comparison to the sequences in FIG. 5 or 8 .
[0079] For vaccine use, polynucleotide agents can be delivered in various replicating (e.g., recombinant adenovirus vaccine) or non-replicating (DNA vaccine) vectors.
[0080] A typical dose of a vaccine comprised of recombinant protein is about 5-μg. A typical dose of a bacterial vaccine is 108 colony forming units per ml.
[0081] Typically, the vaccine composition further comprises a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, diluent or adjuvant.
[0082] Certain carriers and adjuvants are described above. Other suitable adjuvants include Freund's complete or incomplete adjuvant, muramyl dipeptide, the “Iscoms” of EP 109942, EP 180564 and EP 231 039, aluminium hydroxide, saponin, DEAE-dextran, neutral oils (such as miglyol), vegetable oils (such as arachis oil), liposomes, Pluronic® polyols or the Ribi adjuvant system (see, for example GB-A-2 189 141).
[0083] The carrier(s) must be “acceptable” in the sense of being compatible with the agent(s) of the invention and not deleterious to the recipients thereof. Typically, the carriers will be water or saline which will be sterile and pyrogen free.
[0084] Typically, the vaccine will be administered via the oral, intramuscular, subcutaneous, intravenous, intraperitoneal or intranasal routes.
[0085] The vaccine composition may be formulated for parenteral administration, and may include aqueous or non-aqueous sterile injection solutions which may contain anti-oxidants, buffers, bacteriostats and solutes which render the formulation isotonic with the blood of the intended recipient; and/or aqueous or non-aqueous sterile suspensions which may include suspending agents and thickening agents.
[0086] The vaccine composition may be presented in unit-dose or multi-dose containers, for example sealed ampoules and vials, and may be stored in a freeze-dried (lyophilized) condition requiring only the addition of the sterile liquid carrier, for example water for injections, immediately prior to use. Extemporaneous injection solutions and suspensions may be prepared from sterile powders, granules and tablets.
[0087] The vaccine composition may be formulated for intranasal administration and may be conveniently delivered in the form of an aerosol spray presentation from a pressurized container, pump, spray or nebulizer with the use of a suitable propellant, e.g., dichlorodifluoromethane, trichlorofluoromethane, dichlorotetrafluoro-ethane, a hydrofluoroalkane such as 1,1,1,2 tetrafluoroethane (HFA 134A, or 1,1,1,2,3,3,3-heptafluoropropane (HFA 227EAJ, carbon dioxide or other suitable gas. In the case of a pressurised aerosol, the dosage unit may be determined by providing a valve to deliver a metered amount. The pressurized container, pump, spray or nebulizer may contain a solution or suspension of the agent(s), e.g., using a mixture of ethanol and the propellant as the solvent, which may additionally contain a lubricant, e.g. sorbitan trioleate.
[0088] For veterinary use, the vaccine is prepared as an acceptable formulation in accordance with normal veterinary practice and the veterinary surgeon will determine the dosing regimen and route of administration which will be most appropriate for a particular animal.
[0089] Formulations for vaccines suitable for administration to dogs are well known in the art and include the formulations used in the dog vaccines described below.
[0090] As discussed above, several viral and bacterial agents are known to be associated with respiratory disease in dogs, including canine respiratory coronavirus (CRCV), canine parainfluenza virus (CPIV), canine adenovirus type 2 (CAV-2), canine herpesvirus (CHV), and Bordetella bronchiseptica ( B. bronchiseptica ).
[0091] Thus, in an embodiment, the vaccine composition further comprises anyone or more of:
[0092] (d) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV;
[0093] (e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV;
[0094] (f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2;
[0095] (g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV; and
[0096] (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.
[0097] Thus the vaccine composition can optionally also comprise any two, or any three, or any four, or all five of these additional agents.
[0098] Typically, an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV comprises inactivated or attenuated CRCV, or an immunogenic fragment of CRCV, or a nucleic acid encoding said immunogenic fraction.
[0099] Suitable immunogenic fragments of CRCV are described in WO 2004/011651 (The Royal Veterinary College) and in Erles et 1., 2003. Suitable immunogenic fragments of CRCV include the Spike (S) and the hemagglutinin-esterase (HE) surface proteins, the membrane glycoprotein (M), and the nucleocapsid protein (N), or immunogenic portions thereof. The CRCV-like Spike and HE proteins described in WO 2004/011651 may also be suitable as agents that raise an immune response against CRCV. Closely related coronaviruses, such as bovine coronavirus and human coronavirus, and immunogenic fragments thereof, may also be suitable as agents that raise an immune response against CRCV. The entire disclosure of WO 2004/011651 relating to agents that can be used as a vaccine component against CRCV, is incorporated herein by reference.
[0100] Typically, an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV comprises inactivated or attenuated CPIV, or an immunogenic fragment thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said immunogenic fraction.
[0101] Typically, an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2 comprises inactivated or attenuated CAV-2, or an immunogenic fragment thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said immunogenic fraction.
[0102] Canine adenovirus type 1 causes infectious hepatitis; canine adenovirus type 2 causes respiratory disease. It has been shown that CAV-I provides cross-protection against CAV-2 and vice versa. The agent that raises an immune response in a dog against CAV-2 may therefore contain either CAV-1 or CAV-2, or an immunogenic fragment thereof. The vaccines listed below contain CAV-2 except for EURICAN® DHPPi, which does not specify the virus type used.
[0103] Suitable agents that raise an immune response in a dog against CPIV and CAV-2 are known to a person of skill in the art. For example, the following dog vaccines are licensed in the UK.
[0104] KAVAK® DA 2 PiP69 by Fort Dodge Animal Health is a live freeze-dried vaccine containing attenuated strains of canine distemper virus, canine adenovirus type 2, canine parainfluenza type 2 and canine parvovirus grown in tissue culture.
[0105] KAVAK® Parainfluenza by Fort Dodge Animal Health contains live freeze-dried vaccine derived from an attenuated strain of canine parainfluenza virus type 2 cultivated on an established homologous cell-line.
[0106] NOBIVAC® DHPPi by Intervet UK Limited is a live attenuated freeze-dried, virus vaccine containing canine distemper virus, canine adenovirus type 2, canine parvovirus and canine parainfluenza virus grown in cell line tissue culture.
[0107] NOBIVAC® KC by Intervet UK Limited is a modified live freeze-dried vaccine containing Bordetella bronchiseptica strain B-C2 and canine parainfluenza virus strain Cornell (this is an intranasal vaccine). Management authorisation number Vm 06376/4026.
[0108] EURICAN® DHPPi by Merial Animal Health Ltd. is a combined live freeze-dried vaccine against canine distemper, infectious canine hepatitis, canine parvovirus and canine parainfluenza virus type 2.
[0109] VANGUARD® 7 by Pfizer Ltd. contains live attenuated canine distemper virus (Snyder Hill strain), adenovirus (CA V-2 Manhattan strain), parainfluenza virus (NL-CPI-5 strain), canine parvovirus (NL-35-D) propagated in an established cell line, and an inactivated culture of Leptospira canicola and Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae.
[0110] QUANTUM® DOG 7 by Shering-Plough Animal Health contains canine distemper, adenovirus type 2, parvovirus, parainfluenza virus type 2 vaccine (living) and inactivated Leptospira canicola and Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae vaccine.
[0111] CANIGEN DHPPi by Virbac Ltd. is a live attenuated, freeze-dried, virus vaccine containing canine distemper virus, canine adenovirus (CAV-2), canine parvovirus and canine parainfluenza virus grown in cell line tissue culture.
[0112] CANIGEN Ppi by Virbac Ltd. is a live attenuated, freeze-dried virus vaccine containing canine parvovirus and canine parainfluenza virus grown in cell line tissue culture.
[0113] Typically, an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CHV comprises inactivated or attenuated CHV, or an immunogenic fragment thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said immunogenic fraction.
[0114] Suitable agents that raise an immune response in a dog against CHV are known to a person of skill in the art. For example, EURICAN Herpes 205 by Merial is a purified sub-unit vaccine against CHV which is indicated for the active immunization of pregnant bitches to prevent mortality, clinical signs and lesions in puppies resulting from CHV infections acquired in the first days of life. It is not licensed for the vaccination of adult dogs for the prevention of respiratory disease.
[0115] Typically, an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica comprises inactivated or attenuated B. bronchiseptica , or an immunogenic fragment thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said immunogenic fraction.
[0116] Suitable agents that raise an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica are known to a person of skill in the art. For example, the following dog vaccines are licensed for use.
[0117] COUGHGUARD-B® by Pfizer Animal Health (U.S. Vet. Lic. No. 189) contains an inactivated culture of B. bronchiseptica . It is for the immunization of healthy dogs against disease caused by B. bronchiseptica , in particular kennel cough. COUGHGUARD-B® is prepared from a highly antigenic strain of B. bronchiseptica which has been inactivated and processed to be nontoxic when administered to dogs. The production method is reported to leave the immunogenic properties of B. bronchiseptica intact.
[0118] VANGUARD® 5/B by Pfizer Animal Health (U.S. Vet. Lic. No. 189) contains attenuated strains of canine distemper virus (CDV), CAV-2, CPIV, and canine parvovirus (CPV) propagated on an established canine cell line. The CPV antigen was attenuated by low passage on the canine cell line and at that passage level has immunogenic properties capable of overriding maternal antibodies. The vaccine is packaged in lyophilized form with inert gas in place of vacuum. The bacterin component containing inactivated whole cultures of B. bronchiseptica which is supplied as diluent. The B. bronchiseptica component in VANGUARD® 5/B is prepared from a highly antigenic strain which has been inactivated and processed to be nontoxic when administered to dogs.
[0119] NASAGUARD-B™ by Pfizer Animal Health (U.S. Vet. Lic. No. 112) is composed of an avirulent live culture of B. bronchiseptica bacteria.
[0120] PROGARD®-KC by Intervet is a modified live intranasal vaccine containing attenuated canine parainfluenza virus and Bordetella bronchiseptica avirulent live culture. PROGARD®-KC is presented in a desiccated form with sterile diluent provided for reconstitution. PROGARD®-KC is for vaccination of healthy, susceptible puppies and dogs for prevention of canine infectious tracheobronchitis (“kennel cough”) due to canine parainfluenza virus and B. bronchiseptica.
[0121] PROGARD®-KC PLUS by Intervet contains live culture of avirulent strains of B. bronchiseptica , attenuated canine adenovirus type 2 and parainfluenza virus for intranasal administration. Vaccination with PROGARD®-KC PLUS stimulates rapid, local immunity in the respiratory tract, thereby inhibiting infection at the port of entry as well as preventing clinical signs. In addition to local immunity, it also stimulates systemic immunity within three weeks of intranasal administration. The small volume (0.4 ml) and one nostril application of PROGARD®-KC PLUS provide for ease in vaccination, particularly in small breeds and young puppies. PROGARD®-KC PLUS is presented in a desiccated form with sterile diluent provided for reconstitution. PROGARD®-KC PLUS is for vaccination of healthy dogs and puppies three weeks of age or older for prevention of canine infectious tracheobronchitis (“kennel cough”) due to canine adenovirus type 2, parainfluenza virus and B. bronchiseptica.
[0122] Intrac by Intervet is a freeze dried modified live vaccine, containing B. bronchiseptica strain S 55, for intranasal administration. Product licence number PL 020114011.
[0123] Nobivac® KC, described above, also contains B. bronchiseptica.
[0124] In an embodiment, the vaccine composition comprises:
(a) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against S. zooepidemicus ; and/or (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against M. cynos , and, optionally, anyone or more of: (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila; (d) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV; (e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV; (f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2; (g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CHV; and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.
[0133] In a preferred embodiment, the vaccine composition comprises:
(b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog; and (d) an agent capable of raising an Immune response against CRCV in a dog.
[0136] In another preferred embodiment, the vaccine composition comprises:
(b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog; and (d) an agent capable of raising an Immune response against CRCV in a dog; and anyone or more of: (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila; (e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV; (f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2; (g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CHV; and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.
[0144] It is thus appreciated that as well as agents (b) and (d), the composition may contain any two of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h), or any three or any four of all five of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h).
[0145] In another preferred embodiment, the vaccine composition comprises
(a) an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog; and (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog; and (d) an agent capable of raising an Immune response against CRCV in a dog; and anyone or more of: (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila; (e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV; (f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2; (g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CHV; and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.
[0154] It is thus appreciated that as well as agents (a), (b) and (d), the composition may contain any two of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h), or any three, or any four, of all five of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h).
[0155] A second aspect of the invention provides a method of vaccinating a dog against CIRD comprising administering to the dog a vaccine composition according to the first aspect of the invention.
[0156] A third aspect of the invention provides a method of treating CIRD in a dog comprising administering to the dog a vaccine composition according to the first aspect of the invention.
[0157] Thus it can be seen that the vaccine composition of the first aspect of the invention may be used in combating CIRD whether prophylactically or therapeutically.
[0158] A fourth aspect of the invention provides the use of anyone or more of:
(a) an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog; (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog; and (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila ; in the preparation of a medicament for prophylaxis or treatment of CIRD in a dog.
[0162] In an embodiment, the medicament further comprises anyone or more of:
(d) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV; (e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV; (f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2; (g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV; and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.
[0168] In this and all subsequent aspects of the invention, preferences for (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g) and (h) are as described with respect to the first aspect of the invention.
[0169] A fifth aspect of the invention provides a method of stimulating an immune response against anyone or more of S. zooepidemicus, M. cynos and a Chlamydophila in a dog, the method comprising administering to the dog a respective anyone or more of:
(a) an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog; (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog; and (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila.
[0173] In an embodiment, the method further comprises administering anyone or more of:
(d) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV; (e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV; (f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2; (g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV; and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.
[0179] A sixth aspect of the invention provides the use of anyone or more of:
(a) an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog; (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog; and (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila; in the preparation of a medicament for stimulating an immune response against said respective anyone or more of S. zooepidemicus, M. cynos and a Chlamydophila in a dog.
[0184] In an embodiment, the medicament further comprises anyone or more of:
(d) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV; (e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV; (f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2; (g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV; and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.
[0190] A seventh aspect of the invention provides a composition comprising any one or more of:
(a) an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog; (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog; and (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila, for use in medicine. Thus the composition is packaged and presented for use in medicine.
[0195] It is appreciated that the composition may contain any two of these agents, for example (a) and (b), (a) and (c), or (b) and (c). The composition may contain all three of these agents (a), (b) and (c).
[0196] In an embodiment, the composition is for use in veterinary medicine. Thus the composition is packaged and presented for use in veterinary medicine.
[0197] Typically, the composition is for use in canine veterinary medicine. Thus the composition is packaged and presented for use in canine veterinary medicine, ie it is packaged and presented for use in dogs.
[0198] In an embodiment, the composition further comprises anyone or more of:
(d) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV; (e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV; (f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2; (g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV; and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.
[0204] In an embodiment of this aspect, the composition comprises:
(a) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against S. zooepidemicus ; and/or (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against M. cynos , and, optionally, anyone or more of: (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila; (d) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV; (e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV; (f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2; (g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV; and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.
[0213] In a preferred embodiment of this aspect, the composition comprises:
(b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog; and (d) an agent capable of raising an immune response against CRCV in a dog.
[0216] In another preferred embodiment of this aspect, the composition comprises:
(b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog; and (d) an agent capable of raising an Immune response against CRCV in a dog; and anyone or more of: (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila; (e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV; (f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2; (g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CHV; and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.
[0224] It is thus appreciated that as well as agents (b) and (d), the composition may contain any two of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h), or any three or any four of all five of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h).
[0225] In another preferred embodiment of this aspect, the composition comprises
(a) an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog; and (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog; and (d) an agent capable of raising an Immune response against CRCV in a dog; and anyone or more of: (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila; (e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV; f) (an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2; (g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV; and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.
[0234] It is thus appreciated that as well as agents (a), (b) and (d), the composition may contain any two of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h), or any three, or any four, of all five of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h).
[0235] An eighth aspect of the invention provides a kit of parts for the vaccine composition of the first aspect of the invention, comprising anyone or more of:
(a) an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog; (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog; and (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila,
[0239] and optionally a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, diluent or adjuvant.
[0240] It is appreciated that the kit of parts may contain any two of these agents, for example (a) and (b), (a) and (c) or (b) and (c). The kit may contain all three of these agents (a), (b) and (c).
[0241] In an embodiment, the kit further comprises anyone or more of:
(d) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV; (e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV; (f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2; (g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV; and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.
[0247] In an embodiment of this aspect, the kit comprises:
(a) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against S. zooepidemicus ; and/or (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against M. cynos, and, optionally, anyone or more of: (c) an agent capable of raising a dog an Immune response III against a Chlamydophila; (d) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV; (e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV; (f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2; (g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV; and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.
[0256] In a preferred embodiment of this aspect, the kit comprises:
(b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog; and (d) an agent capable of raising an Immune response against CRCV in a dog.
[0259] In another preferred embodiment of this aspect, the kit comprises:
(b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog; and (d) an agent capable of raising an immune response against CRCV in a dog; and anyone or more of: (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila; (e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV; (f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2; (g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV; and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.
[0267] It is thus appreciated that as well as agents (b) and (d), the kit may contain any two of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h), or any three or any four of all five of agents (c), (e),
(f), (g) and (h).
[0269] In another preferred embodiment of this aspect, the kit comprises:
(a) an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog; and (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog; and (d) an agent capable of raising an Immune response against CRCV in a dog; and anyone or more of: (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila; (e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV; (f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2; (g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV; and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.
[0278] It is thus appreciated that as well as agents (a), (b) and (d), the kit may contain any two of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h), or any three, or any four, of all five of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h).
[0279] In a ninth aspect, the invention provides a method of making an antibody against anyone or more of S. zooepidemicus, M. cynos or a Chlamydophila , comprising raising an immune response to said respective anyone or more of S. zooepidemicus , M. cynos or a Chlamydophila , or an immunogenic fragment thereof, in an animal, and preparing an antibody from the animal or from an immortal cell derived therefrom.
[0280] Methods and techniques for producing a monoclonal antibody are well known to a person of skill in the art, for example those disclosed in “ Monoclonal Antibodies: A manual of techniques ”, R Zola (CRC Press, 1988) and in “ Monoclonal Hybridoma Antibodies: Techniques and Applications ”, J G R Hurrell (CRC Press, 1982), incorporated herein by reference.
[0281] A tenth aspect of the invention provides a method of obtaining an antibody against anyone or more of S. zooepidemicus, M. cynos or a Chlamydophila , comprising selecting an antibody from an antibody-display library using said respective anyone or more of S. zooepidemicus, M. cynos or a Chlamydophila , or an immunogenic fragment thereof.
[0282] In an embodiment of the ninth and tenth aspects, the Chlamydophila is C. abortus or C. psittaci or C. felis . In another embodiment the Chlamydophila is C. muridarum, C. pecorum, C. pneumoniae, C. suis or C. trachomatis.
[0283] An eleventh aspect of the invention provides an antibody that specifically binds to S. zooepidemicus, M. cynos or a Chlamydophila . This can be made by the methods of the ninth and tenth aspects of the invention.
[0284] In an embodiment, the antibody that specifically binds to a Chlamydophila binds to C. abortus or C. psittaci or C. felis . In another embodiment the antibody that specifically binds to a Chlamydophila binds to C. muridarum, C. pecorum, C. pneumoniae, C. suis or C. trachomatis.
[0285] In the context of this and subsequent aspects of the invention, by “antibody” we include not only whole immunoglobulin molecules but also fragments thereof such as Fab, F(ab′) 2 , Fv and other fragments thereof that retain the antigen-binding site. Similarly in these contexts, the term “antibody” includes genetically engineered derivatives of antibodies such as single chain Fv molecules (scFv) and domain antibodies (dAbs). The term also includes antibody-like molecules which may be produced using phage-display techniques or other random selection techniques for molecules which bind to the particular organism or to regions of the particular organism. Thus, in these contexts, the term antibody includes all molecules which contain a structure, preferably a peptide structure, which is part of the recognition site (i.e. the part of the antibody that binds or combines with the epitope or antigen) of a natural antibody.
[0286] The variable heavy (V H ) and variable light (V L ) domains of the antibody are involved in antigen recognition, a fact first recognized by early protease digestion experiments. Further confirmation was found by “humanization” of rodent antibodies. Variable domains of rodent origin may be fused to constant domains of human origin such that the resultant antibody retains the antigenic specificity of the rodent parented antibody (Morrison et al. (1984) PNAS USA 81:6851-6855).
[0287] That antigenic specificity is conferred by variable domains and is independent of the constant domains is known from experiments involving the bacterial expression of antibody fragments, all containing one or more variable domains. These molecules include Fab-like molecules (Better et al. (1988) Science 240:1041); Fv molecules (Skerra et al. (1988) Science 240:1038); single-chain Fv (ScFv) molecules where the V H and V L partner domains are linked via a flexible oligopeptide (Bird et al. (1988) Science 242:423; Huston et al. (1988) PNAS USA 85:5879) and single domain antibodies (dAbs) comprising isolated V domains (Ward et al. (1989) Nature 341:544). A general review of the techniques involved in the synthesis of antibody fragments which retain their specific binding sites is to be found in Winter & Milstein (1991) Nature 349:293-299.
[0288] By “ScFv molecules” we mean molecules wherein the V H and V L partner domains are linked via a flexible oligopeptide. Engineered antibodies, such as ScFv antibodies, can be made using the techniques and approaches described in J. Huston et al., (1988) “Protein engineering of antibody binding sites: recovery of specific activity in an anti-digoxin single chain Fv analogue produced in E. coli ”, PNAS USA, 85:58795883, and in A. Pluckthun, (June 1991) “Antibody engineering; Advances from use of E. coli expression systems”, Bio/technology, vol. 9, incorporated herein by reference.
[0289] The advantages of using antibody fragments, rather than whole antibodies, are several-fold. The smaller size of the fragments may lead to improved pharmacological properties, such as better penetration to the target site. Effector functions of whole antibodies, such as complement binding, are removed. Fab, Fv, ScFv and dAb antibody fragments can all be expressed in and secreted from E. coli , thus allowing the facile production of large amounts of the fragments.
[0290] Whole antibodies, and F(ab′) 2 fragments are “bivalent”. By “bivalent” we mean that the antibodies and F(ab′) 2 fragments have two antigen combining sites. In contrast, Fab, Fv, ScFv and dAb fragments are monovalent, having only one antigen combining site.
[0291] Although the antibody may be a polyclonal antibody, it is preferred if it is a monoclonal antibody. In some circumstance, particularly if the antibody is going to be administered repeatedly to a dog, it is preferred if the monoclonal antibody is a dog monoclonal antibody or a “caninised” antibody.
[0292] Polyclonal antibodies may be produced which are polyspecific or monospecific. It is preferred that they are monospecific. Chimeric antibodies are discussed by Neuberger et al. (1998, 8th International Biotechnology Symposium Part 2, 792-799).
[0293] It is preferred if the antibody is a “caninised” antibody. Suitably prepared non-dog antibodies can be “caninised” in known ways, for example by inserting the CDR regions of mouse antibodies into the framework of dog antibodies. Caninised antibodies can be made using techniques and approaches corresponding to those described for humanisation of antibodies in M. Verhoeyen, C. Milstein and G. Winter (1988) “Reshaping human antibodies: Grafting an anti lysozyme activity”, Science, 239:1534-1536, and in C. Kettleborough et al., (1991) “Humanisation of a mouse monoclonal antibody by CDR grafting; The importance of framework residues in loop conformation”, Protein Engineering, 14(7):773-783, incorporated herein by reference.
[0294] It is appreciated that a dog can passively acquire immunity against CIRD by being administered an antibody that reacts with an agent that is involved in the disease.
[0295] Thus, a twelfth aspect of the invention provides a method of passively immunizing a dog against CIRD comprising administering to the dog one or more antibodies that specifically bind to a respective one or more of S. zooepidemicus , M. cynos, and a Chlamydophila.
[0296] The antibodies that specifically bind to the S. zooepidemicus , M. cynos, and the Chlamydophila may be made or obtained using standard techniques such as those described above.
[0297] It is appreciated that CIRD in a dog may be treated by administering an antibody that reacts with an agent that is involved in the disease.
[0298] In a thirteenth aspect, the invention provides a method of treating CiRD in a dog comprising administering to the dog one or more antibodies that specifically bind to a respective one or more of S. zooepidemicus , M. cynos, and a Chlamydophila.
[0299] In an embodiment of the twelfth or thirteenth aspects, the antibody that specifically binds to the Chlamydophila binds to C. abortus , or C. psittaci or C. felis . In another embodiment the antibody that specifically binds to the Chlamydophila binds to C. muridarum, C. pecorum, C. pneumoniae, C. suis or C. trachomatis.
[0300] In an embodiment of the twelfth or thirteenth aspects, the method further comprises administering antibodies that specifically bind to anyone or more of CRCV, CPIV, CAV-2, CHV, and B. bronchiseptica.
[0301] The antibodies that specifically bind to CRCV, CPIV, CAV-2, CHV, and B. bronchiseptica can be made using standard techniques such as those described above.
[0302] A fourteenth aspect of the invention provides the use of one or more antibodies that specifically bind to a respective one or more of S. zooepidemicus , M. cynos, and a Chlamydophila , in the preparation of a medicament for passively immunizing a dog against CIRD.
[0303] A fifteenth aspect of the invention provides the use of one or more antibodies that specifically bind to a respective one or more of S. zooepidemicus, M. cynos , and a Chlamydophila , in the preparation of a medicament for treating CIRD in a dog.
[0304] In an embodiment of the fourteenth or fifteenth aspects, the antibody that specifically binds to the Chlamydophila binds to C. abortus , or C. psittaci or C. felis . In another embodiment the antibody that specifically binds to the Chlamydophila binds to C. muridarum, C. pecorum, C. pneumoniae, C. suis or C. trachomatis.
[0305] In an embodiment of the fourteenth or fifteenth aspects, the medicament further comprises antibodies that specifically bind to anyone or more of CRCV, CPIV, CAV-2, CHV, and B. bronchiseptica.
[0306] A sixteenth aspect of the invention provides a composition comprising any two or more of an antibody that specifically binds to S. zooepidemicus , an antibody that specifically binds to M. cynos, and an antibody that specifically binds to a Chlamydophila.
[0307] In an embodiment, the antibody that specifically binds to the Chlamydophila binds to C. abortus , or C. psittaci or C. felis . In another embodiment the antibody that specifically binds to the Chlamydophila binds to C. muridarum, C. pecorum, C. pneumoniae, C. suis or C. trachomatis.
[0308] In an embodiment, the composition further comprises antibodies that specifically bind to anyone or more of CRCV, CPIV, CAV-2, CHV, and B. bronchiseptica.
[0309] It will also be appreciated that the invention includes diagnostic methods and assays. Thus, the invention provides a method of determining whether a dog has been exposed to a Chlamydophila species associated with CIRD, the method comprising:
(a) obtaining a suitable sample from the dog; and (b) identifying a Chlamydophila species associated with CIRD, or an antibody there to, in the sample.
[0312] Typically, the Chlamydophila species is one which has a 23S RNA comprising the sequence (when shown as RNA) of any of SEQ ID Nos: 1 to 8 (see FIGS. 5 and 8 which show partial 23S RNA sequences, and Example 3).
[0313] The invention also provides a method of determining whether a dog has or is susceptible to CIRD, the method comprising:
(a) obtaining a suitable sample from the dog; and (b) identifying anyone or more of S. zooepidemicus or M. cynos or Chlamydophila , or an antibody to any of these, in the sample.
[0316] It will be appreciated that the methods can detect, in one embodiment, present exposure to the organism for example by detecting the organism itself or a component thereof (such as protein or nucleic acid) within the sample. The methods can also detect past exposure to the organism by detecting antibodies in the sample which are directed at the organism or to components thereof.
[0317] Typically, the sample is any suitable sample, including antibody containing samples such as serum, saliva, tracheal wash and bronchiolar lavage.
[0318] The presence of the organism in the dog from which the sample is derived may therefore be determined by analyzing the sample for the presence of the organism or component thereof. For example, for nucleic acid components, including 23S RNA, nucleic acid is extracted and may be copied into DNA if necessary, and detected, for example, using techniques involving high stringency hybridization, specific amplification, nucleotide sequencing and other methods well known to the person skilled in the art (Sambrook et al. (2001) supra). By hybridizing “at high stringency” is meant that the polynucleotide and the nucleic acid to which it hybridizes have sufficient nucleotide sequence similarity that they can hybridize under highly stringent conditions. As is well known in the art, the stringency of nucleic acid hybridization depends on factors such as length of nucleic acid over which hybridization occurs, degree of identity of the hybridizing sequences and on factors such as temperature, ionic strength and CG or AT content of the sequence.
[0319] Nucleic acids which can hybridize at high stringency to nucleic acid molecules of the organism include nucleic acids which have >90% sequence identity, preferably those with >95% or >96% or >97% or >98, more preferably those with >99% sequence identity, over at least a portion of the nucleic acid of the organism.
[0320] Typical highly stringent hybridization conditions which lead to selective hybridization are known in the art, for example those described in Sambrook et al. 2001 (supra), incorporated herein by reference.
[0321] An example of a typical hybridization solution when a nucleic acid is immobilized on a nylon membrane and the probe nucleic acid is >500 bases is:
[0322] 6×SSC (saline sodium citrate)
[0323] 0.5% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS)
[0324] 100 μg/ml denatured, fragmented salmon sperm DNA.
[0325] The hybridization is performed at 68° C. The nylon membrane, with the nucleic acid immobilised, may be washed at 68° C. in 0.1×SSC.
[0326] 20×SSC may be prepared in the following way. Dissolve 175.3 g of NaCl and 88.2 g of sodium citrate in 800 ml of H 2 0. Adjust the pH to 7.0 with a few drops of a 10N solution of NaOH. Adjust the volume to 1 liter with H 2 0. Dispense into aliquots. Sterilize by autoclaving.
[0327] An example of a typical hybridization solution when a nucleic acid is immobilized on a nylon membrane and the probe is an oligonucleotide of between 15 and 50 bases is:
[0328] 3.0 M trimethylammonium chloride (TMACl)
[0329] 0.01 M sodium phosphate (pH 6.8)
[0330] 1 mm EDTA (pH 7.6)
[0331] 0.5% SDS
[0332] 100 μg/ml denatured, fragmented salmon sperm DNA
[0333] 0.1% non-fat dried milk.
[0334] The optimal temperature for hybridization is usually chosen to be 5° C. below the T i for the given chain length. T i is the irreversible melting temperature of the hybrid formed between the probe and its target sequence. Jacobs et al. (1988) Nucl. Acids Res. 16:4637 discusses the determination of T i S. The recommended hybridization temperature for 17-mers in 3M TMACI is 48-50° C.; for 19-mers, it is 55-57° C.; and for 20-mers, it is 58-66° C.
[0335] Assaying a protein component of the organism in a sample from the dog can be done using any method known in the art. Typically, such methods are antibody bound, and the antibody binds to the organism or a component thereof.
[0336] For example, expression of protein from the organism can be studied with classical immunohistological methods. In these, the specific recognition is provided by the primary antibody (polyclonal or monoclonal) but the secondary detection system can utilize fluorescent, enzyme, or other conjugated secondary antibodies. As a result, an immunohistological staining of tissue section for pathological examination is obtained. Tissues can also be extracted, e.g., with urea and neutral detergent, for the liberation of protein for Western-blot or dot/slot assay (Jalkanen, M., et al. J. Cell. Biol. 101:976-985 (1985); Jalkanen, M., et al., J. Cell. Biol. 105:3087-3096 (1987). In this technique, which is based on the use of cationic solid phases, quantitation of protein can be accomplished using isolated protein as a standard. This technique can also be applied to body fluid samples.
[0337] Other antibody-based methods useful for detecting protein expression include immunoassays, such as the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the radioimmunoassay (RIA). For example, a reactive monoclonal antibody can be used both as an immunoadsorbent and as an enzyme-labeled probe to detect and quantify the protein. The amount of protein present in the sample can be calculated by reference to the amount present in a standard preparation using a linear regression computer algorithm. Such an ELISA for detecting a tumor antigen is described in Iacobelli et al. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 11:19-30 (1988). In another ELISA assay, two distinct specific monoclonal antibodies can be used to detect protein in a body fluid. In this assay, one of the antibodies is used as the immunoadsorbent and the other as the enzyme-labeled probe.
[0338] The above techniques may be conducted essentially as a “one-step” or “two-step” assay. The “one-step” assay involves contacting protein with immobilized antibody and, without washing, contacting the mixture with the labeled antibody.
[0339] The “two-step” assay involves washing before contacting the mixture with the labeled antibody. Other conventional methods may also be employed as suitable. It is usually desirable to immobilize one component of the assay system on a support, thereby allowing other components of the system to be brought into contact with the component and readily removed from the sample.
[0340] Suitable enzyme labels include, for example, those from the oxidase group, which catalyze the production of hydrogen peroxide by reacting with substrate. Glucose oxidase is particularly preferred as it has good stability and its substrate (glucose) is readily available. Activity of an oxidase label may be assayed by measuring the concentration of hydrogen peroxide formed by the enzyme-labeled antibody/substrate reaction. Besides enzymes, other suitable labels include radioisotopes, such as iodine ( 125 I, 121 I), carbon ( 14 C), sulfur ( 35 S), tritium ( 3 H), indium ( 112 In), and technetium ( 99 mTc), and fluorescent labels, such as fluorescein and rhodamine, and biotin.
[0341] Antibodies to the organism or component thereof may be detected using, for example, the well known technique of immunosorbent assay, such as an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
[0342] Thus, a further aspect of the invention provides an immunosorbent assay for detecting antibodies associated with CIRD, the assay comprising: a solid phase coated with anyone or more of (a) an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog; (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog; and (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response against a Chlamydophila in a dog; and a detectable label conjugate which will bind to the antibodies bound to the solid phase.
[0343] Preferably, the solid phase is a microtiter well. Further preferably, the conjugate comprises anti-dog antibody antibody. Preferably, the conjugate comprises an enzyme, for example horseradish peroxidase. Further preferably, the immunosorbent assay also comprises a substrate for the enzyme. The invention includes a kit of parts which include the components of the immunosorbent assay. The kit of parts may thus include a solid phase such as a microtiter plate, protein from the organism or organisms for coating the solid phase, a detectable label conjugate, such as an anti-dog antibody, which will bind to anti-organism (or component thereof) antibodies bound to the solid phase.
[0344] If the detectable label conjugate is an enzyme, the kit of parts may also include a substrate for the enzyme. The kit may also include a positive control sample that contains an antibody known to react with the antigen on the solid substrate, and a negative control sample.
[0345] The invention also includes a solid phase substrate coated with anyone or two or all three of (a), (b) and (c) as defined above and in the first aspect of the invention. Typically, the agent which is capable of raising an immune response is one which will also bind an antibody. Typically, the agent is an antigenic protein. Typically, protein is coated on microtiter plates overnight at 4° C. to 37° C., depending on the stability of the antigen. Unbound protein is washed off with a wash buffer such as phosphate buffered saline or Tris buffered saline. Serum or other samples are incubated on the plate, typically at 37° C. for between 1 and several hours. Unbound material is washed off, the plates are incubated with enzyme-labelled (e.g., horseradish peroxidase) antibody, such as anti-canine IgG or IgM for serum samples, or anti-canine IgA for lung washes, for 1 to several hours at 37° C. Unbound antibody is washed off and plates are incubated with a substrate such as OPD for about 10 min, and the optical density measured in a photometer.
[0346] Preferably, the solid substrate is a microtiter well.
[0347] All of the documents referred to herein are incorporated herein, in their entirety, by reference. The listing or discussion of a prior-published document in this specification should not necessarily be taken as an acknowledgement that the document is part of the state of the art or is common general knowledge.
[0348] The invention will now be described in more detail with the aid of the following Figures and Examples.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0349] FIG. 1 : Isolation of S. canis and S. zooepidemicus from 209 kennelled dogs with clinical respiratory score (n=total number of dogs in each group). Error bars represent confidence intervals (95%).
[0350] FIG. 2 : Percentage of dogs with CIRD, S. canis or S. zooepidemicus with time in the kennel (n=total number of dogs in each group from a total of 209, dogs). Error bars represent confidence intervals (95%).
[0351] FIG. 3 : Percentage of dogs with tracheal and lung M. cynos infection at increasing levels of severity of CIRD.
[0352] FIG. 4 : Percentage of dogs with tracheal and lung M. cynos infection after increasing lengths of time in kennels.
[0353] FIG. 5 : 218 partial nucleotide sequence (SEQ ID NO: 1) of the 23S rRNA gene from a Chlamydophila isolated from a dog with CIRD (DHB10).
[0354] FIG. 6 : Percentage of dogs with tracheal and lung Chlamydophila infection at increasing levels of severity of CIRD.
[0355] FIG. 7 : Partial 23S rRNA canine sequences (DHB) aligned with the 23S rRNA of all known species of Chlamydia and Chlamydophila (Cabor— C. abortus , Cpsit — C. psittaci , Cfe1— C. felis , Ccavi— C. caviae , Cpne— C. pneumoniae , Cpec— C. pecorum , Csuis— C. suis , Ctrac— C. trachomatis , Wad— Waddlia , Sim— Simkania ).
[0356] FIG. 8 : 218 partial nucleotide sequences (SEQ ID NOs: 2-8) of the 23S rRNA gene from seven further isolates of a Chlamydophila species isolated from a dog with CIRD (DHB 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9).
[0357] FIG. 9 : Percentage of dogs with tracheal and lung canine herpesvirus infection at increasing levels of severity of CIRD.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Example 1
The Association of Streptococcus Equi Sub Species Zooepidemicus with Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease
Summary
[0358] Canine infectious respiratory disease (CIRD) is a multi-factorial infection that affects many kennelled dogs despite the wide use of vaccination. Current vaccines aim to protect against viral agents and a single bacterial agent, Bordetella bronchiseptica . We examined the role of streptococcal species in CIRD. The isolation and identification of streptococci in the lower respiratory tract of clinically healthy dogs and those with CIRD were used to correlate the presence of specific streptococcal species with respiratory disease. We show that the presence of S. equi sub species zooepidemicus ( S. zooepidemicus ) is associated with increasing severity of disease in a population of kennelled dogs with endemic CIRD.
Introduction
[0359] CIRD is an infection that affects dogs of all ages and commonly occurs when large numbers of dogs are housed together in close confinement. The disease has high morbidity with the dry hacking cough characteristic of laryngitis in the early stages, nasal and/or ocular discharges, and variable anorexia and depression, which can progress to tracheobronchitis, pneumonia and even death in more severe cases. The disease has historically been regarded as a complex infection in which combined or sequential challenge with both viral (CPIV and CAV-2) and bacterial agents produces a synergistic enhancement of the clinical scores (Appel and Binn, 1987). The most common bacterial agent detected during the disease is B. bronchiseptica (McCandlish et al. 1978), but other bacterial species such as Pasteurella sp., Mycoplasma sp. and β-haemolytic streptococci (βhS) have all been associated with disease (McCandlish et al., 1978; Rosendal, 1978; Thrusfield et al., 1991).
[0360] Many studies involving bacterial isolation from the upper (oral and nasal cavity) and lower respiratory tract (trachea and lungs) of both diseased and healthy dogs mention the presence of βhS (Smith, 1967; McCandlish et al., 1978; McKieman et al., 1982; Azetaka and Konishi, 1988). However, despite the variety of species of βhS found in the upper respiratory tract of dogs, only a few investigations have focused upon the species of βhS involved in lower airway disease (Garnett et al., 1982; Angus et al., 1997). Although species of βhS in the canine respiratory tract were noted by Biberstein et al., (1980) this study neglected to distinguish between carriage in the upper and lower respiratory tract. Furthermore, even though isolation was from veterinary hospital patients the reason for referral and therefore any link to specific clinical conditions was omitted. The most common βhS in dogs, S. canis , a Lancefield Group G Streptococcus , is a normal commensal of the genital and respiratory mucosa as well as skin (Timoney, 1987; Quinn et al., 1999). Streptococcus canis ( S. canis ) has previously been isolated from the tonsils of 60 to 73% of healthy dogs (Smith, 1967; Sadatsune and Moreno, 1975; Biberstein and Hirsh, 1999). S. canis causes a variety of sporadic and opportunistic infections in dogs, including pneumonia, septicemia, abscesses, otitis, mastitis, pyometra, proctitis, toxic shock syndrome and necrotising fasciitis (Biberstein and Hirsh, 1999; Quinn et al., 1999).
[0361] In addition to S. canis βhS of other Lancefield Groups, such as A, C and E, have also been isolated from dogs (Biberstein et al., 1980). S. zooepidemicus Lancefield Group C, is found as a commensal of the upper respiratory tract mucosa of mammals (Timoney et al., 1988; Quinn et al., 1999). It is associated with several disease syndromes including lower airway disease, foal pneumonia and cervicitis in horses (Chanter, 1997; Biberstein and Hirsh, 1999), pneumonia in llamas (Biberstein and Hirsh, 1999), septicemia and arthritis in pigs (Timoney, 1987), mastitis in cows and goats (Timoney et al., 1988), septicemia in poultry, pericarditis and pneumonia in lambs (Timoney, 1987), lymphadenitis in guinea pigs (Quinn et al., 1999) and glomerulonephritis in humans (Balter et al., 2000). In dogs S. zooepidemicus has been associated with wound infections, septicemia (Quinn et al., 1999) and acute necrotizing hemorrhagic pneumonia (Garnett et al., 1982). In this study we sought to establish which species of βhS are present in the respiratory tract of both healthy dogs and those with CIRD.
Materials & Methods
Study Populations and Sampling
[0362] The main study population (n=209, bronchial alveolar lavage, BAL) comprised animals from a well-established re-homimg kennel (˜600 dogs) with a history of endemic CIRD. On entry to the kennel all dogs were vaccinated with KAVAK DA 2 PiP69 (Fort Dodge) a live attenuated vaccine for distemper virus, CAV-2, CPIV and canine parvovirus and KAVAK L against Leptospirosis. The presence of both canine coronavirus (CRCV) and B. bronchiseptica has been demonstrated in dogs with CIRD in this center (Chalker et al., 2003; Erles et al., 2003). Each week this kennel must sacrifice some dogs for welfare reasons and from these dogs 2-3 were selected arbitrarily for sampling. BAL samples were taken by the following method from a total of 209 individual dogs over a 2 year period from 1999 to 2001. Within 2 hours of euthanasia the trachea was clamped just above the bifurcation to prevent any tracheal contamination of the lung during sampling. Using sterile catheter tubing 50 ml Hanks Balanced Salt solution was then placed into the left apical lung lobe. This lung lobe was then massaged manually for 30 seconds and the BAL withdrawn. At euthanasia dogs were also graded for the severity of clinical respiratory score into the following categories: (1) No respiratory signs, n=71 (2) Mild cough, n=37 (3) Cough and nasal discharge, n=76 (4) Cough and nasal discharge with depression and/or inappetence n=9 (5) suppurative bronchopneumonia, n=16.
[0363] After BAL sampling a section of lung tissue from the right distal lobe was taken for histological analysis. Formalin fixed (10% formalin saline) tissue blocks were embedded in paraffin, and standard hemtoxylin and eosin stained sections were viewed under a light microscope (X40, XIOO, X400). The presence or absence of intra-alveolar neutrophils was noted.
[0364] The total number of days each dog spent in the kennel was recorded and time in the kennel was then calculated in weeks. The age and clinical condition on entry into the kennel of each animal was noted and a clinical condition composite score based on nutritional status, coat, demeanor, appetite and a general clinical examination (temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate) was graded as follows: good (1), poor (2), very poor (3).
[0365] An additional dog population was included as a control group that comprised of household pet dogs with clinical respiratory symptoms referred to diagnostic bacteriology at the RVC over a 2 year period (1998 to 2000) (n=71, BAL). Samples from the control group were collected using an endoscopically guided technique as described by Cocoran (1998). All samples in the study were kept at 4° C. until bacteriological testing, and testing was performed within 24 h of sampling excepting the calculation of CFU per ml that was performed on frozen BAL.
Bacterial Isolation and Identification.
[0366] A 50 μl volume of BAL was plated in duplicate onto Columbia Blood Agar (Oxoid Ltd., Hampshire, UK) plates with 5% sterile sheep blood, and incubated both aerobically and anaerobically for 24 hrs at 37° C. β-haemolytic colonies were identified and then purified to single colonies. Gram-positive catalase-negative bacteria were identified as streptococci by colonial and cellular morphology, and then serogrouped by latex bead slide agglutination (Oxoid Ltd., Hampshire, UK) into Lancefield Groups. Isolates were then identified to the species level by biochemical utilization and enzymatic action using the API20STREP manual identification kit (bioMerieux UK Ltd., Basingstoke, UK).
[0367] In order to detect mixed infections 3 colonies from the first 12 dogs in the study were tested by both latex bead slide agglutination and API20STREP. Serial dilutions of BAL in phosphate buffered saline (Sigma-Aldrich Co. Ltd., Dorset, UK) were plated in triplicate, incubated as described above and the CFU per ml BAL calculated. Growth of βhS was then graded as follows: none (O), <100 CFU per ml (1), 100 to 1000 CFU per ml (2), and >1 000 CFU per ml (3).
Statistical Analyses
[0368] A significance level or probability of a type I error (α) of 0.05 was assumed for all analyses. The presence of S. zooepidemicus with the age, clinical condition on entry to the kennel, weeks in the kennel, the presence of intra-alveolar neutrophils and clinical respiratory scores was analyzed using Prism (version 3.0, GraphPad Software Inc, San Diego, USA) statistical analysis software X 2 testing. The correlation of bacterial growth and respiratory score was determined by use of the combined mean scores for S. zooepidemicus growth for each respiratory score, analyzed with Prism one way ANOVA (non-parametric) testing. The presence of S. canis, S. zooepidemicus and respiratory disease in the sampled kennelled dogs with time in weeks was also calculated.
Results
[0369] β-haemolytic streptococci were isolated from both study populations, and isolation from the BAL of household pets was markedly different from the 2 kennelled dogs (1.4% household, 23.9% kennel, χ 2 analysis ***p=0.000). All hS isolates were found to be S. canis or S. zooepidemicus . Mixed infections with differing Lancefield Groups or species were not found, furthermore all individual plates yielded colonies of uniform morphology. Both S. canis and S. zooepidemicus were isolated from the kennelled dogs, whereas only a single isolate of S. zooepidemicus and no S. canis were isolated from the household pets. S. zooepidemicus was found to be the predominant hS species in the kennelled dogs (92.0%). The carriage of both S. canis and S. zooepidemicus was examined in the kennelled dogs within each grade of clinical respiratory score ( FIG. 1 ). S. canis was present in dogs both with and without clinical scores, and isolation did not increase with disease severity. By contrast, healthy dogs were less likely to have S. zooepidemicus in the lower respiratory tract than diseased animals (χ 2 analysis, **p=0.004) and the isolation of S. zooepidemicus increased dramatically with increasing clinical respiratory score, from 9.7% in dogs with no symptoms to 87.5% in those dogs with suppurative 2 bronchopneumonia (χ 2 analysis, ***p=0.000). Dogs with higher respiratory scores were also more likely to have a greater mean S. zooepidemicus bacterial growth score than clinically healthy dogs (one way ANOVA analysis ***p=0.000. R squared=0.194, F=22.265). The age and clinical condition of the animal on entry to the kennel had no affect on the isolation of S. zooepidemicus (χ 2 analysis, age p=0.341, clinical condition on entry p=0.295).
[0370] The percentage of dogs with CIRD in the kennel increased dramatically from 21.1% in week 1 to 70.1% in week 2, and CIRD did not decrease in the population until after the fourth week ( FIG. 2 ). Although no significant difference was detected, the number of dogs with S. zooepidemicus in the lung increased by 20.6% with time in the kennel from 16.7% in week 1 to 34.4% in week 3 ( FIG. 2 ), whereas no such trend was seen with S. canis.
[0371] Histological analysis revealed that dogs with S. zooepidemicus were more likely to have intra-alveolar neutrophils than those without S. zooepidemicus 2 (χ 2 analysis, **p=0.006). In dogs with higher bacterial scores, acute suppurative or necrotizing pneumonia with moderate to marked macrophage aggregation was often noted, similar to the findings of Garnett et al., (1982) in dogs with S. zooepidemicus induced hemorrhagic streptococcal pneumonia (HSP). No bacterial cells were apparent on Hand E stained sections.
Discussion
[0372] In this study we focused upon the species of βhS present in the lower respiratory tract of household and kennelled dogs, with and without respiratory disease. Although S. canis is the predominant βhS of the respiratory tract in dogs (Biberstein et al., 1980) and was isolated from the lower respiratory tract of some kennelled dogs in this study, it was not associated with CIRD in the kennelled dogs. In contrast, an increased isolation of S. zooepidemicus was associated with increasing CIRD severity. Dogs with any respiratory symptoms were more likely to have S. zooepidemicus in the lower respiratory tract than more healthy animals in the kennel and S. zooepidemicus was found in a lower proportion of the household pets than the kennelled dogs.
[0373] Streptococcus equi sub species zooepidemicus has previously been associated with HSP in dogs (Garnett et al., 1982). The HSP syndrome was a severe infection in a closed colony of beagles, in which sudden death ensued without prior clinical scores. Necropsy findings included abundant hemorrhagic exudates within the trachea and bronchial tree, with diffuse dark reddening of the lungs. In addition, there were ecchymotic hemorrhages of a range of other tissues. The disease was reproduced by intra-tracheal inoculation with S. zooepidemicus in one dog. Interestingly in this study, dogs with higher S. zooepidemicus growth scores were more likely to have intra-alveolar neutrophils and share histological features of the lungs described by Garnett et al., (1982) in HSP than those dogs with low growth scores.
[0374] CIRD has historically been considered a complex disease, involving both bacterial and viral agents. Indeed, several other agents have been described in this kennelled population of dogs, including CRCV (Erles et al., 2003) and B. bronchiseptica (Chalker et al., 2003). Although the pathogenic potential of CRCV has not yet been clarified, data by Erles et al., (2003) shows that CRCV predominates in those dogs with mild respiratory disease (score 2) and similarly Chalker et al., (2003) found that dogs with B. bronchiseptica predominates in those dogs with moderate disease (score 3).
[0375] We found that Streptococcus zooepidemicus is associated more commonly with only the more severe cases of CIRD (score 4-5) indicating it may act as a secondary invader. Indeed, βhS species have previously been described as secondary invaders in the CIRD ‘complex’ (McCandlish et al., 1978). However, it is still not known if S. zooepidemicus plays a primary role in respiratory disease in these animals or merely invades the respiratory tract following damage by other pathogens. Epidemiological evidence suggests that in the horse S. zooepidemicus may be a primary pathogen in respiratory disease (Wood et al., 1993; Chanter, 1997) but it is generally considered to be an opportunistic pathogen (Walker and Timoney 1998; Anzai et al., 2000). Even if S. zooepidemicus is not a primary cause of CIRD in these dogs, the high isolation rate from dogs with suppurative bronchopneumonia (87.5%) supports the hypothesis that S. zooepidemicus is responsible for the more severe clinical signs seen in this kennel. The low isolation from household pets (1.4%) with respiratory disease indicates this agent may not be a common respiratory infection and could be a problem particular to this kennel. Although any previous kennelling was not taken into consideration it is likely that some of the household pet dogs in this study have been kennelled at one time. The role played by S. zooepidemicus in other cases of CIRD in kennelled dogs has not been ascertained.
[0376] The isolation of S. zooepidemicus from these dogs increases with time in the kennel, indicating the lungs of these dogs are becoming infected with this bacterium. Such infection could be occurring from either sub-clinical infections of the upper respiratory tract or from a single pathogenic strain. A PCR typing system for the gene of the variable M-like SzP protein enables the separation of the 15 known sero-types of S. zooepidemicus into five distinct groups, HV1-5 (Walker and Timoney, 1998). Analyses with this typing system by Anzai et al., (2000) found that single clonal variants of S. zooepidemicus are found in the pneumonic equine lung whereas several types are found in the tonsils of healthy horses. It would be of interest to sub-type the S. zooepidemicus isolates involved in this outbreak of CIRD to determine whether a single clonal variant is present in the diseased population, and also to examine the relationship, if any, that canine S. zooepidemicus isolates have to those causing respiratory disease in horses and other animals. S. zooepidemicus associated pneumonia occurs in horses of all ages and acute hemorrhagic pneumonia in older horses that have been stressed by transportation (Anzai et al., 2000). In this outbreak of CIRD younger dogs and those in poor clinical condition on entry to the kennel were equally susceptible to infection with S. zooepidemicus as the older dogs and those that were healthy on entry.
[0377] In this kennel antibiotic therapy is given for a range of infections, and treatment is not routinely given to dogs with CIRD except in cases of severe bronchopneumonia. It is possible that treatment could have influenced the bacterial spectrum noted in this study. However the examination of natural outbreaks of respiratory disease can provide valuable information that cannot be obtained by other means.
[0378] CIRD is known to be a multi-factorial disease involving several agents including CAV-2, CPIV, B. bronchiceptica and Mycoplasma spp. In this kennel in which large numbers of dogs from a variety of locations are brought together and housed, several pathogens are present and the severity of the disease may reflect this.
Example 2
The Association of Mycoplasma Cynos with Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease
[0379] The presence of M. cynos was investigated by culture of the organism and identification by PCR analysis. In a survey of 184 kennelled dogs we have found that the percentage of dogs with M. cynos in the trachea or lung increases with signs of respiratory disease from 10% in healthy dogs to 31% in diseased dogs ( FIG. 3 ).
[0380] We have also noted that respiratory disease increases with time in the kennel and during the first week in the kennel dogs have no detectable M. cynos in the trachea, whereas by the second week 24% of the 184 dogs were positive for M. cynos in the trachea—indicating 24% of the population are being infected with this bacterium. A smaller but similar increase was also seen for colonization of the lung (from 15% to 23%) (see FIG. 4 ).
Example 3
The Association of Chlamydophila with Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease
[0381] We surveyed 210 dogs by PCR analysis for the presence of Chlamydophila.
[0382] A 218 bp fragment of the 23S rRNA gene was amplified from the Chlamydophila by the following PCR. Reaction conditions, 95° C. 5 min (×1 cycle), 95° C. 30 seconds, 50° C. 30 seconds, 72° C. 1 minute (×40 cycles) and 72° C. 5 mins. The PCR reaction mix of 50 μl total, included 5.0 μl 10× magnesium free buffer (promega), 1.5 mM MgCl 2 (Promega), 0.5 μl (0.5 Units) Taq DNA polymerase (Promega), 0.2 mM PCR nucleotide mix (Promega), 0.025 μg forward primer C1 (5′-GATGCCTTGGCATTGATAGGCGATGAAG GA-3′, SEQ ID NO: 9) and reverse primer C2 (5′-TGGCTCATCATGCAAAAGGCA-3′, SEQ ID NO: 10), 40 μl water and 2 μl sample tissue DNA.
[0383] A PCR product obtained from 8 dogs was confirmed as a Chlamydophila by sequence analysis and comparison of the PCR product to all available sequences in GenBank by Fasta analysis. The partial sequence of the 23S rRNA gene of one such sequence (DHBCI0) is shown in FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 1). This 218 bp sequence is 99.08% identical to the same region in Chlamydophila abortus and 98.6% identical to Chlamydophila psittaci and 96.3% identical to Chlamydophila felis and on preliminary phylogenetic analysis (clustal method with Megalign) most sequences cluster in a distinct clade ( FIG. 7 ). The 23S rRNA partial sequences of seven other Chlamydophila isolates are shown in FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NOs: 2-8).
[0384] In this survey we found an increase in the detection of Chlamydophila with increasing respiratory disease severity in both the trachea and lung. A slight increase of detection of 10% was found in tracheal samples (from 25% to 34%). A more dramatic difference was found in detection of Chlamydophila in the lung, with an increase from 0% healthy dogs to 37.5% in dogs with CIRD ( FIG. 6 ). Furthermore, an increase in the total number of dogs that tested positive by PCR for Chlamydophila from 25% in healthy dogs to 50% in dogs with severe disease was noted ( FIG. 6 ).
Example 4
The Association of Canine Herpesvirus with Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease
[0385] We found an increased prevalence of canine herpesvirus in dogs with more severe respiratory symptoms ( FIG. 9 ). When monitoring antibody responses to CHV over a yearlong period, dogs in a kennel with frequent outbreaks of respiratory disease showed seroconversions to CRV more frequently (58.3%) than dogs from a comparable kennel with no outbreaks (8.3%).
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Ural O, Tuncer I, Dikici N, & Aridogan B. (2003). Streptococcus zooepidemicus meningitis and bacteraemia. Scand J Infect Dis. 35(3): 206207.
Walker, J. A., Timoney, J. F., (1998). Molecular basis of variation m protective SzP proteins of Streptococcus zooepidemicus. Am. J. Vet. Res. 59, 1129-1133.
Walker R L & Runyan C A (2003). Identification of variations in SzP proteins of Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus and the relationship between protein variants and clinical signs of infection in horses. Am J Vet Res. 64(8): 976-81.
Werth D, Schmeer N, Muller H P, Karo M, Krauss H. (1987). Demonstration of antibodies against Chlamydia psittaci and Coxiella bumetii in dogs and cats: comparison of the enzyme immunoassay, immunoperoxidase technic, complement fixation test and agar gel precipitation test Zentralbl Veterinarmed B. 34(3): 165-76.
Wood, J. L. N., Burrell, M. H., Roberts, C A., Chanter, N., Shaw, Y, (1993). Streptococci and Pasteurella spp. associated with disease of the equme lower respiratory tract. Equine Vet. J. 25, 314-318.
Young S, Storz J, Maierhofer C A. (1972) Pathologic features of experimentally induced chlamydial infection in dogs. Am J Vet Res. 33(2): 377-83. | A vaccine composition for vaccinating dogs comprising any one or more of (a) an agent capable of raising an immune response against Streptococcus equi sub species zooepidemicus in a dog, (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against Mycoplasma cynos in a dog, and (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response against a Chlamydophila in a dog. | Briefly summarize the main idea's components and working principles as described in the context. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is A Divisional of a U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 10/563,199, filed Sep. 1, 2006, which is a National Phase of International Patent Application No. PCT/GB2004/002865, filed Jul. 1, 2004, designating the U.S. and published in English on Jan. 13, 2005 as WO 2005/002618, which claims the benefit of British Patent Application No. 0315323.6, filed Jul. 1, 2003.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to a vaccine composition, and in particular to a vaccine composition for use against canine infectious respiratory disease.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Canine infectious respiratory disease (CIRD) is a highly contagious disease common in dogs housed in crowded conditions such as re-homing centers and boarding or training kennels.",
"Many dogs suffer only from a mild cough and recover after a short time, however in some cases a severe bronchopneumonia can develop (Appel and Binn, 1987).",
"CIRD is rarely fatal but it delays re-homing of dogs at rescue centers and it causes disruption of schedules in training kennels as well as considerable treatment costs.",
"[0004] The pathogenesis of CIRD is considered to be multifactorial, involving several viruses and bacteria.",
"The infectious agents considered to be the major causative pathogens of CIRD are canine parainfluenzavirus (CPIV) (Binn et al.",
", 1967), canine adenovirus type 2 (CAV-2) (Ditchfield et al.",
", 1962), and canine herpesvirus (CHV) (Karpas et al.",
", 1968a and 1986b), canine respiratory coronavirus (CRCV) (WO 2004/011651 (The Royal Veterinary College) and Erles et al.",
", 2003) and the bacterium Bordetella bronchiseptica ( B. bronchiseptica ) (Bemis et al.",
", 1977a, Keil et al.",
", 1998).",
"[0005] These viruses and bacterium have frequently been isolated during outbreaks and have been shown to cause respiratory symptoms or lung lesions in experimental infections (Appel and Percy 1970, Swango et al.",
", 1970, Karpas et al.",
", 1986b).",
"[0006] Also, human reovirus and mycoplasma species have been isolated from dogs with symptoms of CIRD (Lou and Wenner 1963, Randolph et al.",
", 1993).",
"Additional factors like stress may also be important.",
"[0007] B. bronchiseptica was reported as being a primary etiological agent in the respiratory disease “kennel cough”",
"(Bemis et al.",
", 1977b and Thompson et al.",
", 1976).",
"It predisposes dogs to the influence of other respiratory agents and frequently exists concurrently with them.",
"Kennel cough can be reproduced by challenge with virulent B. bronchiseptica .",
"Further, environmental factors such as cold, drafts, and high humidity, often typical conditions in dog kennels, increase susceptibility to the disease (Ellis et al.",
", 2001).",
"Antibiotics are generally recognised as poor agents to treat the primary disease (Ellis et al.",
", 2001).",
"In contrast, immunoprophylaxis for B. bronchiseptica provides a relatively effective means to aid in the control of disease.",
"[0008] The outstanding sign of B. bronchiseptica infection is a harsh, dry cough, which is aggravated by activity or excitement.",
"The coughing occurs in paroxysms, followed by retching or gagging in attempts to clear small amounts of mucus from the throat.",
"Body temperature may be elevated as secondary bacterial invasion takes place.",
"Because kennel cough is highly contagious, the disease can readily be transmitted to susceptible dogs and produce a severe cough.",
"The most severe signs are noted beginning two to five days following infection, but can continue for extended periods.",
"Stress, particularly of adverse environmental conditions, may cause relapse during later stages of the disease.",
"[0009] Kennel cough is typically a condition of the upper airways and is characterized by nasal discharge and coughing.",
"Whereas kennel cough mainly involves upper respiratory tract changes, the pathology of CIRD indicates that it is involved in lung damage and, in some cases, bronchopneumonia.",
"Kennel cough is a milder syndrome than CIRD and does not have the wide range of pathology noted in CIRD.",
"CIRD is also distinguished by an increased severity and mortality.",
"[0010] CIRD is a syndrome in dogs which present with respiratory signs ranging from mild to fatal disease.",
"It is characterized by involvement of upper and lower airway infection with progression from inflammatory to exudative, edematous and sometimes hemorrhagic pathology which can be widespread within the lung tissues.",
"CIRD can also occur in the absence of B. bronchiseptica , and indeed some dogs contract CIRD whilst having no detectable B. bronchiseptica , which indicates that kennel cough and CIRD are distinct infections.",
"[0011] We have also confirmed the association of B. bronchiseptica with respiratory disease while concluding that other agents are involved in respiratory disease (Chalker et al.",
", 2003).",
"[0012] We have now shown that Streptococcus equi sub species zooepidemicus (see Example 1), Mycoplasma cynos (see Example 2), and a Chlamydophila (see Example 3) are associated with CIRD.",
"As all the dogs in our study populations were vaccinated against CPIV and CAV-2, we have no new data to support the involvement of these viruses in CIRD.",
"However we have also found an increased prevalence of canine herpesvirus in dogs with more severe respiratory symptoms (see Example 4).",
"[0013] Streptococcus equi sub species zooepidemicus ( S. zooepidemicus ) is an opportunist pathogen which is frequently isolated from a variety of animal hosts, not only from horses.",
"It is often found as a commensal of the upper respiratory tract mucosa of mammals (Timoney et al.",
", 1988;",
"Quinn et al.",
", 1999) and has been associated with several disease syndromes including lower airway disease, foal pneumonia and cervicitis in horses (Chanter, 1997;",
"Biberstein and Hirsh, 1999), pneumonia in llamas (Biberstein and Hirsh, 1999), septicemia and arthritis in pigs (Timoney, 1987), mastitis in cows and goats (Timoney et al.",
", 1988), septicemia in poultry, pericarditis and pneumonia in lambs (Timoney, 1987), lymphadenitis in guinea pigs (Quinn et al.",
", 1999), glomerulonephritis in humans (Balter et al.",
", 2000) and meningitis in humans (Ural et al.",
", 2003).",
"In dogs S. zooepidemicus has been associated with wound infections and septicemia (Quinn et al.",
", 1999) and acute necrotizing hemorrhagic pneumonia (Garnett et al.",
", 1982).",
"[0014] Although dogs in the latter stages of hemorrhagic streptococcal pneumoniae (HSP) share some histological features with dogs with CIRD, this is not the case in its early stages (see Chalker et al.",
", 2003) and septic thrombi are present in HSP (Garnett et al.",
", 1982).",
"HSP has a rapid onset that was fatal in most cases without clinical signs, whereas with CIRD we see a slow onset with a huge range of clinical signs from nasal discharge, coughing, sneezing, retching, inappetance, pneumonia and bronchopneumonia.",
"[0015] Mycoplasma cynos ( M. cynos ) has been associated with canine urinary tract infection (Lang et al.",
", 1984).",
"It has also been identified in the lungs of a dog with distemper (Rosendal, 1978), and endobronchial inoculation of M. cynos was found to induce pneumonia in dogs (Rosendal &",
"Vinther, 1977).",
"[0016] The canine distemper described by Rosendal (1978) is a complex disease following infection with canine distemper virus, various mycoplasma species and the bacterium Pseudomonas .",
"This is a powerful combination of microbial challenges and, not surprisingly, results in pneumonia.",
"The proportion of pathology due to the Mycoplasma spp.",
"was not clear.",
"Subsequent challenge with M. cynos was characterized by no signs of illness in the dogs although some local small inflammatory lesions were noted in 4 out of the 5 dogs inoculated.",
"The significance of M. cynos in this syndrome was, as Rosendal stated, “difficult to assess.”",
"[0017] The Chlamydophila species associated with CIRD is very closely related to Chlamydophila abortus ( C. abortus ) by comparison of a 218 nucleotide sequence in the 23S rRNA gene.",
"The nucleotide sequence of this region in this Chlamydophila species (SEQ ID NO: 1) is over 99% identical to that of C. abortus, 98.6% identical to Chlamydophila psittaci and 96.3% identical to Chlamydophila felis.",
"[0018] The Chlamydophila species was identified in the trachea and lungs of dogs with CIRD.",
"By contrast, infection with C. abortus is typically associated with reproductive disorders, often leading to unwanted abortion, especially in sheep.",
"C. abortus has not previously been described as having a role in respiratory infection in dogs.",
"[0019] There are very few publications regarding Chlamydiae species infecting dogs, and therefore very little is known of the biodiversity of canine Chlamydiae species.",
"Recently, Chlamydia pneumoniae ( C. pneumoniae ) has been associated with athrosclerosis in dogs (Sako et al.",
", 2002).",
"An unidentified Chlamydophila spp.",
"has also been identified in a dog with septic polyarthritis (Lambrechts et al.",
", 1999).",
"[0020] C. psittaci has previously been isolated from feces, brain, liver, spleen, kidney and lung tissue of household dogs (Arizmendi et al.",
", 1992;",
"Fraser et al.",
", 1985 and Gresham et al.",
", 1996).",
"Studies have demonstrated that 20% of the pet canine population in Germany and 10% in Japan have been exposed to and raised antibodies to Chlamydiaceae (Werth et al.",
", 1987 and Fukushi et al.",
", 1985).",
"The prevalence of C. psittaci seropositive dogs in the UK is unknown (Gresham et al.",
", 1996).",
"Dogs infected with C. psittaci may develop sub-clinical chronic infections, athrosclerosis, arthritis, conjunctivitis or even respiratory disease (Gresham et al.",
", 1996 and Storz 1988).",
"Gresham et al.",
", (1996) isolated C. psittaci from a dog with symptoms of respiratory disease although these symptoms were not as severe as those.",
"in CIRD.",
"It has been suggested that dogs may be potential reservoirs and, thereby, important in the epidemiology of human Chlamydiae infections (Gresham et al.",
", 1996;",
"Werth 1989).",
"There is only one documented case of isolation in cell culture of C. psittaci from a naturally infected dog (Arizmendi et al.",
", 1992), and one case of isolation from experimentally infected dogs (Young et al.",
", 1972).",
"[0021] Vaccines are available against some of the infectious agents associated with CIRD, namely B. bronchiseptica as well as CPIV and CAV-2.",
"However, despite the use of these vaccines, CIRD is still prevalent in kennels world-wide, which is possibly due to the vaccines not providing protection against all the infectious agents involved in CIRD.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0022] A first aspect of the invention thus provides a vaccine composition for vaccinating dogs comprising anyone or more of: [0023] (a) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against S. zooepidemicus;",
"[0024] (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against M. cynos ;",
"and [0025] (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila.",
"[0026] It is appreciated that the composition may contain any two of these agents, for example (a) and (b), (a) and (c), or (b) and (c).",
"The composition may contain all three of these agents (a), (b) and (c).",
"[0027] By an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a particular organism, we include the meaning that, when administered to a dog which is not immunocompromised or immunosuppressed, the agent induces the dog's immune system to produce antibodies which specifically bind to the organism.",
"Thus the agent is capable of inducing a protective immune response against the particular organism.",
"[0028] Preferably, the antibody thus produced specifically binds the particular organism with a greater affinity than for any other molecule in the individual.",
"Preferably, the antibody binds the particular organism with at least 2, or at least 5, or at least 10 or at least 50 times greater affinity than for any other molecule in the individual.",
"More preferably, the antibody binds the particular organism with at least 100, or at least 1,000, or at least 10,000 times greater affinity than for any other molecule in the individual.",
"[0029] By an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a particular organism, we also include the meaning that, when administered to a dog which is not immunocompromised or immunosuppressed, the agent induces the dog's immune system to produce antibodies which specifically bind to macromolecules such as proteins that are secreted from the organism.",
"The antibodies would specifically bind the secreted macromolecule, such as a toxin or hemolysin, and inactivate it, therefore reducing pathogenic changes in the host and disease severity, thus allowing the host to overcome infection.",
"Thus, by an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a particular organism we include agents which are capable of raising an immune response to a part of the organism such as a secreted macromolecule.",
"[0030] Typically, an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog comprises inactivated or attenuated S. zooepidemicus , or an immunogenic fragment of S. zooepidemicus or a derivative thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said fragment or said derivative (in which case said fragment or said derivative comprises a polypeptide).",
"[0031] Streptococcus equi sub species zooepidemicus has been deposited at NCTC (Deposit No. 4676.",
"S34), the ATCC (Deposit No. 43079) and the National Collection of Dairy Organisms (NCDO) (Deposit No. 1358), and is described by Farrow et at (1984).",
"[0032] By an “inactivated”",
"component of a vaccine we include the meaning that the particular vaccine component, such as a bacteria, mycoplasma or virus, has been treated in such a way as to eliminate its capacity to cause disease, but still retains its ability to evoke protective immunity.",
"By an “inactivated”",
"vaccine component we include a killed organism.",
"[0033] Methods for inactivating and killing organisms such as bacteria, mycoplasma and viruses for use in a vaccine are well known in the art, and have been used, for example, in the preparation of some of the components for the dog vaccines described below.",
"[0034] There are several methods for inactivating micro-organisms for vaccine preparations.",
"The simplest method is heat killing (for example, heating viruses to 58° C. for 30 minutes;",
"boiling bacteria for 5 minutes or heating to 65° C. for 1 hour) or killing by mixing with formalin.",
"You can also kill micro-organisms with a range of other chemicals, or by treatment with UV light.",
"[0035] By an “attenuated”",
"component of a vaccine we include the meaning that the particular vaccine component, such as a bacteria, mycoplasma or virus, has been selected or otherwise treated in such a way as to greatly diminish its capacity to cause disease but still retains its ability to evoke protective immunity.",
"[0036] Methods for attenuating organisms such as bacteria, mycoplasma and viruses for use in a vaccine are well known in the art, and have been used, for example, in the preparation of some of the components for the dog vaccines described below.",
"[0037] You can attenuate microorganisms by prolonged passage in a different setting—i.e., cell culture for viruses or Chlamydophila , and on solid medium or a different host for bacteria, until a decline in virulence is noted.",
"Alternatively you can point-mutate or delete specific genes in bacteria which are involved in virulence thus limiting the pathogenic potential of the organism, or mutate the organism so that it has a specific requirement for a chemical that is not present in the animal host and therefore cannot multiply and survive once in the host.",
"Attenuation can also be performed in bacteria with chemical treatment and UV light treatment to cause point mutations in the genome.",
"[0038] An immunogenic fragment of S. zooepidemicus may be any fragment of S. zooepidemicus capable of raising a protective immune response in a dog.",
"Thus when an immunogenic fragment of S. zooepidemicus is administered to a dog which is not immunocompromised or immunosuppressed, it induces the dog's immune system to produce antibodies which specifically bind to S. zooepidemicus.",
"[0039] Typically, the immunogenic fragment of a particular organism is a protein component of that organism.",
"By a “protein component”",
"of an organism we include the meaning of an entire protein, or a portion of a protein.",
"It is appreciated that the protein fragment mayor may not be glycosylated.",
"Thus by “protein”",
"we also include glycoprotein.",
"The amino acid sequence of a glycoprotein refers to the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide backbone of the glycoprotein, irrespective of the type, number, sequence and position of the sugars attached thereto.",
"[0040] S. zooepidemicus proteins include the cell surface protein precursors (Genbank Accession Nos. AAA86832 and BAD00711), Cpn60 (Genbank Accession No. AAM88472), M-like protein (Genbank Accession Nos. AAP33082, AAP33081, AAP33080, AAP33079, AAP22285, AAB92635, AAB92634, AAB92633, AAB92632, AAB92631, AAB92630, AAB92629, AAB92628, AAB92627, AAB92626, AAB92625, AAB92624, AAB92623, AAB92622, 2111310A and BAD00712), M-like protein precursor (Genbank Accession No. AAD37432), M-like protein Szp2 precursor (Genbank Accession No. AAF75674), M-like protein Szp3 precursor (Genbank Accession No. AAF75675), M-like protein Szp4 precursor (Genbank Accession No. AAF75676), the protein similar to Streptococcus pneumoniae ORF5 (Genbank Accession No. BAB16041), the putative metal binding/adhesin protein (Genbank Accession No. CAB56710), zoocin A immunity factor (Genbank Accession No. AAC46073) and the Szp proteins described by Walker et al.",
"(1998, 2003;",
"including Genbank Accession Nos. AAQ08488-AAQ08510).",
"[0041] Preferably, the immunogenic fragment of S. zooepidermicus , is a structural protein of S. zooepidermicus or an immunogenic portion thereof.",
"More preferably, the immunogenic fragment of S. zooepidermicus is a secreted toxin, or hemolysin, or an adhesion/surface protein, or an immunogenic portion thereof.",
"[0042] Additional surface proteins can be isolated from a bacteria such as S. zooepidermicus by standard methods known to a person of skill in the art.",
"Sambrook et al (2001) “ Molecular Cloning, a Laboratory Manual”, 3rd edition, Sambrook et al (eds), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., USA, incorporated herein by reference, describes general bacterial cloning techniques that would be used for this purpose.",
"[0043] If the agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog is a component of an organism, such as a protein, it may be isolated from a culture of the organism.",
"More preferably, proteins are made by expression of a suitable DNA construct encoding the protein using recombinant DNA technology.",
"[0044] Suitable techniques for cloning, manipulation, modification and expression of nucleic acids, and purification of expressed proteins, are well known in the art and are described for example in Sambrook et at (2001), incorporated herein by reference.",
"[0045] Alternatively, proteins may be made using protein chemistry techniques for example using partial proteolysis of isolated proteins (either exolytically or endolytically), or by de novo synthesis.",
"Peptides may be synthesized by the Fmoc-polyamide mode of solid-phase peptide synthesis as disclosed by Lu et al.",
"(1981) J Org.",
"Chem.",
"46:3433 and references therein.",
"[0046] By “a derivative”",
"of an immunogenic fragment of an organism we include the meaning of a protein, or portion of a protein, which has been modified from the form in which it is naturally present in that organism, but which retains the ability to raise an immune response in a dog, such as the ability to induce the production of antibodies that specifically bind to that organism.",
"[0047] For example, a derivative may include a sequence variant of the protein or portion thereof which can be used to induce the production of antibodies which specifically bind to that organism.",
"Typically, amino acid substitutions are made to improve the antigenicity of the vaccine.",
"Preferably, the sequence variant is at least 90%, or at least 91%, or at least 92%, or at least 93%, or at least 94%, or at least 95% identical to the native sequence of that protein or portion thereof.",
"More preferably, the sequence variant is at least 96%, or at least 97%, or at least 98%, or at least 99%, or at least 99.5% identical to the native sequence of that protein or portion thereof.",
"[0048] The percent sequence identity between two polypeptides may be determined using suitable computer programs, for example the GAP program of the University of Wisconsin Genetic Computing Group.",
"The percentage identity between two nucleotide or two amino acid sequences can be determined using GCG version 10 (Genetics Computer Group, (1991), Program Manual for the GCG Package, Version 7, April 1991, 575 Science Drive, Madison, Wis.",
", USA 53711).",
"The GCG parameters used can be: Gap creation penalty 50, gap extension penalty 3 for DNA, and Gap creation penalty 8 and Gap extension penalty 2 for Protein.",
"The percentage identity between two nucleotide or two amino acid sequences can also be determined using FASTA version 34 (Pearson W R. (1990) “Rapid and sensitive sequence comparison with FASTP and FASTA.”",
"Methods Enzymot.",
"183:63-98).",
"FASTA settings may be Gap open penalty −16 and Gap extension penalty-4.",
"[0049] It will be appreciated that percent identity is calculated in relation to polypeptides whose sequence has been aligned optimally.",
"[0050] The alignment may alternatively be carried out using the Clustal W program (Thompson et al.",
", (1994) Nucleic Acids Res.",
"22:4673-80).",
"The parameters used may be as follows: [0051] Fast pairwise alignment parameters: K-tuple(word) size;",
"1, window size;",
"5, gap penalty;",
"3, number of top diagonals;",
"Scoring method: x percent.",
"[0052] Multiple alignment parameters: gap open penalty;",
"10, gap extension penalty;",
"0.05.",
"Scoring matrix: BLOSUM.",
"[0053] Typically, the sequence variant has fewer than 100, or fewer than 50, or fewer than 40, or fewer than 30, or fewer than 20 amino acid residues different from the native sequence of that protein or portion thereof.",
"More preferably, the sequence variant has 15 or 14 or 13 or 12 or 11 or 10 or 9 or 8 or 7 or 6 or 5 or 4 or 3 or 2 or only 1 amino acid residues different from the native sequence of that protein or portion thereof.",
"[0054] The sequence of the derivative may have been altered to enhance the immunogenicity of the agent, or it may have no effect on its immunogenicity.",
"For example, the derivative may have had one or more amino acid sequences that are not necessary to immunogenicity removed.",
"[0055] By “derivative”",
"we also include peptides in which one or more of the amino acid residues are chemically modified, before or after the peptide is synthesized, providing that the function of the peptide, namely the production of specific antibodies in vivo, remains substantially unchanged.",
"Such modifications include forming salts with acids or bases, especially physiologically acceptable organic or inorganic acids and bases, forming an ester or amide of a terminal carboxyl group, and attaching amino acid protecting groups such as N-t-butoxycarbonyl.",
"Such modifications may protect the peptide from in vivo metabolism.",
"The peptides may be present as single copies or as multiples, for example tandem repeats.",
"Such tandem or multiple repeats may be sufficiently antigenic themselves to obviate the use of a carrier.",
"It may be advantageous for the peptide to be formed as a loop, with the N-terminal and C-terminal ends joined together, or to add one or more Cys residues to an end to increase antigenicity and/or to allow disulphide bonds to be formed.",
"If the peptide is covalently linked to a carrier, preferably a polypeptide, then the arrangement is preferably such that the peptide of the invention forms a loop.",
"[0056] According to current immunological theories, a carrier function should be present in any immunogenic formulation in order to stimulate, or enhance stimulation of, the immune system.",
"It is thought that the best carriers embody (or, together with the antigen, create) a T-cell epitope.",
"The peptides may be associated, for example by cross-linking, with a separate carrier, such as serum albumins, myoglobins, bacterial toxoids and keyhole limpet hemocyanin.",
"More recently developed carriers which induce T-cell help in the immune response include the B-hepatitis core antigen (also called the nucleocapsid protein), presumed T-cell epitopes, beta-galactosidase and the 163-171 peptide of interleukin-1.",
"The latter compound may variously be regarded as a carrier or as an adjuvant or as both.",
"Alternatively, several copies of the same or different peptides of the invention may be cross-linked to one another;",
"in this situation there is no separate carrier as such, but a carrier function may be provided by such cross-linking.",
"Suitable cross-linking agents include those listed as such in the Sigma and Pierce catalogues, for example glutaraldehyde, carbodiimide and succinimidyl 4-(N-maleimidomethyl)cyclohexane-1-carboxylate, the latter agent exploiting the —SH group on the C-terminal cysteine residue (if present).",
"[0057] If the peptide is prepared by expression of a suitable nucleotide sequence in a suitable host, then it may be advantageous to express the peptide as a fusion product with a peptide sequence which acts as a carrier.",
"Kabigen's “Ecosec”",
"system is an example of such an arrangement.",
"[0058] Typically, the polynucleotide encoding the immunogenic fraction of S. zooepidemicus encodes a structural protein, and more preferably a surface protein of S. zooepidemicus , or an immunogenic portion thereof, or a derivative thereof.",
"The sequences of polynucleotides encoding various S. zooepidemicus proteins can readily be ascertained by reference to the above Genbank Accession Nos. However, the sequence of a polynucleotide encoding any immunogenic S. zooepidemicus protein can readily be determined by standard molecular biology techniques.",
"[0059] Typically, an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog comprises inactivated or attenuated M. cynos , or an immunogenic fragment of M. cynos or a derivative thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said fraction or said derivative.",
"[0060] Mycoplasma cynos been deposited at NCTC (Deposit No. 10142H831) and at the ATCC (Deposit No. 27544) and is described by Rosendal (1972).",
"[0061] Preferably, the immunogenic fragment of M. cynos is a structural protein of M. cynos or an immunogenic portion thereof, and more preferably, a surface protein of M. cynos or an immunogenic portion thereof or a derivative thereof.",
"Surface proteins can be isolated from a mycoplasma such as M. cynos by standard methods known to a person of skill in the art.",
"[0062] Methods for identifying and isolating mycoplasma proteins are generally the same as for bacteria except that some genes may require specialized vectors that recognize the unique codon usage of mycoplasmas (see all chapters in Section B, on Genome Characterisation and Genetics, in Molecular and Diagnostic Procedures in Mycoplasmology.",
"Vol. 1 Ed S. Razin &",
"J. Tully.",
"Academic Press Inc. 1995.) [0063] The most efficacious mycoplasma vaccines tend to contain a heat- or formalin-inactivated whole cell or live attenuated vaccine, and therefore contain all, or at least the majority, of its proteins.",
"Potential mycoplasma components for use as vaccines include proteins such the primary attachment structure membrane protein, believed to be about 45 kDA (equivalent to the P1 cytadhesin from M. pneumoniae and homologues such as MgPa from M. genitalium which are all part of a three gene operon), surface exposed proteins and other attachment proteins, membrane glycolipids, membrane polysaccharide fraction, lipoglycans and all those mentioned in the reviews of animal mycoplasma vaccines (Barile 1985 and Barile et al.",
", 1985).",
"[0064] In an embodiment, the agent capable of raising an immune response against a Chlamydophila comprises inactivated or attenuated C. abortus , or an immunogenic fragment of C. abortus or a derivative thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said fraction or said derivative.",
"[0065] Chlamydophila abortus (ATCC deposit no. VR-656) was deposited by Everett et al.",
"as ovine chlamydial abortion strain B-577.",
"[0066] In another embodiment, the agent capable of raising an immune response against a Chlamydophila comprises inactivated or attenuated C. psittaci , or an immunogenic fragment of C. psittaci or a derivative thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said fraction or said derivative.",
"[0067] Chlamydophila psittaci, also known as Chlamydia psittaci , has ATCC deposit no. VR-125 (Lillie (1930) page 1968, Int.",
"J Syst.",
"Bacteriol.",
"30:274 (AL)).",
"[0068] In a further embodiment, the agent capable of raising an immune response against a Chlamydophila comprises inactivated or attenuated C. felis , or an immunogenic fragment of C. felis or a derivative thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said fraction or said derivative.",
"[0069] Chlamydophila felis (ATCC deposit no. VR-120) was deposited by Everett et al.",
"as feline pneumonitis strain No. 1. [0070] In another embodiment, the agent capable of raising an immune response against a Chlamydophila comprises inactivated or attenuated Chlamydia muridarum (ATCC VR 123, MoPn;",
"Everett et al.",
", 1999 , Int.",
"J. Syst.",
"Bacteriol.",
"49: 431);",
"Chlamydia pecorum (ATCC VR 628, Bo/E58;",
"Fukushi and Hirai 1992 , Int.",
"J Syst.",
"Bacteriol.",
"42: 307);",
"Chlamydia pneumoniae (Type strain: TW-183;",
"Grayston et al.",
", 1989 , Int.",
"J. Syst.",
"Bacteriol.",
"39: 88);",
"Chlamydia suis (ATCC VR 1474, 845;",
"Everett et al.",
", 1999 , Int.",
"J Syst.",
"Bacteriol.",
"49: 431);",
"or Chlamydia trachomatis (type species) (ATCC VR 571;",
"Busacca 1935 Rake 1957 amend.",
"Everett et al.",
", 1999 , Int.",
"J. Syst.",
"Bacteriol.",
"30: 274(AL), or an immunogenic fragment thereof, or a derivative thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said fraction or said derivative.",
"[0071] An immunogenic fragment of C. abortus, C. psittaci or C. felis , or of C. muridarum, C. pecorum, C. pneumoniae, C. suis or C. trachomatis , can be any fragment thereof capable of raising a protective immune response in a dog.",
"Typically the immunogenic fragment is a protein or a portion thereof.",
"Preferably, the immunogenic fragment is a structural protein or an immunogenic portion thereof.",
"More preferably, the immunogenic fragment is a surface protein, or an immunogenic portion thereof or a derivative thereof.",
"As mentioned above, surface proteins can be isolated from a bacteria such as Chlamydophila by standard methods known to a person of skill in the art.",
"[0072] C. abortus proteins include 60 kD heat shock protein GroEL (Genbank Accession No. AAD26144), 60 kDa cysteine-rich membrane complex protein (Genbank Accession No. AAG60550), 90-kDa protein (Genbank Accession Nos. AAC44400, AAC44401), cysteine-rich outer membrane protein Omp-2 (Genbank Accession No. AAD09597), DnaK (Genbank Accession No. AAN77259), elongation factor P (Genbank Accession No. AAK72389), GrpE (Genbank Accession No. AAN77258), HrcA (Genbank Accession No. AAN77257), major outer membrane protein (Genbank Accession Nos. AAK00237, CAA36152, CAD29327), major outer membrane protein precursor (Genbank Accession Nos. AAD29103, AAD291 02, AAG53881, P16567), MutS (Genbank Accession No. AAD25864), Omp1 (Genbank Accession Nos. CAA06182, CAA06620, CAA06621, CAA06622, CAA06624, CAA06625, CAA06183, CAA06184), outer membrane protein (Genbank Accession No. AAB02850), outer membrane protein 2 (Genbank Accession No. AAD20336), POMP90A precursor (Genbank Accession No. AAC15922), POMP90B precursor (Genbank Accession No. AAC15924), POMP91A (Genbank Accession No. AAC15921), POMP91B precursor (Genbank Accession No. AAC15923), putative 98 kDa outer membrane protein (Genbank Accession No. AABI8188), putative outer membrane protein (Genbank Accession No. AABI8187), small cysteine-rich outer membrane lipoprotein (Genbank Accession No. AAG60549), cir-ruhplus protein (Genbank Accession No. AAG60551), and OmpA (Genbank Accession Nos. AAT36355 and AAT36356).",
"[0073] C. psittaci proteins include 60K cysteine-rich outer membrane protein precursors (Genbank Accession Nos. P23701, B39439, JC5204 and P27606);",
"60K cysteine-rich proteins (Genbank Accession Nos. CAA37592 and CAA37591);",
"chaperonin homolog (Genbank Accession No. AAB22560);",
"early upstream open reading frame (EUO) (Genbank Accession Nos. AAA23124, Q06566 and C36909);",
"EUa protein homologue (Genbank Accession No. JC5207);",
"ewe abortion protein (Genbank Accession No. 1601347A);",
"genus specific protein (Genbank Accession No. AAB22559);",
"high molecular weight cysteine-rich envelope protein (Genbank Accession No. AAB61619);",
"histone HI-like protein (Genbank Accession Nos. AAA23132, JH0658, Q46204);",
"hypA protein (Genbank Accession No. JL0116);",
"hypB protein (Genbank Accession No. JLOI17);",
"hypothetical proteins (Genbank Accession Nos. JC5206, NP — 052329, NP — 052332, NP — 052331, NP — 052330, NP — 052328, NP — 052327, NP — 052326, NP — 052325, NP — 052323, CAA44340, CAA44339, CAA44334, CAA44341, CAA44338, CAA44337, CAA44336, CAA44335, CAA44332, A39999, NP — 052324, CAA44333, S61492, S18143, C39999, D39999, E39999, F39999, S18148, G39999, H39999 and 139999);",
"inclusion membrane proteins (Genbank Accession Nos. 2108371A, S61491);",
"low molecular weight cysteine-rich envelope protein (Genbank Accession No. AAB61618);",
"lysine-rich hypothetical protein LRO (Genbank Accession No. B36909);",
"major outer membrane protein and precursors (Genbank Accession Nos. CAA31177, 2006276A 1616229A, AAA23148, AAA23147, AAA17396, 140864, 140740, AAA23146, CAA40300, AAK00262, AAK00250, AAK00249, AAK00248, AAK00247, AAK00246, AAK00245, AAK00244, AAK00243, AAK00242, AAK00241, AAK00240, CAC84081, A60341, A40371, B60109, A60109, MMCWPM, MMCWP3, Q00087, P10332 and AAQ91209);",
"major sigma factor (Genbank Accession No. AAA50747);",
"MutS (Genbank Accession Nos. AAD25866 and AAD25863);",
"the N-terminal part of a protein of unknown function (Genbank Accession No. CAA90624);",
"ORF 2 (Genbank Accession No. 2108371B);",
"outer membrane protein 1 (Genbank Accession Nos. CAA76286 and CAB96859);",
"outer membrane protein 3 precursor (Genbank Accession No. JC5203);",
"protein of unknown function (Genbank Accession No. CAA90623);",
"Putative polymorphic membrane protein (Genbank Accession Nos. AAL36963, AAL36962, AAL36961, AAL36960, AAL36959, AAL36958, AAL36957, AAL36956, and AAL36955);",
"small cysteine-rich envelope protein envA precursor (Genbank Accession No. A39439);",
"sulphur-rich proteins (Genbank Accession Nos. P28164, AAB61620 and JC5205);",
"unknown protein (Genbank Accession Nos. AAB22561 and AAB22558);",
"virulence plasmid parA family protein pGP5-D;",
"(Genbank Accession No. Q46263);",
"virulence plasmid protein pGP2-D (Genbank Accession No. Q46260);",
"virulence plasmid protein pGP3-D (Genbank Accession No. Q46261);",
"virulence plasmid protein pGP4-D (Genbank Accession No. Q46262);",
"virulence plasmid protein pGP6-D (Genbank Accession No. Q46264), OmpA (Genbank Accession Nos. AAT36351 and AAT36354) and 60 kDa chaperonin protein (Genbank Accession No. AAT38208).",
"[0074] C. felis proteins include heat shock protein GroEL (Genbank Accession Nos. AAL38954 and AA0241 06);",
"the major outer membrane protein (Genbank Accession Nos. AAK00238, AAK00239, AA024108 and CAA43409);",
"MutS (Genbank Accession No. AAD25865);",
"and the outer membrane protein 2 (Genbank Accession Nos. AAK38113, AAK38114, AAK38115, AAL89722, AA024107, AAQ19779).",
"[0075] In a preferred embodiment, the Chlamydophila protein used is an outer membrane protein such as the major outer membrane protein (MOMP).",
"Other suitable Chlamydophila proteins include LPS or the OmcB protein.",
"[0076] Typically, the polynucleotide encoding the immunogenic fraction of C. abortus, C. psittaci or C. felis encodes a structural protein, and more preferably a surface protein, or an immunogenic portion thereof, or a derivative thereof.",
"The nucleic acid sequence encoding the various proteins can readily be ascertained by reference to the above Genbank Accession Nos. and can readily be determined by standard molecular biology techniques.",
"[0077] In an embodiment, the agent capable of raising an immune response against a Chlamydophila comprises an inactivated or attenuated Chlamydophila having a 218 nucleotide partial sequence of the 23 S rRNA gene which has the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, or an immunogenic fragment thereof or a derivative thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said fraction or derivative.",
"A Chlamydophila having a 218 nucleotide partial sequence of the 23S rRNA gene which has the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 may be found in, and isolated from, the trachea and lungs of dogs with CIRD, typically dogs with CIRD from re-homing centers and boarding or training kennels.",
"[0078] The Chlamydophila can be isolated from dogs by inoculating a tissue extract onto a McCoy cell line in the presence or absence of cycloheximide, culturing the cells for up to 10 days at 37° C. with 5% CO 2 and then extracting the Chlamydophila by freeze-fracturing the cells.",
"This method is routinely used for isolating Chlamydophilas from birds, cats, humans, and other hosts.",
"The fragment of the 23S rRNA gene can be amplified from the Chlamydophila using the PCR conditions described in Example 3, and the sequence obtained can be verified by comparison to the sequences in FIG. 5 or 8 .",
"[0079] For vaccine use, polynucleotide agents can be delivered in various replicating (e.g., recombinant adenovirus vaccine) or non-replicating (DNA vaccine) vectors.",
"[0080] A typical dose of a vaccine comprised of recombinant protein is about 5-μg.",
"A typical dose of a bacterial vaccine is 108 colony forming units per ml.",
"[0081] Typically, the vaccine composition further comprises a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, diluent or adjuvant.",
"[0082] Certain carriers and adjuvants are described above.",
"Other suitable adjuvants include Freund's complete or incomplete adjuvant, muramyl dipeptide, the “Iscoms”",
"of EP 109942, EP 180564 and EP 231 039, aluminium hydroxide, saponin, DEAE-dextran, neutral oils (such as miglyol), vegetable oils (such as arachis oil), liposomes, Pluronic® polyols or the Ribi adjuvant system (see, for example GB-A-2 189 141).",
"[0083] The carrier(s) must be “acceptable”",
"in the sense of being compatible with the agent(s) of the invention and not deleterious to the recipients thereof.",
"Typically, the carriers will be water or saline which will be sterile and pyrogen free.",
"[0084] Typically, the vaccine will be administered via the oral, intramuscular, subcutaneous, intravenous, intraperitoneal or intranasal routes.",
"[0085] The vaccine composition may be formulated for parenteral administration, and may include aqueous or non-aqueous sterile injection solutions which may contain anti-oxidants, buffers, bacteriostats and solutes which render the formulation isotonic with the blood of the intended recipient;",
"and/or aqueous or non-aqueous sterile suspensions which may include suspending agents and thickening agents.",
"[0086] The vaccine composition may be presented in unit-dose or multi-dose containers, for example sealed ampoules and vials, and may be stored in a freeze-dried (lyophilized) condition requiring only the addition of the sterile liquid carrier, for example water for injections, immediately prior to use.",
"Extemporaneous injection solutions and suspensions may be prepared from sterile powders, granules and tablets.",
"[0087] The vaccine composition may be formulated for intranasal administration and may be conveniently delivered in the form of an aerosol spray presentation from a pressurized container, pump, spray or nebulizer with the use of a suitable propellant, e.g., dichlorodifluoromethane, trichlorofluoromethane, dichlorotetrafluoro-ethane, a hydrofluoroalkane such as 1,1,1,2 tetrafluoroethane (HFA 134A, or 1,1,1,2,3,3,3-heptafluoropropane (HFA 227EAJ, carbon dioxide or other suitable gas.",
"In the case of a pressurised aerosol, the dosage unit may be determined by providing a valve to deliver a metered amount.",
"The pressurized container, pump, spray or nebulizer may contain a solution or suspension of the agent(s), e.g., using a mixture of ethanol and the propellant as the solvent, which may additionally contain a lubricant, e.g. sorbitan trioleate.",
"[0088] For veterinary use, the vaccine is prepared as an acceptable formulation in accordance with normal veterinary practice and the veterinary surgeon will determine the dosing regimen and route of administration which will be most appropriate for a particular animal.",
"[0089] Formulations for vaccines suitable for administration to dogs are well known in the art and include the formulations used in the dog vaccines described below.",
"[0090] As discussed above, several viral and bacterial agents are known to be associated with respiratory disease in dogs, including canine respiratory coronavirus (CRCV), canine parainfluenza virus (CPIV), canine adenovirus type 2 (CAV-2), canine herpesvirus (CHV), and Bordetella bronchiseptica ( B. bronchiseptica ).",
"[0091] Thus, in an embodiment, the vaccine composition further comprises anyone or more of: [0092] (d) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV;",
"[0093] (e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV;",
"[0094] (f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2;",
"[0095] (g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV;",
"and [0096] (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0097] Thus the vaccine composition can optionally also comprise any two, or any three, or any four, or all five of these additional agents.",
"[0098] Typically, an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV comprises inactivated or attenuated CRCV, or an immunogenic fragment of CRCV, or a nucleic acid encoding said immunogenic fraction.",
"[0099] Suitable immunogenic fragments of CRCV are described in WO 2004/011651 (The Royal Veterinary College) and in Erles et 1.",
", 2003.",
"Suitable immunogenic fragments of CRCV include the Spike (S) and the hemagglutinin-esterase (HE) surface proteins, the membrane glycoprotein (M), and the nucleocapsid protein (N), or immunogenic portions thereof.",
"The CRCV-like Spike and HE proteins described in WO 2004/011651 may also be suitable as agents that raise an immune response against CRCV.",
"Closely related coronaviruses, such as bovine coronavirus and human coronavirus, and immunogenic fragments thereof, may also be suitable as agents that raise an immune response against CRCV.",
"The entire disclosure of WO 2004/011651 relating to agents that can be used as a vaccine component against CRCV, is incorporated herein by reference.",
"[0100] Typically, an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV comprises inactivated or attenuated CPIV, or an immunogenic fragment thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said immunogenic fraction.",
"[0101] Typically, an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2 comprises inactivated or attenuated CAV-2, or an immunogenic fragment thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said immunogenic fraction.",
"[0102] Canine adenovirus type 1 causes infectious hepatitis;",
"canine adenovirus type 2 causes respiratory disease.",
"It has been shown that CAV-I provides cross-protection against CAV-2 and vice versa.",
"The agent that raises an immune response in a dog against CAV-2 may therefore contain either CAV-1 or CAV-2, or an immunogenic fragment thereof.",
"The vaccines listed below contain CAV-2 except for EURICAN® DHPPi, which does not specify the virus type used.",
"[0103] Suitable agents that raise an immune response in a dog against CPIV and CAV-2 are known to a person of skill in the art.",
"For example, the following dog vaccines are licensed in the UK.",
"[0104] KAVAK® DA 2 PiP69 by Fort Dodge Animal Health is a live freeze-dried vaccine containing attenuated strains of canine distemper virus, canine adenovirus type 2, canine parainfluenza type 2 and canine parvovirus grown in tissue culture.",
"[0105] KAVAK® Parainfluenza by Fort Dodge Animal Health contains live freeze-dried vaccine derived from an attenuated strain of canine parainfluenza virus type 2 cultivated on an established homologous cell-line.",
"[0106] NOBIVAC® DHPPi by Intervet UK Limited is a live attenuated freeze-dried, virus vaccine containing canine distemper virus, canine adenovirus type 2, canine parvovirus and canine parainfluenza virus grown in cell line tissue culture.",
"[0107] NOBIVAC® KC by Intervet UK Limited is a modified live freeze-dried vaccine containing Bordetella bronchiseptica strain B-C2 and canine parainfluenza virus strain Cornell (this is an intranasal vaccine).",
"Management authorisation number Vm 06376/4026.",
"[0108] EURICAN® DHPPi by Merial Animal Health Ltd. is a combined live freeze-dried vaccine against canine distemper, infectious canine hepatitis, canine parvovirus and canine parainfluenza virus type 2.",
"[0109] VANGUARD® 7 by Pfizer Ltd. contains live attenuated canine distemper virus (Snyder Hill strain), adenovirus (CA V-2 Manhattan strain), parainfluenza virus (NL-CPI-5 strain), canine parvovirus (NL-35-D) propagated in an established cell line, and an inactivated culture of Leptospira canicola and Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae.",
"[0110] QUANTUM® DOG 7 by Shering-Plough Animal Health contains canine distemper, adenovirus type 2, parvovirus, parainfluenza virus type 2 vaccine (living) and inactivated Leptospira canicola and Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae vaccine.",
"[0111] CANIGEN DHPPi by Virbac Ltd. is a live attenuated, freeze-dried, virus vaccine containing canine distemper virus, canine adenovirus (CAV-2), canine parvovirus and canine parainfluenza virus grown in cell line tissue culture.",
"[0112] CANIGEN Ppi by Virbac Ltd. is a live attenuated, freeze-dried virus vaccine containing canine parvovirus and canine parainfluenza virus grown in cell line tissue culture.",
"[0113] Typically, an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CHV comprises inactivated or attenuated CHV, or an immunogenic fragment thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said immunogenic fraction.",
"[0114] Suitable agents that raise an immune response in a dog against CHV are known to a person of skill in the art.",
"For example, EURICAN Herpes 205 by Merial is a purified sub-unit vaccine against CHV which is indicated for the active immunization of pregnant bitches to prevent mortality, clinical signs and lesions in puppies resulting from CHV infections acquired in the first days of life.",
"It is not licensed for the vaccination of adult dogs for the prevention of respiratory disease.",
"[0115] Typically, an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica comprises inactivated or attenuated B. bronchiseptica , or an immunogenic fragment thereof, or a nucleic acid encoding said immunogenic fraction.",
"[0116] Suitable agents that raise an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica are known to a person of skill in the art.",
"For example, the following dog vaccines are licensed for use.",
"[0117] COUGHGUARD-B® by Pfizer Animal Health (U.S. Vet.",
"Lic.",
"No. 189) contains an inactivated culture of B. bronchiseptica .",
"It is for the immunization of healthy dogs against disease caused by B. bronchiseptica , in particular kennel cough.",
"COUGHGUARD-B® is prepared from a highly antigenic strain of B. bronchiseptica which has been inactivated and processed to be nontoxic when administered to dogs.",
"The production method is reported to leave the immunogenic properties of B. bronchiseptica intact.",
"[0118] VANGUARD® 5/B by Pfizer Animal Health (U.S. Vet.",
"Lic.",
"No. 189) contains attenuated strains of canine distemper virus (CDV), CAV-2, CPIV, and canine parvovirus (CPV) propagated on an established canine cell line.",
"The CPV antigen was attenuated by low passage on the canine cell line and at that passage level has immunogenic properties capable of overriding maternal antibodies.",
"The vaccine is packaged in lyophilized form with inert gas in place of vacuum.",
"The bacterin component containing inactivated whole cultures of B. bronchiseptica which is supplied as diluent.",
"The B. bronchiseptica component in VANGUARD® 5/B is prepared from a highly antigenic strain which has been inactivated and processed to be nontoxic when administered to dogs.",
"[0119] NASAGUARD-B™ by Pfizer Animal Health (U.S. Vet.",
"Lic.",
"No. 112) is composed of an avirulent live culture of B. bronchiseptica bacteria.",
"[0120] PROGARD®-KC by Intervet is a modified live intranasal vaccine containing attenuated canine parainfluenza virus and Bordetella bronchiseptica avirulent live culture.",
"PROGARD®-KC is presented in a desiccated form with sterile diluent provided for reconstitution.",
"PROGARD®-KC is for vaccination of healthy, susceptible puppies and dogs for prevention of canine infectious tracheobronchitis (“kennel cough”) due to canine parainfluenza virus and B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0121] PROGARD®-KC PLUS by Intervet contains live culture of avirulent strains of B. bronchiseptica , attenuated canine adenovirus type 2 and parainfluenza virus for intranasal administration.",
"Vaccination with PROGARD®-KC PLUS stimulates rapid, local immunity in the respiratory tract, thereby inhibiting infection at the port of entry as well as preventing clinical signs.",
"In addition to local immunity, it also stimulates systemic immunity within three weeks of intranasal administration.",
"The small volume (0.4 ml) and one nostril application of PROGARD®-KC PLUS provide for ease in vaccination, particularly in small breeds and young puppies.",
"PROGARD®-KC PLUS is presented in a desiccated form with sterile diluent provided for reconstitution.",
"PROGARD®-KC PLUS is for vaccination of healthy dogs and puppies three weeks of age or older for prevention of canine infectious tracheobronchitis (“kennel cough”) due to canine adenovirus type 2, parainfluenza virus and B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0122] Intrac by Intervet is a freeze dried modified live vaccine, containing B. bronchiseptica strain S 55, for intranasal administration.",
"Product licence number PL 020114011.",
"[0123] Nobivac® KC, described above, also contains B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0124] In an embodiment, the vaccine composition comprises: (a) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against S. zooepidemicus ;",
"and/or (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against M. cynos , and, optionally, anyone or more of: (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila;",
"(d) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV;",
"(e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV;",
"(f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2;",
"(g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CHV;",
"and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0133] In a preferred embodiment, the vaccine composition comprises: (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog;",
"and (d) an agent capable of raising an Immune response against CRCV in a dog.",
"[0136] In another preferred embodiment, the vaccine composition comprises: (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog;",
"and (d) an agent capable of raising an Immune response against CRCV in a dog;",
"and anyone or more of: (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila;",
"(e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV;",
"(f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2;",
"(g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CHV;",
"and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0144] It is thus appreciated that as well as agents (b) and (d), the composition may contain any two of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h), or any three or any four of all five of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h).",
"[0145] In another preferred embodiment, the vaccine composition comprises (a) an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog;",
"and (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog;",
"and (d) an agent capable of raising an Immune response against CRCV in a dog;",
"and anyone or more of: (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila;",
"(e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV;",
"(f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2;",
"(g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CHV;",
"and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0154] It is thus appreciated that as well as agents (a), (b) and (d), the composition may contain any two of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h), or any three, or any four, of all five of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h).",
"[0155] A second aspect of the invention provides a method of vaccinating a dog against CIRD comprising administering to the dog a vaccine composition according to the first aspect of the invention.",
"[0156] A third aspect of the invention provides a method of treating CIRD in a dog comprising administering to the dog a vaccine composition according to the first aspect of the invention.",
"[0157] Thus it can be seen that the vaccine composition of the first aspect of the invention may be used in combating CIRD whether prophylactically or therapeutically.",
"[0158] A fourth aspect of the invention provides the use of anyone or more of: (a) an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog;",
"(b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog;",
"and (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila ;",
"in the preparation of a medicament for prophylaxis or treatment of CIRD in a dog.",
"[0162] In an embodiment, the medicament further comprises anyone or more of: (d) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV;",
"(e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV;",
"(f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2;",
"(g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV;",
"and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0168] In this and all subsequent aspects of the invention, preferences for (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g) and (h) are as described with respect to the first aspect of the invention.",
"[0169] A fifth aspect of the invention provides a method of stimulating an immune response against anyone or more of S. zooepidemicus, M. cynos and a Chlamydophila in a dog, the method comprising administering to the dog a respective anyone or more of: (a) an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog;",
"(b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog;",
"and (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila.",
"[0173] In an embodiment, the method further comprises administering anyone or more of: (d) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV;",
"(e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV;",
"(f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2;",
"(g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV;",
"and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0179] A sixth aspect of the invention provides the use of anyone or more of: (a) an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog;",
"(b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog;",
"and (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila;",
"in the preparation of a medicament for stimulating an immune response against said respective anyone or more of S. zooepidemicus, M. cynos and a Chlamydophila in a dog.",
"[0184] In an embodiment, the medicament further comprises anyone or more of: (d) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV;",
"(e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV;",
"(f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2;",
"(g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV;",
"and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0190] A seventh aspect of the invention provides a composition comprising any one or more of: (a) an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog;",
"(b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog;",
"and (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila, for use in medicine.",
"Thus the composition is packaged and presented for use in medicine.",
"[0195] It is appreciated that the composition may contain any two of these agents, for example (a) and (b), (a) and (c), or (b) and (c).",
"The composition may contain all three of these agents (a), (b) and (c).",
"[0196] In an embodiment, the composition is for use in veterinary medicine.",
"Thus the composition is packaged and presented for use in veterinary medicine.",
"[0197] Typically, the composition is for use in canine veterinary medicine.",
"Thus the composition is packaged and presented for use in canine veterinary medicine, ie it is packaged and presented for use in dogs.",
"[0198] In an embodiment, the composition further comprises anyone or more of: (d) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV;",
"(e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV;",
"(f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2;",
"(g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV;",
"and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0204] In an embodiment of this aspect, the composition comprises: (a) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against S. zooepidemicus ;",
"and/or (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against M. cynos , and, optionally, anyone or more of: (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila;",
"(d) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV;",
"(e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV;",
"(f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2;",
"(g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV;",
"and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0213] In a preferred embodiment of this aspect, the composition comprises: (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog;",
"and (d) an agent capable of raising an immune response against CRCV in a dog.",
"[0216] In another preferred embodiment of this aspect, the composition comprises: (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog;",
"and (d) an agent capable of raising an Immune response against CRCV in a dog;",
"and anyone or more of: (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila;",
"(e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV;",
"(f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2;",
"(g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CHV;",
"and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0224] It is thus appreciated that as well as agents (b) and (d), the composition may contain any two of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h), or any three or any four of all five of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h).",
"[0225] In another preferred embodiment of this aspect, the composition comprises (a) an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog;",
"and (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog;",
"and (d) an agent capable of raising an Immune response against CRCV in a dog;",
"and anyone or more of: (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila;",
"(e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV;",
"f) (an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2;",
"(g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV;",
"and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0234] It is thus appreciated that as well as agents (a), (b) and (d), the composition may contain any two of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h), or any three, or any four, of all five of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h).",
"[0235] An eighth aspect of the invention provides a kit of parts for the vaccine composition of the first aspect of the invention, comprising anyone or more of: (a) an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog;",
"(b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog;",
"and (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila, [0239] and optionally a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, diluent or adjuvant.",
"[0240] It is appreciated that the kit of parts may contain any two of these agents, for example (a) and (b), (a) and (c) or (b) and (c).",
"The kit may contain all three of these agents (a), (b) and (c).",
"[0241] In an embodiment, the kit further comprises anyone or more of: (d) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV;",
"(e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV;",
"(f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2;",
"(g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV;",
"and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0247] In an embodiment of this aspect, the kit comprises: (a) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against S. zooepidemicus ;",
"and/or (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against M. cynos, and, optionally, anyone or more of: (c) an agent capable of raising a dog an Immune response III against a Chlamydophila;",
"(d) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRCV;",
"(e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV;",
"(f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2;",
"(g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV;",
"and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0256] In a preferred embodiment of this aspect, the kit comprises: (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog;",
"and (d) an agent capable of raising an Immune response against CRCV in a dog.",
"[0259] In another preferred embodiment of this aspect, the kit comprises: (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog;",
"and (d) an agent capable of raising an immune response against CRCV in a dog;",
"and anyone or more of: (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila;",
"(e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV;",
"(f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2;",
"(g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV;",
"and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0267] It is thus appreciated that as well as agents (b) and (d), the kit may contain any two of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h), or any three or any four of all five of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h).",
"[0269] In another preferred embodiment of this aspect, the kit comprises: (a) an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog;",
"and (b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog;",
"and (d) an agent capable of raising an Immune response against CRCV in a dog;",
"and anyone or more of: (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against a Chlamydophila;",
"(e) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CPIV;",
"(f) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CAV-2;",
"(g) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against CRV;",
"and (h) an agent capable of raising an immune response in a dog against B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0278] It is thus appreciated that as well as agents (a), (b) and (d), the kit may contain any two of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h), or any three, or any four, of all five of agents (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h).",
"[0279] In a ninth aspect, the invention provides a method of making an antibody against anyone or more of S. zooepidemicus, M. cynos or a Chlamydophila , comprising raising an immune response to said respective anyone or more of S. zooepidemicus , M. cynos or a Chlamydophila , or an immunogenic fragment thereof, in an animal, and preparing an antibody from the animal or from an immortal cell derived therefrom.",
"[0280] Methods and techniques for producing a monoclonal antibody are well known to a person of skill in the art, for example those disclosed in “ Monoclonal Antibodies: A manual of techniques ”, R Zola (CRC Press, 1988) and in “ Monoclonal Hybridoma Antibodies: Techniques and Applications ”, J G R Hurrell (CRC Press, 1982), incorporated herein by reference.",
"[0281] A tenth aspect of the invention provides a method of obtaining an antibody against anyone or more of S. zooepidemicus, M. cynos or a Chlamydophila , comprising selecting an antibody from an antibody-display library using said respective anyone or more of S. zooepidemicus, M. cynos or a Chlamydophila , or an immunogenic fragment thereof.",
"[0282] In an embodiment of the ninth and tenth aspects, the Chlamydophila is C. abortus or C. psittaci or C. felis .",
"In another embodiment the Chlamydophila is C. muridarum, C. pecorum, C. pneumoniae, C. suis or C. trachomatis.",
"[0283] An eleventh aspect of the invention provides an antibody that specifically binds to S. zooepidemicus, M. cynos or a Chlamydophila .",
"This can be made by the methods of the ninth and tenth aspects of the invention.",
"[0284] In an embodiment, the antibody that specifically binds to a Chlamydophila binds to C. abortus or C. psittaci or C. felis .",
"In another embodiment the antibody that specifically binds to a Chlamydophila binds to C. muridarum, C. pecorum, C. pneumoniae, C. suis or C. trachomatis.",
"[0285] In the context of this and subsequent aspects of the invention, by “antibody”",
"we include not only whole immunoglobulin molecules but also fragments thereof such as Fab, F(ab′) 2 , Fv and other fragments thereof that retain the antigen-binding site.",
"Similarly in these contexts, the term “antibody”",
"includes genetically engineered derivatives of antibodies such as single chain Fv molecules (scFv) and domain antibodies (dAbs).",
"The term also includes antibody-like molecules which may be produced using phage-display techniques or other random selection techniques for molecules which bind to the particular organism or to regions of the particular organism.",
"Thus, in these contexts, the term antibody includes all molecules which contain a structure, preferably a peptide structure, which is part of the recognition site (i.e. the part of the antibody that binds or combines with the epitope or antigen) of a natural antibody.",
"[0286] The variable heavy (V H ) and variable light (V L ) domains of the antibody are involved in antigen recognition, a fact first recognized by early protease digestion experiments.",
"Further confirmation was found by “humanization”",
"of rodent antibodies.",
"Variable domains of rodent origin may be fused to constant domains of human origin such that the resultant antibody retains the antigenic specificity of the rodent parented antibody (Morrison et al.",
"(1984) PNAS USA 81:6851-6855).",
"[0287] That antigenic specificity is conferred by variable domains and is independent of the constant domains is known from experiments involving the bacterial expression of antibody fragments, all containing one or more variable domains.",
"These molecules include Fab-like molecules (Better et al.",
"(1988) Science 240:1041);",
"Fv molecules (Skerra et al.",
"(1988) Science 240:1038);",
"single-chain Fv (ScFv) molecules where the V H and V L partner domains are linked via a flexible oligopeptide (Bird et al.",
"(1988) Science 242:423;",
"Huston et al.",
"(1988) PNAS USA 85:5879) and single domain antibodies (dAbs) comprising isolated V domains (Ward et al.",
"(1989) Nature 341:544).",
"A general review of the techniques involved in the synthesis of antibody fragments which retain their specific binding sites is to be found in Winter &",
"Milstein (1991) Nature 349:293-299.",
"[0288] By “ScFv molecules”",
"we mean molecules wherein the V H and V L partner domains are linked via a flexible oligopeptide.",
"Engineered antibodies, such as ScFv antibodies, can be made using the techniques and approaches described in J. Huston et al.",
", (1988) “Protein engineering of antibody binding sites: recovery of specific activity in an anti-digoxin single chain Fv analogue produced in E. coli ”, PNAS USA, 85:58795883, and in A. Pluckthun, (June 1991) “Antibody engineering;",
"Advances from use of E. coli expression systems”, Bio/technology, vol.",
"9, incorporated herein by reference.",
"[0289] The advantages of using antibody fragments, rather than whole antibodies, are several-fold.",
"The smaller size of the fragments may lead to improved pharmacological properties, such as better penetration to the target site.",
"Effector functions of whole antibodies, such as complement binding, are removed.",
"Fab, Fv, ScFv and dAb antibody fragments can all be expressed in and secreted from E. coli , thus allowing the facile production of large amounts of the fragments.",
"[0290] Whole antibodies, and F(ab′) 2 fragments are “bivalent.”",
"By “bivalent”",
"we mean that the antibodies and F(ab′) 2 fragments have two antigen combining sites.",
"In contrast, Fab, Fv, ScFv and dAb fragments are monovalent, having only one antigen combining site.",
"[0291] Although the antibody may be a polyclonal antibody, it is preferred if it is a monoclonal antibody.",
"In some circumstance, particularly if the antibody is going to be administered repeatedly to a dog, it is preferred if the monoclonal antibody is a dog monoclonal antibody or a “caninised”",
"antibody.",
"[0292] Polyclonal antibodies may be produced which are polyspecific or monospecific.",
"It is preferred that they are monospecific.",
"Chimeric antibodies are discussed by Neuberger et al.",
"(1998, 8th International Biotechnology Symposium Part 2, 792-799).",
"[0293] It is preferred if the antibody is a “caninised”",
"antibody.",
"Suitably prepared non-dog antibodies can be “caninised”",
"in known ways, for example by inserting the CDR regions of mouse antibodies into the framework of dog antibodies.",
"Caninised antibodies can be made using techniques and approaches corresponding to those described for humanisation of antibodies in M. Verhoeyen, C. Milstein and G. Winter (1988) “Reshaping human antibodies: Grafting an anti lysozyme activity”, Science, 239:1534-1536, and in C. Kettleborough et al.",
", (1991) “Humanisation of a mouse monoclonal antibody by CDR grafting;",
"The importance of framework residues in loop conformation”, Protein Engineering, 14(7):773-783, incorporated herein by reference.",
"[0294] It is appreciated that a dog can passively acquire immunity against CIRD by being administered an antibody that reacts with an agent that is involved in the disease.",
"[0295] Thus, a twelfth aspect of the invention provides a method of passively immunizing a dog against CIRD comprising administering to the dog one or more antibodies that specifically bind to a respective one or more of S. zooepidemicus , M. cynos, and a Chlamydophila.",
"[0296] The antibodies that specifically bind to the S. zooepidemicus , M. cynos, and the Chlamydophila may be made or obtained using standard techniques such as those described above.",
"[0297] It is appreciated that CIRD in a dog may be treated by administering an antibody that reacts with an agent that is involved in the disease.",
"[0298] In a thirteenth aspect, the invention provides a method of treating CiRD in a dog comprising administering to the dog one or more antibodies that specifically bind to a respective one or more of S. zooepidemicus , M. cynos, and a Chlamydophila.",
"[0299] In an embodiment of the twelfth or thirteenth aspects, the antibody that specifically binds to the Chlamydophila binds to C. abortus , or C. psittaci or C. felis .",
"In another embodiment the antibody that specifically binds to the Chlamydophila binds to C. muridarum, C. pecorum, C. pneumoniae, C. suis or C. trachomatis.",
"[0300] In an embodiment of the twelfth or thirteenth aspects, the method further comprises administering antibodies that specifically bind to anyone or more of CRCV, CPIV, CAV-2, CHV, and B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0301] The antibodies that specifically bind to CRCV, CPIV, CAV-2, CHV, and B. bronchiseptica can be made using standard techniques such as those described above.",
"[0302] A fourteenth aspect of the invention provides the use of one or more antibodies that specifically bind to a respective one or more of S. zooepidemicus , M. cynos, and a Chlamydophila , in the preparation of a medicament for passively immunizing a dog against CIRD.",
"[0303] A fifteenth aspect of the invention provides the use of one or more antibodies that specifically bind to a respective one or more of S. zooepidemicus, M. cynos , and a Chlamydophila , in the preparation of a medicament for treating CIRD in a dog.",
"[0304] In an embodiment of the fourteenth or fifteenth aspects, the antibody that specifically binds to the Chlamydophila binds to C. abortus , or C. psittaci or C. felis .",
"In another embodiment the antibody that specifically binds to the Chlamydophila binds to C. muridarum, C. pecorum, C. pneumoniae, C. suis or C. trachomatis.",
"[0305] In an embodiment of the fourteenth or fifteenth aspects, the medicament further comprises antibodies that specifically bind to anyone or more of CRCV, CPIV, CAV-2, CHV, and B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0306] A sixteenth aspect of the invention provides a composition comprising any two or more of an antibody that specifically binds to S. zooepidemicus , an antibody that specifically binds to M. cynos, and an antibody that specifically binds to a Chlamydophila.",
"[0307] In an embodiment, the antibody that specifically binds to the Chlamydophila binds to C. abortus , or C. psittaci or C. felis .",
"In another embodiment the antibody that specifically binds to the Chlamydophila binds to C. muridarum, C. pecorum, C. pneumoniae, C. suis or C. trachomatis.",
"[0308] In an embodiment, the composition further comprises antibodies that specifically bind to anyone or more of CRCV, CPIV, CAV-2, CHV, and B. bronchiseptica.",
"[0309] It will also be appreciated that the invention includes diagnostic methods and assays.",
"Thus, the invention provides a method of determining whether a dog has been exposed to a Chlamydophila species associated with CIRD, the method comprising: (a) obtaining a suitable sample from the dog;",
"and (b) identifying a Chlamydophila species associated with CIRD, or an antibody there to, in the sample.",
"[0312] Typically, the Chlamydophila species is one which has a 23S RNA comprising the sequence (when shown as RNA) of any of SEQ ID Nos: 1 to 8 (see FIGS. 5 and 8 which show partial 23S RNA sequences, and Example 3).",
"[0313] The invention also provides a method of determining whether a dog has or is susceptible to CIRD, the method comprising: (a) obtaining a suitable sample from the dog;",
"and (b) identifying anyone or more of S. zooepidemicus or M. cynos or Chlamydophila , or an antibody to any of these, in the sample.",
"[0316] It will be appreciated that the methods can detect, in one embodiment, present exposure to the organism for example by detecting the organism itself or a component thereof (such as protein or nucleic acid) within the sample.",
"The methods can also detect past exposure to the organism by detecting antibodies in the sample which are directed at the organism or to components thereof.",
"[0317] Typically, the sample is any suitable sample, including antibody containing samples such as serum, saliva, tracheal wash and bronchiolar lavage.",
"[0318] The presence of the organism in the dog from which the sample is derived may therefore be determined by analyzing the sample for the presence of the organism or component thereof.",
"For example, for nucleic acid components, including 23S RNA, nucleic acid is extracted and may be copied into DNA if necessary, and detected, for example, using techniques involving high stringency hybridization, specific amplification, nucleotide sequencing and other methods well known to the person skilled in the art (Sambrook et al.",
"(2001) supra).",
"By hybridizing “at high stringency”",
"is meant that the polynucleotide and the nucleic acid to which it hybridizes have sufficient nucleotide sequence similarity that they can hybridize under highly stringent conditions.",
"As is well known in the art, the stringency of nucleic acid hybridization depends on factors such as length of nucleic acid over which hybridization occurs, degree of identity of the hybridizing sequences and on factors such as temperature, ionic strength and CG or AT content of the sequence.",
"[0319] Nucleic acids which can hybridize at high stringency to nucleic acid molecules of the organism include nucleic acids which have >90% sequence identity, preferably those with >95% or >96% or >97% or >98, more preferably those with >99% sequence identity, over at least a portion of the nucleic acid of the organism.",
"[0320] Typical highly stringent hybridization conditions which lead to selective hybridization are known in the art, for example those described in Sambrook et al.",
"2001 (supra), incorporated herein by reference.",
"[0321] An example of a typical hybridization solution when a nucleic acid is immobilized on a nylon membrane and the probe nucleic acid is >500 bases is: [0322] 6×SSC (saline sodium citrate) [0323] 0.5% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) [0324] 100 μg/ml denatured, fragmented salmon sperm DNA.",
"[0325] The hybridization is performed at 68° C. The nylon membrane, with the nucleic acid immobilised, may be washed at 68° C. in 0.1×SSC.",
"[0326] 20×SSC may be prepared in the following way.",
"Dissolve 175.3 g of NaCl and 88.2 g of sodium citrate in 800 ml of H 2 0.",
"Adjust the pH to 7.0 with a few drops of a 10N solution of NaOH.",
"Adjust the volume to 1 liter with H 2 0.",
"Dispense into aliquots.",
"Sterilize by autoclaving.",
"[0327] An example of a typical hybridization solution when a nucleic acid is immobilized on a nylon membrane and the probe is an oligonucleotide of between 15 and 50 bases is: [0328] 3.0 M trimethylammonium chloride (TMACl) [0329] 0.01 M sodium phosphate (pH 6.8) [0330] 1 mm EDTA (pH 7.6) [0331] 0.5% SDS [0332] 100 μg/ml denatured, fragmented salmon sperm DNA [0333] 0.1% non-fat dried milk.",
"[0334] The optimal temperature for hybridization is usually chosen to be 5° C. below the T i for the given chain length.",
"T i is the irreversible melting temperature of the hybrid formed between the probe and its target sequence.",
"Jacobs et al.",
"(1988) Nucl.",
"Acids Res.",
"16:4637 discusses the determination of T i S. The recommended hybridization temperature for 17-mers in 3M TMACI is 48-50° C.;",
"for 19-mers, it is 55-57° C.;",
"and for 20-mers, it is 58-66° C. [0335] Assaying a protein component of the organism in a sample from the dog can be done using any method known in the art.",
"Typically, such methods are antibody bound, and the antibody binds to the organism or a component thereof.",
"[0336] For example, expression of protein from the organism can be studied with classical immunohistological methods.",
"In these, the specific recognition is provided by the primary antibody (polyclonal or monoclonal) but the secondary detection system can utilize fluorescent, enzyme, or other conjugated secondary antibodies.",
"As a result, an immunohistological staining of tissue section for pathological examination is obtained.",
"Tissues can also be extracted, e.g., with urea and neutral detergent, for the liberation of protein for Western-blot or dot/slot assay (Jalkanen, M., et al.",
"J. Cell.",
"Biol.",
"101:976-985 (1985);",
"Jalkanen, M., et al.",
", J. Cell.",
"Biol.",
"105:3087-3096 (1987).",
"In this technique, which is based on the use of cationic solid phases, quantitation of protein can be accomplished using isolated protein as a standard.",
"This technique can also be applied to body fluid samples.",
"[0337] Other antibody-based methods useful for detecting protein expression include immunoassays, such as the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the radioimmunoassay (RIA).",
"For example, a reactive monoclonal antibody can be used both as an immunoadsorbent and as an enzyme-labeled probe to detect and quantify the protein.",
"The amount of protein present in the sample can be calculated by reference to the amount present in a standard preparation using a linear regression computer algorithm.",
"Such an ELISA for detecting a tumor antigen is described in Iacobelli et al.",
"Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 11:19-30 (1988).",
"In another ELISA assay, two distinct specific monoclonal antibodies can be used to detect protein in a body fluid.",
"In this assay, one of the antibodies is used as the immunoadsorbent and the other as the enzyme-labeled probe.",
"[0338] The above techniques may be conducted essentially as a “one-step”",
"or “two-step”",
"assay.",
"The “one-step”",
"assay involves contacting protein with immobilized antibody and, without washing, contacting the mixture with the labeled antibody.",
"[0339] The “two-step”",
"assay involves washing before contacting the mixture with the labeled antibody.",
"Other conventional methods may also be employed as suitable.",
"It is usually desirable to immobilize one component of the assay system on a support, thereby allowing other components of the system to be brought into contact with the component and readily removed from the sample.",
"[0340] Suitable enzyme labels include, for example, those from the oxidase group, which catalyze the production of hydrogen peroxide by reacting with substrate.",
"Glucose oxidase is particularly preferred as it has good stability and its substrate (glucose) is readily available.",
"Activity of an oxidase label may be assayed by measuring the concentration of hydrogen peroxide formed by the enzyme-labeled antibody/substrate reaction.",
"Besides enzymes, other suitable labels include radioisotopes, such as iodine ( 125 I, 121 I), carbon ( 14 C), sulfur ( 35 S), tritium ( 3 H), indium ( 112 In), and technetium ( 99 mTc), and fluorescent labels, such as fluorescein and rhodamine, and biotin.",
"[0341] Antibodies to the organism or component thereof may be detected using, for example, the well known technique of immunosorbent assay, such as an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).",
"[0342] Thus, a further aspect of the invention provides an immunosorbent assay for detecting antibodies associated with CIRD, the assay comprising: a solid phase coated with anyone or more of (a) an agent capable of raising an immune response against S. zooepidemicus in a dog;",
"(b) an agent capable of raising an immune response against M. cynos in a dog;",
"and (c) an agent capable of raising an immune response against a Chlamydophila in a dog;",
"and a detectable label conjugate which will bind to the antibodies bound to the solid phase.",
"[0343] Preferably, the solid phase is a microtiter well.",
"Further preferably, the conjugate comprises anti-dog antibody antibody.",
"Preferably, the conjugate comprises an enzyme, for example horseradish peroxidase.",
"Further preferably, the immunosorbent assay also comprises a substrate for the enzyme.",
"The invention includes a kit of parts which include the components of the immunosorbent assay.",
"The kit of parts may thus include a solid phase such as a microtiter plate, protein from the organism or organisms for coating the solid phase, a detectable label conjugate, such as an anti-dog antibody, which will bind to anti-organism (or component thereof) antibodies bound to the solid phase.",
"[0344] If the detectable label conjugate is an enzyme, the kit of parts may also include a substrate for the enzyme.",
"The kit may also include a positive control sample that contains an antibody known to react with the antigen on the solid substrate, and a negative control sample.",
"[0345] The invention also includes a solid phase substrate coated with anyone or two or all three of (a), (b) and (c) as defined above and in the first aspect of the invention.",
"Typically, the agent which is capable of raising an immune response is one which will also bind an antibody.",
"Typically, the agent is an antigenic protein.",
"Typically, protein is coated on microtiter plates overnight at 4° C. to 37° C., depending on the stability of the antigen.",
"Unbound protein is washed off with a wash buffer such as phosphate buffered saline or Tris buffered saline.",
"Serum or other samples are incubated on the plate, typically at 37° C. for between 1 and several hours.",
"Unbound material is washed off, the plates are incubated with enzyme-labelled (e.g., horseradish peroxidase) antibody, such as anti-canine IgG or IgM for serum samples, or anti-canine IgA for lung washes, for 1 to several hours at 37° C. Unbound antibody is washed off and plates are incubated with a substrate such as OPD for about 10 min, and the optical density measured in a photometer.",
"[0346] Preferably, the solid substrate is a microtiter well.",
"[0347] All of the documents referred to herein are incorporated herein, in their entirety, by reference.",
"The listing or discussion of a prior-published document in this specification should not necessarily be taken as an acknowledgement that the document is part of the state of the art or is common general knowledge.",
"[0348] The invention will now be described in more detail with the aid of the following Figures and Examples.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0349] FIG. 1 : Isolation of S. canis and S. zooepidemicus from 209 kennelled dogs with clinical respiratory score (n=total number of dogs in each group).",
"Error bars represent confidence intervals (95%).",
"[0350] FIG. 2 : Percentage of dogs with CIRD, S. canis or S. zooepidemicus with time in the kennel (n=total number of dogs in each group from a total of 209, dogs).",
"Error bars represent confidence intervals (95%).",
"[0351] FIG. 3 : Percentage of dogs with tracheal and lung M. cynos infection at increasing levels of severity of CIRD.",
"[0352] FIG. 4 : Percentage of dogs with tracheal and lung M. cynos infection after increasing lengths of time in kennels.",
"[0353] FIG. 5 : 218 partial nucleotide sequence (SEQ ID NO: 1) of the 23S rRNA gene from a Chlamydophila isolated from a dog with CIRD (DHB10).",
"[0354] FIG. 6 : Percentage of dogs with tracheal and lung Chlamydophila infection at increasing levels of severity of CIRD.",
"[0355] FIG. 7 : Partial 23S rRNA canine sequences (DHB) aligned with the 23S rRNA of all known species of Chlamydia and Chlamydophila (Cabor— C. abortus , Cpsit — C. psittaci , Cfe1— C. felis , Ccavi— C. caviae , Cpne— C. pneumoniae , Cpec— C. pecorum , Csuis— C. suis , Ctrac— C. trachomatis , Wad— Waddlia , Sim— Simkania ).",
"[0356] FIG. 8 : 218 partial nucleotide sequences (SEQ ID NOs: 2-8) of the 23S rRNA gene from seven further isolates of a Chlamydophila species isolated from a dog with CIRD (DHB 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9).",
"[0357] FIG. 9 : Percentage of dogs with tracheal and lung canine herpesvirus infection at increasing levels of severity of CIRD.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Example 1 The Association of Streptococcus Equi Sub Species Zooepidemicus with Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Summary [0358] Canine infectious respiratory disease (CIRD) is a multi-factorial infection that affects many kennelled dogs despite the wide use of vaccination.",
"Current vaccines aim to protect against viral agents and a single bacterial agent, Bordetella bronchiseptica .",
"We examined the role of streptococcal species in CIRD.",
"The isolation and identification of streptococci in the lower respiratory tract of clinically healthy dogs and those with CIRD were used to correlate the presence of specific streptococcal species with respiratory disease.",
"We show that the presence of S. equi sub species zooepidemicus ( S. zooepidemicus ) is associated with increasing severity of disease in a population of kennelled dogs with endemic CIRD.",
"Introduction [0359] CIRD is an infection that affects dogs of all ages and commonly occurs when large numbers of dogs are housed together in close confinement.",
"The disease has high morbidity with the dry hacking cough characteristic of laryngitis in the early stages, nasal and/or ocular discharges, and variable anorexia and depression, which can progress to tracheobronchitis, pneumonia and even death in more severe cases.",
"The disease has historically been regarded as a complex infection in which combined or sequential challenge with both viral (CPIV and CAV-2) and bacterial agents produces a synergistic enhancement of the clinical scores (Appel and Binn, 1987).",
"The most common bacterial agent detected during the disease is B. bronchiseptica (McCandlish et al.",
"1978), but other bacterial species such as Pasteurella sp.",
", Mycoplasma sp.",
"and β-haemolytic streptococci (βhS) have all been associated with disease (McCandlish et al.",
", 1978;",
"Rosendal, 1978;",
"Thrusfield et al.",
", 1991).",
"[0360] Many studies involving bacterial isolation from the upper (oral and nasal cavity) and lower respiratory tract (trachea and lungs) of both diseased and healthy dogs mention the presence of βhS (Smith, 1967;",
"McCandlish et al.",
", 1978;",
"McKieman et al.",
", 1982;",
"Azetaka and Konishi, 1988).",
"However, despite the variety of species of βhS found in the upper respiratory tract of dogs, only a few investigations have focused upon the species of βhS involved in lower airway disease (Garnett et al.",
", 1982;",
"Angus et al.",
", 1997).",
"Although species of βhS in the canine respiratory tract were noted by Biberstein et al.",
", (1980) this study neglected to distinguish between carriage in the upper and lower respiratory tract.",
"Furthermore, even though isolation was from veterinary hospital patients the reason for referral and therefore any link to specific clinical conditions was omitted.",
"The most common βhS in dogs, S. canis , a Lancefield Group G Streptococcus , is a normal commensal of the genital and respiratory mucosa as well as skin (Timoney, 1987;",
"Quinn et al.",
", 1999).",
"Streptococcus canis ( S. canis ) has previously been isolated from the tonsils of 60 to 73% of healthy dogs (Smith, 1967;",
"Sadatsune and Moreno, 1975;",
"Biberstein and Hirsh, 1999).",
"S. canis causes a variety of sporadic and opportunistic infections in dogs, including pneumonia, septicemia, abscesses, otitis, mastitis, pyometra, proctitis, toxic shock syndrome and necrotising fasciitis (Biberstein and Hirsh, 1999;",
"Quinn et al.",
", 1999).",
"[0361] In addition to S. canis βhS of other Lancefield Groups, such as A, C and E, have also been isolated from dogs (Biberstein et al.",
", 1980).",
"S. zooepidemicus Lancefield Group C, is found as a commensal of the upper respiratory tract mucosa of mammals (Timoney et al.",
", 1988;",
"Quinn et al.",
", 1999).",
"It is associated with several disease syndromes including lower airway disease, foal pneumonia and cervicitis in horses (Chanter, 1997;",
"Biberstein and Hirsh, 1999), pneumonia in llamas (Biberstein and Hirsh, 1999), septicemia and arthritis in pigs (Timoney, 1987), mastitis in cows and goats (Timoney et al.",
", 1988), septicemia in poultry, pericarditis and pneumonia in lambs (Timoney, 1987), lymphadenitis in guinea pigs (Quinn et al.",
", 1999) and glomerulonephritis in humans (Balter et al.",
", 2000).",
"In dogs S. zooepidemicus has been associated with wound infections, septicemia (Quinn et al.",
", 1999) and acute necrotizing hemorrhagic pneumonia (Garnett et al.",
", 1982).",
"In this study we sought to establish which species of βhS are present in the respiratory tract of both healthy dogs and those with CIRD.",
"Materials &",
"Methods Study Populations and Sampling [0362] The main study population (n=209, bronchial alveolar lavage, BAL) comprised animals from a well-established re-homimg kennel (˜600 dogs) with a history of endemic CIRD.",
"On entry to the kennel all dogs were vaccinated with KAVAK DA 2 PiP69 (Fort Dodge) a live attenuated vaccine for distemper virus, CAV-2, CPIV and canine parvovirus and KAVAK L against Leptospirosis.",
"The presence of both canine coronavirus (CRCV) and B. bronchiseptica has been demonstrated in dogs with CIRD in this center (Chalker et al.",
", 2003;",
"Erles et al.",
", 2003).",
"Each week this kennel must sacrifice some dogs for welfare reasons and from these dogs 2-3 were selected arbitrarily for sampling.",
"BAL samples were taken by the following method from a total of 209 individual dogs over a 2 year period from 1999 to 2001.",
"Within 2 hours of euthanasia the trachea was clamped just above the bifurcation to prevent any tracheal contamination of the lung during sampling.",
"Using sterile catheter tubing 50 ml Hanks Balanced Salt solution was then placed into the left apical lung lobe.",
"This lung lobe was then massaged manually for 30 seconds and the BAL withdrawn.",
"At euthanasia dogs were also graded for the severity of clinical respiratory score into the following categories: (1) No respiratory signs, n=71 (2) Mild cough, n=37 (3) Cough and nasal discharge, n=76 (4) Cough and nasal discharge with depression and/or inappetence n=9 (5) suppurative bronchopneumonia, n=16.",
"[0363] After BAL sampling a section of lung tissue from the right distal lobe was taken for histological analysis.",
"Formalin fixed (10% formalin saline) tissue blocks were embedded in paraffin, and standard hemtoxylin and eosin stained sections were viewed under a light microscope (X40, XIOO, X400).",
"The presence or absence of intra-alveolar neutrophils was noted.",
"[0364] The total number of days each dog spent in the kennel was recorded and time in the kennel was then calculated in weeks.",
"The age and clinical condition on entry into the kennel of each animal was noted and a clinical condition composite score based on nutritional status, coat, demeanor, appetite and a general clinical examination (temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate) was graded as follows: good (1), poor (2), very poor (3).",
"[0365] An additional dog population was included as a control group that comprised of household pet dogs with clinical respiratory symptoms referred to diagnostic bacteriology at the RVC over a 2 year period (1998 to 2000) (n=71, BAL).",
"Samples from the control group were collected using an endoscopically guided technique as described by Cocoran (1998).",
"All samples in the study were kept at 4° C. until bacteriological testing, and testing was performed within 24 h of sampling excepting the calculation of CFU per ml that was performed on frozen BAL.",
"Bacterial Isolation and Identification.",
"[0366] A 50 μl volume of BAL was plated in duplicate onto Columbia Blood Agar (Oxoid Ltd., Hampshire, UK) plates with 5% sterile sheep blood, and incubated both aerobically and anaerobically for 24 hrs at 37° C. β-haemolytic colonies were identified and then purified to single colonies.",
"Gram-positive catalase-negative bacteria were identified as streptococci by colonial and cellular morphology, and then serogrouped by latex bead slide agglutination (Oxoid Ltd., Hampshire, UK) into Lancefield Groups.",
"Isolates were then identified to the species level by biochemical utilization and enzymatic action using the API20STREP manual identification kit (bioMerieux UK Ltd., Basingstoke, UK).",
"[0367] In order to detect mixed infections 3 colonies from the first 12 dogs in the study were tested by both latex bead slide agglutination and API20STREP.",
"Serial dilutions of BAL in phosphate buffered saline (Sigma-Aldrich Co",
"Ltd., Dorset, UK) were plated in triplicate, incubated as described above and the CFU per ml BAL calculated.",
"Growth of βhS was then graded as follows: none (O), <100 CFU per ml (1), 100 to 1000 CFU per ml (2), and >1 000 CFU per ml (3).",
"Statistical Analyses [0368] A significance level or probability of a type I error (α) of 0.05 was assumed for all analyses.",
"The presence of S. zooepidemicus with the age, clinical condition on entry to the kennel, weeks in the kennel, the presence of intra-alveolar neutrophils and clinical respiratory scores was analyzed using Prism (version 3.0, GraphPad Software Inc, San Diego, USA) statistical analysis software X 2 testing.",
"The correlation of bacterial growth and respiratory score was determined by use of the combined mean scores for S. zooepidemicus growth for each respiratory score, analyzed with Prism one way ANOVA (non-parametric) testing.",
"The presence of S. canis, S. zooepidemicus and respiratory disease in the sampled kennelled dogs with time in weeks was also calculated.",
"Results [0369] β-haemolytic streptococci were isolated from both study populations, and isolation from the BAL of household pets was markedly different from the 2 kennelled dogs (1.4% household, 23.9% kennel, χ 2 analysis ***p=0.000).",
"All hS isolates were found to be S. canis or S. zooepidemicus .",
"Mixed infections with differing Lancefield Groups or species were not found, furthermore all individual plates yielded colonies of uniform morphology.",
"Both S. canis and S. zooepidemicus were isolated from the kennelled dogs, whereas only a single isolate of S. zooepidemicus and no S. canis were isolated from the household pets.",
"S. zooepidemicus was found to be the predominant hS species in the kennelled dogs (92.0%).",
"The carriage of both S. canis and S. zooepidemicus was examined in the kennelled dogs within each grade of clinical respiratory score ( FIG. 1 ).",
"S. canis was present in dogs both with and without clinical scores, and isolation did not increase with disease severity.",
"By contrast, healthy dogs were less likely to have S. zooepidemicus in the lower respiratory tract than diseased animals (χ 2 analysis, **p=0.004) and the isolation of S. zooepidemicus increased dramatically with increasing clinical respiratory score, from 9.7% in dogs with no symptoms to 87.5% in those dogs with suppurative 2 bronchopneumonia (χ 2 analysis, ***p=0.000).",
"Dogs with higher respiratory scores were also more likely to have a greater mean S. zooepidemicus bacterial growth score than clinically healthy dogs (one way ANOVA analysis ***p=0.000.",
"R squared=0.194, F=22.265).",
"The age and clinical condition of the animal on entry to the kennel had no affect on the isolation of S. zooepidemicus (χ 2 analysis, age p=0.341, clinical condition on entry p=0.295).",
"[0370] The percentage of dogs with CIRD in the kennel increased dramatically from 21.1% in week 1 to 70.1% in week 2, and CIRD did not decrease in the population until after the fourth week ( FIG. 2 ).",
"Although no significant difference was detected, the number of dogs with S. zooepidemicus in the lung increased by 20.6% with time in the kennel from 16.7% in week 1 to 34.4% in week 3 ( FIG. 2 ), whereas no such trend was seen with S. canis.",
"[0371] Histological analysis revealed that dogs with S. zooepidemicus were more likely to have intra-alveolar neutrophils than those without S. zooepidemicus 2 (χ 2 analysis, **p=0.006).",
"In dogs with higher bacterial scores, acute suppurative or necrotizing pneumonia with moderate to marked macrophage aggregation was often noted, similar to the findings of Garnett et al.",
", (1982) in dogs with S. zooepidemicus induced hemorrhagic streptococcal pneumonia (HSP).",
"No bacterial cells were apparent on Hand E stained sections.",
"Discussion [0372] In this study we focused upon the species of βhS present in the lower respiratory tract of household and kennelled dogs, with and without respiratory disease.",
"Although S. canis is the predominant βhS of the respiratory tract in dogs (Biberstein et al.",
", 1980) and was isolated from the lower respiratory tract of some kennelled dogs in this study, it was not associated with CIRD in the kennelled dogs.",
"In contrast, an increased isolation of S. zooepidemicus was associated with increasing CIRD severity.",
"Dogs with any respiratory symptoms were more likely to have S. zooepidemicus in the lower respiratory tract than more healthy animals in the kennel and S. zooepidemicus was found in a lower proportion of the household pets than the kennelled dogs.",
"[0373] Streptococcus equi sub species zooepidemicus has previously been associated with HSP in dogs (Garnett et al.",
", 1982).",
"The HSP syndrome was a severe infection in a closed colony of beagles, in which sudden death ensued without prior clinical scores.",
"Necropsy findings included abundant hemorrhagic exudates within the trachea and bronchial tree, with diffuse dark reddening of the lungs.",
"In addition, there were ecchymotic hemorrhages of a range of other tissues.",
"The disease was reproduced by intra-tracheal inoculation with S. zooepidemicus in one dog.",
"Interestingly in this study, dogs with higher S. zooepidemicus growth scores were more likely to have intra-alveolar neutrophils and share histological features of the lungs described by Garnett et al.",
", (1982) in HSP than those dogs with low growth scores.",
"[0374] CIRD has historically been considered a complex disease, involving both bacterial and viral agents.",
"Indeed, several other agents have been described in this kennelled population of dogs, including CRCV (Erles et al.",
", 2003) and B. bronchiseptica (Chalker et al.",
", 2003).",
"Although the pathogenic potential of CRCV has not yet been clarified, data by Erles et al.",
", (2003) shows that CRCV predominates in those dogs with mild respiratory disease (score 2) and similarly Chalker et al.",
", (2003) found that dogs with B. bronchiseptica predominates in those dogs with moderate disease (score 3).",
"[0375] We found that Streptococcus zooepidemicus is associated more commonly with only the more severe cases of CIRD (score 4-5) indicating it may act as a secondary invader.",
"Indeed, βhS species have previously been described as secondary invaders in the CIRD ‘complex’ (McCandlish et al.",
", 1978).",
"However, it is still not known if S. zooepidemicus plays a primary role in respiratory disease in these animals or merely invades the respiratory tract following damage by other pathogens.",
"Epidemiological evidence suggests that in the horse S. zooepidemicus may be a primary pathogen in respiratory disease (Wood et al.",
", 1993;",
"Chanter, 1997) but it is generally considered to be an opportunistic pathogen (Walker and Timoney 1998;",
"Anzai et al.",
", 2000).",
"Even if S. zooepidemicus is not a primary cause of CIRD in these dogs, the high isolation rate from dogs with suppurative bronchopneumonia (87.5%) supports the hypothesis that S. zooepidemicus is responsible for the more severe clinical signs seen in this kennel.",
"The low isolation from household pets (1.4%) with respiratory disease indicates this agent may not be a common respiratory infection and could be a problem particular to this kennel.",
"Although any previous kennelling was not taken into consideration it is likely that some of the household pet dogs in this study have been kennelled at one time.",
"The role played by S. zooepidemicus in other cases of CIRD in kennelled dogs has not been ascertained.",
"[0376] The isolation of S. zooepidemicus from these dogs increases with time in the kennel, indicating the lungs of these dogs are becoming infected with this bacterium.",
"Such infection could be occurring from either sub-clinical infections of the upper respiratory tract or from a single pathogenic strain.",
"A PCR typing system for the gene of the variable M-like SzP protein enables the separation of the 15 known sero-types of S. zooepidemicus into five distinct groups, HV1-5 (Walker and Timoney, 1998).",
"Analyses with this typing system by Anzai et al.",
", (2000) found that single clonal variants of S. zooepidemicus are found in the pneumonic equine lung whereas several types are found in the tonsils of healthy horses.",
"It would be of interest to sub-type the S. zooepidemicus isolates involved in this outbreak of CIRD to determine whether a single clonal variant is present in the diseased population, and also to examine the relationship, if any, that canine S. zooepidemicus isolates have to those causing respiratory disease in horses and other animals.",
"S. zooepidemicus associated pneumonia occurs in horses of all ages and acute hemorrhagic pneumonia in older horses that have been stressed by transportation (Anzai et al.",
", 2000).",
"In this outbreak of CIRD younger dogs and those in poor clinical condition on entry to the kennel were equally susceptible to infection with S. zooepidemicus as the older dogs and those that were healthy on entry.",
"[0377] In this kennel antibiotic therapy is given for a range of infections, and treatment is not routinely given to dogs with CIRD except in cases of severe bronchopneumonia.",
"It is possible that treatment could have influenced the bacterial spectrum noted in this study.",
"However the examination of natural outbreaks of respiratory disease can provide valuable information that cannot be obtained by other means.",
"[0378] CIRD is known to be a multi-factorial disease involving several agents including CAV-2, CPIV, B. bronchiceptica and Mycoplasma spp.",
"In this kennel in which large numbers of dogs from a variety of locations are brought together and housed, several pathogens are present and the severity of the disease may reflect this.",
"Example 2 The Association of Mycoplasma Cynos with Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease [0379] The presence of M. cynos was investigated by culture of the organism and identification by PCR analysis.",
"In a survey of 184 kennelled dogs we have found that the percentage of dogs with M. cynos in the trachea or lung increases with signs of respiratory disease from 10% in healthy dogs to 31% in diseased dogs ( FIG. 3 ).",
"[0380] We have also noted that respiratory disease increases with time in the kennel and during the first week in the kennel dogs have no detectable M. cynos in the trachea, whereas by the second week 24% of the 184 dogs were positive for M. cynos in the trachea—indicating 24% of the population are being infected with this bacterium.",
"A smaller but similar increase was also seen for colonization of the lung (from 15% to 23%) (see FIG. 4 ).",
"Example 3 The Association of Chlamydophila with Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease [0381] We surveyed 210 dogs by PCR analysis for the presence of Chlamydophila.",
"[0382] A 218 bp fragment of the 23S rRNA gene was amplified from the Chlamydophila by the following PCR.",
"Reaction conditions, 95° C. 5 min (×1 cycle), 95° C. 30 seconds, 50° C. 30 seconds, 72° C. 1 minute (×40 cycles) and 72° C. 5 mins.",
"The PCR reaction mix of 50 μl total, included 5.0 μl 10× magnesium free buffer (promega), 1.5 mM MgCl 2 (Promega), 0.5 μl (0.5 Units) Taq DNA polymerase (Promega), 0.2 mM PCR nucleotide mix (Promega), 0.025 μg forward primer C1 (5′-GATGCCTTGGCATTGATAGGCGATGAAG GA-3′, SEQ ID NO: 9) and reverse primer C2 (5′-TGGCTCATCATGCAAAAGGCA-3′, SEQ ID NO: 10), 40 μl water and 2 μl sample tissue DNA.",
"[0383] A PCR product obtained from 8 dogs was confirmed as a Chlamydophila by sequence analysis and comparison of the PCR product to all available sequences in GenBank by Fasta analysis.",
"The partial sequence of the 23S rRNA gene of one such sequence (DHBCI0) is shown in FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 1).",
"This 218 bp sequence is 99.08% identical to the same region in Chlamydophila abortus and 98.6% identical to Chlamydophila psittaci and 96.3% identical to Chlamydophila felis and on preliminary phylogenetic analysis (clustal method with Megalign) most sequences cluster in a distinct clade ( FIG. 7 ).",
"The 23S rRNA partial sequences of seven other Chlamydophila isolates are shown in FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NOs: 2-8).",
"[0384] In this survey we found an increase in the detection of Chlamydophila with increasing respiratory disease severity in both the trachea and lung.",
"A slight increase of detection of 10% was found in tracheal samples (from 25% to 34%).",
"A more dramatic difference was found in detection of Chlamydophila in the lung, with an increase from 0% healthy dogs to 37.5% in dogs with CIRD ( FIG. 6 ).",
"Furthermore, an increase in the total number of dogs that tested positive by PCR for Chlamydophila from 25% in healthy dogs to 50% in dogs with severe disease was noted ( FIG. 6 ).",
"Example 4 The Association of Canine Herpesvirus with Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease [0385] We found an increased prevalence of canine herpesvirus in dogs with more severe respiratory symptoms ( FIG. 9 ).",
"When monitoring antibody responses to CHV over a yearlong period, dogs in a kennel with frequent outbreaks of respiratory disease showed seroconversions to CRV more frequently (58.3%) than dogs from a comparable kennel with no outbreaks (8.3%).",
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] |
This application is a continuation of parent application Ser. No. 149,722, filed May 14, 1980, now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention is a method for testing the toxicity of a substance using the phylum Nematoda. Specifically, the invention is a test whereby substances can be easily, rapidly, and inexpensively analyzed for their ability to cause mutations, to promote tumors, to act as teratogens, and to affect embryogenesis, post-embryogenesis, metabolic function, and neuromuscular function.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Higher animals, such as mice, rats, rabbits, dogs, cats, pigs, and monkeys, are usually used as test animals in conducting toxicity tests of substances. When chronic toxicity tests are done, breeding must be carried out under carefully controlled conditions over a long period of 2 to 21/2 years. Thus, performing such toxicity tests is very time consuming and expensive. Moreover, it is practically impossible to study genetic effects, such as mutagenicity of substances, because the length of time and high cost required are prohibitive.
In order to study mutagenicity of a substance, the bacterial mutation test using Escherichia coli, salmonella, or other bacteria, is often used. These bacteria, however, are prokaryotic organisms whose mechanism of gene expression is quite simple. They are quite different from multicellular organisms that possess higher levels of biological organization, such as embryogenesis. Accordingly, the bacterial mutation test is unsatifactory to detect substances that affect higher levels of biological organization.
In the chemical industry, novel chemical substances are continually being synthesized to meet various industrial and health requirements. Additionally, much research is being done to find new applications for known chemical substances. In each case, it is desirable to establish a rapid and inexpensive method for testing toxicity of these substances.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A primary object of this invention is to provide a rapid, easy, and inexpensive method for testing the toxicity of substances by analyzing their ability to cause mutation, to promote tumor formation, to act as teratogens, and cause abnormalities in development, metabolic function, and neuromuscular function.
Another object of this invention is to provide a method for testing toxicity of substances using an animal that is nonpathological, harmless, easily raised, and allows accurate and easy observation of test results.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a method for testing mutagenicity of chemical substances easily and rapidly, using a nematode having a very short generation time.
In accordance with the present invention, these objects can be attained by a method for testing toxicity of substances, which comprises subjecting a nematode to the action of the substance to be tested.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the present invention, a nematode, such as Rhabditian, preferably a free-living self-fertilizing hermaphrodite, e.g. Caenorhabditis elegans or Caenorhabditis briggsae, is used as the test animal. This nematode is confirmed to be nonparasitic, nonpathogenic, and harmless. Furthermore, the cell division of this nematode from a fertilized egg to an adult and the process of organogenesis have been nearly completely traced and confirmed. Moreover, as the length of the adult animal is 1 mm, and egg, 0.06 mm, and as both the egg shell and body surface are transparent, the processes of embryogenesis and development of internal organs can be easily observed microscopically in the living animal.
This nematode can be easily cultured on agar medium in a petri plate, with Escherichia coli as a food source, or in liquid medium in a test tube or beaker. Even a person with little training can perform the toxicity test very easily if the test method using this nematode is adapted according to the present invention.
According to the test method of the present invention, expenses required for maintaining the test animal are small and the test procedures can be simply carried out in a small and confined space. Therefore, the total cost of the test can be remarkably low.
An additional advantage in the present invention is that the toxicity test can be completed in a very short period. The nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, has a generation time of 2 to 4 days depending on temperature. Each hermaphrodite lays about 300 eggs, which grow to mature generative adults in about 50 hours. Thus, the mutagenicity and teratogenicity of a substance can be rapidly assayed.
As the nematode is a self-fertilizing hermaphrodite, crossing is unnecessary. Thus, mutations are naturally driven to homozygosity, and are, accordingly, easy to detect.
This is another great advantage of the present invention, using the above mentioned nematode.
Since the nematode that is used in the present invention is a metazoan animal, as are humans, influences of substances on higher animals can be predicted by analogy with test results obtained using this nematode. This is another prominant advantage of the present invention.
In the present invention, the nematode is subjected to the action of a substance to be tested. As an active control, another nemotode is exposed to a known toxic substance, e.g. ethyl methanesulfonate. In the case of a soluble chemical substance, this can be accomplished simply by adding the chemical substance to the nematode's culture medium. The amount of chemical substance to be added can optionally be changed, and influences of the concentration of the chemical substance can be easily examined.
The length of time for which the nematode is exposed to the action of a substance is not particularly limited. An appropriate length of time, most likely within one generation time, may be easily determined according to the kind and quantity of substance to be tested by a simple preliminary experiment.
After the nematode has been subjected to the action of the substance to be tested, it is transferred to a normal culture medium, for example, an agar medium with Escherichia coli as a food source, and allowed to propagate. Individuals of the resulting first filial generation (F 1 ) or second filial generation (F 2 ) are examined for presence of mutants, indicating the test substance is a mutagen.
Alternatively, the nematode is cultured in a medium containing a chemical substance to be tested (and, if necessary, transferred to normal media) and allowed to produce offspring.
By observing individuals or fertilized eggs of the nematode, the ability of the substance to promote tumor formation, to act as a teratogen, or cause abnormalities in development, metabolic function, or neuromuscular function can be determined.
The method of the present invention offers the advantage of being able to consistently trace the effect of the test substance throughout the events of ovulation, fertilization, and hatching, as well as embryonic and post-embryonic development with exactly predictable cell lineages and pattern formation. Effects of test substances on chromosomes can also be ascertained by the present invention.
Effects of the test substances can be tested in a short period by a relatively simple procedure. Accordingly, the test method of the present invention is remarkably advantageous economically over the conventional methods using other animals, and the test can be accomplished in a much shorter time than in the conventional test methods using other animals. Thus, it will be readily apparent that the present invention makes great economical, social, and hygienic contributions.
The nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, is hermaphroditic and thus offers an advantage over Drosophila or other test animals because complicated crossing is not necessary and because mutants can be segregated in a high ratio. For example, if mutants of nematodes having a highly permeable cuticle are used as the test animal, the effects of very minute amounts of toxic substances can be detected. Moreover, screening of mutagenic substances can be further simplified by identifying reversion mutants, having normal movement, derived from uncoordinated or immobile mutants. Using mutants, such as having no repair enzymes, the sensitivity of the test method is further enhanced.
The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the following examples, which by no means limit the scope of the invention.
EXAMPLE 1
A liquid culture medium having the following composition per liter was prepared and adjusted to pH 7.2.
Na 2 HPO 4 : 6.0 g
KH 2 PO 4 : 3.0 g
NaCl: 5.0 g
MgSO 4 : 0.12 g
Glucose: 2.0 g
H 2 O: 1 liter
Wild-type Caenorhabditis elegans, normal in form and motion, were synchronized at the L 1 larval stage (among the 4 larval stages, L 1 , L 2 , L 3 and L 4 ) and inoculated to the above liquid medium.
In order to test the mutagenicity and teratogenicity of caffeine, five samples of the above culture were prepared. To each of these samples, various concentrations of caffeine or ethyl methanesulfonate, as an active control, were added.
5,000 ppm: Ethyl methanesulfonate (active control)
10,000 ppm: Caffeine
5,000 ppm: Caffeine
500 ppm: Caffeine
No chemical added (control)
Four hours after the addition of chemicals, each sample was washed of the chemicals. Sixty individuals (parents) from each sample were closed to petri dishes containing agar culture medium with Escherichia coli as a food source, allowed to mature at 24° C., and examined for developmental and behavioral abnormalities. The results are in Table 1.
TABLE 1______________________________________ Developmental Behavioral Abnormality AbnormalitySample Chemical Added (%) (%)______________________________________A 5,000 ppm of EMS* 2.0 0.5B 10,000 ppm of Caffeine 37 11C 5,000 ppm of Caffeine 13 2.6D 500 ppm of Caffeine 0 0E No chemical added 0 0 (control)______________________________________ Note: *EMS = Ethyl methanesulfonate
After about twenty F 1 eggs from each of the parents had been laid, the parents were removed, and the F 1 individuals were allowed to grow and reproduce many F 2 offsprings. The F 2 individuals were examined for presence of mutants having abnormal form, size, or movement. Table 2 shows the results.
TABLE 2______________________________________ Abnormal Abnormal form or MovementSample Chemical Added size (%) (%)______________________________________A 5,000 ppm of EMS 0.6 1.5B 10,000 ppm of Caffeine 0.1 0.2C 5,000 ppm of Caffeine 0.01 0.05D 500 ppm of Caffeine 0 0E No chemical added (control) 0 0______________________________________
The results show that caffeine is both a mutagen and a teratogen.
EXAMPLE 2
The liquid culture medium containing about 1000 individuals of wild-type Caenorhabditis elegans per ml was prepared as in Example 1.
A synchronyzed Caenorhabditis elegans population was grown to adult on normal agar medium without added chemicals. The animals were transferred to the agar culture medium plate containing chemicals of various concentrations (Table 3) and grown for 1 day at 24° C. All worms were then washed from the agar medium plate leaving the eggs behind. The eggs were observed for 12 hours in order to trace the course of embryogenesis. The results are shown in Table 3.
TABLE 3______________________________________ Abnormal Embryos (inclusive of deadSample Chemical Added embryos) (%)______________________________________F 5,000 ppm of EMS 30G 250 ppm of PCDF* 25H 50 ppm of PCDF 11I 5 ppm of PCDF 3J No chemical added (control) 1______________________________________ Note: *PCDF = 2,3,6,7tetrachlorodibenzofuran
The results demonstrate that 2,3,6,7-tetrachlorodibenzofuran is a teratogen.
EXAMPLE 3
An agar culture medium having the following composition per liter was prepared and adjusted to pH 6.0 with 25 mM potassium phosphate buffer.
Agar: 15 g
Peptone: 3 g
NaCl: 3 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg
MgSO 4 : 120 mg
CaCl 2 : 55 mg
H 2 O: 1 liter
As test substances, 12-0-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA), phorbol-12,13-didecanoate (PDD), phorbol, and 4-α-PDD were selected. Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) solutions of these test substances were added independently to the above medium. The final DMSO concentration was 0.1%. The concentrations of the test substances were as shown in Table 4.
Each agar culture plate containing a test substance was innoculated with Escherichia coli as a food source and incubated at 24° C. for 1 day. Then, 5 animals were added to each plate, allowed to grow and reproduce for 4 to 5 days, and examined for effects of the test substances. The results are shown in Table 4.
L 1 and L 3 larvae and young adults without eggs were used as the test animals.
TABLE 4__________________________________________________________________________Effects of phorbol ester on Caenorhabditis elegans L.sub.1 L.sub.3 AdultTest Dose Brood Brood Broodsubst.g/ml size.sup.1 Comments size Comments size Comments__________________________________________________________________________TPA 10.sup.-6 0 arr L.sub.2-3,.sup.2 unc.sup.3 0 arr L.sub.4, unc 128 sal,.sup.4 unc10.sup.-7 13 unc 76 sal, unc 118 unc10.sup.-8 151 nml.sup.5 >200 nml >200 nml10.sup.-9 >200 nml >200 nml >200 nmlPDD 10.sup.-6 0 arr L.sub.2-3, unc 14 sal, unc 144 sal, unc10.sup.-7 0 arr L.sub.3', unc 97 sal, unc 183 unc10.sup.-8 >200 nml >200 nml >200 nml10.sup.-9 >200 nml >200 nml >200 nmlPhorbol10.sup.-6 >200 nml >200 nml >200 nml4-PDD10.sup.-6 >200 nml >200 nml >200 nmlDMSO 0.1% >200 nml >200 nml >200 nmlNone -- >200 nml >200 nml >200 nml__________________________________________________________________________ Note: .sup.1 Number of progeny per parent. .sup.2 arr L.sub.2-3 : development arrested at L.sub.2 or L.sub.3 stage. .sup.3 unc: uncoordinated movement. .sup.4 sal: short adult life. .sup.5 nml: normal.
So far as we know, a method for simply, rapidly, and unambiguously screening a certain substance whether or not it has a promoter function in chemical carcinogenesis has not been established. From the results shown in Table 4, it is apparent that according to the toxicity testing method of the present invention, abnormal influences on nematodes can be simply and clearly confirmed with respect to TPA and PDD, which are known to have a promoter action in chemical carcinogenesis. Therefore, it will be readily understood that a method for simply, rapidly, and clearly screening promoters, which are significant factors in chemical carcinogenesis, is provided according to the present invention. | Disclosed is a toxicity test for chemical substances using the phylum Nematoda.
According to this test, substances can be easily, rapidly, and inexpensively analyzed for their ability to induce mutations, promote tumor formation, act as teratogens, and cause abnormalities in development, metabolic function, and neuromuscular function. | Identify the most important claim in the given context and summarize it | [
"This application is a continuation of parent application Ser.",
"No. 149,722, filed May 14, 1980, now abandoned.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention The present invention is a method for testing the toxicity of a substance using the phylum Nematoda.",
"Specifically, the invention is a test whereby substances can be easily, rapidly, and inexpensively analyzed for their ability to cause mutations, to promote tumors, to act as teratogens, and to affect embryogenesis, post-embryogenesis, metabolic function, and neuromuscular function.",
"(2) Description of the Prior Art Higher animals, such as mice, rats, rabbits, dogs, cats, pigs, and monkeys, are usually used as test animals in conducting toxicity tests of substances.",
"When chronic toxicity tests are done, breeding must be carried out under carefully controlled conditions over a long period of 2 to 21/2 years.",
"Thus, performing such toxicity tests is very time consuming and expensive.",
"Moreover, it is practically impossible to study genetic effects, such as mutagenicity of substances, because the length of time and high cost required are prohibitive.",
"In order to study mutagenicity of a substance, the bacterial mutation test using Escherichia coli, salmonella, or other bacteria, is often used.",
"These bacteria, however, are prokaryotic organisms whose mechanism of gene expression is quite simple.",
"They are quite different from multicellular organisms that possess higher levels of biological organization, such as embryogenesis.",
"Accordingly, the bacterial mutation test is unsatifactory to detect substances that affect higher levels of biological organization.",
"In the chemical industry, novel chemical substances are continually being synthesized to meet various industrial and health requirements.",
"Additionally, much research is being done to find new applications for known chemical substances.",
"In each case, it is desirable to establish a rapid and inexpensive method for testing toxicity of these substances.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A primary object of this invention is to provide a rapid, easy, and inexpensive method for testing the toxicity of substances by analyzing their ability to cause mutation, to promote tumor formation, to act as teratogens, and cause abnormalities in development, metabolic function, and neuromuscular function.",
"Another object of this invention is to provide a method for testing toxicity of substances using an animal that is nonpathological, harmless, easily raised, and allows accurate and easy observation of test results.",
"Yet another object of this invention is to provide a method for testing mutagenicity of chemical substances easily and rapidly, using a nematode having a very short generation time.",
"In accordance with the present invention, these objects can be attained by a method for testing toxicity of substances, which comprises subjecting a nematode to the action of the substance to be tested.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the present invention, a nematode, such as Rhabditian, preferably a free-living self-fertilizing hermaphrodite, e.g. Caenorhabditis elegans or Caenorhabditis briggsae, is used as the test animal.",
"This nematode is confirmed to be nonparasitic, nonpathogenic, and harmless.",
"Furthermore, the cell division of this nematode from a fertilized egg to an adult and the process of organogenesis have been nearly completely traced and confirmed.",
"Moreover, as the length of the adult animal is 1 mm, and egg, 0.06 mm, and as both the egg shell and body surface are transparent, the processes of embryogenesis and development of internal organs can be easily observed microscopically in the living animal.",
"This nematode can be easily cultured on agar medium in a petri plate, with Escherichia coli as a food source, or in liquid medium in a test tube or beaker.",
"Even a person with little training can perform the toxicity test very easily if the test method using this nematode is adapted according to the present invention.",
"According to the test method of the present invention, expenses required for maintaining the test animal are small and the test procedures can be simply carried out in a small and confined space.",
"Therefore, the total cost of the test can be remarkably low.",
"An additional advantage in the present invention is that the toxicity test can be completed in a very short period.",
"The nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, has a generation time of 2 to 4 days depending on temperature.",
"Each hermaphrodite lays about 300 eggs, which grow to mature generative adults in about 50 hours.",
"Thus, the mutagenicity and teratogenicity of a substance can be rapidly assayed.",
"As the nematode is a self-fertilizing hermaphrodite, crossing is unnecessary.",
"Thus, mutations are naturally driven to homozygosity, and are, accordingly, easy to detect.",
"This is another great advantage of the present invention, using the above mentioned nematode.",
"Since the nematode that is used in the present invention is a metazoan animal, as are humans, influences of substances on higher animals can be predicted by analogy with test results obtained using this nematode.",
"This is another prominant advantage of the present invention.",
"In the present invention, the nematode is subjected to the action of a substance to be tested.",
"As an active control, another nemotode is exposed to a known toxic substance, e.g. ethyl methanesulfonate.",
"In the case of a soluble chemical substance, this can be accomplished simply by adding the chemical substance to the nematode's culture medium.",
"The amount of chemical substance to be added can optionally be changed, and influences of the concentration of the chemical substance can be easily examined.",
"The length of time for which the nematode is exposed to the action of a substance is not particularly limited.",
"An appropriate length of time, most likely within one generation time, may be easily determined according to the kind and quantity of substance to be tested by a simple preliminary experiment.",
"After the nematode has been subjected to the action of the substance to be tested, it is transferred to a normal culture medium, for example, an agar medium with Escherichia coli as a food source, and allowed to propagate.",
"Individuals of the resulting first filial generation (F 1 ) or second filial generation (F 2 ) are examined for presence of mutants, indicating the test substance is a mutagen.",
"Alternatively, the nematode is cultured in a medium containing a chemical substance to be tested (and, if necessary, transferred to normal media) and allowed to produce offspring.",
"By observing individuals or fertilized eggs of the nematode, the ability of the substance to promote tumor formation, to act as a teratogen, or cause abnormalities in development, metabolic function, or neuromuscular function can be determined.",
"The method of the present invention offers the advantage of being able to consistently trace the effect of the test substance throughout the events of ovulation, fertilization, and hatching, as well as embryonic and post-embryonic development with exactly predictable cell lineages and pattern formation.",
"Effects of test substances on chromosomes can also be ascertained by the present invention.",
"Effects of the test substances can be tested in a short period by a relatively simple procedure.",
"Accordingly, the test method of the present invention is remarkably advantageous economically over the conventional methods using other animals, and the test can be accomplished in a much shorter time than in the conventional test methods using other animals.",
"Thus, it will be readily apparent that the present invention makes great economical, social, and hygienic contributions.",
"The nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, is hermaphroditic and thus offers an advantage over Drosophila or other test animals because complicated crossing is not necessary and because mutants can be segregated in a high ratio.",
"For example, if mutants of nematodes having a highly permeable cuticle are used as the test animal, the effects of very minute amounts of toxic substances can be detected.",
"Moreover, screening of mutagenic substances can be further simplified by identifying reversion mutants, having normal movement, derived from uncoordinated or immobile mutants.",
"Using mutants, such as having no repair enzymes, the sensitivity of the test method is further enhanced.",
"The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the following examples, which by no means limit the scope of the invention.",
"EXAMPLE 1 A liquid culture medium having the following composition per liter was prepared and adjusted to pH 7.2.",
"Na 2 HPO 4 : 6.0 g KH 2 PO 4 : 3.0 g NaCl: 5.0 g MgSO 4 : 0.12 g Glucose: 2.0 g H 2 O: 1 liter Wild-type Caenorhabditis elegans, normal in form and motion, were synchronized at the L 1 larval stage (among the 4 larval stages, L 1 , L 2 , L 3 and L 4 ) and inoculated to the above liquid medium.",
"In order to test the mutagenicity and teratogenicity of caffeine, five samples of the above culture were prepared.",
"To each of these samples, various concentrations of caffeine or ethyl methanesulfonate, as an active control, were added.",
"5,000 ppm: Ethyl methanesulfonate (active control) 10,000 ppm: Caffeine 5,000 ppm: Caffeine 500 ppm: Caffeine No chemical added (control) Four hours after the addition of chemicals, each sample was washed of the chemicals.",
"Sixty individuals (parents) from each sample were closed to petri dishes containing agar culture medium with Escherichia coli as a food source, allowed to mature at 24° C., and examined for developmental and behavioral abnormalities.",
"The results are in Table 1.",
"TABLE 1______________________________________ Developmental Behavioral Abnormality AbnormalitySample Chemical Added (%) (%)______________________________________A 5,000 ppm of EMS* 2.0 0.5B 10,000 ppm of Caffeine 37 11C 5,000 ppm of Caffeine 13 2.6D 500 ppm of Caffeine 0 0E No chemical added 0 0 (control)______________________________________ Note: *EMS = Ethyl methanesulfonate After about twenty F 1 eggs from each of the parents had been laid, the parents were removed, and the F 1 individuals were allowed to grow and reproduce many F 2 offsprings.",
"The F 2 individuals were examined for presence of mutants having abnormal form, size, or movement.",
"Table 2 shows the results.",
"TABLE 2______________________________________ Abnormal Abnormal form or MovementSample Chemical Added size (%) (%)______________________________________A 5,000 ppm of EMS 0.6 1.5B 10,000 ppm of Caffeine 0.1 0.2C 5,000 ppm of Caffeine 0.01 0.05D 500 ppm of Caffeine 0 0E No chemical added (control) 0 0______________________________________ The results show that caffeine is both a mutagen and a teratogen.",
"EXAMPLE 2 The liquid culture medium containing about 1000 individuals of wild-type Caenorhabditis elegans per ml was prepared as in Example 1.",
"A synchronyzed Caenorhabditis elegans population was grown to adult on normal agar medium without added chemicals.",
"The animals were transferred to the agar culture medium plate containing chemicals of various concentrations (Table 3) and grown for 1 day at 24° C. All worms were then washed from the agar medium plate leaving the eggs behind.",
"The eggs were observed for 12 hours in order to trace the course of embryogenesis.",
"The results are shown in Table 3.",
"TABLE 3______________________________________ Abnormal Embryos (inclusive of deadSample Chemical Added embryos) (%)______________________________________F 5,000 ppm of EMS 30G 250 ppm of PCDF* 25H 50 ppm of PCDF 11I 5 ppm of PCDF 3J No chemical added (control) 1______________________________________ Note: *PCDF = 2,3,6,7tetrachlorodibenzofuran The results demonstrate that 2,3,6,7-tetrachlorodibenzofuran is a teratogen.",
"EXAMPLE 3 An agar culture medium having the following composition per liter was prepared and adjusted to pH 6.0 with 25 mM potassium phosphate buffer.",
"Agar: 15 g Peptone: 3 g NaCl: 3 g Cholesterol: 5 mg MgSO 4 : 120 mg CaCl 2 : 55 mg H 2 O: 1 liter As test substances, 12-0-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA), phorbol-12,13-didecanoate (PDD), phorbol, and 4-α-PDD were selected.",
"Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) solutions of these test substances were added independently to the above medium.",
"The final DMSO concentration was 0.1%.",
"The concentrations of the test substances were as shown in Table 4.",
"Each agar culture plate containing a test substance was innoculated with Escherichia coli as a food source and incubated at 24° C. for 1 day.",
"Then, 5 animals were added to each plate, allowed to grow and reproduce for 4 to 5 days, and examined for effects of the test substances.",
"The results are shown in Table 4.",
"L 1 and L 3 larvae and young adults without eggs were used as the test animals.",
"TABLE 4__________________________________________________________________________Effects of phorbol ester on Caenorhabditis elegans L.sub[.",
"].1 L.sub[.",
"].3 AdultTest Dose Brood Brood Broodsubst.",
"g/ml size.",
"sup[.",
"].1 Comments size Comments size Comments__________________________________________________________________________TPA 10.",
"sup.",
"-6 0 arr L.sub[.",
"].2-3,.",
"sup[.",
"].2 unc.",
"sup[.",
"].3 0 arr L.sub[.",
"].4, unc 128 sal,.",
"sup[.",
"].4 unc10.",
"sup.",
"-7 13 unc 76 sal, unc 118 unc10.",
"sup.",
"-8 151 nml.",
"sup[.",
"].5 >200 nml >200 nml10.",
"sup.",
"-9 >200 nml >200 nml >200 nmlPDD 10.",
"sup.",
"-6 0 arr L.sub[.",
"].2-3, unc 14 sal, unc 144 sal, unc10.",
"sup.",
"-7 0 arr L.sub[.",
"].3', unc 97 sal, unc 183 unc10.",
"sup.",
"-8 >200 nml >200 nml >200 nml10.",
"sup.",
"-9 >200 nml >200 nml >200 nmlPhorbol10.",
"sup.",
"-6 >200 nml >200 nml >200 nml4-PDD10.",
"sup.",
"-6 >200 nml >200 nml >200 nmlDMSO 0.1% >200 nml >200 nml >200 nmlNone -- >200 nml >200 nml >200 nml__________________________________________________________________________ Note: .",
"sup[.",
"].1 Number of progeny per parent.",
"sup[.",
"].2 arr L.sub[.",
"].2-3 : development arrested at L.sub[.",
"].2 or L.sub[.",
"].3 stage.",
"sup[.",
"].3 unc: uncoordinated movement.",
"sup[.",
"].4 sal: short adult life.",
"sup[.",
"].5 nml: normal.",
"So far as we know, a method for simply, rapidly, and unambiguously screening a certain substance whether or not it has a promoter function in chemical carcinogenesis has not been established.",
"From the results shown in Table 4, it is apparent that according to the toxicity testing method of the present invention, abnormal influences on nematodes can be simply and clearly confirmed with respect to TPA and PDD, which are known to have a promoter action in chemical carcinogenesis.",
"Therefore, it will be readily understood that a method for simply, rapidly, and clearly screening promoters, which are significant factors in chemical carcinogenesis, is provided according to the present invention."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a method of fabricating openings, and more particularly, to a method of forming openings such as contact holes, via holes, and trenches, capable of preventing polymer residues.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The trend to micro-miniaturization, or the ability to fabricate semiconductor devices with feature size smaller than 0.065 micrometers, has presented difficulties when attempting to form contact holes (especially for high aspect ratio contact holes) in a dielectric layer to expose underlying conductive regions.
Please refer to FIGS. 1-4 . FIGS. 1-4 are schematic, cross-sectional diagrams showing the process of forming contact holes in accordance with the prior art method. As shown in FIG. 1 , a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor device 20 is formed on a semiconductor substrate 10 . The MOS transistor device 20 , which is isolated by shallow trench isolations (STIs) 24 , includes source/drain regions 12 , a gate electrode 14 , and a spacer structure 16 disposed on the sidewalls of the gate electrode 14 . The semiconductor substrate 10 further includes a contact etch stop layer (CESL) 32 deposited over the MOS transistor device 20 and the semiconductor substrate 10 , and an inter-layer dielectric (ILD) layer 34 deposited on the contact etch stop layer 32 . Subsequently, a bottom anti-reflective coating (BARC) layer 36 is deposited on the ILD layer 34 . Then, a photoresist layer 40 is formed on the BARC layer 36 , and a conventional exposure-and-development process is carried out to form openings 42 in the photoresist layer 40 to define the locations of contact holes to be formed later.
As shown in FIG. 2 , using the photoresist layer 40 as an etching hard mask to etch the exposed BARC layer 36 and the ILD layer 34 through the openings 42 so as to form openings 44 . The etching of the ILD layer 34 stops on the contact etch stop layer 32 . Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3 , using the remaining photoresist layer 40 and the BARC layer 36 as an etching hard mask to etch the exposed contact etch stop layer 32 through the openings 44 , thereby forming contact holes 46 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the remaining photoresist layer 40 and the BARC layer 36 over the ILD layer 34 are removed.
The above-described prior art method of forming contact holes has several drawbacks. First, when etching the CESL layer 32 , the contact profile is also impaired due to the low etching selectivity between the ILD layer 34 and the contact etch stop layer 32 . Second, the ILD layer 34 and the underlying CESL layer 32 are etched in-situ, without removing the photoresist layer 40 . The polymer residue produced during the etching of the ILD layer 34 and the CESL layer 32 results in a tapered profile of the contact hole 46 , thereby reducing the exposed surface area of the source/drain regions 12 and increasing the contact sheet resistance.
In light of the above, there is a need in this industry to provide an improved method of fabricating contact holes in which the contact sheet resistance is reduced without affecting the contact hole profile formed in the ILD layer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore one of the objects of the claimed invention to provide a method of fabricating openings to overcome the aforementioned problems.
According to the claimed invention, a method of fabricating openings is disclosed. The method includes:
providing a semiconductor substrate comprising an etch stop layer and at least a dielectric layer disposed from bottom to top;
patterning the dielectric layer to form a plurality of openings partially exposing the etch stop layer in the dielectric layer;
forming a dielectric thin film covering the dielectric layer, sidewalls of the openings, and the exposed etch stop layer; and
removing the dielectric thin film disposed on the dielectric layer and the etch stop layer.
According to the claimed invention, a method of fabricating contact holes is disclosed. The method includes:
providing a semiconductor substrate at least divided into a first device region and a second device region, the semiconductor substrate including an etch stop layer and at least a dielectric layer from bottom to top, and the etch stop layer covering the first device region and exposing the second device region;
patterning the dielectric layer to form a plurality of contact holes in the dielectric layer in the first device region and the second device region, the contact holes formed in the first device region exposing the etch stop layer;
forming a dielectric thin film covering on the dielectric layer, sidewalls of the contact holes, and the etch stop layer in the first device region, and covering on the dielectric layer, sidewalls of the contact holes, and the semiconductor substrate in the second device region; and
removing the dielectric thin film disposed on the dielectric layer, the etch stop layer, and the semiconductor substrate.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGS. 1-4 are schematic, cross-sectional diagrams showing the process of forming contact holes in accordance with the prior art method.
FIGS. 5-8 are schematic, cross-sectional diagrams illustrating a method of fabricating openings in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 9-12 are schematic, cross-sectional diagrams illustrating a method of fabricating openings in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a schematic, cross-sectional diagram illustrating a method of forming openings according to still another preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Please refer to FIGS. 5-8 . FIGS. 5-8 are schematic, cross-sectional diagrams illustrating a method of fabricating openings in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a method of forming contact holes is exemplarily illustrated. As shown in FIG. 5 , a MOS transistor device 60 is formed on a semiconductor substrate 50 . The MOS transistor device 60 , which is isolated by shallow trench isolations 64 , includes source/drain regions 52 , a gate electrode 54 , and a spacer structure 56 disposed on the sidewalls of the gate electrode 54 . The MOS transistor device 60 may further includes salicides 58 disposed on the surface of the gate electrode 54 and the source/drain regions 52 . The semiconductor substrate 50 further includes a contact etch stop layer 72 deposited over the MOS transistor device 60 and the semiconductor substrate 50 , and an inter-layer dielectric (ILD) layer 74 , deposited on the contact etch stop layer 72 .
In selecting the materials of the ILD layer 74 and the contact etch stop layer 72 , etching selectivity should be concerned. Normally, the ILD layer 74 may includes tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) oxide, un-doped silicon glass, or doped silicon oxide such as borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG), FSG, PSG or BSG. Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method or other deposition techniques may be used to deposit the ILD layer 74 .
Subsequently, a mask layer 76 having a plurality of openings 82 is formed on the ILD layer 74 . The openings 82 are disposed corresponding to the gate electrode 54 and the source/drain regions 52 so as to define the locations of contact holes. The mask layer 76 may includes a photoresist layer, a metal layer, or a dielectric layer. Preferably, the mask layer 76 is a metal layer or a dielectric layer such as a silicon nitride layer, so as to prevent polymer residues generated in etching the ILD layer 74 .
As shown in FIG. 6 , an anisotropic etching process is performed using the mask layer 76 as an etching hard mask to etch the ILD layer 74 through the openings 82 . The etching stops on the contact etch stop layer 72 so as to form a plurality of openings 92 . As shown in FIG. 7 , the mask layer 76 is then removed, and a clean process is performed to remove polymer residues or particles remaining in the sidewalls of the openings 92 . The clean process can be a wet clean process or a dry clean process, and can be performed in-situ or ex-situ. Then, a dielectric thin film 94 is formed on the ILD layer 74 , the sidewalls of the openings 92 , and the exposed contact etch stop layer 72 . In this embodiment, the contact hole to be formed has a feature size of between 50 and 100 nm (preferably 65 nm), and therefore the thickness of the dielectric thin film 94 is preferably between 0.5 to 10 nm. However, the thickness of the dielectric thin film 94 can be altered in accordance with different process feature size. The dielectric thin film 94 may include a silicon oxide thin film, a silicon nitride thin film, a silicon oxynitride thin film, etc. The dielectric thin film 94 may also be a high k material having a dielectric constant larger than 3.9. For instance, the dielectric thin film 94 may include tantalum oxide thin film, a titanium oxide thin film, a zirconium oxide thin film, a hafnium oxide thin film, hafnium silicon oxide thin film, hafnium silicon oxynitride, etc. The dielectric thin film 94 can be formed by different deposition techniques such as LPCVD, APCVD, PECVD, ALD, etc.
As shown in FIG. 8 , an etch back process is performed to etch the dielectric thin film 94 disposed on the ILD layer 74 and the contact etch stop layer 72 . Meanwhile, the dielectric thin film 94 disposed on the sidewalls of the openings 92 is reserved. Following that, the contact etch stop layer 72 exposed through the openings 92 is etched so as to form contact holes 96 . It should be appreciated that at least a surface treatment may be carried out when the contact holes 96 are formed. For instance, an implantation process can be performed to reduce the resistance of the gate electrode 54 and the source/drain regions 52 . Or a clean process can be performed to clean the sidewalls of the contact holes 96 for improving the reliability of the contact plugs to be formed later.
The method of the present invention is not limited to be applied to fabrications of contact holes, and can be adopted to form various openings such as via holes or trenches. Please refer to FIGS. 9-12 . FIGS. 9-12 are schematic, cross-sectional diagrams illustrating a method of fabricating openings in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9 , a semiconductor substrate 100 including an etch stop layer 102 , a dielectric layer 104 , and a mask layer 106 is provided. The semiconductor substrate 100 further has a conductive pattern 108 , and the mask layer 106 includes a plurality of openings 110 disposed corresponding to the conductive pattern 108 .
As shown in FIG. 10 , an anisotropic etching process is performed using the mask layer 106 as an etching hard mask to form a plurality of openings 112 which expose the etch stop layer 102 in the dielectric layer 104 . As shown in FIG. 11 , the mask layer 106 is removed, and a dielectric thin film 114 is deposited on the dielectric layer 104 , the sidewalls of the openings 112 , and the exposed etch stop layer 102 . As shown in FIG. 12 , an etch back process is performed to etch the dielectric thin film 114 disposed on the dielectric layer 104 and the exposed etch stop layer 102 . Following that, the exposed etch stop layer 102 is etched so as to form a via hole 116 and a trench 118 . It is appreciated that a clean process may be performed subsequent to removing the mask layer 106 and a surface treatment may be carried out when the via hole 116 and the trench 118 are formed. In addition, the materials of the etch stop layer 102 , the dielectric layer 104 , the mask layer 106 , and the dielectric thin film 114 have been disclosed in the above-described embodiment, and thus are not redundantly described here.
Another benefit of the method of the present invention is the etch stop layer may be a salicide block (SAB). Please refer to FIG. 13 . FIG. 13 is a schematic, cross-sectional diagram illustrating a method of forming openings according to still another preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 13 , a semiconductor substrate 130 is provided. The semiconductor substrate 130 is divided into a first device region I e.g. an ESD device region or a memory array region, and a second device region II e.g. a logic device region. Normally, the gate electrode and the source/drain regions of a logic device require salicides, while those of an ESD device or a memory device do not. Therefore, the first device region I is covered with an SAB 140 while performing a salicidation process. In this embodiment, the SAB 140 covering the first device region 140 is kept and used as an etch stop layer in etching a dielectric layer. In such a case, the process step is reduced. It is to be noted that the steps of forming the openings have been clearly described in the aforementioned embodiments, and thus are not redundantly described here.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims. | A substrate having an etch stop layer and at least a dielectric layer disposed from bottom to top is provided. The dielectric layer is then patterned to form a plurality of openings exposing the etch stop layer. A dielectric thin film is subsequently formed to cover the dielectric layer, the sidewalls of the openings, and the etch stop layer. The dielectric thin film disposed on the dielectric layer and the etch stop layer is then removed. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the invention. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The present invention pertains to a method of fabricating openings, and more particularly, to a method of forming openings such as contact holes, via holes, and trenches, capable of preventing polymer residues.",
"Description of the Prior Art The trend to micro-miniaturization, or the ability to fabricate semiconductor devices with feature size smaller than 0.065 micrometers, has presented difficulties when attempting to form contact holes (especially for high aspect ratio contact holes) in a dielectric layer to expose underlying conductive regions.",
"Please refer to FIGS. 1-4 .",
"FIGS. 1-4 are schematic, cross-sectional diagrams showing the process of forming contact holes in accordance with the prior art method.",
"As shown in FIG. 1 , a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor device 20 is formed on a semiconductor substrate 10 .",
"The MOS transistor device 20 , which is isolated by shallow trench isolations (STIs) 24 , includes source/drain regions 12 , a gate electrode 14 , and a spacer structure 16 disposed on the sidewalls of the gate electrode 14 .",
"The semiconductor substrate 10 further includes a contact etch stop layer (CESL) 32 deposited over the MOS transistor device 20 and the semiconductor substrate 10 , and an inter-layer dielectric (ILD) layer 34 deposited on the contact etch stop layer 32 .",
"Subsequently, a bottom anti-reflective coating (BARC) layer 36 is deposited on the ILD layer 34 .",
"Then, a photoresist layer 40 is formed on the BARC layer 36 , and a conventional exposure-and-development process is carried out to form openings 42 in the photoresist layer 40 to define the locations of contact holes to be formed later.",
"As shown in FIG. 2 , using the photoresist layer 40 as an etching hard mask to etch the exposed BARC layer 36 and the ILD layer 34 through the openings 42 so as to form openings 44 .",
"The etching of the ILD layer 34 stops on the contact etch stop layer 32 .",
"Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3 , using the remaining photoresist layer 40 and the BARC layer 36 as an etching hard mask to etch the exposed contact etch stop layer 32 through the openings 44 , thereby forming contact holes 46 .",
"As shown in FIG. 4 , the remaining photoresist layer 40 and the BARC layer 36 over the ILD layer 34 are removed.",
"The above-described prior art method of forming contact holes has several drawbacks.",
"First, when etching the CESL layer 32 , the contact profile is also impaired due to the low etching selectivity between the ILD layer 34 and the contact etch stop layer 32 .",
"Second, the ILD layer 34 and the underlying CESL layer 32 are etched in-situ, without removing the photoresist layer 40 .",
"The polymer residue produced during the etching of the ILD layer 34 and the CESL layer 32 results in a tapered profile of the contact hole 46 , thereby reducing the exposed surface area of the source/drain regions 12 and increasing the contact sheet resistance.",
"In light of the above, there is a need in this industry to provide an improved method of fabricating contact holes in which the contact sheet resistance is reduced without affecting the contact hole profile formed in the ILD layer.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore one of the objects of the claimed invention to provide a method of fabricating openings to overcome the aforementioned problems.",
"According to the claimed invention, a method of fabricating openings is disclosed.",
"The method includes: providing a semiconductor substrate comprising an etch stop layer and at least a dielectric layer disposed from bottom to top;",
"patterning the dielectric layer to form a plurality of openings partially exposing the etch stop layer in the dielectric layer;",
"forming a dielectric thin film covering the dielectric layer, sidewalls of the openings, and the exposed etch stop layer;",
"and removing the dielectric thin film disposed on the dielectric layer and the etch stop layer.",
"According to the claimed invention, a method of fabricating contact holes is disclosed.",
"The method includes: providing a semiconductor substrate at least divided into a first device region and a second device region, the semiconductor substrate including an etch stop layer and at least a dielectric layer from bottom to top, and the etch stop layer covering the first device region and exposing the second device region;",
"patterning the dielectric layer to form a plurality of contact holes in the dielectric layer in the first device region and the second device region, the contact holes formed in the first device region exposing the etch stop layer;",
"forming a dielectric thin film covering on the dielectric layer, sidewalls of the contact holes, and the etch stop layer in the first device region, and covering on the dielectric layer, sidewalls of the contact holes, and the semiconductor substrate in the second device region;",
"and removing the dielectric thin film disposed on the dielectric layer, the etch stop layer, and the semiconductor substrate.",
"These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1-4 are schematic, cross-sectional diagrams showing the process of forming contact holes in accordance with the prior art method.",
"FIGS. 5-8 are schematic, cross-sectional diagrams illustrating a method of fabricating openings in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.",
"FIGS. 9-12 are schematic, cross-sectional diagrams illustrating a method of fabricating openings in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention.",
"FIG. 13 is a schematic, cross-sectional diagram illustrating a method of forming openings according to still another preferred embodiment of the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION Please refer to FIGS. 5-8 .",
"FIGS. 5-8 are schematic, cross-sectional diagrams illustrating a method of fabricating openings in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.",
"In this embodiment, a method of forming contact holes is exemplarily illustrated.",
"As shown in FIG. 5 , a MOS transistor device 60 is formed on a semiconductor substrate 50 .",
"The MOS transistor device 60 , which is isolated by shallow trench isolations 64 , includes source/drain regions 52 , a gate electrode 54 , and a spacer structure 56 disposed on the sidewalls of the gate electrode 54 .",
"The MOS transistor device 60 may further includes salicides 58 disposed on the surface of the gate electrode 54 and the source/drain regions 52 .",
"The semiconductor substrate 50 further includes a contact etch stop layer 72 deposited over the MOS transistor device 60 and the semiconductor substrate 50 , and an inter-layer dielectric (ILD) layer 74 , deposited on the contact etch stop layer 72 .",
"In selecting the materials of the ILD layer 74 and the contact etch stop layer 72 , etching selectivity should be concerned.",
"Normally, the ILD layer 74 may includes tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) oxide, un-doped silicon glass, or doped silicon oxide such as borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG), FSG, PSG or BSG.",
"Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method or other deposition techniques may be used to deposit the ILD layer 74 .",
"Subsequently, a mask layer 76 having a plurality of openings 82 is formed on the ILD layer 74 .",
"The openings 82 are disposed corresponding to the gate electrode 54 and the source/drain regions 52 so as to define the locations of contact holes.",
"The mask layer 76 may includes a photoresist layer, a metal layer, or a dielectric layer.",
"Preferably, the mask layer 76 is a metal layer or a dielectric layer such as a silicon nitride layer, so as to prevent polymer residues generated in etching the ILD layer 74 .",
"As shown in FIG. 6 , an anisotropic etching process is performed using the mask layer 76 as an etching hard mask to etch the ILD layer 74 through the openings 82 .",
"The etching stops on the contact etch stop layer 72 so as to form a plurality of openings 92 .",
"As shown in FIG. 7 , the mask layer 76 is then removed, and a clean process is performed to remove polymer residues or particles remaining in the sidewalls of the openings 92 .",
"The clean process can be a wet clean process or a dry clean process, and can be performed in-situ or ex-situ.",
"Then, a dielectric thin film 94 is formed on the ILD layer 74 , the sidewalls of the openings 92 , and the exposed contact etch stop layer 72 .",
"In this embodiment, the contact hole to be formed has a feature size of between 50 and 100 nm (preferably 65 nm), and therefore the thickness of the dielectric thin film 94 is preferably between 0.5 to 10 nm.",
"However, the thickness of the dielectric thin film 94 can be altered in accordance with different process feature size.",
"The dielectric thin film 94 may include a silicon oxide thin film, a silicon nitride thin film, a silicon oxynitride thin film, etc.",
"The dielectric thin film 94 may also be a high k material having a dielectric constant larger than 3.9.",
"For instance, the dielectric thin film 94 may include tantalum oxide thin film, a titanium oxide thin film, a zirconium oxide thin film, a hafnium oxide thin film, hafnium silicon oxide thin film, hafnium silicon oxynitride, etc.",
"The dielectric thin film 94 can be formed by different deposition techniques such as LPCVD, APCVD, PECVD, ALD, etc.",
"As shown in FIG. 8 , an etch back process is performed to etch the dielectric thin film 94 disposed on the ILD layer 74 and the contact etch stop layer 72 .",
"Meanwhile, the dielectric thin film 94 disposed on the sidewalls of the openings 92 is reserved.",
"Following that, the contact etch stop layer 72 exposed through the openings 92 is etched so as to form contact holes 96 .",
"It should be appreciated that at least a surface treatment may be carried out when the contact holes 96 are formed.",
"For instance, an implantation process can be performed to reduce the resistance of the gate electrode 54 and the source/drain regions 52 .",
"Or a clean process can be performed to clean the sidewalls of the contact holes 96 for improving the reliability of the contact plugs to be formed later.",
"The method of the present invention is not limited to be applied to fabrications of contact holes, and can be adopted to form various openings such as via holes or trenches.",
"Please refer to FIGS. 9-12 .",
"FIGS. 9-12 are schematic, cross-sectional diagrams illustrating a method of fabricating openings in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention.",
"As shown in FIG. 9 , a semiconductor substrate 100 including an etch stop layer 102 , a dielectric layer 104 , and a mask layer 106 is provided.",
"The semiconductor substrate 100 further has a conductive pattern 108 , and the mask layer 106 includes a plurality of openings 110 disposed corresponding to the conductive pattern 108 .",
"As shown in FIG. 10 , an anisotropic etching process is performed using the mask layer 106 as an etching hard mask to form a plurality of openings 112 which expose the etch stop layer 102 in the dielectric layer 104 .",
"As shown in FIG. 11 , the mask layer 106 is removed, and a dielectric thin film 114 is deposited on the dielectric layer 104 , the sidewalls of the openings 112 , and the exposed etch stop layer 102 .",
"As shown in FIG. 12 , an etch back process is performed to etch the dielectric thin film 114 disposed on the dielectric layer 104 and the exposed etch stop layer 102 .",
"Following that, the exposed etch stop layer 102 is etched so as to form a via hole 116 and a trench 118 .",
"It is appreciated that a clean process may be performed subsequent to removing the mask layer 106 and a surface treatment may be carried out when the via hole 116 and the trench 118 are formed.",
"In addition, the materials of the etch stop layer 102 , the dielectric layer 104 , the mask layer 106 , and the dielectric thin film 114 have been disclosed in the above-described embodiment, and thus are not redundantly described here.",
"Another benefit of the method of the present invention is the etch stop layer may be a salicide block (SAB).",
"Please refer to FIG. 13 .",
"FIG. 13 is a schematic, cross-sectional diagram illustrating a method of forming openings according to still another preferred embodiment of the present invention.",
"As shown in FIG. 13 , a semiconductor substrate 130 is provided.",
"The semiconductor substrate 130 is divided into a first device region I e.g. an ESD device region or a memory array region, and a second device region II e.g. a logic device region.",
"Normally, the gate electrode and the source/drain regions of a logic device require salicides, while those of an ESD device or a memory device do not.",
"Therefore, the first device region I is covered with an SAB 140 while performing a salicidation process.",
"In this embodiment, the SAB 140 covering the first device region 140 is kept and used as an etch stop layer in etching a dielectric layer.",
"In such a case, the process step is reduced.",
"It is to be noted that the steps of forming the openings have been clearly described in the aforementioned embodiments, and thus are not redundantly described here.",
"Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention.",
"Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims."
] |
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to the use of thermoplastic liners for disposition within pipe lines, either initially or as a repair. In the case of new piping, the liner will protect the internal walls from deterioration, and the liner can be replaced from time to time. In the case of deteriorated or damaged piping, the liner will restore the fluid transporting capability of the pipeline and will prevent further interior deterioration. The thermoplastic pipe liner is a stand-alone product capable of carrying the mechanical forces of the piping system. The use of such a liner is presented in my previous patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,863,365, 4,985,196, 4,986,951, 4,998,871, 5,091,137, 5,112,211, and 5,342,570, which teach the general concept of a deformed liner and field application for insertion into, and subsequent reshaping to its original extruded form, within the pipe as a liner. In the case of polyethylene material, the extruded tube is deformed at a temperature equal to or higher than 160° F. (crystalline point) whereat a secondary temporary shape can be maintained. In the case of PVC or PVC/Pe copolymer, the round extrudate is directly shaped into a deformed cross-section during the first cooling stage of the production line. In all cases, heat and deforming tools are required to obtain a deformed collapsed shape. The same applies during the reforming of the liner within the pipe. Heat transfer and pressure are applied to the deformed liner to erase the temporary shape and reform the liner to its original round shape. Thermoplastic materials have a high thermal coefficient of expansion. During the manufacturing and installation processes, the liner is subjected to high variations of temperature, forcing the material to expand both axially and radially. When the liner is cooled back down to ambient temperature under pressure to lock it in place, stresses are induced which cause the liner to shrink after a certain period of time. The shrinkage of the liner creates a gap between the liner and carrier pipe that can facilitate unwanted water migration in sewer and drain lines or trap gases in industrial and gas lines.
The axial shrinkage of the liner can create tremendous axial stress forces in a free-span portion of the liner. For example, in a sewer line installation with house service line connections to be reopened after lining, if the liner is free-span (no interlocking circumferential areas with the carrier pipe), the liner can develop a total circumferential crack during the cutting operation causing a full separation of several inches, or the liner can move axially, in which case the opening does not match the service line, and the flow from the house is blocked. Even in state of the art sliplining wherein smaller round polyethylene pipe is inserted into the sewer line, the shrinkage phenomenon is known and has been reported in many articles and papers. In this instance, the shrinkage comes from the extrusion process. During the extrusion process, the melted thermoplastic material is pushed through a die and tip tooling by a rotating compression screw. As a result, the extruded pipe has a angular motion up to 90 degrees per 20 to 30 feet of length which is locked into the material by the cooling process. In order to obtain the desired pipe diameter and wall thickness, the extrudate is drawn down by axial pulling, thus inducing axial and radial stresses.
It is a general object of the this invention to provide a method for producing a temporarily deformed pipe liner from extruded thermoplastic round pipe of tubular cross-section for insertion into a pipe or conduit and reformation of the deformed pipe liner to the original extruded tubular cross-section without inducing heat transfer stresses, which inventive method will eliminate the existing axial and radial stresses in extruded thermoplastic round pipe as well as any residual stresses due to butt-fuse bonding segments of extruded thermoplastic round pipe to achieve a required continuous length.
This new method for producing pipe liners described herein involves a first step of annealing the stresses induced in the extruded thermoplastic round pipe. A novel feature of this method is raising the thermoplastic pipe wall thickness temperature to a maximum of 150° F. to relax the material, then slowly cooling the thermoplastic pipe wall thickness to ambient temperature to release the stresses. Releasing the extrusion stresses facilitates the manufacturing process, since the pipe will no longer have a tendency to rotate and slip out of the rollers during the subsequent deforming process.
After annealing, and now at ambient temperature, the thermoplastic pipe liner enters the deformation process and the end which first enters the deformation process line is sealed and an internal vacuum is applied to the pipe liner to collapse the round pipe liner to a flattened ribbon shape. In order to apply and maintain the vacuum, a multi-pig is inserted inside the pipe liner from the tail end of the pipe. The pig is filled with hydraulic fluid to obtain 100% vacuum sealing in the pipe liner as it enters the deformation process. The round pipe liner enters a set of four pig-stopping rollers which alter the pipe liner from a round shape to a square shape. The purpose of these pig-stopping rollers is to stop and trap the multi-pig at a fixed position by reducing the pipe liner cross-section as the pipe liner is drawn forward through the deforming process. The suction of the applied vacuum will also draw the pig. From that fixed position, at a distance of 15 to 30 times the pipe liner diameter, a set of two flattening rollers collapse the pipe liner into a flattened ribbon shape. Farther down the line, a second set of two bending rollers fold the flattened ribbon shape into a deformed “U” shape thereby creating a temporarily deformed pipe liner. Under the vacuum, the deformed pipe liner cannot regain its round shape. In heavy wall thickness pipe liner where the spring effect forces are greater than the vacuum forces, strapping of the deformed pipe liner may be required. The deforming process is performed at a pipe liner wall thickness temperature of 100° F., at which the thermoplastic material has most of its mechanical strength properties and, therefore, can accept the mechanical deforming process without locked-in elongation stresses being induced. In the case of water and gas line liners, hydraulic fluid, or any like oil base material, cannot be used with the poly pig. To obtain 100% sealing, the number of sealing elements of the poly-pig may have to be increased.
It is also contemplated that the pipe liner may be produced in a continuous length greater than the conduit to be repaired. In this case, if a continuous extruded length of round thermoplastic pipe is not available in adequate lengths, it may be necessary to butt-fuse weld individual segments of anywhere from 20 feet to 50 feet in length in order to obtain the desired length. This welding process is another source of stress which will be relieved by the annealing process.
Another novel feature of this invention is in sewer/drain line applications where groundwater infiltration needs to be eliminated. As previously mentioned, any liner system using thermoplastic materials or thermo-setting resins is subjected to great variations in temperature during the installation process. As a result, after a certain period of time, radial shrinkage occurs which allows groundwater to flow back into the sewer line at any openings such as house connections. The new feature is to apply a specially designed grout into the inner fold of the deformed “U” cross section during the deforming process. This grout is a hydrophobic or hydrophobic polyurethane material of high viscosity which retains its properties at a temperature greater than 150° F. and can absorb 8-10 times its volume of water. After the deformed pipe liner has been inserted into a pipe or conduit and during the process of re-rounding or reforming the pipe liner to its original tubular cross section, the grout flows around the outer surface of the pipe liner sealing the gap between the pipe liner and conduit. During expansion of the pipe liner, the grout penetrates cracks and opened joints in the conduit sealing the complete system. When the grout comes in contact with water it turns into a foam. Due to its thermal expansion coefficient, the pipe liner might shrink, but the grout will compensate for any shrinkage and keep the system sealed.
At the start-up of the deformation process, the end of the pipe liner to first enter the process is sealed by a 450° F. molding press at a pressure of 100 bars. An electro-fused saddle coupling is installed on one side of the pipe liner near the sealed end and connected to the vacuum pump via a shut-down valve. At the other end of the deformed pipe liner segment, a pulling head is inserted in the inner-fold and the liner is thermo-sealed by fusion at a temperature of 450° F. and a pressure of 100 bars, whereby the pulling head becomes part of the pipe liner.
Once the desired length of temporarily deformed pipe liner has been produced and sealed as above described, it is packaged on a reel or coiled. Another novel feature of this process is that the applied vacuum pre-stresses the pipe liner, allowing it to be bent on a smaller radius. Thermoplastic material cannot withstand much axial compression. As a result, the pipe liner, as well as a round pipe, will buckle when the compression forces due to the bending are greater than the compression forces the material can support. Maintaining the applied vacuum axially compresses the material and creates a pre-stress condition whereby the difference between the area under compression versus the area under elongation is minimized, increasing the inert cross-section. Consequently, the pipe liner can be bent on a much smaller radius without buckling, therefore larger size pipe liner can be coiled and packaged in sizes transportable by common carrier. For smaller size pipe liner, longer continuous lengths can be coiled on a regular size reel.
At the job site, once the pipe liner is threaded by a pulling winch through the conduit to be repaired, the pulling head is severed at the downstream end to release the vacuum. At the upstream end, the thermo-seal plug is cut off. The pipe liner regains its original round shape by itself but will be locked by the carrier pipe in a somewhat deformed configuration. End-fitting couplings are attached to both ends of the pipe liner, and a soft-pig is propelled by pressurized air through the entire length to re-round the pipe liner. During re-rounding of the pipe liner in a sewer line rehabilitation, the hydrophilic/hydrophobic grout material flows freely around the pipe liner turning to foam when it comes into contact with water, thus sealing the gap between the pipe liner and carrier pipe or conduit. Steam is then introduced into the pipe liner to mold it to the internal contours of the carrier pipe or conduit. The hydrophilic/hydrophobic foam is squeezed into cracks and openings. The pipe liner is cooled down slowly by air to ambient temperature. The amount of shrinkage due to heat transfer is minimized compared to other pipe lining systems that depend solely on heat to unfold the pipe liner.
In previous pipe liner systems, if there is cold water present in the conduit to be repaired (i.e. low spot or active service line), the pipe liner material is not uniformly subjected to temperature elevation. When pressure is applied to unfold the pipe liner, the hottest part of the pipe liner cross-section will unfold and elongate and, over time, considerable shrinkage will occur. In this new pipe lining system, since the pipe liner is unfolded at ambient temperature, there is no thermal expansion.
In the case of sewer and drain lines where the inside diameter of the conduit has large variation, the pipe liner has an outside diameter slightly smaller than the conduit's inside diameter. The liner needs to be expanded to obtain a tight fit and minimize the gap between the pipe liner and the conduit. In the case of pressure pipe application, the pipe liner's outside diameter can be manufactured more precisely, since there is significantly less variation to the inside diameter of the conduit. In this application, the pipe liner does not need to be molded to the contours of the conduit, and the hydrophilic or hydrophobic material is not needed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a partial cross section and partial side view of a stress release chamber.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the pipe liner deforming apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the pipe liner beginning the deformation process.
FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the flattened ribbon shape.
FIG. 5 is the deformed “U” cross section.
FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of a “soft-pig” unfolding a deformed pipe liner within a conduit.
FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of a pipe liner in place in a conduit with hydrophilic material sealing.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a partial cross section and partial side view of a stress release chamber 2 which is used to anneal extruded thermoplastic round pipe 1 before the deformation process. The round pipe 1 moves through the stress release chamber 2 in the direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1, starting in the entry zone 8 , then to the intermediate zone 9 and finally to the exit zone 10 before exiting the stress release chamber 2 . Before entering the stress release chamber 2 , it is anticipated that the round pipe 1 will be in such continuous length as required for any particular application. Although not shown, stock segments of extruded thermoplastic round pipe available in lengths between 20 and 50 feet may be butt-fuse welded to obtain the desired continuous length. Such welding would be done before the annealing process. Although not shown, drawing means will be provided to move the round pipe 1 through the stress release chamber 2 as well as further steps in the deformation process.
The embodiment of stress release chamber 2 shown in FIG. 1 is heated by steam produced by a steam generator 44 through a steam line 7 which directs steam through pressure valves 4 into the entry zone 8 , the intermediate zone 9 and finally the exit zone 10 . Steam condensate will be collected in a condensate line 6 and the condensate will be prevented from flowing from one zone to another by a series of check valves 5 . The condensate will be released by a pressure valve 4 . The entry zone 8 will have the highest temperature. The intermediate zone 9 will have the next highest temperature and the exit zone 10 will have the lowest temperature. Each zone will be fitted with a temperature gage 11 to monitor the temperature within the respective zones. A typical operating condition would have the temperature gage 11 fitted to the entry zone 8 giving a reading of 250° F., the temperature gage 11 fitted to the intermediate zone 9 giving a reading of 225° F., and the temperature gage 11 fitted to the exit zone 10 giving a reading of 200° F. These temperature readings are noted only as illustrative of one embodiment of a stress release chamber 2 . It is intended that the wall thickness temperature of the extruded thermoplastic round pipe 1 be raised to no more than 150° F. and then gradually cooled to ambient temperature.
The embodiment of a stress release chamber 2 shown in FIG. 1 is shown with an upper half 15 and a lower half 16 which are held in position by locking devices 14 . Also shown in FIG. 1 is a series of adapters 13 fitted with seals 12 . The adapters 13 with fitted seals 12 allow the stress release chamber 2 to be used to anneal extruded thermoplastic round pipe 1 of different diameters. The seals 12 prevent the leakage of steam and heat from the stress release chamber 2 to the outside as well as prevent the leakage of steam and heat from one zone to another.
FIG. 2 shows a side view of the apparatus for deforming the extruded thermoplastic round pipe 1 after the annealing process to produce a temporarily deformed pipe liner. The end of the extruded thermoplastic round pipe 1 after the annealing process which first enters the deforming process is thermo-sealed to form a thermo-sealed end 18 . In one embodiment of this step, the thermo-seal is accomplished by 450° F. molding press at a pressure of 100 bars. An electro fused saddle coupling is installed on one side of the round pipe 1 near the thermo-sealed end 18 , and connected to a vacuum pump 44 through a vacuum line 19 and vacuum valve 32 and an internal vacuum is applied to the round pipe 1 to collapse or assist in the collapse of the round pipe 1 . This internal vacuum is maintained throughout the entire deformation process. In order to apply and maintain a vacuum within the round pipe 1 during the deformation process, a multi-pig 20 is inserted into the round pipe 1 . The multi-pig 20 is filled with hydraulic or oil based fluid 21 to provide a moveable but complete vacuum seal around the inner surface 41 of the round pipe 1 as it enters the deformation process. In those instances where the pipe liner will used within water and gas pipe lines or conduit, the use of hydraulic or oil based fluid 21 would be unsuitable and a different embodiment of the multi-pig 20 would be used with additional sealing elements 45 but without hydraulic or oil based fluid 21 . As the round pipe 1 enters the deforming process in the direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. 2, it passes through a series of rollers which begin and assist in the deformation process and serve to stop and trap the multi-pig 20 in a fixed position. One embodiment of these rollers is shown in FIG. 2 as a set of two horizontal pig-stopping rollers 22 and a set of two vertical pig-stopping rollers 23 . The clearance between the rollers in each set is less than the outer diameter of the round pipe 1 thus causing the round pipe 1 to deform into an essentially square shape. In addition, the horizontal pig-stopping rollers 22 and the vertical pig-stopping rollers 23 stop and trap the multi-pig 20 in a fixed position as the round pipe 1 is drawn over the multi-pig 20 and through the deforming process. The suction of the applied internal vacuum will also draw the multi-pig 20 toward the pig-stopping rollers 22 and 23 . Although not shown, drawing means will be provided to move the round pipe 1 through the deformation process.
At a distance of 15 to 30 times the outer diameter of the round pipe 1 from the fixed position of the multi-pig 20 or the pig-stopping rollers 22 and 23 , the deforming round pipe 1 , now becomes a collapsing pipe liner 25 as shown in cross section in FIG. 3, and will be drawn through flattening rollers 24 to produce a flattened pipe liner 26 of flattened ribbon shape with a top side 34 and a bottom side 35 , shown in cross section in FIG. 4 .
The flattened pipe-liner 26 is then drawn toward and through bending rollers 29 which fold the flattened pipe liner 26 into a deformed “U” shape pipe liner 27 which is shown in cross section in FIG. 5 . As shown in FIG. 4, the cross section of the flattened pipe liner 26 is symmetrical about a plane of bilateral symmetry 33 . When drawn through the bending rollers 29 , the bottom side 35 of the flattened pipe liner 26 is folded along the plane of bilateral symmetry 33 to create the deformed “U” shape pipe liner 27 with an inner fold 31 adjacent to what was the top side 34 of the flattened pipe liner 26 . Because of the applied internal vacuum, the deformed “U” shape pipe liner 27 , cannot regain its round shape except where the wall thickness of the round pipe is large enough to create spring forces greater than the force of the vacuum. In such a case, straps 50 may be used to retain the deformed “U” shape.
In an alternative embodiment a hydrophilic material bead injector 28 is installed to inject a bead of hydrophilic material 30 into the inner fold 31 .
When the required length of deformed “U” shape pipe liner 27 has been produced a pulling head is inserted in the inner fold 31 at the end of the deformed “U” shape pipe liner 27 opposite the thermo-sealed end 18 , and the deformed “U” shape pipe liner 27 is thermo-sealed at that end by fusion at temperature of 450° F. and a pressure of 100 bars and the pulling head becomes a part of the deformed “U” shape pipe liner 27 . The pulling head serves as an attachment for pulling means such as a pulling winch to pull the deformed “U” shape pipe liner 27 through a conduit at a job site for positioning within the conduit before the deformed “U” shape pipe liner 27 is unfolded and reshaped as discussed below.
When the required length of deformed “U” shape pipe liner 27 has been produced and sealed as above described it is packaged on a reel or coiled for subsequent transport to a particular job site. Once at the job site, the deformed “U” shape pipe liner 27 is unspooled from the reel or coil and threaded through a conduit 38 with the pulling head entering first and being pulled by a pulling winch until the deformed “U” shape pipe liner 27 is fully in position within the conduit 38 . Once in position, the pulling head is severed to release the vacuum retained within the deformed “U” shape pipe liner 27 and the thermo-sealed end 18 is cut off. With the release of vacuum, the deformed “U” shape pipe liner 27 will regain its original round configuration but with some deformation.
FIG. 6 shows a cross section of a conduit with a pipe liner in place. An unfolded pipe liner with minor deformation 41 is shown in place within the conduit 38 . End fitting couplings 37 are attached to both ends of the unfolded pipe liner with minor deformation 41 and a soft-pig 36 is propelled through the unfolded pipe liner with minor deformation 41 to re-round the pipe liner and produce the re-rounded liner 40 . The soft-pig 36 is propelled by compressed air through a compressed air fitting 46 and controlled by a control valve 47 . During the unfolding and re-rounding process, hydrophilic material 30 , if inserted into the inner fold 31 during the folding process, flows freely around the pipe liner and turns to foam 49 when it comes into contact with water, thus sealing any gap between the re-rounded pipe liner 40 and the conduit 38 . Steam is then applied into the re-rounded pipe-liner 40 through a steam fitting 51 and controlled by a steam valve 48 to mold the re-rounded liner to the internal contours of the conduit 38 . The foam 49 is squeezed into cracks and openings in the conduit 38 . The re-rounded pipe liner 40 is then allowed to cool by air to ambient temperature.
FIG. 7 is a cross section of the re-rounded pipe liner 40 in place in a conduit 38 with foam 49 sealing. As shown the re-rounded pipe liner 40 has an inner surface 41 and an outer surface 42 . The outer surface 42 is adjacent to the inner surface of the conduit 43 . Any gaps or discontinuities between the outer surface 42 and the inner surface 43 are filled with foam 49 and sealed. | A method for producing temporarily deformed pipe liners from a continuously extruded thermoplastic round pipe, or thermoplastic round pipe extruded in segments of 20 to 50 feet in length and butt-fused together to obtain a pipe liner segment of a length greater than the conduit to be lined; annealing the pipe liner before deformation in a stress release chamber to relieve stresses induced in the extrusion process; collapsing the pipe liner to a flattened shape by means of internal vacuum and subsequently bending deformable portions of the flattened shape toward a back-up portion thereof, and without elongation, maintaining diameter and wall thickness; applying a sealant material on the outer pipe liner surface to seal the gap between the pipe liner and conduit. | Summarize the patent document, focusing on the invention's functionality and advantages. | [
"BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to the use of thermoplastic liners for disposition within pipe lines, either initially or as a repair.",
"In the case of new piping, the liner will protect the internal walls from deterioration, and the liner can be replaced from time to time.",
"In the case of deteriorated or damaged piping, the liner will restore the fluid transporting capability of the pipeline and will prevent further interior deterioration.",
"The thermoplastic pipe liner is a stand-alone product capable of carrying the mechanical forces of the piping system.",
"The use of such a liner is presented in my previous patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,863,365, 4,985,196, 4,986,951, 4,998,871, 5,091,137, 5,112,211, and 5,342,570, which teach the general concept of a deformed liner and field application for insertion into, and subsequent reshaping to its original extruded form, within the pipe as a liner.",
"In the case of polyethylene material, the extruded tube is deformed at a temperature equal to or higher than 160° F. (crystalline point) whereat a secondary temporary shape can be maintained.",
"In the case of PVC or PVC/Pe copolymer, the round extrudate is directly shaped into a deformed cross-section during the first cooling stage of the production line.",
"In all cases, heat and deforming tools are required to obtain a deformed collapsed shape.",
"The same applies during the reforming of the liner within the pipe.",
"Heat transfer and pressure are applied to the deformed liner to erase the temporary shape and reform the liner to its original round shape.",
"Thermoplastic materials have a high thermal coefficient of expansion.",
"During the manufacturing and installation processes, the liner is subjected to high variations of temperature, forcing the material to expand both axially and radially.",
"When the liner is cooled back down to ambient temperature under pressure to lock it in place, stresses are induced which cause the liner to shrink after a certain period of time.",
"The shrinkage of the liner creates a gap between the liner and carrier pipe that can facilitate unwanted water migration in sewer and drain lines or trap gases in industrial and gas lines.",
"The axial shrinkage of the liner can create tremendous axial stress forces in a free-span portion of the liner.",
"For example, in a sewer line installation with house service line connections to be reopened after lining, if the liner is free-span (no interlocking circumferential areas with the carrier pipe), the liner can develop a total circumferential crack during the cutting operation causing a full separation of several inches, or the liner can move axially, in which case the opening does not match the service line, and the flow from the house is blocked.",
"Even in state of the art sliplining wherein smaller round polyethylene pipe is inserted into the sewer line, the shrinkage phenomenon is known and has been reported in many articles and papers.",
"In this instance, the shrinkage comes from the extrusion process.",
"During the extrusion process, the melted thermoplastic material is pushed through a die and tip tooling by a rotating compression screw.",
"As a result, the extruded pipe has a angular motion up to 90 degrees per 20 to 30 feet of length which is locked into the material by the cooling process.",
"In order to obtain the desired pipe diameter and wall thickness, the extrudate is drawn down by axial pulling, thus inducing axial and radial stresses.",
"It is a general object of the this invention to provide a method for producing a temporarily deformed pipe liner from extruded thermoplastic round pipe of tubular cross-section for insertion into a pipe or conduit and reformation of the deformed pipe liner to the original extruded tubular cross-section without inducing heat transfer stresses, which inventive method will eliminate the existing axial and radial stresses in extruded thermoplastic round pipe as well as any residual stresses due to butt-fuse bonding segments of extruded thermoplastic round pipe to achieve a required continuous length.",
"This new method for producing pipe liners described herein involves a first step of annealing the stresses induced in the extruded thermoplastic round pipe.",
"A novel feature of this method is raising the thermoplastic pipe wall thickness temperature to a maximum of 150° F. to relax the material, then slowly cooling the thermoplastic pipe wall thickness to ambient temperature to release the stresses.",
"Releasing the extrusion stresses facilitates the manufacturing process, since the pipe will no longer have a tendency to rotate and slip out of the rollers during the subsequent deforming process.",
"After annealing, and now at ambient temperature, the thermoplastic pipe liner enters the deformation process and the end which first enters the deformation process line is sealed and an internal vacuum is applied to the pipe liner to collapse the round pipe liner to a flattened ribbon shape.",
"In order to apply and maintain the vacuum, a multi-pig is inserted inside the pipe liner from the tail end of the pipe.",
"The pig is filled with hydraulic fluid to obtain 100% vacuum sealing in the pipe liner as it enters the deformation process.",
"The round pipe liner enters a set of four pig-stopping rollers which alter the pipe liner from a round shape to a square shape.",
"The purpose of these pig-stopping rollers is to stop and trap the multi-pig at a fixed position by reducing the pipe liner cross-section as the pipe liner is drawn forward through the deforming process.",
"The suction of the applied vacuum will also draw the pig.",
"From that fixed position, at a distance of 15 to 30 times the pipe liner diameter, a set of two flattening rollers collapse the pipe liner into a flattened ribbon shape.",
"Farther down the line, a second set of two bending rollers fold the flattened ribbon shape into a deformed “U”",
"shape thereby creating a temporarily deformed pipe liner.",
"Under the vacuum, the deformed pipe liner cannot regain its round shape.",
"In heavy wall thickness pipe liner where the spring effect forces are greater than the vacuum forces, strapping of the deformed pipe liner may be required.",
"The deforming process is performed at a pipe liner wall thickness temperature of 100° F., at which the thermoplastic material has most of its mechanical strength properties and, therefore, can accept the mechanical deforming process without locked-in elongation stresses being induced.",
"In the case of water and gas line liners, hydraulic fluid, or any like oil base material, cannot be used with the poly pig.",
"To obtain 100% sealing, the number of sealing elements of the poly-pig may have to be increased.",
"It is also contemplated that the pipe liner may be produced in a continuous length greater than the conduit to be repaired.",
"In this case, if a continuous extruded length of round thermoplastic pipe is not available in adequate lengths, it may be necessary to butt-fuse weld individual segments of anywhere from 20 feet to 50 feet in length in order to obtain the desired length.",
"This welding process is another source of stress which will be relieved by the annealing process.",
"Another novel feature of this invention is in sewer/drain line applications where groundwater infiltration needs to be eliminated.",
"As previously mentioned, any liner system using thermoplastic materials or thermo-setting resins is subjected to great variations in temperature during the installation process.",
"As a result, after a certain period of time, radial shrinkage occurs which allows groundwater to flow back into the sewer line at any openings such as house connections.",
"The new feature is to apply a specially designed grout into the inner fold of the deformed “U”",
"cross section during the deforming process.",
"This grout is a hydrophobic or hydrophobic polyurethane material of high viscosity which retains its properties at a temperature greater than 150° F. and can absorb 8-10 times its volume of water.",
"After the deformed pipe liner has been inserted into a pipe or conduit and during the process of re-rounding or reforming the pipe liner to its original tubular cross section, the grout flows around the outer surface of the pipe liner sealing the gap between the pipe liner and conduit.",
"During expansion of the pipe liner, the grout penetrates cracks and opened joints in the conduit sealing the complete system.",
"When the grout comes in contact with water it turns into a foam.",
"Due to its thermal expansion coefficient, the pipe liner might shrink, but the grout will compensate for any shrinkage and keep the system sealed.",
"At the start-up of the deformation process, the end of the pipe liner to first enter the process is sealed by a 450° F. molding press at a pressure of 100 bars.",
"An electro-fused saddle coupling is installed on one side of the pipe liner near the sealed end and connected to the vacuum pump via a shut-down valve.",
"At the other end of the deformed pipe liner segment, a pulling head is inserted in the inner-fold and the liner is thermo-sealed by fusion at a temperature of 450° F. and a pressure of 100 bars, whereby the pulling head becomes part of the pipe liner.",
"Once the desired length of temporarily deformed pipe liner has been produced and sealed as above described, it is packaged on a reel or coiled.",
"Another novel feature of this process is that the applied vacuum pre-stresses the pipe liner, allowing it to be bent on a smaller radius.",
"Thermoplastic material cannot withstand much axial compression.",
"As a result, the pipe liner, as well as a round pipe, will buckle when the compression forces due to the bending are greater than the compression forces the material can support.",
"Maintaining the applied vacuum axially compresses the material and creates a pre-stress condition whereby the difference between the area under compression versus the area under elongation is minimized, increasing the inert cross-section.",
"Consequently, the pipe liner can be bent on a much smaller radius without buckling, therefore larger size pipe liner can be coiled and packaged in sizes transportable by common carrier.",
"For smaller size pipe liner, longer continuous lengths can be coiled on a regular size reel.",
"At the job site, once the pipe liner is threaded by a pulling winch through the conduit to be repaired, the pulling head is severed at the downstream end to release the vacuum.",
"At the upstream end, the thermo-seal plug is cut off.",
"The pipe liner regains its original round shape by itself but will be locked by the carrier pipe in a somewhat deformed configuration.",
"End-fitting couplings are attached to both ends of the pipe liner, and a soft-pig is propelled by pressurized air through the entire length to re-round the pipe liner.",
"During re-rounding of the pipe liner in a sewer line rehabilitation, the hydrophilic/hydrophobic grout material flows freely around the pipe liner turning to foam when it comes into contact with water, thus sealing the gap between the pipe liner and carrier pipe or conduit.",
"Steam is then introduced into the pipe liner to mold it to the internal contours of the carrier pipe or conduit.",
"The hydrophilic/hydrophobic foam is squeezed into cracks and openings.",
"The pipe liner is cooled down slowly by air to ambient temperature.",
"The amount of shrinkage due to heat transfer is minimized compared to other pipe lining systems that depend solely on heat to unfold the pipe liner.",
"In previous pipe liner systems, if there is cold water present in the conduit to be repaired (i.e. low spot or active service line), the pipe liner material is not uniformly subjected to temperature elevation.",
"When pressure is applied to unfold the pipe liner, the hottest part of the pipe liner cross-section will unfold and elongate and, over time, considerable shrinkage will occur.",
"In this new pipe lining system, since the pipe liner is unfolded at ambient temperature, there is no thermal expansion.",
"In the case of sewer and drain lines where the inside diameter of the conduit has large variation, the pipe liner has an outside diameter slightly smaller than the conduit's inside diameter.",
"The liner needs to be expanded to obtain a tight fit and minimize the gap between the pipe liner and the conduit.",
"In the case of pressure pipe application, the pipe liner's outside diameter can be manufactured more precisely, since there is significantly less variation to the inside diameter of the conduit.",
"In this application, the pipe liner does not need to be molded to the contours of the conduit, and the hydrophilic or hydrophobic material is not needed.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partial cross section and partial side view of a stress release chamber.",
"FIG. 2 is a side view of the pipe liner deforming apparatus.",
"FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the pipe liner beginning the deformation process.",
"FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the flattened ribbon shape.",
"FIG. 5 is the deformed “U”",
"cross section.",
"FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of a “soft-pig”",
"unfolding a deformed pipe liner within a conduit.",
"FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of a pipe liner in place in a conduit with hydrophilic material sealing.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a partial cross section and partial side view of a stress release chamber 2 which is used to anneal extruded thermoplastic round pipe 1 before the deformation process.",
"The round pipe 1 moves through the stress release chamber 2 in the direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1, starting in the entry zone 8 , then to the intermediate zone 9 and finally to the exit zone 10 before exiting the stress release chamber 2 .",
"Before entering the stress release chamber 2 , it is anticipated that the round pipe 1 will be in such continuous length as required for any particular application.",
"Although not shown, stock segments of extruded thermoplastic round pipe available in lengths between 20 and 50 feet may be butt-fuse welded to obtain the desired continuous length.",
"Such welding would be done before the annealing process.",
"Although not shown, drawing means will be provided to move the round pipe 1 through the stress release chamber 2 as well as further steps in the deformation process.",
"The embodiment of stress release chamber 2 shown in FIG. 1 is heated by steam produced by a steam generator 44 through a steam line 7 which directs steam through pressure valves 4 into the entry zone 8 , the intermediate zone 9 and finally the exit zone 10 .",
"Steam condensate will be collected in a condensate line 6 and the condensate will be prevented from flowing from one zone to another by a series of check valves 5 .",
"The condensate will be released by a pressure valve 4 .",
"The entry zone 8 will have the highest temperature.",
"The intermediate zone 9 will have the next highest temperature and the exit zone 10 will have the lowest temperature.",
"Each zone will be fitted with a temperature gage 11 to monitor the temperature within the respective zones.",
"A typical operating condition would have the temperature gage 11 fitted to the entry zone 8 giving a reading of 250° F., the temperature gage 11 fitted to the intermediate zone 9 giving a reading of 225° F., and the temperature gage 11 fitted to the exit zone 10 giving a reading of 200° F. These temperature readings are noted only as illustrative of one embodiment of a stress release chamber 2 .",
"It is intended that the wall thickness temperature of the extruded thermoplastic round pipe 1 be raised to no more than 150° F. and then gradually cooled to ambient temperature.",
"The embodiment of a stress release chamber 2 shown in FIG. 1 is shown with an upper half 15 and a lower half 16 which are held in position by locking devices 14 .",
"Also shown in FIG. 1 is a series of adapters 13 fitted with seals 12 .",
"The adapters 13 with fitted seals 12 allow the stress release chamber 2 to be used to anneal extruded thermoplastic round pipe 1 of different diameters.",
"The seals 12 prevent the leakage of steam and heat from the stress release chamber 2 to the outside as well as prevent the leakage of steam and heat from one zone to another.",
"FIG. 2 shows a side view of the apparatus for deforming the extruded thermoplastic round pipe 1 after the annealing process to produce a temporarily deformed pipe liner.",
"The end of the extruded thermoplastic round pipe 1 after the annealing process which first enters the deforming process is thermo-sealed to form a thermo-sealed end 18 .",
"In one embodiment of this step, the thermo-seal is accomplished by 450° F. molding press at a pressure of 100 bars.",
"An electro fused saddle coupling is installed on one side of the round pipe 1 near the thermo-sealed end 18 , and connected to a vacuum pump 44 through a vacuum line 19 and vacuum valve 32 and an internal vacuum is applied to the round pipe 1 to collapse or assist in the collapse of the round pipe 1 .",
"This internal vacuum is maintained throughout the entire deformation process.",
"In order to apply and maintain a vacuum within the round pipe 1 during the deformation process, a multi-pig 20 is inserted into the round pipe 1 .",
"The multi-pig 20 is filled with hydraulic or oil based fluid 21 to provide a moveable but complete vacuum seal around the inner surface 41 of the round pipe 1 as it enters the deformation process.",
"In those instances where the pipe liner will used within water and gas pipe lines or conduit, the use of hydraulic or oil based fluid 21 would be unsuitable and a different embodiment of the multi-pig 20 would be used with additional sealing elements 45 but without hydraulic or oil based fluid 21 .",
"As the round pipe 1 enters the deforming process in the direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. 2, it passes through a series of rollers which begin and assist in the deformation process and serve to stop and trap the multi-pig 20 in a fixed position.",
"One embodiment of these rollers is shown in FIG. 2 as a set of two horizontal pig-stopping rollers 22 and a set of two vertical pig-stopping rollers 23 .",
"The clearance between the rollers in each set is less than the outer diameter of the round pipe 1 thus causing the round pipe 1 to deform into an essentially square shape.",
"In addition, the horizontal pig-stopping rollers 22 and the vertical pig-stopping rollers 23 stop and trap the multi-pig 20 in a fixed position as the round pipe 1 is drawn over the multi-pig 20 and through the deforming process.",
"The suction of the applied internal vacuum will also draw the multi-pig 20 toward the pig-stopping rollers 22 and 23 .",
"Although not shown, drawing means will be provided to move the round pipe 1 through the deformation process.",
"At a distance of 15 to 30 times the outer diameter of the round pipe 1 from the fixed position of the multi-pig 20 or the pig-stopping rollers 22 and 23 , the deforming round pipe 1 , now becomes a collapsing pipe liner 25 as shown in cross section in FIG. 3, and will be drawn through flattening rollers 24 to produce a flattened pipe liner 26 of flattened ribbon shape with a top side 34 and a bottom side 35 , shown in cross section in FIG. 4 .",
"The flattened pipe-liner 26 is then drawn toward and through bending rollers 29 which fold the flattened pipe liner 26 into a deformed “U”",
"shape pipe liner 27 which is shown in cross section in FIG. 5 .",
"As shown in FIG. 4, the cross section of the flattened pipe liner 26 is symmetrical about a plane of bilateral symmetry 33 .",
"When drawn through the bending rollers 29 , the bottom side 35 of the flattened pipe liner 26 is folded along the plane of bilateral symmetry 33 to create the deformed “U”",
"shape pipe liner 27 with an inner fold 31 adjacent to what was the top side 34 of the flattened pipe liner 26 .",
"Because of the applied internal vacuum, the deformed “U”",
"shape pipe liner 27 , cannot regain its round shape except where the wall thickness of the round pipe is large enough to create spring forces greater than the force of the vacuum.",
"In such a case, straps 50 may be used to retain the deformed “U”",
"shape.",
"In an alternative embodiment a hydrophilic material bead injector 28 is installed to inject a bead of hydrophilic material 30 into the inner fold 31 .",
"When the required length of deformed “U”",
"shape pipe liner 27 has been produced a pulling head is inserted in the inner fold 31 at the end of the deformed “U”",
"shape pipe liner 27 opposite the thermo-sealed end 18 , and the deformed “U”",
"shape pipe liner 27 is thermo-sealed at that end by fusion at temperature of 450° F. and a pressure of 100 bars and the pulling head becomes a part of the deformed “U”",
"shape pipe liner 27 .",
"The pulling head serves as an attachment for pulling means such as a pulling winch to pull the deformed “U”",
"shape pipe liner 27 through a conduit at a job site for positioning within the conduit before the deformed “U”",
"shape pipe liner 27 is unfolded and reshaped as discussed below.",
"When the required length of deformed “U”",
"shape pipe liner 27 has been produced and sealed as above described it is packaged on a reel or coiled for subsequent transport to a particular job site.",
"Once at the job site, the deformed “U”",
"shape pipe liner 27 is unspooled from the reel or coil and threaded through a conduit 38 with the pulling head entering first and being pulled by a pulling winch until the deformed “U”",
"shape pipe liner 27 is fully in position within the conduit 38 .",
"Once in position, the pulling head is severed to release the vacuum retained within the deformed “U”",
"shape pipe liner 27 and the thermo-sealed end 18 is cut off.",
"With the release of vacuum, the deformed “U”",
"shape pipe liner 27 will regain its original round configuration but with some deformation.",
"FIG. 6 shows a cross section of a conduit with a pipe liner in place.",
"An unfolded pipe liner with minor deformation 41 is shown in place within the conduit 38 .",
"End fitting couplings 37 are attached to both ends of the unfolded pipe liner with minor deformation 41 and a soft-pig 36 is propelled through the unfolded pipe liner with minor deformation 41 to re-round the pipe liner and produce the re-rounded liner 40 .",
"The soft-pig 36 is propelled by compressed air through a compressed air fitting 46 and controlled by a control valve 47 .",
"During the unfolding and re-rounding process, hydrophilic material 30 , if inserted into the inner fold 31 during the folding process, flows freely around the pipe liner and turns to foam 49 when it comes into contact with water, thus sealing any gap between the re-rounded pipe liner 40 and the conduit 38 .",
"Steam is then applied into the re-rounded pipe-liner 40 through a steam fitting 51 and controlled by a steam valve 48 to mold the re-rounded liner to the internal contours of the conduit 38 .",
"The foam 49 is squeezed into cracks and openings in the conduit 38 .",
"The re-rounded pipe liner 40 is then allowed to cool by air to ambient temperature.",
"FIG. 7 is a cross section of the re-rounded pipe liner 40 in place in a conduit 38 with foam 49 sealing.",
"As shown the re-rounded pipe liner 40 has an inner surface 41 and an outer surface 42 .",
"The outer surface 42 is adjacent to the inner surface of the conduit 43 .",
"Any gaps or discontinuities between the outer surface 42 and the inner surface 43 are filled with foam 49 and sealed."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001]
[0000]
Appl. #
Title
Relationship
60/446,751
Method and System for interactive 2D
Regions of a composition generated by the current
region segmentation
invention can be further subdivided using the
methods taught in said related application.
60/469,873
Method and system for multipage
Compositions generated by the current invention
print layout
can be subdivided for printing using the methods in
said related application.
60/446,752
Method and system for distributing
Regions of a composition generated by the current
multiple dragged objects
invention can be populated with data using the
methods taught in said related application.
60/446,757
Method and system for interactive
Regions of a composition generated by the current
cropping of a graphical object within
invention can be cropped using the methods taught
a containing region
in said related application.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to computer-based editing systems and methods. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for the automatic creation of arrangements of two-dimensional data, such as images within a collage.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Digital imaging systems enable the user to manipulate images such as those captured by a digital camera, scanned from paper originals, or generated by other digital imaging software systems. One such operation involves assembling multiple ages into a single larger image, forming a “collage”, or an arrangement of images which is itself an image. Software tools, such as the LumaPix:FotoFusion™ software application published by LumaPix, simplify the creation of collages with tools that enable the user to position, resize and interactively crop images in order to generate larger collage.
[0004] To create a collage, the user typically selects images from a repository, then brings the onto a collage surface, or “Canvas”, where further editing (such as rotating, mirroring, or resizing member images) possible. The act of producing the collage may be aided by tools such as the subdivision of the canvas into smaller, aligned frames. In many cases the user must manually populate the empty frames with images from the repository. In other prior art, there exist “templates”, or pre-defined arrangements of frames within canvases, which can be populated with a selected set of images with a single action by the user. While this technique requires less work of the user than manual placement, it also restricts the variety of collage compositions to only those alternatives made possible by re-ordering the insertion of selected images into pre-arranged frames in the template; the overall structure of the generated collage remains identical to the template collage. While this uniformity may be desirable for certain applications, the results become monotonous for other applications where variety and uniqueness are appreciated. Novel collage layouts retain visual interest, a desirable trait when viewing collections of collages.
[0005] It is therefore desirable to provide a method and system for producing two-dimensional arrangements that obviates or mitigates the disadvantages of the prior art. In particular, it is desirable to provide a method and system for automatically generating unique arrangements of images, ideally with the ability to produce novel varieties of arrangements that have been “inspired” by a selected template layout.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for editing an arrangement of objects in a computer-based editing system, comprising the steps of:
a) Defining a set of objects to be arranged, each object member of said set specifying an extent in at least two dimensions
[0008] b) Automatically calculating and presenting an arrangement of said set of objects within an extent of at least two dimensions such that said arrangement of said objects fills said extent, cropping said images as necessary to allow uniform spacing if desired.
c) Optionally, automatically calculating and presenting alternative arrangements of said set of objects.
[0010] According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method wherein the user selects a template arrangement determining a set of attributes to be used in the calculation of a new arrangement. The attributes specified by this template may include region border width and/or color and/or transparency and/or texture and/or rotation and/or size distribution.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:
[0012] FIG. 1 a is a schematic of an editing system operating on a single computing device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 1 b is a schematic of an editing system operating on a client-server basis in a networked system of computing devices according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 2 illustrates the user interface of a preferred embodiment of the present invention
[0015] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates two alternative styles of collages, or arrangements of data objects exposing a two-dimensional extent: a regular, or aligned collage, and an irregular, or free-floating collage.
[0017] FIGS. 5A and 5B (herein collectively “FIG. 5 ”) illustrates various techniques for producing alternative arrangements of a given collage, including varying data object order, varying data object size and position, and varying attributes (such as color or thickness) of the frames enclosing the data objects.
[0018] FIG. 6 illustrates a resizing of the overall collage extent forced by the variation of the size and position of data objects contained within that collage.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] The present invention provides a system and method for editing digital information. In the following discussion, the present invention is described for illustrative purposes with reference to the manipulation of raster image information. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the invention, in its broadest aspect, is applicable to applications other than image applications, and it is not intended that the scope of the invention be so limited.
Computer Imaging System
[0020] A computer-based system 1 suitable for use of this invention is schematically depicted in FIG 1 a . The application system 1 includes a computer 2 that has a central processing unit (CPU) 3 which may include local memory 3 a, static memory 4 such as Read-only memory (ROM), main memory 5 such as Random Access memory (RAM), mass memory 6 such as a computer disk drive, a system bus 7 , adaptor(s) for external input devices 8 , and a display adapter 9 which may include local memory 9 a. The computer 2 communicates with an alphanumeric input device 10 such as a keyboard, a pointing device 11 such as a mouse for manipulating a cursor and making selections of data via said input adapter 8 . The computer 2 communicates with a video display 12 such as a computer monitor via said display adapter 9 .
[0021] The computer 2 may execute software such as the imaging system described below to allow the system 1 to render high quality graphics images on the monitor 12 . The CPU 3 comprises a suitable processing device such as a microprocessor, for example, and may comprise a plurality of suitable processing devices. The graphics adaptor 9 may also be capable of executing instructions. Instructions are stored in the CPU local memory 3 a, static memory 4 , display adapter local memory 9 a, main memory 5 , and/or mass memory 6 and are executed by the CPU 3 or the display adapter 9 .
[0022] The static memory 4 may comprise read only memory (ROM) or any other suitable memory device. The local memory may store, for example, a boot program for execution by CPU 3 to initialize the graphics imaging system 1 . The main memory 5 may comprise random access memory (RAM) or any other suitable memory device. The mass memory 6 may include a hard disk device, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a flash memory device, a CDROM, a file server device or any other suitable memory device. For this detailed description, the term memory comprises a single memory device and any combination of suitable devices for the storage of data and instructions.
[0023] The system bus 7 provides for the transfer of digital information between the hardware devices of the system 1 . The CPU 3 also receives data over the system bus 7 that is input by a user through alphanumeric input device 10 and/or the pointer device 11 via an input adaptor 8 . The alphanumeric input device 10 may comprise a keyboard, for example, that comprises alphanumeric keys. The alphanumeric input device 10 may comprise other suitable keys such as function key for example. The pointer device 11 may comprise a mouse, track-ball, tablet and/or joystick, for example, for controlling the movement of a cursor displayed on the computer display 12 .
[0024] The system 1 of FIG. 1 a also includes display adapter hardware 9 that may be implemented as a circuit that interfaces with system bus 7 for facilitating tendering of images on the computer display 12 . The display adapter hardware 9 may, for example, be implemented with a special graphics processor printed circuit board including dedicated random access memory 9 a that helps speed the rendering of high resolution, color images on a viewing screen of the display 12 .
[0025] The display 12 may comprise a cathode ray tube (CRT) or a liquid crystal display particularly suited for displaying graphics on its viewing screen. The invention can be implemented using high-speed graphics workstations as well as personal computers having one or more high-speed processors.
[0026] In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the system 1 utilizes specialized graphics software which implements a user interface and related processing algorithms as described in subsequent sections to enable the user to produce works viewed on the display 12 and which may be stored in mass memory 6 .
[0027] With reference to FIG. 1 b , the system may also operate in a networked environment of multiple computing devices. Specifically the system may perform certain calculations on a server device 13 , which communicates via a network adaptor 13 d with a client device 14 which itself includes a network adaptor 14 d. The communication between client and server enables the method of the current application to be executed in a distributed fashion, with flexibility as to which of the two devices performs each step as will be described in further detail below.
[0028] Employing system 1 , a collage or other digitally edited representation of multiple source data can be computed and edited. FIG. 2 shows a typical graphical user interface employed by a user to create and edit a composition. Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated LumaPix::FotoFusion™ interface. However, as will be apparent from the following description, the present invention is not limited to any particular user interface or application software package, and can be used in any system enabling the assembly of compositions of multiple source data objects exposing two-dimensional extents.
[0029] In some examples of prior art, assembling collages is achieved by manually adding images to a workspace in an iterative fashion. The workspace may have been pre-configured with a set of frames which accept the images into pre-defined positions and sizes, thereby accelerating the process of arranging the collage; this set of pre-configured frames is herein referred to as a ‘template’. A collection of templates may expose a variety of border styles (for example, blurred edges versus hard edges, blue versus red color borders around the images); however, in prior art the primary purpose of each template is to provide a set of fixed ‘pigeonholes’ which determine how a user-specified set of pictures will be arranged, thus reducing the amount of manual work required by the user.
[0030] In prior art, using a template with a set of selected pictures determines the size and position of each image in the resulting collage, with the end product matching the template layout precisely. In particular, should a template contain sufficient frames to hold ten images, then prior art methods may respond to attempts by the user to insert twelve images by creating an additional instance of the ten-image collage to hold the two extra images, or by reducing the list of some images by two images by some automated criteria or user intervention and continuing with ten images.
[0031] The method and system of the present invention improve upon this static definition of a template, in that the template instead defines guidelines for the production of a final collage which may contain an number of source images. The template may additionally include attributes such as border color and style, which are used as guidelines for the creation of variations upon a theme as opposed to exact duplicates of the template styles. Importantly, the user has the ability to iteratively generate new collages had upon a selected template and set of source images; the user can choose a favorite result from within the generated series of unique compositions, which vary within ranges allowed by the template.
[0032] In other prior art, software tools exist to optimize the use of wide-format paper when outputting multiple “jobs” to a printer, arranging those unrelated jobs (such as photos or text documents) to fit side-by-side on the printed output as opposed to beside one another (thus leaving less paper blank and wasted). Each of the documents to be printed must be printed at an exact size (number of square inches) and resolution (dots per inch) and without any modification to the document (e.g. cropping part of the image away to fit a space). As a result, the prior art produces a “best fit of images without affecting those images”.
[0033] The method and system of the present invention improve differ from that automatic printed document arrangement functionality by allowing cropping and scaling of the source images to take place. This allows the user to create compositions of interesting arrangements of images that appear evenly laid out, with uniform distances between all edges of all images in the collage. This effect is not possible unless the program is allowed to crop images to fit. The prior art for printing layout is a technical process designed to optimize paper usage; the current invention is an layout tool designed to present images in an aesthetic manner. The prior art must not affect the source images in any way; the current invention may crop and scale images as required to accomplish the goal of a uniformly-spaced layout.
[0034] The method of the present invention will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. 3 .
[0035] The method of the present invention commences at step 3 a, by selecting a set of images, with no bounds on the number of images in that set. As will be easily conceived by one of skill in the art, selection may take place via browsing the file system, conducting searches for suitable data objects, referring to a database of data objects, or other techniques. Alternatively, in this step, the user may elect to merely specify a number of frames as opposed to the specific images that will fill those frames. This enables the user to generate an ‘empty’ collage, ready for the introduction of images at a later time if this is desirable. In another alternative, the user may skip step 3 a and proceed to step 3 b, the selection of a template, which may suggest a number of empty frames in the absence of a number specified by the user.
[0036] The method proceeds to step 3 b, where in a preferred embodiment the user selects a template from a library of available templates; the library contains “styles” such as those shown in FIG. 4 , where by way of example one template produces a ‘regular’ collage 40 (a grid-like arrangement where frames 41 do not overlap and have no rotation) and as second template products a ‘free-form’ collage 42 (in which frames 43 can be rotated to any angle and empty space can exist between images). If the user chooses not to select a template, a default template may be employed. Step 3 b is itself optional, as the user may choose to simply apply an ‘autocollage’ tool, which uses the steps in the current invention to create an automatic layout to fill dimensions specified by the user.
[0037] The method proceeds to step 3 c, in which the user clicks a button 20 or otherwise indicates his desire to create an arrangement automatically. The system 1 responds by producing a collage in the style of the currently selected template, in a method described more fully in a subsequent section, and displaying it to the user for consideration.
[0038] In step 3 d, the user evaluates the automatically-generated collage for suitability. If it is unacceptable deficient wider some criteria, the user may elect to regenerate a new collage using the same template (which in the current invention will produce a unique new arrangement with the same visual character as the current template) or alternatively to select a different template entirely.
[0039] The ability to generate a novel arrangement at this step 3 c in the method is unique among current art; indeed, because in existing art the generation of arrangements from a template in current art involves copying the arrangement and frame attributes from the template directly into the final collage, there is often no need in existing art for the option to regenerate the collage as this would produce identical results to the extant collage. In contrast, a user of the current invention can continue to request alternative arrangements and see a stream of unique variations upon the theme proposed by the initial collage.
[0040] Continuing to step 3 e, the user may elect to apply additional editing tools to modify the automatically-generated collage. Various techniques for accelerating the positioning of images within frames, and the subdivision of frames to hold additional images, are described in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR INTERACTIVE 2D REGION SEGMENTATION”, USPTO application No. 60/446,751, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
[0041] At step 3 f , the user is satisfied with his composition and the process competes.
[0042] Alternatively, if at step 3 d the user is not satisfied with some aspect of the arrangement of his collage, the method proceeds to step 3 g in which the user determines whether the attributes of the template are acceptable but the specific arrangement is not (in which case the user proceeds to step 3 c ), or the attributes of the collage itself are unacceptable (loading to the selection of a different template in step 3 b ).
[0043] Finally, it is important to note that the user can add new images to the collage or remove existing images from the collage at any point through this process; for example, the user can choose to add three images to a collage already holding 10 flumes to produce a new collage with 13 frames.
[0044] The method of the present invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to FIG. 5 .
[0045] The user selects a set 50 of source images from storage, in this diagram by way of example a set of nine images labeled A through I. Note that the user may also elect to simply specify a number of images for the collage, which will be created with empty placeholder frames that can be fined in at a later time. The user also selects a template 51 , in this diagram by way of example a template that produces regular, or grid-based, arrangements of images. Note also that the system 1 may provide a default template, removing the requirement for the user to manually specify a template at this step.
[0046] The system 1 automatically generates a collage 52 which has the following properties:
It is composed of a set of frames 53 , each capable of holding an image from the set of source images 50 . the set of frames 53 is of the same size as the same as the set of source images 50 selected by the user (in this case 9 frames), unless the template includes an upper bound on the number of frames a generated collage may contain (in which case the system 1 may generate one or multiple additional instances of the collage 52 as required) The frames 53 are filled with the images A-I selected by the user 50 The arrangement of the frames 53 within the collage 52 and the attributes of those frames are within a threshold of the values, or within the range of values specified by, the template 51 sewed by the user. At this or any subsequent moment the user may elect to re-generate the collage; in the preferred embodiment of the invention, he may indicate this choice by clicking on a button 20 with the pointing device 11 or a similar contrivance. When the user so triggers a re-arrangement of the collage, the results are generated by the system 1 in such a manner that the newly-generated collage 54 - 59 vary from the original 52 in some manner determined by the template 51 , including by way of example,
Variations ( 54 , 55 ) in the order of image insertions into the frames of the collage 52 , such that the order of the displayed images 50 but no other aspect of the collage is affected Variations ( 56 , 57 ) in the position and size of frames holding the source images 50 Variations ( 58 ) in the width, color, transparency, and/or ornamentation of the frames holding each source image 50 . Variations ( 59 ) in the rotation of the frames holding each source image 50 .
[0057] With respect to variations in frame size, the template 51 may support specification of a fixed size (which would result in collages with evenly-sized frames, and a rectangular matrix of equally-sized frames if the template additionally restricts rotation to zero and arrangements to non-overlapping).
[0058] Additionally, the template may support specification of as distribution of sizes; for example, a template may specify that 20% of the frames in the resulting collage are four times the size of the smallest, and that 20% of the frames are twice the size of the smallest.
[0059] Variations of parameters exposed by the template may be computed by a variety of methods, including:
direct copying of a single value included in the template random selection of a value within a bounded range specified by the template, using a uniform distribution or one suggested by the template for that parameter
[0062] With respect to variations in frame size and position, note that in most cases the overall dimensions of the collage extent 52 remain the same between variations upon the collage; alternatively, the user may enable the resizing of the collage based upon the shape of the images it contain. As illustrated in FIG. 6 , an arrangement 60 of a set of image A-I has a particular size (in this case, the width of images A+B+C and the height of images A+D+H). The resizing of images D, F, I and H to form D′,F′, I′and H′ respectively has been allowed to resize the collage to a new dimension 61 (in this case, the width of images A+B+C and the height of images A+D′+I′+G).
[0063] Referring once again to FIG. 1 b , it is noted that the execution of the method of this invention can be performed in a distributed fashion between a client 14 and at least one server application 13 . Making use of such a network may be desirable for several reasons, including:
Application security. By placing the executable code to compute the arrangement of the collage on the server 13 , it becomes impossible to create an unauthorized copy of the program (as the user must connect to the server 13 to produce a collage, and unauthorized attempts to connect can be detected and denied). Efficient use of bandwidth. Consider a user who wishes to create collages from a set of images that are available in advance (for example, producing a visual selection list of items available for sale that are listed in a central database of such items). Working on the Client computer 14 , the user can query the server 13 for a collage which is assembled by the server according to the method of this invention; the resulting collage makes much more efficient use of the bandwidth available via the network 15 than would be the case had the server 13 simply returned all available images. In particular, the user can use the collage as a ‘table of contents’ for selecting higher-bandwidth versions of images available from the server 13 . What is unique in this method is the dynamic assembly of the collage by the server 13 , based on the unpredictable query he makes of the server's database.
[0066] In a networked embodiment of this invention,
A. The code used to generate the arrangement of frames resides on the server 13 B. The parameters of the creation of the collage (the overall size of the collage, the template for its creation, the image format to write the insulting image in) may reside on the server 13 or client 14 C. The images used as sources for the collage may reside on the server 13 or client 14 .
[0070] The alternatives B and C are independent and result in different uses:
If the parameters reside on the client and the images reside on the server 13 , the resulting application allows a user to compose a novel arrangement of images from a database. Examples include the selection of wedding pictures from a web database by a guest at a wedding: the owner of the pictures has a fixed set of images available but cannot predict which pictures a specific guest would be interested in seeing in a collage. If the parameters and images reside on the client 14 , the use of the server to create the collage indicates that the collage generation is a ‘web service’, in which the user does not have to install the collage-making software on the client machine 14 but simply make use of a service available on the network. If the parameters reside on the server 13 and the images reside on the client 14 , the user has the ability to select local images and have a collage generated and sent via the network which conforms to a style determined by the operator of the web service. As an example, a real estate agent may take pictures of a house and use a server-based collage generation tool to have a collage with a visual style conforming to the format expected by the realty company. | A method and system for automatically producing arrangements of two-dimensional extents in a computer-based editing or animation environment is presented. The method consists of defining a set of objects having two or more dimensions automatically calculating and presenting an arrangement of send objects, and optionally iterating to produce alternative arrangements. The arrangements may use templates to guide the selection of sizes, border colors and transparency, rotation, and other attributes of the contained regions. | Summarize the key points of the given patent document. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] [0000] Appl.",
"# Title Relationship 60/446,751 Method and System for interactive 2D Regions of a composition generated by the current region segmentation invention can be further subdivided using the methods taught in said related application.",
"60/469,873 Method and system for multipage Compositions generated by the current invention print layout can be subdivided for printing using the methods in said related application.",
"60/446,752 Method and system for distributing Regions of a composition generated by the current multiple dragged objects invention can be populated with data using the methods taught in said related application.",
"60/446,757 Method and system for interactive Regions of a composition generated by the current cropping of a graphical object within invention can be cropped using the methods taught a containing region in said related application.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to computer-based editing systems and methods.",
"More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for the automatic creation of arrangements of two-dimensional data, such as images within a collage.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Digital imaging systems enable the user to manipulate images such as those captured by a digital camera, scanned from paper originals, or generated by other digital imaging software systems.",
"One such operation involves assembling multiple ages into a single larger image, forming a “collage”, or an arrangement of images which is itself an image.",
"Software tools, such as the LumaPix:FotoFusion™ software application published by LumaPix, simplify the creation of collages with tools that enable the user to position, resize and interactively crop images in order to generate larger collage.",
"[0004] To create a collage, the user typically selects images from a repository, then brings the onto a collage surface, or “Canvas”, where further editing (such as rotating, mirroring, or resizing member images) possible.",
"The act of producing the collage may be aided by tools such as the subdivision of the canvas into smaller, aligned frames.",
"In many cases the user must manually populate the empty frames with images from the repository.",
"In other prior art, there exist “templates”, or pre-defined arrangements of frames within canvases, which can be populated with a selected set of images with a single action by the user.",
"While this technique requires less work of the user than manual placement, it also restricts the variety of collage compositions to only those alternatives made possible by re-ordering the insertion of selected images into pre-arranged frames in the template;",
"the overall structure of the generated collage remains identical to the template collage.",
"While this uniformity may be desirable for certain applications, the results become monotonous for other applications where variety and uniqueness are appreciated.",
"Novel collage layouts retain visual interest, a desirable trait when viewing collections of collages.",
"[0005] It is therefore desirable to provide a method and system for producing two-dimensional arrangements that obviates or mitigates the disadvantages of the prior art.",
"In particular, it is desirable to provide a method and system for automatically generating unique arrangements of images, ideally with the ability to produce novel varieties of arrangements that have been “inspired”",
"by a selected template layout.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for editing an arrangement of objects in a computer-based editing system, comprising the steps of: a) Defining a set of objects to be arranged, each object member of said set specifying an extent in at least two dimensions [0008] b) Automatically calculating and presenting an arrangement of said set of objects within an extent of at least two dimensions such that said arrangement of said objects fills said extent, cropping said images as necessary to allow uniform spacing if desired.",
"c) Optionally, automatically calculating and presenting alternative arrangements of said set of objects.",
"[0010] According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method wherein the user selects a template arrangement determining a set of attributes to be used in the calculation of a new arrangement.",
"The attributes specified by this template may include region border width and/or color and/or transparency and/or texture and/or rotation and/or size distribution.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0011] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein: [0012] FIG. 1 a is a schematic of an editing system operating on a single computing device according to an embodiment of the present invention;",
"[0013] FIG. 1 b is a schematic of an editing system operating on a client-server basis in a networked system of computing devices according to an embodiment of the present invention;",
"[0014] FIG. 2 illustrates the user interface of a preferred embodiment of the present invention [0015] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention;",
"[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates two alternative styles of collages, or arrangements of data objects exposing a two-dimensional extent: a regular, or aligned collage, and an irregular, or free-floating collage.",
"[0017] FIGS. 5A and 5B (herein collectively “FIG. 5 ”) illustrates various techniques for producing alternative arrangements of a given collage, including varying data object order, varying data object size and position, and varying attributes (such as color or thickness) of the frames enclosing the data objects.",
"[0018] FIG. 6 illustrates a resizing of the overall collage extent forced by the variation of the size and position of data objects contained within that collage.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0019] The present invention provides a system and method for editing digital information.",
"In the following discussion, the present invention is described for illustrative purposes with reference to the manipulation of raster image information.",
"However, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the invention, in its broadest aspect, is applicable to applications other than image applications, and it is not intended that the scope of the invention be so limited.",
"Computer Imaging System [0020] A computer-based system 1 suitable for use of this invention is schematically depicted in FIG 1 a .",
"The application system 1 includes a computer 2 that has a central processing unit (CPU) 3 which may include local memory 3 a, static memory 4 such as Read-only memory (ROM), main memory 5 such as Random Access memory (RAM), mass memory 6 such as a computer disk drive, a system bus 7 , adaptor(s) for external input devices 8 , and a display adapter 9 which may include local memory 9 a. The computer 2 communicates with an alphanumeric input device 10 such as a keyboard, a pointing device 11 such as a mouse for manipulating a cursor and making selections of data via said input adapter 8 .",
"The computer 2 communicates with a video display 12 such as a computer monitor via said display adapter 9 .",
"[0021] The computer 2 may execute software such as the imaging system described below to allow the system 1 to render high quality graphics images on the monitor 12 .",
"The CPU 3 comprises a suitable processing device such as a microprocessor, for example, and may comprise a plurality of suitable processing devices.",
"The graphics adaptor 9 may also be capable of executing instructions.",
"Instructions are stored in the CPU local memory 3 a, static memory 4 , display adapter local memory 9 a, main memory 5 , and/or mass memory 6 and are executed by the CPU 3 or the display adapter 9 .",
"[0022] The static memory 4 may comprise read only memory (ROM) or any other suitable memory device.",
"The local memory may store, for example, a boot program for execution by CPU 3 to initialize the graphics imaging system 1 .",
"The main memory 5 may comprise random access memory (RAM) or any other suitable memory device.",
"The mass memory 6 may include a hard disk device, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a flash memory device, a CDROM, a file server device or any other suitable memory device.",
"For this detailed description, the term memory comprises a single memory device and any combination of suitable devices for the storage of data and instructions.",
"[0023] The system bus 7 provides for the transfer of digital information between the hardware devices of the system 1 .",
"The CPU 3 also receives data over the system bus 7 that is input by a user through alphanumeric input device 10 and/or the pointer device 11 via an input adaptor 8 .",
"The alphanumeric input device 10 may comprise a keyboard, for example, that comprises alphanumeric keys.",
"The alphanumeric input device 10 may comprise other suitable keys such as function key for example.",
"The pointer device 11 may comprise a mouse, track-ball, tablet and/or joystick, for example, for controlling the movement of a cursor displayed on the computer display 12 .",
"[0024] The system 1 of FIG. 1 a also includes display adapter hardware 9 that may be implemented as a circuit that interfaces with system bus 7 for facilitating tendering of images on the computer display 12 .",
"The display adapter hardware 9 may, for example, be implemented with a special graphics processor printed circuit board including dedicated random access memory 9 a that helps speed the rendering of high resolution, color images on a viewing screen of the display 12 .",
"[0025] The display 12 may comprise a cathode ray tube (CRT) or a liquid crystal display particularly suited for displaying graphics on its viewing screen.",
"The invention can be implemented using high-speed graphics workstations as well as personal computers having one or more high-speed processors.",
"[0026] In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the system 1 utilizes specialized graphics software which implements a user interface and related processing algorithms as described in subsequent sections to enable the user to produce works viewed on the display 12 and which may be stored in mass memory 6 .",
"[0027] With reference to FIG. 1 b , the system may also operate in a networked environment of multiple computing devices.",
"Specifically the system may perform certain calculations on a server device 13 , which communicates via a network adaptor 13 d with a client device 14 which itself includes a network adaptor 14 d. The communication between client and server enables the method of the current application to be executed in a distributed fashion, with flexibility as to which of the two devices performs each step as will be described in further detail below.",
"[0028] Employing system 1 , a collage or other digitally edited representation of multiple source data can be computed and edited.",
"FIG. 2 shows a typical graphical user interface employed by a user to create and edit a composition.",
"Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated LumaPix::FotoFusion™ interface.",
"However, as will be apparent from the following description, the present invention is not limited to any particular user interface or application software package, and can be used in any system enabling the assembly of compositions of multiple source data objects exposing two-dimensional extents.",
"[0029] In some examples of prior art, assembling collages is achieved by manually adding images to a workspace in an iterative fashion.",
"The workspace may have been pre-configured with a set of frames which accept the images into pre-defined positions and sizes, thereby accelerating the process of arranging the collage;",
"this set of pre-configured frames is herein referred to as a ‘template’.",
"A collection of templates may expose a variety of border styles (for example, blurred edges versus hard edges, blue versus red color borders around the images);",
"however, in prior art the primary purpose of each template is to provide a set of fixed ‘pigeonholes’ which determine how a user-specified set of pictures will be arranged, thus reducing the amount of manual work required by the user.",
"[0030] In prior art, using a template with a set of selected pictures determines the size and position of each image in the resulting collage, with the end product matching the template layout precisely.",
"In particular, should a template contain sufficient frames to hold ten images, then prior art methods may respond to attempts by the user to insert twelve images by creating an additional instance of the ten-image collage to hold the two extra images, or by reducing the list of some images by two images by some automated criteria or user intervention and continuing with ten images.",
"[0031] The method and system of the present invention improve upon this static definition of a template, in that the template instead defines guidelines for the production of a final collage which may contain an number of source images.",
"The template may additionally include attributes such as border color and style, which are used as guidelines for the creation of variations upon a theme as opposed to exact duplicates of the template styles.",
"Importantly, the user has the ability to iteratively generate new collages had upon a selected template and set of source images;",
"the user can choose a favorite result from within the generated series of unique compositions, which vary within ranges allowed by the template.",
"[0032] In other prior art, software tools exist to optimize the use of wide-format paper when outputting multiple “jobs”",
"to a printer, arranging those unrelated jobs (such as photos or text documents) to fit side-by-side on the printed output as opposed to beside one another (thus leaving less paper blank and wasted).",
"Each of the documents to be printed must be printed at an exact size (number of square inches) and resolution (dots per inch) and without any modification to the document (e.g. cropping part of the image away to fit a space).",
"As a result, the prior art produces a “best fit of images without affecting those images.”",
"[0033] The method and system of the present invention improve differ from that automatic printed document arrangement functionality by allowing cropping and scaling of the source images to take place.",
"This allows the user to create compositions of interesting arrangements of images that appear evenly laid out, with uniform distances between all edges of all images in the collage.",
"This effect is not possible unless the program is allowed to crop images to fit.",
"The prior art for printing layout is a technical process designed to optimize paper usage;",
"the current invention is an layout tool designed to present images in an aesthetic manner.",
"The prior art must not affect the source images in any way;",
"the current invention may crop and scale images as required to accomplish the goal of a uniformly-spaced layout.",
"[0034] The method of the present invention will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. 3 .",
"[0035] The method of the present invention commences at step 3 a, by selecting a set of images, with no bounds on the number of images in that set.",
"As will be easily conceived by one of skill in the art, selection may take place via browsing the file system, conducting searches for suitable data objects, referring to a database of data objects, or other techniques.",
"Alternatively, in this step, the user may elect to merely specify a number of frames as opposed to the specific images that will fill those frames.",
"This enables the user to generate an ‘empty’ collage, ready for the introduction of images at a later time if this is desirable.",
"In another alternative, the user may skip step 3 a and proceed to step 3 b, the selection of a template, which may suggest a number of empty frames in the absence of a number specified by the user.",
"[0036] The method proceeds to step 3 b, where in a preferred embodiment the user selects a template from a library of available templates;",
"the library contains “styles”",
"such as those shown in FIG. 4 , where by way of example one template produces a ‘regular’ collage 40 (a grid-like arrangement where frames 41 do not overlap and have no rotation) and as second template products a ‘free-form’ collage 42 (in which frames 43 can be rotated to any angle and empty space can exist between images).",
"If the user chooses not to select a template, a default template may be employed.",
"Step 3 b is itself optional, as the user may choose to simply apply an ‘autocollage’ tool, which uses the steps in the current invention to create an automatic layout to fill dimensions specified by the user.",
"[0037] The method proceeds to step 3 c, in which the user clicks a button 20 or otherwise indicates his desire to create an arrangement automatically.",
"The system 1 responds by producing a collage in the style of the currently selected template, in a method described more fully in a subsequent section, and displaying it to the user for consideration.",
"[0038] In step 3 d, the user evaluates the automatically-generated collage for suitability.",
"If it is unacceptable deficient wider some criteria, the user may elect to regenerate a new collage using the same template (which in the current invention will produce a unique new arrangement with the same visual character as the current template) or alternatively to select a different template entirely.",
"[0039] The ability to generate a novel arrangement at this step 3 c in the method is unique among current art;",
"indeed, because in existing art the generation of arrangements from a template in current art involves copying the arrangement and frame attributes from the template directly into the final collage, there is often no need in existing art for the option to regenerate the collage as this would produce identical results to the extant collage.",
"In contrast, a user of the current invention can continue to request alternative arrangements and see a stream of unique variations upon the theme proposed by the initial collage.",
"[0040] Continuing to step 3 e, the user may elect to apply additional editing tools to modify the automatically-generated collage.",
"Various techniques for accelerating the positioning of images within frames, and the subdivision of frames to hold additional images, are described in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR INTERACTIVE 2D REGION SEGMENTATION”, USPTO application No. 60/446,751, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.",
"[0041] At step 3 f , the user is satisfied with his composition and the process competes.",
"[0042] Alternatively, if at step 3 d the user is not satisfied with some aspect of the arrangement of his collage, the method proceeds to step 3 g in which the user determines whether the attributes of the template are acceptable but the specific arrangement is not (in which case the user proceeds to step 3 c ), or the attributes of the collage itself are unacceptable (loading to the selection of a different template in step 3 b ).",
"[0043] Finally, it is important to note that the user can add new images to the collage or remove existing images from the collage at any point through this process;",
"for example, the user can choose to add three images to a collage already holding 10 flumes to produce a new collage with 13 frames.",
"[0044] The method of the present invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to FIG. 5 .",
"[0045] The user selects a set 50 of source images from storage, in this diagram by way of example a set of nine images labeled A through I. Note that the user may also elect to simply specify a number of images for the collage, which will be created with empty placeholder frames that can be fined in at a later time.",
"The user also selects a template 51 , in this diagram by way of example a template that produces regular, or grid-based, arrangements of images.",
"Note also that the system 1 may provide a default template, removing the requirement for the user to manually specify a template at this step.",
"[0046] The system 1 automatically generates a collage 52 which has the following properties: It is composed of a set of frames 53 , each capable of holding an image from the set of source images 50 .",
"the set of frames 53 is of the same size as the same as the set of source images 50 selected by the user (in this case 9 frames), unless the template includes an upper bound on the number of frames a generated collage may contain (in which case the system 1 may generate one or multiple additional instances of the collage 52 as required) The frames 53 are filled with the images A-I selected by the user 50 The arrangement of the frames 53 within the collage 52 and the attributes of those frames are within a threshold of the values, or within the range of values specified by, the template 51 sewed by the user.",
"At this or any subsequent moment the user may elect to re-generate the collage;",
"in the preferred embodiment of the invention, he may indicate this choice by clicking on a button 20 with the pointing device 11 or a similar contrivance.",
"When the user so triggers a re-arrangement of the collage, the results are generated by the system 1 in such a manner that the newly-generated collage 54 - 59 vary from the original 52 in some manner determined by the template 51 , including by way of example, Variations ( 54 , 55 ) in the order of image insertions into the frames of the collage 52 , such that the order of the displayed images 50 but no other aspect of the collage is affected Variations ( 56 , 57 ) in the position and size of frames holding the source images 50 Variations ( 58 ) in the width, color, transparency, and/or ornamentation of the frames holding each source image 50 .",
"Variations ( 59 ) in the rotation of the frames holding each source image 50 .",
"[0057] With respect to variations in frame size, the template 51 may support specification of a fixed size (which would result in collages with evenly-sized frames, and a rectangular matrix of equally-sized frames if the template additionally restricts rotation to zero and arrangements to non-overlapping).",
"[0058] Additionally, the template may support specification of as distribution of sizes;",
"for example, a template may specify that 20% of the frames in the resulting collage are four times the size of the smallest, and that 20% of the frames are twice the size of the smallest.",
"[0059] Variations of parameters exposed by the template may be computed by a variety of methods, including: direct copying of a single value included in the template random selection of a value within a bounded range specified by the template, using a uniform distribution or one suggested by the template for that parameter [0062] With respect to variations in frame size and position, note that in most cases the overall dimensions of the collage extent 52 remain the same between variations upon the collage;",
"alternatively, the user may enable the resizing of the collage based upon the shape of the images it contain.",
"As illustrated in FIG. 6 , an arrangement 60 of a set of image A-I has a particular size (in this case, the width of images A+B+C and the height of images A+D+H).",
"The resizing of images D, F, I and H to form D′,F′, I′and H′ respectively has been allowed to resize the collage to a new dimension 61 (in this case, the width of images A+B+C and the height of images A+D′+I′+G).",
"[0063] Referring once again to FIG. 1 b , it is noted that the execution of the method of this invention can be performed in a distributed fashion between a client 14 and at least one server application 13 .",
"Making use of such a network may be desirable for several reasons, including: Application security.",
"By placing the executable code to compute the arrangement of the collage on the server 13 , it becomes impossible to create an unauthorized copy of the program (as the user must connect to the server 13 to produce a collage, and unauthorized attempts to connect can be detected and denied).",
"Efficient use of bandwidth.",
"Consider a user who wishes to create collages from a set of images that are available in advance (for example, producing a visual selection list of items available for sale that are listed in a central database of such items).",
"Working on the Client computer 14 , the user can query the server 13 for a collage which is assembled by the server according to the method of this invention;",
"the resulting collage makes much more efficient use of the bandwidth available via the network 15 than would be the case had the server 13 simply returned all available images.",
"In particular, the user can use the collage as a ‘table of contents’ for selecting higher-bandwidth versions of images available from the server 13 .",
"What is unique in this method is the dynamic assembly of the collage by the server 13 , based on the unpredictable query he makes of the server's database.",
"[0066] In a networked embodiment of this invention, A. The code used to generate the arrangement of frames resides on the server 13 B. The parameters of the creation of the collage (the overall size of the collage, the template for its creation, the image format to write the insulting image in) may reside on the server 13 or client 14 C. The images used as sources for the collage may reside on the server 13 or client 14 .",
"[0070] The alternatives B and C are independent and result in different uses: If the parameters reside on the client and the images reside on the server 13 , the resulting application allows a user to compose a novel arrangement of images from a database.",
"Examples include the selection of wedding pictures from a web database by a guest at a wedding: the owner of the pictures has a fixed set of images available but cannot predict which pictures a specific guest would be interested in seeing in a collage.",
"If the parameters and images reside on the client 14 , the use of the server to create the collage indicates that the collage generation is a ‘web service’, in which the user does not have to install the collage-making software on the client machine 14 but simply make use of a service available on the network.",
"If the parameters reside on the server 13 and the images reside on the client 14 , the user has the ability to select local images and have a collage generated and sent via the network which conforms to a style determined by the operator of the web service.",
"As an example, a real estate agent may take pictures of a house and use a server-based collage generation tool to have a collage with a visual style conforming to the format expected by the realty company."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to processes and intermediates for the preparation of azabicyclo-[2.2.2]octan-3-imines which in turn are intermediates for the preparation of substituted 2-diphenylmethyl-N-phenylmethyl-1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]octan-3-amino compounds having Substance P antagonizing properties ("the final compounds"). The invention also relates to phenylmethylene imine intermediates for making the azabicyclo[2.2.2]octan-3-imines and to a process for making them. The invention further relates to a process for preparing the cis-compounds of the final compounds from the azabicyclo[2.2.2]octan-3-imines, and a process for resolving a racemic mixture of the cis-compound.
The final compounds, a process for their preparation, and their ability to antagonize Substance P are described in International Publication WO 90/05729. These compounds are of use in the treatment of diseases caused by an excess of Substance P. Substance P is a naturally occurring undecapeptide belonging to the tachykinin family of peptides, the latter being so-named because of their prompt stimulatory action on smooth muscle tissue. More specifically, substance P is a pharmacologically-active neuropeptide that is produced in mammals (having originally been isolated from gut) and possesses a characteristic amino acid sequence. The wide involvement of substance P and other tachykinins in the pathophysiology of numerous diseases has been amply demonstrated in the art. Examples of such diseases are psychosis, migraine, rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a process for preparing a compound of the formula ##STR4## wherein R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are independently hydrogen, or one or two substituents selected from the group consisting of fluorine, chlorine, bromine, trifluoromethyl, alkyl having from one to three carbon atoms and alkoxy having from one to three carbon atoms, by reacting a compound of the formula ##STR5## wherein R 1 and R 2 are as defined above, with a compound of the formula ##STR6## wherein R 3 is as defined above and A is MgCl, MgBr or lithium.
In a specific embodiment of the process, R 1 is orthosubstituted, e.g. o-methoxy or o-halo such as o-chloro, and R 2 and R 3 are each hydrogen. In other specific embodiments, R 1 is one of alkoxy, e.g., o-methoxy, and one of halo, e.g., 5-halo, or R 1 is two alkoxys, e.g., R 1 is 2,5-dimethoxy.
The invention also relates to a process for preparing a compound of the formula ##STR7## wherein R 1 and R 2 are independently hydrogen, or one or two substituents selected from the group consisting of fluorine, chlorine, bromine, trifluoromethyl, alkyl having from one to three carbon atoms or alkoxy having from one to three carbon atoms, by reacting a compound of the formula ##STR8## wherein R 2 is as defined above in connection with formula I, with a compound of the formula ##STR9## wherein R 1 is as defined above in connection with formula I. In a specific embodiment of the process, R 1 is orthosubstituted, e.g. o-methoxy or o-halo such as o-chloro, and R 2 and R 3 are each hydrogen.
The invention also relates to the overall process of preparing compounds of formula I by reacting the compounds of formulas II and III wherein the compounds of formula II are made by reacting the compounds of formulas IV and V. In a specific embodiment of such process, R 1 is orthosubstituted, e.g. o-methoxy or o-halo such as o-chloro, and R 2 and R 3 are each hydrogen. In other embodiments, R 1 is disubstituted by one alkoxy, e.g., o-methoxy, and one of halo, or R 1 is disubstituted by two alkoxys, e.g., R 1 is 2,5-dimethoxy.
The invention further relates to a process for preparing a racemic mixture of a cis-compound of the formula ##STR10## wherein R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are independently hydrogen, or one or two substituents selected from the group consisting of fluorine, chlorine, bromine, trifluoromethyl, alkyl having from one to three carbon atoms or alkoxy having from one to three carbon atoms, by reducing a compound of the formula ##STR11## with sodium triacetoxyborohydride and acetic acid. In a specific embodiment of this process, R 1 is orthosubstituted, e.g. o-methoxy or o-halo such as o-chloro, and R 2 and R 3 are each hydrogen. In another embodiment, R 1 is disubstituted by one alkoxy, e.g., o-methoxy and one halo, e.g., 5-halo, or R 1 is disubstituted by two alkoxys, e.g., R 1 is 2,5-dimethoxy.
The invention further relates to a process for resolving a racemic mixture of a cis-compound of the formula ##STR12## by reacting the racemic mixture with (-)mandelic acid, purifying the (-)mandelate salt of the compound of formula VI, treatment of the (-)mandelate salt with strong base, and recovering the (-) compound of formula VII.
The invention further relates to a compound of the formula ##STR13## wherein n and m are each independently 0, 1 or 2, and R 1 and R 2 are independently fluorine, chlorine, bromine, trifluoromethyl, alkyl having from one to three carbon atoms or alkoxy having from one to three carbon atoms.
In a specific embodiment of the compound, n is 1, R 1 is at the ortho position, e.g. O-methoxy, or O-halo such as O-chloro, and m is o. In another embodiment, n is 2 one R 1 is an alkoxy at the ortho position, e.g. O-methoxy, and one R 1 is halo, e.g. 5-halo, or n is 2, and R 1 is an alkoxy, e.g. (R 1 ) n is 2,5-dimethoxy.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The reaction of a compound of formula II with a compound of formula III is performed in a reaction-inert solvent capable of dissolving the Grignard reagent of formula III. Suitable solvents are ethers such as di(C 1 -C 6 )alkyl ethers or cyclic ethers, e.g. tetrahydrofuran or dioxane. Other suitable solvents are toluene, dimethoxy-ethane and glymes. Mixtures of these solvents may be used as well. The reaction temperatures generally range from about 0° C. to room temperature. Higher reaction temperatures of up to about 50° C. and higher may be used to increase reaction speed.
The reaction of a compound of formula IV with a compound of formula V is performed in a reaction-inert organic solvent such as aromatic hydrocarbon solvents, e.g. toluene, xylene or benzene. The reaction is generally conducted at temperatures ranging from room temperature to the reflux temperature of the reaction-inert solvent. Generally, an acid catalyst is present during the reaction. Examples of such catalysts are sulfonic acids such as camphor sulfonic acid and p-toluene sulfonic acid.
The reduction of a compound of the formula I with sodium triacetoxyborohydride and acetic acid is generally carried out at about 5° to about 50° C., usually at about 20° to about 25° C. such as at room temperature.
The reaction of a compound of the formula VII with (-) mandelic acid is generally carried out in ethyl acetate. The subsequent purification is generally done by slurrying of the (-)mandelate salt in ethyl acetate at reflux temperatures. The purified salt is treated with strong base to recover the (-) compound of formula VII. The treatment is generally at a pH of 10 to 12. Examples of strong bases are strong inorganic bases such as alkali metal hydroxides, e.g. sodium hydroxide, and alkali metal carbonates such as potassium carbonate.
The final compounds of this invention can be administered by either the oral, parenteral or topical routes, at dosages ranging from about 5.0 mg to about 1500 mg per day as explained in more detail in above mentioned International Publication WO 90/05729.
The activity of the final compounds of the present invention, as substance P antagonists, is determined by their ability to inhibit the binding of substance P at its receptor sites in bovine caudate tissue, employing radioactive ligands to visualize the tachykinin receptors by means of autoradiography. The substance P antagonist activity of the herein described quinuclidine compounds is evaluated by using the standard assay procedure described by M. A. Cascieri et at., as reported in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Vol. 258, p. 5158 (1983). This method essentially involves determining the concentration of the individual compound required to reduce by 50% the amount of radiolabelled substance P ligands at their receptor sites in said isolated cow tissues, thereby affording characteristic IC 50 values for each compound tested.
The following Examples illustrate the invention.
EXAMPLE 1
A. N-[(2-methoxyphenyl)methyl]-2-phenylmethylene-1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]octan-3-imine
To a 12 L three neck round bottom flask (3nrbf) fitted with mechanical stirrer, thermometer, condenser, and Dean Stark trap, was charged 5.9 L toluene, 791.8 g (3.7 moles) of 2-phenylmethylene-1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]octan-3-one, 764 g (5.6 moles, 1.5 equivalents) 2-methoxybenzylamine, and 8.8 g (0.039 moles) (+)camphor sulfonic acid. The solution was heated to reflux (116° C.) and refluxed for 42 hours. A total of 75 ml water was collected in the Dean Stark trap showing that the reaction was proceeding. The solution containing the title product was cooled to room temperature.
On isolation, the following NMR data were obtained: 1 H NMR(CDCl 3 ): 8.05 (d, 2H), 7.40-6.80 (m,9H), 4.80 (s, 2H), 3.80 (s,3H), 3.25-2.95 (m, 5H), 1.90-1.70 (m, 4H).
B. 2-(Diphenylmethyl)-N-[(2-methoxyphenyl)methyl]-1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]octan-3-imine.
The solution obtained in part A of this Example was slowly charged to a 22 L 3nrbf containing 1.8 L (5.6 moles, 1.5 equivalents) 3M phenylmagnesium bromide/diethyl ether solution at 5° C. The toluene solution was added over a 1.5 hour period while maintaining the temperature at less than 10° C. A tan slurry resulted after about half of the toluene solution was added. The reaction was stirred for 12-8 hours while warming to room temperature. The tan slurry was cooled to 5° C., and slowly quenched with 6.1L water over a 1.5 hour period. A 500 g portion of Celite was added to the quenched reaction, which was warmed to 30° C. and stirred at 30° C. for 30 minutes. The slurry was filtered through Celite and washed with toluene. The layers were separated, the aqueous layer washed with 1 L toluene, and the organic layers were combined and dried with 500 g magnesium sulfate for 30 minutes. The slurry was filtered and the filtrate was vacuum evaporated to a thick oily solid. Isopropanol (4.5 L) was charged to the thick oily solid, the resulting slurry cooled to 5° C., and granulated at this temperature for one hour. The solids were filtered off, washed with 0.5L cold isopropanol and vacuum dried at 50° C. giving 464.9 g (30.5% over the two steps) of the title compound. Melting point: 154°-158° C. 1 H NMR(CDCl 3 ): 7.45-6.70 (m, 14H), 4.65 (d, 1H), 4.45 (q, 2H), 4.25 (d, 2H), 3.80 (s, 3H), 3.15-3.00 (m, 3H), 2.70-2.35 (m, 2H), 1.85-1.65 (m, 4H).
EXAMPLE 2
2-Diphenylmethyl-N-[(2-methoxyphenyl)methyl]-1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]octan-3-amino
To a 22L 3nrbf was charged 10.3 L acetic acid, followed by 531.1 g (2.5 moles) sodium triacetoxyborohydride over a 15 minute period. To this solution was added 411.5 g (1.0 moles) of the title compound of Example 1B over a 20 minute period. The temperature rose from 25 to 30° C. during this addition. The reaction was stirred at ambient temperature for 4.5 hours, and then concentrated to a thick oil. The oil was partitioned between 3.1L methylene chloride and 6.3L water. The pH of this mixture was adjusted from 4.2 to 8.4 with 645 ml of 50% sodium hydroxide. The layers were separated, the aqueous layer was washed with 1.4L methylene chloride and the organic layers were combined and dried for 30 minutes with magnesium sulfate. The slurry was filtered and the filtrate vacuum evaporated to an oil. The oil was diluted with 3.3L isopropanol which resulted in the thick precipitation of white solids. The slurry was heated under vacuum to 35° C. to remove the remaining methylene chloride, cooled to 5° C. and granulated for 30 minutes. The white solids were isolated via filtration, washed with cold isopropanol, and vacuum dried at 45° C. giving 356 grams of title product (racemic mixture) in 86.1% yield. The melting point was 133°-135° C.
EXAMPLE 3
(-)-2-Diphenylmethyl-N-[(2-methoxyphenyl)methyl]-1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]octan-3-amino
In a 22L 3nrbf fitted with a mechanical stirrer and thermometer, was charged 345 g (0.84 moles) of the title compound of Example 2 and 10.4L ethyl acetate. The reaction was stirred for 10 minutes at 25° C. which resulted in a hazy solution. To this solution was charged 127.2 g (0.84 moles) (-)-mandelic acid, which resulted in a white slurry after stirring about four minutes at 20°-25° C. The reaction mixture was stirred at this temperature for 2 hours, then the white solids were isolated by filtration, washed with ethyl acetate, and air dried giving 386 g (81.8%) of the mandelate salt. This yield represents a 31.8% excess of the desired diastereomeric salt for which the theoretical yield is 236 g.
The salt was purified with the following procedure. The impure mandelate salt (386 g) was slurried in 7.7L refluxing ethyl acetate for 45 minutes, cooled to 20°-25° C. over a 1.5 hour period, filtered, and washed with about 1L ethyl acetate. The solvent wet cake was slurried in 5.5L refluxing ethyl acetate for 45 minutes, cooled to 20°-25° C. over a 1 hour period, filtered, and washed with about 1L ethyl acetate. The solvent wet cake was slurried in 4.0L refluxing ethyl acetate for 45 minutes, cooled to 20°-25° C. over a 2 hour period, filtered, washed with about 1L ethyl acetate, and air dried giving 199.6 g (84.6% yield) of the desired diastereomeric salt. The specific rotation for this mandelate salt was [α] D=- 51.5° (CH 2 Cl 2 , c=0.55), and the melting point was 196°-198° C.
A 12L 3nrbf was fitted with a mechanical stirrer, thermometer, and a pH meter. To the flask was charged 198.6 g (0.35 moles) of the purified mandelate salt, 3.97L water, and 3.4L methylene chloride. The pH of the two phase mixture was 5.2, and was adjusted to pH 13-14 with 44 ml 50% sodium hydroxide. The temperature during the sodium hydroxide addition was 18° C. The layers were separated and the aqueous layer was washed with 1.7 L methylene chloride. The organic layers were combined, backwashed with 2L water, dried with magnesium sulfate, and filtered. The filtrate was concentrated atmospherically to about 0.5L, then displaced with about 0.5L isopropanol to a volume of 0.5 L and a temperature of 60° C. Another 0.5L isopropanol was added, and the reaction was allowed to cool to 20°-25° C. over a 1.5 hour period. During the cooling period, a white slurry developed which was isolated by filtration, washed with isopropanol, and vacuum dried giving 115.5 g (67.0% yield) of the title product, which is the desired enantiomer, from a possible 172.5 g from the 345 g racemic starting material. The specific rotation of this material was [α] D=- 22.2° (CH 2 Cl 2 , c=0.50), and the melting point was 155°-157° C.
EXAMPLE 4
To a 5 L 3nrbf fitted with mechanical stirrer, thermometer, addition funnel, and steam bath, was charged 123.3 g (0.30 moles) of the title product of Example 3 and 3.1L acetone. The slurry was heated to 30° C. for dissolution, then cooled back to 24° C. A solution of 58.6 g (0.60 moles) methane sulfonic acid dissolved in 252 ml acetone, was charged in a 5 minute period. The reaction warmed up from 24° C. to 32° C., and became a thick white slurry which was stirred at ambient temperature for 2 hours. The reaction was concentrated atmospherically to a slurry volume of 300-400 ml and a temperature of 60° C. To the slurry was charged 750 ml methanol which dissolved the solid material. The solution was made "speck free" by filtration, and concentrated atmospherically to a volume of 150-200 ml. A 500 ml portion of filtered isopropanol was charged, and the reaction was concentrated under vacuum to 150-200 ml. Another 500 ml filtered isopropanol was charged, and the reaction was vacuum concentrated to a final volume of 500 ml and a temperature of 45° C. As the reaction cooled, crystallization occurred. The slurry was stirred for 1.5 hours while cooling to ambient temperature, then stirred at 5° C. for 45 minutes. The product was isolated by filtration, and the cake was washed twice with 200 ml cold filtered isopropanol. After vacuum drying at 45° C. for 12 hours, 170.7 g (94.4%) of the methane sulfonic acid salt of the title product of Example 3 was obtained. The melting point was 244.5°-246° C., and the specific rotation was [α] D=- 25.8° (CH 3 OH, c=1.1). | Azabicyclo[2.2.2]octan-3-imines of the general formula ##STR1## wherein R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are as defined herein are prepared by reacting a compound of the formula ##STR2## with a compound of the formula ##STR3## wherein A is MgCl, MgBr or Li. | Condense the core contents of the given document. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to processes and intermediates for the preparation of azabicyclo-[2.2[.",
"].2]octan-3-imines which in turn are intermediates for the preparation of substituted 2-diphenylmethyl-N-phenylmethyl-1-azabicyclo[2.2[.",
"].2]octan-3-amino compounds having Substance P antagonizing properties ("the final compounds").",
"The invention also relates to phenylmethylene imine intermediates for making the azabicyclo[2.2[.",
"].2]octan-3-imines and to a process for making them.",
"The invention further relates to a process for preparing the cis-compounds of the final compounds from the azabicyclo[2.2[.",
"].2]octan-3-imines, and a process for resolving a racemic mixture of the cis-compound.",
"The final compounds, a process for their preparation, and their ability to antagonize Substance P are described in International Publication WO 90/05729.",
"These compounds are of use in the treatment of diseases caused by an excess of Substance P. Substance P is a naturally occurring undecapeptide belonging to the tachykinin family of peptides, the latter being so-named because of their prompt stimulatory action on smooth muscle tissue.",
"More specifically, substance P is a pharmacologically-active neuropeptide that is produced in mammals (having originally been isolated from gut) and possesses a characteristic amino acid sequence.",
"The wide involvement of substance P and other tachykinins in the pathophysiology of numerous diseases has been amply demonstrated in the art.",
"Examples of such diseases are psychosis, migraine, rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a process for preparing a compound of the formula ##STR4## wherein R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are independently hydrogen, or one or two substituents selected from the group consisting of fluorine, chlorine, bromine, trifluoromethyl, alkyl having from one to three carbon atoms and alkoxy having from one to three carbon atoms, by reacting a compound of the formula ##STR5## wherein R 1 and R 2 are as defined above, with a compound of the formula ##STR6## wherein R 3 is as defined above and A is MgCl, MgBr or lithium.",
"In a specific embodiment of the process, R 1 is orthosubstituted, e.g. o-methoxy or o-halo such as o-chloro, and R 2 and R 3 are each hydrogen.",
"In other specific embodiments, R 1 is one of alkoxy, e.g., o-methoxy, and one of halo, e.g., 5-halo, or R 1 is two alkoxys, e.g., R 1 is 2,5-dimethoxy.",
"The invention also relates to a process for preparing a compound of the formula ##STR7## wherein R 1 and R 2 are independently hydrogen, or one or two substituents selected from the group consisting of fluorine, chlorine, bromine, trifluoromethyl, alkyl having from one to three carbon atoms or alkoxy having from one to three carbon atoms, by reacting a compound of the formula ##STR8## wherein R 2 is as defined above in connection with formula I, with a compound of the formula ##STR9## wherein R 1 is as defined above in connection with formula I. In a specific embodiment of the process, R 1 is orthosubstituted, e.g. o-methoxy or o-halo such as o-chloro, and R 2 and R 3 are each hydrogen.",
"The invention also relates to the overall process of preparing compounds of formula I by reacting the compounds of formulas II and III wherein the compounds of formula II are made by reacting the compounds of formulas IV and V. In a specific embodiment of such process, R 1 is orthosubstituted, e.g. o-methoxy or o-halo such as o-chloro, and R 2 and R 3 are each hydrogen.",
"In other embodiments, R 1 is disubstituted by one alkoxy, e.g., o-methoxy, and one of halo, or R 1 is disubstituted by two alkoxys, e.g., R 1 is 2,5-dimethoxy.",
"The invention further relates to a process for preparing a racemic mixture of a cis-compound of the formula ##STR10## wherein R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are independently hydrogen, or one or two substituents selected from the group consisting of fluorine, chlorine, bromine, trifluoromethyl, alkyl having from one to three carbon atoms or alkoxy having from one to three carbon atoms, by reducing a compound of the formula ##STR11## with sodium triacetoxyborohydride and acetic acid.",
"In a specific embodiment of this process, R 1 is orthosubstituted, e.g. o-methoxy or o-halo such as o-chloro, and R 2 and R 3 are each hydrogen.",
"In another embodiment, R 1 is disubstituted by one alkoxy, e.g., o-methoxy and one halo, e.g., 5-halo, or R 1 is disubstituted by two alkoxys, e.g., R 1 is 2,5-dimethoxy.",
"The invention further relates to a process for resolving a racemic mixture of a cis-compound of the formula ##STR12## by reacting the racemic mixture with (-)mandelic acid, purifying the (-)mandelate salt of the compound of formula VI, treatment of the (-)mandelate salt with strong base, and recovering the (-) compound of formula VII.",
"The invention further relates to a compound of the formula ##STR13## wherein n and m are each independently 0, 1 or 2, and R 1 and R 2 are independently fluorine, chlorine, bromine, trifluoromethyl, alkyl having from one to three carbon atoms or alkoxy having from one to three carbon atoms.",
"In a specific embodiment of the compound, n is 1, R 1 is at the ortho position, e.g. O-methoxy, or O-halo such as O-chloro, and m is o. In another embodiment, n is 2 one R 1 is an alkoxy at the ortho position, e.g. O-methoxy, and one R 1 is halo, e.g. 5-halo, or n is 2, and R 1 is an alkoxy, e.g. (R 1 ) n is 2,5-dimethoxy.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The reaction of a compound of formula II with a compound of formula III is performed in a reaction-inert solvent capable of dissolving the Grignard reagent of formula III.",
"Suitable solvents are ethers such as di(C 1 -C 6 )alkyl ethers or cyclic ethers, e.g. tetrahydrofuran or dioxane.",
"Other suitable solvents are toluene, dimethoxy-ethane and glymes.",
"Mixtures of these solvents may be used as well.",
"The reaction temperatures generally range from about 0° C. to room temperature.",
"Higher reaction temperatures of up to about 50° C. and higher may be used to increase reaction speed.",
"The reaction of a compound of formula IV with a compound of formula V is performed in a reaction-inert organic solvent such as aromatic hydrocarbon solvents, e.g. toluene, xylene or benzene.",
"The reaction is generally conducted at temperatures ranging from room temperature to the reflux temperature of the reaction-inert solvent.",
"Generally, an acid catalyst is present during the reaction.",
"Examples of such catalysts are sulfonic acids such as camphor sulfonic acid and p-toluene sulfonic acid.",
"The reduction of a compound of the formula I with sodium triacetoxyborohydride and acetic acid is generally carried out at about 5° to about 50° C., usually at about 20° to about 25° C. such as at room temperature.",
"The reaction of a compound of the formula VII with (-) mandelic acid is generally carried out in ethyl acetate.",
"The subsequent purification is generally done by slurrying of the (-)mandelate salt in ethyl acetate at reflux temperatures.",
"The purified salt is treated with strong base to recover the (-) compound of formula VII.",
"The treatment is generally at a pH of 10 to 12.",
"Examples of strong bases are strong inorganic bases such as alkali metal hydroxides, e.g. sodium hydroxide, and alkali metal carbonates such as potassium carbonate.",
"The final compounds of this invention can be administered by either the oral, parenteral or topical routes, at dosages ranging from about 5.0 mg to about 1500 mg per day as explained in more detail in above mentioned International Publication WO 90/05729.",
"The activity of the final compounds of the present invention, as substance P antagonists, is determined by their ability to inhibit the binding of substance P at its receptor sites in bovine caudate tissue, employing radioactive ligands to visualize the tachykinin receptors by means of autoradiography.",
"The substance P antagonist activity of the herein described quinuclidine compounds is evaluated by using the standard assay procedure described by M. A. Cascieri et at.",
", as reported in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Vol. 258, p. 5158 (1983).",
"This method essentially involves determining the concentration of the individual compound required to reduce by 50% the amount of radiolabelled substance P ligands at their receptor sites in said isolated cow tissues, thereby affording characteristic IC 50 values for each compound tested.",
"The following Examples illustrate the invention.",
"EXAMPLE 1 A. N-[(2-methoxyphenyl)methyl]-2-phenylmethylene-1-azabicyclo[2.2[.",
"].2]octan-3-imine To a 12 L three neck round bottom flask (3nrbf) fitted with mechanical stirrer, thermometer, condenser, and Dean Stark trap, was charged 5.9 L toluene, 791.8 g (3.7 moles) of 2-phenylmethylene-1-azabicyclo[2.2[.",
"].2]octan-3-one, 764 g (5.6 moles, 1.5 equivalents) 2-methoxybenzylamine, and 8.8 g (0.039 moles) (+)camphor sulfonic acid.",
"The solution was heated to reflux (116° C.) and refluxed for 42 hours.",
"A total of 75 ml water was collected in the Dean Stark trap showing that the reaction was proceeding.",
"The solution containing the title product was cooled to room temperature.",
"On isolation, the following NMR data were obtained: 1 H NMR(CDCl 3 ): 8.05 (d, 2H), 7.40-6.80 (m,9H), 4.80 (s, 2H), 3.80 (s,3H), 3.25-2.95 (m, 5H), 1.90-1.70 (m, 4H).",
"B. 2-(Diphenylmethyl)-N-[(2-methoxyphenyl)methyl]-1-azabicyclo[2.2[.",
"].2]octan-3-imine.",
"The solution obtained in part A of this Example was slowly charged to a 22 L 3nrbf containing 1.8 L (5.6 moles, 1.5 equivalents) 3M phenylmagnesium bromide/diethyl ether solution at 5° C. The toluene solution was added over a 1.5 hour period while maintaining the temperature at less than 10° C. A tan slurry resulted after about half of the toluene solution was added.",
"The reaction was stirred for 12-8 hours while warming to room temperature.",
"The tan slurry was cooled to 5° C., and slowly quenched with 6.1L water over a 1.5 hour period.",
"A 500 g portion of Celite was added to the quenched reaction, which was warmed to 30° C. and stirred at 30° C. for 30 minutes.",
"The slurry was filtered through Celite and washed with toluene.",
"The layers were separated, the aqueous layer washed with 1 L toluene, and the organic layers were combined and dried with 500 g magnesium sulfate for 30 minutes.",
"The slurry was filtered and the filtrate was vacuum evaporated to a thick oily solid.",
"Isopropanol (4.5 L) was charged to the thick oily solid, the resulting slurry cooled to 5° C., and granulated at this temperature for one hour.",
"The solids were filtered off, washed with 0.5L cold isopropanol and vacuum dried at 50° C. giving 464.9 g (30.5% over the two steps) of the title compound.",
"Melting point: 154°-158° C. 1 H NMR(CDCl 3 ): 7.45-6.70 (m, 14H), 4.65 (d, 1H), 4.45 (q, 2H), 4.25 (d, 2H), 3.80 (s, 3H), 3.15-3.00 (m, 3H), 2.70-2.35 (m, 2H), 1.85-1.65 (m, 4H).",
"EXAMPLE 2 2-Diphenylmethyl-N-[(2-methoxyphenyl)methyl]-1-azabicyclo[2.2[.",
"].2]octan-3-amino To a 22L 3nrbf was charged 10.3 L acetic acid, followed by 531.1 g (2.5 moles) sodium triacetoxyborohydride over a 15 minute period.",
"To this solution was added 411.5 g (1.0 moles) of the title compound of Example 1B over a 20 minute period.",
"The temperature rose from 25 to 30° C. during this addition.",
"The reaction was stirred at ambient temperature for 4.5 hours, and then concentrated to a thick oil.",
"The oil was partitioned between 3.1L methylene chloride and 6.3L water.",
"The pH of this mixture was adjusted from 4.2 to 8.4 with 645 ml of 50% sodium hydroxide.",
"The layers were separated, the aqueous layer was washed with 1.4L methylene chloride and the organic layers were combined and dried for 30 minutes with magnesium sulfate.",
"The slurry was filtered and the filtrate vacuum evaporated to an oil.",
"The oil was diluted with 3.3L isopropanol which resulted in the thick precipitation of white solids.",
"The slurry was heated under vacuum to 35° C. to remove the remaining methylene chloride, cooled to 5° C. and granulated for 30 minutes.",
"The white solids were isolated via filtration, washed with cold isopropanol, and vacuum dried at 45° C. giving 356 grams of title product (racemic mixture) in 86.1% yield.",
"The melting point was 133°-135° C. EXAMPLE 3 (-)-2-Diphenylmethyl-N-[(2-methoxyphenyl)methyl]-1-azabicyclo[2.2[.",
"].2]octan-3-amino In a 22L 3nrbf fitted with a mechanical stirrer and thermometer, was charged 345 g (0.84 moles) of the title compound of Example 2 and 10.4L ethyl acetate.",
"The reaction was stirred for 10 minutes at 25° C. which resulted in a hazy solution.",
"To this solution was charged 127.2 g (0.84 moles) (-)-mandelic acid, which resulted in a white slurry after stirring about four minutes at 20°-25° C. The reaction mixture was stirred at this temperature for 2 hours, then the white solids were isolated by filtration, washed with ethyl acetate, and air dried giving 386 g (81.8%) of the mandelate salt.",
"This yield represents a 31.8% excess of the desired diastereomeric salt for which the theoretical yield is 236 g. The salt was purified with the following procedure.",
"The impure mandelate salt (386 g) was slurried in 7.7L refluxing ethyl acetate for 45 minutes, cooled to 20°-25° C. over a 1.5 hour period, filtered, and washed with about 1L ethyl acetate.",
"The solvent wet cake was slurried in 5.5L refluxing ethyl acetate for 45 minutes, cooled to 20°-25° C. over a 1 hour period, filtered, and washed with about 1L ethyl acetate.",
"The solvent wet cake was slurried in 4.0L refluxing ethyl acetate for 45 minutes, cooled to 20°-25° C. over a 2 hour period, filtered, washed with about 1L ethyl acetate, and air dried giving 199.6 g (84.6% yield) of the desired diastereomeric salt.",
"The specific rotation for this mandelate salt was [α] D=- 51.5° (CH 2 Cl 2 , c=0.55), and the melting point was 196°-198° C. A 12L 3nrbf was fitted with a mechanical stirrer, thermometer, and a pH meter.",
"To the flask was charged 198.6 g (0.35 moles) of the purified mandelate salt, 3.97L water, and 3.4L methylene chloride.",
"The pH of the two phase mixture was 5.2, and was adjusted to pH 13-14 with 44 ml 50% sodium hydroxide.",
"The temperature during the sodium hydroxide addition was 18° C. The layers were separated and the aqueous layer was washed with 1.7 L methylene chloride.",
"The organic layers were combined, backwashed with 2L water, dried with magnesium sulfate, and filtered.",
"The filtrate was concentrated atmospherically to about 0.5L, then displaced with about 0.5L isopropanol to a volume of 0.5 L and a temperature of 60° C. Another 0.5L isopropanol was added, and the reaction was allowed to cool to 20°-25° C. over a 1.5 hour period.",
"During the cooling period, a white slurry developed which was isolated by filtration, washed with isopropanol, and vacuum dried giving 115.5 g (67.0% yield) of the title product, which is the desired enantiomer, from a possible 172.5 g from the 345 g racemic starting material.",
"The specific rotation of this material was [α] D=- 22.2° (CH 2 Cl 2 , c=0.50), and the melting point was 155°-157° C. EXAMPLE 4 To a 5 L 3nrbf fitted with mechanical stirrer, thermometer, addition funnel, and steam bath, was charged 123.3 g (0.30 moles) of the title product of Example 3 and 3.1L acetone.",
"The slurry was heated to 30° C. for dissolution, then cooled back to 24° C. A solution of 58.6 g (0.60 moles) methane sulfonic acid dissolved in 252 ml acetone, was charged in a 5 minute period.",
"The reaction warmed up from 24° C. to 32° C., and became a thick white slurry which was stirred at ambient temperature for 2 hours.",
"The reaction was concentrated atmospherically to a slurry volume of 300-400 ml and a temperature of 60° C. To the slurry was charged 750 ml methanol which dissolved the solid material.",
"The solution was made "speck free"",
"by filtration, and concentrated atmospherically to a volume of 150-200 ml.",
"A 500 ml portion of filtered isopropanol was charged, and the reaction was concentrated under vacuum to 150-200 ml.",
"Another 500 ml filtered isopropanol was charged, and the reaction was vacuum concentrated to a final volume of 500 ml and a temperature of 45° C. As the reaction cooled, crystallization occurred.",
"The slurry was stirred for 1.5 hours while cooling to ambient temperature, then stirred at 5° C. for 45 minutes.",
"The product was isolated by filtration, and the cake was washed twice with 200 ml cold filtered isopropanol.",
"After vacuum drying at 45° C. for 12 hours, 170.7 g (94.4%) of the methane sulfonic acid salt of the title product of Example 3 was obtained.",
"The melting point was 244.5°-246° C., and the specific rotation was [α] D=- 25.8° (CH 3 OH, c=1.1)."
] |
CROSS REFERNCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/423,127 filed Nov. 1, 2002 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/453,235 filed Mar. 10, 2003, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The subject disclosure relates to systems for providing high quality power, and cooling and more particularly to an improved system for providing uninterrupted DC power for the telephone communications, data processing and industrial equipment.
2. Background of the Related Art
Traditionally, AC commercial power has been used as the primary power source for a wide variety of applications such as computers, data processing equipment, telephony circuitry and other solid state technology devices. Despite this proliferation of the use of AC power, various problems are well-known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,277,692; 5,126,585; and 5,483,463 disclose practices for improving the performance of AC power devices. Despite these improvements, many drawbacks to the AC power still have not been overcome. In particular, AC power must still be converted to DC power for consumption by the majority of solid state devices. Many AC power systems require battery backup and second 100% rated redundant feeds and are still inefficient at supplying the necessary power and redundancy. Further, the safety risk, bulkiness and expense of distributing AC power is well documented.
Many have always considered DC to be more efficient and reliable. However, the prior ability to produce DC power and scale distribution thereof has been a hurdle yet to be overcome. Typically, chemical batteries and rectifiers are utilized to produce, distribute and backup critical DC power. Batteries in such applications have many limitations. When the batteries age, capacity reduces to the point of requiring replacement that creates a disposal problem. Further, the ability to produce and draw large amounts of power from a DC battery system is dependent upon the amount and size of the batteries and require large distribution systems as DC distribution systems are oversized for DC voltage drop. Modern technology demands more power, requiring a higher concentration of DC power to reach a higher level of operation.
Despite these and other drawbacks, use of chemical batteries has been widely used in to produce and store 48 V DC power, in telecommunication centers and to provide an alternative backup source for AC voltage systems during power outages in data centers. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,469 to Bobry, in which batteries are used and which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety to the extent that it does not conflict with the present disclosure. Moreover, switching between sources is a recognized problem and often incurs momentary lapses in provision of the power needed. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,057,697 to Hammond et al. which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety to the extent that it does not conflict with the present disclosure.
In the past no technology has been available to economically produce and distribute highly reliable high capacity DC power for use in both centers. The use of DC quality power is much more reliable, inexpensive and would result in tremendous saving of power so it would be extremely desirable to extensively utilize scaleable DC power. However, as a result of not being able to scale DC power much like an AC transformer for distribution, technology dependent upon ready access to DC power has stagnated. Therefore, a system is needed to produce DC voltage that is highly reliable, scalable and economical utilizing AC and DC components without the use of chemical storage batteries.
Moreover, prior art systems have required large amounts of wiring and conditioning equipment for electrically interconnecting the AC voltage source with the load. Typically, the electrical interconections are quite bulky and require a large amount of copper. In data center and telco applications, switch mode power supplies (“SMPS”) on the servers are fed by AC but have the capability of being powered by DC only. Theses AC driven SMPS generate heat and draw significant power and are very inefficient. As a result of the high heat generation and a limited amount of cooling capacity, data processing equipment must be spread out to facilitate proper cooling, therefore data centers have less space for processing equipment and an overall decreased cooling load efficiency. Thus, there is a need for a system which provides the necessary power and can be interconnected with relatively small interconnections and operate without SMPS in order to increase the efficiency of the data center.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present disclosure to utilize either 208–480 incoming volts AC three phase power to produce 23–48 VDC outgoing voltage and current for supply throughout a data center or comparable facility.
It is another object of the present disclosure to utilize one AC utility and emergency power source, preferably a generator, as the incoming main and emergency feeds to make the system reliable in case of a utility power outage.
In one embodiment, the system cycles through a transfer switch with overlap transition to utility, optional. The transfer switch will take one emergency and one utility and will switch between the two when either manually initiated or loss of utility power has occurred. The generator will feed a distribution panel sized to power a bridge diode rectifier, house loads and air conditioning, utilizing 480/3/60 input and 300–600 VDC output. The rectifier will be designed to reduce DC ripple. In another embodiment, the system will utilize a flywheel battery-less DC power supply source, in parallel to the output of a main rectifier, to generate 300–600 VDC and tie into the output of the rectifier. The system utilizes DC output power from the rectifier to charge the flywheel. When AC power is lost to the main rectifier input, the flywheel will discharge the kinetic storage into the load side of the rectifier until such time that the emergency generator has started and has taken over the critical load. When the emergency source is on line it will supply power to both the load and will also recharge the flywheel device to 100% preparing the system for the eventual return to utility. Upon the return or stabilization of utility power consistently for a set period, the transfer switch will retransfer the system load to the utility. During this transfer, the break in the system power will once again be bridged by the flywheel source in the opposite direction.
Preferably, the 300–600 VDC from the output of the main rectifier will distribute throughout the facility reducing both the wire size and the current necessary to run a Power Converter Unit or PCU that will step the high voltage down to useable 23–48 VDC to power plants or computers that are designed to utilize 23–48 volts DC. Thereby allowing the computers to be supplied without a customary switch mode power supply therefore reducing the inefficiencies of the SMPS saving energy of up to 30% and reducing wiring circular mill, reducing cooling requirements, rid the plant of chemical storage batteries and reduce its equipment infrastructure required spacing and significantly increasing the power reliability. This attribute will allow more of the critical indoor square footage to be utilized for the electronics necessary to increase business.
In another embodiment, at certain determined interval areas, dependant upon loading and distance, a specially designed DC-to-DC converter, or Power Converter Unit (“PCU”), utilizing intergate bi-polar transistor (hereinafter “IGBT”) technology, redundant power supplies or 30 kW drawers and a 5–20 kHz DC controller that both senses and fires an IGBT will be placed. The PCU can be fed by up to two totally independent power systems providing highly reliable outage protection. Additionally, the PCU is highly resistant to faults and once again adding to the high quality power output. The IGBT will efficiently convert line side DC high voltage to secondary low side voltage remaining efficient and tightly controlled throughout the potential voltage drop on the primary side down to 300 VDC. This PCU is much like a DC to DC transformer. From the output of the IGBT device, voltage and current will be distributed to local or close devices that utilize 48 volts DC without the issues of voltage drop and excessive heat produced by the SMPS. This voltage can be controlled by remotely placing a sensor at the furthest device from the converter.
Another highly important concept to this power quality system is the utilization of a sophisticated cooling system to rid the space of the heat produced by the efficient delivery of power by the PCU to the telecomunications and data processing loads. The PCU will deliver power to racks where the technology will reside. Virtually all of the delivered power will be utilized by electronic loads. These loads will turn this power completely into heat. Technology today is attempting to compact as many devices in as small a space as possible. In order to provide for this condition, a Power Cooling rack (PCR) will be provided that can liquid cool a plate fin heat exchanger located in the bottom of the rack as well as variable speed fans that will efficiently meter air and will cool the computers in the rack up to 20 kW. The best device being utilized today can rid the space of up to 5–7 kW. These racks will provide for dual fed 48 volt DC distribution for protection against power outage of one of the sources increasing reliability.
It should be appreciated that the present disclosure can be implemented in numerous ways, including without limitation as a process, an apparatus, a system, a device or a method. These and other unique features of the system disclosed herein will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
So that those having ordinary skill in the art to which the disclosed system appertains will more readily understand how to make and use the same, reference may be had to the drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a stationary module constructed in accordance with the subject invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a mobile module constructed in accordance with the subject invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a third module constructed in accordance with the subject invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an enclosure for providing DC power and cooling in accordance with the subject invention.
FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a connected DC conversion unit FIG. 4 in accordance with the subject invention.
FIG. 6 is a schematic of a diode bridge constructed in accordance with the subject invention.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a system that provides a highly reliable low DC voltage to a load.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention overcomes many of the prior art problems associated with power supplies. The advantages, and other features of the system disclosed herein, will become more readily apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description of certain preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the drawings which set forth representative embodiments of the present invention and wherein like reference numerals identify similar structural elements.
Referring to FIG. 1 , an enclosure 110 is utilized to protect the system 100 from the elements as well as provide the proper internal environment necessary for the component pieces to function properly. This environment is preferably 40–104 degrees F., non-condensing. In a preferred embodiment, the enclosure 110 is an ECOBAY™ enclosure available from Sanmina-SCI Corp. of 2700 North First Street, San Jose, Calif. 95134. The system 100 is designed to be stationary or fixed. The enclosure 110 , when stationary, will house all components with the exception of the DC converters. Such a system 100 would typically be utilized in the larger power applications where the 300–600 VDC distribution is sent into the facility (not shown) and powers localized DC converters that step down from 600 to 23–48 VDC. The system 100 will provide an AC power feed that will supply AC three-phase power to air conditioning units within the facility so the enclosure 110 will be considered a self-contained total critical power solution for the facility.
Preferably, generator 112 will be mounted on the outside of the enclosure 110 in an adjacent environmentally designed container 114 . The container 114 will mount on extended rails that protrude from the bottom of the enclosure 110 . The generator 112 includes a sub-base fuel supply 116 and will start on a signal from an automatic transfer switch (ATS) 118 located inside the enclosure 110 . Typically the generator 112 uses a fuel cell or turbine unit sized from 250 kW or larger as required by the application and supplies 208 – 480 or high VAC three phase. The generator 112 has an output breaker (not shown) and will store up to 12 hours or more of fuel in the sub-base fuel supply 116 . The sub-base fuel supply 116 can also be supplied with natural gas to provide for automatic replenishment. The system 100 can be designed to run in a prime energy mode producing inexpensive clean power to the facility, thereby reducing the overall energy usage. By prime energy mode, the system 100 generates power and utilizes the heat by-product to power chillers that cool the system 100 . The system 100 can be used stand alone or coupled in parallel for providing additional capacity and/or reliability.
The ATS 118 is preferably sized from 400 to 1200 amps for a VAC three-phase three-wire. Suitable ATSs 118 , without limitation, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,761,563 and 5,646,833, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The ATS 118 is preferably mechanical in nature and fed from two separate sources. One source of power to the ATS 118 is the building utility feed and the other is the feed from the generator 112 . The utility, or normal feed, is preferably connected through a twist lock or lug configuration 120 and is terminated to the normal side of the ATS 118 . The generator 112 feeds to the emergency side of the ATS 118 .
Upon a power outage, the ATS 118 sends a startup signal to the generator 112 and, upon reaching the set voltage, mechanically breaks the utility feed and connects the emergency source supply power, i.e., from generator 112 , to the distribution panel 122 . This system 100 can be provided with overlap transfer if required and follows the same procedure in reverse when utility is returned. The system 100 can receive a remote start or stop signal and can be utilized in either a prime or standby mode.
The distribution panel 122 distributes 208 – 480 , three-phase three-wire, AC power to all of the component devices. The distribution panel 122 includes a main breaker and smaller distribution breakers, preferably molded case, and are of comparable size and fusing to the ATS 118 . A 20–40 kVA transformer 124 is utilized for house power, i.e. lighting, heating, cooling and the like.
A main rectifier, i.e., rectifier 126 , takes a 208 volt through medium voltage three-phase feed and produces an output voltage of 300–600 VDC. The sizing range is preferably from 150 kW to 500 kW or as required. Ripple current is minimized by the use of reactors. A DC flywheel 128 can take either AC or DC power to spin up a kinetic flywheel and store energy until such time that the DC output power feed drops below the main rectifier voltage. At a set point, the DC flywheel 128 discharges the stored energy in the form of DC voltage and current to supply consistent power to PCUs 130 , providing enough time to allow the generator 112 to come up to speed and take over the utility feed.
Once the utility power source becomes operational again, the DC flywheel 128 will bridge the transfer back to utility in a similar fashion. After the generator 112 , or the utility feed has returned and is powering the load, the DC flywheel 128 recharges the kinetic flywheel, in the form of flywheel speed, in readiness to bridge the next power outage. The flywheel system is preferably an enclosed system. In large applications, the DC flywheel 128 is underground and sized in the megawatt range. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the DC flywheel 128 may be a plurality of kinetic flywheels that are connected in parallel to form the DC flywheel 128 .
DC disconnects (DCDS) or breakers, e.g., DC disconnects 132 , fuse the PCUs 130 . The DC disconnects 132 are sized to accept voltage drop in the event that the voltage output by the flywheel goes below recommended parameters. For example, an unacceptable flywheel voltage drop may occur if the generator 112 miss-starts and must continue to attempt to start and come up to line voltage. As the kinetic flywheel reduces in speed the output voltage drops. As the flywheel voltage drops, the current rises in order to maintain the power output at a constant level.
A pair of PCUs 130 receive power from the rectifier 126 . The PCUs 130 reduce the high voltage output by the rectifier 126 for outputting the desired voltage to run the load, i.e., solid state technology devices. In smaller applications such as the 50 kW version illustrated, the PCUs 130 are housed in the enclosure 110 . In larger applications such as 150 kW, the PCUs 130 may be located within the building as close to the load as possible. Preferably, the PCUs 130 can be dual fed and have a number of outputs. The PCUs 130 have an N+1 control and power configuration. In a preferred embodiment, the PCUs 130 convert 300–600 VDC to useable 23–48 VDC. The PCUs 130 have a high frequency sensing and control circuit for controlling the firing of the IGBTs therein. In controlling the IGBTs in this manner, the physical size of the PCUs 130 is drastically reduced and the efficiency significantly increased. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,646,833.
It is envisioned that the enclosure 110 can be stored outdoors. In the outdoor application, the 48 VDC output by the PCUs 130 connects to the building via twist lock quick connection points 134 . The output of the PCUs 130 can also be connected to a common feed point either within the building or out at the enclosure 110 , to produce a 2+N configuration. Preferably, remote sensors (not shown) are placed at the furthest load point for providing input to the system 100 to maintain the 48 VDC output at the furthest utilization point. The system 100 also includes a general purpose panel 138 for allowing access to house power for other applications.
Referring to FIG. 2 , as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art, a mobile system 200 utilizes the same principles of the system 100 described above. Accordingly, like reference numerals preceded by the numeral “2” instead of the numeral “1”, are used to indicate like elements. The mobile system 200 is designed to allow easy movement from one area to another so that high quality power can be quickly made accessible in the area of need. The mobile system 200 houses air conditioners, i.e., AC 239 , and all the components, and the output voltage is sent into the facility from the enclosure 210 . Typically, the mobile system 200 is used in a smaller demand application of 1000–1500 amps VDC.
Referring to FIG. 3 , as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art, an expanded system 300 utilizes the same principles of the systems 100 and 200 described above. The system 300 utilizes cross-feeding stand-alone converters in order to insure reliable delivery of power. Accordingly, like reference numerals preceded by the numeral “3” instead of the numerals “1” or “2”, are used to indicate like elements whenever possible. The system 300 is adapted and configured to supply power to a data center (not shown). Typically, data centers require power that is conditioned and backed up by an uninterruptible power supplies (hereinafter “UPS”), batteries, or generators. Power distribution units (hereinafter “PDU”) typically distribute 480 volt three-phase power. For use, the power may be transformed to usable 120/208 volt power. The system 300 is an expanded application to meet the needs of a data center.
For redundancy, the system 300 includes a pair of power modules 301 A and 301 B, a pair of distribution panels, 332 A and 332 B, and a pair of PCUs 330 A and 330 B. PCU 330 A houses a pair of DC converter units 331 A 1 and 331 A 2 , and similarly, PCU 330 B houses a pair of DC converter units 331 B 1 and 331 B 2 . The power modules 301 A, 301 B include a generator 312 A, 312 B, respectively, either prime or standby, that could also be one or more fuel cells or a turbine. In an energy saving mode, wherein the generator 312 A, 312 B or utility source utilizes natural gas to produce electrical power, the byproduct heat of the generation is utilized to power absorption chillers that are, in turn, used to cool the data center, or the PCUs 330 A, 330 B. Preferably, the PCUs 330 A, 330 B accept chilled water as a cooling medium, e.g., load curtailment.
The PCUs 330 A, 330 B are located inside the data center as close to the 48 VDC load as possible. This will allow the rectification of the AC power to DC for distribution outside of the data center in a remote location, thereby saving valuable data center space. The use of transformers and associated alternating current apparatus is no longer necessary; as a result, the data center is less electronically intensive. In another embodiment, the need for SMPS on the servers can be eliminated and the servers run on DC voltage supplied in a central power feed scenario by the system 300 . The elimination of SMPS significantly reduces the overall heat and power draw and by virtue of reducing power and cooling space is freed up or can be more densely designed to accommodate more equipment per square foot. The PCUs 330 A, 330 B in a 2+N scenario can be applied and can simply and effectively provide the computers with reliable power meeting or exceeding the state of the art 3 to 5 nines availability requirements. In short, the data center is less electronically intensive due to the replacing of the AC-DC back to AC topologies of the UPS as well as eliminating the sophistication and expense of the AC sine wave reconstruction, synchronization and paralleling electronics. The system 300 in conjunction with a PCR saves installation expense, operating expense in cooling, and infrastructure space necessary for all of the required AC power equipment.
In a preferred embodiment, the system 300 produces a distribution DC voltage of 600 VDC from outside of the data center. Typically, the sizing of the system 300 could be up to 2 MW. The 600 VDC is produced by a rectification system 326 A, 326 B with a DC flywheel 328 A, 328 B for providing transition to a backup generator 312 A, 312 B as explained above. It is envisioned that the conversion for the data center application from 600–48 VDC is accomplished using the PCUs 330 A, 330 B at a sizing of roughly 150 kW.
Each PCU 330 A, 330 B can receive two 600 VDC power feeds, i.e., one from each of the power modules 301 A, 301 B, so that if a single power module 301 A or 301 B malfunctions, the 48 VDC output of the system 330 is maintained. The distribution panel 332 A is between the power module 301 A and the PCU 330 A, and similarly, the distribution panel 332 A is between the power module 301 B and the PCU 330 B. The distribution panels 332 A and 332 B have DC breakers or fuses 335 A 1 , 335 A 2 , 335 B 1 and 335 B 2 , utilized to protect the inputs of the DC converter units 331 A 1 , 331 A 2 , 331 B 1 and 331 B 2 .
FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a PCR 444 that houses a PCU 430 that includes a plurality of DC converter units 431 . PCR 444 will eliminate the heat produced by PCU 430 or computers installed into the PCR 444 , through the utilization of local chilled water supply and chilled water return piping (not shown). PCR 444 has a dual role as the housing and cooling apparatus for the PCU 430 as well as cooling racks for computer technology installed into the free standing racks within the PCR 444 . The PCR 444 has a lineup of racks that provide power, cooling and structural requirements for the computer systems therein. The racks water cool the DC converter units 431 , thus allowing more technology in the space without the requirement of separate air conditioning units, reducing even further the floor space necessary to support the computers in the data or telecommunications processing area.
PCR 444 is suitable for providing DC power to a commercial building. PCR 444 has two doors 402 a , 402 b for providing access to an interior thereof. Behind door 402 a , the PCR 444 houses a plurality of DC conversion units 431 and, behind door 402 b , a load (not shown). Also enclosed in each rack is a chilled water cooling coil (not shown) and a plurality of variable frequency drive fans (not shown) that cool the internal air in the PCR 444 so that heat from the power or computer devices is rejected into the water. In the preferred embodiment shown, the PCR 444 has six DC converter units 431 of 30 kW capacity each. As a result, the PCR 444 can serve as a redundant 150 kW DC power source.
FIG. 5 is a schematic view of an exemplary DC conversion system 505 connected to dual power sources 401 A and 401 B. As can be seen, the high voltage DC (for example 525 VDC) is distributed relatively easily and efficiently, and near or at the point of consumption, the voltage level is reduced to a usable level (for example 48 VDC). Four 525 VDC power feeds 403 a–d provide input power to the DC conversion system 505 . 525 VDC power feeds 403 a and 403 d are connected to power modules 401 A and 401 B, respectively. The power modules 401 A and 401 B utilize similar principles as systems 100 , 200 and 300 . Thus, for simplicity, no significant discussion of the theory and operation is repeated again. Of note, the power modules 401 A and 401 B each include dual high DC voltage sources, namely a rectifier 426 A or 426 B, and a flywheel system 428 A or 428 B, in order to increase the available duration and load capacity of power during the interim mode. 525 VDC power feeds 403 b and 403 c are connected to alternate power sources 407 . The alternate power sources 407 are preferably traditional utilities. In other embodiments, the alternate power sources 407 are fuel cells, batteries, UPS, other generators, additional power modules similar to power modules 401 A and 401 B, and combination thereof.
Still referring to FIG. 5 , the DC conversion system 505 includes two I/O boards 440 a , 440 b . The I/O boards 440 a , 440 b act to direct the input power to adjacent PCUs 430 a , 430 b . I/O board 440 a receives 525 VDC power feeds 403 a and 403 b . I/O board 440 b receives 525 VDC power feeds 403 c and 403 d . Each I/O board 440 a , 440 b routes the respective two 525 VDC power feeds ( 403 a and 403 b , or 403 c and 403 d ) through a diode bridge 450 (see FIG. 6 ). The diode bridge 450 is for maintaining a consistent output regardless of the polarity on the inputs to diode bridge 450 . As a result, for example, if 525 VDC power feed 403 a malfunctions (and 525 VDC power feeds 403 b and 403 c also malfunction, for that matter), the proper amount of power is still available to allow PCUs 430 a and 430 b to produce sufficient power to run the load. The redundancy of two PCUs 430 a , 430 b that are each fed by two 525 VDC power feeds 440 a and 440 b , or 440 c and 440 d , respectively, wherein each 525 VDC power feed 440 a–d is derived from a different source, results in a highly robust and reliable system.
Each PCU 430 a and 430 b produces sufficient power to run the load. In turn, the output from the PCUs 430 a and 430 b is routed through a plurality of power cooling racks 444 A–F. The PCRs 444 A–F connect the respective outputs of the PCUs 430 a and 430 b via another diode bridge (not shown) in order to allow a single functioning PCU 430 a or 430 b to sufficiently power the load. The PCRs 444 A–F also distribute the power to the load, i.e. the technologies or computers in the PCRs 444 A–F. The power enters the PCRs 444 A–F through 48 VDC power feeds 405 a , 405 b . A diode bridge (see FIG. 6 ) within the PCRs 444 A–F receives 48 VDC power feeds 405 a , 405 b so that only one of the 48 VDC power feeds 405 a , 405 b needs to be operable in order for the system to provide power.
Each of the PCUs 430 a and 430 b generates significant heat that needs to be removed to insure proper operation. The PCRs 444 A–F are water cooled but it will be appreciated that other methods of cooling are possible as would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art based upon review of the subject disclosure. In a well-known manner, each PCU 430 a or 430 b may be replaced or reconfigured to allow varying the capacity and performance of the PCRs 444 A–F to suit the particular application.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a system 700 that provides a highly reliable low DC voltage to a load 745 . System 700 includes high DC voltage sources 705 , 710 , 715 and 720 , DC-to-DC converters 725 and 735 , controllers 730 and 740 , and bridges 708 , 718 and 742 .
High DC voltage source 705 provides a high DC voltage 706 to bridge 708 , and high DC voltage source 710 provides a high DC voltage 707 to bridge 708 . Bridge 708 couples high DC voltage 706 and high DC voltage 707 to provide a redundant high DC voltage feed 709 to DC-to-DC converter 725 . Bridge 708 maintains a consistent output for redundant high DC voltage feed 709 so that even if one of high DC voltage source 705 or high DC voltage source 710 fails, high DC voltage feed 709 will still be operational.
High DC voltage source 715 provides a high DC voltage 716 to bridge 718 , and high. DC voltage source 720 provides a high DC voltage 717 to bridge 718 . Bridge 718 couples high DC voltage 716 and high DC voltage 717 to provide a redundant high DC voltage feed 719 to DC-to-DC converter 735 . Bridge 718 maintains a consistent output for redundant high DC voltage feed 719 so that even if one of high DC voltage source 715 or high DC voltage source 720 fails, high DC voltage feed 719 will still be operational.
DC-to-DC converter 725 utilizes an IGBT to scale the high DC voltage from high DC voltage feed 709 to a low DC voltage 726 . Controller 730 controls a firing rate of DC-to-DC converter 725 so that low DC voltage 726 is less than or equal to about 1/10 of the high DC voltage from high DC voltage feed 709 .
DC-to-DC converter 735 utilizes an IGBT to scale the high DC voltage from high DC voltage feed 719 to a low DC voltage 736 . Controller 740 controls a firing rate of DC-to-DC converter 735 so that low DC voltage 736 is less than or equal to about 1/10 of the high DC voltage from high DC voltage feed 719 .
Bridge 742 couples low DC voltage 726 and low DC voltage 707 to provide a redundant low DC voltage feed 743 to load 745 . Bridge 742 maintains a consistent output for redundant low DC voltage feed 743 so that even if one of low DC voltage 726 or low DC voltage 736 becomes unavailable, low DC voltage feed 743 will still be operational.
While the invention has been described with respect to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various changes and/or modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. | The system disclosed herein is primarily utilized in the 23–48 volt DC telco, data center and industrial production industry. It will effectively replace today's requirement of purchasing, installing, maintaining and replacing chemical storage batteries. The solution will be capable of deployment partially and in full, inside the building, outside of the building in environmentally enclosed containers or in a mobile version. Additionally, the distribution voltage application will allow for reduction in the size of the power distribution wiring as well as creating an environment that requires less cooling of the critical equipment. This effectively leads to less infrastructure space and equipment, i.e. UPS, air conditioning units, static switch units, generators and chillers, for the same amount of processing, and significantly increases overall system reliability. The system regulates AC power and produces DC power that is considered uninterruptible and that is high quality in nature. | Briefly summarize the invention's components and working principles as described in the document. | [
"CROSS REFERNCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/423,127 filed Nov. 1, 2002 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/453,235 filed Mar. 10, 2003, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The subject disclosure relates to systems for providing high quality power, and cooling and more particularly to an improved system for providing uninterrupted DC power for the telephone communications, data processing and industrial equipment.",
"Background of the Related Art Traditionally, AC commercial power has been used as the primary power source for a wide variety of applications such as computers, data processing equipment, telephony circuitry and other solid state technology devices.",
"Despite this proliferation of the use of AC power, various problems are well-known.",
"For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,277,692;",
"5,126,585;",
"and 5,483,463 disclose practices for improving the performance of AC power devices.",
"Despite these improvements, many drawbacks to the AC power still have not been overcome.",
"In particular, AC power must still be converted to DC power for consumption by the majority of solid state devices.",
"Many AC power systems require battery backup and second 100% rated redundant feeds and are still inefficient at supplying the necessary power and redundancy.",
"Further, the safety risk, bulkiness and expense of distributing AC power is well documented.",
"Many have always considered DC to be more efficient and reliable.",
"However, the prior ability to produce DC power and scale distribution thereof has been a hurdle yet to be overcome.",
"Typically, chemical batteries and rectifiers are utilized to produce, distribute and backup critical DC power.",
"Batteries in such applications have many limitations.",
"When the batteries age, capacity reduces to the point of requiring replacement that creates a disposal problem.",
"Further, the ability to produce and draw large amounts of power from a DC battery system is dependent upon the amount and size of the batteries and require large distribution systems as DC distribution systems are oversized for DC voltage drop.",
"Modern technology demands more power, requiring a higher concentration of DC power to reach a higher level of operation.",
"Despite these and other drawbacks, use of chemical batteries has been widely used in to produce and store 48 V DC power, in telecommunication centers and to provide an alternative backup source for AC voltage systems during power outages in data centers.",
"For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,469 to Bobry, in which batteries are used and which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety to the extent that it does not conflict with the present disclosure.",
"Moreover, switching between sources is a recognized problem and often incurs momentary lapses in provision of the power needed.",
"For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,057,697 to Hammond et al.",
"which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety to the extent that it does not conflict with the present disclosure.",
"In the past no technology has been available to economically produce and distribute highly reliable high capacity DC power for use in both centers.",
"The use of DC quality power is much more reliable, inexpensive and would result in tremendous saving of power so it would be extremely desirable to extensively utilize scaleable DC power.",
"However, as a result of not being able to scale DC power much like an AC transformer for distribution, technology dependent upon ready access to DC power has stagnated.",
"Therefore, a system is needed to produce DC voltage that is highly reliable, scalable and economical utilizing AC and DC components without the use of chemical storage batteries.",
"Moreover, prior art systems have required large amounts of wiring and conditioning equipment for electrically interconnecting the AC voltage source with the load.",
"Typically, the electrical interconections are quite bulky and require a large amount of copper.",
"In data center and telco applications, switch mode power supplies (“SMPS”) on the servers are fed by AC but have the capability of being powered by DC only.",
"Theses AC driven SMPS generate heat and draw significant power and are very inefficient.",
"As a result of the high heat generation and a limited amount of cooling capacity, data processing equipment must be spread out to facilitate proper cooling, therefore data centers have less space for processing equipment and an overall decreased cooling load efficiency.",
"Thus, there is a need for a system which provides the necessary power and can be interconnected with relatively small interconnections and operate without SMPS in order to increase the efficiency of the data center.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present disclosure to utilize either 208–480 incoming volts AC three phase power to produce 23–48 VDC outgoing voltage and current for supply throughout a data center or comparable facility.",
"It is another object of the present disclosure to utilize one AC utility and emergency power source, preferably a generator, as the incoming main and emergency feeds to make the system reliable in case of a utility power outage.",
"In one embodiment, the system cycles through a transfer switch with overlap transition to utility, optional.",
"The transfer switch will take one emergency and one utility and will switch between the two when either manually initiated or loss of utility power has occurred.",
"The generator will feed a distribution panel sized to power a bridge diode rectifier, house loads and air conditioning, utilizing 480/3/60 input and 300–600 VDC output.",
"The rectifier will be designed to reduce DC ripple.",
"In another embodiment, the system will utilize a flywheel battery-less DC power supply source, in parallel to the output of a main rectifier, to generate 300–600 VDC and tie into the output of the rectifier.",
"The system utilizes DC output power from the rectifier to charge the flywheel.",
"When AC power is lost to the main rectifier input, the flywheel will discharge the kinetic storage into the load side of the rectifier until such time that the emergency generator has started and has taken over the critical load.",
"When the emergency source is on line it will supply power to both the load and will also recharge the flywheel device to 100% preparing the system for the eventual return to utility.",
"Upon the return or stabilization of utility power consistently for a set period, the transfer switch will retransfer the system load to the utility.",
"During this transfer, the break in the system power will once again be bridged by the flywheel source in the opposite direction.",
"Preferably, the 300–600 VDC from the output of the main rectifier will distribute throughout the facility reducing both the wire size and the current necessary to run a Power Converter Unit or PCU that will step the high voltage down to useable 23–48 VDC to power plants or computers that are designed to utilize 23–48 volts DC.",
"Thereby allowing the computers to be supplied without a customary switch mode power supply therefore reducing the inefficiencies of the SMPS saving energy of up to 30% and reducing wiring circular mill, reducing cooling requirements, rid the plant of chemical storage batteries and reduce its equipment infrastructure required spacing and significantly increasing the power reliability.",
"This attribute will allow more of the critical indoor square footage to be utilized for the electronics necessary to increase business.",
"In another embodiment, at certain determined interval areas, dependant upon loading and distance, a specially designed DC-to-DC converter, or Power Converter Unit (“PCU”), utilizing intergate bi-polar transistor (hereinafter “IGBT”) technology, redundant power supplies or 30 kW drawers and a 5–20 kHz DC controller that both senses and fires an IGBT will be placed.",
"The PCU can be fed by up to two totally independent power systems providing highly reliable outage protection.",
"Additionally, the PCU is highly resistant to faults and once again adding to the high quality power output.",
"The IGBT will efficiently convert line side DC high voltage to secondary low side voltage remaining efficient and tightly controlled throughout the potential voltage drop on the primary side down to 300 VDC.",
"This PCU is much like a DC to DC transformer.",
"From the output of the IGBT device, voltage and current will be distributed to local or close devices that utilize 48 volts DC without the issues of voltage drop and excessive heat produced by the SMPS.",
"This voltage can be controlled by remotely placing a sensor at the furthest device from the converter.",
"Another highly important concept to this power quality system is the utilization of a sophisticated cooling system to rid the space of the heat produced by the efficient delivery of power by the PCU to the telecomunications and data processing loads.",
"The PCU will deliver power to racks where the technology will reside.",
"Virtually all of the delivered power will be utilized by electronic loads.",
"These loads will turn this power completely into heat.",
"Technology today is attempting to compact as many devices in as small a space as possible.",
"In order to provide for this condition, a Power Cooling rack (PCR) will be provided that can liquid cool a plate fin heat exchanger located in the bottom of the rack as well as variable speed fans that will efficiently meter air and will cool the computers in the rack up to 20 kW.",
"The best device being utilized today can rid the space of up to 5–7 kW.",
"These racks will provide for dual fed 48 volt DC distribution for protection against power outage of one of the sources increasing reliability.",
"It should be appreciated that the present disclosure can be implemented in numerous ways, including without limitation as a process, an apparatus, a system, a device or a method.",
"These and other unique features of the system disclosed herein will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS So that those having ordinary skill in the art to which the disclosed system appertains will more readily understand how to make and use the same, reference may be had to the drawings wherein: FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a stationary module constructed in accordance with the subject invention.",
"FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a mobile module constructed in accordance with the subject invention.",
"FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a third module constructed in accordance with the subject invention.",
"FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an enclosure for providing DC power and cooling in accordance with the subject invention.",
"FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a connected DC conversion unit FIG. 4 in accordance with the subject invention.",
"FIG. 6 is a schematic of a diode bridge constructed in accordance with the subject invention.",
"FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a system that provides a highly reliable low DC voltage to a load.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention overcomes many of the prior art problems associated with power supplies.",
"The advantages, and other features of the system disclosed herein, will become more readily apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description of certain preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the drawings which set forth representative embodiments of the present invention and wherein like reference numerals identify similar structural elements.",
"Referring to FIG. 1 , an enclosure 110 is utilized to protect the system 100 from the elements as well as provide the proper internal environment necessary for the component pieces to function properly.",
"This environment is preferably 40–104 degrees F., non-condensing.",
"In a preferred embodiment, the enclosure 110 is an ECOBAY™ enclosure available from Sanmina-SCI Corp.",
"of 2700 North First Street, San Jose, Calif.",
"95134.",
"The system 100 is designed to be stationary or fixed.",
"The enclosure 110 , when stationary, will house all components with the exception of the DC converters.",
"Such a system 100 would typically be utilized in the larger power applications where the 300–600 VDC distribution is sent into the facility (not shown) and powers localized DC converters that step down from 600 to 23–48 VDC.",
"The system 100 will provide an AC power feed that will supply AC three-phase power to air conditioning units within the facility so the enclosure 110 will be considered a self-contained total critical power solution for the facility.",
"Preferably, generator 112 will be mounted on the outside of the enclosure 110 in an adjacent environmentally designed container 114 .",
"The container 114 will mount on extended rails that protrude from the bottom of the enclosure 110 .",
"The generator 112 includes a sub-base fuel supply 116 and will start on a signal from an automatic transfer switch (ATS) 118 located inside the enclosure 110 .",
"Typically the generator 112 uses a fuel cell or turbine unit sized from 250 kW or larger as required by the application and supplies 208 – 480 or high VAC three phase.",
"The generator 112 has an output breaker (not shown) and will store up to 12 hours or more of fuel in the sub-base fuel supply 116 .",
"The sub-base fuel supply 116 can also be supplied with natural gas to provide for automatic replenishment.",
"The system 100 can be designed to run in a prime energy mode producing inexpensive clean power to the facility, thereby reducing the overall energy usage.",
"By prime energy mode, the system 100 generates power and utilizes the heat by-product to power chillers that cool the system 100 .",
"The system 100 can be used stand alone or coupled in parallel for providing additional capacity and/or reliability.",
"The ATS 118 is preferably sized from 400 to 1200 amps for a VAC three-phase three-wire.",
"Suitable ATSs 118 , without limitation, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,761,563 and 5,646,833, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.",
"The ATS 118 is preferably mechanical in nature and fed from two separate sources.",
"One source of power to the ATS 118 is the building utility feed and the other is the feed from the generator 112 .",
"The utility, or normal feed, is preferably connected through a twist lock or lug configuration 120 and is terminated to the normal side of the ATS 118 .",
"The generator 112 feeds to the emergency side of the ATS 118 .",
"Upon a power outage, the ATS 118 sends a startup signal to the generator 112 and, upon reaching the set voltage, mechanically breaks the utility feed and connects the emergency source supply power, i.e., from generator 112 , to the distribution panel 122 .",
"This system 100 can be provided with overlap transfer if required and follows the same procedure in reverse when utility is returned.",
"The system 100 can receive a remote start or stop signal and can be utilized in either a prime or standby mode.",
"The distribution panel 122 distributes 208 – 480 , three-phase three-wire, AC power to all of the component devices.",
"The distribution panel 122 includes a main breaker and smaller distribution breakers, preferably molded case, and are of comparable size and fusing to the ATS 118 .",
"A 20–40 kVA transformer 124 is utilized for house power, i.e. lighting, heating, cooling and the like.",
"A main rectifier, i.e., rectifier 126 , takes a 208 volt through medium voltage three-phase feed and produces an output voltage of 300–600 VDC.",
"The sizing range is preferably from 150 kW to 500 kW or as required.",
"Ripple current is minimized by the use of reactors.",
"A DC flywheel 128 can take either AC or DC power to spin up a kinetic flywheel and store energy until such time that the DC output power feed drops below the main rectifier voltage.",
"At a set point, the DC flywheel 128 discharges the stored energy in the form of DC voltage and current to supply consistent power to PCUs 130 , providing enough time to allow the generator 112 to come up to speed and take over the utility feed.",
"Once the utility power source becomes operational again, the DC flywheel 128 will bridge the transfer back to utility in a similar fashion.",
"After the generator 112 , or the utility feed has returned and is powering the load, the DC flywheel 128 recharges the kinetic flywheel, in the form of flywheel speed, in readiness to bridge the next power outage.",
"The flywheel system is preferably an enclosed system.",
"In large applications, the DC flywheel 128 is underground and sized in the megawatt range.",
"It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the DC flywheel 128 may be a plurality of kinetic flywheels that are connected in parallel to form the DC flywheel 128 .",
"DC disconnects (DCDS) or breakers, e.g., DC disconnects 132 , fuse the PCUs 130 .",
"The DC disconnects 132 are sized to accept voltage drop in the event that the voltage output by the flywheel goes below recommended parameters.",
"For example, an unacceptable flywheel voltage drop may occur if the generator 112 miss-starts and must continue to attempt to start and come up to line voltage.",
"As the kinetic flywheel reduces in speed the output voltage drops.",
"As the flywheel voltage drops, the current rises in order to maintain the power output at a constant level.",
"A pair of PCUs 130 receive power from the rectifier 126 .",
"The PCUs 130 reduce the high voltage output by the rectifier 126 for outputting the desired voltage to run the load, i.e., solid state technology devices.",
"In smaller applications such as the 50 kW version illustrated, the PCUs 130 are housed in the enclosure 110 .",
"In larger applications such as 150 kW, the PCUs 130 may be located within the building as close to the load as possible.",
"Preferably, the PCUs 130 can be dual fed and have a number of outputs.",
"The PCUs 130 have an N+1 control and power configuration.",
"In a preferred embodiment, the PCUs 130 convert 300–600 VDC to useable 23–48 VDC.",
"The PCUs 130 have a high frequency sensing and control circuit for controlling the firing of the IGBTs therein.",
"In controlling the IGBTs in this manner, the physical size of the PCUs 130 is drastically reduced and the efficiency significantly increased.",
"For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,646,833.",
"It is envisioned that the enclosure 110 can be stored outdoors.",
"In the outdoor application, the 48 VDC output by the PCUs 130 connects to the building via twist lock quick connection points 134 .",
"The output of the PCUs 130 can also be connected to a common feed point either within the building or out at the enclosure 110 , to produce a 2+N configuration.",
"Preferably, remote sensors (not shown) are placed at the furthest load point for providing input to the system 100 to maintain the 48 VDC output at the furthest utilization point.",
"The system 100 also includes a general purpose panel 138 for allowing access to house power for other applications.",
"Referring to FIG. 2 , as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art, a mobile system 200 utilizes the same principles of the system 100 described above.",
"Accordingly, like reference numerals preceded by the numeral “2”",
"instead of the numeral “1”, are used to indicate like elements.",
"The mobile system 200 is designed to allow easy movement from one area to another so that high quality power can be quickly made accessible in the area of need.",
"The mobile system 200 houses air conditioners, i.e., AC 239 , and all the components, and the output voltage is sent into the facility from the enclosure 210 .",
"Typically, the mobile system 200 is used in a smaller demand application of 1000–1500 amps VDC.",
"Referring to FIG. 3 , as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art, an expanded system 300 utilizes the same principles of the systems 100 and 200 described above.",
"The system 300 utilizes cross-feeding stand-alone converters in order to insure reliable delivery of power.",
"Accordingly, like reference numerals preceded by the numeral “3”",
"instead of the numerals “1”",
"or “2”, are used to indicate like elements whenever possible.",
"The system 300 is adapted and configured to supply power to a data center (not shown).",
"Typically, data centers require power that is conditioned and backed up by an uninterruptible power supplies (hereinafter “UPS”), batteries, or generators.",
"Power distribution units (hereinafter “PDU”) typically distribute 480 volt three-phase power.",
"For use, the power may be transformed to usable 120/208 volt power.",
"The system 300 is an expanded application to meet the needs of a data center.",
"For redundancy, the system 300 includes a pair of power modules 301 A and 301 B, a pair of distribution panels, 332 A and 332 B, and a pair of PCUs 330 A and 330 B. PCU 330 A houses a pair of DC converter units 331 A 1 and 331 A 2 , and similarly, PCU 330 B houses a pair of DC converter units 331 B 1 and 331 B 2 .",
"The power modules 301 A, 301 B include a generator 312 A, 312 B, respectively, either prime or standby, that could also be one or more fuel cells or a turbine.",
"In an energy saving mode, wherein the generator 312 A, 312 B or utility source utilizes natural gas to produce electrical power, the byproduct heat of the generation is utilized to power absorption chillers that are, in turn, used to cool the data center, or the PCUs 330 A, 330 B. Preferably, the PCUs 330 A, 330 B accept chilled water as a cooling medium, e.g., load curtailment.",
"The PCUs 330 A, 330 B are located inside the data center as close to the 48 VDC load as possible.",
"This will allow the rectification of the AC power to DC for distribution outside of the data center in a remote location, thereby saving valuable data center space.",
"The use of transformers and associated alternating current apparatus is no longer necessary;",
"as a result, the data center is less electronically intensive.",
"In another embodiment, the need for SMPS on the servers can be eliminated and the servers run on DC voltage supplied in a central power feed scenario by the system 300 .",
"The elimination of SMPS significantly reduces the overall heat and power draw and by virtue of reducing power and cooling space is freed up or can be more densely designed to accommodate more equipment per square foot.",
"The PCUs 330 A, 330 B in a 2+N scenario can be applied and can simply and effectively provide the computers with reliable power meeting or exceeding the state of the art 3 to 5 nines availability requirements.",
"In short, the data center is less electronically intensive due to the replacing of the AC-DC back to AC topologies of the UPS as well as eliminating the sophistication and expense of the AC sine wave reconstruction, synchronization and paralleling electronics.",
"The system 300 in conjunction with a PCR saves installation expense, operating expense in cooling, and infrastructure space necessary for all of the required AC power equipment.",
"In a preferred embodiment, the system 300 produces a distribution DC voltage of 600 VDC from outside of the data center.",
"Typically, the sizing of the system 300 could be up to 2 MW.",
"The 600 VDC is produced by a rectification system 326 A, 326 B with a DC flywheel 328 A, 328 B for providing transition to a backup generator 312 A, 312 B as explained above.",
"It is envisioned that the conversion for the data center application from 600–48 VDC is accomplished using the PCUs 330 A, 330 B at a sizing of roughly 150 kW.",
"Each PCU 330 A, 330 B can receive two 600 VDC power feeds, i.e., one from each of the power modules 301 A, 301 B, so that if a single power module 301 A or 301 B malfunctions, the 48 VDC output of the system 330 is maintained.",
"The distribution panel 332 A is between the power module 301 A and the PCU 330 A, and similarly, the distribution panel 332 A is between the power module 301 B and the PCU 330 B. The distribution panels 332 A and 332 B have DC breakers or fuses 335 A 1 , 335 A 2 , 335 B 1 and 335 B 2 , utilized to protect the inputs of the DC converter units 331 A 1 , 331 A 2 , 331 B 1 and 331 B 2 .",
"FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a PCR 444 that houses a PCU 430 that includes a plurality of DC converter units 431 .",
"PCR 444 will eliminate the heat produced by PCU 430 or computers installed into the PCR 444 , through the utilization of local chilled water supply and chilled water return piping (not shown).",
"PCR 444 has a dual role as the housing and cooling apparatus for the PCU 430 as well as cooling racks for computer technology installed into the free standing racks within the PCR 444 .",
"The PCR 444 has a lineup of racks that provide power, cooling and structural requirements for the computer systems therein.",
"The racks water cool the DC converter units 431 , thus allowing more technology in the space without the requirement of separate air conditioning units, reducing even further the floor space necessary to support the computers in the data or telecommunications processing area.",
"PCR 444 is suitable for providing DC power to a commercial building.",
"PCR 444 has two doors 402 a , 402 b for providing access to an interior thereof.",
"Behind door 402 a , the PCR 444 houses a plurality of DC conversion units 431 and, behind door 402 b , a load (not shown).",
"Also enclosed in each rack is a chilled water cooling coil (not shown) and a plurality of variable frequency drive fans (not shown) that cool the internal air in the PCR 444 so that heat from the power or computer devices is rejected into the water.",
"In the preferred embodiment shown, the PCR 444 has six DC converter units 431 of 30 kW capacity each.",
"As a result, the PCR 444 can serve as a redundant 150 kW DC power source.",
"FIG. 5 is a schematic view of an exemplary DC conversion system 505 connected to dual power sources 401 A and 401 B. As can be seen, the high voltage DC (for example 525 VDC) is distributed relatively easily and efficiently, and near or at the point of consumption, the voltage level is reduced to a usable level (for example 48 VDC).",
"Four 525 VDC power feeds 403 a–d provide input power to the DC conversion system 505 .",
"525 VDC power feeds 403 a and 403 d are connected to power modules 401 A and 401 B, respectively.",
"The power modules 401 A and 401 B utilize similar principles as systems 100 , 200 and 300 .",
"Thus, for simplicity, no significant discussion of the theory and operation is repeated again.",
"Of note, the power modules 401 A and 401 B each include dual high DC voltage sources, namely a rectifier 426 A or 426 B, and a flywheel system 428 A or 428 B, in order to increase the available duration and load capacity of power during the interim mode.",
"525 VDC power feeds 403 b and 403 c are connected to alternate power sources 407 .",
"The alternate power sources 407 are preferably traditional utilities.",
"In other embodiments, the alternate power sources 407 are fuel cells, batteries, UPS, other generators, additional power modules similar to power modules 401 A and 401 B, and combination thereof.",
"Still referring to FIG. 5 , the DC conversion system 505 includes two I/O boards 440 a , 440 b .",
"The I/O boards 440 a , 440 b act to direct the input power to adjacent PCUs 430 a , 430 b .",
"I/O board 440 a receives 525 VDC power feeds 403 a and 403 b .",
"I/O board 440 b receives 525 VDC power feeds 403 c and 403 d .",
"Each I/O board 440 a , 440 b routes the respective two 525 VDC power feeds ( 403 a and 403 b , or 403 c and 403 d ) through a diode bridge 450 (see FIG. 6 ).",
"The diode bridge 450 is for maintaining a consistent output regardless of the polarity on the inputs to diode bridge 450 .",
"As a result, for example, if 525 VDC power feed 403 a malfunctions (and 525 VDC power feeds 403 b and 403 c also malfunction, for that matter), the proper amount of power is still available to allow PCUs 430 a and 430 b to produce sufficient power to run the load.",
"The redundancy of two PCUs 430 a , 430 b that are each fed by two 525 VDC power feeds 440 a and 440 b , or 440 c and 440 d , respectively, wherein each 525 VDC power feed 440 a–d is derived from a different source, results in a highly robust and reliable system.",
"Each PCU 430 a and 430 b produces sufficient power to run the load.",
"In turn, the output from the PCUs 430 a and 430 b is routed through a plurality of power cooling racks 444 A–F.",
"The PCRs 444 A–F connect the respective outputs of the PCUs 430 a and 430 b via another diode bridge (not shown) in order to allow a single functioning PCU 430 a or 430 b to sufficiently power the load.",
"The PCRs 444 A–F also distribute the power to the load, i.e. the technologies or computers in the PCRs 444 A–F.",
"The power enters the PCRs 444 A–F through 48 VDC power feeds 405 a , 405 b .",
"A diode bridge (see FIG. 6 ) within the PCRs 444 A–F receives 48 VDC power feeds 405 a , 405 b so that only one of the 48 VDC power feeds 405 a , 405 b needs to be operable in order for the system to provide power.",
"Each of the PCUs 430 a and 430 b generates significant heat that needs to be removed to insure proper operation.",
"The PCRs 444 A–F are water cooled but it will be appreciated that other methods of cooling are possible as would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art based upon review of the subject disclosure.",
"In a well-known manner, each PCU 430 a or 430 b may be replaced or reconfigured to allow varying the capacity and performance of the PCRs 444 A–F to suit the particular application.",
"FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a system 700 that provides a highly reliable low DC voltage to a load 745 .",
"System 700 includes high DC voltage sources 705 , 710 , 715 and 720 , DC-to-DC converters 725 and 735 , controllers 730 and 740 , and bridges 708 , 718 and 742 .",
"High DC voltage source 705 provides a high DC voltage 706 to bridge 708 , and high DC voltage source 710 provides a high DC voltage 707 to bridge 708 .",
"Bridge 708 couples high DC voltage 706 and high DC voltage 707 to provide a redundant high DC voltage feed 709 to DC-to-DC converter 725 .",
"Bridge 708 maintains a consistent output for redundant high DC voltage feed 709 so that even if one of high DC voltage source 705 or high DC voltage source 710 fails, high DC voltage feed 709 will still be operational.",
"High DC voltage source 715 provides a high DC voltage 716 to bridge 718 , and high.",
"DC voltage source 720 provides a high DC voltage 717 to bridge 718 .",
"Bridge 718 couples high DC voltage 716 and high DC voltage 717 to provide a redundant high DC voltage feed 719 to DC-to-DC converter 735 .",
"Bridge 718 maintains a consistent output for redundant high DC voltage feed 719 so that even if one of high DC voltage source 715 or high DC voltage source 720 fails, high DC voltage feed 719 will still be operational.",
"DC-to-DC converter 725 utilizes an IGBT to scale the high DC voltage from high DC voltage feed 709 to a low DC voltage 726 .",
"Controller 730 controls a firing rate of DC-to-DC converter 725 so that low DC voltage 726 is less than or equal to about 1/10 of the high DC voltage from high DC voltage feed 709 .",
"DC-to-DC converter 735 utilizes an IGBT to scale the high DC voltage from high DC voltage feed 719 to a low DC voltage 736 .",
"Controller 740 controls a firing rate of DC-to-DC converter 735 so that low DC voltage 736 is less than or equal to about 1/10 of the high DC voltage from high DC voltage feed 719 .",
"Bridge 742 couples low DC voltage 726 and low DC voltage 707 to provide a redundant low DC voltage feed 743 to load 745 .",
"Bridge 742 maintains a consistent output for redundant low DC voltage feed 743 so that even if one of low DC voltage 726 or low DC voltage 736 becomes unavailable, low DC voltage feed 743 will still be operational.",
"While the invention has been described with respect to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various changes and/or modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention."
] |
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] This invention relates generally to methods of inhibiting corrosion on ferrous metal surfaces exposed to corrosive materials. More specifically, the invention relates to blending one or more corrosion-inhibiting compounds with a nitrogen fertilizer solution to prevent corrosion on ferrous metal surfaces in contact with the solution. The invention has particular application in urea ammonium nitrate fertilizer solution storage and transport vessels and equipment used to transfer such solutions.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Storing and transporting corrosive materials, such as fertilizer solutions, nitrogen-based solutions, ammonia solutions, urea ammonium nitrate (“UAN”), and the like creates a variety of problems. The magnitude of these problems increases with the corrosiveness of the materials. Some substances produce a considerable amount of corrosion damage, requiring repair of the transport or storage container or piping equipment. Similar corrosiveness issues exist for the storage and transport of a variety of materials. Corrosion issues in vessels that hold UAN solutions are of particular relevance due to its commercial popularity and economical use in agricultural applications. As an exemplary corrosive material, a description of UAN and related corrosion issues is provided below.
[0003] The production of UAN solutions includes blending urea solution, ammonium nitrate solution, and additional water in either a batch or continuous process. Ammonia is sometimes added to the UAN to act as a pH buffer UAN is typically manufactured with about 20 weight percent water and for field applications is generally diluted with water to about 29 to 30 weight percent water. The former is generally referred to as UAN 32 (32 percent total nitrogen content), which typically has about 45 weight percent ammonium nitrate, about 35 weight percent urea, and about 20 weight percent water. The latter is generally referred to as UAN 28 (28 percent total nitrogen content), which typically has about 39 weight percent ammonium nitrate, about 31 weight percent urea, and about 30 weight percent water. Such UAN solutions are economically desirable as compared to solids, for example, because herbicides can be blended with UAN allowing for one pass application of both fertilizer and herbicide.
[0004] A persistent problem in the production, storage, transport, and application of UAN is its corrosiveness towards ferrous metals. The solutions are quite corrosive towards, for example, mild steel (e.g., up to 500 mils per year (“MPY”) on C1010 steel) and are therefore usually treated by the producer with a bulk corrosion inhibitor to protect tanks, pipelines, railcars, barges, and application equipment, such as spray nozzles, etc. In particular, rust and corrosion on the inner surface of storage and transport vessels, as well as piping systems used to fill or empty the vessels, is a major problem. Corrosion products, such as sludge, can also plug spray nozzles in fertilizer application equipment and irrigation booms. Without adequate corrosion inhibition, UAN solutions in storage and transport vessels can become discolored in a short period. For example, bloom rust formation in railcars leads to UAN solutions developing a red or orange hue. UAN is normally a clear liquid, so such discoloration is undesirable and in many cases leads to product waste.
[0005] Corrosion in UAN transporting railcars also creates a wide variety of logistical problems. Railcars are typically subject to routine inspection (every 10 years in North America). Before a railcar can be inspected or repaired, the entire inner surface of the car must be cleaned, typically by sandblasting, an expensive and time-consuming process. In addition, such sand or grit blasting of the railcar's interior usually removes existing corrosion inhibition films as well as natural and created passivation layers. This removal exposes bare metal and makes the interior walls susceptible to flash corrosion, even in just a humid air environment. Upon return to corrosive UAN service, severe corrosion becomes a big concern.
[0006] It is therefore highly desirable to keep the inner surface of the railcar in clean, rust-free, and corrosion-free condition while the railcar awaits return to service. Further, if a fresh load of UAN is added to a railcar that has bloom rust on its inner surface or a rusty heel of old UAN pooled on the bottom of the railcar as sludge, the entire load could be discolored. This discoloration may cause point-of-delivery rejection, which creates extra expenses for return and replacement and causes product waste. Such an occurrence could also damage the quality reputation of the UAN supplier.
[0007] General remedies used in the past to inhibit UAN-caused corrosion include high levels (usually hundreds or thousands of mg/kg) of phosphate, alkyl phosphate esters, ethoxylated alkyl phosphates, or polyphosphate salts added directly to the UAN solution to serve as bulk corrosion inhibitors. These remedies fell into disfavor because the phosphates precipitated with other constituents, such as iron, calcium, magnesium, etc. Such precipitates led to unfavorable deposits on the bottom of vessels (as described above) as well as plugging of spray application devices.
[0008] Other well-known corrosion inhibitors, such as molybdate and tungstate (See U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,159 and U.S. Pat. App. No. 2006/0237684 A1, respectively) have also found application in UAN service. In addition to the above-described bulk corrosion inhibitors directly added to the UAN solution, vessel coatings have also been developed in an attempt to prevent and inhibit corrosion. Such coatings provide a layer on the inner surface of a vessel to prevent contact of the UAN with the inner surface of the vessel.
[0009] There thus exists an ongoing need to provide improved corrosion resistance for storage and transport vessels and piping equipment used in corrosive service. In particular, there exists a need to inhibit corrosion in stationary and mobile transport vessels that hold nitrogen-based solutions and other corrosive materials, including pipelines used to transfer such materials.
SUMMARY
[0010] This disclosure provides a method using trace amounts of certain hydroxlamines, acrylate polymers or copolymers, certain organic acids, tannic acid, carbohydrazide and its derivates and salts, and combinations of these compounds to reduce or inhibit corrosion on metal surfaces exposed to corrosive materials. The metal surfaces may include any ferrous metal piping or equipment surfaces, such as that used during storage, transport, and other processing of such materials. A typical corrosive material is nitrogen fertilizer solution, such as urea ammonium nitrate (“UAN”) with water content from about 20 to about 50 percent by weight. In a preferred embodiment, corrosion-inhibited UAN is non-sludging, non-foaming, and essentially precipitate free.
[0011] In an aspect, the invention provides an improved method of inhibiting corrosion on metal surfaces exposed to a corrosive material. The method generally includes the steps of adding an effective amount of one or more of the described corrosion-inhibitive compounds to the material. If the corrosive material is a nitrogen fertilizer solution, the pH of the resultant blend is optionally adjusted with ammonia. Preferably, the pH is adjusted to be between about 7 and about 8. The method may be used in a variety of storage, processing, and application areas in corrosive service. For example, the method may include storing or transporting inhibited fertilizer solution in ferrous metal piping and/or containers. The solution may then be diluted and still remain effectively corrosion-inhibited while applying to cropland with ferrous metal equipment.
[0012] In another aspect, the invention provides a corrosion-inhibited UAN solution having about 20 to about 50 percent by weight water and from less than 10 to about 1,000 ppm of one or more of the described corrosion inhibitors and a pH from about 7 to about 8. In an embodiment, the pH is about 7 to 7.5. In another embodiment, the pH is about 7.8 to 8. This corrosion-inhibited liquid UAN fertilizer may be stored, transported, and/or applied to croplands.
[0013] It is an advantage of the invention to provide a method of inhibiting corrosion on ferrous metal surfaces in contact with corrosive materials, such as UAN solutions.
[0014] It is another advantage of the invention to provide a corrosion-inhibited urea ammonium nitrate fertilizer solution having trace amounts of corrosion-inhibiting compounds.
[0015] A further advantage of the invention is to improve product quality (e.g., clarity due to the absence of rust which causes reddening of the material within the vessel) and to reduce corrosion of surfaces in contact with corrosive materials, leading to concomitant increases in profitability.
[0016] Additional features and advantages are described herein, and will be apparent from the following Detailed Description and Examples.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] As used herein, “nitrogen fertilizer solution” includes any of a variety of fertilizers including “UAN.” UAN means any grade of fertilizer solution having a mixture of urea and ammonium nitrate in water including common grades of UAN 18, UAN 28, and UAN 32, where the numbers indicate total nitrogen content. The UAN preferably includes from about 20 to about 50 percent by weight water.
[0018] “Corrosive substances or materials” and similar terms include, but are not limited to solutions, such as fertilizer, nitrogen-based, urea ammonium nitrate, aqua ammonia, urea liquor, ammonium sulfate, ammonium thiosulfate, ammonium thiophosphate, ammonium chloride, potassium sulfate, potassium chloride, and other similar materials. The embodiments herein depict UAN as the target material but have equal application in other corrosive materials. Though the invention is generally applicable to any corrosive substance, it has specific applicability to UAN fertilizer solutions. It is intended, however, that the invention is useful in all varieties and concentrations of corrosive materials as well as a full range of dilute and concentrated UAN solutions.
[0019] In an embodiment, the corrosion inhibitor includes carbohydrazide and/or its water-soluble salts. In a preferred embodiment, the carbohydrazide is in a solution of at least about 5 weight percent and up to about 100 weight percent. In another embodiment, the carbohydrazide solution is less than 5 weight percent. The carbohydrazide may also be used in solid form.
[0020] In another embodiment, the corrosion inhibitor is an organic acid, such as ascorbic acid, erythorbic acid and/or salts thereof. In this embodiment, the corrosion inhibitor may be in a solution of about 10 weight percent to about 33 weight percent. In an embodiment, this solution is more dilute and less than 10 weight percent. Alternatively, the ascorbic/erythorbic acid may be added in solid form to the nitrogen fertilizer solution.
[0021] In one embodiment, the corrosion inhibitor is a hydroxylamine or mixtures of such compounds. A preferred hydroxylamine has the general formula (R1R2)-N—O—(R3), where R1, R2, and R3 may either be the same or different. According to alternative embodiments, they may be hydrogen or lower alkyls containing from 1 to about 6 (more preferably 1 to 3) carbon atoms, or a water-soluble salt thereof. Typical water-soluble salts are phosphate, sulfate, and chloride salts, although others are also contemplated for use in the invention. In some embodiments, the hydroxylamine is preferably used without these salts, in order to minimize added ionic material in the UAN. In a preferred embodiment, the hydroxylamine is in a solution of at least about 5 weight percent and up to about 100 weight percent. In an embodiment, the hydroxylamine is in a solution from about 6.5 to about 8.5 weight percent. In a further embodiment, the hydroxylamine is a dilute solution of less than 6.5 weight percent. It may also be added in solid form.
[0022] A preferred hydroxylamine is N,N-diethylhydroxylamine (DEHA). Other representative hydroxylamines include N,N-methylethylhydroxylamine, N,N-dimethylhydroxylamine, N,N-methylpropylhydroxylamine, N-ethylhydroxylamine, O-ethyl-N,N-dimethylhydroxylamine, O-methyl-N,N-diethylhydroxylamine, O-methylhydroxylamine, their salts, the like, and combinations thereof.
[0023] In another embodiment, the corrosion-inhibiting composition includes at least one polymer selected from the group consisting of polyacrylic acids, acrylamidelacrylic acid copolymers, and salts of these polymers and copolymers. Acrylamide/acrylic acid copolymers and their salts are preferred. It is contemplated that any ratio of acrylamide to acrylic acid may be used for the copolymer. The copolymer preferably comprises about 5% by weight to about 95% by weight of acrylic acid, more preferably about 30% by weight to about 50% by weight acrylic acid. It should be appreciated that the polymer, copolymer, and/or the corresponding salt can be used in the method of the invention.
[0024] The molecular weight of the polymers or copolymers may be from about 20,000 to greater than 2,000,000. The polymers useful in the present invention can have molecular weight of at least about 50,000 or at least about 100,000 or at least about 200,000. The molecular weight can also be as high as 750,000; 1,500,000; 2,000,000; or can be as high as about 5,000,000. One preferred range is from about 20,000 to about 5,000,000. Another preferred range is from about 100,000 to about 1,000,000. A further preferred range is from about 200,000 to about 750,000.
[0025] The amount of corrosion-inhibitor used may be less than 10 ppm. In an embodiment, from about 10 ppm to about 100 ppm of the corrosion inhibitor is added to the corrosive material. In a further embodiment, from about 100 or 200 up to about 500 or 1,000 ppm of the corrosion inhibitor is used. It should be appreciated that any of the described corrosion inhibitors may be mixed with each other and/or added to the corrosive material either simultaneously or sequentially.
[0026] In alternative embodiments, monitoring the corrosion-inhibiting composition dosage and concentration in the nitrogen fertilizer solution includes using molecules having fluorescent or absorbent moieties (i.e., tracers). Such tracers are typically inert and added to the nitrogen fertilizer solution in a known proportion to the corrosion-inhibiting composition. The fluorescent tracer may be added with the corrosion inhibitor either simultaneously or sequentially, being either mixed with the corrosion inhibitor or separate. “Inert” as used herein means that an inert tracer (e.g., an inert fluorescent tracer) is not appreciably or significantly affected by any other chemistry in the solution, or by other parameters, such as temperature, pressure, alkalinity, solids concentration, and/or other parameters. “Not appreciably or significantly affected” means that an inert fluorescent compound has no more than about 10 percent change in its fluorescent signal, under conditions normally encountered in nitrogen fertilizer or other corrosive solutions.
[0027] Representative inert fluorescent tracers suitable for use in the method of the invention include 1,3,6,8-pyrenetetrasulfonic acid, tetrasodium salt (CAS Registry No. 59572-10-0); monosulfonated anthracenes and salts thereof, including, but not limited to 2-anthracenesulfonic acid sodium salt (CAS Registry No. 16106-40-4); disulfonated anthracenes and salts thereof (See U.S. Pat. App. No. US 2005/0025659 A1, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety); fluorescent tracers as listed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,966,213 B2 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety); other suitable fluorescent compounds; and combinations thereof. These inert fluorescent tracers are either commercially available under the tradename TRASAR® from Nalco Company® (Naperville, Ill.) or may be synthesized using techniques known to persons of ordinary skill in the art of organic chemistry.
[0028] Monitoring the concentration of the tracers using light absorbance or fluorescence allows for precise control of the corrosion-inhibiting composition dosage. For example, the fluorescent signal of the inert fluorescent chemical may be used to determine the concentration of the corrosion-inhibiting composition or compound in the corrosive solution. The fluorescent signal of the inert fluorescent chemical is then used to determine whether the desired amount of the corrosion-inhibiting composition or product is present in the solution and the feed of the composition can then be adjusted to ensure that the desired corrosion-inhibitive amount of the composition is present in the corrosive solution.
EXAMPLES
[0029] The foregoing may be better understood by reference to the following examples, which are intended for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
[0030] In the following examples, a nitrogen fertilizer tank corrosion simulator (NCS S”) was used. The simulator included a series of 500 ml flasks placed on a conventional hotplate while maintaining a temperature of about 160° F. to 180° F. A UAN 32 solution with a pH in the range of about 7 to 8 was obtained from an industrial source and used for samples in the tables below. Mild steel test coupons were placed in the solution and exposed to the UAN 32 in the NCS for the indicated number of days. On top of each flask were a water-cooled condenser system and an air injection manifold. The condenser system prevented water loss of any critical corrosion parameters from within the flasks. Such losses would have altered concentrations in the samples and produced erroneous results. Air injection helped to simulate accelerated corrosion stress.
[0031] Compounds used in the examples are as follows. Molybdate ion was provided by an about 35 weight percent aqueous solution of sodium molybdate. The carboxylic acid was a solution of about a 10 weight percent erythorbic acid. The sodium nitrate was about a 40 weight percent solution. Carbohydrazide was an approximately 6.5 weight percent solution. Am/Ac was an acrylamidelacrylic acid copolymer in a solution of about 32 weight percent. DEHA was a solution of about 85 weight percent N,N-diethyl hydroxylamine. EA was a solution of about 9.9 weight percent erythorbic acid.
[0032] The corrosion rate for the following samples was based on coupon weight and is presented as mils per year in the tables below for various reductants, dispersants, other compounds, and combinations. Total solution iron levels (a corrosion indicator) were measured for certain samples. Though any suitable test method may be used to determine such iron levels, Ferrozine calorimetric analysis method was used (available from Hach, Inc., Loveland, Colo.).
Example 1
[0033] The duration for this Example was 10 days at a temperature of 180° F.
[0000]
TABLE 1
Corrosion
Treatment
Rate
Blank
308
Molybdate (100 ppm)
0.02
EA (100 ppm)
184
Sodium Nitrite (600 ppm)
339
Example 2
[0034] The test coupons for this Example were exposed the UAN 32 solution for about 6 days at a temperature of 160° F.
[0000]
TABLE 2
Corrosion
Treatment
Rate
Fe 2+ (ppb)
Carbohydrazide (104 ppm)
0
<100 ppb
Molybdate (99 ppm)
0.18
<100 ppb
Molybdate (50 ppm)
1
~800 ppb
Am/Ac (100 ppm)
Phosphoric acid (614 ppm)
69
Not tested
Example 3
[0035] The duration for this Example was 2 days of exposure to the UAN 32 solution with a temperature of about 160° F. It should be noted that the tannic acid sample exhibited a dark blue tinge.
[0000]
TABLE 3
Corrosion
Treatment
Rate
Blank
812
DEHA (100 ppm)
575
Gallic acid (102 ppm)
428
Tannic acid (100 ppm)
0
Example 4
[0036] The test duration for this Example was 2 days.
[0000]
TABLE 4
Corrosion
Treatment
Rate
Fe 2+
Carbohydrazide (101 ppm)
0
<100 ppb
Carbohydrazide (74 ppm)
0.13
<100 ppb
Molybdate (50 ppm)
Carbohydrazide (49 ppm)
3
Not tested
Molybdate (50 ppm)
Carbohydrazide (25 ppm)
2
Not tested
Molybdate (74 ppm)
Example 5
[0037] The test duration for this Example was 6 days.
[0000]
TABLE 5
Corrosion
Treatment
Rate
Fe 2+
Am/Ac (100 ppm)
0
<150 ppb
Am/Ac (100 ppm)
155.18
Not tested
Carbohydrazide (100 ppm)
Am/Ac (50 ppm)
214
Not tested
Carbohydrazide (50 ppm)
Am/Ac (24 ppm)
383
Not tested
Carbohydrazide (75 ppm)
Example 6
[0038] The duration for these samples was either 3 or 6 days, as indicated below in Table 6 . It is of note that after this test, the flasks having the 3-day samples with the 101 ppm acrylate polymer and the combination 75 ppm modified amine/25 ppm molybdate were rinsed one time with water. After rinsing, the acrylate sample had significantly less of a film remaining on the wall of the flask, which is of importance when considering corrosion impacts and residues remaining on the surfaces of UAN storage and transport equipment.
[0000]
TABLE 6
Corrosion
Duration
Treatment
Rate
(days)
Am/Ac (101 ppm)
125
6
Molybdate (100 ppm)
0.08
6
Carbohyrazide (100 ppm)
0
6
Molybdate (25 ppm)
356
6
Carbohydrazide (75 ppm)
Am/Ac (101 ppm)
93
3
Molybdate (25 ppm)
243
3
Carbohydrazide (75 ppm)
[0039] It should be understood that those skilled in the art would find apparent various changes and modifications to the described embodiments. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims. | A method of using trace amounts of certain compounds to reduce or inhibit corrosion on metal surfaces exposed to corrosive materials is disclosed. The compounds include hydroxlamines, acrylate polymers or copolymers, certain organic acids, tannic acid, carbohydrazide and its derivates and salts, and combinations of these compounds. The metal surfaces may include any ferrous metal piping or equipment surfaces, such as that used during storage, transport, and other processing of such materials. A corrosion-inhibited UAN solution having about 20 to about 50 percent by weight water and from less than 10 to about 1,000 ppm of one or more of the described corrosion inhibitors, and a pH from about 7 to about 8 is also disclosed. | Condense the core contents of the given document. | [
"TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] This invention relates generally to methods of inhibiting corrosion on ferrous metal surfaces exposed to corrosive materials.",
"More specifically, the invention relates to blending one or more corrosion-inhibiting compounds with a nitrogen fertilizer solution to prevent corrosion on ferrous metal surfaces in contact with the solution.",
"The invention has particular application in urea ammonium nitrate fertilizer solution storage and transport vessels and equipment used to transfer such solutions.",
"BACKGROUND [0002] Storing and transporting corrosive materials, such as fertilizer solutions, nitrogen-based solutions, ammonia solutions, urea ammonium nitrate (“UAN”), and the like creates a variety of problems.",
"The magnitude of these problems increases with the corrosiveness of the materials.",
"Some substances produce a considerable amount of corrosion damage, requiring repair of the transport or storage container or piping equipment.",
"Similar corrosiveness issues exist for the storage and transport of a variety of materials.",
"Corrosion issues in vessels that hold UAN solutions are of particular relevance due to its commercial popularity and economical use in agricultural applications.",
"As an exemplary corrosive material, a description of UAN and related corrosion issues is provided below.",
"[0003] The production of UAN solutions includes blending urea solution, ammonium nitrate solution, and additional water in either a batch or continuous process.",
"Ammonia is sometimes added to the UAN to act as a pH buffer UAN is typically manufactured with about 20 weight percent water and for field applications is generally diluted with water to about 29 to 30 weight percent water.",
"The former is generally referred to as UAN 32 (32 percent total nitrogen content), which typically has about 45 weight percent ammonium nitrate, about 35 weight percent urea, and about 20 weight percent water.",
"The latter is generally referred to as UAN 28 (28 percent total nitrogen content), which typically has about 39 weight percent ammonium nitrate, about 31 weight percent urea, and about 30 weight percent water.",
"Such UAN solutions are economically desirable as compared to solids, for example, because herbicides can be blended with UAN allowing for one pass application of both fertilizer and herbicide.",
"[0004] A persistent problem in the production, storage, transport, and application of UAN is its corrosiveness towards ferrous metals.",
"The solutions are quite corrosive towards, for example, mild steel (e.g., up to 500 mils per year (“MPY”) on C1010 steel) and are therefore usually treated by the producer with a bulk corrosion inhibitor to protect tanks, pipelines, railcars, barges, and application equipment, such as spray nozzles, etc.",
"In particular, rust and corrosion on the inner surface of storage and transport vessels, as well as piping systems used to fill or empty the vessels, is a major problem.",
"Corrosion products, such as sludge, can also plug spray nozzles in fertilizer application equipment and irrigation booms.",
"Without adequate corrosion inhibition, UAN solutions in storage and transport vessels can become discolored in a short period.",
"For example, bloom rust formation in railcars leads to UAN solutions developing a red or orange hue.",
"UAN is normally a clear liquid, so such discoloration is undesirable and in many cases leads to product waste.",
"[0005] Corrosion in UAN transporting railcars also creates a wide variety of logistical problems.",
"Railcars are typically subject to routine inspection (every 10 years in North America).",
"Before a railcar can be inspected or repaired, the entire inner surface of the car must be cleaned, typically by sandblasting, an expensive and time-consuming process.",
"In addition, such sand or grit blasting of the railcar's interior usually removes existing corrosion inhibition films as well as natural and created passivation layers.",
"This removal exposes bare metal and makes the interior walls susceptible to flash corrosion, even in just a humid air environment.",
"Upon return to corrosive UAN service, severe corrosion becomes a big concern.",
"[0006] It is therefore highly desirable to keep the inner surface of the railcar in clean, rust-free, and corrosion-free condition while the railcar awaits return to service.",
"Further, if a fresh load of UAN is added to a railcar that has bloom rust on its inner surface or a rusty heel of old UAN pooled on the bottom of the railcar as sludge, the entire load could be discolored.",
"This discoloration may cause point-of-delivery rejection, which creates extra expenses for return and replacement and causes product waste.",
"Such an occurrence could also damage the quality reputation of the UAN supplier.",
"[0007] General remedies used in the past to inhibit UAN-caused corrosion include high levels (usually hundreds or thousands of mg/kg) of phosphate, alkyl phosphate esters, ethoxylated alkyl phosphates, or polyphosphate salts added directly to the UAN solution to serve as bulk corrosion inhibitors.",
"These remedies fell into disfavor because the phosphates precipitated with other constituents, such as iron, calcium, magnesium, etc.",
"Such precipitates led to unfavorable deposits on the bottom of vessels (as described above) as well as plugging of spray application devices.",
"[0008] Other well-known corrosion inhibitors, such as molybdate and tungstate (See U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,159 and U.S. Pat. App.",
"No. 2006/0237684 A1, respectively) have also found application in UAN service.",
"In addition to the above-described bulk corrosion inhibitors directly added to the UAN solution, vessel coatings have also been developed in an attempt to prevent and inhibit corrosion.",
"Such coatings provide a layer on the inner surface of a vessel to prevent contact of the UAN with the inner surface of the vessel.",
"[0009] There thus exists an ongoing need to provide improved corrosion resistance for storage and transport vessels and piping equipment used in corrosive service.",
"In particular, there exists a need to inhibit corrosion in stationary and mobile transport vessels that hold nitrogen-based solutions and other corrosive materials, including pipelines used to transfer such materials.",
"SUMMARY [0010] This disclosure provides a method using trace amounts of certain hydroxlamines, acrylate polymers or copolymers, certain organic acids, tannic acid, carbohydrazide and its derivates and salts, and combinations of these compounds to reduce or inhibit corrosion on metal surfaces exposed to corrosive materials.",
"The metal surfaces may include any ferrous metal piping or equipment surfaces, such as that used during storage, transport, and other processing of such materials.",
"A typical corrosive material is nitrogen fertilizer solution, such as urea ammonium nitrate (“UAN”) with water content from about 20 to about 50 percent by weight.",
"In a preferred embodiment, corrosion-inhibited UAN is non-sludging, non-foaming, and essentially precipitate free.",
"[0011] In an aspect, the invention provides an improved method of inhibiting corrosion on metal surfaces exposed to a corrosive material.",
"The method generally includes the steps of adding an effective amount of one or more of the described corrosion-inhibitive compounds to the material.",
"If the corrosive material is a nitrogen fertilizer solution, the pH of the resultant blend is optionally adjusted with ammonia.",
"Preferably, the pH is adjusted to be between about 7 and about 8.",
"The method may be used in a variety of storage, processing, and application areas in corrosive service.",
"For example, the method may include storing or transporting inhibited fertilizer solution in ferrous metal piping and/or containers.",
"The solution may then be diluted and still remain effectively corrosion-inhibited while applying to cropland with ferrous metal equipment.",
"[0012] In another aspect, the invention provides a corrosion-inhibited UAN solution having about 20 to about 50 percent by weight water and from less than 10 to about 1,000 ppm of one or more of the described corrosion inhibitors and a pH from about 7 to about 8.",
"In an embodiment, the pH is about 7 to 7.5.",
"In another embodiment, the pH is about 7.8 to 8.",
"This corrosion-inhibited liquid UAN fertilizer may be stored, transported, and/or applied to croplands.",
"[0013] It is an advantage of the invention to provide a method of inhibiting corrosion on ferrous metal surfaces in contact with corrosive materials, such as UAN solutions.",
"[0014] It is another advantage of the invention to provide a corrosion-inhibited urea ammonium nitrate fertilizer solution having trace amounts of corrosion-inhibiting compounds.",
"[0015] A further advantage of the invention is to improve product quality (e.g., clarity due to the absence of rust which causes reddening of the material within the vessel) and to reduce corrosion of surfaces in contact with corrosive materials, leading to concomitant increases in profitability.",
"[0016] Additional features and advantages are described herein, and will be apparent from the following Detailed Description and Examples.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0017] As used herein, “nitrogen fertilizer solution”",
"includes any of a variety of fertilizers including “UAN.”",
"UAN means any grade of fertilizer solution having a mixture of urea and ammonium nitrate in water including common grades of UAN 18, UAN 28, and UAN 32, where the numbers indicate total nitrogen content.",
"The UAN preferably includes from about 20 to about 50 percent by weight water.",
"[0018] “Corrosive substances or materials”",
"and similar terms include, but are not limited to solutions, such as fertilizer, nitrogen-based, urea ammonium nitrate, aqua ammonia, urea liquor, ammonium sulfate, ammonium thiosulfate, ammonium thiophosphate, ammonium chloride, potassium sulfate, potassium chloride, and other similar materials.",
"The embodiments herein depict UAN as the target material but have equal application in other corrosive materials.",
"Though the invention is generally applicable to any corrosive substance, it has specific applicability to UAN fertilizer solutions.",
"It is intended, however, that the invention is useful in all varieties and concentrations of corrosive materials as well as a full range of dilute and concentrated UAN solutions.",
"[0019] In an embodiment, the corrosion inhibitor includes carbohydrazide and/or its water-soluble salts.",
"In a preferred embodiment, the carbohydrazide is in a solution of at least about 5 weight percent and up to about 100 weight percent.",
"In another embodiment, the carbohydrazide solution is less than 5 weight percent.",
"The carbohydrazide may also be used in solid form.",
"[0020] In another embodiment, the corrosion inhibitor is an organic acid, such as ascorbic acid, erythorbic acid and/or salts thereof.",
"In this embodiment, the corrosion inhibitor may be in a solution of about 10 weight percent to about 33 weight percent.",
"In an embodiment, this solution is more dilute and less than 10 weight percent.",
"Alternatively, the ascorbic/erythorbic acid may be added in solid form to the nitrogen fertilizer solution.",
"[0021] In one embodiment, the corrosion inhibitor is a hydroxylamine or mixtures of such compounds.",
"A preferred hydroxylamine has the general formula (R1R2)-N—O—(R3), where R1, R2, and R3 may either be the same or different.",
"According to alternative embodiments, they may be hydrogen or lower alkyls containing from 1 to about 6 (more preferably 1 to 3) carbon atoms, or a water-soluble salt thereof.",
"Typical water-soluble salts are phosphate, sulfate, and chloride salts, although others are also contemplated for use in the invention.",
"In some embodiments, the hydroxylamine is preferably used without these salts, in order to minimize added ionic material in the UAN.",
"In a preferred embodiment, the hydroxylamine is in a solution of at least about 5 weight percent and up to about 100 weight percent.",
"In an embodiment, the hydroxylamine is in a solution from about 6.5 to about 8.5 weight percent.",
"In a further embodiment, the hydroxylamine is a dilute solution of less than 6.5 weight percent.",
"It may also be added in solid form.",
"[0022] A preferred hydroxylamine is N,N-diethylhydroxylamine (DEHA).",
"Other representative hydroxylamines include N,N-methylethylhydroxylamine, N,N-dimethylhydroxylamine, N,N-methylpropylhydroxylamine, N-ethylhydroxylamine, O-ethyl-N,N-dimethylhydroxylamine, O-methyl-N,N-diethylhydroxylamine, O-methylhydroxylamine, their salts, the like, and combinations thereof.",
"[0023] In another embodiment, the corrosion-inhibiting composition includes at least one polymer selected from the group consisting of polyacrylic acids, acrylamidelacrylic acid copolymers, and salts of these polymers and copolymers.",
"Acrylamide/acrylic acid copolymers and their salts are preferred.",
"It is contemplated that any ratio of acrylamide to acrylic acid may be used for the copolymer.",
"The copolymer preferably comprises about 5% by weight to about 95% by weight of acrylic acid, more preferably about 30% by weight to about 50% by weight acrylic acid.",
"It should be appreciated that the polymer, copolymer, and/or the corresponding salt can be used in the method of the invention.",
"[0024] The molecular weight of the polymers or copolymers may be from about 20,000 to greater than 2,000,000.",
"The polymers useful in the present invention can have molecular weight of at least about 50,000 or at least about 100,000 or at least about 200,000.",
"The molecular weight can also be as high as 750,000;",
"1,500,000;",
"2,000,000;",
"or can be as high as about 5,000,000.",
"One preferred range is from about 20,000 to about 5,000,000.",
"Another preferred range is from about 100,000 to about 1,000,000.",
"A further preferred range is from about 200,000 to about 750,000.",
"[0025] The amount of corrosion-inhibitor used may be less than 10 ppm.",
"In an embodiment, from about 10 ppm to about 100 ppm of the corrosion inhibitor is added to the corrosive material.",
"In a further embodiment, from about 100 or 200 up to about 500 or 1,000 ppm of the corrosion inhibitor is used.",
"It should be appreciated that any of the described corrosion inhibitors may be mixed with each other and/or added to the corrosive material either simultaneously or sequentially.",
"[0026] In alternative embodiments, monitoring the corrosion-inhibiting composition dosage and concentration in the nitrogen fertilizer solution includes using molecules having fluorescent or absorbent moieties (i.e., tracers).",
"Such tracers are typically inert and added to the nitrogen fertilizer solution in a known proportion to the corrosion-inhibiting composition.",
"The fluorescent tracer may be added with the corrosion inhibitor either simultaneously or sequentially, being either mixed with the corrosion inhibitor or separate.",
"“Inert”",
"as used herein means that an inert tracer (e.g., an inert fluorescent tracer) is not appreciably or significantly affected by any other chemistry in the solution, or by other parameters, such as temperature, pressure, alkalinity, solids concentration, and/or other parameters.",
"“Not appreciably or significantly affected”",
"means that an inert fluorescent compound has no more than about 10 percent change in its fluorescent signal, under conditions normally encountered in nitrogen fertilizer or other corrosive solutions.",
"[0027] Representative inert fluorescent tracers suitable for use in the method of the invention include 1,3,6,8-pyrenetetrasulfonic acid, tetrasodium salt (CAS Registry No. 59572-10-0);",
"monosulfonated anthracenes and salts thereof, including, but not limited to 2-anthracenesulfonic acid sodium salt (CAS Registry No. 16106-40-4);",
"disulfonated anthracenes and salts thereof (See U.S. Pat. App.",
"No. US 2005/0025659 A1, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety);",
"fluorescent tracers as listed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,966,213 B2 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety);",
"other suitable fluorescent compounds;",
"and combinations thereof.",
"These inert fluorescent tracers are either commercially available under the tradename TRASAR® from Nalco Company® (Naperville, Ill.) or may be synthesized using techniques known to persons of ordinary skill in the art of organic chemistry.",
"[0028] Monitoring the concentration of the tracers using light absorbance or fluorescence allows for precise control of the corrosion-inhibiting composition dosage.",
"For example, the fluorescent signal of the inert fluorescent chemical may be used to determine the concentration of the corrosion-inhibiting composition or compound in the corrosive solution.",
"The fluorescent signal of the inert fluorescent chemical is then used to determine whether the desired amount of the corrosion-inhibiting composition or product is present in the solution and the feed of the composition can then be adjusted to ensure that the desired corrosion-inhibitive amount of the composition is present in the corrosive solution.",
"EXAMPLES [0029] The foregoing may be better understood by reference to the following examples, which are intended for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.",
"[0030] In the following examples, a nitrogen fertilizer tank corrosion simulator (NCS S”) was used.",
"The simulator included a series of 500 ml flasks placed on a conventional hotplate while maintaining a temperature of about 160° F. to 180° F. A UAN 32 solution with a pH in the range of about 7 to 8 was obtained from an industrial source and used for samples in the tables below.",
"Mild steel test coupons were placed in the solution and exposed to the UAN 32 in the NCS for the indicated number of days.",
"On top of each flask were a water-cooled condenser system and an air injection manifold.",
"The condenser system prevented water loss of any critical corrosion parameters from within the flasks.",
"Such losses would have altered concentrations in the samples and produced erroneous results.",
"Air injection helped to simulate accelerated corrosion stress.",
"[0031] Compounds used in the examples are as follows.",
"Molybdate ion was provided by an about 35 weight percent aqueous solution of sodium molybdate.",
"The carboxylic acid was a solution of about a 10 weight percent erythorbic acid.",
"The sodium nitrate was about a 40 weight percent solution.",
"Carbohydrazide was an approximately 6.5 weight percent solution.",
"Am/Ac was an acrylamidelacrylic acid copolymer in a solution of about 32 weight percent.",
"DEHA was a solution of about 85 weight percent N,N-diethyl hydroxylamine.",
"EA was a solution of about 9.9 weight percent erythorbic acid.",
"[0032] The corrosion rate for the following samples was based on coupon weight and is presented as mils per year in the tables below for various reductants, dispersants, other compounds, and combinations.",
"Total solution iron levels (a corrosion indicator) were measured for certain samples.",
"Though any suitable test method may be used to determine such iron levels, Ferrozine calorimetric analysis method was used (available from Hach, Inc., Loveland, Colo.).",
"Example 1 [0033] The duration for this Example was 10 days at a temperature of 180° F. [0000] TABLE 1 Corrosion Treatment Rate Blank 308 Molybdate (100 ppm) 0.02 EA (100 ppm) 184 Sodium Nitrite (600 ppm) 339 Example 2 [0034] The test coupons for this Example were exposed the UAN 32 solution for about 6 days at a temperature of 160° F. [0000] TABLE 2 Corrosion Treatment Rate Fe 2+ (ppb) Carbohydrazide (104 ppm) 0 <100 ppb Molybdate (99 ppm) 0.18 <100 ppb Molybdate (50 ppm) 1 ~800 ppb Am/Ac (100 ppm) Phosphoric acid (614 ppm) 69 Not tested Example 3 [0035] The duration for this Example was 2 days of exposure to the UAN 32 solution with a temperature of about 160° F. It should be noted that the tannic acid sample exhibited a dark blue tinge.",
"[0000] TABLE 3 Corrosion Treatment Rate Blank 812 DEHA (100 ppm) 575 Gallic acid (102 ppm) 428 Tannic acid (100 ppm) 0 Example 4 [0036] The test duration for this Example was 2 days.",
"[0000] TABLE 4 Corrosion Treatment Rate Fe 2+ Carbohydrazide (101 ppm) 0 <100 ppb Carbohydrazide (74 ppm) 0.13 <100 ppb Molybdate (50 ppm) Carbohydrazide (49 ppm) 3 Not tested Molybdate (50 ppm) Carbohydrazide (25 ppm) 2 Not tested Molybdate (74 ppm) Example 5 [0037] The test duration for this Example was 6 days.",
"[0000] TABLE 5 Corrosion Treatment Rate Fe 2+ Am/Ac (100 ppm) 0 <150 ppb Am/Ac (100 ppm) 155.18 Not tested Carbohydrazide (100 ppm) Am/Ac (50 ppm) 214 Not tested Carbohydrazide (50 ppm) Am/Ac (24 ppm) 383 Not tested Carbohydrazide (75 ppm) Example 6 [0038] The duration for these samples was either 3 or 6 days, as indicated below in Table 6 .",
"It is of note that after this test, the flasks having the 3-day samples with the 101 ppm acrylate polymer and the combination 75 ppm modified amine/25 ppm molybdate were rinsed one time with water.",
"After rinsing, the acrylate sample had significantly less of a film remaining on the wall of the flask, which is of importance when considering corrosion impacts and residues remaining on the surfaces of UAN storage and transport equipment.",
"[0000] TABLE 6 Corrosion Duration Treatment Rate (days) Am/Ac (101 ppm) 125 6 Molybdate (100 ppm) 0.08 6 Carbohyrazide (100 ppm) 0 6 Molybdate (25 ppm) 356 6 Carbohydrazide (75 ppm) Am/Ac (101 ppm) 93 3 Molybdate (25 ppm) 243 3 Carbohydrazide (75 ppm) [0039] It should be understood that those skilled in the art would find apparent various changes and modifications to the described embodiments.",
"Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without diminishing its intended advantages.",
"It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Related Art
[0002] Microkernel-based operating system architectures have been employed to distribute operating system services among loosely-coupled processing units in a multicomputer system. For example, in an earlier microkernel-based “serverized” operating system, a set of modular computer software-based system servers sit on top of a minimal computer software microkernel which provides the system servers with fundamental services such as processor scheduling and memory management. The microkernel may also provide an inter-process communication facility that allows the system servers to call each other and to exchange data regardless of where the servers are located in the system. The system servers manage the other physical and logical resources of the system, such as devices, files and high level communication resources, for example. Often, it is desirable for a microkernel to be interoperable with a number of different conventional operating systems. In order to achieve this interoperability, computer software-based system servers may be employed to provide an application programming interface to a conventional operating system.
[0003] The block diagram drawing of FIG. 1 shows an illustrative multicomputer system. The term “multicomputer” as used herein shall refer to a distributed non-shared memory multiprocessor machine comprising multiple sites. A site is a single processor and its supporting environment or a set of tightly coupled processors and their supporting environment. The sites in a multicomputer may be connected to each other via an internal network (e.g., Intel MESH™ interconnect), and the multicomputer may be connected to other machines via an external network (e.g., Ethernet network). Each site is independent in that it has its own private memory, interrupt control, etc. Sites use messages to communicate with each other. A microkernel-based “serverized” operating system is well suited to provide operating system services among the multiple independent non-shared memory sites in a multicomputer system.
[0004] An important objective in certain multicomputer systems is to achieve a single-system image (SSI) across all sites of the system. An advantage of an SSI from the point of view of the user, application developer, and for the most part, the system administrator, the multicomputer system appears to be a single computer even though it is really comprised of multiple independent computer sites running in parallel and communicating with each other over a high speed interconnect. Some of the benefits of a SSI include, simplified installation and administration, ease-of-use, open system solutions (i.e., fewer compatibility issues), exploitation of multisite architecture while preserving conventional APIs and ease of scalability. There are several possible beneficial features of an SSI such as, a global naming process, global file access, distributed boot facilities and global STREAMS facilities, for example. In one earlier system, a SSI is provided which employs a process directory (or name space) which is distributed across multiple sites. Each site maintains a fragment of the process directory. The distribution of the process directory across multiple sites ensures that no single site is unduly burdened by the volume of message traffic accessing the directory. There are challenges in implementing a distributed process directory. For example, such a distributed process directory should be effective in implementing global atomic operations. A global atomic operation (GAO) describes a category of functions which are applied to each process in a set of processes identified in the SSI.
[0005] GAOs typically are applied to a set of processes from what is often referred to as, a “consistent snapshot” of the system process directory state. The processes that are operated upon by a GAO are often referred to as target processes. A consistent snapshot generally refers to a view of the directory which identifies the processes in the entire SSI at a discrete point in time. However, since process creation and process deletion events occur frequently, a process directory is a dynamic or “living” object whose contents change frequently. Therefore, the consistent snapshot rule generally is relaxed somewhat such that a consistent snapshot may contain all processes which exist both before and after the snapshot is taken. For the purposes of a GAO, it can be assumed that processes which were destroyed during a consistent snapshot were destroyed prior to it, and processes created during the consistent snapshot were created subsequent to it.
[0006] An example of a GAO is what is referred to as sending a signal, which is a mechanism by which a process may be notified of, or affected by, an event occurring in the system. Some application program interfaces (API's) which are provided to the programmer as part of a UNIX specification, for instance, deliver a signal,to a set of processes as a group; such an API, for example, mandates that all processes that match the group criteria receive the signal. The delivery of a signal to a set of processes as a group is an example of a GAO. The processes in the group are examples of target processes.
[0007] In a multicomputer system that employs a distributed process directory, GAOs, which must be applied to multiple target processes, may have to traverse process directory fragments on multiple sites in the system. This traversal of directory fragments on different sites in search of processes targeted by an operation can be complicated by the migration of processes between sites while the GAO still is in progress. In other words, a global atomic operation and process migration may progress simultaneously. The proper application of a global atomic operation is to apply it at least once, but only once, to each target process. As processes migrate from site to site during the occurrence of a GAO, however, there arises a need to ensure that a migrating process is neither missed by a GAO nor has the GAO applied to it more than once.
[0008] The problem of a GAO potentially missing a migrating process will be further explained through an example involving the global getdents (get directory entries) operation. The getdents operation is used to obtain a “consistent snapshot” of the system process directory. The getdents operation is a global atomic operation. The timing diagram of FIG. 2 illustrates the example. At time=t, process manager server “A” (PM A) on site A initiates a migration of a process from PM A on site A to the process manager server “B” (PM B) on site B (dashed lines). This process migration involves the removal of the process identification (PID) for the migrating process from the process directory fragment on site A and the insertion of the PID for the migrating process into the process directory fragment on site B. Meanwhile, also at time=t, an object manager server (OM) has broadcast a getdents request to both PM A and PM B. At time=t1, PM B receives and processes the getdents request and returns the response to the OM. This response by PM B does not include a process identification (PID) for the migrating process which has not yet arrived at PM B. At time=t2, PM B receives the migration request from PM A. PM B adds the PID for the migrating process to the directory fragment on site B and returns to PM A a response indicating the completion of the process migration. PM A removes the PID for the migrating process from the site A directory fragment. At time=t3, PM A receives and processes the getdents request and returns the response to the OM. This response by PM A does not include the PID for the migrating process since that process has already migrated to PM B on site B. Thus, the global getdents operation missed the migrating process which was not yet represented by a PID in the site B directory fragment when PM B processed the getdents operation, and which already had its PID removed from the site A directory fragment by the time PM A processed the getdents operation.
[0009] An example of a prior solution to the problem of near simultaneous occurrence of process migrations and global atomic operations involves the use of a “global ticket” (a token) to serialize global operations at the system level and migrations at the site level. More specifically, a computer software-based global operation server issues a global ticket to a site which requests a global operation. In the exemplary prior solution, a number associated with the global ticket monotonically increases every time a new ticket is issued so that different global atomic operations in the system are uniquely identified and can proceed one after the other. Furthermore, each PID has associated with it the global ticket value of the GAO which most recently considered the PID. As each subsequent GAO considers a respective PID, that PID has its global ticket association changed to match the global ticket of the GAO that most recently considered it. Thus, global tickets are used to serialize all GAOs so that they do not conflict and to keep track of which process PIDs already have been considered by a respective GAO and which process PIDs have not yet been considered by such respective GAO.
[0010] More specifically, this illustrative prior solution involves a multicast message carrying the global ticket to process managers (PMs) on each site. Each process manager acquires the lock to the process directory fragment of its own site. The applicability of the global atomic operation is considered for each PID entered in the process directory fragment on the site. The global operation may be performed on a respective process corresponding to a respective PID in a respective directory fragment entry only if a global ticket number marked on the entry is lower than the current iteration global ticket number. A global ticket number marked on a process directory fragment PID entry is carried over from a site the process migrates from (origin site) to a site the process migrates to (destination site). It represents the last global operation ticket such process has seen before the migration,
[0011] During process migration, in accordance with the exemplary prior solution, a process being migrated acquires a process directory fragment lock on its origin site first. It then marks its corresponding process directory entry as being in the process of migration. The migration procedure stamps the process' process directory entry with the present global operation ticket number, locks the process directory on the migration destination site and transmits the process directory entry contents to the destination site. The global operation ticket number on the destination site is then copied back in the reply message to the migration origin site. The migration procedure on the origin site is responsible for comparing the returned global ticket number from the target site and its own. If the global ticket number of the origin site is greater than the number from the destination site, then the global operation already has been performed on the migrating process, although the operation has not yet reached the destination site. The migration is permitted to proceed, but the process directory fragment slot for the migrating process on the destination site is marked with the higher global ticket number. As a result, the global process will skip the migrated process on the destination site and not apply the global operation twice to that process. If the global ticket number of the origin site is less than the number from the destination site, then a global operation has been performed on the destination site and has yet to be performed on the origin site and will miss the process currently being migrated. The migration will be denied and retried later.
[0012] Unfortunately, there have been problems with the use of global tickets (tokens) to coordinate global operations with process migrations. For instance, the global ticket scheme serializes global operations since only one global operation can own the global ticket at a time. The serialization of global operations, however, can slow down overall system performance. While one global operation has the global ticket, other global operations typically block and await their turns to acquire the global ticket before completing their operations.
[0013] Thus, there has been a need for improvement in the application of global atomic operations to processes that migrate between sites in a multicomputer system which employs a distributed serverized operating system. The present invention meets this need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0014] The present invention provides a method for responding to a computer system call requesting creation of such new process in a multicomputer system which employs a distributed process directory which is distributed across multiple sites such that different site memories include different fragments of the process directory. A new process is created on a respective individual computer site in the multicomputer system. There is provided in electronic memory of a computer site a designation of sites for which respective process directory fragments include at least one unallocated slot. A site is selected from the designation of sites. The new process is referenced in a slot in a respective process directory fragment on the selected site.
[0015] The novel method described above advantageously permits independent disposition of processes and corresponding process directory fragments referencing such processes in the multicomputer system. That is, a process and a process directory structure fragment referencing the process can be disposed on the same or on different sites. This feature makes possible migration of the process from one site to another site in the multicomputer system while the process directory fragment referencing such migrating process remains unchanged. The use of such fixed process directory fragment references to migratable processes makes it easier to keep track of migrating processes during their migrations. As a result, there can be improved application of global atomic operations to migrating processes.
[0016] Accordingly, in another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a novel method of process migration. A process which is operative on a first site and which is referenced in a slot of a respective process directory fragment on the first site, is transferred from the first site to a second site. Meanwhile, the reference to the transferred process is maintained unchanged in the slot of the respective process directory fragment on the first site.
[0017] Thus, a global atomic operation targeted at a process during process migration are less likely to miss the migrating process since a process directory fragment provides a fixed reference to such a migrating process. Moreover, since the process directory fragment referencing such a targeted does not change, there may be no need to lock the process directory fragment in order to ensure that migrating processes are subject to such global atomic operation. As a consequence, global atomic operations may have less of an impact on overall system performance.
[0018] Thus, in yet another aspect of the invention a novel method is provided for implementing a global atomic operation upon a group of processes operative in a multicomputer system. A process directory structure is distributed across multiple sites such that different site memories include different fragments of the process directory structure. Each process directory structure fragment includes a multiplicity of slots. Processes operative on respective sites in the system are referenced in respective slots in the process directory structure. Group information may be associated in respective site memories with respective processes operative on respective sites. This group information indicates group membership, if any, of the associated processes. For example, a group may comprise the processes in a session. A global atomic operation request is issued to a first process manager operative on a first site. The request is directed to a group of processes. A global atomic operation message directed to the group of processes is transferred by the first process manager to process managers operative on other sites. Each process manager that receives such global atomic operation message transfers a respective message to each respective process referenced in a respective process directory structure fragment disposed on the same respective site as such receiving process manager. The transferred messages request performance of the atomic operation. The atomic operation is performed by respective processes that are members of the group. Therefore, during a global atomic operation, fixed process directory fragments are used to locate migratable target processes
[0019] Another aspect of the invention provides a novel method of failure recovery in a multicomputer system. A process directory structure is distributed across multiple sites such that different site memories include different fragments of the process directory structure. Processes operative on respective sites in the system are referenced in respective slots in the process directory structure. Process structures are provided. These process structures correspond to respective processes and are disposed on the respective sites on which their respective corresponding processes are operative. Furthermore, these process structures provide references to sites which include slots that reference the processes corresponding these process structures. Whenever a failed site is identified, a reconstruction host site is selected. Process structures on non-failed sites are accessed to identify processes, if any, operative on sites that have an operative process referenced in a process directory fragment of the failed site. The process directory of the failed site is reconstructed on the reconstruction host site such that respective references to respective processes identified in the accessing step are provided in the reconstructed process directory fragment. Also, an attempt is made to contact each process corresponding to a process referenced in any process directory fragment. References to processes that are not successfully contacted are removed from process directory fragments of non-failed sites.
[0020] These and other features and advantages of the invention will be understood from the following detailed description of the invention in conjunction with the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] [0021]FIG. 1 is an illustrative block diagram of the hardware components of a representative conventional multicomputer system;
[0022] [0022]FIG. 2 is an illustrative timing diagram which demonstrates that a global atomic operation can miss a target process that migrates during performance of the operation;
[0023] [0023]FIG. 3 is an illustrative block diagram that demonstrates the interaction of software based system server modules in a microkemel-based serverized operating system of a type employed by a presently preferred embodiment of the invention;
[0024] [0024]FIG. 4 is a generalized representation of certain global resources that are available in the operating system of FIG. 3;
[0025] [0025]FIG. 5 is a generalized block diagram of three representative sites in a multicomputer system and the exemplary process directory fragments and processes operative on those sites in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention;
[0026] [0026]FIG. 6 is an illustrative drawing showing exemplary session and process group relationships among the processes depicted in FIG. 5;
[0027] FIGS. 7 A- 7 D are generalized block diagrams of two representative sites in a multicomputer system and the exemplary process directory fragments and processes operative on those sites used to illustrate process creation (FIGS. 7 A- 7 C) and process migration (FIGS. 7A and 7D) in accordance with the presently preferred embodiment of the invention;
[0028] [0028]FIG. 8 is an illustrative diagram of a double linked list of bookkeeping data structures maintained on a site in which each respective data structure corresponds to a respective process active on the site that maintains the list in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention;
[0029] FIGS. 9 A- 9 B are generalized block diagrams of two representative sites in a multicomputer system and the exemplary process directory fragments and processes operative on those sites used to illustrate global atomic operations in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention;
[0030] [0030]FIG. 10 illustrates exemplary session and process group relationships among the processes in FIGS. 9 A- 9 B; and
[0031] FIGS. 11 A- 11 B are generalized block diagrams of two representative sites in a multicomputer system and the exemplary process directory fragments and processes operative on those sites used to illustrate site failure recovery in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention.
[0032] [0032]FIG. 12 is an illustrative generalized drawing of the Software interfaces to the port localization server (PLS) and the port status investigator (PSI) in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention.
[0033] [0033]FIG. 13 is an illustrative drawing of an exemplary message protocol during port migration in a presently preferred embodiment of the invention.
[0034] [0034]FIG. 14 is an illustrative drawing of the message protocol between the PLS and the PSI of FIG. 12.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0035] The present invention comprises a novel method and apparatus for process management in a multicomputer system employing distributed operating system services. The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements. Various modifications to the preferred embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.
MICROKERNEL BASED DISTRIBUTED OPERATING SYSTEM
[0036] Open distributed, scalable operating systems have been developed which are well suited to use in multicomputer architectures comprised of loosely-coupled multiprocessors. A presently preferred embodiment of the invention employs an operating system kernel known as CHORUS/MiX™ which provides a small kernel or nucleus onto which a distributed version of the UNIX operating system may be built as sets of distributed, cooperating servers. See, Benedicte Herrmann and Laurent Philippe, “CHORUS/MiX, a Distributed UNIX, on Multicomputers,” Proceedings of Transputer '92, Arc et Senans, France, May 20-22, 1992. For instance, a UNIX SVR4 compatible operating system has been built using the CHORUS™ microkernel. See, Nariman Batlivala, et al., “Experience with SVR4 Over CHORUS”, Proceedings of the USENIX Workshop on Micro-Kernels and Other Kernel Architectures, Seattle, Wash. Apr. 27-28, 1992. In the CHORUS/MiX distributed operating system, each node of a multicomputer system, whether that node is a mono-processor or a multi-processor, runs a small microkernel which operates independently of any particular operating system. A set of system servers provide a conventional UNIX operating system interface. The combination of a low level nucleus and cooperating servers results in a modular “serverized” operating system which is well suited to distribution across a loosely coupled parallel computer architecture. See Lawrence Albinson, et al., “UNIX on a Loosely Coupled Architecture: The CHORUS/MiX Approach,” EIT Workshop on Parallel and Distributed Workstation Systems, Florence, Italy, Sep. 26-27, 1994.
[0037] Generally, in order to label a system as “UNIX,” the system should pass test suites provided in a set of specifications. A recent set of specifications is identified as: CAE Specification, January 1997, System Interfaces and Headers, Issue 5, The Open Group (ISBN 1-85912-186-1) (formerly X/Open). Test suites are written in compliance with the CAE specifications; there are many, but for UNIX branding, an implementation preferably should conform to the above-referenced specification as well as several others, such as Base Definitions, Commands and Utilities, Networking and Curses.
[0038] The illustrative block diagram of FIG. 3 shows an example of a multicomputer system which employs a distributed operating system and in which three sites are interconnected by a communication network. A distributed operating system of the presently preferred embodiment is comprised of a nucleus and a UNIX subsystem. Each site includes in memory a nucleus (or microkernel) which performs low level activities such as, allocation of local resources, management of local memory, managing external events and which supports certain global services through basic abstractions referred to as, actors, threads, ports and messages described briefly below. Each site also includes in memory one or more UNIX subsystem (SSU) servers. Each SSU server manages a different type of system resource (e.g., process, file, devices, etc.). In a present embodiment of the invention, there are several types of servers in the SSU such as, Process Manager (PM), File Manager (FM), STREAMS Manager (STM), and IPC Manager. Interactions between servers, on a single site or on different sites, are based on nucleus (or microkernel) Inter-Process Communications (IPC) facilities. STREAM files, such as pipes, network access and tty's, are managed by STMs.
[0039] A user application (user process) in memory on given site interacts with the local Process Manager (PM) active on that given site. In a current implementation, the local PMs provide a consistent UNIX SVR4 application program interface on each site and thereby provide a uniform application interface across the entire multicomputer system. More particularly, a PM on a given site handles all system calls issued by a process. The PM dispatches such requests to the appropriate servers. It implements services for process management such as the creation and destruction of processes or the sending of signals. The PM also manages the system context for each process that runs on its site. When the PM is not able to serve a UNIX system call by itself, it calls other servers, as appropriate, using the microkernel IPC. For example, upon receipt of a read(2) request, the PM generates a message to the FM which handles the request. Due to the transparency of the IPC employed by the microkernel system, the FM may be located on a remote site. Vadim Abrossimov, et al., “A Distributed System Server for the CHORUS System,” Proceedings of SDMS III, Symposeum on Experiences with Distributed and Multiprocessor Systems, Newport Beach, Calif. Mar. 26-27, 1992, explains interactions between certain servers operating with a CHORUS microkernel.
[0040] Thus, in a current embodiment of the invention, a traditional monolithic implementation of UNIX has been partitioned into a set of cooperating server processes. The PM, FM, STM and IPCM are server processes (or servers), for example. Servers communicate with one another via messages using IPC facilities. This partitioning of the operating system into servers that communicate via messages shall be referred to as “serverization” of the operating system. In a distributed serverized operating system, such as that in the present embodiment, servers on different nodes/sites communicate via messaging.
[0041] The illustrative drawings of FIG. 4 display several types of resources employed in the microkernel which provide certain global services used in processes operative in a current embodiment of the present invention. These resources include what is termed an “actor” which is a collection of resources within a microkernel site. An actor may include memory regions, ports, and threads. When created, an actor contains only its default port. A “message” is an untyped sequence of bytes which represents information that can be sent from one port to another via the microkernel's IPC. The “inter-process communication” (IPC) is a facility that allows threads to exchange information in the form of collections of bytes called “messages.” Messages are addressed to ports. The IPC mechanism is location transparent. Threads executing within actors residing on different sites may use the IPC to exchange messages transparently. A “thread” is a flow of control within an actor in the system. Each thread is associated with an actor and defines a unique execution state. An actor may contain multiple threads. The threads share the resources of the actor, such as memory regions and ports and are scheduled independently. A “port” is an IPC entity. Threads send and receive messages on ports.
[0042] Ports are globally named message queues. Ports are named by unique identifiers (UIs). In fact, any resource within a distributed operating system can be designated with a UI. There is a microkernel location service that enables the microkernel to determine the site location of a resource (e.g., port, actor, file, process, etc.) which is represented as a UI. Therefore, from the perspective of a server (PM, FM, STM), ports are location transparent; the microkernel determines actual site location of a port based upon its UI. Thus, a thread within an actor may send a message to the port of another actor without knowing the actual location of that port. A “port group” is a collection of ports that are addressed as a group to perform some communication operation. Port groups can be used to send messages to one of a set of ports or to multicast messages to several ports simultaneously. A port can be a member of several port groups.
PROCESS DIRECTORY FRAGMENTS OF A DISTRIBUTED PROCESS DIRECTORY
[0043] [0043]FIG. 5 provides generalized drawings of three sites (site 301 , site 303 and site 305 ) in an exemplary multicomputer system in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention. It will be appreciated that an actual multicomputer system may employ far more than three sites, and that each site may comprise a single processor or multiple processors. For the sake of simplicity, in explaining the preferred embodiment of the invention, however, the exemplary multicomputer system is shown with only three sites. The three sites share a distributed system process directory, a data structure which contains an array of slots. Each slot is an element of the data structure which can describe the name (i.e. process id) of a process. The process directory data structure is distributed among the memories of the sites in the multicomputer as a collection of process directory fragments.
[0044] In the present embodiment, each site (or node) has a value referred to as NPROC (number of processes) associated with it. NPROC is a configurable variable which describes the maximum number of processes that can exist on a single site. The NPROC value takes into account factors such as, the amount of memory, speed of processor and typical system workload, for example. In the current implementation of the invention, the number of slots in each directory fragment is NPROC. Concatenating all of the process directory fragments, that are distributed across the multiple sites, results in the (Complete) process directory.
[0045] The illustrative distributed process directory in FIG. 5 is divided into three process directory fragments (PDFs) which are distributed across three sites. PDF 307 resides on site 301 . PDF 309 resides on site 303 . PDF 311 resides on site 305 . Thus, each site is associated with a different fragment of the distributed system process directory. Multiple user application processes run concurrently on the different sites. In general, a “process” is a computer software-based entity that occupies a portion of a computer system's electronic memory and that involves a scheduleable event. Each slot can be associated with a different process running on the system. Processes are individually identified by process identifications (PIDs). As illustrated in FIG. 5, the processes identified by process identifications 1 , 9 , 12 , 15 , 17 , 29 , 30 and 63 run on site 301 . Processes identified by PIDs 2 , 5 , 40 and 62 run on site 303 . Processes identified by PIDs 3 , 41 , 42 , 61 and 64 run on site 302 .
[0046] The individual PIDs of processes operative on the system are associated with individual slots of the distributed system-process directory. In particular, PDF 307 which resides on site 301 stores PIDs 1 , 2 , 3 , 59 9 , 12 , 15 , 17 , 30 and 29 . PDF 309 which resides on site 303 stores PIDs 40 , 41 and 42 . PDF 311 which resides on site 305 stores PIDs 61 , 62 , 63 and 64 .
[0047] The illustrative drawings of FIG. 6 shows an example of one possible set of relationships among some of the processes in FIG. 5. The system hosts a session with multiple process groups operative on different system sites; the session's process groups themselves include multiple processes operative on different system sites. In the example, PID 17 corresponds to a command process which creates a session which includes multiple process groups. A first process group in the session is identified by the process corresponding to PID 17 . A second process group in the session is identified by the process corresponding to PID 29 . A third process group in the session is identified by the process corresponding to PID 61 . The first process group corresponding to PID 17 includes only a single process identified by PID 17 . The second process group corresponding to PID 29 includes three processes identified by, PID 29 , PID 30 and PID 41 . The third process group corresponding to PID 61 includes only a single process, PID 61 .
[0048] The illustrative session might be further specified by the following exemplary program instructions.
/* *Session (17) process group (17) */ ksh/* (PID17) */ /*process group (29)*/ ls - lR | tee /tmp/f| pg /*(PIDs 29, 30 and 41)*/ /*process group (61)*/ cscope -d -f rdbms /*(PID 61)*/
[0049] ksh is the Korn shell command which is a standard UNIX system command interpreter.
[0050] ls is the list files command.
[0051] tee is a command to make two copies of an input, one to a file, the other to output.
[0052] pg is an output pager command which displays input to output one page at a time.
[0053] cscope -d -f rdbms is a C language visual cross reference tool.
[0054] Basically, ksh is the command interpreter which reads commands from the controlling terminal, parses them and executes the appropriate commands. It executes the subsequent pipeline and cscope commands. The construct, ls-lR/tee /tmp/f /pg, represents a pipeline which lists (long format, reclusively (-lR)) all subdirectories and pipes the output to the tee command which will make a copy into the file /tmp/f, and pipe it to the paginator command pg which simply pauses every screenful of text for the user to read. The cscope-d-f rdbms command starts the C language visual browser program.
[0055] Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, it will be appreciated that Session 17 is divided between site 301 and site 305 . Session 17 includes three process groups, 17 , 29 and 61 . Process group 17 , with its single process corresponding to PID 17 , resides entirely on site 301 . Process group 29 is divided between site 301 and site 305 : the processes corresponding to PID 29 and PID 30 reside on site 301 ; and the process corresponding to PID 41 resides on site 305 . Process group 61 , with its single process corresponding to PID 61 , resides entirely on site 305 .
PROCESS CREATION
[0056] Process creation in accordance with a present implementation of the invention shall be explained with reference to the illustrative drawings of FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7 C. In particular, for example, the creation of a new child process PID 6 shall be explained. Referring to FIG. 7A, there is shown a generalized representation of an exemplary multicomputer system 400 in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention. In this example only two sites are shown, site 401 and site 402 . Site 401 includes a PDF 403 , and site 402 includes a PDF 404 . There are five active user application processes on site 401 . They are identified by PIDs, 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 . Each of these five processes was created locally on site 401 and has not migrated. There are also three active user application processes on site 402 . They are identified by PIDs, 101 , 102 and 103 . Each of these three processes was created locally on site 402 and has not migrated.
[0057] In a present embodiment of the invention, a process directory port group provides a designation of the sites that have at least one unallocated slot, and therefore, are available to store a reference to a port UI for a new process. More specifically a process directory port group (PDPG) 405 designates process directory fragments (PDFs) 403 and 404 . In accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, the PDPG 405 includes the PM ports of sites that contain PDFs with empty slots. The presence of an empty slot in a given PDF indicates that that PDF is able to accept another PID. The PDF 403 that resides on site 401 includes empty slots 406 , and the PDF 404 that resides on site 402 includes empty slots 407 . Thus, both the PM port 409 for site 401 and the PM port 410 for site 402 are included in the PDPG 405 .
[0058] It will be appreciated that PDPG 405 is a port “group.” As such, there may be a Unique Identifier (UI) which names the group. The group
[0059] itself consists of zero or more respective ports, each of which is identified by its own respective UI. In the current embodiment, ports and port groups are managed by the microkernel in a distributed fashion across all nodes of the multicomputer. An interface is provided which allows a server, such as a PM which manages a process directory fragment, to insert a port into or remove a port from the PDPG. In the present embodiment, such a PM, for example, uses its own request port to manage insertions to and deletions from the PDPG.
[0060] Furthermore, it will be understood that the PDPG is involved in process creation and destruction, but is not involved in process migration. If process creation uses the last available slots in a given PDF to hold the PID for a newly created process, then the port for the site containing that PDF is removed from the PDPG. Conversely, if process destruction frees up one or more slots in a PDF that previously had all of its slots occupied with PIDs, then the port for the site containing that newly freed up PDF is added to the PDPG.
[0061] Referring now to FIG. 7B, assume, for example, that process PID 3 on site 401 issues a fork() operation to create a child process PID 6 . The PM (not shown) on site 401 fields the fork() system call. In the presently preferred embodiment, the PM on site 401 sends an “allocate slot request” message to the PDPG 405 using the CHORUS microkernel associative functional mode and provides its own port (PM port 409 ) as a “CoTarget.” The associative functional mode is a standard CHORUS facility group in which a message designates one port in a port group as the CoTarget for the message. That is, the message is sent to one member of the PDPG. If a member port of the PDPG is collocated with the CoTarget port (i.e., they are on the same site), then that member port will be used as the destination for the message. If there is no member port in the PDPG which is collocated with the CoTarget, then another member of the PDPG will be chosen by the microkernel as the destination of the message.
[0062] In this example, the PM on site 401 receives its own “allocate slot request” message. PID number “ 6 ” is assigned to the new (child) process. The site 401 PM assigns a slot to the new process PID 6 and returns a successful reply. The PM on site 401 receives the reply; stores the slot index and the site 401 PM port's unique identifier (UI) in the process data structure for the new child process PID 6 on site 401 . The fork() operation completes normally with child process PID 6 having been created on site 401 .
[0063] The creation of another new child process identified by PID 8 shall be explained with reference to FIGS. 7B and 7C. The creation of process PID 8 is complicated by the fact that the PDF 403 on site 401 has no vacant slots at the time of the creation of this new process PID 8 . In particular, the PDF 403 is filled with PIDs 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 and 7 . Assume that process PID 3 on site 401 issues a fork() operation to create a child process PID 8 . The PM (not shown) on site 401 fields the fork() system call. The PM on site 401 sends an “allocate slot request” message to one of the member ports of the PDPG 405 using Chorus associative functional mode and providing its own port (PM port 409 ) as the CoTarget. Since, in FIG. 7C, all of the slots on site 401 are filled, the PM port 409 is not a part of the PDPG 405 . The microkernel, therefore, chooses another one of the member ports of the PDPG 405 in accordance with criteria that will be understood by those skilled in the art and that form no part of the present invention. In this example, since the PM port 410 for the PM on site 402 is present in the PDPG 405 , and since the port 410 of the PM on site 402 is the only PM port in PDPG 405 , the PM (not shown) on site 402 receives the request. The site 402 PM assigns a slot; stores the new child process PID 8 ; and returns a successful reply. The PM on site 401 receives the reply; stores the slot index and the site 402 PM port's Unique Identifier (UI) in the process data structure for the new child process PID 8 on site 402 . The fork() operation completes normally with the child process PID 8 having been created on site 402 .
[0064] In the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, the PID for a process created on a given site remains in the PDF of that creation site even if the process subsequently migrates to another site. Moreover, each site also maintains, in memory, a “bookkeeping” process data structure for each process currently active on the site. Each such active process data structure includes information regarding the session membership and the process group membership of such process as well as the PM UI for the site that contains the process' PID and the actual PDF slot number that contains the process' PID. When a process data structure corresponds to a process that is a session leader or a process group leader, then such data structure indicates whether or not the entire membership of the session or process group is resident on the site with the corresponding process. In the current implementation, the active process data structures are maintained in a doubled linked list structure.
[0065] The active process list is used, for example, at process creation time when the bookkeeping data structure for the process is added to the site, at migration time when the bookkeeping data structure for the migrating process is copied to the new site, and at process destruction when the bookkeeping data structure is removed from the site on which it resides.
[0066] The active process list also is used at failure recovery time when there is a need to determine which processes that were active on a site had their PIDs stored in a PDF on a failed site; so the failed site's PDF can be (at least partially) recreated elsewhere.
[0067] As an example, in FIG. 9A, site 2 , each of the three respective processes 101 , 102 and 103 are each associated with respective bookkeeping information. FIG. 8 illustrates the bookkeeping data structures for the three processes linked in a conventional double-linked list data structure headed by the label “ActiveProcessList”.
[0068] The boxes in FIG. 8 represent the bookkeeping information for each process (e.g. process id, name, memory information, PDF site and slot number, etc.); the arrows show the direction of the forward and backward links.
[0069] The PM variable ActiveProcessList contains a pointer to the process structure for process 101 ; process 101 contains a forward pointer to process 102 and a backward pointer to the list head (ActiveProcessList). Likewise, process 102 has a forward link to process 103 and a backward link to process 101 , and so forth for process 103 . Process 103 will have a NULL forward link indicating that it is the last process in the list.
[0070] A pointer in this case would be the memory address of the bookkeeping data structure (known as the tProc structure), which also contains the forward and backward link pointers.
[0071] Thus, the illustrative drawing of FIG. 8 provides a generalized representation of a double linked list structure maintained on a given site which comprises a plurality of process data structures that correspond to the processes currently active on the given site. Each respective site maintains its own double linked list structure for the processes currently active on such respective site. As processes migrate to and from a given site, corresponding active process data structures corresponding to such migrating processes are added to or depart from the double linked list structure maintained by that given site. However, except in the case of site
[0072] failure, as explained below, the PID for any given process is always associated with the same slot on the site that created the given process. In this sense, the slot and PDF assignment for a given process PID is immutable.
[0073] Therefore, when a process migrates from one site to another site, the PID of the migrating process remains assigned to the PDF slot originally assigned to such migrating process. However, a process data structure associated with the migrating process departs the site when the process migrates away from (the origin site) and is set up on the site on which the process migrates to (the destination site). This process data structure identifies the slot in the PDF on which the migrating process originated and which still maintains the PID of such migrating process. As a result, as explained in a subsequent section below, multiple global atomic operations can progress in parallel in spite of process migrations during the performance of such global atomic operations without missing migrating processes and without operating twice on a migrating process. Therefore, overall system performance is less severely impacted by the performance of global atomic operations involving processes running on different sites in the multicomputer system.
[0074] Moreover, the use of PIDs rather than memory addresses in the PDF slots advantageously facilitates accessing a process through its PID which corresponds to the microkernel unique identifier (UI) for the port associated with the process. As a result, the PDF slot need not be updated as a process identified by a particular PID in the slot migrates from site to site. Rather, a microkernel facility automatically keeps track of the actual location of a process when it migrates between sites within the multicomputer system.
[0075] It will be appreciated that during process creation, slots (a resource) are accessed through a dynamic set of resource managers (the PMs), which in turn are accessed through a process group managed by the microkernel (the PDPG). This facilitates the use of PDFs to create a single-system image (SSI) which provides a seamless single process namespace (a global process directory).
PROCESS MIGRATION
[0076] Process migration from site to site within a multicomputer system in accordance with a current embodiment of the invention shall be explained with reference to the illustrative drawings of FIGS. 7A and 7D. In particular, for example, assume that process PID 4 migrates from site 401 to site 402 . A migration request is received by the PM on site 401 to migrate the process PID 4 to site 402 . The migration request might be issued by a system administrator, a load balancer process or a user application, for example. The process PID 4 receives the request and marshals the migrating process' state into a message and sends it to the site 402 PM request port 410 . The state information includes all information used to operate the process. This information might include, for example, memory contents, registers, multiple thread descriptions, and the (bookkeeping) process data structures. The PM on site 402 also creates the appropriate global services entities (e.g., thread, actor, address space) to create process PID 4 on site 402 . The PM on site 402 constructs the process data structures and inserts them into a linked list structure like that shown in FIG. 8. Furthermore, the PM on site 402 requests that the microkernel migrate the process port UI for process PID 4 to site 402 . The migration of the port UI of the migrating process ensures that the process can be tracked despite the separation of the process in site 402 from its PID stored in the PDF 403 on site 401 . The PM on site 402 sends a message to the site 401 PM indicating success or failure of the migration request. If the migration has been successful, then the PM on site 401 destroys the old copy of the migrated process. The PM on site 402 starts the new copy of the process PID 4 .
[0077] When the source site is cleaning up after a successful migration, it will mark the session structure for the session leader to indicate that the session is no longer local. It does this by sending a message to the session leader.
[0078] It will be appreciated that the PDF entry of the migrated process does not migrate with the process itself; the PID for the migrated process resides in the same PDF slot before and after the migration. Thus, a global atomic operation iterating through the slots of the various PDFs will not miss a migrating process or operate on it twice since the process PID slot assignment is immutable. The (bookkeeping) process data structure created on the destination site includes the PM UI for the site that contains the process' PID and the actual PDF slot number that contains the process' PID. Thus, the process data structure can be employed to ascertain the location of the PDF containing the PID for the migrated process, for example. The microkemel can keep track of the actual location of the migrated process in the multicomputer system since it tracks the location of the port UI of the migrated process. This is a standard microkernel function in the presently preferred embodiment of the invention. Thus, during the execution of a GAO, for example, the microkernel directs messages to the migrated process based on the process' PID entry in the PDF.
GLOBAL ATOMIC OPERATIONS
[0079] The performance of global atomic operations (GAO) according to a present implementation of the invention shall be explained with reference to the illustrative drawings of FIGS. 9A and 9B and FIG. 10. An advantage of the process employed to implement global atomic operations in accordance with the present invention is the ability to perform multiple simultaneous GAOs with simultaneous migration events without loss of a “consistent snapshot.” Moreover, there is little if any throughput degradation due to serialization of global events. The multicomputer system 400 of FIGS. 9A and 9B is the same as those discussed above with reference to FIG. 7A. However, FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate exemplary relationships among the user application processes operative on sites 401 and 402 .
[0080] [0080]FIG. 10 further illustrates the relationships among the various exemplary processes running on sites 401 and 402 . Specifically, session number 1 includes process groups identified by process group identities (PGIDs) 1 , 2 and 3 . Process group PGID 1 includes the process with PID 1 . Process group PGID 2 includes processes with PIDs 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 . Process group PGID 101 includes the processes with PIDs 101 , 102 and 103 .
[0081] The process PID 1 is a command processor (Ash) which serves as the session leader. The session includes two pipelines, each of which becomes a process group within the session. Exemplary UNIX instructions used to produce the session are set forth below for each of the three process groups.
/*PGID 1:*/ $ ksh /* (PID 1)*/ /*PGID 2:*/ $ cat/etc/terminfo | sort | uniq | wc - l & /*(PIDs 2, 3, 4 and 5) */ /*PGID 101:*/ $ ls - lRr | tee | pg & /*(PIDs 101, 102 and 103)*/
[0082] Process group PGID 1 consists of a single process group, whose leader is the ksh command. Process group PGID 1 also serves as the session leader.
[0083] ksh is the Korn shell command which is a standard UNIX system command interpreter.
[0084] Process group PGID 2 consists of a single process group, whose leader is the cat command. cat is the catenate command. It will read the contents of file “etc/terminfo” and write the contents to the standard output (which in this example is a pipe as indicated by the vertical bar “¦” symbol).
[0085] sort is the sort command. It will read the data from the pipe, sort it, and then write the sorted data to its output (another pipe).
[0086] uniq is the unique command. It will read data from the input pipe, remove any duplicate adjacent lines (which sort would have sorted into adjacent lines) and write the remaining lines to its output (yet another pipe).
[0087] wc is the count command. The -l option requests that wc produce a count of lines read from its input pipe. This count will be written to its output, which will be the controlling terminal.
[0088] & instructs the ksh to put the process group in the background.
[0089] Process group PGID 3 consists of a single process group, whose leader is the ls command.
[0090] ls is the list files command. -lR signifies long format, recursive.
[0091] tee is a command to make two copies of an input, one to a file, the other to output.
[0092] pg is an output pager command which displays input to output one page at a time.
[0093] Assume, for example, that an administrator issues the following command on site 401 :
[0094] $ kill-TERM-2 /* Process Group 2 in session 1 *
[0095] $ kill is a nonstandard UNIX command. $ kill-TERM-2 will send the TERM signal to all members of process group 2 . Although currently there is no command to send a signal to all members of a session, there is a programmatic API for it.
[0096] The site 401 PM receives the $ kill signal request via its system call interface. This receiving PM determines that the target is the group of processes in process group 2 in session 1 , and if appropriate as explained below, multicasts a message to all PMs instructing them to deliver SIGTERM (a software termination signal) to all members of process group 2 . Each PM, upon receiving the SIGTERM request, will iterate through its PDF slots. For each PID, it sends a SIGTERM request to the corresponding process instructing it to deliver SIGTERM if the process is a member of process group 2 in session 1 .
[0097] It will be understood that each PID serves as the UI for an associated process. Such associated process may reside on the same site as the PDF that stores the PID for such process or may reside on a different site. In either case, a microkernel location mechanism “knows” where such associated process currently resides.
[0098] Thus, the microkernel ensures that the request is delivered to the appropriate processes based upon their process PIDs. Each such process, in turn, checks its bookkeeping process data structure to determine whether or not it is a member of process group 2 in session 1 . If it is a member of the targeted process group, it will perform the action that the process has associated with the SIGTERM signal. The default action is to terminate the process (although a process can override this if it desires). If it is not a member of the target process group, it will do nothing. The site 401 PM, the original PM caller, collects responses from the processes that received the SIGTERM request and prepares a return to the caller of the SIGTERM call.
[0099] It will be appreciated that in the current embodiment the process group id is the same as the PID of the process PID group leader. Likewise, a session id for a session will be the PID of the session leader.
[0100] In the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, a global atomic operation against a session or a process group that is entirely local does not require a multicast. When a process group or session is targeted, the signal request will be sent (inter alia) to the group leader (process or session) which will check its (bookkeeping) process data structure. If that structure indicates that all members are local, the local PM will handle the signal locally without resort to a multicast message. Otherwise, as in the situation described above, a multicast message is sent.
[0101] For example, a GAO against session 1 would require a multicast, since session 1 consists of multiple process groups on different sites. However, a GAO against either of the process groups would not require a multicast since each of the process groups is local to a single site.
[0102] More specifically, for example, the (bookkeeping) process data structure for the session leader ksh will contain an indication as to whether or not the entire membership of the session and the process group PGID 1 for which ksh is the leader is contained on site 401 . In the situation illustrated in FIG. 9A, the indication would note that the process group (which consists solely of ksh itself) is in fact local to site 401 . Additionally, since the process group PGID 101 is on site 402 , there would be an indication that the session is not local to site 401 . Consequently, a globally atomic operation directed to session 1 requires multicast, but a globally atomic operation directed only to process group PGID 1 would not require multicast. Similarly, respective process data structures for process groups PGIDs 2 and 101 , as shown in FIG. 9A, would respectively indicate that all of the member processes of process group PGID 2 are local to site 401 , and that all of the process members of process group PGID 101 are local to site 402 . Consequently, globally atomic operations directed against either of process groups PGIDs 2 or 101 would not require multicast. In that case, the signal is sent to the local PM which handles it, as described above, as if it were multicast to that single site. An advantage of this approach is that this all occurs on a single site, and no additional resources (message bandwidth, processor utilization, memory space) on other sites will be used.
[0103] [0103]FIG. 9B shows the same session and process groups of FIG. 9A after various members have migrated. Specifically, the user application processes corresponding to PIDs 4 and 5 have migrated to site 402 , and the user application processes identified by PIDs 102 and 103 have migrated to site 401 . Global atomic operations to members of either process group PGID 2 or process group PGID 101 require multicast operations because the members of process groups PGIDs 2 and 101 are divided among sites 401 and 402 . Global atomic operations to process group PGID 1 , however, can be handled locally by the site 401 PM since the sole process in PGID 1 is on site 401 .
[0104] A PM that receives the global atomic SIGTERM operation described in the above example uses PIDs to identify processes to be operated upon without the SIGTERM request knowing the site on which the corresponding process actually runs. The microkernel keeps track of the actual location of a process even when the process migrates from one site to another, and, therefore, there is no need for the PID of a migrating process to migrate with the process itself. Since PIDs remain in the same slots regardless of process migration, there is less risk that a global atomic operation will miss migrating target processes or will operate twice on migrating target processes. Thus, it is not necessary to serialize globally atomic operations in view of the possibility of process migration. These global operations may occur in parallel which ensures a limited impact on overall system performance even if many such operations occur simultaneously.
RECOVERY AFTER SITE FAILURE
[0105] Referring to the illustrative generalized drawings of FIG. 11A, there are shown three sites of an exemplary multicomputer system 418 in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention. Site 420 includes PDF 426 which stores PIDs 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 . The user processes that correspond to PIDs 1 , 5 , 102 and 204 run on site 420 . Site 422 includes a PDF 428 which stores PIDs 201 , 202 , 203 and 204 . The user application processes that correspond to PIDs 3 , 4 , 104 and 202 run on site 422 . Site 424 includes PDF 430 which stores PIDs 101 , 102 , 103 and 104 . The user application processes that correspond to PIDs 2 , 101 , 103 , 201 and 203 run on site 424 .
[0106] The current embodiment of the invention provides processes and associated structures in electronic memory to facilitate recovery of processes in the event that a site in the multicomputer system 418 fails. Assume, for example, that site 422 experiences a failure and is no longer operative. The failure of site 422 will be detected by a computer program referred to as a siteview manager, which runs on hardware external to the system. All components may register interest in site failure notification. The PM, FM and STM may all register with the siteview manager (via the microkernel) such that they will be notified upon site failure.
[0107] In accordance with a current embodiment of the invention, following the failure the PMs on each of the surviving sites, site 420 and site 424 check the respective (bookkeeping) process data structures for each process running on such surviving sites to identify those surviving processes that correspond to a PID that was managed by a slot in the PDF 428 of failed site 422 .A list of these identified processes is sent to a PM on a site chosen to manage the PDF for the failed site 422 .In this example, site 424 has been chosen (at random) to host the reconstruction of the fragment of the process directory lost when site 422 failed. Referring to the illustrative drawing of FIG. 11B, there is shown the multicomputer system 418 with only surviving sites, site 420 and site 424 . The chosen PM will attempt to reconstruct the PDF 428 of the failed site 422 and will manage it as if it was part of the failed site 422 .It will be appreciated that from the perspective of getdents, or other GAO, it appears as if the PDF for the failed site is still present, and the processes that were managed by that PDF and were not executing on the failed site, are still active and part of the consistent snapshot. However, since the processes that had been running on site 422 have been lost, only deallocation requests are processed for the reconstructed PDF 428 ′.
[0108] Moreover, in accordance with the failure recovery process, the respective PMs on the surviving sites, site 420 and site 424 attempt to contact each process identified by a PID in the respective PDFs, PDF 426 , PDF 430 and reconstructed PDF 428 ′, that they manage. For instance, each respective PM may send a ping message to each process identified by a PID in its respective PDF. Any process that fails to respond is assumed to have been active on the failed site; since generally, there is no other reason a process would fail to respond (absent an operating system bug or hardware failure-both of which may result in site failure).
[0109] The PIDs of processes that were active on a failed site are removed from the respective PDFs that stored them. Referring to FIG. 11B, the PM on site 420 cannot contact processes corresponding to PID 3 and PID 4 since they had been running on the failed site 422 . So, the PIDs for these processes are removed from PDF 426 . Similarly, the PM on site 424 cannot contact the processes identified by PID 104 , and the PID for this process is removed from PDF 430 . Likewise, the PM on site 424 cannot contact the process identified by PID 202 , and the PID for that process is removed from the reconstructed PDF 428 ′.
MICRO-KERNEL PROCESS LOCATION SERVICE
[0110] In a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, the micro-kernel includes process location services which are computer programs and related data structures used to locate migratable processes. The following sections describe these services.
PORT NAME SERVER
[0111] This section describes a port name server which is used to localize (i.e., determine the location of) a migrated port. As explained above, the basic interprocess communication mechanism in the present embodiment involves messages. Messages are sent between ports during interprocess communication. A message sender must know the name of the destination port to send a message. This name is a unique name in space and time. When an actor sends a message to a port, the micro-kernel needs to know on which node (site) is located the destination port. Since most ports do not migrate, an optimization has been implemented, storing the creation site of the port within the port UI itself.
[0112] In the present embodiment, a port UI is an “opaque” data structure—meaning that the contents of the data structure are only relevant to the micro-kernel, not the clients of the micro-kernel. The micro-kernel stores as part of the UI the site number on which the port was created, e.g., UI:
site number UI head UI tail
[0113] UI head and UI tail are opaque fields used by the micro-kernel to ensure that all UIs created will be unique.
[0114] If ports did not migrate, then using a port name to find a port location would be enough. But ports do migrate. When a port migrates, the site number embedded within the port UI loses much of its usefulness. The port is no longer on its creation site and the micro-kernel cannot use the creation site to localize the port. However, of course, ports can migrate. When processes migrate, the port which is used to address the process must also migrate with the process.
[0115] As explained above in earlier sections, a UI can be used to describe either a single port or a port group. Localization of a port group is a somewhat different proposition than localization of a port, however, since a port group really does not have a location, per se, being a collection of ports which can be located almost anywhere in the system. A port group UI can be considered to be a “meta” port which is decomposed into an appropriate single port UI or multiple port UIs, depending on the mode or the nature of a request. For instance, a broadcast request may result in selection of all ports in a port group.
PORT LOCALIZATION SERVER AND PORT STATUS INVESTIGATOR
[0116] This section describes the architecture of the port localization server (PLS) and its interface with the different components of the single-system image (SSI). The PLS is responsible for maintaining port localization information. In a present embodiment, the PLS includes a naming service which maintains a port localization cache which is a set of tuples (site, UI) for all ports with which it has successfully communicated. The cache is of finite size, and entries will be reused on an LRU (least recently used) basis. Since, in the current embodiment, the PLS is a centralized service, only one instance of this server runs in the SSI. Specifically, PLS runs on the essential services site {em essential node}, a designated site where centralized services are located and which is supposed to be alive at all times.
[0117] The PLS provides two interfaces. One for the interprocess communication (IPC) services and one for a the Port Status Investigator (PSI) service. FIG. 12 provides an illustrative drawing of the general interfaces to the PLS. The PLS and PSI are disposed on the essential services site. The PLS communicates with the PSI. The PLS also communicates via IPC protocols with other processes disposed on the essential site and with processes disposed on other sites, such as site n shown in FIG. 12. The PSI on the essential site also communicates with PSIs on other sites, such as site n. The IPC interface is used by the IPC protocol to add, remove, or localize a port into the PLS port UI database. This interface also is used by the IPC to migrate a port. IPC requests typically use the localization cache or PLS services, since generally it is not known a priori whether or not a port has migrated from its creation site.
[0118] During migration of a port, the PLS must provide consistent information about migrated ports and about ports that are in the process of being migrated. The PLS, therefore, has access to the current state of all the ports that are in the process of being migrated. A port migration coordinator uses the PLS to register the migrated port once it is migrated.
[0119] The PLS also implements an interface with the Port Status Investigator (PSI). When a site failure is detected, the PSI needs to get the list of the ports which have been migrated to the failed site, and the list of the ports which have been created on the failed site and migrated out. The PLS provides those two lists through its interface with the PSI.
PORT LOCALIZATION PROCESS
[0120] The PLS is used by the IPC to localize ports which have been migrated. The objective is to store into the PLS's port localization cache all the migrated ports' UIs and the site numbers where they are located.
[0121] The IPC port localization protocol is basically as follows. This IPC port localization protocol runs locally on every site. If a destination port UI of an IPC message is not in a local cache of UIs or, if it is and the port is no longer on the site listed in the local localization cache, then the PLS protocol will be run. A local protocol described as follows:
[0122] 1. If the destination port is local, queue the message behind the destination port and return.
[0123] 2. If the destination port is not local, check whether the UI is registered in the local cache of UIs. If the destination port is in the cache, send the message to the site where the port is supposed to be. If the port is really on this site, return. Otherwise, go to step 4. If there is no entry in the cache, go to step 3.
[0124] 3. Send the message to the creation site of the destination port. This creation site is extracted from the UI. If the port is there, return. Otherwise, continue.
[0125] 4. Query the PLS to see if it knows where the destination port is. If it does, send a message to the port indicated by the PLS. If the port is not where the PLS indicated it would be, then retry step 4. If the PLS does not know about the destination port, return port unknown to the sender, the code which attempted to send a message to the port.
[0126] In a present embodiment, the PLS interface is based on RPCs. The PLS handles those requests with a message handler, allowing it to serve several requests at the same time.
PORT LOCALIZATION AND MIGRATION PROCESS
[0127] The PLS is involved in the port migration process, since it acts as a port migration coordinator. The port migration coordinator is used when the source and destination site of the migration are not the same. The micro-kernel permits migration of a port between actors. It will be appreciated that there can be port migrations between source and destination actors operative on the same site or between source and destination actors on different sites. Basically, the migration coordinator keeps track of the state of the port migration at any time. If a site failure occurs, the coordinator knows if it affects the port migration. The illustrative drawing of FIG. 13 shows an exemplary messaging protocol that involves a port migration.
[0128] An actor which calls a “port Migrate” service to request that a port be migrated shall be referred to herein as an “initiator.” Referring to FIG. 13, if a source actor and a destination actor of the port are not on the same site, the PLS drives the port migration, as follows.
[0129] 1. The initiator sends a port migration request to the PLS.
[0130] 2. Then, the PLS forwards this request to the site location of the destination actor (named, {em destination site}), which allocates the local resources needed to receive the migrating port and then
[0131] 3. Then, the destination actor forwards the request to the site location of the source actor (named, {em source site}). The source site builds a reply message with all the information related to the migrating port, such as the list of the groups where the port has been inserted. The port is deleted.
[0132] 4. Then, the source actor sends the reply to the destination site.
[0133] 5. Then, the destination site inserts the port into all the groups the port belongs to, and replies to the PLS. It will be appreciated that a port may be a member of multiple port groups. The port is reinserted into the port groups after the migration. Once the PLS gets this reply, it indicates in the localization cache that the port is located on the destination site.
[0134] 6. Finally, the PLS replies to the initiator, and the port migration is then completed.
[0135] If a port is migrated back to the site where it has been created, the PLS forgets the port as soon as the port has been migrated. That is, the PLS drops the port from the PLS localization cache (since the creation site stored in the UI is now useful again). This is an optimization, because a port which has been migrated away from its creation site, and later migrated back to this site, can be considered to be just like any other ports to which it never has been migrated.
[0136] The PLS can be implemented to handle the situation in which a localization request is received concerning a migrating port before the migration is complete. Two alternative procedures for handling this situation have been developed. First, the PLS can block the request (does not answer) until the port migration is completed. This mechanism is very simple because the source of the localization request does not have to know that a port migration is in progress, but some resources, such as the PLS message handler thread and the message structure, are held on the PLS site until the port migration completes. Since the PLS runs on the essential services site, where all the centralized services run, it may not be good practice to hold information that long. Second, the PLS can return an error message to the caller (busy message), forcing the caller to wait and try again later on. This solution is the preferred solution. Eventually, when the port migration is completed, the PLS will answer the request.
[0137] Once a port has been migrated, the port is flagged as registered in the PLS. When a registered port is deleted, the IPC makes sure that the PLS is notified of the deletion, allowing the PLS to remove the port UI from its table. A process and its corresponding port are deleted, for example, when the process exits or is killed.
SITE FAILURE AND PORT MIGRATION PROCESS
[0138] When a site fails, all the ports which have been migrated to this site still have entries in the PLS. Those entries need to be removed. The sight view manager (SVM) which runs on the essential services site (ESS) pings each site at prescribed time intervals, e.g. every ten seconds. If a site does not reply, the SVM assumes the site has failed. The SVM notifies the PLS of the site failure, and the PLS goes through its VI deletion (or cleanup) routine.
[0139] The process described above is sufficient when a site failure does not happen at the same time as a port migration from a source site to the failing site, but a special recovery mechanism is needed when the source site or the destination site of a port migration fails during the migration. The PSI uses the PLS to obtain a complete list of ports migrated into the failed site (this list is named {migTo}), the PLS must keep a coherent state of migrating ports all the time. Since the PSI has a specific interface to the PLS to get those lists, and since the PSI needs to get those lists before it actually triggers a site view change monitors, the PLS needs to take special care about site failure happening while a port is migrating.
[0140] However, knowing the exact state of the port migration at any time is difficult, since four sites typically are involved in the process and since the PLS cannot rely on the site view change monitor. The four sites (nodes) are: source, destination, PLS (Essential), and the site which is attempting to determine the location of the port (e.g., to send a message to it). When the SVM notes a site view change, it will invoke a callback in the PLS to remove from the local localization cache any ports which were localized to the failed site.
[0141] When the source or destination site fails during a port migration, however, the PLS does not know if the port has already been migrated by the time of the failure. For instance, if the target fails after the source has sent the port information and deleted the port, the migrating port does not exist any more. But, if the source fails before sending the migration request to the source, the port is still alive on the source site. Since failure notification is not synchronized among the sites, and since it is possible to receive late messages from a failed site, it is difficult to develop an algorithm where the state of the migration is known at all times, where the source site or the target site can fail. Instead, in a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, the PLS, in essence, takes a guess at the state of the migration. If the guess is incorrect, the PLS forces the state of the port migration on all the surviving sites to match its own state.
[0142] When the source or the destination fails during a port migration, depending on when the port migration happened, the port likely is either (i) dead, because it was on the failed site, or (ii) still alive, because it was on the surviving site by the time of the site failure. In a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, the PLS makes the assumption that the worst has happened. When the source or the destination site fails while a port is migrating, the port is considered by the PLS as dead. Referring to FIG. 13, the previous assumption means that from the moment that the message 1 is received by the PLS until the moment that the message 5 is received, if the source or the destination fails, then the port will be considered dead.
[0143] The PSI asks for the migTo and migFrom lists as soon as a site failure is detected on the ESS. (From now on, this operation will be referred to as {PSI query}.) The PSI query can happen before or after all the messages sent by the failed site have arrived at their destinations. No assumption is made about the ordering of those events.
[0144] Source failure presents a different situation from destination failure.
[0145] When the source site fails:
[0146] Assume the source site fails before message 2 is sent. The port is considered as dead, and the message 2 has been sent. The target will never know about the port migration. The PLS simply returns a failure to the initiator to let it know that the port migration has failed.
[0147] Assume the source site fails after the message 2 is sent and after, the message 3 is sent. If the source site fails before it had a chance to send the reply 4 , the destination site will eventually get a response that the source is unknown. The destination site returns an error to the PLS, and the PLS returns an error to the initiator. The port migration is considered as failed.
[0148] Assume the source fails after sending the reply 4 . The PSI query happens before the reply 6 arrives to the PLS. In that case, the port is considered as dead. However, each of two possibilities must be handled.
[0149] The first possibility is that the destination site finds out about the failure of the source site before the message 4 is delivered. In that case, a response is returned indicating that the source is unknown. This case is the same as the previous case, and an error is returned to the PLS. The port migration is considered as failed.
[0150] The second possibility is that the destinations site gets the reply 4 before it detects that the source site has failed. A new port is created and a successful migration is reported to the PLS. The PSI query has been registered on the PLS, so when the PLS gets the reply 5 , it can detect the incoherence between the content of the message 5 and its own state. Since the port has already been considered as failed, the PLS sends a message to the destination site to destroy the migrated port. This cleanup is necessary because, otherwise, the failed port would be living and accessible on the destination site, which would be incorrect. The port migration is considered as failed, and an error reply 6 is sent to the initiator.
[0151] On the other hand, if the source fails after sending the reply 4 , and the PSI query happens after the PLS receives the reply 5 , and the port is considered as living, then the port migration is considered as successful.
[0152] When the destination site fails:
[0153] Assume that the destination site fails before it had a chance to send the reply 5 . There are two possibilities that should be handled.
[0154] The first possibility is that the PSI query happened before the PLS gets a destination unknown error from the message 2 . The port is considered as dead. Since the PLS has no possibility to know if the destination site has failed before or after sending the message 3 , the PLS sends a clean-up message to the source site to destroy the port, if it is still there. If the message 3 has been sent and received, the port already has been deleted. Nothing has to be done.
[0155] If the message 3 has not been sent, the port is destroyed. If the message 3 has been sent, but not received yet, the PLS can detect the destination's failure and send the clean-up message to the source site before message 3 is delivered to the source. In that case, as mentioned, the port is destroyed, but, later, the message 3 arrives. Since the message 3 is a request to migrate a non-existing port (non-existing because destroyed), an error is returned. (No one is going to receive this reply.) The PLS returns a success to the initiator. The port migration is considered as successful. The process successfully migrated from source to destination, and the destination subsequently failed. Of course, any subsequent attempt to contact the process will fail because the site is unknown.
[0156] The second possibility is that the PSI query happens after the PLS received a destination site unknown error from the message. The PLS registers the port as being on the destination site, sends the clean-up message to the source site, and returns a successful migration response to the initiator. The port migration is considered as successful, and the port is considered as alive, until the PSI query happens. The source and initiator will consider the migration to have been successful since the process did successfully migrate off the source site.
PLS INTERFACE WITH PSI
[0157] The PSI needs to get the {migTo} and {migFrom} lists. Since it is not possible to predict the number of ports those lists can contain, the interface between the PLS and the PSI must be able to fragment those lists into smaller packets. Referring to FIG. 14, the interface, in accordance with a present embodiment, uses the IPC. The PSI sends a request to the PLS including the site number of the failed site and the UI of the port where a message handler has been attached, ready to handle the message from the PLS containing the {migFrom} and {migTo} ports.
[0158] In a present embodiment, the PSI creates a port and attaches a handler to the port to respond to messages delivered to the port. This port is created by the PSI to receive messages from the PLS containing the variable sized migFrom/migTo lists. It will be deleted when no longer necessary.
[0159] When the PLS gets any PSI requests, it first checks if the failed site is either the source or the destination of any of the port migrations in progress. If it is, the state of the port migration in progress is changed (the migrating port is marked as dead, as described in the previous section), and the migrating port is included into the {migTo} port if the failed site was the destination site. Then the PLS scans its table to find all ports created on the failed site and migrated away ({migFrom}), and all the ports migrated to the failed site ({migTo}). This list of ports is built into a message. If the list exceeds the size of a message, the list is sent using several messages.
PORT CREATED WITH PORTDECLARE
[0160] In a current embodiment, parts of the operating system (not the PM, generally) may use a process referred to as, portDeclare/uiBuild to construct a UI, bypassing the code which stores the creation site in the UI; thus, this “hint” cannot be used to determine the port destination. More specifically, a micro-kernel system call {portDeclare()}, which forms no part of the present invention, allows the user to create a port with a user-defined UI. This UI is built using {uiBuild()} which allows the user to set the creation site part of the UI to any value. That means that port can be created in such a way that the IPC cannot retrieve the real creation site number. Such ports need to be localized even if they did not migrate. They need to be registered in the PLS at the time of creation. Since performing this operation creates an overhead, and since most of the port created with {portDeclare()} has a correct creation site number embedded within the port UI, a good optimization is to register only the ports which do not have a correct creation site number. Since the PLS needs to know what was the site c creation of all the registered ports, and since the PLS cannot rely on the creation site number embedded within the UI, the creation site number needs to be explicitly stored with the port UI and the present location site.
[0161] While a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail, various modifications to the preferred embodiment can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, although the current embodiment employs a CHORUS microkernel and UNIX SSUs, the invention can be implemented with other operating system components as well. Thus, the invention is limited only by the appended claims. | A method is provided for responding to a computer system call requesting creation of such new process in a multicomputer system which includes multiple sites, each site including a local processor and local memory, and wherein the multicomputer system includes a distributed process directory which is distributed across multiple sites such that different site memories include different fragments of the process directory and such that the distributed process directory includes a multiplicity of slots, the method comprising the steps of: creating the new process on a respective site; providing in memory of at least one site a designation of sites for which respective process directory fragments include at least one unallocated slot; selecting a respective site from the designation; and referencing a respective process identification corresponding to the new process in a slot in a respective process directory fragment on the selected site. | Summarize the patent document, focusing on the invention's functionality and advantages. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1.",
"Related Art [0002] Microkernel-based operating system architectures have been employed to distribute operating system services among loosely-coupled processing units in a multicomputer system.",
"For example, in an earlier microkernel-based “serverized”",
"operating system, a set of modular computer software-based system servers sit on top of a minimal computer software microkernel which provides the system servers with fundamental services such as processor scheduling and memory management.",
"The microkernel may also provide an inter-process communication facility that allows the system servers to call each other and to exchange data regardless of where the servers are located in the system.",
"The system servers manage the other physical and logical resources of the system, such as devices, files and high level communication resources, for example.",
"Often, it is desirable for a microkernel to be interoperable with a number of different conventional operating systems.",
"In order to achieve this interoperability, computer software-based system servers may be employed to provide an application programming interface to a conventional operating system.",
"[0003] The block diagram drawing of FIG. 1 shows an illustrative multicomputer system.",
"The term “multicomputer”",
"as used herein shall refer to a distributed non-shared memory multiprocessor machine comprising multiple sites.",
"A site is a single processor and its supporting environment or a set of tightly coupled processors and their supporting environment.",
"The sites in a multicomputer may be connected to each other via an internal network (e.g., Intel MESH™ interconnect), and the multicomputer may be connected to other machines via an external network (e.g., Ethernet network).",
"Each site is independent in that it has its own private memory, interrupt control, etc.",
"Sites use messages to communicate with each other.",
"A microkernel-based “serverized”",
"operating system is well suited to provide operating system services among the multiple independent non-shared memory sites in a multicomputer system.",
"[0004] An important objective in certain multicomputer systems is to achieve a single-system image (SSI) across all sites of the system.",
"An advantage of an SSI from the point of view of the user, application developer, and for the most part, the system administrator, the multicomputer system appears to be a single computer even though it is really comprised of multiple independent computer sites running in parallel and communicating with each other over a high speed interconnect.",
"Some of the benefits of a SSI include, simplified installation and administration, ease-of-use, open system solutions (i.e., fewer compatibility issues), exploitation of multisite architecture while preserving conventional APIs and ease of scalability.",
"There are several possible beneficial features of an SSI such as, a global naming process, global file access, distributed boot facilities and global STREAMS facilities, for example.",
"In one earlier system, a SSI is provided which employs a process directory (or name space) which is distributed across multiple sites.",
"Each site maintains a fragment of the process directory.",
"The distribution of the process directory across multiple sites ensures that no single site is unduly burdened by the volume of message traffic accessing the directory.",
"There are challenges in implementing a distributed process directory.",
"For example, such a distributed process directory should be effective in implementing global atomic operations.",
"A global atomic operation (GAO) describes a category of functions which are applied to each process in a set of processes identified in the SSI.",
"[0005] GAOs typically are applied to a set of processes from what is often referred to as, a “consistent snapshot”",
"of the system process directory state.",
"The processes that are operated upon by a GAO are often referred to as target processes.",
"A consistent snapshot generally refers to a view of the directory which identifies the processes in the entire SSI at a discrete point in time.",
"However, since process creation and process deletion events occur frequently, a process directory is a dynamic or “living”",
"object whose contents change frequently.",
"Therefore, the consistent snapshot rule generally is relaxed somewhat such that a consistent snapshot may contain all processes which exist both before and after the snapshot is taken.",
"For the purposes of a GAO, it can be assumed that processes which were destroyed during a consistent snapshot were destroyed prior to it, and processes created during the consistent snapshot were created subsequent to it.",
"[0006] An example of a GAO is what is referred to as sending a signal, which is a mechanism by which a process may be notified of, or affected by, an event occurring in the system.",
"Some application program interfaces (API's) which are provided to the programmer as part of a UNIX specification, for instance, deliver a signal,to a set of processes as a group;",
"such an API, for example, mandates that all processes that match the group criteria receive the signal.",
"The delivery of a signal to a set of processes as a group is an example of a GAO.",
"The processes in the group are examples of target processes.",
"[0007] In a multicomputer system that employs a distributed process directory, GAOs, which must be applied to multiple target processes, may have to traverse process directory fragments on multiple sites in the system.",
"This traversal of directory fragments on different sites in search of processes targeted by an operation can be complicated by the migration of processes between sites while the GAO still is in progress.",
"In other words, a global atomic operation and process migration may progress simultaneously.",
"The proper application of a global atomic operation is to apply it at least once, but only once, to each target process.",
"As processes migrate from site to site during the occurrence of a GAO, however, there arises a need to ensure that a migrating process is neither missed by a GAO nor has the GAO applied to it more than once.",
"[0008] The problem of a GAO potentially missing a migrating process will be further explained through an example involving the global getdents (get directory entries) operation.",
"The getdents operation is used to obtain a “consistent snapshot”",
"of the system process directory.",
"The getdents operation is a global atomic operation.",
"The timing diagram of FIG. 2 illustrates the example.",
"At time=t, process manager server “A”",
"(PM A) on site A initiates a migration of a process from PM A on site A to the process manager server “B”",
"(PM B) on site B (dashed lines).",
"This process migration involves the removal of the process identification (PID) for the migrating process from the process directory fragment on site A and the insertion of the PID for the migrating process into the process directory fragment on site B. Meanwhile, also at time=t, an object manager server (OM) has broadcast a getdents request to both PM A and PM B. At time=t1, PM B receives and processes the getdents request and returns the response to the OM.",
"This response by PM B does not include a process identification (PID) for the migrating process which has not yet arrived at PM B. At time=t2, PM B receives the migration request from PM A. PM B adds the PID for the migrating process to the directory fragment on site B and returns to PM A a response indicating the completion of the process migration.",
"PM A removes the PID for the migrating process from the site A directory fragment.",
"At time=t3, PM A receives and processes the getdents request and returns the response to the OM.",
"This response by PM A does not include the PID for the migrating process since that process has already migrated to PM B on site B. Thus, the global getdents operation missed the migrating process which was not yet represented by a PID in the site B directory fragment when PM B processed the getdents operation, and which already had its PID removed from the site A directory fragment by the time PM A processed the getdents operation.",
"[0009] An example of a prior solution to the problem of near simultaneous occurrence of process migrations and global atomic operations involves the use of a “global ticket”",
"(a token) to serialize global operations at the system level and migrations at the site level.",
"More specifically, a computer software-based global operation server issues a global ticket to a site which requests a global operation.",
"In the exemplary prior solution, a number associated with the global ticket monotonically increases every time a new ticket is issued so that different global atomic operations in the system are uniquely identified and can proceed one after the other.",
"Furthermore, each PID has associated with it the global ticket value of the GAO which most recently considered the PID.",
"As each subsequent GAO considers a respective PID, that PID has its global ticket association changed to match the global ticket of the GAO that most recently considered it.",
"Thus, global tickets are used to serialize all GAOs so that they do not conflict and to keep track of which process PIDs already have been considered by a respective GAO and which process PIDs have not yet been considered by such respective GAO.",
"[0010] More specifically, this illustrative prior solution involves a multicast message carrying the global ticket to process managers (PMs) on each site.",
"Each process manager acquires the lock to the process directory fragment of its own site.",
"The applicability of the global atomic operation is considered for each PID entered in the process directory fragment on the site.",
"The global operation may be performed on a respective process corresponding to a respective PID in a respective directory fragment entry only if a global ticket number marked on the entry is lower than the current iteration global ticket number.",
"A global ticket number marked on a process directory fragment PID entry is carried over from a site the process migrates from (origin site) to a site the process migrates to (destination site).",
"It represents the last global operation ticket such process has seen before the migration, [0011] During process migration, in accordance with the exemplary prior solution, a process being migrated acquires a process directory fragment lock on its origin site first.",
"It then marks its corresponding process directory entry as being in the process of migration.",
"The migration procedure stamps the process'",
"process directory entry with the present global operation ticket number, locks the process directory on the migration destination site and transmits the process directory entry contents to the destination site.",
"The global operation ticket number on the destination site is then copied back in the reply message to the migration origin site.",
"The migration procedure on the origin site is responsible for comparing the returned global ticket number from the target site and its own.",
"If the global ticket number of the origin site is greater than the number from the destination site, then the global operation already has been performed on the migrating process, although the operation has not yet reached the destination site.",
"The migration is permitted to proceed, but the process directory fragment slot for the migrating process on the destination site is marked with the higher global ticket number.",
"As a result, the global process will skip the migrated process on the destination site and not apply the global operation twice to that process.",
"If the global ticket number of the origin site is less than the number from the destination site, then a global operation has been performed on the destination site and has yet to be performed on the origin site and will miss the process currently being migrated.",
"The migration will be denied and retried later.",
"[0012] Unfortunately, there have been problems with the use of global tickets (tokens) to coordinate global operations with process migrations.",
"For instance, the global ticket scheme serializes global operations since only one global operation can own the global ticket at a time.",
"The serialization of global operations, however, can slow down overall system performance.",
"While one global operation has the global ticket, other global operations typically block and await their turns to acquire the global ticket before completing their operations.",
"[0013] Thus, there has been a need for improvement in the application of global atomic operations to processes that migrate between sites in a multicomputer system which employs a distributed serverized operating system.",
"The present invention meets this need.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0014] The present invention provides a method for responding to a computer system call requesting creation of such new process in a multicomputer system which employs a distributed process directory which is distributed across multiple sites such that different site memories include different fragments of the process directory.",
"A new process is created on a respective individual computer site in the multicomputer system.",
"There is provided in electronic memory of a computer site a designation of sites for which respective process directory fragments include at least one unallocated slot.",
"A site is selected from the designation of sites.",
"The new process is referenced in a slot in a respective process directory fragment on the selected site.",
"[0015] The novel method described above advantageously permits independent disposition of processes and corresponding process directory fragments referencing such processes in the multicomputer system.",
"That is, a process and a process directory structure fragment referencing the process can be disposed on the same or on different sites.",
"This feature makes possible migration of the process from one site to another site in the multicomputer system while the process directory fragment referencing such migrating process remains unchanged.",
"The use of such fixed process directory fragment references to migratable processes makes it easier to keep track of migrating processes during their migrations.",
"As a result, there can be improved application of global atomic operations to migrating processes.",
"[0016] Accordingly, in another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a novel method of process migration.",
"A process which is operative on a first site and which is referenced in a slot of a respective process directory fragment on the first site, is transferred from the first site to a second site.",
"Meanwhile, the reference to the transferred process is maintained unchanged in the slot of the respective process directory fragment on the first site.",
"[0017] Thus, a global atomic operation targeted at a process during process migration are less likely to miss the migrating process since a process directory fragment provides a fixed reference to such a migrating process.",
"Moreover, since the process directory fragment referencing such a targeted does not change, there may be no need to lock the process directory fragment in order to ensure that migrating processes are subject to such global atomic operation.",
"As a consequence, global atomic operations may have less of an impact on overall system performance.",
"[0018] Thus, in yet another aspect of the invention a novel method is provided for implementing a global atomic operation upon a group of processes operative in a multicomputer system.",
"A process directory structure is distributed across multiple sites such that different site memories include different fragments of the process directory structure.",
"Each process directory structure fragment includes a multiplicity of slots.",
"Processes operative on respective sites in the system are referenced in respective slots in the process directory structure.",
"Group information may be associated in respective site memories with respective processes operative on respective sites.",
"This group information indicates group membership, if any, of the associated processes.",
"For example, a group may comprise the processes in a session.",
"A global atomic operation request is issued to a first process manager operative on a first site.",
"The request is directed to a group of processes.",
"A global atomic operation message directed to the group of processes is transferred by the first process manager to process managers operative on other sites.",
"Each process manager that receives such global atomic operation message transfers a respective message to each respective process referenced in a respective process directory structure fragment disposed on the same respective site as such receiving process manager.",
"The transferred messages request performance of the atomic operation.",
"The atomic operation is performed by respective processes that are members of the group.",
"Therefore, during a global atomic operation, fixed process directory fragments are used to locate migratable target processes [0019] Another aspect of the invention provides a novel method of failure recovery in a multicomputer system.",
"A process directory structure is distributed across multiple sites such that different site memories include different fragments of the process directory structure.",
"Processes operative on respective sites in the system are referenced in respective slots in the process directory structure.",
"Process structures are provided.",
"These process structures correspond to respective processes and are disposed on the respective sites on which their respective corresponding processes are operative.",
"Furthermore, these process structures provide references to sites which include slots that reference the processes corresponding these process structures.",
"Whenever a failed site is identified, a reconstruction host site is selected.",
"Process structures on non-failed sites are accessed to identify processes, if any, operative on sites that have an operative process referenced in a process directory fragment of the failed site.",
"The process directory of the failed site is reconstructed on the reconstruction host site such that respective references to respective processes identified in the accessing step are provided in the reconstructed process directory fragment.",
"Also, an attempt is made to contact each process corresponding to a process referenced in any process directory fragment.",
"References to processes that are not successfully contacted are removed from process directory fragments of non-failed sites.",
"[0020] These and other features and advantages of the invention will be understood from the following detailed description of the invention in conjunction with the drawings.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0021] [0021 ]FIG. 1 is an illustrative block diagram of the hardware components of a representative conventional multicomputer system;",
"[0022] [0022 ]FIG. 2 is an illustrative timing diagram which demonstrates that a global atomic operation can miss a target process that migrates during performance of the operation;",
"[0023] [0023 ]FIG. 3 is an illustrative block diagram that demonstrates the interaction of software based system server modules in a microkemel-based serverized operating system of a type employed by a presently preferred embodiment of the invention;",
"[0024] [0024 ]FIG. 4 is a generalized representation of certain global resources that are available in the operating system of FIG. 3;",
"[0025] [0025 ]FIG. 5 is a generalized block diagram of three representative sites in a multicomputer system and the exemplary process directory fragments and processes operative on those sites in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention;",
"[0026] [0026 ]FIG. 6 is an illustrative drawing showing exemplary session and process group relationships among the processes depicted in FIG. 5;",
"[0027] FIGS. 7 A- 7 D are generalized block diagrams of two representative sites in a multicomputer system and the exemplary process directory fragments and processes operative on those sites used to illustrate process creation (FIGS.",
"7 A- 7 C) and process migration (FIGS.",
"7A and 7D) in accordance with the presently preferred embodiment of the invention;",
"[0028] [0028 ]FIG. 8 is an illustrative diagram of a double linked list of bookkeeping data structures maintained on a site in which each respective data structure corresponds to a respective process active on the site that maintains the list in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention;",
"[0029] FIGS. 9 A- 9 B are generalized block diagrams of two representative sites in a multicomputer system and the exemplary process directory fragments and processes operative on those sites used to illustrate global atomic operations in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention;",
"[0030] [0030 ]FIG. 10 illustrates exemplary session and process group relationships among the processes in FIGS. 9 A- 9 B;",
"and [0031] FIGS. 11 A- 11 B are generalized block diagrams of two representative sites in a multicomputer system and the exemplary process directory fragments and processes operative on those sites used to illustrate site failure recovery in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention.",
"[0032] [0032 ]FIG. 12 is an illustrative generalized drawing of the Software interfaces to the port localization server (PLS) and the port status investigator (PSI) in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention.",
"[0033] [0033 ]FIG. 13 is an illustrative drawing of an exemplary message protocol during port migration in a presently preferred embodiment of the invention.",
"[0034] [0034 ]FIG. 14 is an illustrative drawing of the message protocol between the PLS and the PSI of FIG. 12.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT [0035] The present invention comprises a novel method and apparatus for process management in a multicomputer system employing distributed operating system services.",
"The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements.",
"Various modifications to the preferred embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.",
"Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.",
"MICROKERNEL BASED DISTRIBUTED OPERATING SYSTEM [0036] Open distributed, scalable operating systems have been developed which are well suited to use in multicomputer architectures comprised of loosely-coupled multiprocessors.",
"A presently preferred embodiment of the invention employs an operating system kernel known as CHORUS/MiX™ which provides a small kernel or nucleus onto which a distributed version of the UNIX operating system may be built as sets of distributed, cooperating servers.",
"See, Benedicte Herrmann and Laurent Philippe, “CHORUS/MiX, a Distributed UNIX, on Multicomputers,” Proceedings of Transputer '92, Arc et Senans, France, May 20-22, 1992.",
"For instance, a UNIX SVR4 compatible operating system has been built using the CHORUS™ microkernel.",
"See, Nariman Batlivala, et al.",
", “Experience with SVR4 Over CHORUS”, Proceedings of the USENIX Workshop on Micro-Kernels and Other Kernel Architectures, Seattle, Wash.",
"Apr. 27-28, 1992.",
"In the CHORUS/MiX distributed operating system, each node of a multicomputer system, whether that node is a mono-processor or a multi-processor, runs a small microkernel which operates independently of any particular operating system.",
"A set of system servers provide a conventional UNIX operating system interface.",
"The combination of a low level nucleus and cooperating servers results in a modular “serverized”",
"operating system which is well suited to distribution across a loosely coupled parallel computer architecture.",
"See Lawrence Albinson, et al.",
", “UNIX on a Loosely Coupled Architecture: The CHORUS/MiX Approach,” EIT Workshop on Parallel and Distributed Workstation Systems, Florence, Italy, Sep. 26-27, 1994.",
"[0037] Generally, in order to label a system as “UNIX,” the system should pass test suites provided in a set of specifications.",
"A recent set of specifications is identified as: CAE Specification, January 1997, System Interfaces and Headers, Issue 5, The Open Group (ISBN 1-85912-186-1) (formerly X/Open).",
"Test suites are written in compliance with the CAE specifications;",
"there are many, but for UNIX branding, an implementation preferably should conform to the above-referenced specification as well as several others, such as Base Definitions, Commands and Utilities, Networking and Curses.",
"[0038] The illustrative block diagram of FIG. 3 shows an example of a multicomputer system which employs a distributed operating system and in which three sites are interconnected by a communication network.",
"A distributed operating system of the presently preferred embodiment is comprised of a nucleus and a UNIX subsystem.",
"Each site includes in memory a nucleus (or microkernel) which performs low level activities such as, allocation of local resources, management of local memory, managing external events and which supports certain global services through basic abstractions referred to as, actors, threads, ports and messages described briefly below.",
"Each site also includes in memory one or more UNIX subsystem (SSU) servers.",
"Each SSU server manages a different type of system resource (e.g., process, file, devices, etc.).",
"In a present embodiment of the invention, there are several types of servers in the SSU such as, Process Manager (PM), File Manager (FM), STREAMS Manager (STM), and IPC Manager.",
"Interactions between servers, on a single site or on different sites, are based on nucleus (or microkernel) Inter-Process Communications (IPC) facilities.",
"STREAM files, such as pipes, network access and tty's, are managed by STMs. [0039] A user application (user process) in memory on given site interacts with the local Process Manager (PM) active on that given site.",
"In a current implementation, the local PMs provide a consistent UNIX SVR4 application program interface on each site and thereby provide a uniform application interface across the entire multicomputer system.",
"More particularly, a PM on a given site handles all system calls issued by a process.",
"The PM dispatches such requests to the appropriate servers.",
"It implements services for process management such as the creation and destruction of processes or the sending of signals.",
"The PM also manages the system context for each process that runs on its site.",
"When the PM is not able to serve a UNIX system call by itself, it calls other servers, as appropriate, using the microkernel IPC.",
"For example, upon receipt of a read(2) request, the PM generates a message to the FM which handles the request.",
"Due to the transparency of the IPC employed by the microkernel system, the FM may be located on a remote site.",
"Vadim Abrossimov, et al.",
", “A Distributed System Server for the CHORUS System,” Proceedings of SDMS III, Symposeum on Experiences with Distributed and Multiprocessor Systems, Newport Beach, Calif.",
"Mar. 26-27, 1992, explains interactions between certain servers operating with a CHORUS microkernel.",
"[0040] Thus, in a current embodiment of the invention, a traditional monolithic implementation of UNIX has been partitioned into a set of cooperating server processes.",
"The PM, FM, STM and IPCM are server processes (or servers), for example.",
"Servers communicate with one another via messages using IPC facilities.",
"This partitioning of the operating system into servers that communicate via messages shall be referred to as “serverization”",
"of the operating system.",
"In a distributed serverized operating system, such as that in the present embodiment, servers on different nodes/sites communicate via messaging.",
"[0041] The illustrative drawings of FIG. 4 display several types of resources employed in the microkernel which provide certain global services used in processes operative in a current embodiment of the present invention.",
"These resources include what is termed an “actor”",
"which is a collection of resources within a microkernel site.",
"An actor may include memory regions, ports, and threads.",
"When created, an actor contains only its default port.",
"A “message”",
"is an untyped sequence of bytes which represents information that can be sent from one port to another via the microkernel's IPC.",
"The “inter-process communication”",
"(IPC) is a facility that allows threads to exchange information in the form of collections of bytes called “messages.”",
"Messages are addressed to ports.",
"The IPC mechanism is location transparent.",
"Threads executing within actors residing on different sites may use the IPC to exchange messages transparently.",
"A “thread”",
"is a flow of control within an actor in the system.",
"Each thread is associated with an actor and defines a unique execution state.",
"An actor may contain multiple threads.",
"The threads share the resources of the actor, such as memory regions and ports and are scheduled independently.",
"A “port”",
"is an IPC entity.",
"Threads send and receive messages on ports.",
"[0042] Ports are globally named message queues.",
"Ports are named by unique identifiers (UIs).",
"In fact, any resource within a distributed operating system can be designated with a UI.",
"There is a microkernel location service that enables the microkernel to determine the site location of a resource (e.g., port, actor, file, process, etc.) which is represented as a UI.",
"Therefore, from the perspective of a server (PM, FM, STM), ports are location transparent;",
"the microkernel determines actual site location of a port based upon its UI.",
"Thus, a thread within an actor may send a message to the port of another actor without knowing the actual location of that port.",
"A “port group”",
"is a collection of ports that are addressed as a group to perform some communication operation.",
"Port groups can be used to send messages to one of a set of ports or to multicast messages to several ports simultaneously.",
"A port can be a member of several port groups.",
"PROCESS DIRECTORY FRAGMENTS OF A DISTRIBUTED PROCESS DIRECTORY [0043] [0043 ]FIG. 5 provides generalized drawings of three sites (site 301 , site 303 and site 305 ) in an exemplary multicomputer system in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention.",
"It will be appreciated that an actual multicomputer system may employ far more than three sites, and that each site may comprise a single processor or multiple processors.",
"For the sake of simplicity, in explaining the preferred embodiment of the invention, however, the exemplary multicomputer system is shown with only three sites.",
"The three sites share a distributed system process directory, a data structure which contains an array of slots.",
"Each slot is an element of the data structure which can describe the name (i.e. process id) of a process.",
"The process directory data structure is distributed among the memories of the sites in the multicomputer as a collection of process directory fragments.",
"[0044] In the present embodiment, each site (or node) has a value referred to as NPROC (number of processes) associated with it.",
"NPROC is a configurable variable which describes the maximum number of processes that can exist on a single site.",
"The NPROC value takes into account factors such as, the amount of memory, speed of processor and typical system workload, for example.",
"In the current implementation of the invention, the number of slots in each directory fragment is NPROC.",
"Concatenating all of the process directory fragments, that are distributed across the multiple sites, results in the (Complete) process directory.",
"[0045] The illustrative distributed process directory in FIG. 5 is divided into three process directory fragments (PDFs) which are distributed across three sites.",
"PDF 307 resides on site 301 .",
"PDF 309 resides on site 303 .",
"PDF 311 resides on site 305 .",
"Thus, each site is associated with a different fragment of the distributed system process directory.",
"Multiple user application processes run concurrently on the different sites.",
"In general, a “process”",
"is a computer software-based entity that occupies a portion of a computer system's electronic memory and that involves a scheduleable event.",
"Each slot can be associated with a different process running on the system.",
"Processes are individually identified by process identifications (PIDs).",
"As illustrated in FIG. 5, the processes identified by process identifications 1 , 9 , 12 , 15 , 17 , 29 , 30 and 63 run on site 301 .",
"Processes identified by PIDs 2 , 5 , 40 and 62 run on site 303 .",
"Processes identified by PIDs 3 , 41 , 42 , 61 and 64 run on site 302 .",
"[0046] The individual PIDs of processes operative on the system are associated with individual slots of the distributed system-process directory.",
"In particular, PDF 307 which resides on site 301 stores PIDs 1 , 2 , 3 , 59 9 , 12 , 15 , 17 , 30 and 29 .",
"PDF 309 which resides on site 303 stores PIDs 40 , 41 and 42 .",
"PDF 311 which resides on site 305 stores PIDs 61 , 62 , 63 and 64 .",
"[0047] The illustrative drawings of FIG. 6 shows an example of one possible set of relationships among some of the processes in FIG. 5. The system hosts a session with multiple process groups operative on different system sites;",
"the session's process groups themselves include multiple processes operative on different system sites.",
"In the example, PID 17 corresponds to a command process which creates a session which includes multiple process groups.",
"A first process group in the session is identified by the process corresponding to PID 17 .",
"A second process group in the session is identified by the process corresponding to PID 29 .",
"A third process group in the session is identified by the process corresponding to PID 61 .",
"The first process group corresponding to PID 17 includes only a single process identified by PID 17 .",
"The second process group corresponding to PID 29 includes three processes identified by, PID 29 , PID 30 and PID 41 .",
"The third process group corresponding to PID 61 includes only a single process, PID 61 .",
"[0048] The illustrative session might be further specified by the following exemplary program instructions.",
"/* *Session (17) process group (17) */ ksh/* (PID17) */ /*process group (29)*/ ls - lR | tee /tmp/f| pg /*(PIDs 29, 30 and 41)*/ /*process group (61)*/ cscope -d -f rdbms /*(PID 61)*/ [0049] ksh is the Korn shell command which is a standard UNIX system command interpreter.",
"[0050] ls is the list files command.",
"[0051] tee is a command to make two copies of an input, one to a file, the other to output.",
"[0052] pg is an output pager command which displays input to output one page at a time.",
"[0053] cscope -d -f rdbms is a C language visual cross reference tool.",
"[0054] Basically, ksh is the command interpreter which reads commands from the controlling terminal, parses them and executes the appropriate commands.",
"It executes the subsequent pipeline and cscope commands.",
"The construct, ls-lR/tee /tmp/f /pg, represents a pipeline which lists (long format, reclusively (-lR)) all subdirectories and pipes the output to the tee command which will make a copy into the file /tmp/f, and pipe it to the paginator command pg which simply pauses every screenful of text for the user to read.",
"The cscope-d-f rdbms command starts the C language visual browser program.",
"[0055] Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, it will be appreciated that Session 17 is divided between site 301 and site 305 .",
"Session 17 includes three process groups, 17 , 29 and 61 .",
"Process group 17 , with its single process corresponding to PID 17 , resides entirely on site 301 .",
"Process group 29 is divided between site 301 and site 305 : the processes corresponding to PID 29 and PID 30 reside on site 301 ;",
"and the process corresponding to PID 41 resides on site 305 .",
"Process group 61 , with its single process corresponding to PID 61 , resides entirely on site 305 .",
"PROCESS CREATION [0056] Process creation in accordance with a present implementation of the invention shall be explained with reference to the illustrative drawings of FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7 C. In particular, for example, the creation of a new child process PID 6 shall be explained.",
"Referring to FIG. 7A, there is shown a generalized representation of an exemplary multicomputer system 400 in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention.",
"In this example only two sites are shown, site 401 and site 402 .",
"Site 401 includes a PDF 403 , and site 402 includes a PDF 404 .",
"There are five active user application processes on site 401 .",
"They are identified by PIDs, 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 .",
"Each of these five processes was created locally on site 401 and has not migrated.",
"There are also three active user application processes on site 402 .",
"They are identified by PIDs, 101 , 102 and 103 .",
"Each of these three processes was created locally on site 402 and has not migrated.",
"[0057] In a present embodiment of the invention, a process directory port group provides a designation of the sites that have at least one unallocated slot, and therefore, are available to store a reference to a port UI for a new process.",
"More specifically a process directory port group (PDPG) 405 designates process directory fragments (PDFs) 403 and 404 .",
"In accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, the PDPG 405 includes the PM ports of sites that contain PDFs with empty slots.",
"The presence of an empty slot in a given PDF indicates that that PDF is able to accept another PID.",
"The PDF 403 that resides on site 401 includes empty slots 406 , and the PDF 404 that resides on site 402 includes empty slots 407 .",
"Thus, both the PM port 409 for site 401 and the PM port 410 for site 402 are included in the PDPG 405 .",
"[0058] It will be appreciated that PDPG 405 is a port “group.”",
"As such, there may be a Unique Identifier (UI) which names the group.",
"The group [0059] itself consists of zero or more respective ports, each of which is identified by its own respective UI.",
"In the current embodiment, ports and port groups are managed by the microkernel in a distributed fashion across all nodes of the multicomputer.",
"An interface is provided which allows a server, such as a PM which manages a process directory fragment, to insert a port into or remove a port from the PDPG.",
"In the present embodiment, such a PM, for example, uses its own request port to manage insertions to and deletions from the PDPG.",
"[0060] Furthermore, it will be understood that the PDPG is involved in process creation and destruction, but is not involved in process migration.",
"If process creation uses the last available slots in a given PDF to hold the PID for a newly created process, then the port for the site containing that PDF is removed from the PDPG.",
"Conversely, if process destruction frees up one or more slots in a PDF that previously had all of its slots occupied with PIDs, then the port for the site containing that newly freed up PDF is added to the PDPG.",
"[0061] Referring now to FIG. 7B, assume, for example, that process PID 3 on site 401 issues a fork operation to create a child process PID 6 .",
"The PM (not shown) on site 401 fields the fork system call.",
"In the presently preferred embodiment, the PM on site 401 sends an “allocate slot request”",
"message to the PDPG 405 using the CHORUS microkernel associative functional mode and provides its own port (PM port 409 ) as a “CoTarget.”",
"The associative functional mode is a standard CHORUS facility group in which a message designates one port in a port group as the CoTarget for the message.",
"That is, the message is sent to one member of the PDPG.",
"If a member port of the PDPG is collocated with the CoTarget port (i.e., they are on the same site), then that member port will be used as the destination for the message.",
"If there is no member port in the PDPG which is collocated with the CoTarget, then another member of the PDPG will be chosen by the microkernel as the destination of the message.",
"[0062] In this example, the PM on site 401 receives its own “allocate slot request”",
"message.",
"PID number “ 6 ”",
"is assigned to the new (child) process.",
"The site 401 PM assigns a slot to the new process PID 6 and returns a successful reply.",
"The PM on site 401 receives the reply;",
"stores the slot index and the site 401 PM port's unique identifier (UI) in the process data structure for the new child process PID 6 on site 401 .",
"The fork operation completes normally with child process PID 6 having been created on site 401 .",
"[0063] The creation of another new child process identified by PID 8 shall be explained with reference to FIGS. 7B and 7C.",
"The creation of process PID 8 is complicated by the fact that the PDF 403 on site 401 has no vacant slots at the time of the creation of this new process PID 8 .",
"In particular, the PDF 403 is filled with PIDs 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 and 7 .",
"Assume that process PID 3 on site 401 issues a fork operation to create a child process PID 8 .",
"The PM (not shown) on site 401 fields the fork system call.",
"The PM on site 401 sends an “allocate slot request”",
"message to one of the member ports of the PDPG 405 using Chorus associative functional mode and providing its own port (PM port 409 ) as the CoTarget.",
"Since, in FIG. 7C, all of the slots on site 401 are filled, the PM port 409 is not a part of the PDPG 405 .",
"The microkernel, therefore, chooses another one of the member ports of the PDPG 405 in accordance with criteria that will be understood by those skilled in the art and that form no part of the present invention.",
"In this example, since the PM port 410 for the PM on site 402 is present in the PDPG 405 , and since the port 410 of the PM on site 402 is the only PM port in PDPG 405 , the PM (not shown) on site 402 receives the request.",
"The site 402 PM assigns a slot;",
"stores the new child process PID 8 ;",
"and returns a successful reply.",
"The PM on site 401 receives the reply;",
"stores the slot index and the site 402 PM port's Unique Identifier (UI) in the process data structure for the new child process PID 8 on site 402 .",
"The fork operation completes normally with the child process PID 8 having been created on site 402 .",
"[0064] In the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, the PID for a process created on a given site remains in the PDF of that creation site even if the process subsequently migrates to another site.",
"Moreover, each site also maintains, in memory, a “bookkeeping”",
"process data structure for each process currently active on the site.",
"Each such active process data structure includes information regarding the session membership and the process group membership of such process as well as the PM UI for the site that contains the process'",
"PID and the actual PDF slot number that contains the process'",
"PID.",
"When a process data structure corresponds to a process that is a session leader or a process group leader, then such data structure indicates whether or not the entire membership of the session or process group is resident on the site with the corresponding process.",
"In the current implementation, the active process data structures are maintained in a doubled linked list structure.",
"[0065] The active process list is used, for example, at process creation time when the bookkeeping data structure for the process is added to the site, at migration time when the bookkeeping data structure for the migrating process is copied to the new site, and at process destruction when the bookkeeping data structure is removed from the site on which it resides.",
"[0066] The active process list also is used at failure recovery time when there is a need to determine which processes that were active on a site had their PIDs stored in a PDF on a failed site;",
"so the failed site's PDF can be (at least partially) recreated elsewhere.",
"[0067] As an example, in FIG. 9A, site 2 , each of the three respective processes 101 , 102 and 103 are each associated with respective bookkeeping information.",
"FIG. 8 illustrates the bookkeeping data structures for the three processes linked in a conventional double-linked list data structure headed by the label “ActiveProcessList.”",
"[0068] The boxes in FIG. 8 represent the bookkeeping information for each process (e.g. process id, name, memory information, PDF site and slot number, etc.);",
"the arrows show the direction of the forward and backward links.",
"[0069] The PM variable ActiveProcessList contains a pointer to the process structure for process 101 ;",
"process 101 contains a forward pointer to process 102 and a backward pointer to the list head (ActiveProcessList).",
"Likewise, process 102 has a forward link to process 103 and a backward link to process 101 , and so forth for process 103 .",
"Process 103 will have a NULL forward link indicating that it is the last process in the list.",
"[0070] A pointer in this case would be the memory address of the bookkeeping data structure (known as the tProc structure), which also contains the forward and backward link pointers.",
"[0071] Thus, the illustrative drawing of FIG. 8 provides a generalized representation of a double linked list structure maintained on a given site which comprises a plurality of process data structures that correspond to the processes currently active on the given site.",
"Each respective site maintains its own double linked list structure for the processes currently active on such respective site.",
"As processes migrate to and from a given site, corresponding active process data structures corresponding to such migrating processes are added to or depart from the double linked list structure maintained by that given site.",
"However, except in the case of site [0072] failure, as explained below, the PID for any given process is always associated with the same slot on the site that created the given process.",
"In this sense, the slot and PDF assignment for a given process PID is immutable.",
"[0073] Therefore, when a process migrates from one site to another site, the PID of the migrating process remains assigned to the PDF slot originally assigned to such migrating process.",
"However, a process data structure associated with the migrating process departs the site when the process migrates away from (the origin site) and is set up on the site on which the process migrates to (the destination site).",
"This process data structure identifies the slot in the PDF on which the migrating process originated and which still maintains the PID of such migrating process.",
"As a result, as explained in a subsequent section below, multiple global atomic operations can progress in parallel in spite of process migrations during the performance of such global atomic operations without missing migrating processes and without operating twice on a migrating process.",
"Therefore, overall system performance is less severely impacted by the performance of global atomic operations involving processes running on different sites in the multicomputer system.",
"[0074] Moreover, the use of PIDs rather than memory addresses in the PDF slots advantageously facilitates accessing a process through its PID which corresponds to the microkernel unique identifier (UI) for the port associated with the process.",
"As a result, the PDF slot need not be updated as a process identified by a particular PID in the slot migrates from site to site.",
"Rather, a microkernel facility automatically keeps track of the actual location of a process when it migrates between sites within the multicomputer system.",
"[0075] It will be appreciated that during process creation, slots (a resource) are accessed through a dynamic set of resource managers (the PMs), which in turn are accessed through a process group managed by the microkernel (the PDPG).",
"This facilitates the use of PDFs to create a single-system image (SSI) which provides a seamless single process namespace (a global process directory).",
"PROCESS MIGRATION [0076] Process migration from site to site within a multicomputer system in accordance with a current embodiment of the invention shall be explained with reference to the illustrative drawings of FIGS. 7A and 7D.",
"In particular, for example, assume that process PID 4 migrates from site 401 to site 402 .",
"A migration request is received by the PM on site 401 to migrate the process PID 4 to site 402 .",
"The migration request might be issued by a system administrator, a load balancer process or a user application, for example.",
"The process PID 4 receives the request and marshals the migrating process'",
"state into a message and sends it to the site 402 PM request port 410 .",
"The state information includes all information used to operate the process.",
"This information might include, for example, memory contents, registers, multiple thread descriptions, and the (bookkeeping) process data structures.",
"The PM on site 402 also creates the appropriate global services entities (e.g., thread, actor, address space) to create process PID 4 on site 402 .",
"The PM on site 402 constructs the process data structures and inserts them into a linked list structure like that shown in FIG. 8. Furthermore, the PM on site 402 requests that the microkernel migrate the process port UI for process PID 4 to site 402 .",
"The migration of the port UI of the migrating process ensures that the process can be tracked despite the separation of the process in site 402 from its PID stored in the PDF 403 on site 401 .",
"The PM on site 402 sends a message to the site 401 PM indicating success or failure of the migration request.",
"If the migration has been successful, then the PM on site 401 destroys the old copy of the migrated process.",
"The PM on site 402 starts the new copy of the process PID 4 .",
"[0077] When the source site is cleaning up after a successful migration, it will mark the session structure for the session leader to indicate that the session is no longer local.",
"It does this by sending a message to the session leader.",
"[0078] It will be appreciated that the PDF entry of the migrated process does not migrate with the process itself;",
"the PID for the migrated process resides in the same PDF slot before and after the migration.",
"Thus, a global atomic operation iterating through the slots of the various PDFs will not miss a migrating process or operate on it twice since the process PID slot assignment is immutable.",
"The (bookkeeping) process data structure created on the destination site includes the PM UI for the site that contains the process'",
"PID and the actual PDF slot number that contains the process'",
"PID.",
"Thus, the process data structure can be employed to ascertain the location of the PDF containing the PID for the migrated process, for example.",
"The microkemel can keep track of the actual location of the migrated process in the multicomputer system since it tracks the location of the port UI of the migrated process.",
"This is a standard microkernel function in the presently preferred embodiment of the invention.",
"Thus, during the execution of a GAO, for example, the microkernel directs messages to the migrated process based on the process'",
"PID entry in the PDF.",
"GLOBAL ATOMIC OPERATIONS [0079] The performance of global atomic operations (GAO) according to a present implementation of the invention shall be explained with reference to the illustrative drawings of FIGS. 9A and 9B and FIG. 10.",
"An advantage of the process employed to implement global atomic operations in accordance with the present invention is the ability to perform multiple simultaneous GAOs with simultaneous migration events without loss of a “consistent snapshot.”",
"Moreover, there is little if any throughput degradation due to serialization of global events.",
"The multicomputer system 400 of FIGS. 9A and 9B is the same as those discussed above with reference to FIG. 7A.",
"However, FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate exemplary relationships among the user application processes operative on sites 401 and 402 .",
"[0080] [0080 ]FIG. 10 further illustrates the relationships among the various exemplary processes running on sites 401 and 402 .",
"Specifically, session number 1 includes process groups identified by process group identities (PGIDs) 1 , 2 and 3 .",
"Process group PGID 1 includes the process with PID 1 .",
"Process group PGID 2 includes processes with PIDs 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 .",
"Process group PGID 101 includes the processes with PIDs 101 , 102 and 103 .",
"[0081] The process PID 1 is a command processor (Ash) which serves as the session leader.",
"The session includes two pipelines, each of which becomes a process group within the session.",
"Exemplary UNIX instructions used to produce the session are set forth below for each of the three process groups.",
"/*PGID 1:*/ $ ksh /* (PID 1)*/ /*PGID 2:*/ $ cat/etc/terminfo | sort | uniq | wc - l &",
"/*(PIDs 2, 3, 4 and 5) */ /*PGID 101:*/ $ ls - lRr | tee | pg &",
"/*(PIDs 101, 102 and 103)*/ [0082] Process group PGID 1 consists of a single process group, whose leader is the ksh command.",
"Process group PGID 1 also serves as the session leader.",
"[0083] ksh is the Korn shell command which is a standard UNIX system command interpreter.",
"[0084] Process group PGID 2 consists of a single process group, whose leader is the cat command.",
"cat is the catenate command.",
"It will read the contents of file “etc/terminfo”",
"and write the contents to the standard output (which in this example is a pipe as indicated by the vertical bar “¦”",
"symbol).",
"[0085] sort is the sort command.",
"It will read the data from the pipe, sort it, and then write the sorted data to its output (another pipe).",
"[0086] uniq is the unique command.",
"It will read data from the input pipe, remove any duplicate adjacent lines (which sort would have sorted into adjacent lines) and write the remaining lines to its output (yet another pipe).",
"[0087] wc is the count command.",
"The -l option requests that wc produce a count of lines read from its input pipe.",
"This count will be written to its output, which will be the controlling terminal.",
"[0088] &",
"instructs the ksh to put the process group in the background.",
"[0089] Process group PGID 3 consists of a single process group, whose leader is the ls command.",
"[0090] ls is the list files command.",
"-lR signifies long format, recursive.",
"[0091] tee is a command to make two copies of an input, one to a file, the other to output.",
"[0092] pg is an output pager command which displays input to output one page at a time.",
"[0093] Assume, for example, that an administrator issues the following command on site 401 : [0094] $ kill-TERM-2 /* Process Group 2 in session 1 * [0095] $ kill is a nonstandard UNIX command.",
"$ kill-TERM-2 will send the TERM signal to all members of process group 2 .",
"Although currently there is no command to send a signal to all members of a session, there is a programmatic API for it.",
"[0096] The site 401 PM receives the $ kill signal request via its system call interface.",
"This receiving PM determines that the target is the group of processes in process group 2 in session 1 , and if appropriate as explained below, multicasts a message to all PMs instructing them to deliver SIGTERM (a software termination signal) to all members of process group 2 .",
"Each PM, upon receiving the SIGTERM request, will iterate through its PDF slots.",
"For each PID, it sends a SIGTERM request to the corresponding process instructing it to deliver SIGTERM if the process is a member of process group 2 in session 1 .",
"[0097] It will be understood that each PID serves as the UI for an associated process.",
"Such associated process may reside on the same site as the PDF that stores the PID for such process or may reside on a different site.",
"In either case, a microkernel location mechanism “knows”",
"where such associated process currently resides.",
"[0098] Thus, the microkernel ensures that the request is delivered to the appropriate processes based upon their process PIDs.",
"Each such process, in turn, checks its bookkeeping process data structure to determine whether or not it is a member of process group 2 in session 1 .",
"If it is a member of the targeted process group, it will perform the action that the process has associated with the SIGTERM signal.",
"The default action is to terminate the process (although a process can override this if it desires).",
"If it is not a member of the target process group, it will do nothing.",
"The site 401 PM, the original PM caller, collects responses from the processes that received the SIGTERM request and prepares a return to the caller of the SIGTERM call.",
"[0099] It will be appreciated that in the current embodiment the process group id is the same as the PID of the process PID group leader.",
"Likewise, a session id for a session will be the PID of the session leader.",
"[0100] In the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, a global atomic operation against a session or a process group that is entirely local does not require a multicast.",
"When a process group or session is targeted, the signal request will be sent (inter alia) to the group leader (process or session) which will check its (bookkeeping) process data structure.",
"If that structure indicates that all members are local, the local PM will handle the signal locally without resort to a multicast message.",
"Otherwise, as in the situation described above, a multicast message is sent.",
"[0101] For example, a GAO against session 1 would require a multicast, since session 1 consists of multiple process groups on different sites.",
"However, a GAO against either of the process groups would not require a multicast since each of the process groups is local to a single site.",
"[0102] More specifically, for example, the (bookkeeping) process data structure for the session leader ksh will contain an indication as to whether or not the entire membership of the session and the process group PGID 1 for which ksh is the leader is contained on site 401 .",
"In the situation illustrated in FIG. 9A, the indication would note that the process group (which consists solely of ksh itself) is in fact local to site 401 .",
"Additionally, since the process group PGID 101 is on site 402 , there would be an indication that the session is not local to site 401 .",
"Consequently, a globally atomic operation directed to session 1 requires multicast, but a globally atomic operation directed only to process group PGID 1 would not require multicast.",
"Similarly, respective process data structures for process groups PGIDs 2 and 101 , as shown in FIG. 9A, would respectively indicate that all of the member processes of process group PGID 2 are local to site 401 , and that all of the process members of process group PGID 101 are local to site 402 .",
"Consequently, globally atomic operations directed against either of process groups PGIDs 2 or 101 would not require multicast.",
"In that case, the signal is sent to the local PM which handles it, as described above, as if it were multicast to that single site.",
"An advantage of this approach is that this all occurs on a single site, and no additional resources (message bandwidth, processor utilization, memory space) on other sites will be used.",
"[0103] [0103 ]FIG. 9B shows the same session and process groups of FIG. 9A after various members have migrated.",
"Specifically, the user application processes corresponding to PIDs 4 and 5 have migrated to site 402 , and the user application processes identified by PIDs 102 and 103 have migrated to site 401 .",
"Global atomic operations to members of either process group PGID 2 or process group PGID 101 require multicast operations because the members of process groups PGIDs 2 and 101 are divided among sites 401 and 402 .",
"Global atomic operations to process group PGID 1 , however, can be handled locally by the site 401 PM since the sole process in PGID 1 is on site 401 .",
"[0104] A PM that receives the global atomic SIGTERM operation described in the above example uses PIDs to identify processes to be operated upon without the SIGTERM request knowing the site on which the corresponding process actually runs.",
"The microkernel keeps track of the actual location of a process even when the process migrates from one site to another, and, therefore, there is no need for the PID of a migrating process to migrate with the process itself.",
"Since PIDs remain in the same slots regardless of process migration, there is less risk that a global atomic operation will miss migrating target processes or will operate twice on migrating target processes.",
"Thus, it is not necessary to serialize globally atomic operations in view of the possibility of process migration.",
"These global operations may occur in parallel which ensures a limited impact on overall system performance even if many such operations occur simultaneously.",
"RECOVERY AFTER SITE FAILURE [0105] Referring to the illustrative generalized drawings of FIG. 11A, there are shown three sites of an exemplary multicomputer system 418 in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention.",
"Site 420 includes PDF 426 which stores PIDs 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 .",
"The user processes that correspond to PIDs 1 , 5 , 102 and 204 run on site 420 .",
"Site 422 includes a PDF 428 which stores PIDs 201 , 202 , 203 and 204 .",
"The user application processes that correspond to PIDs 3 , 4 , 104 and 202 run on site 422 .",
"Site 424 includes PDF 430 which stores PIDs 101 , 102 , 103 and 104 .",
"The user application processes that correspond to PIDs 2 , 101 , 103 , 201 and 203 run on site 424 .",
"[0106] The current embodiment of the invention provides processes and associated structures in electronic memory to facilitate recovery of processes in the event that a site in the multicomputer system 418 fails.",
"Assume, for example, that site 422 experiences a failure and is no longer operative.",
"The failure of site 422 will be detected by a computer program referred to as a siteview manager, which runs on hardware external to the system.",
"All components may register interest in site failure notification.",
"The PM, FM and STM may all register with the siteview manager (via the microkernel) such that they will be notified upon site failure.",
"[0107] In accordance with a current embodiment of the invention, following the failure the PMs on each of the surviving sites, site 420 and site 424 check the respective (bookkeeping) process data structures for each process running on such surviving sites to identify those surviving processes that correspond to a PID that was managed by a slot in the PDF 428 of failed site 422 .",
"A list of these identified processes is sent to a PM on a site chosen to manage the PDF for the failed site 422 .",
"In this example, site 424 has been chosen (at random) to host the reconstruction of the fragment of the process directory lost when site 422 failed.",
"Referring to the illustrative drawing of FIG. 11B, there is shown the multicomputer system 418 with only surviving sites, site 420 and site 424 .",
"The chosen PM will attempt to reconstruct the PDF 428 of the failed site 422 and will manage it as if it was part of the failed site 422 .",
"It will be appreciated that from the perspective of getdents, or other GAO, it appears as if the PDF for the failed site is still present, and the processes that were managed by that PDF and were not executing on the failed site, are still active and part of the consistent snapshot.",
"However, since the processes that had been running on site 422 have been lost, only deallocation requests are processed for the reconstructed PDF 428 ′.",
"[0108] Moreover, in accordance with the failure recovery process, the respective PMs on the surviving sites, site 420 and site 424 attempt to contact each process identified by a PID in the respective PDFs, PDF 426 , PDF 430 and reconstructed PDF 428 ′, that they manage.",
"For instance, each respective PM may send a ping message to each process identified by a PID in its respective PDF.",
"Any process that fails to respond is assumed to have been active on the failed site;",
"since generally, there is no other reason a process would fail to respond (absent an operating system bug or hardware failure-both of which may result in site failure).",
"[0109] The PIDs of processes that were active on a failed site are removed from the respective PDFs that stored them.",
"Referring to FIG. 11B, the PM on site 420 cannot contact processes corresponding to PID 3 and PID 4 since they had been running on the failed site 422 .",
"So, the PIDs for these processes are removed from PDF 426 .",
"Similarly, the PM on site 424 cannot contact the processes identified by PID 104 , and the PID for this process is removed from PDF 430 .",
"Likewise, the PM on site 424 cannot contact the process identified by PID 202 , and the PID for that process is removed from the reconstructed PDF 428 ′.",
"MICRO-KERNEL PROCESS LOCATION SERVICE [0110] In a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, the micro-kernel includes process location services which are computer programs and related data structures used to locate migratable processes.",
"The following sections describe these services.",
"PORT NAME SERVER [0111] This section describes a port name server which is used to localize (i.e., determine the location of) a migrated port.",
"As explained above, the basic interprocess communication mechanism in the present embodiment involves messages.",
"Messages are sent between ports during interprocess communication.",
"A message sender must know the name of the destination port to send a message.",
"This name is a unique name in space and time.",
"When an actor sends a message to a port, the micro-kernel needs to know on which node (site) is located the destination port.",
"Since most ports do not migrate, an optimization has been implemented, storing the creation site of the port within the port UI itself.",
"[0112] In the present embodiment, a port UI is an “opaque”",
"data structure—meaning that the contents of the data structure are only relevant to the micro-kernel, not the clients of the micro-kernel.",
"The micro-kernel stores as part of the UI the site number on which the port was created, e.g., UI: site number UI head UI tail [0113] UI head and UI tail are opaque fields used by the micro-kernel to ensure that all UIs created will be unique.",
"[0114] If ports did not migrate, then using a port name to find a port location would be enough.",
"But ports do migrate.",
"When a port migrates, the site number embedded within the port UI loses much of its usefulness.",
"The port is no longer on its creation site and the micro-kernel cannot use the creation site to localize the port.",
"However, of course, ports can migrate.",
"When processes migrate, the port which is used to address the process must also migrate with the process.",
"[0115] As explained above in earlier sections, a UI can be used to describe either a single port or a port group.",
"Localization of a port group is a somewhat different proposition than localization of a port, however, since a port group really does not have a location, per se, being a collection of ports which can be located almost anywhere in the system.",
"A port group UI can be considered to be a “meta”",
"port which is decomposed into an appropriate single port UI or multiple port UIs, depending on the mode or the nature of a request.",
"For instance, a broadcast request may result in selection of all ports in a port group.",
"PORT LOCALIZATION SERVER AND PORT STATUS INVESTIGATOR [0116] This section describes the architecture of the port localization server (PLS) and its interface with the different components of the single-system image (SSI).",
"The PLS is responsible for maintaining port localization information.",
"In a present embodiment, the PLS includes a naming service which maintains a port localization cache which is a set of tuples (site, UI) for all ports with which it has successfully communicated.",
"The cache is of finite size, and entries will be reused on an LRU (least recently used) basis.",
"Since, in the current embodiment, the PLS is a centralized service, only one instance of this server runs in the SSI.",
"Specifically, PLS runs on the essential services site {em essential node}, a designated site where centralized services are located and which is supposed to be alive at all times.",
"[0117] The PLS provides two interfaces.",
"One for the interprocess communication (IPC) services and one for a the Port Status Investigator (PSI) service.",
"FIG. 12 provides an illustrative drawing of the general interfaces to the PLS.",
"The PLS and PSI are disposed on the essential services site.",
"The PLS communicates with the PSI.",
"The PLS also communicates via IPC protocols with other processes disposed on the essential site and with processes disposed on other sites, such as site n shown in FIG. 12.",
"The PSI on the essential site also communicates with PSIs on other sites, such as site n. The IPC interface is used by the IPC protocol to add, remove, or localize a port into the PLS port UI database.",
"This interface also is used by the IPC to migrate a port.",
"IPC requests typically use the localization cache or PLS services, since generally it is not known a priori whether or not a port has migrated from its creation site.",
"[0118] During migration of a port, the PLS must provide consistent information about migrated ports and about ports that are in the process of being migrated.",
"The PLS, therefore, has access to the current state of all the ports that are in the process of being migrated.",
"A port migration coordinator uses the PLS to register the migrated port once it is migrated.",
"[0119] The PLS also implements an interface with the Port Status Investigator (PSI).",
"When a site failure is detected, the PSI needs to get the list of the ports which have been migrated to the failed site, and the list of the ports which have been created on the failed site and migrated out.",
"The PLS provides those two lists through its interface with the PSI.",
"PORT LOCALIZATION PROCESS [0120] The PLS is used by the IPC to localize ports which have been migrated.",
"The objective is to store into the PLS's port localization cache all the migrated ports'",
"UIs and the site numbers where they are located.",
"[0121] The IPC port localization protocol is basically as follows.",
"This IPC port localization protocol runs locally on every site.",
"If a destination port UI of an IPC message is not in a local cache of UIs or, if it is and the port is no longer on the site listed in the local localization cache, then the PLS protocol will be run.",
"A local protocol described as follows: [0122] 1.",
"If the destination port is local, queue the message behind the destination port and return.",
"[0123] 2.",
"If the destination port is not local, check whether the UI is registered in the local cache of UIs.",
"If the destination port is in the cache, send the message to the site where the port is supposed to be.",
"If the port is really on this site, return.",
"Otherwise, go to step 4.",
"If there is no entry in the cache, go to step 3.",
"[0124] 3.",
"Send the message to the creation site of the destination port.",
"This creation site is extracted from the UI.",
"If the port is there, return.",
"Otherwise, continue.",
"[0125] 4.",
"Query the PLS to see if it knows where the destination port is.",
"If it does, send a message to the port indicated by the PLS.",
"If the port is not where the PLS indicated it would be, then retry step 4.",
"If the PLS does not know about the destination port, return port unknown to the sender, the code which attempted to send a message to the port.",
"[0126] In a present embodiment, the PLS interface is based on RPCs.",
"The PLS handles those requests with a message handler, allowing it to serve several requests at the same time.",
"PORT LOCALIZATION AND MIGRATION PROCESS [0127] The PLS is involved in the port migration process, since it acts as a port migration coordinator.",
"The port migration coordinator is used when the source and destination site of the migration are not the same.",
"The micro-kernel permits migration of a port between actors.",
"It will be appreciated that there can be port migrations between source and destination actors operative on the same site or between source and destination actors on different sites.",
"Basically, the migration coordinator keeps track of the state of the port migration at any time.",
"If a site failure occurs, the coordinator knows if it affects the port migration.",
"The illustrative drawing of FIG. 13 shows an exemplary messaging protocol that involves a port migration.",
"[0128] An actor which calls a “port Migrate”",
"service to request that a port be migrated shall be referred to herein as an “initiator.”",
"Referring to FIG. 13, if a source actor and a destination actor of the port are not on the same site, the PLS drives the port migration, as follows.",
"[0129] 1.",
"The initiator sends a port migration request to the PLS.",
"[0130] 2.",
"Then, the PLS forwards this request to the site location of the destination actor (named, {em destination site}), which allocates the local resources needed to receive the migrating port and then [0131] 3.",
"Then, the destination actor forwards the request to the site location of the source actor (named, {em source site}).",
"The source site builds a reply message with all the information related to the migrating port, such as the list of the groups where the port has been inserted.",
"The port is deleted.",
"[0132] 4.",
"Then, the source actor sends the reply to the destination site.",
"[0133] 5.",
"Then, the destination site inserts the port into all the groups the port belongs to, and replies to the PLS.",
"It will be appreciated that a port may be a member of multiple port groups.",
"The port is reinserted into the port groups after the migration.",
"Once the PLS gets this reply, it indicates in the localization cache that the port is located on the destination site.",
"[0134] 6.",
"Finally, the PLS replies to the initiator, and the port migration is then completed.",
"[0135] If a port is migrated back to the site where it has been created, the PLS forgets the port as soon as the port has been migrated.",
"That is, the PLS drops the port from the PLS localization cache (since the creation site stored in the UI is now useful again).",
"This is an optimization, because a port which has been migrated away from its creation site, and later migrated back to this site, can be considered to be just like any other ports to which it never has been migrated.",
"[0136] The PLS can be implemented to handle the situation in which a localization request is received concerning a migrating port before the migration is complete.",
"Two alternative procedures for handling this situation have been developed.",
"First, the PLS can block the request (does not answer) until the port migration is completed.",
"This mechanism is very simple because the source of the localization request does not have to know that a port migration is in progress, but some resources, such as the PLS message handler thread and the message structure, are held on the PLS site until the port migration completes.",
"Since the PLS runs on the essential services site, where all the centralized services run, it may not be good practice to hold information that long.",
"Second, the PLS can return an error message to the caller (busy message), forcing the caller to wait and try again later on.",
"This solution is the preferred solution.",
"Eventually, when the port migration is completed, the PLS will answer the request.",
"[0137] Once a port has been migrated, the port is flagged as registered in the PLS.",
"When a registered port is deleted, the IPC makes sure that the PLS is notified of the deletion, allowing the PLS to remove the port UI from its table.",
"A process and its corresponding port are deleted, for example, when the process exits or is killed.",
"SITE FAILURE AND PORT MIGRATION PROCESS [0138] When a site fails, all the ports which have been migrated to this site still have entries in the PLS.",
"Those entries need to be removed.",
"The sight view manager (SVM) which runs on the essential services site (ESS) pings each site at prescribed time intervals, e.g. every ten seconds.",
"If a site does not reply, the SVM assumes the site has failed.",
"The SVM notifies the PLS of the site failure, and the PLS goes through its VI deletion (or cleanup) routine.",
"[0139] The process described above is sufficient when a site failure does not happen at the same time as a port migration from a source site to the failing site, but a special recovery mechanism is needed when the source site or the destination site of a port migration fails during the migration.",
"The PSI uses the PLS to obtain a complete list of ports migrated into the failed site (this list is named {migTo}), the PLS must keep a coherent state of migrating ports all the time.",
"Since the PSI has a specific interface to the PLS to get those lists, and since the PSI needs to get those lists before it actually triggers a site view change monitors, the PLS needs to take special care about site failure happening while a port is migrating.",
"[0140] However, knowing the exact state of the port migration at any time is difficult, since four sites typically are involved in the process and since the PLS cannot rely on the site view change monitor.",
"The four sites (nodes) are: source, destination, PLS (Essential), and the site which is attempting to determine the location of the port (e.g., to send a message to it).",
"When the SVM notes a site view change, it will invoke a callback in the PLS to remove from the local localization cache any ports which were localized to the failed site.",
"[0141] When the source or destination site fails during a port migration, however, the PLS does not know if the port has already been migrated by the time of the failure.",
"For instance, if the target fails after the source has sent the port information and deleted the port, the migrating port does not exist any more.",
"But, if the source fails before sending the migration request to the source, the port is still alive on the source site.",
"Since failure notification is not synchronized among the sites, and since it is possible to receive late messages from a failed site, it is difficult to develop an algorithm where the state of the migration is known at all times, where the source site or the target site can fail.",
"Instead, in a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, the PLS, in essence, takes a guess at the state of the migration.",
"If the guess is incorrect, the PLS forces the state of the port migration on all the surviving sites to match its own state.",
"[0142] When the source or the destination fails during a port migration, depending on when the port migration happened, the port likely is either (i) dead, because it was on the failed site, or (ii) still alive, because it was on the surviving site by the time of the site failure.",
"In a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, the PLS makes the assumption that the worst has happened.",
"When the source or the destination site fails while a port is migrating, the port is considered by the PLS as dead.",
"Referring to FIG. 13, the previous assumption means that from the moment that the message 1 is received by the PLS until the moment that the message 5 is received, if the source or the destination fails, then the port will be considered dead.",
"[0143] The PSI asks for the migTo and migFrom lists as soon as a site failure is detected on the ESS.",
"(From now on, this operation will be referred to as {PSI query}.) The PSI query can happen before or after all the messages sent by the failed site have arrived at their destinations.",
"No assumption is made about the ordering of those events.",
"[0144] Source failure presents a different situation from destination failure.",
"[0145] When the source site fails: [0146] Assume the source site fails before message 2 is sent.",
"The port is considered as dead, and the message 2 has been sent.",
"The target will never know about the port migration.",
"The PLS simply returns a failure to the initiator to let it know that the port migration has failed.",
"[0147] Assume the source site fails after the message 2 is sent and after, the message 3 is sent.",
"If the source site fails before it had a chance to send the reply 4 , the destination site will eventually get a response that the source is unknown.",
"The destination site returns an error to the PLS, and the PLS returns an error to the initiator.",
"The port migration is considered as failed.",
"[0148] Assume the source fails after sending the reply 4 .",
"The PSI query happens before the reply 6 arrives to the PLS.",
"In that case, the port is considered as dead.",
"However, each of two possibilities must be handled.",
"[0149] The first possibility is that the destination site finds out about the failure of the source site before the message 4 is delivered.",
"In that case, a response is returned indicating that the source is unknown.",
"This case is the same as the previous case, and an error is returned to the PLS.",
"The port migration is considered as failed.",
"[0150] The second possibility is that the destinations site gets the reply 4 before it detects that the source site has failed.",
"A new port is created and a successful migration is reported to the PLS.",
"The PSI query has been registered on the PLS, so when the PLS gets the reply 5 , it can detect the incoherence between the content of the message 5 and its own state.",
"Since the port has already been considered as failed, the PLS sends a message to the destination site to destroy the migrated port.",
"This cleanup is necessary because, otherwise, the failed port would be living and accessible on the destination site, which would be incorrect.",
"The port migration is considered as failed, and an error reply 6 is sent to the initiator.",
"[0151] On the other hand, if the source fails after sending the reply 4 , and the PSI query happens after the PLS receives the reply 5 , and the port is considered as living, then the port migration is considered as successful.",
"[0152] When the destination site fails: [0153] Assume that the destination site fails before it had a chance to send the reply 5 .",
"There are two possibilities that should be handled.",
"[0154] The first possibility is that the PSI query happened before the PLS gets a destination unknown error from the message 2 .",
"The port is considered as dead.",
"Since the PLS has no possibility to know if the destination site has failed before or after sending the message 3 , the PLS sends a clean-up message to the source site to destroy the port, if it is still there.",
"If the message 3 has been sent and received, the port already has been deleted.",
"Nothing has to be done.",
"[0155] If the message 3 has not been sent, the port is destroyed.",
"If the message 3 has been sent, but not received yet, the PLS can detect the destination's failure and send the clean-up message to the source site before message 3 is delivered to the source.",
"In that case, as mentioned, the port is destroyed, but, later, the message 3 arrives.",
"Since the message 3 is a request to migrate a non-existing port (non-existing because destroyed), an error is returned.",
"(No one is going to receive this reply.) The PLS returns a success to the initiator.",
"The port migration is considered as successful.",
"The process successfully migrated from source to destination, and the destination subsequently failed.",
"Of course, any subsequent attempt to contact the process will fail because the site is unknown.",
"[0156] The second possibility is that the PSI query happens after the PLS received a destination site unknown error from the message.",
"The PLS registers the port as being on the destination site, sends the clean-up message to the source site, and returns a successful migration response to the initiator.",
"The port migration is considered as successful, and the port is considered as alive, until the PSI query happens.",
"The source and initiator will consider the migration to have been successful since the process did successfully migrate off the source site.",
"PLS INTERFACE WITH PSI [0157] The PSI needs to get the {migTo} and {migFrom} lists.",
"Since it is not possible to predict the number of ports those lists can contain, the interface between the PLS and the PSI must be able to fragment those lists into smaller packets.",
"Referring to FIG. 14, the interface, in accordance with a present embodiment, uses the IPC.",
"The PSI sends a request to the PLS including the site number of the failed site and the UI of the port where a message handler has been attached, ready to handle the message from the PLS containing the {migFrom} and {migTo} ports.",
"[0158] In a present embodiment, the PSI creates a port and attaches a handler to the port to respond to messages delivered to the port.",
"This port is created by the PSI to receive messages from the PLS containing the variable sized migFrom/migTo lists.",
"It will be deleted when no longer necessary.",
"[0159] When the PLS gets any PSI requests, it first checks if the failed site is either the source or the destination of any of the port migrations in progress.",
"If it is, the state of the port migration in progress is changed (the migrating port is marked as dead, as described in the previous section), and the migrating port is included into the {migTo} port if the failed site was the destination site.",
"Then the PLS scans its table to find all ports created on the failed site and migrated away ({migFrom}), and all the ports migrated to the failed site ({migTo}).",
"This list of ports is built into a message.",
"If the list exceeds the size of a message, the list is sent using several messages.",
"PORT CREATED WITH PORTDECLARE [0160] In a current embodiment, parts of the operating system (not the PM, generally) may use a process referred to as, portDeclare/uiBuild to construct a UI, bypassing the code which stores the creation site in the UI;",
"thus, this “hint”",
"cannot be used to determine the port destination.",
"More specifically, a micro-kernel system call {portDeclare}, which forms no part of the present invention, allows the user to create a port with a user-defined UI.",
"This UI is built using {uiBuild} which allows the user to set the creation site part of the UI to any value.",
"That means that port can be created in such a way that the IPC cannot retrieve the real creation site number.",
"Such ports need to be localized even if they did not migrate.",
"They need to be registered in the PLS at the time of creation.",
"Since performing this operation creates an overhead, and since most of the port created with {portDeclare} has a correct creation site number embedded within the port UI, a good optimization is to register only the ports which do not have a correct creation site number.",
"Since the PLS needs to know what was the site c creation of all the registered ports, and since the PLS cannot rely on the creation site number embedded within the UI, the creation site number needs to be explicitly stored with the port UI and the present location site.",
"[0161] While a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail, various modifications to the preferred embodiment can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.",
"For example, although the current embodiment employs a CHORUS microkernel and UNIX SSUs, the invention can be implemented with other operating system components as well.",
"Thus, the invention is limited only by the appended claims."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/846,542 (Marquet et al.), filed on May 17, 2004 and entitled “Network Equipment With Embedded Movable Secure Devices”, which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention is directed to communication networks and in particular to a multi-level and multi-factor security credentials management system and method for network element (NE) authentication.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] As the communication networks expand and converge into an integrated global system, open protocol standards are being developed and adopted with a view to enable flexibility and universality of access to collection and exchange of information. Unfortunately, these open standards tend to make networks more vulnerable to security related attacks, whereby an attacker can potentially gain access to sensitive and confidential information at targeted network elements.
[0004] In telecommunication networks, both the users and the network operator have to be protected against undesirable intrusion of third parties, as far as possible. Security is a critical feature in modern communication systems; communications within networks must be kept secure at all times and in all places to avoid sharing of confidential information. In addition to providing strong protection, security systems also need to be flexible, promoting inter-operability and collaboration across domains of administration.
[0005] One major aspects of the network security is protection of the information that the network manipulates and stores, which is currently accomplished using various forms of encryption based on secret keys exchange. Access rights are assigned in terms of the ability to send and/or receive information via the transmission medium. An equally important aspect of the network security is authentication and access control of the users. Authentication mechanisms attempt to ensure that information comes from the source it is claimed to come from, and is typically based on user IDs and passwords.
[0006] TCP (transmission control protocol), which is the original Internet protocol, was designed on the basis that system users would connect to the network for strictly legitimate purposes, so that no particular consideration was given to security issues. Many routing protocols relay on TCP; for example, BGP (border gateway protocol) uses TCP as its transport protocol, which makes it vulnerable to all security weaknesses of the TCP protocol itself. For a determined attacker, it is possible to forcibly close a BGP session or even hijack it and insert malicious routing information into the BGP data stream. Running BGP over IPsec would protect it against attacks on the TCP stream, but in practice sauch configurations are not deployed widely. Instead, the TCP MD5 (message digest) option described in RFC 2385 is used more often, since support for this protocol option is available on most BGP implementations. The MD5 algorithm is intended for digital signature applications, where a large file must be “compressed” in a secure manner before being encrypted with a private (secret) key under a public-key cryptosystem such as RSA.
[0007] The majority of the issues related to information protection within the network exist because operations and control are currently made with weak authentication of the network element (NE), or with no authentication at all. To achieve stronger security in today's open environment, the network elements need more secure management and control mechanisms, including support for functions such as operator and device authentication, configuration sealing, cryptographic support, etc. Implementing a strong authentication of the NEs requires a secure mechanism for management of network users secret credentials. A generic mechanism for manipulating the security credentials for all users having access to the network, while maintaining these inaccessible to unauthorized users is vital to the proper execution of a service by a network element.
[0008] Current solutions provide software means for managing security credentials of each NE and storage means for storing the specific operational capabilities of the NE and the credentials for accessing and using these NE capabilities. Access to a file with credentials is in most cases protected and limited to the administrator account of the NE. The consequence of this type of implementation is that any attack on one piece of vulnerable software can potentially allow access to sensitive and confidential data on the network elements, as all applications, including applications which manipulate sensitive and confidential data, share the same execution context. For example, the credentials may be compromised using root account vulnerabilities of the operating system of the NE, or a misconfiguration of an open port. Unfortunately, it is very possible that such a scenario remains undetected by the network management systems until some anomalies detection system alerts the network operator. As a result, this current approach used for implementing security credentials management and control can be easily bypassed.
[0009] It is also known to use smartcard technologies for a secure storage of the credentials. These cards have the appearance of a standard credit card but incorporate circuitry for on-board storage and exchange of stored data with a reader installed on the NE, via an input-output interface. Access to this data is based on passwords and user IDs and the data transmission uses encryption. Thus, the smartcards function currently more as a means of storing data, and do not play a role in authenticating the host NE.
[0010] In principle, sensitive and confidential data should not be accessible outside the context of the application for better security. The current credential management systems provide no access restriction to sensitive confidential data for users with different roles, such as the manufacturer and the operator, each of which have their own set of specific security information. This vulnerability is inherent with systems using classical memories and storage that do not allow isolation and access restriction to sensitive confidential data.
[0011] There is a need for a stronger and better security credentials management method and system for verifying authenticity of a network element in a communication network.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] It is an object of the invention to provide multi-level and multi-factor security credentials management for network element authentication.
[0013] Accordingly, the invention provides a security credentials management system for verifying authenticity of a network element (NE) in a communication network, comprising: a NE authentication unit for generating a challenge to said network element and verifying if a response received from said NE to said challenge conforms with an expected response; an autonomous secured execution device (SED) for generating said response to said challenge based on security credentials for a specified user, upon temporary connection with said NE; and a NE security controller for enabling communication between said NE authentication unit and said SED.
[0014] The invention is also directed to method for managing security credentials of the users of a communication network, for verifying authenticity of a network element (NE) in a communication network comprising: a) providing a secured execution device (SED) with security credentials of a specified entity and re-movably connecting said SED to said NE for login a request to perform a specified operation from sad NE; b) at said NE, detecting the presence of said SED and informing a NE control entity of said request; c) at said NE control entity, generating a challenge to said SED and transmitting said challenge to said SED; d) processing said challenge at said SED, and transmitting a SED response to said NE control entity; e) at said NE control entity, verifying if said response conforms with an expected response calculated locally at said NE control entity; and f) authorizing said entity to perform said operation from said NE if said response coincides with said expected response.
[0015] Advantageously, the method and system of the invention makes it difficult for an unauthorized entity to forge an authentication message, as protected network information is not accessible without correct credentials, to the extent that even the NE software has no access to the credentials.
[0016] Another advantage of the invention is that it enables distribution of privileges in such a way that at any time, no one alone, has the ability to control the equipment protected by security credentials management system of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of the preferred embodiments, as illustrated in the appended drawings, where:
[0018] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the multi-level and multi-factor security credentials management system for network element authentication according to the invention;
[0019] FIG. 2 shows an example of security credentials table for two levels of access and two factors; and
[0020] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary scenario of the multi-level multi-factor credentials management system according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] Credentials in the context of the invention refers to secret information that enables an entity to access a service/information of interest. For example, the entity identification (e.g. operator name, password or PIN), the IP addresses of network elements of interest, CPSS (control packet switching system) addresses, a secret key, etc. The term “protected data” refers to files and programs that an operator, manufacturer or user (an entity) wishes to maintain secret. The term “privilege” refers to a special right or a special benefit granted to a certain entity, which allows the network element to divulge confidential information to that entity or to perform a certain operation requested by the respective entity. Examples of privileges are access (read, write or both) privileges to a respective network resource, type of information that the accessing entity is allowed to access (i.e. individual financial information in a financial database) and information flow restrictions/allowances.
[0022] This specification also uses the term “factor” for the level of security granted to a certain entity.
[0023] A brief description of the multi-level and multi-factor security credentials management (SCM) system for network element authentication is provided next in connection with the block diagram of FIG. 1 . Further details about SCM system are provided in the above referenced co-pending patent application Ser. No. 10/846,542. The SCM system is implemented using an external secured execution device (SED) 20 , which is provided with a connector 5 for attachment/reattachment to the control card 2 of a NE 1 . SED 20 uses preferably smart card technology. NE 1 is generically shown as a shelf of equipment with a plurality of cards, including control card 2 . However, it is well-known that a NE may use more shelves in a cabinet of equipment; a one-shelf NE is illustrated by way of example.
[0024] FIG. 1 also illustrates the NE control entity 12 , be it a network management system (NMS) or an element management system (EMS), an operating system support (OSS), etc. It is to be noted that only the units relevant to the NE authentication, referred to as NE authentication controller 10 , of the NE control entity 12 are shown. FIG. 1 also illustrates only the units of the NE 2 that are involved in exchange of data between SED 20 and NE authentication controller 10 , referred to as NE security controller 3 .
[0025] The above-referenced co-pending U.S. Patent Application describes various implementations of SED 20 . In principle, SED 20 has a credentials memory 22 , an authentication processor 24 and a SED-NE interface 26 . Memory 22 could be used to store all security parameters that have to be kept secret. SED memory 22 stores the credentials input off-line for various entities that have access privileges to the NE 1 . SED initialization and configuration can be done by an end user in a card holder environment with minimal hardware/software set up; the credentials provide a user specific level of security. It is apparent that in the arrangement shown in FIG. 1 , data stored in memory 22 cannot be accessed logically or physically outside SED 20 ; it can only be accessed and manipulated over an authentication processor 24 .
[0026] Authentication processor 24 could be a generic processor that enables controlled and secure access to the sensitive and confidential information in memory 22 . Authentication processor 24 is involved in requesting access to a specified activity in the network, and in responding to a challenge received form the authentication unit 10 , with a view to authenticate the user/NE right to the requested access to perform that activity. Since the credentials are kept in a distinct, protected environment, isolation of processes run by the NE operating system 21 and the authentication processes run by the authentication processor 24 of SED 20 can be maintained. Also, this arrangement enables easy updates of the credentials and hardware-independent updates of the security-related functionality.
[0027] Different security aspects relating to the NE could be treated separately using multiple SEDs, each addressing a specific aspect; the multiple instances could improve reliability of the security program. The different instances might also be configured for use by more than one entity. In the event of multiple or several instances of SEDs, synchronization in real time may be needed.
[0028] The security controller (SC) 3 is mainly involved in establishing communication channels between SED 20 and NE authentication controller 10 . NE-SED interface 27 enables communication with SED 20 over the corresponding SED-NE interface 26 , and NE-NMS interface 29 enables communication with the NE authentication unit 10 over a corresponding NMS-NE interface 19 . In addition, the SC 3 ensures that NE 1 detects when the SED is connected and running, as generically shown by presence and activity detector 25 . Use of presence and activity detector 25 effectively minimizes the window of exposure of sensitive and critical information maintained on SED 20 . FIG. 1 also shows the control card memory 23 , which is used in a well know manner to store data used by the NE operating system 21 for operation of the NE 1 . It is readily apparent that since the credentials are kept separately (memory 22 on SED 20 ) from the data stored in memory 23 , a malicious attack on memory 23 will not enable access to the credentials.
[0029] In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 , the NE authentication controller 10 includes a challenge generator 11 , a credentials memory 13 , a comparator 15 and an authentication processor 17 . Challenge generator 11 challenges the SED to identify the NE/user as a rightful user of the privileges accorded to that user in the network. For example, the challenge could be a random number generator that creates a random number 31 and sends it to the SED over the NMS-NE interface 19 , NE-NMS interface 29 and respectively interfaces 27 and 26 . Credentials memory 13 stores credentials information of the same type as that in the SED memory 22 ; evidently credentials memory 13 keeps credentials information for some or all NEs under the control of the NMS/EMS 12 . Authentication processor 17 receives the same challenge (random number) that is sent to the SED and the credentials for the entity specified in the request, and calculates locally the response to challenge. Comparator 15 compares the SED response 32 with the expected response 33 calculated locally to provide a NE authentication notifier when the two signals coincide. The notifier indicates if the NE is a legitimate NE/user and enables the NE/user having the credentials stored in memory 22 to proceed with the activity of interest from NE 1 .
[0030] According to the invention, the security credentials are maintained in credentials memory 13 are configured on layers and factors, as shown in the example provided in FIG. 2 . The credentials are introduced off-line by the respective entity (e.g. the manufacturer at the installation time, the operator at the configuration time and the users upon registration). Each layer corresponds to an authorized user, and each factor indicates a privilege for the respective level. The number of layers and of factors is configurable, and each level is activated by a respective password or a PIN code for the respective SED.
[0031] FIG. 2 provides an example of a two-level, two-factor security credential management configuration. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to two-levels and two factors. In this example, Level 1 defines the manufacturing configuration, providing the privileges accorded to the manufacturing entity. Level 2 defines the operation configuration providing the privileges accorded to the network operator. Level 1 is activated with the presentation of a Level 1 password and Level 2 is activated with the presentation of a level 2 passwords.
[0032] The security credentials are classified according to two factors in this example, namely Public and Secret factors. For example, Public manufacturer security credentials may be the manufacturer identity, the NE serial number, the network card configuration, etc, and private manufacturer security credentials may be a Level 1 PIN code and a software license key. Public operator security credentials may be the operator name, the IP address, the CPSS address (control packet switching system), etc, and Private operator security credentials may be a Level 2 PIN code, a secret key, BGP-MD5 (message digest algorithm).
[0033] The SED controls the operations available for each category, based on the set of credentials allocated at each level for each category. Thus, the NE software privileges at both Level 1 and Level 2 are read only from the public category. The operator has read privileges to for the Level 1, public category, read/write privileges for the Level 2 public category and write privileges for the Level 2 secret category. Conversely, the manufacturer has read privileges to for the Level 2, public category, read/write privileges for the Level 1 public category and write privileges for the Level 1 secret category. Write privileges always require presentation of a PIN code associated with the corresponding level.
[0034] Using the proposed multi-level and multi-factor security credentials management system described above, a scenario of network element authentication is presented in FIG. 3 . FIG. 3 illustrates a node 100 enabled with the system of the invention. The node includes a network element 1 with the respective SED (secured execution device) 20 that interfaces with the control card (not shown) embedded on the NE. It is assumed that the respective NE 1 is recognized by the NE control entity 12 , i.e. entity 12 has identity and operational parameters of NE 1 and table 13 includes the security credentials for all entities that have privileges to use/operate the NEs controlled by entity 12 . In FIG. 3 , NE 1 is connected to NMS 12 over a network denoted with 50 .
[0035] The authentication of the NE 1 in the network 14 begins with the SED connecting to the NE 1 , and requesting access to an operation to be performed by NE 1 , as shown in step S 1 . The request contains information about the identity of the requestor (password, user ID) and the type of operations to be performed. At this time, the NE 1 detects the presence and activity of the SED, establishes the connectivity between the NE control entity 12 and SED 20 , and informs the NE control entity of the SED access request, as shown in step S 2 . Next, the NE control entity 12 generates and sends the challenge to the SED over the channels established by NE 1 , as shown by steps S 3 and S 4 . To reiterate, the NE is not involved in this activity, but for transmitting the challenge on connection 31 received from NE control entity 12 to SED 20 .
[0036] SED 20 receives and processes the challenge; for example authentication process 24 may execute a pre-established set of operations to the respective random number and generate the SED response 32 . This is illustrated in step S 5 . The SED response is transmitted next to the NE control entity over NE 1 (without the NE involvement), as shown in step S 6 . Finally, comparator 15 of the NE control entity compares the SED response 32 with the expected response 33 and provided the NE authentication notifier, if the two match. Now, the NE/user is allowed to go ahead with the request. | A secured execution device (SED) maintains security credentials for a certain user that requests access to the network for performing specified operations or for obtaining specified information. The NE from where the user requests access to the network is authenticated using SED credentials against a multi-level and multi-factor credentials table maintained by a NE authentication controller provided in the EMS/NM/OSS controlling the respective NE. The NE authentication controller issues a challenge and transmits it to the NE. The SED receives the challenge and both the SED and the NE authentication controller process the random number in the same way. The SED then returns a one time usage cryptographic message with the response to the challenge. The NE authentication controller checks the SED response against the expected response calculated locally; the user gains access to the network over the NE if the two responses coincide. | Condense the core contents of the given document. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 10/846,542 (Marquet et al.), filed on May 17, 2004 and entitled “Network Equipment With Embedded Movable Secure Devices”, which is incorporated herein by reference.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The invention is directed to communication networks and in particular to a multi-level and multi-factor security credentials management system and method for network element (NE) authentication.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] As the communication networks expand and converge into an integrated global system, open protocol standards are being developed and adopted with a view to enable flexibility and universality of access to collection and exchange of information.",
"Unfortunately, these open standards tend to make networks more vulnerable to security related attacks, whereby an attacker can potentially gain access to sensitive and confidential information at targeted network elements.",
"[0004] In telecommunication networks, both the users and the network operator have to be protected against undesirable intrusion of third parties, as far as possible.",
"Security is a critical feature in modern communication systems;",
"communications within networks must be kept secure at all times and in all places to avoid sharing of confidential information.",
"In addition to providing strong protection, security systems also need to be flexible, promoting inter-operability and collaboration across domains of administration.",
"[0005] One major aspects of the network security is protection of the information that the network manipulates and stores, which is currently accomplished using various forms of encryption based on secret keys exchange.",
"Access rights are assigned in terms of the ability to send and/or receive information via the transmission medium.",
"An equally important aspect of the network security is authentication and access control of the users.",
"Authentication mechanisms attempt to ensure that information comes from the source it is claimed to come from, and is typically based on user IDs and passwords.",
"[0006] TCP (transmission control protocol), which is the original Internet protocol, was designed on the basis that system users would connect to the network for strictly legitimate purposes, so that no particular consideration was given to security issues.",
"Many routing protocols relay on TCP;",
"for example, BGP (border gateway protocol) uses TCP as its transport protocol, which makes it vulnerable to all security weaknesses of the TCP protocol itself.",
"For a determined attacker, it is possible to forcibly close a BGP session or even hijack it and insert malicious routing information into the BGP data stream.",
"Running BGP over IPsec would protect it against attacks on the TCP stream, but in practice sauch configurations are not deployed widely.",
"Instead, the TCP MD5 (message digest) option described in RFC 2385 is used more often, since support for this protocol option is available on most BGP implementations.",
"The MD5 algorithm is intended for digital signature applications, where a large file must be “compressed”",
"in a secure manner before being encrypted with a private (secret) key under a public-key cryptosystem such as RSA.",
"[0007] The majority of the issues related to information protection within the network exist because operations and control are currently made with weak authentication of the network element (NE), or with no authentication at all.",
"To achieve stronger security in today's open environment, the network elements need more secure management and control mechanisms, including support for functions such as operator and device authentication, configuration sealing, cryptographic support, etc.",
"Implementing a strong authentication of the NEs requires a secure mechanism for management of network users secret credentials.",
"A generic mechanism for manipulating the security credentials for all users having access to the network, while maintaining these inaccessible to unauthorized users is vital to the proper execution of a service by a network element.",
"[0008] Current solutions provide software means for managing security credentials of each NE and storage means for storing the specific operational capabilities of the NE and the credentials for accessing and using these NE capabilities.",
"Access to a file with credentials is in most cases protected and limited to the administrator account of the NE.",
"The consequence of this type of implementation is that any attack on one piece of vulnerable software can potentially allow access to sensitive and confidential data on the network elements, as all applications, including applications which manipulate sensitive and confidential data, share the same execution context.",
"For example, the credentials may be compromised using root account vulnerabilities of the operating system of the NE, or a misconfiguration of an open port.",
"Unfortunately, it is very possible that such a scenario remains undetected by the network management systems until some anomalies detection system alerts the network operator.",
"As a result, this current approach used for implementing security credentials management and control can be easily bypassed.",
"[0009] It is also known to use smartcard technologies for a secure storage of the credentials.",
"These cards have the appearance of a standard credit card but incorporate circuitry for on-board storage and exchange of stored data with a reader installed on the NE, via an input-output interface.",
"Access to this data is based on passwords and user IDs and the data transmission uses encryption.",
"Thus, the smartcards function currently more as a means of storing data, and do not play a role in authenticating the host NE.",
"[0010] In principle, sensitive and confidential data should not be accessible outside the context of the application for better security.",
"The current credential management systems provide no access restriction to sensitive confidential data for users with different roles, such as the manufacturer and the operator, each of which have their own set of specific security information.",
"This vulnerability is inherent with systems using classical memories and storage that do not allow isolation and access restriction to sensitive confidential data.",
"[0011] There is a need for a stronger and better security credentials management method and system for verifying authenticity of a network element in a communication network.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0012] It is an object of the invention to provide multi-level and multi-factor security credentials management for network element authentication.",
"[0013] Accordingly, the invention provides a security credentials management system for verifying authenticity of a network element (NE) in a communication network, comprising: a NE authentication unit for generating a challenge to said network element and verifying if a response received from said NE to said challenge conforms with an expected response;",
"an autonomous secured execution device (SED) for generating said response to said challenge based on security credentials for a specified user, upon temporary connection with said NE;",
"and a NE security controller for enabling communication between said NE authentication unit and said SED.",
"[0014] The invention is also directed to method for managing security credentials of the users of a communication network, for verifying authenticity of a network element (NE) in a communication network comprising: a) providing a secured execution device (SED) with security credentials of a specified entity and re-movably connecting said SED to said NE for login a request to perform a specified operation from sad NE;",
"b) at said NE, detecting the presence of said SED and informing a NE control entity of said request;",
"c) at said NE control entity, generating a challenge to said SED and transmitting said challenge to said SED;",
"d) processing said challenge at said SED, and transmitting a SED response to said NE control entity;",
"e) at said NE control entity, verifying if said response conforms with an expected response calculated locally at said NE control entity;",
"and f) authorizing said entity to perform said operation from said NE if said response coincides with said expected response.",
"[0015] Advantageously, the method and system of the invention makes it difficult for an unauthorized entity to forge an authentication message, as protected network information is not accessible without correct credentials, to the extent that even the NE software has no access to the credentials.",
"[0016] Another advantage of the invention is that it enables distribution of privileges in such a way that at any time, no one alone, has the ability to control the equipment protected by security credentials management system of the invention.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0017] The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of the preferred embodiments, as illustrated in the appended drawings, where: [0018] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the multi-level and multi-factor security credentials management system for network element authentication according to the invention;",
"[0019] FIG. 2 shows an example of security credentials table for two levels of access and two factors;",
"and [0020] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary scenario of the multi-level multi-factor credentials management system according to the invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0021] Credentials in the context of the invention refers to secret information that enables an entity to access a service/information of interest.",
"For example, the entity identification (e.g. operator name, password or PIN), the IP addresses of network elements of interest, CPSS (control packet switching system) addresses, a secret key, etc.",
"The term “protected data”",
"refers to files and programs that an operator, manufacturer or user (an entity) wishes to maintain secret.",
"The term “privilege”",
"refers to a special right or a special benefit granted to a certain entity, which allows the network element to divulge confidential information to that entity or to perform a certain operation requested by the respective entity.",
"Examples of privileges are access (read, write or both) privileges to a respective network resource, type of information that the accessing entity is allowed to access (i.e. individual financial information in a financial database) and information flow restrictions/allowances.",
"[0022] This specification also uses the term “factor”",
"for the level of security granted to a certain entity.",
"[0023] A brief description of the multi-level and multi-factor security credentials management (SCM) system for network element authentication is provided next in connection with the block diagram of FIG. 1 .",
"Further details about SCM system are provided in the above referenced co-pending patent application Ser.",
"No. 10/846,542.",
"The SCM system is implemented using an external secured execution device (SED) 20 , which is provided with a connector 5 for attachment/reattachment to the control card 2 of a NE 1 .",
"SED 20 uses preferably smart card technology.",
"NE 1 is generically shown as a shelf of equipment with a plurality of cards, including control card 2 .",
"However, it is well-known that a NE may use more shelves in a cabinet of equipment;",
"a one-shelf NE is illustrated by way of example.",
"[0024] FIG. 1 also illustrates the NE control entity 12 , be it a network management system (NMS) or an element management system (EMS), an operating system support (OSS), etc.",
"It is to be noted that only the units relevant to the NE authentication, referred to as NE authentication controller 10 , of the NE control entity 12 are shown.",
"FIG. 1 also illustrates only the units of the NE 2 that are involved in exchange of data between SED 20 and NE authentication controller 10 , referred to as NE security controller 3 .",
"[0025] The above-referenced co-pending U.S. Patent Application describes various implementations of SED 20 .",
"In principle, SED 20 has a credentials memory 22 , an authentication processor 24 and a SED-NE interface 26 .",
"Memory 22 could be used to store all security parameters that have to be kept secret.",
"SED memory 22 stores the credentials input off-line for various entities that have access privileges to the NE 1 .",
"SED initialization and configuration can be done by an end user in a card holder environment with minimal hardware/software set up;",
"the credentials provide a user specific level of security.",
"It is apparent that in the arrangement shown in FIG. 1 , data stored in memory 22 cannot be accessed logically or physically outside SED 20 ;",
"it can only be accessed and manipulated over an authentication processor 24 .",
"[0026] Authentication processor 24 could be a generic processor that enables controlled and secure access to the sensitive and confidential information in memory 22 .",
"Authentication processor 24 is involved in requesting access to a specified activity in the network, and in responding to a challenge received form the authentication unit 10 , with a view to authenticate the user/NE right to the requested access to perform that activity.",
"Since the credentials are kept in a distinct, protected environment, isolation of processes run by the NE operating system 21 and the authentication processes run by the authentication processor 24 of SED 20 can be maintained.",
"Also, this arrangement enables easy updates of the credentials and hardware-independent updates of the security-related functionality.",
"[0027] Different security aspects relating to the NE could be treated separately using multiple SEDs, each addressing a specific aspect;",
"the multiple instances could improve reliability of the security program.",
"The different instances might also be configured for use by more than one entity.",
"In the event of multiple or several instances of SEDs, synchronization in real time may be needed.",
"[0028] The security controller (SC) 3 is mainly involved in establishing communication channels between SED 20 and NE authentication controller 10 .",
"NE-SED interface 27 enables communication with SED 20 over the corresponding SED-NE interface 26 , and NE-NMS interface 29 enables communication with the NE authentication unit 10 over a corresponding NMS-NE interface 19 .",
"In addition, the SC 3 ensures that NE 1 detects when the SED is connected and running, as generically shown by presence and activity detector 25 .",
"Use of presence and activity detector 25 effectively minimizes the window of exposure of sensitive and critical information maintained on SED 20 .",
"FIG. 1 also shows the control card memory 23 , which is used in a well know manner to store data used by the NE operating system 21 for operation of the NE 1 .",
"It is readily apparent that since the credentials are kept separately (memory 22 on SED 20 ) from the data stored in memory 23 , a malicious attack on memory 23 will not enable access to the credentials.",
"[0029] In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 , the NE authentication controller 10 includes a challenge generator 11 , a credentials memory 13 , a comparator 15 and an authentication processor 17 .",
"Challenge generator 11 challenges the SED to identify the NE/user as a rightful user of the privileges accorded to that user in the network.",
"For example, the challenge could be a random number generator that creates a random number 31 and sends it to the SED over the NMS-NE interface 19 , NE-NMS interface 29 and respectively interfaces 27 and 26 .",
"Credentials memory 13 stores credentials information of the same type as that in the SED memory 22 ;",
"evidently credentials memory 13 keeps credentials information for some or all NEs under the control of the NMS/EMS 12 .",
"Authentication processor 17 receives the same challenge (random number) that is sent to the SED and the credentials for the entity specified in the request, and calculates locally the response to challenge.",
"Comparator 15 compares the SED response 32 with the expected response 33 calculated locally to provide a NE authentication notifier when the two signals coincide.",
"The notifier indicates if the NE is a legitimate NE/user and enables the NE/user having the credentials stored in memory 22 to proceed with the activity of interest from NE 1 .",
"[0030] According to the invention, the security credentials are maintained in credentials memory 13 are configured on layers and factors, as shown in the example provided in FIG. 2 .",
"The credentials are introduced off-line by the respective entity (e.g. the manufacturer at the installation time, the operator at the configuration time and the users upon registration).",
"Each layer corresponds to an authorized user, and each factor indicates a privilege for the respective level.",
"The number of layers and of factors is configurable, and each level is activated by a respective password or a PIN code for the respective SED.",
"[0031] FIG. 2 provides an example of a two-level, two-factor security credential management configuration.",
"It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to two-levels and two factors.",
"In this example, Level 1 defines the manufacturing configuration, providing the privileges accorded to the manufacturing entity.",
"Level 2 defines the operation configuration providing the privileges accorded to the network operator.",
"Level 1 is activated with the presentation of a Level 1 password and Level 2 is activated with the presentation of a level 2 passwords.",
"[0032] The security credentials are classified according to two factors in this example, namely Public and Secret factors.",
"For example, Public manufacturer security credentials may be the manufacturer identity, the NE serial number, the network card configuration, etc, and private manufacturer security credentials may be a Level 1 PIN code and a software license key.",
"Public operator security credentials may be the operator name, the IP address, the CPSS address (control packet switching system), etc, and Private operator security credentials may be a Level 2 PIN code, a secret key, BGP-MD5 (message digest algorithm).",
"[0033] The SED controls the operations available for each category, based on the set of credentials allocated at each level for each category.",
"Thus, the NE software privileges at both Level 1 and Level 2 are read only from the public category.",
"The operator has read privileges to for the Level 1, public category, read/write privileges for the Level 2 public category and write privileges for the Level 2 secret category.",
"Conversely, the manufacturer has read privileges to for the Level 2, public category, read/write privileges for the Level 1 public category and write privileges for the Level 1 secret category.",
"Write privileges always require presentation of a PIN code associated with the corresponding level.",
"[0034] Using the proposed multi-level and multi-factor security credentials management system described above, a scenario of network element authentication is presented in FIG. 3 .",
"FIG. 3 illustrates a node 100 enabled with the system of the invention.",
"The node includes a network element 1 with the respective SED (secured execution device) 20 that interfaces with the control card (not shown) embedded on the NE.",
"It is assumed that the respective NE 1 is recognized by the NE control entity 12 , i.e. entity 12 has identity and operational parameters of NE 1 and table 13 includes the security credentials for all entities that have privileges to use/operate the NEs controlled by entity 12 .",
"In FIG. 3 , NE 1 is connected to NMS 12 over a network denoted with 50 .",
"[0035] The authentication of the NE 1 in the network 14 begins with the SED connecting to the NE 1 , and requesting access to an operation to be performed by NE 1 , as shown in step S 1 .",
"The request contains information about the identity of the requestor (password, user ID) and the type of operations to be performed.",
"At this time, the NE 1 detects the presence and activity of the SED, establishes the connectivity between the NE control entity 12 and SED 20 , and informs the NE control entity of the SED access request, as shown in step S 2 .",
"Next, the NE control entity 12 generates and sends the challenge to the SED over the channels established by NE 1 , as shown by steps S 3 and S 4 .",
"To reiterate, the NE is not involved in this activity, but for transmitting the challenge on connection 31 received from NE control entity 12 to SED 20 .",
"[0036] SED 20 receives and processes the challenge;",
"for example authentication process 24 may execute a pre-established set of operations to the respective random number and generate the SED response 32 .",
"This is illustrated in step S 5 .",
"The SED response is transmitted next to the NE control entity over NE 1 (without the NE involvement), as shown in step S 6 .",
"Finally, comparator 15 of the NE control entity compares the SED response 32 with the expected response 33 and provided the NE authentication notifier, if the two match.",
"Now, the NE/user is allowed to go ahead with the request."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a flash memory test system which tests and evaluates flash memories, and more particularly, to a flash memory test system which tests write and erase performance of a flash memory, counts the numbers of times of write or erase operations required until the data is successfully written or erased for each address of the flash memory, and processes and analyzes the acquired data and displays the distribution of the numbers of times with respect to the physical locations in the flash memory.
A flash memory is a non-volatile IC memory which belongs to a category of programmable read only memories (PROM) whose data therein is rewritable. A flash memory has a feature in that all of the data bits or a block of data bits in the flash memory can be erased or written at the same time. A flash memory is a large capacity memory whose data is rewritable for a number of times. A flash memory has such functional modes as a data read mode, a data write mode (program mode), a write data verify mode (program verify mode), an erase mode, and other functional modes.
The function in these modes is controlled by writing a specific command corresponding to each of the modes in a controller within the flash memory from the external source by a timing of a write enable (WE) signal. The flash memory does not have an exclusive terminal for writing these commands, and thus, shares a data terminal of the memory to write the commands. The switching between the data and the command is performed by, for example, changing a voltage of a specific voltage supply. In this patent specification, the present invention is explained in detail mainly with respect to the write function, but it can be similarly applied to the erase function of the flash memory as well.
In writing the data in each address, because of the unique physical structure, a flash memory does not necessarily succeed data writing in one write operation. Rather, a plurality of write operation must be repeated several times until the data successfully stored in the designated address. The number of repetition required for the successful data writing (heretofore "writing number") is different from address to address even when the kind of flash memory to be tested (heretofore "MUT") is the same.
In testing the flash memories, for the reasons of achieving longer life times, the data write operation should not be repeated for the addresses that have already experienced the successful data writing. In the data writing test, the MUT is judged as "good quality" when the data writing is successfully completed in the memory cells of all of the addresses within a predetermined number such as 25 times of the write operation.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a flash memory test system in the conventional technology. In general, a memory test system supplies test data (write data), control data and address data to a flash memory under test to write the test data in the specified address of the flash memory. The data stored in the flash memory is then read out and compared with expected data, which is usually the same as the write data, and the comparison results are stored in a fail analysis memory with respect to each address of the flash memory for failure analysis.
In FIG. 4, the flash memory test system includes an engineering work station (EWS) 10 and a test processor 11 which are connected to a tester hardware through a tester bus. The tester hardware includes a timing generator 12, a pattern generator 13, a wave formatter 14, a driver 15, an analog comparator 16, a logic comparator 17 and a fail analysis memory 18. A flash memory 5 to be tested (MUT) is connected to the driver 15 and the analog comparator 16.
The work station EWS 10 functions as a user interface controller while the test processor 11 controls the overall operation of the test system. Based on a start command from the EWS 10, the test processor 11 starts the test operation. Sending and receiving of control signals or data signals is performed between each unit through the tester bus. The timing generator 12 generates clock timing signals which determine the overall timings of the test system and sends the clock timing signals to the pattern generator 13.
The pattern generator 13 generates a control signal CS such as WE (write enable) signal, a test pattern data signal TPD and an address signal ADRS to be supplied to the MUT 5, and an expected value pattern to be supplied to the logic comparator 17. The address signal ADRS is also supplied to the fail analysis memory 18. The wave formatter 14 converts the wave shapes of the logic signals from the pattern generator 13 to appropriate wave forms such as RZ (return-to-zero), NRZ (non-return to zero) or EOR (exclusive OR) wave forms. The wave formatter 14 then gives the wave formatted logic signals to the MUT 5 through the driver 15.
In this manner, in the write operation, the test data TPD is written in the address of the MUT 5 defined by the address data ADRS when the control data CS indicates write cycles. In the read operation, the resultant data in the address of the MUT 5 is examined by reading the data therein. In the read operation, the control data CS shows read cycles, and the address data ADRS defines the address of the MUT 5 whose data to be examined.
The resultant data from the MUT S is compared by the analog comparator 16 with reference voltages to determine the logical levels of the read out data. The output of the analog comparator 16 is provided to the logic comparator 17 wherein it is compared with the expected data from the pattern generator 13. The logic comparator 17 determines whether the stored data in the MUT 5 logically coincides with the expected data, and the comparison results are sent to the fail analysis memory 18.
The fail analysis memory 18 gives a write enable inhibit signal /WE to the wave formatter 14 for the address of the MUT 5 whose stored data agrees with the expected data, thereby prohibiting the system from repeating the write operation for the same address any further. The write operation is repeated for the remaining addresses whose data does not agree with the expected data until the stored data agrees with the expected data or until the predetermined maximum numbers of write operation have been performed.
During this repeated write and read process, in case where all of the addresses attain PASS (match) results, the process terminates by sending an MF (match flag) signal from the fail analysis memory 18 to the pattern generator 13. Alternatively, when the writing test is repeated until the predetermined maximum number of times, the process terminates and proceeds to the next test. The fail analysis memory 18 stores the results of the data writing test to be used in the fail analysis stage of the MUT 5.
After the predetermined numbers of the writing test are completed for all of the addresses of the MUT 5, the EWS 10 acquires the content of the fail analysis memory 18 through the test bus and the test processor 11. Based on the information from the failure analysis memory 18 that is read out, the failure information is shown on a display of the work station EWS 10. Although not shown, the failure information is shown, for example, in a bit-map display for each address or each bit. As an example, a failure map that shows a blank for each satisfactory address, and shows character F for each defective address of the MUT 5.
FIG. 5 is a timing chart for explaining the procedure of the writing test for the flash memory by the memory test system of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the writing test. With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 in combination with FIG. 4, the operational procedure of the writing test of the flash memory is further explained below. In this example, it is explained for the case where the MUT 5 has a controller therein to compare the data in the specified address of the MUT 5 with the test data (expected data) and generate a fail signal when both data disagree with each other.
The timing chart of FIG. 5 shows three logic signals to be transmitted from the wave formatter 14 to the MUT 5. The address of the MUT 5 is specified by the address signal ADRS of FIG. 5A from the wave formatter 14. The write enable signal WE of FIG. 5B is provided to the MUT 5 through the control signal CS. When the write enable signal WE is low, the write operation of the MUT 5 is effective. The test data TPD of FIG. 5C is transmitted to the MUT 5 to be written therein.
First, a command signal for the program setup mode is sent through the test pattern data TPD to set the MUT to the program (data write) mode. Then, test data is transmitted to the MUT 5 to write the test data in the address specified by the address ADRS. Then the program verify mode is set to verify the data in the specified address while maintaining the test data during the verify mode. The controller in the flash memory 5 reads the data in the specified address and compares the data with the test data, i.e., the expected data. When they do not match with one another, the write operation for the address is considered to be failure and a program fail signal is output from the MUT 5. This process is repeated for all of the addresses of the MUT 5.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart of the above-explained writing test. As noted above, because of the unique physical structure of a flash memory, one cycle of the write test does not necessarily pass all the addresses. Hence, the similar test procedure is repeated several times after the first cycle of the writing test. Further, in testing a flash memory, it is usually required that the write operation be suspended for the addresses that are already successful in writing the data therein. Hence, by referring to the fail analysis memory 18 that stores test results up to the last test cycles, the write enable inhibit signal /WE is transmitted to the wave formatter 14 for the addresses that have already passed the writing test, so that the write enable signal WE is prohibited from reaching the MUT 5.
In FIG. 6, upon starting the writing test, RETRY is set to "1" in the step S1, and the address ADD is set to "0" in the step S2. Then, in the step S3, it is determined whether PROGRAM, i.e., the data writing for the first address of the MUT 5 has been completed. If it is not completed, PROGRAM (data writing) starts in the step S4, and in the VERIFY step S5, the data in the designated address is compared with the expected data.
In the step S3, if the answer is "yes", i.e., the data writing is completed, the write enable WE is masked based on the write enable inhibit signal /WE from the fail analysis memory 18 to prohibit the system from writing the data in the same address. Then, in the step S7, it is determined whether the address in question is the maximum address. If it is not, the address number is added by one in the step S8 and the process goes back to the step S3 to repeat the process in the steps S3-S7.
If the address in question is the maximum address in the step S7, then it is determined whether all the addresses of the MUT 5 are successful in the data writing in the step S9. In case where not all of the addresses are successful, it is determined whether the number of RETRY reaches the predetermined maximum number in the step S10. If the answer is "no", RETRY is added by one in the step S11 and the whole process in the foregoing is repeated. If the answer in the step S10 is "yes" or all of the addresses in the MUT are successful in the data writing in the step S7, the work station EWS 10 reads the data in the fail analysis memory 18 in the step S12 and determines whether all the data indicate "PASS" in the step S13. If the answer is "yes", the MUT 5 is judged as a good device, if "no" it is a defective device.
The pass/fail test for a flash memory can be sufficiently achieved by the conventional test system in the foregoing. However, flash memories have a limited life-span since it is basically a read-only memory that are rewritable. The number of times for rewriting data therein is limited, and such numbers of times vary from device to device. Hence, if it is possible to anticipate the number of possible rewrite operation in the write/erase cycles, a value of the flash memory will be increased. The value of the flash memory is further increased if the numbers of possible rewrite operation can be increased.
It is known in the art that one of the factors that affects the number of possible data rewriting in flash memories is the uniformity in the manufacturing process of the flash memories. Moreover, the uniformity in the manufacturing process of the flash memories correlates to the number of times required for the successful data writing in the flash memories. The minimum number of the possible write/erase cycles can be predicted from this uniformity. Further, based on the manufacturing uniformity, it is considered that the life times of the flash memories can be prolonged.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a flash memory test system which is capable of counting the number of write operation required for successfully writing the data in the specified address of the flash memory.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a flash memory test system which is capable of counting the number of write operation required for successfully writing the data in the specified address of the flash memory and displaying the distribution of such numbers relative to a physical image of the flash memory.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a flash memory test system which is capable of evaluating the uniformity of the manufacturing process of the flash memories and providing means for improving the life time of the flash memories.
The flash memory test system of the present invention measures the number of write operation required to succeed in writing the data in each address of a flash memory under test in a wafer phase or a chip phase, performs data processing to display the distribution conditions of the numbers relative to the physical locations of the address, and feedbacks the test results to the manufacturing process to improve the production quality of the flash memory.
The flash memory test system supplies the test data to the flash memory under test to write the test data in the specified address and compares the data in the specified address with the expected data to determined whether the data writing in the address is completed. In case where the data writing is not successful, the write operation is repeated until the test data is correctly stored in the address or the predetermined maximum number of times of the write operation is reached. The number of times required for the data is recorded for each address and displayed relative to the physical image of the flash memory under test.
The flash memory test system includes a comparator for comparing the data in the specified address of the flash memory under test with the expected data and generates a fail signal when both data disagrees with one another, a fail counter for counting the number (writing number) of times the write operation required for writing or erasing the data in the specified address of the flash memory under test, a fail analysis memory for storing fail information from the comparator and the writing numbers from the fail counter corresponding to each address of the flash memory under test, and a work station for processing the fail information and the writing numbers in the fail analysis memory and displaying the results of the processing with respect to a physical image of the flash memory under test.
Various programs and files to process the fail information and the writing numbers are prepared in the work station. The work station has a computer inside which performs fail analysis for the fail information and the counted number with respect to the addresses of the flash memory under test. The results of the fail analysis is displayed on the work station with a clear image of the physical locations in the flash memory under test accompanied by the writing numbers involved in that locations.
One of the display images is a wafer map wherein the writing numbers are classified into several groups and displayed with respect to the physical locations of the wafer. By setting several distinctions of the writing numbers, the distribution of the writing numbers can be displayed in characters, patterns, or colors for each address, each group of addresses, or each chip on the wafer on the X and Y axes. Three-dimensional bar charts can also be used. In another display image, the dispersion of the writing numbers is listed in a table format. The maximum, minimum and average values of the writing numbers for each chip are listed. In a further example of display image, a physical image of a chip is displayed with each address of the memory cell in the chip in the X and Y axes wherein the writing number for each address of the chip is provided as well as the maximum, minimum and average numbers are also listed.
According to the present invention, the flash memory test system counts the number of the write operation required to succeed in writing the data in each address of the flash memory under test, and processes the acquired data, and displays the writing numbers with the physical image of the wafer or chip of the flash memory in the X and Y coordinates in a manner easily understandable. This distribution of the writing numbers correlates to the uniformity in the production process of the flash memories and to the life times of the write/erase cycles of the flash memories. Thus, the test results by the memory test system of the present invention can anticipate the life times and improve such life times of the flash memories.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of an embodiment of the flash memory test system in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2A-2C are examples of displayed image on a display screen of the work station EWS indicating the distribution of the number of times of the write operation required of the flash memory under test according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing an example of operation in the flash memory test system of the present invention shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of the flash memory test system in the conventional technology.
FIG. 5 is a timing chart for explaining the procedure of the write test of the flash memory in the flash memory test system of FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an example of operation in the flash memory test system in the conventional technology of FIG. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows an example of structure in the flash memory test system of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the flash memory test system includes an engineering work station (EWS) 20 with a large capacity storage DISK 21 and a test processor 11 both of which are connected to a tester hardware through a tester bus. The tester hardware includes a timing generator 12, a pattern generator 13, a wave formatter 14, a driver 15, an analog comparator 16, a logic comparator 17, a fail analysis memory 18 and a fail counter 22. A memory 5 to be tested (MUT) is connected to the driver 15 and the analog comparator 16.
The work station EWS 20 functions as a user console while the test processor 11 controls the overall operation of the test system whole apparatus. Based on a start command from the EWS 20, the test processor 11 starts the test operation. Sending and receiving of control signals and data signals is performed between each unit through the tester bus. The timing generator 12 generates clock timing signals which determine the overall timings of the test system and sends the clock timing signals to the pattern generator 13.
The pattern generator 13 generates a control signal CS such as a write enable signal WE, a test data signal TPD, a address signal ADRS to be supplied to the MUT 5, and expected data to be supplied to the logic comparator 17. The address signal ADRS is also supplied to the fail analysis memory 18. The wave formatter 14 converts the wave shapes of the logic signals from the pattern generator 13 to appropriate wave forms such as RZ (return-to-zero), NRZ (non-return to zero) or EOR (exclusive OR) wave forms. The wave formatter 14 then gives the wave formatted logic signals to the MUT 5 through the driver 15.
In this manner, in the write operation, the test data TPD is written in the address of the MUT 5 defined by the address data ADRS when the control data CS indicates write cycles. In the read operation, the resultant data in the address of the MUT 5 is evaluated by reading the data therein. In the read operation, the control data CS shows read cycles, and the address data ADRS defines the address of the MUT whose data to be examined.
The resultant data from the MUT 5 is compared by the analog comparator 16 with reference voltages to determine the logical levels of the read out data. The output of the analog comparator 16 is provided to the logic comparator 17 wherein it is compared with the expected data from the pattern generator 13. The logic comparator 17 determines whether the stored data in the MUT 5 coincides with the expected data, and the comparison results are sent to the fail analysis memory 18. In the example of FIG. 1, the logic comparator 18 also sends a gate signal to the fail counter 22 when the data from the MUT does not agree with the expected data. Thus, the fail counter 22 counts the number (writing number) of write operation required for the address of the MUT 5 until the memory cell in the address successfully stores the test data.
The fail analysis memory 18 gives a write enable inhibit signal /WE to the wave formatter 14 for the address of the MUT 5 whose stored data agrees with the expected data, thereby prohibiting the test system from repeating the writing test for the same address any further. The write operation is repeated for the remaining addresses whose data do not coincide with the expected data until the data agree with the expected data or until the predetermined maximum number of write operation has been performed.
During this repeated write and read process, in case where all of the addresses attain PASS (match) results, the process terminates by sending an MF (match flag) signal from the fail analysis memory 18 to the pattern generator 13. Alternatively, when the writing test is repeated until the predetermined maximum number of times, the process terminates and proceeds to the next test. The fail analysis memory 18 stores the results of the data writing test to be used for fail analysis of the MUT 5. The fail analysis memory 18 also stores the number of required write operation from the fail counter 22 for each address of the MUT 5.
As noted above, the fail counter 22 counts the number (writing number) of the write operation required for each of the addresses of the MUT 5. The counting operation can also be made by the test processor 11 through a software process. However, a high speed counting operation can be achieved by the fail counter 22 as a separate hardware rather than the software procedure. The fail counter 22 counts the number of write operation, for example, by counting the number of pulses in the control signal CS from the wave formatter 14, during the time of a gate signal provided from the logic comparator 17. The gate signal is closed when the data in the address coincides with the expected data. The gate signal can also be closed when the predetermined maximum number of write operation has been repeated.
The gate signal can also be acquired from other sources such as from the pattern generator 13 or the fail analysis memory 18. Although the count pulses are obtained from the wave formatter 14 in FIG. 1, other arrangements are also possible such as counting the output signal of the logic comparator 18 or the number of "PROGRAM" instructions generated by the pattern generator 13. The counted data by the counter 22 is stored in the fail analysis memory 18 along with the corresponding address data of the MUT 5.
After the predetermined number of the writing test is completed for all of the addresses of the MUT 5, the EWS 20 acquires the content of the fail analysis memory 18 though the test bus and the test processor 11. Based on the information from the fail analysis memory 18 that is read out, the failure information as well as the distribution of the writing numbers required for MUT 5 are illustrated on the display of the EWS 20.
Before going into the display examples of FIG. 2, the operational procedure in the foregoing is explained with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 3. Until the data writing is succeeded for each address or the predetermined maximum number of the repetition is reached, the write operation is repeated. The number of write operation is counted by the counter 22 and the result is stored in the fail analysis memory 18. Then, the next address of the MUT 5 is defined and the writing test is continued. This process is performed for all of the addresses.
At the start of the write operation, the address signal is set to "0" in the step S20 and the counter 22 is set to "1" in the step S21. Then, the write operation is started in the step S22 wherein the test data is written in the designated address of the MUT 5. Then, the data stored in the address is read in the step S23 and is compared with the test data (expected data) in the step S24 to determine whether the two data coincide with one another.
If there is no coincidence between the two data, it is determined whether the counted number in the counter 22 is reached the predetermined maximum number in the step S25. In case where the counted number is not the maximum number, counted number is added by "1" and the write and verify operation in the steps S22-S24 is repeated. If the two data match with each other in the step S24, or the counted number is reached the predetermined maximum number in the step S25, the counted number (writing number) is stored in the fail analysis memory 18 in the step S27.
In the step S28, it is determined whether the address of the MUT 5 is the maximum value, and if not, address signal is incremented by "1" in the S29, while the counter 22 is set to "1" again in the step S21. If the present address is the maximum address of the MUT 5 in the step S28, the write operation is completed and the procedure of FIG. 3 ends. Then, the failure analysis process may be begin wherein the test results in the fail analysis memory 18 are processed and displayed with respect to each address of the MUT S on a display screen of the work station EWS 20.
FIGS. 2A-2C are examples of displayed image on the display screen of the work station EWS indicating the distribution of the writing numbers for the corresponding addresses of the flash memory under test according to the present invention. When the test is completed for all or predetermined range of addresses, the resultant data stored in the fail analysis memory 18 is transmitted to the high capacity DISK 21 through the tester bus.
At least one or more data processing programs to perform the display process are stored in the DISK 21. Such programs include a condition set program to create a condition data file, a device test program to create a map management file and a retry data (writing number) file, an image conversion program to convert the retry data file to an image, a retry map output program to display the retry map on the screen, and an information display program to display the information on the map management file and the retry data file. Preferably, additional programs such as a calculation program to obtain the maximum, minimum or average value of the writing numbers for a plurality of addresses are also provided in the DISK 21.
When the data stored in the fail analysis memory 18 is transmitted to the DISK 21, the data processing starts under the control of the EWS 20. First, a condition set data file is created by initiating the condition set program. Then, a map management file and a retry data file are created by initiating the device test program. The image conversion program is initiated to convert the retry data file to an image. The retry map output program is executed to display the retry map showing the writing number on the screen. The information display program starts and displays the information in the map management file and the retry data file on the retry map.
In the example of FIG. 2A, the display image is a wafer map wherein the writing numbers are classified into several groups and displayed with respect to the physical locations of the wafer. By setting several distinctions of the writing numbers, the distribution of the numbers can be displayed in characters, patterns or colors for each address, each group of addresses, or each chip on the wafer on the X and Y axes. Three-dimensional bar charts can also be used.
FIG. 2B shows another example of display image wherein the dispersion of the writing numbers is listed in a table format. The maximum, minimum and average values of the writing numbers for each chip are listed. FIG. 2C shows a further example of display image wherein a physical image of a chip is displayed with each address of the memory cell in the chip on the XY plane. In this example, the writing number is displayed with respect to each address of the chip while the maximum, minimum and average writing numbers are also listed.
As described above, there are several kinds of display images available such as the one directly showing the writing numbers, the one showing the number converted to the patterns or colors, or the one with a two-dimensional bar graph or a three-dimensional bar graph. In sum, it is desirable that such a display image clearly shows the distribution and uniformity of the writing numbers. Based on this distribution in the wafer or chips, the life-time of the data write/erase cycles of a flash memory can be predicted and be displayed on the display screen. Based on the data acquired in the foregoing, the manufacturing process of the flash memories can be improved so that the writing numbers become uniform in the flash memories.
The above embodiment explained for the case wherein the fail counter 22 and the fail analysis memory 18 shown in FIG. 1 are separate components. However, other arrangements are also possible such as having means for directly accumulating the data in the fail analysis memory by the tester processor 11 or the like.
The above embodiment explained the distribution analysis for all of the addresses or the range of addresses of the flash memory to be measured. However, it is also possible to test the distribution of the writing numbers by random sampling the address of the memory under test by a predetermined address sequence so that the fail analysis can be performed in a short period of time. For example, memory cells that are in equal distance with each other are selected for the test to display a distribution condition without accessing all of the memory cells in the flash memory.
In such a case, if an internal physical arrangement of the addresses of the memory under test is different from the outside address pins, or the memory under test has redundant memory cells to be replaced with defective memory cells, an address scrambler known in the art may be used to normalize the physical address in the memory. Examples of such a random address sampling include generating only even number addresses or generating every 2 N addresses, or generating one or more addresses in every block of addresses. It is assumed, in these random sampling methods, that statistical dispersion is very small among the memory cells that are adjacent to one another within several micrometers. Under the random sampling method, it is possible to significantly reduce the data volume and thus, a high-speed distribution analysis can be performed.
As has been in the foregoing, according to the present invention, the flash memory test system counts the number of write operation required to succeed in writing the data in each address of the flash memory under test, and processes the acquired data, and displays the numbers with the physical image of the wafer or chip of the flash memory in the X and Y coordinates in a manner easily understandable. This distribution of the writing numbers correlates to the uniformity in the production process of the flash memories and to the life times of the write/erase cycles of the flash memories. Thus, the test results by the memory test system of the present invention can anticipate the life times and improve such life times of the flash memories. | A flash memory test system supplies test data to a flash memory under test to write the test data in the specified address of the memory and compares the data in the specified address with expected data to determined whether the data writing for the address is completed. If the data writing is unsuccessful, the write operation is repeated until the test data is correctly stored in the address or the predetermined maximum number of the write operation is reached. The number of repeated write operation is recorded for each address and displayed relative to the physical image of the flash memory under test. The flash memory test system includes a comparator for comparing the data in the flash memory under test with the expected data, a fail counter for counting the number of write operation, a fail analysis memory for storing fail information and the counted numbers, and a work station for processing the fail information and the counted numbers and displaying the results of the analysis with respect to a physical image of the flash memory under test. | Briefly summarize the invention's components and working principles as described in the document. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a flash memory test system which tests and evaluates flash memories, and more particularly, to a flash memory test system which tests write and erase performance of a flash memory, counts the numbers of times of write or erase operations required until the data is successfully written or erased for each address of the flash memory, and processes and analyzes the acquired data and displays the distribution of the numbers of times with respect to the physical locations in the flash memory.",
"A flash memory is a non-volatile IC memory which belongs to a category of programmable read only memories (PROM) whose data therein is rewritable.",
"A flash memory has a feature in that all of the data bits or a block of data bits in the flash memory can be erased or written at the same time.",
"A flash memory is a large capacity memory whose data is rewritable for a number of times.",
"A flash memory has such functional modes as a data read mode, a data write mode (program mode), a write data verify mode (program verify mode), an erase mode, and other functional modes.",
"The function in these modes is controlled by writing a specific command corresponding to each of the modes in a controller within the flash memory from the external source by a timing of a write enable (WE) signal.",
"The flash memory does not have an exclusive terminal for writing these commands, and thus, shares a data terminal of the memory to write the commands.",
"The switching between the data and the command is performed by, for example, changing a voltage of a specific voltage supply.",
"In this patent specification, the present invention is explained in detail mainly with respect to the write function, but it can be similarly applied to the erase function of the flash memory as well.",
"In writing the data in each address, because of the unique physical structure, a flash memory does not necessarily succeed data writing in one write operation.",
"Rather, a plurality of write operation must be repeated several times until the data successfully stored in the designated address.",
"The number of repetition required for the successful data writing (heretofore "writing number") is different from address to address even when the kind of flash memory to be tested (heretofore "MUT") is the same.",
"In testing the flash memories, for the reasons of achieving longer life times, the data write operation should not be repeated for the addresses that have already experienced the successful data writing.",
"In the data writing test, the MUT is judged as "good quality"",
"when the data writing is successfully completed in the memory cells of all of the addresses within a predetermined number such as 25 times of the write operation.",
"FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a flash memory test system in the conventional technology.",
"In general, a memory test system supplies test data (write data), control data and address data to a flash memory under test to write the test data in the specified address of the flash memory.",
"The data stored in the flash memory is then read out and compared with expected data, which is usually the same as the write data, and the comparison results are stored in a fail analysis memory with respect to each address of the flash memory for failure analysis.",
"In FIG. 4, the flash memory test system includes an engineering work station (EWS) 10 and a test processor 11 which are connected to a tester hardware through a tester bus.",
"The tester hardware includes a timing generator 12, a pattern generator 13, a wave formatter 14, a driver 15, an analog comparator 16, a logic comparator 17 and a fail analysis memory 18.",
"A flash memory 5 to be tested (MUT) is connected to the driver 15 and the analog comparator 16.",
"The work station EWS 10 functions as a user interface controller while the test processor 11 controls the overall operation of the test system.",
"Based on a start command from the EWS 10, the test processor 11 starts the test operation.",
"Sending and receiving of control signals or data signals is performed between each unit through the tester bus.",
"The timing generator 12 generates clock timing signals which determine the overall timings of the test system and sends the clock timing signals to the pattern generator 13.",
"The pattern generator 13 generates a control signal CS such as WE (write enable) signal, a test pattern data signal TPD and an address signal ADRS to be supplied to the MUT 5, and an expected value pattern to be supplied to the logic comparator 17.",
"The address signal ADRS is also supplied to the fail analysis memory 18.",
"The wave formatter 14 converts the wave shapes of the logic signals from the pattern generator 13 to appropriate wave forms such as RZ (return-to-zero), NRZ (non-return to zero) or EOR (exclusive OR) wave forms.",
"The wave formatter 14 then gives the wave formatted logic signals to the MUT 5 through the driver 15.",
"In this manner, in the write operation, the test data TPD is written in the address of the MUT 5 defined by the address data ADRS when the control data CS indicates write cycles.",
"In the read operation, the resultant data in the address of the MUT 5 is examined by reading the data therein.",
"In the read operation, the control data CS shows read cycles, and the address data ADRS defines the address of the MUT 5 whose data to be examined.",
"The resultant data from the MUT S is compared by the analog comparator 16 with reference voltages to determine the logical levels of the read out data.",
"The output of the analog comparator 16 is provided to the logic comparator 17 wherein it is compared with the expected data from the pattern generator 13.",
"The logic comparator 17 determines whether the stored data in the MUT 5 logically coincides with the expected data, and the comparison results are sent to the fail analysis memory 18.",
"The fail analysis memory 18 gives a write enable inhibit signal /WE to the wave formatter 14 for the address of the MUT 5 whose stored data agrees with the expected data, thereby prohibiting the system from repeating the write operation for the same address any further.",
"The write operation is repeated for the remaining addresses whose data does not agree with the expected data until the stored data agrees with the expected data or until the predetermined maximum numbers of write operation have been performed.",
"During this repeated write and read process, in case where all of the addresses attain PASS (match) results, the process terminates by sending an MF (match flag) signal from the fail analysis memory 18 to the pattern generator 13.",
"Alternatively, when the writing test is repeated until the predetermined maximum number of times, the process terminates and proceeds to the next test.",
"The fail analysis memory 18 stores the results of the data writing test to be used in the fail analysis stage of the MUT 5.",
"After the predetermined numbers of the writing test are completed for all of the addresses of the MUT 5, the EWS 10 acquires the content of the fail analysis memory 18 through the test bus and the test processor 11.",
"Based on the information from the failure analysis memory 18 that is read out, the failure information is shown on a display of the work station EWS 10.",
"Although not shown, the failure information is shown, for example, in a bit-map display for each address or each bit.",
"As an example, a failure map that shows a blank for each satisfactory address, and shows character F for each defective address of the MUT 5.",
"FIG. 5 is a timing chart for explaining the procedure of the writing test for the flash memory by the memory test system of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the writing test.",
"With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 in combination with FIG. 4, the operational procedure of the writing test of the flash memory is further explained below.",
"In this example, it is explained for the case where the MUT 5 has a controller therein to compare the data in the specified address of the MUT 5 with the test data (expected data) and generate a fail signal when both data disagree with each other.",
"The timing chart of FIG. 5 shows three logic signals to be transmitted from the wave formatter 14 to the MUT 5.",
"The address of the MUT 5 is specified by the address signal ADRS of FIG. 5A from the wave formatter 14.",
"The write enable signal WE of FIG. 5B is provided to the MUT 5 through the control signal CS.",
"When the write enable signal WE is low, the write operation of the MUT 5 is effective.",
"The test data TPD of FIG. 5C is transmitted to the MUT 5 to be written therein.",
"First, a command signal for the program setup mode is sent through the test pattern data TPD to set the MUT to the program (data write) mode.",
"Then, test data is transmitted to the MUT 5 to write the test data in the address specified by the address ADRS.",
"Then the program verify mode is set to verify the data in the specified address while maintaining the test data during the verify mode.",
"The controller in the flash memory 5 reads the data in the specified address and compares the data with the test data, i.e., the expected data.",
"When they do not match with one another, the write operation for the address is considered to be failure and a program fail signal is output from the MUT 5.",
"This process is repeated for all of the addresses of the MUT 5.",
"FIG. 6 is a flow chart of the above-explained writing test.",
"As noted above, because of the unique physical structure of a flash memory, one cycle of the write test does not necessarily pass all the addresses.",
"Hence, the similar test procedure is repeated several times after the first cycle of the writing test.",
"Further, in testing a flash memory, it is usually required that the write operation be suspended for the addresses that are already successful in writing the data therein.",
"Hence, by referring to the fail analysis memory 18 that stores test results up to the last test cycles, the write enable inhibit signal /WE is transmitted to the wave formatter 14 for the addresses that have already passed the writing test, so that the write enable signal WE is prohibited from reaching the MUT 5.",
"In FIG. 6, upon starting the writing test, RETRY is set to "1"",
"in the step S1, and the address ADD is set to "0"",
"in the step S2.",
"Then, in the step S3, it is determined whether PROGRAM, i.e., the data writing for the first address of the MUT 5 has been completed.",
"If it is not completed, PROGRAM (data writing) starts in the step S4, and in the VERIFY step S5, the data in the designated address is compared with the expected data.",
"In the step S3, if the answer is "yes", i.e., the data writing is completed, the write enable WE is masked based on the write enable inhibit signal /WE from the fail analysis memory 18 to prohibit the system from writing the data in the same address.",
"Then, in the step S7, it is determined whether the address in question is the maximum address.",
"If it is not, the address number is added by one in the step S8 and the process goes back to the step S3 to repeat the process in the steps S3-S7.",
"If the address in question is the maximum address in the step S7, then it is determined whether all the addresses of the MUT 5 are successful in the data writing in the step S9.",
"In case where not all of the addresses are successful, it is determined whether the number of RETRY reaches the predetermined maximum number in the step S10.",
"If the answer is "no", RETRY is added by one in the step S11 and the whole process in the foregoing is repeated.",
"If the answer in the step S10 is "yes"",
"or all of the addresses in the MUT are successful in the data writing in the step S7, the work station EWS 10 reads the data in the fail analysis memory 18 in the step S12 and determines whether all the data indicate "PASS"",
"in the step S13.",
"If the answer is "yes", the MUT 5 is judged as a good device, if "no"",
"it is a defective device.",
"The pass/fail test for a flash memory can be sufficiently achieved by the conventional test system in the foregoing.",
"However, flash memories have a limited life-span since it is basically a read-only memory that are rewritable.",
"The number of times for rewriting data therein is limited, and such numbers of times vary from device to device.",
"Hence, if it is possible to anticipate the number of possible rewrite operation in the write/erase cycles, a value of the flash memory will be increased.",
"The value of the flash memory is further increased if the numbers of possible rewrite operation can be increased.",
"It is known in the art that one of the factors that affects the number of possible data rewriting in flash memories is the uniformity in the manufacturing process of the flash memories.",
"Moreover, the uniformity in the manufacturing process of the flash memories correlates to the number of times required for the successful data writing in the flash memories.",
"The minimum number of the possible write/erase cycles can be predicted from this uniformity.",
"Further, based on the manufacturing uniformity, it is considered that the life times of the flash memories can be prolonged.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a flash memory test system which is capable of counting the number of write operation required for successfully writing the data in the specified address of the flash memory.",
"It is another object of the present invention to provide a flash memory test system which is capable of counting the number of write operation required for successfully writing the data in the specified address of the flash memory and displaying the distribution of such numbers relative to a physical image of the flash memory.",
"It is a further object of the present invention to provide a flash memory test system which is capable of evaluating the uniformity of the manufacturing process of the flash memories and providing means for improving the life time of the flash memories.",
"The flash memory test system of the present invention measures the number of write operation required to succeed in writing the data in each address of a flash memory under test in a wafer phase or a chip phase, performs data processing to display the distribution conditions of the numbers relative to the physical locations of the address, and feedbacks the test results to the manufacturing process to improve the production quality of the flash memory.",
"The flash memory test system supplies the test data to the flash memory under test to write the test data in the specified address and compares the data in the specified address with the expected data to determined whether the data writing in the address is completed.",
"In case where the data writing is not successful, the write operation is repeated until the test data is correctly stored in the address or the predetermined maximum number of times of the write operation is reached.",
"The number of times required for the data is recorded for each address and displayed relative to the physical image of the flash memory under test.",
"The flash memory test system includes a comparator for comparing the data in the specified address of the flash memory under test with the expected data and generates a fail signal when both data disagrees with one another, a fail counter for counting the number (writing number) of times the write operation required for writing or erasing the data in the specified address of the flash memory under test, a fail analysis memory for storing fail information from the comparator and the writing numbers from the fail counter corresponding to each address of the flash memory under test, and a work station for processing the fail information and the writing numbers in the fail analysis memory and displaying the results of the processing with respect to a physical image of the flash memory under test.",
"Various programs and files to process the fail information and the writing numbers are prepared in the work station.",
"The work station has a computer inside which performs fail analysis for the fail information and the counted number with respect to the addresses of the flash memory under test.",
"The results of the fail analysis is displayed on the work station with a clear image of the physical locations in the flash memory under test accompanied by the writing numbers involved in that locations.",
"One of the display images is a wafer map wherein the writing numbers are classified into several groups and displayed with respect to the physical locations of the wafer.",
"By setting several distinctions of the writing numbers, the distribution of the writing numbers can be displayed in characters, patterns, or colors for each address, each group of addresses, or each chip on the wafer on the X and Y axes.",
"Three-dimensional bar charts can also be used.",
"In another display image, the dispersion of the writing numbers is listed in a table format.",
"The maximum, minimum and average values of the writing numbers for each chip are listed.",
"In a further example of display image, a physical image of a chip is displayed with each address of the memory cell in the chip in the X and Y axes wherein the writing number for each address of the chip is provided as well as the maximum, minimum and average numbers are also listed.",
"According to the present invention, the flash memory test system counts the number of the write operation required to succeed in writing the data in each address of the flash memory under test, and processes the acquired data, and displays the writing numbers with the physical image of the wafer or chip of the flash memory in the X and Y coordinates in a manner easily understandable.",
"This distribution of the writing numbers correlates to the uniformity in the production process of the flash memories and to the life times of the write/erase cycles of the flash memories.",
"Thus, the test results by the memory test system of the present invention can anticipate the life times and improve such life times of the flash memories.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of an embodiment of the flash memory test system in accordance with the present invention.",
"FIG. 2A-2C are examples of displayed image on a display screen of the work station EWS indicating the distribution of the number of times of the write operation required of the flash memory under test according to the present invention.",
"FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing an example of operation in the flash memory test system of the present invention shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of the flash memory test system in the conventional technology.",
"FIG. 5 is a timing chart for explaining the procedure of the write test of the flash memory in the flash memory test system of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an example of operation in the flash memory test system in the conventional technology of FIG. 4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an example of structure in the flash memory test system of the present invention.",
"In FIG. 1, the flash memory test system includes an engineering work station (EWS) 20 with a large capacity storage DISK 21 and a test processor 11 both of which are connected to a tester hardware through a tester bus.",
"The tester hardware includes a timing generator 12, a pattern generator 13, a wave formatter 14, a driver 15, an analog comparator 16, a logic comparator 17, a fail analysis memory 18 and a fail counter 22.",
"A memory 5 to be tested (MUT) is connected to the driver 15 and the analog comparator 16.",
"The work station EWS 20 functions as a user console while the test processor 11 controls the overall operation of the test system whole apparatus.",
"Based on a start command from the EWS 20, the test processor 11 starts the test operation.",
"Sending and receiving of control signals and data signals is performed between each unit through the tester bus.",
"The timing generator 12 generates clock timing signals which determine the overall timings of the test system and sends the clock timing signals to the pattern generator 13.",
"The pattern generator 13 generates a control signal CS such as a write enable signal WE, a test data signal TPD, a address signal ADRS to be supplied to the MUT 5, and expected data to be supplied to the logic comparator 17.",
"The address signal ADRS is also supplied to the fail analysis memory 18.",
"The wave formatter 14 converts the wave shapes of the logic signals from the pattern generator 13 to appropriate wave forms such as RZ (return-to-zero), NRZ (non-return to zero) or EOR (exclusive OR) wave forms.",
"The wave formatter 14 then gives the wave formatted logic signals to the MUT 5 through the driver 15.",
"In this manner, in the write operation, the test data TPD is written in the address of the MUT 5 defined by the address data ADRS when the control data CS indicates write cycles.",
"In the read operation, the resultant data in the address of the MUT 5 is evaluated by reading the data therein.",
"In the read operation, the control data CS shows read cycles, and the address data ADRS defines the address of the MUT whose data to be examined.",
"The resultant data from the MUT 5 is compared by the analog comparator 16 with reference voltages to determine the logical levels of the read out data.",
"The output of the analog comparator 16 is provided to the logic comparator 17 wherein it is compared with the expected data from the pattern generator 13.",
"The logic comparator 17 determines whether the stored data in the MUT 5 coincides with the expected data, and the comparison results are sent to the fail analysis memory 18.",
"In the example of FIG. 1, the logic comparator 18 also sends a gate signal to the fail counter 22 when the data from the MUT does not agree with the expected data.",
"Thus, the fail counter 22 counts the number (writing number) of write operation required for the address of the MUT 5 until the memory cell in the address successfully stores the test data.",
"The fail analysis memory 18 gives a write enable inhibit signal /WE to the wave formatter 14 for the address of the MUT 5 whose stored data agrees with the expected data, thereby prohibiting the test system from repeating the writing test for the same address any further.",
"The write operation is repeated for the remaining addresses whose data do not coincide with the expected data until the data agree with the expected data or until the predetermined maximum number of write operation has been performed.",
"During this repeated write and read process, in case where all of the addresses attain PASS (match) results, the process terminates by sending an MF (match flag) signal from the fail analysis memory 18 to the pattern generator 13.",
"Alternatively, when the writing test is repeated until the predetermined maximum number of times, the process terminates and proceeds to the next test.",
"The fail analysis memory 18 stores the results of the data writing test to be used for fail analysis of the MUT 5.",
"The fail analysis memory 18 also stores the number of required write operation from the fail counter 22 for each address of the MUT 5.",
"As noted above, the fail counter 22 counts the number (writing number) of the write operation required for each of the addresses of the MUT 5.",
"The counting operation can also be made by the test processor 11 through a software process.",
"However, a high speed counting operation can be achieved by the fail counter 22 as a separate hardware rather than the software procedure.",
"The fail counter 22 counts the number of write operation, for example, by counting the number of pulses in the control signal CS from the wave formatter 14, during the time of a gate signal provided from the logic comparator 17.",
"The gate signal is closed when the data in the address coincides with the expected data.",
"The gate signal can also be closed when the predetermined maximum number of write operation has been repeated.",
"The gate signal can also be acquired from other sources such as from the pattern generator 13 or the fail analysis memory 18.",
"Although the count pulses are obtained from the wave formatter 14 in FIG. 1, other arrangements are also possible such as counting the output signal of the logic comparator 18 or the number of "PROGRAM"",
"instructions generated by the pattern generator 13.",
"The counted data by the counter 22 is stored in the fail analysis memory 18 along with the corresponding address data of the MUT 5.",
"After the predetermined number of the writing test is completed for all of the addresses of the MUT 5, the EWS 20 acquires the content of the fail analysis memory 18 though the test bus and the test processor 11.",
"Based on the information from the fail analysis memory 18 that is read out, the failure information as well as the distribution of the writing numbers required for MUT 5 are illustrated on the display of the EWS 20.",
"Before going into the display examples of FIG. 2, the operational procedure in the foregoing is explained with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 3. Until the data writing is succeeded for each address or the predetermined maximum number of the repetition is reached, the write operation is repeated.",
"The number of write operation is counted by the counter 22 and the result is stored in the fail analysis memory 18.",
"Then, the next address of the MUT 5 is defined and the writing test is continued.",
"This process is performed for all of the addresses.",
"At the start of the write operation, the address signal is set to "0"",
"in the step S20 and the counter 22 is set to "1"",
"in the step S21.",
"Then, the write operation is started in the step S22 wherein the test data is written in the designated address of the MUT 5.",
"Then, the data stored in the address is read in the step S23 and is compared with the test data (expected data) in the step S24 to determine whether the two data coincide with one another.",
"If there is no coincidence between the two data, it is determined whether the counted number in the counter 22 is reached the predetermined maximum number in the step S25.",
"In case where the counted number is not the maximum number, counted number is added by "1"",
"and the write and verify operation in the steps S22-S24 is repeated.",
"If the two data match with each other in the step S24, or the counted number is reached the predetermined maximum number in the step S25, the counted number (writing number) is stored in the fail analysis memory 18 in the step S27.",
"In the step S28, it is determined whether the address of the MUT 5 is the maximum value, and if not, address signal is incremented by "1"",
"in the S29, while the counter 22 is set to "1"",
"again in the step S21.",
"If the present address is the maximum address of the MUT 5 in the step S28, the write operation is completed and the procedure of FIG. 3 ends.",
"Then, the failure analysis process may be begin wherein the test results in the fail analysis memory 18 are processed and displayed with respect to each address of the MUT S on a display screen of the work station EWS 20.",
"FIGS. 2A-2C are examples of displayed image on the display screen of the work station EWS indicating the distribution of the writing numbers for the corresponding addresses of the flash memory under test according to the present invention.",
"When the test is completed for all or predetermined range of addresses, the resultant data stored in the fail analysis memory 18 is transmitted to the high capacity DISK 21 through the tester bus.",
"At least one or more data processing programs to perform the display process are stored in the DISK 21.",
"Such programs include a condition set program to create a condition data file, a device test program to create a map management file and a retry data (writing number) file, an image conversion program to convert the retry data file to an image, a retry map output program to display the retry map on the screen, and an information display program to display the information on the map management file and the retry data file.",
"Preferably, additional programs such as a calculation program to obtain the maximum, minimum or average value of the writing numbers for a plurality of addresses are also provided in the DISK 21.",
"When the data stored in the fail analysis memory 18 is transmitted to the DISK 21, the data processing starts under the control of the EWS 20.",
"First, a condition set data file is created by initiating the condition set program.",
"Then, a map management file and a retry data file are created by initiating the device test program.",
"The image conversion program is initiated to convert the retry data file to an image.",
"The retry map output program is executed to display the retry map showing the writing number on the screen.",
"The information display program starts and displays the information in the map management file and the retry data file on the retry map.",
"In the example of FIG. 2A, the display image is a wafer map wherein the writing numbers are classified into several groups and displayed with respect to the physical locations of the wafer.",
"By setting several distinctions of the writing numbers, the distribution of the numbers can be displayed in characters, patterns or colors for each address, each group of addresses, or each chip on the wafer on the X and Y axes.",
"Three-dimensional bar charts can also be used.",
"FIG. 2B shows another example of display image wherein the dispersion of the writing numbers is listed in a table format.",
"The maximum, minimum and average values of the writing numbers for each chip are listed.",
"FIG. 2C shows a further example of display image wherein a physical image of a chip is displayed with each address of the memory cell in the chip on the XY plane.",
"In this example, the writing number is displayed with respect to each address of the chip while the maximum, minimum and average writing numbers are also listed.",
"As described above, there are several kinds of display images available such as the one directly showing the writing numbers, the one showing the number converted to the patterns or colors, or the one with a two-dimensional bar graph or a three-dimensional bar graph.",
"In sum, it is desirable that such a display image clearly shows the distribution and uniformity of the writing numbers.",
"Based on this distribution in the wafer or chips, the life-time of the data write/erase cycles of a flash memory can be predicted and be displayed on the display screen.",
"Based on the data acquired in the foregoing, the manufacturing process of the flash memories can be improved so that the writing numbers become uniform in the flash memories.",
"The above embodiment explained for the case wherein the fail counter 22 and the fail analysis memory 18 shown in FIG. 1 are separate components.",
"However, other arrangements are also possible such as having means for directly accumulating the data in the fail analysis memory by the tester processor 11 or the like.",
"The above embodiment explained the distribution analysis for all of the addresses or the range of addresses of the flash memory to be measured.",
"However, it is also possible to test the distribution of the writing numbers by random sampling the address of the memory under test by a predetermined address sequence so that the fail analysis can be performed in a short period of time.",
"For example, memory cells that are in equal distance with each other are selected for the test to display a distribution condition without accessing all of the memory cells in the flash memory.",
"In such a case, if an internal physical arrangement of the addresses of the memory under test is different from the outside address pins, or the memory under test has redundant memory cells to be replaced with defective memory cells, an address scrambler known in the art may be used to normalize the physical address in the memory.",
"Examples of such a random address sampling include generating only even number addresses or generating every 2 N addresses, or generating one or more addresses in every block of addresses.",
"It is assumed, in these random sampling methods, that statistical dispersion is very small among the memory cells that are adjacent to one another within several micrometers.",
"Under the random sampling method, it is possible to significantly reduce the data volume and thus, a high-speed distribution analysis can be performed.",
"As has been in the foregoing, according to the present invention, the flash memory test system counts the number of write operation required to succeed in writing the data in each address of the flash memory under test, and processes the acquired data, and displays the numbers with the physical image of the wafer or chip of the flash memory in the X and Y coordinates in a manner easily understandable.",
"This distribution of the writing numbers correlates to the uniformity in the production process of the flash memories and to the life times of the write/erase cycles of the flash memories.",
"Thus, the test results by the memory test system of the present invention can anticipate the life times and improve such life times of the flash memories."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a wheel for in-line roller skates namely the type having aligned or in-line wheels, which has a special configuration of its tire rim or hub so as to permit a reinforced grip of the toroidal cover of the wheel tread or tire which is directly in contact with the ground.
2. General State of the Art
It is known that in roller skates having aligned wheels, the wheels undergo violent stresses, especially when such roller skates am used on roads rather than on skating rings having smooth surfaces especially built for this purpose.
The stresses to the wheels are caused both by the irregular surface of the road and by the stresses which are encountered during the rotation of the wheels on the sliding surface. In addition, such wheels hardly rotate with their axis parallel to the roadway but they very often have a slanted axis in relation to the roadway and, therefore, the impact reaction which is discharged on the tire, tends to tear the tire from the hub.
It is also known that the tire or tread cover, which has a toroidal shape, is made of plastic material, usually thermosetting polyurethane, the chemical characteristics of which do not have an affinity with the plastic material forming the tire rim or hub to which the tire clings. The hub is usually made of polyamide or of another material which does not mix or melt with the polyurethane material.
Thus, as a result of the stresses the wheels undergo when the roller skates are used, it is impossible to closely combine together the materials forming the tire and the hub. It therefore is of primary importance to obtain some anchorage points between the tire and the hub which is sufficient to prevent such separation.
A hub or tire rim for wheels of roller skates shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,058, has two rings concentric with the wheel pivot opening or hole. The rings have an increasing diameter and are connected with the hole through essentially radial sectors. The outer ring is covered by the casting of polyurethane material of the tire and extends to the transversal openings between the outer and inner concentric ring, so as to form transversal segments of cast material. The segments hold the tire to the more external ring of the hub.
Experience has shown that this type of anchorage does not prevent the wheel from becoming damaged by the shocks and by the strong transversal stresses. As a result, the transversal segments become cut and the tread eventually rotates freely on the hub with evident damage to the skate and danger to the user of the roller skate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to increase the degree of anchorage between the tire and the hub so as to maintain as long as possible the integrity of the wheels.
Another object is to prevent rotation of the tire on the hub even when the transversal points penetrating into the tire hub are broken.
Another object of the invention is to cause discharge of the reaction forces of the ground against the wheel to occur on surfaces as nearly perpendicular as possible to the direction of the reaction force, even when the roller skate is slanted in relation to the contact surface. This in order to reduce the cutting component of the forces which act on the tire.
All the above mentioned purposes and others, will become apparent hereafter are achieved by a wheel for roller skates having aligned wheels mounted on supporting pivots, which comprises:
a hub made of plastic material and having an essentially cylindrical shape formed with a wall having a cylindrical hole having at least one receptacle for receiving ball bearings which engage the supporting pivot for said wheel;
at least one ring concentric with said hole, having an increasing diameter and relatively narrow radial web portions connecting the at least one ring and the wall of said hole, said radial web portions formed with a plurality of transversal openings;
a tire formed by molding onto said hub of a material suited to the rolling of said wheel on a contact surface of the roller skate, wherein the at least one ring extending transversely of the web portions forming a plurality of relatively thin annular sections being equally spaced from one another, each of said annular sections being connected to the ring of said rim, so as to define an annular space between each said annular section and said ring, and being filled with the tire material thereby shaping two rings connected with each other by the transversal segments formed by the material molded into each annular section.
The invention discloses a reinforced grip wherein the tire has two rings facing each other and inserted underneath the plurality of round sections connected together by a series of transverse openings which connect said two rings, so that the anchorage of the toroid tread resembles a cage formed by the two rings and by the transversal sections uniting said rings and corresponding with the interruptions between the annular sections which form the hub according to the invention.
According to a particular embodiment of the invention, an innermost ring of the hub in relation to the hole extends on one side beyond the width of the wheel, so as to form a cylindrical wall which protects the inner parts of the rim, while the outer parts of the same are covered with the melted tire material.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only. Various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description and from the drawings, wherein
FIG. 1 is a perspective and exploded view of an exemplary embodiment of the wheel showing the hub and tire separated from the hub;
FIG. 2 is a section of FIG. 1 along a plane perpendicular to the axis of the wheel;
FIG. 3 is a section of the wheel of FIG. 2 along the plane of section I--I;
FIG. 4 is a perspective and exploded view of a different embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 5 is a section of the wheel of FIG. 4 along a plane perpendicular to the axis of said wheel;
FIG. 6 is a section of the wheel of FIG. 5 along a plane of section II--II;
FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the wheel similar to the wheel of FIG. 1;
FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the wheel similar to the wheel of FIG. 4.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With reference to the FIGS. 1 and 2, it can be observed that the wheel 1 according to the invention has a rim or hub 2 made of plastic material, for instance polyamide, and a toroid cover or tire 3, wrapping the hub. The tire 3 has an outer surface constituting the in contact with the rolling surface of the roller skate. The tread tire 3 is generally made of thermosetting polyurethane.
The hub 2 has wall portions formed with a central hole 21 with two opposite receptacles 22 and 23 for receiving pivot 4 around which wheel 1 turns. Said hub 2 has two rings concentric with said hole 21, indicated with 26 and 27 and having diameters 21 differing from and increasing in relation to the diameter of the hole 22. Said concentric rings 26 and 27 are each connected with the outer wall of hole 21 through essentially radial sections 261 and 271 respectively, which define openings 262 and 272 arranged transversely in relation to the ideal plane of the wheel and are, therefore, parallel to the axis of hole 21 and distributed at equal distances around circumferentially. The inner ring 26, as can be observed in FIG. 3, has larger dimensions when compared with ring 27. On the outer surface of ring 27 there are also a series of relatively thin annular sections 28 (see FIG. 1) which have a greater width than that of ring 27. Said annular sections 28 are spaced apart from one another by a space 29, which, as will be seen later, is used to receive transversal segments made of the same material forming the tire, so as to prevent the rolling of the tire, should the anchorage between the hub and the tire break.
Each annular section 28 has a curved outer surface 285 having an outwardly facing convex surface corresponding with the convex surface of the tire, so that the reaction forces which develop while the wheel is turning, even when it is in a slanted position, have their major force component approximately perpendicular to the tangent passing through 10 the point of intersection between surface 285 and the line of action of said force component.
According to the known technique, the tire is cast by melting bi-component, thermosetting polyurethane into a die wherein hub 2 has previously been inserted with the axis of the wheel arranged in the vertical position.
As can be appreciated from the FIGS 1, 2 and 3, when the tire 3 is formed, the polyurethane material penetrates into the transversal cavities 272, into the interspaces 29, which separate one annular section 28 from the next, and underneath the annular section 28. As can clearly be seen in the exploded view of FIG. 1, the rings 281 and 282 are made of the same material as the tire 3. It is clear that the rings 281 and 282, the transversal sections penetrating into the cavities 272 and also the transversal sections 291 which penetrate into the interspaces 29 between the annular sections 28, together form a sort of cage which withstands the stresses of the tire and particularly the cutting forces against the tire 3. The increase in the resistance to the breaking forces and to tears of the tire in relation to the hub is due both to the presence of the transversal sections of polyurethane material in the holes 272 and to the presence of the rings of the same material 281 and 282 which are arranged underneath the wings of the annular sections 28.
Moreover, as has been said, the material filling the cavities 29 between one section 28 and the next makes it possible for the tire 3 not to turn in relation to hub 2 and not to come away from the same, even if the transversal sections within the spaces 272 are torn.
FIG. 4 shows a different embodiment of the wheel according to the invention, indicated as a whole with 10. According to said embodiment the rim, which is now indicated with 5, has a hole 51 for receiving pivot 60. Said hole 51 has two receptacles 52 and 53 for the ball bearings 54 and 55 respectively. In the hub of FIG. 5 there is a single ring 56 concentric with hole 51 and connected with it through the radial sections 561. Said sections define the transversal openings 562 distributed around the circumference. On the outer surface 560 of ring 56 there are a plurality of annular sections 57 distributed at an equal distance from each other and connected with ring 56 by means of the transversal supports 58. Said supports have a smaller width than the annular section 57. Each of said annular sections 57 has an outer curved and convex surface 571, so that they withstand and discharge with better efficiency the components of the stresses which are discharged through the tire 6 on the annular sections 57. The tire 6 is made by melting the polyurethane material, covering the surface 560 of ring 56 and filling the annular sections 57. It is easy to understand that, because of the shape of the annular sections, the melted material acquires the shape of the rings 571 and 572 underneath the annular sections 57 and new transversal sections 573 are also shaped between two wings 32 of the material of the annular section 57, as can be seen in FIG. 5.
Thus the tire 6 is anchored not only through the rings of polyurethane material 571 and 572, but also through a series of transversal sections 573 which are connected with the outer side of tire 6 by means of the part of material 591 inserted into the cavities 59 which constitute the interspaces between the annular sections 28.
It is easy to understand that in the embodiment shown in the FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the wheel according to the invention is well anchored to hub 5 and that the complete breaking of all the anchoring points between the tread and the rim becomes virtually impossible.
It will be pointed out that the presence of the cavities 59 between the annular sections of wheel 10 and the cavities 29 in wheel I allows the discharge of the air during the casting process of the polyurethane material. Thus the formation of air bubbles within the tire, which would compromise its resistance, is avoided.
According to another embodiment of the invention, shown in FIG. 7, the hub has a temporary cylindrical extension 265 extending beyond the width of wheel 1. The cylindrical wall 265 is used as a screen during the moulding of tread 3, in order to prevent the melted polyurethane from penetrating into the inner part of rim 2. Once the moulding has been completed and the polyurethane material has set, the extension 265 is removed, for instance, by means of a mechanical turning process, so that the finished wheel will have the aspect as represented in the section of FIG. 3.
In the same way, as far as the example of FIG. 4 is concerned, according to another embodiment of the invention, the innermost ring 56 extends from the hub forming a cylindrical extension 565 for the same purpose of protecting the inner part of the hub during the moulding operation. Said extension 565 is also removed after the moulding operation has been completed, so that the wheel acquires the shape represented in the section of FIG. 6. | A wheel for an in-line roller skate of the type having aligned wheels, wherein a hub has an axial hole within which there are receptacles for ball bearings and a supporting pivot. One or two rings concentric with the hole form a support for a moldable tire which is molded onto the hub. The outer concentric ring has a plurality of thin annular sections and transverse openings to define an annular space between each of the annular sections and the ring connected by the transversal openings. The annular spaces and the transverse openings are filled with the material forming the tire to secure the same to the hub. | Condense the core contents of the given document. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The invention concerns a wheel for in-line roller skates namely the type having aligned or in-line wheels, which has a special configuration of its tire rim or hub so as to permit a reinforced grip of the toroidal cover of the wheel tread or tire which is directly in contact with the ground.",
"General State of the Art It is known that in roller skates having aligned wheels, the wheels undergo violent stresses, especially when such roller skates am used on roads rather than on skating rings having smooth surfaces especially built for this purpose.",
"The stresses to the wheels are caused both by the irregular surface of the road and by the stresses which are encountered during the rotation of the wheels on the sliding surface.",
"In addition, such wheels hardly rotate with their axis parallel to the roadway but they very often have a slanted axis in relation to the roadway and, therefore, the impact reaction which is discharged on the tire, tends to tear the tire from the hub.",
"It is also known that the tire or tread cover, which has a toroidal shape, is made of plastic material, usually thermosetting polyurethane, the chemical characteristics of which do not have an affinity with the plastic material forming the tire rim or hub to which the tire clings.",
"The hub is usually made of polyamide or of another material which does not mix or melt with the polyurethane material.",
"Thus, as a result of the stresses the wheels undergo when the roller skates are used, it is impossible to closely combine together the materials forming the tire and the hub.",
"It therefore is of primary importance to obtain some anchorage points between the tire and the hub which is sufficient to prevent such separation.",
"A hub or tire rim for wheels of roller skates shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,058, has two rings concentric with the wheel pivot opening or hole.",
"The rings have an increasing diameter and are connected with the hole through essentially radial sectors.",
"The outer ring is covered by the casting of polyurethane material of the tire and extends to the transversal openings between the outer and inner concentric ring, so as to form transversal segments of cast material.",
"The segments hold the tire to the more external ring of the hub.",
"Experience has shown that this type of anchorage does not prevent the wheel from becoming damaged by the shocks and by the strong transversal stresses.",
"As a result, the transversal segments become cut and the tread eventually rotates freely on the hub with evident damage to the skate and danger to the user of the roller skate.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to increase the degree of anchorage between the tire and the hub so as to maintain as long as possible the integrity of the wheels.",
"Another object is to prevent rotation of the tire on the hub even when the transversal points penetrating into the tire hub are broken.",
"Another object of the invention is to cause discharge of the reaction forces of the ground against the wheel to occur on surfaces as nearly perpendicular as possible to the direction of the reaction force, even when the roller skate is slanted in relation to the contact surface.",
"This in order to reduce the cutting component of the forces which act on the tire.",
"All the above mentioned purposes and others, will become apparent hereafter are achieved by a wheel for roller skates having aligned wheels mounted on supporting pivots, which comprises: a hub made of plastic material and having an essentially cylindrical shape formed with a wall having a cylindrical hole having at least one receptacle for receiving ball bearings which engage the supporting pivot for said wheel;",
"at least one ring concentric with said hole, having an increasing diameter and relatively narrow radial web portions connecting the at least one ring and the wall of said hole, said radial web portions formed with a plurality of transversal openings;",
"a tire formed by molding onto said hub of a material suited to the rolling of said wheel on a contact surface of the roller skate, wherein the at least one ring extending transversely of the web portions forming a plurality of relatively thin annular sections being equally spaced from one another, each of said annular sections being connected to the ring of said rim, so as to define an annular space between each said annular section and said ring, and being filled with the tire material thereby shaping two rings connected with each other by the transversal segments formed by the material molded into each annular section.",
"The invention discloses a reinforced grip wherein the tire has two rings facing each other and inserted underneath the plurality of round sections connected together by a series of transverse openings which connect said two rings, so that the anchorage of the toroid tread resembles a cage formed by the two rings and by the transversal sections uniting said rings and corresponding with the interruptions between the annular sections which form the hub according to the invention.",
"According to a particular embodiment of the invention, an innermost ring of the hub in relation to the hole extends on one side beyond the width of the wheel, so as to form a cylindrical wall which protects the inner parts of the rim, while the outer parts of the same are covered with the melted tire material.",
"Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only.",
"Various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description and from the drawings, wherein FIG. 1 is a perspective and exploded view of an exemplary embodiment of the wheel showing the hub and tire separated from the hub;",
"FIG. 2 is a section of FIG. 1 along a plane perpendicular to the axis of the wheel;",
"FIG. 3 is a section of the wheel of FIG. 2 along the plane of section I--I;",
"FIG. 4 is a perspective and exploded view of a different embodiment of the invention;",
"FIG. 5 is a section of the wheel of FIG. 4 along a plane perpendicular to the axis of said wheel;",
"FIG. 6 is a section of the wheel of FIG. 5 along a plane of section II--II;",
"FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the wheel similar to the wheel of FIG. 1;",
"FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the wheel similar to the wheel of FIG. 4. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to the FIGS. 1 and 2, it can be observed that the wheel 1 according to the invention has a rim or hub 2 made of plastic material, for instance polyamide, and a toroid cover or tire 3, wrapping the hub.",
"The tire 3 has an outer surface constituting the in contact with the rolling surface of the roller skate.",
"The tread tire 3 is generally made of thermosetting polyurethane.",
"The hub 2 has wall portions formed with a central hole 21 with two opposite receptacles 22 and 23 for receiving pivot 4 around which wheel 1 turns.",
"Said hub 2 has two rings concentric with said hole 21, indicated with 26 and 27 and having diameters 21 differing from and increasing in relation to the diameter of the hole 22.",
"Said concentric rings 26 and 27 are each connected with the outer wall of hole 21 through essentially radial sections 261 and 271 respectively, which define openings 262 and 272 arranged transversely in relation to the ideal plane of the wheel and are, therefore, parallel to the axis of hole 21 and distributed at equal distances around circumferentially.",
"The inner ring 26, as can be observed in FIG. 3, has larger dimensions when compared with ring 27.",
"On the outer surface of ring 27 there are also a series of relatively thin annular sections 28 (see FIG. 1) which have a greater width than that of ring 27.",
"Said annular sections 28 are spaced apart from one another by a space 29, which, as will be seen later, is used to receive transversal segments made of the same material forming the tire, so as to prevent the rolling of the tire, should the anchorage between the hub and the tire break.",
"Each annular section 28 has a curved outer surface 285 having an outwardly facing convex surface corresponding with the convex surface of the tire, so that the reaction forces which develop while the wheel is turning, even when it is in a slanted position, have their major force component approximately perpendicular to the tangent passing through 10 the point of intersection between surface 285 and the line of action of said force component.",
"According to the known technique, the tire is cast by melting bi-component, thermosetting polyurethane into a die wherein hub 2 has previously been inserted with the axis of the wheel arranged in the vertical position.",
"As can be appreciated from the FIGS 1, 2 and 3, when the tire 3 is formed, the polyurethane material penetrates into the transversal cavities 272, into the interspaces 29, which separate one annular section 28 from the next, and underneath the annular section 28.",
"As can clearly be seen in the exploded view of FIG. 1, the rings 281 and 282 are made of the same material as the tire 3.",
"It is clear that the rings 281 and 282, the transversal sections penetrating into the cavities 272 and also the transversal sections 291 which penetrate into the interspaces 29 between the annular sections 28, together form a sort of cage which withstands the stresses of the tire and particularly the cutting forces against the tire 3.",
"The increase in the resistance to the breaking forces and to tears of the tire in relation to the hub is due both to the presence of the transversal sections of polyurethane material in the holes 272 and to the presence of the rings of the same material 281 and 282 which are arranged underneath the wings of the annular sections 28.",
"Moreover, as has been said, the material filling the cavities 29 between one section 28 and the next makes it possible for the tire 3 not to turn in relation to hub 2 and not to come away from the same, even if the transversal sections within the spaces 272 are torn.",
"FIG. 4 shows a different embodiment of the wheel according to the invention, indicated as a whole with 10.",
"According to said embodiment the rim, which is now indicated with 5, has a hole 51 for receiving pivot 60.",
"Said hole 51 has two receptacles 52 and 53 for the ball bearings 54 and 55 respectively.",
"In the hub of FIG. 5 there is a single ring 56 concentric with hole 51 and connected with it through the radial sections 561.",
"Said sections define the transversal openings 562 distributed around the circumference.",
"On the outer surface 560 of ring 56 there are a plurality of annular sections 57 distributed at an equal distance from each other and connected with ring 56 by means of the transversal supports 58.",
"Said supports have a smaller width than the annular section 57.",
"Each of said annular sections 57 has an outer curved and convex surface 571, so that they withstand and discharge with better efficiency the components of the stresses which are discharged through the tire 6 on the annular sections 57.",
"The tire 6 is made by melting the polyurethane material, covering the surface 560 of ring 56 and filling the annular sections 57.",
"It is easy to understand that, because of the shape of the annular sections, the melted material acquires the shape of the rings 571 and 572 underneath the annular sections 57 and new transversal sections 573 are also shaped between two wings 32 of the material of the annular section 57, as can be seen in FIG. 5. Thus the tire 6 is anchored not only through the rings of polyurethane material 571 and 572, but also through a series of transversal sections 573 which are connected with the outer side of tire 6 by means of the part of material 591 inserted into the cavities 59 which constitute the interspaces between the annular sections 28.",
"It is easy to understand that in the embodiment shown in the FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the wheel according to the invention is well anchored to hub 5 and that the complete breaking of all the anchoring points between the tread and the rim becomes virtually impossible.",
"It will be pointed out that the presence of the cavities 59 between the annular sections of wheel 10 and the cavities 29 in wheel I allows the discharge of the air during the casting process of the polyurethane material.",
"Thus the formation of air bubbles within the tire, which would compromise its resistance, is avoided.",
"According to another embodiment of the invention, shown in FIG. 7, the hub has a temporary cylindrical extension 265 extending beyond the width of wheel 1.",
"The cylindrical wall 265 is used as a screen during the moulding of tread 3, in order to prevent the melted polyurethane from penetrating into the inner part of rim 2.",
"Once the moulding has been completed and the polyurethane material has set, the extension 265 is removed, for instance, by means of a mechanical turning process, so that the finished wheel will have the aspect as represented in the section of FIG. 3. In the same way, as far as the example of FIG. 4 is concerned, according to another embodiment of the invention, the innermost ring 56 extends from the hub forming a cylindrical extension 565 for the same purpose of protecting the inner part of the hub during the moulding operation.",
"Said extension 565 is also removed after the moulding operation has been completed, so that the wheel acquires the shape represented in the section of FIG. 6."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a heating system having means for storing heat. The system has particular and preferred utility in a heating system using solar energy as a source of heat.
Several factors related to the production of heat for structural space heating systems, hot water heatins systems and other heating systems have recently coalesced to encourage new technologies for producing heat in such heating systems. Specifically, the cost of heat energy has continued to rise. In addition, the vast consumption of heating energy, particularly in urban areas, has provided substantial problems of pollution, and, most recently, a shortage of traditional hydrocarbon fuels has developed. Each of these factors has contributed to recently increased interest in sources of heat energy alternative to those traditionally employed and more efficient utilization of heat energy produced from all sources. One such alternative energy source is energy radiated from the sun.
Solar energy has, of course, long been known but has not been significantly exploited for two principal reasons. The first reason is the relatively low density of the energy per unit area of a surface collecting the energy. The low energy density requires both substantial surface areas and relatively long times for the collection of a required quantity of heat energy. The second reason is the uncontrollable availability of energy from the sun to times which may not coincide with the desired times of energy utilization. Specifically, solar energy is only available during daylight hours and even during daylight hours varies in available intensity with the angle of incidence of the energy which, of course, depends upon the time of day, and varies with the degree of cloud cover.
Both of these problems may be mitigated by means for the storage of heat energy accumulated during times of excess availability for later distribution. Such heat storage means may also have utility with heating systems employing traditional energy sources by permitting consumption of the energy during convenient times such as off-peak hours in the availability of electric energy or hours of relatively low pollution.
One system for the storage of heat energy, particularly heat energy from a solar collector, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,369,541 issued Feb. 20, 1968 in the name of Thomason. This patent discloses two embodiments of a heat storage device each having a tank containing a heat-storing, fluid medium. A pump circulates the fluid from the tank to a solar-energy heat collector and returns the heated fluid from the collector to the tank for storage. Heat exchange passages adjacent the tank receive a flow of air which is heated in the passages and discharged into a structure as space heat. In only one embodiment a collection of stones or other heat storage and heat exchanger material surrounds the tank in thermal communication with the tank for the storage of heat brought to the tank by the fluid and in heat exchanging relation with the air to be heated by pumping the air through interstices between the stones or other material.
In both embodiments disclosed in the patent the tank for storing the heated fluid medium is internally entirely open to permit uninhibited mixing of portions of the fluid heated to different temperatures, for example, fluid heated at times of different solar energy intensity. Moreover, inlet and outlet passageways for conveying the fluid to and from the solar heat collector are disposed in diagonally opposite corners of the tank; this arrangement would appear to promote a generally rotary, mixing circulation of the fluid in the tank as caused by the jet action of the fluid withdrawn from the tank for heating in the collector and returned to the tank for storage. Mixing differently heated portions of the fluid will degrade the higher temperature of fluid portion heated to the temperature toward the lower temperature of other fluid portions of the tank.
In the patent, water is suggested as the fluid. In the embodiment having stones for the storage of heat, it is believed that the stones, although 21/2 times heavier than water, have a specific heat of only 1/4, to provide a thermal heat storage efficiency only 60% of that of a system utilizing only water for the storage of heat.
Systems for heating hot water with solar energy have been commercially available for a number of years. However, it is believed that these systems have only a heat collector and a tank for the storage of water heated in the collector. A discharge pipe then distributes the heated water to hot water outlets as well known in plumbing systems distributing hot water from water heaters using more conventional energy sources. As with conventional water heaters, it is believed that the tanks storing solar heated water rely on convection currents of the water, with or without an internal pipe structure for directing the convection flow of the water, to maintain a uniform temperature of heated water in the tank. The uniform temperature of the water in such water heaters is considered desirable to provide the maximum quantity of water heated to a desired temperature, usually a temperature preset with a thermostat connected to the water heater.
The relatively low energy density and variable availability of solar energy additionally present another problem. Specifically, a medium heated by a solar heat collector is often heated to a temperature only slightly above that at which it was introduced into the solar heat collector. It is then quite possible that for a large part of a day the solar heat collector could heat the medium to a temperature warmer that that at which it was supplied to the collector but cooler than the warmest temperature to which a portion of the medium was earlier heated. Operation of a system under such conditions will degrade the maximum temperature of the heat storing medium even though additional heat was supplied to the entire system during the heat collecting operation.
This problem is not ordinarily encountered in heating systems utilizing traditional sources of heat energy because these sources of heat energy are selected to provide heating temperatures which are substantially in excess of those required in the system. Moreover, the traditional sources of heat energy usually provide substantially constant heating temperatures. For example natural gas flames at a substantially constant temperature of about 3800° F., a constant temperature substantially in excess of that required from systems for heating structures or hot water.
It is also well-known that the thermal efficiency of heat exchange devices both for the collection and utilization of heat is greatest with the greatest disparity of temperatures between the media between which heat is to be exchanged. It is therefore desirable in a system having means for heating a medium to introduce the medium into the heating means at the lowest possible temperature. Similarly, it is desirable to introduce a medium into means for utilizing the heat of the medium at the highest possible temperature.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a heating system having a medium for storing heat and means for heating the medium without degrading a higher temperature of a previously heated portion of the medium.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a heating system having a medium for storing heat and means for withdrawing heat from a highest temperature portion of the medium to provide the greatest thermal efficiency to the heat withdrawing means.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a heating system having means for heating a lowest temperature portion of the medium to provide the greatest thermal efficiency to the heating means.
It is still further object of the invention to provide each of the foregoing objects in a system using solar energy as means for heating the medium.
To these ends the invention provides in a heating system having a medium for storing heat, means for heating the medium and means for withdrawing heat from the medium for use, a method and apparatus for storing heat in the medium between a time at which the medium is heated and a time at which the heat is withdrawn for use.
The method comprises at least partially dividing the medium for separating portions of the medium potentially at different temperatures and directing heat from the heating means only to a portion of the medium at a temperature below the temperature to which the heating means then heats the medium. By directing the heat only to a portion of the medium at a temperature below that to which the medium is then being heated, the method functions to store heat in the medium during periods in which the heating means heats the medium only to a temperature below that to which another portion of the medium was previously heated without degrading the higher temperature of the other portion of the medium.
In a particular embodiment, the means for heating the medium is a solar heat collector, the available heat from which varies with the variable intensity of the solar energy. The method then functions to permit the system to store heat in the medium during periods of marginal or less-than-maximum solar heat energy intensity without degrading the maximum temperature of a portion of the medium previously heated to a higher temperature during a prior period of greater solar heat-energy intensity.
In another embodiment the method additionally comprises withdrawing the heat only from a highest temperature portion of the medium to permit the greatest thermal efficiency of the means withdrawing the heat for use. In still another embodiment, the medium is a fluid which is supplied to the means for heating the medium. In this embodiment the method additionally comprises supplying a lowest temperature portion of the medium to the heating means to permit the greatest thermal efficiency of the means heating the medium.
The apparatus comprises means at least partially dividing the medium for providing portions of the medium at potentially different temperatures and means directing heat from the heating means only to a portion of the medium at a temperature below the temperature to which the heating means then heats the medium for storing heat in the medium when the heating means heats the medium only to a temperature below that to which another portion of the medium was previously heated without degrading the maximum temperature of the previously higher-temperature-heated portion of the medium. In the particular preferred embodiment wherein the means for heating the medium is a solar heat collector, the apparatus aso provides means for storing heat in the medium during periods of marginal or less-thann-maximum solar heating of the medium without degrading the temperature of the highest temperature portion of the medium.
Another embodiment has means withdrawing heat from a highest temperature portion of the medium for permitting the greatest thermal efficiency of the means withdrawing the heat. In still another embodiment, the medium is a fluid supplied to the heating means and the embodiment additionally comprises means supplying the medium to the heating means from a lowest temperature portion of the medium for permitting the greatest thermal efficiency of the heating means.
In this description of the invention the term "heat" is used in the sense of adding energy such as to tend to increase the temperature of the medium to which the heat is supplied. However, it is specifically intended that the invention shall also include within its scope heating in the sense that energy is withdrawn so as to tend to reduce the temperature of a medium, that is, to cool the medium. When the system of the invention is so used as a cooling system, it will be additionally understood that the terms above and below the temperature of another portion of the medium are reversed from their ordinary meaning to indicate temperatures below and above, respectively, the temperatures of the other portions of the medium.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment which is intended to illustrate and not limit the invention will now be described with reference to drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of one preferred embodiment;
FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of another but also preferred embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a more detailed illustration of a portion of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;
FIG. 4 is a more detailed sectional illustration of another portion of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; and
FIG. 5 is a view of a portion of that portion of the embodiments shown in FIG. 4.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 shows as a preferred embodiment a system for space heating a structure with heat from solar energy. The system has a solar heat collector 10 for heating a fluid medium supplied to the collector through a pipe 12 from a fluid storage means at 14. The solar heat collector 10 may, for example, be of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,602 issued June 11, 1968, in the name of Thomason. A pipe 16 carries heated fluid from the heat collector 10 to means 17 directing the heated fluid to the storage means 14. The fluid storage means 14 then stores the heated fluid for later use.
To use the heat stored in the fluid, a pump 18 withdraws heated fluid from the storage means and supplies the heated fluid to a heat exchanger 20 for heating air passed through the heat exchanger by a blower 22. Air heated in the exchanger is then advanced into a structure, house 24, for space heating the house. Fluid from the heat exchanger is mixed with that returned to the fluid storage means from the solar heat collector by the pipe 16.
The fluid storage means 14 is a tank partially divided into three compartments or separate tanks 26, 28 and 30. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 the pump 11 withdraws fluid for heating in the collector 10 from the compartment 30 while the pump 18 withdraws fluid for heating the house 24 from the compartment 26.
The means directing the fluid from the pipe 16 to the storage compartments 26, 28 and 30 comprises pipes 32, 34 and 36, each positioned to carry the fluid to the respective compartments as controlled by a distribution valve 38 selectively connecting each pipe 32, 34, 36 to the fluid return pipe 16. An actuator 40 moves the valve 38 to direct fluid to one of the pipes 32, 34, 36 as directed by a decision device 42.
The decision device is connected to sensors 44, 46, 48 for sensing the temperature of the fluid in each of the compartments 26, 28 and 30, respectively, and to sensor 50 for sensing the temperature of the fluid in the pipe 16 and other, later described functions. The decision device 42 compares the sensed temperature of the fluid in each compartment with the temperature of the heated fluid being returned from the heat collector 10 in the pipe 16 to signal the actuator to move the valve to direct the fluid through one of the pipes 32, 34, 36 to a compartment holding fluid at a temperature lower than that of the fluid then passing through pipe 16 from the heat collector 10.
The operating scheme for the system is to direct heated fluid to a comparment containing fluid at a nearest temperature lower than the collector 10 heated fluid, to supply the heat collector 10 with fluid from a compartment containing the lowest temperature fluid and to supply the heat exchanger 20 with fluid from a compartment containing the highest temperature fluid. Therefore, the decision device 42 is designed to cause the actuator to direct the fluid through the pipe 32 supplying the compartment 26 if the temperature of the fluid in the pipe 16 exceeds the temperature of the fluid in each of the compartments, to direct the fluid through pipe 34 to compartment 28 if the temperature of the fluid in the pipe 16 exceeds that of the fluid in only compartments 28 and 30 and to direct the fluid through pipe 36 to compartment 30 if the temperature of the fluid in pipe 16 exceeds that of the fluid in only compartment 30. The compartments thus order the fluid into strata of different fluid temperatures with the compartment 26 at a higher or equal temperature to the temperature of the fluid in each of the other compartments and the temperature of the fluid in the compartment 30 at a lower or equal temperature to the fluid in each of the other compartments. The decision device 42 additionally has means connected to the pump 11 for cutting off the flow of fluid to the heat collector if the temperature of the fluid from the heat collector in the pipe 16 is lower than that of the temperature in the lowest temperature fluid compartment 30.
The tanks are additionally interconnected by overflow devices 52 and 54. When fluid is supplied to one of the compartments 26 or 28 other than the lowest temperature compartment 30 from which the pump 11 always withdraws the fluid, excess fluid supplied to the compartments 26 or 28 will overflow toward the compartment 30. On the other hand, when fluid is supplied to one of the compartments 28, 30 other than the highest temperature compartment 26 from which the pump 18 withdraws fluid, excess fluid supplied to the compartments 28 or 30 will overflow toward the compartment 26. The overflow device 52 comprises a pipe extending from an upper portion of the tank 28 to a lower portion of the tank 26, all of the tanks accomodating fluid to a like level. Overflow device 54 comprises a pipe similarly extending between compartments 28 and 30.
FIG. 2 shows another preferred embodiment similar to that shown in FIG. 1 except in the fluid storage means 14'. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the fluid storage means 14' comprise a single tank substantially divided into compartments 26', 28' and 30' by separators 60 forming vertically disposed strata or portions of the fluid in the tanks. The strata separators 60 each have openings 62 interconnecting strata of the tank to form overflow passages from one stratum to the next. The openings 60 thus function similarly to the overflow devices 52 and 54 shown in FIG. 1. Each strata of the tank receives fluid from a pipe 32', 34' and 36' as directed by a switching valve 38 moved by an actuator 40 under the direction of a decision element 42 which is responsive to temperature sensors 44- 50 in similar arrangement with that described with reference to FIG. 1.
The decision element 42 is again biased to cause the valve 38 to direct fluid hotter than that in any strata to the stratum or compartment 26', to direct fluid hotter than that in only strata 28' or 30' to stratum 28', and fluid hotter than only that in stratum 30' to stratum 30'. The stratum 26' will thus be at a temperature equal to or higher than that of any of the other strata while the strata 30' will be at a temperature equal to or lower than that of the temperature of the fluid in any of the other strata. As before, the pump 18 withdraws heated fluid from stratum 26' to a heat exchanger 20 for heating the house 24 while the pump 11 withdrawn fluid from stratum 30' for heating in the heat collector 10.
FIG. 3 is a schematic of the decision device 42 and temperature sensors 44-50. Each of the temperature sensors 44-50 is a thermistor connected across DC power supply busses 70 and in potential-dividing series connection with a resistor.
The thermistor temperature sensor 44 in fluid compartment 26 (FIG. 1) is connected at one end to one DC power supply bus 70 and at the other to potential dividing resistor 72 and to an input lead 74 to an operational amplifier 76. Another input lead to the operational amplifier 76 is similarly connected between an NTC thermistor forming the temperature sensor 50 and a potential dividing resistor 80, the thermistor-resistor also being connected across the DC power supply. The operational amplifier 76 is connected as a potential comparitor for comparing the potentials on the leads 74 and 78 connected to the operational amplifier. In such well-known connections of operational amplifiers, the amplifier provides an output potential saturated to a positive or negative value depending upon the relative polarity of the potentials applied to the input leads 74 and 78 to the operational amplifier.
Then, if the fluid in the return pipe 16 is warmer than the fluid in the compartment 26, the thermistor temperature sensor 50 sensing the temperature of the fluid in the return pipe will have a lower resistance than the thermistor temperature sensor 44 sensing the temperature of the fluid in the compartment 26. This condition applies a higher potential to the lead 74 than to the lead 78. The lead 74 is a non-inverting input to the potential comparitor operational amplifier 76 to trigger a non-inverted saturated positive potential from the operational amplifier 76. This positive potential is applied to the base of a transistor 82 to trigger conduction of the transistor 82. The potential from conducting transistor 82 is applied to the gate of an SCR 84 to then trigger conduction of the SCR 84. The SCR 84 is connected in series with a coil of a solenoid 86 forming part of the actuator 40 (FIG. 1) and across a power supply transformer 89. Conduction through SCR 84 then energizes the solenoid 86 to move the valve 38 to direct fluid from the pipe 16 to the compartment 26.
If the temperature of the return fluid as sensed by the thermistor sensor 50 is cooler than the temperature of the fluid in the compartment 28 (FIG. 1) as sensed by the thermistor sensor 46, the thermistor sensor 46 will be of lower resistance than the thermistor sensor 50. A non-output-inverting input lead 88 of an operational amplifier 90, connected as a potential comparitor in similarity with the operational amplifier 76, is connected to the thermistor 50 while an output-inverting lead 92 is connected to the thermistor 46. Under the conditions in which the returning fluid in the pipe 16 (FIG. 1) is cooler than the fluid in the compartment 28, the lead 88 will be positive with respect to the lead 92 and the operational amplifier 90 will provide a positive output to the base of a transistor 94 to trigger conduction of the transistor. Conduction of transistor 94 triggers conduction of an SCR 96 which, like SCR 84, is connected in series with an actuating coil of a solenoid 98. The solenoid 98 then controls the valve 38 to direct the returning fluid to the compartment 30.
If the returning fluid in pipe 16 (FIG. 1) is warmer than that in compartments 28 and 30 but cooler than that in the compartment 26 the relative resistances of thermistor-sensors 44 and 50 and sensors 46 and 50 is reversed from that just described to reverse the relative polarity of the potentials on input lead pairs 74 and 78 and 88 and 92 connected to the thermistor-sensors. Both operational amplifiers 76 and 90 then provide an output potential saturated to a negative potential value. This low potential will not trigger conduction of the transistors 82 or 94 connected to the operational amplifiers. Neither SCR 84 or 96 then conducts and neither solenoid 86 or 98 is then energized. The switching valve 38 (FIG. 1) then moves to a stable condition supplying fluid to the compartment 28.
Although the system as so far described is operative, it is desirable to additionally provide the thermistor 48 for sensing the temperature of the fluid portion in compartment 30. The thermistor-sensor 48 in compartment 30 (FIG. 1) is also connected across the power supply busses 70 with series resistor 100. The thermistor-sensor 48 has a higher resistance than the thermistor-sensor 50 if the temperature of the fluid in the compartment 30 is lower than that of the heated fluid returning from the collector through the pipe 16 compartment 30. The potential from the thermistor 48 is supplied to an operational amplifier 102 on a lead 104 while the potential from the thermistor 50 is applied to the operational amplifier 102 over a lead 106. The operational amplifier 102 is again connected as a potential comparitor for comparing the potentials on the leads 104, 106. The lower potential on the lead 104 compared to that on the lead 106 then triggers a positive output of the operational amplifier 102. As with the output from the other operational amplifiers, the positive potential triggers conduction of a connected transistor 110 to trigger conduction of an SCR 112 which is connected in series with an actuating coil of a solenoid 114. The solenoid 114 then actuates a switch (not shown) to turn on the pump 11 to circulate fluid through the solar heat collector 10.
However, should the temperature of the fluid in the compartment 30 be above that of the fluid supplied from the heat collector 10, the relative resistances of the thermistor-sensors 48 and 50 will be reversed to reverse the relative potentials on the leads 104 and 106. The output from the operational amplifier 102 will then be a low potential which will not trigger conduction of transistor 110 or SCR 112 to energize the solenoid 114. The pump 11 will then be shut off.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sensor 50 is positioned in the heat collector 10 at the junction of the heat collector with the fluid return pipe 16. Specifically, the sensor is shown in the Figures as mounted in a trough 51 which funnels heated fluid from a heat collecting surface 53 of heat collector 10 to the fluid return pipe 16. The sensor 50 is mounted for good thermal contact with the heat collecting surface 53 and, when fluid flows through the collector, for good thermal contact with the fluid. For example, the sensor 50 may be secured to the heat collecting surface 53 for good thermal contact the surface in a position, such as trough 51, which is in or near the flow of fluid heating in the collector 10 for good thermal contact with the fluid. The sensor 50 then senses the temperature of the heat collecting surface 53 when no fluid flows over the surface and the temperature of the fluid when it does flow over the surface.
This mounting arrangement of sensor 50 permits the sensor to perform two functions. When the temperature of the fluid heated in the collector falls below that of the fluid in the coolest compartment 30, the sensor 30 senses this temperature of the fluid entering pipe 16 while the sensor 48 senses the temperature of the fluid in compartment 30 to provide relative potentials to leads 104, 106 (FIG. 3) such that current to solenoid 114 (FIG. 3) is cut-off to stop the fluid pump 11 (FIGS. 1,2), as before described. The temperature of the fluid in compartment 30 is then not degraded during periods of such low solar heat energy intensity as do not heat the fluid in the collector 10 to a temperature above that of the fluid in compartment 30. The sensor 50 then functions to sense the temperature of the heat collecting surface 53. When the solar energy intensity increases to a level at which the temperature of the surface 53 rises above that of the fluid in compartment 30, sensors 48, 50 then provide relative potentials to leads 104, 106 (FIG. 3) such that solenoid 114 turns on pump 11 (FIGS. 1,2) to again supply fluid to the collector 10 for heating. When the temperature of the fluid then sensed by sensor 50 again falls below that of the fluid in compartment 30 as from a subsequent reduction of the solar heat intensity, sensors 48, 50 again cut off pump 11. Sensor 50 thus serves both to regulate the heating of fluid, including the earlier described regulation of the compartment to which the heated fluid is directed, and to regulate pump 11 to provide fluid to the heat collector 10 only during times when the fluid can be heated to a temperature above that of the coolest compartment.
An alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. 3 to include a device 116 which is connected by the load 104 to the operational amplifier 102 to apply a lower potential to the lead 104 than the potential on the lead 106 to restart the pump 11. For this purpose the device 116 may be a solar energy sensor such as a photo-electric device reponsive only to solar energy of an intensity predetermined to provide a known minimum temperature to fluid circulated through the heat collector 10. The device 116 will then restart the pump 11 to provide the minimum heat level to fluid circulated through the collector 10. A timer in the device 116 additionally applies the low potential to the lead 104 periodically and for a time duration predetermined to circulate fluid from the compartment 30 to the sensor 50 in the pipe 16. The device 116 is then cut off. Once fluid newly passed through the collector 10 has arrived at the sensor 50, the temperature comparison function of the thermistor-sensors 48 and 50 determines if the solar heat collector 10 is supplying heat to the fluid. If the fluid then reaching the sensor 50 is of a higher temperature than that in the compartment 30 as sensed by the thermistor 48, the lead 106 will be positive with respect to the lead 104 to maintain a positive output from the operational amplifier 104 thus holding pump 11 on.
FIG. 4 illustrates in section the valve 38. Fluid entering the valve through the pipe 16 reaches a butterfly-type diverting member 120 pivoted on a shaft 124 centrally in the pipe. With the diverting member in the position shown the fluid is directed away from the pipe 36. The fluid then flows toward another butterfly-type diverting member 122, like member 120, shown in a position for diverting the fluid toward the pipe 34 carrying the fluid to the compartment 28 (FIG. 1). This position of the diverting members 120 and 122 corresponds to the condition in which neither solenoid 86 or 98 is energized, as described with reference to FIG. 3.
If the temperature of the fluid in the pipe 16 should exceed only that of the fluid in the compartment 30, the solenoid 98 is energized as earlier described with reference to FIG. 3. This solenoid is connected to shaft 124 forming the pivot for the diverting member 120 and operates to rotate the diverting member in the direction indicated by the arrow. The diverting member 120 then diverts the fluid from the pipe 16 to the pipe 36 thereby providing the fluid to the compartment 30 (FIG. 1). When the solenoid 98 is not energized, means (not shown), such as a spring-loading in the solenoid, return the diverting member 120 to the illustrated position.
Similarly, when the temperature of the fluid in the pipe 16 exceeds that of the fluid in the compartment 26 (FIG. 1), solenoid 86 connected to a shaft 126 forming the pivot for the diverting member 122 rotates the diverting member 122 in the arrow-indicated direction to divert the fluid into the pipe 32 supplying the fluid to the compartment 26. In similarity to the solenoid 98, means, such as spring-loading in the solenoid 86, returns the diverting member to the illustrated position when the solenoid 86 is not energized.
FIG. 5 illustrates the connection of the solenoid 98 to the diverting member 120. The shaft 124 is seen to extend from the diverting member through a wall 130 of the valve 38 to the solenoid 98 for actuating the diverting member with the solenoid. The solenoid 98 and the similar solenoid 86 may, for example, be a rotary type commercially designated Ledex 3. | A heating system has means for directing heat only to a portion of a medium for storing heat which portion is at a temperature below that to which heating means then heats the medium. The system then functions to store heat in the medium during periods of less-than-maximum heating of the medium without degrading the temperature of a higher-temperature portion of the medium. The system has particular utility with a solar heat collector from which the available heat varies with the intensity of the solar energy. Heat is then collected in the portion of the medium during periods of marginal solar energy intensity without degrading the higher temperature of another portion of the medium heated to a higher temperature during a prior period of greater solar energy intensity. In a specific embodiment the system has three compartments for separating a fluid heat-storing medium into portions, a pump supplying the fluid to a solar heat collector, and a pump supplying the fluid to a heat exchanger for heating a house. The means for directing heat to a portion of the medium then direct fluid heated in the collector to a compartment of fluid at a temperature nearest below that to which the solar heat collector then heats the fluid. The pump supplying fluid to the collector withdraws fluid from a compartment at a lowest temperature to maximize the thermal efficiency of the collector and exchanger. | Condense the core contents of the given document. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a heating system having means for storing heat.",
"The system has particular and preferred utility in a heating system using solar energy as a source of heat.",
"Several factors related to the production of heat for structural space heating systems, hot water heatins systems and other heating systems have recently coalesced to encourage new technologies for producing heat in such heating systems.",
"Specifically, the cost of heat energy has continued to rise.",
"In addition, the vast consumption of heating energy, particularly in urban areas, has provided substantial problems of pollution, and, most recently, a shortage of traditional hydrocarbon fuels has developed.",
"Each of these factors has contributed to recently increased interest in sources of heat energy alternative to those traditionally employed and more efficient utilization of heat energy produced from all sources.",
"One such alternative energy source is energy radiated from the sun.",
"Solar energy has, of course, long been known but has not been significantly exploited for two principal reasons.",
"The first reason is the relatively low density of the energy per unit area of a surface collecting the energy.",
"The low energy density requires both substantial surface areas and relatively long times for the collection of a required quantity of heat energy.",
"The second reason is the uncontrollable availability of energy from the sun to times which may not coincide with the desired times of energy utilization.",
"Specifically, solar energy is only available during daylight hours and even during daylight hours varies in available intensity with the angle of incidence of the energy which, of course, depends upon the time of day, and varies with the degree of cloud cover.",
"Both of these problems may be mitigated by means for the storage of heat energy accumulated during times of excess availability for later distribution.",
"Such heat storage means may also have utility with heating systems employing traditional energy sources by permitting consumption of the energy during convenient times such as off-peak hours in the availability of electric energy or hours of relatively low pollution.",
"One system for the storage of heat energy, particularly heat energy from a solar collector, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,369,541 issued Feb. 20, 1968 in the name of Thomason.",
"This patent discloses two embodiments of a heat storage device each having a tank containing a heat-storing, fluid medium.",
"A pump circulates the fluid from the tank to a solar-energy heat collector and returns the heated fluid from the collector to the tank for storage.",
"Heat exchange passages adjacent the tank receive a flow of air which is heated in the passages and discharged into a structure as space heat.",
"In only one embodiment a collection of stones or other heat storage and heat exchanger material surrounds the tank in thermal communication with the tank for the storage of heat brought to the tank by the fluid and in heat exchanging relation with the air to be heated by pumping the air through interstices between the stones or other material.",
"In both embodiments disclosed in the patent the tank for storing the heated fluid medium is internally entirely open to permit uninhibited mixing of portions of the fluid heated to different temperatures, for example, fluid heated at times of different solar energy intensity.",
"Moreover, inlet and outlet passageways for conveying the fluid to and from the solar heat collector are disposed in diagonally opposite corners of the tank;",
"this arrangement would appear to promote a generally rotary, mixing circulation of the fluid in the tank as caused by the jet action of the fluid withdrawn from the tank for heating in the collector and returned to the tank for storage.",
"Mixing differently heated portions of the fluid will degrade the higher temperature of fluid portion heated to the temperature toward the lower temperature of other fluid portions of the tank.",
"In the patent, water is suggested as the fluid.",
"In the embodiment having stones for the storage of heat, it is believed that the stones, although 21/2 times heavier than water, have a specific heat of only 1/4, to provide a thermal heat storage efficiency only 60% of that of a system utilizing only water for the storage of heat.",
"Systems for heating hot water with solar energy have been commercially available for a number of years.",
"However, it is believed that these systems have only a heat collector and a tank for the storage of water heated in the collector.",
"A discharge pipe then distributes the heated water to hot water outlets as well known in plumbing systems distributing hot water from water heaters using more conventional energy sources.",
"As with conventional water heaters, it is believed that the tanks storing solar heated water rely on convection currents of the water, with or without an internal pipe structure for directing the convection flow of the water, to maintain a uniform temperature of heated water in the tank.",
"The uniform temperature of the water in such water heaters is considered desirable to provide the maximum quantity of water heated to a desired temperature, usually a temperature preset with a thermostat connected to the water heater.",
"The relatively low energy density and variable availability of solar energy additionally present another problem.",
"Specifically, a medium heated by a solar heat collector is often heated to a temperature only slightly above that at which it was introduced into the solar heat collector.",
"It is then quite possible that for a large part of a day the solar heat collector could heat the medium to a temperature warmer that that at which it was supplied to the collector but cooler than the warmest temperature to which a portion of the medium was earlier heated.",
"Operation of a system under such conditions will degrade the maximum temperature of the heat storing medium even though additional heat was supplied to the entire system during the heat collecting operation.",
"This problem is not ordinarily encountered in heating systems utilizing traditional sources of heat energy because these sources of heat energy are selected to provide heating temperatures which are substantially in excess of those required in the system.",
"Moreover, the traditional sources of heat energy usually provide substantially constant heating temperatures.",
"For example natural gas flames at a substantially constant temperature of about 3800° F., a constant temperature substantially in excess of that required from systems for heating structures or hot water.",
"It is also well-known that the thermal efficiency of heat exchange devices both for the collection and utilization of heat is greatest with the greatest disparity of temperatures between the media between which heat is to be exchanged.",
"It is therefore desirable in a system having means for heating a medium to introduce the medium into the heating means at the lowest possible temperature.",
"Similarly, it is desirable to introduce a medium into means for utilizing the heat of the medium at the highest possible temperature.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a heating system having a medium for storing heat and means for heating the medium without degrading a higher temperature of a previously heated portion of the medium.",
"It is a further object of the invention to provide a heating system having a medium for storing heat and means for withdrawing heat from a highest temperature portion of the medium to provide the greatest thermal efficiency to the heat withdrawing means.",
"It is still a further object of the invention to provide a heating system having means for heating a lowest temperature portion of the medium to provide the greatest thermal efficiency to the heating means.",
"It is still further object of the invention to provide each of the foregoing objects in a system using solar energy as means for heating the medium.",
"To these ends the invention provides in a heating system having a medium for storing heat, means for heating the medium and means for withdrawing heat from the medium for use, a method and apparatus for storing heat in the medium between a time at which the medium is heated and a time at which the heat is withdrawn for use.",
"The method comprises at least partially dividing the medium for separating portions of the medium potentially at different temperatures and directing heat from the heating means only to a portion of the medium at a temperature below the temperature to which the heating means then heats the medium.",
"By directing the heat only to a portion of the medium at a temperature below that to which the medium is then being heated, the method functions to store heat in the medium during periods in which the heating means heats the medium only to a temperature below that to which another portion of the medium was previously heated without degrading the higher temperature of the other portion of the medium.",
"In a particular embodiment, the means for heating the medium is a solar heat collector, the available heat from which varies with the variable intensity of the solar energy.",
"The method then functions to permit the system to store heat in the medium during periods of marginal or less-than-maximum solar heat energy intensity without degrading the maximum temperature of a portion of the medium previously heated to a higher temperature during a prior period of greater solar heat-energy intensity.",
"In another embodiment the method additionally comprises withdrawing the heat only from a highest temperature portion of the medium to permit the greatest thermal efficiency of the means withdrawing the heat for use.",
"In still another embodiment, the medium is a fluid which is supplied to the means for heating the medium.",
"In this embodiment the method additionally comprises supplying a lowest temperature portion of the medium to the heating means to permit the greatest thermal efficiency of the means heating the medium.",
"The apparatus comprises means at least partially dividing the medium for providing portions of the medium at potentially different temperatures and means directing heat from the heating means only to a portion of the medium at a temperature below the temperature to which the heating means then heats the medium for storing heat in the medium when the heating means heats the medium only to a temperature below that to which another portion of the medium was previously heated without degrading the maximum temperature of the previously higher-temperature-heated portion of the medium.",
"In the particular preferred embodiment wherein the means for heating the medium is a solar heat collector, the apparatus aso provides means for storing heat in the medium during periods of marginal or less-thann-maximum solar heating of the medium without degrading the temperature of the highest temperature portion of the medium.",
"Another embodiment has means withdrawing heat from a highest temperature portion of the medium for permitting the greatest thermal efficiency of the means withdrawing the heat.",
"In still another embodiment, the medium is a fluid supplied to the heating means and the embodiment additionally comprises means supplying the medium to the heating means from a lowest temperature portion of the medium for permitting the greatest thermal efficiency of the heating means.",
"In this description of the invention the term "heat"",
"is used in the sense of adding energy such as to tend to increase the temperature of the medium to which the heat is supplied.",
"However, it is specifically intended that the invention shall also include within its scope heating in the sense that energy is withdrawn so as to tend to reduce the temperature of a medium, that is, to cool the medium.",
"When the system of the invention is so used as a cooling system, it will be additionally understood that the terms above and below the temperature of another portion of the medium are reversed from their ordinary meaning to indicate temperatures below and above, respectively, the temperatures of the other portions of the medium.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment which is intended to illustrate and not limit the invention will now be described with reference to drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of one preferred embodiment;",
"FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of another but also preferred embodiment;",
"FIG. 3 is a more detailed illustration of a portion of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;",
"FIG. 4 is a more detailed sectional illustration of another portion of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;",
"and FIG. 5 is a view of a portion of that portion of the embodiments shown in FIG. 4. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows as a preferred embodiment a system for space heating a structure with heat from solar energy.",
"The system has a solar heat collector 10 for heating a fluid medium supplied to the collector through a pipe 12 from a fluid storage means at 14.",
"The solar heat collector 10 may, for example, be of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,602 issued June 11, 1968, in the name of Thomason.",
"A pipe 16 carries heated fluid from the heat collector 10 to means 17 directing the heated fluid to the storage means 14.",
"The fluid storage means 14 then stores the heated fluid for later use.",
"To use the heat stored in the fluid, a pump 18 withdraws heated fluid from the storage means and supplies the heated fluid to a heat exchanger 20 for heating air passed through the heat exchanger by a blower 22.",
"Air heated in the exchanger is then advanced into a structure, house 24, for space heating the house.",
"Fluid from the heat exchanger is mixed with that returned to the fluid storage means from the solar heat collector by the pipe 16.",
"The fluid storage means 14 is a tank partially divided into three compartments or separate tanks 26, 28 and 30.",
"In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 the pump 11 withdraws fluid for heating in the collector 10 from the compartment 30 while the pump 18 withdraws fluid for heating the house 24 from the compartment 26.",
"The means directing the fluid from the pipe 16 to the storage compartments 26, 28 and 30 comprises pipes 32, 34 and 36, each positioned to carry the fluid to the respective compartments as controlled by a distribution valve 38 selectively connecting each pipe 32, 34, 36 to the fluid return pipe 16.",
"An actuator 40 moves the valve 38 to direct fluid to one of the pipes 32, 34, 36 as directed by a decision device 42.",
"The decision device is connected to sensors 44, 46, 48 for sensing the temperature of the fluid in each of the compartments 26, 28 and 30, respectively, and to sensor 50 for sensing the temperature of the fluid in the pipe 16 and other, later described functions.",
"The decision device 42 compares the sensed temperature of the fluid in each compartment with the temperature of the heated fluid being returned from the heat collector 10 in the pipe 16 to signal the actuator to move the valve to direct the fluid through one of the pipes 32, 34, 36 to a compartment holding fluid at a temperature lower than that of the fluid then passing through pipe 16 from the heat collector 10.",
"The operating scheme for the system is to direct heated fluid to a comparment containing fluid at a nearest temperature lower than the collector 10 heated fluid, to supply the heat collector 10 with fluid from a compartment containing the lowest temperature fluid and to supply the heat exchanger 20 with fluid from a compartment containing the highest temperature fluid.",
"Therefore, the decision device 42 is designed to cause the actuator to direct the fluid through the pipe 32 supplying the compartment 26 if the temperature of the fluid in the pipe 16 exceeds the temperature of the fluid in each of the compartments, to direct the fluid through pipe 34 to compartment 28 if the temperature of the fluid in the pipe 16 exceeds that of the fluid in only compartments 28 and 30 and to direct the fluid through pipe 36 to compartment 30 if the temperature of the fluid in pipe 16 exceeds that of the fluid in only compartment 30.",
"The compartments thus order the fluid into strata of different fluid temperatures with the compartment 26 at a higher or equal temperature to the temperature of the fluid in each of the other compartments and the temperature of the fluid in the compartment 30 at a lower or equal temperature to the fluid in each of the other compartments.",
"The decision device 42 additionally has means connected to the pump 11 for cutting off the flow of fluid to the heat collector if the temperature of the fluid from the heat collector in the pipe 16 is lower than that of the temperature in the lowest temperature fluid compartment 30.",
"The tanks are additionally interconnected by overflow devices 52 and 54.",
"When fluid is supplied to one of the compartments 26 or 28 other than the lowest temperature compartment 30 from which the pump 11 always withdraws the fluid, excess fluid supplied to the compartments 26 or 28 will overflow toward the compartment 30.",
"On the other hand, when fluid is supplied to one of the compartments 28, 30 other than the highest temperature compartment 26 from which the pump 18 withdraws fluid, excess fluid supplied to the compartments 28 or 30 will overflow toward the compartment 26.",
"The overflow device 52 comprises a pipe extending from an upper portion of the tank 28 to a lower portion of the tank 26, all of the tanks accomodating fluid to a like level.",
"Overflow device 54 comprises a pipe similarly extending between compartments 28 and 30.",
"FIG. 2 shows another preferred embodiment similar to that shown in FIG. 1 except in the fluid storage means 14'.",
"As illustrated in FIG. 2, the fluid storage means 14'",
"comprise a single tank substantially divided into compartments 26', 28'",
"and 30'",
"by separators 60 forming vertically disposed strata or portions of the fluid in the tanks.",
"The strata separators 60 each have openings 62 interconnecting strata of the tank to form overflow passages from one stratum to the next.",
"The openings 60 thus function similarly to the overflow devices 52 and 54 shown in FIG. 1. Each strata of the tank receives fluid from a pipe 32', 34'",
"and 36'",
"as directed by a switching valve 38 moved by an actuator 40 under the direction of a decision element 42 which is responsive to temperature sensors 44- 50 in similar arrangement with that described with reference to FIG. 1. The decision element 42 is again biased to cause the valve 38 to direct fluid hotter than that in any strata to the stratum or compartment 26', to direct fluid hotter than that in only strata 28'",
"or 30'",
"to stratum 28', and fluid hotter than only that in stratum 30'",
"to stratum 30'.",
"The stratum 26'",
"will thus be at a temperature equal to or higher than that of any of the other strata while the strata 30'",
"will be at a temperature equal to or lower than that of the temperature of the fluid in any of the other strata.",
"As before, the pump 18 withdraws heated fluid from stratum 26'",
"to a heat exchanger 20 for heating the house 24 while the pump 11 withdrawn fluid from stratum 30'",
"for heating in the heat collector 10.",
"FIG. 3 is a schematic of the decision device 42 and temperature sensors 44-50.",
"Each of the temperature sensors 44-50 is a thermistor connected across DC power supply busses 70 and in potential-dividing series connection with a resistor.",
"The thermistor temperature sensor 44 in fluid compartment 26 (FIG.",
"1) is connected at one end to one DC power supply bus 70 and at the other to potential dividing resistor 72 and to an input lead 74 to an operational amplifier 76.",
"Another input lead to the operational amplifier 76 is similarly connected between an NTC thermistor forming the temperature sensor 50 and a potential dividing resistor 80, the thermistor-resistor also being connected across the DC power supply.",
"The operational amplifier 76 is connected as a potential comparitor for comparing the potentials on the leads 74 and 78 connected to the operational amplifier.",
"In such well-known connections of operational amplifiers, the amplifier provides an output potential saturated to a positive or negative value depending upon the relative polarity of the potentials applied to the input leads 74 and 78 to the operational amplifier.",
"Then, if the fluid in the return pipe 16 is warmer than the fluid in the compartment 26, the thermistor temperature sensor 50 sensing the temperature of the fluid in the return pipe will have a lower resistance than the thermistor temperature sensor 44 sensing the temperature of the fluid in the compartment 26.",
"This condition applies a higher potential to the lead 74 than to the lead 78.",
"The lead 74 is a non-inverting input to the potential comparitor operational amplifier 76 to trigger a non-inverted saturated positive potential from the operational amplifier 76.",
"This positive potential is applied to the base of a transistor 82 to trigger conduction of the transistor 82.",
"The potential from conducting transistor 82 is applied to the gate of an SCR 84 to then trigger conduction of the SCR 84.",
"The SCR 84 is connected in series with a coil of a solenoid 86 forming part of the actuator 40 (FIG.",
"1) and across a power supply transformer 89.",
"Conduction through SCR 84 then energizes the solenoid 86 to move the valve 38 to direct fluid from the pipe 16 to the compartment 26.",
"If the temperature of the return fluid as sensed by the thermistor sensor 50 is cooler than the temperature of the fluid in the compartment 28 (FIG.",
"1) as sensed by the thermistor sensor 46, the thermistor sensor 46 will be of lower resistance than the thermistor sensor 50.",
"A non-output-inverting input lead 88 of an operational amplifier 90, connected as a potential comparitor in similarity with the operational amplifier 76, is connected to the thermistor 50 while an output-inverting lead 92 is connected to the thermistor 46.",
"Under the conditions in which the returning fluid in the pipe 16 (FIG.",
"1) is cooler than the fluid in the compartment 28, the lead 88 will be positive with respect to the lead 92 and the operational amplifier 90 will provide a positive output to the base of a transistor 94 to trigger conduction of the transistor.",
"Conduction of transistor 94 triggers conduction of an SCR 96 which, like SCR 84, is connected in series with an actuating coil of a solenoid 98.",
"The solenoid 98 then controls the valve 38 to direct the returning fluid to the compartment 30.",
"If the returning fluid in pipe 16 (FIG.",
"1) is warmer than that in compartments 28 and 30 but cooler than that in the compartment 26 the relative resistances of thermistor-sensors 44 and 50 and sensors 46 and 50 is reversed from that just described to reverse the relative polarity of the potentials on input lead pairs 74 and 78 and 88 and 92 connected to the thermistor-sensors.",
"Both operational amplifiers 76 and 90 then provide an output potential saturated to a negative potential value.",
"This low potential will not trigger conduction of the transistors 82 or 94 connected to the operational amplifiers.",
"Neither SCR 84 or 96 then conducts and neither solenoid 86 or 98 is then energized.",
"The switching valve 38 (FIG.",
"1) then moves to a stable condition supplying fluid to the compartment 28.",
"Although the system as so far described is operative, it is desirable to additionally provide the thermistor 48 for sensing the temperature of the fluid portion in compartment 30.",
"The thermistor-sensor 48 in compartment 30 (FIG.",
"1) is also connected across the power supply busses 70 with series resistor 100.",
"The thermistor-sensor 48 has a higher resistance than the thermistor-sensor 50 if the temperature of the fluid in the compartment 30 is lower than that of the heated fluid returning from the collector through the pipe 16 compartment 30.",
"The potential from the thermistor 48 is supplied to an operational amplifier 102 on a lead 104 while the potential from the thermistor 50 is applied to the operational amplifier 102 over a lead 106.",
"The operational amplifier 102 is again connected as a potential comparitor for comparing the potentials on the leads 104, 106.",
"The lower potential on the lead 104 compared to that on the lead 106 then triggers a positive output of the operational amplifier 102.",
"As with the output from the other operational amplifiers, the positive potential triggers conduction of a connected transistor 110 to trigger conduction of an SCR 112 which is connected in series with an actuating coil of a solenoid 114.",
"The solenoid 114 then actuates a switch (not shown) to turn on the pump 11 to circulate fluid through the solar heat collector 10.",
"However, should the temperature of the fluid in the compartment 30 be above that of the fluid supplied from the heat collector 10, the relative resistances of the thermistor-sensors 48 and 50 will be reversed to reverse the relative potentials on the leads 104 and 106.",
"The output from the operational amplifier 102 will then be a low potential which will not trigger conduction of transistor 110 or SCR 112 to energize the solenoid 114.",
"The pump 11 will then be shut off.",
"As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sensor 50 is positioned in the heat collector 10 at the junction of the heat collector with the fluid return pipe 16.",
"Specifically, the sensor is shown in the Figures as mounted in a trough 51 which funnels heated fluid from a heat collecting surface 53 of heat collector 10 to the fluid return pipe 16.",
"The sensor 50 is mounted for good thermal contact with the heat collecting surface 53 and, when fluid flows through the collector, for good thermal contact with the fluid.",
"For example, the sensor 50 may be secured to the heat collecting surface 53 for good thermal contact the surface in a position, such as trough 51, which is in or near the flow of fluid heating in the collector 10 for good thermal contact with the fluid.",
"The sensor 50 then senses the temperature of the heat collecting surface 53 when no fluid flows over the surface and the temperature of the fluid when it does flow over the surface.",
"This mounting arrangement of sensor 50 permits the sensor to perform two functions.",
"When the temperature of the fluid heated in the collector falls below that of the fluid in the coolest compartment 30, the sensor 30 senses this temperature of the fluid entering pipe 16 while the sensor 48 senses the temperature of the fluid in compartment 30 to provide relative potentials to leads 104, 106 (FIG.",
"3) such that current to solenoid 114 (FIG.",
"3) is cut-off to stop the fluid pump 11 (FIGS.",
"1,2), as before described.",
"The temperature of the fluid in compartment 30 is then not degraded during periods of such low solar heat energy intensity as do not heat the fluid in the collector 10 to a temperature above that of the fluid in compartment 30.",
"The sensor 50 then functions to sense the temperature of the heat collecting surface 53.",
"When the solar energy intensity increases to a level at which the temperature of the surface 53 rises above that of the fluid in compartment 30, sensors 48, 50 then provide relative potentials to leads 104, 106 (FIG.",
"3) such that solenoid 114 turns on pump 11 (FIGS.",
"1,2) to again supply fluid to the collector 10 for heating.",
"When the temperature of the fluid then sensed by sensor 50 again falls below that of the fluid in compartment 30 as from a subsequent reduction of the solar heat intensity, sensors 48, 50 again cut off pump 11.",
"Sensor 50 thus serves both to regulate the heating of fluid, including the earlier described regulation of the compartment to which the heated fluid is directed, and to regulate pump 11 to provide fluid to the heat collector 10 only during times when the fluid can be heated to a temperature above that of the coolest compartment.",
"An alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. 3 to include a device 116 which is connected by the load 104 to the operational amplifier 102 to apply a lower potential to the lead 104 than the potential on the lead 106 to restart the pump 11.",
"For this purpose the device 116 may be a solar energy sensor such as a photo-electric device reponsive only to solar energy of an intensity predetermined to provide a known minimum temperature to fluid circulated through the heat collector 10.",
"The device 116 will then restart the pump 11 to provide the minimum heat level to fluid circulated through the collector 10.",
"A timer in the device 116 additionally applies the low potential to the lead 104 periodically and for a time duration predetermined to circulate fluid from the compartment 30 to the sensor 50 in the pipe 16.",
"The device 116 is then cut off.",
"Once fluid newly passed through the collector 10 has arrived at the sensor 50, the temperature comparison function of the thermistor-sensors 48 and 50 determines if the solar heat collector 10 is supplying heat to the fluid.",
"If the fluid then reaching the sensor 50 is of a higher temperature than that in the compartment 30 as sensed by the thermistor 48, the lead 106 will be positive with respect to the lead 104 to maintain a positive output from the operational amplifier 104 thus holding pump 11 on.",
"FIG. 4 illustrates in section the valve 38.",
"Fluid entering the valve through the pipe 16 reaches a butterfly-type diverting member 120 pivoted on a shaft 124 centrally in the pipe.",
"With the diverting member in the position shown the fluid is directed away from the pipe 36.",
"The fluid then flows toward another butterfly-type diverting member 122, like member 120, shown in a position for diverting the fluid toward the pipe 34 carrying the fluid to the compartment 28 (FIG.",
"1).",
"This position of the diverting members 120 and 122 corresponds to the condition in which neither solenoid 86 or 98 is energized, as described with reference to FIG. 3. If the temperature of the fluid in the pipe 16 should exceed only that of the fluid in the compartment 30, the solenoid 98 is energized as earlier described with reference to FIG. 3. This solenoid is connected to shaft 124 forming the pivot for the diverting member 120 and operates to rotate the diverting member in the direction indicated by the arrow.",
"The diverting member 120 then diverts the fluid from the pipe 16 to the pipe 36 thereby providing the fluid to the compartment 30 (FIG.",
"1).",
"When the solenoid 98 is not energized, means (not shown), such as a spring-loading in the solenoid, return the diverting member 120 to the illustrated position.",
"Similarly, when the temperature of the fluid in the pipe 16 exceeds that of the fluid in the compartment 26 (FIG.",
"1), solenoid 86 connected to a shaft 126 forming the pivot for the diverting member 122 rotates the diverting member 122 in the arrow-indicated direction to divert the fluid into the pipe 32 supplying the fluid to the compartment 26.",
"In similarity to the solenoid 98, means, such as spring-loading in the solenoid 86, returns the diverting member to the illustrated position when the solenoid 86 is not energized.",
"FIG. 5 illustrates the connection of the solenoid 98 to the diverting member 120.",
"The shaft 124 is seen to extend from the diverting member through a wall 130 of the valve 38 to the solenoid 98 for actuating the diverting member with the solenoid.",
"The solenoid 98 and the similar solenoid 86 may, for example, be a rotary type commercially designated Ledex 3."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/532,248 filed Sep. 8, 2011, which is incorporated by reference herein as though set forth in full.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to charging systems including a charging station, a charging cap, and a rechargeable unit.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Rechargeable units are becoming more and more popular as the battery quality is increasing. A number of different charging systems are known, but they generally all require that the battery is dismounted from the unit, that the unit is changed directly through a male and female plug and socket system or that the unit is placed in a cradle during charging with the result that the unit cannot be used for extended periods at a time. Thus, there is a need for a charging system which provides a rechargeable unit which is truly useable during charging.
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,389 a dual charging system is known. The system comprises a battery pack and a charger unit, which may be recharged by either plugging directly into a power main or by placement in the charger unit. The charging unit is a flat structure with a slight depression for receiving the battery pack which requires that the charging unit is equipped with hooks to keep the battery pack properly positioned in the charger unit. These hooks however, make the positioning of the battery pack in the charger unit more complicated as a specific insertion angle and twisting movement required to position the battery pack. Also, the movement needed to remove the battery pack from the charger unit is complex, which makes the action slow in order not to risk damaging the hooks. Furthermore, the insertion of the battery pack into the mains requires that a set of prongs are extended from the battery pack housing, which requires that the positioning of the battery pack is performed rather slowly in order to be sure that the prongs are extended the correct amount or else there is a risk that the battery pack will not be recharged. Additionally the retractable prongs make the battery unit complex and thus more prone to failure.
US 2007/0090789 describes a mobile device with dual charging ports. The device can be charged by a plug or by insertion in a charging seat. When recharged by the charging seat, the device specifically needs to be inserted along a predetermined direction in order-to engage with the conductive terminals of the charging seat. Further there is an eminent risk that the conductive terminals will be damaged due to their design and placement perpendicular to a possible direction of insertion. Also, once the device is inserted it is not possible to see if the device is properly inserted to achieve electrical contact with the conductive terminals.
Thus there is also a need for a system allowing reliable charging of a rechargeable unit under a variety of conditions. The unit must be easy to use and be sturdy and reliably even when used with swift movements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Dual Charging System
In a first aspect the present invention provides a charging system which ensures that a rechargeable unit can be charged under various conditions.
In a second aspect the present invention provides a charging system enabling swift insertion and removal of a rechargeable unit using only one hand.
In a third aspect the present invention provides a charging system which ensures a minimum risk of mis-alignment of the electrodes of the charging station and the rechargeable unit.
The above aspects together with other advantages are provided in that the dual charging system comprises a rechargeable unit and a charging station wherein the charging station comprises retaining means and a base part, said base part having a charging seat with a projecting peg acting as a first electrode, around which an at least partly circumferential second electrode is arranged, and the rechargeable unit comprises a notch, acting as a third electrode, and a fourth electrode, each arranged on the rechargeable unit to engage with the first and second electrode respectively of the charging seat when the rechargeable element is retained in the charging station.
When the rechargeable unit is arranged in the charging station, electrical contact is achieved between the first and third electrode and the second and fourth electrode respectively. The electrical contact between the electrodes allows an energy storage means, such as a rechargeable battery, in the rechargeable unit to be charged.
In the present application the phrase “correct position” is used of the positions of the rechargeable unit in the charging station in which the first and third, and second and fourth electrode engage allowing the rechargeable unit to be charged if desired.
A dual charging system according to the present invention as described above, provides a safe charging function and arrangement, which allows easy use and minimizes the risk of achieving a wrong position of the rechargeable unit in the charging station.
When the first electrode is a peg projecting from a charging seat as in the present invention, it helps position the rechargeable unit. When the third electrode of the rechargeable unit is a notch, the third electrode may catch the first electrode during the movement when the rechargeable unit is inserted in the charging station, and thus enhance the chance of correct positioning even further.
Preferably the notch is an at least partly conical structure in which the slanting edges help catch the first electrode and guide the first electrode to slide along the slanting edge to a correct position, in which electrical contact between the first and third electrode is achieved and maintained until the rechargeable unit is removed from the charging station or otherwise intentionally disengaged. The actual electrically conducting part of the third electrode may be arranged in the apex of the conical notch.
When an at least partly circumferential second electrode is arranged around the first electrode more than one correct position of the rechargeable unit in the charging station is achieved. Having more than one correct position of the rechargeable unit in the charging station makes positioning of the rechargeable unit easier and thus possibly faster and with less risk of mis-alignment of the electrodes of the charging station and rechargeable unit with respect to each other.
Preferably the rechargeable unit is at least substantially cylindrical or has a similar shape with a high degree of symmetry in order to fit into the charging station in a number of different orientations. Other possible cross sections of the rechargeable unit than circular (as is the case for the cylindrical shape) are decagon, nonagon or hexagon or similar.
When the charging station comprises retaining means the rechargeable unit is kept in place in the charging station until intentionally removed. The retaining means ensures that electrical contact between the electrodes of the rechargeable unit and charging station is maintained. This means that the rechargeable unit can be charged by the charging station not only indoors but even if the charging station is not placed on a solid or steady surface for example if the charging station is arranged in a van, boat, etc., which provides irregular and even rough movement of the charging station and rechargeable unit. Preferably the retaining means is arranged to allow removal and insertion of the rechargeable unit in a simple movement which does not require a much defined direction of insertion or removal and/or the retaining means may help guide the rechargeable unit to a correct position.
The retaining means also helps prevent that the rechargeable unit is accidentally knocked out of the recharging station, and thus ensures that the rechargeable unit can be charged reliably by the charging station even in an area or in a place with a lot of activity as for example a workshop.
Furthermore, the charging station provides a secure and easy to find storage place for the rechargeable unit even when the rechargeable unit is not being charged.
The charging station according to the present invention may also comprise stabilizing means such a weight position in the base part to increase the weight and lower the center of mass of the charging station in order to enhance the stability and thereby prevent the charging station with or without the rechargeable unit to be tilted or completely knocked over.
The charging station may be arranged to hang on a wall or stand on a surface.
All in all, a dual charging system according to the present invention enables release of the rechargeable unit from the charging station and correct positioning of the rechargeable unit in the charging station, in a simple and effortless movement which may even be possible with one hand and without the full attention of a user. Release and removal of the rechargeable unit from the charging station is made possible and easy even under unfavorable conditions such as darkness or if the charging station is positioned in, for example, but not by way of limitation, a hard to reach place, a moving vehicle or similar.
Preferably the rechargeable unit further comprises a socket for receiving a second charging means as this will make the charging system effective in even more situations. For example if charged by a plug with a cable a user is able to use the rechargeable unit while it is being charged. In some situations it may be handy to be able to charge the rechargeable unit without a charging station. Such situations can be during travel to avoid extra luggage or if the rechargeable unit is charged in an area where a charging station cannot advantageously be installed.
The socket may be arranged to receive a one legged plug, or, for example, but not by way of limitation, a USB or mini USB plug. The socket may also be configured to receive a specially designed plug in order for the rechargeable unit to be charged by a specially designed item only to avoid destruction of the rechargeable unit.
The rechargeable unit can further comprise a seal or plug to engage with or over the socket for receiving the second charging means when the socket is not in use. Such a seal or plug prevents that moisture or dust enters the socket, allowing safe use of the rechargeable unit even in, for example, but not by way of limitation, rain, fog or snow without the risk of malfunction and damages to the rechargeable unit.
Preferably both of the charging station and the rechargeable unit contain one or more electrical circuits.
Preferably the rechargeable unit comprises a single circuit board which relates to both charging options, i.e. charging by charging station and by plug.
An advantageous arrangement of the charging station is achieved if the first electrode is arranged as a center point around which the second electrode is arranged as a circular element or at least one circle section element. If the first electrode is positioned in a central position in the charging seat there may be a number of optimal “curves” of insertion as the central position allows a high degree of symmetry and hereby enhance the chalice of correct positioning of the rechargeable unit in the changing station. The positioning is made even easier if the second electrode is arranged around the first electrode as one or more circle sections as the number of correct positions of the rechargeable unit in the charging station is further increased. The number of correct positions is maximized if the second electrode is a circular element arranged around the first electrode due to the up to 360° symmetry of the arrangement.
In general, arrangements of the charging station where the second electrode is rotational symmetric around an axis defined by the first electrode perpendicular to the charging seat can be advantageous due to the fact that the rechargeable unit will be positioned correctly in a number of different orientations and no single correct position exists. Having more than one correct position greatly decreases the risk of mis-alignment of the first and third, and especially the second and fourth electrode with respect to each other. Rotational symmetry can be achieved by one or more circle sections but also from other more irregular shapes or, for example, but not by way of limitation, by a hexagonal shape or a number of chevrons arranged “shoulder to shoulder” or apart together forming the circumferential second electrode.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is achieved if the second electrode is magnetic and the fourth electrode is magnetic or magnetizable, or vice versa as this may help correct positioning of the rechargeable unit in the charging station. If, for example the second electrode is arranged as a circle section covering a certain angular area around the first electrode and said second electrode is magnetic, it may by magnetic interaction pull a magnetic or magnetizable fourth electrode to a correct position where there is electric contact between the first and third and second and fourth electrode respectively. It is also possible that the second electrode is magnetizable and the fourth electrode is magnetic.
In yet another preferred embodiment the retaining means is arms or a C- or U-shaped elastic element which allows the rechargeable unit to be pushed in and pulled out through the opening between the arms or in the C- or U-structure. The elasticity can be achieved by the design of the arms of the C- or U-shaped structure, which for example may be thin enough to be flexible or made from a rubber or plastic material which provides elasticity even if the structure of the arms, C- or U-shape is quite heavy and/or sturdy. When the rechargeable unit may be inserted not only from the top as will be the case if the retaining means are O shaped but also through for example the front of the charging station through the opening between the arms or in the C- or U-shaped structure the rechargeable unit may be inserted and released fast and precise without the risk of damaging either the electrodes, the retaining means or any other part of the charging station. The opening between the arms or in the C- or U-shaped structure of the retaining means may help guide the rechargeable unit to a correct position.
The retaining means may also be another structure through which the rechargeable unit may be inserted.
The rechargeable unit may be inserted through an opening in the retaining means, preferably with the application of a force as, for example, but not by way of limitation, a slight push. The retaining means may be arranged in order for them to help keep the rechargeable unit in place in the charging station during a number of different conditions, for example, but not by way of limitation, even if the charging station is pushed over, or shaken heavily.
If the retaining means is arranged to hug the rechargeable unit positioned in the charging station, it is prevented that the rechargeable unit is partly or completely knocked out of its intended position in the charging station during charging.
The retaining means may also be one or more magnetic elements preferably arranged at least as or as part of the second electrode, but can also be arranged in all of or part of the base of the charging station, in at least a part of a possible wall part of the charging station or even in retaining means such as the C or U shaped structure described above. The surface of a magnetic element may be free or the magnetic element may be embedded in the structure of the charging station. As described above, if the second electrode is magnetic it may not only act as a retaining means, but may also help correct positioning of the rechargeable unit in the charging station by pulling the fourth electrode towards itself by magnetic interaction.
In a preferred embodiment the rechargeable unit is arranged in a flashlight, preferably in the end opposing a light emitting part. The rechargeable unit may be releasable from the flashlight, which, for example, but not by way of limitation, enables the use of rechargeable unit with different flashlights or to have a number of rechargeable units for a single flashlight. Preferably the rechargeable unit is an integrated part of the flashlight, in which case the flashlight itself may be regarded as the rechargeable unit. When the rechargeable unit is integrated in a flashlight it makes the structure of the flashlight/rechargeable unit sturdy without the risk of the rechargeable unit being unintentionally released from the flashlight during even rough or heavy use or transport.
The rechargeable unit may also be arranged in other devices such as, for example, but not by way of limitation, power tools or toys in which case the same arguments as presented for the flashlight apply with respect to the releasable and integrated configurations respectively.
Preferably the flashlight contains at least one LED as a light source as LEDs can provide high light intensity and long life for both a power source, which in the present case is a rechargeable unit, and light source.
The charging station and the rechargeable unit are not only useful together but also on their own. The descriptions and many advantages of both the charging station and the rechargeable unit given above are valid for the rechargeable unit and charging station alone or together.
Another aspect of the invention involves a charging system comprising a charging cap including a base and a circumferential wall which together forms a cradle, the cradle including a bottom surface and an inner wall having a lower wall part abutting the perimeter of the bottom surface, a peg acting as a first electrode extends from the bottom surface and at least one protrusion acting as a second electrode protrudes from the lower part on the inner wall, said inner wall also comprises one or more clamping members; and a rechargeable unit including a first charging end and an opposing second end, said first charging end having an end surface in which a third electrode is arranged, the first charging end further including a fourth electrode in form of a collar arranged around the end surface, the rechargeable unit further including at least one recess arranged to receive the one or more clamping members of the charging cap for releasably securing the rechargeable unit to the charging cap, the third and fourth electrode of the rechargeable unit arranged for engagement by the first and second electrode of the charging cap when the rechargeable unit is received in the charging cap and thereby provide electrical contact to enable charging of the rechargeable unit.
One or more implementations of the aspect of the invention described immediately above includes one or more of the following: the third electrode is a button for turning on and off the rechargeable unit; the first electrode is spring loaded against the third electrode when the rechargeable unit is received in the charging cap; the second electrode is spring loaded against the fourth electrode when the rechargeable unit is received in the charging cap; at least one of the cradle and the charging end is rotational symmetric; the collar is a striking bezel; the circumferential wall of the charging cap includes an outer side, an inner side, and at least one opening, and the one or more clamping members extend from the outer side of the wall through the at least one opening in the wall and away from the inner side of the wall; and/or the rechargeable unit is a flashlight, and the flashlight is usable in all orientations of the flashlight when the rechargeable unit is secured to the charging cap by the one or more clamping members.
Another aspect of the invention involves a rechargeable unit for use with a charging cap including one or more clamping members for releasably securing the charging cap to the rechargeable unit. The rechargeable unit includes charging end and an opposing end, said charging end having an end surface in which an end surface electrode is arranged and a collar arranged around the end surface forming a collar electrode, the rechargeable unit including at least one recess arranged to receive the one or more clamping members of the charging cap for releasably securing the charging cap to the rechargeable unit.
One or more implementations of the aspect of the invention described immediately above includes one or more of the following: the end surface include a charging socket configured to receive a charging plug for direct charging of the rechargeable unit; the end surface include a pair of charging sockets, each configured to receive a charging plug for direct charging of the rechargeable unit; the rechargeable unit includes a side with a charging socket configured to receive a charging plug for direct charging of the rechargeable unit; the collar is a striking bezel; the end surface electrode is a button for turning on and off the rechargeable unit; and/or the rechargeable unit is a flashlight, and the flashlight is usable in all orientations of the flashlight when the rechargeable unit is secured to the charging cap by the one or more clamping members.
A still further aspect of the invention involves a charging cap for use with a rechargeable unit. The charging cap includes a base and a circumferential wall which together forms a cradle for receiving the rechargeable unit, the cradle including a bottom surface and an inner wall having a lower wall part abutting the perimeter of the bottom surface, from said bottom surface a peg acting as a first electrode extends and a ledge acting as a second electrode protrudes from the lower wall part of the inner wall, said wall also including one or more clamping members for releasably securing the charging cap to the rechargeable unit.
One or more implementations of the aspect of the invention described immediately above includes one or more of the following: the circumferential wall of the charging cap includes an outer side, an inner side, and at least one opening, and the one or more clamping members extend from the outer side of the wall through the at least one opening in the wall and away from the inner side of the wall; and/or the rechargeable unit is a flashlight, and the flashlight is usable in all orientations of the flashlight when the rechargeable unit is secured to the charging cap by the one or more clamping members.
Consistent with the foregoing summary of preferred embodiments, and the ensuing detailed description, which are to be taken together, the invention also contemplates associated apparatus and method embodiments.
Charging System with Charging Cap and Rechargeable Unit
In one aspect of the present invention there is provided a charging system which provides a stable and secure connection between a charging cap and a rechargeable unit even in demanding situations.
In another aspect of the present invention there is provided a charging system which enables the use of the rechargeable unit while charging.
In yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a charging system which may protect the electrodes from rain, dust, and other environmental influences during charging.
In still another aspect of the present invention there is provided a charging mechanism that allows a rechargeable unit to be fully fluid and particle proof during use.
These and other advantages are achieved by a charging system comprising a charging cap and a rechargeable unit, wherein the charging cap comprises a base and a circumferential wall which together forms a cradle for receiving said rechargeable unit, the cradle comprises a bottom surface and an inner wall having a lower wall part abutting the perimeter of the bottom surface, a peg acting as a first electrode extends from the bottom surface and at least one protrusion acting as a second electrode protrudes from the lower part on the inner wall, said inner wall also comprises one or more clamping members for releasably securing the charging cap to the rechargeable unit, the rechargeable unit comprises a first charging end opposing a second end, said first charging end having an end surface in which a third electrode is arranged, the first charging end further comprises a fourth electrode in the form of a collar arranged around the end surface, the rechargeable unit further comprises at least one recess arranged to receive the clamping members of the charging cap, and the first and second electrode of the charging cap are arranged to engage with respectively the third and fourth electrode of the rechargeable unit when the rechargeable unit is received in the charging cap and thereby provide electrical contact to enable charging of the rechargeable unit. When the charging system this way consists of a cap which fits over the end of a rechargeable unit a compact charging system is achieved. This means that even when engaged in the charging cap the rechargeable unit can still be handy, as the charging cap can be arranged to add only a little extra volume to the rechargeable unit.
The at least one protrusion is preferably in the form of a ledge extending along one or more parts of the inner wall parallel with the plane of the bottom surface. The protrusion may also extend for the full length of the wall parallel to the bottom surface.
The clamping members of the charging cap, which engages in the at least one recess of the rechargeable unit, ensures that the charging cap stays in place over the first charging end of the rechargeable unit and hereby provides a very high degree of reliability to the charging system. As a result of this, the rechargeable unit of the present invention may be used during charging as the rechargeable cap is securely fastened to the first charging end of the rechargeable unit and thus even when pulled, dropped or otherwise handled contact between the electrodes is maintained.
The charging cap is arranged with means for connecting to a power source. Preferably, the charging cap has a female socket for receiving a plug and cable from a converter. The cable which is connected by the female socket may be of any length which fits any given conditions hereby allowing the rechargeable unit to be used in an area defined by the cable length during charging. This area can be in, for example, but not by way of limitation, a car, a boat, a workshop, or a campsite with a generator.
When the rechargeable unit needs to be recharged the rechargeable cap is pushed over the rechargeable unit until the clamping members clicks or otherwise locks themselves into the at least one recess of the rechargeable unit. This way the one or more clamping members ensures that the charging cap stays in place and is not pushed or pulled away from the correct charging position by accident. When the rechargeable cap is to be removed, the clamping members are pressed, pushed, or otherwise made to retract or be removed from the at least one recess allowing effortless removal of the rechargeable unit from the charging cap.
Further when the charging part (the charging cap) as in the preferred embodiments have the shape of a cap i.e. a part that extends preferably quite narrow over the first charging end of the rechargeable unit, the electrodes are protected and are less exposed to dust, moisture in the air or even to physical impacts. This protection of the vital parts such as the electrodes can be a great advantage if the rechargeable unit is intended for heavy use for example on a boat where salt water sprays may occur or where there is a risk that the rechargeable unit arranged in the charging cap may be knocked down from its resting position during charging or receive impacts while in use inserted in the charging cap.
It is also possible that a seal element is arranged on either the outer side of the rechargeable unit and/or at the inner side of the cradle of the charging cap. A seal element may provide even more efficient protection of the electrodes of the system when the rechargeable unit is engaged in the charging cap, as it may even more efficiently prevent the intrusion of moisture, dust, etc.
A charging indicator can advantageously be arranged on the charging cap. Said charging indicator may visually indicate if the system is charging. An indicator may also indicate the charging level of the rechargeable unit.
Preferably the one or more clamping members extends from an outer side of the wall through at least one opening and further away from the inner wall and this way may be arranged to engage the at least one recess of the rechargeable unit when the rechargeable unit is inserted in the cradle of the charging cap. The rechargeable unit may be released again from the cradle, for example, but not by way of limitation, by pushing, pressing, sliding, or twisting the part of the clamping member present on the outer side of the wall.
Preferably the one or more clamping member is arranged so that it can be pushed, pressed, twisted, etc. to disengage from the recess of the rechargeable unit, by use of one hand only.
Preferably, the charging cap is light weight to make the use of the rechargeable unit engaged in the charging cap even easier to handle.
In preferred embodiments the charging cap has a simple outer surface, with few or no protrusions to ensure that the rechargeable unit arranged in the charging cap can be as useful as possible in many situations. When there is few or no protruding parts there is less risk of parts of the system getting caught in wires, clothes, etc. Also, the simple surface may ensure that the charging cap is arranged to allow unrestricted handling of the rechargeable unit when engaged in the charging cap.
Ideally the third electrode is a button for turning on and off the rechargeable unit as this reduces the number of elements on the outer side of the rechargeable unit.
Preferably the first electrode is a spring loaded against the third electrode when the rechargeable unit is received in the charging cap and/or the second electrode is spring loaded against the fourth electrode when the rechargeable unit is received in the charging cap. Spring loading of the first and/or second electrode against the rechargeable unit i.e. against the third and fourth electrodes respectively, further ensures that the first and third and second and fourth electrode are in contact at all times during the charging of the rechargeable unit.
Also spring loading of the first and/or second electrode may help push the rechargeable unit out of its engaged position when the one or more clamping members are released from the recess.
It is an advantage if the cradle and/or the first charging end is rotationally symmetric as this enhances the number of correct positions of the rechargeable unit in the charging cap. If for example the peg (first electrode) is a cylinder positioned in the middle of the bottom surface of the cradle and the ledge (second electrode) is arranged to form a full circle along the inner wall there is no preferred position of the rechargeable unit in the charging cap.
In preferred embodiments of the charging system the rechargeable unit is a flashlight. Flashlights which are used often will require frequent exchange of batteries if conventional batteries are used and thus a rechargeable flashlight is a great advantage. A flashlight arranged with the present charging system will have the advantage that the flashlight can be used during charging due to the charging cap which locks securely to the rechargeable unit/flashlight. If for example the flashlight is used on a boat, it can be arranged in the charging cap the most of the time while still being used, for example, but not by way of limitation, in the machine room. When attached to the charging cap the flashlight may always be easy to find and can at most times be fully charged. If the flashlight is to be used in another area of the boat the flashlight is disconnected from the charging cap and can be used as a standard flashlight.
In advantageous embodiments the collar i.e. the fourth electrode is a striking bezel, as a striking bezel is a useful addition to a flashlight for, for example, but not by way of limitation, using the flashlight to break through glass. A striking bezel may also be arranged to protect the third electrode arranged at the end surface of the first charging end of the rechargeable unit.
Preferably the fourth electrode i.e. the collar extends away from the end surface in order to provide protection to electrodes, buttons etc. present on the end surface. However it may also be arranged that the fourth electrode is leveled with the end surface.
In preferred embodiments the flashlight or other rechargeable unit is waterproof.
The charging cap and/or the rechargeable unit may comprise different components such as one or more of rechargeable energy source such as a battery, wiring, circuit boards, lights source, lens, charging indicators etc.
The charging cap and the rechargeable unit as described above are separate items i.e. the present invention also relates to a charging cap as described above and to a rechargeable unit also as described above.
The present invention provides a truly multi-functional charging system and combine the use of a charging cap and the use of a direct plug system in a new, better and convenient way. Further the present invention provides highly reliable charging system which can function even under demanding circumstances with heavy use and/or rough environment (rain, mud, dust, salt water etc.). This means that the present invention may be useful even for use by for example the military or police, which at all times must be able to rely on the quality, stability and functionality of their equipment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring to the drawings:
FIG. 1 shows a dual charging system according to the present invention in which the rechargeable unit is an integral part of a flashlight;
FIG. 2 shows a charging station according to the present invention seen in a perspective view from above;
FIG. 3 shows a rechargeable unit integrated in a flashlight seen in perspective from the end containing the third and fourth electrode;
FIGS. 4 a and 4 b shows exemplary configurations of the first and second electrodes in a charging seat;
FIGS. 5 a and 5 b shows exemplary configurations of the third and fourth electrode of the rechargeable unit along with the socket for receiving a second charging means;
FIG. 6 shows a simplified cross section of the rechargeable unit of FIG. 5 b taken along the 6 - 6 direction;
FIG. 7 shows a cross section of a charging cap and a rechargeable unit according to the present invention;
FIG. 8 shows a rechargeable unit from an end surface thereof;
FIG. 9 shows a cross section of a rechargeable unit retained in a charging cap according to the present invention;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a rechargeable unit according to the principle of the invention including an end formed with charging electrodes and two direct charging sockets, and a charging plug inserted into one of the two charging sockets for direct charging of the rechargeable unit;
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the rechargeable unit of FIG. 10 according to the principle of the invention showing a charging plug inserted into the other of the two charging sockets for direct charging of the rechargeable unit;
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a rechargeable unit according to the principle of the invention including an end formed with charging electrodes and a direct charging socket formed in the side of the rechargeable unit near the end; and
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of a rechargeable unit according to the principle of the invention including an end formed with charging electrodes and a direct charging socket formed in the side of the rechargeable unit near the end.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Dual Charging System
FIG. 1 shows a dual charging system 1 according to the present invention. The system 1 has two main parts, a charging station 2 and a rechargeable unit 3 , in the present example in the form of a flashlight. The charging station 2 has a base part 4 with a rounded front 5 having a number of optional grooves 6 . The charging station 2 further contains an upright part 7 extending from a rear part 8 of the base part 4 . The upright part 7 is provided with retaining means in form of two arms 9 arranged to slightly hug the rechargeable unit 3 when arranged in the charging station 2 in order to keep the rechargeable unit 3 correctly positioned in the charging station 2 . The rechargeable unit 3 comprises a first end 10 engaging in the charging station 3 and a second end 11 opposing said first end 10 . The second end in the present example contains a LED light source (not shown). The rechargeable unit 3 also comprises a switch 12 for turning the flashlight on and off.
FIG. 2 shows the charging station from FIG. 1 seen in perspective from above. For like parts same numerals are used. A charging seat 13 is depressed in the base part 4 of the charging station 2 . The charging seat 13 is circular with a substantially flat bottom 14 . Placed centrally in the charging seat 13 is a first electrode 15 which in the present example is a cylindrical peg with a ball shaped head. Concentric around the first electrode 15 is a circular second electrode 16 , which in the present example is slightly raised from the bottom 14 of the charging seat 13 , but may as well be leveled with the bottom 14 . The two arms 9 arranged to retain a rechargeable unit in the charging station 2 are each provided with an inner element 17 to help grasp the rechargeable unit 3 . Together the arms 9 form a U shape and with the inner elements 17 a slight C shape. The inner elements 17 may be omitted if the arms 9 , or similar retaining means, alone are capable of retaining the rechargeable unit 3 in the charging station 2 .
In the present example an inner wall 7 a of the upright part 7 is rounded to fit the curvature of the belonging rechargeable unit (not shown). Together the charging seat 13 , inner wall 7 a and the arms 9 form a cavity for receiving the rechargeable unit (not shown).
The charging station also comprises a cable 18 for providing electrical connection to the charging station 2 .
FIG. 3 shows the rechargeable unit 3 seen in perspective from the first end 10 . A center third electrode 19 is arranged in an at least substantially flat surface 20 of the first end 10 of the flashlight rechargeable unit 3 . The surface 20 is arranged to abut the charging seat 13 of the charging station 2 . The third electrode 19 of the present example is a conical notch with the apex in the center C of the surface 20 . The surface 20 also comprises a fourth electrode 21 which in this exemplary embodiment is a circle section spanning approximately 90°. In the surface 20 is also arranged a socket 22 for receiving a second charging means 23 .
FIGS. 4 a and 4 b show two different exemplary configurations of the first and second electrode of a charging station according to the present invention. In 4 a a hexagonal second electrode 16 is arranged around a central first electrode 15 . The hexagonal second electrode may be simple or, for example, but not by way of limitation, be arranged with magnets in all corners as indicated by circles 24 . The second electrode may also be completely of a magnetic or magnetizable material.
FIG. 4 b shows a charging seat with a central first electrode 15 surrounded by two crescent shaped elements 25 together forming the second electrode.
FIGS. 5 a and 5 b shows two different exemplary configurations of the third and fourth electrode of a rechargeable unit as known from FIGS. 1 and 3 and according to the present invention.
In FIG. 5 a a surface 20 of a rechargeable unit 3 is seen. The third electrode 19 is a central conical notch and the fourth electrode 21 consists of three chevrons 26 arranged encircling the third electrode 19 . A socket 22 for receiving a simple jack plug is also comprised in the surface 20 .
In the surface 20 of FIG. 5 b a crescent shaped fourth electrode 21 is arranged around a third electrode 19 as known from the previous figures. The surface 20 also comprises a mini USB port 22 for receiving a mini USB plug acting as the second charging means.
FIG. 6 is a simplified cross section along the direction XI-XI in FIG. 5 b to visualize the conical shape of the third electrode 19 . The actual conducting element 27 of the third electrode may be present in the apex of the cone.
In the above examples one or more of the electrodes, and preferably the second and fourth electrode, may be magnetic and/or magnetizable.
Thus, according to the present invention is provided a dual charging system with a number of advantages over prior art making it useful in a variety of situations from office use to active situations such as, but not limited to, in moving vehicles. The rechargeable unit according to the present invention may be charged by use of the charging station according to the present invention or by a simple charger with a wire and plug. The charging station provides safe storage and reliable charging of the rechargeable unit, as it is arranged to allow easy insertion and removal of the rechargeable unit and to keep it in a desired position. The rechargeable unit is arranged to be easily inserted in and removed from the charging station and especially the electrodes are arranged to ensure correct alignment with the electrodes of a charging station according to the present invention. The option of charging by plug, and not by the charging station, makes the dual charging system and rechargeable unit on its own useful even under circumstances where the charging station may be unhandy.
Charging System with Charging Cap and Rechargeable Unit
FIG. 7 shows a charging system 101 according to the present invention. The charging system 101 comprises a charging cap 102 and a rechargeable unit 103 in the present example in shape of a rechargeable flashlight. The charging cap 102 has a substantially cylindrical wall 104 closed at a first part 105 by a base 106 said wall 104 and base 106 together form a cradle 107 for receiving the rechargeable unit 103 . The cradle 107 has a bottom surface 108 and an inner wall 109 . A peg 110 extends perpendicularly from the center of the bottom surface 108 . The peg 110 is a first electrode of the charging cap 102 and is arranged with a first spring element 111 for spring loading the peg 110 against the rechargeable unit as seen in FIG. 9 . The inner wall 109 has a ledge 112 which extends from the first part 105 . The ledge 112 is the second electrode of the charging cap 102 and is arranged with a second spring element 113 so that the ledge 112 is spring loaded against the rechargeable unit 103 when inserted into the charging cap 102 . At the inner wall 109 at an edge part 114 of the wall 104 two clamping members 115 are attached. The clamping members 115 are in the present example arranged to extend from an outer surface 116 of the wall 104 through the wall 104 and extend far enough off the inner side 109 in order to be able to engage in corresponding recesses 115 a on the rechargeable unit 103 when the rechargeable unit 103 is inserted into the charging cap 102 . The charging cap 102 is further provided with a female socket 117 to receive a cable for connecting with, for example, but not by way of limitation, an AC/DC adapter 118 .
The rechargeable unit 103 comprises an end surface 119 having a centered on/off button which is arranged to function as a third electrode 120 . The end surface is encircled by a fourth electrode 122 . In the present and preferred example the fourth electrode 122 raises above the end surface 119 , but embodiments wherein the fourth electrode is in level with the end surface 119 can also be imagined within the framework of the present invention.
FIG. 8 shows the end surface 119 of the rechargeable unit known from FIG. 7 . In the present example the end surface 119 is substantially circular with the third electrode 120 centrally placed in the present example as an on/off button 120 for the rechargeable unit. At the perimeter 121 of the end surface a collar 122 is arranged, said collar 122 is arranged to be the fourth electrode.
FIG. 9 shows charging system 101 as know from FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 here with the rechargeable unit 103 retained in the charging cap 102 . The rechargeable unit 103 is pushed in to the charging cap 102 and contact is made between the first electrode 110 and the third electrode 120 and between the second electrode 112 and the fourth electrode 122 . The clamping members 115 are engaged and locked in the recess 115 a , ensuring that the charging cap 102 stays in its intended position and that the contact between the electrodes of the charging cap and rechargeable units is maintained. The charging cap 102 is locked in this position until the clamping members 115 are released allowing the rechargeable unit/flashlight 103 to be removed from the charging cap 102 .
The charging cap 102 also has a charging indicator 123 which may be, for example, but not by way of limitation, a diode. Also, a plug 118 is inserted into the charging cap 102 to provide power.
When engaged in the charging cap 2 the first charging end 24 of the rechargeable unit 3 is covered by the charging cap 2 . The rechargeable unit/flashlight 3 of the present example is mainly cylindrical.
As seen from FIG. 7 and FIG. 9 , the charging cap 102 fits narrowly around the rechargeable unit 103 and even engaged in the charging cap the rechargeable unit is handy.
The internal parts of the charging cap and rechargeable unit are not shown. However, they may comprise a rechargeable energy source such as a battery, wiring, circuitry, light source, lens, etc.
Rechargeable Unit with Electrodes and Direct Charging Plugs
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a rechargeable unit 200 that, in the present example, is a rechargeable battery or battery pack, such as a rechargeable lithium-ion battery or battery pack. In an alternate embodiment, rechargeable unit 200 is in the shape of a rechargeable flashlight, such as rechargeable unit 103 discussed above.
Rechargeable unit 200 has an end or end surface 202 having centered on/off button which is arranged to function as third electrode 120 according to charging system 101 . The end surface 202 is encircled by fourth electrode 122 according to charging system 101 . In the present and preferred example the fourth electrode 122 raises above the end surface 202 and is exemplary of a bezel as in charging system 101 , but embodiments wherein the fourth electrode is level with the end surface 202 can also be imagined within the framework of the present invention. As end surface 202 is formed with third electrode 120 and fourth electrode 122 , rechargeable unit 200 may be retained in the charging cap 102 according to charging system 101 as shown in FIG. 9 for charging of rechargeable unit 200 . Rechargeable unit 200 is pushed in to charging cap 102 and contact is made between the first electrode 110 and the third electrode 120 of rechargeable unit 200 and between the second electrode 112 and the fourth electrode 122 of rechargeable unit 200 to provide charging of rechargeable unit 200 with charging cap 102 according to charging system 101 .
End surface 202 has two direct charging sockets, including one charging socket 210 formed in third electrode 120 and a second charging socket 210 formed in end surface 202 , and which is positioned between third electrode 120 and fourth electrode 122 . Charging sockets 210 are female sockets that are each capable of receiving plug 118 according to charging system 101 for direct charging of rechargeable unit 200 . FIG. 10 illustrates plug 118 inserted into charging socket 210 formed in third electrode 120 for direct charging of rechargeable unit 200 , and FIG. 11 illustrates plug 118 inserted into charging socket 210 positioned between third electrode 120 and fourth electrode 122 for direct charging of rechargeable unit 200 . According to the embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11 , the third electrode 120 and the fourth electrode 122 of charging system 101 are combined with direct charging sockets or plugs 210 forming an exemplary charging arrangement. In this combination as set forth and described in conjunction with FIGS. 10 and 11 , it offers a consumer the freedom and flexibility to charge a rechargeable unit, such as a battery, battery pack, flashlight, or other rechargeable unit, either using charging cap 102 of charging system 101 , charging station 2 of charging system 1 , a battery charger, or direct charging at charging sockets or plugs 210 , such as through a mains or car adapter.
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a rechargeable unit 300 that, in the present example, is a rechargeable battery or battery pack, such as a rechargeable lithium-ion battery or battery pack. In an alternate embodiment, rechargeable unit 300 is in the shape of a rechargeable flashlight, such as rechargeable unit 103 discussed above.
Rechargeable unit 300 has an end or end surface 302 having a ring that encircles a centered on/off button 303 . The ring is arranged to function as third electrode 120 according to charging system 101 , and on/off button 303 is arranged not to function as an electrode. The end surface 302 is encircled by fourth electrode 122 according to charging system 101 . In the present and preferred example the fourth electrode 122 raises above the end surface 302 and is exemplary of a bezel as in charging system 101 , but embodiments wherein the fourth electrode is level with the end surface 302 can also be imagined within the framework of the present invention. As end surface 302 is formed with third electrode 120 and fourth electrode 122 , rechargeable unit 300 may be retained in the charging cap 102 according to charging system 101 as shown in FIG. 9 for charging of rechargeable unit 200 . In an additional embodiment, the first electrode 110 is a female electrode socket with a larger diameter than the diameter of the third electrode 120 and slidably receives the third electrode 120 for electrical contact there with. In a further embodiment, the first electrode 110 is positioned off center and has a small diameter so that it contacts the third electrode 120 off center. In such embodiments, rechargeable unit 300 is pushed in to charging cap 102 and contact is made between the first electrode 110 and the third electrode 120 of rechargeable unit 300 and between the second electrode 112 and the fourth electrode 122 of rechargeable unit 300 to provide charging of rechargeable unit 300 with charging cap 102 according to charging system 101 .
Into the side of rechargeable unit 300 near end surface 302 , which forms part of a tailcap of rechargeable unit 300 , there is a charging plug or socket 310 . Charging socket 310 is a female socket that is capable of receiving a plug, such as plug 118 according to charging system 101 , for direct charging of rechargeable unit 300 . According to the embodiment of FIG. 12 , the third electrode 120 of charging system 101 is provided in the form of a ring encircling on/off button 303 and the fourth electrode 122 of charging system 101 are all combined with direct charging socket or plug 310 forming an exemplary charging arrangement. In this combination as set forth and described in conjunction with FIG. 12 , it offers a consumer the freedom and flexibility to charge a rechargeable unit, such as a battery, battery pack, flashlight, or other rechargeable unit, either using charging cap 102 of charging system 101 , charging station 2 of charging system 1 , a battery charger, or direct charging at charging socket or plug 310 , such as through a mains or car adapter.
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a rechargeable unit 400 that, in the present example, is a rechargeable battery or battery pack, such as a rechargeable lithium-ion battery or battery pack. In an alternate embodiment, rechargeable unit 300 is in the shape of a rechargeable flashlight, such as rechargeable unit 103 discussed above.
Rechargeable unit 400 has end or end surface 302 having a ring that encircles a centered on/off button. The on/off button is arranged to function as third electrode 120 according to charging system 101 , and the ring encircling the on/off button is arranged to function as fourth electrode 122 according to charging system 101 . The end surface 302 is encircled by bezel 402 , which raises above the end surface 302 and is arranged not to function as an electrode. Bezel 402 can be made to be level with the end surface 302 if so desired. As end surface 302 is formed with third electrode 120 and fourth electrode 122 , rechargeable unit 400 may be retained in the charging cap 102 according to charging system 101 as shown in FIG. 9 for charging of rechargeable unit 200 . Rechargeable unit 400 is pushed in to charging cap 102 and contact is made between the first electrode 110 and the third electrode 120 of rechargeable unit 400 and between the second electrode 112 and the fourth electrode 122 of rechargeable unit 400 to provide charging of rechargeable unit 400 with charging cap 102 according to charging system 101 .
Into the side of rechargeable unit 400 near end surface 302 , which forms part of a tailcap of rechargeable unit 400 , there is charging socket 310 . Charging socket 310 is s female socket that is capable of receiving a plug, such as plug 118 according to charging system 101 , for direct charging of rechargeable unit 400 . According to the embodiment of FIG. 13 , the third electrode 120 of charging system 101 is the on/off button that is encircled by the ring being the fourth electrode 122 , both of which are combined with bezel 402 , which is not an electrode, and direct charging socket or plug 310 , forming an exemplary charging arrangement. In this combination as set forth and described in conjunction with FIG. 13 , it offers a consumer the freedom and flexibility to charge a rechargeable unit, such as a battery, battery pack, flashlight, or other rechargeable unit, either using charging cap 102 of charging system 101 , charging station 2 of charging system 1 , a battery charger, or direct charging at charging socket or plug 310 , such as through a mains or car adapter.
The invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments without departing from the nature and scope of the invention. Various changes and modifications to the embodiment herein chosen for purposes of illustration will readily occur to those skilled in the art. To the extent that such modifications and variations do not depart from the spirit of the invention, they are intended to be included within the scope thereof including the ensuing claims, which are considered part of this disclosure, as is the ensuing abstract. | A charging system includes a charging cap having a cradle with first and second electrodes; and a rechargeable unit including a charging end having third and fourth electrodes arranged for engagement by the first and second electrode of the charging cap when the rechargeable unit is received in the charging cap and thereby provide electrical contact to enable charging of the rechargeable unit. At least one recess in the rechargeable unit is arranged to receive one or more clamping members of the charging cap for releasably securing the rechargeable unit to the charging cap. | Provide a concise summary of the essential information conveyed in the context. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/532,248 filed Sep. 8, 2011, which is incorporated by reference herein as though set forth in full.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to charging systems including a charging station, a charging cap, and a rechargeable unit.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Rechargeable units are becoming more and more popular as the battery quality is increasing.",
"A number of different charging systems are known, but they generally all require that the battery is dismounted from the unit, that the unit is changed directly through a male and female plug and socket system or that the unit is placed in a cradle during charging with the result that the unit cannot be used for extended periods at a time.",
"Thus, there is a need for a charging system which provides a rechargeable unit which is truly useable during charging.",
"From U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,389 a dual charging system is known.",
"The system comprises a battery pack and a charger unit, which may be recharged by either plugging directly into a power main or by placement in the charger unit.",
"The charging unit is a flat structure with a slight depression for receiving the battery pack which requires that the charging unit is equipped with hooks to keep the battery pack properly positioned in the charger unit.",
"These hooks however, make the positioning of the battery pack in the charger unit more complicated as a specific insertion angle and twisting movement required to position the battery pack.",
"Also, the movement needed to remove the battery pack from the charger unit is complex, which makes the action slow in order not to risk damaging the hooks.",
"Furthermore, the insertion of the battery pack into the mains requires that a set of prongs are extended from the battery pack housing, which requires that the positioning of the battery pack is performed rather slowly in order to be sure that the prongs are extended the correct amount or else there is a risk that the battery pack will not be recharged.",
"Additionally the retractable prongs make the battery unit complex and thus more prone to failure.",
"US 2007/0090789 describes a mobile device with dual charging ports.",
"The device can be charged by a plug or by insertion in a charging seat.",
"When recharged by the charging seat, the device specifically needs to be inserted along a predetermined direction in order-to engage with the conductive terminals of the charging seat.",
"Further there is an eminent risk that the conductive terminals will be damaged due to their design and placement perpendicular to a possible direction of insertion.",
"Also, once the device is inserted it is not possible to see if the device is properly inserted to achieve electrical contact with the conductive terminals.",
"Thus there is also a need for a system allowing reliable charging of a rechargeable unit under a variety of conditions.",
"The unit must be easy to use and be sturdy and reliably even when used with swift movements.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Dual Charging System In a first aspect the present invention provides a charging system which ensures that a rechargeable unit can be charged under various conditions.",
"In a second aspect the present invention provides a charging system enabling swift insertion and removal of a rechargeable unit using only one hand.",
"In a third aspect the present invention provides a charging system which ensures a minimum risk of mis-alignment of the electrodes of the charging station and the rechargeable unit.",
"The above aspects together with other advantages are provided in that the dual charging system comprises a rechargeable unit and a charging station wherein the charging station comprises retaining means and a base part, said base part having a charging seat with a projecting peg acting as a first electrode, around which an at least partly circumferential second electrode is arranged, and the rechargeable unit comprises a notch, acting as a third electrode, and a fourth electrode, each arranged on the rechargeable unit to engage with the first and second electrode respectively of the charging seat when the rechargeable element is retained in the charging station.",
"When the rechargeable unit is arranged in the charging station, electrical contact is achieved between the first and third electrode and the second and fourth electrode respectively.",
"The electrical contact between the electrodes allows an energy storage means, such as a rechargeable battery, in the rechargeable unit to be charged.",
"In the present application the phrase “correct position”",
"is used of the positions of the rechargeable unit in the charging station in which the first and third, and second and fourth electrode engage allowing the rechargeable unit to be charged if desired.",
"A dual charging system according to the present invention as described above, provides a safe charging function and arrangement, which allows easy use and minimizes the risk of achieving a wrong position of the rechargeable unit in the charging station.",
"When the first electrode is a peg projecting from a charging seat as in the present invention, it helps position the rechargeable unit.",
"When the third electrode of the rechargeable unit is a notch, the third electrode may catch the first electrode during the movement when the rechargeable unit is inserted in the charging station, and thus enhance the chance of correct positioning even further.",
"Preferably the notch is an at least partly conical structure in which the slanting edges help catch the first electrode and guide the first electrode to slide along the slanting edge to a correct position, in which electrical contact between the first and third electrode is achieved and maintained until the rechargeable unit is removed from the charging station or otherwise intentionally disengaged.",
"The actual electrically conducting part of the third electrode may be arranged in the apex of the conical notch.",
"When an at least partly circumferential second electrode is arranged around the first electrode more than one correct position of the rechargeable unit in the charging station is achieved.",
"Having more than one correct position of the rechargeable unit in the charging station makes positioning of the rechargeable unit easier and thus possibly faster and with less risk of mis-alignment of the electrodes of the charging station and rechargeable unit with respect to each other.",
"Preferably the rechargeable unit is at least substantially cylindrical or has a similar shape with a high degree of symmetry in order to fit into the charging station in a number of different orientations.",
"Other possible cross sections of the rechargeable unit than circular (as is the case for the cylindrical shape) are decagon, nonagon or hexagon or similar.",
"When the charging station comprises retaining means the rechargeable unit is kept in place in the charging station until intentionally removed.",
"The retaining means ensures that electrical contact between the electrodes of the rechargeable unit and charging station is maintained.",
"This means that the rechargeable unit can be charged by the charging station not only indoors but even if the charging station is not placed on a solid or steady surface for example if the charging station is arranged in a van, boat, etc.",
", which provides irregular and even rough movement of the charging station and rechargeable unit.",
"Preferably the retaining means is arranged to allow removal and insertion of the rechargeable unit in a simple movement which does not require a much defined direction of insertion or removal and/or the retaining means may help guide the rechargeable unit to a correct position.",
"The retaining means also helps prevent that the rechargeable unit is accidentally knocked out of the recharging station, and thus ensures that the rechargeable unit can be charged reliably by the charging station even in an area or in a place with a lot of activity as for example a workshop.",
"Furthermore, the charging station provides a secure and easy to find storage place for the rechargeable unit even when the rechargeable unit is not being charged.",
"The charging station according to the present invention may also comprise stabilizing means such a weight position in the base part to increase the weight and lower the center of mass of the charging station in order to enhance the stability and thereby prevent the charging station with or without the rechargeable unit to be tilted or completely knocked over.",
"The charging station may be arranged to hang on a wall or stand on a surface.",
"All in all, a dual charging system according to the present invention enables release of the rechargeable unit from the charging station and correct positioning of the rechargeable unit in the charging station, in a simple and effortless movement which may even be possible with one hand and without the full attention of a user.",
"Release and removal of the rechargeable unit from the charging station is made possible and easy even under unfavorable conditions such as darkness or if the charging station is positioned in, for example, but not by way of limitation, a hard to reach place, a moving vehicle or similar.",
"Preferably the rechargeable unit further comprises a socket for receiving a second charging means as this will make the charging system effective in even more situations.",
"For example if charged by a plug with a cable a user is able to use the rechargeable unit while it is being charged.",
"In some situations it may be handy to be able to charge the rechargeable unit without a charging station.",
"Such situations can be during travel to avoid extra luggage or if the rechargeable unit is charged in an area where a charging station cannot advantageously be installed.",
"The socket may be arranged to receive a one legged plug, or, for example, but not by way of limitation, a USB or mini USB plug.",
"The socket may also be configured to receive a specially designed plug in order for the rechargeable unit to be charged by a specially designed item only to avoid destruction of the rechargeable unit.",
"The rechargeable unit can further comprise a seal or plug to engage with or over the socket for receiving the second charging means when the socket is not in use.",
"Such a seal or plug prevents that moisture or dust enters the socket, allowing safe use of the rechargeable unit even in, for example, but not by way of limitation, rain, fog or snow without the risk of malfunction and damages to the rechargeable unit.",
"Preferably both of the charging station and the rechargeable unit contain one or more electrical circuits.",
"Preferably the rechargeable unit comprises a single circuit board which relates to both charging options, i.e. charging by charging station and by plug.",
"An advantageous arrangement of the charging station is achieved if the first electrode is arranged as a center point around which the second electrode is arranged as a circular element or at least one circle section element.",
"If the first electrode is positioned in a central position in the charging seat there may be a number of optimal “curves”",
"of insertion as the central position allows a high degree of symmetry and hereby enhance the chalice of correct positioning of the rechargeable unit in the changing station.",
"The positioning is made even easier if the second electrode is arranged around the first electrode as one or more circle sections as the number of correct positions of the rechargeable unit in the charging station is further increased.",
"The number of correct positions is maximized if the second electrode is a circular element arranged around the first electrode due to the up to 360° symmetry of the arrangement.",
"In general, arrangements of the charging station where the second electrode is rotational symmetric around an axis defined by the first electrode perpendicular to the charging seat can be advantageous due to the fact that the rechargeable unit will be positioned correctly in a number of different orientations and no single correct position exists.",
"Having more than one correct position greatly decreases the risk of mis-alignment of the first and third, and especially the second and fourth electrode with respect to each other.",
"Rotational symmetry can be achieved by one or more circle sections but also from other more irregular shapes or, for example, but not by way of limitation, by a hexagonal shape or a number of chevrons arranged “shoulder to shoulder”",
"or apart together forming the circumferential second electrode.",
"A preferred embodiment of the present invention is achieved if the second electrode is magnetic and the fourth electrode is magnetic or magnetizable, or vice versa as this may help correct positioning of the rechargeable unit in the charging station.",
"If, for example the second electrode is arranged as a circle section covering a certain angular area around the first electrode and said second electrode is magnetic, it may by magnetic interaction pull a magnetic or magnetizable fourth electrode to a correct position where there is electric contact between the first and third and second and fourth electrode respectively.",
"It is also possible that the second electrode is magnetizable and the fourth electrode is magnetic.",
"In yet another preferred embodiment the retaining means is arms or a C- or U-shaped elastic element which allows the rechargeable unit to be pushed in and pulled out through the opening between the arms or in the C- or U-structure.",
"The elasticity can be achieved by the design of the arms of the C- or U-shaped structure, which for example may be thin enough to be flexible or made from a rubber or plastic material which provides elasticity even if the structure of the arms, C- or U-shape is quite heavy and/or sturdy.",
"When the rechargeable unit may be inserted not only from the top as will be the case if the retaining means are O shaped but also through for example the front of the charging station through the opening between the arms or in the C- or U-shaped structure the rechargeable unit may be inserted and released fast and precise without the risk of damaging either the electrodes, the retaining means or any other part of the charging station.",
"The opening between the arms or in the C- or U-shaped structure of the retaining means may help guide the rechargeable unit to a correct position.",
"The retaining means may also be another structure through which the rechargeable unit may be inserted.",
"The rechargeable unit may be inserted through an opening in the retaining means, preferably with the application of a force as, for example, but not by way of limitation, a slight push.",
"The retaining means may be arranged in order for them to help keep the rechargeable unit in place in the charging station during a number of different conditions, for example, but not by way of limitation, even if the charging station is pushed over, or shaken heavily.",
"If the retaining means is arranged to hug the rechargeable unit positioned in the charging station, it is prevented that the rechargeable unit is partly or completely knocked out of its intended position in the charging station during charging.",
"The retaining means may also be one or more magnetic elements preferably arranged at least as or as part of the second electrode, but can also be arranged in all of or part of the base of the charging station, in at least a part of a possible wall part of the charging station or even in retaining means such as the C or U shaped structure described above.",
"The surface of a magnetic element may be free or the magnetic element may be embedded in the structure of the charging station.",
"As described above, if the second electrode is magnetic it may not only act as a retaining means, but may also help correct positioning of the rechargeable unit in the charging station by pulling the fourth electrode towards itself by magnetic interaction.",
"In a preferred embodiment the rechargeable unit is arranged in a flashlight, preferably in the end opposing a light emitting part.",
"The rechargeable unit may be releasable from the flashlight, which, for example, but not by way of limitation, enables the use of rechargeable unit with different flashlights or to have a number of rechargeable units for a single flashlight.",
"Preferably the rechargeable unit is an integrated part of the flashlight, in which case the flashlight itself may be regarded as the rechargeable unit.",
"When the rechargeable unit is integrated in a flashlight it makes the structure of the flashlight/rechargeable unit sturdy without the risk of the rechargeable unit being unintentionally released from the flashlight during even rough or heavy use or transport.",
"The rechargeable unit may also be arranged in other devices such as, for example, but not by way of limitation, power tools or toys in which case the same arguments as presented for the flashlight apply with respect to the releasable and integrated configurations respectively.",
"Preferably the flashlight contains at least one LED as a light source as LEDs can provide high light intensity and long life for both a power source, which in the present case is a rechargeable unit, and light source.",
"The charging station and the rechargeable unit are not only useful together but also on their own.",
"The descriptions and many advantages of both the charging station and the rechargeable unit given above are valid for the rechargeable unit and charging station alone or together.",
"Another aspect of the invention involves a charging system comprising a charging cap including a base and a circumferential wall which together forms a cradle, the cradle including a bottom surface and an inner wall having a lower wall part abutting the perimeter of the bottom surface, a peg acting as a first electrode extends from the bottom surface and at least one protrusion acting as a second electrode protrudes from the lower part on the inner wall, said inner wall also comprises one or more clamping members;",
"and a rechargeable unit including a first charging end and an opposing second end, said first charging end having an end surface in which a third electrode is arranged, the first charging end further including a fourth electrode in form of a collar arranged around the end surface, the rechargeable unit further including at least one recess arranged to receive the one or more clamping members of the charging cap for releasably securing the rechargeable unit to the charging cap, the third and fourth electrode of the rechargeable unit arranged for engagement by the first and second electrode of the charging cap when the rechargeable unit is received in the charging cap and thereby provide electrical contact to enable charging of the rechargeable unit.",
"One or more implementations of the aspect of the invention described immediately above includes one or more of the following: the third electrode is a button for turning on and off the rechargeable unit;",
"the first electrode is spring loaded against the third electrode when the rechargeable unit is received in the charging cap;",
"the second electrode is spring loaded against the fourth electrode when the rechargeable unit is received in the charging cap;",
"at least one of the cradle and the charging end is rotational symmetric;",
"the collar is a striking bezel;",
"the circumferential wall of the charging cap includes an outer side, an inner side, and at least one opening, and the one or more clamping members extend from the outer side of the wall through the at least one opening in the wall and away from the inner side of the wall;",
"and/or the rechargeable unit is a flashlight, and the flashlight is usable in all orientations of the flashlight when the rechargeable unit is secured to the charging cap by the one or more clamping members.",
"Another aspect of the invention involves a rechargeable unit for use with a charging cap including one or more clamping members for releasably securing the charging cap to the rechargeable unit.",
"The rechargeable unit includes charging end and an opposing end, said charging end having an end surface in which an end surface electrode is arranged and a collar arranged around the end surface forming a collar electrode, the rechargeable unit including at least one recess arranged to receive the one or more clamping members of the charging cap for releasably securing the charging cap to the rechargeable unit.",
"One or more implementations of the aspect of the invention described immediately above includes one or more of the following: the end surface include a charging socket configured to receive a charging plug for direct charging of the rechargeable unit;",
"the end surface include a pair of charging sockets, each configured to receive a charging plug for direct charging of the rechargeable unit;",
"the rechargeable unit includes a side with a charging socket configured to receive a charging plug for direct charging of the rechargeable unit;",
"the collar is a striking bezel;",
"the end surface electrode is a button for turning on and off the rechargeable unit;",
"and/or the rechargeable unit is a flashlight, and the flashlight is usable in all orientations of the flashlight when the rechargeable unit is secured to the charging cap by the one or more clamping members.",
"A still further aspect of the invention involves a charging cap for use with a rechargeable unit.",
"The charging cap includes a base and a circumferential wall which together forms a cradle for receiving the rechargeable unit, the cradle including a bottom surface and an inner wall having a lower wall part abutting the perimeter of the bottom surface, from said bottom surface a peg acting as a first electrode extends and a ledge acting as a second electrode protrudes from the lower wall part of the inner wall, said wall also including one or more clamping members for releasably securing the charging cap to the rechargeable unit.",
"One or more implementations of the aspect of the invention described immediately above includes one or more of the following: the circumferential wall of the charging cap includes an outer side, an inner side, and at least one opening, and the one or more clamping members extend from the outer side of the wall through the at least one opening in the wall and away from the inner side of the wall;",
"and/or the rechargeable unit is a flashlight, and the flashlight is usable in all orientations of the flashlight when the rechargeable unit is secured to the charging cap by the one or more clamping members.",
"Consistent with the foregoing summary of preferred embodiments, and the ensuing detailed description, which are to be taken together, the invention also contemplates associated apparatus and method embodiments.",
"Charging System with Charging Cap and Rechargeable Unit In one aspect of the present invention there is provided a charging system which provides a stable and secure connection between a charging cap and a rechargeable unit even in demanding situations.",
"In another aspect of the present invention there is provided a charging system which enables the use of the rechargeable unit while charging.",
"In yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a charging system which may protect the electrodes from rain, dust, and other environmental influences during charging.",
"In still another aspect of the present invention there is provided a charging mechanism that allows a rechargeable unit to be fully fluid and particle proof during use.",
"These and other advantages are achieved by a charging system comprising a charging cap and a rechargeable unit, wherein the charging cap comprises a base and a circumferential wall which together forms a cradle for receiving said rechargeable unit, the cradle comprises a bottom surface and an inner wall having a lower wall part abutting the perimeter of the bottom surface, a peg acting as a first electrode extends from the bottom surface and at least one protrusion acting as a second electrode protrudes from the lower part on the inner wall, said inner wall also comprises one or more clamping members for releasably securing the charging cap to the rechargeable unit, the rechargeable unit comprises a first charging end opposing a second end, said first charging end having an end surface in which a third electrode is arranged, the first charging end further comprises a fourth electrode in the form of a collar arranged around the end surface, the rechargeable unit further comprises at least one recess arranged to receive the clamping members of the charging cap, and the first and second electrode of the charging cap are arranged to engage with respectively the third and fourth electrode of the rechargeable unit when the rechargeable unit is received in the charging cap and thereby provide electrical contact to enable charging of the rechargeable unit.",
"When the charging system this way consists of a cap which fits over the end of a rechargeable unit a compact charging system is achieved.",
"This means that even when engaged in the charging cap the rechargeable unit can still be handy, as the charging cap can be arranged to add only a little extra volume to the rechargeable unit.",
"The at least one protrusion is preferably in the form of a ledge extending along one or more parts of the inner wall parallel with the plane of the bottom surface.",
"The protrusion may also extend for the full length of the wall parallel to the bottom surface.",
"The clamping members of the charging cap, which engages in the at least one recess of the rechargeable unit, ensures that the charging cap stays in place over the first charging end of the rechargeable unit and hereby provides a very high degree of reliability to the charging system.",
"As a result of this, the rechargeable unit of the present invention may be used during charging as the rechargeable cap is securely fastened to the first charging end of the rechargeable unit and thus even when pulled, dropped or otherwise handled contact between the electrodes is maintained.",
"The charging cap is arranged with means for connecting to a power source.",
"Preferably, the charging cap has a female socket for receiving a plug and cable from a converter.",
"The cable which is connected by the female socket may be of any length which fits any given conditions hereby allowing the rechargeable unit to be used in an area defined by the cable length during charging.",
"This area can be in, for example, but not by way of limitation, a car, a boat, a workshop, or a campsite with a generator.",
"When the rechargeable unit needs to be recharged the rechargeable cap is pushed over the rechargeable unit until the clamping members clicks or otherwise locks themselves into the at least one recess of the rechargeable unit.",
"This way the one or more clamping members ensures that the charging cap stays in place and is not pushed or pulled away from the correct charging position by accident.",
"When the rechargeable cap is to be removed, the clamping members are pressed, pushed, or otherwise made to retract or be removed from the at least one recess allowing effortless removal of the rechargeable unit from the charging cap.",
"Further when the charging part (the charging cap) as in the preferred embodiments have the shape of a cap i.e. a part that extends preferably quite narrow over the first charging end of the rechargeable unit, the electrodes are protected and are less exposed to dust, moisture in the air or even to physical impacts.",
"This protection of the vital parts such as the electrodes can be a great advantage if the rechargeable unit is intended for heavy use for example on a boat where salt water sprays may occur or where there is a risk that the rechargeable unit arranged in the charging cap may be knocked down from its resting position during charging or receive impacts while in use inserted in the charging cap.",
"It is also possible that a seal element is arranged on either the outer side of the rechargeable unit and/or at the inner side of the cradle of the charging cap.",
"A seal element may provide even more efficient protection of the electrodes of the system when the rechargeable unit is engaged in the charging cap, as it may even more efficiently prevent the intrusion of moisture, dust, etc.",
"A charging indicator can advantageously be arranged on the charging cap.",
"Said charging indicator may visually indicate if the system is charging.",
"An indicator may also indicate the charging level of the rechargeable unit.",
"Preferably the one or more clamping members extends from an outer side of the wall through at least one opening and further away from the inner wall and this way may be arranged to engage the at least one recess of the rechargeable unit when the rechargeable unit is inserted in the cradle of the charging cap.",
"The rechargeable unit may be released again from the cradle, for example, but not by way of limitation, by pushing, pressing, sliding, or twisting the part of the clamping member present on the outer side of the wall.",
"Preferably the one or more clamping member is arranged so that it can be pushed, pressed, twisted, etc.",
"to disengage from the recess of the rechargeable unit, by use of one hand only.",
"Preferably, the charging cap is light weight to make the use of the rechargeable unit engaged in the charging cap even easier to handle.",
"In preferred embodiments the charging cap has a simple outer surface, with few or no protrusions to ensure that the rechargeable unit arranged in the charging cap can be as useful as possible in many situations.",
"When there is few or no protruding parts there is less risk of parts of the system getting caught in wires, clothes, etc.",
"Also, the simple surface may ensure that the charging cap is arranged to allow unrestricted handling of the rechargeable unit when engaged in the charging cap.",
"Ideally the third electrode is a button for turning on and off the rechargeable unit as this reduces the number of elements on the outer side of the rechargeable unit.",
"Preferably the first electrode is a spring loaded against the third electrode when the rechargeable unit is received in the charging cap and/or the second electrode is spring loaded against the fourth electrode when the rechargeable unit is received in the charging cap.",
"Spring loading of the first and/or second electrode against the rechargeable unit i.e. against the third and fourth electrodes respectively, further ensures that the first and third and second and fourth electrode are in contact at all times during the charging of the rechargeable unit.",
"Also spring loading of the first and/or second electrode may help push the rechargeable unit out of its engaged position when the one or more clamping members are released from the recess.",
"It is an advantage if the cradle and/or the first charging end is rotationally symmetric as this enhances the number of correct positions of the rechargeable unit in the charging cap.",
"If for example the peg (first electrode) is a cylinder positioned in the middle of the bottom surface of the cradle and the ledge (second electrode) is arranged to form a full circle along the inner wall there is no preferred position of the rechargeable unit in the charging cap.",
"In preferred embodiments of the charging system the rechargeable unit is a flashlight.",
"Flashlights which are used often will require frequent exchange of batteries if conventional batteries are used and thus a rechargeable flashlight is a great advantage.",
"A flashlight arranged with the present charging system will have the advantage that the flashlight can be used during charging due to the charging cap which locks securely to the rechargeable unit/flashlight.",
"If for example the flashlight is used on a boat, it can be arranged in the charging cap the most of the time while still being used, for example, but not by way of limitation, in the machine room.",
"When attached to the charging cap the flashlight may always be easy to find and can at most times be fully charged.",
"If the flashlight is to be used in another area of the boat the flashlight is disconnected from the charging cap and can be used as a standard flashlight.",
"In advantageous embodiments the collar i.e. the fourth electrode is a striking bezel, as a striking bezel is a useful addition to a flashlight for, for example, but not by way of limitation, using the flashlight to break through glass.",
"A striking bezel may also be arranged to protect the third electrode arranged at the end surface of the first charging end of the rechargeable unit.",
"Preferably the fourth electrode i.e. the collar extends away from the end surface in order to provide protection to electrodes, buttons etc.",
"present on the end surface.",
"However it may also be arranged that the fourth electrode is leveled with the end surface.",
"In preferred embodiments the flashlight or other rechargeable unit is waterproof.",
"The charging cap and/or the rechargeable unit may comprise different components such as one or more of rechargeable energy source such as a battery, wiring, circuit boards, lights source, lens, charging indicators etc.",
"The charging cap and the rechargeable unit as described above are separate items i.e. the present invention also relates to a charging cap as described above and to a rechargeable unit also as described above.",
"The present invention provides a truly multi-functional charging system and combine the use of a charging cap and the use of a direct plug system in a new, better and convenient way.",
"Further the present invention provides highly reliable charging system which can function even under demanding circumstances with heavy use and/or rough environment (rain, mud, dust, salt water etc.).",
"This means that the present invention may be useful even for use by for example the military or police, which at all times must be able to rely on the quality, stability and functionality of their equipment.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings: FIG. 1 shows a dual charging system according to the present invention in which the rechargeable unit is an integral part of a flashlight;",
"FIG. 2 shows a charging station according to the present invention seen in a perspective view from above;",
"FIG. 3 shows a rechargeable unit integrated in a flashlight seen in perspective from the end containing the third and fourth electrode;",
"FIGS. 4 a and 4 b shows exemplary configurations of the first and second electrodes in a charging seat;",
"FIGS. 5 a and 5 b shows exemplary configurations of the third and fourth electrode of the rechargeable unit along with the socket for receiving a second charging means;",
"FIG. 6 shows a simplified cross section of the rechargeable unit of FIG. 5 b taken along the 6 - 6 direction;",
"FIG. 7 shows a cross section of a charging cap and a rechargeable unit according to the present invention;",
"FIG. 8 shows a rechargeable unit from an end surface thereof;",
"FIG. 9 shows a cross section of a rechargeable unit retained in a charging cap according to the present invention;",
"FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a rechargeable unit according to the principle of the invention including an end formed with charging electrodes and two direct charging sockets, and a charging plug inserted into one of the two charging sockets for direct charging of the rechargeable unit;",
"FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the rechargeable unit of FIG. 10 according to the principle of the invention showing a charging plug inserted into the other of the two charging sockets for direct charging of the rechargeable unit;",
"FIG. 12 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a rechargeable unit according to the principle of the invention including an end formed with charging electrodes and a direct charging socket formed in the side of the rechargeable unit near the end;",
"and FIG. 13 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of a rechargeable unit according to the principle of the invention including an end formed with charging electrodes and a direct charging socket formed in the side of the rechargeable unit near the end.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Dual Charging System FIG. 1 shows a dual charging system 1 according to the present invention.",
"The system 1 has two main parts, a charging station 2 and a rechargeable unit 3 , in the present example in the form of a flashlight.",
"The charging station 2 has a base part 4 with a rounded front 5 having a number of optional grooves 6 .",
"The charging station 2 further contains an upright part 7 extending from a rear part 8 of the base part 4 .",
"The upright part 7 is provided with retaining means in form of two arms 9 arranged to slightly hug the rechargeable unit 3 when arranged in the charging station 2 in order to keep the rechargeable unit 3 correctly positioned in the charging station 2 .",
"The rechargeable unit 3 comprises a first end 10 engaging in the charging station 3 and a second end 11 opposing said first end 10 .",
"The second end in the present example contains a LED light source (not shown).",
"The rechargeable unit 3 also comprises a switch 12 for turning the flashlight on and off.",
"FIG. 2 shows the charging station from FIG. 1 seen in perspective from above.",
"For like parts same numerals are used.",
"A charging seat 13 is depressed in the base part 4 of the charging station 2 .",
"The charging seat 13 is circular with a substantially flat bottom 14 .",
"Placed centrally in the charging seat 13 is a first electrode 15 which in the present example is a cylindrical peg with a ball shaped head.",
"Concentric around the first electrode 15 is a circular second electrode 16 , which in the present example is slightly raised from the bottom 14 of the charging seat 13 , but may as well be leveled with the bottom 14 .",
"The two arms 9 arranged to retain a rechargeable unit in the charging station 2 are each provided with an inner element 17 to help grasp the rechargeable unit 3 .",
"Together the arms 9 form a U shape and with the inner elements 17 a slight C shape.",
"The inner elements 17 may be omitted if the arms 9 , or similar retaining means, alone are capable of retaining the rechargeable unit 3 in the charging station 2 .",
"In the present example an inner wall 7 a of the upright part 7 is rounded to fit the curvature of the belonging rechargeable unit (not shown).",
"Together the charging seat 13 , inner wall 7 a and the arms 9 form a cavity for receiving the rechargeable unit (not shown).",
"The charging station also comprises a cable 18 for providing electrical connection to the charging station 2 .",
"FIG. 3 shows the rechargeable unit 3 seen in perspective from the first end 10 .",
"A center third electrode 19 is arranged in an at least substantially flat surface 20 of the first end 10 of the flashlight rechargeable unit 3 .",
"The surface 20 is arranged to abut the charging seat 13 of the charging station 2 .",
"The third electrode 19 of the present example is a conical notch with the apex in the center C of the surface 20 .",
"The surface 20 also comprises a fourth electrode 21 which in this exemplary embodiment is a circle section spanning approximately 90°.",
"In the surface 20 is also arranged a socket 22 for receiving a second charging means 23 .",
"FIGS. 4 a and 4 b show two different exemplary configurations of the first and second electrode of a charging station according to the present invention.",
"In 4 a a hexagonal second electrode 16 is arranged around a central first electrode 15 .",
"The hexagonal second electrode may be simple or, for example, but not by way of limitation, be arranged with magnets in all corners as indicated by circles 24 .",
"The second electrode may also be completely of a magnetic or magnetizable material.",
"FIG. 4 b shows a charging seat with a central first electrode 15 surrounded by two crescent shaped elements 25 together forming the second electrode.",
"FIGS. 5 a and 5 b shows two different exemplary configurations of the third and fourth electrode of a rechargeable unit as known from FIGS. 1 and 3 and according to the present invention.",
"In FIG. 5 a a surface 20 of a rechargeable unit 3 is seen.",
"The third electrode 19 is a central conical notch and the fourth electrode 21 consists of three chevrons 26 arranged encircling the third electrode 19 .",
"A socket 22 for receiving a simple jack plug is also comprised in the surface 20 .",
"In the surface 20 of FIG. 5 b a crescent shaped fourth electrode 21 is arranged around a third electrode 19 as known from the previous figures.",
"The surface 20 also comprises a mini USB port 22 for receiving a mini USB plug acting as the second charging means.",
"FIG. 6 is a simplified cross section along the direction XI-XI in FIG. 5 b to visualize the conical shape of the third electrode 19 .",
"The actual conducting element 27 of the third electrode may be present in the apex of the cone.",
"In the above examples one or more of the electrodes, and preferably the second and fourth electrode, may be magnetic and/or magnetizable.",
"Thus, according to the present invention is provided a dual charging system with a number of advantages over prior art making it useful in a variety of situations from office use to active situations such as, but not limited to, in moving vehicles.",
"The rechargeable unit according to the present invention may be charged by use of the charging station according to the present invention or by a simple charger with a wire and plug.",
"The charging station provides safe storage and reliable charging of the rechargeable unit, as it is arranged to allow easy insertion and removal of the rechargeable unit and to keep it in a desired position.",
"The rechargeable unit is arranged to be easily inserted in and removed from the charging station and especially the electrodes are arranged to ensure correct alignment with the electrodes of a charging station according to the present invention.",
"The option of charging by plug, and not by the charging station, makes the dual charging system and rechargeable unit on its own useful even under circumstances where the charging station may be unhandy.",
"Charging System with Charging Cap and Rechargeable Unit FIG. 7 shows a charging system 101 according to the present invention.",
"The charging system 101 comprises a charging cap 102 and a rechargeable unit 103 in the present example in shape of a rechargeable flashlight.",
"The charging cap 102 has a substantially cylindrical wall 104 closed at a first part 105 by a base 106 said wall 104 and base 106 together form a cradle 107 for receiving the rechargeable unit 103 .",
"The cradle 107 has a bottom surface 108 and an inner wall 109 .",
"A peg 110 extends perpendicularly from the center of the bottom surface 108 .",
"The peg 110 is a first electrode of the charging cap 102 and is arranged with a first spring element 111 for spring loading the peg 110 against the rechargeable unit as seen in FIG. 9 .",
"The inner wall 109 has a ledge 112 which extends from the first part 105 .",
"The ledge 112 is the second electrode of the charging cap 102 and is arranged with a second spring element 113 so that the ledge 112 is spring loaded against the rechargeable unit 103 when inserted into the charging cap 102 .",
"At the inner wall 109 at an edge part 114 of the wall 104 two clamping members 115 are attached.",
"The clamping members 115 are in the present example arranged to extend from an outer surface 116 of the wall 104 through the wall 104 and extend far enough off the inner side 109 in order to be able to engage in corresponding recesses 115 a on the rechargeable unit 103 when the rechargeable unit 103 is inserted into the charging cap 102 .",
"The charging cap 102 is further provided with a female socket 117 to receive a cable for connecting with, for example, but not by way of limitation, an AC/DC adapter 118 .",
"The rechargeable unit 103 comprises an end surface 119 having a centered on/off button which is arranged to function as a third electrode 120 .",
"The end surface is encircled by a fourth electrode 122 .",
"In the present and preferred example the fourth electrode 122 raises above the end surface 119 , but embodiments wherein the fourth electrode is in level with the end surface 119 can also be imagined within the framework of the present invention.",
"FIG. 8 shows the end surface 119 of the rechargeable unit known from FIG. 7 .",
"In the present example the end surface 119 is substantially circular with the third electrode 120 centrally placed in the present example as an on/off button 120 for the rechargeable unit.",
"At the perimeter 121 of the end surface a collar 122 is arranged, said collar 122 is arranged to be the fourth electrode.",
"FIG. 9 shows charging system 101 as know from FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 here with the rechargeable unit 103 retained in the charging cap 102 .",
"The rechargeable unit 103 is pushed in to the charging cap 102 and contact is made between the first electrode 110 and the third electrode 120 and between the second electrode 112 and the fourth electrode 122 .",
"The clamping members 115 are engaged and locked in the recess 115 a , ensuring that the charging cap 102 stays in its intended position and that the contact between the electrodes of the charging cap and rechargeable units is maintained.",
"The charging cap 102 is locked in this position until the clamping members 115 are released allowing the rechargeable unit/flashlight 103 to be removed from the charging cap 102 .",
"The charging cap 102 also has a charging indicator 123 which may be, for example, but not by way of limitation, a diode.",
"Also, a plug 118 is inserted into the charging cap 102 to provide power.",
"When engaged in the charging cap 2 the first charging end 24 of the rechargeable unit 3 is covered by the charging cap 2 .",
"The rechargeable unit/flashlight 3 of the present example is mainly cylindrical.",
"As seen from FIG. 7 and FIG. 9 , the charging cap 102 fits narrowly around the rechargeable unit 103 and even engaged in the charging cap the rechargeable unit is handy.",
"The internal parts of the charging cap and rechargeable unit are not shown.",
"However, they may comprise a rechargeable energy source such as a battery, wiring, circuitry, light source, lens, etc.",
"Rechargeable Unit with Electrodes and Direct Charging Plugs FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a rechargeable unit 200 that, in the present example, is a rechargeable battery or battery pack, such as a rechargeable lithium-ion battery or battery pack.",
"In an alternate embodiment, rechargeable unit 200 is in the shape of a rechargeable flashlight, such as rechargeable unit 103 discussed above.",
"Rechargeable unit 200 has an end or end surface 202 having centered on/off button which is arranged to function as third electrode 120 according to charging system 101 .",
"The end surface 202 is encircled by fourth electrode 122 according to charging system 101 .",
"In the present and preferred example the fourth electrode 122 raises above the end surface 202 and is exemplary of a bezel as in charging system 101 , but embodiments wherein the fourth electrode is level with the end surface 202 can also be imagined within the framework of the present invention.",
"As end surface 202 is formed with third electrode 120 and fourth electrode 122 , rechargeable unit 200 may be retained in the charging cap 102 according to charging system 101 as shown in FIG. 9 for charging of rechargeable unit 200 .",
"Rechargeable unit 200 is pushed in to charging cap 102 and contact is made between the first electrode 110 and the third electrode 120 of rechargeable unit 200 and between the second electrode 112 and the fourth electrode 122 of rechargeable unit 200 to provide charging of rechargeable unit 200 with charging cap 102 according to charging system 101 .",
"End surface 202 has two direct charging sockets, including one charging socket 210 formed in third electrode 120 and a second charging socket 210 formed in end surface 202 , and which is positioned between third electrode 120 and fourth electrode 122 .",
"Charging sockets 210 are female sockets that are each capable of receiving plug 118 according to charging system 101 for direct charging of rechargeable unit 200 .",
"FIG. 10 illustrates plug 118 inserted into charging socket 210 formed in third electrode 120 for direct charging of rechargeable unit 200 , and FIG. 11 illustrates plug 118 inserted into charging socket 210 positioned between third electrode 120 and fourth electrode 122 for direct charging of rechargeable unit 200 .",
"According to the embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11 , the third electrode 120 and the fourth electrode 122 of charging system 101 are combined with direct charging sockets or plugs 210 forming an exemplary charging arrangement.",
"In this combination as set forth and described in conjunction with FIGS. 10 and 11 , it offers a consumer the freedom and flexibility to charge a rechargeable unit, such as a battery, battery pack, flashlight, or other rechargeable unit, either using charging cap 102 of charging system 101 , charging station 2 of charging system 1 , a battery charger, or direct charging at charging sockets or plugs 210 , such as through a mains or car adapter.",
"FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a rechargeable unit 300 that, in the present example, is a rechargeable battery or battery pack, such as a rechargeable lithium-ion battery or battery pack.",
"In an alternate embodiment, rechargeable unit 300 is in the shape of a rechargeable flashlight, such as rechargeable unit 103 discussed above.",
"Rechargeable unit 300 has an end or end surface 302 having a ring that encircles a centered on/off button 303 .",
"The ring is arranged to function as third electrode 120 according to charging system 101 , and on/off button 303 is arranged not to function as an electrode.",
"The end surface 302 is encircled by fourth electrode 122 according to charging system 101 .",
"In the present and preferred example the fourth electrode 122 raises above the end surface 302 and is exemplary of a bezel as in charging system 101 , but embodiments wherein the fourth electrode is level with the end surface 302 can also be imagined within the framework of the present invention.",
"As end surface 302 is formed with third electrode 120 and fourth electrode 122 , rechargeable unit 300 may be retained in the charging cap 102 according to charging system 101 as shown in FIG. 9 for charging of rechargeable unit 200 .",
"In an additional embodiment, the first electrode 110 is a female electrode socket with a larger diameter than the diameter of the third electrode 120 and slidably receives the third electrode 120 for electrical contact there with.",
"In a further embodiment, the first electrode 110 is positioned off center and has a small diameter so that it contacts the third electrode 120 off center.",
"In such embodiments, rechargeable unit 300 is pushed in to charging cap 102 and contact is made between the first electrode 110 and the third electrode 120 of rechargeable unit 300 and between the second electrode 112 and the fourth electrode 122 of rechargeable unit 300 to provide charging of rechargeable unit 300 with charging cap 102 according to charging system 101 .",
"Into the side of rechargeable unit 300 near end surface 302 , which forms part of a tailcap of rechargeable unit 300 , there is a charging plug or socket 310 .",
"Charging socket 310 is a female socket that is capable of receiving a plug, such as plug 118 according to charging system 101 , for direct charging of rechargeable unit 300 .",
"According to the embodiment of FIG. 12 , the third electrode 120 of charging system 101 is provided in the form of a ring encircling on/off button 303 and the fourth electrode 122 of charging system 101 are all combined with direct charging socket or plug 310 forming an exemplary charging arrangement.",
"In this combination as set forth and described in conjunction with FIG. 12 , it offers a consumer the freedom and flexibility to charge a rechargeable unit, such as a battery, battery pack, flashlight, or other rechargeable unit, either using charging cap 102 of charging system 101 , charging station 2 of charging system 1 , a battery charger, or direct charging at charging socket or plug 310 , such as through a mains or car adapter.",
"FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a rechargeable unit 400 that, in the present example, is a rechargeable battery or battery pack, such as a rechargeable lithium-ion battery or battery pack.",
"In an alternate embodiment, rechargeable unit 300 is in the shape of a rechargeable flashlight, such as rechargeable unit 103 discussed above.",
"Rechargeable unit 400 has end or end surface 302 having a ring that encircles a centered on/off button.",
"The on/off button is arranged to function as third electrode 120 according to charging system 101 , and the ring encircling the on/off button is arranged to function as fourth electrode 122 according to charging system 101 .",
"The end surface 302 is encircled by bezel 402 , which raises above the end surface 302 and is arranged not to function as an electrode.",
"Bezel 402 can be made to be level with the end surface 302 if so desired.",
"As end surface 302 is formed with third electrode 120 and fourth electrode 122 , rechargeable unit 400 may be retained in the charging cap 102 according to charging system 101 as shown in FIG. 9 for charging of rechargeable unit 200 .",
"Rechargeable unit 400 is pushed in to charging cap 102 and contact is made between the first electrode 110 and the third electrode 120 of rechargeable unit 400 and between the second electrode 112 and the fourth electrode 122 of rechargeable unit 400 to provide charging of rechargeable unit 400 with charging cap 102 according to charging system 101 .",
"Into the side of rechargeable unit 400 near end surface 302 , which forms part of a tailcap of rechargeable unit 400 , there is charging socket 310 .",
"Charging socket 310 is s female socket that is capable of receiving a plug, such as plug 118 according to charging system 101 , for direct charging of rechargeable unit 400 .",
"According to the embodiment of FIG. 13 , the third electrode 120 of charging system 101 is the on/off button that is encircled by the ring being the fourth electrode 122 , both of which are combined with bezel 402 , which is not an electrode, and direct charging socket or plug 310 , forming an exemplary charging arrangement.",
"In this combination as set forth and described in conjunction with FIG. 13 , it offers a consumer the freedom and flexibility to charge a rechargeable unit, such as a battery, battery pack, flashlight, or other rechargeable unit, either using charging cap 102 of charging system 101 , charging station 2 of charging system 1 , a battery charger, or direct charging at charging socket or plug 310 , such as through a mains or car adapter.",
"The invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments.",
"However, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments without departing from the nature and scope of the invention.",
"Various changes and modifications to the embodiment herein chosen for purposes of illustration will readily occur to those skilled in the art.",
"To the extent that such modifications and variations do not depart from the spirit of the invention, they are intended to be included within the scope thereof including the ensuing claims, which are considered part of this disclosure, as is the ensuing abstract."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to apparel, for example, sports apparel as used by runners, the apparel being actively illuminated to render the wearer more conspicuous during conditions of poor visibility.
BACKGROUND
[0002] On average in the United States, a pedestrian is injured in an automobile accident every eight minutes. Even worse, a pedestrian is killed every 111 minutes. Between 1995 and 2010, pedestrian fatalities ranged from about 4,000 to over 5,000 per year, and pedestrian injuries ranged from about 70,000 to over 80,000. Statistics show, as expected, that most of the accidents occurred at night, on urban roads, and, surprisingly, at locations other than intersections.
[0003] Runners are especially vulnerable to serious road accidents involving motor vehicles. However, the odds of being injured or killed can be greatly reduced if proper precautions are exercised. High on the list of effective precautions is the wearing of high visibility sportswear which combines the advantages of modern fabrics with active, self-contained illumination devices to create a highly visible pedestrian, easily seen by motorists.
SUMMARY
[0004] The invention concerns illuminated apparel. In one example, an article of apparel comprises a flexible substrate. A pocket is positioned on the substrate. An illumination device is positioned within the pocket. A light transmitting area is positioned overlying the illumination device, and a power source is operatively associated with the illumination device. In a particular example, the light transmitting area comprises an opening in the substrate. An open mesh may overlie the opening.
[0005] In another example, an article of illuminated apparel comprises a flexible substrate. A pocket is positioned on the substrate. An opening is positioned overlying the pocket. An illumination device is positioned within the pocket. The illumination device faces the opening for projecting light outwardly therefrom. A power source is operatively associated with the illumination device. In a particular example embodiment, the opening is in the substrate. An open mesh may overlie the opening.
[0006] The article may further comprise a pouch mounted on the substrate, the power source being positioned within the pouch. The power source may comprise an electrical battery. A pair of electrical conductors may extend between the electrical battery and the illumination device forming an electrical circuit. A switch may be positioned within the pouch, the switch being operatively associated with the electrical circuit for opening and closing the circuit.
[0007] By way of example the article may further comprise a lining attached to the substrate. The electrical conductors may be captured between the lining and the substrate. Furthermore, a snare may be mounted on the substrate, and the electrical conductors may be captured by the snare and thereby retained to the substrate.
[0008] In a particular example, the illumination device comprises at least one light emitting diode. In another example, the illumination device comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes encapsulated within a transparent polymer layer. Electronic circuitry may be positioned within the pouch, the circuitry being operatively associated with the switch, the electrical conductors, the electrical battery and the light emitting diodes for controlling illumination of the light emitting diodes in a plurality of lighting patterns. For example, the lighting patterns may be selected from the group consisting of flashing on and off, constantly on, and constantly off. The light emitting diodes may be mounted on one side of a backing lamina. The electrical conductors may be mounted on an opposite side of the backing lamina. In a particular example, the electrical conductors are retained to the opposite side of the backing lamina by a cinch surrounding the backing lamina and the transparent polymer layer. The backing lamina may have first and second ends oppositely disposed. A pair of electrical terminals is mounted on the backing lamina at the first end, the electrical terminals being electrically connected to the light emitting diodes, the electrical conductors being electrically connected to the electrical terminals. The cinch may be positioned surrounding the backing lamina and the transparent polymer layer at the second end of the backing lamina.
[0009] In one example embodiment, the article of illuminated apparel comprises a hat. An example hat may comprise a crown defining an internal volume, the crown having a perimeter defining an opening into the internal volume. A band is attached to the perimeter and surrounds the opening. A first pocket is positioned on the band. A first opening is positioned overlying the first pocket. A first illumination device is positioned within the first pocket and faces the first opening for projecting light outwardly therefrom. An electrical battery is operatively associated with the first illumination device. In a particular embodiment, the first opening is in the band. The example may further comprise an open mesh overlying the first opening. The example hat may further comprise a pouch mounted on the band. The electrical battery is positioned within the pouch.
[0010] In another example, the article of illuminated apparel comprises a headband. In a particular embodiment, the headband comprises a flexible substrate loop. A first pocket is positioned on the substrate loop. A first opening in the substrate loop is positioned overlying the first pocket. A first illumination device is positioned within the first pocket and faces the first opening for projecting light outwardly therefrom. An electrical battery is operatively associated with the first illumination device. In a particular embodiment, the opening is in the substrate loop. The embodiment may further comprise an open mesh overlying the first opening. The example headband may further comprise a pouch mounted on the substrate loop. The electrical battery is positioned within the pouch.
[0011] In another example, the article of illuminated apparel comprises a glove for receiving a hand, the hand having a palm and a back. In a particular embodiment, the example glove comprises a palm substrate positionable overlying the palm and a back substrate positionable overlying the back. The back substrate is attached to the palm substrate in overlying relation and forms a cavity therebetween. A pocket is positioned on the back substrate. An opening overlies the pocket. An illumination device is positioned within the pocket and faces the opening for projecting light outwardly therefrom. A power source is operatively associated with the illumination device. In a particular example, the opening is in the back substrate. An open mesh may overlie the opening. The example glove may further comprise a wrist skirt attached to the palm substrate and the back substrate. A pouch may be mounted on the wrist skirt, the electrical battery being positioned within the pouch. A pair of electrical conductors may extend between the electrical battery and the illumination device forming an electrical circuit. A switch may be positioned within the pouch. The switch is operatively associated with the electrical circuit for opening and closing the electrical circuit. A snare may be attached to one of the palm and back substrates. The electrical conductors are captured by the snare.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a top view of an example illumination device assembly used with the invention;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the illumination device assembly shown in FIG. 1 ;
[0014] FIG. 3 is an isometric front view of an example illuminated hat according to the invention;
[0015] FIG. 3A is a sectional view taken at line 3 A- 3 A in FIG. 3 ;
[0016] FIG. 4 is an isometric rear view of the illuminated hat shown in FIG. 3 ;
[0017] FIG. 4A is a sectional view taken at line 4 A- 4 A of FIG. 4 ;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a partial cut-away isometric front view of the illuminated hat shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 ;
[0019] FIGS. 6 and 7 are isometric front and rear views, respectively, of an example illuminated headband;
[0020] FIG. 8 is a back facing view of an example illuminated glove;
[0021] FIG. 9 is a palm facing view of the glove shown in FIG. 8 ;
[0022] FIG. 10 is a partial cut-away view of the glove shown in FIG. 8 ;
[0023] FIG. 11 is a back facing view of an example fingerless illuminated glove;
[0024] FIG. 12 is a palm facing view of the fingerless glove shown in FIG. 11 ;
[0025] FIG. 13 is a back facing view of an example illuminated mitten glove;
[0026] FIG. 14 is a palm facing view of an example illuminated combination mitten/finger glove;
[0027] FIG. 15 is a back facing view of the combination mitten/finger glove shown in FIG. 14 ; and
[0028] FIG. 16 is a detailed view of a portion of the headband shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0029] FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an example illumination device assembly 10 usable with illuminated apparel according to the invention, it being understood that other types of illumination device assemblies are also feasible. Illumination device assembly 10 comprises an illumination device 12 , in this example, a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) 14 mounted on one side of a backing lamina 16 and encapsulated within a transparent polymer layer 18 . Exposed electrical terminals 20 extend from the opposite side of the backing lamina 16 affording electrical connection to the LEDs by a pair of electrical conductors 22 . It is found advantageous to position terminals 20 at one end of the backing lamina 16 and run the electrical conductors 22 lengthwise along the lamina to its opposite end. A cinch 24 is then used to retain the conductors to the backing lamina 16 , the cinch 24 being positioned surrounding the backing lamina and the polymer layer 18 . Cinch 24 may be, for example, a heat shrinkable plastic band which cinches the conductors 22 to the backing lamina 16 . Cinching the conductors at a point away from the terminals 20 help mitigate stress on the conductor-terminal connection to guard against fatigue failure.
[0030] Assembly 10 further includes a power source for the LEDs, in this example, an electric battery 26 mounted on a circuit board 28 having electronic circuitry 30 . A switch 32 is also mounted on the circuit board 28 . Electrical conductors 22 are connected to the circuit board 28 . Circuitry 30 is operatively associated with the switch 32 , the electrical conductors 22 , the battery 26 and the LEDs 14 to form an electrical circuit between the battery 26 and the LEDs 14 that is controlled by the switch and the circuitry. The switch 32 , in conjunction with the circuitry 30 , operates as a selector for controlling illumination of the LEDs in a plurality of lighting patterns. For example, the LEDs may flash on and off at one or more frequencies, may be constantly on, or off, the selection being controlled by actuating the switch a number of times in succession. For example, starting from the condition wherein the LEDs 14 are off, a first click of the switch 32 will set the LEDs flashing rapidly, a second click will slow the rate of flashing, a third click will cause the LEDs to remain constantly on, and a fourth click will shut the LEDs off. Other combinations of illumination are also feasible. Variable illumination functions of this nature are effected by commercially available integrated circuits and thus need not be explained in any detail here.
[0031] One example of illuminated apparel according to the invention is a hat 34 , as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 . Hat 34 comprises a crown 36 which defines a volume 38 . A perimeter 40 of the crown defines an opening 42 to the volume 38 . A flexible substrate 44 , in this example comprising a band 46 , is attached to the perimeter 40 and surrounds the opening 42 . As shown in FIG. 3A , a pocket 48 is positioned on the substrate 44 . Pocket 48 is formed, for example, by attaching a layer of material 50 to the substrate, for example by stitching or adhesive. The illumination device 12 is positioned within the pocket 48 and a light transmitting area is positioned overlying the illumination device. In this example, the light transmitting area comprises an opening 52 in the substrate 44 (band 46 ) overlying the pocket 48 . As part of the light transmitting area, an open mesh 54 overlies the opening 52 and helps retain the illumination device 12 within the pocket 48 while still allowing light to project outwardly from the pocket 48 .
[0032] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 4A , hat 34 also comprises a pouch 56 mounted on the band 46 . In this example, the pouch 56 is located diametrically opposite to the pocket 48 and holds the circuit board 28 , battery 26 and switch 32 . The switch 32 is actuated through the band 46 in normal use, but, as shown in FIG. 5 , pouch 56 is provided with an opening 58 allowing the circuit board 28 to be removed to replace the battery 26 . Hook and loop fasteners may be used to secure the opening 58 in the closed position. Pouch 56 is shown in cross section in FIG. 4A , and in this example comprises a layer of material 60 attached to the band 46 , for example, by stitching or adhesive.
[0033] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 4A , the example hat 34 has a second pocket 62 also positioned on the band 46 . Second pocket 62 is positioned diametrically opposite to the first pocket 48 , and, as shown in cross section in FIG. 4A , comprises a layer of material 64 attached to the band 46 . A light transmitting area, in the form of an opening 66 in the band is positioned overlying the pocket 62 , and an open mesh 68 overlies the opening 66 to form part of the light transmitting area and help retain a second illumination device 70 within the pocket 62 . Conductors 22 extend between the second illumination device 70 and the circuit board 28 , switch 32 and battery 26 , forming another electrical circuit. A liner 74 is attached to the band 46 , the conductors 22 and 72 being captured between the liner and the band and presenting a neat appearance, with no visible conductors.
[0034] In this example, similar to the first illumination device 12 , the second illumination device 70 comprises LEDs 14 mounted on a backing lamina 16 and encapsulated within a transparent polymer layer 18 (see FIGS. 1 and 2 ). The circuitry 30 and the battery 26 and switch 32 are operatively associated with the second illumination device 70 and control its lighting pattern as described above for the first illumination device 12 . It is advantageous to have different color LEDs in the first and second pockets. For example, white LEDs may be positioned in the first pocket 48 , and red LEDs may be positioned in the second pocket 62 . When the hat 34 is then worn with the white LEDs facing frontward (the direction of travel) and the red LEDs facing rearward (as is customary on vehicles) the direction of motion of the wearer is readily determinable at a distance and in conditions of poor visibility.
[0035] Another example of illuminated apparel according to the invention is a headband 76 , as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 . Headband 76 comprises a flexible substrate loop 78 . Similar to the hat 34 , headband 76 has two pockets 80 and 82 arranged diametrically opposite to one another. Illumination devices 84 and 86 are positioned respectively in pockets 80 and 82 . Light transmitting areas comprising openings 88 and 90 are positioned in the substrate loop overlying the pockets 80 and 82 . Open mesh 92 and 94 overlies the openings 88 and 90 and helps retain the illumination devices 84 and 86 within the pockets 80 and 82 while still allowing light to project outwardly therefrom.
[0036] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 16 , headband 76 also comprises a pouch 96 mounted on the substrate loop 78 . In this example, the pouch 96 is located diametrically opposite to the pocket 80 and holds the circuit board 28 , battery 26 and switch 32 operatively associated with the illumination devices 84 and 86 . The switch 32 is actuated through the substrate loop 78 in normal use, but the pouch is provided with an opening 58 (similar to that shown in FIG. 5 for the hat 34 ) allowing the circuit board 28 to be removed to replace the battery 26 . Hook and loop fasteners may be used to secure the opening in the closed position.
[0037] Conductors 98 extend between the illumination devices 84 and 86 and the circuit board 28 , switch 32 and battery 26 , forming an electrical circuit. A liner 100 is attached to the substrate loop 78 , the conductors 98 being captured between the liner and the loop and presenting a neat appearance, with no visible conductors.
[0038] In this example headband 76 , similar to the hat 34 , the first and second illumination devices 84 and 86 comprises LEDs 14 mounted on a backing lamina 16 and encapsulated within a transparent polymer layer 18 (see FIGS. 1 and 2 ). The circuitry 30 and the battery 26 and switch 32 are operatively associated with the illumination devices 84 and 86 and control their lighting pattern as described above for the first illumination device 12 . It is advantageous to have different color LEDs in the first and second pockets. For example, white LEDs may be positioned in the first pocket 80 , and red LEDs may be positioned in the second pocket 82 . When the headband 76 is then worn with the white LEDs facing frontward (the direction of travel) and the red LEDs facing rearward (as is customary on vehicles) the direction of motion of the wearer is readily determinable at a distance and in conditions of poor visibility.
[0039] Another example of illuminated apparel according to the invention comprises a glove 102 as shown in FIGS. 8-10 . Glove 102 is formed of a back substrate 104 (which overlies the back of a wearer's hand) attached to a palm substrate 106 to form a cavity 108 for receiving the hand of a wearer. In this example glove 102 , a pocket 110 is positioned on the back substrate 104 . (Pocket 110 has the same structure as the pocket illustrated in FIG. 3A .) An illumination device 112 is positioned within pocket 110 , and a light transmitting area comprising an opening 114 in the back substrate 104 is positioned overlying the pocket 110 . An open mesh 116 is attached to the back substrate 104 overlying the opening 114 to help retain the illumination device 112 within the pocket 110 . In this example glove the illumination device 112 is arranged to project light substantially perpendicular to the back substrate 104 .
[0040] The illumination device 112 in this example again comprises a plurality of LEDs 14 mounted on a backing lamina 16 and encapsulated within a transparent polymer layer 18 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 . Electrical conductors 22 form a circuit between the LEDs and the battery 26 , switch 32 and circuit board 28 . The circuitry 30 on the circuit board in conjunction with the switch 32 and battery 26 controls the lighting pattern of the LEDs as described above. As shown in FIG. 10 the battery, switch and circuit board are contained within a pouch 118 mounted on a wrist skirt 120 that is attached to the back substrate 104 and palm substrate 106 . (Pouch 118 has the same structure as the pouch illustrated in FIG. 4A .) Electrical conductors 22 extend from the pouch 118 through the cavity 108 and into the pocket 110 to connect the illumination device 112 to its power and control source. A snare 122 is positioned within cavity 108 and is attached to one of or both the back substrate 104 and the palm substrate 106 . For example, the snare 122 may be sewn into the seam 124 between the back and palm substrates as shown in FIG. 10 . The snare 122 captures and secures the conductors 22 within the cavity 108 to prevent interference when the gloves are donned. Switch 32 may be actuated through the material forming the wrist skirt 120 .
[0041] Various illuminated glove embodiments are feasible. FIGS. 8-10 show a full glove 102 having a plurality of finger sheaths 126 and a thumb sheath 128 attached to the back and palm sheaths 104 and 106 . Full illuminated gloves are advantageous for running or cycling in cold weather. “Fingerless” illuminated gloves 130 , as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 are adapted for use in hot weather. Another illuminated glove embodiment 132 , illustrated in FIGS. 13-15 , comprises a mitten, and includes a finger compartment 134 . The finger compartment 134 may be attached to the back substrate 104 and the palm substrate 106 to form a traditional mitten as shown in FIG. 13 . Alternately, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 , the finger compartment 134 may be attached only to one of the back or palm substrates 104 and 106 , and removable from the fingers by extracting the fingers and folding the finger compartment back to free the fingers when dexterity is required. By way of example, FIG. 15 shows the finger compartment 134 attached to the back substrate 104 and folded back to free the fingers of the wearer. It is understood that the finger compartment may be used with either full or fingerless gloves.
[0042] Illuminated apparel according to the invention may comprise substrates formed of woven, non-woven and knitted materials and fabrics. Synthetic and natural fibers, as well as blends and combinations of the two fibers, can be used to advantage to form the materials and fabrics used in the illuminated apparel according to the invention.
[0043] Illuminated apparel as disclosed herein is expected to increase the visibility of runners and thereby reduce the number of injuries and fatalities suffered. | Apparel, such as hats, headbands and gloves have one or more pockets, each holding an illumination device, and a pouch holding a battery, switch and circuitry for controlling the illumination display. Different color LEDs are used to distinguish the direction of travel of a wearer of the apparel under conditions of poor visibility. | Identify the most important aspect in the document and summarize the concept accordingly. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates to apparel, for example, sports apparel as used by runners, the apparel being actively illuminated to render the wearer more conspicuous during conditions of poor visibility.",
"BACKGROUND [0002] On average in the United States, a pedestrian is injured in an automobile accident every eight minutes.",
"Even worse, a pedestrian is killed every 111 minutes.",
"Between 1995 and 2010, pedestrian fatalities ranged from about 4,000 to over 5,000 per year, and pedestrian injuries ranged from about 70,000 to over 80,000.",
"Statistics show, as expected, that most of the accidents occurred at night, on urban roads, and, surprisingly, at locations other than intersections.",
"[0003] Runners are especially vulnerable to serious road accidents involving motor vehicles.",
"However, the odds of being injured or killed can be greatly reduced if proper precautions are exercised.",
"High on the list of effective precautions is the wearing of high visibility sportswear which combines the advantages of modern fabrics with active, self-contained illumination devices to create a highly visible pedestrian, easily seen by motorists.",
"SUMMARY [0004] The invention concerns illuminated apparel.",
"In one example, an article of apparel comprises a flexible substrate.",
"A pocket is positioned on the substrate.",
"An illumination device is positioned within the pocket.",
"A light transmitting area is positioned overlying the illumination device, and a power source is operatively associated with the illumination device.",
"In a particular example, the light transmitting area comprises an opening in the substrate.",
"An open mesh may overlie the opening.",
"[0005] In another example, an article of illuminated apparel comprises a flexible substrate.",
"A pocket is positioned on the substrate.",
"An opening is positioned overlying the pocket.",
"An illumination device is positioned within the pocket.",
"The illumination device faces the opening for projecting light outwardly therefrom.",
"A power source is operatively associated with the illumination device.",
"In a particular example embodiment, the opening is in the substrate.",
"An open mesh may overlie the opening.",
"[0006] The article may further comprise a pouch mounted on the substrate, the power source being positioned within the pouch.",
"The power source may comprise an electrical battery.",
"A pair of electrical conductors may extend between the electrical battery and the illumination device forming an electrical circuit.",
"A switch may be positioned within the pouch, the switch being operatively associated with the electrical circuit for opening and closing the circuit.",
"[0007] By way of example the article may further comprise a lining attached to the substrate.",
"The electrical conductors may be captured between the lining and the substrate.",
"Furthermore, a snare may be mounted on the substrate, and the electrical conductors may be captured by the snare and thereby retained to the substrate.",
"[0008] In a particular example, the illumination device comprises at least one light emitting diode.",
"In another example, the illumination device comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes encapsulated within a transparent polymer layer.",
"Electronic circuitry may be positioned within the pouch, the circuitry being operatively associated with the switch, the electrical conductors, the electrical battery and the light emitting diodes for controlling illumination of the light emitting diodes in a plurality of lighting patterns.",
"For example, the lighting patterns may be selected from the group consisting of flashing on and off, constantly on, and constantly off.",
"The light emitting diodes may be mounted on one side of a backing lamina.",
"The electrical conductors may be mounted on an opposite side of the backing lamina.",
"In a particular example, the electrical conductors are retained to the opposite side of the backing lamina by a cinch surrounding the backing lamina and the transparent polymer layer.",
"The backing lamina may have first and second ends oppositely disposed.",
"A pair of electrical terminals is mounted on the backing lamina at the first end, the electrical terminals being electrically connected to the light emitting diodes, the electrical conductors being electrically connected to the electrical terminals.",
"The cinch may be positioned surrounding the backing lamina and the transparent polymer layer at the second end of the backing lamina.",
"[0009] In one example embodiment, the article of illuminated apparel comprises a hat.",
"An example hat may comprise a crown defining an internal volume, the crown having a perimeter defining an opening into the internal volume.",
"A band is attached to the perimeter and surrounds the opening.",
"A first pocket is positioned on the band.",
"A first opening is positioned overlying the first pocket.",
"A first illumination device is positioned within the first pocket and faces the first opening for projecting light outwardly therefrom.",
"An electrical battery is operatively associated with the first illumination device.",
"In a particular embodiment, the first opening is in the band.",
"The example may further comprise an open mesh overlying the first opening.",
"The example hat may further comprise a pouch mounted on the band.",
"The electrical battery is positioned within the pouch.",
"[0010] In another example, the article of illuminated apparel comprises a headband.",
"In a particular embodiment, the headband comprises a flexible substrate loop.",
"A first pocket is positioned on the substrate loop.",
"A first opening in the substrate loop is positioned overlying the first pocket.",
"A first illumination device is positioned within the first pocket and faces the first opening for projecting light outwardly therefrom.",
"An electrical battery is operatively associated with the first illumination device.",
"In a particular embodiment, the opening is in the substrate loop.",
"The embodiment may further comprise an open mesh overlying the first opening.",
"The example headband may further comprise a pouch mounted on the substrate loop.",
"The electrical battery is positioned within the pouch.",
"[0011] In another example, the article of illuminated apparel comprises a glove for receiving a hand, the hand having a palm and a back.",
"In a particular embodiment, the example glove comprises a palm substrate positionable overlying the palm and a back substrate positionable overlying the back.",
"The back substrate is attached to the palm substrate in overlying relation and forms a cavity therebetween.",
"A pocket is positioned on the back substrate.",
"An opening overlies the pocket.",
"An illumination device is positioned within the pocket and faces the opening for projecting light outwardly therefrom.",
"A power source is operatively associated with the illumination device.",
"In a particular example, the opening is in the back substrate.",
"An open mesh may overlie the opening.",
"The example glove may further comprise a wrist skirt attached to the palm substrate and the back substrate.",
"A pouch may be mounted on the wrist skirt, the electrical battery being positioned within the pouch.",
"A pair of electrical conductors may extend between the electrical battery and the illumination device forming an electrical circuit.",
"A switch may be positioned within the pouch.",
"The switch is operatively associated with the electrical circuit for opening and closing the electrical circuit.",
"A snare may be attached to one of the palm and back substrates.",
"The electrical conductors are captured by the snare.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0012] FIG. 1 is a top view of an example illumination device assembly used with the invention;",
"[0013] FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the illumination device assembly shown in FIG. 1 ;",
"[0014] FIG. 3 is an isometric front view of an example illuminated hat according to the invention;",
"[0015] FIG. 3A is a sectional view taken at line 3 A- 3 A in FIG. 3 ;",
"[0016] FIG. 4 is an isometric rear view of the illuminated hat shown in FIG. 3 ;",
"[0017] FIG. 4A is a sectional view taken at line 4 A- 4 A of FIG. 4 ;",
"[0018] FIG. 5 is a partial cut-away isometric front view of the illuminated hat shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 ;",
"[0019] FIGS. 6 and 7 are isometric front and rear views, respectively, of an example illuminated headband;",
"[0020] FIG. 8 is a back facing view of an example illuminated glove;",
"[0021] FIG. 9 is a palm facing view of the glove shown in FIG. 8 ;",
"[0022] FIG. 10 is a partial cut-away view of the glove shown in FIG. 8 ;",
"[0023] FIG. 11 is a back facing view of an example fingerless illuminated glove;",
"[0024] FIG. 12 is a palm facing view of the fingerless glove shown in FIG. 11 ;",
"[0025] FIG. 13 is a back facing view of an example illuminated mitten glove;",
"[0026] FIG. 14 is a palm facing view of an example illuminated combination mitten/finger glove;",
"[0027] FIG. 15 is a back facing view of the combination mitten/finger glove shown in FIG. 14 ;",
"and [0028] FIG. 16 is a detailed view of a portion of the headband shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 .",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0029] FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an example illumination device assembly 10 usable with illuminated apparel according to the invention, it being understood that other types of illumination device assemblies are also feasible.",
"Illumination device assembly 10 comprises an illumination device 12 , in this example, a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) 14 mounted on one side of a backing lamina 16 and encapsulated within a transparent polymer layer 18 .",
"Exposed electrical terminals 20 extend from the opposite side of the backing lamina 16 affording electrical connection to the LEDs by a pair of electrical conductors 22 .",
"It is found advantageous to position terminals 20 at one end of the backing lamina 16 and run the electrical conductors 22 lengthwise along the lamina to its opposite end.",
"A cinch 24 is then used to retain the conductors to the backing lamina 16 , the cinch 24 being positioned surrounding the backing lamina and the polymer layer 18 .",
"Cinch 24 may be, for example, a heat shrinkable plastic band which cinches the conductors 22 to the backing lamina 16 .",
"Cinching the conductors at a point away from the terminals 20 help mitigate stress on the conductor-terminal connection to guard against fatigue failure.",
"[0030] Assembly 10 further includes a power source for the LEDs, in this example, an electric battery 26 mounted on a circuit board 28 having electronic circuitry 30 .",
"A switch 32 is also mounted on the circuit board 28 .",
"Electrical conductors 22 are connected to the circuit board 28 .",
"Circuitry 30 is operatively associated with the switch 32 , the electrical conductors 22 , the battery 26 and the LEDs 14 to form an electrical circuit between the battery 26 and the LEDs 14 that is controlled by the switch and the circuitry.",
"The switch 32 , in conjunction with the circuitry 30 , operates as a selector for controlling illumination of the LEDs in a plurality of lighting patterns.",
"For example, the LEDs may flash on and off at one or more frequencies, may be constantly on, or off, the selection being controlled by actuating the switch a number of times in succession.",
"For example, starting from the condition wherein the LEDs 14 are off, a first click of the switch 32 will set the LEDs flashing rapidly, a second click will slow the rate of flashing, a third click will cause the LEDs to remain constantly on, and a fourth click will shut the LEDs off.",
"Other combinations of illumination are also feasible.",
"Variable illumination functions of this nature are effected by commercially available integrated circuits and thus need not be explained in any detail here.",
"[0031] One example of illuminated apparel according to the invention is a hat 34 , as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 .",
"Hat 34 comprises a crown 36 which defines a volume 38 .",
"A perimeter 40 of the crown defines an opening 42 to the volume 38 .",
"A flexible substrate 44 , in this example comprising a band 46 , is attached to the perimeter 40 and surrounds the opening 42 .",
"As shown in FIG. 3A , a pocket 48 is positioned on the substrate 44 .",
"Pocket 48 is formed, for example, by attaching a layer of material 50 to the substrate, for example by stitching or adhesive.",
"The illumination device 12 is positioned within the pocket 48 and a light transmitting area is positioned overlying the illumination device.",
"In this example, the light transmitting area comprises an opening 52 in the substrate 44 (band 46 ) overlying the pocket 48 .",
"As part of the light transmitting area, an open mesh 54 overlies the opening 52 and helps retain the illumination device 12 within the pocket 48 while still allowing light to project outwardly from the pocket 48 .",
"[0032] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 4A , hat 34 also comprises a pouch 56 mounted on the band 46 .",
"In this example, the pouch 56 is located diametrically opposite to the pocket 48 and holds the circuit board 28 , battery 26 and switch 32 .",
"The switch 32 is actuated through the band 46 in normal use, but, as shown in FIG. 5 , pouch 56 is provided with an opening 58 allowing the circuit board 28 to be removed to replace the battery 26 .",
"Hook and loop fasteners may be used to secure the opening 58 in the closed position.",
"Pouch 56 is shown in cross section in FIG. 4A , and in this example comprises a layer of material 60 attached to the band 46 , for example, by stitching or adhesive.",
"[0033] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 4A , the example hat 34 has a second pocket 62 also positioned on the band 46 .",
"Second pocket 62 is positioned diametrically opposite to the first pocket 48 , and, as shown in cross section in FIG. 4A , comprises a layer of material 64 attached to the band 46 .",
"A light transmitting area, in the form of an opening 66 in the band is positioned overlying the pocket 62 , and an open mesh 68 overlies the opening 66 to form part of the light transmitting area and help retain a second illumination device 70 within the pocket 62 .",
"Conductors 22 extend between the second illumination device 70 and the circuit board 28 , switch 32 and battery 26 , forming another electrical circuit.",
"A liner 74 is attached to the band 46 , the conductors 22 and 72 being captured between the liner and the band and presenting a neat appearance, with no visible conductors.",
"[0034] In this example, similar to the first illumination device 12 , the second illumination device 70 comprises LEDs 14 mounted on a backing lamina 16 and encapsulated within a transparent polymer layer 18 (see FIGS. 1 and 2 ).",
"The circuitry 30 and the battery 26 and switch 32 are operatively associated with the second illumination device 70 and control its lighting pattern as described above for the first illumination device 12 .",
"It is advantageous to have different color LEDs in the first and second pockets.",
"For example, white LEDs may be positioned in the first pocket 48 , and red LEDs may be positioned in the second pocket 62 .",
"When the hat 34 is then worn with the white LEDs facing frontward (the direction of travel) and the red LEDs facing rearward (as is customary on vehicles) the direction of motion of the wearer is readily determinable at a distance and in conditions of poor visibility.",
"[0035] Another example of illuminated apparel according to the invention is a headband 76 , as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 .",
"Headband 76 comprises a flexible substrate loop 78 .",
"Similar to the hat 34 , headband 76 has two pockets 80 and 82 arranged diametrically opposite to one another.",
"Illumination devices 84 and 86 are positioned respectively in pockets 80 and 82 .",
"Light transmitting areas comprising openings 88 and 90 are positioned in the substrate loop overlying the pockets 80 and 82 .",
"Open mesh 92 and 94 overlies the openings 88 and 90 and helps retain the illumination devices 84 and 86 within the pockets 80 and 82 while still allowing light to project outwardly therefrom.",
"[0036] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 16 , headband 76 also comprises a pouch 96 mounted on the substrate loop 78 .",
"In this example, the pouch 96 is located diametrically opposite to the pocket 80 and holds the circuit board 28 , battery 26 and switch 32 operatively associated with the illumination devices 84 and 86 .",
"The switch 32 is actuated through the substrate loop 78 in normal use, but the pouch is provided with an opening 58 (similar to that shown in FIG. 5 for the hat 34 ) allowing the circuit board 28 to be removed to replace the battery 26 .",
"Hook and loop fasteners may be used to secure the opening in the closed position.",
"[0037] Conductors 98 extend between the illumination devices 84 and 86 and the circuit board 28 , switch 32 and battery 26 , forming an electrical circuit.",
"A liner 100 is attached to the substrate loop 78 , the conductors 98 being captured between the liner and the loop and presenting a neat appearance, with no visible conductors.",
"[0038] In this example headband 76 , similar to the hat 34 , the first and second illumination devices 84 and 86 comprises LEDs 14 mounted on a backing lamina 16 and encapsulated within a transparent polymer layer 18 (see FIGS. 1 and 2 ).",
"The circuitry 30 and the battery 26 and switch 32 are operatively associated with the illumination devices 84 and 86 and control their lighting pattern as described above for the first illumination device 12 .",
"It is advantageous to have different color LEDs in the first and second pockets.",
"For example, white LEDs may be positioned in the first pocket 80 , and red LEDs may be positioned in the second pocket 82 .",
"When the headband 76 is then worn with the white LEDs facing frontward (the direction of travel) and the red LEDs facing rearward (as is customary on vehicles) the direction of motion of the wearer is readily determinable at a distance and in conditions of poor visibility.",
"[0039] Another example of illuminated apparel according to the invention comprises a glove 102 as shown in FIGS. 8-10 .",
"Glove 102 is formed of a back substrate 104 (which overlies the back of a wearer's hand) attached to a palm substrate 106 to form a cavity 108 for receiving the hand of a wearer.",
"In this example glove 102 , a pocket 110 is positioned on the back substrate 104 .",
"(Pocket 110 has the same structure as the pocket illustrated in FIG. 3A .) An illumination device 112 is positioned within pocket 110 , and a light transmitting area comprising an opening 114 in the back substrate 104 is positioned overlying the pocket 110 .",
"An open mesh 116 is attached to the back substrate 104 overlying the opening 114 to help retain the illumination device 112 within the pocket 110 .",
"In this example glove the illumination device 112 is arranged to project light substantially perpendicular to the back substrate 104 .",
"[0040] The illumination device 112 in this example again comprises a plurality of LEDs 14 mounted on a backing lamina 16 and encapsulated within a transparent polymer layer 18 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 .",
"Electrical conductors 22 form a circuit between the LEDs and the battery 26 , switch 32 and circuit board 28 .",
"The circuitry 30 on the circuit board in conjunction with the switch 32 and battery 26 controls the lighting pattern of the LEDs as described above.",
"As shown in FIG. 10 the battery, switch and circuit board are contained within a pouch 118 mounted on a wrist skirt 120 that is attached to the back substrate 104 and palm substrate 106 .",
"(Pouch 118 has the same structure as the pouch illustrated in FIG. 4A .) Electrical conductors 22 extend from the pouch 118 through the cavity 108 and into the pocket 110 to connect the illumination device 112 to its power and control source.",
"A snare 122 is positioned within cavity 108 and is attached to one of or both the back substrate 104 and the palm substrate 106 .",
"For example, the snare 122 may be sewn into the seam 124 between the back and palm substrates as shown in FIG. 10 .",
"The snare 122 captures and secures the conductors 22 within the cavity 108 to prevent interference when the gloves are donned.",
"Switch 32 may be actuated through the material forming the wrist skirt 120 .",
"[0041] Various illuminated glove embodiments are feasible.",
"FIGS. 8-10 show a full glove 102 having a plurality of finger sheaths 126 and a thumb sheath 128 attached to the back and palm sheaths 104 and 106 .",
"Full illuminated gloves are advantageous for running or cycling in cold weather.",
"“Fingerless”",
"illuminated gloves 130 , as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 are adapted for use in hot weather.",
"Another illuminated glove embodiment 132 , illustrated in FIGS. 13-15 , comprises a mitten, and includes a finger compartment 134 .",
"The finger compartment 134 may be attached to the back substrate 104 and the palm substrate 106 to form a traditional mitten as shown in FIG. 13 .",
"Alternately, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 , the finger compartment 134 may be attached only to one of the back or palm substrates 104 and 106 , and removable from the fingers by extracting the fingers and folding the finger compartment back to free the fingers when dexterity is required.",
"By way of example, FIG. 15 shows the finger compartment 134 attached to the back substrate 104 and folded back to free the fingers of the wearer.",
"It is understood that the finger compartment may be used with either full or fingerless gloves.",
"[0042] Illuminated apparel according to the invention may comprise substrates formed of woven, non-woven and knitted materials and fabrics.",
"Synthetic and natural fibers, as well as blends and combinations of the two fibers, can be used to advantage to form the materials and fabrics used in the illuminated apparel according to the invention.",
"[0043] Illuminated apparel as disclosed herein is expected to increase the visibility of runners and thereby reduce the number of injuries and fatalities suffered."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to the delivery of, access to and payment for content which is delivered on-line and, in particular, which is delivered via the Internet.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention is related to the use of smart cards for the purpose of gaining access to various content available online. Payment for online content is well known in the prior art. It is common for services or exclusive content to be delivered over the Internet for some form of payment. For example, many newspapers or magazines will allow access to exclusive content-bearing sites in exchange for the payment of a fee. Likewise, it is also possible to pay for and download digital products, for example music and software, from the Internet. An example of a for-fee online service is software support.
[0003] All of the currently known forms of content and service delivery online in exchange for the payment of a fee have one thing in common, that is, the granting of access to the services, product or content is typically enabled via a username and/or password combination. Thus, when payment is rendered, the user is provided with a username and/or password which is used to access the service, content or product online.
[0004] Likewise, the use of smart cards for certain applications is also well known in the prior art. Currently, there are prior art examples of the use of smart cards as vehicles for the payment of online services. For example, American Express and Visa are currently utilizing smart cards with certain merchants whereby payment is rendered to the merchant from the user by inserting a smart card into a special reader attached to the user's PC. The card is authenticated by an authentication server at the site owned by the credit card company and a data packet is sent to the user, which is then forwarded to the merchant as a form of payment. The merchant then forwards the data pack to the credit card provider in exchange for the transfer of funds from the credit card company to the merchant. This obviates the need for the user to type in the actual credit card account number and also helps prevent fraud because the credit card number is not transmitted to the merchant from the user over the Internet.
[0005] Additionally, certain smart cards are in use that provide assistance in on-line game playing. For example, a player can log onto a site and play a game, and the results or points are transmitted back to the user's personal computer (PC) and stored on a smart card. Likewise, a user could pause an online game and the current state of the game could be saved on the user's smart card, such that the user could restart the game at some future time.
[0006] Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,995,695 (Experton) assigned to Humetrix, Inc. of San Diego, Calif., outlines a method whereby a smart card is inserted into a reader which causes an automatic launching of an Internet browser and provides on-line access to data associated with the user. That patent is hereby incorporated by reference. The main purpose of the Experton patent is for access to medical records online.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The on-line content delivery and smart card technologies outlined herein have been combined into a new business model for revenue generation through the selling of access via smart cards. Disclosed herein, using several exemplary models, is a method wherein a smart card is sold as a tangible asset which grants access to intangible, and preferably exclusive, online content. Several models are presented as embodiments of the invention.
[0008] In the first model, the user purchases a smart card which, when inserted into a smart card reader, grants the user access to an exclusive site on the Internet not available to the general public. At the site is static content. An example of such a card would be the sale of the smart card in lieu of a compact disc, whereby the user inserts the card into the reader to gain access to a site containing music files from an artist's newly released album. Another example of use under this model would be as a key to access exclusive content on a celebrity's website, for example, videos, photographs, sound bytes, etc., that would not otherwise be available to the general public.
[0009] In a second model, the smart card is sold as a means for accessing a subscription to a service. For example, a smart card is purchased that allows a six month subscription to an online version of a newspaper, such as the Wall Street Journal. The user is able to access each day's edition of the paper only when the smart card is inserted into a reader attached to the user's PC.
[0010] In a third embodiment of the invention, a model is provided whereby access to downloadable products is made available through the purchase of a smart card. For example, a user buys a new computer and a smart card is shipped with the computer which allows downloads of a pre-determined number of free software applications from an exclusive downloading site. In another example, a user purchases a smart card at a media store which allows a pre-determined number of downloads of music files from a site containing a large library of music files.
[0011] In a final embodiment of the invention, a card is provided which automatically customizes the Internet browser being used by the user, by providing a new “skin” and providing buttons on the face of the browser for access to specific sites. This is particularly useful for children in that it makes it easy for them to access specific sites on the Internet without typing cumbersome universal resource locators (URLs) and provides a certain amount of parental control by limiting the sites that the child can access. As an example of this, when a child inserts a card associated with a particular cartoon character into the reader, the Internet browser is launched having a skin decorated with images of the cartoon character and one or more buttons allowing access to various pages featuring that cartoon character.
[0012] The embodiments of the invention presented herein would all be implemented in the prior art through the use of a username/password combination which is provided to the user after the payment of a fee. The new models of the invention substitute the sale of a tangible item, namely the smart card, in place of the intangible username password combination.
[0013] In all models presented herein, the smart card must be present in a smart card reader attached to the user's PC while access is granted. Once the smart card is removed from the card reader, access is cut off. These models thereby provide several advantages over the prior art username/password combination. First, the physicality of the smart card associates a value with the smart card that is absent with the username/password model. Second, a username/password combination can be shared with other people without the loss of access for the original owner. The smart card is a tangible item that cannot be given to another person without a loss of access for the giver of the card. Therefore, the models presented herein help to reduce fraud through password sharing associated with the prior art methods of access. Lastly, a customized smart card can be retailed by the manufacturer and physically sold and advertised in stores, whereas the prior art username/password combination model does not provide such an opportunity.
[0014] We have presented several novel models wherein a salable, value-carrying tangible asset is used to provide access to online content.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] [0015]FIG. 1 is a system-wide view of components necessary to practice the invention or implement the models of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0016] [0016]FIG. 1 shows an exemplary configuration on which the models of this invention could operate. At the center of the system is Internet 20 . Connected to Internet 20 is user PC 10 , having smart card reader 12 connected thereto and client software 16 running thereon. Smart card 14 is typically distributed by content providers by sale, promotional giveaway or via some other means. Smart card reader 12 and client software 16 may be distributed directly with smart card 14 , or separately. Smart card 14 and smart card reader 12 may optionally be decorated with advertisements or logos related to the type of content being sold.
[0017] Content is served to users at user PC 10 from content server 40 over Internet 20 . Also connected to Internet 20 is authentication server 30 , having a database of users 34 and a hardware security module 32 attached thereto.
[0018] In operation, the user inserts smart card 14 into smart card reader 12 connected to user PC 10 . Client software 16 detects the presence of smart card 14 in smart card reader 12 and initiates a application which causes an Internet browser to be started on user PC 10 . User PC 10 then contacts authentication server 30 through Internet 20 A serial number 48 and an encrypted certificate 49 are sent to authentication server 30 .
[0019] Authentication server 30 authenticates smart card 14 by running an encryption algorithm which takes as inputs serial number 48 , encrypted certificate 49 and a master key 53 , which is known only to authentication server 30 . Hardware security module 32 assists authentication server 30 in verifying the authenticity of smart card 14 . Hardware security module 32 may be, for example, an nForce™ Secure SSL Accelerator made by nCipher Inc. of Woburn, Mass., and assists authentication server 30 in the mathematically intense calculations needed to perform encryption and decryption.
[0020] Any one of many well known encryption algorithms could be used to verify the authenticity of smart card 14 . For example, master key 53 and serial number 48 may be used to generate encrypted certificate 49 , which is stored on smart card 14 along with serial number 48 . When authentication server 30 receives serial number 48 and encrypted certificate 49 , it can apply master key 53 to verify the identity of smart card 14 .
[0021] Once smart card 14 is authenticated, authorization server 30 provides the URL 50 of content server 40 to user PC 10 through Internet 20 . Additionally, an encrypted authentication ticket 52 is sent to user PC 10 . Authentication ticket 52 is typically in the form of a cookie which is placed on user PC 10 , and may be encrypted using any one of a number of well known private key encryption algorithms. Once user PC 10 has knowledge of URL 50 , content server 40 is accessed via the browser running on user PC 10 in a manner which is well known in the art, and authentication ticket 52 is sent to content server 42 . Authentication ticket 42 must be utilized to gain access to content server 42 within a predetermined, limited time of its creation, otherwise authentication ticket 42 may expire, in which case client software 16 will delete authentication ticket 52 from user PC 10 . Additionally, authentication ticket 52 is only valid while smart card 14 is inserted into smart card reader 12 . Should smart card 14 be removed from smart card reader 12 , client software 16 will disconnect user PC 10 from content server 42 and delete authentication ticket 52 from user PC 10 . Therefore, smart card 14 can only be used from one PC at any given time.
[0022] Content server 40 shared the private key used to encrypt authentication ticket 52 with authentication server 30 . Therefore, content server 40 can decrypt authentication ticket 52 . Once a valid decryption has occurred, content server 40 verifies that smart card 14 has the right to access the online content, and provides access to the user. Content server 40 may deny access for any one of a number of reasons. For example, the user's right to access the content may be on a subscription basis, wherein the subscription expires after a given period of time, after a predetermined number of accesses or after a predetermined amount of cumulative access time. Should any of these be exceeded, content server 40 may deny access. Alternatively, authentication server 30 may have knowledge of previous accesses using a particular smart card 14 , and may deny authentication based on these criteria. However, this embodiment requires communication between content server 40 and authentication server 30 to share data regarding accesses using particular smart cards 40 . It is also possible that authentication server 30 and content server 40 could be co-located or running on the same computer. Content server 40 may optionally have a hardware security module 42 to assist it in decrypting authentication tickets 52 .
[0023] The novelty of this particular invention lies in the different models used for accessing content on content server 40 . In the first and primary embodiment of the invention, access is granted to the content on content server 40 , which is an exclusive website containing any type of content. In this model, content on the exclusive site served by content server 40 is provided to the user until the user dismisses the browser or removes smart card 14 from smart card reader 12 . Alternatively, access to the exclusive site maybe withheld at the expiration of the encrypted authentication ticket 52 and, in certain circumstances, the provider of smart card 14 may wish to limit access of the holder of smart card 14 to a limited period of time or a limited cumulative period of time over several access attempts. In this case, the expiration of authentication ticket 52 would be set to the limit of the allowed accesses or the time remaining for access minus the access time already used in previous access attempts.
[0024] In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the access model is for a subscription service. Typically, in this model, content on content server 40 would be changed or updated periodically. In this model, authentication server 30 determines if the security data on smart card 14 is valid and, in addition, the number of times or the accumulated time that smart card 14 has previously accessed content server 40 . If the security data on smart card 14 is valid, and the previous number of accesses or the accumulated access time is within the designated threshold, authentication server 30 provides URL 50 and encrypted authentication ticket 52 to user PC 10 . Access is allowed by content server 40 until smart card 14 is withdrawn from smart card reader 12 or until encrypted authentication ticket 42 expires. In this model, it may be necessary for content server 40 to provide information to authentication server 30 regarding the total time that the user has accessed the system. Alternatively, this information can be stored directly on smart card 14 .
[0025] In a third embodiment of the invention, smart card 14 provides access to a downloadable product stored on content server 40 . Once content server 40 validates encrypted authentication ticket 52 and grants access, the user may download files containing downloadable content which can be in the form of files containing text, audio, video or application software. Once the user chooses to download a file, the file is transferred from content server 40 to user PC 10 via any standard Internet protocol for file transfer, such as FTP. In this model, it is necessary to keep track of the previous downloads of the user and, therefore, this information may be transferred from content server 40 authentication server 30 or the information may be stored directly on smart card 14 . Access in this model may be limited, for example, to a pre-determined period of time or a pre-determined number of downloads.
[0026] In yet another embodiment of the invention, a customized Internet browser is provided to the user. The customized browser may be stored in the memory on smart card 14 and loaded each time smart card 14 is inserted into smart card reader 12 . Alternatively, the customized browser may be installed from a CD-ROM as part of the install process whereby client software 16 is installed, or by downloading from the Internet. Once the security data on smart card 14 is authenticated by authentication server 30 and access is granted to content server 40 by means previously discussed, the user will have access to specialized sites via various buttons on the customized browser. Additionally, customized browser may be decorated with a specialized “skin” related to the content on content server 40 . As in previous models, access to content server 40 is terminated when smart card 14 is withdrawn from smart card reader 12 or at the expiration of authentication ticket 52 .
[0027] Several models have been presented for the use of a smart card for granting access to on-line content. The hardware used to describe these models is not meant to limit the scope of the invention, and other configurations are possible. For example, authentication server 30 and content server 40 may be combined into one machine. Additionally, other communications networks other than the Internet may be used to connect the content server with the user's PC. The actual scope of the invention is embodied in the claims which follow. | Several commercial models relating to the payment for online content are disclosed herein. In lieu of prior art username/password combinations to gain access to exclusive on-line content, a tangible asset, namely a smart card, is used. Access is automatically granted when the smart card is inserted into a reader attached to the user's PC, and cut off when the smart card is removed from the reader. In this new model, the smart card provides a tangible, saleable, value-carrying asset that can be retailed, or otherwise distributed, which grants access to exclusive on-line content. | Provide a concise summary of the essential information conveyed in the context. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates to the delivery of, access to and payment for content which is delivered on-line and, in particular, which is delivered via the Internet.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention is related to the use of smart cards for the purpose of gaining access to various content available online.",
"Payment for online content is well known in the prior art.",
"It is common for services or exclusive content to be delivered over the Internet for some form of payment.",
"For example, many newspapers or magazines will allow access to exclusive content-bearing sites in exchange for the payment of a fee.",
"Likewise, it is also possible to pay for and download digital products, for example music and software, from the Internet.",
"An example of a for-fee online service is software support.",
"[0003] All of the currently known forms of content and service delivery online in exchange for the payment of a fee have one thing in common, that is, the granting of access to the services, product or content is typically enabled via a username and/or password combination.",
"Thus, when payment is rendered, the user is provided with a username and/or password which is used to access the service, content or product online.",
"[0004] Likewise, the use of smart cards for certain applications is also well known in the prior art.",
"Currently, there are prior art examples of the use of smart cards as vehicles for the payment of online services.",
"For example, American Express and Visa are currently utilizing smart cards with certain merchants whereby payment is rendered to the merchant from the user by inserting a smart card into a special reader attached to the user's PC.",
"The card is authenticated by an authentication server at the site owned by the credit card company and a data packet is sent to the user, which is then forwarded to the merchant as a form of payment.",
"The merchant then forwards the data pack to the credit card provider in exchange for the transfer of funds from the credit card company to the merchant.",
"This obviates the need for the user to type in the actual credit card account number and also helps prevent fraud because the credit card number is not transmitted to the merchant from the user over the Internet.",
"[0005] Additionally, certain smart cards are in use that provide assistance in on-line game playing.",
"For example, a player can log onto a site and play a game, and the results or points are transmitted back to the user's personal computer (PC) and stored on a smart card.",
"Likewise, a user could pause an online game and the current state of the game could be saved on the user's smart card, such that the user could restart the game at some future time.",
"[0006] Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,995,695 (Experton) assigned to Humetrix, Inc. of San Diego, Calif.",
", outlines a method whereby a smart card is inserted into a reader which causes an automatic launching of an Internet browser and provides on-line access to data associated with the user.",
"That patent is hereby incorporated by reference.",
"The main purpose of the Experton patent is for access to medical records online.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] The on-line content delivery and smart card technologies outlined herein have been combined into a new business model for revenue generation through the selling of access via smart cards.",
"Disclosed herein, using several exemplary models, is a method wherein a smart card is sold as a tangible asset which grants access to intangible, and preferably exclusive, online content.",
"Several models are presented as embodiments of the invention.",
"[0008] In the first model, the user purchases a smart card which, when inserted into a smart card reader, grants the user access to an exclusive site on the Internet not available to the general public.",
"At the site is static content.",
"An example of such a card would be the sale of the smart card in lieu of a compact disc, whereby the user inserts the card into the reader to gain access to a site containing music files from an artist's newly released album.",
"Another example of use under this model would be as a key to access exclusive content on a celebrity's website, for example, videos, photographs, sound bytes, etc.",
", that would not otherwise be available to the general public.",
"[0009] In a second model, the smart card is sold as a means for accessing a subscription to a service.",
"For example, a smart card is purchased that allows a six month subscription to an online version of a newspaper, such as the Wall Street Journal.",
"The user is able to access each day's edition of the paper only when the smart card is inserted into a reader attached to the user's PC.",
"[0010] In a third embodiment of the invention, a model is provided whereby access to downloadable products is made available through the purchase of a smart card.",
"For example, a user buys a new computer and a smart card is shipped with the computer which allows downloads of a pre-determined number of free software applications from an exclusive downloading site.",
"In another example, a user purchases a smart card at a media store which allows a pre-determined number of downloads of music files from a site containing a large library of music files.",
"[0011] In a final embodiment of the invention, a card is provided which automatically customizes the Internet browser being used by the user, by providing a new “skin”",
"and providing buttons on the face of the browser for access to specific sites.",
"This is particularly useful for children in that it makes it easy for them to access specific sites on the Internet without typing cumbersome universal resource locators (URLs) and provides a certain amount of parental control by limiting the sites that the child can access.",
"As an example of this, when a child inserts a card associated with a particular cartoon character into the reader, the Internet browser is launched having a skin decorated with images of the cartoon character and one or more buttons allowing access to various pages featuring that cartoon character.",
"[0012] The embodiments of the invention presented herein would all be implemented in the prior art through the use of a username/password combination which is provided to the user after the payment of a fee.",
"The new models of the invention substitute the sale of a tangible item, namely the smart card, in place of the intangible username password combination.",
"[0013] In all models presented herein, the smart card must be present in a smart card reader attached to the user's PC while access is granted.",
"Once the smart card is removed from the card reader, access is cut off.",
"These models thereby provide several advantages over the prior art username/password combination.",
"First, the physicality of the smart card associates a value with the smart card that is absent with the username/password model.",
"Second, a username/password combination can be shared with other people without the loss of access for the original owner.",
"The smart card is a tangible item that cannot be given to another person without a loss of access for the giver of the card.",
"Therefore, the models presented herein help to reduce fraud through password sharing associated with the prior art methods of access.",
"Lastly, a customized smart card can be retailed by the manufacturer and physically sold and advertised in stores, whereas the prior art username/password combination model does not provide such an opportunity.",
"[0014] We have presented several novel models wherein a salable, value-carrying tangible asset is used to provide access to online content.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0015] [0015 ]FIG. 1 is a system-wide view of components necessary to practice the invention or implement the models of the invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0016] [0016 ]FIG. 1 shows an exemplary configuration on which the models of this invention could operate.",
"At the center of the system is Internet 20 .",
"Connected to Internet 20 is user PC 10 , having smart card reader 12 connected thereto and client software 16 running thereon.",
"Smart card 14 is typically distributed by content providers by sale, promotional giveaway or via some other means.",
"Smart card reader 12 and client software 16 may be distributed directly with smart card 14 , or separately.",
"Smart card 14 and smart card reader 12 may optionally be decorated with advertisements or logos related to the type of content being sold.",
"[0017] Content is served to users at user PC 10 from content server 40 over Internet 20 .",
"Also connected to Internet 20 is authentication server 30 , having a database of users 34 and a hardware security module 32 attached thereto.",
"[0018] In operation, the user inserts smart card 14 into smart card reader 12 connected to user PC 10 .",
"Client software 16 detects the presence of smart card 14 in smart card reader 12 and initiates a application which causes an Internet browser to be started on user PC 10 .",
"User PC 10 then contacts authentication server 30 through Internet 20 A serial number 48 and an encrypted certificate 49 are sent to authentication server 30 .",
"[0019] Authentication server 30 authenticates smart card 14 by running an encryption algorithm which takes as inputs serial number 48 , encrypted certificate 49 and a master key 53 , which is known only to authentication server 30 .",
"Hardware security module 32 assists authentication server 30 in verifying the authenticity of smart card 14 .",
"Hardware security module 32 may be, for example, an nForce™ Secure SSL Accelerator made by nCipher Inc. of Woburn, Mass.",
", and assists authentication server 30 in the mathematically intense calculations needed to perform encryption and decryption.",
"[0020] Any one of many well known encryption algorithms could be used to verify the authenticity of smart card 14 .",
"For example, master key 53 and serial number 48 may be used to generate encrypted certificate 49 , which is stored on smart card 14 along with serial number 48 .",
"When authentication server 30 receives serial number 48 and encrypted certificate 49 , it can apply master key 53 to verify the identity of smart card 14 .",
"[0021] Once smart card 14 is authenticated, authorization server 30 provides the URL 50 of content server 40 to user PC 10 through Internet 20 .",
"Additionally, an encrypted authentication ticket 52 is sent to user PC 10 .",
"Authentication ticket 52 is typically in the form of a cookie which is placed on user PC 10 , and may be encrypted using any one of a number of well known private key encryption algorithms.",
"Once user PC 10 has knowledge of URL 50 , content server 40 is accessed via the browser running on user PC 10 in a manner which is well known in the art, and authentication ticket 52 is sent to content server 42 .",
"Authentication ticket 42 must be utilized to gain access to content server 42 within a predetermined, limited time of its creation, otherwise authentication ticket 42 may expire, in which case client software 16 will delete authentication ticket 52 from user PC 10 .",
"Additionally, authentication ticket 52 is only valid while smart card 14 is inserted into smart card reader 12 .",
"Should smart card 14 be removed from smart card reader 12 , client software 16 will disconnect user PC 10 from content server 42 and delete authentication ticket 52 from user PC 10 .",
"Therefore, smart card 14 can only be used from one PC at any given time.",
"[0022] Content server 40 shared the private key used to encrypt authentication ticket 52 with authentication server 30 .",
"Therefore, content server 40 can decrypt authentication ticket 52 .",
"Once a valid decryption has occurred, content server 40 verifies that smart card 14 has the right to access the online content, and provides access to the user.",
"Content server 40 may deny access for any one of a number of reasons.",
"For example, the user's right to access the content may be on a subscription basis, wherein the subscription expires after a given period of time, after a predetermined number of accesses or after a predetermined amount of cumulative access time.",
"Should any of these be exceeded, content server 40 may deny access.",
"Alternatively, authentication server 30 may have knowledge of previous accesses using a particular smart card 14 , and may deny authentication based on these criteria.",
"However, this embodiment requires communication between content server 40 and authentication server 30 to share data regarding accesses using particular smart cards 40 .",
"It is also possible that authentication server 30 and content server 40 could be co-located or running on the same computer.",
"Content server 40 may optionally have a hardware security module 42 to assist it in decrypting authentication tickets 52 .",
"[0023] The novelty of this particular invention lies in the different models used for accessing content on content server 40 .",
"In the first and primary embodiment of the invention, access is granted to the content on content server 40 , which is an exclusive website containing any type of content.",
"In this model, content on the exclusive site served by content server 40 is provided to the user until the user dismisses the browser or removes smart card 14 from smart card reader 12 .",
"Alternatively, access to the exclusive site maybe withheld at the expiration of the encrypted authentication ticket 52 and, in certain circumstances, the provider of smart card 14 may wish to limit access of the holder of smart card 14 to a limited period of time or a limited cumulative period of time over several access attempts.",
"In this case, the expiration of authentication ticket 52 would be set to the limit of the allowed accesses or the time remaining for access minus the access time already used in previous access attempts.",
"[0024] In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the access model is for a subscription service.",
"Typically, in this model, content on content server 40 would be changed or updated periodically.",
"In this model, authentication server 30 determines if the security data on smart card 14 is valid and, in addition, the number of times or the accumulated time that smart card 14 has previously accessed content server 40 .",
"If the security data on smart card 14 is valid, and the previous number of accesses or the accumulated access time is within the designated threshold, authentication server 30 provides URL 50 and encrypted authentication ticket 52 to user PC 10 .",
"Access is allowed by content server 40 until smart card 14 is withdrawn from smart card reader 12 or until encrypted authentication ticket 42 expires.",
"In this model, it may be necessary for content server 40 to provide information to authentication server 30 regarding the total time that the user has accessed the system.",
"Alternatively, this information can be stored directly on smart card 14 .",
"[0025] In a third embodiment of the invention, smart card 14 provides access to a downloadable product stored on content server 40 .",
"Once content server 40 validates encrypted authentication ticket 52 and grants access, the user may download files containing downloadable content which can be in the form of files containing text, audio, video or application software.",
"Once the user chooses to download a file, the file is transferred from content server 40 to user PC 10 via any standard Internet protocol for file transfer, such as FTP.",
"In this model, it is necessary to keep track of the previous downloads of the user and, therefore, this information may be transferred from content server 40 authentication server 30 or the information may be stored directly on smart card 14 .",
"Access in this model may be limited, for example, to a pre-determined period of time or a pre-determined number of downloads.",
"[0026] In yet another embodiment of the invention, a customized Internet browser is provided to the user.",
"The customized browser may be stored in the memory on smart card 14 and loaded each time smart card 14 is inserted into smart card reader 12 .",
"Alternatively, the customized browser may be installed from a CD-ROM as part of the install process whereby client software 16 is installed, or by downloading from the Internet.",
"Once the security data on smart card 14 is authenticated by authentication server 30 and access is granted to content server 40 by means previously discussed, the user will have access to specialized sites via various buttons on the customized browser.",
"Additionally, customized browser may be decorated with a specialized “skin”",
"related to the content on content server 40 .",
"As in previous models, access to content server 40 is terminated when smart card 14 is withdrawn from smart card reader 12 or at the expiration of authentication ticket 52 .",
"[0027] Several models have been presented for the use of a smart card for granting access to on-line content.",
"The hardware used to describe these models is not meant to limit the scope of the invention, and other configurations are possible.",
"For example, authentication server 30 and content server 40 may be combined into one machine.",
"Additionally, other communications networks other than the Internet may be used to connect the content server with the user's PC.",
"The actual scope of the invention is embodied in the claims which follow."
] |
This is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/880,256, which was filed on May 8, 1992 (now abandoned) which is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/520,464, filed May 8, 1990 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,149, issued Dec. 1, 1992), which is in turn a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/428,770, filed Oct. 30, 1989 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,110). This application is also related to U.S. application Ser. No. 08/207,516, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/880,256, now abandoned, and to U.S. application Ser. No. 08/108,521, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/868,401, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,165.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a scanning arrangement in a scanner and incorporating a scan element which is capable of the repetitive high-speed scanning of indicia having parts of different light reflectivity; for example, such as barcode symbols, and more particularly, pertains to the operation of a scanning arrangement of the type which, at high scanning speeds, will enable the scanning of indicia in variable and specified omni-directional scanning patterns.
In accordance with specific aspects, the invention is directed to the provision of novel scanning methods and apparatus for omni-directionally scanning indicia through the use of a single scan element, especially such as a resonant asymmetric scan element, operating in at least two different frequency modes creating a precessing lissajous pattern so as to provide an at least 1/3 omni-directional scan of the indicia.
As contemplated pursuant to another aspect of the invention, the variable omni-directional scanning pattern is attained through control over the electrical energy input to a read-start device for activating the scan element of the scanner for vibratory motion between first and second pairs of scan end position, in which the energy input is controlled and varied in a manner so as to enable the scan element to implement the aforementioned omni-directional scanning patterns over the indicia.
According to a specific feature of the invention, an omni-directional scanning pattern is realized in that a double lissajous pattern is implemented by a single scan element through the combining of a fast lissajous pattern with a slower lissajous pattern and periodically changing between the two lissajous patterns through control over the electrical energy input such that there is obtained an omni-directional scanning pattern without the necessity of having to utilize an additional motor in the scanning arrangement.
Additionally, as contemplated by another concept of the invention, the electrical energy input to the read-start means for imparting the vibratory movements to the scan element of the scanning arrangement causes the relative amplitudes between the different scanning directions of the scan element to be varied, such as in sinusoidal modes, so as to allow for decoding of indicia in any orientation which; in effect, will provide a full omni-directional scanning pattern to allow presentation in any orientation of the indicia.
The foregoing varying modes of scanning to attain the different and varying types of omni-directional scanning patterns is readily attained through the use of currently existent scanning devices, particularly such as by means of a resonant asymmetric scan element, through controlling the electrical energization frequency and/or intensity supplied to the read-start device for the scan element employed in the scanning arrangement.
The utilization of laser scanning devices for the scanning or reading of information provided on a target; such as a package or sale item, is well known in this particular technology and has found wide acceptance in commerce. In this connection, various types of laser scanning devices incorporate scanning heads which house optical reading systems, such as barcode readers, for the reading of information or barcode symbols on targets which are scanned by a laser beam projected from the barcode reader. In general, such laser scanning devices; especially those in the type of barcode readers, are widely employed in industry, such as manufacturing, shipping, and in retail commerce and; for example, may be permanently incorporated in the structures of check-out counters of supermarkets, whereby the items of merchandise having the barcode symbols imprinted thereon or applied thereto are passed over a fixed barcode reader located beneath the counter surface so as to provide a record for the merchant of the merchandise being purchased by a consumer, and concurrently a readout (and possibly a printed record) for the consumer.
Alternatively, the barcode reader or laser scanning device may also be constituted of an optical scanner unit which is fixedly mounted on a stand extending above a support platform or countertop on which the merchandise may be arranged; or in many instances of utilization, pursuant to a preferred embodiment of the invention, may be in the form of a miniature, lightweight and gun-shaped device having a pistol grip, and which the activated device is normally passed over the barcode symbol which is imprinted on a sale item or target at some short distance therefrom so as to enable scanning of the information provided by the barcode symbols.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Various optical readers and optical scanning systems have been developed heretofore for reading barcode symbols appearing on a label or on the surface of an article. The barcode symbol itself is a coded pattern of indicia comprises of a series of bars of various widths spaced apart from one another to bound spaces of various widths, the bars and spaces having different light-reflecting characteristics. The readers and scanning systems electro-optically transform the graphic indicia into electrical signals, which are decoded into alphanumerical characters that are intended to be descriptive of the article or some characteristic thereof. Such characters are typically represented in digital form and utilized as an input to a data processing system for applications, in point-of-sale processing, inventory control, and the like. Scanning systems of this general type have been disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,251,798; 4,369,361; 4,387,297; 4,409,470; 4,760,248; and 4,896,026, all of which have been assigned to the same assignee as the instant application.
As disclosed in some of the above patents, one embodiment of such a scanning system resides, inter alia, in a hand-held, portable laser scanning head supported by a user, which is configured to allow the user to aim the head, and more particularly, the light beam or laser beam projected therefrom, at a target and a symbol which is to be read.
The light source in a laser scanner is typically a gas laser or semiconductor laser. The use of semiconductor devices, such as a laser diode, as the light source in scanning systems is especially desirable because of their small size, low cost and low power requirements. The laser beam is optically modified, typically by a lens, to form a beam spot of a certain size at the target distance. It is preferred that the beam spot size at the target distance be approximately the same as the minimum width between regions of different light reflectivity, i.e., the bars and spaces of the symbol.
Barcode symbols are formed from bars or elements that are typically rectangular in shape with a variety of possible widths. The specific arrangement of elements defines the character represented according to a set of rules and definitions specified by the code or "symbology" used. The relative size of the bars and spaces is determined by the type of coding used, as is the actual size of the bars and spaces. The number of characters per inch represented by the barcode symbol is referred to as the density of the symbol. To encode a desired sequence of characters, a collection of element arrangements are concatenated together to form the complete barcode symbol, with each character of the message being represented by its own corresponding group of elements. In some symbologies a unique "start" and "stop" character is used to indicate where the barcode begins and ends. A number of different barcode symbologies exist. These symbologies include UPC/EAN, Code 39, Code 128, Codabar, and Interleaved 2 of 5.
For purpose of discussion, characters recognized and defined by a symbology shall be referred to as legitimate characters, while characters not recognized and defined by that symbology are referred to as illegitimate characters. Thus, an arrangement of elements not decodable by a given symbology corresponds to an illegitimate character(s) for that symbology.
In order to increase the amount of data that can be represented or stored on a given amount of surface area, several new barcode symbologies have recently been developed. One of these new code standards, Code 49, introduces a "two-dimensional" concept by stacking rows of characters vertically instead of extending the bars horizontally. That is, there are several rows of bar and space patterns, instead of only one row. The structure of Code 49 is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,239, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
A one-dimensional single-line scan, as ordinarily provided by hand-held readers, has disadvantages in reading these two dimensional barcodes; that is, the reader must be aimed at each row, individually. Likewise, the multiple-scan-line readers produce a number of scan lines at an angle to one another so these are not suitable for recognizing a Code 49 type of two-dimensional symbols.
In the scanning systems known in the art, the light beam is directed by a lens or similar optical components along a light path toward a target that includes a barcode symbol on the surface. The scanning functions by repetitively scanning the light beam in a line or series of lines across the symbol. The scanning component may incorporate a drive or scanning motor adopted to either sweep the beam spot across the symbol and trace a scan line across and past the symbol in a high-speed repetitive mode, or scan the field of view of the scanner, or do both.
Scanning systems also normally include a sensor or photodetector which functions to detect light reflected from the symbol. The photodetector is therefore positonied in the scanner or in an optical path in which it has a field of view which extends across and slightly past the symbol. A portion of the reflected light which is reflected off the symbol is detected and converted into an electrical signal, and electronic circuitry or software decodes the electrical signal into a digital representation of the data represented by the symbol that has been scanned. For example, the analog electrical signal from the photodetector may typically be converted into a pulse width modulated digital signal, with the widths corresponding to the physical widths of the bars and spaces. Such a signal is then decoded according to the specific symbology into a binary representation of the data encoded in the symbol, and to the alphanumeric characters so represented.
The decoding process in known scanning systems usually work in the following way. The decoder receives the pulse width modulated digital signal from the scanner, and an algorithm implemented in software attempts to decode the scan. If the start and stop characters and the characters between them in the scan were decoded successfully and completely, the decoding process terminates and an indicator of a successful read (such as a green light and/or an audible beep) is provided to the user. Otherwise, the decoder receives the next scan, performs another decode attempt on that scan, and so on, until a completely decoded scan is achieved or no more scans are available.
Such a signal is then decoded according to the specific symbology into a binary representation of the data encoded in the symbol, and to the alphanumeric characters so represented.
Laser scanners are not the only type of optical instrument capable of reading barcode symbols. Another type of barcode reader is one which incorporates detectors based upon charge coupled device (CCD) technology. In such readers, the size of the detector is larger than or substantially the same as the symbol which is to be read. The entire symbol is flooded with light from the reader, and each CCD cell is sequentially read out to determine the presence of a bar or a space. Such readers are lightweight and easy to use, but require substantially direct contact or placement of the reader on the symbol to enable the symbol to properly read. Such physical contact of the reader with the symbol is a preferred mode of operation for some applications, or as a matter of personal preference by the user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In essence, the invention is directed towards the provision of a scanner incorporating a rapidly oscillated scan element or mirror enabling the generation of omni-directional scanning patterns, preferably a resonance asymmetric scan element (RASE), wherein the scan element is preferably mounted on a vibratory set of components, such as a U-shaped spring of the scanning arrangement having a holder thereon grippingly engaging the upper side edges of the mirror. Preferably, although not necessarily, the fast or high frequency axis of rotation for the scan element or mirror on the vibratory component may coincide with the center of mass of the mirror so as to thereby reduce any vibratory stresses generated in the region of attachment of the mirror.
Pursuant to a specific feature of the invention, the vibration imparted to the components of the scanning arrangement through the intermediary of a read-start unit, consists of an electrically-energized magnet structure, incorporating a control device for varying the intensity of electrical energization or the frequency of the electrical energizing current applied to the read-start unit so as to generate varying types of omni-directional scanning patterns over an indicia which is being read by the scanner. Thus, in a particular instance, the control device for electrically energizing the read-start unit may impart operation in at least two modes to the single scan element so as to create a precessive lissajous scanning pattern which provides for an annular redundancy of the scan lines of a 1/3 omni-directional scan which can decode at least 33.3% of a 360° orientation, enabling the indicia, such as a barcode symbol, to deviate at angles relative to the scan direction of the scanner while being scanned in either a presentation or pass-through mode by the scanner.
Another inventive feature resides in that the energization of the read-start unit by the control device is adapted to generate a double-lissajous omni-directional scan in which the scan element, such as the resonant asymmetric scan element, has two available "Y" oscillatory frequencies at different orders of magnitude imparted thereonto; and also a torsional mode which imparts oscillation in the "Z" oscillatory directions, thereby combining the last-mentioned motion with alternatingly or periodically switching between the fast and slow "Y" oscillatory, there are produced two lissajous patterns so as to create an omni-directional scanning pattern.
The control device for the read-start unit may impart electrical energizing current to the read-start unit for the scan element in which the relative amplitudes between the "Y" and "Z" oscillating modes are continually varied, preferably sinusoidally, so as to allow decoding of the indicia being read in any orientation during this varying opening period in the scanning frequencies or amplitudes, thereby enabling the generating of a full omni-directional scanning pattern.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel and unique scanning arrangement in a scanner incorporating a control device for electrically energizing a read-start unit for imparting oscillatory movement to the scan element of the scanner at differing energizing levels and/or frequencies so as to generate controllably varying and specified omni-directional scanning patterns over an indicia being read by the scanner.
Another object of tile present invention is to provide a scanning arrangement of the type described in which the control device for energizing the read-start unit enables generation of omni-directional scanning patterns in precessing and lissajous patterns so as to provide for a full 1/3 omni-directional scanning pattern as described herein.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide for a method of generating novel omni-directional scanning patterns utilizing the inventively energized scanning arrangement.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Reference may now be had to the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings; in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates a longitudinal sectional view through an exemplary embodiment of a laser scanning device adaptable for housing a scanning arrangement in accordance with the present invention, and in which the scanning device is in the shape of a hand-held, gun-shaped component;
FIG. 2 illustrates a top plan view through a typical scanning arrangement in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 3 illustrates a somewhat modified embodiment of the scanning arrangement of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4a and 4b illustrate an omni-directional scanning raster pattern attainable with the scanning arrangement of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 illustrates an inherent orientation freedom for a typical barcode symbol;
FIG. 6a and 6b illustrate, respectively, a presentation mode and pass-through mode for the raster scanning pattern of FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 illustrates an omni-directional scanning pattern attainable with the inventive scanning device;
FIG. 8 illustrates a full scanning pattern with the energizing drive signal received from the control device by the read-start unit for the scan element;
FIGS. 9a through 9d illustrate an omni-directional scanning pattern obtained through the energization of the read-start unit with fluctuating the amplitude levels or the frequencies by means of the energizing control device; and
FIGS. 10a and 10b graphically illustrate the amplitude of the oscillations in the "Y" and "Z" planes of the scan element.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring in more specific detail to the drawings, as diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 1, pursuant to a typical exemplary prior art embodiment adaptable for housing a scanning arrangement in accordance with the present invention, a laser scanning device may be a barcode reader unit 100 in a hand-held gun-shaped configuration, although obviously other kinds of configurations of scanners readily lend themselves to the invention, having a pistol-grip type of handle 153 and in which a movable trigger 154 is employed to allow the user to activate the light beam 151 and detector circuitry when pointed at the symbol to be read, thereby saving battery life if the unit is self-powered. A lightweight plastic housing 155 contains the laser light source, the detector 158, the optics and signal processing circuitry, and the CPU 140 as well as power source or battery 162. A light-transmissive window 156 in the front end of the housing 155 allows the outgoing light beam 151 to exit and the incoming reflected light 152 to enter. The reader 100 is designed to be aimed at a barcode symbol by the user from a position in which the reader 100 is spaced from the symbol, i.e., not touching the symbol or moving across the symbol. Typically, this type of hand-held barcode reader is specified to operate in the range of from contact with the symbol to distances of perhaps several inches or even further therefrom.
The reader 100 may also function as a portable computer terminal, and in such embodiments include a keyboard 148 and a display 149, such as described in the previously noted U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,470.
As further depicted in FIG. 1, a suitable lens 157 (or multiple lens system) may be used to focus the scanned beam into the barcode symbol at an appropriate reference plane. A light source 146, such as a semiconductor laser diode, is positioned to introduce a light beam into the axis of the lens 157, and the beam passes through a partially-silvered mirror 147 and other lenses or beam-shaping structure as needed, along with an oscillating mirror or scanning element 159 which is attached to a scanning motor 160 activated when the trigger 154 is pulled. If the light produced by the source 146 is not visible, an aiming light, if needed, produces a visible-light spot which may be fixed, or scanned just like the laser beam; the user employs this visible light to aim the reader unit at the symbol before pulling the trigger 154.
As is illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawings, which a top plan view of a typical scanning arrangement 200 for the implementation of a two-dimensional or two-axis scan pattern in accordance with the present invention, a holder 202 incorporates a U-shaped spring 204 having a pair of arms 206 and 208. A scan element 210, for example a light reflector or mirror, is fixedly mounted at the free end of the arm 208, while a permanent magnet 212 is mounted at the opposite free end of arm 206. An electromagnetic coil 214 is fixedly mounted on a support member 216, the latter of which is secured to a support member 218, wherein these components 212 and 214 form a read-start unit for the scan element 210. Electrical input leads 220 from an electrical control device 221 supply an energizing signal to the electromagnetic coil 214. The arm 206 and the permanent magnet 212 are secured to a generally planar spring member 222 at one end 222a thereof, and which has its other end 222b secured to the base 218. The planar spring 222 may be made of any suitable flexible material, such as a leaf spring, a flexible metal foil, a flat bar. The U-shaped spring structure 204, 206, 208 may also be constituted from any suitable metallic material possessing resilient or flexibility properties; preferably a material such as a beryllium-copper alloy. The mass of the mirror 210 may be equal to the mass of the permanent magnet 212, and under certain instances may be much higher than the equivalent mass of the U-shaped spring 204. In either case the material mass on the mirror or right side of the planar spring will be greater than that on the other or left side of the planar spring. This difference in the mass causes a weight imbalance that results in a torsional bending, or what is more commonly referred to as twisting, of the planar spring 222. Due to this twisting, a driving signal can be applied to the planar spring 222 to impart an angular oscillatory movement of the mirror 210 in the x-z plane for effecting a "Z" directional or vertical scan.
Such an arrangement has been previously described in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,149. In column 11, lines 1-31, of the '149 patent is described a way of obtaining an omni-directional scan pattern using the arrangement shown in FIG. 5 of the patent. Viewing FIG. 5 as a top plan view of the holder assembly an omni directional scan can be obtained because of the weight imbalance of the components with respect to planar spring, i.e. a greater mass will be on the right side of spring than on the left side. When a driving signal is applied, this weight imbalance will result in a torsional vibration of planar spring causing a vertical or y-directional scan with the mirror moving in the z-y, not x-y as erroneously stated in the patent, plane and the u-shaped spring will vibrate in the x-z plane to effect a horizontal or x-directional scan. The driving signal can be applied in the manner described to obtain simultaneous vibration of the u-shaped spring to effect the horizontal scan and of the planar spring to effect a vertical scan, resulting in an omni-directional scan.
FIGS. 2 of the present application similarly provides an assembly for obtaining a two dimensional, raster or omni-directional scan pattern. FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the holder assembly. A two dimensional, raster or omni-directional scan can be obtained because of the weight imbalance of the components with respect to planar spring 222, i.e. a greater mass will be on the right side of spring 222 than on the left side. When a driving signal is applied, this weight imbalance will result in a torsional vibration of planar spring 222 causing a vertical or z-directional scan with the mirror moving in the z-x plane. The driving signal will also cause the u-shaped spring 204 to vibrate in x-y plane to effect a horizontal or y-directional scan. The driving signal can be applied in the manner described elsewhere to obtain simultaneous vibration of the u-shaped spring to effect the horizontal scan and torsional vibration of the planar spring to effect a vertical scan which will result in an omni-directional scan. A fast horizontal scan results from the vibration of the u-shaped spring while a slower vertical scan results from the torsional vibration of the planar spring.
It is perhaps worthwhile to point out that an omni-directional scan is one in which the target can be scanned at any angle to the emitted beam so long as the target is visible. As noted above, the FIG. 2 arrangement can provide either a raster or omni-directional type scan. The FIG. 2 configuration allows for dual frequency vibrations in the x-y plane which relate to a horizontal scan. Normally, the u-shaped spring is designed to vibrate at resonant frequency, in the x-y plane at a relatively higher frequency, for example 400 Hz., than the planar spring, which might be at 50 Hz. Additionally, by providing the proper forcing frequency the planar spring will vibrate torsionally in the x-z plane to provide a vertical scan. By maintaining the torsional forcing frequency constant and varying the bending vibration forcing frequency between the natural frequencies of the two springs, for x-y plane vibrations, an omni-directional scan as shown in FIG. 7 will be obtained. The FIG. 3 embodiment can also produce an omni-directional scan using only a single forcing frequency in combination with assembly rotation.
As those skilled in the art will understand, the phrase "precessive mode" means that the scan pattern changes, at least slightly, with each scan. This is achieved by designing the vibrating assembly such that the resonant frequencies about the various axis of vibration are not integer multiples of each other. This results in a scan pattern being formed which will cover both the width and height of a symbol during multiple scan cycles. In order to obtain a raster-type scan pattern, the U-shaped spring 204 and the planar spring 222 to vibrate in planes which are orthogonal to each other. As shown in the drawing, the arms of the U-shaped spring 204 will vibrate in the X-Y plane resulting in a horizontal scan and the planar spring 222 will vibrate in the X-Z plane resulting in a vertical scan. Through this arrangement of the holder structure 202, the mirror or scanner component 210 is mounted for angular oscillating movement, in first and second alternate circumferential directions, between first and second pairs of scan end positions. Moreover, due to their respective shapes and positioning, vending vibration of the U-shaped spring 204 will be within a high range of frequencies, typically of within 200 to 800 Hz, whereas the planar spring 222 will vibrate within a low range of frequencies, typically about 50 to 200 Hz. The amplitude of vibration necessary to scan the symbol will depend upon the size of the symbol and would typically be at least 10° to 30° optical. Increasing the angular amplitude and thus, the scan line produced by the holder arrangement 202, as may be desirable for certain applications, may be readily attained by constructing the U-shaped spring 204 with the arms being asymmetrically dimensioned, in effect, of different lengths thereby producing a resonant asymmetric scan element. Thus, in a specific embodiment, the arm 208 may be shorter than the arm 206 by a ratio of at least 2:1. Thus, an asymmetrically dimensioned U-shaped spring will result in a longer Y direction scan line in a raster-type pattern.
In addition to increasing the angular amplitude, which can be as much as a 100% increase over a symmetrically dimensioned U-shaped spring, an asymmetrically dimensioned U-shaped spring provides a higher durability against metal fatigue and cracking since the nodal point is no longer located at a curved portion of the spring. This type of construction also provides the benefit of less vibration being transferred to the base, since the U-shaped spring is held only at the magnet end and the angular movement of the magnet can be a plurality of times lower than that of the scanning component or mirror 210.
FIG. 3 shows, in side view, another configuration for producing an omni-directional or other multi-directional scan pattern; namely, which rotates the entire holder means about an axis. The arrangement shown in FIG. 3 is similar to that of FIG. 2 and like reference numerals are used to identify like parts and a description thereof is not repeated here for the sake of brevity. In order to rotate the entire scanning arrangement, component 300 shown in FIG. 3 is illustrative only, inasmuch as any suitable means for rotating the scanning arrangement 200 about an axis may be employed to effect an omni-directional scan pattern. The component 300 includes a motor 302 having a shaft 304 for driving a transmission belt 306. Belt 306 is coupled to a shaft (not shown) connected to the support 308 for rotating the support 308 about ball bearing 310 which is attached to support beam 312. The rotation of a single axis direction scan arrangement will produce an omni-directional scan pattern in the form of a rosette. The rotation of a two-axis scan arrangement will produce various other omni-directional scan patterns depending on the type of two-axis arrangement being rotated.
Reverting to FIGS. 4a, 4b and 5 through 7 of the drawings, there is illustrated an omni-directional scanning pattern which is attainable with scanners shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings.
Thus, in each of the scanners of FIGS. 2 and 3, the control device 221 causes the read-start unit 212, 214 of each scanning arrangement to be energized at variable electrical current intensities and/or frequencies in order to provide specified omni-directional scanning patterns without the need for incorporating additional motors or other components in presently existing scanners of this type.
In a particular instance of utilization in which it is intended to obtain a 1/3 omni scan, whereby the scanning arrangement 200 can decode at least 331/3% of a 360° orientation of the indicia, a presentation mode as shown in FIG. 6a in which the scanning arrangement is passed across and then back over the indicia, or alternatively, a pass-through mode as shown in FIG. 6b in which the indicia, such as a barcode, is passed beneath a fixed scanning point at a specified linear speed of travel (for example, up to 30 in./sec. as long as the barcode orientation is ±30° around the preferred orientation thereof) can be used.
Hereby, by way of example, there is employed a precessive lissajous scanning mode by the scanning arrangement 200 whereby, for example, a raster scanner at 600 scans/sec. and 100 frames/sec. would readily constitute a 1/3-omni scanning device allowing for ±30° freedom of orientation for the indicia, as shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b. In FIG. 4a there can be seen that the scanning pattern includes two parallel lines, two ±10° lines and two ±20° lines. Any symbol has an inherent orientation freedom. For example, the barcode having its width divided by its length, as shown in FIG. 5. Thus, for example, utilizing the oscillations in the "X" direction at 300 Hz caused by the bending vibration of the U-shaped spring and "Z" direction of oscillation at 50 Hz resulting from the torsional vibration of the planar spring, a precessive mode, such as 3:1; 3.1:1; 3.2:1 etc., may be utilized to generates an overlapping omni-directional scanning pattern. This will enable the accurate and complete scanning of the symbol during either presentation or pass through modes while the symbol; i.e. barcode, is in angled scan orientation as shown relative to the scanning arrangement.
Hence, FIG. 4a shows the result of combined vibrations which cause a scan in two orthogonal directions. Such a scan pattern could be obtained using the arrangement shown in FIG. 2. The u-shaped spring normally vibrates at a higher rate than the flat spring. Noting that FIG. 2 is a top view of the spring arrangement, the FIG. 4a scan reflects, for example, a rate of vibration of the u-shaped spring of say 300 Hz. and a rate of torsional vibration of the planar spring of say 50 Hz. Thus, the pattern of FIG. 4a can be obtained using the FIG. 2 arrangement by simultaneously applying the applicable forcing frequencies to cause the necessary oscillation of the u-shaped spring 204 and the planar spring 222 to produce a relatively fast horizontal scan vibration in the x-y plane and a relatively slow vertical scan in the x-z plane.
Reverting to the scanning mode as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, FIG. 7 illustrates a star-shaped double lissajous omni-directional scanning pattern in which the star-shaped double-lissajous pattern is obtained by switching between a slow and a fast "Y" oscillation frequency for the scan element by alternating the signals driving bending vibration of the planar and U-shaped springs e.g., 100 to 400 Hz, at the enumerated four points indicated in FIG. 8 and conversely. The switching is performed over a period of time, such as 15 msec, while maintaining the "Z" oscillations by driving a constant torsional vibration of the planar spring at 200 Hz. Thus, the scan element, which may be an RASE, has two available "X" oscillating frequencies introduced therein by the control element energizing the read-scan unit.
In essence, the scan element is operating at bending vibratory or oscillatory frequencies of 100 Hz or 400 Hz in the "Y" direction while "Z" is maintained at a torsional vibration or oscillating frequency of 200 Hz. Thus, by maintaining the "Z" oscillations constant while switching between the two "F" scanning amplitudes or frequencies whereby one is high and one is low there are obtained two orthogonal 1:2 lissajous scanning patterns. This will provide the star-shaped double-lissajous pattern as shown in FIG. 7 of the drawings if the "F" oscillations are switched exactly by a drive signal at the end of each cycle with the same phase, in essence, as shown at the points represented in FIG. 8 of the drawings.
Hereby, both the "Y"'s and the "Z" have to be self-resonance close feedback loops; in effect, a total of three loops; and inasmuch as each loop has its own feedback, these can be employed for the accurate switching needed to obtain a precise scanning pattern in a double-lissajous arrangement.
On the other hand, if the switching at the various points is not precisely accurate, this will result in a precessing pattern which can also provide for an advantageous scanning of the symbol.
It is also possible to utilize the foregoing energizing cycle with a precessing pattern, such that rather than obtaining a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio, a 1:2.1 etc. can be obtained or 1:3.1 etc. which, in the absence of accurate switching of the "Y" frequencies at the switching points in FIGS. 7 and 8, will provide a precessing scanning pattern enabling an advantageous reading of the indicia by the scanner.
As shown, pursuant to another mode of energization of the read-start unit by the control device, it is also possible to obtain the desired omni-directional scanning patterns shown in FIGS. 9 of the drawings. The intensities in the current levels for producing the "F" and "Z" oscillating of the scan elements may be varied, such as sinusoidally, so as to produce gradual changes in the relative amplitudes between the "F" and "Z" oscillations, i.e. the oscillations respectively resulting from bending vibrations of either the planar or U-shaped springs and from the torsional vibration of the planar spring, to permit for decoding in any orientation during the opening up-time, which may be over a period of 200 ms. From the foregoing, and as shown particularly in FIGS. 9a through 9d, the variation in the patterns will ensure that an indicia, such as a barcode signal, irrespective as to the orientation thereof will be fully scanned as a result of the varying intensity between "F" and "Z".
The particular full omni-directional scanning pattern which is obtained by varying the intensity of the energization of the read-start unit by the control device, in effect, by providing sinusoidal amplitudes for both the "X" and "Z" oscillations, i.e. the oscillations respectively resulting from bending vibrations of either the planar or U-shaped springs and from the torsional vibration of the planar spring, of the scan element, and also by utilizing some rotational movement of the scan element as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 3 for the scanning device, will produce a full omni-directional pattern created by an integration of the scan amplitudes during the opening time, as shown in FIGS. 10a and 10b. This correlated change in the relative amplitudes of the "Z" and the "Y" oscillations permit for a decoding of a symbol in any orientation during the opening up-time of the cycle, which may extend through a time period of up to 200 msec.
The FIG. 7 scan pattern is achievable by precise varying of the frequencies and without rotating the springs. The resonant torsional or twist frequency of the planar spring is 200 Hz. The resonant bending frequencies of the planar and u-shaped springs are respectively 100 and 400 Hz. The coil supplies a constant resonant twist frequency of 200 Hz. while simultaneously supplying a resonant bending frequency which is switched between 100 and 400 Hz. Because the resonant frequencies of the two springs for twisting and bending vibration are different, the superimposed frequencies drive only the particular spring which resonates at the driving frequency or frequencies. In the example given, there is no overlap of frequencies. The driving forces are at 100, 200 and 400 Hz. Those springs not having a natural frequency at a particular forcing frequency will not vibrate in response to that frequency. Thus, a spring with natural frequencies of 100 and 600 Hz. will resonate at those frequencies and not at frequencies which are lower or higher. The springs are driven at resonant frequency.
The foregoing in a clear and accurate manner will enable the omni-directional scanning of indicia irrespective of orientations thereof deviating from the normal, and without having to utilize additional motor or drive components, by simply incorporating the control element 221 in existing scanner structures.
While there have been shown and described what are considered to be preferred embodiments of the invention, it will, of course, be understood that various modifications and changes in form or detail could readily be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is therefore intended that the invention not be limited to the exact form and detail herein shown and described, nor to anything less than the whole of the invention herein disclosed as hereinafter claimed. | A scanner for reading indicia having portions of differing light reflectivity has means for directing a light beam from the scanner towards the indicia and collecting reflected light returning from the indicia. The scanner includes a scanning arrangement with a scanner component, such as a mirror. First and second vibratory means support the scanner component for angular oscillatory movement to scan the light beam in first and second orthogonal scan directions. The scanning arrangement includes read-start means for moving the scanner component to simultaneously scan the light beam in the first and second scan directions. Control means, operatively connected to the read-start means, are provided for imparting differing signals to the read-start means to (1) alternatively drive fast and slow vibrations of the first and second vibratory means to vary the scanning of the light beam in the first scan direction and (2) to drive vibration of only the second vibratory means to cause the scanning of the light beam in the second scan direction. The scanning of the light beam in the first and second scan directions generates a scan pattern over the indicia. | Provide a concise summary of the essential information conveyed in the context. | [
"This is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 07/880,256, which was filed on May 8, 1992 (now abandoned) which is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 07/520,464, filed May 8, 1990 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,149, issued Dec. 1, 1992), which is in turn a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 07/428,770, filed Oct. 30, 1989 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,110).",
"This application is also related to U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 08/207,516, which is a continuation of application Ser.",
"No. 07/880,256, now abandoned, and to U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 08/108,521, which is a continuation of application Ser.",
"No. 07/868,401, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,165.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The present invention relates, in general, to a scanning arrangement in a scanner and incorporating a scan element which is capable of the repetitive high-speed scanning of indicia having parts of different light reflectivity;",
"for example, such as barcode symbols, and more particularly, pertains to the operation of a scanning arrangement of the type which, at high scanning speeds, will enable the scanning of indicia in variable and specified omni-directional scanning patterns.",
"In accordance with specific aspects, the invention is directed to the provision of novel scanning methods and apparatus for omni-directionally scanning indicia through the use of a single scan element, especially such as a resonant asymmetric scan element, operating in at least two different frequency modes creating a precessing lissajous pattern so as to provide an at least 1/3 omni-directional scan of the indicia.",
"As contemplated pursuant to another aspect of the invention, the variable omni-directional scanning pattern is attained through control over the electrical energy input to a read-start device for activating the scan element of the scanner for vibratory motion between first and second pairs of scan end position, in which the energy input is controlled and varied in a manner so as to enable the scan element to implement the aforementioned omni-directional scanning patterns over the indicia.",
"According to a specific feature of the invention, an omni-directional scanning pattern is realized in that a double lissajous pattern is implemented by a single scan element through the combining of a fast lissajous pattern with a slower lissajous pattern and periodically changing between the two lissajous patterns through control over the electrical energy input such that there is obtained an omni-directional scanning pattern without the necessity of having to utilize an additional motor in the scanning arrangement.",
"Additionally, as contemplated by another concept of the invention, the electrical energy input to the read-start means for imparting the vibratory movements to the scan element of the scanning arrangement causes the relative amplitudes between the different scanning directions of the scan element to be varied, such as in sinusoidal modes, so as to allow for decoding of indicia in any orientation which;",
"in effect, will provide a full omni-directional scanning pattern to allow presentation in any orientation of the indicia.",
"The foregoing varying modes of scanning to attain the different and varying types of omni-directional scanning patterns is readily attained through the use of currently existent scanning devices, particularly such as by means of a resonant asymmetric scan element, through controlling the electrical energization frequency and/or intensity supplied to the read-start device for the scan element employed in the scanning arrangement.",
"The utilization of laser scanning devices for the scanning or reading of information provided on a target;",
"such as a package or sale item, is well known in this particular technology and has found wide acceptance in commerce.",
"In this connection, various types of laser scanning devices incorporate scanning heads which house optical reading systems, such as barcode readers, for the reading of information or barcode symbols on targets which are scanned by a laser beam projected from the barcode reader.",
"In general, such laser scanning devices;",
"especially those in the type of barcode readers, are widely employed in industry, such as manufacturing, shipping, and in retail commerce and;",
"for example, may be permanently incorporated in the structures of check-out counters of supermarkets, whereby the items of merchandise having the barcode symbols imprinted thereon or applied thereto are passed over a fixed barcode reader located beneath the counter surface so as to provide a record for the merchant of the merchandise being purchased by a consumer, and concurrently a readout (and possibly a printed record) for the consumer.",
"Alternatively, the barcode reader or laser scanning device may also be constituted of an optical scanner unit which is fixedly mounted on a stand extending above a support platform or countertop on which the merchandise may be arranged;",
"or in many instances of utilization, pursuant to a preferred embodiment of the invention, may be in the form of a miniature, lightweight and gun-shaped device having a pistol grip, and which the activated device is normally passed over the barcode symbol which is imprinted on a sale item or target at some short distance therefrom so as to enable scanning of the information provided by the barcode symbols.",
"Discussion of the Prior Art Various optical readers and optical scanning systems have been developed heretofore for reading barcode symbols appearing on a label or on the surface of an article.",
"The barcode symbol itself is a coded pattern of indicia comprises of a series of bars of various widths spaced apart from one another to bound spaces of various widths, the bars and spaces having different light-reflecting characteristics.",
"The readers and scanning systems electro-optically transform the graphic indicia into electrical signals, which are decoded into alphanumerical characters that are intended to be descriptive of the article or some characteristic thereof.",
"Such characters are typically represented in digital form and utilized as an input to a data processing system for applications, in point-of-sale processing, inventory control, and the like.",
"Scanning systems of this general type have been disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,251,798;",
"4,369,361;",
"4,387,297;",
"4,409,470;",
"4,760,248;",
"and 4,896,026, all of which have been assigned to the same assignee as the instant application.",
"As disclosed in some of the above patents, one embodiment of such a scanning system resides, inter alia, in a hand-held, portable laser scanning head supported by a user, which is configured to allow the user to aim the head, and more particularly, the light beam or laser beam projected therefrom, at a target and a symbol which is to be read.",
"The light source in a laser scanner is typically a gas laser or semiconductor laser.",
"The use of semiconductor devices, such as a laser diode, as the light source in scanning systems is especially desirable because of their small size, low cost and low power requirements.",
"The laser beam is optically modified, typically by a lens, to form a beam spot of a certain size at the target distance.",
"It is preferred that the beam spot size at the target distance be approximately the same as the minimum width between regions of different light reflectivity, i.e., the bars and spaces of the symbol.",
"Barcode symbols are formed from bars or elements that are typically rectangular in shape with a variety of possible widths.",
"The specific arrangement of elements defines the character represented according to a set of rules and definitions specified by the code or "symbology"",
"used.",
"The relative size of the bars and spaces is determined by the type of coding used, as is the actual size of the bars and spaces.",
"The number of characters per inch represented by the barcode symbol is referred to as the density of the symbol.",
"To encode a desired sequence of characters, a collection of element arrangements are concatenated together to form the complete barcode symbol, with each character of the message being represented by its own corresponding group of elements.",
"In some symbologies a unique "start"",
"and "stop"",
"character is used to indicate where the barcode begins and ends.",
"A number of different barcode symbologies exist.",
"These symbologies include UPC/EAN, Code 39, Code 128, Codabar, and Interleaved 2 of 5.",
"For purpose of discussion, characters recognized and defined by a symbology shall be referred to as legitimate characters, while characters not recognized and defined by that symbology are referred to as illegitimate characters.",
"Thus, an arrangement of elements not decodable by a given symbology corresponds to an illegitimate character(s) for that symbology.",
"In order to increase the amount of data that can be represented or stored on a given amount of surface area, several new barcode symbologies have recently been developed.",
"One of these new code standards, Code 49, introduces a "two-dimensional"",
"concept by stacking rows of characters vertically instead of extending the bars horizontally.",
"That is, there are several rows of bar and space patterns, instead of only one row.",
"The structure of Code 49 is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,239, which is hereby incorporated by reference.",
"A one-dimensional single-line scan, as ordinarily provided by hand-held readers, has disadvantages in reading these two dimensional barcodes;",
"that is, the reader must be aimed at each row, individually.",
"Likewise, the multiple-scan-line readers produce a number of scan lines at an angle to one another so these are not suitable for recognizing a Code 49 type of two-dimensional symbols.",
"In the scanning systems known in the art, the light beam is directed by a lens or similar optical components along a light path toward a target that includes a barcode symbol on the surface.",
"The scanning functions by repetitively scanning the light beam in a line or series of lines across the symbol.",
"The scanning component may incorporate a drive or scanning motor adopted to either sweep the beam spot across the symbol and trace a scan line across and past the symbol in a high-speed repetitive mode, or scan the field of view of the scanner, or do both.",
"Scanning systems also normally include a sensor or photodetector which functions to detect light reflected from the symbol.",
"The photodetector is therefore positonied in the scanner or in an optical path in which it has a field of view which extends across and slightly past the symbol.",
"A portion of the reflected light which is reflected off the symbol is detected and converted into an electrical signal, and electronic circuitry or software decodes the electrical signal into a digital representation of the data represented by the symbol that has been scanned.",
"For example, the analog electrical signal from the photodetector may typically be converted into a pulse width modulated digital signal, with the widths corresponding to the physical widths of the bars and spaces.",
"Such a signal is then decoded according to the specific symbology into a binary representation of the data encoded in the symbol, and to the alphanumeric characters so represented.",
"The decoding process in known scanning systems usually work in the following way.",
"The decoder receives the pulse width modulated digital signal from the scanner, and an algorithm implemented in software attempts to decode the scan.",
"If the start and stop characters and the characters between them in the scan were decoded successfully and completely, the decoding process terminates and an indicator of a successful read (such as a green light and/or an audible beep) is provided to the user.",
"Otherwise, the decoder receives the next scan, performs another decode attempt on that scan, and so on, until a completely decoded scan is achieved or no more scans are available.",
"Such a signal is then decoded according to the specific symbology into a binary representation of the data encoded in the symbol, and to the alphanumeric characters so represented.",
"Laser scanners are not the only type of optical instrument capable of reading barcode symbols.",
"Another type of barcode reader is one which incorporates detectors based upon charge coupled device (CCD) technology.",
"In such readers, the size of the detector is larger than or substantially the same as the symbol which is to be read.",
"The entire symbol is flooded with light from the reader, and each CCD cell is sequentially read out to determine the presence of a bar or a space.",
"Such readers are lightweight and easy to use, but require substantially direct contact or placement of the reader on the symbol to enable the symbol to properly read.",
"Such physical contact of the reader with the symbol is a preferred mode of operation for some applications, or as a matter of personal preference by the user.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In essence, the invention is directed towards the provision of a scanner incorporating a rapidly oscillated scan element or mirror enabling the generation of omni-directional scanning patterns, preferably a resonance asymmetric scan element (RASE), wherein the scan element is preferably mounted on a vibratory set of components, such as a U-shaped spring of the scanning arrangement having a holder thereon grippingly engaging the upper side edges of the mirror.",
"Preferably, although not necessarily, the fast or high frequency axis of rotation for the scan element or mirror on the vibratory component may coincide with the center of mass of the mirror so as to thereby reduce any vibratory stresses generated in the region of attachment of the mirror.",
"Pursuant to a specific feature of the invention, the vibration imparted to the components of the scanning arrangement through the intermediary of a read-start unit, consists of an electrically-energized magnet structure, incorporating a control device for varying the intensity of electrical energization or the frequency of the electrical energizing current applied to the read-start unit so as to generate varying types of omni-directional scanning patterns over an indicia which is being read by the scanner.",
"Thus, in a particular instance, the control device for electrically energizing the read-start unit may impart operation in at least two modes to the single scan element so as to create a precessive lissajous scanning pattern which provides for an annular redundancy of the scan lines of a 1/3 omni-directional scan which can decode at least 33.3% of a 360° orientation, enabling the indicia, such as a barcode symbol, to deviate at angles relative to the scan direction of the scanner while being scanned in either a presentation or pass-through mode by the scanner.",
"Another inventive feature resides in that the energization of the read-start unit by the control device is adapted to generate a double-lissajous omni-directional scan in which the scan element, such as the resonant asymmetric scan element, has two available "Y"",
"oscillatory frequencies at different orders of magnitude imparted thereonto;",
"and also a torsional mode which imparts oscillation in the "Z"",
"oscillatory directions, thereby combining the last-mentioned motion with alternatingly or periodically switching between the fast and slow "Y"",
"oscillatory, there are produced two lissajous patterns so as to create an omni-directional scanning pattern.",
"The control device for the read-start unit may impart electrical energizing current to the read-start unit for the scan element in which the relative amplitudes between the "Y"",
"and "Z"",
"oscillating modes are continually varied, preferably sinusoidally, so as to allow decoding of the indicia being read in any orientation during this varying opening period in the scanning frequencies or amplitudes, thereby enabling the generating of a full omni-directional scanning pattern.",
"Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel and unique scanning arrangement in a scanner incorporating a control device for electrically energizing a read-start unit for imparting oscillatory movement to the scan element of the scanner at differing energizing levels and/or frequencies so as to generate controllably varying and specified omni-directional scanning patterns over an indicia being read by the scanner.",
"Another object of tile present invention is to provide a scanning arrangement of the type described in which the control device for energizing the read-start unit enables generation of omni-directional scanning patterns in precessing and lissajous patterns so as to provide for a full 1/3 omni-directional scanning pattern as described herein.",
"Still another object of the present invention is to provide for a method of generating novel omni-directional scanning patterns utilizing the inventively energized scanning arrangement.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Reference may now be had to the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings;",
"in which: FIG. 1 illustrates a longitudinal sectional view through an exemplary embodiment of a laser scanning device adaptable for housing a scanning arrangement in accordance with the present invention, and in which the scanning device is in the shape of a hand-held, gun-shaped component;",
"FIG. 2 illustrates a top plan view through a typical scanning arrangement in accordance with the present invention;",
"FIG. 3 illustrates a somewhat modified embodiment of the scanning arrangement of FIG. 2;",
"FIG. 4a and 4b illustrate an omni-directional scanning raster pattern attainable with the scanning arrangement of FIG. 2;",
"FIG. 5 illustrates an inherent orientation freedom for a typical barcode symbol;",
"FIG. 6a and 6b illustrate, respectively, a presentation mode and pass-through mode for the raster scanning pattern of FIG. 4;",
"FIG. 7 illustrates an omni-directional scanning pattern attainable with the inventive scanning device;",
"FIG. 8 illustrates a full scanning pattern with the energizing drive signal received from the control device by the read-start unit for the scan element;",
"FIGS. 9a through 9d illustrate an omni-directional scanning pattern obtained through the energization of the read-start unit with fluctuating the amplitude levels or the frequencies by means of the energizing control device;",
"and FIGS. 10a and 10b graphically illustrate the amplitude of the oscillations in the "Y"",
"and "Z"",
"planes of the scan element.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring in more specific detail to the drawings, as diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 1, pursuant to a typical exemplary prior art embodiment adaptable for housing a scanning arrangement in accordance with the present invention, a laser scanning device may be a barcode reader unit 100 in a hand-held gun-shaped configuration, although obviously other kinds of configurations of scanners readily lend themselves to the invention, having a pistol-grip type of handle 153 and in which a movable trigger 154 is employed to allow the user to activate the light beam 151 and detector circuitry when pointed at the symbol to be read, thereby saving battery life if the unit is self-powered.",
"A lightweight plastic housing 155 contains the laser light source, the detector 158, the optics and signal processing circuitry, and the CPU 140 as well as power source or battery 162.",
"A light-transmissive window 156 in the front end of the housing 155 allows the outgoing light beam 151 to exit and the incoming reflected light 152 to enter.",
"The reader 100 is designed to be aimed at a barcode symbol by the user from a position in which the reader 100 is spaced from the symbol, i.e., not touching the symbol or moving across the symbol.",
"Typically, this type of hand-held barcode reader is specified to operate in the range of from contact with the symbol to distances of perhaps several inches or even further therefrom.",
"The reader 100 may also function as a portable computer terminal, and in such embodiments include a keyboard 148 and a display 149, such as described in the previously noted U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,470.",
"As further depicted in FIG. 1, a suitable lens 157 (or multiple lens system) may be used to focus the scanned beam into the barcode symbol at an appropriate reference plane.",
"A light source 146, such as a semiconductor laser diode, is positioned to introduce a light beam into the axis of the lens 157, and the beam passes through a partially-silvered mirror 147 and other lenses or beam-shaping structure as needed, along with an oscillating mirror or scanning element 159 which is attached to a scanning motor 160 activated when the trigger 154 is pulled.",
"If the light produced by the source 146 is not visible, an aiming light, if needed, produces a visible-light spot which may be fixed, or scanned just like the laser beam;",
"the user employs this visible light to aim the reader unit at the symbol before pulling the trigger 154.",
"As is illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawings, which a top plan view of a typical scanning arrangement 200 for the implementation of a two-dimensional or two-axis scan pattern in accordance with the present invention, a holder 202 incorporates a U-shaped spring 204 having a pair of arms 206 and 208.",
"A scan element 210, for example a light reflector or mirror, is fixedly mounted at the free end of the arm 208, while a permanent magnet 212 is mounted at the opposite free end of arm 206.",
"An electromagnetic coil 214 is fixedly mounted on a support member 216, the latter of which is secured to a support member 218, wherein these components 212 and 214 form a read-start unit for the scan element 210.",
"Electrical input leads 220 from an electrical control device 221 supply an energizing signal to the electromagnetic coil 214.",
"The arm 206 and the permanent magnet 212 are secured to a generally planar spring member 222 at one end 222a thereof, and which has its other end 222b secured to the base 218.",
"The planar spring 222 may be made of any suitable flexible material, such as a leaf spring, a flexible metal foil, a flat bar.",
"The U-shaped spring structure 204, 206, 208 may also be constituted from any suitable metallic material possessing resilient or flexibility properties;",
"preferably a material such as a beryllium-copper alloy.",
"The mass of the mirror 210 may be equal to the mass of the permanent magnet 212, and under certain instances may be much higher than the equivalent mass of the U-shaped spring 204.",
"In either case the material mass on the mirror or right side of the planar spring will be greater than that on the other or left side of the planar spring.",
"This difference in the mass causes a weight imbalance that results in a torsional bending, or what is more commonly referred to as twisting, of the planar spring 222.",
"Due to this twisting, a driving signal can be applied to the planar spring 222 to impart an angular oscillatory movement of the mirror 210 in the x-z plane for effecting a "Z"",
"directional or vertical scan.",
"Such an arrangement has been previously described in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,149.",
"In column 11, lines 1-31, of the '149 patent is described a way of obtaining an omni-directional scan pattern using the arrangement shown in FIG. 5 of the patent.",
"Viewing FIG. 5 as a top plan view of the holder assembly an omni directional scan can be obtained because of the weight imbalance of the components with respect to planar spring, i.e. a greater mass will be on the right side of spring than on the left side.",
"When a driving signal is applied, this weight imbalance will result in a torsional vibration of planar spring causing a vertical or y-directional scan with the mirror moving in the z-y, not x-y as erroneously stated in the patent, plane and the u-shaped spring will vibrate in the x-z plane to effect a horizontal or x-directional scan.",
"The driving signal can be applied in the manner described to obtain simultaneous vibration of the u-shaped spring to effect the horizontal scan and of the planar spring to effect a vertical scan, resulting in an omni-directional scan.",
"FIGS. 2 of the present application similarly provides an assembly for obtaining a two dimensional, raster or omni-directional scan pattern.",
"FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the holder assembly.",
"A two dimensional, raster or omni-directional scan can be obtained because of the weight imbalance of the components with respect to planar spring 222, i.e. a greater mass will be on the right side of spring 222 than on the left side.",
"When a driving signal is applied, this weight imbalance will result in a torsional vibration of planar spring 222 causing a vertical or z-directional scan with the mirror moving in the z-x plane.",
"The driving signal will also cause the u-shaped spring 204 to vibrate in x-y plane to effect a horizontal or y-directional scan.",
"The driving signal can be applied in the manner described elsewhere to obtain simultaneous vibration of the u-shaped spring to effect the horizontal scan and torsional vibration of the planar spring to effect a vertical scan which will result in an omni-directional scan.",
"A fast horizontal scan results from the vibration of the u-shaped spring while a slower vertical scan results from the torsional vibration of the planar spring.",
"It is perhaps worthwhile to point out that an omni-directional scan is one in which the target can be scanned at any angle to the emitted beam so long as the target is visible.",
"As noted above, the FIG. 2 arrangement can provide either a raster or omni-directional type scan.",
"The FIG. 2 configuration allows for dual frequency vibrations in the x-y plane which relate to a horizontal scan.",
"Normally, the u-shaped spring is designed to vibrate at resonant frequency, in the x-y plane at a relatively higher frequency, for example 400 Hz.",
", than the planar spring, which might be at 50 Hz.",
"Additionally, by providing the proper forcing frequency the planar spring will vibrate torsionally in the x-z plane to provide a vertical scan.",
"By maintaining the torsional forcing frequency constant and varying the bending vibration forcing frequency between the natural frequencies of the two springs, for x-y plane vibrations, an omni-directional scan as shown in FIG. 7 will be obtained.",
"The FIG. 3 embodiment can also produce an omni-directional scan using only a single forcing frequency in combination with assembly rotation.",
"As those skilled in the art will understand, the phrase "precessive mode"",
"means that the scan pattern changes, at least slightly, with each scan.",
"This is achieved by designing the vibrating assembly such that the resonant frequencies about the various axis of vibration are not integer multiples of each other.",
"This results in a scan pattern being formed which will cover both the width and height of a symbol during multiple scan cycles.",
"In order to obtain a raster-type scan pattern, the U-shaped spring 204 and the planar spring 222 to vibrate in planes which are orthogonal to each other.",
"As shown in the drawing, the arms of the U-shaped spring 204 will vibrate in the X-Y plane resulting in a horizontal scan and the planar spring 222 will vibrate in the X-Z plane resulting in a vertical scan.",
"Through this arrangement of the holder structure 202, the mirror or scanner component 210 is mounted for angular oscillating movement, in first and second alternate circumferential directions, between first and second pairs of scan end positions.",
"Moreover, due to their respective shapes and positioning, vending vibration of the U-shaped spring 204 will be within a high range of frequencies, typically of within 200 to 800 Hz, whereas the planar spring 222 will vibrate within a low range of frequencies, typically about 50 to 200 Hz.",
"The amplitude of vibration necessary to scan the symbol will depend upon the size of the symbol and would typically be at least 10° to 30° optical.",
"Increasing the angular amplitude and thus, the scan line produced by the holder arrangement 202, as may be desirable for certain applications, may be readily attained by constructing the U-shaped spring 204 with the arms being asymmetrically dimensioned, in effect, of different lengths thereby producing a resonant asymmetric scan element.",
"Thus, in a specific embodiment, the arm 208 may be shorter than the arm 206 by a ratio of at least 2:1.",
"Thus, an asymmetrically dimensioned U-shaped spring will result in a longer Y direction scan line in a raster-type pattern.",
"In addition to increasing the angular amplitude, which can be as much as a 100% increase over a symmetrically dimensioned U-shaped spring, an asymmetrically dimensioned U-shaped spring provides a higher durability against metal fatigue and cracking since the nodal point is no longer located at a curved portion of the spring.",
"This type of construction also provides the benefit of less vibration being transferred to the base, since the U-shaped spring is held only at the magnet end and the angular movement of the magnet can be a plurality of times lower than that of the scanning component or mirror 210.",
"FIG. 3 shows, in side view, another configuration for producing an omni-directional or other multi-directional scan pattern;",
"namely, which rotates the entire holder means about an axis.",
"The arrangement shown in FIG. 3 is similar to that of FIG. 2 and like reference numerals are used to identify like parts and a description thereof is not repeated here for the sake of brevity.",
"In order to rotate the entire scanning arrangement, component 300 shown in FIG. 3 is illustrative only, inasmuch as any suitable means for rotating the scanning arrangement 200 about an axis may be employed to effect an omni-directional scan pattern.",
"The component 300 includes a motor 302 having a shaft 304 for driving a transmission belt 306.",
"Belt 306 is coupled to a shaft (not shown) connected to the support 308 for rotating the support 308 about ball bearing 310 which is attached to support beam 312.",
"The rotation of a single axis direction scan arrangement will produce an omni-directional scan pattern in the form of a rosette.",
"The rotation of a two-axis scan arrangement will produce various other omni-directional scan patterns depending on the type of two-axis arrangement being rotated.",
"Reverting to FIGS. 4a, 4b and 5 through 7 of the drawings, there is illustrated an omni-directional scanning pattern which is attainable with scanners shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings.",
"Thus, in each of the scanners of FIGS. 2 and 3, the control device 221 causes the read-start unit 212, 214 of each scanning arrangement to be energized at variable electrical current intensities and/or frequencies in order to provide specified omni-directional scanning patterns without the need for incorporating additional motors or other components in presently existing scanners of this type.",
"In a particular instance of utilization in which it is intended to obtain a 1/3 omni scan, whereby the scanning arrangement 200 can decode at least 331/3% of a 360° orientation of the indicia, a presentation mode as shown in FIG. 6a in which the scanning arrangement is passed across and then back over the indicia, or alternatively, a pass-through mode as shown in FIG. 6b in which the indicia, such as a barcode, is passed beneath a fixed scanning point at a specified linear speed of travel (for example, up to 30 in.",
"/sec.",
"as long as the barcode orientation is ±30° around the preferred orientation thereof) can be used.",
"Hereby, by way of example, there is employed a precessive lissajous scanning mode by the scanning arrangement 200 whereby, for example, a raster scanner at 600 scans/sec.",
"and 100 frames/sec.",
"would readily constitute a 1/3-omni scanning device allowing for ±30° freedom of orientation for the indicia, as shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b.",
"In FIG. 4a there can be seen that the scanning pattern includes two parallel lines, two ±10° lines and two ±20° lines.",
"Any symbol has an inherent orientation freedom.",
"For example, the barcode having its width divided by its length, as shown in FIG. 5. Thus, for example, utilizing the oscillations in the "X"",
"direction at 300 Hz caused by the bending vibration of the U-shaped spring and "Z"",
"direction of oscillation at 50 Hz resulting from the torsional vibration of the planar spring, a precessive mode, such as 3:1;",
"3.1:1;",
"3.2:1 etc.",
", may be utilized to generates an overlapping omni-directional scanning pattern.",
"This will enable the accurate and complete scanning of the symbol during either presentation or pass through modes while the symbol;",
"i.e. barcode, is in angled scan orientation as shown relative to the scanning arrangement.",
"Hence, FIG. 4a shows the result of combined vibrations which cause a scan in two orthogonal directions.",
"Such a scan pattern could be obtained using the arrangement shown in FIG. 2. The u-shaped spring normally vibrates at a higher rate than the flat spring.",
"Noting that FIG. 2 is a top view of the spring arrangement, the FIG. 4a scan reflects, for example, a rate of vibration of the u-shaped spring of say 300 Hz.",
"and a rate of torsional vibration of the planar spring of say 50 Hz.",
"Thus, the pattern of FIG. 4a can be obtained using the FIG. 2 arrangement by simultaneously applying the applicable forcing frequencies to cause the necessary oscillation of the u-shaped spring 204 and the planar spring 222 to produce a relatively fast horizontal scan vibration in the x-y plane and a relatively slow vertical scan in the x-z plane.",
"Reverting to the scanning mode as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, FIG. 7 illustrates a star-shaped double lissajous omni-directional scanning pattern in which the star-shaped double-lissajous pattern is obtained by switching between a slow and a fast "Y"",
"oscillation frequency for the scan element by alternating the signals driving bending vibration of the planar and U-shaped springs e.g., 100 to 400 Hz, at the enumerated four points indicated in FIG. 8 and conversely.",
"The switching is performed over a period of time, such as 15 msec, while maintaining the "Z"",
"oscillations by driving a constant torsional vibration of the planar spring at 200 Hz.",
"Thus, the scan element, which may be an RASE, has two available "X"",
"oscillating frequencies introduced therein by the control element energizing the read-scan unit.",
"In essence, the scan element is operating at bending vibratory or oscillatory frequencies of 100 Hz or 400 Hz in the "Y"",
"direction while "Z"",
"is maintained at a torsional vibration or oscillating frequency of 200 Hz.",
"Thus, by maintaining the "Z"",
"oscillations constant while switching between the two "F"",
"scanning amplitudes or frequencies whereby one is high and one is low there are obtained two orthogonal 1:2 lissajous scanning patterns.",
"This will provide the star-shaped double-lissajous pattern as shown in FIG. 7 of the drawings if the "F"",
"oscillations are switched exactly by a drive signal at the end of each cycle with the same phase, in essence, as shown at the points represented in FIG. 8 of the drawings.",
"Hereby, both the "Y"'s and the "Z"",
"have to be self-resonance close feedback loops;",
"in effect, a total of three loops;",
"and inasmuch as each loop has its own feedback, these can be employed for the accurate switching needed to obtain a precise scanning pattern in a double-lissajous arrangement.",
"On the other hand, if the switching at the various points is not precisely accurate, this will result in a precessing pattern which can also provide for an advantageous scanning of the symbol.",
"It is also possible to utilize the foregoing energizing cycle with a precessing pattern, such that rather than obtaining a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio, a 1:2.1 etc.",
"can be obtained or 1:3.1 etc.",
"which, in the absence of accurate switching of the "Y"",
"frequencies at the switching points in FIGS. 7 and 8, will provide a precessing scanning pattern enabling an advantageous reading of the indicia by the scanner.",
"As shown, pursuant to another mode of energization of the read-start unit by the control device, it is also possible to obtain the desired omni-directional scanning patterns shown in FIGS. 9 of the drawings.",
"The intensities in the current levels for producing the "F"",
"and "Z"",
"oscillating of the scan elements may be varied, such as sinusoidally, so as to produce gradual changes in the relative amplitudes between the "F"",
"and "Z"",
"oscillations, i.e. the oscillations respectively resulting from bending vibrations of either the planar or U-shaped springs and from the torsional vibration of the planar spring, to permit for decoding in any orientation during the opening up-time, which may be over a period of 200 ms.",
"From the foregoing, and as shown particularly in FIGS. 9a through 9d, the variation in the patterns will ensure that an indicia, such as a barcode signal, irrespective as to the orientation thereof will be fully scanned as a result of the varying intensity between "F"",
"and "Z".",
"The particular full omni-directional scanning pattern which is obtained by varying the intensity of the energization of the read-start unit by the control device, in effect, by providing sinusoidal amplitudes for both the "X"",
"and "Z"",
"oscillations, i.e. the oscillations respectively resulting from bending vibrations of either the planar or U-shaped springs and from the torsional vibration of the planar spring, of the scan element, and also by utilizing some rotational movement of the scan element as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 3 for the scanning device, will produce a full omni-directional pattern created by an integration of the scan amplitudes during the opening time, as shown in FIGS. 10a and 10b.",
"This correlated change in the relative amplitudes of the "Z"",
"and the "Y"",
"oscillations permit for a decoding of a symbol in any orientation during the opening up-time of the cycle, which may extend through a time period of up to 200 msec.",
"The FIG. 7 scan pattern is achievable by precise varying of the frequencies and without rotating the springs.",
"The resonant torsional or twist frequency of the planar spring is 200 Hz.",
"The resonant bending frequencies of the planar and u-shaped springs are respectively 100 and 400 Hz.",
"The coil supplies a constant resonant twist frequency of 200 Hz.",
"while simultaneously supplying a resonant bending frequency which is switched between 100 and 400 Hz.",
"Because the resonant frequencies of the two springs for twisting and bending vibration are different, the superimposed frequencies drive only the particular spring which resonates at the driving frequency or frequencies.",
"In the example given, there is no overlap of frequencies.",
"The driving forces are at 100, 200 and 400 Hz.",
"Those springs not having a natural frequency at a particular forcing frequency will not vibrate in response to that frequency.",
"Thus, a spring with natural frequencies of 100 and 600 Hz.",
"will resonate at those frequencies and not at frequencies which are lower or higher.",
"The springs are driven at resonant frequency.",
"The foregoing in a clear and accurate manner will enable the omni-directional scanning of indicia irrespective of orientations thereof deviating from the normal, and without having to utilize additional motor or drive components, by simply incorporating the control element 221 in existing scanner structures.",
"While there have been shown and described what are considered to be preferred embodiments of the invention, it will, of course, be understood that various modifications and changes in form or detail could readily be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.",
"It is therefore intended that the invention not be limited to the exact form and detail herein shown and described, nor to anything less than the whole of the invention herein disclosed as hereinafter claimed."
] |
SUMMARY
[0001] In one aspect, an apparatus includes, but is not limited to a first case portion including a first interior portion, the first interior portion including a first surface and a plurality of first protrusions, the plurality of first protrusions extending from the first surface of the first interior portion, the plurality of first protrusions configured to affixedly engage with one or more smooth surface portions of a rear side portion of a portable device keyboard portion. In addition to the foregoing, other method aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of the disclosure set forth herein.
[0002] In addition to the foregoing, various other aspects are set forth and described in the teachings such as text (e.g., claims and/or detailed description) and/or drawings of the present disclosure. The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications, generalizations, inclusions, and/or omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is NOT intended to be in any way limiting. Other aspects, features, and advantages of the devices and/or processes and/or other subject matter described herein will become apparent in the teachings set forth herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0003] For a more complete understanding of embodiments, reference now is made to the following descriptions taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. The use of the same symbols in different drawings typically indicates similar or identical items, unless context dictates otherwise.
[0004] With reference now to the figures, shown are one or more examples of disparate material outsole based articles of manufacture, compositions of matter, systems for producing and/or methods for producing same that may provide context, for instance, in introducing one or more processes and/or devices described herein.
[0005] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable electronic device case shown as opened up in an open disposition with exemplary embodiment depicted for a portable electronic device as a laptop computer.
[0006] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the portable electronic device case of FIG. 1 shown as opened up in an open disposition containing an exemplary portable electronic device as a laptop computer.
[0007] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the portable electronic device case of FIG. 1 shown as closed up in a closed disposition.
[0008] FIG. 4A is a top plan view of a first protrusion assembly of the portable electronic device case of FIG. 1 , the first protrusion assembly depicted as containing suction cup protrusions.
[0009] FIG. 4B is a side elevational view of the first protrusion assembly of FIG. 4A .
[0010] FIG. 4C is a bottom plan view of the first protrusion assembly of FIG. 4A .
[0011] FIG. 5A is a top plan view of a second protrusion assembly of the portable electronic device case of FIG. 1 , the second protrusion assembly depicted as containing suction cup protrusions.
[0012] FIG. 5B is a side elevational view of the second protrusion assembly of FIG. 5A .
[0013] FIG. 5C is a bottom plan view of the second protrusion assembly of FIG. 5A .
[0014] FIG. 6A is a top plan view of a first corner guard assembly of the portable electronic device case of FIG. 1 .
[0015] FIG. 6B is a side elevational view of the first corner guard assembly of FIG. 6A .
[0016] FIG. 6C is a bottom plan view of the first corner guard assembly of FIG. 6A .
[0017] FIG. 6D is a cross-sectional side elevational view along cut-line 6 D- 6 D of the first corner guard assembly of FIG. 6A .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here.
[0019] Conventional cases for portable electronic devices can use straps and other securing means that can cause obstructions and be visually and tactilely displeasing. Furthermore, use of cases that are always affixed to devices can cause unwanted heat buildup during device operation.
[0020] Referring now to FIG. 1 , portable device case 10 is depicted as opened up in an open disposition and as having first case portion 12 and second case portion 14 with flexible hinge-like portion 16 positioned there betwixt to allow for axially oriented motion of the first case portion 12 and the second case portion 14 relative therebetween. The portable device case 10 also includes first and second support strap 18 to provide further support between the first case portion 12 and the second case portion 14 .
[0021] The first case portion 12 includes first interior 20 further including first layer 22 and first protrusion assembly 24 . The first layer 22 can be made from a fabric or other flexible material. The first protrusion assembly 24 can be a single molded piece and includes first protrusion base member 26 with first sized protrusion 28 and second sized protrusion 30 extending therefrom. The first sized protrusion 28 and the second sized protrusion 30 can be made from a high grade silicone or other similarly deformable material and are depicted as variously sized suction cups in the exemplary implementation. The first interior 20 further includes first case corner 32 and first corner guard assembly 34 located therein. The first corner guard assembly 34 includes first corner base member 36 and first corner guard member 38 , which can be a single piece molded from a high grade silicone or other resilient material. In addition, the first interior 20 further includes second case corner 40 and second corner guard assembly 42 located therein. The second corner guard assembly 42 includes second corner base member 44 and second corner guard member 46 , which can also be molded from a high grade silicone or other resilient material. The first corner guard member 38 and second corner guard member 46 of the first corner guard assembly 34 and the second corner guard assembly 42 , respectively, with their perpendicularly oriented wall portions form corner-shaped supports to engage with device housing corners to help secure a contained portable electronic device such as a laptop to prevent sliding of such therein or accidental ejection of such there out.
[0022] The second case portion 14 includes second interior 50 , which includes second layer 52 and second protrusion assembly 54 . The second layer 52 can be made from a fabric or other flexible material. The second protrusion assembly 54 includes second protrusion base member 56 with first sized protrusion 58 and second sized protrusion 60 . The first sized protrusion 58 and the second sized protrusion 60 can be made from a high grade silicone or other similarly deformable material and are depicted as variously sized suction cups. Depicted locations of the second corner guard member 46 and the second corner guard member 46 are exemplary such that other positions can be selected for instance to avoid unsmooth surface engagement (such as device feet or vents) with the first sized protrusion 28 , second sized protrusion 30 , first sized protrusion 58 , and second sized protrusion 60 . Also the first sized protrusion 28 , second sized protrusion 30 , first sized protrusion 58 , and second sized protrusion 60 can include more variations in size such as more variation in size of suction cups.
[0023] As depicted in FIG. 2 , the portable device case 10 is shown as opened up in an open disposition and as containing a portable electronic device 70 depicted as a laptop computer. The exemplary portable electronic device 70 is shown as having portable device keyboard assembly 72 including keyboard assembly front side portion 74 , keyboard surface portion 76 , and touch pad surface portion 78 . The exemplary portable electronic device 70 is also shown as having portable device display assembly 80 including display assembly front side portion 82 and display surface portion 84 .
[0024] Referring now to FIG. 3 , depicted therein is the portable device case 10 as closed up in a closed disposition with the first zipper portion 48 and the second zipper portion 62 mated together in a zippered disposition. In addition, the portable device case 10 is shown as having zipper handle 90 , zipper handle 92 , zipper 94 , and zipper handle 96 as well. Alternatively, the portable device case 10 could employ fastening means other than zipper mechanisms such as snaps, buckles, Velcro flaps, etc.
[0025] Further depicted in FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C is the first protrusion assembly 24 shown in FIG. 4B as including back side of first protrusion base member 100 , which can be affixed to the first layer 22 of the first interior 20 by adhesive, sewing (such around a periphery of the first protrusion base member 26 ), stapling, bolting, slotted engagements, slide-lock into rigid connection, etc. The back side of first protrusion base member 100 can be other shapes and sizes such as rectangular as a rectangular shape and can also be further affixed to other structural layers such as one or more fabric, foam, plastic, rigid board panels, that can make up additional internal layers of the first case portion 12 to reduce flexing movement of the first sized protrusion 28 and the second sized protrusion 30 , such as depicted as suction cups. The first protrusion assembly 24 is further shown with its first sized protrusion 28 and second sized protrusion 30 fixedly engaged with a smooth surface portion of keyboard assembly rear side portion 102 of the portable device keyboard assembly 72 . The first sized protrusion 28 and the second sized protrusion 30 are further shown as having support stem 28 a and support stem 30 a, respectively, both extending from the first protrusion base member 26 of the first protrusion assembly 24 . The support stem 28 a and the support stem 30 a further extend the keyboard assembly rear side portion 102 of the portable device keyboard assembly 72 away from the first protrusion base member 26 thereby creating air gap 104 , which can aid in cooling of the portable electronic device 70 .
[0026] Further depicted in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C is the second protrusion assembly 54 shown in FIG. 5B as including air gap 110 , which can be affixed to the second layer 52 of the second interior 50 by adhesive, sewing (such around a periphery of the second protrusion base member 56 ), stapling, bolting, slotted engagements, slide-lock into rigid connection, etc. The second protrusion base member back side 108 can be other shapes and sizes such as rectangular as a rectangular shape and can also be further affixed to other structural layers such as one or more fabric, foam, plastic, one or more rigid board panels that can make up additional internal layers of the second case portion 14 to reduce flexing movement of the first sized protrusion 58 and the second sized protrusion 60 , such as depicted as suction cups. The second protrusion assembly 54 is further shown with its first sized protrusion 58 and second sized protrusion 60 fixedly engaged with a smooth surface portion of display assembly rear side portion 106 of the portable device display assembly 80 . The first sized protrusion 58 and the second sized protrusion 60 are further shown as having support stem 58 a and support stem 60 a, respectively, both extending from the second protrusion base member 56 of the second protrusion assembly 54 . The support stem 58 a and the support stem 60 a further extend the display assembly rear side portion 106 of the portable device display assembly 80 away from the second protrusion base member 56 of the second protrusion assembly 54 thereby creating air gap 110 , which can aid in cooling of the portable electronic device 70 .
[0027] Further depicted in FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D is the first corner guard assembly 34 shown in FIG. 6B as including first corner guard member back side 112 , which can be affixed to the first layer 22 of the first interior 20 by adhesive, sewing, stapling, bolting, slotted engagements, etc.
[0028] While particular aspects of the present subject matter described herein have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be made without departing from the subject matter described herein and its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to claims containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that typically a disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms unless context dictates otherwise. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be typically understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
[0029] With respect to the appended claims, those skilled in the art will appreciate that recited operations therein may generally be performed in any order. Also, although various operational flows are presented in a sequence(s), it should be understood that the various operations may be performed in other orders than those which are illustrated, or may be performed concurrently. Examples of such alternate orderings may include overlapping, interleaved, interrupted, reordered, incremental, preparatory, supplemental, simultaneous, reverse, or other variant orderings, unless context dictates otherwise. Furthermore, terms like “responsive to,” “related to,” or other past-tense adjectives are generally not intended to exclude such variants, unless context dictates otherwise. | Systems and methods are involved with but are not limited to: a first case portion including a first interior portion, the first interior portion including a first layer and a plurality of first protrusions, the plurality of first protrusions coupled to the first layer and extending therefrom, the plurality of first protrusions configured to affixedly engage with one or more smooth surface portions of a rear side portion of a portable device keyboard assembly. In addition to the foregoing, other method aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of the present disclosure. | Identify and summarize the most critical features from the given passage. | [
"SUMMARY [0001] In one aspect, an apparatus includes, but is not limited to a first case portion including a first interior portion, the first interior portion including a first surface and a plurality of first protrusions, the plurality of first protrusions extending from the first surface of the first interior portion, the plurality of first protrusions configured to affixedly engage with one or more smooth surface portions of a rear side portion of a portable device keyboard portion.",
"In addition to the foregoing, other method aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of the disclosure set forth herein.",
"[0002] In addition to the foregoing, various other aspects are set forth and described in the teachings such as text (e.g., claims and/or detailed description) and/or drawings of the present disclosure.",
"The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications, generalizations, inclusions, and/or omissions of detail;",
"consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is NOT intended to be in any way limiting.",
"Other aspects, features, and advantages of the devices and/or processes and/or other subject matter described herein will become apparent in the teachings set forth herein.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES [0003] For a more complete understanding of embodiments, reference now is made to the following descriptions taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.",
"The use of the same symbols in different drawings typically indicates similar or identical items, unless context dictates otherwise.",
"[0004] With reference now to the figures, shown are one or more examples of disparate material outsole based articles of manufacture, compositions of matter, systems for producing and/or methods for producing same that may provide context, for instance, in introducing one or more processes and/or devices described herein.",
"[0005] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable electronic device case shown as opened up in an open disposition with exemplary embodiment depicted for a portable electronic device as a laptop computer.",
"[0006] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the portable electronic device case of FIG. 1 shown as opened up in an open disposition containing an exemplary portable electronic device as a laptop computer.",
"[0007] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the portable electronic device case of FIG. 1 shown as closed up in a closed disposition.",
"[0008] FIG. 4A is a top plan view of a first protrusion assembly of the portable electronic device case of FIG. 1 , the first protrusion assembly depicted as containing suction cup protrusions.",
"[0009] FIG. 4B is a side elevational view of the first protrusion assembly of FIG. 4A .",
"[0010] FIG. 4C is a bottom plan view of the first protrusion assembly of FIG. 4A .",
"[0011] FIG. 5A is a top plan view of a second protrusion assembly of the portable electronic device case of FIG. 1 , the second protrusion assembly depicted as containing suction cup protrusions.",
"[0012] FIG. 5B is a side elevational view of the second protrusion assembly of FIG. 5A .",
"[0013] FIG. 5C is a bottom plan view of the second protrusion assembly of FIG. 5A .",
"[0014] FIG. 6A is a top plan view of a first corner guard assembly of the portable electronic device case of FIG. 1 .",
"[0015] FIG. 6B is a side elevational view of the first corner guard assembly of FIG. 6A .",
"[0016] FIG. 6C is a bottom plan view of the first corner guard assembly of FIG. 6A .",
"[0017] FIG. 6D is a cross-sectional side elevational view along cut-line 6 D- 6 D of the first corner guard assembly of FIG. 6A .",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0018] In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof.",
"In the drawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise.",
"The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting.",
"Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here.",
"[0019] Conventional cases for portable electronic devices can use straps and other securing means that can cause obstructions and be visually and tactilely displeasing.",
"Furthermore, use of cases that are always affixed to devices can cause unwanted heat buildup during device operation.",
"[0020] Referring now to FIG. 1 , portable device case 10 is depicted as opened up in an open disposition and as having first case portion 12 and second case portion 14 with flexible hinge-like portion 16 positioned there betwixt to allow for axially oriented motion of the first case portion 12 and the second case portion 14 relative therebetween.",
"The portable device case 10 also includes first and second support strap 18 to provide further support between the first case portion 12 and the second case portion 14 .",
"[0021] The first case portion 12 includes first interior 20 further including first layer 22 and first protrusion assembly 24 .",
"The first layer 22 can be made from a fabric or other flexible material.",
"The first protrusion assembly 24 can be a single molded piece and includes first protrusion base member 26 with first sized protrusion 28 and second sized protrusion 30 extending therefrom.",
"The first sized protrusion 28 and the second sized protrusion 30 can be made from a high grade silicone or other similarly deformable material and are depicted as variously sized suction cups in the exemplary implementation.",
"The first interior 20 further includes first case corner 32 and first corner guard assembly 34 located therein.",
"The first corner guard assembly 34 includes first corner base member 36 and first corner guard member 38 , which can be a single piece molded from a high grade silicone or other resilient material.",
"In addition, the first interior 20 further includes second case corner 40 and second corner guard assembly 42 located therein.",
"The second corner guard assembly 42 includes second corner base member 44 and second corner guard member 46 , which can also be molded from a high grade silicone or other resilient material.",
"The first corner guard member 38 and second corner guard member 46 of the first corner guard assembly 34 and the second corner guard assembly 42 , respectively, with their perpendicularly oriented wall portions form corner-shaped supports to engage with device housing corners to help secure a contained portable electronic device such as a laptop to prevent sliding of such therein or accidental ejection of such there out.",
"[0022] The second case portion 14 includes second interior 50 , which includes second layer 52 and second protrusion assembly 54 .",
"The second layer 52 can be made from a fabric or other flexible material.",
"The second protrusion assembly 54 includes second protrusion base member 56 with first sized protrusion 58 and second sized protrusion 60 .",
"The first sized protrusion 58 and the second sized protrusion 60 can be made from a high grade silicone or other similarly deformable material and are depicted as variously sized suction cups.",
"Depicted locations of the second corner guard member 46 and the second corner guard member 46 are exemplary such that other positions can be selected for instance to avoid unsmooth surface engagement (such as device feet or vents) with the first sized protrusion 28 , second sized protrusion 30 , first sized protrusion 58 , and second sized protrusion 60 .",
"Also the first sized protrusion 28 , second sized protrusion 30 , first sized protrusion 58 , and second sized protrusion 60 can include more variations in size such as more variation in size of suction cups.",
"[0023] As depicted in FIG. 2 , the portable device case 10 is shown as opened up in an open disposition and as containing a portable electronic device 70 depicted as a laptop computer.",
"The exemplary portable electronic device 70 is shown as having portable device keyboard assembly 72 including keyboard assembly front side portion 74 , keyboard surface portion 76 , and touch pad surface portion 78 .",
"The exemplary portable electronic device 70 is also shown as having portable device display assembly 80 including display assembly front side portion 82 and display surface portion 84 .",
"[0024] Referring now to FIG. 3 , depicted therein is the portable device case 10 as closed up in a closed disposition with the first zipper portion 48 and the second zipper portion 62 mated together in a zippered disposition.",
"In addition, the portable device case 10 is shown as having zipper handle 90 , zipper handle 92 , zipper 94 , and zipper handle 96 as well.",
"Alternatively, the portable device case 10 could employ fastening means other than zipper mechanisms such as snaps, buckles, Velcro flaps, etc.",
"[0025] Further depicted in FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C is the first protrusion assembly 24 shown in FIG. 4B as including back side of first protrusion base member 100 , which can be affixed to the first layer 22 of the first interior 20 by adhesive, sewing (such around a periphery of the first protrusion base member 26 ), stapling, bolting, slotted engagements, slide-lock into rigid connection, etc.",
"The back side of first protrusion base member 100 can be other shapes and sizes such as rectangular as a rectangular shape and can also be further affixed to other structural layers such as one or more fabric, foam, plastic, rigid board panels, that can make up additional internal layers of the first case portion 12 to reduce flexing movement of the first sized protrusion 28 and the second sized protrusion 30 , such as depicted as suction cups.",
"The first protrusion assembly 24 is further shown with its first sized protrusion 28 and second sized protrusion 30 fixedly engaged with a smooth surface portion of keyboard assembly rear side portion 102 of the portable device keyboard assembly 72 .",
"The first sized protrusion 28 and the second sized protrusion 30 are further shown as having support stem 28 a and support stem 30 a, respectively, both extending from the first protrusion base member 26 of the first protrusion assembly 24 .",
"The support stem 28 a and the support stem 30 a further extend the keyboard assembly rear side portion 102 of the portable device keyboard assembly 72 away from the first protrusion base member 26 thereby creating air gap 104 , which can aid in cooling of the portable electronic device 70 .",
"[0026] Further depicted in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C is the second protrusion assembly 54 shown in FIG. 5B as including air gap 110 , which can be affixed to the second layer 52 of the second interior 50 by adhesive, sewing (such around a periphery of the second protrusion base member 56 ), stapling, bolting, slotted engagements, slide-lock into rigid connection, etc.",
"The second protrusion base member back side 108 can be other shapes and sizes such as rectangular as a rectangular shape and can also be further affixed to other structural layers such as one or more fabric, foam, plastic, one or more rigid board panels that can make up additional internal layers of the second case portion 14 to reduce flexing movement of the first sized protrusion 58 and the second sized protrusion 60 , such as depicted as suction cups.",
"The second protrusion assembly 54 is further shown with its first sized protrusion 58 and second sized protrusion 60 fixedly engaged with a smooth surface portion of display assembly rear side portion 106 of the portable device display assembly 80 .",
"The first sized protrusion 58 and the second sized protrusion 60 are further shown as having support stem 58 a and support stem 60 a, respectively, both extending from the second protrusion base member 56 of the second protrusion assembly 54 .",
"The support stem 58 a and the support stem 60 a further extend the display assembly rear side portion 106 of the portable device display assembly 80 away from the second protrusion base member 56 of the second protrusion assembly 54 thereby creating air gap 110 , which can aid in cooling of the portable electronic device 70 .",
"[0027] Further depicted in FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D is the first corner guard assembly 34 shown in FIG. 6B as including first corner guard member back side 112 , which can be affixed to the first layer 22 of the first interior 20 by adhesive, sewing, stapling, bolting, slotted engagements, etc.",
"[0028] While particular aspects of the present subject matter described herein have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be made without departing from the subject matter described herein and its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein.",
"It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open”",
"terms (e.g., the term “including”",
"should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having”",
"should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes”",
"should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.).",
"It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present.",
"For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one”",
"and “one or more”",
"to introduce claim recitations.",
"However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a”",
"or “an”",
"limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to claims containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more”",
"or “at least one”",
"and indefinite articles such as “a”",
"or “an”",
"(e.g., “a”",
"and/or “an”",
"should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one”",
"or “one or more”);",
"the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations.",
"In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations).",
"Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.”",
"is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C”",
"would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.).",
"In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.”",
"is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C”",
"would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.).",
"It will be further understood by those within the art that typically a disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms unless context dictates otherwise.",
"For example, the phrase “A or B”",
"will be typically understood to include the possibilities of “A”",
"or “B”",
"or “A and B.”",
"[0029] With respect to the appended claims, those skilled in the art will appreciate that recited operations therein may generally be performed in any order.",
"Also, although various operational flows are presented in a sequence(s), it should be understood that the various operations may be performed in other orders than those which are illustrated, or may be performed concurrently.",
"Examples of such alternate orderings may include overlapping, interleaved, interrupted, reordered, incremental, preparatory, supplemental, simultaneous, reverse, or other variant orderings, unless context dictates otherwise.",
"Furthermore, terms like “responsive to,” “related to,” or other past-tense adjectives are generally not intended to exclude such variants, unless context dictates otherwise."
] |
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/865,476, filed on Nov. 13, 2006, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
STATEMENT OF COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AGREEMENT
The present invention, as defined by the claims herein, was made by parties to a Joint Research Agreement (“Agreement”) between Arius Research Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of that Agreement. The Agreement was in effect prior to the date of the invention.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the isolation and production of cancerous disease modifying antibodies (CDMAB) and to the use of these CDMAB in therapeutic and diagnostic processes, optionally in combination with one or more chemotherapeutic agents. The invention further relates to binding assays which utilize the CDMAB of the instant invention.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Monoclonal Antibodies as Cancer Therapy: Each individual who presents with cancer is unique and has a cancer that is as different from other cancers as that person's identity. Despite this, current therapy treats all patients with the same type of cancer, at the same stage, in the same way. At least 30 percent of these patients will fail the first line therapy, thus leading to further rounds of treatment and the increased probability of treatment failure, metastases, and ultimately, death. A superior approach to treatment would be the customization of therapy for the particular individual. The only current therapy which lends itself to customization is surgery. Chemotherapy and radiation treatment cannot be tailored to the patient, and surgery by itself, in most cases is inadequate for producing cures.
With the advent of monoclonal antibodies, the possibility of developing methods for customized therapy became more realistic since each antibody can be directed to a single epitope. Furthermore, it is possible to produce a combination of antibodies that are directed to the constellation of epitopes that uniquely define a particular individual's tumor.
Having recognized that a significant difference between cancerous and normal cells is that cancerous cells contain antigens that are specific to transformed cells, the scientific community has long held that monoclonal antibodies can be designed to specifically target transformed cells by binding specifically to these cancer antigens; thus giving rise to the belief that monoclonal antibodies can serve as “Magic Bullets” to eliminate cancer cells. However, it is now widely recognized that no single monoclonal antibody can serve in all instances of cancer, and that monoclonal antibodies can be deployed, as a class, as targeted cancer treatments. Monoclonal antibodies isolated in accordance with the teachings of the instantly disclosed invention have been shown to modify the cancerous disease process in a manner which is beneficial to the patient, for example by reducing the tumor burden, and will variously be referred to herein as cancerous disease modifying antibodies (CDMAB) or “anti-cancer” antibodies.
At the present time, the cancer patient usually has few options of treatment. The regimented approach to cancer therapy has produced improvements in global survival and morbidity rates. However, to the particular individual, these improved statistics do not necessarily correlate with an improvement in their personal situation.
Thus, if a methodology was put forth which enabled the practitioner to treat each tumor independently of other patients in the same cohort, this would permit the unique approach of tailoring therapy to just that one person. Such a course of therapy would, ideally, increase the rate of cures, and produce better outcomes, thereby satisfying a long-felt need.
Historically, the use of polyclonal antibodies has been used with limited success in the treatment of human cancers. Lymphomas and leukemias have been treated with human plasma, but there were few prolonged remission or responses. Furthermore, there was a lack of reproducibility and there was no additional benefit compared to chemotherapy. Solid tumors such as breast cancers, melanomas and renal cell carcinomas have also been treated with human blood, chimpanzee serum, human plasma and horse serum with correspondingly unpredictable and ineffective results.
There have been many clinical trials of monoclonal antibodies for solid tumors. In the 1980s there were at least four clinical trials for human breast cancer which produced only one responder from at least 47 patients using antibodies against specific antigens or based on tissue selectivity. It was not until 1998 that there was a successful clinical trial using a humanized anti-Her2/neu antibody (HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab)) in combination with CISPLATIN. In this trial 37 patients were assessed for responses of which about a quarter had a partial response rate and an additional quarter had minor or stable disease progression. The median time to progression among the responders was 8.4 months with median response duration of 5.3 months.
HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab) was approved in 1998 for first line use in combination with TAXOL® (paclitaxel). Clinical study results showed an increase in the median time to disease progression for those who received antibody therapy plus TAXOL® (paclitaxel) (6.9 months) in comparison to the group that received TAXOL® (paclitaxel) alone (3.0 months). There was also a slight increase in median survival; 22 versus 18 months for the HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab) plus TAXOL® (paclitaxel) treatment arm versus the TAXOL® (paclitaxel) treatment alone arm. In addition, there was an increase in the number of both complete (8 versus 2 percent) and partial responders (34 versus 15 percent) in the antibody plus TAXOL® (paclitaxel) combination group in comparison to TAXOL® (paclitaxel) alone. However, treatment with HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab) and TAXOL® (paclitaxel) led to a higher incidence of cardiotoxicity in comparison to TAXOL® (paclitaxel) treatment alone (13 versus 1 percent respectively). Also, HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab) therapy was only effective for patients who over express (as determined through immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis) the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2/neu), a receptor, which currently has no known function or biologically important ligand; approximately 25 percent of patients who have metastatic breast cancer. Therefore, there is still a large unmet need for patients with breast cancer. Even those who can benefit from HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab) treatment would still require chemotherapy and consequently would still have to deal with, at least to some degree, the side effects of this kind of treatment.
The clinical trials investigating colorectal cancer involve antibodies against both glycoprotein and glycolipid targets. Antibodies such as 17-1A, which has some specificity for adenocarcinomas, has undergone Phase 2 clinical trials in over 60 patients with only 1 patient having a partial response. In other trials, use of 17-1A produced only 1 complete response and 2 minor responses among 52 patients in protocols using additional cyclophosphamide. To date, Phase III clinical trials of 17-1A have not demonstrated improved efficacy as adjuvant therapy for stage III colon cancer. The use of a humanized murine monoclonal antibody initially approved for imaging also did not produce tumor regression.
Only recently have there been any positive results from colorectal cancer clinical studies with the use of monoclonal antibodies. In 2004, ERBITUX® (cetuximab) was approved for the second line treatment of patients with EGFR-expressing metastatic colorectal cancer who are refractory to irinotecan-based chemotherapy. Results from both a two-arm Phase II clinical study and a single arm study showed that ERBITUX® (cetuximab) in combination with irinotecan had a response rate of 23 and 15 percent respectively with a median time to disease progression of 4.1 and 6.5 months respectively. Results from the same two-arm Phase II clinical study and another single arm study showed that treatment with ERBITUX® (cetuximab) alone resulted in an 11 and 9 percent response rate respectively with a median time to disease progression of 1.5 and 4.2 months respectively.
Consequently in both Switzerland and the United States, ERBITUX® (cetuximab) treatment in combination with irinotecan, and in the United States, ERBITUX® (cetuximab) treatment alone, has been approved as a second line treatment of colon cancer patients who have failed first line irinotecan therapy. Therefore, like HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab), treatment in Switzerland is only approved as a combination of monoclonal antibody and chemotherapy. In addition, treatment in both Switzerland and the US is only approved for patients as a second line therapy. Also, in 2004, AVASTIN® (bevacizumab) was approved for use in combination with intravenous 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy as a first line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. Phase III clinical study results demonstrated a prolongation in the median survival of patients treated with AVASTIN® (bevacizumab) plus 5-fluorouracil compared to patients treated with 5-fluourouracil alone (20 months versus 16 months respectively). However, again like HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab) and ERBITUX® (cetuximab), treatment is only approved as a combination of monoclonal antibody and chemotherapy.
There also continues to be poor results for lung, brain, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, and stomach cancer. The most promising recent results for non-small cell lung cancer came from a Phase II clinical trial where treatment involved a monoclonal antibody (SGN-15; dox-BR96, anti-Sialyl-LeX) conjugated to the cell-killing drug doxorubicin in combination with the chemotherapeutic agent TAXOTERE® (docetaxel). TAXOTERE® (docetaxel) is the only FDA approved chemotherapy for the second line treatment of lung cancer. Initial data indicate an improved overall survival compared to TAXOTERE® (docetaxel) alone. Out of the 62 patients who were recruited for the study, two-thirds received SGN-15 in combination with TAXOTERE® (docetaxel) while the remaining one-third received TAXOTERE® (docetaxel) alone. For the patients receiving SGN-15 in combination with TAXOTERE® (docetaxel), median overall survival was 7.3 months in comparison to 5.9 months for patients receiving TAXOTERE® (docetaxel) alone. Overall survival at 1 year and 18 months was 29 and 18 percent respectively for patients receiving SNG-15 plus TAXOTERE® (docetaxel) compared to 24 and 8 percent respectively for patients receiving TAXOTERE® (docetaxel) alone. Further clinical trials are planned.
Preclinically, there has been some limited success in the use of monoclonal antibodies for melanoma. Very few of these antibodies have reached clinical trials and to date none have been approved or demonstrated favorable results in Phase III clinical trials.
The discovery of new drugs to treat disease is hindered by the lack of identification of relevant targets among the products of 30,000 known genes that could contribute to disease pathogenesis. In oncology research, potential drug targets are often selected simply due to the fact that they are over-expressed in tumor cells. Targets thus identified are then screened for interaction with a multitude of compounds. In the case of potential antibody therapies, these candidate compounds are usually derived from traditional methods of monoclonal antibody generation according to the fundamental principles laid down by Kohler and Milstein (1975, Nature, 256, 495-497, Kohler and Milstein). Spleen cells are collected from mice immunized with antigen (e.g. whole cells, cell fractions, purified antigen) and fused with immortalized hybridoma partners. The resulting hybridomas are screened and selected for secretion of antibodies which bind most avidly to the target. Many therapeutic and diagnostic antibodies directed against cancer cells, including HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab) and RITUXIMAB, have been produced using these methods and selected on the basis of their affinity. The flaws in this strategy are two-fold. Firstly, the choice of appropriate targets for therapeutic or diagnostic antibody binding is limited by the paucity of knowledge surrounding tissue specific carcinogenic processes and the resulting simplistic methods, such as selection by overexpression, by which these targets are identified. Secondly, the assumption that the drug molecule that binds to the receptor with the greatest affinity usually has the highest probability for initiating or inhibiting a signal may not always be the case.
Despite some progress with the treatment of breast and colon cancer, the identification and development of efficacious antibody therapies, either as single agents or co-treatments, has been inadequate for all types of cancer.
Prior Patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,750,102 discloses a process wherein cells from a patient's tumor are transfected with MHC genes which may be cloned from cells or tissue from the patient. These transfected cells are then used to vaccinate the patient.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,581 discloses a process comprising the steps of obtaining monoclonal antibodies that are specific to an internal cellular component of neoplastic and normal cells of the mammal but not to external components, labeling the monoclonal antibody, contacting the labeled antibody with tissue of a mammal that has received therapy to kill neoplastic cells, and determining the effectiveness of therapy by measuring the binding of the labeled antibody to the internal cellular component of the degenerating neoplastic cells. In preparing antibodies directed to human intracellular antigens, the patentee recognizes that malignant cells represent a convenient source of such antigens.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,665 provides a novel antibody and method for its production. Specifically, the patent teaches formation of a monoclonal antibody which has the property of binding strongly to a protein antigen associated with human tumors, e.g. those of the colon and lung, while binding to normal cells to a much lesser degree.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,596 provides a method of cancer therapy comprising surgically removing tumor tissue from a human cancer patient, treating the tumor tissue to obtain tumor cells, irradiating the tumor cells to be viable but non-tumorigenic, and using these cells to prepare a vaccine for the patient capable of inhibiting recurrence of the primary tumor while simultaneously inhibiting metastases. The patent teaches the development of monoclonal antibodies which are reactive with surface antigens of tumor cells. As set forth at col. 4, lines 45 et seq., the patentees utilize autochthonous tumor cells in the development of monoclonal antibodies expressing active specific immunotherapy in human neoplasia.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,693,763 teaches a glycoprotein antigen characteristic of human carcinomas and not dependent upon the epithelial tissue of origin.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,783,186 is drawn to Anti-Her2 antibodies which induce apoptosis in Her2 expressing cells, hybridoma cell lines producing the antibodies, methods of treating cancer using the antibodies and pharmaceutical compositions including said antibodies.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,849,876 describes new hybridoma cell lines for the production of monoclonal antibodies to mucin antigens purified from tumor and non-tumor tissue sources.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,869,268 is drawn to a method for generating a human lymphocyte producing an antibody specific to a desired antigen, a method for producing a monoclonal antibody, as well as monoclonal antibodies produced by the method. The patent is particularly drawn to the production of an anti-HD human monoclonal antibody useful for the diagnosis and treatment of cancers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,869,045 relates to antibodies, antibody fragments, antibody conjugates and single-chain immunotoxins reactive with human carcinoma cells. The mechanism by which these antibodies function is two-fold, in that the molecules are reactive with cell membrane antigens present on the surface of human carcinomas, and further in that the antibodies have the ability to internalize within the carcinoma cells, subsequent to binding, making them especially useful for forming antibody-drug and antibody-toxin conjugates. In their unmodified form the antibodies also manifest cytotoxic properties at specific concentrations.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,780,033 discloses the use of autoantibodies for tumor therapy and prophylaxis. However, this antibody is an antinuclear autoantibody from an aged mammal. In this case, the autoantibody is said to be one type of natural antibody found in the immune system. Because the autoantibody comes from “an aged mammal”, there is no requirement that the autoantibody actually comes from the patient being treated. In addition the patent discloses natural and monoclonal antinuclear autoantibody from an aged mammal, and a hybridoma cell line producing a monoclonal antinuclear autoantibody.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This application utilizes methodology for producing patient specific anti-cancer antibodies taught in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,357 patent for isolating hybridoma cell lines which encode for cancerous disease modifying monoclonal antibodies. These antibodies can be made specifically for one tumor and thus make possible the customization of cancer therapy. Within the context of this application, anti-cancer antibodies having either cell-killing (cytotoxic) or cell-growth inhibiting (cytostatic) properties will hereafter be referred to as cytotoxic. These antibodies can be used in aid of staging and diagnosis of a cancer, and can be used to treat tumor metastases. These antibodies can also be used for the prevention of cancer by way of prophylactic treatment. Unlike antibodies generated according to traditional drug discovery paradigms, antibodies generated in this way may target molecules and pathways not previously shown to be integral to the growth and/or survival of malignant tissue. Furthermore, the binding affinities of these antibodies are suited to requirements for initiation of the cytotoxic events that may not be amenable to stronger affinity interactions. Also, it is within the purview of this invention to conjugate standard chemotherapeutic modalities, e.g. radionuclides, with the CDMAB of the instant invention, thereby focusing the use of said chemotherapeutics. The CDMAB can also be conjugated to toxins, cytotoxic moieties, enzymes e.g. biotin conjugated enzymes, or hematogenous cells, thereby forming an antibody conjugate.
The prospect of individualized anti-cancer treatment will bring about a change in the way a patient is managed. A likely clinical scenario is that a tumor sample is obtained at the time of presentation, and banked. From this sample, the tumor can be typed from a panel of pre-existing cancerous disease modifying antibodies. The patient will be conventionally staged but the available antibodies can be of use in further staging the patient. The patient can be treated immediately with the existing antibodies, and a panel of antibodies specific to the tumor can be produced either using the methods outlined herein or through the use of phage display libraries in conjunction with the screening methods herein disclosed. All the antibodies generated will be added to the library of anti-cancer antibodies since there is a possibility that other tumors can bear some of the same epitopes as the one that is being treated. The antibodies produced according to this method may be useful to treat cancerous disease in any number of patients who have cancers that bind to these antibodies.
In addition to anti-cancer antibodies, the patient can elect to receive the currently recommended therapies as part of a multi-modal regimen of treatment. The fact that the antibodies isolated via the present methodology are relatively non-toxic to non-cancerous cells allows for combinations of antibodies at high doses to be used, either alone, or in conjunction with conventional therapy. The high therapeutic index will also permit re-treatment on a short time scale that should decrease the likelihood of emergence of treatment resistant cells.
If the patient is refractory to the initial course of therapy or metastases develop, the process of generating specific antibodies to the tumor can be repeated for re-treatment. Furthermore, the anti-cancer antibodies can be conjugated to red blood cells obtained from that patient and re-infused for treatment of metastases. There have been few effective treatments for metastatic cancer and metastases usually portend a poor outcome resulting in death. However, metastatic cancers are usually well vascularized and the delivery of anti-cancer antibodies by red blood cells can have the effect of concentrating the antibodies at the site of the tumor. Even prior to metastases, most cancer cells are dependent on the host's blood supply for their survival and an anti-cancer antibody conjugated to red blood cells can be effective against in situ tumors as well. Alternatively, the antibodies may be conjugated to other hematogenous cells, e.g. lymphocytes, macrophages, monocytes, natural killer cells, etc.
There are five classes of antibodies and each is associated with a function that is conferred by its heavy chain. It is generally thought that cancer cell killing by naked antibodies are mediated either through antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity or complement dependent cytotoxicity. For example murine IgM and IgG2a antibodies can activate human complement by binding the C-1 component of the complement system thereby activating the classical pathway of complement activation which can lead to tumor lysis. For human antibodies the most effective complement activating antibodies are generally IgM and IgG1. Murine antibodies of the IgG2a and IgG3 isotype are effective at recruiting cytotoxic cells that have Fc receptors which will lead to cell killing by monocytes, macrophages, granulocytes and certain lymphocytes. Human antibodies of both the IgG1 and IgG3 isotype mediate ADCC.
Another possible mechanism of antibody mediated cancer killing may be through the use of antibodies that function to catalyze the hydrolysis of various chemical bonds in the cell membrane and its associated glycoproteins or glycolipids, so-called catalytic antibodies.
There are three additional mechanisms of antibody-mediated cancer cell killing. The first is the use of antibodies as a vaccine to induce the body to produce an immune response against the putative antigen that resides on the cancer cell. The second is the use of antibodies to target growth receptors and interfere with their function or to down regulate that receptor so that its function is effectively lost. The third is the effect of such antibodies on direct ligation of cell surface moieties that may lead to direct cell death, such as ligation of death receptors such as TRAIL R1 or TRAIL R2, or integrin molecules such as alpha V beta 3 and the like.
The clinical utility of a cancer drug is based on the benefit of the drug under an acceptable risk profile to the patient. In cancer therapy survival has generally been the most sought after benefit, however there are a number of other well-recognized benefits in addition to prolonging life. These other benefits, where treatment does not adversely affect survival, include symptom palliation, protection against adverse events, prolongation in time to recurrence or disease-free survival, and prolongation in time to progression. These criteria are generally accepted and regulatory bodies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (F.D.A.) approve drugs that produce these benefits (Hirschfeld et al. Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematolgy 42:137-143 2002). In addition to these criteria it is well recognized that there are other endpoints that may presage these types of benefits. In part, the accelerated approval process granted by the U.S. F.D.A. acknowledges that there are surrogates that will likely predict patient benefit. As of year-end 2003, there have been sixteen drugs approved under this process, and of these, four have gone on to full approval, i.e., follow-up studies have demonstrated direct patient benefit as predicted by surrogate endpoints. One important endpoint for determining drug effects in solid tumors is the assessment of tumor burden by measuring response to treatment (Therasse et al. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 92(3):205-216 2000). The clinical criteria (RECIST criteria) for such evaluation have been promulgated by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors Working Group, a group of international experts in cancer. Drugs with a demonstrated effect on tumor burden, as shown by objective responses according to RECIST criteria, in comparison to the appropriate control group tend to, ultimately, produce direct patient benefit. In the pre-clinical setting tumor burden is generally more straightforward to assess and document. In that pre-clinical studies can be translated to the clinical setting, drugs that produce prolonged survival in pre-clinical models have the greatest anticipated clinical utility. Analogous to producing positive responses to clinical treatment, drugs that reduce tumor burden in the pre-clinical setting may also have significant direct impact on the disease. Although prolongation of survival is the most sought after clinical outcome from cancer drug treatment, there are other benefits that have clinical utility and it is clear that tumor burden reduction, which may correlate to a delay in disease progression, extended survival or both, can also lead to direct benefits and have clinical impact (Eckhardt et al. Developmental Therapeutics: Successes and Failures of Clinical Trial Designs of Targeted Compounds; ASCO Educational Book, 39 th Annual Meeting, 2003, pages 209-219).
The present invention describes the development and use of AR51A165.2 identified by its effect in a cytotoxic assay and in an animal model of human cancer. This invention describes reagents that bind specifically to an epitope or epitopes present on the target molecule, and that also have in vitro cytotoxic properties, as a naked antibody, against malignant tumor cells but not normal cells, and which also directly mediate, as a naked antibody, inhibition of tumor growth. A further advance is of the use of anti-cancer antibodies such as this to target tumors expressing cognate antigen markers to achieve tumor growth inhibition, and other positive endpoints of cancer treatment.
In all, this invention teaches the use of the AR51A165.2 antigen as a target for a therapeutic agent, that when administered can reduce the tumor burden of a cancer expressing the antigen in a mammal. This invention also teaches the use of CDMAB (AR51A165.2), and their derivatives, and antigen binding fragments thereof, and cytotoxicity inducing ligands thereof, to target their antigen to reduce the tumor burden of a cancer expressing the antigen in a mammal. Furthermore, this invention also teaches the use of detecting the AR51A165.2 antigen in cancerous cells that can be useful for the diagnosis, prediction of therapy, and prognosis of mammals bearing tumors that express this antigen.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the invention to utilize a method for producing cancerous disease modifying antibodies (CDMAB) raised against cancerous cells derived from a particular individual, or one or more particular cancer cell lines, which CDMAB are cytotoxic with respect to cancer cells while simultaneously being relatively non-toxic to non-cancerous cells, in order to isolate hybridoma cell lines and the corresponding isolated monoclonal antibodies and antigen binding fragments thereof for which said hybridoma cell lines are encoded.
It is an additional objective of the invention to teach cancerous disease modifying antibodies, ligands and antigen binding fragments thereof.
It is a further objective of the instant invention to produce cancerous disease modifying antibodies whose cytotoxicity is mediated through antibody dependent cellular toxicity.
It is yet an additional objective of the instant invention to produce cancerous disease modifying antibodies whose cytotoxicity is mediated through complement dependent cellular toxicity.
It is still a further objective of the instant invention to produce cancerous disease modifying antibodies whose cytotoxicity is a function of their ability to catalyze hydrolysis of cellular chemical bonds.
A still further objective of the instant invention is to produce cancerous disease modifying antibodies which are useful for in a binding assay for diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of cancer.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1 compares the percentage cytotoxicity and binding levels of the hybridoma supernatants against cell lines OCC-1, OVCAR-3 and CCD-27sk.
FIG. 2 represents binding of AR51A165.2 to cancer and normal cell lines. The data is tabulated to present the mean fluorescence intensity as a fold increase above isotype control.
FIG. 3 includes representative FACS histograms of AR51A165.2 and anti-EGFR antibodies directed against several cancer and non-cancer cell lines.
FIG. 4 demonstrates the effect of AR51A165.2 on tumor growth in a prophylactic BxPC-3 pancreatic cancer model. The vertical dashed lines indicate the period during which the antibody was administered. Data points represent the mean +/−SEM.
FIG. 5 demonstrates the effect of AR51A165.2 on body weight in a prophylactic BxPC-3 pancreatic cancer model. Data points represent the mean +/−SEM.
FIG. 6 demonstrates the effect of AR51A165.2 on tumor growth in a prophylactic MDA-MB-231 breast cancer model. The vertical dashed lines indicate the period during which the antibody was administered. Data points represent the mean SEM.
FIG. 7 demonstrates the effect of AR51A165.2 on body weight in a prophylactic MDA-MB-231 breast cancer model. Data points represent the mean +/−SEM.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In general, the following words or phrases have the indicated definition when used in the summary, description, examples, and claims.
The term “antibody” is used in the broadest sense and specifically covers, for example, single monoclonal antibodies (including agonist, antagonist, and neutralizing antibodies, de-immunized, murine, chimerized or humanized antibodies), antibody compositions with polyepitopic specificity, single-chain antibodies, immunoconjugates and antibody fragments (see below).
The term “monoclonal antibody” as used herein refers to an antibody obtained from a population of substantially homogeneous antibodies, i.e., the individual antibodies comprising the population are identical except for possible naturally occurring mutations that may be present in minor amounts. Monoclonal antibodies are highly specific, being directed against a single antigenic site. Furthermore, in contrast to polyclonal antibody preparations which include different antibodies directed against different determinants (epitopes), each monoclonal antibody is directed against a single determinant on the antigen. In addition to their specificity, the monoclonal antibodies are advantageous in that they may be synthesized uncontaminated by other antibodies. The modifier “monoclonal” indicates the character of the antibody as being obtained from a substantially homogeneous population of antibodies, and is not to be construed as requiring production of the antibody by any particular method. For example, the monoclonal antibodies to be used in accordance with the present invention may be made by the hybridoma (murine or human) method first described by Kohler et al., Nature, 256:495 (1975), or may be made by recombinant DNA methods (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,567). The “monoclonal antibodies” may also be isolated from phage antibody libraries using the techniques described in Clackson et al., Nature, 352:624-628 (1991) and Marks et al., J. Mot Biol, 222:581-597 (1991), for example.
“Antibody fragments” comprise a portion of an intact antibody, preferably comprising the antigen-binding or variable region thereof. Examples of antibody fragments include less than full length antibodies, Fab, Fab′, F(ab′) 2 , and Fv fragments; diabodies; linear antibodies; single-chain antibody molecules; single-chain antibodies, single domain antibody molecules, fusion proteins, recombinant proteins and multispecific antibodies formed from antibody fragment(s).
An “intact” antibody is one which comprises an antigen-binding variable region as well as a light chain constant domain (C L ) and heavy chain constant domains, C H 1, C H 2 and C H 3. The constant domains may be native sequence constant domains (e.g. human native sequence constant domains) or amino acid sequence variant thereof. Preferably, the intact antibody has one or more effector functions.
Depending on the amino acid sequence of the constant domain of their heavy chains, intact antibodies can be assigned to different “classes”. There are five-major classes of intact antibodies: IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG, and IgM, and several of these may be further divided into “subclasses” (isotypes), e.g., IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgA, and IgA2. The heavy-chain constant domains that correspond to the different classes of antibodies are called α, δ, ε, γ, and μ, respectively. The subunit structures and three-dimensional configurations of different classes of immunoglobulins are well known.
Antibody “effector functions” refer to those biological activities attributable to the Fc region (a native sequence Fc region or amino acid sequence variant Fc region) of an antibody. Examples of antibody effector functions include C1q binding; complement dependent cytotoxicity; Fc receptor binding; antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC); phagocytosis; down regulation of cell surface receptors (e.g. B cell receptor; BCR), etc.
“Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity” and “ADCC” refer to a cell-mediated reaction in which nonspecific cytotoxic cells that express Fc receptors (FcRs) (e.g. Natural Killer (NK) cells, neutrophils, and macrophages) recognize bound antibody on a target cell and subsequently cause lysis of the target cell. The primary cells for mediating ADCC, NK cells, express FcγRIII only, whereas monocytes express FcγRI, FcγRII and FcγRIII. FcR expression on hematopoietic cells is summarized in Table 3 on page 464 of Ravetch and Kinet, Annu. Rev. Immunol 9:457-92 (1991). To assess ADCC activity of a molecule of interest, an in vitro ADCC assay, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,362 or 5,821,337 may be performed. Useful effector cells for such assays include peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and Natural Killer (NK) cells. Alternatively, or additionally, ADCC activity of the molecule of interest may be assessed in vivo, e.g., in a animal model such as that disclosed in Clynes et al. PNAS (USA) 95:652-656 (1998).
“Effector cells” are leukocytes which express one or more FcRs and perform effector functions. Preferably, the cells express at least FcγRIII and perform ADCC effector function. Examples of human leukocytes which mediate ADCC include peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), natural killer (NK) cells, monocytes, cytotoxic T cells and neutrophils; with PBMCs and NK cells being preferred. The effector cells may be isolated from a native source thereof, e.g. from blood or PBMCs as described herein.
The terms “Fc receptor” or “FcR” are used to describe a receptor that binds to the Fc region of an antibody. The preferred FcR is a native sequence human FcR. Moreover, a preferred FcR is one which binds an IgG antibody (a gamma receptor) and includes receptors of the FcγRI, FcγRII, and FcγRIII subclasses, including allelic variants and alternatively spliced forms of these receptors. FcγRII receptors include FcγRIIA (an “activating receptor”) and FcγRIIB (an “inhibiting receptor”), which have similar amino acid sequences that differ primarily in the cytoplasmic domains thereof. Activating receptor FcγRIIA contains an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM) in its cytoplasmic domain. Inhibiting receptor FcγRIIB contains an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibition motif (ITIM) in its cytoplasmic domain. (see review M. in Daëron, Annu. Rev. Immunol. 15:203-234 (1997)). FcRs are reviewed in Ravetch and Kinet, Annu. Rev. Immunol 9:457-92 (1991); Capel et al., Immunomethods 4:25-34 (1994); and de Haas et al., J. Lab. Clin. Med. 126:330-41 (1995). Other FcRs, including those to be identified in the future, are encompassed by the term “FcR” herein. The term also includes the neonatal receptor, FcRn, which is responsible for the transfer of maternal IgGs to the fetus (Guyer et al., J. Immunol. 117:587 (1976) and Kim et al., Eur. J. Immunol. 24:2429 (1994)).
“Complement dependent cytotoxicity” or “CDC” refers to the ability of a molecule to lyse a target in the presence of complement. The complement activation pathway is initiated by the binding of the first component of the complement system (C1q) to a molecule (e.g. an antibody) complexed with a cognate antigen. To assess complement activation, a CDC assay, e.g. as described in Gazzano-Santoro et al., J. Immunol. Methods 202:163 (1996), may be performed.
The term “variable” refers to the fact that certain portions of the variable domains differ extensively in sequence among antibodies and are used in the binding and specificity of each particular antibody for its particular antigen. However, the variability is not evenly distributed throughout the variable domains of antibodies. It is concentrated in three segments called hypervariable regions both in the light chain and the heavy chain variable domains. The more highly conserved portions of variable domains are called the framework regions (FRs). The variable domains of native heavy and light chains each comprise four FRs, largely adopting a β-sheet configuration, connected by three hypervariable regions, which form loops connecting, and in some cases forming part of, the 1-sheet structure. The hypervariable regions in each chain are held together in close proximity by the FRs and, with the hypervariable regions from the other chain, contribute to the formation of the antigen-binding site of antibodies (see Kabat et al., Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest, 5th Ed. Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. (1991)). The constant domains are not involved directly in binding an antibody to an antigen, but exhibit various effector functions, such as participation of the antibody in antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC).
The term “hypervariable region” when used herein refers to the amino acid residues of an antibody which are responsible for antigen-binding. The hypervariable region generally comprises amino acid residues from a “complementarity determining region” or “CDR” (e.g. residues 24-34 (L1), 50-56 (L2) and 89-97 (L3) in the light chain variable domain and 31-35 (H1), 50-65 (H2) and 95-102 (H3) in the heavy chain variable domain; Kabat et al., Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest, 5th Ed. Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. (1991)) and/or those residues from a “hypervariable loop” (e.g. residues 2632 (L1), 50-52 (L2) and 91-96 (L3) in the light chain variable domain and 26-32 (H1), 53-55 (H2) and 96-101 (H3) in the heavy chain variable domain; Chothia and Lesk J. Mol. Biol. 196:901-917 (1987)). “Framework Region” or “FR” residues are those variable domain residues other than the hypervariable region residues as herein defined. Papain digestion of antibodies produces two identical antigen-binding fragments, called “Fab” fragments, each with a single antigen-binding site, and a residual “Fc” fragment, whose name reflects its ability to crystallize readily. Pepsin treatment yields an F(ab′) 2 fragment that has two antigen-binding sites and is still capable of cross-linking antigen.
“Fv” is the minimum antibody fragment which contains a complete antigen-recognition and antigen-binding site. This region consists of a dimer of one heavy chain and one light chain variable domain in tight, non-covalent association. It is in this configuration that the three hypervariable regions of each variable domain interact to define an antigen-binding site on the surface of the V H -V L dimer. Collectively, the six hypervariable regions confer antigen-binding specificity to the antibody. However, even a single variable domain (or half of an Fv comprising only three hypervariable regions specific for an antigen) has the ability to recognize and bind antigen, although at a lower affinity than the entire binding site. The Fab fragment also contains the constant domain of the light chain and the first constant domain (CHI) of the heavy chain. Fab′ fragments differ from Fab fragments by the addition of a few residues at the carboxy terminus of the heavy chain CH1 domain including one or more cysteines from the antibody hinge region. Fab′-SH is the designation herein for Fab′ in which the cysteine residue(s) of the constant domains bear at least one free thiol group. F(ab′) 2 antibody fragments originally were produced as pairs of Fab′ fragments which have hinge cysteines between them. Other chemical couplings of antibody fragments are also known.
The “light chains” of antibodies from any vertebrate species can be assigned to one of two clearly distinct types, called kappa (κ) and lambda (λ), based on the amino acid sequences of their constant domains.
“Single-chain Fv” or “scFv” antibody fragments comprise the V H and V L domains of antibody, wherein these domains are present in a single polypeptide chain. Preferably, the Fv polypeptide further comprises a polypeptide linker between the V H and V L domains which enables the scFv to form the desired structure for antigen binding. For a review of scFv see Plückthun in The Pharmacology of Monoclonal Antibodies , vol. 113, Rosenburg and Moore eds., Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 269-315 (1994).
The term “diabodies” refers to small antibody fragments with two antigen-binding sites, which fragments comprise a variable heavy domain (V H ) connected to a variable light domain (V L ) in the same polypeptide chain (V H -V L ). By using a linker that is too short to allow pairing between the two domains on the same chain, the domains are forced to pair with the complementary domains of another chain and create two antigen-binding sites. Diabodies are described more fully in, for example, EP 404,097; WO 93/11161; and Hollinger et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 90:6444-6448 (1993).
An “isolated” antibody is one which has been identified and separated and/or recovered from a component of its natural environment. Contaminant components of its natural environment are materials which would interfere with diagnostic or therapeutic uses for the antibody, and may include enzymes, hormones, and other proteinaceous or nonproteinaceous solutes. Isolated antibody includes the antibody in situ within recombinant cells since at least one component of the antibody's natural environment will not be present. Ordinarily, however, isolated antibody will be prepared by at least one purification step.
An antibody “which binds” an antigen of interest is one capable of binding that antigen with sufficient affinity such that the antibody is useful as a therapeutic or diagnostic agent in targeting a cell expressing the antigen. Where the antibody is one which binds the antigenic moiety it will usually preferentially bind that antigenic moiety as opposed to other receptors, and does not include incidental binding such as non-specific Fc contact, or binding to post-translational modifications common to other antigens and may be one which does not significantly cross-react with other proteins. Methods, for the detection of an antibody that binds an antigen of interest, are well known in the art and can include but are not limited to assays such as FACS, cell ELISA and Western blot.
As used herein, the expressions “cell”, “cell line”, and “cell culture” are used interchangeably, and all such designations include progeny. It is also understood that all progeny may not be precisely identical in DNA content, due to deliberate or inadvertent mutations. Mutant progeny that have the same function or biological activity as screened for in the originally transformed cell are included. It will be clear from the context where distinct designations are intended.
“Treatment or treating” refers to both therapeutic treatment and prophylactic or preventative measures, wherein the object is to prevent or slow down (lessen) the targeted pathologic condition or disorder. Those in need of treatment include those already with the disorder as well as those prone to have the disorder or those in whom the disorder is to be prevented. Hence, the mammal to be treated herein may have been diagnosed as having the disorder or may be predisposed or susceptible to the disorder.
The terms “cancer” and “cancerous” refer to or describe the physiological condition in mammals that is typically characterized by unregulated cell growth or death. Examples of cancer include, but are not limited to, carcinoma, lymphoma, blastoma, sarcoma, and leukemia or lymphoid malignancies. More particular examples of such cancers include squamous cell cancer (e.g. epithelial squamous cell cancer), lung cancer including small-cell lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, adenocarcinoma of the lung and squamous carcinoma of the lung, cancer of the peritoneum, hepatocellular cancer, gastric or stomach cancer including gastrointestinal cancer, pancreatic cancer, glioblastoma, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, liver cancer, bladder cancer, hepatoma, breast cancer, colon cancer, rectal cancer, colorectal cancer, endometrial or uterine carcinoma, salivary gland carcinoma, kidney or renal cancer, prostate cancer, vulval cancer, thyroid cancer, hepatic carcinoma, anal carcinoma, penile carcinoma, as well as head and neck cancer.
A “chemotherapeutic agent” is a chemical compound useful in the treatment of cancer. Examples of chemotherapeutic agents include alkylating agents such as thiotepa and cyclosphosphamide (CYTOXAN™); alkyl sulfonates such as busulfan, improsulfan and piposulfan; aziridines such as benzodopa, carboquone, meturedopa, and uredopa; ethylenimines and methylamelamines including altretamine, triethylenemelamine, triethylenephosphoramide, triethylenethiophosphoramide and trimethylolomelamine; nitrogen mustards such as chlorambucil, chlomaphazine, cholophosphamide, estramustine, ifosfamide, mechlorethamine, mechlorethamine oxide hydrochloride, melphalan, novembichin, phenesterine, prednimustine, trofosfamide, uracil mustard; nitrosureas such as carmustine, chlorozotocin, fotemustine, lomustine, nimustine, ranimustine; antibiotics such as aclacinomysins, actinomycin, authramycin, azaserine, bleomycins, cactinomycin, calicheamicin, carabicin, carnomycin, carzinophilin, chromomycins, dactinomycin, daunorubicin, detorubicin, 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine, doxorubicin, epirubicin, esorubicin, idarubicin, marcellomycin, mitomycins, mycophenolic acid, nogalamycin, olivomycins, peplomycin, potfiromycin, puromycin, quelamycin, rodorubicin, streptonigrin, streptozocin, tubercidin, ubenimex, zinostatin, zorubicin; anti-metabolites such as methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU); folic acid analogues such as denopterin, methotrexate, pteropterin, trimetrexate; purine analogs such as fludarabine, 6-mercaptopurine, thiamiprine, thioguanine; pyrimidine analogs such as ancitabine, azacitidine, 6-azauridine, carmofur, cytarabine, dideoxyuridine, doxifluridine, enocitabine, floxuridine, 5-FU; androgens such as calusterone, dromostanolone propionate, epitiostanol, mepitiostane, testolactone; anti-adrenals such as aminoglutethimide, mitotane, trilostane; folic acid replenisher such as frolinic acid; aceglatone; aldophosphamide glycoside; aminolevulinic acid; amsacrine; bestrabucil; bisantrene; edatraxate; defofamine; demecolcine; diaziquone; elformithine; elliptinium acetate; etoglucid; gallium nitrate; hydroxyurea; lentinan; lonidamine; mitoguazone; mitoxantrone; mopidamol; nitracrine; pentostatin; phenamet; pirarubicin; podophyllinic acid; 2-ethylhydrazide; procarbazine; PSK®; razoxane; sizofuran; spirogermanium; tenuazonic acid; triaziquone; 2,2′,2″-trichlorotriethylamine; urethan; vindesine; dacarbazine; mannomustine; mitobronitol; mitolactol; pipobroman; gacytosine; arabinoside (“Ara-C”); cyclophosphamide; thiotepa; taxanes, e.g. paclitaxel (TAXOL®, Bristol-Myers Squibb Oncology, Princeton, N.J.) and docetaxel (TAXOTERE®, Aventis, Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, Antony, France); chlorambucil; gemcitabine; 6-thioguanine; mercaptopurine; methotrexate; platinum analogs such as cisplatin and carboplatin; vinblastine; platinum; etoposide (VP-16); ifosfamide; mitomycin C; mitoxantrone; vincristine; vinorelbine; navelbine; novantrone; teniposide; daunomycin; aminopterin; xeloda; ibandronate; CPT-11; topoisomerase inhibitor RFS 2000; difluoromethylornithine (DMFO); retinoic acid; esperamicins; capecitabine; and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, acids or derivatives of any of the above. Also included in this definition are anti-hormonal agents that act to regulate or inhibit hormone action on tumors such as anti-estrogens including for example tamoxifen, raloxifene, aromatase inhibiting 4(5)-imidazoles, 4-hydroxytamoxifen, trioxifene, keoxifene, LY117018, onapristone, and toremifene (Fareston); and anti-androgens such as flutamide, nilutamide, bicalutamide, leuprolide, and goserelin; and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, acids or derivatives of any of the above.
“Mammal” for purposes of treatment refers to any animal classified as a mammal, including humans, mice, SCID or nude mice or strains of mice, domestic and farm animals, and zoo, sports, or pet animals, such as sheep, dogs, horses, cats, cows, etc. Preferably, the mammal herein is human.
“Oligonucleotides” are short-length, single- or double-stranded polydeoxynucleotides that are chemically synthesized by known methods (such as phosphotriester, phosphite, or phosphoramidite chemistry, using solid phase techniques such as described in EP 266,032, published 4 May 1988, or via deoxynucleoside H-phosphonate intermediates as described by Froehler et al., Nucl. Acids Res., 14:5399-5407, 1986. They are then purified on polyacrylamide gels.
In accordance with the present invention, “humanized” and/or “chimeric” forms of non-human (e.g. murine) immunoglobulins refer to antibodies which contain specific chimeric immunoglobulins, immunoglobulin chains or fragments thereof (such as Fv, Fab, Fab′, F(ab′) 2 or other antigen-binding subsequences of antibodies) which results in the decrease of a human anti-mouse antibody (HAMA), human anti-chimeric antibody (HACA) or a human anti-human antibody (HAHA) response, compared to the original antibody, and contain the requisite portions (e.g. CDR(s), antigen binding region(s), variable domain(s) and so on) derived from said non-human immunoglobulin, necessary to reproduce the desired effect, while simultaneously retaining binding characteristics which are comparable to said non-human immunoglobulin. For the most part, humanized antibodies are human immunoglobulins (recipient antibody) in which residues from the complementarity determining regions (CDRs) of the recipient antibody are replaced by residues from the CDRs of a non-human species (donor antibody) such as mouse, rat or rabbit having the desired specificity, affinity and capacity. In some instances, Fv framework region (FR) residues of the human immunoglobulin are replaced by corresponding non-human FR residues. Furthermore, the humanized antibody may comprise residues which are found neither in the recipient antibody nor in the imported CDR or FR sequences. These modifications are made to further refine and optimize antibody performance. In general, the humanized antibody will comprise substantially all of at least one, and typically two, variable domains, in which all or substantially all of the CDR regions correspond to those of a non-human immunoglobulin and all or substantially all of the FR residues are those of a human immunoglobulin consensus sequence. The humanized antibody optimally also will comprise at least a portion of an immunoglobulin constant region (Fc), typically that of a human immunoglobulin.
“De-immunized” antibodies are immunoglobulins that are non-immunogenic, or less immunogenic, to a given species. De-immunization can be achieved through structural alterations to the antibody. Any de-immunization technique known to those skilled in the art can be employed. One suitable technique for de-immunizing antibodies is described, for example, in WO 00/34317 published Jun. 15, 2000.
An antibody which induces “apoptosis” is one which induces programmed cell death by any means, illustrated by but not limited to binding of annexin V, caspase activity, fragmentation of DNA, cell shrinkage, dilation of endoplasmic reticulum, cell fragmentation, and/or formation of membrane vesicles (called apoptotic bodies).
As used herein “antibody induced cytotoxicity” is understood to mean the cytotoxic effect derived from the hybridoma supernatant or antibody produced by the hybridoma deposited with the IDAC as accession number 180706-02 which effect is not necessarily related to the degree of binding.
Throughout the instant specification, hybridoma cell lines, as well as the isolated monoclonal antibodies which are produced therefrom, are alternatively referred to by their internal designation, AR51A165.2 or Depository Designation, IDAC 180706-02.
As used herein “antibody-ligand” includes a moiety which exhibits binding specificity for at least one epitope of the target antigen, and which may be an intact antibody molecule, antibody fragments, and any molecule having at least an antigen-binding region or portion thereof (i.e., the variable portion of an antibody molecule), e.g., an Fv molecule, Fab molecule, Fab′ molecule, F(ab′).sub.2 molecule, a bispecific antibody, a fusion protein, or any genetically engineered molecule which specifically recognizes and binds at least one epitope of the antigen bound by the isolated monoclonal antibody produced by the hybridoma cell line designated as IDAC 180706-02 (the IDAC 180706-02 antigen).
As used herein “cancerous disease modifying antibodies” (CDMAB) refers to monoclonal antibodies which modify the cancerous disease process in a manner which is beneficial to the patient, for example by reducing tumor burden or prolonging survival of tumor bearing individuals, and antibody-ligands thereof.
As used herein “antigen-binding region” means a portion of the molecule which recognizes the target antigen.
As used herein “competitively inhibits” means being able to recognize and bind a determinant site to which the monoclonal antibody produced by the hybridoma cell line designated as IDAC 180706-02, (the IDAC 180706-02 antibody) is directed using conventional reciprocal antibody competition assays. (Belanger L., Sylvestre C. and Dufour D. (1973), Enzyme linked immunoassay for alpha fetoprotein by competitive and sandwich procedures. Clinica Chimica Acta 48, 15).
As used herein “target antigen” is the IDAC 180706-02 antigen or portions thereof.
As used herein, an “immunoconjugate” means any molecule or CDMAB such as an antibody chemically or biologically linked to a cytotoxin, a radioactive agent, enzyme, toxin, an anti-tumor drug or a therapeutic agent. The antibody or CDMAB may be linked to the cytotoxin, radioactive agent, anti-tumor drug or therapeutic agent at any location along the molecule so long as it is able to bind its target. Examples of immunoconjugates include antibody toxin chemical conjugates and antibody-toxin fusion proteins.
As used herein, a “fusion protein” means any chimeric protein wherein an antigen binding region is connected to a biologically active molecule, e.g., toxin, enzyme, or protein drug.
In order that the invention herein described may be more fully understood, the following description is set forth.
The present invention provides CDMABs (i.e., IDAC 180706-02 CDMAB) which specifically recognize and bind the IDAC 180706-02 antigen.
The CDMAB of the isolated monoclonal antibody produced by the hybridoma deposited with the IDAC as accession number 180706-02 may be in any form as long as it has an antigen-binding region which competitively inhibits the immunospecific binding of the isolated monoclonal antibody produced by hybridoma IDAC 180706-02 to its target antigen. Thus, any recombinant proteins (e.g., fusion proteins wherein the antibody is combined with a second protein such as a lymphokine or a tumor inhibitory growth factor) having the same binding specificity as the IDAC 180706-02 antibody fall within the scope of this invention.
In one embodiment of the invention, the CDMAB is the IDAC 180706-02 antibody.
In other embodiments, the CDMAB is an antigen binding fragment which may be a Fv molecule (such as a single-chain Fv molecule), a Fab molecule, a Fab′ molecule, a F(ab′)2 molecule, a fusion protein, a bispecific antibody, a heteroantibody or any recombinant molecule having the antigen-binding region of the IDAC 180706-02 antibody. The CDMAB of the invention is directed to the epitope to which the IDAC 180706-02 monoclonal antibody is directed.
The CDMAB of the invention may be modified, i.e., by amino acid modifications within the molecule, so as to produce derivative molecules. Chemical modification may also be possible.
Derivative molecules would retain the functional property of the polypeptide, namely, the molecule having such substitutions will still permit the binding of the polypeptide to the IDAC 180706-02 antigen or portions thereof.
These amino acid substitutions include, but are not necessarily limited to, amino acid substitutions known in the art as “conservative”.
For example, it is a well-established principle of protein chemistry that certain amino acid substitutions, entitled “conservative amino acid substitutions,” can frequently be made in a protein without altering either the conformation or the function of the protein.
Such changes include substituting any of isoleucine (I), valine (V), and leucine (L) for any other of these hydrophobic amino acids; aspartic acid (D) for glutamic acid (E) and vice versa; glutamine (Q) for asparagine (N) and vice versa; and serine (S) for threonine (T) and vice versa. Other substitutions can also be considered conservative, depending on the environment of the particular amino acid and its role in the three-dimensional structure of the protein. For example, glycine (G) and alanine (A) can frequently be interchangeable, as can alanine and valine (V). Methionine (M), which is relatively hydrophobic, can frequently be interchanged with leucine and isoleucine, and sometimes with valine. Lysine (K) and arginine (R) are frequently interchangeable in locations in which the significant feature of the amino acid residue is its charge and the differing pK's of these two amino acid residues are not significant. Still other changes can be considered “conservative” in particular environments.
EXAMPLE 1
Hybridoma Production
Hybridoma Cell Line AR51A165.2
The hybridoma cell line AR51A165.2 was deposited, in accordance with the Budapest Treaty, with the International Depository Authority of Canada (IDAC), Bureau of Microbiology, Health Canada, 1015 Arlington Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3E 3R2, on Jul. 18, 2006, under Accession Number 180706-02. In accordance with 37 CFR 1.808, the depositors assure that all restrictions imposed on the availability to the public of the deposited materials will be irrevocably removed upon the granting of a patent. The deposit will be replaced if the depository cannot dispense viable samples.
To produce the hybridoma that produces the anti-cancer antibody AR51A165.2, a single cell suspension of frozen endometroid adenocarcinoma tumor tissue (Genomics Collaborative, Cambridge, Mass.) was prepared in PBS. IMMUNEASY™ (Qiagen, Venlo, Netherlands) adjuvant was prepared for use by gentle mixing. Five to seven week old BALB/c mice were immunized by injecting subcutaneously, 2 million cells in 50 microliters of the antigen-adjuvant. Recently prepared antigen-adjuvant was used to boost the immunized mice intraperitoneally, 2 and 5 weeks after the initial immunization, with 2 million cells in 50-60 microliters. A spleen was used for fusion three days after the last immunization. The hybridomas were prepared by fusing the isolated splenocytes with NSO-1 myeloma partners. The supernatants from the fusions were tested from subclones of the hybridomas.
To determine whether the antibodies secreted by the hybridoma cells are of the IgG or IgM isotype, an ELISA assay was employed. 100 microliters/well of goat anti-mouse IgG+IgM (H+L) at a concentration of 2.4 micrograms/mL in coating buffer (0.1 M carbonate/bicarbonate buffer, pH 9.2-9.6) at 4° C. was added to the ELISA plates overnight. The plates were washed thrice in washing buffer (PBS+0.05 percent Tween). 100 microliters/well blocking buffer (5 percent milk in wash buffer) was added to the plate for 1 hour at room temperature and then washed thrice in washing buffer. 100 microliters/well of hybridoma supernatant was added and the plate incubated for 1 hour at room temperature. The plates were washed thrice with washing buffer and 1/100,000 dilution of either goat anti-mouse IgG or IgM horseradish peroxidase conjugate (diluted in PBS containing 1 percent milk), 100 microliters/well, was added. After incubating the plate for 1 hour at room temperature the plate was washed thrice with washing buffer. 100 microliters/well of TMB solution was incubated for 1-3 minutes at room temperature. The color reaction was terminated by adding 50 microliters/well 2M H 2 SO 4 and the plate was read at 450 nm with a Perkin-Elmer HTS7000 plate reader. As indicated in FIG. 1 , the AR51A165.2 hybridoma secreted primarily antibodies of the IgG isotype.
To determine the subclass of antibody secreted by the hybridoma cells, an isotyping experiment was performed using a Mouse Monoclonal Antibody Isotyping Kit (HyCult Biotechnology, Frontstraat, Netherlands). 500 microliters of buffer solution was added to the test strip containing rat anti-mouse subclass specific antibodies. 500 microliters of hybridoma supernatant was added to the test tube, and submerged by gentle agitation. Captured mouse immunoglobulins were detected directly by a second rat monoclonal antibody which is coupled to colloid particles. The combination of these two proteins creates a visual signal used to analyse the isotype. The anti-cancer antibody AR51A165.2 is of the IgG1, kappa isotype.
After one round of limiting dilution, hybridoma supernatants were tested for antibodies that bound to target cells in a cell ELISA assay. Two human ovarian cancer cell lines and 1 human normal skin cell line were tested: OCC-1, OVCAR-3 and CCD-27sk respectively. All cell lines were obtained from the American Type Tissue Collection (ATCC; Manassas, Va.). The plated cells were fixed prior to use. The plates were washed thrice with PBS containing MgCl 2 and CaCl 2 at room temperature. 100 microliters of 2 percent paraformaldehyde diluted in PBS was added to each well for 10 minutes at room temperature and then discarded. The plates were again washed with PBS containing MgCl 2 and CaCl 2 three times at room temperature. Blocking was done with 100 microliters/well of 5 percent milk in wash buffer (PBS+0.05 percent Tween) for 1 hour at room temperature. The plates were washed thrice with wash buffer and the hybridoma supernatant was added at 100 microliters/well for 1 hour at room temperature. The plates were washed 3 times with wash buffer and 100 microliters/well of 1/25,000 dilution of goat anti-mouse IgG antibody conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (diluted in PBS containing 1 percent milk) was added. After 1 hour incubation at room temperature the plates were washed 3 times with wash buffer and 100 microliter/well of TMB substrate was incubated for 1-3 minutes at room temperature. The reaction was terminated with 50 microliters/well 2M H 2 SO 4 and the plate read at 450 nm with a Perkin-Elmer HTS7000 plate reader. The results as tabulated in FIG. 1 were expressed as the number of folds above background compared to an in-house IgG isotype control that has previously been shown not to bind to the cell lines tested. The antibodies from the hybridoma AR51A165.2 showed detectable binding to the cell lines tested.
In conjunction with testing for antibody binding, the cytotoxic effect of the hybridoma supernatants (antibody induced cytotoxicity) was tested in the cell lines: OCC-1, OVCAR-3 and CCD-27sk. Calcein AM was obtained from Molecular Probes (Eugene, Oreg.) and the assay was performed as outlined below. Cells were plated before the assay at the predetermined appropriate density. After 2 days, 100 microliters of supernatant from the hybridoma microtitre plates were transferred to the cell plates and incubated in a 5 percent CO 2 incubator for 5 days. The wells that served as the positive controls were aspirated until empty and 100 microliters of sodium azide (NaN 3 , 0.01 percent, Sigma, Oakville, ON), cycloheximide (CHX, 0.5 micromolar, Sigma, Oakville, ON) or anti-EGFR antibody (c225, IgG1, kappa, 5 micrograms/mL, Cedarlane, Homby, ON) dissolved in culture medium, was added. After 5 days of treatment, the plates were then emptied by inverting and blotting dry. Room temperature DPBS (Dulbecco's phosphate buffered saline) containing MgCl 2 and CaCl 2 was dispensed into each well from a multichannel squeeze bottle, tapped 3 times, emptied by inversion and then blotted dry. 50 microliters of the fluorescent calcein dye diluted in DPBS containing MgCl 2 and CaCl 2 was added to each well and incubated at 37° C. in a 5 percent CO 2 incubator for 30 minutes. The plates were read in a Perkin-Elmer HTS7000 fluorescence plate reader and the data was analyzed in Microsoft Excel. The results are tabulated in FIG. 1 . Supernatant from the AR51A165.2 hybridoma produced specific cytotoxicity of 23 percent on the OCC-1 cells. This was 27 and 24 percent of the cytotoxicity obtained with the positive controls sodium azide and cycloheximide, respectively.
Results from FIG. 1 demonstrate that the cytotoxic effects of AR51A165.2 were not proportional to the binding levels on the cancer cell types. There was detectable binding on the three cell lines tested and cytotoxicity associated with only OCC-1. As tabulated in FIG. 1 , AR51A165.2 did not produce cytotoxicity in the CCD-27sk normal human skin cell line. The known non-specific cytotoxic agents cycloheximide and NaN 3 generally produced cytotoxicity as expected. The anti-EGFR antibody c225 produced cytotoxicity as expected on SW 1116.
EXAMPLE 2
In Vitro Binding
AR51A165.2 monoclonal antibody was produced by culturing the hybridoma in CL-1000 flasks (BD Biosciences, Oakville, ON) with collections and reseeding occurring twice/week. Standard antibody purification procedures with Protein G Sepharose 4 Fast Flow (Amersham Biosciences, Baie d'Urfé, QC) were followed. It is within the scope of this invention to utilize monoclonal antibodies that are de-immunized, humanized, chimerized or murine.
Binding of AR51A165.2 to prostate (PC-3 and DU-145), colon (DLD-1, Lovo and SW 116), pancreatic (BxPC-3, PL-45 and AsPC-1), lung (A549), ovarian (OVCAR-3, ES-2, A2780-cp, A2780-s, C-13, Hey, OV2008 and OVCA-429) and breast (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7) cancer, and non-cancer cell lines from skin (CCD-27sk) and lung (Hs888.Lu) was assessed by flow cytometry (FACS). All cell lines, except for the majority of the ovarian cancer cell lines, were obtained from the American Type Tissue Collection (ATCC; Manassas, Va.). A2780-cp, A2780-s, C-13, OV2008, ES-2, Hey, OVCA-429 were obtained from the Ottawa Regional Cancer Center (Ottawa, ON).
Cells were prepared for FACS by initially washing the cell monolayer with DPBS (without Ca ++ and Mg ++ ). Cell dissociation buffer (Invitrogen, Burlington, ON) was then used to dislodge the cells from their cell culture plates at 37° C. After centrifugation and collection, the cells were resuspended in DPBS containing MgCl 2 , CaCl 2 and 2 percent fetal bovine serum at 4° C. (staining media) and counted, aliquoted to appropriate cell density, spun down to pellet the cells and resuspended in staining media at 4° C. in the presence of the test antibody (AR51A165.2) or control antibodies (isotype control, anti-EGFR). Isotype control and the test antibody were assessed at 20 micrograms/mL whereas anti-EGFR was assessed at 5 micrograms/mL on ice for 30 minutes. Prior to the addition of Alexa Fluor 546-conjugated secondary antibody the cells were washed once with staining media. The Alexa Fluor 546-conjugated antibody in staining media was then added for 30 minutes at 4° C. The cells were then washed for the final time and resuspended in fixing media (staining media containing 1.5 percent paraformaldehyde). Flow cytometric acquisition of the cells was assessed by running samples on a FACSarray™ using the FACSarray™ System Software (BD Biosciences, Oakville, ON). The forward (FSC) and side scatter (SSC) of the cells were set by adjusting the voltage and amplitude gains on the FSC and SSC detectors. The detectors for the fluorescence (Alexa-546) channel was adjusted by running unstained cells such that cells had a uniform peak with a median fluorescent intensity of approximately 1-5 units. For each sample, approximately 10,000 gated events (stained fixed cells) were acquired for analysis and the results are presented in FIG. 2 .
FIG. 2 presents the mean fluorescence intensity fold increase above isotype control. Representative histograms of AR51A165.2 antibodies were compiled for FIG. 3 . AR51A165.2 demonstrated binding to the many of the cell lines tested. There was very strong binding to the colon DLD-1 (168.6-fold) cancer cell line and strong binding to the ovarian ES-2 (30.9-fold), C-13 (18.0-fold) and OV2008 (22.6-fold) cancer cell lines. There was not any detectable binding to the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. There was moderate binding to the rest of the cell lines. These data demonstrate that AR51A165.2 bound to several different cell lines with higher antigen expression on certain colon and ovarian cancer cell lines.
EXAMPLE 3
In Vivo Tumor Experiments with BxPC-3 Cells
Examples 1 and 2 demonstrated that AR51A165.2 had anti-cancer properties against a human cancer cell line with detectable binding across several different cancer indications. With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 , 4 to 6 week old female SCID mice were implanted with 5 million human pancreatic cancer cells (BxPC-3) in 100 microliters saline injected subcutaneously in the scruff of the neck. The mice were randomly divided into 2 treatment groups of 5. On the day after implantation, 20 mg/kg of AR51A165.2 test antibody or buffer control was administered intraperitoneally to each cohort in a volume of 300 microliters after dilution from the stock concentration with a diluent that contained 2.7 mM KCl, 1 mM KH 2 PO 4 , 137 mM NaCl and 20 mM Na 2 HPO 4 . The antibody and control samples were then administered once per week for the duration of the study in the same fashion. Tumor growth was measured about every seventh day with calipers. The study was completed after 8 injections of antibody. Body weights of the animals were recorded once per week for the duration of the study. At the end of the study all animals were euthanized according to CCAC guidelines.
AR51A165.2 reduced tumor growth in the BxPC-3 in vivo prophylactic model of human pancreatic cancer. Treatment with ARIUS antibody AR51A165.2 reduced the growth of BxPC-3 tumors by 65 percent (p=0.035), compared to the buffer treated group, as determined on day 52, 2 days after the last dose of antibody ( FIG. 1 ). At the end of the study (Day 61), treatment with AR51A165.2 resulted in a tumor growth inhibition of 66 percent (p=0.0375; FIG. 4 ). These in vivo results, in conjunction with the results presented in Example 2, demonstrate that AR51A165.2 is able to bind to the BxPC-3 cell line, as well as induce cytotoxicity in a pancreatic cancer xenograft model.
There were no clinical signs of toxicity throughout the study. Body weight measured at weekly intervals was a surrogate for well-being and failure to thrive. The mean body weight increased in all groups over the duration of the study ( FIG. 5 ). The mean weight gain between day 1 and day 61 was 3.6 g in the control group and 3.2 g in the AR51A165.2 treated group. There were no significant differences between groups at the end of the treatment period.
In summary, AR51A165.2 was well-tolerated and decreased the tumor burden in this human pancreatic cancer xenograft model.
EXAMPLE 4
In Vivo Tumor Experiments with MDA-MB-231 Cells
Results from Example 3 were extended to a different model of human cancer. With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 , 4 to 6 week old female SCID mice were implanted with 5 million human breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231) in 100 microliters saline injected subcutaneously in the scruff of the neck. The mice were randomly divided into 2 treatment groups of 5. On the day after implantation, 20 mg/kg of AR51A165.2 test antibody or buffer control was administered intraperitoneally to each cohort in a volume of 300 microliters after dilution from the stock concentration with a diluent that contained 2.7 mM KCl, 1 mM KH 2 PO 4 , 137 mM NaCl and 20 mM Na 2 HPO 4 . The antibody and control samples were then administered once per week for the duration of the study in the same fashion. Tumor growth was measured about every seventh day with calipers. The study was completed after 8 injections of antibody. Body weights of the animals were recorded once per week for the duration of the study. At the end of the study all animals were euthanized according to CCAC guidelines.
AR51A165.2 reduced tumor growth in the MDA-MB-231 in vivo prophylactic model of human breast cancer. Results for the tumor growth inhibition study are shown in FIG. 6 . At day 56, the first measurement after the last treatment on day 50, AR51A165.2 decreased tumor growth by 67 percent (p=0.18) in this model of human breast cancer. This result failed to reach significance, likely due to the limited number of animals in each group in this study. From Example 2, it is evident that the binding of AR51A165.2 to the MDA-MB-231 cell line is not detectable using FACS. Nevertheless, the antibody was able to reduce the tumor growth in a MDA-MB-231 xenograft model. The efficacy may be due to either of 2 factors. It is possible that the MDA-MB-231 cell line expresses the antigen target at a level below the threshold of detection by FACS under these conditions, but that the low level of expression is sufficient to trigger an event leading to delayed tumor growth. It is also possible that antigen expression is induced when the MDA-MB-231 cells are placed into the more physiological in vivo environment. In either case, the efficacy of this antibody in a MDA-MB-231 colon cancer model is a non-obvious finding that could not have been predicted on the basis of binding.
There were no clinical signs of toxicity throughout the study. Body weight measured at weekly intervals was a surrogate for well-being and failure to thrive. There was a significant increase in body weight for both groups during the course of the study ( FIG. 7 ). At the end of the treatment period, there were no significant differences in body weights between control and antibody treated groups.
In summary, AR51A165.2 was well-tolerated and decreased the tumor burden in this human breast cancer xenograft model.
EXAMPLE 5
Isolation of Competitive Binders
Given an antibody, an individual ordinarily skilled in the art can generate a competitively inhibiting CDMAB, for example a competing antibody, which is one that recognizes the same epitope (Belanger L et al. Clinica Chimica Acta 48:15-18 (1973)). One method entails immunizing with an immunogen that expresses the antigen recognized by the antibody. The sample may include but is not limited to tissues, isolated protein(s) or cell line(s). Resulting hybridomas could be screened using a competition assay, which is one that identifies antibodies that inhibit the binding of the test antibody, such as ELISA, FACS or Western blotting. Another method could make use of phage display antibody libraries and panning for antibodies that recognize at least one epitope of said antigen (Rubinstein J L et al. Anal Biochem 314:294-300 (2003)). In either case, antibodies are selected based on their ability to displace the binding of the original labeled antibody to at least one epitope of its target antigen. Such antibodies would therefore possess the characteristic of recognizing at least one epitope of the antigen as the original antibody.
EXAMPLE 6
Cloning of the Variable Regions of the AR51A165.2 Monoclonal Antibody
The sequences of the variable regions from the heavy (V.H) and light (V.L) chains of monoclonal antibody produced by the AR51A165.2 hybridoma cell line can be determined. RNA encoding the heavy and light chains of immunoglobulin can be extracted from the subject hybridoma using standard methods involving cellular solubilization with guanidinium isothiocyanate (Chirgwin et al. Biochem. 18:5294-5299 (1979)). The mRNA can be used to prepare cDNA for subsequent isolation of V.H and V.L genes by PCR methodology known in the art (Sambrook et al., eds., Molecular Cloning, Chapter 14, Cold Spring Harbor laboratories Press, N.Y. (1989)). The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the heavy and light chains can be independently determined by automated Edman sequencing. Further stretches of the CDRs and flanking FRs can also be determined by amino acid sequencing of the V.H and V.L fragments. Synthetic primers can be then designed for isolation of the V.H and V.L genes from AR51A165.2 monoclonal antibody, and the isolated gene can be ligated into an appropriate vector for sequencing. To generate chimeric and humanized IgG, the variable light and variable heavy domains can be subcloned into an appropriate vector for expression.
(i) Monoclonal Antibody
DNA encoding the monoclonal antibody (as outlined in Example 1) is readily isolated and sequenced using conventional procedures (e.g., by using oligonucleotide probes that are capable of binding specifically to genes encoding the heavy and light chains of the monoclonal antibodies). The hybridoma cell serves as a preferred source of such DNA. Once isolated, the DNA may be placed into expression vectors, which are then transfected into host cells such as E. coli cells, simian COS cells, Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, or myeloma cells that do not otherwise produce immunoglobulin protein, to obtain the synthesis of monoclonal antibodies in the recombinant host cells. The DNA also may be modified, for example, by substituting the coding sequence for human heavy and light chain constant domains in place of the homologous murine sequences. Chimeric or hybrid antibodies also may be prepared in vitro using known methods in synthetic protein chemistry, including those involving crosslinking agents. For example, immunotoxins may be constructed using a disulfide exchange reaction or by forming a thioether bond. Examples of suitable reagents for this purpose include iminothiolate and methyl-4-mercaptobutyrimidate.
(ii) Humanized Antibody
A humanized antibody has one or more amino acid residues introduced into it from a non-human source. These non-human amino acid residues are often referred to as “import” residues, which are typically taken from an “import” variable domain. Humanization can be performed the method of Winter and co-workers by substituting rodent CDRs or CDR sequences for the corresponding sequences of a human antibody (Jones et al., Nature 321:522-525 (1986); Riechmann et al., Nature 332:323-327 (1988); Verhoeyen et al., Science 239:1534-1536 (1988); reviewed in Clark, Immunol. Today 21:397-402 (2000)).
A humanized antibody can be prepared by a process of analysis of the parental sequences and various conceptual humanized products using three-dimensional models of the parental and humanized sequences. Three dimensional immunoglobulin models are commonly available and are familiar to those skilled in the art. Computer programs are available which illustrate and display probable three-dimensional conformational structures of selected candidate immunoglobulin sequences. Inspection of these displays permits analysis of the likely role of the residues in the functioning of the candidate immunoglobulin sequence, i.e. the analysis of residues that influence the ability of the candidate immunoglobulin to bind its antigen. In this way, FR residues can be selected and combined from the consensus and import sequence so that the desired antibody characteristic, such as increased affinity for the target antigen(s), is achieved. In general, the CDR residues are directly and most substantially involved in influencing antigen binding.
(iii) Antibody Fragments
Various techniques have been developed for the production of antibody fragments. These fragments can be produced by recombinant host cells (reviewed in Hudson, Curr. Opin. Immunol. 11:548-557 (1999); Little et al., Immunol. Today 21:364-370 (2000)). For example, Fab′-SH fragments can be directly recovered from E. coli and chemically coupled to form F(ab′) 2 fragments (Carter et al., Biotechnology 10:163-167 (1992)). In another embodiment, the F(ab′) 2 is formed using the leucine zipper GCN4 to promote assembly of the F(ab′) 2 molecule. According to another approach, Fv, Fab or F(ab′) 2 fragments can be isolated directly from recombinant host cell culture.
EXAMPLE 7
A Composition Comprising the Antibody of the Present Invention
The antibody of the present invention can be used as a composition for preventing/treating cancer. The composition for preventing/treating cancer, which comprises the antibody of the present invention, are low-toxic and can be administered as they are in the form of liquid preparations, or as pharmaceutical compositions of suitable preparations to human or mammals (e.g., rats, rabbits, sheep, swine, bovine, feline, canine, simian, etc.) orally or parenterally (e.g., intravascularly, intraperitoneally, subcutaneously, etc.). The antibody of the present invention may be administered in itself, or may be administered as an appropriate composition. The composition used for the administration may contain a pharmacologically acceptable carrier with the antibody of the present invention or its salt, a diluent or excipient. Such a composition is provided in the form of pharmaceutical preparations suitable for oral or parenteral administration.
Examples of the composition for parenteral administration are injectable preparations, suppositories, etc. The injectable preparations may include dosage forms such as intravenous, subcutaneous, intracutaneous and intramuscular injections, drip infusions, intraarticular injections, etc. These injectable preparations may be prepared by methods publicly known. For example, the injectable preparations may be prepared by dissolving, suspending or emulsifying the antibody of the present invention or its salt in a sterile aqueous medium or an oily medium conventionally used for injections. As the aqueous medium for injections, there are, for example, physiological saline, an isotonic solution containing glucose and other auxiliary agents, etc., which may be used in combination with an appropriate solubilizing agent such as an alcohol (e.g., ethanol), a polyalcohol (e.g., propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol), a nonionic surfactant [e.g., polysorbate 80, HCO-50 (polyoxyethylene (50 mols) adduct of hydrogenated castor oil)], etc. As the oily medium, there are employed, e.g., sesame oil, soybean oil, etc., which may be used in combination with a solubilizing agent such as benzyl benzoate, benzyl alcohol, etc. The injection thus prepared is usually filled in an appropriate ampoule. The suppository used for rectal administration may be prepared by blending the antibody of the present invention or its salt with conventional bases for suppositories. The composition for oral administration includes solid or liquid preparations, specifically, tablets (including dragees and film-coated tablets), pills, granules, powdery preparations, capsules (including soft capsules), syrup, emulsions, suspensions, etc. Such a composition is manufactured by publicly known methods and may contain a vehicle, a diluent or excipient conventionally used in the field of pharmaceutical preparations. Examples of the vehicle or excipient for tablets are lactose, starch, sucrose, magnesium stearate, etc.
Advantageously, the compositions for oral or parenteral use described above are prepared into pharmaceutical preparations with a unit dose suited to fit a dose of the active ingredients. Such unit dose preparations include, for example, tablets, pills, capsules, injections (ampoules), suppositories, etc. The amount of the aforesaid compound contained is generally 5 to 500 mg per dosage unit form; it is preferred that the antibody described above is contained in about 5 to about 100 mg especially in the form of injection, and in 10 to 250 mg for the other forms.
The dose of the aforesaid prophylactic/therapeutic agent or regulator comprising the antibody of the present invention may vary depending upon subject to be administered, target disease, conditions, route of administration, etc. For example, when used for the purpose of treating/preventing, e.g., breast cancer in an adult, it is advantageous to administer the antibody of the present invention intravenously in a dose of about 0.01 to about 20 mg/kg body weight, preferably about 0.1 to about 10 mg/kg body weight and more preferably about 0.1 to about 5 mg/kg body weight, about 1 to 5 times/day, preferably about 1 to 3 times/day. In other parenteral and oral administration, the agent can be administered in a dose corresponding to the dose given above. When the condition is especially severe, the dose may be increased according to the condition.
The antibody of the present invention may be administered as it stands or in the form of an appropriate composition. The composition used for the administration may contain a pharmacologically acceptable carrier with the aforesaid antibody or its salts, a diluent or excipient. Such a composition is provided in the form of pharmaceutical preparations suitable for oral or parenteral administration (e.g., intravascular injection, subcutaneous injection, etc.).Each composition described above may further contain other active ingredients. Furthermore, the antibody of the present invention may be used in combination with other drugs, for example, alkylating agents (e.g., cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, etc.), metabolic antagonists (e.g., methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil, etc.), antitumor antibiotics (e.g., mitomycin, adriamycin, etc.), plant-derived antitumor agents (e.g., vincristine, vindesine, TAXOL® (paclitaxel), etc.), cisplatin, carboplatin, etoposide, irinotecan, etc. The antibody of the present invention and the drugs described above may be administered simultaneously or at staggered times to the patient.
The preponderance of evidence shows that AR51A165.2 mediates anti-cancer effects through ligation of an epitope present on cancer cell lines. Further it could be shown that the AR51A165.2 antibody could be used in detection of cells which express the epitope which specifically binds thereto; utilizing techniques illustrated by, but not limited to FACS, cell ELISA or IHC.
All patents and publications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. All patents and publications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.
It is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement of parts herein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification. One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. Any oligonucleotides, peptides, polypeptides, biologically related compounds, methods, procedures and techniques described herein are presently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended to be exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims. | The present invention relates to a method for producing cancerous disease modifying antibodies using a novel paradigm of screening. By segregating the anti-cancer antibodies using cancer cell cytotoxicity as an end point, the process makes possible the production of anti-cancer antibodies for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. The antibodies can be used in aid of staging and diagnosis of a cancer, and can be used to treat primary tumors and tumor metastases. The anti-cancer antibodies can be conjugated to toxins, enzymes, radioactive compounds, and hematogenous cells. | Provide a concise summary of the essential information conveyed in the given context. | [
"REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/865,476, filed on Nov. 13, 2006, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.",
"STATEMENT OF COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AGREEMENT The present invention, as defined by the claims herein, was made by parties to a Joint Research Agreement (“Agreement”) between Arius Research Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of that Agreement.",
"The Agreement was in effect prior to the date of the invention.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the isolation and production of cancerous disease modifying antibodies (CDMAB) and to the use of these CDMAB in therapeutic and diagnostic processes, optionally in combination with one or more chemotherapeutic agents.",
"The invention further relates to binding assays which utilize the CDMAB of the instant invention.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Monoclonal Antibodies as Cancer Therapy: Each individual who presents with cancer is unique and has a cancer that is as different from other cancers as that person's identity.",
"Despite this, current therapy treats all patients with the same type of cancer, at the same stage, in the same way.",
"At least 30 percent of these patients will fail the first line therapy, thus leading to further rounds of treatment and the increased probability of treatment failure, metastases, and ultimately, death.",
"A superior approach to treatment would be the customization of therapy for the particular individual.",
"The only current therapy which lends itself to customization is surgery.",
"Chemotherapy and radiation treatment cannot be tailored to the patient, and surgery by itself, in most cases is inadequate for producing cures.",
"With the advent of monoclonal antibodies, the possibility of developing methods for customized therapy became more realistic since each antibody can be directed to a single epitope.",
"Furthermore, it is possible to produce a combination of antibodies that are directed to the constellation of epitopes that uniquely define a particular individual's tumor.",
"Having recognized that a significant difference between cancerous and normal cells is that cancerous cells contain antigens that are specific to transformed cells, the scientific community has long held that monoclonal antibodies can be designed to specifically target transformed cells by binding specifically to these cancer antigens;",
"thus giving rise to the belief that monoclonal antibodies can serve as “Magic Bullets”",
"to eliminate cancer cells.",
"However, it is now widely recognized that no single monoclonal antibody can serve in all instances of cancer, and that monoclonal antibodies can be deployed, as a class, as targeted cancer treatments.",
"Monoclonal antibodies isolated in accordance with the teachings of the instantly disclosed invention have been shown to modify the cancerous disease process in a manner which is beneficial to the patient, for example by reducing the tumor burden, and will variously be referred to herein as cancerous disease modifying antibodies (CDMAB) or “anti-cancer”",
"antibodies.",
"At the present time, the cancer patient usually has few options of treatment.",
"The regimented approach to cancer therapy has produced improvements in global survival and morbidity rates.",
"However, to the particular individual, these improved statistics do not necessarily correlate with an improvement in their personal situation.",
"Thus, if a methodology was put forth which enabled the practitioner to treat each tumor independently of other patients in the same cohort, this would permit the unique approach of tailoring therapy to just that one person.",
"Such a course of therapy would, ideally, increase the rate of cures, and produce better outcomes, thereby satisfying a long-felt need.",
"Historically, the use of polyclonal antibodies has been used with limited success in the treatment of human cancers.",
"Lymphomas and leukemias have been treated with human plasma, but there were few prolonged remission or responses.",
"Furthermore, there was a lack of reproducibility and there was no additional benefit compared to chemotherapy.",
"Solid tumors such as breast cancers, melanomas and renal cell carcinomas have also been treated with human blood, chimpanzee serum, human plasma and horse serum with correspondingly unpredictable and ineffective results.",
"There have been many clinical trials of monoclonal antibodies for solid tumors.",
"In the 1980s there were at least four clinical trials for human breast cancer which produced only one responder from at least 47 patients using antibodies against specific antigens or based on tissue selectivity.",
"It was not until 1998 that there was a successful clinical trial using a humanized anti-Her2/neu antibody (HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab)) in combination with CISPLATIN.",
"In this trial 37 patients were assessed for responses of which about a quarter had a partial response rate and an additional quarter had minor or stable disease progression.",
"The median time to progression among the responders was 8.4 months with median response duration of 5.3 months.",
"HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab) was approved in 1998 for first line use in combination with TAXOL® (paclitaxel).",
"Clinical study results showed an increase in the median time to disease progression for those who received antibody therapy plus TAXOL® (paclitaxel) (6.9 months) in comparison to the group that received TAXOL® (paclitaxel) alone (3.0 months).",
"There was also a slight increase in median survival;",
"22 versus 18 months for the HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab) plus TAXOL® (paclitaxel) treatment arm versus the TAXOL® (paclitaxel) treatment alone arm.",
"In addition, there was an increase in the number of both complete (8 versus 2 percent) and partial responders (34 versus 15 percent) in the antibody plus TAXOL® (paclitaxel) combination group in comparison to TAXOL® (paclitaxel) alone.",
"However, treatment with HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab) and TAXOL® (paclitaxel) led to a higher incidence of cardiotoxicity in comparison to TAXOL® (paclitaxel) treatment alone (13 versus 1 percent respectively).",
"Also, HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab) therapy was only effective for patients who over express (as determined through immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis) the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2/neu), a receptor, which currently has no known function or biologically important ligand;",
"approximately 25 percent of patients who have metastatic breast cancer.",
"Therefore, there is still a large unmet need for patients with breast cancer.",
"Even those who can benefit from HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab) treatment would still require chemotherapy and consequently would still have to deal with, at least to some degree, the side effects of this kind of treatment.",
"The clinical trials investigating colorectal cancer involve antibodies against both glycoprotein and glycolipid targets.",
"Antibodies such as 17-1A, which has some specificity for adenocarcinomas, has undergone Phase 2 clinical trials in over 60 patients with only 1 patient having a partial response.",
"In other trials, use of 17-1A produced only 1 complete response and 2 minor responses among 52 patients in protocols using additional cyclophosphamide.",
"To date, Phase III clinical trials of 17-1A have not demonstrated improved efficacy as adjuvant therapy for stage III colon cancer.",
"The use of a humanized murine monoclonal antibody initially approved for imaging also did not produce tumor regression.",
"Only recently have there been any positive results from colorectal cancer clinical studies with the use of monoclonal antibodies.",
"In 2004, ERBITUX® (cetuximab) was approved for the second line treatment of patients with EGFR-expressing metastatic colorectal cancer who are refractory to irinotecan-based chemotherapy.",
"Results from both a two-arm Phase II clinical study and a single arm study showed that ERBITUX® (cetuximab) in combination with irinotecan had a response rate of 23 and 15 percent respectively with a median time to disease progression of 4.1 and 6.5 months respectively.",
"Results from the same two-arm Phase II clinical study and another single arm study showed that treatment with ERBITUX® (cetuximab) alone resulted in an 11 and 9 percent response rate respectively with a median time to disease progression of 1.5 and 4.2 months respectively.",
"Consequently in both Switzerland and the United States, ERBITUX® (cetuximab) treatment in combination with irinotecan, and in the United States, ERBITUX® (cetuximab) treatment alone, has been approved as a second line treatment of colon cancer patients who have failed first line irinotecan therapy.",
"Therefore, like HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab), treatment in Switzerland is only approved as a combination of monoclonal antibody and chemotherapy.",
"In addition, treatment in both Switzerland and the US is only approved for patients as a second line therapy.",
"Also, in 2004, AVASTIN® (bevacizumab) was approved for use in combination with intravenous 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy as a first line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer.",
"Phase III clinical study results demonstrated a prolongation in the median survival of patients treated with AVASTIN® (bevacizumab) plus 5-fluorouracil compared to patients treated with 5-fluourouracil alone (20 months versus 16 months respectively).",
"However, again like HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab) and ERBITUX® (cetuximab), treatment is only approved as a combination of monoclonal antibody and chemotherapy.",
"There also continues to be poor results for lung, brain, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, and stomach cancer.",
"The most promising recent results for non-small cell lung cancer came from a Phase II clinical trial where treatment involved a monoclonal antibody (SGN-15;",
"dox-BR96, anti-Sialyl-LeX) conjugated to the cell-killing drug doxorubicin in combination with the chemotherapeutic agent TAXOTERE® (docetaxel).",
"TAXOTERE® (docetaxel) is the only FDA approved chemotherapy for the second line treatment of lung cancer.",
"Initial data indicate an improved overall survival compared to TAXOTERE® (docetaxel) alone.",
"Out of the 62 patients who were recruited for the study, two-thirds received SGN-15 in combination with TAXOTERE® (docetaxel) while the remaining one-third received TAXOTERE® (docetaxel) alone.",
"For the patients receiving SGN-15 in combination with TAXOTERE® (docetaxel), median overall survival was 7.3 months in comparison to 5.9 months for patients receiving TAXOTERE® (docetaxel) alone.",
"Overall survival at 1 year and 18 months was 29 and 18 percent respectively for patients receiving SNG-15 plus TAXOTERE® (docetaxel) compared to 24 and 8 percent respectively for patients receiving TAXOTERE® (docetaxel) alone.",
"Further clinical trials are planned.",
"Preclinically, there has been some limited success in the use of monoclonal antibodies for melanoma.",
"Very few of these antibodies have reached clinical trials and to date none have been approved or demonstrated favorable results in Phase III clinical trials.",
"The discovery of new drugs to treat disease is hindered by the lack of identification of relevant targets among the products of 30,000 known genes that could contribute to disease pathogenesis.",
"In oncology research, potential drug targets are often selected simply due to the fact that they are over-expressed in tumor cells.",
"Targets thus identified are then screened for interaction with a multitude of compounds.",
"In the case of potential antibody therapies, these candidate compounds are usually derived from traditional methods of monoclonal antibody generation according to the fundamental principles laid down by Kohler and Milstein (1975, Nature, 256, 495-497, Kohler and Milstein).",
"Spleen cells are collected from mice immunized with antigen (e.g. whole cells, cell fractions, purified antigen) and fused with immortalized hybridoma partners.",
"The resulting hybridomas are screened and selected for secretion of antibodies which bind most avidly to the target.",
"Many therapeutic and diagnostic antibodies directed against cancer cells, including HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab) and RITUXIMAB, have been produced using these methods and selected on the basis of their affinity.",
"The flaws in this strategy are two-fold.",
"Firstly, the choice of appropriate targets for therapeutic or diagnostic antibody binding is limited by the paucity of knowledge surrounding tissue specific carcinogenic processes and the resulting simplistic methods, such as selection by overexpression, by which these targets are identified.",
"Secondly, the assumption that the drug molecule that binds to the receptor with the greatest affinity usually has the highest probability for initiating or inhibiting a signal may not always be the case.",
"Despite some progress with the treatment of breast and colon cancer, the identification and development of efficacious antibody therapies, either as single agents or co-treatments, has been inadequate for all types of cancer.",
"Prior Patents: U.S. Pat. No. 5,750,102 discloses a process wherein cells from a patient's tumor are transfected with MHC genes which may be cloned from cells or tissue from the patient.",
"These transfected cells are then used to vaccinate the patient.",
"U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,581 discloses a process comprising the steps of obtaining monoclonal antibodies that are specific to an internal cellular component of neoplastic and normal cells of the mammal but not to external components, labeling the monoclonal antibody, contacting the labeled antibody with tissue of a mammal that has received therapy to kill neoplastic cells, and determining the effectiveness of therapy by measuring the binding of the labeled antibody to the internal cellular component of the degenerating neoplastic cells.",
"In preparing antibodies directed to human intracellular antigens, the patentee recognizes that malignant cells represent a convenient source of such antigens.",
"U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,665 provides a novel antibody and method for its production.",
"Specifically, the patent teaches formation of a monoclonal antibody which has the property of binding strongly to a protein antigen associated with human tumors, e.g. those of the colon and lung, while binding to normal cells to a much lesser degree.",
"U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,596 provides a method of cancer therapy comprising surgically removing tumor tissue from a human cancer patient, treating the tumor tissue to obtain tumor cells, irradiating the tumor cells to be viable but non-tumorigenic, and using these cells to prepare a vaccine for the patient capable of inhibiting recurrence of the primary tumor while simultaneously inhibiting metastases.",
"The patent teaches the development of monoclonal antibodies which are reactive with surface antigens of tumor cells.",
"As set forth at col.",
"4, lines 45 et seq.",
", the patentees utilize autochthonous tumor cells in the development of monoclonal antibodies expressing active specific immunotherapy in human neoplasia.",
"U.S. Pat. No. 5,693,763 teaches a glycoprotein antigen characteristic of human carcinomas and not dependent upon the epithelial tissue of origin.",
"U.S. Pat. No. 5,783,186 is drawn to Anti-Her2 antibodies which induce apoptosis in Her2 expressing cells, hybridoma cell lines producing the antibodies, methods of treating cancer using the antibodies and pharmaceutical compositions including said antibodies.",
"U.S. Pat. No. 5,849,876 describes new hybridoma cell lines for the production of monoclonal antibodies to mucin antigens purified from tumor and non-tumor tissue sources.",
"U.S. Pat. No. 5,869,268 is drawn to a method for generating a human lymphocyte producing an antibody specific to a desired antigen, a method for producing a monoclonal antibody, as well as monoclonal antibodies produced by the method.",
"The patent is particularly drawn to the production of an anti-HD human monoclonal antibody useful for the diagnosis and treatment of cancers.",
"U.S. Pat. No. 5,869,045 relates to antibodies, antibody fragments, antibody conjugates and single-chain immunotoxins reactive with human carcinoma cells.",
"The mechanism by which these antibodies function is two-fold, in that the molecules are reactive with cell membrane antigens present on the surface of human carcinomas, and further in that the antibodies have the ability to internalize within the carcinoma cells, subsequent to binding, making them especially useful for forming antibody-drug and antibody-toxin conjugates.",
"In their unmodified form the antibodies also manifest cytotoxic properties at specific concentrations.",
"U.S. Pat. No. 5,780,033 discloses the use of autoantibodies for tumor therapy and prophylaxis.",
"However, this antibody is an antinuclear autoantibody from an aged mammal.",
"In this case, the autoantibody is said to be one type of natural antibody found in the immune system.",
"Because the autoantibody comes from “an aged mammal”, there is no requirement that the autoantibody actually comes from the patient being treated.",
"In addition the patent discloses natural and monoclonal antinuclear autoantibody from an aged mammal, and a hybridoma cell line producing a monoclonal antinuclear autoantibody.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This application utilizes methodology for producing patient specific anti-cancer antibodies taught in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,357 patent for isolating hybridoma cell lines which encode for cancerous disease modifying monoclonal antibodies.",
"These antibodies can be made specifically for one tumor and thus make possible the customization of cancer therapy.",
"Within the context of this application, anti-cancer antibodies having either cell-killing (cytotoxic) or cell-growth inhibiting (cytostatic) properties will hereafter be referred to as cytotoxic.",
"These antibodies can be used in aid of staging and diagnosis of a cancer, and can be used to treat tumor metastases.",
"These antibodies can also be used for the prevention of cancer by way of prophylactic treatment.",
"Unlike antibodies generated according to traditional drug discovery paradigms, antibodies generated in this way may target molecules and pathways not previously shown to be integral to the growth and/or survival of malignant tissue.",
"Furthermore, the binding affinities of these antibodies are suited to requirements for initiation of the cytotoxic events that may not be amenable to stronger affinity interactions.",
"Also, it is within the purview of this invention to conjugate standard chemotherapeutic modalities, e.g. radionuclides, with the CDMAB of the instant invention, thereby focusing the use of said chemotherapeutics.",
"The CDMAB can also be conjugated to toxins, cytotoxic moieties, enzymes e.g. biotin conjugated enzymes, or hematogenous cells, thereby forming an antibody conjugate.",
"The prospect of individualized anti-cancer treatment will bring about a change in the way a patient is managed.",
"A likely clinical scenario is that a tumor sample is obtained at the time of presentation, and banked.",
"From this sample, the tumor can be typed from a panel of pre-existing cancerous disease modifying antibodies.",
"The patient will be conventionally staged but the available antibodies can be of use in further staging the patient.",
"The patient can be treated immediately with the existing antibodies, and a panel of antibodies specific to the tumor can be produced either using the methods outlined herein or through the use of phage display libraries in conjunction with the screening methods herein disclosed.",
"All the antibodies generated will be added to the library of anti-cancer antibodies since there is a possibility that other tumors can bear some of the same epitopes as the one that is being treated.",
"The antibodies produced according to this method may be useful to treat cancerous disease in any number of patients who have cancers that bind to these antibodies.",
"In addition to anti-cancer antibodies, the patient can elect to receive the currently recommended therapies as part of a multi-modal regimen of treatment.",
"The fact that the antibodies isolated via the present methodology are relatively non-toxic to non-cancerous cells allows for combinations of antibodies at high doses to be used, either alone, or in conjunction with conventional therapy.",
"The high therapeutic index will also permit re-treatment on a short time scale that should decrease the likelihood of emergence of treatment resistant cells.",
"If the patient is refractory to the initial course of therapy or metastases develop, the process of generating specific antibodies to the tumor can be repeated for re-treatment.",
"Furthermore, the anti-cancer antibodies can be conjugated to red blood cells obtained from that patient and re-infused for treatment of metastases.",
"There have been few effective treatments for metastatic cancer and metastases usually portend a poor outcome resulting in death.",
"However, metastatic cancers are usually well vascularized and the delivery of anti-cancer antibodies by red blood cells can have the effect of concentrating the antibodies at the site of the tumor.",
"Even prior to metastases, most cancer cells are dependent on the host's blood supply for their survival and an anti-cancer antibody conjugated to red blood cells can be effective against in situ tumors as well.",
"Alternatively, the antibodies may be conjugated to other hematogenous cells, e.g. lymphocytes, macrophages, monocytes, natural killer cells, etc.",
"There are five classes of antibodies and each is associated with a function that is conferred by its heavy chain.",
"It is generally thought that cancer cell killing by naked antibodies are mediated either through antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity or complement dependent cytotoxicity.",
"For example murine IgM and IgG2a antibodies can activate human complement by binding the C-1 component of the complement system thereby activating the classical pathway of complement activation which can lead to tumor lysis.",
"For human antibodies the most effective complement activating antibodies are generally IgM and IgG1.",
"Murine antibodies of the IgG2a and IgG3 isotype are effective at recruiting cytotoxic cells that have Fc receptors which will lead to cell killing by monocytes, macrophages, granulocytes and certain lymphocytes.",
"Human antibodies of both the IgG1 and IgG3 isotype mediate ADCC.",
"Another possible mechanism of antibody mediated cancer killing may be through the use of antibodies that function to catalyze the hydrolysis of various chemical bonds in the cell membrane and its associated glycoproteins or glycolipids, so-called catalytic antibodies.",
"There are three additional mechanisms of antibody-mediated cancer cell killing.",
"The first is the use of antibodies as a vaccine to induce the body to produce an immune response against the putative antigen that resides on the cancer cell.",
"The second is the use of antibodies to target growth receptors and interfere with their function or to down regulate that receptor so that its function is effectively lost.",
"The third is the effect of such antibodies on direct ligation of cell surface moieties that may lead to direct cell death, such as ligation of death receptors such as TRAIL R1 or TRAIL R2, or integrin molecules such as alpha V beta 3 and the like.",
"The clinical utility of a cancer drug is based on the benefit of the drug under an acceptable risk profile to the patient.",
"In cancer therapy survival has generally been the most sought after benefit, however there are a number of other well-recognized benefits in addition to prolonging life.",
"These other benefits, where treatment does not adversely affect survival, include symptom palliation, protection against adverse events, prolongation in time to recurrence or disease-free survival, and prolongation in time to progression.",
"These criteria are generally accepted and regulatory bodies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (F.D.A.) approve drugs that produce these benefits (Hirschfeld et al.",
"Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematolgy 42:137-143 2002).",
"In addition to these criteria it is well recognized that there are other endpoints that may presage these types of benefits.",
"In part, the accelerated approval process granted by the U.S. F.D.A. acknowledges that there are surrogates that will likely predict patient benefit.",
"As of year-end 2003, there have been sixteen drugs approved under this process, and of these, four have gone on to full approval, i.e., follow-up studies have demonstrated direct patient benefit as predicted by surrogate endpoints.",
"One important endpoint for determining drug effects in solid tumors is the assessment of tumor burden by measuring response to treatment (Therasse et al.",
"Journal of the National Cancer Institute 92(3):205-216 2000).",
"The clinical criteria (RECIST criteria) for such evaluation have been promulgated by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors Working Group, a group of international experts in cancer.",
"Drugs with a demonstrated effect on tumor burden, as shown by objective responses according to RECIST criteria, in comparison to the appropriate control group tend to, ultimately, produce direct patient benefit.",
"In the pre-clinical setting tumor burden is generally more straightforward to assess and document.",
"In that pre-clinical studies can be translated to the clinical setting, drugs that produce prolonged survival in pre-clinical models have the greatest anticipated clinical utility.",
"Analogous to producing positive responses to clinical treatment, drugs that reduce tumor burden in the pre-clinical setting may also have significant direct impact on the disease.",
"Although prolongation of survival is the most sought after clinical outcome from cancer drug treatment, there are other benefits that have clinical utility and it is clear that tumor burden reduction, which may correlate to a delay in disease progression, extended survival or both, can also lead to direct benefits and have clinical impact (Eckhardt et al.",
"Developmental Therapeutics: Successes and Failures of Clinical Trial Designs of Targeted Compounds;",
"ASCO Educational Book, 39 th Annual Meeting, 2003, pages 209-219).",
"The present invention describes the development and use of AR51A165.2 identified by its effect in a cytotoxic assay and in an animal model of human cancer.",
"This invention describes reagents that bind specifically to an epitope or epitopes present on the target molecule, and that also have in vitro cytotoxic properties, as a naked antibody, against malignant tumor cells but not normal cells, and which also directly mediate, as a naked antibody, inhibition of tumor growth.",
"A further advance is of the use of anti-cancer antibodies such as this to target tumors expressing cognate antigen markers to achieve tumor growth inhibition, and other positive endpoints of cancer treatment.",
"In all, this invention teaches the use of the AR51A165.2 antigen as a target for a therapeutic agent, that when administered can reduce the tumor burden of a cancer expressing the antigen in a mammal.",
"This invention also teaches the use of CDMAB (AR51A165.2), and their derivatives, and antigen binding fragments thereof, and cytotoxicity inducing ligands thereof, to target their antigen to reduce the tumor burden of a cancer expressing the antigen in a mammal.",
"Furthermore, this invention also teaches the use of detecting the AR51A165.2 antigen in cancerous cells that can be useful for the diagnosis, prediction of therapy, and prognosis of mammals bearing tumors that express this antigen.",
"Accordingly, it is an objective of the invention to utilize a method for producing cancerous disease modifying antibodies (CDMAB) raised against cancerous cells derived from a particular individual, or one or more particular cancer cell lines, which CDMAB are cytotoxic with respect to cancer cells while simultaneously being relatively non-toxic to non-cancerous cells, in order to isolate hybridoma cell lines and the corresponding isolated monoclonal antibodies and antigen binding fragments thereof for which said hybridoma cell lines are encoded.",
"It is an additional objective of the invention to teach cancerous disease modifying antibodies, ligands and antigen binding fragments thereof.",
"It is a further objective of the instant invention to produce cancerous disease modifying antibodies whose cytotoxicity is mediated through antibody dependent cellular toxicity.",
"It is yet an additional objective of the instant invention to produce cancerous disease modifying antibodies whose cytotoxicity is mediated through complement dependent cellular toxicity.",
"It is still a further objective of the instant invention to produce cancerous disease modifying antibodies whose cytotoxicity is a function of their ability to catalyze hydrolysis of cellular chemical bonds.",
"A still further objective of the instant invention is to produce cancerous disease modifying antibodies which are useful for in a binding assay for diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of cancer.",
"Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG. 1 compares the percentage cytotoxicity and binding levels of the hybridoma supernatants against cell lines OCC-1, OVCAR-3 and CCD-27sk.",
"FIG. 2 represents binding of AR51A165.2 to cancer and normal cell lines.",
"The data is tabulated to present the mean fluorescence intensity as a fold increase above isotype control.",
"FIG. 3 includes representative FACS histograms of AR51A165.2 and anti-EGFR antibodies directed against several cancer and non-cancer cell lines.",
"FIG. 4 demonstrates the effect of AR51A165.2 on tumor growth in a prophylactic BxPC-3 pancreatic cancer model.",
"The vertical dashed lines indicate the period during which the antibody was administered.",
"Data points represent the mean +/−SEM.",
"FIG. 5 demonstrates the effect of AR51A165.2 on body weight in a prophylactic BxPC-3 pancreatic cancer model.",
"Data points represent the mean +/−SEM.",
"FIG. 6 demonstrates the effect of AR51A165.2 on tumor growth in a prophylactic MDA-MB-231 breast cancer model.",
"The vertical dashed lines indicate the period during which the antibody was administered.",
"Data points represent the mean SEM.",
"FIG. 7 demonstrates the effect of AR51A165.2 on body weight in a prophylactic MDA-MB-231 breast cancer model.",
"Data points represent the mean +/−SEM.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In general, the following words or phrases have the indicated definition when used in the summary, description, examples, and claims.",
"The term “antibody”",
"is used in the broadest sense and specifically covers, for example, single monoclonal antibodies (including agonist, antagonist, and neutralizing antibodies, de-immunized, murine, chimerized or humanized antibodies), antibody compositions with polyepitopic specificity, single-chain antibodies, immunoconjugates and antibody fragments (see below).",
"The term “monoclonal antibody”",
"as used herein refers to an antibody obtained from a population of substantially homogeneous antibodies, i.e., the individual antibodies comprising the population are identical except for possible naturally occurring mutations that may be present in minor amounts.",
"Monoclonal antibodies are highly specific, being directed against a single antigenic site.",
"Furthermore, in contrast to polyclonal antibody preparations which include different antibodies directed against different determinants (epitopes), each monoclonal antibody is directed against a single determinant on the antigen.",
"In addition to their specificity, the monoclonal antibodies are advantageous in that they may be synthesized uncontaminated by other antibodies.",
"The modifier “monoclonal”",
"indicates the character of the antibody as being obtained from a substantially homogeneous population of antibodies, and is not to be construed as requiring production of the antibody by any particular method.",
"For example, the monoclonal antibodies to be used in accordance with the present invention may be made by the hybridoma (murine or human) method first described by Kohler et al.",
", Nature, 256:495 (1975), or may be made by recombinant DNA methods (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,567).",
"The “monoclonal antibodies”",
"may also be isolated from phage antibody libraries using the techniques described in Clackson et al.",
", Nature, 352:624-628 (1991) and Marks et al.",
", J. Mot Biol, 222:581-597 (1991), for example.",
"“Antibody fragments”",
"comprise a portion of an intact antibody, preferably comprising the antigen-binding or variable region thereof.",
"Examples of antibody fragments include less than full length antibodies, Fab, Fab′, F(ab′) 2 , and Fv fragments;",
"diabodies;",
"linear antibodies;",
"single-chain antibody molecules;",
"single-chain antibodies, single domain antibody molecules, fusion proteins, recombinant proteins and multispecific antibodies formed from antibody fragment(s).",
"An “intact”",
"antibody is one which comprises an antigen-binding variable region as well as a light chain constant domain (C L ) and heavy chain constant domains, C H 1, C H 2 and C H 3.",
"The constant domains may be native sequence constant domains (e.g. human native sequence constant domains) or amino acid sequence variant thereof.",
"Preferably, the intact antibody has one or more effector functions.",
"Depending on the amino acid sequence of the constant domain of their heavy chains, intact antibodies can be assigned to different “classes.”",
"There are five-major classes of intact antibodies: IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG, and IgM, and several of these may be further divided into “subclasses”",
"(isotypes), e.g., IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgA, and IgA2.",
"The heavy-chain constant domains that correspond to the different classes of antibodies are called α, δ, ε, γ, and μ, respectively.",
"The subunit structures and three-dimensional configurations of different classes of immunoglobulins are well known.",
"Antibody “effector functions”",
"refer to those biological activities attributable to the Fc region (a native sequence Fc region or amino acid sequence variant Fc region) of an antibody.",
"Examples of antibody effector functions include C1q binding;",
"complement dependent cytotoxicity;",
"Fc receptor binding;",
"antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC);",
"phagocytosis;",
"down regulation of cell surface receptors (e.g. B cell receptor;",
"BCR), etc.",
"“Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity”",
"and “ADCC”",
"refer to a cell-mediated reaction in which nonspecific cytotoxic cells that express Fc receptors (FcRs) (e.g. Natural Killer (NK) cells, neutrophils, and macrophages) recognize bound antibody on a target cell and subsequently cause lysis of the target cell.",
"The primary cells for mediating ADCC, NK cells, express FcγRIII only, whereas monocytes express FcγRI, FcγRII and FcγRIII.",
"FcR expression on hematopoietic cells is summarized in Table 3 on page 464 of Ravetch and Kinet, Annu.",
"Rev. Immunol 9:457-92 (1991).",
"To assess ADCC activity of a molecule of interest, an in vitro ADCC assay, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,362 or 5,821,337 may be performed.",
"Useful effector cells for such assays include peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and Natural Killer (NK) cells.",
"Alternatively, or additionally, ADCC activity of the molecule of interest may be assessed in vivo, e.g., in a animal model such as that disclosed in Clynes et al.",
"PNAS (USA) 95:652-656 (1998).",
"“Effector cells”",
"are leukocytes which express one or more FcRs and perform effector functions.",
"Preferably, the cells express at least FcγRIII and perform ADCC effector function.",
"Examples of human leukocytes which mediate ADCC include peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), natural killer (NK) cells, monocytes, cytotoxic T cells and neutrophils;",
"with PBMCs and NK cells being preferred.",
"The effector cells may be isolated from a native source thereof, e.g. from blood or PBMCs as described herein.",
"The terms “Fc receptor”",
"or “FcR”",
"are used to describe a receptor that binds to the Fc region of an antibody.",
"The preferred FcR is a native sequence human FcR.",
"Moreover, a preferred FcR is one which binds an IgG antibody (a gamma receptor) and includes receptors of the FcγRI, FcγRII, and FcγRIII subclasses, including allelic variants and alternatively spliced forms of these receptors.",
"FcγRII receptors include FcγRIIA (an “activating receptor”) and FcγRIIB (an “inhibiting receptor”), which have similar amino acid sequences that differ primarily in the cytoplasmic domains thereof.",
"Activating receptor FcγRIIA contains an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM) in its cytoplasmic domain.",
"Inhibiting receptor FcγRIIB contains an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibition motif (ITIM) in its cytoplasmic domain.",
"(see review M. in Daëron, Annu.",
"Rev. Immunol.",
"15:203-234 (1997)).",
"FcRs are reviewed in Ravetch and Kinet, Annu.",
"Rev. Immunol 9:457-92 (1991);",
"Capel et al.",
", Immunomethods 4:25-34 (1994);",
"and de Haas et al.",
", J. Lab.",
"Clin.",
"Med.",
"126:330-41 (1995).",
"Other FcRs, including those to be identified in the future, are encompassed by the term “FcR”",
"herein.",
"The term also includes the neonatal receptor, FcRn, which is responsible for the transfer of maternal IgGs to the fetus (Guyer et al.",
", J. Immunol.",
"117:587 (1976) and Kim et al.",
", Eur.",
"J. Immunol.",
"24:2429 (1994)).",
"“Complement dependent cytotoxicity”",
"or “CDC”",
"refers to the ability of a molecule to lyse a target in the presence of complement.",
"The complement activation pathway is initiated by the binding of the first component of the complement system (C1q) to a molecule (e.g. an antibody) complexed with a cognate antigen.",
"To assess complement activation, a CDC assay, e.g. as described in Gazzano-Santoro et al.",
", J. Immunol.",
"Methods 202:163 (1996), may be performed.",
"The term “variable”",
"refers to the fact that certain portions of the variable domains differ extensively in sequence among antibodies and are used in the binding and specificity of each particular antibody for its particular antigen.",
"However, the variability is not evenly distributed throughout the variable domains of antibodies.",
"It is concentrated in three segments called hypervariable regions both in the light chain and the heavy chain variable domains.",
"The more highly conserved portions of variable domains are called the framework regions (FRs).",
"The variable domains of native heavy and light chains each comprise four FRs, largely adopting a β-sheet configuration, connected by three hypervariable regions, which form loops connecting, and in some cases forming part of, the 1-sheet structure.",
"The hypervariable regions in each chain are held together in close proximity by the FRs and, with the hypervariable regions from the other chain, contribute to the formation of the antigen-binding site of antibodies (see Kabat et al.",
", Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest, 5th Ed.",
"Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.",
"(1991)).",
"The constant domains are not involved directly in binding an antibody to an antigen, but exhibit various effector functions, such as participation of the antibody in antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC).",
"The term “hypervariable region”",
"when used herein refers to the amino acid residues of an antibody which are responsible for antigen-binding.",
"The hypervariable region generally comprises amino acid residues from a “complementarity determining region”",
"or “CDR”",
"(e.g. residues 24-34 (L1), 50-56 (L2) and 89-97 (L3) in the light chain variable domain and 31-35 (H1), 50-65 (H2) and 95-102 (H3) in the heavy chain variable domain;",
"Kabat et al.",
", Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest, 5th Ed.",
"Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.",
"(1991)) and/or those residues from a “hypervariable loop”",
"(e.g. residues 2632 (L1), 50-52 (L2) and 91-96 (L3) in the light chain variable domain and 26-32 (H1), 53-55 (H2) and 96-101 (H3) in the heavy chain variable domain;",
"Chothia and Lesk J. Mol.",
"Biol.",
"196:901-917 (1987)).",
"“Framework Region”",
"or “FR”",
"residues are those variable domain residues other than the hypervariable region residues as herein defined.",
"Papain digestion of antibodies produces two identical antigen-binding fragments, called “Fab”",
"fragments, each with a single antigen-binding site, and a residual “Fc”",
"fragment, whose name reflects its ability to crystallize readily.",
"Pepsin treatment yields an F(ab′) 2 fragment that has two antigen-binding sites and is still capable of cross-linking antigen.",
"“Fv”",
"is the minimum antibody fragment which contains a complete antigen-recognition and antigen-binding site.",
"This region consists of a dimer of one heavy chain and one light chain variable domain in tight, non-covalent association.",
"It is in this configuration that the three hypervariable regions of each variable domain interact to define an antigen-binding site on the surface of the V H -V L dimer.",
"Collectively, the six hypervariable regions confer antigen-binding specificity to the antibody.",
"However, even a single variable domain (or half of an Fv comprising only three hypervariable regions specific for an antigen) has the ability to recognize and bind antigen, although at a lower affinity than the entire binding site.",
"The Fab fragment also contains the constant domain of the light chain and the first constant domain (CHI) of the heavy chain.",
"Fab′ fragments differ from Fab fragments by the addition of a few residues at the carboxy terminus of the heavy chain CH1 domain including one or more cysteines from the antibody hinge region.",
"Fab′-SH is the designation herein for Fab′ in which the cysteine residue(s) of the constant domains bear at least one free thiol group.",
"F(ab′) 2 antibody fragments originally were produced as pairs of Fab′ fragments which have hinge cysteines between them.",
"Other chemical couplings of antibody fragments are also known.",
"The “light chains”",
"of antibodies from any vertebrate species can be assigned to one of two clearly distinct types, called kappa (κ) and lambda (λ), based on the amino acid sequences of their constant domains.",
"“Single-chain Fv”",
"or “scFv”",
"antibody fragments comprise the V H and V L domains of antibody, wherein these domains are present in a single polypeptide chain.",
"Preferably, the Fv polypeptide further comprises a polypeptide linker between the V H and V L domains which enables the scFv to form the desired structure for antigen binding.",
"For a review of scFv see Plückthun in The Pharmacology of Monoclonal Antibodies , vol.",
"113, Rosenburg and Moore eds.",
", Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 269-315 (1994).",
"The term “diabodies”",
"refers to small antibody fragments with two antigen-binding sites, which fragments comprise a variable heavy domain (V H ) connected to a variable light domain (V L ) in the same polypeptide chain (V H -V L ).",
"By using a linker that is too short to allow pairing between the two domains on the same chain, the domains are forced to pair with the complementary domains of another chain and create two antigen-binding sites.",
"Diabodies are described more fully in, for example, EP 404,097;",
"WO 93/11161;",
"and Hollinger et al.",
", Proc.",
"Natl.",
"Acad.",
"Sci.",
"USA, 90:6444-6448 (1993).",
"An “isolated”",
"antibody is one which has been identified and separated and/or recovered from a component of its natural environment.",
"Contaminant components of its natural environment are materials which would interfere with diagnostic or therapeutic uses for the antibody, and may include enzymes, hormones, and other proteinaceous or nonproteinaceous solutes.",
"Isolated antibody includes the antibody in situ within recombinant cells since at least one component of the antibody's natural environment will not be present.",
"Ordinarily, however, isolated antibody will be prepared by at least one purification step.",
"An antibody “which binds”",
"an antigen of interest is one capable of binding that antigen with sufficient affinity such that the antibody is useful as a therapeutic or diagnostic agent in targeting a cell expressing the antigen.",
"Where the antibody is one which binds the antigenic moiety it will usually preferentially bind that antigenic moiety as opposed to other receptors, and does not include incidental binding such as non-specific Fc contact, or binding to post-translational modifications common to other antigens and may be one which does not significantly cross-react with other proteins.",
"Methods, for the detection of an antibody that binds an antigen of interest, are well known in the art and can include but are not limited to assays such as FACS, cell ELISA and Western blot.",
"As used herein, the expressions “cell”, “cell line”, and “cell culture”",
"are used interchangeably, and all such designations include progeny.",
"It is also understood that all progeny may not be precisely identical in DNA content, due to deliberate or inadvertent mutations.",
"Mutant progeny that have the same function or biological activity as screened for in the originally transformed cell are included.",
"It will be clear from the context where distinct designations are intended.",
"“Treatment or treating”",
"refers to both therapeutic treatment and prophylactic or preventative measures, wherein the object is to prevent or slow down (lessen) the targeted pathologic condition or disorder.",
"Those in need of treatment include those already with the disorder as well as those prone to have the disorder or those in whom the disorder is to be prevented.",
"Hence, the mammal to be treated herein may have been diagnosed as having the disorder or may be predisposed or susceptible to the disorder.",
"The terms “cancer”",
"and “cancerous”",
"refer to or describe the physiological condition in mammals that is typically characterized by unregulated cell growth or death.",
"Examples of cancer include, but are not limited to, carcinoma, lymphoma, blastoma, sarcoma, and leukemia or lymphoid malignancies.",
"More particular examples of such cancers include squamous cell cancer (e.g. epithelial squamous cell cancer), lung cancer including small-cell lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, adenocarcinoma of the lung and squamous carcinoma of the lung, cancer of the peritoneum, hepatocellular cancer, gastric or stomach cancer including gastrointestinal cancer, pancreatic cancer, glioblastoma, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, liver cancer, bladder cancer, hepatoma, breast cancer, colon cancer, rectal cancer, colorectal cancer, endometrial or uterine carcinoma, salivary gland carcinoma, kidney or renal cancer, prostate cancer, vulval cancer, thyroid cancer, hepatic carcinoma, anal carcinoma, penile carcinoma, as well as head and neck cancer.",
"A “chemotherapeutic agent”",
"is a chemical compound useful in the treatment of cancer.",
"Examples of chemotherapeutic agents include alkylating agents such as thiotepa and cyclosphosphamide (CYTOXAN™);",
"alkyl sulfonates such as busulfan, improsulfan and piposulfan;",
"aziridines such as benzodopa, carboquone, meturedopa, and uredopa;",
"ethylenimines and methylamelamines including altretamine, triethylenemelamine, triethylenephosphoramide, triethylenethiophosphoramide and trimethylolomelamine;",
"nitrogen mustards such as chlorambucil, chlomaphazine, cholophosphamide, estramustine, ifosfamide, mechlorethamine, mechlorethamine oxide hydrochloride, melphalan, novembichin, phenesterine, prednimustine, trofosfamide, uracil mustard;",
"nitrosureas such as carmustine, chlorozotocin, fotemustine, lomustine, nimustine, ranimustine;",
"antibiotics such as aclacinomysins, actinomycin, authramycin, azaserine, bleomycins, cactinomycin, calicheamicin, carabicin, carnomycin, carzinophilin, chromomycins, dactinomycin, daunorubicin, detorubicin, 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine, doxorubicin, epirubicin, esorubicin, idarubicin, marcellomycin, mitomycins, mycophenolic acid, nogalamycin, olivomycins, peplomycin, potfiromycin, puromycin, quelamycin, rodorubicin, streptonigrin, streptozocin, tubercidin, ubenimex, zinostatin, zorubicin;",
"anti-metabolites such as methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU);",
"folic acid analogues such as denopterin, methotrexate, pteropterin, trimetrexate;",
"purine analogs such as fludarabine, 6-mercaptopurine, thiamiprine, thioguanine;",
"pyrimidine analogs such as ancitabine, azacitidine, 6-azauridine, carmofur, cytarabine, dideoxyuridine, doxifluridine, enocitabine, floxuridine, 5-FU;",
"androgens such as calusterone, dromostanolone propionate, epitiostanol, mepitiostane, testolactone;",
"anti-adrenals such as aminoglutethimide, mitotane, trilostane;",
"folic acid replenisher such as frolinic acid;",
"aceglatone;",
"aldophosphamide glycoside;",
"aminolevulinic acid;",
"amsacrine;",
"bestrabucil;",
"bisantrene;",
"edatraxate;",
"defofamine;",
"demecolcine;",
"diaziquone;",
"elformithine;",
"elliptinium acetate;",
"etoglucid;",
"gallium nitrate;",
"hydroxyurea;",
"lentinan;",
"lonidamine;",
"mitoguazone;",
"mitoxantrone;",
"mopidamol;",
"nitracrine;",
"pentostatin;",
"phenamet;",
"pirarubicin;",
"podophyllinic acid;",
"2-ethylhydrazide;",
"procarbazine;",
"PSK®;",
"razoxane;",
"sizofuran;",
"spirogermanium;",
"tenuazonic acid;",
"triaziquone;",
"2,2′,2″-trichlorotriethylamine;",
"urethan;",
"vindesine;",
"dacarbazine;",
"mannomustine;",
"mitobronitol;",
"mitolactol;",
"pipobroman;",
"gacytosine;",
"arabinoside (“Ara-C”);",
"cyclophosphamide;",
"thiotepa;",
"taxanes, e.g. paclitaxel (TAXOL®, Bristol-Myers Squibb Oncology, Princeton, N.J.) and docetaxel (TAXOTERE®, Aventis, Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, Antony, France);",
"chlorambucil;",
"gemcitabine;",
"6-thioguanine;",
"mercaptopurine;",
"methotrexate;",
"platinum analogs such as cisplatin and carboplatin;",
"vinblastine;",
"platinum;",
"etoposide (VP-16);",
"ifosfamide;",
"mitomycin C;",
"mitoxantrone;",
"vincristine;",
"vinorelbine;",
"navelbine;",
"novantrone;",
"teniposide;",
"daunomycin;",
"aminopterin;",
"xeloda;",
"ibandronate;",
"CPT-11;",
"topoisomerase inhibitor RFS 2000;",
"difluoromethylornithine (DMFO);",
"retinoic acid;",
"esperamicins;",
"capecitabine;",
"and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, acids or derivatives of any of the above.",
"Also included in this definition are anti-hormonal agents that act to regulate or inhibit hormone action on tumors such as anti-estrogens including for example tamoxifen, raloxifene, aromatase inhibiting 4(5)-imidazoles, 4-hydroxytamoxifen, trioxifene, keoxifene, LY117018, onapristone, and toremifene (Fareston);",
"and anti-androgens such as flutamide, nilutamide, bicalutamide, leuprolide, and goserelin;",
"and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, acids or derivatives of any of the above.",
"“Mammal”",
"for purposes of treatment refers to any animal classified as a mammal, including humans, mice, SCID or nude mice or strains of mice, domestic and farm animals, and zoo, sports, or pet animals, such as sheep, dogs, horses, cats, cows, etc.",
"Preferably, the mammal herein is human.",
"“Oligonucleotides”",
"are short-length, single- or double-stranded polydeoxynucleotides that are chemically synthesized by known methods (such as phosphotriester, phosphite, or phosphoramidite chemistry, using solid phase techniques such as described in EP 266,032, published 4 May 1988, or via deoxynucleoside H-phosphonate intermediates as described by Froehler et al.",
", Nucl.",
"Acids Res.",
", 14:5399-5407, 1986.",
"They are then purified on polyacrylamide gels.",
"In accordance with the present invention, “humanized”",
"and/or “chimeric”",
"forms of non-human (e.g. murine) immunoglobulins refer to antibodies which contain specific chimeric immunoglobulins, immunoglobulin chains or fragments thereof (such as Fv, Fab, Fab′, F(ab′) 2 or other antigen-binding subsequences of antibodies) which results in the decrease of a human anti-mouse antibody (HAMA), human anti-chimeric antibody (HACA) or a human anti-human antibody (HAHA) response, compared to the original antibody, and contain the requisite portions (e.g. CDR(s), antigen binding region(s), variable domain(s) and so on) derived from said non-human immunoglobulin, necessary to reproduce the desired effect, while simultaneously retaining binding characteristics which are comparable to said non-human immunoglobulin.",
"For the most part, humanized antibodies are human immunoglobulins (recipient antibody) in which residues from the complementarity determining regions (CDRs) of the recipient antibody are replaced by residues from the CDRs of a non-human species (donor antibody) such as mouse, rat or rabbit having the desired specificity, affinity and capacity.",
"In some instances, Fv framework region (FR) residues of the human immunoglobulin are replaced by corresponding non-human FR residues.",
"Furthermore, the humanized antibody may comprise residues which are found neither in the recipient antibody nor in the imported CDR or FR sequences.",
"These modifications are made to further refine and optimize antibody performance.",
"In general, the humanized antibody will comprise substantially all of at least one, and typically two, variable domains, in which all or substantially all of the CDR regions correspond to those of a non-human immunoglobulin and all or substantially all of the FR residues are those of a human immunoglobulin consensus sequence.",
"The humanized antibody optimally also will comprise at least a portion of an immunoglobulin constant region (Fc), typically that of a human immunoglobulin.",
"“De-immunized”",
"antibodies are immunoglobulins that are non-immunogenic, or less immunogenic, to a given species.",
"De-immunization can be achieved through structural alterations to the antibody.",
"Any de-immunization technique known to those skilled in the art can be employed.",
"One suitable technique for de-immunizing antibodies is described, for example, in WO 00/34317 published Jun. 15, 2000.",
"An antibody which induces “apoptosis”",
"is one which induces programmed cell death by any means, illustrated by but not limited to binding of annexin V, caspase activity, fragmentation of DNA, cell shrinkage, dilation of endoplasmic reticulum, cell fragmentation, and/or formation of membrane vesicles (called apoptotic bodies).",
"As used herein “antibody induced cytotoxicity”",
"is understood to mean the cytotoxic effect derived from the hybridoma supernatant or antibody produced by the hybridoma deposited with the IDAC as accession number 180706-02 which effect is not necessarily related to the degree of binding.",
"Throughout the instant specification, hybridoma cell lines, as well as the isolated monoclonal antibodies which are produced therefrom, are alternatively referred to by their internal designation, AR51A165.2 or Depository Designation, IDAC 180706-02.",
"As used herein “antibody-ligand”",
"includes a moiety which exhibits binding specificity for at least one epitope of the target antigen, and which may be an intact antibody molecule, antibody fragments, and any molecule having at least an antigen-binding region or portion thereof (i.e., the variable portion of an antibody molecule), e.g., an Fv molecule, Fab molecule, Fab′ molecule, F(ab′).",
"sub[.",
"].2 molecule, a bispecific antibody, a fusion protein, or any genetically engineered molecule which specifically recognizes and binds at least one epitope of the antigen bound by the isolated monoclonal antibody produced by the hybridoma cell line designated as IDAC 180706-02 (the IDAC 180706-02 antigen).",
"As used herein “cancerous disease modifying antibodies”",
"(CDMAB) refers to monoclonal antibodies which modify the cancerous disease process in a manner which is beneficial to the patient, for example by reducing tumor burden or prolonging survival of tumor bearing individuals, and antibody-ligands thereof.",
"As used herein “antigen-binding region”",
"means a portion of the molecule which recognizes the target antigen.",
"As used herein “competitively inhibits”",
"means being able to recognize and bind a determinant site to which the monoclonal antibody produced by the hybridoma cell line designated as IDAC 180706-02, (the IDAC 180706-02 antibody) is directed using conventional reciprocal antibody competition assays.",
"(Belanger L., Sylvestre C. and Dufour D. (1973), Enzyme linked immunoassay for alpha fetoprotein by competitive and sandwich procedures.",
"Clinica Chimica Acta 48, 15).",
"As used herein “target antigen”",
"is the IDAC 180706-02 antigen or portions thereof.",
"As used herein, an “immunoconjugate”",
"means any molecule or CDMAB such as an antibody chemically or biologically linked to a cytotoxin, a radioactive agent, enzyme, toxin, an anti-tumor drug or a therapeutic agent.",
"The antibody or CDMAB may be linked to the cytotoxin, radioactive agent, anti-tumor drug or therapeutic agent at any location along the molecule so long as it is able to bind its target.",
"Examples of immunoconjugates include antibody toxin chemical conjugates and antibody-toxin fusion proteins.",
"As used herein, a “fusion protein”",
"means any chimeric protein wherein an antigen binding region is connected to a biologically active molecule, e.g., toxin, enzyme, or protein drug.",
"In order that the invention herein described may be more fully understood, the following description is set forth.",
"The present invention provides CDMABs (i.e., IDAC 180706-02 CDMAB) which specifically recognize and bind the IDAC 180706-02 antigen.",
"The CDMAB of the isolated monoclonal antibody produced by the hybridoma deposited with the IDAC as accession number 180706-02 may be in any form as long as it has an antigen-binding region which competitively inhibits the immunospecific binding of the isolated monoclonal antibody produced by hybridoma IDAC 180706-02 to its target antigen.",
"Thus, any recombinant proteins (e.g., fusion proteins wherein the antibody is combined with a second protein such as a lymphokine or a tumor inhibitory growth factor) having the same binding specificity as the IDAC 180706-02 antibody fall within the scope of this invention.",
"In one embodiment of the invention, the CDMAB is the IDAC 180706-02 antibody.",
"In other embodiments, the CDMAB is an antigen binding fragment which may be a Fv molecule (such as a single-chain Fv molecule), a Fab molecule, a Fab′ molecule, a F(ab′)2 molecule, a fusion protein, a bispecific antibody, a heteroantibody or any recombinant molecule having the antigen-binding region of the IDAC 180706-02 antibody.",
"The CDMAB of the invention is directed to the epitope to which the IDAC 180706-02 monoclonal antibody is directed.",
"The CDMAB of the invention may be modified, i.e., by amino acid modifications within the molecule, so as to produce derivative molecules.",
"Chemical modification may also be possible.",
"Derivative molecules would retain the functional property of the polypeptide, namely, the molecule having such substitutions will still permit the binding of the polypeptide to the IDAC 180706-02 antigen or portions thereof.",
"These amino acid substitutions include, but are not necessarily limited to, amino acid substitutions known in the art as “conservative.”",
"For example, it is a well-established principle of protein chemistry that certain amino acid substitutions, entitled “conservative amino acid substitutions,” can frequently be made in a protein without altering either the conformation or the function of the protein.",
"Such changes include substituting any of isoleucine (I), valine (V), and leucine (L) for any other of these hydrophobic amino acids;",
"aspartic acid (D) for glutamic acid (E) and vice versa;",
"glutamine (Q) for asparagine (N) and vice versa;",
"and serine (S) for threonine (T) and vice versa.",
"Other substitutions can also be considered conservative, depending on the environment of the particular amino acid and its role in the three-dimensional structure of the protein.",
"For example, glycine (G) and alanine (A) can frequently be interchangeable, as can alanine and valine (V).",
"Methionine (M), which is relatively hydrophobic, can frequently be interchanged with leucine and isoleucine, and sometimes with valine.",
"Lysine (K) and arginine (R) are frequently interchangeable in locations in which the significant feature of the amino acid residue is its charge and the differing pK's of these two amino acid residues are not significant.",
"Still other changes can be considered “conservative”",
"in particular environments.",
"EXAMPLE 1 Hybridoma Production Hybridoma Cell Line AR51A165.2 The hybridoma cell line AR51A165.2 was deposited, in accordance with the Budapest Treaty, with the International Depository Authority of Canada (IDAC), Bureau of Microbiology, Health Canada, 1015 Arlington Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3E 3R2, on Jul. 18, 2006, under Accession Number 180706-02.",
"In accordance with 37 CFR 1.808, the depositors assure that all restrictions imposed on the availability to the public of the deposited materials will be irrevocably removed upon the granting of a patent.",
"The deposit will be replaced if the depository cannot dispense viable samples.",
"To produce the hybridoma that produces the anti-cancer antibody AR51A165.2, a single cell suspension of frozen endometroid adenocarcinoma tumor tissue (Genomics Collaborative, Cambridge, Mass.) was prepared in PBS.",
"IMMUNEASY™ (Qiagen, Venlo, Netherlands) adjuvant was prepared for use by gentle mixing.",
"Five to seven week old BALB/c mice were immunized by injecting subcutaneously, 2 million cells in 50 microliters of the antigen-adjuvant.",
"Recently prepared antigen-adjuvant was used to boost the immunized mice intraperitoneally, 2 and 5 weeks after the initial immunization, with 2 million cells in 50-60 microliters.",
"A spleen was used for fusion three days after the last immunization.",
"The hybridomas were prepared by fusing the isolated splenocytes with NSO-1 myeloma partners.",
"The supernatants from the fusions were tested from subclones of the hybridomas.",
"To determine whether the antibodies secreted by the hybridoma cells are of the IgG or IgM isotype, an ELISA assay was employed.",
"100 microliters/well of goat anti-mouse IgG+IgM (H+L) at a concentration of 2.4 micrograms/mL in coating buffer (0.1 M carbonate/bicarbonate buffer, pH 9.2-9.6) at 4° C. was added to the ELISA plates overnight.",
"The plates were washed thrice in washing buffer (PBS+0.05 percent Tween).",
"100 microliters/well blocking buffer (5 percent milk in wash buffer) was added to the plate for 1 hour at room temperature and then washed thrice in washing buffer.",
"100 microliters/well of hybridoma supernatant was added and the plate incubated for 1 hour at room temperature.",
"The plates were washed thrice with washing buffer and 1/100,000 dilution of either goat anti-mouse IgG or IgM horseradish peroxidase conjugate (diluted in PBS containing 1 percent milk), 100 microliters/well, was added.",
"After incubating the plate for 1 hour at room temperature the plate was washed thrice with washing buffer.",
"100 microliters/well of TMB solution was incubated for 1-3 minutes at room temperature.",
"The color reaction was terminated by adding 50 microliters/well 2M H 2 SO 4 and the plate was read at 450 nm with a Perkin-Elmer HTS7000 plate reader.",
"As indicated in FIG. 1 , the AR51A165.2 hybridoma secreted primarily antibodies of the IgG isotype.",
"To determine the subclass of antibody secreted by the hybridoma cells, an isotyping experiment was performed using a Mouse Monoclonal Antibody Isotyping Kit (HyCult Biotechnology, Frontstraat, Netherlands).",
"500 microliters of buffer solution was added to the test strip containing rat anti-mouse subclass specific antibodies.",
"500 microliters of hybridoma supernatant was added to the test tube, and submerged by gentle agitation.",
"Captured mouse immunoglobulins were detected directly by a second rat monoclonal antibody which is coupled to colloid particles.",
"The combination of these two proteins creates a visual signal used to analyse the isotype.",
"The anti-cancer antibody AR51A165.2 is of the IgG1, kappa isotype.",
"After one round of limiting dilution, hybridoma supernatants were tested for antibodies that bound to target cells in a cell ELISA assay.",
"Two human ovarian cancer cell lines and 1 human normal skin cell line were tested: OCC-1, OVCAR-3 and CCD-27sk respectively.",
"All cell lines were obtained from the American Type Tissue Collection (ATCC;",
"Manassas, Va.).",
"The plated cells were fixed prior to use.",
"The plates were washed thrice with PBS containing MgCl 2 and CaCl 2 at room temperature.",
"100 microliters of 2 percent paraformaldehyde diluted in PBS was added to each well for 10 minutes at room temperature and then discarded.",
"The plates were again washed with PBS containing MgCl 2 and CaCl 2 three times at room temperature.",
"Blocking was done with 100 microliters/well of 5 percent milk in wash buffer (PBS+0.05 percent Tween) for 1 hour at room temperature.",
"The plates were washed thrice with wash buffer and the hybridoma supernatant was added at 100 microliters/well for 1 hour at room temperature.",
"The plates were washed 3 times with wash buffer and 100 microliters/well of 1/25,000 dilution of goat anti-mouse IgG antibody conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (diluted in PBS containing 1 percent milk) was added.",
"After 1 hour incubation at room temperature the plates were washed 3 times with wash buffer and 100 microliter/well of TMB substrate was incubated for 1-3 minutes at room temperature.",
"The reaction was terminated with 50 microliters/well 2M H 2 SO 4 and the plate read at 450 nm with a Perkin-Elmer HTS7000 plate reader.",
"The results as tabulated in FIG. 1 were expressed as the number of folds above background compared to an in-house IgG isotype control that has previously been shown not to bind to the cell lines tested.",
"The antibodies from the hybridoma AR51A165.2 showed detectable binding to the cell lines tested.",
"In conjunction with testing for antibody binding, the cytotoxic effect of the hybridoma supernatants (antibody induced cytotoxicity) was tested in the cell lines: OCC-1, OVCAR-3 and CCD-27sk.",
"Calcein AM was obtained from Molecular Probes (Eugene, Oreg.) and the assay was performed as outlined below.",
"Cells were plated before the assay at the predetermined appropriate density.",
"After 2 days, 100 microliters of supernatant from the hybridoma microtitre plates were transferred to the cell plates and incubated in a 5 percent CO 2 incubator for 5 days.",
"The wells that served as the positive controls were aspirated until empty and 100 microliters of sodium azide (NaN 3 , 0.01 percent, Sigma, Oakville, ON), cycloheximide (CHX, 0.5 micromolar, Sigma, Oakville, ON) or anti-EGFR antibody (c225, IgG1, kappa, 5 micrograms/mL, Cedarlane, Homby, ON) dissolved in culture medium, was added.",
"After 5 days of treatment, the plates were then emptied by inverting and blotting dry.",
"Room temperature DPBS (Dulbecco's phosphate buffered saline) containing MgCl 2 and CaCl 2 was dispensed into each well from a multichannel squeeze bottle, tapped 3 times, emptied by inversion and then blotted dry.",
"50 microliters of the fluorescent calcein dye diluted in DPBS containing MgCl 2 and CaCl 2 was added to each well and incubated at 37° C. in a 5 percent CO 2 incubator for 30 minutes.",
"The plates were read in a Perkin-Elmer HTS7000 fluorescence plate reader and the data was analyzed in Microsoft Excel.",
"The results are tabulated in FIG. 1 .",
"Supernatant from the AR51A165.2 hybridoma produced specific cytotoxicity of 23 percent on the OCC-1 cells.",
"This was 27 and 24 percent of the cytotoxicity obtained with the positive controls sodium azide and cycloheximide, respectively.",
"Results from FIG. 1 demonstrate that the cytotoxic effects of AR51A165.2 were not proportional to the binding levels on the cancer cell types.",
"There was detectable binding on the three cell lines tested and cytotoxicity associated with only OCC-1.",
"As tabulated in FIG. 1 , AR51A165.2 did not produce cytotoxicity in the CCD-27sk normal human skin cell line.",
"The known non-specific cytotoxic agents cycloheximide and NaN 3 generally produced cytotoxicity as expected.",
"The anti-EGFR antibody c225 produced cytotoxicity as expected on SW 1116.",
"EXAMPLE 2 In Vitro Binding AR51A165.2 monoclonal antibody was produced by culturing the hybridoma in CL-1000 flasks (BD Biosciences, Oakville, ON) with collections and reseeding occurring twice/week.",
"Standard antibody purification procedures with Protein G Sepharose 4 Fast Flow (Amersham Biosciences, Baie d'Urfé, QC) were followed.",
"It is within the scope of this invention to utilize monoclonal antibodies that are de-immunized, humanized, chimerized or murine.",
"Binding of AR51A165.2 to prostate (PC-3 and DU-145), colon (DLD-1, Lovo and SW 116), pancreatic (BxPC-3, PL-45 and AsPC-1), lung (A549), ovarian (OVCAR-3, ES-2, A2780-cp, A2780-s, C-13, Hey, OV2008 and OVCA-429) and breast (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7) cancer, and non-cancer cell lines from skin (CCD-27sk) and lung (Hs888.",
"Lu) was assessed by flow cytometry (FACS).",
"All cell lines, except for the majority of the ovarian cancer cell lines, were obtained from the American Type Tissue Collection (ATCC;",
"Manassas, Va.).",
"A2780-cp, A2780-s, C-13, OV2008, ES-2, Hey, OVCA-429 were obtained from the Ottawa Regional Cancer Center (Ottawa, ON).",
"Cells were prepared for FACS by initially washing the cell monolayer with DPBS (without Ca ++ and Mg ++ ).",
"Cell dissociation buffer (Invitrogen, Burlington, ON) was then used to dislodge the cells from their cell culture plates at 37° C. After centrifugation and collection, the cells were resuspended in DPBS containing MgCl 2 , CaCl 2 and 2 percent fetal bovine serum at 4° C. (staining media) and counted, aliquoted to appropriate cell density, spun down to pellet the cells and resuspended in staining media at 4° C. in the presence of the test antibody (AR51A165.2) or control antibodies (isotype control, anti-EGFR).",
"Isotype control and the test antibody were assessed at 20 micrograms/mL whereas anti-EGFR was assessed at 5 micrograms/mL on ice for 30 minutes.",
"Prior to the addition of Alexa Fluor 546-conjugated secondary antibody the cells were washed once with staining media.",
"The Alexa Fluor 546-conjugated antibody in staining media was then added for 30 minutes at 4° C. The cells were then washed for the final time and resuspended in fixing media (staining media containing 1.5 percent paraformaldehyde).",
"Flow cytometric acquisition of the cells was assessed by running samples on a FACSarray™ using the FACSarray™ System Software (BD Biosciences, Oakville, ON).",
"The forward (FSC) and side scatter (SSC) of the cells were set by adjusting the voltage and amplitude gains on the FSC and SSC detectors.",
"The detectors for the fluorescence (Alexa-546) channel was adjusted by running unstained cells such that cells had a uniform peak with a median fluorescent intensity of approximately 1-5 units.",
"For each sample, approximately 10,000 gated events (stained fixed cells) were acquired for analysis and the results are presented in FIG. 2 .",
"FIG. 2 presents the mean fluorescence intensity fold increase above isotype control.",
"Representative histograms of AR51A165.2 antibodies were compiled for FIG. 3 .",
"AR51A165.2 demonstrated binding to the many of the cell lines tested.",
"There was very strong binding to the colon DLD-1 (168.6-fold) cancer cell line and strong binding to the ovarian ES-2 (30.9-fold), C-13 (18.0-fold) and OV2008 (22.6-fold) cancer cell lines.",
"There was not any detectable binding to the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231.",
"There was moderate binding to the rest of the cell lines.",
"These data demonstrate that AR51A165.2 bound to several different cell lines with higher antigen expression on certain colon and ovarian cancer cell lines.",
"EXAMPLE 3 In Vivo Tumor Experiments with BxPC-3 Cells Examples 1 and 2 demonstrated that AR51A165.2 had anti-cancer properties against a human cancer cell line with detectable binding across several different cancer indications.",
"With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 , 4 to 6 week old female SCID mice were implanted with 5 million human pancreatic cancer cells (BxPC-3) in 100 microliters saline injected subcutaneously in the scruff of the neck.",
"The mice were randomly divided into 2 treatment groups of 5.",
"On the day after implantation, 20 mg/kg of AR51A165.2 test antibody or buffer control was administered intraperitoneally to each cohort in a volume of 300 microliters after dilution from the stock concentration with a diluent that contained 2.7 mM KCl, 1 mM KH 2 PO 4 , 137 mM NaCl and 20 mM Na 2 HPO 4 .",
"The antibody and control samples were then administered once per week for the duration of the study in the same fashion.",
"Tumor growth was measured about every seventh day with calipers.",
"The study was completed after 8 injections of antibody.",
"Body weights of the animals were recorded once per week for the duration of the study.",
"At the end of the study all animals were euthanized according to CCAC guidelines.",
"AR51A165.2 reduced tumor growth in the BxPC-3 in vivo prophylactic model of human pancreatic cancer.",
"Treatment with ARIUS antibody AR51A165.2 reduced the growth of BxPC-3 tumors by 65 percent (p=0.035), compared to the buffer treated group, as determined on day 52, 2 days after the last dose of antibody ( FIG. 1 ).",
"At the end of the study (Day 61), treatment with AR51A165.2 resulted in a tumor growth inhibition of 66 percent (p=0.0375;",
"FIG. 4 ).",
"These in vivo results, in conjunction with the results presented in Example 2, demonstrate that AR51A165.2 is able to bind to the BxPC-3 cell line, as well as induce cytotoxicity in a pancreatic cancer xenograft model.",
"There were no clinical signs of toxicity throughout the study.",
"Body weight measured at weekly intervals was a surrogate for well-being and failure to thrive.",
"The mean body weight increased in all groups over the duration of the study ( FIG. 5 ).",
"The mean weight gain between day 1 and day 61 was 3.6 g in the control group and 3.2 g in the AR51A165.2 treated group.",
"There were no significant differences between groups at the end of the treatment period.",
"In summary, AR51A165.2 was well-tolerated and decreased the tumor burden in this human pancreatic cancer xenograft model.",
"EXAMPLE 4 In Vivo Tumor Experiments with MDA-MB-231 Cells Results from Example 3 were extended to a different model of human cancer.",
"With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 , 4 to 6 week old female SCID mice were implanted with 5 million human breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231) in 100 microliters saline injected subcutaneously in the scruff of the neck.",
"The mice were randomly divided into 2 treatment groups of 5.",
"On the day after implantation, 20 mg/kg of AR51A165.2 test antibody or buffer control was administered intraperitoneally to each cohort in a volume of 300 microliters after dilution from the stock concentration with a diluent that contained 2.7 mM KCl, 1 mM KH 2 PO 4 , 137 mM NaCl and 20 mM Na 2 HPO 4 .",
"The antibody and control samples were then administered once per week for the duration of the study in the same fashion.",
"Tumor growth was measured about every seventh day with calipers.",
"The study was completed after 8 injections of antibody.",
"Body weights of the animals were recorded once per week for the duration of the study.",
"At the end of the study all animals were euthanized according to CCAC guidelines.",
"AR51A165.2 reduced tumor growth in the MDA-MB-231 in vivo prophylactic model of human breast cancer.",
"Results for the tumor growth inhibition study are shown in FIG. 6 .",
"At day 56, the first measurement after the last treatment on day 50, AR51A165.2 decreased tumor growth by 67 percent (p=0.18) in this model of human breast cancer.",
"This result failed to reach significance, likely due to the limited number of animals in each group in this study.",
"From Example 2, it is evident that the binding of AR51A165.2 to the MDA-MB-231 cell line is not detectable using FACS.",
"Nevertheless, the antibody was able to reduce the tumor growth in a MDA-MB-231 xenograft model.",
"The efficacy may be due to either of 2 factors.",
"It is possible that the MDA-MB-231 cell line expresses the antigen target at a level below the threshold of detection by FACS under these conditions, but that the low level of expression is sufficient to trigger an event leading to delayed tumor growth.",
"It is also possible that antigen expression is induced when the MDA-MB-231 cells are placed into the more physiological in vivo environment.",
"In either case, the efficacy of this antibody in a MDA-MB-231 colon cancer model is a non-obvious finding that could not have been predicted on the basis of binding.",
"There were no clinical signs of toxicity throughout the study.",
"Body weight measured at weekly intervals was a surrogate for well-being and failure to thrive.",
"There was a significant increase in body weight for both groups during the course of the study ( FIG. 7 ).",
"At the end of the treatment period, there were no significant differences in body weights between control and antibody treated groups.",
"In summary, AR51A165.2 was well-tolerated and decreased the tumor burden in this human breast cancer xenograft model.",
"EXAMPLE 5 Isolation of Competitive Binders Given an antibody, an individual ordinarily skilled in the art can generate a competitively inhibiting CDMAB, for example a competing antibody, which is one that recognizes the same epitope (Belanger L et al.",
"Clinica Chimica Acta 48:15-18 (1973)).",
"One method entails immunizing with an immunogen that expresses the antigen recognized by the antibody.",
"The sample may include but is not limited to tissues, isolated protein(s) or cell line(s).",
"Resulting hybridomas could be screened using a competition assay, which is one that identifies antibodies that inhibit the binding of the test antibody, such as ELISA, FACS or Western blotting.",
"Another method could make use of phage display antibody libraries and panning for antibodies that recognize at least one epitope of said antigen (Rubinstein J L et al.",
"Anal Biochem 314:294-300 (2003)).",
"In either case, antibodies are selected based on their ability to displace the binding of the original labeled antibody to at least one epitope of its target antigen.",
"Such antibodies would therefore possess the characteristic of recognizing at least one epitope of the antigen as the original antibody.",
"EXAMPLE 6 Cloning of the Variable Regions of the AR51A165.2 Monoclonal Antibody The sequences of the variable regions from the heavy (V.",
"H) and light (V.",
"L) chains of monoclonal antibody produced by the AR51A165.2 hybridoma cell line can be determined.",
"RNA encoding the heavy and light chains of immunoglobulin can be extracted from the subject hybridoma using standard methods involving cellular solubilization with guanidinium isothiocyanate (Chirgwin et al.",
"Biochem.",
"18:5294-5299 (1979)).",
"The mRNA can be used to prepare cDNA for subsequent isolation of V.H and V.L genes by PCR methodology known in the art (Sambrook et al.",
", eds.",
", Molecular Cloning, Chapter 14, Cold Spring Harbor laboratories Press, N.Y. (1989)).",
"The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the heavy and light chains can be independently determined by automated Edman sequencing.",
"Further stretches of the CDRs and flanking FRs can also be determined by amino acid sequencing of the V.H and V.L fragments.",
"Synthetic primers can be then designed for isolation of the V.H and V.L genes from AR51A165.2 monoclonal antibody, and the isolated gene can be ligated into an appropriate vector for sequencing.",
"To generate chimeric and humanized IgG, the variable light and variable heavy domains can be subcloned into an appropriate vector for expression.",
"(i) Monoclonal Antibody DNA encoding the monoclonal antibody (as outlined in Example 1) is readily isolated and sequenced using conventional procedures (e.g., by using oligonucleotide probes that are capable of binding specifically to genes encoding the heavy and light chains of the monoclonal antibodies).",
"The hybridoma cell serves as a preferred source of such DNA.",
"Once isolated, the DNA may be placed into expression vectors, which are then transfected into host cells such as E. coli cells, simian COS cells, Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, or myeloma cells that do not otherwise produce immunoglobulin protein, to obtain the synthesis of monoclonal antibodies in the recombinant host cells.",
"The DNA also may be modified, for example, by substituting the coding sequence for human heavy and light chain constant domains in place of the homologous murine sequences.",
"Chimeric or hybrid antibodies also may be prepared in vitro using known methods in synthetic protein chemistry, including those involving crosslinking agents.",
"For example, immunotoxins may be constructed using a disulfide exchange reaction or by forming a thioether bond.",
"Examples of suitable reagents for this purpose include iminothiolate and methyl-4-mercaptobutyrimidate.",
"(ii) Humanized Antibody A humanized antibody has one or more amino acid residues introduced into it from a non-human source.",
"These non-human amino acid residues are often referred to as “import”",
"residues, which are typically taken from an “import”",
"variable domain.",
"Humanization can be performed the method of Winter and co-workers by substituting rodent CDRs or CDR sequences for the corresponding sequences of a human antibody (Jones et al.",
", Nature 321:522-525 (1986);",
"Riechmann et al.",
", Nature 332:323-327 (1988);",
"Verhoeyen et al.",
", Science 239:1534-1536 (1988);",
"reviewed in Clark, Immunol.",
"Today 21:397-402 (2000)).",
"A humanized antibody can be prepared by a process of analysis of the parental sequences and various conceptual humanized products using three-dimensional models of the parental and humanized sequences.",
"Three dimensional immunoglobulin models are commonly available and are familiar to those skilled in the art.",
"Computer programs are available which illustrate and display probable three-dimensional conformational structures of selected candidate immunoglobulin sequences.",
"Inspection of these displays permits analysis of the likely role of the residues in the functioning of the candidate immunoglobulin sequence, i.e. the analysis of residues that influence the ability of the candidate immunoglobulin to bind its antigen.",
"In this way, FR residues can be selected and combined from the consensus and import sequence so that the desired antibody characteristic, such as increased affinity for the target antigen(s), is achieved.",
"In general, the CDR residues are directly and most substantially involved in influencing antigen binding.",
"(iii) Antibody Fragments Various techniques have been developed for the production of antibody fragments.",
"These fragments can be produced by recombinant host cells (reviewed in Hudson, Curr.",
"Opin.",
"Immunol.",
"11:548-557 (1999);",
"Little et al.",
", Immunol.",
"Today 21:364-370 (2000)).",
"For example, Fab′-SH fragments can be directly recovered from E. coli and chemically coupled to form F(ab′) 2 fragments (Carter et al.",
", Biotechnology 10:163-167 (1992)).",
"In another embodiment, the F(ab′) 2 is formed using the leucine zipper GCN4 to promote assembly of the F(ab′) 2 molecule.",
"According to another approach, Fv, Fab or F(ab′) 2 fragments can be isolated directly from recombinant host cell culture.",
"EXAMPLE 7 A Composition Comprising the Antibody of the Present Invention The antibody of the present invention can be used as a composition for preventing/treating cancer.",
"The composition for preventing/treating cancer, which comprises the antibody of the present invention, are low-toxic and can be administered as they are in the form of liquid preparations, or as pharmaceutical compositions of suitable preparations to human or mammals (e.g., rats, rabbits, sheep, swine, bovine, feline, canine, simian, etc.) orally or parenterally (e.g., intravascularly, intraperitoneally, subcutaneously, etc.).",
"The antibody of the present invention may be administered in itself, or may be administered as an appropriate composition.",
"The composition used for the administration may contain a pharmacologically acceptable carrier with the antibody of the present invention or its salt, a diluent or excipient.",
"Such a composition is provided in the form of pharmaceutical preparations suitable for oral or parenteral administration.",
"Examples of the composition for parenteral administration are injectable preparations, suppositories, etc.",
"The injectable preparations may include dosage forms such as intravenous, subcutaneous, intracutaneous and intramuscular injections, drip infusions, intraarticular injections, etc.",
"These injectable preparations may be prepared by methods publicly known.",
"For example, the injectable preparations may be prepared by dissolving, suspending or emulsifying the antibody of the present invention or its salt in a sterile aqueous medium or an oily medium conventionally used for injections.",
"As the aqueous medium for injections, there are, for example, physiological saline, an isotonic solution containing glucose and other auxiliary agents, etc.",
", which may be used in combination with an appropriate solubilizing agent such as an alcohol (e.g., ethanol), a polyalcohol (e.g., propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol), a nonionic surfactant [e.g., polysorbate 80, HCO-50 (polyoxyethylene (50 mols) adduct of hydrogenated castor oil)], etc.",
"As the oily medium, there are employed, e.g., sesame oil, soybean oil, etc.",
", which may be used in combination with a solubilizing agent such as benzyl benzoate, benzyl alcohol, etc.",
"The injection thus prepared is usually filled in an appropriate ampoule.",
"The suppository used for rectal administration may be prepared by blending the antibody of the present invention or its salt with conventional bases for suppositories.",
"The composition for oral administration includes solid or liquid preparations, specifically, tablets (including dragees and film-coated tablets), pills, granules, powdery preparations, capsules (including soft capsules), syrup, emulsions, suspensions, etc.",
"Such a composition is manufactured by publicly known methods and may contain a vehicle, a diluent or excipient conventionally used in the field of pharmaceutical preparations.",
"Examples of the vehicle or excipient for tablets are lactose, starch, sucrose, magnesium stearate, etc.",
"Advantageously, the compositions for oral or parenteral use described above are prepared into pharmaceutical preparations with a unit dose suited to fit a dose of the active ingredients.",
"Such unit dose preparations include, for example, tablets, pills, capsules, injections (ampoules), suppositories, etc.",
"The amount of the aforesaid compound contained is generally 5 to 500 mg per dosage unit form;",
"it is preferred that the antibody described above is contained in about 5 to about 100 mg especially in the form of injection, and in 10 to 250 mg for the other forms.",
"The dose of the aforesaid prophylactic/therapeutic agent or regulator comprising the antibody of the present invention may vary depending upon subject to be administered, target disease, conditions, route of administration, etc.",
"For example, when used for the purpose of treating/preventing, e.g., breast cancer in an adult, it is advantageous to administer the antibody of the present invention intravenously in a dose of about 0.01 to about 20 mg/kg body weight, preferably about 0.1 to about 10 mg/kg body weight and more preferably about 0.1 to about 5 mg/kg body weight, about 1 to 5 times/day, preferably about 1 to 3 times/day.",
"In other parenteral and oral administration, the agent can be administered in a dose corresponding to the dose given above.",
"When the condition is especially severe, the dose may be increased according to the condition.",
"The antibody of the present invention may be administered as it stands or in the form of an appropriate composition.",
"The composition used for the administration may contain a pharmacologically acceptable carrier with the aforesaid antibody or its salts, a diluent or excipient.",
"Such a composition is provided in the form of pharmaceutical preparations suitable for oral or parenteral administration (e.g., intravascular injection, subcutaneous injection, etc.).",
"Each composition described above may further contain other active ingredients.",
"Furthermore, the antibody of the present invention may be used in combination with other drugs, for example, alkylating agents (e.g., cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, etc.), metabolic antagonists (e.g., methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil, etc.), antitumor antibiotics (e.g., mitomycin, adriamycin, etc.), plant-derived antitumor agents (e.g., vincristine, vindesine, TAXOL® (paclitaxel), etc.), cisplatin, carboplatin, etoposide, irinotecan, etc.",
"The antibody of the present invention and the drugs described above may be administered simultaneously or at staggered times to the patient.",
"The preponderance of evidence shows that AR51A165.2 mediates anti-cancer effects through ligation of an epitope present on cancer cell lines.",
"Further it could be shown that the AR51A165.2 antibody could be used in detection of cells which express the epitope which specifically binds thereto;",
"utilizing techniques illustrated by, but not limited to FACS, cell ELISA or IHC.",
"All patents and publications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.",
"All patents and publications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.",
"It is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement of parts herein described and shown.",
"It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification.",
"One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein.",
"Any oligonucleotides, peptides, polypeptides, biologically related compounds, methods, procedures and techniques described herein are presently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended to be exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope.",
"Changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims.",
"Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments.",
"Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Appl. No. 61/121,809, filed Dec. 11, 2008, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Through massive parallelization and miniaturization, the throughput of DNA sequencing has been increased tremendously while the cost of sequencing has been reduced by several orders of magnitude compared to the conventional gel or capillary-based sequencers using the Sanger dideoxy sequencing method. Several other emerging sequencing platforms can potentially increase the throughput and reduce the cost of DNA sequencing even further by another two orders of magnitude, promising to give us the so-called $1000 genome sequencing technology (Rothberg, J. M. and Leamon, J. H., Nat Biotechnol, 26; 1117-1124 (2008); Schloss, J. A., Nat Biotechnol, 26:1113-1115 (2008); Shendure, J. and Ji, H., Nat Biotechnol, 26:1135-1145 (2008)).
[0003] The possibility of $1000 genome technologies promises to bring genomics out of the main sequencing centers and into the laboratories of individual investigators. This will dramatically transform biomedical research by enabling comprehensive analysis of genomes, transcriptomes, genetic networks and so on. Despite the great progress that has been made, the $1000 genome technology remains elusive.
[0004] The recent progress and the great challenges in genome sequencing technology development have been reported in a series of review articles (Rothberg, J. M. and Leamon, J. H., Nat Biotechnol, 26; 1117-1124 (2008); Schloss, J. A., Nat Biotechnol, 26:1113-1115 (2008); Branton, D. et al., Nat Biotechnol, 26:1146-1153 (2008)).
[0005] The invention provides improved methods for sequencing genetic materials, e.g., for medical applications and biomedical research. The disclosed methods can be applied to rapid personalized medicine, genetic diagnosis, pathogen identification, and genome sequencing for any species in the biosphere.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention provides compositions, methods, kits, and systems for rapid DNA sequencing. In some embodiments, sensors are engineered onto the surface of a polymerase molecule to monitor subtle, yet distinct, conformational changes that accompany the incorporation of each base type. Movement of one to tens of angstroms by the polymerase can be measured precisely with the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) technique. Multiple FRET pairs (or networks) placed at strategic residues on the polymerase can be used to monitor conformational changes in real time (10 times faster than the rate of DNA synthesis). The sensors can provide multi-parametric information about the dynamic structure of the polymerase, which in turn can provide a unique signature for each base type incorporated. Chemical modifications such as methylation on the template DNA can also be detected according to the disclosed methods.
[0007] Accordingly, the invention provides a labeled DNA polymerase wherein said DNA polymerase comprises at least one FRET donor and at least one FRET acceptor, wherein said FRET donor and FRET acceptor are positioned on the DNA polymerase so that a distinct FRET signal is generated for each different nucleotide incorporated into the new DNA strand by the DNA polymerase. The FRET donor and acceptor are positioned on the DNA polymerase so that, when the polymerase adds a nucleotide to the nascent strand of DNA, a distinct FRET signal is generated, at least depending on which base (A, C, G, T) is incorporated. In some embodiments, a distinct FRET signal is generated when the DNA polymerase reads (encounters) a methylated nucleotide on the template DNA.
[0008] In some embodiments, the FRET donor is positioned at a distance very close to the Förster radius (R 0 ) away from the FRET acceptor. For example, when the DNA polymerase is in the open position, the donor is positioned at about one Förster radius (R 0 ) from the acceptor, or within, e.g., 10, 5, 2.5, or 1 angstroms of the Förster radius (R 0 ). In some embodiments, the distance between the FRET donor and the FRET acceptor changes at least 1, 2.5, 5, 10, or more angstroms from the open position to the closed position of the DNA polymerase.
[0009] In some embodiments the FRET donor and acceptor are positioned on a solvent accessible surface of the DNA polymerase. In some embodiments, the FRET donor and acceptor do not interfere with the activity of the DNA polymerase. In some embodiments, the FRET acceptor is positioned on the finger domain, e.g., on a solvent accessible surface of the finger domain, and the FRET donor is positioned on the palm or thumb domain (or another domain that remains relatively stationary during DNA synthesis), e.g., on a solvent accessible surface of the polymerase. In some embodiments, the FRET acceptor is positioned on the thumb or palm domain of the DNA polymerase (or another domain that remains relatively stationary during DNA synthesis), e.g., on a solvent accessible surface, while the FRET donor is positioned on the finger domain, e.g., on a solvent accessible surface of the finger domain.
[0010] In some embodiments, the DNA polymerase source is selected from bacteriophage, bacteria, and yeast. In some embodiments, the DNA polymerase is a genetically engineered enzyme, e.g., a hybrid, or one from a commercial source (e.g., T7 DNA polymerase, Sequenase version 2.0™). In some embodiments, the polymerase is an RT or RNA polymerase, e.g., T7 RNA polymerase. In some embodiments, the polymerase is native or engineered reverse transcriptase, e.g., Moloney Monkey Leukemia Virus reverse transcriptase (MMLV-RT) or SuperScript III™ reverse transcriptase (Life Technologies). Examples of DNA polymerases include phi-29, Taq, T7, Klenow ( E. coli DNA pol I large fragment), and Bst large fragment (from Bacillus stearothermophilus DNA pol).
[0011] In some embodiments, the DNA polymerase is phi-29, and the FRET donor and acceptor are positioned at the amino acid positions selected from those disclosed in Table 1, or within 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 amino acids of the amino acid positions disclosed in Table 1. In some embodiments, more than one of the FRET pairs disclosed in Table 1 is included.
[0012] In some embodiments, the DNA polymerase is not phi-29, but the FRET donor and acceptor are positioned at sites that are homologous to the FRET donor and acceptor sites disclosed in Table 1 for phi-29. The homologous site can be determined by optimal structural alignment, i.e., comparison of the DNA polymerase structures.
[0013] In some embodiments, the FRET donor and acceptor both comprise a fluorescent molecule (e.g., an organic dye molecule). For example, the donor and acceptor can be independently selected from the group consisting of fluorescein, cyanine, rhodamine, and the Alexa series of dyes (Life Technologies), and the Atto series of dyes (Atto-Tec GmbH). In some embodiments, the FRET donor and acceptor both comprise fluorescent quantum nanoparticles (e.g., silver or gold nanoclusters).
[0014] In some embodiments, the labeled DNA polymerase comprises more than one FRET donor, FRET acceptor, or FRET pair (FRET donor and acceptor). For example, a FRET network can be designed where a single FRET donor excites at least two FRET acceptors that are each in close proximity to the FRET donor. In some embodiments, each FRET pair has a different set of labels.
[0015] The invention provides methods of making the labeled DNA polymerase described herein. The invention also includes methods of making any other protein in which at least one residue is labeled with a chemical moiety (e.g., a label such as a fluorescent dye or biotin molecule, or a PNA) at a selected position(s), or at least one residue is substituted with a non-native amino acid, with or without a chemical moiety. In some embodiments, the method comprises the steps of: (i) identifying (selecting) at least one first position on the DNA polymerase to be labeled with a FRET donor and at least one second position on the DNA polymerase to be labeled with a FRET acceptor; and (ii) introducing a non-naturally occurring amino acid at each of the identified (or selected) positions, thereby making a labeled DNA polymerase. In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid is labeled when it is incorporated, while in other embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid is labeled after it is incorporated into the protein.
[0016] In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid at the first position is different than the non-naturally occurring amino acid at the second position. In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid is labeled, e.g., with biotin, a chemically reactive group (e.g., to covalently link a dye molecule), or a fluorescent dye. In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid is one that is not normally found in that position on the DNA polymerase, i.e., a mutated, substituted, or derivative amino acid. In some embodiments, the mutated amino acid is one with a reactive side group, e.g., cysteine or lysine.
[0017] In some embodiments, the introducing step comprises in vitro (i.e., a cell-free) translation of the DNA polymerase. In some embodiments, the introducing step comprises cell-based translation of the DNA polymerase. In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid is labeled with the FRET donor or acceptor molecule (e.g., a fluorophore) after translation of the DNA polymerase, thereby forming a labeled DNA polymerase. In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid comprises a FRET donor or FRET acceptor that is directly introduced into the DNA polymerase during translation.
[0018] In some embodiments, the in vitro translation reaction comprises the steps of: a) immobilizing a polynucleotide sequence (e.g., an mRNA) encoding a labeled DNA polymerase on a substrate; b) contacting said immobilized polynucleotide with two or more different translation reaction mixes in series (separately) under conditions appropriate for translation; c) washing said immobilized polynucleotide between contact with each different reaction mix; and d) repeating steps b) and c) until the DNA polymerase is translated. In some embodiments, the in vitro translation reaction comprises the steps of: a) immobilizing a polynucleotide sequence encoding a labeled DNA polymerase on a substrate; b) contacting said immobilized polynucleotide with at least one first in vitro translation reaction mix under conditions appropriate for translation; c) washing said immobilized polynucleotide; d) contacting said immobilized polynucleotide with at least one second in vitro translation reaction mix under conditions appropriate for translation, wherein said first and second in vitro translation reaction mixes are different; e) washing said immobilized polynucleotide; and f) repeating steps b)-e) until the DNA polymerase is translated. In some embodiments, at least some of the individual components of the reaction mix are added separately to the polynucleotide. In some embodiments, the wash step effectively removes the components of the reaction mix from the polynucleotide. In some embodiments, the wash step effectively removes the components of the reaction mix from the polynucleotide except for the ribosomes and tRNAs with the nascent polypeptide covalently attached and bound to the ribosome (in the P site).
[0019] In some embodiments, the at least one first in vitro translation reaction mix is selected from (i) a reaction mix comprising a non-naturally amino acid, and no other amino acids; and (ii) a reaction mix comprising all the amino acids in the labeled DNA polymerase sequence except for the non-naturally occurring amino acid. In some embodiments, the at least one second in vitro translation reaction mix is selected from (i) a reaction mix comprising a non-naturally amino acid, and no other amino acids; and (ii) a reaction mix comprising all the amino acids in the labeled DNA polymerase sequence except for the non-naturally occurring amino acid.
[0020] In some embodiments, at least one first in vitro translation mix is selected from (i) a reaction mix comprising only one tRNA species pre-charged or activated with (covalently conjugated to) an amino acid or a non-naturally occurring amino acid (e.g. labeled or non-native), and all other components essential for in vitro translation (e.g., ribosomes, GTP, elongation factors, termination release factors); and (ii) a reaction mix containing all tRNA species pre-charged or activated with (covalently conjugated to) the other naturally genetically encoded 19 amino acids, and all other components essential for in vitro translation, but no tRNA molecules for the amino acid in (i). In some embodiments, at least one second in vitro translation mix is selected from (i) a reaction mix comprising only one tRNA species pre-charged or activated with (covalently conjugated to) an amino acid or a non-naturally occurring amino acid (e.g. labeled or non-native), and all other components essential for in vitro translation (e.g., ribosomes, GTP, elongation factors, termination release factors); and (ii) a reaction mix containing all tRNA species pre-charged or activated with (covalently conjugated to) the other naturally genetically encoded 19 amino acids, and all other components essential for in vitro translation, but no tRNA molecules for the amino acid in (i).
[0021] In some embodiments, the in vitro translation is performed using an automated system. In some embodiments, the system includes a column comprising the substrate. In some embodiments, the system comprises tubing, pumps and valves for automated delivery of reaction components and wash solutions.
[0022] The invention provides methods of sequencing a DNA molecule, wherein the method comprises the steps of (i) contacting a labeled DNA polymerase with a DNA template, wherein said DNA template is hybridized to a primer; (ii) adding a DNA sequencing (synthesis) reaction mix under conditions appropriate for DNA polymerization; and (iii) detecting the identity of each nucleotide incorporated into the new strand of DNA by detecting the FRET signal generated by the labeled DNA polymerase, thereby sequencing the DNA molecule. In some embodiments, at least some of the individual components of the DNA sequencing reaction mix are added separately.
[0023] The invention provides methods of sequencing a DNA molecule, wherein the method comprises the steps of (i) contacting a labeled RNA polymerase with a DNA template, wherein a promoter sequence for the RNA polymerase is added to the said DNA template; (ii) adding a RNA sequencing (synthesis) reaction mix under conditions appropriate for RNA polymerization in the transcription process; and (iii) detecting the identity of each nucleotide incorporated into the new strand of RNA by detecting the FRET signal generated by the labeled RNA polymerase, thereby sequencing the DNA molecule. In some embodiments, at least some of the individual components of the RNA sequencing reaction mix are added separately.
[0024] The invention provides methods of sequencing a RNA molecule, wherein the method comprises the steps of (i) contacting a labeled reverse transcriptase with a RNA template, wherein said RNA template is hybridized to a primer; (ii) adding a RNA sequencing (synthesis) reaction mix under conditions appropriate for RNA polymerization in the reverse transcription process; and (iii) detecting the identity of each nucleotide incorporated into the new strand of RNA by detecting the FRET signal generated by the labeled RNA polymerase, thereby sequencing the RNA molecule. In some embodiments, at least some of the individual components of the RNA sequencing reaction mix are added separately.
[0025] In some embodiments, the labeled DNA polymerase (or RNA polymerase or reverse transcriptase) is immobilized on a substrate, e.g., in ordered arrays on a substrate. In some embodiments, the DNA or RNA template is immobilized on a substrate, e.g., in ordered arrays on a substrate. In some embodiments, the primer comprises modified nucleic acids, or peptide nucleic acids (PNA), that are nuclease resistant. In some embodiments, the DNA template is a circular molecule.
[0026] In some embodiments, the DNA or RNA template is attached to the substrate at more than one site. For example, each end of the template can be attached (i.e., anchored) to the substrate. In some embodiments, the template is stretched with each end attached to the substrate. In some embodiments, more than one labeled DNA polymerase (or RNA polymerase or reverse transcriptase) is used to sequence the entire length of the DNA molecule. In some embodiments, the method further comprises washing the immobilized DNA or RNA template, and repeating steps a)-c). In some cases, the first labeled DNA polymerase (or RNA polymerase or reverse transcriptase) is washed away after a predetermined period (e.g., after a certain number of detection events, or certain length of time). In some embodiments, several labeled DNA polymerases (or RNA polymerases or reverse transcriptase enzymes) are used, washed away (removed), and replaced during the process of sequencing the DNA or RNA molecule.
[0027] The invention provides kits and reaction mixes for carrying out the disclosed methods. In some embodiments, the kit is designed for sequencing a DNA molecule, and comprises a labeled DNA polymerase and optionally reagents for sequencing (e.g., nucleotides and buffers). In some embodiments, the labeled DNA polymerase is immobilized on a substrate. In some embodiments, the kit includes instructions for use. In some embodiments, the kit comprises a DNA sequencing reaction mix, or components thereof (e.g., dNTPs, salt and buffer components). In some embodiments, the kit is designed for sequencing an RNA molecule, and comprises a labeled reverse transcriptase and reagents for reverse transcription, such as nucleotides and buffers.
[0028] In some embodiments, the invention provides a kit for labeling a DNA polymerase, said kit comprising a polynucleotide encoding a DNA polymerase and instructions for use. In some embodiments, the polynucleotide is immobilized on a substrate. In some embodiments, the kit further comprises at least one in vitro translation mix. In some embodiments, the at least one in vitro translation mix comprises a non-naturally occurring amino acid, and no other amino acids. In some embodiments, the at least one in vitro translation mix comprises all of the amino acids except the non-naturally occurring amino acid. In some embodiments, the kit further comprises tRNAs. In some embodiments, the kit further comprises at least two FRET dyes. In some embodiments, the FRET dyes are in separate, opaque containers to avoid photobleaching.
[0029] The invention provides apparatuses and systems for carrying out the methods described herein. In some embodiments, the system comprises a labeled DNA polymerase and optical instrumentation capable of detecting a FRET signal from a single molecule (i.e., template polynucleotide). In some embodiments, the system comprises a microfabricated flowcell with a prefabricated chip, microfluidics, temperature control, and an imaging window to detect signal. In some embodiments, the system for READS does not include the labeled DNA polymerase, but comprises the optical instrumentation, and optionally, computer software for analyzing the data. In some embodiments, the labeled DNA polymerase is immobilized on a substrate included with the system (e.g., a glass coverslip or silicone array material). In some embodiments, the optical instrumentation includes lasers and filters for use with particular FRET dyes, e.g., that emit within a desired wavelength. In some embodiments, the optical instrumentation includes an epifluorescence microscope. In some embodiments, the system comprises a computer and/or computer software for analyzing READS data.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0030] FIG. 1 : Left panel: Engineered DNA polymerase with FRET pairs/network on the surface. Two pairs are illustrated, more elaborate networks can be used. Right Panel: Sequencing by monitoring the chemo-mechanical process of DNA synthesis in real time. The hypothetical signal traces show distance changes between the FRET pairs over time.
[0031] FIG. 2 : (A) Right-hand structure with figures, palm and thumb subdomains. (B) A crystal structure of RB69 polymerase in the catalytically competent ternary complex (Franklin et al. (2001) Cell 105:657-67). (C) The specific interactions between the polymerase and primer/template in the minor groove serve as the molecular ruler, guaranteeing the proper spacing between the base pairs. (D) Specific interactions between the residues on the enzyme and template/primer/nucleotide/Mg 2+ in the active site. (E) Large conformational changes accompanying the nucleotide binding and incorporation. Except (B), all other figures are from Stryer, Biochemistry 4 th ed . (1995) W.H. Freeman & Co.
[0032] FIG. 3 : Catalytic Mechanism of DNA polymerases. Conf.: Conformation; Pol: DNA polymerase; Pr: Primer; Tpl: DNA template; dNTP: one of the deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates (dATP, dCTP, dGTP or dTTP); *: catalytically competent transition state complex; PPi: inorganic pyrophosphate. There are dynamic transitions between the different conformations in the chemo-mechanical process of nucleotide incorporation.
[0033] FIG. 4 : Schematic of an automated system with microfluidics and TIRF for high-speed multi-color fluorescence imaging of single molecules. Objects are not drawn to scale. All components are controlled by a computer with a custom software package.
[0034] FIG. 5 : Schematic of the software for automated high-speed imaging. It is of modular design, written, e.g., in C++. Hardware is abstracted from implementation for portability.
[0035] FIG. 6 . Method for incorporating multiple FRET pairs into polymerase by automated cyclic in vitro translation on solid supports.
[0036] FIG. 7 : Crystal structure of phi-29 DNA polymerase complexed with primer-template DNA. The subdomains are displayed in cartoon model: finger, palm, thumb, exonuclease, TPR1 and TPR2. The primer/template DNA are shown in stick model. The PDB ID: 2PZS file (Berman et al. (2007) EMBO J. 26:3494-3505) was used to generate the figure with the program PyMOL (available on the world wide web at pymol.org).
[0037] FIG. 8 : Comparison of the “open” and “closed” form of phi-29 DNA polymerase. Left panel: the superimposition of the “open” and “closed” forms. Right panel: Highlight of C α backbone tracing in the finger subdomain.
[0038] FIG. 9 : Native cysteines and solvent accessible surface of phi-29 DNA polymerase. (A) The seven native cysteines and their locations. (B) Front view of solvent accessible surface of phi-29 DNA polymerase. (C) Back view of solvent accessible surface of phi-29 DNA polymerase. The cysteine residues are shown in space filling model (A). The structures are generated using ChemBio3D Ultra 11.0 (CambridgeSoft).
[0039] FIG. 10 : Candidate residues for labeling on (A) finger, (B) thumb and (C) palm subdomains of phi-29 DNA polymerase. The top and bottom panels displayed the front and back view, respectively. The proteins are shown in space-filled model. Candidate labeling sites are circled in white. The residues marked with a star represent labeling sites with preferred orientation. The structures are generated using PyMOL.
[0040] FIG. 11 : Efficiency of FRET as a function of separation between the donor and acceptor. E=1/[1+(R/R 0 ) 6 ]; R 0 : Förster radius of the donor-acceptor pair at which E=½. The figure is from Roy et al. (2008) Nat Methods 5:507-16.
[0041] FIG. 12 : Representatives of phi-29 DNA polymerase mutants to be constructed for labeling of FRET pairs. (A) Mutant E375C, K240C with labeling sites located on finger and palm subdomains, respectively; (B) Mutant E375C, K553C with labeling sites located on finger and thumb subdomains, respectively. (C) Mutant E375C, K553C with labeling sites located on finger and thump subdomains, respectively; (D) Mutant E375C, K547C with labeling sites located on finger and thumb subdomains, respectively. The open and closed form of proteins are shown in cartoon model and the labeling sites are shown in sphere model. Panels are generated using PyMOL.
[0042] FIG. 13 : A system for high-speed single molecule sequencing. Left: Flowcell and arrays of single DNA polymerases with chemo-mechanical nanosensors. Right: An imaging system with 4 cameras and 4 lasers.
[0043] FIG. 14 : Microfabricated device for anchoring and stretching of long DNA molecules. (A) Overall design. (B) Full EMCCD fluorescence image of end-captured DNA molecules stretched with 320 V/cm electric field.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Overview of READS
A Fourth Generation Sequencing Technology
[0044] The present invention provides a method for direct sequencing of single DNA molecules. The method is called READS Genome Technology (READS: REA 1-time D NA Sequencing from single molecules using chemomechanical nanosensor). The sequence of a DNA or RNA molecule is determined by monitoring in real time the dynamic conformational changes of the DNA or RNA polymerase as each base is incorporated into the nascent strand extending from a primer hybridized to the template strand. The unique signature of the dynamic conformational changes of the DNA or RNA polymerase as a result of the incorporation of a base type is measured by monitoring the dynamic interaction of one pair or a network of fluorescent dyes or nanoparticles using Förster/Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) technique. The FRET dye molecules are attached to the appropriate residues on the surface of the polymerase protein or protein complex. Those residues can be pre-existing residues with appropriate functional groups such as primary amine, carboxylate or sulphur hydryl groups, or can be introduced into the polymerase by protein engineering. The FRET signal(s) from the individual polymerase can be detected in parallel at high-speed using total internal reflection microscopy with an electron multiplying charged coupled device (EMCCD) and laser excitation. The individual fluorescence signals of different wavelengths can be split by multi-choric beam splitters and filters and detected with 2 or more cameras.
[0045] The present invention enables high-speed and accurate sequencing of single DNA molecules. Tens of thousands of bases can potentially be sequenced directly from a single DNA molecule in a matter of minutes. The invention provides the speed and accuracy of natural DNA polymerases using native nucleotides. This is an advantage over previous technologies that relied on fluorescent nucleotides, and required a polymerase that would recognize and incorporate the labeled nucleotides. The platform of the invention, which combines the sequencing method with a high-speed imaging system, thus allows for the sequencing of a whole genome very rapidly at low cost.
[0046] The sequencing technology of the invention provides the following advantages: (1) fast real-time sequencing; (2) direct single molecule sequencing; (3) long and accurate reads; (4) very low-cost; and (5) the capability to detect chemical modifications on genomic DNA, such as methylation, for epigenome sequencing. The basic concept is illustrated in FIG. 1 .
[0047] The present invention, READS ( REA 1-time D NA Sequencing using chemomechanical nanosensors), incorporates the following concepts:
(1) DNA polymerase undergoes characteristic and unique dynamic conformational changes accompanying the process of binding and incorporation of each base type. (2) The small yet unique differences of the dynamic conformational changes (with a distance change of 1-10 angstroms) in the process of incorporating each base can be precisely monitored using FRET pairs. (3) With the current state-of-the-art imaging technology, fluorescence signals from the FRET pairs on a single DNA polymerase in real-time can be detected (10 times faster than the rate of DNA synthesis).
[0051] The FRET sensors can provide multi-parametric information about the dynamic structures of the polymerase accompanying the chemomechanical process of DNA synthesis, providing a unique signature for each base type incorporated.
[0052] Chemical modifications such as methylation on the template DNA can also be detected. Generally, C is the nucleotide that is methylated. The labeled DNA polymerases of the invention can be used to distinguish between an unmodified C and a methylated C on the template DNA strand. A slight difference in the conformation of a DNA polymerase reading a Me-C and one reading a C can result in distinct FRET signals.
DEFINITIONS
[0053] READS technology refers to REA1 time DNA Sequencing using labeled DNA polymerases to detect incorporation of each nucleotide into the nascent DNA strand.
[0054] Förster resonance energy transfer (abbreviated FRET), also known as fluorescence resonance energy transfer, is a mechanism describing energy transfer between two chromophores. A donor chromophore (FRET donor), initially in its electronic excited state, can transfer energy to an acceptor chromophore (FRET acceptor), which is typically less than 10 nm away, through nonradiative dipole-dipole coupling. The energy transferred to the FRET acceptor is detected as an emission of light (energy) when the FRET donor and acceptor are in proximity (see FIG. 11 ). A “FRET signal” is thus the signal that is generated by the emission of light from the acceptor.
[0055] A “FRET pair” refers to a FRET donor and FRET acceptor pair.
[0056] The terms “fluorophore,” “dye,” “fluorescent molecule,” “fluorescent dye,” “FRET dye” and like terms are used synonymously herein.
[0057] A “labeled DNA polymerase” refers to a DNA polymerase comprising at least one FRET pair. The FRET donor and acceptor molecules are generally covalently attached to an amino acid on the surface of the labeled DNA polymerase. DNA polymerases share a general mechanism and structure, thus, any DNA polymerase can be designed and used according to the present invention.
[0058] The DNA polymerase “reads” the template in the 3′→5′ direction, and adds individual nucleotides (bases) to the new strand in the 5′→3′ direction. The polymerase requires a 3′ OH group from a primer to begin extension of a new DNA strand. Individual nucleotides (dNTPs, or dATP, dCTP, dTTP, dGTP, or A, C, T, G) are added according to the general mechanism described in FIG. 3 . The particular base (A, C, T, or G) depends on the sequence of the template DNA, so that the new base hybridizes to the nucleotide on the template strand through a Watson-Crick interaction. The DNA polymerase cycles between “open” and “closed” conformations. The DNA polymerase is in open position with the primer-template DNA complex. Once an incoming nucleotide enters the active site, the polymerase cycles to the closed position.
[0059] As used herein, the term “non-naturally occurring amino acid” refers to an amino acid that is attached to (labeled with) a FRET donor or acceptor, or an adaptor molecule for attaching said FRET donor or acceptor. The term also refers to an amino acid that does not naturally occur at a given site on a DNA polymerase in the native sequence of the DNA polymerase. For example, a non-naturally occurring amino acid can be an amino acid with a reactive side group which is substituted for the native (naturally occurring) amino acid at a given site on the polymerase. In this case, the FRET dye is attached to the non-naturally occurring (or substitute or mutant) amino acid in a separate step.
[0060] The term “nascent strand” refers to the new strand of DNA (or RNA) that is involved in polymerization. A DNA polymerase initially adds a first individual nucleotide (base) to a primer, adds a second individual nucleotide to the first added base, adds a third individual nucleotide to the second added base, etc., in a template strand-dependent manner. The “nascent” or “new” strand refers to the primer, the growing strand, and the strand of DNA that is polymerized by the DNA polymerase.
[0061] The term “reaction mix” refers generically to the components required for a given chemical or biological process. For example, a “translation reaction mix” will include amino acids, tRNAs, buffers, etc. as will be recognized by one of skill in the art. Similarly, a DNA synthesis reaction mix will include individual nucleotides, buffers, etc., necessary for carrying out the reaction. One of skill will appreciate that reaction mixes for DNA synthesis, transcription, and translation are well-characterized and commercially available.
[0062] The term “sequencing a DNA molecule” refers to the READS technology described herein. Sequence information is obtained for the DNA template, as well as the new and complementary DNA strand. The term DNA molecule in this context thus refers to both the template and the newly synthesized strands.
[0063] “Nucleic acid” or “oligonucleotide” or “polynucleotide” or grammatical equivalents used herein means at least two nucleotides (i.e., bases) covalently linked together. The terms “nucleotide” and “base” generally refer to individual monomers (e.g., dNTPs or rNTPs comprising adenine, thymine, cytosine, or guanine). Oligonucleotides are typically from about 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 25, 30, 40, 50 or more nucleotides in length, optionally up to about 100 nucleotides in length. Nucleic acids and polynucleotides are polymers of any length, including longer lengths, e.g., 200, 300, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 5000, 7000, 10,000, etc. A nucleic acid of the present invention will generally contain phosphodiester bonds, although in some cases, nucleic acid analogs are included that may have alternate backbones, comprising, e.g., phosphoramidate, phosphorothioate, phosphorodithioate, or O-methylphosphoroamidite linkages (see Eckstein, Oligonucleotides and Analogues: A Practical Approach, Oxford University Press); and peptide nucleic acid backbones and linkages. Other analog nucleic acids include those with positive backbones; non-ionic backbones, and non-ribose backbones, including those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,235,033 and 5,034,506, and Chapters 6 and 7, ASC Symposium Series 580 , Carbohydrate Modifications in Antisense Research , Sanghui & Cook, eds. Nucleic acids containing one or more carbocyclic sugars are also included within one definition of nucleic acids. Modifications of the ribose-phosphate backbone may be done for a variety of reasons, e.g., to increase the stability and half-life of such molecules in physiological environments or as probes on a biochip. Mixtures of naturally occurring nucleic acids and analogs can be made; alternatively, mixtures of different nucleic acid analogs, and mixtures of naturally occurring nucleic acids and analogs can be made.
[0064] The terms “polypeptide,” “peptide” and “protein” are used interchangeably herein to refer to a polymer of amino acid residues. The terms apply to amino acid polymers in which one or more amino acid residue is an artificial chemical mimetic of a corresponding naturally occurring amino acid, as well as to naturally occurring amino acid polymers, those containing modified residues, and non-naturally occurring amino acid polymer.
[0065] The term “amino acid” refers to naturally occurring and synthetic amino acids, as well as amino acid analogs and amino acid mimetics that function similarly to the naturally occurring amino acids. Naturally occurring amino acids are those encoded by the genetic code, as well as those amino acids that are later modified, e.g., hydroxyproline, γ-carboxyglutamate, and O-phosphoserine. Amino acid analogs refers to compounds that have the same basic chemical structure as a naturally occurring amino acid, e.g., an a carbon that is bound to a hydrogen, a carboxyl group, an amino group, and an R group, e.g., homoserine, norleucine, methionine sulfoxide, methionine methyl sulfonium. Such analogs may have modified R groups (e.g., norleucine) or modified peptide backbones, but retain the same basic chemical structure as a naturally occurring amino acid. Amino acid mimetics refers to chemical compounds that have a structure that is different from the general chemical structure of an amino acid, but that functions similarly to a naturally occurring amino acid.
[0066] Amino acids may be referred to herein by either their commonly known three letter symbols or by the one-letter symbols recommended by the IUPAC-IUB Biochemical Nomenclature Commission. Nucleotides, likewise, may be referred to by their commonly accepted single-letter codes.
[0067] “Conservatively modified variants” applies to both amino acid and nucleic acid sequences. With respect to particular nucleic acid sequences, conservatively modified variants refers to those nucleic acids which encode identical or essentially identical amino acid sequences, or where the nucleic acid does not encode an amino acid sequence, to essentially identical or associated, e.g., naturally contiguous, sequences. Because of the degeneracy of the genetic code, a large number of functionally identical nucleic acids encode most proteins. For instance, the codons GCA, GCC, GCG and GCU all encode the amino acid alanine. Thus, at every position where an alanine is specified by a codon, the codon can be altered to another of the corresponding codons described without altering the encoded polypeptide. Such nucleic acid variations are “silent variations,” which are one species of conservatively modified variations. Every nucleic acid sequence herein which encodes a polypeptide also describes silent variations of the nucleic acid. One of skill will recognize that in certain contexts each codon in a nucleic acid (except AUG, which is ordinarily the only codon for methionine, and TGG, which is ordinarily the only codon for tryptophan) can be modified to yield a functionally identical molecule. Accordingly, often silent variations of a nucleic acid which encodes a polypeptide is implicit in a described sequence with respect to the expression product, but not with respect to actual probe sequences.
[0068] As to amino acid sequences, one of skill will recognize that individual substitutions, deletions or additions to a nucleic acid, peptide, polypeptide, or protein sequence which alters, adds or deletes a single amino acid or a small percentage of amino acids in the encoded sequence is a “conservatively modified variant” where the alteration results in the substitution of an amino acid with a chemically similar amino acid. Conservative substitution tables providing functionally similar amino acids are well known in the art. Such conservatively modified variants are in addition to and do not exclude polymorphic variants, interspecies homologs, and alleles of the invention. The following amino acids can be conservative substitutions for one another: 1) Alanine (A), Glycine (G); 2) Aspartic acid (D), Glutamic acid (E); 3) Asparagine (N), Glutamine (Q); 4) Arginine (R), Lysine (K); 5) Isoleucine (I), Leucine (L), Methionine (M), Valine (V); 6) Phenylalanine (F), Tyrosine (Y), Tryptophan (W); 7) Serine (S), Threonine (T); and 8) Cysteine (C), Methionine (M) (see, e.g., Creighton, Proteins (1984)).
[0069] A “label” or a “detectable moiety” is a composition detectable by spectroscopic, photochemical, biochemical, immunochemical, chemical, or other physical means. The term label as used herein generally refers to a fluorescent label, e.g., a FRET donor or acceptor. Labels can also include, e.g., an affinity agent such as biotin, chemically reactive groups, electron-dense reagents, enzymes (e.g., as commonly used in an ELISA), or digoxigenin. Any method known in the art for conjugating a label can be employed, e.g., using methods described in Hermanson, Bioconjugate Techniques 1996, Academic Press, Inc., San Diego.
[0070] A “labeled amino acid” generally refers to amino acids that are attached to a FRET dye (fluorescent molecule), or an adaptor molecule/linker for attachment of the FRET dye in a separate step.
[0071] The phrase “selectively (or specifically) hybridizes to” refers to the binding, duplexing, or hybridizing of a molecule only to a particular nucleotide sequence with a higher affinity, e.g., under more stringent conditions, than to other nucleotide sequences (e.g., total cellular or library DNA or RNA). One of skill in the art will appreciate that specific hybridization between nucleotides usually relies on Watson-Crick pair bonding between complementary nucleotide sequences.
[0072] The term “probe” or “primer”, as used herein, is defined to be one or more nucleic acid fragments whose specific hybridization to a sample can be detected. A probe or primer can be of any length depending on the particular technique it will be used for. For example, primers for priming a DNA polymerase reaction (e.g., PCR) are generally between 10 and 40 nucleotides in length, while nucleic acid probes for, e.g., a Southern blot, can be several hundred nucleotides in length. The primer can be unlabeled or labeled as described below so that its binding to the target or template can be detected. The length and complexity of the nucleic acid fixed onto the target element is not critical to the invention. One of skill can adjust these factors to provide optimum hybridization conditions.
[0073] A probe or primer can also be immobilized on a solid surface (e.g., nitrocellulose, glass, quartz, fused silica slides), as in an array. In some embodiments, the probe may be a member of an array of nucleic acids as described, for instance, in WO 96/17958. Techniques capable of producing high density arrays can also be used for this purpose (see, e.g., Fodor (1991) Science 767-773; Johnston (1998) Curr. Biol. 8: R171-R174; Schummer (1997) Biotechniques 23: 1087-1092; Kern (1997) Biotechniques 23: 120-124; U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,854). One of skill will recognize that the precise sequence of the particular probes can be modified to a certain degree, but retain the ability to specifically bind to (i.e., hybridize specifically to) the same targets or samples as the probe from which they were derived.
[0074] A “flowcell” or “flow channel” refers to recess in a structure which can contain a flow of fluid or gas.
[0075] A “control” sample or value refers to a sample that serves as a reference, usually a known reference, for comparison to a test sample. For example, a test sample can be an unknown sequence, and a control a known sequence. In some embodiments, the test sample can include a polymerase with an untested FRET pair, the control polymerase includes a known FRET pair.
[0076] One of skill in the art will understand which controls are valuable in a given situation and be able to analyze data based on comparisons to control values. Controls can be valuable for determining the significance of data. For example, if values for a given parameter are widely variant in controls, variation in test samples will not be considered as significant.
Basic Recombinant Methods
[0077] The invention provides routine methods of cloning polynucleotides, e.g., for expression as proteins. Polynucleotide sequences of the present invention include those that encode DNA and RNA polymerases, template polynucleotide sequences (e.g., genomic fragments to be sequenced), primers, and adaptor molecules, as described below. Basic texts disclosing general methods and techniques in the field of recombinant genetics include Sambrook and Russell, Molecular Cloning A Laboratory Manual (3rd ed. 2001); Kriegler, Gene Transfer and Expression: A Laboratory Manual (1990); and Ausubel et al., eds., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology (1994); Kriegler, Gene Transfer and Expression: A Laboratory Manual (1990); and Current Protocols in Molecular Biology (Ausubel et al., eds., 1994-1999). Nucleic acids can be obtained through in vitro amplification methods such as those described herein and in Berger, Sambrook, and Ausubel, as well as Mullis et al., (1987) U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,202; PCR Protocols A Guide to Methods and Applications (Innis et al., eds).
[0078] One of skill will recognize that additional modifications can be made to the polymerases of the present invention without diminishing their biological activity. Some modifications may be made to facilitate the cloning, expression, or incorporation of a domain into a fusion protein. Such modifications are well known to those of skill in the art and include, for example, the addition of codons at either terminus of the polynucleotide that encodes the binding domain to provide, for example, a methionine added at the amino terminus to provide an initiation site, or additional amino acids (e.g., poly His) placed on either terminus to create conveniently located restriction sites or termination codons or purification sequences.
[0079] A desired protein can be obtained adopting any known genetic engineering methods for producing polypeptides (e.g., Morrison J., J Bacteriology 1977, 132: 349-51; Clark-Curtiss & Curtiss, Methods in Enzymology (eds. Wu et al.) 1983, 101: 347-62). For example, a suitable vector comprising a polynucleotide encoding the protein in an expressible form (e.g., operably linked to a regulatory sequence comprising a promoter) is prepared, transformed into a suitable host cell, and then the host cell is cultured to produce the protein.
[0080] Any commonly used promoters can be employed including, for example, the SV40 early promoter (Rigby in Williamson (ed.), Genetic Engineering , vol. 3. Academic Press, London, 1982, 83-141), the EF-αpromoter (Kim et al., Gene 1990, 91:217-23), the CAG promoter (Niwa et al., Gene 1991, 108:193), the RSV LTR promoter (Cullen, Methods in Enzymology 1987, 152:684-704), the SRα promoter (Takebe et al., Mol Cell Biol 1988, 8:466), the CMV immediate early promoter (Seed et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1987, 84:3365-9), the SV40 late promoter (Gheysen et al., J Mol Appl Genet. 1982, 1:385-94), the Adenovirus late promoter (Kaufman et al., Mol Cell Biol 1989, 9:946), the HSV TK promoter, etc.
[0081] Common expression vectors and host cells are commercially available. An expression vector can be introduced into host cells to express a desired sequence according to methods known in the art, for example, electroporation (Chu et al., Nucleic Acids Res 1987, 15:1311-26), calcium phosphate (Chen et al., Mol Cell Biol 1987, 7:2745-52), DEAE dextran (Lopata et al., Nucleic Acids Res 1984, 12:5707-17; Sussman et al., Mol Cell Biol 1985, 4:1641-3), Lipofectin (Derijard B, Cell 1994, 7:1025-37; Lamb et al., Nature Genetics 1993, 5:22-30; Rabindran et al., Science 1993, 259:230-4), etc.
[0082] A protein (or fragments thereof) can also be produced in vitro adopting an in vitro translation system. Such systems are known in the art and are commercially available (e.g., Proteinscript II™ from Ambion or Expressway™ from Invitrogen or the TNT® system from Promega, or RTS® from Roche). Cell-based methods utilizing modified tRNA molecules and tRNA synthetases can also be used. Such technologies include ReCode™ (available from Ambryx Biotechnologies), and are described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,083,970 and 7,045,337.
[0000] READS Technology and Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)
[0083] DNA polymerases have precise 3-D sensors with atomic-resolution that can synthesize very long DNA molecules with high fidelity and velocity. Precise protein engineering is a much easier, cost-effective, and accessible technology than nanofabrication with semiconductor technology.
[0084] Fluorescently-labeled nucleotides are not required for READS. Thus, background resulting from the fluorescent nucleotides is not an issue. With high quality optics and imaging technique, the remaining background (e.g., resulting from Raman and Rayleigh scattering) can be suppressed to an almost negligible level. Thus, for single molecule imaging over a sustained period of time, every single photon can be counted, if desired.
[0085] The common catalytic mechanism of DNA synthesis for DNA polymerases is illustrated in FIG. 3 . In step 1, the binding of primed DNA template to the polymerase is rapid. This begins with the specific interactions between the palm region of the polymerase and the primer/template, followed by the large movement of the thumb subdomain, which encircles the primer/template, and positions the last 3′-OH base on the primer into the active site of the polymerase ( FIGS. 2B , C, D). In Step 2, the diffusion of a dNTP into the active site and subsequent binding of the dNTP trigger a rapid and large conformational change from the open position. The finger domain rotates toward the active site, and forms a tight pocket into which only a properly shaped base pair can fit ( FIG. 2E ). This is the closed conformation. In Step 3 (the rate limiting step), further interactions between the polymerase and the primer/template/dNTP/2Mg 2+ complex promote the complex into a catalytically competent transition state (Rothwell and Waksman, Adv Protein Chem, 71:401-440 (2005); Rothwell et al., Mol Cell, 19:345-355 (2005); Stengel et al., Biochemistry, 46:12289-12297 (2007)). In Step 4, the chemistry takes place: the 3′-OH group in the primer attacks the alpha phosphate group of the incoming dNTP through a SN2 reaction, resulting in the incorporation of the new base and the production of pyrophosphate. In Step 5, the complex undergoes another large conformational change. The finger subdomain rotates back to the open conformation and, concomitantly, the pyrophosphate is released, the template is translocated, and the 3′-OH is regenerated for another round of synthesis (processive synthesis) or the dissociation of the polymerase complex (distributive synthesis).
[0086] High fidelity is achieved in part due to the structural complementarities between the base pair and the enzyme active site play an important role, in addition to the specific Watson-Crick hydrogen bonding between the incoming base and the template base (McCulloch and Kunkel, Cell Res, 18:148-161 (2008); Kool, Annu Rev Biochem, 71:191-219 (2002)). An intermediate conformation has been shown to serve as an early checkpoint, allowing an incoming dNTP to preview the template, followed by rapid rejection when the bases are mismatched (Joyce et al., Biochemistry, 47:6103-6116 (2008)). From a kinetics standpoint, fidelity of the synthesis is determined by the k 3 /K M of the reaction (since step 3 is the rate limiting step, k cat can be approximated by k 3 ) (Tsai et al., Anal Biochem (2008); Tsai and Johnson, Biochemistry, 45:9675-9687 (2006)).
[0087] In addition to the numerous conformational changes associated with the process, each step has characteristic kinetic properties (k 1 -k 5 ), which are detected in the present sequencing process. Each DNA polymerase has a different K M for each of the 4 dNTP's. The incorporation rate of each base type (k 3 ) is also unique for each different base type. We can thus identify each base as it is incorporated by accurately measuring the rate of incorporation. The rate for a given base type is very likely sequence-dependent and therefore may vary slightly, but the variation is smaller than the differences between the different base types. Multi-parametric information of the entire process can be obtained by monitoring the dynamic conformational changes accompanying the incorporation of each base. This will capture additional unique features associated with the incorporation of each base type in addition to the unique rate of incorporation determined by k 3 . For example, the interactions between the bases on the template, and the DNA polymerase are extensive and specific (see, e.g., FIG. 2B ). A small perturbation of the network of interactions, e.g., by the presence of a methylated base, can change the polymerase conformation and the rate of the incorporation of the incoming complementary base.
[0088] FRET has evolved into a very powerful tool for measuring nanometer-scale change in distance associated with the conformational dynamics of biomolecules and complexes, including protein folding and enzyme structural dynamics, since the initial report (Stryer and Haugland, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 58:719-726 (1967); Haugland et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 63:23-30 (1969))
[0089] FRET and other fluorescence techniques can be used to monitor the conformational changes and kinetics of DNA synthesis (Stengel et al., Biochemistry, 46:12289-12297 (2007); Tsai et al., Anal Biochem (2008); Tsai and Johnson, Biochemistry, 45:9675-9687 (2006); Allen et al., Protein Sci, 17:401-408 (2008); Rothwell and Waksman, J Biol Chem, 282:28884-28892 (2007)). However, previous measurements were performed with a large ensemble of molecules. The present technology relies on single molecule FRET.
[0090] Eid et al. ( Science 323:133-38 (2009)) observed different average pulse width (equivalent to k 3 ) for each different nucleotide: dATP: 132±22 ms; dCTP: 91±19 ms; dGTP: 117±14 ms; dTTP: 96±10 ms. The variation of their pulse width measurement was large for each dNTP, presumably due to the fact that the DNA synthesis reaction was performed with very low concentration of dNTPs (<<K M ). DNA synthesis according to the present techniques is performed with high concentrations of nucleotides (equal or slightly greater than K M ).
[0091] With current diffraction-limited optics, imaging sensors including EMCCD (electron multiplying charged coupled device), PMT (photomultiplier tube), APD (avalanche photodiode) and imaging techniques such as confocal and total internal reflection (TIRF) microscopy, single fluorescence molecules can be imaged routinely with high speed and good signal to noise ratio (Walter et al., Nat Methods, 5:475-489 (2008)). The first experimental demonstration of single molecule FRET was reported by Ha et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 93:6264-6268 (1996). Single molecule FRET is now a standard tool used for applications including studying the conformational changes of protein folding and enzyme conformation dynamics at the single molecule level (Schuler and Eaton, Curr Opin Struct Biol, 18:16-26 (2008); Tsai and Johnson, Biochemistry, 45:9675-9687 (2006); Hanson et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 104:18055-18060 (2007); Haas, Chemphyschem, 6:858-870 (2005)).
[0092] Most organic dye molecules can output on average 1-3 million photons before they are eventually photobleached. A deep-cooled EMCCD camera can detect about 100 photons with good signal to noise (S/N). If the photon collection efficiency of the imaging system is about 10%, a few thousand measurements can be made with good S/N out of a single dye molecule before it is photobleached. Dye molecules with very good photostability are highly desirable for single molecule work. The Alexa series of dyes are some of the brightest and most photostable organic dyes available. With proper steps to prevent photobleaching by removing oxygen (e.g. with glucose oxidase/catalse system) and prevent blinking (e.g. with Trolox), up to 100,000 measurements can potentially be measured from each dye using state-of-the-art optics and detectors. The main source of noise will be Raman and other scattering, which can be limited by confining the volume of illumination.
[0093] The efficiency of Förster resonance energy transfer between a donor and an acceptor dye separated by a distance of R is given by E=1/[1+(R/R 0 ) 6 ] with R 0 being the Förster radius of the donor-acceptor pair at which E=½. R o is about 50-60 Å for some commonly used dye pairs (e.g., Cy3-Cy5). This distance is comparable to the size of the DNA polymerases. FRET signal varies as the distance to the 6 th power. If the donor-acceptor pair is positioned around R 0 , a small change in distance ranging from 1 Å to 50 Å can be measured with the greatest signal to noise. With current technology, 1 ms or faster parallel imaging of many single FRET pairs is achievable. Both large and small conformational changes can be monitored with one or more FRET pairs positioned at the proper distance, in particular on the fingers and thumb subdomains.
[0094] Furthermore, the rate of in vitro DNA synthesis with some of the common DNA polymerases such as the Klenow and phi-29 DNA polymerase is slower than 100 bases/s, with the rate of synthesis by phi-29 DNA about 50-100 bases per second at 32° C. and as low as 5 bases per second at 4° C. We can thus control the rate of synthesis to 50 bases/s, and obtain 10 FRET data points per base incorporated using a 2 ms sampling rate (500 Hz). With 2×2 binning, the 1 megapixel EMCCD camera has a readout rate of 140 frames/s. With a 4 camera set up, the combined throughput of the cameras would be 560 frames/s. This can give enough FRET kinetics information to fingerprint each base type. The rate of DNA synthesis can be slowed down to 20 bases/s if necessary. Even with this speed, a 10,000-base long DNA can be sequenced in less than 10 minutes. This technology uses micro and nanofabricated arrays for efficient imaging, for example, 9 pixels per template (Barbee and Huang, Anal Chem, 80:2149-2154 (2008)). With that capability, a human genome can be sequenced in under one hour [(1,000,000/9)*20*3600=7.2 billion bases].
Polymerases for Use in READS
[0095] DNA (and RNA) polymerases are molecular motors that direct the synthesis of DNA (and RNA) in a template specific manner from individual bases/nucleotides. The structures and enzymatic mechanisms are among the best characterized of almost all proteins, and frequently used as textbook examples for enzyme catalysis and specificity.
[0096] For simplicity, we refer to DNA synthesis, and sequencing using a DNA polymerase. However, the methods of the invention can be extended to detect sequences using an RNA polymerase or reverse transcriptase, i.e., where the RNA polymerase or reverse transcriptase are labeled with a FRET pair as described for DNA polymerases.
[0097] All DNA polymerases have a common architectural framework consisting of the fingers, palm, and thumb subdomains, and sometimes an exonuclease subdomain (see FIG. 2 ). Despite the sequence diversity of the numerous DNA polymerases existing in nature, the structures and catalytic mechanisms share common features (Rothwell, P. J. and Waksman, G., Adv Protein Chem, 71:401-440 (2005); McCulloch, S. D. and Kunkel, T. A., Cell Res, 18:148-161 (2008)). The common mechanism for DNA polymerases is explained above and illustrated in FIG. 3 (Rothwell, P. J. and Waksman, G., Adv Protein Chem, 71:401-440 (2005); McCulloch, S. D. and Kunkel, T. A., Cell Res, 18:148-161 (2008)).
[0098] As explained above, DNA polymerases operate according to a general mechanism. Thus, any polymerase can be used in the present READS technology. Ideally, the selected polymerase
1. is easily expressed (e.g., in E. Coli and/or by in vitro transcription/translation systems); 2. has strong strand-displacement activity; 3. has high fidelity and processivity; and 4. has strong binding affinity to primed DNA template (i.e., a very small K M for template binding).
[0103] Depending on the assay design, error proofreading activity (i.e., exonuclease activity) can be undesirable. The exonuclease activity can act on the primer, thereby complicating the initiation of the polymerization. There are at least two ways to address this: (i) provide a primer that is nuclease resistant (e.g., modified nucleic acids or PNAs) or (ii) use a genetically engineered polymerase with reduced exonuclease activity.
[0104] A variety of polymerases can be used as at least a portion of the labeled polymerase of the invention. At least five families of DNA-dependent DNA polymerases are known, although most fall into families A, B and C. Most family A polymerases are single chain proteins that can contain multiple enzymatic functions including polymerase, 3′ to 5′ exonuclease activity and 5′ to 3′ exonuclease activity. Family B polymerases typically have a single catalytic domain with polymerase and 3′ to 5′ exonuclease activity, as well as accessory factors. Family C polymerases are typically multi-subunit proteins with polymerizing and 3′ to 5′ exonuclease activity. In E. coli , three types of DNA polymerases have been found, DNA polymerases I, II, and III (analogous to family A, B, and C, respectively). In eukaryotic cells, three different family B polymerases, DNA polymerases α, δ, and ε are implicated in nuclear replication, and a family A polymerase, polymerase γ, is used for mitochondrial DNA replication. Other types of DNA polymerases include phage polymerases. Any of these polymerases, combinations of all or portions of these polymerases, as well as chimeras or hybrids between two or more of such polymerases or their equivalents can be used to form a portion or all of the polymerase domain of hybrid polymerases of the invention.
[0105] Examples of DNA polymerases that can be used include without limitation: phi-29, Taq, T7, E. coli Klenow (from DNA pol I), E. coli DNA pol III, and Baccilus stearothermophilus (Bst) DNA pol. The DNA polymerase can also be genetically engineered, e.g., a hybrid (e.g., Phusion DNA polymerase in which a domain with strong dsDNA binding affinity is fused to a DNA polymerase to enhance processivity). Many useful DNA polymerases are commercially available (e.g., T7 DNA pol, Sequenase version 2.0™). Highly processive polymerases include phi29 and T7 DNA polymerases, and Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MLV) reverse transcriptase. One of skill in the art will appreciate that DNA polymerases are structurally similar, and that recombinant, hybrid polymerases can be engineered using homologous domains from different polymerases.
[0106] For convenience, we have selected a polymerase that also has extensive structural data available, and few native cysteine residues on its surface. There are 780 entries of high resolution structures of DNA polymerases and DNA polymerase/substrate complexes in the protein data bank (RCSB PDB). In addition, mechanisms of many DNA polymerases have been studied extensively and elucidated in great detail. We selected phi 29 DNA polymerase because it has the desired criteria. High resolution X-ray crystal structures are available for this polymerase with and without primer/template/nucleotide substrates (Berman et al. (2007) EMBO J. 26:3494-3505).
[0107] Phi-29 DNA polymerase has very high fidelity (<1 error in one million bases), strong strand displacement, and high processivity (up to 100,000 bases) compared to other commonly used DNA polymerases. The conformational changes involved in the chemo-mechanical process of DNA synthesis by phi 29 DNA polymerase are known. Berman et al. solved four crystal structures of phi 29 DNA polymerase in complexes including (1) polymerase bound to a primer-template substrate (binary complex) in the post-translocated state (f in FIG. 3 ); (2) polymerase bound to a primer-template substrate (binary complex) before the next incoming nucleotide binds to the polymerase state (b in FIG. 3 ); (3) polymerase bound to two different primer-template structures with their complementary incoming nucleotides (ternary structure) (c and/or d in FIG. 3 ); (4) polymerase bound to single-stranded DNA (g in FIG. 3 ).
Labels and Dyes for Use in READS
[0108] A range of dyes can be used as FRET donors and acceptors (for reviews, see Walter et al. (2008) Nat Methods 5:475-89; Ha (2001) Methods 25:78-86; Joo et al. (2008) Ann. Rev. Biochem 77:51-76; Roy et al. (2008) Nat Methods 5:507-16). Ideally the dyes are:
1. photostable; 2. bright (with high extinction coefficients for absorption and high quantum yields for emission); 3. photochemically uniform, showing very little fluctuation in emission on the time-scale of our measurement (no blinking); 4. small (to minimize structural perturbation); and 5. excitable using available light sources and detectable using commercially available EMCCD cameras.
[0114] A variety of dyes can be used, and are known in the art. The most common ones are fluorescein, cyanine dyes (Cy3 to Cy7), rhodamine dyes (e.g. rhodamine 6G), the Alexa series of dyes (Alexa 405 to Alexa 730). Some of these dyes have been used in FRET networks (with multiple donors and acceptors). Optics for imaging all of these require detection from UV to near IR (e.g. Alex 405 to Cy7), and the Atto series of dyes (Atto-Tec GmbH). The Alexa series of dyes from Invitrogen cover the whole spectral range. They are very bright and more photostable than other dyes.
[0115] Example dye pairs for FRET labeling include Alexa-405/Alex-488, Alexa-488/Alexa-546, Alexa-532/Alexa-594, Alexa-594/Alexa-680, Alexa-594/Alexa-700, Alexa-700/Alexa-790, Cy3/Cy5, Cy3.5/Cy5.5, and Rhodamine-Green/Rhodamine-Red, etc. Fluorescent metal nanoparticles such as silver and gold nanoclusters can also be used (Richards et al. (2008) J Am Chem Soc 130:5038-39; Vosch et al. (2007) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104:12616-21; Petty and Dickson (2003) J Am Chem Soc 125:7780-81). While these nanoparticles have good photostability, they are larger than other dyes, and can interfere with the function of the DNA polymerase.
[0116] Filters, dichroics, multichroic mirrors and lasers affect the choice of dye. In our examples, we selected Alexa 405, Alexa 488, Alexa 532, Alexa 568 and Alexa 680, starting with one pair or two independent pairs.
[0117] High-performing organic dye molecules can be excited to emit 1-3 million photons before they are photobleached. Highly photostable dyes are thus desired for single molecule work. The Alexa series of dyes are some of the brightest and most photostable dyes available. Removal oxygen (e.g. with glucose oxidase/catalse system) and prevention of blinking (e.g. with Trolox) will reduce photobleaching so that about 100,000 measurements can be acquired.
Selection of Sites for Labeling
[0118] Another issue is the selection residues on the polymerase to label with the FRET dyes. In the simplest model, the polymerase is labeled with one FRET pair (i.e., one donor and one acceptor), but improved instrumentation can allow for additional FRET pairs and more refined detection.
[0119] Two of the 5 steps involved in the incorporation of each base produce very large conformational changes: steps 2 and 5 (see FIG. 3 ). The other steps involve more subtle changes in the protein structure. In the simplest scenario, where each base type has distinguishable kinetics of conformational changes, the real-time signal from one FRET pair (intensity as a function of time, see FIG. 1 ) is sufficient to decode the four different bases.
[0120] For example, if the difference between the k 3 (the rate limiting step) of each base type is large enough, a characteristic period in the signal trace of the FRET pair is observed. Where the characteristic conformational changes associated with each different base are subtle and/or sequence-context dependent, multiple networks of FRET pairs can be used.
[0121] Locations for positioning the FRET pairs or network on the polymerase can be judiciously selected based on the criteria described herein. To maximize detection of subtle changes, the FRET pairs are positioned at a distance roughly equal to the Förster radius between the donor and acceptor. As illustrated in FIG. 11 , the efficiency of Förster resonance energy transfer between a donor and acceptor dyes separated by a distance of R is given by E=1/[1+(R/R 0 ) 6 ] with R 0 being the Förster radius of the donor-acceptor pair at which E=½. R 0 is about 50-60 Å for some commonly used dye pairs (e.g. Cy3-Cy5). The Förster radius for any FRET pairs can be estimated using the following equation:
[0000]
R
0
6
=
9
ln
10
κ
2
η
f
128
π
5
N
A
n
4
∫
F
(
λ
)
ɛ
(
λ
)
λ
4
λ
[0000] N A is Avogadro constant; n index of refraction; F(λ) fluorescence spectrum of donor, normalized according to ∫F(λ) dλ=1; ε(λ) extinction coefficient of acceptor; λ wavelength.
[0122] The FRET signal thus varies inversely as a function of the distance to the 6 th power. As can be seen in FIG. 11 , the slope is steepest at R=R 0 . Therefore, if the donor-acceptor pair is positioned around R 0 , a small change in distance ranging from 1 Å to 10 Å can be measured with the greatest change in FRET signal.
[0123] Every DNA polymerase has a different affinity (i.e. K M ) and rate of incorporation (approximated by k 3 , step 3 in FIG. 3 ), for each of the four different nucleoside triphosphates (dATP, dCTP, dGTP and dTTP). The rate of incorporation for each different dNTP provides the most informative characteristic signature. Thus, at least one FRET pair is designed to monitor this with maximum sensitivity. Two residues, one on each secondary structure or subdomain of the polymerase, are selected such that the distance between the donor and acceptor is equal to their Förster radius when the conformation of the two secondary structures or subdomains is halfway between the open and closed states (e.g. between b and c, or d and e in FIG. 3 ).
[0124] The FRET pair for monitoring any particular conformational changes, on any particular polymerase, can be positioned according to this rationale to provide maximum sensitivity and signal to noise. Following the principles described herein, one of skill can identify potential targets for mutation and labeling.
[0125] The residues to be labeled with FRET pair(s) can be determined by at least the following criteria:
1. located on the solvent accessible surface of the protein; 2. side chains orientated toward the solvent (to ensure accessibility for labeling and to minimize the perturbation of the protein structure and activity); 3. large movement between the steps of the DNA synthesis process; and 4. spaced within the ideal distance to give maximal change in the FRET signals.
[0130] The size of the dye and length of the linker (if present) should be taken into account to give an approximation of the potential change in distance between the dyes. Where a linker is used to attach the dye molecule to the protein, the distance may need to be fine-tuned to avoid excessive rotation or lateral movement. Linkers for attaching a dye to an amino acid are known and commercially available. Such linkers include simple alkyl change (e.g., propyl), oligo glycol (PEG), or linkers with more rigid structure such as a benzyl or cyclohexyl group.
[0131] Activated functional groups for linkage include but are not limited to maleimide for specific reaction to a —SH group (e.g., on cysteine) and NHS ester group for specific reaction with a primary amine (e.g., on lysine).
[0132] If necessary, the sites selected for labeling can be mutated via site-specific mutagenesis using either conventional molecular biology techniques, and labeling can be performed after the expression and folding of the proteins.
[0133] Exemplary FRET pairs and labeling sites for phi-29 DNA polymerase are described in Example 1. The positions disclosed in Table 1 are only examples; some variability is acceptable. The FRET donor and acceptor sites can be located in different positions as long as they generally follow the criteria disclosed herein. For example, the donor or acceptor can be positioned 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 amino acids away from the sites disclosed in Table 1. The donor and acceptor sites can also be switched.
[0134] One of skill will appreciate that the sites disclosed for labeling phi-29 DNA polymerase can be applied to other DNA polymerases by optimally aligning the polymerase structures. Structural data is available for a number of DNA polymerases. One of skill can use the criteria described herein to select appropriate labeling sites (e.g., solvent accessible, outside the active site, etc.).
[0135] Detailed structural information for a number of DNA polymerases are available in the NCBI Structural database (MMDB and PDB, available at the NCBI website at ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=Structure&itool=toolbar). For example, the structure of BST DNA Pol I can be found in the NCBI Structural database (PDB accession 3EZ5 and 3EYZ). The structure for the E. coli Klenow fragment of DNA pol I can be found at PDB accession 1KFD, 1DPI, 2KZZ, and 2KZM. The structure for high fidelity DNA Pol δ from S. cerevisae can be found at PDB accession 3IAY. The structure for Taq DNA Pol I can be found at PDB accession 4KTQ. T7 DNA pol structure is available at PDB accession 2AJQ.
[0136] Using these structural data, positions on the specific DNA polymerase can be selected, e.g., for solvent accessibility. FRET donor and acceptor positions can be selected using the known structures to be in close proximity to each other (about 1 R 0 ), with detectable change in proximity during DNA synthesis.
Methods of Making Labeled Polymerase
[0137] The labeled polymerases of the invention can be made according to common recombinant and labeling methods. For example, amino acid residues that are easily linked to dye molecules (e.g., directly, through a secondary label such as biotin, or through a linker) can be introduced into the sequence of the polymerase as described above. Such residues include cysteine, lysine, arginine, aspartate, and glutamate. A labeled or modified amino acid can also be added directly to the polymerase during translation, as described herein.
[0138] The polymerase can be transcribed and translated using cell-based or cell-free expression systems. Modified amino acids can be directly introduced into a protein in a cell-based transcription/translation system that uses non-naturally occurring tRNA molecules. These modified tRNAs recognize unique codons, and can be loaded with a desired modified residue. The cells used for expression are genetically modified to express the unique tRNAs and tRNA synthetases. The cells can thus be used to express modified proteins by introducing a coding sequence with one of the unique codons. Such technologies include ReCode™ (available from Ambryx Biotechnologies), and are described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,083,970 and 7,045,337.
[0139] Non-naturally occurring fluorescent amino acids can be directly incorporated to label the polymerase molecule. For example, Summerer et al. ((2006) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103-9785) describe 2-amino-3-(5-(dimethylamino)naphthalene-1-sulfonamide) propanoic acid (dansylalanine) genetically encoded in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using an amber nonsense codon, and a corresponding orthogonal tRNA/aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase pair.
[0140] Non-natural, fluorescently-labeled amino acids can also be incorporated using an E. coli in vitro translation system (Hohsaka et al. 2003 Nuc. Acids Symp. Series 3:271). In vitro transcription/translation systems are also commonly available, e.g., the RTS system (5Prime™), Proteinscript (Ambion®), or Expressway™ (Invitrogen™). Use of a cell free method of making labeled phi-29 polymerase is described in the examples.
[0141] Cysteine, lysine, or any other easily-labeled amino acid can be the non-naturally occurring amino acid incorporated into the DNA polymerase. In this case, non-natural refers to non-native or mutant. The selected residue can be labeled using standard methods with an organic fluorescent dye molecule. Standard reactions include: the specific reaction between a maleimide-labeled dye molecule and the sulfhydryl group on the cysteine; and the reaction between an NHS-labeled dye molecule and the amine group on Fmoc-protected lysine. If the amino acyl tRNA synthetase is not capable of activating the cysteine-tRNA or lysine-tRNA with the corresponding labeled amino acid, the labeling can be performed after charging the tRNA with the unlabeled amino acid using the tRNA synthetase. The modified cysteine and lysine charged to their cognate tRNA molecules can be efficiently incorporated into the growing peptide chain by the ribosome either in vivo or in vitro. This method allows simple labeling of a polymerase with any combination of the desired fluorescence dyes at any desired positions.
Immobilization of Labeled Polymerase
[0142] The labeled polymerase can be immobilized on a substrate for detection. In this case, template polynucleotides are added to the immobilized polymerase molecules. In some embodiments, the template DNA is pre-primed with a complementary primer before addition to the immobilized polymerase. A reaction mix that includes dNTPs (dATP, dCTP, dTTP, dGTP) can also be added. The template to be sequenced can take nearly any form, e.g., sheared genomic fragments, single- or double-stranded linear molecules, or circular molecules (e.g., plasmid DNA).
[0143] The solid substrate can be arranged, e.g., in an array on a flat surface, in a spot array, or on beads. Common substrates for this purpose include glass and quartz slides. The array format is convenient because the READS technology is designed to gather measurements from more than one DNA polymerase simultaneously.
[0144] Using the example of an array format, a wide variety of capture area sizes (spots for capturing the polymerase molecules) can be employed. The substrate can comprise wells and/or spot sizes of a predetermined size and density e.g., spot sizes of approximately 50 nl or smaller. The pattern of wells or spots can provide particular information such as bar code information. The substrate can also contain materials used to generate a reference measurement or control signal for either the assay or the signal readout, or may be simply used as a locating device on the substrate.
[0145] The polymerase can be immobilized by reacting the amine group(s) at the N-terminus or lysine residues, the side chains of the aspartic and glutamic acid residues, or the carboxylate group at the C-terminus of the polymerase with an amino or carboxyl group on the substrate, thereby forming a covalent peptide bond. Carbodiimide can be added to improve the binding reaction. Biotin or avidin can be attached to the polymerase (e.g., on a side chain of a particular amino acid by conventional methods), and avidin or biotin fixed on the substrate to effect binding. Functional groups and reactions that can be used for immobilization include:
Sulfhydryl—bromoacetyl reaction Sulfhydryl groups (under oxidizing, alkaline conditions) Amino—aldehyde reaction Sulfhydryl—aldehyde reaction Hydroxyamino—aldehyde reaction
[0151] Immobilization on the substrate can also rely on physical adsorption. In this case, immobilization is attained simply by contacting the polymerase molecules in buffer solution with the substrate. The immobilization reaction may be carried out, for example, at room temperature for about 15 minutes to 2 hours, or at 4 C overnight according to conventional methods.
[0152] One of skill will appreciate that these methods can be used with an intermediate linker molecules as well. PEG is commonly used as a linker. The substrate can also be treated to improve binding of the linker or reactive group. Gold and polyelectrolyte multilayer are examples of treatments for solid substrates.
[0153] In a specific example, DNA polymerase with Streptag or biotin label can be immobilized onto a 170 μm glass coverslip coated with streptavidin and assembled in a flowcell. The surface quality of the substrate is critical for single-molecule imaging. The glass coverslip substrate is cleaned, e.g., with the RCA protocol (1:1:5 NH 4 OH:H 2 O 2 :H 2 0 at 70C, followed by cleaning with piranha solution), derivatized with aminopropyltriethoxysilane, followed by NHS-PEG5000-biotin.
[0154] The biotinylated coverslip is then assembled into a flowcell. A streptavadin solution is flowed into the flow cell to saturate the biotinylated surface with streptavidin. A solution of the labeled polymerases is then flowed into the flowcell. The immobilization is monitored in real time with TIRF to ensure the proper density of the polymerase on the surface. The polymerases should be well separated (e.g., on average about 500 nm apart) for better optical resolution.
[0155] PEG5000 can be used as a long linker to separate the polymerase from the glass surface (˜10-15 nm). An image is captured before DNA template is loaded onto the polymerases. A solution of the DNA templates pre-hybridized with a primer is flowed into the flowcell. After a period of incubation, another image is captured. There should be a change in the FRET intensity since the polymerase will bind to the DNA and encircle it. Finally, a solution of dNTP's is flowed into the flowcell to initiate the DNA synthesis. A series of images are taken to monitor the FRET signals
[0156] A test template comprising synthetic 120-base long homopolymers can be used to establish the characteristic fingerprint associated with each different base type. Four 120-base long single-stranded DNA templates containing stretches of poly A, poly C, poly G and poly T can be constructed and used for the measurements. These test templates can be pre-hybridized with a 30-base long primer and loaded onto the polymerases as described above. Once each characteristic fingerprint is established, more complex templates can be used with READS technology, e.g., including templates with methylated bases.
Immobilized Template Polynucleotides
[0157] In some embodiments, the template polynucleotides are immobilized on a substrate. In some embodiments, the template is primed with a complementary oligonucleotide before immobilization, while in some embodiments, the primer is added after immobilization. In some embodiments, the primer oligonucleotide can perform a dual function, and be used as a capture probe to immobilize the template to the substrate. Such a dual function oligonucleotide will be attached to the substrate closer to the 5′ end of the oligonucleotide, leaving the 3′ end available for hybridization to the template, and the 3′ hydroxyl group available for addition of nucleotide bases by the labeled polymerase. As explained above, the primer can include modified, nuclease-resistant bases, or can comprise PNA molecules.
[0158] When the template polynucleotide is immobilized, labeled DNA polymerase molecules are loaded on to the template molecules, and combined with reaction mix under conditions appropriate for DNA polymerization.
[0159] Methods of attaching nucleic acids to a substrate are known in the art. Polynucleotide molecules can be fixed to the substrate using a variety of techniques, including covalent attachment and non-covalent attachment. Indeed, many of the same techniques described above for immobilizing the polymerase can be used.
[0160] In some embodiments, the substrate includes capture probes that hybridize with the polynucleotide molecule. An adaptor oligonucleotide, e.g., between the template and capture probe, can also be used. In some embodiments, the adaptor oligonucleotide is ligated to the template, and hybridizes to the capture probe. In some embodiments, the adaptor is a polynucleotide (e.g., polyA), which can be added with a terminal transferase, and will hybridize to a capture probe. In some embodiments, capture probes can comprise oligonucleotide clamps, or like structures, that form triplexes with adaptors, as described in Gryaznov et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,060.
[0161] A surface can have reactive functionalities that react with complementary functionalities on the polynucleotides to form a covalent linkage (see, e.g., Smirnov et al. (2004), Genes, Chromosomes & Cancer, 40: 72-77; Beaucage (2001), Current Medicinal Chemistry, 8: 1213-1244. Long DNA molecules (several hundred bases) can also be efficiently attached to hydrophobic surfaces, such as a clean glass surface that has a lower concentration of reactive functionalities, e.g., —OH groups.
[0162] Polynucleotide molecules can be adsorbed to a surface. In this case, the polynucleotide molecules are immobilized through non-specific interactions with the surface, or through non-covalent interactions such as hydrogen bonding, van der Waals forces, etc. Attachment may also include wash steps of varying stringencies to remove incompletely attached single molecules or other reagents.
[0163] In a specific example, we have assembled high-density arrays with near perfect order using either magnetic or electric fields (e.g., Barbee & Huang (2008) Anal Chem 80:2149-54). Photolithography can be used to generate a wafer-scale array of microwells in a layer of photoresist or SiO 2 on a chemically functionalized glass cover slip. The array is enclosed within a microfluidic device for either magnetic or electric field-directed assembly of microbeads conjugated to DNA molecules into very high-density array with virtually no background or defects. These methods are scalable for fabricating large-scale, high-density arrays tens of nanometers in dimension using well established, production-scale manufacturing processes. Such low-defect arrays are free of background and are compatible with automated processes, microfluidics devices and conventional microscopy. The highly ordered arrays, when properly sized and aligned to a given CCD sensor, can also greatly improve imaging efficiency and reduce the complexities of image processing. We have shown that as few as 3×3 pixels are required to image each feature. These techniques can improve the efficiency of our single molecule arrays and eliminate background (due to Raman and other scattering) by reducing the area of illumination. The single molecule of DNA template can be conjugated to a small particle (e.g., a silica or DNA particle with a diameter of, e.g., about 200 nm) as a carrier for immobilization.
Instrumentation
[0164] Certain embodiments of the invention pertain to a device, system, or apparatus for performing READS. The system can be specifically constructed for the present methods, or it may be a general-purpose optical instrument, selectively activated or configured by, for example, a computer program stored in the computer. The processes presented above are not inherently related to any particular optical instrument or computing apparatus.
[0165] FRET imaging systems having optics, various means for sample presentation, correction algorithms, and high-sensitivity cameras are known in the art (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,661,909, 6,456,734, 7,012,694). In some embodiments, the system will comprise one or more of a microscope, a detection camera, a light source, epifluorescence cubes (e.g., for donor, acceptor, and FRET), an image processor, and an image output device to view the data.
[0166] In some embodiments, the optical instrumentation includes at least a camera and microscope. The optical instrumentation can also provide for background subtraction, spectral overlap corrections, and transformation of data from three channels. The epifluorescence cubes include filters (e.g., excitation filter, emission filter, dichroic mirror) that depend on the exciting and emitting wavelengths of the FRET dyes.
[0167] In some applications, samples are immobilized on a substrate (e.g., glass) which is directly observed by the optical system. In some embodiments, samples are fixed in a flow channel, and cast on a chip. Channels can be formed by bonding the chip to a flat substrate (e.g., a glass cover slip) which seals the channel. In this case, one side of the synthesis channel is provided by the flat substrate.
[0168] The apparatus can contain in an integrated system a flow cell in which a plurality of channels are present, and fluidic components (such as micro-pumps, micro-valves, and connecting channels) for controlling the flow of the reagents into and out of the flow cell. An apparatus of the invention can utilize plumbing devices described in, e.g., Zdeblick et al., A Microminiature Electric-to-Fluidic Valve, Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Solid State Transducers and Actuators, 1987; Shoji et al., Proceedings of Transducers, San Francisco, 1991; Vieider et al., Proceedings of Transducers, Stockholm, 1995. In some apparatus comprises synthesis channels, valves, pumps, and connecting channels.
[0169] In some embodiments, the flowcell comprises of the coverglass substrate assembled to a glass slide or a stainless steel plate via a silicone rubber gasket with pre-patterned channels for the reaction. There are holes drilled out in the glass slide or stainless steel plate for fluidic connection. In some embodiments, the flowcell is assembled into an apparatus with precise temperature control and microfluidics, and a window for efficient fluorescence imaging.
[0170] For high speed imaging, an objective-based TIRF system for multicolor, sensitive imaging of single molecules can be assembled as in FIG. 4 . The system consists of an epifluorescence microscope (AxioObserver Z1 microscope, Carl Zeiss) with a TIRF slider (TIRF 3 Slider, Carl Zeiss), through which the laser excitation is introduced into the objective. The TIRF angles can be rapidly adjusted by an actuation mechanism driven by a piezo-motor. A 100× oil objective lens with a NA of 1.46 (Alpha planapo 100×/oil, Carl Zeiss) can be used for both TIR laser excitation and fluorescence detection. The system has four custom-built direct-diode and diode-pumped solid state lasers (405 nm, 488 nm, 532 nm, and 660 nm) for excitation. The laser is coupled to the TIRF slider by a polarization preserving single-mode broad-band optical fiber (KineFLEX, Point Source). Focus position can be maintained during imaging using a autofocusing system (Definite Focus, Carl Zeiss), which uses 835 nm LED light reflected off the surface of the coverslip for focus feedback. We have used the TIRF microscope to monitor incorporation of the labeled nucleotides by the DNA polymerase.
[0171] A quad-band beamspliter and emission filter (Pinkel set, Semrock Inc.) is used so that no mechanical switching is required to acquire 4 color fluorescence images. For detection, a very sensitive frame transfer EMCCD camera is used (iXon Plus, Andor Technologies) with a high readout speed of 35 Megapixels/s, single photon sensitivity and 14-bit dynamic range. Using the pixel binning feature on the camera, full images can be acquired continuously at exposure times as low as one millisecond with 6×6 binning (36 pixels per feature). The high power (>100 mW) and high modulation rate (>100 kHz) of the solid state lasers coupled with the high readout rate of the camera allow for high SNR imaging with only one millisecond exposure time per channel. This system is capable of real-time imaging of single molecules.
[0172] FIG. 5 shows a hierarchical structure of a small section of the system control software (written, e.g., in C++ or appropriate programming language). Using modular programming, the time from design of a sequencing protocol to implementation can be reduced. Furthermore, abstraction of the hardware from the software allows for easy integration of new devices as new technology is developed in areas such as EMCCDS and solid state lasers. Another benefit of having a custom software platform is the ability to optimize and synchronize a sequencing protocol, from reagent delivery to image acquisition, for the highest sequence throughput. Precise timing of the excitation source, TIR angle, and detector is achieved using TTL triggering from a DAQ board (PCI6733, National Instruments). This ensures minimal crosstalk between fluorescent channels and uniform light collection in every image. The control software provides a central framework for extensibility and optimization of our imaging system.
[0173] One focus is to improve the speed and efficiency of the imaging system, because these factors determine the read lengths of our imaging system. As explained above, a deep-cooled EMCCD camera can detect about 100 photons with good signal to noise (S/N) ratio. If the photon collection efficiency of the imaging system is about 10%, a few thousand measurements can be made with good S/N out of a single dye molecule before it is photobleached.
[0174] Due to Raman and Rayleigh scattering, the number of photons required for good S/N may be greater and number of measurements that can be made may be lower. High quality instrumentation can be used to minimize these effects, e.g., two back-illuminated EMCCD cameras (Andor Technology or Hamamatsu Photonics) with very high QE (quantum efficiency, up to 90%) and high data rate (10 MHz/pixel without binning). Use of two cameras to monitor signal(s) from the donor(s) and acceptor(s) of the FRET pair(s) simultaneously, more snapshots of the DNA polymerase in action can be taken during the DNA synthesis. About 100,000 measurements can be made with a single Alexa dye molecule. If we assume that 10 snapshots are needed to capture the fingerprint of each base, up to 10,000 bases can be sequenced per feature. An objective lens with very high light collecting power is used for highest efficiency in photon collection, e.g., 40×/NA1.3 oil objective and 20×/NA1.0 water-immersion objective. Fast-switching high power lasers are desired for high-speed imaging. As explained above, a laser-based TIRF system can be used for high speed single molecule imaging (see FIG. 13 ).
[0175] We developed a software package for high-speed imaging by programming each device to enable hardware triggering. In principle, the DNA synthesis can be carried out at lower rates (e.g. 10 bases/s) for easier imaging. Reduced rate DNA synthesis can be used to capture more snapshots during the base incorporation.
[0176] Indeed, the rate of synthesis for phi-29 DNA polymerase can be varied from ˜5 bases/s at 4° C. to 100 bases/s at 32° C. With a reaction rate of 5 bases per second, for example, allows up to 200 ms to take a series of snapshots of the FRET signature resulting from the chemo-mechanical process of base incorporation.
[0177] Use of a system with 4 cameras and 4 fast-switching lasers (1 MHz) for multi-parametric measurement of FRET pairs/network will give us the ability to perform more elaborate excitation patterns, and to obtain much more information rapidly. We expect good S/N with exposure times of 5 ms or less using the improved instrumentation. Using the improved system, very small perturbations in the chemo-mechanical process during DNA synthesis (e.g. the presence of a methylated base on the template DNA) can be detected.
Kits and Reaction Mixes
[0178] The present invention provides kits and reaction mixes for conducting READS technology. The components will depend on the particular aspect of READS for which it is designed (e.g., making labeled DNA polymerase, sequencing using immobilized DNA polymerase, or sequencing using immobilized template DNA). The kit will generally include instructions for conducting READS reactions using the components of the kits.
[0179] A reaction mixture for making labeled DNA polymerase can include a polynucleotide encoding the polymerase, so that the sequence can be manipulated by the customer (e.g., to add codons for non-naturally occurring amino acids). In some embodiments, the reaction mixture does not include the encoding sequence, and it is supplied by the customer to have codons for non-naturally occurring amino acids in specific positions.
[0180] In some embodiments, the reaction mixture includes components for an in vitro transcription and translation. Such components include RNA polymerase, rNTPs, various tRNA sythetases, tRNAs specific for all 20 amino acids, amino acids, and various buffers and salts. In some embodiments, there are separate reaction mixtures for each non-naturally occurring amino acid. In some embodiments, all of the non-naturally occurring amino acids to be incorporated, and the appropriate tRNAs and tRNA synthetases, are all included in the same reaction mixture. In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acids are each labeled with a FRET dye, or adaptor molecule for attaching a FRET dye. In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid is unmodified, and will be modified (labeled) after translation of the DNA polymerase.
[0181] Kits for making a labeled DNA polymerase can include a reaction mixture as described above. In some embodiments, the kit includes a DNA polymerase, optionally comprising an adaptor sequence (e.g., biotin) for immobilization to a substrate. In some embodiments, the DNA polymerase already includes a number of non-naturally occurring nucleic acids (e.g., cysteines) that can be selected for labeling by the customer. A range of dyes can be included, and selected based on the capability of the instrument to be used.
[0182] In some embodiments, the kit will include a nucleotide sequence encoding a labeled DNA polymerase, and reagents for an in vitro or cell-based transcription/translation reaction. The nucleotide sequence can also be further manipulated by the customer, e.g., to add additional codons for non-naturally occurring amino acids. In some embodiments, the kit will include several reaction mixes for translating the DNA polymerase, in order to introduce non-naturally occurring amino acids to specific, targeted sites on the polymerase surface. In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid is an easily labeled amino acid that is introduced to a non-native position (creating a mutant DNA polymerase). In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid is labeled with a FRET dye. In the latter case, modified tRNAs and tRNA synthetases can also be included.
[0183] Reaction mixtures for synthesis and sequencing from an optionally immobilized template DNA can include dNTPs (dATP, dGTP, dTTP, dCTP), and various salts/buffers as required by the labeled polymerase (e.g., Mg, Mn, and Zn salts). Reaction mixtures can also include components for immobilizing a template DNA, e.g., adaptor nucleotides, biotin or avidin, etc.
[0184] Kits designed for assays using immobilized template DNA can include labeled DNA polymerase as described herein. In some embodiments, the DNA polymerase is packaged without being labeled, and instructions and reagents are included to label the polymerase to conform with the optical instrument that will be used by the customer. In some embodiments, oligonucleotides are included, e.g., capture probe, primer oligonucleotides, and/or oligonucleotides to be ligated to the template DNA sequences.
[0185] In some embodiments, the kit includes various reaction mixtures, e.g., as described above, while in some embodiments, the kit does not include reaction mixtures, and the components are packaged separately. In some embodiments, the kit will include an appropriate substrate (e.g., treated glass slides), optionally including immobilized control sequences.
[0186] Kits designed for sequencing with immobilized, labeled DNA polymerase can include reagents to immobilize the DNA polymerase (described above), or include a substrate with the labeled DNA polymerase already attached.
[0187] Kits for sequencing/synthesis can comprise components for a reaction mix. A typical DNA polymerase reaction mix can include dNTPs, buffers (e.g., Tris) various salts (e.g., KCl, NaCl, (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 , MnCl 2 , Zn salts, MgCl 2 ), and often stabilizer, detergent, DMSO, and DTT. Kits of the invention include additives to increase the specificity and efficiency of polymerase reactions.
[0188] It will be appreciated that kits of the invention also encompass any combination of the above-described components.
[0189] Instructions can be included with kits of the invention. A typical protocol for a kit, e.g., for sequencing using an immobilized template DNA, can include the following instructions:
Prepare template DNA (e.g., including isolation and removal of contaminants); Ligate adaptor oligonucleotide sequence to the template DNA (e.g., to hybridize to a capture probe on the substrate, or to a primer sequence); Immobilize template DNA to substrate; Add primer oligonucleotide; Add labeled DNA polymerase and DNA polymerase reaction mix; Incubate at T (temperature ranges given depending on capability of imaging system and desired rate of reaction); Detect FRET signals generated by labeled polymerase; Optionally, stop polymerase reaction by washing away DNA polymerase and reaction mix; Add new (non-photobleached) DNA polymerase and DNA polymerase reaction mix; Detect FRET signals as before.
[0200] It will be appreciated that the above exemplary protocol can be varied using parameters well known in the art to optimize the conditions for efficiency and specificity of DNA polymerase activity. For example, synthesis of longer target nucleic acids may require longer incubation times and/or higher temperatures for efficient and specific amplification.
[0201] It is understood that the examples and embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications or changes in light thereof will be suggested to persons skilled in the art and are to be included within the spirit and purview of this application and scope of the appended claims. All publications, websites, patents, and patent applications cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties for all purposes.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
Design of Labeled Phi-29 DNA Polymerase
[0202] For the sake of illustration, we describe our systematic examination of the crystals structures of phi-29 DNA polymerase complexed with various substrates. We used a genetically engineered exonuclease-deficient phi-29 DNA polymerase (Berman et al., EMBO J, 26:3494-3505 (2007). The mutations involved in eliminating exonuclease activity do not affect the active site, or adjacent sites on the finger, thumb, and palm domains.
[0203] One of skill will appreciate that the sites disclosed for labeling phi-29 DNA polymerase can be applied to other DNA polymerases. As explained above, the structures of DNA polymerases are well-conserved. Thus, through optimal structural alignment (alignment of amino acids present in particular structural positions), the positions disclosed herein can be ascertained for a broad range of polymerases.
[0204] We selected residues on the finger subdomain as candidate labeling sites for the fluorescence donor and some on the palm or thumb subdomains for the fluorescence acceptor.
[0205] FIG. 7 shows phi-29 DNA polymerase complexed with primer/template DNA. Although there are two Terminal Protein Region (TPR) subdomains present in the primed DNA polymerases, we have focused on the conformation and specific residues on the polymerization domain which is composed of the finger, palm and thumb subdomains. The post-translocation binary complex of phi-29 DNA polymerase complexed with primer-template DNA (PDB ID: 2PZS) and the ternary complex of polymerase complexed with primer-template DNA and incoming nucleotide substrates (PDB ID:2PYJ) are defined as “open” and “closed” conformation, respectively. The terms reflect the conformational change triggered by nucleotide incorporation. The conformational transition is compared based on C a chain alignment of the palm and thumb subdomains between the open and closed complex ( FIG. 8 ). The RMS (root-mean-squared) deviation between these two structures is 0.583 Å. Conformational change in the finger subdomain when the structure transitions between the “open” and “closed” form is very large with a 7.03 Å movement of the tip region after the binding of the incoming dNTP.
[0206] We selected cysteine as the non-naturally occurring amino acid for the labeling sites on the surface. For post-translational labeling, we assessed the accessibility of the native cysteines to aqueous solvent. The solvent accessible surface of the polymerase is shown in FIG. 9 ; none of the 7 native cysteine residues are on the solvent accessible surface of phi-29 DNA polymerase. Thus the native cysteine residues will not be used as fluorescent labeling sites. These residues do no need to be replaced, because they are buried and not accessible for a labeling reaction.
[0207] Candidate residues to be used as FRET pairs on phi-29 DNA polymerase are shown in FIG. 10 . The distances of those residue pairs are listed in Table 1, below. A FRET pair with larger change in distance before and after the binding of incoming nucleotide is preferred, as it will generate greater FRET signals. We have selected five pairs including Mutant E375C, K240C , Mutant E375C, R236C , Mutant E375C, K553C , Mutant E375C, K547C and Mutant E375C, E544C with distance changes (R open -R closed ) of 6.92 Å, 6.70 Å, 6.37 Å, 7.02 Å and 6.97 Å, respectively ( FIG. 12 ). Those sites that are fully solvent accessible and have good orientation for simple and high-yield labeling are marked with a star in FIG. 10 . To prevent significant structural perturbation and loss of polymerase activity, the key residues essential for structural and functional integrity of the polymerase are not included.
[0208] The change in distances between the candidate residues from the “open” to the “closed” form of phi-29 DNA polymerase are measured between C α of the selected residues, and listed in Table 1.
[0000]
TABLE 1
Target residues, distances between residues on finger
and palm/thumb subdomains in both open and closed
conformations, and change in distance (in Å)
Distance and
Distance Change
Finger Domain Residues
(Å)
Tyr369
Glu375
Thr373
Lys361
Thr372
Asp362
Thumb
Lys553
d open
47.11
41.44
46.48
49.26
44.38
50.40
Domain
d closed
43.67
35.07
41.54
48.16
40.29
48.66
Residues
Δd
3.44
6.37
4.94
1.10
4.09
1.74
Lys547
d open
45.14
41.93
45.22
45.84
42.21
48.04
d closed
41.73
34.91
40.00
45.24
37.76
46.80
Δd
3.41
7.02
5.22
0.60
4.45
1.24
Glu544
d open
46.47
41.92
45.61
48.86
42.83
50.91
d closed
43.02
34.95
40.29
48.25
38.50
49.54
Δd
3.45
6.97
5.32
0.61
4.33
1.37
Lys575
d open
46.22
43.93
47.10
45.40
44.11
47.52
d closed
42.69
36.92
41.92
44.44
39.52
46.02
Δd
3.53
7.01
5.18
0.96
4.59
1.50
Arg552
d open
46.21
40.66
45.59
48.34
43.30
49.70
d closed
42.71
34.17
40.49
47.30
39.08
48.00
Δd
3.50
6.49
5.10
1.04
4.22
1.70
Ser551
d open
46.89
42.26
46.62
48.29
44.08
49.92
d closed
43.36
35.48
41.47
47.27
39.74
48.27
Δd
3.53
6.78
5.15
1.02
4.34
1.65
Thr573
d open
45.18
41.46
45.42
45.71
42.73
47.44
d closed
41.69
34.69
40.34
44.69
38.36
45.84
Δd
3.49
6.77
5.08
1.02
4.37
1.60
Palm
Glu466
d open
32.50
33.15
32.57
34.22
29.29
36.94
Domain
d closed
29.83
28.20
28.45
33.84
25.86
35.90
Residues
Δd
2.67
4.95
4.12
0.38
3.43
1.04
Lys472
d open
26.57
30.64
28.08
26.31
24.63
29.31
d closed
23.58
25.68
23.79
25.82
20.79
28.13
Δd
2.99
4.96
4.29
0.49
3.84
1.18
Asp469
d open
31.43
35.25
32.97
30.48
29.49
33.67
d closed
27.90
29.95
28.39
28.87
25.24
31.55
Δd
3.53
5.30
4.58
1.61
4.25
2.12
Lys240
d open
44.19
42.60
44.61
44.25
41.25
46.96
d closed
40.70
35.68
39.32
43.53
36.62
45.65
Δd
3.49
6.92
5.29
0.72
4.63
1.31
Arg236
d open
43.50
44.15
44.97
41.49
41.32
44.63
d closed
40.05
37.45
39.84
40.72
36.62
43.38
Δd
3.45
6.70
5.13
0.77
4.70
1.25
Asp519
d open
35.11
32.05
33.11
40.24
30.67
42.15
d closed
33.04
27.65
29.41
40.58
28.22
41.65
Δd
2.07
4.40
3.70
−0.34
2.45
0.50
Glu508
d open
30.15
23.02
26.45
38.19
25.03
39.02
d closed
27.67
18.58
22.41
37.88
22.68
37.77
Δd
2.48
4.44
4.04
0.31
2.35
1.25
Tyr521
d open
33.71
28.78
31.14
39.81
28.94
41.36
d closed
30.91
23.58
26.58
39.57
25.85
40.20
Δd
2.80
5.20
4.56
0.24
3.09
1.16
Lys490
d open
36.94
33.72
35.86
40.26
32.92
42.46
d closed
33.74
27.38
30.81
39.83
28.90
41.25
Δd
3.20
6.34
5.05
0.43
4.02
1.21
[0209] Thus, within a single polymerase, there are many candidate residues that can be used for FRET pair(s) labeling. Significant change in distance (a few Å or more) occurs when the polymerase transits from the “open” to the “closed” conformation, which will result in large observable FRET signals. Those expected to result in the largest observable FRET signals are highlighted in bold in Table 1. These target sites can be used to monitor the chemo-mechanical process of DNA synthesis, to further characterize the FRET signature associated with each one of the four different base types, and to identify chemically modified bases (such as methyl-C) for real-time DNA and epigenetic sequencing.
Example 2
In Vitro Translation of a Labeled DNA Polymerase
[0210] We have designed an efficient method for engineering labeled DNA polymerases with multiple labels positioned at designated residues. The general concept is illustrated in FIG. 6 . For simplicity, the solid lines separating each named amino acid represent additional amino acids that are not shown.
[0211] The DNA polymerase coding sequence is cloned into a vector. The vector also includes regulatory sequences necessary for transcription (e.g. T7 promoter), translation initiation (ribosomal binding site—RBS, and start codon—ATG), and termination (stop codon—UAG). The codons encoding the targeted residues for labeling are mutated to a codon encoding a cysteine residue (TGC) using standard molecular biology methods.
[0212] The mRNA molecules are captured on a solid support by hybridization of a sequence at one end of the RNA molecules to a complementary oligonucleotide or PNA (peptide nucleic acid) immobilized on the solid support. The mRNA molecule could also be immobilized using biotin. The solid support (e.g., solid polysterene or silica beads) are packed into a column. The cyclic synthesis is automated by using a computer-controlled liquid handling system which consists of a multi-port motorized valve and syringe pumps to deliver reagents and to perform washing. Pneumatic system consisting of a vacuum or pressure source and motorized multiport valve system can also be used. Automated synthesis can also performed in batch mode with solid supports suspended in reagents or wash solution in a vessel. The supports can be captured by magnetic field or gravity.
[0213] A well-defined in vitro translation system will be used for the in vitro translation of the genetically engineered mRNA molecules into protein molecules with label(s) at the desired residue(s). A commercially available in vitro translation system (available from Roche, New England Biolabs or Promega Corporation) will be customized into 3 translation mixtures:
“-Cys” mix: complete in vitro translation mix lacking cysteine, but containing all other 19 amino acids; “Cys” mix: complete in vitro translation mix containing only cysteine, and none of the other amino acids; and “Cys-X” mix: complete in vitro translation mix containing only X-labeled cystein and none of the other amino acids. X=the desired label, such as fluorescien or biotin.
[0217] The complete in vitro translation mix contains ingredients for in vitro translation including the ribosomes, aminoacyl tRNA synthetases for all the amino acids, ATP, GTP, and translation initiation, elongation and termination factors. The translation of the whole protein will be performed on solid support in cycles, each containing one of the 3 different mixtures. Translation starts from the start codon from the amino terminus and terminates at the carboxyl terminus.
[0218] First, the -Cys mix is added, to allow translation of the nascent protein up to the first Cys residue. Then, depending on whether a natural Cys, or a labeled Cys, is desired at the first Cys residue, the appropriate mix is added. No further residues will be added because the next codon will not encode for Cys. The cycles are repeated, with the appropriate Cys mix added at each residue, until the entire polymerase is translated.
[0219] If necessary, the labeled polypeptides are folded into functional proteins and purified by chromatography or affinity capture (e.g. biotin-avidin capture). The identity and purity of the products can be determined by mass spectrometry and SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis.
[0220] We selected cysteine as the labeling site because it is easily labeled with an organic fluorescent dye molecule, e.g., using the specific reaction between the sulfhydryl group on the cysteine and the maleimide labeled on the dye molecule. Other residues with a functional group, such as lysine, can be used as well. Labeled cysteine charged to its cognate tRNA molecule can be efficiently incorporated into the growing peptide chain by the ribosome both in vivo and in vitro (Chin et al. (2003) Science 301:964; Xie & Schultz (2005) Methods 36:227-38; Kobs et al. (2001) Nat. Biotechnol. 21:1093-97; and Traverso et al. (2003) J Biol. Chem. 291:8509-12). The ribosome remains bound on the mRNA when the translation is stalled. In case the aminoacyl tRNA synthetase is not capable of activating the cysteine-tRNA with the corresponding labeled amino acid, the labeling can be performed after charging the tRNA with the un-labeled amino acid. A DNA polymerase can be labeled according to the present method with any combination of the desired fluorescent dyes at multiple positions. If necessary, the polymerase can be refolded after translation into an active functional molecule, using chromatography to purify after refolding.
Example 3
READS Technology Using Immobilized DNA Polymerase
[0221] DNA polymerases are labeled as described above, and immobilized on glass coverslips. The surface of a glass coverslip is derivatized with a streptavidin. The glass coverslip is first cleaned with the RCA protocol, derivatized with amine group with aminoalkyl (e.g. gamma-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane, and then functionalized with biotin with NHS ester-PEG-biotin (e.g. NHS ester-PEG 5000-Biotin). The biotinylated surface can be patterned into highly-ordered arrays with feature size and spacing optimal for assembly of single molecular arrays and fluorescent imaging efficiency.
[0222] The biotinylated coverslip is then assembled into a flowcell for further functionalization with streptavidin. The biotinylated surface is functionalized with streptavidin by incubating the glass coverslip with a streptavidin solution, e.g. 1 μM streptavidin in a buffer solution such as phosphate buffer saline (PBS, 137 mM NaCl, 2.7 mM KCl, 10 mM sodium phosphate dibasic, 2 mM potassium phosphate monobasic) plus 0.1% Tween 20.
[0223] The flowcell comprises of the glass coverslip substrate assembled on a glass slide or a stainless steel plate via a silicone rubber gasket with pre-patterned channels for the reaction. There are holes drilled out in the glass slide or stainless steel plate for fluidic port connection. A streptavidin solution (e.g. 1 μM streptavidin in PBS plus 0.1% Tween 20) is flowed into the flow cell to saturate the biotinylated surface with streptavidin, followed by a wash with buffer solution (e.g. PBS plus 0.1% Tween 20). The flowcell is assembled into an apparatus with precise temperature control and microfluidics, and a window for efficient fluorescence imaging.
[0224] A solution of the labeled polymerases in a proper buffer (e.g. PBS plus 0.1% Tween 20 and 1% BSA) is then flowed into the flowcell. The immobilization is monitored in real time with TIRF to ensure the proper density of the polymerase on the surface. We want them to be evenly distributed and well separated to pack maximum density of polymerases which still can be optically resolved by the imaging optics, e.g., on average 200 nm or more apart using a 100×/1.45NA oil objective and an EMCCD with 8 μm×8 μm pixels, or on average 400 nm or more apart using a 20×/1.2NA water immersion objective. Once the optimal density of polymerases has been achieved, the remaining polymerases are washed away with the wash buffer. To prevent protein denaturation, the flowcell is kept with a buffer solution in the flow channels at all time.
[0225] The DNA polymerases can also be immobilized by covalent attachment using a glass coverslip functionalized with a chemical group reactive toward amine (e.g. NHS ester) or reactive toward carboxylate (e.g. amine). Similar procedure is used for the immobilization.
[0226] Template DNA is prepared for sequencing by READS by ligating an adaptor oligonucleotide with a primer pre-hybridized on one strand of the adaptor. The 3′-OH of the primer will serve as the priming site for DNA synthesis. Exemplary template DNA is fragmented genomic DNA. If the labeled DNA polymerase has strong strand-displacement activity (such as phi-29), double-stranded or single-stranded DNA can be used. If the labeled DNA polymerase does not, however, have strong strand-displacement, a single-stranded template should be used.
[0227] A gap will be provided between the primer 3′ OH group and the 5′ end of the template DNA to ensure proper initial DNA synthesis from the priming site. This is because phi-29 cannot initiate strand-displacement DNA synthesis from a nick. The length of the adaptor sequence and primer should be such that efficient ligation can be performed and the primer remains hybridized under the condition for sequencing. The adaptor sequence contains a recognition site for a nicking endonuclease (e.g., Nt.BspQI) and the primer site is provided by nicking one strand of ligated template with a nicking enzyme. The adaptor sequence (e.g. polyA) is added to the 3′ end of the DNA template by a terminal transferase and the primer is hybridized onto the added adaptor sequence (e.g., with a polyT sequence).
[0228] The template DNA molecules are then loaded onto the polymerases. More specifically, the primed DNA template in a buffer solution (e.g. 50 mM TrisCl, 100 mM NaCl, 0.1% Triton X-100, 1% bovine serum albumin (BSA), pH 7.0) is flowed into the flowcell where the DNA polymerases have been immobilized on the surface of the glass coverslip.
[0229] The adaptor sequence or the primer also contains a fluorescent label so that the loading of the DNA template can be monitored in real time. Once the most or all DNA polymerases have been loaded with a primed template, the rest of the DNA templates are removed by a single wash with a buffer (e.g. 20 mM TrisCl, 100 mM NaCl, 0.1% Triton X-100, pH7.0). To reduce exonuclease activity, the Mg 2+ or other ion essential for polymerase activity can be removed or chelated by the addition of 10-20 mM of EDTA in the loading and wash buffer. For single stranded DNA template, high concentration (e.g. 4 μM) of single-stranded DNA binding protein (SSB, e.g. from E. coli ) is included in the loading buffer to prevent non-specific binding of the single stranded DNA onto the DNA polymerases (which may have a high binding affinity to single-stranded DNA). For DNA polymerases which require SSB for efficient strand displacement activity (e.g. Klenow and Sequenase version 2.0), high concentration (e.g. 4 μM) of SSB is added into the reaction solution.
[0230] Synthesis is initiated by the addition of dNTP's in a buffer solution into the flowcell. For phi-29, the reaction mix can be: 1 to 100 μM of each of the dNTPs (dATP, dCTP, dGTP and dTTP) in 20 mM TrisCl, 10 mM (NH4) 2 SO 4 , 4 mM MgSO 4 , 0.1% Triton X-100, 100 μg/ml BSA and 4 μM SSB, pH8.8.
[0231] The temperature of the flowcell is set to the desired point or range with a built-in temperature control device such as a thermal electric module. The rate of the polymerization reaction can controlled, to some degree, by performing the reaction at the desired temperature (e.g. ˜5 bases/s at 4° C., ˜25 bases/s at 16° C., and ˜40 bases/s at 30° C. for phi-29 DNA polymerase under a condition where the dNTP concentration is above the K M of the nucleotide). The sequencing reaction is ideally performed with dNTP concentration near or a few fold above the K M of the dNTP. The concentration of each of the dNTP can be different, but the concentration of each dNTP should result in approximately the same incorporation rate for each. The reaction rate can also be controlled by using a lower concentration of nucleotides.
[0232] Phi-29 DNA polymerase has a very strong proofreading function (3′ to 5′ exonuclease activity). To prevent the removal of the primer in the absence of dNTP's, oligonucleotides with thiophosphate linkages, PNAs, or other exonuclease resistant nucleotides can be used. Phi-29 also has a very strong strand displacement capability, meaning the DNA template need not be single-stranded. Alternatively, Mg 2+ is removed from the polymerases by adding 10-20 mM of a chelator (e.g. EDTA) into the buffer used for loading the DNA template. As illustrated in Example 1, a genetically engineered exonuclease-deficient phi-29 DNA polymerase can be used.
[0233] Preparation of genomic DNA for READS is straightforward. The genomic DNA molecules are randomly fragmented into the desired size by hydrodynamic shearing (Joneja & Huang (2009) Biotechniques 46:553-56). We have developed an inexpensive instrument for hydrodynamic shearing of genomic DNA. The sheared genomic DNA fragments are end-repaired using standard molecular biology techniques. The primed adaptor is then ligated to the DNA fragments. After excess adaptor is removed by size-selection centrifugation, the genomic DNA is ready for sequencing. Alternatively, a homopolymer polynucleotide (such as poly A with ˜50 A's) adaptor can be added to the 3′ ends of the genomic DNA fragments using a terminal transferase, and then hybridized to a primer with a polyT 50mer.
[0234] Use of an immobilized DNA polymerase can limit the read length, due to the limited photostability of any given FRET dye. With a more elaborate network of FRET pairs and more sophisticated excitation patterns, however, we can (1) increase the informational content of the FRET traces with redundancy for more accurate reads; and (2) use the FRET dyes in serial detections to extend their lifetime, thereby increasing read lengths. Photobleaching can be minimized by the addition of enzymatic oxygen scavenger system (e.g. 100 nM glucose oxidase, 1.5 μM catalase, 56 mM glucose) into the reaction solution or thorough removal of oxygen in the reaction solution by bubbling with water-saturated argon.
[0235] Dye blinking can also be an issue in single-molecule imaging, but can be minimized using known techniques (e.g. addition of a triplet quencher such as Trolox in the reaction solution). Addition of additional FRET pairs in parallel will also compensate for any missing information if one dye blinks.
[0236] One of skill will recognize that similar techniques can be applied using labeled RNA polymerases. The RNA polymerases can be immobilized using the same procedures for immobilizing the DNA polymerase as described above. The adaptor sequence to be added to the DNA template contains a promoter sequence for the RNA polymerase. A primer is not needed for RNA polymerization. The nucleotide substrates for synthesis are ribonucleotide tripphosphates (rNTPs) instead of dNTPs. The sequencing reaction is performed using the procedures similar to sequencing with DNA polymerase.
[0237] Similarly, the labeled polymerase can be reverse transcriptase. The reverse transcriptase can be immobilized using the same procedures for immobilizing the DNA polymerase. The RNA template for sequencing is prepared using the same procedures as described for DNA sequencing with labeled DNA polymerases. The nucleotide substrates for synthesis are also the same deoxyribonucleotide tripphosphates (dNTPs). In some embodiments, the templates to be sequence are single-stranded RNA molecules, e.g., mRNA molecules. Where the mRNA molecules are from eukaryotes, they will already contain a polyA tail at the 3′ ends, and poly T can be used as the primer (e.g., a polyT 50mer). For other RNA, a DNA or RNA adaptor can be ligated to the RNA molecule and hybridized with a primer for sequencing. The sequencing reaction is performed using the procedures similar to sequencing with DNA polymerase.
Example 4
READS Technology Using Immobilized DNA Template
[0238] Another variant of READS technology is to immobilize the template DNA molecules, and to read along the templates one stretch at a time by repeated loading of the DNA polymerase. This approach is beneficial since the photostability of the FRET labels on a single DNA polymerase is limited, i.e., they will become photobleached over time with continuous imaging. If the DNA is immobilized, a labeled polymerase can be allowed to read a certain length of sequence, quickly removed, and another labeled polymerase loaded to read the next stretch of sequence.
[0239] In this case, the total read length is limited by the penetration depth used in TIRF imaging if the DNA is attached at only one end. Longer DNA molecules extending from a surface too far above the penetration depth of the TIRF evanescent wave excitation cannot be reliably imaged. One way to alleviate this problem is to stretch the DNA onto the surface and capture both ends so that the long DNA molecule remains in the TIRF illumination range at all times. This is illustrated in FIG. 14 .
[0240] To attach both ends to the surface, the template DNA has a biotin label at one end and a “caged biotin” at the other end. The term “caged” refers to a biotin physically enclosed by or chemically protected by a chemical moiety (e.g. methyl α-nitropiperonyloxycarbonyl biotin) which can be uncaged chemically or photochemically. The term “uncaged” refers to chemically or photochemically unprotecting the biotin moiety so that it is available for binding to avidin or streptavidin.
[0241] The labeled DNA template is loaded into the flowcell with the glass coverslip derivatized with streptavidin as described earlier. After the biotinylated end of the DNA is immobilized, the DNA molecule is stretched by hydrodynamic shear flow. The “caged biotin” moiety is uncaged by illumination with the light of appropriate wavelength (320-380 nm for uncaging methyl α-nitropiperonyloxycarbonyl biotin) while the DNA is still stretched by the continuous hydrodynamic shear flow, thereby allowing the now uncaged biotin to bind to the streptavidin on the surface.
[0242] Alternatively, after the biotinylated end of the DNA is immobilized the DNA molecule can be electrophoretically stretched by applying an electric field or voltage (e.g. 160 V/cm) across or along the flow cell using built-in or external electrodes, and then the “caged biotin” moiety is uncaged by illumination with the light of appropriate wavelength (320-380 nm for uncaging methyl α-nitropiperonyloxycarbonyl biotin) while the DNA is still stretched by the electric field, thereby allowing the now uncaged biotin to bind to the streptavidin on the surface ( FIG. 14 ). A buffer with low conductance (e.g. 0.05×TBE, 4.5 mM Tris borate, 0.1 mM EDTA, pH 8.0) is used for optimal stretching while minimizing joule heating.
[0243] Generally, each end of the template is attached to the surface, and not intervening sequence. This is to avoid interference with the DNA synthesis. PEG (e.g., PEG5000) can be coated on to the surface of the substrate to minimize the non-specific binding of DNA molecules.
[0244] The primer for sequencing is typically hybridized after the molecules have been stretched and immobilized at both ends.
[0245] Once the template DNA is attached to the substrate, a first labeled DNA polymerase is loaded as described in Example 3. The DNA synthesis reaction is started by flowing in the reaction mix containing dNTPs in the reaction buffer, e.g. 1 to 100 μM of each of the dNTPs (dATP, dCTP, dGTP and dTTP) in a reaction buffer (20 mM TrisCl, 10 mM (NH4) 2 SO 4 , 4 mM MgSO 4 , 0.1% Triton X-100, 100 μg/ml BSA and 4 μM SSB, pH8.8) for phi-29 DNA polymerase. If T7 DNA polymerase or Sequenase version 2.0 is used, the reaction mix will include 1 to 100 μM of each of the dNTPs in a reaction buffer (20 mM TrisCl, 10 mM MgCl 2 , 50 mM NaCl, 10 mM DTT, 0.1% Triton X-100, 100 μg/ml BSA and 4 μM SSB, pH8.0).
[0246] A number of images will be taken that falls well within the lifetime of the FRET dyes used on the polymerase (e.g., less than 100,000 measurements using Alexa dyes, as explained above). Once this number is reached, the reaction is halted by washing away the dNTPs and polymerase, e.g., by a rapid introduction of a wash solution containing 50 mM TrisCi, 20 mM EDTA, 100 mM NaCl, and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), pH 8.0 at 60° C. into and through the flowcell. The concentration of the SDS is such that the solution partially denatures the DNA polymerase but does not weaken the biotin-streptavidin binding enough to result in loss of the DNA template. Dual or multiple biotin labels on each end of the DNA template can be used to reduce the risk of loss of the DNA template during this wash step. Once the polymerase is removed from the DNA template, the flowcell is then washed again with the appropriate reaction buffer (e.g., 50 mM TrisCl, 20 mM EDTA, 100 mM NaCl, 0.1% Triton X-100, pH 8.0).
[0247] The next labeled DNA polymerase is loaded onto the primed DNA template by flowing a new solution of labeled DNA polymerase into the flowcell as described above, followed by the reaction mix. The polymerase continues where the previous one left off, using the 3′ end of the nascent strand as a “primer.” This process is repeated until the end of the DNA strand is reached.
[0248] If a double stranded DNA template is used, a second primer can be hybridized to the opposite end of the template so that the sequencing reaction is performed on both strands of the double stranded DNA molecule. The redundant information provides more accurate sequencing of the DNA molecule. In addition, new primers can be hybridized to slightly offset positions on the DNA template so that another round of sequencing is performed. This process can be repeated to achieve the ultimate sequencing accuracy if desired.
[0249] This process potentially allows for very long read lengths. Sequences up to several hundred thousand bases (e.g., 200,000 bases) can be stretched on a substrate. However, the density of the DNA molecules must be such that there is minimal overlap. The entirety of the long sequence is maintained close to the surface within the penetration depth of the TIRF as described. Many DNA templates are sequenced in parallel using the flowcell and wide-field single molecule FRET imaging, with area sensors such as EMCCD cameras. | The invention provides improved methods for sequencing nucleic acids, e.g., for medical applications and biomedical research. The disclosed methods can be applied to rapid personalized medicine, genetic diagnosis, pathogen identification, and sequencing species genomes. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the concept presented in the passage. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Appl.",
"No. 61/121,809, filed Dec. 11, 2008, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Through massive parallelization and miniaturization, the throughput of DNA sequencing has been increased tremendously while the cost of sequencing has been reduced by several orders of magnitude compared to the conventional gel or capillary-based sequencers using the Sanger dideoxy sequencing method.",
"Several other emerging sequencing platforms can potentially increase the throughput and reduce the cost of DNA sequencing even further by another two orders of magnitude, promising to give us the so-called $1000 genome sequencing technology (Rothberg, J. M. and Leamon, J. H., Nat Biotechnol, 26;",
"1117-1124 (2008);",
"Schloss, J. A., Nat Biotechnol, 26:1113-1115 (2008);",
"Shendure, J. and Ji, H., Nat Biotechnol, 26:1135-1145 (2008)).",
"[0003] The possibility of $1000 genome technologies promises to bring genomics out of the main sequencing centers and into the laboratories of individual investigators.",
"This will dramatically transform biomedical research by enabling comprehensive analysis of genomes, transcriptomes, genetic networks and so on.",
"Despite the great progress that has been made, the $1000 genome technology remains elusive.",
"[0004] The recent progress and the great challenges in genome sequencing technology development have been reported in a series of review articles (Rothberg, J. M. and Leamon, J. H., Nat Biotechnol, 26;",
"1117-1124 (2008);",
"Schloss, J. A., Nat Biotechnol, 26:1113-1115 (2008);",
"Branton, D. et al.",
", Nat Biotechnol, 26:1146-1153 (2008)).",
"[0005] The invention provides improved methods for sequencing genetic materials, e.g., for medical applications and biomedical research.",
"The disclosed methods can be applied to rapid personalized medicine, genetic diagnosis, pathogen identification, and genome sequencing for any species in the biosphere.",
"BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] The present invention provides compositions, methods, kits, and systems for rapid DNA sequencing.",
"In some embodiments, sensors are engineered onto the surface of a polymerase molecule to monitor subtle, yet distinct, conformational changes that accompany the incorporation of each base type.",
"Movement of one to tens of angstroms by the polymerase can be measured precisely with the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) technique.",
"Multiple FRET pairs (or networks) placed at strategic residues on the polymerase can be used to monitor conformational changes in real time (10 times faster than the rate of DNA synthesis).",
"The sensors can provide multi-parametric information about the dynamic structure of the polymerase, which in turn can provide a unique signature for each base type incorporated.",
"Chemical modifications such as methylation on the template DNA can also be detected according to the disclosed methods.",
"[0007] Accordingly, the invention provides a labeled DNA polymerase wherein said DNA polymerase comprises at least one FRET donor and at least one FRET acceptor, wherein said FRET donor and FRET acceptor are positioned on the DNA polymerase so that a distinct FRET signal is generated for each different nucleotide incorporated into the new DNA strand by the DNA polymerase.",
"The FRET donor and acceptor are positioned on the DNA polymerase so that, when the polymerase adds a nucleotide to the nascent strand of DNA, a distinct FRET signal is generated, at least depending on which base (A, C, G, T) is incorporated.",
"In some embodiments, a distinct FRET signal is generated when the DNA polymerase reads (encounters) a methylated nucleotide on the template DNA.",
"[0008] In some embodiments, the FRET donor is positioned at a distance very close to the Förster radius (R 0 ) away from the FRET acceptor.",
"For example, when the DNA polymerase is in the open position, the donor is positioned at about one Förster radius (R 0 ) from the acceptor, or within, e.g., 10, 5, 2.5, or 1 angstroms of the Förster radius (R 0 ).",
"In some embodiments, the distance between the FRET donor and the FRET acceptor changes at least 1, 2.5, 5, 10, or more angstroms from the open position to the closed position of the DNA polymerase.",
"[0009] In some embodiments the FRET donor and acceptor are positioned on a solvent accessible surface of the DNA polymerase.",
"In some embodiments, the FRET donor and acceptor do not interfere with the activity of the DNA polymerase.",
"In some embodiments, the FRET acceptor is positioned on the finger domain, e.g., on a solvent accessible surface of the finger domain, and the FRET donor is positioned on the palm or thumb domain (or another domain that remains relatively stationary during DNA synthesis), e.g., on a solvent accessible surface of the polymerase.",
"In some embodiments, the FRET acceptor is positioned on the thumb or palm domain of the DNA polymerase (or another domain that remains relatively stationary during DNA synthesis), e.g., on a solvent accessible surface, while the FRET donor is positioned on the finger domain, e.g., on a solvent accessible surface of the finger domain.",
"[0010] In some embodiments, the DNA polymerase source is selected from bacteriophage, bacteria, and yeast.",
"In some embodiments, the DNA polymerase is a genetically engineered enzyme, e.g., a hybrid, or one from a commercial source (e.g., T7 DNA polymerase, Sequenase version 2.0™).",
"In some embodiments, the polymerase is an RT or RNA polymerase, e.g., T7 RNA polymerase.",
"In some embodiments, the polymerase is native or engineered reverse transcriptase, e.g., Moloney Monkey Leukemia Virus reverse transcriptase (MMLV-RT) or SuperScript III™ reverse transcriptase (Life Technologies).",
"Examples of DNA polymerases include phi-29, Taq, T7, Klenow ( E. coli DNA pol I large fragment), and Bst large fragment (from Bacillus stearothermophilus DNA pol).",
"[0011] In some embodiments, the DNA polymerase is phi-29, and the FRET donor and acceptor are positioned at the amino acid positions selected from those disclosed in Table 1, or within 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 amino acids of the amino acid positions disclosed in Table 1.",
"In some embodiments, more than one of the FRET pairs disclosed in Table 1 is included.",
"[0012] In some embodiments, the DNA polymerase is not phi-29, but the FRET donor and acceptor are positioned at sites that are homologous to the FRET donor and acceptor sites disclosed in Table 1 for phi-29.",
"The homologous site can be determined by optimal structural alignment, i.e., comparison of the DNA polymerase structures.",
"[0013] In some embodiments, the FRET donor and acceptor both comprise a fluorescent molecule (e.g., an organic dye molecule).",
"For example, the donor and acceptor can be independently selected from the group consisting of fluorescein, cyanine, rhodamine, and the Alexa series of dyes (Life Technologies), and the Atto series of dyes (Atto-Tec GmbH).",
"In some embodiments, the FRET donor and acceptor both comprise fluorescent quantum nanoparticles (e.g., silver or gold nanoclusters).",
"[0014] In some embodiments, the labeled DNA polymerase comprises more than one FRET donor, FRET acceptor, or FRET pair (FRET donor and acceptor).",
"For example, a FRET network can be designed where a single FRET donor excites at least two FRET acceptors that are each in close proximity to the FRET donor.",
"In some embodiments, each FRET pair has a different set of labels.",
"[0015] The invention provides methods of making the labeled DNA polymerase described herein.",
"The invention also includes methods of making any other protein in which at least one residue is labeled with a chemical moiety (e.g., a label such as a fluorescent dye or biotin molecule, or a PNA) at a selected position(s), or at least one residue is substituted with a non-native amino acid, with or without a chemical moiety.",
"In some embodiments, the method comprises the steps of: (i) identifying (selecting) at least one first position on the DNA polymerase to be labeled with a FRET donor and at least one second position on the DNA polymerase to be labeled with a FRET acceptor;",
"and (ii) introducing a non-naturally occurring amino acid at each of the identified (or selected) positions, thereby making a labeled DNA polymerase.",
"In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid is labeled when it is incorporated, while in other embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid is labeled after it is incorporated into the protein.",
"[0016] In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid at the first position is different than the non-naturally occurring amino acid at the second position.",
"In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid is labeled, e.g., with biotin, a chemically reactive group (e.g., to covalently link a dye molecule), or a fluorescent dye.",
"In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid is one that is not normally found in that position on the DNA polymerase, i.e., a mutated, substituted, or derivative amino acid.",
"In some embodiments, the mutated amino acid is one with a reactive side group, e.g., cysteine or lysine.",
"[0017] In some embodiments, the introducing step comprises in vitro (i.e., a cell-free) translation of the DNA polymerase.",
"In some embodiments, the introducing step comprises cell-based translation of the DNA polymerase.",
"In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid is labeled with the FRET donor or acceptor molecule (e.g., a fluorophore) after translation of the DNA polymerase, thereby forming a labeled DNA polymerase.",
"In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid comprises a FRET donor or FRET acceptor that is directly introduced into the DNA polymerase during translation.",
"[0018] In some embodiments, the in vitro translation reaction comprises the steps of: a) immobilizing a polynucleotide sequence (e.g., an mRNA) encoding a labeled DNA polymerase on a substrate;",
"b) contacting said immobilized polynucleotide with two or more different translation reaction mixes in series (separately) under conditions appropriate for translation;",
"c) washing said immobilized polynucleotide between contact with each different reaction mix;",
"and d) repeating steps b) and c) until the DNA polymerase is translated.",
"In some embodiments, the in vitro translation reaction comprises the steps of: a) immobilizing a polynucleotide sequence encoding a labeled DNA polymerase on a substrate;",
"b) contacting said immobilized polynucleotide with at least one first in vitro translation reaction mix under conditions appropriate for translation;",
"c) washing said immobilized polynucleotide;",
"d) contacting said immobilized polynucleotide with at least one second in vitro translation reaction mix under conditions appropriate for translation, wherein said first and second in vitro translation reaction mixes are different;",
"e) washing said immobilized polynucleotide;",
"and f) repeating steps b)-e) until the DNA polymerase is translated.",
"In some embodiments, at least some of the individual components of the reaction mix are added separately to the polynucleotide.",
"In some embodiments, the wash step effectively removes the components of the reaction mix from the polynucleotide.",
"In some embodiments, the wash step effectively removes the components of the reaction mix from the polynucleotide except for the ribosomes and tRNAs with the nascent polypeptide covalently attached and bound to the ribosome (in the P site).",
"[0019] In some embodiments, the at least one first in vitro translation reaction mix is selected from (i) a reaction mix comprising a non-naturally amino acid, and no other amino acids;",
"and (ii) a reaction mix comprising all the amino acids in the labeled DNA polymerase sequence except for the non-naturally occurring amino acid.",
"In some embodiments, the at least one second in vitro translation reaction mix is selected from (i) a reaction mix comprising a non-naturally amino acid, and no other amino acids;",
"and (ii) a reaction mix comprising all the amino acids in the labeled DNA polymerase sequence except for the non-naturally occurring amino acid.",
"[0020] In some embodiments, at least one first in vitro translation mix is selected from (i) a reaction mix comprising only one tRNA species pre-charged or activated with (covalently conjugated to) an amino acid or a non-naturally occurring amino acid (e.g. labeled or non-native), and all other components essential for in vitro translation (e.g., ribosomes, GTP, elongation factors, termination release factors);",
"and (ii) a reaction mix containing all tRNA species pre-charged or activated with (covalently conjugated to) the other naturally genetically encoded 19 amino acids, and all other components essential for in vitro translation, but no tRNA molecules for the amino acid in (i).",
"In some embodiments, at least one second in vitro translation mix is selected from (i) a reaction mix comprising only one tRNA species pre-charged or activated with (covalently conjugated to) an amino acid or a non-naturally occurring amino acid (e.g. labeled or non-native), and all other components essential for in vitro translation (e.g., ribosomes, GTP, elongation factors, termination release factors);",
"and (ii) a reaction mix containing all tRNA species pre-charged or activated with (covalently conjugated to) the other naturally genetically encoded 19 amino acids, and all other components essential for in vitro translation, but no tRNA molecules for the amino acid in (i).",
"[0021] In some embodiments, the in vitro translation is performed using an automated system.",
"In some embodiments, the system includes a column comprising the substrate.",
"In some embodiments, the system comprises tubing, pumps and valves for automated delivery of reaction components and wash solutions.",
"[0022] The invention provides methods of sequencing a DNA molecule, wherein the method comprises the steps of (i) contacting a labeled DNA polymerase with a DNA template, wherein said DNA template is hybridized to a primer;",
"(ii) adding a DNA sequencing (synthesis) reaction mix under conditions appropriate for DNA polymerization;",
"and (iii) detecting the identity of each nucleotide incorporated into the new strand of DNA by detecting the FRET signal generated by the labeled DNA polymerase, thereby sequencing the DNA molecule.",
"In some embodiments, at least some of the individual components of the DNA sequencing reaction mix are added separately.",
"[0023] The invention provides methods of sequencing a DNA molecule, wherein the method comprises the steps of (i) contacting a labeled RNA polymerase with a DNA template, wherein a promoter sequence for the RNA polymerase is added to the said DNA template;",
"(ii) adding a RNA sequencing (synthesis) reaction mix under conditions appropriate for RNA polymerization in the transcription process;",
"and (iii) detecting the identity of each nucleotide incorporated into the new strand of RNA by detecting the FRET signal generated by the labeled RNA polymerase, thereby sequencing the DNA molecule.",
"In some embodiments, at least some of the individual components of the RNA sequencing reaction mix are added separately.",
"[0024] The invention provides methods of sequencing a RNA molecule, wherein the method comprises the steps of (i) contacting a labeled reverse transcriptase with a RNA template, wherein said RNA template is hybridized to a primer;",
"(ii) adding a RNA sequencing (synthesis) reaction mix under conditions appropriate for RNA polymerization in the reverse transcription process;",
"and (iii) detecting the identity of each nucleotide incorporated into the new strand of RNA by detecting the FRET signal generated by the labeled RNA polymerase, thereby sequencing the RNA molecule.",
"In some embodiments, at least some of the individual components of the RNA sequencing reaction mix are added separately.",
"[0025] In some embodiments, the labeled DNA polymerase (or RNA polymerase or reverse transcriptase) is immobilized on a substrate, e.g., in ordered arrays on a substrate.",
"In some embodiments, the DNA or RNA template is immobilized on a substrate, e.g., in ordered arrays on a substrate.",
"In some embodiments, the primer comprises modified nucleic acids, or peptide nucleic acids (PNA), that are nuclease resistant.",
"In some embodiments, the DNA template is a circular molecule.",
"[0026] In some embodiments, the DNA or RNA template is attached to the substrate at more than one site.",
"For example, each end of the template can be attached (i.e., anchored) to the substrate.",
"In some embodiments, the template is stretched with each end attached to the substrate.",
"In some embodiments, more than one labeled DNA polymerase (or RNA polymerase or reverse transcriptase) is used to sequence the entire length of the DNA molecule.",
"In some embodiments, the method further comprises washing the immobilized DNA or RNA template, and repeating steps a)-c).",
"In some cases, the first labeled DNA polymerase (or RNA polymerase or reverse transcriptase) is washed away after a predetermined period (e.g., after a certain number of detection events, or certain length of time).",
"In some embodiments, several labeled DNA polymerases (or RNA polymerases or reverse transcriptase enzymes) are used, washed away (removed), and replaced during the process of sequencing the DNA or RNA molecule.",
"[0027] The invention provides kits and reaction mixes for carrying out the disclosed methods.",
"In some embodiments, the kit is designed for sequencing a DNA molecule, and comprises a labeled DNA polymerase and optionally reagents for sequencing (e.g., nucleotides and buffers).",
"In some embodiments, the labeled DNA polymerase is immobilized on a substrate.",
"In some embodiments, the kit includes instructions for use.",
"In some embodiments, the kit comprises a DNA sequencing reaction mix, or components thereof (e.g., dNTPs, salt and buffer components).",
"In some embodiments, the kit is designed for sequencing an RNA molecule, and comprises a labeled reverse transcriptase and reagents for reverse transcription, such as nucleotides and buffers.",
"[0028] In some embodiments, the invention provides a kit for labeling a DNA polymerase, said kit comprising a polynucleotide encoding a DNA polymerase and instructions for use.",
"In some embodiments, the polynucleotide is immobilized on a substrate.",
"In some embodiments, the kit further comprises at least one in vitro translation mix.",
"In some embodiments, the at least one in vitro translation mix comprises a non-naturally occurring amino acid, and no other amino acids.",
"In some embodiments, the at least one in vitro translation mix comprises all of the amino acids except the non-naturally occurring amino acid.",
"In some embodiments, the kit further comprises tRNAs.",
"In some embodiments, the kit further comprises at least two FRET dyes.",
"In some embodiments, the FRET dyes are in separate, opaque containers to avoid photobleaching.",
"[0029] The invention provides apparatuses and systems for carrying out the methods described herein.",
"In some embodiments, the system comprises a labeled DNA polymerase and optical instrumentation capable of detecting a FRET signal from a single molecule (i.e., template polynucleotide).",
"In some embodiments, the system comprises a microfabricated flowcell with a prefabricated chip, microfluidics, temperature control, and an imaging window to detect signal.",
"In some embodiments, the system for READS does not include the labeled DNA polymerase, but comprises the optical instrumentation, and optionally, computer software for analyzing the data.",
"In some embodiments, the labeled DNA polymerase is immobilized on a substrate included with the system (e.g., a glass coverslip or silicone array material).",
"In some embodiments, the optical instrumentation includes lasers and filters for use with particular FRET dyes, e.g., that emit within a desired wavelength.",
"In some embodiments, the optical instrumentation includes an epifluorescence microscope.",
"In some embodiments, the system comprises a computer and/or computer software for analyzing READS data.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0030] FIG. 1 : Left panel: Engineered DNA polymerase with FRET pairs/network on the surface.",
"Two pairs are illustrated, more elaborate networks can be used.",
"Right Panel: Sequencing by monitoring the chemo-mechanical process of DNA synthesis in real time.",
"The hypothetical signal traces show distance changes between the FRET pairs over time.",
"[0031] FIG. 2 : (A) Right-hand structure with figures, palm and thumb subdomains.",
"(B) A crystal structure of RB69 polymerase in the catalytically competent ternary complex (Franklin et al.",
"(2001) Cell 105:657-67).",
"(C) The specific interactions between the polymerase and primer/template in the minor groove serve as the molecular ruler, guaranteeing the proper spacing between the base pairs.",
"(D) Specific interactions between the residues on the enzyme and template/primer/nucleotide/Mg 2+ in the active site.",
"(E) Large conformational changes accompanying the nucleotide binding and incorporation.",
"Except (B), all other figures are from Stryer, Biochemistry 4 th ed .",
"(1995) W.H. Freeman &",
"Co. [0032] FIG. 3 : Catalytic Mechanism of DNA polymerases.",
"Conf.",
": Conformation;",
"Pol: DNA polymerase;",
"Pr: Primer;",
"Tpl: DNA template;",
"dNTP: one of the deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates (dATP, dCTP, dGTP or dTTP);",
"*: catalytically competent transition state complex;",
"PPi: inorganic pyrophosphate.",
"There are dynamic transitions between the different conformations in the chemo-mechanical process of nucleotide incorporation.",
"[0033] FIG. 4 : Schematic of an automated system with microfluidics and TIRF for high-speed multi-color fluorescence imaging of single molecules.",
"Objects are not drawn to scale.",
"All components are controlled by a computer with a custom software package.",
"[0034] FIG. 5 : Schematic of the software for automated high-speed imaging.",
"It is of modular design, written, e.g., in C++.",
"Hardware is abstracted from implementation for portability.",
"[0035] FIG. 6 .",
"Method for incorporating multiple FRET pairs into polymerase by automated cyclic in vitro translation on solid supports.",
"[0036] FIG. 7 : Crystal structure of phi-29 DNA polymerase complexed with primer-template DNA.",
"The subdomains are displayed in cartoon model: finger, palm, thumb, exonuclease, TPR1 and TPR2.",
"The primer/template DNA are shown in stick model.",
"The PDB ID: 2PZS file (Berman et al.",
"(2007) EMBO J. 26:3494-3505) was used to generate the figure with the program PyMOL (available on the world wide web at pymol.org).",
"[0037] FIG. 8 : Comparison of the “open”",
"and “closed”",
"form of phi-29 DNA polymerase.",
"Left panel: the superimposition of the “open”",
"and “closed”",
"forms.",
"Right panel: Highlight of C α backbone tracing in the finger subdomain.",
"[0038] FIG. 9 : Native cysteines and solvent accessible surface of phi-29 DNA polymerase.",
"(A) The seven native cysteines and their locations.",
"(B) Front view of solvent accessible surface of phi-29 DNA polymerase.",
"(C) Back view of solvent accessible surface of phi-29 DNA polymerase.",
"The cysteine residues are shown in space filling model (A).",
"The structures are generated using ChemBio3D Ultra 11.0 (CambridgeSoft).",
"[0039] FIG. 10 : Candidate residues for labeling on (A) finger, (B) thumb and (C) palm subdomains of phi-29 DNA polymerase.",
"The top and bottom panels displayed the front and back view, respectively.",
"The proteins are shown in space-filled model.",
"Candidate labeling sites are circled in white.",
"The residues marked with a star represent labeling sites with preferred orientation.",
"The structures are generated using PyMOL.",
"[0040] FIG. 11 : Efficiency of FRET as a function of separation between the donor and acceptor.",
"E=1/[1+(R/R 0 ) 6 ];",
"R 0 : Förster radius of the donor-acceptor pair at which E=½.",
"The figure is from Roy et al.",
"(2008) Nat Methods 5:507-16.",
"[0041] FIG. 12 : Representatives of phi-29 DNA polymerase mutants to be constructed for labeling of FRET pairs.",
"(A) Mutant E375C, K240C with labeling sites located on finger and palm subdomains, respectively;",
"(B) Mutant E375C, K553C with labeling sites located on finger and thumb subdomains, respectively.",
"(C) Mutant E375C, K553C with labeling sites located on finger and thump subdomains, respectively;",
"(D) Mutant E375C, K547C with labeling sites located on finger and thumb subdomains, respectively.",
"The open and closed form of proteins are shown in cartoon model and the labeling sites are shown in sphere model.",
"Panels are generated using PyMOL.",
"[0042] FIG. 13 : A system for high-speed single molecule sequencing.",
"Left: Flowcell and arrays of single DNA polymerases with chemo-mechanical nanosensors.",
"Right: An imaging system with 4 cameras and 4 lasers.",
"[0043] FIG. 14 : Microfabricated device for anchoring and stretching of long DNA molecules.",
"(A) Overall design.",
"(B) Full EMCCD fluorescence image of end-captured DNA molecules stretched with 320 V/cm electric field.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Overview of READS A Fourth Generation Sequencing Technology [0044] The present invention provides a method for direct sequencing of single DNA molecules.",
"The method is called READS Genome Technology (READS: REA 1-time D NA Sequencing from single molecules using chemomechanical nanosensor).",
"The sequence of a DNA or RNA molecule is determined by monitoring in real time the dynamic conformational changes of the DNA or RNA polymerase as each base is incorporated into the nascent strand extending from a primer hybridized to the template strand.",
"The unique signature of the dynamic conformational changes of the DNA or RNA polymerase as a result of the incorporation of a base type is measured by monitoring the dynamic interaction of one pair or a network of fluorescent dyes or nanoparticles using Förster/Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) technique.",
"The FRET dye molecules are attached to the appropriate residues on the surface of the polymerase protein or protein complex.",
"Those residues can be pre-existing residues with appropriate functional groups such as primary amine, carboxylate or sulphur hydryl groups, or can be introduced into the polymerase by protein engineering.",
"The FRET signal(s) from the individual polymerase can be detected in parallel at high-speed using total internal reflection microscopy with an electron multiplying charged coupled device (EMCCD) and laser excitation.",
"The individual fluorescence signals of different wavelengths can be split by multi-choric beam splitters and filters and detected with 2 or more cameras.",
"[0045] The present invention enables high-speed and accurate sequencing of single DNA molecules.",
"Tens of thousands of bases can potentially be sequenced directly from a single DNA molecule in a matter of minutes.",
"The invention provides the speed and accuracy of natural DNA polymerases using native nucleotides.",
"This is an advantage over previous technologies that relied on fluorescent nucleotides, and required a polymerase that would recognize and incorporate the labeled nucleotides.",
"The platform of the invention, which combines the sequencing method with a high-speed imaging system, thus allows for the sequencing of a whole genome very rapidly at low cost.",
"[0046] The sequencing technology of the invention provides the following advantages: (1) fast real-time sequencing;",
"(2) direct single molecule sequencing;",
"(3) long and accurate reads;",
"(4) very low-cost;",
"and (5) the capability to detect chemical modifications on genomic DNA, such as methylation, for epigenome sequencing.",
"The basic concept is illustrated in FIG. 1 .",
"[0047] The present invention, READS ( REA 1-time D NA Sequencing using chemomechanical nanosensors), incorporates the following concepts: (1) DNA polymerase undergoes characteristic and unique dynamic conformational changes accompanying the process of binding and incorporation of each base type.",
"(2) The small yet unique differences of the dynamic conformational changes (with a distance change of 1-10 angstroms) in the process of incorporating each base can be precisely monitored using FRET pairs.",
"(3) With the current state-of-the-art imaging technology, fluorescence signals from the FRET pairs on a single DNA polymerase in real-time can be detected (10 times faster than the rate of DNA synthesis).",
"[0051] The FRET sensors can provide multi-parametric information about the dynamic structures of the polymerase accompanying the chemomechanical process of DNA synthesis, providing a unique signature for each base type incorporated.",
"[0052] Chemical modifications such as methylation on the template DNA can also be detected.",
"Generally, C is the nucleotide that is methylated.",
"The labeled DNA polymerases of the invention can be used to distinguish between an unmodified C and a methylated C on the template DNA strand.",
"A slight difference in the conformation of a DNA polymerase reading a Me-C and one reading a C can result in distinct FRET signals.",
"DEFINITIONS [0053] READS technology refers to REA1 time DNA Sequencing using labeled DNA polymerases to detect incorporation of each nucleotide into the nascent DNA strand.",
"[0054] Förster resonance energy transfer (abbreviated FRET), also known as fluorescence resonance energy transfer, is a mechanism describing energy transfer between two chromophores.",
"A donor chromophore (FRET donor), initially in its electronic excited state, can transfer energy to an acceptor chromophore (FRET acceptor), which is typically less than 10 nm away, through nonradiative dipole-dipole coupling.",
"The energy transferred to the FRET acceptor is detected as an emission of light (energy) when the FRET donor and acceptor are in proximity (see FIG. 11 ).",
"A “FRET signal”",
"is thus the signal that is generated by the emission of light from the acceptor.",
"[0055] A “FRET pair”",
"refers to a FRET donor and FRET acceptor pair.",
"[0056] The terms “fluorophore,” “dye,” “fluorescent molecule,” “fluorescent dye,” “FRET dye”",
"and like terms are used synonymously herein.",
"[0057] A “labeled DNA polymerase”",
"refers to a DNA polymerase comprising at least one FRET pair.",
"The FRET donor and acceptor molecules are generally covalently attached to an amino acid on the surface of the labeled DNA polymerase.",
"DNA polymerases share a general mechanism and structure, thus, any DNA polymerase can be designed and used according to the present invention.",
"[0058] The DNA polymerase “reads”",
"the template in the 3′→5′ direction, and adds individual nucleotides (bases) to the new strand in the 5′→3′ direction.",
"The polymerase requires a 3′ OH group from a primer to begin extension of a new DNA strand.",
"Individual nucleotides (dNTPs, or dATP, dCTP, dTTP, dGTP, or A, C, T, G) are added according to the general mechanism described in FIG. 3 .",
"The particular base (A, C, T, or G) depends on the sequence of the template DNA, so that the new base hybridizes to the nucleotide on the template strand through a Watson-Crick interaction.",
"The DNA polymerase cycles between “open”",
"and “closed”",
"conformations.",
"The DNA polymerase is in open position with the primer-template DNA complex.",
"Once an incoming nucleotide enters the active site, the polymerase cycles to the closed position.",
"[0059] As used herein, the term “non-naturally occurring amino acid”",
"refers to an amino acid that is attached to (labeled with) a FRET donor or acceptor, or an adaptor molecule for attaching said FRET donor or acceptor.",
"The term also refers to an amino acid that does not naturally occur at a given site on a DNA polymerase in the native sequence of the DNA polymerase.",
"For example, a non-naturally occurring amino acid can be an amino acid with a reactive side group which is substituted for the native (naturally occurring) amino acid at a given site on the polymerase.",
"In this case, the FRET dye is attached to the non-naturally occurring (or substitute or mutant) amino acid in a separate step.",
"[0060] The term “nascent strand”",
"refers to the new strand of DNA (or RNA) that is involved in polymerization.",
"A DNA polymerase initially adds a first individual nucleotide (base) to a primer, adds a second individual nucleotide to the first added base, adds a third individual nucleotide to the second added base, etc.",
", in a template strand-dependent manner.",
"The “nascent”",
"or “new”",
"strand refers to the primer, the growing strand, and the strand of DNA that is polymerized by the DNA polymerase.",
"[0061] The term “reaction mix”",
"refers generically to the components required for a given chemical or biological process.",
"For example, a “translation reaction mix”",
"will include amino acids, tRNAs, buffers, etc.",
"as will be recognized by one of skill in the art.",
"Similarly, a DNA synthesis reaction mix will include individual nucleotides, buffers, etc.",
", necessary for carrying out the reaction.",
"One of skill will appreciate that reaction mixes for DNA synthesis, transcription, and translation are well-characterized and commercially available.",
"[0062] The term “sequencing a DNA molecule”",
"refers to the READS technology described herein.",
"Sequence information is obtained for the DNA template, as well as the new and complementary DNA strand.",
"The term DNA molecule in this context thus refers to both the template and the newly synthesized strands.",
"[0063] “Nucleic acid”",
"or “oligonucleotide”",
"or “polynucleotide”",
"or grammatical equivalents used herein means at least two nucleotides (i.e., bases) covalently linked together.",
"The terms “nucleotide”",
"and “base”",
"generally refer to individual monomers (e.g., dNTPs or rNTPs comprising adenine, thymine, cytosine, or guanine).",
"Oligonucleotides are typically from about 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 25, 30, 40, 50 or more nucleotides in length, optionally up to about 100 nucleotides in length.",
"Nucleic acids and polynucleotides are polymers of any length, including longer lengths, e.g., 200, 300, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 5000, 7000, 10,000, etc.",
"A nucleic acid of the present invention will generally contain phosphodiester bonds, although in some cases, nucleic acid analogs are included that may have alternate backbones, comprising, e.g., phosphoramidate, phosphorothioate, phosphorodithioate, or O-methylphosphoroamidite linkages (see Eckstein, Oligonucleotides and Analogues: A Practical Approach, Oxford University Press);",
"and peptide nucleic acid backbones and linkages.",
"Other analog nucleic acids include those with positive backbones;",
"non-ionic backbones, and non-ribose backbones, including those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,235,033 and 5,034,506, and Chapters 6 and 7, ASC Symposium Series 580 , Carbohydrate Modifications in Antisense Research , Sanghui &",
"Cook, eds.",
"Nucleic acids containing one or more carbocyclic sugars are also included within one definition of nucleic acids.",
"Modifications of the ribose-phosphate backbone may be done for a variety of reasons, e.g., to increase the stability and half-life of such molecules in physiological environments or as probes on a biochip.",
"Mixtures of naturally occurring nucleic acids and analogs can be made;",
"alternatively, mixtures of different nucleic acid analogs, and mixtures of naturally occurring nucleic acids and analogs can be made.",
"[0064] The terms “polypeptide,” “peptide”",
"and “protein”",
"are used interchangeably herein to refer to a polymer of amino acid residues.",
"The terms apply to amino acid polymers in which one or more amino acid residue is an artificial chemical mimetic of a corresponding naturally occurring amino acid, as well as to naturally occurring amino acid polymers, those containing modified residues, and non-naturally occurring amino acid polymer.",
"[0065] The term “amino acid”",
"refers to naturally occurring and synthetic amino acids, as well as amino acid analogs and amino acid mimetics that function similarly to the naturally occurring amino acids.",
"Naturally occurring amino acids are those encoded by the genetic code, as well as those amino acids that are later modified, e.g., hydroxyproline, γ-carboxyglutamate, and O-phosphoserine.",
"Amino acid analogs refers to compounds that have the same basic chemical structure as a naturally occurring amino acid, e.g., an a carbon that is bound to a hydrogen, a carboxyl group, an amino group, and an R group, e.g., homoserine, norleucine, methionine sulfoxide, methionine methyl sulfonium.",
"Such analogs may have modified R groups (e.g., norleucine) or modified peptide backbones, but retain the same basic chemical structure as a naturally occurring amino acid.",
"Amino acid mimetics refers to chemical compounds that have a structure that is different from the general chemical structure of an amino acid, but that functions similarly to a naturally occurring amino acid.",
"[0066] Amino acids may be referred to herein by either their commonly known three letter symbols or by the one-letter symbols recommended by the IUPAC-IUB Biochemical Nomenclature Commission.",
"Nucleotides, likewise, may be referred to by their commonly accepted single-letter codes.",
"[0067] “Conservatively modified variants”",
"applies to both amino acid and nucleic acid sequences.",
"With respect to particular nucleic acid sequences, conservatively modified variants refers to those nucleic acids which encode identical or essentially identical amino acid sequences, or where the nucleic acid does not encode an amino acid sequence, to essentially identical or associated, e.g., naturally contiguous, sequences.",
"Because of the degeneracy of the genetic code, a large number of functionally identical nucleic acids encode most proteins.",
"For instance, the codons GCA, GCC, GCG and GCU all encode the amino acid alanine.",
"Thus, at every position where an alanine is specified by a codon, the codon can be altered to another of the corresponding codons described without altering the encoded polypeptide.",
"Such nucleic acid variations are “silent variations,” which are one species of conservatively modified variations.",
"Every nucleic acid sequence herein which encodes a polypeptide also describes silent variations of the nucleic acid.",
"One of skill will recognize that in certain contexts each codon in a nucleic acid (except AUG, which is ordinarily the only codon for methionine, and TGG, which is ordinarily the only codon for tryptophan) can be modified to yield a functionally identical molecule.",
"Accordingly, often silent variations of a nucleic acid which encodes a polypeptide is implicit in a described sequence with respect to the expression product, but not with respect to actual probe sequences.",
"[0068] As to amino acid sequences, one of skill will recognize that individual substitutions, deletions or additions to a nucleic acid, peptide, polypeptide, or protein sequence which alters, adds or deletes a single amino acid or a small percentage of amino acids in the encoded sequence is a “conservatively modified variant”",
"where the alteration results in the substitution of an amino acid with a chemically similar amino acid.",
"Conservative substitution tables providing functionally similar amino acids are well known in the art.",
"Such conservatively modified variants are in addition to and do not exclude polymorphic variants, interspecies homologs, and alleles of the invention.",
"The following amino acids can be conservative substitutions for one another: 1) Alanine (A), Glycine (G);",
"2) Aspartic acid (D), Glutamic acid (E);",
"3) Asparagine (N), Glutamine (Q);",
"4) Arginine (R), Lysine (K);",
"5) Isoleucine (I), Leucine (L), Methionine (M), Valine (V);",
"6) Phenylalanine (F), Tyrosine (Y), Tryptophan (W);",
"7) Serine (S), Threonine (T);",
"and 8) Cysteine (C), Methionine (M) (see, e.g., Creighton, Proteins (1984)).",
"[0069] A “label”",
"or a “detectable moiety”",
"is a composition detectable by spectroscopic, photochemical, biochemical, immunochemical, chemical, or other physical means.",
"The term label as used herein generally refers to a fluorescent label, e.g., a FRET donor or acceptor.",
"Labels can also include, e.g., an affinity agent such as biotin, chemically reactive groups, electron-dense reagents, enzymes (e.g., as commonly used in an ELISA), or digoxigenin.",
"Any method known in the art for conjugating a label can be employed, e.g., using methods described in Hermanson, Bioconjugate Techniques 1996, Academic Press, Inc., San Diego.",
"[0070] A “labeled amino acid”",
"generally refers to amino acids that are attached to a FRET dye (fluorescent molecule), or an adaptor molecule/linker for attachment of the FRET dye in a separate step.",
"[0071] The phrase “selectively (or specifically) hybridizes to”",
"refers to the binding, duplexing, or hybridizing of a molecule only to a particular nucleotide sequence with a higher affinity, e.g., under more stringent conditions, than to other nucleotide sequences (e.g., total cellular or library DNA or RNA).",
"One of skill in the art will appreciate that specific hybridization between nucleotides usually relies on Watson-Crick pair bonding between complementary nucleotide sequences.",
"[0072] The term “probe”",
"or “primer”, as used herein, is defined to be one or more nucleic acid fragments whose specific hybridization to a sample can be detected.",
"A probe or primer can be of any length depending on the particular technique it will be used for.",
"For example, primers for priming a DNA polymerase reaction (e.g., PCR) are generally between 10 and 40 nucleotides in length, while nucleic acid probes for, e.g., a Southern blot, can be several hundred nucleotides in length.",
"The primer can be unlabeled or labeled as described below so that its binding to the target or template can be detected.",
"The length and complexity of the nucleic acid fixed onto the target element is not critical to the invention.",
"One of skill can adjust these factors to provide optimum hybridization conditions.",
"[0073] A probe or primer can also be immobilized on a solid surface (e.g., nitrocellulose, glass, quartz, fused silica slides), as in an array.",
"In some embodiments, the probe may be a member of an array of nucleic acids as described, for instance, in WO 96/17958.",
"Techniques capable of producing high density arrays can also be used for this purpose (see, e.g., Fodor (1991) Science 767-773;",
"Johnston (1998) Curr.",
"Biol.",
"8: R171-R174;",
"Schummer (1997) Biotechniques 23: 1087-1092;",
"Kern (1997) Biotechniques 23: 120-124;",
"U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,854).",
"One of skill will recognize that the precise sequence of the particular probes can be modified to a certain degree, but retain the ability to specifically bind to (i.e., hybridize specifically to) the same targets or samples as the probe from which they were derived.",
"[0074] A “flowcell”",
"or “flow channel”",
"refers to recess in a structure which can contain a flow of fluid or gas.",
"[0075] A “control”",
"sample or value refers to a sample that serves as a reference, usually a known reference, for comparison to a test sample.",
"For example, a test sample can be an unknown sequence, and a control a known sequence.",
"In some embodiments, the test sample can include a polymerase with an untested FRET pair, the control polymerase includes a known FRET pair.",
"[0076] One of skill in the art will understand which controls are valuable in a given situation and be able to analyze data based on comparisons to control values.",
"Controls can be valuable for determining the significance of data.",
"For example, if values for a given parameter are widely variant in controls, variation in test samples will not be considered as significant.",
"Basic Recombinant Methods [0077] The invention provides routine methods of cloning polynucleotides, e.g., for expression as proteins.",
"Polynucleotide sequences of the present invention include those that encode DNA and RNA polymerases, template polynucleotide sequences (e.g., genomic fragments to be sequenced), primers, and adaptor molecules, as described below.",
"Basic texts disclosing general methods and techniques in the field of recombinant genetics include Sambrook and Russell, Molecular Cloning A Laboratory Manual (3rd ed.",
"2001);",
"Kriegler, Gene Transfer and Expression: A Laboratory Manual (1990);",
"and Ausubel et al.",
", eds.",
", Current Protocols in Molecular Biology (1994);",
"Kriegler, Gene Transfer and Expression: A Laboratory Manual (1990);",
"and Current Protocols in Molecular Biology (Ausubel et al.",
", eds.",
", 1994-1999).",
"Nucleic acids can be obtained through in vitro amplification methods such as those described herein and in Berger, Sambrook, and Ausubel, as well as Mullis et al.",
", (1987) U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,202;",
"PCR Protocols A Guide to Methods and Applications (Innis et al.",
", eds).",
"[0078] One of skill will recognize that additional modifications can be made to the polymerases of the present invention without diminishing their biological activity.",
"Some modifications may be made to facilitate the cloning, expression, or incorporation of a domain into a fusion protein.",
"Such modifications are well known to those of skill in the art and include, for example, the addition of codons at either terminus of the polynucleotide that encodes the binding domain to provide, for example, a methionine added at the amino terminus to provide an initiation site, or additional amino acids (e.g., poly His) placed on either terminus to create conveniently located restriction sites or termination codons or purification sequences.",
"[0079] A desired protein can be obtained adopting any known genetic engineering methods for producing polypeptides (e.g., Morrison J., J Bacteriology 1977, 132: 349-51;",
"Clark-Curtiss &",
"Curtiss, Methods in Enzymology (eds.",
"Wu et al.) 1983, 101: 347-62).",
"For example, a suitable vector comprising a polynucleotide encoding the protein in an expressible form (e.g., operably linked to a regulatory sequence comprising a promoter) is prepared, transformed into a suitable host cell, and then the host cell is cultured to produce the protein.",
"[0080] Any commonly used promoters can be employed including, for example, the SV40 early promoter (Rigby in Williamson (ed.), Genetic Engineering , vol.",
"Academic Press, London, 1982, 83-141), the EF-αpromoter (Kim et al.",
", Gene 1990, 91:217-23), the CAG promoter (Niwa et al.",
", Gene 1991, 108:193), the RSV LTR promoter (Cullen, Methods in Enzymology 1987, 152:684-704), the SRα promoter (Takebe et al.",
", Mol Cell Biol 1988, 8:466), the CMV immediate early promoter (Seed et al.",
", Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1987, 84:3365-9), the SV40 late promoter (Gheysen et al.",
", J Mol Appl Genet.",
"1982, 1:385-94), the Adenovirus late promoter (Kaufman et al.",
", Mol Cell Biol 1989, 9:946), the HSV TK promoter, etc.",
"[0081] Common expression vectors and host cells are commercially available.",
"An expression vector can be introduced into host cells to express a desired sequence according to methods known in the art, for example, electroporation (Chu et al.",
", Nucleic Acids Res 1987, 15:1311-26), calcium phosphate (Chen et al.",
", Mol Cell Biol 1987, 7:2745-52), DEAE dextran (Lopata et al.",
", Nucleic Acids Res 1984, 12:5707-17;",
"Sussman et al.",
", Mol Cell Biol 1985, 4:1641-3), Lipofectin (Derijard B, Cell 1994, 7:1025-37;",
"Lamb et al.",
", Nature Genetics 1993, 5:22-30;",
"Rabindran et al.",
", Science 1993, 259:230-4), etc.",
"[0082] A protein (or fragments thereof) can also be produced in vitro adopting an in vitro translation system.",
"Such systems are known in the art and are commercially available (e.g., Proteinscript II™ from Ambion or Expressway™ from Invitrogen or the TNT® system from Promega, or RTS® from Roche).",
"Cell-based methods utilizing modified tRNA molecules and tRNA synthetases can also be used.",
"Such technologies include ReCode™ (available from Ambryx Biotechnologies), and are described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,083,970 and 7,045,337.",
"[0000] READS Technology and Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) [0083] DNA polymerases have precise 3-D sensors with atomic-resolution that can synthesize very long DNA molecules with high fidelity and velocity.",
"Precise protein engineering is a much easier, cost-effective, and accessible technology than nanofabrication with semiconductor technology.",
"[0084] Fluorescently-labeled nucleotides are not required for READS.",
"Thus, background resulting from the fluorescent nucleotides is not an issue.",
"With high quality optics and imaging technique, the remaining background (e.g., resulting from Raman and Rayleigh scattering) can be suppressed to an almost negligible level.",
"Thus, for single molecule imaging over a sustained period of time, every single photon can be counted, if desired.",
"[0085] The common catalytic mechanism of DNA synthesis for DNA polymerases is illustrated in FIG. 3 .",
"In step 1, the binding of primed DNA template to the polymerase is rapid.",
"This begins with the specific interactions between the palm region of the polymerase and the primer/template, followed by the large movement of the thumb subdomain, which encircles the primer/template, and positions the last 3′-OH base on the primer into the active site of the polymerase ( FIGS. 2B , C, D).",
"In Step 2, the diffusion of a dNTP into the active site and subsequent binding of the dNTP trigger a rapid and large conformational change from the open position.",
"The finger domain rotates toward the active site, and forms a tight pocket into which only a properly shaped base pair can fit ( FIG. 2E ).",
"This is the closed conformation.",
"In Step 3 (the rate limiting step), further interactions between the polymerase and the primer/template/dNTP/2Mg 2+ complex promote the complex into a catalytically competent transition state (Rothwell and Waksman, Adv Protein Chem, 71:401-440 (2005);",
"Rothwell et al.",
", Mol Cell, 19:345-355 (2005);",
"Stengel et al.",
", Biochemistry, 46:12289-12297 (2007)).",
"In Step 4, the chemistry takes place: the 3′-OH group in the primer attacks the alpha phosphate group of the incoming dNTP through a SN2 reaction, resulting in the incorporation of the new base and the production of pyrophosphate.",
"In Step 5, the complex undergoes another large conformational change.",
"The finger subdomain rotates back to the open conformation and, concomitantly, the pyrophosphate is released, the template is translocated, and the 3′-OH is regenerated for another round of synthesis (processive synthesis) or the dissociation of the polymerase complex (distributive synthesis).",
"[0086] High fidelity is achieved in part due to the structural complementarities between the base pair and the enzyme active site play an important role, in addition to the specific Watson-Crick hydrogen bonding between the incoming base and the template base (McCulloch and Kunkel, Cell Res, 18:148-161 (2008);",
"Kool, Annu Rev Biochem, 71:191-219 (2002)).",
"An intermediate conformation has been shown to serve as an early checkpoint, allowing an incoming dNTP to preview the template, followed by rapid rejection when the bases are mismatched (Joyce et al.",
", Biochemistry, 47:6103-6116 (2008)).",
"From a kinetics standpoint, fidelity of the synthesis is determined by the k 3 /K M of the reaction (since step 3 is the rate limiting step, k cat can be approximated by k 3 ) (Tsai et al.",
", Anal Biochem (2008);",
"Tsai and Johnson, Biochemistry, 45:9675-9687 (2006)).",
"[0087] In addition to the numerous conformational changes associated with the process, each step has characteristic kinetic properties (k 1 -k 5 ), which are detected in the present sequencing process.",
"Each DNA polymerase has a different K M for each of the 4 dNTP's.",
"The incorporation rate of each base type (k 3 ) is also unique for each different base type.",
"We can thus identify each base as it is incorporated by accurately measuring the rate of incorporation.",
"The rate for a given base type is very likely sequence-dependent and therefore may vary slightly, but the variation is smaller than the differences between the different base types.",
"Multi-parametric information of the entire process can be obtained by monitoring the dynamic conformational changes accompanying the incorporation of each base.",
"This will capture additional unique features associated with the incorporation of each base type in addition to the unique rate of incorporation determined by k 3 .",
"For example, the interactions between the bases on the template, and the DNA polymerase are extensive and specific (see, e.g., FIG. 2B ).",
"A small perturbation of the network of interactions, e.g., by the presence of a methylated base, can change the polymerase conformation and the rate of the incorporation of the incoming complementary base.",
"[0088] FRET has evolved into a very powerful tool for measuring nanometer-scale change in distance associated with the conformational dynamics of biomolecules and complexes, including protein folding and enzyme structural dynamics, since the initial report (Stryer and Haugland, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 58:719-726 (1967);",
"Haugland et al.",
", Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 63:23-30 (1969)) [0089] FRET and other fluorescence techniques can be used to monitor the conformational changes and kinetics of DNA synthesis (Stengel et al.",
", Biochemistry, 46:12289-12297 (2007);",
"Tsai et al.",
", Anal Biochem (2008);",
"Tsai and Johnson, Biochemistry, 45:9675-9687 (2006);",
"Allen et al.",
", Protein Sci, 17:401-408 (2008);",
"Rothwell and Waksman, J Biol Chem, 282:28884-28892 (2007)).",
"However, previous measurements were performed with a large ensemble of molecules.",
"The present technology relies on single molecule FRET.",
"[0090] Eid et al.",
"( Science 323:133-38 (2009)) observed different average pulse width (equivalent to k 3 ) for each different nucleotide: dATP: 132±22 ms;",
"dCTP: 91±19 ms;",
"dGTP: 117±14 ms;",
"dTTP: 96±10 ms.",
"The variation of their pulse width measurement was large for each dNTP, presumably due to the fact that the DNA synthesis reaction was performed with very low concentration of dNTPs (<<K M ).",
"DNA synthesis according to the present techniques is performed with high concentrations of nucleotides (equal or slightly greater than K M ).",
"[0091] With current diffraction-limited optics, imaging sensors including EMCCD (electron multiplying charged coupled device), PMT (photomultiplier tube), APD (avalanche photodiode) and imaging techniques such as confocal and total internal reflection (TIRF) microscopy, single fluorescence molecules can be imaged routinely with high speed and good signal to noise ratio (Walter et al.",
", Nat Methods, 5:475-489 (2008)).",
"The first experimental demonstration of single molecule FRET was reported by Ha et al.",
", Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 93:6264-6268 (1996).",
"Single molecule FRET is now a standard tool used for applications including studying the conformational changes of protein folding and enzyme conformation dynamics at the single molecule level (Schuler and Eaton, Curr Opin Struct Biol, 18:16-26 (2008);",
"Tsai and Johnson, Biochemistry, 45:9675-9687 (2006);",
"Hanson et al.",
", Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 104:18055-18060 (2007);",
"Haas, Chemphyschem, 6:858-870 (2005)).",
"[0092] Most organic dye molecules can output on average 1-3 million photons before they are eventually photobleached.",
"A deep-cooled EMCCD camera can detect about 100 photons with good signal to noise (S/N).",
"If the photon collection efficiency of the imaging system is about 10%, a few thousand measurements can be made with good S/N out of a single dye molecule before it is photobleached.",
"Dye molecules with very good photostability are highly desirable for single molecule work.",
"The Alexa series of dyes are some of the brightest and most photostable organic dyes available.",
"With proper steps to prevent photobleaching by removing oxygen (e.g. with glucose oxidase/catalse system) and prevent blinking (e.g. with Trolox), up to 100,000 measurements can potentially be measured from each dye using state-of-the-art optics and detectors.",
"The main source of noise will be Raman and other scattering, which can be limited by confining the volume of illumination.",
"[0093] The efficiency of Förster resonance energy transfer between a donor and an acceptor dye separated by a distance of R is given by E=1/[1+(R/R 0 ) 6 ] with R 0 being the Förster radius of the donor-acceptor pair at which E=½.",
"R o is about 50-60 Å for some commonly used dye pairs (e.g., Cy3-Cy5).",
"This distance is comparable to the size of the DNA polymerases.",
"FRET signal varies as the distance to the 6 th power.",
"If the donor-acceptor pair is positioned around R 0 , a small change in distance ranging from 1 Å to 50 Å can be measured with the greatest signal to noise.",
"With current technology, 1 ms or faster parallel imaging of many single FRET pairs is achievable.",
"Both large and small conformational changes can be monitored with one or more FRET pairs positioned at the proper distance, in particular on the fingers and thumb subdomains.",
"[0094] Furthermore, the rate of in vitro DNA synthesis with some of the common DNA polymerases such as the Klenow and phi-29 DNA polymerase is slower than 100 bases/s, with the rate of synthesis by phi-29 DNA about 50-100 bases per second at 32° C. and as low as 5 bases per second at 4° C. We can thus control the rate of synthesis to 50 bases/s, and obtain 10 FRET data points per base incorporated using a 2 ms sampling rate (500 Hz).",
"With 2×2 binning, the 1 megapixel EMCCD camera has a readout rate of 140 frames/s.",
"With a 4 camera set up, the combined throughput of the cameras would be 560 frames/s.",
"This can give enough FRET kinetics information to fingerprint each base type.",
"The rate of DNA synthesis can be slowed down to 20 bases/s if necessary.",
"Even with this speed, a 10,000-base long DNA can be sequenced in less than 10 minutes.",
"This technology uses micro and nanofabricated arrays for efficient imaging, for example, 9 pixels per template (Barbee and Huang, Anal Chem, 80:2149-2154 (2008)).",
"With that capability, a human genome can be sequenced in under one hour [(1,000,000/9)*20*3600=7.2 billion bases].",
"Polymerases for Use in READS [0095] DNA (and RNA) polymerases are molecular motors that direct the synthesis of DNA (and RNA) in a template specific manner from individual bases/nucleotides.",
"The structures and enzymatic mechanisms are among the best characterized of almost all proteins, and frequently used as textbook examples for enzyme catalysis and specificity.",
"[0096] For simplicity, we refer to DNA synthesis, and sequencing using a DNA polymerase.",
"However, the methods of the invention can be extended to detect sequences using an RNA polymerase or reverse transcriptase, i.e., where the RNA polymerase or reverse transcriptase are labeled with a FRET pair as described for DNA polymerases.",
"[0097] All DNA polymerases have a common architectural framework consisting of the fingers, palm, and thumb subdomains, and sometimes an exonuclease subdomain (see FIG. 2 ).",
"Despite the sequence diversity of the numerous DNA polymerases existing in nature, the structures and catalytic mechanisms share common features (Rothwell, P. J. and Waksman, G., Adv Protein Chem, 71:401-440 (2005);",
"McCulloch, S. D. and Kunkel, T. A., Cell Res, 18:148-161 (2008)).",
"The common mechanism for DNA polymerases is explained above and illustrated in FIG. 3 (Rothwell, P. J. and Waksman, G., Adv Protein Chem, 71:401-440 (2005);",
"McCulloch, S. D. and Kunkel, T. A., Cell Res, 18:148-161 (2008)).",
"[0098] As explained above, DNA polymerases operate according to a general mechanism.",
"Thus, any polymerase can be used in the present READS technology.",
"Ideally, the selected polymerase 1.",
"is easily expressed (e.g., in E. Coli and/or by in vitro transcription/translation systems);",
"has strong strand-displacement activity;",
"has high fidelity and processivity;",
"and 4.",
"has strong binding affinity to primed DNA template (i.e., a very small K M for template binding).",
"[0103] Depending on the assay design, error proofreading activity (i.e., exonuclease activity) can be undesirable.",
"The exonuclease activity can act on the primer, thereby complicating the initiation of the polymerization.",
"There are at least two ways to address this: (i) provide a primer that is nuclease resistant (e.g., modified nucleic acids or PNAs) or (ii) use a genetically engineered polymerase with reduced exonuclease activity.",
"[0104] A variety of polymerases can be used as at least a portion of the labeled polymerase of the invention.",
"At least five families of DNA-dependent DNA polymerases are known, although most fall into families A, B and C. Most family A polymerases are single chain proteins that can contain multiple enzymatic functions including polymerase, 3′ to 5′ exonuclease activity and 5′ to 3′ exonuclease activity.",
"Family B polymerases typically have a single catalytic domain with polymerase and 3′ to 5′ exonuclease activity, as well as accessory factors.",
"Family C polymerases are typically multi-subunit proteins with polymerizing and 3′ to 5′ exonuclease activity.",
"In E. coli , three types of DNA polymerases have been found, DNA polymerases I, II, and III (analogous to family A, B, and C, respectively).",
"In eukaryotic cells, three different family B polymerases, DNA polymerases α, δ, and ε are implicated in nuclear replication, and a family A polymerase, polymerase γ, is used for mitochondrial DNA replication.",
"Other types of DNA polymerases include phage polymerases.",
"Any of these polymerases, combinations of all or portions of these polymerases, as well as chimeras or hybrids between two or more of such polymerases or their equivalents can be used to form a portion or all of the polymerase domain of hybrid polymerases of the invention.",
"[0105] Examples of DNA polymerases that can be used include without limitation: phi-29, Taq, T7, E. coli Klenow (from DNA pol I), E. coli DNA pol III, and Baccilus stearothermophilus (Bst) DNA pol.",
"The DNA polymerase can also be genetically engineered, e.g., a hybrid (e.g., Phusion DNA polymerase in which a domain with strong dsDNA binding affinity is fused to a DNA polymerase to enhance processivity).",
"Many useful DNA polymerases are commercially available (e.g., T7 DNA pol, Sequenase version 2.0™).",
"Highly processive polymerases include phi29 and T7 DNA polymerases, and Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MLV) reverse transcriptase.",
"One of skill in the art will appreciate that DNA polymerases are structurally similar, and that recombinant, hybrid polymerases can be engineered using homologous domains from different polymerases.",
"[0106] For convenience, we have selected a polymerase that also has extensive structural data available, and few native cysteine residues on its surface.",
"There are 780 entries of high resolution structures of DNA polymerases and DNA polymerase/substrate complexes in the protein data bank (RCSB PDB).",
"In addition, mechanisms of many DNA polymerases have been studied extensively and elucidated in great detail.",
"We selected phi 29 DNA polymerase because it has the desired criteria.",
"High resolution X-ray crystal structures are available for this polymerase with and without primer/template/nucleotide substrates (Berman et al.",
"(2007) EMBO J. 26:3494-3505).",
"[0107] Phi-29 DNA polymerase has very high fidelity (<1 error in one million bases), strong strand displacement, and high processivity (up to 100,000 bases) compared to other commonly used DNA polymerases.",
"The conformational changes involved in the chemo-mechanical process of DNA synthesis by phi 29 DNA polymerase are known.",
"Berman et al.",
"solved four crystal structures of phi 29 DNA polymerase in complexes including (1) polymerase bound to a primer-template substrate (binary complex) in the post-translocated state (f in FIG. 3 );",
"(2) polymerase bound to a primer-template substrate (binary complex) before the next incoming nucleotide binds to the polymerase state (b in FIG. 3 );",
"(3) polymerase bound to two different primer-template structures with their complementary incoming nucleotides (ternary structure) (c and/or d in FIG. 3 );",
"(4) polymerase bound to single-stranded DNA (g in FIG. 3 ).",
"Labels and Dyes for Use in READS [0108] A range of dyes can be used as FRET donors and acceptors (for reviews, see Walter et al.",
"(2008) Nat Methods 5:475-89;",
"Ha (2001) Methods 25:78-86;",
"Joo et al.",
"(2008) Ann.",
"Rev. Biochem 77:51-76;",
"Roy et al.",
"(2008) Nat Methods 5:507-16).",
"Ideally the dyes are: 1.",
"photostable;",
"bright (with high extinction coefficients for absorption and high quantum yields for emission);",
"photochemically uniform, showing very little fluctuation in emission on the time-scale of our measurement (no blinking);",
"small (to minimize structural perturbation);",
"and 5.",
"excitable using available light sources and detectable using commercially available EMCCD cameras.",
"[0114] A variety of dyes can be used, and are known in the art.",
"The most common ones are fluorescein, cyanine dyes (Cy3 to Cy7), rhodamine dyes (e.g. rhodamine 6G), the Alexa series of dyes (Alexa 405 to Alexa 730).",
"Some of these dyes have been used in FRET networks (with multiple donors and acceptors).",
"Optics for imaging all of these require detection from UV to near IR (e.g. Alex 405 to Cy7), and the Atto series of dyes (Atto-Tec GmbH).",
"The Alexa series of dyes from Invitrogen cover the whole spectral range.",
"They are very bright and more photostable than other dyes.",
"[0115] Example dye pairs for FRET labeling include Alexa-405/Alex-488, Alexa-488/Alexa-546, Alexa-532/Alexa-594, Alexa-594/Alexa-680, Alexa-594/Alexa-700, Alexa-700/Alexa-790, Cy3/Cy5, Cy3.5/Cy5.5, and Rhodamine-Green/Rhodamine-Red, etc.",
"Fluorescent metal nanoparticles such as silver and gold nanoclusters can also be used (Richards et al.",
"(2008) J Am Chem Soc 130:5038-39;",
"Vosch et al.",
"(2007) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104:12616-21;",
"Petty and Dickson (2003) J Am Chem Soc 125:7780-81).",
"While these nanoparticles have good photostability, they are larger than other dyes, and can interfere with the function of the DNA polymerase.",
"[0116] Filters, dichroics, multichroic mirrors and lasers affect the choice of dye.",
"In our examples, we selected Alexa 405, Alexa 488, Alexa 532, Alexa 568 and Alexa 680, starting with one pair or two independent pairs.",
"[0117] High-performing organic dye molecules can be excited to emit 1-3 million photons before they are photobleached.",
"Highly photostable dyes are thus desired for single molecule work.",
"The Alexa series of dyes are some of the brightest and most photostable dyes available.",
"Removal oxygen (e.g. with glucose oxidase/catalse system) and prevention of blinking (e.g. with Trolox) will reduce photobleaching so that about 100,000 measurements can be acquired.",
"Selection of Sites for Labeling [0118] Another issue is the selection residues on the polymerase to label with the FRET dyes.",
"In the simplest model, the polymerase is labeled with one FRET pair (i.e., one donor and one acceptor), but improved instrumentation can allow for additional FRET pairs and more refined detection.",
"[0119] Two of the 5 steps involved in the incorporation of each base produce very large conformational changes: steps 2 and 5 (see FIG. 3 ).",
"The other steps involve more subtle changes in the protein structure.",
"In the simplest scenario, where each base type has distinguishable kinetics of conformational changes, the real-time signal from one FRET pair (intensity as a function of time, see FIG. 1 ) is sufficient to decode the four different bases.",
"[0120] For example, if the difference between the k 3 (the rate limiting step) of each base type is large enough, a characteristic period in the signal trace of the FRET pair is observed.",
"Where the characteristic conformational changes associated with each different base are subtle and/or sequence-context dependent, multiple networks of FRET pairs can be used.",
"[0121] Locations for positioning the FRET pairs or network on the polymerase can be judiciously selected based on the criteria described herein.",
"To maximize detection of subtle changes, the FRET pairs are positioned at a distance roughly equal to the Förster radius between the donor and acceptor.",
"As illustrated in FIG. 11 , the efficiency of Förster resonance energy transfer between a donor and acceptor dyes separated by a distance of R is given by E=1/[1+(R/R 0 ) 6 ] with R 0 being the Förster radius of the donor-acceptor pair at which E=½.",
"R 0 is about 50-60 Å for some commonly used dye pairs (e.g. Cy3-Cy5).",
"The Förster radius for any FRET pairs can be estimated using the following equation: [0000] R 0 6 = 9 ln 10 κ 2 η f 128 π 5 N A n 4 ∫ F ( λ ) ɛ ( λ ) λ 4 λ [0000] N A is Avogadro constant;",
"n index of refraction;",
"F(λ) fluorescence spectrum of donor, normalized according to ∫F(λ) dλ=1;",
"ε(λ) extinction coefficient of acceptor;",
"λ wavelength.",
"[0122] The FRET signal thus varies inversely as a function of the distance to the 6 th power.",
"As can be seen in FIG. 11 , the slope is steepest at R=R 0 .",
"Therefore, if the donor-acceptor pair is positioned around R 0 , a small change in distance ranging from 1 Å to 10 Å can be measured with the greatest change in FRET signal.",
"[0123] Every DNA polymerase has a different affinity (i.e. K M ) and rate of incorporation (approximated by k 3 , step 3 in FIG. 3 ), for each of the four different nucleoside triphosphates (dATP, dCTP, dGTP and dTTP).",
"The rate of incorporation for each different dNTP provides the most informative characteristic signature.",
"Thus, at least one FRET pair is designed to monitor this with maximum sensitivity.",
"Two residues, one on each secondary structure or subdomain of the polymerase, are selected such that the distance between the donor and acceptor is equal to their Förster radius when the conformation of the two secondary structures or subdomains is halfway between the open and closed states (e.g. between b and c, or d and e in FIG. 3 ).",
"[0124] The FRET pair for monitoring any particular conformational changes, on any particular polymerase, can be positioned according to this rationale to provide maximum sensitivity and signal to noise.",
"Following the principles described herein, one of skill can identify potential targets for mutation and labeling.",
"[0125] The residues to be labeled with FRET pair(s) can be determined by at least the following criteria: 1.",
"located on the solvent accessible surface of the protein;",
"side chains orientated toward the solvent (to ensure accessibility for labeling and to minimize the perturbation of the protein structure and activity);",
"large movement between the steps of the DNA synthesis process;",
"and 4.",
"spaced within the ideal distance to give maximal change in the FRET signals.",
"[0130] The size of the dye and length of the linker (if present) should be taken into account to give an approximation of the potential change in distance between the dyes.",
"Where a linker is used to attach the dye molecule to the protein, the distance may need to be fine-tuned to avoid excessive rotation or lateral movement.",
"Linkers for attaching a dye to an amino acid are known and commercially available.",
"Such linkers include simple alkyl change (e.g., propyl), oligo glycol (PEG), or linkers with more rigid structure such as a benzyl or cyclohexyl group.",
"[0131] Activated functional groups for linkage include but are not limited to maleimide for specific reaction to a —SH group (e.g., on cysteine) and NHS ester group for specific reaction with a primary amine (e.g., on lysine).",
"[0132] If necessary, the sites selected for labeling can be mutated via site-specific mutagenesis using either conventional molecular biology techniques, and labeling can be performed after the expression and folding of the proteins.",
"[0133] Exemplary FRET pairs and labeling sites for phi-29 DNA polymerase are described in Example 1.",
"The positions disclosed in Table 1 are only examples;",
"some variability is acceptable.",
"The FRET donor and acceptor sites can be located in different positions as long as they generally follow the criteria disclosed herein.",
"For example, the donor or acceptor can be positioned 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 amino acids away from the sites disclosed in Table 1.",
"The donor and acceptor sites can also be switched.",
"[0134] One of skill will appreciate that the sites disclosed for labeling phi-29 DNA polymerase can be applied to other DNA polymerases by optimally aligning the polymerase structures.",
"Structural data is available for a number of DNA polymerases.",
"One of skill can use the criteria described herein to select appropriate labeling sites (e.g., solvent accessible, outside the active site, etc.).",
"[0135] Detailed structural information for a number of DNA polymerases are available in the NCBI Structural database (MMDB and PDB, available at the NCBI website at ncbi.",
"nlm.",
"nih.gov/sites/entrez?",
"db=Structure&itool=toolbar).",
"For example, the structure of BST DNA Pol I can be found in the NCBI Structural database (PDB accession 3EZ5 and 3EYZ).",
"The structure for the E. coli Klenow fragment of DNA pol I can be found at PDB accession 1KFD, 1DPI, 2KZZ, and 2KZM.",
"The structure for high fidelity DNA Pol δ from S. cerevisae can be found at PDB accession 3IAY.",
"The structure for Taq DNA Pol I can be found at PDB accession 4KTQ.",
"T7 DNA pol structure is available at PDB accession 2AJQ.",
"[0136] Using these structural data, positions on the specific DNA polymerase can be selected, e.g., for solvent accessibility.",
"FRET donor and acceptor positions can be selected using the known structures to be in close proximity to each other (about 1 R 0 ), with detectable change in proximity during DNA synthesis.",
"Methods of Making Labeled Polymerase [0137] The labeled polymerases of the invention can be made according to common recombinant and labeling methods.",
"For example, amino acid residues that are easily linked to dye molecules (e.g., directly, through a secondary label such as biotin, or through a linker) can be introduced into the sequence of the polymerase as described above.",
"Such residues include cysteine, lysine, arginine, aspartate, and glutamate.",
"A labeled or modified amino acid can also be added directly to the polymerase during translation, as described herein.",
"[0138] The polymerase can be transcribed and translated using cell-based or cell-free expression systems.",
"Modified amino acids can be directly introduced into a protein in a cell-based transcription/translation system that uses non-naturally occurring tRNA molecules.",
"These modified tRNAs recognize unique codons, and can be loaded with a desired modified residue.",
"The cells used for expression are genetically modified to express the unique tRNAs and tRNA synthetases.",
"The cells can thus be used to express modified proteins by introducing a coding sequence with one of the unique codons.",
"Such technologies include ReCode™ (available from Ambryx Biotechnologies), and are described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,083,970 and 7,045,337.",
"[0139] Non-naturally occurring fluorescent amino acids can be directly incorporated to label the polymerase molecule.",
"For example, Summerer et al.",
"((2006) Proc.",
"Natl.",
"Acad.",
"Sci.",
"USA 103-9785) describe 2-amino-3-(5-(dimethylamino)naphthalene-1-sulfonamide) propanoic acid (dansylalanine) genetically encoded in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using an amber nonsense codon, and a corresponding orthogonal tRNA/aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase pair.",
"[0140] Non-natural, fluorescently-labeled amino acids can also be incorporated using an E. coli in vitro translation system (Hohsaka et al.",
"2003 Nuc.",
"Acids Symp.",
"Series 3:271).",
"In vitro transcription/translation systems are also commonly available, e.g., the RTS system (5Prime™), Proteinscript (Ambion®), or Expressway™ (Invitrogen™).",
"Use of a cell free method of making labeled phi-29 polymerase is described in the examples.",
"[0141] Cysteine, lysine, or any other easily-labeled amino acid can be the non-naturally occurring amino acid incorporated into the DNA polymerase.",
"In this case, non-natural refers to non-native or mutant.",
"The selected residue can be labeled using standard methods with an organic fluorescent dye molecule.",
"Standard reactions include: the specific reaction between a maleimide-labeled dye molecule and the sulfhydryl group on the cysteine;",
"and the reaction between an NHS-labeled dye molecule and the amine group on Fmoc-protected lysine.",
"If the amino acyl tRNA synthetase is not capable of activating the cysteine-tRNA or lysine-tRNA with the corresponding labeled amino acid, the labeling can be performed after charging the tRNA with the unlabeled amino acid using the tRNA synthetase.",
"The modified cysteine and lysine charged to their cognate tRNA molecules can be efficiently incorporated into the growing peptide chain by the ribosome either in vivo or in vitro.",
"This method allows simple labeling of a polymerase with any combination of the desired fluorescence dyes at any desired positions.",
"Immobilization of Labeled Polymerase [0142] The labeled polymerase can be immobilized on a substrate for detection.",
"In this case, template polynucleotides are added to the immobilized polymerase molecules.",
"In some embodiments, the template DNA is pre-primed with a complementary primer before addition to the immobilized polymerase.",
"A reaction mix that includes dNTPs (dATP, dCTP, dTTP, dGTP) can also be added.",
"The template to be sequenced can take nearly any form, e.g., sheared genomic fragments, single- or double-stranded linear molecules, or circular molecules (e.g., plasmid DNA).",
"[0143] The solid substrate can be arranged, e.g., in an array on a flat surface, in a spot array, or on beads.",
"Common substrates for this purpose include glass and quartz slides.",
"The array format is convenient because the READS technology is designed to gather measurements from more than one DNA polymerase simultaneously.",
"[0144] Using the example of an array format, a wide variety of capture area sizes (spots for capturing the polymerase molecules) can be employed.",
"The substrate can comprise wells and/or spot sizes of a predetermined size and density e.g., spot sizes of approximately 50 nl or smaller.",
"The pattern of wells or spots can provide particular information such as bar code information.",
"The substrate can also contain materials used to generate a reference measurement or control signal for either the assay or the signal readout, or may be simply used as a locating device on the substrate.",
"[0145] The polymerase can be immobilized by reacting the amine group(s) at the N-terminus or lysine residues, the side chains of the aspartic and glutamic acid residues, or the carboxylate group at the C-terminus of the polymerase with an amino or carboxyl group on the substrate, thereby forming a covalent peptide bond.",
"Carbodiimide can be added to improve the binding reaction.",
"Biotin or avidin can be attached to the polymerase (e.g., on a side chain of a particular amino acid by conventional methods), and avidin or biotin fixed on the substrate to effect binding.",
"Functional groups and reactions that can be used for immobilization include: Sulfhydryl—bromoacetyl reaction Sulfhydryl groups (under oxidizing, alkaline conditions) Amino—aldehyde reaction Sulfhydryl—aldehyde reaction Hydroxyamino—aldehyde reaction [0151] Immobilization on the substrate can also rely on physical adsorption.",
"In this case, immobilization is attained simply by contacting the polymerase molecules in buffer solution with the substrate.",
"The immobilization reaction may be carried out, for example, at room temperature for about 15 minutes to 2 hours, or at 4 C overnight according to conventional methods.",
"[0152] One of skill will appreciate that these methods can be used with an intermediate linker molecules as well.",
"PEG is commonly used as a linker.",
"The substrate can also be treated to improve binding of the linker or reactive group.",
"Gold and polyelectrolyte multilayer are examples of treatments for solid substrates.",
"[0153] In a specific example, DNA polymerase with Streptag or biotin label can be immobilized onto a 170 μm glass coverslip coated with streptavidin and assembled in a flowcell.",
"The surface quality of the substrate is critical for single-molecule imaging.",
"The glass coverslip substrate is cleaned, e.g., with the RCA protocol (1:1:5 NH 4 OH:H 2 O 2 :H 2 0 at 70C, followed by cleaning with piranha solution), derivatized with aminopropyltriethoxysilane, followed by NHS-PEG5000-biotin.",
"[0154] The biotinylated coverslip is then assembled into a flowcell.",
"A streptavadin solution is flowed into the flow cell to saturate the biotinylated surface with streptavidin.",
"A solution of the labeled polymerases is then flowed into the flowcell.",
"The immobilization is monitored in real time with TIRF to ensure the proper density of the polymerase on the surface.",
"The polymerases should be well separated (e.g., on average about 500 nm apart) for better optical resolution.",
"[0155] PEG5000 can be used as a long linker to separate the polymerase from the glass surface (˜10-15 nm).",
"An image is captured before DNA template is loaded onto the polymerases.",
"A solution of the DNA templates pre-hybridized with a primer is flowed into the flowcell.",
"After a period of incubation, another image is captured.",
"There should be a change in the FRET intensity since the polymerase will bind to the DNA and encircle it.",
"Finally, a solution of dNTP's is flowed into the flowcell to initiate the DNA synthesis.",
"A series of images are taken to monitor the FRET signals [0156] A test template comprising synthetic 120-base long homopolymers can be used to establish the characteristic fingerprint associated with each different base type.",
"Four 120-base long single-stranded DNA templates containing stretches of poly A, poly C, poly G and poly T can be constructed and used for the measurements.",
"These test templates can be pre-hybridized with a 30-base long primer and loaded onto the polymerases as described above.",
"Once each characteristic fingerprint is established, more complex templates can be used with READS technology, e.g., including templates with methylated bases.",
"Immobilized Template Polynucleotides [0157] In some embodiments, the template polynucleotides are immobilized on a substrate.",
"In some embodiments, the template is primed with a complementary oligonucleotide before immobilization, while in some embodiments, the primer is added after immobilization.",
"In some embodiments, the primer oligonucleotide can perform a dual function, and be used as a capture probe to immobilize the template to the substrate.",
"Such a dual function oligonucleotide will be attached to the substrate closer to the 5′ end of the oligonucleotide, leaving the 3′ end available for hybridization to the template, and the 3′ hydroxyl group available for addition of nucleotide bases by the labeled polymerase.",
"As explained above, the primer can include modified, nuclease-resistant bases, or can comprise PNA molecules.",
"[0158] When the template polynucleotide is immobilized, labeled DNA polymerase molecules are loaded on to the template molecules, and combined with reaction mix under conditions appropriate for DNA polymerization.",
"[0159] Methods of attaching nucleic acids to a substrate are known in the art.",
"Polynucleotide molecules can be fixed to the substrate using a variety of techniques, including covalent attachment and non-covalent attachment.",
"Indeed, many of the same techniques described above for immobilizing the polymerase can be used.",
"[0160] In some embodiments, the substrate includes capture probes that hybridize with the polynucleotide molecule.",
"An adaptor oligonucleotide, e.g., between the template and capture probe, can also be used.",
"In some embodiments, the adaptor oligonucleotide is ligated to the template, and hybridizes to the capture probe.",
"In some embodiments, the adaptor is a polynucleotide (e.g., polyA), which can be added with a terminal transferase, and will hybridize to a capture probe.",
"In some embodiments, capture probes can comprise oligonucleotide clamps, or like structures, that form triplexes with adaptors, as described in Gryaznov et al.",
", U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,060.",
"[0161] A surface can have reactive functionalities that react with complementary functionalities on the polynucleotides to form a covalent linkage (see, e.g., Smirnov et al.",
"(2004), Genes, Chromosomes &",
"Cancer, 40: 72-77;",
"Beaucage (2001), Current Medicinal Chemistry, 8: 1213-1244.",
"Long DNA molecules (several hundred bases) can also be efficiently attached to hydrophobic surfaces, such as a clean glass surface that has a lower concentration of reactive functionalities, e.g., —OH groups.",
"[0162] Polynucleotide molecules can be adsorbed to a surface.",
"In this case, the polynucleotide molecules are immobilized through non-specific interactions with the surface, or through non-covalent interactions such as hydrogen bonding, van der Waals forces, etc.",
"Attachment may also include wash steps of varying stringencies to remove incompletely attached single molecules or other reagents.",
"[0163] In a specific example, we have assembled high-density arrays with near perfect order using either magnetic or electric fields (e.g., Barbee &",
"Huang (2008) Anal Chem 80:2149-54).",
"Photolithography can be used to generate a wafer-scale array of microwells in a layer of photoresist or SiO 2 on a chemically functionalized glass cover slip.",
"The array is enclosed within a microfluidic device for either magnetic or electric field-directed assembly of microbeads conjugated to DNA molecules into very high-density array with virtually no background or defects.",
"These methods are scalable for fabricating large-scale, high-density arrays tens of nanometers in dimension using well established, production-scale manufacturing processes.",
"Such low-defect arrays are free of background and are compatible with automated processes, microfluidics devices and conventional microscopy.",
"The highly ordered arrays, when properly sized and aligned to a given CCD sensor, can also greatly improve imaging efficiency and reduce the complexities of image processing.",
"We have shown that as few as 3×3 pixels are required to image each feature.",
"These techniques can improve the efficiency of our single molecule arrays and eliminate background (due to Raman and other scattering) by reducing the area of illumination.",
"The single molecule of DNA template can be conjugated to a small particle (e.g., a silica or DNA particle with a diameter of, e.g., about 200 nm) as a carrier for immobilization.",
"Instrumentation [0164] Certain embodiments of the invention pertain to a device, system, or apparatus for performing READS.",
"The system can be specifically constructed for the present methods, or it may be a general-purpose optical instrument, selectively activated or configured by, for example, a computer program stored in the computer.",
"The processes presented above are not inherently related to any particular optical instrument or computing apparatus.",
"[0165] FRET imaging systems having optics, various means for sample presentation, correction algorithms, and high-sensitivity cameras are known in the art (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,661,909, 6,456,734, 7,012,694).",
"In some embodiments, the system will comprise one or more of a microscope, a detection camera, a light source, epifluorescence cubes (e.g., for donor, acceptor, and FRET), an image processor, and an image output device to view the data.",
"[0166] In some embodiments, the optical instrumentation includes at least a camera and microscope.",
"The optical instrumentation can also provide for background subtraction, spectral overlap corrections, and transformation of data from three channels.",
"The epifluorescence cubes include filters (e.g., excitation filter, emission filter, dichroic mirror) that depend on the exciting and emitting wavelengths of the FRET dyes.",
"[0167] In some applications, samples are immobilized on a substrate (e.g., glass) which is directly observed by the optical system.",
"In some embodiments, samples are fixed in a flow channel, and cast on a chip.",
"Channels can be formed by bonding the chip to a flat substrate (e.g., a glass cover slip) which seals the channel.",
"In this case, one side of the synthesis channel is provided by the flat substrate.",
"[0168] The apparatus can contain in an integrated system a flow cell in which a plurality of channels are present, and fluidic components (such as micro-pumps, micro-valves, and connecting channels) for controlling the flow of the reagents into and out of the flow cell.",
"An apparatus of the invention can utilize plumbing devices described in, e.g., Zdeblick et al.",
", A Microminiature Electric-to-Fluidic Valve, Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Solid State Transducers and Actuators, 1987;",
"Shoji et al.",
", Proceedings of Transducers, San Francisco, 1991;",
"Vieider et al.",
", Proceedings of Transducers, Stockholm, 1995.",
"In some apparatus comprises synthesis channels, valves, pumps, and connecting channels.",
"[0169] In some embodiments, the flowcell comprises of the coverglass substrate assembled to a glass slide or a stainless steel plate via a silicone rubber gasket with pre-patterned channels for the reaction.",
"There are holes drilled out in the glass slide or stainless steel plate for fluidic connection.",
"In some embodiments, the flowcell is assembled into an apparatus with precise temperature control and microfluidics, and a window for efficient fluorescence imaging.",
"[0170] For high speed imaging, an objective-based TIRF system for multicolor, sensitive imaging of single molecules can be assembled as in FIG. 4 .",
"The system consists of an epifluorescence microscope (AxioObserver Z1 microscope, Carl Zeiss) with a TIRF slider (TIRF 3 Slider, Carl Zeiss), through which the laser excitation is introduced into the objective.",
"The TIRF angles can be rapidly adjusted by an actuation mechanism driven by a piezo-motor.",
"A 100× oil objective lens with a NA of 1.46 (Alpha planapo 100×/oil, Carl Zeiss) can be used for both TIR laser excitation and fluorescence detection.",
"The system has four custom-built direct-diode and diode-pumped solid state lasers (405 nm, 488 nm, 532 nm, and 660 nm) for excitation.",
"The laser is coupled to the TIRF slider by a polarization preserving single-mode broad-band optical fiber (KineFLEX, Point Source).",
"Focus position can be maintained during imaging using a autofocusing system (Definite Focus, Carl Zeiss), which uses 835 nm LED light reflected off the surface of the coverslip for focus feedback.",
"We have used the TIRF microscope to monitor incorporation of the labeled nucleotides by the DNA polymerase.",
"[0171] A quad-band beamspliter and emission filter (Pinkel set, Semrock Inc.) is used so that no mechanical switching is required to acquire 4 color fluorescence images.",
"For detection, a very sensitive frame transfer EMCCD camera is used (iXon Plus, Andor Technologies) with a high readout speed of 35 Megapixels/s, single photon sensitivity and 14-bit dynamic range.",
"Using the pixel binning feature on the camera, full images can be acquired continuously at exposure times as low as one millisecond with 6×6 binning (36 pixels per feature).",
"The high power (>100 mW) and high modulation rate (>100 kHz) of the solid state lasers coupled with the high readout rate of the camera allow for high SNR imaging with only one millisecond exposure time per channel.",
"This system is capable of real-time imaging of single molecules.",
"[0172] FIG. 5 shows a hierarchical structure of a small section of the system control software (written, e.g., in C++ or appropriate programming language).",
"Using modular programming, the time from design of a sequencing protocol to implementation can be reduced.",
"Furthermore, abstraction of the hardware from the software allows for easy integration of new devices as new technology is developed in areas such as EMCCDS and solid state lasers.",
"Another benefit of having a custom software platform is the ability to optimize and synchronize a sequencing protocol, from reagent delivery to image acquisition, for the highest sequence throughput.",
"Precise timing of the excitation source, TIR angle, and detector is achieved using TTL triggering from a DAQ board (PCI6733, National Instruments).",
"This ensures minimal crosstalk between fluorescent channels and uniform light collection in every image.",
"The control software provides a central framework for extensibility and optimization of our imaging system.",
"[0173] One focus is to improve the speed and efficiency of the imaging system, because these factors determine the read lengths of our imaging system.",
"As explained above, a deep-cooled EMCCD camera can detect about 100 photons with good signal to noise (S/N) ratio.",
"If the photon collection efficiency of the imaging system is about 10%, a few thousand measurements can be made with good S/N out of a single dye molecule before it is photobleached.",
"[0174] Due to Raman and Rayleigh scattering, the number of photons required for good S/N may be greater and number of measurements that can be made may be lower.",
"High quality instrumentation can be used to minimize these effects, e.g., two back-illuminated EMCCD cameras (Andor Technology or Hamamatsu Photonics) with very high QE (quantum efficiency, up to 90%) and high data rate (10 MHz/pixel without binning).",
"Use of two cameras to monitor signal(s) from the donor(s) and acceptor(s) of the FRET pair(s) simultaneously, more snapshots of the DNA polymerase in action can be taken during the DNA synthesis.",
"About 100,000 measurements can be made with a single Alexa dye molecule.",
"If we assume that 10 snapshots are needed to capture the fingerprint of each base, up to 10,000 bases can be sequenced per feature.",
"An objective lens with very high light collecting power is used for highest efficiency in photon collection, e.g., 40×/NA1.3 oil objective and 20×/NA1.0 water-immersion objective.",
"Fast-switching high power lasers are desired for high-speed imaging.",
"As explained above, a laser-based TIRF system can be used for high speed single molecule imaging (see FIG. 13 ).",
"[0175] We developed a software package for high-speed imaging by programming each device to enable hardware triggering.",
"In principle, the DNA synthesis can be carried out at lower rates (e.g. 10 bases/s) for easier imaging.",
"Reduced rate DNA synthesis can be used to capture more snapshots during the base incorporation.",
"[0176] Indeed, the rate of synthesis for phi-29 DNA polymerase can be varied from ˜5 bases/s at 4° C. to 100 bases/s at 32° C. With a reaction rate of 5 bases per second, for example, allows up to 200 ms to take a series of snapshots of the FRET signature resulting from the chemo-mechanical process of base incorporation.",
"[0177] Use of a system with 4 cameras and 4 fast-switching lasers (1 MHz) for multi-parametric measurement of FRET pairs/network will give us the ability to perform more elaborate excitation patterns, and to obtain much more information rapidly.",
"We expect good S/N with exposure times of 5 ms or less using the improved instrumentation.",
"Using the improved system, very small perturbations in the chemo-mechanical process during DNA synthesis (e.g. the presence of a methylated base on the template DNA) can be detected.",
"Kits and Reaction Mixes [0178] The present invention provides kits and reaction mixes for conducting READS technology.",
"The components will depend on the particular aspect of READS for which it is designed (e.g., making labeled DNA polymerase, sequencing using immobilized DNA polymerase, or sequencing using immobilized template DNA).",
"The kit will generally include instructions for conducting READS reactions using the components of the kits.",
"[0179] A reaction mixture for making labeled DNA polymerase can include a polynucleotide encoding the polymerase, so that the sequence can be manipulated by the customer (e.g., to add codons for non-naturally occurring amino acids).",
"In some embodiments, the reaction mixture does not include the encoding sequence, and it is supplied by the customer to have codons for non-naturally occurring amino acids in specific positions.",
"[0180] In some embodiments, the reaction mixture includes components for an in vitro transcription and translation.",
"Such components include RNA polymerase, rNTPs, various tRNA sythetases, tRNAs specific for all 20 amino acids, amino acids, and various buffers and salts.",
"In some embodiments, there are separate reaction mixtures for each non-naturally occurring amino acid.",
"In some embodiments, all of the non-naturally occurring amino acids to be incorporated, and the appropriate tRNAs and tRNA synthetases, are all included in the same reaction mixture.",
"In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acids are each labeled with a FRET dye, or adaptor molecule for attaching a FRET dye.",
"In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid is unmodified, and will be modified (labeled) after translation of the DNA polymerase.",
"[0181] Kits for making a labeled DNA polymerase can include a reaction mixture as described above.",
"In some embodiments, the kit includes a DNA polymerase, optionally comprising an adaptor sequence (e.g., biotin) for immobilization to a substrate.",
"In some embodiments, the DNA polymerase already includes a number of non-naturally occurring nucleic acids (e.g., cysteines) that can be selected for labeling by the customer.",
"A range of dyes can be included, and selected based on the capability of the instrument to be used.",
"[0182] In some embodiments, the kit will include a nucleotide sequence encoding a labeled DNA polymerase, and reagents for an in vitro or cell-based transcription/translation reaction.",
"The nucleotide sequence can also be further manipulated by the customer, e.g., to add additional codons for non-naturally occurring amino acids.",
"In some embodiments, the kit will include several reaction mixes for translating the DNA polymerase, in order to introduce non-naturally occurring amino acids to specific, targeted sites on the polymerase surface.",
"In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid is an easily labeled amino acid that is introduced to a non-native position (creating a mutant DNA polymerase).",
"In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring amino acid is labeled with a FRET dye.",
"In the latter case, modified tRNAs and tRNA synthetases can also be included.",
"[0183] Reaction mixtures for synthesis and sequencing from an optionally immobilized template DNA can include dNTPs (dATP, dGTP, dTTP, dCTP), and various salts/buffers as required by the labeled polymerase (e.g., Mg, Mn, and Zn salts).",
"Reaction mixtures can also include components for immobilizing a template DNA, e.g., adaptor nucleotides, biotin or avidin, etc.",
"[0184] Kits designed for assays using immobilized template DNA can include labeled DNA polymerase as described herein.",
"In some embodiments, the DNA polymerase is packaged without being labeled, and instructions and reagents are included to label the polymerase to conform with the optical instrument that will be used by the customer.",
"In some embodiments, oligonucleotides are included, e.g., capture probe, primer oligonucleotides, and/or oligonucleotides to be ligated to the template DNA sequences.",
"[0185] In some embodiments, the kit includes various reaction mixtures, e.g., as described above, while in some embodiments, the kit does not include reaction mixtures, and the components are packaged separately.",
"In some embodiments, the kit will include an appropriate substrate (e.g., treated glass slides), optionally including immobilized control sequences.",
"[0186] Kits designed for sequencing with immobilized, labeled DNA polymerase can include reagents to immobilize the DNA polymerase (described above), or include a substrate with the labeled DNA polymerase already attached.",
"[0187] Kits for sequencing/synthesis can comprise components for a reaction mix.",
"A typical DNA polymerase reaction mix can include dNTPs, buffers (e.g., Tris) various salts (e.g., KCl, NaCl, (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 , MnCl 2 , Zn salts, MgCl 2 ), and often stabilizer, detergent, DMSO, and DTT.",
"Kits of the invention include additives to increase the specificity and efficiency of polymerase reactions.",
"[0188] It will be appreciated that kits of the invention also encompass any combination of the above-described components.",
"[0189] Instructions can be included with kits of the invention.",
"A typical protocol for a kit, e.g., for sequencing using an immobilized template DNA, can include the following instructions: Prepare template DNA (e.g., including isolation and removal of contaminants);",
"Ligate adaptor oligonucleotide sequence to the template DNA (e.g., to hybridize to a capture probe on the substrate, or to a primer sequence);",
"Immobilize template DNA to substrate;",
"Add primer oligonucleotide;",
"Add labeled DNA polymerase and DNA polymerase reaction mix;",
"Incubate at T (temperature ranges given depending on capability of imaging system and desired rate of reaction);",
"Detect FRET signals generated by labeled polymerase;",
"Optionally, stop polymerase reaction by washing away DNA polymerase and reaction mix;",
"Add new (non-photobleached) DNA polymerase and DNA polymerase reaction mix;",
"Detect FRET signals as before.",
"[0200] It will be appreciated that the above exemplary protocol can be varied using parameters well known in the art to optimize the conditions for efficiency and specificity of DNA polymerase activity.",
"For example, synthesis of longer target nucleic acids may require longer incubation times and/or higher temperatures for efficient and specific amplification.",
"[0201] It is understood that the examples and embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications or changes in light thereof will be suggested to persons skilled in the art and are to be included within the spirit and purview of this application and scope of the appended claims.",
"All publications, websites, patents, and patent applications cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties for all purposes.",
"EXAMPLES Example 1 Design of Labeled Phi-29 DNA Polymerase [0202] For the sake of illustration, we describe our systematic examination of the crystals structures of phi-29 DNA polymerase complexed with various substrates.",
"We used a genetically engineered exonuclease-deficient phi-29 DNA polymerase (Berman et al.",
", EMBO J, 26:3494-3505 (2007).",
"The mutations involved in eliminating exonuclease activity do not affect the active site, or adjacent sites on the finger, thumb, and palm domains.",
"[0203] One of skill will appreciate that the sites disclosed for labeling phi-29 DNA polymerase can be applied to other DNA polymerases.",
"As explained above, the structures of DNA polymerases are well-conserved.",
"Thus, through optimal structural alignment (alignment of amino acids present in particular structural positions), the positions disclosed herein can be ascertained for a broad range of polymerases.",
"[0204] We selected residues on the finger subdomain as candidate labeling sites for the fluorescence donor and some on the palm or thumb subdomains for the fluorescence acceptor.",
"[0205] FIG. 7 shows phi-29 DNA polymerase complexed with primer/template DNA.",
"Although there are two Terminal Protein Region (TPR) subdomains present in the primed DNA polymerases, we have focused on the conformation and specific residues on the polymerization domain which is composed of the finger, palm and thumb subdomains.",
"The post-translocation binary complex of phi-29 DNA polymerase complexed with primer-template DNA (PDB ID: 2PZS) and the ternary complex of polymerase complexed with primer-template DNA and incoming nucleotide substrates (PDB ID:2PYJ) are defined as “open”",
"and “closed”",
"conformation, respectively.",
"The terms reflect the conformational change triggered by nucleotide incorporation.",
"The conformational transition is compared based on C a chain alignment of the palm and thumb subdomains between the open and closed complex ( FIG. 8 ).",
"The RMS (root-mean-squared) deviation between these two structures is 0.583 Å.",
"Conformational change in the finger subdomain when the structure transitions between the “open”",
"and “closed”",
"form is very large with a 7.03 Å movement of the tip region after the binding of the incoming dNTP.",
"[0206] We selected cysteine as the non-naturally occurring amino acid for the labeling sites on the surface.",
"For post-translational labeling, we assessed the accessibility of the native cysteines to aqueous solvent.",
"The solvent accessible surface of the polymerase is shown in FIG. 9 ;",
"none of the 7 native cysteine residues are on the solvent accessible surface of phi-29 DNA polymerase.",
"Thus the native cysteine residues will not be used as fluorescent labeling sites.",
"These residues do no need to be replaced, because they are buried and not accessible for a labeling reaction.",
"[0207] Candidate residues to be used as FRET pairs on phi-29 DNA polymerase are shown in FIG. 10 .",
"The distances of those residue pairs are listed in Table 1, below.",
"A FRET pair with larger change in distance before and after the binding of incoming nucleotide is preferred, as it will generate greater FRET signals.",
"We have selected five pairs including Mutant E375C, K240C , Mutant E375C, R236C , Mutant E375C, K553C , Mutant E375C, K547C and Mutant E375C, E544C with distance changes (R open -R closed ) of 6.92 Å, 6.70 Å, 6.37 Å, 7.02 Å and 6.97 Å, respectively ( FIG. 12 ).",
"Those sites that are fully solvent accessible and have good orientation for simple and high-yield labeling are marked with a star in FIG. 10 .",
"To prevent significant structural perturbation and loss of polymerase activity, the key residues essential for structural and functional integrity of the polymerase are not included.",
"[0208] The change in distances between the candidate residues from the “open”",
"to the “closed”",
"form of phi-29 DNA polymerase are measured between C α of the selected residues, and listed in Table 1.",
"[0000] TABLE 1 Target residues, distances between residues on finger and palm/thumb subdomains in both open and closed conformations, and change in distance (in Å) Distance and Distance Change Finger Domain Residues (Å) Tyr369 Glu375 Thr373 Lys361 Thr372 Asp362 Thumb Lys553 d open 47.11 41.44 46.48 49.26 44.38 50.40 Domain d closed 43.67 35.07 41.54 48.16 40.29 48.66 Residues Δd 3.44 6.37 4.94 1.10 4.09 1.74 Lys547 d open 45.14 41.93 45.22 45.84 42.21 48.04 d closed 41.73 34.91 40.00 45.24 37.76 46.80 Δd 3.41 7.02 5.22 0.60 4.45 1.24 Glu544 d open 46.47 41.92 45.61 48.86 42.83 50.91 d closed 43.02 34.95 40.29 48.25 38.50 49.54 Δd 3.45 6.97 5.32 0.61 4.33 1.37 Lys575 d open 46.22 43.93 47.10 45.40 44.11 47.52 d closed 42.69 36.92 41.92 44.44 39.52 46.02 Δd 3.53 7.01 5.18 0.96 4.59 1.50 Arg552 d open 46.21 40.66 45.59 48.34 43.30 49.70 d closed 42.71 34.17 40.49 47.30 39.08 48.00 Δd 3.50 6.49 5.10 1.04 4.22 1.70 Ser551 d open 46.89 42.26 46.62 48.29 44.08 49.92 d closed 43.36 35.48 41.47 47.27 39.74 48.27 Δd 3.53 6.78 5.15 1.02 4.34 1.65 Thr573 d open 45.18 41.46 45.42 45.71 42.73 47.44 d closed 41.69 34.69 40.34 44.69 38.36 45.84 Δd 3.49 6.77 5.08 1.02 4.37 1.60 Palm Glu466 d open 32.50 33.15 32.57 34.22 29.29 36.94 Domain d closed 29.83 28.20 28.45 33.84 25.86 35.90 Residues Δd 2.67 4.95 4.12 0.38 3.43 1.04 Lys472 d open 26.57 30.64 28.08 26.31 24.63 29.31 d closed 23.58 25.68 23.79 25.82 20.79 28.13 Δd 2.99 4.96 4.29 0.49 3.84 1.18 Asp469 d open 31.43 35.25 32.97 30.48 29.49 33.67 d closed 27.90 29.95 28.39 28.87 25.24 31.55 Δd 3.53 5.30 4.58 1.61 4.25 2.12 Lys240 d open 44.19 42.60 44.61 44.25 41.25 46.96 d closed 40.70 35.68 39.32 43.53 36.62 45.65 Δd 3.49 6.92 5.29 0.72 4.63 1.31 Arg236 d open 43.50 44.15 44.97 41.49 41.32 44.63 d closed 40.05 37.45 39.84 40.72 36.62 43.38 Δd 3.45 6.70 5.13 0.77 4.70 1.25 Asp519 d open 35.11 32.05 33.11 40.24 30.67 42.15 d closed 33.04 27.65 29.41 40.58 28.22 41.65 Δd 2.07 4.40 3.70 −0.34 2.45 0.50 Glu508 d open 30.15 23.02 26.45 38.19 25.03 39.02 d closed 27.67 18.58 22.41 37.88 22.68 37.77 Δd 2.48 4.44 4.04 0.31 2.35 1.25 Tyr521 d open 33.71 28.78 31.14 39.81 28.94 41.36 d closed 30.91 23.58 26.58 39.57 25.85 40.20 Δd 2.80 5.20 4.56 0.24 3.09 1.16 Lys490 d open 36.94 33.72 35.86 40.26 32.92 42.46 d closed 33.74 27.38 30.81 39.83 28.90 41.25 Δd 3.20 6.34 5.05 0.43 4.02 1.21 [0209] Thus, within a single polymerase, there are many candidate residues that can be used for FRET pair(s) labeling.",
"Significant change in distance (a few Å or more) occurs when the polymerase transits from the “open”",
"to the “closed”",
"conformation, which will result in large observable FRET signals.",
"Those expected to result in the largest observable FRET signals are highlighted in bold in Table 1.",
"These target sites can be used to monitor the chemo-mechanical process of DNA synthesis, to further characterize the FRET signature associated with each one of the four different base types, and to identify chemically modified bases (such as methyl-C) for real-time DNA and epigenetic sequencing.",
"Example 2 In Vitro Translation of a Labeled DNA Polymerase [0210] We have designed an efficient method for engineering labeled DNA polymerases with multiple labels positioned at designated residues.",
"The general concept is illustrated in FIG. 6 .",
"For simplicity, the solid lines separating each named amino acid represent additional amino acids that are not shown.",
"[0211] The DNA polymerase coding sequence is cloned into a vector.",
"The vector also includes regulatory sequences necessary for transcription (e.g. T7 promoter), translation initiation (ribosomal binding site—RBS, and start codon—ATG), and termination (stop codon—UAG).",
"The codons encoding the targeted residues for labeling are mutated to a codon encoding a cysteine residue (TGC) using standard molecular biology methods.",
"[0212] The mRNA molecules are captured on a solid support by hybridization of a sequence at one end of the RNA molecules to a complementary oligonucleotide or PNA (peptide nucleic acid) immobilized on the solid support.",
"The mRNA molecule could also be immobilized using biotin.",
"The solid support (e.g., solid polysterene or silica beads) are packed into a column.",
"The cyclic synthesis is automated by using a computer-controlled liquid handling system which consists of a multi-port motorized valve and syringe pumps to deliver reagents and to perform washing.",
"Pneumatic system consisting of a vacuum or pressure source and motorized multiport valve system can also be used.",
"Automated synthesis can also performed in batch mode with solid supports suspended in reagents or wash solution in a vessel.",
"The supports can be captured by magnetic field or gravity.",
"[0213] A well-defined in vitro translation system will be used for the in vitro translation of the genetically engineered mRNA molecules into protein molecules with label(s) at the desired residue(s).",
"A commercially available in vitro translation system (available from Roche, New England Biolabs or Promega Corporation) will be customized into 3 translation mixtures: “-Cys”",
"mix: complete in vitro translation mix lacking cysteine, but containing all other 19 amino acids;",
"“Cys”",
"mix: complete in vitro translation mix containing only cysteine, and none of the other amino acids;",
"and “Cys-X”",
"mix: complete in vitro translation mix containing only X-labeled cystein and none of the other amino acids.",
"X=the desired label, such as fluorescien or biotin.",
"[0217] The complete in vitro translation mix contains ingredients for in vitro translation including the ribosomes, aminoacyl tRNA synthetases for all the amino acids, ATP, GTP, and translation initiation, elongation and termination factors.",
"The translation of the whole protein will be performed on solid support in cycles, each containing one of the 3 different mixtures.",
"Translation starts from the start codon from the amino terminus and terminates at the carboxyl terminus.",
"[0218] First, the -Cys mix is added, to allow translation of the nascent protein up to the first Cys residue.",
"Then, depending on whether a natural Cys, or a labeled Cys, is desired at the first Cys residue, the appropriate mix is added.",
"No further residues will be added because the next codon will not encode for Cys.",
"The cycles are repeated, with the appropriate Cys mix added at each residue, until the entire polymerase is translated.",
"[0219] If necessary, the labeled polypeptides are folded into functional proteins and purified by chromatography or affinity capture (e.g. biotin-avidin capture).",
"The identity and purity of the products can be determined by mass spectrometry and SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis.",
"[0220] We selected cysteine as the labeling site because it is easily labeled with an organic fluorescent dye molecule, e.g., using the specific reaction between the sulfhydryl group on the cysteine and the maleimide labeled on the dye molecule.",
"Other residues with a functional group, such as lysine, can be used as well.",
"Labeled cysteine charged to its cognate tRNA molecule can be efficiently incorporated into the growing peptide chain by the ribosome both in vivo and in vitro (Chin et al.",
"(2003) Science 301:964;",
"Xie &",
"Schultz (2005) Methods 36:227-38;",
"Kobs et al.",
"(2001) Nat.",
"Biotechnol.",
"21:1093-97;",
"and Traverso et al.",
"(2003) J Biol.",
"Chem.",
"291:8509-12).",
"The ribosome remains bound on the mRNA when the translation is stalled.",
"In case the aminoacyl tRNA synthetase is not capable of activating the cysteine-tRNA with the corresponding labeled amino acid, the labeling can be performed after charging the tRNA with the un-labeled amino acid.",
"A DNA polymerase can be labeled according to the present method with any combination of the desired fluorescent dyes at multiple positions.",
"If necessary, the polymerase can be refolded after translation into an active functional molecule, using chromatography to purify after refolding.",
"Example 3 READS Technology Using Immobilized DNA Polymerase [0221] DNA polymerases are labeled as described above, and immobilized on glass coverslips.",
"The surface of a glass coverslip is derivatized with a streptavidin.",
"The glass coverslip is first cleaned with the RCA protocol, derivatized with amine group with aminoalkyl (e.g. gamma-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane, and then functionalized with biotin with NHS ester-PEG-biotin (e.g. NHS ester-PEG 5000-Biotin).",
"The biotinylated surface can be patterned into highly-ordered arrays with feature size and spacing optimal for assembly of single molecular arrays and fluorescent imaging efficiency.",
"[0222] The biotinylated coverslip is then assembled into a flowcell for further functionalization with streptavidin.",
"The biotinylated surface is functionalized with streptavidin by incubating the glass coverslip with a streptavidin solution, e.g. 1 μM streptavidin in a buffer solution such as phosphate buffer saline (PBS, 137 mM NaCl, 2.7 mM KCl, 10 mM sodium phosphate dibasic, 2 mM potassium phosphate monobasic) plus 0.1% Tween 20.",
"[0223] The flowcell comprises of the glass coverslip substrate assembled on a glass slide or a stainless steel plate via a silicone rubber gasket with pre-patterned channels for the reaction.",
"There are holes drilled out in the glass slide or stainless steel plate for fluidic port connection.",
"A streptavidin solution (e.g. 1 μM streptavidin in PBS plus 0.1% Tween 20) is flowed into the flow cell to saturate the biotinylated surface with streptavidin, followed by a wash with buffer solution (e.g. PBS plus 0.1% Tween 20).",
"The flowcell is assembled into an apparatus with precise temperature control and microfluidics, and a window for efficient fluorescence imaging.",
"[0224] A solution of the labeled polymerases in a proper buffer (e.g. PBS plus 0.1% Tween 20 and 1% BSA) is then flowed into the flowcell.",
"The immobilization is monitored in real time with TIRF to ensure the proper density of the polymerase on the surface.",
"We want them to be evenly distributed and well separated to pack maximum density of polymerases which still can be optically resolved by the imaging optics, e.g., on average 200 nm or more apart using a 100×/1.45NA oil objective and an EMCCD with 8 μm×8 μm pixels, or on average 400 nm or more apart using a 20×/1.2NA water immersion objective.",
"Once the optimal density of polymerases has been achieved, the remaining polymerases are washed away with the wash buffer.",
"To prevent protein denaturation, the flowcell is kept with a buffer solution in the flow channels at all time.",
"[0225] The DNA polymerases can also be immobilized by covalent attachment using a glass coverslip functionalized with a chemical group reactive toward amine (e.g. NHS ester) or reactive toward carboxylate (e.g. amine).",
"Similar procedure is used for the immobilization.",
"[0226] Template DNA is prepared for sequencing by READS by ligating an adaptor oligonucleotide with a primer pre-hybridized on one strand of the adaptor.",
"The 3′-OH of the primer will serve as the priming site for DNA synthesis.",
"Exemplary template DNA is fragmented genomic DNA.",
"If the labeled DNA polymerase has strong strand-displacement activity (such as phi-29), double-stranded or single-stranded DNA can be used.",
"If the labeled DNA polymerase does not, however, have strong strand-displacement, a single-stranded template should be used.",
"[0227] A gap will be provided between the primer 3′ OH group and the 5′ end of the template DNA to ensure proper initial DNA synthesis from the priming site.",
"This is because phi-29 cannot initiate strand-displacement DNA synthesis from a nick.",
"The length of the adaptor sequence and primer should be such that efficient ligation can be performed and the primer remains hybridized under the condition for sequencing.",
"The adaptor sequence contains a recognition site for a nicking endonuclease (e.g., Nt.",
"BspQI) and the primer site is provided by nicking one strand of ligated template with a nicking enzyme.",
"The adaptor sequence (e.g. polyA) is added to the 3′ end of the DNA template by a terminal transferase and the primer is hybridized onto the added adaptor sequence (e.g., with a polyT sequence).",
"[0228] The template DNA molecules are then loaded onto the polymerases.",
"More specifically, the primed DNA template in a buffer solution (e.g. 50 mM TrisCl, 100 mM NaCl, 0.1% Triton X-100, 1% bovine serum albumin (BSA), pH 7.0) is flowed into the flowcell where the DNA polymerases have been immobilized on the surface of the glass coverslip.",
"[0229] The adaptor sequence or the primer also contains a fluorescent label so that the loading of the DNA template can be monitored in real time.",
"Once the most or all DNA polymerases have been loaded with a primed template, the rest of the DNA templates are removed by a single wash with a buffer (e.g. 20 mM TrisCl, 100 mM NaCl, 0.1% Triton X-100, pH7.0).",
"To reduce exonuclease activity, the Mg 2+ or other ion essential for polymerase activity can be removed or chelated by the addition of 10-20 mM of EDTA in the loading and wash buffer.",
"For single stranded DNA template, high concentration (e.g. 4 μM) of single-stranded DNA binding protein (SSB, e.g. from E. coli ) is included in the loading buffer to prevent non-specific binding of the single stranded DNA onto the DNA polymerases (which may have a high binding affinity to single-stranded DNA).",
"For DNA polymerases which require SSB for efficient strand displacement activity (e.g. Klenow and Sequenase version 2.0), high concentration (e.g. 4 μM) of SSB is added into the reaction solution.",
"[0230] Synthesis is initiated by the addition of dNTP's in a buffer solution into the flowcell.",
"For phi-29, the reaction mix can be: 1 to 100 μM of each of the dNTPs (dATP, dCTP, dGTP and dTTP) in 20 mM TrisCl, 10 mM (NH4) 2 SO 4 , 4 mM MgSO 4 , 0.1% Triton X-100, 100 μg/ml BSA and 4 μM SSB, pH8.8.",
"[0231] The temperature of the flowcell is set to the desired point or range with a built-in temperature control device such as a thermal electric module.",
"The rate of the polymerization reaction can controlled, to some degree, by performing the reaction at the desired temperature (e.g. ˜5 bases/s at 4° C., ˜25 bases/s at 16° C., and ˜40 bases/s at 30° C. for phi-29 DNA polymerase under a condition where the dNTP concentration is above the K M of the nucleotide).",
"The sequencing reaction is ideally performed with dNTP concentration near or a few fold above the K M of the dNTP.",
"The concentration of each of the dNTP can be different, but the concentration of each dNTP should result in approximately the same incorporation rate for each.",
"The reaction rate can also be controlled by using a lower concentration of nucleotides.",
"[0232] Phi-29 DNA polymerase has a very strong proofreading function (3′ to 5′ exonuclease activity).",
"To prevent the removal of the primer in the absence of dNTP's, oligonucleotides with thiophosphate linkages, PNAs, or other exonuclease resistant nucleotides can be used.",
"Phi-29 also has a very strong strand displacement capability, meaning the DNA template need not be single-stranded.",
"Alternatively, Mg 2+ is removed from the polymerases by adding 10-20 mM of a chelator (e.g. EDTA) into the buffer used for loading the DNA template.",
"As illustrated in Example 1, a genetically engineered exonuclease-deficient phi-29 DNA polymerase can be used.",
"[0233] Preparation of genomic DNA for READS is straightforward.",
"The genomic DNA molecules are randomly fragmented into the desired size by hydrodynamic shearing (Joneja &",
"Huang (2009) Biotechniques 46:553-56).",
"We have developed an inexpensive instrument for hydrodynamic shearing of genomic DNA.",
"The sheared genomic DNA fragments are end-repaired using standard molecular biology techniques.",
"The primed adaptor is then ligated to the DNA fragments.",
"After excess adaptor is removed by size-selection centrifugation, the genomic DNA is ready for sequencing.",
"Alternatively, a homopolymer polynucleotide (such as poly A with ˜50 A's) adaptor can be added to the 3′ ends of the genomic DNA fragments using a terminal transferase, and then hybridized to a primer with a polyT 50mer.",
"[0234] Use of an immobilized DNA polymerase can limit the read length, due to the limited photostability of any given FRET dye.",
"With a more elaborate network of FRET pairs and more sophisticated excitation patterns, however, we can (1) increase the informational content of the FRET traces with redundancy for more accurate reads;",
"and (2) use the FRET dyes in serial detections to extend their lifetime, thereby increasing read lengths.",
"Photobleaching can be minimized by the addition of enzymatic oxygen scavenger system (e.g. 100 nM glucose oxidase, 1.5 μM catalase, 56 mM glucose) into the reaction solution or thorough removal of oxygen in the reaction solution by bubbling with water-saturated argon.",
"[0235] Dye blinking can also be an issue in single-molecule imaging, but can be minimized using known techniques (e.g. addition of a triplet quencher such as Trolox in the reaction solution).",
"Addition of additional FRET pairs in parallel will also compensate for any missing information if one dye blinks.",
"[0236] One of skill will recognize that similar techniques can be applied using labeled RNA polymerases.",
"The RNA polymerases can be immobilized using the same procedures for immobilizing the DNA polymerase as described above.",
"The adaptor sequence to be added to the DNA template contains a promoter sequence for the RNA polymerase.",
"A primer is not needed for RNA polymerization.",
"The nucleotide substrates for synthesis are ribonucleotide tripphosphates (rNTPs) instead of dNTPs.",
"The sequencing reaction is performed using the procedures similar to sequencing with DNA polymerase.",
"[0237] Similarly, the labeled polymerase can be reverse transcriptase.",
"The reverse transcriptase can be immobilized using the same procedures for immobilizing the DNA polymerase.",
"The RNA template for sequencing is prepared using the same procedures as described for DNA sequencing with labeled DNA polymerases.",
"The nucleotide substrates for synthesis are also the same deoxyribonucleotide tripphosphates (dNTPs).",
"In some embodiments, the templates to be sequence are single-stranded RNA molecules, e.g., mRNA molecules.",
"Where the mRNA molecules are from eukaryotes, they will already contain a polyA tail at the 3′ ends, and poly T can be used as the primer (e.g., a polyT 50mer).",
"For other RNA, a DNA or RNA adaptor can be ligated to the RNA molecule and hybridized with a primer for sequencing.",
"The sequencing reaction is performed using the procedures similar to sequencing with DNA polymerase.",
"Example 4 READS Technology Using Immobilized DNA Template [0238] Another variant of READS technology is to immobilize the template DNA molecules, and to read along the templates one stretch at a time by repeated loading of the DNA polymerase.",
"This approach is beneficial since the photostability of the FRET labels on a single DNA polymerase is limited, i.e., they will become photobleached over time with continuous imaging.",
"If the DNA is immobilized, a labeled polymerase can be allowed to read a certain length of sequence, quickly removed, and another labeled polymerase loaded to read the next stretch of sequence.",
"[0239] In this case, the total read length is limited by the penetration depth used in TIRF imaging if the DNA is attached at only one end.",
"Longer DNA molecules extending from a surface too far above the penetration depth of the TIRF evanescent wave excitation cannot be reliably imaged.",
"One way to alleviate this problem is to stretch the DNA onto the surface and capture both ends so that the long DNA molecule remains in the TIRF illumination range at all times.",
"This is illustrated in FIG. 14 .",
"[0240] To attach both ends to the surface, the template DNA has a biotin label at one end and a “caged biotin”",
"at the other end.",
"The term “caged”",
"refers to a biotin physically enclosed by or chemically protected by a chemical moiety (e.g. methyl α-nitropiperonyloxycarbonyl biotin) which can be uncaged chemically or photochemically.",
"The term “uncaged”",
"refers to chemically or photochemically unprotecting the biotin moiety so that it is available for binding to avidin or streptavidin.",
"[0241] The labeled DNA template is loaded into the flowcell with the glass coverslip derivatized with streptavidin as described earlier.",
"After the biotinylated end of the DNA is immobilized, the DNA molecule is stretched by hydrodynamic shear flow.",
"The “caged biotin”",
"moiety is uncaged by illumination with the light of appropriate wavelength (320-380 nm for uncaging methyl α-nitropiperonyloxycarbonyl biotin) while the DNA is still stretched by the continuous hydrodynamic shear flow, thereby allowing the now uncaged biotin to bind to the streptavidin on the surface.",
"[0242] Alternatively, after the biotinylated end of the DNA is immobilized the DNA molecule can be electrophoretically stretched by applying an electric field or voltage (e.g. 160 V/cm) across or along the flow cell using built-in or external electrodes, and then the “caged biotin”",
"moiety is uncaged by illumination with the light of appropriate wavelength (320-380 nm for uncaging methyl α-nitropiperonyloxycarbonyl biotin) while the DNA is still stretched by the electric field, thereby allowing the now uncaged biotin to bind to the streptavidin on the surface ( FIG. 14 ).",
"A buffer with low conductance (e.g. 0.05×TBE, 4.5 mM Tris borate, 0.1 mM EDTA, pH 8.0) is used for optimal stretching while minimizing joule heating.",
"[0243] Generally, each end of the template is attached to the surface, and not intervening sequence.",
"This is to avoid interference with the DNA synthesis.",
"PEG (e.g., PEG5000) can be coated on to the surface of the substrate to minimize the non-specific binding of DNA molecules.",
"[0244] The primer for sequencing is typically hybridized after the molecules have been stretched and immobilized at both ends.",
"[0245] Once the template DNA is attached to the substrate, a first labeled DNA polymerase is loaded as described in Example 3.",
"The DNA synthesis reaction is started by flowing in the reaction mix containing dNTPs in the reaction buffer, e.g. 1 to 100 μM of each of the dNTPs (dATP, dCTP, dGTP and dTTP) in a reaction buffer (20 mM TrisCl, 10 mM (NH4) 2 SO 4 , 4 mM MgSO 4 , 0.1% Triton X-100, 100 μg/ml BSA and 4 μM SSB, pH8.8) for phi-29 DNA polymerase.",
"If T7 DNA polymerase or Sequenase version 2.0 is used, the reaction mix will include 1 to 100 μM of each of the dNTPs in a reaction buffer (20 mM TrisCl, 10 mM MgCl 2 , 50 mM NaCl, 10 mM DTT, 0.1% Triton X-100, 100 μg/ml BSA and 4 μM SSB, pH8.0).",
"[0246] A number of images will be taken that falls well within the lifetime of the FRET dyes used on the polymerase (e.g., less than 100,000 measurements using Alexa dyes, as explained above).",
"Once this number is reached, the reaction is halted by washing away the dNTPs and polymerase, e.g., by a rapid introduction of a wash solution containing 50 mM TrisCi, 20 mM EDTA, 100 mM NaCl, and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), pH 8.0 at 60° C. into and through the flowcell.",
"The concentration of the SDS is such that the solution partially denatures the DNA polymerase but does not weaken the biotin-streptavidin binding enough to result in loss of the DNA template.",
"Dual or multiple biotin labels on each end of the DNA template can be used to reduce the risk of loss of the DNA template during this wash step.",
"Once the polymerase is removed from the DNA template, the flowcell is then washed again with the appropriate reaction buffer (e.g., 50 mM TrisCl, 20 mM EDTA, 100 mM NaCl, 0.1% Triton X-100, pH 8.0).",
"[0247] The next labeled DNA polymerase is loaded onto the primed DNA template by flowing a new solution of labeled DNA polymerase into the flowcell as described above, followed by the reaction mix.",
"The polymerase continues where the previous one left off, using the 3′ end of the nascent strand as a “primer.”",
"This process is repeated until the end of the DNA strand is reached.",
"[0248] If a double stranded DNA template is used, a second primer can be hybridized to the opposite end of the template so that the sequencing reaction is performed on both strands of the double stranded DNA molecule.",
"The redundant information provides more accurate sequencing of the DNA molecule.",
"In addition, new primers can be hybridized to slightly offset positions on the DNA template so that another round of sequencing is performed.",
"This process can be repeated to achieve the ultimate sequencing accuracy if desired.",
"[0249] This process potentially allows for very long read lengths.",
"Sequences up to several hundred thousand bases (e.g., 200,000 bases) can be stretched on a substrate.",
"However, the density of the DNA molecules must be such that there is minimal overlap.",
"The entirety of the long sequence is maintained close to the surface within the penetration depth of the TIRF as described.",
"Many DNA templates are sequenced in parallel using the flowcell and wide-field single molecule FRET imaging, with area sensors such as EMCCD cameras."
] |
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The Present Disclosure is a Divisional Application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/391,547, filed with the U.S. Patent And Trademark Office (USPTO) on 21 Feb. 2012, now U.S. Patent No. TBD, entitled “Optical Fiber Connector.” The '547 Application is a National Phase Application of PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US2010/046365, filed 23 Aug. 2010 also with the USPTO. The Present Disclosure claims priority to each of these Applications. In addition to the aforementioned claims of priority, the Present Disclosure claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/235,914, entitled “Optical Fiber Connector,” and filed 21 Aug. 2009 also with the USPTO. The contents of each of the aforementioned Applications are fully incorporated in their entireties herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE
[0002] The Present Disclosure generally relates to optical fiber connectors and, more particularly, to connectors with improved latching structure and duplex clip.
[0003] Optical fiber connectors are an essential part of substantially any optical fiber based communication system. For instance, such connectors may be used to join segments of fiber into longer lengths, to connect fiber to active devices such as transceivers, detectors and repeaters, or to connect fiber to passive devices such as switches and attenuators. The central function of an optical fiber connector is to maintain or position two optical fiber ends such that the core of one fiber is axially aligned with the core of the other fiber. Consequently, the light from one fiber is coupled to the other fiber or transferred between the fibers as efficiently as possible. This is a particularly challenging task because the light-carrying region or core of an optical fiber is quite small. In single mode optical fibers, the core diameter is about 9 microns. In multi-mode fibers, the core can be as large as 62.5 to 100 microns and, hence, alignment is less critical. However, precise alignment is still a necessary feature to effectively interconnect the optical fibers.
[0004] Another function of an optical fiber connector is to provide mechanical stability to and protection for the optical junction in its working environment. Achieving low insertion loss in coupling two optical fibers is generally a function of the alignment of the fiber ends, the width of the gap between the ends, and the optical surface condition of either or both ends.
[0005] Precise alignment of the optical fiber is typically accomplished within the design of the optical terminus assembly. The typical optical terminus assembly includes a small cylindrical metal or ceramic ferrule at one end that has a high precision hole passing through its central axis. Glass or plastic optical fiber is secured within the hole of the ferrule using mechanical, adhesive or other retention methods.
[0006] In a connection between a pair of optical fibers, the ferrules are butted together in an end-to-end manner and light travels from one to the other along their common central axis.
[0007] In order to minimize the loss of light caused by the connection, it is highly desirable for the cores of the glass fibers to be precisely aligned. The ferrules are typically part of a spring loaded assembly that is movable along the central axis of the optical fibers. Upon mating, each ferrule typically moves approximately 0.5 mm away from its unmated position.
[0008] In order to expand the range of applications in which optical fiber connectors may be used, plastic housings are sometimes replaced with metal in order to permit the use of optical fiber connectors in extreme temperature, chemical or other environmental conditions. However, such metal housings create challenges relative to the latching structure between components containing the ferrules due to the high precision required and the relatively small distances the ferrules move when mated. That is, metal latch design and construction are challenging in several aspects. First, unlike the plastic housing-latch construction, the metal latch is typically a separate part that must be mounted to housing. Second, a metal latch has its own bending characteristics, which tends to be less stable than that of a plastic latch. Accordingly, additional measures are necessary to ensure that metal latches function correctly.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISLCOSURE
[0009] Accordingly, it is an object to solve the above described problems encountered with existing metal housing optical fiber connectors by providing an improved optical fiber latching structure. More specifically, an optical fiber connector includes a non-polymer housing with at least one elongated cylindrical cavity, a fiber holder within the cavity including a ferrule which secures an optical fiber therein and a biasing member engaging the fiber holder to bias the ferrule towards an unmated position. A resilient metal latch has a mounting portion for securing the latch to the housing, a manually manipulatable portion and at least one latching member for releasably securing the optical fiber connector to another component. A latch travel limiting structure is configured to engage the resilient metal latch and prevent the latch from deflecting outside a desired predetermined path.
[0010] If desired, the latch travel limiting structure may include a vertical stop surface to prevent the latch from deflecting away from the metal housing more than a predetermined distance and lateral stop surfaces to prevent the latch from deflecting out of a common plane that extends through a longitudinal axis of the connector and a longitudinal axis of the metal latch. The latch travel limiting structure may be a metal component having a latch receiving hole therein with a portion of the metal latch extending through the latch receiving hole. The optical fiber connector may include a member for securing both the fiber holder within the cavity and the latch travel limiting structure to the optical fiber connector.
[0011] If desired, an optical fiber connector may be provided having a housing with at least one elongated cylindrical cavity and a latch mounting projection extending from a surface of the metal housing. A fiber holder may be provided within the said cavity which includes a ferrule which secures an optical fiber therein. A biasing member engages the fiber holder to bias the ferrule towards an unmated position and a resilient metal latch has a W-shaped mounting portion, a manually manipulatable portion and at least one latching member for releasably securing the optical connector to another component. The W-shaped mounting portion may include a pair of resilient spaced apart arms engaging opposite sides of the latch mounting projection.
[0012] If desired, the latch mounting projection may include a locking projection extending therefrom and the W-shaped mounting portion of the resilient latch may include an opening through which the latch mounting projection extends. The opening in the W-shaped mounting portion may be circular and a portion of the locking projection positioned within the circular opening may be cylindrical and a portion of the locking projection above the W-shaped mounting portion may be wider than the circular opening in order to secure the latch to the housing. The metal latch may be a generally elongated strip of metal material having first and second ends, with the resilient spaced apart arms of the W-shaped mounting portion projecting from opposite edges of the elongated strip adjacent the first end. The manually manipulatable portion may be located adjacent the second end. The at least one latching projection may be located between the resilient spaced apart arms and the manually manipulatable portion.
[0013] The metal latch may further include a pair of latching members located between the resilient spaced apart arms and the manually manipulatable portion, with the latching members projecting from the opposite edges of the elongated strip. A latch travel limiting structure may be provided to engage the resilient metal latch and prevent the latch from deflecting beyond a desired predetermined path. The latch travel limiting structure may be configured to prevent the latch from deflecting away from the metal housing more than a predetermined distance and prevent the latch from deflecting out of a common plane that extends through a longitudinal axis of the connector and a longitudinal axis of the metal latch. The latch travel limiting structure may be a metal component having a hole with a portion of the metal latch extending through the hole.
[0014] A generally W-shaped metal holding device for holding two individual optical fiber connectors in a generally parallel side-by-side orientation may be provided. The device includes first and second clamping members with each of clamping member having a base with first and second oppositely facing sides, and a resilient arm extending from the first side of the base. The base and the resilient arm are dimensioned to clamp a respective one of the optical fiber connectors to hold the optical fiber connectors in the substantially side-by-side relationship. A bridge extends from the second side of each base to interconnect the first and second clamping members. A single common insertion opening is located between the resilient arms of each clamp member and aligned with but spaced from the bridge and dimensioned to permit at least a portion of an optical fiber connector assembly to pass through the common insertion opening and into one of the first and second clamp members.
[0015] If desired, the metal holding device may be an integrally formed, one-piece member formed of sheet metal material. The base and resilient arm of each clamping member may be arcuately shaped. The bridge may be arcuately shaped and include a radius of curvature, with each base including a radius of curvature and the radius of curvature of the bridge is on a side of the adapter opposite the radius of curvature of each base. Each base may include an opening for receiving a locking projection of an optical fiber connector therein.
[0016] A duplex optical fiber connector system includes the generally W-shaped clip to maintaining first and second optical fiber connectors in a generally parallel side-by-side orientation to enable simultaneous mating with a mating component. The base and resilient arm of each clamping member may be arcuately shaped and the base of each clamping member may engage a pair of cutouts in the connector housing. The housing of each optical fiber connector may have a locking projection extending therefrom and into an opening in the base of its respective clamping member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0017] The organization and manner of the structure and operation of the Present Disclosure, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following Detailed Description, taken in connection with the accompanying Figures, wherein like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which:
[0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of an optical fiber connector assembly including the latching structure of the Present Disclosure;
[0019] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the connector of FIG. 1 ;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the connector of FIG. 1 , taken generally along Line 3 - 3 of FIG. 1 ;
[0021] FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the connector housing with the latch mechanism spaced therefrom prior to mounting the latch on the housing;
[0022] FIG. 4B is a perspective view similar to FIG. 4A in which the latch is mounted on the housing and a tool is positioned above the housing and latch assembly;
[0023] FIG. 4C is a perspective view similar to FIG. 4B but after the tool has engaged the housing to secure the latch to the housing;
[0024] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of an optical fiber cable assembly including the latching structure of the Present Disclosure;
[0025] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the connector of FIG. 5 ;
[0026] FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the connector of FIG. 5 , taken generally along line 7 - 7 of FIG. 5 and with the connector assembly mated into an optical fiber adapter;
[0027] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of duplex clip for creating a duplex connector assembly;
[0028] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the duplex clip of FIG. 8 with the connector of FIG. 1 secured therein and a second connector assembly positioned prior to insertion of the second connector assembly into the clip;
[0029] FIG. 10 is a perspective view similar to that of FIG. 9 but with both connectors secured in the clip;
[0030] FIG. 11 is a perspective view similar to that of FIG. 9 but showing the installation of the connectors of FIG. 5 ; and
[0031] FIG. 12 is a perspective view similar to that of FIG. 10 but showing the installation of the connectors of FIG. 5 .
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0032] While the Present Disclosure may be susceptible to embodiment in different forms, there is shown in the Figures, and will be described herein in detail, specific embodiments, with the understanding that the disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the Present Disclosure, and is not intended to limit the Present Disclosure to that as illustrated.
[0033] As such, references to a feature or aspect are intended to describe a feature or aspect of an example of the Present Disclosure, not to imply that every embodiment thereof must have the described feature or aspect. Furthermore, it should be noted that the description illustrates a number of features. While certain features have been combined together to illustrate potential system designs, those features may also be used in other combinations not expressly disclosed. Thus, the depicted combinations are not intended to be limiting, unless otherwise noted.
[0034] In the embodiments illustrated in the Figures, representations of directions such as up, down, left, right, front and rear, used for explaining the structure and movement of the various elements of the Present Disclosure, are not absolute, but relative. These representations are appropriate when the elements are in the position shown in the Figures. If the description of the position of the elements changes, however, these representations are to be changed accordingly.
[0035] Referring to FIGS. 1-3 , an optical fiber connector assembly 15 is depicted. Optical fiber connector 16 includes a plug or ferrule subassembly 20 for retaining a optical fiber cable 17 therein, a connector housing subassembly 30 in which plug 20 is positioned, and an elastomeric boot 29 . Plug 20 is formed of a ceramic ferrule 21 and a metal body 22 in which ferrule 21 is retained by either a press-fit or an adhesive. Metal body 22 is a generally cylindrical, hollow member with a collar 23 having a frusta-conical leading end 24 extending therefrom. As depicted, collar 23 has a series of facets or flat surfaces 23 a on the outer surface thereof. Cylindrical body section 25 has a diameter smaller than that of collar 23 and thus forms a shoulder 23 b against which one end of spring 28 abuts. Body 22 is formed of a copper alloy although other materials with similar properties and characteristics could be used.
[0036] Connector housing subassembly 30 includes a housing 31 having a generally rectangular outer surface and a generally cylindrical bore with a series of sections having different inner diameters. Leading end 31 a of housing 31 has a circular mating bore 32 from which ferrule 21 extends. Mating bore 32 is dimensioned to receive a cylindrical post 91 ( FIG. 7 ) of a mating component or adapter 90 . Rear end 31 b of housing 31 has a relatively large threaded bore 33 for receiving the threaded leading end 53 of crimp body 51 . Central cavity 34 is located between mating bore 32 and threaded bore 33 and is dimensioned to receive body section 25 of plug 20 and spring 28 therein. Collar engaging bore 35 is located between mating bore 32 and central cavity 34 and is dimensioned to received collar 23 of plug 20 therein. More specifically, bore 35 is dimensioned to received collar 23 therein. The leading edge of bore 35 tapers to form a frusta-conical section 36 that leads into mating bore 32 and engages frusta-conical leading end 24 of collar 23 .
[0037] Housing 31 includes a raised latching block or projection 36 generally adjacent leading end 31 a thereof for securing latch 40 on an outer surface of housing 31 . Raised latching block 36 is generally rectangular and includes a pair of tapered edges 36 a for guiding the mounting of latch 40 onto the block. A cylindrical head or projection 37 extends upward from body 36 for locking latch 40 in place. Duplex-locking or retention projection 38 is positioned on housing 31 on its lower surface or the surface opposite raised block 36 and latch 40 . Duplex retention projection 38 has a ramped surface 38 a that tapers rearwardly towards the central axis of connector 16 . A forwardly facing shoulder 38 b is used to secured connector assembly 16 to duplex clip 100 if desired. In addition, a pair of cutouts or notches 39 ( FIG. 9 ) may be provided on opposite sides of projection 38 in order to create shoulders 39 a for retaining optional duplex clip 100 . Housing 31 is formed of aluminum although other materials of similar properties and characteristics could be used.
[0038] Latch 40 is a cantilevered structure formed of sheet metal and includes a generally W-shaped mounting portion 41 , a manually manipulatable portion or tab 42 and a pair of locking fingers 43 extending from opposite sides of latch 40 between tab 42 and mounting portion 41 . W-shaped mounting portion 41 includes a flat mounting plate 44 for positioning on a top surface 36 b of raised block 36 and a pair of downwardly depending, resilient arms 45 . Arms 45 are somewhat curved and the distance between the tips 45 a thereof is dimensioned so as to be slightly less than the lateral width of raised block 36 so that arms 45 deflect upon engagement of latch 40 with raised block 36 . A circular hole 46 is provided through mounting plate 44 through which cylindrical head 37 extends. Latch 40 is formed of beryllium copper although other materials of similar properties and characteristics could be used.
[0039] Referring to FIGS. 4A-4C , upon positioning latch 40 on raised block 36 with cylindrical head 37 extending through hole 46 of latch 40 , the latch will remain in place on the raised block due to the gripping action of arms 45 on the side surfaces 36 c of raised block 36 . A swaging tool or pin 110 is then be used to contact the center of top surface 37 a of cylindrical head 37 in order to deform the portion of cylindrical head 37 that extends above mounting plate 44 and create a swaged head 37 b that extends over mounting plate 44 and is larger in diameter than hole 46 to secure latch 40 on housing 31 . The engagement between side surfaces 36 c and resilient arms 45 will prevent rotation of latch 40 around cylindrical head 37 even if the interconnection due to the swaged head 37 b loosens.
[0040] The crimping aspect includes a metal crimp body 51 and a metal crimp tube 52 . Crimp body 51 is a generally cylindrical, hollow member with a threaded leading end 53 that is dimensioned to be inserted and rotated within threaded bore 33 of rear end 31 b of housing 31 in order to secure crimp body 51 to housing 31 and retain plug 20 therein. Crimp body 51 has a tool collar 54 with flat surfaces 54 a on opposite sides thereof to facilitate engagement of the collar in order to rotate crimp body 51 relative to housing 31 . A forwardly facing shoulder 55 having a diameter smaller than that of tool collar 54 is positioned at the junction of threaded leading end 53 and tool collar 54 . A smaller diameter crimp section 56 is located at the rear end of crimp body 51 and receives crimp tube 52 thereon. Crimp body 51 and crimp tube 52 are dimensioned so as to permit the strength member 17 a of the optical fiber cable 17 to be positioned between the crimp tube 52 and the crimp section 56 of crimp body 51 . Upon applying a sufficient force, crimp tube 52 deforms around the strength member 17 a of the optical fiber cable 17 and into recesses in crimp section 53 in order to retain the optical fiber cable 17 . Crimp body 51 is formed of a first type of aluminum and crimp tube 52 is made of a second, softer type of aluminum although other materials of similar properties and characteristics could be used as long as the crimp body is sufficiently strong and the crimp tube is sufficiently soft. Elastomeric boot 29 is positioned on the rear end of connector 16 and acts as a strain relief and limits the bending of optical fiber cable 17 as it exits the connector 16 .
[0041] Compression spring 28 is positioned between plug 20 and crimp body 51 with the leading end 28 a of compression spring 28 engaging shoulder 23 b of collar 23 and the rear end 28 b of spring 28 engaging the leading edge 51 a of crimp body 51 . Plug 20 , housing 31 and crimp body 51 are dimensioned so that spring 28 forces frusta-conical leading end 24 of collar 23 into engagement with frusta-conical section 36 of bore 35 when the connector 16 is not mated to another component such as a connector. Upon mating with another component, ferrule 21 will engage such other component with sufficient force to overcome the force of spring 28 and plug 20 will move rearwardly relative to housing 31 .
[0042] Latch protection member 60 is a structure that limits the travel of latch 40 and is positioned between rear end 31 b of housing 31 and forwardly facing shoulder 55 of crimp body 51 . Latch protection member includes a mounting section 61 with a circular opening 62 through which threaded leading end 53 of crimp body 51 extends. An angled arm 63 extends forwardly relative to mounting section 61 and includes a rectangular opening 64 therein. A generally S-shaped transition section 65 interconnects mounting leg 61 and angled arm 63 . Manually manipulatable tab 42 extends through rectangular opening 64 . The upper surface 64 a of opening 64 limits the distance that latch 40 may deflect away from housing 31 as shown by arrow “A.” As a result, latch 40 is prevented from becoming unlatched from a mating component due to movement of latch 40 away from housing 31 . In addition, side surfaces 64 b of opening 64 prevent latch 40 from moving laterally. As a result, latch 40 is constrained to move within a plane extending through the longitudinal axis of latch 40 and the central axis of connector assembly 15 . Latch protection member is formed of stainless steel although other materials of similar properties and characteristics could be used.
[0043] Assembly of optical connector assembly 15 generally encompasses the following steps. First, the various elements of the housing 31 are installed therein, and the crimp body 51 is screwed into the housing 31 . This forms a “connector head.” Second, an end of the plug 20 is inserted into the “connector head” and adhesive is then injected into the plug 20 . Third, the crimp body 51 and crimp tube 52 are threaded onto the cable 17 , which is then prepared for termination. Fourth, the cable 17 is inserted into the “connector head,” and crimped. Finally, the device is polished, and the elastomeric boot 29 is slid on.
[0044] Referring to FIGS. 5-7 , an alternate embodiment of an optical fiber connector assembly 70 is depicted that is similar to connector assembly 15 except that connector assembly 70 includes structure for environmentally sealing the connector. During the description of connector assembly 70 , like reference numbers are used with respect to like elements and the description of such elements is omitted. Optical fiber connector 71 includes a plug subassembly 20 , a connector housing subassembly 72 and elastomeric boot 83 . Housing 72 is similar to housing 31 except that housing 72 includes an annular recess 73 within circular mating bore 32 from which ferrule 21 extends. A rubber or silicone O-ring 74 is secured within recess 73 in order to create an environmental seal between optical fiber connector 70 and projection 91 of adapter 90 as best seen in FIG. 7 . In addition, the rear end 72 b of housing 72 includes an annular groove 75 in which center O-ring 76 is positioned.
[0045] Metal crimp body 77 is similar to metal crimp body 51 except that metal crimp body 77 includes an annular groove 78 between threaded leading end 53 and tool collar 79 for receiving rubber or silicone O-ring 76 therein. Tool collar 79 includes a pair of flat surfaces 79 a on opposite sides thereof to facilitate engagement of the collar by an appropriate tool in order to rotate crimp body 77 relative to housing 72 . Crimp body 77 includes a boot engaging section 80 having an annular projection 81 which creates an annular groove 82 between tool collar 79 and annular projection 81 Annular projection 81 and annular groove 82 combine to engage an inner-surface 83 a of elastomeric boot 83 in order to secure the elastomeric boot on crimp body 72 and crimp tube 52 with a reliable environmental seal.
[0046] Elastomeric boot 83 is similar to the elastomeric boot 29 of the first embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1-3 except that the elastomeric boot 79 is formed of a softer, more flexible material to create a better seal. In addition, boot 83 projects forward over crimp body 72 to a location immediately adjacent tool collar 79 and the rear end 83 b of elastomeric boot 83 is configured to engage optical fiber cable 17 so as to provide an environmental seal between the elastomeric boot 83 and optical fiber cable 17 .
[0047] Optical fiber connector assembly 70 is assembled in a manner similar to that of optical fiber connector assembly 15 , as described above.
[0048] Referring to the Figures, a metal duplex clip 100 may be provided if it is desired to interconnect a pair of optical fiber connectors 15 , 70 in order to form a duplex connector assembly 110 . Metal clip 100 includes a pair of clamping or locking members 101 that have identical components but are the “mirror image” of each other. Each locking member includes an arcuate base 102 and an arcuate locking arm 103 extending from a first or outer side or edge 102 a of arcuate base 102 adjacent the rear edge 102 b of arcuate base 102 . As depicted, arcuate locking arms 103 are narrower in a direction parallel to the axis of the optical fiber cable 17 and are dimensioned so as to be somewhat flexible in order to facilitate mounting of the optical fiber connector assemblies 15 , 70 in duplex locking clip 100 . Arcuate base 102 also includes a window or opening 104 for lockingly receiving the duplex retention projection 38 of housing 31 therein. An arcuate bridge or connection section 105 interconnects the two locking members 101 and is curved in an opposite direction as compared to the curvature of each arcuate base 102 . In other words, the axis about which bridge 105 is curved is on one side of the bridge 105 while the axes about which the arcuate bases 102 are curved, respectively, are on the opposite side of bridge 105 .
[0049] Through such a configuration, a single, common insertion opening 106 is created between the ends 103 a of locking arms 103 through which all or a portion of a connector assembly is slid before the connector assembly is locked within one of the clamping members 101 . As depicted, the two arcuate bases 102 and connection section 105 will have some flexibility but the primary deflection when mounting the optical fiber connector assemblies 15 , 70 within duplex locking clip 100 will occur through arcuate locking arms 103 since they are narrower in width relative to the longitudinal axes of the connectors. As depicted, clip 100 is integrally formed as a one-piece member stamped, although clip 100 could be formed from multiple components and other materials of similar properties and characteristics.
[0050] When inserting optical fiber connector assembly 15 of the first embodiment into clip 100 , a first connector assembly with its elastomeric boot 29 on cable 17 but spaced from the rest of the connector assembly is positioned so that its central axis is generally parallel to the central axes 101 a of clamping members 101 but is spaced from and laterally aligned with insertion opening 106 . The connector assembly is positioned such that the optical fiber cable 17 rather than the connector is aligned with opening 106 . The connector assembly 15 is then moved laterally so that the cable 16 slides through opening 106 and the assembly is moved laterally within clip 100 to either of the clamping members. Connector assembly 15 is then slid along its central axis until duplex retention projection 38 slides into window 104 of base 102 to lock the connector assembly to clip 100 . Arcuate base 102 is positioned in cutouts 39 in order to secure base 102 between the shoulders 39 a created by cutouts 39 and projection 38 . The second optical fiber connector assembly is then inserted in a similar manner into the other clamping member. Once both assemblies have been inserted into their respective clamping members, the elastomeric boots 29 are slid into place on the connector assemblies. If desired, an alternate manner of assembly is to insert the first connector assembly into clip 100 , slide its elastomeric boot into place and then repeat the process with the second connector assembly.
[0051] When inserting optical fiber connector assembly 70 of the second embodiment into clip 100 , the process is identical to that of the connector assembly 15 of the first embodiment except that the elastomeric boot 83 may already be slid into place on the connector assembly. This is due to elastomeric boot 83 being softer than elastomeric boot 29 of the first embodiment. As a result, elastomeric boot 83 will deflect to some degree and thus reduce the amount of deflection required by locking arms 103 . Depending on the material used and the configuration of the clip 100 , it may, under some circumstances be possible to use this process with the connector assembly of the first embodiment.
[0052] While a preferred embodiment of the Present Disclosure is shown and described, it is envisioned that those skilled in the art may devise various modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the foregoing Description and the appended Claims. | An optical fiber connector includes a housing with at least one elongated cylindrical cavity, a fiber holder within the cavity including a ferrule which secures an optical fiber therein and a biasing member engaging the fiber holder to bias the ferrule towards an unmated position. A resilient metal latch is mounted on the housing for releasably securing the optical fiber connector to another component. A latch travel limiting structure prevents the latch from deflecting outside a desired predetermined path. Improved structures for mounting the latch on the housing and for creating a duplex connector assembly are also provided. | Provide a concise summary of the essential information conveyed in the context. | [
"REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The Present Disclosure is a Divisional Application of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 13/391,547, filed with the U.S. Patent And Trademark Office (USPTO) on 21 Feb. 2012, now U.S. Patent No. TBD, entitled “Optical Fiber Connector.”",
"The '547 Application is a National Phase Application of PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US2010/046365, filed 23 Aug. 2010 also with the USPTO.",
"The Present Disclosure claims priority to each of these Applications.",
"In addition to the aforementioned claims of priority, the Present Disclosure claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/235,914, entitled “Optical Fiber Connector,” and filed 21 Aug. 2009 also with the USPTO.",
"The contents of each of the aforementioned Applications are fully incorporated in their entireties herein.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE [0002] The Present Disclosure generally relates to optical fiber connectors and, more particularly, to connectors with improved latching structure and duplex clip.",
"[0003] Optical fiber connectors are an essential part of substantially any optical fiber based communication system.",
"For instance, such connectors may be used to join segments of fiber into longer lengths, to connect fiber to active devices such as transceivers, detectors and repeaters, or to connect fiber to passive devices such as switches and attenuators.",
"The central function of an optical fiber connector is to maintain or position two optical fiber ends such that the core of one fiber is axially aligned with the core of the other fiber.",
"Consequently, the light from one fiber is coupled to the other fiber or transferred between the fibers as efficiently as possible.",
"This is a particularly challenging task because the light-carrying region or core of an optical fiber is quite small.",
"In single mode optical fibers, the core diameter is about 9 microns.",
"In multi-mode fibers, the core can be as large as 62.5 to 100 microns and, hence, alignment is less critical.",
"However, precise alignment is still a necessary feature to effectively interconnect the optical fibers.",
"[0004] Another function of an optical fiber connector is to provide mechanical stability to and protection for the optical junction in its working environment.",
"Achieving low insertion loss in coupling two optical fibers is generally a function of the alignment of the fiber ends, the width of the gap between the ends, and the optical surface condition of either or both ends.",
"[0005] Precise alignment of the optical fiber is typically accomplished within the design of the optical terminus assembly.",
"The typical optical terminus assembly includes a small cylindrical metal or ceramic ferrule at one end that has a high precision hole passing through its central axis.",
"Glass or plastic optical fiber is secured within the hole of the ferrule using mechanical, adhesive or other retention methods.",
"[0006] In a connection between a pair of optical fibers, the ferrules are butted together in an end-to-end manner and light travels from one to the other along their common central axis.",
"[0007] In order to minimize the loss of light caused by the connection, it is highly desirable for the cores of the glass fibers to be precisely aligned.",
"The ferrules are typically part of a spring loaded assembly that is movable along the central axis of the optical fibers.",
"Upon mating, each ferrule typically moves approximately 0.5 mm away from its unmated position.",
"[0008] In order to expand the range of applications in which optical fiber connectors may be used, plastic housings are sometimes replaced with metal in order to permit the use of optical fiber connectors in extreme temperature, chemical or other environmental conditions.",
"However, such metal housings create challenges relative to the latching structure between components containing the ferrules due to the high precision required and the relatively small distances the ferrules move when mated.",
"That is, metal latch design and construction are challenging in several aspects.",
"First, unlike the plastic housing-latch construction, the metal latch is typically a separate part that must be mounted to housing.",
"Second, a metal latch has its own bending characteristics, which tends to be less stable than that of a plastic latch.",
"Accordingly, additional measures are necessary to ensure that metal latches function correctly.",
"SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISLCOSURE [0009] Accordingly, it is an object to solve the above described problems encountered with existing metal housing optical fiber connectors by providing an improved optical fiber latching structure.",
"More specifically, an optical fiber connector includes a non-polymer housing with at least one elongated cylindrical cavity, a fiber holder within the cavity including a ferrule which secures an optical fiber therein and a biasing member engaging the fiber holder to bias the ferrule towards an unmated position.",
"A resilient metal latch has a mounting portion for securing the latch to the housing, a manually manipulatable portion and at least one latching member for releasably securing the optical fiber connector to another component.",
"A latch travel limiting structure is configured to engage the resilient metal latch and prevent the latch from deflecting outside a desired predetermined path.",
"[0010] If desired, the latch travel limiting structure may include a vertical stop surface to prevent the latch from deflecting away from the metal housing more than a predetermined distance and lateral stop surfaces to prevent the latch from deflecting out of a common plane that extends through a longitudinal axis of the connector and a longitudinal axis of the metal latch.",
"The latch travel limiting structure may be a metal component having a latch receiving hole therein with a portion of the metal latch extending through the latch receiving hole.",
"The optical fiber connector may include a member for securing both the fiber holder within the cavity and the latch travel limiting structure to the optical fiber connector.",
"[0011] If desired, an optical fiber connector may be provided having a housing with at least one elongated cylindrical cavity and a latch mounting projection extending from a surface of the metal housing.",
"A fiber holder may be provided within the said cavity which includes a ferrule which secures an optical fiber therein.",
"A biasing member engages the fiber holder to bias the ferrule towards an unmated position and a resilient metal latch has a W-shaped mounting portion, a manually manipulatable portion and at least one latching member for releasably securing the optical connector to another component.",
"The W-shaped mounting portion may include a pair of resilient spaced apart arms engaging opposite sides of the latch mounting projection.",
"[0012] If desired, the latch mounting projection may include a locking projection extending therefrom and the W-shaped mounting portion of the resilient latch may include an opening through which the latch mounting projection extends.",
"The opening in the W-shaped mounting portion may be circular and a portion of the locking projection positioned within the circular opening may be cylindrical and a portion of the locking projection above the W-shaped mounting portion may be wider than the circular opening in order to secure the latch to the housing.",
"The metal latch may be a generally elongated strip of metal material having first and second ends, with the resilient spaced apart arms of the W-shaped mounting portion projecting from opposite edges of the elongated strip adjacent the first end.",
"The manually manipulatable portion may be located adjacent the second end.",
"The at least one latching projection may be located between the resilient spaced apart arms and the manually manipulatable portion.",
"[0013] The metal latch may further include a pair of latching members located between the resilient spaced apart arms and the manually manipulatable portion, with the latching members projecting from the opposite edges of the elongated strip.",
"A latch travel limiting structure may be provided to engage the resilient metal latch and prevent the latch from deflecting beyond a desired predetermined path.",
"The latch travel limiting structure may be configured to prevent the latch from deflecting away from the metal housing more than a predetermined distance and prevent the latch from deflecting out of a common plane that extends through a longitudinal axis of the connector and a longitudinal axis of the metal latch.",
"The latch travel limiting structure may be a metal component having a hole with a portion of the metal latch extending through the hole.",
"[0014] A generally W-shaped metal holding device for holding two individual optical fiber connectors in a generally parallel side-by-side orientation may be provided.",
"The device includes first and second clamping members with each of clamping member having a base with first and second oppositely facing sides, and a resilient arm extending from the first side of the base.",
"The base and the resilient arm are dimensioned to clamp a respective one of the optical fiber connectors to hold the optical fiber connectors in the substantially side-by-side relationship.",
"A bridge extends from the second side of each base to interconnect the first and second clamping members.",
"A single common insertion opening is located between the resilient arms of each clamp member and aligned with but spaced from the bridge and dimensioned to permit at least a portion of an optical fiber connector assembly to pass through the common insertion opening and into one of the first and second clamp members.",
"[0015] If desired, the metal holding device may be an integrally formed, one-piece member formed of sheet metal material.",
"The base and resilient arm of each clamping member may be arcuately shaped.",
"The bridge may be arcuately shaped and include a radius of curvature, with each base including a radius of curvature and the radius of curvature of the bridge is on a side of the adapter opposite the radius of curvature of each base.",
"Each base may include an opening for receiving a locking projection of an optical fiber connector therein.",
"[0016] A duplex optical fiber connector system includes the generally W-shaped clip to maintaining first and second optical fiber connectors in a generally parallel side-by-side orientation to enable simultaneous mating with a mating component.",
"The base and resilient arm of each clamping member may be arcuately shaped and the base of each clamping member may engage a pair of cutouts in the connector housing.",
"The housing of each optical fiber connector may have a locking projection extending therefrom and into an opening in the base of its respective clamping member.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES [0017] The organization and manner of the structure and operation of the Present Disclosure, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following Detailed Description, taken in connection with the accompanying Figures, wherein like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which: [0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of an optical fiber connector assembly including the latching structure of the Present Disclosure;",
"[0019] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the connector of FIG. 1 ;",
"[0020] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the connector of FIG. 1 , taken generally along Line 3 - 3 of FIG. 1 ;",
"[0021] FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the connector housing with the latch mechanism spaced therefrom prior to mounting the latch on the housing;",
"[0022] FIG. 4B is a perspective view similar to FIG. 4A in which the latch is mounted on the housing and a tool is positioned above the housing and latch assembly;",
"[0023] FIG. 4C is a perspective view similar to FIG. 4B but after the tool has engaged the housing to secure the latch to the housing;",
"[0024] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of an optical fiber cable assembly including the latching structure of the Present Disclosure;",
"[0025] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the connector of FIG. 5 ;",
"[0026] FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the connector of FIG. 5 , taken generally along line 7 - 7 of FIG. 5 and with the connector assembly mated into an optical fiber adapter;",
"[0027] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of duplex clip for creating a duplex connector assembly;",
"[0028] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the duplex clip of FIG. 8 with the connector of FIG. 1 secured therein and a second connector assembly positioned prior to insertion of the second connector assembly into the clip;",
"[0029] FIG. 10 is a perspective view similar to that of FIG. 9 but with both connectors secured in the clip;",
"[0030] FIG. 11 is a perspective view similar to that of FIG. 9 but showing the installation of the connectors of FIG. 5 ;",
"and [0031] FIG. 12 is a perspective view similar to that of FIG. 10 but showing the installation of the connectors of FIG. 5 .",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0032] While the Present Disclosure may be susceptible to embodiment in different forms, there is shown in the Figures, and will be described herein in detail, specific embodiments, with the understanding that the disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the Present Disclosure, and is not intended to limit the Present Disclosure to that as illustrated.",
"[0033] As such, references to a feature or aspect are intended to describe a feature or aspect of an example of the Present Disclosure, not to imply that every embodiment thereof must have the described feature or aspect.",
"Furthermore, it should be noted that the description illustrates a number of features.",
"While certain features have been combined together to illustrate potential system designs, those features may also be used in other combinations not expressly disclosed.",
"Thus, the depicted combinations are not intended to be limiting, unless otherwise noted.",
"[0034] In the embodiments illustrated in the Figures, representations of directions such as up, down, left, right, front and rear, used for explaining the structure and movement of the various elements of the Present Disclosure, are not absolute, but relative.",
"These representations are appropriate when the elements are in the position shown in the Figures.",
"If the description of the position of the elements changes, however, these representations are to be changed accordingly.",
"[0035] Referring to FIGS. 1-3 , an optical fiber connector assembly 15 is depicted.",
"Optical fiber connector 16 includes a plug or ferrule subassembly 20 for retaining a optical fiber cable 17 therein, a connector housing subassembly 30 in which plug 20 is positioned, and an elastomeric boot 29 .",
"Plug 20 is formed of a ceramic ferrule 21 and a metal body 22 in which ferrule 21 is retained by either a press-fit or an adhesive.",
"Metal body 22 is a generally cylindrical, hollow member with a collar 23 having a frusta-conical leading end 24 extending therefrom.",
"As depicted, collar 23 has a series of facets or flat surfaces 23 a on the outer surface thereof.",
"Cylindrical body section 25 has a diameter smaller than that of collar 23 and thus forms a shoulder 23 b against which one end of spring 28 abuts.",
"Body 22 is formed of a copper alloy although other materials with similar properties and characteristics could be used.",
"[0036] Connector housing subassembly 30 includes a housing 31 having a generally rectangular outer surface and a generally cylindrical bore with a series of sections having different inner diameters.",
"Leading end 31 a of housing 31 has a circular mating bore 32 from which ferrule 21 extends.",
"Mating bore 32 is dimensioned to receive a cylindrical post 91 ( FIG. 7 ) of a mating component or adapter 90 .",
"Rear end 31 b of housing 31 has a relatively large threaded bore 33 for receiving the threaded leading end 53 of crimp body 51 .",
"Central cavity 34 is located between mating bore 32 and threaded bore 33 and is dimensioned to receive body section 25 of plug 20 and spring 28 therein.",
"Collar engaging bore 35 is located between mating bore 32 and central cavity 34 and is dimensioned to received collar 23 of plug 20 therein.",
"More specifically, bore 35 is dimensioned to received collar 23 therein.",
"The leading edge of bore 35 tapers to form a frusta-conical section 36 that leads into mating bore 32 and engages frusta-conical leading end 24 of collar 23 .",
"[0037] Housing 31 includes a raised latching block or projection 36 generally adjacent leading end 31 a thereof for securing latch 40 on an outer surface of housing 31 .",
"Raised latching block 36 is generally rectangular and includes a pair of tapered edges 36 a for guiding the mounting of latch 40 onto the block.",
"A cylindrical head or projection 37 extends upward from body 36 for locking latch 40 in place.",
"Duplex-locking or retention projection 38 is positioned on housing 31 on its lower surface or the surface opposite raised block 36 and latch 40 .",
"Duplex retention projection 38 has a ramped surface 38 a that tapers rearwardly towards the central axis of connector 16 .",
"A forwardly facing shoulder 38 b is used to secured connector assembly 16 to duplex clip 100 if desired.",
"In addition, a pair of cutouts or notches 39 ( FIG. 9 ) may be provided on opposite sides of projection 38 in order to create shoulders 39 a for retaining optional duplex clip 100 .",
"Housing 31 is formed of aluminum although other materials of similar properties and characteristics could be used.",
"[0038] Latch 40 is a cantilevered structure formed of sheet metal and includes a generally W-shaped mounting portion 41 , a manually manipulatable portion or tab 42 and a pair of locking fingers 43 extending from opposite sides of latch 40 between tab 42 and mounting portion 41 .",
"W-shaped mounting portion 41 includes a flat mounting plate 44 for positioning on a top surface 36 b of raised block 36 and a pair of downwardly depending, resilient arms 45 .",
"Arms 45 are somewhat curved and the distance between the tips 45 a thereof is dimensioned so as to be slightly less than the lateral width of raised block 36 so that arms 45 deflect upon engagement of latch 40 with raised block 36 .",
"A circular hole 46 is provided through mounting plate 44 through which cylindrical head 37 extends.",
"Latch 40 is formed of beryllium copper although other materials of similar properties and characteristics could be used.",
"[0039] Referring to FIGS. 4A-4C , upon positioning latch 40 on raised block 36 with cylindrical head 37 extending through hole 46 of latch 40 , the latch will remain in place on the raised block due to the gripping action of arms 45 on the side surfaces 36 c of raised block 36 .",
"A swaging tool or pin 110 is then be used to contact the center of top surface 37 a of cylindrical head 37 in order to deform the portion of cylindrical head 37 that extends above mounting plate 44 and create a swaged head 37 b that extends over mounting plate 44 and is larger in diameter than hole 46 to secure latch 40 on housing 31 .",
"The engagement between side surfaces 36 c and resilient arms 45 will prevent rotation of latch 40 around cylindrical head 37 even if the interconnection due to the swaged head 37 b loosens.",
"[0040] The crimping aspect includes a metal crimp body 51 and a metal crimp tube 52 .",
"Crimp body 51 is a generally cylindrical, hollow member with a threaded leading end 53 that is dimensioned to be inserted and rotated within threaded bore 33 of rear end 31 b of housing 31 in order to secure crimp body 51 to housing 31 and retain plug 20 therein.",
"Crimp body 51 has a tool collar 54 with flat surfaces 54 a on opposite sides thereof to facilitate engagement of the collar in order to rotate crimp body 51 relative to housing 31 .",
"A forwardly facing shoulder 55 having a diameter smaller than that of tool collar 54 is positioned at the junction of threaded leading end 53 and tool collar 54 .",
"A smaller diameter crimp section 56 is located at the rear end of crimp body 51 and receives crimp tube 52 thereon.",
"Crimp body 51 and crimp tube 52 are dimensioned so as to permit the strength member 17 a of the optical fiber cable 17 to be positioned between the crimp tube 52 and the crimp section 56 of crimp body 51 .",
"Upon applying a sufficient force, crimp tube 52 deforms around the strength member 17 a of the optical fiber cable 17 and into recesses in crimp section 53 in order to retain the optical fiber cable 17 .",
"Crimp body 51 is formed of a first type of aluminum and crimp tube 52 is made of a second, softer type of aluminum although other materials of similar properties and characteristics could be used as long as the crimp body is sufficiently strong and the crimp tube is sufficiently soft.",
"Elastomeric boot 29 is positioned on the rear end of connector 16 and acts as a strain relief and limits the bending of optical fiber cable 17 as it exits the connector 16 .",
"[0041] Compression spring 28 is positioned between plug 20 and crimp body 51 with the leading end 28 a of compression spring 28 engaging shoulder 23 b of collar 23 and the rear end 28 b of spring 28 engaging the leading edge 51 a of crimp body 51 .",
"Plug 20 , housing 31 and crimp body 51 are dimensioned so that spring 28 forces frusta-conical leading end 24 of collar 23 into engagement with frusta-conical section 36 of bore 35 when the connector 16 is not mated to another component such as a connector.",
"Upon mating with another component, ferrule 21 will engage such other component with sufficient force to overcome the force of spring 28 and plug 20 will move rearwardly relative to housing 31 .",
"[0042] Latch protection member 60 is a structure that limits the travel of latch 40 and is positioned between rear end 31 b of housing 31 and forwardly facing shoulder 55 of crimp body 51 .",
"Latch protection member includes a mounting section 61 with a circular opening 62 through which threaded leading end 53 of crimp body 51 extends.",
"An angled arm 63 extends forwardly relative to mounting section 61 and includes a rectangular opening 64 therein.",
"A generally S-shaped transition section 65 interconnects mounting leg 61 and angled arm 63 .",
"Manually manipulatable tab 42 extends through rectangular opening 64 .",
"The upper surface 64 a of opening 64 limits the distance that latch 40 may deflect away from housing 31 as shown by arrow “A.”",
"As a result, latch 40 is prevented from becoming unlatched from a mating component due to movement of latch 40 away from housing 31 .",
"In addition, side surfaces 64 b of opening 64 prevent latch 40 from moving laterally.",
"As a result, latch 40 is constrained to move within a plane extending through the longitudinal axis of latch 40 and the central axis of connector assembly 15 .",
"Latch protection member is formed of stainless steel although other materials of similar properties and characteristics could be used.",
"[0043] Assembly of optical connector assembly 15 generally encompasses the following steps.",
"First, the various elements of the housing 31 are installed therein, and the crimp body 51 is screwed into the housing 31 .",
"This forms a “connector head.”",
"Second, an end of the plug 20 is inserted into the “connector head”",
"and adhesive is then injected into the plug 20 .",
"Third, the crimp body 51 and crimp tube 52 are threaded onto the cable 17 , which is then prepared for termination.",
"Fourth, the cable 17 is inserted into the “connector head,” and crimped.",
"Finally, the device is polished, and the elastomeric boot 29 is slid on.",
"[0044] Referring to FIGS. 5-7 , an alternate embodiment of an optical fiber connector assembly 70 is depicted that is similar to connector assembly 15 except that connector assembly 70 includes structure for environmentally sealing the connector.",
"During the description of connector assembly 70 , like reference numbers are used with respect to like elements and the description of such elements is omitted.",
"Optical fiber connector 71 includes a plug subassembly 20 , a connector housing subassembly 72 and elastomeric boot 83 .",
"Housing 72 is similar to housing 31 except that housing 72 includes an annular recess 73 within circular mating bore 32 from which ferrule 21 extends.",
"A rubber or silicone O-ring 74 is secured within recess 73 in order to create an environmental seal between optical fiber connector 70 and projection 91 of adapter 90 as best seen in FIG. 7 .",
"In addition, the rear end 72 b of housing 72 includes an annular groove 75 in which center O-ring 76 is positioned.",
"[0045] Metal crimp body 77 is similar to metal crimp body 51 except that metal crimp body 77 includes an annular groove 78 between threaded leading end 53 and tool collar 79 for receiving rubber or silicone O-ring 76 therein.",
"Tool collar 79 includes a pair of flat surfaces 79 a on opposite sides thereof to facilitate engagement of the collar by an appropriate tool in order to rotate crimp body 77 relative to housing 72 .",
"Crimp body 77 includes a boot engaging section 80 having an annular projection 81 which creates an annular groove 82 between tool collar 79 and annular projection 81 Annular projection 81 and annular groove 82 combine to engage an inner-surface 83 a of elastomeric boot 83 in order to secure the elastomeric boot on crimp body 72 and crimp tube 52 with a reliable environmental seal.",
"[0046] Elastomeric boot 83 is similar to the elastomeric boot 29 of the first embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1-3 except that the elastomeric boot 79 is formed of a softer, more flexible material to create a better seal.",
"In addition, boot 83 projects forward over crimp body 72 to a location immediately adjacent tool collar 79 and the rear end 83 b of elastomeric boot 83 is configured to engage optical fiber cable 17 so as to provide an environmental seal between the elastomeric boot 83 and optical fiber cable 17 .",
"[0047] Optical fiber connector assembly 70 is assembled in a manner similar to that of optical fiber connector assembly 15 , as described above.",
"[0048] Referring to the Figures, a metal duplex clip 100 may be provided if it is desired to interconnect a pair of optical fiber connectors 15 , 70 in order to form a duplex connector assembly 110 .",
"Metal clip 100 includes a pair of clamping or locking members 101 that have identical components but are the “mirror image”",
"of each other.",
"Each locking member includes an arcuate base 102 and an arcuate locking arm 103 extending from a first or outer side or edge 102 a of arcuate base 102 adjacent the rear edge 102 b of arcuate base 102 .",
"As depicted, arcuate locking arms 103 are narrower in a direction parallel to the axis of the optical fiber cable 17 and are dimensioned so as to be somewhat flexible in order to facilitate mounting of the optical fiber connector assemblies 15 , 70 in duplex locking clip 100 .",
"Arcuate base 102 also includes a window or opening 104 for lockingly receiving the duplex retention projection 38 of housing 31 therein.",
"An arcuate bridge or connection section 105 interconnects the two locking members 101 and is curved in an opposite direction as compared to the curvature of each arcuate base 102 .",
"In other words, the axis about which bridge 105 is curved is on one side of the bridge 105 while the axes about which the arcuate bases 102 are curved, respectively, are on the opposite side of bridge 105 .",
"[0049] Through such a configuration, a single, common insertion opening 106 is created between the ends 103 a of locking arms 103 through which all or a portion of a connector assembly is slid before the connector assembly is locked within one of the clamping members 101 .",
"As depicted, the two arcuate bases 102 and connection section 105 will have some flexibility but the primary deflection when mounting the optical fiber connector assemblies 15 , 70 within duplex locking clip 100 will occur through arcuate locking arms 103 since they are narrower in width relative to the longitudinal axes of the connectors.",
"As depicted, clip 100 is integrally formed as a one-piece member stamped, although clip 100 could be formed from multiple components and other materials of similar properties and characteristics.",
"[0050] When inserting optical fiber connector assembly 15 of the first embodiment into clip 100 , a first connector assembly with its elastomeric boot 29 on cable 17 but spaced from the rest of the connector assembly is positioned so that its central axis is generally parallel to the central axes 101 a of clamping members 101 but is spaced from and laterally aligned with insertion opening 106 .",
"The connector assembly is positioned such that the optical fiber cable 17 rather than the connector is aligned with opening 106 .",
"The connector assembly 15 is then moved laterally so that the cable 16 slides through opening 106 and the assembly is moved laterally within clip 100 to either of the clamping members.",
"Connector assembly 15 is then slid along its central axis until duplex retention projection 38 slides into window 104 of base 102 to lock the connector assembly to clip 100 .",
"Arcuate base 102 is positioned in cutouts 39 in order to secure base 102 between the shoulders 39 a created by cutouts 39 and projection 38 .",
"The second optical fiber connector assembly is then inserted in a similar manner into the other clamping member.",
"Once both assemblies have been inserted into their respective clamping members, the elastomeric boots 29 are slid into place on the connector assemblies.",
"If desired, an alternate manner of assembly is to insert the first connector assembly into clip 100 , slide its elastomeric boot into place and then repeat the process with the second connector assembly.",
"[0051] When inserting optical fiber connector assembly 70 of the second embodiment into clip 100 , the process is identical to that of the connector assembly 15 of the first embodiment except that the elastomeric boot 83 may already be slid into place on the connector assembly.",
"This is due to elastomeric boot 83 being softer than elastomeric boot 29 of the first embodiment.",
"As a result, elastomeric boot 83 will deflect to some degree and thus reduce the amount of deflection required by locking arms 103 .",
"Depending on the material used and the configuration of the clip 100 , it may, under some circumstances be possible to use this process with the connector assembly of the first embodiment.",
"[0052] While a preferred embodiment of the Present Disclosure is shown and described, it is envisioned that those skilled in the art may devise various modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the foregoing Description and the appended Claims."
] |
CLAIM OF PRIORITY
This application claims priority under 35 USC § 119(a) to European Patent application number 04004600, filed on Feb. 28, 2004, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
This disclosure relates to an operating table lamp.
BACKGROUND
Conventional operating table lamps (e.g., as described in German Patent No. 198 38 627 A1) include at least one radiation source and at least two reflectors. To produce an illumination field from the lamp with few shadows, the radiation emitted by the operating lamp impinges onto the illumination field at least two different angles of incidence. The angles of incidence of the radiation can thereby be adjusted by changing the separation between at least two reflectors or between a reflector and the radiation source.
Prior art operating lamps cannot change of shape of the illuminated field (e.g., the illuminated area on the operating table) as may be required for individual applications.
Conventional operating lamps have a fixed light distribution. Operating lamps must meet the requirements given in various different illumination situations. For example, large-surface wounds require a large amount of light from the edge of the lamp to prevent shadows and provide light behind obstacles. For wounds with a smaller diameter and large depth, light from the center of the lamp is required. These extreme requirements are only poorly met by conventional operating lamps, because conventional lamps generally exhibit compromises with respect to light distribution.
For this reason, head lights are conventionally used today, as are optical fibers that can be introduced into the wound. However, a disadvantage of such light sources is that the head light or the optical fiber limits the operating surgeon (e.g., due to the un-ergonomic posture required of the operating surgeon to hold the head lamp) or limits the light power due to soiling and problems with hygiene when the light source is introduced into direct contact with the wound.
SUMMARY
The invention is based, at least in part, on the recognition that improved illumination of deep wounds of small diameter can be provided by controlling a light source in the center of an operating lamp separately from the actual light source, and changing (e.g., increasing) the brightness in the center of the operating lamp. A control means of the operating lamp can control the illumination means in the center of the operating lamp independently of other illumination means and can increase the brightness in the center of the lamp independently of the rest of the operating lamp. A separate light source can be provided in the center of the operating lamp. An additional light source can be disposed in a handle located in the center of the operating lamp.
In a general aspect, an operating lamp includes a lamp body for receiving a light source, a first light source housed in the lamp body and adapted for illuminating an illumination area of an operating area, and a second light source housed in the lamp body and adapted for illuminating a central portion of the illumination area. The brightness of the second light source is controllable independently of the brightness of the first light source to enhance the brightness of the central portion of the illumination area.
Implementations can include one or more of the following features. For example, the second light source can include a light module, and the first light source can include a plurality of light modules that surround the first light source. The operating lamp can further include a handle mounted approximately centrally in the lamp body, and the first light source can be annularly disposed around the handle. The second light source can be disposed in the handle. The operating lamp can further include a removable sleeve adapted for mounting on the handle, and the second light source can be housed in the removable sleeve.
The first light source and/or the second light source can include an LED. The operating lamp can further include a first lens adapted for widening a light beam from the first light source, and a second lens adapted for widening a light beam from the second light source.
In another general aspect, a method of illuminating an operating area includes providing light from a first light source housed in a lamp body to an illumination area on the operating area, providing light from a second light source housed in the lamp body to a central portion of the illumination area, and independently controlling a brightness of the second light source compared with a brightness of the second light source.
Implementations can include at least the following feature. For example, the method can further include directing light from the first light source to the illumination area in a first light beam, and directing light from the second light source to the illumination area in a second light beam, where a conical angle of the first light beam is greater than the conical angle of the second light beam.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, suitable methods and materials are described below. All publications, patent applications, patents, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. In case of conflict, the present specification, including definitions, will control. In addition, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.
The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an operating lamp.
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a first switched-on operating lamp with depth illumination.
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a second switched-on operating lamp with depth illumination as provided by the invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a handle of the operating lamp shown in FIG. 3 .
FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a switched-on operating lamp with depth illumination.
FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a switched-on operating lamp with depth illumination.
FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a switched-on operating lamp with depth illumination.
Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As shown in FIG. 1 , an operating lamp 1 includes a lamp body 2 having an inner space that houses an illumination means (not shown in FIG. 1 ). The lamp body 2 can be mounted on a stationary holder on a ceiling or wall of a building or on a mobile unit, such that it can be pivoted via a pivot arm (which is not completely shown in FIG. 1 ). The pivot arm is formed from several elements that are interconnected by joints. An element 4 of the pivot arm that is rigidly connected to the operating lamp 1 is indicated in FIG. 1 . The operating lamp 1 can therefore be moved and pivoted in three dimensions in the X, Y, and Z directions. A handle 3 mounted to the lamp body 2 permits positioning of the operating lamp 1 at any location above an operating table. The handle 3 is detachably disposed on the lower side 5 of the operating lamp. Light is emitted on the lower side 5 of the operating lamp 1 to illuminate the area of an operation.
As shown in FIG. 2 , an annular light source 6 includes several light emitting diodes 8 (“LEDs”) mounted on the light emitting surface of the lamp body 2 around the edge of the handle 3 . The handle 3 can be sterilized for use in an operating environment. The light source 6 generates an illumination field 7 b with light beams 6 b . The illumination field 7 b supports an illumination field 7 a of the operating lamp, which is generated by the light beams 6 a . The illumination field 7 a can be created by an additional light source 58 that is spans a surface area larger than the surface area of light source 6 . For example, light source 58 can be a large mirror for reflecting light onto the illumination field 7 a or can be one or more light source that radiate light directly onto illumination field 7 a . Thus, the light beams of the light source 6 are focused to the center of the illumination field 7 a , and the illumination field 7 b improves the depth illumination in the center of the illumination field 7 a . The intensity of the light source 6 may be correspondingly controlled to optimize the depth illumination.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , several LEDs 8 can be disposed as an additional light source 8 on the sterilizable central handle 3 . Light beams 8 b can be emitted by the light source 8 such that an additional illumination field 9 b is generated in the center of the illumination field 9 a that is generated by the light beams 8 a from an additional light source 58 .
As shown in FIG. 4 , the handle 3 can include a sleeve 10 that can be detachably mounted to the operating lamp 1 . The detachable sleeve 10 can be mounted to the operating lamp 1 via a flange 11 , and the sterilizable handle 3 can be removed from the lamp body for cleaning and sterilization. Locking and release of the handle 3 from the operating lamp 1 can be achieved using an actuating element 12 that can release a catch. Several LEDs 8 that generate white light are disposed in a free end of the sleeve 10 , such that light can be emitted from the sleeve 10 . The light can be emitted through a bore in the handle 3 , through a transparent window that optionally covers the bore, or through a handle of transparent material. To guide the beams in a parallel direction, the LEDs 8 can be associated with lens elements. The additional illumination from the light source 8 may be switched on as required.
As shown in FIG. 5 , individual light modules 13 – 19 , which can be combined in arbitrary combinations, can each include a plurality of LEDs for generating an illumination field 20 . The intensity of light from the central light module 19 can be increased to produce a light beam 23 and an additional illumination field 21 that is superposed on the illumination field 20 from the light beam 22 . The additional illumination field 21 from the central light module can be used to illuminate deep wounds.
As shown in FIG. 6 , a light source can include individual illumination means 24 a , 24 b , and 24 c that are surrounded by lenses 40 a , 40 b , and 40 c provided to widen the light beams from the illumination means and to generate light beams 27 – 29 that create an illumination field 26 . The intensity of the illumination field 26 can be increased in the center 30 by increasing the intensity of the light source 24 c , such that the intensity of the central light beam 29 is higher than the radiation in the edge regions of the illumination field 26 .
As shown in FIG. 7 , an operating lamp 1 can include a resolved light system formed by individual lamps 31 – 35 and a handle 36 disposed at the edge of the system. The central lamp 35 generates a light beam 37 having increased intensity compared with surrounding light, such that an illumination field 38 has a higher brightness in its center 39 than at its edges to illuminate deep wounds.
OTHER EMBODIMENTS
A number of embodiments of the invention have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. | An operating lamp includes a lamp body for receiving a light source, a first light source housed in the lamp body and adapted for illuminating an illumination area of an operating area, and a second light source housed in the lamp body and adapted for illuminating a central portion of the illumination area. The brightness of the second light source is controllable independently of the brightness of the first light source to enhance the brightness of the central portion of the illumination area. | Summarize the key points of the given document. | [
"CLAIM OF PRIORITY This application claims priority under 35 USC § 119(a) to European Patent application number 04004600, filed on Feb. 28, 2004, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.",
"TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates to an operating table lamp.",
"BACKGROUND Conventional operating table lamps (e.g., as described in German Patent No. 198 38 627 A1) include at least one radiation source and at least two reflectors.",
"To produce an illumination field from the lamp with few shadows, the radiation emitted by the operating lamp impinges onto the illumination field at least two different angles of incidence.",
"The angles of incidence of the radiation can thereby be adjusted by changing the separation between at least two reflectors or between a reflector and the radiation source.",
"Prior art operating lamps cannot change of shape of the illuminated field (e.g., the illuminated area on the operating table) as may be required for individual applications.",
"Conventional operating lamps have a fixed light distribution.",
"Operating lamps must meet the requirements given in various different illumination situations.",
"For example, large-surface wounds require a large amount of light from the edge of the lamp to prevent shadows and provide light behind obstacles.",
"For wounds with a smaller diameter and large depth, light from the center of the lamp is required.",
"These extreme requirements are only poorly met by conventional operating lamps, because conventional lamps generally exhibit compromises with respect to light distribution.",
"For this reason, head lights are conventionally used today, as are optical fibers that can be introduced into the wound.",
"However, a disadvantage of such light sources is that the head light or the optical fiber limits the operating surgeon (e.g., due to the un-ergonomic posture required of the operating surgeon to hold the head lamp) or limits the light power due to soiling and problems with hygiene when the light source is introduced into direct contact with the wound.",
"SUMMARY The invention is based, at least in part, on the recognition that improved illumination of deep wounds of small diameter can be provided by controlling a light source in the center of an operating lamp separately from the actual light source, and changing (e.g., increasing) the brightness in the center of the operating lamp.",
"A control means of the operating lamp can control the illumination means in the center of the operating lamp independently of other illumination means and can increase the brightness in the center of the lamp independently of the rest of the operating lamp.",
"A separate light source can be provided in the center of the operating lamp.",
"An additional light source can be disposed in a handle located in the center of the operating lamp.",
"In a general aspect, an operating lamp includes a lamp body for receiving a light source, a first light source housed in the lamp body and adapted for illuminating an illumination area of an operating area, and a second light source housed in the lamp body and adapted for illuminating a central portion of the illumination area.",
"The brightness of the second light source is controllable independently of the brightness of the first light source to enhance the brightness of the central portion of the illumination area.",
"Implementations can include one or more of the following features.",
"For example, the second light source can include a light module, and the first light source can include a plurality of light modules that surround the first light source.",
"The operating lamp can further include a handle mounted approximately centrally in the lamp body, and the first light source can be annularly disposed around the handle.",
"The second light source can be disposed in the handle.",
"The operating lamp can further include a removable sleeve adapted for mounting on the handle, and the second light source can be housed in the removable sleeve.",
"The first light source and/or the second light source can include an LED.",
"The operating lamp can further include a first lens adapted for widening a light beam from the first light source, and a second lens adapted for widening a light beam from the second light source.",
"In another general aspect, a method of illuminating an operating area includes providing light from a first light source housed in a lamp body to an illumination area on the operating area, providing light from a second light source housed in the lamp body to a central portion of the illumination area, and independently controlling a brightness of the second light source compared with a brightness of the second light source.",
"Implementations can include at least the following feature.",
"For example, the method can further include directing light from the first light source to the illumination area in a first light beam, and directing light from the second light source to the illumination area in a second light beam, where a conical angle of the first light beam is greater than the conical angle of the second light beam.",
"Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.",
"Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, suitable methods and materials are described below.",
"All publications, patent applications, patents, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety.",
"In case of conflict, the present specification, including definitions, will control.",
"In addition, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.",
"The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below.",
"Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.",
"DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an operating lamp.",
"FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a first switched-on operating lamp with depth illumination.",
"FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a second switched-on operating lamp with depth illumination as provided by the invention.",
"FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a handle of the operating lamp shown in FIG. 3 .",
"FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a switched-on operating lamp with depth illumination.",
"FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a switched-on operating lamp with depth illumination.",
"FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a switched-on operating lamp with depth illumination.",
"Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION As shown in FIG. 1 , an operating lamp 1 includes a lamp body 2 having an inner space that houses an illumination means (not shown in FIG. 1 ).",
"The lamp body 2 can be mounted on a stationary holder on a ceiling or wall of a building or on a mobile unit, such that it can be pivoted via a pivot arm (which is not completely shown in FIG. 1 ).",
"The pivot arm is formed from several elements that are interconnected by joints.",
"An element 4 of the pivot arm that is rigidly connected to the operating lamp 1 is indicated in FIG. 1 .",
"The operating lamp 1 can therefore be moved and pivoted in three dimensions in the X, Y, and Z directions.",
"A handle 3 mounted to the lamp body 2 permits positioning of the operating lamp 1 at any location above an operating table.",
"The handle 3 is detachably disposed on the lower side 5 of the operating lamp.",
"Light is emitted on the lower side 5 of the operating lamp 1 to illuminate the area of an operation.",
"As shown in FIG. 2 , an annular light source 6 includes several light emitting diodes 8 (“LEDs”) mounted on the light emitting surface of the lamp body 2 around the edge of the handle 3 .",
"The handle 3 can be sterilized for use in an operating environment.",
"The light source 6 generates an illumination field 7 b with light beams 6 b .",
"The illumination field 7 b supports an illumination field 7 a of the operating lamp, which is generated by the light beams 6 a .",
"The illumination field 7 a can be created by an additional light source 58 that is spans a surface area larger than the surface area of light source 6 .",
"For example, light source 58 can be a large mirror for reflecting light onto the illumination field 7 a or can be one or more light source that radiate light directly onto illumination field 7 a .",
"Thus, the light beams of the light source 6 are focused to the center of the illumination field 7 a , and the illumination field 7 b improves the depth illumination in the center of the illumination field 7 a .",
"The intensity of the light source 6 may be correspondingly controlled to optimize the depth illumination.",
"As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , several LEDs 8 can be disposed as an additional light source 8 on the sterilizable central handle 3 .",
"Light beams 8 b can be emitted by the light source 8 such that an additional illumination field 9 b is generated in the center of the illumination field 9 a that is generated by the light beams 8 a from an additional light source 58 .",
"As shown in FIG. 4 , the handle 3 can include a sleeve 10 that can be detachably mounted to the operating lamp 1 .",
"The detachable sleeve 10 can be mounted to the operating lamp 1 via a flange 11 , and the sterilizable handle 3 can be removed from the lamp body for cleaning and sterilization.",
"Locking and release of the handle 3 from the operating lamp 1 can be achieved using an actuating element 12 that can release a catch.",
"Several LEDs 8 that generate white light are disposed in a free end of the sleeve 10 , such that light can be emitted from the sleeve 10 .",
"The light can be emitted through a bore in the handle 3 , through a transparent window that optionally covers the bore, or through a handle of transparent material.",
"To guide the beams in a parallel direction, the LEDs 8 can be associated with lens elements.",
"The additional illumination from the light source 8 may be switched on as required.",
"As shown in FIG. 5 , individual light modules 13 – 19 , which can be combined in arbitrary combinations, can each include a plurality of LEDs for generating an illumination field 20 .",
"The intensity of light from the central light module 19 can be increased to produce a light beam 23 and an additional illumination field 21 that is superposed on the illumination field 20 from the light beam 22 .",
"The additional illumination field 21 from the central light module can be used to illuminate deep wounds.",
"As shown in FIG. 6 , a light source can include individual illumination means 24 a , 24 b , and 24 c that are surrounded by lenses 40 a , 40 b , and 40 c provided to widen the light beams from the illumination means and to generate light beams 27 – 29 that create an illumination field 26 .",
"The intensity of the illumination field 26 can be increased in the center 30 by increasing the intensity of the light source 24 c , such that the intensity of the central light beam 29 is higher than the radiation in the edge regions of the illumination field 26 .",
"As shown in FIG. 7 , an operating lamp 1 can include a resolved light system formed by individual lamps 31 – 35 and a handle 36 disposed at the edge of the system.",
"The central lamp 35 generates a light beam 37 having increased intensity compared with surrounding light, such that an illumination field 38 has a higher brightness in its center 39 than at its edges to illuminate deep wounds.",
"OTHER EMBODIMENTS A number of embodiments of the invention have been described.",
"Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made.",
"Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for producing holes in dielectric workpieces in form of thin sheets and substrates, in particularly of glass or glass-like materials and semiconductors.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The perforation of plastic films by electrically generated sparks is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,338. A plurality of electrode-counter electrode pairs is provided, between which the plastic film is guided and across which high-voltage energy is discharged. The film is moved through a water bath, and the temperature of the water bath is utilized to control the size of the perforations.
Another method for producing pores in plastic films is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,348,675 B1. Pulse sequences are generated between electrode pairs, with the plastic film interposed therebetween, the first pulse serving to heat the plastic film at the perforation point and the further pulses serving to form the perforation and to shape it.
From U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,774, the treatment of non-conductive workpieces by electrical means is known in the sense of cutting the workpiece or welding the workpiece. A laser beam is directed onto the workpiece which is moved during the exposure, and a high voltage is applied to the heated zone using two electrodes to form an arc which serves to process the workpiece. When the workpiece is cut, it burns in a controllable manner. When workpieces are to be welded, streams of reactive or inert gas are additionally directed to the heated zone to react with either the workpiece or the electrode or a fluxing agent. In this way, glass, paper, cloth, cardboard, leather, plastics, ceramics, and semiconductors can be cut, or glass and plastics can be welded, rubber can be vulcanized, and synthetic resins can be cured thermally. However, the equipment is too clunky by its nature as to permit thin holes to be formed in the workpiece.
From WO 2005/097 439 A2 a method is known for forming a structure, preferably a hole or cavity or channel, in a region of an electrically insulating substrate, in which energy, preferably in form of heat, also by a laser beam, is supplied to the substrate or region, and a voltage is applied to the region to produce a dielectric breakdown there. The process is controlled using a feedback mechanism. It is possible to produce thin individual holes one after the other, however it is not possible to employ a plurality of electrode pairs simultaneously. Parallel operating high-voltage electrodes mutually influence each other and do not permit individual control.
From WO 2009/059786 A1 a method is known for forming a structure, in particular a hole or cavity or channel or recess, in a region of an electrically insulating substrate, in which stored electrical energy is discharged across the region and additional energy, preferably heat, is supplied to the substrate or the region to increase electrical conductivity of the substrate or region and thereby initiate a current flow, the energy of which is dissipated in the substrate, i.e. converted into heat, wherein the rate of dissipation of the electrical energy is controlled by a current and power modulating element. An apparatus for simultaneously producing a plurality of holes is not disclosed.
WO 2009/074338 A1 discloses a method for introducing a change of dielectric and/or optical properties in a first region of an electrically insulating or electrically semi-conducting substrate, wherein the substrate whose optical or dielectric properties are irreversibly altered due to a temporary increase in substrate temperature, optionally has an electrically conductive or semi-conductive or insulating layer, wherein electrical energy is supplied to the first region from a voltage supply to significantly heat or melt parts or all of the first region without causing an ejection of material from the first region, and wherein furthermore, optionally, additional energy is supplied to generate localized heat and to define the location of the first region. The dissipation of electrical energy manifests itself in form of a current flow within the substrate.
The dissipation of the electrical energy is controlled by a current and power modulating element. Alterations in substrate surfaces produced by the method also include holes produced in borosilicate glass or silicon substrates which had been provided with an insulating layer of paraffin or a hot melt adhesive. Also, holes are produced in silicon, in zirconia, in sapphire, in indium phosphide, or gallium arsenide. Partially, the discharge process was initiated by laser beam irradiation at a wavelength of 10.6 μm (CO 2 laser). Grids of holes are also disclosed, but with relatively large spacings of the holes. An apparatus for simultaneously producing a plurality of holes is not disclosed.
From DE 28 30 326 A1 an arrangement is known for effecting superfine perforation of film-like sheeting using high-voltage pulses. The sheeting is passed, in a substantially contactless manner, between a pair of electrodes to which a high voltage is applied. The two electrodes are composed of multi-row needle arrays. The mutually opposing needles in the needle arrays are connected in pairs to separate excitation circuits, via control lines. The spark discharge between the two needles produces a microscopic perforation hole along the breakdown in the film-like material.
Therefore, it is clear from prior art how to perforate foils and thin sheets of dielectric materials using a high-voltage electric field of appropriate frequency or pulse shape. Local heating of the material reduces the dielectric strength at the points to be perforated, so that the applied field strength is sufficient to cause an electric current to flow across the material. If the material exhibits a sufficiently large increase in electrical conductivity with temperature, as is the case with glasses, glass-ceramics, and semi-conductors (also with many plastics), the result is an “electro-thermal self-focusing” of the perforation channel in the material. The perforation material is getting hotter and hotter, current density increases until the material is evaporated and the perforation is “blown open”. However, since the perforation is based on a dielectric breakdown, it is difficult to exactly match the desired location of the breakdown. It is known that e.g. atmospheric flashes follow a very irregular course.
CPU chips have several hundred contact points distributed over a small area on the bottom surface thereof. In order to produce supply lines to the contact points, thin sheets (<1 mm) are used, i.e. fiberglass mats coated with epoxy material referred to as “interposers”, through which the supply lines extend. To this end, several hundred holes are placed in the interposer and filled with conductive material. Typical hole sizes range from 250 to 450 μm per hole. There should not be any alterations in length between CPU chip and interposer. Therefore, the interposers should exhibit a thermal expansion behavior similar to that of the semiconductor material of the chip, which, however, is not the case with previously used interposers.
What is also lacking in the prior art is the manufacturing of a multiplicity of thin holes adjacent to one another on an industrial scale, with hole-to-hole spacings ranging from 120 μm to 400 μm, and using the electro-thermal perforation process.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for producing holes in dielectric workpieces in form of thin sheets and substrates, in particular of glass or glass-like materials and semiconductors, when requirements have to be met such as those imposed on interposers: It has to be possible for the holes to be positioned exactly (±20 μm). It has to be possible to produce many (from 10 to 10,000) small holes per workpiece with tight hole-to-hole tolerances.
It has to be possible to produce the holes with a narrow hole-to-hole spacing (30 μm to 1000 μm). The hole should have a conical crater-shaped form at the outlet and inlet of the hole, while the central bore portion should be cylindrical. The wall of the hole should be fire-polished. The holes should be producible on an industrial scale, i.e. many microholes per workpiece simultaneously.
The apparatus for producing holes according to the invention is based on individual electrodes and individual counter electrodes symmetrically arranged around the hole to be formed in the workpiece, which are triggered individually to emit high-voltage pulses. Activation of the individual electrodes and counter electrodes is controlled by a random generator or a scheme which ensures that in the statistical average the activated electrode-counter electrode pairs are equally likely for all of the individual electrodes. This provides for axial symmetry of the substantially cylindrical walls of the holes, while the hole edges at the inlet and outlet of the holes are rounded. This hole shape is outstandingly suitable for producing so-called “interposers” which constitute connecting bridges between CPU chips and circuit boards (motherboards).
In detail, an arrangement (array) of electrode holders and counter electrode holders is provided, which confine the processing space for the workpiece. The individual high-voltage electrodes and counter electrodes are mounted to these electrode holders and counter electrode holders. The workpiece to be perforated is positioned by a workpiece holder within the processing space such that the points to be treated are located in the connecting line between the individual high-voltage electrodes and counter electrodes. For providing high-voltage breakdowns across the workpiece, the high-voltage source is connected to individual mutually opposed electrodes-counter electrode pairs. Since for each single hole to be formed there are a plurality of individual electrodes-counter electrode pairs, one single high-voltage electrode is effectively connected to one single counter electrode. In this way, bundles of high-voltage flashovers are produced, which contribute to a desired shape and configuration of a respective created hole.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, each of the high-voltage electrodes and the counter electrodes comprise three individual electrodes. This is a good tradeoff between manufacturing complexity of the hole forming apparatus and the quality of hole formation, with the additional advantage that the useful life of the electrodes is extended by more than three times. (The operating breaks between the voltage flashovers cause an interim cooling of the electrodes and thus extension of their life.)
For each of the high-voltage electrodes and counter electrodes, electrode passages are provided through the electrode holders and counter electrode holders. To this end, the electrode shafts have respective ceramic outer sleeves for insulation purposes, and ring structures are provided for precisely supporting the respective electrode jackets.
A preferred material of the electrodes is tungsten carbide alloy. The electrodes are equipped with precisely formed electrode tips (μm range) which may be produced by spark machining (Electric Discharge Machining—EMD).
To produce a plurality of holes simultaneously, a multiple array of electrode-counter electrode pairs is arranged symmetrically around perforations to be formed. Each of these electrode-counter electrode pairs is supplied by a separate high-voltage source. In this way it is avoided that a hole which has become conductive attracts the current from all the holes that have not become conductive yet. The independency of power supply for each electrode-counter electrode pair provides for independent generation of each individual hole in the workpiece.
In order to precisely position the holes, the perforation points may be marked by preparing the workpiece at the desired location for the high-voltage flashover. For this purpose, laser beams of a sufficiently high intensity may be used, which damage the material of the workpiece along respective filamentary channels thereby reducing the electrical breakdown strength at these locations. The high-precision preparation of the marks ensures high-precision positioning of the holes in the subsequent electro-thermal perforation process.
The marking of the perforation points may also be accomplished by coupling material printed to the workpiece in form of dots (having a large dielectric loss tangent), which material includes components that promote the dielectric breakdown.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an apparatus for producing holes in dielectric workpieces;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a high-voltage electrode and counter electrode; and
FIG. 3 shows a high-voltage electrode; and
FIG. 4 an enlarged detail of FIG. 3 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 illustrates an apparatus for marking perforation points 10 and producing holes 12 in dielectric workpieces 1 . The marking means comprises an array 4 of lasers 40 , which is not essential for the purposes of the invention but allows very precise positioning of the predetermined perforations. Lasers 40 emit light beams 41 in a wavelength range for which the dielectric workpiece 1 is substantially transparent, however with such a high intensity that the light beams 41 cause a filamentary channel 11 of damages in the material of workpiece 1 , at precisely those points where the perforation is desired. “Substantially transparent” herein means that the laser beam may penetrate deep enough into the material to be perforated, the material however exhibiting sufficient absorption so that the damage occurs along channel 11 .
The holes 12 of desired dimensions are produced by cooperating electrodes 6 and counter electrodes 7 . The mutually opposing and cooperating electrodes 6 and 7 are arranged symmetrically around a respective hole 12 to be formed and are configured as multiple individual electrodes. In the present embodiment, three individual electrodes 6 a , 6 b , 6 c are generally fixed in a support structure 20 as schematically illustrated, and individual electrodes 7 a , 7 b , 7 c are fixed in another support structure 30 . Processing space 23 for workpiece 1 extends between supporting structures 20 , 30 . Within processing space 23 , workpiece 1 may be displaced and precisely positioned using a workpiece holder 5 .
Supporting structures 20 , 30 are adapted for supporting a plurality of electrode holders 21 and 31 , respectively ( FIG. 2 ), which form a respective array in their support structure 20 or 30 , respectively. Each electrode holder, 21 and 31 , respectively, comprises a cylinder jacket, 22 and 32 , respectively, and three passages, 24 and 34 , respectively, for three individual electrodes which are disposed with their tips at a point near the axis of the cylinder jacket (see FIG. 3 ).
Electrodes 6 , 7 are connectable to a high-voltage source (not shown) to generate sparks between electrodes 6 and counter electrodes 7 , as shown in detail in FIG. 2 . Individual electrodes 6 a , 6 b , 6 c , and 7 a , 7 b , 7 c , are connected to a permutation device, not shown, which for example connects electrodes 6 a , 6 b , 6 c to the high-voltage source in a rotating order, while individual counter electrodes 7 a , 7 b , 7 c are connected to the opposite pole of the high-voltage source in a random order. It is also possible to apply a different triggering scheme to ensure that all effective electrode pairs occur equally likely. So from each electrode tip a spark emanates towards each other counter electrode, so that it can be expected that the walls of holes 12 extend cylindrically, at least in their central portion, and keep axial symmetry. Furthermore, it can be expected that the hole edges at the inlet and outlet of the holes are rounded-broken, as it is desired.
FIG. 4 shows a passage 24 for an individual electrode 6 across cylinder jacket 22 of electrode holder 21 . Passage 34 across electrode holder 31 is similar. Cylinder jacket 22 has recesses 25 through which the respective individual electrodes extend. The shafts of these electrodes are covered by an electrically insulating ceramic sleeve 26 which may consist of high-temperature resistant aluminum oxide and which is embedded in a plate 27 of temperature resistant material. Plate 27 is attached to cylinder jacket 22 above recess 25 . The individual electrodes have perfect electrode tips made of tungsten carbide alloy and sharpened using an EDM process (Electric Discharge Machining), so that the tips are sharp in the micron range.
Instead of the laser array 4 comprising marking means, a marking means may be used which imprints coupling points according to the pattern of perforations 10 . The coupling material promotes the electrical breakdown and the melt flow in the perforated region of the workpiece.
The apparatus of FIG. 1 is operated as follows:
If particularly precise positioning of the perforation points 10 is of concern, such perforation points are marked, which in the case of FIG. 1 is accomplished by the array 4 of lasers 40 emitting laser radiation 41 . Workpiece 1 , which for example is made of glass, is penetrated by the radiation 41 at the perforation points 10 , and the radiation 41 is so intense that a filamentary channel 11 of damage is formed in the glass. However, this pre-treatment is not essential for the basic operation of the apparatus of FIG. 1 .
Workpiece 1 is positioned relative to electrodes-counter electrodes 6 , 7 such that the intended perforation points 10 come to lie in the respective connecting lines between these electrode-counter electrode pairs 6 , 7 . By applying a high voltage, breakdowns are caused at the perforation points across the material of the workpiece 1 ; a specialty of the invention being that discharge sparks are generated symmetrically around each perforation point running from individual electrodes 6 a , 6 b , 6 c to individual electrodes 7 a , 7 b , 7 c . The permutation device, not illustrated, ensures that in each case one individual electrode of electrode holder 21 cooperates with one individual electrode of electrode holder 31 , which means that a spark jumps across these individual electrodes, as illustrated in FIG. 2 . The permutation device provides for alternate switching of the individual electrodes such that on average all of the individual electrodes of each electrode holder cooperate with the individual electrodes of the corresponding counter electrode holder and will be stressed equally likely, on average. In this way axial symmetry of the hole walls is obtained, the holes being cylindrical in their central portion while the edges at the periphery of the holes are rounded off. This hole contour is particularly suitable for use of the workpiece as an interposer.
Instead of widening the breakdowns using high-voltage discharges, a process step of deep reactive ion etching may be performed. | An apparatus for producing holes in dielectric workpieces in the form of thin sheets and substrates, in particular of glass or glass-like materials and semiconductors is provided. The apparatus includes individual high-voltage electrodes that are symmetrically arranged on an electrode holder around the hole to be produced in the workpiece. The apparatus also includes individual counter electrodes that are arranged on a counter electrode holder. The electrodes and counter electrodes can be connected in a permutating manner to a high-voltage source for the discharge of high-voltage flashovers. | Provide a concise summary of the essential information conveyed in the context. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for producing holes in dielectric workpieces in form of thin sheets and substrates, in particularly of glass or glass-like materials and semiconductors.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The perforation of plastic films by electrically generated sparks is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,338.",
"A plurality of electrode-counter electrode pairs is provided, between which the plastic film is guided and across which high-voltage energy is discharged.",
"The film is moved through a water bath, and the temperature of the water bath is utilized to control the size of the perforations.",
"Another method for producing pores in plastic films is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,348,675 B1.",
"Pulse sequences are generated between electrode pairs, with the plastic film interposed therebetween, the first pulse serving to heat the plastic film at the perforation point and the further pulses serving to form the perforation and to shape it.",
"From U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,774, the treatment of non-conductive workpieces by electrical means is known in the sense of cutting the workpiece or welding the workpiece.",
"A laser beam is directed onto the workpiece which is moved during the exposure, and a high voltage is applied to the heated zone using two electrodes to form an arc which serves to process the workpiece.",
"When the workpiece is cut, it burns in a controllable manner.",
"When workpieces are to be welded, streams of reactive or inert gas are additionally directed to the heated zone to react with either the workpiece or the electrode or a fluxing agent.",
"In this way, glass, paper, cloth, cardboard, leather, plastics, ceramics, and semiconductors can be cut, or glass and plastics can be welded, rubber can be vulcanized, and synthetic resins can be cured thermally.",
"However, the equipment is too clunky by its nature as to permit thin holes to be formed in the workpiece.",
"From WO 2005/097 439 A2 a method is known for forming a structure, preferably a hole or cavity or channel, in a region of an electrically insulating substrate, in which energy, preferably in form of heat, also by a laser beam, is supplied to the substrate or region, and a voltage is applied to the region to produce a dielectric breakdown there.",
"The process is controlled using a feedback mechanism.",
"It is possible to produce thin individual holes one after the other, however it is not possible to employ a plurality of electrode pairs simultaneously.",
"Parallel operating high-voltage electrodes mutually influence each other and do not permit individual control.",
"From WO 2009/059786 A1 a method is known for forming a structure, in particular a hole or cavity or channel or recess, in a region of an electrically insulating substrate, in which stored electrical energy is discharged across the region and additional energy, preferably heat, is supplied to the substrate or the region to increase electrical conductivity of the substrate or region and thereby initiate a current flow, the energy of which is dissipated in the substrate, i.e. converted into heat, wherein the rate of dissipation of the electrical energy is controlled by a current and power modulating element.",
"An apparatus for simultaneously producing a plurality of holes is not disclosed.",
"WO 2009/074338 A1 discloses a method for introducing a change of dielectric and/or optical properties in a first region of an electrically insulating or electrically semi-conducting substrate, wherein the substrate whose optical or dielectric properties are irreversibly altered due to a temporary increase in substrate temperature, optionally has an electrically conductive or semi-conductive or insulating layer, wherein electrical energy is supplied to the first region from a voltage supply to significantly heat or melt parts or all of the first region without causing an ejection of material from the first region, and wherein furthermore, optionally, additional energy is supplied to generate localized heat and to define the location of the first region.",
"The dissipation of electrical energy manifests itself in form of a current flow within the substrate.",
"The dissipation of the electrical energy is controlled by a current and power modulating element.",
"Alterations in substrate surfaces produced by the method also include holes produced in borosilicate glass or silicon substrates which had been provided with an insulating layer of paraffin or a hot melt adhesive.",
"Also, holes are produced in silicon, in zirconia, in sapphire, in indium phosphide, or gallium arsenide.",
"Partially, the discharge process was initiated by laser beam irradiation at a wavelength of 10.6 μm (CO 2 laser).",
"Grids of holes are also disclosed, but with relatively large spacings of the holes.",
"An apparatus for simultaneously producing a plurality of holes is not disclosed.",
"From DE 28 30 326 A1 an arrangement is known for effecting superfine perforation of film-like sheeting using high-voltage pulses.",
"The sheeting is passed, in a substantially contactless manner, between a pair of electrodes to which a high voltage is applied.",
"The two electrodes are composed of multi-row needle arrays.",
"The mutually opposing needles in the needle arrays are connected in pairs to separate excitation circuits, via control lines.",
"The spark discharge between the two needles produces a microscopic perforation hole along the breakdown in the film-like material.",
"Therefore, it is clear from prior art how to perforate foils and thin sheets of dielectric materials using a high-voltage electric field of appropriate frequency or pulse shape.",
"Local heating of the material reduces the dielectric strength at the points to be perforated, so that the applied field strength is sufficient to cause an electric current to flow across the material.",
"If the material exhibits a sufficiently large increase in electrical conductivity with temperature, as is the case with glasses, glass-ceramics, and semi-conductors (also with many plastics), the result is an “electro-thermal self-focusing”",
"of the perforation channel in the material.",
"The perforation material is getting hotter and hotter, current density increases until the material is evaporated and the perforation is “blown open.”",
"However, since the perforation is based on a dielectric breakdown, it is difficult to exactly match the desired location of the breakdown.",
"It is known that e.g. atmospheric flashes follow a very irregular course.",
"CPU chips have several hundred contact points distributed over a small area on the bottom surface thereof.",
"In order to produce supply lines to the contact points, thin sheets (<1 mm) are used, i.e. fiberglass mats coated with epoxy material referred to as “interposers”, through which the supply lines extend.",
"To this end, several hundred holes are placed in the interposer and filled with conductive material.",
"Typical hole sizes range from 250 to 450 μm per hole.",
"There should not be any alterations in length between CPU chip and interposer.",
"Therefore, the interposers should exhibit a thermal expansion behavior similar to that of the semiconductor material of the chip, which, however, is not the case with previously used interposers.",
"What is also lacking in the prior art is the manufacturing of a multiplicity of thin holes adjacent to one another on an industrial scale, with hole-to-hole spacings ranging from 120 μm to 400 μm, and using the electro-thermal perforation process.",
"GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for producing holes in dielectric workpieces in form of thin sheets and substrates, in particular of glass or glass-like materials and semiconductors, when requirements have to be met such as those imposed on interposers: It has to be possible for the holes to be positioned exactly (±20 μm).",
"It has to be possible to produce many (from 10 to 10,000) small holes per workpiece with tight hole-to-hole tolerances.",
"It has to be possible to produce the holes with a narrow hole-to-hole spacing (30 μm to 1000 μm).",
"The hole should have a conical crater-shaped form at the outlet and inlet of the hole, while the central bore portion should be cylindrical.",
"The wall of the hole should be fire-polished.",
"The holes should be producible on an industrial scale, i.e. many microholes per workpiece simultaneously.",
"The apparatus for producing holes according to the invention is based on individual electrodes and individual counter electrodes symmetrically arranged around the hole to be formed in the workpiece, which are triggered individually to emit high-voltage pulses.",
"Activation of the individual electrodes and counter electrodes is controlled by a random generator or a scheme which ensures that in the statistical average the activated electrode-counter electrode pairs are equally likely for all of the individual electrodes.",
"This provides for axial symmetry of the substantially cylindrical walls of the holes, while the hole edges at the inlet and outlet of the holes are rounded.",
"This hole shape is outstandingly suitable for producing so-called “interposers”",
"which constitute connecting bridges between CPU chips and circuit boards (motherboards).",
"In detail, an arrangement (array) of electrode holders and counter electrode holders is provided, which confine the processing space for the workpiece.",
"The individual high-voltage electrodes and counter electrodes are mounted to these electrode holders and counter electrode holders.",
"The workpiece to be perforated is positioned by a workpiece holder within the processing space such that the points to be treated are located in the connecting line between the individual high-voltage electrodes and counter electrodes.",
"For providing high-voltage breakdowns across the workpiece, the high-voltage source is connected to individual mutually opposed electrodes-counter electrode pairs.",
"Since for each single hole to be formed there are a plurality of individual electrodes-counter electrode pairs, one single high-voltage electrode is effectively connected to one single counter electrode.",
"In this way, bundles of high-voltage flashovers are produced, which contribute to a desired shape and configuration of a respective created hole.",
"According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, each of the high-voltage electrodes and the counter electrodes comprise three individual electrodes.",
"This is a good tradeoff between manufacturing complexity of the hole forming apparatus and the quality of hole formation, with the additional advantage that the useful life of the electrodes is extended by more than three times.",
"(The operating breaks between the voltage flashovers cause an interim cooling of the electrodes and thus extension of their life.) For each of the high-voltage electrodes and counter electrodes, electrode passages are provided through the electrode holders and counter electrode holders.",
"To this end, the electrode shafts have respective ceramic outer sleeves for insulation purposes, and ring structures are provided for precisely supporting the respective electrode jackets.",
"A preferred material of the electrodes is tungsten carbide alloy.",
"The electrodes are equipped with precisely formed electrode tips (μm range) which may be produced by spark machining (Electric Discharge Machining—EMD).",
"To produce a plurality of holes simultaneously, a multiple array of electrode-counter electrode pairs is arranged symmetrically around perforations to be formed.",
"Each of these electrode-counter electrode pairs is supplied by a separate high-voltage source.",
"In this way it is avoided that a hole which has become conductive attracts the current from all the holes that have not become conductive yet.",
"The independency of power supply for each electrode-counter electrode pair provides for independent generation of each individual hole in the workpiece.",
"In order to precisely position the holes, the perforation points may be marked by preparing the workpiece at the desired location for the high-voltage flashover.",
"For this purpose, laser beams of a sufficiently high intensity may be used, which damage the material of the workpiece along respective filamentary channels thereby reducing the electrical breakdown strength at these locations.",
"The high-precision preparation of the marks ensures high-precision positioning of the holes in the subsequent electro-thermal perforation process.",
"The marking of the perforation points may also be accomplished by coupling material printed to the workpiece in form of dots (having a large dielectric loss tangent), which material includes components that promote the dielectric breakdown.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an apparatus for producing holes in dielectric workpieces;",
"FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a high-voltage electrode and counter electrode;",
"and FIG. 3 shows a high-voltage electrode;",
"and FIG. 4 an enlarged detail of FIG. 3 .",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 illustrates an apparatus for marking perforation points 10 and producing holes 12 in dielectric workpieces 1 .",
"The marking means comprises an array 4 of lasers 40 , which is not essential for the purposes of the invention but allows very precise positioning of the predetermined perforations.",
"Lasers 40 emit light beams 41 in a wavelength range for which the dielectric workpiece 1 is substantially transparent, however with such a high intensity that the light beams 41 cause a filamentary channel 11 of damages in the material of workpiece 1 , at precisely those points where the perforation is desired.",
"“Substantially transparent”",
"herein means that the laser beam may penetrate deep enough into the material to be perforated, the material however exhibiting sufficient absorption so that the damage occurs along channel 11 .",
"The holes 12 of desired dimensions are produced by cooperating electrodes 6 and counter electrodes 7 .",
"The mutually opposing and cooperating electrodes 6 and 7 are arranged symmetrically around a respective hole 12 to be formed and are configured as multiple individual electrodes.",
"In the present embodiment, three individual electrodes 6 a , 6 b , 6 c are generally fixed in a support structure 20 as schematically illustrated, and individual electrodes 7 a , 7 b , 7 c are fixed in another support structure 30 .",
"Processing space 23 for workpiece 1 extends between supporting structures 20 , 30 .",
"Within processing space 23 , workpiece 1 may be displaced and precisely positioned using a workpiece holder 5 .",
"Supporting structures 20 , 30 are adapted for supporting a plurality of electrode holders 21 and 31 , respectively ( FIG. 2 ), which form a respective array in their support structure 20 or 30 , respectively.",
"Each electrode holder, 21 and 31 , respectively, comprises a cylinder jacket, 22 and 32 , respectively, and three passages, 24 and 34 , respectively, for three individual electrodes which are disposed with their tips at a point near the axis of the cylinder jacket (see FIG. 3 ).",
"Electrodes 6 , 7 are connectable to a high-voltage source (not shown) to generate sparks between electrodes 6 and counter electrodes 7 , as shown in detail in FIG. 2 .",
"Individual electrodes 6 a , 6 b , 6 c , and 7 a , 7 b , 7 c , are connected to a permutation device, not shown, which for example connects electrodes 6 a , 6 b , 6 c to the high-voltage source in a rotating order, while individual counter electrodes 7 a , 7 b , 7 c are connected to the opposite pole of the high-voltage source in a random order.",
"It is also possible to apply a different triggering scheme to ensure that all effective electrode pairs occur equally likely.",
"So from each electrode tip a spark emanates towards each other counter electrode, so that it can be expected that the walls of holes 12 extend cylindrically, at least in their central portion, and keep axial symmetry.",
"Furthermore, it can be expected that the hole edges at the inlet and outlet of the holes are rounded-broken, as it is desired.",
"FIG. 4 shows a passage 24 for an individual electrode 6 across cylinder jacket 22 of electrode holder 21 .",
"Passage 34 across electrode holder 31 is similar.",
"Cylinder jacket 22 has recesses 25 through which the respective individual electrodes extend.",
"The shafts of these electrodes are covered by an electrically insulating ceramic sleeve 26 which may consist of high-temperature resistant aluminum oxide and which is embedded in a plate 27 of temperature resistant material.",
"Plate 27 is attached to cylinder jacket 22 above recess 25 .",
"The individual electrodes have perfect electrode tips made of tungsten carbide alloy and sharpened using an EDM process (Electric Discharge Machining), so that the tips are sharp in the micron range.",
"Instead of the laser array 4 comprising marking means, a marking means may be used which imprints coupling points according to the pattern of perforations 10 .",
"The coupling material promotes the electrical breakdown and the melt flow in the perforated region of the workpiece.",
"The apparatus of FIG. 1 is operated as follows: If particularly precise positioning of the perforation points 10 is of concern, such perforation points are marked, which in the case of FIG. 1 is accomplished by the array 4 of lasers 40 emitting laser radiation 41 .",
"Workpiece 1 , which for example is made of glass, is penetrated by the radiation 41 at the perforation points 10 , and the radiation 41 is so intense that a filamentary channel 11 of damage is formed in the glass.",
"However, this pre-treatment is not essential for the basic operation of the apparatus of FIG. 1 .",
"Workpiece 1 is positioned relative to electrodes-counter electrodes 6 , 7 such that the intended perforation points 10 come to lie in the respective connecting lines between these electrode-counter electrode pairs 6 , 7 .",
"By applying a high voltage, breakdowns are caused at the perforation points across the material of the workpiece 1 ;",
"a specialty of the invention being that discharge sparks are generated symmetrically around each perforation point running from individual electrodes 6 a , 6 b , 6 c to individual electrodes 7 a , 7 b , 7 c .",
"The permutation device, not illustrated, ensures that in each case one individual electrode of electrode holder 21 cooperates with one individual electrode of electrode holder 31 , which means that a spark jumps across these individual electrodes, as illustrated in FIG. 2 .",
"The permutation device provides for alternate switching of the individual electrodes such that on average all of the individual electrodes of each electrode holder cooperate with the individual electrodes of the corresponding counter electrode holder and will be stressed equally likely, on average.",
"In this way axial symmetry of the hole walls is obtained, the holes being cylindrical in their central portion while the edges at the periphery of the holes are rounded off.",
"This hole contour is particularly suitable for use of the workpiece as an interposer.",
"Instead of widening the breakdowns using high-voltage discharges, a process step of deep reactive ion etching may be performed."
] |
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/253,734, filed Feb. 22, 1999, now abandoned; which claims the benefit of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/817,690, filed Jul. 23, 1997, now abandoned; which was filed as a national stage 371 of PCT application, filed Feb. 12, 1996; which claims the benefit of PCT/FR94/01185, filed Oct. 12, 1994.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a payment-triggered audiovisual reproduction system.
These audiovisual reproduction systems are generally found in cafes or pubs. This type of system is composed of a sound reproduction machine usually called a jukebox linked to a monitor which displays video images or video clips. To do this, the jukebox is equipped with a compact video disk player and a compact video disk library and includes selection buttons which locate the titles of pieces of music that are available. Payment of a proper fee followed by one or more selections authorizes activation of the system with automatic loading in the player of the disk on which the selected piece is found. Subsequently, the desired audiovisual reproduction is played.
These systems, although allowing reliable and good quality reproduction, nevertheless have major defects. A first defect relates to the space necessary for storing the library; this consequently entails that the system will have large dimensions. Another defect of these systems relates to the mostly mechanical components using sophisticated techniques, which in turn, have high fault rates. Moreover, it is unusual for all the songs on a disk to be regularly heard, but unwanted songs cannot be eliminated from the disk, and the disk occupies physical space. Another problem is caused by the companies that manage and distribute these systems, placing in the circuit a limited number of identical disks and imposing a certain rotation on their customers. As a result, customers must wait when a disk is not available.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to eliminate the various defects of the prior art systems. The invention proposes an intelligent digital audiovisual system which is practical to implement, compact, reliable, and enables storage at the title level as well as easy deletion or insertion of titles not listened to or wanted, respectively, while maintaining a large song library and outputting a high level of reproduction quality.
To do this, the audiovisual reproduction system according to the invention is developed around a microprocessor device linked to a payment device. The system includes a memory for storing in digital form the audio and visual information to be used. The microprocessor device is also linked via interfaces to a display and audio reproduction structure allowing formation of a multimedia environment. The ensemble is managed by a multitask operating system including a library of tools and services integrated in the memory.
Thus, all the audiovisual information to be used is digitized and stored in the memory and can be re-read with high fidelity, allowing the audiovisual reproduction system according to the invention to output high-quality songs and graphics.
A new title can be easily introduced into the memory, and a little heard or undesirable title can be easily deleted from the memory. With musical selections, corresponding album covers can likewise be stored in digitized form. The memory stores a minimum of 350 to 400 titles and can be expanded without any difficulty. The simplicity of operation and absence of mechanical components in the system for reproduction of audiovisual information greatly reduce the number of failures, which results in lower cost maintenance. Moreover, the multitask operating system, which includes a library containing a set of tools and services, makes it possible to greatly facilitate operation due to its integration in the memory and the resulting high flexibility. In particular, with the multitask operating system, it is possible to create a multimedia environment by simply and simultaneously managing audio reproduction, video or graphics display and video animation. In addition, since the audiovisual information is digitized and stored in the memory, it uses much less space than for a traditional audiovisual reproduction system, and consequently, the dimensions of the system according to the invention are reduced. Consequently, the dimensions of the housing in which the system is located are greatly reduced, and the cost of the ensemble is likewise greatly reduced. The external appearance of the housing of course can be easily adapted to the nature of the establishment.
Advantageously, the audiovisual reproduction system is moreover linked via an interface to a telecommunications modem, the system then being connected to an audiovisual data distribution system by the telecommunications modem and telecommunications lines, this telecommunications function is likewise managed by the multitask operating system included in the library of tools and services integrated in the memory.
Connection to the audiovisual data distribution network, of a proprietary type, then authorizes the return and quasi-immediate insertion of the desired titles in the memory of this system. The telecommunications lines are preferably high speed telecommunication lines. The multitask operating system, while allowing the formation of a multimedia environment, at the same time allows use of the telecommunications services included in the library of tools and services.
Notably the system can easily be provided with a timer for automatic and periodic activation after a predetermined period of nonuse. This timing function is written into the memory and managed by the multitask operating system. These automatic and periodic activations for partial or complete audiovisual reproductions make it possible to draw customer attention and consequently increase revenues.
Characteristically, the memory stores a catalog of titles relating to available audiovisual data with the corresponding fees. The selection of a title automatically triggers internal processing which totals the sums relative to a chosen title. Thus, the system provides an accurate calculation and verification of fees.
Likewise, each choice of a title is counted for display of use statistics, the display being triggered by activating a predetermined function. According to this characteristic, the system manager or owner is allowed to display, after activating the predetermined function, the statistical total of the various uses. This information guides him in the choice of titles to be retained or discarded. The receipts relative to the fees paid which are thus counted exactly are recovered by the system manager or owner by a key.
The audiovisual reproduction system preferably uses the aforementioned listed components, although certainly additional components could be used, and the invention is not meant to be limited.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The following description with reference to the attached drawings, given using a non-limiting example, will explain how the invention can be accomplished.
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of the audiovisual reproduction jukebox system according to the invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the jukebox system; and
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the specific service modules of a task managed by the multitask operating system, the ensemble of modules being included in a library stored in the memory.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The hardware components according to the present invention will first be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 .
The microprocessor device 22 to be used is a high performance PC-compatible system, such as an Intel 80486 DX/2 system which has memory and the following characteristics.
compatibility with the local Vesa bus, processor cache memory: 256 kB, RAM of 32 MB, high performance parallel and serial ports, SVGA microprocessor graphics adapter, type SCSI/2 bus type controller, self-powered static RAM.
The display consists essentially of:
a 14 inch (35.56 cm) flat screen video monitor without interleaving of the SVGA type, with high resolution and low radiation, which is used for video reproduction (for example, the covers of the albums of the musical selection), graphics or video clips, a 14 inch (35.56 cm) touch screen “Intelli Touch” from Elo Touch Systems Inc. which includes a glass coated board using “advanced surface wave technology” and an AT type bus controller. This touch screen allows display of various selection data used by the customers and command and management control information used by the system manager or owner. It is likewise used for maintenance purposes in combination with an external keyboard that can be connected to the system which has a keyboard connector for this purpose, controlled by a key lock.
Likewise comprising part of the memory, storage modules 240 , 246 using hard disks of the high speed and high capacity SCSI type are connected to the memory in the microprocessor device. These modules allow storage of audiovisual data.
A high speed 28.8 k/bps telecommunications modem adapter 26 is integrated to enable the connection to the audiovisual data distribution network 28 ( FIG. 1 ).
To reproduce the audio data of the musical selections, the system includes integrated amplified loudspeakers 30 and is equipped with commercial electronic cards of the music synthesizer type which are provided to support a large number of input sources while providing an output with CD (compact disk) type quality, in particular:
a microprocessor multimedia audio adapter of the “Sound Blaster” type SBP32AWE from Creative Labs Inc.
A thermally controlled 240 watt ventilated power supply 32 provides power to the system. This power supply is protected against surges and harmonics.
The audiovisual reproduction system and especially the microprocessor device are configurable equally by remote control 14 , for which the following are used:
an infrared remote control 14 from Mind Path Technologies Inc., an emitter which has fifteen control keys for the microprocessor system and eight control keys for the projection device. an infrared receiver 14 b with serial adapter from Mind Path Technologies Inc.
A fee payment device 34 from National Rejectors Inc. is likewise integrated into the system. It is also possible to use any other device which allows receipt of any type of payment by coins, bills, tokens, magnetic chip cards or a combination of means of payment.
To house the system a chassis or frame of steel with external customizable fittings is also provided.
A wireless microphone 38 is incorporated into the system allowing transformation of the latter into a powerful public address system or possibly a karaoke machine. A wireless loudspeaker system can also be used by the system. Finally, remote control allows, for example from behind the bar, access to and control of various commands such as:
microphone start/stop command, loudspeaker muting command, audio volume control command, command to cancel the musical selection being played.
The choice of software developed or used to operate the audiovisual reproduction system has been oriented to be user-friendly. From this perspective all the characteristics of the system can be controlled via the easy-to-use graphics touch screen in cooperation with an auxiliary voice synthesis system.
To do this, on the touch screen used for control and assistance, at least four control panels can be selected. The first title selection panel helps customers find and select a desired title. A second management control panel controls volume, bass, treble or panoramic control on the video monitor. A third panel scans the title database, for private use, to allow the system manager or owner to examine the database containing the available titles via the audiovisual data distribution network to control and retrieve the titles. A fourth statistics panel, for private use, provides statistical estimations and calculations relative to the titles.
Customer selections of musical pieces are greatly simplified by the graphics interface which has facilities such as browsing the available titles according to various selection criteria, for example title, composer, category, etc. Moreover, when a musical piece is chosen, the album cover to which it belongs can be displayed at the same time as certain statistical data such as the composer of the piece, its length, album label, etc.
For this purpose, the system operating software has been developed around a library of tools and services largely oriented to the audiovisual domain in a multimedia environment. This library advantageously includes a multitask operating system which efficiently enables simultaneous execution of multiple fragments of code. The operating software thus allows concurrent execution, in an orderly manner and avoiding any conflict, of operations performed on the display, audio reproduction structure as well as management of the telecommunications lines via the distribution network. In addition, the software has high flexibility since it allows the owner of the establishment to use options not available before, such as:
automatic withdrawal to an auxiliary source, for example, a FM tuner, during inactivity of the main function, remote control of the audio volume, cancelling or skipping a musical piece, superposition of a microphone on the existing sound for public address or to convert the system into a karaoke machine, amplifier control with respect to output power, right or left channel balance, control of base or treble frequencies, automatic activation of audiovisual reproduction at controllable intervals when the system is inactive.
Advantageously, the audiovisual data distribution network is an integral part of the system environment according to the invention and it allows the manager or owner of the system to exploit new and powerful possibilities and services such as:
remote technical assistance: either for problems of minor malfunctions by assisting the system manager or owner, or for more major problems by assisting the technicians in locating the fault and the defective component, management of security: each system is connected to a local controller system according to a preestablished time pattern for acquisition of an approval signal in the form of a registration number which authorizes its operation. In addition, if cheating is detected or the system can no longer communicate via the network, the system automatically stops working, acquisition of musical pieces with the album covers: the system manager or owner can select and acquire musical pieces by browsing the selection database. Transfer of a musical piece with its album cover and integration into the list of available titles are done within a very short time, upgrading of the system: corrective maintenance of major or minor problems relative to the system operating software, improvements or upgrades are enabled via the telecommunications lines through the distribution network. Only a few minutes are necessary to transfer these modifications to any network system, collection of statistics: all statistics and data internal to a system are rapidly available to be compiled via the distribution network, the statistics allowing specific and efficient analysis of the entire market situation, billing: the distribution network automatically calls the system which has registered the amounts collected by the system following payment by the user, calculates the composer royalties which the system manager or owner must pay to the distribution network company, and produces the appropriate accounts, marketing and promotion: at the request of a title supplier for promotional purposes high fidelity digital reproduction of a title is available to the system manager or owner during subsequent hours via the distribution network. Digitization of the musical selections which are made available via the distribution network is done using various commercially available software tools, which provide standard formatted data files.
The digitized audiovisual data are stored in a format which uses standard compression. The system decompresses the musical selections stored in the storage means at the instant at which they are reproduced; this allows a considerable reduction in the memory space necessary to store them, while optimizing the delays during transfer via the telecommunications lines.
Each selection is available according to two digitized formats: with a hi-fi quality or CD quality. This authorizes an advantageous balance between the necessary memory space and the required reproduction quality which depends on the effective noise level in the establishment and the quality requirement.
With reference to FIG. 3 , it is noted that while all the modules described separately seem to be used sequentially, in reality the specific tasks of the modules are executed simultaneously in an environment using the multitask operating system. Consequently the flowchart of FIG. 3 indicates the specific operations which the module must perform and not a branch toward this module which would invalidate all the operations performed by the other modules.
The first module, labeled SSM, is the system startup module. This module does only one thing, and consequently, it is loaded automatically when the system is powered up. If the system is started with a correct registration number, it then directly enters the “in service” mode of the module labeled RRM.
The REG module is the registration mode module which, when it is activated for the first time or when approval for a new registration is necessary, indicates its software serial number and requests that the user enters his coordinates, such as the name of the establishment, address and telephone number. When the system is not registered, it operates only for registration, providing the manager with the appropriate information necessary to activate it. Once the user has finished entering the necessary information, the system proceeds to register itself for a predetermined registration period and then activates itself completely. Before the registration period expires, the system attempts to establish a telecommunications link to a server 28 via the distribution network 29 . If a connection is established, it renews its registration with its software serial number and provides to the server the additional user information furnished by the customer. When the registration period expires before the system is able to establish a link and renew its registration, it is invalidated after a configurable grace period has expired and sends the message “out of service”. When the manager inserts his key, he is guided for system registration. It is possible to register the system by telephone when a telecommunications line problem or telephone line fault occurs. When a system is registered and activated by the telecommunications network or via a telephone call to the distribution network headquarters, it becomes completely operational in two modes, “user” and “manager” (for system maintenance) for another registration period.
The RMM module enters the “in service” mode when its registration number has been validated. In this mode, the system is ready to handle any request which can be triggered by various predefined events such as:
customers touching the screen: when a customer or user touches the screen, the system transfers control of the foreground session to the CBSM module 19 of the customer browsing and selection mode, telecommunications network server call requests: when the system detects a loop on the phone line, it emits an asynchronous background procedure: the telecommunications services mode of the TSM module 17 , requests concerning the key switch: when the manager turns the key switch, the system hands over control of its foreground session to the management mode MMM module 12 , reception of a remote control signal: when a command is received, it is processed in a background session by the system command SCM module 15 while the foreground session remains available for other interventions, appearance of end of timing, showing inactivity of the system: when one of the various timers is activated, control is temporarily handed over to the inactivity routines IRM module for processing.
The system remains in the “in service” mode until one of the above described events takes place.
The IRM module 11 is the inactivity routines module. It contains the routines that perform predetermined functions which it can call on when the system is inactive and when a predefined but adjustable time interval has expired. The aforementioned list of functions that the system can handle is of course not limited, and new functions which would be desirable to add to the overall system of the distribution network could be added very easily at any time and as soon as they are created using the remote control services for software upgrading. Such functions can be offered and added for example when requirements have been confirmed regarding management of the ensemble of systems or simply for a given system. Some of these proposed functions with the system are described below:
display of an album cover to announce its presence or its future integration into the system: the system displays a full screen of announcements showing the album covers for a desired interval. Different panoramic effects can be used, zoom forward and back, for example, on the covers of each album to draw the attention of the customers, broadcast of parts of musical pieces present in the system: the manager in this case can control and sample the pieces broadcast during a specific interval and can have these pieces correspond to the album covers on the screen, reproduction of complete selections for internal promotional proposes: the manager can impose a period of defined inactivity after which a randomly selected musical selection is reproduced. At the end of this period, a musical selection is thus taken randomly in the system, then played in its entirety without payment of fees, audio reproductions for external promotional purposes: this option works in the same way as the preceding one, except that it authorizes the system to accept playing of the promotional musical selections for which third parties have paid and which are distributed freely over the telecommunications network, promotional spoken announcements of new musical selections: according to this option, it is possible to verbally promote newly added selections or to add them in the near future to the system via loudspeakers integrated into the system, withdrawal to an auxiliary source: at his discretion the manager can request that the system, when inactive, withdraw to an auxiliary source. For example, when this option is activated and when a FM tuner is connected to the system inputs and the system is inactive, the system directs its auxiliary source input to its main output after the delay determined by the inactivity has expired.
The SCM module 15 is the system commands module. This module allows functions that control the system to accept a required input by an infrared remote control device 14 . These functions are handled instantaneously without the process being stopped. A large number of these functions are possible, only some are listed below, in a non-limiting manner:
audio volume control of the played selections, audio volume control from the auxiliary played source, microphone start/stop command, microphone audio volume control, balance control, left channel, right channel, control of base frequency level, control of treble frequency level, command to cancel or skip a musical selection, panoramic effects command, zoom forward, zoom back, triggering of zeroing of the software program.
The MMM module 12 is the management mode module. This module is triggered when the key switch is turned by the manager. The display of an ordinary screen is replaced by a display specific to system management. With this new display, the manager can control all the settings that are possible with remote control. He can likewise take control of additional low level commands allowing for an example definition of commands to be validated or invalidated on the remote control. He is also able to define a maximum of high and low levels for each system output source, these limits defining the range available on the remote control. Using this screen, the manager can access the mode of new selection acquisition by touching a button located on the touch screen. When the manager has succeeded in defining these commands as well as the system configuration, it is then enough to remove the key, and the system returns automatically to the “in service” mode.
The NSAM module is the new selections acquisition mode module. When this mode is activated, a new control screen appears. This mode is designed to assist the manager regarding the location for fast and efficient acquisition of titles of musical selections. To do this, the screen offers different options such as:
search by title, search by artist, search by category (pop, rock country, etc.), alphabetic sorting, sorting by issue date.
The manager can browse the ensemble of available titles and select them by simply touching their designation on the screen to load them. Once the selections have been made and the manager has exited the module, the system automatically sends the list of selections to the telecommunications services mode module for processing, and then returns with foreground control to the management mode.
The CBSM module 19 is the customer browsing and selection mode module. Access to this module is triggered from the “in service” mode by touching the screen. When the customer touches the screen, the screen display disappears to make room for a menu provided for convenient browsing assisted by digitized voice messages to guide the user in his choice of musical selections.
The TSM module is the telecommunications services mode module. The TSM module allows management of all management services available on the distribution network. All the tasks specific to telecommunications are managed like the background tasks of the system. These tasks always use only the processing time remaining once the system has completed all its foreground tasks. Thus, when the system is busy with one of its higher priority tasks, the TSM module automatically will try to reduce the limits on system resources and recover all the microprocessor processing time left available. Some of these tasks managed by this module are listed below:
transfer of audio or video data, automated accounting of the fees for musical selections, accounting of musical selection use, collection of statistics, system diagnostics, system security (integrity), monitoring of the selection inventory, configuration verification, upgrading of software.
The SSC module is the system security control module. Each system is linked to a local system controller according to a preestablished time pattern for acquisition of an approval signal in the form of the registration number, authorizing it to operate. In addition, if cheating has been detected or the system cannot communicate via the network, the system automatically stops working.
The audio visual reproduction system according to the invention has a large number of advantages over systems of the prior art. This powerful system, which uses a computer, can store and reproduce any musical selection while maintaining its original quality. It allows simple and efficient replacement of all mechanical and sophisticated electronic devices of the prior art, which were sources of failures, such as the disk changing arm, lasers, etc., thus greatly reducing maintenance costs. It is simple and compact. The managers or owners of this system can efficiently monitor the titles of the musical selections since they uniquely command the desired titles, thus bypassing a distribution company which ordinarily only acquires a small number of unique titles, then imposes a rotation on their customers. With the present invention, it is possible to acquire only specific titles and at reduced prices, as well as entire CD albums if desired. Consequently, management costs can be significantly reduced. With the integrated interactive video module, this system can also be used for promotional purposes, market research or even as a karaoke machine. Finally, use of a multitask operating system enables simultaneous management providing a major advantage over prior art devices. | Payment-based audiovisual playback system characterized by comprising a microprocessor device associated with a payment device primarily including means for storing, inter alia, in digital format the visual and sound information to be used. The system is associated through interfaces with display means and sound playback means for providing a multimedia environment. The system is controlled by a multitask operating system including a tool and service library integrated into the storage means. The system, which is also associated through an interface with a telecommunications modem, is optionally connected to an audiovisual data distribution network by a telecommunications modem and telecommunications links, said telecommunications function also being controlled by said multitask operating system. | Identify and summarize the most critical technical features from the given patent document. | [
"REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 09/253,734, filed Feb. 22, 1999, now abandoned;",
"which claims the benefit of U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 08/817,690, filed Jul. 23, 1997, now abandoned;",
"which was filed as a national stage 371 of PCT application, filed Feb. 12, 1996;",
"which claims the benefit of PCT/FR94/01185, filed Oct. 12, 1994.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a payment-triggered audiovisual reproduction system.",
"These audiovisual reproduction systems are generally found in cafes or pubs.",
"This type of system is composed of a sound reproduction machine usually called a jukebox linked to a monitor which displays video images or video clips.",
"To do this, the jukebox is equipped with a compact video disk player and a compact video disk library and includes selection buttons which locate the titles of pieces of music that are available.",
"Payment of a proper fee followed by one or more selections authorizes activation of the system with automatic loading in the player of the disk on which the selected piece is found.",
"Subsequently, the desired audiovisual reproduction is played.",
"These systems, although allowing reliable and good quality reproduction, nevertheless have major defects.",
"A first defect relates to the space necessary for storing the library;",
"this consequently entails that the system will have large dimensions.",
"Another defect of these systems relates to the mostly mechanical components using sophisticated techniques, which in turn, have high fault rates.",
"Moreover, it is unusual for all the songs on a disk to be regularly heard, but unwanted songs cannot be eliminated from the disk, and the disk occupies physical space.",
"Another problem is caused by the companies that manage and distribute these systems, placing in the circuit a limited number of identical disks and imposing a certain rotation on their customers.",
"As a result, customers must wait when a disk is not available.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the invention is to eliminate the various defects of the prior art systems.",
"The invention proposes an intelligent digital audiovisual system which is practical to implement, compact, reliable, and enables storage at the title level as well as easy deletion or insertion of titles not listened to or wanted, respectively, while maintaining a large song library and outputting a high level of reproduction quality.",
"To do this, the audiovisual reproduction system according to the invention is developed around a microprocessor device linked to a payment device.",
"The system includes a memory for storing in digital form the audio and visual information to be used.",
"The microprocessor device is also linked via interfaces to a display and audio reproduction structure allowing formation of a multimedia environment.",
"The ensemble is managed by a multitask operating system including a library of tools and services integrated in the memory.",
"Thus, all the audiovisual information to be used is digitized and stored in the memory and can be re-read with high fidelity, allowing the audiovisual reproduction system according to the invention to output high-quality songs and graphics.",
"A new title can be easily introduced into the memory, and a little heard or undesirable title can be easily deleted from the memory.",
"With musical selections, corresponding album covers can likewise be stored in digitized form.",
"The memory stores a minimum of 350 to 400 titles and can be expanded without any difficulty.",
"The simplicity of operation and absence of mechanical components in the system for reproduction of audiovisual information greatly reduce the number of failures, which results in lower cost maintenance.",
"Moreover, the multitask operating system, which includes a library containing a set of tools and services, makes it possible to greatly facilitate operation due to its integration in the memory and the resulting high flexibility.",
"In particular, with the multitask operating system, it is possible to create a multimedia environment by simply and simultaneously managing audio reproduction, video or graphics display and video animation.",
"In addition, since the audiovisual information is digitized and stored in the memory, it uses much less space than for a traditional audiovisual reproduction system, and consequently, the dimensions of the system according to the invention are reduced.",
"Consequently, the dimensions of the housing in which the system is located are greatly reduced, and the cost of the ensemble is likewise greatly reduced.",
"The external appearance of the housing of course can be easily adapted to the nature of the establishment.",
"Advantageously, the audiovisual reproduction system is moreover linked via an interface to a telecommunications modem, the system then being connected to an audiovisual data distribution system by the telecommunications modem and telecommunications lines, this telecommunications function is likewise managed by the multitask operating system included in the library of tools and services integrated in the memory.",
"Connection to the audiovisual data distribution network, of a proprietary type, then authorizes the return and quasi-immediate insertion of the desired titles in the memory of this system.",
"The telecommunications lines are preferably high speed telecommunication lines.",
"The multitask operating system, while allowing the formation of a multimedia environment, at the same time allows use of the telecommunications services included in the library of tools and services.",
"Notably the system can easily be provided with a timer for automatic and periodic activation after a predetermined period of nonuse.",
"This timing function is written into the memory and managed by the multitask operating system.",
"These automatic and periodic activations for partial or complete audiovisual reproductions make it possible to draw customer attention and consequently increase revenues.",
"Characteristically, the memory stores a catalog of titles relating to available audiovisual data with the corresponding fees.",
"The selection of a title automatically triggers internal processing which totals the sums relative to a chosen title.",
"Thus, the system provides an accurate calculation and verification of fees.",
"Likewise, each choice of a title is counted for display of use statistics, the display being triggered by activating a predetermined function.",
"According to this characteristic, the system manager or owner is allowed to display, after activating the predetermined function, the statistical total of the various uses.",
"This information guides him in the choice of titles to be retained or discarded.",
"The receipts relative to the fees paid which are thus counted exactly are recovered by the system manager or owner by a key.",
"The audiovisual reproduction system preferably uses the aforementioned listed components, although certainly additional components could be used, and the invention is not meant to be limited.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The following description with reference to the attached drawings, given using a non-limiting example, will explain how the invention can be accomplished.",
"FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of the audiovisual reproduction jukebox system according to the invention;",
"FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the jukebox system;",
"and FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the specific service modules of a task managed by the multitask operating system, the ensemble of modules being included in a library stored in the memory.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The hardware components according to the present invention will first be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 .",
"The microprocessor device 22 to be used is a high performance PC-compatible system, such as an Intel 80486 DX/2 system which has memory and the following characteristics.",
"compatibility with the local Vesa bus, processor cache memory: 256 kB, RAM of 32 MB, high performance parallel and serial ports, SVGA microprocessor graphics adapter, type SCSI/2 bus type controller, self-powered static RAM.",
"The display consists essentially of: a 14 inch (35.56 cm) flat screen video monitor without interleaving of the SVGA type, with high resolution and low radiation, which is used for video reproduction (for example, the covers of the albums of the musical selection), graphics or video clips, a 14 inch (35.56 cm) touch screen “Intelli Touch”",
"from Elo Touch Systems Inc. which includes a glass coated board using “advanced surface wave technology”",
"and an AT type bus controller.",
"This touch screen allows display of various selection data used by the customers and command and management control information used by the system manager or owner.",
"It is likewise used for maintenance purposes in combination with an external keyboard that can be connected to the system which has a keyboard connector for this purpose, controlled by a key lock.",
"Likewise comprising part of the memory, storage modules 240 , 246 using hard disks of the high speed and high capacity SCSI type are connected to the memory in the microprocessor device.",
"These modules allow storage of audiovisual data.",
"A high speed 28.8 k/bps telecommunications modem adapter 26 is integrated to enable the connection to the audiovisual data distribution network 28 ( FIG. 1 ).",
"To reproduce the audio data of the musical selections, the system includes integrated amplified loudspeakers 30 and is equipped with commercial electronic cards of the music synthesizer type which are provided to support a large number of input sources while providing an output with CD (compact disk) type quality, in particular: a microprocessor multimedia audio adapter of the “Sound Blaster”",
"type SBP32AWE from Creative Labs Inc. A thermally controlled 240 watt ventilated power supply 32 provides power to the system.",
"This power supply is protected against surges and harmonics.",
"The audiovisual reproduction system and especially the microprocessor device are configurable equally by remote control 14 , for which the following are used: an infrared remote control 14 from Mind Path Technologies Inc., an emitter which has fifteen control keys for the microprocessor system and eight control keys for the projection device.",
"an infrared receiver 14 b with serial adapter from Mind Path Technologies Inc. A fee payment device 34 from National Rejectors Inc. is likewise integrated into the system.",
"It is also possible to use any other device which allows receipt of any type of payment by coins, bills, tokens, magnetic chip cards or a combination of means of payment.",
"To house the system a chassis or frame of steel with external customizable fittings is also provided.",
"A wireless microphone 38 is incorporated into the system allowing transformation of the latter into a powerful public address system or possibly a karaoke machine.",
"A wireless loudspeaker system can also be used by the system.",
"Finally, remote control allows, for example from behind the bar, access to and control of various commands such as: microphone start/stop command, loudspeaker muting command, audio volume control command, command to cancel the musical selection being played.",
"The choice of software developed or used to operate the audiovisual reproduction system has been oriented to be user-friendly.",
"From this perspective all the characteristics of the system can be controlled via the easy-to-use graphics touch screen in cooperation with an auxiliary voice synthesis system.",
"To do this, on the touch screen used for control and assistance, at least four control panels can be selected.",
"The first title selection panel helps customers find and select a desired title.",
"A second management control panel controls volume, bass, treble or panoramic control on the video monitor.",
"A third panel scans the title database, for private use, to allow the system manager or owner to examine the database containing the available titles via the audiovisual data distribution network to control and retrieve the titles.",
"A fourth statistics panel, for private use, provides statistical estimations and calculations relative to the titles.",
"Customer selections of musical pieces are greatly simplified by the graphics interface which has facilities such as browsing the available titles according to various selection criteria, for example title, composer, category, etc.",
"Moreover, when a musical piece is chosen, the album cover to which it belongs can be displayed at the same time as certain statistical data such as the composer of the piece, its length, album label, etc.",
"For this purpose, the system operating software has been developed around a library of tools and services largely oriented to the audiovisual domain in a multimedia environment.",
"This library advantageously includes a multitask operating system which efficiently enables simultaneous execution of multiple fragments of code.",
"The operating software thus allows concurrent execution, in an orderly manner and avoiding any conflict, of operations performed on the display, audio reproduction structure as well as management of the telecommunications lines via the distribution network.",
"In addition, the software has high flexibility since it allows the owner of the establishment to use options not available before, such as: automatic withdrawal to an auxiliary source, for example, a FM tuner, during inactivity of the main function, remote control of the audio volume, cancelling or skipping a musical piece, superposition of a microphone on the existing sound for public address or to convert the system into a karaoke machine, amplifier control with respect to output power, right or left channel balance, control of base or treble frequencies, automatic activation of audiovisual reproduction at controllable intervals when the system is inactive.",
"Advantageously, the audiovisual data distribution network is an integral part of the system environment according to the invention and it allows the manager or owner of the system to exploit new and powerful possibilities and services such as: remote technical assistance: either for problems of minor malfunctions by assisting the system manager or owner, or for more major problems by assisting the technicians in locating the fault and the defective component, management of security: each system is connected to a local controller system according to a preestablished time pattern for acquisition of an approval signal in the form of a registration number which authorizes its operation.",
"In addition, if cheating is detected or the system can no longer communicate via the network, the system automatically stops working, acquisition of musical pieces with the album covers: the system manager or owner can select and acquire musical pieces by browsing the selection database.",
"Transfer of a musical piece with its album cover and integration into the list of available titles are done within a very short time, upgrading of the system: corrective maintenance of major or minor problems relative to the system operating software, improvements or upgrades are enabled via the telecommunications lines through the distribution network.",
"Only a few minutes are necessary to transfer these modifications to any network system, collection of statistics: all statistics and data internal to a system are rapidly available to be compiled via the distribution network, the statistics allowing specific and efficient analysis of the entire market situation, billing: the distribution network automatically calls the system which has registered the amounts collected by the system following payment by the user, calculates the composer royalties which the system manager or owner must pay to the distribution network company, and produces the appropriate accounts, marketing and promotion: at the request of a title supplier for promotional purposes high fidelity digital reproduction of a title is available to the system manager or owner during subsequent hours via the distribution network.",
"Digitization of the musical selections which are made available via the distribution network is done using various commercially available software tools, which provide standard formatted data files.",
"The digitized audiovisual data are stored in a format which uses standard compression.",
"The system decompresses the musical selections stored in the storage means at the instant at which they are reproduced;",
"this allows a considerable reduction in the memory space necessary to store them, while optimizing the delays during transfer via the telecommunications lines.",
"Each selection is available according to two digitized formats: with a hi-fi quality or CD quality.",
"This authorizes an advantageous balance between the necessary memory space and the required reproduction quality which depends on the effective noise level in the establishment and the quality requirement.",
"With reference to FIG. 3 , it is noted that while all the modules described separately seem to be used sequentially, in reality the specific tasks of the modules are executed simultaneously in an environment using the multitask operating system.",
"Consequently the flowchart of FIG. 3 indicates the specific operations which the module must perform and not a branch toward this module which would invalidate all the operations performed by the other modules.",
"The first module, labeled SSM, is the system startup module.",
"This module does only one thing, and consequently, it is loaded automatically when the system is powered up.",
"If the system is started with a correct registration number, it then directly enters the “in service”",
"mode of the module labeled RRM.",
"The REG module is the registration mode module which, when it is activated for the first time or when approval for a new registration is necessary, indicates its software serial number and requests that the user enters his coordinates, such as the name of the establishment, address and telephone number.",
"When the system is not registered, it operates only for registration, providing the manager with the appropriate information necessary to activate it.",
"Once the user has finished entering the necessary information, the system proceeds to register itself for a predetermined registration period and then activates itself completely.",
"Before the registration period expires, the system attempts to establish a telecommunications link to a server 28 via the distribution network 29 .",
"If a connection is established, it renews its registration with its software serial number and provides to the server the additional user information furnished by the customer.",
"When the registration period expires before the system is able to establish a link and renew its registration, it is invalidated after a configurable grace period has expired and sends the message “out of service.”",
"When the manager inserts his key, he is guided for system registration.",
"It is possible to register the system by telephone when a telecommunications line problem or telephone line fault occurs.",
"When a system is registered and activated by the telecommunications network or via a telephone call to the distribution network headquarters, it becomes completely operational in two modes, “user”",
"and “manager”",
"(for system maintenance) for another registration period.",
"The RMM module enters the “in service”",
"mode when its registration number has been validated.",
"In this mode, the system is ready to handle any request which can be triggered by various predefined events such as: customers touching the screen: when a customer or user touches the screen, the system transfers control of the foreground session to the CBSM module 19 of the customer browsing and selection mode, telecommunications network server call requests: when the system detects a loop on the phone line, it emits an asynchronous background procedure: the telecommunications services mode of the TSM module 17 , requests concerning the key switch: when the manager turns the key switch, the system hands over control of its foreground session to the management mode MMM module 12 , reception of a remote control signal: when a command is received, it is processed in a background session by the system command SCM module 15 while the foreground session remains available for other interventions, appearance of end of timing, showing inactivity of the system: when one of the various timers is activated, control is temporarily handed over to the inactivity routines IRM module for processing.",
"The system remains in the “in service”",
"mode until one of the above described events takes place.",
"The IRM module 11 is the inactivity routines module.",
"It contains the routines that perform predetermined functions which it can call on when the system is inactive and when a predefined but adjustable time interval has expired.",
"The aforementioned list of functions that the system can handle is of course not limited, and new functions which would be desirable to add to the overall system of the distribution network could be added very easily at any time and as soon as they are created using the remote control services for software upgrading.",
"Such functions can be offered and added for example when requirements have been confirmed regarding management of the ensemble of systems or simply for a given system.",
"Some of these proposed functions with the system are described below: display of an album cover to announce its presence or its future integration into the system: the system displays a full screen of announcements showing the album covers for a desired interval.",
"Different panoramic effects can be used, zoom forward and back, for example, on the covers of each album to draw the attention of the customers, broadcast of parts of musical pieces present in the system: the manager in this case can control and sample the pieces broadcast during a specific interval and can have these pieces correspond to the album covers on the screen, reproduction of complete selections for internal promotional proposes: the manager can impose a period of defined inactivity after which a randomly selected musical selection is reproduced.",
"At the end of this period, a musical selection is thus taken randomly in the system, then played in its entirety without payment of fees, audio reproductions for external promotional purposes: this option works in the same way as the preceding one, except that it authorizes the system to accept playing of the promotional musical selections for which third parties have paid and which are distributed freely over the telecommunications network, promotional spoken announcements of new musical selections: according to this option, it is possible to verbally promote newly added selections or to add them in the near future to the system via loudspeakers integrated into the system, withdrawal to an auxiliary source: at his discretion the manager can request that the system, when inactive, withdraw to an auxiliary source.",
"For example, when this option is activated and when a FM tuner is connected to the system inputs and the system is inactive, the system directs its auxiliary source input to its main output after the delay determined by the inactivity has expired.",
"The SCM module 15 is the system commands module.",
"This module allows functions that control the system to accept a required input by an infrared remote control device 14 .",
"These functions are handled instantaneously without the process being stopped.",
"A large number of these functions are possible, only some are listed below, in a non-limiting manner: audio volume control of the played selections, audio volume control from the auxiliary played source, microphone start/stop command, microphone audio volume control, balance control, left channel, right channel, control of base frequency level, control of treble frequency level, command to cancel or skip a musical selection, panoramic effects command, zoom forward, zoom back, triggering of zeroing of the software program.",
"The MMM module 12 is the management mode module.",
"This module is triggered when the key switch is turned by the manager.",
"The display of an ordinary screen is replaced by a display specific to system management.",
"With this new display, the manager can control all the settings that are possible with remote control.",
"He can likewise take control of additional low level commands allowing for an example definition of commands to be validated or invalidated on the remote control.",
"He is also able to define a maximum of high and low levels for each system output source, these limits defining the range available on the remote control.",
"Using this screen, the manager can access the mode of new selection acquisition by touching a button located on the touch screen.",
"When the manager has succeeded in defining these commands as well as the system configuration, it is then enough to remove the key, and the system returns automatically to the “in service”",
"mode.",
"The NSAM module is the new selections acquisition mode module.",
"When this mode is activated, a new control screen appears.",
"This mode is designed to assist the manager regarding the location for fast and efficient acquisition of titles of musical selections.",
"To do this, the screen offers different options such as: search by title, search by artist, search by category (pop, rock country, etc.), alphabetic sorting, sorting by issue date.",
"The manager can browse the ensemble of available titles and select them by simply touching their designation on the screen to load them.",
"Once the selections have been made and the manager has exited the module, the system automatically sends the list of selections to the telecommunications services mode module for processing, and then returns with foreground control to the management mode.",
"The CBSM module 19 is the customer browsing and selection mode module.",
"Access to this module is triggered from the “in service”",
"mode by touching the screen.",
"When the customer touches the screen, the screen display disappears to make room for a menu provided for convenient browsing assisted by digitized voice messages to guide the user in his choice of musical selections.",
"The TSM module is the telecommunications services mode module.",
"The TSM module allows management of all management services available on the distribution network.",
"All the tasks specific to telecommunications are managed like the background tasks of the system.",
"These tasks always use only the processing time remaining once the system has completed all its foreground tasks.",
"Thus, when the system is busy with one of its higher priority tasks, the TSM module automatically will try to reduce the limits on system resources and recover all the microprocessor processing time left available.",
"Some of these tasks managed by this module are listed below: transfer of audio or video data, automated accounting of the fees for musical selections, accounting of musical selection use, collection of statistics, system diagnostics, system security (integrity), monitoring of the selection inventory, configuration verification, upgrading of software.",
"The SSC module is the system security control module.",
"Each system is linked to a local system controller according to a preestablished time pattern for acquisition of an approval signal in the form of the registration number, authorizing it to operate.",
"In addition, if cheating has been detected or the system cannot communicate via the network, the system automatically stops working.",
"The audio visual reproduction system according to the invention has a large number of advantages over systems of the prior art.",
"This powerful system, which uses a computer, can store and reproduce any musical selection while maintaining its original quality.",
"It allows simple and efficient replacement of all mechanical and sophisticated electronic devices of the prior art, which were sources of failures, such as the disk changing arm, lasers, etc.",
", thus greatly reducing maintenance costs.",
"It is simple and compact.",
"The managers or owners of this system can efficiently monitor the titles of the musical selections since they uniquely command the desired titles, thus bypassing a distribution company which ordinarily only acquires a small number of unique titles, then imposes a rotation on their customers.",
"With the present invention, it is possible to acquire only specific titles and at reduced prices, as well as entire CD albums if desired.",
"Consequently, management costs can be significantly reduced.",
"With the integrated interactive video module, this system can also be used for promotional purposes, market research or even as a karaoke machine.",
"Finally, use of a multitask operating system enables simultaneous management providing a major advantage over prior art devices."
] |
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/517,174, entitled “Factorial Design Expert System,” filed Sep. 7, 2006, which is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/517,180, entitled “Predicting Response Rate,” filed Sep. 7, 2006, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/517,175, entitled “Online Direct Marketing System,” filed on Sep. 7, 2006. The entire teachings of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is generally related to statistics, marketing, and experimental design and more particularly related to an expert system that uses split-run and factorial design methods to determine which factors are most important in an experiment.
[0003] Marketing is a process through which a company induces new and existing customers to buy its products and services. One familiar type of a marketing activity is advertising, where a company broadcasts its message to whomever is viewing the medium carrying the advertising message, for example newspapers, television, billboards, web sites, even the sides of buses. Another type of marketing activity is direct marketing, in which a company tries to address its prospects and customers individually through postal mail or email.
[0004] Targeting is the process of selecting potential buyers, perhaps for particular products or their likelihood of making a purchase in the near future or because they may be in danger of defecting, among other reasons. Properly done, targeting should also include predicting the results of the actual campaign. Testing is the process of experimenting to determine the most effective offers or the right customers to target. Campaigning involves contacting the targeted customers by appropriate media, such as email or direct mail.
[0005] Like other researchers, marketers need to carefully design experiments to effectively test marketing campaigns. For example, they may need to determine whether an optimum discount is, for example, 5% or 10% or a $10 off coupon. They typically need to determine what level of personalization is most effective, and what communications channels work best. Each of these variables are called Factors. To get the answers to questions like this, Marketers design small campaigns to test what value of each factor works best.
[0006] Historically the process has been to use a main population and a control group to measure the effect of a factor. The main population gets a campaign with value1 for factor 1. Factor 1 might be discount coupon rate. Value1 might be $10 off on $50 of purchases. The control group consists of a population with the same characteristics as the main group, but with a different value, value2, for the factor, for example $20 off on $100 of purchases. This simple kind of design is called A/B, Split-run, or more commonly One Factor At a Time (OFAT) design. Only one factor is changed. When OFAT design is used, several campaigns are needed to test multiple factors.
[0007] Advances in statistical analysis have led to a much improved methodology called factorial design in which several factors can be tested in the same campaign. Adoption of factorial design has been slow because tests can be difficult to design and hard to interpret, especially when the number of factors grows or partial factorial designs are used. However factorial design experiments have several advantages:
Results are obtained sooner because multiple campaigns are not needed Costs are lower because smaller subject populations are used and fewer campaigns are launched Interactions between factors can be measured, which is close to impossible with split-run designs
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] For many years, the only acceptable design for an experiment was split-run, or One Factor At a Time (OFAT). More recently, marketing researchers have recognized the validity of Factorial Design, in which multiple factors can be tested simultaneously.
[0012] Testing several factors together is faster, less expensive, and reveals the interactions among the factors. However factorial design is conceptually harder to understand for experimenters not well versed in statistics, and correspondingly harder to interpret, for example, by a typical small businessperson.
[0013] To overcome these obstacles, the invention describes an expert system that is architected into Design, Execute and Evaluate phases, to assist a user in developing a Factorial Design experiment in which one, two or three factors are tested simultaneously. In a preferred embodiment, a database infrastructure and web client, browser-based methodology functions as the expert system (a “wizard”) to design experiments, build control groups and evaluate results, all with the goal of discovering what values for which factors will yield the optimum response from the subjects.
[0014] More particularly, in the Design phase of the system, the user is asked a series of questions to determine what is to be tested, how many factors are involved, desired size of the test population, and information about any groups of customers that should be included or excluded from testing. Based on this information, the system then creates subgroups and assigns specific values (“treatments”) for the factors in each subgroup. The test population is recorded in a database.
[0015] In the Execution phase of the system, which may be implemented in an Online Direct Marketing System, each member of a treatment subgroup receives email or direct mail with the appropriate treatment—typically an offer to buy some product or service. After a suitable period of time, transaction data is returned to the system for evaluation.
[0016] In the Measurement and Evaluation phase, the transactions from each subgroup are analyzed according to the formulae in the invention. Main effects and interaction effects are calculated. Results are presented to the experimenter in the form of a table and bar chart so the experimenter can determine which values for the various factors yield the best responses.
[0017] The user can extend the expert system using more factors in a straightforward way.
[0018] In one preferred embodiment, the expert system is part of an Online Direct Marketing System delivered over the Internet through a web client (browser). However the invention will work equally well running on a local system and dealing with experiments far afield from marketing campaigns.
[0019] The objective of this expert system is to enable relatively unsophisticated experimenters to design and execute effective experiments just by answering questions posed by the system.
[0020] While the preferred embodiment is for use in marketing experiments that include testing and targeting of customers or campaign offers, the concepts disclosed herein permit extension of the system to many other fields and types of experiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] The foregoing will be apparent from the following more particular description of example embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating embodiments of the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 1 is a high level diagram of a system environment in which the factorial design expert system may be implemented.
[0023] FIG. 2 is a sequence of steps performed in a Design phase.
[0024] FIG. 3 is a sequence of steps performed in an Data Collection (Execution) phase.
[0025] FIG. 4 is a sequence of steps performed in an Evaluation phase.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0026] A description of preferred embodiments of the invention follows. The following definitions are used in this document:
Definitions
[0000]
Factor—a variable to test; examples include but are not limited to collateral size, discount, extent of personalization, communications channel, etc.
Level—the number of different values for a factor; typically there are two (5% off, 10% off) or three different levels; in a two level design, the higher value is typically denoted by a plus sign (+) and the lower value is denoted by a minus sign (−) when the values are numerical; the values are not necessarily numerical
Treatment—the level value delivered to a subject; for example if the factor is discount level and the level values are 5% and 10%, then those subjects offered the 10% discount are said to have been given the + treatment
Control group—a subset of the subject population that is set aside for a different treatment to determine the effect of a factor; the control group can also be one of the combinations of the different treatments
Recipe—the collective set of treatments given to a subject; for example in a two factor, two level design, one recipe is to give a subject the + treatment for both factors
Response—what the subject does after receiving the treatment; for example the subject makes a purchase
Main effect—the response result due to a particular factor
Interaction effects—response results due to a combination of factors; how one factor influences another
[0035] Process
[0036] There are three phases to an implementation of an expert Factorial Design system according to the invention. These encompass the high level process or steps (phases) of creating, conducting, and analyzing tests, namely:
[0037] I) Creating Tests, in which the test is created and executed;
[0038] II) Data Collection, in which the results of the test are gathered and counted; and
[0039] III) Evaluation, in which the collected results are analyzed and displayed.
[0040] Each of these high level phases will now be described in detail.
[0041] Phase I. Creating Tests
[0042] Referring to the Environment Diagram, FIG. 1 , in this first phase of the process, Marketers 100 upload customer transaction data 125 via the Internet 110 to a Data Store 120 . Then Marketers 100 interact via the Internet 110 with the Expert System 130 to create a test 140 . The Expert System 130 uses the transaction data 125 to collect a population of customers 160 from which to extract a subset for the test. Next, the Marketer 100 interacts via a web browser with the Expert System 130 to set the parameters and filters for test groups.
[0043] FIG. 2 shows some of the steps performed in creating tests 140 in more detail. In step 202 , a test population is selected. The test population is defined using parameters such as size and characteristics. Undesirable attributes of the population may also be determined, and such members suppressed, in step 204 . Next, in step 206 , the desired type of test 140 is defined by the Marketer 100 . This definition may include types of offers, or types of targeting.
[0044] As part of defining the test, specific Factors to include in a test 140 are also determined in step 208 . There may be a range of values (low and high) specified for each Factor in step 210 ; there may be up to three Factors for each test 140 . Specific examples of Factors as used in the definition of a test 140 are described in more detail below in the section on the design of Data Store 120 .
[0045] Finally, in step 212 the test parameters are stored data is collected from the user that specifies the nature of the test 140 , e.g., gathered through a series of questions presented in a web-client (browser) application, Answers to the questions are stored in the appropriate database tables, described below.
[0046] As described in more detail below, the test 140 creation process automatically creates as many subgroups as necessary to deploy a full factorial experimental design for the number of factors to be tested.
[0047] For example, if L is the number of levels and F is the number of factors, the number of subgroups needed is L̂F, or L raised to the F power. When L=2 and F=3, then 2̂3=8 subgroups are needed. Subjects (Customers 160 from the test population) are randomly assigned to the subgroups by the Expert System 130 .
[0048] The Marketer 100 downloads these subgroups and carries out the test campaigns in which each subgroup gets a communication that implements the recipe for that subgroup. Alternatively, the Expert System 130 itself could send the emails or printed materials via email and/or print engines 150 to customers 160 .
[0049] Phase II. Data Collection
[0050] After a suitable period of time, the Marketer 100 again collects transaction data that details which of the test campaign recipients responded in what ways, and again uploads the transaction data to the expert system. The Marketer 100 then interacts once more with the Expert System for the Data Collection phase. FIG. 3 shows the steps for this phase of the process.
[0051] For this part of the Data Collection process, the Marketer 100 identifies the campaign, in step 302 , and test 140 , in step 304 , so the Expert System 130 knows which customers 160 are in the test population. Then the Expert System 130 collects the transaction data in step 306 from those customers for the time period defined by the test. Then, in step 308 the Expert System 130 calculates the response rates for the various recipes, which are then displayed in step 310 .
[0052] Phase III. Evaluation
[0053] Now the Expert System 130 is ready to proceed to the Evaluation Phase, where the effects of each factor are calculated as well as the effects due to interactions between the factors. FIG. 4 shows the steps in this phase of the process.
[0054] From the response data, the main effect and the interaction effects if any are calculated in steps 402 and 404 according to the formulae described below. The main and interaction effects are presented in a table and/or as bar charts in step 406 , such as in a Report section of the Expert System 130 , organized according to whether the factor helps or hurts the response. After the test results are displayed, the Marketer can decide which factors are the ones to use in the full campaign, and at what levels, via an interaction in step 408 .
[0055] Expert System Elements
[0056] Specific elements of the Expert System 130 are now described in more detail, including the format of Data Store 120 , and how the Main Effects and Interaction Effects are determined in the Test Evaluation Phase.
[0057] Database Design for Data Store 120
[0058] The infrastructure to enable this three phase process is a database and associated SQL code. In addition to the tables used to store transactions 124 , products, and customer 160 information, four more tables are used to store test parameters—Tests 121 , Factors 122 , Recipes 123 , and Test Customers 124 . The fields for these tables are shown below.
[0059] Test table 121
Test ID Test Name Number of Factors Number of Levels Number of subgroups
[0065] Factors table 122
Factor ID Factor name Test ID Value 1 Value 2 Value 3, with one value for each level, L=2 or 3
[0072] Recipes table 123
RecipeID (key) TestID Factor1 (value would be a FactorID) Factor2 Factor3 (used for a three factor test) F1treatment (value is a Value1 or Value2 or Value 3 from the Factor table; thus a recipe record states what Values are associated with each Factor used, and Treatment is the term used to denote that Factor/Value combination.) F2treatment F3treatment
[0081] Test_Customers table 124
Customer ID TestID (specifies the test) RecipeID (specifies the subgroup) Revenue during test period NumOrders
[0087] The Test_Customers table 124 associates the treatments with the subjects (customers 160 ). The Test_Customers table 124 holds the customers 160 in the test, specifying in which subgroup they have been placed. This table 24 also holds the results (revenue, response) from the Test. This table 124 can be large.
[0088] For a one factor, split-run test, there is one record in the Factors table 122 for the single factor. For a two factor test, there are two records in the Factors table 122 for a given TestID; for a three factor test there are three records for the same TestID. Each factorID has as many treatment values (value1, value 2, . . . ) as there are levels in the test. Thus each test 140 is specified by the number of factors, the number of levels, and a set of recipes.
[0089] For tests 140 with one, two, or three factors, the recipes table 123 for a given testID has two, four or eight entries. Each entry describes the treatment for each factor. Recipe 1 would say factor A is +, Factor B is +. Recipe 2 would say Factor A is +, Factor B is −(all in a 2 factor design). Again for L=2, the Factors table 122 will specify the two values of the factor. For example, if the Factor is discount level, value 1 might be 5% and value 2 could be 10%. See the chart below, where + and − represent the two levels for a given factor.
[0000]
Factors
Recipes
Factor 1
Factor 2
R1
+
+
R2
+
−
R3
−
+
R4
−
−
[0090] Specifically, the Recipes table 123 identifies the
recipe number for a given test factors (e.g. discount level, personalization) using Factor ID factor treatment for each factor (value1, value2 or value3)
[0094] For a two level, three factor design, there are eight recipes as shown in the next table.
[0000]
Factors
Recipes
Factor 1
Factor 2
Factor 3
R1
−
−
−
R2
+
−
−
R3
−
+
−
R4
+
+
−
R5
−
−
+
R6
+
−
+
R7
−
+
+
R8
+
+
+
[0095] Calculating Main and Interaction Effects
[0096] A. Two Factor Design
[0097] When the test is completed, these tables ( 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 ) are queried to produce the test results. The object is to determine which factors have what effects on the responses. Two kinds of effects are calculated
Main effects, which analyze the effects of each factor individually Interaction effects, which analyze the factors acting together
[0100] Using the two factor, two level design above, values are assigned to the responses y(n) in the various cells as follows:
[0000]
Factor 1+
Factor 1−
Factor2+
y(1) (R1: + +)
y(3) (R3: − +)
Factor2−
y(2) (R2: + −)
y(4) (R4: − −)
[0101] Then the Main Effect of Factor 1 is determined by comparing all the Factor1+ responses with the Factor2 responses. That is, we calculate
[0000] ME ( F 1)=( y (1)+ y (2)− y (3)− y (4))/2
[0102] Similarly,
[0000] ME ( F 2)=( y (1)+ y (3)− y (2)− y (4))/2
[0103] The Interaction Effect between F1 and F2 is
[0000] IE ( F 1 ×F 2)=( y (1)+ y (4)− y (2)− y (3))/2
[0104] B. Three Factor Design
[0105] The best way to understand a three factor design is through a cube plot, where the eight responses (typically revenue) to the eight combinations (Recipes) of the three factors are plotted on the eight vertices of a cube. Calling the revenue response the yield (y), we represent the eight yields as y(1), y(2), . . . , y(8), corresponding to the eight recipes. Then
[0000] ME ( F 1)=( y (2)+ y (4)+ y (6)+ y (8)− y (1)− y (3)− y (5)− y (7))/4
[0000] ME ( F 2)=( y (3)+ y (4)+ y (7)+ y (8)− y (1)− y (2)− y (5)− y (6))/4
[0000] ME ( F 3)=( y (5)+ y (6)+ y (7)+ y (8)− y (1)− y (2)− y (3)− y (4))/4
[0106] There can be two factor interactions and three factor interactions. The two factor interactions are
[0000] IE ( F 1 ×F 2)=( y (1)+ y (4)+ y (5)+ y (8)− y (2)− y (3)− y (6)− y (7))/4
[0000] IE ( F 1 ×F 3)=( y (1)+ y (3)+ y (6)+ y (8)− y (2)− y (4)− y (5)− y (7))/4
[0000] IE ( F 2 ×F 3)=( y (1)+ y (2)+ y (7)+ y (8)− y (3)− y (4)− y (5)− y (7))/4
[0107] The three factor interactions are more complex. Consider the F1×F2 interaction. We can examine this interaction at the + level for Factor 3 and at the − level for Factor 3. The interaction at the + level for Factor 3 is
[0000] (y(8)−y(7)−(y(6)−y(5)))/2
[0108] At the − level, it is
[0000] (y(4)−y(3)−(y(2)−y(1)))/2
[0109] The consistency of the F1×F2 interaction across variations in F3 is measured by the difference between these two terms. Half of this difference is defined as the three factor interaction between F1, F2, and F3.
[0110] All of the factorial effects are a contrast between two averages.
[0111] While this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims. | An automated expert system that uses split-run and factorial design methods to determine which factors are most important in an experiment. The expert system is architected into Design, Execute and Evaluate phases, to assist a user in developing a Factorial Design experiment in which one, two or three factors are tested simultaneously. In a preferred embodiment, a database infrastructure and web client, browser-based methodology functions as the expert system (a “wizard”) to design experiments, build control groups and evaluate results, all with the goal of discovering what values for which factors will yield the optimum response from subjects. | Briefly summarize the invention's components and working principles as described in the document. | [
"RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 11/517,174, entitled “Factorial Design Expert System,” filed Sep. 7, 2006, which is related to U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 11/517,180, entitled “Predicting Response Rate,” filed Sep. 7, 2006, and U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 11/517,175, entitled “Online Direct Marketing System,” filed on Sep. 7, 2006.",
"The entire teachings of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention is generally related to statistics, marketing, and experimental design and more particularly related to an expert system that uses split-run and factorial design methods to determine which factors are most important in an experiment.",
"[0003] Marketing is a process through which a company induces new and existing customers to buy its products and services.",
"One familiar type of a marketing activity is advertising, where a company broadcasts its message to whomever is viewing the medium carrying the advertising message, for example newspapers, television, billboards, web sites, even the sides of buses.",
"Another type of marketing activity is direct marketing, in which a company tries to address its prospects and customers individually through postal mail or email.",
"[0004] Targeting is the process of selecting potential buyers, perhaps for particular products or their likelihood of making a purchase in the near future or because they may be in danger of defecting, among other reasons.",
"Properly done, targeting should also include predicting the results of the actual campaign.",
"Testing is the process of experimenting to determine the most effective offers or the right customers to target.",
"Campaigning involves contacting the targeted customers by appropriate media, such as email or direct mail.",
"[0005] Like other researchers, marketers need to carefully design experiments to effectively test marketing campaigns.",
"For example, they may need to determine whether an optimum discount is, for example, 5% or 10% or a $10 off coupon.",
"They typically need to determine what level of personalization is most effective, and what communications channels work best.",
"Each of these variables are called Factors.",
"To get the answers to questions like this, Marketers design small campaigns to test what value of each factor works best.",
"[0006] Historically the process has been to use a main population and a control group to measure the effect of a factor.",
"The main population gets a campaign with value1 for factor 1.",
"Factor 1 might be discount coupon rate.",
"Value1 might be $10 off on $50 of purchases.",
"The control group consists of a population with the same characteristics as the main group, but with a different value, value2, for the factor, for example $20 off on $100 of purchases.",
"This simple kind of design is called A/B, Split-run, or more commonly One Factor At a Time (OFAT) design.",
"Only one factor is changed.",
"When OFAT design is used, several campaigns are needed to test multiple factors.",
"[0007] Advances in statistical analysis have led to a much improved methodology called factorial design in which several factors can be tested in the same campaign.",
"Adoption of factorial design has been slow because tests can be difficult to design and hard to interpret, especially when the number of factors grows or partial factorial designs are used.",
"However factorial design experiments have several advantages: Results are obtained sooner because multiple campaigns are not needed Costs are lower because smaller subject populations are used and fewer campaigns are launched Interactions between factors can be measured, which is close to impossible with split-run designs SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0011] For many years, the only acceptable design for an experiment was split-run, or One Factor At a Time (OFAT).",
"More recently, marketing researchers have recognized the validity of Factorial Design, in which multiple factors can be tested simultaneously.",
"[0012] Testing several factors together is faster, less expensive, and reveals the interactions among the factors.",
"However factorial design is conceptually harder to understand for experimenters not well versed in statistics, and correspondingly harder to interpret, for example, by a typical small businessperson.",
"[0013] To overcome these obstacles, the invention describes an expert system that is architected into Design, Execute and Evaluate phases, to assist a user in developing a Factorial Design experiment in which one, two or three factors are tested simultaneously.",
"In a preferred embodiment, a database infrastructure and web client, browser-based methodology functions as the expert system (a “wizard”) to design experiments, build control groups and evaluate results, all with the goal of discovering what values for which factors will yield the optimum response from the subjects.",
"[0014] More particularly, in the Design phase of the system, the user is asked a series of questions to determine what is to be tested, how many factors are involved, desired size of the test population, and information about any groups of customers that should be included or excluded from testing.",
"Based on this information, the system then creates subgroups and assigns specific values (“treatments”) for the factors in each subgroup.",
"The test population is recorded in a database.",
"[0015] In the Execution phase of the system, which may be implemented in an Online Direct Marketing System, each member of a treatment subgroup receives email or direct mail with the appropriate treatment—typically an offer to buy some product or service.",
"After a suitable period of time, transaction data is returned to the system for evaluation.",
"[0016] In the Measurement and Evaluation phase, the transactions from each subgroup are analyzed according to the formulae in the invention.",
"Main effects and interaction effects are calculated.",
"Results are presented to the experimenter in the form of a table and bar chart so the experimenter can determine which values for the various factors yield the best responses.",
"[0017] The user can extend the expert system using more factors in a straightforward way.",
"[0018] In one preferred embodiment, the expert system is part of an Online Direct Marketing System delivered over the Internet through a web client (browser).",
"However the invention will work equally well running on a local system and dealing with experiments far afield from marketing campaigns.",
"[0019] The objective of this expert system is to enable relatively unsophisticated experimenters to design and execute effective experiments just by answering questions posed by the system.",
"[0020] While the preferred embodiment is for use in marketing experiments that include testing and targeting of customers or campaign offers, the concepts disclosed herein permit extension of the system to many other fields and types of experiments.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0021] The foregoing will be apparent from the following more particular description of example embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views.",
"The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating embodiments of the present invention.",
"[0022] FIG. 1 is a high level diagram of a system environment in which the factorial design expert system may be implemented.",
"[0023] FIG. 2 is a sequence of steps performed in a Design phase.",
"[0024] FIG. 3 is a sequence of steps performed in an Data Collection (Execution) phase.",
"[0025] FIG. 4 is a sequence of steps performed in an Evaluation phase.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0026] A description of preferred embodiments of the invention follows.",
"The following definitions are used in this document: Definitions [0000] Factor—a variable to test;",
"examples include but are not limited to collateral size, discount, extent of personalization, communications channel, etc.",
"Level—the number of different values for a factor;",
"typically there are two (5% off, 10% off) or three different levels;",
"in a two level design, the higher value is typically denoted by a plus sign (+) and the lower value is denoted by a minus sign (−) when the values are numerical;",
"the values are not necessarily numerical Treatment—the level value delivered to a subject;",
"for example if the factor is discount level and the level values are 5% and 10%, then those subjects offered the 10% discount are said to have been given the + treatment Control group—a subset of the subject population that is set aside for a different treatment to determine the effect of a factor;",
"the control group can also be one of the combinations of the different treatments Recipe—the collective set of treatments given to a subject;",
"for example in a two factor, two level design, one recipe is to give a subject the + treatment for both factors Response—what the subject does after receiving the treatment;",
"for example the subject makes a purchase Main effect—the response result due to a particular factor Interaction effects—response results due to a combination of factors;",
"how one factor influences another [0035] Process [0036] There are three phases to an implementation of an expert Factorial Design system according to the invention.",
"These encompass the high level process or steps (phases) of creating, conducting, and analyzing tests, namely: [0037] I) Creating Tests, in which the test is created and executed;",
"[0038] II) Data Collection, in which the results of the test are gathered and counted;",
"and [0039] III) Evaluation, in which the collected results are analyzed and displayed.",
"[0040] Each of these high level phases will now be described in detail.",
"[0041] Phase I. Creating Tests [0042] Referring to the Environment Diagram, FIG. 1 , in this first phase of the process, Marketers 100 upload customer transaction data 125 via the Internet 110 to a Data Store 120 .",
"Then Marketers 100 interact via the Internet 110 with the Expert System 130 to create a test 140 .",
"The Expert System 130 uses the transaction data 125 to collect a population of customers 160 from which to extract a subset for the test.",
"Next, the Marketer 100 interacts via a web browser with the Expert System 130 to set the parameters and filters for test groups.",
"[0043] FIG. 2 shows some of the steps performed in creating tests 140 in more detail.",
"In step 202 , a test population is selected.",
"The test population is defined using parameters such as size and characteristics.",
"Undesirable attributes of the population may also be determined, and such members suppressed, in step 204 .",
"Next, in step 206 , the desired type of test 140 is defined by the Marketer 100 .",
"This definition may include types of offers, or types of targeting.",
"[0044] As part of defining the test, specific Factors to include in a test 140 are also determined in step 208 .",
"There may be a range of values (low and high) specified for each Factor in step 210 ;",
"there may be up to three Factors for each test 140 .",
"Specific examples of Factors as used in the definition of a test 140 are described in more detail below in the section on the design of Data Store 120 .",
"[0045] Finally, in step 212 the test parameters are stored data is collected from the user that specifies the nature of the test 140 , e.g., gathered through a series of questions presented in a web-client (browser) application, Answers to the questions are stored in the appropriate database tables, described below.",
"[0046] As described in more detail below, the test 140 creation process automatically creates as many subgroups as necessary to deploy a full factorial experimental design for the number of factors to be tested.",
"[0047] For example, if L is the number of levels and F is the number of factors, the number of subgroups needed is L̂F, or L raised to the F power.",
"When L=2 and F=3, then 2̂3=8 subgroups are needed.",
"Subjects (Customers 160 from the test population) are randomly assigned to the subgroups by the Expert System 130 .",
"[0048] The Marketer 100 downloads these subgroups and carries out the test campaigns in which each subgroup gets a communication that implements the recipe for that subgroup.",
"Alternatively, the Expert System 130 itself could send the emails or printed materials via email and/or print engines 150 to customers 160 .",
"[0049] Phase II.",
"Data Collection [0050] After a suitable period of time, the Marketer 100 again collects transaction data that details which of the test campaign recipients responded in what ways, and again uploads the transaction data to the expert system.",
"The Marketer 100 then interacts once more with the Expert System for the Data Collection phase.",
"FIG. 3 shows the steps for this phase of the process.",
"[0051] For this part of the Data Collection process, the Marketer 100 identifies the campaign, in step 302 , and test 140 , in step 304 , so the Expert System 130 knows which customers 160 are in the test population.",
"Then the Expert System 130 collects the transaction data in step 306 from those customers for the time period defined by the test.",
"Then, in step 308 the Expert System 130 calculates the response rates for the various recipes, which are then displayed in step 310 .",
"[0052] Phase III.",
"Evaluation [0053] Now the Expert System 130 is ready to proceed to the Evaluation Phase, where the effects of each factor are calculated as well as the effects due to interactions between the factors.",
"FIG. 4 shows the steps in this phase of the process.",
"[0054] From the response data, the main effect and the interaction effects if any are calculated in steps 402 and 404 according to the formulae described below.",
"The main and interaction effects are presented in a table and/or as bar charts in step 406 , such as in a Report section of the Expert System 130 , organized according to whether the factor helps or hurts the response.",
"After the test results are displayed, the Marketer can decide which factors are the ones to use in the full campaign, and at what levels, via an interaction in step 408 .",
"[0055] Expert System Elements [0056] Specific elements of the Expert System 130 are now described in more detail, including the format of Data Store 120 , and how the Main Effects and Interaction Effects are determined in the Test Evaluation Phase.",
"[0057] Database Design for Data Store 120 [0058] The infrastructure to enable this three phase process is a database and associated SQL code.",
"In addition to the tables used to store transactions 124 , products, and customer 160 information, four more tables are used to store test parameters—Tests 121 , Factors 122 , Recipes 123 , and Test Customers 124 .",
"The fields for these tables are shown below.",
"[0059] Test table 121 Test ID Test Name Number of Factors Number of Levels Number of subgroups [0065] Factors table 122 Factor ID Factor name Test ID Value 1 Value 2 Value 3, with one value for each level, L=2 or 3 [0072] Recipes table 123 RecipeID (key) TestID Factor1 (value would be a FactorID) Factor2 Factor3 (used for a three factor test) F1treatment (value is a Value1 or Value2 or Value 3 from the Factor table;",
"thus a recipe record states what Values are associated with each Factor used, and Treatment is the term used to denote that Factor/Value combination.) F2treatment F3treatment [0081] Test_Customers table 124 Customer ID TestID (specifies the test) RecipeID (specifies the subgroup) Revenue during test period NumOrders [0087] The Test_Customers table 124 associates the treatments with the subjects (customers 160 ).",
"The Test_Customers table 124 holds the customers 160 in the test, specifying in which subgroup they have been placed.",
"This table 24 also holds the results (revenue, response) from the Test.",
"This table 124 can be large.",
"[0088] For a one factor, split-run test, there is one record in the Factors table 122 for the single factor.",
"For a two factor test, there are two records in the Factors table 122 for a given TestID;",
"for a three factor test there are three records for the same TestID.",
"Each factorID has as many treatment values (value1, value 2, .",
") as there are levels in the test.",
"Thus each test 140 is specified by the number of factors, the number of levels, and a set of recipes.",
"[0089] For tests 140 with one, two, or three factors, the recipes table 123 for a given testID has two, four or eight entries.",
"Each entry describes the treatment for each factor.",
"Recipe 1 would say factor A is +, Factor B is +.",
"Recipe 2 would say Factor A is +, Factor B is −(all in a 2 factor design).",
"Again for L=2, the Factors table 122 will specify the two values of the factor.",
"For example, if the Factor is discount level, value 1 might be 5% and value 2 could be 10%.",
"See the chart below, where + and − represent the two levels for a given factor.",
"[0000] Factors Recipes Factor 1 Factor 2 R1 + + R2 + − R3 − + R4 − − [0090] Specifically, the Recipes table 123 identifies the recipe number for a given test factors (e.g. discount level, personalization) using Factor ID factor treatment for each factor (value1, value2 or value3) [0094] For a two level, three factor design, there are eight recipes as shown in the next table.",
"[0000] Factors Recipes Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 R1 − − − R2 + − − R3 − + − R4 + + − R5 − − + R6 + − + R7 − + + R8 + + + [0095] Calculating Main and Interaction Effects [0096] A. Two Factor Design [0097] When the test is completed, these tables ( 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 ) are queried to produce the test results.",
"The object is to determine which factors have what effects on the responses.",
"Two kinds of effects are calculated Main effects, which analyze the effects of each factor individually Interaction effects, which analyze the factors acting together [0100] Using the two factor, two level design above, values are assigned to the responses y(n) in the various cells as follows: [0000] Factor 1+ Factor 1− Factor2+ y(1) (R1: + +) y(3) (R3: − +) Factor2− y(2) (R2: + −) y(4) (R4: − −) [0101] Then the Main Effect of Factor 1 is determined by comparing all the Factor1+ responses with the Factor2 responses.",
"That is, we calculate [0000] ME ( F 1)=( y (1)+ y (2)− y (3)− y (4))/2 [0102] Similarly, [0000] ME ( F 2)=( y (1)+ y (3)− y (2)− y (4))/2 [0103] The Interaction Effect between F1 and F2 is [0000] IE ( F 1 ×F 2)=( y (1)+ y (4)− y (2)− y (3))/2 [0104] B. Three Factor Design [0105] The best way to understand a three factor design is through a cube plot, where the eight responses (typically revenue) to the eight combinations (Recipes) of the three factors are plotted on the eight vertices of a cube.",
"Calling the revenue response the yield (y), we represent the eight yields as y(1), y(2), .",
", y(8), corresponding to the eight recipes.",
"Then [0000] ME ( F 1)=( y (2)+ y (4)+ y (6)+ y (8)− y (1)− y (3)− y (5)− y (7))/4 [0000] ME ( F 2)=( y (3)+ y (4)+ y (7)+ y (8)− y (1)− y (2)− y (5)− y (6))/4 [0000] ME ( F 3)=( y (5)+ y (6)+ y (7)+ y (8)− y (1)− y (2)− y (3)− y (4))/4 [0106] There can be two factor interactions and three factor interactions.",
"The two factor interactions are [0000] IE ( F 1 ×F 2)=( y (1)+ y (4)+ y (5)+ y (8)− y (2)− y (3)− y (6)− y (7))/4 [0000] IE ( F 1 ×F 3)=( y (1)+ y (3)+ y (6)+ y (8)− y (2)− y (4)− y (5)− y (7))/4 [0000] IE ( F 2 ×F 3)=( y (1)+ y (2)+ y (7)+ y (8)− y (3)− y (4)− y (5)− y (7))/4 [0107] The three factor interactions are more complex.",
"Consider the F1×F2 interaction.",
"We can examine this interaction at the + level for Factor 3 and at the − level for Factor 3.",
"The interaction at the + level for Factor 3 is [0000] (y(8)−y(7)−(y(6)−y(5)))/2 [0108] At the − level, it is [0000] (y(4)−y(3)−(y(2)−y(1)))/2 [0109] The consistency of the F1×F2 interaction across variations in F3 is measured by the difference between these two terms.",
"Half of this difference is defined as the three factor interaction between F1, F2, and F3.",
"[0110] All of the factorial effects are a contrast between two averages.",
"[0111] While this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims."
] |
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a system for manufacturing vehicle link assemblies having a torsion bar with a support ring attached to each end into which vibration isolation bushings are inserted, and more particularly to a system for feeding, processing, aligning and assembling bushings to form a link assembly.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the past, systems for inserting bushings into torsion bars to form link assemblies have required a great deal of human operator involvement and/or large equipment investments. Even with the use of large systems, the manufacture of link assemblies is typically inefficient and potentially hazardous to the operators. Such systems have typically required a material delivery system for supplying bushings or parts, and a handling system for orienting the bushings once delivered. Additionally, a conveyor system is required for moving the parts between locations for preparation, and to the final desired assembly location. Further, the bushings must be individually cleaning and primed, or otherwise treated and prepared prior to assembly into the torsion bars.
Once prepared, the parts must be properly oriented for insertion assembly. The support rings of the bars are then loaded with the parts and clamped in position within a press for the press fit engagement insertion process of the parts into the support rings. Upon completion of the insertion process, the links are removed from their clamped position and transported via a transport conveyor system for further processing.
One of the disadvantages of such prior systems is with the multiple tasks to be performed on each part prior to assembly into the link assembly. Such tasks complicate the manufacturing process, in that each part must be handled and/or treated a number of times before assembly. In particular, the application of adhesive or other coating material to the parts during preparation for assembly is particularly difficult.
Additionally, problems occur with alignment of the bushing parts prior to insertion into the links. Failure to properly align the parts results in their misalignment within the ring, distortion of the ring, and "pop-out" of the bushings from the link assembly. A further disadvantage of prior systems is that the assembly area must be evacuated to minimize the fire and human hazards involved with the use of adhesives or other coatings containing volatile organic compounds.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a new and improved manufacturing system for assembling bushing parts within support rings of a torsion bar to form a link assembly.
A system according to the present invention includes a base frame having hollow frame members, which support first and second work tables rotated by a drive mechanism under operation of a computer controller, and a ventilation system which interconnects the base frame and work tables. Each work table has a plurality of rotatable work piece supports or spindle subassemblies, each of which supports an individual bushing or work piece. The work table also includes a plurality of work stations. The work piece supports are rotated to each of the work stations during operation of the system to perform a variety of desired tasks, such as cleaning, pretreatment, treatment or assembly, on the work pieces. The controller controls rotation of the position and movement of the work pieces through the system at preprogrammed or desired locations and specified speeds.
The work tables include a work table section and a drive mechanism section. The work table and drive mechanism sections are substantially enclosed by walls and covers, and are interconnected with the base frame members to form the ventilation system. The ventilation system maintains the safety of the operator against moving parts and fumes which may result from application of various materials during system operation. The walls surrounding the work table section are clear to enable viewing of the work pieces, work piece supports and work stations during operation of the system.
The bushing work pieces are provided to the work piece supports either manually, or automatically, such as by pick and place pneumatically controlled robotic arms. The bushing work pieces are typically cylindrical items, having a hollow metal insert surrounded by molded rubber material. The work piece supports or spindle assemblies are configured to engage the hollow metal insert of the bushing work pieces.
After being loaded onto the work piece supports at the first work station, the work pieces are rotated on their respective supports to the various work stations of the work table. The work pieces may be rotated by the operator's manual instruction, or automatically. The work table includes multiple work stations for performing any desired treatment tasks, and preferably six stations. The work piece supports are rotated by a drive mechanism.
At the second work station, the work pieces may be cleaned by a roll assembly which is also operated by the drive mechanism.
At the third work station, the work pieces may be dried or another desired treatment task may be performed.
At the fourth work station, the work pieces may be coated with a coating material which is also operated by the drive mechanism.
At the fifth work station, the work pieces may continue to dry, stand idle, or another desired treatment task may be performed.
At the sixth work station, and preferably an assembly station, the position of each work piece is determined to ensure that it is properly aligned for further processing. In the event the work piece is not aligned, it is rotated to its proper position on its work piece support. The position of the work piece is determined and properly positioned using an orientation subassembly. Following alignment, the bushing work piece is stopped and locked in position for insertion into a support ring of the second work piece or torsion bar.
Upon proper orientation, the bushing work piece is transferred, either manually or automatically, to the press arbor station. Where the transfer is performed automatically, a stripper mechanism of the assembly station removes the bushing work piece from the work piece support to a press assembly. Once transferred to the press assembly, the bushing is inserted into a support ring of the torsion bar. Where a completed bushing work piece is provided, one from each of two adjacent work tables, to each support ring of a torsion bar, the operator may complete the necessary insertions into a torsion bar on a synchronized basis.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments made with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the specification.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGS. 1A and 1B are schematic, partially cut-away, top views of an automated continuous manufacturing system in accordance with the present system;
FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic, partially cut-away front views of the system of FIGS. 1A and 1B, respectively;
FIGS. 3A and 3B are top views of a removable station subassembly for the application of material to a work piece;
FIGS. 4A and 4B are side views of the sub-assembly of FIGS. 3A and 3B;
FIG. 5 is a partial end view of the subassembly of FIGS. 3A and 3B taken along the line 5--5;
FIGS. 6A and 6B are schematic, partially cut-away, front views of a rotary drive mechanism for the present system taken along the line 6--6 of FIG. 2A;
FIG. 7 is a top view of the rotary drive mechanism of FIG. 6B taken along the line 7--7 of FIG. 6B;
FIG. 8 is a schematic, enlarged, cut-away, side view of a clutch mechanism of the rotary drive mechanism shown in FIG. 6A;
FIGS. 9 and 10 are press assembly stations for either the first or second work tables of the present system for holding the second work piece torsion bar for insertion of the first work piece bushing therein by the insertion subassembly;
FIGS. 11 and 12 are side and front views, respectively, of a position sensor of the assembly station of the present system;
FIGS. 13 and 14 are side and front views, respectively, of an alternate embodiment of a position sensor of the assembly station of the present system;
FIGS. 15A-15F are schematic representations showing movement of the work pieces around the work table to the various work stations, where FIG. 15A shows a work piece being loaded onto the work station, FIG. 15B shows rotation to a work station where the work pieces are claimed, FIG. 15C shows rotation to an idle work station, FIG. 15D shows rotation to a coating work station of the type shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, FIG. 15E shows rotation to an idle work station, and FIG. 15F shows rotation to an assembly station;
FIG. 15G is a schematic, cut-away, side view of an orientation subassembly, removing subassembly and a work piece supported on a work piece support prior to transfer of the work piece to a press assembly, taken along the line 15G--15G of FIG. 15F;
FIG. 15H is a schematic, cut-away, side view of the system of FIG. 15G, with the orientation subassembly engaged surrounding the work piece;
FIG. 15I is a schematic, cut-away, side view of the system of FIG. 15H where the removing subassembly has transferred the work piece to the press assembly;
FIG. 15J is a schematic, cut-away, side view of the system of FIG. 15I, where the work piece is on the press assembly and the orientation and removing subassemblies are returned for the next work piece engagement;
FIG. 15K is a schematic, cut-away side view of the system of FIG. 15J, where the press assembly is pivoted for press fit engagement of the bushing work piece with the torsion bar second work piece;
FIG. 15L is a schematic, cut-away, side view of the system of FIG. 15K showing the press assembly press fitting the bushing into engagement within an end of the torsion bar;
FIG. 15M is a schematic, cut-away, side view of the system of FIG. 15L showing the press assembly retracted for the next work piece engagement, and the completed assembly;
FIGS. 16A and 16B are schematic, cut-away, front views of the press assembly of the present system;
FIG. 17 is an exploded front view of the disposable cartridges of the reservoir dispensing assembly;
FIG. 18 is a front view of the multiple component coating material reservoir dispensing assembly;
FIG. 19 is side view of the dispensing assembly of FIG. 18; and
FIG. 20 is a partially cut-away end view of the dispensing assembly of FIG. 18 taken along the line 20--20.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIGS. 1A and 1B are schematic, partial views of the present automated continuous manufacturing system for feeding, processing, aligning and assembling bushing work pieces to form a link assembly. The link assembly includes a bushing work piece B for engagement with a second work piece or torsion bar T. The torsion bar T includes support rings S on the first and second ends E, SE of the torsion bar. The manufacturing system, generally referred to at reference numeral 10, preferably includes first and second rotatable work tables 12a, 12b, a controller system 14 for controlling operation of the system, including the position and movement of bushing work pieces through the system 10, and a ventilation system 16 for reducing the risk of harmful vapors by containing and removing such vapors from the work tables 12a, 12b. The work tables 12a, 12b, are enclosed by clear cover panels 24 which permit the operator to view the work tables during operation, while at the same time preventing exposure to moving parts or vapors from any materials being applied during operation. The covers 24 are manufactured of a clear synthetic resin material, for example, Tempered Glass. As the work tables 12a and 12b are substantially similar structures in mirror image configuration, only the differences between the work tables, if any, will be discussed in further detail. The components of the second work table 12b will be referenced by a prime designation.
The system 10 is supported on a base frame 18 having hollow frame members 20 as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. The frame members 20 are interconnected with the work tables, which are substantially closed to reduce the vapors escaping from the work tables 12 during operation. The frame members 20 are also interconnected with ducts 22 which form a portion of the ventilation system 16 for vapor removal. The ventilation system 16 includes an exhaust fan (not shown) which pulls ambient air into the work tables through openings 23 in the substantially closed work tables 12 and into the frame members and ducts, for removal through an appropriate exhaust vent (not shown). The ventilation system 16 additionally enables control of any environmental exhaust requirements by exhausting the vapors exiting the system 10 at a specified and desired rate.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1B, 2B, 6A and 6B, the work table 12a, 12b includes an upper support plate 26 and a lower support plate 28. The upper support plate 26 supports a plurality of work stations 30, and a plurality of rotatable work piece supports 32 or spindle subassemblies which support individual bushings or work pieces B. In the illustrated embodiment, the system 10 includes 6 work stations and 6 work piece supports. The work piece supports 32 are rotated to each of the work stations 30 during operation of the system 10 to perform a variety of desired tasks on the work pieces B.
The work piece supports 32 are supported between an index plate 34 and the upper support plate 2b. The supports or spindle assemblies 32 are secured to the underside of the index plate 34. Each work piece support 32 includes a spindle block 36 which is secured to the index plate 34. The work piece supports include a central shaft 38, which is mounted via conventional bearing assemblies 74 to the spindle block 36. The central shaft 38 has an inner end 39 and an outer end 40, which is located adjacent the circumference of the work table. Removably inserted into the outer end 40 of the central shaft 38 is a spindle 42. The spindle 42 is preferably a quick change part, meaning a part where each particular spindle is designed to support a particular bushing work piece B, and the spindle may be readily changed in the event the work table is to receive work pieces of a different configuration. Additional parts, as discussed below, may also be readily changed to accommodate a variety of different work pieces.
Work is performed sequentially on each bushing. The spindles 42 are moved between work stations 30 by the manual initiation of the operator, using the foot pedal 25. Included on the spindle 42 is a magnetic slide member 43 used to maintain bushing work pieces on the spindle. The central shaft 38 and engaged spindle 42 are rotated upon engagement of a pinion gear 44 attached on the inner end 39 of the central shaft 38. This construction enables continuous rotation of each of the bushings or work pieces B while supported on the spindle 42. Such rotation is desirable in order to maintain any material applied to the surface of the work piece at the work station. Often, stopping the individual rotation of the work pieces results in material dripping from the bushing onto the work table, or in uneven coating of material on the surface of the work pieces. These disadvantages are avoided by such rotation.
The pinion gear 44 is driven by a rotary drive mechanism or drive train 45 which enables rotary operation of the system 10. As shown in FIG. 7, the drive train 45 is composed of a conventional AC fixed speed motor 46, which in the illustrated embodiment is a 1/3 HP explosion proof gear motor, coupled to a right angle gear reducer 48. The gear reducer 48 drives, via a series of sprocket gears and a roller chain 50, a continuous motion shaft 52 which runs from the lower support plate 28 through the upper support plate 26.
The roller chain 50 and sprocket gears 49 also drive an input shaft 54 engaged with an index clutch 56. Upon pneumatic engagement by rotation of the input shaft 54, torque is transmitted to the output shaft 58 also engaged with the index clutch. This output shaft protrudes downward through the bottom plate 28. On this output shaft 58 the driver wheel 60 of a six station Geneva mechanism 62 is secured. The Geneva mechanism 62 is a conventional device, illustrated in FIGS. 6B and 7, used to convert continuous rotary motion into intermittent rotary motion. Intermittent rotary motion is obtained upon rotation of a cam follower 64 on the driver wheel 60 through radial cut-outs 65 in a star wheel 66. After rotation of the star wheel 60 degrees, the cam follower 64 exists the cut-out 65 of the star wheel 66. The star wheel 66 is then in a dwell position and locked in place by engaged semi-circular surfaces 68a, 68b on both the star and driver wheels, respectively. The mechanism is encased within a housing 70 and operates in an oil bath for wear reduction. The star wheel 66 is secured to an index shaft 72 on a lower end 73. The index shaft 72 rotates intermittently inside the continuous shaft 52.
At stations 2-5, the pinion gear is rotated by the ring gear secured to the upper end of the continuous shaft. At station 6, the pinion gear is disengaged from the hollow shaft by the release cam. The hollow shaft can now be driven by the position drive discussed later. The pinion gear remains disengaged at station five.
The circular index plate 34 is attached to the top end of the index shaft.
FIGS. 15A-15F demonstrate movement of the bushing to the various work stations. At station 1, FIG. 15A, bushings are loaded onto a non-rotating spindle, either manually by the operator, or automatically by a loading apparatus.
At station 2, FIG. 15B, bushings are cleaned by the cleaning assembly 78, which is one of the removable station subassemblies 76, of the type illustrated in FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B and 5. The cleaning assembly 78 is substantially similar to one embodiment of the coating station and assembly 79, described below in connection with the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B and 5, and is not structurally discussed in further detail. However, differences in functional considerations are set forth. The assemblies 78, 79 consist of an air driven doctor roll 80 that rotates through a reservoir system which includes a solvent reservoir. Solvent is transferred to the roll 80 via an adjustable gap which controls the amount of coating material transferred, thus controlling the application thickness and minimizing runoff. The application roll speed and time of contact are variable and programmable.
The illustrated reservoir system 82 includes a coating material tank or pan 84 supported with the removable station subassembly 76, on a station plate 77. The tank 84 is engaged with the station plate using an adjustment mechanism, generally referred to at reference numeral 88. Adjustment of the illustrated embodiment of the application system ensures that the work pieces B are provided with the desired amount of cleaning solvent or other coating material by positioning the tank to engage the rolls with the desired level of material. The adjustment mechanism 88 enables vertical position adjustment of the application system. The tank is raised or lowered by manually actuating a spring operated calibrator using a pointer and scale. The scale is secured to correspond to the position of the tank and the pointer.
At station 3, FIG. 15C, the operation is idle. However, additional bushing functions may be added to accommodate any desired steps.
At station 4, FIG. 15D, an adhesive or other coating material is applied. The coating assembly 79 at station 4 (which is a removable work station subassembly 76) may be identical to the cleaning assembly of station 2, but coating the work piece with adhesive or other material instead of solvent. However, it should be understood that a dual component application system, or other system for applying a coating material could likewise be used. In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 17-20, a dual component material application system is used to coat the work pieces. The advantage of this system is that there is less coating material waste as well as improved control over the quality of the coating material, due to the fact that there is a reduction in the amount of time the coating material is exposed to the atmosphere. Reduced waste is also obtained, since the system is better able to accurately dispense the coating material precisely where it is desired. By more accurately applying the coating material, cost savings are obtained due to reduced clean-up requirements. Additionally, the reduction in atmospheric exposure also assists with reducing the amount of vapors which are dispensed into the atmosphere. A reduction in vapors in the atmosphere further assists with improving safety concerns due to possible explosions from volatile materials.
The illustrated system of FIGS. 17-20 provides multiple component adhesive coating material to the rolls 80 for application to the work pieces. The system includes conventional disposable cartridges 85, shown in FIG. 17, containing various material components. The cartridges 85 are interconnected to enable the combination of their respective components. Backflow preventers 81 are included at the cartridge outlets 90 to assist with reducing the gravity feedback of different density components. Conventional static mixers 91 are also provided such that once the material components are dispensed, they are further mixed prior to exiting the system at the outlet 92 for supply or application to either the bushing or rolls. The cartridges 85 are secured together by retaining nuts 93, and secured within the assembly by a pivoting arm 94 secured by a conventional fastener 95. The adhesive components exit the cartridges 85 under pressure of a piston assembly 96. The piston assembly 96 is driven by a conventional pneumatic cylinder 97 operated by the controller 14. Using the controller system, the piston assembly can be used to mix the desired amounts of the adhesive components. As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, respectively, either a double or single dual cartridge assembly may be used, as needed.
Fluid lines (not illustrated) may be used to extend from the static mixers for supply of the dispensed and mixed coating material to a further pinch valve for supply or application to either the bushing or rolls. The conventional pinch valve restricts the flow of fluid until opening of the valve via spring action. Upon being supplied with a signal from the controller, the pinch valve is opened and coating material is provided to the roll or work piece.
An additional function of this station incorporates adhesive application to the outer edge of the flange that enters the link first at insertion. This adhesive actually coats the internal diameter of the link coupling thus eliminating the need for preswabbing the link with adhesive.
At illustrated station 5, FIG. 15E, the operation is idle, but may be adapted to provide an additional removable station subassembly for performing additional functions.
At station 6, FIG. 15F, a removing subassembly 102 is provided for orienting the bushing and transferring the bushing to the press arbor for insertion into the link SE. Most bushings B either have an identification lobe 112, shown in FIGS. 15G-15J, that must be aligned with the link SE when installed, or are eccentric with respect to the link, and must be installed in a predetermined radial position. This orientation is established by rotating the bushing B at the work station until the proper location is found, for example, when the identification lobe 112 is identified by an orientation subassembly 110.
The illustrated orientation subassembly 110, in FIGS. 11-12, and in an alternate embodiment 110' in FIGS. 13-14, includes a quick change release base member 114, which is adapted for easy attachment to a support member 115 by a release pin. The orientation subassembly 110 is located adjacent the removing subassembly 102. Conventional fiber optic sensors 118 are positioned on the release member which are interconnected with the controller. Once the identification lobe 112 interrupts the fiber optic sensor, the controller is signalled that the bushing is properly aligned, and rotation of the bushing is stopped. It should be understood that a variety of fiber optic sensor arrangements, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, may be used to accommodate a variety of work piece configurations.
Each of the orientation and removing subassemblies 110, 102 are supported on a base member 117, which is driven both vertically and horizontally by the remover driver 119.
Once the bushing B is determined to be aligned by the orientation assembly, rotation of the bushing is stopped and locked in position for further operation. As illustrated
Upon proper orientation, the removing assembly 102, which includes a stripping mechanism 104, is used to transfer the bushing B from station 6 to the press or press arbor assembly station 140. The steps involved in removal of the bushing, and transfer to the press station 140 are illustrated in FIGS. 15G-15L.
The press assembly station 140, includes an insertion subassembly 142, by which the bushing B is inserted into one of the link eyes SE. The press station 140 includes a conventional servo motor 150 powered by a ball screw with variable and programmable velocity, force, acceleration, deceleration and final position. The insertion subassembly and press assembly provide a 2-axis mechanism which accepts bushings horizontally, rotates them to a vertical position, and then vertically inserts the bushing into the link eye. The final insertion position for installation is preprogrammed to a position within 0.0025 accuracy for each individual part. The operator will be able to manually change this position by a predetermined tolerance amount to compensate for temperature, humidity, etc., based on daily variations.
The base portions of alternate press assembly stations 140 are illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10. Such base portions provide for maintaining the link or second work pieces SE during insertion of the bushing or first work piece B by the insertion subassembly 142. As shown in FIG. 9, a locking arm 147 is provided for securing the second work piece within the base portion. The base portion shown in FIG. 10 provides a vise-like assembly 148 which operates using a pneumatic cylinder 149 to secure the second work piece.
It should also be understood that the use of an induction heating device 146 may be used in connection with the press arbor or press assembly 140 for rapid curing of the adhesive or other materials applied to the surface of the bushing B by the coating assembly 79. Such induction heating devices have the advantage of rapid, controlled heating which cures the desired material, without impacting the structure or materials of the bushing or work piece.
The present invention also provides the additional advantage that the controller change over from different types of links can be accomplished in 5 minutes or less. As illustrated, the change over only requires removing various units out or unplugging the units and dropping or plugging in the next alternate unit. For example, the removable station subassembly 76 may be removed from a work station position by manually grasping the handle 75 and pulling the subassembly from the work table. All press motions and position variables are pre-programmed and may be automatically changed upon entering a part number on the operator panel of the control system 14.
The preferred forms of the automatic continuous manufacturing system have been described above. However, with the present disclosure in mind it is believed that obvious alterations to the preferred embodiment, to achieve comparable features and advantages in other assemblies, will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. | An automated continuous manufacturing system which includes a rotatable work table having a plurality of work piece supports for maintaining work pieces during operation of said system, and a plurality of work stations for performing cleaning, pretreatment, treatment or assembly tasks on work pieces secured to said work piece supports. Each of the tasks performed at the work table is performed at a respective work station. Certain of the work stations comprise a removable station subassembly for performing a specific task. The removable station subassemblies are removably engagable with the rotatable work table and may be replaced with an alternate removable station subassembly for performing a desired alternate task. One of the work stations is an assembly station engaged with the rotatable work table for receiving work pieces from their individual work piece supports. The assembly station further includes a removing subassembly for removing the work pieces from the work piece supports for further assembly. An orientation subassembly is also provided with the assembly station, and is mounted adjacent the removing subassembly by a quick change release member to enable easy removal and replacement with an alternate orientation subassembly. The orientation subassembly includes a position sensor for detecting the position of an alignment member of a work piece. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the concept presented in the passage. | [
"TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a system for manufacturing vehicle link assemblies having a torsion bar with a support ring attached to each end into which vibration isolation bushings are inserted, and more particularly to a system for feeding, processing, aligning and assembling bushings to form a link assembly.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the past, systems for inserting bushings into torsion bars to form link assemblies have required a great deal of human operator involvement and/or large equipment investments.",
"Even with the use of large systems, the manufacture of link assemblies is typically inefficient and potentially hazardous to the operators.",
"Such systems have typically required a material delivery system for supplying bushings or parts, and a handling system for orienting the bushings once delivered.",
"Additionally, a conveyor system is required for moving the parts between locations for preparation, and to the final desired assembly location.",
"Further, the bushings must be individually cleaning and primed, or otherwise treated and prepared prior to assembly into the torsion bars.",
"Once prepared, the parts must be properly oriented for insertion assembly.",
"The support rings of the bars are then loaded with the parts and clamped in position within a press for the press fit engagement insertion process of the parts into the support rings.",
"Upon completion of the insertion process, the links are removed from their clamped position and transported via a transport conveyor system for further processing.",
"One of the disadvantages of such prior systems is with the multiple tasks to be performed on each part prior to assembly into the link assembly.",
"Such tasks complicate the manufacturing process, in that each part must be handled and/or treated a number of times before assembly.",
"In particular, the application of adhesive or other coating material to the parts during preparation for assembly is particularly difficult.",
"Additionally, problems occur with alignment of the bushing parts prior to insertion into the links.",
"Failure to properly align the parts results in their misalignment within the ring, distortion of the ring, and "pop-out"",
"of the bushings from the link assembly.",
"A further disadvantage of prior systems is that the assembly area must be evacuated to minimize the fire and human hazards involved with the use of adhesives or other coatings containing volatile organic compounds.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a new and improved manufacturing system for assembling bushing parts within support rings of a torsion bar to form a link assembly.",
"A system according to the present invention includes a base frame having hollow frame members, which support first and second work tables rotated by a drive mechanism under operation of a computer controller, and a ventilation system which interconnects the base frame and work tables.",
"Each work table has a plurality of rotatable work piece supports or spindle subassemblies, each of which supports an individual bushing or work piece.",
"The work table also includes a plurality of work stations.",
"The work piece supports are rotated to each of the work stations during operation of the system to perform a variety of desired tasks, such as cleaning, pretreatment, treatment or assembly, on the work pieces.",
"The controller controls rotation of the position and movement of the work pieces through the system at preprogrammed or desired locations and specified speeds.",
"The work tables include a work table section and a drive mechanism section.",
"The work table and drive mechanism sections are substantially enclosed by walls and covers, and are interconnected with the base frame members to form the ventilation system.",
"The ventilation system maintains the safety of the operator against moving parts and fumes which may result from application of various materials during system operation.",
"The walls surrounding the work table section are clear to enable viewing of the work pieces, work piece supports and work stations during operation of the system.",
"The bushing work pieces are provided to the work piece supports either manually, or automatically, such as by pick and place pneumatically controlled robotic arms.",
"The bushing work pieces are typically cylindrical items, having a hollow metal insert surrounded by molded rubber material.",
"The work piece supports or spindle assemblies are configured to engage the hollow metal insert of the bushing work pieces.",
"After being loaded onto the work piece supports at the first work station, the work pieces are rotated on their respective supports to the various work stations of the work table.",
"The work pieces may be rotated by the operator's manual instruction, or automatically.",
"The work table includes multiple work stations for performing any desired treatment tasks, and preferably six stations.",
"The work piece supports are rotated by a drive mechanism.",
"At the second work station, the work pieces may be cleaned by a roll assembly which is also operated by the drive mechanism.",
"At the third work station, the work pieces may be dried or another desired treatment task may be performed.",
"At the fourth work station, the work pieces may be coated with a coating material which is also operated by the drive mechanism.",
"At the fifth work station, the work pieces may continue to dry, stand idle, or another desired treatment task may be performed.",
"At the sixth work station, and preferably an assembly station, the position of each work piece is determined to ensure that it is properly aligned for further processing.",
"In the event the work piece is not aligned, it is rotated to its proper position on its work piece support.",
"The position of the work piece is determined and properly positioned using an orientation subassembly.",
"Following alignment, the bushing work piece is stopped and locked in position for insertion into a support ring of the second work piece or torsion bar.",
"Upon proper orientation, the bushing work piece is transferred, either manually or automatically, to the press arbor station.",
"Where the transfer is performed automatically, a stripper mechanism of the assembly station removes the bushing work piece from the work piece support to a press assembly.",
"Once transferred to the press assembly, the bushing is inserted into a support ring of the torsion bar.",
"Where a completed bushing work piece is provided, one from each of two adjacent work tables, to each support ring of a torsion bar, the operator may complete the necessary insertions into a torsion bar on a synchronized basis.",
"Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments made with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the specification.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1A and 1B are schematic, partially cut-away, top views of an automated continuous manufacturing system in accordance with the present system;",
"FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic, partially cut-away front views of the system of FIGS. 1A and 1B, respectively;",
"FIGS. 3A and 3B are top views of a removable station subassembly for the application of material to a work piece;",
"FIGS. 4A and 4B are side views of the sub-assembly of FIGS. 3A and 3B;",
"FIG. 5 is a partial end view of the subassembly of FIGS. 3A and 3B taken along the line 5--5;",
"FIGS. 6A and 6B are schematic, partially cut-away, front views of a rotary drive mechanism for the present system taken along the line 6--6 of FIG. 2A;",
"FIG. 7 is a top view of the rotary drive mechanism of FIG. 6B taken along the line 7--7 of FIG. 6B;",
"FIG. 8 is a schematic, enlarged, cut-away, side view of a clutch mechanism of the rotary drive mechanism shown in FIG. 6A;",
"FIGS. 9 and 10 are press assembly stations for either the first or second work tables of the present system for holding the second work piece torsion bar for insertion of the first work piece bushing therein by the insertion subassembly;",
"FIGS. 11 and 12 are side and front views, respectively, of a position sensor of the assembly station of the present system;",
"FIGS. 13 and 14 are side and front views, respectively, of an alternate embodiment of a position sensor of the assembly station of the present system;",
"FIGS. 15A-15F are schematic representations showing movement of the work pieces around the work table to the various work stations, where FIG. 15A shows a work piece being loaded onto the work station, FIG. 15B shows rotation to a work station where the work pieces are claimed, FIG. 15C shows rotation to an idle work station, FIG. 15D shows rotation to a coating work station of the type shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, FIG. 15E shows rotation to an idle work station, and FIG. 15F shows rotation to an assembly station;",
"FIG. 15G is a schematic, cut-away, side view of an orientation subassembly, removing subassembly and a work piece supported on a work piece support prior to transfer of the work piece to a press assembly, taken along the line 15G--15G of FIG. 15F;",
"FIG. 15H is a schematic, cut-away, side view of the system of FIG. 15G, with the orientation subassembly engaged surrounding the work piece;",
"FIG. 15I is a schematic, cut-away, side view of the system of FIG. 15H where the removing subassembly has transferred the work piece to the press assembly;",
"FIG. 15J is a schematic, cut-away, side view of the system of FIG. 15I, where the work piece is on the press assembly and the orientation and removing subassemblies are returned for the next work piece engagement;",
"FIG. 15K is a schematic, cut-away side view of the system of FIG. 15J, where the press assembly is pivoted for press fit engagement of the bushing work piece with the torsion bar second work piece;",
"FIG. 15L is a schematic, cut-away, side view of the system of FIG. 15K showing the press assembly press fitting the bushing into engagement within an end of the torsion bar;",
"FIG. 15M is a schematic, cut-away, side view of the system of FIG. 15L showing the press assembly retracted for the next work piece engagement, and the completed assembly;",
"FIGS. 16A and 16B are schematic, cut-away, front views of the press assembly of the present system;",
"FIG. 17 is an exploded front view of the disposable cartridges of the reservoir dispensing assembly;",
"FIG. 18 is a front view of the multiple component coating material reservoir dispensing assembly;",
"FIG. 19 is side view of the dispensing assembly of FIG. 18;",
"and FIG. 20 is a partially cut-away end view of the dispensing assembly of FIG. 18 taken along the line 20--20.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIGS. 1A and 1B are schematic, partial views of the present automated continuous manufacturing system for feeding, processing, aligning and assembling bushing work pieces to form a link assembly.",
"The link assembly includes a bushing work piece B for engagement with a second work piece or torsion bar T. The torsion bar T includes support rings S on the first and second ends E, SE of the torsion bar.",
"The manufacturing system, generally referred to at reference numeral 10, preferably includes first and second rotatable work tables 12a, 12b, a controller system 14 for controlling operation of the system, including the position and movement of bushing work pieces through the system 10, and a ventilation system 16 for reducing the risk of harmful vapors by containing and removing such vapors from the work tables 12a, 12b.",
"The work tables 12a, 12b, are enclosed by clear cover panels 24 which permit the operator to view the work tables during operation, while at the same time preventing exposure to moving parts or vapors from any materials being applied during operation.",
"The covers 24 are manufactured of a clear synthetic resin material, for example, Tempered Glass.",
"As the work tables 12a and 12b are substantially similar structures in mirror image configuration, only the differences between the work tables, if any, will be discussed in further detail.",
"The components of the second work table 12b will be referenced by a prime designation.",
"The system 10 is supported on a base frame 18 having hollow frame members 20 as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.",
"The frame members 20 are interconnected with the work tables, which are substantially closed to reduce the vapors escaping from the work tables 12 during operation.",
"The frame members 20 are also interconnected with ducts 22 which form a portion of the ventilation system 16 for vapor removal.",
"The ventilation system 16 includes an exhaust fan (not shown) which pulls ambient air into the work tables through openings 23 in the substantially closed work tables 12 and into the frame members and ducts, for removal through an appropriate exhaust vent (not shown).",
"The ventilation system 16 additionally enables control of any environmental exhaust requirements by exhausting the vapors exiting the system 10 at a specified and desired rate.",
"As illustrated in FIGS. 1B, 2B, 6A and 6B, the work table 12a, 12b includes an upper support plate 26 and a lower support plate 28.",
"The upper support plate 26 supports a plurality of work stations 30, and a plurality of rotatable work piece supports 32 or spindle subassemblies which support individual bushings or work pieces B. In the illustrated embodiment, the system 10 includes 6 work stations and 6 work piece supports.",
"The work piece supports 32 are rotated to each of the work stations 30 during operation of the system 10 to perform a variety of desired tasks on the work pieces B. The work piece supports 32 are supported between an index plate 34 and the upper support plate 2b.",
"The supports or spindle assemblies 32 are secured to the underside of the index plate 34.",
"Each work piece support 32 includes a spindle block 36 which is secured to the index plate 34.",
"The work piece supports include a central shaft 38, which is mounted via conventional bearing assemblies 74 to the spindle block 36.",
"The central shaft 38 has an inner end 39 and an outer end 40, which is located adjacent the circumference of the work table.",
"Removably inserted into the outer end 40 of the central shaft 38 is a spindle 42.",
"The spindle 42 is preferably a quick change part, meaning a part where each particular spindle is designed to support a particular bushing work piece B, and the spindle may be readily changed in the event the work table is to receive work pieces of a different configuration.",
"Additional parts, as discussed below, may also be readily changed to accommodate a variety of different work pieces.",
"Work is performed sequentially on each bushing.",
"The spindles 42 are moved between work stations 30 by the manual initiation of the operator, using the foot pedal 25.",
"Included on the spindle 42 is a magnetic slide member 43 used to maintain bushing work pieces on the spindle.",
"The central shaft 38 and engaged spindle 42 are rotated upon engagement of a pinion gear 44 attached on the inner end 39 of the central shaft 38.",
"This construction enables continuous rotation of each of the bushings or work pieces B while supported on the spindle 42.",
"Such rotation is desirable in order to maintain any material applied to the surface of the work piece at the work station.",
"Often, stopping the individual rotation of the work pieces results in material dripping from the bushing onto the work table, or in uneven coating of material on the surface of the work pieces.",
"These disadvantages are avoided by such rotation.",
"The pinion gear 44 is driven by a rotary drive mechanism or drive train 45 which enables rotary operation of the system 10.",
"As shown in FIG. 7, the drive train 45 is composed of a conventional AC fixed speed motor 46, which in the illustrated embodiment is a 1/3 HP explosion proof gear motor, coupled to a right angle gear reducer 48.",
"The gear reducer 48 drives, via a series of sprocket gears and a roller chain 50, a continuous motion shaft 52 which runs from the lower support plate 28 through the upper support plate 26.",
"The roller chain 50 and sprocket gears 49 also drive an input shaft 54 engaged with an index clutch 56.",
"Upon pneumatic engagement by rotation of the input shaft 54, torque is transmitted to the output shaft 58 also engaged with the index clutch.",
"This output shaft protrudes downward through the bottom plate 28.",
"On this output shaft 58 the driver wheel 60 of a six station Geneva mechanism 62 is secured.",
"The Geneva mechanism 62 is a conventional device, illustrated in FIGS. 6B and 7, used to convert continuous rotary motion into intermittent rotary motion.",
"Intermittent rotary motion is obtained upon rotation of a cam follower 64 on the driver wheel 60 through radial cut-outs 65 in a star wheel 66.",
"After rotation of the star wheel 60 degrees, the cam follower 64 exists the cut-out 65 of the star wheel 66.",
"The star wheel 66 is then in a dwell position and locked in place by engaged semi-circular surfaces 68a, 68b on both the star and driver wheels, respectively.",
"The mechanism is encased within a housing 70 and operates in an oil bath for wear reduction.",
"The star wheel 66 is secured to an index shaft 72 on a lower end 73.",
"The index shaft 72 rotates intermittently inside the continuous shaft 52.",
"At stations 2-5, the pinion gear is rotated by the ring gear secured to the upper end of the continuous shaft.",
"At station 6, the pinion gear is disengaged from the hollow shaft by the release cam.",
"The hollow shaft can now be driven by the position drive discussed later.",
"The pinion gear remains disengaged at station five.",
"The circular index plate 34 is attached to the top end of the index shaft.",
"FIGS. 15A-15F demonstrate movement of the bushing to the various work stations.",
"At station 1, FIG. 15A, bushings are loaded onto a non-rotating spindle, either manually by the operator, or automatically by a loading apparatus.",
"At station 2, FIG. 15B, bushings are cleaned by the cleaning assembly 78, which is one of the removable station subassemblies 76, of the type illustrated in FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B and 5.",
"The cleaning assembly 78 is substantially similar to one embodiment of the coating station and assembly 79, described below in connection with the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B and 5, and is not structurally discussed in further detail.",
"However, differences in functional considerations are set forth.",
"The assemblies 78, 79 consist of an air driven doctor roll 80 that rotates through a reservoir system which includes a solvent reservoir.",
"Solvent is transferred to the roll 80 via an adjustable gap which controls the amount of coating material transferred, thus controlling the application thickness and minimizing runoff.",
"The application roll speed and time of contact are variable and programmable.",
"The illustrated reservoir system 82 includes a coating material tank or pan 84 supported with the removable station subassembly 76, on a station plate 77.",
"The tank 84 is engaged with the station plate using an adjustment mechanism, generally referred to at reference numeral 88.",
"Adjustment of the illustrated embodiment of the application system ensures that the work pieces B are provided with the desired amount of cleaning solvent or other coating material by positioning the tank to engage the rolls with the desired level of material.",
"The adjustment mechanism 88 enables vertical position adjustment of the application system.",
"The tank is raised or lowered by manually actuating a spring operated calibrator using a pointer and scale.",
"The scale is secured to correspond to the position of the tank and the pointer.",
"At station 3, FIG. 15C, the operation is idle.",
"However, additional bushing functions may be added to accommodate any desired steps.",
"At station 4, FIG. 15D, an adhesive or other coating material is applied.",
"The coating assembly 79 at station 4 (which is a removable work station subassembly 76) may be identical to the cleaning assembly of station 2, but coating the work piece with adhesive or other material instead of solvent.",
"However, it should be understood that a dual component application system, or other system for applying a coating material could likewise be used.",
"In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 17-20, a dual component material application system is used to coat the work pieces.",
"The advantage of this system is that there is less coating material waste as well as improved control over the quality of the coating material, due to the fact that there is a reduction in the amount of time the coating material is exposed to the atmosphere.",
"Reduced waste is also obtained, since the system is better able to accurately dispense the coating material precisely where it is desired.",
"By more accurately applying the coating material, cost savings are obtained due to reduced clean-up requirements.",
"Additionally, the reduction in atmospheric exposure also assists with reducing the amount of vapors which are dispensed into the atmosphere.",
"A reduction in vapors in the atmosphere further assists with improving safety concerns due to possible explosions from volatile materials.",
"The illustrated system of FIGS. 17-20 provides multiple component adhesive coating material to the rolls 80 for application to the work pieces.",
"The system includes conventional disposable cartridges 85, shown in FIG. 17, containing various material components.",
"The cartridges 85 are interconnected to enable the combination of their respective components.",
"Backflow preventers 81 are included at the cartridge outlets 90 to assist with reducing the gravity feedback of different density components.",
"Conventional static mixers 91 are also provided such that once the material components are dispensed, they are further mixed prior to exiting the system at the outlet 92 for supply or application to either the bushing or rolls.",
"The cartridges 85 are secured together by retaining nuts 93, and secured within the assembly by a pivoting arm 94 secured by a conventional fastener 95.",
"The adhesive components exit the cartridges 85 under pressure of a piston assembly 96.",
"The piston assembly 96 is driven by a conventional pneumatic cylinder 97 operated by the controller 14.",
"Using the controller system, the piston assembly can be used to mix the desired amounts of the adhesive components.",
"As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, respectively, either a double or single dual cartridge assembly may be used, as needed.",
"Fluid lines (not illustrated) may be used to extend from the static mixers for supply of the dispensed and mixed coating material to a further pinch valve for supply or application to either the bushing or rolls.",
"The conventional pinch valve restricts the flow of fluid until opening of the valve via spring action.",
"Upon being supplied with a signal from the controller, the pinch valve is opened and coating material is provided to the roll or work piece.",
"An additional function of this station incorporates adhesive application to the outer edge of the flange that enters the link first at insertion.",
"This adhesive actually coats the internal diameter of the link coupling thus eliminating the need for preswabbing the link with adhesive.",
"At illustrated station 5, FIG. 15E, the operation is idle, but may be adapted to provide an additional removable station subassembly for performing additional functions.",
"At station 6, FIG. 15F, a removing subassembly 102 is provided for orienting the bushing and transferring the bushing to the press arbor for insertion into the link SE.",
"Most bushings B either have an identification lobe 112, shown in FIGS. 15G-15J, that must be aligned with the link SE when installed, or are eccentric with respect to the link, and must be installed in a predetermined radial position.",
"This orientation is established by rotating the bushing B at the work station until the proper location is found, for example, when the identification lobe 112 is identified by an orientation subassembly 110.",
"The illustrated orientation subassembly 110, in FIGS. 11-12, and in an alternate embodiment 110'",
"in FIGS. 13-14, includes a quick change release base member 114, which is adapted for easy attachment to a support member 115 by a release pin.",
"The orientation subassembly 110 is located adjacent the removing subassembly 102.",
"Conventional fiber optic sensors 118 are positioned on the release member which are interconnected with the controller.",
"Once the identification lobe 112 interrupts the fiber optic sensor, the controller is signalled that the bushing is properly aligned, and rotation of the bushing is stopped.",
"It should be understood that a variety of fiber optic sensor arrangements, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, may be used to accommodate a variety of work piece configurations.",
"Each of the orientation and removing subassemblies 110, 102 are supported on a base member 117, which is driven both vertically and horizontally by the remover driver 119.",
"Once the bushing B is determined to be aligned by the orientation assembly, rotation of the bushing is stopped and locked in position for further operation.",
"As illustrated Upon proper orientation, the removing assembly 102, which includes a stripping mechanism 104, is used to transfer the bushing B from station 6 to the press or press arbor assembly station 140.",
"The steps involved in removal of the bushing, and transfer to the press station 140 are illustrated in FIGS. 15G-15L.",
"The press assembly station 140, includes an insertion subassembly 142, by which the bushing B is inserted into one of the link eyes SE.",
"The press station 140 includes a conventional servo motor 150 powered by a ball screw with variable and programmable velocity, force, acceleration, deceleration and final position.",
"The insertion subassembly and press assembly provide a 2-axis mechanism which accepts bushings horizontally, rotates them to a vertical position, and then vertically inserts the bushing into the link eye.",
"The final insertion position for installation is preprogrammed to a position within 0.0025 accuracy for each individual part.",
"The operator will be able to manually change this position by a predetermined tolerance amount to compensate for temperature, humidity, etc.",
", based on daily variations.",
"The base portions of alternate press assembly stations 140 are illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10.",
"Such base portions provide for maintaining the link or second work pieces SE during insertion of the bushing or first work piece B by the insertion subassembly 142.",
"As shown in FIG. 9, a locking arm 147 is provided for securing the second work piece within the base portion.",
"The base portion shown in FIG. 10 provides a vise-like assembly 148 which operates using a pneumatic cylinder 149 to secure the second work piece.",
"It should also be understood that the use of an induction heating device 146 may be used in connection with the press arbor or press assembly 140 for rapid curing of the adhesive or other materials applied to the surface of the bushing B by the coating assembly 79.",
"Such induction heating devices have the advantage of rapid, controlled heating which cures the desired material, without impacting the structure or materials of the bushing or work piece.",
"The present invention also provides the additional advantage that the controller change over from different types of links can be accomplished in 5 minutes or less.",
"As illustrated, the change over only requires removing various units out or unplugging the units and dropping or plugging in the next alternate unit.",
"For example, the removable station subassembly 76 may be removed from a work station position by manually grasping the handle 75 and pulling the subassembly from the work table.",
"All press motions and position variables are pre-programmed and may be automatically changed upon entering a part number on the operator panel of the control system 14.",
"The preferred forms of the automatic continuous manufacturing system have been described above.",
"However, with the present disclosure in mind it is believed that obvious alterations to the preferred embodiment, to achieve comparable features and advantages in other assemblies, will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art."
] |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED CASES
This is a continuation-in-part application of co-pending PCT International Application PCT/US2006/01782 with an international filing date of Jan. 17, 2006 and entitled “Self-Muting Audio Connector” which application is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to audio signal phone connectors, and in particular to such a connector providing a means for establishing an automatic grounded termination for the connector upon removal of the connector from an external jack. Accordingly, the general objects of the invention are to provide novel systems, methods, and apparatus of such character.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention is an improvement in an electrical connecting device commonly known as a “phone plug” which terminates an electrical cable and permits the cable to be readily connected and disconnected to electrical apparatus. In addition to its many other applications, the phone plug has become the standard device by which electrically amplified musical instruments are connected to their amplifiers. One of the characteristics of the phone plug that has elevated it to a standard piece of equipment for an electrical cable, is the elegant simplicity of its design. The phone plug, which has no moving parts, is sturdy and sure in performing its function permitting it to be connected and disconnected countless times without failure. The mechanical and electrical features of conventional phone connectors and jacks are well known in the art and have become standard, universally used components in the field of audio electronics.
What is also universal, however, is the highly undesirable noise that occurs when a phone plug is connected or disconnected from an instrument while the instrument's amplifier is on. Under those circumstances, it is virtually impossible to either insert or withdraw the phone plug from its jack without the tip from contacting some signal generating element, whether it be part of the jack, the person handling the equipment, or some other nearby object. When the tip makes such contact, the result is an annoying and potentially dangerous sound emanating from the speakers being driven by the amplifier to which the cable is connected. This is an annoying and unwanted noise and can be quite loud, especially for a performing musician in front of an audience.
To avoid this problem in the past, musicians had to either unplug the end of the cable that is inserted into the amplifier, or turn the amplifier volume down so that the cable could be inserted into the instrument quietly. In both cases, the musician had to take an extra step to avoid the unwanted noise. In some cases, the amplifier can be a considerable distance from the front of the stage so it can be inconvenient to do this. A professional musician might need to change instruments several times during a performance thereby compounding the problem.
These deficiencies have led to the development of audio connectors having ground switches integrated into the connector itself. These products attempt to solve this problem, however, they have been unsatisfactory as either too complicated, too costly, too unreliable, or some combination thereof. One such self-muting connector has been commercialized by Deltron. The Deltron device employs a pair of coaxial ground sleeves arranged such that one externally spring-biased sleeve may slide longitudinally relative to the other to thereby permit selective grounding based on insertion and/or removal of the connector. In practice however, the Deltron design exerts a longitudinal spring force such that it may at least partially eject the phone connector from the socket. In particular, some jack sockets have weak tip springs and are therefore not capable of holding the plug in place. If so, the plug can be ejected sufficiently to so that the signal is lost intermittently or entirely. For a performing musician, this presents a significant reliability issue. It is not desirable to be part way through a song or a solo when the signal disappears.
A second commercially available design is available from a company called Planet Waves who offers a phone connector with a manually operated switch on the side of the phone connector body. This allows the musician to manually switch the signal off before unplugging the jack from the socket. The problem with this solution however is that it still presents the musician with an extra action that needs to be performed, usually under pressure. Additionally, it is difficult to see if the switch is on or off, so the musician might not get any sound from his amplifier and/or may not deduce that it is caused by the switch being engaged in the off position.
A third connector design that solves some of the above noted problems is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,167 to Scherer. The self-muting device of the '167 patent offers the benefits that it (1) offers automatic switching operation; and (2) does not apply a longitudinal force that may tend to eject the connector from a complementary jack socket. The device taught by the '167 patent, however, is still less than optimal for a number of reasons. First, the design still involves a modest level of expense and complexity to manufacture. This aspect is critical because of the high-volume and marginally profitable nature of such devices. Second, the device of the '167 patent introduces reliability concerns that tends to undermine one of the most valuable characteristics of conventional phone connectors: astounding reliability over an extended period of time and repeated usage.
For these reasons alone, these prior art devices, as well as others of the same general description, have still not enjoyed any significant commercial success after many years.
There is, accordingly, a need in the art for improved methods, systems and apparatus to eliminate the effects of spurious extraneous signals, undesired signal emissions and signal reflections on the circuitry connected to the phone connector. In particular, such methods and apparatus should provide a simple and inexpensive connector which can be automatically muted whenever it is disconnected from an external jack socket. Such methods, systems and apparatus will ideally offer users/purchasers an optimal combination of (1) simplicity; (2) reliability; (3) economy; and (4) versatility.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention satisfies the above-stated needs and overcomes the above-stated and other deficiencies of the related art by providing methods, systems and apparatus that can be automatically activated by means of insertion into a jack socket and designed such that when inserted, no longitudinal spring force is exerted on the jack socket. In particular, self-muting connectors in accordance with the invention employ a spring-biased switch with an internal spring and a partially exposed protrusion. When the connector is in a disconnected state, the protrusion extends outwardly of a ground sleeve and the spring contacts an inner signal conductor. In this state, the switch shorts the signal conductor and ground sleeve together. When the connector is inserted into a complementary jack socket, the protrusion is urged inwardly and the internal spring is deformed such that it ceases to contact the inner conductor, thereby the breaking the short-circuit between the signal conductor and ground sleeve. The breaking of this connection allows a normal electrical connection to be established between the connector and the device to which the connector is inserted. The invention may be applied to both monophonic and stereo phonic audio phone connectors.
The spring switch may comprise a conductive conductor-engaging member, a ground-sleeve engaging member and a resilient (or spring biased) intermediate member. The ground-sleeve engaging member is in substantially continuous contact with the inner surface of outer sleeve and the conductor-engaging member is in selective contact with inner signal conductor. Alternatively, the spring switch may be a coil spring that is substantially “e-shaped” in cross-section.
Other important aspects of the invention include a novel internal spring switch for use in an inventive self-muting connector of the type discussed herein. One advantage of this switch is that it is not physically affixed to any other part therefore needs no assembly procedures or complicated attachments other than a simple insertion.
The invention can also take the form of a method of manufacturing the self-muting audio connector of the type discussed herein.
Naturally, the above-described methods of the invention are particularly well adapted for use with the above-described apparatus of the invention. Similarly, the apparatus of the invention are well suited to perform the inventive methods described above.
Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, from the claims and from the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings where like numerals represent like steps and/or structures and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a self-muting mono connector and jack in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is another side elevation of the self-muting connector of FIG. 1 in which the connector has been inserted into the jack;
FIG. 3 a shows a cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 1 taken along line 3 a - 3 a;
FIG. 3 b shows a cross sectional view of the connector of FIG. 2 taken along line 3 b - 3 b.
FIG. 4 depicts a perspective cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 1 taken along line 3 a - 3 a;
FIG. 5 is a partial cut-away perspective view of the connector of FIG. 1 ;
FIGS. 6 a and 6 b are cross-sectional views of a self-muting mono connector in accordance with still another preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 7 a through 7 e are axial, bottom, top, right and left views of a spring switch for a self-muting connector in accordance with still another preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 8 a is a side-elevation view of a self-muting connector in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the connector using the spring switch of FIGS. 7 a through 7 e;
FIG. 8 b shows a cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 8 a taken along line 8 b - 8 b.
FIG. 9 a shows a cross-sectional and partial view of another self-muting audio connector in accordance with the invention; and
FIG. 9 b shows a perspective view of a switch and an associated insulator for use with a self-muting audio connector in accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
With joint reference to FIGS. 1 , 2 , 3 a and 3 b , a self-muting audio connector in accordance with a first preferred embodiment is shown and its operation illustrated therein. In particular, an inventive mono phone or “TS” (tip-sleeve) connector 10 is shown with a cylindrical, tubular outer sleeve 14 which is terminated at one of its ends by a tip 13 and at its other end by an enlarged threaded flange 17 onto which is threaded a connector body 15 . The tip 13 electrically is insulated from sleeve 14 by an annular insulator 16 and connected to a cylindrical inner rod 19 that is coaxial within the outer sleeve 14 . The inner rod 19 extends through (without contacting) flange 17 and is secured at the rear of the flange to an electrical terminal 21 which is insulated from flange 17 by an insulator 22 . A second electrical terminal 18 is affixed to flange 17 and thereby electrically connected to outer ground sleeve 14 and terminal 21 is electrically connected to tip 13 through rod 19 and insulated from outer sleeve 14 , flange 17 , and ground terminal 18 .
In its well known use to carry audio signals, TS connector 10 is coupled to a coaxial shielded cable (not shown) by soldering the cable ground conductor to ground terminal or lug 18 and the central signal-carrying conductor of the cable to terminal 21 . In this way, the tip 13 may be electrically coupled between two external circuits, such as a musical instrument and an operating amplifier, while sleeve 14 may be grounded. It is the fact that tip 13 is electrically coupled in this way that gives rise to the problems of the prior art set forth above in terms of screeching and possible damage to amplifiers and speakers. In order to avoid component damage and screeching, the present invention provides a spring-biased grounding switch 11 with a coil spring 23 disposed between the inner surface of tubular sleeve 14 and the outer surface of a signal conductor 19 . As shown, signal conductor 19 is preferably a rod shaped member, but it may take many other forms as it is merely a matter of design choice. When connector 10 is not inserted into an external jack, there is no force applied to protrusion 28 , see FIGS. 1 and 3 a , and the spring bias of the coil spring 23 causes the contact between it and rod 19 . Since conductive spring 23 is also urged against the interior surface of sleeve 14 , tip 13 is grounded through rod 19 , switch 11 and sleeve 14 . In this way, whenever the phone connector is not in use (not inserted into a jack such as jack 33 ) the tip 13 is muted (grounded) and thus, there is no potential for generating a noise signal to be fed into the amplifier and broadcast through the speakers.
With continuing joint reference to FIGS. 1-3 b , grounding switch 11 comprises a conductive coil spring 23 that is in substantially continuous contact with the inner surface of outer sleeve 14 and in selective contact with inner signal conductor 19 . Nonetheless, switch 11 is preferably neither affixed to sleeve 14 nor affixed to rod 19 . Rather, the spring-biasing force of switch coil 23 preferably urges protrusion 28 through an aperture 12 and, in the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 a , urges itself against rod 19 .
With emphasis now to FIGS. 2 and 3 b , in particular, in operation the connector 10 is inserted into jack 33 which includes a cylindrical receiving wall 34 having an inner diameter just slightly larger than the outer diameter of sleeve 14 and a tip contact and securing member 36 . While the force of coil 23 is sufficient to prevent longitudinal motion of switch 11 relative to sleeve 14 during normal use, it is also resilient enough to permit protrusion 28 to move radially inward when connector 10 is inserted into an external jack 33 . Such radially inward motion deforms coil 23 sufficiently to thereby automatically break the contact between coil 23 and rod 19 . This creates a gap G between coil 23 and rod 19 . When this occurs, a signal presented to terminal 21 is no longer shorted to ground and may pass to tip 13 and vice versa. This allows a normal electrical connection to be established between the connector and the device to which the connector is inserted.
Coil spring 23 is advantageously formed from a strip of conducting material, such as hardened spring steel, sized and shaped to bias itself (forming a physical and an electrical connection) against the inner wall of the cylindrical sleeve 14 . As best seen in FIGS. 3 a and 3 b , switch 11 is preferably generally “e-shaped” in cross-section. The coil spring spans the space between sleeve 14 and rod 19 , making electrical contact between the inner rod 19 and the grounded outer sleeve 14 . The protrusion 28 is preferably integrally formed with coil 23 by stamping a generally hemispherical detent into the inside of coil 23 . Protrusion 28 is, therefore, also preferably formed of the same piece of spring steel as coil 23 . In an alternative construction, protrusion 28 may be formed from one of many well know durable materials, regardless of whether they are conductive or non-conductive, such as nylon, plastic, brass, steel or the like. With such an alternative construction, coil 23 may include an aperture through with a portion of the protrusion may extend to enhance affixation.
The location of aperture 12 in the outer sleeve 14 determines the distance between the protrusion 28 and the tip 13 . By adjusting that distance a given connector can be either a make-before-break connector or a break-before-make connector. When the distance between the tip 13 and the protrusion 28 is such that the protrusion is depressed by the jack wall 34 before the tip 13 contacts the securing member 36 , the switch 11 will “break” before the tip “makes” connection with the securing member. When on the other hand, the distance between the tip 13 and the protrusion 28 is such that the protrusion is depressed by the jack wall 34 after the tip 13 contacts the securing member 36 , the tip 13 “makes” contact with the jack tip connector 36 before the switch 11 “breaks” (while the tip is still grounded). Whether a connector is designed to be a make-before-break or a break-before-make depends on the application and the electrical devices involved. The present invention is capable of providing either with only a slight change in the location of the protrusion aperture 12 . No other modification is required.
One particularly advantageous feature of the invention is that switch 11 is preferably not affixed either rod 19 or sleeve 14 by any conventional means such as a fastener or bonding material. This represents a significant advantage over the related art devices in that assembly of connector 10 is greatly simplified, less expensive and involves fewer components. In particular, switch 11 is preferably inserted into sleeve 14 such that protrusion 28 is aligned with aperture 12 , and then longitudinally slid into sleeve 14 until protrusion 28 engages with aperture 12 . In this way, the coil spring is self-aligning and does not require any precise location or matching parts during the manufacturing process.
With emphasis shifted to the cut-away, perspective views of FIGS. 4 and 5 , one may still better appreciate the construction of the embodiment first shown in FIG. 1 . In particular, one of ordinary skill will still better observe that switch 11 is preferably integrally formed and that protrusion 28 is preferably stamped from the coil to thereby form a hollow hemispherical member. It will, however, be appreciated that protrusion 28 may be formed into other shapes (for example, an elongated bar, or a cone) as long as aperture 12 is also changed to complement/accommodate such other shapes. As shown in these Figures, it has been found that coil 23 should be between about 0.4 cm (0.1587 inches) and about 1.0 cm (0.3968 inches) long provide the desired biasing force and physical stability (0.7 cm—0.2778 inches—being most preferred).
Another alternative embodiment of the inventive switch in accordance with the present invention is shown in cross-section and in operation in FIGS. 6 a and 6 b . As shown, mono self-muting connector 10 ″ is substantially similar to mono self-muting connector 10 of FIGS. 1 through 5 . The primary difference between the two resides in the design of coil-spring switch 11 ″. In particular, coil spring 23 ″ preferably forms a closed loop with a portion thereof extending inwardly to permit selective contact with inner rod 19 as discussed above. Spring 23 ″ may be formed from a tubular piece of conductive material such as metal into which a portion has been stamped to form the inwardly extending portion. Additionally, protrusion 28 may be formed in any manner discussed above with respect to the spring 23 ″. Alternatively, spring 23 ″ may be formed as a closed loop in the sense that a portion of the coil overlaps but is not affixed together in the overlapping portion thereof.
With joint reference to FIGS. 7 a through 8 b , a self-muting audio connector in accordance with another preferred embodiment is shown and its operation illustrated therein. In particular, an inventive mono phone or “TS” (tip-sleeve) connector 10 ′″ is shown with a cylindrical, tubular outer sleeve 14 ′ which is terminated at one of its ends by a tip 13 ′ and at its other end by an enlarged threaded flange 17 ′ onto which is threaded a connector body 15 ′. The tip 13 ′ electrically is insulated from sleeve 14 ′ by an annular insulator 16 ′ and connected to a cylindrical inner rod 19 ″ that is coaxial within the outer sleeve 14 ′. The inner rod 19 ″ extends through (without contacting) flange 17 ′ and is secured at the rear of the flange to an electrical terminal 21 ′ which is insulated from flange 17 ′ by an insulator 22 ′. A second electrical terminal 18 ′ is affixed to flange 17 ′ and thereby electrically connected to outer ground sleeve 14 ′. Terminal 21 ′ is electrically connected to tip 13 ′ through rod 19 ″ and insulated from outer sleeve 14 ′, flange 17 ′, and ground terminal 18 ′.
In its use to carry audio signals, TS connector 10 ′″ is coupled to a coaxial shielded cable (not shown) by soldering the cable ground conductor to ground terminal or lug 18 ′ and the central signal-carrying conductor of the cable to terminal 21 ′. In this way, the tip 13 ′ may be electrically coupled between two external circuits, such as a musical instrument and an operating amplifier, while sleeve 14 ′ may be grounded. It is the fact that tip 13 ′ is electrically coupled in this way that gives rise to the problems of the prior art set forth above in terms of screeching and possible damage to amplifiers and speakers. In order to avoid component damage and screeching, this embodiment of the present invention provides a spring-biased grounding switch 11 ′″ disposed between the inner surface of tubular sleeve 14 ′ and the outer surface of a signal conductor 19 ″. As shown, signal conductor 19 ″ is preferably a rod shaped member, but it may take many other forms as it is merely a matter of design choice. When connector 10 ′″ is not inserted into an external jack, there is no force applied to protrusion 28 ′ and the spring bias of the spring switch 11 ′″ causes the contact between grounding sleeve 14 ′ and rod 19 ″. Since conductive spring 11 ′″ is urged against the interior surface of sleeve 14 ′, tip 13 ′ is grounded through rod 19 ″, switch 11 ′″ and sleeve 14 ′. In this way, whenever the phone connector is not in use (not inserted into a jack, such as jack 33 of FIG. 1 ) the tip 13 ′ is muted (grounded) and thus, there is no potential for generating a noise signal to be fed into the amplifier and broadcast through the speakers.
With continuing joint reference to FIG. 7 a through 8 b , grounding switch 11 ′″ comprises a conductive conductor-engaging member 24 , a ground-sleeve engaging member 26 and a resilient (or spring biased) intermediate member 25 . The ground-sleeve engaging member 26 is in substantially continuous contact with the inner surface of outer sleeve 14 ′ and the conductor-engaging member 24 is in selective contact with inner signal conductor 19 ″. Nonetheless, switch 11 ′″ is preferably neither affixed to sleeve 14 ′ nor affixed to rod 19 ″. Rather, the spring-biasing force of member 25 preferably urges protrusion 28 ′ through an aperture 12 ′ and, in the state shown in FIGS. 8 a and 8 b , urges itself against rod 19 ″. Member 26 is preferably resilient and sized and shaped to snugly fit within the inside of sleeve 14 ′ and it may, optionally, include a number of slight outward protrusions P to aid with such engagement and to thereby provide additional stability. Also, member 24 preferably includes one or more contacts C that enable more precise and reliable selective electrical coupling with signal conductor 19 ″.
In operation the connector 10 ′″ is inserted into a jack which includes a cylindrical receiving wall having an inner diameter just slightly larger than the outer diameter of sleeve 14 ′ and a tip contact and securing member (such as member 36 of FIG. 1 ). While the force of member 25 is sufficient to prevent longitudinal motion of switch 11 ′″ relative to sleeve 14 ′ during normal use, it is also resilient enough to permit protrusion 28 ′ to move radially inward when connector 10 ′″ is inserted into an external jack. Such radially inward motion deforms member 25 sufficiently to thereby automatically break the electrical contact between member 24 and rod 19 ″. This creates a gap (not shown) between spring conductor-engaging member 24 and rod 19 ″. When this occurs, a signal presented to terminal 21 ′ is no longer shorted to ground and may pass to tip 13 ′ and vice versa. This allows a normal electrical connection to be established between the connector and the device to which the connector is inserted.
Spring switch 11 ′″ is advantageously formed from a strip of conducting material, such as hardened spring steel, (or Beryllium Copper) sized and shaped to bias itself (forming a physical and an electrical connection) against the inner wall of the cylindrical sleeve 14 ′. As best seen in FIGS. 7 a and 8 b , members 24 and 26 are preferably elongated, generally “c-shaped” in cross-section and are respectively aligned along parallel axes. By contrast, member 25 is preferably a slightly curved strip that is angled relative to the parallel axes. Member 24 may also be described as being generally “horseshoe-shaped,” by which is meant the member as shown in FIGS. 7 a through 8 b and also referred to above as generally “c-shaped.” The spring 11 ′″ spans the space between sleeve 14 ′ and rod 19 ″, making electrical contact between the inner rod 19 ″ and the grounded outer sleeve 14 ′. The protrusion 28 ′ is preferably integrally formed with the spring by stamping a generally hemispherical detent into the inside of spring 11 ′″. Protrusion 28 ′ is, therefore, also preferably formed of the same piece of spring as the rest of switch 11 ′″. In an alternative construction, protrusion 28 ′ may be formed from one of many well know durable materials, regardless of whether they are conductive or non-conductive, such as nylon, plastic, brass, steel or the like. With such an alternative construction, member 24 may include an aperture through which a portion of the protrusion may extend to enhance affixation.
The location of aperture 12 ′ in the outer sleeve 14 ′ determines the distance between the protrusion 28 ′ and the tip 13 ′. By adjusting that distance a given connector can be either a make-before-break connector or a break-before-make connector. When the distance between the tip 13 ′ and the protrusion 28 ′ is such that the protrusion is depressed by the jack wall before the tip 13 ′ contacts the securing member, the switch 11 ′″ will “break” before the tip “makes” connection with the securing member. When, on the other hand, the distance between the tip 13 ′ and the protrusion 28 ′ is such that the protrusion is depressed by the jack wall after the tip 13 ′ contacts the securing member, the tip 13 ′ “makes” contact with the jack tip connector before the switch 11 ′″ “breaks” (while the tip is still grounded). Whether a connector is designed to be a make-before-break or a break-before-make depends on the application and the electrical devices involved. The present invention is capable of providing either with only a slight change in the location of the protrusion aperture 12 ′. No other modification is required.
One particularly advantageous feature of the invention is that switch 11 ′″ is preferably not affixed either rod 19 ″ or sleeve 14 ′ by any conventional means such as a fastener or bonding material. This represents a significant advantage over the related art devices in that assembly of connector 10 ′″ is greatly simplified, less expensive and involves fewer components. In particular, switch 11 ′″ is preferably inserted into sleeve 14 ′ such that protrusion 28 ′ is aligned with aperture 12 ′, and then longitudinally slid into sleeve 14 ′ until protrusion 28 ′ engages with aperture 12 ′. In this way, the spring is self-aligning and does not require any precise location or matching parts during the manufacturing process.
With emphasis shifted to the cut-away, view of FIG. 8 b , one may still better appreciate the construction of the embodiment first shown in FIGS. 7 a through 8 b . In particular, one of ordinary skill will still better observe that switch 11 ′″ is preferably integrally formed and that protrusion 28 ′ is preferably stamped to thereby form a hollow hemispherical member. It will, however, be appreciated that protrusion 28 ′ may be formed into other shapes (for example, an elongated bar, or a cone) as long as aperture 12 ′ is also changed to complement/accommodate such other shapes. During manufacturing, switch 11 ′″ is preferably stamped from a beryllium-copper sheet that preferably has a thickness of between about 0.2 mm (0.0079 inches) and about 0.4 mm (0.0157 inches) (with about 0.3 mm—0.0118 inches—being most preferred) to ensure that intermediate member 25 can provide the desired biasing force and physical stability.
With reference to FIG. 9 a , a self-muting audio connector in accordance with another preferred embodiment is shown and its operation illustrated therein. In particular, an inventive mono phone or “TS” (tip-sleeve) connector is shown with a cylindrical, tubular outer sleeve 14 ′ of the type described above, the relevant conventional details of which also apply to this embodiment. The tip electrically is insulated from sleeve 14 ′ by an annular insulator 16 ″ and connected to a cylindrical inner rod 19 ″ that is coaxial within the outer sleeve 14 ′. In its use to carry audio signals, TS connector is coupled to a coaxial shielded cable (not shown) by electrical communication with the cable ground conductor to ground terminal or lug and the central signal-carrying conductor of the cable to terminal.
This embodiment of the present invention provides a spring-biased grounding switch 11 a disposed between the inner surface of tubular sleeve 14 ′ and the outer surface of a signal conductor 19 ″. When the connector is not inserted into an external jack, there is no force applied to protrusion 28 ″ and the spring bias of the spring switch 11 a causes the contact between grounding sleeve 14 ′ and rod 19 ″. Since conductive spring 11 a is urged against the interior surface of sleeve 14 ′, the tip is grounded through rod 19 ″, switch 11 a and sleeve 14 ′. In this way, whenever the phone connector is not in use (not inserted into a jack, such as jack 33 of FIG. 1 ) the tip is muted (grounded) and thus, there is no potential for generating a noise signal to be fed into the amplifier and broadcast through the speakers.
With continuing reference to FIG. 9 a , grounding switch 11 a comprises a conductive conductor-engaging member 24 ′, a ground-sleeve engaging member 26 ′ and a resilient (or spring biased) intermediate member 25 ′. The ground-sleeve engaging member 26 ′ is in substantially continuous contact with the inner surface of outer sleeve 14 ′ and the conductor-engaging member 24 ′ is in selective contact with inner signal conductor 19 ″. Nonetheless, switch 11 a is preferably neither affixed to sleeve 14 ′ nor affixed to rod 19 ″ with any components or bonding materials. Rather, the spring-biasing force of member 25 ′ preferably urges protrusion 28 ″ through an aperture 12 ″ and, in the state shown in FIG. 9 a , urges itself against rod 19 ″. Member 26 ′ is preferably resilient and sized and shaped to snugly fit within the inside of sleeve 14 ′ and it may, optionally, include one or more outward protrusions P′ snugly received within a complementary aperture 12 ″ to aid with such engagement and to thereby provide additional stability against rotational movement. Optionally, member 24 ′ may include one or more contacts C′ that enable more precise and reliable selective electrical coupling with signal conductor 19 ″. It has been discovered that reliable operation of the inventive switch over long periods of time and many connector-insertion/removal cycles cannot be expected without some means of radically-reducing/substantially eliminating rotational motion of the switch 11 a about the axis defined by member 19 ″. Accordingly, some anti-rotation means (such as protrusion/aperture P′/ 12 ″) is important for achieving switch reliability that approaches that expected of conventional TS connectors.
In operation the connector is inserted into a jack which includes a cylindrical receiving wall having an inner diameter just slightly larger than the outer diameter of sleeve 14 ′ and a tip contact and securing member (such as member 36 of FIG. 1 ). Member 25 ′ is resilient enough to permit protrusion 28 ″ to move radially inward when the connector is inserted into an external jack. Such radially inward motion deforms member 25 ′ sufficiently to thereby automatically break the electrical contact between member(s) 24 ′ and rod 19 ″. This creates a gap (not shown) between spring conductor-engaging member 24 ′ and rod 19 ″. When this occurs, a signal is no longer shorted to ground and may pass to the tip and vice versa. This allows a normal electrical connection to be established between the connector and the device to which the connector is inserted.
Spring switch 11 a is advantageously/preferably stamped from a strip of conducting material, such as hardened spring steel, sized and shaped to bias itself (forming a physical and an electrical connection) against the inner wall of the cylindrical sleeve 14 ′. Member 24 ′ may be described as being generally “horseshoe-shaped” and/or generally “c-shaped.” The protrusion 28 ″ is preferably integrally formed with the spring by stamping a smoothly rounded detent into the inside of spring 11 a . Protrusion 28 ″ is, therefore, also preferably formed of the same piece of spring as the rest of switch 11 a . In an alternative construction, protrusion 28 ″ may be formed from one of many well know durable materials, regardless of whether they are conductive or non-conductive, such as nylon, plastic, brass, steel or the like. With such an alternative construction, member 24 ′ may include an aperture through which a portion of the protrusion may extend to enhance affixation.
The location of aperture 12 ″ in the outer sleeve 14 ′ determines the distance between the protrusion 28 ″ and the tip. By adjusting that distance a given connector can be either a make-before-break connector or a break-before-make connector as described above. The present invention is capable of providing either with only a slight change in the location of the protrusion aperture 12 ″. No other modification is required.
One particularly advantageous feature of the invention is that switch 11 a is preferably not affixed either rod 19 ″ or sleeve 14 ′ by any conventional means such as a fastener or bonding material. This represents a significant advantage over the related art devices in that assembly of the inventive connector is greatly simplified, less expensive and involves fewer components. In particular, switch 11 a is preferably inserted into sleeve 14 ′ such that protrusion 28 ″ is aligned with aperture 12 ′ and such that protrusion P′ is aligned with aperture 12 ″; then the unit is longitudinally slid into sleeve 14 ′ until protrusion 28 ″ extends through aperture 12 ′ and until protrusion P′ firmly snaps into aperture 12 ″. In this way, the spring is a self-aligning, anti-rotation member and does not require any precise location or matching parts during the manufacturing process.
One of ordinary skill will still better observe that switch 11 a is preferably integrally formed and that protrusions 28 ″ and P′ are preferably stamped. It will, however, be appreciated that protrusion 28 ″ may be formed into various shapes (for example, an elongated bar, or a cone) as long as aperture 12 ″ is also changed to complement/accommodate such other shapes. During manufacturing, switch 11 a is preferably stamped from a beryllium-copper sheet that preferably has a thickness of between about 0.2 mm (0.0079 inches) and about 0.4 mm (0.0157 inches) (with about 0.3 mm—0.0118 inches—being most preferred) to ensure that intermediate member 25 ′ can provide the desired biasing force and physical stability.
With reference to FIG. 9 b , a switch for use with a self-muting audio connector in accordance with another preferred embodiment is shown. In particular, a switch is shown for an inventive mono phone or “TS” (tip-sleeve) connector of the type described above, the relevant details as shown in, for example FIG. 9 a , also apply to this embodiment. The tip electrically is insulated from sleeve 14 ′ by an annular insulator 16 ″ and connected to a cylindrical inner rod 19 ″ that is coaxial within the outer sleeve 14 ′. In its use to carry audio signals, TS connector is coupled to a coaxial shielded cable (not shown) by electrical communication with the cable ground conductor to ground terminal or lug and the central signal-carrying conductor of the cable to terminal.
This embodiment of the present invention provides a spring-biased grounding switch 11 a ′ to be disposed between the inner surface of tubular sleeve 14 ′ and the outer surface of a signal conductor 19 ″. When the connector is not inserted into an external jack, there is no force applied to protrusion 28 ′″ and the spring bias of the spring switch 11 a ′ causes the contact between grounding sleeve 14 ′ and rod 19 ″. Since conductive spring 11 a ′ is urged against the interior surface of sleeve 14 ′, the tip is grounded through rod 19 ″, switch 11 a ′ and sleeve 14 ′. In this way, whenever the connector is not in use (not inserted into a jack, such as jack 33 of FIG. 1 ) the tip is muted (grounded) and thus, there is no potential for generating a noise signal to be fed into the amplifier and broadcast through the speakers.
With continuing reference to FIG. 9 b , grounding switch 11 a ′ comprises a conductive conductor-engaging member 24 ″, a ground-sleeve engaging member 26 ″ and a resilient (or spring biased) intermediate member 25 ″. The ground-sleeve engaging member 26 ″ is in substantially continuous contact with the inner surface of outer sleeve 14 ′ and the conductor-engaging member 24 ″ is in selective contact with inner signal conductor 19 ″. Nonetheless, switch 11 a ′ is preferably neither affixed to sleeve 14 ′ nor affixed to rod 19 ″ with any components or bonding materials. Rather, the spring-biasing force of member 25 ″ preferably urges protrusion 28 ′″ through a corresponding aperture and urges itself against rod 19 ″. Member 26 ″ is preferably resilient and sized and shaped to snugly fit within the inside of sleeve 14 ′ and it may, optionally, include one or more outward protrusions P″ snugly received within a complementary aperture to aid with such engagement and to thereby provide additional stability against rotational movement. Optionally, member 24 ″ may include one or more contacts C″ that enable more precise and reliable selective electrical coupling with signal conductor 19 ″. It has been discovered that reliable operation of the inventive switch over long periods of time and many connector-insertion/removal cycles cannot be expected without some means of radically-reducing/substantially eliminating rotational motion of the switch 11 a ′ about the axis defined by member 19 ″. Accordingly, some anti-rotation means (such as a protrusion/aperture aperture arrangement) is important for achieving switch reliability that approaches that expected of conventional TS connectors.
In operation, the connector is inserted into a jack which includes a cylindrical receiving wall having an inner diameter just slightly larger than the outer diameter of sleeve 14 ′ and a tip contact and securing member (such as member 36 of FIG. 1 ). Member 25 ″ is resilient enough to permit protrusion 28 ′″ to move radially inward when the connector is inserted into an external jack. Such radially inward motion deforms member 25 ″ sufficiently to thereby automatically break the electrical contact between member(s) 24 ″ and rod 19 ″. This creates a gap (not shown) between spring conductor-engaging member 24 ″ and rod 19 ″. When this occurs, a signal is no longer shorted to ground and may pass to the tip and vice versa. This allows a normal electrical connection to be established between the connector and the device to which the connector is inserted.
Spring switch 11 a ′ is advantageously/preferably stamped from a strip of conducting material, such as hardened spring steel, sized and shaped to bias itself (forming a physical and an electrical connection) against the inner wall of the cylindrical sleeve 14 ′. Member 24 ″ may be described as being generally “horseshoe-shaped” and/or generally “c-shaped.” The protrusion 28 ′″ is preferably integrally formed with the spring by stamping a smoothly rounded detent into the inside of spring 11 a ′. Protrusion 28 ′″ is, therefore, also preferably formed of the same piece of spring as the rest of switch 11 a ′. In an alternative construction, protrusion 28 ′″ may be formed from one of many well know durable materials, regardless of whether they are conductive or non-conductive, such as nylon, plastic, brass, steel or the like. With such an alternative construction, member 24 ″ may include an aperture through which a portion of the protrusion may extend to enhance affixation.
The location of aperture 12 ″ in the outer sleeve 14 ′ determines the distance between the protrusion 28 ′″ and the tip. By adjusting that distance a given connector can be either a make-before-break connector or a break-before-make connector as described above. The present invention is capable of providing either with only a slight change in the location of the protrusion aperture 12 ″. No other modification is required.
One particularly advantageous feature of the invention is that switch 11 a ′ is preferably not affixed either rod 19 ″ or sleeve 14 ′ by any conventional means such as a fastener or bonding material. This represents a significant advantage over the related art devices in that assembly of the inventive connector is greatly simplified, less expensive and involves fewer components. In particular, switch 11 a ′ is preferably inserted into sleeve 14 ′ such that protrusion 28 ′″ is aligned with aperture 12 ′ and such that protrusion P″ is aligned with aperture 12 ″; then the unit is longitudinally slid into sleeve 14 ′ until protrusion 28 ′″ extends through aperture 12 ′ and until protrusion P″ firmly snaps into aperture 12 ″. In this way, the spring is a self-aligning, anti-rotation member and does not require any precise location or matching parts during the manufacturing process.
One of ordinary skill will still better observe that switch 11 a ′ is preferably integrally formed and that protrusions 28 ′″ and P″ are preferably stamped. It will, however, be appreciated that protrusion 28 ′″ may be formed into various shapes (for example, an elongated bar, or a cone) as long as aperture 12 ″ is also changed to complement/accommodate such other shapes. During manufacturing, switch 11 a ′ is preferably stamped from a beryllium-copper sheet that preferably has a thickness of between about 0.2 mm (0.0079 inches) and about 0.4 mm (0.0157 inches) (with about 0.3 mm—0.0118 inches—being most preferred) to ensure that intermediate member 25 ″ can provide the desired biasing force and physical stability.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but is intended to encompass the various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. With respect to the above description, for example, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, including variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the appended claims. Therefore, the foregoing is considered to be an illustrative, not exhaustive, description of the principles of the present invention. | This disclosure concerns methods, systems and apparatus that can be automatically activated by means of insertion into a jack socket and designed such that when inserted, no longitudinal force is exerted on the jack. In particular, self-muting connectors employ a spring-biased switch with an internal spring and a protrusion. When the connector is disconnected, the protrusion extends outwardly of a ground sleeve and the spring contacts an inner signal conductor. In this state, the switch shorts the signal conductor and ground sleeve together. When the connector is inserted into a complementary jack socket, the protrusion is urged inwardly and the spring deformed such that it ceases to contact the inner conductor, thereby the breaking the short-circuit between the signal conductor and ground sleeve. This allows a normal electrical connection to be established between the connector and the device to which the connector is inserted. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the invention. | [
"CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED CASES This is a continuation-in-part application of co-pending PCT International Application PCT/US2006/01782 with an international filing date of Jan. 17, 2006 and entitled “Self-Muting Audio Connector”",
"which application is hereby incorporated by reference.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The present invention relates to audio signal phone connectors, and in particular to such a connector providing a means for establishing an automatic grounded termination for the connector upon removal of the connector from an external jack.",
"Accordingly, the general objects of the invention are to provide novel systems, methods, and apparatus of such character.",
"Description of the Related Art The present invention is an improvement in an electrical connecting device commonly known as a “phone plug”",
"which terminates an electrical cable and permits the cable to be readily connected and disconnected to electrical apparatus.",
"In addition to its many other applications, the phone plug has become the standard device by which electrically amplified musical instruments are connected to their amplifiers.",
"One of the characteristics of the phone plug that has elevated it to a standard piece of equipment for an electrical cable, is the elegant simplicity of its design.",
"The phone plug, which has no moving parts, is sturdy and sure in performing its function permitting it to be connected and disconnected countless times without failure.",
"The mechanical and electrical features of conventional phone connectors and jacks are well known in the art and have become standard, universally used components in the field of audio electronics.",
"What is also universal, however, is the highly undesirable noise that occurs when a phone plug is connected or disconnected from an instrument while the instrument's amplifier is on.",
"Under those circumstances, it is virtually impossible to either insert or withdraw the phone plug from its jack without the tip from contacting some signal generating element, whether it be part of the jack, the person handling the equipment, or some other nearby object.",
"When the tip makes such contact, the result is an annoying and potentially dangerous sound emanating from the speakers being driven by the amplifier to which the cable is connected.",
"This is an annoying and unwanted noise and can be quite loud, especially for a performing musician in front of an audience.",
"To avoid this problem in the past, musicians had to either unplug the end of the cable that is inserted into the amplifier, or turn the amplifier volume down so that the cable could be inserted into the instrument quietly.",
"In both cases, the musician had to take an extra step to avoid the unwanted noise.",
"In some cases, the amplifier can be a considerable distance from the front of the stage so it can be inconvenient to do this.",
"A professional musician might need to change instruments several times during a performance thereby compounding the problem.",
"These deficiencies have led to the development of audio connectors having ground switches integrated into the connector itself.",
"These products attempt to solve this problem, however, they have been unsatisfactory as either too complicated, too costly, too unreliable, or some combination thereof.",
"One such self-muting connector has been commercialized by Deltron.",
"The Deltron device employs a pair of coaxial ground sleeves arranged such that one externally spring-biased sleeve may slide longitudinally relative to the other to thereby permit selective grounding based on insertion and/or removal of the connector.",
"In practice however, the Deltron design exerts a longitudinal spring force such that it may at least partially eject the phone connector from the socket.",
"In particular, some jack sockets have weak tip springs and are therefore not capable of holding the plug in place.",
"If so, the plug can be ejected sufficiently to so that the signal is lost intermittently or entirely.",
"For a performing musician, this presents a significant reliability issue.",
"It is not desirable to be part way through a song or a solo when the signal disappears.",
"A second commercially available design is available from a company called Planet Waves who offers a phone connector with a manually operated switch on the side of the phone connector body.",
"This allows the musician to manually switch the signal off before unplugging the jack from the socket.",
"The problem with this solution however is that it still presents the musician with an extra action that needs to be performed, usually under pressure.",
"Additionally, it is difficult to see if the switch is on or off, so the musician might not get any sound from his amplifier and/or may not deduce that it is caused by the switch being engaged in the off position.",
"A third connector design that solves some of the above noted problems is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,167 to Scherer.",
"The self-muting device of the '167 patent offers the benefits that it (1) offers automatic switching operation;",
"and (2) does not apply a longitudinal force that may tend to eject the connector from a complementary jack socket.",
"The device taught by the '167 patent, however, is still less than optimal for a number of reasons.",
"First, the design still involves a modest level of expense and complexity to manufacture.",
"This aspect is critical because of the high-volume and marginally profitable nature of such devices.",
"Second, the device of the '167 patent introduces reliability concerns that tends to undermine one of the most valuable characteristics of conventional phone connectors: astounding reliability over an extended period of time and repeated usage.",
"For these reasons alone, these prior art devices, as well as others of the same general description, have still not enjoyed any significant commercial success after many years.",
"There is, accordingly, a need in the art for improved methods, systems and apparatus to eliminate the effects of spurious extraneous signals, undesired signal emissions and signal reflections on the circuitry connected to the phone connector.",
"In particular, such methods and apparatus should provide a simple and inexpensive connector which can be automatically muted whenever it is disconnected from an external jack socket.",
"Such methods, systems and apparatus will ideally offer users/purchasers an optimal combination of (1) simplicity;",
"(2) reliability;",
"(3) economy;",
"and (4) versatility.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention satisfies the above-stated needs and overcomes the above-stated and other deficiencies of the related art by providing methods, systems and apparatus that can be automatically activated by means of insertion into a jack socket and designed such that when inserted, no longitudinal spring force is exerted on the jack socket.",
"In particular, self-muting connectors in accordance with the invention employ a spring-biased switch with an internal spring and a partially exposed protrusion.",
"When the connector is in a disconnected state, the protrusion extends outwardly of a ground sleeve and the spring contacts an inner signal conductor.",
"In this state, the switch shorts the signal conductor and ground sleeve together.",
"When the connector is inserted into a complementary jack socket, the protrusion is urged inwardly and the internal spring is deformed such that it ceases to contact the inner conductor, thereby the breaking the short-circuit between the signal conductor and ground sleeve.",
"The breaking of this connection allows a normal electrical connection to be established between the connector and the device to which the connector is inserted.",
"The invention may be applied to both monophonic and stereo phonic audio phone connectors.",
"The spring switch may comprise a conductive conductor-engaging member, a ground-sleeve engaging member and a resilient (or spring biased) intermediate member.",
"The ground-sleeve engaging member is in substantially continuous contact with the inner surface of outer sleeve and the conductor-engaging member is in selective contact with inner signal conductor.",
"Alternatively, the spring switch may be a coil spring that is substantially “e-shaped”",
"in cross-section.",
"Other important aspects of the invention include a novel internal spring switch for use in an inventive self-muting connector of the type discussed herein.",
"One advantage of this switch is that it is not physically affixed to any other part therefore needs no assembly procedures or complicated attachments other than a simple insertion.",
"The invention can also take the form of a method of manufacturing the self-muting audio connector of the type discussed herein.",
"Naturally, the above-described methods of the invention are particularly well adapted for use with the above-described apparatus of the invention.",
"Similarly, the apparatus of the invention are well suited to perform the inventive methods described above.",
"Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, from the claims and from the accompanying drawings.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings where like numerals represent like steps and/or structures and wherein: FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a self-muting mono connector and jack in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 2 is another side elevation of the self-muting connector of FIG. 1 in which the connector has been inserted into the jack;",
"FIG. 3 a shows a cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 1 taken along line 3 a - 3 a;",
"FIG. 3 b shows a cross sectional view of the connector of FIG. 2 taken along line 3 b - 3 b. FIG. 4 depicts a perspective cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 1 taken along line 3 a - 3 a;",
"FIG. 5 is a partial cut-away perspective view of the connector of FIG. 1 ;",
"FIGS. 6 a and 6 b are cross-sectional views of a self-muting mono connector in accordance with still another preferred embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIGS. 7 a through 7 e are axial, bottom, top, right and left views of a spring switch for a self-muting connector in accordance with still another preferred embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 8 a is a side-elevation view of a self-muting connector in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the connector using the spring switch of FIGS. 7 a through 7 e;",
"FIG. 8 b shows a cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 8 a taken along line 8 b - 8 b. FIG. 9 a shows a cross-sectional and partial view of another self-muting audio connector in accordance with the invention;",
"and FIG. 9 b shows a perspective view of a switch and an associated insulator for use with a self-muting audio connector in accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With joint reference to FIGS. 1 , 2 , 3 a and 3 b , a self-muting audio connector in accordance with a first preferred embodiment is shown and its operation illustrated therein.",
"In particular, an inventive mono phone or “TS”",
"(tip-sleeve) connector 10 is shown with a cylindrical, tubular outer sleeve 14 which is terminated at one of its ends by a tip 13 and at its other end by an enlarged threaded flange 17 onto which is threaded a connector body 15 .",
"The tip 13 electrically is insulated from sleeve 14 by an annular insulator 16 and connected to a cylindrical inner rod 19 that is coaxial within the outer sleeve 14 .",
"The inner rod 19 extends through (without contacting) flange 17 and is secured at the rear of the flange to an electrical terminal 21 which is insulated from flange 17 by an insulator 22 .",
"A second electrical terminal 18 is affixed to flange 17 and thereby electrically connected to outer ground sleeve 14 and terminal 21 is electrically connected to tip 13 through rod 19 and insulated from outer sleeve 14 , flange 17 , and ground terminal 18 .",
"In its well known use to carry audio signals, TS connector 10 is coupled to a coaxial shielded cable (not shown) by soldering the cable ground conductor to ground terminal or lug 18 and the central signal-carrying conductor of the cable to terminal 21 .",
"In this way, the tip 13 may be electrically coupled between two external circuits, such as a musical instrument and an operating amplifier, while sleeve 14 may be grounded.",
"It is the fact that tip 13 is electrically coupled in this way that gives rise to the problems of the prior art set forth above in terms of screeching and possible damage to amplifiers and speakers.",
"In order to avoid component damage and screeching, the present invention provides a spring-biased grounding switch 11 with a coil spring 23 disposed between the inner surface of tubular sleeve 14 and the outer surface of a signal conductor 19 .",
"As shown, signal conductor 19 is preferably a rod shaped member, but it may take many other forms as it is merely a matter of design choice.",
"When connector 10 is not inserted into an external jack, there is no force applied to protrusion 28 , see FIGS. 1 and 3 a , and the spring bias of the coil spring 23 causes the contact between it and rod 19 .",
"Since conductive spring 23 is also urged against the interior surface of sleeve 14 , tip 13 is grounded through rod 19 , switch 11 and sleeve 14 .",
"In this way, whenever the phone connector is not in use (not inserted into a jack such as jack 33 ) the tip 13 is muted (grounded) and thus, there is no potential for generating a noise signal to be fed into the amplifier and broadcast through the speakers.",
"With continuing joint reference to FIGS. 1-3 b , grounding switch 11 comprises a conductive coil spring 23 that is in substantially continuous contact with the inner surface of outer sleeve 14 and in selective contact with inner signal conductor 19 .",
"Nonetheless, switch 11 is preferably neither affixed to sleeve 14 nor affixed to rod 19 .",
"Rather, the spring-biasing force of switch coil 23 preferably urges protrusion 28 through an aperture 12 and, in the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 a , urges itself against rod 19 .",
"With emphasis now to FIGS. 2 and 3 b , in particular, in operation the connector 10 is inserted into jack 33 which includes a cylindrical receiving wall 34 having an inner diameter just slightly larger than the outer diameter of sleeve 14 and a tip contact and securing member 36 .",
"While the force of coil 23 is sufficient to prevent longitudinal motion of switch 11 relative to sleeve 14 during normal use, it is also resilient enough to permit protrusion 28 to move radially inward when connector 10 is inserted into an external jack 33 .",
"Such radially inward motion deforms coil 23 sufficiently to thereby automatically break the contact between coil 23 and rod 19 .",
"This creates a gap G between coil 23 and rod 19 .",
"When this occurs, a signal presented to terminal 21 is no longer shorted to ground and may pass to tip 13 and vice versa.",
"This allows a normal electrical connection to be established between the connector and the device to which the connector is inserted.",
"Coil spring 23 is advantageously formed from a strip of conducting material, such as hardened spring steel, sized and shaped to bias itself (forming a physical and an electrical connection) against the inner wall of the cylindrical sleeve 14 .",
"As best seen in FIGS. 3 a and 3 b , switch 11 is preferably generally “e-shaped”",
"in cross-section.",
"The coil spring spans the space between sleeve 14 and rod 19 , making electrical contact between the inner rod 19 and the grounded outer sleeve 14 .",
"The protrusion 28 is preferably integrally formed with coil 23 by stamping a generally hemispherical detent into the inside of coil 23 .",
"Protrusion 28 is, therefore, also preferably formed of the same piece of spring steel as coil 23 .",
"In an alternative construction, protrusion 28 may be formed from one of many well know durable materials, regardless of whether they are conductive or non-conductive, such as nylon, plastic, brass, steel or the like.",
"With such an alternative construction, coil 23 may include an aperture through with a portion of the protrusion may extend to enhance affixation.",
"The location of aperture 12 in the outer sleeve 14 determines the distance between the protrusion 28 and the tip 13 .",
"By adjusting that distance a given connector can be either a make-before-break connector or a break-before-make connector.",
"When the distance between the tip 13 and the protrusion 28 is such that the protrusion is depressed by the jack wall 34 before the tip 13 contacts the securing member 36 , the switch 11 will “break”",
"before the tip “makes”",
"connection with the securing member.",
"When on the other hand, the distance between the tip 13 and the protrusion 28 is such that the protrusion is depressed by the jack wall 34 after the tip 13 contacts the securing member 36 , the tip 13 “makes”",
"contact with the jack tip connector 36 before the switch 11 “breaks”",
"(while the tip is still grounded).",
"Whether a connector is designed to be a make-before-break or a break-before-make depends on the application and the electrical devices involved.",
"The present invention is capable of providing either with only a slight change in the location of the protrusion aperture 12 .",
"No other modification is required.",
"One particularly advantageous feature of the invention is that switch 11 is preferably not affixed either rod 19 or sleeve 14 by any conventional means such as a fastener or bonding material.",
"This represents a significant advantage over the related art devices in that assembly of connector 10 is greatly simplified, less expensive and involves fewer components.",
"In particular, switch 11 is preferably inserted into sleeve 14 such that protrusion 28 is aligned with aperture 12 , and then longitudinally slid into sleeve 14 until protrusion 28 engages with aperture 12 .",
"In this way, the coil spring is self-aligning and does not require any precise location or matching parts during the manufacturing process.",
"With emphasis shifted to the cut-away, perspective views of FIGS. 4 and 5 , one may still better appreciate the construction of the embodiment first shown in FIG. 1 .",
"In particular, one of ordinary skill will still better observe that switch 11 is preferably integrally formed and that protrusion 28 is preferably stamped from the coil to thereby form a hollow hemispherical member.",
"It will, however, be appreciated that protrusion 28 may be formed into other shapes (for example, an elongated bar, or a cone) as long as aperture 12 is also changed to complement/accommodate such other shapes.",
"As shown in these Figures, it has been found that coil 23 should be between about 0.4 cm (0.1587 inches) and about 1.0 cm (0.3968 inches) long provide the desired biasing force and physical stability (0.7 cm—0.2778 inches—being most preferred).",
"Another alternative embodiment of the inventive switch in accordance with the present invention is shown in cross-section and in operation in FIGS. 6 a and 6 b .",
"As shown, mono self-muting connector 10 ″ is substantially similar to mono self-muting connector 10 of FIGS. 1 through 5 .",
"The primary difference between the two resides in the design of coil-spring switch 11 ″.",
"In particular, coil spring 23 ″ preferably forms a closed loop with a portion thereof extending inwardly to permit selective contact with inner rod 19 as discussed above.",
"Spring 23 ″ may be formed from a tubular piece of conductive material such as metal into which a portion has been stamped to form the inwardly extending portion.",
"Additionally, protrusion 28 may be formed in any manner discussed above with respect to the spring 23 ″.",
"Alternatively, spring 23 ″ may be formed as a closed loop in the sense that a portion of the coil overlaps but is not affixed together in the overlapping portion thereof.",
"With joint reference to FIGS. 7 a through 8 b , a self-muting audio connector in accordance with another preferred embodiment is shown and its operation illustrated therein.",
"In particular, an inventive mono phone or “TS”",
"(tip-sleeve) connector 10 ′″ is shown with a cylindrical, tubular outer sleeve 14 ′ which is terminated at one of its ends by a tip 13 ′ and at its other end by an enlarged threaded flange 17 ′ onto which is threaded a connector body 15 ′.",
"The tip 13 ′ electrically is insulated from sleeve 14 ′ by an annular insulator 16 ′ and connected to a cylindrical inner rod 19 ″ that is coaxial within the outer sleeve 14 ′.",
"The inner rod 19 ″ extends through (without contacting) flange 17 ′ and is secured at the rear of the flange to an electrical terminal 21 ′ which is insulated from flange 17 ′ by an insulator 22 ′.",
"A second electrical terminal 18 ′ is affixed to flange 17 ′ and thereby electrically connected to outer ground sleeve 14 ′.",
"Terminal 21 ′ is electrically connected to tip 13 ′ through rod 19 ″ and insulated from outer sleeve 14 ′, flange 17 ′, and ground terminal 18 ′.",
"In its use to carry audio signals, TS connector 10 ′″ is coupled to a coaxial shielded cable (not shown) by soldering the cable ground conductor to ground terminal or lug 18 ′ and the central signal-carrying conductor of the cable to terminal 21 ′.",
"In this way, the tip 13 ′ may be electrically coupled between two external circuits, such as a musical instrument and an operating amplifier, while sleeve 14 ′ may be grounded.",
"It is the fact that tip 13 ′ is electrically coupled in this way that gives rise to the problems of the prior art set forth above in terms of screeching and possible damage to amplifiers and speakers.",
"In order to avoid component damage and screeching, this embodiment of the present invention provides a spring-biased grounding switch 11 ′″ disposed between the inner surface of tubular sleeve 14 ′ and the outer surface of a signal conductor 19 ″.",
"As shown, signal conductor 19 ″ is preferably a rod shaped member, but it may take many other forms as it is merely a matter of design choice.",
"When connector 10 ′″ is not inserted into an external jack, there is no force applied to protrusion 28 ′ and the spring bias of the spring switch 11 ′″ causes the contact between grounding sleeve 14 ′ and rod 19 ″.",
"Since conductive spring 11 ′″ is urged against the interior surface of sleeve 14 ′, tip 13 ′ is grounded through rod 19 ″, switch 11 ′″ and sleeve 14 ′.",
"In this way, whenever the phone connector is not in use (not inserted into a jack, such as jack 33 of FIG. 1 ) the tip 13 ′ is muted (grounded) and thus, there is no potential for generating a noise signal to be fed into the amplifier and broadcast through the speakers.",
"With continuing joint reference to FIG. 7 a through 8 b , grounding switch 11 ′″ comprises a conductive conductor-engaging member 24 , a ground-sleeve engaging member 26 and a resilient (or spring biased) intermediate member 25 .",
"The ground-sleeve engaging member 26 is in substantially continuous contact with the inner surface of outer sleeve 14 ′ and the conductor-engaging member 24 is in selective contact with inner signal conductor 19 ″.",
"Nonetheless, switch 11 ′″ is preferably neither affixed to sleeve 14 ′ nor affixed to rod 19 ″.",
"Rather, the spring-biasing force of member 25 preferably urges protrusion 28 ′ through an aperture 12 ′ and, in the state shown in FIGS. 8 a and 8 b , urges itself against rod 19 ″.",
"Member 26 is preferably resilient and sized and shaped to snugly fit within the inside of sleeve 14 ′ and it may, optionally, include a number of slight outward protrusions P to aid with such engagement and to thereby provide additional stability.",
"Also, member 24 preferably includes one or more contacts C that enable more precise and reliable selective electrical coupling with signal conductor 19 ″.",
"In operation the connector 10 ′″ is inserted into a jack which includes a cylindrical receiving wall having an inner diameter just slightly larger than the outer diameter of sleeve 14 ′ and a tip contact and securing member (such as member 36 of FIG. 1 ).",
"While the force of member 25 is sufficient to prevent longitudinal motion of switch 11 ′″ relative to sleeve 14 ′ during normal use, it is also resilient enough to permit protrusion 28 ′ to move radially inward when connector 10 ′″ is inserted into an external jack.",
"Such radially inward motion deforms member 25 sufficiently to thereby automatically break the electrical contact between member 24 and rod 19 ″.",
"This creates a gap (not shown) between spring conductor-engaging member 24 and rod 19 ″.",
"When this occurs, a signal presented to terminal 21 ′ is no longer shorted to ground and may pass to tip 13 ′ and vice versa.",
"This allows a normal electrical connection to be established between the connector and the device to which the connector is inserted.",
"Spring switch 11 ′″ is advantageously formed from a strip of conducting material, such as hardened spring steel, (or Beryllium Copper) sized and shaped to bias itself (forming a physical and an electrical connection) against the inner wall of the cylindrical sleeve 14 ′.",
"As best seen in FIGS. 7 a and 8 b , members 24 and 26 are preferably elongated, generally “c-shaped”",
"in cross-section and are respectively aligned along parallel axes.",
"By contrast, member 25 is preferably a slightly curved strip that is angled relative to the parallel axes.",
"Member 24 may also be described as being generally “horseshoe-shaped,” by which is meant the member as shown in FIGS. 7 a through 8 b and also referred to above as generally “c-shaped.”",
"The spring 11 ′″ spans the space between sleeve 14 ′ and rod 19 ″, making electrical contact between the inner rod 19 ″ and the grounded outer sleeve 14 ′.",
"The protrusion 28 ′ is preferably integrally formed with the spring by stamping a generally hemispherical detent into the inside of spring 11 ′″.",
"Protrusion 28 ′ is, therefore, also preferably formed of the same piece of spring as the rest of switch 11 ′″.",
"In an alternative construction, protrusion 28 ′ may be formed from one of many well know durable materials, regardless of whether they are conductive or non-conductive, such as nylon, plastic, brass, steel or the like.",
"With such an alternative construction, member 24 may include an aperture through which a portion of the protrusion may extend to enhance affixation.",
"The location of aperture 12 ′ in the outer sleeve 14 ′ determines the distance between the protrusion 28 ′ and the tip 13 ′.",
"By adjusting that distance a given connector can be either a make-before-break connector or a break-before-make connector.",
"When the distance between the tip 13 ′ and the protrusion 28 ′ is such that the protrusion is depressed by the jack wall before the tip 13 ′ contacts the securing member, the switch 11 ′″ will “break”",
"before the tip “makes”",
"connection with the securing member.",
"When, on the other hand, the distance between the tip 13 ′ and the protrusion 28 ′ is such that the protrusion is depressed by the jack wall after the tip 13 ′ contacts the securing member, the tip 13 ′ “makes”",
"contact with the jack tip connector before the switch 11 ′″ “breaks”",
"(while the tip is still grounded).",
"Whether a connector is designed to be a make-before-break or a break-before-make depends on the application and the electrical devices involved.",
"The present invention is capable of providing either with only a slight change in the location of the protrusion aperture 12 ′.",
"No other modification is required.",
"One particularly advantageous feature of the invention is that switch 11 ′″ is preferably not affixed either rod 19 ″ or sleeve 14 ′ by any conventional means such as a fastener or bonding material.",
"This represents a significant advantage over the related art devices in that assembly of connector 10 ′″ is greatly simplified, less expensive and involves fewer components.",
"In particular, switch 11 ′″ is preferably inserted into sleeve 14 ′ such that protrusion 28 ′ is aligned with aperture 12 ′, and then longitudinally slid into sleeve 14 ′ until protrusion 28 ′ engages with aperture 12 ′.",
"In this way, the spring is self-aligning and does not require any precise location or matching parts during the manufacturing process.",
"With emphasis shifted to the cut-away, view of FIG. 8 b , one may still better appreciate the construction of the embodiment first shown in FIGS. 7 a through 8 b .",
"In particular, one of ordinary skill will still better observe that switch 11 ′″ is preferably integrally formed and that protrusion 28 ′ is preferably stamped to thereby form a hollow hemispherical member.",
"It will, however, be appreciated that protrusion 28 ′ may be formed into other shapes (for example, an elongated bar, or a cone) as long as aperture 12 ′ is also changed to complement/accommodate such other shapes.",
"During manufacturing, switch 11 ′″ is preferably stamped from a beryllium-copper sheet that preferably has a thickness of between about 0.2 mm (0.0079 inches) and about 0.4 mm (0.0157 inches) (with about 0.3 mm—0.0118 inches—being most preferred) to ensure that intermediate member 25 can provide the desired biasing force and physical stability.",
"With reference to FIG. 9 a , a self-muting audio connector in accordance with another preferred embodiment is shown and its operation illustrated therein.",
"In particular, an inventive mono phone or “TS”",
"(tip-sleeve) connector is shown with a cylindrical, tubular outer sleeve 14 ′ of the type described above, the relevant conventional details of which also apply to this embodiment.",
"The tip electrically is insulated from sleeve 14 ′ by an annular insulator 16 ″ and connected to a cylindrical inner rod 19 ″ that is coaxial within the outer sleeve 14 ′.",
"In its use to carry audio signals, TS connector is coupled to a coaxial shielded cable (not shown) by electrical communication with the cable ground conductor to ground terminal or lug and the central signal-carrying conductor of the cable to terminal.",
"This embodiment of the present invention provides a spring-biased grounding switch 11 a disposed between the inner surface of tubular sleeve 14 ′ and the outer surface of a signal conductor 19 ″.",
"When the connector is not inserted into an external jack, there is no force applied to protrusion 28 ″ and the spring bias of the spring switch 11 a causes the contact between grounding sleeve 14 ′ and rod 19 ″.",
"Since conductive spring 11 a is urged against the interior surface of sleeve 14 ′, the tip is grounded through rod 19 ″, switch 11 a and sleeve 14 ′.",
"In this way, whenever the phone connector is not in use (not inserted into a jack, such as jack 33 of FIG. 1 ) the tip is muted (grounded) and thus, there is no potential for generating a noise signal to be fed into the amplifier and broadcast through the speakers.",
"With continuing reference to FIG. 9 a , grounding switch 11 a comprises a conductive conductor-engaging member 24 ′, a ground-sleeve engaging member 26 ′ and a resilient (or spring biased) intermediate member 25 ′.",
"The ground-sleeve engaging member 26 ′ is in substantially continuous contact with the inner surface of outer sleeve 14 ′ and the conductor-engaging member 24 ′ is in selective contact with inner signal conductor 19 ″.",
"Nonetheless, switch 11 a is preferably neither affixed to sleeve 14 ′ nor affixed to rod 19 ″ with any components or bonding materials.",
"Rather, the spring-biasing force of member 25 ′ preferably urges protrusion 28 ″ through an aperture 12 ″ and, in the state shown in FIG. 9 a , urges itself against rod 19 ″.",
"Member 26 ′ is preferably resilient and sized and shaped to snugly fit within the inside of sleeve 14 ′ and it may, optionally, include one or more outward protrusions P′ snugly received within a complementary aperture 12 ″ to aid with such engagement and to thereby provide additional stability against rotational movement.",
"Optionally, member 24 ′ may include one or more contacts C′ that enable more precise and reliable selective electrical coupling with signal conductor 19 ″.",
"It has been discovered that reliable operation of the inventive switch over long periods of time and many connector-insertion/removal cycles cannot be expected without some means of radically-reducing/substantially eliminating rotational motion of the switch 11 a about the axis defined by member 19 ″.",
"Accordingly, some anti-rotation means (such as protrusion/aperture P′/ 12 ″) is important for achieving switch reliability that approaches that expected of conventional TS connectors.",
"In operation the connector is inserted into a jack which includes a cylindrical receiving wall having an inner diameter just slightly larger than the outer diameter of sleeve 14 ′ and a tip contact and securing member (such as member 36 of FIG. 1 ).",
"Member 25 ′ is resilient enough to permit protrusion 28 ″ to move radially inward when the connector is inserted into an external jack.",
"Such radially inward motion deforms member 25 ′ sufficiently to thereby automatically break the electrical contact between member(s) 24 ′ and rod 19 ″.",
"This creates a gap (not shown) between spring conductor-engaging member 24 ′ and rod 19 ″.",
"When this occurs, a signal is no longer shorted to ground and may pass to the tip and vice versa.",
"This allows a normal electrical connection to be established between the connector and the device to which the connector is inserted.",
"Spring switch 11 a is advantageously/preferably stamped from a strip of conducting material, such as hardened spring steel, sized and shaped to bias itself (forming a physical and an electrical connection) against the inner wall of the cylindrical sleeve 14 ′.",
"Member 24 ′ may be described as being generally “horseshoe-shaped”",
"and/or generally “c-shaped.”",
"The protrusion 28 ″ is preferably integrally formed with the spring by stamping a smoothly rounded detent into the inside of spring 11 a .",
"Protrusion 28 ″ is, therefore, also preferably formed of the same piece of spring as the rest of switch 11 a .",
"In an alternative construction, protrusion 28 ″ may be formed from one of many well know durable materials, regardless of whether they are conductive or non-conductive, such as nylon, plastic, brass, steel or the like.",
"With such an alternative construction, member 24 ′ may include an aperture through which a portion of the protrusion may extend to enhance affixation.",
"The location of aperture 12 ″ in the outer sleeve 14 ′ determines the distance between the protrusion 28 ″ and the tip.",
"By adjusting that distance a given connector can be either a make-before-break connector or a break-before-make connector as described above.",
"The present invention is capable of providing either with only a slight change in the location of the protrusion aperture 12 ″.",
"No other modification is required.",
"One particularly advantageous feature of the invention is that switch 11 a is preferably not affixed either rod 19 ″ or sleeve 14 ′ by any conventional means such as a fastener or bonding material.",
"This represents a significant advantage over the related art devices in that assembly of the inventive connector is greatly simplified, less expensive and involves fewer components.",
"In particular, switch 11 a is preferably inserted into sleeve 14 ′ such that protrusion 28 ″ is aligned with aperture 12 ′ and such that protrusion P′ is aligned with aperture 12 ″;",
"then the unit is longitudinally slid into sleeve 14 ′ until protrusion 28 ″ extends through aperture 12 ′ and until protrusion P′ firmly snaps into aperture 12 ″.",
"In this way, the spring is a self-aligning, anti-rotation member and does not require any precise location or matching parts during the manufacturing process.",
"One of ordinary skill will still better observe that switch 11 a is preferably integrally formed and that protrusions 28 ″ and P′ are preferably stamped.",
"It will, however, be appreciated that protrusion 28 ″ may be formed into various shapes (for example, an elongated bar, or a cone) as long as aperture 12 ″ is also changed to complement/accommodate such other shapes.",
"During manufacturing, switch 11 a is preferably stamped from a beryllium-copper sheet that preferably has a thickness of between about 0.2 mm (0.0079 inches) and about 0.4 mm (0.0157 inches) (with about 0.3 mm—0.0118 inches—being most preferred) to ensure that intermediate member 25 ′ can provide the desired biasing force and physical stability.",
"With reference to FIG. 9 b , a switch for use with a self-muting audio connector in accordance with another preferred embodiment is shown.",
"In particular, a switch is shown for an inventive mono phone or “TS”",
"(tip-sleeve) connector of the type described above, the relevant details as shown in, for example FIG. 9 a , also apply to this embodiment.",
"The tip electrically is insulated from sleeve 14 ′ by an annular insulator 16 ″ and connected to a cylindrical inner rod 19 ″ that is coaxial within the outer sleeve 14 ′.",
"In its use to carry audio signals, TS connector is coupled to a coaxial shielded cable (not shown) by electrical communication with the cable ground conductor to ground terminal or lug and the central signal-carrying conductor of the cable to terminal.",
"This embodiment of the present invention provides a spring-biased grounding switch 11 a ′ to be disposed between the inner surface of tubular sleeve 14 ′ and the outer surface of a signal conductor 19 ″.",
"When the connector is not inserted into an external jack, there is no force applied to protrusion 28 ′″ and the spring bias of the spring switch 11 a ′ causes the contact between grounding sleeve 14 ′ and rod 19 ″.",
"Since conductive spring 11 a ′ is urged against the interior surface of sleeve 14 ′, the tip is grounded through rod 19 ″, switch 11 a ′ and sleeve 14 ′.",
"In this way, whenever the connector is not in use (not inserted into a jack, such as jack 33 of FIG. 1 ) the tip is muted (grounded) and thus, there is no potential for generating a noise signal to be fed into the amplifier and broadcast through the speakers.",
"With continuing reference to FIG. 9 b , grounding switch 11 a ′ comprises a conductive conductor-engaging member 24 ″, a ground-sleeve engaging member 26 ″ and a resilient (or spring biased) intermediate member 25 ″.",
"The ground-sleeve engaging member 26 ″ is in substantially continuous contact with the inner surface of outer sleeve 14 ′ and the conductor-engaging member 24 ″ is in selective contact with inner signal conductor 19 ″.",
"Nonetheless, switch 11 a ′ is preferably neither affixed to sleeve 14 ′ nor affixed to rod 19 ″ with any components or bonding materials.",
"Rather, the spring-biasing force of member 25 ″ preferably urges protrusion 28 ′″ through a corresponding aperture and urges itself against rod 19 ″.",
"Member 26 ″ is preferably resilient and sized and shaped to snugly fit within the inside of sleeve 14 ′ and it may, optionally, include one or more outward protrusions P″ snugly received within a complementary aperture to aid with such engagement and to thereby provide additional stability against rotational movement.",
"Optionally, member 24 ″ may include one or more contacts C″ that enable more precise and reliable selective electrical coupling with signal conductor 19 ″.",
"It has been discovered that reliable operation of the inventive switch over long periods of time and many connector-insertion/removal cycles cannot be expected without some means of radically-reducing/substantially eliminating rotational motion of the switch 11 a ′ about the axis defined by member 19 ″.",
"Accordingly, some anti-rotation means (such as a protrusion/aperture aperture arrangement) is important for achieving switch reliability that approaches that expected of conventional TS connectors.",
"In operation, the connector is inserted into a jack which includes a cylindrical receiving wall having an inner diameter just slightly larger than the outer diameter of sleeve 14 ′ and a tip contact and securing member (such as member 36 of FIG. 1 ).",
"Member 25 ″ is resilient enough to permit protrusion 28 ′″ to move radially inward when the connector is inserted into an external jack.",
"Such radially inward motion deforms member 25 ″ sufficiently to thereby automatically break the electrical contact between member(s) 24 ″ and rod 19 ″.",
"This creates a gap (not shown) between spring conductor-engaging member 24 ″ and rod 19 ″.",
"When this occurs, a signal is no longer shorted to ground and may pass to the tip and vice versa.",
"This allows a normal electrical connection to be established between the connector and the device to which the connector is inserted.",
"Spring switch 11 a ′ is advantageously/preferably stamped from a strip of conducting material, such as hardened spring steel, sized and shaped to bias itself (forming a physical and an electrical connection) against the inner wall of the cylindrical sleeve 14 ′.",
"Member 24 ″ may be described as being generally “horseshoe-shaped”",
"and/or generally “c-shaped.”",
"The protrusion 28 ′″ is preferably integrally formed with the spring by stamping a smoothly rounded detent into the inside of spring 11 a ′.",
"Protrusion 28 ′″ is, therefore, also preferably formed of the same piece of spring as the rest of switch 11 a ′.",
"In an alternative construction, protrusion 28 ′″ may be formed from one of many well know durable materials, regardless of whether they are conductive or non-conductive, such as nylon, plastic, brass, steel or the like.",
"With such an alternative construction, member 24 ″ may include an aperture through which a portion of the protrusion may extend to enhance affixation.",
"The location of aperture 12 ″ in the outer sleeve 14 ′ determines the distance between the protrusion 28 ′″ and the tip.",
"By adjusting that distance a given connector can be either a make-before-break connector or a break-before-make connector as described above.",
"The present invention is capable of providing either with only a slight change in the location of the protrusion aperture 12 ″.",
"No other modification is required.",
"One particularly advantageous feature of the invention is that switch 11 a ′ is preferably not affixed either rod 19 ″ or sleeve 14 ′ by any conventional means such as a fastener or bonding material.",
"This represents a significant advantage over the related art devices in that assembly of the inventive connector is greatly simplified, less expensive and involves fewer components.",
"In particular, switch 11 a ′ is preferably inserted into sleeve 14 ′ such that protrusion 28 ′″ is aligned with aperture 12 ′ and such that protrusion P″ is aligned with aperture 12 ″;",
"then the unit is longitudinally slid into sleeve 14 ′ until protrusion 28 ′″ extends through aperture 12 ′ and until protrusion P″ firmly snaps into aperture 12 ″.",
"In this way, the spring is a self-aligning, anti-rotation member and does not require any precise location or matching parts during the manufacturing process.",
"One of ordinary skill will still better observe that switch 11 a ′ is preferably integrally formed and that protrusions 28 ′″ and P″ are preferably stamped.",
"It will, however, be appreciated that protrusion 28 ′″ may be formed into various shapes (for example, an elongated bar, or a cone) as long as aperture 12 ″ is also changed to complement/accommodate such other shapes.",
"During manufacturing, switch 11 a ′ is preferably stamped from a beryllium-copper sheet that preferably has a thickness of between about 0.2 mm (0.0079 inches) and about 0.4 mm (0.0157 inches) (with about 0.3 mm—0.0118 inches—being most preferred) to ensure that intermediate member 25 ″ can provide the desired biasing force and physical stability.",
"While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but is intended to encompass the various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.",
"With respect to the above description, for example, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, including variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the appended claims.",
"Therefore, the foregoing is considered to be an illustrative, not exhaustive, description of the principles of the present invention."
] |
This application claims priority to PCT/AU2008/001745 filed Nov. 26, 2008, which claims priority to Australian Patent Application No. AU 2008900090 filed Jan. 9, 2008.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to lawn mowers and more particularly to lawn mowers that provide a mulching function.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Lawn mowers, including push and self propelled lawn mowers, have a base upon which there is mounted a motor. The motor may be an internal combustion engine or an electric motor. The motor drives a cutting assembly that includes a plate (disc) to which there is attached a plurality of blades. The plate is rotatably driven about a generally upright axis, with the blade being pivotally attached to the plate for angular movement about axes generally parallel to the upright axis. The blades as they are rotated about the generally upright axis engage grass to cut the grass. The grass is propelled angularly beneath the base along a channel in the base. Mulching mowers cause circulation of the cut grass around the channel to cause the grass to engage the blades a number of times to mulch the cut grass. The cut grass is then urged down into the freshly mown lawn.
In contrast to the above, frequently mowers are merely equipped with a catcher that collects the cut grass, with the cut grass then disposed of.
More recently mowers have been equipped with means via which they are able to operate in a “catching” mode or a “mulching” mode. The lawn mowers being changed in respect of mode by insertion or the removal of a “plug” that closes off the passage leading to the catcher. The “plug” completes a portion of the base that provides a channel along which the cut grass is circulated to be mulched. This type of mower has the disadvantage that the mower cannot be operating at the time the “plug” is inserted or removed. Accordingly, the mower cannot be changed between the two modes of operation while the mower is operative.
Also known are mowers having the two mentioned modes of operation, in which there is a plate that is selectively movable to provide for the delivery of grass to the catcher. The plate is also positionable to cause the mower to operate in a “mulching” mode.
Examples of the above mowers are described in Australian Patent Specifications 2003203292 and 2003203338. In both these instances it is difficult to change the mode of operation of the mower while the mower is still operative.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate the above disadvantage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
There is disclosed herein a lawn mower including:
a base providing a guide channel for cut grass;
a motor mounted on the base;
a cutting assembly rotatably driven by the motor about a generally upright axis, the assembly being driven to cut grass and to cause the grass to circulate angularly about said axis along said channel;
a catcher to receive the cut grass from said channel; and
a flap pivotably mounted for angular movement, about a pivot axis generally normal to said upright axis between a first position and a second position relative to said channel, said flap in said first position permitting cut grass to exit said channel for delivery to said catcher, while in said second position directing the cut grass to continue along said channel.
Preferably, said flap is resiliently urged to said first position or said second position.
Preferably, said flap is resiliently urged to said second position.
Preferably, said lawn mower further includes a handle extending upwardly and rearwardly from said base that is gripped by a user to aid in directing movement of the lawn mower over a lawn surface, and a user manipulated member movably mounted on the handle and used by the operator to move the flap.
Preferably, said user manipulated member is a lever pivotally mounted on said handle, and said lawn mower further includes a cable extending between said lever and said flap so that movement of said lever results in movement of said flap.
In an alternative preferred form, said user manipulated member is a slidably movable actuator, and said lawn mower further includes a housing within which said actuator is slidably moved.
Preferably, said actuator is longitudinally slidably movable within said housing and is angularly movable to locate said actuator in a selected position locating said flap in a desired position.
Preferably, said lawn mower has a pair of rear wheels that are rotatable about a wheel axis, with said pivot axis being generally parallel to said wheel axis.
Preferably, said flap is adjustably movable between the first and second positions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A preferred form of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic rear perspective view of a lawn mower;
FIG. 2 is a front schematic perspective view of the lawn mower of FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 3 is a schematic sectioned side elevation of portion of the lawn mower of FIGS. 1 and 2 ;
FIG. 4 is a schematic bottom plan view of the lawn mower of FIGS. 1 and 2 ; and
FIG. 5 is a schematic isometric view of an actuator employed in the lawn mower of FIGS. 1 and 2 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In the accompanying drawings there is schematically depicted a lawn mower 10 . The lawn mower 10 has a motor 11 . In this embodiment the motor 11 is an internal combustion engine. However it should be appreciated that other motors may be employed, including electric motors.
The lawn mower 10 of the accompanying drawings is a “push” mower. However in the present instance the mower 10 may also be a self propelled mower.
The mower 10 includes a base 12 upon which the motor 11 is mounted, with the motor 11 having a generally upright central rotational axis 13 . The motor 11 includes an output drive shaft 14 also having as its axis the rotational axis 13 . Attached the shaft 14 is a cutting assembly 15 that includes a disc 16 fixed to the shaft 14 so as to rotate therewith about the axis 13 . The disc 16 extends radially outward from the shaft 14 and has at least two blades 17 that engage the grass to cut the grass. The blades 17 are pivotally attached to the discs 16 for angular movement about axes 18 that are upright so as to be generally parallel to the axis 13 .
The base 12 has a central aperture 19 through which the shaft 14 projects. Surrounding the aperture 19 are mountings 20 to which the motor 11 is attached. The base 12 also has a channel 21 extending angularly about the axis 13 to which cut grass is delivered by the blades 17 . Preferably the channel 21 follows a circular path. The blades 17 cause the cut grass to move angularly about the axis 13 , as well as downward into the cut grass when operating in a “mulch” mode. The channel 21 has an exit channel portion 22 that extends rearwardly towards the rear opening 23 of the base 12 .
Attached to the base 12 so as to extend from the rear opening 23 is a removable catcher 24 . The catcher 24 has a front opening aligned with the channel portion 22 so as to receive cut grass therefrom.
The base 12 is supported on four wheels including two rear wheels 25 that may be driven in the instance where the mower 10 is self propelled. The wheels 25 are supported by a transverse rear axel 26 providing the wheels 25 with a rotational axis 27 .
Attached to an extending upwardly from the base 12 is a handle 28 that is gripped by a user at the upper end thereof to direct and/or propel the lawn mower 10 .
The base 12 has a radially outer skirt 29 that at least partly defines the channel 21 .
Attached to and supported by the base 12 is a flap 30 . The flap 30 is mounted on a transverse shaft 31 that provides a pivot axis 32 for the flap 30 . The axis 32 is generally normal to the axis 13 (but displaced therefrom) and is therefore generally horizontal when the mower 10 is positioned on a generally horizontal surface. The flap 30 is operatively associated with the channel portion 22 so as to selectively close the rear opening 23 that provides communication with the interior of the catcher 24 . More particularly the flap 30 is movable angularly about the axis 32 between a closed position at which the flap 30 is generally upright at least substantially closing the channel portion 22 , and an open position at which the flap 30 is generally horizontally oriented so as to provide for the flow of cut grass to the interior of the catcher 24 . However it should be appreciated the flap 30 can also be located in any desired position between the closed and open positions therefore providing for adjustment in respect of the volume of cut grass being delivered to the catcher 24 . When closed the channel portion 22 is closed by the flap 30 , the cut grass is caused to circulate about the channel 21 thereby causing “mulch” of the grass cuttings. As the flap 30 is moved to the open position at least some of the grass is ejected so as to be delivered to the interior of the catcher 24 .
Wound about the shaft 31 is a coil spring 33 that urges the flap 30 to a generally upright position closing the channel portion 22 .
Pivotally mounted on the handle 28 is a lever 34 that is pivotable about an axis generally parallel to the axis 27 . The lever 34 is manipulated by an operator to cause movement of the flap 30 . Attached to and extending from the lever 34 is a cable 35 that extends to the flap 30 . By causing pivoting of the lever 34 , the flap 30 is moved between the first and second positions thereof, or any desired position therebetween. Preferably the flap 30 is adjustably movable through 90°.
As best seen in FIG. 4 , when the flap 30 is closed, the cut grass is caused to circulate about the channel 21 in the direction of the arrows 36 . When the flap 30 is opened so as to provide for the delivery of grass to the interior of the catch 24 , the grass travels in the direction of the arrows 37 .
In FIG. 5 there is schematically depicted an alternative arrangement to the lever 34 of FIG. 3 . In this embodiment a slidably movable actuator 38 is coupled to the inner cable of the cable 35 , with the outer sheath thereof attached to the housing 39 within which the actuator 38 is slidably captively located. The outer sheath of the cable 35 is attached to a connector 40 mounted on the housing 39 .
The housing 39 has a longitudinally extending passage 41 within which the actuator 38 is slidably located. The actuator 38 is longitudinally elongated and is slidably movable along the axis 42 extending longitudinally of the housing 39 .
The housing 39 has a plurality of “notches” 43 within which the handle 44 of the actuator 38 is locatable, to locate the flap 30 in a desired position.
Fixed to or formed integral with the housing 39 is a mounting bracket 45 that is attached to the handle 28 by fasteners. | A lawn mower includes a base, a motor that drives a cutting assembly, and a catcher removably coupled to the base. Grass is cut by the blades of the cutting assembly, with the grass being propelled along a channel extending angularly beneath the base of the lawn mower. An exit channel portion delivers the cut grass to a rear opening that communicates with the catcher. A pivotally mounted flap opens and closes the exit channel portion to switch the lawn mower between a catching operational mode and a mulching operational mode. | Identify and summarize the most critical features from the given passage. | [
"This application claims priority to PCT/AU2008/001745 filed Nov. 26, 2008, which claims priority to Australian Patent Application No. AU 2008900090 filed Jan. 9, 2008.",
"TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to lawn mowers and more particularly to lawn mowers that provide a mulching function.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Lawn mowers, including push and self propelled lawn mowers, have a base upon which there is mounted a motor.",
"The motor may be an internal combustion engine or an electric motor.",
"The motor drives a cutting assembly that includes a plate (disc) to which there is attached a plurality of blades.",
"The plate is rotatably driven about a generally upright axis, with the blade being pivotally attached to the plate for angular movement about axes generally parallel to the upright axis.",
"The blades as they are rotated about the generally upright axis engage grass to cut the grass.",
"The grass is propelled angularly beneath the base along a channel in the base.",
"Mulching mowers cause circulation of the cut grass around the channel to cause the grass to engage the blades a number of times to mulch the cut grass.",
"The cut grass is then urged down into the freshly mown lawn.",
"In contrast to the above, frequently mowers are merely equipped with a catcher that collects the cut grass, with the cut grass then disposed of.",
"More recently mowers have been equipped with means via which they are able to operate in a “catching”",
"mode or a “mulching”",
"mode.",
"The lawn mowers being changed in respect of mode by insertion or the removal of a “plug”",
"that closes off the passage leading to the catcher.",
"The “plug”",
"completes a portion of the base that provides a channel along which the cut grass is circulated to be mulched.",
"This type of mower has the disadvantage that the mower cannot be operating at the time the “plug”",
"is inserted or removed.",
"Accordingly, the mower cannot be changed between the two modes of operation while the mower is operative.",
"Also known are mowers having the two mentioned modes of operation, in which there is a plate that is selectively movable to provide for the delivery of grass to the catcher.",
"The plate is also positionable to cause the mower to operate in a “mulching”",
"mode.",
"Examples of the above mowers are described in Australian Patent Specifications 2003203292 and 2003203338.",
"In both these instances it is difficult to change the mode of operation of the mower while the mower is still operative.",
"OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is the object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate the above disadvantage.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION There is disclosed herein a lawn mower including: a base providing a guide channel for cut grass;",
"a motor mounted on the base;",
"a cutting assembly rotatably driven by the motor about a generally upright axis, the assembly being driven to cut grass and to cause the grass to circulate angularly about said axis along said channel;",
"a catcher to receive the cut grass from said channel;",
"and a flap pivotably mounted for angular movement, about a pivot axis generally normal to said upright axis between a first position and a second position relative to said channel, said flap in said first position permitting cut grass to exit said channel for delivery to said catcher, while in said second position directing the cut grass to continue along said channel.",
"Preferably, said flap is resiliently urged to said first position or said second position.",
"Preferably, said flap is resiliently urged to said second position.",
"Preferably, said lawn mower further includes a handle extending upwardly and rearwardly from said base that is gripped by a user to aid in directing movement of the lawn mower over a lawn surface, and a user manipulated member movably mounted on the handle and used by the operator to move the flap.",
"Preferably, said user manipulated member is a lever pivotally mounted on said handle, and said lawn mower further includes a cable extending between said lever and said flap so that movement of said lever results in movement of said flap.",
"In an alternative preferred form, said user manipulated member is a slidably movable actuator, and said lawn mower further includes a housing within which said actuator is slidably moved.",
"Preferably, said actuator is longitudinally slidably movable within said housing and is angularly movable to locate said actuator in a selected position locating said flap in a desired position.",
"Preferably, said lawn mower has a pair of rear wheels that are rotatable about a wheel axis, with said pivot axis being generally parallel to said wheel axis.",
"Preferably, said flap is adjustably movable between the first and second positions.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred form of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: FIG. 1 is a schematic rear perspective view of a lawn mower;",
"FIG. 2 is a front schematic perspective view of the lawn mower of FIG. 1 ;",
"FIG. 3 is a schematic sectioned side elevation of portion of the lawn mower of FIGS. 1 and 2 ;",
"FIG. 4 is a schematic bottom plan view of the lawn mower of FIGS. 1 and 2 ;",
"and FIG. 5 is a schematic isometric view of an actuator employed in the lawn mower of FIGS. 1 and 2 .",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the accompanying drawings there is schematically depicted a lawn mower 10 .",
"The lawn mower 10 has a motor 11 .",
"In this embodiment the motor 11 is an internal combustion engine.",
"However it should be appreciated that other motors may be employed, including electric motors.",
"The lawn mower 10 of the accompanying drawings is a “push”",
"mower.",
"However in the present instance the mower 10 may also be a self propelled mower.",
"The mower 10 includes a base 12 upon which the motor 11 is mounted, with the motor 11 having a generally upright central rotational axis 13 .",
"The motor 11 includes an output drive shaft 14 also having as its axis the rotational axis 13 .",
"Attached the shaft 14 is a cutting assembly 15 that includes a disc 16 fixed to the shaft 14 so as to rotate therewith about the axis 13 .",
"The disc 16 extends radially outward from the shaft 14 and has at least two blades 17 that engage the grass to cut the grass.",
"The blades 17 are pivotally attached to the discs 16 for angular movement about axes 18 that are upright so as to be generally parallel to the axis 13 .",
"The base 12 has a central aperture 19 through which the shaft 14 projects.",
"Surrounding the aperture 19 are mountings 20 to which the motor 11 is attached.",
"The base 12 also has a channel 21 extending angularly about the axis 13 to which cut grass is delivered by the blades 17 .",
"Preferably the channel 21 follows a circular path.",
"The blades 17 cause the cut grass to move angularly about the axis 13 , as well as downward into the cut grass when operating in a “mulch”",
"mode.",
"The channel 21 has an exit channel portion 22 that extends rearwardly towards the rear opening 23 of the base 12 .",
"Attached to the base 12 so as to extend from the rear opening 23 is a removable catcher 24 .",
"The catcher 24 has a front opening aligned with the channel portion 22 so as to receive cut grass therefrom.",
"The base 12 is supported on four wheels including two rear wheels 25 that may be driven in the instance where the mower 10 is self propelled.",
"The wheels 25 are supported by a transverse rear axel 26 providing the wheels 25 with a rotational axis 27 .",
"Attached to an extending upwardly from the base 12 is a handle 28 that is gripped by a user at the upper end thereof to direct and/or propel the lawn mower 10 .",
"The base 12 has a radially outer skirt 29 that at least partly defines the channel 21 .",
"Attached to and supported by the base 12 is a flap 30 .",
"The flap 30 is mounted on a transverse shaft 31 that provides a pivot axis 32 for the flap 30 .",
"The axis 32 is generally normal to the axis 13 (but displaced therefrom) and is therefore generally horizontal when the mower 10 is positioned on a generally horizontal surface.",
"The flap 30 is operatively associated with the channel portion 22 so as to selectively close the rear opening 23 that provides communication with the interior of the catcher 24 .",
"More particularly the flap 30 is movable angularly about the axis 32 between a closed position at which the flap 30 is generally upright at least substantially closing the channel portion 22 , and an open position at which the flap 30 is generally horizontally oriented so as to provide for the flow of cut grass to the interior of the catcher 24 .",
"However it should be appreciated the flap 30 can also be located in any desired position between the closed and open positions therefore providing for adjustment in respect of the volume of cut grass being delivered to the catcher 24 .",
"When closed the channel portion 22 is closed by the flap 30 , the cut grass is caused to circulate about the channel 21 thereby causing “mulch”",
"of the grass cuttings.",
"As the flap 30 is moved to the open position at least some of the grass is ejected so as to be delivered to the interior of the catcher 24 .",
"Wound about the shaft 31 is a coil spring 33 that urges the flap 30 to a generally upright position closing the channel portion 22 .",
"Pivotally mounted on the handle 28 is a lever 34 that is pivotable about an axis generally parallel to the axis 27 .",
"The lever 34 is manipulated by an operator to cause movement of the flap 30 .",
"Attached to and extending from the lever 34 is a cable 35 that extends to the flap 30 .",
"By causing pivoting of the lever 34 , the flap 30 is moved between the first and second positions thereof, or any desired position therebetween.",
"Preferably the flap 30 is adjustably movable through 90°.",
"As best seen in FIG. 4 , when the flap 30 is closed, the cut grass is caused to circulate about the channel 21 in the direction of the arrows 36 .",
"When the flap 30 is opened so as to provide for the delivery of grass to the interior of the catch 24 , the grass travels in the direction of the arrows 37 .",
"In FIG. 5 there is schematically depicted an alternative arrangement to the lever 34 of FIG. 3 .",
"In this embodiment a slidably movable actuator 38 is coupled to the inner cable of the cable 35 , with the outer sheath thereof attached to the housing 39 within which the actuator 38 is slidably captively located.",
"The outer sheath of the cable 35 is attached to a connector 40 mounted on the housing 39 .",
"The housing 39 has a longitudinally extending passage 41 within which the actuator 38 is slidably located.",
"The actuator 38 is longitudinally elongated and is slidably movable along the axis 42 extending longitudinally of the housing 39 .",
"The housing 39 has a plurality of “notches”",
"43 within which the handle 44 of the actuator 38 is locatable, to locate the flap 30 in a desired position.",
"Fixed to or formed integral with the housing 39 is a mounting bracket 45 that is attached to the handle 28 by fasteners."
] |
BACKGROUND
[0001] This invention relates to a system and method for leak detection, and, more particularly, to a system and method for detecting leaks in a liquid filled vessel such as a swimming pool.
RELATED ART
[0002] The use of leak detecting devices are well known in the art, particularly for use in swimming pools. Pools, whether above ground or underground, do leak. Leaks may occur around pool drains, pool lights, skimmers, suction and discharge lines and other pool surfaces, etc.
[0003] There is a need for a simple leak detection system for a swimming pool that is easy to use for a pool attendant or pool owner.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0004] It is an object of this invention to provide a leak detecting system and method for detection leaks in water filled vessel, such as a swimming pool.
[0005] It is a further object of this invention to provide such a system that can detect leaks at drains, lights, skimmers, suction and discharge lines, etc.
[0006] These and other objects are preferably accomplished by providing a resilient seal adapted to contact the surface of the vessel underwater where a leak is suspected or may be present. A rigid housing is coupled to the seal and has a fitting accessible from the exterior communicating with the interior of the housing and a central aperture of the seal for delivering a fluid such as a dye into the interior of the housing or coupling a flow meter thereto to detect the flow of water into or out of the housing. The dye solution is used for leak detection purposes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] The above-mentioned features and objects of the present disclosure will become more apparent with reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals denote like elements and in which:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a elevational side view of a conventional swimming pool showing the leak detection device prior to installation against the main drain of the pool;
[0009] FIG. 2 is an elevational view of a portion of the leak detection device prior to installation;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a bottom view of a component of the leak detection device of FIG. 2 taken along lines 3 - 3 of FIG. 2 ;
[0011] FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3 A- 3 A of FIG. 2 ;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the leak detection device in position against the pool drainage;
[0013] FIG. 5 is an elevational side view of a conventional pool having 2 drains therein with the leak detection device installed over one drain and a second similar device installed over the second drain;
[0014] FIG. 6 is an elevational view of a modified portion of the leak detection device of FIG. 2 ;
[0015] FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the pool of FIG. 1 showing a conventional pool light installed in the sidewall of the pool and a modified fluid detection device prior to installation;
[0016] FIG. 8 is an elevational view of the fluid detection device of FIG. 7 ;
[0017] FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8 showing the fluid detection device sealed to the pool light;
[0018] FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing still another fluid detection device prior to mounting to a suction or discharge pipe of the pool;
[0019] FIG. 11 is an elevational view of the fluid detection device of FIG. 10 ;
[0020] FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 10 illustrating operations of the fluid detection device of FIG. 11 ;
[0021] FIG. 13 is a side elevational view of the pool of FIG. 1 showing a conventional skimmer mounted in the side wall and a fluid detection device similar to those discussed in FIGS. 1 to 12 ;
[0022] FIG. 14 is an elevational view of the fluid detection device alone of FIG. 13 ;
[0023] FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIG. 13 showing the fluid detection device in position engaging the pool skimmer;
[0024] FIG. 16 is a side elevational view of the pool of FIG. 1 similar to FIG. 13 but showing a modified leak detection device in installed position; and
[0025] FIG. 17 is an elevational view of the fluid detection device alone of FIG. 16 .
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0026] Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is an elevational side view of a conventional swimming pool 10 showing the main drain 11 at the bottom of the pool below water level 12 . A leak detection device 13 is shown in exploded view.
[0027] As seen in FIG. 2 , the leak detection device 13 includes a resilient member 14 which is preferably of rubber, such as a soft synthetic rubber, or any other suitable material. It may be solid or inflatable, and preferably annular, such as circular, circular in outer configuration and of a diameter greater than the diameter of drain 11 , which drains are generally circular. Thus, as seen in FIG. 3 , member 14 has a central hole or opening 14 ′ communicating with the hollow interior 15 ′ of member 15 (see FIG. 3A ).
[0028] Housing 15 thus is secured to member 14 and may be of a solid material, such as plastic, preferably transparent and dome-shaped. A fluid inlet barb 16 may be provided at top of housing 15 communicating with the interior 15 ′ of housing 15 for injecting fluid into the interior 15 ′ of housing 15 . A washer 17 , such as a neophrene washer, may be provided where barb 16 enters housing 15 to provide a liquid—tight seal.
[0029] As seen in FIG. 3 , if member 14 is an inflatable tube, a conventional air inlet 18 may be provided on the bottom wall 19 for inflating tube 14 with air from a suitable exterior source.
[0030] As seen in FIG. 1 , a weighted member 20 may be provided to hold housing 15 and member 14 downwardly in a sealing position against drain 11 as seen in FIG. 4 . Member 20 is generally a circular ring adapted to encircle housing 15 , as seen in FIG. 4 , and may be of sufficient weight, such as 10 pounds, to hold device 13 in position against drain 11 creating a seal. Any suitable materials may be used, such as a plastic coated material.
[0031] In operation, when the leak detection device 13 is installed against the drain 11 of the pool of FIG. 1 , a conventional flow meter may be connected to barb 16 to detect any leaks therethrough. Alternatively, by connecting a suitable hose to barb 16 and running it to the surface of the pool or the like, components in the pool or the like may be tested for leaks while the operator is above water. Thus, any suitable dye solution such as ordinary food coloring and water may be injected therein. If there is a leak, the dye solution will be sucked into the barb 16 that is functioning as an inlet for housing 23 . If the pool component is not leaking, the dye will not be sucked in but instead maintain a natural swaying motion underwater.
[0032] Alternatively, the pool owner or operator of pool maintenance may dive underwater with a dye solution and inject it through barb inlet 16 using a syringe or the like.
[0033] As seen in FIG. 5 , wherein like numerals refer to like parts of FIG. 1 , pool 21 has 2 drains, 11 and 22 . Here, housing 23 , otherwise similar to housing 15 , does not have a barb inlet 16 as seen in FIG. 6 . Housing 15 and member 14 , weighted by ring member 20 , is held against drain 22 while drain 11 is tested for leaks as heretofore discussed, since such drains are generally connected as part of the drain system.
[0034] As seen in FIG. 7 , wherein like numerals refer to like parts of FIG. 1 , a conventional pool light 24 is shown mounted in the sidewall of pool 10 . Here, weighted member 20 is not necessary.
[0035] The fluid detection device 25 of FIG. 7 is shown having a resilient member 26 , which may be similar to member 14 , and may also be inflatable, a housing 27 which may be similar to housing 15 , and a barb inlet 16 and washer 17 similar to that shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 . However, in this embodiment, a threaded shaft 28 extends through housing 27 and the center of ring 26 and terminates in a conventional suction cup 29 of a resilient material, such as rubber. A resilient washer 30 is provided where shaft 28 enters housing 27 , and a wing nut 31 , which may be of plastic, may be provided threaded on shaft 28 .
[0036] As seen in FIG. 7 , shaft 28 extends into a position where cup 29 may engage the outside of dome 32 of light 24 . Member 26 is again preferably circular and of a diameter to cover light 24 abutting against the frame 24 ′ holding dome 32 in position (see FIG. 9 ). Suction cup 29 abuts against dome 32 and wing nut 31 is tightened to force a seal of detection device 25 to light 24 that is created when tightened.
[0037] Barb inlet 16 may be used to inject a dye all as previously discussed.
[0038] FIG. 10 shows still another embodiment of the invention. Here, fluid detection device 33 , otherwise similar to the fluid detection device components 14 , 15 of FIG. 1 , shows a conventional suction/discharge pipe 34 of pool 10 . As seen in FIG. 11 , again member 14 is a resilient member that may be a solid ring or an inflatable ring, and housing 27 is similar to housing 27 of FIG. 8 also having a barbed inlet 16 and washers 17 , 30 . However, in this embodiment, a hose 35 extends through housing 27 , through the center of member 14 , and terminates at bottom in an inflatable plug 36 . As seen in FIG. 12 , plug 36 is inserted into pipe 34 and air may be injected into tube 35 by connecting a suitable source of air to threaded fitting 35 ′ at the top of inflating plug 36 which expands, outwardly against the interior wall of pipe 34 , as seen in FIG. 12 , to seal off the pipe 34 . Again, the leak detection operations discussed above can be carried out through inlet 16 .
[0039] FIG. 13 shows a skimmer 37 mounted in the side wall of pool 10 and a fluid detection device 38 shown in detail in FIG. 14 .
[0040] Here, member 14 and housing 27 may be identical to the member 14 and housing 27 of FIG. 8 . However, threaded shaft 39 , having wing nut 40 threaded thereon, terminates in a brace 41 , which may be elongated and generally rectangular, and of any suitable material, such as plastic.
[0041] As seen in FIG. 15 , brace 41 is inserted into the opening 42 of skimmer 37 , being tilted to facilitate entry, then nut 40 is tightened to seal brace 41 against the inner wall 43 surrounding opening 42 of skimmer 37 sealing off the same as previously, discussed.
[0042] Again, inlet 16 may be used to carry out the aftermentioned leak detection.
[0043] Still another modification is shown in FIG. 16 . The fluid detection device 44 includes a housing 15 and resilient member 14 and inlet 16 similar to that of the embodiment of FIG. 1 . However, in this embodiment, an adjustable clamp 45 is coupled to housing 15 and has an elongated portion 46 with a plurality of spaced slots or notches 47 engaged by a tooth 48 of a trigger 49 mounted in a clamp portion 50 extending downwardly from extension portion 46 . By grasping handle 51 and squeezing trigger 49 , into and out of engagement with notches 47 , clamp portion 50 can be ratcheted closed along elongated portion 46 similar to a conventional jar lid opener. Thus, as seen in FIG. 17 , clamp portion 50 is extending down into the interior of skimmer 37 , the skimmer lid having been removed, abutting against inner wall 43 , and sealing resilient member 14 and housing 15 against the opening 42 leading into skimmer 37 when trigger 49 is squeezed and clamp portion 50 latches closed.
[0044] It can be seen that there are described various embodiments of the invention. Variations thereof may occur to an artisan and the scope of the invention should only be limited by the scope of the appended claims. Any suitable materials or dimensions may be used to carry out the teachings of the invention. Member 14 need only be of a sufficient size to completely surround and seal against the pool component being tested for leaks. | A leak detecting device for water filled vessel such as a swimming pool. An annular resilient seal having a central opening contacts the surface of the vessel under water and creates a seal between the resilient seal and the vessel. A rigid housing open in its interior is coupled to the resilient seal and has an opening for an inlet to deliver fluid into the interior of the housing, or couple a flow meter thereto to measure the fluid flow, or deliver a dye into the housing and through the central opening of the resilient seal. | Analyze the document's illustrations and descriptions to summarize the main idea's core structure and function. | [
"BACKGROUND [0001] This invention relates to a system and method for leak detection, and, more particularly, to a system and method for detecting leaks in a liquid filled vessel such as a swimming pool.",
"RELATED ART [0002] The use of leak detecting devices are well known in the art, particularly for use in swimming pools.",
"Pools, whether above ground or underground, do leak.",
"Leaks may occur around pool drains, pool lights, skimmers, suction and discharge lines and other pool surfaces, etc.",
"[0003] There is a need for a simple leak detection system for a swimming pool that is easy to use for a pool attendant or pool owner.",
"SUMMARY OF INVENTION [0004] It is an object of this invention to provide a leak detecting system and method for detection leaks in water filled vessel, such as a swimming pool.",
"[0005] It is a further object of this invention to provide such a system that can detect leaks at drains, lights, skimmers, suction and discharge lines, etc.",
"[0006] These and other objects are preferably accomplished by providing a resilient seal adapted to contact the surface of the vessel underwater where a leak is suspected or may be present.",
"A rigid housing is coupled to the seal and has a fitting accessible from the exterior communicating with the interior of the housing and a central aperture of the seal for delivering a fluid such as a dye into the interior of the housing or coupling a flow meter thereto to detect the flow of water into or out of the housing.",
"The dye solution is used for leak detection purposes.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0007] The above-mentioned features and objects of the present disclosure will become more apparent with reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals denote like elements and in which: [0008] FIG. 1 is a elevational side view of a conventional swimming pool showing the leak detection device prior to installation against the main drain of the pool;",
"[0009] FIG. 2 is an elevational view of a portion of the leak detection device prior to installation;",
"[0010] FIG. 3 is a bottom view of a component of the leak detection device of FIG. 2 taken along lines 3 - 3 of FIG. 2 ;",
"[0011] FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3 A- 3 A of FIG. 2 ;",
"[0012] FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the leak detection device in position against the pool drainage;",
"[0013] FIG. 5 is an elevational side view of a conventional pool having 2 drains therein with the leak detection device installed over one drain and a second similar device installed over the second drain;",
"[0014] FIG. 6 is an elevational view of a modified portion of the leak detection device of FIG. 2 ;",
"[0015] FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the pool of FIG. 1 showing a conventional pool light installed in the sidewall of the pool and a modified fluid detection device prior to installation;",
"[0016] FIG. 8 is an elevational view of the fluid detection device of FIG. 7 ;",
"[0017] FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8 showing the fluid detection device sealed to the pool light;",
"[0018] FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing still another fluid detection device prior to mounting to a suction or discharge pipe of the pool;",
"[0019] FIG. 11 is an elevational view of the fluid detection device of FIG. 10 ;",
"[0020] FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 10 illustrating operations of the fluid detection device of FIG. 11 ;",
"[0021] FIG. 13 is a side elevational view of the pool of FIG. 1 showing a conventional skimmer mounted in the side wall and a fluid detection device similar to those discussed in FIGS. 1 to 12 ;",
"[0022] FIG. 14 is an elevational view of the fluid detection device alone of FIG. 13 ;",
"[0023] FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIG. 13 showing the fluid detection device in position engaging the pool skimmer;",
"[0024] FIG. 16 is a side elevational view of the pool of FIG. 1 similar to FIG. 13 but showing a modified leak detection device in installed position;",
"and [0025] FIG. 17 is an elevational view of the fluid detection device alone of FIG. 16 .",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT [0026] Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is an elevational side view of a conventional swimming pool 10 showing the main drain 11 at the bottom of the pool below water level 12 .",
"A leak detection device 13 is shown in exploded view.",
"[0027] As seen in FIG. 2 , the leak detection device 13 includes a resilient member 14 which is preferably of rubber, such as a soft synthetic rubber, or any other suitable material.",
"It may be solid or inflatable, and preferably annular, such as circular, circular in outer configuration and of a diameter greater than the diameter of drain 11 , which drains are generally circular.",
"Thus, as seen in FIG. 3 , member 14 has a central hole or opening 14 ′ communicating with the hollow interior 15 ′ of member 15 (see FIG. 3A ).",
"[0028] Housing 15 thus is secured to member 14 and may be of a solid material, such as plastic, preferably transparent and dome-shaped.",
"A fluid inlet barb 16 may be provided at top of housing 15 communicating with the interior 15 ′ of housing 15 for injecting fluid into the interior 15 ′ of housing 15 .",
"A washer 17 , such as a neophrene washer, may be provided where barb 16 enters housing 15 to provide a liquid—tight seal.",
"[0029] As seen in FIG. 3 , if member 14 is an inflatable tube, a conventional air inlet 18 may be provided on the bottom wall 19 for inflating tube 14 with air from a suitable exterior source.",
"[0030] As seen in FIG. 1 , a weighted member 20 may be provided to hold housing 15 and member 14 downwardly in a sealing position against drain 11 as seen in FIG. 4 .",
"Member 20 is generally a circular ring adapted to encircle housing 15 , as seen in FIG. 4 , and may be of sufficient weight, such as 10 pounds, to hold device 13 in position against drain 11 creating a seal.",
"Any suitable materials may be used, such as a plastic coated material.",
"[0031] In operation, when the leak detection device 13 is installed against the drain 11 of the pool of FIG. 1 , a conventional flow meter may be connected to barb 16 to detect any leaks therethrough.",
"Alternatively, by connecting a suitable hose to barb 16 and running it to the surface of the pool or the like, components in the pool or the like may be tested for leaks while the operator is above water.",
"Thus, any suitable dye solution such as ordinary food coloring and water may be injected therein.",
"If there is a leak, the dye solution will be sucked into the barb 16 that is functioning as an inlet for housing 23 .",
"If the pool component is not leaking, the dye will not be sucked in but instead maintain a natural swaying motion underwater.",
"[0032] Alternatively, the pool owner or operator of pool maintenance may dive underwater with a dye solution and inject it through barb inlet 16 using a syringe or the like.",
"[0033] As seen in FIG. 5 , wherein like numerals refer to like parts of FIG. 1 , pool 21 has 2 drains, 11 and 22 .",
"Here, housing 23 , otherwise similar to housing 15 , does not have a barb inlet 16 as seen in FIG. 6 .",
"Housing 15 and member 14 , weighted by ring member 20 , is held against drain 22 while drain 11 is tested for leaks as heretofore discussed, since such drains are generally connected as part of the drain system.",
"[0034] As seen in FIG. 7 , wherein like numerals refer to like parts of FIG. 1 , a conventional pool light 24 is shown mounted in the sidewall of pool 10 .",
"Here, weighted member 20 is not necessary.",
"[0035] The fluid detection device 25 of FIG. 7 is shown having a resilient member 26 , which may be similar to member 14 , and may also be inflatable, a housing 27 which may be similar to housing 15 , and a barb inlet 16 and washer 17 similar to that shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 .",
"However, in this embodiment, a threaded shaft 28 extends through housing 27 and the center of ring 26 and terminates in a conventional suction cup 29 of a resilient material, such as rubber.",
"A resilient washer 30 is provided where shaft 28 enters housing 27 , and a wing nut 31 , which may be of plastic, may be provided threaded on shaft 28 .",
"[0036] As seen in FIG. 7 , shaft 28 extends into a position where cup 29 may engage the outside of dome 32 of light 24 .",
"Member 26 is again preferably circular and of a diameter to cover light 24 abutting against the frame 24 ′ holding dome 32 in position (see FIG. 9 ).",
"Suction cup 29 abuts against dome 32 and wing nut 31 is tightened to force a seal of detection device 25 to light 24 that is created when tightened.",
"[0037] Barb inlet 16 may be used to inject a dye all as previously discussed.",
"[0038] FIG. 10 shows still another embodiment of the invention.",
"Here, fluid detection device 33 , otherwise similar to the fluid detection device components 14 , 15 of FIG. 1 , shows a conventional suction/discharge pipe 34 of pool 10 .",
"As seen in FIG. 11 , again member 14 is a resilient member that may be a solid ring or an inflatable ring, and housing 27 is similar to housing 27 of FIG. 8 also having a barbed inlet 16 and washers 17 , 30 .",
"However, in this embodiment, a hose 35 extends through housing 27 , through the center of member 14 , and terminates at bottom in an inflatable plug 36 .",
"As seen in FIG. 12 , plug 36 is inserted into pipe 34 and air may be injected into tube 35 by connecting a suitable source of air to threaded fitting 35 ′ at the top of inflating plug 36 which expands, outwardly against the interior wall of pipe 34 , as seen in FIG. 12 , to seal off the pipe 34 .",
"Again, the leak detection operations discussed above can be carried out through inlet 16 .",
"[0039] FIG. 13 shows a skimmer 37 mounted in the side wall of pool 10 and a fluid detection device 38 shown in detail in FIG. 14 .",
"[0040] Here, member 14 and housing 27 may be identical to the member 14 and housing 27 of FIG. 8 .",
"However, threaded shaft 39 , having wing nut 40 threaded thereon, terminates in a brace 41 , which may be elongated and generally rectangular, and of any suitable material, such as plastic.",
"[0041] As seen in FIG. 15 , brace 41 is inserted into the opening 42 of skimmer 37 , being tilted to facilitate entry, then nut 40 is tightened to seal brace 41 against the inner wall 43 surrounding opening 42 of skimmer 37 sealing off the same as previously, discussed.",
"[0042] Again, inlet 16 may be used to carry out the aftermentioned leak detection.",
"[0043] Still another modification is shown in FIG. 16 .",
"The fluid detection device 44 includes a housing 15 and resilient member 14 and inlet 16 similar to that of the embodiment of FIG. 1 .",
"However, in this embodiment, an adjustable clamp 45 is coupled to housing 15 and has an elongated portion 46 with a plurality of spaced slots or notches 47 engaged by a tooth 48 of a trigger 49 mounted in a clamp portion 50 extending downwardly from extension portion 46 .",
"By grasping handle 51 and squeezing trigger 49 , into and out of engagement with notches 47 , clamp portion 50 can be ratcheted closed along elongated portion 46 similar to a conventional jar lid opener.",
"Thus, as seen in FIG. 17 , clamp portion 50 is extending down into the interior of skimmer 37 , the skimmer lid having been removed, abutting against inner wall 43 , and sealing resilient member 14 and housing 15 against the opening 42 leading into skimmer 37 when trigger 49 is squeezed and clamp portion 50 latches closed.",
"[0044] It can be seen that there are described various embodiments of the invention.",
"Variations thereof may occur to an artisan and the scope of the invention should only be limited by the scope of the appended claims.",
"Any suitable materials or dimensions may be used to carry out the teachings of the invention.",
"Member 14 need only be of a sufficient size to completely surround and seal against the pool component being tested for leaks."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to advanced humid air gas turbine systems. Specifically, the invention relates to an advanced humid air gas turbine system that recovers moisture from exhaust gas after combustion and recycles it as humid air.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the operation of a gas turbine system, it is widely known in the art that steam is introduced into compressed air for combustion in order to improve power generation efficiency. This is because the introduction of steam increases the amount of working fluid, i.e., the compressed air for combustion to reduce the power necessary for a compressor to work.
The advanced humid air gas turbine system (hereinafter, referred to as AHAT) exemplified in JP-2010-255456-A is configured as follows. Steam introduced into a gas turbine from exhaust gas after combustion is condensed and recovered as recovered water. Impurities are removed from the recovered water with the use of an impurity removing device. Such recovered water is used to humidify the compressed air for combustion to be turned into humid compressed air for combustion. This system allows the heat present in the exhaust gas after combustion to be recovered to the inlet side of the combustor, which in turn raises the temperature of the compressed air for combustion. The system further improves the power generation efficiency as a result of the reduction in the fuel consumption.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The AHAT includes a water recovery system for recovering moisture from the exhaust gas of the gas turbine and a superheated steam generation system for generating superheated steam in the heat recovery steam generator that uses the exhaust gas of the gas turbine as a heat source. The superheated steam generated in the superheated steam generation system is introduced into the compressed air for combustion in the gas turbine.
Incidentally, in the operation of the gas turbine, superheated steam is not introduced into compressed air for combustion in order to prevent moisture from being condensed in the gas turbine at the time of start-up and shut-down. Also in the case of operation after load rejection has been carried out due to a system failure or the like during the operation of the gas turbine system, superheated steam is not introduced into compressed air for combustion.
If such a gas turbine cannot introduce superheated steam, the conventional AHAT is operated such that the superheated steam generated at a relief valve installed at the outlet of the hear recovery steam generator is discharged to the outside of the system.
When the AHAT is operated with DSS (Daily Start and Stop) cycles or it takes a long period of time until resynchronization after the load rejection, the amount of consumed water will increase. The increased amount of makeup water results in a rising running cost.
The present invention has been made in view of above-mentioned situations and aims to provide a water-saving type advanced humid air gas turbine system that can reduce the amount of makeup water to be supplied from the outside by reducing the amount of consumed water when the gas turbine system is starting up, shut down or subjected to load rejection.
To solve the foregoing problems, an aspect of the present invention incorporates, for example, the arrangements of the appended claims. This application includes a plurality of means for solving the problems. An exemplary aspect of the present invention provides an advanced humid air gas turbine system (AHAT) including: a gas turbine system; a heat recovery steam generator for generating steam by use of exhaust gas from a turbine; a water recovery system disposed on the downstream side of the heat recovery steam generator, the water recovery system recovering moisture contained in the exhaust gas; a first steam system for supplying steam, coming from the heat recovery steam generator, to a compressed air header; and a second steam system for supplying steam, coming from the heat recovery steam generator, to the heat recovery steam generator or the water recovery system. The gas turbine system includes a compressor for compressing air, the compressed air header for mixing high-pressure air introduced from the compressor with steam so as to generate humidified combustion air, a combustor for mixing the combustion air from the compressed air header with fuel for sake of combustion so as to generate combustion gas, and the turbine driven by the combustion gas that is generated by the combustor. When the gas turbine system is starting up, shut down or subjected to load rejection, steam coming from the heat recovery steam generator is recovered by blocking the first steam system and making the second steam system communicate with the heat recovery steam generator.
According to the present invention, the bypass system which bypasses the gas turbine and leads the generated steam into the system of the advanced humid air gas turbine system is installed at the steam outlet of the heat recovery steam generator. The amount of water consumed when the gas turbine is starting up, shut down, or subjected to load rejection can be reduced. The amount of makeup water to be supplied from the outside when the gas turbine is starting up, shut down, or subjected to load rejection can be reduced. Thus, a reduction in starting up cost can be achieved.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a first embodiment of an AHAT of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a second embodiment of an AHAT of the present invention; and
FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a third embodiment of an AHAT of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Preferred embodiments of an AHAT of the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiments]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a first embodiment of the AHAT of the present invention.
The AHAT includes a gas turbine system, a heat recovery steam generator 10 and a water recovery system 6 as a basic configuration. The gas turbine system includes a compressor 1 , a compressed air header 2 , a combustor 3 , a turbine 4 , a drive shaft 1 A, and a generator 5 . The compressor 1 , the turbine 4 , and the generator 5 are mechanically connected to one another by means of the drive shaft 1 A.
The compressor 1 sucks and compresses outside air and supplies the compressed air as combustion air to the compressed air header 2 via a flow passage 51 . The compressed air header 2 mixes superheated steam with the combustion air to generate humidified combustion air. The superheated steam is supplied from a superheater 14 of the heat recovery steam generator 10 via a pipe 52 and a pipe 55 to the compressed air header 2 . The combustor 3 mixes the humidified combustion air supplied thereto via a flow passage 53 with fuel F supplied thereto via a pipe 50 for combustion to generate high-temperature and high-pressure combustion gas. This combustion gas is introduced via a flow passage 54 to the turbine 4 to drive the turbine 4 , thereby driving the compressor 1 and the generator 5 via the drive shaft 1 A. The rotary power of the turbine 4 is converted into electricity by the generator 5 .
The heat recovery steam generator 10 is equipment that uses, as a heat source, exhaust gas that has driven the turbine 4 in the gas turbine system to generate steam. The heat recovery steam generator 10 includes a box-shaped casing 10 a which covers its outer circumferential portion with a lagging material; an upstream opening portion provided on the upstream side of the casing 10 a and connected to a duct 60 adapted to introduce exhaust gas that has driven the turbine 4 ; an exhaust gas passage through which the exhaust gas introduced from the upstream opening portion flows; a heat exchanger group; and a downstream opening portion provided on the downstream side of the casing 10 a and adapted to supply the exhaust gas having passed through the heat exchanger group to a water recover system 6 . The heat exchanger group is composed of the superheater 14 , an evaporator 13 equipped with a steam drum 31 , a high-temperature economizer 12 and a low-temperature economizer 11 , which are arranged in this order from the upstream in the exhaust gas passage.
In the present embodiment, a steam nozzle 15 for jetting superheated steam in the direction of the exhaust gas passage is provided on the upstream side of the superheater 14 in the exhaust gas passage of the heat recovery steam generator 10 . A pipe 58 is connected at one end thereof to the header of the steam nozzle 15 . The pipe 58 has the other end coupled to a branch portion 56 provided on the pipe 55 connecting the heater 14 of the heat recovery steam generator 10 to the compressed air header 2 . A steam nozzle adjusting valve 91 and an orifice 100 are provided on the pipe 58 , the steam nozzle adjusting valve 91 being adapted to adjust the flow rate of superheated steam supplied to the steam nozzle 15 . The steam nozzle adjusting valve 91 is closed during normal operation.
In the present embodiment, the lower structure of the casing 10 a corresponding to the bottom of the heat recovery steam generator 10 is designed as an inclined structure 16 where the inclination descends from the upstream side toward the downstream side. A pipe 82 is provided at a minimum height portion on the most-downstream side of the inclined structure 16 . This pipe 82 is made to communicate with a drain tank 32 for storing drain. The drain stored in the drain tank 32 is discharged to the outside of the AHAT by means of a pipe 83 arranged to extend toward the outside thereof, and a drain pump 41 installed on the pipe 83 .
The water recovery system 6 sprays cooling water from a spray nozzle 120 to the exhaust gas from the heat recovery steam generator 10 to condense the moisture in the exhaust gas into water. The water recovery system 6 mixes such water with cooling water and recovers the mixture as recovery water 20 . The remaining gas component resulting from removing the moisture from the exhaust gas is discharged to the atmosphere from a funnel 110 provided on the upper portion of the water recovery system 6 . As the cooling water to be sprayed from the spray nozzle 120 , the recovery water 20 is used that is supplied from the lower portion of the water recovery system 6 via a pipe 81 to an outside cooler (not shown) in which the water is cooled. The recovery water 20 supplied to the outside cooler for cooling may be purified with a water processing device (not shown) and the purified water may be reused as the feed water of the exhaust recovery boiler 10 .
During the normal operation of the gas turbine system, the exhaust gas having driven the turbine 4 is supplied via the duct 60 to the heat recovery steam generator 10 before being subjected to heat exchange with the feed water or steam flowing inside the above-mentioned heat exchanger group. The superheated steam, generated from the superheater 14 due to such heat exchange, after passing through the pipe 55 connecting the superheater 14 to a superheated steam adjusting valve 90 , is supplied to the compressed air header 2 via the superheated steam adjusting valve 90 and the pipe 52 . The superheated steam adjusting valve 90 reduces the pressure inside the superheated steam to a pressure necessary for the gas turbine system to work. As a result, humidified air to be supplied to the combustor 3 is generated.
Moreover, during the normal operation of the gas turbine system, water is supplied from the outside via a pipe 70 to the low-temperature economizer 11 . This water is subjected to heat exchange in the low-temperature economizer 11 and is then supplied via a pipe 74 to a deaerator 30 for deaeration of the water. Thereafter, such water passes through a pipe 73 and is increased in pressure at a feed-water pump 40 . Then, the water is supplied via a pipe 72 to the high-temperature economizer 12 , in which the water is subjected to heat exchange. The water leaving the high-temperature economizer 12 is supplied to the steam drum 31 via a pipe 78 and a pipe 76 .
The water supplied to the steam drum 31 is circulated and heated through the evaporator 13 , a pipe 79 , and a pipe 80 . Water and steam are separated from each other in the steam drum 31 . The steam is supplied via a pipe 57 to the superheater 14 . The steam supplied to the superheater 14 is further heated to be turned into superheated steam, which is supplied to the pipe 55 .
A description will now be given of how the gas turbine system in the present embodiment is operated at the time of starting up and shut-down.
When moisture is prevented from being condensed in the gas turbine, such as when the gas turbine system is starting up or shut down, and when steam is not needed as after load rejection, a steam nozzle adjusting valve 91 is operatively opened and, at the same time, a superheated steam adjusting valve 90 is operatively closed first. In this way, superheated steam, led to the pipe 58 , is jetted from the steam nozzle 15 toward the direction of the exhaust gas passage of the heat recovery steam generator 10 . In addition, the inflow of the superheated steam toward the gas turbine is blocked.
The superheated steam jetted from the steam nozzle 15 toward the direction of the exhaust gas passage of the heat recovery steam generator 10 could be drained after being condensed with the high-temperature economizer 12 or the low-temperature economizer 13 in the heat recovery steam generator 10 in some cases. Such drain passes through the inclined structure 16 of the lower portion of the casing 10 a of the heat recovery steam generator 10 , goes through the minimum height portion on the most-downstream side and is stored in the drain tank 32 . Then, the drain is discharged by the drain pump 41 to the outside of the system of the AHAT.
According to the first embodiment of the AHAT of the present invention described above, the bypass system is installed at the steam outlet of the heat recovery steam generator 10 . The bypass system bypasses the gas turbine and leads the generated steam into the inside of the system of the AHAT. Therefore, the amount of water consumed when the gas turbine is starting up, shut down, or subjected to load rejection can be reduced. As a result, the amount of makeup water to be supplied from the outside when the gas turbine is starting up, shut down, or subjected to load rejection can be reduced. Therefore, a reduction in starting up cost can be achieved.
The present embodiment describes as an example the case where the steam nozzle 15 is installed on the most-upstream side of the exhaust gas passage of heat recovery steam generator 10 . However, the present invention is not limited to this. The steam nozzle 15 can also be disposed on areas where the following conditions are met: the exhaust gas temperature in the exhaust gas passage of the heat recovery steam generator 10 is higher than saturated temperature corresponding to the inner pressure of the steam drum 31 ; and water condensation does not occur at the installation portion of the exhaust nozzle 15 . These conditions are in order to avoid the problem such as a thermal shock. For example, a configuration is available in which the steam nozzle 15 is installed between the evaporator 13 and the superheater 14 . Another possible configuration is that in which the evaporator 13 is divided into two evaporators and the steam nozzle 15 is installed between such two evaporators 13 .
The present embodiment describes as an example the case where the drain discharge system including the drain pipe 82 , the drain tank 32 , and the drain pump 41 is provided to discharge the drain in the heat recovery steam generator 10 . However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present embodiment may be configured such that drain can directly be discharged from the inclined structure 16 to the water recovery system 6 . In this way, the drain discharge system can be omitted.
[Second Embodiments]
A second embodiment of an AHAT according to the present invention is hereinafter described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a second embodiment of the AHAT of the present invention. In FIG. 2 , the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote like portions and their detailed explanations are thus omitted.
The AHAT according to the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 is composed of almost the same devices as those in the first embodiment but is different from that of the first embodiment in the following configuration. In the present embodiment, the steam nozzle 15 is installed inside the water recovery system 6 . The drain exhaust system including the drain pipe 82 , the drain tank 32 , and the drain pump 41 is omitted. The lower portion of the casing 10 a of the heat recovery steam generator 10 is configured not to have the inclined structure but to have a flat structure.
In the second embodiment of the AHAT, when moisture is prevented from being condensed in the gas turbine, such as when the gas turbine system is starting up or shut down, and when steam is not needed as after load rejection, a steam nozzle adjusting valve 91 is operatively opened and, at the same time, a superheated steam adjusting valve 90 is operatively closed first. As a result, superheated steam, led to the pipe 58 , is jetted from the steam nozzle 15 toward the inside of the water recovery system 6 . In addition, the inflow of the superheated steam toward the gas turbine is blocked. The superheated steam jetted into the water recovery system 6 is condensed into recovery water 20 by use of the cooling water jetted from a spray nozzle 120 . The recovery water 20 is recovered into the system of the AHAT.
Incidentally, the superheated steam jetted from the steam nozzle 15 is of a high temperature, which deviates from the temperature conditions inside the water recovery system 6 . However, the steam nozzle 15 is arranged so as not to come into direct contact with members constituting the water recovery system 6 . Thus, the water recovery system 6 can be designed on the basis of normal operational specifications.
The second embodiment of the AHAT of the present invention described above can produce the same advantages as those of the first embodiment.
According to the second embodiment of the AHAT of the present invention, drain is unlikely to occur in the heat recovery steam generator 10 . It is not necessary to install the drain discharge system and to configure the lower portion of the casing 10 a of the heat recovery steam generator 10 as the inclined structure. Accordingly, production costs can be reduced.
[Third Embodiments]
A third embodiment of an AHAT according to the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating the third embodiment of the AHAT of the present invention. In FIG. 3 , the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote like portions and their detailed explanations are thus omitted.
The AHAT according to the third embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3 is composed of almost the same devices as those in the first embodiment but is different from that of the first embodiment in the following configuration. The pipe 58 is connected at one end thereof to the branch portion 56 of the pipe 55 and at the other end to the cooler of the gas turbine system. The drain exhaust system including the drain pipe 82 , the drain tank 32 , and the drain pump 41 is omitted. The lower portion of the casing 10 a of the heat recovery steam generator 10 is configured so as not to have the inclined structure but to have a flat structure.
In the third embodiment of the AHAT, when moisture is prevented from being condensed in the gas turbine, such as when the gas turbine system is starting up or shut down, and when steam is not needed as after load rejection, a steam nozzle adjusting valve 91 is operatively opened and, at the same time, a superheated steam adjusting valve 90 is operatively closed first. As a result, superheated steam is led to the pipe 58 and the inflow of the superheated steam toward the gas turbine is blocked. The superheated steam led to the pipe 58 is condensed for reuse by use of the cooler located on the outside of the system of the AHAT.
The third embodiment of the AHAT of the present invention described above can produce the same advantages as those of the first embodiment. | One of the objects of the invention is to provide a water-saving type advanced humid air gas turbine system (AHAT) that can decrease the amount of makeup water to be supplied from the outside, by reducing the amount of water consumed when the gas turbine system is starting up, shut down, or subjected to load rejection. The gas turbine system includes a compressor, the compressed air header for generating humidified combustion air, a combustor for generating combustion gas, and the turbine. When the gas turbine system is starting up, shut down or subjected to load rejection, steam coming from the heat recovery steam generator is recovered by blocking the first steam system and making the second steam system communicate with the heat recovery steam generator. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the concept presented in the passage. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to advanced humid air gas turbine systems.",
"Specifically, the invention relates to an advanced humid air gas turbine system that recovers moisture from exhaust gas after combustion and recycles it as humid air.",
"Description of the Related Art In the operation of a gas turbine system, it is widely known in the art that steam is introduced into compressed air for combustion in order to improve power generation efficiency.",
"This is because the introduction of steam increases the amount of working fluid, i.e., the compressed air for combustion to reduce the power necessary for a compressor to work.",
"The advanced humid air gas turbine system (hereinafter, referred to as AHAT) exemplified in JP-2010-255456-A is configured as follows.",
"Steam introduced into a gas turbine from exhaust gas after combustion is condensed and recovered as recovered water.",
"Impurities are removed from the recovered water with the use of an impurity removing device.",
"Such recovered water is used to humidify the compressed air for combustion to be turned into humid compressed air for combustion.",
"This system allows the heat present in the exhaust gas after combustion to be recovered to the inlet side of the combustor, which in turn raises the temperature of the compressed air for combustion.",
"The system further improves the power generation efficiency as a result of the reduction in the fuel consumption.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The AHAT includes a water recovery system for recovering moisture from the exhaust gas of the gas turbine and a superheated steam generation system for generating superheated steam in the heat recovery steam generator that uses the exhaust gas of the gas turbine as a heat source.",
"The superheated steam generated in the superheated steam generation system is introduced into the compressed air for combustion in the gas turbine.",
"Incidentally, in the operation of the gas turbine, superheated steam is not introduced into compressed air for combustion in order to prevent moisture from being condensed in the gas turbine at the time of start-up and shut-down.",
"Also in the case of operation after load rejection has been carried out due to a system failure or the like during the operation of the gas turbine system, superheated steam is not introduced into compressed air for combustion.",
"If such a gas turbine cannot introduce superheated steam, the conventional AHAT is operated such that the superheated steam generated at a relief valve installed at the outlet of the hear recovery steam generator is discharged to the outside of the system.",
"When the AHAT is operated with DSS (Daily Start and Stop) cycles or it takes a long period of time until resynchronization after the load rejection, the amount of consumed water will increase.",
"The increased amount of makeup water results in a rising running cost.",
"The present invention has been made in view of above-mentioned situations and aims to provide a water-saving type advanced humid air gas turbine system that can reduce the amount of makeup water to be supplied from the outside by reducing the amount of consumed water when the gas turbine system is starting up, shut down or subjected to load rejection.",
"To solve the foregoing problems, an aspect of the present invention incorporates, for example, the arrangements of the appended claims.",
"This application includes a plurality of means for solving the problems.",
"An exemplary aspect of the present invention provides an advanced humid air gas turbine system (AHAT) including: a gas turbine system;",
"a heat recovery steam generator for generating steam by use of exhaust gas from a turbine;",
"a water recovery system disposed on the downstream side of the heat recovery steam generator, the water recovery system recovering moisture contained in the exhaust gas;",
"a first steam system for supplying steam, coming from the heat recovery steam generator, to a compressed air header;",
"and a second steam system for supplying steam, coming from the heat recovery steam generator, to the heat recovery steam generator or the water recovery system.",
"The gas turbine system includes a compressor for compressing air, the compressed air header for mixing high-pressure air introduced from the compressor with steam so as to generate humidified combustion air, a combustor for mixing the combustion air from the compressed air header with fuel for sake of combustion so as to generate combustion gas, and the turbine driven by the combustion gas that is generated by the combustor.",
"When the gas turbine system is starting up, shut down or subjected to load rejection, steam coming from the heat recovery steam generator is recovered by blocking the first steam system and making the second steam system communicate with the heat recovery steam generator.",
"According to the present invention, the bypass system which bypasses the gas turbine and leads the generated steam into the system of the advanced humid air gas turbine system is installed at the steam outlet of the heat recovery steam generator.",
"The amount of water consumed when the gas turbine is starting up, shut down, or subjected to load rejection can be reduced.",
"The amount of makeup water to be supplied from the outside when the gas turbine is starting up, shut down, or subjected to load rejection can be reduced.",
"Thus, a reduction in starting up cost can be achieved.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a first embodiment of an AHAT of the present invention;",
"FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a second embodiment of an AHAT of the present invention;",
"and FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a third embodiment of an AHAT of the present invention.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of an AHAT of the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the drawings.",
"[First Embodiments] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a first embodiment of the AHAT of the present invention.",
"The AHAT includes a gas turbine system, a heat recovery steam generator 10 and a water recovery system 6 as a basic configuration.",
"The gas turbine system includes a compressor 1 , a compressed air header 2 , a combustor 3 , a turbine 4 , a drive shaft 1 A, and a generator 5 .",
"The compressor 1 , the turbine 4 , and the generator 5 are mechanically connected to one another by means of the drive shaft 1 A. The compressor 1 sucks and compresses outside air and supplies the compressed air as combustion air to the compressed air header 2 via a flow passage 51 .",
"The compressed air header 2 mixes superheated steam with the combustion air to generate humidified combustion air.",
"The superheated steam is supplied from a superheater 14 of the heat recovery steam generator 10 via a pipe 52 and a pipe 55 to the compressed air header 2 .",
"The combustor 3 mixes the humidified combustion air supplied thereto via a flow passage 53 with fuel F supplied thereto via a pipe 50 for combustion to generate high-temperature and high-pressure combustion gas.",
"This combustion gas is introduced via a flow passage 54 to the turbine 4 to drive the turbine 4 , thereby driving the compressor 1 and the generator 5 via the drive shaft 1 A. The rotary power of the turbine 4 is converted into electricity by the generator 5 .",
"The heat recovery steam generator 10 is equipment that uses, as a heat source, exhaust gas that has driven the turbine 4 in the gas turbine system to generate steam.",
"The heat recovery steam generator 10 includes a box-shaped casing 10 a which covers its outer circumferential portion with a lagging material;",
"an upstream opening portion provided on the upstream side of the casing 10 a and connected to a duct 60 adapted to introduce exhaust gas that has driven the turbine 4 ;",
"an exhaust gas passage through which the exhaust gas introduced from the upstream opening portion flows;",
"a heat exchanger group;",
"and a downstream opening portion provided on the downstream side of the casing 10 a and adapted to supply the exhaust gas having passed through the heat exchanger group to a water recover system 6 .",
"The heat exchanger group is composed of the superheater 14 , an evaporator 13 equipped with a steam drum 31 , a high-temperature economizer 12 and a low-temperature economizer 11 , which are arranged in this order from the upstream in the exhaust gas passage.",
"In the present embodiment, a steam nozzle 15 for jetting superheated steam in the direction of the exhaust gas passage is provided on the upstream side of the superheater 14 in the exhaust gas passage of the heat recovery steam generator 10 .",
"A pipe 58 is connected at one end thereof to the header of the steam nozzle 15 .",
"The pipe 58 has the other end coupled to a branch portion 56 provided on the pipe 55 connecting the heater 14 of the heat recovery steam generator 10 to the compressed air header 2 .",
"A steam nozzle adjusting valve 91 and an orifice 100 are provided on the pipe 58 , the steam nozzle adjusting valve 91 being adapted to adjust the flow rate of superheated steam supplied to the steam nozzle 15 .",
"The steam nozzle adjusting valve 91 is closed during normal operation.",
"In the present embodiment, the lower structure of the casing 10 a corresponding to the bottom of the heat recovery steam generator 10 is designed as an inclined structure 16 where the inclination descends from the upstream side toward the downstream side.",
"A pipe 82 is provided at a minimum height portion on the most-downstream side of the inclined structure 16 .",
"This pipe 82 is made to communicate with a drain tank 32 for storing drain.",
"The drain stored in the drain tank 32 is discharged to the outside of the AHAT by means of a pipe 83 arranged to extend toward the outside thereof, and a drain pump 41 installed on the pipe 83 .",
"The water recovery system 6 sprays cooling water from a spray nozzle 120 to the exhaust gas from the heat recovery steam generator 10 to condense the moisture in the exhaust gas into water.",
"The water recovery system 6 mixes such water with cooling water and recovers the mixture as recovery water 20 .",
"The remaining gas component resulting from removing the moisture from the exhaust gas is discharged to the atmosphere from a funnel 110 provided on the upper portion of the water recovery system 6 .",
"As the cooling water to be sprayed from the spray nozzle 120 , the recovery water 20 is used that is supplied from the lower portion of the water recovery system 6 via a pipe 81 to an outside cooler (not shown) in which the water is cooled.",
"The recovery water 20 supplied to the outside cooler for cooling may be purified with a water processing device (not shown) and the purified water may be reused as the feed water of the exhaust recovery boiler 10 .",
"During the normal operation of the gas turbine system, the exhaust gas having driven the turbine 4 is supplied via the duct 60 to the heat recovery steam generator 10 before being subjected to heat exchange with the feed water or steam flowing inside the above-mentioned heat exchanger group.",
"The superheated steam, generated from the superheater 14 due to such heat exchange, after passing through the pipe 55 connecting the superheater 14 to a superheated steam adjusting valve 90 , is supplied to the compressed air header 2 via the superheated steam adjusting valve 90 and the pipe 52 .",
"The superheated steam adjusting valve 90 reduces the pressure inside the superheated steam to a pressure necessary for the gas turbine system to work.",
"As a result, humidified air to be supplied to the combustor 3 is generated.",
"Moreover, during the normal operation of the gas turbine system, water is supplied from the outside via a pipe 70 to the low-temperature economizer 11 .",
"This water is subjected to heat exchange in the low-temperature economizer 11 and is then supplied via a pipe 74 to a deaerator 30 for deaeration of the water.",
"Thereafter, such water passes through a pipe 73 and is increased in pressure at a feed-water pump 40 .",
"Then, the water is supplied via a pipe 72 to the high-temperature economizer 12 , in which the water is subjected to heat exchange.",
"The water leaving the high-temperature economizer 12 is supplied to the steam drum 31 via a pipe 78 and a pipe 76 .",
"The water supplied to the steam drum 31 is circulated and heated through the evaporator 13 , a pipe 79 , and a pipe 80 .",
"Water and steam are separated from each other in the steam drum 31 .",
"The steam is supplied via a pipe 57 to the superheater 14 .",
"The steam supplied to the superheater 14 is further heated to be turned into superheated steam, which is supplied to the pipe 55 .",
"A description will now be given of how the gas turbine system in the present embodiment is operated at the time of starting up and shut-down.",
"When moisture is prevented from being condensed in the gas turbine, such as when the gas turbine system is starting up or shut down, and when steam is not needed as after load rejection, a steam nozzle adjusting valve 91 is operatively opened and, at the same time, a superheated steam adjusting valve 90 is operatively closed first.",
"In this way, superheated steam, led to the pipe 58 , is jetted from the steam nozzle 15 toward the direction of the exhaust gas passage of the heat recovery steam generator 10 .",
"In addition, the inflow of the superheated steam toward the gas turbine is blocked.",
"The superheated steam jetted from the steam nozzle 15 toward the direction of the exhaust gas passage of the heat recovery steam generator 10 could be drained after being condensed with the high-temperature economizer 12 or the low-temperature economizer 13 in the heat recovery steam generator 10 in some cases.",
"Such drain passes through the inclined structure 16 of the lower portion of the casing 10 a of the heat recovery steam generator 10 , goes through the minimum height portion on the most-downstream side and is stored in the drain tank 32 .",
"Then, the drain is discharged by the drain pump 41 to the outside of the system of the AHAT.",
"According to the first embodiment of the AHAT of the present invention described above, the bypass system is installed at the steam outlet of the heat recovery steam generator 10 .",
"The bypass system bypasses the gas turbine and leads the generated steam into the inside of the system of the AHAT.",
"Therefore, the amount of water consumed when the gas turbine is starting up, shut down, or subjected to load rejection can be reduced.",
"As a result, the amount of makeup water to be supplied from the outside when the gas turbine is starting up, shut down, or subjected to load rejection can be reduced.",
"Therefore, a reduction in starting up cost can be achieved.",
"The present embodiment describes as an example the case where the steam nozzle 15 is installed on the most-upstream side of the exhaust gas passage of heat recovery steam generator 10 .",
"However, the present invention is not limited to this.",
"The steam nozzle 15 can also be disposed on areas where the following conditions are met: the exhaust gas temperature in the exhaust gas passage of the heat recovery steam generator 10 is higher than saturated temperature corresponding to the inner pressure of the steam drum 31 ;",
"and water condensation does not occur at the installation portion of the exhaust nozzle 15 .",
"These conditions are in order to avoid the problem such as a thermal shock.",
"For example, a configuration is available in which the steam nozzle 15 is installed between the evaporator 13 and the superheater 14 .",
"Another possible configuration is that in which the evaporator 13 is divided into two evaporators and the steam nozzle 15 is installed between such two evaporators 13 .",
"The present embodiment describes as an example the case where the drain discharge system including the drain pipe 82 , the drain tank 32 , and the drain pump 41 is provided to discharge the drain in the heat recovery steam generator 10 .",
"However, the present invention is not limited to this.",
"The present embodiment may be configured such that drain can directly be discharged from the inclined structure 16 to the water recovery system 6 .",
"In this way, the drain discharge system can be omitted.",
"[Second Embodiments] A second embodiment of an AHAT according to the present invention is hereinafter described with reference to the drawings.",
"FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a second embodiment of the AHAT of the present invention.",
"In FIG. 2 , the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote like portions and their detailed explanations are thus omitted.",
"The AHAT according to the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 is composed of almost the same devices as those in the first embodiment but is different from that of the first embodiment in the following configuration.",
"In the present embodiment, the steam nozzle 15 is installed inside the water recovery system 6 .",
"The drain exhaust system including the drain pipe 82 , the drain tank 32 , and the drain pump 41 is omitted.",
"The lower portion of the casing 10 a of the heat recovery steam generator 10 is configured not to have the inclined structure but to have a flat structure.",
"In the second embodiment of the AHAT, when moisture is prevented from being condensed in the gas turbine, such as when the gas turbine system is starting up or shut down, and when steam is not needed as after load rejection, a steam nozzle adjusting valve 91 is operatively opened and, at the same time, a superheated steam adjusting valve 90 is operatively closed first.",
"As a result, superheated steam, led to the pipe 58 , is jetted from the steam nozzle 15 toward the inside of the water recovery system 6 .",
"In addition, the inflow of the superheated steam toward the gas turbine is blocked.",
"The superheated steam jetted into the water recovery system 6 is condensed into recovery water 20 by use of the cooling water jetted from a spray nozzle 120 .",
"The recovery water 20 is recovered into the system of the AHAT.",
"Incidentally, the superheated steam jetted from the steam nozzle 15 is of a high temperature, which deviates from the temperature conditions inside the water recovery system 6 .",
"However, the steam nozzle 15 is arranged so as not to come into direct contact with members constituting the water recovery system 6 .",
"Thus, the water recovery system 6 can be designed on the basis of normal operational specifications.",
"The second embodiment of the AHAT of the present invention described above can produce the same advantages as those of the first embodiment.",
"According to the second embodiment of the AHAT of the present invention, drain is unlikely to occur in the heat recovery steam generator 10 .",
"It is not necessary to install the drain discharge system and to configure the lower portion of the casing 10 a of the heat recovery steam generator 10 as the inclined structure.",
"Accordingly, production costs can be reduced.",
"[Third Embodiments] A third embodiment of an AHAT according to the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the drawings.",
"FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating the third embodiment of the AHAT of the present invention.",
"In FIG. 3 , the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote like portions and their detailed explanations are thus omitted.",
"The AHAT according to the third embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3 is composed of almost the same devices as those in the first embodiment but is different from that of the first embodiment in the following configuration.",
"The pipe 58 is connected at one end thereof to the branch portion 56 of the pipe 55 and at the other end to the cooler of the gas turbine system.",
"The drain exhaust system including the drain pipe 82 , the drain tank 32 , and the drain pump 41 is omitted.",
"The lower portion of the casing 10 a of the heat recovery steam generator 10 is configured so as not to have the inclined structure but to have a flat structure.",
"In the third embodiment of the AHAT, when moisture is prevented from being condensed in the gas turbine, such as when the gas turbine system is starting up or shut down, and when steam is not needed as after load rejection, a steam nozzle adjusting valve 91 is operatively opened and, at the same time, a superheated steam adjusting valve 90 is operatively closed first.",
"As a result, superheated steam is led to the pipe 58 and the inflow of the superheated steam toward the gas turbine is blocked.",
"The superheated steam led to the pipe 58 is condensed for reuse by use of the cooler located on the outside of the system of the AHAT.",
"The third embodiment of the AHAT of the present invention described above can produce the same advantages as those of the first embodiment."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This U.S. utility patent application is a national stage application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of international application PCT/KR2014/003715, filed Apr. 28, 2014, and claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0057210, filed May 21, 2013, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates to a rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container in which, when a button part rotates, guide protrusions move along a bottom surface of a pumping guide formed on an inner peripheral surface of a button part and then an ascending and descending member ascends and descends, whereby a pumping action is conducted. Therefore, the container presently described discharges contents in a fixed state in which the height of the button part is not changed, and is thereby capable of preventing contents from unnecessarily leaking caused by unintentionally pressing a button by means of an external pressure.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Generally, cosmetics containers having a function of discharging cosmetics have a structure wherein cosmetics are pumped by pressing a valve such as a CV valve.
[0004] However, in such a structure of those existing cosmetics containers, there arises a problem when cosmetics to be discharged have high viscosity. In other words, the problem is difficulty in use because considerably strong pressing is needed to discharge cosmetics with high viscosity.
[0005] Furthermore, to restore a valve to its original position after pumping, generally restoring force of a spring which is installed in a pump or attached at the exterior should be used. In this case, when high viscosity cosmetics are used, restoration of these springs does not go smoothly.
[0006] If increasing elasticity of the spring to resolve difficulty of restoring a valve, as much pressing force as the elasticity of the spring increases is required so that cosmetics should be discharged; therefore, it leads to further inconvenience in use.
[0007] To resolve these problems, registered patent no. 10-1219009 was proposed by the present inventor.
[0008] The registered patent has a feature in that, when a rotating collar 140 rotates, guide protrusions 162 are guided upwards and downwards in a state of keeping guide protrusions 162 positioned to sideway by a upper and lower guide grooves 123, and descends along a rotating guide groove 141, and therefore, a button 160 descends and presses the check valve 130, thereby discharging contents.
[0009] However, there arises a problem that since the registered patent has a structure wherein a button 160 ascends and descends when a rotating collar 140 rotates, a separated space is formed between the rotating collar 140 and the button 160 for the ascent and descent of the button 160, causing not only the button 160 to shake when the button 160 ascends and descends but foreign material to flow in and adhere, and thereby the problem arises that the button 160 does not work smoothly.
[0010] Furthermore, there arises another problem that when a button is pressed by external pressure in a bag, a rotation collar is rotated, and thereby results in unnecessary spilling of contents.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0011] The present disclosure is devised to solve the said problems above, and its goal is to provide a rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container in which, when a button part rotates, guide protrusions move along a bottom surface of a pumping guide formed on an inner peripheral surface of a button part and then an ascending and descending member ascends and descends, whereby a pumping action is conducted. Therefore, the presently described container discharges contents in a fixed state in which the height of the button part is not changed, and is thereby capable of preventing contents from unnecessarily leaking caused by unintentionally pressing a button by means of an external pressure.
[0012] To solve the above problems, it is featured that a rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to the present disclosure comprises a container body which contains contents, equipped with a piston that ascends according to the use of contents therein; a housing which is combined to the container body, comprising a contents inflow part which forms a contents inflow hole in the center of a lower end so that contents held in the container body may flow in, and forming a multitude of vertical guide grooves formed with fixed distance apart along an outer circumferential surface; a button part which is combined at an upper portion of the housing to be rotatable, comprising a rotation guide which is combined and forms a flexure portion upwards and downwards alternatively, encasing an inner circumferential surface, and a discharging hole on an upper portion of the button part where contents are discharged; and an ascending and descending member which ascends and descends by rotation of the button part, comprising a multitude of guide grooves which move along a bottom surface of the rotation guide in a state of being inserted into the vertical guide grooves at an outer circumferential surface and therein ascend and descend inside the vertical guide grooves.
[0013] Furthermore, it is featured that at an inner side of the ascending and descending member is combined a piston rod moving along the movement of the ascending and descending member, and at a lower portion of the piston is combined a seal cap which closely and tightly encases an inner circumferential surface of the content inflow part, thereby changing inner pressure of the contents inflow part according to the ascent and descent of the piston rod and guiding the contents held in the container body to the contents inflow part.
[0014] Furthermore, it is featured that the housing comprises a combining ring which makes the button part combined so as to be rotatable to the housing.
[0015] Furthermore, it is featured that at an inner side of the button part is equipped a combining tube which extends downwards, encasing the discharging hole, and guides a vertical movement of an ascending and descending member. At the ascending and descending member is equipped a contents movement tube which is combined to the combing tube, ascends and descends along an inner surface of the combining tube, and therein forms a passage where contents move.
[0016] Furthermore, it is featured that at the discharging hole is combined a nozzle tip which opens when contents are discharged, and at an inner circumferential surface are formed a multitude of support protrusions which form a nozzle-tip combining hole so as to support the nozzle tip.
[0017] Furthermore, it is featured that the nozzle tip comprises an opening and closing plate which covers an upper end of the discharging hole, and a support bar which extends from a center to an lower portion of the opening and closing plate, is combined to the nozzle-tip combining hole, and supports the opening and closing plate. Wherein at a lower portion of the support bar, the nozzle tip moves upward encasing an outer circumferential surface and forms a fixing protrusion.
[0018] Furthermore, it is featured that an upper end of the fixing protrusion is positioned, detached from a lower end of the support protrusion, and then moves to an upper portion by the pressure and meets to a lower end of the support protrusion when contents are discharged.
[0019] As mentioned above, the presently described embodiments have an advantage that when a button part rotates, guide protrusions move along a bottom surface of a pumping guide formed on an inner peripheral surface of a button part and then an ascending and descending member ascends and descends, whereby a pumping action is conducted. Therefore, the presently described container discharges contents in a fixed state in which the height of the button part is not changed, and is thereby capable of preventing contents from unnecessarily leaking caused by unintentionally pressing a button by means of an external pressure.
[0020] Furthermore, the presently described container has an advantage that when contents are discharged, a nozzle tip moves upwards by a narrow margin and then direction of discharging is changed by an opening and closing plate in a state of a discharging hole being opened, thereby resulting in a side way discharging. Additionally, it prevents contents from being discharged and shot abruptly.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0022] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of the rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0023] FIG. 3 is an explanatory drawing illustrating a moving state of guide protrusions of the rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0024] FIG. 4 is an explanatory drawing illustrating the operational state of the rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0025] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals provided in the drawings indicate the same members.
[0026] FIG . 1 is a perspective view illustrating a rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of the rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory drawing illustrating a moving state of guide protrusions of the rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0027] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 , a rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment includes a container body 100 , a housing 200 , a button part 300 , and an ascending and descending member 400 .
[0028] The container body 100 that contains contents comprises a piston which ascends inside the container body according to the use of contents.
[0029] The housing 200 , which is combined to an upper portion of the container body 1100 and sucks in contents contained in the container body 100 by pumping action according to the ascent and descent of an ascending and descending member 400 , comprises a contents inflow part 210 which forms a contents inflow hole 211 at the center of a lower end of the housing 100 so that contents contained in the container body 100 may flow in.
[0030] At the contents inflow hole 211 is installed a check valve 212 which opens and closes a contents inflow part 210 by the pressure generated in the interior of the contents inflow part 210 when a piston rod 430 and a seal cap 440 ascend and descend inside the contents inflow part 210 .
[0031] On the other hand, according to the present disclosure, at an outer circumferential surface of the housing 200 is longitudinally installed a vertical guide groove so that a guide groove 410 to be described later is inserted and guided upwards and downwards. The vertical guide grooves 220 are preferred to be installed in a way that three of the grooves are formed with a fixed distance apart in an interval of 120 degree as in FIG. 1 so as for an ascending and descending member 400 to function stably.
[0032] In the presently described embodiments, the vertical guide grooves 220 is viewed as three grooves are formed with a fixed distance apart in an interval of 120 degree; however, it is possible to install a variety of exemplary embodiments such as installing two of the grooves on both sides.
[0033] Meanwhile, an over cap 700 , encasing a button part 300 , is combined at an outer side of the housing 200 so as to be attached and detached easily.
[0034] The button part 300 is rotatably combined to an upper portion of the housing 200 , comprising a discharging hole 320 on the upper end where contents are discharged.
[0035] At the discharging hole 320 is combined a nozzle tip 600 which opens when contents are discharged, wherein at an inner circumferential surface are installed a multitude of support protrusion 321 so as to support the nozzle tip 600 , as protrusively forming a nozzle-tip combining hole 322 with a fixed distance detached. The multitude of the support protrusions 321 makes contents move upwards through a space separated with a fixed distance.
[0036] The nozzle tip 600 comprises an opening and closing plate 610 in a circular shape which is positioned in a state that a discharging hole 320 is closed when in ordinary condition and then positioned in a state that a discharging hole 320 is opened by the pressure of contents, and a support bar 620 which is extended from the center of a lower end of the opening and closing plate 610 and combined to the nozzle-tip combining hole 322 , thereby supporting the opening and closing plate 610 . It is desired that a fixing protrusion 621 should be installed, encasing an outer circumferential surface at a lower portion of the support bar 620 , so as to prevent the nozzle tip 600 from moving upwards and being detached from a discharging hole 320 .
[0037] An upper end of the fixing protrusion 621 is positioned, detached from a lower end of the support protrusion 321 , and moves upwards by the pressure generated when contents are discharged, thereby meeting a lower end of the support protrusion 321 . Therefore, contents are not discharged as an opening and closing plate 610 is being overturned upwards. Instead, contents moving upwards are discharged to a sideway by an opening and closing plate 610 in a state that a nozzle tip 600 moves upwards with as small a margin as a detached space between a support protrusion 321 and a fixing protrusion 621 and thereby opens a discharging hole 320 , as a result, preventing contents from being shot outwards.
[0038] Furthermore, the nozzle tip 600 is closely contacted to an inner surface of a combining tube 330 and closes a discharging hole 320 when a contents movement tube 420 which ascends and descends, is ascending, thereby preventing contents discharged to an upper end of a button part 300 from being sucked to a contents movement tube 420 .
[0039] Meanwhile, it is featured that at an inner surface of the button part 300 is installed a rotation guide 310 which forms a flexure portion upwards and downwards alternatively, encasing an inner circumferential surface. The rotation guide 310 , as viewed in FIG. 3 , guides the movement of guide protrusions 410 along a bottom surface when the button 300 rotates, wherein the guide protrusions 410 are descended by pressurization of the rotation guide 310 while the guide protrusions 410 are ascended by elastic force of springs.
[0040] Meanwhile, at an inner surface of the button part 300 is installed a combining tube 330 which encases the discharging hole 320 , and extends downwards, wherein the combining tube 330 guides the movement of a contents movement tube 420 which moves along an inner wall of the combining tube 330 , moving vertically without distortion when the ascending and descending member 400 ascends and descends.
[0041] Meanwhile, between the button part 300 and the housing 200 is installed a combining ring 500 which rotatably combines the button part 300 to the housing 200 .
[0042] The ascending and descending member 400 is ascended an descended by rotation of the button part 300 , and causes a pumping action for moving contents held in the container body 100 to the discharging hole 320 , wherein at an inner surface is combined a piston rod 430 which moves along the movement of the ascending and descending member 400 . And at a lower portion of the piston rod 430 is combined a seal cap 440 which closely encases an inner circumferential surface of the contents inflow part 210 and changes the pressure of an interior of the contents inflow part 210 by the ascent and descent of the piston rod 430 and guides contents held in the container body 100 to flow into the interior of the contents inflow part 210 .
[0043] It is featured that at an outer circumferential surface of the ascending and descending member 400 are installed a multitude of guide protrusions 410 which move along a bottom surface of the rotation guide 310 in a state of being inserted into the vertical guide groove 220 and ascend and descend inside the vertical guide groove 220 . The guide protrusions 410 are pressed by the surface of the rotation guide 310 when the button part 300 rotates, and then moves downwards inside of the vertical guide groove 220 , and thereby, descends the ascending and descending member 400 , making it possible that contents flowing into the contents inflow part 210 can move to an upper portion according to the change of pressure of the contents inflow part 210 ; meanwhile, when pressurization by the rotation guide 310 is released, in other words, when the guide protrusions 410 move up from the lowest point of the flexure portion formed alternatively, the guide protrusions 410 ascend along a bottom surface of the rotation guide 310 by elastic force of springs and moves upwards inside the vertical guide groove 220 , thereby ascending the ascending and descending member 400 and making it possible that contents held in the container body 100 can be sucked into a contents inflow part 210 according to the change of pressure of the contents inflow part 210 .
[0044] Meanwhile, at the ascending and descending member 400 is combined a contents movement tube 420 which is combined to the combining tube 330 and ascends and descends along an inner wall of the combining tube 330 , therein forming a passage where contents move.
[0045] In the following, referring to FIG. 4 , an operational procedure of a rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment will be explained. FIG. 4 is an explanatory drawing illustrating an operational state of a rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0046] Referring to FIG. 4 , as for a rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment, when a user rotates a button part 300 in a state that contents flow into the interior of a contents inflow part 210 , guide protrusions 410 of an ascending and descending member 400 move along a rotation guide 310 formed at an inner surface of the button part 300 ; at this moment, due to the shape of the rotation guide 310 , the guide protrusions 410 move downwards inside the vertical guide groove 220 as descending the ascending and descending member 400 .
[0047] When the ascending and descending member 400 descends as the above, the pressure inside the contents inflow part 210 changes as a piston rod 430 and a seal cap 440 descend together, which leads contents flowing into the contents inflow part 210 is discharged through a contents movement tube 420 ; at the moment, contents moving upwards move to a sideway by an opening and closing plate 610 , in a state that a nozzle tip 600 moves upwards with as small a margin as a detached space between a support protrusion 321 and a fixing protrusion 621 and thereby opens a discharging hole 320 , and are discharged at an upper end of the button part 300 .
[0048] In the presently described embodiments, contents are not discharged directly to a upward direction, but to a sideway after the discharging direction is changed by an opening and closing plate 610 in a state that a nozzle tip 600 moves upward with a small margin and firstly opens a discharging hole 320 , and therefore prevents contents from being shot abruptly.
[0049] As described above, optimal embodiments have been disclosed in the drawings and the specification. Although specific terms have been used herein, these are only intended to describe the disclosed embodiments and are not intended to limit the meanings of the terms or to restrict the scope recited in the accompanying claims. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and other equivalent embodiments are possible from the above embodiments. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be defined by the technical spirit of the accompanying claims. | The present invention relates to a rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container in which, when a button part rotates, guide protrusions move along a bottom surface of a pumping guide formed on an inner peripheral surface of the button part and then an ascending and descending member ascends and descends, whereby a pumping action is conducted. Therefore, the container of the present invention discharges contents in a fixed state in which the height of the button part is not changed, and is thereby capable of preventing contents from unnecessarily leaking due to pressing a button by means of an external pressure. | Identify and summarize the most critical features from the given passage. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This U.S. utility patent application is a national stage application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of international application PCT/KR2014/003715, filed Apr. 28, 2014, and claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0057210, filed May 21, 2013, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.",
"TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD [0002] The present disclosure relates to a rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container in which, when a button part rotates, guide protrusions move along a bottom surface of a pumping guide formed on an inner peripheral surface of a button part and then an ascending and descending member ascends and descends, whereby a pumping action is conducted.",
"Therefore, the container presently described discharges contents in a fixed state in which the height of the button part is not changed, and is thereby capable of preventing contents from unnecessarily leaking caused by unintentionally pressing a button by means of an external pressure.",
"BACKGROUND [0003] Generally, cosmetics containers having a function of discharging cosmetics have a structure wherein cosmetics are pumped by pressing a valve such as a CV valve.",
"[0004] However, in such a structure of those existing cosmetics containers, there arises a problem when cosmetics to be discharged have high viscosity.",
"In other words, the problem is difficulty in use because considerably strong pressing is needed to discharge cosmetics with high viscosity.",
"[0005] Furthermore, to restore a valve to its original position after pumping, generally restoring force of a spring which is installed in a pump or attached at the exterior should be used.",
"In this case, when high viscosity cosmetics are used, restoration of these springs does not go smoothly.",
"[0006] If increasing elasticity of the spring to resolve difficulty of restoring a valve, as much pressing force as the elasticity of the spring increases is required so that cosmetics should be discharged;",
"therefore, it leads to further inconvenience in use.",
"[0007] To resolve these problems, registered patent no. 10-1219009 was proposed by the present inventor.",
"[0008] The registered patent has a feature in that, when a rotating collar 140 rotates, guide protrusions 162 are guided upwards and downwards in a state of keeping guide protrusions 162 positioned to sideway by a upper and lower guide grooves 123, and descends along a rotating guide groove 141, and therefore, a button 160 descends and presses the check valve 130, thereby discharging contents.",
"[0009] However, there arises a problem that since the registered patent has a structure wherein a button 160 ascends and descends when a rotating collar 140 rotates, a separated space is formed between the rotating collar 140 and the button 160 for the ascent and descent of the button 160, causing not only the button 160 to shake when the button 160 ascends and descends but foreign material to flow in and adhere, and thereby the problem arises that the button 160 does not work smoothly.",
"[0010] Furthermore, there arises another problem that when a button is pressed by external pressure in a bag, a rotation collar is rotated, and thereby results in unnecessary spilling of contents.",
"SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE [0011] The present disclosure is devised to solve the said problems above, and its goal is to provide a rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container in which, when a button part rotates, guide protrusions move along a bottom surface of a pumping guide formed on an inner peripheral surface of a button part and then an ascending and descending member ascends and descends, whereby a pumping action is conducted.",
"Therefore, the presently described container discharges contents in a fixed state in which the height of the button part is not changed, and is thereby capable of preventing contents from unnecessarily leaking caused by unintentionally pressing a button by means of an external pressure.",
"[0012] To solve the above problems, it is featured that a rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to the present disclosure comprises a container body which contains contents, equipped with a piston that ascends according to the use of contents therein;",
"a housing which is combined to the container body, comprising a contents inflow part which forms a contents inflow hole in the center of a lower end so that contents held in the container body may flow in, and forming a multitude of vertical guide grooves formed with fixed distance apart along an outer circumferential surface;",
"a button part which is combined at an upper portion of the housing to be rotatable, comprising a rotation guide which is combined and forms a flexure portion upwards and downwards alternatively, encasing an inner circumferential surface, and a discharging hole on an upper portion of the button part where contents are discharged;",
"and an ascending and descending member which ascends and descends by rotation of the button part, comprising a multitude of guide grooves which move along a bottom surface of the rotation guide in a state of being inserted into the vertical guide grooves at an outer circumferential surface and therein ascend and descend inside the vertical guide grooves.",
"[0013] Furthermore, it is featured that at an inner side of the ascending and descending member is combined a piston rod moving along the movement of the ascending and descending member, and at a lower portion of the piston is combined a seal cap which closely and tightly encases an inner circumferential surface of the content inflow part, thereby changing inner pressure of the contents inflow part according to the ascent and descent of the piston rod and guiding the contents held in the container body to the contents inflow part.",
"[0014] Furthermore, it is featured that the housing comprises a combining ring which makes the button part combined so as to be rotatable to the housing.",
"[0015] Furthermore, it is featured that at an inner side of the button part is equipped a combining tube which extends downwards, encasing the discharging hole, and guides a vertical movement of an ascending and descending member.",
"At the ascending and descending member is equipped a contents movement tube which is combined to the combing tube, ascends and descends along an inner surface of the combining tube, and therein forms a passage where contents move.",
"[0016] Furthermore, it is featured that at the discharging hole is combined a nozzle tip which opens when contents are discharged, and at an inner circumferential surface are formed a multitude of support protrusions which form a nozzle-tip combining hole so as to support the nozzle tip.",
"[0017] Furthermore, it is featured that the nozzle tip comprises an opening and closing plate which covers an upper end of the discharging hole, and a support bar which extends from a center to an lower portion of the opening and closing plate, is combined to the nozzle-tip combining hole, and supports the opening and closing plate.",
"Wherein at a lower portion of the support bar, the nozzle tip moves upward encasing an outer circumferential surface and forms a fixing protrusion.",
"[0018] Furthermore, it is featured that an upper end of the fixing protrusion is positioned, detached from a lower end of the support protrusion, and then moves to an upper portion by the pressure and meets to a lower end of the support protrusion when contents are discharged.",
"[0019] As mentioned above, the presently described embodiments have an advantage that when a button part rotates, guide protrusions move along a bottom surface of a pumping guide formed on an inner peripheral surface of a button part and then an ascending and descending member ascends and descends, whereby a pumping action is conducted.",
"Therefore, the presently described container discharges contents in a fixed state in which the height of the button part is not changed, and is thereby capable of preventing contents from unnecessarily leaking caused by unintentionally pressing a button by means of an external pressure.",
"[0020] Furthermore, the presently described container has an advantage that when contents are discharged, a nozzle tip moves upwards by a narrow margin and then direction of discharging is changed by an opening and closing plate in a state of a discharging hole being opened, thereby resulting in a side way discharging.",
"Additionally, it prevents contents from being discharged and shot abruptly.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0021] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment.",
"[0022] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of the rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment.",
"[0023] FIG. 3 is an explanatory drawing illustrating a moving state of guide protrusions of the rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment.",
"[0024] FIG. 4 is an explanatory drawing illustrating the operational state of the rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0025] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.",
"The same reference numerals provided in the drawings indicate the same members.",
"[0026] FIG .",
"1 is a perspective view illustrating a rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment.",
"FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of the rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment.",
"FIG. 3 is an explanatory drawing illustrating a moving state of guide protrusions of the rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment.",
"[0027] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 , a rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment includes a container body 100 , a housing 200 , a button part 300 , and an ascending and descending member 400 .",
"[0028] The container body 100 that contains contents comprises a piston which ascends inside the container body according to the use of contents.",
"[0029] The housing 200 , which is combined to an upper portion of the container body 1100 and sucks in contents contained in the container body 100 by pumping action according to the ascent and descent of an ascending and descending member 400 , comprises a contents inflow part 210 which forms a contents inflow hole 211 at the center of a lower end of the housing 100 so that contents contained in the container body 100 may flow in.",
"[0030] At the contents inflow hole 211 is installed a check valve 212 which opens and closes a contents inflow part 210 by the pressure generated in the interior of the contents inflow part 210 when a piston rod 430 and a seal cap 440 ascend and descend inside the contents inflow part 210 .",
"[0031] On the other hand, according to the present disclosure, at an outer circumferential surface of the housing 200 is longitudinally installed a vertical guide groove so that a guide groove 410 to be described later is inserted and guided upwards and downwards.",
"The vertical guide grooves 220 are preferred to be installed in a way that three of the grooves are formed with a fixed distance apart in an interval of 120 degree as in FIG. 1 so as for an ascending and descending member 400 to function stably.",
"[0032] In the presently described embodiments, the vertical guide grooves 220 is viewed as three grooves are formed with a fixed distance apart in an interval of 120 degree;",
"however, it is possible to install a variety of exemplary embodiments such as installing two of the grooves on both sides.",
"[0033] Meanwhile, an over cap 700 , encasing a button part 300 , is combined at an outer side of the housing 200 so as to be attached and detached easily.",
"[0034] The button part 300 is rotatably combined to an upper portion of the housing 200 , comprising a discharging hole 320 on the upper end where contents are discharged.",
"[0035] At the discharging hole 320 is combined a nozzle tip 600 which opens when contents are discharged, wherein at an inner circumferential surface are installed a multitude of support protrusion 321 so as to support the nozzle tip 600 , as protrusively forming a nozzle-tip combining hole 322 with a fixed distance detached.",
"The multitude of the support protrusions 321 makes contents move upwards through a space separated with a fixed distance.",
"[0036] The nozzle tip 600 comprises an opening and closing plate 610 in a circular shape which is positioned in a state that a discharging hole 320 is closed when in ordinary condition and then positioned in a state that a discharging hole 320 is opened by the pressure of contents, and a support bar 620 which is extended from the center of a lower end of the opening and closing plate 610 and combined to the nozzle-tip combining hole 322 , thereby supporting the opening and closing plate 610 .",
"It is desired that a fixing protrusion 621 should be installed, encasing an outer circumferential surface at a lower portion of the support bar 620 , so as to prevent the nozzle tip 600 from moving upwards and being detached from a discharging hole 320 .",
"[0037] An upper end of the fixing protrusion 621 is positioned, detached from a lower end of the support protrusion 321 , and moves upwards by the pressure generated when contents are discharged, thereby meeting a lower end of the support protrusion 321 .",
"Therefore, contents are not discharged as an opening and closing plate 610 is being overturned upwards.",
"Instead, contents moving upwards are discharged to a sideway by an opening and closing plate 610 in a state that a nozzle tip 600 moves upwards with as small a margin as a detached space between a support protrusion 321 and a fixing protrusion 621 and thereby opens a discharging hole 320 , as a result, preventing contents from being shot outwards.",
"[0038] Furthermore, the nozzle tip 600 is closely contacted to an inner surface of a combining tube 330 and closes a discharging hole 320 when a contents movement tube 420 which ascends and descends, is ascending, thereby preventing contents discharged to an upper end of a button part 300 from being sucked to a contents movement tube 420 .",
"[0039] Meanwhile, it is featured that at an inner surface of the button part 300 is installed a rotation guide 310 which forms a flexure portion upwards and downwards alternatively, encasing an inner circumferential surface.",
"The rotation guide 310 , as viewed in FIG. 3 , guides the movement of guide protrusions 410 along a bottom surface when the button 300 rotates, wherein the guide protrusions 410 are descended by pressurization of the rotation guide 310 while the guide protrusions 410 are ascended by elastic force of springs.",
"[0040] Meanwhile, at an inner surface of the button part 300 is installed a combining tube 330 which encases the discharging hole 320 , and extends downwards, wherein the combining tube 330 guides the movement of a contents movement tube 420 which moves along an inner wall of the combining tube 330 , moving vertically without distortion when the ascending and descending member 400 ascends and descends.",
"[0041] Meanwhile, between the button part 300 and the housing 200 is installed a combining ring 500 which rotatably combines the button part 300 to the housing 200 .",
"[0042] The ascending and descending member 400 is ascended an descended by rotation of the button part 300 , and causes a pumping action for moving contents held in the container body 100 to the discharging hole 320 , wherein at an inner surface is combined a piston rod 430 which moves along the movement of the ascending and descending member 400 .",
"And at a lower portion of the piston rod 430 is combined a seal cap 440 which closely encases an inner circumferential surface of the contents inflow part 210 and changes the pressure of an interior of the contents inflow part 210 by the ascent and descent of the piston rod 430 and guides contents held in the container body 100 to flow into the interior of the contents inflow part 210 .",
"[0043] It is featured that at an outer circumferential surface of the ascending and descending member 400 are installed a multitude of guide protrusions 410 which move along a bottom surface of the rotation guide 310 in a state of being inserted into the vertical guide groove 220 and ascend and descend inside the vertical guide groove 220 .",
"The guide protrusions 410 are pressed by the surface of the rotation guide 310 when the button part 300 rotates, and then moves downwards inside of the vertical guide groove 220 , and thereby, descends the ascending and descending member 400 , making it possible that contents flowing into the contents inflow part 210 can move to an upper portion according to the change of pressure of the contents inflow part 210 ;",
"meanwhile, when pressurization by the rotation guide 310 is released, in other words, when the guide protrusions 410 move up from the lowest point of the flexure portion formed alternatively, the guide protrusions 410 ascend along a bottom surface of the rotation guide 310 by elastic force of springs and moves upwards inside the vertical guide groove 220 , thereby ascending the ascending and descending member 400 and making it possible that contents held in the container body 100 can be sucked into a contents inflow part 210 according to the change of pressure of the contents inflow part 210 .",
"[0044] Meanwhile, at the ascending and descending member 400 is combined a contents movement tube 420 which is combined to the combining tube 330 and ascends and descends along an inner wall of the combining tube 330 , therein forming a passage where contents move.",
"[0045] In the following, referring to FIG. 4 , an operational procedure of a rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment will be explained.",
"FIG. 4 is an explanatory drawing illustrating an operational state of a rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment.",
"[0046] Referring to FIG. 4 , as for a rotary dispenser-type cosmetics container according to an exemplary embodiment, when a user rotates a button part 300 in a state that contents flow into the interior of a contents inflow part 210 , guide protrusions 410 of an ascending and descending member 400 move along a rotation guide 310 formed at an inner surface of the button part 300 ;",
"at this moment, due to the shape of the rotation guide 310 , the guide protrusions 410 move downwards inside the vertical guide groove 220 as descending the ascending and descending member 400 .",
"[0047] When the ascending and descending member 400 descends as the above, the pressure inside the contents inflow part 210 changes as a piston rod 430 and a seal cap 440 descend together, which leads contents flowing into the contents inflow part 210 is discharged through a contents movement tube 420 ;",
"at the moment, contents moving upwards move to a sideway by an opening and closing plate 610 , in a state that a nozzle tip 600 moves upwards with as small a margin as a detached space between a support protrusion 321 and a fixing protrusion 621 and thereby opens a discharging hole 320 , and are discharged at an upper end of the button part 300 .",
"[0048] In the presently described embodiments, contents are not discharged directly to a upward direction, but to a sideway after the discharging direction is changed by an opening and closing plate 610 in a state that a nozzle tip 600 moves upward with a small margin and firstly opens a discharging hole 320 , and therefore prevents contents from being shot abruptly.",
"[0049] As described above, optimal embodiments have been disclosed in the drawings and the specification.",
"Although specific terms have been used herein, these are only intended to describe the disclosed embodiments and are not intended to limit the meanings of the terms or to restrict the scope recited in the accompanying claims.",
"Accordingly, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and other equivalent embodiments are possible from the above embodiments.",
"Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be defined by the technical spirit of the accompanying claims."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a memory, and more particularly to the layout and the structure of a NAND flash memory.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0004] Recently, as demands for the portable electronic devices are increasing, the market for the flash memory and the electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) is also expanding as well. The aforesaid portable electronic device includes the storage memory for the digital camera, the cell phones, the video game apparatuses, PDAs, telephone answering machines, and the programmable ICs, etc. A flash memory belongs to a non-volatile memory, and has an important characteristic of being able to store data in the memory even though the power is turned off. By changing the threshold voltage of the transistor, the gate can be turned on and off, and the data can be stored in the transistor. Generally speaking, the flash memory can be divided into two types of configurations, namely, a NOR flash memory and a NAND flash memory. The drains of the memory cells of a NOR flash memory are connected in parallel for a faster reading speed, which is suitable for code flash memory mainly used for executing program codes. The drains and sources of two neighboring memory cells of a NAND flash memory are serially connected for integrating more memory cells per unit area, which is suitable for a data flash memory mainly used for data storage. Both of the NOR flash memory and the NAND flash memory have a MOS-like memory cell structure, so as to provide advantages of smaller size, higher operation speed, and higher density.
[0005] As the electronic device becomes smaller, integration of the flash memory needs to be increased. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new layout and structure for the flash memory to increase the integration of the flash memory. The layout design according to the present invention can make the size of the flash memory smaller.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] According to the flash memory disclosed in the present invention, the flash memory comprises a substrate; a first active area positioned in the substrate, wherein the first active area comprises a first memory cell string, a first select gate transistor, and a second select gate transistor arranged in sequence in the same row, wherein the first select gate transistor comprises a first gate channel length, and the second select gate transistor comprises a second gate channel length; and a second active area positioned in the substrate, wherein the second active area comprises a second memory cell string, a third select gate transistor, and a fourth select gate transistor arranged in sequence in the same row, wherein the third select gate transistor comprises a third gate channel length, and the fourth select gate transistor comprises a fourth gate channel length, wherein the first select gate transistor and the third select gate transistor are arranged in the same column and are electrically connected with each other, and the second select gate transistor and the fourth select gate transistor are arranged in the same column and are electrically connected with each other, and wherein the first gate channel length is substantially equal to the third gate channel length, and the second gate channel length is substantially equal to the fourth gate channel length, and the first gate channel length is not equal to the second gate channel length.
[0007] The layout of the flash memory of the present invention includes a sawtooth (having blunt tips) structure, which can increase the integration of the elements, and the effectiveness of the Optical Proximity Correction (OPC) can be improved.
[0008] These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 shows a schematic layout of a NAND type flash memory according to the present invention.
[0010] FIG. 2 a shows a sectional view as viewed along the active area 54 in FIG. 1 according to the NAND type flash memory of the present invention.
[0011] FIG. 2 b shows a sectional view as viewed along the active area 68 in FIG. 1 according to the NAND type flash memory of the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 2 c shows a sectional view as viewed along the active area 80 in FIG. 1 according to the NAND type flash memory of the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 2 d shows a sectional view as viewed along the active area 92 in FIG. 1 according to the NAND type flash memory of the present invention.
[0014] FIG. 3 to FIG. 8 show the operating method of the NAND type flash memory according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] The structure of the NAND type flash memory according to the present invention features a structure of a plurality of dual gate transistors (dual SG), which is meant to have two ends of the memory cell strings connected to two select gate transistors in series, respectively. In addition, each storage transistor positioned in the memory cell strings is a two-bit storage transistor.
[0016] FIG. 1 shows a schematic layout of a NAND type flash memory according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , a NAND type flash memory 50 comprises: a substrate 52 , a plurality of active areas 54 , 66 , 78 , 90 positioned in the substrate 52 , in which the active area 54 comprises a plurality of select gate transistors 58 , 60 , a memory cell string 56 , and a plurality of select gate transistors 62 , 64 arranged in sequence, in the same row, and in which the select gate transistors 58 , 60 are positioned at a side of the memory cell string 56 , and the select gate transistors 62 , 64 are positioned at the other side of the memory cell string 56 . Furthermore, each of the select gate transistors 58 , 64 has a gate channel length L 1 , respectively, and each of the select gate transistors 60 , 62 has a gate channel length L 2 , respectively.
[0017] The active area 66 comprises a plurality of select gate transistors 70 , 72 , a memory cell string 68 , and a plurality of select gate transistors 74 , 76 arranged in sequence, in the same row, and in which the select gate transistors 70 , 72 are positioned at a side of the memory cell string 66 , and the select gate transistors 74 , 76 are positioned at the other side of the memory cell string 66 .
[0018] Furthermore, each of the select gate transistors 72 , 76 has the gate channel length L 1 respectively, and each of the select gate transistors 70 , 74 has the gate channel length L 2 respectively.
[0019] The active area 78 comprises a plurality of select gate transistors 82 , 84 , a memory cell string 80 , and a plurality of select gate transistors 86 , 88 arranged in sequence, in the same row. Furthermore, each of the select gate transistors 84 , 86 has the gate channel length L 1 , respectively, and each of the select gate transistors 82 , 88 has the gate channel length L 2 , respectively.
[0020] The active area 90 comprises a plurality of select gate transistors 94 , 96 , a memory cell string 92 , and a plurality of select gate transistors 98 , 100 arranged in sequence, in the same row. Furthermore, each of the select gate transistors 84 , 86 has the gate channel length L 1 , respectively, and each of the select gate transistors 82 , 88 has the gate channel length L 2 , respectively.
[0021] The gate channel length L 1 mentioned above is shorter than the gate channel length L 2 according to the present invention. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the gate channel length L 1 is shorter than half of the gate channel length L 2 . In addition, during operation, the gate channel length L 1 is always in a depletion mode, which means that the select gate transistors 58 , 64 , 72 , 76 , 84 , 86 , 94 , 98 wherein each having the gate channel length L 1 , respectively, are always on during operation.
[0022] Additionally, the select gate transistors 58 , 70 , 82 , 94 which are arranged in a same column are coupled to each other in sequence electrically through a gate conductor 102 in the NAND type flash memory 50 . Because the select gate transistors 58 , 70 , 82 , 94 possess only two gate channel lengths L 1 , L 2 , the gate conductor 102 forms a sawtooth structure in an orderly repetitive manner by using the two gate channel lengths L 1 , L 2 , which is one feature of the present invention.
[0023] Similarly, the select gate transistors 60 , 72 , 84 , 96 which are arranged in a same column are coupled to each other in sequence electrically through a gate conductor 104 . The select gate transistors 62 , 74 , 86 , 98 which are arranged in a same column are coupled to each other in sequence electrically through a gate conductor 106 . The select gate transistors 64 , 76 , 88 , 100 which are arranged in a same column are coupled to each other in sequence electrically through a gate conductor 108 . The gate conductors 104 , 106 , 108 form a sawtooth structure in an orderly repetitive manner as well.
[0024] In addition, a plurality of bit-line contact pads 110 , 112 are positioned at a side of the gate conductors 102 , 108 , respectively, for transmitting the bit-line signals.
[0025] The sawtooth structure can increase the integration of the elements. For example, the sum of the gate channel lengths of the select gate transistor 58 and the select gate transistor 60 can be shrunken to around 0.4 μm. Therefore, the space that the gate conductors occupied according to the present invention is smaller than the space that the gate conductors occupied according to the conventional technology.
[0026] It is another feature of the present invention that the adjacent select gate transistors which are arranged in the same column have an identical gate channel length. For example, the select gate transistors 70 , 82 comprise the gate channel length L 1 , respectively and the select gate transistors 72 , 84 comprise the gate channel length L 2 , respectively. As a result, not only can the integration of the elements be increased, the effectiveness of the Optical Proximity Correction (OPC) can also be improved as well.
[0027] FIG. 2 a shows a sectional view as viewed along the active area 54 shown in FIG. 1 according to the NAND type flash memory of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2 a , the flash memory 50 comprises a substrate 52 , a memory cell string 56 positioned on the substrate 52 , a select gate transistor 60 comprising a gate channel length L 2 , a select gate transistor 58 comprising a gate channel length L 1 , a select gate transistor 62 comprising a gate channel length L 2 , and a select gate transistor 64 comprising a gate channel length L 1 .
[0028] The select gate transistor 60 is directly connected to a side of the memory string 56 in series, and the select gate transistor 58 is directly connected to the select gate transistor 60 in series; the select gate transistor 62 is directly connected to another side of the memory string 56 in series, and the select gate transistor 64 is directly connected to the select gate transistor 62 in series.
[0029] In addition, the aforementioned memory cell string 56 comprises a plurality of two-bit storage transistors, such as the two-bit storage transistors 114 , 116 , in which the number of the two-bit storage transistors included in the memory cell string 56 can be 16 or 32, and all of the two-bit storage transistors may be PMOS transistors. The gate channel length L 1 is shorter than the gate channel length L 2 according to the present invention; according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the gate channel length L 1 is shorter than half of the gate channel length L 2 . In addition, during operation, the gate channel length L 1 is always in a depletion mode, which means that the select gate transistors 58 , 64 having the gate channel length L 1 are always on during operation.
[0030] FIG. 2 b shows a sectional view as viewed along the active area 66 shown in FIG. 1 according to the NAND type flash memory of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2 b , the flash memory 50 comprises a substrate 52 , a memory cell string 68 positioned on the substrate 52 , a select gate transistor 72 comprising a gate channel length L 1 , a select gate transistor 70 comprising a gate channel length L 2 , a select gate transistor 74 comprising a gate channel length L 2 , and a select gate transistor 76 comprising a gate channel length L 1 , in which the select gate transistor 72 is directly connected to a side of the memory string 68 in series, and the select gate transistor 70 is directly connected to the select gate transistor 72 in series; the select gate transistor 74 is directly connected to another side of the memory cell string 68 in series, and the select gate transistor 76 is directly connected to the select gate transistor 74 in series. In addition, the memory cell string 68 comprises a plurality of two-bit storage transistors, such as the two-bit storage transistors 118 , 120 , in which the number of the two-bit storage transistors included in the memory cell string 68 can be 16 or 32, and all of the two-bit storage transistors may be PMOS transistors.
[0031] The gate channel length L 1 is shorter than the gate channel length L 2 according to the present invention; according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the gate channel length L 1 is shorter than half of the gate channel length L 2 . In addition, during operation, the gate channel length L 1 is always in a depletion mode, which means that the select gate transistors 72 , 76 having the gate channel length L 1 are always turned on during operation.
[0032] FIG. 2 c shows a sectional view as viewed along the active area 78 shown in FIG. 1 according to the NAND type flash memory of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2 c , the flash memory 50 comprises a substrate 52 , a memory cell string 80 positioned on the substrate 52 , a select gate transistor 84 comprising a gate channel length L 1 , a select gate transistor 82 comprising a gate channel length L 2 , a select gate transistor 86 comprising a gate channel length L 1 , and a select gate transistor 88 comprising a gate channel length L 2 in which the select gate transistor 84 is directly connected to a side of the memory string 80 in series, and the select gate transistor 82 is directly connected to the select gate transistor 84 in series; the select gate transistor 86 is directly connected to another side of the memory string 80 in series, and the select gate transistor 88 is directly connected to the select gate transistor 86 in series. In addition, the memory cell string 80 comprises a plurality of two-bit storage transistors, such as the two-bit storage transistors 122 , 124 , in which the number of the two-bit storage transistors included in the memory cell string 80 can be 16 or 32, and all of the two-bit storage transistors may be PMOS transistors. The gate channel length L 1 is shorter than the gate channel length L 2 according to the present invention; according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the gate channel length L 1 is shorter than half of the gate channel length L 2 . In addition, during operation, the gate channel length L 1 is always in a depletion mode, which means that the select gate transistors 84 , 86 having the gate channel length L 1 are always on during operation.
[0033] FIG. 2 d shows a sectional view as viewed along the active area 90 shown in FIG. 1 according to the NAND type flash memory of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2 d , the flash memory 50 comprises a substrate 52 , a memory cell string 92 positioned on the substrate 52 , a select gate transistor 96 comprising a gate channel length L 2 , a select gate transistor 94 comprising a gate channel length L 1 , a select gate transistor 98 comprising a gate channel length L 1 , and a select gate transistor 100 comprising a gate channel length L 2 , in which the select gate transistor 96 is directly connected to a side of the memory string 92 in series, and the select gate transistor 94 is directly connected to the select gate transistor 96 in series; the select gate transistor 98 is directly connected to another side of the memory string 92 in series, and the select gate transistor 100 is directly connected to the select gate transistor 98 in series. In addition, the memory cell string 92 comprises a plurality of two-bit storage transistors, such as the two-bit storage transistors 126 , 128 , in which the number of the two-bit storage transistors included in the memory cell string 92 can be 16 or 32, and all of the two-bit storage transistors may be PMOS transistors.
[0034] The gate channel length L 1 is shorter than the gate channel length L 2 according to the present invention; according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the gate channel length L 1 is shorter than half of the gate channel length L 2 . In addition, during operation, the gate channel length L 1 is always in a depletion mode, which means that the select gate transistors 94 , 96 having the gate channel length L 1 are always on during operation.
[0035] FIG. 3 to FIG. 8 show the operating method of the NAND type flash memory 50 according to the present invention.
[0036] FIG. 3 shows the operating method in which the memory cell string 56 is read. As shown in FIG. 3 , the gate conductors 102 , 108 are turned off, and the gate conductors 104 , 106 are turned on; 1 volt is applied to the memory cell strings 56 , 68 , 80 , 92 ; 0 volt is applied to the bit-line contact pad 110 ; −2.5 volts is applied to the bit-line contact pad 112 ; and 0 volt is applied to the substrate 52 (not shown).
[0037] Notably, the select gate transistors 58 , 64 , 72 , 76 , 84 , 86 , 94 , 98 are always turned on, because they are in the depletion mode. Therefore, the turning on and off of the gate conductors 102 , 104 , 106 , 108 are to only control the on and off of the select gate transistors 60 , 62 , 70 , 74 , 82 , 88 , 96 , 100 . In this way, the one bit of each the two-bit storage transistors positioned in the memory cell string 56 can be read.
[0038] In FIG. 3 , the select gate transistor having the symbol “∘” depicted on it is to mean that the select gate transistor is turned on, and the select gate transistor having the symbol depicted on it is to mean that the select gate transistor is turned off.
[0039] In FIG. 4 to FIG. 8 , the select gate transistor having the symbol “∘” depicted on it is to mean that the select gate transistor is turned on, and the select gate transistor having the symbol depicted on it is to mean that the select gate transistor is turned off.
[0040] FIG. 4 shows the operating method in which the memory cell string 68 is read. As shown in FIG. 4 , the gate conductors 104 , 108 are turned off and the gate conductors 102 , 106 are turned on; 1 volt is applied to the memory cell strings 56 , 68 , 80 , 92 ; 0 volt is applied to the bit-line contact pad 110 ; −2.5 volts is applied to the bit-line contact pad 112 ; and 0 volt is applied to the substrate 52 (not shown). In this way, the one bit of each two-bit storage transistor positioned in the memory cell string 68 can be read.
[0041] FIG. 5 shows the operating method in which the memory cell string 80 is read. As shown in FIG. 5 , the gate conductors 104 , 106 are turned off, and the gate conductors 102 , 108 are turned on; 1 volt is applied to the memory cell strings 56 , 68 , 80 , 92 ; 0 volt is applied to the bit-line contact pad 110 ; −2.5 volts is applied to the bit-line contact pad 112 ; and 0 volt is applied to the substrate 52 (not shown). In this way, the one bit of each two-bit storage transistor positioned in the memory cell string 80 can be read.
[0042] FIG. 6 shows the operating method in which the memory cell string 92 is read. As shown in FIG. 6 , the gate conductors 102 , 106 are turned off and the gate conductors 104 , 108 are turned on; 1 volt is applied to the memory cell strings 56 , 68 , 80 , 92 ; 0 volt is applied to the bit-line contact pad 110 ; −2.5 volts is applied to the bit-line contact pad 112 ; and 0 volt is applied to the substrate 52 (not shown). In this way, the one bit of each two-bit storage transistor positioned in the memory cell string 92 can be read.
[0043] FIG. 7 shows the operating method in which the memory cell strings 56 are programmed. As shown in FIG. 7 , the gate conductors 102 , 108 are turned off, and the gate conductors 104 , 106 are turned on; 6 volt is applied to the memory cell strings 56 , 68 , 80 , 92 ; 0 volt is applied to the bit-line contact pad 110 ; −3 volts is applied to the bit-line contact pad 112 ; and 0 volt is applied to the substrate 52 (not shown). In this way, data can be programmed into the memory cell strings 56 .
[0044] FIG. 8 shows the operating method in which the memory cell strings 56 , 68 , 80 , 92 are block erased. As shown in FIG. 8 , the gate conductors 102 , 104 , 106 , 108 are turned on; −7 volts is applied to the memory cell strings 56 , 68 , 80 , 92 ; 8 volts is applied to the bit-line contact pad 112 ; 8 volts is applied to the bit-line contact pad 110 ; and 8 volts (not shown) is applied to the substrate 52 . In this way, data stored in the memory cell strings 56 , 68 , 80 , 92 can be block erased.
[0045] Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. | A flash memory is provided. A sawtooth gate conductor line, which interconnects the select gates of the select gate transistors arranged on the same column is provided. The sawtooth gate conductor line, which is disposed on both distal ends of a memory cell string, increases the integration of the flash memory. The sawtooth gate conductor line results in select gate transistors having different select gate lengths and produces at least one depletion-mode select transistor at one side of the memory cell string. The select gate transistor of the depletion-mode is always turned on. | Briefly describe the main invention outlined in the provided context. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1.",
"Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a memory, and more particularly to the layout and the structure of a NAND flash memory.",
"[0003] 2.",
"Description of the Prior Art [0004] Recently, as demands for the portable electronic devices are increasing, the market for the flash memory and the electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) is also expanding as well.",
"The aforesaid portable electronic device includes the storage memory for the digital camera, the cell phones, the video game apparatuses, PDAs, telephone answering machines, and the programmable ICs, etc.",
"A flash memory belongs to a non-volatile memory, and has an important characteristic of being able to store data in the memory even though the power is turned off.",
"By changing the threshold voltage of the transistor, the gate can be turned on and off, and the data can be stored in the transistor.",
"Generally speaking, the flash memory can be divided into two types of configurations, namely, a NOR flash memory and a NAND flash memory.",
"The drains of the memory cells of a NOR flash memory are connected in parallel for a faster reading speed, which is suitable for code flash memory mainly used for executing program codes.",
"The drains and sources of two neighboring memory cells of a NAND flash memory are serially connected for integrating more memory cells per unit area, which is suitable for a data flash memory mainly used for data storage.",
"Both of the NOR flash memory and the NAND flash memory have a MOS-like memory cell structure, so as to provide advantages of smaller size, higher operation speed, and higher density.",
"[0005] As the electronic device becomes smaller, integration of the flash memory needs to be increased.",
"Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new layout and structure for the flash memory to increase the integration of the flash memory.",
"The layout design according to the present invention can make the size of the flash memory smaller.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] According to the flash memory disclosed in the present invention, the flash memory comprises a substrate;",
"a first active area positioned in the substrate, wherein the first active area comprises a first memory cell string, a first select gate transistor, and a second select gate transistor arranged in sequence in the same row, wherein the first select gate transistor comprises a first gate channel length, and the second select gate transistor comprises a second gate channel length;",
"and a second active area positioned in the substrate, wherein the second active area comprises a second memory cell string, a third select gate transistor, and a fourth select gate transistor arranged in sequence in the same row, wherein the third select gate transistor comprises a third gate channel length, and the fourth select gate transistor comprises a fourth gate channel length, wherein the first select gate transistor and the third select gate transistor are arranged in the same column and are electrically connected with each other, and the second select gate transistor and the fourth select gate transistor are arranged in the same column and are electrically connected with each other, and wherein the first gate channel length is substantially equal to the third gate channel length, and the second gate channel length is substantially equal to the fourth gate channel length, and the first gate channel length is not equal to the second gate channel length.",
"[0007] The layout of the flash memory of the present invention includes a sawtooth (having blunt tips) structure, which can increase the integration of the elements, and the effectiveness of the Optical Proximity Correction (OPC) can be improved.",
"[0008] These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0009] FIG. 1 shows a schematic layout of a NAND type flash memory according to the present invention.",
"[0010] FIG. 2 a shows a sectional view as viewed along the active area 54 in FIG. 1 according to the NAND type flash memory of the present invention.",
"[0011] FIG. 2 b shows a sectional view as viewed along the active area 68 in FIG. 1 according to the NAND type flash memory of the present invention.",
"[0012] FIG. 2 c shows a sectional view as viewed along the active area 80 in FIG. 1 according to the NAND type flash memory of the present invention.",
"[0013] FIG. 2 d shows a sectional view as viewed along the active area 92 in FIG. 1 according to the NAND type flash memory of the present invention.",
"[0014] FIG. 3 to FIG. 8 show the operating method of the NAND type flash memory according to the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0015] The structure of the NAND type flash memory according to the present invention features a structure of a plurality of dual gate transistors (dual SG), which is meant to have two ends of the memory cell strings connected to two select gate transistors in series, respectively.",
"In addition, each storage transistor positioned in the memory cell strings is a two-bit storage transistor.",
"[0016] FIG. 1 shows a schematic layout of a NAND type flash memory according to the present invention.",
"As shown in FIG. 1 , a NAND type flash memory 50 comprises: a substrate 52 , a plurality of active areas 54 , 66 , 78 , 90 positioned in the substrate 52 , in which the active area 54 comprises a plurality of select gate transistors 58 , 60 , a memory cell string 56 , and a plurality of select gate transistors 62 , 64 arranged in sequence, in the same row, and in which the select gate transistors 58 , 60 are positioned at a side of the memory cell string 56 , and the select gate transistors 62 , 64 are positioned at the other side of the memory cell string 56 .",
"Furthermore, each of the select gate transistors 58 , 64 has a gate channel length L 1 , respectively, and each of the select gate transistors 60 , 62 has a gate channel length L 2 , respectively.",
"[0017] The active area 66 comprises a plurality of select gate transistors 70 , 72 , a memory cell string 68 , and a plurality of select gate transistors 74 , 76 arranged in sequence, in the same row, and in which the select gate transistors 70 , 72 are positioned at a side of the memory cell string 66 , and the select gate transistors 74 , 76 are positioned at the other side of the memory cell string 66 .",
"[0018] Furthermore, each of the select gate transistors 72 , 76 has the gate channel length L 1 respectively, and each of the select gate transistors 70 , 74 has the gate channel length L 2 respectively.",
"[0019] The active area 78 comprises a plurality of select gate transistors 82 , 84 , a memory cell string 80 , and a plurality of select gate transistors 86 , 88 arranged in sequence, in the same row.",
"Furthermore, each of the select gate transistors 84 , 86 has the gate channel length L 1 , respectively, and each of the select gate transistors 82 , 88 has the gate channel length L 2 , respectively.",
"[0020] The active area 90 comprises a plurality of select gate transistors 94 , 96 , a memory cell string 92 , and a plurality of select gate transistors 98 , 100 arranged in sequence, in the same row.",
"Furthermore, each of the select gate transistors 84 , 86 has the gate channel length L 1 , respectively, and each of the select gate transistors 82 , 88 has the gate channel length L 2 , respectively.",
"[0021] The gate channel length L 1 mentioned above is shorter than the gate channel length L 2 according to the present invention.",
"According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the gate channel length L 1 is shorter than half of the gate channel length L 2 .",
"In addition, during operation, the gate channel length L 1 is always in a depletion mode, which means that the select gate transistors 58 , 64 , 72 , 76 , 84 , 86 , 94 , 98 wherein each having the gate channel length L 1 , respectively, are always on during operation.",
"[0022] Additionally, the select gate transistors 58 , 70 , 82 , 94 which are arranged in a same column are coupled to each other in sequence electrically through a gate conductor 102 in the NAND type flash memory 50 .",
"Because the select gate transistors 58 , 70 , 82 , 94 possess only two gate channel lengths L 1 , L 2 , the gate conductor 102 forms a sawtooth structure in an orderly repetitive manner by using the two gate channel lengths L 1 , L 2 , which is one feature of the present invention.",
"[0023] Similarly, the select gate transistors 60 , 72 , 84 , 96 which are arranged in a same column are coupled to each other in sequence electrically through a gate conductor 104 .",
"The select gate transistors 62 , 74 , 86 , 98 which are arranged in a same column are coupled to each other in sequence electrically through a gate conductor 106 .",
"The select gate transistors 64 , 76 , 88 , 100 which are arranged in a same column are coupled to each other in sequence electrically through a gate conductor 108 .",
"The gate conductors 104 , 106 , 108 form a sawtooth structure in an orderly repetitive manner as well.",
"[0024] In addition, a plurality of bit-line contact pads 110 , 112 are positioned at a side of the gate conductors 102 , 108 , respectively, for transmitting the bit-line signals.",
"[0025] The sawtooth structure can increase the integration of the elements.",
"For example, the sum of the gate channel lengths of the select gate transistor 58 and the select gate transistor 60 can be shrunken to around 0.4 μm.",
"Therefore, the space that the gate conductors occupied according to the present invention is smaller than the space that the gate conductors occupied according to the conventional technology.",
"[0026] It is another feature of the present invention that the adjacent select gate transistors which are arranged in the same column have an identical gate channel length.",
"For example, the select gate transistors 70 , 82 comprise the gate channel length L 1 , respectively and the select gate transistors 72 , 84 comprise the gate channel length L 2 , respectively.",
"As a result, not only can the integration of the elements be increased, the effectiveness of the Optical Proximity Correction (OPC) can also be improved as well.",
"[0027] FIG. 2 a shows a sectional view as viewed along the active area 54 shown in FIG. 1 according to the NAND type flash memory of the present invention.",
"As shown in FIG. 2 a , the flash memory 50 comprises a substrate 52 , a memory cell string 56 positioned on the substrate 52 , a select gate transistor 60 comprising a gate channel length L 2 , a select gate transistor 58 comprising a gate channel length L 1 , a select gate transistor 62 comprising a gate channel length L 2 , and a select gate transistor 64 comprising a gate channel length L 1 .",
"[0028] The select gate transistor 60 is directly connected to a side of the memory string 56 in series, and the select gate transistor 58 is directly connected to the select gate transistor 60 in series;",
"the select gate transistor 62 is directly connected to another side of the memory string 56 in series, and the select gate transistor 64 is directly connected to the select gate transistor 62 in series.",
"[0029] In addition, the aforementioned memory cell string 56 comprises a plurality of two-bit storage transistors, such as the two-bit storage transistors 114 , 116 , in which the number of the two-bit storage transistors included in the memory cell string 56 can be 16 or 32, and all of the two-bit storage transistors may be PMOS transistors.",
"The gate channel length L 1 is shorter than the gate channel length L 2 according to the present invention;",
"according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the gate channel length L 1 is shorter than half of the gate channel length L 2 .",
"In addition, during operation, the gate channel length L 1 is always in a depletion mode, which means that the select gate transistors 58 , 64 having the gate channel length L 1 are always on during operation.",
"[0030] FIG. 2 b shows a sectional view as viewed along the active area 66 shown in FIG. 1 according to the NAND type flash memory of the present invention.",
"As shown in FIG. 2 b , the flash memory 50 comprises a substrate 52 , a memory cell string 68 positioned on the substrate 52 , a select gate transistor 72 comprising a gate channel length L 1 , a select gate transistor 70 comprising a gate channel length L 2 , a select gate transistor 74 comprising a gate channel length L 2 , and a select gate transistor 76 comprising a gate channel length L 1 , in which the select gate transistor 72 is directly connected to a side of the memory string 68 in series, and the select gate transistor 70 is directly connected to the select gate transistor 72 in series;",
"the select gate transistor 74 is directly connected to another side of the memory cell string 68 in series, and the select gate transistor 76 is directly connected to the select gate transistor 74 in series.",
"In addition, the memory cell string 68 comprises a plurality of two-bit storage transistors, such as the two-bit storage transistors 118 , 120 , in which the number of the two-bit storage transistors included in the memory cell string 68 can be 16 or 32, and all of the two-bit storage transistors may be PMOS transistors.",
"[0031] The gate channel length L 1 is shorter than the gate channel length L 2 according to the present invention;",
"according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the gate channel length L 1 is shorter than half of the gate channel length L 2 .",
"In addition, during operation, the gate channel length L 1 is always in a depletion mode, which means that the select gate transistors 72 , 76 having the gate channel length L 1 are always turned on during operation.",
"[0032] FIG. 2 c shows a sectional view as viewed along the active area 78 shown in FIG. 1 according to the NAND type flash memory of the present invention.",
"As shown in FIG. 2 c , the flash memory 50 comprises a substrate 52 , a memory cell string 80 positioned on the substrate 52 , a select gate transistor 84 comprising a gate channel length L 1 , a select gate transistor 82 comprising a gate channel length L 2 , a select gate transistor 86 comprising a gate channel length L 1 , and a select gate transistor 88 comprising a gate channel length L 2 in which the select gate transistor 84 is directly connected to a side of the memory string 80 in series, and the select gate transistor 82 is directly connected to the select gate transistor 84 in series;",
"the select gate transistor 86 is directly connected to another side of the memory string 80 in series, and the select gate transistor 88 is directly connected to the select gate transistor 86 in series.",
"In addition, the memory cell string 80 comprises a plurality of two-bit storage transistors, such as the two-bit storage transistors 122 , 124 , in which the number of the two-bit storage transistors included in the memory cell string 80 can be 16 or 32, and all of the two-bit storage transistors may be PMOS transistors.",
"The gate channel length L 1 is shorter than the gate channel length L 2 according to the present invention;",
"according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the gate channel length L 1 is shorter than half of the gate channel length L 2 .",
"In addition, during operation, the gate channel length L 1 is always in a depletion mode, which means that the select gate transistors 84 , 86 having the gate channel length L 1 are always on during operation.",
"[0033] FIG. 2 d shows a sectional view as viewed along the active area 90 shown in FIG. 1 according to the NAND type flash memory of the present invention.",
"As shown in FIG. 2 d , the flash memory 50 comprises a substrate 52 , a memory cell string 92 positioned on the substrate 52 , a select gate transistor 96 comprising a gate channel length L 2 , a select gate transistor 94 comprising a gate channel length L 1 , a select gate transistor 98 comprising a gate channel length L 1 , and a select gate transistor 100 comprising a gate channel length L 2 , in which the select gate transistor 96 is directly connected to a side of the memory string 92 in series, and the select gate transistor 94 is directly connected to the select gate transistor 96 in series;",
"the select gate transistor 98 is directly connected to another side of the memory string 92 in series, and the select gate transistor 100 is directly connected to the select gate transistor 98 in series.",
"In addition, the memory cell string 92 comprises a plurality of two-bit storage transistors, such as the two-bit storage transistors 126 , 128 , in which the number of the two-bit storage transistors included in the memory cell string 92 can be 16 or 32, and all of the two-bit storage transistors may be PMOS transistors.",
"[0034] The gate channel length L 1 is shorter than the gate channel length L 2 according to the present invention;",
"according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the gate channel length L 1 is shorter than half of the gate channel length L 2 .",
"In addition, during operation, the gate channel length L 1 is always in a depletion mode, which means that the select gate transistors 94 , 96 having the gate channel length L 1 are always on during operation.",
"[0035] FIG. 3 to FIG. 8 show the operating method of the NAND type flash memory 50 according to the present invention.",
"[0036] FIG. 3 shows the operating method in which the memory cell string 56 is read.",
"As shown in FIG. 3 , the gate conductors 102 , 108 are turned off, and the gate conductors 104 , 106 are turned on;",
"1 volt is applied to the memory cell strings 56 , 68 , 80 , 92 ;",
"0 volt is applied to the bit-line contact pad 110 ;",
"−2.5 volts is applied to the bit-line contact pad 112 ;",
"and 0 volt is applied to the substrate 52 (not shown).",
"[0037] Notably, the select gate transistors 58 , 64 , 72 , 76 , 84 , 86 , 94 , 98 are always turned on, because they are in the depletion mode.",
"Therefore, the turning on and off of the gate conductors 102 , 104 , 106 , 108 are to only control the on and off of the select gate transistors 60 , 62 , 70 , 74 , 82 , 88 , 96 , 100 .",
"In this way, the one bit of each the two-bit storage transistors positioned in the memory cell string 56 can be read.",
"[0038] In FIG. 3 , the select gate transistor having the symbol “∘”",
"depicted on it is to mean that the select gate transistor is turned on, and the select gate transistor having the symbol depicted on it is to mean that the select gate transistor is turned off.",
"[0039] In FIG. 4 to FIG. 8 , the select gate transistor having the symbol “∘”",
"depicted on it is to mean that the select gate transistor is turned on, and the select gate transistor having the symbol depicted on it is to mean that the select gate transistor is turned off.",
"[0040] FIG. 4 shows the operating method in which the memory cell string 68 is read.",
"As shown in FIG. 4 , the gate conductors 104 , 108 are turned off and the gate conductors 102 , 106 are turned on;",
"1 volt is applied to the memory cell strings 56 , 68 , 80 , 92 ;",
"0 volt is applied to the bit-line contact pad 110 ;",
"−2.5 volts is applied to the bit-line contact pad 112 ;",
"and 0 volt is applied to the substrate 52 (not shown).",
"In this way, the one bit of each two-bit storage transistor positioned in the memory cell string 68 can be read.",
"[0041] FIG. 5 shows the operating method in which the memory cell string 80 is read.",
"As shown in FIG. 5 , the gate conductors 104 , 106 are turned off, and the gate conductors 102 , 108 are turned on;",
"1 volt is applied to the memory cell strings 56 , 68 , 80 , 92 ;",
"0 volt is applied to the bit-line contact pad 110 ;",
"−2.5 volts is applied to the bit-line contact pad 112 ;",
"and 0 volt is applied to the substrate 52 (not shown).",
"In this way, the one bit of each two-bit storage transistor positioned in the memory cell string 80 can be read.",
"[0042] FIG. 6 shows the operating method in which the memory cell string 92 is read.",
"As shown in FIG. 6 , the gate conductors 102 , 106 are turned off and the gate conductors 104 , 108 are turned on;",
"1 volt is applied to the memory cell strings 56 , 68 , 80 , 92 ;",
"0 volt is applied to the bit-line contact pad 110 ;",
"−2.5 volts is applied to the bit-line contact pad 112 ;",
"and 0 volt is applied to the substrate 52 (not shown).",
"In this way, the one bit of each two-bit storage transistor positioned in the memory cell string 92 can be read.",
"[0043] FIG. 7 shows the operating method in which the memory cell strings 56 are programmed.",
"As shown in FIG. 7 , the gate conductors 102 , 108 are turned off, and the gate conductors 104 , 106 are turned on;",
"6 volt is applied to the memory cell strings 56 , 68 , 80 , 92 ;",
"0 volt is applied to the bit-line contact pad 110 ;",
"−3 volts is applied to the bit-line contact pad 112 ;",
"and 0 volt is applied to the substrate 52 (not shown).",
"In this way, data can be programmed into the memory cell strings 56 .",
"[0044] FIG. 8 shows the operating method in which the memory cell strings 56 , 68 , 80 , 92 are block erased.",
"As shown in FIG. 8 , the gate conductors 102 , 104 , 106 , 108 are turned on;",
"−7 volts is applied to the memory cell strings 56 , 68 , 80 , 92 ;",
"8 volts is applied to the bit-line contact pad 112 ;",
"8 volts is applied to the bit-line contact pad 110 ;",
"and 8 volts (not shown) is applied to the substrate 52 .",
"In this way, data stored in the memory cell strings 56 , 68 , 80 , 92 can be block erased.",
"[0045] Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a hydraulic control system for an automatic transmission used in vehicles.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Generally, a conventional automatic transmission used in a vehicle includes a torque converter, a multistage gear shift mechanism connected to the torque converter, and a plurality of friction elements actuated by hydraulic pressure for selecting a gear shift stage of the gear shift mechanism.
The conventional automatic transmission is provided with a hydraulic control system which controls the automatic transmission.
In such a hydraulic control system, hydraulic pressure generated by a hydraulic pump is selectively supplied to each friction element by a plurality of control valves such that automatic shifting is realized in accordance with a driving state of the vehicle and engine throttle opening.
The above described hydraulic control system generally comprises a line pressure controller for regulating hydraulic pressure generated by the hydraulic pump to line pressure, a damper clutch controller for actuating a damper clutch of the torque converter, a reducing pressure controller for reducing line pressure, a range controller for selectively supplying line pressure to lines corresponding to respective shift ranges, a shift controller for supplying hydraulic pressure from the range controller to lines corresponding to respective shift ranges, a hydraulic pressure controller for duty-controlling hydraulic pressure from the range controller into operational pressure operating the friction elements, and a hydraulic pressure distributor for determining a hydraulic flow path corresponding to each shift range by operating valves according to the hydraulic pressure from the shift controller, and suitably distributing the operational pressure to each friction element.
The shift controller operates spool valves of the hydraulic pressure distributor under the control of a transmission control unit, such that the hydraulic flow path corresponding to each shift range is determined to realize shifting.
When changing shift stages, the timing of exhausting hydraulic pressure from one set of friction elements and supplying hydraulic pressure to another set of friction elements through the hydraulic flow path, determined by the shift controller in accordance with each shift range, greatly influences shift quality. However, mis-timing can cause an abrupt increase in engine revolutions or locking of the shift mechanism. Further, abrupt changes in hydraulic pressure levels in the hydraulic flow path decreases the life span of the automatic transmission.
In order to improve shift quality and durability of the transmission by both accurately controlling the timing of pressure supply and minimizing changes in hydraulic pressure levels, a method of modifying shift valve structure has been developed. However, such a method complicates both the structure of the shift valves and the control process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a hydraulic control system used in an automatic transmission for a vehicle, which easily and accurately controls timing of pressure supply to, and reduces a change in hydraulic pressure levels flowing in, a flow path. Further, it is another object of the present invention to provide a hydraulic control system which improves shift response when skip shifting, and, in particular, when up or downshifting into a third speed, the hydraulic control system accurately controlling operating timing of corresponding friction elements by control of a transmission control unit.
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a hydraulic control system for an automatic transmission including a plurality of friction elements associated with respective transmission speeds, the hydraulic control system comprising:
a hydraulic fluid source;
line pressure control means for regulating hydraulic pressure from the fluid source to line pressure;
reducing pressure control means for reducing hydraulic pressure from the line pressure control means;
range control means for selectively supplying hydraulic pressure from the line pressure control means;
shift control means for supplying hydraulic pressure from the range control means to lines corresponding to respective shift ranges by control of a transmission control unit;
hydraulic pressure control means for duty controlling hydraulic pressure, supplied from the range control means, to convert the duty-controlled hydraulic pressure into control pressure for operating the friction elements; and
hydraulic pressure distributing means for determining a hydraulic flow path corresponding to each shift range by operating valves according to the hydraulic pressure from the shift control means, and suitably distributing the hydraulic pressure from the shift control means or the control pressure to each of the friction elements;
wherein the hydraulic pressure distributing means comprises:
a 3-4 shift valve for realizing port conversion during 3-4 shifting to selectively supply/exhaust the control pressure to/from at least one of the friction elements corresponding to the respective transmission speeds;
a 2-3/4-3 shift valve for realizing port conversion during 2-3 or 4-3 shifting to selectively supply/exhaust the control pressure to/from at least one of the friction elements corresponding to the respective transmission speeds;
a 4-2 shift valve for realizing port conversion during 4-2 skip-shifting to selectively supply/exhaust the control pressure to/from at least one of the friction elements corresponding to the respective transmission speeds;
a 1-2 shift valve for realizing port conversion during 1-2 shifting to selectively supply/exhaust the control pressure to/from the 2-3/4-3 shift valve and 4-2 shift valve in accordance with the respective transmission speeds and to selectively supply/exhaust hydraulic pressure from the range control means to at least one of the friction elements corresponding to the respective transmission speeds;
a control switch valve for realizing port conversion to selectively supply/exhaust hydraulic pressure from the shift control means and the control pressure via the 1-2 shift valve to at least one of the friction elements corresponding to the respective transmission speeds such that accurately controls timing when each corresponding friction element begins to operate; and
a solenoid valve for controlling the control switch valve in accordance with a control signal of the transmission control unit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow in a neutral N range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow in a reverse R range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow in a first speed of a drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow during 1-2 upshifting in the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow in a second speed of the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow during 2-3 upshifting in the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow in a third speed of the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow during 3-4 upshifting in the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow in a fourth speed of the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 10 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow during 4-3 downshifting in the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 11 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow during 3-2 downshifting in the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 12 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow during 2-1 downshifting in the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 13 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow during 4-2 skip-shifting in the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Certain terminology will be used in the following description for convenience and reference only and will not be limiting. The words "right" and "left" are only used to designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made.
Referring first to FIG. 1, there is shown a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow in a neutral N range of a hydraulic control system according to the present invention. The hydraulic control system is structured such that hydraulic pressure created by hydraulic pressure generating means is supplied to/released from each friction element to engage/disengage the same, realizing automatic shifting.
In more detail, an hydraulic pump 4, mounted to a pump drive hub of a torque converter 2, is connected to a line pressure passage 6 to enable supply of hydraulic pressure to a pressure regulating valve 8.
The pressure regulating valve 8 supplies hydraulic pressure supplied through the line pressure passage 6 to a torque converter control valve 10, a damper clutch control valve 12, and the torque converter 2 such that lubrication of a transaxle and a damper clutch, mounted in the torque converter 2, are able to be controlled.
Part of the hydraulic pressure supplied from the hydraulic pump 4 is supplied to a reducing valve 14, which reduces line pressure, and to a manual valve 16, indexed by a selector lever (not shown) operated by the driver to determine shift ranges by controlling hydraulic flow.
Part of the hydraulic pressure reduced by the reducing valve 14 is supplied to a high-low pressure valve 18, which minimizes power loss of the hydraulic pump 4 by reducing line pressure in a high speed stage, to control the same valve 18. Further, part of the reduced hydraulic pressure is supplied to first and second pressure control valves 20 and 22 to control the same, the first and second pressure control valves 20 and 22 being comprised in a hydraulic pressure controller. Further, another part of the reduced hydraulic pressure is supplied to a N-R control valve 24 which reduces shift shock when changing shift modes from the neutral N range to a reverse R range.
When the manual valve 16, which is a range controller, is positioned at a drive D range, hydraulic pressure from the manual valve 16 flows into a line 26. The line 26 is connected to a shift control valve 28 which determines the hydraulic flow path by port conversion according to control of the first and second solenoid valves S1 and S2, ON/OFF controlled by a transmission control unit (TCU), the manual valve 16 being comprised in a range controller and the shift control valve 28 and the solenoid valves S1 and S2 being comprised in a shift controller.
The shift control valve 28 is connected to a second speed line 30, a third speed line 32, and a fourth speed line 34 to control valve spools of spool valves being comprised in a hydraulic pressure distributor.
In more detail, hydraulic pressure in the second speed line 30 is supplied to a left side port of a 1-2 shift valve 36 to control a valve spool of the same, hydraulic pressure in the third speed line 32 is supplied to a left side port of a 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 to control a valve spool of the same, and hydraulic pressure in the fourth line 34 is supplied to a right side port of the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 and a left side port of a 3-4 shift valve 40 to control valve spools of the same valves 38 and 40.
Meanwhile, the first and second pressure control valves 20 and 22 realize port conversion in accordance with the third and fourth solenoid valves S3 and S4, respectively.
The line 26 connected to the manual valve 29 is branched off to a first speed line 27. Accordingly, hydraulic pressure is supplied to the first and second pressure control valves 20 and 22, which duty-control the hydraulic pressure into control pressure, such that the control pressure is supplied to a first friction element C1, acting as an input element in the first speed stage, via the 3-4 shift valve controlled by the third and fourth solenoid valves S3 and S4.
Further, the first speed line 40 is connected to a timing control line 42 such that line pressure in the first speed line 40 is supplied to a control switch valve 44 and a 4-2 shift valve 46.
The control switch valve 44 supplies/exhausts operational pressure to/from a third friction element C3, which acts as an input element in the third and fourth speed stages, and controls a timing of when the operational pressure is supplied to the third friction element C3. Further, the control switch valve 44 controls an operating timing of a second friction element C2, which acts as a reaction element in the second and fourth speed stages. The above timing control is realized through port conversion of the control switch valve 44 according to control of a fifth solenoid valve S5, the fifth solenoid valve S5 being ON/OFF controlled by the TCU.
The control switch valve 44 comprises a first port receiving hydraulic pressure from the manual valve 16 to control a valve spool of the control switch valve 44, a second port receiving line pressure through the third speed line 32, a third port receiving hydraulic pressure from the first pressure control valve 20 via the 1-2 shift valve, a fourth port receiving line pressure through the second speed line 30, a fifth port supplying hydraulic pressure supplied through the fourth port to an operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2, and a sixth port supplying hydraulic pressure supplied through the second port to the third friction element C3. A valve spool of the control switch valve 44 is operated by a fifth solenoid valve S5, connected to the first port, such that hydraulic pressure supplied through the third port is selectively supplied to the operational chamber h2 through the fifth port or to the third friction element C3 through the sixth port.
The 4-2 shift valve 46 comprises a port connected to the first port of the control switch valve 44, a port receiving the third speed pressure in the third speed line 32, a port receiving hydraulic pressure from the first pressure control valve 20 via the 1-2 shift valve 36, a port supplying hydraulic pressure to the third friction element C3, and a port connected to the 3-4 shift valve 40.
A valve spool of the 4-2 shift valve 46 is controlled by both the hydraulic pressure supplied through the port connected to the first port of the control switch valve 44 and the hydraulic pressure supplied through the port connected to the 3-4 shift valve 40. By the this control, the 4-2 shift valve 46 more accurately controls operating timing of the third friction element C3.
The 1-2 shift valve 36 supplies control pressure from the first pressure control valve 20 to the operational chamber h2 via the control switch valve 44. Simultaneously, the 1-2 shift valve 36 supplies the control pressure from first pressure control valve 20 to the fourth friction element C4 and a release chamber hi of the second friction element C2 via a 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38.
For the above operation, the 1-2 shift valve 36 comprises a port receiving line pressure from the shift control valve 28 through the second speed line 30 to control a valve spool of the 1-2 shift valve 36 in second, third, and fourth speed states, a port receiving reverse control pressure through a reverse control line 48 when in the reverse R range, a port receiving control pressure from the first pressure control valve 20, a port through which the reverse range pressure is supplied to the fifth friction element C5, and a port through which the hydraulic pressure supplied from the first pressure control valve 20 is supplied to the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38, the 4-2 shift valve 46, and the control switch valve 44 in the drive D range.
On a side of the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 is provided a kickdown switch 50. The kickdown switch 50 detects whether or not the second friction element C2 is operating and transmits a corresponding signal to the TCU.
The 3-4 shift valve 40 supplies control pressure from the second pressure control valve 22 to the first friction element C1 in the first, second, and third speeds. Further, the control pressure supplied to the first friction element C1 is exhausted through the 3-4 shift valve 40 during 3-4 shifting.
The hydraulic pressure supplied to the release chamber h1 of the second friction element C2 is returned through a second reverse control line 52 via the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 or the 3-4 shift valve 40 to be exhausted through an exit port of the manual valve 16.
Reference numeral S6, which has not yet been described, is a sixth solenoid valve. The sixth solenoid valve S6 controls the damper clutch control valve 12 according to a control signal of the TCU.
The flow of hydraulic pressure and shift processes for each shift stage in the hydraulic control system structured as in the above will now be described with reference with the accompanying drawings.
When in the neutral N range as shown in FIG. 1, hydraulic pressure from the hydraulic pump 4 is regulated to a predetermined level by the pressure regulating valve 8 and reduced by the reducing valve 14 to be supplied to the first and second pressure control valves 20 and 22, and to the damper clutch control valve 12. Here, the third and fourth solenoid valves S3 and S4 are duty-controlled to OFF by the TCU such that the valve spools of the pressure control valves 20 and 22 move to the right.
From the above state, when the manual valve 16 is positioned in the reverse R range, as shown in FIG. 2, part of the hydraulic pressure being supplied to the manual valve 16 is supplied to the 1-2 shift valve 36 through the first reverse control line 48 via the N-R control valve 24 duty-controlled by the third solenoid valve S4. Accordingly, the valve spool of the 1-2 shift valve 36 moves to the right such that the hydraulic pressure is supplied to the fifth friction element C5 acting as a reaction element at the reverse R range. Also, part of the hydraulic pressure from the manual valve 16 is supplied to the fourth friction element C4, which acts as an input element in the reverse R range, through the second reverse control line 52 via the 3-4 shift valve 40 and the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 to realize shifting into the reverse R range.
If the manual valve 16 is positioned in the drive D range from the neutral N range, as shown in FIG. 3, part of the hydraulic pressure being supplied from the manual valve 16 is supplied to the first and second pressure control valves 20 and 22, and to the shift control valve 28. Here, the first and second solenoid valve S1 and S2 are controlled to ON such that the valve spool of the shift control valve 28 is positioned identically as that in the neutral N range.
Further, in this state, the third solenoid valve S3 is controlled to ON such that the hydraulic pressure is not able to be supplied to the first pressure control valve 20. Thus, the hydraulic pressure passes through the second pressure control valve 22 to be supplied to the first friction element C1, which acts as an input element in the first speed stage of the drive D range, through the 3-4 shift valve 40.
Here, through the line 42 branched off from the first speed line 27, part of the hydraulic pressure is supplied to the first port of the control switch valve 44 to push the valve spool of the same to the left.
If throttle opening and vehicle speed are increased in the first speed state, the TCU controls the first solenoid valve S1 to OFF from ON such that the shift control valve 28 supplies the hydraulic pressure supplied from the manual valve 16 to the second speed line 30, as shown in FIG. 4. Also, the third solenoid valve S3 is duty-controlled to OFF such that hydraulic pressure in the first speed line 40 is supplied to the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 via the 1-2 shift valve 36 or the control switch valve 44.
Here, part of hydraulic pressure passing the 1-2 shift valve 36 is supplied to the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 and the 4-2 shift valve 46 to stand by at these valves 38 and 46. Further, part of hydraulic pressure in the second speed line 30 is supplied to the control switch valve 44 through a line branched from the second speed line 30 and stands by at the control switch valve 44.
In this state, if the third and fifth solenoid valve S3 and S5 are controlled to OFF, as shown in FIG. 5, the valve spool of the control switch valve 44 moves to the left such that the second speed line 30 is communicated with the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 to realize shifting into the second speed of the drive D range.
If vehicle speed and throttle opening are increased in the above state, the first and second solenoid valves S1 and S2 are controlled to OFF as shown in FIG. 6. By this control, hydraulic fluid flows into the second speed line 30 and the third speed line 32. Thus, line pressure in the third speed line 32 is supplied to a left side port of the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 such that the valve spool of the same moves to the right.
Accordingly, the hydraulic pressure standing by at the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 in the second speed is supplied to the release chamber h1 of the second friction element C2 to stop the operation of the same and, simultaneously, the hydraulic pressure is supplied to the fourth friction element C4.
Also at the same time, the fifth solenoid valve S5 is controlled to ON such that the hydraulic pressure being supplied to the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 via the 1-2 shift valve 36 is converted into control pressure from line pressure in the second speed line 30, which the second and third speed pressures stands by at the control switch valve 44.
In this state, if the fifth solenoid valve S5 is controlled to OFF from ON as shown in FIG. 7, the valve spool of the control switch valve 44 moves to the left such that the hydraulic pressure being supplied to the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 is converted back into line pressure in the second speed line 30. Further, the line pressure in the third speed line 32 is supplied to the third friction element C3 to realize shifting into the third speed of the drive D range.
Here, part of the hydraulic pressure being supplied to the third friction element C3 is supplied to the high/low pressure valve 18 such that the pressure regulating valve 8 is controlled to reduce line pressure. The reduction of line pressure reduces power loss of the hydraulic pump 4.
As described above, when shifting into the fourth speed from the third speed, because the fifth solenoid valve S5 controls the third friction element C3, the problem of shifting temporarily into the neutral N range is prevented.
If vehicle speed and throttle opening are increased in the third speed state, as shown in FIG. 8, the TCU controls the first and fifth solenoid valves S1 and S5 to ON such that hydraulic fluid flows in the second, third, and fourth speed lines 30, 32, and 34. Further, the third solenoid valve S3 is duty-controlled.
Accordingly, the hydraulic pressure being supplied to the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 is converted into control pressure from the 1-2 shift valve 36 from line pressure in the second pressure line 32. Further, line pressure in the fourth speed line 34 is supplied to the left side port of the 3-4 shift valve 40 and the right side port of the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 such that the valve spool of the 3-4 shift valve 40 moves to the right and the valve spool of the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 moves to the left.
Consequently, the hydraulic pressure in the first friction element C1 is exhausted through an exit port Ex of the 3-4 shift valve 40. Further, because hydraulic pressure is supplied to the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 to press a wall of the release chamber h1 to the left, the hydraulic pressure in the release chamber h1 is quickly exhausted through an exit port Ex of the manual valve 16 via the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38, 3-4 shift valve 40, and the second reverse control line 52.
After completing the above control process, the valve spool of the control switch valve 44 moves to the left by OFF-control of the fifth solenoid valve S5 such that line pressure in the third speed line 34 is supplied to the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 via the control switch valve 44 to realize shifting into the fourth speed of the drive D range.
When downshifting into the third speed state from the fourth speed state, the first solenoid valve S1 is controlled to OFF as shown in FIG. 10 such that line pressure in the fourth speed line 34 is exhausted. Accordingly, the valve spool of the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 moves to the right and the valve spool of the 3-4 shift valve 40 moves to the left.
Further, by duty-control of the third and fourth solenoid valves S3 and S4, control pressure regulated by the first pressure control valve 20 is supplied to the fourth friction element C4, and to the operational and release chambers h2 and h1 of the second friction element C2 via the 1-2 shift valve, the control switch valve 44, and the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38. Here, hydraulic pressure applied to the release chamber h1 and the fourth friction element C4 are affected by hydraulic pressure applied to the operational chamber h2. The second pressure control valve 22 duty-controls and supplies hydraulic pressure to the first friction element C1 to realize shifting into the third speed state from the fourth speed state. Consequently, shift shock is reduced and shifting temporarily into the neutral N range is prevented.
When downshifting into the second speed state from the third speed state as shown in FIG. 11, the second solenoid valve S2 is controlled to OFF such that the hydraulic pressure in the third friction element C3 is quickly exhausted through the shift control valve 26 via the third speed line 32. Further, by duty-control of the third solenoid valve S3, hydraulic pressure being supplied to the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 through the control switch valve 44 is converted into control pressure from the 1-2 shift valve 36. Because the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 receives hydraulic pressure, the wall of the release chamber h1 is pushed leftward such that hydraulic pressures in the release chamber h1 and the fourth friction element C4 are exhausted through the manual valve 16 via the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38, the 3-4 shift valve 40, and the second reverse control line 52.
When downshifting into the first speed state from the second speed state as shown in FIG. 12, the first solenoid valve S1 is maintained in an OFF state and the second solenoid valve S2 is switched ON. Further, the fifth solenoid valve S5 is initially controlled to ON then returned to OFF at the end of shifting.
Accordingly, line pressure in the second speed line 30 is quickly exhausted through the exit port Ex of the shift control valve 28 and the hydraulic pressure in the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 is exhausted by duty-control of the third solenoid valve S3.
The hydraulic control system according to the present invention is able to realize 4-2 kickdown skip shifting. If the TCU transmits a 4-2 kickdown skip shift signal, the first solenoid valve S1 is controlled to OFF from ON and the second solenoid valve S2 is controlled to ON from OFF, as shown in FIG. 13. Also, the fifth solenoid valve S5 is initially controlled to ON then controlled to OFF at the end of shifting.
The third and fourth solenoid valves S3 and S4 are duty-controlled such that the hydraulic pressure in the third friction element C3 is exhausted, while hydraulic pressure is supplied to the first friction element C1 to realize skip shifting into the second speed state.
As described in the above when up or downshifting, in the hydraulic control system according to the present invention, the fifth solenoid valve S5 is controlled to ON at the middle of the shifting process such that the control switch valve 44 supplies control pressure, duty-controlled by the first pressure control valve 20, to the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2, and, at the end of the shifting process, the fifth solenoid valve S5 is controlled to OFF such that the switch control valve 44 supplies line pressure in the second speed line 30 to the operational chamber h2. Accordingly, shift shock and damage to friction elements is greatly reduced and shift quality is improved.
Further, when 3-4 or 3-2 shifting, because hydraulic pressures in the first and third friction elements C1 and C3 are quickly exhausted and hydraulic pressures exhausted from the release chamber h1 and the fourth friction element C4 are controlled by of hydraulic pressure supplied to the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2, shift shock is reduced and the temporary shifting into the neutral state is prevented. In addition, 4-2 skip shifting is able to be realized. Accordingly, shift response and durability of the automatic transmission are improved.
Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail hereinabove, it should be clearly understood that many variations and/or modifications of the basic inventive concepts herein taught which may appear to those skilled in the present art will still fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims. | Disclosed is a hydraulic control system for an automatic transmission including a plurality of friction elements associated with respective transmission speeds. The hydraulic control system includes a hydraulic fluid source, a line pressure controller, a reducing pressure controller, a range controller, a shift controller, a hydraulic pressure controller, and a hydraulic pressure distributor. The hydraulic pressure distributor further includes a 3-4 shift valve, a 1-2 shift valve, a 2-3/4-3 shift valve, a 4-2 shift valve for realizing port conversion during a 4-2 skip-shifting process to selectively supply/exhaust the control pressure to/from at least one of the friction elements corresponding to the respective transmission speeds, a control switch valve for realizing port conversion to selectively supply/exhaust hydraulic pressure from the shift controller and the control pressure via the 1-2 shift valve to at least one of the friction elements corresponding to the respective transmission speeds, and a solenoid valve for controlling the control switch valve in accordance with a control signal from a transmission control unit. | Summarize the patent information, clearly outlining the technical challenges and proposed solutions. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a hydraulic control system for an automatic transmission used in vehicles.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Generally, a conventional automatic transmission used in a vehicle includes a torque converter, a multistage gear shift mechanism connected to the torque converter, and a plurality of friction elements actuated by hydraulic pressure for selecting a gear shift stage of the gear shift mechanism.",
"The conventional automatic transmission is provided with a hydraulic control system which controls the automatic transmission.",
"In such a hydraulic control system, hydraulic pressure generated by a hydraulic pump is selectively supplied to each friction element by a plurality of control valves such that automatic shifting is realized in accordance with a driving state of the vehicle and engine throttle opening.",
"The above described hydraulic control system generally comprises a line pressure controller for regulating hydraulic pressure generated by the hydraulic pump to line pressure, a damper clutch controller for actuating a damper clutch of the torque converter, a reducing pressure controller for reducing line pressure, a range controller for selectively supplying line pressure to lines corresponding to respective shift ranges, a shift controller for supplying hydraulic pressure from the range controller to lines corresponding to respective shift ranges, a hydraulic pressure controller for duty-controlling hydraulic pressure from the range controller into operational pressure operating the friction elements, and a hydraulic pressure distributor for determining a hydraulic flow path corresponding to each shift range by operating valves according to the hydraulic pressure from the shift controller, and suitably distributing the operational pressure to each friction element.",
"The shift controller operates spool valves of the hydraulic pressure distributor under the control of a transmission control unit, such that the hydraulic flow path corresponding to each shift range is determined to realize shifting.",
"When changing shift stages, the timing of exhausting hydraulic pressure from one set of friction elements and supplying hydraulic pressure to another set of friction elements through the hydraulic flow path, determined by the shift controller in accordance with each shift range, greatly influences shift quality.",
"However, mis-timing can cause an abrupt increase in engine revolutions or locking of the shift mechanism.",
"Further, abrupt changes in hydraulic pressure levels in the hydraulic flow path decreases the life span of the automatic transmission.",
"In order to improve shift quality and durability of the transmission by both accurately controlling the timing of pressure supply and minimizing changes in hydraulic pressure levels, a method of modifying shift valve structure has been developed.",
"However, such a method complicates both the structure of the shift valves and the control process.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above problems.",
"It is an object of the present invention to provide a hydraulic control system used in an automatic transmission for a vehicle, which easily and accurately controls timing of pressure supply to, and reduces a change in hydraulic pressure levels flowing in, a flow path.",
"Further, it is another object of the present invention to provide a hydraulic control system which improves shift response when skip shifting, and, in particular, when up or downshifting into a third speed, the hydraulic control system accurately controlling operating timing of corresponding friction elements by control of a transmission control unit.",
"To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a hydraulic control system for an automatic transmission including a plurality of friction elements associated with respective transmission speeds, the hydraulic control system comprising: a hydraulic fluid source;",
"line pressure control means for regulating hydraulic pressure from the fluid source to line pressure;",
"reducing pressure control means for reducing hydraulic pressure from the line pressure control means;",
"range control means for selectively supplying hydraulic pressure from the line pressure control means;",
"shift control means for supplying hydraulic pressure from the range control means to lines corresponding to respective shift ranges by control of a transmission control unit;",
"hydraulic pressure control means for duty controlling hydraulic pressure, supplied from the range control means, to convert the duty-controlled hydraulic pressure into control pressure for operating the friction elements;",
"and hydraulic pressure distributing means for determining a hydraulic flow path corresponding to each shift range by operating valves according to the hydraulic pressure from the shift control means, and suitably distributing the hydraulic pressure from the shift control means or the control pressure to each of the friction elements;",
"wherein the hydraulic pressure distributing means comprises: a 3-4 shift valve for realizing port conversion during 3-4 shifting to selectively supply/exhaust the control pressure to/from at least one of the friction elements corresponding to the respective transmission speeds;",
"a 2-3/4-3 shift valve for realizing port conversion during 2-3 or 4-3 shifting to selectively supply/exhaust the control pressure to/from at least one of the friction elements corresponding to the respective transmission speeds;",
"a 4-2 shift valve for realizing port conversion during 4-2 skip-shifting to selectively supply/exhaust the control pressure to/from at least one of the friction elements corresponding to the respective transmission speeds;",
"a 1-2 shift valve for realizing port conversion during 1-2 shifting to selectively supply/exhaust the control pressure to/from the 2-3/4-3 shift valve and 4-2 shift valve in accordance with the respective transmission speeds and to selectively supply/exhaust hydraulic pressure from the range control means to at least one of the friction elements corresponding to the respective transmission speeds;",
"a control switch valve for realizing port conversion to selectively supply/exhaust hydraulic pressure from the shift control means and the control pressure via the 1-2 shift valve to at least one of the friction elements corresponding to the respective transmission speeds such that accurately controls timing when each corresponding friction element begins to operate;",
"and a solenoid valve for controlling the control switch valve in accordance with a control signal of the transmission control unit.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein: FIG. 1 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow in a neutral N range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 2 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow in a reverse R range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 3 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow in a first speed of a drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 4 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow during 1-2 upshifting in the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 5 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow in a second speed of the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 6 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow during 2-3 upshifting in the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 7 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow in a third speed of the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 8 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow during 3-4 upshifting in the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 9 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow in a fourth speed of the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 10 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow during 4-3 downshifting in the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 11 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow during 3-2 downshifting in the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 12 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow during 2-1 downshifting in the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;",
"and FIG. 13 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow during 4-2 skip-shifting in the drive D range of a hydraulic control system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.",
"Certain terminology will be used in the following description for convenience and reference only and will not be limiting.",
"The words "right"",
"and "left"",
"are only used to designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made.",
"Referring first to FIG. 1, there is shown a hydraulic circuit diagram showing hydraulic pressure flow in a neutral N range of a hydraulic control system according to the present invention.",
"The hydraulic control system is structured such that hydraulic pressure created by hydraulic pressure generating means is supplied to/released from each friction element to engage/disengage the same, realizing automatic shifting.",
"In more detail, an hydraulic pump 4, mounted to a pump drive hub of a torque converter 2, is connected to a line pressure passage 6 to enable supply of hydraulic pressure to a pressure regulating valve 8.",
"The pressure regulating valve 8 supplies hydraulic pressure supplied through the line pressure passage 6 to a torque converter control valve 10, a damper clutch control valve 12, and the torque converter 2 such that lubrication of a transaxle and a damper clutch, mounted in the torque converter 2, are able to be controlled.",
"Part of the hydraulic pressure supplied from the hydraulic pump 4 is supplied to a reducing valve 14, which reduces line pressure, and to a manual valve 16, indexed by a selector lever (not shown) operated by the driver to determine shift ranges by controlling hydraulic flow.",
"Part of the hydraulic pressure reduced by the reducing valve 14 is supplied to a high-low pressure valve 18, which minimizes power loss of the hydraulic pump 4 by reducing line pressure in a high speed stage, to control the same valve 18.",
"Further, part of the reduced hydraulic pressure is supplied to first and second pressure control valves 20 and 22 to control the same, the first and second pressure control valves 20 and 22 being comprised in a hydraulic pressure controller.",
"Further, another part of the reduced hydraulic pressure is supplied to a N-R control valve 24 which reduces shift shock when changing shift modes from the neutral N range to a reverse R range.",
"When the manual valve 16, which is a range controller, is positioned at a drive D range, hydraulic pressure from the manual valve 16 flows into a line 26.",
"The line 26 is connected to a shift control valve 28 which determines the hydraulic flow path by port conversion according to control of the first and second solenoid valves S1 and S2, ON/OFF controlled by a transmission control unit (TCU), the manual valve 16 being comprised in a range controller and the shift control valve 28 and the solenoid valves S1 and S2 being comprised in a shift controller.",
"The shift control valve 28 is connected to a second speed line 30, a third speed line 32, and a fourth speed line 34 to control valve spools of spool valves being comprised in a hydraulic pressure distributor.",
"In more detail, hydraulic pressure in the second speed line 30 is supplied to a left side port of a 1-2 shift valve 36 to control a valve spool of the same, hydraulic pressure in the third speed line 32 is supplied to a left side port of a 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 to control a valve spool of the same, and hydraulic pressure in the fourth line 34 is supplied to a right side port of the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 and a left side port of a 3-4 shift valve 40 to control valve spools of the same valves 38 and 40.",
"Meanwhile, the first and second pressure control valves 20 and 22 realize port conversion in accordance with the third and fourth solenoid valves S3 and S4, respectively.",
"The line 26 connected to the manual valve 29 is branched off to a first speed line 27.",
"Accordingly, hydraulic pressure is supplied to the first and second pressure control valves 20 and 22, which duty-control the hydraulic pressure into control pressure, such that the control pressure is supplied to a first friction element C1, acting as an input element in the first speed stage, via the 3-4 shift valve controlled by the third and fourth solenoid valves S3 and S4.",
"Further, the first speed line 40 is connected to a timing control line 42 such that line pressure in the first speed line 40 is supplied to a control switch valve 44 and a 4-2 shift valve 46.",
"The control switch valve 44 supplies/exhausts operational pressure to/from a third friction element C3, which acts as an input element in the third and fourth speed stages, and controls a timing of when the operational pressure is supplied to the third friction element C3.",
"Further, the control switch valve 44 controls an operating timing of a second friction element C2, which acts as a reaction element in the second and fourth speed stages.",
"The above timing control is realized through port conversion of the control switch valve 44 according to control of a fifth solenoid valve S5, the fifth solenoid valve S5 being ON/OFF controlled by the TCU.",
"The control switch valve 44 comprises a first port receiving hydraulic pressure from the manual valve 16 to control a valve spool of the control switch valve 44, a second port receiving line pressure through the third speed line 32, a third port receiving hydraulic pressure from the first pressure control valve 20 via the 1-2 shift valve, a fourth port receiving line pressure through the second speed line 30, a fifth port supplying hydraulic pressure supplied through the fourth port to an operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2, and a sixth port supplying hydraulic pressure supplied through the second port to the third friction element C3.",
"A valve spool of the control switch valve 44 is operated by a fifth solenoid valve S5, connected to the first port, such that hydraulic pressure supplied through the third port is selectively supplied to the operational chamber h2 through the fifth port or to the third friction element C3 through the sixth port.",
"The 4-2 shift valve 46 comprises a port connected to the first port of the control switch valve 44, a port receiving the third speed pressure in the third speed line 32, a port receiving hydraulic pressure from the first pressure control valve 20 via the 1-2 shift valve 36, a port supplying hydraulic pressure to the third friction element C3, and a port connected to the 3-4 shift valve 40.",
"A valve spool of the 4-2 shift valve 46 is controlled by both the hydraulic pressure supplied through the port connected to the first port of the control switch valve 44 and the hydraulic pressure supplied through the port connected to the 3-4 shift valve 40.",
"By the this control, the 4-2 shift valve 46 more accurately controls operating timing of the third friction element C3.",
"The 1-2 shift valve 36 supplies control pressure from the first pressure control valve 20 to the operational chamber h2 via the control switch valve 44.",
"Simultaneously, the 1-2 shift valve 36 supplies the control pressure from first pressure control valve 20 to the fourth friction element C4 and a release chamber hi of the second friction element C2 via a 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38.",
"For the above operation, the 1-2 shift valve 36 comprises a port receiving line pressure from the shift control valve 28 through the second speed line 30 to control a valve spool of the 1-2 shift valve 36 in second, third, and fourth speed states, a port receiving reverse control pressure through a reverse control line 48 when in the reverse R range, a port receiving control pressure from the first pressure control valve 20, a port through which the reverse range pressure is supplied to the fifth friction element C5, and a port through which the hydraulic pressure supplied from the first pressure control valve 20 is supplied to the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38, the 4-2 shift valve 46, and the control switch valve 44 in the drive D range.",
"On a side of the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 is provided a kickdown switch 50.",
"The kickdown switch 50 detects whether or not the second friction element C2 is operating and transmits a corresponding signal to the TCU.",
"The 3-4 shift valve 40 supplies control pressure from the second pressure control valve 22 to the first friction element C1 in the first, second, and third speeds.",
"Further, the control pressure supplied to the first friction element C1 is exhausted through the 3-4 shift valve 40 during 3-4 shifting.",
"The hydraulic pressure supplied to the release chamber h1 of the second friction element C2 is returned through a second reverse control line 52 via the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 or the 3-4 shift valve 40 to be exhausted through an exit port of the manual valve 16.",
"Reference numeral S6, which has not yet been described, is a sixth solenoid valve.",
"The sixth solenoid valve S6 controls the damper clutch control valve 12 according to a control signal of the TCU.",
"The flow of hydraulic pressure and shift processes for each shift stage in the hydraulic control system structured as in the above will now be described with reference with the accompanying drawings.",
"When in the neutral N range as shown in FIG. 1, hydraulic pressure from the hydraulic pump 4 is regulated to a predetermined level by the pressure regulating valve 8 and reduced by the reducing valve 14 to be supplied to the first and second pressure control valves 20 and 22, and to the damper clutch control valve 12.",
"Here, the third and fourth solenoid valves S3 and S4 are duty-controlled to OFF by the TCU such that the valve spools of the pressure control valves 20 and 22 move to the right.",
"From the above state, when the manual valve 16 is positioned in the reverse R range, as shown in FIG. 2, part of the hydraulic pressure being supplied to the manual valve 16 is supplied to the 1-2 shift valve 36 through the first reverse control line 48 via the N-R control valve 24 duty-controlled by the third solenoid valve S4.",
"Accordingly, the valve spool of the 1-2 shift valve 36 moves to the right such that the hydraulic pressure is supplied to the fifth friction element C5 acting as a reaction element at the reverse R range.",
"Also, part of the hydraulic pressure from the manual valve 16 is supplied to the fourth friction element C4, which acts as an input element in the reverse R range, through the second reverse control line 52 via the 3-4 shift valve 40 and the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 to realize shifting into the reverse R range.",
"If the manual valve 16 is positioned in the drive D range from the neutral N range, as shown in FIG. 3, part of the hydraulic pressure being supplied from the manual valve 16 is supplied to the first and second pressure control valves 20 and 22, and to the shift control valve 28.",
"Here, the first and second solenoid valve S1 and S2 are controlled to ON such that the valve spool of the shift control valve 28 is positioned identically as that in the neutral N range.",
"Further, in this state, the third solenoid valve S3 is controlled to ON such that the hydraulic pressure is not able to be supplied to the first pressure control valve 20.",
"Thus, the hydraulic pressure passes through the second pressure control valve 22 to be supplied to the first friction element C1, which acts as an input element in the first speed stage of the drive D range, through the 3-4 shift valve 40.",
"Here, through the line 42 branched off from the first speed line 27, part of the hydraulic pressure is supplied to the first port of the control switch valve 44 to push the valve spool of the same to the left.",
"If throttle opening and vehicle speed are increased in the first speed state, the TCU controls the first solenoid valve S1 to OFF from ON such that the shift control valve 28 supplies the hydraulic pressure supplied from the manual valve 16 to the second speed line 30, as shown in FIG. 4. Also, the third solenoid valve S3 is duty-controlled to OFF such that hydraulic pressure in the first speed line 40 is supplied to the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 via the 1-2 shift valve 36 or the control switch valve 44.",
"Here, part of hydraulic pressure passing the 1-2 shift valve 36 is supplied to the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 and the 4-2 shift valve 46 to stand by at these valves 38 and 46.",
"Further, part of hydraulic pressure in the second speed line 30 is supplied to the control switch valve 44 through a line branched from the second speed line 30 and stands by at the control switch valve 44.",
"In this state, if the third and fifth solenoid valve S3 and S5 are controlled to OFF, as shown in FIG. 5, the valve spool of the control switch valve 44 moves to the left such that the second speed line 30 is communicated with the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 to realize shifting into the second speed of the drive D range.",
"If vehicle speed and throttle opening are increased in the above state, the first and second solenoid valves S1 and S2 are controlled to OFF as shown in FIG. 6. By this control, hydraulic fluid flows into the second speed line 30 and the third speed line 32.",
"Thus, line pressure in the third speed line 32 is supplied to a left side port of the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 such that the valve spool of the same moves to the right.",
"Accordingly, the hydraulic pressure standing by at the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 in the second speed is supplied to the release chamber h1 of the second friction element C2 to stop the operation of the same and, simultaneously, the hydraulic pressure is supplied to the fourth friction element C4.",
"Also at the same time, the fifth solenoid valve S5 is controlled to ON such that the hydraulic pressure being supplied to the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 via the 1-2 shift valve 36 is converted into control pressure from line pressure in the second speed line 30, which the second and third speed pressures stands by at the control switch valve 44.",
"In this state, if the fifth solenoid valve S5 is controlled to OFF from ON as shown in FIG. 7, the valve spool of the control switch valve 44 moves to the left such that the hydraulic pressure being supplied to the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 is converted back into line pressure in the second speed line 30.",
"Further, the line pressure in the third speed line 32 is supplied to the third friction element C3 to realize shifting into the third speed of the drive D range.",
"Here, part of the hydraulic pressure being supplied to the third friction element C3 is supplied to the high/low pressure valve 18 such that the pressure regulating valve 8 is controlled to reduce line pressure.",
"The reduction of line pressure reduces power loss of the hydraulic pump 4.",
"As described above, when shifting into the fourth speed from the third speed, because the fifth solenoid valve S5 controls the third friction element C3, the problem of shifting temporarily into the neutral N range is prevented.",
"If vehicle speed and throttle opening are increased in the third speed state, as shown in FIG. 8, the TCU controls the first and fifth solenoid valves S1 and S5 to ON such that hydraulic fluid flows in the second, third, and fourth speed lines 30, 32, and 34.",
"Further, the third solenoid valve S3 is duty-controlled.",
"Accordingly, the hydraulic pressure being supplied to the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 is converted into control pressure from the 1-2 shift valve 36 from line pressure in the second pressure line 32.",
"Further, line pressure in the fourth speed line 34 is supplied to the left side port of the 3-4 shift valve 40 and the right side port of the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 such that the valve spool of the 3-4 shift valve 40 moves to the right and the valve spool of the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 moves to the left.",
"Consequently, the hydraulic pressure in the first friction element C1 is exhausted through an exit port Ex of the 3-4 shift valve 40.",
"Further, because hydraulic pressure is supplied to the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 to press a wall of the release chamber h1 to the left, the hydraulic pressure in the release chamber h1 is quickly exhausted through an exit port Ex of the manual valve 16 via the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38, 3-4 shift valve 40, and the second reverse control line 52.",
"After completing the above control process, the valve spool of the control switch valve 44 moves to the left by OFF-control of the fifth solenoid valve S5 such that line pressure in the third speed line 34 is supplied to the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 via the control switch valve 44 to realize shifting into the fourth speed of the drive D range.",
"When downshifting into the third speed state from the fourth speed state, the first solenoid valve S1 is controlled to OFF as shown in FIG. 10 such that line pressure in the fourth speed line 34 is exhausted.",
"Accordingly, the valve spool of the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38 moves to the right and the valve spool of the 3-4 shift valve 40 moves to the left.",
"Further, by duty-control of the third and fourth solenoid valves S3 and S4, control pressure regulated by the first pressure control valve 20 is supplied to the fourth friction element C4, and to the operational and release chambers h2 and h1 of the second friction element C2 via the 1-2 shift valve, the control switch valve 44, and the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38.",
"Here, hydraulic pressure applied to the release chamber h1 and the fourth friction element C4 are affected by hydraulic pressure applied to the operational chamber h2.",
"The second pressure control valve 22 duty-controls and supplies hydraulic pressure to the first friction element C1 to realize shifting into the third speed state from the fourth speed state.",
"Consequently, shift shock is reduced and shifting temporarily into the neutral N range is prevented.",
"When downshifting into the second speed state from the third speed state as shown in FIG. 11, the second solenoid valve S2 is controlled to OFF such that the hydraulic pressure in the third friction element C3 is quickly exhausted through the shift control valve 26 via the third speed line 32.",
"Further, by duty-control of the third solenoid valve S3, hydraulic pressure being supplied to the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 through the control switch valve 44 is converted into control pressure from the 1-2 shift valve 36.",
"Because the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 receives hydraulic pressure, the wall of the release chamber h1 is pushed leftward such that hydraulic pressures in the release chamber h1 and the fourth friction element C4 are exhausted through the manual valve 16 via the 2-3/4-3 shift valve 38, the 3-4 shift valve 40, and the second reverse control line 52.",
"When downshifting into the first speed state from the second speed state as shown in FIG. 12, the first solenoid valve S1 is maintained in an OFF state and the second solenoid valve S2 is switched ON.",
"Further, the fifth solenoid valve S5 is initially controlled to ON then returned to OFF at the end of shifting.",
"Accordingly, line pressure in the second speed line 30 is quickly exhausted through the exit port Ex of the shift control valve 28 and the hydraulic pressure in the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2 is exhausted by duty-control of the third solenoid valve S3.",
"The hydraulic control system according to the present invention is able to realize 4-2 kickdown skip shifting.",
"If the TCU transmits a 4-2 kickdown skip shift signal, the first solenoid valve S1 is controlled to OFF from ON and the second solenoid valve S2 is controlled to ON from OFF, as shown in FIG. 13.",
"Also, the fifth solenoid valve S5 is initially controlled to ON then controlled to OFF at the end of shifting.",
"The third and fourth solenoid valves S3 and S4 are duty-controlled such that the hydraulic pressure in the third friction element C3 is exhausted, while hydraulic pressure is supplied to the first friction element C1 to realize skip shifting into the second speed state.",
"As described in the above when up or downshifting, in the hydraulic control system according to the present invention, the fifth solenoid valve S5 is controlled to ON at the middle of the shifting process such that the control switch valve 44 supplies control pressure, duty-controlled by the first pressure control valve 20, to the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2, and, at the end of the shifting process, the fifth solenoid valve S5 is controlled to OFF such that the switch control valve 44 supplies line pressure in the second speed line 30 to the operational chamber h2.",
"Accordingly, shift shock and damage to friction elements is greatly reduced and shift quality is improved.",
"Further, when 3-4 or 3-2 shifting, because hydraulic pressures in the first and third friction elements C1 and C3 are quickly exhausted and hydraulic pressures exhausted from the release chamber h1 and the fourth friction element C4 are controlled by of hydraulic pressure supplied to the operational chamber h2 of the second friction element C2, shift shock is reduced and the temporary shifting into the neutral state is prevented.",
"In addition, 4-2 skip shifting is able to be realized.",
"Accordingly, shift response and durability of the automatic transmission are improved.",
"Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail hereinabove, it should be clearly understood that many variations and/or modifications of the basic inventive concepts herein taught which may appear to those skilled in the present art will still fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to livestock headgates, and more particularly to a livestock headgate adapted for rapid and positive automatic operation to secure animals of widely varying sizes.
Heretofore various diverse types of headgates have been used to restrain livestock, particularly cattle. In such headgates, the animal is restrained for treatment or grooming while standing on the ground and immobilized by having its head held in the headgate.
However, many of the headgates that have been used in the past are known to be dangerous, unwieldy, slow, and complicated in operation. Some are undependable, and are rarely adapted for long-term, maintenance free service. For example, one type of headgate in use comprises a V-shaped panel which supports the neck of an animal. This type of headgate is exceptionally undesirable in that in the event the animal slips or otherwise loses its footing, there is a possibility that the animal will be killed by breaking its neck, or that its breathing will be restricted due to pressure of the V-shaped panel on its neck. In the latter case, the animal must be bodily lifted in order to relieve the pressure and thereby restore breathing. Some V-shaped panel type headgates are provided with emergency release apparatus. However, the release feature is often of complicated operation, and considerably increases the cost of the headgate.
Another type of headgate that has been used heretofore is the stanchion gate. This type of headgate comprises a pair of vertically disposed neck-engaging bars which are pivotally supported at their bottom ends in a spaced apart relationship. The bars are adapted for pivotal movement between an open position wherein livestock are permitted to pass through the gate, and a closed position wherein the bars engage the sides of the neck of the animal to effect restraint of the animal.
The use of the stanchion type gate affords greater safety to the animal because the throat of the animal is not restrained. Since the stanchion gate does not require side gates, tail gates, etc., its operation is substantially faster and less complicated than would otherwise be the case.
A shortcoming of stanchion gates is that the neck-engaging bars generally do not close quickly and positively on the neck of the animal. Consequently, the bars sometimes catch the animal at the hips, requiring action by the operator to force the animal backwards out of the headgate. Another problem experienced in the use of stanchion gates is difficulty in making adjustments to accommodate various sizes of animals and horned animals.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a headgate of the walk-through stanchion type which is safer toward the livestock.
It is another object of this invention to provide a headgate as in the foregoing object having neck engaging means that are rapidly and automatically activated by the animal, and easily released by the operator.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a headgate of the aforesaid nature of durable, easily operable, and minimal-maintenance construction.
These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above and other beneficial objects and advantages are accomplished in accordance with the present invention by a headgate comprising:
(a) vertically elongated left and right gate frameworks, each having upper and lower horizontally disposed boundary members, upright interior and outer boundary members, forward and rearward faces, and rigid opaque panels disposed between said boundary members, said frameworks being pivotable upon said outer boundary members to permit horizontal swinging motion of said frameworks between a substantially coplanar disposition representing the closed state of the headgate, and an opposed forwardly directed parallel disposition representing the open state of the headgate, the upright interior boundary member of said right framework being pivotably joined to the lower horizontally disposed boundary member of the same framework so as to permit movement of said interior boundary member in the plane of the framework, and having an upper portion adjustably positionable within the plane of said right framework, the terminal upper extremity of said upper portion being slidably retained by the corresponding upper horizontally disposed boundary member,
(b) a stationary upper horizontal bar extending between the upper extremities of the upright outer boundary members of said gates in pivotal engagement therewith and adapted to prevent rearward movement of said frameworks past their coplanar disposition,
(c) a horizontally disposed floor beam extending between the lower extremities of the upright outer boundary members and in pivotal engagement therewith,
(d) a connecting rod extending in pivotal interengagement between the upper horizontally disposed boundary members of the two frameworks in a manner such that said frameworks are mechanically coupled in their movements between said open and closed states,
(e) latch means associated with the upper horizontally disposed boundary member of the right gate adjacent the right extremity thereof and adapted to engage said terminal extremity when the framework is in its open state, remain engaged in its closed state, and effect disengagement of said terminal extremity when the upright interior boundary member of the right framework is slightly displaced in a forward direction.
(f) spring means under tension associated with said terminal extremity in a manner to draw the upright interior boundary member of the right framework toward the upright interior boundary member of the left framework when said terminal extremity is disengaged from the latch means,
(g) ratchet means interactive between said upper horizontal bar and terminal extremity to lock the position of the upright interior boundary member of the right framework after it has been drawn toward the upright interior boundary member of the left framework,
(h) securing means associated with said horizontal bar for releasibly holding said frameworks in their closed state,
(i) lever means associated with the upright outer boundary member of the left framework and adapted to permit manual pivotal movement of said frameworks between their open and closed states,
(j) coupling means interactive with said lever means for releasing said securing means prior to manual movement of said frameworks to the open state, and restoring the holding position of said securing means with movement to the closed state, and
(k) means for automatically restoring said terminal extremity to its latched position during the aforesaid movement of said frameworks.
In preferred embodiments, the headgate is fabricated of steel, with said boundary members and other components being of square tubular construction. Although, for convenience of description, the expressions "letf" and "right" have been employed, it is to be understood that such features may be reversed in their position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and in which similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawing:
FIG. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of the headgate of the present invention in its closed state showing the position of the upright interior boundary member of the right framework in its closed position in solid line depiction, and in its open position in broken line depiction.
FIG. 2 is a front view of the headgate of FIG. 1 in its open state.
FIG. 3 is a right side view of the headgate shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a left side view of the headgate shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged top view of the headgate shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is a rear view of the headgate shown in FIG. 1.
FIGS. 7 and 8 are enlarged fragmentary sectional views of a size-adjusting feature of the embodiment of FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIGS. 1-6, an embodiment of the headgate of the present invention is shown comprised of vertically elongated left and right gate frameworks 10 and 11, respectively. The left gate framework is comprised of upper and lower horizontally disposed boundary members 12 and 13, respectively, fabricated of solid flat steel in welded engagement with upright interior and outer boundary members 14 and 15, respectively, fabricated of square tubular steel. A steel plate panel 16 is disposed within the perimeter defined by said boundary members. The lowermost extremity of outer boundary member 15 engages the left extremity of floor beam 17 by means of pivot rod 18.
The right gate framework is comprised of upper horizontally disposed boundary member 19 constructed of two bars 20 in parallel horizontally spaced relationship, lower horizontally disposed boundary member 21, upright outer boundary member 22 in welded engagement with said upper and lower boundary members 19 and 21, respectively, and upright interior boundary member 23 pivotably joined to the left extremity of lower boundary member 21 in a manner to permit swinging movement of boundary member 23 within the plane defined by boundary members 19, 21 and 22. The lower extremity of upper portion 24 of boundary member 23 is inserted into the open upper extremity of tubular lower portion 45 of boundary member 23. As shown more clearly in FIGS. 7 and 8, pivot pin 25 secures upper portion 24 at a fixed elevation within lower portion 45 and further permits limited tilting positioning within the plane of the framework because the inside perimeter of tube 45 is larger than the cross-sectional outside perimeter of upper portion 24. Such arrangement enables said upper portion to be either a straight continuation of the lower portion of member 23 or to angle toward or away from boundary member 22 within the plane of the framework. Such adjustability is achieved by control means comprising square tube 47 welded to a face of upper portion 24, and square bolt 48 slidably held by tube 47 and whose lowermost extremity contains different abutment shapes 49 on three edges adapted to interact with the upper extremity of tube 45. As shown in FIG. 7, the abutment shape 49 grips the exterior of tube 45, causing upper portion 24 to be tilted to the right. When bolt 48 is removed from tube 47 and reinserted with 90 degree rotation, a different abutment shape 49 enters tube 45, causing portion 24 to be tilted to the left. In such manner, the separation between the opposed upright interior boundary members can be adjusted to accommodate differently-sized animals.
The terminal extremity 32 of upper portion 24 is slideably constrained between the two bars 20 of upper boundary member 19. Its lateral movement is limited by boundary member 22 and upright securing post 57 which are embraced by bars 20. The lowermost extremity of outer boundary member 22 engages the right extremity of floor beam 17 by means of pivot rod 26. A first steel panel 27 is disposed within the plane of the right framework by attachment to lower boundary member 21 and outer boundary member 22. A second steel panel 28 is attached to lower portion 45 of boundary member 23 and adapted to move therewith in its pivoted mode of motion. Panels 27 and 28 are separated sufficiently, front to rear, to permit movement of panel 28 in close adjacency to panel 27.
The left and right gate frameworks are further characterized in having forward and rearward faces 29 and 30, respectively.
Stationary upper horizontal bar 31 extends between the upper extremities of the upright outer boundary members of said gates, engaging said extremities by pivot rods 50. In addition to aiding in the pivotal support of said gate frameworks, horizontal bar 31 serves as abutment means to prevent the swinging movement of said frameworks from going rearwardly beyond their position of coplanarity. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, horizontal bar 31 and floor beam 17 are held in spaced apart relationship by vertical wooden or steel posts 51.
A connecting rod 33 extends in pivoted interengagement between the upper horizontally disposed boundary members of the two frameworks in a manner such that manually urged swinging movement of the left gate framework causes corresponding movement of the right gate framework. In particular, the left extremity of rod 33 is joined to horizontally disposed boundary member 12 by pivot pin 52 located about 2 inches from corresponding upright boundary member 15, and the right extremity of rod 33 is joined to horizontally disposed member 19 by pivot pin 53 located at a site close to upright boundary member 22. Such construction causes the left gate to open ahead of the right gate, thereby allowing the gate to be opened even if the animal is leaning backwards.
As best shown in FIG. 5, a latching detent 34 is disposed upon rearward horizontal boundary bar 20 adjacent the right extremity thereof. Detent 34 is dimensioned and positioned to engage terminal extremity 32 in the closed state of the gate framework. When upright interior boundary member 23 is forwardly displaced, as by the shoulders of livestock, terminal extremity 32 leaves latching detent 34 for sliding movement within bars 20 toward the left gate framework.
As best shown in FIG. 6, a coil spring 35 is disposed at the lower extremity of outer upright boundary member 15 of the left gate framework. A cable 36 extends upwardly from the upper extremity of spring 35, passes around guide wheels 37, and attaches to terminal extremity 32. Spring 35 is under tension when terminal extremity 32 is held by latching detent 34. When said terminal extremity is pushed by the shoulder of the animal from its position of securement within latching detent 34, boundary member 23 is rapidly forced toward the left gate assembly, thereby catching the livestock at its neck region. In order to enhance the sensitivity and speed of the action of boundary member 23, the surface of rear boundary bar 20, latching detent 34, and terminal extremity 32 that are in sliding contact are preferably lined with a durable plastic material such as ultra high density polyethylene. Detent 34 preferably constitutes the right edge of a slab 54 of such plastic material.
A series of ratchet-type teeth 38 are disposed in upright orientation upon the upper surface of horizontal bar 31, and positioned so as to become engaged by holding bar 39 extending rearwardly from terminal extremity 32. Such engagement occurs when boundary member 23 is in its far left position where it is closed upon the neck of the livestock.
Securing means in the form of bolt 40 pivotably attached to horizontal bar 31, and bracket 41 enable the gate frameworks to be locked in their closed or coplanar state, such being the state when an animal is engaged by interior boundary members 14 and 23. Bolt 40 is movable between locked and unlocked positions by control arm 43, integral with bolt 40 and disposed on the opposite side of pivot pin 55.
A manually operable lever 42 is pivotably attached to outer upright boundary member 15 of the left gate assembly. The free distal extremity of the lever has welded thereto activator means 48 which interacts with control arm 43 when the lever is in its upward position, thereby placing bolt 40 in its locking position. When pivoted downwardly, as shown in FIG. 2, control arm 43 is caused to raise bolt 40, thereby unlocking the interengaged frameworks. Manual movement of lever 42 rearwardly causes both gate frameworks to pivot forwardly, thereby releasing the held livestock. Said forward movement of framework 11 also restores extremity 32 to its cocked position within detent 34. This is achieved because holding bar 39 leaves ratchet teeth 38. Then, the tension applied to terminal extremity 32 through cable 36 passing around guide wheel 37 on horizontal bar 31 pulls the terminal extremity rearwardly to detent 34. When lever 42 is manually moved forward, the gate frameworks are brought back to their closed state. When lever 42 is manually pivoted to its vertical position, activator means 48 automatically engages control arm 43 to secure the gates in their closed, starting position.
A second cable 47 attaches to the lower extremity of spring 35, passes around guide wheel 37, and attaches to lever 42 at a site about 8 inches from the pivoted engagement of lever 42 with upright boundary 15. Such arrangement permits the closing force to be divided between the horizontal rotation of the left framework and the vertical rotation of lever 42. The arrangement also reduces the closing force when lever 42 is down and the gates are open to permit passage of the animal.
While particular examples of the present invention have been shown and described, it is apparent that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention in its broadest aspects. The aim of the appended claims, therefore, is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. | A livestock headgate is provided having certain automatic features of operation and capability for adjustment to the size of the livestock. The headgate utilizes two vertically elongated swinging frameworks which are coupled so that when one framework is swung to the forward discharge position, the second framework follows. The frameworks, in their coplanar closed positions, permit the animal's head to pass therebetween. When the animal's shoulder touches one of the frameworks, an upright member under tension is caused to rapidly close upon the neck of the animal. When the frameworks are swung to the forward discharge position, the tensioned member is automatically restored to its starting position. | Briefly describe the main invention outlined in the provided context. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to livestock headgates, and more particularly to a livestock headgate adapted for rapid and positive automatic operation to secure animals of widely varying sizes.",
"Heretofore various diverse types of headgates have been used to restrain livestock, particularly cattle.",
"In such headgates, the animal is restrained for treatment or grooming while standing on the ground and immobilized by having its head held in the headgate.",
"However, many of the headgates that have been used in the past are known to be dangerous, unwieldy, slow, and complicated in operation.",
"Some are undependable, and are rarely adapted for long-term, maintenance free service.",
"For example, one type of headgate in use comprises a V-shaped panel which supports the neck of an animal.",
"This type of headgate is exceptionally undesirable in that in the event the animal slips or otherwise loses its footing, there is a possibility that the animal will be killed by breaking its neck, or that its breathing will be restricted due to pressure of the V-shaped panel on its neck.",
"In the latter case, the animal must be bodily lifted in order to relieve the pressure and thereby restore breathing.",
"Some V-shaped panel type headgates are provided with emergency release apparatus.",
"However, the release feature is often of complicated operation, and considerably increases the cost of the headgate.",
"Another type of headgate that has been used heretofore is the stanchion gate.",
"This type of headgate comprises a pair of vertically disposed neck-engaging bars which are pivotally supported at their bottom ends in a spaced apart relationship.",
"The bars are adapted for pivotal movement between an open position wherein livestock are permitted to pass through the gate, and a closed position wherein the bars engage the sides of the neck of the animal to effect restraint of the animal.",
"The use of the stanchion type gate affords greater safety to the animal because the throat of the animal is not restrained.",
"Since the stanchion gate does not require side gates, tail gates, etc.",
", its operation is substantially faster and less complicated than would otherwise be the case.",
"A shortcoming of stanchion gates is that the neck-engaging bars generally do not close quickly and positively on the neck of the animal.",
"Consequently, the bars sometimes catch the animal at the hips, requiring action by the operator to force the animal backwards out of the headgate.",
"Another problem experienced in the use of stanchion gates is difficulty in making adjustments to accommodate various sizes of animals and horned animals.",
"It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a headgate of the walk-through stanchion type which is safer toward the livestock.",
"It is another object of this invention to provide a headgate as in the foregoing object having neck engaging means that are rapidly and automatically activated by the animal, and easily released by the operator.",
"It is a further object of the present invention to provide a headgate of the aforesaid nature of durable, easily operable, and minimal-maintenance construction.",
"These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above and other beneficial objects and advantages are accomplished in accordance with the present invention by a headgate comprising: (a) vertically elongated left and right gate frameworks, each having upper and lower horizontally disposed boundary members, upright interior and outer boundary members, forward and rearward faces, and rigid opaque panels disposed between said boundary members, said frameworks being pivotable upon said outer boundary members to permit horizontal swinging motion of said frameworks between a substantially coplanar disposition representing the closed state of the headgate, and an opposed forwardly directed parallel disposition representing the open state of the headgate, the upright interior boundary member of said right framework being pivotably joined to the lower horizontally disposed boundary member of the same framework so as to permit movement of said interior boundary member in the plane of the framework, and having an upper portion adjustably positionable within the plane of said right framework, the terminal upper extremity of said upper portion being slidably retained by the corresponding upper horizontally disposed boundary member, (b) a stationary upper horizontal bar extending between the upper extremities of the upright outer boundary members of said gates in pivotal engagement therewith and adapted to prevent rearward movement of said frameworks past their coplanar disposition, (c) a horizontally disposed floor beam extending between the lower extremities of the upright outer boundary members and in pivotal engagement therewith, (d) a connecting rod extending in pivotal interengagement between the upper horizontally disposed boundary members of the two frameworks in a manner such that said frameworks are mechanically coupled in their movements between said open and closed states, (e) latch means associated with the upper horizontally disposed boundary member of the right gate adjacent the right extremity thereof and adapted to engage said terminal extremity when the framework is in its open state, remain engaged in its closed state, and effect disengagement of said terminal extremity when the upright interior boundary member of the right framework is slightly displaced in a forward direction.",
"(f) spring means under tension associated with said terminal extremity in a manner to draw the upright interior boundary member of the right framework toward the upright interior boundary member of the left framework when said terminal extremity is disengaged from the latch means, (g) ratchet means interactive between said upper horizontal bar and terminal extremity to lock the position of the upright interior boundary member of the right framework after it has been drawn toward the upright interior boundary member of the left framework, (h) securing means associated with said horizontal bar for releasibly holding said frameworks in their closed state, (i) lever means associated with the upright outer boundary member of the left framework and adapted to permit manual pivotal movement of said frameworks between their open and closed states, (j) coupling means interactive with said lever means for releasing said securing means prior to manual movement of said frameworks to the open state, and restoring the holding position of said securing means with movement to the closed state, and (k) means for automatically restoring said terminal extremity to its latched position during the aforesaid movement of said frameworks.",
"In preferred embodiments, the headgate is fabricated of steel, with said boundary members and other components being of square tubular construction.",
"Although, for convenience of description, the expressions "letf"",
"and "right"",
"have been employed, it is to be understood that such features may be reversed in their position.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and in which similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawing: FIG. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of the headgate of the present invention in its closed state showing the position of the upright interior boundary member of the right framework in its closed position in solid line depiction, and in its open position in broken line depiction.",
"FIG. 2 is a front view of the headgate of FIG. 1 in its open state.",
"FIG. 3 is a right side view of the headgate shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a left side view of the headgate shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is an enlarged top view of the headgate shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a rear view of the headgate shown in FIG. 1. FIGS. 7 and 8 are enlarged fragmentary sectional views of a size-adjusting feature of the embodiment of FIG. 1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1-6, an embodiment of the headgate of the present invention is shown comprised of vertically elongated left and right gate frameworks 10 and 11, respectively.",
"The left gate framework is comprised of upper and lower horizontally disposed boundary members 12 and 13, respectively, fabricated of solid flat steel in welded engagement with upright interior and outer boundary members 14 and 15, respectively, fabricated of square tubular steel.",
"A steel plate panel 16 is disposed within the perimeter defined by said boundary members.",
"The lowermost extremity of outer boundary member 15 engages the left extremity of floor beam 17 by means of pivot rod 18.",
"The right gate framework is comprised of upper horizontally disposed boundary member 19 constructed of two bars 20 in parallel horizontally spaced relationship, lower horizontally disposed boundary member 21, upright outer boundary member 22 in welded engagement with said upper and lower boundary members 19 and 21, respectively, and upright interior boundary member 23 pivotably joined to the left extremity of lower boundary member 21 in a manner to permit swinging movement of boundary member 23 within the plane defined by boundary members 19, 21 and 22.",
"The lower extremity of upper portion 24 of boundary member 23 is inserted into the open upper extremity of tubular lower portion 45 of boundary member 23.",
"As shown more clearly in FIGS. 7 and 8, pivot pin 25 secures upper portion 24 at a fixed elevation within lower portion 45 and further permits limited tilting positioning within the plane of the framework because the inside perimeter of tube 45 is larger than the cross-sectional outside perimeter of upper portion 24.",
"Such arrangement enables said upper portion to be either a straight continuation of the lower portion of member 23 or to angle toward or away from boundary member 22 within the plane of the framework.",
"Such adjustability is achieved by control means comprising square tube 47 welded to a face of upper portion 24, and square bolt 48 slidably held by tube 47 and whose lowermost extremity contains different abutment shapes 49 on three edges adapted to interact with the upper extremity of tube 45.",
"As shown in FIG. 7, the abutment shape 49 grips the exterior of tube 45, causing upper portion 24 to be tilted to the right.",
"When bolt 48 is removed from tube 47 and reinserted with 90 degree rotation, a different abutment shape 49 enters tube 45, causing portion 24 to be tilted to the left.",
"In such manner, the separation between the opposed upright interior boundary members can be adjusted to accommodate differently-sized animals.",
"The terminal extremity 32 of upper portion 24 is slideably constrained between the two bars 20 of upper boundary member 19.",
"Its lateral movement is limited by boundary member 22 and upright securing post 57 which are embraced by bars 20.",
"The lowermost extremity of outer boundary member 22 engages the right extremity of floor beam 17 by means of pivot rod 26.",
"A first steel panel 27 is disposed within the plane of the right framework by attachment to lower boundary member 21 and outer boundary member 22.",
"A second steel panel 28 is attached to lower portion 45 of boundary member 23 and adapted to move therewith in its pivoted mode of motion.",
"Panels 27 and 28 are separated sufficiently, front to rear, to permit movement of panel 28 in close adjacency to panel 27.",
"The left and right gate frameworks are further characterized in having forward and rearward faces 29 and 30, respectively.",
"Stationary upper horizontal bar 31 extends between the upper extremities of the upright outer boundary members of said gates, engaging said extremities by pivot rods 50.",
"In addition to aiding in the pivotal support of said gate frameworks, horizontal bar 31 serves as abutment means to prevent the swinging movement of said frameworks from going rearwardly beyond their position of coplanarity.",
"As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, horizontal bar 31 and floor beam 17 are held in spaced apart relationship by vertical wooden or steel posts 51.",
"A connecting rod 33 extends in pivoted interengagement between the upper horizontally disposed boundary members of the two frameworks in a manner such that manually urged swinging movement of the left gate framework causes corresponding movement of the right gate framework.",
"In particular, the left extremity of rod 33 is joined to horizontally disposed boundary member 12 by pivot pin 52 located about 2 inches from corresponding upright boundary member 15, and the right extremity of rod 33 is joined to horizontally disposed member 19 by pivot pin 53 located at a site close to upright boundary member 22.",
"Such construction causes the left gate to open ahead of the right gate, thereby allowing the gate to be opened even if the animal is leaning backwards.",
"As best shown in FIG. 5, a latching detent 34 is disposed upon rearward horizontal boundary bar 20 adjacent the right extremity thereof.",
"Detent 34 is dimensioned and positioned to engage terminal extremity 32 in the closed state of the gate framework.",
"When upright interior boundary member 23 is forwardly displaced, as by the shoulders of livestock, terminal extremity 32 leaves latching detent 34 for sliding movement within bars 20 toward the left gate framework.",
"As best shown in FIG. 6, a coil spring 35 is disposed at the lower extremity of outer upright boundary member 15 of the left gate framework.",
"A cable 36 extends upwardly from the upper extremity of spring 35, passes around guide wheels 37, and attaches to terminal extremity 32.",
"Spring 35 is under tension when terminal extremity 32 is held by latching detent 34.",
"When said terminal extremity is pushed by the shoulder of the animal from its position of securement within latching detent 34, boundary member 23 is rapidly forced toward the left gate assembly, thereby catching the livestock at its neck region.",
"In order to enhance the sensitivity and speed of the action of boundary member 23, the surface of rear boundary bar 20, latching detent 34, and terminal extremity 32 that are in sliding contact are preferably lined with a durable plastic material such as ultra high density polyethylene.",
"Detent 34 preferably constitutes the right edge of a slab 54 of such plastic material.",
"A series of ratchet-type teeth 38 are disposed in upright orientation upon the upper surface of horizontal bar 31, and positioned so as to become engaged by holding bar 39 extending rearwardly from terminal extremity 32.",
"Such engagement occurs when boundary member 23 is in its far left position where it is closed upon the neck of the livestock.",
"Securing means in the form of bolt 40 pivotably attached to horizontal bar 31, and bracket 41 enable the gate frameworks to be locked in their closed or coplanar state, such being the state when an animal is engaged by interior boundary members 14 and 23.",
"Bolt 40 is movable between locked and unlocked positions by control arm 43, integral with bolt 40 and disposed on the opposite side of pivot pin 55.",
"A manually operable lever 42 is pivotably attached to outer upright boundary member 15 of the left gate assembly.",
"The free distal extremity of the lever has welded thereto activator means 48 which interacts with control arm 43 when the lever is in its upward position, thereby placing bolt 40 in its locking position.",
"When pivoted downwardly, as shown in FIG. 2, control arm 43 is caused to raise bolt 40, thereby unlocking the interengaged frameworks.",
"Manual movement of lever 42 rearwardly causes both gate frameworks to pivot forwardly, thereby releasing the held livestock.",
"Said forward movement of framework 11 also restores extremity 32 to its cocked position within detent 34.",
"This is achieved because holding bar 39 leaves ratchet teeth 38.",
"Then, the tension applied to terminal extremity 32 through cable 36 passing around guide wheel 37 on horizontal bar 31 pulls the terminal extremity rearwardly to detent 34.",
"When lever 42 is manually moved forward, the gate frameworks are brought back to their closed state.",
"When lever 42 is manually pivoted to its vertical position, activator means 48 automatically engages control arm 43 to secure the gates in their closed, starting position.",
"A second cable 47 attaches to the lower extremity of spring 35, passes around guide wheel 37, and attaches to lever 42 at a site about 8 inches from the pivoted engagement of lever 42 with upright boundary 15.",
"Such arrangement permits the closing force to be divided between the horizontal rotation of the left framework and the vertical rotation of lever 42.",
"The arrangement also reduces the closing force when lever 42 is down and the gates are open to permit passage of the animal.",
"While particular examples of the present invention have been shown and described, it is apparent that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention in its broadest aspects.",
"The aim of the appended claims, therefore, is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the wet spinning process for producing yarn of copolymers consisting essentially of recurring units of the formulas ##STR1## and ##STR2## where Ar is ##STR3## R is a C 1 to C 4 alkyl and the mole ratio of (a) units to (b) units is between 20:80 and 95:5. More specifically, the invention relates to the improvement of applying a certain zirconium-containing finish to the yarn during the wet spinning process whereby the twist efficiency of such yarn is significantly increased. The term "twist efficiency", as used herein means the ratio, expressed as a percentage, of the tenacity of a cord plied from strands of a given yarn to the tenacity of a single strand of the yarn, i.e. ##EQU1## The terms "O/H COPOLYMER", "O/H YARN" and "O/H CORD" are used herein to refer to the above-described copolymer, yarn thereof, and cord formed from yarn thereof, respectively.
B. Description of the Prior Art
There is a continuing demand in the tire industry for the development of a higher tenacity cord for use in the carcass of a tire. Yarns of organic polymers (e.g. nylons and polyester) are presently used in forming carcass cords. The cords are formed by plying two or more twisted strands of the yarn to provide a highly twisted configuration having tenacities in the 7 to 10 grams per denier range; the highly twisted configuration of the cords is necessary for good fatigue resistance properties. O/H YARN has a relatively high tenacity when compared to that of either nylon or polyester yarn. However, cord formed from twisted strands of O/H YARN although having good fatigue resistance has a much lower tenacity than expected due to the poor twist efficiency of O/H YARN. Normally, yarns have twist efficiencies of at least 65% (nylon 66 is ≧ 72%), whereas in the case of O/H YARN its twist efficiency is ≦ 50%.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to increase the twist efficiency of O/H YARN.
Another object of the invention is to provide a high tenacity cord suitable for use in the carcass of tires.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description thereof.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In general, the objects of the invention are accomplished by applying a certain zirconium-containing finish to O/H YARN during the production thereof. More specifically, the invention relates to an improvement in the wet spinning process for producing O/H YARN whereby the twist efficiency of the yarn is increased. In carrying out the wet spinning process a sulfuric acid polymer solution (i.e. dope) is extruded through orifices of a spinneret into an aqueous coagulation bath to form filaments which are washed free or substantially free of sulfuric acid, dried, hot-drawn at a temperature between about 200° and 500° C. and collected. The improvement of this invention comprises applying to the yarn after the yarn is washed and prior to the yarn being hot-drawn a finish comprising a stable aqueous emulsion of at least one polyalkoxylated silicone oil and at least one dissolved water-soluble zirconium salt. Preferably, the finish is applied to the yarn between the washing and drying steps of the process while the yarn is still wet.
The term "silicone oil" is used herein in accordance with conventional terminology. The term "polyalkoxylated silicone oil", as used herein, means a silicone oil having sufficient structural groups of the formula (R--O) where R is a C 2 to C 4 alkylene, for example --CH 2 CH 2 --, ##STR4## or --CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 -- to render the oil capable for forming stable emulsions with water. The groups may be chain extended groups and/or appendent to a Si atom of the chain. Preferred polyalkoxylated silicone oils for use in practicing this invention have a molecular weight ranging from about 2000 to 120,000 and higher, with the higher molecular weight and more highly alkoxylated oils being particularly preferred. In addition to the polyalkoxylated silicone oil(s), the finish may also contain one or more silicone oils.
It is believed that the improvement in the twist efficiency of O/H YARN obtained by practicing the present invention is due in part at least to the fact that when zirconium is present in the finish the resulting hot-drawn yarn has better filament separation (i.e. less fusion of the filaments) than when the zirconium is omitted from the finish. It is further believed that better filament separation permits the individual filaments of the yarn to move more freely inside cord plied therefrom and thereby more evenly distribute the load on the cord throughout the individual filaments. It is therefore important that the zirconium remain in the finish and that the liquid components of the finish do not separate. In this regard the polyalkoxylated silicone oils is an essential component of the finish. The polyalkoxylated silicone oil component, in addition to being a lubricant for the yarn, forms stable emulsions with water and also ties up the zirconium by some mechanism (most likely by chelation or reaction) and thereby prevents zirconium from becoming ineffective such as would result if the zirconium were to migrate to the inside of the fiber.
The O/H YARNS to which a finish has been applied in accordance with the present invention have good tensile properties and good adhesion-to-rubber characteristics and, therefore, are particularly useful in forming cords for reinforcing flexible rubber articles such as tires and belts.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Finishes useful in practicing the present invention comprise three components: water, water-soluble zirconium salt(s) and polyalkoxylated silicone oil(s).
Any water-soluble zirconium salt may be used in formulating the finishes. Representative such salts include the acetate, bromide, chloride, oxalate and sulfate of zirconium and ammonium zirconium carbonate with zirconium acetate being preferred. The amount of zirconium present in the finishes may range from 0.001% to about 10% by weight, based on the weight of silicone oil, with a range of between about 0.005 and 5% normally providing satisfactory results.
Any polyalkoxylated silicone oil may be used in formulating the finishes which forms a stable emulsion with water. Suitable polyalkoxylated silicone oils are commercially available and include, for example, silicone oils of the formulas: ##STR5## where R is a C 2 to C 4 alkylene, for example, ethylene or propylene and m, n, x and y are integers.
In addition to the polyalkoxylated silicone oil(s), the finish may also contain one or more silicone oils, such as polysiloxanes of the formulas: ##STR6## where R' is alkyl or phenyl, with not more than one R' on each Si atom being phenyl, and x is a whole number. Such polysiloxanes include those consisting essentially of phenylmethyl groups ##STR7## and dimethyl groups ##STR8## in a 30:70 to 95:5 ratio, respectively.
The finish may be prepared by combining the components in a conventional manner, for example, by dissolving the zirconium salt(s) in water, adding the water to the oil or blend of oils (or vice versa) and then sufficiently mixing the components to obtain a stable emulsion. The water serves to dilute the oil(s) and to facilitate accurate metering of the other components onto the yarn. Also, the water cleanly vaporizes from the yarn during drying of the yarn. From 01. to 25% by weight of the silicone oil component has been found to produce satisfactory results. The exact amount of polyalkoxylated silicone oil and water to be used in formulating the finishes will be apparent to a skilled practitioner and will depend on such factors as the rate at which the finish is applied to the yarn.
The finish may be applied to the yarn by conventional techniques such as by passing the yarn through a bath containing the finish or by using rolls which transfer the same from the bath to the yarn. Normally, the amount of oil(s) applied to the yarn may range from about 0.1 to about 10%, based on the weight of yarn, with a range of from about 0.5 to about 3% normally providing satisfactory results. The amount of zirconium applied to the yarn may range from 0.001 to about 2% by weight, based on the weight on yarn, with a range of 0.005 to 1% usually providing satisfactory results. While greater amounts of zirconium can be applied to the yarn, such amounts are not economically warranted. Preferably, the finish is applied to the wet yarn before the yarn is dried so that the water is vaporized from the yarn during the drying step.
The following examples are given to further illustrate the invention wherein, unless otherwise specified, percentages and parts are by weight.
In the examples O/H YARNS are produced by a wet spinning process wherein a sulfuric acid dope is extruded through orifices of a spinneret into an aqueous medium such as water or dilute sulfuric acid maintained at a temperature between 0° C. and 95° C. with ambient temperature being preferred. The spinneret may be immersed in the medium but is preferably positioned a short distance (0.32 to 5.1 cm) above the medium. The filaments formed in the medium are converged to form a yarn, withdrawn from the medium and thoroughly washed with water alone or combinations of alkaline solution and water to remove H 2 SO 4 therefrom. After the washing step, a finish is applied to the yarn while it is still wet and, then the yarn is dried, such as by passing the yarn over a heated roll or pair of heated rolls (110°-140° C.). After the yarn is dried, the yarn is hot-drawn at a temperature between about 200° and 500° C. in a conventional manner. The hot-drawing of the yarn may be accomplished by continuously advancing the yarn through a zone in which the yarn is heated and drawn several times its length (i.e. 1 to 30 times its length). The yarn is then taken up (e.g. wound onto a bobbin). The yarn may be heated by passing it through a heated environment, e.g. through an oven heated by conventional means such as by infrared lamps, electricity, etc., or by passing the yarn over a heated surface, generally convex in shape, such as a hot shoe. The yarn is hot-drawn or stretched in the heated zone by withdrawing the yarn at a speed (V 2 ) greater than the speed (V 1 ) at which the yarn is advanced into the heated zone. Normally, V.sub. 2 represents the speed at which the yarn is collected. The draw ratio (DR) attained by the hot-draw step is conveniently expressed by DR = V 2 /V 1 . Normally, the tenacity of O/H YARN increases with increasing DR values. Where high tenacity O/H YARN is desired, it is a common practice to operate the process at the maximum draw ratio that can be utilized without frequently breaking the yarn, for example, at a DR equal to about 85% of DR b , where DR b represents a draw ratio at which the yarn on the average will break.
The dope is prepared by reacting at a temperature between 80° and 170° C., preferably, at between 130° and 150° C. for from 4 to 6 hours, reactants consisting of (i) terephthalic acid (TA) and/or isophthalic acid (IA), (ii) the dialklester of TA and/or IA and (iii) hydrazine sulfate in oleum containing sufficient SO 3 to take up the water formed by the reaction. The mole ratio of reactants (i) to (ii) is from 95:5 to 20:80 with 40:60 to 60:40being preferred for high strength fiber applications. (iii) is present in a molar excess of a mole ratio of 1:1, (iii) to [(i) + (ii)], at least 0.5 mole %, for example, 0.8 to 4.0 mole % excess. The polymer of suitable fiber-forming molecular weight is normally formed in from 2 to 10 hours. Sufficient amounts of the reactants are used to provide a dope containing in solution from 1 to 15% by weight of polymer. A preferred dope is prepared from TA, the dimethyl ester of TA and hydrazine sulfate where the mole ratio of TA to the ester thereof is 1:1.
EXAMPLE 1
This example describes the preparation of an aqueous emulsion useful in practicing the present invention. Equal parts of an organopolysiloxane with dimethyl and phenylmethyl groups in a 50/50 ratio (obtained commercially from Dow Corning under the Tradename Dow Corning 550 Fluid) and of an organopolysiloxane (molecular weight ≈ 5000) having dimethyl and phenylmethyl groups and one polyethyleneoxide side chain (obtained commercially from Dow Corning under the Tradename Dow Corning FF-400) were mixed and warmed to 33° C. to form an oil blend. Deionized water was warmed to 33° C. and vigorously agitated while the oil blend was added thereto over a three minute period. After all of the oil blend was added to the water, agitation was continued for 10 minutes. The resulting emulsion contained 1 part of oil blend per 9 parts of water or 10% by weight of oil blend.
EXAMPLE 2
This example illustrates the substantial benefits gained by utilizing the improvement of the present invention in preparing yarn of O/H COPOLYMER consisting essentially of recurring units of the formula: ##STR9##
A spinning run was made in which O/H YARN of the above O/H COPOLYMER was prepared using substantially the procedure hereinabove described. Dope, obtained by polymerizing terephthalic acid, dimethylterephthalate and hydrazine sulfate in oleum, was extruded into aqueous sulfuric acid to form 20 filament yarn which was washed, neutralized, again washed, dried, hot-drawn at a draw ratio of 4.6 over a hot-shoe (384° C.) and wound onto a bobbin to provide a drawn yarn having a denier of between 20-23. During the spinning run 4 samples of yarn (2A-2D) were collected to which a silicone oil base finish was applied to each yarn between the washing and drying steps while the yarn was still wet. The finish applied to one yarn sample (2A) consisted of the emulsion described in Example 1 diluted 20 fold with deionized water. The finish applied to the other yarn samples consisted of the same diluted emulsion to which a specified amount of zirconium had been added. The zirconium was added by dissolving zirconium acetate in a portion of the deionized water used to dilute the oil blend.
Each yarn sample was cut into equal lengths and sufficient of the lengths were plied with 2 turns per inch (tpi) to provide a nominal 1300 denier yarn. Two equal lengths were then cut from this yarn. A right-hand twist of 11 tpi was imparted to each length of the 1500 denier yarn. Then, the two twisted yarns were plied with 11 tpi of left-hand twist to provide a 1500/2 11 × 11 tpi balanced tire cord. Cords prepared from yarn samples 2B-2D had good cord-to-rubber adhesion properties. The tenacity of each yarn and cord was determined in a conventional manner using an Instron Tester (Instron Engineering Corporation, Canton, Mass.) providing a constant extension rate of 10% per minute with a gauge length of 25 cm being used. The tenacities in grams per denier (gpd) of the yarns along with the amount of zirconium contained in the finish applied thereto and other data are given in the following Table. The tenacities given in the table represent the average of five determinations or breaks.
TABLE I______________________________________ Finish Wt. Oil % Yarn Yarn Cord CordSample Blend Zr Denier Tenacity Denier Tenacity______________________________________2A 0.5 0 1535 12.53 3514 6.952B 0.5 0.0074 1541 13.23 3497 7.382C 0.5 0.0148 1526 12.99 3470 6.992D 0.5 0.0370 1532 13.39 3492 7.55______________________________________
The results in Table I show that the addition of zirconium to a silicone base finish with other processing conditions being held constant provides cords of higher tenacity than when zirconium is omitted from the finish.
EXAMPLE 3
A silicone oil base finish diluted with water to provide a finish containing 2% by weight of oil blend was prepared using the same procedure as described in Example 1 except that, instead of using 1 part of Dow Corning 550 Fluid per part of Dow Corning FF-400, 3 parts of an organopoly-siloxane consisting of phenylmethyl and dimethyl groups in a 88.5/11.5 ratio (Dow Corning 710 Fluid) was used. To individual portions of this finish zirconium acetate and/or water was added in the same manner as set forth in Example 2 to prepare the following finishes:
______________________________________Finish % Oil Blend Zr______________________________________A 2 0.06%B 2 0.03%C 2 none______________________________________
Yarns and cords were made as described in Example 2 with one of the above finishes being applied to each of the yarns. Cords prepared from yarns to which Finish A and B were applied had good cord-to-rubber adhesion properties.
The tenacities of the resulting yarns and cords were determined and are given in the following table:
TABLE II______________________________________ Denier Tenacity(gpd)Sample Finish Yarn Cord Yarn Cord______________________________________1 C 1566 3568 10.92 6.462 B 1575 3521 11.57 7.593 A 1481 3371 11.67 7.004 C 1561 3488 9.58 5.855 A 1571 3456 11.34 6.85______________________________________
The results in Table II show that in each instance the addition of zirconium to the finish with all other processing variables being held constant provides cords having higher tenacities than when zirconium is omitted from the finish. Also, yarns to which zirconium was applied had noticeably better filament separation.
EXAMPLE 4
This example illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention wherein the finish is prepared employing as the polyalkoxylated silicone oil a high molecular weight (approximately 100,000) hydroxyl end-blocked dimethyl polysiloxane of the formula: ##STR10## This silcone oil was obtained commercially from Dow Corning (DC-1111). Finishes containing varying amounts of this silicone oil, water and zirconium acetate were prepared and applied to yarn samples prepared as described in Example 2. Cords were prepared from the resulting yarn samples in the manner described in Example 2, except in this instance the cords were 1500/2 8 × 8 tpi instead of 1500/2 11 × 11 tpi. The tenacities (T) in grams per denier, elongation-to-break (E) in percentage and modulus (M) in grams per denier were determined for each yarn and cord and are given in Table III along with the amount of silicone oil, zirconium (Zr) and any other materials which were used in formulating the finishes. It will be understood that each finish consists of water plus the materials listed in the Table.
TABLE III______________________________________ Sili-Yarn cone Dispersion Yarn(2tpi)Sample Oil Agent Zr T/E/M Cord______________________________________1 1.0% none none 17.3/6.5/323 10.8/8.8/2142 1.0% none .03% 17.4/6.7/319 11.7/8.8/2133 1.0% none .06% 16.9/6.3/203 11.0/8.1/1394 1.0% .2% FF400 .03% 15.1/6.3/276 12.1/8.7/2095 1.0% .2% FF400 none 14.9/6.3/275 11.4/8.9/2046 1.0% .3% FF400 .03% 14.2/6.1/267 11.4/8.2/2017 1.0% .2% .03% 15.9/6.3/305 12.4/8.4/244 Ethomeen8 1.0% .2% none 16.2/6.8/292 10.7/9.2/205 Ethomeen*______________________________________ *Ethomeen - Trademark of Armour Industrial Chemical Company for polyethoxylated amines with alkyl groups ranging from C.sub.8 to C.sub.18
The results in Table III show that cord formed from yarns prepared in accordance with the present invention have higher tenacities than corresponding yarns from which zirconium has been omitted from the finish. In samples 4-8 the finish contained a small amount of additional emulsifying agent. | Yarns of phenylene oxadiazole/N-alkylhydrazide copolymers are made by a wet spinning process involving the steps of extruding, coagulating, washing, drying, hot-drawing and collecting. These yarns when formed into cord lose considerable tenacity, that is, cords plied from these yarns have considerably less tenacity than the individual yarns making up the cords. It has been found that this loss in tenacity in forming cords can be significantly reduced by applying a certain zirconium-containing finish to the yarn during its preparation. The finish is applied after the yarn is washed and while it is still wet. | Summarize the information, clearly outlining the challenges and proposed solutions. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A. Field of the Invention This invention relates to the wet spinning process for producing yarn of copolymers consisting essentially of recurring units of the formulas ##STR1## and ##STR2## where Ar is ##STR3## R is a C 1 to C 4 alkyl and the mole ratio of (a) units to (b) units is between 20:80 and 95:5.",
"More specifically, the invention relates to the improvement of applying a certain zirconium-containing finish to the yarn during the wet spinning process whereby the twist efficiency of such yarn is significantly increased.",
"The term "twist efficiency", as used herein means the ratio, expressed as a percentage, of the tenacity of a cord plied from strands of a given yarn to the tenacity of a single strand of the yarn, i.e. ##EQU1## The terms "O/H COPOLYMER", "O/H YARN"",
"and "O/H CORD"",
"are used herein to refer to the above-described copolymer, yarn thereof, and cord formed from yarn thereof, respectively.",
"B. Description of the Prior Art There is a continuing demand in the tire industry for the development of a higher tenacity cord for use in the carcass of a tire.",
"Yarns of organic polymers (e.g. nylons and polyester) are presently used in forming carcass cords.",
"The cords are formed by plying two or more twisted strands of the yarn to provide a highly twisted configuration having tenacities in the 7 to 10 grams per denier range;",
"the highly twisted configuration of the cords is necessary for good fatigue resistance properties.",
"O/H YARN has a relatively high tenacity when compared to that of either nylon or polyester yarn.",
"However, cord formed from twisted strands of O/H YARN although having good fatigue resistance has a much lower tenacity than expected due to the poor twist efficiency of O/H YARN.",
"Normally, yarns have twist efficiencies of at least 65% (nylon 66 is ≧ 72%), whereas in the case of O/H YARN its twist efficiency is ≦ 50%.",
"Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to increase the twist efficiency of O/H YARN.",
"Another object of the invention is to provide a high tenacity cord suitable for use in the carcass of tires.",
"Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description thereof.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In general, the objects of the invention are accomplished by applying a certain zirconium-containing finish to O/H YARN during the production thereof.",
"More specifically, the invention relates to an improvement in the wet spinning process for producing O/H YARN whereby the twist efficiency of the yarn is increased.",
"In carrying out the wet spinning process a sulfuric acid polymer solution (i.e. dope) is extruded through orifices of a spinneret into an aqueous coagulation bath to form filaments which are washed free or substantially free of sulfuric acid, dried, hot-drawn at a temperature between about 200° and 500° C. and collected.",
"The improvement of this invention comprises applying to the yarn after the yarn is washed and prior to the yarn being hot-drawn a finish comprising a stable aqueous emulsion of at least one polyalkoxylated silicone oil and at least one dissolved water-soluble zirconium salt.",
"Preferably, the finish is applied to the yarn between the washing and drying steps of the process while the yarn is still wet.",
"The term "silicone oil"",
"is used herein in accordance with conventional terminology.",
"The term "polyalkoxylated silicone oil", as used herein, means a silicone oil having sufficient structural groups of the formula (R--O) where R is a C 2 to C 4 alkylene, for example --CH 2 CH 2 --, ##STR4## or --CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 -- to render the oil capable for forming stable emulsions with water.",
"The groups may be chain extended groups and/or appendent to a Si atom of the chain.",
"Preferred polyalkoxylated silicone oils for use in practicing this invention have a molecular weight ranging from about 2000 to 120,000 and higher, with the higher molecular weight and more highly alkoxylated oils being particularly preferred.",
"In addition to the polyalkoxylated silicone oil(s), the finish may also contain one or more silicone oils.",
"It is believed that the improvement in the twist efficiency of O/H YARN obtained by practicing the present invention is due in part at least to the fact that when zirconium is present in the finish the resulting hot-drawn yarn has better filament separation (i.e. less fusion of the filaments) than when the zirconium is omitted from the finish.",
"It is further believed that better filament separation permits the individual filaments of the yarn to move more freely inside cord plied therefrom and thereby more evenly distribute the load on the cord throughout the individual filaments.",
"It is therefore important that the zirconium remain in the finish and that the liquid components of the finish do not separate.",
"In this regard the polyalkoxylated silicone oils is an essential component of the finish.",
"The polyalkoxylated silicone oil component, in addition to being a lubricant for the yarn, forms stable emulsions with water and also ties up the zirconium by some mechanism (most likely by chelation or reaction) and thereby prevents zirconium from becoming ineffective such as would result if the zirconium were to migrate to the inside of the fiber.",
"The O/H YARNS to which a finish has been applied in accordance with the present invention have good tensile properties and good adhesion-to-rubber characteristics and, therefore, are particularly useful in forming cords for reinforcing flexible rubber articles such as tires and belts.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Finishes useful in practicing the present invention comprise three components: water, water-soluble zirconium salt(s) and polyalkoxylated silicone oil(s).",
"Any water-soluble zirconium salt may be used in formulating the finishes.",
"Representative such salts include the acetate, bromide, chloride, oxalate and sulfate of zirconium and ammonium zirconium carbonate with zirconium acetate being preferred.",
"The amount of zirconium present in the finishes may range from 0.001% to about 10% by weight, based on the weight of silicone oil, with a range of between about 0.005 and 5% normally providing satisfactory results.",
"Any polyalkoxylated silicone oil may be used in formulating the finishes which forms a stable emulsion with water.",
"Suitable polyalkoxylated silicone oils are commercially available and include, for example, silicone oils of the formulas: ##STR5## where R is a C 2 to C 4 alkylene, for example, ethylene or propylene and m, n, x and y are integers.",
"In addition to the polyalkoxylated silicone oil(s), the finish may also contain one or more silicone oils, such as polysiloxanes of the formulas: ##STR6## where R'",
"is alkyl or phenyl, with not more than one R'",
"on each Si atom being phenyl, and x is a whole number.",
"Such polysiloxanes include those consisting essentially of phenylmethyl groups ##STR7## and dimethyl groups ##STR8## in a 30:70 to 95:5 ratio, respectively.",
"The finish may be prepared by combining the components in a conventional manner, for example, by dissolving the zirconium salt(s) in water, adding the water to the oil or blend of oils (or vice versa) and then sufficiently mixing the components to obtain a stable emulsion.",
"The water serves to dilute the oil(s) and to facilitate accurate metering of the other components onto the yarn.",
"Also, the water cleanly vaporizes from the yarn during drying of the yarn.",
"From 01.",
"to 25% by weight of the silicone oil component has been found to produce satisfactory results.",
"The exact amount of polyalkoxylated silicone oil and water to be used in formulating the finishes will be apparent to a skilled practitioner and will depend on such factors as the rate at which the finish is applied to the yarn.",
"The finish may be applied to the yarn by conventional techniques such as by passing the yarn through a bath containing the finish or by using rolls which transfer the same from the bath to the yarn.",
"Normally, the amount of oil(s) applied to the yarn may range from about 0.1 to about 10%, based on the weight of yarn, with a range of from about 0.5 to about 3% normally providing satisfactory results.",
"The amount of zirconium applied to the yarn may range from 0.001 to about 2% by weight, based on the weight on yarn, with a range of 0.005 to 1% usually providing satisfactory results.",
"While greater amounts of zirconium can be applied to the yarn, such amounts are not economically warranted.",
"Preferably, the finish is applied to the wet yarn before the yarn is dried so that the water is vaporized from the yarn during the drying step.",
"The following examples are given to further illustrate the invention wherein, unless otherwise specified, percentages and parts are by weight.",
"In the examples O/H YARNS are produced by a wet spinning process wherein a sulfuric acid dope is extruded through orifices of a spinneret into an aqueous medium such as water or dilute sulfuric acid maintained at a temperature between 0° C. and 95° C. with ambient temperature being preferred.",
"The spinneret may be immersed in the medium but is preferably positioned a short distance (0.32 to 5.1 cm) above the medium.",
"The filaments formed in the medium are converged to form a yarn, withdrawn from the medium and thoroughly washed with water alone or combinations of alkaline solution and water to remove H 2 SO 4 therefrom.",
"After the washing step, a finish is applied to the yarn while it is still wet and, then the yarn is dried, such as by passing the yarn over a heated roll or pair of heated rolls (110°-140° C.).",
"After the yarn is dried, the yarn is hot-drawn at a temperature between about 200° and 500° C. in a conventional manner.",
"The hot-drawing of the yarn may be accomplished by continuously advancing the yarn through a zone in which the yarn is heated and drawn several times its length (i.e. 1 to 30 times its length).",
"The yarn is then taken up (e.g. wound onto a bobbin).",
"The yarn may be heated by passing it through a heated environment, e.g. through an oven heated by conventional means such as by infrared lamps, electricity, etc.",
", or by passing the yarn over a heated surface, generally convex in shape, such as a hot shoe.",
"The yarn is hot-drawn or stretched in the heated zone by withdrawing the yarn at a speed (V 2 ) greater than the speed (V 1 ) at which the yarn is advanced into the heated zone.",
"Normally, V.sub.",
"2 represents the speed at which the yarn is collected.",
"The draw ratio (DR) attained by the hot-draw step is conveniently expressed by DR = V 2 /V 1 .",
"Normally, the tenacity of O/H YARN increases with increasing DR values.",
"Where high tenacity O/H YARN is desired, it is a common practice to operate the process at the maximum draw ratio that can be utilized without frequently breaking the yarn, for example, at a DR equal to about 85% of DR b , where DR b represents a draw ratio at which the yarn on the average will break.",
"The dope is prepared by reacting at a temperature between 80° and 170° C., preferably, at between 130° and 150° C. for from 4 to 6 hours, reactants consisting of (i) terephthalic acid (TA) and/or isophthalic acid (IA), (ii) the dialklester of TA and/or IA and (iii) hydrazine sulfate in oleum containing sufficient SO 3 to take up the water formed by the reaction.",
"The mole ratio of reactants (i) to (ii) is from 95:5 to 20:80 with 40:60 to 60:40being preferred for high strength fiber applications.",
"(iii) is present in a molar excess of a mole ratio of 1:1, (iii) to [(i) + (ii)], at least 0.5 mole %, for example, 0.8 to 4.0 mole % excess.",
"The polymer of suitable fiber-forming molecular weight is normally formed in from 2 to 10 hours.",
"Sufficient amounts of the reactants are used to provide a dope containing in solution from 1 to 15% by weight of polymer.",
"A preferred dope is prepared from TA, the dimethyl ester of TA and hydrazine sulfate where the mole ratio of TA to the ester thereof is 1:1.",
"EXAMPLE 1 This example describes the preparation of an aqueous emulsion useful in practicing the present invention.",
"Equal parts of an organopolysiloxane with dimethyl and phenylmethyl groups in a 50/50 ratio (obtained commercially from Dow Corning under the Tradename Dow Corning 550 Fluid) and of an organopolysiloxane (molecular weight ≈ 5000) having dimethyl and phenylmethyl groups and one polyethyleneoxide side chain (obtained commercially from Dow Corning under the Tradename Dow Corning FF-400) were mixed and warmed to 33° C. to form an oil blend.",
"Deionized water was warmed to 33° C. and vigorously agitated while the oil blend was added thereto over a three minute period.",
"After all of the oil blend was added to the water, agitation was continued for 10 minutes.",
"The resulting emulsion contained 1 part of oil blend per 9 parts of water or 10% by weight of oil blend.",
"EXAMPLE 2 This example illustrates the substantial benefits gained by utilizing the improvement of the present invention in preparing yarn of O/H COPOLYMER consisting essentially of recurring units of the formula: ##STR9## A spinning run was made in which O/H YARN of the above O/H COPOLYMER was prepared using substantially the procedure hereinabove described.",
"Dope, obtained by polymerizing terephthalic acid, dimethylterephthalate and hydrazine sulfate in oleum, was extruded into aqueous sulfuric acid to form 20 filament yarn which was washed, neutralized, again washed, dried, hot-drawn at a draw ratio of 4.6 over a hot-shoe (384° C.) and wound onto a bobbin to provide a drawn yarn having a denier of between 20-23.",
"During the spinning run 4 samples of yarn (2A-2D) were collected to which a silicone oil base finish was applied to each yarn between the washing and drying steps while the yarn was still wet.",
"The finish applied to one yarn sample (2A) consisted of the emulsion described in Example 1 diluted 20 fold with deionized water.",
"The finish applied to the other yarn samples consisted of the same diluted emulsion to which a specified amount of zirconium had been added.",
"The zirconium was added by dissolving zirconium acetate in a portion of the deionized water used to dilute the oil blend.",
"Each yarn sample was cut into equal lengths and sufficient of the lengths were plied with 2 turns per inch (tpi) to provide a nominal 1300 denier yarn.",
"Two equal lengths were then cut from this yarn.",
"A right-hand twist of 11 tpi was imparted to each length of the 1500 denier yarn.",
"Then, the two twisted yarns were plied with 11 tpi of left-hand twist to provide a 1500/2 11 × 11 tpi balanced tire cord.",
"Cords prepared from yarn samples 2B-2D had good cord-to-rubber adhesion properties.",
"The tenacity of each yarn and cord was determined in a conventional manner using an Instron Tester (Instron Engineering Corporation, Canton, Mass.) providing a constant extension rate of 10% per minute with a gauge length of 25 cm being used.",
"The tenacities in grams per denier (gpd) of the yarns along with the amount of zirconium contained in the finish applied thereto and other data are given in the following Table.",
"The tenacities given in the table represent the average of five determinations or breaks.",
"TABLE I______________________________________ Finish Wt.",
"Oil % Yarn Yarn Cord CordSample Blend Zr Denier Tenacity Denier Tenacity______________________________________2A 0.5 0 1535 12.53 3514 6.952B 0.5 0.0074 1541 13.23 3497 7.382C 0.5 0.0148 1526 12.99 3470 6.992D 0.5 0.0370 1532 13.39 3492 7.55______________________________________ The results in Table I show that the addition of zirconium to a silicone base finish with other processing conditions being held constant provides cords of higher tenacity than when zirconium is omitted from the finish.",
"EXAMPLE 3 A silicone oil base finish diluted with water to provide a finish containing 2% by weight of oil blend was prepared using the same procedure as described in Example 1 except that, instead of using 1 part of Dow Corning 550 Fluid per part of Dow Corning FF-400, 3 parts of an organopoly-siloxane consisting of phenylmethyl and dimethyl groups in a 88.5/11.5 ratio (Dow Corning 710 Fluid) was used.",
"To individual portions of this finish zirconium acetate and/or water was added in the same manner as set forth in Example 2 to prepare the following finishes: ______________________________________Finish % Oil Blend Zr______________________________________A 2 0.06%B 2 0.03%C 2 none______________________________________ Yarns and cords were made as described in Example 2 with one of the above finishes being applied to each of the yarns.",
"Cords prepared from yarns to which Finish A and B were applied had good cord-to-rubber adhesion properties.",
"The tenacities of the resulting yarns and cords were determined and are given in the following table: TABLE II______________________________________ Denier Tenacity(gpd)Sample Finish Yarn Cord Yarn Cord______________________________________1 C 1566 3568 10.92 6.462 B 1575 3521 11.57 7.593 A 1481 3371 11.67 7.004 C 1561 3488 9.58 5.855 A 1571 3456 11.34 6.85______________________________________ The results in Table II show that in each instance the addition of zirconium to the finish with all other processing variables being held constant provides cords having higher tenacities than when zirconium is omitted from the finish.",
"Also, yarns to which zirconium was applied had noticeably better filament separation.",
"EXAMPLE 4 This example illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention wherein the finish is prepared employing as the polyalkoxylated silicone oil a high molecular weight (approximately 100,000) hydroxyl end-blocked dimethyl polysiloxane of the formula: ##STR10## This silcone oil was obtained commercially from Dow Corning (DC-1111).",
"Finishes containing varying amounts of this silicone oil, water and zirconium acetate were prepared and applied to yarn samples prepared as described in Example 2.",
"Cords were prepared from the resulting yarn samples in the manner described in Example 2, except in this instance the cords were 1500/2 8 × 8 tpi instead of 1500/2 11 × 11 tpi.",
"The tenacities (T) in grams per denier, elongation-to-break (E) in percentage and modulus (M) in grams per denier were determined for each yarn and cord and are given in Table III along with the amount of silicone oil, zirconium (Zr) and any other materials which were used in formulating the finishes.",
"It will be understood that each finish consists of water plus the materials listed in the Table.",
"TABLE III______________________________________ Sili-Yarn cone Dispersion Yarn(2tpi)Sample Oil Agent Zr T/E/M Cord______________________________________1 1.0% none none 17.3/6.5/323 10.8/8.8/2142 1.0% none [.",
"].03% 17.4/6.7/319 11.7/8.8/2133 1.0% none [.",
"].06% 16.9/6.3/203 11.0/8.1/1394 1.0% [.",
"].2% FF400 [.",
"].03% 15.1/6.3/276 12.1/8.7/2095 1.0% [.",
"].2% FF400 none 14.9/6.3/275 11.4/8.9/2046 1.0% [.",
"].3% FF400 [.",
"].03% 14.2/6.1/267 11.4/8.2/2017 1.0% [.",
"].2% [.",
"].03% 15.9/6.3/305 12.4/8.4/244 Ethomeen8 1.0% [.",
"].2% none 16.2/6.8/292 10.7/9.2/205 Ethomeen*______________________________________ *Ethomeen - Trademark of Armour Industrial Chemical Company for polyethoxylated amines with alkyl groups ranging from C.sub[.",
"].8 to C.sub[.",
"].18 The results in Table III show that cord formed from yarns prepared in accordance with the present invention have higher tenacities than corresponding yarns from which zirconium has been omitted from the finish.",
"In samples 4-8 the finish contained a small amount of additional emulsifying agent."
] |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of applicant's applications U.S. application Ser. No. 10/951,130 filed Sep. 27, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,673,776, issued Mar. 9, 2010, which claims the benefit of continuation-in-part of applicant's applications U.S. application Ser. No. 10/831,638 filed Apr. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,881,886, issued Apr. 19, 2005, which claims the benefit of Continuation-in-part U.S. Ser. No. 10/374,676 filed Feb. 26, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,071,401, issued Jul. 4, 2006, which claims the benefit of Continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10/170,005 filed Jun. 10, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,770,805, issued Aug. 3, 2004, which claims the benefit of Divisional application U.S. Ser. No. 09/756,479 filed Jan. 8, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,403,869, issued Jul. 11, 2002, which claims the benefit of Continuation-in-part application U.S. Ser. No. 09/507,800 filed Feb. 22, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,290, issued Jan. 9, 2001, which claims the benefit of Divisional application U.S. Ser. No. 09/497,265 filed Feb. 3, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,407, issued Nov. 27, 2001.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not Applicable
THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT
[0003] Not Applicable
INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC
[0004] Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0005] 1. Field of the Invention
[0006] This invention relates to new and useful improvements in apparatus for carrying percussion instruments, particularly drums of various kinds, cymbals, xylophones, and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a carrier hardware providing a novel articulating hinge assembly for the support for percussion instruments and to carrier assemblies supporting percussion instruments on a person while standing, walking or marching. The carrier assembly has a construction and relationship of parts to transfer the weight of the percussion instrument(s) to the body of a person. A clamp is located in the front of the carrier. The clamp allows the carrier to be folded for easier transportation and storage in a smaller space. The clamp can be loose to allow the linked parts to move freely, or the clamp can be locked to fix the linked parts in position. The person carrying the instruments maintains a stable attitude while walking or marching about and avoids pressure or other forms of detrimental forces on the shoulders and lower back and is further characterized by having removable and/or adjustable back support member or members. The adjustment to the back support member position may also be accomplished using a fixed back support member with adjustable shoulder supports. The back member may be secured to the shoulder supports and the shoulder supports may be removable and or adjustable to accommodate different sized users.
[0007] 2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
[0008] The prior art discloses many examples of apparatus for supporting percussion instruments but none providing the combination of features disclosed and claimed herein.
[0009] La Flame U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,683 discloses a carrier for percussion instruments having an abdominal plate connected at one end of a unitary frame partly encircling the wearer at the waist and having an upstanding rear portion pivotally connected to a back pressure plate. Shoulder bars are connected to the back-pressure plate and wrap about shoulders and support supports connect to the abdominal plate.
[0010] Hsieh U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,610 shows a carrier for percussion instruments having a “T” bar, a pair of shoulder bars, a belly plate. The shoulder bars are bolted on a lateral plate of the “T” bar. The lateral plate has arc-like slots and spaced semi-circular holes permit bolts to slide in the slots. The fastening end of each shoulder bar has a hole and an arc-like slot from the upper portion to the lower portion permitting angular adjustment of the shoulder rightward or leftward for various applications.
[0011] La Flame U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,032 shows a carrier for various instruments such as marching bells, a marching xylophone or a marching marimba, which are supported on the apparatus by the use of suitably-constructed extension arms. The carrier frame is a U-shaped bent bar welded or otherwise attached to a belly plate and has extension arms which project from the belly plate to engage and support the instrument.
[0012] La Flame GB patent 2,123,676 (based on U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,442) discloses a carrier for percussion instruments or the like which includes the combination of a belly plate with a carrier bracket for supporting an instrument at an outwardly-overhung position about a fulcrum area of contact with the front waistline area of the person, a rigid band with a generally bent contour to extend along a portion of the waistline area of the person to the back of the person, a back-plate riser arm supported by the ban to extend in a generally upward direction such that a portion of the arm will extend along the back thoracic region of the person, and means carried by the arm for imparting to the thoracic back region of the person a reactive force to the overhung weight of the instrument about the aforesaid means forming a fulcrum area of contact with the person.
[0013] Dranchak U.S. Pat. No. 4,387,839 discloses a drum-supporting harness having two shoulder hooks with cushion pads or liners, a breast plate secured to the hooks, and a hanger structure attached to the breast plate and depending there from. Upwardly-facing hooks, a spacer bar extending downward from the hooks, and a spacing abutment carried by the spacer bar and extending forward there from are carried by the lower portion of the hanger structure. The hooks and the spacing abutment engage upper and lower portions of the body of the drum. The hanger structure is adjustable or extensible by means of overlapping strips which can be secured in a number of different positions. An adapter assembly attaches to the upper rim portion of the drum for connecting of hooks 16 to the drum.
[0014] Other possibly relevant prior art is Pyle U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,357 and the inventor's own May U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,910, May U.S. Pat. No. 5,300,810, May U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,257, May U.S. Pat. No. 5,691,492, May U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,583 and May U.S. Pat. No. 7,394,008 that are herein incorporated by reference.
[0015] The prior art discloses many examples of apparatus for supporting percussion instruments but none provide the combination of features that are disclosed and claimed herein.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0016] One object of the invention is to provide a new and improved carrier for percussion instruments comprising a novel T-bar carrier with belly plate, shoulder supports, and back bar in which the shoulder supports are removable and/or adjustable.
[0017] One object of the invention is to provide a new and improved carrier for percussion instruments comprising a novel supporting instrument carrier and a clamp having recesses to receive and clamp J-rods or posts around their peripheries in spaced relation on said carrier.
[0018] Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved carrier for percussion instruments comprising a novel vest-type carrier with back bar and removable and/or adjustable shoulder supports.
[0019] Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved carrier for percussion instruments having shoulder supports and an adjustable back bar.
[0020] Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved carrier for percussion instruments comprising a novel T-bar carrier with belly plate, shoulder supports, and back bar, and a clamp having a recesses to receive and clamp J-rods or posts around their peripheries in spaced relation on said vest.
[0021] Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved carrier for percussion instruments in which the supporting elements are of rod or tubular construction.
[0022] Other objects of the invention will become apparent throughout the specification and claims as hereinafter related. Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)
[0023] FIG. 1 is a front isometric view of hardware for supporting a drum in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention.
[0024] FIG. 2 is a rear isometric view of hardware for supporting a drum as shown in FIG. 1 .
[0025] FIG. 3 is a front isometric view of hardware for supporting a drum and having vertical articulated supports in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.
[0026] FIG. 4 is a side view of the articulated joint in the hardware shown in FIG. 3 .
[0027] FIG. 5 is a front isometric view of an embodiment with the back bar removed.
[0028] FIG. 6 is a front isometric view of supporting hardware with vertical and horizontal adjustability of the supports on the belly plate and adjustable shoulder supports and back bar
[0029] FIG. 7 is a detailed view of the tubular clamp form FIG. 6 with an optional J hook.
[0030] FIG. 8 is a view in end elevation of a novel double clamp for supporting a plurality of posts and/or J-rods.
[0031] FIG. 9 is a front isometric view of the clamp shown in FIG. 8 .
[0032] FIG. 10 is a rear isometric view of the clamp shown in FIG. 8 .
[0033] FIG. 11 is a front isometric view of supporting hardware with vertical and horizontal adjustability of the supports on the belly plate and adjustable shoulder member with a back bar.
[0034] FIG. 12 is a front isometric view of the fully assembled carrier and supporting hardware with J-rods positioned in an inverted position for supporting the drum.
[0035] FIG. 13 is a detail isometric view of the clamp shown in FIG. 12 showing the connection of the vertical supporting rods and/or tubes.
[0036] FIG. 14 is a detail isometric view of clamp for the shoulder supports shown in FIG. 12 .
[0037] FIG. 16 is a rear isometric view of the embodiment of FIG. 12 .
[0038] FIG. 17 is an isometric view of another embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 , 2 and 6 in which the shoulder supports connect with the abdominal belly plate.
[0039] FIG. 18 is a front isometric view of the fully assembled carrier and supporting clamp with J-rods positioned in a normal position for supporting the drum and having a double clamp for the supporting base permitting longitudinal and rotary adjustment in position of the clamp.
[0040] FIG. 19 is an end view of the clamp shown in FIG. 18 .
[0041] FIG. 20 is an isometric view of another embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in which the abdominal belly plate is replaced by a vest-type support.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Marching T-Bar Type Support for Drums and Other Percussion Instruments
[0042] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , there is shown a T-bar-type carrier 10 for percussion instruments which comprises a belly plate 11 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 12 and 13 having outturned portions 14 and 15 supporting rigid shoulder supports 16 and 17 and back bar 18 . Back bar 18 may be removably secured to shoulder supports 18 or may be fixed as by welding or the like.
[0043] Belly plate 11 is removably secured on the lower ends of vertical rods or tubes 12 and 13 by clamping receptacles 19 and 20 . J-rod receptacles 21 and 22 are secured on belly plate 11 in slots 23 and 24 by screws or bolts or the like. J-rods 25 are secured in receptacles 21 and 22 by bolts 26 . The upper, out-turned ends 14 and 15 of supporting rods or tubes 12 and 13 are supported in clamping receptacles 27 and 28 on shoulder supports 16 and 17 . A clamp 29 holds rods or tubes 12 and 13 against lateral and or torque displacement.
[0044] The materials of construction used in this carrier 10 are very important for achieving the desired result. The belly plate 11 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 12 and 13 , shoulder supports 16 and 17 and back bar 18 are rigid and made of a light material such as plastic or a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium. The metal shoulder supports have the advantage that different sizes are readily accommodated.
[0045] Operation
[0046] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity. The carrier 10 is worn by the musician with the shoulder supports 16 and 17 positioned over the shoulders and the belly plate 11 supported against the abdomen. J-rods 25 are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening bolts 26 . The short outer ends of the J-rods 25 are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.
[0047] The carrier is adjustable to comfort of the wearer and also to fit different sized instruments. Clamp-receptacles 27 and 28 permit pivotal, lateral and angular adjustment of shoulder supports 16 and 17 on the out-turned ends 14 and 15 of rods or tubes 12 and 13 . Clamp-receptacles 19 and 20 permit vertical sliding adjustment of rods or tubes 12 and 13 . Slots 23 and 24 in belly plate 11 allow lateral adjustment of clamp-receptacles 21 and 22 and angular adjustment of J-rods supported therein.
[0048] An Articulated Embodiment of Marching T-Bar Type Support for Drums and Other Percussion Instruments
[0049] Referring to FIG. 3 , there is shown a T-bar-type carrier 30 for percussion instruments which comprises a belly plate 31 , lower and upper vertical supporting rods or tubes 32 and 33 . Lower rod or tube 32 is U-shaped with parallel portions 32 a and 32 b supporting belly plate 31 . Upper rod or tube 33 is U-shaped with legs 33 a and 33 b having out-turned portions 34 and 35 supporting rigid shoulder supports 36 and 37 and back bar 38 . Back bar 38 may be removably secured to shoulder supports 36 and 37 or may be fixed as by welding or the like. Shoulder supports 36 and 37 and back bar 38 have cushions 36 a , 37 a and 38 a , respectively. The cushions are of a type used to pad the interior of football and other sports helmets and are shown in more detail in the inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,257. The cushions have a backing strip of polyvinyl plastic film. A thin sheet of polyvinyl film encloses blocks of closed pore plastic (e.g., polystyrene or polyurethane) foam and is sealed to the backing strip to enclose separate blocks which are separately compressible and provide more comfort to the wearer of the carrier when fully loaded.
[0050] Belly plate 31 is removably secured on the lower ends 32 a and 32 b of vertical rod or tube 32 by clamping receptacles 39 and 40 . J-rod receptacles 41 and 42 are secured on belly plate 31 in slots 43 and 44 by screws or bolts or the like. J-rods 45 are secured in receptacles 41 and 42 by bolts 46 . The upper, out-turned ends 34 and 35 of supporting rod or tube 33 are supported in clamping receptacles 47 and 48 on shoulder supports 36 and 37 . A clamp 49 holds rods or tubes 32 and 33 in an articulated relation to permit angular flexing as shown in FIG. 4 .
[0051] The materials of construction used in this carrier 30 are very important for achieving the desired result. The belly plate 31 , supporting rods or tubes 32 and 33 , shoulder supports 36 and 37 and back bar 38 are rigid and made of a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium. The metal shoulder supports have the advantage that different sizes are readily accommodated.
[0052] Operation
[0053] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity. The carrier 30 is worn by the musician with the shoulder supports 36 and 37 positioned over the shoulders and the belly plate 31 supported against the abdomen. J-rods 45 are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening bolts 46 . The short outer ends of the J-rods 45 are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.
[0054] The carrier is adjustable to the comfort of the wearer and also to fit different sized instruments. Clamp-receptacles 47 and 48 permit pivotal, lateral and angular adjustment of shoulder supports 36 and 37 on the out-turned ends 34 and 35 of rod or tube 33 . Clamp-receptacles 39 and 40 permit vertical sliding adjustment of rod or tube 32 . Slots 43 and 44 in belly plate 31 allow lateral adjustment of clamp-receptacles 41 and 42 and angular adjustment of J-rods 45 supported therein.
[0055] Another Embodiment of Marching T-Bar Type Support for Drums and Other Percussion Instruments
[0056] Referring to FIG. 5 , there is shown a T-bar-type carrier 50 for percussion instruments which comprises a belly plate 51 , an inverted U-shaped vertical supporting rod or tube 52 . Rod or tube 52 has parallel portions 52 a and 52 b supporting belly plate 51 . Rigid shoulder supports 56 and 57 are secured on bar 53 .
[0057] Belly plate 51 is removably secured on the lower ends 52 a and 52 b of vertical rod or tube 52 by clamping receptacles 59 and 60 . J-rod receptacles 61 and 62 are secured on belly plate 51 . J-rods 65 are secured in receptacles 61 and 62 by bolts 66 . The upper U-portion of supporting rod or tube 52 is supported in clamping receptacle 67 on bar 53 to support shoulder supports 56 and 57 . The materials of construction used in this carrier 50 are very important for achieving the desired result. The belly plate 51 , supporting rod or tube 52 , and shoulder supports 56 and 57 are made of a light material such as plastic or a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium.
[0058] Operation
[0059] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity. The carrier 50 is worn by the musician with the shoulder supports 56 and 57 positioned over the shoulders and the belly plate 51 supported against the abdomen. J-rods 65 are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening bolts 66 . The short outer ends of the J-rods 65 are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like. The carrier is adjustable to comfort of the wearer and also to fit different sized instruments. Clamp-receptacle 67 permits pivotal adjustment of shoulder supports 56 and 57 . Clamp-receptacles 59 and 60 permit vertical sliding adjustment of rod or tube 52 . Clamp-receptacles 61 and 62 permit angular adjustment of J-rods 65 .
[0060] Another Embodiment of Marching T-Bar Type Support for Drums and Other Percussion Instruments
[0061] Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7 , there is shown a T-bar-type carrier 70 for percussion instruments which comprises a belly plate 71 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 having out-turned portions 74 and 75 supporting rigid shoulder supports 76 and 77 and back bar 78 . Back bar 78 may be removably secured to shoulder supports 78 or may be fixed as by welding or the like.
[0062] Belly plate 71 is removably secured on the lower ends of vertical rods or tubes 72 and 73 by clamping receptacles 79 and 80 . J-rod receptacles 81 and 82 are secured on belly plate 71 in slots 83 and 84 by screws or bolts or the like. J-rods 85 are secured in receptacles 81 and 82 by bolts 86 . The upper, out-turned ends 74 and 75 of supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 are supported in clamping receptacles 87 and 88 on shoulder supports 76 and 77 . A clamp or brace 89 holds rods or tubes 72 and 73 against lateral and or torque displacement.
[0063] Shoulder supports 76 and 77 and back bar 78 have cushions 76 a , 77 a and 78 a , respectively. The cushions are of a type used to pad the interior of football and other sports helmets and are shown in more detail in the inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,257. The cushions have a backing strip of polyvinyl plastic film. A thin sheet of polyvinyl film encloses blocks of closed pore plastic (e.g., polystyrene or polyurethane) foam and is sealed to the backing strip to enclose separate blocks which are separately compressible and provide more comfort to the wearer of the carrier when fully loaded. Clamp/receptacles 88 may have a retaining slot 88 a which receives and supports an optional J-hook 85 ( FIGS. 14 and 15 ) for connection to an upper part of a drum supported on carrier 70 .
[0064] The materials of construction used in this carrier 70 are very important for achieving the desired result. The belly plate 71 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 , shoulder supports 76 and 77 and back bar 78 are rigid and made of a light material such as plastic or light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium. The metal shoulder supports have the advantage that different sizes are readily accommodated.
[0065] Operation
[0066] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity. The carrier 70 is worn by the musician with the shoulder supports 76 and 77 positioned over the shoulders and the belly plate 71 supported against the abdomen. J-rods 85 are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening bolts 86 . The short outer ends of the J-rods 85 are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.
[0067] The carrier is adjustable to comfort of the wearer and also to fit different sized instruments. Clamp-receptacles 87 and 88 permit pivotal, lateral and angular adjustment of shoulder supports 76 and 77 on the out-turned ends 74 and 75 of rods or tubes 72 and 73 . Clamp-receptacles 79 and 80 permit vertical sliding adjustment of rods or tubes 72 and 73 . Slots 83 and 84 in belly plate 71 allow lateral adjustment of clamp-receptacles 81 and 82 and angular adjustment of J-rods 85 supported therein.
[0068] Double Facing J-Rod Receptacles and Application
[0069] In FIGS. 8 , 9 and 10 there is shown a double facing receptacle for securing more than one J-rod or post. Receptacle 274 is cast or extruded and has a pair of open edge portions 274 facing in opposite directions which can flex to clamp J-rods or posts adjustably. Receptacles 273 have inner surfaces that provides for surfaces, which clamp the surface of the J-rods or posts.
[0070] This is a superior clamping arrangement to set screws that provide only one or two point clamping contact. Holes 275 in the base of each receptacle are used for mounting by means of bolts or screws or the like. Aligned holes 276, 277 receive clamping screws, which operate on adjustment to clamp, or to release the J-rod or post secured therein.
[0071] Another Embodiment of Marching T-Bar Type Support for Drums and Other Percussion Instruments
[0072] Referring to FIG. 11 , there is shown a T-bar-type carrier 50 for percussion instruments which comprises a belly plate 51 , an inverted U-shaped vertical supporting rod or tube 52 . Rod or tube 52 has parallel portions 52 a and 52 b supporting belly plate 51 . Rigid shoulder supports 56 and 57 are secured on bar 53 .
[0073] Belly plate 51 is removably secured on the lower ends 52 a and 52 b of vertical rod or tube 52 by clamping receptacles 59 and 60 . J-rod receptacles 61 and 62 are secured on belly plate 51 . J-rods 65 are secured in receptacles 61 and 62 by bolts 66 . The upper U-portion of supporting rod or tube 52 is supported in clamping receptacles 273 . In the opposing side of clamping receptacles 273 , a shoulder supporting member formed from one or a multiple of tube sections has shoulder tube sections 63 , 64 and back member portion 58 . The materials of construction used in this carrier 50 are very important for achieving the desired result. The belly plate 51 , supporting rod or tube 52 , and shoulder members 63 , 64 and 58 are made of a light material such as plastic or a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium.
[0074] Shoulder and back member supports 63 , 64 and 58 have cushions 78 a , respectively. The cushions are of a type used to pad the interior of football and other sports helmets and are shown in more detail in the inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,257. The cushions have a backing strip of polyvinyl plastic film. A thin sheet of polyvinyl film encloses blocks of closed pore plastic (e.g., polystyrene or polyurethane) foam and is sealed to the backing strip to enclose separate blocks which are separately compressible and provide more comfort to the wearer of the carrier when fully loaded.
[0075] Operation
[0076] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity. The carrier 50 is worn by the musician with the shoulder members 63 and 64 positioned over the shoulders and the belly plate 51 supported against the abdomen. J-rods 65 are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening bolts 66 . The short outer ends of the J-rods 65 are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.
[0077] The carrier is adjustable to comfort of the wearer and also to fit different sized instruments. Clamp-receptacle 273 permits pivotal adjustment of shoulder members 63 and 64 . Clamp-receptacles 59 , 60 and 273 permit vertical sliding adjustment of rod or tube 52 , 63 and 64 . Clamp-receptacles 61 and 62 permit angular adjustment of J-rods 65 .
[0078] Another Embodiment of Marching T-Bar Type Support for Drums and Other Percussion Instruments
[0079] Referring to FIG. 12 , there is shown a T-bar-type carrier 70 , as in FIGS. 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 and 11 , for percussion instruments which comprises a belly plate 71 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 having out-turned portions 74 and 75 supporting rigid shoulder supports 76 and 77 and back bar 78 . Back bar 78 may be removably secured to shoulder supports 78 or may be fixed as by welding or the like. Detail views of the clamping hardware are shown in FIGS. 13 , 14 and 15 .
[0080] Belly plate 71 is removably secured on the lower ends of vertical rods or tubes 72 and 73 by clamping receptacles 79 and 80 . J-rod receptacles 81 and 82 are secured on belly plate 71 in slots 83 and 84 by screws or bolts or the like. J-rods 85 are secured in receptacles 81 and 82 by bolts 86 . The upper, out-turned ends 74 and 75 of supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 are supported in clamping receptacles 87 and 88 on shoulder supports 76 and 77 . J-hooks 88 b are installed in slots 88 a on receptacle/clamp 88 and the J-rods 85 are inverted for a different drum being supported thereon. A clamp or brace 89 holds rods or tubes 72 and 75 against lateral and or torque displacement.
[0081] Shoulder supports 76 and 77 and back bar 78 have cushions 76 a , 77 a and 78 a , respectively. The cushions are of a type used to pad the interior of football and other sports helmets and are shown in more detail in the inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,257. The cushions have a backing strip of polyvinyl plastic film. A thin sheet of polyvinyl film encloses blocks of closed pore plastic (e.g., polystyrene or polyurethane) foam and is sealed to the backing strip to enclose separate blocks which are separately compressible and provide more comfort to the wearer of the carrier when fully loaded. Clamp/receptacles 88 may have a retaining slot 88 a which receives and supports an optional J-hook 88 b ( FIG. 7 ) for connection to an upper part of a drum supported on carrier 70 .
[0082] The materials of construction used in this carrier 70 are very important for achieving the desired result. The belly plate 71 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 , shoulder supports 76 and 77 and back bar 78 are rigid and made of a light material such as plastic or a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium. The metal shoulder supports have the advantage that different sizes are readily accommodated.
[0083] Operation
[0084] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity. The carrier 70 is worn by the musician with the shoulder supports 76 and 77 positioned over the shoulders and the belly plate 71 supported against the abdomen. J-rods 85 are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening bolts 86 . The short outer ends of the J-rods 85 are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.
[0085] The carrier is adjustable to comfort of the wearer and also to fit different sized instruments. Clamp-receptacles 87 and 88 permit pivotal, lateral and angular adjustment of shoulder supports 76 and 77 on the out-turned ends 74 and 75 of rods or tubes 72 and 73 . Clamp-receptacles 79 and 80 permit vertical sliding adjustment of rods or tubes 72 and 73 . Slots 83 and 84 in belly plate 71 allow lateral adjustment of clamp-receptacles 81 and 82 and angular adjustment of J-rods 85 supported therein.
[0086] Referring to FIG. 16 , there is shown a T-bar-type carrier 70 , as in FIGS. 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 11 and 12 , for percussion instruments which comprises a belly plate 71 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 having out-turned portions 74 and 75 supporting rigid shoulder supports 76 and 77 and back bar 78 . Back bar 78 may be removably secured to shoulder supports 78 or may be fixed as by welding or the like.
[0087] Belly plate 71 is removably secured on the lower ends of vertical rods or tubes 72 and 73 by clamping receptacles 79 and 80 . J-rod receptacles 81 and 82 are secured on belly plate 71 in slots 83 and 84 by screws or bolts or the like. J-rods 85 are secured in receptacles 81 and 82 by bolts 86 . The upper, out-turned ends 74 and 75 of supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 are supported in clamping receptacles 87 and 88 on shoulder supports 76 and 77 . J-hooks 88 b are installed in slots 88 a on receptacle/clamp 88 and the J-rods 85 are inverted for a different drum being supported thereon. A clamp or brace 89 holds rods or tubes 72 and 73 against lateral and or torque displacement.
[0088] Shoulder supports 76 and 77 and back bar 78 have cushions 76 a , 77 a and 78 a , respectively. The cushions are of a type used to pad the interior of football and other sports helmets and are shown in more detail in the inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,257. The cushions have a backing strip of polyvinyl plastic film. A thin sheet of polyvinyl film encloses blocks of closed pore plastic (e.g., polystyrene or polyurethane) foam and is sealed to the backing strip to enclose separate blocks which are separately compressible and provide more comfort to the wearer of the carrier when fully loaded. Clamp/receptacles 88 may have a retaining slot 88 a which receives and supports an optional J-hook 88 b ( FIG. 7 ) for connection to an upper part of a drum supported on carrier 70 .
[0089] The materials of construction used in this carrier 70 are very important for achieving the desired result. The belly plate 71 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 , shoulder supports 76 and 77 and back bar 78 are rigid and made of a light material such as plastic or a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium. The metal shoulder supports have the advantage that different sizes are readily accommodated.
[0090] Operation
[0091] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity. The carrier 70 is worn by the musician with the shoulder supports 76 and 77 positioned over the shoulders and the belly plate 71 supported against the abdomen. J-rods 85 are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening bolts 86 . The short outer ends of the J-rods 85 are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.
[0092] The carrier is adjustable to comfort of the wearer and also to fit different sized instruments. Clamp-receptacles 87 and 88 permit pivotal, lateral and angular adjustment of shoulder supports 76 and 77 on the out-turned ends 74 and 75 of rods or tubes 72 and 73 . Clamp-receptacles 79 and 80 permit vertical sliding adjustment of rods or tubes 72 and 73 . Slots 83 and 84 in belly plate 71 allow lateral adjustment of clamp-receptacles 81 and 82 and angular adjustment of J-rods 85 supported therein.
[0093] Another Embodiment of Marching T-Bar Type Support for Drums and Other Percussion Instruments
[0094] Referring to FIG. 17 , there is shown a T-bar-type carrier 70 , as in FIGS. 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 11 , 12 and 16 , for percussion instruments which comprises a belly plate 71 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 supporting shoulder tubes or rods 68 and 69 with back bar 58 . Back bar 58 may be removably secured to shoulder tube or rods 68 and 69 or may be formed from a single piece or tube or rod or fabricated to telescope together or formed from a welded or fabricated assembly.
[0095] Belly plate 71 is removably secured on the lower ends of vertical rods or tubes 72 and 73 by clamping receptacles 79 and 80 . J-rod receptacles 81 and 82 are secured on belly plate 71 in slots 84 by screws or bolts or the like. J-rods 85 are secured in receptacles 81 and 82 by bolts. A clamp or brace 89 holds rods or tubes 72 / 68 and 73 / 69 against lateral and or torque displacement.
[0096] Shoulder rods or tubes 68 and 69 and back tube, rod or bar 58 have cushions 7 78 a . The cushions 78 a are of a type used to pad the interior of football and other sports helmets and are shown in more detail in the inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,257. The cushions have a backing strip of polyvinyl plastic film. A thin sheet of polyvinyl film encloses blocks of closed pore plastic (e.g., polystyrene or polyurethane) foam and is sealed to the backing strip to enclose separate blocks which are separately compressible and provide more comfort to the wearer of the carrier when fully loaded.
[0097] The materials of construction used in this carrier 70 are very important for achieving the desired result. The belly plate 71 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 72 / 68 and 73 / 69 and back tube, rod or member 58 are rigid and made of a light material such as plastic or a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium.
[0098] Operation
[0099] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity. The carrier 70 is worn by the musician with the shoulder tubes, rods or supports 68 and 69 positioned over the shoulders and the belly plate 71 supported against the abdomen. J-rods 85 are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening bolts 86 . The short outer ends of the J-rods 85 are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.
[0100] Another Embodiment with Adjustably Positioned J-Rod Clamps
[0101] Referring to FIGS. 18 and 19 , there is shown a vest- or T-bar-type carrier 91 for percussion instruments, which comprises a vest portion or belly plate portion 90 having two pairs of receptacles 93 secured thereon by screws or bolts. Supporting tubes 94 are supported in receptacles 93 and secured in position by square head bolts 95 , which may be operated by a drum key (not shown).
[0102] Receptacles 93 are cast or extruded and have an open edge portion 86 , which can flex to clamp tubes 94 adjustably Receptacles 93 have an inner surface that is non-circular, e.g., polygonal, serrated, or the like, which provides a plurality of surfaces, which clamp the surface of the tubes 94 . This is a superior clamping arrangement to set screws that provide only one or two point clamping contact.
[0103] Two part tube clamps 87 have mating portions 88 and 99 secured together to clamp tube 94 and J-rods 85 . Aligned holes in mating portions 88 and 99 receive square headed bolts, which are operated by a drum key to clamp or to release the tube 94 and J-rod 85 .
[0104] Operation
[0105] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity. The carrier 91 is worn by the musician with the vest or belly plate 92 supported against his abdomen. Receptacle bases 93 are secured on vest or belly plate 92 . Square-headed bolts 95 secure supporting tubes 94 for longitudinal adjustment of position therein. Square-headed bolts are operated to clamp two part clamp 87 around J-rod 85 or tube 94 . This construction permits independent vertical adjustment of J-rod 100 and rotary movement of the J-rod on supporting tube 94 .
[0106] Marching Vest-Type Support for Drums and Other Percussion Instruments
[0107] Referring to FIG. 20 , there is shown a vest-type carrier 100 for percussion instruments which comprises a vest 101 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 102 and 103 having outturned portions 104 and 105 supporting rigid shoulder supports 106 and 107 and back bar 108 . Back bar 108 may be removably secured to shoulder supports 106 and 107 or may be fixed as by welding or the like.
[0108] Vest 101 is removably secured on the lower ends of vertical rods or tubes 102 and 103 by clamping receptacles 109 and 110 . J-rod receptacles 111 and 112 may be secured on vest plate 101 in slots by screws or bolts or the like. J-rods 113 are secured in receptacles 111 and 112 by bolts 114 . The upper, out-turned ends 104 and 105 of supporting rods or tubes 102 and 103 are supported in clamping receptacles 115 and 116 on shoulder supports 106 and 107 . A clamp 117 holds rods or tubes 102 and 103 against lateral and or torque displacement.
[0109] The materials of construction used in this carrier 100 are very important for achieving the desired result. The vest 101 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 102 and 103 , shoulder supports 106 and 107 and back bar 108 are rigid and made of a light material such as plastic or a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium. The metal shoulder supports have the advantage that different sizes are readily accommodated.
[0110] Operation
[0111] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity. The carrier 100 is worn by the musician with the shoulder supports 106 and 107 positioned over the shoulders and the vest 101 supported against the abdomen and chest. J-rods 113 are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening bolts 114 . The short outer ends of the J-rods 113 are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.
[0112] The carrier is adjustable to comfort of the wearer and also to fit different sized instruments. Clamp-receptacles 115 and 116 permit pivotal, lateral and angular adjustment of shoulder supports 106 and 107 on the out-turned ends 104 and 105 of rods or tubes 102 and 103 . Clamp-receptacles 109 and 110 permit vertical sliding adjustment of rods or tubes 102 and 103 . Slots in vest 101 allow lateral adjustment of clamp-receptacles 111 and 112 and angular adjustment of J-rods 113 supported therein.
[0113] Thus, specific embodiments of a rod or tubular shoulder supported carrier for percussion instruments have been disclosed. Moreover, the described implementations of the invention are susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions. It should be understood, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form or forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. | Drum hardware and drum secured thereon are preferably supported on a vest type carrier or a T-bar carrier having a plurality of separate parts removable from each other and formed of a rigid light material such as plastic or a light metal such as magnesium, aluminum or titanium. The carrier has a vest or belly plate, shoulder supports, and back bar and the shoulder supports are removable and/or adjustable. The supporting elements are of rod or tubular construction. Special padding may be included on the shoulder supports, belly plate portion and other parts where cushioning is needed. The hardware may be universally adjustable. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the invention. | [
"CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of applicant's applications U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 10/951,130 filed Sep. 27, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,673,776, issued Mar. 9, 2010, which claims the benefit of continuation-in-part of applicant's applications U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 10/831,638 filed Apr. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,881,886, issued Apr. 19, 2005, which claims the benefit of Continuation-in-part U.S. Ser.",
"No. 10/374,676 filed Feb. 26, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,071,401, issued Jul. 4, 2006, which claims the benefit of Continuation-in-part of application Ser.",
"No. 10/170,005 filed Jun. 10, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,770,805, issued Aug. 3, 2004, which claims the benefit of Divisional application U.S. Ser.",
"No. 09/756,479 filed Jan. 8, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,403,869, issued Jul. 11, 2002, which claims the benefit of Continuation-in-part application U.S. Ser.",
"No. 09/507,800 filed Feb. 22, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,290, issued Jan. 9, 2001, which claims the benefit of Divisional application U.S. Ser.",
"No. 09/497,265 filed Feb. 3, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,407, issued Nov. 27, 2001.",
"STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT [0002] Not Applicable THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT [0003] Not Applicable INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC [0004] Not Applicable BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0005] 1.",
"Field of the Invention [0006] This invention relates to new and useful improvements in apparatus for carrying percussion instruments, particularly drums of various kinds, cymbals, xylophones, and the like.",
"More particularly, the present invention relates to a carrier hardware providing a novel articulating hinge assembly for the support for percussion instruments and to carrier assemblies supporting percussion instruments on a person while standing, walking or marching.",
"The carrier assembly has a construction and relationship of parts to transfer the weight of the percussion instrument(s) to the body of a person.",
"A clamp is located in the front of the carrier.",
"The clamp allows the carrier to be folded for easier transportation and storage in a smaller space.",
"The clamp can be loose to allow the linked parts to move freely, or the clamp can be locked to fix the linked parts in position.",
"The person carrying the instruments maintains a stable attitude while walking or marching about and avoids pressure or other forms of detrimental forces on the shoulders and lower back and is further characterized by having removable and/or adjustable back support member or members.",
"The adjustment to the back support member position may also be accomplished using a fixed back support member with adjustable shoulder supports.",
"The back member may be secured to the shoulder supports and the shoulder supports may be removable and or adjustable to accommodate different sized users.",
"[0007] 2.",
"Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 [0008] The prior art discloses many examples of apparatus for supporting percussion instruments but none providing the combination of features disclosed and claimed herein.",
"[0009] La Flame U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,683 discloses a carrier for percussion instruments having an abdominal plate connected at one end of a unitary frame partly encircling the wearer at the waist and having an upstanding rear portion pivotally connected to a back pressure plate.",
"Shoulder bars are connected to the back-pressure plate and wrap about shoulders and support supports connect to the abdominal plate.",
"[0010] Hsieh U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,610 shows a carrier for percussion instruments having a “T”",
"bar, a pair of shoulder bars, a belly plate.",
"The shoulder bars are bolted on a lateral plate of the “T”",
"bar.",
"The lateral plate has arc-like slots and spaced semi-circular holes permit bolts to slide in the slots.",
"The fastening end of each shoulder bar has a hole and an arc-like slot from the upper portion to the lower portion permitting angular adjustment of the shoulder rightward or leftward for various applications.",
"[0011] La Flame U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,032 shows a carrier for various instruments such as marching bells, a marching xylophone or a marching marimba, which are supported on the apparatus by the use of suitably-constructed extension arms.",
"The carrier frame is a U-shaped bent bar welded or otherwise attached to a belly plate and has extension arms which project from the belly plate to engage and support the instrument.",
"[0012] La Flame GB patent 2,123,676 (based on U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,442) discloses a carrier for percussion instruments or the like which includes the combination of a belly plate with a carrier bracket for supporting an instrument at an outwardly-overhung position about a fulcrum area of contact with the front waistline area of the person, a rigid band with a generally bent contour to extend along a portion of the waistline area of the person to the back of the person, a back-plate riser arm supported by the ban to extend in a generally upward direction such that a portion of the arm will extend along the back thoracic region of the person, and means carried by the arm for imparting to the thoracic back region of the person a reactive force to the overhung weight of the instrument about the aforesaid means forming a fulcrum area of contact with the person.",
"[0013] Dranchak U.S. Pat. No. 4,387,839 discloses a drum-supporting harness having two shoulder hooks with cushion pads or liners, a breast plate secured to the hooks, and a hanger structure attached to the breast plate and depending there from.",
"Upwardly-facing hooks, a spacer bar extending downward from the hooks, and a spacing abutment carried by the spacer bar and extending forward there from are carried by the lower portion of the hanger structure.",
"The hooks and the spacing abutment engage upper and lower portions of the body of the drum.",
"The hanger structure is adjustable or extensible by means of overlapping strips which can be secured in a number of different positions.",
"An adapter assembly attaches to the upper rim portion of the drum for connecting of hooks 16 to the drum.",
"[0014] Other possibly relevant prior art is Pyle U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,357 and the inventor's own May U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,910, May U.S. Pat. No. 5,300,810, May U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,257, May U.S. Pat. No. 5,691,492, May U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,583 and May U.S. Pat. No. 7,394,008 that are herein incorporated by reference.",
"[0015] The prior art discloses many examples of apparatus for supporting percussion instruments but none provide the combination of features that are disclosed and claimed herein.",
"BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0016] One object of the invention is to provide a new and improved carrier for percussion instruments comprising a novel T-bar carrier with belly plate, shoulder supports, and back bar in which the shoulder supports are removable and/or adjustable.",
"[0017] One object of the invention is to provide a new and improved carrier for percussion instruments comprising a novel supporting instrument carrier and a clamp having recesses to receive and clamp J-rods or posts around their peripheries in spaced relation on said carrier.",
"[0018] Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved carrier for percussion instruments comprising a novel vest-type carrier with back bar and removable and/or adjustable shoulder supports.",
"[0019] Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved carrier for percussion instruments having shoulder supports and an adjustable back bar.",
"[0020] Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved carrier for percussion instruments comprising a novel T-bar carrier with belly plate, shoulder supports, and back bar, and a clamp having a recesses to receive and clamp J-rods or posts around their peripheries in spaced relation on said vest.",
"[0021] Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved carrier for percussion instruments in which the supporting elements are of rod or tubular construction.",
"[0022] Other objects of the invention will become apparent throughout the specification and claims as hereinafter related.",
"Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) [0023] FIG. 1 is a front isometric view of hardware for supporting a drum in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention.",
"[0024] FIG. 2 is a rear isometric view of hardware for supporting a drum as shown in FIG. 1 .",
"[0025] FIG. 3 is a front isometric view of hardware for supporting a drum and having vertical articulated supports in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.",
"[0026] FIG. 4 is a side view of the articulated joint in the hardware shown in FIG. 3 .",
"[0027] FIG. 5 is a front isometric view of an embodiment with the back bar removed.",
"[0028] FIG. 6 is a front isometric view of supporting hardware with vertical and horizontal adjustability of the supports on the belly plate and adjustable shoulder supports and back bar [0029] FIG. 7 is a detailed view of the tubular clamp form FIG. 6 with an optional J hook.",
"[0030] FIG. 8 is a view in end elevation of a novel double clamp for supporting a plurality of posts and/or J-rods.",
"[0031] FIG. 9 is a front isometric view of the clamp shown in FIG. 8 .",
"[0032] FIG. 10 is a rear isometric view of the clamp shown in FIG. 8 .",
"[0033] FIG. 11 is a front isometric view of supporting hardware with vertical and horizontal adjustability of the supports on the belly plate and adjustable shoulder member with a back bar.",
"[0034] FIG. 12 is a front isometric view of the fully assembled carrier and supporting hardware with J-rods positioned in an inverted position for supporting the drum.",
"[0035] FIG. 13 is a detail isometric view of the clamp shown in FIG. 12 showing the connection of the vertical supporting rods and/or tubes.",
"[0036] FIG. 14 is a detail isometric view of clamp for the shoulder supports shown in FIG. 12 .",
"[0037] FIG. 16 is a rear isometric view of the embodiment of FIG. 12 .",
"[0038] FIG. 17 is an isometric view of another embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 , 2 and 6 in which the shoulder supports connect with the abdominal belly plate.",
"[0039] FIG. 18 is a front isometric view of the fully assembled carrier and supporting clamp with J-rods positioned in a normal position for supporting the drum and having a double clamp for the supporting base permitting longitudinal and rotary adjustment in position of the clamp.",
"[0040] FIG. 19 is an end view of the clamp shown in FIG. 18 .",
"[0041] FIG. 20 is an isometric view of another embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in which the abdominal belly plate is replaced by a vest-type support.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Marching T-Bar Type Support for Drums and Other Percussion Instruments [0042] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , there is shown a T-bar-type carrier 10 for percussion instruments which comprises a belly plate 11 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 12 and 13 having outturned portions 14 and 15 supporting rigid shoulder supports 16 and 17 and back bar 18 .",
"Back bar 18 may be removably secured to shoulder supports 18 or may be fixed as by welding or the like.",
"[0043] Belly plate 11 is removably secured on the lower ends of vertical rods or tubes 12 and 13 by clamping receptacles 19 and 20 .",
"J-rod receptacles 21 and 22 are secured on belly plate 11 in slots 23 and 24 by screws or bolts or the like.",
"J-rods 25 are secured in receptacles 21 and 22 by bolts 26 .",
"The upper, out-turned ends 14 and 15 of supporting rods or tubes 12 and 13 are supported in clamping receptacles 27 and 28 on shoulder supports 16 and 17 .",
"A clamp 29 holds rods or tubes 12 and 13 against lateral and or torque displacement.",
"[0044] The materials of construction used in this carrier 10 are very important for achieving the desired result.",
"The belly plate 11 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 12 and 13 , shoulder supports 16 and 17 and back bar 18 are rigid and made of a light material such as plastic or a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium.",
"The metal shoulder supports have the advantage that different sizes are readily accommodated.",
"[0045] Operation [0046] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity.",
"The carrier 10 is worn by the musician with the shoulder supports 16 and 17 positioned over the shoulders and the belly plate 11 supported against the abdomen.",
"J-rods 25 are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening bolts 26 .",
"The short outer ends of the J-rods 25 are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.",
"[0047] The carrier is adjustable to comfort of the wearer and also to fit different sized instruments.",
"Clamp-receptacles 27 and 28 permit pivotal, lateral and angular adjustment of shoulder supports 16 and 17 on the out-turned ends 14 and 15 of rods or tubes 12 and 13 .",
"Clamp-receptacles 19 and 20 permit vertical sliding adjustment of rods or tubes 12 and 13 .",
"Slots 23 and 24 in belly plate 11 allow lateral adjustment of clamp-receptacles 21 and 22 and angular adjustment of J-rods supported therein.",
"[0048] An Articulated Embodiment of Marching T-Bar Type Support for Drums and Other Percussion Instruments [0049] Referring to FIG. 3 , there is shown a T-bar-type carrier 30 for percussion instruments which comprises a belly plate 31 , lower and upper vertical supporting rods or tubes 32 and 33 .",
"Lower rod or tube 32 is U-shaped with parallel portions 32 a and 32 b supporting belly plate 31 .",
"Upper rod or tube 33 is U-shaped with legs 33 a and 33 b having out-turned portions 34 and 35 supporting rigid shoulder supports 36 and 37 and back bar 38 .",
"Back bar 38 may be removably secured to shoulder supports 36 and 37 or may be fixed as by welding or the like.",
"Shoulder supports 36 and 37 and back bar 38 have cushions 36 a , 37 a and 38 a , respectively.",
"The cushions are of a type used to pad the interior of football and other sports helmets and are shown in more detail in the inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,257.",
"The cushions have a backing strip of polyvinyl plastic film.",
"A thin sheet of polyvinyl film encloses blocks of closed pore plastic (e.g., polystyrene or polyurethane) foam and is sealed to the backing strip to enclose separate blocks which are separately compressible and provide more comfort to the wearer of the carrier when fully loaded.",
"[0050] Belly plate 31 is removably secured on the lower ends 32 a and 32 b of vertical rod or tube 32 by clamping receptacles 39 and 40 .",
"J-rod receptacles 41 and 42 are secured on belly plate 31 in slots 43 and 44 by screws or bolts or the like.",
"J-rods 45 are secured in receptacles 41 and 42 by bolts 46 .",
"The upper, out-turned ends 34 and 35 of supporting rod or tube 33 are supported in clamping receptacles 47 and 48 on shoulder supports 36 and 37 .",
"A clamp 49 holds rods or tubes 32 and 33 in an articulated relation to permit angular flexing as shown in FIG. 4 .",
"[0051] The materials of construction used in this carrier 30 are very important for achieving the desired result.",
"The belly plate 31 , supporting rods or tubes 32 and 33 , shoulder supports 36 and 37 and back bar 38 are rigid and made of a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium.",
"The metal shoulder supports have the advantage that different sizes are readily accommodated.",
"[0052] Operation [0053] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity.",
"The carrier 30 is worn by the musician with the shoulder supports 36 and 37 positioned over the shoulders and the belly plate 31 supported against the abdomen.",
"J-rods 45 are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening bolts 46 .",
"The short outer ends of the J-rods 45 are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.",
"[0054] The carrier is adjustable to the comfort of the wearer and also to fit different sized instruments.",
"Clamp-receptacles 47 and 48 permit pivotal, lateral and angular adjustment of shoulder supports 36 and 37 on the out-turned ends 34 and 35 of rod or tube 33 .",
"Clamp-receptacles 39 and 40 permit vertical sliding adjustment of rod or tube 32 .",
"Slots 43 and 44 in belly plate 31 allow lateral adjustment of clamp-receptacles 41 and 42 and angular adjustment of J-rods 45 supported therein.",
"[0055] Another Embodiment of Marching T-Bar Type Support for Drums and Other Percussion Instruments [0056] Referring to FIG. 5 , there is shown a T-bar-type carrier 50 for percussion instruments which comprises a belly plate 51 , an inverted U-shaped vertical supporting rod or tube 52 .",
"Rod or tube 52 has parallel portions 52 a and 52 b supporting belly plate 51 .",
"Rigid shoulder supports 56 and 57 are secured on bar 53 .",
"[0057] Belly plate 51 is removably secured on the lower ends 52 a and 52 b of vertical rod or tube 52 by clamping receptacles 59 and 60 .",
"J-rod receptacles 61 and 62 are secured on belly plate 51 .",
"J-rods 65 are secured in receptacles 61 and 62 by bolts 66 .",
"The upper U-portion of supporting rod or tube 52 is supported in clamping receptacle 67 on bar 53 to support shoulder supports 56 and 57 .",
"The materials of construction used in this carrier 50 are very important for achieving the desired result.",
"The belly plate 51 , supporting rod or tube 52 , and shoulder supports 56 and 57 are made of a light material such as plastic or a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium.",
"[0058] Operation [0059] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity.",
"The carrier 50 is worn by the musician with the shoulder supports 56 and 57 positioned over the shoulders and the belly plate 51 supported against the abdomen.",
"J-rods 65 are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening bolts 66 .",
"The short outer ends of the J-rods 65 are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.",
"The carrier is adjustable to comfort of the wearer and also to fit different sized instruments.",
"Clamp-receptacle 67 permits pivotal adjustment of shoulder supports 56 and 57 .",
"Clamp-receptacles 59 and 60 permit vertical sliding adjustment of rod or tube 52 .",
"Clamp-receptacles 61 and 62 permit angular adjustment of J-rods 65 .",
"[0060] Another Embodiment of Marching T-Bar Type Support for Drums and Other Percussion Instruments [0061] Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7 , there is shown a T-bar-type carrier 70 for percussion instruments which comprises a belly plate 71 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 having out-turned portions 74 and 75 supporting rigid shoulder supports 76 and 77 and back bar 78 .",
"Back bar 78 may be removably secured to shoulder supports 78 or may be fixed as by welding or the like.",
"[0062] Belly plate 71 is removably secured on the lower ends of vertical rods or tubes 72 and 73 by clamping receptacles 79 and 80 .",
"J-rod receptacles 81 and 82 are secured on belly plate 71 in slots 83 and 84 by screws or bolts or the like.",
"J-rods 85 are secured in receptacles 81 and 82 by bolts 86 .",
"The upper, out-turned ends 74 and 75 of supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 are supported in clamping receptacles 87 and 88 on shoulder supports 76 and 77 .",
"A clamp or brace 89 holds rods or tubes 72 and 73 against lateral and or torque displacement.",
"[0063] Shoulder supports 76 and 77 and back bar 78 have cushions 76 a , 77 a and 78 a , respectively.",
"The cushions are of a type used to pad the interior of football and other sports helmets and are shown in more detail in the inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,257.",
"The cushions have a backing strip of polyvinyl plastic film.",
"A thin sheet of polyvinyl film encloses blocks of closed pore plastic (e.g., polystyrene or polyurethane) foam and is sealed to the backing strip to enclose separate blocks which are separately compressible and provide more comfort to the wearer of the carrier when fully loaded.",
"Clamp/receptacles 88 may have a retaining slot 88 a which receives and supports an optional J-hook 85 ( FIGS. 14 and 15 ) for connection to an upper part of a drum supported on carrier 70 .",
"[0064] The materials of construction used in this carrier 70 are very important for achieving the desired result.",
"The belly plate 71 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 , shoulder supports 76 and 77 and back bar 78 are rigid and made of a light material such as plastic or light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium.",
"The metal shoulder supports have the advantage that different sizes are readily accommodated.",
"[0065] Operation [0066] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity.",
"The carrier 70 is worn by the musician with the shoulder supports 76 and 77 positioned over the shoulders and the belly plate 71 supported against the abdomen.",
"J-rods 85 are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening bolts 86 .",
"The short outer ends of the J-rods 85 are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.",
"[0067] The carrier is adjustable to comfort of the wearer and also to fit different sized instruments.",
"Clamp-receptacles 87 and 88 permit pivotal, lateral and angular adjustment of shoulder supports 76 and 77 on the out-turned ends 74 and 75 of rods or tubes 72 and 73 .",
"Clamp-receptacles 79 and 80 permit vertical sliding adjustment of rods or tubes 72 and 73 .",
"Slots 83 and 84 in belly plate 71 allow lateral adjustment of clamp-receptacles 81 and 82 and angular adjustment of J-rods 85 supported therein.",
"[0068] Double Facing J-Rod Receptacles and Application [0069] In FIGS. 8 , 9 and 10 there is shown a double facing receptacle for securing more than one J-rod or post.",
"Receptacle 274 is cast or extruded and has a pair of open edge portions 274 facing in opposite directions which can flex to clamp J-rods or posts adjustably.",
"Receptacles 273 have inner surfaces that provides for surfaces, which clamp the surface of the J-rods or posts.",
"[0070] This is a superior clamping arrangement to set screws that provide only one or two point clamping contact.",
"Holes 275 in the base of each receptacle are used for mounting by means of bolts or screws or the like.",
"Aligned holes 276, 277 receive clamping screws, which operate on adjustment to clamp, or to release the J-rod or post secured therein.",
"[0071] Another Embodiment of Marching T-Bar Type Support for Drums and Other Percussion Instruments [0072] Referring to FIG. 11 , there is shown a T-bar-type carrier 50 for percussion instruments which comprises a belly plate 51 , an inverted U-shaped vertical supporting rod or tube 52 .",
"Rod or tube 52 has parallel portions 52 a and 52 b supporting belly plate 51 .",
"Rigid shoulder supports 56 and 57 are secured on bar 53 .",
"[0073] Belly plate 51 is removably secured on the lower ends 52 a and 52 b of vertical rod or tube 52 by clamping receptacles 59 and 60 .",
"J-rod receptacles 61 and 62 are secured on belly plate 51 .",
"J-rods 65 are secured in receptacles 61 and 62 by bolts 66 .",
"The upper U-portion of supporting rod or tube 52 is supported in clamping receptacles 273 .",
"In the opposing side of clamping receptacles 273 , a shoulder supporting member formed from one or a multiple of tube sections has shoulder tube sections 63 , 64 and back member portion 58 .",
"The materials of construction used in this carrier 50 are very important for achieving the desired result.",
"The belly plate 51 , supporting rod or tube 52 , and shoulder members 63 , 64 and 58 are made of a light material such as plastic or a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium.",
"[0074] Shoulder and back member supports 63 , 64 and 58 have cushions 78 a , respectively.",
"The cushions are of a type used to pad the interior of football and other sports helmets and are shown in more detail in the inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,257.",
"The cushions have a backing strip of polyvinyl plastic film.",
"A thin sheet of polyvinyl film encloses blocks of closed pore plastic (e.g., polystyrene or polyurethane) foam and is sealed to the backing strip to enclose separate blocks which are separately compressible and provide more comfort to the wearer of the carrier when fully loaded.",
"[0075] Operation [0076] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity.",
"The carrier 50 is worn by the musician with the shoulder members 63 and 64 positioned over the shoulders and the belly plate 51 supported against the abdomen.",
"J-rods 65 are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening bolts 66 .",
"The short outer ends of the J-rods 65 are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.",
"[0077] The carrier is adjustable to comfort of the wearer and also to fit different sized instruments.",
"Clamp-receptacle 273 permits pivotal adjustment of shoulder members 63 and 64 .",
"Clamp-receptacles 59 , 60 and 273 permit vertical sliding adjustment of rod or tube 52 , 63 and 64 .",
"Clamp-receptacles 61 and 62 permit angular adjustment of J-rods 65 .",
"[0078] Another Embodiment of Marching T-Bar Type Support for Drums and Other Percussion Instruments [0079] Referring to FIG. 12 , there is shown a T-bar-type carrier 70 , as in FIGS. 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 and 11 , for percussion instruments which comprises a belly plate 71 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 having out-turned portions 74 and 75 supporting rigid shoulder supports 76 and 77 and back bar 78 .",
"Back bar 78 may be removably secured to shoulder supports 78 or may be fixed as by welding or the like.",
"Detail views of the clamping hardware are shown in FIGS. 13 , 14 and 15 .",
"[0080] Belly plate 71 is removably secured on the lower ends of vertical rods or tubes 72 and 73 by clamping receptacles 79 and 80 .",
"J-rod receptacles 81 and 82 are secured on belly plate 71 in slots 83 and 84 by screws or bolts or the like.",
"J-rods 85 are secured in receptacles 81 and 82 by bolts 86 .",
"The upper, out-turned ends 74 and 75 of supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 are supported in clamping receptacles 87 and 88 on shoulder supports 76 and 77 .",
"J-hooks 88 b are installed in slots 88 a on receptacle/clamp 88 and the J-rods 85 are inverted for a different drum being supported thereon.",
"A clamp or brace 89 holds rods or tubes 72 and 75 against lateral and or torque displacement.",
"[0081] Shoulder supports 76 and 77 and back bar 78 have cushions 76 a , 77 a and 78 a , respectively.",
"The cushions are of a type used to pad the interior of football and other sports helmets and are shown in more detail in the inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,257.",
"The cushions have a backing strip of polyvinyl plastic film.",
"A thin sheet of polyvinyl film encloses blocks of closed pore plastic (e.g., polystyrene or polyurethane) foam and is sealed to the backing strip to enclose separate blocks which are separately compressible and provide more comfort to the wearer of the carrier when fully loaded.",
"Clamp/receptacles 88 may have a retaining slot 88 a which receives and supports an optional J-hook 88 b ( FIG. 7 ) for connection to an upper part of a drum supported on carrier 70 .",
"[0082] The materials of construction used in this carrier 70 are very important for achieving the desired result.",
"The belly plate 71 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 , shoulder supports 76 and 77 and back bar 78 are rigid and made of a light material such as plastic or a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium.",
"The metal shoulder supports have the advantage that different sizes are readily accommodated.",
"[0083] Operation [0084] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity.",
"The carrier 70 is worn by the musician with the shoulder supports 76 and 77 positioned over the shoulders and the belly plate 71 supported against the abdomen.",
"J-rods 85 are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening bolts 86 .",
"The short outer ends of the J-rods 85 are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.",
"[0085] The carrier is adjustable to comfort of the wearer and also to fit different sized instruments.",
"Clamp-receptacles 87 and 88 permit pivotal, lateral and angular adjustment of shoulder supports 76 and 77 on the out-turned ends 74 and 75 of rods or tubes 72 and 73 .",
"Clamp-receptacles 79 and 80 permit vertical sliding adjustment of rods or tubes 72 and 73 .",
"Slots 83 and 84 in belly plate 71 allow lateral adjustment of clamp-receptacles 81 and 82 and angular adjustment of J-rods 85 supported therein.",
"[0086] Referring to FIG. 16 , there is shown a T-bar-type carrier 70 , as in FIGS. 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 11 and 12 , for percussion instruments which comprises a belly plate 71 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 having out-turned portions 74 and 75 supporting rigid shoulder supports 76 and 77 and back bar 78 .",
"Back bar 78 may be removably secured to shoulder supports 78 or may be fixed as by welding or the like.",
"[0087] Belly plate 71 is removably secured on the lower ends of vertical rods or tubes 72 and 73 by clamping receptacles 79 and 80 .",
"J-rod receptacles 81 and 82 are secured on belly plate 71 in slots 83 and 84 by screws or bolts or the like.",
"J-rods 85 are secured in receptacles 81 and 82 by bolts 86 .",
"The upper, out-turned ends 74 and 75 of supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 are supported in clamping receptacles 87 and 88 on shoulder supports 76 and 77 .",
"J-hooks 88 b are installed in slots 88 a on receptacle/clamp 88 and the J-rods 85 are inverted for a different drum being supported thereon.",
"A clamp or brace 89 holds rods or tubes 72 and 73 against lateral and or torque displacement.",
"[0088] Shoulder supports 76 and 77 and back bar 78 have cushions 76 a , 77 a and 78 a , respectively.",
"The cushions are of a type used to pad the interior of football and other sports helmets and are shown in more detail in the inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,257.",
"The cushions have a backing strip of polyvinyl plastic film.",
"A thin sheet of polyvinyl film encloses blocks of closed pore plastic (e.g., polystyrene or polyurethane) foam and is sealed to the backing strip to enclose separate blocks which are separately compressible and provide more comfort to the wearer of the carrier when fully loaded.",
"Clamp/receptacles 88 may have a retaining slot 88 a which receives and supports an optional J-hook 88 b ( FIG. 7 ) for connection to an upper part of a drum supported on carrier 70 .",
"[0089] The materials of construction used in this carrier 70 are very important for achieving the desired result.",
"The belly plate 71 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 , shoulder supports 76 and 77 and back bar 78 are rigid and made of a light material such as plastic or a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium.",
"The metal shoulder supports have the advantage that different sizes are readily accommodated.",
"[0090] Operation [0091] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity.",
"The carrier 70 is worn by the musician with the shoulder supports 76 and 77 positioned over the shoulders and the belly plate 71 supported against the abdomen.",
"J-rods 85 are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening bolts 86 .",
"The short outer ends of the J-rods 85 are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.",
"[0092] The carrier is adjustable to comfort of the wearer and also to fit different sized instruments.",
"Clamp-receptacles 87 and 88 permit pivotal, lateral and angular adjustment of shoulder supports 76 and 77 on the out-turned ends 74 and 75 of rods or tubes 72 and 73 .",
"Clamp-receptacles 79 and 80 permit vertical sliding adjustment of rods or tubes 72 and 73 .",
"Slots 83 and 84 in belly plate 71 allow lateral adjustment of clamp-receptacles 81 and 82 and angular adjustment of J-rods 85 supported therein.",
"[0093] Another Embodiment of Marching T-Bar Type Support for Drums and Other Percussion Instruments [0094] Referring to FIG. 17 , there is shown a T-bar-type carrier 70 , as in FIGS. 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 11 , 12 and 16 , for percussion instruments which comprises a belly plate 71 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 72 and 73 supporting shoulder tubes or rods 68 and 69 with back bar 58 .",
"Back bar 58 may be removably secured to shoulder tube or rods 68 and 69 or may be formed from a single piece or tube or rod or fabricated to telescope together or formed from a welded or fabricated assembly.",
"[0095] Belly plate 71 is removably secured on the lower ends of vertical rods or tubes 72 and 73 by clamping receptacles 79 and 80 .",
"J-rod receptacles 81 and 82 are secured on belly plate 71 in slots 84 by screws or bolts or the like.",
"J-rods 85 are secured in receptacles 81 and 82 by bolts.",
"A clamp or brace 89 holds rods or tubes 72 / 68 and 73 / 69 against lateral and or torque displacement.",
"[0096] Shoulder rods or tubes 68 and 69 and back tube, rod or bar 58 have cushions 7 78 a .",
"The cushions 78 a are of a type used to pad the interior of football and other sports helmets and are shown in more detail in the inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,257.",
"The cushions have a backing strip of polyvinyl plastic film.",
"A thin sheet of polyvinyl film encloses blocks of closed pore plastic (e.g., polystyrene or polyurethane) foam and is sealed to the backing strip to enclose separate blocks which are separately compressible and provide more comfort to the wearer of the carrier when fully loaded.",
"[0097] The materials of construction used in this carrier 70 are very important for achieving the desired result.",
"The belly plate 71 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 72 / 68 and 73 / 69 and back tube, rod or member 58 are rigid and made of a light material such as plastic or a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium.",
"[0098] Operation [0099] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity.",
"The carrier 70 is worn by the musician with the shoulder tubes, rods or supports 68 and 69 positioned over the shoulders and the belly plate 71 supported against the abdomen.",
"J-rods 85 are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening bolts 86 .",
"The short outer ends of the J-rods 85 are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.",
"[0100] Another Embodiment with Adjustably Positioned J-Rod Clamps [0101] Referring to FIGS. 18 and 19 , there is shown a vest- or T-bar-type carrier 91 for percussion instruments, which comprises a vest portion or belly plate portion 90 having two pairs of receptacles 93 secured thereon by screws or bolts.",
"Supporting tubes 94 are supported in receptacles 93 and secured in position by square head bolts 95 , which may be operated by a drum key (not shown).",
"[0102] Receptacles 93 are cast or extruded and have an open edge portion 86 , which can flex to clamp tubes 94 adjustably Receptacles 93 have an inner surface that is non-circular, e.g., polygonal, serrated, or the like, which provides a plurality of surfaces, which clamp the surface of the tubes 94 .",
"This is a superior clamping arrangement to set screws that provide only one or two point clamping contact.",
"[0103] Two part tube clamps 87 have mating portions 88 and 99 secured together to clamp tube 94 and J-rods 85 .",
"Aligned holes in mating portions 88 and 99 receive square headed bolts, which are operated by a drum key to clamp or to release the tube 94 and J-rod 85 .",
"[0104] Operation [0105] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity.",
"The carrier 91 is worn by the musician with the vest or belly plate 92 supported against his abdomen.",
"Receptacle bases 93 are secured on vest or belly plate 92 .",
"Square-headed bolts 95 secure supporting tubes 94 for longitudinal adjustment of position therein.",
"Square-headed bolts are operated to clamp two part clamp 87 around J-rod 85 or tube 94 .",
"This construction permits independent vertical adjustment of J-rod 100 and rotary movement of the J-rod on supporting tube 94 .",
"[0106] Marching Vest-Type Support for Drums and Other Percussion Instruments [0107] Referring to FIG. 20 , there is shown a vest-type carrier 100 for percussion instruments which comprises a vest 101 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 102 and 103 having outturned portions 104 and 105 supporting rigid shoulder supports 106 and 107 and back bar 108 .",
"Back bar 108 may be removably secured to shoulder supports 106 and 107 or may be fixed as by welding or the like.",
"[0108] Vest 101 is removably secured on the lower ends of vertical rods or tubes 102 and 103 by clamping receptacles 109 and 110 .",
"J-rod receptacles 111 and 112 may be secured on vest plate 101 in slots by screws or bolts or the like.",
"J-rods 113 are secured in receptacles 111 and 112 by bolts 114 .",
"The upper, out-turned ends 104 and 105 of supporting rods or tubes 102 and 103 are supported in clamping receptacles 115 and 116 on shoulder supports 106 and 107 .",
"A clamp 117 holds rods or tubes 102 and 103 against lateral and or torque displacement.",
"[0109] The materials of construction used in this carrier 100 are very important for achieving the desired result.",
"The vest 101 , vertical supporting rods or tubes 102 and 103 , shoulder supports 106 and 107 and back bar 108 are rigid and made of a light material such as plastic or a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium.",
"The metal shoulder supports have the advantage that different sizes are readily accommodated.",
"[0110] Operation [0111] The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity.",
"The carrier 100 is worn by the musician with the shoulder supports 106 and 107 positioned over the shoulders and the vest 101 supported against the abdomen and chest.",
"J-rods 113 are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening bolts 114 .",
"The short outer ends of the J-rods 113 are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.",
"[0112] The carrier is adjustable to comfort of the wearer and also to fit different sized instruments.",
"Clamp-receptacles 115 and 116 permit pivotal, lateral and angular adjustment of shoulder supports 106 and 107 on the out-turned ends 104 and 105 of rods or tubes 102 and 103 .",
"Clamp-receptacles 109 and 110 permit vertical sliding adjustment of rods or tubes 102 and 103 .",
"Slots in vest 101 allow lateral adjustment of clamp-receptacles 111 and 112 and angular adjustment of J-rods 113 supported therein.",
"[0113] Thus, specific embodiments of a rod or tubular shoulder supported carrier for percussion instruments have been disclosed.",
"Moreover, the described implementations of the invention are susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions.",
"It should be understood, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form or forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention."
] |
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a non-provisional application claiming priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/925,519 filed Apr. 20, 2007.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to integrated circuits, and in particular to security features applied to an integrated circuit that detects alteration of the integrated circuit.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] If left unprotected, integrated circuits (ICs) are subject to alteration, by either deletion of design data or insertion of such data. Such alteration may be particularly unwanted when the IC is used in sensitive applications. Conventionally, a determination of whether an IC has been altered by deletion of design data can be done using built-in self-testing (BIST). However, detecting the addition of malicious circuitry poses a more challenging problem. Further, even when checking for deletions using BIST, each device in the IC must be checked. Thus, conventional methods, such as BIST, are not optimally effective in securing ICs against alteration.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] An integrated circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises a substrate; a circuit pattern formed over the substrate; and one or more fences formed around edges of the circuit pattern, each of the one or more fences having a determined electrical resistance.
[0005] In at least one embodiment, the circuit pattern comprises one or more layers, and at least one of the one or more fences is formed at each layer.
[0006] A method of securing an integrated circuit having a circuit pattern according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of: analyzing design data for the circuit pattern to determine edges of the circuit pattern; determining a route that surrounds the edges of the circuit pattern; and forming a fence along the route, wherein the fence has a determined electrical resistance.
[0007] In at least one embodiment, the step of analyzing comprises dividing the design data into partitions.
[0008] In at least one embodiment, the step of analyzing comprises determining which partitions are too close together to accommodate circuitry.
[0009] In at least one embodiment, the method further comprises a step of merging the partitions that are too close together to accommodate circuitry.
[0010] In at least one embodiment, the step of merging comprising polygon merging.
[0011] In at least one embodiment, the step of determining the route comprises applying a set of rules to ensure that the route provides at least a minimum clearance from the edges of the circuit pattern.
[0012] In at least one embodiment, the step of forming a fence comprises forming the fence in a polygon format.
[0013] In at least one embodiment, the step of forming a fence further comprises generating layout data for the fence.
[0014] In at least one embodiment, the layout data is generated using a set of rules.
[0015] In at least one embodiment, the step of forming a fence comprises maintaining a running sum of resistances for the fence.
[0016] A method of testing an integrated circuit comprising a substrate, a circuit pattern formed over the substrate, and one or more fences formed around edges of the circuit pattern, each of the one or more fences having a determined electrical resistance, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of: measuring electrical resistance of the one or more fences; and comparing the measured electrical resistance to the determined electrical resistance.
[0017] In at least one embodiment, the circuit pattern comprises one or more layers, at least one of the one or more fences is formed at each layer, and the method further comprises: measuring inter-layer capacitance of the fences formed at each layer; and comparing the inter-layer capacitance to a determined inter-layer capacitance of the fences at each layer.
[0018] These and other features of this invention are described in, or are apparent from, the following detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of this invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] Various exemplary embodiments of this invention will be described in detail, with reference to the following figures, wherein:
[0020] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for generating a fence for an integrated circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and
[0021] FIGS. 2A-2C are plan views of a circuit pattern showing a process of applying a fence to the circuit pattern according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0022] The present invention is directed to a system and method of securing an integrated circuit against alteration. It should be appreciated that the term “integrated circuit” as used herein is intended to cover any device that includes an electric circuit pattern, having semiconductor components or otherwise, including but not limited to display devices, such as liquid crystal displays and plasma displays, microcontrollers, memory devices, processors, sensors, power management circuits and amplifiers.
[0023] More particularly, various exemplary embodiments of the present invention are directed to systems and methods for securing an IC by forming a fence around edges of the various components of the IC pattern. The fence has known electrical characteristics, such as, for example, resistance and, in the case of multiple fences formed within individual layers of the IC, inter-layer capacitance. Thus, any alteration to the fence can be detected by detecting changes in the electrical characteristics of the fence. The fence may be generated using an algorithm that has a spatial based solution so as to divide design data from white space (i.e., space in which no circuit pattern is formed).
[0024] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system, generally designated by reference number 1 , for generating a fence for an integrate circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The system 1 includes a circuit pattern analyzer 10 , a route calculator 20 , and a fence generator 30 .
[0025] The circuit pattern analyzer 10 determines the edges of a circuit pattern. According to an embodiment of the invention, the circuit pattern analyzer 10 divides the design data into manageable partitions, and analyzes the data to determine which areas, known as small area sections, are too small to accommodate circuitry. This is shown in FIG. 2A , which shows a plan view of a circuit pattern 100 with a small area section 110 . Small area section 110 is an example of an area too small to accommodate circuitry, and thus would not need a fence. Then, as shown in FIG. 2B , the circuit pattern analyzer 10 merges the small area sections 98 into the remaining partitions to define edges 112 of the circuit pattern 100 which need to be secured. Any suitable data merging technique may be used to merge the small area sections with the remaining partitions, such as, for example, polygon merging.
[0026] The route calculator 20 uses the edges 112 of the circuit pattern 100 to determine a route that surrounds the circuit pattern 100 . In this regard, the route calculator 20 may use minimum width and spacing rules to ensure that the route provides adequate clearance from the edges 112 of the circuit pattern 100 .
[0027] The fence generator 30 calculates layout data for the fence which follows the route generated by the route calculator 20 . The fence generator 30 preferably calculates the layout data in a polygon format using a set of rules as a guide. The rules may include minimum width, desired width, maximum width, minimum space, desired space and maximum space. As the fence layout data is generated, a running sum of the resistance may be maintained, so that the overall resistance of the completed fence may be determined. Once generation of the fence layout data is complete, as shown in FIG. 2C , the data can be used to form a fence 114 around the edges 112 of the circuit pattern 100 having the determined resistance. The fence may be formed of any suitable material having effective electrical characteristics, such as, for example, metal, semiconductor material, polysilicon and doped silicon.
[0028] Preferably, a fence is built on all interconnect layers of the IC, including active layers, polysilicon layers and metal layers. Capacitances can be extracted from adjacent layers, and these capacitances and the resistances of the fences can be used to detect whether the fence has been altered. For example, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an IC including a fence may be tested by slight modifications of a conventional BIST (built-in self-test) algorithm to compensate for the fence. In particular, the BIST algorithm would need to be processed at least twice, once with the fence at ground and again with the fence at a high potential. If any unwanted circuitry crosses the fence and connects to the IC design data, the resulting short would be detectable though one of the BIST tests.
[0029] For large designs, it might be impractical to guard the entire circuit with one fence. The shorter the fence, the higher sensitivity is for detecting fence alterations. Thus, to increase sensitivity, multiple short fences may be used for a particular circuit pattern. If many fences are needed, a multiplexed input system may be required. However, this will not effect the BIST time, as it is only necessary to detect changes to electrical characteristics of the fence.
[0030] A capacitance test offers a safe guard against massive fence alterations. Someone could try to reverse engineer the fence, matching its resistance, but placing it in a different location. However, doing this on multiple layers, while also trying to match inter-level fence capacitance would prove to be nearly impossible.
[0031] While this invention has been described in conjunction with the exemplary embodiments outlined above, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments of the invention, as set forth above, are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. | An integrated circuit including a substrate; a circuit pattern formed over the substrate; and one or more fences formed around edges of the circuit pattern, each of the one or more fences having a determined electrical resistance which is used to detect the addition of malicious circuitry. Each fence has a determined electrical resistance which is used to monitor the validity of the fence. | Analyze the document's illustrations and descriptions to summarize the main idea's core structure and function. | [
"RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a non-provisional application claiming priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.",
"No. 60/925,519 filed Apr. 20, 2007.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to integrated circuits, and in particular to security features applied to an integrated circuit that detects alteration of the integrated circuit.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] If left unprotected, integrated circuits (ICs) are subject to alteration, by either deletion of design data or insertion of such data.",
"Such alteration may be particularly unwanted when the IC is used in sensitive applications.",
"Conventionally, a determination of whether an IC has been altered by deletion of design data can be done using built-in self-testing (BIST).",
"However, detecting the addition of malicious circuitry poses a more challenging problem.",
"Further, even when checking for deletions using BIST, each device in the IC must be checked.",
"Thus, conventional methods, such as BIST, are not optimally effective in securing ICs against alteration.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0004] An integrated circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises a substrate;",
"a circuit pattern formed over the substrate;",
"and one or more fences formed around edges of the circuit pattern, each of the one or more fences having a determined electrical resistance.",
"[0005] In at least one embodiment, the circuit pattern comprises one or more layers, and at least one of the one or more fences is formed at each layer.",
"[0006] A method of securing an integrated circuit having a circuit pattern according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of: analyzing design data for the circuit pattern to determine edges of the circuit pattern;",
"determining a route that surrounds the edges of the circuit pattern;",
"and forming a fence along the route, wherein the fence has a determined electrical resistance.",
"[0007] In at least one embodiment, the step of analyzing comprises dividing the design data into partitions.",
"[0008] In at least one embodiment, the step of analyzing comprises determining which partitions are too close together to accommodate circuitry.",
"[0009] In at least one embodiment, the method further comprises a step of merging the partitions that are too close together to accommodate circuitry.",
"[0010] In at least one embodiment, the step of merging comprising polygon merging.",
"[0011] In at least one embodiment, the step of determining the route comprises applying a set of rules to ensure that the route provides at least a minimum clearance from the edges of the circuit pattern.",
"[0012] In at least one embodiment, the step of forming a fence comprises forming the fence in a polygon format.",
"[0013] In at least one embodiment, the step of forming a fence further comprises generating layout data for the fence.",
"[0014] In at least one embodiment, the layout data is generated using a set of rules.",
"[0015] In at least one embodiment, the step of forming a fence comprises maintaining a running sum of resistances for the fence.",
"[0016] A method of testing an integrated circuit comprising a substrate, a circuit pattern formed over the substrate, and one or more fences formed around edges of the circuit pattern, each of the one or more fences having a determined electrical resistance, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of: measuring electrical resistance of the one or more fences;",
"and comparing the measured electrical resistance to the determined electrical resistance.",
"[0017] In at least one embodiment, the circuit pattern comprises one or more layers, at least one of the one or more fences is formed at each layer, and the method further comprises: measuring inter-layer capacitance of the fences formed at each layer;",
"and comparing the inter-layer capacitance to a determined inter-layer capacitance of the fences at each layer.",
"[0018] These and other features of this invention are described in, or are apparent from, the following detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of this invention.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0019] Various exemplary embodiments of this invention will be described in detail, with reference to the following figures, wherein: [0020] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for generating a fence for an integrated circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;",
"and [0021] FIGS. 2A-2C are plan views of a circuit pattern showing a process of applying a fence to the circuit pattern according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0022] The present invention is directed to a system and method of securing an integrated circuit against alteration.",
"It should be appreciated that the term “integrated circuit”",
"as used herein is intended to cover any device that includes an electric circuit pattern, having semiconductor components or otherwise, including but not limited to display devices, such as liquid crystal displays and plasma displays, microcontrollers, memory devices, processors, sensors, power management circuits and amplifiers.",
"[0023] More particularly, various exemplary embodiments of the present invention are directed to systems and methods for securing an IC by forming a fence around edges of the various components of the IC pattern.",
"The fence has known electrical characteristics, such as, for example, resistance and, in the case of multiple fences formed within individual layers of the IC, inter-layer capacitance.",
"Thus, any alteration to the fence can be detected by detecting changes in the electrical characteristics of the fence.",
"The fence may be generated using an algorithm that has a spatial based solution so as to divide design data from white space (i.e., space in which no circuit pattern is formed).",
"[0024] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system, generally designated by reference number 1 , for generating a fence for an integrate circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.",
"The system 1 includes a circuit pattern analyzer 10 , a route calculator 20 , and a fence generator 30 .",
"[0025] The circuit pattern analyzer 10 determines the edges of a circuit pattern.",
"According to an embodiment of the invention, the circuit pattern analyzer 10 divides the design data into manageable partitions, and analyzes the data to determine which areas, known as small area sections, are too small to accommodate circuitry.",
"This is shown in FIG. 2A , which shows a plan view of a circuit pattern 100 with a small area section 110 .",
"Small area section 110 is an example of an area too small to accommodate circuitry, and thus would not need a fence.",
"Then, as shown in FIG. 2B , the circuit pattern analyzer 10 merges the small area sections 98 into the remaining partitions to define edges 112 of the circuit pattern 100 which need to be secured.",
"Any suitable data merging technique may be used to merge the small area sections with the remaining partitions, such as, for example, polygon merging.",
"[0026] The route calculator 20 uses the edges 112 of the circuit pattern 100 to determine a route that surrounds the circuit pattern 100 .",
"In this regard, the route calculator 20 may use minimum width and spacing rules to ensure that the route provides adequate clearance from the edges 112 of the circuit pattern 100 .",
"[0027] The fence generator 30 calculates layout data for the fence which follows the route generated by the route calculator 20 .",
"The fence generator 30 preferably calculates the layout data in a polygon format using a set of rules as a guide.",
"The rules may include minimum width, desired width, maximum width, minimum space, desired space and maximum space.",
"As the fence layout data is generated, a running sum of the resistance may be maintained, so that the overall resistance of the completed fence may be determined.",
"Once generation of the fence layout data is complete, as shown in FIG. 2C , the data can be used to form a fence 114 around the edges 112 of the circuit pattern 100 having the determined resistance.",
"The fence may be formed of any suitable material having effective electrical characteristics, such as, for example, metal, semiconductor material, polysilicon and doped silicon.",
"[0028] Preferably, a fence is built on all interconnect layers of the IC, including active layers, polysilicon layers and metal layers.",
"Capacitances can be extracted from adjacent layers, and these capacitances and the resistances of the fences can be used to detect whether the fence has been altered.",
"For example, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an IC including a fence may be tested by slight modifications of a conventional BIST (built-in self-test) algorithm to compensate for the fence.",
"In particular, the BIST algorithm would need to be processed at least twice, once with the fence at ground and again with the fence at a high potential.",
"If any unwanted circuitry crosses the fence and connects to the IC design data, the resulting short would be detectable though one of the BIST tests.",
"[0029] For large designs, it might be impractical to guard the entire circuit with one fence.",
"The shorter the fence, the higher sensitivity is for detecting fence alterations.",
"Thus, to increase sensitivity, multiple short fences may be used for a particular circuit pattern.",
"If many fences are needed, a multiplexed input system may be required.",
"However, this will not effect the BIST time, as it is only necessary to detect changes to electrical characteristics of the fence.",
"[0030] A capacitance test offers a safe guard against massive fence alterations.",
"Someone could try to reverse engineer the fence, matching its resistance, but placing it in a different location.",
"However, doing this on multiple layers, while also trying to match inter-level fence capacitance would prove to be nearly impossible.",
"[0031] While this invention has been described in conjunction with the exemplary embodiments outlined above, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.",
"Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments of the invention, as set forth above, are intended to be illustrative, not limiting.",
"Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
This invention relates to hot pelletizers for extruders wherein there is provided a cutting rotor rotating in front of the dies serving to extrude the plastic ribbons, and a colling device for spraying the cutting rotor with a cooling medium such as water.
Hot pelletizers are already known for the prevention of difficulties with hardened plastic elements when they tear or break while exiting out of dies and also for the prevention of adhesion between the pellets. In such pelletizers, a cutting rotor cuts the emerging plastic ribbons before they are solidified, on the one hand, and when they have, on the other hand, sufficiently emerged for the desired pellet size. In order to prevent the sticking together of the pellets it is necessary to cool them immediately after separation which is done by spraying the cutting rotor with a colling fluid.
The heretofore known hot pelletizers are furnished with rotating knives whereby single knives may be arranged so that they may be easily exchanged when damaged or may be reground when needed. These devices are extremely difficult to handle in regard to the setting and adjustment of the cutting knives in addition to the danger brought about by the conventional method of spraying that individual pellets, which are still soft, adhere and agglomerate, thereby making the pellitizer and the consecutive drying devices inoperable. Furthermore, it has been found in practical experience that even intensive spray-cooling does not prevent pellets from sticking together at the bottom. Increased cooling, on the other hand, causes the danger of slowly plugging-up of the die.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to prevent all of these difficulties, the present invention of a hot pellitizer uses a milling cutter instead of a cutting rotor and forms the bottom of the pelletizing chamber as a channel for fast flowing water, the channel extending in an axial direction of the milling cutter and the water serves as an additional cooling medium and also for the discharge of the pellets.
The use, according to the invention, of a plan milling cutter prevents, in contradistinction to the heretofore known devices, the difficulties when adjusting the cutting rotor relative to the extrusion dies. it was found that even when forgoing the regrinding of the cutting edges of the milling cutter, which is necessary as deduced from the investigations upon which the present invention is based, because otherwise the adjustment problem would also occur, would not cause practically any increased costs caused by having to discard the milling cutter when the cutting edges have become dull. For the hot pelletizers according to the invention, it is possible to easily use commercially available milling cutters because they are always cheaper than specialized cutting rotors with exchangeable knives in that they are standardized and therefore easily manufactured in large quantities.
On hot pelletizers of the aforementioned kind there is utilized an arrangement where a plurality of extrusion dies are arranged in a row in a plate so that one single rotating cutter saves simultaneously a plurality of pellets from just a many extruded ribbons. The use of milling cutters according to the present invention, instead of rotating knives with exchangeable knives, offers the added advantage that the use of milling cutters with cutting edges in a spiral shaped arrangement allows a working method where pellets of vicinally extruded plastic ribbons are not chopped off simultaneously, but successively, thereby reducing the danger of their sticking together. This reduces greatly the danger of sticking together immediately after the severing at the outlet of the die where the pellets still possess the highest degree of plasticity and thus adhesiveness.
According to the present invention, the aforementiond danger of agglutination of the pellets when leaving the pelletizer may be quantitatively removed by forming the bottom of the pelletizer housing as a channel, preferentially extending along the axis of the milling cutter, for further cooling and for the removal of the cooling medium carrying the pellets. The pellets fall into the rapidly flowing stream of cooling fluid after having been cut off, where they are cooled momentarily by thermal shock so that in any case superficial sticking together is prevented. Furthermore, this method provides a quick and trouble free removal from the pelletizer without the danger of adhesion of the pellets to the walls.
In order to allow a particularly simple mounting of the pelletizer in front of any extruder and to further increase its life expectancy, a further embodiment of the invention provides for supports of the milling cutter which are adjustable relative to the die plates and also that the milling cutter consists of a material considerably harder than the material out of which the die plate is made.
This additional embodiment is based upon the concept that the use of a material for the milling cutter, substantially harder than for the die plate, creates a self-sharpening system where the milling cutter advances into the die plate due to the ever present contact pressure so that, independent of the continual unavoidable wear of the die mouths, smooth clean die-edges are present, so that smooth ribbons are extruded and quality pellets are produced.
This adjustable feature of the milling cutter is particularly advantageous in that the housing of the pelletizing chamber enclosing the milling cutter including its drive mechanism and the exit channel may be pivotably disposed around an axle parallel to the axle of the milling cutter in front of the die plate at the extruder.
This open embodiment where the die plate fills the opening of the pelletizer chamber housing results not only in an exact parallel disposition of the axle of the milling cutter and plane of the die plate by constructing both bearings of the pivotal axis horizontally and vertically adjustable, but enables the user also to adjust the height of the milling cutter axle so that it lies exactly in the horizontal plane of the die emerging bore holes of the die. Furthermore this pivotable support with adjustable supports allows a particular simple mounting for a hot pelletizer to any extruder.
The desired nominal distance between milling cutter and die plate is ensured in an additional embodiment, by providing a fine adjusting spindle for fixing the distance of the milling cutter fastened to the extruder or better still to the die plate. An arresting device, of course, may be provided for arresting the housing of the pelletizing chamber including the therein housed milling cutter relative to the extruder, so that these implements cannot be separated from the die plate.
While preparing, as aforementioned, the milling cutter from a harder material than the one the die plate is made of, it was found to be particularly advantageous to use high speed tool steel for the milling cutter and either rust-resistant or acid-resistant steel or bronze for the die plate.
Other features which are considered characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described in relationship to specific embodiments, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a vertical cross sectional view taken through a pelletizer according to one embodiment of the invention and taken in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the milling cutter.
FIG. 2 is a partial cross sectional view taken along the line II--II in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a vertical cross sectional view taken through a hot pelletizer according to another embodiment of the invention in a plane perpendicular to the axle of the milling cutter.
FIG. 4 is a vertical view, partially cut away and in cross section, of the device shown in FIG. 3.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the drawings there is schematically shown in FIG. 1 a hot chopping pelletizer which is joined at the left side thereof to a plastic extruder having an extruding screw (not shown). The pelletizer has a plurality of discharge channels 1 arranged in a line vertical to the plane of the drawing, opening into a pelletizing housing or chamber 2. In this pelletizing chamber 2 there is rotatably supported a milling cutter 3 connected to a non-illustrated driving means. The rotary speed of the milling cutter 3 is adjusted so that the time period between the passing of one cutting edge 4 past the discharge channel, and the passing of the next cutting edge 4 takes as long as the extrusion of a ribbon of a length appropriate for the desired pellet size. It is particularly advantageous to arrange the cutting edges 4 in the form of such a spiral that the pellets are cut from the adjacent dies not simultaneously but successively. This method reduces considerably the danger of sticking together the pellets while they are being cut off, as they are still very soft and sticky at this time.
The milling cutter 3 is sprayed constantly at an angle from below by spray nozzles 5 with finely atomized liquid, for example, water. This aids in a further distribution of the water by impinging upon the milling cutter so that the interior of the pelletizing chamber 2 is substantially filled with a mixture of water and water vapor. This results in a substantial lowering of temperature, considering that the conventional extrusion temperatures of plastics is in a range of 150°-250° C. (300°-480° F.), and also brings the temperature down to a level for at least hardening the surfaces of the pellets. Spraying the milling cutter 3 obliquely from below has the additional advantage that the impinging cooling means, usually water, washes off pellets which might have gotten stuck to the milling cutter so that they are prevented from disturbing the operation of the device.
The bottom 6 of the pelletizing chamber 2 is formed as a channel into which fast moving cooling means or liquid is fed by an intake 7. The separated pellets drop or fall freely into the cooling means, are simultaneously cooled by shock, and are carried out free from problems out of the pelletizing chamber.
Thermal insulating discs 8 insulate the die plate 9 on its chamber side against the extrusion part 10 which has to be hot. This method prevents the danger of plug development in the die channels 1.
FIGS. 3 and 4 show schematically the front of an extruder 5 with the die plate 9 forming the frontal end with the discharge channels 1. There are a plurality of discharge channels 1 disposed parallel to each other, that is vertical to the plane of the drawing in FIG. 3. The die discharge channels 1 open into a pelletizing chamber 2 within which a milling cutter 3 is pivotably supported. The milling cutter 3 is connected to a driving mechanism indicated generally at A. The rotatory speed of the milling cutter 3 is adjusted so that the time span between the passing of one cutting edge 4 past the extrusion dies and the passing of the next cutting edge 4 is only as long as it suffices to extrude a ribbon of the size of the desired pellet.
The milling cutter 3 is pivotably supported in a housing 11 which has a projection received in the recess 12 of the die plate 9. The housing 11 is mounted on an axle 13, which is parallel to the axis of the milling cutter 3. The distance of the milling cutter 3 from the die plate 9 may be adjusted by a fine adjustment spindle 14. The exact parallelity of the milling cutter axle and the die plate 9 is assured by providing both bearings of the pivoting axle 13 with horizontal and vertical verniers 16 and 17.
The material for the milling cutter 3 is considerably harder than the material used for the die plate 9. Preferably, the milling cutter is made of high speed tool steel, and the die plate 9 may be made of rust-resistant or acid-resisting cast steel or bronze.
Gaskets 18, 19, and 20 are provided for the needed gasketing of the pelleting chamber housing 11 which is pivotably disposed in front of the die plate. These gaskets are built and arranged in such a manner that they allow the moving of the milling cutter by at least a few millimeter in the direction of the die plate 9 in order to create a self-sharpening system where the hard milling cutter advances itself slowly into the softer die plate.
The invention is not restricted to the illustrated embodiments. Particularly characteristic of the present invention is the two-step cooling of the pellets, once by the mixture of steam and finely divided water droplets in the discharge area of the dies. This prevents plugging up of the dies quantitatively, as would occur when the cooling is too effective, particularly when working immediately under water. The second cooling step occurs when the pellets drop into the cooling means serving simultaneously for the transport out at the bottom of the pelletizing chamber.
Furthermore, the adjustable positioning of the milling cutter 3 relative to the die plate could be obtained by other methods, but the pivotable support is particularly advantageous due to its simple adjustability and it universal capability of being mounted to a wide variation of extruders.
It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and that it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangements of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages. The form heretofore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof. | A pelletizing device for use with an extruder has a die plate through which a plastic ribbon is extruded, and a milling cutter is rotatably mounted at the die plate for cutting successive pellets from the extruded ribbon as the latter exits from the die plate. Means defining a channel carrying a cooling medium is located below the milling cutter and receives the pellets cut by the milling cutter, the cooling medium cooling the pellets and carrying the pellets away. | Briefly outline the background technology and the problem the invention aims to solve. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to hot pelletizers for extruders wherein there is provided a cutting rotor rotating in front of the dies serving to extrude the plastic ribbons, and a colling device for spraying the cutting rotor with a cooling medium such as water.",
"Hot pelletizers are already known for the prevention of difficulties with hardened plastic elements when they tear or break while exiting out of dies and also for the prevention of adhesion between the pellets.",
"In such pelletizers, a cutting rotor cuts the emerging plastic ribbons before they are solidified, on the one hand, and when they have, on the other hand, sufficiently emerged for the desired pellet size.",
"In order to prevent the sticking together of the pellets it is necessary to cool them immediately after separation which is done by spraying the cutting rotor with a colling fluid.",
"The heretofore known hot pelletizers are furnished with rotating knives whereby single knives may be arranged so that they may be easily exchanged when damaged or may be reground when needed.",
"These devices are extremely difficult to handle in regard to the setting and adjustment of the cutting knives in addition to the danger brought about by the conventional method of spraying that individual pellets, which are still soft, adhere and agglomerate, thereby making the pellitizer and the consecutive drying devices inoperable.",
"Furthermore, it has been found in practical experience that even intensive spray-cooling does not prevent pellets from sticking together at the bottom.",
"Increased cooling, on the other hand, causes the danger of slowly plugging-up of the die.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to prevent all of these difficulties, the present invention of a hot pellitizer uses a milling cutter instead of a cutting rotor and forms the bottom of the pelletizing chamber as a channel for fast flowing water, the channel extending in an axial direction of the milling cutter and the water serves as an additional cooling medium and also for the discharge of the pellets.",
"The use, according to the invention, of a plan milling cutter prevents, in contradistinction to the heretofore known devices, the difficulties when adjusting the cutting rotor relative to the extrusion dies.",
"it was found that even when forgoing the regrinding of the cutting edges of the milling cutter, which is necessary as deduced from the investigations upon which the present invention is based, because otherwise the adjustment problem would also occur, would not cause practically any increased costs caused by having to discard the milling cutter when the cutting edges have become dull.",
"For the hot pelletizers according to the invention, it is possible to easily use commercially available milling cutters because they are always cheaper than specialized cutting rotors with exchangeable knives in that they are standardized and therefore easily manufactured in large quantities.",
"On hot pelletizers of the aforementioned kind there is utilized an arrangement where a plurality of extrusion dies are arranged in a row in a plate so that one single rotating cutter saves simultaneously a plurality of pellets from just a many extruded ribbons.",
"The use of milling cutters according to the present invention, instead of rotating knives with exchangeable knives, offers the added advantage that the use of milling cutters with cutting edges in a spiral shaped arrangement allows a working method where pellets of vicinally extruded plastic ribbons are not chopped off simultaneously, but successively, thereby reducing the danger of their sticking together.",
"This reduces greatly the danger of sticking together immediately after the severing at the outlet of the die where the pellets still possess the highest degree of plasticity and thus adhesiveness.",
"According to the present invention, the aforementiond danger of agglutination of the pellets when leaving the pelletizer may be quantitatively removed by forming the bottom of the pelletizer housing as a channel, preferentially extending along the axis of the milling cutter, for further cooling and for the removal of the cooling medium carrying the pellets.",
"The pellets fall into the rapidly flowing stream of cooling fluid after having been cut off, where they are cooled momentarily by thermal shock so that in any case superficial sticking together is prevented.",
"Furthermore, this method provides a quick and trouble free removal from the pelletizer without the danger of adhesion of the pellets to the walls.",
"In order to allow a particularly simple mounting of the pelletizer in front of any extruder and to further increase its life expectancy, a further embodiment of the invention provides for supports of the milling cutter which are adjustable relative to the die plates and also that the milling cutter consists of a material considerably harder than the material out of which the die plate is made.",
"This additional embodiment is based upon the concept that the use of a material for the milling cutter, substantially harder than for the die plate, creates a self-sharpening system where the milling cutter advances into the die plate due to the ever present contact pressure so that, independent of the continual unavoidable wear of the die mouths, smooth clean die-edges are present, so that smooth ribbons are extruded and quality pellets are produced.",
"This adjustable feature of the milling cutter is particularly advantageous in that the housing of the pelletizing chamber enclosing the milling cutter including its drive mechanism and the exit channel may be pivotably disposed around an axle parallel to the axle of the milling cutter in front of the die plate at the extruder.",
"This open embodiment where the die plate fills the opening of the pelletizer chamber housing results not only in an exact parallel disposition of the axle of the milling cutter and plane of the die plate by constructing both bearings of the pivotal axis horizontally and vertically adjustable, but enables the user also to adjust the height of the milling cutter axle so that it lies exactly in the horizontal plane of the die emerging bore holes of the die.",
"Furthermore this pivotable support with adjustable supports allows a particular simple mounting for a hot pelletizer to any extruder.",
"The desired nominal distance between milling cutter and die plate is ensured in an additional embodiment, by providing a fine adjusting spindle for fixing the distance of the milling cutter fastened to the extruder or better still to the die plate.",
"An arresting device, of course, may be provided for arresting the housing of the pelletizing chamber including the therein housed milling cutter relative to the extruder, so that these implements cannot be separated from the die plate.",
"While preparing, as aforementioned, the milling cutter from a harder material than the one the die plate is made of, it was found to be particularly advantageous to use high speed tool steel for the milling cutter and either rust-resistant or acid-resistant steel or bronze for the die plate.",
"Other features which are considered characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims.",
"Although the invention is illustrated and described in relationship to specific embodiments, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.",
"The construction and operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a vertical cross sectional view taken through a pelletizer according to one embodiment of the invention and taken in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the milling cutter.",
"FIG. 2 is a partial cross sectional view taken along the line II--II in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a vertical cross sectional view taken through a hot pelletizer according to another embodiment of the invention in a plane perpendicular to the axle of the milling cutter.",
"FIG. 4 is a vertical view, partially cut away and in cross section, of the device shown in FIG. 3. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings there is schematically shown in FIG. 1 a hot chopping pelletizer which is joined at the left side thereof to a plastic extruder having an extruding screw (not shown).",
"The pelletizer has a plurality of discharge channels 1 arranged in a line vertical to the plane of the drawing, opening into a pelletizing housing or chamber 2.",
"In this pelletizing chamber 2 there is rotatably supported a milling cutter 3 connected to a non-illustrated driving means.",
"The rotary speed of the milling cutter 3 is adjusted so that the time period between the passing of one cutting edge 4 past the discharge channel, and the passing of the next cutting edge 4 takes as long as the extrusion of a ribbon of a length appropriate for the desired pellet size.",
"It is particularly advantageous to arrange the cutting edges 4 in the form of such a spiral that the pellets are cut from the adjacent dies not simultaneously but successively.",
"This method reduces considerably the danger of sticking together the pellets while they are being cut off, as they are still very soft and sticky at this time.",
"The milling cutter 3 is sprayed constantly at an angle from below by spray nozzles 5 with finely atomized liquid, for example, water.",
"This aids in a further distribution of the water by impinging upon the milling cutter so that the interior of the pelletizing chamber 2 is substantially filled with a mixture of water and water vapor.",
"This results in a substantial lowering of temperature, considering that the conventional extrusion temperatures of plastics is in a range of 150°-250° C. (300°-480° F.), and also brings the temperature down to a level for at least hardening the surfaces of the pellets.",
"Spraying the milling cutter 3 obliquely from below has the additional advantage that the impinging cooling means, usually water, washes off pellets which might have gotten stuck to the milling cutter so that they are prevented from disturbing the operation of the device.",
"The bottom 6 of the pelletizing chamber 2 is formed as a channel into which fast moving cooling means or liquid is fed by an intake 7.",
"The separated pellets drop or fall freely into the cooling means, are simultaneously cooled by shock, and are carried out free from problems out of the pelletizing chamber.",
"Thermal insulating discs 8 insulate the die plate 9 on its chamber side against the extrusion part 10 which has to be hot.",
"This method prevents the danger of plug development in the die channels 1.",
"FIGS. 3 and 4 show schematically the front of an extruder 5 with the die plate 9 forming the frontal end with the discharge channels 1.",
"There are a plurality of discharge channels 1 disposed parallel to each other, that is vertical to the plane of the drawing in FIG. 3. The die discharge channels 1 open into a pelletizing chamber 2 within which a milling cutter 3 is pivotably supported.",
"The milling cutter 3 is connected to a driving mechanism indicated generally at A. The rotatory speed of the milling cutter 3 is adjusted so that the time span between the passing of one cutting edge 4 past the extrusion dies and the passing of the next cutting edge 4 is only as long as it suffices to extrude a ribbon of the size of the desired pellet.",
"The milling cutter 3 is pivotably supported in a housing 11 which has a projection received in the recess 12 of the die plate 9.",
"The housing 11 is mounted on an axle 13, which is parallel to the axis of the milling cutter 3.",
"The distance of the milling cutter 3 from the die plate 9 may be adjusted by a fine adjustment spindle 14.",
"The exact parallelity of the milling cutter axle and the die plate 9 is assured by providing both bearings of the pivoting axle 13 with horizontal and vertical verniers 16 and 17.",
"The material for the milling cutter 3 is considerably harder than the material used for the die plate 9.",
"Preferably, the milling cutter is made of high speed tool steel, and the die plate 9 may be made of rust-resistant or acid-resisting cast steel or bronze.",
"Gaskets 18, 19, and 20 are provided for the needed gasketing of the pelleting chamber housing 11 which is pivotably disposed in front of the die plate.",
"These gaskets are built and arranged in such a manner that they allow the moving of the milling cutter by at least a few millimeter in the direction of the die plate 9 in order to create a self-sharpening system where the hard milling cutter advances itself slowly into the softer die plate.",
"The invention is not restricted to the illustrated embodiments.",
"Particularly characteristic of the present invention is the two-step cooling of the pellets, once by the mixture of steam and finely divided water droplets in the discharge area of the dies.",
"This prevents plugging up of the dies quantitatively, as would occur when the cooling is too effective, particularly when working immediately under water.",
"The second cooling step occurs when the pellets drop into the cooling means serving simultaneously for the transport out at the bottom of the pelletizing chamber.",
"Furthermore, the adjustable positioning of the milling cutter 3 relative to the die plate could be obtained by other methods, but the pivotable support is particularly advantageous due to its simple adjustability and it universal capability of being mounted to a wide variation of extruders.",
"It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and that it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangements of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages.",
"The form heretofore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a switched reluctance motor, and more particularly, to a switched reluctance motor having reduced noise and vibration levels.
Generally, a switched reluctance motor (SRM) is a simple motor having a very high rotating speed. However, SRM's are very limited in their application because they typically experience excessive noise and vibration. In a switched reluctance motor, a main excitation force is an electromagnetic force applied in a radial direction between the stator and the rotor. The electromagnetic force is determined by the inductance of the motor and the electrical current passed through the coil of the motor. Several methods are known for reducing the noise and vibration levels in a motor. One such method concerns reducing the power component of the excitation force in the motor body by modulating current wave shapes of the electric power which drives the SRM. In this case, the power component to be reduced has a frequency adjacent to a dominant natural frequency of the motor body. However, this method does not provide adequate means to reduce the component of an excitation force in a SRM having a high rotating speed. Another known method is to make a switch dither at the time the switch is turned on or off such that the energy from the excitation force component is dispersed to surrounding frequencies of the component. In the case where the excitation force component has a frequency remote from the dominant natural frequency, this method is not applicable for the high rotating speeds of the SRM.
In yet another known method, the current wave shape, at the time the switch is turned off, is modulated such that the power of the excitation force component is reduced. However, in this case, the noise and vibration levels at the time the switch is turned off are not always the most significant contributors to the noise and vibration level. For example, for motors with large torque and power levels, the switching angle at turn on is set to get away from the angle of overlap between to tooth portion of a rotor with a tooth portion of a stator. In this case, the above method fails to compensate for the noise and vibration generated in the overlap angle.
Meanwhile, in case of a motor having a relatively low dominant natural frequency, noise is generated not only at the time a switch is turned off, but also at the time an edge of a rotor tooth begins to meet an edge of a stator tooth.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
In one aspect, the invention relates a switched reluctance motor having a relatively low dominant natural frequency, which includes a rotor and a stator. The switched reluctance motor further includes means for adjusting difference between a first angle and a second angle. The first angle is associated with a position, at which the motor is switched off, while the second angle is associated with a position, at which an edge of a rotor tooth begins to meet an edge of a stator tooth.
Implementations of the invention include the following.
The adjustment of the difference between the first angle and the second angle may be calculated as: ##EQU1## wherein, φ is the adjustment that is no more than difference between said second and an alignment angle associated with a position, at which a rotor tooth is aligned with a stator tooth, ω is an angular speed of the rotor, f 0 is a dominant natural frequency of a body including the switched reluctance motor, and η is an integer.
The above equation for calculating the adjustment of the difference between the first and the second angles may be simplified as: ##EQU2## wherein, φ is the adjustment that is no more than difference between said second and an alignment angle associated with a position, at which a rotor tooth is aligned with a stator tooth, ω is an angular speed of the rotor, f 0 is a dominant natural frequency of a body including the switched reluctance motor, and η is an integer.
In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for reducing noise and vibration levels of a switched reluctance motor having a relatively low dominant frequency, which includes a rotor and a stator. The method includes steps of measuring a dominant natural frequency of a body including the switched reluctance motor, measuring a first angle associated with a position, at which the motor is switched off, and measuring a second angle associated with a position, at which an edge of a rotor tooth begins to meet an edge of a stator tooth. The method also includes adjusting difference between the first and the second angles to minimize said noise and vibration levels.
Other advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, including the drawings and claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a graphical illustration comparing the angle of the switch versus the relative position of a tooth portion of the rotor and a tooth portion of the stator and an inductance of the motor;
FIG. 2A is a graphical illustration of the calculated current versus the angle of the switch with a measured current on the coil of the motor;
FIG. 2B is a graphical illustration of the electromagnetic force applied in a radial direction to the motor having the calculated current of FIG. 2A;
FIG. 3A illustrates a simplified graphical version of the electromagnetic force of FIG. 2B;
FIG. 3B shows the graphical component of the electromagnetic force of FIG. 3A;
FIG. 4 shows a single freedom model of vibration;
FIG. 5 shows a graphical representation of inertia versus frequency curve of a motor in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 6A is a graphical representation of the noise level measured with respect to difference between a first angle associated with a position, at which the motor is switched off, and a second angle associated with a position, at which an edge of a rotor tooth begins to meet an edge of a stator tooth; and
FIG. 6B is a graphical representation of the vibration level measured with respect to the difference between the first and the second angles.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 graphically illustrates the relationship between an angle θ of the switch, a relative position of the tooth portion R of the rotor to the tooth portion S of the stator, and an inductance L of the motor. In FIG. 1, θ 0 represents the turn-on angle of the switch, and θ 3 the turnoff angle of the switch. Assuming that the inductance L between θ 1 and θ 2 is represented by a quadratic equation, the inductance L in each zone can be represented as follows.
As for the zone of θ 0 ≦θ≦θ 1 ,
L=L.sub.U (1)
As for the zone of θ 1 ≦θ≦θ 2 ,
L(θ)=aθ.sup.2 +bθ+c (2)
As for the zone of θ 2 ≦θ,
L(θ)=L(θ.sub.2)+α·(θ-θ.sub.2)(3)
In equations 3, 4, and 5, the value of each constant can be obtained by comparing the electrical current passing through the coil at various angles of the switch.
FIG. 2A graphically illustrates the calculated current versus the angle 6 as a function of the switching time of the motor switch and the measured current on the coil. FIG. 2B graphically illustrates the electromagnetic force applied in a radial direction to the motor, which is calculated using the calculated current. As shown in FIG. 2B, unlike the electrical current wave of FIG. 2A, an electromagnetic force wave may have a rectangular shape.
An electromagnetic force having a rectangular shape, as shown in FIG. 3A, may he equal to a composition force of the two electromagnetic forces shown in FIG. 3B. These forces have different starting times and are applied in opposite directions to each other. If the vibration of the motor body is due to just one mode, a vibration system of the motor body may be reduced to a simplified model having only one degree of freedom, as shown in FIG. 4.
The vibration level may be represented as the vibration velocity of the motor body, because the vibration velocity of the motor body is closely related to the noise caused by the vibration. Thus, when the electromagnetic force shown in FIG. 3B is applied to the vibration system shown in FIG. 1, the vibration velocity V(f) may be calculated as: ##EQU3## where, k is the spring constant, c is the damping constant, m is the mass, τ is the period over which the electromagnetic force shown in FIG. 3A is applied to the motor or the start time of a first electromagnetic force and the start time of a second electromagnetic force, as shown in FIG. 3B, and f is the frequency in the frequency domain.
The vibration velocity V(f) is significantly affected by the term 2πfτ that is proportioned to the frequency f and the time τ. Accordingly, a condition for a small vibration velocity may be calculated as: ##EQU4## where, η is an integer.
In the case, where 2πfτ=2πη, that is, τ=η/f, the vibration velocity is minimized.
The noise and vibration of the motor body are dependent on the component of the excitation force that has a frequency adjacent to a dominant natural frequency of the motor body. When the dominant natural frequency of the motor body is f 0 , in order to reduce the vibration, V(f 0 ) must be reduced. Thus, the conditions for the term 2πfτ must be met in equation 5.
In the case where τ=η/f 0 , the vibration is minimized. The term τ is the time over which the electromagnetic force is applied to the motor. In other words, τ includes the tooth overlap time t ovl for which an edge of the tooth portion R of the rotor and an edge of the tooth portion S of the stator begins to meet each other and the switch turn-off time t off . The tooth overlap time t ovl is the time at which an angle a shown in FIG. 1 passes over the position of θ ovl . The switch turn-off t off is the time at which the angle θ shown in FIG. 1 passes over the position of θ 3 .
Accordingly, a relative angle φ between the tooth overlap angle θ ovl and the switch turn-off angle θ 3 may be calculated as:
φ=θ.sub.3 -θ.sub.ovl (6)
The time τ for which the electromagnetic force is applied may be calculated as:
τ=φ/ω (7)
From the above equations, to calculate a low vibration level condition, equation 7 may be rewritten as: ##EQU5## where, ω is the angular speed of the rotor, f 0 is the dominant frequency of a body including the switched reluctance motor, and η is an integer.
Alternatively, equation 7 may be rewritten as: ##EQU6##
FIG. 5 illustrates a characteristic curve for an exemplary SMR in accordance with the present invention. In this example, the dominant natural frequency of the motor body is about 750 Hz. The vibration mode is a single mode vibration. The input voltage of the switched reluctance motor is 100 volts DC, the rotational speed of the switched reluctance motor is 900 rpm, and the switch turn-on angle of the switched reluctance motor is 8°.
FIGS. 6A and 6B show graphical representations of the vibration level and the noise level, respectively, measured with respect to difference between the tooth overlap angle and the switch turn-off of the motor of FIG. 5. The vibration level is obtained by measuring vibration velocity at points around the motor body surface, and the noise level is measured by a sound level meter about 1 meter from motor body. From FIGS. 6A and 6B, it can be seen that the noise and vibration are minimized when the relative angle φ is about 7°.
The result from the above measurement coincides with the calculated relative angle φ (=7.2°) from equation 9, where (ω=94.25 rad/sec, f 0 =750 Hz and η=1.
The present invention has been described in terms of number of embodiments. The invention, however, is not limited to the embodiments depicted and described. | A switched reluctance motor having a rotor and a stator is provided the motor includes means for adjusting a relative angle between a switch turn-off angle at which a switch for supplying power to a coil is turned off, and a tooth overlap angle at which a tooth portion of the rotor and a tooth portion S of the stator are overlapped according to a predetermined calculation. The switched reluctance motor has reduced vibration and noise levels, thereby increasing their application. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the concept presented in the passage. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a switched reluctance motor, and more particularly, to a switched reluctance motor having reduced noise and vibration levels.",
"Generally, a switched reluctance motor (SRM) is a simple motor having a very high rotating speed.",
"However, SRM's are very limited in their application because they typically experience excessive noise and vibration.",
"In a switched reluctance motor, a main excitation force is an electromagnetic force applied in a radial direction between the stator and the rotor.",
"The electromagnetic force is determined by the inductance of the motor and the electrical current passed through the coil of the motor.",
"Several methods are known for reducing the noise and vibration levels in a motor.",
"One such method concerns reducing the power component of the excitation force in the motor body by modulating current wave shapes of the electric power which drives the SRM.",
"In this case, the power component to be reduced has a frequency adjacent to a dominant natural frequency of the motor body.",
"However, this method does not provide adequate means to reduce the component of an excitation force in a SRM having a high rotating speed.",
"Another known method is to make a switch dither at the time the switch is turned on or off such that the energy from the excitation force component is dispersed to surrounding frequencies of the component.",
"In the case where the excitation force component has a frequency remote from the dominant natural frequency, this method is not applicable for the high rotating speeds of the SRM.",
"In yet another known method, the current wave shape, at the time the switch is turned off, is modulated such that the power of the excitation force component is reduced.",
"However, in this case, the noise and vibration levels at the time the switch is turned off are not always the most significant contributors to the noise and vibration level.",
"For example, for motors with large torque and power levels, the switching angle at turn on is set to get away from the angle of overlap between to tooth portion of a rotor with a tooth portion of a stator.",
"In this case, the above method fails to compensate for the noise and vibration generated in the overlap angle.",
"Meanwhile, in case of a motor having a relatively low dominant natural frequency, noise is generated not only at the time a switch is turned off, but also at the time an edge of a rotor tooth begins to meet an edge of a stator tooth.",
"SUMMARY OF INVENTION In one aspect, the invention relates a switched reluctance motor having a relatively low dominant natural frequency, which includes a rotor and a stator.",
"The switched reluctance motor further includes means for adjusting difference between a first angle and a second angle.",
"The first angle is associated with a position, at which the motor is switched off, while the second angle is associated with a position, at which an edge of a rotor tooth begins to meet an edge of a stator tooth.",
"Implementations of the invention include the following.",
"The adjustment of the difference between the first angle and the second angle may be calculated as: ##EQU1## wherein, φ is the adjustment that is no more than difference between said second and an alignment angle associated with a position, at which a rotor tooth is aligned with a stator tooth, ω is an angular speed of the rotor, f 0 is a dominant natural frequency of a body including the switched reluctance motor, and η is an integer.",
"The above equation for calculating the adjustment of the difference between the first and the second angles may be simplified as: ##EQU2## wherein, φ is the adjustment that is no more than difference between said second and an alignment angle associated with a position, at which a rotor tooth is aligned with a stator tooth, ω is an angular speed of the rotor, f 0 is a dominant natural frequency of a body including the switched reluctance motor, and η is an integer.",
"In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for reducing noise and vibration levels of a switched reluctance motor having a relatively low dominant frequency, which includes a rotor and a stator.",
"The method includes steps of measuring a dominant natural frequency of a body including the switched reluctance motor, measuring a first angle associated with a position, at which the motor is switched off, and measuring a second angle associated with a position, at which an edge of a rotor tooth begins to meet an edge of a stator tooth.",
"The method also includes adjusting difference between the first and the second angles to minimize said noise and vibration levels.",
"Other advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, including the drawings and claims.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a graphical illustration comparing the angle of the switch versus the relative position of a tooth portion of the rotor and a tooth portion of the stator and an inductance of the motor;",
"FIG. 2A is a graphical illustration of the calculated current versus the angle of the switch with a measured current on the coil of the motor;",
"FIG. 2B is a graphical illustration of the electromagnetic force applied in a radial direction to the motor having the calculated current of FIG. 2A;",
"FIG. 3A illustrates a simplified graphical version of the electromagnetic force of FIG. 2B;",
"FIG. 3B shows the graphical component of the electromagnetic force of FIG. 3A;",
"FIG. 4 shows a single freedom model of vibration;",
"FIG. 5 shows a graphical representation of inertia versus frequency curve of a motor in accordance with the present invention;",
"FIG. 6A is a graphical representation of the noise level measured with respect to difference between a first angle associated with a position, at which the motor is switched off, and a second angle associated with a position, at which an edge of a rotor tooth begins to meet an edge of a stator tooth;",
"and FIG. 6B is a graphical representation of the vibration level measured with respect to the difference between the first and the second angles.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 graphically illustrates the relationship between an angle θ of the switch, a relative position of the tooth portion R of the rotor to the tooth portion S of the stator, and an inductance L of the motor.",
"In FIG. 1, θ 0 represents the turn-on angle of the switch, and θ 3 the turnoff angle of the switch.",
"Assuming that the inductance L between θ 1 and θ 2 is represented by a quadratic equation, the inductance L in each zone can be represented as follows.",
"As for the zone of θ 0 ≦θ≦θ 1 , L=L.",
"sub.",
"U (1) As for the zone of θ 1 ≦θ≦θ 2 , L(θ)=aθ.",
"sup[.",
"].2 +bθ+c (2) As for the zone of θ 2 ≦θ, L(θ)=L(θ.",
"sub[.",
"].2)+α·(θ-θ.",
"sub[.",
"].2)(3) In equations 3, 4, and 5, the value of each constant can be obtained by comparing the electrical current passing through the coil at various angles of the switch.",
"FIG. 2A graphically illustrates the calculated current versus the angle 6 as a function of the switching time of the motor switch and the measured current on the coil.",
"FIG. 2B graphically illustrates the electromagnetic force applied in a radial direction to the motor, which is calculated using the calculated current.",
"As shown in FIG. 2B, unlike the electrical current wave of FIG. 2A, an electromagnetic force wave may have a rectangular shape.",
"An electromagnetic force having a rectangular shape, as shown in FIG. 3A, may he equal to a composition force of the two electromagnetic forces shown in FIG. 3B.",
"These forces have different starting times and are applied in opposite directions to each other.",
"If the vibration of the motor body is due to just one mode, a vibration system of the motor body may be reduced to a simplified model having only one degree of freedom, as shown in FIG. 4. The vibration level may be represented as the vibration velocity of the motor body, because the vibration velocity of the motor body is closely related to the noise caused by the vibration.",
"Thus, when the electromagnetic force shown in FIG. 3B is applied to the vibration system shown in FIG. 1, the vibration velocity V(f) may be calculated as: ##EQU3## where, k is the spring constant, c is the damping constant, m is the mass, τ is the period over which the electromagnetic force shown in FIG. 3A is applied to the motor or the start time of a first electromagnetic force and the start time of a second electromagnetic force, as shown in FIG. 3B, and f is the frequency in the frequency domain.",
"The vibration velocity V(f) is significantly affected by the term 2πfτ that is proportioned to the frequency f and the time τ.",
"Accordingly, a condition for a small vibration velocity may be calculated as: ##EQU4## where, η is an integer.",
"In the case, where 2πfτ=2πη, that is, τ=η/f, the vibration velocity is minimized.",
"The noise and vibration of the motor body are dependent on the component of the excitation force that has a frequency adjacent to a dominant natural frequency of the motor body.",
"When the dominant natural frequency of the motor body is f 0 , in order to reduce the vibration, V(f 0 ) must be reduced.",
"Thus, the conditions for the term 2πfτ must be met in equation 5.",
"In the case where τ=η/f 0 , the vibration is minimized.",
"The term τ is the time over which the electromagnetic force is applied to the motor.",
"In other words, τ includes the tooth overlap time t ovl for which an edge of the tooth portion R of the rotor and an edge of the tooth portion S of the stator begins to meet each other and the switch turn-off time t off .",
"The tooth overlap time t ovl is the time at which an angle a shown in FIG. 1 passes over the position of θ ovl .",
"The switch turn-off t off is the time at which the angle θ shown in FIG. 1 passes over the position of θ 3 .",
"Accordingly, a relative angle φ between the tooth overlap angle θ ovl and the switch turn-off angle θ 3 may be calculated as: φ=θ.",
"sub[.",
"].3 -θ.",
"sub.",
"ovl (6) The time τ for which the electromagnetic force is applied may be calculated as: τ=φ/ω (7) From the above equations, to calculate a low vibration level condition, equation 7 may be rewritten as: ##EQU5## where, ω is the angular speed of the rotor, f 0 is the dominant frequency of a body including the switched reluctance motor, and η is an integer.",
"Alternatively, equation 7 may be rewritten as: ##EQU6## FIG. 5 illustrates a characteristic curve for an exemplary SMR in accordance with the present invention.",
"In this example, the dominant natural frequency of the motor body is about 750 Hz.",
"The vibration mode is a single mode vibration.",
"The input voltage of the switched reluctance motor is 100 volts DC, the rotational speed of the switched reluctance motor is 900 rpm, and the switch turn-on angle of the switched reluctance motor is 8°.",
"FIGS. 6A and 6B show graphical representations of the vibration level and the noise level, respectively, measured with respect to difference between the tooth overlap angle and the switch turn-off of the motor of FIG. 5. The vibration level is obtained by measuring vibration velocity at points around the motor body surface, and the noise level is measured by a sound level meter about 1 meter from motor body.",
"From FIGS. 6A and 6B, it can be seen that the noise and vibration are minimized when the relative angle φ is about 7°.",
"The result from the above measurement coincides with the calculated relative angle φ (=7.2°) from equation 9, where (ω=94.25 rad/sec, f 0 =750 Hz and η=1.",
"The present invention has been described in terms of number of embodiments.",
"The invention, however, is not limited to the embodiments depicted and described."
] |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/181,209 filed May 26, 2009, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to jet pumps. More particularly, the present invention relates use of jet pumps for fluid production.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Various types of formation fluid recovery systems have been devised for moving fluid from a downhole hydrocarbon formation to the surface. Common fluid recovery systems are beam pumps, progressive cavity pumps electric submersible pumps and gas lift systems. All of the above have operational issues which can limit their performance and application. Jet pumps are useful in a wide range of well applications. Nonetheless, jetpumps for use in hydrocarbon production are a relatively underdeveloped technology.
To date, jet pump systems have been installed using either conventional jointed tubing or conventional coiled tubing. In some of these installations, the process requires that there be two strings installed in the well. Where two strings are used, they are most typically configured as a tubing string inside of a tubing string, or a concentric configuration. In most of these applications the tubing systems are not adapted for rapid deployment and retrieval.
There are operational and technical advantages to configuring the system with two or more substantially parallel tubing strings or electrical conductors. However, until recently significant practical problems with this approach had not been addressed. The present invention provides a bundled tubing system which is readily deployed and installed in a wellbore using a single conventional coiled tubing unit. Combining this system with a jet pump facilitates a broad range of applications, for example production of hydrocarbons from a hydrocarbon bearing formation.
The abstract of U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,545 reads as follows: “The device employs the jet pump principle to bring a power fluid to sedimented solids and the like plugging a conduit, and it includes at least one nozzle which directs the power fluid in a high-velocity jet against the solids to bring the solids into suspension for subsequent removal thereof using the jet pump principle.”
The abstract of U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,190 reads as follows: “A down hole jet pump having various unique features which enables the pump to be used with various types of producing wells including those which produce gas along with a large ratio of water which may include considerable abrasive solid materials and can be run and retrieved inside coil tubing of relative small diameter as well as conventional threaded pipe of relatively small diameter. The embodiments of the jet pump disclosed enable the components of the jet pump to be retrieved by reversal to enable removal, replacement or adjusted to provide optimum operation of the pump in accordance with the installation requirements without the use of special tools.”
Concentric completion may require that a service rig first run an outer string and then run an inner string. The inner string may be a jointed string or a string of coiled tubing. In either case a considerable amount of time is required for installing the concentric strings; equipment and operating costs can therefore be significant. Similarly, if the downhole equipment must be retrieved, concentric tubing may increase the time required for retrieval of the downhole equipment.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a system and method for multi-string tubing jet pump system for fluid production.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate at least one disadvantage of previous systems and methods for multi-string tubing jet pump system for fluid production.
In a first aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation including:
providing a jet pump having a jet pump intake, a venturi nozzle, a venturi gap, a diffuser, and a jetting sub; deploying the jet pump into a wellbore; supplying power fluid to the jet pump via a supply tubing string; and receiving return fluid from the jet pump via a return tubing string.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation including:
providing a spoolable multi-string tubing system having two or more conduits laterally disposed with respect to one another, the two or more conduits comprising a supply tubing string and a return tubing string; providing a jet pump having a power fluid inlet; a jet pump intake, a venturi nozzle, a venturi gap, and a diffuser in fluid communication with the power fluid inlet; a return tube in fluid communication with the diffuser; and a return fluid outlet in fluid communication with the return tube; wherein the power fluid inlet and the return fluid outlet are laterally disposed with respect to one another to facilitate connection of the power fluid inlet to the supply tubing string and of the return fluid outlet to the return tubing string; establishing fluid communication between the two or more conduits and the jet pump at the power fluid inlet and the return fluid outlet; deploying the jet pump into a wellbore; supplying power fluid to the jet pump via a supply tubing string; and receiving return fluid from the jet pump via a return tubing string.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, and further including flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, and further including flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub continuously and simultaneously with supplying power fluid to the jet pump and receiving return fluid from the jet pump.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, and further including flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub intermittently and simultaneously with supplying power fluid to the jet pump and receiving return fluid from the jet pump.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, and further including:
ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump; flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub; ceasing to flow jetting fluid out of the jetting sub; and receiving return fluid from the jet pump via the return tubing string.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, wherein the spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes an auxiliary tubing string, and further including:
establishing fluid communication between the jet pump and the auxiliary tubing string; supplying jetting fluid to the jetting sub via the auxiliary tubing string; and flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, wherein the spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes an auxiliary tubing string, and further including:
establishing fluid communication between the jet pump and the auxiliary tubing string; ceasing to supply power fluid to the jet pump; ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump; supplying jetting fluid to the jetting sub via the auxiliary tubing string; flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub; ceasing to flow jetting fluid out of the jetting sub; supplying power fluid to the jet pump; and receiving return fluid from the jet pump.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a data-sensing sub, wherein the spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a communications line, and further including:
operatively connecting the data-sensing sub and the communications line; sensing data with the data-sensing sub; and receiving the data at the surface via the communications line.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the wherein the venturi nozzle, venturi gap, and diffuser are located on a carrier sub, and further including:
ceasing to supply power fluid to the jet pump; ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump; and supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the return tubing string to unseat the carrier sub and convey it to the surface via the supply tubing string.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the wherein the venturi nozzle, venturi gap, and diffuser are located on a carrier sub, and further including:
ceasing to supply power fluid to the jet pump; ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump; supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the return tubing string to unseat the carrier sub and convey it to the surface via the supply tubing string; and supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the supply tubing string to convey the carrier sub to the jet pump and seat the carrier sub in the jet pump.
In an embodiment, the venturi nozzle and diffuser are substantially parallel with the return tube.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluids from a hydrocarbon bearing formation including:
providing a jet pump having a jet pump intake, a venturi nozzle, a venturi gap, and a diffuser; providing a permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system having two or more conduits in fluid communication with the jet pump, the two or more conduits comprising a permanent supply tubing string and a permanent return tubing string; providing a production spoolable multi-string tubing system having two or more conduits in fluid communication with the jet pump and with the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system, the two or more conduits comprising a production supply tubing string and a production return tubing string; deploying the jet pump into a wellbore; supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the production supply tubing string and permanent supply tubing string; and receiving return fluid from the jet pump via the production return tubing string and permanent return tubing string.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluids from a hydrocarbon bearing formation further including:
providing a cleanout spoolable multi-string tubing system having two or more conduits, the two or more conduits comprising a cleanout supply tubing string and a cleanout return tubing string; ceasing to supply power fluid to the jet pump; ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump; disconnecting the production spoolable multi-string tubing system from the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system; establishing fluid communication between the two or more conduits of the cleanout spoolable multi-string tubing system and the two or more conduits of the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system; supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the cleanout supply tubing string and permanent supply tubing string; and receiving return fluid from the jet pump via the cleanout return tubing string and permanent return tubing string.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluids from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, and further including flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, and further including flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub continuously and simultaneously with supplying power fluid to the jet pump and receiving return fluid from the jet pump.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, and further including flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub intermittently and simultaneously with supplying power fluid to the jet pump and receiving return fluid from the jet pump.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluids from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, and further including:
ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump; flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub; ceasing to flow jetting fluid out of the jetting sub; and receiving return fluid from the jet pump via the permanent return tubing string and production return tubing string.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, wherein the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a permanent auxiliary tubing string, wherein the production spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a production auxiliary tubing string, and further including:
establishing fluid communication between the jet pump and the permanent auxiliary tubing string; establishing fluid communication between the permanent auxiliary tubing string and the production tubing string; supplying jetting fluid to the jetting sub via the production auxiliary tubing string and the permanent auxiliary tubing string; and flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a permanent auxiliary tubing string, wherein the production spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a production auxiliary tubing string, and further including:
establishing fluid communication between the jet pump and the permanent auxiliary tubing string; establishing fluid communication between the permanent auxiliary tubing string and the production tubing string; ceasing to supply power fluid to the jet pump; ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump; supplying jetting fluid to the jetting sub via the production auxiliary tubing string and the permanent auxiliary tubing string; flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub; ceasing to flow jetting fluid out of the jetting sub; supplying power fluid to the jet pump; and receiving return fluid from the jet pump.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a data-sensing sub, wherein the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a permanent communications line, wherein the production spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a production communications line, and further including:
operatively connecting the data-sensing sub and the permanent communications line; operatively connecting the permanent communications line and the production communications line; sensing data with the data-sensing sub; and receiving the data at the surface via the communications line.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the wherein the venturi nozzle, venturi gap, and diffuser are located on a carrier sub, and further including:
ceasing to supply power fluid to the jet pump; ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump; and supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the production return tubing string and permanent return tubing string to unseat the carrier sub and convey it to the surface via the supply tubing string.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the wherein the venturi nozzle, venturi gap, and diffuser are located on a carrier sub, and further including:
ceasing to supply power fluid to the jet pump; ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump; supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the production return tubing string and permanent return tubing string to unseat the carrier sub and convey it to the surface via the supply tubing string; and supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the production supply tubing string and permanent supply tubing string to convey the carrier sub to the jet pump and seat the carrier sub in the jet pump.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation including:
providing a spoolable multi-string tubing system having two or more conduits and an auxiliary tubing string, the two or more conduits comprising a supply tubing string and a return tubing string; providing a jet pump having a jet pump intake, a venturi nozzle, a venturi gap, a diffuser, and a jetting sub; establishing fluid communication between the two or more conduits and the jet pump, and between the auxiliary tubing string and the jet pump; deploying the jet pump into a wellbore; supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the supply tubing string; receiving return fluid from the jet pump via the return tubing string; supplying jetting fluid to the jetting sub via the auxiliary tubing string; and flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation comprising:
providing a spoolable multi-string tubing system having two or more conduits and an auxiliary tubing string, the two or more conduits comprising a supply tubing string and a return tubing string; providing a jet pump having a jet pump intake, a venturi nozzle, a venturi gap, a diffuser, and a jetting sub; establishing fluid communication between the two or more conduits and the jet pump, and between the auxiliary tubing string and the jet pump; deploying the jet pump into a wellbore; supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the supply tubing string; receiving return fluid from the jet pump via the return tubing string; ceasing to supply power fluid to the jet pump; ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump; supplying jetting fluid to the jetting sub via the auxiliary tubing string; flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub; ceasing to flow jetting fluid out of the jetting sub; supplying power fluid to the jet pump; and receiving return fluid from the jet pump.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a system for producing formation fluids from a hydrocarbon bearing formation comprising. The system includes: a jet pump having a jet pump intake, a venturi nozzle, a venturi gap, and a diffuser; a permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system having two or more conduits for establishing fluid communication with the jet pump, the two or more conduits including a permanent supply tubing string and a permanent return tubing string; and a production spoolable multi-string tubing system having two or more conduits for establishing fluid communication with the jet pump and with the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system, the two or more conduits including a production supply tubing string and a production return tubing string.
In an embodiment, the system further includes a cleanout spoolable multi-string tubing system having two or more conduits, the two or more conduits including a cleanout supply tubing string and a cleanout return tubing string, for establishing fluid communication between the two or more conduits of the cleanout spoolable multi-string tubing system and the two or more conduits of the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system.
In an embodiment, the jet pump further includes a jetting sub for flowing jetting fluid out of.
In an embodiment, the jet pump further includes a jetting sub for flowing jetting fluid out of; the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a permanent auxiliary tubing string for establishing fluid communication with the jet pump for supplying jetting fluid to the jetting sub; and the production spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a production auxiliary tubing string for establishing fluid communication with the jet pump and with the permanent auxiliary tubing string.
In an embodiment, the jet pump further includes a data-sensing sub; the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a permanent communications line for operatively connecting to the data-sensing sub; and the production spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a production communications line for operatively connecting to the permanent communications line.
In an embodiment, the venturi nozzle, venturi gap, and diffuser are located on a carrier sub for unseating and conveying to the surface via the production supply tubing string and permanent supply tubing string returning to the surface when power fluid is supplied to the jet pump via the production return tubing string and permanent return tubing string.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to one ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustrating an embodiment of a fluid recovery system for producing formation fluid from a subsurface or subterranean hydrocarbon bearing formation of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a jet pump of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a jet pump of the present invention having a jetting sub;
FIG. 4 is a spoolable multi-string tubing system for use with a jet pump of FIG. 2 or 3 ;
FIG. 5 is a cross section of one embodiment of a jet pump body of the jet pump of FIG. 2 ;
FIG. 6 is a cross section of a further embodiment of a jet pump body of the jet pump of FIG. 2 having a carrier sub;
FIG. 7 is a cross section of one embodiment of a jet pump body of the jet pump of FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 8 is a jet pump of the present invention having an auxiliary tubing string;
FIG. 9 is a spoolable multi-string tubing system for use with the jet pump of FIG. 8 ;
FIG. 10 is a cross section of a jet pump body of the jet pump of FIG. 8 ;
FIG. 11 is a jet pump of the present invention having a data-sensing sub;
FIG. 12 is a spoolable multi-string tubing system for use with the jet pump of FIG. 11 ;
FIG. 13 is a jetting sub of the present invention;
FIG. 14 is a jetting sub of the present invention having a back-pressure valve;
FIG. 15 is one embodiment of a jetting nozzle of the present invention;
FIG. 16 is a jet pump intake of the present invention;
FIG. 17 depicts a method of the present invention of using one embodiment of a jet pump and spoolable multi-string tubing system to produce formation fluid;
FIG. 18 depicts a method of the present invention of using one embodiment of a jet pump and spoolable multi-string tubing system to sequentially produce formation fluid and eliminate obstructions from a wellbore;
FIG. 19 depicts a method of the present invention of using one embodiment of a jet pump and spoolable multi-string tubing system to sequentially remove wellbore fluid and eliminate obstructions from a wellbore;
FIG. 20 depicts a method of the present invention of using the jet pump and spoolable multi-string tubing system of FIG. 19 to sequentially remove wellbore fluid, and simultaneously remove wellbore fluid and eliminate obstructions from a wellbore;
FIG. 21 depicts a method of the present invention of using the jet pump and spoolable multi-string tubing system of FIG. 19 to simultaneously remove wellbore fluid and eliminate obstructions from a wellbore;
FIG. 22 is a schematic illustrating one embodiment of a fluid recovery system for producing formation fluid from a subsurface or subterranean hydrocarbon bearing formation of the present invention;
FIG. 23 is a production spoolable multi-string tubing system of the present invention attached to a permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system of the present invention; and
FIG. 24 is a schematic illustrating deployment of a jet pump and spoolable multi-string tubing system of the present invention for a cleanout operation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Generally, the present invention provides a method and system for multi-string tubing jet pump system for fluid production.
System
FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of a fluid recovery system for producing formation fluid 10 from a subsurface or subterranean hydrocarbon bearing formation 20 via a wellbore 30 . A jet pump 150 is run on the end of a Spoolable, Multi-string Tubing System (SMTS) 100 . The SMTS 100 may include two or more conduits, for example a supply tubing string 110 and a return tubing string 120 . The SMTS 100 is hung off in the wellhead 140 which is configured to provide separate surface tie-ins for each of the tubing strings in the SMTS 100 . The SMTS 100 is run through a wellbore 30 . The wellbore 30 may be cased.
Power fluid 70 may flow from the injection line 650 to the supply tubing string 110 of the SMTS 100 . The power fluid 70 is typically either water- or hydrocarbon-based. The downhole end of the SMTS 100 is in fluid communication with the jet pump 150 , which is deployed into the wellbore 30 to produce formation fluid 10 . Inside the jet pump 150 , formation fluid 10 is combined with the power fluid 70 ; the resulting combination is return fluid 160 . Return fluid 160 may be used as power fluid 70 .
Return fluid 160 may flow from the return tubing string 120 to a production handling system 580 via a surface flowline 590 . This process operates on an on-going basis to continuously produce formation fluid 10 from the hydrocarbon bearing formation 20 . Gas flow (not shown) from the hydrocarbon bearing formation 20 may flow up through up through an annulus 595 in the wellbore 30 to a production handling system 580 via a surface flowline 590 .
At the production handling system, produced return fluid 160 may flow through the sales line 600 for further processing or other use. A fixed quantity of return fluid 160 may remain in the production handling system for use as power fluid 70 in the jet pump 150 . Return fluid 160 may flow through a pump skid suction line 610 and solids may be removed by an in-line filter system 620 .
A chemical injection pump 630 may be present and in fluid communication with the pump skid suction line 610 via a chemical injection line 640 . The chemical injection pump 630 may be used to administer chemicals to, for example, prevent scale and corrosion, and mitigate the detrimental effects to the SMTS 100 and jet pump 150 of exposure to, for example, paraffin. The return fluid 160 will flow to one or more pumps 660 , which may be driven by one or more motors 670 . Return fluid 160 that will now be used as (and referred to as) power fluid 70 flows into the injection line 650 . A flow meter 680 may be present to measure the flow rate of the power fluid 70 . A pressure indicator 690 (for example a pressure transducer or pressure gauge) may be present to measure pressure in the injection line 650 . A pressure relief valve 700 may be present to release excessive pressure into the pump skid suction line 610 , which has a lower pressure than the injection line 650 .
Jet Pump
FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment of a jet pump 150 for use with a SMTS 100 wherein the SMTS 100 includes a supply tubing string 110 and a return tubing string 120 . Connectors 190 connect a power fluid inlet 200 and the supply tubing string 110 , and a return fluid outlet 210 and the return tubing string 120 . The connectors 190 may be threaded, welded, or otherwise adapted to connect the jet pump body 220 with the supply tubing string 110 and the return tubing string 120 . The jet pump body 220 may, for example, have a unibody design (as illustrated), or be a dual barrel jet pump body (not shown).
Power fluid 70 flows through the power fluid inlet 200 into the jet pump body 220 , causing formation fluid 10 to flow into the jet pump body 220 through a jet pump intake 240 . Power fluid 70 and formation fluid 10 are combined as return fluid 160 in the jet pump body 220 . The return fluid 160 flows from the jet pump body 220 and into the return fluid outlet 210 .
FIG. 3 depicts an embodiment of a jet pump 150 having a jetting sub 250 . The jet pump body 220 may be adapted to direct power fluid 70 or return fluid 160 to a jetting sub 250 . Jetting fluid 260 flows out of a jetting nozzle 270 . Jetting fluid 260 is any fluid, for example power fluid 70 , return fluid 160 , or wellbore treatment fluid (not shown), that flows to the jetting sub 250 .
SMTS
FIG. 4 depicts an embodiment of the SMTS 100 for use with the jet pump 150 of FIG. 2 . The supply tubing string 110 and the return tubing string 120 may be encapsulated in a single bundle 280 to facilitate deployment or retrieval with a single running operation using a conventional coiled tubing unit with modified injector chains. The bundle 280 may include an exterior polymer coating that is resistant to the effects of exposure to corrosive gases and fluids. The supply tubing string 110 and the return tubing string 120 are substantially parallel with one another. As illustrated by FIG. 4 , the supply tubing string 110 and the return tubing string 120 may be laterally disposed with respect to one another. The tubing string 110 and the return tubing string 120 may abut along their long axes or, as illustrated in FIG. 4 , may be positioned apart from one another.
When using the SMTS 100 , only a single coiled tubing unit ( FIG. 24 ) is necessary to install or retrieve the tubing string, reducing the time required for such operations compared to use of concentric tubing. Further, in some cases the size of the wellbore casing will be too restrictive to allow the use of concentric tubing but will be suitable for use of a SMTS 100 .
Jet Pump Body
FIG. 5 is a cross-section of one embodiment of the jet pump body 220 of FIG. 2 . Power fluid 70 flows into a venturi nozzle 290 . While flowing through the venturi nozzle 290 , the power fluid 70 flows past a venturi gap 300 between the venturi nozzle 290 and a diffuser 310 , creating a low pressure condition at the venturi gap 300 . The low pressure condition causes formation fluid 10 to flow into a jet pump intake 240 and to the venturi gap 300 . Upon entering the venturi gap 300 and the diffuser 310 , formation fluid 10 combines with power fluid 70 , forming return fluid 160 . The return fluid 160 flows through a return tube 320 and into a return fluid outlet 210 .
A check valve 330 may prevent backflow when flowing power fluid 70 is not flowing through the venturi nozzle 290 , as may occur, for example, when the jet pump 150 ( FIG. 2 ) is in a jetting mode (see FIG. 18 ).
FIG. 6 is a cross section of a further embodiment of the jet pump body 220 wherein the venturi nozzle 290 , the venturi gap 300 , and a diffuser 310 are all located on a carrier sub 750 . The carrier sub 750 is seated in the jet pump body 220 during normal production operations, but is not integral with the jet pump body 220 . The carrier sub 750 is adapted to travel up the supply tubing string 110 of the SMTS 100 via the power fluid inlet 200 . To cause the carrier sub 750 to travel up the supply tubing string 110 , the flow of power fluid 70 from the power fluid inlet 200 and the flow of return fluid 160 into the return fluid outlet 210 are reversed, and power fluid 70 is supplied to the jet pump 150 via the return tubing string 120 to unseat the carrier sub and convey it to the surface. The carrier sub 750 may then be returned to the jet pump body 220 by resuming normal flow of power fluid 70 from the power fluid inlet 200 and the flow of return fluid 160 into the return fluid outlet 210 , and by supplying power fluid 70 to the jet pump via the supply tubing string to seat the carrier sub 750 in the jet pump 150 . Alternatively, a second carrier sub (not shown) may take the place of the carrier sub 750 . The carrier sub 750 , and with it the venturi nozzle 290 , the venturi gap 300 , and a diffuser 310 , may be circulated to the surface without withdrawing the jet pump 150 from the wellbore 30 . The carrier sub 750 and its use thus allow retrieval of the venturi nozzle 290 , the venturi gap 300 , and a diffuser 310 to facilitate, for example, inspection, cleaning, or changing parts.
FIG. 7 is a cross section of a further embodiment of the jet pump body 220 wherein the jet pump body 220 includes a jetting sub 250 . At least a portion of the return fluid 160 may flow through the return tube 320 into the jetting sub 250 .
Jet Pump with Auxiliary Tubing String
FIGS. 8 and 9 depict an embodiment of a jet pump 150 for use with a SMTS 100 wherein the SMTS 100 includes an auxiliary tubing string 380 . A supply tubing string 110 , a return tubing string 120 , and the auxiliary tubing string 380 are encapsulated in a single bundle 280 . The supply tubing string 110 , the return tubing string 120 , and the auxiliary tubing string 380 are all substantially parallel with, and laterally disposed with respect to, one another. A jetting sub 250 may be in fluid communication with the auxiliary tubing string 380 . Jetting fluid 260 flows from the auxiliary tubing string 380 to the jetting sub 250 .
FIG. 10 is a cross-section of the jet pump body 220 of FIG. 8 wherein an auxiliary tubing string 380 is in fluid communication with a jetting flow passage 340 through which jetting fluid 260 flows to the jetting sub 250 .
Jet Pump with Data-Sensing Sub
FIGS. 11 and 12 depict an embodiment of a jet pump 150 for use with a SMTS 100 wherein the SMTS 100 includes a communications line 390 . A supply tubing string 110 , a return tubing string 120 , and the communications line 390 are encapsulated in a single bundle 280 . The supply tubing string 110 , the return tubing string 120 , and the communications line 390 are all substantially parallel with, and laterally disposed with respect to, one another. The communications line 390 may be a small tubing string or an electrical conductor, include, for example, hydraulic, electric, or fiber optic communication means. A communications connector 400 operatively connects a data-sensing sub 410 with the communications line 390 . The communications connector 400 may be threaded, welded, or otherwise adapted to operatively connect the data-sensing sub 410 with the communications line 390 . When data such as bottomhole pressure, temperature, or both are required, data from the data-sensing sub 410 is received at the surface electronically or through pressure communication. Examples of data that the data-sensing sub 410 may be adapted to receive include temperature and pressure.
Jetting Sub
FIG. 13 depicts a jetting sub 250 for a jet pump 150 , with a jetting nozzle 270 . Jetting fluid 260 flows from a jet pump body 220 , through the jetting sub 250 , and out the jetting nozzle 270 .
FIG. 14 depicts a jetting sub 250 for a jet pump 150 wherein access by jetting fluid 260 to the jetting nozzle 270 is subject to a back-pressure valve 460 . The back-pressure valve 460 may include, for example, a ball 470 , a spring 480 , and a seat 490 . The back-pressure valve 460 may be adapted to open at a selected back-pressure setting. The back-pressure setting is selected by selecting a spring rate, distance, or combination thereof, of the spring 480 . When fluid pressure equal to or greater than the back-pressure setting is applied, the spring 480 is compressed and jetting fluid 260 flows through the jetting nozzle 270 .
Jetting Nozzle
FIG. 15 depicts a jetting nozzle 270 for a jetting sub 250 wherein jetting fluid 260 flows through a converging jetting passage 500 and a diverging jetting passage 510 . The diverging jetting passage 510 may be present on a threaded insert 520 . The converging jetting passage 500 and the diverging jetting passage 510 form a jetting pinch 530 . The jetting pinch 530 is sized to provide back-pressure for the jetting nozzle 270 . Entrained particulates that flow in the jetting fluid 260 will eddy in the diverging jetting passage 510 preferentially to in the converging jetting passage 500 , protecting the converging jetting passage 500 from damage.
Jet Pump Intake
FIG. 16 depicts a jet pump intake 240 for a jet pump 150 , which includes slots 550 . A dimension 560 of the slots 550 is selected based on the size of a venturi gap 300 in the jet pump body 220 ( FIG. 5 ) and the size of any material in the wellbore 30 which may enter the jet pump intake 240 . The dimension 560 is selected to be large enough to admit most particulates that will be found in a given wellbore 30 but small enough to prevent intake of particulates that are large enough to plug the venturi gap 300 .
Method of Using a Jet Pump
FIG. 17 illustrates one embodiment of a method of using a jet pump 150 to produce formation fluid 10 . The jet pump 150 includes a jet pump body 220 , a jetting sub 250 and a jet pump intake 240 . Formation fluid 10 may be pumped to the surface by the jet pump 150 .
Method of Using a Jet Pump Including a Jetting Sub
FIG. 18 illustrates one embodiment of a method of using a jet pump 150 to produce formation fluid 10 . The jet pump 150 includes a jet pump body 220 , a jetting sub 250 and a jet pump intake 240 . The jetting sub 250 includes a jetting nozzle 270 . Formation fluid 10 may be pumped to the surface by the jet pump 150 (production mode). If a wellbore obstruction 570 (for example a sand bridge) is present, suction at the jet pump intake 240 may cease and jetting fluid 260 may be emitted from the jetting nozzle 270 to disperse the wellbore obstruction 570 (jetting mode). Once the wellbore obstruction 570 is sufficiently dispersed, emission of jetting fluid 260 from the jetting nozzle 270 may cease and production of formation fluid 10 by the jet pump 150 may be resumed. Dispersal of a wellbore obstruction 570 is provided as an example and is not the sole application of emission of jetting fluid 260 from the jetting sub 250 .
Changing from the production mode to the jetting mode may be accomplished by reconfiguring a return tubing string 120 such that power fluid 70 is supplied to the jet pump body 220 through both a supply tubing string 110 and the return tubing string 120 . The same change may be accomplished by blocking the return tubing string 120 . Changing from the jetting mode to the production mode may be accomplished by reconfiguring the return tubing string 120 to remove return fluid 160 . A jet pump 150 having a jet pump body 220 as in FIG. 7 is suitable for use in the method of FIG. 18 . Other embodiments of a jet pump body 220 , which may, for example, include a jetting sub 250 having a back-pressure valve 460 ( FIG. 14 ) may allow simultaneous emission of jetting fluid 260 from the jetting nozzle 270 while producing formation fluid 10 . Simultaneous emission of jetting fluid 260 from the jetting nozzle 270 while producing formation fluid 10 may be intermittent with merely producing formation fluid or may be constant.
Method of Using a Jet Pump Including an Auxiliary Tubing String
FIG. 19 illustrates a further embodiment of a method of using a jet pump 150 . The jet pump 150 further includes an auxiliary tubing string 380 in fluid communication with the jetting sub 250 , and may have a jet pump body 220 configured, for example, as in FIG. 10 . Similarly to the method of FIG. 18 , the jet pump 150 may be used in a production mode or a jetting mode. Changing from the production mode to the jetting mode may be accomplished by flowing jetting fluid 260 through the auxiliary tubing string 380 , and reducing or removing fluid pressure from a supply tubing string 110 . Changing from the jetting mode to the production mode may be accomplished by ceasing to flow jetting fluid 260 through the auxiliary tubing string 380 and supplying power fluid 70 to the supply tubing string 110 at a sufficient fluid pressure to generate suction at the jet pump intake 240 .
FIG. 20 illustrates a further embodiment of a method of using the jet pump 150 of FIG. 19 . The jet pump 150 may be used in the production mode or in production and jetting mode. Changing from the production mode to jetting and production mode may be accomplished by flowing jetting fluid 260 through the auxiliary tubing string 380 . Changing from the jetting mode to the production mode may be accomplished by ceasing to flow jetting fluid 260 through the auxiliary tubing string 380 .
FIG. 21 illustrates a further embodiment of a method of using the jet pump 150 of FIG. 19 . Formation fluid 10 may be pumped to the surface by the jet pump 150 while jetting fluid 260 continuously flows from the jetting nozzle 270 .
Permanent and Production SMTS
FIG. 22 depicts an embodiment of a fluid recovery system for producing formation fluid 10 from a subsurface or subterranean hydrocarbon bearing formation 20 via a wellbore 30 . A jet pump 150 is run on the end of a permanent SMTS 730 . The permanent SMTS 730 may include two or more conduits, for example a permanent supply tubing string 760 and a permanent return tubing string 770 . A production SMTS 740 is hung off in a wellhead 140 . The production SMTS 740 may include two or more conduits, for example a production supply tubing string 780 and a production return tubing string 790 . The permanent SMTS 730 is in fluid communication with the production SMTS 740 . The permanent SMTS 730 may be connected to the jet pump 150 and the production SMTS 740 may be connected to the injection line 650 and the surface flowline 590 .
FIG. 23 depicts a production SMTS 740 in fluid communication with a permanent SMTS 730 . The production SMTS 740 is connected to the permanent SMTS 730 by connectors 190 . Connectors 190 connect the permanent SMTS 730 with the production SMTS 740 . When cleanout is desired, the production SMTS 740 may be disconnected from the permanent SMTS 730 and a cleanout SMTS 720 ( FIG. 24 ) may be connected to the permanent SMTS 730 . It is thus not necessary to remove the permanent SMTS 730 and the jet pump 150 to reconfigure the jet pump 150 from production to cleanout. While the permanent SMTS 730 and production SMTS 740 each have two conduits, analogous embodiments wherein, for example the permanent SMTS 730 includes a permanent auxiliary tubing string (not shown) or a permanent communications line (not shown), and the production SMTS 740 includes a production auxiliary tubing string (not shown) or a production communications line (not shown). All embodiments discussed above for methods of production may substitute a permanent SMTS 730 in fluid communication with a production SMTS 740 for a SMTS 100 .
Cleanout System
FIG. 24 depicts a system including one embodiment of a multi-string tubing system and jet pump for removing wellbore fluid 710 from a subsurface or subterranean hydrocarbon bearing formation 20 via a wellbore 30 . The wellbore fluid 710 may include entrained solids. A pressure pump truck 40 includes a surface pump 50 and a fluid storage tank 60 . Power fluid 70 is conveyed to a coiled tubing unit 80 . The power fluid 70 is typically either water- or hydrocarbon-based. The coiled tubing unit 80 includes a coiled tubing reel 90 with a cleanout SMTS 720 . The cleanout SMTS 720 may include two or more conduits, for example a cleanout supply tubing string 800 and a cleanout return tubing string 810 .
Power fluid 70 flows in a cleanout supply tubing string 800 of the cleanout SMTS 720 . The cleanout SMTS 720 is deployed using a coiled tubing injector 130 with injector blocks adapted to run the cleanout SMTS 720 . The cleanout SMTS 720 is positioned through a wellhead 140 and into the wellbore 30 . The downhole end of the permanent SMTS 730 includes a jet pump 150 powered by power fluid 70 , which is deployed into the wellbore 30 to remove wellbore fluid 710 . Inside the jet pump 150 , wellbore fluid 710 is combined with the power fluid 70 ; this combination is return fluid 160 .
Return fluid 160 is pumped to the surface via the permanent return tubing string 770 and the cleanout return tubing string 810 . The return fluid 160 exits the coiled tubing reel 90 and is conveyed to a return tank 170 . Any gas from the wellbore 30 flows into a gas line 180 . The gas line 180 may be shut in or opened to gas flow during use of the jet pump 150 .
In the preceding description, for purposes of explanation, numerous details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that these specific details are not required in order to practice the invention.
The above-described embodiments of the invention are intended to be examples only. Alterations, modifications and variations can be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims appended hereto. | A method to produce formation fluid from an oil or gas well. The methods employs a jet pump and a spoolable multi-string tubing system. The jet pump is adapted to produce formation fluid, which may be produced in combination with power fluid. The multi-string tubing system consists of two or more tubing conduits, allowing surface pump equipment to deliver power fluid to the jet pump down a supply tubing string, while return fluid is returned up a return tubing string. Other downhole functions can be provided with the inclusion of additional features on the jet pump and additional conduits or conductors in the multi-string tubing system. Preferred embodiments provide additional functionality by inclusion of a jetting sub, sensing elements, or a back-pressure valve to the jet pump, and auxiliary tubing strings or communication members to the spoolable multi-string tubing system. | Identify and summarize the most critical features from the given passage. | [
"CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/181,209 filed May 26, 2009, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to jet pumps.",
"More particularly, the present invention relates use of jet pumps for fluid production.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Various types of formation fluid recovery systems have been devised for moving fluid from a downhole hydrocarbon formation to the surface.",
"Common fluid recovery systems are beam pumps, progressive cavity pumps electric submersible pumps and gas lift systems.",
"All of the above have operational issues which can limit their performance and application.",
"Jet pumps are useful in a wide range of well applications.",
"Nonetheless, jetpumps for use in hydrocarbon production are a relatively underdeveloped technology.",
"To date, jet pump systems have been installed using either conventional jointed tubing or conventional coiled tubing.",
"In some of these installations, the process requires that there be two strings installed in the well.",
"Where two strings are used, they are most typically configured as a tubing string inside of a tubing string, or a concentric configuration.",
"In most of these applications the tubing systems are not adapted for rapid deployment and retrieval.",
"There are operational and technical advantages to configuring the system with two or more substantially parallel tubing strings or electrical conductors.",
"However, until recently significant practical problems with this approach had not been addressed.",
"The present invention provides a bundled tubing system which is readily deployed and installed in a wellbore using a single conventional coiled tubing unit.",
"Combining this system with a jet pump facilitates a broad range of applications, for example production of hydrocarbons from a hydrocarbon bearing formation.",
"The abstract of U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,545 reads as follows: “The device employs the jet pump principle to bring a power fluid to sedimented solids and the like plugging a conduit, and it includes at least one nozzle which directs the power fluid in a high-velocity jet against the solids to bring the solids into suspension for subsequent removal thereof using the jet pump principle.”",
"The abstract of U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,190 reads as follows: “A down hole jet pump having various unique features which enables the pump to be used with various types of producing wells including those which produce gas along with a large ratio of water which may include considerable abrasive solid materials and can be run and retrieved inside coil tubing of relative small diameter as well as conventional threaded pipe of relatively small diameter. The embodiments of the jet pump disclosed enable the components of the jet pump to be retrieved by reversal to enable removal, replacement or adjusted to provide optimum operation of the pump in accordance with the installation requirements without the use of special tools.”",
"Concentric completion may require that a service rig first run an outer string and then run an inner string.",
"The inner string may be a jointed string or a string of coiled tubing.",
"In either case a considerable amount of time is required for installing the concentric strings;",
"equipment and operating costs can therefore be significant.",
"Similarly, if the downhole equipment must be retrieved, concentric tubing may increase the time required for retrieval of the downhole equipment.",
"It is, therefore, desirable to provide a system and method for multi-string tubing jet pump system for fluid production.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate at least one disadvantage of previous systems and methods for multi-string tubing jet pump system for fluid production.",
"In a first aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation including: providing a jet pump having a jet pump intake, a venturi nozzle, a venturi gap, a diffuser, and a jetting sub;",
"deploying the jet pump into a wellbore;",
"supplying power fluid to the jet pump via a supply tubing string;",
"and receiving return fluid from the jet pump via a return tubing string.",
"In a further aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation including: providing a spoolable multi-string tubing system having two or more conduits laterally disposed with respect to one another, the two or more conduits comprising a supply tubing string and a return tubing string;",
"providing a jet pump having a power fluid inlet;",
"a jet pump intake, a venturi nozzle, a venturi gap, and a diffuser in fluid communication with the power fluid inlet;",
"a return tube in fluid communication with the diffuser;",
"and a return fluid outlet in fluid communication with the return tube;",
"wherein the power fluid inlet and the return fluid outlet are laterally disposed with respect to one another to facilitate connection of the power fluid inlet to the supply tubing string and of the return fluid outlet to the return tubing string;",
"establishing fluid communication between the two or more conduits and the jet pump at the power fluid inlet and the return fluid outlet;",
"deploying the jet pump into a wellbore;",
"supplying power fluid to the jet pump via a supply tubing string;",
"and receiving return fluid from the jet pump via a return tubing string.",
"In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, and further including flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub.",
"In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, and further including flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub continuously and simultaneously with supplying power fluid to the jet pump and receiving return fluid from the jet pump.",
"In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, and further including flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub intermittently and simultaneously with supplying power fluid to the jet pump and receiving return fluid from the jet pump.",
"In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, and further including: ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump;",
"flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub;",
"ceasing to flow jetting fluid out of the jetting sub;",
"and receiving return fluid from the jet pump via the return tubing string.",
"In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, wherein the spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes an auxiliary tubing string, and further including: establishing fluid communication between the jet pump and the auxiliary tubing string;",
"supplying jetting fluid to the jetting sub via the auxiliary tubing string;",
"and flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub.",
"In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, wherein the spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes an auxiliary tubing string, and further including: establishing fluid communication between the jet pump and the auxiliary tubing string;",
"ceasing to supply power fluid to the jet pump;",
"ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump;",
"supplying jetting fluid to the jetting sub via the auxiliary tubing string;",
"flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub;",
"ceasing to flow jetting fluid out of the jetting sub;",
"supplying power fluid to the jet pump;",
"and receiving return fluid from the jet pump.",
"In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a data-sensing sub, wherein the spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a communications line, and further including: operatively connecting the data-sensing sub and the communications line;",
"sensing data with the data-sensing sub;",
"and receiving the data at the surface via the communications line.",
"In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the wherein the venturi nozzle, venturi gap, and diffuser are located on a carrier sub, and further including: ceasing to supply power fluid to the jet pump;",
"ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump;",
"and supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the return tubing string to unseat the carrier sub and convey it to the surface via the supply tubing string.",
"In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the wherein the venturi nozzle, venturi gap, and diffuser are located on a carrier sub, and further including: ceasing to supply power fluid to the jet pump;",
"ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump;",
"supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the return tubing string to unseat the carrier sub and convey it to the surface via the supply tubing string;",
"and supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the supply tubing string to convey the carrier sub to the jet pump and seat the carrier sub in the jet pump.",
"In an embodiment, the venturi nozzle and diffuser are substantially parallel with the return tube.",
"In a further aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluids from a hydrocarbon bearing formation including: providing a jet pump having a jet pump intake, a venturi nozzle, a venturi gap, and a diffuser;",
"providing a permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system having two or more conduits in fluid communication with the jet pump, the two or more conduits comprising a permanent supply tubing string and a permanent return tubing string;",
"providing a production spoolable multi-string tubing system having two or more conduits in fluid communication with the jet pump and with the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system, the two or more conduits comprising a production supply tubing string and a production return tubing string;",
"deploying the jet pump into a wellbore;",
"supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the production supply tubing string and permanent supply tubing string;",
"and receiving return fluid from the jet pump via the production return tubing string and permanent return tubing string.",
"In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluids from a hydrocarbon bearing formation further including: providing a cleanout spoolable multi-string tubing system having two or more conduits, the two or more conduits comprising a cleanout supply tubing string and a cleanout return tubing string;",
"ceasing to supply power fluid to the jet pump;",
"ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump;",
"disconnecting the production spoolable multi-string tubing system from the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system;",
"establishing fluid communication between the two or more conduits of the cleanout spoolable multi-string tubing system and the two or more conduits of the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system;",
"supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the cleanout supply tubing string and permanent supply tubing string;",
"and receiving return fluid from the jet pump via the cleanout return tubing string and permanent return tubing string.",
"In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluids from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, and further including flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub.",
"In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, and further including flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub continuously and simultaneously with supplying power fluid to the jet pump and receiving return fluid from the jet pump.",
"In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, and further including flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub intermittently and simultaneously with supplying power fluid to the jet pump and receiving return fluid from the jet pump.",
"In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluids from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, and further including: ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump;",
"flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub;",
"ceasing to flow jetting fluid out of the jetting sub;",
"and receiving return fluid from the jet pump via the permanent return tubing string and production return tubing string.",
"In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a jetting sub, wherein the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a permanent auxiliary tubing string, wherein the production spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a production auxiliary tubing string, and further including: establishing fluid communication between the jet pump and the permanent auxiliary tubing string;",
"establishing fluid communication between the permanent auxiliary tubing string and the production tubing string;",
"supplying jetting fluid to the jetting sub via the production auxiliary tubing string and the permanent auxiliary tubing string;",
"and flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub.",
"In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a permanent auxiliary tubing string, wherein the production spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a production auxiliary tubing string, and further including: establishing fluid communication between the jet pump and the permanent auxiliary tubing string;",
"establishing fluid communication between the permanent auxiliary tubing string and the production tubing string;",
"ceasing to supply power fluid to the jet pump;",
"ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump;",
"supplying jetting fluid to the jetting sub via the production auxiliary tubing string and the permanent auxiliary tubing string;",
"flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub;",
"ceasing to flow jetting fluid out of the jetting sub;",
"supplying power fluid to the jet pump;",
"and receiving return fluid from the jet pump.",
"In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the jet pump further includes a data-sensing sub, wherein the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a permanent communications line, wherein the production spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a production communications line, and further including: operatively connecting the data-sensing sub and the permanent communications line;",
"operatively connecting the permanent communications line and the production communications line;",
"sensing data with the data-sensing sub;",
"and receiving the data at the surface via the communications line.",
"In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the wherein the venturi nozzle, venturi gap, and diffuser are located on a carrier sub, and further including: ceasing to supply power fluid to the jet pump;",
"ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump;",
"and supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the production return tubing string and permanent return tubing string to unseat the carrier sub and convey it to the surface via the supply tubing string.",
"In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation wherein the wherein the venturi nozzle, venturi gap, and diffuser are located on a carrier sub, and further including: ceasing to supply power fluid to the jet pump;",
"ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump;",
"supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the production return tubing string and permanent return tubing string to unseat the carrier sub and convey it to the surface via the supply tubing string;",
"and supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the production supply tubing string and permanent supply tubing string to convey the carrier sub to the jet pump and seat the carrier sub in the jet pump.",
"In a further aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation including: providing a spoolable multi-string tubing system having two or more conduits and an auxiliary tubing string, the two or more conduits comprising a supply tubing string and a return tubing string;",
"providing a jet pump having a jet pump intake, a venturi nozzle, a venturi gap, a diffuser, and a jetting sub;",
"establishing fluid communication between the two or more conduits and the jet pump, and between the auxiliary tubing string and the jet pump;",
"deploying the jet pump into a wellbore;",
"supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the supply tubing string;",
"receiving return fluid from the jet pump via the return tubing string;",
"supplying jetting fluid to the jetting sub via the auxiliary tubing string;",
"and flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub.",
"In a further aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing formation fluid from a hydrocarbon bearing formation comprising: providing a spoolable multi-string tubing system having two or more conduits and an auxiliary tubing string, the two or more conduits comprising a supply tubing string and a return tubing string;",
"providing a jet pump having a jet pump intake, a venturi nozzle, a venturi gap, a diffuser, and a jetting sub;",
"establishing fluid communication between the two or more conduits and the jet pump, and between the auxiliary tubing string and the jet pump;",
"deploying the jet pump into a wellbore;",
"supplying power fluid to the jet pump via the supply tubing string;",
"receiving return fluid from the jet pump via the return tubing string;",
"ceasing to supply power fluid to the jet pump;",
"ceasing to receive return fluid from the jet pump;",
"supplying jetting fluid to the jetting sub via the auxiliary tubing string;",
"flowing jetting fluid out of the jetting sub;",
"ceasing to flow jetting fluid out of the jetting sub;",
"supplying power fluid to the jet pump;",
"and receiving return fluid from the jet pump.",
"In a further aspect, the present invention provides a system for producing formation fluids from a hydrocarbon bearing formation comprising.",
"The system includes: a jet pump having a jet pump intake, a venturi nozzle, a venturi gap, and a diffuser;",
"a permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system having two or more conduits for establishing fluid communication with the jet pump, the two or more conduits including a permanent supply tubing string and a permanent return tubing string;",
"and a production spoolable multi-string tubing system having two or more conduits for establishing fluid communication with the jet pump and with the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system, the two or more conduits including a production supply tubing string and a production return tubing string.",
"In an embodiment, the system further includes a cleanout spoolable multi-string tubing system having two or more conduits, the two or more conduits including a cleanout supply tubing string and a cleanout return tubing string, for establishing fluid communication between the two or more conduits of the cleanout spoolable multi-string tubing system and the two or more conduits of the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system.",
"In an embodiment, the jet pump further includes a jetting sub for flowing jetting fluid out of.",
"In an embodiment, the jet pump further includes a jetting sub for flowing jetting fluid out of;",
"the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a permanent auxiliary tubing string for establishing fluid communication with the jet pump for supplying jetting fluid to the jetting sub;",
"and the production spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a production auxiliary tubing string for establishing fluid communication with the jet pump and with the permanent auxiliary tubing string.",
"In an embodiment, the jet pump further includes a data-sensing sub;",
"the permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a permanent communications line for operatively connecting to the data-sensing sub;",
"and the production spoolable multi-string tubing system further includes a production communications line for operatively connecting to the permanent communications line.",
"In an embodiment, the venturi nozzle, venturi gap, and diffuser are located on a carrier sub for unseating and conveying to the surface via the production supply tubing string and permanent supply tubing string returning to the surface when power fluid is supplied to the jet pump via the production return tubing string and permanent return tubing string.",
"Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to one ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein: FIG. 1 is a schematic illustrating an embodiment of a fluid recovery system for producing formation fluid from a subsurface or subterranean hydrocarbon bearing formation of the present invention;",
"FIG. 2 is a jet pump of the present invention;",
"FIG. 3 is a jet pump of the present invention having a jetting sub;",
"FIG. 4 is a spoolable multi-string tubing system for use with a jet pump of FIG. 2 or 3 ;",
"FIG. 5 is a cross section of one embodiment of a jet pump body of the jet pump of FIG. 2 ;",
"FIG. 6 is a cross section of a further embodiment of a jet pump body of the jet pump of FIG. 2 having a carrier sub;",
"FIG. 7 is a cross section of one embodiment of a jet pump body of the jet pump of FIG. 3 ;",
"FIG. 8 is a jet pump of the present invention having an auxiliary tubing string;",
"FIG. 9 is a spoolable multi-string tubing system for use with the jet pump of FIG. 8 ;",
"FIG. 10 is a cross section of a jet pump body of the jet pump of FIG. 8 ;",
"FIG. 11 is a jet pump of the present invention having a data-sensing sub;",
"FIG. 12 is a spoolable multi-string tubing system for use with the jet pump of FIG. 11 ;",
"FIG. 13 is a jetting sub of the present invention;",
"FIG. 14 is a jetting sub of the present invention having a back-pressure valve;",
"FIG. 15 is one embodiment of a jetting nozzle of the present invention;",
"FIG. 16 is a jet pump intake of the present invention;",
"FIG. 17 depicts a method of the present invention of using one embodiment of a jet pump and spoolable multi-string tubing system to produce formation fluid;",
"FIG. 18 depicts a method of the present invention of using one embodiment of a jet pump and spoolable multi-string tubing system to sequentially produce formation fluid and eliminate obstructions from a wellbore;",
"FIG. 19 depicts a method of the present invention of using one embodiment of a jet pump and spoolable multi-string tubing system to sequentially remove wellbore fluid and eliminate obstructions from a wellbore;",
"FIG. 20 depicts a method of the present invention of using the jet pump and spoolable multi-string tubing system of FIG. 19 to sequentially remove wellbore fluid, and simultaneously remove wellbore fluid and eliminate obstructions from a wellbore;",
"FIG. 21 depicts a method of the present invention of using the jet pump and spoolable multi-string tubing system of FIG. 19 to simultaneously remove wellbore fluid and eliminate obstructions from a wellbore;",
"FIG. 22 is a schematic illustrating one embodiment of a fluid recovery system for producing formation fluid from a subsurface or subterranean hydrocarbon bearing formation of the present invention;",
"FIG. 23 is a production spoolable multi-string tubing system of the present invention attached to a permanent spoolable multi-string tubing system of the present invention;",
"and FIG. 24 is a schematic illustrating deployment of a jet pump and spoolable multi-string tubing system of the present invention for a cleanout operation.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION Generally, the present invention provides a method and system for multi-string tubing jet pump system for fluid production.",
"System FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of a fluid recovery system for producing formation fluid 10 from a subsurface or subterranean hydrocarbon bearing formation 20 via a wellbore 30 .",
"A jet pump 150 is run on the end of a Spoolable, Multi-string Tubing System (SMTS) 100 .",
"The SMTS 100 may include two or more conduits, for example a supply tubing string 110 and a return tubing string 120 .",
"The SMTS 100 is hung off in the wellhead 140 which is configured to provide separate surface tie-ins for each of the tubing strings in the SMTS 100 .",
"The SMTS 100 is run through a wellbore 30 .",
"The wellbore 30 may be cased.",
"Power fluid 70 may flow from the injection line 650 to the supply tubing string 110 of the SMTS 100 .",
"The power fluid 70 is typically either water- or hydrocarbon-based.",
"The downhole end of the SMTS 100 is in fluid communication with the jet pump 150 , which is deployed into the wellbore 30 to produce formation fluid 10 .",
"Inside the jet pump 150 , formation fluid 10 is combined with the power fluid 70 ;",
"the resulting combination is return fluid 160 .",
"Return fluid 160 may be used as power fluid 70 .",
"Return fluid 160 may flow from the return tubing string 120 to a production handling system 580 via a surface flowline 590 .",
"This process operates on an on-going basis to continuously produce formation fluid 10 from the hydrocarbon bearing formation 20 .",
"Gas flow (not shown) from the hydrocarbon bearing formation 20 may flow up through up through an annulus 595 in the wellbore 30 to a production handling system 580 via a surface flowline 590 .",
"At the production handling system, produced return fluid 160 may flow through the sales line 600 for further processing or other use.",
"A fixed quantity of return fluid 160 may remain in the production handling system for use as power fluid 70 in the jet pump 150 .",
"Return fluid 160 may flow through a pump skid suction line 610 and solids may be removed by an in-line filter system 620 .",
"A chemical injection pump 630 may be present and in fluid communication with the pump skid suction line 610 via a chemical injection line 640 .",
"The chemical injection pump 630 may be used to administer chemicals to, for example, prevent scale and corrosion, and mitigate the detrimental effects to the SMTS 100 and jet pump 150 of exposure to, for example, paraffin.",
"The return fluid 160 will flow to one or more pumps 660 , which may be driven by one or more motors 670 .",
"Return fluid 160 that will now be used as (and referred to as) power fluid 70 flows into the injection line 650 .",
"A flow meter 680 may be present to measure the flow rate of the power fluid 70 .",
"A pressure indicator 690 (for example a pressure transducer or pressure gauge) may be present to measure pressure in the injection line 650 .",
"A pressure relief valve 700 may be present to release excessive pressure into the pump skid suction line 610 , which has a lower pressure than the injection line 650 .",
"Jet Pump FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment of a jet pump 150 for use with a SMTS 100 wherein the SMTS 100 includes a supply tubing string 110 and a return tubing string 120 .",
"Connectors 190 connect a power fluid inlet 200 and the supply tubing string 110 , and a return fluid outlet 210 and the return tubing string 120 .",
"The connectors 190 may be threaded, welded, or otherwise adapted to connect the jet pump body 220 with the supply tubing string 110 and the return tubing string 120 .",
"The jet pump body 220 may, for example, have a unibody design (as illustrated), or be a dual barrel jet pump body (not shown).",
"Power fluid 70 flows through the power fluid inlet 200 into the jet pump body 220 , causing formation fluid 10 to flow into the jet pump body 220 through a jet pump intake 240 .",
"Power fluid 70 and formation fluid 10 are combined as return fluid 160 in the jet pump body 220 .",
"The return fluid 160 flows from the jet pump body 220 and into the return fluid outlet 210 .",
"FIG. 3 depicts an embodiment of a jet pump 150 having a jetting sub 250 .",
"The jet pump body 220 may be adapted to direct power fluid 70 or return fluid 160 to a jetting sub 250 .",
"Jetting fluid 260 flows out of a jetting nozzle 270 .",
"Jetting fluid 260 is any fluid, for example power fluid 70 , return fluid 160 , or wellbore treatment fluid (not shown), that flows to the jetting sub 250 .",
"SMTS FIG. 4 depicts an embodiment of the SMTS 100 for use with the jet pump 150 of FIG. 2 .",
"The supply tubing string 110 and the return tubing string 120 may be encapsulated in a single bundle 280 to facilitate deployment or retrieval with a single running operation using a conventional coiled tubing unit with modified injector chains.",
"The bundle 280 may include an exterior polymer coating that is resistant to the effects of exposure to corrosive gases and fluids.",
"The supply tubing string 110 and the return tubing string 120 are substantially parallel with one another.",
"As illustrated by FIG. 4 , the supply tubing string 110 and the return tubing string 120 may be laterally disposed with respect to one another.",
"The tubing string 110 and the return tubing string 120 may abut along their long axes or, as illustrated in FIG. 4 , may be positioned apart from one another.",
"When using the SMTS 100 , only a single coiled tubing unit ( FIG. 24 ) is necessary to install or retrieve the tubing string, reducing the time required for such operations compared to use of concentric tubing.",
"Further, in some cases the size of the wellbore casing will be too restrictive to allow the use of concentric tubing but will be suitable for use of a SMTS 100 .",
"Jet Pump Body FIG. 5 is a cross-section of one embodiment of the jet pump body 220 of FIG. 2 .",
"Power fluid 70 flows into a venturi nozzle 290 .",
"While flowing through the venturi nozzle 290 , the power fluid 70 flows past a venturi gap 300 between the venturi nozzle 290 and a diffuser 310 , creating a low pressure condition at the venturi gap 300 .",
"The low pressure condition causes formation fluid 10 to flow into a jet pump intake 240 and to the venturi gap 300 .",
"Upon entering the venturi gap 300 and the diffuser 310 , formation fluid 10 combines with power fluid 70 , forming return fluid 160 .",
"The return fluid 160 flows through a return tube 320 and into a return fluid outlet 210 .",
"A check valve 330 may prevent backflow when flowing power fluid 70 is not flowing through the venturi nozzle 290 , as may occur, for example, when the jet pump 150 ( FIG. 2 ) is in a jetting mode (see FIG. 18 ).",
"FIG. 6 is a cross section of a further embodiment of the jet pump body 220 wherein the venturi nozzle 290 , the venturi gap 300 , and a diffuser 310 are all located on a carrier sub 750 .",
"The carrier sub 750 is seated in the jet pump body 220 during normal production operations, but is not integral with the jet pump body 220 .",
"The carrier sub 750 is adapted to travel up the supply tubing string 110 of the SMTS 100 via the power fluid inlet 200 .",
"To cause the carrier sub 750 to travel up the supply tubing string 110 , the flow of power fluid 70 from the power fluid inlet 200 and the flow of return fluid 160 into the return fluid outlet 210 are reversed, and power fluid 70 is supplied to the jet pump 150 via the return tubing string 120 to unseat the carrier sub and convey it to the surface.",
"The carrier sub 750 may then be returned to the jet pump body 220 by resuming normal flow of power fluid 70 from the power fluid inlet 200 and the flow of return fluid 160 into the return fluid outlet 210 , and by supplying power fluid 70 to the jet pump via the supply tubing string to seat the carrier sub 750 in the jet pump 150 .",
"Alternatively, a second carrier sub (not shown) may take the place of the carrier sub 750 .",
"The carrier sub 750 , and with it the venturi nozzle 290 , the venturi gap 300 , and a diffuser 310 , may be circulated to the surface without withdrawing the jet pump 150 from the wellbore 30 .",
"The carrier sub 750 and its use thus allow retrieval of the venturi nozzle 290 , the venturi gap 300 , and a diffuser 310 to facilitate, for example, inspection, cleaning, or changing parts.",
"FIG. 7 is a cross section of a further embodiment of the jet pump body 220 wherein the jet pump body 220 includes a jetting sub 250 .",
"At least a portion of the return fluid 160 may flow through the return tube 320 into the jetting sub 250 .",
"Jet Pump with Auxiliary Tubing String FIGS. 8 and 9 depict an embodiment of a jet pump 150 for use with a SMTS 100 wherein the SMTS 100 includes an auxiliary tubing string 380 .",
"A supply tubing string 110 , a return tubing string 120 , and the auxiliary tubing string 380 are encapsulated in a single bundle 280 .",
"The supply tubing string 110 , the return tubing string 120 , and the auxiliary tubing string 380 are all substantially parallel with, and laterally disposed with respect to, one another.",
"A jetting sub 250 may be in fluid communication with the auxiliary tubing string 380 .",
"Jetting fluid 260 flows from the auxiliary tubing string 380 to the jetting sub 250 .",
"FIG. 10 is a cross-section of the jet pump body 220 of FIG. 8 wherein an auxiliary tubing string 380 is in fluid communication with a jetting flow passage 340 through which jetting fluid 260 flows to the jetting sub 250 .",
"Jet Pump with Data-Sensing Sub FIGS. 11 and 12 depict an embodiment of a jet pump 150 for use with a SMTS 100 wherein the SMTS 100 includes a communications line 390 .",
"A supply tubing string 110 , a return tubing string 120 , and the communications line 390 are encapsulated in a single bundle 280 .",
"The supply tubing string 110 , the return tubing string 120 , and the communications line 390 are all substantially parallel with, and laterally disposed with respect to, one another.",
"The communications line 390 may be a small tubing string or an electrical conductor, include, for example, hydraulic, electric, or fiber optic communication means.",
"A communications connector 400 operatively connects a data-sensing sub 410 with the communications line 390 .",
"The communications connector 400 may be threaded, welded, or otherwise adapted to operatively connect the data-sensing sub 410 with the communications line 390 .",
"When data such as bottomhole pressure, temperature, or both are required, data from the data-sensing sub 410 is received at the surface electronically or through pressure communication.",
"Examples of data that the data-sensing sub 410 may be adapted to receive include temperature and pressure.",
"Jetting Sub FIG. 13 depicts a jetting sub 250 for a jet pump 150 , with a jetting nozzle 270 .",
"Jetting fluid 260 flows from a jet pump body 220 , through the jetting sub 250 , and out the jetting nozzle 270 .",
"FIG. 14 depicts a jetting sub 250 for a jet pump 150 wherein access by jetting fluid 260 to the jetting nozzle 270 is subject to a back-pressure valve 460 .",
"The back-pressure valve 460 may include, for example, a ball 470 , a spring 480 , and a seat 490 .",
"The back-pressure valve 460 may be adapted to open at a selected back-pressure setting.",
"The back-pressure setting is selected by selecting a spring rate, distance, or combination thereof, of the spring 480 .",
"When fluid pressure equal to or greater than the back-pressure setting is applied, the spring 480 is compressed and jetting fluid 260 flows through the jetting nozzle 270 .",
"Jetting Nozzle FIG. 15 depicts a jetting nozzle 270 for a jetting sub 250 wherein jetting fluid 260 flows through a converging jetting passage 500 and a diverging jetting passage 510 .",
"The diverging jetting passage 510 may be present on a threaded insert 520 .",
"The converging jetting passage 500 and the diverging jetting passage 510 form a jetting pinch 530 .",
"The jetting pinch 530 is sized to provide back-pressure for the jetting nozzle 270 .",
"Entrained particulates that flow in the jetting fluid 260 will eddy in the diverging jetting passage 510 preferentially to in the converging jetting passage 500 , protecting the converging jetting passage 500 from damage.",
"Jet Pump Intake FIG. 16 depicts a jet pump intake 240 for a jet pump 150 , which includes slots 550 .",
"A dimension 560 of the slots 550 is selected based on the size of a venturi gap 300 in the jet pump body 220 ( FIG. 5 ) and the size of any material in the wellbore 30 which may enter the jet pump intake 240 .",
"The dimension 560 is selected to be large enough to admit most particulates that will be found in a given wellbore 30 but small enough to prevent intake of particulates that are large enough to plug the venturi gap 300 .",
"Method of Using a Jet Pump FIG. 17 illustrates one embodiment of a method of using a jet pump 150 to produce formation fluid 10 .",
"The jet pump 150 includes a jet pump body 220 , a jetting sub 250 and a jet pump intake 240 .",
"Formation fluid 10 may be pumped to the surface by the jet pump 150 .",
"Method of Using a Jet Pump Including a Jetting Sub FIG. 18 illustrates one embodiment of a method of using a jet pump 150 to produce formation fluid 10 .",
"The jet pump 150 includes a jet pump body 220 , a jetting sub 250 and a jet pump intake 240 .",
"The jetting sub 250 includes a jetting nozzle 270 .",
"Formation fluid 10 may be pumped to the surface by the jet pump 150 (production mode).",
"If a wellbore obstruction 570 (for example a sand bridge) is present, suction at the jet pump intake 240 may cease and jetting fluid 260 may be emitted from the jetting nozzle 270 to disperse the wellbore obstruction 570 (jetting mode).",
"Once the wellbore obstruction 570 is sufficiently dispersed, emission of jetting fluid 260 from the jetting nozzle 270 may cease and production of formation fluid 10 by the jet pump 150 may be resumed.",
"Dispersal of a wellbore obstruction 570 is provided as an example and is not the sole application of emission of jetting fluid 260 from the jetting sub 250 .",
"Changing from the production mode to the jetting mode may be accomplished by reconfiguring a return tubing string 120 such that power fluid 70 is supplied to the jet pump body 220 through both a supply tubing string 110 and the return tubing string 120 .",
"The same change may be accomplished by blocking the return tubing string 120 .",
"Changing from the jetting mode to the production mode may be accomplished by reconfiguring the return tubing string 120 to remove return fluid 160 .",
"A jet pump 150 having a jet pump body 220 as in FIG. 7 is suitable for use in the method of FIG. 18 .",
"Other embodiments of a jet pump body 220 , which may, for example, include a jetting sub 250 having a back-pressure valve 460 ( FIG. 14 ) may allow simultaneous emission of jetting fluid 260 from the jetting nozzle 270 while producing formation fluid 10 .",
"Simultaneous emission of jetting fluid 260 from the jetting nozzle 270 while producing formation fluid 10 may be intermittent with merely producing formation fluid or may be constant.",
"Method of Using a Jet Pump Including an Auxiliary Tubing String FIG. 19 illustrates a further embodiment of a method of using a jet pump 150 .",
"The jet pump 150 further includes an auxiliary tubing string 380 in fluid communication with the jetting sub 250 , and may have a jet pump body 220 configured, for example, as in FIG. 10 .",
"Similarly to the method of FIG. 18 , the jet pump 150 may be used in a production mode or a jetting mode.",
"Changing from the production mode to the jetting mode may be accomplished by flowing jetting fluid 260 through the auxiliary tubing string 380 , and reducing or removing fluid pressure from a supply tubing string 110 .",
"Changing from the jetting mode to the production mode may be accomplished by ceasing to flow jetting fluid 260 through the auxiliary tubing string 380 and supplying power fluid 70 to the supply tubing string 110 at a sufficient fluid pressure to generate suction at the jet pump intake 240 .",
"FIG. 20 illustrates a further embodiment of a method of using the jet pump 150 of FIG. 19 .",
"The jet pump 150 may be used in the production mode or in production and jetting mode.",
"Changing from the production mode to jetting and production mode may be accomplished by flowing jetting fluid 260 through the auxiliary tubing string 380 .",
"Changing from the jetting mode to the production mode may be accomplished by ceasing to flow jetting fluid 260 through the auxiliary tubing string 380 .",
"FIG. 21 illustrates a further embodiment of a method of using the jet pump 150 of FIG. 19 .",
"Formation fluid 10 may be pumped to the surface by the jet pump 150 while jetting fluid 260 continuously flows from the jetting nozzle 270 .",
"Permanent and Production SMTS FIG. 22 depicts an embodiment of a fluid recovery system for producing formation fluid 10 from a subsurface or subterranean hydrocarbon bearing formation 20 via a wellbore 30 .",
"A jet pump 150 is run on the end of a permanent SMTS 730 .",
"The permanent SMTS 730 may include two or more conduits, for example a permanent supply tubing string 760 and a permanent return tubing string 770 .",
"A production SMTS 740 is hung off in a wellhead 140 .",
"The production SMTS 740 may include two or more conduits, for example a production supply tubing string 780 and a production return tubing string 790 .",
"The permanent SMTS 730 is in fluid communication with the production SMTS 740 .",
"The permanent SMTS 730 may be connected to the jet pump 150 and the production SMTS 740 may be connected to the injection line 650 and the surface flowline 590 .",
"FIG. 23 depicts a production SMTS 740 in fluid communication with a permanent SMTS 730 .",
"The production SMTS 740 is connected to the permanent SMTS 730 by connectors 190 .",
"Connectors 190 connect the permanent SMTS 730 with the production SMTS 740 .",
"When cleanout is desired, the production SMTS 740 may be disconnected from the permanent SMTS 730 and a cleanout SMTS 720 ( FIG. 24 ) may be connected to the permanent SMTS 730 .",
"It is thus not necessary to remove the permanent SMTS 730 and the jet pump 150 to reconfigure the jet pump 150 from production to cleanout.",
"While the permanent SMTS 730 and production SMTS 740 each have two conduits, analogous embodiments wherein, for example the permanent SMTS 730 includes a permanent auxiliary tubing string (not shown) or a permanent communications line (not shown), and the production SMTS 740 includes a production auxiliary tubing string (not shown) or a production communications line (not shown).",
"All embodiments discussed above for methods of production may substitute a permanent SMTS 730 in fluid communication with a production SMTS 740 for a SMTS 100 .",
"Cleanout System FIG. 24 depicts a system including one embodiment of a multi-string tubing system and jet pump for removing wellbore fluid 710 from a subsurface or subterranean hydrocarbon bearing formation 20 via a wellbore 30 .",
"The wellbore fluid 710 may include entrained solids.",
"A pressure pump truck 40 includes a surface pump 50 and a fluid storage tank 60 .",
"Power fluid 70 is conveyed to a coiled tubing unit 80 .",
"The power fluid 70 is typically either water- or hydrocarbon-based.",
"The coiled tubing unit 80 includes a coiled tubing reel 90 with a cleanout SMTS 720 .",
"The cleanout SMTS 720 may include two or more conduits, for example a cleanout supply tubing string 800 and a cleanout return tubing string 810 .",
"Power fluid 70 flows in a cleanout supply tubing string 800 of the cleanout SMTS 720 .",
"The cleanout SMTS 720 is deployed using a coiled tubing injector 130 with injector blocks adapted to run the cleanout SMTS 720 .",
"The cleanout SMTS 720 is positioned through a wellhead 140 and into the wellbore 30 .",
"The downhole end of the permanent SMTS 730 includes a jet pump 150 powered by power fluid 70 , which is deployed into the wellbore 30 to remove wellbore fluid 710 .",
"Inside the jet pump 150 , wellbore fluid 710 is combined with the power fluid 70 ;",
"this combination is return fluid 160 .",
"Return fluid 160 is pumped to the surface via the permanent return tubing string 770 and the cleanout return tubing string 810 .",
"The return fluid 160 exits the coiled tubing reel 90 and is conveyed to a return tank 170 .",
"Any gas from the wellbore 30 flows into a gas line 180 .",
"The gas line 180 may be shut in or opened to gas flow during use of the jet pump 150 .",
"In the preceding description, for purposes of explanation, numerous details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the invention.",
"However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that these specific details are not required in order to practice the invention.",
"The above-described embodiments of the invention are intended to be examples only.",
"Alterations, modifications and variations can be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims appended hereto."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to a method and apparatus for the inspection of cooling towers to detect and map areas of fouling, and to a method of cleaning cooling towers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The following description will refer particularly to large, natural draft cooling towers of hyperbolic shape, such as are commonly used in power stations. However, the invention is also applicable to other types of cooling tower, such as forced or induced draft cooling towers.
[0003] In a cooling tower, process water is passed downwardly against a counter-flow of cooling air. The water is typically distributed by pipes across the top surface of a packing or fill pack. The fill pack is present to break up the water into droplets so as to produce a large surface area of water for contact with the cooling air, and the fill pack typically consists of plastic tubes and flutes.
[0004] Over time, fouling builds up in the fill pack. The fouling consists of scale from minerals and organic matter precipitated from the process water, and biological fouling consisting for example of algae and bacteria. The fouling reduces the available flow area and thus efficiency, and is also a potential health hazard. Periodic cleaning of the fill pack is therefore necessary.
[0005] Traditionally, due to difficulties in accessing, removing and cleaning the fill pack, towers have often become exponentially fouled. Techniques for combatting this have focused on on-going water treatment/dosing and/or filtration; these can act to slow down fouling but essentially only limit the rate of build-up. Traditional methods of cleaning have involved pack removal and high pressure jetting; this has problems such as damage to the fill pack during removal, erection of containment areas to limit bacterial spread, and issues of time and cost.
[0006] Experience has shown that cooling tower users desire an ability to gauge the level of fouling over time. This information can allow better interim management and decision making as to maintenance options. Hitherto this has been attempted by removal of pack sections for visual inspection, and removal and in-situ pack weighing. More recently, endoscopic techniques have been used to visually check pack flutes for deposition. These all have some utility but each has drawbacks, notably that they all check isolated sections to act as representative for the entire tower.
[0007] The present invention seeks to overcome or mitigate these problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention provides a method of inspecting cooling tower fill pack to detect the presence of fouling, the method comprising the use of ground penetrating radar (GPR).
[0009] The invention is based on the unexpected discovery that ground penetrating radar can provide useful, accurate data in a structure which consists largely of void. This is in contrast to the usual applications of GPR such as inspection of concrete structures and archaeology, where the volume under inspection is entirely or largely solid.
[0010] In one embodiment, a GPR apparatus is moved across a top surface of the fill pack, for example being traversed across the top of the fill pack in a series of parallel scan lines.
[0011] In another embodiment, a GPR apparatus is moved relative to a surface of the fill pack. The surface may be a top surface, bottom surface or side surface of the fill pack.
[0012] The GPR apparatus may be substantially in contact with the surface of the fill pack. Alternatively, the GPR apparatus may be spaced from the surface of the fill pack. In this arrangement the GPR apparatus is not in contact with the fill pack.
[0013] The GPR apparatus may be mounted on a remotely operable vehicle (ROV), suitably a tracked vehicle. The GPR apparatus may be a hand-operated apparatus. In this arrangement the GPR apparatus may be carried by hand by the operating personnel, and the operating personnel may move across the surface of the fill pack.
[0014] The GPR apparatus may be mounted on a remotely operable vehicle (ROV). The ROV may be radio-controlled and/or controlled-by-wire.
[0015] The ROV may be a wheeled vehicle. The ROV may be a tracked vehicle. The ROV may be a vehicle capable of flying. The ROV may be a floating vehicle. The ROV may be a helicopter. The ROV may be an aeroplane.
[0016] The ROV may also mount a data logger arranged to store GPR data for subsequent downloading and analysis and may be provided with a video camera.
[0017] The ROV may also mount a data logger arranged to store GPR data for subsequent downloading and analysis.
[0018] The ROV may also be provided with a video camera.
[0019] The method may include the step of processing received GPR data to form a three-dimensional plot of the location and degree of fouling within the fill pack.
[0020] The step of processing the received GPR data to form a three-dimensional plot of the location and degree of fouling within the fill pack may include the step of distinguishing the fill pack from the fouling thereon. The step may include filtering, ignoring or deleting received data relating to the fill pack. The GPR apparatus may be configurable to identify/recognise and ignore the fill pack structure itself via the programming of appropriate relative densities or dielectric constants for the particular materials of construction of the fill pack. In this arrangement the GPR apparatus may be configurable to recognise a fill pack that is made of plastic, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), metal, asbestos, wood, or the like.
[0021] From another aspect, the invention provides a method of cleaning fouling from a cooling tower, comprising inspecting the cooling tower by the foregoing method, identifying those parts of the fill pack in which unacceptable levels of fouling are present, and cleaning the parts so identified.
[0022] From another aspect, the invention provides a method of targeted cleaning fouling from a cooling tower, comprising inspecting the cooling tower by the foregoing method, identifying those parts of the fill pack in which unacceptable levels of fouling are present, and cleaning the parts so identified.
[0023] The present invention also provides apparatus for use in inspecting cooling tower fill pack to detect the presence of fouling, the apparatus comprising a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) capable of traversing the surface of the fill pack without damage, and a ground penetrating radar (GPR) apparatus mounted on the ROV.
[0024] The present invention also provides an apparatus for inspecting cooling tower fill pack to detect the presence of fouling, the apparatus comprising a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) capable of moving relative to the surface of the fill pack, and a ground penetrating radar (GPR) apparatus mounted on the ROV.
[0025] The ROV may be configured such that it is capable of moving relative to the surface of the fill pack without damaging the fill pack.
[0026] The ROV is preferably a tracked vehicle.
[0027] The ROV may be radio-controlled and/or controlled-by-wire.
[0028] The ROV may be a wheeled vehicle. The ROV may be a tracked vehicle.
[0029] The ROV may be a vehicle capable of flying. The ROV may be a floating vehicle. The ROV may be a helicopter. The ROV may be an aeroplane.
[0030] Preferably, the ROV also mounts a data logger arranged to store GPR data for subsequent downloading and analysis.
[0031] In one embodiment, the ROV is provided with a video camera.
[0032] The GPR apparatus may be moved across a top surface of the fill pack.
[0033] The GPR apparatus may be traversed across the top of the fill pack in a series of parallel scan lines.
[0034] The GPR apparatus may be mounted on a remotely controlled vehicle (ROV).
[0035] The ROV may be a tracked vehicle.
[0036] The ROV may also mount a data logger arranged to store GPR data for subsequent downloading and analysis.
[0037] The ROV may be provided with a video camera.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0038] An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings, in which:
[0039] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic cross-section of one form of cooling tower;
[0040] FIG. 2 is a partial cross-section, to an enlarged scale, of the cooling tower of FIG. 1 ;
[0041] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a remotely operated vehicle used in this embodiment;
[0042] FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating operation of the remotely operated vehicle; and
[0043] FIG. 5 is a plan view of one-quarter of the fill pack showing the path of the remotely operated vehicle.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0044] Referring to FIG. 1 , one form of cooling tower comprises a parabolic concrete shell 10 supported clear of the ground on pillars 12 . Process water to be cooled is distributed via pipes 14 and sprayed onto and through a volume of fill pack 16 , finally collecting in a pond or sump 18 for re-use or discharge.
[0045] FIG. 2 shows part of the cooling tower in more detail. It will be seen that distribution pipe 14 is provided with spray nozzles 20 . Drift eliminators 22 are positioned above the pipes 14 .
[0046] The method of the invention is preferably carried out by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) 24 . Any suitable ROV may be used; one suitable example is the HD2 Robot by Superdroid Robots Inc. of Fuquay Varina, N.C. This is illustrated schematically in FIG. 3 , and comprises a chassis 26 carried by rubber tracks 28 driven by motors 30 . A video camera 32 is mounted at the front of the ROV 24 and can be tilted by a tilt motor (not shown). The motors 30 are provided with encoders which give a measure of distance moved. The ROV 24 is controlled by a remote radio control unit with one joystick to control forward/reverse and steering and another joystick to control camera tilt.
[0047] The ROV 24 carries a GPR apparatus 34 and a data logger 36 . One example of a suitable GPR apparatus is the GSSI TerraSIRch SIR System 3000 (commonly referred to as SIR-3000) by Geophysical Survey Systems, Inc. of Salem, N.H. The same company provides a suitable data logger. However, any suitable form of GPR apparatus may be used.
[0048] A preferred frequency for this use is an antenna frequency of 400 MHz, although other frequencies may be suitable. The preferred mode of GPR operation is distance based collection. This associates the scans with a linear distance, and is required to produce a 3D model. The motor encoders provide data on horizontal distance travelled for production of the 3D model; however alternative distance inputs are possible, for example a manually pushed GPR apparatus could be provided with a trundle wheel or the like. The GPR apparatus 34 could be used in time mode for ad hoc scanning, which could be useful in terms of information on a manually input distance.
[0049] Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5 , in use the operating personnel access the top surface 38 of the fill pack 16 . The ROV 24 is positioned on the top surface 38 and is driven across it in a series of straight-line scans 40 . It will typically be convenient to direct the ROV 24 from the centre to the periphery, reverse it back to the centre, move it sideways, and repeat the procedure. In doing this, it may be convenient to set up a series of aiming marks at the periphery. However, other scanning patterns are possible. For example, the ROV on reaching the periphery could be steered a short distance around the periphery and driven back to the centre along a parallel line; or a spiral scan could be used.
[0050] On each scan GPR data is stored in the data logger 36 . As in normal GPR use, the radar echo varies at surfaces or discontinuities between media of different density, and the time of receipt defines the depth. The data is subsequently downloaded to a computer which generates a 3D map indicating the degree of fouling at each location. The GPR apparatus is configured to recognise and ignore the fill pack structure itself via the programming of appropriate relative densities or dielectric constants for the particular materials of construction. The generation and interpretation of the 3D map is similar to those used in underground or structural surveys and will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in using GPR.
[0051] Once this information is available, a determination can be made as to the cleanliness of different parts of the fill pack 16 require to be cleaned. It may be useful also to inspect selected areas of the fill pack with an endoscope in order to correlate the GPR signals visually with the degree of fouling. The procedure allows for a more targeted and efficient cleaning process; for example there could be three repeated treatments in one area and only a single treatment in another.
[0052] The present invention thus provides an improved method of inspection of cooling towers. The invention enables a more complete survey of the fill pack, not simply parts of it, and this can be done without disassembly and re-assembly of the fill pack.
[0053] While this invention has been described with reference to the sample embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that modifications can be made to the structure and elements of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as a whole.
[0054] Furthermore, although in the method of inspecting cooling tower fill pack illustrated and described above the ROV 24 has been described as being a tracked vehicle that rides on the top surface of the fill pack 16 , it should be appreciated that the ROV may not necessarily have to be a tracked vehicle that rides on the top surface of the fill pack 16 . For example, the ROV does not have to operate on the top surface of the fill pack 16 . The ROV may be moved relative to any surface of the fill pack 16 , e.g. the top surface, bottom surface or a side surface. Furthermore, the ROV does not have to be in contact with the surface itself. The ROV may, for example, be spaced from the surface of the fill pack 16 . That is, there may be a gap between the ROV and the surface of the fill pack 16 .
[0055] Also, although the ROV 24 has been illustrated and described above as being a tracked vehicle, it should be appreciated that the ROV may be a wheeled vehicle, a vehicle capable of flying or a vehicle capable of floating. In the instance where the ROV is a vehicle capable of flying, the vehicle may be an aeroplane or a helicopter, or the like. In the instance where the ROV is a vehicle capable of floating, the ROV may be a powered boat, or powered vessel, which may be located in the pond or sump 18 . In this instance the ROV would scan, or be operative with, the lower (bottom) surface of the fill pack 16 .
[0056] Again, the motor encoders of the ROV provide data on horizontal distance travelled for production of the 3D model; however alternative distance inputs are possible, for example a manually pushed apparatus could be provided with a trundle wheel or the like. The apparatus could be used in time mode for ad hoc scanning, which could be useful in terms of information on a manually input distance.
[0057] In use the operating personnel access the top surface 38 of the fill pack 16 . The ROV 24 is positioned on the top surface 38 and is driven across it in a series of straight-line scans 40 . It will typically be convenient to direct the ROV 24 from the centre to the periphery, reverse it back to the centre, move it sideways, and repeat the procedure. In doing this, it may be convenient to set up a series of aiming marks at the periphery. However, other scanning patterns are possible. For example, the ROV on reaching the periphery could be steered a short distance around the periphery and driven back to the centre along a parallel line; or a spiral scan could be used. | A method and apparatus for inspecting cooling tower fill pack to detect the presence of fouling, wherein the method comprises using ground penetrating radar (GPR). The method comprises transmitting GPR to the fill pack and detecting reflected radar signals from the fill pack. A method of cleaning fouling from a cooling tower, comprising the steps of: inspecting the cooling tower fill pack with ground penetrating radar (GPR); identifying those parts of the fill pack in which unacceptable levels of fouling are present; and cleaning the parts so identified is also presented. | Summarize the key points of the given patent document. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates to a method and apparatus for the inspection of cooling towers to detect and map areas of fouling, and to a method of cleaning cooling towers.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The following description will refer particularly to large, natural draft cooling towers of hyperbolic shape, such as are commonly used in power stations.",
"However, the invention is also applicable to other types of cooling tower, such as forced or induced draft cooling towers.",
"[0003] In a cooling tower, process water is passed downwardly against a counter-flow of cooling air.",
"The water is typically distributed by pipes across the top surface of a packing or fill pack.",
"The fill pack is present to break up the water into droplets so as to produce a large surface area of water for contact with the cooling air, and the fill pack typically consists of plastic tubes and flutes.",
"[0004] Over time, fouling builds up in the fill pack.",
"The fouling consists of scale from minerals and organic matter precipitated from the process water, and biological fouling consisting for example of algae and bacteria.",
"The fouling reduces the available flow area and thus efficiency, and is also a potential health hazard.",
"Periodic cleaning of the fill pack is therefore necessary.",
"[0005] Traditionally, due to difficulties in accessing, removing and cleaning the fill pack, towers have often become exponentially fouled.",
"Techniques for combatting this have focused on on-going water treatment/dosing and/or filtration;",
"these can act to slow down fouling but essentially only limit the rate of build-up.",
"Traditional methods of cleaning have involved pack removal and high pressure jetting;",
"this has problems such as damage to the fill pack during removal, erection of containment areas to limit bacterial spread, and issues of time and cost.",
"[0006] Experience has shown that cooling tower users desire an ability to gauge the level of fouling over time.",
"This information can allow better interim management and decision making as to maintenance options.",
"Hitherto this has been attempted by removal of pack sections for visual inspection, and removal and in-situ pack weighing.",
"More recently, endoscopic techniques have been used to visually check pack flutes for deposition.",
"These all have some utility but each has drawbacks, notably that they all check isolated sections to act as representative for the entire tower.",
"[0007] The present invention seeks to overcome or mitigate these problems.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] The present invention provides a method of inspecting cooling tower fill pack to detect the presence of fouling, the method comprising the use of ground penetrating radar (GPR).",
"[0009] The invention is based on the unexpected discovery that ground penetrating radar can provide useful, accurate data in a structure which consists largely of void.",
"This is in contrast to the usual applications of GPR such as inspection of concrete structures and archaeology, where the volume under inspection is entirely or largely solid.",
"[0010] In one embodiment, a GPR apparatus is moved across a top surface of the fill pack, for example being traversed across the top of the fill pack in a series of parallel scan lines.",
"[0011] In another embodiment, a GPR apparatus is moved relative to a surface of the fill pack.",
"The surface may be a top surface, bottom surface or side surface of the fill pack.",
"[0012] The GPR apparatus may be substantially in contact with the surface of the fill pack.",
"Alternatively, the GPR apparatus may be spaced from the surface of the fill pack.",
"In this arrangement the GPR apparatus is not in contact with the fill pack.",
"[0013] The GPR apparatus may be mounted on a remotely operable vehicle (ROV), suitably a tracked vehicle.",
"The GPR apparatus may be a hand-operated apparatus.",
"In this arrangement the GPR apparatus may be carried by hand by the operating personnel, and the operating personnel may move across the surface of the fill pack.",
"[0014] The GPR apparatus may be mounted on a remotely operable vehicle (ROV).",
"The ROV may be radio-controlled and/or controlled-by-wire.",
"[0015] The ROV may be a wheeled vehicle.",
"The ROV may be a tracked vehicle.",
"The ROV may be a vehicle capable of flying.",
"The ROV may be a floating vehicle.",
"The ROV may be a helicopter.",
"The ROV may be an aeroplane.",
"[0016] The ROV may also mount a data logger arranged to store GPR data for subsequent downloading and analysis and may be provided with a video camera.",
"[0017] The ROV may also mount a data logger arranged to store GPR data for subsequent downloading and analysis.",
"[0018] The ROV may also be provided with a video camera.",
"[0019] The method may include the step of processing received GPR data to form a three-dimensional plot of the location and degree of fouling within the fill pack.",
"[0020] The step of processing the received GPR data to form a three-dimensional plot of the location and degree of fouling within the fill pack may include the step of distinguishing the fill pack from the fouling thereon.",
"The step may include filtering, ignoring or deleting received data relating to the fill pack.",
"The GPR apparatus may be configurable to identify/recognise and ignore the fill pack structure itself via the programming of appropriate relative densities or dielectric constants for the particular materials of construction of the fill pack.",
"In this arrangement the GPR apparatus may be configurable to recognise a fill pack that is made of plastic, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), metal, asbestos, wood, or the like.",
"[0021] From another aspect, the invention provides a method of cleaning fouling from a cooling tower, comprising inspecting the cooling tower by the foregoing method, identifying those parts of the fill pack in which unacceptable levels of fouling are present, and cleaning the parts so identified.",
"[0022] From another aspect, the invention provides a method of targeted cleaning fouling from a cooling tower, comprising inspecting the cooling tower by the foregoing method, identifying those parts of the fill pack in which unacceptable levels of fouling are present, and cleaning the parts so identified.",
"[0023] The present invention also provides apparatus for use in inspecting cooling tower fill pack to detect the presence of fouling, the apparatus comprising a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) capable of traversing the surface of the fill pack without damage, and a ground penetrating radar (GPR) apparatus mounted on the ROV.",
"[0024] The present invention also provides an apparatus for inspecting cooling tower fill pack to detect the presence of fouling, the apparatus comprising a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) capable of moving relative to the surface of the fill pack, and a ground penetrating radar (GPR) apparatus mounted on the ROV.",
"[0025] The ROV may be configured such that it is capable of moving relative to the surface of the fill pack without damaging the fill pack.",
"[0026] The ROV is preferably a tracked vehicle.",
"[0027] The ROV may be radio-controlled and/or controlled-by-wire.",
"[0028] The ROV may be a wheeled vehicle.",
"The ROV may be a tracked vehicle.",
"[0029] The ROV may be a vehicle capable of flying.",
"The ROV may be a floating vehicle.",
"The ROV may be a helicopter.",
"The ROV may be an aeroplane.",
"[0030] Preferably, the ROV also mounts a data logger arranged to store GPR data for subsequent downloading and analysis.",
"[0031] In one embodiment, the ROV is provided with a video camera.",
"[0032] The GPR apparatus may be moved across a top surface of the fill pack.",
"[0033] The GPR apparatus may be traversed across the top of the fill pack in a series of parallel scan lines.",
"[0034] The GPR apparatus may be mounted on a remotely controlled vehicle (ROV).",
"[0035] The ROV may be a tracked vehicle.",
"[0036] The ROV may also mount a data logger arranged to store GPR data for subsequent downloading and analysis.",
"[0037] The ROV may be provided with a video camera.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0038] An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings, in which: [0039] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic cross-section of one form of cooling tower;",
"[0040] FIG. 2 is a partial cross-section, to an enlarged scale, of the cooling tower of FIG. 1 ;",
"[0041] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a remotely operated vehicle used in this embodiment;",
"[0042] FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating operation of the remotely operated vehicle;",
"and [0043] FIG. 5 is a plan view of one-quarter of the fill pack showing the path of the remotely operated vehicle.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0044] Referring to FIG. 1 , one form of cooling tower comprises a parabolic concrete shell 10 supported clear of the ground on pillars 12 .",
"Process water to be cooled is distributed via pipes 14 and sprayed onto and through a volume of fill pack 16 , finally collecting in a pond or sump 18 for re-use or discharge.",
"[0045] FIG. 2 shows part of the cooling tower in more detail.",
"It will be seen that distribution pipe 14 is provided with spray nozzles 20 .",
"Drift eliminators 22 are positioned above the pipes 14 .",
"[0046] The method of the invention is preferably carried out by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) 24 .",
"Any suitable ROV may be used;",
"one suitable example is the HD2 Robot by Superdroid Robots Inc. of Fuquay Varina, N.C.",
"This is illustrated schematically in FIG. 3 , and comprises a chassis 26 carried by rubber tracks 28 driven by motors 30 .",
"A video camera 32 is mounted at the front of the ROV 24 and can be tilted by a tilt motor (not shown).",
"The motors 30 are provided with encoders which give a measure of distance moved.",
"The ROV 24 is controlled by a remote radio control unit with one joystick to control forward/reverse and steering and another joystick to control camera tilt.",
"[0047] The ROV 24 carries a GPR apparatus 34 and a data logger 36 .",
"One example of a suitable GPR apparatus is the GSSI TerraSIRch SIR System 3000 (commonly referred to as SIR-3000) by Geophysical Survey Systems, Inc. of Salem, N.H. The same company provides a suitable data logger.",
"However, any suitable form of GPR apparatus may be used.",
"[0048] A preferred frequency for this use is an antenna frequency of 400 MHz, although other frequencies may be suitable.",
"The preferred mode of GPR operation is distance based collection.",
"This associates the scans with a linear distance, and is required to produce a 3D model.",
"The motor encoders provide data on horizontal distance travelled for production of the 3D model;",
"however alternative distance inputs are possible, for example a manually pushed GPR apparatus could be provided with a trundle wheel or the like.",
"The GPR apparatus 34 could be used in time mode for ad hoc scanning, which could be useful in terms of information on a manually input distance.",
"[0049] Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5 , in use the operating personnel access the top surface 38 of the fill pack 16 .",
"The ROV 24 is positioned on the top surface 38 and is driven across it in a series of straight-line scans 40 .",
"It will typically be convenient to direct the ROV 24 from the centre to the periphery, reverse it back to the centre, move it sideways, and repeat the procedure.",
"In doing this, it may be convenient to set up a series of aiming marks at the periphery.",
"However, other scanning patterns are possible.",
"For example, the ROV on reaching the periphery could be steered a short distance around the periphery and driven back to the centre along a parallel line;",
"or a spiral scan could be used.",
"[0050] On each scan GPR data is stored in the data logger 36 .",
"As in normal GPR use, the radar echo varies at surfaces or discontinuities between media of different density, and the time of receipt defines the depth.",
"The data is subsequently downloaded to a computer which generates a 3D map indicating the degree of fouling at each location.",
"The GPR apparatus is configured to recognise and ignore the fill pack structure itself via the programming of appropriate relative densities or dielectric constants for the particular materials of construction.",
"The generation and interpretation of the 3D map is similar to those used in underground or structural surveys and will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in using GPR.",
"[0051] Once this information is available, a determination can be made as to the cleanliness of different parts of the fill pack 16 require to be cleaned.",
"It may be useful also to inspect selected areas of the fill pack with an endoscope in order to correlate the GPR signals visually with the degree of fouling.",
"The procedure allows for a more targeted and efficient cleaning process;",
"for example there could be three repeated treatments in one area and only a single treatment in another.",
"[0052] The present invention thus provides an improved method of inspection of cooling towers.",
"The invention enables a more complete survey of the fill pack, not simply parts of it, and this can be done without disassembly and re-assembly of the fill pack.",
"[0053] While this invention has been described with reference to the sample embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that modifications can be made to the structure and elements of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as a whole.",
"[0054] Furthermore, although in the method of inspecting cooling tower fill pack illustrated and described above the ROV 24 has been described as being a tracked vehicle that rides on the top surface of the fill pack 16 , it should be appreciated that the ROV may not necessarily have to be a tracked vehicle that rides on the top surface of the fill pack 16 .",
"For example, the ROV does not have to operate on the top surface of the fill pack 16 .",
"The ROV may be moved relative to any surface of the fill pack 16 , e.g. the top surface, bottom surface or a side surface.",
"Furthermore, the ROV does not have to be in contact with the surface itself.",
"The ROV may, for example, be spaced from the surface of the fill pack 16 .",
"That is, there may be a gap between the ROV and the surface of the fill pack 16 .",
"[0055] Also, although the ROV 24 has been illustrated and described above as being a tracked vehicle, it should be appreciated that the ROV may be a wheeled vehicle, a vehicle capable of flying or a vehicle capable of floating.",
"In the instance where the ROV is a vehicle capable of flying, the vehicle may be an aeroplane or a helicopter, or the like.",
"In the instance where the ROV is a vehicle capable of floating, the ROV may be a powered boat, or powered vessel, which may be located in the pond or sump 18 .",
"In this instance the ROV would scan, or be operative with, the lower (bottom) surface of the fill pack 16 .",
"[0056] Again, the motor encoders of the ROV provide data on horizontal distance travelled for production of the 3D model;",
"however alternative distance inputs are possible, for example a manually pushed apparatus could be provided with a trundle wheel or the like.",
"The apparatus could be used in time mode for ad hoc scanning, which could be useful in terms of information on a manually input distance.",
"[0057] In use the operating personnel access the top surface 38 of the fill pack 16 .",
"The ROV 24 is positioned on the top surface 38 and is driven across it in a series of straight-line scans 40 .",
"It will typically be convenient to direct the ROV 24 from the centre to the periphery, reverse it back to the centre, move it sideways, and repeat the procedure.",
"In doing this, it may be convenient to set up a series of aiming marks at the periphery.",
"However, other scanning patterns are possible.",
"For example, the ROV on reaching the periphery could be steered a short distance around the periphery and driven back to the centre along a parallel line;",
"or a spiral scan could be used."
] |
BACKGROUND
1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure is related to a method and kit for determining metabolites on dried blood spot samples (like Guthrie cards), in particular said metabolites include also those due to a defect of adenosine deaminase (ADA) or purine-nucleoside phosphorilase (PNP) defect.
2. Discussion of the Background Art
Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) is a group of severe disease which affect immune system. Infants with SCID are healthy at birth but die of recurrent severe infection in infancy unless adequate therapy is provided. Unfortunately, most infants with SCID are not identified in the preinfection period: the diagnosis is usually hypothesized when a severe infection occur. At that time, however, even though a correct therapeutic intervention is started, damages due to the severe infection (such meningitis, encephalitis, severe pneumonia) can already be present and permanent sequelae can be an important burden both for the patients and for the family and the society. SCID due to a defect of adenosine deaminase (ADA) or purine-nucleoside phosphorilase (PNP) is an inherited disorder of purine metabolism. Genetic deficiency of the purine salvage enzyme ADA results in varying degrees of immunodeficiency, ranging from neonatal onset severe combined immunodeficiency to late onset immunodeficiency which can determine severe compromission of lung function in adolescents or adults.
In its typical form, the absence of the enzyme ADA allow accumulation of toxic metabolites resulting on one side on severe defect of immune system and, on the other, on permanent damage of other organs and systems such as brain or liver. In these cases SCID-ADA is fatal within the first months of life if untreated and is associate with severe sequelae is treated late.
Late onset ADA-SCID have also been described. In these cases the patients experience severe recurrent infections and chronic lung disease during infancy or adolescence. Very similar are the clinical consequences of PNP defect.
In both cases hematopoietic stem cell transplant is curative, but dependent on a good donor match. Enzyme replacement therapy is available and determines the elimination of toxic metabolites and a good reconstitution of the immune system. Gene therapy is also an option for patients. In any case, whichever therapy is chosen, it should be started as soon as possible after birth in order to obtain good therapeutic effect. Therefore diagnostics methods which allow to make a sure diagnosis in the first days of life are extremely important.
Early diagnosis of ADA-deficiency is necessary because opportune therapies (stem-cell transplantation, enzyme replacement therapy) can be curative while the disease is rapidly fatal if not treated. Diagnosis can be made searching for ADA enzyme activity or for accumulation of metabolites due to ADA deficiency.
Evaluating ADA activity is complex and sometimes can give misleading results: actually a severe defect in ADA activity can be found in subject with an absolutely normal immune function, because variable residual ADA activity expressed in cells different from immune cells can be sufficient to maintain correct immune function. For this reason dosage of metabolites is absolutely mandatory to achieve the diagnosis of immunodeficiency due to ADA or PNP deficiency. Moreover dosage of metabolites allows to monitor the reduction of their toxic activity after starting enzyme replacement therapy.
Measurement of purine and pyrimidine metabolites presents complex problems for separations. Different methods for measurement are used in clinical practice, ranging from HPLC to thin-layer chromatography. Other methods include capillary electrophoresis and even reverse-phase HPLC with electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry.
However all these methods are applied on urine samples and are used when a clinical suspicion of immunodeficiency has already been formulated because of the onset of severe infections. This is a serious drawback of the methods, since affected infants should be diagnosed before onset of infections to maximize opportunity of life-saving treatment. Family history can help in performing and early diagnosis but data obtained in the USA show that only 18% affected patients have a positive family history. The number is probably even lower in Italy where most families have only one child. The use of mass spectrometry (MS) in clinical laboratories is very much increased on the outset of the 21th century. This development is obviously due to great advances in mass spectrometry applications in the last fifteen years. Mass spectrometry permits a very rapid measurement of different metabolites in different biological specimens using filter paper spots or directly in different biological fluids. Because of its high sensitivity, this technique can be used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of many analytes such as purines and pyrimidines, amino acids and acylcarnitines, homocysteine, orotic acid, succinylacetone etc., with appropriate internal standards.
MS is extensively used for analysis of metabolites from dried blood spots taken at birth (Guthrie-cards) but among the detected metabolites those due to ADA deficiency are not detected because the methods of extraction are not effective. The classical method commonly used for expanded newborn screening is performed by using a C1-3 linear or branched chain monoalcohol (preferably methanol) (Millington D S, et al. J Inherit Metab Dis. 1990; 13(3):321-4; Donald H. et al. Clin. Chem., November 2003; 49: 1797-1817; la Marca G, et al. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom. 2003; 17(23):2688-92). Aim of the present disclosure is to provide an analytical method that could allow also the determination of purine and pyrimidine metabolites (including in particular ADA or PNP deficiency metabolites) along with the determination of other metabolites that are commonly determined for metabolites screening, especially those screening performed on dried blood spot taken at birth.
DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS
ADA: adenosine deaminase
Ado: Adenosine
D-Ado: Deoxyadenosine
MS: mass spectrometry
PNP: Purine-nucleoside phosphorilase
SCID: Severe combined immunodeficiency
SUMMARY
Object of the present disclosure is a method able to individuate, by means of MS, with high sensitivity and specificity purine and pyrimidine metabolites (including especially ADA or PNP deficiency metabolites) from dried blood. The method described herein can be used to extract Adenosine and Deoxyadenosine from a dried blood sample under conditions that permit concurrently extracting other metabolites, such as other purines and pyrimidines, amino acids, free carnitine, or acylcarnitines. The method of the disclosure is characterised by the use of an extraction mixture comprising a mixture of water and C1-3 linear or branched chain monoalcohol (preferably methanol) wherein water is present at least at 10% v/v. The method can be used, along with other neonatal screenings, on dried blood spots, preferably absorbed on cardboard, and more preferably on Guthrie cards, even more preferably those Gurthie cards obtained in the II-IV day of life, or during enzyme replacement therapy (to monitor the efficacy of therapy).
The method is reliable and reproducible, easy to perform and gives a definitive response within a short time (1-2 day). The method allows avoiding, harsh extraction conditions (such as extreme acidity and high temperature). It offers, for the first time, the possibility to get the diagnosis of ADA-SCID at birth, before onset of infectious disease. Early diagnosis of SCID allows to treat the affected patients very soon so avoiding severe complications due to infectious disease which are always expected in the follow-up of immunodeficient patients. Human and monetary costs of long hospitalisation, intensive care, and early death which are a result from delayed SCID diagnosis could be avoided diagnosing the affected patient at birth by the method herein described.
Further object of the disclosure is a kit, kits useful for preparing samples for detection and/or measurement (using tandem mass spectrometry) of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine along with multiple other analytes (e.g., other purines and pyrimidines, amino acids, free carnitine, and acylcarnitine) in a dried blood sample.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a neutral loss scan of m/z 46 were several amino acids are detected from the same sample (panel B) and a precursor scan of m/z 85 were several acylcarnitines are detected from the sample (panel A); internal standards, stable heavy isotope analogs of the Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine were also present in the sample (Panel C).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The disclosure features methods for extracting Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine along with one or more additional analytes (e.g., other purines and pyrimidines, amino acids, acylcarnitines, and free carnitine) from the sample in a single step such that the concentrations of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine and one or more additional analytes (e.g., other purines and pyrimidines, amino acids, free carnitine, and acylcarnitines) in the extract reflect their respective concentrations in the sample.
Following the extraction, the presence or amount of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine can be determined along with one or more additional analytes (e.g., free carnitine, acylcarnitines, and amino acids) using mass spectrometry (e.g., tandem mass spectrometry).
The method can include contacting a sample with an extraction solution containing a C 1-3 linear or branched chain monoalcohol (e.g., methanol, ethanol, propanol, or isopropanol) and water.
Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine are not soluble in absolute alcohol or in a solution containing less than 10% of water. To extract (release) Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine along with one or more additional analytes from a sample (e.g., a biological sample such as a blood spot) in a single step, the sample can be contacted with an extraction solution containing a C 1-3 linear or branched chain monoalcohol (e.g., methanol, ethanol, propanol, or isopropanol) with at the least 10% of water.
Preferably the method of the disclosure is performed adding the extraction solution in two steps: in the first step contacting the sample with a C 1-3 linear or branched chain monoalcohol corresponding to 100-x % v/v of the final volume; in the following second step adding to the sample water corresponaing to x % v/v of the final volume v/v; wherein x is the v/v water percentage varying from 10 to 90%.
Preferably the extraction solution contains 30-50% v/v of water; more preferably The best analytical condition is obtained when an extraction solution containing methanol 60% and water 40%. Moreover, the maximum yield for the extraction of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine is obtained when the addition of extraction solution is performed in two following steps: in the first step contacting the sample with a methanol corresponding to 60% v/v of the final volume. In the following second step adding to the sample water corresponding to 40% v/v of the final volume v/v. The first step fixed proteins, peptides and haemoglobin to the cellulose of the Guthrie card reducing consistently their extraction. Proteins, peptides and haemoglobin could be relevant interference in mass spectrometry analysis. The method can also include contacting the sample directly with an extraction solution containing methanol and water 60/40 v/v. But in this case the concentration of water can be such that the extraction solution reconstitutes some of the proteins and peptides while at the same time dissolving other analytes (e.g., Adenosine, Deoxiadenosine, acylcarnitines, free carnitine, and amino acids) present in the sample. The extraction solution can also contains an organic acid such as acetic and/or formic acid at a concentration of 1-5 mM (preferably 2.5-3.5 mM).
The extraction solution can also, optionally, contains one or more internal standards for, e.g., amino acids, free carnitine, acylcarnitines and Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine at known concentrations.
The sample mixture can then be incubated for a pre-determined period of time of at least 15 minutes (and preferably no more than 120 minutes) to allow the extraction of amino acids, free carnitine and acylcarnitines as well as the extraction of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine.
The extract can then be transferred to an unused well of a micro titer plate and the samples then analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry, optionally, with the aid of a liquid handling device for sample injection.
The instrumental settings on the tandem mass spectrometer are then set to detect the respective metabolites of interest (amino acids, acylcarnitines, free carnitine, and Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine) as well as their corresponding internal standards in a multiplex fashion.
Additional analytes that can be detected and/or measured with Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine include, e.g., alanine, arginine, citrulline, glycine, leucine, methionine, ornithine, phenylalanine, proline, tyrosine, valine, and acylcarnitines such as Free, Acetyl, Acrylyl, Propionyl, Butyryl, Tiglyl, Isovaleryl, 3-OH-butyryl, Hexenoyl, Hexanoyl, 3-OH-lsovaleryl, Heptanoyl, Octenoyl, Octanoyl, Nonanoyl, Malonyl, Decatrienoyl, Decadienoyl, Decenoyl, Decanoyl, Methylmalonyl, Glutaryl, 3-OH-Decanoyl, Dodecenoyl, Dodecanoyl, Dehyroadipyl, Adipyl, 3-OH-Dodecanoyl, Tetradecadienoyl, Tetradecenoyl, Myristoyl, Dehydrosuberyl, Suberyl, 3-OH-Tetradecanoyl, Hexadecenoyl, Palmitoyl, Dehydrosebacyl, Sebacyl, 3-OH-Hexadecanoyl, Linoleyl, Oleyl, Stearoyl. Other purines and pyrimidines include but are not limited to Uracil, Cytosine, Thymine, Adenine, Guanine, Uridine, Cytidine, Thymidine, Guanosine, Hypoxanthine, Deoxyguanosine, Deoxyinosine, Deoxyuridine, 5-OH-Me-uracil, AICAR (Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribotide), Dihydrouracil, β-Alanine, Inosine, Uric acid, Orotic acid, β-Aminoisobutyric acid, Dihydrothymine, Ureidopropionate, Xanthine, SAICAr (Succinyl-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside) and Succinyl-adenosine.
Mass Spectrometry
Tandem mass spectrometry can be used to detect and/or measure Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine and one or more additional analytes (e.g., free carnitine, acylcarnitines, and amino acids) in a sample (e.g., a biological sample). In tandem mass spectrometry, two mass analyzers are linked in series via a collision cell. The first mass analyzer (first quadrupole) is used to select an ion of interest (e.g., an ion of a particular mass-to-charge ratio (m/z)). The selected ions are then transferred to a collision cell where they are fragmented by collisions with an inert gas (e.g., nitrogen or helium or argon). This process is called collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) and is performed in the Collision Cell of the Mass Spectrometer. Once the precursor ions have fragmented, the second mass analyzer (third quadrupole) is used to either scan and detect all of the produced product ions or to select and detect particular fragment ions.
As detailed in the accompanying Examples, tandem mass spectrometry was used to ionize the precursor molecules of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine and several amino acids, fragment the ions, and detect specific peaks that are indicative of the presence of these molecules in the sample. The tandem mass spectrometry detection can be accomplished in a number of ways. In one type of tandem mass spectrometry (commonly performed on triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometers) ions that fragment to produce common product (fragment) ions can be detected as a class by performing a “precursor ion scan”, where by selecting the appropriate mass for the common fragmention in the Collision Cell, all ion that produce the common fragment ions are detected. This type of scan can be used to detect the acylcarnitines in a sample (precursor ion of m/z 85 scan). In a different form of tandem mass spectrometry, ions that fragment to produce a common neutral loss can be detected as a class by performing a so called neutral loss scan where by setting an appropriate mass offset equal to the common neutral loss between first and third quadrupoles all ions that fragment to produce the specified neutral loss are detected. This type of scan is performed to detect amino acids in a sample (neutral loss of m/z 46 if the analytes in the extracted sample were unbutylated esters). FIG. 1 shows a neutral loss scan of m/z 46 were several amino acids are detected from the same sample and a precursor scan of m/z 85 were several acylcarnitines are detected from the sample. In yet another type of tandem mass spectrometry known as multiple reaction monitoring (MRM), a precursor ion of interest is selected in the first quadrupole, fragmented in the collision cell and a specific fragment ion resulting from the collisional activation is selected in the third quadrupole and finally detected.
First and third quadrupoles are fixed to respectively select the corresponding precursor and fragment ion pairs of interest for a predetermined amount of time (a few milliseconds). If additional analytes need to be detected, additional detection transitions can be introduced in the experiment. The data from all selected mass transitions can be acquired sequentially to obtain the desired information. The detection and quantitation of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine in a mixture can be obtained by employing the specific mass transition for each of these compounds as follows: for Adenosine: first quadrupole fixed to select and transmit the precursor ion at m/z 268, third quadrupole fixed to select and transmit the specific product ion at m/z 136 (MRM transition 1); for Deoxiadenosine: first quadrupole fixed to select and transmit the precursor ion at m/z 252, third quadrupole fixed to select and transmit the specific product ion at m/z 136 (MRM transition 2). These two MRM transitions can be measured sequentially from the same sample for a predetermined amount of time to detect the presence and/or concentration of a mixture of these compounds in such sample.
Stable isotope-labeled internal standards for Adenosine and can be added to a sample, by which quantitation of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine, and thus Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine itself, can be performed. Such labeling of derivatized Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine with stable isotopes results in a mass shift, while retaining very similar physicochemical properties between the labeled and unlabeled compounds. Generally, one or more internal standards can be added at known concentration to a sample to allow for quantitation of the analyte of interest (e.g., Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine). For example, for a sample analyzed using tandem mass spectrometry, the ratio of the signals produced by Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine and its corresponding internal standard can be used to determine the amounts of this compound in the sample. The internal standard can also be added to distinguish naturally occurring (endogenous) molecules. As above, the internal standards can be prepared in an extraction solution prior to mixing a sample (e.g., a blood sample) and the extraction solution. Alternatively, the internal standards can be added to the mixture at any step in the sample preparation that ensures these internal standards will not be removed from the mixture during the sample processing (e.g. after a liquid-liquid extraction or a solid phase extraction). Internal standards for an analyte of interest (or other molecules, e.g., biomolecules described herein) detected by a method described herein can be any modification or analog of that analyte molecule that is detectable by mass spectrometry. An internal standard is separately detectable from the molecule based on unique physical characteristics, such as a unique mass or mass-to-charge ratio. A commonly used internal standard for mass spectrometry is a stable isotopically labeled form or chemical derivative of an analyte of interest (e.g., if the analyte Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine, the internal standard can be an isotopically labeled Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine). The same for additional analytes herein described and reported as aminoacids and acylcarnitines. For example, stable isotope labeled analogs can be used to quantitate the corresponding analyte of interest using the technique known as isotope dilution mass spectrometry where the analyte and internal standards are processed in the same sample. Internal standards can be designed such that 1) the labeling causes a shift in mass of at least 1 mass unit and 2) that none of the stable isotope labels are located in labile sites to prevent exchange. Labels can be 2 H (D), 15 N, 13 O or 18 O in any combination. The actual location of the labels on the molecule can vary provided the prerequisite 2 (above) is satisfied. Moreover, the position of the labels and the potential change in the mass of the fragment ions can also be used to confirm separation of the internal standard and analytes. Examples of potential internal standards useful in the methods described herein include, but are not limited to, an isotopically labeled: Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine (e.g., Ribosine-1- 13 C-Adenosine and 13 C 5 Deoxiadenosine), carnitine, acylcarnitine, or amino acid (e.g., phenylalanine, citrulline, glutamic acid). The detection of specific labeled internal standard in a mixture can be obtained by employing the specific mass transition for each of these compounds as follows: for Ribosine-1- 13 C-Adenosine: first quadrupole fixed to select and transmit the precursor ion at m/z 269, third quadrupole fixed to select and transmit the specific product ion at m/z 136 (MRM transition 3); for 13 C 5 Deoxiadenosine: first quadrupole fixed to select and transmit the precursor ion at m/z 257, third quadrupole fixed to select and transmit the specific product ion at m/z 136 (MRM transition 4).
Samples
Suitable samples for the methods described herein include dried blood absorbed onto a paper or polymer substrate.
Validation of the Method
Three pairs of dried blood spots (Guthrie cards) from three patients with SCID-ADA have been obtained from those stored in Neonatal Screening Center of the Tuscany region. All the patients had been diagnosed in the first year of life using conventional methods on urine or blood samples obtained with venipuncture. Diagnosis was confirmed using genetic analysis of DNA. All the parents of the 3 patients resulted carriers for the gene mutation associated with SCID-ADA.
The method described in the present disclosure allowed detection of toxic metabolites of ADA in all 3 cases, with quantitative analysis. The levels of the toxic metabolites were 10.000-30.000 times higher than levels found in normal subjects. The method was also applied to 5000 dried blood spot from healthy subjects. In none of them an increased level of toxic metabolites of ADA were found. In summary, the results obtained with the method of the disclosure show that SCID-ADA can be diagnosed with highest sensitivity (100%) and specificity (100%) from dried blood spot taken at birth through a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer with TurbolonSpray source.
Therefore, the technology described herein is applicable to screening, diagnosis, prognosis, monitoring therapy and compliance, and any other application in which determining the presence or amount of panels of two or more biomolecules, such as Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine and one or more of an amino acid, free carnitine, or an acylcarnitine, is useful.
Kits
Also provided herein are kits useful for preparing samples for detection and/or measurement (using tandem mass spectrometry) of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine along with multiple other analytes (e.g., other purines and pyrimidines, amino acids, free carnitine, and acylcarnitine) in a dried blood sample.
The kits can include one or more internal standards and/or controls for use in subsequent mass spectrometric analysis. For example, the kits can include Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine as a control and a derivatized form of labeled (e.g., isotope labeled) Ribosine-1- 13 C-Adenosine and 13 C 5 Deoxiadenosine) as an internal standard. The Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine and/or derivatized Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine can each be provided in the kit in a liquid or dried (e.g., lyophilized) form. The Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine can be provided in an amount of 0.1-5 mmole. The kits can include Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine in a container containing one or more additional controls or internal standards. For example, the kit can include a container with a Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine control, one or more amino acid controls, and one or more carnitine (e.g., free carnitine and acylcarnitines) controls.
One or more solutions contained in the kit can be stored in, e.g., silanized glass vials. One or more components of the kit can be stored in a container that prevents or minimizes loss of material or evaporation of a solvent. For example, the container can be sealed with a septum.
The kits can include, e.g., dried blood spots useful as a control. For example, the dried blood spot can be enriched with one or more analytes (e.g., one or more analytes at known concentrations) such as Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine, one or more amino acids, free carnitine, or one or more acylcarnitines.
The kits can also, optionally, include an extraction solution such as any of the extraction solutions described herein. The extraction solution can contain a C I-3 linear or branched monoalcohol with at the least 25% of water. The kits can also include one or more solvent solutions containing, e.g., acetonitrile or isopropanol. The solvent solutions can also contain water, e.g., a solvent solution containing 80% acetonitrile and 20% water.
Expermental Section
EXAMPLES
Example 1
Reference standard blood (whole blood) spots were prepared using a pooled whole blood obtained from 5 subjects. The blood was processed by adjusting the hemoglobin concentration to 17 mg/dL and adding to the blood Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine at known concentrations. The processed blood was dispensed onto filter paper cards to form blood spots on the filter paper matrix. Each blood spot was generated by dispensing 25 μL of processed blood. The blood spots were allowed to dry overnight.
A small disc 3.2 mm of a dried blood spot was punched and deposited in a well of a micro well plate. The sample was extracted by dispensing 200 μL of an extraction solution that consisted of a mixture of methanol and water at an approximate relative volume-to-volume ratio of 60% methanol and 40% water. Internal standards, stable heavy isotope analogs of the Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine were also present in the extraction solution. The internal standards included in the solution are indicated in tandem mass spectrometry scan shown in FIG. 1
Example 2
Reference standard blood (whole blood) spots were prepared using a pooled whole blood obtained from 5 subjects. The blood was processed by adjusting the hemoglobin concentration to 17 mg/dL and adding to the blood several amino acids, carnitine, acylcarnitines and Adenosine and Deoxi-adenosine at known concentrations. The processed blood was dispensed onto filter paper cards to form blood spots on the filter paper matrix. Each blood spot was generated by dispensing 25 μL of processed blood. The blood spots were allowed to dry overnight.
A small disc 3.2 mm of a dried blood spot was punched and deposited in a well of a micro well plate. The sample was extracted by dispensing 200 μL of an extraction solution that consisted of a mixture of methanol and water at an approximate relative volume-to-volume ratio of 60% methanol and 40% water. Internal standards (stable heavy isotope analogs of the analytes of interest) for several amino acids, carnitine, acylcarnitines and Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine were also present in the extraction solution. The extracted sample was injected into an electrospray triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer with the aid of an automated liquid handling device. Mass spectral data for the amino acids were acquired via a neutral loss scan of 46 Da. Mass spectral data for the Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine were acquired via a Multiple Reaction Monitoring. The definition for each of the analytes can be found in Table 1). The percentage of each analyte recovered was determined through comparison with an internal standard for each analyte.
The imprecision of the assay was determined by analyzing the samples described in table 1. Each sample run consisted of sextuplicate punches of each sample which were processed and measured as described in Example 2. The study included six such runs a day for a total of six days. With this information the following imprecision components were determined: within run, between run-within day, and between day from which the total imprecision was determined. The results of the imprecision analysis of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine are shown in Table 2.
These data demonstrate that the methods described herein can be used to simultaneously extract and quantify Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine, amino acids, carnitine, acylcarnitines using tandem mass spectrometry.
TABLE 1
Butylated
Compound Name
Symbol
[M + H] +
Mass
Purines
Adenosine
Ado
268.2
Deoxi-Adenosine
D-Ado
252.2
Aminoacids
Alanine
Ala
90.0
146.1
Alloisoleucine
Allo-Ile
132.1
188.2
Arginine
Arg
175.1
231.2
Argininosuccinic
Asa
291.1
459.3
acid
Asparagine
Asn
133.1
189.1
Aspartic acid
Asp
134.0
246.2
beta-Alanine
90.0
146.1
Citrulline
Cit
176.1
232.2
Glutamic acid
Glu
148.1
260.2
Glutamine
Gln
147.1
203.1
Glycine
Gly
76.0
132.1
Histidine
His
156.1
212.1
Hydroxyproline
HO-Pro
132.1
188.1
Isoleucine
Ile
132.1
188.2
Leucine
Leu
132.1
188.2
Lysine
Lys
147.1
203.2
Methionine
Met
150.1
206.1
Ornithine
Orn
133.1
189.2
Phenylalanine
Phe
166.1
222.2
Proline
Pro
116.1
172.1
Pyroglutamic Acid
130.0
186.1
Tyrosine
Tyr
182.1
238.1
Valine
Val
118.1
174.2
Succinylacetone
SA
155.1
211.2
Formiminoglutamic
Figlu
231.2
287.2
Acid
Homocitrulline
Hcit
190.1
246.2
Hawkinsine
Hawk
348.3
404.4
Deltaaminolevulinic
D-AL
122.1
188.1
Acid
Acylcarnitines
Free
C0
162.1
218.2
Acetyl
C2
204.1
260.2
Acrylyl
C3:1
216.1
272.2
Propionyl
C3
218.1
274.2
Butyryl
C4
232.2
288.2
Tiglyl
C5:1
244.2
300.2
Isovaleryl
C5
246.2
302.2
3-OH-butyryl
C4—OH
248.1
304.2
Hexenoyl
C6:1
258.2
314.2
Hexanoyl
C6
260.2
316.3
3-OH-Isovaleryl
C5—OH
262.2
318.2
Heptanoyl
C7
274.2
330.3
Octenoyl
C8:1
286.2
342.3
Octanoyl
C8
288.2
344.3
Nonanoyl
C9
302.2
358.3
Malonyl
C3DC
248.1
360.2
Decatrienoyl
C10:3
310.2
366.3
Decadienoyl
C10:2
312.2
368.3
Decenoyl
C10:1
314.2
370.3
Decanoyl
C10
316.2
372.3
Methylmalonyl
C4DC
262.1
374.3
Glutaryl
C5DC
276.1
388.3
3-OH-Decanoyl
C10—OH
332.2
388.3
Dodecenoyl
C12:1
342.3
398.3
Dodecanoyl
C12
344.3
400.3
Dehyroadipyl
C6:1DC
288.1
400.3
Adipyl
C6DC
290.2
402.3
3-OH-Dodecanoyl
C12—OH
360.3
416.3
Tetradecadienoyl
C14:2
368.3
424.3
Tetradecenoyl
C14:1
370.3
426.4
Myristoyl
C14
372.3
428.4
Dehydrosuberyl
C8:1DC
316.2
428.3
Suberyl
C8DC
318.2
430.3
3-OH-
C14—OH
388.3
444.4
Tetradecanoyl
Hexadecenoyl
C16:1
398.3
454.4
Palmitoyl
C16
400.3
456.4
Dehydrosebacyl
C10:1DC
344.2
456.3
Sebacyl
C10DC
346.2
458.4
3-OH-
C16—OH
416.3
472.4
Hexadecanoyl
Linoleyl
C18:2
424.3
480.4
Oleyl
C18:1
426.4
482.4
Stearoyl
C18
428.4
484.4
TABLE 2
Intra-day
Inter-day
Readings
Investigated
Spiking
precision
precision
Average
Accuracy
Metabolite
nmoles/L
(n = 6) %
(n = 6) %
uMoles/L
n = 6
Adenosine
0
0
0.0
0.0
Adenosine
33
3.5
3.1
34.0
103.1
Adenosine
165
4.9
3.7
158.0
95.8
Adenosine
330
7.8
6.0
336.2
101.9
Adenosine
3300
3.8
4.8
3299.7
100.0
Adenosine
6600
2.1
2.6
6594.2
99.9
Adenosine
9900
2.3
2.0
9899.9
100.0
Deoxi-
0
0
0.0
0.0
Adenosine
Deoxi-
33
19.6
16.9
32.8
92.9
Adenosine
Deoxi-
165
6.6
4.8
169.6
100.3
Adenosine
Deoxi-
330
5.2
3.6
325.4
100.6
Adenosine
Deoxi-
3300
5.6
6.7
3300.2
100.3
Adenosine
Deoxi-
6600
3.4
3.4
6599.2
100.0
Adenosine
Deoxi-
9900
3.1
3.1
9904.9
100.0
Adenosine | A method for individuating with high sensitivity and specificity ADA metabolites from dried blood spot. The method described herein can be used to extract Adenosine and Deoxyadenosine from a sample under conditions that permit concurrently extracting other metabolites, such as amino acids, free carnitine, or acylcarnitines. For example, harsh extraction conditions (such as extreme acidity and high temperature) can be avoided. The method can be used, along with other neonatal screenings, on blood samples and preferably on dried blood spots (Guthrie cards) and more preferably on Guthrie cards obtained in the II-IV day of life. The method is reliable and reproducible, easy to perform and gives a definitive response within a short time (1-2 days). One or more kit for use in the method. | Briefly outline the background technology and the problem the invention aims to solve. | [
"BACKGROUND 1.",
"Field of the Disclosure The present disclosure is related to a method and kit for determining metabolites on dried blood spot samples (like Guthrie cards), in particular said metabolites include also those due to a defect of adenosine deaminase (ADA) or purine-nucleoside phosphorilase (PNP) defect.",
"Discussion of the Background Art Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) is a group of severe disease which affect immune system.",
"Infants with SCID are healthy at birth but die of recurrent severe infection in infancy unless adequate therapy is provided.",
"Unfortunately, most infants with SCID are not identified in the preinfection period: the diagnosis is usually hypothesized when a severe infection occur.",
"At that time, however, even though a correct therapeutic intervention is started, damages due to the severe infection (such meningitis, encephalitis, severe pneumonia) can already be present and permanent sequelae can be an important burden both for the patients and for the family and the society.",
"SCID due to a defect of adenosine deaminase (ADA) or purine-nucleoside phosphorilase (PNP) is an inherited disorder of purine metabolism.",
"Genetic deficiency of the purine salvage enzyme ADA results in varying degrees of immunodeficiency, ranging from neonatal onset severe combined immunodeficiency to late onset immunodeficiency which can determine severe compromission of lung function in adolescents or adults.",
"In its typical form, the absence of the enzyme ADA allow accumulation of toxic metabolites resulting on one side on severe defect of immune system and, on the other, on permanent damage of other organs and systems such as brain or liver.",
"In these cases SCID-ADA is fatal within the first months of life if untreated and is associate with severe sequelae is treated late.",
"Late onset ADA-SCID have also been described.",
"In these cases the patients experience severe recurrent infections and chronic lung disease during infancy or adolescence.",
"Very similar are the clinical consequences of PNP defect.",
"In both cases hematopoietic stem cell transplant is curative, but dependent on a good donor match.",
"Enzyme replacement therapy is available and determines the elimination of toxic metabolites and a good reconstitution of the immune system.",
"Gene therapy is also an option for patients.",
"In any case, whichever therapy is chosen, it should be started as soon as possible after birth in order to obtain good therapeutic effect.",
"Therefore diagnostics methods which allow to make a sure diagnosis in the first days of life are extremely important.",
"Early diagnosis of ADA-deficiency is necessary because opportune therapies (stem-cell transplantation, enzyme replacement therapy) can be curative while the disease is rapidly fatal if not treated.",
"Diagnosis can be made searching for ADA enzyme activity or for accumulation of metabolites due to ADA deficiency.",
"Evaluating ADA activity is complex and sometimes can give misleading results: actually a severe defect in ADA activity can be found in subject with an absolutely normal immune function, because variable residual ADA activity expressed in cells different from immune cells can be sufficient to maintain correct immune function.",
"For this reason dosage of metabolites is absolutely mandatory to achieve the diagnosis of immunodeficiency due to ADA or PNP deficiency.",
"Moreover dosage of metabolites allows to monitor the reduction of their toxic activity after starting enzyme replacement therapy.",
"Measurement of purine and pyrimidine metabolites presents complex problems for separations.",
"Different methods for measurement are used in clinical practice, ranging from HPLC to thin-layer chromatography.",
"Other methods include capillary electrophoresis and even reverse-phase HPLC with electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry.",
"However all these methods are applied on urine samples and are used when a clinical suspicion of immunodeficiency has already been formulated because of the onset of severe infections.",
"This is a serious drawback of the methods, since affected infants should be diagnosed before onset of infections to maximize opportunity of life-saving treatment.",
"Family history can help in performing and early diagnosis but data obtained in the USA show that only 18% affected patients have a positive family history.",
"The number is probably even lower in Italy where most families have only one child.",
"The use of mass spectrometry (MS) in clinical laboratories is very much increased on the outset of the 21th century.",
"This development is obviously due to great advances in mass spectrometry applications in the last fifteen years.",
"Mass spectrometry permits a very rapid measurement of different metabolites in different biological specimens using filter paper spots or directly in different biological fluids.",
"Because of its high sensitivity, this technique can be used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of many analytes such as purines and pyrimidines, amino acids and acylcarnitines, homocysteine, orotic acid, succinylacetone etc.",
", with appropriate internal standards.",
"MS is extensively used for analysis of metabolites from dried blood spots taken at birth (Guthrie-cards) but among the detected metabolites those due to ADA deficiency are not detected because the methods of extraction are not effective.",
"The classical method commonly used for expanded newborn screening is performed by using a C1-3 linear or branched chain monoalcohol (preferably methanol) (Millington D S, et al.",
"J Inherit Metab Dis.",
"1990;",
"13(3):321-4;",
"Donald H. et al.",
"Clin.",
"Chem.",
", November 2003;",
"49: 1797-1817;",
"la Marca G, et al.",
"Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom.",
"2003;",
"17(23):2688-92).",
"Aim of the present disclosure is to provide an analytical method that could allow also the determination of purine and pyrimidine metabolites (including in particular ADA or PNP deficiency metabolites) along with the determination of other metabolites that are commonly determined for metabolites screening, especially those screening performed on dried blood spot taken at birth.",
"DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS ADA: adenosine deaminase Ado: Adenosine D-Ado: Deoxyadenosine MS: mass spectrometry PNP: Purine-nucleoside phosphorilase SCID: Severe combined immunodeficiency SUMMARY Object of the present disclosure is a method able to individuate, by means of MS, with high sensitivity and specificity purine and pyrimidine metabolites (including especially ADA or PNP deficiency metabolites) from dried blood.",
"The method described herein can be used to extract Adenosine and Deoxyadenosine from a dried blood sample under conditions that permit concurrently extracting other metabolites, such as other purines and pyrimidines, amino acids, free carnitine, or acylcarnitines.",
"The method of the disclosure is characterised by the use of an extraction mixture comprising a mixture of water and C1-3 linear or branched chain monoalcohol (preferably methanol) wherein water is present at least at 10% v/v.",
"The method can be used, along with other neonatal screenings, on dried blood spots, preferably absorbed on cardboard, and more preferably on Guthrie cards, even more preferably those Gurthie cards obtained in the II-IV day of life, or during enzyme replacement therapy (to monitor the efficacy of therapy).",
"The method is reliable and reproducible, easy to perform and gives a definitive response within a short time (1-2 day).",
"The method allows avoiding, harsh extraction conditions (such as extreme acidity and high temperature).",
"It offers, for the first time, the possibility to get the diagnosis of ADA-SCID at birth, before onset of infectious disease.",
"Early diagnosis of SCID allows to treat the affected patients very soon so avoiding severe complications due to infectious disease which are always expected in the follow-up of immunodeficient patients.",
"Human and monetary costs of long hospitalisation, intensive care, and early death which are a result from delayed SCID diagnosis could be avoided diagnosing the affected patient at birth by the method herein described.",
"Further object of the disclosure is a kit, kits useful for preparing samples for detection and/or measurement (using tandem mass spectrometry) of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine along with multiple other analytes (e.g., other purines and pyrimidines, amino acids, free carnitine, and acylcarnitine) in a dried blood sample.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a neutral loss scan of m/z 46 were several amino acids are detected from the same sample (panel B) and a precursor scan of m/z 85 were several acylcarnitines are detected from the sample (panel A);",
"internal standards, stable heavy isotope analogs of the Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine were also present in the sample (Panel C).",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The disclosure features methods for extracting Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine along with one or more additional analytes (e.g., other purines and pyrimidines, amino acids, acylcarnitines, and free carnitine) from the sample in a single step such that the concentrations of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine and one or more additional analytes (e.g., other purines and pyrimidines, amino acids, free carnitine, and acylcarnitines) in the extract reflect their respective concentrations in the sample.",
"Following the extraction, the presence or amount of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine can be determined along with one or more additional analytes (e.g., free carnitine, acylcarnitines, and amino acids) using mass spectrometry (e.g., tandem mass spectrometry).",
"The method can include contacting a sample with an extraction solution containing a C 1-3 linear or branched chain monoalcohol (e.g., methanol, ethanol, propanol, or isopropanol) and water.",
"Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine are not soluble in absolute alcohol or in a solution containing less than 10% of water.",
"To extract (release) Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine along with one or more additional analytes from a sample (e.g., a biological sample such as a blood spot) in a single step, the sample can be contacted with an extraction solution containing a C 1-3 linear or branched chain monoalcohol (e.g., methanol, ethanol, propanol, or isopropanol) with at the least 10% of water.",
"Preferably the method of the disclosure is performed adding the extraction solution in two steps: in the first step contacting the sample with a C 1-3 linear or branched chain monoalcohol corresponding to 100-x % v/v of the final volume;",
"in the following second step adding to the sample water corresponaing to x % v/v of the final volume v/v;",
"wherein x is the v/v water percentage varying from 10 to 90%.",
"Preferably the extraction solution contains 30-50% v/v of water;",
"more preferably The best analytical condition is obtained when an extraction solution containing methanol 60% and water 40%.",
"Moreover, the maximum yield for the extraction of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine is obtained when the addition of extraction solution is performed in two following steps: in the first step contacting the sample with a methanol corresponding to 60% v/v of the final volume.",
"In the following second step adding to the sample water corresponding to 40% v/v of the final volume v/v.",
"The first step fixed proteins, peptides and haemoglobin to the cellulose of the Guthrie card reducing consistently their extraction.",
"Proteins, peptides and haemoglobin could be relevant interference in mass spectrometry analysis.",
"The method can also include contacting the sample directly with an extraction solution containing methanol and water 60/40 v/v.",
"But in this case the concentration of water can be such that the extraction solution reconstitutes some of the proteins and peptides while at the same time dissolving other analytes (e.g., Adenosine, Deoxiadenosine, acylcarnitines, free carnitine, and amino acids) present in the sample.",
"The extraction solution can also contains an organic acid such as acetic and/or formic acid at a concentration of 1-5 mM (preferably 2.5-3.5 mM).",
"The extraction solution can also, optionally, contains one or more internal standards for, e.g., amino acids, free carnitine, acylcarnitines and Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine at known concentrations.",
"The sample mixture can then be incubated for a pre-determined period of time of at least 15 minutes (and preferably no more than 120 minutes) to allow the extraction of amino acids, free carnitine and acylcarnitines as well as the extraction of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine.",
"The extract can then be transferred to an unused well of a micro titer plate and the samples then analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry, optionally, with the aid of a liquid handling device for sample injection.",
"The instrumental settings on the tandem mass spectrometer are then set to detect the respective metabolites of interest (amino acids, acylcarnitines, free carnitine, and Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine) as well as their corresponding internal standards in a multiplex fashion.",
"Additional analytes that can be detected and/or measured with Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine include, e.g., alanine, arginine, citrulline, glycine, leucine, methionine, ornithine, phenylalanine, proline, tyrosine, valine, and acylcarnitines such as Free, Acetyl, Acrylyl, Propionyl, Butyryl, Tiglyl, Isovaleryl, 3-OH-butyryl, Hexenoyl, Hexanoyl, 3-OH-lsovaleryl, Heptanoyl, Octenoyl, Octanoyl, Nonanoyl, Malonyl, Decatrienoyl, Decadienoyl, Decenoyl, Decanoyl, Methylmalonyl, Glutaryl, 3-OH-Decanoyl, Dodecenoyl, Dodecanoyl, Dehyroadipyl, Adipyl, 3-OH-Dodecanoyl, Tetradecadienoyl, Tetradecenoyl, Myristoyl, Dehydrosuberyl, Suberyl, 3-OH-Tetradecanoyl, Hexadecenoyl, Palmitoyl, Dehydrosebacyl, Sebacyl, 3-OH-Hexadecanoyl, Linoleyl, Oleyl, Stearoyl.",
"Other purines and pyrimidines include but are not limited to Uracil, Cytosine, Thymine, Adenine, Guanine, Uridine, Cytidine, Thymidine, Guanosine, Hypoxanthine, Deoxyguanosine, Deoxyinosine, Deoxyuridine, 5-OH-Me-uracil, AICAR (Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribotide), Dihydrouracil, β-Alanine, Inosine, Uric acid, Orotic acid, β-Aminoisobutyric acid, Dihydrothymine, Ureidopropionate, Xanthine, SAICAr (Succinyl-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside) and Succinyl-adenosine.",
"Mass Spectrometry Tandem mass spectrometry can be used to detect and/or measure Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine and one or more additional analytes (e.g., free carnitine, acylcarnitines, and amino acids) in a sample (e.g., a biological sample).",
"In tandem mass spectrometry, two mass analyzers are linked in series via a collision cell.",
"The first mass analyzer (first quadrupole) is used to select an ion of interest (e.g., an ion of a particular mass-to-charge ratio (m/z)).",
"The selected ions are then transferred to a collision cell where they are fragmented by collisions with an inert gas (e.g., nitrogen or helium or argon).",
"This process is called collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) and is performed in the Collision Cell of the Mass Spectrometer.",
"Once the precursor ions have fragmented, the second mass analyzer (third quadrupole) is used to either scan and detect all of the produced product ions or to select and detect particular fragment ions.",
"As detailed in the accompanying Examples, tandem mass spectrometry was used to ionize the precursor molecules of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine and several amino acids, fragment the ions, and detect specific peaks that are indicative of the presence of these molecules in the sample.",
"The tandem mass spectrometry detection can be accomplished in a number of ways.",
"In one type of tandem mass spectrometry (commonly performed on triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometers) ions that fragment to produce common product (fragment) ions can be detected as a class by performing a “precursor ion scan”, where by selecting the appropriate mass for the common fragmention in the Collision Cell, all ion that produce the common fragment ions are detected.",
"This type of scan can be used to detect the acylcarnitines in a sample (precursor ion of m/z 85 scan).",
"In a different form of tandem mass spectrometry, ions that fragment to produce a common neutral loss can be detected as a class by performing a so called neutral loss scan where by setting an appropriate mass offset equal to the common neutral loss between first and third quadrupoles all ions that fragment to produce the specified neutral loss are detected.",
"This type of scan is performed to detect amino acids in a sample (neutral loss of m/z 46 if the analytes in the extracted sample were unbutylated esters).",
"FIG. 1 shows a neutral loss scan of m/z 46 were several amino acids are detected from the same sample and a precursor scan of m/z 85 were several acylcarnitines are detected from the sample.",
"In yet another type of tandem mass spectrometry known as multiple reaction monitoring (MRM), a precursor ion of interest is selected in the first quadrupole, fragmented in the collision cell and a specific fragment ion resulting from the collisional activation is selected in the third quadrupole and finally detected.",
"First and third quadrupoles are fixed to respectively select the corresponding precursor and fragment ion pairs of interest for a predetermined amount of time (a few milliseconds).",
"If additional analytes need to be detected, additional detection transitions can be introduced in the experiment.",
"The data from all selected mass transitions can be acquired sequentially to obtain the desired information.",
"The detection and quantitation of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine in a mixture can be obtained by employing the specific mass transition for each of these compounds as follows: for Adenosine: first quadrupole fixed to select and transmit the precursor ion at m/z 268, third quadrupole fixed to select and transmit the specific product ion at m/z 136 (MRM transition 1);",
"for Deoxiadenosine: first quadrupole fixed to select and transmit the precursor ion at m/z 252, third quadrupole fixed to select and transmit the specific product ion at m/z 136 (MRM transition 2).",
"These two MRM transitions can be measured sequentially from the same sample for a predetermined amount of time to detect the presence and/or concentration of a mixture of these compounds in such sample.",
"Stable isotope-labeled internal standards for Adenosine and can be added to a sample, by which quantitation of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine, and thus Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine itself, can be performed.",
"Such labeling of derivatized Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine with stable isotopes results in a mass shift, while retaining very similar physicochemical properties between the labeled and unlabeled compounds.",
"Generally, one or more internal standards can be added at known concentration to a sample to allow for quantitation of the analyte of interest (e.g., Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine).",
"For example, for a sample analyzed using tandem mass spectrometry, the ratio of the signals produced by Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine and its corresponding internal standard can be used to determine the amounts of this compound in the sample.",
"The internal standard can also be added to distinguish naturally occurring (endogenous) molecules.",
"As above, the internal standards can be prepared in an extraction solution prior to mixing a sample (e.g., a blood sample) and the extraction solution.",
"Alternatively, the internal standards can be added to the mixture at any step in the sample preparation that ensures these internal standards will not be removed from the mixture during the sample processing (e.g. after a liquid-liquid extraction or a solid phase extraction).",
"Internal standards for an analyte of interest (or other molecules, e.g., biomolecules described herein) detected by a method described herein can be any modification or analog of that analyte molecule that is detectable by mass spectrometry.",
"An internal standard is separately detectable from the molecule based on unique physical characteristics, such as a unique mass or mass-to-charge ratio.",
"A commonly used internal standard for mass spectrometry is a stable isotopically labeled form or chemical derivative of an analyte of interest (e.g., if the analyte Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine, the internal standard can be an isotopically labeled Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine).",
"The same for additional analytes herein described and reported as aminoacids and acylcarnitines.",
"For example, stable isotope labeled analogs can be used to quantitate the corresponding analyte of interest using the technique known as isotope dilution mass spectrometry where the analyte and internal standards are processed in the same sample.",
"Internal standards can be designed such that 1) the labeling causes a shift in mass of at least 1 mass unit and 2) that none of the stable isotope labels are located in labile sites to prevent exchange.",
"Labels can be 2 H (D), 15 N, 13 O or 18 O in any combination.",
"The actual location of the labels on the molecule can vary provided the prerequisite 2 (above) is satisfied.",
"Moreover, the position of the labels and the potential change in the mass of the fragment ions can also be used to confirm separation of the internal standard and analytes.",
"Examples of potential internal standards useful in the methods described herein include, but are not limited to, an isotopically labeled: Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine (e.g., Ribosine-1- 13 C-Adenosine and 13 C 5 Deoxiadenosine), carnitine, acylcarnitine, or amino acid (e.g., phenylalanine, citrulline, glutamic acid).",
"The detection of specific labeled internal standard in a mixture can be obtained by employing the specific mass transition for each of these compounds as follows: for Ribosine-1- 13 C-Adenosine: first quadrupole fixed to select and transmit the precursor ion at m/z 269, third quadrupole fixed to select and transmit the specific product ion at m/z 136 (MRM transition 3);",
"for 13 C 5 Deoxiadenosine: first quadrupole fixed to select and transmit the precursor ion at m/z 257, third quadrupole fixed to select and transmit the specific product ion at m/z 136 (MRM transition 4).",
"Samples Suitable samples for the methods described herein include dried blood absorbed onto a paper or polymer substrate.",
"Validation of the Method Three pairs of dried blood spots (Guthrie cards) from three patients with SCID-ADA have been obtained from those stored in Neonatal Screening Center of the Tuscany region.",
"All the patients had been diagnosed in the first year of life using conventional methods on urine or blood samples obtained with venipuncture.",
"Diagnosis was confirmed using genetic analysis of DNA.",
"All the parents of the 3 patients resulted carriers for the gene mutation associated with SCID-ADA.",
"The method described in the present disclosure allowed detection of toxic metabolites of ADA in all 3 cases, with quantitative analysis.",
"The levels of the toxic metabolites were 10.000-30.000 times higher than levels found in normal subjects.",
"The method was also applied to 5000 dried blood spot from healthy subjects.",
"In none of them an increased level of toxic metabolites of ADA were found.",
"In summary, the results obtained with the method of the disclosure show that SCID-ADA can be diagnosed with highest sensitivity (100%) and specificity (100%) from dried blood spot taken at birth through a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer with TurbolonSpray source.",
"Therefore, the technology described herein is applicable to screening, diagnosis, prognosis, monitoring therapy and compliance, and any other application in which determining the presence or amount of panels of two or more biomolecules, such as Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine and one or more of an amino acid, free carnitine, or an acylcarnitine, is useful.",
"Kits Also provided herein are kits useful for preparing samples for detection and/or measurement (using tandem mass spectrometry) of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine along with multiple other analytes (e.g., other purines and pyrimidines, amino acids, free carnitine, and acylcarnitine) in a dried blood sample.",
"The kits can include one or more internal standards and/or controls for use in subsequent mass spectrometric analysis.",
"For example, the kits can include Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine as a control and a derivatized form of labeled (e.g., isotope labeled) Ribosine-1- 13 C-Adenosine and 13 C 5 Deoxiadenosine) as an internal standard.",
"The Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine and/or derivatized Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine can each be provided in the kit in a liquid or dried (e.g., lyophilized) form.",
"The Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine can be provided in an amount of 0.1-5 mmole.",
"The kits can include Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine in a container containing one or more additional controls or internal standards.",
"For example, the kit can include a container with a Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine control, one or more amino acid controls, and one or more carnitine (e.g., free carnitine and acylcarnitines) controls.",
"One or more solutions contained in the kit can be stored in, e.g., silanized glass vials.",
"One or more components of the kit can be stored in a container that prevents or minimizes loss of material or evaporation of a solvent.",
"For example, the container can be sealed with a septum.",
"The kits can include, e.g., dried blood spots useful as a control.",
"For example, the dried blood spot can be enriched with one or more analytes (e.g., one or more analytes at known concentrations) such as Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine, one or more amino acids, free carnitine, or one or more acylcarnitines.",
"The kits can also, optionally, include an extraction solution such as any of the extraction solutions described herein.",
"The extraction solution can contain a C I-3 linear or branched monoalcohol with at the least 25% of water.",
"The kits can also include one or more solvent solutions containing, e.g., acetonitrile or isopropanol.",
"The solvent solutions can also contain water, e.g., a solvent solution containing 80% acetonitrile and 20% water.",
"Expermental Section EXAMPLES Example 1 Reference standard blood (whole blood) spots were prepared using a pooled whole blood obtained from 5 subjects.",
"The blood was processed by adjusting the hemoglobin concentration to 17 mg/dL and adding to the blood Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine at known concentrations.",
"The processed blood was dispensed onto filter paper cards to form blood spots on the filter paper matrix.",
"Each blood spot was generated by dispensing 25 μL of processed blood.",
"The blood spots were allowed to dry overnight.",
"A small disc 3.2 mm of a dried blood spot was punched and deposited in a well of a micro well plate.",
"The sample was extracted by dispensing 200 μL of an extraction solution that consisted of a mixture of methanol and water at an approximate relative volume-to-volume ratio of 60% methanol and 40% water.",
"Internal standards, stable heavy isotope analogs of the Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine were also present in the extraction solution.",
"The internal standards included in the solution are indicated in tandem mass spectrometry scan shown in FIG. 1 Example 2 Reference standard blood (whole blood) spots were prepared using a pooled whole blood obtained from 5 subjects.",
"The blood was processed by adjusting the hemoglobin concentration to 17 mg/dL and adding to the blood several amino acids, carnitine, acylcarnitines and Adenosine and Deoxi-adenosine at known concentrations.",
"The processed blood was dispensed onto filter paper cards to form blood spots on the filter paper matrix.",
"Each blood spot was generated by dispensing 25 μL of processed blood.",
"The blood spots were allowed to dry overnight.",
"A small disc 3.2 mm of a dried blood spot was punched and deposited in a well of a micro well plate.",
"The sample was extracted by dispensing 200 μL of an extraction solution that consisted of a mixture of methanol and water at an approximate relative volume-to-volume ratio of 60% methanol and 40% water.",
"Internal standards (stable heavy isotope analogs of the analytes of interest) for several amino acids, carnitine, acylcarnitines and Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine were also present in the extraction solution.",
"The extracted sample was injected into an electrospray triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer with the aid of an automated liquid handling device.",
"Mass spectral data for the amino acids were acquired via a neutral loss scan of 46 Da.",
"Mass spectral data for the Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine were acquired via a Multiple Reaction Monitoring.",
"The definition for each of the analytes can be found in Table 1).",
"The percentage of each analyte recovered was determined through comparison with an internal standard for each analyte.",
"The imprecision of the assay was determined by analyzing the samples described in table 1.",
"Each sample run consisted of sextuplicate punches of each sample which were processed and measured as described in Example 2.",
"The study included six such runs a day for a total of six days.",
"With this information the following imprecision components were determined: within run, between run-within day, and between day from which the total imprecision was determined.",
"The results of the imprecision analysis of Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine are shown in Table 2.",
"These data demonstrate that the methods described herein can be used to simultaneously extract and quantify Adenosine and Deoxiadenosine, amino acids, carnitine, acylcarnitines using tandem mass spectrometry.",
"TABLE 1 Butylated Compound Name Symbol [M + H] + Mass Purines Adenosine Ado 268.2 Deoxi-Adenosine D-Ado 252.2 Aminoacids Alanine Ala 90.0 146.1 Alloisoleucine Allo-Ile 132.1 188.2 Arginine Arg 175.1 231.2 Argininosuccinic Asa 291.1 459.3 acid Asparagine Asn 133.1 189.1 Aspartic acid Asp 134.0 246.2 beta-Alanine 90.0 146.1 Citrulline Cit 176.1 232.2 Glutamic acid Glu 148.1 260.2 Glutamine Gln 147.1 203.1 Glycine Gly 76.0 132.1 Histidine His 156.1 212.1 Hydroxyproline HO-Pro 132.1 188.1 Isoleucine Ile 132.1 188.2 Leucine Leu 132.1 188.2 Lysine Lys 147.1 203.2 Methionine Met 150.1 206.1 Ornithine Orn 133.1 189.2 Phenylalanine Phe 166.1 222.2 Proline Pro 116.1 172.1 Pyroglutamic Acid 130.0 186.1 Tyrosine Tyr 182.1 238.1 Valine Val 118.1 174.2 Succinylacetone SA 155.1 211.2 Formiminoglutamic Figlu 231.2 287.2 Acid Homocitrulline Hcit 190.1 246.2 Hawkinsine Hawk 348.3 404.4 Deltaaminolevulinic D-AL 122.1 188.1 Acid Acylcarnitines Free C0 162.1 218.2 Acetyl C2 204.1 260.2 Acrylyl C3:1 216.1 272.2 Propionyl C3 218.1 274.2 Butyryl C4 232.2 288.2 Tiglyl C5:1 244.2 300.2 Isovaleryl C5 246.2 302.2 3-OH-butyryl C4—OH 248.1 304.2 Hexenoyl C6:1 258.2 314.2 Hexanoyl C6 260.2 316.3 3-OH-Isovaleryl C5—OH 262.2 318.2 Heptanoyl C7 274.2 330.3 Octenoyl C8:1 286.2 342.3 Octanoyl C8 288.2 344.3 Nonanoyl C9 302.2 358.3 Malonyl C3DC 248.1 360.2 Decatrienoyl C10:3 310.2 366.3 Decadienoyl C10:2 312.2 368.3 Decenoyl C10:1 314.2 370.3 Decanoyl C10 316.2 372.3 Methylmalonyl C4DC 262.1 374.3 Glutaryl C5DC 276.1 388.3 3-OH-Decanoyl C10—OH 332.2 388.3 Dodecenoyl C12:1 342.3 398.3 Dodecanoyl C12 344.3 400.3 Dehyroadipyl C6:1DC 288.1 400.3 Adipyl C6DC 290.2 402.3 3-OH-Dodecanoyl C12—OH 360.3 416.3 Tetradecadienoyl C14:2 368.3 424.3 Tetradecenoyl C14:1 370.3 426.4 Myristoyl C14 372.3 428.4 Dehydrosuberyl C8:1DC 316.2 428.3 Suberyl C8DC 318.2 430.3 3-OH- C14—OH 388.3 444.4 Tetradecanoyl Hexadecenoyl C16:1 398.3 454.4 Palmitoyl C16 400.3 456.4 Dehydrosebacyl C10:1DC 344.2 456.3 Sebacyl C10DC 346.2 458.4 3-OH- C16—OH 416.3 472.4 Hexadecanoyl Linoleyl C18:2 424.3 480.4 Oleyl C18:1 426.4 482.4 Stearoyl C18 428.4 484.4 TABLE 2 Intra-day Inter-day Readings Investigated Spiking precision precision Average Accuracy Metabolite nmoles/L (n = 6) % (n = 6) % uMoles/L n = 6 Adenosine 0 0 0.0 0.0 Adenosine 33 3.5 3.1 34.0 103.1 Adenosine 165 4.9 3.7 158.0 95.8 Adenosine 330 7.8 6.0 336.2 101.9 Adenosine 3300 3.8 4.8 3299.7 100.0 Adenosine 6600 2.1 2.6 6594.2 99.9 Adenosine 9900 2.3 2.0 9899.9 100.0 Deoxi- 0 0 0.0 0.0 Adenosine Deoxi- 33 19.6 16.9 32.8 92.9 Adenosine Deoxi- 165 6.6 4.8 169.6 100.3 Adenosine Deoxi- 330 5.2 3.6 325.4 100.6 Adenosine Deoxi- 3300 5.6 6.7 3300.2 100.3 Adenosine Deoxi- 6600 3.4 3.4 6599.2 100.0 Adenosine Deoxi- 9900 3.1 3.1 9904.9 100.0 Adenosine"
] |
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/639,128 filed Apr. 26, 1996, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/193,707 filed Feb. 2, 1994, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/820,364 filed Jan. 14, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,421.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention pertains to semiconductor memory devices and particularly to multi-state memories.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] As is well known, in a semiconductor memory cell, data is stored by programming the cell to have a desired threshold voltage. Simple memory cells store one of two states, a logical one or a logical zero, in which case the cell is programmed to either turn on or not turn on, respectively, when read conditions are established, thereby allowing the read operation to determine if a logical one or a logical zero has been stored in the memory cell. More sophisticated semiconductor memory cells allow the storage of one of a plurality of memory states greater than two, by providing the ability to store a variety of threshold voltages in the memory cell, each threshold voltage being associated with one of a plurality greater than two logical states. Such multi-state memory cells and arrays are described, for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,043,940 and 5,434,825 issued on inventions of Dr. Eliyahou Harari.
[0004] In order to fully exploit the concept of high density multi-state memory devices, the memory states must be packed as closely together as possible, with minimal threshold separation for margin/discrimination overhead. Factors which dictate this overhead are noise, drift (particularly random as opposed to common mode), sensing speed (deltaT=C*deltaV/I), and safety margin guard bands, as well as precision and stability of reference sources/sense circuits. This overhead must be added to the memory state width associated with precision of writing the memory cells (again with respect to the reference sources). With a closed loop write, in which a write is performed followed by a verify operation and in which cells which fail the verify operation are rewritten, the relative precision of memory cell to reference source can be made arbitrarily high by expending more time in writing. State packing will then be dictated more by how precise and stable the various storage sense points can be separated from one another, a property of both memory state stability and how reference points/elements are established.
SUMMARY
[0005] Maximized multi-state compaction and more tolerance in memory state behavior is achieved through a flexible, self-consistent and self-adapting mode of detection, covering a wide dynamic range. For high density multi-state encoding, this approach borders on full analog treatment, dictating analog techniques including A to D type conversion to reconstruct and process the data. In accordance with the teachings of this invention, the memory array is read with high fidelity, not to provide actual final digital data, but rather to provide raw data accurately reflecting the analog storage state, which information is sent to a memory controller for analysis and detection of the actual final digital data.
[0006] One goal of the present invention is to provide self-consistent, adaptive and tracking capability for sensing, capable of establishing both the data and the “quality” of the data (i.e. the margins). In accordance with certain embodiments of this invention, tracking cells are included within each of the sectors. These tracking cells are set at known states to reliably establish the optimum discrimination points for each of the various states. In certain embodiments, this is accomplished using as few as one cell per state. However, if better statistics are vital to establishing the optimum discrimination point, a small population of cells sufficient to establish such optimum points statistically is used. Data from these tracking cells will be the first information from the sector to be read into the controller, in order to establish the optimum discrimination points for the remainder of the sector data. In order to make these cells track the rest of the sectors in terms of data history and wear, they are subjected to the same logical to physical data state translation (rotation) writing as used for their associated sectors.
[0007] In accordance with various alternative embodiments of this invention, high density multi-state memories are taught which include parallel, full chunk, A/D conversion of multi-state data, with adequate resolution to provide analog measure of the encoded states; master reference cell(s) whose prime function is to provide optimum dynamic range for comparator sensing; Logical to Physical Data scrambling to provide both intra-sector wear leveling and increased endurance capability; and intra-sector tracking cell groups, one for each state, included in each sector to provide optimum compare points for the various states, and able to adapt to any common mode shifts (e.g. detrapping). In accordance with certain embodiments, a controller incorporates a data processing “engine” to, on-the-fly, find midpoints of each tracking cell group. The controller also establishes data state discrimination and marginality filter points. Sector data is passed through the controller, giving both the encoded memory state, and its quality (marginality), for each physical bit. If desired, the controller decides what actions must be taken to clean up (scrub) marginal bit data based on the quality information (e.g. do full sector erase and rewrite versus selective write, only). Also, if desired, the invention includes a small counter on each sector, which is incremented each time a read scrub is encountered. When the count reaches maximum allowed, marginal bit(s) are mapped out rather than rewritten and counter is reset to 0. This provides a filter for truly “bad” bits. Similar features are applied in reverse to write multi-state data back into a sector, using the same circuitry as used for read but operated in reverse, to provide self-consistent data encoding. In addition, two alternative embodiments for performing verification are taught: using a reference current staircase to sequentially scan through the range of states, conditionally terminating each cell as the current step corresponding to its target data is presented to the sensing circuit; and using a full set of N−1 reference currents of the N possible states to simultaneously verify and conditionally terminate all cells. In certain embodiments, a twin-cell option is included in each sector to provide deltaVt shift level associated with cycling driven trapping and channel wearout, triggering sector retirement before detrapping shifts exceed read dynamic range or other potential read errors. This replaces hot count based sector retirement, greatly increasing usable endurance.
[0008] As another feature of certain embodiments of this invention, a cell-by-cell column oriented steering approach, realizable in two source side injection cell embodiments, increases the performance of high level multi-state significantly, improving both its write and read speed. It achieves this by applying, in parallel, custom steering conditions needed for the particular state of each cell. This offers substantial reduction in the number of individual programming steps needed for write, and permits powerful binary search methodology for read, without having to carry out full sequential search operations. Improved performance is further bolstered through increased chunk size, made possible via the low current source-side injection mechanism, which allows every fourth floating gate element to be operated on, thereby increasing chunk size.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] [0009]FIG. 1 a is a schematic representation of one embodiment of this invention which utilizes dynamic sensing of the selected memory cell.
[0010] [0010]FIG. 1 b is a graph depicting the voltages associated with sensing the state of the memory cell of the embodiment of FIG. 1 a;
[0011] [0011]FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting one embodiment of this invention in which trip times associated with reading a plurality of cells are converted to binary code;
[0012] [0012]FIG. 3 is an alternative embodiment of this invention which uses a static sensing approach utilizing current comparators;
[0013] [0013]FIG. 4 a is a diagram depicting exemplary state ranges and counter/A/D resolution for 4-level multi-state encoding;
[0014] [0014]FIG. 4 b is a diagram depicting exemplary state ranges and counter/A/D resolution for 8-level multi-state encoding;
[0015] [0015]FIG. 5 is a flow-chart depicting the operation of one embodiment of this invention;
[0016] [0016]FIG. 6 is a bit map depicting user data and overhead data associated with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] [0017]FIG. 7 is a flowchart depicting in more detail one embodiment of the step of processing tracking cell data in FIG. 5;
[0018] [0018]FIG. 8 is a block diagram depicting programming and verification elements suitable for use in the embodiment of FIG. 3;
[0019] [0019]FIG. 9 is a flowchart depicting the operation of one embodiment of this invention as depicted in FIG. 8;
[0020] [0020]FIG. 10, composed of FIGS. 10 a and 10 b , is a flowchart depicting an alternative embodiment of this invention suitable for use in connection with the embodiment of FIG. 8;
[0021] [0021]FIG. 11 is an alternative embodiment of this invention which allows for improved verify processing;
[0022] [0022]FIG. 12 is a diagram depicting one embodiment of a twin-cell of the present invention;
[0023] [0023]FIG. 13 is a diagram depicting one embodiment of a cell suitable for use in connection with certain embodiments of this invention;
[0024] [0024]FIG. 14 is a diagram depicting one embodiment of the cell-read operation of this invention using the cell embodiment of FIG. 13;
[0025] [0025]FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of this invention with reference to the embodiment to FIG. 14;
[0026] [0026]FIG. 16 is a diagram depicting an alternative embodiment of this invention in which sensing is performed on a plurality of bits simultaneously as could be used in conjunction with the embodiment of FIG. 14;
[0027] [0027]FIG. 17 is a diagram depicting one embodiment of this invention in which common elements are used for both reading and multi-state programming;
[0028] [0028]FIG. 18 is an alternative embodiment of this invention in which certain control elements are replicated, one set used for programming and the other for read/verify operations;
[0029] [0029]FIG. 19 is a diagram depicting one embodiment of an array suitable for use in accordance with the teachings of this invention;
[0030] [0030]FIG. 20 is a diagram depicting an alternative array suitable for use in conjunction with the present invention; and
[0031] [0031]FIG. 21 is a graph depicting the distribution of erased cell levels in accordance with certain embodiments of this invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0032] A/D Sensing
[0033] A first step in this invention is acquiring the full analog value of the memory state (e.g. the actual cell current, which in turn reflects the actual stored floating gate voltage VFG). The following describes two alternative embodiments for rapidly sensing and converting, to digital form, data stored in a large number of physical cells (e.g. a chunk of 256 cells) simultaneously, each cell capable of storing a large number of multi-states (e.g. four states or more), and sensing capable of spanning a wide dynamic range. The basis underlying both of these embodiments is the analog property of the memory cell, wherein its current drive capability is in proportion to its stored floating gate charge (voltage). Consequently, each memory state is characterized by its current drive capability (in actuality a narrow range of current drives, including margin capability). Therefore sensing and discriminating the various states comes down to differentiating between the various drive level ranges. Two exemplary embodiments are now described for achieving this differentiation.
[0034] A first embodiment is described with reference to FIGS. 1 a and 1 b , and involves dynamic-type sensing, wherein the bit lines (such as bit line 101 ) of the selected memory cells (such as cell 102 ) are precharged (e.g. to 2.5 v), and then the row (e.g. word line 103 ) of the selected cells is turned on, preferably using a controlled ramp (e.g. 5 usec rise time) or a stepped staircase (for example over 5 usec), allowing the respective bit lines to discharge through the selected memory cells at rates proportional to their current driving capability. When the bit lines discharge to a predetermined voltage (e.g. 1 v), they flip a corresponding sense amplifier (e.g. sense amplifier 104 ), indicating sense achieved. The time taken to flip the sense amplifier from the start of sensing is an analog measure of the cell drive: the longer the time, the lower the drive (i.e. cell is more programmed, having more negative charge on the floating gate as depicted in FIG. 1 b ).
[0035] Table 1 is an example of sense amplifier trip time to cell current drive capability based on simulation using floating gate cell I-V data.
TABLE 1 ICELL (uAmps) 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Trip time (usec) 5.4 4.9 4.7 4.4 4.2 3.9 3.7 3.5 3.4
[0036] In the example of Table 1, bit line 101 is precharged to 5 v and tripped at 2.5 v, load capacitance is 1.25 pF and control gate rate of increase is 1.25 v/usec, ramped to 7 v in a staircase fashion. Because of disturbs, it is undesirable to expose the memory cell drain to more than 2 v. Therefore the 5 v precharge is, in one embodiment, applied to sense capacitor 105 isolated from the memory cell drain, and the drain is only allowed to charge to a lower voltage (e.g. 1.5 v). With column segmentation this drain voltage lowering is, in one embodiment, done locally, using a segment select transistor to limit the voltage transferred from a global bit line to the local bit line, such as is described in copending U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,541 assigned to Sandisk Corporation.
[0037] In one embodiment, the trip times are converted en masse to a binary code using an A/D approach, as shown in FIG. 2. Time is metered using clock 205 which increments master counter 204 which in the example shown here is an 8 bit counter. Counter 204 drives lines 209 (8 lines in this example) which feed into registers 201 - 1 through 201 -N via transfer gates 202 - 1 through 202 -N, respectively, with one register for each cell being sensed (e.g. 256, 8-bit registers for a 256 bit memory chunk size). At the start of sensing, counter 204 is initialized to zero, and then starts counting up, with the registers reflecting the count.
[0038] At the point of a cell sensing (i.e. at the sense amplifier trip time), the corresponding sense amplifier flips, which isolates the corresponding register from counter 204 , thereby freezing the time (and its associated binary code) in that register. In this way, each register contains a binary representation of the analog storage level of the memory cell to the resolution of the A/D (e.g. with 8 bits this gives resolution of approximately 1 part in 256 or about 0.4%).
[0039] To insure both adequate resolution and dynamic range, the clock frequency (i.e. sampling rate) must be properly chosen. If too fast it will not span the full range of times needed for a sense amplifier to flip for all possible stored memory cell data values before hitting the maximum count, while if too slow the result will be poor resolution and the
[0040] risk of inability to discriminate between neighboring states. In order to provide some relationship with the memory cell's drive characteristics, in one embodiment the frequency of clock 205 is governed by a memory cell (or group of memory cells) set at an appropriate drive level. In this way, clock 205 tracks process variation and operating conditions (e.g. voltage and temperature), setting up the optimum clocking rate to span the cell's dynamic range and associated memory states.
[0041] Although this embodiment is relatively simple and effective, it does have limitations by nature of its being dynamic. Time constants associated with word line and/or bit line delays and their variations contribute both relative and absolute error. For example, if word line RC time constants are long relative to ramp (or step interval) times, then there can be significant differences in the times in which cells along the word or steering line (or a single line serving as both the word line for selection and steering line for capacitive coupling) experience a given word line steering drive voltage. The consequence of this is that cells at different positions along such lines will respond at different times. Also, conversion from cell current drive to comparator trip time is not exactly linear, because the discharge rates and characteristics depend on the drive levels of the cell which will vary with the bit line bias level (with conduction tending to decrease as bit line voltage levels drop, stretching out bit line discharge time). Also, the bit line capacitance can have a significant voltage dependence arising from junction CV characteristics. This nonlinearity in comparator trip time results in nonlinearity in time in the separation of states and margins in going from the lowest to the highest charged memory states (whereas it is desirable to space the memory states evenly, charge-wise, to get maximum fit of states within the dynamic range and to have uniform margins).
[0042] A second exemplary embodiment removes these limitations by using a static sensing approach utilizing current comparators, as shown in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3. The fixed reference voltage, Vref, of the embodiment of FIG. 2 is replaced with a staircase reference current (Iref) source 310 , which starts off at a minimum level, Imin, and increments by ΔI with each count of clock 305 (i.e. after n clock pulses Iref=Imin+n*ΔI). For a given memory cell, when the reference current just exceeds the cell current, the associated one of current comparator sense amplifiers 104 - 1 through 104 -N will flip, freezing the corresponding count of counter 304 (which increments in sync with staircase current generator 310 ) into the corresponding one of registers. In one embodiment, the scale factor for staircase current source 310 (e.g. its maximum current) is established using one or a population of floating gate memory cells (e.g. erased strongly) in order to provide optimum dynamic range with tracking of process and operating conditions; i.e. the regulation of current source includes monitoring the characteristics of one or more floating gate cells dedicated for use in connection with this current source regulation.
[0043] This second embodiment, while a bit more complex, offers better control, linearity and minimizes or eliminates sensitivity to dynamic effects. This includes eliminating the need for repetitive, controlled ramping of word lines in the case of dynamic sensing, simplifying many of the timing and associated control operations.
[0044] Once sensing is completed and data is frozen into all registers 301 - 1 through 301 -N, it is shifted out, for example, serially. A simple way to do this is to have the registers 301 - 1 through 301 -N tied together in shift register fashion. In the above example, the data stored in each register each comprises eight bits, requiring an eight line wide bus to shift the full data out of the memory chip (for example to a memory controller, such as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,859 assigned to Sandisk Corporation, for sending to requesting devices) in one controller clock cycle, and thus requires eight output pads/pins. If data rate to the controller is less critical while keeping the number of pads/pins down is important, then the eight bits could be broken down, e.g. shifting out the four MSB bits first followed by the four LSB bits through four pads in two controller clock cycles, or shifting out groups of two bits four times through two output pads in four controller clock cycles, etc.
[0045] Tracking/Data Scrambling
[0046] As previously stated, one goal of the present invention is to provide self-consistent, adaptive and tracking capability for sensing, capable of establishing both the data and the “quality” of the data (i.e. the margins). In accordance with certain embodiments of this invention, tracking cells are included within each of the sectors such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,338 assigned to Sandisk Corporation. These tracking cells are set at known states to reliably establish the optimum discrimination points for each of the various states. In certain embodiments, this is accomplished using as few as one cell per state. However, if better statistics are vital to establishing the optimum discrimination point, a small population of cells sufficient to establish such optimum points statistically is used. For example in one embodiment ten physical cells are used for each state, in which case for 4-state encoding a total of 40 physical cells are used, as part of the overhead portion of the sector.
[0047] As will be described below, data from these tracking cells will be the first information from the sector to be read into the controller, in order to establish the optimum discrimination points for the remainder of the sector data. However, in order to make these cells track the rest of the sectors in terms of data history and wear, they are not repeatedly erased and written into the same, fixed, pre-assigned states. This is because the amount of wear will be peculiar to that state and may not reflect the wear/history of the remainder of the sector. In one embodiment, managing wear, both in terms of insuring uniformity (i.e. intra-sector wear leveling) and in keeping such wear to a minimum, is handled by some method of continuous or periodic re-assignment of each of the logical states (e.g. logical states L 0 , L 1 , L 2 and L 3 ) to a corresponding physical state (e.g. physical states P 0 , P 1 , P 2 , and P 3 ), an example of which is shown in Table 2. These physical states P 0 to P 3 correspond to specific conduction levels of each memory cell; e.g. P 0 is the highest conducting state, P 1 is the next highest conducting state, P 2 the next highest, and P 3 the least conductive state. A description of this concept applied to two state encoding and termed “program/inverse program” is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,979 assigned to Sandisk Corporation.
[0048] Re-assignment of states with subsequent writes (in one embodiment with each subsequent write, and in alternative embodiments after a specific number of writes) is done, for example, by rotation or on a random number basis. This guarantees that, on the average, over many cycles, only about half of the full possible charge is transported to the cells, and that the wear of each cell is virtually identical to all others within its sector. The embodiment utilizing a random number assignment between logical and physical states has the advantage that it eliminates the possibility of synchronization between the logical to physical data re-assignment algorithm and variable user data, which would defeat such wear leveling.
TABLE 2 Physical State Assignment Logical State #1 #2 #3 #4 L0 P0 P3 P2 P1 L1 P1 P0 P3 P2 L2 P2 P1 P0 P3 L3 P3 P2 P1 P0
[0049] All tracking cells for each given logical state are re-assigned to the same physical state, e.g. all ten cells of one tracking group assigned with the role of storing logical state L 1 , are set to either P 0 , P 1 , P 2 or P 3 , for a particular write cycle, dictated by the scrambling algorithm. Given that the tracking cells go through the same scrambling operation as the remainder of the sector, they not only reflect the wear of that sector, but also provide the translation means to convert back from physical to logical state. Since each tracking group is given a constant pre-assigned logical state responsibility, when the controller deciphers the various tracking cells groups (e.g. the four groups of ten cells each) it will concurrently establish the translation for the sector.
[0050] Resolution Requirements
[0051] More resolution requires more time to sense (more steps in the A/D), more die area associated with the larger registers, more cost associated with shipping data out to the controller (more parallelism dictates more pads and thus an area penalty or, with same number of pads, takes longer to shift out all the data, and thus a performance penalty), and more cost associated with processing the data in the controller. Inadequate resolution results in limited visibility in common mode population margin shifts (e.g. due to trapping/detrapping effects), resulting in larger error in establishing comparator points. This larger error must be included in the multi-state budget, forcing larger separation between states, and consequently fewer states, i.e. lower multi-state scalability.
[0052] A reasonable resolution target is A/D resolutions equal to approximately 3% of the state-to-state separation. This provides visibility into sufficiently small cell current shifts within a population to allow meaningful correction (i.e. avoiding margin failure from tail bits within a population due to poorer resolution), and does not impose such a high resolution that it becomes meaningless vis a vis the various noise and error terms associated with setting and measuring states.
[0053] Specific examples for state ranges and counter/A/D resolution are shown in FIG. 4 a and 5 b for 4-level and 8-level multi-state encoding, respectively. The cell current/floating gate voltage relationship used in FIGS. 5 a and 5 b for read are representative of cell characteristics built in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, using 0.5 micron based flash semiconductor fabrication technology available today, which for example has an I/V slope of approximately 20 uamps/volt with the zero current intercept (projected threshold) at 4.25 v.
[0054] In the example shown, the state-to-state separation for a four state cell is 30 uamps, the A/D resolution is 1 uamps and the dynamic range covered is 0 to 128 uamps. This gives about a {fraction (1/30)} resolution of the state to state separation (3.3%). A population of cells written into a given intermediate state is confined to a 10 uamp window, i.e. spanning ten steps of resolution. Therefore 1 A/D step bit offers a 10% resolution of the written population distribution, and any common mode shift of that magnitude, over time, can be corrected in 10% resolution steps. Therefore, for 4-state a 7 bit A/D is suitable.
[0055] The situation is similar for the eight state example of FIG. 4 b , except state to state separation is 15 uamps, and A/D resolution is 0.5 uamps, covering the same 0 to 128 uamps dynamic range. This offers the same percentage of the population resolution, for which an eight bit A/D is suitable.
[0056] Adaptive Multi-State Discrimination
[0057] The following describes the data flow and handling by the controller for each sector read operation. In order to support high speed, in one embodiment this operation is performed in hardware and/or firmware. For the purposes of the following discussion, the example of 4-state encoding, with 7 bit sensing resolution (providing 128 steps on the order of 1 uamp per step) and ten tracking cells for each of the four states, is used. FIG. 4 a depicts 4-state encoding with each bit of resolution corresponding to approximately 1 uamp (therefore about a 100 uamp full range). In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 4 a, 4-states are shown, physical states P 0 , P 1 , P 2 , and P 3 . State P 0 is established by setting the cell to have a cell current under read conditions of 90 uamps or more (e.g. by erasing the cell to that value). When reading, state P 0 is detected when cell current is 85 uamps or more, thereby allowing a slightly relaxed tolerance for reading than writing. The programming levels for states P 1 , P 2 , and P 3 are also shown in FIG. 4 a , as are the looser read current levels for each of those states. An appropriate guard band is placed between each state such that, for example, a cell current during read between 75 and 85 uamps is too ambiguous to be associated with either of adjacent states P 0 and P 1 .
[0058] The operation of this embodiment will now be described with respect to the flowchart of FIG. 5 and the diagram of FIG. 6. First, the reference tracking cell's data is shifted into the controller, one 8 bit set (or byte) for each cell. This data is then processed as illustrated in more detail in the flowchart of FIG. 7, starting with the first tracking cell group assigned to logical state L 0 as described in Table 2. The function of these bits is to establish the optimum compare point for the L 0 state by first establishing where the center of the population of tracking cells placed into the L 0 state is. This can be accomplished on the ten cells per state population by continuously summing each successive data of the ten L 0 cells, giving accumulation of those ten cell's data. It is desirable to maintain a max and min register concurrently, in order to minimize chance of error from an isolated, errant cell, either high or low. This is done by comparing each successive piece of data to the previously stored comparator data and at each compare operation storing the higher (lower) into the max (min) comparator. Once data from all ten cells have shifted in, it is processed to establish the filter point, for example by subtracting the max and the min from the sum and dividing the result by 8 (i.e. shifted to right three times), giving the average storage level of the L 0 assigned tracking cells. Rounding to the nearest number is, in one embodiment, accomplished by shifting to the right three times but temporarily storing the third bit shifted and then summing this bit with the shifted value. This is then repeated for the L 1 , L 2 and L 3 tracking cell population, at which point the system has determined the physical to logical conversion for each state. In one embodiment, this conversion is performed by ordering the L 0 , L 1 , L 2 , and L 3 states into descending order, and then matching this to the corresponding physical state assignment as shown in Table 2. For example, if L 0 happens to correspond to physical state P 0 it will have the highest value of the four states, if L 0 corresponds to physical state P 1 it will have the next highest value, and so forth, and likewise for states L 1 , L 2 , and L 3 . If after ordering the order is L 0 , L 1 , L 2 , L 3 then state assignment #1 of Table 2 was used. On the other hand, if the order is L 1 , L 2 , L 3 , L 0 the assignment #2 was used, and so forth per Table 2. In this embodiment, the optimum discrimination points between the four physical levels, P 0 , P 1 , P 2 , and P 3 are established by calculating the midpoints between P 0 and P 1 , P 1 and P 2 , and P 2 and P 3 . Slightly better precision is achieved by postponing the division by 8 for the individual ten cell groups until after summing P 0 and P 1 , P 1 and P 2 , etc., at which point the average of P 0 and P 1 is obtained by summing P 0 and P 1 and dividing by 16 (shifting four to the right with provisions for rounding) and similarly for P 1 and P 2 , and P 2 , and P 3 , thereby establishing three compare values, C 1 , C 2 , C 3 , respectively, which are shown in FIG. 4 a as current points 80 , 50 , and 20 between states P 0 , P 1 , P 2 , and P 3 .
[0059] This then gives the optimum compare or filter points for the rest of the sector's data, which is now shifted in. As data is passed through, it is sifted through a set of comparators (for example, as described later with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 and 7) set at those compare points to establish their state; i.e. higher than C 1 , (making it state P 0 ), between C 1 and C 2 (making it P 1 ) between C 2 and C 3 (making it state P 2 ) or lower than C 3 (making it state P 3 ). These are then translated to their corresponding logical states, based on the specific logical to physical assignment used, as discussed above. In one embodiment, compare points C 1 , C 2 , C 3 , loaded into the comparators are adaptive in nature, established by the sector itself via the tracking cells. In this way the sensing tracks the properties of the population of cells within the sector, their operating voltage and temperature conditions, history and wear, and any common mode drift, as for example may arise from detrapping of gate oxide trapped charge, accumulated during write cycling. Since such detrapping is also present in the tracking cells, they establish the optimum point for sensing, whatever the degree of detrapping, provided their conduction remains within the dynamic range of cell state sensing capability (i.e. ability to still discriminate between the various states), and the mechanism is truly common mode, with minimal dispersion.
[0060] In one embodiment, this adaptive adjustment of the compare points is performed in a continuous, real time manner. In an alternative embodiment, the optimum compare points for the L 0 state as well as the other states L 1 -L 3 are established periodically as part of a maintenance operation, and not in real time as actual data is being read, to reduce impact on system performance. This latter approach improves performance by eliminating the repetitive overhead time associated with processing the tracking cell data. In one embodiment, it is invoked on a predetermined read interval basis as part of a read/margins checkout, and/or invoked in the rare event of read marginality or failure. This gives the ability to recover data or restore margins through data rewrite using the most optimum read reference conditions via the tracking cells.
[0061] In one embodiment, a sector is broken down as shown in FIG. 6, to include user data and overhead bytes. The overhead bytes include a plurality of reference tracking cells for monitoring the condition of one or more cells known to be programmed to each of the logical states in the multi-state memory. The overhead also includes, if desired, header information such as address information, ECC bits, bit and/or sector mapping related information, and counts of the number of writes to the sector. Referring again to FIG. 5, as the rest of the sector's data is read and processed using the compare points established based on the referenced tracking cell's characteristics, a decision is made as to whether the data is acceptable or not. If not, gross defect management is invoked, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,987. On the other hand, if the data is acceptable, a decision is made as to whether the data is “clean”, i.e. of a sufficiently high quality that there no data margin or ECC related problems. If the answer is yes, the data is sent out to the host without further intervention; conversely if the answer is no (i.e. the data is not clean), the necessary error correction or “clean up” step is invoked thereby not only sending the data out to the host but also insuring that the corrected data is clean upon subsequent reads.
[0062] Data Quality Assessment and Response
[0063] As described above, one feature derived from this invention is the ability to concurrently determine not only the data itself but also the “quality” of each data point, or its margin, with respect to the above described compare points. Even when a bit of data is read correctly, if it gets too close to a compare point, it may become unreliable sometime in the future, giving erroneous readings due to noise sensitivity, additional margin shift, or change in operating conditions arising from power supply or temperature variation. Therefore, the quality measurement achieved by this invention provides a failure look-ahead capability, something dealt with in prior art, using special read-under-margin operations. Such prior art read-under-margin operations generally involve multiple pass reads, invoked under special conditions or circumstances, and requiring special circuitry (which may include controlled changes to reference/sensing circuitry or special cell biasing operation) to establish the needed margin differentials. Often, the accuracy or resolution of such differential means is limited, forcing larger margins than absolutely required. In the case of multi-state, this would dictate wider memory threshold voltage windows per state, and consequently wider voltage separation between states, thereby resulting in fewer states available for a given cell's dynamic voltage range, and consequent lower memory storage density per cell. However, with the novel approach of the present invention, the margin or “quality” of the data is a natural byproduct of each read operation, requiring no special modes or events to initiate it, and allowing the system to instantly react to any detection of marginal data. In essence, the capability of a “look ahead data recovery” is automatically included each read operation. However, instead of such margining operation being considered a very rare operation for a very rare event, in accordance with the present invention, the trade-off made in order to achieve high density multi-state is to allow a substantially higher incidence of such marginality, with such marginality being made manageable by providing a measure of this marginality as part of the standard read operation.
[0064] In one embodiment, the specific way such marginality detection is implemented includes, around each of the compare values C 1 , C 2 , C 3 , an additional pair of values C 1 +del, C 1 −del, C 2 +del, etc., shown in FIG. 4 a as “poor margin filter”, and associated comparators (not shown). Any data falling between the compare points C 1 , C 2 , C 3 and their associated +/−del points is tagged as marginal (e.g. if state P 2 , which falls between compare values C 2 and C 3 , is detected to be between C 2 and C 2 -delta or C 3 +delta and C 3 , it is then tagged as marginal). Consequently, each piece of 4-state data can have a three bit result, the first two bits, A and B, for the actual data and a third bit, Q, for its marginality or “quality” (e.g. 0 if OK and 1 if marginal), as depicted in Table 3.
TABLE 3 NO MARGINALITY MARGINAL RESULTS PROBLEMS DATA A 0 0 1 1 0 0 11 B 0 1 0 1 0 1 01 Q 0 0 0 0 1 1 11
[0065] In one embodiment, the quality of the data includes additional information, for example whether the sensed parameter (e.g. cell current) is too high or too low with respect to the center of that state's population (e.g. for state P 2 , if found between C 2 -delta and C 2 it is too high, whereas if between and C 3 and C 3 +delta it is too low). This allows clean up reaction conditional oil its direction of marginality. For example, if a memory cell's marginality is a consequence of being shifted towards being too heavily programmed, the course of action is to re-erase and program that data as is part of a full sector data scrub operation. On the other hand, if a memory cell's marginality is such that it is shifted towards being too heavily erased, recovery of proper margin for the state of the memory cell is accomplished by programming only that one memory cell slightly in order to regain its needed margin or “quality”. An example of the latter is the case of relaxation of trapped channel electrons (which can accumulate after a large number of writes to a cell or a group of cells) which causes cell margins to drift from a more to a less heavily programmed condition. In such a case, it is sufficient to add some programming operations to regain cell state margins; no sector erase before programming is required.
[0066] In one embodiment, a count is stored within each sector as part of the sector's header whose function is to be incremented each time a corrective action associated with a read scrub takes place. Once this count reaches a maximum allowed level, CMAX, the corrective action invoked is to map out the marginal/failing bits, whereas prior to reaching this CMAX value, data is rewritten without such mapping. This embodiment preserves the sector longer prior to the entire sector being retired from service, by avoiding nuisance marginalities resulting in excessive bit and sector mapping, while filtering out the truly bad bits which should be mapped out. Once the CMAX count is reached for a sector and the failing marginal bit is mapped out, the counter is reset to zero and the procedure is repeated.
[0067] Multi-State Writing
[0068] Writing the multi-state data is now described with reference to the exemplary circuit diagram of FIG. 8 and the associated flow chart of FIG. 9. With reference to FIG. 8, the components located within the dashed line indicate components which are replicated for each sector. Following the data unconditional sector erase, data is written into that sector on a chunk by chunk basis. Starting with the first chunk, the first intermediate state, state P 1 , is placed into the programmed state, which is initiated by using a short, low voltage VCG pulse (for example approximately 4 usec at 2 v control gate bias) followed by a verify read against a reference current set at the level appropriate for state P 1 . For bits within the chunk targeted to receive this programming, but which become sufficiently programmed, an internal circuit locks out further programming of those bits, while targeted cells, still insufficiently programmed, experience the next programming pulse, which is of the same width as the first, but has incrementally higher VCG (e.g. 200 mV higher), again followed by verify. This sequence of programming with incrementally higher VCG followed be verify continues until all state P 1 cells targeted within the chunk are verified, or until a maximum VCG is reached (in which case defect management is invoked). Then the next intermediate state, state P 2 , is written, in similar fashion to the first intermediate state P 1 , but using the reference current setting associated with that state, and starting with a VCG level appropriate for reliably programming that state in the shortest time. This procedure is repeated for each state until all states in the chunk are programmed and verified, and the whole process repeated on the remaining chunks on a chunk by chunk basis.
[0069] An alternative embodiment, depicted in the flowchart of FIG. 10, provides an increase in speed. In this embodiment all states within a chunk of bits are programmed concurrently in a single VCG staircase progression as follows. The data to be written into the chunk is shifted into the corresponding registers (e.g. register 43 of FIG. 8), exactly mirroring the readout operation, and the corresponding bit RS latch 46 is set enabling its associated bit line driver. Associated with each physical data state, P 0 , P 1 , P 2 , P 3 is its register count and corresponding current level. After each programming pulse the reference current staircase is invoked in analogous fashion to the read operation, with the master counter concurrently incremented. A comparator circuit associated with each register (formed of transfer gate 41 and XOR gate 42 ) compares the input data (i.e. count) stored in register 43 to that of master counter 44 . When a match occurs, the program lockout feature upon verify is enabled. Actual lockout only occurs when the corresponding cell is sufficiently programmed to pass read verify with respect to the associated reference current setting, (i.e. programmed into the associated physical state). Once verify is successful, NAND gate 45 resets RS latch 46 , disabling its associated bit line driver 47 , and resulting in all subsequent programming of that cell being disabled for the remainder of the sector write operation. If verify fails, the cell will receive the next VCG incremented programming pulse followed again by the scanned current source/master counter verify procedure.
[0070] Unlike reading, which calls for use of the entire current staircase to resolve the state to full analog precision, the write/verify operation only needs to use those reference current settings and associated counts specific to the set of memory states, e.g. specific to states P 1 , P 2 , P 3 as predefined (P 0 , being the erased state, is excluded and inhibited from programming from the outset). This helps speed up the verify process by having three settings in the case of 4-states, in place of 128 settings exemplified for the read operation of FIG. 4 a , where 128 settings allows for quality determinations to be made. Therefore, as illustrated in the example of FIG. 10, each verify consists of a three step staircase operation in which the first step consists of setting up (e.g. rapidly incrementing up to) the first reference current level associated with physical state P 1 , including concurrently setting up the master counter (e.g. counting) to the corresponding counter value, performing a read/sense operation, and locking out from further programming any cells which both match their register value to that of the master counter and are read as programmed (with respect to the corresponding reference current setting). Each following step of the three step operation consists of setting up (e.g. rapidly counting up to) the next data current level and corresponding reference current setting and repeating the read/sense operation, identically to the first step, until all three steps are completed.
[0071] Note that it may not be necessary to have a full match of the 8 bits, only that a sufficient number of MSB (most significant, or of highest current weight bits) match. This is most applicable when there are much fewer allowed states and corresponding cell current targets than resolution of the A/D. In this case, as long as the MSB bits uniquely differentiate each of the various states (e.g. there are a minimum of two MSB bits for 4 state and 4 MSB bits for 16 states) only those MSB bits are required for the exclusive OR. This will save some area associated with exclusive OR circuitry, but does restrict somewhat the current assignment flexibility for each state.
[0072] This program/3-step verify procedure is repeated, with VCG incremented in each subsequent program step, until all cells in the chunk are verified or max VCG level is reached, as described previously. This entire operation is then repeated for all remaining chunks of the sector, at which point sector multi-state date writing is complete.
[0073] A significant advantage of this novel approach is that it can be extended to a large number of multi-states (e.g. 16) without substantially impacting write performance, other than that required for improved resolution (e.g. more and smaller VCG steps, or lower drain programming voltage VPD, to slow down programming rate), and the additional time needed to sense/verify each of the additional states. The latter, being a read operation, tends to be much faster than programming, and therefore should not substantially impact write performance.
[0074] An alternative embodiment which speeds up the verify process is depicted in the diagram of FIG. 11. In place of the single adjustable reference current source, multiple current sources (or parallel tap points of a master current source) are used. In one embodiment, the number of current sources is (n−1), where n is the number of states, since a current point is not needed for the fully erased state. A data-in register of size K is used for each cell in the chunk, where 2{circumflex over ( )}K=n. The information written into the data register by the controller at the start of write is used to select one of the n−1 current levels during verify, dependent on the particular state. Upon verify, all cells of the chunk are compared simultaneously to their corresponding particular reference target in a single verify operation, locking out further programming, on a cell by cell basis, if successful. This allows full verify to complete in one parallel operation, as opposed to the multi-step serial operation in the previously described embodiment, substantially improving verify speed. The cost is the requirement of the multi-current sources, counting and associated selection circuitry within each bit of the chunk. As in the multi-step embodiment, the requirement of data-in register can be served by a portion (e.g. the MSB portion) of the existing readout register. The exclusive OR used in the embodiment of FIG. 8 is now replaced with straight decoding to select the appropriate current source.
[0075] Twin-Cell Relaxation Alarm
[0076] An additional feature of the adaptive multi-state discrimination sensing of the present invention is the ability to put bounds to extreme states, an upper bound for the highest state (e.g. physical state P 0 ) and lower bound for the lowest state, assuming that this lowest state is not already in cutoff. When the extreme states (as for example reflected within a subset of the tracking cells) cross those bounds, the data is deemed to be outside the limits of safe detectability vis a vis available dynamic range, and sector data either needs to be refreshed (rewritten) or the sector mapped out, replacing it with a spare sector. However, this does not eliminate the need for maintaining a cumulative count of the number of write operations experienced (referred to as “hot count”) per sector, since there is no warning at the time of writing that, once written, such excessive shift may occur. Such warning is the function of a “hot count ceiling”; to put an upper bound to the amount of cumulative cell wear allowed, forewarning the possibility of excess trapped charge and associated margin loss due to its subsequent detrapping, termed relaxation. If such relaxation exceeds a critical value, the resulting common mode shift of all cells (noting that some form of data state rotation is being used to keep wear on all cells within the sector uniform) within the sector, typically from less conductive to more conductive levels, becomes sufficiently large to prevent discrimination between the highest two states (fully erased state and state just below it); i.e. drift exceeds dynamic range of the system. In order to avoid such failure, sectors cycled to such high trapping levels must be retired.
[0077] The hot count is an indirect indicator of such trapping, since in addition to the number of cycles experienced, cumulative trapping is sensitive to other factors such as duty cycle of the write operation, time between writes, operating and non-operating temperature exposure, etc.; i.e. history/details. When hot count is used as criteria for mapping out a sector, it must assume worst case conditions to insure no failure. However in practice, systems using such memories rarely, if ever, experience such worst case history exposure under actual application. Therefore, mapping out of a sector based on cumulative hot count is often excessively premature for practical applications.
[0078] An alternative embodiment uses a “Twin-Cell” trapping gauge included within each sector, whose function is to detect directly the amount of channel trapping shift which is responsible for the relaxation. This provides a direct measure of the amount of wear actually seen by cells in the sector, comprehending both cumulative write cycles or hot count and history of sector exposure. Only when this cell's shift reaches a critical value will the sector be retired, and no hot count information is required to make this decision. This allows much higher endurance capability in actual system use than can be safely provided via hot count because, unlike hot count which can only provide a general indication of cumulative wear (since it cannot gauge wear directly, only exposure), and therefore the hot count must be heavily guardbanded (i.e. allowing minimum number of writes to accommodate worst case wear), the twin cell's direct measure of wear can minimize the amount of such endurance guardband.
[0079] One embodiment of a Twin-Cell of the present invention is depicted in FIG. 12 and, consists of a cell 600 having a single floating gate 601 but two separate sensing channels, one channel 602 being a read/write channel (R/W), the other channel 603 being a read-only (RO) channel. Cell 600 is designed to match actual memory cells, e.g. by taking two adjacent memory cells and tying their floating gates together. Programming of cell 600 is performed through the read/write channel by raising bit line BL 2 to a programming voltage (for example about 7 v), and grounding bit line BL 1 , while bit line BL 0 is floated (or grounded). In this way, all the stress and trapping associated with hot electron programming is confined to the read/write channel 602 . Using the A/D read of read/write channel 602 followed by A/D reading of read only channel 603 and finding the difference (e.g. by subtracting) gives a measure of channel trapping (delta). Early in a sector's life, with low cycling exposure, this delta is close to zero, while with progressive cycling the difference grows, with the read only channel 603 giving higher A/D counts (appearing more erased) compared to read/write channel 602 .
[0080] The state set and used for useful comparison is, in one embodiment, a middle intermediate state, offering both the widest range and the average wear of a cell. When the delta exceeds a critical value (e.g. 20 counts in example of FIGS. 5 a and 5 b , corresponding to a cell current shift of 20 uAmps and 10 uAmps for the four and eight state encoding, respectively) the sector is at its limit with respect to wearout/relaxation or other potential read and reliability problems and is retired.
[0081] In summary, key points described thus far in this specification for supporting high density multi-state are:
[0082] 1. Parallel, full chunk, A/D conversion of multi-state data, with adequate resolution to provide analog measure of the encoded states;
[0083] 2. Master reference cell(s) whose prime function is to provide optimum dynamic range for comparator sensing;
[0084] 3. Logical to Physical Data scrambling to provide both intra-sector wear leveling and increased endurance capability of about twofold.
[0085] 4. Intra-sector tracking cell groups, one for each state, included in each sector to provide optimum compare points for the various states, and able to adapt to any common mode shifts (e.g. relaxation). It also provides translation of data rotation.
[0086] 5. Controller incorporating a data processing “engine” a) to, on-the-fly, find midpoints of each tracking cell group, b) with which to establish data state discrimination and marginality filter points, c) through which sector data is passed, giving both the encoded memory state, and its quality (marginality), for each physical bit, d) optionally, to decide what actions must be taken to clean up (scrub) marginal bit data based on the quality information (e.g. do full sector erase and rewrite versus selective write, only).
[0087] 6. Optionally to include a small counter on each sector which is incremented each time a read scrub is encountered. When the count reaches maximum allowed, marginal bit(s) are mapped out rather than rewritten and counter is reset to 0. This provides a filter for truly “bad” bits.
[0088] 7. Same means are applied in reverse to write multi-state data back into a sector, using the same circuitry as used for read but operated in reverse, to provide self-consistent data encoding. In addition, two alternative embodiments for performing verification are taught:
[0089] 7 a . Using a reference current staircase to sequentially scan through the range of states, conditionally terminating each cell as the current step corresponding to its target data is presented to the sensing circuit.
[0090] 7 b . Using a full set of N−1 reference currents of the N possible states to simultaneously verify and conditionally terminate all cells.
[0091] 8. Twin-cell option can be included in each sector to provide deltaVt shift level associated with cycling driven trapping and channel wearout, triggering sector retirement before detrapping shifts exceed read dynamic range or other potential read errors. This replaces hot count based sector retirement, greatly increasing usable endurance.
[0092] Enhancing Multi-State Speed by Utilizing Column Oriented Steering
[0093] An important goal for multi-state is achieving competitive speed to two-state devices, with respect to both write (data programming) and read. The reason that maintaining comparably high performance is difficult for multi-state, as compared to binary encoded data, originates from the considerably tighter margin requirements associated with multi-state encoding (given a limited total memory window budget), coupled with the fact that the information content per cell increases only logarithmically for a linearly increasing number of multi-state levels (i.e. 2 n levels gives only n bits of information). So along with margins, performance becomes a victim of the diminishing returns associated with increasing levels of multi-state.
[0094] In the embodiment discussed above with reference to FIG. 10, write performance is heavily impacted by having to progressively and carefully go through each state, the progression requiring a sequential, multiple pulse/check methodology to carefully set the state, although in several embodiments verification speed can be increased, as discussed above. For example, to implement 4-state: erase sets up physical state P 0 ; a first VCG staircase of up to 7 pulse/check steps sets up physical state P 1 ; followed by a second group of up to 6 pulse/check steps to set up physical state P 2 ; terminated with a last programming step to set up physical state P 3 ; giving a total of 14 pulses to write two bits of information, 7 pulses per bit, in place of the one pulse per bit for writing binary. Projecting this to 8 level multi-state, the total number of pulses would be more than 30, a further slowdown to more than ten pulses per bit.
[0095] Thus far, read performance has not been impacted for two reasons. The first is the feature of concurrent multi-state sensing using multi-leg cell current mirroring to n−1 sense amps (e.g. three sense amplifiers for 4-state). The second is the stream read feature appropriate for mass data storage, wherein, other than latency, the actual cell read time is hidden by the stream read implementation which simultaneously shifts out a large chunk (e.g. 256 bits) of previously read data while current data is being sensed.
[0096] For more aggressively scaled multi-state implementations, both of the above features will become inadequate. With respect to the first, the use of static current sensing becomes increasingly unattractive, both because of increasing IR drops with physical scaling and increased memory window requirements while sensing margins decrease, and because of the higher power consumption associated with high value multiple current levels. A more attractive way to sense multi-states is via voltage margining, which requires only minimal cell current (as for example using dynamic type sensing), but dictates stepping through the range of control gate voltage margin levels spanning the states (for n states, this means a minimum of n−1 steps), an example of which is given in the above referenced analog dynamic-type sensing embodiment. This impacts the stream read feature however, because now the time consumed in actually stepping through the various margin levels, followed by sensing, increases greatly. When combining this with progressive demand for higher-still data rates in mass storage, it will become increasingly difficult to exploit stream read to achieve enhanced performance. In addition, write performance can also be significantly impacted by internal read speed limitations, since read is an integral component in reliably setting the individual states (via program/verify loops), as well as for post write sector data checking.
[0097] So with more aggressive use of multi-state for scaling, based on the above scenario, performance will continue to decline. The above referenced analog sensing embodiment improves performance by supporting a large degree of parallelism. Greater parallelism is one way to retard the decline in performance associated with increasing numbers of cell states. However, the use of a virtual ground array (imposing a separation between simultaneously addressable cells) plus is the constraint of a 512 byte sector size granularity, places a limit on how far parallelism can pushed.
[0098] The embodiments of this invention described in the following, section offer a solution to the above performance limitations, by substantially cutting down the number of discrete steps required for both programming and read, while preserving the desirable features associated with analog/voltage margin sensing taught by the present invention.
[0099] Given that a dominant controlling element allowing differentiation between the various multi-state levels is the control gate (or equivalently termed steering gate), the key to reducing the number of discrete steps used for both read and write is to simultaneously apply, to the full group (chunk) of cells, control gate voltage values associated with each cell's particular data state requirements, on a cell by cell basis.
[0100] In a row oriented sector, in order for the control gate to be individually adjustable for each cell, it cannot run in the row line direction, since it then becomes common to all cells which are to be simultaneously operated on. Rather, it needs to run in the column (bit line) direction, which allows it to both be individually adjustable on a cell by cell basis, and individually responsive to the sensing result on the associated cell bit line. The basic elements of one embodiment of such a cell are shown in FIG. 13. Since control gate 71 runs parallel to bit lines 72 - 1 and 72 - 2 , control gate 71 cannot also serve as the select line (which is the usual case in EPROM and FLASH memories), since unique cell selection along a bit line dictates that the select line run perpendicular to the bit line. This forces the select line to run in a different layer, which in one embodiment is a poly 3 line with the control (steering gate) being a poly 2 line and the floating gate built from poly 1 . Specific exemplary embodiments of cell structures suitable for use in conjunction with this aspect of the present invention are described later.
[0101] Cell Read Operation
[0102] A cell as in FIG. 13 is read using the control gate in an A to D type binary search, as illustrated in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 14, and the flowchart of FIG. 15. Each sensing circuit consists of Sense Amplifier (SA) comparator 81 , having one input lead which receives an input signal from memory cell 99 via bit line 82 - 2 , and another input lead receiving an input signal from a global reference circuit (not shown) which provides reference signal Iref. The output of comparator 81 is used to update a corresponding n-bit Control Gate Register Element (CGRE) 83 , the number of bits governed by required sensing resolution (e.g. if a 1 in 64 resolution is desired, a six bit register is used). The value stored in CGRE 83 is then used to provide the next control gate read VCG voltage, via the corresponding Next Step Processor (NSP) 84 , in a successive approximation scheme.
[0103] Following is an example of the read operation flow, as depicted in the flowchart of FIG. 15. CGRE 83 is a 6-bit binary register element, with a corresponding dynamic range on the control gate (via NSP 84 ) of 0 v to 7.875 v in 125 mv steps. Read starts with the binary value 100000 (Nold) loaded into the CGRE, giving the midpoint VCG of 4 v. The output from sense amp 81 is then fed back into control gate register 83 , via Conditional Element 89 , according to the relation:
N new= N old+Output* DN;
[0104] where (for flowcharting convenience) Output is defined as:
−1 if I cell>= I ref, and
+1 if I cell< I ref;
[0105] and where DN=010000, giving next CGRE (or VCG) of:
010000 (or 2 v) if I cell>= I ref, and
110000 (or 6 v) if I cell< I ref.
[0106] In this way, if cell current is higher than Iref, the next VCG will be lower, reducing the cell current. Along with this next VCG, the next Nnew=Nold and the next DN=DN/2 are generated by Next Step Processor 84 . This binary search continues five more times (for a total of 6 passes), wherein the last CGRE 83 value becomes the digital equivalent of the floating gate memory state. If the memory cell uses an 8-level (three logical bits/cell) multi-state encoding, this gives three bits of resolution between states for state-to-state discrimination, guardbanding, margining, etc. Data can then be processed in ways similar to those described in the afore- referenced Analog Sensing embodiment, the difference here being the rapid binary search methodology (as opposed to one-step-at-a-time sequential search), which for 1 in 64 bit resolution represents a 10× performance improvement (six steps in place of a possible total of around 64 steps).
[0107] In one embodiment, sensing is extended to a full chunk of bits (e.g. 128 bits per chunk), wherein each sensing circuit contains its own corresponding SA, CGRE, and NSP elements, as is depicted in the embodiment of FIG. 16, in which the operation of each sensing circuit is conditional on its corresponding memory cell. In this way, the strength of the binary search approach is exploited to recover most of the lost read performance. For example, comparing the above example to a two-state read, assuming that each individual step of the binary search takes a comparable amount of time as that of the two-state sensing, then the total time expended in the multi-state read is equal to 6 binary reads. For 8-state encoding, three bits of information are extracted, resulting in a read time per logical bit of only twice that of binary state reading. Given that margin information is concurrently available as well (as described above), this offers an excellent level of read performance, consistent with a stream read implementation.
[0108] Cell Programming Operation—Programming Phase Specific
[0109] In certain embodiments, the same elements used for reading are also applied to accelerate multi-state programming, again optimized to the targeted memory state on a cell by cell basis, as illustrated in the example of FIG. 17. Here, the CGRE X 83 is initialized with the optimum safe starting value for the particular state (this may come from a set of updatable parameters stored within the sector). In memory cells whose magnitude of programming (e.g. programming Vt) increases with increasing VCG, this optimum safe starting point is the highest value of VCG allowable that will not cause the memory cell to program excessively, overshooting its targeted state (i.e. overshooting its allowed state range). Starting at lower values than this optimum value, while safe, costs more programming time, because the earlier programming pulses do not provide a sufficient magnitude of programming towards the targeted state, thereby decreasing write speed. In one embodiment, a different relationship of VCG with CGRE from that of read is used to satisfy dynamic range for programming (e.g. by adding constant voltage Kprog as indicated in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 17). Following each programming pulse, a verify operation is performed. In the class of cells described above, if programming margin target is not achieved, the CGRE value is incremented by 1, with a corresponding incremental voltage increase on VCG via NSP element 191 for the next programming step, whereas if margin is reached, further programming on that bit is locked out, by disabling further application of programming voltage on its associated bit line and optionally eliminating application of VCG as well.
[0110] In one embodiment, this operation is performed simultaneously on all bits within the chunk, each bit starting at its optimal VCG, conditional on its corresponding to-be-programmed data. In this way, programming is completed in about six steps, relatively independent to the level of multi-state (e.g. 4, to 8, or 16 level multi-state cells are, in accordance with this embodiment, programmable in a comparable number of pulses), in place of the more than 30 programming steps indicated earlier for a fully sequential 8-level multi-state programming embodiment. This not only represents a 5× write speed improvement, but given that three bits are being encoded, this gives an effective number of programming/verify passes of two passes per bit, only twice that of binary encoding. Since performance of a full write operation includes additional time overhead above and beyond program/verify, this smaller difference in program speed may translate, in practice, to only a minor reduction in overall write speed as compared to binary encoded writing.
[0111] Cell Programming Operation—Verify Phase Specific
[0112] Cell verify can also be made state specific, using the same CGRE/NSP engine described above with reference to FIG. 17, by loading the targeted verify voltage (i.e. that value corresponding to the to-be-programmed data) into its associate CGRE. In this embodiment, unlike the read operation, for which VCG is changed during the read binary search flow, during the verify operation the state specific VCG verify voltage is kept fixed during the full program/verify flow (i.e. NSP for verify remains unchanged). In this way, all cells within a chunk are verified simultaneously, with further programming locked out, on a cell by cell basis, as each cell passes the verify operation.
[0113] This data conditional, high performance verify embodiment complements the above described high performance, data conditional programming embodiment, offering a highly parallel, fast speed methodology for setting a many level multi-state memory. In one embodiment, in order to better exploit this capability, two different CGRE/NSP circuits are used, as illustrated in FIG. 18. CGRE/NSP circuit 91 is used to support programming, and CGRE/NSP 92 is used for verify, allowing these two circuits to be multiplexed at high speed onto the control gate when changing between programming and verify operations.
[0114] Although using the individual, cell by cell VCG supply as in this embodiment, offers an excellent approach to supporting a high level of multi-state at high speed, it puts the burden on quickly providing all these VCG voltages. In one embodiment, all the possible voltage steps are generated and available simultaneously on a bus of voltage feed lines. In this embodiment, each CGRE value is used to decode which one of these feed lines to connect to its corresponding control gate. This embodiment is attractive when there aren't too many VGC levels to manage. Since in principal only seven compare points are needed for discriminating 8 states (and only 15 compare points are needed for discriminating 16 states), this will often be suitable. However, this limits the high speed flexibility to dynamically tune the sense points and determine margins. If the need for attaining such full resolution is very rare (as for example when ECC indicates a memory state failure or a marginality problem), an alternative, hybrid embodiment is provided which only demands such capability rarely (e.g. on the rare ECC flag). On those rare occasions, those compare points are incrementally shifted to fully resolve the margins, albeit via a more time consuming procedure, because now voltage values will need to be provided which are not included in the limited set of supply levels (e.g. 7 to 15 levels) concurrently available. This would dictate temporarily generating new voltage levels, not concurrently available, consuming more time, and potentially breaking up the concurrent parallel chunk operation into operations on individual bits or small groups of bits to feed these specialized voltage levels.
[0115] In the case where a large number of VCG voltage possibilities and/or all VCG voltage possibilities are required (i.e. full real-time margining capabilities for full dynamic range flexibility), one alternative embodiment, similar to the embodiment of FIG. 17, expands the CGRE X 83 and NSP 191 elements to include sample-and-hold circuitry for each sensing circuit, the complement of which are fed by a common, single staircase voltage source. The voltage delivered by each NSP is conditional on its corresponding stored CGRE value. Care must be taken in such an embodiment to ensure that the dynamic nature of sample and hold circuitry with its potential for drift, and the time requirements for scanning/sampling the full dynamic voltage range, do not cause programming voltage Vpg error. The benefit of this embodiment is that it incurs less area and power penalties.
[0116] It is desired to simultaneously process each of the CGRE data, based on the associated sense amplifier result and the previously stored value (as well as the step in progress in the case of read), conditional on the operation in progress. This is most complex for read, involving the manipulation for successive approximation (basically providing up/down counting function, conditional on sensed result and current iteration step). For programming and verify its requirements are simpler, complexity coming primarily in initializing each of the CGREs to the corresponding data values; once initialized, nothing further is required for the verify, requiring only incrementing by one for each successive programming/verify step in the case of programming. Notwithstanding these complexities, required circuit areas and complexity of circuits should not differ substantially from approaches which use multiple sense amplifiers. The prior art approach uses multiple sense amplifiers (e.g. requiring up to seven sense amplifiers for 8-level multi-state). In accordance with this embodiment, the multiple sensing circuits and associated current mirrors and reference legs are now replaced by one sense amplifier circuit, a couple of registers with associated decoder functions, sample and hold circuits, and some glue logic.
[0117] The other major element of complexity is that of shifting out and processing the large body of data stored in the chunk-wide CGRE register. One embodiment used is similar in this regard to that described in the above-referenced analog sensing embodiment.
[0118] Exemplary Cell Embodiments
[0119] Firstly, independent of other considerations, a memory cell must be competitive with respect to physically small size and scalability. Beyond that, however, based on the cell requirements described above for a row selectable but column steerable element, as represented in the example of FIG. 13, the choices are limited.
[0120] Furthermore, in order to realize such a cell/array in minimal area, it must incorporate virtual ground architecture, and this is not just because of the approximately 50% additional area associated with using the conventional ½ contact per cell array. The joint requirement of bit line and steering line running in the same direction, with the bit line having to physically run above yet periodically dropping below the steering line to contact diffusion, dictates that they run side by side rather than be stacked. Whereas this occurs naturally in the virtual ground array, wherein active transistors are laterally displaced from the bit lines, in the conventionally contacted cell array the active transistors, while displaced from the bit line contacts themselves, do lie directly below the bit line conductor. For this reason, select/steering functions in such arrays are generally row oriented, eliminating the conflict. To do otherwise further increases cell area.
[0121] One memory cell which meets all the above requirements is the virtual ground, split gate cell having column oriented poly 2 steering gates and row oriented poly 3 select gates. For reference purposes this will be referred to as cell embodiment 1. Such a cell can be programmed using either conventional drain side programming, or source side programming, depending on whether the poly 3 select transistor is strongly turned on or throttled down, respectively. Erase is also row oriented, using poly 3 as the erase line, thereby achieving the row oriented sector. The source side programming version of this is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,421, assigned to Sandisk Corporation. For reference purposes, this version will be referred to as cell embodiment 1a.
[0122] Another suitable cell is the dual floating gate variant of cell embodiment 1a, such as is described in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/607,951 filed Feb. 28, 1996 and assigned to Sandisk Corporation, which offers a true cross-point cell (4*lambda 2 per physical bit). For reference purposes this version will be referred to as cell embodiment 2. However, because of the series nature of the tri-gate structure (the two floating gate channels being in series), it is constrained to using source side programming, and will be more limited in how many levels of multi-state are realizable. Nevertheless its inherently smaller cell size, self-alignment features and consequent scalability make it equally attractive to the simpler but somewhat larger cell embodiment 1a.
[0123] Column Pitch/Segmentation Options
[0124] Because of the requirement within each cell to have both bit line and steering line (control gate) running parallel to each other (for convenience, their direction henceforth defined as vertical), this raises the question of bussing/pitch requirements. To achieve a physically minimal cell, this dictates that the lateral extent (horizontal width) of the cell must be close to minimum feature pitch (i.e. about 2*lambda), forcing the above two lines to fit in that pitch. At the cell level this is not a problem, since the steering line and bit lines tend to run side by side, and more importantly they are on different layers (poly 3 and BN+, respectively) eliminating proximity/overlay constraints. However, going from the local to the global interconnect level is a challenge.
[0125] For ultra high density Flash memory, one way to interface long bit line columns to the memory cell array is via column segmentation. This approach uses the continuous (vertically) running metal lines as global bit lines, which drop down periodically to local diffusions serving memory sub-arrays or “segments” (e.g. 16 sectors) via segment select switching transistors. In this way array segments are isolated from one another, eliminating the large cumulative parasitics of leakage current and capacitance, and providing column associated defect and repetitive disturb confinement. This also provides opportunity for relaxing the pitch requirement of the global bit lines from one per cell to one per two cells, depending on the segment selection approach used (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,541 assigned to Sandisk Corporation).
[0126] With respect to the steering line, first consider the cell/array using cell embodiment 1, which requires one steering line per column of cells. One possibility is to have this be a continuous global line, i.e. running continuously (vertically) through the entire memory array. Running through the memory cell sub-array portion poses no obstacles, readily fitting within the existing pitch. However, it may run into obstacles when trying to cross the segment select portions, which bound those sub-arrays. Other issues with this approach are the associated large RC time constants (impacting speed of charging and discharging a long, resistive line), and the increased array exposure to repetitive disturb.
[0127] For those reasons, segmentation is also desirable for the steering function. Consequently, given that at most one metal line can be run in the pitch of one cell, both global metal bit lines and global steering lines can be shared between pairs of cells. Such sharing in the case of a global metal bit line is described in the above referenced U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,541. It uses a staggered, interlaced segmentation architecture with a transfer network driven by four decode lines per segment pair, thereby allowing each metal bit line to run in the pitch of two cells.
[0128] Similar sharing can also be achieved for the steering lines, an example of which is shown in FIG. 19 (and this is only one of many possible configurations). In this embodiment, there are four steering transfer lines driving the transfer matrix, with one global steering line per two cell columns within the segment. When cells are selected, the steering transfer network connects the corresponding local steering lines to unique global steering lines (e.g. Sk connected via SDTI 4 )). Each selected global steering line is connected in turn by the chunk select (i.e. column or y-select) circuitry to the CGRE circuitry.
[0129] Those steering lines which are not currently active may be floated or held at ground. If grounded, this raises the possibility of having a subset of the local steering lines, associated with a subset of cells which are not being operated on currently, to be held at ground through appropriate enabling of other SDT lines. An example, referring to FIG. 19: Let Sk be the selected global steering line, and SDTI 4 be the selected transfer selected line. If it is not desirable to have steering potential applied to unselected cells on the selected row, SDTI 3 should be held at ground. However, both SDTI 1 and SDTI 2 can be turned on allowing the neighboring cells on either side of the selected cell to have grounded steering lines.
[0130] The reason that it may be undesirable to have unselected cells on selected rows receive high steering potential comes primarily during programming, when channels are conducting. Even here however, the bias conditions on unselected cells are interchanged vis a vis source and drain, and see lower drain to source potentials, eliminating parasitic programming. Given this, in another embodiment, the four SDT select lines per segment are replaced with a single SDT line, simplifying decoding, and potentially reducing layout area (although because of narrow cell pitch, area reduction is primarily governed by select transistor and vertical interconnect related dictates).
[0131] Having floating local steering lines (e.g. in all the unselected segments) does raise issues. It is undesirable that any of these lines drift to or are left at such a high potential that they can promote disturbs. However, with properly designed transfer transistors, which remain solidly cut off when unselected, diffusion leakage will maintain floating steering plates at ground (i.e. at substrate potential). In addition, by making sure that all actively driven steering lines are fully discharged before isolating them, this will insure that all steering lines are close to ground at all times except when actually selected/driven.
[0132] In addition to disturbs, large voltages on control gates of unselected cells results in the potential of introducing excessive adjacent cell leakage, impacting proper multi-state setting and sensing. However, this is not an issue for the above-mentioned cell embodiment 1 implementation when voltage sensing is used, by virtue of their poly 3 select function being independent of the sensing related steering function. This allows the select transistor to be throttled down, (i.e. biased to a minimal turn-on level such as ≦5μAmps), with the state-determining conduction occurring when the control gate reaches or exceeds the floating gate transistor's turn-on (or margin) voltage. This select transistor limited current strategy guarantees that, independent of how strongly conducting the floating gate channel may be, parasitic adjacent cell leakage problems are completely eliminated.
[0133] The same strategy can be applied to the dual floating gate cell embodiment 2, as illustrated in FIG. 20. In this embodiment, the unit memory cell, consisting of two floating gate elements and taking up the pitch of 4*lambda, has associated with it a single bit line diffusion (the other bounding bit line diffusion being associated with the neighboring cell). Therefore, global metal bit lines are naturally reduced to one line per 4*lambda. This also facilitates laying out the segment transistor matrix (e.g. non-interlaced, fully confined segmentation via a one-to-one segment transistor to local BN+network), and requires only one segment select line per array segment. The steering transfer matrix is driven by two transfer lines per segment, coupled with global (metal) steering lines laid out in the pitch of one line per 4*lambda.
[0134] When a transfer line is enabled, it turns on the steering selection transistors for both of the control gates within a cell, for each alternate cell. Each of these two control gates within each of the selected cells are driven by a unique global steering line, which, as in the above described cell embodiment 1 case, are driven, in turn, by the segment select and CGRE circuitry. Also, as in the cell embodiment 1 case, the issue of floating local steeling lines exists, with similar resolution.
[0135] With either cell embodiment, in order to fully capitalize on speed, it is important to make the chunk size as large as possible, maximizing parallelism. Because of the low cell read and programming currents inherent to both cell embodiment 1 and 1 a approaches, peak power is not an issue, nor is adjacent cell leakage, which becomes insignificant. Consequently, the number of floating gates per chunk which can be simultaneously operated on is limited only by segment decode restrictions. With the segmentation approach described, this allows every fourth floating gate to be addressed and operated on, simultaneously, in both cell variants.
[0136] In the case of cell embodiment 1, every fourth diffusion is brought to drain potential, and there are three cells under reversed D/S bias conditions between the drain and the next driven ground. Once the first set of cells is completed operation proceeds to the neighboring set. After the fourth such repetition, the full row is completed.
[0137] In the dual floating gate embodiment 2 case, wherein every other cell is selected, the biasing approach is different. Two adjacent diffusions are driven to drain potential followed by two adjacent diffusions driven to ground, with that pattern repeated over and over. In this way global D/S bias is applied in mirrored fashion to every other of the selected cells, resulting in floating gate of odd selected cells being the opposite of the even selected cells. Appropriate biases are placed on the global steering lines to satisfy the operation of the targeted floating gates. Once done, the bias conditions for both global bit/gnd lines and targeted/untargeted floating gate steering lines are correspondingly interchanged to act on the other floating gate in the selected cells. Once finished, similar operation is repeated to the alternate set of cells, completing full row programming in 4 passes.
[0138] To give an idea of the power of this approach, in a physical row of 1500 floating gate elements, encoded in 8-state (three bits per cell), 375 physical bits or 1125 logical bits are being operated on at one time. Assuming it takes nine pulses to complete programming, this gives a programming rate of 125 logical bits or about 16 bytes per programming pulse, plus similar gains in performance achievable for read. Existing two-state based flash products, by way of comparison, program around 32 bytes per programming pulse, putting the multi-state approach potentially within a factor of two in write speed.
[0139] As described above in this portion of this specification, the cell-by-cell column oriented steering approach, realizable in the two source side injection cell embodiments (standard and dual floating gate embodiments), increases the performance of high level multi-state significantly, improving both its write and read speed. It achieves this by applying, in parallel, custom steering conditions needed for the particular state of each cell. This offers substantial reduction in the number of individual programming steps needed for write, and permits powerful binary search methodology for read, without having to carry out full sequential search operations. Improved performance is further bolstered through increased chunk size, made possible here via the low current source-side injection mechanism, which allows every fourth floating gate element to be operated on, thereby increasing chunk size. Although specific examples of array and segmentation architectures have been described, there are a wide variety of alternate options possible which offer similar capabilities.
[0140] When combining the above concepts with those previously proposed A to D type sensing approaches, which support the greatest density of multi-state or “logical scaling” within a cell, this offers a powerful approach to achieving cost reduced, performance competitive mass storage memories, appropriate to the Gigabit density generation of products. For example, by achieving effective programming and read rates of about 50% that of two-state operation, this bridges the gap between multi-state and two-state performance substantially, so much so that when the remaining overhead is included (i.e. those portions not directly related to chunk read or programming/verify steps), performance differences from those of two-state can become, for all practical purposes, a non-issue. Combining this with the 8 to 16 multi-level (3 to 4 bits) per cell capability, translates to realizing competitively performing ultra-high density mass storage at a fraction of the cost per Megabyte (from one half to one third), of equivalent binary encoded memory.
[0141] Cell Erase Operation—Erase Distribution Tightening
[0142] The independent, bit line oriented steering feature described earlier is, in certain embodiments, exploited to significantly tighten an initially wide erased cell population distribution. In a mass storage memory based on the memory cell/array implementations shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, all cells in a sector or group of sectors are erased simultaneously, by applying a sufficiently high positive bias on the poly 3 erase electrode relative to the poly 2 steering potential. This results in electron tunneling from the poly 1 floating gates to the poly 3 erase anode(s), as is described in the aforementioned copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/607,951.
[0143] An important feature in this embodiment is the capacitive coupling of the combined channel/drain component. It is designed to have a relatively low coupling to the floating gate as compared to the steering element, thereby having only weak impact with respect to the various cell operations, including erase. For example, if the channel potential during erase is the same as that of poly 2 (e.g. both at ground), the channel will provide only a slight assist to the steering gate in the erasing operation, resulting in a slightly stronger erase, while if its potential is more positive than that of the steering gate (e.g. the steering gate bias is lowered negatively, for example to about −7 v, during erase, with the poly 3 erase level lowered the same amount, while the channel potential remains at ground), it will contribute slightly less to erase. Nevertheless, once the poly 3 is raised to the erasing potential, the main contributor to erasing a cell is the steering element and its potential.
[0144] This strong dependence on steering gate potential provides a direct means for controlling the degree of erase on each cell, individually, in the column oriented steering embodiment. Operation is as follows. At the start of the erase operation, all steering lines are biased at their erase enabling potential (e.g. −7 v), and a selected row to be erased (generally this would be one row of a group of rows targeted for erase) is pulsed to a sufficiently positive potential (e.g. 5 v) to start the cell erasing process (removing a portion of the electrons from some or all of the floating gates), but which is insufficient to erase any of the cells within that row to the required full erase margin. Once pulsing is completed, the row is biased into a read-at-erase-margins condition, and each cell is checked to see whether it has erased to that margin or not. For any cells which have so erased (as wilt occur after subsequent erase pulses), their corresponding steering lines will thereafter be biased into a non-erase-enabling or “lock-out” condition (e.g. at 0 v) for all subsequent erase pulsing to that row during the remainder of that erasing session. This feature can be accomplished by flipping latches associated with each of the bit/steering line columns. If one or more cells are still not sufficiently erased, the erase pulse is repeated, preferably at an incrementally higher poly 3 voltage (e.g. 0.5 v higher, although increasing time is used in an alternative embodiment), again followed by the read-at-erase-margins operation.
[0145] This pulse/checking loop is repeated as necessary until all cells become sufficiently erased (or until some other condition such as maximum voltage, pulses, etc. kicks in, at which time defect management options are invoked), terminating the erase operation to that row. This procedure is then repeated on all the other rows targeted for erase, one row at a time, until all rows/sectors so targeted are erased.
[0146] In this way all cells in a sector or group of sectors are both sufficiently erased, and confined to a targeted, tight erase distribution. This capability reduces wear under repeated write cycling, thereby increasing endurance. It is especially useful in speeding up multi-state programming operations following erase, since now time does not have to be expended in bringing heavily overerased cells up to that sufficiently erased condition.
[0147] The drawback of this embodiment is that erasing becomes much more time consuming, replacing potentially one single erase pulse applied to all rows (or sectors) simultaneously, with a series of erase pulse/check operations on a row by row basis, since now only a single row can be erased at a time. This approach is most practical when the time associated with erase is hidden, eliminating its impact on write performance. Today there are a number of ways in which mass storage systems eliminate erase related performance loss, including erase ahead approaches and dynamic address mapping via RAM translation tables. In such systems, a tight erase distribution at the start of write can measurably increase write performance, especially with respect to multi-state.
[0148] The above discussion assumes that each steering line is uniquely associated with one cell. However, because of layout pitch constraints, especially when implemented in a segmented steering architecture, several cells may share one global steering signal, examples of which are shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, where each pair of cells are associated with one global steering line via steering drive segment transfer select transistors. Following are two embodiments utilizing such sharing.
[0149] One embodiment allows the sharing to take place in each erase operation, erasing all cells in one row simultaneously, as described above. In this case, however, erase lock-out on a group of cells (or floating gate transistors in the case of dual floating gate cells) sharing a common steering line can only be invoked when all cells in that group have achieved the required erased state margin. This will result in a fraction of the cells becoming overerased as they wait for the weakest cell in each group to achieve sufficient erasure. For example, if each sharing group consists of four cells, in general three cells will become overerased. FIG. 21 models the impact of this sharing approach on a population of 5000 cells, the erase voltages of which follow a normal distribution with a one-sigma of 0.7 v. In the case of two-cell sharing, 50% of the cells will have minimal overerase, and the remainder will follow a normal distribution with a one-sigma of about 1 v. Comparing this to the original distribution (i.e. without any lockout) shows that with lock-out much fewer cells are subjected to overerasure, at any level of overerase (i.e. they are further up the sigma tail), and the worst case overerase voltage is about 1.3 v lower than the original distribution's worst case overerase of about 4.7 v. The situation is similar in the case of four-cell sharing, with slightly increased levels of overerase to those of two-cell sharing.
[0150] A second embodiment takes advantage of the segment level selection capability, thereby completely avoiding the sharing limitation. Refining specifically to the previously described embodiments, wherein one global steering line is shared by two local steering lines (e.g. FIG. 19 and 20 ), the present embodiment exploits the segment steering line addressing capability to only drive one of the two local steering lines in each cell pair (or half the row's worth of cells) during each erase operation. The unaddressed cell's local steering lines are precharged and floated at the non-erase-enabling voltage condition (e.g. 0 v). Once the addressed half row's worth of cells are taken through their erase/verify/lockout operations to completion, the steering address is shifted to the other, previously unaddressed cell group half, which are then erased to completion, while the first group of cells are maintained in the non-erase-enabling condition. Although this approach doubles the total erase time compared to using a single erase pulse for the entire row, it will have no impact to write performance in erase-hidden implementations, while it does maintain the desirably tight erase distribution.
[0151] In an alternative embodiment, the above controlled overerase methodology is used to write the multi-state data, with the hot electron programming mechanism relegated to the data unconditional preset operation. While optimum write bias conditions and disturb prevention would depend on specific cell and tunneling characteristics, such a tunneling based write approach is made possible by the fundamental cell array architecture, consisting of the independently controllable column steering feature, plus the bit-by-bit lock-out capability of the above disclosed memory concept relating to FIGS. 19 and 20.
[0152] A variety of alternative embodiments of this invention have been taught, which provide improved performance and cost efficiency for multi-state memory devices and systems. The invention now being fully described, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many changes and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the appended claims.
[0153] All publications and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. | Maximized multi-state compaction and more tolerance in memory state behavior is achieved through a flexible, self-consistent and self-adapting mode of detection, covering a wide dynamic range. For high density multi-state encoding, this approach borders on full analog treatment, dictating analog techniques including A to D type conversion to reconstruct and process the data. In accordance with the teachings of this invention, the memory array is read with high fidelity, not to provide actual final digital data, but rather to provide raw data accurately reflecting the analog storage state, which information is sent to a memory controller for analysis and detection of the actual final digital data. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the invention. | [
"RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 08/639,128 filed Apr. 26, 1996, which is a continuation of Ser.",
"No. 08/193,707 filed Feb. 2, 1994, which is a continuation of Ser.",
"No. 07/820,364 filed Jan. 14, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,421.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention pertains to semiconductor memory devices and particularly to multi-state memories.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] As is well known, in a semiconductor memory cell, data is stored by programming the cell to have a desired threshold voltage.",
"Simple memory cells store one of two states, a logical one or a logical zero, in which case the cell is programmed to either turn on or not turn on, respectively, when read conditions are established, thereby allowing the read operation to determine if a logical one or a logical zero has been stored in the memory cell.",
"More sophisticated semiconductor memory cells allow the storage of one of a plurality of memory states greater than two, by providing the ability to store a variety of threshold voltages in the memory cell, each threshold voltage being associated with one of a plurality greater than two logical states.",
"Such multi-state memory cells and arrays are described, for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,043,940 and 5,434,825 issued on inventions of Dr. Eliyahou Harari.",
"[0004] In order to fully exploit the concept of high density multi-state memory devices, the memory states must be packed as closely together as possible, with minimal threshold separation for margin/discrimination overhead.",
"Factors which dictate this overhead are noise, drift (particularly random as opposed to common mode), sensing speed (deltaT=C*deltaV/I), and safety margin guard bands, as well as precision and stability of reference sources/sense circuits.",
"This overhead must be added to the memory state width associated with precision of writing the memory cells (again with respect to the reference sources).",
"With a closed loop write, in which a write is performed followed by a verify operation and in which cells which fail the verify operation are rewritten, the relative precision of memory cell to reference source can be made arbitrarily high by expending more time in writing.",
"State packing will then be dictated more by how precise and stable the various storage sense points can be separated from one another, a property of both memory state stability and how reference points/elements are established.",
"SUMMARY [0005] Maximized multi-state compaction and more tolerance in memory state behavior is achieved through a flexible, self-consistent and self-adapting mode of detection, covering a wide dynamic range.",
"For high density multi-state encoding, this approach borders on full analog treatment, dictating analog techniques including A to D type conversion to reconstruct and process the data.",
"In accordance with the teachings of this invention, the memory array is read with high fidelity, not to provide actual final digital data, but rather to provide raw data accurately reflecting the analog storage state, which information is sent to a memory controller for analysis and detection of the actual final digital data.",
"[0006] One goal of the present invention is to provide self-consistent, adaptive and tracking capability for sensing, capable of establishing both the data and the “quality”",
"of the data (i.e. the margins).",
"In accordance with certain embodiments of this invention, tracking cells are included within each of the sectors.",
"These tracking cells are set at known states to reliably establish the optimum discrimination points for each of the various states.",
"In certain embodiments, this is accomplished using as few as one cell per state.",
"However, if better statistics are vital to establishing the optimum discrimination point, a small population of cells sufficient to establish such optimum points statistically is used.",
"Data from these tracking cells will be the first information from the sector to be read into the controller, in order to establish the optimum discrimination points for the remainder of the sector data.",
"In order to make these cells track the rest of the sectors in terms of data history and wear, they are subjected to the same logical to physical data state translation (rotation) writing as used for their associated sectors.",
"[0007] In accordance with various alternative embodiments of this invention, high density multi-state memories are taught which include parallel, full chunk, A/D conversion of multi-state data, with adequate resolution to provide analog measure of the encoded states;",
"master reference cell(s) whose prime function is to provide optimum dynamic range for comparator sensing;",
"Logical to Physical Data scrambling to provide both intra-sector wear leveling and increased endurance capability;",
"and intra-sector tracking cell groups, one for each state, included in each sector to provide optimum compare points for the various states, and able to adapt to any common mode shifts (e.g. detrapping).",
"In accordance with certain embodiments, a controller incorporates a data processing “engine”",
"to, on-the-fly, find midpoints of each tracking cell group.",
"The controller also establishes data state discrimination and marginality filter points.",
"Sector data is passed through the controller, giving both the encoded memory state, and its quality (marginality), for each physical bit.",
"If desired, the controller decides what actions must be taken to clean up (scrub) marginal bit data based on the quality information (e.g. do full sector erase and rewrite versus selective write, only).",
"Also, if desired, the invention includes a small counter on each sector, which is incremented each time a read scrub is encountered.",
"When the count reaches maximum allowed, marginal bit(s) are mapped out rather than rewritten and counter is reset to 0.",
"This provides a filter for truly “bad”",
"bits.",
"Similar features are applied in reverse to write multi-state data back into a sector, using the same circuitry as used for read but operated in reverse, to provide self-consistent data encoding.",
"In addition, two alternative embodiments for performing verification are taught: using a reference current staircase to sequentially scan through the range of states, conditionally terminating each cell as the current step corresponding to its target data is presented to the sensing circuit;",
"and using a full set of N−1 reference currents of the N possible states to simultaneously verify and conditionally terminate all cells.",
"In certain embodiments, a twin-cell option is included in each sector to provide deltaVt shift level associated with cycling driven trapping and channel wearout, triggering sector retirement before detrapping shifts exceed read dynamic range or other potential read errors.",
"This replaces hot count based sector retirement, greatly increasing usable endurance.",
"[0008] As another feature of certain embodiments of this invention, a cell-by-cell column oriented steering approach, realizable in two source side injection cell embodiments, increases the performance of high level multi-state significantly, improving both its write and read speed.",
"It achieves this by applying, in parallel, custom steering conditions needed for the particular state of each cell.",
"This offers substantial reduction in the number of individual programming steps needed for write, and permits powerful binary search methodology for read, without having to carry out full sequential search operations.",
"Improved performance is further bolstered through increased chunk size, made possible via the low current source-side injection mechanism, which allows every fourth floating gate element to be operated on, thereby increasing chunk size.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0009] [0009 ]FIG. 1 a is a schematic representation of one embodiment of this invention which utilizes dynamic sensing of the selected memory cell.",
"[0010] [0010 ]FIG. 1 b is a graph depicting the voltages associated with sensing the state of the memory cell of the embodiment of FIG. 1 a;",
"[0011] [0011 ]FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting one embodiment of this invention in which trip times associated with reading a plurality of cells are converted to binary code;",
"[0012] [0012 ]FIG. 3 is an alternative embodiment of this invention which uses a static sensing approach utilizing current comparators;",
"[0013] [0013 ]FIG. 4 a is a diagram depicting exemplary state ranges and counter/A/D resolution for 4-level multi-state encoding;",
"[0014] [0014 ]FIG. 4 b is a diagram depicting exemplary state ranges and counter/A/D resolution for 8-level multi-state encoding;",
"[0015] [0015 ]FIG. 5 is a flow-chart depicting the operation of one embodiment of this invention;",
"[0016] [0016 ]FIG. 6 is a bit map depicting user data and overhead data associated with one embodiment of the present invention;",
"[0017] [0017 ]FIG. 7 is a flowchart depicting in more detail one embodiment of the step of processing tracking cell data in FIG. 5;",
"[0018] [0018 ]FIG. 8 is a block diagram depicting programming and verification elements suitable for use in the embodiment of FIG. 3;",
"[0019] [0019 ]FIG. 9 is a flowchart depicting the operation of one embodiment of this invention as depicted in FIG. 8;",
"[0020] [0020 ]FIG. 10, composed of FIGS. 10 a and 10 b , is a flowchart depicting an alternative embodiment of this invention suitable for use in connection with the embodiment of FIG. 8;",
"[0021] [0021 ]FIG. 11 is an alternative embodiment of this invention which allows for improved verify processing;",
"[0022] [0022 ]FIG. 12 is a diagram depicting one embodiment of a twin-cell of the present invention;",
"[0023] [0023 ]FIG. 13 is a diagram depicting one embodiment of a cell suitable for use in connection with certain embodiments of this invention;",
"[0024] [0024 ]FIG. 14 is a diagram depicting one embodiment of the cell-read operation of this invention using the cell embodiment of FIG. 13;",
"[0025] [0025 ]FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of this invention with reference to the embodiment to FIG. 14;",
"[0026] [0026 ]FIG. 16 is a diagram depicting an alternative embodiment of this invention in which sensing is performed on a plurality of bits simultaneously as could be used in conjunction with the embodiment of FIG. 14;",
"[0027] [0027 ]FIG. 17 is a diagram depicting one embodiment of this invention in which common elements are used for both reading and multi-state programming;",
"[0028] [0028 ]FIG. 18 is an alternative embodiment of this invention in which certain control elements are replicated, one set used for programming and the other for read/verify operations;",
"[0029] [0029 ]FIG. 19 is a diagram depicting one embodiment of an array suitable for use in accordance with the teachings of this invention;",
"[0030] [0030 ]FIG. 20 is a diagram depicting an alternative array suitable for use in conjunction with the present invention;",
"and [0031] [0031 ]FIG. 21 is a graph depicting the distribution of erased cell levels in accordance with certain embodiments of this invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0032] A/D Sensing [0033] A first step in this invention is acquiring the full analog value of the memory state (e.g. the actual cell current, which in turn reflects the actual stored floating gate voltage VFG).",
"The following describes two alternative embodiments for rapidly sensing and converting, to digital form, data stored in a large number of physical cells (e.g. a chunk of 256 cells) simultaneously, each cell capable of storing a large number of multi-states (e.g. four states or more), and sensing capable of spanning a wide dynamic range.",
"The basis underlying both of these embodiments is the analog property of the memory cell, wherein its current drive capability is in proportion to its stored floating gate charge (voltage).",
"Consequently, each memory state is characterized by its current drive capability (in actuality a narrow range of current drives, including margin capability).",
"Therefore sensing and discriminating the various states comes down to differentiating between the various drive level ranges.",
"Two exemplary embodiments are now described for achieving this differentiation.",
"[0034] A first embodiment is described with reference to FIGS. 1 a and 1 b , and involves dynamic-type sensing, wherein the bit lines (such as bit line 101 ) of the selected memory cells (such as cell 102 ) are precharged (e.g. to 2.5 v), and then the row (e.g. word line 103 ) of the selected cells is turned on, preferably using a controlled ramp (e.g. 5 usec rise time) or a stepped staircase (for example over 5 usec), allowing the respective bit lines to discharge through the selected memory cells at rates proportional to their current driving capability.",
"When the bit lines discharge to a predetermined voltage (e.g. 1 v), they flip a corresponding sense amplifier (e.g. sense amplifier 104 ), indicating sense achieved.",
"The time taken to flip the sense amplifier from the start of sensing is an analog measure of the cell drive: the longer the time, the lower the drive (i.e. cell is more programmed, having more negative charge on the floating gate as depicted in FIG. 1 b ).",
"[0035] Table 1 is an example of sense amplifier trip time to cell current drive capability based on simulation using floating gate cell I-V data.",
"TABLE 1 ICELL (uAmps) 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Trip time (usec) 5.4 4.9 4.7 4.4 4.2 3.9 3.7 3.5 3.4 [0036] In the example of Table 1, bit line 101 is precharged to 5 v and tripped at 2.5 v, load capacitance is 1.25 pF and control gate rate of increase is 1.25 v/usec, ramped to 7 v in a staircase fashion.",
"Because of disturbs, it is undesirable to expose the memory cell drain to more than 2 v. Therefore the 5 v precharge is, in one embodiment, applied to sense capacitor 105 isolated from the memory cell drain, and the drain is only allowed to charge to a lower voltage (e.g. 1.5 v).",
"With column segmentation this drain voltage lowering is, in one embodiment, done locally, using a segment select transistor to limit the voltage transferred from a global bit line to the local bit line, such as is described in copending U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,541 assigned to Sandisk Corporation.",
"[0037] In one embodiment, the trip times are converted en masse to a binary code using an A/D approach, as shown in FIG. 2. Time is metered using clock 205 which increments master counter 204 which in the example shown here is an 8 bit counter.",
"Counter 204 drives lines 209 (8 lines in this example) which feed into registers 201 - 1 through 201 -N via transfer gates 202 - 1 through 202 -N, respectively, with one register for each cell being sensed (e.g. 256, 8-bit registers for a 256 bit memory chunk size).",
"At the start of sensing, counter 204 is initialized to zero, and then starts counting up, with the registers reflecting the count.",
"[0038] At the point of a cell sensing (i.e. at the sense amplifier trip time), the corresponding sense amplifier flips, which isolates the corresponding register from counter 204 , thereby freezing the time (and its associated binary code) in that register.",
"In this way, each register contains a binary representation of the analog storage level of the memory cell to the resolution of the A/D (e.g. with 8 bits this gives resolution of approximately 1 part in 256 or about 0.4%).",
"[0039] To insure both adequate resolution and dynamic range, the clock frequency (i.e. sampling rate) must be properly chosen.",
"If too fast it will not span the full range of times needed for a sense amplifier to flip for all possible stored memory cell data values before hitting the maximum count, while if too slow the result will be poor resolution and the [0040] risk of inability to discriminate between neighboring states.",
"In order to provide some relationship with the memory cell's drive characteristics, in one embodiment the frequency of clock 205 is governed by a memory cell (or group of memory cells) set at an appropriate drive level.",
"In this way, clock 205 tracks process variation and operating conditions (e.g. voltage and temperature), setting up the optimum clocking rate to span the cell's dynamic range and associated memory states.",
"[0041] Although this embodiment is relatively simple and effective, it does have limitations by nature of its being dynamic.",
"Time constants associated with word line and/or bit line delays and their variations contribute both relative and absolute error.",
"For example, if word line RC time constants are long relative to ramp (or step interval) times, then there can be significant differences in the times in which cells along the word or steering line (or a single line serving as both the word line for selection and steering line for capacitive coupling) experience a given word line steering drive voltage.",
"The consequence of this is that cells at different positions along such lines will respond at different times.",
"Also, conversion from cell current drive to comparator trip time is not exactly linear, because the discharge rates and characteristics depend on the drive levels of the cell which will vary with the bit line bias level (with conduction tending to decrease as bit line voltage levels drop, stretching out bit line discharge time).",
"Also, the bit line capacitance can have a significant voltage dependence arising from junction CV characteristics.",
"This nonlinearity in comparator trip time results in nonlinearity in time in the separation of states and margins in going from the lowest to the highest charged memory states (whereas it is desirable to space the memory states evenly, charge-wise, to get maximum fit of states within the dynamic range and to have uniform margins).",
"[0042] A second exemplary embodiment removes these limitations by using a static sensing approach utilizing current comparators, as shown in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3. The fixed reference voltage, Vref, of the embodiment of FIG. 2 is replaced with a staircase reference current (Iref) source 310 , which starts off at a minimum level, Imin, and increments by ΔI with each count of clock 305 (i.e. after n clock pulses Iref=Imin+n*ΔI).",
"For a given memory cell, when the reference current just exceeds the cell current, the associated one of current comparator sense amplifiers 104 - 1 through 104 -N will flip, freezing the corresponding count of counter 304 (which increments in sync with staircase current generator 310 ) into the corresponding one of registers.",
"In one embodiment, the scale factor for staircase current source 310 (e.g. its maximum current) is established using one or a population of floating gate memory cells (e.g. erased strongly) in order to provide optimum dynamic range with tracking of process and operating conditions;",
"i.e. the regulation of current source includes monitoring the characteristics of one or more floating gate cells dedicated for use in connection with this current source regulation.",
"[0043] This second embodiment, while a bit more complex, offers better control, linearity and minimizes or eliminates sensitivity to dynamic effects.",
"This includes eliminating the need for repetitive, controlled ramping of word lines in the case of dynamic sensing, simplifying many of the timing and associated control operations.",
"[0044] Once sensing is completed and data is frozen into all registers 301 - 1 through 301 -N, it is shifted out, for example, serially.",
"A simple way to do this is to have the registers 301 - 1 through 301 -N tied together in shift register fashion.",
"In the above example, the data stored in each register each comprises eight bits, requiring an eight line wide bus to shift the full data out of the memory chip (for example to a memory controller, such as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,859 assigned to Sandisk Corporation, for sending to requesting devices) in one controller clock cycle, and thus requires eight output pads/pins.",
"If data rate to the controller is less critical while keeping the number of pads/pins down is important, then the eight bits could be broken down, e.g. shifting out the four MSB bits first followed by the four LSB bits through four pads in two controller clock cycles, or shifting out groups of two bits four times through two output pads in four controller clock cycles, etc.",
"[0045] Tracking/Data Scrambling [0046] As previously stated, one goal of the present invention is to provide self-consistent, adaptive and tracking capability for sensing, capable of establishing both the data and the “quality”",
"of the data (i.e. the margins).",
"In accordance with certain embodiments of this invention, tracking cells are included within each of the sectors such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,338 assigned to Sandisk Corporation.",
"These tracking cells are set at known states to reliably establish the optimum discrimination points for each of the various states.",
"In certain embodiments, this is accomplished using as few as one cell per state.",
"However, if better statistics are vital to establishing the optimum discrimination point, a small population of cells sufficient to establish such optimum points statistically is used.",
"For example in one embodiment ten physical cells are used for each state, in which case for 4-state encoding a total of 40 physical cells are used, as part of the overhead portion of the sector.",
"[0047] As will be described below, data from these tracking cells will be the first information from the sector to be read into the controller, in order to establish the optimum discrimination points for the remainder of the sector data.",
"However, in order to make these cells track the rest of the sectors in terms of data history and wear, they are not repeatedly erased and written into the same, fixed, pre-assigned states.",
"This is because the amount of wear will be peculiar to that state and may not reflect the wear/history of the remainder of the sector.",
"In one embodiment, managing wear, both in terms of insuring uniformity (i.e. intra-sector wear leveling) and in keeping such wear to a minimum, is handled by some method of continuous or periodic re-assignment of each of the logical states (e.g. logical states L 0 , L 1 , L 2 and L 3 ) to a corresponding physical state (e.g. physical states P 0 , P 1 , P 2 , and P 3 ), an example of which is shown in Table 2.",
"These physical states P 0 to P 3 correspond to specific conduction levels of each memory cell;",
"e.g. P 0 is the highest conducting state, P 1 is the next highest conducting state, P 2 the next highest, and P 3 the least conductive state.",
"A description of this concept applied to two state encoding and termed “program/inverse program”",
"is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,979 assigned to Sandisk Corporation.",
"[0048] Re-assignment of states with subsequent writes (in one embodiment with each subsequent write, and in alternative embodiments after a specific number of writes) is done, for example, by rotation or on a random number basis.",
"This guarantees that, on the average, over many cycles, only about half of the full possible charge is transported to the cells, and that the wear of each cell is virtually identical to all others within its sector.",
"The embodiment utilizing a random number assignment between logical and physical states has the advantage that it eliminates the possibility of synchronization between the logical to physical data re-assignment algorithm and variable user data, which would defeat such wear leveling.",
"TABLE 2 Physical State Assignment Logical State #1 #2 #3 #4 L0 P0 P3 P2 P1 L1 P1 P0 P3 P2 L2 P2 P1 P0 P3 L3 P3 P2 P1 P0 [0049] All tracking cells for each given logical state are re-assigned to the same physical state, e.g. all ten cells of one tracking group assigned with the role of storing logical state L 1 , are set to either P 0 , P 1 , P 2 or P 3 , for a particular write cycle, dictated by the scrambling algorithm.",
"Given that the tracking cells go through the same scrambling operation as the remainder of the sector, they not only reflect the wear of that sector, but also provide the translation means to convert back from physical to logical state.",
"Since each tracking group is given a constant pre-assigned logical state responsibility, when the controller deciphers the various tracking cells groups (e.g. the four groups of ten cells each) it will concurrently establish the translation for the sector.",
"[0050] Resolution Requirements [0051] More resolution requires more time to sense (more steps in the A/D), more die area associated with the larger registers, more cost associated with shipping data out to the controller (more parallelism dictates more pads and thus an area penalty or, with same number of pads, takes longer to shift out all the data, and thus a performance penalty), and more cost associated with processing the data in the controller.",
"Inadequate resolution results in limited visibility in common mode population margin shifts (e.g. due to trapping/detrapping effects), resulting in larger error in establishing comparator points.",
"This larger error must be included in the multi-state budget, forcing larger separation between states, and consequently fewer states, i.e. lower multi-state scalability.",
"[0052] A reasonable resolution target is A/D resolutions equal to approximately 3% of the state-to-state separation.",
"This provides visibility into sufficiently small cell current shifts within a population to allow meaningful correction (i.e. avoiding margin failure from tail bits within a population due to poorer resolution), and does not impose such a high resolution that it becomes meaningless vis a vis the various noise and error terms associated with setting and measuring states.",
"[0053] Specific examples for state ranges and counter/A/D resolution are shown in FIG. 4 a and 5 b for 4-level and 8-level multi-state encoding, respectively.",
"The cell current/floating gate voltage relationship used in FIGS. 5 a and 5 b for read are representative of cell characteristics built in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, using 0.5 micron based flash semiconductor fabrication technology available today, which for example has an I/V slope of approximately 20 uamps/volt with the zero current intercept (projected threshold) at 4.25 v. [0054] In the example shown, the state-to-state separation for a four state cell is 30 uamps, the A/D resolution is 1 uamps and the dynamic range covered is 0 to 128 uamps.",
"This gives about a {fraction (1/30)} resolution of the state to state separation (3.3%).",
"A population of cells written into a given intermediate state is confined to a 10 uamp window, i.e. spanning ten steps of resolution.",
"Therefore 1 A/D step bit offers a 10% resolution of the written population distribution, and any common mode shift of that magnitude, over time, can be corrected in 10% resolution steps.",
"Therefore, for 4-state a 7 bit A/D is suitable.",
"[0055] The situation is similar for the eight state example of FIG. 4 b , except state to state separation is 15 uamps, and A/D resolution is 0.5 uamps, covering the same 0 to 128 uamps dynamic range.",
"This offers the same percentage of the population resolution, for which an eight bit A/D is suitable.",
"[0056] Adaptive Multi-State Discrimination [0057] The following describes the data flow and handling by the controller for each sector read operation.",
"In order to support high speed, in one embodiment this operation is performed in hardware and/or firmware.",
"For the purposes of the following discussion, the example of 4-state encoding, with 7 bit sensing resolution (providing 128 steps on the order of 1 uamp per step) and ten tracking cells for each of the four states, is used.",
"FIG. 4 a depicts 4-state encoding with each bit of resolution corresponding to approximately 1 uamp (therefore about a 100 uamp full range).",
"In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 4 a, 4-states are shown, physical states P 0 , P 1 , P 2 , and P 3 .",
"State P 0 is established by setting the cell to have a cell current under read conditions of 90 uamps or more (e.g. by erasing the cell to that value).",
"When reading, state P 0 is detected when cell current is 85 uamps or more, thereby allowing a slightly relaxed tolerance for reading than writing.",
"The programming levels for states P 1 , P 2 , and P 3 are also shown in FIG. 4 a , as are the looser read current levels for each of those states.",
"An appropriate guard band is placed between each state such that, for example, a cell current during read between 75 and 85 uamps is too ambiguous to be associated with either of adjacent states P 0 and P 1 .",
"[0058] The operation of this embodiment will now be described with respect to the flowchart of FIG. 5 and the diagram of FIG. 6. First, the reference tracking cell's data is shifted into the controller, one 8 bit set (or byte) for each cell.",
"This data is then processed as illustrated in more detail in the flowchart of FIG. 7, starting with the first tracking cell group assigned to logical state L 0 as described in Table 2.",
"The function of these bits is to establish the optimum compare point for the L 0 state by first establishing where the center of the population of tracking cells placed into the L 0 state is.",
"This can be accomplished on the ten cells per state population by continuously summing each successive data of the ten L 0 cells, giving accumulation of those ten cell's data.",
"It is desirable to maintain a max and min register concurrently, in order to minimize chance of error from an isolated, errant cell, either high or low.",
"This is done by comparing each successive piece of data to the previously stored comparator data and at each compare operation storing the higher (lower) into the max (min) comparator.",
"Once data from all ten cells have shifted in, it is processed to establish the filter point, for example by subtracting the max and the min from the sum and dividing the result by 8 (i.e. shifted to right three times), giving the average storage level of the L 0 assigned tracking cells.",
"Rounding to the nearest number is, in one embodiment, accomplished by shifting to the right three times but temporarily storing the third bit shifted and then summing this bit with the shifted value.",
"This is then repeated for the L 1 , L 2 and L 3 tracking cell population, at which point the system has determined the physical to logical conversion for each state.",
"In one embodiment, this conversion is performed by ordering the L 0 , L 1 , L 2 , and L 3 states into descending order, and then matching this to the corresponding physical state assignment as shown in Table 2.",
"For example, if L 0 happens to correspond to physical state P 0 it will have the highest value of the four states, if L 0 corresponds to physical state P 1 it will have the next highest value, and so forth, and likewise for states L 1 , L 2 , and L 3 .",
"If after ordering the order is L 0 , L 1 , L 2 , L 3 then state assignment #1 of Table 2 was used.",
"On the other hand, if the order is L 1 , L 2 , L 3 , L 0 the assignment #2 was used, and so forth per Table 2.",
"In this embodiment, the optimum discrimination points between the four physical levels, P 0 , P 1 , P 2 , and P 3 are established by calculating the midpoints between P 0 and P 1 , P 1 and P 2 , and P 2 and P 3 .",
"Slightly better precision is achieved by postponing the division by 8 for the individual ten cell groups until after summing P 0 and P 1 , P 1 and P 2 , etc.",
", at which point the average of P 0 and P 1 is obtained by summing P 0 and P 1 and dividing by 16 (shifting four to the right with provisions for rounding) and similarly for P 1 and P 2 , and P 2 , and P 3 , thereby establishing three compare values, C 1 , C 2 , C 3 , respectively, which are shown in FIG. 4 a as current points 80 , 50 , and 20 between states P 0 , P 1 , P 2 , and P 3 .",
"[0059] This then gives the optimum compare or filter points for the rest of the sector's data, which is now shifted in.",
"As data is passed through, it is sifted through a set of comparators (for example, as described later with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 and 7) set at those compare points to establish their state;",
"i.e. higher than C 1 , (making it state P 0 ), between C 1 and C 2 (making it P 1 ) between C 2 and C 3 (making it state P 2 ) or lower than C 3 (making it state P 3 ).",
"These are then translated to their corresponding logical states, based on the specific logical to physical assignment used, as discussed above.",
"In one embodiment, compare points C 1 , C 2 , C 3 , loaded into the comparators are adaptive in nature, established by the sector itself via the tracking cells.",
"In this way the sensing tracks the properties of the population of cells within the sector, their operating voltage and temperature conditions, history and wear, and any common mode drift, as for example may arise from detrapping of gate oxide trapped charge, accumulated during write cycling.",
"Since such detrapping is also present in the tracking cells, they establish the optimum point for sensing, whatever the degree of detrapping, provided their conduction remains within the dynamic range of cell state sensing capability (i.e. ability to still discriminate between the various states), and the mechanism is truly common mode, with minimal dispersion.",
"[0060] In one embodiment, this adaptive adjustment of the compare points is performed in a continuous, real time manner.",
"In an alternative embodiment, the optimum compare points for the L 0 state as well as the other states L 1 -L 3 are established periodically as part of a maintenance operation, and not in real time as actual data is being read, to reduce impact on system performance.",
"This latter approach improves performance by eliminating the repetitive overhead time associated with processing the tracking cell data.",
"In one embodiment, it is invoked on a predetermined read interval basis as part of a read/margins checkout, and/or invoked in the rare event of read marginality or failure.",
"This gives the ability to recover data or restore margins through data rewrite using the most optimum read reference conditions via the tracking cells.",
"[0061] In one embodiment, a sector is broken down as shown in FIG. 6, to include user data and overhead bytes.",
"The overhead bytes include a plurality of reference tracking cells for monitoring the condition of one or more cells known to be programmed to each of the logical states in the multi-state memory.",
"The overhead also includes, if desired, header information such as address information, ECC bits, bit and/or sector mapping related information, and counts of the number of writes to the sector.",
"Referring again to FIG. 5, as the rest of the sector's data is read and processed using the compare points established based on the referenced tracking cell's characteristics, a decision is made as to whether the data is acceptable or not.",
"If not, gross defect management is invoked, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,987.",
"On the other hand, if the data is acceptable, a decision is made as to whether the data is “clean”, i.e. of a sufficiently high quality that there no data margin or ECC related problems.",
"If the answer is yes, the data is sent out to the host without further intervention;",
"conversely if the answer is no (i.e. the data is not clean), the necessary error correction or “clean up”",
"step is invoked thereby not only sending the data out to the host but also insuring that the corrected data is clean upon subsequent reads.",
"[0062] Data Quality Assessment and Response [0063] As described above, one feature derived from this invention is the ability to concurrently determine not only the data itself but also the “quality”",
"of each data point, or its margin, with respect to the above described compare points.",
"Even when a bit of data is read correctly, if it gets too close to a compare point, it may become unreliable sometime in the future, giving erroneous readings due to noise sensitivity, additional margin shift, or change in operating conditions arising from power supply or temperature variation.",
"Therefore, the quality measurement achieved by this invention provides a failure look-ahead capability, something dealt with in prior art, using special read-under-margin operations.",
"Such prior art read-under-margin operations generally involve multiple pass reads, invoked under special conditions or circumstances, and requiring special circuitry (which may include controlled changes to reference/sensing circuitry or special cell biasing operation) to establish the needed margin differentials.",
"Often, the accuracy or resolution of such differential means is limited, forcing larger margins than absolutely required.",
"In the case of multi-state, this would dictate wider memory threshold voltage windows per state, and consequently wider voltage separation between states, thereby resulting in fewer states available for a given cell's dynamic voltage range, and consequent lower memory storage density per cell.",
"However, with the novel approach of the present invention, the margin or “quality”",
"of the data is a natural byproduct of each read operation, requiring no special modes or events to initiate it, and allowing the system to instantly react to any detection of marginal data.",
"In essence, the capability of a “look ahead data recovery”",
"is automatically included each read operation.",
"However, instead of such margining operation being considered a very rare operation for a very rare event, in accordance with the present invention, the trade-off made in order to achieve high density multi-state is to allow a substantially higher incidence of such marginality, with such marginality being made manageable by providing a measure of this marginality as part of the standard read operation.",
"[0064] In one embodiment, the specific way such marginality detection is implemented includes, around each of the compare values C 1 , C 2 , C 3 , an additional pair of values C 1 +del, C 1 −del, C 2 +del, etc.",
", shown in FIG. 4 a as “poor margin filter”, and associated comparators (not shown).",
"Any data falling between the compare points C 1 , C 2 , C 3 and their associated +/−del points is tagged as marginal (e.g. if state P 2 , which falls between compare values C 2 and C 3 , is detected to be between C 2 and C 2 -delta or C 3 +delta and C 3 , it is then tagged as marginal).",
"Consequently, each piece of 4-state data can have a three bit result, the first two bits, A and B, for the actual data and a third bit, Q, for its marginality or “quality”",
"(e.g. 0 if OK and 1 if marginal), as depicted in Table 3.",
"TABLE 3 NO MARGINALITY MARGINAL RESULTS PROBLEMS DATA A 0 0 1 1 0 0 11 B 0 1 0 1 0 1 01 Q 0 0 0 0 1 1 11 [0065] In one embodiment, the quality of the data includes additional information, for example whether the sensed parameter (e.g. cell current) is too high or too low with respect to the center of that state's population (e.g. for state P 2 , if found between C 2 -delta and C 2 it is too high, whereas if between and C 3 and C 3 +delta it is too low).",
"This allows clean up reaction conditional oil its direction of marginality.",
"For example, if a memory cell's marginality is a consequence of being shifted towards being too heavily programmed, the course of action is to re-erase and program that data as is part of a full sector data scrub operation.",
"On the other hand, if a memory cell's marginality is such that it is shifted towards being too heavily erased, recovery of proper margin for the state of the memory cell is accomplished by programming only that one memory cell slightly in order to regain its needed margin or “quality.”",
"An example of the latter is the case of relaxation of trapped channel electrons (which can accumulate after a large number of writes to a cell or a group of cells) which causes cell margins to drift from a more to a less heavily programmed condition.",
"In such a case, it is sufficient to add some programming operations to regain cell state margins;",
"no sector erase before programming is required.",
"[0066] In one embodiment, a count is stored within each sector as part of the sector's header whose function is to be incremented each time a corrective action associated with a read scrub takes place.",
"Once this count reaches a maximum allowed level, CMAX, the corrective action invoked is to map out the marginal/failing bits, whereas prior to reaching this CMAX value, data is rewritten without such mapping.",
"This embodiment preserves the sector longer prior to the entire sector being retired from service, by avoiding nuisance marginalities resulting in excessive bit and sector mapping, while filtering out the truly bad bits which should be mapped out.",
"Once the CMAX count is reached for a sector and the failing marginal bit is mapped out, the counter is reset to zero and the procedure is repeated.",
"[0067] Multi-State Writing [0068] Writing the multi-state data is now described with reference to the exemplary circuit diagram of FIG. 8 and the associated flow chart of FIG. 9. With reference to FIG. 8, the components located within the dashed line indicate components which are replicated for each sector.",
"Following the data unconditional sector erase, data is written into that sector on a chunk by chunk basis.",
"Starting with the first chunk, the first intermediate state, state P 1 , is placed into the programmed state, which is initiated by using a short, low voltage VCG pulse (for example approximately 4 usec at 2 v control gate bias) followed by a verify read against a reference current set at the level appropriate for state P 1 .",
"For bits within the chunk targeted to receive this programming, but which become sufficiently programmed, an internal circuit locks out further programming of those bits, while targeted cells, still insufficiently programmed, experience the next programming pulse, which is of the same width as the first, but has incrementally higher VCG (e.g. 200 mV higher), again followed by verify.",
"This sequence of programming with incrementally higher VCG followed be verify continues until all state P 1 cells targeted within the chunk are verified, or until a maximum VCG is reached (in which case defect management is invoked).",
"Then the next intermediate state, state P 2 , is written, in similar fashion to the first intermediate state P 1 , but using the reference current setting associated with that state, and starting with a VCG level appropriate for reliably programming that state in the shortest time.",
"This procedure is repeated for each state until all states in the chunk are programmed and verified, and the whole process repeated on the remaining chunks on a chunk by chunk basis.",
"[0069] An alternative embodiment, depicted in the flowchart of FIG. 10, provides an increase in speed.",
"In this embodiment all states within a chunk of bits are programmed concurrently in a single VCG staircase progression as follows.",
"The data to be written into the chunk is shifted into the corresponding registers (e.g. register 43 of FIG. 8), exactly mirroring the readout operation, and the corresponding bit RS latch 46 is set enabling its associated bit line driver.",
"Associated with each physical data state, P 0 , P 1 , P 2 , P 3 is its register count and corresponding current level.",
"After each programming pulse the reference current staircase is invoked in analogous fashion to the read operation, with the master counter concurrently incremented.",
"A comparator circuit associated with each register (formed of transfer gate 41 and XOR gate 42 ) compares the input data (i.e. count) stored in register 43 to that of master counter 44 .",
"When a match occurs, the program lockout feature upon verify is enabled.",
"Actual lockout only occurs when the corresponding cell is sufficiently programmed to pass read verify with respect to the associated reference current setting, (i.e. programmed into the associated physical state).",
"Once verify is successful, NAND gate 45 resets RS latch 46 , disabling its associated bit line driver 47 , and resulting in all subsequent programming of that cell being disabled for the remainder of the sector write operation.",
"If verify fails, the cell will receive the next VCG incremented programming pulse followed again by the scanned current source/master counter verify procedure.",
"[0070] Unlike reading, which calls for use of the entire current staircase to resolve the state to full analog precision, the write/verify operation only needs to use those reference current settings and associated counts specific to the set of memory states, e.g. specific to states P 1 , P 2 , P 3 as predefined (P 0 , being the erased state, is excluded and inhibited from programming from the outset).",
"This helps speed up the verify process by having three settings in the case of 4-states, in place of 128 settings exemplified for the read operation of FIG. 4 a , where 128 settings allows for quality determinations to be made.",
"Therefore, as illustrated in the example of FIG. 10, each verify consists of a three step staircase operation in which the first step consists of setting up (e.g. rapidly incrementing up to) the first reference current level associated with physical state P 1 , including concurrently setting up the master counter (e.g. counting) to the corresponding counter value, performing a read/sense operation, and locking out from further programming any cells which both match their register value to that of the master counter and are read as programmed (with respect to the corresponding reference current setting).",
"Each following step of the three step operation consists of setting up (e.g. rapidly counting up to) the next data current level and corresponding reference current setting and repeating the read/sense operation, identically to the first step, until all three steps are completed.",
"[0071] Note that it may not be necessary to have a full match of the 8 bits, only that a sufficient number of MSB (most significant, or of highest current weight bits) match.",
"This is most applicable when there are much fewer allowed states and corresponding cell current targets than resolution of the A/D.",
"In this case, as long as the MSB bits uniquely differentiate each of the various states (e.g. there are a minimum of two MSB bits for 4 state and 4 MSB bits for 16 states) only those MSB bits are required for the exclusive OR.",
"This will save some area associated with exclusive OR circuitry, but does restrict somewhat the current assignment flexibility for each state.",
"[0072] This program/3-step verify procedure is repeated, with VCG incremented in each subsequent program step, until all cells in the chunk are verified or max VCG level is reached, as described previously.",
"This entire operation is then repeated for all remaining chunks of the sector, at which point sector multi-state date writing is complete.",
"[0073] A significant advantage of this novel approach is that it can be extended to a large number of multi-states (e.g. 16) without substantially impacting write performance, other than that required for improved resolution (e.g. more and smaller VCG steps, or lower drain programming voltage VPD, to slow down programming rate), and the additional time needed to sense/verify each of the additional states.",
"The latter, being a read operation, tends to be much faster than programming, and therefore should not substantially impact write performance.",
"[0074] An alternative embodiment which speeds up the verify process is depicted in the diagram of FIG. 11.",
"In place of the single adjustable reference current source, multiple current sources (or parallel tap points of a master current source) are used.",
"In one embodiment, the number of current sources is (n−1), where n is the number of states, since a current point is not needed for the fully erased state.",
"A data-in register of size K is used for each cell in the chunk, where 2{circumflex over ( )}K=n.",
"The information written into the data register by the controller at the start of write is used to select one of the n−1 current levels during verify, dependent on the particular state.",
"Upon verify, all cells of the chunk are compared simultaneously to their corresponding particular reference target in a single verify operation, locking out further programming, on a cell by cell basis, if successful.",
"This allows full verify to complete in one parallel operation, as opposed to the multi-step serial operation in the previously described embodiment, substantially improving verify speed.",
"The cost is the requirement of the multi-current sources, counting and associated selection circuitry within each bit of the chunk.",
"As in the multi-step embodiment, the requirement of data-in register can be served by a portion (e.g. the MSB portion) of the existing readout register.",
"The exclusive OR used in the embodiment of FIG. 8 is now replaced with straight decoding to select the appropriate current source.",
"[0075] Twin-Cell Relaxation Alarm [0076] An additional feature of the adaptive multi-state discrimination sensing of the present invention is the ability to put bounds to extreme states, an upper bound for the highest state (e.g. physical state P 0 ) and lower bound for the lowest state, assuming that this lowest state is not already in cutoff.",
"When the extreme states (as for example reflected within a subset of the tracking cells) cross those bounds, the data is deemed to be outside the limits of safe detectability vis a vis available dynamic range, and sector data either needs to be refreshed (rewritten) or the sector mapped out, replacing it with a spare sector.",
"However, this does not eliminate the need for maintaining a cumulative count of the number of write operations experienced (referred to as “hot count”) per sector, since there is no warning at the time of writing that, once written, such excessive shift may occur.",
"Such warning is the function of a “hot count ceiling”;",
"to put an upper bound to the amount of cumulative cell wear allowed, forewarning the possibility of excess trapped charge and associated margin loss due to its subsequent detrapping, termed relaxation.",
"If such relaxation exceeds a critical value, the resulting common mode shift of all cells (noting that some form of data state rotation is being used to keep wear on all cells within the sector uniform) within the sector, typically from less conductive to more conductive levels, becomes sufficiently large to prevent discrimination between the highest two states (fully erased state and state just below it);",
"i.e. drift exceeds dynamic range of the system.",
"In order to avoid such failure, sectors cycled to such high trapping levels must be retired.",
"[0077] The hot count is an indirect indicator of such trapping, since in addition to the number of cycles experienced, cumulative trapping is sensitive to other factors such as duty cycle of the write operation, time between writes, operating and non-operating temperature exposure, etc.",
"i.e. history/details.",
"When hot count is used as criteria for mapping out a sector, it must assume worst case conditions to insure no failure.",
"However in practice, systems using such memories rarely, if ever, experience such worst case history exposure under actual application.",
"Therefore, mapping out of a sector based on cumulative hot count is often excessively premature for practical applications.",
"[0078] An alternative embodiment uses a “Twin-Cell”",
"trapping gauge included within each sector, whose function is to detect directly the amount of channel trapping shift which is responsible for the relaxation.",
"This provides a direct measure of the amount of wear actually seen by cells in the sector, comprehending both cumulative write cycles or hot count and history of sector exposure.",
"Only when this cell's shift reaches a critical value will the sector be retired, and no hot count information is required to make this decision.",
"This allows much higher endurance capability in actual system use than can be safely provided via hot count because, unlike hot count which can only provide a general indication of cumulative wear (since it cannot gauge wear directly, only exposure), and therefore the hot count must be heavily guardbanded (i.e. allowing minimum number of writes to accommodate worst case wear), the twin cell's direct measure of wear can minimize the amount of such endurance guardband.",
"[0079] One embodiment of a Twin-Cell of the present invention is depicted in FIG. 12 and, consists of a cell 600 having a single floating gate 601 but two separate sensing channels, one channel 602 being a read/write channel (R/W), the other channel 603 being a read-only (RO) channel.",
"Cell 600 is designed to match actual memory cells, e.g. by taking two adjacent memory cells and tying their floating gates together.",
"Programming of cell 600 is performed through the read/write channel by raising bit line BL 2 to a programming voltage (for example about 7 v), and grounding bit line BL 1 , while bit line BL 0 is floated (or grounded).",
"In this way, all the stress and trapping associated with hot electron programming is confined to the read/write channel 602 .",
"Using the A/D read of read/write channel 602 followed by A/D reading of read only channel 603 and finding the difference (e.g. by subtracting) gives a measure of channel trapping (delta).",
"Early in a sector's life, with low cycling exposure, this delta is close to zero, while with progressive cycling the difference grows, with the read only channel 603 giving higher A/D counts (appearing more erased) compared to read/write channel 602 .",
"[0080] The state set and used for useful comparison is, in one embodiment, a middle intermediate state, offering both the widest range and the average wear of a cell.",
"When the delta exceeds a critical value (e.g. 20 counts in example of FIGS. 5 a and 5 b , corresponding to a cell current shift of 20 uAmps and 10 uAmps for the four and eight state encoding, respectively) the sector is at its limit with respect to wearout/relaxation or other potential read and reliability problems and is retired.",
"[0081] In summary, key points described thus far in this specification for supporting high density multi-state are: [0082] 1.",
"Parallel, full chunk, A/D conversion of multi-state data, with adequate resolution to provide analog measure of the encoded states;",
"[0083] 2.",
"Master reference cell(s) whose prime function is to provide optimum dynamic range for comparator sensing;",
"[0084] 3.",
"Logical to Physical Data scrambling to provide both intra-sector wear leveling and increased endurance capability of about twofold.",
"[0085] 4.",
"Intra-sector tracking cell groups, one for each state, included in each sector to provide optimum compare points for the various states, and able to adapt to any common mode shifts (e.g. relaxation).",
"It also provides translation of data rotation.",
"[0086] 5.",
"Controller incorporating a data processing “engine”",
"a) to, on-the-fly, find midpoints of each tracking cell group, b) with which to establish data state discrimination and marginality filter points, c) through which sector data is passed, giving both the encoded memory state, and its quality (marginality), for each physical bit, d) optionally, to decide what actions must be taken to clean up (scrub) marginal bit data based on the quality information (e.g. do full sector erase and rewrite versus selective write, only).",
"[0087] 6.",
"Optionally to include a small counter on each sector which is incremented each time a read scrub is encountered.",
"When the count reaches maximum allowed, marginal bit(s) are mapped out rather than rewritten and counter is reset to 0.",
"This provides a filter for truly “bad”",
"bits.",
"[0088] 7.",
"Same means are applied in reverse to write multi-state data back into a sector, using the same circuitry as used for read but operated in reverse, to provide self-consistent data encoding.",
"In addition, two alternative embodiments for performing verification are taught: [0089] 7 a .",
"Using a reference current staircase to sequentially scan through the range of states, conditionally terminating each cell as the current step corresponding to its target data is presented to the sensing circuit.",
"[0090] 7 b .",
"Using a full set of N−1 reference currents of the N possible states to simultaneously verify and conditionally terminate all cells.",
"[0091] 8.",
"Twin-cell option can be included in each sector to provide deltaVt shift level associated with cycling driven trapping and channel wearout, triggering sector retirement before detrapping shifts exceed read dynamic range or other potential read errors.",
"This replaces hot count based sector retirement, greatly increasing usable endurance.",
"[0092] Enhancing Multi-State Speed by Utilizing Column Oriented Steering [0093] An important goal for multi-state is achieving competitive speed to two-state devices, with respect to both write (data programming) and read.",
"The reason that maintaining comparably high performance is difficult for multi-state, as compared to binary encoded data, originates from the considerably tighter margin requirements associated with multi-state encoding (given a limited total memory window budget), coupled with the fact that the information content per cell increases only logarithmically for a linearly increasing number of multi-state levels (i.e. 2 n levels gives only n bits of information).",
"So along with margins, performance becomes a victim of the diminishing returns associated with increasing levels of multi-state.",
"[0094] In the embodiment discussed above with reference to FIG. 10, write performance is heavily impacted by having to progressively and carefully go through each state, the progression requiring a sequential, multiple pulse/check methodology to carefully set the state, although in several embodiments verification speed can be increased, as discussed above.",
"For example, to implement 4-state: erase sets up physical state P 0 ;",
"a first VCG staircase of up to 7 pulse/check steps sets up physical state P 1 ;",
"followed by a second group of up to 6 pulse/check steps to set up physical state P 2 ;",
"terminated with a last programming step to set up physical state P 3 ;",
"giving a total of 14 pulses to write two bits of information, 7 pulses per bit, in place of the one pulse per bit for writing binary.",
"Projecting this to 8 level multi-state, the total number of pulses would be more than 30, a further slowdown to more than ten pulses per bit.",
"[0095] Thus far, read performance has not been impacted for two reasons.",
"The first is the feature of concurrent multi-state sensing using multi-leg cell current mirroring to n−1 sense amps (e.g. three sense amplifiers for 4-state).",
"The second is the stream read feature appropriate for mass data storage, wherein, other than latency, the actual cell read time is hidden by the stream read implementation which simultaneously shifts out a large chunk (e.g. 256 bits) of previously read data while current data is being sensed.",
"[0096] For more aggressively scaled multi-state implementations, both of the above features will become inadequate.",
"With respect to the first, the use of static current sensing becomes increasingly unattractive, both because of increasing IR drops with physical scaling and increased memory window requirements while sensing margins decrease, and because of the higher power consumption associated with high value multiple current levels.",
"A more attractive way to sense multi-states is via voltage margining, which requires only minimal cell current (as for example using dynamic type sensing), but dictates stepping through the range of control gate voltage margin levels spanning the states (for n states, this means a minimum of n−1 steps), an example of which is given in the above referenced analog dynamic-type sensing embodiment.",
"This impacts the stream read feature however, because now the time consumed in actually stepping through the various margin levels, followed by sensing, increases greatly.",
"When combining this with progressive demand for higher-still data rates in mass storage, it will become increasingly difficult to exploit stream read to achieve enhanced performance.",
"In addition, write performance can also be significantly impacted by internal read speed limitations, since read is an integral component in reliably setting the individual states (via program/verify loops), as well as for post write sector data checking.",
"[0097] So with more aggressive use of multi-state for scaling, based on the above scenario, performance will continue to decline.",
"The above referenced analog sensing embodiment improves performance by supporting a large degree of parallelism.",
"Greater parallelism is one way to retard the decline in performance associated with increasing numbers of cell states.",
"However, the use of a virtual ground array (imposing a separation between simultaneously addressable cells) plus is the constraint of a 512 byte sector size granularity, places a limit on how far parallelism can pushed.",
"[0098] The embodiments of this invention described in the following, section offer a solution to the above performance limitations, by substantially cutting down the number of discrete steps required for both programming and read, while preserving the desirable features associated with analog/voltage margin sensing taught by the present invention.",
"[0099] Given that a dominant controlling element allowing differentiation between the various multi-state levels is the control gate (or equivalently termed steering gate), the key to reducing the number of discrete steps used for both read and write is to simultaneously apply, to the full group (chunk) of cells, control gate voltage values associated with each cell's particular data state requirements, on a cell by cell basis.",
"[0100] In a row oriented sector, in order for the control gate to be individually adjustable for each cell, it cannot run in the row line direction, since it then becomes common to all cells which are to be simultaneously operated on.",
"Rather, it needs to run in the column (bit line) direction, which allows it to both be individually adjustable on a cell by cell basis, and individually responsive to the sensing result on the associated cell bit line.",
"The basic elements of one embodiment of such a cell are shown in FIG. 13.",
"Since control gate 71 runs parallel to bit lines 72 - 1 and 72 - 2 , control gate 71 cannot also serve as the select line (which is the usual case in EPROM and FLASH memories), since unique cell selection along a bit line dictates that the select line run perpendicular to the bit line.",
"This forces the select line to run in a different layer, which in one embodiment is a poly 3 line with the control (steering gate) being a poly 2 line and the floating gate built from poly 1 .",
"Specific exemplary embodiments of cell structures suitable for use in conjunction with this aspect of the present invention are described later.",
"[0101] Cell Read Operation [0102] A cell as in FIG. 13 is read using the control gate in an A to D type binary search, as illustrated in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 14, and the flowchart of FIG. 15.",
"Each sensing circuit consists of Sense Amplifier (SA) comparator 81 , having one input lead which receives an input signal from memory cell 99 via bit line 82 - 2 , and another input lead receiving an input signal from a global reference circuit (not shown) which provides reference signal Iref.",
"The output of comparator 81 is used to update a corresponding n-bit Control Gate Register Element (CGRE) 83 , the number of bits governed by required sensing resolution (e.g. if a 1 in 64 resolution is desired, a six bit register is used).",
"The value stored in CGRE 83 is then used to provide the next control gate read VCG voltage, via the corresponding Next Step Processor (NSP) 84 , in a successive approximation scheme.",
"[0103] Following is an example of the read operation flow, as depicted in the flowchart of FIG. 15.",
"CGRE 83 is a 6-bit binary register element, with a corresponding dynamic range on the control gate (via NSP 84 ) of 0 v to 7.875 v in 125 mv steps.",
"Read starts with the binary value 100000 (Nold) loaded into the CGRE, giving the midpoint VCG of 4 v. The output from sense amp 81 is then fed back into control gate register 83 , via Conditional Element 89 , according to the relation: N new= N old+Output* DN;",
"[0104] where (for flowcharting convenience) Output is defined as: −1 if I cell>= I ref, and +1 if I cell<",
"I ref;",
"[0105] and where DN=010000, giving next CGRE (or VCG) of: 010000 (or 2 v) if I cell>= I ref, and 110000 (or 6 v) if I cell<",
"I ref. [0106] In this way, if cell current is higher than Iref, the next VCG will be lower, reducing the cell current.",
"Along with this next VCG, the next Nnew=Nold and the next DN=DN/2 are generated by Next Step Processor 84 .",
"This binary search continues five more times (for a total of 6 passes), wherein the last CGRE 83 value becomes the digital equivalent of the floating gate memory state.",
"If the memory cell uses an 8-level (three logical bits/cell) multi-state encoding, this gives three bits of resolution between states for state-to-state discrimination, guardbanding, margining, etc.",
"Data can then be processed in ways similar to those described in the afore- referenced Analog Sensing embodiment, the difference here being the rapid binary search methodology (as opposed to one-step-at-a-time sequential search), which for 1 in 64 bit resolution represents a 10× performance improvement (six steps in place of a possible total of around 64 steps).",
"[0107] In one embodiment, sensing is extended to a full chunk of bits (e.g. 128 bits per chunk), wherein each sensing circuit contains its own corresponding SA, CGRE, and NSP elements, as is depicted in the embodiment of FIG. 16, in which the operation of each sensing circuit is conditional on its corresponding memory cell.",
"In this way, the strength of the binary search approach is exploited to recover most of the lost read performance.",
"For example, comparing the above example to a two-state read, assuming that each individual step of the binary search takes a comparable amount of time as that of the two-state sensing, then the total time expended in the multi-state read is equal to 6 binary reads.",
"For 8-state encoding, three bits of information are extracted, resulting in a read time per logical bit of only twice that of binary state reading.",
"Given that margin information is concurrently available as well (as described above), this offers an excellent level of read performance, consistent with a stream read implementation.",
"[0108] Cell Programming Operation—Programming Phase Specific [0109] In certain embodiments, the same elements used for reading are also applied to accelerate multi-state programming, again optimized to the targeted memory state on a cell by cell basis, as illustrated in the example of FIG. 17.",
"Here, the CGRE X 83 is initialized with the optimum safe starting value for the particular state (this may come from a set of updatable parameters stored within the sector).",
"In memory cells whose magnitude of programming (e.g. programming Vt) increases with increasing VCG, this optimum safe starting point is the highest value of VCG allowable that will not cause the memory cell to program excessively, overshooting its targeted state (i.e. overshooting its allowed state range).",
"Starting at lower values than this optimum value, while safe, costs more programming time, because the earlier programming pulses do not provide a sufficient magnitude of programming towards the targeted state, thereby decreasing write speed.",
"In one embodiment, a different relationship of VCG with CGRE from that of read is used to satisfy dynamic range for programming (e.g. by adding constant voltage Kprog as indicated in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 17).",
"Following each programming pulse, a verify operation is performed.",
"In the class of cells described above, if programming margin target is not achieved, the CGRE value is incremented by 1, with a corresponding incremental voltage increase on VCG via NSP element 191 for the next programming step, whereas if margin is reached, further programming on that bit is locked out, by disabling further application of programming voltage on its associated bit line and optionally eliminating application of VCG as well.",
"[0110] In one embodiment, this operation is performed simultaneously on all bits within the chunk, each bit starting at its optimal VCG, conditional on its corresponding to-be-programmed data.",
"In this way, programming is completed in about six steps, relatively independent to the level of multi-state (e.g. 4, to 8, or 16 level multi-state cells are, in accordance with this embodiment, programmable in a comparable number of pulses), in place of the more than 30 programming steps indicated earlier for a fully sequential 8-level multi-state programming embodiment.",
"This not only represents a 5× write speed improvement, but given that three bits are being encoded, this gives an effective number of programming/verify passes of two passes per bit, only twice that of binary encoding.",
"Since performance of a full write operation includes additional time overhead above and beyond program/verify, this smaller difference in program speed may translate, in practice, to only a minor reduction in overall write speed as compared to binary encoded writing.",
"[0111] Cell Programming Operation—Verify Phase Specific [0112] Cell verify can also be made state specific, using the same CGRE/NSP engine described above with reference to FIG. 17, by loading the targeted verify voltage (i.e. that value corresponding to the to-be-programmed data) into its associate CGRE.",
"In this embodiment, unlike the read operation, for which VCG is changed during the read binary search flow, during the verify operation the state specific VCG verify voltage is kept fixed during the full program/verify flow (i.e. NSP for verify remains unchanged).",
"In this way, all cells within a chunk are verified simultaneously, with further programming locked out, on a cell by cell basis, as each cell passes the verify operation.",
"[0113] This data conditional, high performance verify embodiment complements the above described high performance, data conditional programming embodiment, offering a highly parallel, fast speed methodology for setting a many level multi-state memory.",
"In one embodiment, in order to better exploit this capability, two different CGRE/NSP circuits are used, as illustrated in FIG. 18.",
"CGRE/NSP circuit 91 is used to support programming, and CGRE/NSP 92 is used for verify, allowing these two circuits to be multiplexed at high speed onto the control gate when changing between programming and verify operations.",
"[0114] Although using the individual, cell by cell VCG supply as in this embodiment, offers an excellent approach to supporting a high level of multi-state at high speed, it puts the burden on quickly providing all these VCG voltages.",
"In one embodiment, all the possible voltage steps are generated and available simultaneously on a bus of voltage feed lines.",
"In this embodiment, each CGRE value is used to decode which one of these feed lines to connect to its corresponding control gate.",
"This embodiment is attractive when there aren't too many VGC levels to manage.",
"Since in principal only seven compare points are needed for discriminating 8 states (and only 15 compare points are needed for discriminating 16 states), this will often be suitable.",
"However, this limits the high speed flexibility to dynamically tune the sense points and determine margins.",
"If the need for attaining such full resolution is very rare (as for example when ECC indicates a memory state failure or a marginality problem), an alternative, hybrid embodiment is provided which only demands such capability rarely (e.g. on the rare ECC flag).",
"On those rare occasions, those compare points are incrementally shifted to fully resolve the margins, albeit via a more time consuming procedure, because now voltage values will need to be provided which are not included in the limited set of supply levels (e.g. 7 to 15 levels) concurrently available.",
"This would dictate temporarily generating new voltage levels, not concurrently available, consuming more time, and potentially breaking up the concurrent parallel chunk operation into operations on individual bits or small groups of bits to feed these specialized voltage levels.",
"[0115] In the case where a large number of VCG voltage possibilities and/or all VCG voltage possibilities are required (i.e. full real-time margining capabilities for full dynamic range flexibility), one alternative embodiment, similar to the embodiment of FIG. 17, expands the CGRE X 83 and NSP 191 elements to include sample-and-hold circuitry for each sensing circuit, the complement of which are fed by a common, single staircase voltage source.",
"The voltage delivered by each NSP is conditional on its corresponding stored CGRE value.",
"Care must be taken in such an embodiment to ensure that the dynamic nature of sample and hold circuitry with its potential for drift, and the time requirements for scanning/sampling the full dynamic voltage range, do not cause programming voltage Vpg error.",
"The benefit of this embodiment is that it incurs less area and power penalties.",
"[0116] It is desired to simultaneously process each of the CGRE data, based on the associated sense amplifier result and the previously stored value (as well as the step in progress in the case of read), conditional on the operation in progress.",
"This is most complex for read, involving the manipulation for successive approximation (basically providing up/down counting function, conditional on sensed result and current iteration step).",
"For programming and verify its requirements are simpler, complexity coming primarily in initializing each of the CGREs to the corresponding data values;",
"once initialized, nothing further is required for the verify, requiring only incrementing by one for each successive programming/verify step in the case of programming.",
"Notwithstanding these complexities, required circuit areas and complexity of circuits should not differ substantially from approaches which use multiple sense amplifiers.",
"The prior art approach uses multiple sense amplifiers (e.g. requiring up to seven sense amplifiers for 8-level multi-state).",
"In accordance with this embodiment, the multiple sensing circuits and associated current mirrors and reference legs are now replaced by one sense amplifier circuit, a couple of registers with associated decoder functions, sample and hold circuits, and some glue logic.",
"[0117] The other major element of complexity is that of shifting out and processing the large body of data stored in the chunk-wide CGRE register.",
"One embodiment used is similar in this regard to that described in the above-referenced analog sensing embodiment.",
"[0118] Exemplary Cell Embodiments [0119] Firstly, independent of other considerations, a memory cell must be competitive with respect to physically small size and scalability.",
"Beyond that, however, based on the cell requirements described above for a row selectable but column steerable element, as represented in the example of FIG. 13, the choices are limited.",
"[0120] Furthermore, in order to realize such a cell/array in minimal area, it must incorporate virtual ground architecture, and this is not just because of the approximately 50% additional area associated with using the conventional ½ contact per cell array.",
"The joint requirement of bit line and steering line running in the same direction, with the bit line having to physically run above yet periodically dropping below the steering line to contact diffusion, dictates that they run side by side rather than be stacked.",
"Whereas this occurs naturally in the virtual ground array, wherein active transistors are laterally displaced from the bit lines, in the conventionally contacted cell array the active transistors, while displaced from the bit line contacts themselves, do lie directly below the bit line conductor.",
"For this reason, select/steering functions in such arrays are generally row oriented, eliminating the conflict.",
"To do otherwise further increases cell area.",
"[0121] One memory cell which meets all the above requirements is the virtual ground, split gate cell having column oriented poly 2 steering gates and row oriented poly 3 select gates.",
"For reference purposes this will be referred to as cell embodiment 1.",
"Such a cell can be programmed using either conventional drain side programming, or source side programming, depending on whether the poly 3 select transistor is strongly turned on or throttled down, respectively.",
"Erase is also row oriented, using poly 3 as the erase line, thereby achieving the row oriented sector.",
"The source side programming version of this is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,421, assigned to Sandisk Corporation.",
"For reference purposes, this version will be referred to as cell embodiment 1a.",
"[0122] Another suitable cell is the dual floating gate variant of cell embodiment 1a, such as is described in copending U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 08/607,951 filed Feb. 28, 1996 and assigned to Sandisk Corporation, which offers a true cross-point cell (4*lambda 2 per physical bit).",
"For reference purposes this version will be referred to as cell embodiment 2.",
"However, because of the series nature of the tri-gate structure (the two floating gate channels being in series), it is constrained to using source side programming, and will be more limited in how many levels of multi-state are realizable.",
"Nevertheless its inherently smaller cell size, self-alignment features and consequent scalability make it equally attractive to the simpler but somewhat larger cell embodiment 1a.",
"[0123] Column Pitch/Segmentation Options [0124] Because of the requirement within each cell to have both bit line and steering line (control gate) running parallel to each other (for convenience, their direction henceforth defined as vertical), this raises the question of bussing/pitch requirements.",
"To achieve a physically minimal cell, this dictates that the lateral extent (horizontal width) of the cell must be close to minimum feature pitch (i.e. about 2*lambda), forcing the above two lines to fit in that pitch.",
"At the cell level this is not a problem, since the steering line and bit lines tend to run side by side, and more importantly they are on different layers (poly 3 and BN+, respectively) eliminating proximity/overlay constraints.",
"However, going from the local to the global interconnect level is a challenge.",
"[0125] For ultra high density Flash memory, one way to interface long bit line columns to the memory cell array is via column segmentation.",
"This approach uses the continuous (vertically) running metal lines as global bit lines, which drop down periodically to local diffusions serving memory sub-arrays or “segments”",
"(e.g. 16 sectors) via segment select switching transistors.",
"In this way array segments are isolated from one another, eliminating the large cumulative parasitics of leakage current and capacitance, and providing column associated defect and repetitive disturb confinement.",
"This also provides opportunity for relaxing the pitch requirement of the global bit lines from one per cell to one per two cells, depending on the segment selection approach used (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,541 assigned to Sandisk Corporation).",
"[0126] With respect to the steering line, first consider the cell/array using cell embodiment 1, which requires one steering line per column of cells.",
"One possibility is to have this be a continuous global line, i.e. running continuously (vertically) through the entire memory array.",
"Running through the memory cell sub-array portion poses no obstacles, readily fitting within the existing pitch.",
"However, it may run into obstacles when trying to cross the segment select portions, which bound those sub-arrays.",
"Other issues with this approach are the associated large RC time constants (impacting speed of charging and discharging a long, resistive line), and the increased array exposure to repetitive disturb.",
"[0127] For those reasons, segmentation is also desirable for the steering function.",
"Consequently, given that at most one metal line can be run in the pitch of one cell, both global metal bit lines and global steering lines can be shared between pairs of cells.",
"Such sharing in the case of a global metal bit line is described in the above referenced U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,541.",
"It uses a staggered, interlaced segmentation architecture with a transfer network driven by four decode lines per segment pair, thereby allowing each metal bit line to run in the pitch of two cells.",
"[0128] Similar sharing can also be achieved for the steering lines, an example of which is shown in FIG. 19 (and this is only one of many possible configurations).",
"In this embodiment, there are four steering transfer lines driving the transfer matrix, with one global steering line per two cell columns within the segment.",
"When cells are selected, the steering transfer network connects the corresponding local steering lines to unique global steering lines (e.g. Sk connected via SDTI 4 )).",
"Each selected global steering line is connected in turn by the chunk select (i.e. column or y-select) circuitry to the CGRE circuitry.",
"[0129] Those steering lines which are not currently active may be floated or held at ground.",
"If grounded, this raises the possibility of having a subset of the local steering lines, associated with a subset of cells which are not being operated on currently, to be held at ground through appropriate enabling of other SDT lines.",
"An example, referring to FIG. 19: Let Sk be the selected global steering line, and SDTI 4 be the selected transfer selected line.",
"If it is not desirable to have steering potential applied to unselected cells on the selected row, SDTI 3 should be held at ground.",
"However, both SDTI 1 and SDTI 2 can be turned on allowing the neighboring cells on either side of the selected cell to have grounded steering lines.",
"[0130] The reason that it may be undesirable to have unselected cells on selected rows receive high steering potential comes primarily during programming, when channels are conducting.",
"Even here however, the bias conditions on unselected cells are interchanged vis a vis source and drain, and see lower drain to source potentials, eliminating parasitic programming.",
"Given this, in another embodiment, the four SDT select lines per segment are replaced with a single SDT line, simplifying decoding, and potentially reducing layout area (although because of narrow cell pitch, area reduction is primarily governed by select transistor and vertical interconnect related dictates).",
"[0131] Having floating local steering lines (e.g. in all the unselected segments) does raise issues.",
"It is undesirable that any of these lines drift to or are left at such a high potential that they can promote disturbs.",
"However, with properly designed transfer transistors, which remain solidly cut off when unselected, diffusion leakage will maintain floating steering plates at ground (i.e. at substrate potential).",
"In addition, by making sure that all actively driven steering lines are fully discharged before isolating them, this will insure that all steering lines are close to ground at all times except when actually selected/driven.",
"[0132] In addition to disturbs, large voltages on control gates of unselected cells results in the potential of introducing excessive adjacent cell leakage, impacting proper multi-state setting and sensing.",
"However, this is not an issue for the above-mentioned cell embodiment 1 implementation when voltage sensing is used, by virtue of their poly 3 select function being independent of the sensing related steering function.",
"This allows the select transistor to be throttled down, (i.e. biased to a minimal turn-on level such as ≦5μAmps), with the state-determining conduction occurring when the control gate reaches or exceeds the floating gate transistor's turn-on (or margin) voltage.",
"This select transistor limited current strategy guarantees that, independent of how strongly conducting the floating gate channel may be, parasitic adjacent cell leakage problems are completely eliminated.",
"[0133] The same strategy can be applied to the dual floating gate cell embodiment 2, as illustrated in FIG. 20.",
"In this embodiment, the unit memory cell, consisting of two floating gate elements and taking up the pitch of 4*lambda, has associated with it a single bit line diffusion (the other bounding bit line diffusion being associated with the neighboring cell).",
"Therefore, global metal bit lines are naturally reduced to one line per 4*lambda.",
"This also facilitates laying out the segment transistor matrix (e.g. non-interlaced, fully confined segmentation via a one-to-one segment transistor to local BN+network), and requires only one segment select line per array segment.",
"The steering transfer matrix is driven by two transfer lines per segment, coupled with global (metal) steering lines laid out in the pitch of one line per 4*lambda.",
"[0134] When a transfer line is enabled, it turns on the steering selection transistors for both of the control gates within a cell, for each alternate cell.",
"Each of these two control gates within each of the selected cells are driven by a unique global steering line, which, as in the above described cell embodiment 1 case, are driven, in turn, by the segment select and CGRE circuitry.",
"Also, as in the cell embodiment 1 case, the issue of floating local steeling lines exists, with similar resolution.",
"[0135] With either cell embodiment, in order to fully capitalize on speed, it is important to make the chunk size as large as possible, maximizing parallelism.",
"Because of the low cell read and programming currents inherent to both cell embodiment 1 and 1 a approaches, peak power is not an issue, nor is adjacent cell leakage, which becomes insignificant.",
"Consequently, the number of floating gates per chunk which can be simultaneously operated on is limited only by segment decode restrictions.",
"With the segmentation approach described, this allows every fourth floating gate to be addressed and operated on, simultaneously, in both cell variants.",
"[0136] In the case of cell embodiment 1, every fourth diffusion is brought to drain potential, and there are three cells under reversed D/S bias conditions between the drain and the next driven ground.",
"Once the first set of cells is completed operation proceeds to the neighboring set.",
"After the fourth such repetition, the full row is completed.",
"[0137] In the dual floating gate embodiment 2 case, wherein every other cell is selected, the biasing approach is different.",
"Two adjacent diffusions are driven to drain potential followed by two adjacent diffusions driven to ground, with that pattern repeated over and over.",
"In this way global D/S bias is applied in mirrored fashion to every other of the selected cells, resulting in floating gate of odd selected cells being the opposite of the even selected cells.",
"Appropriate biases are placed on the global steering lines to satisfy the operation of the targeted floating gates.",
"Once done, the bias conditions for both global bit/gnd lines and targeted/untargeted floating gate steering lines are correspondingly interchanged to act on the other floating gate in the selected cells.",
"Once finished, similar operation is repeated to the alternate set of cells, completing full row programming in 4 passes.",
"[0138] To give an idea of the power of this approach, in a physical row of 1500 floating gate elements, encoded in 8-state (three bits per cell), 375 physical bits or 1125 logical bits are being operated on at one time.",
"Assuming it takes nine pulses to complete programming, this gives a programming rate of 125 logical bits or about 16 bytes per programming pulse, plus similar gains in performance achievable for read.",
"Existing two-state based flash products, by way of comparison, program around 32 bytes per programming pulse, putting the multi-state approach potentially within a factor of two in write speed.",
"[0139] As described above in this portion of this specification, the cell-by-cell column oriented steering approach, realizable in the two source side injection cell embodiments (standard and dual floating gate embodiments), increases the performance of high level multi-state significantly, improving both its write and read speed.",
"It achieves this by applying, in parallel, custom steering conditions needed for the particular state of each cell.",
"This offers substantial reduction in the number of individual programming steps needed for write, and permits powerful binary search methodology for read, without having to carry out full sequential search operations.",
"Improved performance is further bolstered through increased chunk size, made possible here via the low current source-side injection mechanism, which allows every fourth floating gate element to be operated on, thereby increasing chunk size.",
"Although specific examples of array and segmentation architectures have been described, there are a wide variety of alternate options possible which offer similar capabilities.",
"[0140] When combining the above concepts with those previously proposed A to D type sensing approaches, which support the greatest density of multi-state or “logical scaling”",
"within a cell, this offers a powerful approach to achieving cost reduced, performance competitive mass storage memories, appropriate to the Gigabit density generation of products.",
"For example, by achieving effective programming and read rates of about 50% that of two-state operation, this bridges the gap between multi-state and two-state performance substantially, so much so that when the remaining overhead is included (i.e. those portions not directly related to chunk read or programming/verify steps), performance differences from those of two-state can become, for all practical purposes, a non-issue.",
"Combining this with the 8 to 16 multi-level (3 to 4 bits) per cell capability, translates to realizing competitively performing ultra-high density mass storage at a fraction of the cost per Megabyte (from one half to one third), of equivalent binary encoded memory.",
"[0141] Cell Erase Operation—Erase Distribution Tightening [0142] The independent, bit line oriented steering feature described earlier is, in certain embodiments, exploited to significantly tighten an initially wide erased cell population distribution.",
"In a mass storage memory based on the memory cell/array implementations shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, all cells in a sector or group of sectors are erased simultaneously, by applying a sufficiently high positive bias on the poly 3 erase electrode relative to the poly 2 steering potential.",
"This results in electron tunneling from the poly 1 floating gates to the poly 3 erase anode(s), as is described in the aforementioned copending U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 08/607,951.",
"[0143] An important feature in this embodiment is the capacitive coupling of the combined channel/drain component.",
"It is designed to have a relatively low coupling to the floating gate as compared to the steering element, thereby having only weak impact with respect to the various cell operations, including erase.",
"For example, if the channel potential during erase is the same as that of poly 2 (e.g. both at ground), the channel will provide only a slight assist to the steering gate in the erasing operation, resulting in a slightly stronger erase, while if its potential is more positive than that of the steering gate (e.g. the steering gate bias is lowered negatively, for example to about −7 v, during erase, with the poly 3 erase level lowered the same amount, while the channel potential remains at ground), it will contribute slightly less to erase.",
"Nevertheless, once the poly 3 is raised to the erasing potential, the main contributor to erasing a cell is the steering element and its potential.",
"[0144] This strong dependence on steering gate potential provides a direct means for controlling the degree of erase on each cell, individually, in the column oriented steering embodiment.",
"Operation is as follows.",
"At the start of the erase operation, all steering lines are biased at their erase enabling potential (e.g. −7 v), and a selected row to be erased (generally this would be one row of a group of rows targeted for erase) is pulsed to a sufficiently positive potential (e.g. 5 v) to start the cell erasing process (removing a portion of the electrons from some or all of the floating gates), but which is insufficient to erase any of the cells within that row to the required full erase margin.",
"Once pulsing is completed, the row is biased into a read-at-erase-margins condition, and each cell is checked to see whether it has erased to that margin or not.",
"For any cells which have so erased (as wilt occur after subsequent erase pulses), their corresponding steering lines will thereafter be biased into a non-erase-enabling or “lock-out”",
"condition (e.g. at 0 v) for all subsequent erase pulsing to that row during the remainder of that erasing session.",
"This feature can be accomplished by flipping latches associated with each of the bit/steering line columns.",
"If one or more cells are still not sufficiently erased, the erase pulse is repeated, preferably at an incrementally higher poly 3 voltage (e.g. 0.5 v higher, although increasing time is used in an alternative embodiment), again followed by the read-at-erase-margins operation.",
"[0145] This pulse/checking loop is repeated as necessary until all cells become sufficiently erased (or until some other condition such as maximum voltage, pulses, etc.",
"kicks in, at which time defect management options are invoked), terminating the erase operation to that row.",
"This procedure is then repeated on all the other rows targeted for erase, one row at a time, until all rows/sectors so targeted are erased.",
"[0146] In this way all cells in a sector or group of sectors are both sufficiently erased, and confined to a targeted, tight erase distribution.",
"This capability reduces wear under repeated write cycling, thereby increasing endurance.",
"It is especially useful in speeding up multi-state programming operations following erase, since now time does not have to be expended in bringing heavily overerased cells up to that sufficiently erased condition.",
"[0147] The drawback of this embodiment is that erasing becomes much more time consuming, replacing potentially one single erase pulse applied to all rows (or sectors) simultaneously, with a series of erase pulse/check operations on a row by row basis, since now only a single row can be erased at a time.",
"This approach is most practical when the time associated with erase is hidden, eliminating its impact on write performance.",
"Today there are a number of ways in which mass storage systems eliminate erase related performance loss, including erase ahead approaches and dynamic address mapping via RAM translation tables.",
"In such systems, a tight erase distribution at the start of write can measurably increase write performance, especially with respect to multi-state.",
"[0148] The above discussion assumes that each steering line is uniquely associated with one cell.",
"However, because of layout pitch constraints, especially when implemented in a segmented steering architecture, several cells may share one global steering signal, examples of which are shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, where each pair of cells are associated with one global steering line via steering drive segment transfer select transistors.",
"Following are two embodiments utilizing such sharing.",
"[0149] One embodiment allows the sharing to take place in each erase operation, erasing all cells in one row simultaneously, as described above.",
"In this case, however, erase lock-out on a group of cells (or floating gate transistors in the case of dual floating gate cells) sharing a common steering line can only be invoked when all cells in that group have achieved the required erased state margin.",
"This will result in a fraction of the cells becoming overerased as they wait for the weakest cell in each group to achieve sufficient erasure.",
"For example, if each sharing group consists of four cells, in general three cells will become overerased.",
"FIG. 21 models the impact of this sharing approach on a population of 5000 cells, the erase voltages of which follow a normal distribution with a one-sigma of 0.7 v. In the case of two-cell sharing, 50% of the cells will have minimal overerase, and the remainder will follow a normal distribution with a one-sigma of about 1 v. Comparing this to the original distribution (i.e. without any lockout) shows that with lock-out much fewer cells are subjected to overerasure, at any level of overerase (i.e. they are further up the sigma tail), and the worst case overerase voltage is about 1.3 v lower than the original distribution's worst case overerase of about 4.7 v. The situation is similar in the case of four-cell sharing, with slightly increased levels of overerase to those of two-cell sharing.",
"[0150] A second embodiment takes advantage of the segment level selection capability, thereby completely avoiding the sharing limitation.",
"Refining specifically to the previously described embodiments, wherein one global steering line is shared by two local steering lines (e.g. FIG. 19 and 20 ), the present embodiment exploits the segment steering line addressing capability to only drive one of the two local steering lines in each cell pair (or half the row's worth of cells) during each erase operation.",
"The unaddressed cell's local steering lines are precharged and floated at the non-erase-enabling voltage condition (e.g. 0 v).",
"Once the addressed half row's worth of cells are taken through their erase/verify/lockout operations to completion, the steering address is shifted to the other, previously unaddressed cell group half, which are then erased to completion, while the first group of cells are maintained in the non-erase-enabling condition.",
"Although this approach doubles the total erase time compared to using a single erase pulse for the entire row, it will have no impact to write performance in erase-hidden implementations, while it does maintain the desirably tight erase distribution.",
"[0151] In an alternative embodiment, the above controlled overerase methodology is used to write the multi-state data, with the hot electron programming mechanism relegated to the data unconditional preset operation.",
"While optimum write bias conditions and disturb prevention would depend on specific cell and tunneling characteristics, such a tunneling based write approach is made possible by the fundamental cell array architecture, consisting of the independently controllable column steering feature, plus the bit-by-bit lock-out capability of the above disclosed memory concept relating to FIGS. 19 and 20.",
"[0152] A variety of alternative embodiments of this invention have been taught, which provide improved performance and cost efficiency for multi-state memory devices and systems.",
"The invention now being fully described, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many changes and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the appended claims.",
"[0153] All publications and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference."
] |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is closely related to copending U.S. Patent Application Gas Metal Buried Arc Welding of Lap-Penetration Joints, Ser. No. 10/438,675, filed on May 15, 2003, the teachings of which are fully incorporated by reference herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to arc welding and, more particularly, it relates to arc welding of integrally backed square butt joints.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] It is known to make integrally backed square butt joints by gas metal arc welding. Two or three metal components are joined by this process. When three components are joined, two of them are placed in an abutting relationship along an abutting joint, with the third component lying behind the abutting joint. All three are then fused into a single weldment. When two components are joined, the first component of the two is placed in an abutting relationship with a first portion of the second component along an abutting joint, with a second portion of the second component lying behind the abutting joint.
[0004] A specific application is to make a bulkhead or deck by butt welding sheets or plates to each other, with stiffening elements, i.e. studs or joists, backing up the butt welded elements, behind the butt welded joints.
[0005] FIG. 1 shows a prior art arrangement 10 for making such a weldment. A first component 12 and a second component 14 are placed over a third component 16 with a joint gap 18 between the first component 12 and the second component 14 . The components are then secured in that position. A consumable metal electrode 19 is placed over joint gap 18 , electrode 19 being of a composition metallurgically compatible with component 12 , component 14 and component 16 . Typically, electrode 19 has a composition similar to the compositions of component 12 , component 14 and component 16 .
[0006] An electric potential is applied between electrode 19 and the components 12 , 14 and 16 . An arc is then initiated between electrode 19 and the components 12 , 14 and 16 . Molten metal from electrode 19 , is superheated in the arc and is accelerated towards the joint gap 18 , fusing with portions of components 12 , 14 and 16 . Depending upon the thickness of the joint, multiple passes may be required to build up a plurality of weld beads filling joint gap 18 and thus joining components 12 , 14 and 16 . A significant expense of this type of welding is that a sufficient quantity of the consumable electrode 19 must be supplied to fill joint gap 18 . In addition, the extra number of weld passes and the associated increase in the amount of weld metal and welding heat input per linear length can lead to extra weld induced distortion of the weldment.
[0007] FIG. 2 illustrates a prior art arrangement 20 for making an integrally backed square butt joint comprising a first component 12 and a second component 22 , the second component 22 having an abutting portion 24 and an underlying portion 26 ; which underlies first component 12 . As before, a joint gap 18 is provided to facilitate welding of component 12 to component 22 .
[0008] FIG. 3 illustrates a prior art arrangement 30 for making an integrally backed square butt joint comprising first component 32 , second component 34 and third component 16 , third component 16 underlying first component 32 and second component 34 . Arrangement 30 provides a V-shaped joint gap 38 which facilitates the welding process.
[0009] FIG. 4 illustrates another prior art arrangement 40 which is for making an integrally backed square butt joint comprising first component 32 and second component 42 . Second component 42 includes an abutting portion 44 and an underlying portion 46 . As before, arrangement 40 provides a V-shaped joint gap 38 which facilitates the welding process. A significant expense of these prior arrangements having a V-shaped joint gap is due to the requirement for joint preparation, by machining or cutting.
[0010] Also, for all of these prior art arrangements, a sufficient quantity of the consumable electrode 19 and welding power must be supplied to fill the joint gap, 18 or 38 . Also, welding-induced distortion may occur due to the large amount of metal that must be filled into the joint gap, 18 or 38 . Furthermore, a rather wide weld bead results from either of these arrangements.
INTRODUCTION TO THE INVENTION
[0011] The cross referenced patent application, Gas Metal Buried Arc Welding of Lap-Penetration Joints, Ser. No. 10/438,675 teaches that gas metal buried arc welding can advantageously be employed for lap penetration joints. Advantages include the ability to melt through and remove oxides from faying surfaces and the ability to penetrate deeply into a stack of two or more components to be joined. With gas metal buried arc welding, surface oxides are removed and are floated to the surface of the weld as slag. It is believed that higher current densities in combination with more intense electromagnetic forces and higher temperatures in the buried arc, in comparison with conventional arc welding, facilitate melting through and removal of the surface oxides.
[0012] In the present invention, the ability of a buried arc to penetrate deeply into one or more workpieces and cut through oxide layers, is employed to make an integrally backed square butt weld without a joint gap such as joint gap 18 or joint gap 38 discussed above.
[0013] Advantages to the buried arc include a reduction in the amount of consumable metal electrode which is required, consequent reduction in the heat input per linear length and weld induced distortion, increase in productivity due to the smaller number of weld passes needed to weld the thicker sections and also, it has been found that narrower welds can be obtained
[0014] Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a method of making integrally backed square butt joints using a smaller quantity of consumable metal electrode than the prior art.
[0015] It is another objective of the present invention to provide a method of making integrally backed square butt joints that are comprised of either two or three pieces, whereby the former joint is made of a ledge in the “bottom” part onto which the top part is placed so its edge forms a square butt joint with the square edge of the “bottom” part. In this type of joint, the ledge in the “bottom” part functions as the third part of the integrally backed square butt joint that is made up of three pieces.
[0016] It is another objective of the present invention to provide a method of making integrally backed square butt joints which is effective in removing oxides from the faying surfaces.
[0017] A further objective of the present invention is to provide a method of welding integrally backed square butt joints wherein the welding arc penetrates deeply into the components to be joined.
[0018] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a weldment comprising integrally backed members wherein the weld is narrower than prior art welds.
[0019] An additional objective of the present invention is to facilitate the operation of machining a bead on a weldment comprising integrally backed square butt welded components, so the bead is flush with the components.
[0020] Yet another objective of the present invention is to make integrally backed square butt welded structures without requiring high power density based welding processes such as lasers or electron beams.
[0021] Still another objective of the present invention is to reduce welding-induced distortion of integrally backed square butt welds.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0022] In one aspect, the invention is a method of making a weldment comprising a first component, a second component and a third component, the first component in an abutting relationship with the second component along an abutting joint, the third component in underlying relationship with the first component and the second component beneath the abutting joint. The method includes positioning the first component, the second component and the third component so that the first component is in the abutting relationship with the second component and, also, the third component is in the underlying relationship with the first component and the second component. The method further includes positioning a consumable metal electrode near the first component and the second component, applying an electric potential to the electrode and starting an arc, causing the arc to at least partially bury itself in the abutting joint, the arc forming a cavity for itself, whereby a pool of molten metal beneath the cavity penetrates into the third component. The method further includes maintaining the electric potential and current of the electrode at values appropriate for buried arc welding, and feeding the consumable metal electrode to maintain the tip of the electrode at a distance appropriate for buried arc welding. The method further includes moving the electrode along the abutting joint whereby the arc is likewise moved, and whereby the molten metal solidifies behind the arc to form a weld bead joining the first component to the second component and the third component, thus forming the weldment.
[0023] In another aspect, the present invention is a weldment comprising a first component, a second component and a third component, the first component in an abutting relationship with the second component, the third component in underlying relationship with the first component and the second component beneath the abutting joint, a weld bead made by buried arc welding joining the first component, the second component, and the third component.
[0024] In a further aspect, the invention is a weldment comprising a first component, a second component and a third component, the first component in abutting relationship with the second component, the third component in underlying relationship with the first component and the second component beneath the abutting joint, a narrow weld bead made by buried arc welding joining the first component, the second component, and the third component.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a prior art arrangement for forming an integrally backed square butt weld by gas metal arc welding;
[0026] FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a prior art arrangement for forming a two component integrally backed butt joint by gas metal arc welding;
[0027] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a prior art arrangement for forming an integrally backed square butt joint wherein a V-shaped joint gap is provided to facilitate the welding process;
[0028] FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a prior art arrangement for forming a two component integrally backed butt joint wherein a V-shaped joint gap is provided to facilitate the welding process;
[0029] FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of an arrangement, according to the present invention, for forming an integrally backed square butt joint by gas metal arc welding;
[0030] FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of an arrangement, according to the present invention, for forming a two component integrally backed butt joint by gas metal arc welding;
[0031] FIG. 7 is a schematic illustrating a section cut through the weld pool during gas metal buried arc welding of an integrally backed square butt joint;
[0032] FIG. 8 is a schematic section of the arrangement of FIG. 4 cut along the plane indicated as 8 - 8 in FIG. 7 ;
[0033] FIG. 9 is a schematic section of a weld made according to the present invention, cut along the plane indicated as 9 - 9 in FIG. 8 ;
[0034] FIG. 10 is a section similar to FIG. 9 with the weld bead machined flush with the surfaces of the components being joined; and
[0035] FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration showing a shielding cup which supplies inert gas to the area being welded.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0036] For purposes of the description hereinafter, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “level”, “above”, “below”, “beneath” etc and derivatives thereof relate to the invention, as it is oriented in the drawing figures. However, it is to be understood that the invention may assume various alternative orientations, except where expressly specified to the contrary. It is also to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in the drawings, and described in the following specification, are simply exemplary embodiments of the invention. Hence, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics related to the embodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting.
[0037] Attention is now directed to FIG. 5 which illustrates an arrangement 50 , according to a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, the arrangement being for butt welding component 12 to component 14 and simultaneously joining these to component 16 , which underlies components 12 and 14 . No joint gap is provided between component 12 and component 14 , as was the case for the prior art arrangements illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 . In the presently preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , component 12 lies adjacent component 14 to define an abutting joint 17 therebetween. The consumable metal electrode 19 is placed above the abutting joint 17 .
[0038] After the arrangement shown in FIG. 5 is established, an arc is initiated, typically by establishing an electric potential (voltage) between the components 12 and 14 being joined and the tip of the consumable metal electrode 19 and by touching it to component 12 and/or component 14 .
[0039] FIG. 6 illustrates an arrangement 60 for joining a first component 12 to a second component 22 , the second component 22 having an abutting portion 24 and an underlying portion 26 ; underlying portion 26 underlying first component 12 . First component 12 is placed adjacent abutting portion 24 of second component 22 to define an abutting joint 67 therebetween.
[0040] After the arrangement shown in FIG. 6 is established, an arc is initiated, typically by impressing an electric potential between the components 12 and 22 being joined and the tip of consumable metal electrode 19 and by touching electrode 19 to component 12 and/or component 22 .
[0041] FIG. 7 illustrates the welding process for the arrangement shown in FIG. 5 . The arc 72 forms a cavity 75 for itself and for a molten metal layer 74 . Cavity 75 subsumes the abutting joint 17 , melting portions of the first component 12 and the second component 14 , and it penetrates into the third component 16 , as illustrated in FIG. 7 .
[0042] The electric potential and current of the arc are maintained at levels appropriate for buried arc welding, and the elevation of the tip of the consumable metal electrode 19 is maintained at a value appropriate for buried arc welding. The consumable metal electrode 19 is then moved along the abutting joint 17 at a speed appropriate for buried arc welding.
[0043] FIG. 8 is a section cut along the plane 8 - 8 shown in FIG. 7 . FIG. 8 shows the direction of movement 70 of the consumable metal electrode 19 . The consumable metal electrode 19 is moved at a speed appropriate for buried arc welding in the direction of arrow 70 . At this speed, the cavity 75 , the buried arc 72 and the molten metal layer 74 are as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 . FIG. 8 also shows the forward travel angle 71 of the consumable metal electrode 19 . Molten metal layer 74 on the back side of cavity 75 solidifies to form weld bead 78 having surface 80 behind the buried arc 72 .
[0044] FIG. 9 is a view cut along line 9 - 9 in FIG. 8 . It shows the weld bead 78 joining the first component 12 , the second component 14 and the third, underlying, component 16 . The surface 80 of weld bead 78 will generally be higher than the surface 13 of component 12 or surface 15 of component 14 .
[0045] FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 , but FIG. 10 is the configuration after the weld bead 78 has been trimmed so that machined surface 82 of weld bead 78 is flush with surfaces 13 and 15 of components 12 and 14 , respectively.
[0046] The process of welding the configuration illustrated in FIG. 6 for the two component system is similar to the process discussed above for the configuration illustrated in FIG. 5 , which is for the three component system.
[0047] Numerical Values for the Presently Preferred Embodiments
[0048] It has been found that the method described above works well for the component thicknesses and operational parameters which follow.
[0049] When making a three component integrally backed butt weld, as shown in FIG. 5 , it has been believed that the first component 12 and the second component 14 should have a thickness of at least about 1 mm and, preferably, no more than about 18 mm. The process has been found to work well when these components have a thickness of about 3.5 mm. The thickness range from 1 to 18 mm also applies to the thickness of the abutting portion 24 of the second component 22 illustrated in FIG. 6 . The method is recommended for the aluminum alloy 5383-H34.
[0050] The method is believed to work well when the thickness of the third component 16 , or the underlying portion 26 of second component 22 is from about 3 mm to about 7 mm. The process has been found to work well when the thickness of the third component 16 , is about 4.5 mm. The method worked well when the third component 16 was an extruded stiffener comprised of the aluminum alloy 6061-T6. For these alloys, a consumable metal electrode comprised of aluminum alloy 5356 and 1.6 mm in diameter is recommended. The forward travel angle 27 of the consumable electrode 19 , preferably, should be about 5-15 degrees.
[0051] The electric potential and current of the arc should be appropriate for buried arc welding. It is believed that the electric potential should be in a range from 17-29 Volts, and that the current should be in a range from 70-600 Amperes. Generally, higher values of electric potential and current should be employed for welding thicker components according to this principle. For the presently preferred thicknesses cited above, an electric potential of about 25.7 Volts and a current of about 326 Amperes has been found to work well.
[0052] The consumable metal electrode was supplied at about 7.5 meters per minute, and the speed of travel of the electrode was 0.86 meters/minute.
[0053] For situations wherein the components to be joined are comprised of aluminum alloys, a shielding gas is required. FIG. 11 shows a shielding cup 84 for supplying a laminar flow of a shielding gas such as argon. Shielding cup 84 has a bottom edge 86 located at a standoff distance 88 from the surface 15 of second component 14 . The standoff distance 58 was about 9.5 mm.
[0054] The preferred orientation for this process is the “flat down hand” position. For the three component system, the first component 12 and second component 14 are flat with third component 16 beneath the abutting joint 17 between them. For the two component system, first component 12 and second component 22 are flat, with the underlying portion 26 of second component 22 beneath the abutting joint 67 , between first component 12 and the abutting portion 24 of second component 22 .
[0055] Specific embodiments of the invention has been described above. It is to be understood, of course, that the invention may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the appended claims. | Buried arc welding is employed to fuse together a first component, a second component, and a third component or an underlying portion of the second component, the first and second components in butting relationship along a butting joint and the third component or underlying portion of the second component lying beneath the butting joint. | Condense the core contents of the given document. | [
"CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is closely related to copending U.S. Patent Application Gas Metal Buried Arc Welding of Lap-Penetration Joints, Ser.",
"No. 10/438,675, filed on May 15, 2003, the teachings of which are fully incorporated by reference herein.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to arc welding and, more particularly, it relates to arc welding of integrally backed square butt joints.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] It is known to make integrally backed square butt joints by gas metal arc welding.",
"Two or three metal components are joined by this process.",
"When three components are joined, two of them are placed in an abutting relationship along an abutting joint, with the third component lying behind the abutting joint.",
"All three are then fused into a single weldment.",
"When two components are joined, the first component of the two is placed in an abutting relationship with a first portion of the second component along an abutting joint, with a second portion of the second component lying behind the abutting joint.",
"[0004] A specific application is to make a bulkhead or deck by butt welding sheets or plates to each other, with stiffening elements, i.e. studs or joists, backing up the butt welded elements, behind the butt welded joints.",
"[0005] FIG. 1 shows a prior art arrangement 10 for making such a weldment.",
"A first component 12 and a second component 14 are placed over a third component 16 with a joint gap 18 between the first component 12 and the second component 14 .",
"The components are then secured in that position.",
"A consumable metal electrode 19 is placed over joint gap 18 , electrode 19 being of a composition metallurgically compatible with component 12 , component 14 and component 16 .",
"Typically, electrode 19 has a composition similar to the compositions of component 12 , component 14 and component 16 .",
"[0006] An electric potential is applied between electrode 19 and the components 12 , 14 and 16 .",
"An arc is then initiated between electrode 19 and the components 12 , 14 and 16 .",
"Molten metal from electrode 19 , is superheated in the arc and is accelerated towards the joint gap 18 , fusing with portions of components 12 , 14 and 16 .",
"Depending upon the thickness of the joint, multiple passes may be required to build up a plurality of weld beads filling joint gap 18 and thus joining components 12 , 14 and 16 .",
"A significant expense of this type of welding is that a sufficient quantity of the consumable electrode 19 must be supplied to fill joint gap 18 .",
"In addition, the extra number of weld passes and the associated increase in the amount of weld metal and welding heat input per linear length can lead to extra weld induced distortion of the weldment.",
"[0007] FIG. 2 illustrates a prior art arrangement 20 for making an integrally backed square butt joint comprising a first component 12 and a second component 22 , the second component 22 having an abutting portion 24 and an underlying portion 26 ;",
"which underlies first component 12 .",
"As before, a joint gap 18 is provided to facilitate welding of component 12 to component 22 .",
"[0008] FIG. 3 illustrates a prior art arrangement 30 for making an integrally backed square butt joint comprising first component 32 , second component 34 and third component 16 , third component 16 underlying first component 32 and second component 34 .",
"Arrangement 30 provides a V-shaped joint gap 38 which facilitates the welding process.",
"[0009] FIG. 4 illustrates another prior art arrangement 40 which is for making an integrally backed square butt joint comprising first component 32 and second component 42 .",
"Second component 42 includes an abutting portion 44 and an underlying portion 46 .",
"As before, arrangement 40 provides a V-shaped joint gap 38 which facilitates the welding process.",
"A significant expense of these prior arrangements having a V-shaped joint gap is due to the requirement for joint preparation, by machining or cutting.",
"[0010] Also, for all of these prior art arrangements, a sufficient quantity of the consumable electrode 19 and welding power must be supplied to fill the joint gap, 18 or 38 .",
"Also, welding-induced distortion may occur due to the large amount of metal that must be filled into the joint gap, 18 or 38 .",
"Furthermore, a rather wide weld bead results from either of these arrangements.",
"INTRODUCTION TO THE INVENTION [0011] The cross referenced patent application, Gas Metal Buried Arc Welding of Lap-Penetration Joints, Ser.",
"No. 10/438,675 teaches that gas metal buried arc welding can advantageously be employed for lap penetration joints.",
"Advantages include the ability to melt through and remove oxides from faying surfaces and the ability to penetrate deeply into a stack of two or more components to be joined.",
"With gas metal buried arc welding, surface oxides are removed and are floated to the surface of the weld as slag.",
"It is believed that higher current densities in combination with more intense electromagnetic forces and higher temperatures in the buried arc, in comparison with conventional arc welding, facilitate melting through and removal of the surface oxides.",
"[0012] In the present invention, the ability of a buried arc to penetrate deeply into one or more workpieces and cut through oxide layers, is employed to make an integrally backed square butt weld without a joint gap such as joint gap 18 or joint gap 38 discussed above.",
"[0013] Advantages to the buried arc include a reduction in the amount of consumable metal electrode which is required, consequent reduction in the heat input per linear length and weld induced distortion, increase in productivity due to the smaller number of weld passes needed to weld the thicker sections and also, it has been found that narrower welds can be obtained [0014] Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a method of making integrally backed square butt joints using a smaller quantity of consumable metal electrode than the prior art.",
"[0015] It is another objective of the present invention to provide a method of making integrally backed square butt joints that are comprised of either two or three pieces, whereby the former joint is made of a ledge in the “bottom”",
"part onto which the top part is placed so its edge forms a square butt joint with the square edge of the “bottom”",
"part.",
"In this type of joint, the ledge in the “bottom”",
"part functions as the third part of the integrally backed square butt joint that is made up of three pieces.",
"[0016] It is another objective of the present invention to provide a method of making integrally backed square butt joints which is effective in removing oxides from the faying surfaces.",
"[0017] A further objective of the present invention is to provide a method of welding integrally backed square butt joints wherein the welding arc penetrates deeply into the components to be joined.",
"[0018] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a weldment comprising integrally backed members wherein the weld is narrower than prior art welds.",
"[0019] An additional objective of the present invention is to facilitate the operation of machining a bead on a weldment comprising integrally backed square butt welded components, so the bead is flush with the components.",
"[0020] Yet another objective of the present invention is to make integrally backed square butt welded structures without requiring high power density based welding processes such as lasers or electron beams.",
"[0021] Still another objective of the present invention is to reduce welding-induced distortion of integrally backed square butt welds.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0022] In one aspect, the invention is a method of making a weldment comprising a first component, a second component and a third component, the first component in an abutting relationship with the second component along an abutting joint, the third component in underlying relationship with the first component and the second component beneath the abutting joint.",
"The method includes positioning the first component, the second component and the third component so that the first component is in the abutting relationship with the second component and, also, the third component is in the underlying relationship with the first component and the second component.",
"The method further includes positioning a consumable metal electrode near the first component and the second component, applying an electric potential to the electrode and starting an arc, causing the arc to at least partially bury itself in the abutting joint, the arc forming a cavity for itself, whereby a pool of molten metal beneath the cavity penetrates into the third component.",
"The method further includes maintaining the electric potential and current of the electrode at values appropriate for buried arc welding, and feeding the consumable metal electrode to maintain the tip of the electrode at a distance appropriate for buried arc welding.",
"The method further includes moving the electrode along the abutting joint whereby the arc is likewise moved, and whereby the molten metal solidifies behind the arc to form a weld bead joining the first component to the second component and the third component, thus forming the weldment.",
"[0023] In another aspect, the present invention is a weldment comprising a first component, a second component and a third component, the first component in an abutting relationship with the second component, the third component in underlying relationship with the first component and the second component beneath the abutting joint, a weld bead made by buried arc welding joining the first component, the second component, and the third component.",
"[0024] In a further aspect, the invention is a weldment comprising a first component, a second component and a third component, the first component in abutting relationship with the second component, the third component in underlying relationship with the first component and the second component beneath the abutting joint, a narrow weld bead made by buried arc welding joining the first component, the second component, and the third component.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0025] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a prior art arrangement for forming an integrally backed square butt weld by gas metal arc welding;",
"[0026] FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a prior art arrangement for forming a two component integrally backed butt joint by gas metal arc welding;",
"[0027] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a prior art arrangement for forming an integrally backed square butt joint wherein a V-shaped joint gap is provided to facilitate the welding process;",
"[0028] FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a prior art arrangement for forming a two component integrally backed butt joint wherein a V-shaped joint gap is provided to facilitate the welding process;",
"[0029] FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of an arrangement, according to the present invention, for forming an integrally backed square butt joint by gas metal arc welding;",
"[0030] FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of an arrangement, according to the present invention, for forming a two component integrally backed butt joint by gas metal arc welding;",
"[0031] FIG. 7 is a schematic illustrating a section cut through the weld pool during gas metal buried arc welding of an integrally backed square butt joint;",
"[0032] FIG. 8 is a schematic section of the arrangement of FIG. 4 cut along the plane indicated as 8 - 8 in FIG. 7 ;",
"[0033] FIG. 9 is a schematic section of a weld made according to the present invention, cut along the plane indicated as 9 - 9 in FIG. 8 ;",
"[0034] FIG. 10 is a section similar to FIG. 9 with the weld bead machined flush with the surfaces of the components being joined;",
"and [0035] FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration showing a shielding cup which supplies inert gas to the area being welded.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0036] For purposes of the description hereinafter, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “level”, “above”, “below”, “beneath”",
"etc and derivatives thereof relate to the invention, as it is oriented in the drawing figures.",
"However, it is to be understood that the invention may assume various alternative orientations, except where expressly specified to the contrary.",
"It is also to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in the drawings, and described in the following specification, are simply exemplary embodiments of the invention.",
"Hence, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics related to the embodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting.",
"[0037] Attention is now directed to FIG. 5 which illustrates an arrangement 50 , according to a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, the arrangement being for butt welding component 12 to component 14 and simultaneously joining these to component 16 , which underlies components 12 and 14 .",
"No joint gap is provided between component 12 and component 14 , as was the case for the prior art arrangements illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 .",
"In the presently preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , component 12 lies adjacent component 14 to define an abutting joint 17 therebetween.",
"The consumable metal electrode 19 is placed above the abutting joint 17 .",
"[0038] After the arrangement shown in FIG. 5 is established, an arc is initiated, typically by establishing an electric potential (voltage) between the components 12 and 14 being joined and the tip of the consumable metal electrode 19 and by touching it to component 12 and/or component 14 .",
"[0039] FIG. 6 illustrates an arrangement 60 for joining a first component 12 to a second component 22 , the second component 22 having an abutting portion 24 and an underlying portion 26 ;",
"underlying portion 26 underlying first component 12 .",
"First component 12 is placed adjacent abutting portion 24 of second component 22 to define an abutting joint 67 therebetween.",
"[0040] After the arrangement shown in FIG. 6 is established, an arc is initiated, typically by impressing an electric potential between the components 12 and 22 being joined and the tip of consumable metal electrode 19 and by touching electrode 19 to component 12 and/or component 22 .",
"[0041] FIG. 7 illustrates the welding process for the arrangement shown in FIG. 5 .",
"The arc 72 forms a cavity 75 for itself and for a molten metal layer 74 .",
"Cavity 75 subsumes the abutting joint 17 , melting portions of the first component 12 and the second component 14 , and it penetrates into the third component 16 , as illustrated in FIG. 7 .",
"[0042] The electric potential and current of the arc are maintained at levels appropriate for buried arc welding, and the elevation of the tip of the consumable metal electrode 19 is maintained at a value appropriate for buried arc welding.",
"The consumable metal electrode 19 is then moved along the abutting joint 17 at a speed appropriate for buried arc welding.",
"[0043] FIG. 8 is a section cut along the plane 8 - 8 shown in FIG. 7 .",
"FIG. 8 shows the direction of movement 70 of the consumable metal electrode 19 .",
"The consumable metal electrode 19 is moved at a speed appropriate for buried arc welding in the direction of arrow 70 .",
"At this speed, the cavity 75 , the buried arc 72 and the molten metal layer 74 are as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 .",
"FIG. 8 also shows the forward travel angle 71 of the consumable metal electrode 19 .",
"Molten metal layer 74 on the back side of cavity 75 solidifies to form weld bead 78 having surface 80 behind the buried arc 72 .",
"[0044] FIG. 9 is a view cut along line 9 - 9 in FIG. 8 .",
"It shows the weld bead 78 joining the first component 12 , the second component 14 and the third, underlying, component 16 .",
"The surface 80 of weld bead 78 will generally be higher than the surface 13 of component 12 or surface 15 of component 14 .",
"[0045] FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 , but FIG. 10 is the configuration after the weld bead 78 has been trimmed so that machined surface 82 of weld bead 78 is flush with surfaces 13 and 15 of components 12 and 14 , respectively.",
"[0046] The process of welding the configuration illustrated in FIG. 6 for the two component system is similar to the process discussed above for the configuration illustrated in FIG. 5 , which is for the three component system.",
"[0047] Numerical Values for the Presently Preferred Embodiments [0048] It has been found that the method described above works well for the component thicknesses and operational parameters which follow.",
"[0049] When making a three component integrally backed butt weld, as shown in FIG. 5 , it has been believed that the first component 12 and the second component 14 should have a thickness of at least about 1 mm and, preferably, no more than about 18 mm.",
"The process has been found to work well when these components have a thickness of about 3.5 mm.",
"The thickness range from 1 to 18 mm also applies to the thickness of the abutting portion 24 of the second component 22 illustrated in FIG. 6 .",
"The method is recommended for the aluminum alloy 5383-H34.",
"[0050] The method is believed to work well when the thickness of the third component 16 , or the underlying portion 26 of second component 22 is from about 3 mm to about 7 mm.",
"The process has been found to work well when the thickness of the third component 16 , is about 4.5 mm.",
"The method worked well when the third component 16 was an extruded stiffener comprised of the aluminum alloy 6061-T6.",
"For these alloys, a consumable metal electrode comprised of aluminum alloy 5356 and 1.6 mm in diameter is recommended.",
"The forward travel angle 27 of the consumable electrode 19 , preferably, should be about 5-15 degrees.",
"[0051] The electric potential and current of the arc should be appropriate for buried arc welding.",
"It is believed that the electric potential should be in a range from 17-29 Volts, and that the current should be in a range from 70-600 Amperes.",
"Generally, higher values of electric potential and current should be employed for welding thicker components according to this principle.",
"For the presently preferred thicknesses cited above, an electric potential of about 25.7 Volts and a current of about 326 Amperes has been found to work well.",
"[0052] The consumable metal electrode was supplied at about 7.5 meters per minute, and the speed of travel of the electrode was 0.86 meters/minute.",
"[0053] For situations wherein the components to be joined are comprised of aluminum alloys, a shielding gas is required.",
"FIG. 11 shows a shielding cup 84 for supplying a laminar flow of a shielding gas such as argon.",
"Shielding cup 84 has a bottom edge 86 located at a standoff distance 88 from the surface 15 of second component 14 .",
"The standoff distance 58 was about 9.5 mm.",
"[0054] The preferred orientation for this process is the “flat down hand”",
"position.",
"For the three component system, the first component 12 and second component 14 are flat with third component 16 beneath the abutting joint 17 between them.",
"For the two component system, first component 12 and second component 22 are flat, with the underlying portion 26 of second component 22 beneath the abutting joint 67 , between first component 12 and the abutting portion 24 of second component 22 .",
"[0055] Specific embodiments of the invention has been described above.",
"It is to be understood, of course, that the invention may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the appended claims."
] |
RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a Division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/329,229 filed Dec. 23, 2002 by Jon X. Giltner and entitled “Apparatus for Extracting Fasteners From a Host Material”, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,877,401 and which application was a Division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/947,834 filed Sep. 6, 2001 by Jon X. Giltner and entitled “Apparatus and Method for Extracting Fasteners From a Host Material”, which application is now abandoned.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to fastener extraction from yieldable host materials such as wood, plastic, soft metals or the like, and, more particularly, relates to screw or nail extracting apparatus and methods utilizing fastener rotation.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The demand for wood products is ever increasing. However, both the quantity and quality of new wood resources is decreasing thereby resulting in increased building expenses and decreased building quality. A considerable inventory of otherwise sound lumber, much of it from old growth forests, is disposed of annually because it has been used and thus has fasteners embedded therein. Much, if not most, of this lumber could be profitably reused if only the fasteners embedded in it could be easily and inexpensively removed without undue damage to the lumber product (often occasioned by nail-removing equipment just to get access to the fastener head). Excessive damage to used lumber often makes the product unusable, but at the very least causes the used product to be dropped in grade to a use below its potential had it remained relatively undamaged.
When undertaking nail extraction, it is often the case that its head is broken away (or that it was headless to begin with) and/or is recessed into the wood material. In the case of screws, it is also common for a broken shank to remain embedded in the host material and for grooves in the head for driving the screw to be stripped away. In all such cases, removal of the fastener has been heretofore extremely difficult without excessive damage to the host material (i.e., the wood fiber for example) within a large radius of the fastener's shank.
Many devices have been heretofore suggested and utilized for aiding in the removal of nails and/or screws from wood. Such devices have included simple lever tools such as claws and pries, mechanized pullers having opposed jaws with limited wood cutting capability, as well as impact tools for driving the fastener through the host. Many such tools necessarily result in excessive damage to the host material, and few of the heretofore known devices are effective where the shank of the fastener is headless and/or where the fastener is totally recessed in the host material.
Of the heretofore known devices for removal of fasteners from yieldable materials such as wood, plastic or the like, many are cumbersome and do not lend themselves to rapid and repeated utilization (i.e., are labor intensive). Most are targeted to specific kinds and sizes of fasteners, as well as specific fastener positions and orientations relative to the host material surface. Moreover, many such devices are quite limited in application, often necessitating more than one tool to remove a single fastener.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention provides improved methods for extracting fasteners such as nails or screws from a host material, and particularly from lumber products to allow profitable reuse thereof. The invention is adapted for extraction of embedded fasteners easily, inexpensively and without undue damage to the host material, and is effective even where the shank of the fastener is headless, stripped and/or totally recessed in the host material. The apparatus utilized in performance of the methods is compact, lends itself to rapid and repeated utilization thereby saving labor, and is not dependent upon type, size (within given ranges to which a particular apparatus is adapted), position or orientation of the fastener. In use, the apparatus generally is the only tool needed for extraction of the fastener.
The apparatus is rotatable, for example utilizing a drill motor or other means of applying torque, and includes a shank adapted for application with a source of rotational motion. An engaging member is utilized and is located at one end of the shank and has a cavity extending thereinto from an opening opposite the member from the shank. A cutting component is defined at the opening for cleanly removing host material around the fastener, and a gripping surface formation is defined in the cavity for establishing an engagement with the fastener. The cavity is preferably a conical formation and the gripping surface formation is preferably a spiraling striation formed in a surface of the cavity for threadably engaging the fastener.
In one embodiment, the engaging member includes a main body and a hinged portion selectively movable relative to the main body. The main body and the hinged portion are each configured so that a cooperative part of the cavity, the cutting component and the gripping surface formation are located thereat. A retaining sleeve around the main body and the hinged portion is movable linearly relative thereto to selectively restrain movement of the hinged portion.
In another embodiment the engaging member is a chuck having a central hub and a perimeter nut with jaw elements positioned between the hub and the nut. The jaw elements together define the cavity and the opening, and each includes cutting component and gripping surface structure.
The method for extracting either nails or screws from a yieldable host material includes the steps of rotating a member to cut away host material around the nail or screw while utilizing rotation of the rotating member to establish an engagement at the member with an end of the nail or screw. The engagement is utilized to rotate the nail or screw to facilitate its removal from the host material.
Utilizing this invention, fasteners that project above, are flush with, or recessed below a wood surface may be accessed, gripped, and removed. During fastener removal, a cylindrical bore is created in the host material to a depth that varies with the depth and size of the fastener and with a diameter selected to allow the bore to be easily filled (with a wood dowel of standard diameter for example). If the fastener's head is missing or small in diameter, this invention allows for access, gripping, and extraction from either end of the fastener, minimizing damage to the host material.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide improved methods for extracting fasteners from a host material.
It is another object of this invention to provide methods for extracting fasteners from a host material to facilitate profitable reuse of lumber products by easily and inexpensively allowing removal of fasteners therefrom without undue damage to the lumber product.
It is still another object of this invention to provide methods for extracting fasteners from a host material that avoid excessive damage to the host material, and that are effective where the shank of the fastener is headless, stripped and/or totally recessed in the host material.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide methods for extracting fasteners from a host material that are compactly performed, that lend themselves to rapid and repeated utilization, and that are effective with a wide variety of fasteners independent of location and orientation in the host material.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a method utilizing a rotatable apparatus for extraction of fasteners from a yieldable host material that includes a shank adapted for application with a source of rotational motion, and an engaging member at one end of the shank having a cavity extending thereinto from an opening opposite the member from the shank, a cutting component defined at the opening and a gripping surface formation defined in the cavity.
It is another object of this invention to provide a method utilizing an apparatus for extraction of fasteners from a host material that includes an engaging member having a main body and a hinged portion selectively movable relative to the main body, the main body and the hinged portion each configured to define a cooperative part of a cavity, cutting component and a fastener gripping surface formation in the cavity.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a method utilizing an apparatus for extraction of fasteners from a host material that includes a chuck having a central hub and a perimeter nut with jaw elements positioned between the hub and the nut, the jaw elements together defining a fastener receiving cavity, and each of the jaw elements including host material cutting component and fastener gripping surface formation structures thereat.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a method utilizing an apparatus mountable at a drill motor for extraction of either of nails and screws from wood, the apparatus including a shank mountable at one end thereof at the drill motor, and an engaging member defined at an opposite end of the shank and having a conical cavity extending thereinto from an opening opposite the member from the shank, a cutting component defined at the opening and a spiraling striation formed in a surface of the cavity.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a method for extracting either of a nail or screw from a yieldable host material, the method including the steps of rotating a member to cut away host material around the nail or screw, utilizing rotation of the rotating member to establish an engagement at the member with an end of the nail or screw while the host material is being cut away, and utilizing the engagement to rotate the nail or screw to facilitate its removal from the host material.
With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent to one skilled in the art as the description proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts and method substantially as hereinafter described, and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the herein disclosed invention are meant to be included as come within the scope of the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings illustrate a complete embodiment of the invention according to the best mode so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:
FIG. 1 is a side view of a first embodiment of the apparatus of this invention;
FIG. 2 is a top end view of the apparatus in FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the apparatus in FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 4 is a bottom end view of the apparatus in FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view illustrating an alternative cleanout channel arrangement for the apparatus of FIG. 1 ;
FIGS. 6 through 9 illustrate operation of the apparatus of FIG. 1 for extraction of a headed fastener;
FIGS. 10 through 13 illustrate operation of the apparatus of FIG. 1 for extraction of a headless fastener;
FIG. 14 is a side view of a second embodiment of the apparatus of this invention incorporated into a keyed or keyless drill chuck;
FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 14 ;
FIG. 16 is a bottom end view of the apparatus of FIG. 14 ;
FIG. 17 is a side view of a third (and for purposes of this disclosure preferred) embodiment of the apparatus of this invention;
FIG. 18 is a top end view of the apparatus of FIG. 17 ;
FIG. 19 is a sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 17 ;
FIG. 20 is a bottom end view of the apparatus of FIG. 17 ;
FIG. 21 is a perspective view illustration of a fourth embodiment of the apparatus of this invention adapted for quick release of a fastener shown in readiness for fastener engagement;
FIG. 22 is a perspective view illustration of the apparatus of FIG. 21 illustrating operation for disengagement of a fastener therefrom;
FIGS. 23 through 25 are sectional views of the apparatus of FIG. 21 illustrating operation of the quick release apparatus;
FIG. 26 is a bottom end view of the apparatus of FIG. 21 ;
FIG. 27 is a side view of the retaining sleeve of the apparatus of FIG. 21 ;
FIG. 28 is an inner side view of the hinged portion of the of the apparatus of FIG. 21 ;
FIG. 29 is an outer side view of the hinged portion shown in FIG. 28 ;
FIG. 30 is a bottom end view of the hinged portion shown in FIG. 28 ;
FIG. 31 is a top end view of the hinged portion shown in FIG. 28 ;
FIG. 32 is an inner side view of the main body of the apparatus of FIG. 21 ;
FIG. 33 is another side view of the main body shown in FIG. 32 ; and
FIG. 34 is a sectional view taken through section lines 34 — 34 of FIG. 32 .
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A first embodiment 40 of the apparatus of this invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4 . Apparatus 40 includes shank 41 adapted for application with a selected driver/source imparting rotational motion. Shank 41 is preferably polygonal, but may be cylindrical, and with a cross-section proportioned to fit into the jaws of a standard drill chuck to fix apparatus 40 rotationally and axially. Collar 42 may be provided at shank 41 and above neck 43 so that a pry bar or the like may be positioned adjacent to neck 43 to apply a linear force at bottom surface 44 of collar 42 to lift apparatus 40 as a secondary aid to removal of a fastener where necessary. Collar 42 is preferably a circular shape to provide a flange projecting from neck 43 that is uniformly accessibly from any direction or rotational position of apparatus 40 about its longitudinal axis, as well as to avoid unnecessary interference with adjacent objects.
Fastener engaging member 45 extends from one end of shank 41 at neck 43 and is preferably cylindrical. While the exterior surface of engaging member 45 may be of any configuration, member 45 is preferably tapered from neck 43 with a substantially uniformly expanding diameter to cylindrical lower portion 46 . A tapered (i.e., conical) cavity 39 extends into engaging member 45 from opening 47 , and has a gripping surface formation 48 at the interior surface thereof. The gripping surface formation is established by transverse striations preferably forming a spiraling internal thread defining gripping teeth utilized to threadably engage a fastener. Lower portion 46 , in this embodiment having the largest diameter of member 45 , is of a length suitable for providing a stable guide for apparatus 40 as it slidably and rotationally penetrates the host material surface around the fastener for access thereto.
Conical shaped cavity 39 has a uniformly decreasing radius in proportion to the axial distance from opening 47 . This cavity is sized to accept a range of fastener head sizes within its length. The cavity does not need to be conical to be effective, but if not conical, is more limited in the range of fastener sizes it can remove. Spirally threaded surface formation 48 at the inner surface wall of cavity 39 is preferably cut to provide upper edges of the threads that are horizontal (as shown in FIG. 3 ) to form the gripping teeth. The preferred direction of the spiral threads is counterclockwise to establish engagement with fasteners normally threaded clockwise (where the fastener is a screw; if the fastener is a nail the direction of the threads would not matter).
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the lower portion of cavity 39 may include slots 51 along the wall of the cavity in plane with the longitudinal axis of apparatus 40 . Where provided, slots 51 are relatively sharp edged with the purpose of improving the ability of the internal threaded formation 48 to cut threads into the edges of a fastener to facilitate the required gripping engagement. The bottom edge of cavity 39 (adjacent to opening 47 ) includes radial flare 50 to enable apparatus 40 to more readily center itself over a fastener. The bottom edge at the outside face of cylindrical lower portion 46 of apparatus 40 is chamfered circumferentially to provide lateral stability of the longitudinal axis of apparatus 40 while in operation. Bottom surface 49 of lower portion 46 of engaging member 45 at opening 47 is structured to provide a cutting component thereat, in this embodiment provided with radially grooved cutting notches, as required to provide an efficient hole cutting means in the host material surrounding the fastener while minimizing displacement of material (e.g., wood fiber) outside the perimeter of the hole. As is apparent from the disclosure herein following, bottom surface cutting component 49 can take any of a number of configurations.
It should be noted that the total cross-sectional and physical properties of apparatus 40 must provide adequate strength and durability to repeatedly perform its intended function. A given tool may be proportioned in size to handle a selected range of fastener diameters (anything from small diameter shanks to the heads of very large circular spikes may be accommodated).
Engaging member 45 of apparatus 40 has cleanout channel 52 extending angularly (on a diagonal axis) from cavity 39 through the outer wall of engaging member 45 . Unwanted host material debris captured in the spiraling threads of gripping surface formation 48 at cavity 39 may be dislodged through channel 52 by inserting and forcibly rodding the debris loose with a compatible tool, preferably configured to function without contacting or damaging the internal striations at cavity 39 .
FIG. 5 shows an alternative arrangement of the cleanout channel 52 in apparatus 40 . As shown, channel 52 extends from cavity 39 at engaging member 45 through shank 41 to the exterior of the apparatus. This arrangement may improve dynamic balance of apparatus 40 and be easier to manufacture.
FIGS. 6 through 9 illustrate apparatus 40 associated (at shank 41 ) with driving source 53 and the steps utilized for extracting headed fastener 54 (a nail or screw) embedded in a wood element 55 . FIGS. 10 through 13 similarly describe the apparatus's operation in the case of removal of headless fastener 58 . In the latter case, the fastener's shank may be gripped at either end (i.e., the driven end or the piercing end).
Driving source 53 may be any externally powered rotating and torsion-delivering device (such as a motor powered drill chuck) which has a means of gripping shank 41 , which is capable of being operated counterclockwise and clockwise (preferably at variable speeds), and which has an ability to deliver torque to apparatus 40 as may be required. The torque limit should be set by the user to be well within the user's torque-resisting strength if the driving means is hand-held, and/or within the strength of any equipment not hand-held.
For purposes of illustration, the head of fastener 54 and the end of the shank of fastener 58 are shown recessed (at 56 ) below the surface 38 of wood element 55 . Once apparatus 40 is positioned over fastener 54 ( FIGS. 6 and 10 ) and pressed by the user against wood surface 38 ( FIGS. 7 and 11 ), the chamfer at the outer bottom edge of lower portion 46 of engaging member 45 enables apparatus 40 to remain centered laterally until lower portion 46 is restrained within the confines of the bore created by bottom surface cutting component 49 ( FIGS. 8 and 12 ). FIGS. 9 and 13 show the configuration of the bore (enlarged at 56 ) as well as fastener shank cavity 57 remaining in the wood after fastener 54 or 58 is removed. The preferred sizing of the perimeter of lower portion 46 is such that the remaining bore may be filled with a standard wood dowel as may be desirable for reusing or rehabilitating the wood element. If a fastener is flush with or raised above the surface of the wood element, a similar sequence applies, with formation of a bore in the wood being either unnecessary or minimal.
In use, apparatus 40 is typically anchored to a standard drill chuck 53 attached to a manually operable drill motor. Apparatus 40 is manufactured in more than one size, each of which is designed to fit a range of sizes of fastener 54 / 58 heads or shanks. For example, one tool would fit well over the heads of 8 d through 16 d nails and heads of similarly sized screws, while another may fit over the heads of 3 d through 6 d nails and the heads of similarly sized screws, and so on. In the field, the fastener to be removed may be easily accessible or may be one which is quite remote from surface 38 (accessible only by adding a drill bit extension, for example). In operation, the drill motor is switched on (in its counterclockwise mode of rotation) thereby imparting rotation to engaging member 45 while it is pressed against surface 38 adjacent to and surrounding the fastener position ( FIGS. 7 , 8 , 11 and 12 ). Rotation is maintained slowly at first to establish a clean, stable cutting position, and member 45 is allowed to drill itself into the wood as may be necessary for the internal gripping surface formation 48 at cavity 39 to threadably establish engagement with the edges of one end of fastener 54 / 58 ( FIGS. 8 and 12 ).
The rotation of member 45 serves substantially simultaneously to cut away the wood around the fastener cleanly (at cutting component 49 ) while establishing the engagement with fastener 54 (at the engaging surface formation 48 of cavity 39 ), regardless of which part of the fastener, head or shank, is first encountered. After initial fastener contact, the teeth defined by the spiraling thread formation 48 at cavity 39 continue to engage the fastener more forcibly with each revolution of apparatus 40 because of the increasing confinement presented by tapered cavity 39 . In operation, this desired result is most easily achieved at a low rotational speed of apparatus 40 . The fastener will continually be drawn into cavity 39 by the spiraling thread formation 48 until the torque required to further engage fastener 54 / 58 overcomes the static torsional frictional resistance of the host material/fastener interface. Fastener 54 / 58 will then begin to rotate with the engagement.
Although frictional resistance is still present, it is smaller in value than the static frictional resistance. Therefore, in the case of a nail, while fastener 54 / 58 is being rotated it may be pulled (FIGS. 9 / 13 ) by the operator with moderate axial force directly out of and away from wood element 55 , using only the hand-grip on the drill motor. If additional aid in extraction is required, a pry may be applied at collar 42 as heretofore described.
In the case of a screw, once engagement is thus established at cavity 39 , rotational direction of the drill motor allows the screw or screw portion to unthread itself from engagement at the wood element. As may be appreciated, it is not necessary to know ahead of time if the fastener is a nail or screw (perhaps because only the tip of a fastener shank is visible) since counterclockwise rotation of apparatus 40 will remove the fastener in either case.
The fastener may thereafter be removed from apparatus 40 by rotationally restraining apparatus 40 and rotating fastener 54 / 58 clockwise about its longitudinal axis enough to dislodge it from threaded formation 48 of cavity 39 , or by restraining the fastener about its longitudinal axis while operating the drill motor in the clockwise direction achieving the same result.
FIGS. 14 through 16 illustrate a second embodiment 59 of the apparatus of this invention incorporated into a standard keyed or keyless drill chuck 60 . Jaw elements 61 are modified to provide tooled exterior cutting edges 63 forming the cutting component for boring into a host material to gain access to the fastener, and to provide internal teeth 62 tooled at interior facing surfaces thereof forming the gripping surface formation required to efficiently grip a fastener's head or shank when the jaws are brought to bear against the sides of the fastener. As may be appreciated, jaw elements 61 together define the cavity and opening therebetween for receipt of a fastener, structures 63 and 62 defining the overall cutting component and gripping surface formation.
Chuck 60 , as diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 15 , is of a type in common use where hub 100 is bored to receive and radially position three equally spaced jaw elements 61 . Jaw elements 61 are restrained laterally by hub 100 but are slidably free along their longitudinal axis. The upper ends 65 of jaw elements 61 are threaded for engagement with internal threads of perimeter nut 64 . Radially concentric pressure on a nail or screw is applied and released at jaw elements 61 depending on the direction of rotation of, and torque applied to, nut 64 .
For purposes of illustration, in this case it is assumed that the preferred rotational direction for boring into the host material is clockwise. Rotational speed and torque are delivered at shank 66 from an externally powered drive such as a drill motor.
To remove a fastener, drill chuck 60 is positioned over the end of the fastener with jaws 61 spaced far enough apart to easily fit over the fastener. The drill is then operated, allowing cutting edges 63 of jaws 61 to remove enough wood surrounding the fastener to allow the internal thread formation defined by teeth 62 of jaws 61 to engage the fastener. At this point, the drill motor is run slowly while nut 64 is rotationally restrained, causing jaws 61 to tighten their grip at teeth 62 on the fastener until nut 64 can no longer be restrained against rotation. At that point, nut 64 is allowed to rotate with the drill chuck and the drill is operated with sufficient torque to overcome the static frictional resistance of the fastener. In the case of a normally threaded screw, counterclockwise rotation will remove the screw. In the case of a nail, rotational direction is unimportant and a pulling force is applied to chuck 60 while rotating the nail to allow nail removal.
As before, the rotation of chuck 60 serves substantially simultaneously to cut away the wood around the fastener cleanly (at cutting edges 63 ) while establishing the engagement with the fastener (at the engaging surface formation 62 of jaws 61 ), regardless of which part of the fastener, head or shank, is first encountered. When the applied torque overcomes the static torsional frictional resistance of the host material/fastener interface, the fastener will begin to rotate with the engagement. The fastener is removed from apparatus 59 by rotating the nut 64 of chuck 60 in the necessary direction to open jaws 61 allowing the fastener to fall free.
FIGS. 17 through 20 illustrate a third embodiment 67 of the apparatus very similar in both structure and operation to that illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 13 , with the exception that the outside diameter of lower portion 46 of engaging member 45 is reduced compared with the maximum diameter (from 68 ′ to 68 ″) of the bottom edge cutting component 49 at opening 47 to cavity 39 . This arrangement allows an annular space around lower portion 46 for wood shavings to clear the cutting surface at bottom edge 49 and to thus reduce heat buildup in apparatus 67 from friction.
In this embodiment, the host material cutting component 49 is configured to improve the removal of wood shavings, and the cutting surfaces 69 ′ and 69 ″ are planar to facilitate periodic sharpening with standard workshop tools. However, the number, arrangement, and configuration of cutting surfaces may vary to meet the needs of certain applications.
As may be appreciated, it is possible to fabricate apparatus such as those described in FIGS. 1 through 13 and 17 through 20 from a single unit of steel. As a result, use of such apparatus may require pliers or the like to assist in unthreading the fastener from such apparatus to disengage it without damaging the apparatus' internal threads.
FIGS. 21 through 34 illustrate a forth embodiment 81 of the apparatus of this invention, particularly adapted to allow a fastener to be released quickly from the apparatus after extraction from the host material. In this quick release embodiment, fastener engaging member 85 , including threaded cavity 39 , opening 47 , gripping surface formation 48 , and bottom surface cutting component 49 , is provided in two halves, fixed main body 72 and moveable hinged portion 78 as shown in FIGS. 23 through 26 .
When ready for cutting and fastener removal utilizing the steps heretofore described, hinged portion 78 is positioned with surfaces 79 of each half tight against one another thereby defining cavity/surface formation 39 / 48 and cutting component 49 , as shown in FIG. 23 . To restrain hinged portion 78 from being dislodged, by forceful engagement with a fastener for example, a slidable annular retaining sleeve 80 ( FIG. 27 ) is positioned to encase the total assembly, as shown in FIGS. 21 and 23 , and to act as a tension ring. Sleeve 80 is held by pressure from compression spring 71 against the upper surface of flanged section 70 of sleeve 80 , the upper end of compression spring 71 bearing against the underside of a collar 73 fixed to the upper end of main body 72 below shank 41 . For ease of assembly of apparatus 81 , either the collar 73 or the flared cutting component 49 should be removable. In this embodiment, the collar 73 is assumed to be threaded, set screwed, or pinned to main body 72 .
The effect of manually applying an upward force on the underside of flanged section 70 of sleeve 80 as necessary to compress spring 71 , as shown progressively in FIGS. 24 and 25 , is to lift sleeve 80 above its restraining position to a new raised position as shown in FIG. 22 , creating contact along the way between internal shoulder 84 defined by annular cavity 74 at the interior of sleeve 80 and projecting tip 75 of upper lever arm 76 of hinged portion 78 . Upon contact, tip 75 is deflected toward recess 83 in main body 72 of apparatus 81 as shown in FIGS. 24 and 25 , causing hinged portion 78 to rotate about its hinge interface 77 thereby opening cavity 39 at surfaces 79 . In this way, a fastener extracted as heretofore described, and held in cavity 39 after removal, may be quickly released by simply raising sleeve 80 .
Because the fastener is bound tightly by spirally threaded formation 48 in threaded cavity 39 when surfaces 79 are held abutting by sleeve 80 , simply raising the sleeve to relieve the restraint will likely be sufficient to release the fastener (the fastener itself causing movement of hinged portion 72 to some degree upon release of the applied tension). Therefore, providing the additional release assistance of movement of upper lever arm 76 , caused by contact between tip 75 and shoulder 84 , into annular cavity 74 may be unnecessary for most quick release fastener disposals.
As before, the rotation of engaging member 85 serves substantially simultaneously to cut away the wood around the fastener cleanly (at cutting component 49 ) while establishing the engagement with the fastener (at the engaging surface formation 48 of cavity 39 ). After initial fastener contact, the teeth defined by the spiraling thread formation 48 at cavity 39 continue to engage the fastener more forcibly with each revolution of apparatus 81 because of the increasing confinement presented by tapered cavity 39 . The fastener will continually be drawn into cavity 39 by the spiraling thread formation 48 until the torque required to further engage the fastener overcomes the static torsional frictional resistance of the host material/fastener interface. The fastener will then begin to rotate with the engagement. When removed, the fastener is released by movement of sleeve 80 to allow opening of member 85 at hinged portion 78 .
The various apparatus or this invention are most useful if available to the user in two or more sizes to handle the widest possible range of fastener types and conditions. The apparatus are best operated with a commonly available hand-held drill motor, although almost any driving system (including a manual system) is usable without adversely affecting intended performance. Spiraling thread formation 48 at cavity 39 could take any number of configurations, including a double (dual) or nested thread formation (the double thread starting with one at each of opposite sides of the cavity). | Apparatus and methods for extraction of nails, screws and other such fasteners from wood or other host materials are disclosed. One embodiment of the apparatus includes a shank adapted for application at a rotational drive source, a two-part engaging member at one end of the shank having a cavity extending thereinto for receiving therein a fastener to be extracted and openable to release the fastener after extraction. A cutting component is defined at a bottom edge of the engaging member adjacent to an opening to the cavity for cleanly removing host material from around the fastener. A gripping surface formation comprising a spiraling striation is formed at a surface of the cavity for threadably engaging the fastener to be removed. | Provide a concise summary of the essential information conveyed in the given context. | [
"RELATED APPLICATION This application is a Division of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 10/329,229 filed Dec. 23, 2002 by Jon X. Giltner and entitled “Apparatus for Extracting Fasteners From a Host Material”, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,877,401 and which application was a Division of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 09/947,834 filed Sep. 6, 2001 by Jon X. Giltner and entitled “Apparatus and Method for Extracting Fasteners From a Host Material”, which application is now abandoned.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to fastener extraction from yieldable host materials such as wood, plastic, soft metals or the like, and, more particularly, relates to screw or nail extracting apparatus and methods utilizing fastener rotation.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The demand for wood products is ever increasing.",
"However, both the quantity and quality of new wood resources is decreasing thereby resulting in increased building expenses and decreased building quality.",
"A considerable inventory of otherwise sound lumber, much of it from old growth forests, is disposed of annually because it has been used and thus has fasteners embedded therein.",
"Much, if not most, of this lumber could be profitably reused if only the fasteners embedded in it could be easily and inexpensively removed without undue damage to the lumber product (often occasioned by nail-removing equipment just to get access to the fastener head).",
"Excessive damage to used lumber often makes the product unusable, but at the very least causes the used product to be dropped in grade to a use below its potential had it remained relatively undamaged.",
"When undertaking nail extraction, it is often the case that its head is broken away (or that it was headless to begin with) and/or is recessed into the wood material.",
"In the case of screws, it is also common for a broken shank to remain embedded in the host material and for grooves in the head for driving the screw to be stripped away.",
"In all such cases, removal of the fastener has been heretofore extremely difficult without excessive damage to the host material (i.e., the wood fiber for example) within a large radius of the fastener's shank.",
"Many devices have been heretofore suggested and utilized for aiding in the removal of nails and/or screws from wood.",
"Such devices have included simple lever tools such as claws and pries, mechanized pullers having opposed jaws with limited wood cutting capability, as well as impact tools for driving the fastener through the host.",
"Many such tools necessarily result in excessive damage to the host material, and few of the heretofore known devices are effective where the shank of the fastener is headless and/or where the fastener is totally recessed in the host material.",
"Of the heretofore known devices for removal of fasteners from yieldable materials such as wood, plastic or the like, many are cumbersome and do not lend themselves to rapid and repeated utilization (i.e., are labor intensive).",
"Most are targeted to specific kinds and sizes of fasteners, as well as specific fastener positions and orientations relative to the host material surface.",
"Moreover, many such devices are quite limited in application, often necessitating more than one tool to remove a single fastener.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention provides improved methods for extracting fasteners such as nails or screws from a host material, and particularly from lumber products to allow profitable reuse thereof.",
"The invention is adapted for extraction of embedded fasteners easily, inexpensively and without undue damage to the host material, and is effective even where the shank of the fastener is headless, stripped and/or totally recessed in the host material.",
"The apparatus utilized in performance of the methods is compact, lends itself to rapid and repeated utilization thereby saving labor, and is not dependent upon type, size (within given ranges to which a particular apparatus is adapted), position or orientation of the fastener.",
"In use, the apparatus generally is the only tool needed for extraction of the fastener.",
"The apparatus is rotatable, for example utilizing a drill motor or other means of applying torque, and includes a shank adapted for application with a source of rotational motion.",
"An engaging member is utilized and is located at one end of the shank and has a cavity extending thereinto from an opening opposite the member from the shank.",
"A cutting component is defined at the opening for cleanly removing host material around the fastener, and a gripping surface formation is defined in the cavity for establishing an engagement with the fastener.",
"The cavity is preferably a conical formation and the gripping surface formation is preferably a spiraling striation formed in a surface of the cavity for threadably engaging the fastener.",
"In one embodiment, the engaging member includes a main body and a hinged portion selectively movable relative to the main body.",
"The main body and the hinged portion are each configured so that a cooperative part of the cavity, the cutting component and the gripping surface formation are located thereat.",
"A retaining sleeve around the main body and the hinged portion is movable linearly relative thereto to selectively restrain movement of the hinged portion.",
"In another embodiment the engaging member is a chuck having a central hub and a perimeter nut with jaw elements positioned between the hub and the nut.",
"The jaw elements together define the cavity and the opening, and each includes cutting component and gripping surface structure.",
"The method for extracting either nails or screws from a yieldable host material includes the steps of rotating a member to cut away host material around the nail or screw while utilizing rotation of the rotating member to establish an engagement at the member with an end of the nail or screw.",
"The engagement is utilized to rotate the nail or screw to facilitate its removal from the host material.",
"Utilizing this invention, fasteners that project above, are flush with, or recessed below a wood surface may be accessed, gripped, and removed.",
"During fastener removal, a cylindrical bore is created in the host material to a depth that varies with the depth and size of the fastener and with a diameter selected to allow the bore to be easily filled (with a wood dowel of standard diameter for example).",
"If the fastener's head is missing or small in diameter, this invention allows for access, gripping, and extraction from either end of the fastener, minimizing damage to the host material.",
"It is therefore an object of this invention to provide improved methods for extracting fasteners from a host material.",
"It is another object of this invention to provide methods for extracting fasteners from a host material to facilitate profitable reuse of lumber products by easily and inexpensively allowing removal of fasteners therefrom without undue damage to the lumber product.",
"It is still another object of this invention to provide methods for extracting fasteners from a host material that avoid excessive damage to the host material, and that are effective where the shank of the fastener is headless, stripped and/or totally recessed in the host material.",
"It is yet another object of this invention to provide methods for extracting fasteners from a host material that are compactly performed, that lend themselves to rapid and repeated utilization, and that are effective with a wide variety of fasteners independent of location and orientation in the host material.",
"It is still another object of this invention to provide a method utilizing a rotatable apparatus for extraction of fasteners from a yieldable host material that includes a shank adapted for application with a source of rotational motion, and an engaging member at one end of the shank having a cavity extending thereinto from an opening opposite the member from the shank, a cutting component defined at the opening and a gripping surface formation defined in the cavity.",
"It is another object of this invention to provide a method utilizing an apparatus for extraction of fasteners from a host material that includes an engaging member having a main body and a hinged portion selectively movable relative to the main body, the main body and the hinged portion each configured to define a cooperative part of a cavity, cutting component and a fastener gripping surface formation in the cavity.",
"It is still another object of this invention to provide a method utilizing an apparatus for extraction of fasteners from a host material that includes a chuck having a central hub and a perimeter nut with jaw elements positioned between the hub and the nut, the jaw elements together defining a fastener receiving cavity, and each of the jaw elements including host material cutting component and fastener gripping surface formation structures thereat.",
"It is yet another object of this invention to provide a method utilizing an apparatus mountable at a drill motor for extraction of either of nails and screws from wood, the apparatus including a shank mountable at one end thereof at the drill motor, and an engaging member defined at an opposite end of the shank and having a conical cavity extending thereinto from an opening opposite the member from the shank, a cutting component defined at the opening and a spiraling striation formed in a surface of the cavity.",
"It is yet another object of this invention to provide a method for extracting either of a nail or screw from a yieldable host material, the method including the steps of rotating a member to cut away host material around the nail or screw, utilizing rotation of the rotating member to establish an engagement at the member with an end of the nail or screw while the host material is being cut away, and utilizing the engagement to rotate the nail or screw to facilitate its removal from the host material.",
"With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent to one skilled in the art as the description proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts and method substantially as hereinafter described, and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the herein disclosed invention are meant to be included as come within the scope of the claims.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings illustrate a complete embodiment of the invention according to the best mode so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which: FIG. 1 is a side view of a first embodiment of the apparatus of this invention;",
"FIG. 2 is a top end view of the apparatus in FIG. 1 ;",
"FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the apparatus in FIG. 1 ;",
"FIG. 4 is a bottom end view of the apparatus in FIG. 1 ;",
"FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view illustrating an alternative cleanout channel arrangement for the apparatus of FIG. 1 ;",
"FIGS. 6 through 9 illustrate operation of the apparatus of FIG. 1 for extraction of a headed fastener;",
"FIGS. 10 through 13 illustrate operation of the apparatus of FIG. 1 for extraction of a headless fastener;",
"FIG. 14 is a side view of a second embodiment of the apparatus of this invention incorporated into a keyed or keyless drill chuck;",
"FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 14 ;",
"FIG. 16 is a bottom end view of the apparatus of FIG. 14 ;",
"FIG. 17 is a side view of a third (and for purposes of this disclosure preferred) embodiment of the apparatus of this invention;",
"FIG. 18 is a top end view of the apparatus of FIG. 17 ;",
"FIG. 19 is a sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 17 ;",
"FIG. 20 is a bottom end view of the apparatus of FIG. 17 ;",
"FIG. 21 is a perspective view illustration of a fourth embodiment of the apparatus of this invention adapted for quick release of a fastener shown in readiness for fastener engagement;",
"FIG. 22 is a perspective view illustration of the apparatus of FIG. 21 illustrating operation for disengagement of a fastener therefrom;",
"FIGS. 23 through 25 are sectional views of the apparatus of FIG. 21 illustrating operation of the quick release apparatus;",
"FIG. 26 is a bottom end view of the apparatus of FIG. 21 ;",
"FIG. 27 is a side view of the retaining sleeve of the apparatus of FIG. 21 ;",
"FIG. 28 is an inner side view of the hinged portion of the of the apparatus of FIG. 21 ;",
"FIG. 29 is an outer side view of the hinged portion shown in FIG. 28 ;",
"FIG. 30 is a bottom end view of the hinged portion shown in FIG. 28 ;",
"FIG. 31 is a top end view of the hinged portion shown in FIG. 28 ;",
"FIG. 32 is an inner side view of the main body of the apparatus of FIG. 21 ;",
"FIG. 33 is another side view of the main body shown in FIG. 32 ;",
"and FIG. 34 is a sectional view taken through section lines 34 — 34 of FIG. 32 .",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A first embodiment 40 of the apparatus of this invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4 .",
"Apparatus 40 includes shank 41 adapted for application with a selected driver/source imparting rotational motion.",
"Shank 41 is preferably polygonal, but may be cylindrical, and with a cross-section proportioned to fit into the jaws of a standard drill chuck to fix apparatus 40 rotationally and axially.",
"Collar 42 may be provided at shank 41 and above neck 43 so that a pry bar or the like may be positioned adjacent to neck 43 to apply a linear force at bottom surface 44 of collar 42 to lift apparatus 40 as a secondary aid to removal of a fastener where necessary.",
"Collar 42 is preferably a circular shape to provide a flange projecting from neck 43 that is uniformly accessibly from any direction or rotational position of apparatus 40 about its longitudinal axis, as well as to avoid unnecessary interference with adjacent objects.",
"Fastener engaging member 45 extends from one end of shank 41 at neck 43 and is preferably cylindrical.",
"While the exterior surface of engaging member 45 may be of any configuration, member 45 is preferably tapered from neck 43 with a substantially uniformly expanding diameter to cylindrical lower portion 46 .",
"A tapered (i.e., conical) cavity 39 extends into engaging member 45 from opening 47 , and has a gripping surface formation 48 at the interior surface thereof.",
"The gripping surface formation is established by transverse striations preferably forming a spiraling internal thread defining gripping teeth utilized to threadably engage a fastener.",
"Lower portion 46 , in this embodiment having the largest diameter of member 45 , is of a length suitable for providing a stable guide for apparatus 40 as it slidably and rotationally penetrates the host material surface around the fastener for access thereto.",
"Conical shaped cavity 39 has a uniformly decreasing radius in proportion to the axial distance from opening 47 .",
"This cavity is sized to accept a range of fastener head sizes within its length.",
"The cavity does not need to be conical to be effective, but if not conical, is more limited in the range of fastener sizes it can remove.",
"Spirally threaded surface formation 48 at the inner surface wall of cavity 39 is preferably cut to provide upper edges of the threads that are horizontal (as shown in FIG. 3 ) to form the gripping teeth.",
"The preferred direction of the spiral threads is counterclockwise to establish engagement with fasteners normally threaded clockwise (where the fastener is a screw;",
"if the fastener is a nail the direction of the threads would not matter).",
"As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the lower portion of cavity 39 may include slots 51 along the wall of the cavity in plane with the longitudinal axis of apparatus 40 .",
"Where provided, slots 51 are relatively sharp edged with the purpose of improving the ability of the internal threaded formation 48 to cut threads into the edges of a fastener to facilitate the required gripping engagement.",
"The bottom edge of cavity 39 (adjacent to opening 47 ) includes radial flare 50 to enable apparatus 40 to more readily center itself over a fastener.",
"The bottom edge at the outside face of cylindrical lower portion 46 of apparatus 40 is chamfered circumferentially to provide lateral stability of the longitudinal axis of apparatus 40 while in operation.",
"Bottom surface 49 of lower portion 46 of engaging member 45 at opening 47 is structured to provide a cutting component thereat, in this embodiment provided with radially grooved cutting notches, as required to provide an efficient hole cutting means in the host material surrounding the fastener while minimizing displacement of material (e.g., wood fiber) outside the perimeter of the hole.",
"As is apparent from the disclosure herein following, bottom surface cutting component 49 can take any of a number of configurations.",
"It should be noted that the total cross-sectional and physical properties of apparatus 40 must provide adequate strength and durability to repeatedly perform its intended function.",
"A given tool may be proportioned in size to handle a selected range of fastener diameters (anything from small diameter shanks to the heads of very large circular spikes may be accommodated).",
"Engaging member 45 of apparatus 40 has cleanout channel 52 extending angularly (on a diagonal axis) from cavity 39 through the outer wall of engaging member 45 .",
"Unwanted host material debris captured in the spiraling threads of gripping surface formation 48 at cavity 39 may be dislodged through channel 52 by inserting and forcibly rodding the debris loose with a compatible tool, preferably configured to function without contacting or damaging the internal striations at cavity 39 .",
"FIG. 5 shows an alternative arrangement of the cleanout channel 52 in apparatus 40 .",
"As shown, channel 52 extends from cavity 39 at engaging member 45 through shank 41 to the exterior of the apparatus.",
"This arrangement may improve dynamic balance of apparatus 40 and be easier to manufacture.",
"FIGS. 6 through 9 illustrate apparatus 40 associated (at shank 41 ) with driving source 53 and the steps utilized for extracting headed fastener 54 (a nail or screw) embedded in a wood element 55 .",
"FIGS. 10 through 13 similarly describe the apparatus's operation in the case of removal of headless fastener 58 .",
"In the latter case, the fastener's shank may be gripped at either end (i.e., the driven end or the piercing end).",
"Driving source 53 may be any externally powered rotating and torsion-delivering device (such as a motor powered drill chuck) which has a means of gripping shank 41 , which is capable of being operated counterclockwise and clockwise (preferably at variable speeds), and which has an ability to deliver torque to apparatus 40 as may be required.",
"The torque limit should be set by the user to be well within the user's torque-resisting strength if the driving means is hand-held, and/or within the strength of any equipment not hand-held.",
"For purposes of illustration, the head of fastener 54 and the end of the shank of fastener 58 are shown recessed (at 56 ) below the surface 38 of wood element 55 .",
"Once apparatus 40 is positioned over fastener 54 ( FIGS. 6 and 10 ) and pressed by the user against wood surface 38 ( FIGS. 7 and 11 ), the chamfer at the outer bottom edge of lower portion 46 of engaging member 45 enables apparatus 40 to remain centered laterally until lower portion 46 is restrained within the confines of the bore created by bottom surface cutting component 49 ( FIGS. 8 and 12 ).",
"FIGS. 9 and 13 show the configuration of the bore (enlarged at 56 ) as well as fastener shank cavity 57 remaining in the wood after fastener 54 or 58 is removed.",
"The preferred sizing of the perimeter of lower portion 46 is such that the remaining bore may be filled with a standard wood dowel as may be desirable for reusing or rehabilitating the wood element.",
"If a fastener is flush with or raised above the surface of the wood element, a similar sequence applies, with formation of a bore in the wood being either unnecessary or minimal.",
"In use, apparatus 40 is typically anchored to a standard drill chuck 53 attached to a manually operable drill motor.",
"Apparatus 40 is manufactured in more than one size, each of which is designed to fit a range of sizes of fastener 54 / 58 heads or shanks.",
"For example, one tool would fit well over the heads of 8 d through 16 d nails and heads of similarly sized screws, while another may fit over the heads of 3 d through 6 d nails and the heads of similarly sized screws, and so on.",
"In the field, the fastener to be removed may be easily accessible or may be one which is quite remote from surface 38 (accessible only by adding a drill bit extension, for example).",
"In operation, the drill motor is switched on (in its counterclockwise mode of rotation) thereby imparting rotation to engaging member 45 while it is pressed against surface 38 adjacent to and surrounding the fastener position ( FIGS. 7 , 8 , 11 and 12 ).",
"Rotation is maintained slowly at first to establish a clean, stable cutting position, and member 45 is allowed to drill itself into the wood as may be necessary for the internal gripping surface formation 48 at cavity 39 to threadably establish engagement with the edges of one end of fastener 54 / 58 ( FIGS. 8 and 12 ).",
"The rotation of member 45 serves substantially simultaneously to cut away the wood around the fastener cleanly (at cutting component 49 ) while establishing the engagement with fastener 54 (at the engaging surface formation 48 of cavity 39 ), regardless of which part of the fastener, head or shank, is first encountered.",
"After initial fastener contact, the teeth defined by the spiraling thread formation 48 at cavity 39 continue to engage the fastener more forcibly with each revolution of apparatus 40 because of the increasing confinement presented by tapered cavity 39 .",
"In operation, this desired result is most easily achieved at a low rotational speed of apparatus 40 .",
"The fastener will continually be drawn into cavity 39 by the spiraling thread formation 48 until the torque required to further engage fastener 54 / 58 overcomes the static torsional frictional resistance of the host material/fastener interface.",
"Fastener 54 / 58 will then begin to rotate with the engagement.",
"Although frictional resistance is still present, it is smaller in value than the static frictional resistance.",
"Therefore, in the case of a nail, while fastener 54 / 58 is being rotated it may be pulled (FIGS.",
"9 / 13 ) by the operator with moderate axial force directly out of and away from wood element 55 , using only the hand-grip on the drill motor.",
"If additional aid in extraction is required, a pry may be applied at collar 42 as heretofore described.",
"In the case of a screw, once engagement is thus established at cavity 39 , rotational direction of the drill motor allows the screw or screw portion to unthread itself from engagement at the wood element.",
"As may be appreciated, it is not necessary to know ahead of time if the fastener is a nail or screw (perhaps because only the tip of a fastener shank is visible) since counterclockwise rotation of apparatus 40 will remove the fastener in either case.",
"The fastener may thereafter be removed from apparatus 40 by rotationally restraining apparatus 40 and rotating fastener 54 / 58 clockwise about its longitudinal axis enough to dislodge it from threaded formation 48 of cavity 39 , or by restraining the fastener about its longitudinal axis while operating the drill motor in the clockwise direction achieving the same result.",
"FIGS. 14 through 16 illustrate a second embodiment 59 of the apparatus of this invention incorporated into a standard keyed or keyless drill chuck 60 .",
"Jaw elements 61 are modified to provide tooled exterior cutting edges 63 forming the cutting component for boring into a host material to gain access to the fastener, and to provide internal teeth 62 tooled at interior facing surfaces thereof forming the gripping surface formation required to efficiently grip a fastener's head or shank when the jaws are brought to bear against the sides of the fastener.",
"As may be appreciated, jaw elements 61 together define the cavity and opening therebetween for receipt of a fastener, structures 63 and 62 defining the overall cutting component and gripping surface formation.",
"Chuck 60 , as diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 15 , is of a type in common use where hub 100 is bored to receive and radially position three equally spaced jaw elements 61 .",
"Jaw elements 61 are restrained laterally by hub 100 but are slidably free along their longitudinal axis.",
"The upper ends 65 of jaw elements 61 are threaded for engagement with internal threads of perimeter nut 64 .",
"Radially concentric pressure on a nail or screw is applied and released at jaw elements 61 depending on the direction of rotation of, and torque applied to, nut 64 .",
"For purposes of illustration, in this case it is assumed that the preferred rotational direction for boring into the host material is clockwise.",
"Rotational speed and torque are delivered at shank 66 from an externally powered drive such as a drill motor.",
"To remove a fastener, drill chuck 60 is positioned over the end of the fastener with jaws 61 spaced far enough apart to easily fit over the fastener.",
"The drill is then operated, allowing cutting edges 63 of jaws 61 to remove enough wood surrounding the fastener to allow the internal thread formation defined by teeth 62 of jaws 61 to engage the fastener.",
"At this point, the drill motor is run slowly while nut 64 is rotationally restrained, causing jaws 61 to tighten their grip at teeth 62 on the fastener until nut 64 can no longer be restrained against rotation.",
"At that point, nut 64 is allowed to rotate with the drill chuck and the drill is operated with sufficient torque to overcome the static frictional resistance of the fastener.",
"In the case of a normally threaded screw, counterclockwise rotation will remove the screw.",
"In the case of a nail, rotational direction is unimportant and a pulling force is applied to chuck 60 while rotating the nail to allow nail removal.",
"As before, the rotation of chuck 60 serves substantially simultaneously to cut away the wood around the fastener cleanly (at cutting edges 63 ) while establishing the engagement with the fastener (at the engaging surface formation 62 of jaws 61 ), regardless of which part of the fastener, head or shank, is first encountered.",
"When the applied torque overcomes the static torsional frictional resistance of the host material/fastener interface, the fastener will begin to rotate with the engagement.",
"The fastener is removed from apparatus 59 by rotating the nut 64 of chuck 60 in the necessary direction to open jaws 61 allowing the fastener to fall free.",
"FIGS. 17 through 20 illustrate a third embodiment 67 of the apparatus very similar in both structure and operation to that illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 13 , with the exception that the outside diameter of lower portion 46 of engaging member 45 is reduced compared with the maximum diameter (from 68 ′ to 68 ″) of the bottom edge cutting component 49 at opening 47 to cavity 39 .",
"This arrangement allows an annular space around lower portion 46 for wood shavings to clear the cutting surface at bottom edge 49 and to thus reduce heat buildup in apparatus 67 from friction.",
"In this embodiment, the host material cutting component 49 is configured to improve the removal of wood shavings, and the cutting surfaces 69 ′ and 69 ″ are planar to facilitate periodic sharpening with standard workshop tools.",
"However, the number, arrangement, and configuration of cutting surfaces may vary to meet the needs of certain applications.",
"As may be appreciated, it is possible to fabricate apparatus such as those described in FIGS. 1 through 13 and 17 through 20 from a single unit of steel.",
"As a result, use of such apparatus may require pliers or the like to assist in unthreading the fastener from such apparatus to disengage it without damaging the apparatus'",
"internal threads.",
"FIGS. 21 through 34 illustrate a forth embodiment 81 of the apparatus of this invention, particularly adapted to allow a fastener to be released quickly from the apparatus after extraction from the host material.",
"In this quick release embodiment, fastener engaging member 85 , including threaded cavity 39 , opening 47 , gripping surface formation 48 , and bottom surface cutting component 49 , is provided in two halves, fixed main body 72 and moveable hinged portion 78 as shown in FIGS. 23 through 26 .",
"When ready for cutting and fastener removal utilizing the steps heretofore described, hinged portion 78 is positioned with surfaces 79 of each half tight against one another thereby defining cavity/surface formation 39 / 48 and cutting component 49 , as shown in FIG. 23 .",
"To restrain hinged portion 78 from being dislodged, by forceful engagement with a fastener for example, a slidable annular retaining sleeve 80 ( FIG. 27 ) is positioned to encase the total assembly, as shown in FIGS. 21 and 23 , and to act as a tension ring.",
"Sleeve 80 is held by pressure from compression spring 71 against the upper surface of flanged section 70 of sleeve 80 , the upper end of compression spring 71 bearing against the underside of a collar 73 fixed to the upper end of main body 72 below shank 41 .",
"For ease of assembly of apparatus 81 , either the collar 73 or the flared cutting component 49 should be removable.",
"In this embodiment, the collar 73 is assumed to be threaded, set screwed, or pinned to main body 72 .",
"The effect of manually applying an upward force on the underside of flanged section 70 of sleeve 80 as necessary to compress spring 71 , as shown progressively in FIGS. 24 and 25 , is to lift sleeve 80 above its restraining position to a new raised position as shown in FIG. 22 , creating contact along the way between internal shoulder 84 defined by annular cavity 74 at the interior of sleeve 80 and projecting tip 75 of upper lever arm 76 of hinged portion 78 .",
"Upon contact, tip 75 is deflected toward recess 83 in main body 72 of apparatus 81 as shown in FIGS. 24 and 25 , causing hinged portion 78 to rotate about its hinge interface 77 thereby opening cavity 39 at surfaces 79 .",
"In this way, a fastener extracted as heretofore described, and held in cavity 39 after removal, may be quickly released by simply raising sleeve 80 .",
"Because the fastener is bound tightly by spirally threaded formation 48 in threaded cavity 39 when surfaces 79 are held abutting by sleeve 80 , simply raising the sleeve to relieve the restraint will likely be sufficient to release the fastener (the fastener itself causing movement of hinged portion 72 to some degree upon release of the applied tension).",
"Therefore, providing the additional release assistance of movement of upper lever arm 76 , caused by contact between tip 75 and shoulder 84 , into annular cavity 74 may be unnecessary for most quick release fastener disposals.",
"As before, the rotation of engaging member 85 serves substantially simultaneously to cut away the wood around the fastener cleanly (at cutting component 49 ) while establishing the engagement with the fastener (at the engaging surface formation 48 of cavity 39 ).",
"After initial fastener contact, the teeth defined by the spiraling thread formation 48 at cavity 39 continue to engage the fastener more forcibly with each revolution of apparatus 81 because of the increasing confinement presented by tapered cavity 39 .",
"The fastener will continually be drawn into cavity 39 by the spiraling thread formation 48 until the torque required to further engage the fastener overcomes the static torsional frictional resistance of the host material/fastener interface.",
"The fastener will then begin to rotate with the engagement.",
"When removed, the fastener is released by movement of sleeve 80 to allow opening of member 85 at hinged portion 78 .",
"The various apparatus or this invention are most useful if available to the user in two or more sizes to handle the widest possible range of fastener types and conditions.",
"The apparatus are best operated with a commonly available hand-held drill motor, although almost any driving system (including a manual system) is usable without adversely affecting intended performance.",
"Spiraling thread formation 48 at cavity 39 could take any number of configurations, including a double (dual) or nested thread formation (the double thread starting with one at each of opposite sides of the cavity)."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention regards a method for recognizing audio-visual data in transmission networks, in particular Internet. For watching over the net it is not necessary to verify the contents of determined data, but only their format. In Internet today there are presented, transmitted and/or downloaded data files. Data are also proposed as so called Live-Streams, i.e. transmitted in a quasi-continuous way—with live or on demand audio-visual contents. Various determined formats are used from Microsoft, Real Networks, MPEG and others. Due to the better access for the Internet surfers and to the very great offer of music, the presence of musical data files in the mp3 format (MPEG 1, 2 and 2.5 Layer 3) in particular has increased in an exponential way. This method is known from the international standards ISO/IEC 11172-3 and 11318-3. The copyrights of the authors and the publishers, as well as other possible rights, of the said music files, are usually not taken in consideration by the Internet surfers during the downloads and very often by the exhibitors too. We can expect other coding methods to be used in different networks, like e.g. MPEG 4 AAC or MPEG 4 Twin VQ/AAC, mp3pro, AACPlus or MPEG 4 Video and also proprietor not standardized methods of Companies which have gained a place on the market, the so called Industry Standards.
Usually mp3-files are available on web-servers and can be reached by browsers like e.g. Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, or others, using an URL (Unified Resource Location). If the Internet surfer could store an Audio or Video file on his or her own computer, he or she can reach it usually by clicking, i.e. controlling the web contents by means of the mouse, on the corresponding name, which indicates a piece of music, a film, a Radio or TV program. The file is transferred from the Internet to the user through a TCP/IP or FTP/IP or UDP/IP protocol, or possibly with RTP or RTSP. Due to the separation of the application from the IP protocol, it is not possible to know the format used in the transmission. This is valid for the last router of the Internet surfer too.
There is no control possibility for analyzing not allowable audio-visual files or formats and stopping the Internet access or transmission. Consequently the proprietors of rights e.g. for texts, music, movies, productions, lose all or part of their incomes. Padlocks are provided, which should prevent that, with the effect that corresponding unlocking algorithms are developed and the payment for the audio-visual productions are again circumvented.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an aim of the invention of avoiding the above said disadvantages.
This aim is reached by means of a method having the characteristics according to claim 1 , while advantageous implementations are described in the subclaims.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the method of the preferred embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing fragmentation of IP packets in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The invention will now be described in more detail by means of implementation examples.
Here are the characteristics of a first implementation example are shown in Table 1:
4 th Nr. 3
8 th Nr. 3
4 th Nr. 4
4 th Nr. 4
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
1
1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
4 th Nr. 3
8 th Nr. 3
4 th Nr. 4
4 th Nr. 4
1
0
1
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
1
1
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
TABLE 1
Used data:
Datasequence, consisting of
Pre-knowledge:
Subsequent frames with 4 or 8
bits
11 at the beginning of a 4 th
frame means “Audio”
0101 at the beginning of a 8 th
frame means “Video”
Number of necessary indications:
3 out of 4
By means of a searching algorithm, preset for recognizing the bit patterns “11” and “0101”, the beginnings of a 4th and 8th frame are searched for. The knowledge of the distances between two “11” of a 4th block and two “0101” of a 8th block are used as a check for avoiding a mistaken interpretation of the found data pattern.
Data signals can be transmitted with or without error protection. In the last case, another parameter, namely the number of the checks, can be used for deciding whether or not the identification is correct. Furthermore it has to be considered that at least 3 out of 4 frames must show the corresponding data pattern.
Correct Interpretation
Bits 1 and 2 , as well as 13 and 14 , as well as 37 and 38 are identified as “11” data pattern. Because only a position, i.e. 25 and 26 do not show “11” but “10”, this fact will be considered a transmission error by the algorithm.
False Interpretation
Bits 2 and 3 , as well as 14 and 15 are identified as “11” data pattern. Later, during the check of bits 26 and 27 as well as 42 and 43 , which show one time “01” and one time “10”, the algorithm concludes that they are not the correct beginnings.
The special characteristics of the second implementation example are:
Transmission Medium: Internet Used data: MPEG 1/2 Layer 3, also called mp3, coded with 128 Kbit/s Transmission protocol TCP/IP Sender name (-address) XAV (123.456.789.12) Receiver name (-address) MAK (987.654.321.98)
The construction of a mp3 data stream, the so called Audio Frame, appears, according to ISO/IEC 11172-3 and 11318-3, in the way shown in Table 2:
TABLE 2
MP3 Audio Frame
Header
Error Check
Audio Data
Ancillary Data
The composition of the four segments of data, or fields, like Header, Error Check, Audio Data and Ancillary Data is as follows:
Header, consisting of Syncword, ID, layer, protection_bit, bitrate_index, sampling_frequency, padding_bit, mode, mode_extension, copyright, original/copy, emphasis
Error check, consisting of Crc_check
Audio data, consisting of Bit_allocation, scalefactors, samples
Ancillary data, consisting of Free Data, to be defined by the user.
In this implementation example, in particular the first variables of the header are used for the analysis, like the fields
Syncword, which has always for definition the contents ‘1111 1111 1111’,
ID, which in the MPEG use, as in the example has the contents ‘1’ and
Layer, which in Layer 3 use, as in the example has the contents ‘01’ and
Bitrate_index, according to the following table, which indicates the used Bitrate and also the length of the frame.
TABLE 3
Corresponding Bitrate
Corresponding Length
Bit rate Index
in Kbit/s
in Byte
0000
Frei
Frei
0001
32
96
0010
40
120
0011
48
144
0100
56
168
0101
64
192
0110
80
240
0111
96
288
1000
112
334
1001
128
384
1010
160
478
1011
192
576
1100
224
668
1101
256
768
1110
320
956
1111
Not Allowed
Not Allowed
“1111” is not allowed due to the collision with the Syncword identification which has the contents ‘1111 1111 1111’.
Furthermore other variables, like for instance Bit_allocation or Scalefactors, can be used for the analysis.
With a 128 Kbit/s mp3 encoding and a frame duration of 24 ms, the mp3 Audio Frame has an average length of 128000 Bit/s*0.024 s=3072 bits=384 Bytes.
The Internet transmission protocols are directed to the OSI-reference pattern represented in Table 4. The application Data—here mp3—are located in the Layer 1 layer. This cannot be exchanged with Layer 1 of the ISO/IEC MPEG Standard.
TABLE 4
Corresponding protocols inside the OSI reference pattern
Layer 7
RTSP
HTTP
Layer 6
RTP/RTCP
Cyclic UDP
Layer 5
RTSP
HTTP
Layer 4
TCP
UDP
PSVP
Layer 3
IP
Layer 2
Security Layer
Layer 1
Bit Transmission Layer
The known protocols used for Internet are located in Layer 4 and Layer 3, here also TCP and IP. A typical size of the in Internet transmitted packets is 1.5 Kbyte, which means that the 384 Byte size of the Audio Frame used in the example, can be contained many times inside a TCP/IP packet.
The marking variables contained in an Audio Frame, like Syncword, ID and layer can appear many times in each TCP packet.
The TCP packets transmitted in Internet are identified by a Header too, which by the way shows the so called port numbers, which identify the transmitting and receiving applications, and a sequence number, which gives the position of each segment in the Data stream.
The IP packets transmitted in Internet, here TCP/IP, can, if necessary, also be fragmented, for instance made smaller, see FIG. 2 .
With the fragmentation we can obtain TCP/IP packets so small that a mp3 Audio Frame cannot more completely fit inside the TCP/IP packet, and therefore there is also the probability that even variables like syncword, ID and layer cannot fit in one packet.
At last, many different packets pertaining to several applications can be found at the selection server for an Internet surfer, for instance as represented in Table 5:
TABLE 5
TCP 4 for
TCP 5 for
TCP 21 for
TCP 6 for
TCP 20 for
TCP 15 for
TCP 22 for
TCP 3 for
Application 3
Application 3
Application 2
Application 5
Application 2
Application 2
Application 2
Application 3
The corresponding contents are unknown to the router, which is at the selection server. He is only sure that the Internet surfer connected to him receives his addressed IP packets, independently from the relevant source, application size, etc. The router also does not arrange the packets according the correct sequence—this task is performed by the receiving application of the Internet surfer.
The method according to the invention analyzes the IP packets, as regards their bit contents, before delivering the file to the Internet surfer, documenting sender and receiver, performing a verification of the legality, and blocking the delivery, if this is necessary.
The mp3 files or mp3-live-streams are characterized in that, in Layer 1, the bit transmission layer, the sequence of bits, consisting of sync word, IP and layer, leads to the pattern represented in Table 6:
TABLE 6
Fixed bit pattern at the beginning of the frame when MP3
is used
ID
Layer
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
The MP3 Data stream is divided in packets and provided with an IP-protocol, e.g. TCP, UDP, or FTP. The packets have usually a size of 1500 bytes, i.e. 12000 bits. With the said frame size, we can assume that in an IP-packet, at least one header is contained.
The method according to the invention stores one or more packets, according to the memory size, into the memory. The protocol used for the transmission analyzes and determines the addresses of the sender and the addressee, and memorizes them separately. The data pertaining to the application are then insulated from the bit transmission layer (Layer 1) and, if this is necessary, ordered according to the correct sequence. The bit pattern shown in Table 6 is then searched for in said insulated sequence of data for the application. If the analysis is positive, then the analysis is repeated a few times in order to assure that the format is indeed the searched one.
For verifying the legality of the transmission, several criteria can be applied. From the one side there can be available one more or less regular comparison table, in order to compare the address of legal senders of audio-visual contents with the sender address of the actual IP-packet. If the address is that of a legal sender, then it is not necessary to perform a further control of the packets. Further possibilities consist in the additional provision of utilizing in the analysis method according to the invention, locking mechanisms, like watermarking, etc., available in the application, with the knowledge of the use.
In order to do a precise declaration about the quantity of the data called by the Internet surfer, the analysis is performed in a quasi-continuous way for each IP packet. The results of the analysis is kept in a table, which may e.g. have the following aspect shown in Table 7.
TABLE 7
View of a possible table with the analysis results
Volume
Bitrate
Time
Sender
Receiver
Kbytes
(Kbits/s)
(s)
MP-3
Packets
XAV
MAK
12345
1.5
128
0.1
(123.456.789.12)
987.654.321.98
12346
1.5
128
0.1
12347
3
128
0.2
12348
1.5
128
0.1
12349
1.5
128
0.1
12350
1.5
128
0.1
12351
3
128
0.2
12352
3
128
0.2
12353
3
128
0.2
12354
1.5
128
0.1
12355
0.384
128
0.02
Packets
Nr.
11
21.384
128
1.42
In the case that the following data of the application data have to be analyzed, e.g. in the in mp3 often used ID-tab, then also they have to be optionally kept: the contents of the mp3 files, the composer, the executor, etc. Such data can be prepared for and used by the relevant Organizations (in Germany the GEMA).
In the case of a mobile Internet surfer (e.g. with GMS, UMTS, GPRS), it is necessary to guarantee that the analysis has been made at the relevant server, which may change during the movement from one to another transmission cell of the network, if the server is note always the same. To this purpose, the method according to the invention may advantageously be used, wherein at each server which is activated, a piece of information is prepared, which indicates the actually analyzed receiving address.
For optimizing the calculation capacity for the method according to the invention, the following variant may be used: in the case that the positive analysis has to be performed very often, i.e. in each IP-packet of the application, then it is possible to
a) perform the analysis only for each nth packet, or b) evaluate only once the distance between two syncwords (1111 1111 1111) from the bitrate and verify the syncword only at said distances.
The variant b) can be used also for a better identification, as a causal connection exists between the bitrate in the bitrate index, the length of the transmitted frame, and the distance between two syncwords “111111111111”. In the example (bitrate_index-“1001”, corresponds to 128 kBit/s) we clearly obtain a distance between two syncwords “111111111111” of 384 Bytes=3072 bits.
FIG. 1 shows the construction for realizing the method according to the invention. Internet users of very different types can for instance connect to an Internet Service Provider, like t-online or AOL, through PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) (modem) or ISDN, in order to surf in Internet, calling information or sending e-mails. The flow of information between the different Internet attendants, hence also the Service providers and the Internet users, between one Internet site and another as well as between Internet sites and Internet users, is developed through a so called server, a router. The method according to the invention comes therefore in the form of a
a) plug-in card for the router, or b) an add-on software running on a PC, which analyzes the inserted data.
During the analysis the data are not decoded, hence e.g. made audible, if they are music data, but the format of the data is analyzed by comparison with a determined pattern, in order to verify a determined format.
As explained, for the bit pattern analysis a decoding of the data stream is not foreseen, but bit pattern or bit streams are examined quasi “from outside”, and, if a corresponding bit pattern is analyzed, it is possible to infer also the format, or the coding, without having to decode or actually hear e.g. the music contents of the data stream. | A method of recognizing an audio and/or visual format in a digital transmission network such as the Internet wherein formats include a quasi-continuous or divided in packets sequence of data, at least part of the sequence of data is analyzed for the presence of one or more bit patterns, and a notice is given in response to recognition of a predetermined format in an analyzed bit pattern. | Summarize the patent information, clearly outlining the technical challenges and proposed solutions. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention regards a method for recognizing audio-visual data in transmission networks, in particular Internet.",
"For watching over the net it is not necessary to verify the contents of determined data, but only their format.",
"In Internet today there are presented, transmitted and/or downloaded data files.",
"Data are also proposed as so called Live-Streams, i.e. transmitted in a quasi-continuous way—with live or on demand audio-visual contents.",
"Various determined formats are used from Microsoft, Real Networks, MPEG and others.",
"Due to the better access for the Internet surfers and to the very great offer of music, the presence of musical data files in the mp3 format (MPEG 1, 2 and 2.5 Layer 3) in particular has increased in an exponential way.",
"This method is known from the international standards ISO/IEC 11172-3 and 11318-3.",
"The copyrights of the authors and the publishers, as well as other possible rights, of the said music files, are usually not taken in consideration by the Internet surfers during the downloads and very often by the exhibitors too.",
"We can expect other coding methods to be used in different networks, like e.g. MPEG 4 AAC or MPEG 4 Twin VQ/AAC, mp3pro, AACPlus or MPEG 4 Video and also proprietor not standardized methods of Companies which have gained a place on the market, the so called Industry Standards.",
"Usually mp3-files are available on web-servers and can be reached by browsers like e.g. Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, or others, using an URL (Unified Resource Location).",
"If the Internet surfer could store an Audio or Video file on his or her own computer, he or she can reach it usually by clicking, i.e. controlling the web contents by means of the mouse, on the corresponding name, which indicates a piece of music, a film, a Radio or TV program.",
"The file is transferred from the Internet to the user through a TCP/IP or FTP/IP or UDP/IP protocol, or possibly with RTP or RTSP.",
"Due to the separation of the application from the IP protocol, it is not possible to know the format used in the transmission.",
"This is valid for the last router of the Internet surfer too.",
"There is no control possibility for analyzing not allowable audio-visual files or formats and stopping the Internet access or transmission.",
"Consequently the proprietors of rights e.g. for texts, music, movies, productions, lose all or part of their incomes.",
"Padlocks are provided, which should prevent that, with the effect that corresponding unlocking algorithms are developed and the payment for the audio-visual productions are again circumvented.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an aim of the invention of avoiding the above said disadvantages.",
"This aim is reached by means of a method having the characteristics according to claim 1 , while advantageous implementations are described in the subclaims.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the method of the preferred embodiment of the invention.",
"FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing fragmentation of IP packets in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The invention will now be described in more detail by means of implementation examples.",
"Here are the characteristics of a first implementation example are shown in Table 1: 4 th Nr.",
"3 8 th Nr.",
"3 4 th Nr.",
"4 4 th Nr.",
"4 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 4 th Nr.",
"3 8 th Nr.",
"3 4 th Nr.",
"4 4 th Nr.",
"4 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 TABLE 1 Used data: Datasequence, consisting of Pre-knowledge: Subsequent frames with 4 or 8 bits 11 at the beginning of a 4 th frame means “Audio”",
"0101 at the beginning of a 8 th frame means “Video”",
"Number of necessary indications: 3 out of 4 By means of a searching algorithm, preset for recognizing the bit patterns “11”",
"and “0101”, the beginnings of a 4th and 8th frame are searched for.",
"The knowledge of the distances between two “11”",
"of a 4th block and two “0101”",
"of a 8th block are used as a check for avoiding a mistaken interpretation of the found data pattern.",
"Data signals can be transmitted with or without error protection.",
"In the last case, another parameter, namely the number of the checks, can be used for deciding whether or not the identification is correct.",
"Furthermore it has to be considered that at least 3 out of 4 frames must show the corresponding data pattern.",
"Correct Interpretation Bits 1 and 2 , as well as 13 and 14 , as well as 37 and 38 are identified as “11”",
"data pattern.",
"Because only a position, i.e. 25 and 26 do not show “11”",
"but “10”, this fact will be considered a transmission error by the algorithm.",
"False Interpretation Bits 2 and 3 , as well as 14 and 15 are identified as “11”",
"data pattern.",
"Later, during the check of bits 26 and 27 as well as 42 and 43 , which show one time “01”",
"and one time “10”, the algorithm concludes that they are not the correct beginnings.",
"The special characteristics of the second implementation example are: Transmission Medium: Internet Used data: MPEG 1/2 Layer 3, also called mp3, coded with 128 Kbit/s Transmission protocol TCP/IP Sender name (-address) XAV (123.456.789.12) Receiver name (-address) MAK (987.654.321.98) The construction of a mp3 data stream, the so called Audio Frame, appears, according to ISO/IEC 11172-3 and 11318-3, in the way shown in Table 2: TABLE 2 MP3 Audio Frame Header Error Check Audio Data Ancillary Data The composition of the four segments of data, or fields, like Header, Error Check, Audio Data and Ancillary Data is as follows: Header, consisting of Syncword, ID, layer, protection_bit, bitrate_index, sampling_frequency, padding_bit, mode, mode_extension, copyright, original/copy, emphasis Error check, consisting of Crc_check Audio data, consisting of Bit_allocation, scalefactors, samples Ancillary data, consisting of Free Data, to be defined by the user.",
"In this implementation example, in particular the first variables of the header are used for the analysis, like the fields Syncword, which has always for definition the contents ‘1111 1111 1111’, ID, which in the MPEG use, as in the example has the contents ‘1’ and Layer, which in Layer 3 use, as in the example has the contents ‘01’ and Bitrate_index, according to the following table, which indicates the used Bitrate and also the length of the frame.",
"TABLE 3 Corresponding Bitrate Corresponding Length Bit rate Index in Kbit/s in Byte 0000 Frei Frei 0001 32 96 0010 40 120 0011 48 144 0100 56 168 0101 64 192 0110 80 240 0111 96 288 1000 112 334 1001 128 384 1010 160 478 1011 192 576 1100 224 668 1101 256 768 1110 320 956 1111 Not Allowed Not Allowed “1111”",
"is not allowed due to the collision with the Syncword identification which has the contents ‘1111 1111 1111’.",
"Furthermore other variables, like for instance Bit_allocation or Scalefactors, can be used for the analysis.",
"With a 128 Kbit/s mp3 encoding and a frame duration of 24 ms, the mp3 Audio Frame has an average length of 128000 Bit/s*0.024 s=3072 bits=384 Bytes.",
"The Internet transmission protocols are directed to the OSI-reference pattern represented in Table 4.",
"The application Data—here mp3—are located in the Layer 1 layer.",
"This cannot be exchanged with Layer 1 of the ISO/IEC MPEG Standard.",
"TABLE 4 Corresponding protocols inside the OSI reference pattern Layer 7 RTSP HTTP Layer 6 RTP/RTCP Cyclic UDP Layer 5 RTSP HTTP Layer 4 TCP UDP PSVP Layer 3 IP Layer 2 Security Layer Layer 1 Bit Transmission Layer The known protocols used for Internet are located in Layer 4 and Layer 3, here also TCP and IP.",
"A typical size of the in Internet transmitted packets is 1.5 Kbyte, which means that the 384 Byte size of the Audio Frame used in the example, can be contained many times inside a TCP/IP packet.",
"The marking variables contained in an Audio Frame, like Syncword, ID and layer can appear many times in each TCP packet.",
"The TCP packets transmitted in Internet are identified by a Header too, which by the way shows the so called port numbers, which identify the transmitting and receiving applications, and a sequence number, which gives the position of each segment in the Data stream.",
"The IP packets transmitted in Internet, here TCP/IP, can, if necessary, also be fragmented, for instance made smaller, see FIG. 2 .",
"With the fragmentation we can obtain TCP/IP packets so small that a mp3 Audio Frame cannot more completely fit inside the TCP/IP packet, and therefore there is also the probability that even variables like syncword, ID and layer cannot fit in one packet.",
"At last, many different packets pertaining to several applications can be found at the selection server for an Internet surfer, for instance as represented in Table 5: TABLE 5 TCP 4 for TCP 5 for TCP 21 for TCP 6 for TCP 20 for TCP 15 for TCP 22 for TCP 3 for Application 3 Application 3 Application 2 Application 5 Application 2 Application 2 Application 2 Application 3 The corresponding contents are unknown to the router, which is at the selection server.",
"He is only sure that the Internet surfer connected to him receives his addressed IP packets, independently from the relevant source, application size, etc.",
"The router also does not arrange the packets according the correct sequence—this task is performed by the receiving application of the Internet surfer.",
"The method according to the invention analyzes the IP packets, as regards their bit contents, before delivering the file to the Internet surfer, documenting sender and receiver, performing a verification of the legality, and blocking the delivery, if this is necessary.",
"The mp3 files or mp3-live-streams are characterized in that, in Layer 1, the bit transmission layer, the sequence of bits, consisting of sync word, IP and layer, leads to the pattern represented in Table 6: TABLE 6 Fixed bit pattern at the beginning of the frame when MP3 is used ID Layer 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 The MP3 Data stream is divided in packets and provided with an IP-protocol, e.g. TCP, UDP, or FTP.",
"The packets have usually a size of 1500 bytes, i.e. 12000 bits.",
"With the said frame size, we can assume that in an IP-packet, at least one header is contained.",
"The method according to the invention stores one or more packets, according to the memory size, into the memory.",
"The protocol used for the transmission analyzes and determines the addresses of the sender and the addressee, and memorizes them separately.",
"The data pertaining to the application are then insulated from the bit transmission layer (Layer 1) and, if this is necessary, ordered according to the correct sequence.",
"The bit pattern shown in Table 6 is then searched for in said insulated sequence of data for the application.",
"If the analysis is positive, then the analysis is repeated a few times in order to assure that the format is indeed the searched one.",
"For verifying the legality of the transmission, several criteria can be applied.",
"From the one side there can be available one more or less regular comparison table, in order to compare the address of legal senders of audio-visual contents with the sender address of the actual IP-packet.",
"If the address is that of a legal sender, then it is not necessary to perform a further control of the packets.",
"Further possibilities consist in the additional provision of utilizing in the analysis method according to the invention, locking mechanisms, like watermarking, etc.",
", available in the application, with the knowledge of the use.",
"In order to do a precise declaration about the quantity of the data called by the Internet surfer, the analysis is performed in a quasi-continuous way for each IP packet.",
"The results of the analysis is kept in a table, which may e.g. have the following aspect shown in Table 7.",
"TABLE 7 View of a possible table with the analysis results Volume Bitrate Time Sender Receiver Kbytes (Kbits/s) (s) MP-3 Packets XAV MAK 12345 1.5 128 0.1 (123.456.789.12) 987.654.321.98 12346 1.5 128 0.1 12347 3 128 0.2 12348 1.5 128 0.1 12349 1.5 128 0.1 12350 1.5 128 0.1 12351 3 128 0.2 12352 3 128 0.2 12353 3 128 0.2 12354 1.5 128 0.1 12355 0.384 128 0.02 Packets Nr.",
"11 21.384 128 1.42 In the case that the following data of the application data have to be analyzed, e.g. in the in mp3 often used ID-tab, then also they have to be optionally kept: the contents of the mp3 files, the composer, the executor, etc.",
"Such data can be prepared for and used by the relevant Organizations (in Germany the GEMA).",
"In the case of a mobile Internet surfer (e.g. with GMS, UMTS, GPRS), it is necessary to guarantee that the analysis has been made at the relevant server, which may change during the movement from one to another transmission cell of the network, if the server is note always the same.",
"To this purpose, the method according to the invention may advantageously be used, wherein at each server which is activated, a piece of information is prepared, which indicates the actually analyzed receiving address.",
"For optimizing the calculation capacity for the method according to the invention, the following variant may be used: in the case that the positive analysis has to be performed very often, i.e. in each IP-packet of the application, then it is possible to a) perform the analysis only for each nth packet, or b) evaluate only once the distance between two syncwords (1111 1111 1111) from the bitrate and verify the syncword only at said distances.",
"The variant b) can be used also for a better identification, as a causal connection exists between the bitrate in the bitrate index, the length of the transmitted frame, and the distance between two syncwords “111111111111.”",
"In the example (bitrate_index-“1001”, corresponds to 128 kBit/s) we clearly obtain a distance between two syncwords “111111111111”",
"of 384 Bytes=3072 bits.",
"FIG. 1 shows the construction for realizing the method according to the invention.",
"Internet users of very different types can for instance connect to an Internet Service Provider, like t-online or AOL, through PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) (modem) or ISDN, in order to surf in Internet, calling information or sending e-mails.",
"The flow of information between the different Internet attendants, hence also the Service providers and the Internet users, between one Internet site and another as well as between Internet sites and Internet users, is developed through a so called server, a router.",
"The method according to the invention comes therefore in the form of a a) plug-in card for the router, or b) an add-on software running on a PC, which analyzes the inserted data.",
"During the analysis the data are not decoded, hence e.g. made audible, if they are music data, but the format of the data is analyzed by comparison with a determined pattern, in order to verify a determined format.",
"As explained, for the bit pattern analysis a decoding of the data stream is not foreseen, but bit pattern or bit streams are examined quasi “from outside”, and, if a corresponding bit pattern is analyzed, it is possible to infer also the format, or the coding, without having to decode or actually hear e.g. the music contents of the data stream."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to a loudspeaker system of the kind known as an acoustic array and comprising a plurality of cells or elements each of which in use propagates acoustic energy.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the use of the acoustic array it is positioned to direct acoustic energy towards an audience. Each cell of the array may be of the same type for example a loudspeaker of a particular diameter, or more than one loudspeaker of differing diameter or diameters, mounted concentrically within each cell or the array may comprise several series of cells each cell of a series being identical with the other or others in the series but with the cells in the different series being chosen to deal with a particular range of frequencies.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The conventional practice in constructing a multiple loudspeaker array is to mount the loudspeaker cells in convex fashion so that the axes of the cells meet at a point which is behind the array i.e. opposite to the direction of propagation of sound from the array. With such an arrangement so called comb filtering takes place due to wave interference between the loudspeakers forming the array, and it is well known that the sound intensity and quality varies along the plane normal to the general axis of the array. The practical effect is that at some positions in front of the array the sound reproduction may be poor whilst at other positions the reproduction may be entirely satisfactory.
The object of the present invention is to provide an acoustic array of the kind specified in an improved form.
According to the invention in an acoustic array of the kind specified the cells are arranged with their axes converging towards the listener.
According to a further feature of the invention in an acoustic array of the kind specified each cell is positioned so that its axis passes through a common point which is positioned between the array and a listener.
According to a still further feature of the invention each cell of a series of identical cells in the array is positioned at the same distance from said point measured along the axis of the cell.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one example of a loudspeaker system in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2 is a side view of the loudspeaker system;
FIG. 3 is a view of one multi-cell unit forming the system of FIGS. 1 and 2;
FIG. 4 is a side view of the system showing the units stacked for transportation; and
FIG. 5 is an electrical block diagram showing an arrangement for driving the loudspeaker system.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the example shown in the drawings, an array of cells is made up of four multi-cell units 10. Each unit 10 is in the form of cuboidal box with a segmental baffle 11 set back from one end. The baffle 11 has four segments and a loudspeaker driver unit 12 is mounted on each segment. As shown in FIG. 3 the axes of the driver units 12 converge to a single point 13 in front of the unit. These axes lie in a single plane.
The four units 10 are connected together by hinges 14 along their front edges and are splayed apart at the back. The angle of splay is such that the planes of the axes of the driver units 12 in each unit 10 meet in a single line on which the point 13 lies. All the driver units are equidistant from the point 13.
It will be appreciated that from the viewpoint of the listener the array will have a concave appearance as opposed to the known arrangement which has a convex appearance. So far as the acoustic performance is concerned the output of the array will appear to the listener to come from a single source at said point. Moreover, it can be demonstrated that the comb filtering effect is substantially eliminated.
With the cells arranged as described the front edges of the cabinets are much closer together than with the known construction and this leads to a more compact arrangement and in addition, raises the frequency at which mutual interference between cells takes place.
In a practical arrangement each loudspeaker cell may have one or more loudspeaker driver units of differing diameters to deal with different frequency ranges. These loudspeakers driver units may be mounted concentrically within the cell or may be mounted in close proximity to each other. Each loudspeaker driver unit or closed group of loudspeaker driver units can be regarded as a cell and should be positioned in the cabinet so that its axis passes through said point. Alternatively each loudspeaker driver unit can be housed in its own cabinet with the differing loudspeaker driver units distributed as evenly as possible throughout the array. As stated the driver units should be the same distance from the point 13. If for some reason this is not physically possible time delays can be introduced so that from the acoustic point of view the driver units are equidistant.
In the application of the invention one or more arrays may be positioned in such a way that the combined outputs of the arrays is sufficient to address the required audience area.
When installed in a concert hall the usual practice is to have two arrays at opposite ends of the stage although not necessarily at stage level. With such an arrangement it is desirable to be able to modify the shape of the wave front so that the acoustic power is directed at the desired target and not for example at the ceiling and walls which is wasteful of power and may result in unwanted reflections. If each cell is provided with its own amplifier which may be mounted in the cell cabinet or at some remote point, it is possible to adjust the amplitudes of the amplifier outputs, their phase or frequency shift, to modify the shape of the wave front produced by the array. In order to assist the adjustments required, a scanning laser beam may be located in the array construction and moved to describe the pattern of the acoustic output. Adjustments can then be effected manually or by microprocessor, to the amplifiers so that the required acoustic pattern is produced by the array. FIG. 5 shows one example of such an arrangement. A control computer 20, which receives input from a keyboard 21 or other control device, provides digital control outputs to a series of variable gain amplifiers VGA1, VGA2 . . . VGAn which determine the amplitude of the respective signals supplied from a common source to power amplifiers respectively associated with the loudspeaker driver units. The computer also controls the laser display unit 22. In the default condition all the variable gain amplifiers have their gains set to the same value and the laser display unit 21 is caused to sweep its beam around a right circular cone. Where, as is usual, the loudspeaker system is mounted high up and directed downwardly at about (say) 45° to the horizontal, the laser beam will trace an ellipse on the floor or ground. When the relative levels of signals to the power amplifiers are varied the output to the laser display is correspondingly varied to change the shape and position of the figure traced on the floor. In this way the operator can set up the system to obtain the desired sound pressure level distribution.
There may be a second VGA associated with each power amplifier which controls the level of the signal from a second source. The computer can be used to set up a different sound pressure distribution for the second source.
It is also possible using the mechanical adjustment to arrange for the array to be asymmetric i.e. for the axes of the cells to converge at a different point in the vertical to that in the horizontal. This may be required if the desired area of coverage is outside the scope of the variation possible using the electrical methods mentioned above. In this case there may be an increase in mutual interference at high frequencies, the frequency diminishing as the degree of asymmetry increases. | A loudspeaker system comprises an array of cells each including a loudspeaker driver unit. The axes of all the driver units converge at a single point in front of the array, such point normally lying between the array and the listeners. An arrangement is described for steering the sound from the system by varying the relative level of the audio frequency signals applied to the driver units. | Briefly outline the background technology and the problem the invention aims to solve. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field Of The Invention This invention relates to a loudspeaker system of the kind known as an acoustic array and comprising a plurality of cells or elements each of which in use propagates acoustic energy.",
"Description of the Prior Art In the use of the acoustic array it is positioned to direct acoustic energy towards an audience.",
"Each cell of the array may be of the same type for example a loudspeaker of a particular diameter, or more than one loudspeaker of differing diameter or diameters, mounted concentrically within each cell or the array may comprise several series of cells each cell of a series being identical with the other or others in the series but with the cells in the different series being chosen to deal with a particular range of frequencies.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The conventional practice in constructing a multiple loudspeaker array is to mount the loudspeaker cells in convex fashion so that the axes of the cells meet at a point which is behind the array i.e. opposite to the direction of propagation of sound from the array.",
"With such an arrangement so called comb filtering takes place due to wave interference between the loudspeakers forming the array, and it is well known that the sound intensity and quality varies along the plane normal to the general axis of the array.",
"The practical effect is that at some positions in front of the array the sound reproduction may be poor whilst at other positions the reproduction may be entirely satisfactory.",
"The object of the present invention is to provide an acoustic array of the kind specified in an improved form.",
"According to the invention in an acoustic array of the kind specified the cells are arranged with their axes converging towards the listener.",
"According to a further feature of the invention in an acoustic array of the kind specified each cell is positioned so that its axis passes through a common point which is positioned between the array and a listener.",
"According to a still further feature of the invention each cell of a series of identical cells in the array is positioned at the same distance from said point measured along the axis of the cell.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings: FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one example of a loudspeaker system in accordance with the invention;",
"FIG. 2 is a side view of the loudspeaker system;",
"FIG. 3 is a view of one multi-cell unit forming the system of FIGS. 1 and 2;",
"FIG. 4 is a side view of the system showing the units stacked for transportation;",
"and FIG. 5 is an electrical block diagram showing an arrangement for driving the loudspeaker system.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the example shown in the drawings, an array of cells is made up of four multi-cell units 10.",
"Each unit 10 is in the form of cuboidal box with a segmental baffle 11 set back from one end.",
"The baffle 11 has four segments and a loudspeaker driver unit 12 is mounted on each segment.",
"As shown in FIG. 3 the axes of the driver units 12 converge to a single point 13 in front of the unit.",
"These axes lie in a single plane.",
"The four units 10 are connected together by hinges 14 along their front edges and are splayed apart at the back.",
"The angle of splay is such that the planes of the axes of the driver units 12 in each unit 10 meet in a single line on which the point 13 lies.",
"All the driver units are equidistant from the point 13.",
"It will be appreciated that from the viewpoint of the listener the array will have a concave appearance as opposed to the known arrangement which has a convex appearance.",
"So far as the acoustic performance is concerned the output of the array will appear to the listener to come from a single source at said point.",
"Moreover, it can be demonstrated that the comb filtering effect is substantially eliminated.",
"With the cells arranged as described the front edges of the cabinets are much closer together than with the known construction and this leads to a more compact arrangement and in addition, raises the frequency at which mutual interference between cells takes place.",
"In a practical arrangement each loudspeaker cell may have one or more loudspeaker driver units of differing diameters to deal with different frequency ranges.",
"These loudspeakers driver units may be mounted concentrically within the cell or may be mounted in close proximity to each other.",
"Each loudspeaker driver unit or closed group of loudspeaker driver units can be regarded as a cell and should be positioned in the cabinet so that its axis passes through said point.",
"Alternatively each loudspeaker driver unit can be housed in its own cabinet with the differing loudspeaker driver units distributed as evenly as possible throughout the array.",
"As stated the driver units should be the same distance from the point 13.",
"If for some reason this is not physically possible time delays can be introduced so that from the acoustic point of view the driver units are equidistant.",
"In the application of the invention one or more arrays may be positioned in such a way that the combined outputs of the arrays is sufficient to address the required audience area.",
"When installed in a concert hall the usual practice is to have two arrays at opposite ends of the stage although not necessarily at stage level.",
"With such an arrangement it is desirable to be able to modify the shape of the wave front so that the acoustic power is directed at the desired target and not for example at the ceiling and walls which is wasteful of power and may result in unwanted reflections.",
"If each cell is provided with its own amplifier which may be mounted in the cell cabinet or at some remote point, it is possible to adjust the amplitudes of the amplifier outputs, their phase or frequency shift, to modify the shape of the wave front produced by the array.",
"In order to assist the adjustments required, a scanning laser beam may be located in the array construction and moved to describe the pattern of the acoustic output.",
"Adjustments can then be effected manually or by microprocessor, to the amplifiers so that the required acoustic pattern is produced by the array.",
"FIG. 5 shows one example of such an arrangement.",
"A control computer 20, which receives input from a keyboard 21 or other control device, provides digital control outputs to a series of variable gain amplifiers VGA1, VGA2 .",
"VGAn which determine the amplitude of the respective signals supplied from a common source to power amplifiers respectively associated with the loudspeaker driver units.",
"The computer also controls the laser display unit 22.",
"In the default condition all the variable gain amplifiers have their gains set to the same value and the laser display unit 21 is caused to sweep its beam around a right circular cone.",
"Where, as is usual, the loudspeaker system is mounted high up and directed downwardly at about (say) 45° to the horizontal, the laser beam will trace an ellipse on the floor or ground.",
"When the relative levels of signals to the power amplifiers are varied the output to the laser display is correspondingly varied to change the shape and position of the figure traced on the floor.",
"In this way the operator can set up the system to obtain the desired sound pressure level distribution.",
"There may be a second VGA associated with each power amplifier which controls the level of the signal from a second source.",
"The computer can be used to set up a different sound pressure distribution for the second source.",
"It is also possible using the mechanical adjustment to arrange for the array to be asymmetric i.e. for the axes of the cells to converge at a different point in the vertical to that in the horizontal.",
"This may be required if the desired area of coverage is outside the scope of the variation possible using the electrical methods mentioned above.",
"In this case there may be an increase in mutual interference at high frequencies, the frequency diminishing as the degree of asymmetry increases."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a working device according to the preamble of patent claim 1 that contains an internal combustion engine, and to a method of monitoring an oil level in a combustion engine according to the preamble of patent claim 24 .
2. Description of the Related Art
Internal combustion engines, in particular four-cylinder gas or diesel engines, require a sufficient supply of oil in order for the lubrication to function properly. This oil supply is provided by oil contained in an oil reservoir. The oil reservoir is usually located in the vicinity of a crankcase so that the oil is distributed to the points of lubrication of the cylinders, pistons, bearings, etc. through sling lubrication, or by means of an additional oil pump.
In such systems, the presence of an amount of oil required for engine lubrication is verified using an oil dipstick, for example, or using various sensors (e.g. oil pressure switches in the case of lubrication using oil pumps). The sensors can be used in a monitoring circuit such that they shut off the engine if a lack of oil is detected, or such that they indicate the lack of oil via control lamps or similar devices. Engines without oil pumps usually have dipsticks or sight glasses.
Simple equipment for the purpose of oil monitoring also consist of a float that measures the oil level wherein the ignition system of the internal combustion engine is interrupted when there is a lack of oil. In this case, the engine does not start at all with a low oil level. For high-vibration machines and uncontrolled turbulent oil motion in the engine, the engine can also shut off even if there is sufficient oil present. Since the oil is tossed around, the float assumes a position that represents a lack of oil such that the corresponding actions are taken and the engine is shut off.
Since the known monitoring systems prevent the internal combustion engine from starting at all when a low oil level is determined—as illustrated above—, the operator of the equipment cannot know why the engine will not start. Consequently, he may take inappropriate or unnecessary actions to return the equipment to operation (replacement of spark plugs, cleaning the carburetor, etc.).
Many working devices include an internal combustion engine as well as a vibration exciter that is driven by the internal combustion engine. Possible working devices include: tampers for soil compaction, vibration plates, hammers, etc. Based on the strong vibration produced by the vibration exciter, the oil in the internal combustion engine is heavily circulated. Accordingly, it is difficult to determine, using known oil monitoring systems, whether enough oil is available for lubrication of the internal combustion engine.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,560,366 B1, a system to determine the chemical modification of oil in an automobile is described. One element of the system is an oil level measurement device. Based on the change in the amount of oil, the change in the chemical composition of the oil is determined. In order to attain the required measurement precision, the oil amount is determined prior to the start of the machine using an oil measurement sensor.
From U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,525, an oil display is known in which a visual oil sensor is provided at an oil recycle line in an internal combustion engine. The measurement and display of the oil level is determined immediately after closing a key-operated switch, i.e. prior to starting the internal combustion engine.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to provide a working device with an internal combustion engine in which a reading as to the oil level can be reliably obtained. Another object is to provide a method to monitor an oil level in an internal combustion engine.
These objects are accomplished according to the invention by means of a working device according to claim 1 and according to methods according to claims 23 and 24 .
The working device according to the invention comprises an oil measurement device to recognize that oil is present in the oil reservoir and to produce a corresponding signal. Furthermore, an evaluation unit to produce an oil level reading based on the signal from the oil measurement device is provided. The oil level reading can be produced within a specific time frame after starting the internal combustion engine, wherein the oil level reading remains even after the start of the internal combustion engine an/or after the specific time period after start has elapsed.
Since it is extremely difficult to determine the oil level in an internal combustion engine during operation, especially when the engine contains an oil reservoir (oil sump) but no oil pump because the oil is thrown about inside the crankcase of the internal combustion engine, the oil level reading is determined at a point in time at which the oil is still largely at rest, i.e. is still located in the oil reservoir due to gravity. As soon as the internal combustion engine has reached its full operating RPM and/or when the specified time period has elapsed, the oil level monitoring system can no longer be relied upon, especially if the internal combustion engine drives a vibration exciter contained within the working device. According to the invention, the monitoring system can continue to operate, but it should not be considered reliable at that point.
The theory behind the invention is that the oil level reading is determined at a point in time when the oil measurement equipment can still provide reliable measurement results, with the oil level reading still being available at a later time point at which the oil measurement system is no longer expected to provide reliable measurement results, i.e. during the intended operation of the working device. The oil level reading in this context can be issued as an evaluated measurement value or a correspondingly prepared signal that represents whether or not enough oil is present in the oil reservoir.
Specific consequences can be introduced based on the oil level reading, as explained below.
Simply stated, the measurement of the oil level during starting (prior to, during or shortly thereafter) is thus performed at a point in time when the working device is at relative rest.
The oil level reading produced according to the invention, which is a criterion and still available even at a later time point, does not preclude the collection of oil level readings at a later time point, i.e. during operation of the working device. However, these oil level readings are either not sufficiently reliable or are evaluated according to other criteria not covered here in more detail since they are not part of the invention. What is a criterion for the invention is the early determination of an oil level reading.
In connection with the starting of the internal combustion engine, the beginning of the starting process is determined as the point when a crankshaft of the internal combustion engine begins to rotate. The end of the starting process is determined as a time point when the RPM of the crankshaft is larger than a starting RPM generated by a crankshaft starting device (e.g. an electric starter or a reversing starter). This is the point at which the internal combustion engine is able to increase its crankshaft RPM by itself without requiring further support from the starting device.
What is particularly advantageous is if the specific time period after the start of the internal combustion engine is short relative to the total operating period of the internal combustion engine after starting. If one assumes that the internal combustion engine has been operating for at least a few minutes, the predetermined time period should be in the range of a few seconds. In particular, the time period within which the oil level reading is to be determined should end before the vibration exciter is activated by the internal combustion engine.
The oil level reading is determined by the evaluation device using the signal from the oil measurement device. Essentially, the oil level reading will indicate that sufficient oil exists in the oil reservoir or that there is a lack of oil.
If the working device contains a vibration exciter, the beginning of operation of the vibration exciter by the internal combustion engine can signal the end of the “specific time period”. This means that the oil level reading can be determined up until the vibration exciter is activated. However, the vibration exciter will exert vibrations upon the working device that are so strong that thereafter, i.e. during normal operation of the device, reliable oil level monitoring is no longer possible.
In another embodiment of the invention, the oil level reading can be produced up to the point at which the clutch couples the internal combustion engine to the vibration exciter. This ensures that the strong vibrations of the vibration exciter can no longer affect the oil level reading being produced.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, the oil level reading can be produced when the internal combustion engine has reached a predetermined minimum RPM after it has been started. For example, the minimum RPM can be selected to be relatively low as required to produce a supply of power for the oil measurement device and the evaluation device with the aid of corresponding systems in the internal combustion engine. Since an internal combustion engine usually reaches at least an idle RPM relatively quickly after being started, and sometimes even an operating RPM that is greater than this, the time period during which the oil level reading is produced is very short.
In an advantageous further development of the invention, the oil level reading can be produced as long as the starting crankshaft RPM is less than a predetermined working RPM at which the working device is performing its work as intended.
It is especially advantageous if the oil level reading at the beginning of an operating period of the internal combustion engine, i.e. during or after starting in particular, is produced once. This means that the oil level is determined, or the existence of oil is established and evaluated in the form of an oil level reading, at a specific and particularly suitable time point at which there must still be a relatively large amount of oil in the oil reservoir. If the oil level is OK, i.e. there is oil present, no further actions are required during the operating cycle. This particularly applies if the internal combustion engine has a relatively short operating period until it is stopped again. When the internal combustion engine is restarted, the oil level is checked again.
If, on the other hand, the oil level reading indicates that there is not enough oil in the oil reservoir, the internal combustion engine can be shut off using a stopping device. A suitable stopping device can include the ignition system of the engine, for example, which is controlled by the evaluation device in a manner suitable for shutting off the engine.
However, it is not absolutely necessary to immediately shut off the engine after detecting a lack of oil followed by the production of an oil level reading. To the contrary, there can be a period of time that elapses before the stopping device shuts off the internal combustion engine after determining the oil level. The advantage to this is that the operator can obtain other related information indicating to him that there is a lack of oil, such as acoustical or optical warnings.
In another embodiment of the invention, the evaluation device is coupled to an RPM regulating device such that the RPM of the internal combustion engine can be adjusted to an RPM that is below an operating RPM, such as an idle RPM, when an oil level reading is present indicating a lack of oil. Normally, the internal combustion engine can be operated during idle for a relatively long period even with a lack of lubrication without damaging it. Here, as well, the operator can acquire related information so that he can see that there is a lack of oil.
The acoustic warning and, primarily, the optical warning can be issued during a specific time period even if the oil level reading is no longer present. For example, it is possible for the internal combustion engine to be shut off by one of the actions described above or by an operator's intervention. In this case, it could be helpful if an LED continues to be energized over a specific time period as an optical warning, for example. It may be required to provide a suitably configured capacitor device as a source of energy for this.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the internal combustion engine includes a power device to produce and/or store electrical energy. This power device can be an alternator system to produce electrical energy or it can be a battery ignition system that stores electrical energy. The power device provides the required power supply for the oil measurement device and the evaluation device. For an alternator system in particular, the power supply is produced only when the internal combustion engine is started, i.e. when the crankshaft is rotated. The oil level reading is then always producible right after the starting process begins. In this case as well, a relatively short time period should be maintained.
If the oil level reading is to be acquired prior to the start of the internal combustion engine, it is especially advantageous if a power supply device that stores electrical energy is provided to supply power to the oil measurement device and to the evaluation device. The oil level reading can then also be stored as necessary with the aid of this electrical energy.
It is preferable that the evaluation device be integrated into the oil measurement device so that the two components form a single unit and can be installed in the internal combustion engine at the same time.
An oil sensor provided in the oil measurement device can be operated according to many principles; particularly suitable are capacitive, optical, thermal and/or mechanical measurement principles.
It is especially advantageous if the oil sensor, if necessary together with its integrated evaluation device, can be screwed into an engine housing of the internal combustion engine. A hole can be used for this purpose, such as the original hole that was used for a dipstick.
A method according to the invention comprises the following steps: first, the internal combustion engine is started using the starter device (electrical starter or reversing starter). Directly after the beginning of the starting process of the internal combustion engine, the oil measurement device is operated in such a way that the presence of oil in the oil reservoir can be recognized and a corresponding signal can be produced. The signal is evaluated in order to produce an oil level reading that provides an indication as to whether or not enough oil is present in the internal combustion engine.
The oil level reading remains even after the starting phase has finished, and can be used to introduce appropriate consequences.
It is preferable for the oil level reading to be produced only after a pre-determined minimum RPM of the internal combustion engine as been reached.
If the oil level reading corresponds to a reading of too little oil in the oil reservoir, various actions can be initiated: the operation of the internal combustion engine can be immediately interrupted, or else after a predetermined period of time has elapsed after determining that there is a lack of oil. It is also possible to limit the RPM of the internal combustion engine to an RPM value below an operating RPM. Alternatively, or in addition to this, acoustic and/or optical warnings can be conveyed to the operator.
These and other advantageous and features of the invention are described in more detail below with the help of an example and with reference to the accompanying figures. Shown are:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 a schematic representation of a known internal combustion engine;
FIG. 2 a schematic representation of an oil monitoring system according to the invention: and
FIG. 3 a flow diagram to explain the oil monitoring system according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In FIG. 1 , a known internal combustion engine is shown so that only a short description is given below. Basic internal combustion engines include engines with separated lubrication such as four-cylinder gasoline or diesel engines.
A crankshaft 2 is rotatably held in an engine housing 1 , and at least one connecting rod 3 is rotatably held at the crankshaft. At the other end of the connecting rod 3 is a piston 4 that moves back and forth axially inside a cylinder 5 . Below the crankshaft is an oil reservoir 6 (oil pan, oil sump) where lubricating oil is collected. The oil can be drained via an oil outlet 7 if the oil becomes dirty or decomposed.
In the internal combustion engine shown in FIG. 1 , a static oil pressure switch 9 is placed in a threaded socket 8 provided in the engine housing 1 . The oil pressure switch 9 has the disadvantage in that it functions in principle like a float such that it can no longer reliably determine the presence of a sufficient amount of oil while the internal combustion engine is operating, particularly when the internal combustion engine drives a vibration exciter, which is not shown, thereby very vigorously tossing the oil about inside a crankcase 10 surrounding the crankshaft 2 . This results in the possibility of the oil pressure switch 9 detecting a lack of oil even though sufficient oil is circulating inside the crankcase 10 .
FIG. 2 shows a cut-out section of FIG. 1 wherein the oil pressure switch 9 is replaced by an oil level monitoring device 11 according to the invention. The oil level monitoring device 11 comprises an oil measurement device 12 and an evaluation device 13 .
In the example shown, the oil measurement device 12 comprises a sensor that operates according to a capacitive measurement principle. The sensor is positioned such that it is submerged in the oil when there is sufficient oil in the oil reservoir 6 , thereby evaluating the oil as a dielectric material between two capacitor electrodes.
To this end, an oscillation cycle is energized, the frequency of which depends on whether the capacitor electrodes of the sensor are standing in the oil or not. The frequency is evaluated by a microprocessor that serves as an evaluation device 13 and is compared to prescribed frequency values so that an oil level reading can subsequently be obtained that indicates whether or not the sensor is sitting in oil (i.e.: a sufficient amount of oil or a lack of oil).
The power supply to the oil level monitoring device 11 is accomplished via a connection 14 to which a charging cable (shutoff cable, not shown) of a known alternator system located in the internal combustion engine can be connected. Since alternator systems are known in many forms, there is no need for further description thereof at this point. Instead of an alternator system, a battery ignition system can be used to operate the internal combustion engine as well as to feed power to the oil level monitoring device 11 .
The connection 14 provides the ability for the oil level monitoring device 11 to shut off the internal combustion engine immediately or after a predetermined period of time expires when it is determined that a lack of oil exists. To accomplish this, the connection 14 is shorted to ground at the housing 1 . If necessary, the oil level monitoring device 11 can also control the RPM of the engine through the connection 14 such that it only remains at idle RPM, for example.
Instead of the capacitive sensor, other physical measurement principles can be applied as well.
Especially advantageous is for the oil level in the oil reservoir 6 to be detected and evaluated when the engine is started so that the oil level monitoring device 11 can derive the required oil level reading at this earlier time point.
The oil level monitoring device 11 can of course also determine other information while the engine is running, since atomized or sprayed oil continues to drop onto the sensor of the oil measurement device 12 , for example. If the engine is running dry or with a lack of lubrication, no more oil reaches the oil measurement device 12 so that even at this point the internal combustion engine can be shut down by the oil level monitoring device 11 .
By suitably designing the oil measurement device 12 and the evaluation device 13 , it is possible that the amount of oil can be measured and oil level information obtained right when the crankshaft is initially turned by the starter (reversing starter or electric starter) of the internal combustion engine. This prevents the subsequent turbulence of the oil in the oil reservoir 6 caused by the starting process from producing any measurement errors.
Thus, one can configure the system such that the oil level reading is obtained only once when the internal combustion engine is started, with subsequent oil level readings being ignored, particularly those reporting an apparent lack of oil. In the process, it is assumed that if the internal combustion engine contains sufficient oil when it is started, it also contains sufficient oil for the operating period thereafter. This is especially the case when the internal combustion engine is used in a working device with a relatively short operating period (for example less than one hour). Each time the engine is restarted, the oil level can be re-checked.
The fact that the oil level monitoring device 11 receives electrical energy from the power supply already contained within the internal combustion engine by means of the ignition system makes it unnecessary to provide an additional power supply. The oil level monitoring device 11 is thus powered on the one hand from the ignition system of the engine. On the other hand, it can shut down the engine via the ignition system.
Where the oil level monitoring device 11 is used in a diesel engine, a suitable system should be provided for the supply of energy, such as a battery or a generator to power the oil level monitoring device 11 . Furthermore, the oil level monitoring device 11 can be coupled to a device to interrupt the supply of fuel (e.g. a solenoid valve).
If there is an amount of oil available at start that is considered sufficient, the oil level monitoring device 11 can remain inactive thereafter so that the engine runs uninfluenced by the oil level monitoring device 11 . If desired, however, the oil level monitoring device 11 can continue to monitor the oil level and if necessary take action in extreme situations.
If the internal combustion engine is used to operate a vibration exciter in a working device such as a tamper, a hammer or a vibration plate for soil compaction, it is especially useful if the measurement of the oil level, i.e. the acquisition of the oil level reading, is done prior to activating the vibration exciter. It is at this time that the majority of the oil is still in the oil reservoir 6 . However, after activating the vibration exciter, such strong vibrations are exerted that the oil can be distributed throughout the crankcase 10 .
A conventional shutoff mechanism can also be used as an oil measurement device 12 , such as a static oil switch, provided that it can stand up to the vibration. The evaluation device 13 should in this case be designed such that the oil level measurement only evaluates the measurement signals from the oil switch at the beginning of engine operation, i.e. when it is started—as illustrated above. The measurement signals from the oil switch should be ignored by the evaluation device 13 while the engine is running, in particular after the vibration exciter has been activated.
In FIG. 3 , a flow diagram is shown that illustrates the operating principle of the oil level monitoring system according to the invention.
In a step S 1 , the internal combustion engine is started, for example by pulling on a reversing starter.
This results in a supply of power in step S 2 for the electronics used in the oil level monitoring device 11 .
In step S 3 , a vibration frequency f osz of an oscillator circuit equipped with a microprocessor is measured using the capacitive sensor of the oil measurement device 12 . The frequency f osz changes depending on the level of wetting of oil on the sensor. The measurement in step S 3 can be performed right when the engine is started, i.e. right when the reversing starter is initially pulled. The data measured are then stored in step S 4 . The engine RPM is measured in step S 5 and in step S 6 compared to a prescribed value (here: 1000 min −3 ). As long as the engine speed has not yet reached this prescribed speed, the PRM continues to be measured in step S 5 .
If the engine RPM has exceeded the prescribed limit RPM, step S 7 examines whether the measured oscillator circuit frequency f osz is greater than a pre-set frequency f lim . The pre-set frequency f lim is stored during production of the working device at the factory at the time the sensor is calibrated. The frequency f lim corresponds to the oscillating frequency for the minimum oil level required.
If the frequency measured f osz is greater than f lim , an LED is turned on in step S 8 for operational controls, and in step S 9 the oil level monitoring system is turned off. The oil amount in the internal combustion engine is no longer monitored during the operating cycle. Only when the engine is restarted—after it has been turned off—does the oil level check begin again with step S 1 .
If it is determined in step S 7 that the frequency f osz measured is less than the prescribed frequency limit f lim , the system concludes that there is no longer enough oil in the internal combustion engine. Thereafter, an LED is caused to blink in step S 10 in order to provide a warning to the operator. During this time, the engine continues to run. After a specific time period (e.g. 10 seconds, step S 11 ), the ignition system of the internal combustion engine is shut down in step S 12 so that the engine shuts off. The LED shuts off as a result in step S 13 . The operator can now add oil. | An internal combustion engine in a working device comprises an oil reservoir near a crankcase to hold oil. An oil measurement device is used to recognize the existence of oil in the oil reservoir and to produce a corresponding signal that is evaluated in an evaluation device to produce an oil level reading. The oil level reading is preferred to be produced only during the starting of the internal combustion engine or within a specific time period after starting the internal combustion engine. When the internal combustion engine has reached its operating RPM, no further oil level monitoring is performed. | Identify and summarize the most critical features from the given passage. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The invention pertains to a working device according to the preamble of patent claim 1 that contains an internal combustion engine, and to a method of monitoring an oil level in a combustion engine according to the preamble of patent claim 24 .",
"Description of the Related Art Internal combustion engines, in particular four-cylinder gas or diesel engines, require a sufficient supply of oil in order for the lubrication to function properly.",
"This oil supply is provided by oil contained in an oil reservoir.",
"The oil reservoir is usually located in the vicinity of a crankcase so that the oil is distributed to the points of lubrication of the cylinders, pistons, bearings, etc.",
"through sling lubrication, or by means of an additional oil pump.",
"In such systems, the presence of an amount of oil required for engine lubrication is verified using an oil dipstick, for example, or using various sensors (e.g. oil pressure switches in the case of lubrication using oil pumps).",
"The sensors can be used in a monitoring circuit such that they shut off the engine if a lack of oil is detected, or such that they indicate the lack of oil via control lamps or similar devices.",
"Engines without oil pumps usually have dipsticks or sight glasses.",
"Simple equipment for the purpose of oil monitoring also consist of a float that measures the oil level wherein the ignition system of the internal combustion engine is interrupted when there is a lack of oil.",
"In this case, the engine does not start at all with a low oil level.",
"For high-vibration machines and uncontrolled turbulent oil motion in the engine, the engine can also shut off even if there is sufficient oil present.",
"Since the oil is tossed around, the float assumes a position that represents a lack of oil such that the corresponding actions are taken and the engine is shut off.",
"Since the known monitoring systems prevent the internal combustion engine from starting at all when a low oil level is determined—as illustrated above—, the operator of the equipment cannot know why the engine will not start.",
"Consequently, he may take inappropriate or unnecessary actions to return the equipment to operation (replacement of spark plugs, cleaning the carburetor, etc.).",
"Many working devices include an internal combustion engine as well as a vibration exciter that is driven by the internal combustion engine.",
"Possible working devices include: tampers for soil compaction, vibration plates, hammers, etc.",
"Based on the strong vibration produced by the vibration exciter, the oil in the internal combustion engine is heavily circulated.",
"Accordingly, it is difficult to determine, using known oil monitoring systems, whether enough oil is available for lubrication of the internal combustion engine.",
"In U.S. Pat. No. 6,560,366 B1, a system to determine the chemical modification of oil in an automobile is described.",
"One element of the system is an oil level measurement device.",
"Based on the change in the amount of oil, the change in the chemical composition of the oil is determined.",
"In order to attain the required measurement precision, the oil amount is determined prior to the start of the machine using an oil measurement sensor.",
"From U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,525, an oil display is known in which a visual oil sensor is provided at an oil recycle line in an internal combustion engine.",
"The measurement and display of the oil level is determined immediately after closing a key-operated switch, i.e. prior to starting the internal combustion engine.",
"OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The object of the invention is to provide a working device with an internal combustion engine in which a reading as to the oil level can be reliably obtained.",
"Another object is to provide a method to monitor an oil level in an internal combustion engine.",
"These objects are accomplished according to the invention by means of a working device according to claim 1 and according to methods according to claims 23 and 24 .",
"The working device according to the invention comprises an oil measurement device to recognize that oil is present in the oil reservoir and to produce a corresponding signal.",
"Furthermore, an evaluation unit to produce an oil level reading based on the signal from the oil measurement device is provided.",
"The oil level reading can be produced within a specific time frame after starting the internal combustion engine, wherein the oil level reading remains even after the start of the internal combustion engine an/or after the specific time period after start has elapsed.",
"Since it is extremely difficult to determine the oil level in an internal combustion engine during operation, especially when the engine contains an oil reservoir (oil sump) but no oil pump because the oil is thrown about inside the crankcase of the internal combustion engine, the oil level reading is determined at a point in time at which the oil is still largely at rest, i.e. is still located in the oil reservoir due to gravity.",
"As soon as the internal combustion engine has reached its full operating RPM and/or when the specified time period has elapsed, the oil level monitoring system can no longer be relied upon, especially if the internal combustion engine drives a vibration exciter contained within the working device.",
"According to the invention, the monitoring system can continue to operate, but it should not be considered reliable at that point.",
"The theory behind the invention is that the oil level reading is determined at a point in time when the oil measurement equipment can still provide reliable measurement results, with the oil level reading still being available at a later time point at which the oil measurement system is no longer expected to provide reliable measurement results, i.e. during the intended operation of the working device.",
"The oil level reading in this context can be issued as an evaluated measurement value or a correspondingly prepared signal that represents whether or not enough oil is present in the oil reservoir.",
"Specific consequences can be introduced based on the oil level reading, as explained below.",
"Simply stated, the measurement of the oil level during starting (prior to, during or shortly thereafter) is thus performed at a point in time when the working device is at relative rest.",
"The oil level reading produced according to the invention, which is a criterion and still available even at a later time point, does not preclude the collection of oil level readings at a later time point, i.e. during operation of the working device.",
"However, these oil level readings are either not sufficiently reliable or are evaluated according to other criteria not covered here in more detail since they are not part of the invention.",
"What is a criterion for the invention is the early determination of an oil level reading.",
"In connection with the starting of the internal combustion engine, the beginning of the starting process is determined as the point when a crankshaft of the internal combustion engine begins to rotate.",
"The end of the starting process is determined as a time point when the RPM of the crankshaft is larger than a starting RPM generated by a crankshaft starting device (e.g. an electric starter or a reversing starter).",
"This is the point at which the internal combustion engine is able to increase its crankshaft RPM by itself without requiring further support from the starting device.",
"What is particularly advantageous is if the specific time period after the start of the internal combustion engine is short relative to the total operating period of the internal combustion engine after starting.",
"If one assumes that the internal combustion engine has been operating for at least a few minutes, the predetermined time period should be in the range of a few seconds.",
"In particular, the time period within which the oil level reading is to be determined should end before the vibration exciter is activated by the internal combustion engine.",
"The oil level reading is determined by the evaluation device using the signal from the oil measurement device.",
"Essentially, the oil level reading will indicate that sufficient oil exists in the oil reservoir or that there is a lack of oil.",
"If the working device contains a vibration exciter, the beginning of operation of the vibration exciter by the internal combustion engine can signal the end of the “specific time period.”",
"This means that the oil level reading can be determined up until the vibration exciter is activated.",
"However, the vibration exciter will exert vibrations upon the working device that are so strong that thereafter, i.e. during normal operation of the device, reliable oil level monitoring is no longer possible.",
"In another embodiment of the invention, the oil level reading can be produced up to the point at which the clutch couples the internal combustion engine to the vibration exciter.",
"This ensures that the strong vibrations of the vibration exciter can no longer affect the oil level reading being produced.",
"In yet another embodiment of the invention, the oil level reading can be produced when the internal combustion engine has reached a predetermined minimum RPM after it has been started.",
"For example, the minimum RPM can be selected to be relatively low as required to produce a supply of power for the oil measurement device and the evaluation device with the aid of corresponding systems in the internal combustion engine.",
"Since an internal combustion engine usually reaches at least an idle RPM relatively quickly after being started, and sometimes even an operating RPM that is greater than this, the time period during which the oil level reading is produced is very short.",
"In an advantageous further development of the invention, the oil level reading can be produced as long as the starting crankshaft RPM is less than a predetermined working RPM at which the working device is performing its work as intended.",
"It is especially advantageous if the oil level reading at the beginning of an operating period of the internal combustion engine, i.e. during or after starting in particular, is produced once.",
"This means that the oil level is determined, or the existence of oil is established and evaluated in the form of an oil level reading, at a specific and particularly suitable time point at which there must still be a relatively large amount of oil in the oil reservoir.",
"If the oil level is OK, i.e. there is oil present, no further actions are required during the operating cycle.",
"This particularly applies if the internal combustion engine has a relatively short operating period until it is stopped again.",
"When the internal combustion engine is restarted, the oil level is checked again.",
"If, on the other hand, the oil level reading indicates that there is not enough oil in the oil reservoir, the internal combustion engine can be shut off using a stopping device.",
"A suitable stopping device can include the ignition system of the engine, for example, which is controlled by the evaluation device in a manner suitable for shutting off the engine.",
"However, it is not absolutely necessary to immediately shut off the engine after detecting a lack of oil followed by the production of an oil level reading.",
"To the contrary, there can be a period of time that elapses before the stopping device shuts off the internal combustion engine after determining the oil level.",
"The advantage to this is that the operator can obtain other related information indicating to him that there is a lack of oil, such as acoustical or optical warnings.",
"In another embodiment of the invention, the evaluation device is coupled to an RPM regulating device such that the RPM of the internal combustion engine can be adjusted to an RPM that is below an operating RPM, such as an idle RPM, when an oil level reading is present indicating a lack of oil.",
"Normally, the internal combustion engine can be operated during idle for a relatively long period even with a lack of lubrication without damaging it.",
"Here, as well, the operator can acquire related information so that he can see that there is a lack of oil.",
"The acoustic warning and, primarily, the optical warning can be issued during a specific time period even if the oil level reading is no longer present.",
"For example, it is possible for the internal combustion engine to be shut off by one of the actions described above or by an operator's intervention.",
"In this case, it could be helpful if an LED continues to be energized over a specific time period as an optical warning, for example.",
"It may be required to provide a suitably configured capacitor device as a source of energy for this.",
"In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the internal combustion engine includes a power device to produce and/or store electrical energy.",
"This power device can be an alternator system to produce electrical energy or it can be a battery ignition system that stores electrical energy.",
"The power device provides the required power supply for the oil measurement device and the evaluation device.",
"For an alternator system in particular, the power supply is produced only when the internal combustion engine is started, i.e. when the crankshaft is rotated.",
"The oil level reading is then always producible right after the starting process begins.",
"In this case as well, a relatively short time period should be maintained.",
"If the oil level reading is to be acquired prior to the start of the internal combustion engine, it is especially advantageous if a power supply device that stores electrical energy is provided to supply power to the oil measurement device and to the evaluation device.",
"The oil level reading can then also be stored as necessary with the aid of this electrical energy.",
"It is preferable that the evaluation device be integrated into the oil measurement device so that the two components form a single unit and can be installed in the internal combustion engine at the same time.",
"An oil sensor provided in the oil measurement device can be operated according to many principles;",
"particularly suitable are capacitive, optical, thermal and/or mechanical measurement principles.",
"It is especially advantageous if the oil sensor, if necessary together with its integrated evaluation device, can be screwed into an engine housing of the internal combustion engine.",
"A hole can be used for this purpose, such as the original hole that was used for a dipstick.",
"A method according to the invention comprises the following steps: first, the internal combustion engine is started using the starter device (electrical starter or reversing starter).",
"Directly after the beginning of the starting process of the internal combustion engine, the oil measurement device is operated in such a way that the presence of oil in the oil reservoir can be recognized and a corresponding signal can be produced.",
"The signal is evaluated in order to produce an oil level reading that provides an indication as to whether or not enough oil is present in the internal combustion engine.",
"The oil level reading remains even after the starting phase has finished, and can be used to introduce appropriate consequences.",
"It is preferable for the oil level reading to be produced only after a pre-determined minimum RPM of the internal combustion engine as been reached.",
"If the oil level reading corresponds to a reading of too little oil in the oil reservoir, various actions can be initiated: the operation of the internal combustion engine can be immediately interrupted, or else after a predetermined period of time has elapsed after determining that there is a lack of oil.",
"It is also possible to limit the RPM of the internal combustion engine to an RPM value below an operating RPM.",
"Alternatively, or in addition to this, acoustic and/or optical warnings can be conveyed to the operator.",
"These and other advantageous and features of the invention are described in more detail below with the help of an example and with reference to the accompanying figures.",
"Shown are: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 a schematic representation of a known internal combustion engine;",
"FIG. 2 a schematic representation of an oil monitoring system according to the invention: and FIG. 3 a flow diagram to explain the oil monitoring system according to the invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. 1 , a known internal combustion engine is shown so that only a short description is given below.",
"Basic internal combustion engines include engines with separated lubrication such as four-cylinder gasoline or diesel engines.",
"A crankshaft 2 is rotatably held in an engine housing 1 , and at least one connecting rod 3 is rotatably held at the crankshaft.",
"At the other end of the connecting rod 3 is a piston 4 that moves back and forth axially inside a cylinder 5 .",
"Below the crankshaft is an oil reservoir 6 (oil pan, oil sump) where lubricating oil is collected.",
"The oil can be drained via an oil outlet 7 if the oil becomes dirty or decomposed.",
"In the internal combustion engine shown in FIG. 1 , a static oil pressure switch 9 is placed in a threaded socket 8 provided in the engine housing 1 .",
"The oil pressure switch 9 has the disadvantage in that it functions in principle like a float such that it can no longer reliably determine the presence of a sufficient amount of oil while the internal combustion engine is operating, particularly when the internal combustion engine drives a vibration exciter, which is not shown, thereby very vigorously tossing the oil about inside a crankcase 10 surrounding the crankshaft 2 .",
"This results in the possibility of the oil pressure switch 9 detecting a lack of oil even though sufficient oil is circulating inside the crankcase 10 .",
"FIG. 2 shows a cut-out section of FIG. 1 wherein the oil pressure switch 9 is replaced by an oil level monitoring device 11 according to the invention.",
"The oil level monitoring device 11 comprises an oil measurement device 12 and an evaluation device 13 .",
"In the example shown, the oil measurement device 12 comprises a sensor that operates according to a capacitive measurement principle.",
"The sensor is positioned such that it is submerged in the oil when there is sufficient oil in the oil reservoir 6 , thereby evaluating the oil as a dielectric material between two capacitor electrodes.",
"To this end, an oscillation cycle is energized, the frequency of which depends on whether the capacitor electrodes of the sensor are standing in the oil or not.",
"The frequency is evaluated by a microprocessor that serves as an evaluation device 13 and is compared to prescribed frequency values so that an oil level reading can subsequently be obtained that indicates whether or not the sensor is sitting in oil (i.e.: a sufficient amount of oil or a lack of oil).",
"The power supply to the oil level monitoring device 11 is accomplished via a connection 14 to which a charging cable (shutoff cable, not shown) of a known alternator system located in the internal combustion engine can be connected.",
"Since alternator systems are known in many forms, there is no need for further description thereof at this point.",
"Instead of an alternator system, a battery ignition system can be used to operate the internal combustion engine as well as to feed power to the oil level monitoring device 11 .",
"The connection 14 provides the ability for the oil level monitoring device 11 to shut off the internal combustion engine immediately or after a predetermined period of time expires when it is determined that a lack of oil exists.",
"To accomplish this, the connection 14 is shorted to ground at the housing 1 .",
"If necessary, the oil level monitoring device 11 can also control the RPM of the engine through the connection 14 such that it only remains at idle RPM, for example.",
"Instead of the capacitive sensor, other physical measurement principles can be applied as well.",
"Especially advantageous is for the oil level in the oil reservoir 6 to be detected and evaluated when the engine is started so that the oil level monitoring device 11 can derive the required oil level reading at this earlier time point.",
"The oil level monitoring device 11 can of course also determine other information while the engine is running, since atomized or sprayed oil continues to drop onto the sensor of the oil measurement device 12 , for example.",
"If the engine is running dry or with a lack of lubrication, no more oil reaches the oil measurement device 12 so that even at this point the internal combustion engine can be shut down by the oil level monitoring device 11 .",
"By suitably designing the oil measurement device 12 and the evaluation device 13 , it is possible that the amount of oil can be measured and oil level information obtained right when the crankshaft is initially turned by the starter (reversing starter or electric starter) of the internal combustion engine.",
"This prevents the subsequent turbulence of the oil in the oil reservoir 6 caused by the starting process from producing any measurement errors.",
"Thus, one can configure the system such that the oil level reading is obtained only once when the internal combustion engine is started, with subsequent oil level readings being ignored, particularly those reporting an apparent lack of oil.",
"In the process, it is assumed that if the internal combustion engine contains sufficient oil when it is started, it also contains sufficient oil for the operating period thereafter.",
"This is especially the case when the internal combustion engine is used in a working device with a relatively short operating period (for example less than one hour).",
"Each time the engine is restarted, the oil level can be re-checked.",
"The fact that the oil level monitoring device 11 receives electrical energy from the power supply already contained within the internal combustion engine by means of the ignition system makes it unnecessary to provide an additional power supply.",
"The oil level monitoring device 11 is thus powered on the one hand from the ignition system of the engine.",
"On the other hand, it can shut down the engine via the ignition system.",
"Where the oil level monitoring device 11 is used in a diesel engine, a suitable system should be provided for the supply of energy, such as a battery or a generator to power the oil level monitoring device 11 .",
"Furthermore, the oil level monitoring device 11 can be coupled to a device to interrupt the supply of fuel (e.g. a solenoid valve).",
"If there is an amount of oil available at start that is considered sufficient, the oil level monitoring device 11 can remain inactive thereafter so that the engine runs uninfluenced by the oil level monitoring device 11 .",
"If desired, however, the oil level monitoring device 11 can continue to monitor the oil level and if necessary take action in extreme situations.",
"If the internal combustion engine is used to operate a vibration exciter in a working device such as a tamper, a hammer or a vibration plate for soil compaction, it is especially useful if the measurement of the oil level, i.e. the acquisition of the oil level reading, is done prior to activating the vibration exciter.",
"It is at this time that the majority of the oil is still in the oil reservoir 6 .",
"However, after activating the vibration exciter, such strong vibrations are exerted that the oil can be distributed throughout the crankcase 10 .",
"A conventional shutoff mechanism can also be used as an oil measurement device 12 , such as a static oil switch, provided that it can stand up to the vibration.",
"The evaluation device 13 should in this case be designed such that the oil level measurement only evaluates the measurement signals from the oil switch at the beginning of engine operation, i.e. when it is started—as illustrated above.",
"The measurement signals from the oil switch should be ignored by the evaluation device 13 while the engine is running, in particular after the vibration exciter has been activated.",
"In FIG. 3 , a flow diagram is shown that illustrates the operating principle of the oil level monitoring system according to the invention.",
"In a step S 1 , the internal combustion engine is started, for example by pulling on a reversing starter.",
"This results in a supply of power in step S 2 for the electronics used in the oil level monitoring device 11 .",
"In step S 3 , a vibration frequency f osz of an oscillator circuit equipped with a microprocessor is measured using the capacitive sensor of the oil measurement device 12 .",
"The frequency f osz changes depending on the level of wetting of oil on the sensor.",
"The measurement in step S 3 can be performed right when the engine is started, i.e. right when the reversing starter is initially pulled.",
"The data measured are then stored in step S 4 .",
"The engine RPM is measured in step S 5 and in step S 6 compared to a prescribed value (here: 1000 min −3 ).",
"As long as the engine speed has not yet reached this prescribed speed, the PRM continues to be measured in step S 5 .",
"If the engine RPM has exceeded the prescribed limit RPM, step S 7 examines whether the measured oscillator circuit frequency f osz is greater than a pre-set frequency f lim .",
"The pre-set frequency f lim is stored during production of the working device at the factory at the time the sensor is calibrated.",
"The frequency f lim corresponds to the oscillating frequency for the minimum oil level required.",
"If the frequency measured f osz is greater than f lim , an LED is turned on in step S 8 for operational controls, and in step S 9 the oil level monitoring system is turned off.",
"The oil amount in the internal combustion engine is no longer monitored during the operating cycle.",
"Only when the engine is restarted—after it has been turned off—does the oil level check begin again with step S 1 .",
"If it is determined in step S 7 that the frequency f osz measured is less than the prescribed frequency limit f lim , the system concludes that there is no longer enough oil in the internal combustion engine.",
"Thereafter, an LED is caused to blink in step S 10 in order to provide a warning to the operator.",
"During this time, the engine continues to run.",
"After a specific time period (e.g. 10 seconds, step S 11 ), the ignition system of the internal combustion engine is shut down in step S 12 so that the engine shuts off.",
"The LED shuts off as a result in step S 13 .",
"The operator can now add oil."
] |
This patent application claims priority to Japanese patent application, No. 2005-137465 filed on May 10, 2005 in the Japan Patent Office, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
FIELD
This patent specification describes an image processing apparatus and method of image processing capable of effective labeling.
BACKGROUND
Labeling process is one of key processes of an image processing for binary image data with black and white. Generally, a white pixel is defined as a background pixel and a black pixel is defined as a feature pixel. The labeling process is to assign with a label such as a number to feature pixels linking each other. Using the labeling process, it is possible to identify a plurality of targets in the image and to measure each area size and centroid of the target in the image.
As linking methods which link the pixels, there are mainly two methods that are a 4-linking method (4-neibourhood) and a 8-linking (8-neibourhood) method. In the 4-linking method, the target pixel and four pixels of upper, lower, left and right pixels to the target pixel are judged. In the 8-linking method, four more pixels at diagonal positions of the target pixel are judged in addition to the target pixel, the four pixels as described above.
FIG. 1 illustrates a flowchart of a background labeling method. Following three steps are performed with image data stored in a frame memory.
In step S 02 , a preliminary labeling (pre-labeling) process is performed. Preliminary labels are assigned and connecting information between the preliminary labels is generated during the pre-labeling process.
In step S 04 , a translation table for a primary labeling process is generated.
In step S 06 , the primary labeling process is performed. The preliminary labels are translated to primary labels referring to the translation table generated in the steps S 04 .
As a result of the above described labeling processes, labeled image data is output and is stored back into the frame memory. The image data stored in the frame memory is scanned sequentially at the both case of the pre-labeling process and the primary labeling process. A plurality of pixels of the image data are read and are translated sequentially.
When the labeling process is performed to binary image data stored in a two-dimensional storage such as a frame memory by the 4-linking method, it is required to scan the binary data sequentially from upper left to lower right of the image data. During the scanning, at least two pixels which are located neighboring at left side and at upper side to the target pixel are referred. This sequential processing causes a long processing time.
Further, it is requested that each pixel has a certain data width such as 8-bits-wide and 16-bits-wide to assign a labeling value. Accordingly, this causes a tradeoff relationship between a number of the labeling to be assigned and a storage capacity of the frame memory.
To shorten the labeling process time, it is proposed to assign a preliminary or a primary label to a plurality of pixels after reading and examining a scanned pixel pattern. This method attempts to obtain a high speed labeling procedure because overlapping at the scanning process is reduced. However, if two pixels are the target pixels, storage capacity for one pixel is increased with increase of the number of labels to be needed because the preliminary or the primary label is assigned to each pixel. Therefore, a breakthrough is highly requested both for achieving high speed labeling and for saving storage capacity of the frame memory.
SUMMARY
This patent specification describes a novel method of image data labeling includes reading the image data sequentially with units of two successive pixels and providing one label to a target unit of two successive pixels in the image data when a preliminary label is to be assigned to at least one of the two successive pixels of the target unit.
This patent specification further describes a novel method of image data labeling includes assigning preliminary labels to pixels, processing image data with units of two successive pixels after the assignment of the preliminary labels and generating processing unit data including first information data of a background pixel or a feature pixel with the preliminary label assigned to an even pixel of the target pixels, second information data of a background pixel or a feature pixel with the preliminary label assigned to an odd pixel of the target pixels and third information data of the preliminary label assigned to at least one of the target pixels.
Further, this patent specification describes a novel image processing apparatus includes a memory configured to store image data, a processor configured to process the image data with units of two successive pixels and to provide one label to a target unit of two successive pixels when a preliminary label is to be assigned to at least one of the two successive pixels of the target unit and a memory controller arranged between the memory and the processor and configured to control reading and writing the image data.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A more complete appreciation of the disclosure and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 illustrates a flowchart of a background labeling method;
FIG. 2 illustrates a preliminary labeling process according to an exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 3 illustrates the preliminary labeling process with a target image data having a size of 6×6 pixels according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2 ;
FIG. 4 illustrates an output example data of the preliminary labeling process of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 ;
FIGS. 5A , 5 B, 6 A, 6 B, 7 A, 7 B 8 A and 8 B illustrate the details of the preliminary labeling process;
FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of the preliminary labeling process according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 10 illustrates a preliminary labeling process reading a target image data having a size of 6×6 pixels in a vertical direction according to another exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 11 illustrates the preliminary labeling process reading a target image data in a horizontal direction according to the another exemplary embodiment;
FIGS. 12 , 13 A, 13 B, 13 C, 14 A and 14 B illustrates the details of the preliminary labeling process according to the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11 ;
FIG. 15 illustrates a flowchart of the preliminary labeling process according to the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11 ;
FIG. 16 illustrates an example of an output data of a preliminary label according to another exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 17 illustrates an example of an output data of a primary label according to another exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 18 illustrates an example of a preliminary labeling method according to another exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 19 illustrates an example of an output data of a preliminary label according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 18 ;
FIG. 20 illustrates an example circuit to perform an integration process to generate the data of FIG. 19 ; and
FIG. 21 illustrates an example of a preliminary labeling method according to another exemplary embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In describing preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology is employed for the sake of clarity. However, the disclosure of this patent specification is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected and it is to be understood that each specific element includes all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner. Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, labeling processes according to example embodiments are described.
FIG. 2 illustrates a Pre-labeling process according to an exemplary embodiment. The pre-labeling process of the exemplary embodiment includes reading and translating steps. In the reading step, image data is scanned and every two successive target pixels are read sequentially from left to right in a horizontal direction on each line. The two successive pixels includes an even and odd pixels. The even pixel is a pixel at an even number of a target line when the pixels are counted from zero in a scanning direction. Similarly, the odd pixel is a pixel at an odd-number of the target line.
After the reading step, the pixels are translated into one of three types information data such as a preliminary label, a background pixel or a feature pixel (preliminary label) for an even pixel and a background pixel or a feature pixel (preliminary label) for an odd pixel.
FIG. 3 is a target image data having a size of 6×6 pixels. In the exemplary embodiment, two target pixels and three adjacent pixels to the two target pixels are scanned in a horizontal direction and read. A labeling value for the two target pixels is determined from patterns of the pixels. As for the two reference pixels which locates at next left of the target pixels of FIG. 3 , a right-side pixel of the two reference pixels, i.e., neighboring pixel of the target pixels, is only labeled.
FIG. 4 illustrates an output data example of the pre-labeling process according to the exemplary embodiment. FIGS. 5A , 5 B, 6 A, 6 B, 7 A, 7 B 8 A and 8 B illustrate the details of the pre-labeling process. In the example of FIG. 4 , the labeling value of the preliminary label is N. The labeling value is assigned for the odd pixel because it is a feature pixel and is not assigned for the even pixel because it is a background pixel.
The symbols used in FIGS. 4 to 8B are summarized in Table 1. Further, the symbols of the Table 1 are also used in other figures.
TABLE 1
Symbol
Notes
◯
background pixel
feature pixel
—
It can be either background pixel or feature
pixel
N
new preliminary label
A
preliminary label of value A
B
preliminary label of value B
min (A, B)
smaller value among values A and B
max (A, B)
larger value among values A and B
FIGS. 5A , 5 B, 6 A, 6 B, 7 A, 7 B, 8 A and 8 B illustrate a determination process of preliminary labels. The preliminary label for the target pixels are determined based on the information of the two target pixels and the three associated pixels which are located next to the two target pixels. The Pre-labeling process in the exemplary embodiment is a four-interlink-pixel processing.
If preliminary labels conflict with each other due to having different values during the labeling process as shown in patterns 19 of FIG. 7B , 21 and 22 of FIG. 8A , 24 and 25 of FIG. 8B , the connecting information (i.e. conflict information) shown by a symbol “*” is stored. The symbol “*” represents min (A,B) and means that a smaller value among values A and B is to be stored. The connecting information is sorted before the primary labeling process starts so that a preliminary label having a smaller labeling value among the preliminary label and other label interlinked to the preliminary label can be identified.
The connecting information after sorting is stored in a memory, for example in a frame memory, by homologizing the preliminary label to an address and by homologizing the other preliminary labeling value interlinked to the preliminary label to a data. If there is no other interlinked preliminary label to the preliminary label, the preliminary label is stored to the data. Further, if a labeling value among the preliminary label and other preliminary label interlinked to the preliminary label is smallest, the labeling value is stored to the data.
More specifically, the preliminary labels and the connecting information are stored in the frame memory as shown in following Table 2.
TABLE 2
Address
data
0000h
0000h
0001h
0001h
0002h
0002h
0003h
0001h
0004h
0004h
0005h
0002h
The preliminary label 0003h is interlinked to the preliminary label 0001h because the data 0001h is at the address 0003h. Similarly, the preliminary label 0005h is interlinked to the preliminary label 0002h because the data 0002h is at the address 0003h.
If the address value [ADDR] and the data [DATA] are described in a formula RAM [ADDR]=[DATA], a formula RAM [A]=B means that the smallest preliminary label among the preliminary label and other preliminary label interlinked to the preliminary label is B. Further, a formula RAM [A]=A means that there is no other preliminary label interlinked to the preliminary label or the smallest preliminary label among the preliminary label and other preliminary label interlinked to the preliminary label is A. Thus, the primary labeling table is generated by this sorting process.
FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of the pre-labeling process according to the exemplary embodiment. The target pixels (two pixels) and the reference pixels (three pixels) are read from the frame memory (S 22 ). One preliminary label is assigned to the target pixels and the connecting information between the preliminary labels is generated (S 24 ). The processing results after the assignment of the preliminary labels are restored in the frame memory (S 26 ). These process steps are performed for all the pixel data. When all pixel data have been processed (i.e., if YES in step S 28 ), the pre-labeling processing has been completed.
Thus, one preliminary label is provided to every two target pixels in the exemplary embodiment. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the data amount down to half of the data amount of the background labeling method where a preliminary label is provided to each target pixel. Moreover, it is possible to reconstitute the processed data to the background data form in which each target pixel is to be processed because the processed data includes the information which implies a background pixel or a feature pixel on the even and odd pixels.
Further, in the primary labeling process in which the preliminary label is translated to the primary label, necessary translation process for each two target pixels is only one. Therefore, it is possible to reduce a number of the translation processes in comparison to the background labeling method in which the translation processes is performed on each target pixel of the two target pixels. According to the labeling method of the exemplary embodiment, an access number to the translation table of the primary labeling process is reduced down to a half of the access number of the background method.
In another exemplary embodiment, a part of labeling process, more specifically a part of preliminary labeling process, is performed using SIMD (single instruction-stream multiple data-stream) processing. The SIMD processing is a data processing which can execute a single instruction with a plurality of data in parallel. A SIMD-type micro processor which can perform the SIMD processing is widely used in image forming apparatuses such as a copier and so on because the SIMD processing can perform parallel executions with high speed.
As for one direction of the binary image data, for example, a vertical direction of FIG. 10 , interlinking relationships are judged by the SIMD processing. As for another direction, for example, a horizontal direction shown in FIG. 11 , other interlinking relationships of the binary image data are judged by a sequential processing in which the pixels are read and are processed in order.
An interlink-judgment processing performed by the SIMD processing will be described. FIG. 10 illustrates locational relationships between target pixels and reference pixels in the interlink-judgment processing for pixels in a vertical direction according to this exemplary embodiment. The labeling process of this exemplary embodiment is again a four-interlink-pixel processing. Image line data which is located at one line above a target line is referred.
If a preliminary label is assigned on a pixel at a row on the line which is one line above the target line and the binary image data at the same row on the target line is a feature pixel, the preliminary label is copied to the binary image data at the same row on the target line. Using SIMD processor, this process in a vertical direction can be performed for the other pixels on the target line in parallel so as to shorten the process time. This interlink-judgment processing for the vertical direction is performed in advance before the interlink-judgment processing for the horizontal direction.
Secondly, the interlink-judgment processing for pixels in the horizontal direction will be described. FIG. 11 illustrates a locational relationship between target pixels and reference pixels in the interlink-judgment processing for pixels in the horizontal direction according to this exemplary embodiment. Regarding pixels neighboring to the target pixels, a right-side pixel among the two pixels is only a necessary pixel to be referred.
FIG. 12 illustrates an output example of the pre-labeling process of this exemplary embodiment. FIGS. 13A , 13 B, 13 C, 14 A and 14 B illustrate the details of the pre-labeling process. A preliminary labeling value is N in the example shown in FIG. 12 . A preliminary labeling value to the even pixel is not assigned because it is a background pixel. A preliminary labeling value to the odd pixel is assigned because it is a feature pixel.
FIGS. 13A , 13 B, 13 C, 14 A and 14 B illustrate a determination process of a preliminary label to the two target pixels based on the information of the two target pixels and the neighboring pixel locating next left to the two target pixels. If preliminary labels conflict with each other due to having different values during the labeling process as shown in patterns 112 of FIG. 14A , 113 , 114 and 115 of FIG. 14B , the connecting information (i.e. conflict information) shown by a symbol “*” is stored at each case similarly to FIG. 7B . Thus, the connecting information is sorted before the primary labeling process starts so that a preliminary label having a smallest labeling value among the preliminary label and other label interlinked to the preliminary label can be identified. The primary labeling table is generated by the sorting process similar to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 .
FIG. 15 illustrates a flowchart of the pre-labeling process according to the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11 . The target pixel line and the reference pixel line are read from the frame memory (S 42 ). The interlink-judgment processing for pixels in a vertical direction is performed as shown in FIG. 10 . (S 44 ) Then, a pre-labeling process is performed on the target line. The target pixel data and the reference pixel data are picked up from the target line. (S 46 ) A preliminary label is assigned to the target pixels and the connecting information between the preliminary labels is generated (S 48 ).
The processing results after the assignment of the preliminary labels are restored in the frame memory. (S 50 ) These process steps are performed for all the pixel data on the target line. (S 52 ) When all pixel data have been processed on the target line (i.e., if No in step S 54 ), the next pixel line is targeted. When all the lines have been processed (steps S 42 to S 50 ), the pre-labeling processing has been completed.
In another exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 16 , it is described that the output data of pre-labeling process according to the exemplary embodiments of FIG. 3 and FIGS. 10 and 11 are integrated into one data format. Namely, the output data with one data format include a preliminary label, a background pixel or a feature pixel (preliminary label) for an even pixel and a background pixel or a feature pixel (preliminary label) for an odd pixel.
FIG. 16 illustrates an example of an output data of a preliminary label. The 16 bites data size is used as shown in FIG. 16 . In the two upper bits of the output data, feature information indicating whether it is a background pixel or feature pixel is stored. In the fourteen lower bits of the output data, a preliminary label is stored. This 16 bits data is stored in the frame memory as an output of the pre-labeling process.
The frame memory is generally controlled by addressing with byte levels such as 8 bits and 16 bits and so on. Therefore, the data with bytes configuration generated by this method is easy to handle at reading and extracting of the data. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 16 , the preliminary label size is limited up to a 14-bits wide. However, a necessary storage capacity of the frame memory becomes half in comparison to the background method where a preliminary label is stored in 16-bits wide using whole 16-bits for the preliminary label.
In another exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 17 , it is described that output data of primary labels are integrated into one data format. Namely, the output data with one data format include a primary label, a background pixel or a feature pixel (primary label) for an even pixel and a background pixel or a feature pixel (primary label) for an odd pixel.
FIG. 17 illustrates an example of an output data of a primary label. The 16 bites data size is used as shown in FIG. 17 . In the two upper bits of the output data, feature information indicating whether it is a background pixel or feature pixel is stored. In the fourteen lower bits of the output data, a primary label is stored. This 16 bits data is stored in the frame memory as an output of the primary labeling process.
This primary labeling process is realized using a translation table similarly as explained in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 . The image data after pre-labeling process is sequentially scanned and read. The translation table is accessed by addressing with an address using the preliminary label stored in the lower 14 bits of the output data. The lower 14 bits of the data is replaced by exchanging the preliminary label to a primary label.
Similar to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 16 , it is easy to handle the data after primary labeling process with this data configuration while storing and extracting the data. Further, a necessary storage capacity of the frame memory becomes half in comparison to the background method similarly to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 16 .
FIG. 18 illustrates an example of a labeling method according to another exemplary embodiment. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 18 , two target pixel data are integrated into one data before a preliminary labeling process as shown in FIG. 19 . The preliminary labeling process is then performed to the integrated data.
Namely, the two target pixel data are translated into two information data, i.e., a background pixel or a feature pixel for an even pixel and a background pixel or a feature pixel for an odd pixel. They are integrated into one data format and a preliminary labeling process is then performed to the integrated data.
The integrated data shown in FIG. 19 includes background pixel or feature pixel information in each even and odd pixel. Therefore, it is possible to apply the integrated data to the pre-labeling process related to the exemplary embodiments of FIG. 3 and FIGS. of 10 and 11 based on the integrated data of FIG. 19 .
FIG. 20 illustrates an example schematic circuit to perform the integration process to generate the data of FIG. 19 . The circuit includes a frame memory 52 , a memory controller 54 and a labeling processor 56 . The frame memory 52 is configured to store input image data. The labeling processor 56 is configured to perform a labeling processing. The memory controller 54 is arranged between the frame memory 52 and the labeling processor 56 and is configured to read and write the image data.
In a labeling method according to another exemplary embodiment, input image data is scanned in a vertical direction by each two successive pixels as shown in FIG. 21 . Image data is read with units of two pixels and a labeling process is performed similarly to the exemplary embodiments of FIG. 3 and FIGS. of 10 and 11 . Therefore, the procedure described in the exemplary embodiments of FIG. 3 and FIGS. of 10 and 11 can be applicable to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 21 .
Numerous additional modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the disclosure of this patent specification may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. | A method of labeling of image data includes reading the image data sequentially with units of two successive pixels and providing one label to a target unit of two successive pixels in the image data when a preliminary label is to be assigned to at least one of the two successive pixels of the target unit. And an image processing apparatus includes a memory configured to store image data, a processor configured to process the image data with units of two successive pixels and to provide one label to a target unit of two successive pixels when a preliminary label is to be assigned to at least one of the two successive pixels of the target unit and a memory controller arranged between the memory and the processor and configured to control reading and writing the image data. | Briefly describe the main idea outlined in the provided context. | [
"This patent application claims priority to Japanese patent application, No. 2005-137465 filed on May 10, 2005 in the Japan Patent Office, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.",
"FIELD This patent specification describes an image processing apparatus and method of image processing capable of effective labeling.",
"BACKGROUND Labeling process is one of key processes of an image processing for binary image data with black and white.",
"Generally, a white pixel is defined as a background pixel and a black pixel is defined as a feature pixel.",
"The labeling process is to assign with a label such as a number to feature pixels linking each other.",
"Using the labeling process, it is possible to identify a plurality of targets in the image and to measure each area size and centroid of the target in the image.",
"As linking methods which link the pixels, there are mainly two methods that are a 4-linking method (4-neibourhood) and a 8-linking (8-neibourhood) method.",
"In the 4-linking method, the target pixel and four pixels of upper, lower, left and right pixels to the target pixel are judged.",
"In the 8-linking method, four more pixels at diagonal positions of the target pixel are judged in addition to the target pixel, the four pixels as described above.",
"FIG. 1 illustrates a flowchart of a background labeling method.",
"Following three steps are performed with image data stored in a frame memory.",
"In step S 02 , a preliminary labeling (pre-labeling) process is performed.",
"Preliminary labels are assigned and connecting information between the preliminary labels is generated during the pre-labeling process.",
"In step S 04 , a translation table for a primary labeling process is generated.",
"In step S 06 , the primary labeling process is performed.",
"The preliminary labels are translated to primary labels referring to the translation table generated in the steps S 04 .",
"As a result of the above described labeling processes, labeled image data is output and is stored back into the frame memory.",
"The image data stored in the frame memory is scanned sequentially at the both case of the pre-labeling process and the primary labeling process.",
"A plurality of pixels of the image data are read and are translated sequentially.",
"When the labeling process is performed to binary image data stored in a two-dimensional storage such as a frame memory by the 4-linking method, it is required to scan the binary data sequentially from upper left to lower right of the image data.",
"During the scanning, at least two pixels which are located neighboring at left side and at upper side to the target pixel are referred.",
"This sequential processing causes a long processing time.",
"Further, it is requested that each pixel has a certain data width such as 8-bits-wide and 16-bits-wide to assign a labeling value.",
"Accordingly, this causes a tradeoff relationship between a number of the labeling to be assigned and a storage capacity of the frame memory.",
"To shorten the labeling process time, it is proposed to assign a preliminary or a primary label to a plurality of pixels after reading and examining a scanned pixel pattern.",
"This method attempts to obtain a high speed labeling procedure because overlapping at the scanning process is reduced.",
"However, if two pixels are the target pixels, storage capacity for one pixel is increased with increase of the number of labels to be needed because the preliminary or the primary label is assigned to each pixel.",
"Therefore, a breakthrough is highly requested both for achieving high speed labeling and for saving storage capacity of the frame memory.",
"SUMMARY This patent specification describes a novel method of image data labeling includes reading the image data sequentially with units of two successive pixels and providing one label to a target unit of two successive pixels in the image data when a preliminary label is to be assigned to at least one of the two successive pixels of the target unit.",
"This patent specification further describes a novel method of image data labeling includes assigning preliminary labels to pixels, processing image data with units of two successive pixels after the assignment of the preliminary labels and generating processing unit data including first information data of a background pixel or a feature pixel with the preliminary label assigned to an even pixel of the target pixels, second information data of a background pixel or a feature pixel with the preliminary label assigned to an odd pixel of the target pixels and third information data of the preliminary label assigned to at least one of the target pixels.",
"Further, this patent specification describes a novel image processing apparatus includes a memory configured to store image data, a processor configured to process the image data with units of two successive pixels and to provide one label to a target unit of two successive pixels when a preliminary label is to be assigned to at least one of the two successive pixels of the target unit and a memory controller arranged between the memory and the processor and configured to control reading and writing the image data.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A more complete appreciation of the disclosure and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 illustrates a flowchart of a background labeling method;",
"FIG. 2 illustrates a preliminary labeling process according to an exemplary embodiment;",
"FIG. 3 illustrates the preliminary labeling process with a target image data having a size of 6×6 pixels according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2 ;",
"FIG. 4 illustrates an output example data of the preliminary labeling process of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 ;",
"FIGS. 5A , 5 B, 6 A, 6 B, 7 A, 7 B 8 A and 8 B illustrate the details of the preliminary labeling process;",
"FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of the preliminary labeling process according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 ;",
"FIG. 10 illustrates a preliminary labeling process reading a target image data having a size of 6×6 pixels in a vertical direction according to another exemplary embodiment;",
"FIG. 11 illustrates the preliminary labeling process reading a target image data in a horizontal direction according to the another exemplary embodiment;",
"FIGS. 12 , 13 A, 13 B, 13 C, 14 A and 14 B illustrates the details of the preliminary labeling process according to the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11 ;",
"FIG. 15 illustrates a flowchart of the preliminary labeling process according to the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11 ;",
"FIG. 16 illustrates an example of an output data of a preliminary label according to another exemplary embodiment;",
"FIG. 17 illustrates an example of an output data of a primary label according to another exemplary embodiment;",
"FIG. 18 illustrates an example of a preliminary labeling method according to another exemplary embodiment;",
"FIG. 19 illustrates an example of an output data of a preliminary label according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 18 ;",
"FIG. 20 illustrates an example circuit to perform an integration process to generate the data of FIG. 19 ;",
"and FIG. 21 illustrates an example of a preliminary labeling method according to another exemplary embodiment.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION In describing preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology is employed for the sake of clarity.",
"However, the disclosure of this patent specification is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected and it is to be understood that each specific element includes all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner.",
"Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, labeling processes according to example embodiments are described.",
"FIG. 2 illustrates a Pre-labeling process according to an exemplary embodiment.",
"The pre-labeling process of the exemplary embodiment includes reading and translating steps.",
"In the reading step, image data is scanned and every two successive target pixels are read sequentially from left to right in a horizontal direction on each line.",
"The two successive pixels includes an even and odd pixels.",
"The even pixel is a pixel at an even number of a target line when the pixels are counted from zero in a scanning direction.",
"Similarly, the odd pixel is a pixel at an odd-number of the target line.",
"After the reading step, the pixels are translated into one of three types information data such as a preliminary label, a background pixel or a feature pixel (preliminary label) for an even pixel and a background pixel or a feature pixel (preliminary label) for an odd pixel.",
"FIG. 3 is a target image data having a size of 6×6 pixels.",
"In the exemplary embodiment, two target pixels and three adjacent pixels to the two target pixels are scanned in a horizontal direction and read.",
"A labeling value for the two target pixels is determined from patterns of the pixels.",
"As for the two reference pixels which locates at next left of the target pixels of FIG. 3 , a right-side pixel of the two reference pixels, i.e., neighboring pixel of the target pixels, is only labeled.",
"FIG. 4 illustrates an output data example of the pre-labeling process according to the exemplary embodiment.",
"FIGS. 5A , 5 B, 6 A, 6 B, 7 A, 7 B 8 A and 8 B illustrate the details of the pre-labeling process.",
"In the example of FIG. 4 , the labeling value of the preliminary label is N. The labeling value is assigned for the odd pixel because it is a feature pixel and is not assigned for the even pixel because it is a background pixel.",
"The symbols used in FIGS. 4 to 8B are summarized in Table 1.",
"Further, the symbols of the Table 1 are also used in other figures.",
"TABLE 1 Symbol Notes ◯ background pixel feature pixel — It can be either background pixel or feature pixel N new preliminary label A preliminary label of value A B preliminary label of value B min (A, B) smaller value among values A and B max (A, B) larger value among values A and B FIGS. 5A , 5 B, 6 A, 6 B, 7 A, 7 B, 8 A and 8 B illustrate a determination process of preliminary labels.",
"The preliminary label for the target pixels are determined based on the information of the two target pixels and the three associated pixels which are located next to the two target pixels.",
"The Pre-labeling process in the exemplary embodiment is a four-interlink-pixel processing.",
"If preliminary labels conflict with each other due to having different values during the labeling process as shown in patterns 19 of FIG. 7B , 21 and 22 of FIG. 8A , 24 and 25 of FIG. 8B , the connecting information (i.e. conflict information) shown by a symbol “*”",
"is stored.",
"The symbol “*”",
"represents min (A,B) and means that a smaller value among values A and B is to be stored.",
"The connecting information is sorted before the primary labeling process starts so that a preliminary label having a smaller labeling value among the preliminary label and other label interlinked to the preliminary label can be identified.",
"The connecting information after sorting is stored in a memory, for example in a frame memory, by homologizing the preliminary label to an address and by homologizing the other preliminary labeling value interlinked to the preliminary label to a data.",
"If there is no other interlinked preliminary label to the preliminary label, the preliminary label is stored to the data.",
"Further, if a labeling value among the preliminary label and other preliminary label interlinked to the preliminary label is smallest, the labeling value is stored to the data.",
"More specifically, the preliminary labels and the connecting information are stored in the frame memory as shown in following Table 2.",
"TABLE 2 Address data 0000h 0000h 0001h 0001h 0002h 0002h 0003h 0001h 0004h 0004h 0005h 0002h The preliminary label 0003h is interlinked to the preliminary label 0001h because the data 0001h is at the address 0003h.",
"Similarly, the preliminary label 0005h is interlinked to the preliminary label 0002h because the data 0002h is at the address 0003h.",
"If the address value [ADDR] and the data [DATA] are described in a formula RAM [ADDR]=[DATA], a formula RAM [A]=B means that the smallest preliminary label among the preliminary label and other preliminary label interlinked to the preliminary label is B. Further, a formula RAM [A]=A means that there is no other preliminary label interlinked to the preliminary label or the smallest preliminary label among the preliminary label and other preliminary label interlinked to the preliminary label is A. Thus, the primary labeling table is generated by this sorting process.",
"FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of the pre-labeling process according to the exemplary embodiment.",
"The target pixels (two pixels) and the reference pixels (three pixels) are read from the frame memory (S 22 ).",
"One preliminary label is assigned to the target pixels and the connecting information between the preliminary labels is generated (S 24 ).",
"The processing results after the assignment of the preliminary labels are restored in the frame memory (S 26 ).",
"These process steps are performed for all the pixel data.",
"When all pixel data have been processed (i.e., if YES in step S 28 ), the pre-labeling processing has been completed.",
"Thus, one preliminary label is provided to every two target pixels in the exemplary embodiment.",
"Therefore, it is possible to reduce the data amount down to half of the data amount of the background labeling method where a preliminary label is provided to each target pixel.",
"Moreover, it is possible to reconstitute the processed data to the background data form in which each target pixel is to be processed because the processed data includes the information which implies a background pixel or a feature pixel on the even and odd pixels.",
"Further, in the primary labeling process in which the preliminary label is translated to the primary label, necessary translation process for each two target pixels is only one.",
"Therefore, it is possible to reduce a number of the translation processes in comparison to the background labeling method in which the translation processes is performed on each target pixel of the two target pixels.",
"According to the labeling method of the exemplary embodiment, an access number to the translation table of the primary labeling process is reduced down to a half of the access number of the background method.",
"In another exemplary embodiment, a part of labeling process, more specifically a part of preliminary labeling process, is performed using SIMD (single instruction-stream multiple data-stream) processing.",
"The SIMD processing is a data processing which can execute a single instruction with a plurality of data in parallel.",
"A SIMD-type micro processor which can perform the SIMD processing is widely used in image forming apparatuses such as a copier and so on because the SIMD processing can perform parallel executions with high speed.",
"As for one direction of the binary image data, for example, a vertical direction of FIG. 10 , interlinking relationships are judged by the SIMD processing.",
"As for another direction, for example, a horizontal direction shown in FIG. 11 , other interlinking relationships of the binary image data are judged by a sequential processing in which the pixels are read and are processed in order.",
"An interlink-judgment processing performed by the SIMD processing will be described.",
"FIG. 10 illustrates locational relationships between target pixels and reference pixels in the interlink-judgment processing for pixels in a vertical direction according to this exemplary embodiment.",
"The labeling process of this exemplary embodiment is again a four-interlink-pixel processing.",
"Image line data which is located at one line above a target line is referred.",
"If a preliminary label is assigned on a pixel at a row on the line which is one line above the target line and the binary image data at the same row on the target line is a feature pixel, the preliminary label is copied to the binary image data at the same row on the target line.",
"Using SIMD processor, this process in a vertical direction can be performed for the other pixels on the target line in parallel so as to shorten the process time.",
"This interlink-judgment processing for the vertical direction is performed in advance before the interlink-judgment processing for the horizontal direction.",
"Secondly, the interlink-judgment processing for pixels in the horizontal direction will be described.",
"FIG. 11 illustrates a locational relationship between target pixels and reference pixels in the interlink-judgment processing for pixels in the horizontal direction according to this exemplary embodiment.",
"Regarding pixels neighboring to the target pixels, a right-side pixel among the two pixels is only a necessary pixel to be referred.",
"FIG. 12 illustrates an output example of the pre-labeling process of this exemplary embodiment.",
"FIGS. 13A , 13 B, 13 C, 14 A and 14 B illustrate the details of the pre-labeling process.",
"A preliminary labeling value is N in the example shown in FIG. 12 .",
"A preliminary labeling value to the even pixel is not assigned because it is a background pixel.",
"A preliminary labeling value to the odd pixel is assigned because it is a feature pixel.",
"FIGS. 13A , 13 B, 13 C, 14 A and 14 B illustrate a determination process of a preliminary label to the two target pixels based on the information of the two target pixels and the neighboring pixel locating next left to the two target pixels.",
"If preliminary labels conflict with each other due to having different values during the labeling process as shown in patterns 112 of FIG. 14A , 113 , 114 and 115 of FIG. 14B , the connecting information (i.e. conflict information) shown by a symbol “*”",
"is stored at each case similarly to FIG. 7B .",
"Thus, the connecting information is sorted before the primary labeling process starts so that a preliminary label having a smallest labeling value among the preliminary label and other label interlinked to the preliminary label can be identified.",
"The primary labeling table is generated by the sorting process similar to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 .",
"FIG. 15 illustrates a flowchart of the pre-labeling process according to the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11 .",
"The target pixel line and the reference pixel line are read from the frame memory (S 42 ).",
"The interlink-judgment processing for pixels in a vertical direction is performed as shown in FIG. 10 .",
"(S 44 ) Then, a pre-labeling process is performed on the target line.",
"The target pixel data and the reference pixel data are picked up from the target line.",
"(S 46 ) A preliminary label is assigned to the target pixels and the connecting information between the preliminary labels is generated (S 48 ).",
"The processing results after the assignment of the preliminary labels are restored in the frame memory.",
"(S 50 ) These process steps are performed for all the pixel data on the target line.",
"(S 52 ) When all pixel data have been processed on the target line (i.e., if No in step S 54 ), the next pixel line is targeted.",
"When all the lines have been processed (steps S 42 to S 50 ), the pre-labeling processing has been completed.",
"In another exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 16 , it is described that the output data of pre-labeling process according to the exemplary embodiments of FIG. 3 and FIGS. 10 and 11 are integrated into one data format.",
"Namely, the output data with one data format include a preliminary label, a background pixel or a feature pixel (preliminary label) for an even pixel and a background pixel or a feature pixel (preliminary label) for an odd pixel.",
"FIG. 16 illustrates an example of an output data of a preliminary label.",
"The 16 bites data size is used as shown in FIG. 16 .",
"In the two upper bits of the output data, feature information indicating whether it is a background pixel or feature pixel is stored.",
"In the fourteen lower bits of the output data, a preliminary label is stored.",
"This 16 bits data is stored in the frame memory as an output of the pre-labeling process.",
"The frame memory is generally controlled by addressing with byte levels such as 8 bits and 16 bits and so on.",
"Therefore, the data with bytes configuration generated by this method is easy to handle at reading and extracting of the data.",
"In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 16 , the preliminary label size is limited up to a 14-bits wide.",
"However, a necessary storage capacity of the frame memory becomes half in comparison to the background method where a preliminary label is stored in 16-bits wide using whole 16-bits for the preliminary label.",
"In another exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 17 , it is described that output data of primary labels are integrated into one data format.",
"Namely, the output data with one data format include a primary label, a background pixel or a feature pixel (primary label) for an even pixel and a background pixel or a feature pixel (primary label) for an odd pixel.",
"FIG. 17 illustrates an example of an output data of a primary label.",
"The 16 bites data size is used as shown in FIG. 17 .",
"In the two upper bits of the output data, feature information indicating whether it is a background pixel or feature pixel is stored.",
"In the fourteen lower bits of the output data, a primary label is stored.",
"This 16 bits data is stored in the frame memory as an output of the primary labeling process.",
"This primary labeling process is realized using a translation table similarly as explained in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 .",
"The image data after pre-labeling process is sequentially scanned and read.",
"The translation table is accessed by addressing with an address using the preliminary label stored in the lower 14 bits of the output data.",
"The lower 14 bits of the data is replaced by exchanging the preliminary label to a primary label.",
"Similar to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 16 , it is easy to handle the data after primary labeling process with this data configuration while storing and extracting the data.",
"Further, a necessary storage capacity of the frame memory becomes half in comparison to the background method similarly to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 16 .",
"FIG. 18 illustrates an example of a labeling method according to another exemplary embodiment.",
"In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 18 , two target pixel data are integrated into one data before a preliminary labeling process as shown in FIG. 19 .",
"The preliminary labeling process is then performed to the integrated data.",
"Namely, the two target pixel data are translated into two information data, i.e., a background pixel or a feature pixel for an even pixel and a background pixel or a feature pixel for an odd pixel.",
"They are integrated into one data format and a preliminary labeling process is then performed to the integrated data.",
"The integrated data shown in FIG. 19 includes background pixel or feature pixel information in each even and odd pixel.",
"Therefore, it is possible to apply the integrated data to the pre-labeling process related to the exemplary embodiments of FIG. 3 and FIGS. of 10 and 11 based on the integrated data of FIG. 19 .",
"FIG. 20 illustrates an example schematic circuit to perform the integration process to generate the data of FIG. 19 .",
"The circuit includes a frame memory 52 , a memory controller 54 and a labeling processor 56 .",
"The frame memory 52 is configured to store input image data.",
"The labeling processor 56 is configured to perform a labeling processing.",
"The memory controller 54 is arranged between the frame memory 52 and the labeling processor 56 and is configured to read and write the image data.",
"In a labeling method according to another exemplary embodiment, input image data is scanned in a vertical direction by each two successive pixels as shown in FIG. 21 .",
"Image data is read with units of two pixels and a labeling process is performed similarly to the exemplary embodiments of FIG. 3 and FIGS. of 10 and 11 .",
"Therefore, the procedure described in the exemplary embodiments of FIG. 3 and FIGS. of 10 and 11 can be applicable to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 21 .",
"Numerous additional modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings.",
"It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the disclosure of this patent specification may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fastener frame with a push-button switch. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device for incorporation into an alarm belt or vest with luminosity, providing a device having fastening efficacy and controllable luminosity in different flashing states in fastening.
2. Prior Art
As people, such as joggers, walkers, street cleaner, traffic directors, etc., often go out in the early morning or night, they often draw attention to themselves by wearing a reflector belt or vest to indicate where they are to drivers of passing vehicles. But, the warning that results from a reflector depends upon impingement by an external light source. Therefore, the meaningful warning distance is limited, and it does not provide great safety. However, there is a type of active luminous warning accessory on the market. The prior art alarm belt, for example, provides a source of luminosity fixed on the belt, with a battery unit for powering the warning light output. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional alarm belt is shown with push-button switch B on a belt buckle A. The switch B is used to control the source of luminosity D, such being lit or extinguished on the belt C. But, during use, due to the work or movement of the user, the upper part of the user's body or an object can unexpectedly touch the push-button switch B to cut off the warning light. In such a case, if the user does not discover that the warning light has been shut off, a dangerous condition results.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention includes a driving circuit module and batteries disposed in a socket unit. Insertion of a plug into the bell socket of the socket unit can turn on the driving circuit module for controlling the lighting or extinguishing of the source of luminosity. Due to the control switch being responsive to the insertion of the plug into the socket unit, accidental contact with the switch is avoided.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional alarm belt;
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the present invention showing the plug removed;
FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of the present invention showing the plug engaged within the socket;
FIG. 6A is a bottom plan view, partially cut away, of the present invention showing insertion of the plug;
FIG. 6B is an enlarged portion of the present invention shown in FIG. 6A;
FIG. 7A is a bottom plan view, partially cut away, of the present invention showing the plug fully inserted into the socket;
FIG. 7B is an enlarged portion of the present invention shown in FIG. 7A; and,
FIG. 8 is a depiction of the present invention incorporated into an alarm vest.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Firstly, referring to FIG. 2, the warning device of the present invention is shown to include (1) a socket unit E formed by the combination of a cabinet 1, a top 2, a driving circuit module 3, batteries 4, and a battery cover 5, (2) a plug 6, (3) a belt buckle 7, and (4) a belt 8.
The cabinet 1 is a case that is open on its top. A spacer 11 with a hole 111 separates the cabinet 1 into two compartments, one being a circuit compartment 12, and the other being a battery compartment 13. The flat bottom surface of the battery compartment 13 is higher than the bottom surface of the circuit compartment 12. Beneath the lower surface of the bottom of the battery compartment 13 there is formed a bell socket 14 for receiving the plug 6 therein. The bell socket 14 has two setting holes respectively formed through the two side walls thereof, with each side wall having a guide slot 142 formed therein. A guide way 143 is formed at the center of the bottom of socket 14 and there is an elongated slot 121 through the upper portion of the rear wall of the circuit compartment 12 for passage of the belt 8 therethrough to the inside of the circuit compartment 12. The belt 8 is fixed within the circuit compartment 12 by a fixing piece 122 by screws 123.
Two fixture blocks 124 are respectively formed on the interior of the two sides of the circuit compartment 12 for vertical engagement and securement of the driving circuit module 3. Two pairs of fixtures 131 are formed on the interior side of the two side walls of the battery compartment 13 for respectively capturing two sockets 132. A locking hole leaf 133 is disposed on upper portion of the front wall of the battery compartment 13 for locating the battery cover 5. The top 2 is an arcuate shaped cover plate corresponding to the contour of the circuit compartment 12 of the cabinet 1, covering it and being affixed thereon with glue or by heat-sealing. The top 2 has a hole 21 formed through the upper end of one end wall thereof. A flute 22 is formed on the top side for holding a transparent cover 23, an indicia carrying member 24, and two luminous sources 25. A tiny hole (too small to indicate on the drawing) is formed through the flute 22 for passage of the wire 251 from the luminous sources 25. A sensor 26 is located on the surface of the top 2 and connected with a wire 261 and the wire 251 to the driving circuit module 3.
The driving circuit module 3 has a driving circuit disposed on a plate for driving the luminous sources 25 and the sources of luminosity 81 disposed on the belt 8. Each of the two sides of the plate are engaged by the respective fixture blocks 124 located on the bottom surface of the circuit compartment 12 of the cabinet 1. A push-button switch 31 is connected to the driving circuit module and mounted on one side of the plate facing the hole 111 on the spacer 11.
The battery cover 5 is a cover having a shape corresponding to the contour of battery compartment 13 of the cabinet 1, in which the front and back ends have a latch 51 and a lug 52 formed respectively thereon. When covering the cabinet 1, the latch 51 on the front end is first inserted into the hole 21 of the top 2. Then, the lug 52 on the back end is slid into the locking hole of the locking hole piece 133 of the battery compartment 13.
A plug 6 consists of two elastic plug rods 61 respectively disposed on the two sides thereof, and a starting rod 62 formed at the center of the plug 6. The outside surface of the front end of each plug rod 61 has a lug 611 formed thereon. Behind the lug 611, there is formed a push-button 612. The connecting member extending between the plug rods 61 and from which the starting rod 62 extends has an elongated slot 63 formed therein for passage therethrough and connection of the belt 8.
The belt buckle 7 is a collar with a cross bar 71 formed in the middle for passage therethrough of the belt 8 and providing adjustment of the length of belt 8.
The belt 8 is a common fabric belt having several sources of luminosity 81 adhered on a surface thereof in equidistantly spaced relationship. The sources of luminosity 81 can be EL (electroluminescent) or LED (light emitting diode) devices, and connected with two wires 811 to the driving circuit module 3.
Combining the above-mentioned parts, referring to FIG. 3, a cabinet 1, top 2, module of driving circuit 3, battery 4 and battery cover 5 form the socket unit E connected to the belt 8, the belt 8 having sources of luminosity 81 disposed thereon. When the plug 6 is plugged into the bell socket 14 in the cabinet 1 of the socket unit E, the lugs 611 on the front end of the plug rods 61 are engaged within the respective setting holes 141 formed in the side walls of the bell socket 14. Meanwhile, the starting rod 62 at the middle of plug 6 passes through the hole 111 of the spacer 11, inside of the cabinet 1, along the guide way 143 to press against the push-button 31 disposed on the driving circuit module 3. Pressing the push-button 31 starts the driving circuit to energize the sources of luminosity 81 on the belt 8 and the luminous sources 25 in the top 2. Thus, the belt 8 gives out an obvious light as a warning, and the indicia carrying member 24 disposed over the luminous sources 25 in the top 2 has a transparent pattern that is lit by the luminous sources 25 to indicate the operation of the system.
The sensor 26 located on the top 2 can control the driving circuit, to switch it on or off depending on the intensity of the surrounding light. If the intensity is strong, as in the daytime, the sensor 26 switches the driving circuit off, to cut off the light of luminosity sources 81 and luminous sources 25. Conversely, when it is dark, the driving circuit is turned on so the sources of illumination provide light. When the plug 6 is removed from the socket unit E, the push-button switch 31 is switched off to disconnect the battery.
The above-mentioned operation of the present invention is such that the plug 6 is plugged in or removed from the socket unit E to control the lighting or extinguishing of the luminosity sources. In another embodiment, the plug 6 is plugged into the socket unit E at different positions to control the driving circuit switching to be on, off, or flashing.
Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown, an alternate design of the bell socket 14 of the socket unit E and the plug rods 61 of the plug 6.
The plug 6, has a lug 613 extending from a position between the lug 611 disposed on the front end of each plug rod 61, and the push-button 612. Corresponding to the lug 611 and 613 of each plug rod 61, the two side walls of the bell socket 14 have an elongated setting hole 141' formed therethrough, with the spacing between the setting hole 141' and the original guide slot 142 corresponding to the spacing between the lug 611 and lug 613, that spacing being formed by a block 144.
Combining the above-mentioned parts, as shown in FIGS. 5, 6A and 6B, the plug 6 is plugged into the socket unit #, so that the lugs 611 and the lugs 613 are respectively disposed in the setting slot 141' and guide slot 142 on each side of the socket E, with the blocks 144' disposed between the respective lugs. With the plug in that position, the starting rod 62 passes through the hole 111 of the spacer 11 and through the guide way 143 in the bell socket but does not switch the push-button switch 31 of the driving circuit module 3. In this case, the plug 6 is just fastened to the socket unit E, and does not start the sources of luminosity to light.
Next, referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, the push-button 612 on each plug rod 61 of the plug 6 is pressed down again and the plug 6 is pushed in further to position both the lugs 611 and the lugs 613 in the respective setting slot 141'. With the plug 6 in that position, the starting rod 62 contacts the push-button switch 31 of the driving circuit module 3, and switches it on, for starting the sources of luminosity to produce a warning light. Accordingly, the present invention can be set in a first fastening or second fastening position, depending upon the user's requirements. When usage is not desired, the plug 6 is set in the first fastening position to save power. For use, the plug 6 is set in the second fastening position to place the sources of luminosity in a working state. By this arrangement, mis-touching of the switch is avoided.
By providing more than two lugs 613 between the lug 611 and the push-button 612 and correspondingly extending the setting slot 141', more fastening positions can be provided. As each lug 613 is moved into the setting slot 141', another fastening position is achieved, thereby advancing the position of the starting rod 62 to control the push-button switch 31 to provide more operating states, not only lighting or extinguishing functions, but also flashing or other lighting sequences, for different warning purposes. Alternately, the plug 6 may be formed with one lug 611 on each side, and the first operation would not be changed. By forming more setting holes 141' along each side wall of the bell socket 14, more fastening positions can also be realized.
Referring to FIG. 8, the present invention can be incorporated into a safety vest, as opposed to a belt, for controlling sources of luminosity on the vest to illuminate. The present invention can also be incorporated into various knapsacks, and other attachments to the body. | A fastener frame with a button switch incorporated is provided which includes a socket unit (E) connected to a belt (8) with the belt (8) having sources of luminosity (81). When a plug (6) is connected to the belt socket (14), lugs (611) on the front end of plug rod (61) are engaged within setting holes (141). Simultaneously, a starting rod (62) formed at the middle of the plug (6) presses against a push button (31) mounted on a driving circuit module (3). Initiation of the push button (31) initiates the driving circuit to energize the sources of luminosity (81) as well as the luminous sources (25) formed in a top cover (2). In this manner, a warning device is provided which alerts drivers of passing vehicles that the wearer is in the vicinity. | Briefly summarize the invention's components and working principles as described in the document. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fastener frame with a push-button switch.",
"More particularly, the present invention relates to a device for incorporation into an alarm belt or vest with luminosity, providing a device having fastening efficacy and controllable luminosity in different flashing states in fastening.",
"Prior Art As people, such as joggers, walkers, street cleaner, traffic directors, etc.",
", often go out in the early morning or night, they often draw attention to themselves by wearing a reflector belt or vest to indicate where they are to drivers of passing vehicles.",
"But, the warning that results from a reflector depends upon impingement by an external light source.",
"Therefore, the meaningful warning distance is limited, and it does not provide great safety.",
"However, there is a type of active luminous warning accessory on the market.",
"The prior art alarm belt, for example, provides a source of luminosity fixed on the belt, with a battery unit for powering the warning light output.",
"Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional alarm belt is shown with push-button switch B on a belt buckle A. The switch B is used to control the source of luminosity D, such being lit or extinguished on the belt C. But, during use, due to the work or movement of the user, the upper part of the user's body or an object can unexpectedly touch the push-button switch B to cut off the warning light.",
"In such a case, if the user does not discover that the warning light has been shut off, a dangerous condition results.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention includes a driving circuit module and batteries disposed in a socket unit.",
"Insertion of a plug into the bell socket of the socket unit can turn on the driving circuit module for controlling the lighting or extinguishing of the source of luminosity.",
"Due to the control switch being responsive to the insertion of the plug into the socket unit, accidental contact with the switch is avoided.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional alarm belt;",
"FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the present invention;",
"FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the present invention;",
"FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the present invention showing the plug removed;",
"FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of the present invention showing the plug engaged within the socket;",
"FIG. 6A is a bottom plan view, partially cut away, of the present invention showing insertion of the plug;",
"FIG. 6B is an enlarged portion of the present invention shown in FIG. 6A;",
"FIG. 7A is a bottom plan view, partially cut away, of the present invention showing the plug fully inserted into the socket;",
"FIG. 7B is an enlarged portion of the present invention shown in FIG. 7A;",
"and, FIG. 8 is a depiction of the present invention incorporated into an alarm vest.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Firstly, referring to FIG. 2, the warning device of the present invention is shown to include (1) a socket unit E formed by the combination of a cabinet 1, a top 2, a driving circuit module 3, batteries 4, and a battery cover 5, (2) a plug 6, (3) a belt buckle 7, and (4) a belt 8.",
"The cabinet 1 is a case that is open on its top.",
"A spacer 11 with a hole 111 separates the cabinet 1 into two compartments, one being a circuit compartment 12, and the other being a battery compartment 13.",
"The flat bottom surface of the battery compartment 13 is higher than the bottom surface of the circuit compartment 12.",
"Beneath the lower surface of the bottom of the battery compartment 13 there is formed a bell socket 14 for receiving the plug 6 therein.",
"The bell socket 14 has two setting holes respectively formed through the two side walls thereof, with each side wall having a guide slot 142 formed therein.",
"A guide way 143 is formed at the center of the bottom of socket 14 and there is an elongated slot 121 through the upper portion of the rear wall of the circuit compartment 12 for passage of the belt 8 therethrough to the inside of the circuit compartment 12.",
"The belt 8 is fixed within the circuit compartment 12 by a fixing piece 122 by screws 123.",
"Two fixture blocks 124 are respectively formed on the interior of the two sides of the circuit compartment 12 for vertical engagement and securement of the driving circuit module 3.",
"Two pairs of fixtures 131 are formed on the interior side of the two side walls of the battery compartment 13 for respectively capturing two sockets 132.",
"A locking hole leaf 133 is disposed on upper portion of the front wall of the battery compartment 13 for locating the battery cover 5.",
"The top 2 is an arcuate shaped cover plate corresponding to the contour of the circuit compartment 12 of the cabinet 1, covering it and being affixed thereon with glue or by heat-sealing.",
"The top 2 has a hole 21 formed through the upper end of one end wall thereof.",
"A flute 22 is formed on the top side for holding a transparent cover 23, an indicia carrying member 24, and two luminous sources 25.",
"A tiny hole (too small to indicate on the drawing) is formed through the flute 22 for passage of the wire 251 from the luminous sources 25.",
"A sensor 26 is located on the surface of the top 2 and connected with a wire 261 and the wire 251 to the driving circuit module 3.",
"The driving circuit module 3 has a driving circuit disposed on a plate for driving the luminous sources 25 and the sources of luminosity 81 disposed on the belt 8.",
"Each of the two sides of the plate are engaged by the respective fixture blocks 124 located on the bottom surface of the circuit compartment 12 of the cabinet 1.",
"A push-button switch 31 is connected to the driving circuit module and mounted on one side of the plate facing the hole 111 on the spacer 11.",
"The battery cover 5 is a cover having a shape corresponding to the contour of battery compartment 13 of the cabinet 1, in which the front and back ends have a latch 51 and a lug 52 formed respectively thereon.",
"When covering the cabinet 1, the latch 51 on the front end is first inserted into the hole 21 of the top 2.",
"Then, the lug 52 on the back end is slid into the locking hole of the locking hole piece 133 of the battery compartment 13.",
"A plug 6 consists of two elastic plug rods 61 respectively disposed on the two sides thereof, and a starting rod 62 formed at the center of the plug 6.",
"The outside surface of the front end of each plug rod 61 has a lug 611 formed thereon.",
"Behind the lug 611, there is formed a push-button 612.",
"The connecting member extending between the plug rods 61 and from which the starting rod 62 extends has an elongated slot 63 formed therein for passage therethrough and connection of the belt 8.",
"The belt buckle 7 is a collar with a cross bar 71 formed in the middle for passage therethrough of the belt 8 and providing adjustment of the length of belt 8.",
"The belt 8 is a common fabric belt having several sources of luminosity 81 adhered on a surface thereof in equidistantly spaced relationship.",
"The sources of luminosity 81 can be EL (electroluminescent) or LED (light emitting diode) devices, and connected with two wires 811 to the driving circuit module 3.",
"Combining the above-mentioned parts, referring to FIG. 3, a cabinet 1, top 2, module of driving circuit 3, battery 4 and battery cover 5 form the socket unit E connected to the belt 8, the belt 8 having sources of luminosity 81 disposed thereon.",
"When the plug 6 is plugged into the bell socket 14 in the cabinet 1 of the socket unit E, the lugs 611 on the front end of the plug rods 61 are engaged within the respective setting holes 141 formed in the side walls of the bell socket 14.",
"Meanwhile, the starting rod 62 at the middle of plug 6 passes through the hole 111 of the spacer 11, inside of the cabinet 1, along the guide way 143 to press against the push-button 31 disposed on the driving circuit module 3.",
"Pressing the push-button 31 starts the driving circuit to energize the sources of luminosity 81 on the belt 8 and the luminous sources 25 in the top 2.",
"Thus, the belt 8 gives out an obvious light as a warning, and the indicia carrying member 24 disposed over the luminous sources 25 in the top 2 has a transparent pattern that is lit by the luminous sources 25 to indicate the operation of the system.",
"The sensor 26 located on the top 2 can control the driving circuit, to switch it on or off depending on the intensity of the surrounding light.",
"If the intensity is strong, as in the daytime, the sensor 26 switches the driving circuit off, to cut off the light of luminosity sources 81 and luminous sources 25.",
"Conversely, when it is dark, the driving circuit is turned on so the sources of illumination provide light.",
"When the plug 6 is removed from the socket unit E, the push-button switch 31 is switched off to disconnect the battery.",
"The above-mentioned operation of the present invention is such that the plug 6 is plugged in or removed from the socket unit E to control the lighting or extinguishing of the luminosity sources.",
"In another embodiment, the plug 6 is plugged into the socket unit E at different positions to control the driving circuit switching to be on, off, or flashing.",
"Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown, an alternate design of the bell socket 14 of the socket unit E and the plug rods 61 of the plug 6.",
"The plug 6, has a lug 613 extending from a position between the lug 611 disposed on the front end of each plug rod 61, and the push-button 612.",
"Corresponding to the lug 611 and 613 of each plug rod 61, the two side walls of the bell socket 14 have an elongated setting hole 141'",
"formed therethrough, with the spacing between the setting hole 141'",
"and the original guide slot 142 corresponding to the spacing between the lug 611 and lug 613, that spacing being formed by a block 144.",
"Combining the above-mentioned parts, as shown in FIGS. 5, 6A and 6B, the plug 6 is plugged into the socket unit #, so that the lugs 611 and the lugs 613 are respectively disposed in the setting slot 141'",
"and guide slot 142 on each side of the socket E, with the blocks 144'",
"disposed between the respective lugs.",
"With the plug in that position, the starting rod 62 passes through the hole 111 of the spacer 11 and through the guide way 143 in the bell socket but does not switch the push-button switch 31 of the driving circuit module 3.",
"In this case, the plug 6 is just fastened to the socket unit E, and does not start the sources of luminosity to light.",
"Next, referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, the push-button 612 on each plug rod 61 of the plug 6 is pressed down again and the plug 6 is pushed in further to position both the lugs 611 and the lugs 613 in the respective setting slot 141'.",
"With the plug 6 in that position, the starting rod 62 contacts the push-button switch 31 of the driving circuit module 3, and switches it on, for starting the sources of luminosity to produce a warning light.",
"Accordingly, the present invention can be set in a first fastening or second fastening position, depending upon the user's requirements.",
"When usage is not desired, the plug 6 is set in the first fastening position to save power.",
"For use, the plug 6 is set in the second fastening position to place the sources of luminosity in a working state.",
"By this arrangement, mis-touching of the switch is avoided.",
"By providing more than two lugs 613 between the lug 611 and the push-button 612 and correspondingly extending the setting slot 141', more fastening positions can be provided.",
"As each lug 613 is moved into the setting slot 141', another fastening position is achieved, thereby advancing the position of the starting rod 62 to control the push-button switch 31 to provide more operating states, not only lighting or extinguishing functions, but also flashing or other lighting sequences, for different warning purposes.",
"Alternately, the plug 6 may be formed with one lug 611 on each side, and the first operation would not be changed.",
"By forming more setting holes 141'",
"along each side wall of the bell socket 14, more fastening positions can also be realized.",
"Referring to FIG. 8, the present invention can be incorporated into a safety vest, as opposed to a belt, for controlling sources of luminosity on the vest to illuminate.",
"The present invention can also be incorporated into various knapsacks, and other attachments to the body."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a continuation patent application of International Application No. PCT/SE2004/000089 filed 22 Jan. 2004 which was published in English pursuant to Article 21(2) of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, and which claims priority to Swedish Application No. 0300777-0 filed 21 Mar. 2003. Said applications are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for control of the capacity of an air compressor and a device for performing the capacity test.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In vehicle workshops, it is difficult to easily decide when a compressed air compressor incorporated in a vehicle should be exchanged and replaced by a new one. Usually, there are two criteria for exchange. The first is that the compressor shoots out oil into the compressed air. This dirties the air, but does not necessarily mean that the pump capacity is low. Since dirty air can be seen with the naked eye, it is possible to easily and immediately decide whether it is time to change the compressor.
The second criterion is that the compressor is pumping too slowly; that is to say, that the compressor produces too little compressed air per unit of time. This checking of the pump capacity is more complicated and as of yet, there has not been any simple way of gaining a reliable assessment. The checks which have been carried out in workshops have been imprecise and have not been suitable for various types of vehicle. In workshops, the test has been conducted by coupling an external manometer to the compressed air system of the vehicle and then measuring the time it takes for the compressor to raise the pressure to a certain value. This produces only an approximate time value, since it is not possible to adapt the test with regard to sources of error. For example, the test is not adaptable to the fact that different tank volumes ought to give different time values.
Other sources of error are, for example, that the air supply varies if someone climbs into and out of the car during the measurement. The air volume can also be changed by the passage of air to other reservoirs in the vehicle. Attempts have also been made to define “pump-up-time;” i.e., the time it takes when the compressor starts from a rest position until the motor has been run up to a predefined speed and the system has assumed a predefined pressure, but for practical reasons this has not proved successful in the workshops.
Owing to these difficulties in checking the compressor capacity, the compressor is in many cases changed long before its actual working life has expired. On the one hand, this is a waste of resources, and on the other hand, it is unnecessarily expensive to exchange working compressors solely because their capacity cannot be accurately assessed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for checking the capacity of a compressor in a simple and reliable manner. The invention also incorporates a device comprising (including, but necessarily limited to) as few constituent parts as possible for carrying out the check of the capacity of a compressor.
The term “capacity of a compressor” here denotes the quantity of air which the compressor delivers per unit of time at a given compressor speed and counter-pressure.
By virtue of the method prescribed according to the invention, the compressor capacity is able to be checked in a simple and reliable manner. The advantage with this is that it is easy to make the checks in the workshops to determine whether a change of compressor is needed.
According to the method of the present invention, the compressor capacity in the vehicle is checked by air being allowed to flow out from the pressure tank through an opening of known geometry. Following a calculation, the quantity of evacuated air is established. After this, the compressor pumps back up to the initial pressure in the pressure tank. The compressor capacity is obtained by comparing the time it takes for the compressor to pump back up to the initial pressure with the time it takes when an acceptable compressor pumps the same quantity of air.
In an advantageous refinement of the method, the air is allowed to flow out from the pressure tank for a set period. The quantity of evacuated air is calculated. After this, the compressor pumps back up to the initial pressure in the pressure tank and the time it takes to pump this known quantity of air is compared with a time value in order to evaluate the compressor capacity.
In another refinement of the method, the pressure is allowed to drop between two predefined pressures. The time which the pressure takes to drop is measured and the discharged quantity of air is subsequently calculated.
After this, the compressor pumps back up to the initial pressure in the pressure tank. The time it takes to pump this known quantity of air is compared with a reference value in order to evaluate the compressor capacity.
In another advantageous refinement of the method, prior to performance of the capacity check, a check is made that the pressure in the pressure tank lies within a predefined pressure range for a predefined time. This check enables a leakage of air from the compressed air system or to other reservoirs to be detected. Air leakage from the pressure tank renders the capacity check ineffectual.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be described in greater detail below with reference to illustrative embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, and in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a traditionally controlled compressor system; and
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an electrically controlled compressor system with a test device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The following described illustrative embodiments of the invention, with refinements, should be regarded only as examples and should by no means serve to limit the scope of protection of the patent claims. In the illustrative embodiments described herein, the same reference numerals refer in the various figures to the same type of component.
A traditional air dryer according to FIG. 1 has a so-called off-line regeneration. The air which is pumped out from a compressor 1 deposits water droplets, which means that the air dryer 7 is exposed to moisture.
Following completion of the compression, the air dryer 7 has to be dried with dry air. The compressor 1 , with incorporated motor 2 , supplies compressed air to the air dryer 7 through a conduit 4 . The air dryer 7 is in turn coupled, by a conduit 5 , to a separate tank 8 , constituting a regeneration tank containing dry air. Coupled to the air dryer 7 by a conduit 6 , via a nonreturn valve 10 , is a pressure tank 3 . In this case, the pressure tank 3 represents the compressed-air-consuming system in the vehicle. When the pressure in the pressure tank 3 has reached a predefined maximum value, a valve 11 on the air dryer is opened in order thereby to reduce the pressure and terminate the pumping.
Should the system also contain a control conduit 9 for relieving the compressor, this conduit, too, is activated. The air in the regeneration tank 8 is thereafter fed back through the air dryer 7 for drying of the drying mass in the air dryer 7 . After this, it is possible to reuse the air dryer 7 . The air dryer 7 has a pneumatic control unit 12 and the air dryer also often incorporates a pneumatic control signal which runs via the control conduit 9 disposed between the air dryer 7 and the compressor 1 . This pneumatic control signal enables the pumping of the compressor to be shut off, so that the pumping of air can be started and stopped in a controlled manner.
An electrically controlled air dryer has a so-called in-line regeneration according to FIG. 2 for the purpose of drying the air, which means that a by-pass coupling 14 is used instead of the regeneration tank used in a traditional air dryer. The by-pass coupling 14 is disposed either in the air dryer 7 or between the pressure tank 3 and the air dryer 7 . In the by-pass coupling there is a valve 13 , which can be opened and can let back air from the tank to the air dryer. The valve 13 is controlled via a wire 20 from an electric control unit 17 , which is either an integral part of the air dryer or a separate control unit. The air dryer 7 is dried by dry air being taken from the pressure tank 3 , after which this dry air is fed back through the air dryer 7 to dry the drying mass in the air dryer 7 until the air dryer has become once again dry.
The method according to the invention can advantageously be used in an electrically controlled air dryer having a so-called in-line regeneration, since a special evacuation of air from the air tank is made on an already existing system. No extra equipment needs to be fitted on the vehicle in order to perform the capacity check on the compressor.
The test device 18 in FIG. 2 is constituted by a control unit 15 coupled to the ordinary control unit 17 of the air dryer. The control unit 15 comprises a processor, memory and suitable input and output circuits which are well known to the person skilled in the art. The control unit 15 is also connected to an instrument panel 16 for displaying generated information concerning the compressor capacity. The compressor is driven by a motor 2 and the speed of the motor is set to a predefined value prior to the start of the test. The compressor pumps air until a predefined pressure Pl is achieved in the pressure tank 3 , after which the compressor is relieved of load. When this value of P 1 has been found to be stable, i.e. air is not leaking out from the system, a quantity of air is evacuated from the pressure tank 3 . This is affected by a valve 13 being held open for a set period, in which the air is allowed to flow out. The air flows out through an opening (not shown) of predefined size. The pressure in the pressure tank is measured as the air is evacuated and, since the diameter of the opening is known, the discharge flow, and hence the evacuated quantity of air, can be calculated. The measurement of the pressure can take place continuously; i.e., analogously throughout the measurement or at regular or irregular intervals. When the evacuation of air has been completed, an instantaneous pressure P 2 is registered by the control unit 15 .
The compressor then refills the pressure tank 3 until the original pressure Pl has been achieved. Once the evacuated quantity of air has been calculated, the quantity of air pumped by the compressor when the pressure in the pressure tank was increased from the pressure P 2 to the pressure Pl is known. The control unit 15 measures the time tl consumed when the compressor increases the pressure from the pressure P 2 in the pressure tank to the original pressure P 1 . The control unit then checks whether this time tl lies within a predefined time range tr. The predefined time range tr is the time consumed when a compressor with acceptable capacity pumps the corresponding quantity of air. Values of tr for different compressor speeds can be stored in a database in the control unit 15 . If the time tl lies outside the predefined time range tr, the control unit 15 generates a error message indicating that the used compressor should be exchanged since its pump capacity is too low. This error message can be shown in an instrument panel 16 forming part of the test device.
In one example, a compressor is fitted on a vehicle. Since the method presupposes that no air consumption occurs during execution of the method, the method is most advantageously carried out after the vehicle has been started and the compressed air system has reached a steady state. The compressor is driven by the engine of the vehicle, which has a preset speed of 1000 rpm. The pressure P 1 is set to a level below the cut-off pressure of the system, for example 11.5 bar. A valve is thereafter held open for a certain period, whereupon the air is discharged through a predefined opening of known geometry. The air flow through the opening is calculated by continuously measuring the pressure in the pressure tank and the evacuated volume is subsequently calculated. This is done by applying a generally known correlation such as Bernoulli's equation. The pressure P 1 in the tank is measured prior to the start of the test. Thereafter, the pressure is measured continuously as air is evacuated for a certain period after which the evacuated quantity of air can be integrated on a forward basis. By letting the air flow out in this way, a method is obtained which is independent of the volume of the pressure tank and it is thus applicable to different types of vehicle and vehicle variants with variously large compressed air volumes. On certain vehicle variants, superstructures can be fitted which do not affect the measuring method.
The principle of measuring how great a volume is discharged from the pressure tank is that the air, for a set period, is fed out from the pressure tank through an opening of specific geometry. If Bernoulli's equation is applied, then evacuated volume is obtained according to:
V=fφdt φ=F (p, d) in which V=evacuated volume (liters) φ=air flow (liters/s), P=the air pressure (Pa) and d=the diameter of the opening (dm).
The method can be initiated, for example, when the vehicle is ready for servicing in a workshop and is connected via a connection 19 to a test apparatus in the workshop (not shown). The compressor capacity is thereafter reported to a service mechanic via the test apparatus.
Another way of initiating the method is for the initiation to take place in a menu system present in the vehicle. In this case, the result is shown in the instrument panel 16 .
Apart from the capacity check being simple to conduct, it is independent of the volume of the air reservoir and is therefore valid for vehicles of different types.
For a twin-cylinder compressor with 700 cc cubic capacity, a reasonable value of tl is, for example, 5 seconds, and tr can be 1.7 times t 1 ; i.e., a deterioration in pump capacity of around 40% for an approved compressor.
In an alternative embodiment, the compressor is driven by a motor 2 and the speed of the motor is set to a predefined value. The higher the chosen speed, the quicker the test can be performed. The compressor pumps air until a predefined pressure P 1 is achieved in the pressure tank. When this value of P 1 has been achieved, a quantity of air is evacuated from the pressure tank 3 . This is done by evacuating air through a predefined opening until a second pressure P 2 in the pressure tank has been achieved and has been registered by the control unit 15 . The time spent on getting the pressure to drop from the pressure P 1 to the pressure P 2 is used to calculate, with the aid of Bernoulli's equation, the volume of the evacuated quantity of air. The compressor pumps the pressure in the pressure tank 3 back up to the original pressure P 1 . The control unit 15 measures the time tl consumed when the compressor increases the pressure from the pressure P 2 in the pressure tank to the original pressure P 1 . The control unit then checks whether this time tl lies within a predefined time range tr. If the time tl lies outside the predefined time range tr, the control unit generates a error message. This error message can be shown in an instrument panel 16 forming part of the test device.
Another refinement of the method includes a check that the first pressure (P 1 ) in the pressure tank 3 lies within a predefined pressure range for a certain set period. A leakage of air from the compressed air system or to other reservoirs can thereby be detected. Air leakage from the pressure tank 3 renders the capacity check ineffectual.
In another advantageous illustrative embodiment, the method can be applied to a compressor forming part of a free-standing air generation unit used, for example, at building sites.
In another refinement, the monitoring can be remote-controlled via the internet or by telephone. This is particularly advantageous with respect to free-standing air generation units, which are often unmonitored. In this case, the test can be realized independently by the system. In this case, the compressor is set to conduct the test at regular intervals, for example each time it is started. The system can call a monitoring center and send error messages and/or a report of the compressor capacity.
Another advantage with the invention is that the capacity check can be realized automatically by an algorithm in the control system ensuring that the test is conducted at programmed regular intervals.
The invention should not be considered to be limited to the illustrative embodiments described above, but rather a host of further variants and modifications are conceivable and considered within the scope of the patent claims. For example, the method is not only applicable to ground vehicles, but also to, for example, airplanes, boats, and the like. As another example, a flow meter may be used at the predefined hole instead of calculating the flow from the pressure tank. | A method and device for evaluating the capacity of a compressor ( 1 ) by air being allowed to flow out from a pressure tank ( 3 ) through an opening of known geometry. Following a calculation, the quantity of evacuated air is obtained. After this, a compressor ( 1 ) pumps back up to the initial pressure in the pressure tank ( 3 ). The compressor capacity ( 1 ) is established by comparing the time it takes for the compressor ( 1 ) to pump back up to the initial pressure in the pressure tank ( 3 ) with the time it takes when an acceptable compressor ( 1 ) pumps the same quantity of air. By the compressor capacity ( 1 ) is here meant the quantity of air which the compressor ( 1 ) delivers per unit of time at a given compressor speed and counter-pressure. | Briefly describe the main idea outlined in the provided context. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation patent application of International Application No. PCT/SE2004/000089 filed 22 Jan. 2004 which was published in English pursuant to Article 21(2) of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, and which claims priority to Swedish Application No. 0300777-0 filed 21 Mar. 2003.",
"Said applications are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for control of the capacity of an air compressor and a device for performing the capacity test.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In vehicle workshops, it is difficult to easily decide when a compressed air compressor incorporated in a vehicle should be exchanged and replaced by a new one.",
"Usually, there are two criteria for exchange.",
"The first is that the compressor shoots out oil into the compressed air.",
"This dirties the air, but does not necessarily mean that the pump capacity is low.",
"Since dirty air can be seen with the naked eye, it is possible to easily and immediately decide whether it is time to change the compressor.",
"The second criterion is that the compressor is pumping too slowly;",
"that is to say, that the compressor produces too little compressed air per unit of time.",
"This checking of the pump capacity is more complicated and as of yet, there has not been any simple way of gaining a reliable assessment.",
"The checks which have been carried out in workshops have been imprecise and have not been suitable for various types of vehicle.",
"In workshops, the test has been conducted by coupling an external manometer to the compressed air system of the vehicle and then measuring the time it takes for the compressor to raise the pressure to a certain value.",
"This produces only an approximate time value, since it is not possible to adapt the test with regard to sources of error.",
"For example, the test is not adaptable to the fact that different tank volumes ought to give different time values.",
"Other sources of error are, for example, that the air supply varies if someone climbs into and out of the car during the measurement.",
"The air volume can also be changed by the passage of air to other reservoirs in the vehicle.",
"Attempts have also been made to define “pump-up-time;”",
"i.e., the time it takes when the compressor starts from a rest position until the motor has been run up to a predefined speed and the system has assumed a predefined pressure, but for practical reasons this has not proved successful in the workshops.",
"Owing to these difficulties in checking the compressor capacity, the compressor is in many cases changed long before its actual working life has expired.",
"On the one hand, this is a waste of resources, and on the other hand, it is unnecessarily expensive to exchange working compressors solely because their capacity cannot be accurately assessed.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method for checking the capacity of a compressor in a simple and reliable manner.",
"The invention also incorporates a device comprising (including, but necessarily limited to) as few constituent parts as possible for carrying out the check of the capacity of a compressor.",
"The term “capacity of a compressor”",
"here denotes the quantity of air which the compressor delivers per unit of time at a given compressor speed and counter-pressure.",
"By virtue of the method prescribed according to the invention, the compressor capacity is able to be checked in a simple and reliable manner.",
"The advantage with this is that it is easy to make the checks in the workshops to determine whether a change of compressor is needed.",
"According to the method of the present invention, the compressor capacity in the vehicle is checked by air being allowed to flow out from the pressure tank through an opening of known geometry.",
"Following a calculation, the quantity of evacuated air is established.",
"After this, the compressor pumps back up to the initial pressure in the pressure tank.",
"The compressor capacity is obtained by comparing the time it takes for the compressor to pump back up to the initial pressure with the time it takes when an acceptable compressor pumps the same quantity of air.",
"In an advantageous refinement of the method, the air is allowed to flow out from the pressure tank for a set period.",
"The quantity of evacuated air is calculated.",
"After this, the compressor pumps back up to the initial pressure in the pressure tank and the time it takes to pump this known quantity of air is compared with a time value in order to evaluate the compressor capacity.",
"In another refinement of the method, the pressure is allowed to drop between two predefined pressures.",
"The time which the pressure takes to drop is measured and the discharged quantity of air is subsequently calculated.",
"After this, the compressor pumps back up to the initial pressure in the pressure tank.",
"The time it takes to pump this known quantity of air is compared with a reference value in order to evaluate the compressor capacity.",
"In another advantageous refinement of the method, prior to performance of the capacity check, a check is made that the pressure in the pressure tank lies within a predefined pressure range for a predefined time.",
"This check enables a leakage of air from the compressed air system or to other reservoirs to be detected.",
"Air leakage from the pressure tank renders the capacity check ineffectual.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described in greater detail below with reference to illustrative embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, and in which: FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a traditionally controlled compressor system;",
"and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an electrically controlled compressor system with a test device.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following described illustrative embodiments of the invention, with refinements, should be regarded only as examples and should by no means serve to limit the scope of protection of the patent claims.",
"In the illustrative embodiments described herein, the same reference numerals refer in the various figures to the same type of component.",
"A traditional air dryer according to FIG. 1 has a so-called off-line regeneration.",
"The air which is pumped out from a compressor 1 deposits water droplets, which means that the air dryer 7 is exposed to moisture.",
"Following completion of the compression, the air dryer 7 has to be dried with dry air.",
"The compressor 1 , with incorporated motor 2 , supplies compressed air to the air dryer 7 through a conduit 4 .",
"The air dryer 7 is in turn coupled, by a conduit 5 , to a separate tank 8 , constituting a regeneration tank containing dry air.",
"Coupled to the air dryer 7 by a conduit 6 , via a nonreturn valve 10 , is a pressure tank 3 .",
"In this case, the pressure tank 3 represents the compressed-air-consuming system in the vehicle.",
"When the pressure in the pressure tank 3 has reached a predefined maximum value, a valve 11 on the air dryer is opened in order thereby to reduce the pressure and terminate the pumping.",
"Should the system also contain a control conduit 9 for relieving the compressor, this conduit, too, is activated.",
"The air in the regeneration tank 8 is thereafter fed back through the air dryer 7 for drying of the drying mass in the air dryer 7 .",
"After this, it is possible to reuse the air dryer 7 .",
"The air dryer 7 has a pneumatic control unit 12 and the air dryer also often incorporates a pneumatic control signal which runs via the control conduit 9 disposed between the air dryer 7 and the compressor 1 .",
"This pneumatic control signal enables the pumping of the compressor to be shut off, so that the pumping of air can be started and stopped in a controlled manner.",
"An electrically controlled air dryer has a so-called in-line regeneration according to FIG. 2 for the purpose of drying the air, which means that a by-pass coupling 14 is used instead of the regeneration tank used in a traditional air dryer.",
"The by-pass coupling 14 is disposed either in the air dryer 7 or between the pressure tank 3 and the air dryer 7 .",
"In the by-pass coupling there is a valve 13 , which can be opened and can let back air from the tank to the air dryer.",
"The valve 13 is controlled via a wire 20 from an electric control unit 17 , which is either an integral part of the air dryer or a separate control unit.",
"The air dryer 7 is dried by dry air being taken from the pressure tank 3 , after which this dry air is fed back through the air dryer 7 to dry the drying mass in the air dryer 7 until the air dryer has become once again dry.",
"The method according to the invention can advantageously be used in an electrically controlled air dryer having a so-called in-line regeneration, since a special evacuation of air from the air tank is made on an already existing system.",
"No extra equipment needs to be fitted on the vehicle in order to perform the capacity check on the compressor.",
"The test device 18 in FIG. 2 is constituted by a control unit 15 coupled to the ordinary control unit 17 of the air dryer.",
"The control unit 15 comprises a processor, memory and suitable input and output circuits which are well known to the person skilled in the art.",
"The control unit 15 is also connected to an instrument panel 16 for displaying generated information concerning the compressor capacity.",
"The compressor is driven by a motor 2 and the speed of the motor is set to a predefined value prior to the start of the test.",
"The compressor pumps air until a predefined pressure Pl is achieved in the pressure tank 3 , after which the compressor is relieved of load.",
"When this value of P 1 has been found to be stable, i.e. air is not leaking out from the system, a quantity of air is evacuated from the pressure tank 3 .",
"This is affected by a valve 13 being held open for a set period, in which the air is allowed to flow out.",
"The air flows out through an opening (not shown) of predefined size.",
"The pressure in the pressure tank is measured as the air is evacuated and, since the diameter of the opening is known, the discharge flow, and hence the evacuated quantity of air, can be calculated.",
"The measurement of the pressure can take place continuously;",
"i.e., analogously throughout the measurement or at regular or irregular intervals.",
"When the evacuation of air has been completed, an instantaneous pressure P 2 is registered by the control unit 15 .",
"The compressor then refills the pressure tank 3 until the original pressure Pl has been achieved.",
"Once the evacuated quantity of air has been calculated, the quantity of air pumped by the compressor when the pressure in the pressure tank was increased from the pressure P 2 to the pressure Pl is known.",
"The control unit 15 measures the time tl consumed when the compressor increases the pressure from the pressure P 2 in the pressure tank to the original pressure P 1 .",
"The control unit then checks whether this time tl lies within a predefined time range tr.",
"The predefined time range tr is the time consumed when a compressor with acceptable capacity pumps the corresponding quantity of air.",
"Values of tr for different compressor speeds can be stored in a database in the control unit 15 .",
"If the time tl lies outside the predefined time range tr, the control unit 15 generates a error message indicating that the used compressor should be exchanged since its pump capacity is too low.",
"This error message can be shown in an instrument panel 16 forming part of the test device.",
"In one example, a compressor is fitted on a vehicle.",
"Since the method presupposes that no air consumption occurs during execution of the method, the method is most advantageously carried out after the vehicle has been started and the compressed air system has reached a steady state.",
"The compressor is driven by the engine of the vehicle, which has a preset speed of 1000 rpm.",
"The pressure P 1 is set to a level below the cut-off pressure of the system, for example 11.5 bar.",
"A valve is thereafter held open for a certain period, whereupon the air is discharged through a predefined opening of known geometry.",
"The air flow through the opening is calculated by continuously measuring the pressure in the pressure tank and the evacuated volume is subsequently calculated.",
"This is done by applying a generally known correlation such as Bernoulli's equation.",
"The pressure P 1 in the tank is measured prior to the start of the test.",
"Thereafter, the pressure is measured continuously as air is evacuated for a certain period after which the evacuated quantity of air can be integrated on a forward basis.",
"By letting the air flow out in this way, a method is obtained which is independent of the volume of the pressure tank and it is thus applicable to different types of vehicle and vehicle variants with variously large compressed air volumes.",
"On certain vehicle variants, superstructures can be fitted which do not affect the measuring method.",
"The principle of measuring how great a volume is discharged from the pressure tank is that the air, for a set period, is fed out from the pressure tank through an opening of specific geometry.",
"If Bernoulli's equation is applied, then evacuated volume is obtained according to: V=fφdt φ=F (p, d) in which V=evacuated volume (liters) φ=air flow (liters/s), P=the air pressure (Pa) and d=the diameter of the opening (dm).",
"The method can be initiated, for example, when the vehicle is ready for servicing in a workshop and is connected via a connection 19 to a test apparatus in the workshop (not shown).",
"The compressor capacity is thereafter reported to a service mechanic via the test apparatus.",
"Another way of initiating the method is for the initiation to take place in a menu system present in the vehicle.",
"In this case, the result is shown in the instrument panel 16 .",
"Apart from the capacity check being simple to conduct, it is independent of the volume of the air reservoir and is therefore valid for vehicles of different types.",
"For a twin-cylinder compressor with 700 cc cubic capacity, a reasonable value of tl is, for example, 5 seconds, and tr can be 1.7 times t 1 ;",
"i.e., a deterioration in pump capacity of around 40% for an approved compressor.",
"In an alternative embodiment, the compressor is driven by a motor 2 and the speed of the motor is set to a predefined value.",
"The higher the chosen speed, the quicker the test can be performed.",
"The compressor pumps air until a predefined pressure P 1 is achieved in the pressure tank.",
"When this value of P 1 has been achieved, a quantity of air is evacuated from the pressure tank 3 .",
"This is done by evacuating air through a predefined opening until a second pressure P 2 in the pressure tank has been achieved and has been registered by the control unit 15 .",
"The time spent on getting the pressure to drop from the pressure P 1 to the pressure P 2 is used to calculate, with the aid of Bernoulli's equation, the volume of the evacuated quantity of air.",
"The compressor pumps the pressure in the pressure tank 3 back up to the original pressure P 1 .",
"The control unit 15 measures the time tl consumed when the compressor increases the pressure from the pressure P 2 in the pressure tank to the original pressure P 1 .",
"The control unit then checks whether this time tl lies within a predefined time range tr.",
"If the time tl lies outside the predefined time range tr, the control unit generates a error message.",
"This error message can be shown in an instrument panel 16 forming part of the test device.",
"Another refinement of the method includes a check that the first pressure (P 1 ) in the pressure tank 3 lies within a predefined pressure range for a certain set period.",
"A leakage of air from the compressed air system or to other reservoirs can thereby be detected.",
"Air leakage from the pressure tank 3 renders the capacity check ineffectual.",
"In another advantageous illustrative embodiment, the method can be applied to a compressor forming part of a free-standing air generation unit used, for example, at building sites.",
"In another refinement, the monitoring can be remote-controlled via the internet or by telephone.",
"This is particularly advantageous with respect to free-standing air generation units, which are often unmonitored.",
"In this case, the test can be realized independently by the system.",
"In this case, the compressor is set to conduct the test at regular intervals, for example each time it is started.",
"The system can call a monitoring center and send error messages and/or a report of the compressor capacity.",
"Another advantage with the invention is that the capacity check can be realized automatically by an algorithm in the control system ensuring that the test is conducted at programmed regular intervals.",
"The invention should not be considered to be limited to the illustrative embodiments described above, but rather a host of further variants and modifications are conceivable and considered within the scope of the patent claims.",
"For example, the method is not only applicable to ground vehicles, but also to, for example, airplanes, boats, and the like.",
"As another example, a flow meter may be used at the predefined hole instead of calculating the flow from the pressure tank."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an image reader for photoelectrically reading an original image or the like recorded on an image recording medium such as a film, and more particularly to an image reader and an image reading method capable of preventing an adverse influence of noise components including silver components by detecting the noise components remaining in an image recording medium such as a film.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowadays, a so-called direct exposure, in which a film image is exposed by projecting light onto a photosensitive material, is a major method for printing onto the photosensitive material (photographic printing paper) the image recorded on a photographic film (which will hereinafter be simply called a film) such as a negative film and a reversal film.
Further, a digital photoprinter has been utilized over the recent years, in which the image recorded on the film is photoelectrically read; the read-out image has been converted into digital signals; image data for recording are thereafter obtained by effecting a variety of image processing operations; a photosensitive material is exposed to recording beams modulated in accordance with the image data to obtain a print; and the print is then outputted.
According to the thus constructed digital photoprinter, the image recorded on the film is read, and the digital image data undergo the image processing. It is therefore possible to highly preferably correct color and density thereof and further obtain a high-quality image by executing the image processing such as gradation correction and sharpness enhancement (sharpness correction), which cannot be basically implemented by direct-exposure type normal printers.
Moreover, the digital photoprinter outputs the print and, in addition, outputs (stores) the image data as an image file onto a recording medium such as a CD-R, HD (hard disk) and so on.
By the way, what is known as one factor of a quality decline of the print image in those photoprinters is silver components remaining in the image (which will hereinafter be called residual silver) on the developed (silver halide photographic) film.
A so-called color film is basically designed to remove all the existing silver components by bleaching and fixing executed after coloring/development.
If the processing is not properly executed due to deterioration of a processing liquid and in terms of temperature control, however, the silver components cannot be completely removed because of an occurrence of defect in the bleaching and fixing operations, with a result that the residual silver stays therein.
If the residual silver exists in the image, a variety of declines of image quality arise, in which a gradation of a high-density portion (highlight on the print) becomes hard, a saturation decreases, and so forth.
Accordingly, a production of the print with the high-quality image reproduced involves eliminating an adverse influence caused by the residual silver. Under the present conditions, however, there is no alternative effective method but to prevent the residual silver from remaining in the image by properly managing the bleaching and fixing operations in developing the film.
In addition to an image-forming intermediate product in an image recording medium, including residual silver remaining in a film, an impurity remaining in an image recording medium may induce declines of image quality. In order to avoid such declines of image quality, there is no alternative effective method but to prevent the impurity from remaining in the image as is the case with residual silver.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a primary object of the present invention, which was devised to obviate the problems inherent in the prior art described above, to provide an image reader and an image reading method for photoelectrically reading an original image etc. photographed or recorded on an image recording medium such as a (photographic) film, the image reader and the image reading method being capable of properly detecting unwanted (signal) components other than image components, that are caused by either an image-forming intermediate product such as residual silver or an impurity or the both remaining in an original image recorded on an image recording medium including a silver halide photosensitive material such as a film and photographic printing paper, or even capable of correcting by image processing a decline of image quality due to the unwanted (signal) components such as residual silver and, as a consequence, shortening developing time to develop a silver halide photosensitive material such as a film and photographic printing paper, allowing certain margin for the processing conditions for a developing device, advantageously managing the developing device, and the like.
In order to attain the object described above, the present invention is to provide an image reader photoelectrically reading an original image including a visible image and an invisible image, comprising an image reading device for reading the original image with visible light and invisible light and a detecting unit which generates correlational pixel distribution information based on visible light signals and invisible light signals read by the image reading device and detects noise components in the original image by use of the pixel distribution information
Preferably, the noise components are unwanted components other than image components in the original image which are caused by either an image-forming intermediate product or an impurity or both in an image recording medium carrying the original image thereon, and preferably, the unwanted components are silver components remaining in the original image.
Further, it is preferable that the image reading device reads the visible image of the original image by reading the visible light in three primary colors of red, green and blue, and the detecting unit generates the pixel distribution information by use of weighted visible light signals obtained by performing a weighting operation in which predetermined weighting is carried out with respect to each of the three primary colors of red, green and blue, and that the weighted visible light signals are obtained by performing the weighting operation with decreasing weight in order of red, green and blue of the three primary colors.
In addition, the present invention is to provide the above described image reader further comprising a correcting unit which generates correction information with the visible light signals as parameters in accordance with the noise components detected by the detecting unit and corrects the visible light signals read by the image reading device with an aid of the correction information.
Preferably, the correcting unit corrects the visible light signals such that change in gradation or color reproducibility or both due to the noise components are compensated by image signal processing or such that an intensity of graininess suppression upon image signal processing is modified in order to compensate change in graininess due to the noise components.
Further, it is preferable that the correcting unit generates the correction information on a basis of the invisible light signals exhibiting a minimum density in an aggregation of pixels which are identical to one another in the visible light signals relating to them.
And, the present invention is to provide the image reader further comprising an alarming device for giving an alarm when a quantity of the noise components detected by the detecting unit exceeds a predetermined value.
Furthermore, in order to attain the above-mentioned object, the present invention is to provide an image reading method comprising shortening time to perform processing for washing off silver components remaining in a film upon developing an original image on the film and eliminating an influence of residual silver components remaining in an original image on a developed film by image signal processing subsequent to reading of the original image on the developed film.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a digital photoprint system utilizing an image reader according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a scanner of the digital photoprint system illustrated in FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an image processing unit of the digital photoprint system shown in FIG. 1 ;
FIGS. 4A , 4 B, 4 C and 4 D are explanatory graphs each showing how residual silver is detected according to the present invention;
FIG. 5 is an explanatory flowchart showing detection of the residual silver and image correction according to the present invention; and
FIGS. 6A , 6 B and 6 C are explanatory graphs showing how gradation deterioration due to residual silver is compensated according to the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The image reader and the image reading method according to the present invention will hereinafter be described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a digital photoprint system utilizing an image reader of the present invention.
A digital photoprint system (hereinafter simply called the print system) 10 depicted in FIG. 1 photoelectrically reads an image recorded on a (photographic) film F and outputs the thus read image as a (photographic) print. The digital photoprint system basically comprises a scanner 12 , an image processing unit 14 , a display 18 , an operation system 20 (a keyboard 20 a and a mouse 20 b ), and a printer 22 .
FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of the scanner 12 shown in FIG. 1 . The scanner 12 is a device that photoelectrically reads an image recorded on each of frames of the film F. The scanner 12 includes, as shown in FIG. 2 , a light source 24 , a driver 26 , a diffusion box 28 , a carrier 30 , an imaging lens unit 32 , a reading section 34 , an amplifier 36 and an A/D (analog-to-digital) converter 38 .
The light source 24 of the scanner 12 in this illustrative embodiment involves use of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes). The light source 24 is constructed of an array of LEDs such as three types of LEDs emitting visible light for R (red), G (green) and B (blue), respectively, and an LED that emits invisible IR (infrared) light. The thus constructed light source 24 is driven by the driver 26 , whereby the visible light and the IR light are emitted in sequence.
The diffusion box 28 serves to diffuse the light from the light source 24 to make incident light upon the film F uniform in the direction across the film F.
The carrier 30 intermittently carries the film F so that respective images recorded on the film F (respective frames) can be sequentially carried to and held in a predetermined reading position. Plural types of carriers 30 are prepared corresponding to film sizes, etc. and detachably attached to a body of the scanner 12 .
In the illustrative example, the carrier 30 has a couple of carrier rollers 40 a, 40 b that are disposed to oppose with respect to the reading position and that carry the film F in a longitudinal direction, and a mask 42 that defines a reading area of each frame in the predetermined reading position.
The imaging lens unit 32 focuses projected light from the film F to form an image in a predetermined position on the reading section 34 .
The reading section 34 , which photoelectrically reads the image recorded on the film F, reads the whole image of one frame defined by the mask 42 of the carrier 30 (image reading based on planar exposure) with an area CCD sensor.
When the thus configured scanner 12 reads the image on the film F, to start with, the carrier 30 carries the film F so that the frame (which is normally a first or final frame) to be read is moved to the reading position.
Next, under the action of the driver 26 , for instance, the LED for R in the light source 24 is driven to emit R-light. The R-light, after its light quantity has been uniformed by the diffusion box 28 in the direction across the film F, impinges on the frame held in the reading position and passes therethrough to provide projected light bearing the image recorded on this frame. The imaging lens unit 32 images the projected light in the predetermined position of the reading section 34 (on a light receiving surface of the area CCD sensor), thereby photoelectrically reading an R-image of this frame.
Similarly, the LEDs for G and B in the light source 24 sequentially emit G- and B-light, and G- and B-images of this frame are read. Finally, the LED for IR in the light source 24 emits IR light, and an IR-image of the IR light is read. The reading of the images of this frame is thus finished. Accordingly, the scanner 12 outputs 4-channel image data including image data (visible light signals) of the respective R, G and B visible images and image data (invisible light signals) of the IR-image (invisible image).
Upon finishing the 1-frame image reading, the carrier 30 further carries the film F so that a frame to be read next is moved to the reading position.
The output data from the reading section 34 is amplified by the amplifier 36 , then converted into digital data by the A/D converter 38 , and outputted to the image processing unit 14 (a data correcting section 44 ).
According to the present invention, the image reading unit is not limited to the scanner 12 in the illustrative embodiment. For example, a scheme may also be possible in which not the 4-color LEDs but a white light source such as a halogen lamp is used, and a mechanism for inserting R-, G-, B- and IR-filters is provided upstream of the diffusion box 28 , whereby the images recorded on the film are read on the same 4-channel basis. The alternative scheme is that a so-called slit scan involving the use of the white light source and a 4-line CCD sensor for reading the R- G-, B- and IR-images, is utilized for reading the images recorded on the film on the same 4-channel basis.
The print system 10 usually executes the image reading twice for one frame, i.e., a fine scan for reading images with a high resolution in order to output a print etc. and a pre-scan, performed before the fine scan, for reading images with a low resolution in order to determine fine scan reading conditions and image processing conditions in the image processing unit 14 .
On this occasion, the output signals in the pre-scan and the fine scan are basically the same data except that the resolutions and output levels are different.
As discussed above, the digital image signals outputted from the scanner 12 are outputted to the image processing unit 14 . FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the image processing unit 14 .
As shown in FIG. 3 , the image processing unit 14 includes a data correcting section 44 , a Log converter 46 , frame memories (which will hereinafter be abbreviated to FMs) 48 , a residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 , an image correcting section 54 and a data converting section (3D-LUT) 58 .
Although not shown, the image processing unit 14 of the print system 10 is branched downstream in the direction of a data flow (hereinafter simply called “downstream”) from the Log converter 46 to have basically similar processing route to FMs 48 through the data converting section 58 in order to process pre-scan data and display a test simulation image on the display 20 . Note that this processing route may or may not contain the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 .
The data correcting section 44 subjects each of R-, G-, B- and IR-image data outputted from the scanner 12 to predetermined corrections such as DC offset correction, dark current correction or shading correction.
The Log converter 46 subjects the data processed by the data correcting section 44 to logarithmic conversion with an LUT (lookup table) for example to thereby obtain digital image (density) data.
The respective R-, G-, B- and IR-image data converted by the Log converter 46 are stored in their corresponding FMs 48 .
The image data stored in the FMs 48 are processed in the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 .
The residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 detects residual silver (silver components remaining) in the images recorded on the film F by use of image data of the respective visible images of R, G and B three primary colors (hereinafter simply referred to as visible image data) and the IR-image (invisible image) data (hereinafter simply called IR data). Further, the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 corrects as required each visible image data in such a way that the detected residual silver is removed and, if the residual silver exceeds a predetermined quantity, optionally gives an alarm indicating this.
The film F on which the image is formed through the silver-halide photography is basically designed to remove all the existing silver components by bleaching and fixing performed after the coloring/development. When deterioration in the processing liquid used or various other factors cause a failure in the bleaching, however, unwanted components including intermediate products during image formation such as residual silver and impurities, in other words, noise components remain in the image (film F). Due to these noise components, there occur, as explained above, various drawbacks including the deterioration of the gradation and color reproducibility. To be more specific, gradation hardness is increased in high-density portions, saturation is decreased and graininess is deteriorated, that is, image remains grainy.
Further, the study made by the present inventor shows that the noise components such as the residual silver and impurities often remains in a high-density portion (a high luminance part of a photographed scene) more than in low through intermediate density areas, in accordance with a limit of the processing liquid in the case of a negative film.
There is a high possibility that adverse influences such as the deterioration in the gradation, color reproducibility and graininess as exemplified by increased gradation hardness in high-density portions and decrease in the saturation due to the residual silver can be corrected by image processing, as far as the noise components such as the residual silver and impurities in the image can be properly detected from the digital image data photoelectrically read.
As a result of intensive studies conducted on the method of detecting the noise components such as the residual silver in the image, the inventor has found that the invisible light such as the IR light is not absorbed by the image (more specifically by image-forming dyes) but absorbed by the residual silver or other noise components, and that, by utilizing this phenomenon, the residual silver or other noise components in the image can be properly detected from a correlational pixel distribution between the photoelectrically read visible image and the invisible image. In the following description, the residual silver is referred to as a typical example of the noise components. However, this is not the sole example of the present invention.
FIGS. 4A-4D show one example showing a correlation between the densities (image data) of the visible images and the density (image data) of the IR image in each pixel of a given image, respectively.
Note that FIG. 4A shows a correlation between R-density (D R ) and IR-density (D IR ), FIG. 4B shows a correlation between G-density (D G ) and IR-density (D IR ), and FIG. 4C shows a correlation between B-density (D B ) and IR-density (D IR ), respectively.
Further, FIG. 4D shows a correlation between IR-density (D IR ) and overall density (D V ) of a visible image as a full-color image containing all the visible R-, G- and B-images.
Note that a method of calculating the overall density D V is not particularly limited and a variety of calculation methods utilized for the image processing are available. For example, the density D V may be calculated by means of weighting using the following equation:
D V =αD R +βD G +γD B
where α, β and γ are weighting coefficients. These coefficients may be appropriately determined depending on the characteristics of the system and the type of film. However, when the film F is a negative film, usually an R sensitive layer is disposed undermost, while a B sensitive layer is disposed uppermost. Hence, when taking into consideration a silver component cleansing characteristic based on the layer structure, it is preferable that α is larger than β, which in turn is larger than γ, that is, the relationship of α>β>γ be established therebetween.
As shown in FIGS. 4A-4D , a minimum line of the IR density (D IR ) rises on the high-density side in any of the visible image densities including R-density (D R ), G-density (D G ), B-density (D B ) and overall density (D V ).
The IR light is not absorbed by the image (or the dyes), and therefore, if there is no residual silver, the IR-density D IR does not depend on the visible image density but should become a specified density corresponding to the inherent IR-density (IR absorption quantity) that the film F basically contains, that is, draw a straight line (a dotted line C in FIGS. 4A-4D ). It can be therefore considered that the minimum line of the IR-density above this dotted line C indicates the IR-density derived from the residual silver.
The pixels of which the IR density is above the minimum line are considered to have dust or scratches on a film, which diffuses the IR light and reduces the quantity of light.
Therefore, the read IR-density D IR can be expressed as the sum of the inherent IR-density C the film F basically contains, the IR-density D Ag due to the residual silver, and the IR-density D de due to the dust adhered to the film or other scratches by using the following equation:
D IR =D Ag +D do +C
Supposing here that the residual silver exerts an influence upon the IR-density, the same influence should be exerted on the visible image density, i.e., the IR-density (DIR) and the visible image densities (D R , D G , D a , D v ) of the same pixel (the same image position) must have a correlation. Further, as explained above, if it is considered that the film has no dust (D de =0), D IR =D Ag +C. Therefore, the minimum IR-density D IR in an aggregation of pixels exhibiting the same visible image density may be considered to be a sum of the IR-density derived from the residual silver in this visible image density and the inherent IR density C, even if the film has dust.
Accordingly, when the inherent IR-density C plotted by the dotted line C in FIGS. 4A-4D , which is originally contained in the film, is subtracted from the minimum IR-density D IR , the IR-density D Ag due to the residual silver can be determined whereby the component of the residual silver existing in the visible image recorded on the film F can be detected.
The pixel having the same visible image densities refers to the pixel in which the respective visible image densities (D R , D G , D B , D V ) take the same values. As to the overall density D V , the aggregation of pixels having the same visible image densities may include not only the one in which the overall density D V is the same but also the one in which the R, G and B densities (D R , D G , D B ) are the same, that is, the one only composed of the pixels having the same color densities.
The thus detected residual silver component can be used to correct the visible image data or change processing parameters of the visible image data in the gradation conversion, color (saturation) correction, and (graininess suppression and) sharpness enhancement performed in the image correcting section 54 (described later), whereby adverse effects due to the residual silver remaining in the image on the film F can be corrected to ensure that high quality images are outputted without causing deterioration in the gradation, color reproducibility and graininess as exemplified by the gradation hardening in highlights or decrease in the saturation.
Further, since the deterioration of the processing liquid such as the bleaching liquid and the excessive bleaching process can be detected from the quantity of the detected residual silver components, proper management of the processing liquid used and shortening of the processing time, that is, the time required for development and in particular bleaching can be realized without using any dedicated maintenance tool such as a densitometer in a developing device.
The processing in the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 will hereinafter be more specifically described with reference to FIG. 5 .
As explained above, the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 reads out both of the visible R-, G- and B-image data and the IR data that have been stored in the FMs 48 . First, the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 determines for all the pixels (x i , y i ) a correlational pixel distribution of RGB (x i , y i ) defined as the overall visible image data containing all the visible R-, G- and B-images and IR (x i , y i ) defined as the IR data as shown in FIG. 4D .
Note that RGB(x i , y i ) can be given by the above equation, i.e., D V =αD R +βD G +γD B , for example.
Next, the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 detects the minimum IR data in the aggregation of pixels having the same RGB(x i , y i ), and regards the detected minimum IR data as MinIR[RGB(x g , y g )] in this pixel aggregation g. Namely, MinIR[RGB(x g , y g )] is a minimum line of the IR density D IR shown in FIG. 4D .
Moreover, after determining MinIR[RGB(x g , y g )], the inherent density value C (density value of the IR-density D IR plotted by the dotted line C in FIGS. 4A-4D ) defined as the inherent IR-density basically contained in the film F is subtracted from MinIR[RGB(x g , y g )], thereby calculating a residual silver image Ag Image (x g , y g ).
Namely, this residual silver image is given by:
Ag Image ( x g , y g )=Min IR[RGB ( x g , y g )]− C
It is to be noted that the residual silver image Ag Image (x g , y g ) may be table-formatted for every pixel aggregation g and thus stored, or may be used as a function such as F[Ag Image (x g , y g )], corresponding to the total pixel aggregation.
If the value of the residual silver image Ag Image (x g , y g ) is larger than a predetermined (threshold) value, the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 outputs this information (warning) to a control section of the image processing unit 14 . The image processing unit 14 having received this information emits an alarming sound and gives an indication on the display 18 , thus alarming that the film F contains much residual silver.
The thus determined residual silver image Ag Image (x g , y g ) is used as a correction coefficient to subtract the residual silver image Ag Image (x g , y g ) of the corresponding pixel aggregation from each of the visible R-, G- and B-image data sets of the respective pixels (x i , y i ), thereby obtaining corrected visible image data R′ G′ and B′. Namely, the data R′, G′ and B′ are given by:
R ′( x i , y i )= R ( x i , y i )− Ag Image ( x g , y g )
G ′( x i , y i )= G ( x i , y i )− Ag Image ( x g , y g )
B ′( x i , y i )= B ( x i , y i )− Ag Image ( x g , y g )
The residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 sends the thus calculated corrected visible image data R′, G′ and B′ to the next image correcting section 54 .
In the example given above, the processing is executed by use of the overall image density RGB corresponding to the visible images in full colors. In addition to this, however, the residual silver image Ag Image may be determined for each color, for instance, for the visible image data of each of R, G, and B colors based on a correlation between the visible image data of each color and the IR data so that the visible image data can be corrected likewise.
However, the residual silver affects the image data for every color and involves a large quantity of calculations, and hence it is preferable that the residual silver be detected as in the example given above based on the overall visible image data RGB (x i , y i ) containing all the data in three primary colors.
As described above, the visible R-, G- and B-image data with the residual silver components corrected by the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 , are subsequently processed in the image correcting section 54 .
The image correcting section 54 executes various image processing operations to be done in the digital photoprint system. The image correcting section 54 executes image processing operations including image enlargement/reduction (electronic magnification), sharpening (sharpness enhancement), density correction, color correction (correction of saturation), dodging (expansion/compression of image density dynamic range) and gradation conversion.
According to this example, the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 corrects the visible image data in accordance with the extracted residual silver components, thereby compensating the adverse influence by the residual silver existing in the image recorded on the film F.
This is not the sole case of the present invention but the adverse influence caused by the residual silver may be corrected in the image correcting section 54 by changing the parameters for image processing such as the gradation conversion, color (saturation) correction and sharpness enhancement (graininess suppression) in accordance with the detected residual silver components and then performing image processing using changed parameters, when only the detection of residual silver components may be performed in the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 ,
After all, according to the present invention, the visible R-, G- and B-image data may be corrected in either of the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 and the image correcting section 54 .
The correction of the visible image data as such may be carried out such that change, in particular deterioration, in either gradation or color reproducibility or the both due to noise components such as residual silver components is compensated by image processing, or that the intensity of graininess suppression upon image processing is modified or increased in order to compensate change, in particular deterioration, in graininess due to noise components such as residual silver components.
As the correction of the visible image data, the compensation of gradation may be carried out as follows.
In the case of image reading from a normal image on a film without residual silver, there is a linear relationship (expressed by a linear function) between read signals (image data) and the density of dye images in respective colors of the image on the film, as shown by the graph (straight line) a in FIG. 6A . On the other hand, in the case that residual silver remains in an image, read signals suffer from an influence of the residual silver in the region where the density of dye images is higher, as shown by the graph (curve) b in FIG. 6B . Specifically, the linear relationship is lost and the graph b deviates from the linear graph (straight line) a upward so that the values of the read signals become larger than the normal ones, resulting in gradation hardening. The part of the graph b deviating from the linear graph a upward is the increment d caused by residual silver, as described before.
In order to eliminate the increment d caused by residual silver, therefore, as described before, a curve such as the graph c in FIG. 6C having characteristics reverse to those of the graph b may be used as a correction curve (correction table) for read signals (image data) to thereby obtain corrected signals (corrected image data).
Thus, the corrected signals (image data) with values equivalent to those of normal read signals, that get rid of the influence of residual silver components, can be obtained.
As described before, the compensation of gradation may be carried out in either of the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 and the image correcting section 54 . In the latter, the compensation of gradation may be realized by density correction or gradation conversion.
If the compensation of color reproducibility is to be carried out as the correction of the visible image data, the decrease in saturation is compensated by saturation enhancement by matrix processing. For instance, the corrected image data getting rid of the influence of the decrease in saturation due to residual silver can be obtained in the image correcting section 54 by matrix processing for correcting color or saturation, in which the intensity of saturation enhancement as a processing parameter is increased to subject the not-corrected image data to matrix processing for saturation enhancement. The compensation of color reproducibility may also be carried out in the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 instead of the image correcting section 54 .
It is also possible to carry out the compensation of deterioration in graininess due to the residual silver components as the correction of the visible image data. In that case, the corrected image data getting rid of the influence of the deterioration in graininess due to residual silver can be obtained, for instance, in the image correcting section 54 by increasing the intensity of graininess suppression (or even decreasing the sharpening intensity) upon sharpening processing (sharpness enhancement), or again, performing processing for graininess suppression with the intensity of graininess suppression made higher. Naturally, the compensation of graininess may also be carried out in the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 instead of the image correcting section 54 .
The visible image data having been subjected to various image processing operations in the image correcting section 54 , are outputted to the data converting section 58 .
The data converting section 58 uses for example a three-dimensional (3D)-LUT to convert the visible image data into image data for output suited to print outputting from the printer 22 , and outputs the thus converted image data to the printer 22 .
Note that the visible image data processed in the image correcting section 54 may be converted into a variety of image formats, e.g., a JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)-formatted image file, and this image file may be outputted to a recording medium such as a CD-R or an MD (mini disk) or both of the print and the image file may also be outputted in the print system 10 .
The printer 22 , which is a known color printer, scan-exposes a sheet of photographic printing paper two-dimensionally to the laser beams modulated in accordance with the supplied R-, G- and B-image data for output, to record a latent image thereon. The thus exposed photosensitive material is then subjected to a wet development process including color development, fixing and rinsing to render the latent image visible. The thus processed photosensitive material is then dried to produce a print to be output.
In the above embodiment, correcting the visible image and giving an alarm indicating that there is a large quantity of residual silver are both performed in accordance with the detected residual silver. However, this is not the sole case of the present invention and any one of correcting the visible image and giving the alarm may also be performed. Alternatively, the detected residual silver quantity may be only outputted or may be outputted in combination with other processing.
Further, in the above embodiment which is intended for reading of images on a film, noise components such as residual silver are detected and declines of image quality due to the noise components are even corrected. The present invention is, however, not restricted to this mode and may suitably be applied to reading of images on an image recording medium such as photographic printing paper.
Moreover, in the above embodiment intended for reading of images on an image recording medium, noise components such as residual silver are detected and declines of image quality due to the noise components are even corrected. It is assumed that this is not the sole case of the present invention but the present invention may be applied to detecting and correcting of an image defect attributed to dust or scratches. If dust or scratches are to be detected, the IR-density D de due to dust or scratches may be found by subtracting the IR-density D Ag due to residual silver from the read IR-density D IR to determine the presence of dust or scratches based on the value of the IR-density D de thus found. For instance, the pixel with an IR-density D de higher than the predetermined threshold may be determined as having dust or scratches.
To be more specific, as represented by the formula below in the embodiment as described above, corrected IR-image data IR′(x i ,y i ) may be found by subtracting residual silver image Ag image (x g ,y g ) from IR-image data IR(x i ,y i ) read from a pixel (xi,yi) to determine based on the corrected IR-image data IR′(x i ,y i ) thus found whether or not the pixel has dust or scratches.
IR ′( x i ,y i )= IR ( x i ,y i )− Ag image ( x g ,y g )
In case that the pixel having dust or scratches has been detected, the visible image in question or the visible R-, G- and B-image data thereof be corrected using the address information of the pixel so as to have the image regarded as free from the dust or scratches. The method for correcting the visible image having dust or scratches is not limited to particularly but any of various known methods including correction by means of interpolation and correction utilizing the sequentiality of pixels may be available.
The image reader and the image reading method according to the present invention have been described in detail so far. The present invention is not, however, limited to the embodiment discussed above and may be, as a matter of course, improved and modified in various ways within the range of the invention without departing from the concept of the invention.
As discussed above in detail, the image reader and the image reading method of the present invention for photoelectrically reading an image or the like photographed or recorded on an image recording medium such as a film and photographic printing paper make it possible to properly detect unwanted components including an image-forming intermediate product such as a silver component and an impurity remaining in the image.
Hence, according to the present invention, a high-quality image having no deterioration in gradation or color reproducibility such as the increase in gradation hardness in the high-density portion of the image and the decrease in saturation, or again, no deterioration in graininess, such deteriorations all caused by unwanted components such as residual silver, can be outputted by correcting the image data in accordance with the detected unwanted components such as residual silver. Further, the state of the processing liquid is grasped in accordance with the detected residual silver and the like, whereby maintenance of the developing device can be properly carried out.
According to the present invention, in addition, it is possible to shorten time to subject a silver halide photosensitive material such as a film and photographic printing paper to the processing in a developing device, namely time for development and in particular bleaching, and to allow margin for the processing conditions for the developing device. | The image reader reads photoelectrically an original image including a visible image and an invisible image. The image reader includes an image reading device for reading said original image with visible light and invisible light and a detecting unit which generates correlational pixel distribution information based on visible light signals and invisible light signals read by the image reading device and detects noise components in the original image by use of said pixel distribution information. The image reading method shortens time to perform processing for washing off silver components remaining in a film upon developing an original image on the film and eliminates an influence of residual silver components remaining in an original image on a developed film by image signal processing subsequent to reading of the original image on the developed film. | Summarize the patent document, focusing on the invention's functionality and advantages. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to an image reader for photoelectrically reading an original image or the like recorded on an image recording medium such as a film, and more particularly to an image reader and an image reading method capable of preventing an adverse influence of noise components including silver components by detecting the noise components remaining in an image recording medium such as a film.",
"Description of the Related Art Nowadays, a so-called direct exposure, in which a film image is exposed by projecting light onto a photosensitive material, is a major method for printing onto the photosensitive material (photographic printing paper) the image recorded on a photographic film (which will hereinafter be simply called a film) such as a negative film and a reversal film.",
"Further, a digital photoprinter has been utilized over the recent years, in which the image recorded on the film is photoelectrically read;",
"the read-out image has been converted into digital signals;",
"image data for recording are thereafter obtained by effecting a variety of image processing operations;",
"a photosensitive material is exposed to recording beams modulated in accordance with the image data to obtain a print;",
"and the print is then outputted.",
"According to the thus constructed digital photoprinter, the image recorded on the film is read, and the digital image data undergo the image processing.",
"It is therefore possible to highly preferably correct color and density thereof and further obtain a high-quality image by executing the image processing such as gradation correction and sharpness enhancement (sharpness correction), which cannot be basically implemented by direct-exposure type normal printers.",
"Moreover, the digital photoprinter outputs the print and, in addition, outputs (stores) the image data as an image file onto a recording medium such as a CD-R, HD (hard disk) and so on.",
"By the way, what is known as one factor of a quality decline of the print image in those photoprinters is silver components remaining in the image (which will hereinafter be called residual silver) on the developed (silver halide photographic) film.",
"A so-called color film is basically designed to remove all the existing silver components by bleaching and fixing executed after coloring/development.",
"If the processing is not properly executed due to deterioration of a processing liquid and in terms of temperature control, however, the silver components cannot be completely removed because of an occurrence of defect in the bleaching and fixing operations, with a result that the residual silver stays therein.",
"If the residual silver exists in the image, a variety of declines of image quality arise, in which a gradation of a high-density portion (highlight on the print) becomes hard, a saturation decreases, and so forth.",
"Accordingly, a production of the print with the high-quality image reproduced involves eliminating an adverse influence caused by the residual silver.",
"Under the present conditions, however, there is no alternative effective method but to prevent the residual silver from remaining in the image by properly managing the bleaching and fixing operations in developing the film.",
"In addition to an image-forming intermediate product in an image recording medium, including residual silver remaining in a film, an impurity remaining in an image recording medium may induce declines of image quality.",
"In order to avoid such declines of image quality, there is no alternative effective method but to prevent the impurity from remaining in the image as is the case with residual silver.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a primary object of the present invention, which was devised to obviate the problems inherent in the prior art described above, to provide an image reader and an image reading method for photoelectrically reading an original image etc.",
"photographed or recorded on an image recording medium such as a (photographic) film, the image reader and the image reading method being capable of properly detecting unwanted (signal) components other than image components, that are caused by either an image-forming intermediate product such as residual silver or an impurity or the both remaining in an original image recorded on an image recording medium including a silver halide photosensitive material such as a film and photographic printing paper, or even capable of correcting by image processing a decline of image quality due to the unwanted (signal) components such as residual silver and, as a consequence, shortening developing time to develop a silver halide photosensitive material such as a film and photographic printing paper, allowing certain margin for the processing conditions for a developing device, advantageously managing the developing device, and the like.",
"In order to attain the object described above, the present invention is to provide an image reader photoelectrically reading an original image including a visible image and an invisible image, comprising an image reading device for reading the original image with visible light and invisible light and a detecting unit which generates correlational pixel distribution information based on visible light signals and invisible light signals read by the image reading device and detects noise components in the original image by use of the pixel distribution information Preferably, the noise components are unwanted components other than image components in the original image which are caused by either an image-forming intermediate product or an impurity or both in an image recording medium carrying the original image thereon, and preferably, the unwanted components are silver components remaining in the original image.",
"Further, it is preferable that the image reading device reads the visible image of the original image by reading the visible light in three primary colors of red, green and blue, and the detecting unit generates the pixel distribution information by use of weighted visible light signals obtained by performing a weighting operation in which predetermined weighting is carried out with respect to each of the three primary colors of red, green and blue, and that the weighted visible light signals are obtained by performing the weighting operation with decreasing weight in order of red, green and blue of the three primary colors.",
"In addition, the present invention is to provide the above described image reader further comprising a correcting unit which generates correction information with the visible light signals as parameters in accordance with the noise components detected by the detecting unit and corrects the visible light signals read by the image reading device with an aid of the correction information.",
"Preferably, the correcting unit corrects the visible light signals such that change in gradation or color reproducibility or both due to the noise components are compensated by image signal processing or such that an intensity of graininess suppression upon image signal processing is modified in order to compensate change in graininess due to the noise components.",
"Further, it is preferable that the correcting unit generates the correction information on a basis of the invisible light signals exhibiting a minimum density in an aggregation of pixels which are identical to one another in the visible light signals relating to them.",
"And, the present invention is to provide the image reader further comprising an alarming device for giving an alarm when a quantity of the noise components detected by the detecting unit exceeds a predetermined value.",
"Furthermore, in order to attain the above-mentioned object, the present invention is to provide an image reading method comprising shortening time to perform processing for washing off silver components remaining in a film upon developing an original image on the film and eliminating an influence of residual silver components remaining in an original image on a developed film by image signal processing subsequent to reading of the original image on the developed film.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings: FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a digital photoprint system utilizing an image reader according to the present invention;",
"FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a scanner of the digital photoprint system illustrated in FIG. 1 ;",
"FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an image processing unit of the digital photoprint system shown in FIG. 1 ;",
"FIGS. 4A , 4 B, 4 C and 4 D are explanatory graphs each showing how residual silver is detected according to the present invention;",
"FIG. 5 is an explanatory flowchart showing detection of the residual silver and image correction according to the present invention;",
"and FIGS. 6A , 6 B and 6 C are explanatory graphs showing how gradation deterioration due to residual silver is compensated according to the present invention.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The image reader and the image reading method according to the present invention will hereinafter be described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.",
"FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a digital photoprint system utilizing an image reader of the present invention.",
"A digital photoprint system (hereinafter simply called the print system) 10 depicted in FIG. 1 photoelectrically reads an image recorded on a (photographic) film F and outputs the thus read image as a (photographic) print.",
"The digital photoprint system basically comprises a scanner 12 , an image processing unit 14 , a display 18 , an operation system 20 (a keyboard 20 a and a mouse 20 b ), and a printer 22 .",
"FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of the scanner 12 shown in FIG. 1 .",
"The scanner 12 is a device that photoelectrically reads an image recorded on each of frames of the film F. The scanner 12 includes, as shown in FIG. 2 , a light source 24 , a driver 26 , a diffusion box 28 , a carrier 30 , an imaging lens unit 32 , a reading section 34 , an amplifier 36 and an A/D (analog-to-digital) converter 38 .",
"The light source 24 of the scanner 12 in this illustrative embodiment involves use of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes).",
"The light source 24 is constructed of an array of LEDs such as three types of LEDs emitting visible light for R (red), G (green) and B (blue), respectively, and an LED that emits invisible IR (infrared) light.",
"The thus constructed light source 24 is driven by the driver 26 , whereby the visible light and the IR light are emitted in sequence.",
"The diffusion box 28 serves to diffuse the light from the light source 24 to make incident light upon the film F uniform in the direction across the film F. The carrier 30 intermittently carries the film F so that respective images recorded on the film F (respective frames) can be sequentially carried to and held in a predetermined reading position.",
"Plural types of carriers 30 are prepared corresponding to film sizes, etc.",
"and detachably attached to a body of the scanner 12 .",
"In the illustrative example, the carrier 30 has a couple of carrier rollers 40 a, 40 b that are disposed to oppose with respect to the reading position and that carry the film F in a longitudinal direction, and a mask 42 that defines a reading area of each frame in the predetermined reading position.",
"The imaging lens unit 32 focuses projected light from the film F to form an image in a predetermined position on the reading section 34 .",
"The reading section 34 , which photoelectrically reads the image recorded on the film F, reads the whole image of one frame defined by the mask 42 of the carrier 30 (image reading based on planar exposure) with an area CCD sensor.",
"When the thus configured scanner 12 reads the image on the film F, to start with, the carrier 30 carries the film F so that the frame (which is normally a first or final frame) to be read is moved to the reading position.",
"Next, under the action of the driver 26 , for instance, the LED for R in the light source 24 is driven to emit R-light.",
"The R-light, after its light quantity has been uniformed by the diffusion box 28 in the direction across the film F, impinges on the frame held in the reading position and passes therethrough to provide projected light bearing the image recorded on this frame.",
"The imaging lens unit 32 images the projected light in the predetermined position of the reading section 34 (on a light receiving surface of the area CCD sensor), thereby photoelectrically reading an R-image of this frame.",
"Similarly, the LEDs for G and B in the light source 24 sequentially emit G- and B-light, and G- and B-images of this frame are read.",
"Finally, the LED for IR in the light source 24 emits IR light, and an IR-image of the IR light is read.",
"The reading of the images of this frame is thus finished.",
"Accordingly, the scanner 12 outputs 4-channel image data including image data (visible light signals) of the respective R, G and B visible images and image data (invisible light signals) of the IR-image (invisible image).",
"Upon finishing the 1-frame image reading, the carrier 30 further carries the film F so that a frame to be read next is moved to the reading position.",
"The output data from the reading section 34 is amplified by the amplifier 36 , then converted into digital data by the A/D converter 38 , and outputted to the image processing unit 14 (a data correcting section 44 ).",
"According to the present invention, the image reading unit is not limited to the scanner 12 in the illustrative embodiment.",
"For example, a scheme may also be possible in which not the 4-color LEDs but a white light source such as a halogen lamp is used, and a mechanism for inserting R-, G-, B- and IR-filters is provided upstream of the diffusion box 28 , whereby the images recorded on the film are read on the same 4-channel basis.",
"The alternative scheme is that a so-called slit scan involving the use of the white light source and a 4-line CCD sensor for reading the R- G-, B- and IR-images, is utilized for reading the images recorded on the film on the same 4-channel basis.",
"The print system 10 usually executes the image reading twice for one frame, i.e., a fine scan for reading images with a high resolution in order to output a print etc.",
"and a pre-scan, performed before the fine scan, for reading images with a low resolution in order to determine fine scan reading conditions and image processing conditions in the image processing unit 14 .",
"On this occasion, the output signals in the pre-scan and the fine scan are basically the same data except that the resolutions and output levels are different.",
"As discussed above, the digital image signals outputted from the scanner 12 are outputted to the image processing unit 14 .",
"FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the image processing unit 14 .",
"As shown in FIG. 3 , the image processing unit 14 includes a data correcting section 44 , a Log converter 46 , frame memories (which will hereinafter be abbreviated to FMs) 48 , a residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 , an image correcting section 54 and a data converting section (3D-LUT) 58 .",
"Although not shown, the image processing unit 14 of the print system 10 is branched downstream in the direction of a data flow (hereinafter simply called “downstream”) from the Log converter 46 to have basically similar processing route to FMs 48 through the data converting section 58 in order to process pre-scan data and display a test simulation image on the display 20 .",
"Note that this processing route may or may not contain the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 .",
"The data correcting section 44 subjects each of R-, G-, B- and IR-image data outputted from the scanner 12 to predetermined corrections such as DC offset correction, dark current correction or shading correction.",
"The Log converter 46 subjects the data processed by the data correcting section 44 to logarithmic conversion with an LUT (lookup table) for example to thereby obtain digital image (density) data.",
"The respective R-, G-, B- and IR-image data converted by the Log converter 46 are stored in their corresponding FMs 48 .",
"The image data stored in the FMs 48 are processed in the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 .",
"The residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 detects residual silver (silver components remaining) in the images recorded on the film F by use of image data of the respective visible images of R, G and B three primary colors (hereinafter simply referred to as visible image data) and the IR-image (invisible image) data (hereinafter simply called IR data).",
"Further, the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 corrects as required each visible image data in such a way that the detected residual silver is removed and, if the residual silver exceeds a predetermined quantity, optionally gives an alarm indicating this.",
"The film F on which the image is formed through the silver-halide photography is basically designed to remove all the existing silver components by bleaching and fixing performed after the coloring/development.",
"When deterioration in the processing liquid used or various other factors cause a failure in the bleaching, however, unwanted components including intermediate products during image formation such as residual silver and impurities, in other words, noise components remain in the image (film F).",
"Due to these noise components, there occur, as explained above, various drawbacks including the deterioration of the gradation and color reproducibility.",
"To be more specific, gradation hardness is increased in high-density portions, saturation is decreased and graininess is deteriorated, that is, image remains grainy.",
"Further, the study made by the present inventor shows that the noise components such as the residual silver and impurities often remains in a high-density portion (a high luminance part of a photographed scene) more than in low through intermediate density areas, in accordance with a limit of the processing liquid in the case of a negative film.",
"There is a high possibility that adverse influences such as the deterioration in the gradation, color reproducibility and graininess as exemplified by increased gradation hardness in high-density portions and decrease in the saturation due to the residual silver can be corrected by image processing, as far as the noise components such as the residual silver and impurities in the image can be properly detected from the digital image data photoelectrically read.",
"As a result of intensive studies conducted on the method of detecting the noise components such as the residual silver in the image, the inventor has found that the invisible light such as the IR light is not absorbed by the image (more specifically by image-forming dyes) but absorbed by the residual silver or other noise components, and that, by utilizing this phenomenon, the residual silver or other noise components in the image can be properly detected from a correlational pixel distribution between the photoelectrically read visible image and the invisible image.",
"In the following description, the residual silver is referred to as a typical example of the noise components.",
"However, this is not the sole example of the present invention.",
"FIGS. 4A-4D show one example showing a correlation between the densities (image data) of the visible images and the density (image data) of the IR image in each pixel of a given image, respectively.",
"Note that FIG. 4A shows a correlation between R-density (D R ) and IR-density (D IR ), FIG. 4B shows a correlation between G-density (D G ) and IR-density (D IR ), and FIG. 4C shows a correlation between B-density (D B ) and IR-density (D IR ), respectively.",
"Further, FIG. 4D shows a correlation between IR-density (D IR ) and overall density (D V ) of a visible image as a full-color image containing all the visible R-, G- and B-images.",
"Note that a method of calculating the overall density D V is not particularly limited and a variety of calculation methods utilized for the image processing are available.",
"For example, the density D V may be calculated by means of weighting using the following equation: D V =αD R +βD G +γD B where α, β and γ are weighting coefficients.",
"These coefficients may be appropriately determined depending on the characteristics of the system and the type of film.",
"However, when the film F is a negative film, usually an R sensitive layer is disposed undermost, while a B sensitive layer is disposed uppermost.",
"Hence, when taking into consideration a silver component cleansing characteristic based on the layer structure, it is preferable that α is larger than β, which in turn is larger than γ, that is, the relationship of α>β>γ be established therebetween.",
"As shown in FIGS. 4A-4D , a minimum line of the IR density (D IR ) rises on the high-density side in any of the visible image densities including R-density (D R ), G-density (D G ), B-density (D B ) and overall density (D V ).",
"The IR light is not absorbed by the image (or the dyes), and therefore, if there is no residual silver, the IR-density D IR does not depend on the visible image density but should become a specified density corresponding to the inherent IR-density (IR absorption quantity) that the film F basically contains, that is, draw a straight line (a dotted line C in FIGS. 4A-4D ).",
"It can be therefore considered that the minimum line of the IR-density above this dotted line C indicates the IR-density derived from the residual silver.",
"The pixels of which the IR density is above the minimum line are considered to have dust or scratches on a film, which diffuses the IR light and reduces the quantity of light.",
"Therefore, the read IR-density D IR can be expressed as the sum of the inherent IR-density C the film F basically contains, the IR-density D Ag due to the residual silver, and the IR-density D de due to the dust adhered to the film or other scratches by using the following equation: D IR =D Ag +D do +C Supposing here that the residual silver exerts an influence upon the IR-density, the same influence should be exerted on the visible image density, i.e., the IR-density (DIR) and the visible image densities (D R , D G , D a , D v ) of the same pixel (the same image position) must have a correlation.",
"Further, as explained above, if it is considered that the film has no dust (D de =0), D IR =D Ag +C.",
"Therefore, the minimum IR-density D IR in an aggregation of pixels exhibiting the same visible image density may be considered to be a sum of the IR-density derived from the residual silver in this visible image density and the inherent IR density C, even if the film has dust.",
"Accordingly, when the inherent IR-density C plotted by the dotted line C in FIGS. 4A-4D , which is originally contained in the film, is subtracted from the minimum IR-density D IR , the IR-density D Ag due to the residual silver can be determined whereby the component of the residual silver existing in the visible image recorded on the film F can be detected.",
"The pixel having the same visible image densities refers to the pixel in which the respective visible image densities (D R , D G , D B , D V ) take the same values.",
"As to the overall density D V , the aggregation of pixels having the same visible image densities may include not only the one in which the overall density D V is the same but also the one in which the R, G and B densities (D R , D G , D B ) are the same, that is, the one only composed of the pixels having the same color densities.",
"The thus detected residual silver component can be used to correct the visible image data or change processing parameters of the visible image data in the gradation conversion, color (saturation) correction, and (graininess suppression and) sharpness enhancement performed in the image correcting section 54 (described later), whereby adverse effects due to the residual silver remaining in the image on the film F can be corrected to ensure that high quality images are outputted without causing deterioration in the gradation, color reproducibility and graininess as exemplified by the gradation hardening in highlights or decrease in the saturation.",
"Further, since the deterioration of the processing liquid such as the bleaching liquid and the excessive bleaching process can be detected from the quantity of the detected residual silver components, proper management of the processing liquid used and shortening of the processing time, that is, the time required for development and in particular bleaching can be realized without using any dedicated maintenance tool such as a densitometer in a developing device.",
"The processing in the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 will hereinafter be more specifically described with reference to FIG. 5 .",
"As explained above, the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 reads out both of the visible R-, G- and B-image data and the IR data that have been stored in the FMs 48 .",
"First, the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 determines for all the pixels (x i , y i ) a correlational pixel distribution of RGB (x i , y i ) defined as the overall visible image data containing all the visible R-, G- and B-images and IR (x i , y i ) defined as the IR data as shown in FIG. 4D .",
"Note that RGB(x i , y i ) can be given by the above equation, i.e., D V =αD R +βD G +γD B , for example.",
"Next, the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 detects the minimum IR data in the aggregation of pixels having the same RGB(x i , y i ), and regards the detected minimum IR data as MinIR[RGB(x g , y g )] in this pixel aggregation g. Namely, MinIR[RGB(x g , y g )] is a minimum line of the IR density D IR shown in FIG. 4D .",
"Moreover, after determining MinIR[RGB(x g , y g )], the inherent density value C (density value of the IR-density D IR plotted by the dotted line C in FIGS. 4A-4D ) defined as the inherent IR-density basically contained in the film F is subtracted from MinIR[RGB(x g , y g )], thereby calculating a residual silver image Ag Image (x g , y g ).",
"Namely, this residual silver image is given by: Ag Image ( x g , y g )=Min IR[RGB ( x g , y g )]− C It is to be noted that the residual silver image Ag Image (x g , y g ) may be table-formatted for every pixel aggregation g and thus stored, or may be used as a function such as F[Ag Image (x g , y g )], corresponding to the total pixel aggregation.",
"If the value of the residual silver image Ag Image (x g , y g ) is larger than a predetermined (threshold) value, the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 outputs this information (warning) to a control section of the image processing unit 14 .",
"The image processing unit 14 having received this information emits an alarming sound and gives an indication on the display 18 , thus alarming that the film F contains much residual silver.",
"The thus determined residual silver image Ag Image (x g , y g ) is used as a correction coefficient to subtract the residual silver image Ag Image (x g , y g ) of the corresponding pixel aggregation from each of the visible R-, G- and B-image data sets of the respective pixels (x i , y i ), thereby obtaining corrected visible image data R′ G′ and B′.",
"Namely, the data R′, G′ and B′ are given by: R ′( x i , y i )= R ( x i , y i )− Ag Image ( x g , y g ) G ′( x i , y i )= G ( x i , y i )− Ag Image ( x g , y g ) B ′( x i , y i )= B ( x i , y i )− Ag Image ( x g , y g ) The residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 sends the thus calculated corrected visible image data R′, G′ and B′ to the next image correcting section 54 .",
"In the example given above, the processing is executed by use of the overall image density RGB corresponding to the visible images in full colors.",
"In addition to this, however, the residual silver image Ag Image may be determined for each color, for instance, for the visible image data of each of R, G, and B colors based on a correlation between the visible image data of each color and the IR data so that the visible image data can be corrected likewise.",
"However, the residual silver affects the image data for every color and involves a large quantity of calculations, and hence it is preferable that the residual silver be detected as in the example given above based on the overall visible image data RGB (x i , y i ) containing all the data in three primary colors.",
"As described above, the visible R-, G- and B-image data with the residual silver components corrected by the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 , are subsequently processed in the image correcting section 54 .",
"The image correcting section 54 executes various image processing operations to be done in the digital photoprint system.",
"The image correcting section 54 executes image processing operations including image enlargement/reduction (electronic magnification), sharpening (sharpness enhancement), density correction, color correction (correction of saturation), dodging (expansion/compression of image density dynamic range) and gradation conversion.",
"According to this example, the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 corrects the visible image data in accordance with the extracted residual silver components, thereby compensating the adverse influence by the residual silver existing in the image recorded on the film F. This is not the sole case of the present invention but the adverse influence caused by the residual silver may be corrected in the image correcting section 54 by changing the parameters for image processing such as the gradation conversion, color (saturation) correction and sharpness enhancement (graininess suppression) in accordance with the detected residual silver components and then performing image processing using changed parameters, when only the detection of residual silver components may be performed in the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 , After all, according to the present invention, the visible R-, G- and B-image data may be corrected in either of the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 and the image correcting section 54 .",
"The correction of the visible image data as such may be carried out such that change, in particular deterioration, in either gradation or color reproducibility or the both due to noise components such as residual silver components is compensated by image processing, or that the intensity of graininess suppression upon image processing is modified or increased in order to compensate change, in particular deterioration, in graininess due to noise components such as residual silver components.",
"As the correction of the visible image data, the compensation of gradation may be carried out as follows.",
"In the case of image reading from a normal image on a film without residual silver, there is a linear relationship (expressed by a linear function) between read signals (image data) and the density of dye images in respective colors of the image on the film, as shown by the graph (straight line) a in FIG. 6A .",
"On the other hand, in the case that residual silver remains in an image, read signals suffer from an influence of the residual silver in the region where the density of dye images is higher, as shown by the graph (curve) b in FIG. 6B .",
"Specifically, the linear relationship is lost and the graph b deviates from the linear graph (straight line) a upward so that the values of the read signals become larger than the normal ones, resulting in gradation hardening.",
"The part of the graph b deviating from the linear graph a upward is the increment d caused by residual silver, as described before.",
"In order to eliminate the increment d caused by residual silver, therefore, as described before, a curve such as the graph c in FIG. 6C having characteristics reverse to those of the graph b may be used as a correction curve (correction table) for read signals (image data) to thereby obtain corrected signals (corrected image data).",
"Thus, the corrected signals (image data) with values equivalent to those of normal read signals, that get rid of the influence of residual silver components, can be obtained.",
"As described before, the compensation of gradation may be carried out in either of the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 and the image correcting section 54 .",
"In the latter, the compensation of gradation may be realized by density correction or gradation conversion.",
"If the compensation of color reproducibility is to be carried out as the correction of the visible image data, the decrease in saturation is compensated by saturation enhancement by matrix processing.",
"For instance, the corrected image data getting rid of the influence of the decrease in saturation due to residual silver can be obtained in the image correcting section 54 by matrix processing for correcting color or saturation, in which the intensity of saturation enhancement as a processing parameter is increased to subject the not-corrected image data to matrix processing for saturation enhancement.",
"The compensation of color reproducibility may also be carried out in the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 instead of the image correcting section 54 .",
"It is also possible to carry out the compensation of deterioration in graininess due to the residual silver components as the correction of the visible image data.",
"In that case, the corrected image data getting rid of the influence of the deterioration in graininess due to residual silver can be obtained, for instance, in the image correcting section 54 by increasing the intensity of graininess suppression (or even decreasing the sharpening intensity) upon sharpening processing (sharpness enhancement), or again, performing processing for graininess suppression with the intensity of graininess suppression made higher.",
"Naturally, the compensation of graininess may also be carried out in the residual silver detecting/correcting section 50 instead of the image correcting section 54 .",
"The visible image data having been subjected to various image processing operations in the image correcting section 54 , are outputted to the data converting section 58 .",
"The data converting section 58 uses for example a three-dimensional (3D)-LUT to convert the visible image data into image data for output suited to print outputting from the printer 22 , and outputs the thus converted image data to the printer 22 .",
"Note that the visible image data processed in the image correcting section 54 may be converted into a variety of image formats, e.g., a JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)-formatted image file, and this image file may be outputted to a recording medium such as a CD-R or an MD (mini disk) or both of the print and the image file may also be outputted in the print system 10 .",
"The printer 22 , which is a known color printer, scan-exposes a sheet of photographic printing paper two-dimensionally to the laser beams modulated in accordance with the supplied R-, G- and B-image data for output, to record a latent image thereon.",
"The thus exposed photosensitive material is then subjected to a wet development process including color development, fixing and rinsing to render the latent image visible.",
"The thus processed photosensitive material is then dried to produce a print to be output.",
"In the above embodiment, correcting the visible image and giving an alarm indicating that there is a large quantity of residual silver are both performed in accordance with the detected residual silver.",
"However, this is not the sole case of the present invention and any one of correcting the visible image and giving the alarm may also be performed.",
"Alternatively, the detected residual silver quantity may be only outputted or may be outputted in combination with other processing.",
"Further, in the above embodiment which is intended for reading of images on a film, noise components such as residual silver are detected and declines of image quality due to the noise components are even corrected.",
"The present invention is, however, not restricted to this mode and may suitably be applied to reading of images on an image recording medium such as photographic printing paper.",
"Moreover, in the above embodiment intended for reading of images on an image recording medium, noise components such as residual silver are detected and declines of image quality due to the noise components are even corrected.",
"It is assumed that this is not the sole case of the present invention but the present invention may be applied to detecting and correcting of an image defect attributed to dust or scratches.",
"If dust or scratches are to be detected, the IR-density D de due to dust or scratches may be found by subtracting the IR-density D Ag due to residual silver from the read IR-density D IR to determine the presence of dust or scratches based on the value of the IR-density D de thus found.",
"For instance, the pixel with an IR-density D de higher than the predetermined threshold may be determined as having dust or scratches.",
"To be more specific, as represented by the formula below in the embodiment as described above, corrected IR-image data IR′(x i ,y i ) may be found by subtracting residual silver image Ag image (x g ,y g ) from IR-image data IR(x i ,y i ) read from a pixel (xi,yi) to determine based on the corrected IR-image data IR′(x i ,y i ) thus found whether or not the pixel has dust or scratches.",
"IR ′( x i ,y i )= IR ( x i ,y i )− Ag image ( x g ,y g ) In case that the pixel having dust or scratches has been detected, the visible image in question or the visible R-, G- and B-image data thereof be corrected using the address information of the pixel so as to have the image regarded as free from the dust or scratches.",
"The method for correcting the visible image having dust or scratches is not limited to particularly but any of various known methods including correction by means of interpolation and correction utilizing the sequentiality of pixels may be available.",
"The image reader and the image reading method according to the present invention have been described in detail so far.",
"The present invention is not, however, limited to the embodiment discussed above and may be, as a matter of course, improved and modified in various ways within the range of the invention without departing from the concept of the invention.",
"As discussed above in detail, the image reader and the image reading method of the present invention for photoelectrically reading an image or the like photographed or recorded on an image recording medium such as a film and photographic printing paper make it possible to properly detect unwanted components including an image-forming intermediate product such as a silver component and an impurity remaining in the image.",
"Hence, according to the present invention, a high-quality image having no deterioration in gradation or color reproducibility such as the increase in gradation hardness in the high-density portion of the image and the decrease in saturation, or again, no deterioration in graininess, such deteriorations all caused by unwanted components such as residual silver, can be outputted by correcting the image data in accordance with the detected unwanted components such as residual silver.",
"Further, the state of the processing liquid is grasped in accordance with the detected residual silver and the like, whereby maintenance of the developing device can be properly carried out.",
"According to the present invention, in addition, it is possible to shorten time to subject a silver halide photosensitive material such as a film and photographic printing paper to the processing in a developing device, namely time for development and in particular bleaching, and to allow margin for the processing conditions for the developing device."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/524376, filed Aug. 17, 2011, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The technology described herein relates generally restoration of grooves used in conjunction with seal wire, particularly to methods of restoring the profile of such grooves, and more particularly, to thermal spray techniques for such restorations.
[0003] Many gas turbine engine assemblies include a seal between adjacent surfaces of moving and non-moving parts, such as a rotating disk and a stationary structure, or between parts which have clearances between their mating surfaces. One common construction for such seals utilizes a seal wire formed of one or more segments which is inserted into a groove in one part and biased against the opposing part in sealing engagement.
[0004] During operation, the constant contact between the seal wire and the mating surface results in wear of the seal wire and/or movement of the seal wire within its groove. Since the seal wires are typically fashioned from one or more segments, with abutting ends located at one or more locations around their circumference. movement of the seal wire within the groove may result in fretting and/or other wear of the groove resulting from the motion of the seal wire ends. Over time this fretting or wear of the groove enlarges the groove and reduces the effectiveness of the seal wire arrangement,
[0005] During repair and overhaul operations it is desirable to restore the seal wire and groove assembly to original or other suitable dimensions and tolerances. However, due to limitations of current repair methods it is frequently necessary to scrap and replace the rotor assembly with a new one having the proper groove dimensions. There remains a need for a repair method which will restore the groove geometry in a durable and economical fashion.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] In one aspect, a method of repairing a seal wire groove, the groove forming an annular structure having an outer surface and an inner surface and defining an original profile when new, comprising the steps of: removing a less-than-annular portion of the original profile of the groove to remove damaged portions of at least one of the inner and outer surfaces thereby forming a void; adding new material to the void; and shaping the new material to form a new profile of the groove.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional illustration of an exemplary gas turbine engine assembly; and
[0008] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional elevational illustration of an exemplary compressor spool depicting a representative location for remaining illustrations;
[0009] FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial elevational sectional illustration of a compressor blade mounted on a compressor spool;
[0010] FIG. 4 is a more enlarged partial elevational sectional illustration depicting and defining relevant dimensions;
[0011] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional illustration of a complete revolution of the compressor spool including seal wire sections installed;
[0012] FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 depicting fretting wear due to motion of the seal wire in service;
[0013] FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 depicting a portion of the compressor spool after material removal of the damaged portion;
[0014] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the portion of the compressor spool of FIG. 7 taken through an intermediate station of the material removal to illustrate the end of the removal;
[0015] FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 7 after new repair material has been added; and
[0016] FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 after the new repair material of FIG. 9 has been machined to the correct profile.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0017] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional schematic illustration of an exemplary gas turbine engine assembly 10 having a longitudinal axis 11 . Gas turbine engine assembly 10 includes a fan assembly 12 and a core gas turbine engine 13 . Core gas turbine engine 13 includes a high pressure compressor 14 , a combustor 16 , and a high pressure turbine 18 . In the exemplary embodiment, gas turbine engine assembly 10 also includes a low pressure turbine 20 , and a multi-stage booster compressor 32 , and a splitter 34 that substantially circumscribes booster 32 .
[0018] Fan assembly 12 includes an array of fan blades 24 extending radially outward from a rotor disk 26 , the forward portion of which is enclosed by a streamlined spinner 25 . Gas turbine engine assembly 10 has an intake side 28 and an exhaust side 30 . Fan assembly 12 , booster 22 , and turbine 20 are coupled together by a first rotor shaft 11 , and compressor 14 and turbine 18 are coupled together by a second rotor shaft 22 .
[0019] In operation, air flows through fan assembly 12 and a first portion 50 of the airflow is channeled through booster 32 . The compressed air that is discharged from booster 32 is channeled through compressor 14 wherein the airflow is further compressed and delivered to combustor 16 . Hot products of combustion (not shown in FIG. 1 ) from combustor 16 are utilized to drive turbines 18 and 20 , and turbine 20 is utilized to drive fan assembly 12 and booster 32 by way of shaft 21 . Gas turbine engine assembly 10 is operable at a range of operating conditions between design operating conditions and off-design operating conditions.
[0020] A second portion 52 of the airflow discharged from fan assembly 12 is channeled through a bypass duct 40 to bypass a portion of the airflow from fan assembly 12 around core gas turbine engine 13 . More specifically, bypass duct 40 extends between a fan casing or shroud 36 and splitter 34 . Accordingly, a first portion 50 of the airflow from fan assembly 12 is channeled through booster 32 and then into compressor 14 as described above, and a second portion 52 of the airflow from fan assembly 12 is channeled through bypass duct 40 to provide thrust for an aircraft, for example. Splitter 34 divides the incoming airflow into first and second portions 50 and 52 , respectively. Gas turbine engine assembly 10 also includes a fan frame assembly 60 to provide structural support for fan assembly 12 and is also utilized to couple fan assembly 12 to core gas turbine engine 13 .
[0021] Fan frame assembly 60 includes a plurality of outlet guide vanes 70 that extend substantially radially between a radially outer mounting flange and a radially inner mounting flange and are circumferentially-spaced within bypass duct 40 . Fan frame assembly 60 may also include a plurality of struts that are coupled between a radially outer mounting flange and a radially inner mounting flange. In one embodiment, fan frame assembly 60 is fabricated in arcuate segments in which flanges are coupled to outlet guide vanes 70 and struts. In one embodiment, outlet guide vanes and struts are coupled coaxially within bypass duct 40 . Optionally, outlet guide vanes 70 may be coupled downstream from struts within bypass duct 40 .
[0022] Fan frame assembly 60 is one of various frame and support assemblies of gas turbine engine assembly 10 that are used to facilitate maintaining an orientation of various components within gas turbine engine assembly 10 . More specifically, such frame and support assemblies interconnect stationary components and provide rotor bearing supports. Fan frame assembly 60 is coupled downstream from fan assembly 12 within bypass duct 40 such that outlet guide vanes 70 and struts are circumferentially-spaced around the outlet of fan assembly 12 and extend across the airflow path discharged from fan assembly 12 .
[0023] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional elevational illustration of an exemplary compressor spool 90 forming a part of the compressor 14 of FIG. 1 , depicting a representative location identified with the circle and numeral 3 for the more detailed illustrations which follow.
[0024] FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial elevational sectional illustration of a compressor blade 91 mounted on a compressor spool 90 . As shown in FIG. 3 , the compressor blade 91 includes several elements such as an airfoil 92 , a dovetail 93 , and a platform 95 between the airfoil 92 and the dovetail 93 . The dovetail 93 is sized and shaped to fit in dovetail slot 97 of compressor spool 90 to secure the blade 91 to the spool 90 . The spool 90 and dovetail slot 97 are annular structures and a plurality of blades 91 are secured to the spool 90 around their circumference, though only a single blade 91 is illustrated for clarity. Also shown in FIG. 3 is a seal wire groove 94 for containing a seal wire 96 to form a seal between the platform 95 and the spool 90 to enhance efficiency of the compressor 14 in operation and thereby improve fuel consumption of the gas turbine engine assembly 10 .
[0025] FIG. 4 is a more enlarged partial elevational sectional illustration of the elements of FIG. 3 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the seal wire groove 94 is spaced inwardly from the edge of the disk portion 98 of the compressor spool 90 by a dimension A which forms a shoulder 99 and a dimension B which forms a horizontal surface on the outer side of the groove 94 . These shapes and dimensions are sized, shaped, and configured for the specific gas turbine engine assembly 10 for which they are intended, so the illustrations herein are intended to be illustrative and not limiting in terms of geometry. The platform 94 typically has a complementary shape to the radially-outer surfaces of the disk portion 98 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the seal wire 96 is located in the seal wire groove 94 and typically biased radially outwardly against the underside of the platform 94 . The disk portion 98 may be formed from a metallic material, in which case the inner and outer surfaces of the groove 94 are formed of a metallic material. The seal wire 96 may also be formed of a metallic material and may be generally rectangular in cross section.
[0026] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional illustration of a complete revolution of the compressor spool 90 including sections of seal wire 96 installed in groove 94 . The seal wire 96 will typically comprise multiple (more than one) pieces of material and thus have at least two ends 100 , In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , the seal wire 96 is formed in three (3) sections having six (6) ends labeled 100 . Each of the ends 100 is a potential source for wear of the seal wire groove 94 .
[0027] In service, the vibrations, pressures, and thermal effects experienced by the seal wire 96 often result in “fretting” wear to the surfaces of the groove 94 in the vicinity of the ends 100 due to their movement in various directions. This wear results in removal of material from the surfaces of the groove 94 such as depicted in wear zones 101 in FIG. 5 , such that the grove 94 is enlarged in cross section and deviates from the original profile of the groove 94 When in a new condition. Wear may occur to the outer surface (proximal to the shoulder 99 ), to the opposing inner surface, or both. This results in a reduced sealing capability of the seal wire 96 and may also accelerate wear as the ends 100 of the seal wire have more freedom of movement as the degree of wear increases.
[0028] FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 depicting fretting wear 101 due to motion of the ends 100 of the seal wire 96 in service. In contrast to the condition of the surfaces and elements depicted in FIG. 4 , as shown in FIG. 6 portions of the groove 94 are worn away and enlarged such that the surfaces of the groove 94 are no longer consistent with the original profile of the groove 94 when it was in a like-new, as-manufactured condition. Surfaces of the seal wire 96 in this illustration are also shown as irregular and worn. Typically the condition of the seal wire 96 is of less concern than the condition of the groove 94 as the seal wire 96 is typically replaced with a new seal wire during repair while for economic reasons it is desirable to repair and restore the profile of the groove 94 and retain the disk portion 98 of the spool 90 for continued service.
[0029] FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 depicting a portion of the compressor spool 90 after material removal of the damaged portion in the wear zone 101 . Material removal of the worn, irregular, soiled, or otherwise deteriorated portion of the surfaces groove 94 is the first step in the method of repairing the groove 94 . This removal results in a void having a new profile 102 which differs from the original profile 103 (shown in dotted line in FIG. 7 ), and has surfaces which are relatively solid, smooth, and of uniform character. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the repair method is being accomplished on the outer surface (proximal to shoulder 99 ) of the groove 94 , although it could be equally applied to the opposing inner surface, or to both surfaces. Material removal to generate the new profile 102 may be accomplished by mechanical means, such as machining by rotary tools such as a saw blade or abrasive disk, or other means such as chemical or electrical machining processes, and may be done in one pass or in multiple steps or stages. A tool with an appropriate profile may be used, or a tool with a generic profile which is controlled in such a manner as to generate the proper profile may be used.
[0030] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the portion of the disk portion 98 of the compressor spool 90 of FIG. 7 taken through an intermediate station of the material removal section (new profile 102 ) to illustrate the end 104 of the removal. Because the material removal occurs over a less-than-annular portion or segment of the annular disk 98 , it by definition forms a void having at least two ends 104 for each material removal and defines a localized repair area. It is believed that these ends 104 , being defined by remaining portions of original material of the disk 98 , provide stability and support for the new material to be added to restore the original profile 103 of the groove 94 . The lead in angle and radius characteristics of the ends 104 , such as an exit radius, may be determined with both the tooling and techniques used for the material removal, as well as the adhesion and minimum thickness requirements for the new material to be added. Repairs made with new material which is too thin in cross section or comparatively lower adhesion characteristics may tend to spall during engine operation.
[0031] FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 7 after new repair material 104 has been added to build back material equal to or greater than the original profile 103 of the groove 94 . Said differently, new material is added in excess of the volume of the void. The addition of new material can be accomplished by any suitable method or apparatus depending upon the quantity and type of material to be added and upon the size, shape, and material from which the disk 98 is constructed.
[0032] Metal Thermal Spray is one category of suitable material addition processes. In an exemplary embodiment, the material addition may be Inco 718 material being sprayed using the Hyper-Velocity Oxy-Fuel (HVOF) process, Various metals can be applied using this method, not just Inco 718 . Other metal spray processes such as Plasma spray may also be utilized. Representative processes involve spraying molten metal through a nozzle at the target area of the part being repaired and building up the material in the seal wire groove 94 to achieve a condition such as shown in FIG. 9 . The HVOF process has been found to exhibit a lesser amount of voiding and is easier to machine to the desired finished profile than some other potential processes. It has also been found to do a minimal amount of parent material damage (i.e., to the disk material at or below the removal profile 102 ) because it maintains the repair area parent material temperatures below solution or melting. With certain other processes such as a typical weld process, it could heat the area to a point that could alter the metal grain structure or cause micro cracking.
[0033] FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 of the disk 98 after the new repair material 104 of FIG. 9 has been shaped, such as by machining, to the proper finished profile 105 . The new finished profile 105 will typically be the same as or substantially similar to the original as-manufactured profile 103 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 . However, under certain circumstances the new profile 105 could differ particularly if a replacement seal wire 96 having a different geometry were to be used. In such a scenario, the remaining portions of the circumference of the seal wire groove 94 may or may not be machined to match the new profile 105 .
[0034] Material removal or shaping of the newly-added repair material to generate the finished profile 105 may be accomplished by mechanical means, such as machining by rotary tools such as a saw blade or abrasive disk, or other means such as chemical or electrical machining processes, and may be done in one pass or in multiple steps or stages. A tool with an appropriate profile may be used, or a tool with a generic profile which is controlled in such a manner as to generate the proper profile may be used.
[0035] The steps described above may be repeated multiple times at different annular stations around the groove, and performed either simultaneously or sequentially.
[0036] While much of the discussion has focused on an aviation gas turbine engine as the context for this repair, it is foreseeable that such methods may be suitable for use in other environments wherein a wire-type seal is used with a complementary groove and rejuvenation is required, such as steam turbines or other turbomachinery.
[0037] While the invention has been described in terms of various specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims. | A method of repairing a seal wire groove is disclosed, the groove forming an annular structure having an outer surface and an inner surface and defining an original profile when new, comprising the steps of: removing a less-than-annular portion of the original profile of the groove to remove damaged portions of at least one of the inner and outer surfaces thereby forming a void; adding new material to the void; and shaping the new material to form a new profile of the groove. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the invention. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.",
"No. 61/524376, filed Aug. 17, 2011, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The technology described herein relates generally restoration of grooves used in conjunction with seal wire, particularly to methods of restoring the profile of such grooves, and more particularly, to thermal spray techniques for such restorations.",
"[0003] Many gas turbine engine assemblies include a seal between adjacent surfaces of moving and non-moving parts, such as a rotating disk and a stationary structure, or between parts which have clearances between their mating surfaces.",
"One common construction for such seals utilizes a seal wire formed of one or more segments which is inserted into a groove in one part and biased against the opposing part in sealing engagement.",
"[0004] During operation, the constant contact between the seal wire and the mating surface results in wear of the seal wire and/or movement of the seal wire within its groove.",
"Since the seal wires are typically fashioned from one or more segments, with abutting ends located at one or more locations around their circumference.",
"movement of the seal wire within the groove may result in fretting and/or other wear of the groove resulting from the motion of the seal wire ends.",
"Over time this fretting or wear of the groove enlarges the groove and reduces the effectiveness of the seal wire arrangement, [0005] During repair and overhaul operations it is desirable to restore the seal wire and groove assembly to original or other suitable dimensions and tolerances.",
"However, due to limitations of current repair methods it is frequently necessary to scrap and replace the rotor assembly with a new one having the proper groove dimensions.",
"There remains a need for a repair method which will restore the groove geometry in a durable and economical fashion.",
"BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] In one aspect, a method of repairing a seal wire groove, the groove forming an annular structure having an outer surface and an inner surface and defining an original profile when new, comprising the steps of: removing a less-than-annular portion of the original profile of the groove to remove damaged portions of at least one of the inner and outer surfaces thereby forming a void;",
"adding new material to the void;",
"and shaping the new material to form a new profile of the groove.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0007] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional illustration of an exemplary gas turbine engine assembly;",
"and [0008] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional elevational illustration of an exemplary compressor spool depicting a representative location for remaining illustrations;",
"[0009] FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial elevational sectional illustration of a compressor blade mounted on a compressor spool;",
"[0010] FIG. 4 is a more enlarged partial elevational sectional illustration depicting and defining relevant dimensions;",
"[0011] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional illustration of a complete revolution of the compressor spool including seal wire sections installed;",
"[0012] FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 depicting fretting wear due to motion of the seal wire in service;",
"[0013] FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 depicting a portion of the compressor spool after material removal of the damaged portion;",
"[0014] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the portion of the compressor spool of FIG. 7 taken through an intermediate station of the material removal to illustrate the end of the removal;",
"[0015] FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 7 after new repair material has been added;",
"and [0016] FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 after the new repair material of FIG. 9 has been machined to the correct profile.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0017] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional schematic illustration of an exemplary gas turbine engine assembly 10 having a longitudinal axis 11 .",
"Gas turbine engine assembly 10 includes a fan assembly 12 and a core gas turbine engine 13 .",
"Core gas turbine engine 13 includes a high pressure compressor 14 , a combustor 16 , and a high pressure turbine 18 .",
"In the exemplary embodiment, gas turbine engine assembly 10 also includes a low pressure turbine 20 , and a multi-stage booster compressor 32 , and a splitter 34 that substantially circumscribes booster 32 .",
"[0018] Fan assembly 12 includes an array of fan blades 24 extending radially outward from a rotor disk 26 , the forward portion of which is enclosed by a streamlined spinner 25 .",
"Gas turbine engine assembly 10 has an intake side 28 and an exhaust side 30 .",
"Fan assembly 12 , booster 22 , and turbine 20 are coupled together by a first rotor shaft 11 , and compressor 14 and turbine 18 are coupled together by a second rotor shaft 22 .",
"[0019] In operation, air flows through fan assembly 12 and a first portion 50 of the airflow is channeled through booster 32 .",
"The compressed air that is discharged from booster 32 is channeled through compressor 14 wherein the airflow is further compressed and delivered to combustor 16 .",
"Hot products of combustion (not shown in FIG. 1 ) from combustor 16 are utilized to drive turbines 18 and 20 , and turbine 20 is utilized to drive fan assembly 12 and booster 32 by way of shaft 21 .",
"Gas turbine engine assembly 10 is operable at a range of operating conditions between design operating conditions and off-design operating conditions.",
"[0020] A second portion 52 of the airflow discharged from fan assembly 12 is channeled through a bypass duct 40 to bypass a portion of the airflow from fan assembly 12 around core gas turbine engine 13 .",
"More specifically, bypass duct 40 extends between a fan casing or shroud 36 and splitter 34 .",
"Accordingly, a first portion 50 of the airflow from fan assembly 12 is channeled through booster 32 and then into compressor 14 as described above, and a second portion 52 of the airflow from fan assembly 12 is channeled through bypass duct 40 to provide thrust for an aircraft, for example.",
"Splitter 34 divides the incoming airflow into first and second portions 50 and 52 , respectively.",
"Gas turbine engine assembly 10 also includes a fan frame assembly 60 to provide structural support for fan assembly 12 and is also utilized to couple fan assembly 12 to core gas turbine engine 13 .",
"[0021] Fan frame assembly 60 includes a plurality of outlet guide vanes 70 that extend substantially radially between a radially outer mounting flange and a radially inner mounting flange and are circumferentially-spaced within bypass duct 40 .",
"Fan frame assembly 60 may also include a plurality of struts that are coupled between a radially outer mounting flange and a radially inner mounting flange.",
"In one embodiment, fan frame assembly 60 is fabricated in arcuate segments in which flanges are coupled to outlet guide vanes 70 and struts.",
"In one embodiment, outlet guide vanes and struts are coupled coaxially within bypass duct 40 .",
"Optionally, outlet guide vanes 70 may be coupled downstream from struts within bypass duct 40 .",
"[0022] Fan frame assembly 60 is one of various frame and support assemblies of gas turbine engine assembly 10 that are used to facilitate maintaining an orientation of various components within gas turbine engine assembly 10 .",
"More specifically, such frame and support assemblies interconnect stationary components and provide rotor bearing supports.",
"Fan frame assembly 60 is coupled downstream from fan assembly 12 within bypass duct 40 such that outlet guide vanes 70 and struts are circumferentially-spaced around the outlet of fan assembly 12 and extend across the airflow path discharged from fan assembly 12 .",
"[0023] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional elevational illustration of an exemplary compressor spool 90 forming a part of the compressor 14 of FIG. 1 , depicting a representative location identified with the circle and numeral 3 for the more detailed illustrations which follow.",
"[0024] FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial elevational sectional illustration of a compressor blade 91 mounted on a compressor spool 90 .",
"As shown in FIG. 3 , the compressor blade 91 includes several elements such as an airfoil 92 , a dovetail 93 , and a platform 95 between the airfoil 92 and the dovetail 93 .",
"The dovetail 93 is sized and shaped to fit in dovetail slot 97 of compressor spool 90 to secure the blade 91 to the spool 90 .",
"The spool 90 and dovetail slot 97 are annular structures and a plurality of blades 91 are secured to the spool 90 around their circumference, though only a single blade 91 is illustrated for clarity.",
"Also shown in FIG. 3 is a seal wire groove 94 for containing a seal wire 96 to form a seal between the platform 95 and the spool 90 to enhance efficiency of the compressor 14 in operation and thereby improve fuel consumption of the gas turbine engine assembly 10 .",
"[0025] FIG. 4 is a more enlarged partial elevational sectional illustration of the elements of FIG. 3 .",
"As shown in FIG. 4 , the seal wire groove 94 is spaced inwardly from the edge of the disk portion 98 of the compressor spool 90 by a dimension A which forms a shoulder 99 and a dimension B which forms a horizontal surface on the outer side of the groove 94 .",
"These shapes and dimensions are sized, shaped, and configured for the specific gas turbine engine assembly 10 for which they are intended, so the illustrations herein are intended to be illustrative and not limiting in terms of geometry.",
"The platform 94 typically has a complementary shape to the radially-outer surfaces of the disk portion 98 .",
"As shown in FIG. 4 , the seal wire 96 is located in the seal wire groove 94 and typically biased radially outwardly against the underside of the platform 94 .",
"The disk portion 98 may be formed from a metallic material, in which case the inner and outer surfaces of the groove 94 are formed of a metallic material.",
"The seal wire 96 may also be formed of a metallic material and may be generally rectangular in cross section.",
"[0026] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional illustration of a complete revolution of the compressor spool 90 including sections of seal wire 96 installed in groove 94 .",
"The seal wire 96 will typically comprise multiple (more than one) pieces of material and thus have at least two ends 100 , In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , the seal wire 96 is formed in three (3) sections having six (6) ends labeled 100 .",
"Each of the ends 100 is a potential source for wear of the seal wire groove 94 .",
"[0027] In service, the vibrations, pressures, and thermal effects experienced by the seal wire 96 often result in “fretting”",
"wear to the surfaces of the groove 94 in the vicinity of the ends 100 due to their movement in various directions.",
"This wear results in removal of material from the surfaces of the groove 94 such as depicted in wear zones 101 in FIG. 5 , such that the grove 94 is enlarged in cross section and deviates from the original profile of the groove 94 When in a new condition.",
"Wear may occur to the outer surface (proximal to the shoulder 99 ), to the opposing inner surface, or both.",
"This results in a reduced sealing capability of the seal wire 96 and may also accelerate wear as the ends 100 of the seal wire have more freedom of movement as the degree of wear increases.",
"[0028] FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 depicting fretting wear 101 due to motion of the ends 100 of the seal wire 96 in service.",
"In contrast to the condition of the surfaces and elements depicted in FIG. 4 , as shown in FIG. 6 portions of the groove 94 are worn away and enlarged such that the surfaces of the groove 94 are no longer consistent with the original profile of the groove 94 when it was in a like-new, as-manufactured condition.",
"Surfaces of the seal wire 96 in this illustration are also shown as irregular and worn.",
"Typically the condition of the seal wire 96 is of less concern than the condition of the groove 94 as the seal wire 96 is typically replaced with a new seal wire during repair while for economic reasons it is desirable to repair and restore the profile of the groove 94 and retain the disk portion 98 of the spool 90 for continued service.",
"[0029] FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 depicting a portion of the compressor spool 90 after material removal of the damaged portion in the wear zone 101 .",
"Material removal of the worn, irregular, soiled, or otherwise deteriorated portion of the surfaces groove 94 is the first step in the method of repairing the groove 94 .",
"This removal results in a void having a new profile 102 which differs from the original profile 103 (shown in dotted line in FIG. 7 ), and has surfaces which are relatively solid, smooth, and of uniform character.",
"In the exemplary embodiment shown, the repair method is being accomplished on the outer surface (proximal to shoulder 99 ) of the groove 94 , although it could be equally applied to the opposing inner surface, or to both surfaces.",
"Material removal to generate the new profile 102 may be accomplished by mechanical means, such as machining by rotary tools such as a saw blade or abrasive disk, or other means such as chemical or electrical machining processes, and may be done in one pass or in multiple steps or stages.",
"A tool with an appropriate profile may be used, or a tool with a generic profile which is controlled in such a manner as to generate the proper profile may be used.",
"[0030] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the portion of the disk portion 98 of the compressor spool 90 of FIG. 7 taken through an intermediate station of the material removal section (new profile 102 ) to illustrate the end 104 of the removal.",
"Because the material removal occurs over a less-than-annular portion or segment of the annular disk 98 , it by definition forms a void having at least two ends 104 for each material removal and defines a localized repair area.",
"It is believed that these ends 104 , being defined by remaining portions of original material of the disk 98 , provide stability and support for the new material to be added to restore the original profile 103 of the groove 94 .",
"The lead in angle and radius characteristics of the ends 104 , such as an exit radius, may be determined with both the tooling and techniques used for the material removal, as well as the adhesion and minimum thickness requirements for the new material to be added.",
"Repairs made with new material which is too thin in cross section or comparatively lower adhesion characteristics may tend to spall during engine operation.",
"[0031] FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 7 after new repair material 104 has been added to build back material equal to or greater than the original profile 103 of the groove 94 .",
"Said differently, new material is added in excess of the volume of the void.",
"The addition of new material can be accomplished by any suitable method or apparatus depending upon the quantity and type of material to be added and upon the size, shape, and material from which the disk 98 is constructed.",
"[0032] Metal Thermal Spray is one category of suitable material addition processes.",
"In an exemplary embodiment, the material addition may be Inco 718 material being sprayed using the Hyper-Velocity Oxy-Fuel (HVOF) process, Various metals can be applied using this method, not just Inco 718 .",
"Other metal spray processes such as Plasma spray may also be utilized.",
"Representative processes involve spraying molten metal through a nozzle at the target area of the part being repaired and building up the material in the seal wire groove 94 to achieve a condition such as shown in FIG. 9 .",
"The HVOF process has been found to exhibit a lesser amount of voiding and is easier to machine to the desired finished profile than some other potential processes.",
"It has also been found to do a minimal amount of parent material damage (i.e., to the disk material at or below the removal profile 102 ) because it maintains the repair area parent material temperatures below solution or melting.",
"With certain other processes such as a typical weld process, it could heat the area to a point that could alter the metal grain structure or cause micro cracking.",
"[0033] FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 of the disk 98 after the new repair material 104 of FIG. 9 has been shaped, such as by machining, to the proper finished profile 105 .",
"The new finished profile 105 will typically be the same as or substantially similar to the original as-manufactured profile 103 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 .",
"However, under certain circumstances the new profile 105 could differ particularly if a replacement seal wire 96 having a different geometry were to be used.",
"In such a scenario, the remaining portions of the circumference of the seal wire groove 94 may or may not be machined to match the new profile 105 .",
"[0034] Material removal or shaping of the newly-added repair material to generate the finished profile 105 may be accomplished by mechanical means, such as machining by rotary tools such as a saw blade or abrasive disk, or other means such as chemical or electrical machining processes, and may be done in one pass or in multiple steps or stages.",
"A tool with an appropriate profile may be used, or a tool with a generic profile which is controlled in such a manner as to generate the proper profile may be used.",
"[0035] The steps described above may be repeated multiple times at different annular stations around the groove, and performed either simultaneously or sequentially.",
"[0036] While much of the discussion has focused on an aviation gas turbine engine as the context for this repair, it is foreseeable that such methods may be suitable for use in other environments wherein a wire-type seal is used with a complementary groove and rejuvenation is required, such as steam turbines or other turbomachinery.",
"[0037] While the invention has been described in terms of various specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/727,111, filed Nov. 29, 2000, entitled “Unpowered Twisted Pair Looback Circuit For Differential Mode Signaling,” commonly owned herewith.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for detecting the presence of a connected device of a particular class, such as a telephone, that may require phantom power to be supplied over twisted pair wiring. Discovery signals transmitted on ports of a telecommunications device, such as a switch, need to be looped back to the telecommunications device to indicate the presence of the particular connected device (the absence of the particular device being inferred by the absence of the loop back signal). Accordingly, the discovery signal should not be looped back if the device is absent or if a connected device is not of the particular type.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Telephones and other types of data terminal equipment (DTE) are routinely used for voice, data traffic and other forms of telecommunication. Such DTE equipment typically is wired with twisted pair wire to a switch or similar telecommunications device. For example, some communications systems utilize an Ethernet switch in communication with Internet Protocol (IP) or voice over IP (VoIP) telephones. Where the IP telephones are compatible and thus adapted to receive phantom power over the twisted pair connection to the switch, it is desirable for the switch to verify the compatibility before applying the phantom power because it is conceivable that the phantom power could damage or operate improperly with certain non-compatible DTE equipment (“legacy equipment”) which might also be connected to the switch. In accordance with the invention disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/710,388 filed Nov. 9, 2000 in the name of inventor Roger Karam and entitled “Method and Apparatus for Detecting a Compatible Phantom Powered Device Using Common Mode Signaling”, commonly owned herewith, a method and apparatus which enable discovery of such compatible telephones by a switch or similar device is taught. This application issued on Oct. 12, 2004 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,804,351. In a nutshell, the approach used is to generate a differential mode signal, apply it to center-taps of transformers coupling the switch to the twisted pair wires, apply the differential mode signal received at center-taps of corresponding transformers at the IP telephone to an identity network, loop the signal (possibly modified by the identity network) back to the switch, and, based on the returned signal (and possibly other considerations), apply or not apply phantom power between the center-taps of the switch-side transformers to power the IP telephone. This approach requires that the IP telephone be configured to “loop back” signals received by it to the switch, This is undesirable for data signals under certain circumstances as it can lead to certain kinds of potential computer network problems. Accordingly, it is desirable in such circumstances to permit loop back of discovery signals only and not data signals. In the past, normally closed mechanical relays at the IP telephone coupled with a low pass filter (LPF) to pass only the discovery signals and not the data signals have been used. Such mechanical relays are relatively expensive and can become unreliable. Low pass filters composed of inductors and capacitors also consume volume in the DTE equipment and can be relatively expensive to deploy.
[0004] FIG. 1 is an electrical schematic diagram of a telecommunications system in accordance with a prior design. A telecommunications device 10 such as an Ethernet switch includes a port 12 which includes a transmitter 14 and a receiver 16 . Transmitter 14 includes a center-tapped transformer winding 18 with differential output on nodes 20 , 22 and a center-tap 24 . Receiver 16 includes a center-tapped transformer winding 26 with differential input on nodes 28 , 30 and a center-tap 32 . A phantom power supply 34 provides direct current (DC) phantom power (preferably=+48 volts or less) to center taps 24 , 32 . A four (or more) wire cable 36 connects telecommunications device 10 to, for example, an IP telephone 38 . IP telephone 38 receives a differential signal at nodes 40 , 42 of receive transformer 44 which includes center-tapped winding 46 . IP telephone 38 transmits a differential signal at nodes 48 , 50 of transmit transformer 52 which includes center-tapped winding 54 . Center-tap node 56 is the center-tap of winding 46 and center-tap node 58 is the center-tap of winding 54 . Phantom power is extracted at nodes 56 , 58 and is applied to a power processor 60 at the IP telephone in known ways, such as is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,115,468 filed Mar. 26, 1998 entitled “Power Feed For Ethernet Telephones Via Ethernet Link” and commonly owned herewith. A first relay 62 couples differential output lines 64 , 66 when unenergized to low pass filter network 68 . A second relay 70 couples the differential outputs 72 , 74 of LPF 68 to differential input lines 76 , 78 of winding 80 of transformer 52 . In this way, while relays 62 , 70 are not energized (as is the case when phantom power is not applied), signals loop through IP telephone 38 but they are subjected to LPF 68 which filters out the higher frequency data signals while allowing the lower frequency discovery signals to pass.
[0005] When relays 62 , 70 are energized (e.g., when phantom power supply 34 for port 12 is turned on or another condition controlling relays 62 , 70 is met) then the receive signals from differential output lines 64 , 66 of winding 82 of transformer 44 are directly applied to the physical layer device (PITY) 84 of IP telephone 38 . Similarly this condition causes transmit signals from PHY 84 to be coupled to output winding 80 of transformer 52 .
[0006] The details of a common low pass filter 68 are shown by way of example in FIG. 2 . FIG. 2 is a typical LPF circuit including three capacitors C 1 , C 2 , C 3 , and four inductors L 1 , L 2 , L 3 , L 4 . The input signal is differential and is applied at modes IN+, IN− and the output signal is differential and is obtained at modes OUT+, OUT−. Such devices are difficult to integrate onto an integrated circuit with current technology and thus must actually be fabricated with discreet components or is known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
[0007] Relays 62 and 70 and LPF 68 are physically relatively large and tend to be relatively expensive parts. Furthermore, relays can wear out and/or suffer from intermittent failures and are thus not considered to be the most reliable of electronic devices. Accordingly, it is desirable to replace the need for relays and discreet filter components in circuits of this type and to further miniaturize the loop back control circuit.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] A method and apparatus provide an IP telephone or similar device with a mechanism to receive and at least briefly loop back discovery signals received from a telecommunications device such as an Ethernet switch while not permitting the loop back of data packet signals. No mechanical relays are required and the circuitry can be fully integrated on an integrated circuit using commonly available techniques, if desired.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0009] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification illustrate one or more embodiments of the invention and, together with the present description, serve to explain the principles and implementations of the invention.
[0000] In the drawings:
[0010] FIG. 1 is an electrical schematic diagram of a telecommunications system in accordance with the prior art.
[0011] FIG. 2 is an electrical schematic diagram illustrating a low pass filter in accordance with the prior art.
[0012] FIG. 3 is an electrical schematic diagram illustrating a switching circuit in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 4 is an electrical schematic diagram illustrating a power processor circuit in accordance with the prior art.
[0014] FIG. 5 is a plot of differential output signals of the circuit of FIG. 3 and the PWRUP signal as it rises in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 6 is a plot of the loop back discovery signal in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 7 is a plot of the loop back discovery signal through the circuit of FIG. 3 during the rise of the PWRUP signal in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 8 is an electrical schematic diagram of a conventional ESD protection circuit for a conventional physical layer device.
[0018] FIG. 9 is plot of the loop back discovery signal through the circuit of FIG. 3 as modified by FIG. 8 during the rise of the PWRUP signal in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present invention.
[0019] FIGS. 10A-10B are an electrical schematic diagram of an alternative specific embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 11A is a plot of V(TX+) and V(TX−) versus time in accordance with the specific embodiment of FIGS. 10A-10B .
[0021] FIG. 11B is a plot of V(RX+) and V(RX−) with a constant offset voltage in accordance with the specific embodiment of FIGS. 10A-10B .
[0022] FIGS. 12A and 12B are an electrical schematic diagram of an alternative specific embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 13 is a plot of V(TX+), V(TX−) and V(A) versus time in accordance with the specific embodiment of FIGS. 12A-12B .
[0024] FIGS. 14A-14B are an electrical schematic diagram of an alternative specific embodiment of the present invention.
[0025] FIG. 15 is a plot of V(TX+), V(TX−), V(OFFB), V(NOFFB), V(OFFA) and V(NOFFA) versus time in accordance with the specific embodiment of FIGS. 14A-14B .
[0026] FIG. 16 is an electrical schematic diagram of an alternative specific embodiment of the present invention.
[0027] FIG. 17 is a plot of differential voltage and loop back currents in accordance with the specific embodiment of FIG. 16 .
[0028] FIG. 18 is a plot of drain current through various transistors for the circuit of FIG. 16 in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present invention.
[0029] FIGS. 19A-19B are an electrical schematic diagram of an alternative specific embodiment of the present invention.
[0030] FIG. 20 is a plot of differential currents through portions of the circuit if FIGS. 19A-19B in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present invention.
[0031] FIG. 21 is a plot of loop back voltage and current in accordance with the circuit of FIGS. 19A-19B .
[0032] FIGS. 22A-22B are an electrical schematic diagram of an alternative specific embodiment of the present invention.
[0033] FIG. 23 is a plot of the voltage response of various portions of the circuit of FIGS. 22A-22B .
[0034] FIG. 24 is a plot of capacitor voltage versus time for the circuit of FIGS. 22A-22B .
[0035] FIGS. 25-26 are flow diagrams for processes in accordance with specific embodiments of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0036] Embodiments of the present invention are described herein in the context of a method and apparatus for controlling loop back of a differential mode signal through a remote device without the use of a powered circuit or a relay at the remote device. Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following description of the present invention is illustrative only and not intended to be in any way limiting. Other embodiments of the invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure. Reference will now be made in detail to a number of implementations of the present invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or like parts.
[0037] In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of the implementations described herein are described. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with system- and business-related goals and that these goals will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would never the less be a routine undertaking of engineering for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
[0038] The present invention is directed to replacing the prior art circuitry relay and LPF components of the data packet loop back prevention circuit to make a more compact, inexpensive and reliable IP telephone (or similar network device). A primary difficulty which must be overcome is the fact that the IP telephone is likely entirely unpowered during the discovery phase since phantom power will not generally be provided until after the discovery phase is complete. Thus, powered active circuitry cannot normally be used to detect and respond to the discovery signal.
[0039] Circuit 84 , as shown schematically in FIG. 3 , illustrates a specific embodiment of the present invention. Receive transformer 44 receives a differential AC signal over, for example, a twisted pair line coupled to a first transformer winding disposed between pins 3 and 5 of receive transformer 44 . A center-tap is provided between pins 3 and 5 in order to extract phantom power at pin 4 (mode 56 ). The first transformer winding is magnetically coupled to a second transformer winding disposed between pins 1 and 2 of receive transformer 44 . The second transformer winding is coupled to lines RX+(64) and RX−(66), respectively. A first steering circuit is formed of NPN bipolar transistor Q 1 and PNP bipolar transistor Q 6 . Under normal conditions (i.e., no phantom power applied) first steering circuit simply drives transmit transformer 52 TX+ line 76 in substantially the same phase as the signal received on line RX+. Similarly and simultaneously, a second steering circuit formed of NPN bipolar transistor Q 12 and PNP bipolar transistor Q 5 drives transmit transformer 52 TX− line 78 in substantially the same phase as the signal received on line RX−.
[0040] When phantom power is applied to nodes 56 and 58 , power processor 86 becomes energized and provides a “PWRUP” signal on line 88 . The PWRUP signal on line 88 turns on NPN bipolar transistors Q 3 and Q 4 by applying a positive voltage to node 88 of voltage divider 90 thus connecting the bases of Q 1 and Q 12 to ground.
[0041] The power processor 86 , shown in more detail in FIG. 4 , receives power on lines 56 and 58 and conventionally includes a filter 114 , a rectifier 116 , a filter capacitor 118 and a DC-DC converter 120 . Other similar arrangements are also well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The power processor 86 may perform DC-DC power conversion and filtering as required, as well as providing power to nodes 88 (PWRUP) and 122 (ground).
[0042] At the same time as PWRUP goes high, because the bases of PNP bipolar transistors Q 7 and Q 8 are at ground potential through pull down resistor R 20 and the emitters of Q 7 and Q 8 are at PWRUP (node 88 ) Q 7 and Q 8 are turned on and hence Q 5 , the base of which is connected through PNP bipolar transistor Q 7 to PWRUP and Q 6 , the base of which is connected through PNP bipolar transistor Q 8 to PWRUP, are both forced off by the application of a relatively high voltage to their respective bases. As a result, when PWRUP appears, the loop back feature promptly turns off. Notably, no local power supply is required to enable this feature and it is powered entirely by signal level power on RX+, RX− with the appearance of phantom power at the network device turning it off.
[0043] FIG. 5 is a plot 92 of the loop back signal voltage of the circuit of FIG. 3 versus time and a plot 94 of the PWRUP signal voltage in the circuit of FIG. 3 versus time. As can be seen, with a sinusoidal discovery tone of 1 cycle per 2 microseconds (500 KHz) from PWRUP, the loop back signal turns off in less than 1 microsecond after PWRUP goes high.
[0044] FIG. 6 is a plot 96 of the loop back discovery tone. The discovery tone may preferably be a sinusoidal signal of less than a few megahertz in frequency. A sinusoidal signal is not absolutely required, but is preferred because it is less likely to cause spurious emissions. A signal of less than a few megahertz in frequency will easily propagate with insignificant voltage loss on twisted pair wire to the well-known Ethernet point to point maximum connection requirement of 140 meters.
[0045] FIG. 7 is a plot of the differential loop back discovery tone. Plot 98 corresponds to the voltage at node 100 and plot 102 corresponds to the voltage at node 104 . FIG. 7 illustrates the voltage at node 100 and 104 where no Electro Static Discharge (ESD) diodes are present in PHY 106 .
[0046] FIG. 8 is an electrical schematic diagram of a conventional ESD protection circuit 108 for a conventional PHY 106 . ESD diodes D 1 , D 2 , D 3 , and D 4 clip voltage on lines RX− and RX+ to avoid damage to sensitive electronic circuits inside PHY 106 . The result is typically that instead of the 2.5 volt peak to peak swings of FIG. 7 , the measured voltage at node 100 corresponds to plot 110 of FIG. 9 and the measured voltage at node 104 corresponds to plot 112 of FIG. 9 which show peak to peak voltage swings of only about 1.4 volts.
[0047] An alternative specific embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B which are in the form of an electrical schematic diagram. In the embodiment of FIGS. 10A and 10B , a filtering function is added to the basic circuit of FIG. 3 . The new circuit now operates by adding PNP bipolar transistors Q 19 and Q 14 . Q 19 has its base and emitter connected in parallel with Q 6 of the first steering circuit and Q 14 has its base and emitter connected in parallel with Q 5 of the second steering circuit. The collector of Q 19 is coupled to node “A” and the collector of Q 14 is coupled to node “B”, both illustrated in FIG. 10B . Mode “NA” is the collector of Q 4 and node “NB” is the collector of Q 3 . As can be seen in FIG. 10B , circuit elements 124 and 126 are RC timing circuits which include, respectively, R 23 and C 8 and R 24 and C 9 . C 8 and C 9 are charged by the normal loop back operation of circuit 84 passing the discovery signal. R 23 and R 24 serve to discharge C 8 and C 9 , respectively, so that C 8 and C 9 will be discharged when the network device is disconnected or the switch is powered off.
[0048] The goal in this version of the circuit is to permit brief loop back for detection purposes and then to shut off the loop back capability after having given the switch sufficient time to accomplish the discovery function. By shutting off the loop back feature promptly, undesirable loop back of data packets is avoided without the use of an LPF.
[0049] Turning to FIG. 10B , a portion of the positive current from Q 5 is mirrored into Q 14 and passed to node B. Similarly, a portion of the positive current from Q 6 is mirrored into Q 19 and passed to node A. C 8 and C 9 became charged which drives node VTON high turning on N-channel FETs M 16 and M 19 (sometimes referred to herein as switches) since VTON is coupled to the gates of FETs M 16 and M 19 . This forces nodes NA and NB high because node A is held high by C 8 and this then forces Q 1 and Q 12 to turn on thus distorting the differential signal on TX+, TX− to the point that it cannot be transmitted through transformer 52 .
[0050] FIG. 11A illustrates the plot of the voltage of TX+ and TX− over time as the circuit of FIG. 10B turns on. As can be seen, the first few loop back pulses are intact, then they become increasingly attenuated with the TX+, TX− signal losing its differential node characteristics and thus becoming unpropagatable through a transformer or over a twisted pair cable. FIG. 11B illustrates the RX+, RX− signal (with an offset) corresponding to the TX+, TX− signal of FIG. 11A in time.
[0051] Another specific embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the electrical schematic diagram of FIGS. 12A and 12B and its operation is modeled in the plots of FIG. 13 . In this embodiment, the loop back of the discovery signal is briefly permitted. Once loop back commences, current is passed to node A through the Q 6 -Q 19 current mirror, Once node A becomes active, C 8 begins to charge taking node A and the gates of N-channel FETs M 16 and M 19 high. This takes nodes PB and PA low turning on Q 14 , Q 5 , Q 19 and Q 6 thus disrupting the pass through of differential signals on RX+, RX− to TX+, TX−. FIG. 13 shows the voltages of TX−, TX+ and node A over time in accordance with the operation of the circuit of FIGS. 12A and 12B .
[0052] Another specific embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the electrical schematic diagram of FIGS. 14A and 14B and its operation is modeled in the plots of FIG. 15 . In this embodiment, the loop back of the discovery signal is only briefly permitted. Once loop back commences rectified current is passed to modes NOFFB and OFFB, through the current mirror/diode action of Q 1 -Q 14 and Q 6 -Q 18 , respectively. With OFFB high, C 8 charges up and holds the gates of N-channel FETS M 19 , M 16 , M 18 , and M 13 high which, in turn, takes nodes NA and NB low. The idea here it to balance the impact by (1) removing the same amount of current from both sides; (2) making the loads the same on the mirrored NMOS and PMOS devices; and (3) presenting nodes OFFA and NOFFA with opposite polarities, one being at +0.7 VDC while the other is at −0.7 VDC.
[0053] Note that in this circuit loopback operation can be prevented in any of at least three ways: (1) disable only the gate of the NMOS devices in the loopback circuit in both switches (2) disable only the gate of the PMOS devices in the loopback circuit in both switches; (3) disable all gates of the NMOS and PMOS devices in the loopback circuits of both switches.
[0054] Accordingly, the circuitry driving TX+ and TX− is disrupted as shown in FIG. 15 so that one or a few discovery cycles are looped hack over TX+, TX− followed quickly by the secession of the loop back function.
[0055] Finally, is should be noted that while a number of circuits using bipolar transistor technology have been shown, the concepts of this invention are equally applicable to FET-type transistors as long as they are constructed with thresholds appropriate to the expected signal levels as is well known to these of ordinary skill in the art. Turning now to FIG. 16 , an electrical schematic diagram of a FET-type circuit corresponding to the bipolar design of FIG. 3 is shown. P-channel MOSFET M 3 and N-Channel MOSFET M 7 together form a first steering circuit driven by RX+, RX− and driving TX+. P-channel MOSFET M 9 and N-channel MOSFET M 10 together from a second steering circuit driven by RX+, RX− and driving TX−. FIG. 17 illustrates the operation of this circuit. The curve denoted V (RX−)−V(RX+) plots the difference in the voltage level of RX− and RX+ over time. FIG. 18 illustrates the current through the drains of devices M 3 , M 7 , M 9 and M 10 over time as shown.
[0056] Turning now to FIGS. 19A-19B , an electrical schematic diagram of an alternative specific embodiment of the present invention illustrates the FET homologue of the bipolar circuit of FIGS. 10A-10B . In this circuit M 11 mirrors some of the current in M 19 driving node VOFF through diode D 1 and M 12 mirrors some of the current in M 9 driving node VOFFN through diode D 2 . After a short time of operation VOFF is pulled low and held by capacitor C 5 while VOFFN is pulled low and held by capacitor C 4 . Resistors R 9 and R 10 serve to discharge capacitors C 5 and C 4 , respectively, after disconnection of RX+, RX−. Since VOFF is pulled high, as shown in FIG. 19B , it controls the gates of N-channel MOSFETS M 16 and M 17 tying nodes NA and NB to ground and thereby shutting off devices M 7 and M 10 which turns off the first and second steering circuits and stops the loop back function.
[0057] FIG. 20 shows the plot of the differential TX current (I(TX+)−I(TX−)) at the top and the plot of the differential RX current (I(RX+)−I(RX−)) at the bottom during normal operation of the circuit of FIGS. 19A-19B (PWRUP not applied).
[0058] FIG. 21 shows the plot of the voltage at modes VS 1 and VG 1 at the top and the plots of RX and TX current (I(RX+) and I(TX−)) at the bottom during normal operation of the circuit of FIGS. 19A-19B (PWRUP not applied)
[0059] Turning now to FIGS. 22A and 22B a modification of the circuit of FIGS. 19A-19B is shown. In this version a clean voltage source Vs is used to set the gates of M 16 and M 17 of FIG. 22B high. This results in the plot shown in FIG. 23 . The designation “VOLOFF” indicates the gate voltage for M 16 and M 17 . Note also that node VOFFN, generated off of an NMOS device, is negative relative to ground while node VOFF, generated off of a PMOS device, is positive relative to ground. Diodes D 1 and D 2 are present to prevent the capacitors C 5 and C 4 , respectively, from loosing charge on the snapback of the switches as they turn off.
[0060] FIG. 24 is a Voltage vs. Time plot generated by driving the circuit of FIGS. 22A and 22B to demonstrate the polarity of the voltages generated from the PMOS and NMOS current sources into capacitors C 5 and C 4 , respectively, (which correspond to nodes VOFF and VOFFN, respectively, of FIG. 22A )
[0061] Turning now to FIGS. 25 and 26 flow charts illustrating methods in accordance with specific embodiments of the present invention are shown. The flow chart of FIG. 25 corresponds to the basic circuits of FIG. 3 and FIG. 16 . A differential signal RX+, RX−) is input to the circuit at block 124 . At block 126 it is decided whether steering circuit 1 or steering circuit 2 will handle the signal. Steering circuit 1 (block 128 ) or steering circuit 2 (block 130 ) handles the signal as described above. If DC power is applied (PWRUP) at block 132 then the loop back terminates (block 134 ), otherwise signal processing continues at block 124 . In the version of the flow chart shown in FIG. 26 , instead of block 132 , block 136 acts to store power from the input signal by mirroring current into a voltage storage device such as a capacitor which is then used to power switches which force a distortion of the looped back signal (block 138 ) so that it will not propagate through a transformer or on a twisted pair transmission line. The distortions can shift the phase and or voltage centers of the signals so that they are no longer differential node signals.
[0062] Thus, a number of ways have been shown to block undesired loop back of packet traffic. Application of the phantom power signal can be used to disrupt the loop back circuitry stopping the loop back; switches can be turned on by powering their bases/gates by rectified signal current stored in capacitors (resistors to ground provided to discharge the capacitors so that they can reset when a DTE device is disconnected), data can be distorted through voltage and/or phase shifting so that it will not propagate through the transformer or on the twisted pair transmission line. It should also be noted that the transformer winding used to provide RX+, RX− to the PHY need not be the same as that used to drive the circuitry described above so as to avoid affecting the operation of the PHY.
[0063] While embodiments and applications of the invention have been shown and described, it would be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that many more modifications than mentioned above are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. | A method and apparatus provide an IP telephone or similar device with a mechanism to receive and at least briefly loop back discovery signals received from a telecommunications device such as an Ethernet switch while not permitting the loop back of data packet signals. No mechanical relays are required and the circuitry can be fully integrated on an integrated circuit using commonly available techniques, if desired. | Briefly outline the background technology and the problem the invention aims to solve. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 09/727,111, filed Nov. 29, 2000, entitled “Unpowered Twisted Pair Looback Circuit For Differential Mode Signaling,” commonly owned herewith.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for detecting the presence of a connected device of a particular class, such as a telephone, that may require phantom power to be supplied over twisted pair wiring.",
"Discovery signals transmitted on ports of a telecommunications device, such as a switch, need to be looped back to the telecommunications device to indicate the presence of the particular connected device (the absence of the particular device being inferred by the absence of the loop back signal).",
"Accordingly, the discovery signal should not be looped back if the device is absent or if a connected device is not of the particular type.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Telephones and other types of data terminal equipment (DTE) are routinely used for voice, data traffic and other forms of telecommunication.",
"Such DTE equipment typically is wired with twisted pair wire to a switch or similar telecommunications device.",
"For example, some communications systems utilize an Ethernet switch in communication with Internet Protocol (IP) or voice over IP (VoIP) telephones.",
"Where the IP telephones are compatible and thus adapted to receive phantom power over the twisted pair connection to the switch, it is desirable for the switch to verify the compatibility before applying the phantom power because it is conceivable that the phantom power could damage or operate improperly with certain non-compatible DTE equipment (“legacy equipment”) which might also be connected to the switch.",
"In accordance with the invention disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 09/710,388 filed Nov. 9, 2000 in the name of inventor Roger Karam and entitled “Method and Apparatus for Detecting a Compatible Phantom Powered Device Using Common Mode Signaling”, commonly owned herewith, a method and apparatus which enable discovery of such compatible telephones by a switch or similar device is taught.",
"This application issued on Oct. 12, 2004 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,804,351.",
"In a nutshell, the approach used is to generate a differential mode signal, apply it to center-taps of transformers coupling the switch to the twisted pair wires, apply the differential mode signal received at center-taps of corresponding transformers at the IP telephone to an identity network, loop the signal (possibly modified by the identity network) back to the switch, and, based on the returned signal (and possibly other considerations), apply or not apply phantom power between the center-taps of the switch-side transformers to power the IP telephone.",
"This approach requires that the IP telephone be configured to “loop back”",
"signals received by it to the switch, This is undesirable for data signals under certain circumstances as it can lead to certain kinds of potential computer network problems.",
"Accordingly, it is desirable in such circumstances to permit loop back of discovery signals only and not data signals.",
"In the past, normally closed mechanical relays at the IP telephone coupled with a low pass filter (LPF) to pass only the discovery signals and not the data signals have been used.",
"Such mechanical relays are relatively expensive and can become unreliable.",
"Low pass filters composed of inductors and capacitors also consume volume in the DTE equipment and can be relatively expensive to deploy.",
"[0004] FIG. 1 is an electrical schematic diagram of a telecommunications system in accordance with a prior design.",
"A telecommunications device 10 such as an Ethernet switch includes a port 12 which includes a transmitter 14 and a receiver 16 .",
"Transmitter 14 includes a center-tapped transformer winding 18 with differential output on nodes 20 , 22 and a center-tap 24 .",
"Receiver 16 includes a center-tapped transformer winding 26 with differential input on nodes 28 , 30 and a center-tap 32 .",
"A phantom power supply 34 provides direct current (DC) phantom power (preferably=+48 volts or less) to center taps 24 , 32 .",
"A four (or more) wire cable 36 connects telecommunications device 10 to, for example, an IP telephone 38 .",
"IP telephone 38 receives a differential signal at nodes 40 , 42 of receive transformer 44 which includes center-tapped winding 46 .",
"IP telephone 38 transmits a differential signal at nodes 48 , 50 of transmit transformer 52 which includes center-tapped winding 54 .",
"Center-tap node 56 is the center-tap of winding 46 and center-tap node 58 is the center-tap of winding 54 .",
"Phantom power is extracted at nodes 56 , 58 and is applied to a power processor 60 at the IP telephone in known ways, such as is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,115,468 filed Mar. 26, 1998 entitled “Power Feed For Ethernet Telephones Via Ethernet Link”",
"and commonly owned herewith.",
"A first relay 62 couples differential output lines 64 , 66 when unenergized to low pass filter network 68 .",
"A second relay 70 couples the differential outputs 72 , 74 of LPF 68 to differential input lines 76 , 78 of winding 80 of transformer 52 .",
"In this way, while relays 62 , 70 are not energized (as is the case when phantom power is not applied), signals loop through IP telephone 38 but they are subjected to LPF 68 which filters out the higher frequency data signals while allowing the lower frequency discovery signals to pass.",
"[0005] When relays 62 , 70 are energized (e.g., when phantom power supply 34 for port 12 is turned on or another condition controlling relays 62 , 70 is met) then the receive signals from differential output lines 64 , 66 of winding 82 of transformer 44 are directly applied to the physical layer device (PITY) 84 of IP telephone 38 .",
"Similarly this condition causes transmit signals from PHY 84 to be coupled to output winding 80 of transformer 52 .",
"[0006] The details of a common low pass filter 68 are shown by way of example in FIG. 2 .",
"FIG. 2 is a typical LPF circuit including three capacitors C 1 , C 2 , C 3 , and four inductors L 1 , L 2 , L 3 , L 4 .",
"The input signal is differential and is applied at modes IN+, IN− and the output signal is differential and is obtained at modes OUT+, OUT−.",
"Such devices are difficult to integrate onto an integrated circuit with current technology and thus must actually be fabricated with discreet components or is known to those of ordinary skill in the art.",
"[0007] Relays 62 and 70 and LPF 68 are physically relatively large and tend to be relatively expensive parts.",
"Furthermore, relays can wear out and/or suffer from intermittent failures and are thus not considered to be the most reliable of electronic devices.",
"Accordingly, it is desirable to replace the need for relays and discreet filter components in circuits of this type and to further miniaturize the loop back control circuit.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] A method and apparatus provide an IP telephone or similar device with a mechanism to receive and at least briefly loop back discovery signals received from a telecommunications device such as an Ethernet switch while not permitting the loop back of data packet signals.",
"No mechanical relays are required and the circuitry can be fully integrated on an integrated circuit using commonly available techniques, if desired.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES [0009] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification illustrate one or more embodiments of the invention and, together with the present description, serve to explain the principles and implementations of the invention.",
"[0000] In the drawings: [0010] FIG. 1 is an electrical schematic diagram of a telecommunications system in accordance with the prior art.",
"[0011] FIG. 2 is an electrical schematic diagram illustrating a low pass filter in accordance with the prior art.",
"[0012] FIG. 3 is an electrical schematic diagram illustrating a switching circuit in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present invention.",
"[0013] FIG. 4 is an electrical schematic diagram illustrating a power processor circuit in accordance with the prior art.",
"[0014] FIG. 5 is a plot of differential output signals of the circuit of FIG. 3 and the PWRUP signal as it rises in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present invention.",
"[0015] FIG. 6 is a plot of the loop back discovery signal in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present invention.",
"[0016] FIG. 7 is a plot of the loop back discovery signal through the circuit of FIG. 3 during the rise of the PWRUP signal in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present invention.",
"[0017] FIG. 8 is an electrical schematic diagram of a conventional ESD protection circuit for a conventional physical layer device.",
"[0018] FIG. 9 is plot of the loop back discovery signal through the circuit of FIG. 3 as modified by FIG. 8 during the rise of the PWRUP signal in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present invention.",
"[0019] FIGS. 10A-10B are an electrical schematic diagram of an alternative specific embodiment of the present invention.",
"[0020] FIG. 11A is a plot of V(TX+) and V(TX−) versus time in accordance with the specific embodiment of FIGS. 10A-10B .",
"[0021] FIG. 11B is a plot of V(RX+) and V(RX−) with a constant offset voltage in accordance with the specific embodiment of FIGS. 10A-10B .",
"[0022] FIGS. 12A and 12B are an electrical schematic diagram of an alternative specific embodiment of the present invention.",
"[0023] FIG. 13 is a plot of V(TX+), V(TX−) and V(A) versus time in accordance with the specific embodiment of FIGS. 12A-12B .",
"[0024] FIGS. 14A-14B are an electrical schematic diagram of an alternative specific embodiment of the present invention.",
"[0025] FIG. 15 is a plot of V(TX+), V(TX−), V(OFFB), V(NOFFB), V(OFFA) and V(NOFFA) versus time in accordance with the specific embodiment of FIGS. 14A-14B .",
"[0026] FIG. 16 is an electrical schematic diagram of an alternative specific embodiment of the present invention.",
"[0027] FIG. 17 is a plot of differential voltage and loop back currents in accordance with the specific embodiment of FIG. 16 .",
"[0028] FIG. 18 is a plot of drain current through various transistors for the circuit of FIG. 16 in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present invention.",
"[0029] FIGS. 19A-19B are an electrical schematic diagram of an alternative specific embodiment of the present invention.",
"[0030] FIG. 20 is a plot of differential currents through portions of the circuit if FIGS. 19A-19B in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present invention.",
"[0031] FIG. 21 is a plot of loop back voltage and current in accordance with the circuit of FIGS. 19A-19B .",
"[0032] FIGS. 22A-22B are an electrical schematic diagram of an alternative specific embodiment of the present invention.",
"[0033] FIG. 23 is a plot of the voltage response of various portions of the circuit of FIGS. 22A-22B .",
"[0034] FIG. 24 is a plot of capacitor voltage versus time for the circuit of FIGS. 22A-22B .",
"[0035] FIGS. 25-26 are flow diagrams for processes in accordance with specific embodiments of the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0036] Embodiments of the present invention are described herein in the context of a method and apparatus for controlling loop back of a differential mode signal through a remote device without the use of a powered circuit or a relay at the remote device.",
"Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following description of the present invention is illustrative only and not intended to be in any way limiting.",
"Other embodiments of the invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure.",
"Reference will now be made in detail to a number of implementations of the present invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.",
"The same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or like parts.",
"[0037] In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of the implementations described herein are described.",
"It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with system- and business-related goals and that these goals will vary from one implementation to another.",
"Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would never the less be a routine undertaking of engineering for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.",
"[0038] The present invention is directed to replacing the prior art circuitry relay and LPF components of the data packet loop back prevention circuit to make a more compact, inexpensive and reliable IP telephone (or similar network device).",
"A primary difficulty which must be overcome is the fact that the IP telephone is likely entirely unpowered during the discovery phase since phantom power will not generally be provided until after the discovery phase is complete.",
"Thus, powered active circuitry cannot normally be used to detect and respond to the discovery signal.",
"[0039] Circuit 84 , as shown schematically in FIG. 3 , illustrates a specific embodiment of the present invention.",
"Receive transformer 44 receives a differential AC signal over, for example, a twisted pair line coupled to a first transformer winding disposed between pins 3 and 5 of receive transformer 44 .",
"A center-tap is provided between pins 3 and 5 in order to extract phantom power at pin 4 (mode 56 ).",
"The first transformer winding is magnetically coupled to a second transformer winding disposed between pins 1 and 2 of receive transformer 44 .",
"The second transformer winding is coupled to lines RX+(64) and RX−(66), respectively.",
"A first steering circuit is formed of NPN bipolar transistor Q 1 and PNP bipolar transistor Q 6 .",
"Under normal conditions (i.e., no phantom power applied) first steering circuit simply drives transmit transformer 52 TX+ line 76 in substantially the same phase as the signal received on line RX+.",
"Similarly and simultaneously, a second steering circuit formed of NPN bipolar transistor Q 12 and PNP bipolar transistor Q 5 drives transmit transformer 52 TX− line 78 in substantially the same phase as the signal received on line RX−.",
"[0040] When phantom power is applied to nodes 56 and 58 , power processor 86 becomes energized and provides a “PWRUP”",
"signal on line 88 .",
"The PWRUP signal on line 88 turns on NPN bipolar transistors Q 3 and Q 4 by applying a positive voltage to node 88 of voltage divider 90 thus connecting the bases of Q 1 and Q 12 to ground.",
"[0041] The power processor 86 , shown in more detail in FIG. 4 , receives power on lines 56 and 58 and conventionally includes a filter 114 , a rectifier 116 , a filter capacitor 118 and a DC-DC converter 120 .",
"Other similar arrangements are also well known to those of ordinary skill in the art.",
"The power processor 86 may perform DC-DC power conversion and filtering as required, as well as providing power to nodes 88 (PWRUP) and 122 (ground).",
"[0042] At the same time as PWRUP goes high, because the bases of PNP bipolar transistors Q 7 and Q 8 are at ground potential through pull down resistor R 20 and the emitters of Q 7 and Q 8 are at PWRUP (node 88 ) Q 7 and Q 8 are turned on and hence Q 5 , the base of which is connected through PNP bipolar transistor Q 7 to PWRUP and Q 6 , the base of which is connected through PNP bipolar transistor Q 8 to PWRUP, are both forced off by the application of a relatively high voltage to their respective bases.",
"As a result, when PWRUP appears, the loop back feature promptly turns off.",
"Notably, no local power supply is required to enable this feature and it is powered entirely by signal level power on RX+, RX− with the appearance of phantom power at the network device turning it off.",
"[0043] FIG. 5 is a plot 92 of the loop back signal voltage of the circuit of FIG. 3 versus time and a plot 94 of the PWRUP signal voltage in the circuit of FIG. 3 versus time.",
"As can be seen, with a sinusoidal discovery tone of 1 cycle per 2 microseconds (500 KHz) from PWRUP, the loop back signal turns off in less than 1 microsecond after PWRUP goes high.",
"[0044] FIG. 6 is a plot 96 of the loop back discovery tone.",
"The discovery tone may preferably be a sinusoidal signal of less than a few megahertz in frequency.",
"A sinusoidal signal is not absolutely required, but is preferred because it is less likely to cause spurious emissions.",
"A signal of less than a few megahertz in frequency will easily propagate with insignificant voltage loss on twisted pair wire to the well-known Ethernet point to point maximum connection requirement of 140 meters.",
"[0045] FIG. 7 is a plot of the differential loop back discovery tone.",
"Plot 98 corresponds to the voltage at node 100 and plot 102 corresponds to the voltage at node 104 .",
"FIG. 7 illustrates the voltage at node 100 and 104 where no Electro Static Discharge (ESD) diodes are present in PHY 106 .",
"[0046] FIG. 8 is an electrical schematic diagram of a conventional ESD protection circuit 108 for a conventional PHY 106 .",
"ESD diodes D 1 , D 2 , D 3 , and D 4 clip voltage on lines RX− and RX+ to avoid damage to sensitive electronic circuits inside PHY 106 .",
"The result is typically that instead of the 2.5 volt peak to peak swings of FIG. 7 , the measured voltage at node 100 corresponds to plot 110 of FIG. 9 and the measured voltage at node 104 corresponds to plot 112 of FIG. 9 which show peak to peak voltage swings of only about 1.4 volts.",
"[0047] An alternative specific embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B which are in the form of an electrical schematic diagram.",
"In the embodiment of FIGS. 10A and 10B , a filtering function is added to the basic circuit of FIG. 3 .",
"The new circuit now operates by adding PNP bipolar transistors Q 19 and Q 14 .",
"Q 19 has its base and emitter connected in parallel with Q 6 of the first steering circuit and Q 14 has its base and emitter connected in parallel with Q 5 of the second steering circuit.",
"The collector of Q 19 is coupled to node “A”",
"and the collector of Q 14 is coupled to node “B”, both illustrated in FIG. 10B .",
"Mode “NA”",
"is the collector of Q 4 and node “NB”",
"is the collector of Q 3 .",
"As can be seen in FIG. 10B , circuit elements 124 and 126 are RC timing circuits which include, respectively, R 23 and C 8 and R 24 and C 9 .",
"C 8 and C 9 are charged by the normal loop back operation of circuit 84 passing the discovery signal.",
"R 23 and R 24 serve to discharge C 8 and C 9 , respectively, so that C 8 and C 9 will be discharged when the network device is disconnected or the switch is powered off.",
"[0048] The goal in this version of the circuit is to permit brief loop back for detection purposes and then to shut off the loop back capability after having given the switch sufficient time to accomplish the discovery function.",
"By shutting off the loop back feature promptly, undesirable loop back of data packets is avoided without the use of an LPF.",
"[0049] Turning to FIG. 10B , a portion of the positive current from Q 5 is mirrored into Q 14 and passed to node B. Similarly, a portion of the positive current from Q 6 is mirrored into Q 19 and passed to node A. C 8 and C 9 became charged which drives node VTON high turning on N-channel FETs M 16 and M 19 (sometimes referred to herein as switches) since VTON is coupled to the gates of FETs M 16 and M 19 .",
"This forces nodes NA and NB high because node A is held high by C 8 and this then forces Q 1 and Q 12 to turn on thus distorting the differential signal on TX+, TX− to the point that it cannot be transmitted through transformer 52 .",
"[0050] FIG. 11A illustrates the plot of the voltage of TX+ and TX− over time as the circuit of FIG. 10B turns on.",
"As can be seen, the first few loop back pulses are intact, then they become increasingly attenuated with the TX+, TX− signal losing its differential node characteristics and thus becoming unpropagatable through a transformer or over a twisted pair cable.",
"FIG. 11B illustrates the RX+, RX− signal (with an offset) corresponding to the TX+, TX− signal of FIG. 11A in time.",
"[0051] Another specific embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the electrical schematic diagram of FIGS. 12A and 12B and its operation is modeled in the plots of FIG. 13 .",
"In this embodiment, the loop back of the discovery signal is briefly permitted.",
"Once loop back commences, current is passed to node A through the Q 6 -Q 19 current mirror, Once node A becomes active, C 8 begins to charge taking node A and the gates of N-channel FETs M 16 and M 19 high.",
"This takes nodes PB and PA low turning on Q 14 , Q 5 , Q 19 and Q 6 thus disrupting the pass through of differential signals on RX+, RX− to TX+, TX−.",
"FIG. 13 shows the voltages of TX−, TX+ and node A over time in accordance with the operation of the circuit of FIGS. 12A and 12B .",
"[0052] Another specific embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the electrical schematic diagram of FIGS. 14A and 14B and its operation is modeled in the plots of FIG. 15 .",
"In this embodiment, the loop back of the discovery signal is only briefly permitted.",
"Once loop back commences rectified current is passed to modes NOFFB and OFFB, through the current mirror/diode action of Q 1 -Q 14 and Q 6 -Q 18 , respectively.",
"With OFFB high, C 8 charges up and holds the gates of N-channel FETS M 19 , M 16 , M 18 , and M 13 high which, in turn, takes nodes NA and NB low.",
"The idea here it to balance the impact by (1) removing the same amount of current from both sides;",
"(2) making the loads the same on the mirrored NMOS and PMOS devices;",
"and (3) presenting nodes OFFA and NOFFA with opposite polarities, one being at +0.7 VDC while the other is at −0.7 VDC.",
"[0053] Note that in this circuit loopback operation can be prevented in any of at least three ways: (1) disable only the gate of the NMOS devices in the loopback circuit in both switches (2) disable only the gate of the PMOS devices in the loopback circuit in both switches;",
"(3) disable all gates of the NMOS and PMOS devices in the loopback circuits of both switches.",
"[0054] Accordingly, the circuitry driving TX+ and TX− is disrupted as shown in FIG. 15 so that one or a few discovery cycles are looped hack over TX+, TX− followed quickly by the secession of the loop back function.",
"[0055] Finally, is should be noted that while a number of circuits using bipolar transistor technology have been shown, the concepts of this invention are equally applicable to FET-type transistors as long as they are constructed with thresholds appropriate to the expected signal levels as is well known to these of ordinary skill in the art.",
"Turning now to FIG. 16 , an electrical schematic diagram of a FET-type circuit corresponding to the bipolar design of FIG. 3 is shown.",
"P-channel MOSFET M 3 and N-Channel MOSFET M 7 together form a first steering circuit driven by RX+, RX− and driving TX+.",
"P-channel MOSFET M 9 and N-channel MOSFET M 10 together from a second steering circuit driven by RX+, RX− and driving TX−.",
"FIG. 17 illustrates the operation of this circuit.",
"The curve denoted V (RX−)−V(RX+) plots the difference in the voltage level of RX− and RX+ over time.",
"FIG. 18 illustrates the current through the drains of devices M 3 , M 7 , M 9 and M 10 over time as shown.",
"[0056] Turning now to FIGS. 19A-19B , an electrical schematic diagram of an alternative specific embodiment of the present invention illustrates the FET homologue of the bipolar circuit of FIGS. 10A-10B .",
"In this circuit M 11 mirrors some of the current in M 19 driving node VOFF through diode D 1 and M 12 mirrors some of the current in M 9 driving node VOFFN through diode D 2 .",
"After a short time of operation VOFF is pulled low and held by capacitor C 5 while VOFFN is pulled low and held by capacitor C 4 .",
"Resistors R 9 and R 10 serve to discharge capacitors C 5 and C 4 , respectively, after disconnection of RX+, RX−.",
"Since VOFF is pulled high, as shown in FIG. 19B , it controls the gates of N-channel MOSFETS M 16 and M 17 tying nodes NA and NB to ground and thereby shutting off devices M 7 and M 10 which turns off the first and second steering circuits and stops the loop back function.",
"[0057] FIG. 20 shows the plot of the differential TX current (I(TX+)−I(TX−)) at the top and the plot of the differential RX current (I(RX+)−I(RX−)) at the bottom during normal operation of the circuit of FIGS. 19A-19B (PWRUP not applied).",
"[0058] FIG. 21 shows the plot of the voltage at modes VS 1 and VG 1 at the top and the plots of RX and TX current (I(RX+) and I(TX−)) at the bottom during normal operation of the circuit of FIGS. 19A-19B (PWRUP not applied) [0059] Turning now to FIGS. 22A and 22B a modification of the circuit of FIGS. 19A-19B is shown.",
"In this version a clean voltage source Vs is used to set the gates of M 16 and M 17 of FIG. 22B high.",
"This results in the plot shown in FIG. 23 .",
"The designation “VOLOFF”",
"indicates the gate voltage for M 16 and M 17 .",
"Note also that node VOFFN, generated off of an NMOS device, is negative relative to ground while node VOFF, generated off of a PMOS device, is positive relative to ground.",
"Diodes D 1 and D 2 are present to prevent the capacitors C 5 and C 4 , respectively, from loosing charge on the snapback of the switches as they turn off.",
"[0060] FIG. 24 is a Voltage vs.",
"Time plot generated by driving the circuit of FIGS. 22A and 22B to demonstrate the polarity of the voltages generated from the PMOS and NMOS current sources into capacitors C 5 and C 4 , respectively, (which correspond to nodes VOFF and VOFFN, respectively, of FIG. 22A ) [0061] Turning now to FIGS. 25 and 26 flow charts illustrating methods in accordance with specific embodiments of the present invention are shown.",
"The flow chart of FIG. 25 corresponds to the basic circuits of FIG. 3 and FIG. 16 .",
"A differential signal RX+, RX−) is input to the circuit at block 124 .",
"At block 126 it is decided whether steering circuit 1 or steering circuit 2 will handle the signal.",
"Steering circuit 1 (block 128 ) or steering circuit 2 (block 130 ) handles the signal as described above.",
"If DC power is applied (PWRUP) at block 132 then the loop back terminates (block 134 ), otherwise signal processing continues at block 124 .",
"In the version of the flow chart shown in FIG. 26 , instead of block 132 , block 136 acts to store power from the input signal by mirroring current into a voltage storage device such as a capacitor which is then used to power switches which force a distortion of the looped back signal (block 138 ) so that it will not propagate through a transformer or on a twisted pair transmission line.",
"The distortions can shift the phase and or voltage centers of the signals so that they are no longer differential node signals.",
"[0062] Thus, a number of ways have been shown to block undesired loop back of packet traffic.",
"Application of the phantom power signal can be used to disrupt the loop back circuitry stopping the loop back;",
"switches can be turned on by powering their bases/gates by rectified signal current stored in capacitors (resistors to ground provided to discharge the capacitors so that they can reset when a DTE device is disconnected), data can be distorted through voltage and/or phase shifting so that it will not propagate through the transformer or on the twisted pair transmission line.",
"It should also be noted that the transformer winding used to provide RX+, RX− to the PHY need not be the same as that used to drive the circuitry described above so as to avoid affecting the operation of the PHY.",
"[0063] While embodiments and applications of the invention have been shown and described, it would be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that many more modifications than mentioned above are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein.",
"The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims."
] |
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a 35 U.S.C. §371 filing from International Application No. PCT/US2014/068008, filed Dec. 2, 2014, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/017,542, filed Jun. 26, 2014, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/911,686, filed Dec. 4, 2013. Each of the aforementioned applications is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The retrovirus designated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), particularly the strains known as HIV type-1 (HIV-1) and type-2 (HIV-2), have been etiologically linked to the immunosuppressive disease known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV seropositive individuals are initially asymptomatic but typically develop AIDS related complex (ARC) followed by AIDS. Affected individuals exhibit severe immunosuppression which makes them highly susceptible to debilitating and ultimately fatal opportunistic infections. Replication of HIV by a host cell requires integration of the viral genome into the host cell's DNA. Since HIV is a retrovirus, the HIV replication cycle requires transcription of the viral RNA genome into DNA via an enzyme known as reverse transcriptase (RT).
Reverse transcriptase has three known enzymatic functions: The enzyme acts as an RNA-dependent DNA polymerase, as a ribonuclease, and as a DNA-dependent DNA polymerase. In its role as an RNA-dependent DNA polymerase, RT transcribes a single-stranded DNA copy of the viral RNA. As a ribonuclease, RT destroys the original viral RNA and frees the DNA just produced from the original RNA. And as a DNA-dependent DNA polymerase, RT makes a second, complementary DNA strand using the first DNA strand as a template. The two strands form double-stranded DNA, which is integrated into the host cell's genome by the integrase enzyme.
It is known that compounds that inhibit enzymatic functions of HIV RT will inhibit HIV replication in infected cells. These compounds are useful in the prophylaxis or treatment of HIV infection in humans. Among the compounds approved for use in treating HIV infection and AIDS are the RT inhibitors 3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine (AZT), 2′,3′-dideoxyinosine (ddI), 2′,3′-dideoxycytidine (ddC), d4T, 3TC, nevirapine, delavirdine, efavirenz, abacavir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir.
The RT inhibitor 3-chloro-5-({1-[(4-methyl-5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl]-2-oxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl}oxy)benzonitrile, related compounds and methods for making the same are illustrated in WO 2011/120133 A1, published on Oct. 6, 2011, and US 2011/0245296 A1, published on Oct. 6, 2011, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. The present invention is directed to a novel process for synthesizing 3-(substituted phenoxy)-1-[(5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl])-pyridin-2(1H)-one derivatives. The compounds synthesized by the processes of the invention are HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitors useful for inhibiting reverse transcriptase and HIV replication, and the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus infection in humans.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a novel process for synthesizing 3-(substituted phenoxy)-1-[(5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl])-pyridin-2(1H)-one derivatives. The compounds synthesized by the processes of the invention are HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitors useful for inhibiting reverse transcriptase and HIV replication, and the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus infection in humans.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a schematic of the flow reactor for the aldol condensation step used in the process for synthesizing 3-(substituted phenoxy)-1-[(5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl])-pyridin-2(1H)-one.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The invention encompasses a method for synthesizing a compound of Formula I
wherein R 1 is C 1-6 alkyl, K 1 and K 2 are independently CH 3 , CF 3 , CHF 2 , CH 2 CF 3 , OCH 3 , Cl, Br, F, CN or SCH 3 , and R 2 is CF 3 , Cl or Br,
comprising
Step 1—conducting an aldol addition of an ester of Formula B
with a compound of Formula C
in the presence of a first base in a hydrocarbon or ethereal organic solvent at a first reduced temperature, wherein the first base is a metal alkoxide or metal amide base, to form Intermediate D, and optionally isolating Intermediate D
Step 2—reacting Intermediate D with an organic acid anhydride or sulfonyl chloride in the presence of a second base, wherein the second base is a tertiary amine base, at a second reduced temperature in a hydrocarbon or ethereal organic solvent, which solvent can be the same or different as that in Step 1, to form Intermediate E, and optionally isolating Intermediate E
Step 3—cyclizing Intermediate E in the presence of a nitrogen source having formula NH 3+n X n , wherein X n =a non-coordinating counteranion and n=0 (zero) or 1,
at a first elevated temperature in a mixture of alcohol and organic solvent to make a compound of Formula F
and
Step 4—coupling the compound of Formula F with a compound of Formula A
wherein X 1 is a leaving group,
in the presence of a third base selected from an inorganic base or a tertiary amine base in a polar aprotic or protic solvent to yield the compound of Formula I.
Alternatively, after performing Steps 1 and 2 as described above, Steps 3 and 4 described above can be replaced with Step 3A as follows:
Step 3A—cyclizing Intermediate E in the presence of a compound of Formula A
wherein X 1 is NH 2 , at an elevated temperature in a mixture of alcohol and organic solvent to make a compound of Formula I.
The following scheme is an example of Step 3A.
The invention also encompasses a method for synthesizing a compound of Formula F
wherein K 1 and K 2 are independently CH 3 , CF 3 , CHF 2 , CH 2 CF 3 , OCH 3 , Cl, Br, F, CN or SCH 3 , and R 2 is CF 3 , Cl or Br,
comprising
Step 1—conducting an aldol addition of an ester of Formula B
with a compound of Formula C
in the presence of a first base in a hydrocarbon or ethereal organic solvent at a first reduced temperature, wherein the first base is a metal alkoxide or metal amide base, to form Intermediate D, and optionally isolating Intermediate D
Step 2—reacting Intermediate D with an organic acid anhydride or sulfonyl chloride in the presence of a second base, wherein the second base is a tertiary amine base, at a second reduced temperature in a hydrocarbon or ethereal organic solvent, which solvent can be the same or different as that in Step 1, to form Intermediate E, and optionally isolating Intermediate E
Step 3—cyclizing Intermediate E in the presence of a nitrogen source having formula NH 3+n X n , wherein X n =a non-coordinating counteranion and n=0 or 1, at a first elevated temperature in a mixture of alcohol and organic solvent to make the compound of Formula F.
The term “alkyl” means straight or branched alkyl chains of the indicated number of carbon atoms, including for example, methyl (Me), ethyl (Et), propyl (Pr, n-Pr) isopropyl (i-Pr, i-Pr or i Pr) or tert-butyl (t-butyl, t-butyl).
The first base is a metal alkoxide or metal amide base, for example. In an embodiment of the invention, the first base is selected from: potassium tert-amylate, sodium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide, potassium or sodium tert-butoxide, lithium diisopropylamide or sodium or potassium ethoxide. In another embodiment of the invention, the first base is potassium ten-amylate or sodium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide.
The first reduced temperature and second reduced temperature are temperatures below room temperature. In an embodiment, the first reduced temperature is in a range of about 15° C. to about −50° C. In an embodiment, the second reduced temperature is in a range of about 15° C. to about −50° C. In another embodiment, the second reduced temperature is in a range of about 0° C. to about 10° C.
Hydrocarbon and ethereal organic solvents that may be utilized with the invention are known in the art and are, for example, tetrahydrofuran, diethyl ether, methyl tert-butyl ether, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, toluene or xylenes. In an embodiment, the hydrocarbon or ethereal organic solvent is selected from: toluene or tetrahydrofuran. In another embodiment, the hydrocarbon or ethereal organic solvent is toluene.
The term “organic acid anhydride or sulfonyl chloride” includes, for example acetic anhydride, trifluoroacetic anhydride, methanesulfonyl chloride, trifluoromethanesulfonyl chloride, or p-toluenesulfonyl chloride. In an embodiment of the invention, the organic acid anhydride or sulfonyl chloride is selected from: trifluoroacetic anhydride, acetic anhydride or methanesulfonyl chloride. In another embodiment, the organic acid anhydride or sulfonyl chloride is selected from: trifluoroacetic anhydride or methanesulfonyl chloride.
The second base is a tertiary amine base. The third base is an inorganic or tertiary amine base. Inorganic bases include, for example, sodium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, lithium carbonate, potassium carbonate, cesium hydroxide, cesium carbonate, sodium hydrogen carbonate, potassium hydrogen carbonate, lithium hydrogen carbonate, lithium fluoride, sodium fluoride, potassium fluoride, cesium fluoride, lithium tert-butoxide, sodium tert-butoxide, potassium tert-butoxide, sodium phosphate and potassium phosphate. Tertiary amine bases include for example trimethylamine, dimethylethylamine, triethylamine, 1,4-diazobicyclo-[2,2,2]-octane, diisopropylethylamine, dicyclohexylethylamine. Suitable non-polar aprotic solvents include for example tetrahydrofuran, ethyl acetate, acetone, dimethylformamide, acetonitrile, dimethyl sulfoxide, dimethylacetomide, N-methylpyrrolidinone. The first base, second base and third base are selected independently from each other.
In an embodiment of the invention, the second base is selected from: trimethylamine, dimethylethylamine, triethylamine, 1,4-diazobicyclo-[2,2,2]-octane, diisopropylethylamine or dicyclohexylethylamine. In another embodiment of the invention, the second base is triethylamine.
In an embodiment, the third base is selected from: sodium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, lithium carbonate, potassium carbonate, cesium hydroxide, cesium carbonate, sodium hydrogen carbonate, potassium hydrogen carbonate, lithium hydrogen carbonate, lithium fluoride, sodium fluoride, potassium fluoride, cesium fluoride, lithium tert-butoxide, sodium tert-butoxide, potassium tert-butoxide, sodium phosphate, potassium phosphate, trimethylamine, dimethylethylamine, triethylamine, 1,4-diazobicyclo-[2,2,2]-octane, diisopropylethylamine, or dicyclohexylethylamine. In another embodiment, the third base is N,N-diisopropylethylamine.
Another embodiment of the invention encompasses a method for synthesizing the compound of Formula I or Formula F in accordance with the invention, wherein Intermediate D and Intermediate E are not isolated and Step 1 and Step 2 are conducted in a flow reactor comprising two feed solution inlets and an outlet to a receiving vessel, wherein:
the ester of Formula B and the compound of Formula C in the hydrocarbon or ethereal organic solvent were pumped to one flow reactor inlet;
the first base in the hydrocarbon or ethereal organic solvent was pumped to the second flow reactor inlet;
the organic acid anhydride or sulfonyl chloride was added continuously to the receiver vessel;
and the second base was added continuously to the receiver vessel. A flow reactor that can be utilized in accordance with the invention is illustrated in FIG. 1
For purpose of this specification, the term nitrogen source means a compound of the generic formula NH 3+n X n , wherein X n =a non-coordinating counteranion and n=0 or 1. A non-coordinating counteranion is for example, tetrafluoroborate, hexafluorophosphate, hexafluoroantimonate or trifluoromethanesulfonate. In an embodiment of the invention the NH 3+n X n nitrogen source is ammonium tetrafluoroborate, wherein n=1 and X=tetrafluoroborate. In another embodiment of the invention the NH 3+n X n nitrogen source is ammonia, wherein n=0. In another embodiment, the nitrogen source is a compound of Formula A wherein X 1 is NH 2 .
The term first elevated temperature means a temperature above room temperature. In an embodiment, the first elevated temperature is in a range of about 25° C. to about 80° C. In another embodiment, the first elevated temperature is in a range of about 60° C. to about 80° C.
A mixture of alcohol and organic solvent means a mixture of the two components in any ratio. The alcohol includes for example methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, ten-butanol, tert-amyl alcohol and the organic solvent includes for example: tetrahydrofuran, diethyl ether methyl tert-butyl ether, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, toluene or xylenes.
The term “leaving group” means an atom or atom group that leaves from a substrate in a substitution or elimination reaction and includes for example halogen and sulfonate. In an embodiment, the invention encompasses the process described herein wherein X 1 is selected from: halogen, OMs (mesylate), OTs (tosylate), OBs (besylate), OP(O)(OR i ) 2 , OC(O)R i , OC(O)OR i or OC(O)NR i R ii , wherein R i and R ii are independently selected from H and C 1-6 alkyl. In another embodiment, the invention encompasses the process described herein wherein X 1 is chloro.
The term polar aprotic or protic solvent means a solvent with a large dipole moment. The term polar aprotic or protic solvent includes dimethyl sulfoxide, N,N-dimethylformamide, N,N-dimethylacetamide, N-methylpyrrolidinone, sulfolane, methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, tert-amyl alcohol or water. In an example, the polar aprotic or protic solvent is a mixture of alcohol and organic amide. In another embodiment, the polar aprotic or protic solvent is a mixture of tert-amyl alcohol and N-methylpyrrolidinone.
Another embodiment of the invention encompasses the method for synthesizing a compound of Formula I as described above, wherein Step 4 is conducted at a second elevated temperature. The term second elevated temperature means a temperature above room temperature, and is independent from the first elevated temperature. In an embodiment, the second elevated temperature is in a range of about 25° C. to about 80° C. In another embodiment, the second elevated temperature is about 25° C.
The invention also encompasses a method for synthesizing the compound of Formula I as previously described wherein:
the first base is selected from: potassium tert-amylate or sodium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide;
the first reduced temperature is in a range of about 0° C. to about −50° C.;
the hydrocarbon or ethereal organic solvent is toluene;
the organic acid anhydride or sulfonyl chloride is selected from: trifluoroacetic anhydride or methanesulfonyl chloride;
the second base is triethylamine;
the second reduced temperature is in a range of about 0° C. to about 10° C.;
the nitrogen source is NH 3 ;
the first elevated temperature is in a range of about 60° C. to about 80° C.;
the mixture of alcohol and organic solvent is a mixture of methanol and toluene;
X 1 is chloro;
the third base is N,N-diisopropylethylamine; and
the first polar aprotic or protic solvent is a mixture of tert-amyl alcohol and N-methylpyrrolidinone.
The invention also encompasses a method for synthesizing the compound of Formula I or Formula F as previously described, further comprising making the ester of Formula
by reacting a compound of Formula G
with a compound of Formula H
wherein X 2 is a halide or pseudo halide, in the presence of a fourth base in an organic polar aprotic solvent at a third elevated temperature, wherein the fourth base is a tertiary amine or inorganic carbonate, to make the ester of Formula B. In an embodiment of the invention, X 2 is bromo; the fourth base is N,N-diisopropylethylamine; the organic polar aprotic solvent N,N-dimethylformamide or acetone; and the third elevated temperature is about 50° C.
The term “pseudo halide” means for example methanesulfonate, p-toluenesulfonate, trifluoromethanesulfonate and diethyl phosphate.
The invention also encompasses any of the above-described methods for synthesizing the compound of Formula I wherein in the compound of Formula I K 1 is Cl, K 2 is CN, R 1 is CH 3 and R 2 is CF 3 .
The invention also encompasses any of the above-described methods for synthesizing the compound of Formula F wherein in the compound of Formula I K 1 is Cl, K 2 is CN and R 2 is CF 3 .
The compound 3-chloro-5-({1-[(4-methyl-5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl]-2-oxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl}oxy)benzonitrile has the following chemical structure.
Anhydrous 3-chloro-5-({1-[(4-methyl-5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl]-2-oxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl}oxy)benzonitrile is known to exist in two crystalline forms, Form I and Form II. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) curve for crystalline anhydrous Form II shows an endotherm with an onset at 230.8° C., a peak maximum at 245.2° C., and an enthalpy change of 3.7 J/g, which is due to polymorphic conversion of anhydrous Form II to anhydrous Form I, and a second melting endotherm with an onset at 283.1° C., a peak maximum at 284.8° C., and an enthalpy change of 135.9 J/g, due to melting of anhydrous Form I. Production and the ability of this compound to inhibit HIV reverse transcriptase is illustrated in WO 2011/120133 A1, published on Oct. 6, 2011, and US 2011/0245296 A1, published on Oct. 6, 2011, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. This compound is useful for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus infection in humans. Anhydrous crystalline Form I and Form II, and procedures for making Form II, are described in WO2014/052171, published on Apr. 3, 2014, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Procedures for making anhydrous Form I are described in WO 2011/120133 and US 2011/0245296.
Previous known synthetic routes for synthesizing 3-chloro-5-({1-[(4-methyl-5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl]-2-oxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl}oxy)benzonitrile required more expensive raw materials, generated more waste and were more laborious to execute. The present invention is a simple, cost effective and reliable synthetic route for making the aforementioned compound.
The following examples illustrate the invention. Unless specifically indicated otherwise, all reactants were either commercially available or can be made following procedures known in the art. The following abbreviations are used:
ABBREVIATIONS
° C.=degrees Celsius
DMF=dimethylformamide
NMP=N-methylpyrrolidinone
g=gram(s)
IPA=isopropyl alcohol
NPA=n-propyl alcohol
L=liter(s)
mL=milliliter(s)
LC=liquid chromatography
LCAP=Liquid chromatography area percent
Me=methyl
h=hour(s)
Hz=Hertz
t=triplet
d=doublet
s=singlet
br s=broad singlet
IPA=2-propanol also known as n-propanol
NMR=Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
wt %=weight percent
nm=nanometer(s)
ug=microgram(s)
DMF=N,N-dimethylformamide
ppm=parts per million
Ph=phenyl
L=liter(s)
HPLC=High Pressure Liquid Chromatography
conc.=concentrated
KO t Am=Potassium tert-amylate
t AmOH=tert-amylalcohol
TFAA=trifluoroacetic anhydride
TEA=triethylamine
mp=melting point
GC/MS=gas chromatogtraphy/mass spectrometry
BHT=butylated hydroxytoluene
MTBE=tert-butylmethylether
wt=weight
Example 1
Step 1
Phenyl Methylcarbamate
40% Aqueous methylamine (500 g, 6.44 mol) was charged to a 2 L vessel equipped with heat/cool jacket, overhead stirrer, temperature probe and nitrogen inlet. The solution was cooled to −5° C. Phenyl chloroformate (500.0 g, 3.16 mol) was added over 2.5 h maintaining the reaction temperature between −5 and 0° C. On complete addition the white slurry was stirred for 1 h at ˜0° C.
The slurry was filtered, washed with water (500 mL) and dried under a nitrogen sweep overnight to afford 465 g (96% yield) of the desired product as a white crystalline solid; 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 500 MHz): δ 7.35 (t, J=8.0 Hz, 2H), 7.19 (t, J=8.0 Hz, 1H), 7.12 (d, J=8.0 Hz, 2H), 4.95 (br s, 1H), 2.90 (d, J=5 Hz, 3H).
Step 2
2-(2-Hydroxyacetyl)-N-methylhydrazinecarboxamide
Part A: Phenyl methylcarbamate (300 g, 1.95 mol) was charged to a 2 L vessel with cooling jacket, overhead stirrer, temperature probe, reflux condenser and nitrogen inlet. IPA (390 mL) was added at 23° C. Hydrazine hydrate (119 g, 2.33 mol) was added and the slurry heated to 75° C. for 6 h.
Part B: On complete reaction (>99% conversion by HPLC), IPA (810 mL) and glycolic acid (222 g, 2.92 mol) were added and the mixture stirred at 83-85° C. for 10-12 h. The reaction mixture was initially a clear colorless solution. The mixture was seeded with product (0.5 g) after 4 h at 83-85° C. The slurry was slowly cooled to 20° C. over 2 h and aged for 1 h. Seed was used to advance the crystallization, but the crystalline product can be precipitated and isolated without seed by allowing the solution to age at 83-85° C. for 4 hours.
The slurry was filtered and washed with IPA (600 mL). The cake was dried under a nitrogen sweep to afford 241.8 g (81% yield) of the desired product as a white crystalline solid: 1 H NMR (D 2 O, 500 MHz): δ 4.11 (s, 2H), 2.60 (s, 3H).
Step 3
3-(Hydroxymethyl)-4-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5(4H)-one
2-(2-Hydroxyacetyl)-N-methylhydrazinecarboxamide (130 g @ ˜95 wt %, 0.84 mol), n-propanol (130 mL) and water (130 mL) were charged to a 1 L vessel with jacket, overhead stirrer, temperature probe, reflux condenser and nitrogen inlet. Sodium hydroxide (pellets, 16.8 g, 0.42 mol) was added and the slurry warmed to reflux for 3 h. The reaction mixture was cooled to 20° C. and the pH adjusted to 6.5 (+/−0.5) using concentrated hydrochloric acid (28.3 mL, 0.34 mol). Water was azeotropically removed under vacuum at 40-50° C. by reducing the volume to ˜400 mL and maintaining that volume by the slow addition of n-propanol (780 mL). The final water content was <3000 ug/mL. The resultant slurry (˜400 mL) was cooled to 23° C. and heptane (390 ml) was added. The slurry was aged 1 h at 23° C., cooled to 0° C. and aged 2 h. The slurry was filtered, the cake washed with 1:2 n-PrOH/heptane (100 mL) and the filter cake was dried under a nitrogen sweep to provide 125 g (85% yield) of an off-white crystalline solid. The solid was ˜73 wt % due to residual inorganics (NaCl): 1 H NMR (CD 3 OD, 500 MHz): δ 3.30 (s, 3H), 4.46 (s, 2H).
Step 4
3-(Chloromethyl)-4-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5(4H)-one (1)
A mixture of 3-(Hydroxymethyl)-4-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5(4H)-one (54 g, at 73 wt %, 307 mmol) in ethyl acetate (540 mL) was stirred at 45° C. SOCl 2 (26.9 mL, 369 mmol) was added over 30-45 min and aged at 50° C. for 2 h. The reaction progress was monitored by HPLC. On complete reaction (>99.5% by area at 210 nm), the warm suspension was filtered and the filter cake (mainly NaCl) was washed with ethyl acetate (108 mL). The combined filtrate and wash were concentrated at 50-60° C. under reduced pressure to approximately 150 mL. The resulting slurry was cooled to −10° C. and aged 1 h. The slurry was filtered and the filter cake washed with ethyl acetate (50 mL). The cake was dried under a nitrogen sweep to afford 40.1 g (86% yield) of the desired product as a bright yellow solid: 1 H NMR (CD 3 OD, 500 MHz): δ 3.30 (s, 3H), 4.58 (s, 2H).
Example 2
Step 1—Ethyl Ester Synthesis
Experimental Procedure
Ethyl 2-(3-chloro-5-cyanophenoxy)acetate (A)
A 1 L round bottom flask equipped with overhead stirring was charged with 3-chloro-5-hydroxybenzonitrile (50.0 g, 98 wt % purity, 319 mmol) and 15% aqueous DMF (200 mL DMF+35.5 mL H 2 O). To the resulting solution was added diisopropylethylamine (61.3 mL, 99.0% purity, 1.1 equiv) and ethyl 2-bromoacetate (35.7 g, 98% purity, 1.15 equiv) at ambient temperature. The resulting solution was warmed to 50° C. under nitrogen and aged for 12 h. Upon completion of the reaction the batch was cooled to 0-5° C. To the clear to slightly cloudy solution was added 5% seed (3.8 g, 16.0 mmol). H 2 O (64.5 mL) was added to the thin suspension via syringe pump over 3 h while maintaining the temperature at 0-5° C. Additional H 2 O (200 mL) was added over 1 h while maintaining the temp at 0-5° C. The final DMF/H 2 O ratio is 1:1.5. The resulting slurry was aged 1 h at 0-5° C. The batch was filtered and the cake slurry washed with 2:1 DMF/water (150 mL), followed by water (200 mL). The wet cake was dried on the frit with suction under a nitrogen stream at 20-25° C. The cake is considered dry when H 2 O is <0.2%. Obtained 73.4 g ethyl ester as a light tan solid, 96% yield: 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 400 MHz) δ=7.29 (s, 1H), 7.15 (s, 1H), 7.06 (s, 1H), 4.67 (s, 2H), 4.32 (q, 2H), 1.35 (t, 3H) ppm. Seed was used to advance the crystallization, but the crystalline product can be precipitated and isolated without seed by allowing the solution to age at 0-5° C. for at least about 2 hours.
Step 2—Pyridone Synthesis
Synthetic Scheme
Experimental Procedures
Aldol Condensation
(2E/Z,4E)-Ethyl 2-(3-chloro-5-cyanophenoxy)-5-ethoxy-3-(trifluoromethyl)penta-2,4-dienoate (C)
Ethyl 2-(3-chloro-5-cyanophenoxy)acetate (25.01 g, 104.4 mmol, 1.00 equiv) was charged to toluene (113.43 g, 131 mL) and 4-ethoxy-1,1,1-trifluoro-3-buten-2-one (26.43 g, 157.2 mmol, 1.51 equiv) was added.
The flow reactor consisted of two feed solution inlets and an outlet to a receiving vessel. The flow reactor schematic is shown in FIG. 1 .
The ester solution was pumped to one flow reactor inlet. Potassium tert-amylate solution was pumped to the second reactor inlet. Trifluoroacetic anhydride was added continuously to the receiver vessel. Triethylamine was added continuously to the receiver vessel.
The flow rates were: 13 mL/min ester solution, 7.8 mL/min potassium tert-amylate solution, 3.3 mL/min trifluoroacetic anhydride and 4.35 mL/min triethylamine.
Charged toluene (50 mL) and potassium trifluoroacetate (0.64 g, 4.21 mmol, 0.04 equiv) to the receiver vessel. The flow reactor was submerged in a −10° C. bath and the pumps were turned on. The batch temperature in the receiver vessel was maintained at 5 to 10° C. throughout the run using a dry ice/acetone bath. After 13.5 min the ester solution was consumed, the reactor was flushed with toluene (10 mL) and the pumps were turned off.
The resulting yellow slurry was warmed to room temperature and aged for 4.5 h. Charged methanol (160 mL) to afford a homogeneous solution which contained 81.20 LCAP diene.
The solution of diene (573 mL) was used without purification in the subsequent reaction.
Cyclization
3-Chloro-5-((2-oxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl)oxy)benzonitrile (E)
To a solution of diene in PhMe/MeOH (573 mL; 40.69 g, 104.4 mmol theoretical) was charged methanol (25 mL). Ammonia (32 g, 1.88 mol, 18 equiv based on theoretical) was added and the solution was warmed to 60° C. The reaction was aged at 60° C. for 18 h. The temperature was adjusted to 35-45° C. and the pressure was decreased to maintain a productive distillation rate. The batch volume was reduced to ˜300 mL and methanol (325 mL) was charged in portions to maintain a batch volume between 250 and 350 mL. The heating was stopped and the system vented. The resulting slurry was cooled to room temperature and aged overnight.
The batch was filtered and the cake washed with methanol (3×, 45 mL). The wet cake was dried on the frit with suction under a nitrogen stream to afford 18.54 g of a white solid: 1 H NMR (DMSO-d 6 , 500 MHz): δ 12.7 (br s, 1H), 7.73 (t, 1H, J=1.5 Hz), 7.61-7.59 (m, 2H), 7.53 (t, 1H, J=2.0 Hz), 6.48 (d, 1H, J=7.0 Hz) ppm.
Step 3—Chlorination, Alkylation and Isolation of 3-Chloro-5-({1-[(4-methyl-5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl]-2-oxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl}oxy)benzonitrile
3-(Chloromethyl)-4-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5(4H)-one
3-(Hydroxymethyl)-4-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5(4H)-one (1.638 kg of 68 wt %, 8.625 mol) and N-methylpyrrolidinone (8.9 L) was charged into a 30 L vessel. The suspension was aged for 10 h at ambient temperature. The slurry was filtered through a 4 L sintered glass funnel under N 2 and the filter cake (mainly NaCl) was washed with NMP (2.23 L). The combined filtrate and wash had a water content of 5750 mg/mL. The solution was charged to a 75 L flask equipped with a 2N NaOH scrubber to capture off-gasing vapors. Thionyl chloride (0.795 L, 10.89 mol) was added over 1 h and the temperature rose to 35° C. HPLC analysis indicated that the reaction required an additional thionyl chloride charge (0.064 L, 0.878 mol) to bring to full conversion. The solution was warmed to 50° C., placed under vacuum at 60 Torr (vented to a 2N NaOH scrubber), and gently sparged with subsurface nitrogen (4 L/min). The degassing continued for 10 h until the sulfur dioxide content in the solution was <5 mg/mL as determined by quantitative GC/MS. The tan solution of 3-(chloromethyl)-4-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5(4H)-one in NMP weighed 13.0 kg and was assayed at 9.63 wt % providing 1.256 kg (97% yield).
3-chloro-5-((1-((4-methyl-5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl)-2-oxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl)oxy)benzonitrile
To a 75 L flask was charged a 9.63 wt % solution of 3-(chloromethyl)-4-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5(4H)-one in NMP (11.6 kg, 7.55 mol), 3-chloro-5-((2-oxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl)oxy)benzonitrile (2.00 kg, 6.29 mol), NMP (3.8 L) and 2-methyl-2-butanol (6.0 L). To the resulting suspension was slowly added N,N-diisopropylethylamine (4.38 L, 25.2 mol) over 4 h. The reaction was aged 18 h at ambient temperature. The reaction is considered complete when HPLC indicated <1% 3-chloro-5-((2-oxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl)oxy)benzonitrile remaining. The tan solution was quenched with acetic acid (1.26 L, 22.0 mol) and aged at ambient temperature overnight. The tan solution was warmed to 70° C. Water (2.52 L) was added and the batch was seeded with anhydrate Form II (134 g)(procedures for making anhydrate Form II are described in WO2014/052171). The thin suspension was aged 1 h at 70° C. Additional water (14.3 L) was added evenly over 7 h. The slurry was aged 2 h at 70° C. and then slowly cooled to 20° C. over 5 h. The slurry was filtered and washed with 2:1 NMP/water (6 L), followed by water washes (6 L×2). The filter cake was dried under N 2 to give 2.53 kg (85% yield) of a white solid that was confirmed to be crystalline Form II of the title compound by X-ray powder defraction analysis.
Example 3
Ethyl 2-(3-chloro-5-cyanophenoxy)acetate (A)
Three step one pot sequence
Steps 1 and 2
To an oven dried 250 mL round bottom flask was added sodium 2-methylpropan-2-olate (12.85 g, 134 mmol) and BHT (0.641 g, 2.91 mmol) then added DMF (30 mL). After 10 min, a light yellow solution resulted. 2-Phenylethanol (7.66 ml, 63.9 mmol) was added and the solution exothermed to 35° C. The light yellow solution was warmed to 55° C. and then a solution of 3,5-dichlorobenzonitrile (10 g, 58.1 mmol) in DMF (15 mL) was added over 2 h via syringe pump. The resulting red-orange suspension was aged at 55-60° C. After 2 h, HPLC showed >98% conversion to the sodium phenolate.
Step 3
The suspension was cooled to 10° C., then ethyl 2-bromoacetate (8.70 ml, 78 mmol) was added over 1 h while maintaining the temperature <20° C. The resulting mixture was aged at ambient temperature. After 1 h, HPLC showed >99% conversion to the title compound.
Work-Up and Isolation:
To the suspension was added MTBE (50 mL) and H 2 O (50 mL) and the layers were separated. The organic layer was washed with 20% aq brine (25 mL). The organic layer was assayed at 12.5 g (90% yield). The organic layer was concentrated to ˜38 mL, diluted with hexanes (12.5 mL) and then cooled to 5° C. The solution was seeded with 0.28 g (2 wt %) of crystalline ethyl 2-(3-chloro-5-cyanophenoxy)acetate and aged 0.5 h at 5° C. to give a free flowing slurry. Hexane (175 mL) was added to the slurry over 1 h at 0-5° C. The slurry was filtered at 0-5° C., washed with hexane (50 mL) and dried under a nitrogen sweep to give 9.8 g (70% yield) of the title compound as a white crystalline solid. Seed was used to advance the crystallization, but the crystalline product can be precipitated and isolated without seed by allowing the solution to age at 0-5° C. for at least about 2 hours. | The present invention is directed to a novel process for synthesizing 3-(substituted phenoxy)-1-[(5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl])-pyridin-2(1H)-one derivatives. The compounds synthesized by the processes of the invention are HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitors useful for inhibiting reverse transcriptase and HIV replication, and the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus infection in humans. | Briefly describe the main invention outlined in the provided context. | [
"RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a 35 U.S.C. §371 filing from International Application No. PCT/US2014/068008, filed Dec. 2, 2014, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/017,542, filed Jun. 26, 2014, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/911,686, filed Dec. 4, 2013.",
"Each of the aforementioned applications is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The retrovirus designated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), particularly the strains known as HIV type-1 (HIV-1) and type-2 (HIV-2), have been etiologically linked to the immunosuppressive disease known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).",
"HIV seropositive individuals are initially asymptomatic but typically develop AIDS related complex (ARC) followed by AIDS.",
"Affected individuals exhibit severe immunosuppression which makes them highly susceptible to debilitating and ultimately fatal opportunistic infections.",
"Replication of HIV by a host cell requires integration of the viral genome into the host cell's DNA.",
"Since HIV is a retrovirus, the HIV replication cycle requires transcription of the viral RNA genome into DNA via an enzyme known as reverse transcriptase (RT).",
"Reverse transcriptase has three known enzymatic functions: The enzyme acts as an RNA-dependent DNA polymerase, as a ribonuclease, and as a DNA-dependent DNA polymerase.",
"In its role as an RNA-dependent DNA polymerase, RT transcribes a single-stranded DNA copy of the viral RNA.",
"As a ribonuclease, RT destroys the original viral RNA and frees the DNA just produced from the original RNA.",
"And as a DNA-dependent DNA polymerase, RT makes a second, complementary DNA strand using the first DNA strand as a template.",
"The two strands form double-stranded DNA, which is integrated into the host cell's genome by the integrase enzyme.",
"It is known that compounds that inhibit enzymatic functions of HIV RT will inhibit HIV replication in infected cells.",
"These compounds are useful in the prophylaxis or treatment of HIV infection in humans.",
"Among the compounds approved for use in treating HIV infection and AIDS are the RT inhibitors 3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine (AZT), 2′,3′-dideoxyinosine (ddI), 2′,3′-dideoxycytidine (ddC), d4T, 3TC, nevirapine, delavirdine, efavirenz, abacavir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir.",
"The RT inhibitor 3-chloro-5-({1-[(4-methyl-5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl]-2-oxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl}oxy)benzonitrile, related compounds and methods for making the same are illustrated in WO 2011/120133 A1, published on Oct. 6, 2011, and US 2011/0245296 A1, published on Oct. 6, 2011, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.",
"The present invention is directed to a novel process for synthesizing 3-(substituted phenoxy)-1-[(5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl])-pyridin-2(1H)-one derivatives.",
"The compounds synthesized by the processes of the invention are HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitors useful for inhibiting reverse transcriptase and HIV replication, and the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus infection in humans.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a novel process for synthesizing 3-(substituted phenoxy)-1-[(5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl])-pyridin-2(1H)-one derivatives.",
"The compounds synthesized by the processes of the invention are HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitors useful for inhibiting reverse transcriptase and HIV replication, and the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus infection in humans.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a schematic of the flow reactor for the aldol condensation step used in the process for synthesizing 3-(substituted phenoxy)-1-[(5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl])-pyridin-2(1H)-one.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention encompasses a method for synthesizing a compound of Formula I wherein R 1 is C 1-6 alkyl, K 1 and K 2 are independently CH 3 , CF 3 , CHF 2 , CH 2 CF 3 , OCH 3 , Cl, Br, F, CN or SCH 3 , and R 2 is CF 3 , Cl or Br, comprising Step 1—conducting an aldol addition of an ester of Formula B with a compound of Formula C in the presence of a first base in a hydrocarbon or ethereal organic solvent at a first reduced temperature, wherein the first base is a metal alkoxide or metal amide base, to form Intermediate D, and optionally isolating Intermediate D Step 2—reacting Intermediate D with an organic acid anhydride or sulfonyl chloride in the presence of a second base, wherein the second base is a tertiary amine base, at a second reduced temperature in a hydrocarbon or ethereal organic solvent, which solvent can be the same or different as that in Step 1, to form Intermediate E, and optionally isolating Intermediate E Step 3—cyclizing Intermediate E in the presence of a nitrogen source having formula NH 3+n X n , wherein X n =a non-coordinating counteranion and n=0 (zero) or 1, at a first elevated temperature in a mixture of alcohol and organic solvent to make a compound of Formula F and Step 4—coupling the compound of Formula F with a compound of Formula A wherein X 1 is a leaving group, in the presence of a third base selected from an inorganic base or a tertiary amine base in a polar aprotic or protic solvent to yield the compound of Formula I. Alternatively, after performing Steps 1 and 2 as described above, Steps 3 and 4 described above can be replaced with Step 3A as follows: Step 3A—cyclizing Intermediate E in the presence of a compound of Formula A wherein X 1 is NH 2 , at an elevated temperature in a mixture of alcohol and organic solvent to make a compound of Formula I. The following scheme is an example of Step 3A.",
"The invention also encompasses a method for synthesizing a compound of Formula F wherein K 1 and K 2 are independently CH 3 , CF 3 , CHF 2 , CH 2 CF 3 , OCH 3 , Cl, Br, F, CN or SCH 3 , and R 2 is CF 3 , Cl or Br, comprising Step 1—conducting an aldol addition of an ester of Formula B with a compound of Formula C in the presence of a first base in a hydrocarbon or ethereal organic solvent at a first reduced temperature, wherein the first base is a metal alkoxide or metal amide base, to form Intermediate D, and optionally isolating Intermediate D Step 2—reacting Intermediate D with an organic acid anhydride or sulfonyl chloride in the presence of a second base, wherein the second base is a tertiary amine base, at a second reduced temperature in a hydrocarbon or ethereal organic solvent, which solvent can be the same or different as that in Step 1, to form Intermediate E, and optionally isolating Intermediate E Step 3—cyclizing Intermediate E in the presence of a nitrogen source having formula NH 3+n X n , wherein X n =a non-coordinating counteranion and n=0 or 1, at a first elevated temperature in a mixture of alcohol and organic solvent to make the compound of Formula F. The term “alkyl”",
"means straight or branched alkyl chains of the indicated number of carbon atoms, including for example, methyl (Me), ethyl (Et), propyl (Pr, n-Pr) isopropyl (i-Pr, i-Pr or i Pr) or tert-butyl (t-butyl, t-butyl).",
"The first base is a metal alkoxide or metal amide base, for example.",
"In an embodiment of the invention, the first base is selected from: potassium tert-amylate, sodium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide, potassium or sodium tert-butoxide, lithium diisopropylamide or sodium or potassium ethoxide.",
"In another embodiment of the invention, the first base is potassium ten-amylate or sodium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide.",
"The first reduced temperature and second reduced temperature are temperatures below room temperature.",
"In an embodiment, the first reduced temperature is in a range of about 15° C. to about −50° C. In an embodiment, the second reduced temperature is in a range of about 15° C. to about −50° C. In another embodiment, the second reduced temperature is in a range of about 0° C. to about 10° C. Hydrocarbon and ethereal organic solvents that may be utilized with the invention are known in the art and are, for example, tetrahydrofuran, diethyl ether, methyl tert-butyl ether, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, toluene or xylenes.",
"In an embodiment, the hydrocarbon or ethereal organic solvent is selected from: toluene or tetrahydrofuran.",
"In another embodiment, the hydrocarbon or ethereal organic solvent is toluene.",
"The term “organic acid anhydride or sulfonyl chloride”",
"includes, for example acetic anhydride, trifluoroacetic anhydride, methanesulfonyl chloride, trifluoromethanesulfonyl chloride, or p-toluenesulfonyl chloride.",
"In an embodiment of the invention, the organic acid anhydride or sulfonyl chloride is selected from: trifluoroacetic anhydride, acetic anhydride or methanesulfonyl chloride.",
"In another embodiment, the organic acid anhydride or sulfonyl chloride is selected from: trifluoroacetic anhydride or methanesulfonyl chloride.",
"The second base is a tertiary amine base.",
"The third base is an inorganic or tertiary amine base.",
"Inorganic bases include, for example, sodium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, lithium carbonate, potassium carbonate, cesium hydroxide, cesium carbonate, sodium hydrogen carbonate, potassium hydrogen carbonate, lithium hydrogen carbonate, lithium fluoride, sodium fluoride, potassium fluoride, cesium fluoride, lithium tert-butoxide, sodium tert-butoxide, potassium tert-butoxide, sodium phosphate and potassium phosphate.",
"Tertiary amine bases include for example trimethylamine, dimethylethylamine, triethylamine, 1,4-diazobicyclo-[2,2,2]-octane, diisopropylethylamine, dicyclohexylethylamine.",
"Suitable non-polar aprotic solvents include for example tetrahydrofuran, ethyl acetate, acetone, dimethylformamide, acetonitrile, dimethyl sulfoxide, dimethylacetomide, N-methylpyrrolidinone.",
"The first base, second base and third base are selected independently from each other.",
"In an embodiment of the invention, the second base is selected from: trimethylamine, dimethylethylamine, triethylamine, 1,4-diazobicyclo-[2,2,2]-octane, diisopropylethylamine or dicyclohexylethylamine.",
"In another embodiment of the invention, the second base is triethylamine.",
"In an embodiment, the third base is selected from: sodium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, lithium carbonate, potassium carbonate, cesium hydroxide, cesium carbonate, sodium hydrogen carbonate, potassium hydrogen carbonate, lithium hydrogen carbonate, lithium fluoride, sodium fluoride, potassium fluoride, cesium fluoride, lithium tert-butoxide, sodium tert-butoxide, potassium tert-butoxide, sodium phosphate, potassium phosphate, trimethylamine, dimethylethylamine, triethylamine, 1,4-diazobicyclo-[2,2,2]-octane, diisopropylethylamine, or dicyclohexylethylamine.",
"In another embodiment, the third base is N,N-diisopropylethylamine.",
"Another embodiment of the invention encompasses a method for synthesizing the compound of Formula I or Formula F in accordance with the invention, wherein Intermediate D and Intermediate E are not isolated and Step 1 and Step 2 are conducted in a flow reactor comprising two feed solution inlets and an outlet to a receiving vessel, wherein: the ester of Formula B and the compound of Formula C in the hydrocarbon or ethereal organic solvent were pumped to one flow reactor inlet;",
"the first base in the hydrocarbon or ethereal organic solvent was pumped to the second flow reactor inlet;",
"the organic acid anhydride or sulfonyl chloride was added continuously to the receiver vessel;",
"and the second base was added continuously to the receiver vessel.",
"A flow reactor that can be utilized in accordance with the invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 For purpose of this specification, the term nitrogen source means a compound of the generic formula NH 3+n X n , wherein X n =a non-coordinating counteranion and n=0 or 1.",
"A non-coordinating counteranion is for example, tetrafluoroborate, hexafluorophosphate, hexafluoroantimonate or trifluoromethanesulfonate.",
"In an embodiment of the invention the NH 3+n X n nitrogen source is ammonium tetrafluoroborate, wherein n=1 and X=tetrafluoroborate.",
"In another embodiment of the invention the NH 3+n X n nitrogen source is ammonia, wherein n=0.",
"In another embodiment, the nitrogen source is a compound of Formula A wherein X 1 is NH 2 .",
"The term first elevated temperature means a temperature above room temperature.",
"In an embodiment, the first elevated temperature is in a range of about 25° C. to about 80° C. In another embodiment, the first elevated temperature is in a range of about 60° C. to about 80° C. A mixture of alcohol and organic solvent means a mixture of the two components in any ratio.",
"The alcohol includes for example methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, ten-butanol, tert-amyl alcohol and the organic solvent includes for example: tetrahydrofuran, diethyl ether methyl tert-butyl ether, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, toluene or xylenes.",
"The term “leaving group”",
"means an atom or atom group that leaves from a substrate in a substitution or elimination reaction and includes for example halogen and sulfonate.",
"In an embodiment, the invention encompasses the process described herein wherein X 1 is selected from: halogen, OMs (mesylate), OTs (tosylate), OBs (besylate), OP(O)(OR i ) 2 , OC(O)R i , OC(O)OR i or OC(O)NR i R ii , wherein R i and R ii are independently selected from H and C 1-6 alkyl.",
"In another embodiment, the invention encompasses the process described herein wherein X 1 is chloro.",
"The term polar aprotic or protic solvent means a solvent with a large dipole moment.",
"The term polar aprotic or protic solvent includes dimethyl sulfoxide, N,N-dimethylformamide, N,N-dimethylacetamide, N-methylpyrrolidinone, sulfolane, methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, tert-amyl alcohol or water.",
"In an example, the polar aprotic or protic solvent is a mixture of alcohol and organic amide.",
"In another embodiment, the polar aprotic or protic solvent is a mixture of tert-amyl alcohol and N-methylpyrrolidinone.",
"Another embodiment of the invention encompasses the method for synthesizing a compound of Formula I as described above, wherein Step 4 is conducted at a second elevated temperature.",
"The term second elevated temperature means a temperature above room temperature, and is independent from the first elevated temperature.",
"In an embodiment, the second elevated temperature is in a range of about 25° C. to about 80° C. In another embodiment, the second elevated temperature is about 25° C. The invention also encompasses a method for synthesizing the compound of Formula I as previously described wherein: the first base is selected from: potassium tert-amylate or sodium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide;",
"the first reduced temperature is in a range of about 0° C. to about −50° C.;",
"the hydrocarbon or ethereal organic solvent is toluene;",
"the organic acid anhydride or sulfonyl chloride is selected from: trifluoroacetic anhydride or methanesulfonyl chloride;",
"the second base is triethylamine;",
"the second reduced temperature is in a range of about 0° C. to about 10° C.;",
"the nitrogen source is NH 3 ;",
"the first elevated temperature is in a range of about 60° C. to about 80° C.;",
"the mixture of alcohol and organic solvent is a mixture of methanol and toluene;",
"X 1 is chloro;",
"the third base is N,N-diisopropylethylamine;",
"and the first polar aprotic or protic solvent is a mixture of tert-amyl alcohol and N-methylpyrrolidinone.",
"The invention also encompasses a method for synthesizing the compound of Formula I or Formula F as previously described, further comprising making the ester of Formula by reacting a compound of Formula G with a compound of Formula H wherein X 2 is a halide or pseudo halide, in the presence of a fourth base in an organic polar aprotic solvent at a third elevated temperature, wherein the fourth base is a tertiary amine or inorganic carbonate, to make the ester of Formula B. In an embodiment of the invention, X 2 is bromo;",
"the fourth base is N,N-diisopropylethylamine;",
"the organic polar aprotic solvent N,N-dimethylformamide or acetone;",
"and the third elevated temperature is about 50° C. The term “pseudo halide”",
"means for example methanesulfonate, p-toluenesulfonate, trifluoromethanesulfonate and diethyl phosphate.",
"The invention also encompasses any of the above-described methods for synthesizing the compound of Formula I wherein in the compound of Formula I K 1 is Cl, K 2 is CN, R 1 is CH 3 and R 2 is CF 3 .",
"The invention also encompasses any of the above-described methods for synthesizing the compound of Formula F wherein in the compound of Formula I K 1 is Cl, K 2 is CN and R 2 is CF 3 .",
"The compound 3-chloro-5-({1-[(4-methyl-5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl]-2-oxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl}oxy)benzonitrile has the following chemical structure.",
"Anhydrous 3-chloro-5-({1-[(4-methyl-5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl]-2-oxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl}oxy)benzonitrile is known to exist in two crystalline forms, Form I and Form II.",
"The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) curve for crystalline anhydrous Form II shows an endotherm with an onset at 230.8° C., a peak maximum at 245.2° C., and an enthalpy change of 3.7 J/g, which is due to polymorphic conversion of anhydrous Form II to anhydrous Form I, and a second melting endotherm with an onset at 283.1° C., a peak maximum at 284.8° C., and an enthalpy change of 135.9 J/g, due to melting of anhydrous Form I. Production and the ability of this compound to inhibit HIV reverse transcriptase is illustrated in WO 2011/120133 A1, published on Oct. 6, 2011, and US 2011/0245296 A1, published on Oct. 6, 2011, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.",
"This compound is useful for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus infection in humans.",
"Anhydrous crystalline Form I and Form II, and procedures for making Form II, are described in WO2014/052171, published on Apr. 3, 2014, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.",
"Procedures for making anhydrous Form I are described in WO 2011/120133 and US 2011/0245296.",
"Previous known synthetic routes for synthesizing 3-chloro-5-({1-[(4-methyl-5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl]-2-oxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl}oxy)benzonitrile required more expensive raw materials, generated more waste and were more laborious to execute.",
"The present invention is a simple, cost effective and reliable synthetic route for making the aforementioned compound.",
"The following examples illustrate the invention.",
"Unless specifically indicated otherwise, all reactants were either commercially available or can be made following procedures known in the art.",
"The following abbreviations are used: ABBREVIATIONS ° C.=degrees Celsius DMF=dimethylformamide NMP=N-methylpyrrolidinone g=gram(s) IPA=isopropyl alcohol NPA=n-propyl alcohol L=liter(s) mL=milliliter(s) LC=liquid chromatography LCAP=Liquid chromatography area percent Me=methyl h=hour(s) Hz=Hertz t=triplet d=doublet s=singlet br s=broad singlet IPA=2-propanol also known as n-propanol NMR=Nuclear Magnetic Resonance wt %=weight percent nm=nanometer(s) ug=microgram(s) DMF=N,N-dimethylformamide ppm=parts per million Ph=phenyl L=liter(s) HPLC=High Pressure Liquid Chromatography conc.",
"=concentrated KO t Am=Potassium tert-amylate t AmOH=tert-amylalcohol TFAA=trifluoroacetic anhydride TEA=triethylamine mp=melting point GC/MS=gas chromatogtraphy/mass spectrometry BHT=butylated hydroxytoluene MTBE=tert-butylmethylether wt=weight Example 1 Step 1 Phenyl Methylcarbamate 40% Aqueous methylamine (500 g, 6.44 mol) was charged to a 2 L vessel equipped with heat/cool jacket, overhead stirrer, temperature probe and nitrogen inlet.",
"The solution was cooled to −5° C. Phenyl chloroformate (500.0 g, 3.16 mol) was added over 2.5 h maintaining the reaction temperature between −5 and 0° C. On complete addition the white slurry was stirred for 1 h at ˜0° C. The slurry was filtered, washed with water (500 mL) and dried under a nitrogen sweep overnight to afford 465 g (96% yield) of the desired product as a white crystalline solid;",
"1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 500 MHz): δ 7.35 (t, J=8.0 Hz, 2H), 7.19 (t, J=8.0 Hz, 1H), 7.12 (d, J=8.0 Hz, 2H), 4.95 (br s, 1H), 2.90 (d, J=5 Hz, 3H).",
"Step 2 2-(2-Hydroxyacetyl)-N-methylhydrazinecarboxamide Part A: Phenyl methylcarbamate (300 g, 1.95 mol) was charged to a 2 L vessel with cooling jacket, overhead stirrer, temperature probe, reflux condenser and nitrogen inlet.",
"IPA (390 mL) was added at 23° C. Hydrazine hydrate (119 g, 2.33 mol) was added and the slurry heated to 75° C. for 6 h. Part B: On complete reaction (>99% conversion by HPLC), IPA (810 mL) and glycolic acid (222 g, 2.92 mol) were added and the mixture stirred at 83-85° C. for 10-12 h. The reaction mixture was initially a clear colorless solution.",
"The mixture was seeded with product (0.5 g) after 4 h at 83-85° C. The slurry was slowly cooled to 20° C. over 2 h and aged for 1 h. Seed was used to advance the crystallization, but the crystalline product can be precipitated and isolated without seed by allowing the solution to age at 83-85° C. for 4 hours.",
"The slurry was filtered and washed with IPA (600 mL).",
"The cake was dried under a nitrogen sweep to afford 241.8 g (81% yield) of the desired product as a white crystalline solid: 1 H NMR (D 2 O, 500 MHz): δ 4.11 (s, 2H), 2.60 (s, 3H).",
"Step 3 3-(Hydroxymethyl)-4-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5(4H)-one 2-(2-Hydroxyacetyl)-N-methylhydrazinecarboxamide (130 g @ ˜95 wt %, 0.84 mol), n-propanol (130 mL) and water (130 mL) were charged to a 1 L vessel with jacket, overhead stirrer, temperature probe, reflux condenser and nitrogen inlet.",
"Sodium hydroxide (pellets, 16.8 g, 0.42 mol) was added and the slurry warmed to reflux for 3 h. The reaction mixture was cooled to 20° C. and the pH adjusted to 6.5 (+/−0.5) using concentrated hydrochloric acid (28.3 mL, 0.34 mol).",
"Water was azeotropically removed under vacuum at 40-50° C. by reducing the volume to ˜400 mL and maintaining that volume by the slow addition of n-propanol (780 mL).",
"The final water content was <3000 ug/mL.",
"The resultant slurry (˜400 mL) was cooled to 23° C. and heptane (390 ml) was added.",
"The slurry was aged 1 h at 23° C., cooled to 0° C. and aged 2 h. The slurry was filtered, the cake washed with 1:2 n-PrOH/heptane (100 mL) and the filter cake was dried under a nitrogen sweep to provide 125 g (85% yield) of an off-white crystalline solid.",
"The solid was ˜73 wt % due to residual inorganics (NaCl): 1 H NMR (CD 3 OD, 500 MHz): δ 3.30 (s, 3H), 4.46 (s, 2H).",
"Step 4 3-(Chloromethyl)-4-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5(4H)-one (1) A mixture of 3-(Hydroxymethyl)-4-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5(4H)-one (54 g, at 73 wt %, 307 mmol) in ethyl acetate (540 mL) was stirred at 45° C. SOCl 2 (26.9 mL, 369 mmol) was added over 30-45 min and aged at 50° C. for 2 h. The reaction progress was monitored by HPLC.",
"On complete reaction (>99.5% by area at 210 nm), the warm suspension was filtered and the filter cake (mainly NaCl) was washed with ethyl acetate (108 mL).",
"The combined filtrate and wash were concentrated at 50-60° C. under reduced pressure to approximately 150 mL.",
"The resulting slurry was cooled to −10° C. and aged 1 h. The slurry was filtered and the filter cake washed with ethyl acetate (50 mL).",
"The cake was dried under a nitrogen sweep to afford 40.1 g (86% yield) of the desired product as a bright yellow solid: 1 H NMR (CD 3 OD, 500 MHz): δ 3.30 (s, 3H), 4.58 (s, 2H).",
"Example 2 Step 1—Ethyl Ester Synthesis Experimental Procedure Ethyl 2-(3-chloro-5-cyanophenoxy)acetate (A) A 1 L round bottom flask equipped with overhead stirring was charged with 3-chloro-5-hydroxybenzonitrile (50.0 g, 98 wt % purity, 319 mmol) and 15% aqueous DMF (200 mL DMF+35.5 mL H 2 O).",
"To the resulting solution was added diisopropylethylamine (61.3 mL, 99.0% purity, 1.1 equiv) and ethyl 2-bromoacetate (35.7 g, 98% purity, 1.15 equiv) at ambient temperature.",
"The resulting solution was warmed to 50° C. under nitrogen and aged for 12 h. Upon completion of the reaction the batch was cooled to 0-5° C. To the clear to slightly cloudy solution was added 5% seed (3.8 g, 16.0 mmol).",
"H 2 O (64.5 mL) was added to the thin suspension via syringe pump over 3 h while maintaining the temperature at 0-5° C. Additional H 2 O (200 mL) was added over 1 h while maintaining the temp at 0-5° C. The final DMF/H 2 O ratio is 1:1.5.",
"The resulting slurry was aged 1 h at 0-5° C. The batch was filtered and the cake slurry washed with 2:1 DMF/water (150 mL), followed by water (200 mL).",
"The wet cake was dried on the frit with suction under a nitrogen stream at 20-25° C. The cake is considered dry when H 2 O is <0.2%.",
"Obtained 73.4 g ethyl ester as a light tan solid, 96% yield: 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 400 MHz) δ=7.29 (s, 1H), 7.15 (s, 1H), 7.06 (s, 1H), 4.67 (s, 2H), 4.32 (q, 2H), 1.35 (t, 3H) ppm.",
"Seed was used to advance the crystallization, but the crystalline product can be precipitated and isolated without seed by allowing the solution to age at 0-5° C. for at least about 2 hours.",
"Step 2—Pyridone Synthesis Synthetic Scheme Experimental Procedures Aldol Condensation (2E/Z,4E)-Ethyl 2-(3-chloro-5-cyanophenoxy)-5-ethoxy-3-(trifluoromethyl)penta-2,4-dienoate (C) Ethyl 2-(3-chloro-5-cyanophenoxy)acetate (25.01 g, 104.4 mmol, 1.00 equiv) was charged to toluene (113.43 g, 131 mL) and 4-ethoxy-1,1,1-trifluoro-3-buten-2-one (26.43 g, 157.2 mmol, 1.51 equiv) was added.",
"The flow reactor consisted of two feed solution inlets and an outlet to a receiving vessel.",
"The flow reactor schematic is shown in FIG. 1 .",
"The ester solution was pumped to one flow reactor inlet.",
"Potassium tert-amylate solution was pumped to the second reactor inlet.",
"Trifluoroacetic anhydride was added continuously to the receiver vessel.",
"Triethylamine was added continuously to the receiver vessel.",
"The flow rates were: 13 mL/min ester solution, 7.8 mL/min potassium tert-amylate solution, 3.3 mL/min trifluoroacetic anhydride and 4.35 mL/min triethylamine.",
"Charged toluene (50 mL) and potassium trifluoroacetate (0.64 g, 4.21 mmol, 0.04 equiv) to the receiver vessel.",
"The flow reactor was submerged in a −10° C. bath and the pumps were turned on.",
"The batch temperature in the receiver vessel was maintained at 5 to 10° C. throughout the run using a dry ice/acetone bath.",
"After 13.5 min the ester solution was consumed, the reactor was flushed with toluene (10 mL) and the pumps were turned off.",
"The resulting yellow slurry was warmed to room temperature and aged for 4.5 h. Charged methanol (160 mL) to afford a homogeneous solution which contained 81.20 LCAP diene.",
"The solution of diene (573 mL) was used without purification in the subsequent reaction.",
"Cyclization 3-Chloro-5-((2-oxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl)oxy)benzonitrile (E) To a solution of diene in PhMe/MeOH (573 mL;",
"40.69 g, 104.4 mmol theoretical) was charged methanol (25 mL).",
"Ammonia (32 g, 1.88 mol, 18 equiv based on theoretical) was added and the solution was warmed to 60° C. The reaction was aged at 60° C. for 18 h. The temperature was adjusted to 35-45° C. and the pressure was decreased to maintain a productive distillation rate.",
"The batch volume was reduced to ˜300 mL and methanol (325 mL) was charged in portions to maintain a batch volume between 250 and 350 mL.",
"The heating was stopped and the system vented.",
"The resulting slurry was cooled to room temperature and aged overnight.",
"The batch was filtered and the cake washed with methanol (3×, 45 mL).",
"The wet cake was dried on the frit with suction under a nitrogen stream to afford 18.54 g of a white solid: 1 H NMR (DMSO-d 6 , 500 MHz): δ 12.7 (br s, 1H), 7.73 (t, 1H, J=1.5 Hz), 7.61-7.59 (m, 2H), 7.53 (t, 1H, J=2.0 Hz), 6.48 (d, 1H, J=7.0 Hz) ppm.",
"Step 3—Chlorination, Alkylation and Isolation of 3-Chloro-5-({1-[(4-methyl-5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl]-2-oxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl}oxy)benzonitrile 3-(Chloromethyl)-4-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5(4H)-one 3-(Hydroxymethyl)-4-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5(4H)-one (1.638 kg of 68 wt %, 8.625 mol) and N-methylpyrrolidinone (8.9 L) was charged into a 30 L vessel.",
"The suspension was aged for 10 h at ambient temperature.",
"The slurry was filtered through a 4 L sintered glass funnel under N 2 and the filter cake (mainly NaCl) was washed with NMP (2.23 L).",
"The combined filtrate and wash had a water content of 5750 mg/mL.",
"The solution was charged to a 75 L flask equipped with a 2N NaOH scrubber to capture off-gasing vapors.",
"Thionyl chloride (0.795 L, 10.89 mol) was added over 1 h and the temperature rose to 35° C. HPLC analysis indicated that the reaction required an additional thionyl chloride charge (0.064 L, 0.878 mol) to bring to full conversion.",
"The solution was warmed to 50° C., placed under vacuum at 60 Torr (vented to a 2N NaOH scrubber), and gently sparged with subsurface nitrogen (4 L/min).",
"The degassing continued for 10 h until the sulfur dioxide content in the solution was <5 mg/mL as determined by quantitative GC/MS.",
"The tan solution of 3-(chloromethyl)-4-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5(4H)-one in NMP weighed 13.0 kg and was assayed at 9.63 wt % providing 1.256 kg (97% yield).",
"3-chloro-5-((1-((4-methyl-5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl)-2-oxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl)oxy)benzonitrile To a 75 L flask was charged a 9.63 wt % solution of 3-(chloromethyl)-4-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5(4H)-one in NMP (11.6 kg, 7.55 mol), 3-chloro-5-((2-oxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl)oxy)benzonitrile (2.00 kg, 6.29 mol), NMP (3.8 L) and 2-methyl-2-butanol (6.0 L).",
"To the resulting suspension was slowly added N,N-diisopropylethylamine (4.38 L, 25.2 mol) over 4 h. The reaction was aged 18 h at ambient temperature.",
"The reaction is considered complete when HPLC indicated <1% 3-chloro-5-((2-oxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl)oxy)benzonitrile remaining.",
"The tan solution was quenched with acetic acid (1.26 L, 22.0 mol) and aged at ambient temperature overnight.",
"The tan solution was warmed to 70° C. Water (2.52 L) was added and the batch was seeded with anhydrate Form II (134 g)(procedures for making anhydrate Form II are described in WO2014/052171).",
"The thin suspension was aged 1 h at 70° C. Additional water (14.3 L) was added evenly over 7 h. The slurry was aged 2 h at 70° C. and then slowly cooled to 20° C. over 5 h. The slurry was filtered and washed with 2:1 NMP/water (6 L), followed by water washes (6 L×2).",
"The filter cake was dried under N 2 to give 2.53 kg (85% yield) of a white solid that was confirmed to be crystalline Form II of the title compound by X-ray powder defraction analysis.",
"Example 3 Ethyl 2-(3-chloro-5-cyanophenoxy)acetate (A) Three step one pot sequence Steps 1 and 2 To an oven dried 250 mL round bottom flask was added sodium 2-methylpropan-2-olate (12.85 g, 134 mmol) and BHT (0.641 g, 2.91 mmol) then added DMF (30 mL).",
"After 10 min, a light yellow solution resulted.",
"2-Phenylethanol (7.66 ml, 63.9 mmol) was added and the solution exothermed to 35° C. The light yellow solution was warmed to 55° C. and then a solution of 3,5-dichlorobenzonitrile (10 g, 58.1 mmol) in DMF (15 mL) was added over 2 h via syringe pump.",
"The resulting red-orange suspension was aged at 55-60° C. After 2 h, HPLC showed >98% conversion to the sodium phenolate.",
"Step 3 The suspension was cooled to 10° C., then ethyl 2-bromoacetate (8.70 ml, 78 mmol) was added over 1 h while maintaining the temperature <20° C. The resulting mixture was aged at ambient temperature.",
"After 1 h, HPLC showed >99% conversion to the title compound.",
"Work-Up and Isolation: To the suspension was added MTBE (50 mL) and H 2 O (50 mL) and the layers were separated.",
"The organic layer was washed with 20% aq brine (25 mL).",
"The organic layer was assayed at 12.5 g (90% yield).",
"The organic layer was concentrated to ˜38 mL, diluted with hexanes (12.5 mL) and then cooled to 5° C. The solution was seeded with 0.28 g (2 wt %) of crystalline ethyl 2-(3-chloro-5-cyanophenoxy)acetate and aged 0.5 h at 5° C. to give a free flowing slurry.",
"Hexane (175 mL) was added to the slurry over 1 h at 0-5° C. The slurry was filtered at 0-5° C., washed with hexane (50 mL) and dried under a nitrogen sweep to give 9.8 g (70% yield) of the title compound as a white crystalline solid.",
"Seed was used to advance the crystallization, but the crystalline product can be precipitated and isolated without seed by allowing the solution to age at 0-5° C. for at least about 2 hours."
] |
CROSS REFERENCES TO CO PENDING APPLICATIONS
This patent application is a division of patent application U.S. Ser. No. 08/781,397 entitled "Selectively Filled Adhesives for Complaint, Reworkable, and Solder-Free Flip Chip Interconnection and Encapsulation" filed on Jan. 10, 1997.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system for connecting the conductive pads on electronic circuit modules to corresponding pads on a printed circuit board.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wide variety of techniques have been used to facilitate the interconnection between semiconductor modules and a substrate containing the interconnection wiring. As the semiconductor modules have become smaller and use correspondingly more power, the interconnection problem has become more difficult and the more conventional solder techniques become impractical.
One approach to the problem utilizes a dielectric film uniformly loaded with round conductive particles. The particle size is selected so as to make the electrical connection between particles statistically unlikely over a distance greater then the thickness of the film while maintaining a low resistance path normal to the film between the film surfaces. This approach has the inherent disadvantage of requiring adjacent pads on the same surface to be separated by a distance dictated by the statistical probability of an interconnection. As the pad-to-pad distance is decreased, the density of the particle loading must also be decreased to prevent unwanted pad-to-pad interconnection and this also decreases the quality of the through film pad-to-pad interconnection.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The general purpose of the present invention is a selectively filled adhesives for compliant, reworkable, and solder-free flip chip interconnection and encapsulation.
To accommodate the interconnection requirements of high density electronic modules it would be desirable to have a system which does not impose a restriction on the pad-to-pad spacing on the modules. Another desirable feature would be the easy removal of a previously mounted module and the substitution of another without damage to the substrate. Another desirable characteristic of the interconnection system would be the use of a freestanding film which eliminates the need for dispensing technology and be more likely to be usable in a field environment when a module must be removed and replaced.
The present invention utilizes a dielectric adhesive film which is fabricated by plating a personalized pattern of a sacrificial metal carrier with highly branched metal filaments having a length approximating the final thickness of the adhesive film. The pattern is preferably fabricated utilizing photolithographic techniques on a sacrificial metal carrier. After plating, the photoresist is removed and a dielectric adhesive is applied, creating a film of uniform thickness. The sacrificial metal carrier is then removed with a preferential etchant.
The finished adhesive film is then positioned and aligned between the pad surfaces on a substrate and the electronic modules. The electrical connection of the module pad surfaces and the substrate pads is preferentially accomplished by the application of pressure and/or heat to the module, which causes the sharp dendritic ends of the plated metal filaments to pierce the oxide or other coating on the pads.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an adhesive film carrier of dendritic metal filaments arranged in a pattern corresponding to the substrate and module pads.
One object of the present invention is to provide an adhesive film carrier having dendritic metal filaments extending from one surface to the other in the regions of the abutting conductive pads.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an adhesive film carrier for the interconnection of conductive pads on an electronic module which allows a mounted electronic module to be removed by the application of heat below 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
Still other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from an understanding of the following description and drawings.
Having thus described embodiments of the present invention, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a selectively filled adhesive dielectric film for compliant, reworkable, and solder-free flip chip interconnection and encapsulation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other objects of the present invention and many of the attendant advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the figures thereof and wherein:
FIG. 1 illustrates a partial isometric view of an electronic system utilizing the method of the present invention;
FIG. 2A illustrates an enlarged partial sectional view taken along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1 showing one means for applying pressure to the electronic module to make connections between corresponding pads;
FIG. 2B is an enlarged partial sectional view taken along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1 showing alternative means for applying pressure to the electronic module to make connections between corresponding pads;
FIG. 3A is a partial top view and FIG. 3B is a side view taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 3A, respectively, illustrating the sacrificial metal substrate having a photolithographic pattern for the interconnection pads;
FIG. 4A is a partial sectional view taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 3A showing the metal substrate after selective plating of dendritic metal particles with the photolithographic pattern of photoresist still in place;
FIG. 4B is an enlarged portion of FIG. 4A showing the structure of the dendritic particles with the photolithographic pattern of photoresist still in place;
FIG. 5 is a partial microscopic view of the dendritic metal particles shown in FIG. 4B;
FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view of the dendritic metal particles taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 3A showing the system after the photoresist has been stripped and the layer of adhesive Material applied;
FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view of the dendritic metal particles and adhesive material taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 3A showing the system after selective etching of the sacrificial metal substrate;
FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view of the dendritic metal particles and adhesive material taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 3A showing the system after the electronic modules are in place;
FIG. 9 is a microscopic partial sectional view of the dendritic metal particles and adhesive material taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 3A showing the system with the electronic modules are in place after pressure has been applied to make the interconnection; and,
FIG. 10 is a flow chart of the process used to practice the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
With reference to FIG. 1, a printed circuit board 2, having a pattern of conductive metal pads 3 connected to internal wiring, not shown, in circuit board 2, carries an electronic module 5, having a plurality of complementary metal pads 6 which are connected to pads 3 through dendritic metal particles carried in an adhesive plastic film and arranged in a pattern corresponding to the metal pads 3 and 6.
FIG. 2A is a partial sectional view taken along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1 showing the printed circuit board 2 having conductive metal pads 3 which connected to the complementary conductive metal pads 6 on electronic module 5 by means of dendritic metal particles carried in adhesive dielectric film 10 to provide a surface to surface resistivity in the range of less than 40 milliohms/square micrometer arranged in a pattern corresponding to the pattern of pads 3 on the circuit board 2 and pads 6 on electronic module 5. The adhesive dielectric film is of a thickness in the range of 1-2 mils and can be selected from a family of adhesives such as epoxy; acrylic; silicone; thermoplastic including polyimide, polyetherimide and polysulfone; thermoset including cyanate ester; and a mixture of thermoplastic and thermoset.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A, pressure is applied to electronic module 5 by means of a plastic shrink film 11, which causes the sharp ends of the dendritic metal particles to penetrate the pads 3 and 6, thereby establishing a good electrical connection therebetween.
Alternatively, the embodiment shown in FIG. 2B utilizes a plunger 15 having a pressure pad 16 which engages the upper surface of module 5 and applies pressure created by spring means 17 which bears against the base member 18 affixed to the support for circuit board 2 by means not shown. spring means 17 has sufficient force to cause the ends of dendritic metal particles carried by adhesive film 10 to penetrate conductive metal pads 3 and 5, thereby establishing a good electrical connection therebetween.
FIG. 3A is a view of a portion of a sacrificial metal substrate used in the fabrication of the adhesive plastic film 10. The metal substrate has a photoresist in which a pattern of holes 20a-20n, corresponding to the pattern of pads 3 and 6 between which connection is desired, has been made by photolithographic techniques.
The partial sectional view of FIG. 3B, taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 3A, shows the sacrificial metal substrate 21, which may be mounted on a temporary backing member 24, and the holes 22a-22n extending through the photoresist 23.
The intermediate assembly of FIGS. 3A and 3B is placed in a plating solution and dendritic metal particles are grown on the portions of metal substrate 21 exposed by holes 22a-22n, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, utilizing conventional dendrite growing techniques. Information on growing dendrites suitable for use in this invention is provided in the publication:
Title: "A Novel Electrodeposition Process Which Enhances Connector Performance"
Authors: J. A. Molla
G. J. Saxenmeyer
A. D. Knight
Dated: 1993
Pages: Volume 93-20', pages 204-12
Name of Publication: Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium on Electrochemical Technology Applications in Electronics, Electrochemical Society The preferred material for the dendrites is palladium. As shown in FIG. 4A, and more specifically in FIG. 4B, the dendritic metal particles 31 are grown to a length approximately the thickness of the adhesive plastic film 10.
FIG. 5 is a microscopic side view of a typical dendritic metal particle 31. The structure is an upwardly branching configuration having a base member 32 emanating from the exposed pad areas of sacrificial metal substrate 21. The dendrites have a crystalline cross sectional shape and the ends 33a and 33b of branches 34a and 34b are typically sharply pointed. Similarly, the start of the dendrite is also pointed. The intermediate product represented in FIG. 5 includes the temporary backing member 24, the sacrificial metal substrate 21 and the dendritic metal particle 31.
FIG. 6 illustrates the adhesive plastic film 10 which is applied to the intermediate product of FIG. 5, where all numerals correspond to those elements previously described. The film has a nominal thickness which is preferably, but not necessarily slightly, less than the nominal height of dendritic metal particles 31, allowing the ends 33a and 33b to project above the upper surface of adhesive plastic film 10. Preferably, adhesive plastic film is applied in liquid form and cured in place by appropriate means.
FIG. 7 shows the adhesive plastic film 10 after removal from temporary backing member 24 and selective etching of sacrificial metal substrate 21 to remove the pads.
FIG. 8 shows the adhesive plastic film 10 in position between a circuit board 2 having a conductive pad 3 and electronic circuit module 5 having a conductive pad 6. Typically, the pad 3 on circuit board 2 will project slightly above the upper surface of the board, while the pad 6 on electronic module 5 is more likely to form a level surface in conjunction with the lower surface of the module. While this might create interconnection problems with other systems, the upper, sharper, dendritic points are positioned to abut the pads 6 of module 5 and the lower, sharp dendritic points formed when the sacrificial metal substrate is etched away are used to connect to the raised pads 3 on the circuit board 2.
The final step in the interconnection process is illustrated in FIG. 9. Appropriate pressure, indicated by the arrows 50 and 51, is applied across adhesive film 10, causing the adhesive film to compress and the dendritic ends 33a and 33b to penetrate the pad 6 on circuit module 5 and the lower portion of dendrites 31 to make contact with the pad 3 on circuit board 2. The pressure is maintained by using plastic shrink film or mechanical clamp as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. Alternatively, pressure may be maintained by the shrinkage which results from curing the adhesive film.
MODE OF OPERATION
FIG. 10 illustrates the method of the invention. The first step is the generation of the photoresist pattern of conductive pads on a nickel sacrificial substrate supported by a temporary backing member. The pattern corresponds to the pads on a circuit board and the electronic circuit modules to be connected thereto. The photoresist is exposed to light through a mask and developed to open up holes representing the pads to which connection is to be made.
After the pad holes are opened up, the substrate is immersed in a palladium salt solution and palladium dendrites are grown from the nickel pads until the dendrite ends pass beyond the photoresist, or reach such other suitable dimension as may be desired.
The photoresist is then stripped and a film of plastic adhesive material is applied to the surface, potting the dendrites, but leaving their ends exposed or just slightly below the film surface.
The plastic adhesive material is then removed from the sacrificial nickel backing and the temporary backing member, providing a thin film having areas, corresponding to the pads to be interconnected, in which palladium dendrites extend through the film.
The thin plastic adhesive film is then positioned on the circuit board with the dendrite containing areas aligned over the conductive metal pads on the circuit board. The circuit modules are then aligned over the adhesive plastic film, placing the conductive pads in alignment with the corresponding dendrite containing areas.
Pressure is then applied to the modules and the circuit board, causing the dendrite ends to make electrical contact with the conductive pads on the module and the circuit board and establishing the electrical connection between the pads.
The pressure is maintained by some suitable means such as plastic shrink wrap or mechanical clamping arrangement.
It will be appreciated that certain refinements may be desirable, or even necessary, in some instances. For example, the thermal expansion coefficient of the adhesive film may be matched to that of the printed circuit board or the circuit modules by the addition of suitable dielectric fillers such as silica or alumina. Similarly, the thermal conductivity of the film can be improved by the use of suitable fillers such as aluminum nitride, boron nitride, and granite.
Various modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the apparent scope hereof. | An electrically conductive adhesive film having a pattern of microscopic elongate metal particles which extend from one surface to the other to provide an interconnection between confronting conductive metal pads abutting the surface. The particles have sharp ends to penetrate the oxide coating on the conductive metal pads of an electronic module when force is applied to press the module against the film. | Briefly outline the background technology and the problem the invention aims to solve. | [
"CROSS REFERENCES TO CO PENDING APPLICATIONS This patent application is a division of patent application U.S. Ser.",
"No. 08/781,397 entitled "Selectively Filled Adhesives for Complaint, Reworkable, and Solder-Free Flip Chip Interconnection and Encapsulation"",
"filed on Jan. 10, 1997.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention This invention relates to a system for connecting the conductive pads on electronic circuit modules to corresponding pads on a printed circuit board.",
"Description of the Prior Art A wide variety of techniques have been used to facilitate the interconnection between semiconductor modules and a substrate containing the interconnection wiring.",
"As the semiconductor modules have become smaller and use correspondingly more power, the interconnection problem has become more difficult and the more conventional solder techniques become impractical.",
"One approach to the problem utilizes a dielectric film uniformly loaded with round conductive particles.",
"The particle size is selected so as to make the electrical connection between particles statistically unlikely over a distance greater then the thickness of the film while maintaining a low resistance path normal to the film between the film surfaces.",
"This approach has the inherent disadvantage of requiring adjacent pads on the same surface to be separated by a distance dictated by the statistical probability of an interconnection.",
"As the pad-to-pad distance is decreased, the density of the particle loading must also be decreased to prevent unwanted pad-to-pad interconnection and this also decreases the quality of the through film pad-to-pad interconnection.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The general purpose of the present invention is a selectively filled adhesives for compliant, reworkable, and solder-free flip chip interconnection and encapsulation.",
"To accommodate the interconnection requirements of high density electronic modules it would be desirable to have a system which does not impose a restriction on the pad-to-pad spacing on the modules.",
"Another desirable feature would be the easy removal of a previously mounted module and the substitution of another without damage to the substrate.",
"Another desirable characteristic of the interconnection system would be the use of a freestanding film which eliminates the need for dispensing technology and be more likely to be usable in a field environment when a module must be removed and replaced.",
"The present invention utilizes a dielectric adhesive film which is fabricated by plating a personalized pattern of a sacrificial metal carrier with highly branched metal filaments having a length approximating the final thickness of the adhesive film.",
"The pattern is preferably fabricated utilizing photolithographic techniques on a sacrificial metal carrier.",
"After plating, the photoresist is removed and a dielectric adhesive is applied, creating a film of uniform thickness.",
"The sacrificial metal carrier is then removed with a preferential etchant.",
"The finished adhesive film is then positioned and aligned between the pad surfaces on a substrate and the electronic modules.",
"The electrical connection of the module pad surfaces and the substrate pads is preferentially accomplished by the application of pressure and/or heat to the module, which causes the sharp dendritic ends of the plated metal filaments to pierce the oxide or other coating on the pads.",
"It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an adhesive film carrier of dendritic metal filaments arranged in a pattern corresponding to the substrate and module pads.",
"One object of the present invention is to provide an adhesive film carrier having dendritic metal filaments extending from one surface to the other in the regions of the abutting conductive pads.",
"Still another object of the present invention is to provide an adhesive film carrier for the interconnection of conductive pads on an electronic module which allows a mounted electronic module to be removed by the application of heat below 200 degrees Fahrenheit.",
"Still other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from an understanding of the following description and drawings.",
"Having thus described embodiments of the present invention, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a selectively filled adhesive dielectric film for compliant, reworkable, and solder-free flip chip interconnection and encapsulation.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects of the present invention and many of the attendant advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the figures thereof and wherein: FIG. 1 illustrates a partial isometric view of an electronic system utilizing the method of the present invention;",
"FIG. 2A illustrates an enlarged partial sectional view taken along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1 showing one means for applying pressure to the electronic module to make connections between corresponding pads;",
"FIG. 2B is an enlarged partial sectional view taken along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1 showing alternative means for applying pressure to the electronic module to make connections between corresponding pads;",
"FIG. 3A is a partial top view and FIG. 3B is a side view taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 3A, respectively, illustrating the sacrificial metal substrate having a photolithographic pattern for the interconnection pads;",
"FIG. 4A is a partial sectional view taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 3A showing the metal substrate after selective plating of dendritic metal particles with the photolithographic pattern of photoresist still in place;",
"FIG. 4B is an enlarged portion of FIG. 4A showing the structure of the dendritic particles with the photolithographic pattern of photoresist still in place;",
"FIG. 5 is a partial microscopic view of the dendritic metal particles shown in FIG. 4B;",
"FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view of the dendritic metal particles taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 3A showing the system after the photoresist has been stripped and the layer of adhesive Material applied;",
"FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view of the dendritic metal particles and adhesive material taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 3A showing the system after selective etching of the sacrificial metal substrate;",
"FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view of the dendritic metal particles and adhesive material taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 3A showing the system after the electronic modules are in place;",
"FIG. 9 is a microscopic partial sectional view of the dendritic metal particles and adhesive material taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 3A showing the system with the electronic modules are in place after pressure has been applied to make the interconnection;",
"and, FIG. 10 is a flow chart of the process used to practice the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to FIG. 1, a printed circuit board 2, having a pattern of conductive metal pads 3 connected to internal wiring, not shown, in circuit board 2, carries an electronic module 5, having a plurality of complementary metal pads 6 which are connected to pads 3 through dendritic metal particles carried in an adhesive plastic film and arranged in a pattern corresponding to the metal pads 3 and 6.",
"FIG. 2A is a partial sectional view taken along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1 showing the printed circuit board 2 having conductive metal pads 3 which connected to the complementary conductive metal pads 6 on electronic module 5 by means of dendritic metal particles carried in adhesive dielectric film 10 to provide a surface to surface resistivity in the range of less than 40 milliohms/square micrometer arranged in a pattern corresponding to the pattern of pads 3 on the circuit board 2 and pads 6 on electronic module 5.",
"The adhesive dielectric film is of a thickness in the range of 1-2 mils and can be selected from a family of adhesives such as epoxy;",
"acrylic;",
"silicone;",
"thermoplastic including polyimide, polyetherimide and polysulfone;",
"thermoset including cyanate ester;",
"and a mixture of thermoplastic and thermoset.",
"In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A, pressure is applied to electronic module 5 by means of a plastic shrink film 11, which causes the sharp ends of the dendritic metal particles to penetrate the pads 3 and 6, thereby establishing a good electrical connection therebetween.",
"Alternatively, the embodiment shown in FIG. 2B utilizes a plunger 15 having a pressure pad 16 which engages the upper surface of module 5 and applies pressure created by spring means 17 which bears against the base member 18 affixed to the support for circuit board 2 by means not shown.",
"spring means 17 has sufficient force to cause the ends of dendritic metal particles carried by adhesive film 10 to penetrate conductive metal pads 3 and 5, thereby establishing a good electrical connection therebetween.",
"FIG. 3A is a view of a portion of a sacrificial metal substrate used in the fabrication of the adhesive plastic film 10.",
"The metal substrate has a photoresist in which a pattern of holes 20a-20n, corresponding to the pattern of pads 3 and 6 between which connection is desired, has been made by photolithographic techniques.",
"The partial sectional view of FIG. 3B, taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 3A, shows the sacrificial metal substrate 21, which may be mounted on a temporary backing member 24, and the holes 22a-22n extending through the photoresist 23.",
"The intermediate assembly of FIGS. 3A and 3B is placed in a plating solution and dendritic metal particles are grown on the portions of metal substrate 21 exposed by holes 22a-22n, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, utilizing conventional dendrite growing techniques.",
"Information on growing dendrites suitable for use in this invention is provided in the publication: Title: "A Novel Electrodeposition Process Which Enhances Connector Performance"",
"Authors: J. A. Molla G. J. Saxenmeyer A. D. Knight Dated: 1993 Pages: Volume 93-20', pages 204-12 Name of Publication: Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium on Electrochemical Technology Applications in Electronics, Electrochemical Society The preferred material for the dendrites is palladium.",
"As shown in FIG. 4A, and more specifically in FIG. 4B, the dendritic metal particles 31 are grown to a length approximately the thickness of the adhesive plastic film 10.",
"FIG. 5 is a microscopic side view of a typical dendritic metal particle 31.",
"The structure is an upwardly branching configuration having a base member 32 emanating from the exposed pad areas of sacrificial metal substrate 21.",
"The dendrites have a crystalline cross sectional shape and the ends 33a and 33b of branches 34a and 34b are typically sharply pointed.",
"Similarly, the start of the dendrite is also pointed.",
"The intermediate product represented in FIG. 5 includes the temporary backing member 24, the sacrificial metal substrate 21 and the dendritic metal particle 31.",
"FIG. 6 illustrates the adhesive plastic film 10 which is applied to the intermediate product of FIG. 5, where all numerals correspond to those elements previously described.",
"The film has a nominal thickness which is preferably, but not necessarily slightly, less than the nominal height of dendritic metal particles 31, allowing the ends 33a and 33b to project above the upper surface of adhesive plastic film 10.",
"Preferably, adhesive plastic film is applied in liquid form and cured in place by appropriate means.",
"FIG. 7 shows the adhesive plastic film 10 after removal from temporary backing member 24 and selective etching of sacrificial metal substrate 21 to remove the pads.",
"FIG. 8 shows the adhesive plastic film 10 in position between a circuit board 2 having a conductive pad 3 and electronic circuit module 5 having a conductive pad 6.",
"Typically, the pad 3 on circuit board 2 will project slightly above the upper surface of the board, while the pad 6 on electronic module 5 is more likely to form a level surface in conjunction with the lower surface of the module.",
"While this might create interconnection problems with other systems, the upper, sharper, dendritic points are positioned to abut the pads 6 of module 5 and the lower, sharp dendritic points formed when the sacrificial metal substrate is etched away are used to connect to the raised pads 3 on the circuit board 2.",
"The final step in the interconnection process is illustrated in FIG. 9. Appropriate pressure, indicated by the arrows 50 and 51, is applied across adhesive film 10, causing the adhesive film to compress and the dendritic ends 33a and 33b to penetrate the pad 6 on circuit module 5 and the lower portion of dendrites 31 to make contact with the pad 3 on circuit board 2.",
"The pressure is maintained by using plastic shrink film or mechanical clamp as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.",
"Alternatively, pressure may be maintained by the shrinkage which results from curing the adhesive film.",
"MODE OF OPERATION FIG. 10 illustrates the method of the invention.",
"The first step is the generation of the photoresist pattern of conductive pads on a nickel sacrificial substrate supported by a temporary backing member.",
"The pattern corresponds to the pads on a circuit board and the electronic circuit modules to be connected thereto.",
"The photoresist is exposed to light through a mask and developed to open up holes representing the pads to which connection is to be made.",
"After the pad holes are opened up, the substrate is immersed in a palladium salt solution and palladium dendrites are grown from the nickel pads until the dendrite ends pass beyond the photoresist, or reach such other suitable dimension as may be desired.",
"The photoresist is then stripped and a film of plastic adhesive material is applied to the surface, potting the dendrites, but leaving their ends exposed or just slightly below the film surface.",
"The plastic adhesive material is then removed from the sacrificial nickel backing and the temporary backing member, providing a thin film having areas, corresponding to the pads to be interconnected, in which palladium dendrites extend through the film.",
"The thin plastic adhesive film is then positioned on the circuit board with the dendrite containing areas aligned over the conductive metal pads on the circuit board.",
"The circuit modules are then aligned over the adhesive plastic film, placing the conductive pads in alignment with the corresponding dendrite containing areas.",
"Pressure is then applied to the modules and the circuit board, causing the dendrite ends to make electrical contact with the conductive pads on the module and the circuit board and establishing the electrical connection between the pads.",
"The pressure is maintained by some suitable means such as plastic shrink wrap or mechanical clamping arrangement.",
"It will be appreciated that certain refinements may be desirable, or even necessary, in some instances.",
"For example, the thermal expansion coefficient of the adhesive film may be matched to that of the printed circuit board or the circuit modules by the addition of suitable dielectric fillers such as silica or alumina.",
"Similarly, the thermal conductivity of the film can be improved by the use of suitable fillers such as aluminum nitride, boron nitride, and granite.",
"Various modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the apparent scope hereof."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This application is directed towards systems that offer tobacco free smoking along with other benefits.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The Hookah's origin traces back to India. It surfaced in the form we know it today around the 15th Century when Indian Glass manufacturing began as a result of the exporting of glass to India through the British East India Company. The glass base was called Shisha. Its mystique spread to Iran where special strong, flavorless tobacco was used with it called “Ajami.” It rose to fame under the Ottoman Empire's rule around the time of Murat V in 1623-1640.
[0003] Shisha, a synonym for Hookah, is from the Persian word “shishe,” literally translated as glass and not bottle. Traditional hookah tobacco contains glycerin, molasses, flavoring and tobacco leaves. With the problems tobacco is known to cause, the use of a tobacco free device is very promising. The innovation in this application to solve the problem is the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System using a renewable and plentiful product called Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) that is formed into spheres ranging from two to sixteen millimeters in diameter and fired in rotary kilns at 1200° C. This causes the clay to expand, like popcorn, and become porous. The spheres are soaked in a solution of flavoring (i.e. apple, strawberry, mint, etc.), sweetener, and glycerin. Other options would be for health and therapeutic benefits, additives like herbal extracts/oils, vitamins, and other medicinal compounds. As an example; Green Tea for Immunity, Ginger for Ovarian Cancer Treatment, Colon Cancer Prevention, Heartburn Relief, Hawthorn Extract for cardiovascular system benefits, Cinnamon for Lower Cholesterol, Blood Sugar Regulation, Potassium Nitrate for treatment of asthma, arthritis, and high blood pressure. In addition these therapeutic benefits will be delivered into the person's system in a moist vaporized condition that will be easily assimilated into the body.
[0004] Because the flavors are not released through combustion, the odors and flavors are vaporized. The spheres are immersed in solutions for one to twelve hours (or even longer) then drained, packaged and sealed. As an option the finished product may be packaged and sealed into Ready Pack Smoke Cups and sealed Smoke Cups. Prior to use the spheres need to be shaken to separate and loosen the spheres. The spheres are placed in hookah heads or in the smoke cups located in the head of the hookah where they are heated and the contents are slowly vaporized forming a steam that is drawn down through the hookah tubular stem. The use of electrical units or live coals, act as the heat source that releases the aroma, flavor, and/or the compound that is within the spheres which is filtered through the water in the jar or Shisha.
[0005] An alternate embodiment would be the Smoke Cup that will be inserted into the Cup Holder after the top and bottom seals have been removed. The Cup Holder can additionally be used with the Cup Holder Cover Plate when an individual desires to recycle the porous spheres or purchase the treated porous spheres in bulk.
[0006] This Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System should make tobacco smoking unnecessary along with adding similar pleasures and some medical/health benefits that it delivers. The odors and flavors are not released through combustion, but through a vaporization process. This process eliminates any combustion products by heating the Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres where the vapors are then filtered through the water in the jar or Shisha.
[0007] Numerous innovations for the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System have been provided in the prior art that are described as follows. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which the address, they differ from the present design as hereinafter contrasted. The following is a summary of those prior art patents most relevant to this application at hand, as well as a description outlining the difference between the features of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System and the prior art.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,610 of Kenneth W. Freelain describes a smoking apparatus which efficiently removes harmful impurities from the smoke and does so by improving contact between the smoke and a washing liquid. This is accomplished by placing small stones and small floating pieces in a water pipe to increase the distance of the flow path of the smoke through the water, and to decrease the size of the smoke bubbles passing through the water.
[0009] This patent describes a smoking apparatus which efficiently removes harmful impurities from the smoke and does so by improving contact between the smoke and a washing liquid but does not offer clay porous spheres (or like material) as the alternative to tobacco in a hookah smoking system or the Ready Pack Smoke Cups containing the Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres or the embodiment that will have the Cup Holder to be filled with recycled porous spheres or porous spheres that have been purchased in bulk.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 6,408,856 of Kevin Garard McAdam describes an invention that relates to a smokable filler material which attempts to mimic tobacco leaf in its simplest components in order to provide a simpler smoke to the smoker. The smokable filler material comprises aerosol generating means, a substantially non-combustible inorganic filler, a binder and an extract from a flavorful fuel source material. It may also comprise a biopolymer.
[0011] This patent describes an invention that relates to a smokable filler material which attempts to mimic tobacco leaf in its simplest components but does not offer clay porous spheres (or like material) as the alternative to tobacco in a hookah smoking system or the Ready Pack Smoke Cups containing the Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres and still produces the undesirable smoke.
[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 6,761,176 of Gi Yong Yoo describes a tobacco substitute composition according to the present invention is comprised of 80-90 weight percent of encommia ulmoides, 1-10 weight percent of glycyrrhiza glabra, and 1-10 weight percent of periila frutescens. In the present invention, a flavoring material which is generally added to the composition of a tobacco such as a sodium chloride, glycerol, sweetener, spices, etc. may be added.
[0013] This patent describes a tobacco substitute composition but does not detail the unique method of using clay porous spheres (or like material) as the alternative to tobacco in a hookah smoking system or the Ready Pack Smoke Cups containing the Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres or the embodiment that will have the Cup Holder to be filled with recycled porous spheres or porous spheres that have been purchased in bulk.
[0014] U.S. Pat. No. 7,836,896 of Abraham Nadimi et al. describes a nontoxic, tobacco-less and flavored material for smoking, and a method of making the same. In one aspect, the invention is a tobacco-less material for smoking comprising: a shredded cellulosic paper having a weight; and as mixture of a humectant and a flavoring agent, the mixture having a weight and absorbed into the shredded cellulosic paper.
[0015] This patent describes a nontoxic, tobacco-less and flavored material for smoking, and a method of making the same composition but does not detail the unique method of using clay porous spheres (or like material) as the alternative to tobacco in a hookah smoking system or the Ready Pack Smoke Cups containing the Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres or the embodiment that will have the Cup Holder to be filled with recycled porous spheres or porous spheres that have been purchased in bulk.
[0016] US Pending Patent Application Publication No US 2010/0252057 of Saleh A. Saleh describes a Hookah system that is configured to permit one or more persons to inhale smoking material smoke that has been bubbled through a liquid. The hookah system employs a hookah capsule including the smoking material. The hookah capsule enables easier and less messy preparation of hookah system. The hookah capsule also provides for enhanced smoking of the smoking material. The smoking material is constructed of and comprises wood. Wood is known to generate toxic materials when burned and therefore, smoking this wood based material, a user would be inhaling toxic smoke.
[0017] This patent describes a Hookah system that deals with the smoking of tobacco and does not offer the tobacco free capabilities of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System having clay porous spheres (or like material) as the alternative to tobacco in a hookah smoking system or the Ready Pack Smoke Cups containing the Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres.
[0018] None of these previous efforts, however, provides the benefits attendant with the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System. The present design achieves its intended purposes, objects and advantages over the prior art devices through a new, useful and unobvious combination of method steps and component elements, at a reasonable cost to manufacture and by employing readily available materials.
[0019] In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System in detail it is to be understood that the design is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement, of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. In addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present design. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present application.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0020] The principal advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is the elimination of tobacco smoke from the act of using a hookah.
[0021] Another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is being able to use tobacco-free spheres made from natural or synthetic materials, for example Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres as a delivery agent consisting of heated vapors.
[0022] Another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is the unique way of packaging the porous spheres into sealed Ready Pack Smoke Cups and sealed Smoke Cups.
[0023] Another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is being able to use the Ready Pack Smoke Cup with porous spheres with different flavors sealed inside.
[0024] Another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is being able to use the Smoke Cup with porous spheres with different flavors sealed inside.
[0025] Another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is being able to use the Cup Holder with the Cup Holder Cover Plate to reuse the porous spheres or use porous spheres that are sold in bulk.
[0026] Another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is being able to use flavors like apple, spice and mint infused within the spheres, instead of using tobacco.
[0027] Another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is being able to use the system to deliver health and other beneficial additives like herbal extracts/oils, vitamins, and other compounds into the human body.
[0028] Another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is that the porous spheres can be recycled and used several additional times in the Cup Holder with the Cup Holder Cover Plate.
[0029] Yet another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is that the flavors are not released through combustion, but odors and flavors are vaporized.
[0030] And still another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is the therapeutic benefits will be delivered into the person's system in a moist condition that will be easily assimilated into the body.
[0031] The preferred embodiment of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System will be the container consisting of a head, (sometimes referred to as the bowl in the hookah system) at the upper end of the tubular stem that extends down and through into the jar or Shisha containing water. One or more additional tubular members extend out to the inhaling tube with a smoke check valve. The head containing the Hydroton® clay porous spheres (or similar material) that have been soaked in a solution of sweetener, glycerin and flavoring along with herbal extracts/oils, vitamins, and other compounds will be available. An alternate embodiment will be sealed Ready Pack Smoke Cup, the seals will be removed from the upper and lower perforated surfaces of the Ready Pack Smoke Cup containing the clay porous spheres. It is then placed on the top pan of the stem of a hookah and a heat source such as an electrical heating element or live coals are placed over the upper perforated surface.
[0032] Another alternate embodiment will be a sealed Smoke Cup which, after the upper and lower seals have been removed, will be placed into the Cup Holder that is then placed over the head (bowl) and a heat source such as an electrical heating element or live coals is placed over the upper perforated surface.
[0033] A third alternate embodiment will have the Cup Holder filled with recycled porous spheres or porous spheres that have been purchased in bulk and the Cover Plate is placed on the upper surface and a heat source such as an electrical heating element or live coals is placed over the upper perforated surface.
[0034] The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the more pertinent and important features of the present Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System in order that the detailed description of the application that follows may be better understood so that the present contribution to the art may be more fully appreciated. Additional features of the design will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of this disclosure. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the disclosed specific embodiments may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures and methods for carrying out the same purposes of the present design. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions and methods do not depart from the spirit and scope of this application as set forth in the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0035] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application.
[0036] FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram illustrating the manufacturing and use operations of the tobacco-free smoking spheres and the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System.
[0037] FIG. 2 depicts a typical hookah system illustrated with the preferred head attached thereon.
[0038] FIG. 3 depicts a cross-sectional view of the preferred head illustrating the relationship between the head containing the spheres, the screen, the heat source, in this case, coals and the position of the holes therein.
[0039] FIG. 4 depicts a cross-sectional view of a standard head illustrating the relationship between the head containing the spheres, the screen, and the position of the holes therein.
[0040] FIG. 5 depicts a cross-sectional view of an electrically heated head illustrating the relationship between the head containing the spheres, the screen, the heat source, in this case, electric coils in a ceramic cup, and the position of the holes therein.
[0041] FIG. 6 depicts a cross-sectional view of an alternative head illustrating the relationship between the head containing the spheres, the screen holding the spheres in place, the heat source, in this case, coals and the pathway of the smoke vapor therein.
[0042] FIG. 7 depicts a perspective illustration of the Ready Pack Smoke Cup with the side broken away showing the Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres.
[0043] FIG. 8 depicts a cross section of the hookah used in the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System.
[0044] FIG. 9 depicts a perspective illustration of the top of the Ready Pack Smoke Cup with the side broken away and the top seal pulled away showing the orifices in the upper surface and the Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres.
[0045] FIG. 10 depicts a perspective illustration of the bottom of the Ready Pack Smoke Cup with the bottom seal pulled away showing the orifices on the lower surface.
[0046] FIG. 11 depicts a perspective illustration of the Cup Holder with the side broken away showing the orifices on the lower surface a id the Cover Plate with orifices raised above.
[0047] FIG. 12 depicts a perspective illustration of the Smoke Cup with the top seal pulled away showing the orifices in the upper surface and the Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres.
[0048] FIG. 13 depicts a perspective illustration of the bottom of the Smoke Cup with the bottom seal pulled away showing the orifices on the lower surface.
[0049] FIG. 14 depicts cross-sectional view of a portable electronic hookah which may be used to electronically smoke or vaporize the spheres, illustrating the relationship between the compartment or cartridge containing the spheres, the atomizer or vaporizer heat source and the battery which powers the atomizer or vaporizer.
[0050] FIG. 15 depicts a partially broken away view of a type of portable water pipe which may be alternatively used to smoke the spheres.
[0051] FIG. 16 depicts a partially broken away view of another type of portable water pipe which may be alternatively used to smoke the spheres.
[0052] For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the design and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0053] Referring now to the drawings, wherein similar parts of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System 10 are identified by like reference numerals, there is seen in FIG. 1 a block diagram depicting the operations of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System where block 12 depicts the acquisition of the porous clay spheres 14 from Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) and block 16 depicts the adding of flavoring, sweeteners, and glycerin. At this point is the option of adding chemical enhancements for a preservative, thicker smoke vapor and replacing or incorporating with the flavoring herbal extracts/oils, vitamins, and other medicating/health compounds shown in 18 . After the porous spheres are soaked in the solution as depicted in block 20 and then the spheres are removed and drained as depicted in block 22 and they are packaged, ready for use shown in block 14 . Before the product is used it must be shaken as shown in block 26 to loosen and separate the porous spheres 14 . After this, the hookah 28 can be loaded shown in block 30 and smoked as shown in block 32 . The porous clay spheres can be recycled for reuse as shown in block 34 , or the system may employ new porous spheres 14 that have been purchased individually or in hulk.
[0054] Referring now to FIG. 2 there is shown a typical hookah system 40 illustrated with the preferred head 62 attached thereon. The hookah system 40 comprises a stem 42 for attaching the head to the hookah, and a tray 44 for catching loose and flailing charcoal 72 located on a screen on the top of the head 62 . A base section 46 holds the tray 44 in place. A stem section 48 is located below the base section 46 . Below that is a middle section including the smoking hose tubular outlet 50 and a smoke check valve 52 . The jar or Shisha has an upper section 54 (referred to as the smoke chamber within the jar) and a lower section 56 , which holds water for the smoke vapors to pass through.
[0055] Referring now to FIG. 3 there is depicted a cross-sectional view of the preferred head 60 illustrating the relationship between the head 60 containing the spheres 14 , the screen, the heat source, in this case, charcoal or coals 72 (which maybe substituted by any heat source, such as electrical) and the position of the holes 64 therein. As can be seen in this illustration, the holes 64 are located in the side wall of a post 66 within the body 62 of head 60 . This enables the smoke to pass through unobstructed. It also prevents any liquid which may build up during the smoking process to be caught within the head 60 , and thereby not passed into the water contained by the jar or Shisha. The preferred head 60 is attached to the stem of the hookah at orifice 68 .
[0056] FIG. 4 depicts a cross-sectional view of a standard head 75 illustrating the relationship between the head body 76 containing the spheres 14 , the screen 77 , and the position of the boles 80 therein. The standard head 75 is attached to the stem of the hookah at orifice 78 .
[0057] FIG. 5 depicts a cross-sectional view of an electrically heated head 85 illustrating the relationship between the head body 86 containing the spheres 14 , the screen, the heat source, in this case, electric coils 90 in a ceramic cup 88 , and the position of the holes therein. The electrically heated head 85 is attached to the stem of the hookah at orifice 87 . The electrically heated head 85 is powered through an adapter that connects to the power cord connector 92 .
[0058] FIG. 6 depicts a cross-sectional view of an alternative head 95 illustrating the relationship between the head body upper portion 98 and lower portion 102 . The upper portion 98 contains the spheres 14 , and the screen 100 holding the spheres in place. The heat source, in this case, charcoal or coals 106 is contained within lower section 102 . A lever 119 on joint 114 enables the lower section 102 , resting on elbow 108 , to be moved and adjusted toward (upward) and away from (downward), see arrows 112 , the upper section 98 as needed. The pathway of the smoke vapor therein travels along tube 97 and down through orifice 116 to enter the jar or Shisha (see arrows within the tubular structure shown) the alternative head 95 is mounted to the stem of the hookah at orifice 116 .
[0059] FIG. 7 depicts a perspective illustration of the Ready Pack Smoke Cup 140 with the flanged upper surface 142 having the multiple upper surface orifices 144 and the cup side surface 146 broken away showing the spheres (i.e. Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres) 14 , or spheres made from other suitable porous materials, such as porous natural stone, cobblestone, synthetic porous stone-like substances, etc. or the equivalent to same.
[0060] FIG. 8 depicts a cross section of the hookah 126 used in the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System 110 where an electrical heating unit 150 is resting on the flanged upper surface 142 above the porous spheres 14 . The flanged upper surface 142 , which may be made of metal, aluminum, foil sheet, or like material, has the flanged edges 152 bent down around the head (or bowl) 154 that is held on the tubular stem 156 by the means of a flexible seal 158 . The electrical heating unit 150 can be replaced by live charcoal or coals as desired. The Tubular stem 156 extends through and into the interior area 162 of the jar or Shisha 164 below the surface of the water 166 where the vapors 168 bubble to the water 166 surface and are drawn out through as short tubular member 170 extending through the jar or Shisha 164 to the inhaling tube 172 .
[0061] FIG. 9 depicts a perspective illustration of the top of the Ready Pack Smoke Cup 140 with the cup side surface 146 broken away and the top seal 178 pulled away showing the upper surface orifices 144 and the spheres 14 , (i.e. Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres), or spheres made from other suitable porous materials such as porous natural stone, cobblestone, synthetic porous stone-like substances, etc. or the equivalent to same.
[0062] FIG. 10 depicts a perspective illustration of the bottom surface 180 of the Ready Pack Smoke Cup 140 with the bottom seal 182 pulled away showing the lower surface orifices 184 .
[0063] FIG. 11 depicts a perspective illustration of the Cup Holder 188 with the side 190 broken away showing the orifices 192 on the lower surface 194 and the Cover Plate 196 with cover plate orifices 198 raised above.
[0064] FIG. 12 depicts a perspective illustration of the Smoke Cup 204 with the top seal 206 pulled away showing the upper surface 208 with the upper surface orifices 210 and cup side 212 broken away showing the spheres 14 (i.e. Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres), or spheres made from other suitable porous materials such as porous natural stone, cobblestone, synthetic porous stone-like substances, etc. or the equivalent to same.
[0065] FIG. 13 depicts a perspective illustration of the cup side 212 and cup lower (bottom) surface 220 of the Smoke Cup 204 with the bottom seal 216 pulled away showing the lower surface orifices 218 on the cup lower surface 220 .
[0066] FIG. 14 depicts cross-sectional view of a portable electronic hookah 230 which may be alternatively used to electronically smoke or vaporize the spheres 234 , illustrating the relationship between the compartment or cartridge housing 232 containing the spheres 234 , the atomizer or vaporizer 236 heat source and the battery 238 which powers the atomizer or vaporizer 236 . The portable electronic hookah (also known as an e-hookah) 230 is normally used with liquid loaded in the cartridge housing 232 for smoking or vaporizing (also known as “wiping”). The spheres 234 of the present invention are loaded replacing the liquid normally used, to enable a tobacco-free smoking experience.
[0067] FIG. 15 depicts a partially broken away view of a type of portable water pipe 240 type of hookah which may be alternatively used to smoke the spheres 244 of the present invention. This portable water pipe 240 type of hookah includes a housing 242 which encases the heating element 246 and the loaded spheres 244 which are placed within the housing 242 . The heating element is powered and controlled by a heating unit power control 248 . Normally, this type of water pipe is loaded with shisha tobacco, but in the present application, the spheres 244 of the present invention are used as a tobacco-free substitute for shisha tobacco.
[0068] FIG. 16 depicts a partially broken away view of another type of portable water pipe type of hookah 250 which may be alternatively used to smoke the spheres 254 of the present invention. This alternative type of portable water pipe hookah 250 is comprised of a cylindrical shaped base member 256 which houses a bowl or head 252 . The spheres 254 of the present invention are placed in the bowl 252 for smoking. A heating element 260 is located on top of the base member 256 and this heating element is powered and controlled by a heating unit power control 258 . Once the spheres 254 are ignited by the heating element 260 , the tobacco-free smoke is drawn through the hose and mouthpiece 262 . Normally, this type of water pipe is loaded with shisha tobacco, but in the present application, the spheres 254 of the present invention are used as a tobacco-free substitute for shisha tobacco.
[0069] It should also be understood that this invention enables the use of tobacco-free hookahs in tobacco-free areas within a hookah lounge, cafe or bar. Therefore, it is anticipated that this invention will be used to create an optional tobacco-free smoking area within a hookah lounge, cafe, bar, restaurant or other similar establishment.
[0070] The Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System 10 shown in the drawings and described in detail herein disclose arrangements of elements of particular construction and configuration for illustrating preferred embodiments of structure and method of operation of the present application. It is to be understood, however, that elements u different construction and configuration and other arrangements thereof, other than those illustrated and described ma be employed for providing a Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System 10 in accordance with the spirit of this disclosure, and such changes, alternations and modifications as would occur to those skilled in the art are considered to be within the scope of this design as broadly defined in the appended claims.
[0071] Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark office and the public, generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way. | The present invention is directed to a Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System that will have a head (bowl) at the upper end of a tubular stem that extends into the jar or Shisha containing water. One or more additional tubular members extend out of the Shisha making up the inhaling tube and the check valve. The spheres will be made from porous materials such as Hydroton® synthetic clay, or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) other stone materials, cobblestone, and other natural and synthetic porous materials. The spheres will be made by soaking in a solution of sweetener, glycerin and various flavorings along with the added option of herbal extracts/oils, vitamins, and other medical/health compounds. Ready Pack Smoke Cups containing the spheres will be available. An alternate embodiment will have the Cup Holder that can be filled with recycled porous spheres or porous spheres that have been purchased in bulk. | Summarize the patent document, focusing on the invention's functionality and advantages. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This application is directed towards systems that offer tobacco free smoking along with other benefits.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The Hookah's origin traces back to India.",
"It surfaced in the form we know it today around the 15th Century when Indian Glass manufacturing began as a result of the exporting of glass to India through the British East India Company.",
"The glass base was called Shisha.",
"Its mystique spread to Iran where special strong, flavorless tobacco was used with it called “Ajami.”",
"It rose to fame under the Ottoman Empire's rule around the time of Murat V in 1623-1640.",
"[0003] Shisha, a synonym for Hookah, is from the Persian word “shishe,” literally translated as glass and not bottle.",
"Traditional hookah tobacco contains glycerin, molasses, flavoring and tobacco leaves.",
"With the problems tobacco is known to cause, the use of a tobacco free device is very promising.",
"The innovation in this application to solve the problem is the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System using a renewable and plentiful product called Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) that is formed into spheres ranging from two to sixteen millimeters in diameter and fired in rotary kilns at 1200° C. This causes the clay to expand, like popcorn, and become porous.",
"The spheres are soaked in a solution of flavoring (i.e. apple, strawberry, mint, etc.), sweetener, and glycerin.",
"Other options would be for health and therapeutic benefits, additives like herbal extracts/oils, vitamins, and other medicinal compounds.",
"As an example;",
"Green Tea for Immunity, Ginger for Ovarian Cancer Treatment, Colon Cancer Prevention, Heartburn Relief, Hawthorn Extract for cardiovascular system benefits, Cinnamon for Lower Cholesterol, Blood Sugar Regulation, Potassium Nitrate for treatment of asthma, arthritis, and high blood pressure.",
"In addition these therapeutic benefits will be delivered into the person's system in a moist vaporized condition that will be easily assimilated into the body.",
"[0004] Because the flavors are not released through combustion, the odors and flavors are vaporized.",
"The spheres are immersed in solutions for one to twelve hours (or even longer) then drained, packaged and sealed.",
"As an option the finished product may be packaged and sealed into Ready Pack Smoke Cups and sealed Smoke Cups.",
"Prior to use the spheres need to be shaken to separate and loosen the spheres.",
"The spheres are placed in hookah heads or in the smoke cups located in the head of the hookah where they are heated and the contents are slowly vaporized forming a steam that is drawn down through the hookah tubular stem.",
"The use of electrical units or live coals, act as the heat source that releases the aroma, flavor, and/or the compound that is within the spheres which is filtered through the water in the jar or Shisha.",
"[0005] An alternate embodiment would be the Smoke Cup that will be inserted into the Cup Holder after the top and bottom seals have been removed.",
"The Cup Holder can additionally be used with the Cup Holder Cover Plate when an individual desires to recycle the porous spheres or purchase the treated porous spheres in bulk.",
"[0006] This Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System should make tobacco smoking unnecessary along with adding similar pleasures and some medical/health benefits that it delivers.",
"The odors and flavors are not released through combustion, but through a vaporization process.",
"This process eliminates any combustion products by heating the Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres where the vapors are then filtered through the water in the jar or Shisha.",
"[0007] Numerous innovations for the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System have been provided in the prior art that are described as follows.",
"Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which the address, they differ from the present design as hereinafter contrasted.",
"The following is a summary of those prior art patents most relevant to this application at hand, as well as a description outlining the difference between the features of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System and the prior art.",
"[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,610 of Kenneth W. Freelain describes a smoking apparatus which efficiently removes harmful impurities from the smoke and does so by improving contact between the smoke and a washing liquid.",
"This is accomplished by placing small stones and small floating pieces in a water pipe to increase the distance of the flow path of the smoke through the water, and to decrease the size of the smoke bubbles passing through the water.",
"[0009] This patent describes a smoking apparatus which efficiently removes harmful impurities from the smoke and does so by improving contact between the smoke and a washing liquid but does not offer clay porous spheres (or like material) as the alternative to tobacco in a hookah smoking system or the Ready Pack Smoke Cups containing the Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres or the embodiment that will have the Cup Holder to be filled with recycled porous spheres or porous spheres that have been purchased in bulk.",
"[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 6,408,856 of Kevin Garard McAdam describes an invention that relates to a smokable filler material which attempts to mimic tobacco leaf in its simplest components in order to provide a simpler smoke to the smoker.",
"The smokable filler material comprises aerosol generating means, a substantially non-combustible inorganic filler, a binder and an extract from a flavorful fuel source material.",
"It may also comprise a biopolymer.",
"[0011] This patent describes an invention that relates to a smokable filler material which attempts to mimic tobacco leaf in its simplest components but does not offer clay porous spheres (or like material) as the alternative to tobacco in a hookah smoking system or the Ready Pack Smoke Cups containing the Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres and still produces the undesirable smoke.",
"[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 6,761,176 of Gi Yong Yoo describes a tobacco substitute composition according to the present invention is comprised of 80-90 weight percent of encommia ulmoides, 1-10 weight percent of glycyrrhiza glabra, and 1-10 weight percent of periila frutescens.",
"In the present invention, a flavoring material which is generally added to the composition of a tobacco such as a sodium chloride, glycerol, sweetener, spices, etc.",
"may be added.",
"[0013] This patent describes a tobacco substitute composition but does not detail the unique method of using clay porous spheres (or like material) as the alternative to tobacco in a hookah smoking system or the Ready Pack Smoke Cups containing the Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres or the embodiment that will have the Cup Holder to be filled with recycled porous spheres or porous spheres that have been purchased in bulk.",
"[0014] U.S. Pat. No. 7,836,896 of Abraham Nadimi et al.",
"describes a nontoxic, tobacco-less and flavored material for smoking, and a method of making the same.",
"In one aspect, the invention is a tobacco-less material for smoking comprising: a shredded cellulosic paper having a weight;",
"and as mixture of a humectant and a flavoring agent, the mixture having a weight and absorbed into the shredded cellulosic paper.",
"[0015] This patent describes a nontoxic, tobacco-less and flavored material for smoking, and a method of making the same composition but does not detail the unique method of using clay porous spheres (or like material) as the alternative to tobacco in a hookah smoking system or the Ready Pack Smoke Cups containing the Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres or the embodiment that will have the Cup Holder to be filled with recycled porous spheres or porous spheres that have been purchased in bulk.",
"[0016] US Pending Patent Application Publication No US 2010/0252057 of Saleh A. Saleh describes a Hookah system that is configured to permit one or more persons to inhale smoking material smoke that has been bubbled through a liquid.",
"The hookah system employs a hookah capsule including the smoking material.",
"The hookah capsule enables easier and less messy preparation of hookah system.",
"The hookah capsule also provides for enhanced smoking of the smoking material.",
"The smoking material is constructed of and comprises wood.",
"Wood is known to generate toxic materials when burned and therefore, smoking this wood based material, a user would be inhaling toxic smoke.",
"[0017] This patent describes a Hookah system that deals with the smoking of tobacco and does not offer the tobacco free capabilities of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System having clay porous spheres (or like material) as the alternative to tobacco in a hookah smoking system or the Ready Pack Smoke Cups containing the Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres.",
"[0018] None of these previous efforts, however, provides the benefits attendant with the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System.",
"The present design achieves its intended purposes, objects and advantages over the prior art devices through a new, useful and unobvious combination of method steps and component elements, at a reasonable cost to manufacture and by employing readily available materials.",
"[0019] In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System in detail it is to be understood that the design is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement, of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings.",
"The Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways.",
"In addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.",
"As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present design.",
"It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present application.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0020] The principal advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is the elimination of tobacco smoke from the act of using a hookah.",
"[0021] Another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is being able to use tobacco-free spheres made from natural or synthetic materials, for example Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres as a delivery agent consisting of heated vapors.",
"[0022] Another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is the unique way of packaging the porous spheres into sealed Ready Pack Smoke Cups and sealed Smoke Cups.",
"[0023] Another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is being able to use the Ready Pack Smoke Cup with porous spheres with different flavors sealed inside.",
"[0024] Another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is being able to use the Smoke Cup with porous spheres with different flavors sealed inside.",
"[0025] Another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is being able to use the Cup Holder with the Cup Holder Cover Plate to reuse the porous spheres or use porous spheres that are sold in bulk.",
"[0026] Another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is being able to use flavors like apple, spice and mint infused within the spheres, instead of using tobacco.",
"[0027] Another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is being able to use the system to deliver health and other beneficial additives like herbal extracts/oils, vitamins, and other compounds into the human body.",
"[0028] Another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is that the porous spheres can be recycled and used several additional times in the Cup Holder with the Cup Holder Cover Plate.",
"[0029] Yet another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is that the flavors are not released through combustion, but odors and flavors are vaporized.",
"[0030] And still another advantage of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System is the therapeutic benefits will be delivered into the person's system in a moist condition that will be easily assimilated into the body.",
"[0031] The preferred embodiment of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System will be the container consisting of a head, (sometimes referred to as the bowl in the hookah system) at the upper end of the tubular stem that extends down and through into the jar or Shisha containing water.",
"One or more additional tubular members extend out to the inhaling tube with a smoke check valve.",
"The head containing the Hydroton® clay porous spheres (or similar material) that have been soaked in a solution of sweetener, glycerin and flavoring along with herbal extracts/oils, vitamins, and other compounds will be available.",
"An alternate embodiment will be sealed Ready Pack Smoke Cup, the seals will be removed from the upper and lower perforated surfaces of the Ready Pack Smoke Cup containing the clay porous spheres.",
"It is then placed on the top pan of the stem of a hookah and a heat source such as an electrical heating element or live coals are placed over the upper perforated surface.",
"[0032] Another alternate embodiment will be a sealed Smoke Cup which, after the upper and lower seals have been removed, will be placed into the Cup Holder that is then placed over the head (bowl) and a heat source such as an electrical heating element or live coals is placed over the upper perforated surface.",
"[0033] A third alternate embodiment will have the Cup Holder filled with recycled porous spheres or porous spheres that have been purchased in bulk and the Cover Plate is placed on the upper surface and a heat source such as an electrical heating element or live coals is placed over the upper perforated surface.",
"[0034] The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the more pertinent and important features of the present Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System in order that the detailed description of the application that follows may be better understood so that the present contribution to the art may be more fully appreciated.",
"Additional features of the design will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of this disclosure.",
"It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the disclosed specific embodiments may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures and methods for carrying out the same purposes of the present design.",
"It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions and methods do not depart from the spirit and scope of this application as set forth in the appended claims.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0035] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application.",
"[0036] FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram illustrating the manufacturing and use operations of the tobacco-free smoking spheres and the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System.",
"[0037] FIG. 2 depicts a typical hookah system illustrated with the preferred head attached thereon.",
"[0038] FIG. 3 depicts a cross-sectional view of the preferred head illustrating the relationship between the head containing the spheres, the screen, the heat source, in this case, coals and the position of the holes therein.",
"[0039] FIG. 4 depicts a cross-sectional view of a standard head illustrating the relationship between the head containing the spheres, the screen, and the position of the holes therein.",
"[0040] FIG. 5 depicts a cross-sectional view of an electrically heated head illustrating the relationship between the head containing the spheres, the screen, the heat source, in this case, electric coils in a ceramic cup, and the position of the holes therein.",
"[0041] FIG. 6 depicts a cross-sectional view of an alternative head illustrating the relationship between the head containing the spheres, the screen holding the spheres in place, the heat source, in this case, coals and the pathway of the smoke vapor therein.",
"[0042] FIG. 7 depicts a perspective illustration of the Ready Pack Smoke Cup with the side broken away showing the Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres.",
"[0043] FIG. 8 depicts a cross section of the hookah used in the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System.",
"[0044] FIG. 9 depicts a perspective illustration of the top of the Ready Pack Smoke Cup with the side broken away and the top seal pulled away showing the orifices in the upper surface and the Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres.",
"[0045] FIG. 10 depicts a perspective illustration of the bottom of the Ready Pack Smoke Cup with the bottom seal pulled away showing the orifices on the lower surface.",
"[0046] FIG. 11 depicts a perspective illustration of the Cup Holder with the side broken away showing the orifices on the lower surface a id the Cover Plate with orifices raised above.",
"[0047] FIG. 12 depicts a perspective illustration of the Smoke Cup with the top seal pulled away showing the orifices in the upper surface and the Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres.",
"[0048] FIG. 13 depicts a perspective illustration of the bottom of the Smoke Cup with the bottom seal pulled away showing the orifices on the lower surface.",
"[0049] FIG. 14 depicts cross-sectional view of a portable electronic hookah which may be used to electronically smoke or vaporize the spheres, illustrating the relationship between the compartment or cartridge containing the spheres, the atomizer or vaporizer heat source and the battery which powers the atomizer or vaporizer.",
"[0050] FIG. 15 depicts a partially broken away view of a type of portable water pipe which may be alternatively used to smoke the spheres.",
"[0051] FIG. 16 depicts a partially broken away view of another type of portable water pipe which may be alternatively used to smoke the spheres.",
"[0052] For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the design and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0053] Referring now to the drawings, wherein similar parts of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System 10 are identified by like reference numerals, there is seen in FIG. 1 a block diagram depicting the operations of the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System where block 12 depicts the acquisition of the porous clay spheres 14 from Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) and block 16 depicts the adding of flavoring, sweeteners, and glycerin.",
"At this point is the option of adding chemical enhancements for a preservative, thicker smoke vapor and replacing or incorporating with the flavoring herbal extracts/oils, vitamins, and other medicating/health compounds shown in 18 .",
"After the porous spheres are soaked in the solution as depicted in block 20 and then the spheres are removed and drained as depicted in block 22 and they are packaged, ready for use shown in block 14 .",
"Before the product is used it must be shaken as shown in block 26 to loosen and separate the porous spheres 14 .",
"After this, the hookah 28 can be loaded shown in block 30 and smoked as shown in block 32 .",
"The porous clay spheres can be recycled for reuse as shown in block 34 , or the system may employ new porous spheres 14 that have been purchased individually or in hulk.",
"[0054] Referring now to FIG. 2 there is shown a typical hookah system 40 illustrated with the preferred head 62 attached thereon.",
"The hookah system 40 comprises a stem 42 for attaching the head to the hookah, and a tray 44 for catching loose and flailing charcoal 72 located on a screen on the top of the head 62 .",
"A base section 46 holds the tray 44 in place.",
"A stem section 48 is located below the base section 46 .",
"Below that is a middle section including the smoking hose tubular outlet 50 and a smoke check valve 52 .",
"The jar or Shisha has an upper section 54 (referred to as the smoke chamber within the jar) and a lower section 56 , which holds water for the smoke vapors to pass through.",
"[0055] Referring now to FIG. 3 there is depicted a cross-sectional view of the preferred head 60 illustrating the relationship between the head 60 containing the spheres 14 , the screen, the heat source, in this case, charcoal or coals 72 (which maybe substituted by any heat source, such as electrical) and the position of the holes 64 therein.",
"As can be seen in this illustration, the holes 64 are located in the side wall of a post 66 within the body 62 of head 60 .",
"This enables the smoke to pass through unobstructed.",
"It also prevents any liquid which may build up during the smoking process to be caught within the head 60 , and thereby not passed into the water contained by the jar or Shisha.",
"The preferred head 60 is attached to the stem of the hookah at orifice 68 .",
"[0056] FIG. 4 depicts a cross-sectional view of a standard head 75 illustrating the relationship between the head body 76 containing the spheres 14 , the screen 77 , and the position of the boles 80 therein.",
"The standard head 75 is attached to the stem of the hookah at orifice 78 .",
"[0057] FIG. 5 depicts a cross-sectional view of an electrically heated head 85 illustrating the relationship between the head body 86 containing the spheres 14 , the screen, the heat source, in this case, electric coils 90 in a ceramic cup 88 , and the position of the holes therein.",
"The electrically heated head 85 is attached to the stem of the hookah at orifice 87 .",
"The electrically heated head 85 is powered through an adapter that connects to the power cord connector 92 .",
"[0058] FIG. 6 depicts a cross-sectional view of an alternative head 95 illustrating the relationship between the head body upper portion 98 and lower portion 102 .",
"The upper portion 98 contains the spheres 14 , and the screen 100 holding the spheres in place.",
"The heat source, in this case, charcoal or coals 106 is contained within lower section 102 .",
"A lever 119 on joint 114 enables the lower section 102 , resting on elbow 108 , to be moved and adjusted toward (upward) and away from (downward), see arrows 112 , the upper section 98 as needed.",
"The pathway of the smoke vapor therein travels along tube 97 and down through orifice 116 to enter the jar or Shisha (see arrows within the tubular structure shown) the alternative head 95 is mounted to the stem of the hookah at orifice 116 .",
"[0059] FIG. 7 depicts a perspective illustration of the Ready Pack Smoke Cup 140 with the flanged upper surface 142 having the multiple upper surface orifices 144 and the cup side surface 146 broken away showing the spheres (i.e. Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres) 14 , or spheres made from other suitable porous materials, such as porous natural stone, cobblestone, synthetic porous stone-like substances, etc.",
"or the equivalent to same.",
"[0060] FIG. 8 depicts a cross section of the hookah 126 used in the Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System 110 where an electrical heating unit 150 is resting on the flanged upper surface 142 above the porous spheres 14 .",
"The flanged upper surface 142 , which may be made of metal, aluminum, foil sheet, or like material, has the flanged edges 152 bent down around the head (or bowl) 154 that is held on the tubular stem 156 by the means of a flexible seal 158 .",
"The electrical heating unit 150 can be replaced by live charcoal or coals as desired.",
"The Tubular stem 156 extends through and into the interior area 162 of the jar or Shisha 164 below the surface of the water 166 where the vapors 168 bubble to the water 166 surface and are drawn out through as short tubular member 170 extending through the jar or Shisha 164 to the inhaling tube 172 .",
"[0061] FIG. 9 depicts a perspective illustration of the top of the Ready Pack Smoke Cup 140 with the cup side surface 146 broken away and the top seal 178 pulled away showing the upper surface orifices 144 and the spheres 14 , (i.e. Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres), or spheres made from other suitable porous materials such as porous natural stone, cobblestone, synthetic porous stone-like substances, etc.",
"or the equivalent to same.",
"[0062] FIG. 10 depicts a perspective illustration of the bottom surface 180 of the Ready Pack Smoke Cup 140 with the bottom seal 182 pulled away showing the lower surface orifices 184 .",
"[0063] FIG. 11 depicts a perspective illustration of the Cup Holder 188 with the side 190 broken away showing the orifices 192 on the lower surface 194 and the Cover Plate 196 with cover plate orifices 198 raised above.",
"[0064] FIG. 12 depicts a perspective illustration of the Smoke Cup 204 with the top seal 206 pulled away showing the upper surface 208 with the upper surface orifices 210 and cup side 212 broken away showing the spheres 14 (i.e. Hydroton® clay or Growstones® glass (or a like substance) porous spheres), or spheres made from other suitable porous materials such as porous natural stone, cobblestone, synthetic porous stone-like substances, etc.",
"or the equivalent to same.",
"[0065] FIG. 13 depicts a perspective illustration of the cup side 212 and cup lower (bottom) surface 220 of the Smoke Cup 204 with the bottom seal 216 pulled away showing the lower surface orifices 218 on the cup lower surface 220 .",
"[0066] FIG. 14 depicts cross-sectional view of a portable electronic hookah 230 which may be alternatively used to electronically smoke or vaporize the spheres 234 , illustrating the relationship between the compartment or cartridge housing 232 containing the spheres 234 , the atomizer or vaporizer 236 heat source and the battery 238 which powers the atomizer or vaporizer 236 .",
"The portable electronic hookah (also known as an e-hookah) 230 is normally used with liquid loaded in the cartridge housing 232 for smoking or vaporizing (also known as “wiping”).",
"The spheres 234 of the present invention are loaded replacing the liquid normally used, to enable a tobacco-free smoking experience.",
"[0067] FIG. 15 depicts a partially broken away view of a type of portable water pipe 240 type of hookah which may be alternatively used to smoke the spheres 244 of the present invention.",
"This portable water pipe 240 type of hookah includes a housing 242 which encases the heating element 246 and the loaded spheres 244 which are placed within the housing 242 .",
"The heating element is powered and controlled by a heating unit power control 248 .",
"Normally, this type of water pipe is loaded with shisha tobacco, but in the present application, the spheres 244 of the present invention are used as a tobacco-free substitute for shisha tobacco.",
"[0068] FIG. 16 depicts a partially broken away view of another type of portable water pipe type of hookah 250 which may be alternatively used to smoke the spheres 254 of the present invention.",
"This alternative type of portable water pipe hookah 250 is comprised of a cylindrical shaped base member 256 which houses a bowl or head 252 .",
"The spheres 254 of the present invention are placed in the bowl 252 for smoking.",
"A heating element 260 is located on top of the base member 256 and this heating element is powered and controlled by a heating unit power control 258 .",
"Once the spheres 254 are ignited by the heating element 260 , the tobacco-free smoke is drawn through the hose and mouthpiece 262 .",
"Normally, this type of water pipe is loaded with shisha tobacco, but in the present application, the spheres 254 of the present invention are used as a tobacco-free substitute for shisha tobacco.",
"[0069] It should also be understood that this invention enables the use of tobacco-free hookahs in tobacco-free areas within a hookah lounge, cafe or bar.",
"Therefore, it is anticipated that this invention will be used to create an optional tobacco-free smoking area within a hookah lounge, cafe, bar, restaurant or other similar establishment.",
"[0070] The Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System 10 shown in the drawings and described in detail herein disclose arrangements of elements of particular construction and configuration for illustrating preferred embodiments of structure and method of operation of the present application.",
"It is to be understood, however, that elements u different construction and configuration and other arrangements thereof, other than those illustrated and described ma be employed for providing a Tobacco Free Hookah Smoking System 10 in accordance with the spirit of this disclosure, and such changes, alternations and modifications as would occur to those skilled in the art are considered to be within the scope of this design as broadly defined in the appended claims.",
"[0071] Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark office and the public, generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application.",
"The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/021,251, filed Jan. 28, 2008, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety as if fully set forth herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of routing phone calls and other telecommunications in a contact center system.
The typical contact center consists of a number of human agents, with each assigned to a telecommunication device, such as a phone or a computer for conducting email or Internet chat sessions, that is connected to a central switch. Using these devices, the agents are generally used to provide sales, customer service, or technical support to the customers or prospective customers of a contact center or a contact center's clients.
Typically, a contact center or client will advertise to its customers, prospective customers, or other third parties a number of different contact numbers or addresses for a particular service, such as for billing questions or for technical support. The customers, prospective customers, or third parties seeking a particular service will then use this contact information, and the incoming caller will be routed at one or more routing points to a human agent at a contact center who can provide the appropriate service. Contact centers that respond to such incoming contacts are referred to as “inbound contact centers.”
Similarly, a contact center can make outgoing contacts to current or prospective customers or third parties. Such contacts may be made to encourage sales of a product, provide technical support or billing information, survey consumer preferences, or to assist in collecting debts. Contact centers that make such outgoing contacts are referred to as “outbound contact centers.”
In both inbound contact centers and outbound contact centers, the individuals (such as customers, prospective customers, survey participants, or other third parties) that interact with contact center agents over the telephone are referred to in this application as a “caller.” The individuals acquired by the contact center to interact with callers are referred to in this application as an “agent.”
An essential piece of hardware for any contact center operation is the switch system that connects callers to agents. In an inbound contact center, these switches route incoming callers to a particular agent in a contact center, or, if multiple contact centers are deployed, to a particular contact center for further routing. In an outbound contact center employing telephone devices, dialers are typically employed in addition to a switch system. The dialer is used to automatically dial a phone number from a list of phone numbers, and to determine whether a live caller has been reached from the phone number called (as opposed to obtaining no answer, a busy signal, an error message, or an answering machine). When the dialer obtains a live caller, the switch system routes the caller to a particular agent in the contact center.
Routing technologies have accordingly been developed to optimize the caller experience. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,236,584 describes a telephone system for equalizing caller waiting times across multiple telephone switches, regardless of the general variations in performance that may exist among those switches. Contact routing in an inbound contact center, however, is a process that is generally structured to connect callers to agents that have been idle for the longest period of time. In the case of an inbound caller where only one agent may be available, that agent is generally selected for the caller without further analysis. In another example, if there are eight agents at a contact center, and seven are occupied with contacts, the switch will generally route the inbound caller to the one agent that is available. If all eight agents are occupied with contacts, the switch will typically put the contact on hold and then route it to the next agent that becomes available. More generally, the contact center will set up a queue of incoming callers and preferentially route the longest-waiting callers to the agents that become available over time. Such a pattern of routing contacts to either the first available agent or the longest-waiting agent is referred to as “round-robin” contact routing. In round robin contact routing, eventual matches and connections between a caller and an agent are essentially random.
In an outbound contact center environment using telephone devices, the contact center or its agents are typically provided a “lead list” comprising a list of telephone numbers to be contacted to attempt some solicitation effort, such as attempting to sell a product or conduct a survey. The lead list can be a comprehensive list for all contact centers, one contact center, all agents, or a sub-list for a particular agent or group of agents (in any such case, the list is generally referred to in this application as a “lead list”). After receiving a lead list, a dialer or the agents themselves will typically call through the lead list in numerical order, obtain a live caller, and conduct the solicitation effort. In using this standard process, the eventual matches and connections between a caller and an agent are essentially random.
Some attempts have been made to improve upon these standard yet essentially random processes for connecting a caller to an agent. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,209,549 describes a telephone routing system wherein an incoming caller's language preference is collected and used to route their telephone call to a particular contact center or agent that can provide service in that language. In this manner, language preference is the primary driver of matching and connecting a caller to an agent, although once such a preference has been made, callers are almost always routed in “round-robin” fashion.
Other attempts have been made to alter the general round-robin system. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,231,032 describes a telephone system wherein the agents themselves each create personal routing rules for incoming callers, allowing each agent to customize the types of callers that are routed to them. These rules can include a list of particular callers the agent wants routed to them, such as callers that the agent has interacted with before. This system, however, is skewed towards the agent's preference and does not take into account the relative capabilities of the agents nor the individual characteristics of the callers and the agents themselves.
There is thus a need for improving on the available mechanisms for matching and connecting a caller to an agent. The present invention accomplishes this.
SUMMARY
Systems and methods of the present invention can be used to optimize the routing of callers to agents in a contact center. In general, contact routings are optimized by routing contacts such that callers are matched with and connected to particular agents in a manner that increases the chances of an interaction that is deemed beneficial to a contact center (referred to in this application as an “optimal interaction”). Examples of typical optimal interactions include increasing sales, decreasing the duration of the contact (and hence the cost to the contact center), providing for an acceptable level of customer satisfaction, or any other interaction that a contact center may seek to control or optimize. The systems and methods of the present invention can improve the chance of an optimal interaction by, in general, grading agents on an optimal interaction, and matching a graded agent with a caller to increase the chance of the optimal interaction. Once matched, the caller can be connected to the graded agent. In a more advanced embodiment, the systems and methods of the present invention can also be used to increase the chance of an optimal interaction by matching a caller to an agent using a computer model derived from data describing demographic, psychographic, past purchase behavior, or other business-relevant information about a caller, together with data describing demographic, psychographic, or historical performance about an agent.
In a relatively basic embodiment of the present invention, the performance of a contact center's agents is collated over a period time to grade each agent on their ability to achieve an optimal interaction. The period of time can be as short as the immediately prior contact to a period extending as long as the agent's first interaction with a caller. The grade determined for the each agent is then used as a factor in matching and connecting a caller to a particular agent. For example, certain agents may be shown to have a greater ability to generate sales than that of other agents engaged in the same contact center. The present invention, by preferentially routing callers to those agents shown to have greater ability to generate sales, can increase the chances of achieving greater sales during the contacts. Similarly, other agents may be shown to generate shorter interactions with callers than that of other agents at the same contact center. By preferentially routing contacts to the agents shown to generate shorter interactions with callers, a contact center or contact center client can decrease its overall need for agents and communication bandwidth, and therefore, reduce its costs.
In general, by grading the agents at a contact center on their ability to achieve an optimal interaction, the contact center can match and connect callers to agents to increase the chance of achieving any optimal interaction that may be chosen. The method of grading agent can be as simple as ranking each agent on a scale of 1 to N for a particular optimal interaction, with N being the total number of agents. The method of grading can also comprise determining the average contact handle time of each agent to grade the agents on cost, determining the total sales revenue or number of sales generated by each agent to grade the agents on sales, or conducting customer surveys at the end of contacts with callers to grade the agents on customer satisfaction. The foregoing, however, are only examples of how agents may be graded; many other methods exist.
If agents are graded on more than one optimal interaction, the present invention can be configured to weight optimal interactions to ascertain which callers should be routed to which agent. For example, if there were two currently available agents for an individual caller, and the present invention estimated that routing the caller to one agent would result in a higher likelihood of a sale occurring, while routing the caller to the other agent would result in a shorter duration contact, depending on which optimal interaction the present invention was weighting more heavily, the caller may be routed to either the first or the second agent. In another example, if the present invention estimated that routing the caller to one agent would result in a high likelihood of a sale, a short contact duration, but a low level of customer satisfaction, while routing the caller to another agent would result in a high likelihood of a sale, a longer contact duration, but a higher level of customer satisfaction, depending on which mix of optimal interactions the present invention was weighting more heavily, the caller may be routed to the first or second agent.
The weightings placed on the various optimal interactions can take place in realtime in a manner controlled by the contact center, its clients, or in line with predetermined rules. Optionally, the contact center or its clients may control the weighting over the internet or some another data transfer system. As an example, a client of the contact center could access the weightings currently in use over an internet browser and modify these remotely. Such a modification may be set to take immediate effect and, immediately after such a modification, subsequent caller routings occur in line with the newly establishing weightings. An instance of such an example may arise in a case where a contact center client decides that the most important strategic priority in their business at present is the maximization of revenues. In such a case, the client would remotely set the weightings to favor the selection of agents that would generate the greatest probability of a sale in a given contact. Subsequently the client may take the view that maximization of customer satisfaction is more important for their business. In this event, they can remotely set the weightings of the present invention such that callers are routed to agents most likely to maximize their level of satisfaction. Alternatively the change in weighting may be set to take effect at a subsequent time, for instance, commencing the following morning.
With graded agent data and a chosen optimal interaction, the present invention can be used to match a graded agent with a caller to increase the chance of an optimal interaction or a weighted mix of optimal interactions. The matching can occur between a caller and all agents logged in at the contact center, all agents currently available for a contact at the contact center, or any mix or subgroup thereof. The matching rules can be set such that agents with a minimum grade are the only ones suitable for matching with a caller. The matching rules can also be set such that an available agent with the highest grade for an optimal interaction or mix thereof is matched with the caller. To provide for the case in which an agent may have become unavailable in the time elapsed from the time a contact was initiated to the time the switch was directed to connect the caller to a specific agent, instead of directing the switch to connect the caller to a single agent, the matching rules can define an ordering of agent suitability for a particular caller and match the caller to the highest-graded agent in that ordering.
In an outbound contact center environment employing telephone devices, the matching that takes place can be reflected in the form of a lead list. The lead list can be for one particular agent or a group of agents, who can then call through the lead list to conduct their solicitation efforts. Where a dialer is used to call through a lead list, upon obtaining a live caller, the present invention can determine the available agents, match the live caller with one or more of the available agents, and connect the caller with one of those agents. Preferably, the present invention will match the live caller with a group of agents, define an ordering of agent suitability for the caller, match the live caller to the highest-graded agent currently available in that ordering, and connect the caller to the highest-graded agent. In this manner, use of a dialer becomes more efficient in the present invention, as the dialer should be able to continuously call through a lead list and obtain live callers as quickly as possible, which the present invention can then match and connect to the highest graded agent currently available.
In a more advanced embodiment, the system and methods of the present invention can be used to increase the chances of an optimal interaction by combining agent grades, agent demographic data, agent psychographic data, and other business-relevant data about the agent (individually or collectively referred to in this application as “agent data”), along with demographic, psychographic, and other business-relevant data about callers (individually or collectively referred to in this application as “caller data”). Agent and caller demographic data can comprise any of: gender, race, age, education, accent, income, nationality, ethnicity, area code, zip code, marital status, job status, and credit score. Agent and caller psychographic data can comprise any of introversion, sociability, desire for financial success, and film and television preferences.
Caller demographic and psychographic data can be retrieved from available databases by using the caller's contact information as an index. Available databases include, but are not limited to, those that are publicly available, those that are commercially available, or those created by a contact center or a contact center client. In an outbound contact center environment, the caller's contact information is known beforehand. In an inbound contact center environment, the caller's contact information can be retrieved by examining the caller's CallerID information or by requesting this information of the caller at the outset of the contact, such as through entry of a caller account number or other caller-identifying information. Other business-relevant data such as historic purchase behavior, current level of satisfaction as a customer, or volunteered level of interest in a product may also be retrieved from available databases.
Agent demographic and psychographic data can be established by surveying agents at the time of their employment or periodically throughout their employment. Such a survey process can be manual, such as through a paper or oral survey, or automated with the survey being conducted over a computer system, such as by deployment over a web-browser.
Once agent data and caller data have been collected, this data is passed to a computational system. The computational system then, in turn, uses this data in a pattern matching algorithm to create a computer model that matches each agent with each caller and estimates the probable outcome of each matching along a number of optimal interactions, such as the generation of a sale, the duration of contact, or the likelihood of generating an interaction that a customer finds satisfying. As an example, the present invention may indicate that, by matching a caller to a female agent, the matching will increase the probability of a sale by 4 percent, reduce the duration of a contact by 6 percent, and increase the satisfaction of the caller with the interaction by 12 percent. Generally, the present invention will generate more complex predictions spanning multiple demographic and psychographic aspects of agents and callers. The present invention might conclude, for instance, that a caller if connected to a single, white, male, 25 year old, agent that has high speed internet in his home and enjoys comedic films will result in a 12 percent increase in the probability of a sale, a 7 percent increase in the duration of the contact, and a 2 percent decrease in the caller's satisfaction with the contact. In parallel, the present invention may also determine that the caller if connected to a married, black, female, 55 year old agent will result in a 4 percent increase in the probability of a sale, a 6 percent decrease in the duration of a contact, and a 9 percent increase in the caller's satisfaction with the contact.
Though this advanced embodiment preferably uses agent grades, demographic, psychographic, and other business-relevant data, along with caller demographic, psychographic, and other business-relevant data, other embodiments of the present invention can eliminate one or more types or categories of caller or agent data to minimize the computing power or storage necessary to employ the present invention.
The pattern matching algorithm to be used in the present invention can comprise any correlation algorithm, such as a neural network algorithm or a genetic algorithm. To generally train or otherwise refine the algorithm, actual contact results (as measured for an optimal interaction) are compared against the actual agent and caller data for each contact that occurred. The pattern matching algorithm can then learn, or improve its learning of, how matching certain callers with certain agents will change the chance of an optimal interaction. In this manner, the pattern matching algorithm can then be used to predict the chance of an optimal interaction in the context of matching a caller with a particular set of caller data, with an agent of a particular set of agent data. Preferably, the pattern matching algorithm is periodically refined as more actual data on caller interactions becomes available to it, such as periodically training the algorithm every night after a contact center has finished operating for the day.
The pattern matching algorithm can be used to create a computer model reflecting the predicted chances of an optimal interaction for each agent and caller matching. Preferably, the computer model will comprise the predicted chances for a set of optimal interactions for every agent that is logged in to the contact center as matched against every available caller. Alternatively, the computer model can comprise subsets of these, or sets containing the aforementioned sets. For example, instead of matching every agent logged into the contact center with every available caller, the present invention can match every available agent with every available caller, or even a narrower subset of agents or callers. Likewise, the present invention can match every agent that ever worked on a particular campaign—whether available or logged in or not—with every available caller. Similarly, the computer model can comprise predicted chances for one optimal interaction or a number of optimal interactions.
The computer model can also be further refined to comprise a suitability score for each matching of an agent and a caller. The suitability score can be determined by taking the chances of a set of optimal interactions as predicted by the pattern matching algorithm, and weighting those chances to place more or less emphasis on a particular optimal interaction as related to another optimal interaction. The suitability score can then be used in the present invention to determine which agents should be connected to which callers.
For example, it may be that the computer model indicates that a caller match with agent one will result in a high chance of a sale with but a high chance of a long contact, while a caller match with agent two will result in a low chance of a sale but a high chance of a short contact. If an optimal interaction for a sale is more heavily weighted than an optimal interaction of low cost, then the suitability scores for agent one as compared to agent two will indicate that the caller should be connected to agent one. If, on the other hand, an optimal interaction for a sale is less weighted than an optimal interaction for a low cost contact, the suitability score for agent two as compared to agent one will indicate that the caller should be connected to agent two.
In an outbound contact center environment employing telephone devices, the matching that takes place by using agent and caller data in a pattern matching algorithm can be reflected in the form of a lead list. The lead list can be for one particular agent or a group of agents, who can then call through the lead list to conduct their solicitation efforts. Where a dialer is used to call through a lead list, upon obtaining a live caller, the system can determine the available agents, use caller and agent data with a pattern matching algorithm to match the live caller with one or more of the available agents, and connect the caller with one of those agents. Preferably, the system will match the live caller with a group of agents, define an ordering of agent suitability for the caller within that group, match the live caller to the highest-graded agent that is available in that ordering, and connect the caller to that highest-graded agent. In matching the live caller with a group of agents, the present invention can be used to determine a cluster of agents with similar agent data, such as similar demographic data or psychographic data, and further determine within that cluster an ordering of agent suitability. In this manner, the present invention can increase the efficiency of the dialer and avoid having to stop the dialer until an agent with specific agent data becomes available.
One aspect of the present invention is that it may develop affinity databases by storing data, the databases comprising data on an individual caller's contact outcomes (referred to in this application as “caller affinity data”), independent of their demographic, psychographic, or other business-relevant information. Such caller affinity data can include the caller's purchase history, contact time history, or customer satisfaction history. These histories can be general, such as the caller's general history for purchasing products, average contact time with an agent, or average customer satisfaction ratings. These histories can also be agent specific, such as the caller's purchase, contact time, or customer satisfaction history when connected to a particular agent.
The caller affinity data can then be used to refine the matches that can be made using the present invention. As an example, a certain caller may be identified by their caller affinity data as one highly likely to make a purchase, because in the last several instances in which the caller was contacted, the caller elected to purchase a product or service. This purchase history can then be used to appropriately refine matches such that the caller is preferentially matched with an agent deemed suitable for the caller to increase the chances of an optimal interaction. Using this embodiment, a contact center could preferentially match the caller with an agent who does not have a high grade for generating revenue or who would not otherwise be an acceptable match, because the chance of a sale is still likely given the caller's past purchase behavior. This strategy for matching would leave available other agents who could have otherwise been occupied with a contact interaction with the caller. Alternatively, the contact center may instead seek to guarantee that the caller is matched with an agent with a high grade for generating revenue, irrespective of what the matches generated using caller data and agent demographic or psychographic data may indicate.
A more advanced affinity database developed by the present invention is one in which a caller's contact outcomes are tracked across the various agent data. Such an analysis might indicate, for example, that the caller is most likely to be satisfied with a contact if they are matched to an agent of similar gender, race, age, or even with a specific agent. Using this embodiment, the present invention could preferentially match a caller with a specific agent or type of agent that is known from the caller affinity data to have generated an acceptable optimal interaction.
Affinity databases can provide particularly actionable information about a caller when commercial, client, or publicly-available database sources may lack information about the caller. This database development can also be used to further enhance contact routing and agent-to-caller matching even in the event that there is available data on the caller, as it may drive the conclusion that the individual caller's contact outcomes may vary from what the commercial databases might imply. As an example, if the present invention was to rely solely on commercial databases in order to match a caller and agent, it may predict that the caller would be best matched to an agent of the same gender to achieve optimal customer satisfaction. However, by including affinity database information developed from prior interactions with the caller, the present invention might more accurately predict that the caller would be best matched to an agent of the opposite gender to achieve optimal customer satisfaction.
Another aspect of the present invention is that it may develop affinity databases that comprise revenue generation, cost, and customer satisfaction performance data of individual agents as matched with specific caller demographic, psychographic, or other business-relevant characteristics (referred to in this application as “agent affinity data”). An affinity database such as this may, for example, result in the present invention predicting that a specific agent performs best in interactions with callers of a similar age, and less well in interactions with a caller of a significantly older or younger age. Similarly this type of affinity database may result in the present invention predicting that an agent with certain agent affinity data handles callers originating from a particular geography much better than the agent handles callers from other geographies. As another example, the present invention may predict that a particular agent performs well in circumstances in which that agent is connected to an irate caller.
Though affinity databases are preferably used in combination with agent data and caller data that pass through a pattern matching algorithm to generate matches, information stored in affinity databases can also be used independently of agent data and caller data such that the affinity information is the only information used to generate matches.
The present invention can also comprise connection rules to define when or how to connect agents that are matched to a caller. The connection rules can be as simple as instructing the present invention to connect a caller according to the best match among all available agents with that particular caller. In this manner, caller hold time can be minimized. The connection rules can also be more involved, such as instructing the present invention to connect a caller only when a minimum threshold match exists between an available agent and a caller, or to allow a defined period of time to search for a minimum matching or the best available matching at that time. The connection rules can also purposefully keep certain agents available while a search takes place for a potentially better match.
It is typical for a queue of callers on hold to form at a contact center. When a queue has formed it is desirable to minimize the hold time of each caller in order to increase the chances of obtaining customer satisfaction and decreasing the cost of the contact, which cost can be, not only a function of the contact duration, but also a function of the chance that a caller will drop the contact if the wait is too long. After matching the caller with agents, the connection rules can thus be configured to comprise an algorithm for queue jumping, whereby a favorable match of a caller on hold and an available agent will result in that caller “jumping” the queue by increasing the caller's connection priority so that the caller is passed to that agent first ahead of others in the chronologically listed queue. The queue jumping algorithm can be further configured to automatically implement a trade-off between the cost associated with keeping callers on hold against the benefit in terms of the chance of an optimal interaction taking place if the caller is jumped up the queue, and jumping callers up the queue to increase the overall chance of an optimal interaction taking place over time at an acceptable or minimum level of cost or chance of customer satisfaction. Callers can also be jumped up a queue if an affinity database indicates that an optimal interaction is particularly likely if the caller is matched with a specific agent that is already available.
Ideally, the connection rules should be configured to avoid situations where matches between a caller in a queue and all logged-in agents are likely to result in a small chance of a sale, but the cost of the contact is long and the chances of customer satisfaction slim because the caller is kept on hold for a long time while the present invention waits for the most optimal agent to become available. By identifying such a caller and jumping the caller up the queue, the contact center can avoid the situation where the overall chances of an optimal interaction (e.g., a sale) are small, but the monetary and satisfaction cost of the contact is high.
One embodiment of the present invention comprises the injection of a degree of randomness into the contact routing process such that the specific agent identified by the present invention as optimal or the ordering of agents produced is randomly overridden, and the caller is connected to an agent not necessarily identified as optimal for the caller. Such an injection of partial randomness may be useful in the case where the present invention would like certain agents to be connected to callers that they would not normally be likely to be connected to under the normal functioning in order for the agents to potentially learn from such interactions and improve their abilities in handling such callers. The degree of randomness can be set to 0.1 percent, in which case essentially no randomness is injected into the contact routing process, to 99.9 percent in which case the present invention is essentially not functioning at all, to 50 percent in which case half of all callers are routed randomly to agents, or any other value between 0.1 percent and 99.9 percent. Optionally, this degree of randomness can be set by the contact center, an agent, or by the contact center's clients. Such a setting may be done remotely over a data transfer and retrieval system like the internet, and can be configured to take immediate effect or may be set to take effect at a subsequent time.
The present invention may store data specific to each routed caller for subsequent analysis. For example, the present invention can store data generated in any computer model, including the chances for an optimal interaction as predicted by the computer model, such as the chances of sales, contact durations, customer satisfaction, or other parameters. Such a store may include actual data for the caller connection that was made, including the agent and caller data, whether a sale occurred, the duration of the contact, and the level of customer satisfaction. Such a store may also include actual data for the agent to caller matches that were made, as well as how, which, and when matches were considered pursuant to connection rules and prior to connection to a particular agent.
This stored information may be analyzed in several ways. One possible way is to analyze the cumulative effect of the present invention on an optimal interaction over different intervals of time and report that effect to the contact center or the contact center client. For example, the present invention can report back as to the cumulative impact of the present invention in enhancing revenues, reducing costs, increasing customer satisfaction, over five minute, one hour, one month, one year, and other time intervals, such as since the beginning of a particular client solicitation campaign. Similarly, the present invention can analyze the cumulative effect of the present invention in enhancing revenue, reducing costs, and increasing satisfaction over a specified number of callers, for instance 10 callers, 100 callers, 1000 callers, the total number of callers processed, or other total numbers of callers.
One method for reporting the cumulative effect of employing the present invention comprises matching a caller with each agent logged in at the contact center, averaging the chances of an optimal interaction over each agent, determining which agent was connected to the caller, dividing the chance of an optimal interaction for the connected agent by the average chance, and generating a report of the result. In this manner, the effect of the present invention can be reported as the predicted increase associated with routing a caller to a specific agent as opposed to randomly routing the caller to any logged-in agent. This reporting method can also be modified to compare the optimal interaction chance of a specific agent routing against the chances of an optimal interaction as averaged over all available agents or over all logged-in agents since the commencement of a particular campaign. In fact, by dividing the average chance of an optimal interaction over all unavailable agents at a specific period of time by the average chance of an optimal interaction over all available agents at that same time, a report can be generated that indicates the overall boost created by the present invention to the chance of an optimal interaction at that time. Alternatively, the present invention can be monitored, and reports generated, by cycling the present invention on and off for a single agent or group of agents over a period of time, and measuring the actual contact results. In this manner, it can be determined what the actual, measured benefits are created by employing the present invention.
Embodiments of the present invention can include a visual computer interface and printable reports provided to the contact center or their clients to allow them to, in a realtime or a past performance basis, monitor the statistics of agent to caller matches, measure the optimal interactions that are being achieved versus the interactions predicted by the computer model, as well as any other measurements of real time or past performance using the methods described herein. A visual computer interface for changing the weighting on an optimal interaction can also be provided to the contact center or the contact center client, such that they can, as discussed herein, monitor or change the weightings in real time or at a predetermined time in the future.
Embodiments of the present invention can be used to create an intelligent routing system, the system comprising means for grading two or more agents on an optimal interaction, and means for matching a caller with at least one of the two or more graded agents to increase the chance of the optimal interaction. Means for grading an agent can comprise, as discussed herein, the use of manual or automatic surveys, the use of a computational device and database to record an agent's revenue generation performance per call, the agent's contact time per caller, or any other performance criteria that can be electronically recorded. Means for matching the caller with at least one of the two or more graded agents can comprise any computational device. The intelligent routing system can further comprise means for connecting the caller with one of the two or more agents, such as a switching system. The system can further comprise a dialer, a callerID device, and other commercially-available telephony or telecommunications equipment, as well as memory containing a database, such as a commercially available database, publicly-available database, client database, or contact center database.
In a more advanced embodiment, the present invention can be used to create an intelligent routing system, the system comprising means for determining at least one agent data for each of two or more agents, determining at least one caller data for a caller, means for using the agent data and the caller data in a pattern matching algorithm, and means for matching the caller to one of the two or more agents to increase the chance of an optimal interaction. Means for determining agent data can comprise the use of manual or automatic surveys, which can be recorded in hardcopy or electronic form, such as through the use of computer memory containing databases for storing such information. Means for determining caller data can comprise the use of computer memory containing a database with caller data, such as a commercially-available database, client database, or contact center database. Means for determining caller data can also comprise the use of a CallerID device as well as telephony or other telecommunications equipment for receiving a caller's account number or other caller-identifying information. Means for using the agent data and the caller data in a pattern matching algorithm can comprise a computational device. Means for matching the caller to one of the two or more agents can also comprise the use of a computational device. This embodiment of the intelligent routing system can also comprise means for connecting the caller with one of the two or more agents, such as a switching or routing system. The system can also comprise means for contacting a caller, such as a dialer or telephony equipment that can be used by an agent to contact the caller.
Embodiments of the present invention can further include a method of identifying an agent pool to increase the chances of an optimal interaction for the contact center generally, or for specific contact center clients. By identifying an agent pool with this method, the contact center can configure an agent pool that increases the contact center's overall chances for obtaining a sale, operating at low cost, obtaining an acceptable level of customer satisfaction, or some other optimal interaction. The agent pool can also be identified and configured to increase these overall chances of a chosen optimal interaction for a specific contact center client or group of clients.
The method of identifying an ideal agent pool can comprise determining an optimal interaction, determining a set of caller data for a sample of callers, determining a set of agent data, generating a computer model for the optimal interaction with the set of caller data and the set of agent data, and identifying agent data that increases the overall chances of the optimal interaction. The step of determining a set of caller data can comprise determining the set from actual caller data, predicted or theoretical caller data, or a mixture thereof. The step of determining a set of agent data can comprise determining the set from actual agent data, predicted or theoretical agent data, or a mixture thereof. By passing this data through a pattern matching algorithm, a computer model can be generated reflecting the predicted chances of an optimal interaction occurring when callers with the set of caller data are matched with agents with the agent data. The computer model can then be parsed to determine what agent data is most effective for an optimal interaction.
For example, it may be that, for a certain sample of callers, Latino females between the ages of 21 and 25 with an interest in television shows are better at generating revenue with those callers than agents of other agent data. By using the present invention, a contact center can identify that agents with such agent data are ideal for maximizing the chances of an optimal interaction for certain callers. The contact center can then configure its operations to have an ideal agent pool, either for a particular client, a group of clients, or for the contact center in general. The ideal agent pool can be configured by grouping agents that the contact center has already acquired, by determining what types of agents the contact center should hire, or a mixture thereof. This embodiment can thus be particularly useful in identifying what agents to hire, transfer, or terminate.
Many of the techniques described here may be implemented in hardware or software, or a combination of the two. Preferably, the techniques are implemented in computer programs executing on programmable computers that each includes a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor (including volatile and nonvolatile memory and/or storage elements), and suitable input and output devices. Program code is applied to data entered using an input device to perform the functions described and to generate output information. The output information is applied to one or more output devices. Moreover, each program is preferably implemented in a high level procedural or object-oriented programming language to communicate with a computer system. However, the programs can be implemented in assembly or machine language, if desired, In any case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language.
Each such computer program is preferably stored on a storage medium or device (e.g., CD-ROM, hard disk or magnetic diskette) that is readable by a general or special purpose programmable computer for configuring and operating the computer when the storage medium or device is read by the computer to perform the procedures described. The system also may be implemented as a computer-readable storage medium, configured with a computer program, where the storage medium so configured causes a computer to operate in a specific and predefined manner.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a diagram reflecting the general setup of a contact center operation.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart reflecting one embodiment of the invention involving a method for the operating an inbound contact center.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart reflecting one embodiment of the invention involving a method for the operating an inbound contact center with weighted optimal interactions.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart reflecting one embodiment of the invention reflecting a method of operating an outbound contact center.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart reflecting a more advanced embodiment of the present invention using agent data and caller data in an inbound contact center.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart reflecting a more advanced embodiment of the present invention using agent data and caller data in an outbound contact center.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart reflecting an embodiment of the present invention for configuring an ideal agent pool.
DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 is a diagram reflecting the general setup of a contact center operation 100 . The network cloud 101 reflects a specific or regional telecommunications network designed to receive incoming callers or to support contacts made to outgoing callers. The network cloud 101 can comprise a single contact address, such as a telephone number or email address, or multiple contract addresses. The central router 102 reflects contact routing hardware and software designed to help route contacts among call centers 103 . The central router 102 may not be needed where there is only a single contact center deployed. Where multiple contact centers are deployed, more routers may be needed to route contacts to another router for a specific contact center 103 . At the contact center level 103 , a contact center router 104 will route a contact to an agent 105 with an individual telephone or other telecommunications equipment 105 . Typically, there are multiple agents 105 at a contact center 103 , though there are certainly embodiments where only one agent 105 is at the contact center 103 , in which case a contact center router 104 may prove to be unnecessary.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of one embodiment of the invention involving a method for the operating an inbound contact center, the method comprising grading two agents on an optimal interaction and matching a caller with at least one of the two graded agents to increase the chance of the optimal interaction. In the initial step 201 , agents are graded on an optimal interaction, such as increasing revenue, decreasing costs, or increasing customer satisfaction. Grading is accomplished by collating the performance of a contact center agent over a period of time on their ability to achieve an optimal interaction, such as a period of at least 10 days. However, the period of time can be as short as the immediately prior contact to a period extending as long as the agent's first interaction with a caller. Moreover, the method of grading agent can be as simple as ranking each agent on a scale of 1 to N for a particular optimal interaction, with N being the total number of agents. The method of grading can also comprise determining the average contact handle time of each agent to grade the agents on cost, determining the total sales revenue or number of sales generated by each agent to grade the agents on sales, or conducting customer surveys at the end of contacts with callers to grade the agents on customer satisfaction. The foregoing, however, are only examples of how agents may be graded; many other methods exist.
In step 202 a caller uses contact information, such as a telephone number or email address, to initiate a contact with the contact center. In step 203 , the caller is matched with an agent or group of agents such that the chance of an optimal interaction is increased, as opposed to just using the round robin matching methods of the prior art. The matching can occur between a caller and all agents logged in at the contact center, all agents currently available for a contact at the contact center, or any mix or subgroup thereof. The matching rules can be set such that agents with a minimum grade are the only ones suitable for matching with a caller. The matching rules can also be set such that an available agent with the highest grade for an optimal interaction or mix thereof is matched with the caller. To provide for the case in which an agent may have become unavailable in the time elapsed from the time a contact was initiated to the time the switch was directed to connect the caller to a specific agent, instead of directing the switch to connect the caller to a single agent, the matching rules can define an ordering of agent suitability for a particular caller and match the caller to the highest-graded agent in that ordering. In step 204 , the caller is then connected to a graded agent to increase the chance of an optimal interaction, and the contact interaction between the agent and the caller then occurs.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of one embodiment of the invention involving a method for the operating an inbound contact center, the method comprising grading a group of at least agents on two optimal interactions, weighting one optimal interaction against another optional interaction, and connecting the caller with one of the two graded agents to increase the chance of a more heavily-weighted optimal interaction. In step 301 , agents are graded on two or more optimal interactions, such as increasing revenue, decreasing costs, or increasing customer satisfaction. In step 302 , the optimal interactions are weighted against each other. The weighting can be as simple as assigning to each optimal interaction a percentage weight factor, with all such factors totaling to 100 percent. Any comparative weighting method can be used, however. The weightings placed on the various optimal interactions can take place in real-time in a manner controlled by the contact center, its clients, or in line with pre-determined rules. Optionally, the contact center or its clients may control the weighting over the internet or some another data transfer system. As an example, a client of the contact center could access the weightings currently in use over an internet browser and modify these remotely. Such a modification may be set to take immediate effect and, immediately after such a modification, subsequent caller routings occur in line with the newly establishing weightings. An instance of such an example may arise in a case where a contact center client decides that the most important strategic priority in their business at present is the maximization of revenues. In such a case, the client would remotely set the weightings to favor the selection of agents that would generate the greatest probability of a sale in a given contact. Subsequently the client may take the view that maximization of customer satisfaction is more important for their business. In this event, they can remotely set the weightings of the present invention such that callers are routed to agents most likely to maximize their level of satisfaction. Alternatively the change in weighting may be set to take effect at a subsequent time, for instance, commencing the following morning.
In step 303 , a caller uses contact information, such as a telephone number or email address, to initiate a contact with the contact center. In step 304 , the optimal interaction grades for the graded agents are used with the weights placed on those optimal interactions to derive weighted grades for those graded agents. In step 305 , the caller is matched with an available agent with the highest weighted grade for the optimal interaction. In step 306 , the caller is then connected to the agent with the highest weighted grade to increase the chance of the more-heavily weighted optimal interaction. This embodiment can also be modified such that the caller is connected to the agent with the highest-weighted mix of grades to increase the chance of the more-heavily weighted mix of optimal interactions. It will be appreciated that the steps outlined in the flowchart of FIG. 3 need not occur in that exact order.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of one embodiment of the invention reflecting a method of operating an outbound contact center, the method comprising, identifying a group of at least two callers, grading two agents on an optimal interaction; and matching at least one of the two graded agents with at least one caller from the group. In step 401 , a group of at least two callers is identified. This is typically accomplished through the use of lead list that is provided to the contact center by the contact center's client. In step 402 , a group of at least two agents are graded on an optimal interaction. In step 403 , the agent grades are used to match one or more of the callers from the group with one or more of the graded agents to increase the chance of an optimal interaction. This matching can be embodied in the form of separate lead lists generated for one or more agents, which the agents can then use to conduct their solicitation efforts.
In an outbound contact center employing telephone devices, it is more common to have a dialer call through a lead list. Upon a dialer obtaining a live caller, the present invention can determine the available agents and their respective grades for the optimal interaction, match the live caller with one or more of the available agents to increase the chance of an optimal interaction, and connect the caller with one of those agents who can then conduct their solicitation effort. Preferably, the present invention will match the live caller with a group of agents, define an ordering of agent suitability for the caller, match the live caller to the highest-graded agent currently available in that ordering, and connect the caller to the highest-graded agent. In this manner, use of a dialer becomes more efficient in the present invention, as the dialer should be able to continuously call through a lead list and obtain live callers as quickly as possible, which the present invention can then match and connect to the highest graded agent currently available. It will be appreciated that the steps outlined in the flowchart of FIG. 4 need not occur in that exact order.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart reflecting a more advanced embodiment of the present invention that can be used to increase the chances of an optimal interaction by combining agent grades, agent demographic data, agent psychographic data, and other business-relevant data about the agent (individually or collectively referred to in this application as “agent data”), along with demographic, psychographic, and other business-relevant data about callers (individually or collectively referred to in this application as “caller data”). Agent and caller demographic data can comprise any of: gender, race, age, education, accent, income, nationality, ethnicity, area code, zip code, marital status, job status, and credit score. Agent and caller psychographic data can comprise any of introversion, sociability, desire for financial success, and film and television preferences. It will be appreciated that the steps outlined in the flowchart of FIG. 5 need not occur in that exact order.
Accordingly, an embodiment of a method for operating an inbound contact center comprises determining at least one caller data for a caller, determining at least one agent data for each of two agents, using the agent data and the caller data in a pattern matching algorithm, and matching the caller to one of the two agents to increase the chance of an optimal interaction. In step 501 , at least one caller data (such as a caller demographic or psychographic data) is determined. One way of accomplishing this is by retrieving this from available databases by using the caller's contact information as an index. Available databases include, but are not limited to, those that are publicly available, those that are commercially available, or those created by a contact center or a contact center client. In an outbound contact center environment, the caller's contact information is known beforehand. In an inbound contact center environment, the caller's contact information can be retrieved by examining the caller's CallerID information or by requesting this information of the caller at the outset of the contact, such as through entry of a caller account number or other caller-identifying information. Other business-relevant data such as historic purchase behavior, current level of satisfaction as a customer, or volunteered level of interest in a product may also be retrieved from available databases.
In step 502 , at least one agent data for each of two agents is determined. One method of determining agent demographic or psychographic data can involve surveying agents at the time of their employment or periodically throughout their employment. Such a survey process can be manual, such as through a paper or oral survey, or automated with the survey being conducted over a computer system, such as by deployment over a web-browser.
Though this advanced embodiment preferably uses agent grades, demographic, psychographic, and other business-relevant data, along with caller demographic, psychographic, and other business-relevant data, other embodiments of the present invention can eliminate one or more types or categories of caller or agent data to minimize the computing power or storage necessary to employ the present invention.
Once agent data and caller data have been collected, this data is passed to a computational system. The computational system then, in turn, uses this data in a pattern matching algorithm in step 503 to create a computer model that matches each agent with the caller and estimates the probable outcome of each matching along a number of optimal interactions, such as the generation of a sale, the duration of contact, or the likelihood of generating an interaction that a customer finds satisfying.
The pattern matching algorithm to be used in the present invention can comprise any correlation algorithm, such as a neural network algorithm or a genetic algorithm. To generally train or otherwise refine the algorithm, actual contact results (as measured for an optimal interaction) are compared against the actual agent and caller data for each contact that occurred. The pattern matching algorithm can then learn, or improve its learning of, how matching certain callers with certain agents will change the chance of an optimal interaction. In this manner, the pattern matching algorithm can then be used to predict the chance of an optimal interaction in the context of matching a caller with a particular set of caller data, with an agent of a particular set of agent data. Preferably, the pattern matching algorithm is periodically refined as more actual data on caller interactions becomes available to it, such as periodically training the algorithm every night after a contact center has finished operating for the day.
In step 504 , the pattern matching algorithm is used to create a computer model reflecting the predicted chances of an optimal interaction for each agent and caller matching. Preferably, the computer model will comprise the predicted chances for a set of optimal interactions for every agent that is logged in to the contact center as matched against every available caller. Alternatively, the computer model can comprise subsets of these, or sets containing the aforementioned sets. For example, instead of matching every agent logged into the contact center with every available caller, the present invention can match every available agent with every available caller, or even a narrower subset of agents or callers. Likewise, the present invention can match every agent that ever worked on a particular campaign—whether available or logged in or not—with every available caller. Similarly, the computer model can comprise predicted chances for one optimal interaction or a number of optimal interactions.
The computer model can also be further refined to comprise a suitability score for each matching of an agent and a caller. The suitability score can be determined by taking the chances of a set of optimal interactions as predicted by the pattern matching algorithm, and weighting those chances to place more or less emphasis on a particular optimal interaction as related to another optimal interaction. The suitability score can then be used in the present invention to determine which agents should be connected to which callers.
In step 505 , connection rules are applied to define when or how to connect agents that are matched to a caller, and the caller is accordingly connected with an agent. The connection rules can be as simple as instructing the present invention to connect a caller according to the best match among all available agents with that particular caller. In this manner, caller hold time can be minimized. The connection rules can also be more involved, such as instructing the present invention to connect a caller only when a minimum threshold match exists between an available agent and a caller, to allow a defined period of time to search for a minimum matching or the best available matching at that time, or to define an order of agent suitability for a particular caller and connect the caller with a currently available agent in that order with the best chances of achieving an optimal interaction. The connection rules can also purposefully keep certain agents available while a search takes place for a potentially better match.
It is typical for a queue of callers on hold to form at a contact center. When a queue has formed it is desirable to minimize the hold time of each caller in order to increase the chances of obtaining customer satisfaction and decreasing the cost of the contact, which cost can be, not only a function of the contact duration, but also a function of the chance that a caller will drop the contact if the wait is too long. After matching the caller with agents, the connection rules can thus be configured to comprise an algorithm for queue jumping, whereby a favorable match of a caller on hold and an available agent will result in that caller “jumping” the queue by increasing the caller's connection priority so that the caller is passed to that agent first ahead of others in the chronologically listed queue. The queue jumping algorithm can be further configured to automatically implement a trade-off between the cost associated with keeping callers on hold against the benefit in terms of the chance of an optimal interaction taking place if the caller is jumped up the queue, and jumping callers up the queue to increase the overall chance of an optimal interaction taking place over time at an acceptable or minimum level of cost or chance of customer satisfaction. Callers can also be jumped up a queue if an affinity database indicates that an optimal interaction is particularly likely if the caller is matched with a specific agent that is already available.
Ideally, the connection rules should be configured to avoid situations where matches between a caller in a queue and all logged-in agents are likely to result in a small chance of a sale, but the cost of the contact is long and the chances of customer satisfaction slim because the caller is kept on hold for a long time while the present invention waits for the most optimal agent to become available. By identifying such a caller and jumping the caller up the queue, the contact center can avoid the situation where the overall chances of an optimal interaction (e.g., a sale) are small, but the monetary and satisfaction cost of the contact is high.
An embodiment of the present invention can also comprise the injection of a degree of randomness into the contact routing process such that the specific agent identified by the present invention as optimal or the ordering of agents produced is randomly overridden, and the caller is connected to an agent not necessarily identified as optimal for the caller. Such an injection of partial randomness may be useful in the case where the present invention would like certain agents to be connected to callers that they would not normally be likely to be connected to under the normal functioning in order for the agents to potentially learn from such interactions and improve their abilities in handling such callers. The degree of randomness can be set to 0.1 percent, in which case essentially no randomness is injected into the contact routing process, to 99.9 percent in which case the present invention is essentially not functioning at all, to 50 percent in which case half of all callers are routed randomly to agents, or any other value between 0.1 percent and 99.9 percent. Optionally, this degree of randomness can be set by the contact center, an agent, or by the contact center's clients. Such a setting may be done remotely over a data transfer and retrieval system like the internet, and can be configured to take immediate effect or may be set to take effect at a subsequent time.
Embodiments of the present invention can also comprise affinity databases, the databases comprising data on an individual caller's contact outcomes (referred to in this application as “caller affinity data”), independent of their demographic, psychographic, or other business-relevant information. Such caller affinity data can include the caller's purchase history, contact time history, or customer satisfaction history. These histories can be general, such as the caller's general history for purchasing products, average contact time with an agent, or average customer satisfaction ratings. These histories can also be agent specific, such as the caller's purchase, contact time, or customer satisfaction history when connected to a particular agent.
The caller affinity data can then be used to refine the matches that can be made using the present invention. As an example, a certain caller may be identified by their caller affinity data as one highly likely to make a purchase, because in the last several instances in which the caller was contacted, the caller elected to purchase a product or service. This purchase history can then be used to appropriately refine matches such that the caller is preferentially matched with an agent deemed suitable for the caller to increase the chances of an optimal interaction. Using this embodiment, a contact center could preferentially match the caller with an agent who does not have a high grade for generating revenue or who would not otherwise be an acceptable match, because the chance of a sale is still likely given the caller's past purchase behavior. This strategy for matching would leave available other agents who could have otherwise been occupied with a contact interaction with the caller. Alternatively, the contact center may instead seek to guarantee that the caller is matched with an agent with a high grade for generating revenue, irrespective of what the matches generated using caller data and agent demographic or psychographic data may indicate.
A more advanced affinity database developed by the present invention is one in which a caller's contact outcomes are tracked across the various agent data. Such an analysis might indicate, for example, that the caller is most likely to be satisfied with a contact if they are matched to an agent of similar gender, race, age, or even with a specific agent. Using this embodiment, the present invention could preferentially match a caller with a specific agent or type of agent that is known from the caller affinity data to have generated an acceptable optimal interaction.
Affinity databases can provide particularly actionable information about a caller when commercial, client, or publicly-available database sources may lack information about the caller. This database development can also be used to further enhance contact routing and agent-to-caller matching even in the event that there is available data on the caller, as it may drive the conclusion that the individual caller's contact outcomes may vary from what the commercial databases might imply. As an example, if the present invention was to rely solely on commercial databases in order to match a caller and agent, it may predict that the caller would be best matched to an agent of the same gender to achieve optimal customer satisfaction. However, by including affinity database information developed from prior interactions with the caller, the present invention might more accurately predict that the caller would be best matched to an agent of the opposite gender to achieve optimal customer satisfaction.
Another aspect of the present invention is that it may develop affinity databases that comprise revenue generation, cost, and customer satisfaction performance data of individual agents as matched with specific caller demographic, psychographic, or other business-relevant characteristics (referred to in this application as “agent affinity data”). An affinity database such as this may, for example, result in the present invention predicting that a specific agent performs best in interactions with callers of a similar age, and less well in interactions with a caller of a significantly older or younger age. Similarly this type of affinity database may result in the present invention predicting that an agent with certain agent affinity data handles callers originating from a particular geography much better than the agent handles callers from other geographies. As another example, the present invention may predict that a particular agent performs well in circumstances in which that agent is connected to an irate caller.
Though affinity databases are preferably used in combination with agent data and caller data that pass through a pattern matching algorithm to generate matches, information stored in affinity databases can also be used independently of agent data and caller data such that the affinity information is the only information used to generate matches.
FIG. 6 reflects a method for operating an outbound contact center, the method comprising, determining at least one agent data for each of two agents, identifying a group of at least two callers, determining at least one caller data for at least one caller from the group, using the agent data and the caller data in a pattern matching algorithm; and matching at least one caller from the group to one of the two agents to increase the chance of an optimal interaction. In step 601 , at least one agent data is determined for a group of at least two agents. In step 602 , a group at least two callers is identified. This is typically accomplished through the use of lead list that is provided to the contact center by the contact center's client. In step 603 , at least one caller data for at least one caller from the group is identified.
Once agent data and caller data have been collected, this data is passed to a computational system. The computational system then, in turn, uses this data in a pattern matching algorithm in step 604 to create a computer model that matches each agent with a caller from the group and estimates the probable outcome of each matching along a number of optimal interactions, such as the generation of a sale, the duration of contact, or the likelihood of generating an interaction that a customer finds satisfying. In step 605 , the pattern matching algorithm is used to create a computer model reflecting the predicted chances of an optimal interaction for each agent and caller matching.
In step 606 , callers are matched with an agent or a group of agents. This matching can be embodied in the form of separate lead lists generated for one or more agents, which the agents can then use to conduct their solicitation efforts. In step 607 , the caller is connected to the agent and the agent conducts their solicitation effort. It will be appreciated that the steps outlined in the flowchart of FIG. 6 need not occur in that exact order.
Where a dialer is used to call through a lead list, upon obtaining a live caller, the system can determine the available agents, use caller and agent data with a pattern matching algorithm to match the live caller with one or more of the available agents, and connect the caller with one of those agents. Preferably, the system will match the live caller with a group of agents, define an ordering of agent suitability for the caller within that group, match the live caller to the highest-graded agent that is available in that ordering, and connect the caller to that highest-graded agent. In matching the live caller with a group of agents, the present invention can be used to determine a cluster of agents with similar agent data, such as similar demographic data or psychographic data, and further determine within that cluster an ordering of agent suitability. In this manner, the present invention can increase the efficiency of the dialer and avoid having to stop the dialer until an agent with specific agent data becomes available.
The present invention may store data specific to each routed caller for subsequent analysis. For example, the present invention can store data generated in any computer model, including the chances for an optimal interaction as predicted by the computer model, such as the chances of sales, contact durations, customer satisfaction, or other parameters. Such a store may include actual data for the caller connection that was made, including the agent and caller data, whether a sale occurred, the duration of the contact, and the level of customer satisfaction. Such a store may also include actual data for the agent to caller matches that were made, as well as how, which, and when matches were considered pursuant to connection rules and prior to connection to a particular agent.
This stored information may be analyzed in several ways. One possible way is to analyze the cumulative effect of the present invention on an optimal interaction over different intervals of time and report that effect to the contact center or the contact center client. For example, the present invention can report back as to the cumulative impact of the present invention in enhancing revenues, reducing costs, increasing customer satisfaction, over five minute, one hour, one month, one year, and other time intervals, such as since the beginning of a particular client solicitation campaign. Similarly, the present invention can analyze the cumulative effect of the present invention in enhancing revenue, reducing costs, and increasing satisfaction over a specified number of callers, for instance 10 callers, 100 callers, 1000 callers, the total number of callers processed, or other total numbers of callers.
One method for reporting the cumulative effect of employing the present invention comprises matching a caller with each agent logged in at the contact center, averaging the chances of an optimal interaction over each agent, determining which agent was connected to the caller, dividing the chance of an optimal interaction for the connected agent by the average chance, and generating a report of the result. In this manner, the effect of the present invention can be reported as the predicted increase associated with routing a caller to a specific agent as opposed to randomly routing the caller to any logged-in agent. This reporting method can also be modified to compare the optimal interaction chance of a specific agent routing against the chances of an optimal interaction as averaged over all available agents or over all logged-in agents since the commencement of a particular campaign. In fact, by dividing the average chance of an optimal interaction over all unavailable agents at a specific period of time by the average chance of an optimal interaction over all available agents at that same time, a report can be generated that indicates the overall boost created by the present invention to the chance of an optimal interaction at that time. Alternatively, the present invention can be monitored, and reports generated, by cycling the present invention on and off for a single agent or group of agents over a period of time, and measuring the actual contact results. In this manner, it can be determined what the actual, measured benefits are created by employing the present invention.
Embodiments of the present invention can include a visual computer interface and printable reports provided to the contact center or their clients to allow them to, in a realtime or a past performance basis, monitor the statistics of agent to caller matches, measure the optimal interactions that are being achieved versus the interactions predicted by the computer model, as well as any other measurements of real time or past performance using the methods described herein. A visual computer interface for changing the weighting on an optimal interaction can also be provided to the contact center or the contact center client, such that they can, as discussed herein, monitor or change the weightings in real time or at a predetermined time in the future.
An embodiment of the present invention can also comprise an intelligent routing system, the system comprising means for grading two or more agents on an optimal interaction, and means for matching a caller with at least one of the two or more graded agents to increase the chance of the optimal interaction. Means for grading an agent can comprise, as discussed herein, the use of manual or automatic surveys, the use of a computational device and database to record an agent's revenue generation performance per call, the agent's contact time per caller, or any other performance criteria that can be electronically recorded. Means for matching the caller with at least one of the two or more graded agents can comprise any computational device. The intelligent routing system can further comprise means for connecting the caller with one of the two or more agents, such as a switching system. The system can further comprise a dialer, a callerID device, and other commercially-available telephony or telecommunications equipment, as well as memory containing a database, such as a commercially available database, publicly-available database, client database, or contact center database.
In a more advanced embodiment, the present invention can be used to create an intelligent routing system, the system comprising means for determining at least one agent data for each of two or more agents, determining at least one caller data for a caller, means for using the agent data and the caller data in a pattern matching algorithm, and means for matching the caller to one of the two or more agents to increase the chance of an optimal interaction. Means for determining agent data can comprise the use of manual or automatic surveys, which can be recorded in hardcopy or electronic form, such as through the use of computer memory containing databases for storing such information. Means for determining caller data can comprise the use of computer memory containing a database with caller data, such as a commercially-available database, client database, or contact center database. Means for determining caller data can also comprise the use of a CallerID device as well as telephony or other telecommunications equipment for receiving a caller's account number or other caller-identifying information. Means for using the agent data and the caller data in a pattern matching algorithm can comprise a computational device. Means for matching the caller to one of the two or more agents can also comprise the use of a computational device. This embodiment of the intelligent routing system can also comprise means for connecting the caller with one of the two or more agents, such as a switching or routing system. The system can also comprise means for contacting a caller, such as a dialer or telephony equipment that can be used by an agent to contact the caller.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart reflecting an embodiment of the present invention that comprises a method of identifying an agent pool to increase the chances of an optimal interaction for the contact center generally, or for specific contact center clients. By identifying an agent pool with this method, the contact center can configure an agent pool that increases the contact center's overall chances for obtaining a sale, operating at low cost, obtaining an acceptable level of customer satisfaction, or some other optimal interaction. The agent pool can also be identified and configured to increase these overall chances of a chosen optimal interaction for a specific contact center client or group of clients.
The method of identifying an ideal agent pool can comprise determining an optimal interaction, determining a set of caller data for a sample of callers, determining a set of agent data, generating a computer model for the optimal interaction with the set of caller data and the set of agent data, and identifying agent data that increases the overall chances of the optimal interaction. In step 701 , a set of caller data is determined from actual caller data, predicted or theoretical caller data, or a mixture thereof. In step 702 , a set of agent data is determined from actual agent data, predicted or theoretical agent data, or a mixture thereof. In step 703 , the set of caller data and the set of agent data are used in a pattern matching algorithm. In step 704 , a computer model is then derived that reflects the predicted chances of an optimal interaction occurring when callers with the set of caller data are matched with agents with the set of agent data.
In step 705 , the computer model is then parsed to determine what agent data is most effective for an optimal interaction. In this manner, a contact center can identify that agents with such agent data are ideal for maximizing the chances of an optimal interaction for certain callers. In step 706 , the contact center's operations are accordingly configured to have an ideal agent pool for a particular client, a group of clients, or for the contact center in general. This configuration can be accomplished by specifically grouping agents that the contact center has already acquired, by determining what types of agents the contact center should hire, or a mixture thereof. This embodiment can thus be particularly useful in identifying what agents to hire, transfer, or terminate. It will be appreciated that the steps outlined in the flowchart of FIG. 7 need not occur in that exact order.
Many of the techniques described here may be implemented in hardware or software, or a combination of the two. Preferably, the techniques are implemented in computer programs executing on programmable computers that each includes a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor (including volatile and nonvolatile memory and/or storage elements), and suitable input and output devices. Program code is applied to data entered using an input device to perform the functions described and to generate output information. The output information is applied to one or more output devices. Moreover, each program is preferably implemented in a high level procedural or object-oriented programming language to communicate with a computer system. However, the programs can be implemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. In any case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language.
Each such computer program is preferably stored on a storage medium or device (e.g., CD-ROM, hard disk or magnetic diskette) that is readable by a general or special purpose programmable computer for configuring and operating the computer when the storage medium or device is read by the computer to perform the procedures described. The system also may be implemented as a computer-readable storage medium, configured with a computer program, where the storage medium so configured causes a computer to operate in a specific and predefined manner.
The above-described embodiments of the present invention are merely meant to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects. The appended claims encompass such changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention. | Techniques for handling contacts and agents in a contact center system are disclosed. In one particular embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a method for handling contacts and agents in a contact center system including identifying a plurality of contacts ordered for assignment to a plurality of agents, and assigning a first out-of-order contact from the plurality of contacts to a first agent of the plurality of agents who becomes available for assignment to any contact of the plurality of contacts based on information about the first agent. | Provide a concise summary of the essential information conveyed in the context. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 12/021,251, filed Jan. 28, 2008, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety as if fully set forth herein.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the field of routing phone calls and other telecommunications in a contact center system.",
"The typical contact center consists of a number of human agents, with each assigned to a telecommunication device, such as a phone or a computer for conducting email or Internet chat sessions, that is connected to a central switch.",
"Using these devices, the agents are generally used to provide sales, customer service, or technical support to the customers or prospective customers of a contact center or a contact center's clients.",
"Typically, a contact center or client will advertise to its customers, prospective customers, or other third parties a number of different contact numbers or addresses for a particular service, such as for billing questions or for technical support.",
"The customers, prospective customers, or third parties seeking a particular service will then use this contact information, and the incoming caller will be routed at one or more routing points to a human agent at a contact center who can provide the appropriate service.",
"Contact centers that respond to such incoming contacts are referred to as “inbound contact centers.”",
"Similarly, a contact center can make outgoing contacts to current or prospective customers or third parties.",
"Such contacts may be made to encourage sales of a product, provide technical support or billing information, survey consumer preferences, or to assist in collecting debts.",
"Contact centers that make such outgoing contacts are referred to as “outbound contact centers.”",
"In both inbound contact centers and outbound contact centers, the individuals (such as customers, prospective customers, survey participants, or other third parties) that interact with contact center agents over the telephone are referred to in this application as a “caller.”",
"The individuals acquired by the contact center to interact with callers are referred to in this application as an “agent.”",
"An essential piece of hardware for any contact center operation is the switch system that connects callers to agents.",
"In an inbound contact center, these switches route incoming callers to a particular agent in a contact center, or, if multiple contact centers are deployed, to a particular contact center for further routing.",
"In an outbound contact center employing telephone devices, dialers are typically employed in addition to a switch system.",
"The dialer is used to automatically dial a phone number from a list of phone numbers, and to determine whether a live caller has been reached from the phone number called (as opposed to obtaining no answer, a busy signal, an error message, or an answering machine).",
"When the dialer obtains a live caller, the switch system routes the caller to a particular agent in the contact center.",
"Routing technologies have accordingly been developed to optimize the caller experience.",
"For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,236,584 describes a telephone system for equalizing caller waiting times across multiple telephone switches, regardless of the general variations in performance that may exist among those switches.",
"Contact routing in an inbound contact center, however, is a process that is generally structured to connect callers to agents that have been idle for the longest period of time.",
"In the case of an inbound caller where only one agent may be available, that agent is generally selected for the caller without further analysis.",
"In another example, if there are eight agents at a contact center, and seven are occupied with contacts, the switch will generally route the inbound caller to the one agent that is available.",
"If all eight agents are occupied with contacts, the switch will typically put the contact on hold and then route it to the next agent that becomes available.",
"More generally, the contact center will set up a queue of incoming callers and preferentially route the longest-waiting callers to the agents that become available over time.",
"Such a pattern of routing contacts to either the first available agent or the longest-waiting agent is referred to as “round-robin”",
"contact routing.",
"In round robin contact routing, eventual matches and connections between a caller and an agent are essentially random.",
"In an outbound contact center environment using telephone devices, the contact center or its agents are typically provided a “lead list”",
"comprising a list of telephone numbers to be contacted to attempt some solicitation effort, such as attempting to sell a product or conduct a survey.",
"The lead list can be a comprehensive list for all contact centers, one contact center, all agents, or a sub-list for a particular agent or group of agents (in any such case, the list is generally referred to in this application as a “lead list”).",
"After receiving a lead list, a dialer or the agents themselves will typically call through the lead list in numerical order, obtain a live caller, and conduct the solicitation effort.",
"In using this standard process, the eventual matches and connections between a caller and an agent are essentially random.",
"Some attempts have been made to improve upon these standard yet essentially random processes for connecting a caller to an agent.",
"For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,209,549 describes a telephone routing system wherein an incoming caller's language preference is collected and used to route their telephone call to a particular contact center or agent that can provide service in that language.",
"In this manner, language preference is the primary driver of matching and connecting a caller to an agent, although once such a preference has been made, callers are almost always routed in “round-robin”",
"fashion.",
"Other attempts have been made to alter the general round-robin system.",
"For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,231,032 describes a telephone system wherein the agents themselves each create personal routing rules for incoming callers, allowing each agent to customize the types of callers that are routed to them.",
"These rules can include a list of particular callers the agent wants routed to them, such as callers that the agent has interacted with before.",
"This system, however, is skewed towards the agent's preference and does not take into account the relative capabilities of the agents nor the individual characteristics of the callers and the agents themselves.",
"There is thus a need for improving on the available mechanisms for matching and connecting a caller to an agent.",
"The present invention accomplishes this.",
"SUMMARY Systems and methods of the present invention can be used to optimize the routing of callers to agents in a contact center.",
"In general, contact routings are optimized by routing contacts such that callers are matched with and connected to particular agents in a manner that increases the chances of an interaction that is deemed beneficial to a contact center (referred to in this application as an “optimal interaction”).",
"Examples of typical optimal interactions include increasing sales, decreasing the duration of the contact (and hence the cost to the contact center), providing for an acceptable level of customer satisfaction, or any other interaction that a contact center may seek to control or optimize.",
"The systems and methods of the present invention can improve the chance of an optimal interaction by, in general, grading agents on an optimal interaction, and matching a graded agent with a caller to increase the chance of the optimal interaction.",
"Once matched, the caller can be connected to the graded agent.",
"In a more advanced embodiment, the systems and methods of the present invention can also be used to increase the chance of an optimal interaction by matching a caller to an agent using a computer model derived from data describing demographic, psychographic, past purchase behavior, or other business-relevant information about a caller, together with data describing demographic, psychographic, or historical performance about an agent.",
"In a relatively basic embodiment of the present invention, the performance of a contact center's agents is collated over a period time to grade each agent on their ability to achieve an optimal interaction.",
"The period of time can be as short as the immediately prior contact to a period extending as long as the agent's first interaction with a caller.",
"The grade determined for the each agent is then used as a factor in matching and connecting a caller to a particular agent.",
"For example, certain agents may be shown to have a greater ability to generate sales than that of other agents engaged in the same contact center.",
"The present invention, by preferentially routing callers to those agents shown to have greater ability to generate sales, can increase the chances of achieving greater sales during the contacts.",
"Similarly, other agents may be shown to generate shorter interactions with callers than that of other agents at the same contact center.",
"By preferentially routing contacts to the agents shown to generate shorter interactions with callers, a contact center or contact center client can decrease its overall need for agents and communication bandwidth, and therefore, reduce its costs.",
"In general, by grading the agents at a contact center on their ability to achieve an optimal interaction, the contact center can match and connect callers to agents to increase the chance of achieving any optimal interaction that may be chosen.",
"The method of grading agent can be as simple as ranking each agent on a scale of 1 to N for a particular optimal interaction, with N being the total number of agents.",
"The method of grading can also comprise determining the average contact handle time of each agent to grade the agents on cost, determining the total sales revenue or number of sales generated by each agent to grade the agents on sales, or conducting customer surveys at the end of contacts with callers to grade the agents on customer satisfaction.",
"The foregoing, however, are only examples of how agents may be graded;",
"many other methods exist.",
"If agents are graded on more than one optimal interaction, the present invention can be configured to weight optimal interactions to ascertain which callers should be routed to which agent.",
"For example, if there were two currently available agents for an individual caller, and the present invention estimated that routing the caller to one agent would result in a higher likelihood of a sale occurring, while routing the caller to the other agent would result in a shorter duration contact, depending on which optimal interaction the present invention was weighting more heavily, the caller may be routed to either the first or the second agent.",
"In another example, if the present invention estimated that routing the caller to one agent would result in a high likelihood of a sale, a short contact duration, but a low level of customer satisfaction, while routing the caller to another agent would result in a high likelihood of a sale, a longer contact duration, but a higher level of customer satisfaction, depending on which mix of optimal interactions the present invention was weighting more heavily, the caller may be routed to the first or second agent.",
"The weightings placed on the various optimal interactions can take place in realtime in a manner controlled by the contact center, its clients, or in line with predetermined rules.",
"Optionally, the contact center or its clients may control the weighting over the internet or some another data transfer system.",
"As an example, a client of the contact center could access the weightings currently in use over an internet browser and modify these remotely.",
"Such a modification may be set to take immediate effect and, immediately after such a modification, subsequent caller routings occur in line with the newly establishing weightings.",
"An instance of such an example may arise in a case where a contact center client decides that the most important strategic priority in their business at present is the maximization of revenues.",
"In such a case, the client would remotely set the weightings to favor the selection of agents that would generate the greatest probability of a sale in a given contact.",
"Subsequently the client may take the view that maximization of customer satisfaction is more important for their business.",
"In this event, they can remotely set the weightings of the present invention such that callers are routed to agents most likely to maximize their level of satisfaction.",
"Alternatively the change in weighting may be set to take effect at a subsequent time, for instance, commencing the following morning.",
"With graded agent data and a chosen optimal interaction, the present invention can be used to match a graded agent with a caller to increase the chance of an optimal interaction or a weighted mix of optimal interactions.",
"The matching can occur between a caller and all agents logged in at the contact center, all agents currently available for a contact at the contact center, or any mix or subgroup thereof.",
"The matching rules can be set such that agents with a minimum grade are the only ones suitable for matching with a caller.",
"The matching rules can also be set such that an available agent with the highest grade for an optimal interaction or mix thereof is matched with the caller.",
"To provide for the case in which an agent may have become unavailable in the time elapsed from the time a contact was initiated to the time the switch was directed to connect the caller to a specific agent, instead of directing the switch to connect the caller to a single agent, the matching rules can define an ordering of agent suitability for a particular caller and match the caller to the highest-graded agent in that ordering.",
"In an outbound contact center environment employing telephone devices, the matching that takes place can be reflected in the form of a lead list.",
"The lead list can be for one particular agent or a group of agents, who can then call through the lead list to conduct their solicitation efforts.",
"Where a dialer is used to call through a lead list, upon obtaining a live caller, the present invention can determine the available agents, match the live caller with one or more of the available agents, and connect the caller with one of those agents.",
"Preferably, the present invention will match the live caller with a group of agents, define an ordering of agent suitability for the caller, match the live caller to the highest-graded agent currently available in that ordering, and connect the caller to the highest-graded agent.",
"In this manner, use of a dialer becomes more efficient in the present invention, as the dialer should be able to continuously call through a lead list and obtain live callers as quickly as possible, which the present invention can then match and connect to the highest graded agent currently available.",
"In a more advanced embodiment, the system and methods of the present invention can be used to increase the chances of an optimal interaction by combining agent grades, agent demographic data, agent psychographic data, and other business-relevant data about the agent (individually or collectively referred to in this application as “agent data”), along with demographic, psychographic, and other business-relevant data about callers (individually or collectively referred to in this application as “caller data”).",
"Agent and caller demographic data can comprise any of: gender, race, age, education, accent, income, nationality, ethnicity, area code, zip code, marital status, job status, and credit score.",
"Agent and caller psychographic data can comprise any of introversion, sociability, desire for financial success, and film and television preferences.",
"Caller demographic and psychographic data can be retrieved from available databases by using the caller's contact information as an index.",
"Available databases include, but are not limited to, those that are publicly available, those that are commercially available, or those created by a contact center or a contact center client.",
"In an outbound contact center environment, the caller's contact information is known beforehand.",
"In an inbound contact center environment, the caller's contact information can be retrieved by examining the caller's CallerID information or by requesting this information of the caller at the outset of the contact, such as through entry of a caller account number or other caller-identifying information.",
"Other business-relevant data such as historic purchase behavior, current level of satisfaction as a customer, or volunteered level of interest in a product may also be retrieved from available databases.",
"Agent demographic and psychographic data can be established by surveying agents at the time of their employment or periodically throughout their employment.",
"Such a survey process can be manual, such as through a paper or oral survey, or automated with the survey being conducted over a computer system, such as by deployment over a web-browser.",
"Once agent data and caller data have been collected, this data is passed to a computational system.",
"The computational system then, in turn, uses this data in a pattern matching algorithm to create a computer model that matches each agent with each caller and estimates the probable outcome of each matching along a number of optimal interactions, such as the generation of a sale, the duration of contact, or the likelihood of generating an interaction that a customer finds satisfying.",
"As an example, the present invention may indicate that, by matching a caller to a female agent, the matching will increase the probability of a sale by 4 percent, reduce the duration of a contact by 6 percent, and increase the satisfaction of the caller with the interaction by 12 percent.",
"Generally, the present invention will generate more complex predictions spanning multiple demographic and psychographic aspects of agents and callers.",
"The present invention might conclude, for instance, that a caller if connected to a single, white, male, 25 year old, agent that has high speed internet in his home and enjoys comedic films will result in a 12 percent increase in the probability of a sale, a 7 percent increase in the duration of the contact, and a 2 percent decrease in the caller's satisfaction with the contact.",
"In parallel, the present invention may also determine that the caller if connected to a married, black, female, 55 year old agent will result in a 4 percent increase in the probability of a sale, a 6 percent decrease in the duration of a contact, and a 9 percent increase in the caller's satisfaction with the contact.",
"Though this advanced embodiment preferably uses agent grades, demographic, psychographic, and other business-relevant data, along with caller demographic, psychographic, and other business-relevant data, other embodiments of the present invention can eliminate one or more types or categories of caller or agent data to minimize the computing power or storage necessary to employ the present invention.",
"The pattern matching algorithm to be used in the present invention can comprise any correlation algorithm, such as a neural network algorithm or a genetic algorithm.",
"To generally train or otherwise refine the algorithm, actual contact results (as measured for an optimal interaction) are compared against the actual agent and caller data for each contact that occurred.",
"The pattern matching algorithm can then learn, or improve its learning of, how matching certain callers with certain agents will change the chance of an optimal interaction.",
"In this manner, the pattern matching algorithm can then be used to predict the chance of an optimal interaction in the context of matching a caller with a particular set of caller data, with an agent of a particular set of agent data.",
"Preferably, the pattern matching algorithm is periodically refined as more actual data on caller interactions becomes available to it, such as periodically training the algorithm every night after a contact center has finished operating for the day.",
"The pattern matching algorithm can be used to create a computer model reflecting the predicted chances of an optimal interaction for each agent and caller matching.",
"Preferably, the computer model will comprise the predicted chances for a set of optimal interactions for every agent that is logged in to the contact center as matched against every available caller.",
"Alternatively, the computer model can comprise subsets of these, or sets containing the aforementioned sets.",
"For example, instead of matching every agent logged into the contact center with every available caller, the present invention can match every available agent with every available caller, or even a narrower subset of agents or callers.",
"Likewise, the present invention can match every agent that ever worked on a particular campaign—whether available or logged in or not—with every available caller.",
"Similarly, the computer model can comprise predicted chances for one optimal interaction or a number of optimal interactions.",
"The computer model can also be further refined to comprise a suitability score for each matching of an agent and a caller.",
"The suitability score can be determined by taking the chances of a set of optimal interactions as predicted by the pattern matching algorithm, and weighting those chances to place more or less emphasis on a particular optimal interaction as related to another optimal interaction.",
"The suitability score can then be used in the present invention to determine which agents should be connected to which callers.",
"For example, it may be that the computer model indicates that a caller match with agent one will result in a high chance of a sale with but a high chance of a long contact, while a caller match with agent two will result in a low chance of a sale but a high chance of a short contact.",
"If an optimal interaction for a sale is more heavily weighted than an optimal interaction of low cost, then the suitability scores for agent one as compared to agent two will indicate that the caller should be connected to agent one.",
"If, on the other hand, an optimal interaction for a sale is less weighted than an optimal interaction for a low cost contact, the suitability score for agent two as compared to agent one will indicate that the caller should be connected to agent two.",
"In an outbound contact center environment employing telephone devices, the matching that takes place by using agent and caller data in a pattern matching algorithm can be reflected in the form of a lead list.",
"The lead list can be for one particular agent or a group of agents, who can then call through the lead list to conduct their solicitation efforts.",
"Where a dialer is used to call through a lead list, upon obtaining a live caller, the system can determine the available agents, use caller and agent data with a pattern matching algorithm to match the live caller with one or more of the available agents, and connect the caller with one of those agents.",
"Preferably, the system will match the live caller with a group of agents, define an ordering of agent suitability for the caller within that group, match the live caller to the highest-graded agent that is available in that ordering, and connect the caller to that highest-graded agent.",
"In matching the live caller with a group of agents, the present invention can be used to determine a cluster of agents with similar agent data, such as similar demographic data or psychographic data, and further determine within that cluster an ordering of agent suitability.",
"In this manner, the present invention can increase the efficiency of the dialer and avoid having to stop the dialer until an agent with specific agent data becomes available.",
"One aspect of the present invention is that it may develop affinity databases by storing data, the databases comprising data on an individual caller's contact outcomes (referred to in this application as “caller affinity data”), independent of their demographic, psychographic, or other business-relevant information.",
"Such caller affinity data can include the caller's purchase history, contact time history, or customer satisfaction history.",
"These histories can be general, such as the caller's general history for purchasing products, average contact time with an agent, or average customer satisfaction ratings.",
"These histories can also be agent specific, such as the caller's purchase, contact time, or customer satisfaction history when connected to a particular agent.",
"The caller affinity data can then be used to refine the matches that can be made using the present invention.",
"As an example, a certain caller may be identified by their caller affinity data as one highly likely to make a purchase, because in the last several instances in which the caller was contacted, the caller elected to purchase a product or service.",
"This purchase history can then be used to appropriately refine matches such that the caller is preferentially matched with an agent deemed suitable for the caller to increase the chances of an optimal interaction.",
"Using this embodiment, a contact center could preferentially match the caller with an agent who does not have a high grade for generating revenue or who would not otherwise be an acceptable match, because the chance of a sale is still likely given the caller's past purchase behavior.",
"This strategy for matching would leave available other agents who could have otherwise been occupied with a contact interaction with the caller.",
"Alternatively, the contact center may instead seek to guarantee that the caller is matched with an agent with a high grade for generating revenue, irrespective of what the matches generated using caller data and agent demographic or psychographic data may indicate.",
"A more advanced affinity database developed by the present invention is one in which a caller's contact outcomes are tracked across the various agent data.",
"Such an analysis might indicate, for example, that the caller is most likely to be satisfied with a contact if they are matched to an agent of similar gender, race, age, or even with a specific agent.",
"Using this embodiment, the present invention could preferentially match a caller with a specific agent or type of agent that is known from the caller affinity data to have generated an acceptable optimal interaction.",
"Affinity databases can provide particularly actionable information about a caller when commercial, client, or publicly-available database sources may lack information about the caller.",
"This database development can also be used to further enhance contact routing and agent-to-caller matching even in the event that there is available data on the caller, as it may drive the conclusion that the individual caller's contact outcomes may vary from what the commercial databases might imply.",
"As an example, if the present invention was to rely solely on commercial databases in order to match a caller and agent, it may predict that the caller would be best matched to an agent of the same gender to achieve optimal customer satisfaction.",
"However, by including affinity database information developed from prior interactions with the caller, the present invention might more accurately predict that the caller would be best matched to an agent of the opposite gender to achieve optimal customer satisfaction.",
"Another aspect of the present invention is that it may develop affinity databases that comprise revenue generation, cost, and customer satisfaction performance data of individual agents as matched with specific caller demographic, psychographic, or other business-relevant characteristics (referred to in this application as “agent affinity data”).",
"An affinity database such as this may, for example, result in the present invention predicting that a specific agent performs best in interactions with callers of a similar age, and less well in interactions with a caller of a significantly older or younger age.",
"Similarly this type of affinity database may result in the present invention predicting that an agent with certain agent affinity data handles callers originating from a particular geography much better than the agent handles callers from other geographies.",
"As another example, the present invention may predict that a particular agent performs well in circumstances in which that agent is connected to an irate caller.",
"Though affinity databases are preferably used in combination with agent data and caller data that pass through a pattern matching algorithm to generate matches, information stored in affinity databases can also be used independently of agent data and caller data such that the affinity information is the only information used to generate matches.",
"The present invention can also comprise connection rules to define when or how to connect agents that are matched to a caller.",
"The connection rules can be as simple as instructing the present invention to connect a caller according to the best match among all available agents with that particular caller.",
"In this manner, caller hold time can be minimized.",
"The connection rules can also be more involved, such as instructing the present invention to connect a caller only when a minimum threshold match exists between an available agent and a caller, or to allow a defined period of time to search for a minimum matching or the best available matching at that time.",
"The connection rules can also purposefully keep certain agents available while a search takes place for a potentially better match.",
"It is typical for a queue of callers on hold to form at a contact center.",
"When a queue has formed it is desirable to minimize the hold time of each caller in order to increase the chances of obtaining customer satisfaction and decreasing the cost of the contact, which cost can be, not only a function of the contact duration, but also a function of the chance that a caller will drop the contact if the wait is too long.",
"After matching the caller with agents, the connection rules can thus be configured to comprise an algorithm for queue jumping, whereby a favorable match of a caller on hold and an available agent will result in that caller “jumping”",
"the queue by increasing the caller's connection priority so that the caller is passed to that agent first ahead of others in the chronologically listed queue.",
"The queue jumping algorithm can be further configured to automatically implement a trade-off between the cost associated with keeping callers on hold against the benefit in terms of the chance of an optimal interaction taking place if the caller is jumped up the queue, and jumping callers up the queue to increase the overall chance of an optimal interaction taking place over time at an acceptable or minimum level of cost or chance of customer satisfaction.",
"Callers can also be jumped up a queue if an affinity database indicates that an optimal interaction is particularly likely if the caller is matched with a specific agent that is already available.",
"Ideally, the connection rules should be configured to avoid situations where matches between a caller in a queue and all logged-in agents are likely to result in a small chance of a sale, but the cost of the contact is long and the chances of customer satisfaction slim because the caller is kept on hold for a long time while the present invention waits for the most optimal agent to become available.",
"By identifying such a caller and jumping the caller up the queue, the contact center can avoid the situation where the overall chances of an optimal interaction (e.g., a sale) are small, but the monetary and satisfaction cost of the contact is high.",
"One embodiment of the present invention comprises the injection of a degree of randomness into the contact routing process such that the specific agent identified by the present invention as optimal or the ordering of agents produced is randomly overridden, and the caller is connected to an agent not necessarily identified as optimal for the caller.",
"Such an injection of partial randomness may be useful in the case where the present invention would like certain agents to be connected to callers that they would not normally be likely to be connected to under the normal functioning in order for the agents to potentially learn from such interactions and improve their abilities in handling such callers.",
"The degree of randomness can be set to 0.1 percent, in which case essentially no randomness is injected into the contact routing process, to 99.9 percent in which case the present invention is essentially not functioning at all, to 50 percent in which case half of all callers are routed randomly to agents, or any other value between 0.1 percent and 99.9 percent.",
"Optionally, this degree of randomness can be set by the contact center, an agent, or by the contact center's clients.",
"Such a setting may be done remotely over a data transfer and retrieval system like the internet, and can be configured to take immediate effect or may be set to take effect at a subsequent time.",
"The present invention may store data specific to each routed caller for subsequent analysis.",
"For example, the present invention can store data generated in any computer model, including the chances for an optimal interaction as predicted by the computer model, such as the chances of sales, contact durations, customer satisfaction, or other parameters.",
"Such a store may include actual data for the caller connection that was made, including the agent and caller data, whether a sale occurred, the duration of the contact, and the level of customer satisfaction.",
"Such a store may also include actual data for the agent to caller matches that were made, as well as how, which, and when matches were considered pursuant to connection rules and prior to connection to a particular agent.",
"This stored information may be analyzed in several ways.",
"One possible way is to analyze the cumulative effect of the present invention on an optimal interaction over different intervals of time and report that effect to the contact center or the contact center client.",
"For example, the present invention can report back as to the cumulative impact of the present invention in enhancing revenues, reducing costs, increasing customer satisfaction, over five minute, one hour, one month, one year, and other time intervals, such as since the beginning of a particular client solicitation campaign.",
"Similarly, the present invention can analyze the cumulative effect of the present invention in enhancing revenue, reducing costs, and increasing satisfaction over a specified number of callers, for instance 10 callers, 100 callers, 1000 callers, the total number of callers processed, or other total numbers of callers.",
"One method for reporting the cumulative effect of employing the present invention comprises matching a caller with each agent logged in at the contact center, averaging the chances of an optimal interaction over each agent, determining which agent was connected to the caller, dividing the chance of an optimal interaction for the connected agent by the average chance, and generating a report of the result.",
"In this manner, the effect of the present invention can be reported as the predicted increase associated with routing a caller to a specific agent as opposed to randomly routing the caller to any logged-in agent.",
"This reporting method can also be modified to compare the optimal interaction chance of a specific agent routing against the chances of an optimal interaction as averaged over all available agents or over all logged-in agents since the commencement of a particular campaign.",
"In fact, by dividing the average chance of an optimal interaction over all unavailable agents at a specific period of time by the average chance of an optimal interaction over all available agents at that same time, a report can be generated that indicates the overall boost created by the present invention to the chance of an optimal interaction at that time.",
"Alternatively, the present invention can be monitored, and reports generated, by cycling the present invention on and off for a single agent or group of agents over a period of time, and measuring the actual contact results.",
"In this manner, it can be determined what the actual, measured benefits are created by employing the present invention.",
"Embodiments of the present invention can include a visual computer interface and printable reports provided to the contact center or their clients to allow them to, in a realtime or a past performance basis, monitor the statistics of agent to caller matches, measure the optimal interactions that are being achieved versus the interactions predicted by the computer model, as well as any other measurements of real time or past performance using the methods described herein.",
"A visual computer interface for changing the weighting on an optimal interaction can also be provided to the contact center or the contact center client, such that they can, as discussed herein, monitor or change the weightings in real time or at a predetermined time in the future.",
"Embodiments of the present invention can be used to create an intelligent routing system, the system comprising means for grading two or more agents on an optimal interaction, and means for matching a caller with at least one of the two or more graded agents to increase the chance of the optimal interaction.",
"Means for grading an agent can comprise, as discussed herein, the use of manual or automatic surveys, the use of a computational device and database to record an agent's revenue generation performance per call, the agent's contact time per caller, or any other performance criteria that can be electronically recorded.",
"Means for matching the caller with at least one of the two or more graded agents can comprise any computational device.",
"The intelligent routing system can further comprise means for connecting the caller with one of the two or more agents, such as a switching system.",
"The system can further comprise a dialer, a callerID device, and other commercially-available telephony or telecommunications equipment, as well as memory containing a database, such as a commercially available database, publicly-available database, client database, or contact center database.",
"In a more advanced embodiment, the present invention can be used to create an intelligent routing system, the system comprising means for determining at least one agent data for each of two or more agents, determining at least one caller data for a caller, means for using the agent data and the caller data in a pattern matching algorithm, and means for matching the caller to one of the two or more agents to increase the chance of an optimal interaction.",
"Means for determining agent data can comprise the use of manual or automatic surveys, which can be recorded in hardcopy or electronic form, such as through the use of computer memory containing databases for storing such information.",
"Means for determining caller data can comprise the use of computer memory containing a database with caller data, such as a commercially-available database, client database, or contact center database.",
"Means for determining caller data can also comprise the use of a CallerID device as well as telephony or other telecommunications equipment for receiving a caller's account number or other caller-identifying information.",
"Means for using the agent data and the caller data in a pattern matching algorithm can comprise a computational device.",
"Means for matching the caller to one of the two or more agents can also comprise the use of a computational device.",
"This embodiment of the intelligent routing system can also comprise means for connecting the caller with one of the two or more agents, such as a switching or routing system.",
"The system can also comprise means for contacting a caller, such as a dialer or telephony equipment that can be used by an agent to contact the caller.",
"Embodiments of the present invention can further include a method of identifying an agent pool to increase the chances of an optimal interaction for the contact center generally, or for specific contact center clients.",
"By identifying an agent pool with this method, the contact center can configure an agent pool that increases the contact center's overall chances for obtaining a sale, operating at low cost, obtaining an acceptable level of customer satisfaction, or some other optimal interaction.",
"The agent pool can also be identified and configured to increase these overall chances of a chosen optimal interaction for a specific contact center client or group of clients.",
"The method of identifying an ideal agent pool can comprise determining an optimal interaction, determining a set of caller data for a sample of callers, determining a set of agent data, generating a computer model for the optimal interaction with the set of caller data and the set of agent data, and identifying agent data that increases the overall chances of the optimal interaction.",
"The step of determining a set of caller data can comprise determining the set from actual caller data, predicted or theoretical caller data, or a mixture thereof.",
"The step of determining a set of agent data can comprise determining the set from actual agent data, predicted or theoretical agent data, or a mixture thereof.",
"By passing this data through a pattern matching algorithm, a computer model can be generated reflecting the predicted chances of an optimal interaction occurring when callers with the set of caller data are matched with agents with the agent data.",
"The computer model can then be parsed to determine what agent data is most effective for an optimal interaction.",
"For example, it may be that, for a certain sample of callers, Latino females between the ages of 21 and 25 with an interest in television shows are better at generating revenue with those callers than agents of other agent data.",
"By using the present invention, a contact center can identify that agents with such agent data are ideal for maximizing the chances of an optimal interaction for certain callers.",
"The contact center can then configure its operations to have an ideal agent pool, either for a particular client, a group of clients, or for the contact center in general.",
"The ideal agent pool can be configured by grouping agents that the contact center has already acquired, by determining what types of agents the contact center should hire, or a mixture thereof.",
"This embodiment can thus be particularly useful in identifying what agents to hire, transfer, or terminate.",
"Many of the techniques described here may be implemented in hardware or software, or a combination of the two.",
"Preferably, the techniques are implemented in computer programs executing on programmable computers that each includes a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor (including volatile and nonvolatile memory and/or storage elements), and suitable input and output devices.",
"Program code is applied to data entered using an input device to perform the functions described and to generate output information.",
"The output information is applied to one or more output devices.",
"Moreover, each program is preferably implemented in a high level procedural or object-oriented programming language to communicate with a computer system.",
"However, the programs can be implemented in assembly or machine language, if desired, In any case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language.",
"Each such computer program is preferably stored on a storage medium or device (e.g., CD-ROM, hard disk or magnetic diskette) that is readable by a general or special purpose programmable computer for configuring and operating the computer when the storage medium or device is read by the computer to perform the procedures described.",
"The system also may be implemented as a computer-readable storage medium, configured with a computer program, where the storage medium so configured causes a computer to operate in a specific and predefined manner.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram reflecting the general setup of a contact center operation.",
"FIG. 2 is a flowchart reflecting one embodiment of the invention involving a method for the operating an inbound contact center.",
"FIG. 3 is a flowchart reflecting one embodiment of the invention involving a method for the operating an inbound contact center with weighted optimal interactions.",
"FIG. 4 is a flowchart reflecting one embodiment of the invention reflecting a method of operating an outbound contact center.",
"FIG. 5 is a flowchart reflecting a more advanced embodiment of the present invention using agent data and caller data in an inbound contact center.",
"FIG. 6 is a flowchart reflecting a more advanced embodiment of the present invention using agent data and caller data in an outbound contact center.",
"FIG. 7 is a flowchart reflecting an embodiment of the present invention for configuring an ideal agent pool.",
"DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 is a diagram reflecting the general setup of a contact center operation 100 .",
"The network cloud 101 reflects a specific or regional telecommunications network designed to receive incoming callers or to support contacts made to outgoing callers.",
"The network cloud 101 can comprise a single contact address, such as a telephone number or email address, or multiple contract addresses.",
"The central router 102 reflects contact routing hardware and software designed to help route contacts among call centers 103 .",
"The central router 102 may not be needed where there is only a single contact center deployed.",
"Where multiple contact centers are deployed, more routers may be needed to route contacts to another router for a specific contact center 103 .",
"At the contact center level 103 , a contact center router 104 will route a contact to an agent 105 with an individual telephone or other telecommunications equipment 105 .",
"Typically, there are multiple agents 105 at a contact center 103 , though there are certainly embodiments where only one agent 105 is at the contact center 103 , in which case a contact center router 104 may prove to be unnecessary.",
"FIG. 2 is a flowchart of one embodiment of the invention involving a method for the operating an inbound contact center, the method comprising grading two agents on an optimal interaction and matching a caller with at least one of the two graded agents to increase the chance of the optimal interaction.",
"In the initial step 201 , agents are graded on an optimal interaction, such as increasing revenue, decreasing costs, or increasing customer satisfaction.",
"Grading is accomplished by collating the performance of a contact center agent over a period of time on their ability to achieve an optimal interaction, such as a period of at least 10 days.",
"However, the period of time can be as short as the immediately prior contact to a period extending as long as the agent's first interaction with a caller.",
"Moreover, the method of grading agent can be as simple as ranking each agent on a scale of 1 to N for a particular optimal interaction, with N being the total number of agents.",
"The method of grading can also comprise determining the average contact handle time of each agent to grade the agents on cost, determining the total sales revenue or number of sales generated by each agent to grade the agents on sales, or conducting customer surveys at the end of contacts with callers to grade the agents on customer satisfaction.",
"The foregoing, however, are only examples of how agents may be graded;",
"many other methods exist.",
"In step 202 a caller uses contact information, such as a telephone number or email address, to initiate a contact with the contact center.",
"In step 203 , the caller is matched with an agent or group of agents such that the chance of an optimal interaction is increased, as opposed to just using the round robin matching methods of the prior art.",
"The matching can occur between a caller and all agents logged in at the contact center, all agents currently available for a contact at the contact center, or any mix or subgroup thereof.",
"The matching rules can be set such that agents with a minimum grade are the only ones suitable for matching with a caller.",
"The matching rules can also be set such that an available agent with the highest grade for an optimal interaction or mix thereof is matched with the caller.",
"To provide for the case in which an agent may have become unavailable in the time elapsed from the time a contact was initiated to the time the switch was directed to connect the caller to a specific agent, instead of directing the switch to connect the caller to a single agent, the matching rules can define an ordering of agent suitability for a particular caller and match the caller to the highest-graded agent in that ordering.",
"In step 204 , the caller is then connected to a graded agent to increase the chance of an optimal interaction, and the contact interaction between the agent and the caller then occurs.",
"FIG. 3 is a flowchart of one embodiment of the invention involving a method for the operating an inbound contact center, the method comprising grading a group of at least agents on two optimal interactions, weighting one optimal interaction against another optional interaction, and connecting the caller with one of the two graded agents to increase the chance of a more heavily-weighted optimal interaction.",
"In step 301 , agents are graded on two or more optimal interactions, such as increasing revenue, decreasing costs, or increasing customer satisfaction.",
"In step 302 , the optimal interactions are weighted against each other.",
"The weighting can be as simple as assigning to each optimal interaction a percentage weight factor, with all such factors totaling to 100 percent.",
"Any comparative weighting method can be used, however.",
"The weightings placed on the various optimal interactions can take place in real-time in a manner controlled by the contact center, its clients, or in line with pre-determined rules.",
"Optionally, the contact center or its clients may control the weighting over the internet or some another data transfer system.",
"As an example, a client of the contact center could access the weightings currently in use over an internet browser and modify these remotely.",
"Such a modification may be set to take immediate effect and, immediately after such a modification, subsequent caller routings occur in line with the newly establishing weightings.",
"An instance of such an example may arise in a case where a contact center client decides that the most important strategic priority in their business at present is the maximization of revenues.",
"In such a case, the client would remotely set the weightings to favor the selection of agents that would generate the greatest probability of a sale in a given contact.",
"Subsequently the client may take the view that maximization of customer satisfaction is more important for their business.",
"In this event, they can remotely set the weightings of the present invention such that callers are routed to agents most likely to maximize their level of satisfaction.",
"Alternatively the change in weighting may be set to take effect at a subsequent time, for instance, commencing the following morning.",
"In step 303 , a caller uses contact information, such as a telephone number or email address, to initiate a contact with the contact center.",
"In step 304 , the optimal interaction grades for the graded agents are used with the weights placed on those optimal interactions to derive weighted grades for those graded agents.",
"In step 305 , the caller is matched with an available agent with the highest weighted grade for the optimal interaction.",
"In step 306 , the caller is then connected to the agent with the highest weighted grade to increase the chance of the more-heavily weighted optimal interaction.",
"This embodiment can also be modified such that the caller is connected to the agent with the highest-weighted mix of grades to increase the chance of the more-heavily weighted mix of optimal interactions.",
"It will be appreciated that the steps outlined in the flowchart of FIG. 3 need not occur in that exact order.",
"FIG. 4 is a flowchart of one embodiment of the invention reflecting a method of operating an outbound contact center, the method comprising, identifying a group of at least two callers, grading two agents on an optimal interaction;",
"and matching at least one of the two graded agents with at least one caller from the group.",
"In step 401 , a group of at least two callers is identified.",
"This is typically accomplished through the use of lead list that is provided to the contact center by the contact center's client.",
"In step 402 , a group of at least two agents are graded on an optimal interaction.",
"In step 403 , the agent grades are used to match one or more of the callers from the group with one or more of the graded agents to increase the chance of an optimal interaction.",
"This matching can be embodied in the form of separate lead lists generated for one or more agents, which the agents can then use to conduct their solicitation efforts.",
"In an outbound contact center employing telephone devices, it is more common to have a dialer call through a lead list.",
"Upon a dialer obtaining a live caller, the present invention can determine the available agents and their respective grades for the optimal interaction, match the live caller with one or more of the available agents to increase the chance of an optimal interaction, and connect the caller with one of those agents who can then conduct their solicitation effort.",
"Preferably, the present invention will match the live caller with a group of agents, define an ordering of agent suitability for the caller, match the live caller to the highest-graded agent currently available in that ordering, and connect the caller to the highest-graded agent.",
"In this manner, use of a dialer becomes more efficient in the present invention, as the dialer should be able to continuously call through a lead list and obtain live callers as quickly as possible, which the present invention can then match and connect to the highest graded agent currently available.",
"It will be appreciated that the steps outlined in the flowchart of FIG. 4 need not occur in that exact order.",
"FIG. 5 is a flowchart reflecting a more advanced embodiment of the present invention that can be used to increase the chances of an optimal interaction by combining agent grades, agent demographic data, agent psychographic data, and other business-relevant data about the agent (individually or collectively referred to in this application as “agent data”), along with demographic, psychographic, and other business-relevant data about callers (individually or collectively referred to in this application as “caller data”).",
"Agent and caller demographic data can comprise any of: gender, race, age, education, accent, income, nationality, ethnicity, area code, zip code, marital status, job status, and credit score.",
"Agent and caller psychographic data can comprise any of introversion, sociability, desire for financial success, and film and television preferences.",
"It will be appreciated that the steps outlined in the flowchart of FIG. 5 need not occur in that exact order.",
"Accordingly, an embodiment of a method for operating an inbound contact center comprises determining at least one caller data for a caller, determining at least one agent data for each of two agents, using the agent data and the caller data in a pattern matching algorithm, and matching the caller to one of the two agents to increase the chance of an optimal interaction.",
"In step 501 , at least one caller data (such as a caller demographic or psychographic data) is determined.",
"One way of accomplishing this is by retrieving this from available databases by using the caller's contact information as an index.",
"Available databases include, but are not limited to, those that are publicly available, those that are commercially available, or those created by a contact center or a contact center client.",
"In an outbound contact center environment, the caller's contact information is known beforehand.",
"In an inbound contact center environment, the caller's contact information can be retrieved by examining the caller's CallerID information or by requesting this information of the caller at the outset of the contact, such as through entry of a caller account number or other caller-identifying information.",
"Other business-relevant data such as historic purchase behavior, current level of satisfaction as a customer, or volunteered level of interest in a product may also be retrieved from available databases.",
"In step 502 , at least one agent data for each of two agents is determined.",
"One method of determining agent demographic or psychographic data can involve surveying agents at the time of their employment or periodically throughout their employment.",
"Such a survey process can be manual, such as through a paper or oral survey, or automated with the survey being conducted over a computer system, such as by deployment over a web-browser.",
"Though this advanced embodiment preferably uses agent grades, demographic, psychographic, and other business-relevant data, along with caller demographic, psychographic, and other business-relevant data, other embodiments of the present invention can eliminate one or more types or categories of caller or agent data to minimize the computing power or storage necessary to employ the present invention.",
"Once agent data and caller data have been collected, this data is passed to a computational system.",
"The computational system then, in turn, uses this data in a pattern matching algorithm in step 503 to create a computer model that matches each agent with the caller and estimates the probable outcome of each matching along a number of optimal interactions, such as the generation of a sale, the duration of contact, or the likelihood of generating an interaction that a customer finds satisfying.",
"The pattern matching algorithm to be used in the present invention can comprise any correlation algorithm, such as a neural network algorithm or a genetic algorithm.",
"To generally train or otherwise refine the algorithm, actual contact results (as measured for an optimal interaction) are compared against the actual agent and caller data for each contact that occurred.",
"The pattern matching algorithm can then learn, or improve its learning of, how matching certain callers with certain agents will change the chance of an optimal interaction.",
"In this manner, the pattern matching algorithm can then be used to predict the chance of an optimal interaction in the context of matching a caller with a particular set of caller data, with an agent of a particular set of agent data.",
"Preferably, the pattern matching algorithm is periodically refined as more actual data on caller interactions becomes available to it, such as periodically training the algorithm every night after a contact center has finished operating for the day.",
"In step 504 , the pattern matching algorithm is used to create a computer model reflecting the predicted chances of an optimal interaction for each agent and caller matching.",
"Preferably, the computer model will comprise the predicted chances for a set of optimal interactions for every agent that is logged in to the contact center as matched against every available caller.",
"Alternatively, the computer model can comprise subsets of these, or sets containing the aforementioned sets.",
"For example, instead of matching every agent logged into the contact center with every available caller, the present invention can match every available agent with every available caller, or even a narrower subset of agents or callers.",
"Likewise, the present invention can match every agent that ever worked on a particular campaign—whether available or logged in or not—with every available caller.",
"Similarly, the computer model can comprise predicted chances for one optimal interaction or a number of optimal interactions.",
"The computer model can also be further refined to comprise a suitability score for each matching of an agent and a caller.",
"The suitability score can be determined by taking the chances of a set of optimal interactions as predicted by the pattern matching algorithm, and weighting those chances to place more or less emphasis on a particular optimal interaction as related to another optimal interaction.",
"The suitability score can then be used in the present invention to determine which agents should be connected to which callers.",
"In step 505 , connection rules are applied to define when or how to connect agents that are matched to a caller, and the caller is accordingly connected with an agent.",
"The connection rules can be as simple as instructing the present invention to connect a caller according to the best match among all available agents with that particular caller.",
"In this manner, caller hold time can be minimized.",
"The connection rules can also be more involved, such as instructing the present invention to connect a caller only when a minimum threshold match exists between an available agent and a caller, to allow a defined period of time to search for a minimum matching or the best available matching at that time, or to define an order of agent suitability for a particular caller and connect the caller with a currently available agent in that order with the best chances of achieving an optimal interaction.",
"The connection rules can also purposefully keep certain agents available while a search takes place for a potentially better match.",
"It is typical for a queue of callers on hold to form at a contact center.",
"When a queue has formed it is desirable to minimize the hold time of each caller in order to increase the chances of obtaining customer satisfaction and decreasing the cost of the contact, which cost can be, not only a function of the contact duration, but also a function of the chance that a caller will drop the contact if the wait is too long.",
"After matching the caller with agents, the connection rules can thus be configured to comprise an algorithm for queue jumping, whereby a favorable match of a caller on hold and an available agent will result in that caller “jumping”",
"the queue by increasing the caller's connection priority so that the caller is passed to that agent first ahead of others in the chronologically listed queue.",
"The queue jumping algorithm can be further configured to automatically implement a trade-off between the cost associated with keeping callers on hold against the benefit in terms of the chance of an optimal interaction taking place if the caller is jumped up the queue, and jumping callers up the queue to increase the overall chance of an optimal interaction taking place over time at an acceptable or minimum level of cost or chance of customer satisfaction.",
"Callers can also be jumped up a queue if an affinity database indicates that an optimal interaction is particularly likely if the caller is matched with a specific agent that is already available.",
"Ideally, the connection rules should be configured to avoid situations where matches between a caller in a queue and all logged-in agents are likely to result in a small chance of a sale, but the cost of the contact is long and the chances of customer satisfaction slim because the caller is kept on hold for a long time while the present invention waits for the most optimal agent to become available.",
"By identifying such a caller and jumping the caller up the queue, the contact center can avoid the situation where the overall chances of an optimal interaction (e.g., a sale) are small, but the monetary and satisfaction cost of the contact is high.",
"An embodiment of the present invention can also comprise the injection of a degree of randomness into the contact routing process such that the specific agent identified by the present invention as optimal or the ordering of agents produced is randomly overridden, and the caller is connected to an agent not necessarily identified as optimal for the caller.",
"Such an injection of partial randomness may be useful in the case where the present invention would like certain agents to be connected to callers that they would not normally be likely to be connected to under the normal functioning in order for the agents to potentially learn from such interactions and improve their abilities in handling such callers.",
"The degree of randomness can be set to 0.1 percent, in which case essentially no randomness is injected into the contact routing process, to 99.9 percent in which case the present invention is essentially not functioning at all, to 50 percent in which case half of all callers are routed randomly to agents, or any other value between 0.1 percent and 99.9 percent.",
"Optionally, this degree of randomness can be set by the contact center, an agent, or by the contact center's clients.",
"Such a setting may be done remotely over a data transfer and retrieval system like the internet, and can be configured to take immediate effect or may be set to take effect at a subsequent time.",
"Embodiments of the present invention can also comprise affinity databases, the databases comprising data on an individual caller's contact outcomes (referred to in this application as “caller affinity data”), independent of their demographic, psychographic, or other business-relevant information.",
"Such caller affinity data can include the caller's purchase history, contact time history, or customer satisfaction history.",
"These histories can be general, such as the caller's general history for purchasing products, average contact time with an agent, or average customer satisfaction ratings.",
"These histories can also be agent specific, such as the caller's purchase, contact time, or customer satisfaction history when connected to a particular agent.",
"The caller affinity data can then be used to refine the matches that can be made using the present invention.",
"As an example, a certain caller may be identified by their caller affinity data as one highly likely to make a purchase, because in the last several instances in which the caller was contacted, the caller elected to purchase a product or service.",
"This purchase history can then be used to appropriately refine matches such that the caller is preferentially matched with an agent deemed suitable for the caller to increase the chances of an optimal interaction.",
"Using this embodiment, a contact center could preferentially match the caller with an agent who does not have a high grade for generating revenue or who would not otherwise be an acceptable match, because the chance of a sale is still likely given the caller's past purchase behavior.",
"This strategy for matching would leave available other agents who could have otherwise been occupied with a contact interaction with the caller.",
"Alternatively, the contact center may instead seek to guarantee that the caller is matched with an agent with a high grade for generating revenue, irrespective of what the matches generated using caller data and agent demographic or psychographic data may indicate.",
"A more advanced affinity database developed by the present invention is one in which a caller's contact outcomes are tracked across the various agent data.",
"Such an analysis might indicate, for example, that the caller is most likely to be satisfied with a contact if they are matched to an agent of similar gender, race, age, or even with a specific agent.",
"Using this embodiment, the present invention could preferentially match a caller with a specific agent or type of agent that is known from the caller affinity data to have generated an acceptable optimal interaction.",
"Affinity databases can provide particularly actionable information about a caller when commercial, client, or publicly-available database sources may lack information about the caller.",
"This database development can also be used to further enhance contact routing and agent-to-caller matching even in the event that there is available data on the caller, as it may drive the conclusion that the individual caller's contact outcomes may vary from what the commercial databases might imply.",
"As an example, if the present invention was to rely solely on commercial databases in order to match a caller and agent, it may predict that the caller would be best matched to an agent of the same gender to achieve optimal customer satisfaction.",
"However, by including affinity database information developed from prior interactions with the caller, the present invention might more accurately predict that the caller would be best matched to an agent of the opposite gender to achieve optimal customer satisfaction.",
"Another aspect of the present invention is that it may develop affinity databases that comprise revenue generation, cost, and customer satisfaction performance data of individual agents as matched with specific caller demographic, psychographic, or other business-relevant characteristics (referred to in this application as “agent affinity data”).",
"An affinity database such as this may, for example, result in the present invention predicting that a specific agent performs best in interactions with callers of a similar age, and less well in interactions with a caller of a significantly older or younger age.",
"Similarly this type of affinity database may result in the present invention predicting that an agent with certain agent affinity data handles callers originating from a particular geography much better than the agent handles callers from other geographies.",
"As another example, the present invention may predict that a particular agent performs well in circumstances in which that agent is connected to an irate caller.",
"Though affinity databases are preferably used in combination with agent data and caller data that pass through a pattern matching algorithm to generate matches, information stored in affinity databases can also be used independently of agent data and caller data such that the affinity information is the only information used to generate matches.",
"FIG. 6 reflects a method for operating an outbound contact center, the method comprising, determining at least one agent data for each of two agents, identifying a group of at least two callers, determining at least one caller data for at least one caller from the group, using the agent data and the caller data in a pattern matching algorithm;",
"and matching at least one caller from the group to one of the two agents to increase the chance of an optimal interaction.",
"In step 601 , at least one agent data is determined for a group of at least two agents.",
"In step 602 , a group at least two callers is identified.",
"This is typically accomplished through the use of lead list that is provided to the contact center by the contact center's client.",
"In step 603 , at least one caller data for at least one caller from the group is identified.",
"Once agent data and caller data have been collected, this data is passed to a computational system.",
"The computational system then, in turn, uses this data in a pattern matching algorithm in step 604 to create a computer model that matches each agent with a caller from the group and estimates the probable outcome of each matching along a number of optimal interactions, such as the generation of a sale, the duration of contact, or the likelihood of generating an interaction that a customer finds satisfying.",
"In step 605 , the pattern matching algorithm is used to create a computer model reflecting the predicted chances of an optimal interaction for each agent and caller matching.",
"In step 606 , callers are matched with an agent or a group of agents.",
"This matching can be embodied in the form of separate lead lists generated for one or more agents, which the agents can then use to conduct their solicitation efforts.",
"In step 607 , the caller is connected to the agent and the agent conducts their solicitation effort.",
"It will be appreciated that the steps outlined in the flowchart of FIG. 6 need not occur in that exact order.",
"Where a dialer is used to call through a lead list, upon obtaining a live caller, the system can determine the available agents, use caller and agent data with a pattern matching algorithm to match the live caller with one or more of the available agents, and connect the caller with one of those agents.",
"Preferably, the system will match the live caller with a group of agents, define an ordering of agent suitability for the caller within that group, match the live caller to the highest-graded agent that is available in that ordering, and connect the caller to that highest-graded agent.",
"In matching the live caller with a group of agents, the present invention can be used to determine a cluster of agents with similar agent data, such as similar demographic data or psychographic data, and further determine within that cluster an ordering of agent suitability.",
"In this manner, the present invention can increase the efficiency of the dialer and avoid having to stop the dialer until an agent with specific agent data becomes available.",
"The present invention may store data specific to each routed caller for subsequent analysis.",
"For example, the present invention can store data generated in any computer model, including the chances for an optimal interaction as predicted by the computer model, such as the chances of sales, contact durations, customer satisfaction, or other parameters.",
"Such a store may include actual data for the caller connection that was made, including the agent and caller data, whether a sale occurred, the duration of the contact, and the level of customer satisfaction.",
"Such a store may also include actual data for the agent to caller matches that were made, as well as how, which, and when matches were considered pursuant to connection rules and prior to connection to a particular agent.",
"This stored information may be analyzed in several ways.",
"One possible way is to analyze the cumulative effect of the present invention on an optimal interaction over different intervals of time and report that effect to the contact center or the contact center client.",
"For example, the present invention can report back as to the cumulative impact of the present invention in enhancing revenues, reducing costs, increasing customer satisfaction, over five minute, one hour, one month, one year, and other time intervals, such as since the beginning of a particular client solicitation campaign.",
"Similarly, the present invention can analyze the cumulative effect of the present invention in enhancing revenue, reducing costs, and increasing satisfaction over a specified number of callers, for instance 10 callers, 100 callers, 1000 callers, the total number of callers processed, or other total numbers of callers.",
"One method for reporting the cumulative effect of employing the present invention comprises matching a caller with each agent logged in at the contact center, averaging the chances of an optimal interaction over each agent, determining which agent was connected to the caller, dividing the chance of an optimal interaction for the connected agent by the average chance, and generating a report of the result.",
"In this manner, the effect of the present invention can be reported as the predicted increase associated with routing a caller to a specific agent as opposed to randomly routing the caller to any logged-in agent.",
"This reporting method can also be modified to compare the optimal interaction chance of a specific agent routing against the chances of an optimal interaction as averaged over all available agents or over all logged-in agents since the commencement of a particular campaign.",
"In fact, by dividing the average chance of an optimal interaction over all unavailable agents at a specific period of time by the average chance of an optimal interaction over all available agents at that same time, a report can be generated that indicates the overall boost created by the present invention to the chance of an optimal interaction at that time.",
"Alternatively, the present invention can be monitored, and reports generated, by cycling the present invention on and off for a single agent or group of agents over a period of time, and measuring the actual contact results.",
"In this manner, it can be determined what the actual, measured benefits are created by employing the present invention.",
"Embodiments of the present invention can include a visual computer interface and printable reports provided to the contact center or their clients to allow them to, in a realtime or a past performance basis, monitor the statistics of agent to caller matches, measure the optimal interactions that are being achieved versus the interactions predicted by the computer model, as well as any other measurements of real time or past performance using the methods described herein.",
"A visual computer interface for changing the weighting on an optimal interaction can also be provided to the contact center or the contact center client, such that they can, as discussed herein, monitor or change the weightings in real time or at a predetermined time in the future.",
"An embodiment of the present invention can also comprise an intelligent routing system, the system comprising means for grading two or more agents on an optimal interaction, and means for matching a caller with at least one of the two or more graded agents to increase the chance of the optimal interaction.",
"Means for grading an agent can comprise, as discussed herein, the use of manual or automatic surveys, the use of a computational device and database to record an agent's revenue generation performance per call, the agent's contact time per caller, or any other performance criteria that can be electronically recorded.",
"Means for matching the caller with at least one of the two or more graded agents can comprise any computational device.",
"The intelligent routing system can further comprise means for connecting the caller with one of the two or more agents, such as a switching system.",
"The system can further comprise a dialer, a callerID device, and other commercially-available telephony or telecommunications equipment, as well as memory containing a database, such as a commercially available database, publicly-available database, client database, or contact center database.",
"In a more advanced embodiment, the present invention can be used to create an intelligent routing system, the system comprising means for determining at least one agent data for each of two or more agents, determining at least one caller data for a caller, means for using the agent data and the caller data in a pattern matching algorithm, and means for matching the caller to one of the two or more agents to increase the chance of an optimal interaction.",
"Means for determining agent data can comprise the use of manual or automatic surveys, which can be recorded in hardcopy or electronic form, such as through the use of computer memory containing databases for storing such information.",
"Means for determining caller data can comprise the use of computer memory containing a database with caller data, such as a commercially-available database, client database, or contact center database.",
"Means for determining caller data can also comprise the use of a CallerID device as well as telephony or other telecommunications equipment for receiving a caller's account number or other caller-identifying information.",
"Means for using the agent data and the caller data in a pattern matching algorithm can comprise a computational device.",
"Means for matching the caller to one of the two or more agents can also comprise the use of a computational device.",
"This embodiment of the intelligent routing system can also comprise means for connecting the caller with one of the two or more agents, such as a switching or routing system.",
"The system can also comprise means for contacting a caller, such as a dialer or telephony equipment that can be used by an agent to contact the caller.",
"FIG. 7 is a flowchart reflecting an embodiment of the present invention that comprises a method of identifying an agent pool to increase the chances of an optimal interaction for the contact center generally, or for specific contact center clients.",
"By identifying an agent pool with this method, the contact center can configure an agent pool that increases the contact center's overall chances for obtaining a sale, operating at low cost, obtaining an acceptable level of customer satisfaction, or some other optimal interaction.",
"The agent pool can also be identified and configured to increase these overall chances of a chosen optimal interaction for a specific contact center client or group of clients.",
"The method of identifying an ideal agent pool can comprise determining an optimal interaction, determining a set of caller data for a sample of callers, determining a set of agent data, generating a computer model for the optimal interaction with the set of caller data and the set of agent data, and identifying agent data that increases the overall chances of the optimal interaction.",
"In step 701 , a set of caller data is determined from actual caller data, predicted or theoretical caller data, or a mixture thereof.",
"In step 702 , a set of agent data is determined from actual agent data, predicted or theoretical agent data, or a mixture thereof.",
"In step 703 , the set of caller data and the set of agent data are used in a pattern matching algorithm.",
"In step 704 , a computer model is then derived that reflects the predicted chances of an optimal interaction occurring when callers with the set of caller data are matched with agents with the set of agent data.",
"In step 705 , the computer model is then parsed to determine what agent data is most effective for an optimal interaction.",
"In this manner, a contact center can identify that agents with such agent data are ideal for maximizing the chances of an optimal interaction for certain callers.",
"In step 706 , the contact center's operations are accordingly configured to have an ideal agent pool for a particular client, a group of clients, or for the contact center in general.",
"This configuration can be accomplished by specifically grouping agents that the contact center has already acquired, by determining what types of agents the contact center should hire, or a mixture thereof.",
"This embodiment can thus be particularly useful in identifying what agents to hire, transfer, or terminate.",
"It will be appreciated that the steps outlined in the flowchart of FIG. 7 need not occur in that exact order.",
"Many of the techniques described here may be implemented in hardware or software, or a combination of the two.",
"Preferably, the techniques are implemented in computer programs executing on programmable computers that each includes a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor (including volatile and nonvolatile memory and/or storage elements), and suitable input and output devices.",
"Program code is applied to data entered using an input device to perform the functions described and to generate output information.",
"The output information is applied to one or more output devices.",
"Moreover, each program is preferably implemented in a high level procedural or object-oriented programming language to communicate with a computer system.",
"However, the programs can be implemented in assembly or machine language, if desired.",
"In any case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language.",
"Each such computer program is preferably stored on a storage medium or device (e.g., CD-ROM, hard disk or magnetic diskette) that is readable by a general or special purpose programmable computer for configuring and operating the computer when the storage medium or device is read by the computer to perform the procedures described.",
"The system also may be implemented as a computer-readable storage medium, configured with a computer program, where the storage medium so configured causes a computer to operate in a specific and predefined manner.",
"The above-described embodiments of the present invention are merely meant to be illustrative and not limiting.",
"Various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects.",
"The appended claims encompass such changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to an AZS (Alumina-Zirconia-Silica) fused refractory product.
PRIOR ART
[0002] Refractory products include fused products, which are well known in the construction of glass melting furnaces, and sintered products.
[0003] In contrast to sintered products, fused products usually include an intergranular vitreous phase interconnecting crystallized grains. The problems that arise with sintered products and with fused products and the technical solutions adopted to overcome them are thus generally different. Hence, a composition developed in order to produce a sintered product is not, a priori, suitable per se for the production of a fused product, and vice versa.
[0004] Fused products, routinely termed “electrofused”, are obtained by melting a mixture of appropriate starting materials in an electric arc furnace or using any other technique that is suitable for such products. The molten material is then cast into a mold and the product obtained is then subjected to a controlled cooling cycle.
[0005] Fused products include electrofused AZS products, i.e. comprising mainly alumina (Al 2 O 3 ), zirconia (ZrO 2 ) and silica (SiO 2 ), which have been known for many decades. U.S. Pat. No. 2,438,552 describes one of the first improvements to that type of product. The authors recommend adding Na 2 O (1%-2.2%) and MgO/CaO (0.2%-0.80) in order to overcome problems regarding feasibility concerning products comprising less than 70% of Al 2 O 3 , 14% to 40% of ZrO 2 , and 9% to 12% of SiO 2 .
[0006] AZS products currently sold by Saint-Gobain SEFPRO, such as ER-1681, ER-1685 or ER-1711, contain 45% to 50% of Al 2 O 3 , 32% to 41% of ZrO 2 , 12% to 16% of SiO 2 , and approximately 1% of Na 2 O.
[0007] Those products are well suited to the production of glass furnaces. More particularly, current AZS products are principally used for zones that are in contact with the molten glass and also for the superstructure of glass furnaces.
[0008] Said products perform well, but there is a constant need for improving the running conditions of glass furnaces, as well as the quality of the glass.
[0009] In particular, blocks of fused AZS product constituting the cells of glass furnaces are subjected to a higher temperature in contact with molten glass than outside the cell. In operation, the contact between two adjacent cell blocks occurs only in a zone corresponding to a temperature close to the maximum expansion temperature of the blocks. Thus, it is a critical zone in which corrosion by glass must in particular be avoided.
[0010] Such corrosion is correspondingly reduced when the temperature in that contact zone is lower and when the glass is less viscous.
[0011] Thus, there is a need for a fused AZS product having dilatometric behavior that allows the temperature in the critical zone of the cells of a glass furnace to be reduced while retaining good feasibility.
[0012] The present invention aims to satisfy that need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] More particularly, the invention provides a fused refractory product having the following mean chemical composition, as a % by weight based on the oxides and for a total of 100%:
ZrO 2 : 30%-46%; SiO 2 : 10%-16%; Al 2 O 3 : complement to 100%; Y 2 O 3 ≧50/ZrO 2 and Y 2 O 3 ≦5%; Na 2 O+K 2 O: 0.5-4%; CaO: ≦0.5%; and other species: ≦1.5%.
[0021] In one embodiment, the Y 2 O 3 is partially or even completely replaced by one or more oxides selected from CeO 2 , MgO, Sc 2 O 3 , and V 2 O 5 .
[0022] In one embodiment, the Na 2 O and/or K 2 O are partially or even completely replaced by B 2 O 3 .
[0023] A product of the invention may also include one or more of the following optional characteristics:
preferably, ZrO 2 >32% and/or ZrO 2 <41%; preferably, SiO 2 >11% and/or SiO 2 <15%; preferably, Al 2 O 3 >38%, or even Al 2 O 3 >42%, and/or Al 2 O 3 <52%, or even Al 2 O 3 <50%; Y 2 O 3 +CeO 2 +MgO+Sc 2 O 3 +V 2 O 5 <5%; preferably, the Y 2 O 3 +CeO 2 +MgO+Sc 2 O 3 +V 2 O 5 content, preferably the Y 2 O content is more than 60/ZrO 2 , more preferably more than 70/ZrO 2 . preferably, the Y 2 O 3 +CeO 2 +MgO+Sc 2 O 3 +V 2 O 5 content, preferably the Y 2 O 3 content, is more than 1.2%, preferably more than 1.5%, more preferably more than 2.0%; preferably, the Y 2 O 3 content, or even the Y 2 O 3 +CeO 2 +MgO+Sc 2 O 3 +V 2 O 5 content, is less than 4.5%; the ratio ZrO 2 /Y 2 O 3 and/or the ratio ZrO 2 /(Y 2 O 3 +CeO 2 +MgO+Sc 2 O 3 +V 2 O 5 ) is more than 9 and/or less than 30, less than 25, or even less than 20, less than 15, or even less than 12; the quantity of Na 2 O+K 2 O is more than 0.8%, or even more than 1.0% and/or less than 3.0%, less than 2.5%, or even less than 2.0%; the quantity of Na 2 O+K 2 O+B 2 O 3 is more than 0.5%, more than 0.8%, or even more than 1.0% and/or less than 4.0%, less than 3.0%, less than 2.5%, or even less than 2.0%; the “other species” are impurities; and the product is in the form of a block.
[0036] The invention also provides a method of manufacturing a refractory product in accordance with the invention, the method comprising the following steps in succession:
[0037] a) mixing the starting materials in a manner that forms a starting charge;
[0038] b) melting said starting charge to obtain molten material;
[0039] c) casting and solidifying said molten material by controlled cooling in order to obtain a fused refractory product;
[0040] said method being remarkable in that said starting materials are selected so that said fused refractory product has a composition in accordance with that of a product of the invention.
[0041] Finally, the invention provides a glass melting furnace including a product in accordance with the invention, in particular a product produced or capable of being produced by means of a method of the invention, in particular in a region of the furnace in which the product might come into contact with molten glass or with gases released by melting of the glass, and particularly in the superstructure (crown).
DEFINITIONS
[0042] In general, the terms “fused product”, “fused and cast product” or “obtained by melting” are used for a solid product, which may have been annealed, that is obtained by complete solidification, by cooling, of a molten material. “Molten material” is a mass that must be contained in a receptacle in order to retain its shape. A molten material, that appears to be liquid, may contain solid portions, but in insufficient quantity for them to be able to give structure to said mass.
[0043] A product of the invention may contain hafnium oxide, HfO 2 , which is naturally present in sources of zirconia. Its content in the product of the invention is 5% or less, generally 2% or less. As is conventional, the term “ZrO 2 ” means zirconia and these traces of hafnium oxide.
[0044] The term “impurities” means inevitable constituents that are necessarily introduced with the starting materials or that result from reactions with those constituents. In particular, oxides of iron or titanium are known to be harmful and their content must be limited to traces introduced with the starting materials as impurities. Preferably, the quantity by weight of Fe 2 O 3 +TiO 2 is less than 0.55%.
[0045] Unless indicated otherwise, all of the percentages in the present description are percentages by weight based on the oxides.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0046] A product in accordance with the invention may be manufactured in accordance with steps a) to c) described below:
[0047] a) mixing the starting materials in a manner that forms a starting charge;
[0048] b) melting said starting charge to obtain molten material;
[0049] c) solidifying said molten material by controlled cooling in order to obtain a refractory product of the invention.
[0050] In step a), the starting materials are determined in a manner that guarantees that the composition of the finished product is in accordance with the invention.
[0051] As explained below, the presence of yttrium oxide is necessary in the products of the invention, but its content must not exceed 4.5%; a theoretical explanation of this fact cannot be provided, however.
[0052] The Y 2 O 3 may be substituted by CeO 2 and/or MgO and/or Sc 2 O 3 and/or V 2 O 5 .
[0053] The presence of sodium and/or potassium oxide is necessary in order to provide the vitreous phase with suitable physical and chemical properties. The quantity of Na 2 O+K 2 O, however, must not exceed 4%, or the corrosion resistance and/or feasibility would be considerably degraded. The Na 2 O and/or K 2 O may be substituted by B 2 O 3 .
[0054] The presence of calcium oxide is harmful in the products of the invention since it is capable of generating crystals of calcium aluminate in the glassy phase. The presence of these crystals may result in fracture defects in the product. Further, too high a CaO content leads to dissolution of zirconia crystals, which reduces the corrosion resistance of the product. Thus, the CaO content must not exceed 0.5%.
[0055] In step b), fusion is preferably carried out using the combined action of a fairly long electric arc, which does not bring about reduction, and stirring to encourage re-oxidation of the products.
[0056] In order to minimize the formation of nodules of metallic appearance and to avoid the formation of apertures or crazing in the final product, it is preferable to carry out melting under oxidizing conditions.
[0057] Preferably, the long-arc melting method described in French patent FR-A-1 208 577 and in its additions, numbers 75893 and 82310, is used.
[0058] That method consists in using an electric arc furnace in which the arc is struck between the charge and at least one electrode that is at a distance from that charge, and in adjusting the arc length so that its reducing action is reduced to a minimum, while maintaining an oxidizing atmosphere above the melt and while stirring it either by the action of the arc per se or by bubbling an oxidizing gas (air or oxygen, for example) into the melt, or by adding substances that release oxygen, such as peroxides, to the melt.
[0059] In step c), the molten material is preferably cast into a mold that is adapted to produce a block. Cooling is preferably carried out at a rate of approximately 10° C. per hour.
[0060] Any conventional method of manufacturing fused AZS products intended for applications in glass fusion furnaces may be employed, provided that the composition of the starting charge enables products to be obtained that have a composition in accordance with the composition of a product of the invention.
[0061] A product of the invention may constitute all or part of a block.
[0062] In particular, the block may have a mass of more than 10 kilograms (kg), more than 20 kg, or even more than 50 kg, or more than 150 kg, or more than 300 kg, or even more than 900 kg and/or less than 2 (metric) tonnes. In particular, it may have a mass of approximately 1 tonne.
[0063] The shape of the block is not limiting.
[0064] The block may have at least one dimension (thickness, length or width) of at least 150 millimeters (mm), preferably at least 200 mm, or even at least 400 mm, or even at least 600 mm, or even at least 800 mm, or even at least 1000 mm, or even at least 1600 mm.
[0065] In one advantageous embodiment, the thickness, the length and the width of the block are at least 150 mm, or even at least 200 mm, or even at least 300 mm, or even at least 400 mm.
[0066] A product of the invention may also be used in the form of a thin product, i.e. with a thickness in the range 50 mm to 150 mm, in particular a thickness of less than 120 mm, or even less than 100 mm. It may in particular be in the form of a tile.
[0067] Preferably, the block or tile forms part of or constitutes a wall or the floor of a furnace, in particular a glass melting furnace.
EXAMPLES
[0068] The following non-limiting examples are given in order to illustrate the invention.
[0069] In these examples, the following starting materials were used:
CC10 zirconia sold by the Société Européenne des Produits Réfractaires principally containing, on average, by weight, 98.5% of ZrO 2 +HfO 2 , 0.5% of SiO 2 , and 0.2% of Na 2 O; zircon sand containing 33% silica; AC44 type alumina sold by Pechiney and containing on average 99.4% of Al 2 O 3 ; sodium carbonate containing 58.5% of Na 2 O; and yttrium oxide with a purity of more than 99%
[0075] The products were prepared using the conventional arc furnace fusion method, and then cast to obtain blocks with a format of 200×400×150 mm 3 .
[0076] A chemical analysis of the products obtained is given in Table 1; it shows the mean chemical analysis, given as a percentage by weight. Alumina, Al 2 O 3 , and impurities constituted the complement to 100%.
Feasibility
[0077] For each of the examples, the feasibility of the product was evaluated using a feasibility index, FI. A value of FI equal to 10 corresponds to excellent feasibility (optimized production yield, no defects in parts obtained), values in the range 7 to 9 are indicative of satisfactory feasibility (good production yield, the parts produced having a few small cracks) and values of 6 or less corresponding to an unacceptable yield (disintegrated parts, etc).
[0078] Samples were taken from the various examples of the blocks that were produced, in order to carry out the tests.
Measurement of Maximum Expansion Temperature Before Phase Change (Test A)
[0079] The graph of expansion as a function of temperature was established and the temperature corresponding to the maximum expansion before zirconia transformation (monoclinic to quadratic) was recorded; it is shown in Table 1.
[0000]
TABLE 1
Example
ZrO 2
SiO 2
Na 2 O
Y 2 O 3
50/ZrO 2
FI
Test A
1
36.4
12.3
1.13
/
/
10
1093°
C.
2
37.4
11.9
1.31
0.86
1.34
10
1056°
C.
3
36.6
11.9
1.25
1.20
1.37
10
1060°
C.
4
36.6
11.1
1.35
1.94
1.37
9
1050°
C.
5
40.0
12.1
1.20
2.15
1.25
8
1010°
C.
6
35.1
14.2
1.70
2.61
1.42
8
1037°
C.
7
36.0
14.0
1.40
3.05
1.39
8
1019°
C.
8
35.1
13.9
1.59
3.43
1.42
8
997°
C.
9
45.1
14.0
1.35
3.72
1.11
7
978°
C.
10
37.5
12.1
1.15
3.77
1.33
7
961°
C.
11
39.2
11.8
1.09
5.17
1.28
5
959°
C.
[0080] The positive role played by yttrium oxide is confirmed. It is assumed that a minimum quantity is necessary in the product for the positive effect to be significant. The minimum quantity needed increases as the zirconia content decreases: for products with an yttrium oxide content that is greater than the ratio 50/ZrO 2 , a significant reduction in the maximum expansion temperature before the phase change (temperature below 1050° C.) is observed. Thus, corrosion by glass is reduced, the viscosity of the glass is increased and the risks of leakage of the glass are reduced.
[0081] Further, above 5% of Y 2 O 3 , the feasibility of the parts becomes unacceptable (Example 11).
[0082] Table 1 shows that the compositions of the products in accordance with the invention mean that novel compromises between the feasibility and the phase change temperature can be obtained. To their credit, the inventors have discovered this possibility of obtaining these novel compromises that are of particular advantage in applications to glass melting furnaces.
[0083] Further, we have verified that the other properties used in this application remain acceptable, in particular the ability to get rid of defects, corrosion resistance, and bubbling.
[0084] A crystallographic analysis of the products of the invention reveals that more than 85% of the zirconia is in the monoclinic form. Thus, the yttrium oxide contents in the products of the invention are much too low for it to play a significant role in stabilizing the zirconia.
[0085] Naturally, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described that are provided as illustrative, non-limiting examples.
[0086] In particular, the products of the invention are not limited to particular shapes or dimensions, nor to the application to glass furnaces. | The present invention provides a fused refractory product having the following average chemical composition, as a % by weight based on the oxides and for a total of 100%;
ZrO 2 : 30%-46%; SiO 2 : 10%-16%; Al 2 O 3 : complement to 100%; Y 2 O 3 ≧50/ZrO 2 and Y 2 O 3 ≦5%; Na 2 O+K 2 O: 0.5%-4%; CaO: ≦0.5%; and other species: ≦1.5%.
Application to a glass-melting furnace. | Briefly summarize the invention's components and working principles as described in the document. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The invention relates to an AZS (Alumina-Zirconia-Silica) fused refractory product.",
"PRIOR ART [0002] Refractory products include fused products, which are well known in the construction of glass melting furnaces, and sintered products.",
"[0003] In contrast to sintered products, fused products usually include an intergranular vitreous phase interconnecting crystallized grains.",
"The problems that arise with sintered products and with fused products and the technical solutions adopted to overcome them are thus generally different.",
"Hence, a composition developed in order to produce a sintered product is not, a priori, suitable per se for the production of a fused product, and vice versa.",
"[0004] Fused products, routinely termed “electrofused”, are obtained by melting a mixture of appropriate starting materials in an electric arc furnace or using any other technique that is suitable for such products.",
"The molten material is then cast into a mold and the product obtained is then subjected to a controlled cooling cycle.",
"[0005] Fused products include electrofused AZS products, i.e. comprising mainly alumina (Al 2 O 3 ), zirconia (ZrO 2 ) and silica (SiO 2 ), which have been known for many decades.",
"U.S. Pat. No. 2,438,552 describes one of the first improvements to that type of product.",
"The authors recommend adding Na 2 O (1%-2.2%) and MgO/CaO (0.2%-0.80) in order to overcome problems regarding feasibility concerning products comprising less than 70% of Al 2 O 3 , 14% to 40% of ZrO 2 , and 9% to 12% of SiO 2 .",
"[0006] AZS products currently sold by Saint-Gobain SEFPRO, such as ER-1681, ER-1685 or ER-1711, contain 45% to 50% of Al 2 O 3 , 32% to 41% of ZrO 2 , 12% to 16% of SiO 2 , and approximately 1% of Na 2 O. [0007] Those products are well suited to the production of glass furnaces.",
"More particularly, current AZS products are principally used for zones that are in contact with the molten glass and also for the superstructure of glass furnaces.",
"[0008] Said products perform well, but there is a constant need for improving the running conditions of glass furnaces, as well as the quality of the glass.",
"[0009] In particular, blocks of fused AZS product constituting the cells of glass furnaces are subjected to a higher temperature in contact with molten glass than outside the cell.",
"In operation, the contact between two adjacent cell blocks occurs only in a zone corresponding to a temperature close to the maximum expansion temperature of the blocks.",
"Thus, it is a critical zone in which corrosion by glass must in particular be avoided.",
"[0010] Such corrosion is correspondingly reduced when the temperature in that contact zone is lower and when the glass is less viscous.",
"[0011] Thus, there is a need for a fused AZS product having dilatometric behavior that allows the temperature in the critical zone of the cells of a glass furnace to be reduced while retaining good feasibility.",
"[0012] The present invention aims to satisfy that need.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0013] More particularly, the invention provides a fused refractory product having the following mean chemical composition, as a % by weight based on the oxides and for a total of 100%: ZrO 2 : 30%-46%;",
"SiO 2 : 10%-16%;",
"Al 2 O 3 : complement to 100%;",
"Y 2 O 3 ≧50/ZrO 2 and Y 2 O 3 ≦5%;",
"Na 2 O+K 2 O: 0.5-4%;",
"CaO: ≦0.5%;",
"and other species: ≦1.5%.",
"[0021] In one embodiment, the Y 2 O 3 is partially or even completely replaced by one or more oxides selected from CeO 2 , MgO, Sc 2 O 3 , and V 2 O 5 .",
"[0022] In one embodiment, the Na 2 O and/or K 2 O are partially or even completely replaced by B 2 O 3 .",
"[0023] A product of the invention may also include one or more of the following optional characteristics: preferably, ZrO 2 >32% and/or ZrO 2 <41%;",
"preferably, SiO 2 >11% and/or SiO 2 <15%;",
"preferably, Al 2 O 3 >38%, or even Al 2 O 3 >42%, and/or Al 2 O 3 <52%, or even Al 2 O 3 <50%;",
"Y 2 O 3 +CeO 2 +MgO+Sc 2 O 3 +V 2 O 5 <5%;",
"preferably, the Y 2 O 3 +CeO 2 +MgO+Sc 2 O 3 +V 2 O 5 content, preferably the Y 2 O content is more than 60/ZrO 2 , more preferably more than 70/ZrO 2 .",
"preferably, the Y 2 O 3 +CeO 2 +MgO+Sc 2 O 3 +V 2 O 5 content, preferably the Y 2 O 3 content, is more than 1.2%, preferably more than 1.5%, more preferably more than 2.0%;",
"preferably, the Y 2 O 3 content, or even the Y 2 O 3 +CeO 2 +MgO+Sc 2 O 3 +V 2 O 5 content, is less than 4.5%;",
"the ratio ZrO 2 /Y 2 O 3 and/or the ratio ZrO 2 /(Y 2 O 3 +CeO 2 +MgO+Sc 2 O 3 +V 2 O 5 ) is more than 9 and/or less than 30, less than 25, or even less than 20, less than 15, or even less than 12;",
"the quantity of Na 2 O+K 2 O is more than 0.8%, or even more than 1.0% and/or less than 3.0%, less than 2.5%, or even less than 2.0%;",
"the quantity of Na 2 O+K 2 O+B 2 O 3 is more than 0.5%, more than 0.8%, or even more than 1.0% and/or less than 4.0%, less than 3.0%, less than 2.5%, or even less than 2.0%;",
"the “other species”",
"are impurities;",
"and the product is in the form of a block.",
"[0036] The invention also provides a method of manufacturing a refractory product in accordance with the invention, the method comprising the following steps in succession: [0037] a) mixing the starting materials in a manner that forms a starting charge;",
"[0038] b) melting said starting charge to obtain molten material;",
"[0039] c) casting and solidifying said molten material by controlled cooling in order to obtain a fused refractory product;",
"[0040] said method being remarkable in that said starting materials are selected so that said fused refractory product has a composition in accordance with that of a product of the invention.",
"[0041] Finally, the invention provides a glass melting furnace including a product in accordance with the invention, in particular a product produced or capable of being produced by means of a method of the invention, in particular in a region of the furnace in which the product might come into contact with molten glass or with gases released by melting of the glass, and particularly in the superstructure (crown).",
"DEFINITIONS [0042] In general, the terms “fused product”, “fused and cast product”",
"or “obtained by melting”",
"are used for a solid product, which may have been annealed, that is obtained by complete solidification, by cooling, of a molten material.",
"“Molten material”",
"is a mass that must be contained in a receptacle in order to retain its shape.",
"A molten material, that appears to be liquid, may contain solid portions, but in insufficient quantity for them to be able to give structure to said mass.",
"[0043] A product of the invention may contain hafnium oxide, HfO 2 , which is naturally present in sources of zirconia.",
"Its content in the product of the invention is 5% or less, generally 2% or less.",
"As is conventional, the term “ZrO 2 ”",
"means zirconia and these traces of hafnium oxide.",
"[0044] The term “impurities”",
"means inevitable constituents that are necessarily introduced with the starting materials or that result from reactions with those constituents.",
"In particular, oxides of iron or titanium are known to be harmful and their content must be limited to traces introduced with the starting materials as impurities.",
"Preferably, the quantity by weight of Fe 2 O 3 +TiO 2 is less than 0.55%.",
"[0045] Unless indicated otherwise, all of the percentages in the present description are percentages by weight based on the oxides.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0046] A product in accordance with the invention may be manufactured in accordance with steps a) to c) described below: [0047] a) mixing the starting materials in a manner that forms a starting charge;",
"[0048] b) melting said starting charge to obtain molten material;",
"[0049] c) solidifying said molten material by controlled cooling in order to obtain a refractory product of the invention.",
"[0050] In step a), the starting materials are determined in a manner that guarantees that the composition of the finished product is in accordance with the invention.",
"[0051] As explained below, the presence of yttrium oxide is necessary in the products of the invention, but its content must not exceed 4.5%;",
"a theoretical explanation of this fact cannot be provided, however.",
"[0052] The Y 2 O 3 may be substituted by CeO 2 and/or MgO and/or Sc 2 O 3 and/or V 2 O 5 .",
"[0053] The presence of sodium and/or potassium oxide is necessary in order to provide the vitreous phase with suitable physical and chemical properties.",
"The quantity of Na 2 O+K 2 O, however, must not exceed 4%, or the corrosion resistance and/or feasibility would be considerably degraded.",
"The Na 2 O and/or K 2 O may be substituted by B 2 O 3 .",
"[0054] The presence of calcium oxide is harmful in the products of the invention since it is capable of generating crystals of calcium aluminate in the glassy phase.",
"The presence of these crystals may result in fracture defects in the product.",
"Further, too high a CaO content leads to dissolution of zirconia crystals, which reduces the corrosion resistance of the product.",
"Thus, the CaO content must not exceed 0.5%.",
"[0055] In step b), fusion is preferably carried out using the combined action of a fairly long electric arc, which does not bring about reduction, and stirring to encourage re-oxidation of the products.",
"[0056] In order to minimize the formation of nodules of metallic appearance and to avoid the formation of apertures or crazing in the final product, it is preferable to carry out melting under oxidizing conditions.",
"[0057] Preferably, the long-arc melting method described in French patent FR-A-1 208 577 and in its additions, numbers 75893 and 82310, is used.",
"[0058] That method consists in using an electric arc furnace in which the arc is struck between the charge and at least one electrode that is at a distance from that charge, and in adjusting the arc length so that its reducing action is reduced to a minimum, while maintaining an oxidizing atmosphere above the melt and while stirring it either by the action of the arc per se or by bubbling an oxidizing gas (air or oxygen, for example) into the melt, or by adding substances that release oxygen, such as peroxides, to the melt.",
"[0059] In step c), the molten material is preferably cast into a mold that is adapted to produce a block.",
"Cooling is preferably carried out at a rate of approximately 10° C. per hour.",
"[0060] Any conventional method of manufacturing fused AZS products intended for applications in glass fusion furnaces may be employed, provided that the composition of the starting charge enables products to be obtained that have a composition in accordance with the composition of a product of the invention.",
"[0061] A product of the invention may constitute all or part of a block.",
"[0062] In particular, the block may have a mass of more than 10 kilograms (kg), more than 20 kg, or even more than 50 kg, or more than 150 kg, or more than 300 kg, or even more than 900 kg and/or less than 2 (metric) tonnes.",
"In particular, it may have a mass of approximately 1 tonne.",
"[0063] The shape of the block is not limiting.",
"[0064] The block may have at least one dimension (thickness, length or width) of at least 150 millimeters (mm), preferably at least 200 mm, or even at least 400 mm, or even at least 600 mm, or even at least 800 mm, or even at least 1000 mm, or even at least 1600 mm.",
"[0065] In one advantageous embodiment, the thickness, the length and the width of the block are at least 150 mm, or even at least 200 mm, or even at least 300 mm, or even at least 400 mm.",
"[0066] A product of the invention may also be used in the form of a thin product, i.e. with a thickness in the range 50 mm to 150 mm, in particular a thickness of less than 120 mm, or even less than 100 mm.",
"It may in particular be in the form of a tile.",
"[0067] Preferably, the block or tile forms part of or constitutes a wall or the floor of a furnace, in particular a glass melting furnace.",
"EXAMPLES [0068] The following non-limiting examples are given in order to illustrate the invention.",
"[0069] In these examples, the following starting materials were used: CC10 zirconia sold by the Société Européenne des Produits Réfractaires principally containing, on average, by weight, 98.5% of ZrO 2 +HfO 2 , 0.5% of SiO 2 , and 0.2% of Na 2 O;",
"zircon sand containing 33% silica;",
"AC44 type alumina sold by Pechiney and containing on average 99.4% of Al 2 O 3 ;",
"sodium carbonate containing 58.5% of Na 2 O;",
"and yttrium oxide with a purity of more than 99% [0075] The products were prepared using the conventional arc furnace fusion method, and then cast to obtain blocks with a format of 200×400×150 mm 3 .",
"[0076] A chemical analysis of the products obtained is given in Table 1;",
"it shows the mean chemical analysis, given as a percentage by weight.",
"Alumina, Al 2 O 3 , and impurities constituted the complement to 100%.",
"Feasibility [0077] For each of the examples, the feasibility of the product was evaluated using a feasibility index, FI.",
"A value of FI equal to 10 corresponds to excellent feasibility (optimized production yield, no defects in parts obtained), values in the range 7 to 9 are indicative of satisfactory feasibility (good production yield, the parts produced having a few small cracks) and values of 6 or less corresponding to an unacceptable yield (disintegrated parts, etc).",
"[0078] Samples were taken from the various examples of the blocks that were produced, in order to carry out the tests.",
"Measurement of Maximum Expansion Temperature Before Phase Change (Test A) [0079] The graph of expansion as a function of temperature was established and the temperature corresponding to the maximum expansion before zirconia transformation (monoclinic to quadratic) was recorded;",
"it is shown in Table 1.",
"[0000] TABLE 1 Example ZrO 2 SiO 2 Na 2 O Y 2 O 3 50/ZrO 2 FI Test A 1 36.4 12.3 1.13 / / 10 1093° C. 2 37.4 11.9 1.31 0.86 1.34 10 1056° C. 3 36.6 11.9 1.25 1.20 1.37 10 1060° C. 4 36.6 11.1 1.35 1.94 1.37 9 1050° C. 5 40.0 12.1 1.20 2.15 1.25 8 1010° C. 6 35.1 14.2 1.70 2.61 1.42 8 1037° C. 7 36.0 14.0 1.40 3.05 1.39 8 1019° C. 8 35.1 13.9 1.59 3.43 1.42 8 997° C. 9 45.1 14.0 1.35 3.72 1.11 7 978° C. 10 37.5 12.1 1.15 3.77 1.33 7 961° C. 11 39.2 11.8 1.09 5.17 1.28 5 959° C. [0080] The positive role played by yttrium oxide is confirmed.",
"It is assumed that a minimum quantity is necessary in the product for the positive effect to be significant.",
"The minimum quantity needed increases as the zirconia content decreases: for products with an yttrium oxide content that is greater than the ratio 50/ZrO 2 , a significant reduction in the maximum expansion temperature before the phase change (temperature below 1050° C.) is observed.",
"Thus, corrosion by glass is reduced, the viscosity of the glass is increased and the risks of leakage of the glass are reduced.",
"[0081] Further, above 5% of Y 2 O 3 , the feasibility of the parts becomes unacceptable (Example 11).",
"[0082] Table 1 shows that the compositions of the products in accordance with the invention mean that novel compromises between the feasibility and the phase change temperature can be obtained.",
"To their credit, the inventors have discovered this possibility of obtaining these novel compromises that are of particular advantage in applications to glass melting furnaces.",
"[0083] Further, we have verified that the other properties used in this application remain acceptable, in particular the ability to get rid of defects, corrosion resistance, and bubbling.",
"[0084] A crystallographic analysis of the products of the invention reveals that more than 85% of the zirconia is in the monoclinic form.",
"Thus, the yttrium oxide contents in the products of the invention are much too low for it to play a significant role in stabilizing the zirconia.",
"[0085] Naturally, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described that are provided as illustrative, non-limiting examples.",
"[0086] In particular, the products of the invention are not limited to particular shapes or dimensions, nor to the application to glass furnaces."
] |
The U.S. Government has certain rights in this invention pursuant to Contract No. CHE 9106689, National Science Foundation, and Contract No. AFOSR-ISSA-91-0070 awarded by the United States Air Force/Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/372,964 filed on Jan. 17, 1996, now abandoned which is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/103,281 filed on Aug. 5, 1993, now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to materials which exhibit nonlinear optical (NLO) properties. More particularly, the present invention relates to materials which have high first molecular electronic hyperpolarizability (β) and therefor display high second order nonlinear optical properties.
2. Description of Related Art
Organic materials that show second-order nonlinear optical responses are of interest for a variety of photonic and optoelectronic applications. See Marder, S. R., Sohn, J. E. & Stucky, G. D. eds. Materials for Nonlinear Optics: Chemical Perspectives, ACS Symposium Series, Vol. 455(American Chemical Society, Washington, 1991); Chemla, D. S. & Zyss, J. eds Nonlinear optical properties of Organic Molecules and Crystals, Vol. 1 and 2 (Academic Press, San Diego, 1987); and Williams, D. J. Agnew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 23, 690-703 (1984).
Exemplary nonlinear optical materials and devices which utilize such materials are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,062,693; 5,011,907; and 5,016,063. Nonlinear optical materials are also described in Japanese Patent Appln. No. 63-270834 filed Oct. 28, 1988, and published on May 2, 1990.
Compositions which have been investigated for second order nonlinear properties include barbituric acid derivatives and cyanine dyes. Investigations with respect to barbituric acid derivatives are set forth in a number of literature references. These references include: Chapter 12 of Materials for Nonlinear Optics: Chemical Perspectives (supra, pp.200-213); Kondo, K. et al., Nonlinear Optical Properties of p-Substituted Benzalbarbituric Acids,--Appl. Phys. Lett. 56, 718 (1990); Ikeda H., et al., Second Order Hyperpolarizabilities of Barbituric Acid Derivatives, Chemistry Letters, pp. 1803-1806(1989); and Kondo K., et al., Crystal Structure of Thermally Stable Non-Linear Benzalbarbituric Acid Derivatives, Chemical Physics Letters, Vol. 188, No. 3.4, (1992). Investigations with respect to cyanine dyes are set forth in Ikeda, H., et al., Nonlinear Optical Properties of Cyanine Dyes, Chemical Physics Letters, Vol. 179, No. 5.6(1991).
Nonlinear optical compositions are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,784 which issued on Oct. 26, 1994. The disclosed double functional group compositions include a variety of donor groups which are connected together by linkages composed of from 1 to 2 carbon double bonds.
There is a continuing need to develop new materials which have sufficiently high second-order nonlinear optical properties when used in thin films and crystals to make them useful for applications such as telecommunications, optical data storage and optical information processing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides compositions of matter that have bond length alternations which are selected to provide a high degree of first molecular electronic hyperpolarizability (β). The compositions of the present invention are useful for incorporation into polymers, Langmuir-Blodgett thin films, self-assembled monolayers or poled polymers. It was discovered in accordance with the present invention that molecules that have degenerate or more nearly degenerate π (pi)-electron bridges and do not lose aromaticity upon charge transfer. This diminishes the bond length alternation for given donor-acceptor end groups and provides optimization of β. Applicants' invention is further based upon the discovery that there is an optimal combination of donors and acceptors which leads to an optimal degree of bond length alternation and therefore optimized β. In addition, it was discovered that when the number of carbon double bonds linking certain donor group is increased above 2, then an unexpected increase in second-order nonlinear optical properties is observed.
Compositions in accordance with the present invention have the formula ##STR1## wherein A is ##STR2## R is H, allyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) x OH where x=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) x SH where x=1 to 8;
R' is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) y' OH where y'=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) y' SH where y'=1 to 8;
ML n is a lewis acid;
wherein B is ##STR3## D is OR", NR" R'" or SR"; where R" is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) w OH where w=1 to 8;
R'" is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) z OH where z=1 to 8;
or where NR" R'" is derived from a cyclic amine of the form N(CH 2 ) l where l=3-10, and
wherein m is 0 to 15 except, if B is (11), and A is (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9) or (10) then, m is 2 to 15;
or if B is (11) and A is (1) or (2), then m=3 to 15
where the asterisk indicates the point of attachment on the acceptor and donor.
As a feature of the present invention, nonlinear optical devices are provided which include compositions of matter which exhibit a high second-order nonlinear optical response. The compositions used in the optical devices are those set forth above and also include compositions having the formula ##STR4## wherein Z is CH═CH, O, N, S or Se; A is ##STR5## R is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) x OH where x=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) x SH where x=1 to 8;
R' is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) y' OH where y'=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) y' SH where y'=1 to 8;
ML n is a lewis acid;
wherein B is ##STR6## Y is CH═CH, O, N, S or Se; D is OR", NR" R'" or SR" where
R" is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) w OH where w=1 to 8;
R'" is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) z OH where z=1 to 8;
or where NR" R'" is derived from a cyclic amine of the form N(CH 2 ) l where l=3-10, and
wherein m is 0 to 15, n=0 to 15 and p=1 to 15; except when A is (2) then Y is S, and B is (13) or (14), M=0 to 10, n=0 to 15 and p=1 to 15,
where the asterisk indicates the point of attachment on the acceptor and donor.
Further compositions in accordance with the present invention include those having the formula ##STR7## wherein C is ##STR8## wherein A is ##STR9## R is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) x OH where x=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) x SH where x=1 to 8;
R' is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) y' OH where y'=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) y' SH where y'=1 to 8;
ML n is a lewis acid;
wherein B is ##STR10## Y is CH═CH, O, NH, S or Se; D is OR", NR" R'" or SR" where
R" is H, allyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) w OH where w=1 to 8;
R'" is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) z OH where z=1 to 8;
or where R" R'" is derived from a cyclic amine of the form N(CH 2 ) l where l=3-10; and
wherein m is 0 to 15.
where the asterisk indicates the point of attachment on the acceptor and donor.
Applicants' invention focuses on the importance of the conjugated π (pi)-electron bridge in determining second-order non-linear optical responses. As a feature of the present invention, it was discovered that the aromaticity of the bridge in the ground state is an important aspect in determining the degree of bond length alternation and resultant second-order nonlinear optical responses. This is in contrast to previous teachings which typically focused on the aromaticity of molecules on either side of the π (pi) electron bridge. The previous teachings focused on optimizing β by changing the strength of the donor and acceptor moieties (i.e. A and B) with the philosophy being that large β is obtained by using the strongest donors and acceptors.
The above-discussed and many other features and attendant advantages will become better understood by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the synthesis of an exemplary composition in accordance with the present invention wherein B is dimethylaminophenyl (11).
FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the synthesis of an exemplary composition wherein B is julolidinyl (12).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The compositions of the present invention are organic materials that show second-order non-linear optical responses. The compositions are incorporated into thin films and crystals in the same manner as other materials which exhibit non-linear optical properties. The compositions, themselves, may exist as crystals, liquids or gases. The compositions may be used alone or in combination with other materials which are conventionally used in non-linear optical devices.
The optical element in accordance with the invention may in some cases consist of a macroscopic crystal of the compound chosen, providing the compound can be made to form crystals in which the polar molecules are in noncentrosymmetric alignment. Such crystals may be grown at a slow rate under equilibrium with their mother liquor by a variety of methods practiced in the art. However, this procedure will not work for many polar molecules due in large part to dipole interactions. Another method of producing a useful optical element involves dissolving the compound in a solvent, which can be placed in a container having the desired shape. The solution can then be subjected to an electrical field which causes the dissolved dipoles to align themselves in the field. Electromagnetic radiation can then be passed through the solution and nonlinear optical effects, such as second harmonic generation, can be produced. Both the presence of an electric field and the need to utilize the compound in liquid solution form may be inconvenient or undesirable in some applications.
A particularly convenient and effective form of the optical element in accordance with the invention involves dispersing the polar molecules in a polymeric binder. The polar molecules can be mixed into the polymeric binder or grated onto the polymer. The mixture can be heated to a temperature at which the polymer becomes sufficiently soft so that upon application of an electrical field the polar molecules line up on the direction of the field. When the mixture cools, the polar molecules are locked into their aligned positions after which the electric field can be removed. Suitable binders include polymethacrylate, poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(vinyl alcohol), copolymers of methyl methacrylate and methacrylic acid, copolymers of styrene and maleic anhydride and half ester-acids of the latter, as well as many others. It is preferred that the polymeric binder of choice be highly transparent so that the transparency of the compounds utilized in the practice of this invention can be advantageously employed.
The poled polymer of this invention are considered particularly useful because of their high concentration of nonlinear optically active molecules, their capability of being formed into large area thin films, and their high orientational stability. Preferred film thickness can vary according to use. Typically film thickness is within the range of 0.5 μm-2 μm.
The poled polymer can also be provided in forms other than films (e.g., a solid block of polymer could be formed into an electrooptic modulator or a frequency converter using conventional techniques known in the art for single crystals) and poled polymer in various forms are included within this invention.
The poled polymers of this invention are preferably shaped to function as nonlinear optical elements for transforming electromagnetic radiation (e.g., by changing the frequency and/or polarization of the radiation). Generally, the nonlinear optical element of a poled polymer is used for transforming electromagnetic radiation by including it within an optical device. A device for transforming electromagnetic radiation using a nonlinear optical element is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,964. The compounds of the present invention may be used in such a device.
A conventional nonlinear optical device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,964 comprises means to direct at least one incident beam of electromagnetic radiation into an element. The element has nonlinear optical properties whereby electromagnetic radiation emerging from the element contains at least one frequency different from the frequency of any incident beam of radiation. The different frequency is an even multiple of the frequency of one incident beam of electromagnetic radiation.
Preferably, the emerging radiation of a different frequency is doubled (second-order) (SHG). Preferably, the electromagnetic radiation is radiation from one of a number of common lasers, such as Nd-YAG, Raman-shifted Nd-YAG, Nd-YLF or Nd-glass, semiconductor diode, Er-Glass, Ti-Sapphire, dye, and Ar or Kr ion, or radiation shifted to other frequencies by nonlinear processes. For example, polarized light of wavelength 1.06 μm from an Nd-YAG laser is incident on the optical element along the optical path. A lens focuses the light into the optical element. Light emerging from the optical element is collimated by a similar lens and passed through a filter adapted to remove light of wavelength 1.06 μm while passing light of wavelength 0.53 μm.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,964 (incorporated herein by reference), one conventional electro-optic modulator comprises means to direct a coherent beam into an optical element, and means to apply an electric field ot the element in a direction to modify the transmission property of the beam. For example, in an electro-optic modulator comprising an optical element, a pair of electrodes is attached to the upper and lower surfaces of the element, across which a modulating electric field is applied from a conventional voltage source. The optical element is placed between two polarizers. A light beam (such as that from a Nd-YAG laser) is polarized by a polarizer, focused on the optical element and propagated therethrough, and subjected to modulation by the electric field. The modulate light beam is led out through an analyzer polarizer. Linearly polarized light traversing the optical element is rendered elliptically polarized by action of the applied modulating voltage. The analyzer polarizer renders the polarization linear again. Application of the modulating voltage alters the birefringence of the optical element and consequently the ellipticity impressed on the beam. The analyzer polarizer then passes a greater or lesser fraction of the light beam as more or less of the elliptically polarized light projects onto its nonblocking polarization direction.
It will be further apparent to those skilled in the art that the optical elements formed by the poled polymers of the present invention are useful in this and other devices utilizing their nonlinear properties, such as devices utilizing the electro-optic effect.
One common form the optical element can take is that of a Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film. A small amount of a compound useful in the practice of this invention spread on the surface of a liquid forms a surface film of monomolecular thickness at the air/liquid interface. If the supporting liquid is a polar liquid, such as water, the hydrophilic moieties of the compound are drawn into the liquid, while the hydrophobic moieties of the compound are attracted to the non-polar, air side of the interface to hold the polar molecules at the surface of the supporting liquid body, resulting in polar alignment of the polar molecules on the surface of the supporting liquid. When the supporting substrate is slowly immersed in the film bearing liquid body or slowly withdrawn from it, an oriented monomolecular film is formed on the substrate.
The nonlinear optical device according to the invention comprises a means to direct at least one incident of electromagnetic radiation onto an optical element having nonlinear optical properties whereby electromagnetic radiation emerging from the element contains at least one frequency different from the frequency of any incident beam of radiation, the different frequency being an even multiple of the frequency of one incident beam of electromagnetic radiation. The optical element is selected from one of the forms described above. Preferably, the emerging radiation of a different frequency is doubled, i.e. SHG.
The optical element of the invention can also be utilized in an electro-optic modulator, wherein an electric field is applied to the optical element in a direction to modify the transmission properties of the element.
Compositions of matter which are covered by the present invention have the formula: ##STR11## wherein A is ##STR12## R is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) x OH where x=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) x SH where x=1 to 8;
R' is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) y' OH where y'=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) y' SH where y'=1 to 8;
n is 0 to 10 and ML n is a lewis acid;
wherein B is ##STR13## D is OR", NR" R'" or SR" where R" is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) w OH where w=1 to 8;
R'" is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) z OH where z=1 to 8;
or where NR" R'" is derived from a cyclic amine of the form N(CH 2 ) l where l=3-10, and
wherein m is 0 to 15 except, if B is (11) and A is (3), (4), (5) (6), (7), (8), (9) and (10), then m is 2 to 15;
or if B is (12) and A is (1), then m is 1 to 15;
or if B is (11) and A is (1) or (2), then m=3 to 15;
where the asterisk indicates the point of attachment on the acceptor and donor.
The present invention is also directed to non-linear optical devices which incorporate compositions of matter having the formula: ##STR14## wherein Z is CH═CH, O, N, S or Se; A is ##STR15## R is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) x OH where x=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) x SH where x=1 to 8;
R' is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) y' OH where y'=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) y' SH where y'=1 to 8;
ML n is a lewis acid;
where the asterisk indicates the point of attachment on the acceptor and donor.
wherein B is ##STR16## Y is CH═CH, O, N, S or Se; D is OR", NR" R'" or SR" where
R" is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) w OH where w=1 to 8;
R'" is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) z OH where z=1 to 8;
or where NR" R'" is derived from a cyclic amine of the form N(CH 2 ) l where l=3-10, and
wherein m is 0 to 15, n=0 to 15 and p=1 to 15; except when A is (2) then Y is S, and B is (13) or (14), m=0 to 10, n=0 to 15 and p=15 to 15,
where the asterisk indicates the point of attachment on the acceptor and donor.
The present invention is also directed to non-linear optical devices which include compositions of matter having the formula: ##STR17## wherein C is ##STR18## wherein A is ##STR19## R is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) x OH where x=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) x SH where x=1 to 8;
R' is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) y' OH where y'=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) y' SH where y'=1 to 8;
ML n is a lewis acid;
wherein B is ##STR20## Y is CH═CH, O, N, S or Se; D is OR", NR" R'" or SR" where
R" is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) w OH where w=1 to 8;
R'" is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) z OH where z=1 to 8;
or where R" R'" is derived from a cyclic amine of the form N(CH 2 ) l where l=3-10, and
wherein m is 0 to 15.
where the asterisk indicates the point of attachment on the acceptor and donor.
Alkyl groups set forth in the above formulas include those groups having up to 10 carbon atoms and includes both branched and straight chain alkyl groups. Exemplary alkyl groups include methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, octyl, nonyl, in the normal, secondary, iso and neo attachment isomers. Aryl groups referred to in the preceding formulas include aromatic hydrocarbons having up to 10 carbon atoms. Exemplary aryl groups include phenyl, naphthyl, furanyl, thiophenyl, pyrrolyl, selenophenyl, tellurophenyl. The abbreviation ML n refer to Lewis acids. Exemplary Lewis acids include (CH 3 ) 2 Zn, (CH 3 ) 3 Al, (CH 3 ) 3 Ga, (CH 3 ) 3 B Cl 3 Al, Cl 3 Ga, and Cl 3 B.
The compositions of the present invention are prepared by reacting an appropriate acceptor (A) with B--(CH═CH) n CHO under standard Knoevenagel conditions. As schematically shown in FIG. 1 for the exemplary case where B is dimethylaminophenyl (11). FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the synthesis where B is julolidinyl (12).
A compound in accordance with the present invention was prepared where A was diethylthiobarbituric acid (2) and B was dimethylaminophenyl (11). The procedure which was used to prepare this composition was as follows:
Preparation of the product is carried out by a conventional Knoevenagel reaction wherein (7-4-dimethylamino-phenyl)-hepta-2, 4, 6-triene-1-al (1.41 mmol) is completely dissolved in approximately 100 mls of ethanol. 10 mls of a warm ethanol solution of 1, 3-diethyl thiobarbituric acid (1.11 mmol is added to the dissolved (7-4-dimethylamino-phenyl)-hepta-2, 4, 6-triene-1-al. This causes a gradual darkening of color. The mixture is then set in an oil bath at 90° C. and 0.5 mls of piperidine is added with stirring. The color of the solution immediately darkens. The solution is then refluxed generally for one hour or until thin layer chromatography (TLC) indicates the reaction is complete. The mixture is cooled and diluted with petroleum ether and the product is filtered and washed with ethanol/petroleum ether and then with petroleum ether. The yield is 0.435 gram (1.06 mmol, 95%) of dark green fluffy powder. The powder may be recrystallized from mixtures of dichloromethane/petroleum ether or from ethanol/petroleum ether.
In an alternate procedure, the (7-4-dimethylamino-phenyl)-hepta-2, 4, 6-triene-1-al is combined in 10 mls of ethanol and 30 mls of chloroform with 1.0 gram of isophorone-thiobarbituric acid derivative C, where A=(2) and R═R'═ethyl (3.12 mmol and 1 g ammonium acetate) in a Schlenk flask. The flask is filled with argon twice and sealed. The mixture is then evacuated and left to sit one day at room temperature in the dark. The resulting dark blue solution is washed with water (2×30 mls) followed by drying with magnesium sulfate. Solvent is removed from the solution under vacuum. The remaining residue is chromatographed on silica gel using 3% ethyl acetate/97 % hexane as an eluant. The first blue band gave after evaporation of solvent a materials corresponding to a composition having the formula of the present invention where A is 2 R═R' is ethyl, C is 16 and m is 4 and B is (14), where Y is CH═CH and D is (CH 3 ) 2 N.
A number of exemplary compositions in accordance with the present invention were prepared following the above-described procedure. The results of spectroscopic and elemental analysis for the various compositions are as follows:
EXAMPLE 1
General Formula I
A=diethyl barbituric acid (1)
B=dimethylaminophenyl (11)
m=3
1 H NMR (CD 3 COCD 3 ) δ 7.98 (m, 2H), 7.43 (dm, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.39 (m, 1H), 7.04 (dd, J=14.3, 10.5 Hz, 1H), 6.93 (m, 2H), 6 dd, J=14.2, 11.8 Hz, 1H), 3.93, 3.92 (each q, J=7.0 Hz, 2H), 3.01 (s, 6H), 1.16, 1.15 (each t, J=7.0 Hz, 3H). Anal. Calcd. for C 23 H 27 N 3 O 3 : C, 70.21; H, 6.92; N, 10.68. Found: C, 70.26; H, 6.95; N, 10.67. λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 522; toluene, 546; chloroform, 572; methylene chloride, 562; acetone, 542; methanol, 560; N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 569.
EXAMPLE 2
General Formula I
A=diethyl barbituric acid (1)
B=julolidinyl (12)
m=1
1 H NMR (CD 3 COCD 3 ) δ 8.36 (dd, J=14.8, 12.4 Hz, 1H), 8.05 (dd, J=12.5, 0.6 Hz, 1H), 7.44 (d, J=14.8 Hz, 1H), 7.20 (s, 2H), 3.94, 3.92 (each q, J=7.0 Hz, 2H), 3.37 (apparent t, J=5.8 Hz, 4H), 2.76 (apparent t, J=6.3 Hz, 4H), 1.95 (m, 4H), 1.17, 1.15 (each t, J=7.0 Hz, 3H). 13 C NMR δ 162.77, 162.24, 158.30, 157.87, 151.04, 147.13, 130.05, 122.55, 121.25, 119.58, 108.62, 50.19, 36.87, 36.28, 27.48, 21.20, 13.48, 13.43. λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 529; chloroform, 574. Anal. Calcd. for C 23 H 27 N 3 O 3 : N, 10.68. Found: N, 10.64.
EXAMPLE 3
General Formula I
A=diethyl barbituric acid (1)
B=julolidinyl (12)
m=2
1 H NMR (CD 2 Cl 2 ) δ 8.04 (d, J=12.5 Hz, 1H) 7.94 (dd, J=13.9, 12.6 Hz, 1H), 7.28 (apparent ddd, J=13.9, 7.9, 2.9 Hz, 1H), 6.99 (s, 2H), 6.92 (m, 2H), 3.96, 3.96 (each q, J=7.0 Hz, 2H), 3.27 (apparent t, J=5.8 Hz, 4H), 2.73 (apparent t, J=6.3 Hz, 4H), 1.94 (m, 4H), 1.19 (m, 6H). λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 540; chloroform, 616.
EXAMPLE 4
General Formula I
A=diethylthio barbituric acid (2)
B=dimethylaminophenyl (11)
m=3
1 H NMR δ 8.09 (d, J=12.6 Hz, 1H), 8.00 (apparent t, J=13.3 Hz, 1H), 7.39 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 7.25 (dd, J=14.0, 11.7 Hz, 1H), 6.96 (dd, J=14.4, 10.2 Hz, 1H), 6.85 (d, J=15.1 Hz, 1H), 6.81 (dd, J=15.1, 10.2 Hz, 1H), 6.67 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 6.59 (dd, J=14.3, 11.7 Hz, 1H), 4.55, 4.54 (each q, J=7.0 Hz, 2H), 3.04 (s, 6H), 1.30 (m, 6H). 13 C NMR δ 178.75, 160.87, 159.87, 157.99, 157.27, 151.19, 147.82, 142.07, 130.07, 129.28, 128.31, 124.30, 123.92, 112.10, 112.00, 43.58, 43.05, 40.15, 12.42 (coincident). Anal. Calcd. for C 23 H 27 N 3 O 2 S: C, 67.45; H, 6.65; N, 10.26. Found: C, 67.48; H, 6.71; N, 10.18. λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 556; toluene, 588; chloroform, 624; methylene chloride, 612; acetone, 592; methanol, 608; N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 634.
EXAMPLE 5
General Formula I
A=diethylthio barbituric acid (2)
B=julolidinyl (12)
m=1
1 H NMR (CD 3 COCD 3 ) δ 8.40 (dd, J=14.5, 12.7 Hz, 1H), 8.10 (dd, J=12.6, 0.5 Hz, 1H), 7.56 (d, J=14.5 Hz, 1H), 7.27 (br s, 2H), 4.52, 4.50 (each q, J=6.9 Hz, 2H), 3.43 (apparent t, J=5.8 Hz, 4H), 2.78 (apparent t, J=6.5 Hz, 4H), 1.96 (m, 4H), 1.25, 1.22 (each t, J=6.9 Hz, 3H). 13 C NMR δ 178.60, 161.37, 160.46, 159.38, 159.18, 147.99, 130.78, 122.74, 121.46, 120.11, 108.46, 50.33, 43.41, 42.86, 27.40, 21.04, 12.49, 12.41. Anal. Calcd. for C 23 H 27 N 3 O 2 S: C, 67.45; H, 6.65; N, 10.26; S, 7.83. Found: C, 67.18; H, 6.67; N, 10.24; S, 7.77. λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 563; chloroform, 614 (log ε, 5.08).
EXAMPLE 6
General Formula I
A=diethylthio barbituric acid (2)
B=julolidinyl (12)
m=2
1 H NMR δ (CD 2 Cl 2 ) 8.07 (d, J=12.8 Hz, 1H), 7.98 (apparent t, J=13.2 Hz, 1H), 7.37 (dd, J=14, 11.0 Hz, 1H), 7.03 (br s, 2H), 6.98 (m, 2H), 4.54 (m, 4H), 3.30 (apparent t, J=5.8 Hz, 4H), 2.73 (apparent t, J=6.3 Hz, 4H), 1.95 (m, 4H), 1.27, 1.25 (each t, J=7.0 Hz, 3H). Anal. Calcd. for C 25 H 29 N 3 O 2 S: C, 68.94; H, 6.71; N, 9.65; S, 7.36. Found: C, 69.03; H, 6.76; N, 9.63; S, 7.42. λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 580; chloroform, 684.
EXAMPLE 7
General Formula I
A=diethylthio barbituric acid (2)
B=julolidinyl (12)
m=3
1 H NMR δ 8.08 (d, J=12.7 Hz, 1H), 7.98 (apparent t, J=13.3 Hz, 1H), 7.25 (dd, J=13.8, J=11.9 Hz, 1H), 6.96, (bs, 2H), 6.95 (m, 1H), 6.55 (dd, J=14.1, J=11.8 Hz, 1H), 4.55, 4.54 (each q, J=6.9 Hz, 2H), 3.25 (apparent t, J=5.7 Hz, 4H), 2.74 (apparent t, J=6.3 Hz, 4H), 1.96 (m, 4H), 1.31, 1.29 (each t, J=7.3 Hz, 3H). 13 C NMR δ 178.05, 161.05, 160.04, 157.97, 157.91, 148.80, 144.72, 143.22, 129.39, 127.81, 127.30, 123.39, 123.09, 121.28, 111.35, 50.02, 43.58, 43.04, 27.67, 21.53, 12.48, 12.44; EIMS, m/z 461(M, 2), 327(47), 199(54), 186(100), 170(32), 97(24), 69(34); EI HRMS m/z (calcd for C 27 H 31 N 3 O 2 S: 461.2150), 461.2137. Anal. Calcd. for C 27 H 31 N 3 O 2 S: C, 70.25; H, 6.77; N, 9.10; S. 6.95. Found: C, 70.03; H, 6.80; N, 9.00; S, 6.83.
EXAMPLE 8
General Formula I
A=indandione (3)
B=dimethylaminophenyl (11)
m=2
λ max (solvent, nanometers): toluene, 536; chloroform, 556; methylene chloride, 552; acetone, 542; methanol, 560; N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 570.
EXAMPLE 9
General Formula I
A=indandione (3)
B=dimethylaminophenyl (11)
m=3
1 H NMR δ 7.91 (m, 2H), 7.83 (dd, J=14.3, 12.5 Hz, 1H), 7.73 (m, 2H), 7.53 (d, J=8.9 Hz, 2H), 7.37 (dm, J=8.9 Hz, 2H), 7.10 (dd, J=14.5, 11.5 Hz, 1H), 6.80 (m, 3H), 6.67 (dm, J=8.9 Hz, 2H), 6.60 (dd, J 1 +J 2 =25.17 Hz, 1H), 3.02 (s, 6H). λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 524; toluene, 550; chloroform, 572; methylene chloride, 570; acetone, 552; methanol, 568; N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 580.
EXAMPLE 10
General Formula I
A=indandione (3)
B=julolidinyl (12)
m=1
1 H NMR δ 8.21 (dd, J=14.8, 12.4 Hz, 1H), 7.88, 7.70 (each m, 2H), 7.62 (d, J=12.3 Hz, 1H), 7.21 (d, J=14.9 Hz, 1H), 7.17 (br. s, 2H), 3.30 (apparent t, J=5.7 Hz, 4H), 2.76 (apparent t, J=6.2 Hz, 4H), 1.97 (m, 4H). λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 541.
EXAMPLE 11
General Formula I
A=indandione (3)
B=julolidinyl (12)
m=2
1 H NMR δ 7.89 (m, 2H), 7.82 (dd, J 1 +J 2 =26.75 Hz, 1H), 7.70 (m, 2H), 7.54 (d, J 12.6 Hz, 1H), 7.17 (dd, J=14.3, 10.8 Hz, 1H), 6.99 (br. s, 2H), 6.92 (dd, J=15.0, 10.7 Hz, 1H), 6.85 (d, J=15.1 Hz, 1H), 3.25 (apparent t, J=5.7 Hz, 4H), 2.74 (apparent t, J=6.3 Hz, 4H), 1.97 (m, 4H).
EXAMPLE 12
General Formula I
A=3-phenyl-5-isoxazolone (5)
B=dimethylaminophenyl (11)
m=2
1 H NMR δ (CD 2 Cl 2 ) 7.81 (dd, J=14.1, 12.3 Hz, 1H), 7.57 (m, 5H,), 7.43 (d m, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 7.40 (dd, J=12.6, 0.5 Hz, 1H), 7.18 (apparent dddd, J=14.3, 7.4, 3.3, 0.4 Hz, 1H), 7.00 (m, 2H), 6.69 (d m, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 3.04 (s, 6H); 13 C NMR (125.8 MHz) δ 170.21, 162.40, 154.61, 151.92, 149.73, 145.57, 130.53, 130.02, 129.06, 128.31, 128.24, 124.72, 123.93, 123.72, 112.70, 112.09, 40.08; Anal. Calcd. for C 22 H 20 N 2 O 2 : C, 76.72; H, 5.85; N, 8.13. Found: C, 76.67; H, 5.90; N, 8.08. λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 508; toluene, 538; chloroform, 562; methylene chloride, 564; acetone, 553; methanol, 570; N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 580.
EXAMPLE 13
General Fonnula I
A=3-phenyl-5-isoxazolone (5)
B=dimethylaminophenyl (11)
m=3
1 H NMR δ (CD 2 Cl 2 ) 7.78 (dd, J=14.3, 12.3 Hz, 1H), 7.58 (m, 5H), 7.37 (m, 3H), 7.09 (dd, J=14.4, 11.6 Hz, 1H), 6.90 (apparent ddd, J=14.1, 7.0, 3.8 Hz, 1H), 6.82 (m, 2H), 6.67 (d m, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 6.62 (dd, J=13.6, 11.6 Hz, 1H), 3.01 (s, 6H, ); 13 C NMR (125.8 MHz) δ 170.01, 162.37, 153.50, 151.22, 149.35, 146.27, 141.14, 130.59, 129.81, 129.09, 129.07, 128.22, 128.17, 125.64, 124.48, 123.97, 113.40, 112.12, 40.15. Anal. Calcd. for C 24 H 22 N 2 O 2 : C, 77.81; H, 5.99; N, 7.56. Found: C, 77.89; H, 6.02; N, 7.53. λ max solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 534; toluene, 558; chloroform, 582; methylene chloride, 578; acetone, 566; methanol, 576; N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 592.
EXAMPLE 14
General Fonnula I
A=3-phenyl-5-isoxazolone (5)
B=julolidinyl (12)
m=0
1 H NMR (CD 3 COCD 3 ) δ 8.08 (v br s, 2H), 7.58 (m, 5H), 7.31 (s, 1H), 3.46 (apparent t, J=5.8 Hz, 4H), 2.73 (apparent t, J=6.2 Hz, 4H), 1.95 (m, 4H); 13 C NMR δ 164.85, 150.89, 149.27, 135.55, 135.49, 129.96, 128.97, 128.79, 128.73, 121.05, 120.85, 107.03, 50.43, 27.32, 20.82; Anal. Calcd. for C 22 H 20 N 2 O 2 : C, 76.72; H, 5.85; N, 8.13. Found: C, 76.82; H, 5.87; N, 8.09. λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 476; chloroform, 504.
EXAMPLE 15
General Formula I
A=3-phenyl-5-isoxazolone (5)
B=julolidinyl (12)
m=1
1 H NMR (CD 3 COCD 3 ) δ 8.12 (dd J=14.7, 12.2Hz, 1H), 7.66 (m, 2H), 7.61 (dd, J=12.2, 0.6 Hz, 1H), 7.56 (m, 3H), 7.42 (d, J=14.6 Hz, 1H), 7.17 (s, 2H), 3.38 (apparent t, J=5.8 Hz, 4H), 2.75 (apparent t, J=6.2 Hz, 4H), 1.94 (m, 4H). 13 C NMR (125.8 MHz) δ 171.10, 162.47, 155.21, 150.82, 147.26, 130.16, 129.85, 128.86, 128.72, 128.13, 122.34, 121.37, 117.40, 108.89, 50.16, 27.42, 21.10; Anal. Calcd. for C 24 H 22 N 2 O 2 : C, 77.81; H, 5.99; N, 7.56. Found: C, 77.79; H, 6.00; N, 7.49. λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 517; chloroform, 586.
EXAMPLE 16
General Formula I
A=3-phenyl-5-isoxazolone (5)
B=julolidinyl (12)
m=2
1 H NMR (CD 3 COCD 3 ) δ 7.75 (dd J=14.1, 12.6 Hz, 1H), 7.66 (m, 2H), 7.58 (dd, J=12.6, 0.6 Hz, 1H), 7.57 (m, 3H), 7.42 (dd, J=14.2, J=11.1 Hz, 1H), 7.11 (s, 2H), 7.09 (dd J=13.9, 11.0 Hz, 1H), 7.01 (d, J=14.0 Hz, 1H), 3.30 (apparent t, J=5.7 Hz, 4H), 2.72 (apparent t, J=6.2 Hz, 4H), 1.92 (m, 4H). Anal. Calcd. for C 26 H 24 N 2 O 2 : C, 78.76; H, 6.10; N, 7.07. Found: C, 78.64; H, 6.16; N, 7.05. λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 554; chloroform, 620.
EXAMPLE 17
General Formula I
A=3-phenyl-5-isoxazolone (5)
B=julolidinyl (12)
m=3
1 H NMR δ 7.79 (dd J=14.1, 12.4 Hz, 1H), 7.59 (m, 2H), 7.52 (m, 3H), 7.32 (d, J=12.4 Hz, 1H), 7.04 (dd, J=14.3, J=11.7 Hz, 1H), 6.94 (s, 2H), 6.84 (apparent dd J=14.1, 9.8 Hz, 1H), 6.73 (m, 2H), 6.55 (dd J=14.0, 11.7 Hz, 1H), 3.24 (apparent t, J=5.7 Hz, 4H), 2.73 (apparent t, J=6.2 Hz, 4H), 1.96 (m, 4H). 13 C NMR δ 21.51, 27.62, 49.91, 112.12, 121.19, 122.91, 123.25, 124.98, 126.97, 128.99, 130.45, 142.20, 144.46, 147.24, 149.44, 154.14, 163.06; Anal. Calcd. for C 28 H 26 N 2 O 2 : C, 79.59; H, 6.20; N, 6.63. Found: C, 79.51; H, 6.15; N, 6.61.
EXAMPLE 18
General Formula III
A=diethylthio barbituric acid (2)
B=dimethylaminophenyl (11)
C=isophorone (16)
m=1
1 H NMR (CD 3 COCD 3 ) δ 8.38 (s, 1H), 7.59 (dm, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.27 (d, J=15.9 Hz, 1H), 7.06 (dd, J=15.9, 0.5 Hz, 1H), 6.76 (dm, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 4.48 (br, 4H), 3.09 (s, 2H), 3.04 (s, 6H), 2.54 (s, 2H) 1.23 (br m, 6H), 1.04 (s, 6H).
EXAMPLE 19
General Formula III
A=diethylthio barbituric acid (2)
B=dimethylaminophenyl (11)
C=isophorone (16)
m=2
1 H NMR δ 8.32 (s, 1H), 7.37 (dm, J=8.7 Hz, 2H), 6.98 (m, 1H), 6.79 (m, 2H), 6.70 (br, 2H), 6.60 (d, J=15.1 Hz, 1H), 4.54, 4.51 (each q, J=6.8 Hz, 2H), 3.08 (s, 2H), 3.03 (s, 6H), 2.40 (s, 2H) 1.31, 1.29 (each t, J=6.9 Hz, 3H), 1.04 (s, 6H).
EXAMPLE 20
General Formula III
A=diethylthio barbituric acid (2)
B=dimethylaminophenyl (11)
C=isophorone (16)
m=3
1 H NMR δ 8.31 (s, 1H), 7.35 (dm, J=8.6 Hz, 2H), 6.90 (dd, J=15.0, J=11.2, 1H), 6.77 (dd, J=15.2, 10.6 Hz, 1H), 6.70 (br, 2H), 6.68 (dd, J=14.2, 10.7 Hz, 1H), 6.66 (d, J=15.2 Hz, 1H), 6.56 (d, J=15.1 Hz, 1H), 6.43 (dd, J=14.1, 11.2 Hz, 1H), 4.55, 4.51 (each q, J=7.0 Hz, 2H), 3.07 (s, 2H), 3.01 (s, 6H), 2.38 (s, 2H) 1.31, 1.29 (each t, J=7.0 Hz, 3H), 1.04 (s, 6H).
EXAMPLE 21
General Formula III
A=diethylthio barbituric acid (2)
B=dimethylaminophenyl (11)
C=isophorone (16)
m=4
1 H NMR δ 8.30 (s, 1H), 7.32 (dm, J=8.6 Hz, 2H), 6.87 (dd, J=15.0, J=11.1, 1H), 6.72 (dd, J=15.2, 10.9 Hz, 1H), 6.67 (br d, J=8.0 Hz, 2H), 6.61 (dd, J=14.5, 11.3 Hz, 1H), 6.60 (d, J=15.6 Hz, 1H), 6.56 (dd, J=14.4, 10.7Hz, 1H), 6.56 (d, J=15.2 Hz, 1H), 6.39 (dd, J=14.2, 11.5 Hz, 1H), 6.39 (dd, J=14.5, 11.2 Hz, 1H), 4.54, 4.51 (each q, J=6.9 Hz, 2H), 3.07 (s, 2H), 3.00 (s, 6H), 2.36 (s, 2H) 1.31, 1.29 (each t, J=7.0 Hz, 3H, 1.04 (s, 6H).
EXAMPLE 22
General Formula II
A=diethylthiobarbituric acid, (2)
B=(14) with Y=S, D=piperidinyl
m=n=p=0
Anal. Calcd. for C 18 H 23 N 3 O 2 S 2 : C, 57.27; H, 6.14; N, 11.13; S, 16.99. Found: C, 57.10; H 6.20; N, 11.22; S, 16.82. High resolution MS calcd. for C 18 H 23 N 3 O 2 S 2 : 377.1225. Found: 377.1232.
EXAMPLE 23
General Formula II
A=5-phenyl-3-isoxazolone, (5)
B=(14) with Y=S, D=piperidinyl,
m=1,
n=1, Z=S,
p=0
1 H NMR (CD 2 Cl 2 ) δ 7.78 (s, 1H), 7.60 (m, 6H), 7.38 (d, J=15.3 Hz, 1H), 7.08 (d, J=4.2 Hz, 1H), 6.98 (d, J=4.2 Hz, 1H), 6.65 (d, J=15.4 Hz, 1H), 5.98 (d, J=4.0 Hz, 1H), 3.27 (t, J=5.6 Hz, 4H), 1.71 (m, 4H), 1.62 (m, 2H). Anal. Calcd. for C 25 H 22 N 2 O 2 S 2 : C, 67.24; H, 4.97; N, 6.27; S, 14.36. Found: C, 67.26; H, 4.99; N, 6.26; S, 14.29.
EXAMPLE 24
General Formula II
A=diethylthiobarbituric acid, (2)
B=(14) with Y=S, D=piperidinyl,
m=1,
n=1, Z=S,
p=1
1 H NMR (CD 2 Cl 2 ) δ 8.28 (dd, J=14.5, 2.2 Hz, 1H), 8.11 (d, J=12.2 Hz, 1H), 7.55 (d, J=14.5 Hz, 1H), 7.33 (d, J=4.1 Hz, 1H, ), 7.16 (d, J=15.3 Hz, 1H), 6.96 (d, J=4.0 Hz, 1H), 6.90 (d, J=4.1 Hz, 1H), 6.62 (d, J=15.4 Hz, 1H), 5.97 (d, J=4.20 Hz, 1H), 4.53 (m, 4H), 3.25 (t, 4H, J=5.7 Hz), 1.70 (m, 4H), 1.61 (m, 2H), 1.26 (m, 6H).
Four different compounds produced by the above-described procedure were analyzed to determine first molecular hyperpolarizabilities. The results of these determinations are set forth in Tables 1-4. Tables 1-3 show the measured β for the three exemplary compounds in accordance with the present invention. Table 4 sets forth measurements for a compound not covered by the present invention wherein A═CH═CH--C 6 H 4 NO 2 .
TABLE 1______________________________________General Formula IA = CH - diethylthiobarbituric acid (2)B = dimethylaminophenyl (11) μ/ β/ β(0)/ μβ/ μβ(0)/# of atoms λmax 10.sup.-18 10.sup.-30 10.sup.-30 10.sup.-48 10.sup.-48m conjugated (nm) (esu) (esu) (esu) (esu) (esu)______________________________________0 9 (484) 5.4 68 48 370 2591 11 (572) 5.7 256 150 1457 8552 13 (604) 6.2 636 347 3945 21513 15 (624) 6.6 1490 772 9831 5095______________________________________
TABLE 2______________________________________General Formula IA = 3 - phenyl-5-isoxazolone (5)B = dimethylaminophenyl (11) μ/ β/ β(0)/ μβ/ μβ(0)/# of atoms λmax 10.sup.-18 10.sup.-30 10.sup.-30 10.sup.-48 10.sup.-48m conjugated (nm) (esu) (esu) (esu) (esu) (esu)______________________________________0 9 (478) 8.3 27 56 312 2211 11 (530) 8.6 140 90 1202 7712 13 (562) 8.7 362 218 3156 18953 15 (582) 8.9 918 528 8171 4696______________________________________
TABLE 3______________________________________General Formula IA = CHC.sub.6 H.sub.4 NO.sub.2B = dimethylaminophenyl (11) μ/ β/ β(0)/ μβ/ μβ(0)/# of atoms λmax 10.sup.-18 10.sup.-30 10.sup.-30 10.sup.-48 10.sup.-48m conjugated (nm) (esu) (esu) (esu) (esu) (esu)______________________________________0 13 (430) 6.6 73 55 482 3631 15 (442) 7.6 107 80 813 6082 17 (458) 8.2 131 95 1074 7793 19 (464) 9 ± 1 190 ± 133 ± 1700 ± 1197 ± 35 35 400 250______________________________________
TABLE 4______________________________________General Formula IA = CH - diethylthiobarbituric acid (2)B = julolidinyl (12) μ/ β/ β(0)/ μβ/ μβ(0)/# of atoms λmax 10.sup.-18 10.sup.-30 10.sup.-30 10.sup.-48 10.sup.-48m conjugated (nm) (esu) (esu) (esu) (esu) (esu)______________________________________0 9 (522) 7.0 87 56 609 3941 11 (614) 6.6 355 186 2210 11592 13 (680) 6.3 1141 490 7152 30693 15 (686) 8.8 2169 911 19086 8019______________________________________
As can be seen from the above Tables, compounds in accordance with the present invention (Table 1-3) have large first molecular hyperpolarizabilities (β) in comparison with the compound set forth in Table 4. For example, the results in Table 4 show that this exemplary composition in accordance with the present invention has a β (0) of 911×10 -30 esu (after correcting for dispersion with a two state model). This is to be compared with the compound in Table 2 which has a β (0) of 133×10 -30 esu. The Tables show that when the number of carbon double bonds which link the two functional groups together is increased, the first hyperpolarizabilities unexpectedly increases.
Having thus described exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it should be noted by those skilled in the art that the within disclosures are exemplary only and that various other alternatives, adaptations, and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments as illustrated herein, but is only limited by the following claims. | Compositions for use in non-linear optical devices. The compositions have high first molecular electronic hyperpolarizability (β) and therefore display high second order non-linear optical properties when incorporated into non-linear optical devices. The acceptor and donor groups which are used in the compositions, along with the π(pi)-bridge length is chosen to optimize second-order non-linear optical responses. | Summarize the patent document, focusing on the invention's functionality and advantages. | [
"The U.S. Government has certain rights in this invention pursuant to Contract No. CHE 9106689, National Science Foundation, and Contract No. AFOSR-ISSA-91-0070 awarded by the United States Air Force/Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.",
"This is a continuation of application Ser.",
"No. 08/372,964 filed on Jan. 17, 1996, now abandoned which is a continuation of Ser.",
"No. 08/103,281 filed on Aug. 5, 1993, now abandoned.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to materials which exhibit nonlinear optical (NLO) properties.",
"More particularly, the present invention relates to materials which have high first molecular electronic hyperpolarizability (β) and therefor display high second order nonlinear optical properties.",
"Description of Related Art Organic materials that show second-order nonlinear optical responses are of interest for a variety of photonic and optoelectronic applications.",
"See Marder, S. R., Sohn, J. E. &",
"Stucky, G. D. eds.",
"Materials for Nonlinear Optics: Chemical Perspectives, ACS Symposium Series, Vol. 455(American Chemical Society, Washington, 1991);",
"Chemla, D. S. &",
"Zyss, J. eds Nonlinear optical properties of Organic Molecules and Crystals, Vol. 1 and 2 (Academic Press, San Diego, 1987);",
"and Williams, D. J. Agnew.",
"Chem.",
"Int.",
"Ed.",
"Engl.",
"23, 690-703 (1984).",
"Exemplary nonlinear optical materials and devices which utilize such materials are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,062,693;",
"5,011,907;",
"and 5,016,063.",
"Nonlinear optical materials are also described in Japanese Patent Appln.",
"No. 63-270834 filed Oct. 28, 1988, and published on May 2, 1990.",
"Compositions which have been investigated for second order nonlinear properties include barbituric acid derivatives and cyanine dyes.",
"Investigations with respect to barbituric acid derivatives are set forth in a number of literature references.",
"These references include: Chapter 12 of Materials for Nonlinear Optics: Chemical Perspectives (supra, pp[.",
"].200-213);",
"Kondo, K. et al.",
", Nonlinear Optical Properties of p-Substituted Benzalbarbituric Acids,--Appl.",
"Phys.",
"Lett.",
"56, 718 (1990);",
"Ikeda H., et al.",
", Second Order Hyperpolarizabilities of Barbituric Acid Derivatives, Chemistry Letters, pp. 1803-1806(1989);",
"and Kondo K., et al.",
", Crystal Structure of Thermally Stable Non-Linear Benzalbarbituric Acid Derivatives, Chemical Physics Letters, Vol. 188, No. 3.4, (1992).",
"Investigations with respect to cyanine dyes are set forth in Ikeda, H., et al.",
", Nonlinear Optical Properties of Cyanine Dyes, Chemical Physics Letters, Vol. 179, No. 5.6(1991).",
"Nonlinear optical compositions are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,784 which issued on Oct. 26, 1994.",
"The disclosed double functional group compositions include a variety of donor groups which are connected together by linkages composed of from 1 to 2 carbon double bonds.",
"There is a continuing need to develop new materials which have sufficiently high second-order nonlinear optical properties when used in thin films and crystals to make them useful for applications such as telecommunications, optical data storage and optical information processing.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides compositions of matter that have bond length alternations which are selected to provide a high degree of first molecular electronic hyperpolarizability (β).",
"The compositions of the present invention are useful for incorporation into polymers, Langmuir-Blodgett thin films, self-assembled monolayers or poled polymers.",
"It was discovered in accordance with the present invention that molecules that have degenerate or more nearly degenerate π (pi)-electron bridges and do not lose aromaticity upon charge transfer.",
"This diminishes the bond length alternation for given donor-acceptor end groups and provides optimization of β.",
"Applicants'",
"invention is further based upon the discovery that there is an optimal combination of donors and acceptors which leads to an optimal degree of bond length alternation and therefore optimized β.",
"In addition, it was discovered that when the number of carbon double bonds linking certain donor group is increased above 2, then an unexpected increase in second-order nonlinear optical properties is observed.",
"Compositions in accordance with the present invention have the formula ##STR1## wherein A is ##STR2## R is H, allyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) x OH where x=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) x SH where x=1 to 8;",
"R'",
"is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) y'",
"OH where y'=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) y'",
"SH where y'=1 to 8;",
"ML n is a lewis acid;",
"wherein B is ##STR3## D is OR", NR"",
"R'"",
"or SR";",
"where R"",
"is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) w OH where w=1 to 8;",
"R'"",
"is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) z OH where z=1 to 8;",
"or where NR"",
"R'"",
"is derived from a cyclic amine of the form N(CH 2 ) l where l=3-10, and wherein m is 0 to 15 except, if B is (11), and A is (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9) or (10) then, m is 2 to 15;",
"or if B is (11) and A is (1) or (2), then m=3 to 15 where the asterisk indicates the point of attachment on the acceptor and donor.",
"As a feature of the present invention, nonlinear optical devices are provided which include compositions of matter which exhibit a high second-order nonlinear optical response.",
"The compositions used in the optical devices are those set forth above and also include compositions having the formula ##STR4## wherein Z is CH═CH, O, N, S or Se;",
"A is ##STR5## R is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) x OH where x=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) x SH where x=1 to 8;",
"R'",
"is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) y'",
"OH where y'=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) y'",
"SH where y'=1 to 8;",
"ML n is a lewis acid;",
"wherein B is ##STR6## Y is CH═CH, O, N, S or Se;",
"D is OR", NR"",
"R'"",
"or SR"",
"where R"",
"is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) w OH where w=1 to 8;",
"R'"",
"is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) z OH where z=1 to 8;",
"or where NR"",
"R'"",
"is derived from a cyclic amine of the form N(CH 2 ) l where l=3-10, and wherein m is 0 to 15, n=0 to 15 and p=1 to 15;",
"except when A is (2) then Y is S, and B is (13) or (14), M=0 to 10, n=0 to 15 and p=1 to 15, where the asterisk indicates the point of attachment on the acceptor and donor.",
"Further compositions in accordance with the present invention include those having the formula ##STR7## wherein C is ##STR8## wherein A is ##STR9## R is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) x OH where x=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) x SH where x=1 to 8;",
"R'",
"is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) y'",
"OH where y'=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) y'",
"SH where y'=1 to 8;",
"ML n is a lewis acid;",
"wherein B is ##STR10## Y is CH═CH, O, NH, S or Se;",
"D is OR", NR"",
"R'"",
"or SR"",
"where R"",
"is H, allyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) w OH where w=1 to 8;",
"R'"",
"is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) z OH where z=1 to 8;",
"or where R"",
"R'"",
"is derived from a cyclic amine of the form N(CH 2 ) l where l=3-10;",
"and wherein m is 0 to 15.",
"where the asterisk indicates the point of attachment on the acceptor and donor.",
"Applicants'",
"invention focuses on the importance of the conjugated π (pi)-electron bridge in determining second-order non-linear optical responses.",
"As a feature of the present invention, it was discovered that the aromaticity of the bridge in the ground state is an important aspect in determining the degree of bond length alternation and resultant second-order nonlinear optical responses.",
"This is in contrast to previous teachings which typically focused on the aromaticity of molecules on either side of the π (pi) electron bridge.",
"The previous teachings focused on optimizing β by changing the strength of the donor and acceptor moieties (i.e. A and B) with the philosophy being that large β is obtained by using the strongest donors and acceptors.",
"The above-discussed and many other features and attendant advantages will become better understood by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the synthesis of an exemplary composition in accordance with the present invention wherein B is dimethylaminophenyl (11).",
"FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the synthesis of an exemplary composition wherein B is julolidinyl (12).",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The compositions of the present invention are organic materials that show second-order non-linear optical responses.",
"The compositions are incorporated into thin films and crystals in the same manner as other materials which exhibit non-linear optical properties.",
"The compositions, themselves, may exist as crystals, liquids or gases.",
"The compositions may be used alone or in combination with other materials which are conventionally used in non-linear optical devices.",
"The optical element in accordance with the invention may in some cases consist of a macroscopic crystal of the compound chosen, providing the compound can be made to form crystals in which the polar molecules are in noncentrosymmetric alignment.",
"Such crystals may be grown at a slow rate under equilibrium with their mother liquor by a variety of methods practiced in the art.",
"However, this procedure will not work for many polar molecules due in large part to dipole interactions.",
"Another method of producing a useful optical element involves dissolving the compound in a solvent, which can be placed in a container having the desired shape.",
"The solution can then be subjected to an electrical field which causes the dissolved dipoles to align themselves in the field.",
"Electromagnetic radiation can then be passed through the solution and nonlinear optical effects, such as second harmonic generation, can be produced.",
"Both the presence of an electric field and the need to utilize the compound in liquid solution form may be inconvenient or undesirable in some applications.",
"A particularly convenient and effective form of the optical element in accordance with the invention involves dispersing the polar molecules in a polymeric binder.",
"The polar molecules can be mixed into the polymeric binder or grated onto the polymer.",
"The mixture can be heated to a temperature at which the polymer becomes sufficiently soft so that upon application of an electrical field the polar molecules line up on the direction of the field.",
"When the mixture cools, the polar molecules are locked into their aligned positions after which the electric field can be removed.",
"Suitable binders include polymethacrylate, poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(vinyl alcohol), copolymers of methyl methacrylate and methacrylic acid, copolymers of styrene and maleic anhydride and half ester-acids of the latter, as well as many others.",
"It is preferred that the polymeric binder of choice be highly transparent so that the transparency of the compounds utilized in the practice of this invention can be advantageously employed.",
"The poled polymer of this invention are considered particularly useful because of their high concentration of nonlinear optically active molecules, their capability of being formed into large area thin films, and their high orientational stability.",
"Preferred film thickness can vary according to use.",
"Typically film thickness is within the range of 0.5 μm-2 μm.",
"The poled polymer can also be provided in forms other than films (e.g., a solid block of polymer could be formed into an electrooptic modulator or a frequency converter using conventional techniques known in the art for single crystals) and poled polymer in various forms are included within this invention.",
"The poled polymers of this invention are preferably shaped to function as nonlinear optical elements for transforming electromagnetic radiation (e.g., by changing the frequency and/or polarization of the radiation).",
"Generally, the nonlinear optical element of a poled polymer is used for transforming electromagnetic radiation by including it within an optical device.",
"A device for transforming electromagnetic radiation using a nonlinear optical element is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,964.",
"The compounds of the present invention may be used in such a device.",
"A conventional nonlinear optical device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,964 comprises means to direct at least one incident beam of electromagnetic radiation into an element.",
"The element has nonlinear optical properties whereby electromagnetic radiation emerging from the element contains at least one frequency different from the frequency of any incident beam of radiation.",
"The different frequency is an even multiple of the frequency of one incident beam of electromagnetic radiation.",
"Preferably, the emerging radiation of a different frequency is doubled (second-order) (SHG).",
"Preferably, the electromagnetic radiation is radiation from one of a number of common lasers, such as Nd-YAG, Raman-shifted Nd-YAG, Nd-YLF or Nd-glass, semiconductor diode, Er-Glass, Ti-Sapphire, dye, and Ar or Kr ion, or radiation shifted to other frequencies by nonlinear processes.",
"For example, polarized light of wavelength 1.06 μm from an Nd-YAG laser is incident on the optical element along the optical path.",
"A lens focuses the light into the optical element.",
"Light emerging from the optical element is collimated by a similar lens and passed through a filter adapted to remove light of wavelength 1.06 μm while passing light of wavelength 0.53 μm.",
"As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,964 (incorporated herein by reference), one conventional electro-optic modulator comprises means to direct a coherent beam into an optical element, and means to apply an electric field ot the element in a direction to modify the transmission property of the beam.",
"For example, in an electro-optic modulator comprising an optical element, a pair of electrodes is attached to the upper and lower surfaces of the element, across which a modulating electric field is applied from a conventional voltage source.",
"The optical element is placed between two polarizers.",
"A light beam (such as that from a Nd-YAG laser) is polarized by a polarizer, focused on the optical element and propagated therethrough, and subjected to modulation by the electric field.",
"The modulate light beam is led out through an analyzer polarizer.",
"Linearly polarized light traversing the optical element is rendered elliptically polarized by action of the applied modulating voltage.",
"The analyzer polarizer renders the polarization linear again.",
"Application of the modulating voltage alters the birefringence of the optical element and consequently the ellipticity impressed on the beam.",
"The analyzer polarizer then passes a greater or lesser fraction of the light beam as more or less of the elliptically polarized light projects onto its nonblocking polarization direction.",
"It will be further apparent to those skilled in the art that the optical elements formed by the poled polymers of the present invention are useful in this and other devices utilizing their nonlinear properties, such as devices utilizing the electro-optic effect.",
"One common form the optical element can take is that of a Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film.",
"A small amount of a compound useful in the practice of this invention spread on the surface of a liquid forms a surface film of monomolecular thickness at the air/liquid interface.",
"If the supporting liquid is a polar liquid, such as water, the hydrophilic moieties of the compound are drawn into the liquid, while the hydrophobic moieties of the compound are attracted to the non-polar, air side of the interface to hold the polar molecules at the surface of the supporting liquid body, resulting in polar alignment of the polar molecules on the surface of the supporting liquid.",
"When the supporting substrate is slowly immersed in the film bearing liquid body or slowly withdrawn from it, an oriented monomolecular film is formed on the substrate.",
"The nonlinear optical device according to the invention comprises a means to direct at least one incident of electromagnetic radiation onto an optical element having nonlinear optical properties whereby electromagnetic radiation emerging from the element contains at least one frequency different from the frequency of any incident beam of radiation, the different frequency being an even multiple of the frequency of one incident beam of electromagnetic radiation.",
"The optical element is selected from one of the forms described above.",
"Preferably, the emerging radiation of a different frequency is doubled, i.e. SHG.",
"The optical element of the invention can also be utilized in an electro-optic modulator, wherein an electric field is applied to the optical element in a direction to modify the transmission properties of the element.",
"Compositions of matter which are covered by the present invention have the formula: ##STR11## wherein A is ##STR12## R is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) x OH where x=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) x SH where x=1 to 8;",
"R'",
"is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) y'",
"OH where y'=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) y'",
"SH where y'=1 to 8;",
"n is 0 to 10 and ML n is a lewis acid;",
"wherein B is ##STR13## D is OR", NR"",
"R'"",
"or SR"",
"where R"",
"is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) w OH where w=1 to 8;",
"R'"",
"is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) z OH where z=1 to 8;",
"or where NR"",
"R'"",
"is derived from a cyclic amine of the form N(CH 2 ) l where l=3-10, and wherein m is 0 to 15 except, if B is (11) and A is (3), (4), (5) (6), (7), (8), (9) and (10), then m is 2 to 15;",
"or if B is (12) and A is (1), then m is 1 to 15;",
"or if B is (11) and A is (1) or (2), then m=3 to 15;",
"where the asterisk indicates the point of attachment on the acceptor and donor.",
"The present invention is also directed to non-linear optical devices which incorporate compositions of matter having the formula: ##STR14## wherein Z is CH═CH, O, N, S or Se;",
"A is ##STR15## R is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) x OH where x=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) x SH where x=1 to 8;",
"R'",
"is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) y'",
"OH where y'=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) y'",
"SH where y'=1 to 8;",
"ML n is a lewis acid;",
"where the asterisk indicates the point of attachment on the acceptor and donor.",
"wherein B is ##STR16## Y is CH═CH, O, N, S or Se;",
"D is OR", NR"",
"R'"",
"or SR"",
"where R"",
"is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) w OH where w=1 to 8;",
"R'"",
"is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) z OH where z=1 to 8;",
"or where NR"",
"R'"",
"is derived from a cyclic amine of the form N(CH 2 ) l where l=3-10, and wherein m is 0 to 15, n=0 to 15 and p=1 to 15;",
"except when A is (2) then Y is S, and B is (13) or (14), m=0 to 10, n=0 to 15 and p=15 to 15, where the asterisk indicates the point of attachment on the acceptor and donor.",
"The present invention is also directed to non-linear optical devices which include compositions of matter having the formula: ##STR17## wherein C is ##STR18## wherein A is ##STR19## R is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) x OH where x=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) x SH where x=1 to 8;",
"R'",
"is H, alkyl, aryl, (CH 2 ) y'",
"OH where y'=1 to 8, or (CH 2 ) y'",
"SH where y'=1 to 8;",
"ML n is a lewis acid;",
"wherein B is ##STR20## Y is CH═CH, O, N, S or Se;",
"D is OR", NR"",
"R'"",
"or SR"",
"where R"",
"is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) w OH where w=1 to 8;",
"R'"",
"is H, alkyl, aryl or (CH 2 ) z OH where z=1 to 8;",
"or where R"",
"R'"",
"is derived from a cyclic amine of the form N(CH 2 ) l where l=3-10, and wherein m is 0 to 15.",
"where the asterisk indicates the point of attachment on the acceptor and donor.",
"Alkyl groups set forth in the above formulas include those groups having up to 10 carbon atoms and includes both branched and straight chain alkyl groups.",
"Exemplary alkyl groups include methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, octyl, nonyl, in the normal, secondary, iso and neo attachment isomers.",
"Aryl groups referred to in the preceding formulas include aromatic hydrocarbons having up to 10 carbon atoms.",
"Exemplary aryl groups include phenyl, naphthyl, furanyl, thiophenyl, pyrrolyl, selenophenyl, tellurophenyl.",
"The abbreviation ML n refer to Lewis acids.",
"Exemplary Lewis acids include (CH 3 ) 2 Zn, (CH 3 ) 3 Al, (CH 3 ) 3 Ga, (CH 3 ) 3 B Cl 3 Al, Cl 3 Ga, and Cl 3 B. The compositions of the present invention are prepared by reacting an appropriate acceptor (A) with B--(CH═CH) n CHO under standard Knoevenagel conditions.",
"As schematically shown in FIG. 1 for the exemplary case where B is dimethylaminophenyl (11).",
"FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the synthesis where B is julolidinyl (12).",
"A compound in accordance with the present invention was prepared where A was diethylthiobarbituric acid (2) and B was dimethylaminophenyl (11).",
"The procedure which was used to prepare this composition was as follows: Preparation of the product is carried out by a conventional Knoevenagel reaction wherein (7-4-dimethylamino-phenyl)-hepta-2, 4, 6-triene-1-al (1.41 mmol) is completely dissolved in approximately 100 mls of ethanol.",
"10 mls of a warm ethanol solution of 1, 3-diethyl thiobarbituric acid (1.11 mmol is added to the dissolved (7-4-dimethylamino-phenyl)-hepta-2, 4, 6-triene-1-al.",
"This causes a gradual darkening of color.",
"The mixture is then set in an oil bath at 90° C. and 0.5 mls of piperidine is added with stirring.",
"The color of the solution immediately darkens.",
"The solution is then refluxed generally for one hour or until thin layer chromatography (TLC) indicates the reaction is complete.",
"The mixture is cooled and diluted with petroleum ether and the product is filtered and washed with ethanol/petroleum ether and then with petroleum ether.",
"The yield is 0.435 gram (1.06 mmol, 95%) of dark green fluffy powder.",
"The powder may be recrystallized from mixtures of dichloromethane/petroleum ether or from ethanol/petroleum ether.",
"In an alternate procedure, the (7-4-dimethylamino-phenyl)-hepta-2, 4, 6-triene-1-al is combined in 10 mls of ethanol and 30 mls of chloroform with 1.0 gram of isophorone-thiobarbituric acid derivative C, where A=(2) and R═R'═ethyl (3.12 mmol and 1 g ammonium acetate) in a Schlenk flask.",
"The flask is filled with argon twice and sealed.",
"The mixture is then evacuated and left to sit one day at room temperature in the dark.",
"The resulting dark blue solution is washed with water (2×30 mls) followed by drying with magnesium sulfate.",
"Solvent is removed from the solution under vacuum.",
"The remaining residue is chromatographed on silica gel using 3% ethyl acetate/97 % hexane as an eluant.",
"The first blue band gave after evaporation of solvent a materials corresponding to a composition having the formula of the present invention where A is 2 R═R'",
"is ethyl, C is 16 and m is 4 and B is (14), where Y is CH═CH and D is (CH 3 ) 2 N. A number of exemplary compositions in accordance with the present invention were prepared following the above-described procedure.",
"The results of spectroscopic and elemental analysis for the various compositions are as follows: EXAMPLE 1 General Formula I A=diethyl barbituric acid (1) B=dimethylaminophenyl (11) m=3 1 H NMR (CD 3 COCD 3 ) δ 7.98 (m, 2H), 7.43 (dm, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.39 (m, 1H), 7.04 (dd, J=14.3, 10.5 Hz, 1H), 6.93 (m, 2H), 6 dd, J=14.2, 11.8 Hz, 1H), 3.93, 3.92 (each q, J=7.0 Hz, 2H), 3.01 (s, 6H), 1.16, 1.15 (each t, J=7.0 Hz, 3H).",
"Anal.",
"Calcd.",
"for C 23 H 27 N 3 O 3 : C, 70.21;",
"H, 6.92;",
"N, 10.68.",
"Found: C, 70.26;",
"H, 6.95;",
"N, 10.67.",
"λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 522;",
"toluene, 546;",
"chloroform, 572;",
"methylene chloride, 562;",
"acetone, 542;",
"methanol, 560;",
"N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 569.",
"EXAMPLE 2 General Formula I A=diethyl barbituric acid (1) B=julolidinyl (12) m=1 1 H NMR (CD 3 COCD 3 ) δ 8.36 (dd, J=14.8, 12.4 Hz, 1H), 8.05 (dd, J=12.5, 0.6 Hz, 1H), 7.44 (d, J=14.8 Hz, 1H), 7.20 (s, 2H), 3.94, 3.92 (each q, J=7.0 Hz, 2H), 3.37 (apparent t, J=5.8 Hz, 4H), 2.76 (apparent t, J=6.3 Hz, 4H), 1.95 (m, 4H), 1.17, 1.15 (each t, J=7.0 Hz, 3H).",
"13 C NMR δ 162.77, 162.24, 158.30, 157.87, 151.04, 147.13, 130.05, 122.55, 121.25, 119.58, 108.62, 50.19, 36.87, 36.28, 27.48, 21.20, 13.48, 13.43.",
"λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 529;",
"chloroform, 574.",
"Anal.",
"Calcd.",
"for C 23 H 27 N 3 O 3 : N, 10.68.",
"Found: N, 10.64.",
"EXAMPLE 3 General Formula I A=diethyl barbituric acid (1) B=julolidinyl (12) m=2 1 H NMR (CD 2 Cl 2 ) δ 8.04 (d, J=12.5 Hz, 1H) 7.94 (dd, J=13.9, 12.6 Hz, 1H), 7.28 (apparent ddd, J=13.9, 7.9, 2.9 Hz, 1H), 6.99 (s, 2H), 6.92 (m, 2H), 3.96, 3.96 (each q, J=7.0 Hz, 2H), 3.27 (apparent t, J=5.8 Hz, 4H), 2.73 (apparent t, J=6.3 Hz, 4H), 1.94 (m, 4H), 1.19 (m, 6H).",
"λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 540;",
"chloroform, 616.",
"EXAMPLE 4 General Formula I A=diethylthio barbituric acid (2) B=dimethylaminophenyl (11) m=3 1 H NMR δ 8.09 (d, J=12.6 Hz, 1H), 8.00 (apparent t, J=13.3 Hz, 1H), 7.39 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 7.25 (dd, J=14.0, 11.7 Hz, 1H), 6.96 (dd, J=14.4, 10.2 Hz, 1H), 6.85 (d, J=15.1 Hz, 1H), 6.81 (dd, J=15.1, 10.2 Hz, 1H), 6.67 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 6.59 (dd, J=14.3, 11.7 Hz, 1H), 4.55, 4.54 (each q, J=7.0 Hz, 2H), 3.04 (s, 6H), 1.30 (m, 6H).",
"13 C NMR δ 178.75, 160.87, 159.87, 157.99, 157.27, 151.19, 147.82, 142.07, 130.07, 129.28, 128.31, 124.30, 123.92, 112.10, 112.00, 43.58, 43.05, 40.15, 12.42 (coincident).",
"Anal.",
"Calcd.",
"for C 23 H 27 N 3 O 2 S: C, 67.45;",
"H, 6.65;",
"N, 10.26.",
"Found: C, 67.48;",
"H, 6.71;",
"N, 10.18.",
"λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 556;",
"toluene, 588;",
"chloroform, 624;",
"methylene chloride, 612;",
"acetone, 592;",
"methanol, 608;",
"N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 634.",
"EXAMPLE 5 General Formula I A=diethylthio barbituric acid (2) B=julolidinyl (12) m=1 1 H NMR (CD 3 COCD 3 ) δ 8.40 (dd, J=14.5, 12.7 Hz, 1H), 8.10 (dd, J=12.6, 0.5 Hz, 1H), 7.56 (d, J=14.5 Hz, 1H), 7.27 (br s, 2H), 4.52, 4.50 (each q, J=6.9 Hz, 2H), 3.43 (apparent t, J=5.8 Hz, 4H), 2.78 (apparent t, J=6.5 Hz, 4H), 1.96 (m, 4H), 1.25, 1.22 (each t, J=6.9 Hz, 3H).",
"13 C NMR δ 178.60, 161.37, 160.46, 159.38, 159.18, 147.99, 130.78, 122.74, 121.46, 120.11, 108.46, 50.33, 43.41, 42.86, 27.40, 21.04, 12.49, 12.41.",
"Anal.",
"Calcd.",
"for C 23 H 27 N 3 O 2 S: C, 67.45;",
"H, 6.65;",
"N, 10.26;",
"S, 7.83.",
"Found: C, 67.18;",
"H, 6.67;",
"N, 10.24;",
"S, 7.77.",
"λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 563;",
"chloroform, 614 (log ε, 5.08).",
"EXAMPLE 6 General Formula I A=diethylthio barbituric acid (2) B=julolidinyl (12) m=2 1 H NMR δ (CD 2 Cl 2 ) 8.07 (d, J=12.8 Hz, 1H), 7.98 (apparent t, J=13.2 Hz, 1H), 7.37 (dd, J=14, 11.0 Hz, 1H), 7.03 (br s, 2H), 6.98 (m, 2H), 4.54 (m, 4H), 3.30 (apparent t, J=5.8 Hz, 4H), 2.73 (apparent t, J=6.3 Hz, 4H), 1.95 (m, 4H), 1.27, 1.25 (each t, J=7.0 Hz, 3H).",
"Anal.",
"Calcd.",
"for C 25 H 29 N 3 O 2 S: C, 68.94;",
"H, 6.71;",
"N, 9.65;",
"S, 7.36.",
"Found: C, 69.03;",
"H, 6.76;",
"N, 9.63;",
"S, 7.42.",
"λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 580;",
"chloroform, 684.",
"EXAMPLE 7 General Formula I A=diethylthio barbituric acid (2) B=julolidinyl (12) m=3 1 H NMR δ 8.08 (d, J=12.7 Hz, 1H), 7.98 (apparent t, J=13.3 Hz, 1H), 7.25 (dd, J=13.8, J=11.9 Hz, 1H), 6.96, (bs, 2H), 6.95 (m, 1H), 6.55 (dd, J=14.1, J=11.8 Hz, 1H), 4.55, 4.54 (each q, J=6.9 Hz, 2H), 3.25 (apparent t, J=5.7 Hz, 4H), 2.74 (apparent t, J=6.3 Hz, 4H), 1.96 (m, 4H), 1.31, 1.29 (each t, J=7.3 Hz, 3H).",
"13 C NMR δ 178.05, 161.05, 160.04, 157.97, 157.91, 148.80, 144.72, 143.22, 129.39, 127.81, 127.30, 123.39, 123.09, 121.28, 111.35, 50.02, 43.58, 43.04, 27.67, 21.53, 12.48, 12.44;",
"EIMS, m/z 461(M, 2), 327(47), 199(54), 186(100), 170(32), 97(24), 69(34);",
"EI HRMS m/z (calcd for C 27 H 31 N 3 O 2 S: 461.2150), 461.2137.",
"Anal.",
"Calcd.",
"for C 27 H 31 N 3 O 2 S: C, 70.25;",
"H, 6.77;",
"N, 9.10;",
"S. 6.95.",
"Found: C, 70.03;",
"H, 6.80;",
"N, 9.00;",
"S, 6.83.",
"EXAMPLE 8 General Formula I A=indandione (3) B=dimethylaminophenyl (11) m=2 λ max (solvent, nanometers): toluene, 536;",
"chloroform, 556;",
"methylene chloride, 552;",
"acetone, 542;",
"methanol, 560;",
"N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 570.",
"EXAMPLE 9 General Formula I A=indandione (3) B=dimethylaminophenyl (11) m=3 1 H NMR δ 7.91 (m, 2H), 7.83 (dd, J=14.3, 12.5 Hz, 1H), 7.73 (m, 2H), 7.53 (d, J=8.9 Hz, 2H), 7.37 (dm, J=8.9 Hz, 2H), 7.10 (dd, J=14.5, 11.5 Hz, 1H), 6.80 (m, 3H), 6.67 (dm, J=8.9 Hz, 2H), 6.60 (dd, J 1 +J 2 =25.17 Hz, 1H), 3.02 (s, 6H).",
"λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 524;",
"toluene, 550;",
"chloroform, 572;",
"methylene chloride, 570;",
"acetone, 552;",
"methanol, 568;",
"N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 580.",
"EXAMPLE 10 General Formula I A=indandione (3) B=julolidinyl (12) m=1 1 H NMR δ 8.21 (dd, J=14.8, 12.4 Hz, 1H), 7.88, 7.70 (each m, 2H), 7.62 (d, J=12.3 Hz, 1H), 7.21 (d, J=14.9 Hz, 1H), 7.17 (br.",
"s, 2H), 3.30 (apparent t, J=5.7 Hz, 4H), 2.76 (apparent t, J=6.2 Hz, 4H), 1.97 (m, 4H).",
"λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 541.",
"EXAMPLE 11 General Formula I A=indandione (3) B=julolidinyl (12) m=2 1 H NMR δ 7.89 (m, 2H), 7.82 (dd, J 1 +J 2 =26.75 Hz, 1H), 7.70 (m, 2H), 7.54 (d, J 12.6 Hz, 1H), 7.17 (dd, J=14.3, 10.8 Hz, 1H), 6.99 (br.",
"s, 2H), 6.92 (dd, J=15.0, 10.7 Hz, 1H), 6.85 (d, J=15.1 Hz, 1H), 3.25 (apparent t, J=5.7 Hz, 4H), 2.74 (apparent t, J=6.3 Hz, 4H), 1.97 (m, 4H).",
"EXAMPLE 12 General Formula I A=3-phenyl-5-isoxazolone (5) B=dimethylaminophenyl (11) m=2 1 H NMR δ (CD 2 Cl 2 ) 7.81 (dd, J=14.1, 12.3 Hz, 1H), 7.57 (m, 5H,), 7.43 (d m, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 7.40 (dd, J=12.6, 0.5 Hz, 1H), 7.18 (apparent dddd, J=14.3, 7.4, 3.3, 0.4 Hz, 1H), 7.00 (m, 2H), 6.69 (d m, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 3.04 (s, 6H);",
"13 C NMR (125.8 MHz) δ 170.21, 162.40, 154.61, 151.92, 149.73, 145.57, 130.53, 130.02, 129.06, 128.31, 128.24, 124.72, 123.93, 123.72, 112.70, 112.09, 40.08;",
"Anal.",
"Calcd.",
"for C 22 H 20 N 2 O 2 : C, 76.72;",
"H, 5.85;",
"N, 8.13.",
"Found: C, 76.67;",
"H, 5.90;",
"N, 8.08.",
"λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 508;",
"toluene, 538;",
"chloroform, 562;",
"methylene chloride, 564;",
"acetone, 553;",
"methanol, 570;",
"N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 580.",
"EXAMPLE 13 General Fonnula I A=3-phenyl-5-isoxazolone (5) B=dimethylaminophenyl (11) m=3 1 H NMR δ (CD 2 Cl 2 ) 7.78 (dd, J=14.3, 12.3 Hz, 1H), 7.58 (m, 5H), 7.37 (m, 3H), 7.09 (dd, J=14.4, 11.6 Hz, 1H), 6.90 (apparent ddd, J=14.1, 7.0, 3.8 Hz, 1H), 6.82 (m, 2H), 6.67 (d m, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 6.62 (dd, J=13.6, 11.6 Hz, 1H), 3.01 (s, 6H, );",
"13 C NMR (125.8 MHz) δ 170.01, 162.37, 153.50, 151.22, 149.35, 146.27, 141.14, 130.59, 129.81, 129.09, 129.07, 128.22, 128.17, 125.64, 124.48, 123.97, 113.40, 112.12, 40.15.",
"Anal.",
"Calcd.",
"for C 24 H 22 N 2 O 2 : C, 77.81;",
"H, 5.99;",
"N, 7.56.",
"Found: C, 77.89;",
"H, 6.02;",
"N, 7.53.",
"λ max solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 534;",
"toluene, 558;",
"chloroform, 582;",
"methylene chloride, 578;",
"acetone, 566;",
"methanol, 576;",
"N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 592.",
"EXAMPLE 14 General Fonnula I A=3-phenyl-5-isoxazolone (5) B=julolidinyl (12) m=0 1 H NMR (CD 3 COCD 3 ) δ 8.08 (v br s, 2H), 7.58 (m, 5H), 7.31 (s, 1H), 3.46 (apparent t, J=5.8 Hz, 4H), 2.73 (apparent t, J=6.2 Hz, 4H), 1.95 (m, 4H);",
"13 C NMR δ 164.85, 150.89, 149.27, 135.55, 135.49, 129.96, 128.97, 128.79, 128.73, 121.05, 120.85, 107.03, 50.43, 27.32, 20.82;",
"Anal.",
"Calcd.",
"for C 22 H 20 N 2 O 2 : C, 76.72;",
"H, 5.85;",
"N, 8.13.",
"Found: C, 76.82;",
"H, 5.87;",
"N, 8.09.",
"λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 476;",
"chloroform, 504.",
"EXAMPLE 15 General Formula I A=3-phenyl-5-isoxazolone (5) B=julolidinyl (12) m=1 1 H NMR (CD 3 COCD 3 ) δ 8.12 (dd J=14.7, 12.2Hz, 1H), 7.66 (m, 2H), 7.61 (dd, J=12.2, 0.6 Hz, 1H), 7.56 (m, 3H), 7.42 (d, J=14.6 Hz, 1H), 7.17 (s, 2H), 3.38 (apparent t, J=5.8 Hz, 4H), 2.75 (apparent t, J=6.2 Hz, 4H), 1.94 (m, 4H).",
"13 C NMR (125.8 MHz) δ 171.10, 162.47, 155.21, 150.82, 147.26, 130.16, 129.85, 128.86, 128.72, 128.13, 122.34, 121.37, 117.40, 108.89, 50.16, 27.42, 21.10;",
"Anal.",
"Calcd.",
"for C 24 H 22 N 2 O 2 : C, 77.81;",
"H, 5.99;",
"N, 7.56.",
"Found: C, 77.79;",
"H, 6.00;",
"N, 7.49.",
"λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 517;",
"chloroform, 586.",
"EXAMPLE 16 General Formula I A=3-phenyl-5-isoxazolone (5) B=julolidinyl (12) m=2 1 H NMR (CD 3 COCD 3 ) δ 7.75 (dd J=14.1, 12.6 Hz, 1H), 7.66 (m, 2H), 7.58 (dd, J=12.6, 0.6 Hz, 1H), 7.57 (m, 3H), 7.42 (dd, J=14.2, J=11.1 Hz, 1H), 7.11 (s, 2H), 7.09 (dd J=13.9, 11.0 Hz, 1H), 7.01 (d, J=14.0 Hz, 1H), 3.30 (apparent t, J=5.7 Hz, 4H), 2.72 (apparent t, J=6.2 Hz, 4H), 1.92 (m, 4H).",
"Anal.",
"Calcd.",
"for C 26 H 24 N 2 O 2 : C, 78.76;",
"H, 6.10;",
"N, 7.07.",
"Found: C, 78.64;",
"H, 6.16;",
"N, 7.05.",
"λ max (solvent, nanometers): cyclohexane, 554;",
"chloroform, 620.",
"EXAMPLE 17 General Formula I A=3-phenyl-5-isoxazolone (5) B=julolidinyl (12) m=3 1 H NMR δ 7.79 (dd J=14.1, 12.4 Hz, 1H), 7.59 (m, 2H), 7.52 (m, 3H), 7.32 (d, J=12.4 Hz, 1H), 7.04 (dd, J=14.3, J=11.7 Hz, 1H), 6.94 (s, 2H), 6.84 (apparent dd J=14.1, 9.8 Hz, 1H), 6.73 (m, 2H), 6.55 (dd J=14.0, 11.7 Hz, 1H), 3.24 (apparent t, J=5.7 Hz, 4H), 2.73 (apparent t, J=6.2 Hz, 4H), 1.96 (m, 4H).",
"13 C NMR δ 21.51, 27.62, 49.91, 112.12, 121.19, 122.91, 123.25, 124.98, 126.97, 128.99, 130.45, 142.20, 144.46, 147.24, 149.44, 154.14, 163.06;",
"Anal.",
"Calcd.",
"for C 28 H 26 N 2 O 2 : C, 79.59;",
"H, 6.20;",
"N, 6.63.",
"Found: C, 79.51;",
"H, 6.15;",
"N, 6.61.",
"EXAMPLE 18 General Formula III A=diethylthio barbituric acid (2) B=dimethylaminophenyl (11) C=isophorone (16) m=1 1 H NMR (CD 3 COCD 3 ) δ 8.38 (s, 1H), 7.59 (dm, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.27 (d, J=15.9 Hz, 1H), 7.06 (dd, J=15.9, 0.5 Hz, 1H), 6.76 (dm, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 4.48 (br, 4H), 3.09 (s, 2H), 3.04 (s, 6H), 2.54 (s, 2H) 1.23 (br m, 6H), 1.04 (s, 6H).",
"EXAMPLE 19 General Formula III A=diethylthio barbituric acid (2) B=dimethylaminophenyl (11) C=isophorone (16) m=2 1 H NMR δ 8.32 (s, 1H), 7.37 (dm, J=8.7 Hz, 2H), 6.98 (m, 1H), 6.79 (m, 2H), 6.70 (br, 2H), 6.60 (d, J=15.1 Hz, 1H), 4.54, 4.51 (each q, J=6.8 Hz, 2H), 3.08 (s, 2H), 3.03 (s, 6H), 2.40 (s, 2H) 1.31, 1.29 (each t, J=6.9 Hz, 3H), 1.04 (s, 6H).",
"EXAMPLE 20 General Formula III A=diethylthio barbituric acid (2) B=dimethylaminophenyl (11) C=isophorone (16) m=3 1 H NMR δ 8.31 (s, 1H), 7.35 (dm, J=8.6 Hz, 2H), 6.90 (dd, J=15.0, J=11.2, 1H), 6.77 (dd, J=15.2, 10.6 Hz, 1H), 6.70 (br, 2H), 6.68 (dd, J=14.2, 10.7 Hz, 1H), 6.66 (d, J=15.2 Hz, 1H), 6.56 (d, J=15.1 Hz, 1H), 6.43 (dd, J=14.1, 11.2 Hz, 1H), 4.55, 4.51 (each q, J=7.0 Hz, 2H), 3.07 (s, 2H), 3.01 (s, 6H), 2.38 (s, 2H) 1.31, 1.29 (each t, J=7.0 Hz, 3H), 1.04 (s, 6H).",
"EXAMPLE 21 General Formula III A=diethylthio barbituric acid (2) B=dimethylaminophenyl (11) C=isophorone (16) m=4 1 H NMR δ 8.30 (s, 1H), 7.32 (dm, J=8.6 Hz, 2H), 6.87 (dd, J=15.0, J=11.1, 1H), 6.72 (dd, J=15.2, 10.9 Hz, 1H), 6.67 (br d, J=8.0 Hz, 2H), 6.61 (dd, J=14.5, 11.3 Hz, 1H), 6.60 (d, J=15.6 Hz, 1H), 6.56 (dd, J=14.4, 10.7Hz, 1H), 6.56 (d, J=15.2 Hz, 1H), 6.39 (dd, J=14.2, 11.5 Hz, 1H), 6.39 (dd, J=14.5, 11.2 Hz, 1H), 4.54, 4.51 (each q, J=6.9 Hz, 2H), 3.07 (s, 2H), 3.00 (s, 6H), 2.36 (s, 2H) 1.31, 1.29 (each t, J=7.0 Hz, 3H, 1.04 (s, 6H).",
"EXAMPLE 22 General Formula II A=diethylthiobarbituric acid, (2) B=(14) with Y=S, D=piperidinyl m=n=p=0 Anal.",
"Calcd.",
"for C 18 H 23 N 3 O 2 S 2 : C, 57.27;",
"H, 6.14;",
"N, 11.13;",
"S, 16.99.",
"Found: C, 57.10;",
"H 6.20;",
"N, 11.22;",
"S, 16.82.",
"High resolution MS calcd.",
"for C 18 H 23 N 3 O 2 S 2 : 377.1225.",
"Found: 377.1232.",
"EXAMPLE 23 General Formula II A=5-phenyl-3-isoxazolone, (5) B=(14) with Y=S, D=piperidinyl, m=1, n=1, Z=S, p=0 1 H NMR (CD 2 Cl 2 ) δ 7.78 (s, 1H), 7.60 (m, 6H), 7.38 (d, J=15.3 Hz, 1H), 7.08 (d, J=4.2 Hz, 1H), 6.98 (d, J=4.2 Hz, 1H), 6.65 (d, J=15.4 Hz, 1H), 5.98 (d, J=4.0 Hz, 1H), 3.27 (t, J=5.6 Hz, 4H), 1.71 (m, 4H), 1.62 (m, 2H).",
"Anal.",
"Calcd.",
"for C 25 H 22 N 2 O 2 S 2 : C, 67.24;",
"H, 4.97;",
"N, 6.27;",
"S, 14.36.",
"Found: C, 67.26;",
"H, 4.99;",
"N, 6.26;",
"S, 14.29.",
"EXAMPLE 24 General Formula II A=diethylthiobarbituric acid, (2) B=(14) with Y=S, D=piperidinyl, m=1, n=1, Z=S, p=1 1 H NMR (CD 2 Cl 2 ) δ 8.28 (dd, J=14.5, 2.2 Hz, 1H), 8.11 (d, J=12.2 Hz, 1H), 7.55 (d, J=14.5 Hz, 1H), 7.33 (d, J=4.1 Hz, 1H, ), 7.16 (d, J=15.3 Hz, 1H), 6.96 (d, J=4.0 Hz, 1H), 6.90 (d, J=4.1 Hz, 1H), 6.62 (d, J=15.4 Hz, 1H), 5.97 (d, J=4.20 Hz, 1H), 4.53 (m, 4H), 3.25 (t, 4H, J=5.7 Hz), 1.70 (m, 4H), 1.61 (m, 2H), 1.26 (m, 6H).",
"Four different compounds produced by the above-described procedure were analyzed to determine first molecular hyperpolarizabilities.",
"The results of these determinations are set forth in Tables 1-4.",
"Tables 1-3 show the measured β for the three exemplary compounds in accordance with the present invention.",
"Table 4 sets forth measurements for a compound not covered by the present invention wherein A═CH═CH--C 6 H 4 NO 2 .",
"TABLE 1______________________________________General Formula IA = CH - diethylthiobarbituric acid (2)B = dimethylaminophenyl (11) μ/ β/ β(0)/ μβ/ μβ(0)/# of atoms λmax 10.",
"sup.",
"-18 10.",
"sup.",
"-30 10.",
"sup.",
"-30 10.",
"sup.",
"-48 10.",
"sup.",
"-48m conjugated (nm) (esu) (esu) (esu) (esu) (esu)______________________________________0 9 (484) 5.4 68 48 370 2591 11 (572) 5.7 256 150 1457 8552 13 (604) 6.2 636 347 3945 21513 15 (624) 6.6 1490 772 9831 5095______________________________________ TABLE 2______________________________________General Formula IA = 3 - phenyl-5-isoxazolone (5)B = dimethylaminophenyl (11) μ/ β/ β(0)/ μβ/ μβ(0)/# of atoms λmax 10.",
"sup.",
"-18 10.",
"sup.",
"-30 10.",
"sup.",
"-30 10.",
"sup.",
"-48 10.",
"sup.",
"-48m conjugated (nm) (esu) (esu) (esu) (esu) (esu)______________________________________0 9 (478) 8.3 27 56 312 2211 11 (530) 8.6 140 90 1202 7712 13 (562) 8.7 362 218 3156 18953 15 (582) 8.9 918 528 8171 4696______________________________________ TABLE 3______________________________________General Formula IA = CHC.",
"sub[.",
"].6 H.sub[.",
"].4 NO.",
"sub[.",
"].2B = dimethylaminophenyl (11) μ/ β/ β(0)/ μβ/ μβ(0)/# of atoms λmax 10.",
"sup.",
"-18 10.",
"sup.",
"-30 10.",
"sup.",
"-30 10.",
"sup.",
"-48 10.",
"sup.",
"-48m conjugated (nm) (esu) (esu) (esu) (esu) (esu)______________________________________0 13 (430) 6.6 73 55 482 3631 15 (442) 7.6 107 80 813 6082 17 (458) 8.2 131 95 1074 7793 19 (464) 9 ± 1 190 ± 133 ± 1700 ± 1197 ± 35 35 400 250______________________________________ TABLE 4______________________________________General Formula IA = CH - diethylthiobarbituric acid (2)B = julolidinyl (12) μ/ β/ β(0)/ μβ/ μβ(0)/# of atoms λmax 10.",
"sup.",
"-18 10.",
"sup.",
"-30 10.",
"sup.",
"-30 10.",
"sup.",
"-48 10.",
"sup.",
"-48m conjugated (nm) (esu) (esu) (esu) (esu) (esu)______________________________________0 9 (522) 7.0 87 56 609 3941 11 (614) 6.6 355 186 2210 11592 13 (680) 6.3 1141 490 7152 30693 15 (686) 8.8 2169 911 19086 8019______________________________________ As can be seen from the above Tables, compounds in accordance with the present invention (Table 1-3) have large first molecular hyperpolarizabilities (β) in comparison with the compound set forth in Table 4.",
"For example, the results in Table 4 show that this exemplary composition in accordance with the present invention has a β (0) of 911×10 -30 esu (after correcting for dispersion with a two state model).",
"This is to be compared with the compound in Table 2 which has a β (0) of 133×10 -30 esu.",
"The Tables show that when the number of carbon double bonds which link the two functional groups together is increased, the first hyperpolarizabilities unexpectedly increases.",
"Having thus described exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it should be noted by those skilled in the art that the within disclosures are exemplary only and that various other alternatives, adaptations, and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention.",
"Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments as illustrated herein, but is only limited by the following claims."
] |
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/319,546.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates in general to wind turbines, and particularly to a dual rotor wind turbine having adjustable relative displacement between the rotors' blades designed for increasing the productivity of the wind turbines.
SUMMARY
[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure provide an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine in which the relative angular displacement between the front and rear rotor blades is automatically adjusted to prevent the rotors from harvesting any counterproductive wake, and to increase the output power.
[0004] Aspects of the present disclosure provide a dual rotor wind turbine with automatically adjustable relative angular displacement between the respective blades of the two rotors.
[0005] Aspects of the present disclosure provide an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine with increased power efficiency.
[0006] Aspects of the present disclosure provide an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine in which the blades of a first rotor are effectively removed from the wake of a second rotor.
[0007] Aspects of the present disclosure provide an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine that harnesses the Venturi effect for improving the performance of such turbine (i.e., the electrical output).
[0008] Aspects of the present disclosure provide an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine including a first rotor with a first set of blades, a second rotor with a second set of blades, a first shaft coupled to the first rotor, a second shaft coupled to the second rotor, and a mechanism coupled to the first and second shafts for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the first and second rotors. The mechanism for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the first and second rotors includes at least one clutch disc coupled to the first shaft, and a flywheel coupled to the second shaft. The adjustable dual rotor wind turbine includes an actuation mechanism for engaging and disengaging the clutch disc and the flywheel, wherein the first and second rotors are free to rotate relative to each other when the at least one clutch disc and the flywheel are disengaged, and the first and second rotors are fixed relative to each other When the at least one clutch disc and the flywheel are engaged. The actuation mechanism includes a solenoid coupled to the clutch disc. A controller signals the activation and deactivation of the solenoid according to a value corresponding to the electrical output power produced by the wind turbine, wherein the value may be measured by a power meter.
[0009] Aspects of the present disclosure provide an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine including a first rotor with a first set of blades, a second rotor with a second set of blades, a first shaft coupled to the first rotor, a second shaft coupled to the second rotor, a gearbox operatively connected to the first shaft and a third shaft, and a mechanism coupled to the first and second shafts for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the first and second rotors. The mechanism for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the first and second rotors includes at least one clutch disc coupled to the first shaft, and a flywheel coupled to the second shaft. The adjustable dual rotor wind turbine includes an actuation mechanism for engaging and disengaging the at least one clutch disc and the flywheel, wherein the first and second rotors are free to rotate relative to each other when the at least one clutch disc and the flywheel are disengaged, and the first and second rotors are fixed relative to each other when the at least one clutch disc and the flywheel are engaged. The actuation mechanism includes a solenoid coupled to the clutch disc. The controller signals the activation and deactivation of the solenoid according to a value corresponding to the electrical output power produced by the wind turbine, wherein the value may be measured by a power meter.
[0010] Aspects of the present disclosure provide a control process for an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine, including signaling the actuation mechanism to engage the mechanism for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the first and second rotors, measuring an output power of the adjustable dual rotor wind turbine, repeating such a measurement if the measured power is greater than a threshold power, signaling the actuation mechanism if the measured power was less than a threshold power to disengage the mechanism for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the first and second rotors, waiting a period of time, and signaling the actuation mechanism to control the mechanism for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the first and second rotors.
[0011] In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the threshold power may be predetermined by a user.
[0012] In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the period of time may be preselected by a user.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] Aspects of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure without restricting the scope of the invention, and in which:
[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine configured in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
[0015] 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine taken perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the dual rotors, configured in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure,
[0016] FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine configured in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
[0017] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of a control process of an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine configured in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] Wind turbines convert wind energy into electrical energy, but they are known for their relatively low efficiency.
[0019] A dual rotor turbine can include a planetary gearbox having two inputs, each connected to a corresponding rotor, and one output connected to a generator, wherein the rotational speed of the one output is determined as a result of the relative rotational speed of the two rotors. The two rotors rotate in opposite direction to each other, and the pitch angle of rotor blades may be altered using a control system.
[0020] An alternative dual rotor turbine for converting wind energy into electrical energy can include in combination a housing, blades at the forward and rearward ends of the housing mounted on shafts for rotation upon a common horizontal axis of rotation, post means supporting a central extent of the housing for rotation in a horizontal plane to face into the wind, an alternator within the housing formed of a power take off member coupled to one shaft and a rotor coupled to another shaft for counter rotating when the blades rotate for thereby generating electricity, centrifugal pitch control mechanisms for varying the pitch of the blades as a function of the propeller speed, transmission mechanisms for varying the speed of rotation of the rotor and power take off member as a function of the wind speed, brake mechanisms for proportionately restraining the blades against rotation, and an aero governor operatively coupled with the brake mechanisms for control thereof in response to the speed of the wind as determined by the aero governor.
[0021] Another alternative wind turbine has first and second rotors mounted on a common horizontal axis on a tower. The rotors rotate in the same direction and drive an electrical generator by a fluid or belt. Alternatively, the electrical generator may be positioned between the rotors, at the top of the tower. Means determines the wind direction and strength to enable a shaft to be rotated about an upright axis so the rotors face the wind. The rotors have blades, the blades of the front rotor being shorter than the rear blades by up to 75%.
[0022] Another alternative dual rotor wind turbine includes a rotatable drive shaft, a first rotor assembly connected to the drive shaft, a second independently-rotating rotor assembly coupled to the drive shaft rearward of the first rotor assembly, a first stage generator coupled to the drive shaft, a second stage generator operatively connected to the second rotor assembly, a housing wherein the generators are situated, a rotary base, and a tail. In use, the rotary base allows the tail to optimally position the rotors for collecting wind. Wind rotates the first rotor assembly, causing the drive shaft to rotate and operate the first stage generator. Wind passing through and directed off the first rotor assembly rotates the second rotor assembly, independent of the first rotor assembly, operating the second stage generator.
[0023] The foregoing wind turbines do not have high efficiencies since the blades of the rear rotor (the rotor positioned downwind from the front rotor) lie in the wake of the blades of the front rotor, and thus adversely affect the operation of the blades of the rear rotor.
[0024] FIGS. 1-4 illustrate an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine configured in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Such embodiments include a tower 1 ; two similar rotors 11 and 12 with similar sets of blades, in which a plurality of blades 2 are mounted on the first rotor 11 , and a plurality of blades 20 are mounted on the second rotor 12 ; and the first rotor 11 mounted onto a first shaft 3 , with the second rotor 12 mounted onto a second shaft 30 . Embodiments of the present disclosure may also include a gearbox 4 , a third shah 13 operatively connecting the gearbox 4 with a mechanism 7 for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the two rotors, an electrical generator 5 , a swivel joint 6 , a controller 9 , and an electrical power meter 8 . In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the shafts 3 and 30 , the gearbox 4 , the generator 5 , the mechanism 7 for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the two rotors, the third shaft 13 , the controller 9 , and the electrical power meter 8 are housed within an upper housing assembly 10 .
[0025] In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, each of the rotors 11 and 12 has a plurality of blades (for example, two, three, four, or more blades), and such rotors may he mounted onto the upper assembly 10 in a substantially collinear configuration pointing towards opposite directions from each other. The gearbox 4 may be operatively connected to the shaft 3 and to the electrical generator 5 such that the gearbox 4 provides speed and torque conversions of the rotors 11 and 12 . The swivel joint 6 enables any suitable adjustment in the rotors' orientation (and correspondingly, the upper assembly 10 ) in order for one of the sets of the blades 2 and 20 to face the wind direction. Any well-known mechanism for performing such a function may be utilized for the swivel joint 6 . The power meter 8 may be operatively connected to the electrical generator 5 , wherein the power meter 8 measures the value of the electrical power produced by the electrical generator 5 .
[0026] Referring to FIG. 2 , in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the mechanism 7 for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the rotors 11 and 12 may include a flywheel 70 coupled to the second shaft 30 and at least one clutch disc 72 coupled to the third shaft 13 , wherein such at least one clutch disc 72 automatically engages and disengages with the flywheel 70 using any suitable actuation mechanism 71 , as further described herein. Engaging and disengaging of the flywheel 70 and at least one clutch disc 72 may be performed by the actuation mechanism for various reasons (for example, when the output power of the turbine (e.g., as measured by the power meter 8 ) is less than a predetermined level, as is further described herein). (The illustration in FIG. 2 shows the flywheel 70 and the at least one clutch disc 72 disengaged; however, one skilled in the art would appreciate how an illustration would show these engaged.) When the at least one clutch disc 72 and the flywheel 70 disengage from each other, the rotors 11 and 12 become free to rotate relative to each other. Because of various factors, such as friction, relative force of the wind currents, etc., the relative angular displacement between the rotors 11 and 12 , and correspondingly the two sets of blades 2 and 20 , will change during the period of time that their two respective rotors 11 and 12 are permitted to freely rotate relative to each other, and before the at least one clutch disc 72 and the flywheel 70 re-engage with each other. As a result, after re-engaging with each other, the angular positioning of the blades 2 will have changed relative to the angular positioning of the blades 20 , which can affect the level of the wake emanating from the upwind set of blades towards the downwind set of blades, and thus affect the power generating efficiency of the combined output of the two sets of blades.
[0027] Embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the specific configuration of the mechanism 7 disclosed herein. Instead, any configuration suitable for engaging and disengaging the two rotors from each other, and for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the two rotors may be utilized. For example, instead of a flywheel and clutch disc, an arrangement of gears and/or a fluidic coupling mechanism (e.g., a torque converter such as used in automatic transmissions) may be utilized. Nevertheless, when the two rotors are engaged, their relative angular displacement relative to each other is substantially zero, meaning that the two rotors (and consequently, their respective blades) rotate substantially in sync with each other.
[0028] In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, the adjustable wind turbine may be a gearless (e.g., direct drive) wind turbine, wherein the first shaft 3 may be operatively connected to the electrical generator 5 and the flywheel 70 . Any well-known mechanisms for performing the connection function of the first shaft 3 to the electrical generator 5 and the flywheel 70 may be utilized.
[0029] A control process for modifying the relative angular displacement between the rotors 11 and 12 in the adjustable dual rotor wind turbine of the present disclosure is illustrated in FIG. 4 and may be implemented in hardware and/or software in the controller 9 . ne process starts (process block 40 ) with the controller 9 signaling the actuation mechanism 71 to engage the two rotors together (for example, by bringing in physical contact together the at least one clutch disc 72 and the flywheel 70 (process block 41 )). The output power generated by the electrical generator 5 as a result of the combined rotation of the engaged together rotors 11 and 12 of the wind turbine may be measured using the electrical power meter 8 (process block 42 ). Then, if the measured power is greater than a predetermined threshold value (process block 43 ), measurement of the output power is repeated in a loop (process block 42 ). But, if during this process loop, the measured power is less than a threshold power (process block 43 ), the controller 9 signals the actuation mechanism 71 to disengage the two rotors from each other (process block 44 ) (for example, by disengaging the clutch disc 72 from the flywheel 70 ) in order to permit a change to occur in the relative angular displacement between the rotors 11 and 12 , and consequently their respective sets of blades 2 and 20 . After a predetermined time of “t” seconds (process block 45 ), the controller 9 signals the actuation mechanism 71 to re-engage the two rotors to each other (process block 41 ) (for example, by re-engaging the at least one clutch disc 72 and the flywheel 70 to each other), and the process is repeated in a loop.
[0030] In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the actuation mechanism 71 for engaging and disengaging the at least one clutch disc 72 and the flywheel 70 may include a solenoid 71 coupled to the at least one clutch disc 72 using any well-known mechanism for performing such a connection. When the solenoid 71 is actuated by a signal received from the controller 9 , the at least one clutch disc 72 is linearly displaced from a default position towards a physical (e.g., frictional) engagement with the flywheel 70 . When the solenoid 71 is deactivated, the at least one clutch disc 72 is disengaged from the flywheel 70 and returns to the default position.
[0031] In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the controller 9 may include a microcontroller.
[0032] In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the amount of time “t” may be preprogrammed on the microcontroller.
[0033] The swivel joint 6 in aspects of the present disclosure may connect between the tower 1 and the upper assembly 10 , wherein such joint 6 gives the upper assembly 10 two degrees of freedom relative to said tower 1 , Wherein such degrees of freedom enable the blades to face the wind direction in order to increase the efficiency of the dual rotor wind turbine. The two degrees of freedom may include a horizontal rotation of the upper assembly 10 about the tower 1 , and/or a vertical tilt of the upper assembly 10 with respect to the tower 1 .
[0034] Aspects of the present disclosure can harness the Venturi effect caused by the partial blockage of the air stream by the first rotor blades 2 , which reduces the wind pressure and increases the velocity of the wind, thus the power generated by the wind turbine is increased.
[0035] In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the threshold power may be preprogrammed on the controller 9 such that the maximum power is greater than the maximum power that could be generated when the second rotor lies in the wake of the first rotor.
[0036] The following example illustrates embodiments of the present disclosure without, however, limiting the same thereto. A small scale model made in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure was positioned in front of a wind tunnel, and the maximum power generated by such model was 210% of the power generated by a single rotor wind turbine of the same scale.
[0037] While the invention has been described in details and with reference to a specific embodiment thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various additions, omissions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.
[0038] Although the above description contains some specificity, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but is merely representative of the disclosed aspects of the present disclosure.
[0039] As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
[0040] As used herein with respect to an identified property or circumstance, “substantially” refers to a degree of deviation that is sufficiently small so as to not measurably detract from the identified property or circumstance. The exact degree of deviation allowable may in some cases depend on the specific context.
[0041] As used herein, the term “about,” when referring to a value or to an amount of mass, weight, time, volume, concentration or percentage is meant to encompass variations of in some embodiments ±20%, in some embodiments ±10%, in some embodiments ±5%, in some embodiments ±1%, in some embodiments ±0.5%, and in some embodiments ±0.1% from the specified amount, as such variations are appropriate to perform the disclosed method.
[0042] As used herein, “significance” or “significant” relates to a statistical analysis of the probability that there is a non-random association between two or more entities. To determine whether or not a relationship is “significant” or has “significance,” statistical manipulations of the data can be performed to calculate a probability, expressed as a “p value.” Those p values that fall below a user-defined cutoff point are regarded as significant. In some embodiments, a p value less than or equal to 0.05, in some embodiments less than 0.01, in some embodiments less than 0.005, and in some embodiments less than 0.001, are regarded as significant. Accordingly, a p value greater than or equal to 0.05 is considered not significant.
[0043] As used herein, the term “and/or” when used in the context of a listing of entities, refers to the entities being present singly or in combination. Thus, for example, the phrase “A, B, C, and/or D” includes A, B, C, and D individually, but also includes any and all combinations and subcombinations of A, B, C, and D.
[0044] As used herein, “adjacent” refers to the proximity of two structures or elements. Particularly, elements that are identified as being “adjacent” may be either abutting or connected. Such elements may also be near or close to each other without necessarily contacting each other. The exact degree of proximity may in some cases depend on the specific context.
[0045] As used herein, a plurality of items, structural elements, compositional elements, and/or materials may be presented in a common list for convenience. However, these lists should be construed as though each member of the list is individually identified as a separate and unique member. Thus, no individual member of such list should be construed as a defacto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based on their presentation in a common group without indications to the contrary.
[0046] Any steps recited in any method or process claims may be executed in any order and are not limited to the order presented in the claims. Means-plus-function or step-plus function limitations will only be employed where for a specific claim limitation all of the following conditions are present in that limitation: a) “means for” or “step for” is expressly recited; and b) a corresponding function is expressly recited. The structure, material, or acts that support the means-plus function are expressly recited in the description herein, Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined solely by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the descriptions and examples given herein. | A dual rotor axis wind turbine that converts renewable energy into electrical energy. The dual rotor wind turbine addresses the counter productivity problem found in dual rotors wind turbines, which occurs due to adverse effects to the downwind rotor due to lying in the wake of the upwind rotor. The dual rotors lie on an axis with a relative angular displacement between the blades of such rotors, wherein the relative angular displacement is adjustable in order for the downwind rotor to avoid the counterproductive wake of the first rotor. | Briefly describe the main idea outlined in the provided context. | [
"[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.",
"No. 62/319,546.",
"TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] The present invention relates in general to wind turbines, and particularly to a dual rotor wind turbine having adjustable relative displacement between the rotors'",
"blades designed for increasing the productivity of the wind turbines.",
"SUMMARY [0003] Aspects of the present disclosure provide an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine in which the relative angular displacement between the front and rear rotor blades is automatically adjusted to prevent the rotors from harvesting any counterproductive wake, and to increase the output power.",
"[0004] Aspects of the present disclosure provide a dual rotor wind turbine with automatically adjustable relative angular displacement between the respective blades of the two rotors.",
"[0005] Aspects of the present disclosure provide an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine with increased power efficiency.",
"[0006] Aspects of the present disclosure provide an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine in which the blades of a first rotor are effectively removed from the wake of a second rotor.",
"[0007] Aspects of the present disclosure provide an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine that harnesses the Venturi effect for improving the performance of such turbine (i.e., the electrical output).",
"[0008] Aspects of the present disclosure provide an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine including a first rotor with a first set of blades, a second rotor with a second set of blades, a first shaft coupled to the first rotor, a second shaft coupled to the second rotor, and a mechanism coupled to the first and second shafts for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the first and second rotors.",
"The mechanism for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the first and second rotors includes at least one clutch disc coupled to the first shaft, and a flywheel coupled to the second shaft.",
"The adjustable dual rotor wind turbine includes an actuation mechanism for engaging and disengaging the clutch disc and the flywheel, wherein the first and second rotors are free to rotate relative to each other when the at least one clutch disc and the flywheel are disengaged, and the first and second rotors are fixed relative to each other When the at least one clutch disc and the flywheel are engaged.",
"The actuation mechanism includes a solenoid coupled to the clutch disc.",
"A controller signals the activation and deactivation of the solenoid according to a value corresponding to the electrical output power produced by the wind turbine, wherein the value may be measured by a power meter.",
"[0009] Aspects of the present disclosure provide an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine including a first rotor with a first set of blades, a second rotor with a second set of blades, a first shaft coupled to the first rotor, a second shaft coupled to the second rotor, a gearbox operatively connected to the first shaft and a third shaft, and a mechanism coupled to the first and second shafts for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the first and second rotors.",
"The mechanism for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the first and second rotors includes at least one clutch disc coupled to the first shaft, and a flywheel coupled to the second shaft.",
"The adjustable dual rotor wind turbine includes an actuation mechanism for engaging and disengaging the at least one clutch disc and the flywheel, wherein the first and second rotors are free to rotate relative to each other when the at least one clutch disc and the flywheel are disengaged, and the first and second rotors are fixed relative to each other when the at least one clutch disc and the flywheel are engaged.",
"The actuation mechanism includes a solenoid coupled to the clutch disc.",
"The controller signals the activation and deactivation of the solenoid according to a value corresponding to the electrical output power produced by the wind turbine, wherein the value may be measured by a power meter.",
"[0010] Aspects of the present disclosure provide a control process for an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine, including signaling the actuation mechanism to engage the mechanism for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the first and second rotors, measuring an output power of the adjustable dual rotor wind turbine, repeating such a measurement if the measured power is greater than a threshold power, signaling the actuation mechanism if the measured power was less than a threshold power to disengage the mechanism for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the first and second rotors, waiting a period of time, and signaling the actuation mechanism to control the mechanism for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the first and second rotors.",
"[0011] In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the threshold power may be predetermined by a user.",
"[0012] In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the period of time may be preselected by a user.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0013] Aspects of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure without restricting the scope of the invention, and in which: [0014] FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine configured in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.",
"[0015] 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine taken perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the dual rotors, configured in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, [0016] FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine configured in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.",
"[0017] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of a control process of an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine configured in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0018] Wind turbines convert wind energy into electrical energy, but they are known for their relatively low efficiency.",
"[0019] A dual rotor turbine can include a planetary gearbox having two inputs, each connected to a corresponding rotor, and one output connected to a generator, wherein the rotational speed of the one output is determined as a result of the relative rotational speed of the two rotors.",
"The two rotors rotate in opposite direction to each other, and the pitch angle of rotor blades may be altered using a control system.",
"[0020] An alternative dual rotor turbine for converting wind energy into electrical energy can include in combination a housing, blades at the forward and rearward ends of the housing mounted on shafts for rotation upon a common horizontal axis of rotation, post means supporting a central extent of the housing for rotation in a horizontal plane to face into the wind, an alternator within the housing formed of a power take off member coupled to one shaft and a rotor coupled to another shaft for counter rotating when the blades rotate for thereby generating electricity, centrifugal pitch control mechanisms for varying the pitch of the blades as a function of the propeller speed, transmission mechanisms for varying the speed of rotation of the rotor and power take off member as a function of the wind speed, brake mechanisms for proportionately restraining the blades against rotation, and an aero governor operatively coupled with the brake mechanisms for control thereof in response to the speed of the wind as determined by the aero governor.",
"[0021] Another alternative wind turbine has first and second rotors mounted on a common horizontal axis on a tower.",
"The rotors rotate in the same direction and drive an electrical generator by a fluid or belt.",
"Alternatively, the electrical generator may be positioned between the rotors, at the top of the tower.",
"Means determines the wind direction and strength to enable a shaft to be rotated about an upright axis so the rotors face the wind.",
"The rotors have blades, the blades of the front rotor being shorter than the rear blades by up to 75%.",
"[0022] Another alternative dual rotor wind turbine includes a rotatable drive shaft, a first rotor assembly connected to the drive shaft, a second independently-rotating rotor assembly coupled to the drive shaft rearward of the first rotor assembly, a first stage generator coupled to the drive shaft, a second stage generator operatively connected to the second rotor assembly, a housing wherein the generators are situated, a rotary base, and a tail.",
"In use, the rotary base allows the tail to optimally position the rotors for collecting wind.",
"Wind rotates the first rotor assembly, causing the drive shaft to rotate and operate the first stage generator.",
"Wind passing through and directed off the first rotor assembly rotates the second rotor assembly, independent of the first rotor assembly, operating the second stage generator.",
"[0023] The foregoing wind turbines do not have high efficiencies since the blades of the rear rotor (the rotor positioned downwind from the front rotor) lie in the wake of the blades of the front rotor, and thus adversely affect the operation of the blades of the rear rotor.",
"[0024] FIGS. 1-4 illustrate an adjustable dual rotor wind turbine configured in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.",
"Such embodiments include a tower 1 ;",
"two similar rotors 11 and 12 with similar sets of blades, in which a plurality of blades 2 are mounted on the first rotor 11 , and a plurality of blades 20 are mounted on the second rotor 12 ;",
"and the first rotor 11 mounted onto a first shaft 3 , with the second rotor 12 mounted onto a second shaft 30 .",
"Embodiments of the present disclosure may also include a gearbox 4 , a third shah 13 operatively connecting the gearbox 4 with a mechanism 7 for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the two rotors, an electrical generator 5 , a swivel joint 6 , a controller 9 , and an electrical power meter 8 .",
"In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the shafts 3 and 30 , the gearbox 4 , the generator 5 , the mechanism 7 for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the two rotors, the third shaft 13 , the controller 9 , and the electrical power meter 8 are housed within an upper housing assembly 10 .",
"[0025] In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, each of the rotors 11 and 12 has a plurality of blades (for example, two, three, four, or more blades), and such rotors may he mounted onto the upper assembly 10 in a substantially collinear configuration pointing towards opposite directions from each other.",
"The gearbox 4 may be operatively connected to the shaft 3 and to the electrical generator 5 such that the gearbox 4 provides speed and torque conversions of the rotors 11 and 12 .",
"The swivel joint 6 enables any suitable adjustment in the rotors'",
"orientation (and correspondingly, the upper assembly 10 ) in order for one of the sets of the blades 2 and 20 to face the wind direction.",
"Any well-known mechanism for performing such a function may be utilized for the swivel joint 6 .",
"The power meter 8 may be operatively connected to the electrical generator 5 , wherein the power meter 8 measures the value of the electrical power produced by the electrical generator 5 .",
"[0026] Referring to FIG. 2 , in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the mechanism 7 for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the rotors 11 and 12 may include a flywheel 70 coupled to the second shaft 30 and at least one clutch disc 72 coupled to the third shaft 13 , wherein such at least one clutch disc 72 automatically engages and disengages with the flywheel 70 using any suitable actuation mechanism 71 , as further described herein.",
"Engaging and disengaging of the flywheel 70 and at least one clutch disc 72 may be performed by the actuation mechanism for various reasons (for example, when the output power of the turbine (e.g., as measured by the power meter 8 ) is less than a predetermined level, as is further described herein).",
"(The illustration in FIG. 2 shows the flywheel 70 and the at least one clutch disc 72 disengaged;",
"however, one skilled in the art would appreciate how an illustration would show these engaged.) When the at least one clutch disc 72 and the flywheel 70 disengage from each other, the rotors 11 and 12 become free to rotate relative to each other.",
"Because of various factors, such as friction, relative force of the wind currents, etc.",
", the relative angular displacement between the rotors 11 and 12 , and correspondingly the two sets of blades 2 and 20 , will change during the period of time that their two respective rotors 11 and 12 are permitted to freely rotate relative to each other, and before the at least one clutch disc 72 and the flywheel 70 re-engage with each other.",
"As a result, after re-engaging with each other, the angular positioning of the blades 2 will have changed relative to the angular positioning of the blades 20 , which can affect the level of the wake emanating from the upwind set of blades towards the downwind set of blades, and thus affect the power generating efficiency of the combined output of the two sets of blades.",
"[0027] Embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the specific configuration of the mechanism 7 disclosed herein.",
"Instead, any configuration suitable for engaging and disengaging the two rotors from each other, and for adjusting the relative angular displacement between the two rotors may be utilized.",
"For example, instead of a flywheel and clutch disc, an arrangement of gears and/or a fluidic coupling mechanism (e.g., a torque converter such as used in automatic transmissions) may be utilized.",
"Nevertheless, when the two rotors are engaged, their relative angular displacement relative to each other is substantially zero, meaning that the two rotors (and consequently, their respective blades) rotate substantially in sync with each other.",
"[0028] In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, the adjustable wind turbine may be a gearless (e.g., direct drive) wind turbine, wherein the first shaft 3 may be operatively connected to the electrical generator 5 and the flywheel 70 .",
"Any well-known mechanisms for performing the connection function of the first shaft 3 to the electrical generator 5 and the flywheel 70 may be utilized.",
"[0029] A control process for modifying the relative angular displacement between the rotors 11 and 12 in the adjustable dual rotor wind turbine of the present disclosure is illustrated in FIG. 4 and may be implemented in hardware and/or software in the controller 9 .",
"ne process starts (process block 40 ) with the controller 9 signaling the actuation mechanism 71 to engage the two rotors together (for example, by bringing in physical contact together the at least one clutch disc 72 and the flywheel 70 (process block 41 )).",
"The output power generated by the electrical generator 5 as a result of the combined rotation of the engaged together rotors 11 and 12 of the wind turbine may be measured using the electrical power meter 8 (process block 42 ).",
"Then, if the measured power is greater than a predetermined threshold value (process block 43 ), measurement of the output power is repeated in a loop (process block 42 ).",
"But, if during this process loop, the measured power is less than a threshold power (process block 43 ), the controller 9 signals the actuation mechanism 71 to disengage the two rotors from each other (process block 44 ) (for example, by disengaging the clutch disc 72 from the flywheel 70 ) in order to permit a change to occur in the relative angular displacement between the rotors 11 and 12 , and consequently their respective sets of blades 2 and 20 .",
"After a predetermined time of “t”",
"seconds (process block 45 ), the controller 9 signals the actuation mechanism 71 to re-engage the two rotors to each other (process block 41 ) (for example, by re-engaging the at least one clutch disc 72 and the flywheel 70 to each other), and the process is repeated in a loop.",
"[0030] In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the actuation mechanism 71 for engaging and disengaging the at least one clutch disc 72 and the flywheel 70 may include a solenoid 71 coupled to the at least one clutch disc 72 using any well-known mechanism for performing such a connection.",
"When the solenoid 71 is actuated by a signal received from the controller 9 , the at least one clutch disc 72 is linearly displaced from a default position towards a physical (e.g., frictional) engagement with the flywheel 70 .",
"When the solenoid 71 is deactivated, the at least one clutch disc 72 is disengaged from the flywheel 70 and returns to the default position.",
"[0031] In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the controller 9 may include a microcontroller.",
"[0032] In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the amount of time “t”",
"may be preprogrammed on the microcontroller.",
"[0033] The swivel joint 6 in aspects of the present disclosure may connect between the tower 1 and the upper assembly 10 , wherein such joint 6 gives the upper assembly 10 two degrees of freedom relative to said tower 1 , Wherein such degrees of freedom enable the blades to face the wind direction in order to increase the efficiency of the dual rotor wind turbine.",
"The two degrees of freedom may include a horizontal rotation of the upper assembly 10 about the tower 1 , and/or a vertical tilt of the upper assembly 10 with respect to the tower 1 .",
"[0034] Aspects of the present disclosure can harness the Venturi effect caused by the partial blockage of the air stream by the first rotor blades 2 , which reduces the wind pressure and increases the velocity of the wind, thus the power generated by the wind turbine is increased.",
"[0035] In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the threshold power may be preprogrammed on the controller 9 such that the maximum power is greater than the maximum power that could be generated when the second rotor lies in the wake of the first rotor.",
"[0036] The following example illustrates embodiments of the present disclosure without, however, limiting the same thereto.",
"A small scale model made in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure was positioned in front of a wind tunnel, and the maximum power generated by such model was 210% of the power generated by a single rotor wind turbine of the same scale.",
"[0037] While the invention has been described in details and with reference to a specific embodiment thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various additions, omissions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.",
"[0038] Although the above description contains some specificity, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but is merely representative of the disclosed aspects of the present disclosure.",
"[0039] As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”",
"include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.",
"[0040] As used herein with respect to an identified property or circumstance, “substantially”",
"refers to a degree of deviation that is sufficiently small so as to not measurably detract from the identified property or circumstance.",
"The exact degree of deviation allowable may in some cases depend on the specific context.",
"[0041] As used herein, the term “about,” when referring to a value or to an amount of mass, weight, time, volume, concentration or percentage is meant to encompass variations of in some embodiments ±20%, in some embodiments ±10%, in some embodiments ±5%, in some embodiments ±1%, in some embodiments ±0.5%, and in some embodiments ±0.1% from the specified amount, as such variations are appropriate to perform the disclosed method.",
"[0042] As used herein, “significance”",
"or “significant”",
"relates to a statistical analysis of the probability that there is a non-random association between two or more entities.",
"To determine whether or not a relationship is “significant”",
"or has “significance,” statistical manipulations of the data can be performed to calculate a probability, expressed as a “p value.”",
"Those p values that fall below a user-defined cutoff point are regarded as significant.",
"In some embodiments, a p value less than or equal to 0.05, in some embodiments less than 0.01, in some embodiments less than 0.005, and in some embodiments less than 0.001, are regarded as significant.",
"Accordingly, a p value greater than or equal to 0.05 is considered not significant.",
"[0043] As used herein, the term “and/or”",
"when used in the context of a listing of entities, refers to the entities being present singly or in combination.",
"Thus, for example, the phrase “A, B, C, and/or D”",
"includes A, B, C, and D individually, but also includes any and all combinations and subcombinations of A, B, C, and D. [0044] As used herein, “adjacent”",
"refers to the proximity of two structures or elements.",
"Particularly, elements that are identified as being “adjacent”",
"may be either abutting or connected.",
"Such elements may also be near or close to each other without necessarily contacting each other.",
"The exact degree of proximity may in some cases depend on the specific context.",
"[0045] As used herein, a plurality of items, structural elements, compositional elements, and/or materials may be presented in a common list for convenience.",
"However, these lists should be construed as though each member of the list is individually identified as a separate and unique member.",
"Thus, no individual member of such list should be construed as a defacto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based on their presentation in a common group without indications to the contrary.",
"[0046] Any steps recited in any method or process claims may be executed in any order and are not limited to the order presented in the claims.",
"Means-plus-function or step-plus function limitations will only be employed where for a specific claim limitation all of the following conditions are present in that limitation: a) “means for”",
"or “step for”",
"is expressly recited;",
"and b) a corresponding function is expressly recited.",
"The structure, material, or acts that support the means-plus function are expressly recited in the description herein, Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined solely by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the descriptions and examples given herein."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] In computer networks, information is constantly being moved from a source to a destination, typically in the form of packets. In the simplest situations, the source and destination are directly connected and the packet of information passes from the source to the destination, without any intermediate stages. However, in most networks, there are at least one, if not multiple, intermediate stages between the source and the destination. In order for the information to move from the source to the destination, it must be routed through a set of devices that accept the packet and pass it along a predetermined path toward the destination. These devices, referred to generically as switches, are typically configured to accept packets from some number of input ports and transmit that information to an output port, which was selected from a plurality of ports. Often, ports are capable of both receiving and transmitting, such that the input and output ports are the same physical entities.
[0002] In an ideal network, traffic arrives at an input port of a switch. The switch determines the appropriate destination for the packet and immediately transmits it to the correct output port. In such a network, there is no need for storing the packet of information inside the switch, since the switch is able to transmit the packet as soon as it receives it.
[0003] However, because of a number of factors, this ideal behavior is not realizable. For instance, if the switch receives packets on several of its input ports destined for the same output port, the switch must store the information internally, since it cannot transmit all of these different packets of information simultaneously to the same output port. In this case, the output port is said to be “congested”. This term also describes the situation in which the device to which this output port is connected is unable to receive or process packets at the rate at which they arrive for some reason. In such a case, the switch must store the packet destined for that output port internally until either the offending device is able to receive more information or the packet is discarded.
[0004] Patent application Ser. No. 10/794,067, which is hereby incorporated by reference, describes a system and method of implementing multiple queues within a switching element to store packets destined for congested paths. Briefly, the switch determines the path of the packet, specifically, the action to be taken by the adjacent downstream switch, to determine whether it is destined for a congested path. The packet header contains the path of the packet as defined by the successive actions taken by each switching element. In other words, the header might specify the output port to be used by each switch in the path. The switching element compares this path specified in the header to its list of known congested paths. Based on that comparison, the switching element either forwards the packet or moves it to a special congested flow queue, where it remains until either a specific time period has passed or the path is no longer congested. That patent application describes several mechanisms by which a switch is notified of congested paths. One technique is known as Status Based Flow Control, where a downstream node explicitly informs an upstream node that at least one of its output ports is congested. This can be accomplished in the form of a message telling the sender to stop transmitting packets that are to be sent via the congested output port, followed by a second message telling it to resume when the congestion is resolved. Alternatively, the destination might transmit a message telling the source to stop transmitting packets destined for the offending output port for a specific time period.
[0005] ASI (Advanced Switching Interconnect) is an industry standard protocol, based on the PCI Express specification. Advanced Switching (AS) allows for the standardization of today's proprietary based backplanes. Advanced Switching uses the same physical-link and data-link layers as the PCI Express architecture, taking advantage of the tremendously large ecosystem. AS is a multi-point, peer-to-peer switched interconnect standard offering encapsulation of any protocol, multiple messaging mechanisms, QoS including congestion management, extended high availability features and much more. The ASI specification is written, updated and maintained by the ASI SIG (Special Interest Group) and the current version of the specification can be found at www.asi-sig.org/members/Core AS Rev1 0.pdf, and is hereby incorporated by reference. Similarly, the PCI Express specification is written, updated and maintained by the PCI SIG and the current specification can be found at www.pcisig.org/members/downloads/specifications/pciexpress/pciexpress base 10a.pdf, and is also hereby incorporated by reference.
[0006] ASI defines a mechanism by which upstream switches are notified of downstream congestion. Specifically, a switch which is experiencing congestion at one of its output ports can transmit a special message, known as a Data Link Layer Packet (DLLP) to an adjacent upstream switch. This DLLP contains multiple fields, one of which contains the output port that is experiencing the congestion and another that specifies the desired action that the upstream switch should take in response to the congestion. This mechanism is very effective to communicate congestion in one switch to the adjacent switch, however, it is specifically limited to this application. The format of a DLLP does not allow this mechanism to scale to identify congested paths through the entire fabric.
[0007] Thus, while congestion is reduced since traffic is no longer being sent to the congested port, there are undesirable effects of this scheme. Consider the scenario where there are three switches, A, B and C, in series. Assume that the most downstream switch, C, experiences congestion at its output port 5 . It communicates this information back to its adjacent switch, B, which now stops transmitting packets destined for output port 5 of the next switch. Assume that all such packets are transmitted via output port 3 of the intermediate switch B. These packets are then stored in a congestion queue, waiting for the congestion to pass. At a later time, this intermediate switch B cannot store any more packets destined for output port 5 of the downstream switch. Since DLLPs only permit the switch to identify its congested port, the intermediate switch B sends a DLLP to the upstream switch A, informing it that its output port 3 is experiencing congestion. At this point, the upstream switch A stops transmitting packets destined to be transmitted via output port 3 of the intermediate switch B.
[0008] This behavior is an appropriate response to the congestion issue presented above, however, there were packets in upstream switch A which could have been sent, which are not, because of the limitations of the DLLP mechanism. Specifically, any packet in upstream switch A destined for output port 3 of intermediate switch B will be held. However, only packets destined to be transmitted by output port 5 of downstream switch C truly needed to be held. Thus, any packet in upstream switch A which is transmitted via output port 3 of intermediate switch B, and was then intended to be transmitted via output port 7 of downstream switch C is unnecessarily held. Similarly, any packet in upstream switch A destined to be transmitted via any output port in downstream switch C except output port 5 will unnecessarily be held in upstream switch A. This reduces the throughput of the fabric and increases latency.
[0009] Therefore, it is an objective of the present invention to define a mechanism that enables the fabric to identify and communicate not only congested output ports, but also congested paths to all interested switches throughout the network fabric. It is a further objective of the present invention to define this mechanism in such a way that it can be incorporated into the ASI specification in a backward compatible manner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The problems with the prior art have been overcome with this invention, which provides a system and method for identifying and communicating congested paths throughout a network fabric. Briefly, the present invention augments the congestion management mechanism defined in ASI to allow for the communication of congested paths through the fabric, rather than the simple congested output port notification supported today through the use of DLLPs. Further, it also uses the communication mechanisms already defined in the ASI specification to implement this additional capability. Specifically, the present invention uses Transaction Layer Packets (TLPs) to communicate the information concerning congested flows throughout the network. This packet type allows the inclusion of much more information than DLLPs, allowing a more comprehensive and elegant solution to the issue of congestion management in an Advanced Switching network fabric.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates a typical network and network fabric topology, containing several intermediate stages between the source and the destination;
[0012] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary packet header showing the path that the packet will take through the network or fabric;
[0013] FIG. 3 illustrates a packet header in accordance with the Advanced Switching specification showing the path that the packet will take through the network or fabric;
[0014] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary packet forward routed through a network fabric and illustrates the associated turn pool and turn pointer values in accordance with the AS specification;
[0015] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary packet backward routed through a network fabric and illustrates the associated turn pool and turn pointer values in accordance with the AS specification;
[0016] FIG. 6 illustrates the format of the Data Link Layer Packet, as defined by the Advanced Switching Interconnect specification; and
[0017] FIG. 7 illustrates the format of the new Transaction Layer Packet in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0018] Within computer networks, systems, also known as fabrics, are designed that allow multiple nodes, or endpoints to communicate with one another. FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration used in the creation of such a fabric. Fabric 10 is comprised of a number of devices, or nodes, that are interconnected to one another. These devices, broadly known as switches, are capable of receiving packets of information via a plurality of input ports and then transmitting these packets via a plurality of output ports, preferably via an output port that is different than the input port. When a number of these are connected together, it is possible to create a fabric whereby multiple endpoints are able to communicate with each other via the various paths that are established by the switches. Within fabric 10 , three switches, 20 , 30 and 40 are shown. Most fabrics are more complex than this example, with additional switches connected to the unused outputs of switches 20 , 30 , and 40 . There is no theoretical maximum on the total number of switches, the number of switches between the endpoints, or the configuration of the fabric and this invention is capable of working in any configuration. Within a fabric, the ports of each switch are connected in a point-to-point fashion with ports from other switches. A port on one switch is connected to a single port on another switch, via a point-to-point interconnection, preferably via a cable, backplane or wires. Two switches that share an interconnection such that one port of the first switch is in direct communication with one port of the second switch via the shared interconnection are said to be adjacent to one another. In FIG. 1 , switch 30 is adjacent to both switch 20 and switch 40 . Similarly, switch 20 is adjacent to switch 30 and endpoints 100 , 110 and 120 . Specifically, port 4 of switch 20 is in direct communication with port 0 of adjacent switch 30 . Even though physical elements such as cables, filters, back planes, EMI control logic or other devices may exist between port 4 of switch 20 and port 0 of switch 30 , these two ports are defined to be adjacent and in direct communication since there are no other switches in the direct path between these two ports.
[0019] Attached to switch 20 via point-to-point connections are endpoints 100 , 110 and 120 . These endpoints may be computing devices, such as personal computers or servers. They may also be other networking devices, such as, but not limited to, routers, wiring closet switches, or gateways. Attached to switch 40 via point-to-point connections are endpoints 130 , 140 and 150 , which may also be any of the categories previously described. The number of switches and endpoints in this figure is solely for illustrative purposes and the invention is not to be limited by the number of either. Using fabric 10 , any endpoint in FIG. 1 can communicate to any other endpoint. In some cases, this is accomplished by using only a small part of the fabric. This is the case when endpoint 100 communicates with endpoint 120 . Only switch 20 is involved in transferring packets between these endpoints. In other situations, many more switches are involved in the communications between two endpoints, such as is the case between endpoint 100 and endpoint 150 . In this case, endpoint 100 communicates to switch 20 , which forwards the packet to switch 30 , which in turn forwards it to switch 40 , which forwards the packet to its ultimate destination, endpoint 150 .
[0020] Advanced Switching also defines a mechanism known as loopback, by which a packet is transmitted via the same port on which it was received. For example, a packet sent from endpoint 120 to endpoint 100 could be routed via switch 30 . In this scenario, endpoint 120 communicates with switch 20 , which forwards the packet to switch 30 , which then forwards the packet back to switch 20 , which finally forwards it to endpoint 100 . There are several reasons that a packet could potentially be routed via loopback, rather than via the shortest path. For example, endpoint 100 may implement a policy by which the other endpoints receive an equal amount of bandwidth when transmitting packets to it. This policy may be more easily implemented by having all incoming traffic enter switch 20 via switch 30 . Therefore, endpoints 110 and 120 might use loopback to follow this fairness policy.
[0021] When a packet is received by switch 20 , it examines that packet to determine which output port it should transmit the packet to. There are multiple methods whereby switch 20 can determine the correct output port, based on the routing policies used in the fabric. For example, destination address based routing allows the switch to select the output port based on the ultimate destination of the packet. The switch may contain an internal table that associates each destination address with an output port. When switch 20 receives a packet, it determines the destination address of the packet, indexes into its table and selects the appropriate output port. Path based routing is an alternative method of routing packets through a fabric. In this scenario, the packet header contains the path that the packet is to follow. One example of path based routing is illustrated in FIG. 2 , where the header of a packet is shown. Embedded in the header is the path that the packet should take. In this simple example, the path is divided into 4 bit fields. Each of these 4 bit fields corresponds to the output port that should be used by a specific switch. As an example, switch 20 would look at bits < 3 : 0 > to determine which output port it should transmit on; then switch 30 would look at bits < 7 : 4 > to determine its output port and finally switch 40 would look at bits < 11 : 8 > to determine its output port. Referring back to FIG. 1 , if the packet contained the string 344 , the packet would be transmitted via output port 4 of switch 20 , output port 4 of switch 30 and output port 3 of switch 40 . Therefore, this string defines the path to endpoint 130 . Similarly, a packet employing loopback can be constructed to send information from endpoint 120 to endpoint 100 . In this scenario, switch 20 would look at bits < 3 : 0 > to determine which output port it should transmit on; then switch 30 would look at bits < 7 : 4 > to determine its output port and finally switch 20 would look at bits < 11 : 8 > to determine its output port. Thus, a packet containing the string 104 would be transmitted via output port 4 of switch 20 to switch 30 . Then it would be transmitted via output port 0 on switch 30 back to switch 20 . Finally, it would be transmitted via output port 1 to endpoint 100 . There are numerous variations of this simple approach to path based routing. For example, rather than specifying the output port of a switch, the packet may specify the relative position of the output port as compared to the input port. In this scenario, bits < 3 : 0 > would specify the number of turns in a clockwise direction that exist between the input port and the output port. A path originating at endpoint 120 would set bits < 3 : 0 > to 0 , if it wished the packet to be routed to endpoint 110 , since there are no turns in a clockwise direction between these two ports. To send a packet to endpoint 130 , endpoint 120 would set bits < 3 : 0 > to 4 to direct the packet to switch 30 . Continuing on, it would set bits < 7 : 4 > to 3 to direct the packet to switch 40 , and finally it would set bits < 11 : 8 > to 2 to direct the packet to its ultimate destination, endpoint 130 . This description of path based routing is only meant to illustrate the principles defining the protocol.
[0022] The AS (Advanced Switching) protocol uses a variant of the “turn” mechanism previously defined. FIG. 3 shows the header of a typical AS packet. Included in this header is a field known as the Turn Pool 300 , a second field known as the Turn Pointer 310 and a Direction flag 320 . The Turn Pool 300 is analogous to bits < 11 : 0 > in FIG. 2 , in that these bits represent the turn value for the switches that are in the path of transmission. However, unlike FIG. 2 , AS allows non-uniform sized switches, therefore, it is not possible to divide this field into smaller subfields, without knowing the specific fabric and switch topology. For example, a switch with 9 output ports that does not employ loopback requires 3 bits to uniquely express the turn value, since there are 8 other ports that the packet can be transmitted via; while a switch with 5 output ports only requires 2 bits of Turn Pool.
[0023] Therefore, an index into the Turn Pool is used to inform each switch of the relevant bits in the Turn Pool which correspond to its turn number. This index value, known as the Turn Pointer field, is set by the source node originally sending the packet, and is decremented by each switch according to its port count. In other words, a switch, which does not support loopback, containing 17 output ports uses the next 4 bits in the Turn Pool field, while a switch with 9 output ports uses only the next 3 bits in the Turn Pool field. In each case, the switch decrements the turn index by the number of bits that it used.
[0024] Advanced Switching specifies that the maximum number of ports that a switch without loopback can have is represented by:
[0025] 2 N +1, where N is the number of bits that it uses in the Turn Pool.
[0026] Furthermore, a switch with loopback is limited to one fewer port, namely:
[0027] 2 N , where N is the number of bits that it uses in the Turn Pool.
[0028] This difference is due to the fact that the AS specification reserves the turn value represented in binary as all “1”s for loopback(i.e. 2 N −1, where N is the number of bits the switch uses in the Turn Pool), in those switches that support it, thus reducing the maximum number of ports by one. For example, assume a switch with 9 ports that does not support loopback. The maximum turn value is between any port and the port immediately counterclockwise from it (since turn values are calculated in the clockwise direction). This turn value would be 7. However, if the switch supports loopback, the turn value of 7, which is “111”, is reserved for loopback. This implies that the maximum turn value between a port and its immediately adjacent counterclockwise port must be no greater than 6. Therefore, a switch supporting loopback, which uses 3 bits of turn value, can only have a maximum of 8 ports.
[0029] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary use of the Turn Pool and the Turn Pointer. Assume that all switches in this Figure do not support loopback. In this figure, Switch A 400 contains 5 output ports, thus requiring 2 bits of Turn Pool to uniquely identify the appropriate output port. Similarly, switch B 410 contains 17 output ports, thus requiring 4 bits of Turn Pool, and switch C 420 contains 9 output ports, thus requiring 3 bits of Turn Pool. In this example, source endpoint 430 writes the appropriate values into the Turn Pointer and Turn Pool fields. When switch A 400 receives the packet, it determines that the Turn Pointer is 9. It then uses this value to index into the Turn Pool. Specifically, according to the AS specification, the Turn Pointer value represents the bit position of the most significant bit of its turn value, plus one. In other words, a Turn Pointer of 9 indicates that bit 8 is the most significant bit of switch A's turn value. Since switch A 400 is a 5-port switch, it requires 2 bits to specify the output port, thus Turn Pool bits < 8 : 7 > represent the turn value used by switch A 400 . Looking at the Turn Pool field, these bits are 01, as indicated in line 2 of the chart accompanying FIG. 4 . Therefore, switch A 400 selects output port 1 , using the technique described above for relative turns in reference to FIG. 2 . Since switch A 400 used 2 bits of the Turn Pool field, it decrements the Turn Pointer field by 2, thereby changing it to 7, before forwarding the packet to switch B 410 .
[0030] Switch B 410 repeats this process. A Turn Pointer value of 7 indicates that bit 6 of the Turn Pool is the most significant bit of its turn value. Since switch B 410 is a 17 port switch, it requires 4 bits to represent all possible output ports, therefore switch B 410 uses bits < 6 : 3 > as its turn value. Line 3 of the chart indicates that these bits represent the value 1010 (or ten), which corresponds to output port 5 in FIG. 4 . Since switch B 410 used 4 bits of the Turn Pool field, it decrements the Turn Pointer field by 4, thereby changing it to 3, before forwarding the packet to switch C 420 .
[0031] Switch C 420 repeats this process as well. A Turn Pointer value of 3 indicates that bit 2 of the Turn Pool is the most significant bit of its turn value. Since switch C 420 is a 9-port switch, it requires 3 bits to represent all possible output ports. Therefore switch C 420 uses bits < 2 : 0 > as its turn value. Line 4 of the chart indicates that these bits represent the value 110 (or 6), which corresponds to output port 4 in FIG. 4 . Since switch C 420 used 3 bits of the Turn Pool field, it decrements the Turn Pointer field by 3, thereby changing it to 0, before forwarding the packet to the terminus endpoint 440 .
[0032] To verify that the packet was properly delivered, the terminus endpoint 440 verifies that the Turn Pointer field has been decremented to zero when it arrives.
[0033] Note that this mechanism illustrated in FIG. 4 works identically with switches that support loopback, with the modification that all of the switches illustrated in the figure must each have one fewer port.
[0034] To further describe the operation with loopback, refer to FIG. 1 , and assume that Endpoint 100 wishes to send a packet to endpoint 110 , which is to be transmitted via switch 30 . Assume that all switches in this Figure support loopback. In this figure, Switch 20 , Switch 30 and Switch 40 each contain 8 output ports, thus requiring 3 bits of Turn Pool to uniquely identify the appropriate output port. In this example, endpoint 100 writes the appropriate values into the Turn Pointer and Turn Pool fields. In order to transmit a packet to endpoint 110 , endpoint 100 writes a Turn Pointer of 9, with a Turn Pool of 010111011. When switch 20 receives the packet, it determines that the Turn Pointer is 9. It then uses this value to index into the Turn Pool. Specifically, according to the AS specification, the Turn Pointer value represents the bit position of the most significant bit of its turn value, plus one. In other words, a Turn Pointer of 9 indicates that bit 8 is the most significant bit of switch A's turn value. Since switch 20 is a 8-port switch, it requires 3 bits to specify the output port, thus Turn Pool bits < 8 : 6 > represent the turn value used by switch 20 . Looking at the Turn Pool field, these bits would be 010. Therefore, switch 20 selects output port 4 , using the technique described above for relative turns in reference to FIG. 2 . Since switch 20 used 3 bits of the Turn Pool field, it decrements the Turn Pointer field by 3, thereby changing it to 6, before forwarding the packet to switch 30 .
[0035] Switch 30 repeats this process. A Turn Pointer value of 6 indicates that bit 5 of the Turn Pool is the most significant bit of its turn value. Since switch 30 is a 8-port switch, it requires 3 bits to represent all possible output ports, therefore switch 30 uses bits < 5 : 3 > as its turn value. Thus, its turn value would be 111, which is defined in the AS specification as the loopback value. Therefore, the packet will be routed back via output port 0 , from which it originated. Since switch 30 used 3 bits of the Turn Pool field, it decrements the Turn Pointer field by 3, thereby changing it to 3, before forwarding the packet to switch 20 .
[0036] Switch 20 repeats this process again. A Turn Pointer value of 3 indicates that bit 2 of the Turn Pool is the most significant bit of its turn value. Switch 20 uses bits < 2 : 0 > as its turn value, which represent the value 011 (or 3). This corresponds to output port 0 . Since switch 20 used bits of the Turn Pool field, it decrements the Turn Pointer field by 3, thereby changing it to 0, before forwarding the packet to the endpoint 110 .
[0037] To verify that the packet was properly delivered, the endpoint 110 verifies that the Turn Pointer field has been decremented to zero when it arrives.
[0038] Returning to FIG. 3 , there is shown a Direction flag 320 defined in the packet header. In AS, packets are defined as being either forward routed, or backward routed. The Direction flag 320 is used to distinguish these two types of routing, where a value of zero for the Direction flag indicates a forward routed packet, while a value of one indicates a backward routed packet. FIG. 4 illustrates forward routing of an AS packet through a network fabric. FIG. 5 illustrates the backward routing of a packet through a similarly configured network.
[0039] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary use of the Turn Pool and the Turn Pointer in association with backward routed packets. In this figure, as in FIG. 4 , all switches are assumed to not support loopback. Switch A 400 contains 5 output ports, thus requiring 2 bits of Turn Pool to uniquely identify the appropriate output port. Similarly, switch B 410 contains 17 output ports, thus requiring 4 bits of Turn Pool, and switch C 420 contains 9 output ports, thus requiring 3 bits of Turn Pool. In this example, the source endpoint 430 of FIG. 4 becomes the destination, while the previous terminus endpoint 440 from FIG. 4 becomes the source. Endpoint 440 uses the same Turn Pool as was used in FIG. 4 , and has a Turn Pointer of 0. This packet is distinguished from the previous packet by the setting of the flag denoting the packet as a backward routed packet.
[0040] When switch C 420 receives the packet, it determines that the Turn Pointer is 0. It then uses this value to index into the Turn Pool. Specifically, according to the AS specification, the Turn Pointer value in a backward routed packet represents the bit position of the least significant bit of its turn value. In other words, a Turn Pointer of 0 indicates that bit 0 is the least significant bit of switch C's turn value. Since switch C 420 is a 9-port switch, it requires 3 bits to specify the output port, thus Turn Pool bits < 2 : 0 > represent the turn value used by switch C 420 . Looking at the Turn Pool field, these bits are 110, as indicated in line 2 of the chart accompanying FIG. 5 .
[0041] In backward routed packets, the turn pool indicates the number of ports between the ingress and egress ports in a counterclockwise direction. Therefore, switch C 420 selects output port 6 , using the technique described above. Since switch C 420 used 3 bits of the Turn Pool field, it increments the Turn Pointer field by 3, thereby changing it to 3, before forwarding the packet to switch B 410 .
[0042] Switch B 410 repeats this process. A Turn Pointer value of 3 indicates that bit 3 of the Turn Pool is the least significant bit of its turn value. Since switch B 410 is a 17-port switch, it requires 4 bits to represent all possible output ports, therefore switch B uses bits < 6 : 3 > as its turn value. Line 3 of the chart indicates that these bits represent the value 1010 (or ten). Moving in the counterclockwise direction, this corresponds to output port 11 in FIG. 5 . Since switch B 410 used 4 bits of the Turn Pool field, it increments the Turn Pointer field by 4, thereby changing it to 7, before forwarding the packet to switch A 400 .
[0043] Switch A 400 repeats this process as well. A Turn Pointer value of 7 indicates that bit 7 of the Turn Pool is the least significant bit of its turn value. Since switch A 400 is a 5-port switch, it requires 2 bits to represent all possible output ports, therefore switch A 400 uses bits < 8 : 7 > as its turn value. Line 4 of the chart indicates that these bits represent the value 01 (or 1), which corresponds to output port 4 in FIG. 5 . Since switch A 400 used 2 bits of the Turn Pool field, it increments the Turn Pointer field by 2, thereby changing it to 9, before forwarding the packet to the terminus endpoint 430 .
[0044] Again, this mechanism works in the same manner with switches that support loopback, with the modification that all switches must each have one less port. To further describe the operation with loopback, referring to FIG. 1 , assume that Endpoint 110 wishes to send a backward routed packet to endpoint 100 , which is to be transmitted via switch 30 . Assume that all switches in this Figure support loopback. Switch 20 , Switch 30 and Switch 40 each contain 8 output ports, thus requiring 3 bits of Turn Pool to uniquely identify the appropriate output port. Endpoint 110 uses the same Turn Pool as was used in describing loopback operation with respect to FIG. 1 (010111011), and has a Turn Pointer of 0. This packet is distinguished from the previous packet by the setting of the flag denoting the packet as a backward routed packet.
[0045] When switch 20 receives the packet, it determines that the Turn Pointer is 0. It then uses this value to index into the Turn Pool. Specifically, according to the AS specification, the Turn Pointer value in a backward routed packet represents the bit position of the least significant bit of its turn value. In other words, a Turn Pointer of 0 indicates that bit 0 is the least significant bit of switch 20 's turn value. Since switch 20 is a 8-port switch, it requires 3 bits to specify the output port, thus Turn Pool bits < 2 : 0 > represent the turn value used by switch 20 . Looking at the Turn Pool field, these bits are 011.
[0046] In backward routed packets, the turn pool indicates the number of ports between the ingress and egress ports in a counterclockwise direction. Therefore, switch 20 selects output port 4 , using the technique described above. Since switch 20 used 3 bits of the Turn Pool field, it increments the Turn Pointer field by 3, thereby changing it to 3, before forwarding the packet to switch 30 .
[0047] Switch 30 repeats this process. A Turn Pointer value of 3 indicates that bit 3 of the Turn Pool is the least significant bit of its turn value. Since switch 30 is a 8-port switch, it requires 3 bits to represent all possible output ports, therefore switch 30 uses bits < 5 : 3 > as its turn value. These bits correspond to the value 111 (or 7). In accordance with the AS specification, a value of 7 (for a 8-port switch) designates the loopback value, in both the forward and backward direction. Thus, Switch 30 will transmit this packet via output port 0 , which is the port where the packet originated. Since switch 30 used 3 bits of the Turn Pool field, it increments the Turn Pointer field by 3, thereby changing it to 6, before forwarding the packet to switch 20 .
[0048] Switch 20 repeats this process again. A Turn Pointer value of 6 indicates that bit 6 of the Turn Pool is the least significant bit of its turn value. Since switch 20 is a 8-port switch, it requires 3 bits to represent all possible output ports, therefore switch 20 uses bits < 8 : 6 > as its turn value, which represent the value 010 (or 2). This corresponds to output port 1 in FIG. 1 . Since switch 20 used 3 bits of the Turn Pool field, it increments the Turn Pointer field by 3, thereby changing it to 9, before forwarding the packet to the endpoint 100 .
[0049] It is important to note that there are two possible sets of Turn Pools and Turn Pointers for each path; one which represents the forward routed path and the second which represents the backwards routed path. Referring back to FIG. 5 , if endpoint 440 sends a forward routed packet to endpoint 430 , the Turn Pool would be set as follows:
[0050] Turn Pool< 8 : 6 > would be 001, which is the number of ports, in a clockwise direction between ingress port 4 and egress port 6 on Switch C 420 .
[0051] Turn Pool< 5 : 2 > would be 0101, which is the number of ports, in a clockwise direction between ingress port 5 and egress port 11 on Switch B 410 .
[0052] Turn Pool< 1 : 0 > would be 10, which is the number of ports, in a clockwise direction between ingress port 1 and egress port 4 on Switch A 400 .
[0053] Thus, for a forward routed packet from endpoint 440 to endpoint 430 , the Turn Pool would be 001010110. Similarly, this is the Turn Pool for a backward routed packet from endpoint 430 to endpoint 440 .
[0054] Therefore, the values of the Turn Pools for packets originating at endpoint 430 and terminating at endpoint 440 would be:
[0055] 011010110, in the forward direction, and
[0056] 001010110, in the backward direction.
[0057] Although these numbers seem unrelated, there is a defined relationship between them. The forward Turn Pool can be written as 01 1010 110, where the separations exist between the turn values for each switch. Similarly, the backward Turn Pool can be written as 001 0101 10, where the separations exist between the turn values for each switch. Thus, the most significant bits of the forward Turn Pool correspond to Switch A 400 , while the least significant bits of the reverse Turn Pool correspond to Switch A 400 . Thus, the first step to creating the backward Turn Pool from the forward Turn Pool (or vice versa) is to use the network topology to identify the various turn values within the Turn Pool. The next step is to reverse the order of the turn values. Thus, forward Turn Pool 01 1010 110 is first rewritten as 110 1010 01.
[0058] The next step is to convert each turn value from a clockwise turn, to a counterclockwise turn. In a fully populated switch which does not support loopback (one which contains the maximum number of ports, i.e. 2 N +1 ports, where N is the number of bits in the turn value), the conversion is achieved by inverting the bits. In a switch that is not fully populated, the conversion is performed as follows:
[0000] Backward turn value=#ports−forward turn value−2
[0059] Loopback introduces an exception to the above equation. As stated earlier, the forward turn value of the loopback port is all “1”s, or 2 N −1, where N is the number of bits the switch uses in the Turn Pool. In other words, for an 8-port switch, the loopback value would be 111 (or 7). Similarly, for a 16-port switch, the loopback value would be 1111 (or 15). The backward turn value of the loopback port is also defined to be all “1”s, or 2 N −1. Therefore, the forward routed turn value and backward routed turn value for the loopback port is always the same.
[0060] In the scenarios illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 , all switches are fully populated and do not support loopback, therefore either the bits can be inverted or the equation above can be used. In either case, the resulting backward Turn Pool is rewritten as 001 0101 10. Note that this value is the same as that determined empirically by using FIG. 5 earlier.
[0061] Referring to the example used in conjunction with FIG. 1 , it was determined that the forward Turn Pool from endpoint 100 to endpoint 110 was 010111011. The backward Turn Pool from endpoint 100 to endpoint 110 could be calculated as shown above. The Turn Pool is first written as 010 111 011, to delineate the turn values for each switch. These turn values are then rearranged, with the first value being moved to the end, and the last value being moved to the beginning, therefore yielding 011 111 010. Using the equation given earlier:
[0062] Backward turn value=#ports−forward turn value−2, the backward turn values can be calculated. Since each switch in FIG. 1 contains 8 ports, the backward turn value is simply 6 minus the forward turn value. However, since the middle turn value is all “1”s, its backward turn value is unchanged. Thus, the calculated backward turn value would be 011 111 100.
[0063] However, although it may be theoretically possible to calculate the backward turn value from the forward turn value and vice-versa, no switch is capable of performing this calculation. In order to perform this translation, the topology of the entire network, along with the configuration of each switch must be known. This level of information is not available at any given switch. Therefore, a switch cannot compute a backward turn pool from a known forward turn pool.
[0064] The Advanced Switching (AS) specification also allows for a mechanism, known as Status Based Flow Control (SBFC), for informing upstream switches of congestion. Using this mechanism, a downstream node explicitly informs an upstream node which of its output ports are congested. This can be accomplished in the form of a message telling the sender to stop transmitting, followed by a second message telling it to resume when the congestion is resolved. Alternatively, the destination might transmit a message telling the source to stop transmitting packets for a specific time period.
[0065] FIG. 6 illustrates the format of an AS Data Link Layer Packet (DLLP), used to inform an upstream switch of congestion in one or more output ports. In accordance with the AS and PCI Express specifications, a DLLP is always preceded by a special identifier, known as a k-code. In the case of DLLPs, the special identifier is known as START DLLP and referred to as K28.2 in these specifications. Similarly, each DLLP is followed by a second special identifier, known as END and referred to as K29.7 in these specifications. More detailed information about the format and values of these k-codes can be found in the PCI Express specification.
[0066] Referring to FIG. 6 , Bits < 31 : 29 > of the first double word are used to identify the type of DLLP. This 3-bit field allows eight possible values, with a value of 5 used to identify Status Feedback DLLPs. Bits< 27 : 26 > describe the action that the upstream switch must take in response to the reported congestion. The following table explains the four possible actions:
[0000]
Bits <27:26>
Action
00
XON: Enable transmissions to the port
01
Short XOFF: Disable transmissions to the port
for a short timeout period
10
Long XOFF: Disable transmissions to the port
for a long timeout period
11
Persistent XOFF: Disable transmissions to the
port until a subsequent DLLP with
Bits<27:26> = 00
[0067] Bits < 25 : 18 > identify the congested output port. This value is expressed as a forward routed turn value. Eight bits are used, since the largest defined switch in AS contains 256 ports.
[0068] Bit < 17 > is used to identify the Ordered Only flag for the congested output port. In accordance with the specification, there are some classes of traffic which must be delivered in the order in which they were sent. These are referred to as “ordered only” traffic classes. The assertion of this bit indicates that this packet belongs to such a traffic class.
[0069] Bits < 16 : 9 > represent the mask for the eight possible traffic classes. Typically, within a network or network fabric system, there may be different classes of traffic. For example, video traffic is deemed to be very time critical, as any delay in its transmission will result in lost frames and a distorted image. Therefore, the system, by the utilization of distinct traffic classes, can guarantee that video traffic will receive a guaranteed amount of bandwidth. Similarly, voice contains time critical information, although perhaps slightly less time critical than video. Traffic classes can also be used to support isochronous traffic, whereby the class gets a fixed allocation of bandwidth at regular time intervals. Other types of data, such as status information, may be delivered on a best effort basis, where this is typically the lowest class. The classification of traffic provides a mechanism for the network to automatically prioritize packets as they are transferred through the network. In many traditional systems, traffic classes define specific quality of service parameters, such as latency through the network. Networks achieve the required quality of service parameters by applying weights to each class of traffic. For example, a packet of the highest traffic class destined for a specific output port may be allowed to move ahead of all other packets waiting to be transmitted via that output port. Often this mechanism is implemented through multiple queues per output port, where each queue is allocated a specific percentage of the total bandwidth for that output port.
[0070] Traffic classifications are also necessary in network fabrics to eliminate the possibility of deadlock, or heavy congestion. By assigning network administration and status messages a high traffic class, they can bypass other information. Using this mechanism, a message notifying an upstream device about congestion can be sent immediately, allowing the device to modify its delivery profile.
[0071] It is possible that the congestion at a particular port only exists for a specific traffic class, while the others are still free to transmit. This field identifies the traffic classes affected by the congestion. While eight traffic classes are defined by the Advanced Switching specification, it is permissible that, due to implementation constraints, some switches do not employ separate queues for each traffic class. For example, a switch may group together the lowest three traffic classes into a single set of queues. In this case, once one of these three classes becomes congested, all three are congested since they share common queues. By implementing a bit map to identify the congested traffic classes, a switch is able to inform the upstream switch of all traffic classes which are impacted with a single message.
[0072] Following these 32 bits, a 16-bit CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Code) is transmitted. CRCs are used to provide for error detection and are well known within the art. The specific implementation of this CRC is not important to the present invention.
[0073] Advanced Switching (AS) specifies the use of this DLLP for a downstream switch to communicate to its immediate upstream neighbor any congested port information. A brief description of the use of DLLPs is provided in reference to FIG. 1 .
[0074] Assume that switch 40 experiences congestion at its output port 3 while attempting to transmit packets to endpoint 130 . Congestion can be determined using a number of different techniques. One such mechanism is to monitor the contents of each queue. To avoid congestion, the rate at which a queue transmits information must be equal to or greater than the rate at which it receives information. If this criteria is met, then the queue will remain empty at most times. Ideally, the queue is not empty only when it is actively receiving, or has just received a packet, since immediately after receipt, the new packet will be transmitted. However, if the queue is unable to transmit packets at the rate at which they are received, the queue will begin filling. Thus, while the rate at which packets are received is greater than the rate at which they are transmitted, the queue will fill. If the available capacity of the queue drops below a threshold value, a determination is made that the port is congested. This threshold value can be predetermined, programmable or can be adaptively changed based on the overall queue usage in the switch. The determination of the optimal threshold value is an implementation decision. If the threshold is set such that it is reached when the queue is nearly full, there may be cases where the queue overflows, since packets that are already in transit cannot be stopped quickly enough. Conversely, if the threshold is set such that it is reached when the queue still contains ample available space, there may be transient conditions when the port is unnecessarily considered congested. Having determined that congestion exists, the switch then generates a DLLP which it sends to switch 30 . That DDLP would contain the following bit fields:
[0000]
Bits
Field
Value
Comments
31:29
DLLP Type
5
Defined as Status Feedback Type
28
VB
0
Only the first port is valid
27:26
XOFF
01, 10 or 11
Switch 40 can choose any of these
three actions for switch 30 to take
25:18
Port A
2
From switch 30's perspective, the
Turn
congested port has a turn number of
Number
2
17
O
Any
This field defines the ordered
order field of the congested port
16:9
TCMask
Any
This field defines the traffic
classes that are congested
8:0
Reserved
Any
This field is reserved and not used
[0075] Switch 30 receives the DLLP described above, and stores the relevant information concerning the congested port in a memory element inside the switch.
[0076] Whenever switch 30 receives a packet that it is to transmit via its output port 4 , it compares the next turn of the packet to its list of known congested ports. As described in reference to FIG. 4 , switch 30 is able to ascertain its output port by using the Turn Pointer and Turn Pool fields found in the header of the incoming packet. However, to implement the congestion management mechanism, the switch must also identify the output port of the next downstream switch, since all DLLPs refer to the downstream switch's ports.
[0077] During initialization of the fabric, each switch becomes aware of the configuration of its neighboring switches. In this case, switch 30 knows the configuration of both switch 20 and switch 40 . Switch 20 knows the configuration of switch 30 ; however, it is unaware of the configuration of switch 40 , since they are not adjacent. Similarly, switch 40 knows the configuration of switch 30 , but not switch 20 .
[0078] Once switch 30 examines the header of the incoming packet to determine its output port, it decrements the Turn Pointer field as described above and prepares the packet for transmission. Before transmission, it determines the output port that will be used by switch 40 , by looking at the modified Turn Pointer, the Turn Pool, and the configuration information that it has concerning the port count of switch 40 . If this output port is the same as that identified in the DLLP, then switch 30 will not transmit the packet until the port is no longer congested. However, switch 30 is capable of sending packets to switch 40 that are not intended for output port 3 , since it has the ability to identify the output port that will be used by switch 40 . Therefore, all packets intended for endpoint 140 and endpoint 150 are unaffected by the congestion at endpoint 130 .
[0079] Similarly, since switch 30 is aware of the configuration of switch 40 , it can also identify backward routed packets destined for output port 3 . Using the formulas and manipulations illustrated earlier, switch 30 can use the modified Turn Pointer, the Turn Pool, and the information that it has about the number of ports in switch 40 to determine the equivalent forward routed turn value, which it then compares to the value in the DLLP.
[0080] The mechanism defined in the AS specification works effectively in this scenario. However, assume that the congestion at output port 3 of switch 40 persists for an extended period of time. At some point, switch 30 will have queued a significant number of packets that cannot be delivered to switch 40 because of this congestion. When the available capacity of this queue in switch 30 has dropped below a threshold value, it must inform switch 20 to stop sending packets destined for output port 3 of switch 40 . However, the format of the DLLP does not permit switch 30 to inform switch 20 of congestion in switch 40 . Rather, in accordance with the AS specification, switch 30 generates a DLLP that informs switch 20 to stop sending packets destined for its output port 4 . The specific values of the bit fields are generated similarly to those shown above and thus are not repeated here.
[0081] At this point, switch 20 stops transmission of all packets that are destined for output port 4 of switch 30 . However, since DLLPs can only identify congested paths, many packets that could have been transmitted are now held in switch 20 . For example, all packets destined for endpoint 140 and endpoint 150 cannot be transmitted because of congestion at endpoint 130 . Thus, the inability of the DLLP to specify congested paths causes packets that could have been transmitted to be delayed because of downstream congestion along other unrelated paths.
[0082] The present invention allows the communication of congested paths to upstream switches, thereby only restricting the transmission of those packets that are actually destined for a congested path.
[0083] The Advanced Switching specification also defines other types of packets that can be transmitted between switches. As previously described, the primary mechanism for communicating status feedback information is in the form of DLLPs. Another format of messages, known as Transaction Layer Packets (TLPs) also exists.
[0084] Transaction Layer Packets are defined in the PCI Express specification, and are used to communicate a variety of different types of information between nodes in the system. Like DLLPs, TLPs are always preceded by special k-code identifiers, which allow the switch to quickly interpret the incoming packet and process it accordingly. TLPS are preceded by a k-code known as START TLP and referred to as K27.7 in the PCI Express specification. The END k-code that was used with DLLPS, K 29.7, is also used to end TLP transmissions. In the case of TLPs, since the arrival of packets is guaranteed, as opposed to best effort with DLLPs, a two byte sequence number follows the START TLP k code. More information about these extra bytes can be found in the PCI Express specification.
[0085] In accordance with the AS specification, all TLPs use an AS Route header, as illustrated in FIG. 3 , which defines the type of message and the path it is to travel through the fabric. In addition to the Turn Pool and Turn Pointer, described earlier, there are a number of other relevant fields. First, bits< 6 : 0 > define the Protocol Interface (PI) field 701 . This field represents the various types of packets that can be encapsulated by this header. While 128 possible values are defined, many of these are implementation or vendor specific. Several others are reserved for configuration purposes, such as path building.
[0086] By making use of a currently reserved PI value, it is possible to create status based flow control messages throughout the fabric that explicitly identify congested paths. Switches that currently exist would ignore this TLP, since the PI value is unknown. FIG. 7 illustrates a TLP which allows such communication to occur.
[0087] The PI field 701 of the first double word 700 is set to a value of 000111 (7), denoting that this packet contains information about AS fabric management. Since this is a unique packet type, the fields that follow can be defined as required in accordance with the invention. The second double word 730 , gives the value of the forward Turn Pool which identifies the congested path. Since it is not possible for a switch to convert a forward Turn Pool into a reverse Turn Pool, the next double word 740 contains the reverse Turn Pool. Bits< 24 : 20 > of double word 700 define the path size 720 . Path size 720 represents the number of bits in double words 730 and 740 that are valid. Since it is a 5-bit field, it is capable of representing up to 31 bits, which is the maximum size of the Turn Pools. Bits< 31 : 25 > of double word 700 contains the header CRC 725 , in accordance with the AS specification.
[0088] Bit< 12 > of double word 700 contains the “Ordered Only” flag 717 , as described in reference to FIG. 6 , and serves the same purpose in this packet.
[0000] Bits< 19 : 16 > and bits< 11 : 8 > represent the traffic class 705 of the congested flow, or flows. Since there are eight defined traffic classes, each bit is used to represent whether that particular class is impacted by congestion. For example, the assertion of bit< 18 > and bit< 9 > of double word 700 , which represents bit< 6 > and bit< 1 > of traffic class 705 , indicates that traffic classes 6 and 1 are congested, while the other traffic classes are unaffected.
[0089] As described above, a bit mask for traffic classes is used because some switches, due to implementation constraints, do not implement separate queues for each traffic class. Rather, these switches will group several traffic classes together and utilize a common set of queues for this group. Consequently, these grouped traffic classes will become congested at the same time.
[0090] By utilizing a bit map, it is possible to communicate information about all eight traffic classes simultaneously. Alternatively, a three-bit field could be used to denote the binary value of the traffic class that is congested. However, this embodiment would require multiple TLPs to be sent if a group of traffic classes are congested. The embodiment shown in FIG. 7 can communicate the same information in one TLP.
[0091] Bits< 15 : 14 > are used to represent the XOFF 715 , or Xon action, to be taken by the upstream switch in response to this TLP. The following table lists the possible actions:
[0000]
Bits <15:14>
Action
00
XON: Enable transmissions to the congested
path
01
Short XOFF: Disable transmissions to the
congested path for a short timeout period
10
Long XOFF: Disable transmissions to the
congested path for a long timeout period
11
Persistent XOFF: Disable transmissions to the
congested path until a subsequent TLP with
Bits<15:14> = 00
[0092] This representation uses the same actions that are defined in the AS specification for Status Based Flow Control DLLPs, as shown in FIG. 6 . Without departing from the spirit of the invention, alternate actions could be defined. Furthermore, the action could simply be implied. For example, the receipt of this TLP could automatically always disable transmissions for a long timeout period, without this information being explicitly represented in the packet.
[0093] While a preferred embodiment of the TLP is illustrated in FIG. 7 , bit positions can be relocated, fields can be eliminated and other bit fields added without departing from the spirit of the invention. The essential aspects of the TLP as defined is that it communicates the impacted traffic class or classes, the forward routed congested path, the backward routed congested path and identifies an action, whether implied or explicit, that the upstream switch should take in response to this TLP packet.
[0094] Having defined a format for the communication of congested paths, it is necessary to define the method by which these messages are created, modified and forwarded throughout the network.
[0095] Referring to FIG. 1 , assume that endpoint 130 encounters congestion. Over time, the queue for output port 3 of Switch C 40 starts filling and reaches its threshold level. It then determined the port is encountering congestion, and Switch C 40 sends a DLLP as described above to Switch B 30 , informing it to stop delivering packets destined for output port 3 . Having done this, all other paths are free to continue transmitting information. However, if the path to endpoint 130 continues to remain congested, eventually the queue for output port 4 of Switch B 30 will start filling and may reach its threshold value. Traditionally, this would initiate another DLLP to be sent to Switch A 20 , informing it to stop delivering packets destined for its output port 4 . However, this message blocks more traffic than necessary, since the only congested path is that associated with output port 4 of Switch B 30 in conjunction with output port 3 of Switch C 40 . However, DLLPs cannot transmit this amount of information, so the fabric begins operating at a lower overall bandwidth because of a single congested path.
[0096] Using the message format illustrated in FIG. 7 , it is possible to overcome this shortcoming. Field 701 is set to 000111 (7) to indicate that this is a special congestion message. When Switch B 30 determines that it has reached a certain threshold and should not accept any more messages for its queue associated with output port 4 which are destined for output port 3 of Switch C 40 , it generates a special message, using the format of FIG. 7 . Switch B 30 is aware that output port 3 of Switch C 40 is congested, and is aware that the forward turn value of output port 3 is 010(2). It is also aware that the backward turn value of output port 3 is 100(4) in this example. Similarly, it is aware that its output port 4 has a forward turn value of 011(3) with respect to the output port 0 which it shares with Switch A 20 . Likewise, output port 4 has a backward turn value of 011(3) with respect to output port 0 . Using this information, it is able to construct the required fields 730 and 740 . Field 730 , which represents the forward Turn Pool would have a value of 011 010, which signifies a clockwise turn value of 3 for Switch B and a clockwise turn value of 2 for Switch C. Field 740 , which represents the backward Turn Pool would have a value of 100 011, which signifies a counterclockwise turn value of 4 for Switch C and a counterclockwise turn value of 3 for Switch B. Since there are 6 bits that are now valid in the Turn Pools, field 720 is set to 6. Once the various fields are completed, the message is forwarded to Switch A 20 . Switch A 20 interprets the information that was sent and is able to more precisely block transmission of packets. For example, rather than simply blocking packets destined for output port 4 on Switch B 30 , it can now further qualify that to include only packets destined for output port 3 on Switch C 40 .
[0097] Suppose that the offending path between Switch C 40 and endpoint 130 continues to remain congested, such that the queue for Switch 20 A begins filling and reaches its threshold value. Suppose that endpoint 100 continues to send packets destined for endpoints 130 and 150 . One of these paths is not congested, while the other path is congested. Switch A 20 can then create a message for endpoint 100 informing it of the congested path in the network. Beginning with the message and the Turn Pool values that it received, Switch A can append new information to these values and forward a new message to endpoint 100 .
[0098] The value of the forward turn number from the ingress port for endpoint 100 and the egress port for Switch B is 010(2). Similarly, the backward turn number is 100(4). To create the forward Turn Pool, Switch A appends the forward turn number 010 in front of the existing Turn Pool, using the Turn Pointer as an index to determine the correct placement. Therefore, the forward Turn Pool becomes 010 011 010. To create the backward Turn Pool, Switch A shifts the current backward Turn Pool by the number of bits that it uses to identify its turn value (in this case, 3). It then inserts the backward turn value of 100 into the last three bits of the Turn Pool, thus creating a backward Turn Pool of 100 011 100. Switch A then increments the Turn Pointer by 3, since it has added 3 bits to both Turn Pools. This message is then delivered to endpoint 100 .
[0099] This mechanism can also be applied to fabrics and paths supporting loopback. Referring again to FIG. 1 , assume that all switches support loopback, and that endpoint 100 is attempting to send multiple packets to endpoint 110 via switch 30 . In this case, switch 20 is both upstream and downstream from switch 30 , because the packet passes through switch 20 twice. However, the mechanism to generate and communicate congested paths is identical to the non-loopback scenario described earlier. Assume that endpoint 110 becomes congested. At a later point in time, the output queue in Switch 20 associated with output port 0 will start filling, and reach a threshold indicating that it should not receive additional packets destined for endpoint 110 . In response to this, in accordance with the AS specification, switch 20 will generate a DLLP message and forward this to switch 30 . Since endpoint 100 is continuing to send packets, at a later time, the output queue in switch 30 associated with port 0 will began filling and reach a threshold value. In response to this, it will generate a TLP. The TLP is created as described above, with the forward path defined as the forward turn value used in switch 30 (111, as defined for loopback), followed by the forward turn value used in switch 20 (011). Similarly, the backward path is defined as the backward turn value used by switch 20 (011), followed by the backward turn value used by switch 30 (111, as defined for loopback). This TLP is then forwarded to switch 20 , even though switch 20 is the source of the original congestion.
[0100] The packets from endpoint 100 continue to be transmitted until the queue in switch 20 associated with this congested path fills and reaches a threshold value. At this point, switch 20 generates a new TLP, further defining the congested path. The forward path is defined as the forward turn value used by switch 20 to send packets received from endpoint 100 to switch 30 (010), followed by the forward path received in the previous TLP, thus resulting in a complete forward path of 010111011. Similarly, the backward turn value (100) is placed after the backward turn path received in the previous TLP, thus resulting in a complete backward path of 011111100. This new TLP is then transmitted to endpoint 100 .
[0101] While these examples show a fabric of only three switches, the invention is not so limited. The message format is capable of supporting a Turn Pool of up to 31 bits, using the format illustrated in FIG. 7 .
[0102] Alternatively, the TLP mechanism described above can be used in place of the Status Based Flow Control DLLP packet. The information that is transmitted in the DLLP packet can also be transmitted via the TLP mechanism. Instead of creating a DLLP in response to the determination that an output queue is filling, the switch would construct a TLP message, inserting only its forward and backward turn values as the Turn Pool values, and the number of bits used in those fields.
[0103] This description is in no way meant to limit the current invention to this, or any particular method of constructing the TLPs of the present invention. In one embodiment, the modifications to the Turn Pool and Turn Pointer of the outgoing TLP are implemented at wire speed, as the TLP is being transmitted. In an alternate embodiment, the outgoing TLP is constructed within the switch using logic and memory cells, and transmitted after the modifications have been completed. In a third embodiment, a combination of these methods is used. The exact method used to create the TLP is an implementation design decision, based on many factors. | The invention provides a system and method for identifying and communicating congested paths throughout a network fabric. Briefly, the present invention augments the congestion management mechanism defined in ASI to allow for the communication of congested paths through the fabric, rather than the simple congested output port notification supported today through the use of DLLPs. Further, it also uses the communication mechanisms already defined in the ASI specification to implement this additional capability. Specifically, the present invention uses Transaction Layer Packets (TLPs) to communicate the information concerning congested flows throughout the network. This packet type allows the inclusion of much more information than DLLPs, allowing a more comprehensive and elegant solution to the issue of congestion management in an Advanced Switching network fabric. | Briefly describe the main idea outlined in the provided context. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] In computer networks, information is constantly being moved from a source to a destination, typically in the form of packets.",
"In the simplest situations, the source and destination are directly connected and the packet of information passes from the source to the destination, without any intermediate stages.",
"However, in most networks, there are at least one, if not multiple, intermediate stages between the source and the destination.",
"In order for the information to move from the source to the destination, it must be routed through a set of devices that accept the packet and pass it along a predetermined path toward the destination.",
"These devices, referred to generically as switches, are typically configured to accept packets from some number of input ports and transmit that information to an output port, which was selected from a plurality of ports.",
"Often, ports are capable of both receiving and transmitting, such that the input and output ports are the same physical entities.",
"[0002] In an ideal network, traffic arrives at an input port of a switch.",
"The switch determines the appropriate destination for the packet and immediately transmits it to the correct output port.",
"In such a network, there is no need for storing the packet of information inside the switch, since the switch is able to transmit the packet as soon as it receives it.",
"[0003] However, because of a number of factors, this ideal behavior is not realizable.",
"For instance, if the switch receives packets on several of its input ports destined for the same output port, the switch must store the information internally, since it cannot transmit all of these different packets of information simultaneously to the same output port.",
"In this case, the output port is said to be “congested.”",
"This term also describes the situation in which the device to which this output port is connected is unable to receive or process packets at the rate at which they arrive for some reason.",
"In such a case, the switch must store the packet destined for that output port internally until either the offending device is able to receive more information or the packet is discarded.",
"[0004] Patent application Ser.",
"No. 10/794,067, which is hereby incorporated by reference, describes a system and method of implementing multiple queues within a switching element to store packets destined for congested paths.",
"Briefly, the switch determines the path of the packet, specifically, the action to be taken by the adjacent downstream switch, to determine whether it is destined for a congested path.",
"The packet header contains the path of the packet as defined by the successive actions taken by each switching element.",
"In other words, the header might specify the output port to be used by each switch in the path.",
"The switching element compares this path specified in the header to its list of known congested paths.",
"Based on that comparison, the switching element either forwards the packet or moves it to a special congested flow queue, where it remains until either a specific time period has passed or the path is no longer congested.",
"That patent application describes several mechanisms by which a switch is notified of congested paths.",
"One technique is known as Status Based Flow Control, where a downstream node explicitly informs an upstream node that at least one of its output ports is congested.",
"This can be accomplished in the form of a message telling the sender to stop transmitting packets that are to be sent via the congested output port, followed by a second message telling it to resume when the congestion is resolved.",
"Alternatively, the destination might transmit a message telling the source to stop transmitting packets destined for the offending output port for a specific time period.",
"[0005] ASI (Advanced Switching Interconnect) is an industry standard protocol, based on the PCI Express specification.",
"Advanced Switching (AS) allows for the standardization of today's proprietary based backplanes.",
"Advanced Switching uses the same physical-link and data-link layers as the PCI Express architecture, taking advantage of the tremendously large ecosystem.",
"AS is a multi-point, peer-to-peer switched interconnect standard offering encapsulation of any protocol, multiple messaging mechanisms, QoS including congestion management, extended high availability features and much more.",
"The ASI specification is written, updated and maintained by the ASI SIG (Special Interest Group) and the current version of the specification can be found at www.",
"asi-sig.org/members/Core AS Rev1 0.",
"pdf, and is hereby incorporated by reference.",
"Similarly, the PCI Express specification is written, updated and maintained by the PCI SIG and the current specification can be found at www.",
"pcisig.org/members/downloads/specifications/pciexpress/pciexpress base 10a.",
"pdf, and is also hereby incorporated by reference.",
"[0006] ASI defines a mechanism by which upstream switches are notified of downstream congestion.",
"Specifically, a switch which is experiencing congestion at one of its output ports can transmit a special message, known as a Data Link Layer Packet (DLLP) to an adjacent upstream switch.",
"This DLLP contains multiple fields, one of which contains the output port that is experiencing the congestion and another that specifies the desired action that the upstream switch should take in response to the congestion.",
"This mechanism is very effective to communicate congestion in one switch to the adjacent switch, however, it is specifically limited to this application.",
"The format of a DLLP does not allow this mechanism to scale to identify congested paths through the entire fabric.",
"[0007] Thus, while congestion is reduced since traffic is no longer being sent to the congested port, there are undesirable effects of this scheme.",
"Consider the scenario where there are three switches, A, B and C, in series.",
"Assume that the most downstream switch, C, experiences congestion at its output port 5 .",
"It communicates this information back to its adjacent switch, B, which now stops transmitting packets destined for output port 5 of the next switch.",
"Assume that all such packets are transmitted via output port 3 of the intermediate switch B. These packets are then stored in a congestion queue, waiting for the congestion to pass.",
"At a later time, this intermediate switch B cannot store any more packets destined for output port 5 of the downstream switch.",
"Since DLLPs only permit the switch to identify its congested port, the intermediate switch B sends a DLLP to the upstream switch A, informing it that its output port 3 is experiencing congestion.",
"At this point, the upstream switch A stops transmitting packets destined to be transmitted via output port 3 of the intermediate switch B. [0008] This behavior is an appropriate response to the congestion issue presented above, however, there were packets in upstream switch A which could have been sent, which are not, because of the limitations of the DLLP mechanism.",
"Specifically, any packet in upstream switch A destined for output port 3 of intermediate switch B will be held.",
"However, only packets destined to be transmitted by output port 5 of downstream switch C truly needed to be held.",
"Thus, any packet in upstream switch A which is transmitted via output port 3 of intermediate switch B, and was then intended to be transmitted via output port 7 of downstream switch C is unnecessarily held.",
"Similarly, any packet in upstream switch A destined to be transmitted via any output port in downstream switch C except output port 5 will unnecessarily be held in upstream switch A. This reduces the throughput of the fabric and increases latency.",
"[0009] Therefore, it is an objective of the present invention to define a mechanism that enables the fabric to identify and communicate not only congested output ports, but also congested paths to all interested switches throughout the network fabric.",
"It is a further objective of the present invention to define this mechanism in such a way that it can be incorporated into the ASI specification in a backward compatible manner.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0010] The problems with the prior art have been overcome with this invention, which provides a system and method for identifying and communicating congested paths throughout a network fabric.",
"Briefly, the present invention augments the congestion management mechanism defined in ASI to allow for the communication of congested paths through the fabric, rather than the simple congested output port notification supported today through the use of DLLPs.",
"Further, it also uses the communication mechanisms already defined in the ASI specification to implement this additional capability.",
"Specifically, the present invention uses Transaction Layer Packets (TLPs) to communicate the information concerning congested flows throughout the network.",
"This packet type allows the inclusion of much more information than DLLPs, allowing a more comprehensive and elegant solution to the issue of congestion management in an Advanced Switching network fabric.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0011] FIG. 1 illustrates a typical network and network fabric topology, containing several intermediate stages between the source and the destination;",
"[0012] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary packet header showing the path that the packet will take through the network or fabric;",
"[0013] FIG. 3 illustrates a packet header in accordance with the Advanced Switching specification showing the path that the packet will take through the network or fabric;",
"[0014] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary packet forward routed through a network fabric and illustrates the associated turn pool and turn pointer values in accordance with the AS specification;",
"[0015] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary packet backward routed through a network fabric and illustrates the associated turn pool and turn pointer values in accordance with the AS specification;",
"[0016] FIG. 6 illustrates the format of the Data Link Layer Packet, as defined by the Advanced Switching Interconnect specification;",
"and [0017] FIG. 7 illustrates the format of the new Transaction Layer Packet in accordance with the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0018] Within computer networks, systems, also known as fabrics, are designed that allow multiple nodes, or endpoints to communicate with one another.",
"FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration used in the creation of such a fabric.",
"Fabric 10 is comprised of a number of devices, or nodes, that are interconnected to one another.",
"These devices, broadly known as switches, are capable of receiving packets of information via a plurality of input ports and then transmitting these packets via a plurality of output ports, preferably via an output port that is different than the input port.",
"When a number of these are connected together, it is possible to create a fabric whereby multiple endpoints are able to communicate with each other via the various paths that are established by the switches.",
"Within fabric 10 , three switches, 20 , 30 and 40 are shown.",
"Most fabrics are more complex than this example, with additional switches connected to the unused outputs of switches 20 , 30 , and 40 .",
"There is no theoretical maximum on the total number of switches, the number of switches between the endpoints, or the configuration of the fabric and this invention is capable of working in any configuration.",
"Within a fabric, the ports of each switch are connected in a point-to-point fashion with ports from other switches.",
"A port on one switch is connected to a single port on another switch, via a point-to-point interconnection, preferably via a cable, backplane or wires.",
"Two switches that share an interconnection such that one port of the first switch is in direct communication with one port of the second switch via the shared interconnection are said to be adjacent to one another.",
"In FIG. 1 , switch 30 is adjacent to both switch 20 and switch 40 .",
"Similarly, switch 20 is adjacent to switch 30 and endpoints 100 , 110 and 120 .",
"Specifically, port 4 of switch 20 is in direct communication with port 0 of adjacent switch 30 .",
"Even though physical elements such as cables, filters, back planes, EMI control logic or other devices may exist between port 4 of switch 20 and port 0 of switch 30 , these two ports are defined to be adjacent and in direct communication since there are no other switches in the direct path between these two ports.",
"[0019] Attached to switch 20 via point-to-point connections are endpoints 100 , 110 and 120 .",
"These endpoints may be computing devices, such as personal computers or servers.",
"They may also be other networking devices, such as, but not limited to, routers, wiring closet switches, or gateways.",
"Attached to switch 40 via point-to-point connections are endpoints 130 , 140 and 150 , which may also be any of the categories previously described.",
"The number of switches and endpoints in this figure is solely for illustrative purposes and the invention is not to be limited by the number of either.",
"Using fabric 10 , any endpoint in FIG. 1 can communicate to any other endpoint.",
"In some cases, this is accomplished by using only a small part of the fabric.",
"This is the case when endpoint 100 communicates with endpoint 120 .",
"Only switch 20 is involved in transferring packets between these endpoints.",
"In other situations, many more switches are involved in the communications between two endpoints, such as is the case between endpoint 100 and endpoint 150 .",
"In this case, endpoint 100 communicates to switch 20 , which forwards the packet to switch 30 , which in turn forwards it to switch 40 , which forwards the packet to its ultimate destination, endpoint 150 .",
"[0020] Advanced Switching also defines a mechanism known as loopback, by which a packet is transmitted via the same port on which it was received.",
"For example, a packet sent from endpoint 120 to endpoint 100 could be routed via switch 30 .",
"In this scenario, endpoint 120 communicates with switch 20 , which forwards the packet to switch 30 , which then forwards the packet back to switch 20 , which finally forwards it to endpoint 100 .",
"There are several reasons that a packet could potentially be routed via loopback, rather than via the shortest path.",
"For example, endpoint 100 may implement a policy by which the other endpoints receive an equal amount of bandwidth when transmitting packets to it.",
"This policy may be more easily implemented by having all incoming traffic enter switch 20 via switch 30 .",
"Therefore, endpoints 110 and 120 might use loopback to follow this fairness policy.",
"[0021] When a packet is received by switch 20 , it examines that packet to determine which output port it should transmit the packet to.",
"There are multiple methods whereby switch 20 can determine the correct output port, based on the routing policies used in the fabric.",
"For example, destination address based routing allows the switch to select the output port based on the ultimate destination of the packet.",
"The switch may contain an internal table that associates each destination address with an output port.",
"When switch 20 receives a packet, it determines the destination address of the packet, indexes into its table and selects the appropriate output port.",
"Path based routing is an alternative method of routing packets through a fabric.",
"In this scenario, the packet header contains the path that the packet is to follow.",
"One example of path based routing is illustrated in FIG. 2 , where the header of a packet is shown.",
"Embedded in the header is the path that the packet should take.",
"In this simple example, the path is divided into 4 bit fields.",
"Each of these 4 bit fields corresponds to the output port that should be used by a specific switch.",
"As an example, switch 20 would look at bits <",
"3 : 0 >",
"to determine which output port it should transmit on;",
"then switch 30 would look at bits <",
"7 : 4 >",
"to determine its output port and finally switch 40 would look at bits <",
"11 : 8 >",
"to determine its output port.",
"Referring back to FIG. 1 , if the packet contained the string 344 , the packet would be transmitted via output port 4 of switch 20 , output port 4 of switch 30 and output port 3 of switch 40 .",
"Therefore, this string defines the path to endpoint 130 .",
"Similarly, a packet employing loopback can be constructed to send information from endpoint 120 to endpoint 100 .",
"In this scenario, switch 20 would look at bits <",
"3 : 0 >",
"to determine which output port it should transmit on;",
"then switch 30 would look at bits <",
"7 : 4 >",
"to determine its output port and finally switch 20 would look at bits <",
"11 : 8 >",
"to determine its output port.",
"Thus, a packet containing the string 104 would be transmitted via output port 4 of switch 20 to switch 30 .",
"Then it would be transmitted via output port 0 on switch 30 back to switch 20 .",
"Finally, it would be transmitted via output port 1 to endpoint 100 .",
"There are numerous variations of this simple approach to path based routing.",
"For example, rather than specifying the output port of a switch, the packet may specify the relative position of the output port as compared to the input port.",
"In this scenario, bits <",
"3 : 0 >",
"would specify the number of turns in a clockwise direction that exist between the input port and the output port.",
"A path originating at endpoint 120 would set bits <",
"3 : 0 >",
"to 0 , if it wished the packet to be routed to endpoint 110 , since there are no turns in a clockwise direction between these two ports.",
"To send a packet to endpoint 130 , endpoint 120 would set bits <",
"3 : 0 >",
"to 4 to direct the packet to switch 30 .",
"Continuing on, it would set bits <",
"7 : 4 >",
"to 3 to direct the packet to switch 40 , and finally it would set bits <",
"11 : 8 >",
"to 2 to direct the packet to its ultimate destination, endpoint 130 .",
"This description of path based routing is only meant to illustrate the principles defining the protocol.",
"[0022] The AS (Advanced Switching) protocol uses a variant of the “turn”",
"mechanism previously defined.",
"FIG. 3 shows the header of a typical AS packet.",
"Included in this header is a field known as the Turn Pool 300 , a second field known as the Turn Pointer 310 and a Direction flag 320 .",
"The Turn Pool 300 is analogous to bits <",
"11 : 0 >",
"in FIG. 2 , in that these bits represent the turn value for the switches that are in the path of transmission.",
"However, unlike FIG. 2 , AS allows non-uniform sized switches, therefore, it is not possible to divide this field into smaller subfields, without knowing the specific fabric and switch topology.",
"For example, a switch with 9 output ports that does not employ loopback requires 3 bits to uniquely express the turn value, since there are 8 other ports that the packet can be transmitted via;",
"while a switch with 5 output ports only requires 2 bits of Turn Pool.",
"[0023] Therefore, an index into the Turn Pool is used to inform each switch of the relevant bits in the Turn Pool which correspond to its turn number.",
"This index value, known as the Turn Pointer field, is set by the source node originally sending the packet, and is decremented by each switch according to its port count.",
"In other words, a switch, which does not support loopback, containing 17 output ports uses the next 4 bits in the Turn Pool field, while a switch with 9 output ports uses only the next 3 bits in the Turn Pool field.",
"In each case, the switch decrements the turn index by the number of bits that it used.",
"[0024] Advanced Switching specifies that the maximum number of ports that a switch without loopback can have is represented by: [0025] 2 N +1, where N is the number of bits that it uses in the Turn Pool.",
"[0026] Furthermore, a switch with loopback is limited to one fewer port, namely: [0027] 2 N , where N is the number of bits that it uses in the Turn Pool.",
"[0028] This difference is due to the fact that the AS specification reserves the turn value represented in binary as all “1”s for loopback(i.e. 2 N −1, where N is the number of bits the switch uses in the Turn Pool), in those switches that support it, thus reducing the maximum number of ports by one.",
"For example, assume a switch with 9 ports that does not support loopback.",
"The maximum turn value is between any port and the port immediately counterclockwise from it (since turn values are calculated in the clockwise direction).",
"This turn value would be 7.",
"However, if the switch supports loopback, the turn value of 7, which is “111”, is reserved for loopback.",
"This implies that the maximum turn value between a port and its immediately adjacent counterclockwise port must be no greater than 6.",
"Therefore, a switch supporting loopback, which uses 3 bits of turn value, can only have a maximum of 8 ports.",
"[0029] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary use of the Turn Pool and the Turn Pointer.",
"Assume that all switches in this Figure do not support loopback.",
"In this figure, Switch A 400 contains 5 output ports, thus requiring 2 bits of Turn Pool to uniquely identify the appropriate output port.",
"Similarly, switch B 410 contains 17 output ports, thus requiring 4 bits of Turn Pool, and switch C 420 contains 9 output ports, thus requiring 3 bits of Turn Pool.",
"In this example, source endpoint 430 writes the appropriate values into the Turn Pointer and Turn Pool fields.",
"When switch A 400 receives the packet, it determines that the Turn Pointer is 9.",
"It then uses this value to index into the Turn Pool.",
"Specifically, according to the AS specification, the Turn Pointer value represents the bit position of the most significant bit of its turn value, plus one.",
"In other words, a Turn Pointer of 9 indicates that bit 8 is the most significant bit of switch A's turn value.",
"Since switch A 400 is a 5-port switch, it requires 2 bits to specify the output port, thus Turn Pool bits <",
"8 : 7 >",
"represent the turn value used by switch A 400 .",
"Looking at the Turn Pool field, these bits are 01, as indicated in line 2 of the chart accompanying FIG. 4 .",
"Therefore, switch A 400 selects output port 1 , using the technique described above for relative turns in reference to FIG. 2 .",
"Since switch A 400 used 2 bits of the Turn Pool field, it decrements the Turn Pointer field by 2, thereby changing it to 7, before forwarding the packet to switch B 410 .",
"[0030] Switch B 410 repeats this process.",
"A Turn Pointer value of 7 indicates that bit 6 of the Turn Pool is the most significant bit of its turn value.",
"Since switch B 410 is a 17 port switch, it requires 4 bits to represent all possible output ports, therefore switch B 410 uses bits <",
"6 : 3 >",
"as its turn value.",
"Line 3 of the chart indicates that these bits represent the value 1010 (or ten), which corresponds to output port 5 in FIG. 4 .",
"Since switch B 410 used 4 bits of the Turn Pool field, it decrements the Turn Pointer field by 4, thereby changing it to 3, before forwarding the packet to switch C 420 .",
"[0031] Switch C 420 repeats this process as well.",
"A Turn Pointer value of 3 indicates that bit 2 of the Turn Pool is the most significant bit of its turn value.",
"Since switch C 420 is a 9-port switch, it requires 3 bits to represent all possible output ports.",
"Therefore switch C 420 uses bits <",
"2 : 0 >",
"as its turn value.",
"Line 4 of the chart indicates that these bits represent the value 110 (or 6), which corresponds to output port 4 in FIG. 4 .",
"Since switch C 420 used 3 bits of the Turn Pool field, it decrements the Turn Pointer field by 3, thereby changing it to 0, before forwarding the packet to the terminus endpoint 440 .",
"[0032] To verify that the packet was properly delivered, the terminus endpoint 440 verifies that the Turn Pointer field has been decremented to zero when it arrives.",
"[0033] Note that this mechanism illustrated in FIG. 4 works identically with switches that support loopback, with the modification that all of the switches illustrated in the figure must each have one fewer port.",
"[0034] To further describe the operation with loopback, refer to FIG. 1 , and assume that Endpoint 100 wishes to send a packet to endpoint 110 , which is to be transmitted via switch 30 .",
"Assume that all switches in this Figure support loopback.",
"In this figure, Switch 20 , Switch 30 and Switch 40 each contain 8 output ports, thus requiring 3 bits of Turn Pool to uniquely identify the appropriate output port.",
"In this example, endpoint 100 writes the appropriate values into the Turn Pointer and Turn Pool fields.",
"In order to transmit a packet to endpoint 110 , endpoint 100 writes a Turn Pointer of 9, with a Turn Pool of 010111011.",
"When switch 20 receives the packet, it determines that the Turn Pointer is 9.",
"It then uses this value to index into the Turn Pool.",
"Specifically, according to the AS specification, the Turn Pointer value represents the bit position of the most significant bit of its turn value, plus one.",
"In other words, a Turn Pointer of 9 indicates that bit 8 is the most significant bit of switch A's turn value.",
"Since switch 20 is a 8-port switch, it requires 3 bits to specify the output port, thus Turn Pool bits <",
"8 : 6 >",
"represent the turn value used by switch 20 .",
"Looking at the Turn Pool field, these bits would be 010.",
"Therefore, switch 20 selects output port 4 , using the technique described above for relative turns in reference to FIG. 2 .",
"Since switch 20 used 3 bits of the Turn Pool field, it decrements the Turn Pointer field by 3, thereby changing it to 6, before forwarding the packet to switch 30 .",
"[0035] Switch 30 repeats this process.",
"A Turn Pointer value of 6 indicates that bit 5 of the Turn Pool is the most significant bit of its turn value.",
"Since switch 30 is a 8-port switch, it requires 3 bits to represent all possible output ports, therefore switch 30 uses bits <",
"5 : 3 >",
"as its turn value.",
"Thus, its turn value would be 111, which is defined in the AS specification as the loopback value.",
"Therefore, the packet will be routed back via output port 0 , from which it originated.",
"Since switch 30 used 3 bits of the Turn Pool field, it decrements the Turn Pointer field by 3, thereby changing it to 3, before forwarding the packet to switch 20 .",
"[0036] Switch 20 repeats this process again.",
"A Turn Pointer value of 3 indicates that bit 2 of the Turn Pool is the most significant bit of its turn value.",
"Switch 20 uses bits <",
"2 : 0 >",
"as its turn value, which represent the value 011 (or 3).",
"This corresponds to output port 0 .",
"Since switch 20 used bits of the Turn Pool field, it decrements the Turn Pointer field by 3, thereby changing it to 0, before forwarding the packet to the endpoint 110 .",
"[0037] To verify that the packet was properly delivered, the endpoint 110 verifies that the Turn Pointer field has been decremented to zero when it arrives.",
"[0038] Returning to FIG. 3 , there is shown a Direction flag 320 defined in the packet header.",
"In AS, packets are defined as being either forward routed, or backward routed.",
"The Direction flag 320 is used to distinguish these two types of routing, where a value of zero for the Direction flag indicates a forward routed packet, while a value of one indicates a backward routed packet.",
"FIG. 4 illustrates forward routing of an AS packet through a network fabric.",
"FIG. 5 illustrates the backward routing of a packet through a similarly configured network.",
"[0039] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary use of the Turn Pool and the Turn Pointer in association with backward routed packets.",
"In this figure, as in FIG. 4 , all switches are assumed to not support loopback.",
"Switch A 400 contains 5 output ports, thus requiring 2 bits of Turn Pool to uniquely identify the appropriate output port.",
"Similarly, switch B 410 contains 17 output ports, thus requiring 4 bits of Turn Pool, and switch C 420 contains 9 output ports, thus requiring 3 bits of Turn Pool.",
"In this example, the source endpoint 430 of FIG. 4 becomes the destination, while the previous terminus endpoint 440 from FIG. 4 becomes the source.",
"Endpoint 440 uses the same Turn Pool as was used in FIG. 4 , and has a Turn Pointer of 0.",
"This packet is distinguished from the previous packet by the setting of the flag denoting the packet as a backward routed packet.",
"[0040] When switch C 420 receives the packet, it determines that the Turn Pointer is 0.",
"It then uses this value to index into the Turn Pool.",
"Specifically, according to the AS specification, the Turn Pointer value in a backward routed packet represents the bit position of the least significant bit of its turn value.",
"In other words, a Turn Pointer of 0 indicates that bit 0 is the least significant bit of switch C's turn value.",
"Since switch C 420 is a 9-port switch, it requires 3 bits to specify the output port, thus Turn Pool bits <",
"2 : 0 >",
"represent the turn value used by switch C 420 .",
"Looking at the Turn Pool field, these bits are 110, as indicated in line 2 of the chart accompanying FIG. 5 .",
"[0041] In backward routed packets, the turn pool indicates the number of ports between the ingress and egress ports in a counterclockwise direction.",
"Therefore, switch C 420 selects output port 6 , using the technique described above.",
"Since switch C 420 used 3 bits of the Turn Pool field, it increments the Turn Pointer field by 3, thereby changing it to 3, before forwarding the packet to switch B 410 .",
"[0042] Switch B 410 repeats this process.",
"A Turn Pointer value of 3 indicates that bit 3 of the Turn Pool is the least significant bit of its turn value.",
"Since switch B 410 is a 17-port switch, it requires 4 bits to represent all possible output ports, therefore switch B uses bits <",
"6 : 3 >",
"as its turn value.",
"Line 3 of the chart indicates that these bits represent the value 1010 (or ten).",
"Moving in the counterclockwise direction, this corresponds to output port 11 in FIG. 5 .",
"Since switch B 410 used 4 bits of the Turn Pool field, it increments the Turn Pointer field by 4, thereby changing it to 7, before forwarding the packet to switch A 400 .",
"[0043] Switch A 400 repeats this process as well.",
"A Turn Pointer value of 7 indicates that bit 7 of the Turn Pool is the least significant bit of its turn value.",
"Since switch A 400 is a 5-port switch, it requires 2 bits to represent all possible output ports, therefore switch A 400 uses bits <",
"8 : 7 >",
"as its turn value.",
"Line 4 of the chart indicates that these bits represent the value 01 (or 1), which corresponds to output port 4 in FIG. 5 .",
"Since switch A 400 used 2 bits of the Turn Pool field, it increments the Turn Pointer field by 2, thereby changing it to 9, before forwarding the packet to the terminus endpoint 430 .",
"[0044] Again, this mechanism works in the same manner with switches that support loopback, with the modification that all switches must each have one less port.",
"To further describe the operation with loopback, referring to FIG. 1 , assume that Endpoint 110 wishes to send a backward routed packet to endpoint 100 , which is to be transmitted via switch 30 .",
"Assume that all switches in this Figure support loopback.",
"Switch 20 , Switch 30 and Switch 40 each contain 8 output ports, thus requiring 3 bits of Turn Pool to uniquely identify the appropriate output port.",
"Endpoint 110 uses the same Turn Pool as was used in describing loopback operation with respect to FIG. 1 (010111011), and has a Turn Pointer of 0.",
"This packet is distinguished from the previous packet by the setting of the flag denoting the packet as a backward routed packet.",
"[0045] When switch 20 receives the packet, it determines that the Turn Pointer is 0.",
"It then uses this value to index into the Turn Pool.",
"Specifically, according to the AS specification, the Turn Pointer value in a backward routed packet represents the bit position of the least significant bit of its turn value.",
"In other words, a Turn Pointer of 0 indicates that bit 0 is the least significant bit of switch 20 's turn value.",
"Since switch 20 is a 8-port switch, it requires 3 bits to specify the output port, thus Turn Pool bits <",
"2 : 0 >",
"represent the turn value used by switch 20 .",
"Looking at the Turn Pool field, these bits are 011.",
"[0046] In backward routed packets, the turn pool indicates the number of ports between the ingress and egress ports in a counterclockwise direction.",
"Therefore, switch 20 selects output port 4 , using the technique described above.",
"Since switch 20 used 3 bits of the Turn Pool field, it increments the Turn Pointer field by 3, thereby changing it to 3, before forwarding the packet to switch 30 .",
"[0047] Switch 30 repeats this process.",
"A Turn Pointer value of 3 indicates that bit 3 of the Turn Pool is the least significant bit of its turn value.",
"Since switch 30 is a 8-port switch, it requires 3 bits to represent all possible output ports, therefore switch 30 uses bits <",
"5 : 3 >",
"as its turn value.",
"These bits correspond to the value 111 (or 7).",
"In accordance with the AS specification, a value of 7 (for a 8-port switch) designates the loopback value, in both the forward and backward direction.",
"Thus, Switch 30 will transmit this packet via output port 0 , which is the port where the packet originated.",
"Since switch 30 used 3 bits of the Turn Pool field, it increments the Turn Pointer field by 3, thereby changing it to 6, before forwarding the packet to switch 20 .",
"[0048] Switch 20 repeats this process again.",
"A Turn Pointer value of 6 indicates that bit 6 of the Turn Pool is the least significant bit of its turn value.",
"Since switch 20 is a 8-port switch, it requires 3 bits to represent all possible output ports, therefore switch 20 uses bits <",
"8 : 6 >",
"as its turn value, which represent the value 010 (or 2).",
"This corresponds to output port 1 in FIG. 1 .",
"Since switch 20 used 3 bits of the Turn Pool field, it increments the Turn Pointer field by 3, thereby changing it to 9, before forwarding the packet to the endpoint 100 .",
"[0049] It is important to note that there are two possible sets of Turn Pools and Turn Pointers for each path;",
"one which represents the forward routed path and the second which represents the backwards routed path.",
"Referring back to FIG. 5 , if endpoint 440 sends a forward routed packet to endpoint 430 , the Turn Pool would be set as follows: [0050] Turn Pool<",
"8 : 6 >",
"would be 001, which is the number of ports, in a clockwise direction between ingress port 4 and egress port 6 on Switch C 420 .",
"[0051] Turn Pool<",
"5 : 2 >",
"would be 0101, which is the number of ports, in a clockwise direction between ingress port 5 and egress port 11 on Switch B 410 .",
"[0052] Turn Pool<",
"1 : 0 >",
"would be 10, which is the number of ports, in a clockwise direction between ingress port 1 and egress port 4 on Switch A 400 .",
"[0053] Thus, for a forward routed packet from endpoint 440 to endpoint 430 , the Turn Pool would be 001010110.",
"Similarly, this is the Turn Pool for a backward routed packet from endpoint 430 to endpoint 440 .",
"[0054] Therefore, the values of the Turn Pools for packets originating at endpoint 430 and terminating at endpoint 440 would be: [0055] 011010110, in the forward direction, and [0056] 001010110, in the backward direction.",
"[0057] Although these numbers seem unrelated, there is a defined relationship between them.",
"The forward Turn Pool can be written as 01 1010 110, where the separations exist between the turn values for each switch.",
"Similarly, the backward Turn Pool can be written as 001 0101 10, where the separations exist between the turn values for each switch.",
"Thus, the most significant bits of the forward Turn Pool correspond to Switch A 400 , while the least significant bits of the reverse Turn Pool correspond to Switch A 400 .",
"Thus, the first step to creating the backward Turn Pool from the forward Turn Pool (or vice versa) is to use the network topology to identify the various turn values within the Turn Pool.",
"The next step is to reverse the order of the turn values.",
"Thus, forward Turn Pool 01 1010 110 is first rewritten as 110 1010 01.",
"[0058] The next step is to convert each turn value from a clockwise turn, to a counterclockwise turn.",
"In a fully populated switch which does not support loopback (one which contains the maximum number of ports, i.e. 2 N +1 ports, where N is the number of bits in the turn value), the conversion is achieved by inverting the bits.",
"In a switch that is not fully populated, the conversion is performed as follows: [0000] Backward turn value=#ports−forward turn value−2 [0059] Loopback introduces an exception to the above equation.",
"As stated earlier, the forward turn value of the loopback port is all “1”s, or 2 N −1, where N is the number of bits the switch uses in the Turn Pool.",
"In other words, for an 8-port switch, the loopback value would be 111 (or 7).",
"Similarly, for a 16-port switch, the loopback value would be 1111 (or 15).",
"The backward turn value of the loopback port is also defined to be all “1”s, or 2 N −1.",
"Therefore, the forward routed turn value and backward routed turn value for the loopback port is always the same.",
"[0060] In the scenarios illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 , all switches are fully populated and do not support loopback, therefore either the bits can be inverted or the equation above can be used.",
"In either case, the resulting backward Turn Pool is rewritten as 001 0101 10.",
"Note that this value is the same as that determined empirically by using FIG. 5 earlier.",
"[0061] Referring to the example used in conjunction with FIG. 1 , it was determined that the forward Turn Pool from endpoint 100 to endpoint 110 was 010111011.",
"The backward Turn Pool from endpoint 100 to endpoint 110 could be calculated as shown above.",
"The Turn Pool is first written as 010 111 011, to delineate the turn values for each switch.",
"These turn values are then rearranged, with the first value being moved to the end, and the last value being moved to the beginning, therefore yielding 011 111 010.",
"Using the equation given earlier: [0062] Backward turn value=#ports−forward turn value−2, the backward turn values can be calculated.",
"Since each switch in FIG. 1 contains 8 ports, the backward turn value is simply 6 minus the forward turn value.",
"However, since the middle turn value is all “1”s, its backward turn value is unchanged.",
"Thus, the calculated backward turn value would be 011 111 100.",
"[0063] However, although it may be theoretically possible to calculate the backward turn value from the forward turn value and vice-versa, no switch is capable of performing this calculation.",
"In order to perform this translation, the topology of the entire network, along with the configuration of each switch must be known.",
"This level of information is not available at any given switch.",
"Therefore, a switch cannot compute a backward turn pool from a known forward turn pool.",
"[0064] The Advanced Switching (AS) specification also allows for a mechanism, known as Status Based Flow Control (SBFC), for informing upstream switches of congestion.",
"Using this mechanism, a downstream node explicitly informs an upstream node which of its output ports are congested.",
"This can be accomplished in the form of a message telling the sender to stop transmitting, followed by a second message telling it to resume when the congestion is resolved.",
"Alternatively, the destination might transmit a message telling the source to stop transmitting packets for a specific time period.",
"[0065] FIG. 6 illustrates the format of an AS Data Link Layer Packet (DLLP), used to inform an upstream switch of congestion in one or more output ports.",
"In accordance with the AS and PCI Express specifications, a DLLP is always preceded by a special identifier, known as a k-code.",
"In the case of DLLPs, the special identifier is known as START DLLP and referred to as K28.2 in these specifications.",
"Similarly, each DLLP is followed by a second special identifier, known as END and referred to as K29.7 in these specifications.",
"More detailed information about the format and values of these k-codes can be found in the PCI Express specification.",
"[0066] Referring to FIG. 6 , Bits <",
"31 : 29 >",
"of the first double word are used to identify the type of DLLP.",
"This 3-bit field allows eight possible values, with a value of 5 used to identify Status Feedback DLLPs.",
"Bits<",
"27 : 26 >",
"describe the action that the upstream switch must take in response to the reported congestion.",
"The following table explains the four possible actions: [0000] Bits <27:26>",
"Action 00 XON: Enable transmissions to the port 01 Short XOFF: Disable transmissions to the port for a short timeout period 10 Long XOFF: Disable transmissions to the port for a long timeout period 11 Persistent XOFF: Disable transmissions to the port until a subsequent DLLP with Bits<27:26>",
"= 00 [0067] Bits <",
"25 : 18 >",
"identify the congested output port.",
"This value is expressed as a forward routed turn value.",
"Eight bits are used, since the largest defined switch in AS contains 256 ports.",
"[0068] Bit <",
"17 >",
"is used to identify the Ordered Only flag for the congested output port.",
"In accordance with the specification, there are some classes of traffic which must be delivered in the order in which they were sent.",
"These are referred to as “ordered only”",
"traffic classes.",
"The assertion of this bit indicates that this packet belongs to such a traffic class.",
"[0069] Bits <",
"16 : 9 >",
"represent the mask for the eight possible traffic classes.",
"Typically, within a network or network fabric system, there may be different classes of traffic.",
"For example, video traffic is deemed to be very time critical, as any delay in its transmission will result in lost frames and a distorted image.",
"Therefore, the system, by the utilization of distinct traffic classes, can guarantee that video traffic will receive a guaranteed amount of bandwidth.",
"Similarly, voice contains time critical information, although perhaps slightly less time critical than video.",
"Traffic classes can also be used to support isochronous traffic, whereby the class gets a fixed allocation of bandwidth at regular time intervals.",
"Other types of data, such as status information, may be delivered on a best effort basis, where this is typically the lowest class.",
"The classification of traffic provides a mechanism for the network to automatically prioritize packets as they are transferred through the network.",
"In many traditional systems, traffic classes define specific quality of service parameters, such as latency through the network.",
"Networks achieve the required quality of service parameters by applying weights to each class of traffic.",
"For example, a packet of the highest traffic class destined for a specific output port may be allowed to move ahead of all other packets waiting to be transmitted via that output port.",
"Often this mechanism is implemented through multiple queues per output port, where each queue is allocated a specific percentage of the total bandwidth for that output port.",
"[0070] Traffic classifications are also necessary in network fabrics to eliminate the possibility of deadlock, or heavy congestion.",
"By assigning network administration and status messages a high traffic class, they can bypass other information.",
"Using this mechanism, a message notifying an upstream device about congestion can be sent immediately, allowing the device to modify its delivery profile.",
"[0071] It is possible that the congestion at a particular port only exists for a specific traffic class, while the others are still free to transmit.",
"This field identifies the traffic classes affected by the congestion.",
"While eight traffic classes are defined by the Advanced Switching specification, it is permissible that, due to implementation constraints, some switches do not employ separate queues for each traffic class.",
"For example, a switch may group together the lowest three traffic classes into a single set of queues.",
"In this case, once one of these three classes becomes congested, all three are congested since they share common queues.",
"By implementing a bit map to identify the congested traffic classes, a switch is able to inform the upstream switch of all traffic classes which are impacted with a single message.",
"[0072] Following these 32 bits, a 16-bit CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Code) is transmitted.",
"CRCs are used to provide for error detection and are well known within the art.",
"The specific implementation of this CRC is not important to the present invention.",
"[0073] Advanced Switching (AS) specifies the use of this DLLP for a downstream switch to communicate to its immediate upstream neighbor any congested port information.",
"A brief description of the use of DLLPs is provided in reference to FIG. 1 .",
"[0074] Assume that switch 40 experiences congestion at its output port 3 while attempting to transmit packets to endpoint 130 .",
"Congestion can be determined using a number of different techniques.",
"One such mechanism is to monitor the contents of each queue.",
"To avoid congestion, the rate at which a queue transmits information must be equal to or greater than the rate at which it receives information.",
"If this criteria is met, then the queue will remain empty at most times.",
"Ideally, the queue is not empty only when it is actively receiving, or has just received a packet, since immediately after receipt, the new packet will be transmitted.",
"However, if the queue is unable to transmit packets at the rate at which they are received, the queue will begin filling.",
"Thus, while the rate at which packets are received is greater than the rate at which they are transmitted, the queue will fill.",
"If the available capacity of the queue drops below a threshold value, a determination is made that the port is congested.",
"This threshold value can be predetermined, programmable or can be adaptively changed based on the overall queue usage in the switch.",
"The determination of the optimal threshold value is an implementation decision.",
"If the threshold is set such that it is reached when the queue is nearly full, there may be cases where the queue overflows, since packets that are already in transit cannot be stopped quickly enough.",
"Conversely, if the threshold is set such that it is reached when the queue still contains ample available space, there may be transient conditions when the port is unnecessarily considered congested.",
"Having determined that congestion exists, the switch then generates a DLLP which it sends to switch 30 .",
"That DDLP would contain the following bit fields: [0000] Bits Field Value Comments 31:29 DLLP Type 5 Defined as Status Feedback Type 28 VB 0 Only the first port is valid 27:26 XOFF 01, 10 or 11 Switch 40 can choose any of these three actions for switch 30 to take 25:18 Port A 2 From switch 30's perspective, the Turn congested port has a turn number of Number 2 17 O Any This field defines the ordered order field of the congested port 16:9 TCMask Any This field defines the traffic classes that are congested 8:0 Reserved Any This field is reserved and not used [0075] Switch 30 receives the DLLP described above, and stores the relevant information concerning the congested port in a memory element inside the switch.",
"[0076] Whenever switch 30 receives a packet that it is to transmit via its output port 4 , it compares the next turn of the packet to its list of known congested ports.",
"As described in reference to FIG. 4 , switch 30 is able to ascertain its output port by using the Turn Pointer and Turn Pool fields found in the header of the incoming packet.",
"However, to implement the congestion management mechanism, the switch must also identify the output port of the next downstream switch, since all DLLPs refer to the downstream switch's ports.",
"[0077] During initialization of the fabric, each switch becomes aware of the configuration of its neighboring switches.",
"In this case, switch 30 knows the configuration of both switch 20 and switch 40 .",
"Switch 20 knows the configuration of switch 30 ;",
"however, it is unaware of the configuration of switch 40 , since they are not adjacent.",
"Similarly, switch 40 knows the configuration of switch 30 , but not switch 20 .",
"[0078] Once switch 30 examines the header of the incoming packet to determine its output port, it decrements the Turn Pointer field as described above and prepares the packet for transmission.",
"Before transmission, it determines the output port that will be used by switch 40 , by looking at the modified Turn Pointer, the Turn Pool, and the configuration information that it has concerning the port count of switch 40 .",
"If this output port is the same as that identified in the DLLP, then switch 30 will not transmit the packet until the port is no longer congested.",
"However, switch 30 is capable of sending packets to switch 40 that are not intended for output port 3 , since it has the ability to identify the output port that will be used by switch 40 .",
"Therefore, all packets intended for endpoint 140 and endpoint 150 are unaffected by the congestion at endpoint 130 .",
"[0079] Similarly, since switch 30 is aware of the configuration of switch 40 , it can also identify backward routed packets destined for output port 3 .",
"Using the formulas and manipulations illustrated earlier, switch 30 can use the modified Turn Pointer, the Turn Pool, and the information that it has about the number of ports in switch 40 to determine the equivalent forward routed turn value, which it then compares to the value in the DLLP.",
"[0080] The mechanism defined in the AS specification works effectively in this scenario.",
"However, assume that the congestion at output port 3 of switch 40 persists for an extended period of time.",
"At some point, switch 30 will have queued a significant number of packets that cannot be delivered to switch 40 because of this congestion.",
"When the available capacity of this queue in switch 30 has dropped below a threshold value, it must inform switch 20 to stop sending packets destined for output port 3 of switch 40 .",
"However, the format of the DLLP does not permit switch 30 to inform switch 20 of congestion in switch 40 .",
"Rather, in accordance with the AS specification, switch 30 generates a DLLP that informs switch 20 to stop sending packets destined for its output port 4 .",
"The specific values of the bit fields are generated similarly to those shown above and thus are not repeated here.",
"[0081] At this point, switch 20 stops transmission of all packets that are destined for output port 4 of switch 30 .",
"However, since DLLPs can only identify congested paths, many packets that could have been transmitted are now held in switch 20 .",
"For example, all packets destined for endpoint 140 and endpoint 150 cannot be transmitted because of congestion at endpoint 130 .",
"Thus, the inability of the DLLP to specify congested paths causes packets that could have been transmitted to be delayed because of downstream congestion along other unrelated paths.",
"[0082] The present invention allows the communication of congested paths to upstream switches, thereby only restricting the transmission of those packets that are actually destined for a congested path.",
"[0083] The Advanced Switching specification also defines other types of packets that can be transmitted between switches.",
"As previously described, the primary mechanism for communicating status feedback information is in the form of DLLPs.",
"Another format of messages, known as Transaction Layer Packets (TLPs) also exists.",
"[0084] Transaction Layer Packets are defined in the PCI Express specification, and are used to communicate a variety of different types of information between nodes in the system.",
"Like DLLPs, TLPs are always preceded by special k-code identifiers, which allow the switch to quickly interpret the incoming packet and process it accordingly.",
"TLPS are preceded by a k-code known as START TLP and referred to as K27.7 in the PCI Express specification.",
"The END k-code that was used with DLLPS, K 29.7, is also used to end TLP transmissions.",
"In the case of TLPs, since the arrival of packets is guaranteed, as opposed to best effort with DLLPs, a two byte sequence number follows the START TLP k code.",
"More information about these extra bytes can be found in the PCI Express specification.",
"[0085] In accordance with the AS specification, all TLPs use an AS Route header, as illustrated in FIG. 3 , which defines the type of message and the path it is to travel through the fabric.",
"In addition to the Turn Pool and Turn Pointer, described earlier, there are a number of other relevant fields.",
"First, bits<",
"6 : 0 >",
"define the Protocol Interface (PI) field 701 .",
"This field represents the various types of packets that can be encapsulated by this header.",
"While 128 possible values are defined, many of these are implementation or vendor specific.",
"Several others are reserved for configuration purposes, such as path building.",
"[0086] By making use of a currently reserved PI value, it is possible to create status based flow control messages throughout the fabric that explicitly identify congested paths.",
"Switches that currently exist would ignore this TLP, since the PI value is unknown.",
"FIG. 7 illustrates a TLP which allows such communication to occur.",
"[0087] The PI field 701 of the first double word 700 is set to a value of 000111 (7), denoting that this packet contains information about AS fabric management.",
"Since this is a unique packet type, the fields that follow can be defined as required in accordance with the invention.",
"The second double word 730 , gives the value of the forward Turn Pool which identifies the congested path.",
"Since it is not possible for a switch to convert a forward Turn Pool into a reverse Turn Pool, the next double word 740 contains the reverse Turn Pool.",
"Bits<",
"24 : 20 >",
"of double word 700 define the path size 720 .",
"Path size 720 represents the number of bits in double words 730 and 740 that are valid.",
"Since it is a 5-bit field, it is capable of representing up to 31 bits, which is the maximum size of the Turn Pools.",
"Bits<",
"31 : 25 >",
"of double word 700 contains the header CRC 725 , in accordance with the AS specification.",
"[0088] Bit<",
"12 >",
"of double word 700 contains the “Ordered Only”",
"flag 717 , as described in reference to FIG. 6 , and serves the same purpose in this packet.",
"[0000] Bits<",
"19 : 16 >",
"and bits<",
"11 : 8 >",
"represent the traffic class 705 of the congested flow, or flows.",
"Since there are eight defined traffic classes, each bit is used to represent whether that particular class is impacted by congestion.",
"For example, the assertion of bit<",
"18 >",
"and bit<",
"9 >",
"of double word 700 , which represents bit<",
"6 >",
"and bit<",
"1 >",
"of traffic class 705 , indicates that traffic classes 6 and 1 are congested, while the other traffic classes are unaffected.",
"[0089] As described above, a bit mask for traffic classes is used because some switches, due to implementation constraints, do not implement separate queues for each traffic class.",
"Rather, these switches will group several traffic classes together and utilize a common set of queues for this group.",
"Consequently, these grouped traffic classes will become congested at the same time.",
"[0090] By utilizing a bit map, it is possible to communicate information about all eight traffic classes simultaneously.",
"Alternatively, a three-bit field could be used to denote the binary value of the traffic class that is congested.",
"However, this embodiment would require multiple TLPs to be sent if a group of traffic classes are congested.",
"The embodiment shown in FIG. 7 can communicate the same information in one TLP.",
"[0091] Bits<",
"15 : 14 >",
"are used to represent the XOFF 715 , or Xon action, to be taken by the upstream switch in response to this TLP.",
"The following table lists the possible actions: [0000] Bits <15:14>",
"Action 00 XON: Enable transmissions to the congested path 01 Short XOFF: Disable transmissions to the congested path for a short timeout period 10 Long XOFF: Disable transmissions to the congested path for a long timeout period 11 Persistent XOFF: Disable transmissions to the congested path until a subsequent TLP with Bits<15:14>",
"= 00 [0092] This representation uses the same actions that are defined in the AS specification for Status Based Flow Control DLLPs, as shown in FIG. 6 .",
"Without departing from the spirit of the invention, alternate actions could be defined.",
"Furthermore, the action could simply be implied.",
"For example, the receipt of this TLP could automatically always disable transmissions for a long timeout period, without this information being explicitly represented in the packet.",
"[0093] While a preferred embodiment of the TLP is illustrated in FIG. 7 , bit positions can be relocated, fields can be eliminated and other bit fields added without departing from the spirit of the invention.",
"The essential aspects of the TLP as defined is that it communicates the impacted traffic class or classes, the forward routed congested path, the backward routed congested path and identifies an action, whether implied or explicit, that the upstream switch should take in response to this TLP packet.",
"[0094] Having defined a format for the communication of congested paths, it is necessary to define the method by which these messages are created, modified and forwarded throughout the network.",
"[0095] Referring to FIG. 1 , assume that endpoint 130 encounters congestion.",
"Over time, the queue for output port 3 of Switch C 40 starts filling and reaches its threshold level.",
"It then determined the port is encountering congestion, and Switch C 40 sends a DLLP as described above to Switch B 30 , informing it to stop delivering packets destined for output port 3 .",
"Having done this, all other paths are free to continue transmitting information.",
"However, if the path to endpoint 130 continues to remain congested, eventually the queue for output port 4 of Switch B 30 will start filling and may reach its threshold value.",
"Traditionally, this would initiate another DLLP to be sent to Switch A 20 , informing it to stop delivering packets destined for its output port 4 .",
"However, this message blocks more traffic than necessary, since the only congested path is that associated with output port 4 of Switch B 30 in conjunction with output port 3 of Switch C 40 .",
"However, DLLPs cannot transmit this amount of information, so the fabric begins operating at a lower overall bandwidth because of a single congested path.",
"[0096] Using the message format illustrated in FIG. 7 , it is possible to overcome this shortcoming.",
"Field 701 is set to 000111 (7) to indicate that this is a special congestion message.",
"When Switch B 30 determines that it has reached a certain threshold and should not accept any more messages for its queue associated with output port 4 which are destined for output port 3 of Switch C 40 , it generates a special message, using the format of FIG. 7 .",
"Switch B 30 is aware that output port 3 of Switch C 40 is congested, and is aware that the forward turn value of output port 3 is 010(2).",
"It is also aware that the backward turn value of output port 3 is 100(4) in this example.",
"Similarly, it is aware that its output port 4 has a forward turn value of 011(3) with respect to the output port 0 which it shares with Switch A 20 .",
"Likewise, output port 4 has a backward turn value of 011(3) with respect to output port 0 .",
"Using this information, it is able to construct the required fields 730 and 740 .",
"Field 730 , which represents the forward Turn Pool would have a value of 011 010, which signifies a clockwise turn value of 3 for Switch B and a clockwise turn value of 2 for Switch C. Field 740 , which represents the backward Turn Pool would have a value of 100 011, which signifies a counterclockwise turn value of 4 for Switch C and a counterclockwise turn value of 3 for Switch B. Since there are 6 bits that are now valid in the Turn Pools, field 720 is set to 6.",
"Once the various fields are completed, the message is forwarded to Switch A 20 .",
"Switch A 20 interprets the information that was sent and is able to more precisely block transmission of packets.",
"For example, rather than simply blocking packets destined for output port 4 on Switch B 30 , it can now further qualify that to include only packets destined for output port 3 on Switch C 40 .",
"[0097] Suppose that the offending path between Switch C 40 and endpoint 130 continues to remain congested, such that the queue for Switch 20 A begins filling and reaches its threshold value.",
"Suppose that endpoint 100 continues to send packets destined for endpoints 130 and 150 .",
"One of these paths is not congested, while the other path is congested.",
"Switch A 20 can then create a message for endpoint 100 informing it of the congested path in the network.",
"Beginning with the message and the Turn Pool values that it received, Switch A can append new information to these values and forward a new message to endpoint 100 .",
"[0098] The value of the forward turn number from the ingress port for endpoint 100 and the egress port for Switch B is 010(2).",
"Similarly, the backward turn number is 100(4).",
"To create the forward Turn Pool, Switch A appends the forward turn number 010 in front of the existing Turn Pool, using the Turn Pointer as an index to determine the correct placement.",
"Therefore, the forward Turn Pool becomes 010 011 010.",
"To create the backward Turn Pool, Switch A shifts the current backward Turn Pool by the number of bits that it uses to identify its turn value (in this case, 3).",
"It then inserts the backward turn value of 100 into the last three bits of the Turn Pool, thus creating a backward Turn Pool of 100 011 100.",
"Switch A then increments the Turn Pointer by 3, since it has added 3 bits to both Turn Pools.",
"This message is then delivered to endpoint 100 .",
"[0099] This mechanism can also be applied to fabrics and paths supporting loopback.",
"Referring again to FIG. 1 , assume that all switches support loopback, and that endpoint 100 is attempting to send multiple packets to endpoint 110 via switch 30 .",
"In this case, switch 20 is both upstream and downstream from switch 30 , because the packet passes through switch 20 twice.",
"However, the mechanism to generate and communicate congested paths is identical to the non-loopback scenario described earlier.",
"Assume that endpoint 110 becomes congested.",
"At a later point in time, the output queue in Switch 20 associated with output port 0 will start filling, and reach a threshold indicating that it should not receive additional packets destined for endpoint 110 .",
"In response to this, in accordance with the AS specification, switch 20 will generate a DLLP message and forward this to switch 30 .",
"Since endpoint 100 is continuing to send packets, at a later time, the output queue in switch 30 associated with port 0 will began filling and reach a threshold value.",
"In response to this, it will generate a TLP.",
"The TLP is created as described above, with the forward path defined as the forward turn value used in switch 30 (111, as defined for loopback), followed by the forward turn value used in switch 20 (011).",
"Similarly, the backward path is defined as the backward turn value used by switch 20 (011), followed by the backward turn value used by switch 30 (111, as defined for loopback).",
"This TLP is then forwarded to switch 20 , even though switch 20 is the source of the original congestion.",
"[0100] The packets from endpoint 100 continue to be transmitted until the queue in switch 20 associated with this congested path fills and reaches a threshold value.",
"At this point, switch 20 generates a new TLP, further defining the congested path.",
"The forward path is defined as the forward turn value used by switch 20 to send packets received from endpoint 100 to switch 30 (010), followed by the forward path received in the previous TLP, thus resulting in a complete forward path of 010111011.",
"Similarly, the backward turn value (100) is placed after the backward turn path received in the previous TLP, thus resulting in a complete backward path of 011111100.",
"This new TLP is then transmitted to endpoint 100 .",
"[0101] While these examples show a fabric of only three switches, the invention is not so limited.",
"The message format is capable of supporting a Turn Pool of up to 31 bits, using the format illustrated in FIG. 7 .",
"[0102] Alternatively, the TLP mechanism described above can be used in place of the Status Based Flow Control DLLP packet.",
"The information that is transmitted in the DLLP packet can also be transmitted via the TLP mechanism.",
"Instead of creating a DLLP in response to the determination that an output queue is filling, the switch would construct a TLP message, inserting only its forward and backward turn values as the Turn Pool values, and the number of bits used in those fields.",
"[0103] This description is in no way meant to limit the current invention to this, or any particular method of constructing the TLPs of the present invention.",
"In one embodiment, the modifications to the Turn Pool and Turn Pointer of the outgoing TLP are implemented at wire speed, as the TLP is being transmitted.",
"In an alternate embodiment, the outgoing TLP is constructed within the switch using logic and memory cells, and transmitted after the modifications have been completed.",
"In a third embodiment, a combination of these methods is used.",
"The exact method used to create the TLP is an implementation design decision, based on many factors."
] |
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a data processing apparatus capable of encrypting subject data in plain text to render it as encrypted data and then recording it on a predetermined recording medium and also decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means, and applications thereof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Nowadays, security relating to information is becoming increasingly important, and there is significantly growing demand for the above-mentioned data processing apparatus capable of encrypting the data of which contents should not desirably be known to a third party (referred to as “subject data” in this specification) and recording it on a recording medium. While various encryption techniques are proposed and put into practical use for the sake of keeping the subject data secret, it is difficult to prevent code breaking completely.
[0003] In general, the subject data is encrypted and recorded on the recording medium by cutting the subject data by a predetermined number of bits and recording encrypted data having pieces of the cut data encrypted respectively bound therein on a predetermined recording medium.
[0004] In the case of encrypting each piece of the cut data of the subject data, predetermined algorithm and key are generally used. This algorithm is rendered very complicated to prevent the code breaking, and the key is also strictly managed so as not to be known to the outside. No matter how complicated the algorithm is rendered or even if the key is changed, however, it is relatively easy, once the algorithm and key are known, to break the encrypted data by using the algorithm and key.
[0005] The inventors hereof studied encryption technology for many years and previously invented a data processing apparatus for successively generating at least one of the algorithm and key for performing the encryption and decryption.
[0006] This technique successively generates at least one of the algorithm and key for performing the encryption and decryption. Even in the case where the algorithm or the key is known once, the algorithm or the key or both of them change thereafter. Therefore, strength thereof is much higher than conventional encryption technology.
[0007] As for this technique, however, there is a weakness that, if some of the past algorithms or keys are known, it may be predictable how the algorithm or the key or both of them change from now on. Thus, a possibility of being broken by a third party is not absolutely zero.
[0008] An object of the present invention is to improve the data processing apparatus for encrypting the subject data in plain text to render it as encrypted data and recording it on a predetermined recording medium so as to reduce the possibility of having communication broken by a third party.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0009] To achieve the object, the inventors hereof propose a first invention, a second invention and a third invention described below.
[0010] The first invention of the present invention is as follows.
[0011] The first invention is a data processing apparatus including encrypting means for encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data, recording means for recording the encrypted data, and decrypting means for decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data, comprising: solution generating means for sequentially generating new solutions in predetermined timing by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto; algorithm generating means for sequentially generating new algorithms in predetermined timing by using the generated solutions; and specific information recording means for recording specific information for identifying the algorithm used when encrypting the subject data in predetermined recording means by associating it with the encrypted data, and wherein: the solution generating means holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew.
[0012] The algorithm generating means of the data processing apparatus generates the algorithms in predetermined timing, such as each time the subject data is encrypted or the encrypted data is decrypted. And the solution generating means of the data processing apparatus uses a predetermined solution obtained by assigning at least one of the past solutions to the solution generating algorithm in the case of generating the solution and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew.
[0013] In other word, the data processing apparatus successively generates the algorithms used for encryption and decryption by the algorithm generating means. The algorithm generating means uses the “solutions” in the case of generating the algorithms. As described above, the solutions are generated by using the past solutions. Furthermore, these solutions are erased once they become unnecessary to generate new solutions.
[0014] Therefore, the data processing apparatus has the past solutions erased one after another. For this reason, even if the solutions at this point in time can be known by a third party, a third party cannot know the route which the solution has traced thereof.
[0015] For the above reason, there is only a little possibility that encrypted communication by this data processing apparatus may be broken by the third party.
[0016] The above-mentioned solutions may be pseudo-random numbers as a result.
[0017] The data processing apparatus of the above-mentioned first invention changes the algorithms. However, it may also change the keys. The same effects as in the above-mentioned case can thereby be obtained.
[0018] For instance, this is exemplified by a data processing apparatus including encrypting means for encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data, recording means for recording the encrypted data, and decrypting means for decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data, comprising: solution generating means for sequentially generating new solutions in predetermined timing by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto; key generating means for sequentially generating new keys in predetermined timing by using the generated solutions; and specific information recording means for recording specific information for identifying the key used when encrypting the subject data in predetermined recording means by associating it with the encrypted data, and wherein: the solution generating means holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew.
[0019] The data processing apparatus of the first invention may also be the one wherein: it comprises cutting means capable of cutting the subject data by a predetermined number of bits into multiple pieces of plain text cut data and also cutting the encrypted data into multiple pieces of encrypted cut data by the same number of bits by which the encrypted data is cut when encrypted; the encrypting means adapted to encrypt the processing subject data by encrypting each piece of the plain text cut data cut the subject data by the cutting means to render it as the encrypted cut data, and the decrypting means adapted to decrypt by decrypting each piece of the encrypted cut data to render it as the plain text cut data; and it also comprises connecting means for connecting multiple pieces of the encrypted cut data encrypted by the encrypting means into a series of the encrypted data and also connecting multiple pieces of the plain text cut data decrypted by the decrypting means into a series of the subject data.
[0020] In the data processing apparatus of the first invention comprising the algorithm generating means, the algorithm may be generated in any timing whatsoever.
[0021] For instance, the algorithm generating means may generate the algorithms each time the subject data is encrypted. Thus, different algorithms are generated each time the processing subject data is encrypted, and so it is difficult for the third party to know the algorithms by analogy.
[0022] The algorithm generating means may generate the algorithms each time the plain text cut data is encrypted. Thus, the algorithms are generated more frequently, and so it is more difficult for the third party to know the algorithms by analogy.
[0023] In the data processing apparatus of the first invention comprising the key generating means, the key may be generated in any timing whatsoever.
[0024] For instance, the key generating means may generate the keys each time the subject data is encrypted. Thus, different keys are generated each time the processing subject data is encrypted, and so it is difficult for the third party to know the keys by analogy.
[0025] The key generating means may generate the keys each time the plain text cut data is encrypted. Thus, the keys are generated more frequently, and so it is more difficult for the third party to know the keys by analogy.
[0026] The solution generating means generates the new solutions from the past solutions. It may acquire the solutions by assigning multiple past solutions to the solution generating algorithm. To be more specific, either one past solution or multiple past solutions may be assigned to the solution generating algorithm in order to generate the new solutions.
[0027] The solution generating means may hold an initial solution to be assigned to the solution generating algorithm first on initially generating the solutions.
[0028] The specific information used on the data processing apparatus of the first invention comprising the algorithm generating means may be any information as long as it can identify the algorithm used when encrypting the subject data.
[0029] For instance, the specific information may be the algorithm itself, the solutions used by the algorithm generating means on generating the algorithm or information indicating what number generated solutions are the solutions used by the algorithm generating means on generating the algorithm.
[0030] The specific information used on the data processing apparatus of the first invention comprising the key generating means may be any information as long as it can identify the key used when encrypting the subject data.
[0031] For instance, the specific information may be the key itself, the solutions used by the key generating means on generating the key or information indicating what number generated solutions are the solutions used by the key generating means on generating the key.
[0032] The same effects as the data processing apparatus of the first invention comprising the algorithm generating means may be obtained by the following method for instance.
[0033] This method is the one performed in a data processing apparatus for performing steps of: encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data; recording the encrypted data in predetermined recording means; and decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data.
[0034] And the data processing apparatus performs the steps of: sequentially generating new solutions in predetermined timing by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto; sequentially generating new algorithms in predetermined timing by using the generated solutions; and recording specific information for identifying the algorithm used when encrypting the subject data in predetermined recording means by associating it with the encrypted data, and the data processing apparatus holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew.
[0035] The same effects as the data processing apparatus of the first invention comprising the key generating means may be obtained by the following method for instance.
[0036] This method is the one performed in a data processing apparatus for performing steps of: encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data; recording the encrypted data in predetermined recording means; and decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data.
[0037] And the data processing apparatus performs the steps of: sequentially generating new solutions in predetermined timing by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto; sequentially generating new keys in predetermined timing by using the generated solutions; and recording specific information for identifying the key used when encrypting the subject data in predetermined recording means by associating it with the encrypted data, and the data processing apparatus holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew.
[0038] The second invention of this application is as follows.
[0039] The second invention of this application is a data processing apparatus including encrypting means for encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data, recording means for recording the encrypted data, and decrypting means for decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data, which encrypts multiple pieces of the subject data to render them as the encrypted data and decrypts multiple pieces of the encrypted data in the same order as the order of encryption thereof, the apparatus comprising: solution generating means for sequentially generating new solutions each time the subject data is encrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto; first algorithm generating means for sequentially generating new algorithms each time the subject data is encrypted by using the generated solutions; second algorithm generating means for sequentially generating the same new algorithms as those generated by the first algorithm generating means each time the encrypted data is decrypted by using the generated solutions, and wherein: the solution generating means holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew.
[0040] The above-mentioned second invention changes the algorithms. However, there are also the cases where it changes the keys as with the first invention.
[0041] The second invention in this case is a data processing apparatus including encrypting means for encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data, recording means for recording the encrypted data, and decrypting means for decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data, which encrypts multiple pieces of the subject data to render them as the encrypted data and decrypts multiple pieces of the encrypted data in the same order as the order of encryption thereof, the apparatus comprising: solution generating means for sequentially generating new solutions each time the subject data is encrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto; first key generating means for sequentially generating new keys each time the subject data is encrypted by using the generated solutions; second key generating means for sequentially generating the same new keys as those generated by the first key generating means each time the encrypted data is decrypted by using the generated solutions, and wherein: the solution generating means holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew.
[0042] The data processing apparatus of the second invention is similar to that of the first invention. However, it does not use the specific information for identifying the algorithm or the key used when encrypting the subject data. This is related to it that the data processing apparatus of the second invention encrypts multiple pieces of the subject data to render it as encrypted data and decrypts multiple pieces of the encrypted data in the same order as the order of encryption thereof.
[0043] The algorithm generating means and the key generating means of the data processing apparatus of the second invention generate the algorithms and keys each time the subject data is encrypted respectively. When performing the decryption, the data processing apparatus of the second invention generates the same algorithms and keys as those used when performing the encryption.
[0044] Therefore, the data processing apparatus of the second invention sequentially generates the same algorithms or keys as those generated in the past. For that reason, it is not necessary to use the above-mentioned specific information if only the multiple pieces of the encrypted data are decrypted in the same order as the order of encryption thereof.
[0045] The two data processing apparatuses of the second invention have one solution generating means common between the first algorithm generating means and second algorithm generating means or the first key generating means and second key generating means provided thereto. It is also possible, however, to provide two solution generating means corresponding to the first algorithm generating means and second algorithm generating means respectively or the first key generating means and second key generating means respectively.
[0046] As an example of the former, there is a data processing apparatus including encrypting means for encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data, recording means for recording the encrypted data, and decrypting means for decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data, which encrypts multiple pieces of the subject data to render them as the encrypted data and decrypts multiple pieces of the encrypted data in the same order as the order of encryption thereof, the apparatus comprising: first solution generating means for sequentially generating new solutions each time the subject data is encrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto; first algorithm generating means for sequentially generating new algorithms each time the subject data is encrypted by using the solutions generated by the first solution generating means; second solution generating means for sequentially generating the same new solutions as those generated by the first solution generating means each time the encrypted data is decrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto; second algorithm generating means for sequentially generating the same new algorithms as those generated by the first algorithm generating means each time the encrypted data is decrypted by using the solutions generated by the second solution generating means, and wherein: the first solution generating means and the second solution generating means hold at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew.
[0047] As an example of the latter, there is a data processing apparatus including encrypting means for encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data, recording means for recording the encrypted data, and decrypting means for decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data, which encrypts multiple pieces of the subject data to render them as the encrypted data and decrypts multiple pieces of the encrypted data in the same order as the order of encryption thereof, the apparatus comprising: first solution generating means for sequentially generating new solutions each time the subject data is encrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto; first key generating means for sequentially generating new keys each time the subject data is encrypted by using the solutions generated by the first solution generating means; second solution generating means for sequentially generating the same new solutions as those generated by the first solution generating means each time the encrypted data is decrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto; second key generating means for sequentially generating the same new keys as those generated by the first key generating means each time the encrypted data is decrypted by using the solutions generated by the second solution generating means, and wherein: the first solution generating means and the second solution generating means hold at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew.
[0048] The data processing apparatus of the second invention may be the one wherein: it comprises cutting means capable of cutting the subject data by a predetermined number of bits into multiple pieces of plain text cut data and also cutting the encrypted data into multiple pieces of encrypted cut data by the same number of bits by which the encrypted data is cut when encrypted; the encrypting means adapted to encrypt the processing subject data by encrypting each piece of the plain text cut data cut the subject data by the cutting means to render it as the encrypted cut data, and the decrypting means adapted to decrypt by decrypting each piece of the encrypted cut data to render it as the plain text cut data; and it also comprises connecting means for connecting multiple pieces of the encrypted cut data encrypted by the encrypting means into a series of the encrypted data and also connecting multiple pieces of the plain text cut data decrypted by the decrypting means into a series of the subject data.
[0049] The second invention may also be implemented by the following method.
[0050] A first example of the second invention is a method performed in a data processing apparatus for performing steps of: encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data; recording the encrypted data in predetermined recording means; and decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data. According to this method, the data processing apparatus performs: a step of sequentially generating new solutions each time the subject data is encrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto; a first algorithm generating step of sequentially generating new algorithms each time the subject data is encrypted by using the generated solutions; and a second algorithm generating step of sequentially generating the same new algorithms as those generated in the first algorithm generating step each time the encrypted data is decrypted by using the generated solutions, and the data processing apparatus holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew, encrypts multiple pieces of the subject data to render them as the encrypted data and decrypts multiple pieces of the encrypted data in the same order as the order of encryption thereof.
[0051] A second example is a method performed in a data processing apparatus for performing steps of: encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data; recording the encrypted data in predetermined recording means; and decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data. According to this method, he data processing apparatus performs: a step of sequentially generating new solutions each time the subject data is encrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto; a first key generating step of sequentially generating new keys each time the subject data is encrypted by using the generated solutions; and a second key generating step of sequentially generating the same new keys as those generated in the first key generating step each time the encrypted data is decrypted by using the generated solutions, and the data processing apparatus holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew, encrypts multiple pieces of the subject data to render them as the encrypted data and decrypts multiple pieces of the encrypted data in the same order as the order of encryption thereof.
[0052] A third example is a method performed in a data processing apparatus for performing steps of: encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data; recording the encrypted data in predetermined recording means; and decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data. According to this method, the data processing apparatus performs: a first solution generating step of sequentially generating new solutions each time the subject data is encrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto; a first algorithm generating step of sequentially generating new algorithms each time the subject data is encrypted by using the solutions generated in the first solution generating step; and a second solution generating step of sequentially generating the same new solutions as those generated in the first solution generating step each time the encrypted data is decrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto; a second algorithm generating step of sequentially generating the same new algorithms as those generated in the first algorithm generating step each time the encrypted data is decrypted by using the solutions generated in the second solution generating step, and the data processing apparatus holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew, encrypts multiple pieces of the subject data to render them as the encrypted data and decrypts multiple pieces of the encrypted data in the same order as the order of encryption thereof.
[0053] A fourth example is a method performed in a data processing apparatus for performing steps of: encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data; recording the encrypted data in predetermined recording means; and decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data, wherein: the data processing apparatus performs: a first solution generating step of sequentially generating new solutions each time the subject data is encrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto; a first key generating step of sequentially generating new keys each time the subject data is encrypted by using the solutions generated in the first solution generating step; and a second solution generating step of sequentially generating the same new solutions as those generated in the first solution generating step each time the encrypted data is decrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto; a second key generating step of sequentially generating the same new keys as those generated in the first key generating step each time the encrypted data is decrypted by using the solutions generated in the second solution generating step, and the data processing apparatus holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew, encrypts multiple pieces of the subject data to render them as the encrypted data and decrypts multiple pieces of the encrypted data in the same order as the order of encryption thereof.
[0054] The inventors hereof also propose the following third invention.
[0055] The third invention is a data processing system comprising: multiple first data processing apparatuses; and second data processing apparatuses and third data processing apparatuses of the same number as the first data processing apparatuses, pairing up with the multiple first data processing apparatuses respectively, and communication between the first data processing apparatus is performed in encrypted data having encrypted subject data in plain text, and communication between the second data processing apparatus and the third data processing apparatus is performed in the subject data.
[0056] It is a data processing system wherein both the first data processing apparatus and second data processing apparatus comprise: cutting means for cutting the subject data by a predetermined number of bits into multiple pieces of plain text cut data and also cutting the encrypted data into multiple pieces of encrypted cut data by the same number of bits by which the encrypted data is cut when encrypted; solution generating means for sequentially generating solutions common between the first data processing apparatuses and the second data processing apparatuses as pairs and different from the other first data processing apparatuses and second data processing apparatuses; encrypting and decrypting means for encrypting the plain text cut data with the algorithm common between the first data processing apparatus and the second data processing apparatus generated based on the solution received from the solution generating means to render it as the encrypted cut data and decrypting the encrypted cut data with the algorithm used when encrypting the encrypted cut data to render it as the plain text cut data; connecting means for connecting the decrypted plain text cut data to render it as the subject data; and transmitting and receiving means for transmitting and receiving the encrypted data, and the third data processing apparatus is one of the data processing apparatuses described in the first invention and the second invention for encrypting the subject data generated by the second data processing apparatus by decrypting the encrypted data encrypted by the first data processing apparatus, recording the encrypted data in the recording means, and decoding the encrypted data read from the recording means and transmitting it to the second data processing apparatus.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0057] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a data processing system according to a first embodiment;
[0058] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a first data processing apparatus included in the data processing system shown in FIG. 1 ;
[0059] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication apparatus included in the first data processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 ;
[0060] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an encryption apparatus included in the first data processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 ;
[0061] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of a second data processing apparatus included in the data processing system shown in FIG. 1 ;
[0062] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the encryption apparatus included in the second data processing apparatus shown in FIG. 5 ;
[0063] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of another encryption apparatus included in the second data processing apparatus shown in FIG. 5 ;
[0064] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the communication apparatus included in the second data processing apparatus shown in FIG. 5 ;
[0065] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a flow of a process executed in the data processing system shown in FIG. 1 ;
[0066] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process executed in S 110 shown in FIG. 9 ;
[0067] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process executed in S 130 shown in FIG. 9 ;
[0068] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process executed in S 140 shown in FIG. 9 ;
[0069] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process executed in S 150 shown in FIG. 9 ;
[0070] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the encryption apparatus included in the data processing apparatus of a second embodiment;
[0071] FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of an encryption process executed in the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment;
[0072] FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the flow of a decryption process executed in the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment; and
[0073] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the encryption apparatus included in a deformed example of the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0074] Hereunder, a first preferred embodiment and a second preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail by referring to the drawings. The descriptions of the first embodiment and second embodiment will use common symbols as to common portions and omit overlapping descriptions.
First Embodiment
[0075] A data processing system of this embodiment will be configured in outline as shown in FIG. 1 .
[0076] The data processing system includes multiple first data processing apparatuses 11 and one second data processing apparatus 12 mutually connected via a network 13 . The network 13 is an LAN (Local Area Network) according to this embodiment.
[0077] The multiple first data processing apparatuses 11 and the second data processing apparatus 12 mutually perform encrypted communication.
[0078] The network 13 may have another configuration if capable of data exchange between the first data processing apparatuses 11 and the second data processing apparatus 12 .
[0079] The configurations of the first data processing apparatus 11 and the second data processing apparatus 12 will be described. First, the configuration of the first data processing apparatus 11 will be described.
[0080] FIG. 2 shows a hardware configuration of the first data processing apparatus 11 .
[0081] The first data processing apparatus 11 has configurations including a CPU (central processing unit) 21 , an ROM (read only memory) 22 , an HDD (hard disk drive) 23 , an RAM (random access memory) 24 , an input apparatus 25 , a display apparatus 26 , an encryption apparatus 27 , a communication apparatus 28 and a bus 29 . The CPU 21 , ROM 22 , HUD 23 , RAM 24 , input apparatus 25 , display apparatus 26 , encryption apparatus 27 and communication apparatus 28 can exchange data via the bus 29 .
[0082] The ROM 22 or the HDD 23 has a predetermined program and predetermined data (the predetermined data may include subject data as in the case of this embodiment, and includes the data necessary to execute the program) recorded therein. The CPU 21 controls the entire first data processing apparatuses 11 , and performs the process described later based on the program and data stored in the ROM 22 or the HDD 23 . The RAM 24 is used as a storage area for work for performing the process on the CPU 21 .
[0083] The input apparatus 25 is configured by a keyboard, a mouse and so on, and is used to input a command and data. The display apparatus 26 is configured by an LCD (liquid crystal display), a CRT (cathode ray tube) and so on, and is used to display the command, inputted data, a processing status described later and so on.
[0084] The encryption apparatus 27 encrypts the subject data and decrypts encrypted data as will be described later.
[0085] The communication apparatus 28 performs communication with the second data processing apparatuses 12 via the network 13 . The communication apparatus 28 of the second data processing apparatuses 12 performs communication with the first data processing apparatuses 11 via the network 13 .
[0086] Next, the configuration of the communication apparatus 28 will be described. FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of the communication apparatus 28 .
[0087] The communication apparatus 28 is configured by an interface portion 281 , an authentication data generating portion 282 and a communication portion 283 .
[0088] The interface portion 281 exchanges the data between the bus 29 and the communication apparatus 28 . The interface portion 281 transmits the encrypted data received from the bus 29 to the authentication data generating portion 282 , and also transmits the encrypted data received from the communication portion 283 to the bus 29 .
[0089] The authentication data generating portion 282 adds authentication data to a header of the transmitted encrypted data, for instance, in the case the encrypted data is transmitted to the second data processing apparatuses 12 as will be described later. The authentication data identifies the first data processing apparatus 11 sending the encrypted data. The authentication data is assigned to each of the first data processing apparatuses 11 by an administrator of the second data processing apparatus 12 , and is recorded on the ROM 22 or the HDD 23 for instance. The authentication data generating portion 282 adds the authentication data read from the ROM 22 or the HDD 23 to the encrypted data. The second data processing apparatus 12 can grasp which first data processing apparatus 11 the received encrypted data is transmitted from by the authentication data added to the encrypted data as will be described later. The authentication data generating portion 282 transmits the encrypted data having the authentication data added thereto to the communication portion 283 . The communication portion 283 transmits the received encrypted data to the second data processing apparatus 12 .
[0090] Next, the configuration of the encryption apparatus 27 will be described. FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of the encryption apparatus 27 .
[0091] The encryption apparatus 27 is configured by an interface portion 271 , a preprocessing portion 272 , an encrypting and decrypting portion 273 , a solution generating portion 274 , an algorithm generating portion 275 , a key generating portion 276 and a connecting portion 277 .
[0092] The interface portion 271 exchanges data between the bus 29 and the communication apparatus 28 .
[0093] The interface portion 271 receives the subject data from the HDD 23 via the bus 29 and the encrypted data from the communication apparatus 28 via the bus 29 so as to transmit the received subject data or encrypted data to the preprocessing portion 272 . When the interface portion 271 receives the subject data or the encrypted data, it transmits the data indicating reception thereof to the solution generating portion 274 .
[0094] The interface portion 271 receives the subject data or the encrypted data from the connecting portion 277 , and transmits the received subject data or encrypted data to the bus 29 as will be described later.
[0095] The preprocessing portion 272 has a function of cutting the subject data or encrypted data received from the bus 29 via the interface portion 271 by a predetermined number of bits to generate plain text cut data or encrypted cut data and transmitting it to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 . It will be described later as to how the subject data or the encrypted data is cut. According to this embodiment, the preprocessing portion 272 has a function of including dummy data irrelevant to the subject data in the subject data by a method described later.
[0096] The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 has a function of receiving the plain text cut data or encrypted cut data from the preprocessing portion 272 , encrypting the plain text cut data if received and decrypting the encrypted cut data if received. The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 of this embodiment has a fixed standard number of bits as a processing unit for performing the processing of the encryption and decryption. The standard number of bits of this embodiment is 8 bits although it is not limited thereto. Details of the encryption and decryption processing will be described later.
[0097] The solution generating portion 274 sequentially generates solutions. The solution generating portion 274 of the first data processing apparatus 11 and the solution generating portion 274 A of the second data processing apparatuses 12 described later generate the solutions so that the solutions generated in the same order become the same. The solutions of this embodiment are pseudo-random numbers. The generated solutions are transmitted to the preprocessing portion 272 , algorithm generating portion 275 and key generating portion 276 .
[0098] The algorithm generating portion 275 generates the algorithms based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 . The algorithms are used when performing the encryption process and decryption process in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 .
[0099] The key generating portion 276 generates the keys based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 . The keys are used when performing the encryption process and decryption process in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 .
[0100] The connecting portion 277 has a function of connecting the plain text cut data generated by decrypting the encrypted cut data in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 in original order to render it as a set of the subject data. The subject data is transmitted to the interface portion 271 , and is transmitted as necessary to the HDD 23 or the CPU 21 via the bus 29 . The connecting portion 277 also has a function of connecting the encrypted cut data generated by encrypting the plain text cut data in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 to render it as a set of the encrypted data. The encrypted data is transmitted to the interface portion 271 , and is transmitted from there to the communication portion 283 of the communication apparatus 28 via the bus 29 , and is further transmitted from the communication portion 283 to the second data processing apparatuses 12 . The connecting portion 277 does not need to have a function of connecting the encrypted cut data generated by encrypting the plain text cut data in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 . In this case, the encrypted cut data is sequentially transmitted to the communication apparatus at the other end in order in which it is encrypted. In the case where the connecting portion 277 is as described above, the encrypted cut data can be directly transmitted to the communication portion 283 without going through the connecting portion 277 .
[0101] Next, the configuration of the second data processing apparatus 12 will be described.
[0102] FIG. 5 shows the hardware configuration of the second data processing apparatus 12 .
[0103] The hardware configuration of the second data processing apparatus 12 is basically the same as that of the first data processing apparatus 11 . It is different from the first data processing apparatuses 11 , however, in that it has two kinds of the encryption apparatus 27 while the first data processing apparatus 11 has only one and there are an encryption apparatus 27 A and an encryption apparatus 27 B provided instead of the encryption apparatus 27 .
[0104] The CPU 21 , ROM 22 , HDD 23 , RAM 24 , input apparatus 25 , display apparatus 26 , and bus 29 of the second data processing apparatus 12 are the same as those of the first data processing apparatus 11 .
[0105] The encryption apparatus 27 A and encryption apparatus 27 B have the functions of encrypting the subject data and decrypting the encrypted data as with the encryption apparatus 27 of the first data processing apparatus 11 . Hereunder, the configurations of both of them will be described.
[0106] There are multiple encryption apparatuses 27 A, that is, as many as the first data processing apparatuses 11 . Each of the encryption apparatuses 27 A is associated with one of the first data processing apparatuses 11 . To be more specific, each of the encryption apparatus 27 A and the first data processing apparatus 11 mutually associated can decrypt the encrypted data generated by the other by encrypting the subject data. Inversely, each of the encryption apparatus 27 A and the first data processing apparatus 11 not mutually associated cannot decrypt the encrypted data generated by the other by encrypting the subject data.
[0107] The encryption apparatus 27 A is configured as shown in FIG. 6 .
[0108] The encryption apparatus 27 A is configured by an interface portion 271 A, a preprocessing portion 272 A, an encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A, a solution generating portion 274 A, an algorithm generating portion 275 A, a key generating portion 276 A and a connecting portion 277 A.
[0109] The interface portion 271 A receives the subject data from the encryption apparatus 27 B via the bus 29 and the encrypted data from the communication apparatus 28 via the bus 29 so as to transmit the received subject data or encrypted data to the preprocessing portion 272 A. When the interface portion 271 A receives the subject data or the encrypted data, it transmits the data indicating reception thereof to the solution generating portion 274 A.
[0110] The interface portion 271 A receives the subject data or the encrypted data from the connecting portion 277 A, and transmits the received subject data or encrypted data to the bus 29 as will be described later.
[0111] The preprocessing portion 272 A has a function of cutting the subject data or encrypted data received from the bus 29 via the interface portion 271 A by a predetermined number of bits to generate the plain text cut data or the encrypted cut data and transmitting it to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A. According to this embodiment, the preprocessing portion 272 A has a function of including the dummy data irrelevant to the subject data in the subject data by a method described later.
[0112] The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A has a function of receiving the plain text cut data or encrypted cut data from the preprocessing portion 272 A, encrypting the plain text cut data if received and decrypting the encrypted cut data if received. The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A of this embodiment has a fixed standard number of bits as the processing unit for performing the processing of the encryption and decryption. The standard number of bits of this embodiment is 8 bits although it is not limited thereto. Details of the encryption and decryption processing will be described later.
[0113] The solution generating portion 274 A sequentially generates the solutions. The solutions generated by the solution generating portion 274 A become the same as the solutions generated by the solution generating portion 274 of the first data processing apparatus 11 in the same order. The generated solutions are transmitted to the preprocessing portion 272 A, algorithm generating portion 275 A and key generating portion 276 A.
[0114] The algorithm generating portion 275 A generates the algorithms based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 A. The algorithms are used when performing the encryption process and decryption process in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A. The algorithms generated by the algorithm generating portion 275 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 become the same as the algorithms generated by the algorithm generating portion 275 of the first data processing apparatus 11 in the same order.
[0115] The key generating portion 276 A generates the keys based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 A. The keys are used when performing the encryption process and decryption process in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A. The keys generated by the key generating portion 276 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 become the same as the keys generated by the key generating portion 276 of the first data processing apparatus 11 in the same order.
[0116] The connecting portion 277 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 has the same function as that of the first data processing apparatus 11 . The connecting portion 277 A connects the plain text cut data generated in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A by decrypting the encrypted cut data as a set so as to generate the subject data. The subject data is transmitted to the encryption apparatus 27 B via the bus 29 . The connecting portion 277 A connects the encrypted cut data generated in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A by encrypting the plain text cut data as a set so as to generate the encrypted data. The encrypted data is transmitted to the first data processing apparatus 11 via the communication apparatus 28 .
[0117] There is only one encryption apparatus 27 B.
[0118] The encryption apparatus 27 B has a function of re-encrypting the subject data which the encryption apparatus 27 A generated by decrypting encrypted data which is generated by encrypting the first data processing apparatus 11 the subject data. The encryption apparatus 27 B records the generated encrypted data on the HDD 23 in the second data processing apparatus 12 . The encryption apparatus 27 B also has a function of decrypting the encrypted data read from the HDD 23 .
[0119] The encryption apparatus 27 B is configured as shown in FIG. 7 .
[0120] The encryption apparatus 27 B is configured by an interface portion 271 B, a preprocessing portion 272 B, an encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B, a solution generating portion 274 B, an algorithm generating portion 275 B, a key generating portion 276 B, a connecting portion 277 B and a specific information generating portion 278 B.
[0121] The interface portion 271 B of the encryption apparatus 27 B receives the subject data from the encryption apparatus 27 A via the bus 29 and the encrypted data from the HDD 23 in the second data processing apparatus 12 via the bus 29 so as to transmit the received subject data or encrypted data to the preprocessing portion 272 B. When the interface portion 271 B receives the subject data or the encrypted data, it transmits the data indicating reception thereof to the solution generating portion 274 B.
[0122] The interface portion 271 B receives the subject data from the connecting portion 277 B in the encryption apparatus 27 B and the encrypted data from the specific information generating portion 278 B, and transmits the received subject data or encrypted data to the bus 29 as will be described later.
[0123] The preprocessing portion 272 B has a function of cutting the subject data or encrypted data received from the bus 29 via the interface portion 271 B by a predetermined number of bits to generate the plain text cut data or the encrypted cut data and transmitting it to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B. According to this embodiment, the preprocessing portion 272 B has a function of including the dummy data irrelevant to the subject data in the subject data by a method described later.
[0124] The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B has a function of receiving the plain text cut data or encrypted cut data from the preprocessing portion 272 B, encrypting the plain text cut data if received and decrypting the encrypted cut data if received. The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B of this embodiment has a fixed standard number of bits as a processing unit for performing the encryption and decryption processing. The standard number of bits of this embodiment is 8 bits although it is not limited thereto. Details of the encryption and decryption processing will be described later. When performing the decryption, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B performs the decryption by using the algorithms and keys identified based on the specific information described later.
[0125] The solution generating portion 274 B sequentially generates solutions. The solutions generated by the solution generating portion 274 B are the pseudo-random numbers. The generated solutions are transmitted to the algorithm generating portion 275 B and key generating portion 276 B and to the preprocessing portion 272 B in addition according to this embodiment.
[0126] The algorithm generating portion 275 B generates the algorithms based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 B. The algorithms are used when performing the encryption process and decryption process in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B.
[0127] The key generating portion 276 B generates the keys based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 B. The keys are used when performing the encryption process and decryption process in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B. The keys generated by the key generating portion 276 B of the second data processing apparatus 12 become the same as the keys generated by the key generating portion 276 of the first data processing apparatus 11 in the same order.
[0128] The connecting portion 277 B of the second data processing apparatus 12 has the function of connecting the plain text cut data generated in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B by decrypting the encrypted cut data so as to generate the subject data. The subject data is transmitted to the encryption apparatus 27 A. The connecting portion 277 B connects the encrypted cut data generated in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B by encrypting the plain text cut data as a set so as to generate the encrypted data. The encrypted data is recorded on the HDD 23 in the second data processing apparatus 12 .
[0129] The encryption apparatus 27 B includes the specific information generating portion 278 B.
[0130] The specific information generating portion 278 B adds the specific information to the encrypted data generated by the connecting portion 277 B. The specific information is the information for identifying the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to which the specific information is added. To be more precise, it is the information indicating the algorithm itself used when encrypting the encrypted data, the key itself used when encrypting the encrypted data, the solution itself used on generating the algorithm or the key used when encrypting the encrypted data or the information indicating what number generated solution is the solution. According to this embodiment, both the algorithm and the key change, and so the specific information must specify both the algorithm and key or the solution used to generate the algorithm and the key or the order in which the solution was generated. When only one of the algorithm and the key changes, however, the specific information needs to specify only the algorithm or the key that changes.
[0131] According to this embodiment, the specific information generating portion 278 B adds the specific information to the encrypted data. However, the specific information may also be stored at a different location from the encrypted data while being associated with the encrypted data.
[0132] The configuration of the communication apparatus 28 of the second data processing apparatus 12 is approximately the same as the configuration of the communication apparatus 28 of the first data processing apparatus 11 . The functions of the interface portion 281 and the communication portion 283 are not different from those of the communication apparatus 28 of the first data processing apparatus 11 . The communication apparatus 28 of the second data processing apparatus 12 is different from the communication apparatus 28 of the first data processing apparatus 11 in that it has an authentication portion 284 instead of the authentication data generating portion 282 of the first data processing apparatus 11 .
[0133] The authentication portion 284 reads authentication data of the encrypted data received from the first data processing apparatus 11 included in the header according to this embodiment, and determines which first data processing apparatus 11 the encrypted data comes from. The encrypted data is transmitted to the encryption apparatus 27 A associated with the first data processing apparatus 11 as its transmission source via the interface portion 281 .
[0134] Next, a description will be given as to a flow of the processing performed in this data processing system.
[0135] The flow of the processing performed in this data processing system is as follows if described roughly by using FIG. 9 .
[0136] First, the encryption apparatus 27 of one first data processing apparatus 11 out of the multiple first data processing apparatuses 11 encrypts the subject data so as to generate the encrypted data (S 110 ).
[0137] Next, the first data processing apparatus 11 transmits the encrypted data to the second data processing apparatus 12 (S 120 ).
[0138] Next, of the multiple encryption apparatuses 27 A in the second data processing apparatus 12 having received the encrypted data, the one associated with the first data processing apparatus 11 having transmitted the encrypted data decrypts the encrypted data and changes it back to the subject data (S 130 ).
[0139] Next, the encryption apparatus 27 B encrypts the decrypted subject data and records it on the HDD 23 in the second data processing apparatus 12 (S 140 ).
[0140] Next, the encryption apparatus 27 B decrypts the encrypted data in the HDD 23 and changes it back to the subject data according to a request from the first data processing apparatus 11 for instance (S 150 ).
[0141] Next, the encryption apparatus 27 A encrypts the subject data and renders it as the encrypted data (S 160 ).
[0142] Next, the second data processing apparatus 12 transmits the encrypted data to the first data processing apparatus 11 (S 170 ). Next, the encryption apparatus 27 in the first data processing apparatus 11 decrypts the encrypted data and changes it back to the original subject data (S 180 ).
[0143] First, a detailed description will be given by referring to FIG. 10 as to the above-mentioned step S 110 in which the encryption apparatus 27 of one first data processing apparatus 11 out of the multiple first data processing apparatuses 11 encrypts the subject data so as to generate the encrypted data.
[0144] First, the subject data is read (S 1101 ). The subject data may be any data whatsoever as long as it is the data necessary to be transmitted from the first data processing apparatus 11 to the second data processing apparatus 12 . According to this embodiment, the subject data is stored on the HDD 23 . The subject data may also be the data read from another recording medium such as an external recording medium to the first data processing apparatus 11 .
[0145] For instance, if a command ordering to transmit the subject data from the input apparatus 25 to the second data processing apparatus 12 is input, the CPU 21 reads the subject data from the HDD 23 and stores it temporarily in the RAM 24 . The subject data is transmitted from the HDD 23 to the encryption apparatus 27 via the bus 29 . To be more precise, the subject data is transmitted to the preprocessing portion 272 via the interface portion 271 .
[0146] The subject data is cut by a predetermined number of bits into the plain text cut data in the preprocessing portion 272 (S 1102 ). The preprocessing portion 272 includes the dummy data in the plain text cut data as required.
[0147] There may be just one method of generating the plain text cut data from the subject data. According to this embodiment, however, the plain text cut data is generated from the subject data by one of the following three methods.
[0148] A) The case of cutting the subject data into the plain text cut data by a predetermined number of bits shorter than the standard number of bits, and including the dummy data at respective fixed positions of pieces of the plain text cut data all of which have the number of bits shorter than the standard number of bits.
[0149] B) The case of cutting the subject data into the plain text cut data by a predetermined number of bits shorter than the standard number of bits, and including the dummy data at different positions of pieces of the plain text cut data all of which have the number of bits shorter than the standard number of bits.
[0150] C) The case of cutting the subject data into the plain text cut data by the number of bits the same as or shorter than the standard number of bits, and including the dummy data in respective pieces of the plain text cut data having the number of bits shorter than the standard number of bits.
[0151] It is decided by the solutions generated by the solution generating portion 274 as to which of the above-mentioned three methods should be used to generate the plain text cut data from the subject data.
[0152] A description will be given first as to how the solution generating portion 274 generates the solutions.
[0153] When the interface portion 271 receives the subject data from the bus 29 , the solution generating portion 274 receives that information from the interface portion 271 .
[0154] The solution generating portion 274 takes this opportunity to start generating the solutions. According to this embodiment, the solution generating portion 274 generates the solutions each time the subject data is received by the interface portion 271 . The solution of this embodiment is a matrix (X) with 8 rows and 8 columns although it is not limited thereto.
[0155] According to this embodiment, the solution generating portion 274 generates the solutions successively as if in nonlinear transition though it does not always have to be the case. The solutions consequently become the pseudo-random numbers.
[0156] To generate the solutions successively as if in nonlinear transition, there are thinkable techniques, such as (1) including exponential calculation of the past solutions in the process of generating the solutions, (2) including multiplication of two or more past solutions in the process of generating the solutions, or a combination of (1) and (2).
[0157] According to this embodiment, the solution generating portion 274 has a 01 st solution (X 01 ) and a 02 nd solution (X 02 ) predetermined as initial matrixes (for instance, the 01 st solution and 02 nd solution are recorded in a predetermined memory such as the HDD 23 or the ROM 22 ). The initial matrixes each first data processing apparatuses 11 has are different from one another, and so the solutions generated by the first data processing apparatuses 11 are different from one another.
[0158] Each of the multiple encryption apparatuses 27 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 has the same initial matrix as that of the first data processing apparatus 11 associated with each of the multiple encryption apparatuses 27 A.
[0159] The solution generating portion 274 assigns the initial matrixes to the solution generating algorithm and generates a 1 st solution (X 1 ) as follows.
[0000] 1 st solution ( X 1 )= X 02 X 01 +α (α=matrix with 8 rows and 8 columns)
[0160] This is the solution generated first.
[0161] Next, when the interface portion 271 receives the subject data from the bus 29 , the solution generating portion 274 generates a 2 nd solution (X 2 ) as follows.
[0000] 2 nd solution ( X 2 )= X 1 X 02 +α
[0162] Similarly, each time the interface portion 271 receives the subject data from the bus 29 , the solution generating portion 274 generates 3 rd , 4 th , . . . N th solutions as follows.
[0000] 3 rd solution ( X 3 )= X 2 X 1 +α
[0000] 4 th solution ( X 4 )= X 3 X 2 +α . .
[0000] N th solution ( X N )= X N−1 X N−2 +α
[0165] The solutions thus generated are transmitted to the preprocessing portion 272 , the algorithm generating portion 275 , the key generating portion 276 and are also held in the solution generating portion 274 . To generate the N th solution (X N ), this embodiment uses an (N−1) th solution (X N−1 ) and an (N−2) th solution (X N−2 ), that is, the two solutions generated immediately before then. Therefore, to generate the new solution, the solution generating portion 274 must hold the two nearest preceding solutions generated in the past (or else, the two solutions must be held by some other portion than the solution generating portion 274 ). Inversely, the solutions older than the two nearest preceding solutions generated in the past are not to be used to generate the new solution from now on. Thus, this embodiment always holds the two past solutions in the solution generating portion 274 . However, this embodiment erases the solution which is now the third nearest preceding solution due to the generation of the new solution but was the second nearest preceding solution till then from the predetermined memory or the like in which it was recorded.
[0166] The solutions thus generated are chaotic in nonlinear transition, and are also the pseudo-random numbers.
[0167] To cause the nonlinear transition, it is thinkable, when acquiring the N th solution, to use the following formulas other than the above-mentioned formula: N th solution (X N )=X N−1 X N−2 +α.
[0168] For instance:
[0000] (a) N th solution ( X N )=( X N−1 ) P
[0000] (b) N th solution ( X N )=( X N−1 ) P ( X N−2 ) Q ( X N−3 ) R ( X N−4 ) S
[0000] (c) N th solution ( X N )=( X N−1 ) P +( X N−2 ) Q
[0169] P, Q, R and S are predetermined constants respectively. The solution generating portion 274 has two initial matrixes in the case of using the formula (a) or (c), and has four initial matrixes in the case of using the formula (b).
[0170] The above-mentioned α is a constant. However, it may also be specific changing environmental information. The environmental information is the information naturally generated in sequence as time elapses and commonly obtainable at distant places, such as the information determined based on weather of a specific region, information determined based on the contents of a TV broadcast of a TV station broadcasted at a specific time and information determined based on a result of a specific sport.
[0171] It is possible to further improve confidentiality of the communication by creating the above-mentioned α in series and generating common information.
[0172] It is also possible, as a matter of course, to add α (may be generated from the environmental information) to right sides of the formulas (a) to (c).
[0173] As described above, the preprocessing portion 272 having received the solutions (that is, the above-mentioned solutions) decides which of the above-mentioned methods of A), B) and C) should be used to generate the plain text cut data. According to this embodiment, the plain text cut data is generated by the method A) in the case where, in dividing the sum of adding up the numbers configuring the matrix with 8 rows and 8 columns as the solutions by 3, a remainder thereof is 0, by the method B) in the case where the remainder is 1, and by the method C) in the case where the remainder is 2, though it does not always have to be the case.
[0174] In the case of generating the plain text cut data by the method A), the preprocessing portion 272 cuts the subject data received from the interface portion 271 by the predetermined number of bits (7 bits in this embodiment) shorter than the standard number of bits in order from the head to generate the plain text cut data. The preprocessing portion 272 embeds the dummy data at a fixed position of the plain text cut data. The positions of the plain text cut data for embedding the dummy data may be either variable or fixed. In the latter case, the position at which the dummy data is embedded may be the head or the end of the plain text cut data or a predetermined intermediate position such as a second bit or a third bit. The dummy data may be any data as long as it is irrelevant data to the subject data. For instance, there are thinkable processes, such as constantly embedding the data of 0 or the data of 1, or alternately embedding the data of 1 and 0. As a further example, it is possible to decide what dummy data is to be embedded based on the above-mentioned solutions. For instance, if the sum of the numbers configuring the matrix with 8 rows and 8 columns as the solutions added up is divided by 9 and the remainder thereof is 0, it is possible to continue 0, such as 0, 0, 0, 0 . . . If the remainder is 1, it is possible to put in 1 alternately, such as 0, 1, 0, 1 . . . If the remainder is 2, it is possible to put in 1 at every third place, such as 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1 . . . Likewise, it is possible to put in 1 at every fourth place if the remainder is 3, put in 1 at every fifth place if the remainder is 4, and put in 1 at every tenth place if the remainder is 9.
[0175] In the case of generating the plain text cut data by the method B), the preprocessing portion 272 cuts the subject data by the predetermined number of bits (7 bits for instance) shorter than the standard number of bits to render it as the plain text cut data, and includes the dummy data at different positions of respective pieces of the plain text cut data all of which have the number of bits shorter than the standard number of bits. In this case, the positions at which the dummy data is embedded may be fixed or regularly changing, such as moving in order of the first bit, second bit, third bit . . . eighth bit, first bit, second bit, . . . eighth bit, or randomly changing as to each piece of the plain text cut data. If the positions at which the dummy data is embedded randomly change, the positions may be decided based on the solutions for instance.
[0176] As for the method of deciding the positions at which the dummy data is embedded by means of the solutions, it is possible to perform the following process for instance. If the sum of the numbers configuring the matrix with 8 rows and 8 columns as the solutions added up is divided by 8 and the remainder thereof is 0, the dummy data is embedded alternately at the head and the end of the pieces of the plain text cut data. If the remainder is 1, the plain text cut data having the dummy data embedded at the head and the plain text cut data having the dummy data embedded at the end are arranged to be at every third place. If the remainder is 2, the plain text cut data having the dummy data embedded at the head and the plain text cut data having the dummy data embedded at the end are arranged to be at every fourth place. If the remainder is 7, the plain text cut data having the dummy data embedded at the head and the plain text cut data having the dummy data embedded at the end are arranged to be at every ninth place. It is also possible to further move the positions at which the dummy data is embedded rather than fixing the positions such as the head and end.
[0177] In the case of generating the plain text cut data by the method C), the subject data is cut to be the standard number of bits or the number of bits shorter than the standard number of bits. This cutting can be performed by cutting the subject data to a random length shorter than 8 bits. For instance, if the sum of the numbers configuring the matrix with 8 rows and 8 columns as the solutions added up is divided by 8 and the remainder thereof is 0, the head of the subject data at that point in time can be cut by 8 bits. If the remainder is 1, the head of the subject data at that point in time can be cut by 1 bit. If the remainder is 2, the head of the subject data at that point in time can be cut by 2 bits. If the remainder is 7, the head of the subject data at that point in time can be cut by 7 bits. Of the plain text cut data thus generated, the preprocessing portion 272 embeds the dummy data in each piece of the plain text cut data of which number of bits is shorter than the standard number of bits. In this case, an embedding position of the dummy data may be a same position such as the head or the end or a predetermined changing position specified by the solutions for instance.
[0178] In any case, the plain text cut data thus generated is transmitted to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 as a stream in order of generation.
[0179] In parallel with the generation of the plain text cut data, the algorithm generating portion 275 generates the algorithm used on encrypting the plain text cut data.
[0180] According to this embodiment, the algorithm generating portion 275 generates the algorithm based on the solutions.
[0181] According to this embodiment, the algorithm generating portion 275 generates the algorithm as follows.
[0182] The algorithm of this embodiment is defined as “in the case where the plain text cut data as 8-bit data is considered as a matrix Y with 1 row and 8 columns, it is acquired by multiplying by Y the matrix X with 8 rows and 8 columns as the solutions raised to the a-th power and turned clockwise by n×90°.”
[0183] Here, there are the cases where a is a predetermined constant. According to this embodiment, however, a is a number changing based on the solutions. To be more specific, the algorithm of this embodiment changes based on the solutions. For instance, a can be defined as the remainder in the case of dividing by 5 the number acquired by adding up all the numbers as elements of the matrix included in the solutions which are the matrix with 8 rows and 8 columns (provided that it is a=1 in the case where the remainder is 0).
[0184] The above-mentioned n is a predetermined number defined by the key. If the key is a constant number, n is fixed. As described below, however, the key changes based on the solutions. To be more specific, this n also changes based on the solutions according to this embodiment.
[0185] It is also possible to decide on another algorithm.
[0186] According to this embodiment, the algorithm generating portion 275 generates the algorithm each time it receives the solutions from the solution generating portion 274 , and transmits it to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 .
[0187] In parallel with the generation of the plain text cut data, the key generating portion 276 generates the key used on encrypting the plain text cut data.
[0188] The key generating portion 276 generates the key based on the solutions.
[0189] According to this embodiment, the key generating portion 276 generates the key as the following.
[0190] The key of this embodiment is the number acquired by adding up all the numbers as the elements of the matrix included in the solutions which are the matrix with 8 rows and 8 columns. Therefore, the key changes based on the solutions according to this embodiment.
[0191] It is also possible to decide on another key.
[0192] According to this embodiment, the key generating portion 276 generates the key each time it receives the solutions from the solution generating portion 274 , and transmits it to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 .
[0193] The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 encrypts the plain text cut data received from the preprocessing portion 272 based on the algorithm received from the algorithm generating portion 275 and the key received from the key generating portion 276 (S 1103 ).
[0194] As described above, the algorithm is defined as “in the case where the plain text cut data as 8-bit data is considered as a matrix Y with 1 row and 8 columns, it is acquired by multiplying by Y the matrix X with 8 rows and 8 columns as the solutions raised to the a-th power and turned clockwise by n×90°,” and n as the key is the above-mentioned number.
[0195] If a is 3 and n is 6 for instance, the encryption is performed by multiplying by the plain text cut data the matrix with 8 rows and 8 columns acquired by turning the matrix with 8 rows and 8 columns acquired by cubing X clockwise by 6×90°=540°.
[0196] The data thus generated is the encrypted cut data.
[0197] The encrypted cut data is transmitted to the connecting portion 277 . The connecting portion 277 connects the encrypted cut data as one, and generates the encrypted data (S 1104 ). Sorting order of the encrypted cut data in this case is corresponding to the sorting order of the original plain text cut data.
[0198] Thus, the step S 110 in which the first data processing apparatus 11 encrypts the subject data to generate the encrypted data is finished first.
[0199] The encrypted data thus generated is transmitted to the communication apparatus 28 in the first data processing apparatus 11 via the bus 29 . The encrypted data is received by the interface portion 281 in the communication apparatus 28 to be transmitted to the authentication data generating portion 282 . The authentication data generating portion 282 adds the authentication data to the header of the encrypted data, and transmits the encrypted data to the communication portion 283 .
[0200] The communication portion 283 transmits the encrypted data to the second data processing apparatus 12 via the network 13 . The above-mentioned step S 120 is thereby performed.
[0201] In the second data processing apparatus 12 having received the encrypted data, the step S 130 of decrypting the encrypted data and changing it back to the subject data is performed.
[0202] Hereunder, this decryption step will be described in detail by referring to FIG. 11 .
[0203] The encrypted data transmitted to the second data processing apparatus 12 is received by the communication portion 283 of the communication apparatus 28 of the second data processing apparatus 12 (S 1201 ).
[0204] The communication portion 283 transmits the encrypted data to the authentication portion 284 . The authentication portion 284 determines which first data processing apparatus 11 the encrypted data comes from based on the authentication data added to the encrypted data (S 1202 ).
[0205] After such a determination is made by the authentication portion 284 , the encrypted data is transmitted to the interface portion 281 . The interface portion 281 transmits the encrypted data to the encryption apparatuses 27 A associated with the first data processing apparatus 11 determined to be the transmission source of the encrypted data by the authentication portion 284 .
[0206] The preprocessing portion 272 A in the encryption apparatus 27 A receives the encrypted data via the interface portion 271 A.
[0207] The preprocessing portion 272 A cuts the received encrypted data by a predetermined number of bits, and generates the encrypted cut data (S 1203 ).
[0208] In the case of cutting the encrypted data and generating the encrypted cut data, the preprocessing portion 272 A performs a process reverse to the process performed by the connecting portion 277 of the first data processing apparatus 11 . To be more specific, the encrypted data is cut by 8 bits from the head to be divided into multiple pieces of the encrypted cut data.
[0209] Next, the encrypted cut data is transmitted to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A, where it is decrypted and rendered as the plain text cut data (S 1204 ).
[0210] The decryption is performed as a process reverse to the process performed by the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 of the first data processing apparatus 11 . For that reason, the second data processing apparatus 12 requires the algorithm and key required on performing the encryption on the first data processing apparatus 11 .
[0211] The algorithm and key used for the decryption are generated inside the encryption apparatus 27 A. Working thereof will be described.
[0212] The information that the interface portion 271 A of the encryption apparatus 27 A received the encrypted data is transmitted to the solution generating portion 274 A. The solution generating portion 274 A having received this information takes this opportunity to generate the solutions each time it receives this information.
[0213] The generation of the solutions performed by the solution generating portion 274 A in the encryption apparatus 27 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 is performed through the same step as the step performed by the solution generating portion 274 of the first data processing apparatus 11 . As described above, the solution generating portion 274 A has the same initial matrix and solution generating algorithm as those of the solution generating portion 274 of the first data processing apparatus 11 associated with the encryption apparatus 27 A including the solution generating portion 274 A. Therefore, the solutions generated in the encryption apparatus 27 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 are the same as the solutions generated in the corresponding encryption apparatus 27 A of the first data processing apparatus 11 if the data in the same order of generation is compared.
[0214] The generated solutions are transmitted from the solution generating portion 274 A to the preprocessing portion 272 A, algorithm generating portion 275 A and key generating portion 276 A.
[0215] The algorithm generating portion 275 A generates the algorithm based on the received solution each time it receives the solutions. The step in which the algorithm generating portion 275 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 generates the algorithm is the same as the step in which the algorithm generating portion 275 of the first data processing apparatus 11 generates the algorithm. The generated algorithm is transmitted from the algorithm generating portion 275 A to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A.
[0216] The key generating portion 276 A generates the key based on the received solutions each time it receives the solutions. The step in which the key generating portion 276 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 generates the key is the same as the step in which the key generating portion 276 of the first data processing apparatus 11 generates the key. The generated key is transmitted from the key generating portion 276 A to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A.
[0217] As for this data processing system, new solutions are generated on the first data processing apparatus 11 each time the encryption is performed on the first data processing apparatus 11 , and new solutions are also generated on the second data processing apparatus 12 each time the solutions generated on the first data processing apparatus 11 are decrypted on the second data processing apparatus 12 . As described above, the solutions generated by the encryption apparatus 27 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 are the same as the solutions generated by the corresponding encryption apparatus 27 in the first data processing apparatus 11 if the data in the same order of generation is compared. Therefore, all the solutions generated when encrypting certain subject data on the first data processing apparatus 11 and the algorithms and keys generated based on those solutions constantly match with the solutions generated by the encryption apparatus 27 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 and the algorithms and keys generated based on those solutions when decrypting the encrypted data generated on the first data processing apparatus 11 by using the algorithms and keys generated based on the solutions. These circumstances are the same even when the encryption is performed on the second data processing apparatus 12 and the decryption is performed on the first data processing apparatus 11 .
[0218] As described above, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A performs the decryption process by using the algorithm received from the algorithm generating portion 275 A. To be more precise, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A performs the decryption process by generating the algorithm for performing the decryption process (defined as “in the case where the encrypted cut data is considered as a matrix Z with 1 row and 8 columns, the plain text cut data is acquired by multiplying by Y an inverse matrix of the matrix X with 8 rows and 8 columns as the solution raised to the a-th power and turned clockwise by n×90°”) based on the algorithm received from the algorithm generating portion 275 A (defined as “in the case where the plain text cut data as 8-bit data is considered as a matrix Y with 1 row and 8 columns, the encrypted cut data is acquired by multiplying by Y the matrix X with 8 rows and 8 columns as the solution raised to the a-th power and turned clockwise by n×90°”) and performing calculation according to the above-mentioned definition by using the key. Thus, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A decrypts the encrypted cut data provided as a stream from the preprocessing portion 272 A one after another so as to generate the plain text cut data.
[0219] Next, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A removes the dummy data from the plain text cut data as required (S 1205 ). As described above, the solutions generated by the solution generating portion 274 A are transmitted to the preprocessing portion 272 A. These solutions were used when determining how the dummy data was embedded in the plain text cut data in the preprocessing portion 272 of the first data processing apparatus 11 . To be more specific, the solutions held by the preprocessing portion 272 A of the encryption apparatus 27 A at that point in time indicate how the dummy data was embedded in the encrypted cut data (to be more precise, the plain text cut data before the encrypted cut data was encrypted) of which decryption is finished (or being performed or just to be performed) by the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 .
[0220] The preprocessing portion 272 A transmits to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A the information on where in the plain text cut data decrypted by the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A the dummy data is embedded.
[0221] The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A removes the dummy data from the plain text cut data by using the information.
[0222] The plain text cut data thus generated is transmitted to the connecting portion 277 A. The connecting portion 277 A connects the received plain text cut data as one and changes it back to the subject data in the original state before being encrypted on the first data processing apparatus 11 (S 1206 ).
[0223] Thus, the step S 130 in which the second data processing apparatus 12 decrypts the encrypted data and changes it back to the subject data is finished.
[0224] The generated subject data is transmitted from the connecting portion 277 A to the interface portion 271 A, and is then transmitted to the encryption apparatus 27 B via the bus 29 .
[0225] Here, the encryption apparatus 27 B performs the process of the above-mentioned step S 140 of re-encrypting the decrypted subject data to render it as the encrypted data.
[0226] The encryption process of the encryption apparatus 27 B is performed in approximately the same flow as that of the first data processing apparatus 11 ( FIG. 12 ).
[0227] The subject data transmitted to the encryption apparatus 27 B is received by the interface portion 271 B (S 1301 ).
[0228] The interface portion 271 B transmits it to the preprocessing portion 272 B.
[0229] The preprocessing portion 272 B cuts the received subject data by a predetermined number of bits, and generates the plain text cut data (S 1302 ). The method of cutting the subject data in this case does not have to be the same as that of the encryption apparatus 27 and encryption apparatus 27 A. According to this embodiment, however, the same process as that described about the encryption apparatus 27 and encryption apparatus 27 A is performed to cut the subject data. The preprocessing portion 272 B performs the same process as that described about the encryption apparatus 27 so as to include the dummy data in the plain text cut data as required.
[0230] Next, the plain text cut data is transmitted to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B. The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B encrypts it to rendered as the encrypted cut data (S 1303 ).
[0231] Here, the algorithm and key to be used for the encryption are generated as in the case of the encryption apparatus 27 . The solutions are also generated before this as in the case of the encryption apparatus 27 . The flow from the generation of the solutions to the generation of the algorithm and key will be described hereunder.
[0232] When the interface portion 271 B receives the subject data from the bus 29 , the solution generating portion 274 B receives that information from the interface portion 271 B. The solution generating portion 274 B should generate the solutions in appropriate timing. If the solution generating portion 274 B of this embodiment receives the information on reception of the subject data from the interface portion 271 B, it takes that opportunity to generate the solutions. Details of the generation of the solutions are the same as those described about the encryption apparatus 27 .
[0233] The generated solutions are transmitted to the algorithm generating portion 275 B and key generating portion 276 B.
[0234] The algorithm generating portion 275 B and key generating portion 276 B generate the algorithm and key by performing the same process as that performed by the algorithm generating portion 275 and key generating portion 276 of the encryption apparatus 27 . The generated algorithm and key are transmitted to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B from the algorithm generating portion 275 B or the key generating portion 276 B.
[0235] The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B receives the algorithm from the algorithm generating portion 275 B and the key from the key generating portion 276 B respectively, and sequentially encrypts the plain text cut data received from the preprocessing portion 272 B (S 1303 ).
[0236] Details of the encryption are the same as those described about the encryption apparatus 27 .
[0237] The generated encrypted cut data is sequentially transmitted to the connecting portion 277 B.
[0238] The connecting portion 277 B connects the encrypted cut data as one to render it as the encrypted data (S 1304 ). The encrypted data is transmitted to the specific information generating portion 278 B.
[0239] The specific information generating portion 278 B adds the above-mentioned specific information to the header, for instance, of the received encrypted data (S 1305 ).
[0240] The encrypted data having the specific information added thereto is transmitted to the bus 29 via the interface portion 271 B to be recorded on the HDD 23 in the second data processing apparatus 12 .
[0241] Next, when the first data processing apparatus 11 sends the second data processing apparatus 12 an instruction to send back the encrypted data recorded on the HDD 23 in the second data processing apparatus 12 to the first data processing apparatus 11 for instance, the second data processing apparatus 12 performs the following process.
[0242] First, the encryption apparatus 27 B reads the encrypted data from the HDD 23 and decrypts the encrypted data to change it back to the subject data, thereby performing the above-mentioned process of S 150 . Details of this process will be described by referring to FIG. 13 .
[0243] To be more precise, the interface portion 271 B of the encryption apparatus 27 B of the second data processing apparatus 12 reads the encrypted data from the HDD 23 via the bus 29 (S 1401 ).
[0244] The interface portion 271 B transmits the encrypted data to the preprocessing portion 272 B. The preprocessing portion 272 B cuts the received encrypted data by a predetermined number of bits to generate the encrypted cut data (S 1402 ).
[0245] In the case of generating the encrypted cut data by cutting the encrypted data, the preprocessing portion 272 B performs the same process as the above-mentioned process performed by the preprocessing portion 272 A of the encryption apparatus 27 A on performing the decryption. To be more specific, the encrypted data is cut by 8 bits from the head to be divided into multiple pieces of the encrypted cut data.
[0246] Next, the encrypted cut data is transmitted to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B.The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B decrypts it to rendered as the plain text cut data (S 1403 ).
[0247] The decryption is performed as the same process as the above-mentioned process performed by the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A of the encryption apparatus 27 A on performing the decryption. To perform such decryption, the second data processing apparatus 12 requires the algorithm and key.
[0248] The algorithm and key are generated as follows.
[0249] The interface portion 271 B of this embodiment can read the specific information added to the encrypted data. The specific information is the information for identifying the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data for having the specific information added thereto.
[0250] For instance, in the case where the specific information is the algorithm and key themselves used when encrypting the encrypted data, the interface portion 271 B reads the algorithm and key from the encrypted data and transmits them to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B via the preprocessing portion 272 B for instance. The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B decrypts the encrypted cut data based on the algorithm and key.
[0251] In the case where the specific information is the solutions used to generate the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data, the interface portion 271 B reads the solutions from the encrypted data so as to transmit them to the algorithm generating portion 275 B and the key generating portion 276 B. In this case, the algorithm generating portion 275 B and the key generating portion 276 B generate the algorithm and key based on the received solutions respectively. The algorithm and key match with the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data having the solutions added thereto. The algorithm generating portion 275 B and the key generating portion 276 B transmit the generated algorithm and key to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B. The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B decrypts the encrypted cut data based on the algorithm and key.
[0252] In the case where the specific information is the information indicating what number generated solutions are the solutions used on generating the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data, the interface portion 271 B reads the information from the encrypted data so as to transmit it to the solution generating portion 274 B. The solution generating portion 274 B having received the information generates the solutions up to the indicated order. The solutions match with those used when encrypting the encrypted data having the above-mentioned information added thereto. In this case, at least the initial matrixes should be held without being erased so that the solutions generated in the same order are always the same. The solution generating portion 274 B transmits the generated solutions to the algorithm generating portion 275 B and the key generating portion 276 B. The algorithm generating portion 275 B and the key generating portion 276 B generate the algorithm and key based on the received solutions respectively. The algorithm and key match with the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data having the solutions added thereto respectively. The algorithm generating portion 275 B and the key generating portion 276 B transmit the generated algorithm and key to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B. The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B decrypts the encrypted cut data based on the algorithm and key.
[0253] The encrypted cut data is changed back to the plain text cut data as described above.
[0254] Next, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B removes the dummy data from the plain text cut data as required (S 1404 ).
[0255] Here, if the dummy data included in the plain text cut data is included at an appropriate position based on the solutions, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B requires the solutions used on encrypting the plain text cut data last time when removing the dummy data. In the case where the specific information is the solutions used when the plain text cut data was encrypted last time, the interface portion 271 B transmits the solutions to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B. In the case where the specific information is the information indicating what number generated solutions are the solutions used when the plain text cut data was encrypted last time, the solution generating portion 274 B transmits the generated solutions to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B. The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B removes the dummy data included at the appropriate position based on the solutions by using the solutions.
[0256] In the case of including the dummy data included in the plain text cut data at an appropriate position based on the solutions, it is not desirable to render the specific information as the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data. It is because, if rendered so, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B cannot obtain the solutions so that the dummy data cannot be removed.
[0257] The plain text cut data from which the dummy data has been removed is transmitted to the connecting portion 277 B. The plain text cut data is connected as one by the connecting portion 277 B to be changed back to the subject data (S 1405 ).
[0258] The plain text cut data is transmitted to the bus 29 via the interface portion 271 B, and is then transmitted to the encryption apparatus 27 A associated with the first data processing apparatus 11 which requested transmission of the encrypted data as a source of the plain text cut data.
[0259] On receiving this, the encryption apparatus 27 A performs the above-mentioned process of S 160 of encrypting the subject data to render it as the encrypted data.
[0260] The encryption apparatus 27 A performs this process as the same one as the process described in S 110 performed by the encryption apparatus 27 of the first data processing apparatus 11 on rendering the subject data as the encrypted data.
[0261] The encrypted data generated on the encryption apparatus 27 A is transmitted to the communication apparatus 28 of the second data processing apparatuses 12 via the bus 29 , and is transmitted from there to the communication apparatus 28 of the first data processing apparatus 11 which requested transmission of the encrypted data via the network 13 . This corresponds to the above-mentioned process of S 170 .
[0262] The encrypted data is decrypted on the encryption apparatus 27 in the first data processing apparatus 11 . This is the above-mentioned process of S 180 . The encryption apparatus 27 performs this process as the same process as the process described in S 130 performed by the encryption apparatus 27 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 on decrypting the encrypted data as the subject data.
[0263] In short, the encryption apparatus 27 built into each of the first data processing apparatuses 11 of this embodiment and the encryption apparatus 27 A in the second data processing apparatuses 12 associated with that first data processing apparatus 11 are capable of mutually decrypting the encrypted data encrypted by the other.
[0264] The subject data decrypted and generated on the encryption apparatus 27 in the first data processing apparatus 11 is the same as the data which was on the HDD 23 in the first data processing apparatus 11 before the process of S 110 was performed. The subject data is recorded on the HDD 23 in the first data processing apparatus 11 for instance. The first data processing apparatus 11 can use it as appropriate.
Second Embodiment
[0265] There is only one data processing apparatus according to the second embodiment.
[0266] The hardware configuration of the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first data processing apparatus 11 of the first embodiment. However, the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment does not need to communicate, and so it does not have the communication apparatus 28 provided to the first data processing apparatus 11 .
[0267] To be more specific, the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment includes a CPU 21 , an ROM 22 , an HDD 23 , an RAM 24 , an input apparatus 25 , a display apparatus 26 , an encryption apparatus 27 and a bus 29 . The functions thereof basically match with the functions of the CPU 21 , ROM 22 , HDD 23 , RAM 24 , input apparatus 25 , display apparatus 26 , encryption apparatus 27 and bus 29 of the first data processing apparatus 11 .
[0268] The configuration of the encryption apparatus 27 of the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment is almost the same as the configuration of the encryption apparatus 27 built into the first data processing apparatus 11 of the first embodiment (shown in FIG. 4 ). However, it is different from the encryption apparatus 27 of the first embodiment in that the algorithm generating portion 275 is replaced by a first algorithm generating portion 275 X and a second algorithm generating portion 275 Y, and the key generating portion 276 is replaced by a first key generating portion 276 X and a second key generating portion 276 Y ( FIG. 14 ).
[0269] The data processing apparatus of the second embodiment performs the processes of encrypting the subject data recorded on the HDD 23 with the encryption apparatus 27 , recording the encrypted data generated by the encryption on the HDD 23 , decrypting the encrypted data recorded on the HDD 23 with the encryption apparatus 27 and recording the subject data generated by the decryption on the HDD 23 as will be described later. According to the second embodiment multiple pieces of the encrypted data are decrypted, and the order of decrypting the encrypted data matches with the order in which the encrypted data was encrypted from the subject data.
[0270] There arise the differences, in conjunction with this point, between the encryption apparatus 27 of the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment and the encryption apparatus 27 built into the first data processing apparatus 11 of the first embodiment.
[0271] The encryption apparatus 27 of the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment has the configuration shown in FIG. 14 as described above.
[0272] The encryption apparatus 27 in the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment has an interface portion 271 , a preprocessing portion 272 , an encrypting and decrypting portion 273 , a solution generating portion 274 and a connecting portion 277 , which have basically the same functions as those in the encryption apparatus 27 of the first data processing apparatus 11 of the first embodiment. The interface portion 271 exchanges the data between the bus 29 and the communication apparatus 28 .
[0273] The preprocessing portion 272 cuts the subject data or encrypted data received from the bus 29 via the interface portion 271 by a predetermined number of bits to generate the plain text cut data or the encrypted cut data and transmits them to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 . The preprocessing portion 272 may include the dummy data in the plain text cut data.
[0274] The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 receives the plain text cut data or encrypted cut data from the preprocessing portion 272 , encrypts the plain text cut data if received and decrypts the encrypted cut data if received. The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 has the standard number of bits as the processing unit for performing the processing of the encryption and decryption fixed at 8 bits according to this embodiment.
[0275] The solution generating portion 274 sequentially generates the solutions. According to this embodiment, the solutions are generated each time the preprocessing portion 272 receives the subject data. The solutions are pseudo-random numbers.
[0276] The connecting portion 277 has a function of connecting the plain text cut data generated by decrypting the encrypted cut data in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 in original order to render it as a set of the subject data. The connecting portion 277 also has a function of connecting the encrypted cut data generated by encrypting the plain text cut data in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 to render it as a set of the encrypted data.
[0277] The first algorithm generating portion 275 X generates the algorithm based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 . The algorithm is used when performing the encryption. The second algorithm generating portion 275 Y generates the algorithm based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 . The algorithm is used when performing the decryption. The first algorithm generating portion 275 X and the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y generate the same algorithm in the case of generating the algorithm by using the same solutions.
[0278] The first key generating portion 276 X generates the key based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 . The key is used when performing the encryption. The second key generating portion 276 Y generates the key based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 . The key is used when performing the decryption. The first key generating portion 276 X and the second key generating portion 276 Y generate the same key in the case of generating the key by using the same solutions.
[0279] According to this embodiment, the first algorithm generating portion 275 X and the first key generating portion 276 X generate the algorithm and key each time the preprocessing portion 272 receives the subject data. And the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y and the second key generating portion 276 Y generate the algorithm and key each time the preprocessing portion 272 receives the encrypted data.
[0280] Operations of the data processing apparatuses of the second embodiment will be described by using FIG. 15 .
[0281] First, the subject data is read (S 1501 ). The subject data is read from the HDD 23 according to this embodiment. The subject data is transmitted to the encryption apparatus 27 from the HDD 23 via the bus 29 . To be more precise, the subject data is transmitted to the preprocessing portion 272 via the interface portion 271 .
[0282] The subject data is cut by a predetermined number of bits to be rendered as the plain text cut data in the preprocessing portion 272 (S 1502 ). The preprocessing portion 272 includes the dummy data in the plain text cut data as required.
[0283] The method of generating the plain text cut data from the subject data is the same as that described in S 1102 of the first embodiment.
[0284] On receiving the information on reception of the subject data from the interface portion 271 , the solution generating portion 274 takes the opportunity to generate the solutions. The solutions may be generated each time the subject data is cut in the preprocessing portion 272 . In this case, the generation of the subject data in the preprocessing portion 272 is synchronized with the generation of the solutions in the solution generating portion 274 .
[0285] The method of generating the solutions of this embodiment is the same as the method performed by the solution generating portion 274 when the first data processing apparatus 11 of the first embodiment performed the encryption.
[0286] The generated solutions are transmitted to the first algorithm generating portion 275 X, second algorithm generating portion 275 Y, first key generating portion 276 X and second key generating portion 276 Y.
[0287] The first algorithm generating portion 275 X and first key generating portion 276 X having received this generate the algorithm and key respectively. The method of generating the algorithm and key of this embodiment is the same as the method performed by the algorithm generating portion 275 and key generating portion 276 when the first data processing apparatus 11 of the first embodiment generated the algorithm and key.
[0288] The first algorithm generating portion 275 X and first key generating portion 276 X transmit the generated algorithm and key to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 .
[0289] The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 encrypts the plain text cut data received from the preprocessing portion 272 based on the algorithm received from the first algorithm generating portion 275 X and the key received from the first key generating portion 276 X (S 1503 ). This process is performed as the same process as that of S 1103 described in the first embodiment.
[0290] The encrypted cut data thus generated is transmitted to the connecting portion 277 and connected as one there to be rendered as the encrypted data (S 1504 ).
[0291] The encrypted data generated as above is recorded on the HDD 23 in the data processing apparatus via the bus 29 .
[0292] Such an encryption process is performed a number of times in this embodiment.
[0293] The data processing apparatus decrypts the encrypted data recorded on the HDD 23 .
[0294] Hereunder, the step of the decryption will be described in detail by referring to FIG. 16 .
[0295] The decryption is started by having the encrypted data recorded on the HDD 23 read by the encryption apparatus 27 (S 1601 ).
[0296] If the preprocessing portion 272 in the encryption apparatus 27 receives the encrypted data from the HDD 23 via the interface portion 271 , the preprocessing portion 272 cuts the received encrypted data by a predetermined number of bits to generate the encrypted cut data (S 1602 ).
[0297] In the case of generating the encrypted cut data by cutting the encrypted data, the preprocessing portion 272 performs a process reverse to the process performed as the above-mentioned encryption process. To be more specific, the encrypted data is cut by 8 bits from the head to be divided into multiple pieces of the encrypted cut data. This process is the same process as that of S 1203 of the first embodiment.
[0298] Next, the encrypted cut data is transmitted to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 , where it is decrypted and rendered as the plain text cut data (S 1603 ).
[0299] The decryption is performed as a process reverse to the above-mentioned encryption process performed by the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 . For that reason, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 requires the algorithm and key used on performing the encryption. Here, the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y generates the algorithm and the second key generating portion 276 Y generates the key by using the solutions generated in advance. As the order in which the encrypted data is decrypted matches with the order in which the encrypted data was encrypted from the subject data, the algorithm and key generated by the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y and the second key generating portion 276 Y are generated based on the solutions used when encrypting the encrypted data about to be decrypted. It means that the algorithm generated by the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y and the key generated by the second key generating portion 276 Y match with the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data about to be decrypted.
[0300] After having the solutions generated by the solution generating portion 274 , the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y and the second key generating portion 276 Y may generate the algorithm and key in any timing before the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 requires the algorithm and key for the sake of performing the decryption.
[0301] The algorithm generated by the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y and the key generated by the second key generating portion 276 Y are transmitted to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 . The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 uses the algorithm and key to sequentially decrypt the encrypted cut data and render it as the plain text cut data. This process is performed as the same process as the process described in S 1204 of the first embodiment.
[0302] Next, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 removes the dummy data from the plain text cut data as required (S 1604 ). This process is performed as the same process as the process in S 1205 of the first embodiment.
[0303] The plain text cut data thus generated is transmitted to the connecting portion 277 . The connecting portion 277 connects the received plain text cut data as one and generates the subject data (S 1605 ).
[0304] The generated subject data is transmitted from the connecting portion 277 to the interface portion 271 , and is then recorded on the HDD 23 via the bus 29 .
Deformed Example
[0305] The data processing apparatus of the second embodiment may be deformed as follows.
[0306] The data processing apparatus of this deformed example has a configuration of the encryption apparatus 27 slightly different from the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment. Otherwise, it is the same as the above-mentioned data processing apparatus of the second embodiment.
[0307] The encryption apparatus 27 of the deformed example is configured as shown in FIG. 17 . This encryption apparatus 27 is different from the encryption apparatus 27 of the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment having only one solution generating portion 274 in that it has two solution generating portions of a first solution generating portion 274 X and a second solution generating portion 274 Y.
[0308] Both the first solution generating portion 274 X and second solution generating portion 274 Y generate the solutions as with the solution generating portion 274 of the second embodiment.
[0309] On receiving the information from the interface portion 271 that the interface portion 271 received the subject data, the first solution generating portion 274 X takes the opportunity to generate the solutions. The first solution generating portion 274 X may also generate the solutions each time the subject data is cut in the preprocessing portion 272 . The solutions generated by the first solution generating portion 274 X are transmitted to the first algorithm generating portion 275 X and first key generating portion 276 X. As in the case of the second embodiment, the first algorithm generating portion 275 X and first key generating portion 276 X having received the solutions generate the algorithm and key respectively, and transmit them to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 . The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 performs the encryption process by using the algorithm and the key received from the first algorithm generating portion 275 X and first key generating portion 276 X.
[0310] On receiving the information from the interface portion 271 that the interface portion 271 received the encrypted data, the second solution generating portion 274 Y generates the solutions. However, the second solution generating portion 274 Y may also generate the solutions each time the encrypted data is cut in the preprocessing portion 272 . The solutions generated by the second solution generating portion 274 Y are transmitted to the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y and second key generating portion 276 Y. As in the case of the second embodiment, the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y and second key generating portion 276 Y having received the solutions generate the algorithm and key respectively, and transmit them to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 . The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 performs the decryption process by using the algorithm and key received from the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y and second key generating portion 276 Y.
[0311] The solutions generated by the second solution generating portion 274 Y are the same solutions as those generated by the first solution generating portion 274 X if the solutions generated in the same order are mutually compared. On this point, it is the same as the first embodiment wherein the solution generating portion 274 in the encryption apparatus 27 built into the first data processing apparatus 11 and the solution generating portion 274 A in the encryption apparatus 27 A built into the second data processing apparatuses 12 generate the same solutions if the solutions generated in the same order are mutually compared. To be more specific, the second solution generating portion 274 Y and the first solution generating portion 274 X of the deformed example have the same solution generating algorithm and also have the same initial matrix.
[0312] The data processing apparatus of this deformed example performs the same processes as the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment except the processes of generating the solutions and generating the algorithm.
[0313] The encryption apparatuses of the second embodiment and the deformed example thereof may be replaced by the encryption apparatus 27 B of the first embodiment. | To improve a technology of encryption for a data processing apparatus in order to reduce a possibility of having communication broken by a third party. The data processing apparatus encrypts subject data to render it as encrypted data and records it on a predetermined recording medium, and also decrypts the encrypted data recorded on the recording medium to change it back to the subject data. When performing the encryption, an algorithm and a key to be used for the encryption are generated by using solutions which are sequentially generated by assigning past solutions to a solution generating algorithm. The solutions are erased at a stage where it is no longer necessary to assign them to the solution generating algorithm anew. | Briefly summarize the invention's components and working principles as described in the document. | [
"TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a data processing apparatus capable of encrypting subject data in plain text to render it as encrypted data and then recording it on a predetermined recording medium and also decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means, and applications thereof.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Nowadays, security relating to information is becoming increasingly important, and there is significantly growing demand for the above-mentioned data processing apparatus capable of encrypting the data of which contents should not desirably be known to a third party (referred to as “subject data”",
"in this specification) and recording it on a recording medium.",
"While various encryption techniques are proposed and put into practical use for the sake of keeping the subject data secret, it is difficult to prevent code breaking completely.",
"[0003] In general, the subject data is encrypted and recorded on the recording medium by cutting the subject data by a predetermined number of bits and recording encrypted data having pieces of the cut data encrypted respectively bound therein on a predetermined recording medium.",
"[0004] In the case of encrypting each piece of the cut data of the subject data, predetermined algorithm and key are generally used.",
"This algorithm is rendered very complicated to prevent the code breaking, and the key is also strictly managed so as not to be known to the outside.",
"No matter how complicated the algorithm is rendered or even if the key is changed, however, it is relatively easy, once the algorithm and key are known, to break the encrypted data by using the algorithm and key.",
"[0005] The inventors hereof studied encryption technology for many years and previously invented a data processing apparatus for successively generating at least one of the algorithm and key for performing the encryption and decryption.",
"[0006] This technique successively generates at least one of the algorithm and key for performing the encryption and decryption.",
"Even in the case where the algorithm or the key is known once, the algorithm or the key or both of them change thereafter.",
"Therefore, strength thereof is much higher than conventional encryption technology.",
"[0007] As for this technique, however, there is a weakness that, if some of the past algorithms or keys are known, it may be predictable how the algorithm or the key or both of them change from now on.",
"Thus, a possibility of being broken by a third party is not absolutely zero.",
"[0008] An object of the present invention is to improve the data processing apparatus for encrypting the subject data in plain text to render it as encrypted data and recording it on a predetermined recording medium so as to reduce the possibility of having communication broken by a third party.",
"DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION [0009] To achieve the object, the inventors hereof propose a first invention, a second invention and a third invention described below.",
"[0010] The first invention of the present invention is as follows.",
"[0011] The first invention is a data processing apparatus including encrypting means for encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data, recording means for recording the encrypted data, and decrypting means for decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data, comprising: solution generating means for sequentially generating new solutions in predetermined timing by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto;",
"algorithm generating means for sequentially generating new algorithms in predetermined timing by using the generated solutions;",
"and specific information recording means for recording specific information for identifying the algorithm used when encrypting the subject data in predetermined recording means by associating it with the encrypted data, and wherein: the solution generating means holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew.",
"[0012] The algorithm generating means of the data processing apparatus generates the algorithms in predetermined timing, such as each time the subject data is encrypted or the encrypted data is decrypted.",
"And the solution generating means of the data processing apparatus uses a predetermined solution obtained by assigning at least one of the past solutions to the solution generating algorithm in the case of generating the solution and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew.",
"[0013] In other word, the data processing apparatus successively generates the algorithms used for encryption and decryption by the algorithm generating means.",
"The algorithm generating means uses the “solutions”",
"in the case of generating the algorithms.",
"As described above, the solutions are generated by using the past solutions.",
"Furthermore, these solutions are erased once they become unnecessary to generate new solutions.",
"[0014] Therefore, the data processing apparatus has the past solutions erased one after another.",
"For this reason, even if the solutions at this point in time can be known by a third party, a third party cannot know the route which the solution has traced thereof.",
"[0015] For the above reason, there is only a little possibility that encrypted communication by this data processing apparatus may be broken by the third party.",
"[0016] The above-mentioned solutions may be pseudo-random numbers as a result.",
"[0017] The data processing apparatus of the above-mentioned first invention changes the algorithms.",
"However, it may also change the keys.",
"The same effects as in the above-mentioned case can thereby be obtained.",
"[0018] For instance, this is exemplified by a data processing apparatus including encrypting means for encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data, recording means for recording the encrypted data, and decrypting means for decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data, comprising: solution generating means for sequentially generating new solutions in predetermined timing by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto;",
"key generating means for sequentially generating new keys in predetermined timing by using the generated solutions;",
"and specific information recording means for recording specific information for identifying the key used when encrypting the subject data in predetermined recording means by associating it with the encrypted data, and wherein: the solution generating means holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew.",
"[0019] The data processing apparatus of the first invention may also be the one wherein: it comprises cutting means capable of cutting the subject data by a predetermined number of bits into multiple pieces of plain text cut data and also cutting the encrypted data into multiple pieces of encrypted cut data by the same number of bits by which the encrypted data is cut when encrypted;",
"the encrypting means adapted to encrypt the processing subject data by encrypting each piece of the plain text cut data cut the subject data by the cutting means to render it as the encrypted cut data, and the decrypting means adapted to decrypt by decrypting each piece of the encrypted cut data to render it as the plain text cut data;",
"and it also comprises connecting means for connecting multiple pieces of the encrypted cut data encrypted by the encrypting means into a series of the encrypted data and also connecting multiple pieces of the plain text cut data decrypted by the decrypting means into a series of the subject data.",
"[0020] In the data processing apparatus of the first invention comprising the algorithm generating means, the algorithm may be generated in any timing whatsoever.",
"[0021] For instance, the algorithm generating means may generate the algorithms each time the subject data is encrypted.",
"Thus, different algorithms are generated each time the processing subject data is encrypted, and so it is difficult for the third party to know the algorithms by analogy.",
"[0022] The algorithm generating means may generate the algorithms each time the plain text cut data is encrypted.",
"Thus, the algorithms are generated more frequently, and so it is more difficult for the third party to know the algorithms by analogy.",
"[0023] In the data processing apparatus of the first invention comprising the key generating means, the key may be generated in any timing whatsoever.",
"[0024] For instance, the key generating means may generate the keys each time the subject data is encrypted.",
"Thus, different keys are generated each time the processing subject data is encrypted, and so it is difficult for the third party to know the keys by analogy.",
"[0025] The key generating means may generate the keys each time the plain text cut data is encrypted.",
"Thus, the keys are generated more frequently, and so it is more difficult for the third party to know the keys by analogy.",
"[0026] The solution generating means generates the new solutions from the past solutions.",
"It may acquire the solutions by assigning multiple past solutions to the solution generating algorithm.",
"To be more specific, either one past solution or multiple past solutions may be assigned to the solution generating algorithm in order to generate the new solutions.",
"[0027] The solution generating means may hold an initial solution to be assigned to the solution generating algorithm first on initially generating the solutions.",
"[0028] The specific information used on the data processing apparatus of the first invention comprising the algorithm generating means may be any information as long as it can identify the algorithm used when encrypting the subject data.",
"[0029] For instance, the specific information may be the algorithm itself, the solutions used by the algorithm generating means on generating the algorithm or information indicating what number generated solutions are the solutions used by the algorithm generating means on generating the algorithm.",
"[0030] The specific information used on the data processing apparatus of the first invention comprising the key generating means may be any information as long as it can identify the key used when encrypting the subject data.",
"[0031] For instance, the specific information may be the key itself, the solutions used by the key generating means on generating the key or information indicating what number generated solutions are the solutions used by the key generating means on generating the key.",
"[0032] The same effects as the data processing apparatus of the first invention comprising the algorithm generating means may be obtained by the following method for instance.",
"[0033] This method is the one performed in a data processing apparatus for performing steps of: encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data;",
"recording the encrypted data in predetermined recording means;",
"and decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data.",
"[0034] And the data processing apparatus performs the steps of: sequentially generating new solutions in predetermined timing by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto;",
"sequentially generating new algorithms in predetermined timing by using the generated solutions;",
"and recording specific information for identifying the algorithm used when encrypting the subject data in predetermined recording means by associating it with the encrypted data, and the data processing apparatus holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew.",
"[0035] The same effects as the data processing apparatus of the first invention comprising the key generating means may be obtained by the following method for instance.",
"[0036] This method is the one performed in a data processing apparatus for performing steps of: encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data;",
"recording the encrypted data in predetermined recording means;",
"and decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data.",
"[0037] And the data processing apparatus performs the steps of: sequentially generating new solutions in predetermined timing by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto;",
"sequentially generating new keys in predetermined timing by using the generated solutions;",
"and recording specific information for identifying the key used when encrypting the subject data in predetermined recording means by associating it with the encrypted data, and the data processing apparatus holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew.",
"[0038] The second invention of this application is as follows.",
"[0039] The second invention of this application is a data processing apparatus including encrypting means for encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data, recording means for recording the encrypted data, and decrypting means for decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data, which encrypts multiple pieces of the subject data to render them as the encrypted data and decrypts multiple pieces of the encrypted data in the same order as the order of encryption thereof, the apparatus comprising: solution generating means for sequentially generating new solutions each time the subject data is encrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto;",
"first algorithm generating means for sequentially generating new algorithms each time the subject data is encrypted by using the generated solutions;",
"second algorithm generating means for sequentially generating the same new algorithms as those generated by the first algorithm generating means each time the encrypted data is decrypted by using the generated solutions, and wherein: the solution generating means holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew.",
"[0040] The above-mentioned second invention changes the algorithms.",
"However, there are also the cases where it changes the keys as with the first invention.",
"[0041] The second invention in this case is a data processing apparatus including encrypting means for encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data, recording means for recording the encrypted data, and decrypting means for decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data, which encrypts multiple pieces of the subject data to render them as the encrypted data and decrypts multiple pieces of the encrypted data in the same order as the order of encryption thereof, the apparatus comprising: solution generating means for sequentially generating new solutions each time the subject data is encrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto;",
"first key generating means for sequentially generating new keys each time the subject data is encrypted by using the generated solutions;",
"second key generating means for sequentially generating the same new keys as those generated by the first key generating means each time the encrypted data is decrypted by using the generated solutions, and wherein: the solution generating means holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew.",
"[0042] The data processing apparatus of the second invention is similar to that of the first invention.",
"However, it does not use the specific information for identifying the algorithm or the key used when encrypting the subject data.",
"This is related to it that the data processing apparatus of the second invention encrypts multiple pieces of the subject data to render it as encrypted data and decrypts multiple pieces of the encrypted data in the same order as the order of encryption thereof.",
"[0043] The algorithm generating means and the key generating means of the data processing apparatus of the second invention generate the algorithms and keys each time the subject data is encrypted respectively.",
"When performing the decryption, the data processing apparatus of the second invention generates the same algorithms and keys as those used when performing the encryption.",
"[0044] Therefore, the data processing apparatus of the second invention sequentially generates the same algorithms or keys as those generated in the past.",
"For that reason, it is not necessary to use the above-mentioned specific information if only the multiple pieces of the encrypted data are decrypted in the same order as the order of encryption thereof.",
"[0045] The two data processing apparatuses of the second invention have one solution generating means common between the first algorithm generating means and second algorithm generating means or the first key generating means and second key generating means provided thereto.",
"It is also possible, however, to provide two solution generating means corresponding to the first algorithm generating means and second algorithm generating means respectively or the first key generating means and second key generating means respectively.",
"[0046] As an example of the former, there is a data processing apparatus including encrypting means for encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data, recording means for recording the encrypted data, and decrypting means for decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data, which encrypts multiple pieces of the subject data to render them as the encrypted data and decrypts multiple pieces of the encrypted data in the same order as the order of encryption thereof, the apparatus comprising: first solution generating means for sequentially generating new solutions each time the subject data is encrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto;",
"first algorithm generating means for sequentially generating new algorithms each time the subject data is encrypted by using the solutions generated by the first solution generating means;",
"second solution generating means for sequentially generating the same new solutions as those generated by the first solution generating means each time the encrypted data is decrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto;",
"second algorithm generating means for sequentially generating the same new algorithms as those generated by the first algorithm generating means each time the encrypted data is decrypted by using the solutions generated by the second solution generating means, and wherein: the first solution generating means and the second solution generating means hold at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew.",
"[0047] As an example of the latter, there is a data processing apparatus including encrypting means for encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data, recording means for recording the encrypted data, and decrypting means for decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data, which encrypts multiple pieces of the subject data to render them as the encrypted data and decrypts multiple pieces of the encrypted data in the same order as the order of encryption thereof, the apparatus comprising: first solution generating means for sequentially generating new solutions each time the subject data is encrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto;",
"first key generating means for sequentially generating new keys each time the subject data is encrypted by using the solutions generated by the first solution generating means;",
"second solution generating means for sequentially generating the same new solutions as those generated by the first solution generating means each time the encrypted data is decrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto;",
"second key generating means for sequentially generating the same new keys as those generated by the first key generating means each time the encrypted data is decrypted by using the solutions generated by the second solution generating means, and wherein: the first solution generating means and the second solution generating means hold at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew.",
"[0048] The data processing apparatus of the second invention may be the one wherein: it comprises cutting means capable of cutting the subject data by a predetermined number of bits into multiple pieces of plain text cut data and also cutting the encrypted data into multiple pieces of encrypted cut data by the same number of bits by which the encrypted data is cut when encrypted;",
"the encrypting means adapted to encrypt the processing subject data by encrypting each piece of the plain text cut data cut the subject data by the cutting means to render it as the encrypted cut data, and the decrypting means adapted to decrypt by decrypting each piece of the encrypted cut data to render it as the plain text cut data;",
"and it also comprises connecting means for connecting multiple pieces of the encrypted cut data encrypted by the encrypting means into a series of the encrypted data and also connecting multiple pieces of the plain text cut data decrypted by the decrypting means into a series of the subject data.",
"[0049] The second invention may also be implemented by the following method.",
"[0050] A first example of the second invention is a method performed in a data processing apparatus for performing steps of: encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data;",
"recording the encrypted data in predetermined recording means;",
"and decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data.",
"According to this method, the data processing apparatus performs: a step of sequentially generating new solutions each time the subject data is encrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto;",
"a first algorithm generating step of sequentially generating new algorithms each time the subject data is encrypted by using the generated solutions;",
"and a second algorithm generating step of sequentially generating the same new algorithms as those generated in the first algorithm generating step each time the encrypted data is decrypted by using the generated solutions, and the data processing apparatus holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew, encrypts multiple pieces of the subject data to render them as the encrypted data and decrypts multiple pieces of the encrypted data in the same order as the order of encryption thereof.",
"[0051] A second example is a method performed in a data processing apparatus for performing steps of: encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data;",
"recording the encrypted data in predetermined recording means;",
"and decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data.",
"According to this method, he data processing apparatus performs: a step of sequentially generating new solutions each time the subject data is encrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto;",
"a first key generating step of sequentially generating new keys each time the subject data is encrypted by using the generated solutions;",
"and a second key generating step of sequentially generating the same new keys as those generated in the first key generating step each time the encrypted data is decrypted by using the generated solutions, and the data processing apparatus holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew, encrypts multiple pieces of the subject data to render them as the encrypted data and decrypts multiple pieces of the encrypted data in the same order as the order of encryption thereof.",
"[0052] A third example is a method performed in a data processing apparatus for performing steps of: encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data;",
"recording the encrypted data in predetermined recording means;",
"and decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data.",
"According to this method, the data processing apparatus performs: a first solution generating step of sequentially generating new solutions each time the subject data is encrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto;",
"a first algorithm generating step of sequentially generating new algorithms each time the subject data is encrypted by using the solutions generated in the first solution generating step;",
"and a second solution generating step of sequentially generating the same new solutions as those generated in the first solution generating step each time the encrypted data is decrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto;",
"a second algorithm generating step of sequentially generating the same new algorithms as those generated in the first algorithm generating step each time the encrypted data is decrypted by using the solutions generated in the second solution generating step, and the data processing apparatus holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew, encrypts multiple pieces of the subject data to render them as the encrypted data and decrypts multiple pieces of the encrypted data in the same order as the order of encryption thereof.",
"[0053] A fourth example is a method performed in a data processing apparatus for performing steps of: encrypting subject data in plain text by using a predetermined algorithm and a predetermined key to render it as encrypted data;",
"recording the encrypted data in predetermined recording means;",
"and decrypting the encrypted data read from the recording means by using the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to render it as the subject data, wherein: the data processing apparatus performs: a first solution generating step of sequentially generating new solutions each time the subject data is encrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto;",
"a first key generating step of sequentially generating new keys each time the subject data is encrypted by using the solutions generated in the first solution generating step;",
"and a second solution generating step of sequentially generating the same new solutions as those generated in the first solution generating step each time the encrypted data is decrypted by assigning past solutions to a predetermined solution generating algorithm capable of generating a new solution by assigning at least one of the past solutions thereto;",
"a second key generating step of sequentially generating the same new keys as those generated in the first key generating step each time the encrypted data is decrypted by using the solutions generated in the second solution generating step, and the data processing apparatus holds at least one of the past solutions and also erases the past solutions when it is no longer necessary to assign them anew, encrypts multiple pieces of the subject data to render them as the encrypted data and decrypts multiple pieces of the encrypted data in the same order as the order of encryption thereof.",
"[0054] The inventors hereof also propose the following third invention.",
"[0055] The third invention is a data processing system comprising: multiple first data processing apparatuses;",
"and second data processing apparatuses and third data processing apparatuses of the same number as the first data processing apparatuses, pairing up with the multiple first data processing apparatuses respectively, and communication between the first data processing apparatus is performed in encrypted data having encrypted subject data in plain text, and communication between the second data processing apparatus and the third data processing apparatus is performed in the subject data.",
"[0056] It is a data processing system wherein both the first data processing apparatus and second data processing apparatus comprise: cutting means for cutting the subject data by a predetermined number of bits into multiple pieces of plain text cut data and also cutting the encrypted data into multiple pieces of encrypted cut data by the same number of bits by which the encrypted data is cut when encrypted;",
"solution generating means for sequentially generating solutions common between the first data processing apparatuses and the second data processing apparatuses as pairs and different from the other first data processing apparatuses and second data processing apparatuses;",
"encrypting and decrypting means for encrypting the plain text cut data with the algorithm common between the first data processing apparatus and the second data processing apparatus generated based on the solution received from the solution generating means to render it as the encrypted cut data and decrypting the encrypted cut data with the algorithm used when encrypting the encrypted cut data to render it as the plain text cut data;",
"connecting means for connecting the decrypted plain text cut data to render it as the subject data;",
"and transmitting and receiving means for transmitting and receiving the encrypted data, and the third data processing apparatus is one of the data processing apparatuses described in the first invention and the second invention for encrypting the subject data generated by the second data processing apparatus by decrypting the encrypted data encrypted by the first data processing apparatus, recording the encrypted data in the recording means, and decoding the encrypted data read from the recording means and transmitting it to the second data processing apparatus.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0057] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a data processing system according to a first embodiment;",
"[0058] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a first data processing apparatus included in the data processing system shown in FIG. 1 ;",
"[0059] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication apparatus included in the first data processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 ;",
"[0060] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an encryption apparatus included in the first data processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 ;",
"[0061] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of a second data processing apparatus included in the data processing system shown in FIG. 1 ;",
"[0062] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the encryption apparatus included in the second data processing apparatus shown in FIG. 5 ;",
"[0063] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of another encryption apparatus included in the second data processing apparatus shown in FIG. 5 ;",
"[0064] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the communication apparatus included in the second data processing apparatus shown in FIG. 5 ;",
"[0065] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a flow of a process executed in the data processing system shown in FIG. 1 ;",
"[0066] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process executed in S 110 shown in FIG. 9 ;",
"[0067] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process executed in S 130 shown in FIG. 9 ;",
"[0068] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process executed in S 140 shown in FIG. 9 ;",
"[0069] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process executed in S 150 shown in FIG. 9 ;",
"[0070] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the encryption apparatus included in the data processing apparatus of a second embodiment;",
"[0071] FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of an encryption process executed in the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment;",
"[0072] FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the flow of a decryption process executed in the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment;",
"and [0073] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the encryption apparatus included in a deformed example of the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0074] Hereunder, a first preferred embodiment and a second preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail by referring to the drawings.",
"The descriptions of the first embodiment and second embodiment will use common symbols as to common portions and omit overlapping descriptions.",
"First Embodiment [0075] A data processing system of this embodiment will be configured in outline as shown in FIG. 1 .",
"[0076] The data processing system includes multiple first data processing apparatuses 11 and one second data processing apparatus 12 mutually connected via a network 13 .",
"The network 13 is an LAN (Local Area Network) according to this embodiment.",
"[0077] The multiple first data processing apparatuses 11 and the second data processing apparatus 12 mutually perform encrypted communication.",
"[0078] The network 13 may have another configuration if capable of data exchange between the first data processing apparatuses 11 and the second data processing apparatus 12 .",
"[0079] The configurations of the first data processing apparatus 11 and the second data processing apparatus 12 will be described.",
"First, the configuration of the first data processing apparatus 11 will be described.",
"[0080] FIG. 2 shows a hardware configuration of the first data processing apparatus 11 .",
"[0081] The first data processing apparatus 11 has configurations including a CPU (central processing unit) 21 , an ROM (read only memory) 22 , an HDD (hard disk drive) 23 , an RAM (random access memory) 24 , an input apparatus 25 , a display apparatus 26 , an encryption apparatus 27 , a communication apparatus 28 and a bus 29 .",
"The CPU 21 , ROM 22 , HUD 23 , RAM 24 , input apparatus 25 , display apparatus 26 , encryption apparatus 27 and communication apparatus 28 can exchange data via the bus 29 .",
"[0082] The ROM 22 or the HDD 23 has a predetermined program and predetermined data (the predetermined data may include subject data as in the case of this embodiment, and includes the data necessary to execute the program) recorded therein.",
"The CPU 21 controls the entire first data processing apparatuses 11 , and performs the process described later based on the program and data stored in the ROM 22 or the HDD 23 .",
"The RAM 24 is used as a storage area for work for performing the process on the CPU 21 .",
"[0083] The input apparatus 25 is configured by a keyboard, a mouse and so on, and is used to input a command and data.",
"The display apparatus 26 is configured by an LCD (liquid crystal display), a CRT (cathode ray tube) and so on, and is used to display the command, inputted data, a processing status described later and so on.",
"[0084] The encryption apparatus 27 encrypts the subject data and decrypts encrypted data as will be described later.",
"[0085] The communication apparatus 28 performs communication with the second data processing apparatuses 12 via the network 13 .",
"The communication apparatus 28 of the second data processing apparatuses 12 performs communication with the first data processing apparatuses 11 via the network 13 .",
"[0086] Next, the configuration of the communication apparatus 28 will be described.",
"FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of the communication apparatus 28 .",
"[0087] The communication apparatus 28 is configured by an interface portion 281 , an authentication data generating portion 282 and a communication portion 283 .",
"[0088] The interface portion 281 exchanges the data between the bus 29 and the communication apparatus 28 .",
"The interface portion 281 transmits the encrypted data received from the bus 29 to the authentication data generating portion 282 , and also transmits the encrypted data received from the communication portion 283 to the bus 29 .",
"[0089] The authentication data generating portion 282 adds authentication data to a header of the transmitted encrypted data, for instance, in the case the encrypted data is transmitted to the second data processing apparatuses 12 as will be described later.",
"The authentication data identifies the first data processing apparatus 11 sending the encrypted data.",
"The authentication data is assigned to each of the first data processing apparatuses 11 by an administrator of the second data processing apparatus 12 , and is recorded on the ROM 22 or the HDD 23 for instance.",
"The authentication data generating portion 282 adds the authentication data read from the ROM 22 or the HDD 23 to the encrypted data.",
"The second data processing apparatus 12 can grasp which first data processing apparatus 11 the received encrypted data is transmitted from by the authentication data added to the encrypted data as will be described later.",
"The authentication data generating portion 282 transmits the encrypted data having the authentication data added thereto to the communication portion 283 .",
"The communication portion 283 transmits the received encrypted data to the second data processing apparatus 12 .",
"[0090] Next, the configuration of the encryption apparatus 27 will be described.",
"FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of the encryption apparatus 27 .",
"[0091] The encryption apparatus 27 is configured by an interface portion 271 , a preprocessing portion 272 , an encrypting and decrypting portion 273 , a solution generating portion 274 , an algorithm generating portion 275 , a key generating portion 276 and a connecting portion 277 .",
"[0092] The interface portion 271 exchanges data between the bus 29 and the communication apparatus 28 .",
"[0093] The interface portion 271 receives the subject data from the HDD 23 via the bus 29 and the encrypted data from the communication apparatus 28 via the bus 29 so as to transmit the received subject data or encrypted data to the preprocessing portion 272 .",
"When the interface portion 271 receives the subject data or the encrypted data, it transmits the data indicating reception thereof to the solution generating portion 274 .",
"[0094] The interface portion 271 receives the subject data or the encrypted data from the connecting portion 277 , and transmits the received subject data or encrypted data to the bus 29 as will be described later.",
"[0095] The preprocessing portion 272 has a function of cutting the subject data or encrypted data received from the bus 29 via the interface portion 271 by a predetermined number of bits to generate plain text cut data or encrypted cut data and transmitting it to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 .",
"It will be described later as to how the subject data or the encrypted data is cut.",
"According to this embodiment, the preprocessing portion 272 has a function of including dummy data irrelevant to the subject data in the subject data by a method described later.",
"[0096] The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 has a function of receiving the plain text cut data or encrypted cut data from the preprocessing portion 272 , encrypting the plain text cut data if received and decrypting the encrypted cut data if received.",
"The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 of this embodiment has a fixed standard number of bits as a processing unit for performing the processing of the encryption and decryption.",
"The standard number of bits of this embodiment is 8 bits although it is not limited thereto.",
"Details of the encryption and decryption processing will be described later.",
"[0097] The solution generating portion 274 sequentially generates solutions.",
"The solution generating portion 274 of the first data processing apparatus 11 and the solution generating portion 274 A of the second data processing apparatuses 12 described later generate the solutions so that the solutions generated in the same order become the same.",
"The solutions of this embodiment are pseudo-random numbers.",
"The generated solutions are transmitted to the preprocessing portion 272 , algorithm generating portion 275 and key generating portion 276 .",
"[0098] The algorithm generating portion 275 generates the algorithms based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 .",
"The algorithms are used when performing the encryption process and decryption process in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 .",
"[0099] The key generating portion 276 generates the keys based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 .",
"The keys are used when performing the encryption process and decryption process in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 .",
"[0100] The connecting portion 277 has a function of connecting the plain text cut data generated by decrypting the encrypted cut data in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 in original order to render it as a set of the subject data.",
"The subject data is transmitted to the interface portion 271 , and is transmitted as necessary to the HDD 23 or the CPU 21 via the bus 29 .",
"The connecting portion 277 also has a function of connecting the encrypted cut data generated by encrypting the plain text cut data in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 to render it as a set of the encrypted data.",
"The encrypted data is transmitted to the interface portion 271 , and is transmitted from there to the communication portion 283 of the communication apparatus 28 via the bus 29 , and is further transmitted from the communication portion 283 to the second data processing apparatuses 12 .",
"The connecting portion 277 does not need to have a function of connecting the encrypted cut data generated by encrypting the plain text cut data in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 .",
"In this case, the encrypted cut data is sequentially transmitted to the communication apparatus at the other end in order in which it is encrypted.",
"In the case where the connecting portion 277 is as described above, the encrypted cut data can be directly transmitted to the communication portion 283 without going through the connecting portion 277 .",
"[0101] Next, the configuration of the second data processing apparatus 12 will be described.",
"[0102] FIG. 5 shows the hardware configuration of the second data processing apparatus 12 .",
"[0103] The hardware configuration of the second data processing apparatus 12 is basically the same as that of the first data processing apparatus 11 .",
"It is different from the first data processing apparatuses 11 , however, in that it has two kinds of the encryption apparatus 27 while the first data processing apparatus 11 has only one and there are an encryption apparatus 27 A and an encryption apparatus 27 B provided instead of the encryption apparatus 27 .",
"[0104] The CPU 21 , ROM 22 , HDD 23 , RAM 24 , input apparatus 25 , display apparatus 26 , and bus 29 of the second data processing apparatus 12 are the same as those of the first data processing apparatus 11 .",
"[0105] The encryption apparatus 27 A and encryption apparatus 27 B have the functions of encrypting the subject data and decrypting the encrypted data as with the encryption apparatus 27 of the first data processing apparatus 11 .",
"Hereunder, the configurations of both of them will be described.",
"[0106] There are multiple encryption apparatuses 27 A, that is, as many as the first data processing apparatuses 11 .",
"Each of the encryption apparatuses 27 A is associated with one of the first data processing apparatuses 11 .",
"To be more specific, each of the encryption apparatus 27 A and the first data processing apparatus 11 mutually associated can decrypt the encrypted data generated by the other by encrypting the subject data.",
"Inversely, each of the encryption apparatus 27 A and the first data processing apparatus 11 not mutually associated cannot decrypt the encrypted data generated by the other by encrypting the subject data.",
"[0107] The encryption apparatus 27 A is configured as shown in FIG. 6 .",
"[0108] The encryption apparatus 27 A is configured by an interface portion 271 A, a preprocessing portion 272 A, an encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A, a solution generating portion 274 A, an algorithm generating portion 275 A, a key generating portion 276 A and a connecting portion 277 A. [0109] The interface portion 271 A receives the subject data from the encryption apparatus 27 B via the bus 29 and the encrypted data from the communication apparatus 28 via the bus 29 so as to transmit the received subject data or encrypted data to the preprocessing portion 272 A. When the interface portion 271 A receives the subject data or the encrypted data, it transmits the data indicating reception thereof to the solution generating portion 274 A. [0110] The interface portion 271 A receives the subject data or the encrypted data from the connecting portion 277 A, and transmits the received subject data or encrypted data to the bus 29 as will be described later.",
"[0111] The preprocessing portion 272 A has a function of cutting the subject data or encrypted data received from the bus 29 via the interface portion 271 A by a predetermined number of bits to generate the plain text cut data or the encrypted cut data and transmitting it to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A. According to this embodiment, the preprocessing portion 272 A has a function of including the dummy data irrelevant to the subject data in the subject data by a method described later.",
"[0112] The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A has a function of receiving the plain text cut data or encrypted cut data from the preprocessing portion 272 A, encrypting the plain text cut data if received and decrypting the encrypted cut data if received.",
"The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A of this embodiment has a fixed standard number of bits as the processing unit for performing the processing of the encryption and decryption.",
"The standard number of bits of this embodiment is 8 bits although it is not limited thereto.",
"Details of the encryption and decryption processing will be described later.",
"[0113] The solution generating portion 274 A sequentially generates the solutions.",
"The solutions generated by the solution generating portion 274 A become the same as the solutions generated by the solution generating portion 274 of the first data processing apparatus 11 in the same order.",
"The generated solutions are transmitted to the preprocessing portion 272 A, algorithm generating portion 275 A and key generating portion 276 A. [0114] The algorithm generating portion 275 A generates the algorithms based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 A. The algorithms are used when performing the encryption process and decryption process in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A. The algorithms generated by the algorithm generating portion 275 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 become the same as the algorithms generated by the algorithm generating portion 275 of the first data processing apparatus 11 in the same order.",
"[0115] The key generating portion 276 A generates the keys based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 A. The keys are used when performing the encryption process and decryption process in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A. The keys generated by the key generating portion 276 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 become the same as the keys generated by the key generating portion 276 of the first data processing apparatus 11 in the same order.",
"[0116] The connecting portion 277 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 has the same function as that of the first data processing apparatus 11 .",
"The connecting portion 277 A connects the plain text cut data generated in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A by decrypting the encrypted cut data as a set so as to generate the subject data.",
"The subject data is transmitted to the encryption apparatus 27 B via the bus 29 .",
"The connecting portion 277 A connects the encrypted cut data generated in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A by encrypting the plain text cut data as a set so as to generate the encrypted data.",
"The encrypted data is transmitted to the first data processing apparatus 11 via the communication apparatus 28 .",
"[0117] There is only one encryption apparatus 27 B. [0118] The encryption apparatus 27 B has a function of re-encrypting the subject data which the encryption apparatus 27 A generated by decrypting encrypted data which is generated by encrypting the first data processing apparatus 11 the subject data.",
"The encryption apparatus 27 B records the generated encrypted data on the HDD 23 in the second data processing apparatus 12 .",
"The encryption apparatus 27 B also has a function of decrypting the encrypted data read from the HDD 23 .",
"[0119] The encryption apparatus 27 B is configured as shown in FIG. 7 .",
"[0120] The encryption apparatus 27 B is configured by an interface portion 271 B, a preprocessing portion 272 B, an encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B, a solution generating portion 274 B, an algorithm generating portion 275 B, a key generating portion 276 B, a connecting portion 277 B and a specific information generating portion 278 B. [0121] The interface portion 271 B of the encryption apparatus 27 B receives the subject data from the encryption apparatus 27 A via the bus 29 and the encrypted data from the HDD 23 in the second data processing apparatus 12 via the bus 29 so as to transmit the received subject data or encrypted data to the preprocessing portion 272 B. When the interface portion 271 B receives the subject data or the encrypted data, it transmits the data indicating reception thereof to the solution generating portion 274 B. [0122] The interface portion 271 B receives the subject data from the connecting portion 277 B in the encryption apparatus 27 B and the encrypted data from the specific information generating portion 278 B, and transmits the received subject data or encrypted data to the bus 29 as will be described later.",
"[0123] The preprocessing portion 272 B has a function of cutting the subject data or encrypted data received from the bus 29 via the interface portion 271 B by a predetermined number of bits to generate the plain text cut data or the encrypted cut data and transmitting it to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B. According to this embodiment, the preprocessing portion 272 B has a function of including the dummy data irrelevant to the subject data in the subject data by a method described later.",
"[0124] The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B has a function of receiving the plain text cut data or encrypted cut data from the preprocessing portion 272 B, encrypting the plain text cut data if received and decrypting the encrypted cut data if received.",
"The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B of this embodiment has a fixed standard number of bits as a processing unit for performing the encryption and decryption processing.",
"The standard number of bits of this embodiment is 8 bits although it is not limited thereto.",
"Details of the encryption and decryption processing will be described later.",
"When performing the decryption, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B performs the decryption by using the algorithms and keys identified based on the specific information described later.",
"[0125] The solution generating portion 274 B sequentially generates solutions.",
"The solutions generated by the solution generating portion 274 B are the pseudo-random numbers.",
"The generated solutions are transmitted to the algorithm generating portion 275 B and key generating portion 276 B and to the preprocessing portion 272 B in addition according to this embodiment.",
"[0126] The algorithm generating portion 275 B generates the algorithms based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 B. The algorithms are used when performing the encryption process and decryption process in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B. [0127] The key generating portion 276 B generates the keys based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 B. The keys are used when performing the encryption process and decryption process in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B. The keys generated by the key generating portion 276 B of the second data processing apparatus 12 become the same as the keys generated by the key generating portion 276 of the first data processing apparatus 11 in the same order.",
"[0128] The connecting portion 277 B of the second data processing apparatus 12 has the function of connecting the plain text cut data generated in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B by decrypting the encrypted cut data so as to generate the subject data.",
"The subject data is transmitted to the encryption apparatus 27 A. The connecting portion 277 B connects the encrypted cut data generated in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B by encrypting the plain text cut data as a set so as to generate the encrypted data.",
"The encrypted data is recorded on the HDD 23 in the second data processing apparatus 12 .",
"[0129] The encryption apparatus 27 B includes the specific information generating portion 278 B. [0130] The specific information generating portion 278 B adds the specific information to the encrypted data generated by the connecting portion 277 B. The specific information is the information for identifying the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data to which the specific information is added.",
"To be more precise, it is the information indicating the algorithm itself used when encrypting the encrypted data, the key itself used when encrypting the encrypted data, the solution itself used on generating the algorithm or the key used when encrypting the encrypted data or the information indicating what number generated solution is the solution.",
"According to this embodiment, both the algorithm and the key change, and so the specific information must specify both the algorithm and key or the solution used to generate the algorithm and the key or the order in which the solution was generated.",
"When only one of the algorithm and the key changes, however, the specific information needs to specify only the algorithm or the key that changes.",
"[0131] According to this embodiment, the specific information generating portion 278 B adds the specific information to the encrypted data.",
"However, the specific information may also be stored at a different location from the encrypted data while being associated with the encrypted data.",
"[0132] The configuration of the communication apparatus 28 of the second data processing apparatus 12 is approximately the same as the configuration of the communication apparatus 28 of the first data processing apparatus 11 .",
"The functions of the interface portion 281 and the communication portion 283 are not different from those of the communication apparatus 28 of the first data processing apparatus 11 .",
"The communication apparatus 28 of the second data processing apparatus 12 is different from the communication apparatus 28 of the first data processing apparatus 11 in that it has an authentication portion 284 instead of the authentication data generating portion 282 of the first data processing apparatus 11 .",
"[0133] The authentication portion 284 reads authentication data of the encrypted data received from the first data processing apparatus 11 included in the header according to this embodiment, and determines which first data processing apparatus 11 the encrypted data comes from.",
"The encrypted data is transmitted to the encryption apparatus 27 A associated with the first data processing apparatus 11 as its transmission source via the interface portion 281 .",
"[0134] Next, a description will be given as to a flow of the processing performed in this data processing system.",
"[0135] The flow of the processing performed in this data processing system is as follows if described roughly by using FIG. 9 .",
"[0136] First, the encryption apparatus 27 of one first data processing apparatus 11 out of the multiple first data processing apparatuses 11 encrypts the subject data so as to generate the encrypted data (S 110 ).",
"[0137] Next, the first data processing apparatus 11 transmits the encrypted data to the second data processing apparatus 12 (S 120 ).",
"[0138] Next, of the multiple encryption apparatuses 27 A in the second data processing apparatus 12 having received the encrypted data, the one associated with the first data processing apparatus 11 having transmitted the encrypted data decrypts the encrypted data and changes it back to the subject data (S 130 ).",
"[0139] Next, the encryption apparatus 27 B encrypts the decrypted subject data and records it on the HDD 23 in the second data processing apparatus 12 (S 140 ).",
"[0140] Next, the encryption apparatus 27 B decrypts the encrypted data in the HDD 23 and changes it back to the subject data according to a request from the first data processing apparatus 11 for instance (S 150 ).",
"[0141] Next, the encryption apparatus 27 A encrypts the subject data and renders it as the encrypted data (S 160 ).",
"[0142] Next, the second data processing apparatus 12 transmits the encrypted data to the first data processing apparatus 11 (S 170 ).",
"Next, the encryption apparatus 27 in the first data processing apparatus 11 decrypts the encrypted data and changes it back to the original subject data (S 180 ).",
"[0143] First, a detailed description will be given by referring to FIG. 10 as to the above-mentioned step S 110 in which the encryption apparatus 27 of one first data processing apparatus 11 out of the multiple first data processing apparatuses 11 encrypts the subject data so as to generate the encrypted data.",
"[0144] First, the subject data is read (S 1101 ).",
"The subject data may be any data whatsoever as long as it is the data necessary to be transmitted from the first data processing apparatus 11 to the second data processing apparatus 12 .",
"According to this embodiment, the subject data is stored on the HDD 23 .",
"The subject data may also be the data read from another recording medium such as an external recording medium to the first data processing apparatus 11 .",
"[0145] For instance, if a command ordering to transmit the subject data from the input apparatus 25 to the second data processing apparatus 12 is input, the CPU 21 reads the subject data from the HDD 23 and stores it temporarily in the RAM 24 .",
"The subject data is transmitted from the HDD 23 to the encryption apparatus 27 via the bus 29 .",
"To be more precise, the subject data is transmitted to the preprocessing portion 272 via the interface portion 271 .",
"[0146] The subject data is cut by a predetermined number of bits into the plain text cut data in the preprocessing portion 272 (S 1102 ).",
"The preprocessing portion 272 includes the dummy data in the plain text cut data as required.",
"[0147] There may be just one method of generating the plain text cut data from the subject data.",
"According to this embodiment, however, the plain text cut data is generated from the subject data by one of the following three methods.",
"[0148] A) The case of cutting the subject data into the plain text cut data by a predetermined number of bits shorter than the standard number of bits, and including the dummy data at respective fixed positions of pieces of the plain text cut data all of which have the number of bits shorter than the standard number of bits.",
"[0149] B) The case of cutting the subject data into the plain text cut data by a predetermined number of bits shorter than the standard number of bits, and including the dummy data at different positions of pieces of the plain text cut data all of which have the number of bits shorter than the standard number of bits.",
"[0150] C) The case of cutting the subject data into the plain text cut data by the number of bits the same as or shorter than the standard number of bits, and including the dummy data in respective pieces of the plain text cut data having the number of bits shorter than the standard number of bits.",
"[0151] It is decided by the solutions generated by the solution generating portion 274 as to which of the above-mentioned three methods should be used to generate the plain text cut data from the subject data.",
"[0152] A description will be given first as to how the solution generating portion 274 generates the solutions.",
"[0153] When the interface portion 271 receives the subject data from the bus 29 , the solution generating portion 274 receives that information from the interface portion 271 .",
"[0154] The solution generating portion 274 takes this opportunity to start generating the solutions.",
"According to this embodiment, the solution generating portion 274 generates the solutions each time the subject data is received by the interface portion 271 .",
"The solution of this embodiment is a matrix (X) with 8 rows and 8 columns although it is not limited thereto.",
"[0155] According to this embodiment, the solution generating portion 274 generates the solutions successively as if in nonlinear transition though it does not always have to be the case.",
"The solutions consequently become the pseudo-random numbers.",
"[0156] To generate the solutions successively as if in nonlinear transition, there are thinkable techniques, such as (1) including exponential calculation of the past solutions in the process of generating the solutions, (2) including multiplication of two or more past solutions in the process of generating the solutions, or a combination of (1) and (2).",
"[0157] According to this embodiment, the solution generating portion 274 has a 01 st solution (X 01 ) and a 02 nd solution (X 02 ) predetermined as initial matrixes (for instance, the 01 st solution and 02 nd solution are recorded in a predetermined memory such as the HDD 23 or the ROM 22 ).",
"The initial matrixes each first data processing apparatuses 11 has are different from one another, and so the solutions generated by the first data processing apparatuses 11 are different from one another.",
"[0158] Each of the multiple encryption apparatuses 27 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 has the same initial matrix as that of the first data processing apparatus 11 associated with each of the multiple encryption apparatuses 27 A. [0159] The solution generating portion 274 assigns the initial matrixes to the solution generating algorithm and generates a 1 st solution (X 1 ) as follows.",
"[0000] 1 st solution ( X 1 )= X 02 X 01 +α (α=matrix with 8 rows and 8 columns) [0160] This is the solution generated first.",
"[0161] Next, when the interface portion 271 receives the subject data from the bus 29 , the solution generating portion 274 generates a 2 nd solution (X 2 ) as follows.",
"[0000] 2 nd solution ( X 2 )= X 1 X 02 +α [0162] Similarly, each time the interface portion 271 receives the subject data from the bus 29 , the solution generating portion 274 generates 3 rd , 4 th , .",
"N th solutions as follows.",
"[0000] 3 rd solution ( X 3 )= X 2 X 1 +α [0000] 4 th solution ( X 4 )= X 3 X 2 +α .",
"[0000] N th solution ( X N )= X N−1 X N−2 +α [0165] The solutions thus generated are transmitted to the preprocessing portion 272 , the algorithm generating portion 275 , the key generating portion 276 and are also held in the solution generating portion 274 .",
"To generate the N th solution (X N ), this embodiment uses an (N−1) th solution (X N−1 ) and an (N−2) th solution (X N−2 ), that is, the two solutions generated immediately before then.",
"Therefore, to generate the new solution, the solution generating portion 274 must hold the two nearest preceding solutions generated in the past (or else, the two solutions must be held by some other portion than the solution generating portion 274 ).",
"Inversely, the solutions older than the two nearest preceding solutions generated in the past are not to be used to generate the new solution from now on.",
"Thus, this embodiment always holds the two past solutions in the solution generating portion 274 .",
"However, this embodiment erases the solution which is now the third nearest preceding solution due to the generation of the new solution but was the second nearest preceding solution till then from the predetermined memory or the like in which it was recorded.",
"[0166] The solutions thus generated are chaotic in nonlinear transition, and are also the pseudo-random numbers.",
"[0167] To cause the nonlinear transition, it is thinkable, when acquiring the N th solution, to use the following formulas other than the above-mentioned formula: N th solution (X N )=X N−1 X N−2 +α.",
"[0168] For instance: [0000] (a) N th solution ( X N )=( X N−1 ) P [0000] (b) N th solution ( X N )=( X N−1 ) P ( X N−2 ) Q ( X N−3 ) R ( X N−4 ) S [0000] (c) N th solution ( X N )=( X N−1 ) P +( X N−2 ) Q [0169] P, Q, R and S are predetermined constants respectively.",
"The solution generating portion 274 has two initial matrixes in the case of using the formula (a) or (c), and has four initial matrixes in the case of using the formula (b).",
"[0170] The above-mentioned α is a constant.",
"However, it may also be specific changing environmental information.",
"The environmental information is the information naturally generated in sequence as time elapses and commonly obtainable at distant places, such as the information determined based on weather of a specific region, information determined based on the contents of a TV broadcast of a TV station broadcasted at a specific time and information determined based on a result of a specific sport.",
"[0171] It is possible to further improve confidentiality of the communication by creating the above-mentioned α in series and generating common information.",
"[0172] It is also possible, as a matter of course, to add α (may be generated from the environmental information) to right sides of the formulas (a) to (c).",
"[0173] As described above, the preprocessing portion 272 having received the solutions (that is, the above-mentioned solutions) decides which of the above-mentioned methods of A), B) and C) should be used to generate the plain text cut data.",
"According to this embodiment, the plain text cut data is generated by the method A) in the case where, in dividing the sum of adding up the numbers configuring the matrix with 8 rows and 8 columns as the solutions by 3, a remainder thereof is 0, by the method B) in the case where the remainder is 1, and by the method C) in the case where the remainder is 2, though it does not always have to be the case.",
"[0174] In the case of generating the plain text cut data by the method A), the preprocessing portion 272 cuts the subject data received from the interface portion 271 by the predetermined number of bits (7 bits in this embodiment) shorter than the standard number of bits in order from the head to generate the plain text cut data.",
"The preprocessing portion 272 embeds the dummy data at a fixed position of the plain text cut data.",
"The positions of the plain text cut data for embedding the dummy data may be either variable or fixed.",
"In the latter case, the position at which the dummy data is embedded may be the head or the end of the plain text cut data or a predetermined intermediate position such as a second bit or a third bit.",
"The dummy data may be any data as long as it is irrelevant data to the subject data.",
"For instance, there are thinkable processes, such as constantly embedding the data of 0 or the data of 1, or alternately embedding the data of 1 and 0.",
"As a further example, it is possible to decide what dummy data is to be embedded based on the above-mentioned solutions.",
"For instance, if the sum of the numbers configuring the matrix with 8 rows and 8 columns as the solutions added up is divided by 9 and the remainder thereof is 0, it is possible to continue 0, such as 0, 0, 0, 0 .",
"If the remainder is 1, it is possible to put in 1 alternately, such as 0, 1, 0, 1 .",
"If the remainder is 2, it is possible to put in 1 at every third place, such as 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1 .",
"Likewise, it is possible to put in 1 at every fourth place if the remainder is 3, put in 1 at every fifth place if the remainder is 4, and put in 1 at every tenth place if the remainder is 9.",
"[0175] In the case of generating the plain text cut data by the method B), the preprocessing portion 272 cuts the subject data by the predetermined number of bits (7 bits for instance) shorter than the standard number of bits to render it as the plain text cut data, and includes the dummy data at different positions of respective pieces of the plain text cut data all of which have the number of bits shorter than the standard number of bits.",
"In this case, the positions at which the dummy data is embedded may be fixed or regularly changing, such as moving in order of the first bit, second bit, third bit .",
"eighth bit, first bit, second bit, .",
"eighth bit, or randomly changing as to each piece of the plain text cut data.",
"If the positions at which the dummy data is embedded randomly change, the positions may be decided based on the solutions for instance.",
"[0176] As for the method of deciding the positions at which the dummy data is embedded by means of the solutions, it is possible to perform the following process for instance.",
"If the sum of the numbers configuring the matrix with 8 rows and 8 columns as the solutions added up is divided by 8 and the remainder thereof is 0, the dummy data is embedded alternately at the head and the end of the pieces of the plain text cut data.",
"If the remainder is 1, the plain text cut data having the dummy data embedded at the head and the plain text cut data having the dummy data embedded at the end are arranged to be at every third place.",
"If the remainder is 2, the plain text cut data having the dummy data embedded at the head and the plain text cut data having the dummy data embedded at the end are arranged to be at every fourth place.",
"If the remainder is 7, the plain text cut data having the dummy data embedded at the head and the plain text cut data having the dummy data embedded at the end are arranged to be at every ninth place.",
"It is also possible to further move the positions at which the dummy data is embedded rather than fixing the positions such as the head and end.",
"[0177] In the case of generating the plain text cut data by the method C), the subject data is cut to be the standard number of bits or the number of bits shorter than the standard number of bits.",
"This cutting can be performed by cutting the subject data to a random length shorter than 8 bits.",
"For instance, if the sum of the numbers configuring the matrix with 8 rows and 8 columns as the solutions added up is divided by 8 and the remainder thereof is 0, the head of the subject data at that point in time can be cut by 8 bits.",
"If the remainder is 1, the head of the subject data at that point in time can be cut by 1 bit.",
"If the remainder is 2, the head of the subject data at that point in time can be cut by 2 bits.",
"If the remainder is 7, the head of the subject data at that point in time can be cut by 7 bits.",
"Of the plain text cut data thus generated, the preprocessing portion 272 embeds the dummy data in each piece of the plain text cut data of which number of bits is shorter than the standard number of bits.",
"In this case, an embedding position of the dummy data may be a same position such as the head or the end or a predetermined changing position specified by the solutions for instance.",
"[0178] In any case, the plain text cut data thus generated is transmitted to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 as a stream in order of generation.",
"[0179] In parallel with the generation of the plain text cut data, the algorithm generating portion 275 generates the algorithm used on encrypting the plain text cut data.",
"[0180] According to this embodiment, the algorithm generating portion 275 generates the algorithm based on the solutions.",
"[0181] According to this embodiment, the algorithm generating portion 275 generates the algorithm as follows.",
"[0182] The algorithm of this embodiment is defined as “in the case where the plain text cut data as 8-bit data is considered as a matrix Y with 1 row and 8 columns, it is acquired by multiplying by Y the matrix X with 8 rows and 8 columns as the solutions raised to the a-th power and turned clockwise by n×90°.”",
"[0183] Here, there are the cases where a is a predetermined constant.",
"According to this embodiment, however, a is a number changing based on the solutions.",
"To be more specific, the algorithm of this embodiment changes based on the solutions.",
"For instance, a can be defined as the remainder in the case of dividing by 5 the number acquired by adding up all the numbers as elements of the matrix included in the solutions which are the matrix with 8 rows and 8 columns (provided that it is a=1 in the case where the remainder is 0).",
"[0184] The above-mentioned n is a predetermined number defined by the key.",
"If the key is a constant number, n is fixed.",
"As described below, however, the key changes based on the solutions.",
"To be more specific, this n also changes based on the solutions according to this embodiment.",
"[0185] It is also possible to decide on another algorithm.",
"[0186] According to this embodiment, the algorithm generating portion 275 generates the algorithm each time it receives the solutions from the solution generating portion 274 , and transmits it to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 .",
"[0187] In parallel with the generation of the plain text cut data, the key generating portion 276 generates the key used on encrypting the plain text cut data.",
"[0188] The key generating portion 276 generates the key based on the solutions.",
"[0189] According to this embodiment, the key generating portion 276 generates the key as the following.",
"[0190] The key of this embodiment is the number acquired by adding up all the numbers as the elements of the matrix included in the solutions which are the matrix with 8 rows and 8 columns.",
"Therefore, the key changes based on the solutions according to this embodiment.",
"[0191] It is also possible to decide on another key.",
"[0192] According to this embodiment, the key generating portion 276 generates the key each time it receives the solutions from the solution generating portion 274 , and transmits it to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 .",
"[0193] The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 encrypts the plain text cut data received from the preprocessing portion 272 based on the algorithm received from the algorithm generating portion 275 and the key received from the key generating portion 276 (S 1103 ).",
"[0194] As described above, the algorithm is defined as “in the case where the plain text cut data as 8-bit data is considered as a matrix Y with 1 row and 8 columns, it is acquired by multiplying by Y the matrix X with 8 rows and 8 columns as the solutions raised to the a-th power and turned clockwise by n×90°,” and n as the key is the above-mentioned number.",
"[0195] If a is 3 and n is 6 for instance, the encryption is performed by multiplying by the plain text cut data the matrix with 8 rows and 8 columns acquired by turning the matrix with 8 rows and 8 columns acquired by cubing X clockwise by 6×90°=540°.",
"[0196] The data thus generated is the encrypted cut data.",
"[0197] The encrypted cut data is transmitted to the connecting portion 277 .",
"The connecting portion 277 connects the encrypted cut data as one, and generates the encrypted data (S 1104 ).",
"Sorting order of the encrypted cut data in this case is corresponding to the sorting order of the original plain text cut data.",
"[0198] Thus, the step S 110 in which the first data processing apparatus 11 encrypts the subject data to generate the encrypted data is finished first.",
"[0199] The encrypted data thus generated is transmitted to the communication apparatus 28 in the first data processing apparatus 11 via the bus 29 .",
"The encrypted data is received by the interface portion 281 in the communication apparatus 28 to be transmitted to the authentication data generating portion 282 .",
"The authentication data generating portion 282 adds the authentication data to the header of the encrypted data, and transmits the encrypted data to the communication portion 283 .",
"[0200] The communication portion 283 transmits the encrypted data to the second data processing apparatus 12 via the network 13 .",
"The above-mentioned step S 120 is thereby performed.",
"[0201] In the second data processing apparatus 12 having received the encrypted data, the step S 130 of decrypting the encrypted data and changing it back to the subject data is performed.",
"[0202] Hereunder, this decryption step will be described in detail by referring to FIG. 11 .",
"[0203] The encrypted data transmitted to the second data processing apparatus 12 is received by the communication portion 283 of the communication apparatus 28 of the second data processing apparatus 12 (S 1201 ).",
"[0204] The communication portion 283 transmits the encrypted data to the authentication portion 284 .",
"The authentication portion 284 determines which first data processing apparatus 11 the encrypted data comes from based on the authentication data added to the encrypted data (S 1202 ).",
"[0205] After such a determination is made by the authentication portion 284 , the encrypted data is transmitted to the interface portion 281 .",
"The interface portion 281 transmits the encrypted data to the encryption apparatuses 27 A associated with the first data processing apparatus 11 determined to be the transmission source of the encrypted data by the authentication portion 284 .",
"[0206] The preprocessing portion 272 A in the encryption apparatus 27 A receives the encrypted data via the interface portion 271 A. [0207] The preprocessing portion 272 A cuts the received encrypted data by a predetermined number of bits, and generates the encrypted cut data (S 1203 ).",
"[0208] In the case of cutting the encrypted data and generating the encrypted cut data, the preprocessing portion 272 A performs a process reverse to the process performed by the connecting portion 277 of the first data processing apparatus 11 .",
"To be more specific, the encrypted data is cut by 8 bits from the head to be divided into multiple pieces of the encrypted cut data.",
"[0209] Next, the encrypted cut data is transmitted to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A, where it is decrypted and rendered as the plain text cut data (S 1204 ).",
"[0210] The decryption is performed as a process reverse to the process performed by the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 of the first data processing apparatus 11 .",
"For that reason, the second data processing apparatus 12 requires the algorithm and key required on performing the encryption on the first data processing apparatus 11 .",
"[0211] The algorithm and key used for the decryption are generated inside the encryption apparatus 27 A. Working thereof will be described.",
"[0212] The information that the interface portion 271 A of the encryption apparatus 27 A received the encrypted data is transmitted to the solution generating portion 274 A. The solution generating portion 274 A having received this information takes this opportunity to generate the solutions each time it receives this information.",
"[0213] The generation of the solutions performed by the solution generating portion 274 A in the encryption apparatus 27 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 is performed through the same step as the step performed by the solution generating portion 274 of the first data processing apparatus 11 .",
"As described above, the solution generating portion 274 A has the same initial matrix and solution generating algorithm as those of the solution generating portion 274 of the first data processing apparatus 11 associated with the encryption apparatus 27 A including the solution generating portion 274 A. Therefore, the solutions generated in the encryption apparatus 27 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 are the same as the solutions generated in the corresponding encryption apparatus 27 A of the first data processing apparatus 11 if the data in the same order of generation is compared.",
"[0214] The generated solutions are transmitted from the solution generating portion 274 A to the preprocessing portion 272 A, algorithm generating portion 275 A and key generating portion 276 A. [0215] The algorithm generating portion 275 A generates the algorithm based on the received solution each time it receives the solutions.",
"The step in which the algorithm generating portion 275 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 generates the algorithm is the same as the step in which the algorithm generating portion 275 of the first data processing apparatus 11 generates the algorithm.",
"The generated algorithm is transmitted from the algorithm generating portion 275 A to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A. [0216] The key generating portion 276 A generates the key based on the received solutions each time it receives the solutions.",
"The step in which the key generating portion 276 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 generates the key is the same as the step in which the key generating portion 276 of the first data processing apparatus 11 generates the key.",
"The generated key is transmitted from the key generating portion 276 A to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A. [0217] As for this data processing system, new solutions are generated on the first data processing apparatus 11 each time the encryption is performed on the first data processing apparatus 11 , and new solutions are also generated on the second data processing apparatus 12 each time the solutions generated on the first data processing apparatus 11 are decrypted on the second data processing apparatus 12 .",
"As described above, the solutions generated by the encryption apparatus 27 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 are the same as the solutions generated by the corresponding encryption apparatus 27 in the first data processing apparatus 11 if the data in the same order of generation is compared.",
"Therefore, all the solutions generated when encrypting certain subject data on the first data processing apparatus 11 and the algorithms and keys generated based on those solutions constantly match with the solutions generated by the encryption apparatus 27 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 and the algorithms and keys generated based on those solutions when decrypting the encrypted data generated on the first data processing apparatus 11 by using the algorithms and keys generated based on the solutions.",
"These circumstances are the same even when the encryption is performed on the second data processing apparatus 12 and the decryption is performed on the first data processing apparatus 11 .",
"[0218] As described above, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A performs the decryption process by using the algorithm received from the algorithm generating portion 275 A. To be more precise, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A performs the decryption process by generating the algorithm for performing the decryption process (defined as “in the case where the encrypted cut data is considered as a matrix Z with 1 row and 8 columns, the plain text cut data is acquired by multiplying by Y an inverse matrix of the matrix X with 8 rows and 8 columns as the solution raised to the a-th power and turned clockwise by n×90°”) based on the algorithm received from the algorithm generating portion 275 A (defined as “in the case where the plain text cut data as 8-bit data is considered as a matrix Y with 1 row and 8 columns, the encrypted cut data is acquired by multiplying by Y the matrix X with 8 rows and 8 columns as the solution raised to the a-th power and turned clockwise by n×90°”) and performing calculation according to the above-mentioned definition by using the key.",
"Thus, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A decrypts the encrypted cut data provided as a stream from the preprocessing portion 272 A one after another so as to generate the plain text cut data.",
"[0219] Next, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A removes the dummy data from the plain text cut data as required (S 1205 ).",
"As described above, the solutions generated by the solution generating portion 274 A are transmitted to the preprocessing portion 272 A. These solutions were used when determining how the dummy data was embedded in the plain text cut data in the preprocessing portion 272 of the first data processing apparatus 11 .",
"To be more specific, the solutions held by the preprocessing portion 272 A of the encryption apparatus 27 A at that point in time indicate how the dummy data was embedded in the encrypted cut data (to be more precise, the plain text cut data before the encrypted cut data was encrypted) of which decryption is finished (or being performed or just to be performed) by the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 .",
"[0220] The preprocessing portion 272 A transmits to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A the information on where in the plain text cut data decrypted by the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A the dummy data is embedded.",
"[0221] The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A removes the dummy data from the plain text cut data by using the information.",
"[0222] The plain text cut data thus generated is transmitted to the connecting portion 277 A. The connecting portion 277 A connects the received plain text cut data as one and changes it back to the subject data in the original state before being encrypted on the first data processing apparatus 11 (S 1206 ).",
"[0223] Thus, the step S 130 in which the second data processing apparatus 12 decrypts the encrypted data and changes it back to the subject data is finished.",
"[0224] The generated subject data is transmitted from the connecting portion 277 A to the interface portion 271 A, and is then transmitted to the encryption apparatus 27 B via the bus 29 .",
"[0225] Here, the encryption apparatus 27 B performs the process of the above-mentioned step S 140 of re-encrypting the decrypted subject data to render it as the encrypted data.",
"[0226] The encryption process of the encryption apparatus 27 B is performed in approximately the same flow as that of the first data processing apparatus 11 ( FIG. 12 ).",
"[0227] The subject data transmitted to the encryption apparatus 27 B is received by the interface portion 271 B (S 1301 ).",
"[0228] The interface portion 271 B transmits it to the preprocessing portion 272 B. [0229] The preprocessing portion 272 B cuts the received subject data by a predetermined number of bits, and generates the plain text cut data (S 1302 ).",
"The method of cutting the subject data in this case does not have to be the same as that of the encryption apparatus 27 and encryption apparatus 27 A. According to this embodiment, however, the same process as that described about the encryption apparatus 27 and encryption apparatus 27 A is performed to cut the subject data.",
"The preprocessing portion 272 B performs the same process as that described about the encryption apparatus 27 so as to include the dummy data in the plain text cut data as required.",
"[0230] Next, the plain text cut data is transmitted to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B. The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B encrypts it to rendered as the encrypted cut data (S 1303 ).",
"[0231] Here, the algorithm and key to be used for the encryption are generated as in the case of the encryption apparatus 27 .",
"The solutions are also generated before this as in the case of the encryption apparatus 27 .",
"The flow from the generation of the solutions to the generation of the algorithm and key will be described hereunder.",
"[0232] When the interface portion 271 B receives the subject data from the bus 29 , the solution generating portion 274 B receives that information from the interface portion 271 B. The solution generating portion 274 B should generate the solutions in appropriate timing.",
"If the solution generating portion 274 B of this embodiment receives the information on reception of the subject data from the interface portion 271 B, it takes that opportunity to generate the solutions.",
"Details of the generation of the solutions are the same as those described about the encryption apparatus 27 .",
"[0233] The generated solutions are transmitted to the algorithm generating portion 275 B and key generating portion 276 B. [0234] The algorithm generating portion 275 B and key generating portion 276 B generate the algorithm and key by performing the same process as that performed by the algorithm generating portion 275 and key generating portion 276 of the encryption apparatus 27 .",
"The generated algorithm and key are transmitted to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B from the algorithm generating portion 275 B or the key generating portion 276 B. [0235] The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B receives the algorithm from the algorithm generating portion 275 B and the key from the key generating portion 276 B respectively, and sequentially encrypts the plain text cut data received from the preprocessing portion 272 B (S 1303 ).",
"[0236] Details of the encryption are the same as those described about the encryption apparatus 27 .",
"[0237] The generated encrypted cut data is sequentially transmitted to the connecting portion 277 B. [0238] The connecting portion 277 B connects the encrypted cut data as one to render it as the encrypted data (S 1304 ).",
"The encrypted data is transmitted to the specific information generating portion 278 B. [0239] The specific information generating portion 278 B adds the above-mentioned specific information to the header, for instance, of the received encrypted data (S 1305 ).",
"[0240] The encrypted data having the specific information added thereto is transmitted to the bus 29 via the interface portion 271 B to be recorded on the HDD 23 in the second data processing apparatus 12 .",
"[0241] Next, when the first data processing apparatus 11 sends the second data processing apparatus 12 an instruction to send back the encrypted data recorded on the HDD 23 in the second data processing apparatus 12 to the first data processing apparatus 11 for instance, the second data processing apparatus 12 performs the following process.",
"[0242] First, the encryption apparatus 27 B reads the encrypted data from the HDD 23 and decrypts the encrypted data to change it back to the subject data, thereby performing the above-mentioned process of S 150 .",
"Details of this process will be described by referring to FIG. 13 .",
"[0243] To be more precise, the interface portion 271 B of the encryption apparatus 27 B of the second data processing apparatus 12 reads the encrypted data from the HDD 23 via the bus 29 (S 1401 ).",
"[0244] The interface portion 271 B transmits the encrypted data to the preprocessing portion 272 B. The preprocessing portion 272 B cuts the received encrypted data by a predetermined number of bits to generate the encrypted cut data (S 1402 ).",
"[0245] In the case of generating the encrypted cut data by cutting the encrypted data, the preprocessing portion 272 B performs the same process as the above-mentioned process performed by the preprocessing portion 272 A of the encryption apparatus 27 A on performing the decryption.",
"To be more specific, the encrypted data is cut by 8 bits from the head to be divided into multiple pieces of the encrypted cut data.",
"[0246] Next, the encrypted cut data is transmitted to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B.The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B decrypts it to rendered as the plain text cut data (S 1403 ).",
"[0247] The decryption is performed as the same process as the above-mentioned process performed by the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 A of the encryption apparatus 27 A on performing the decryption.",
"To perform such decryption, the second data processing apparatus 12 requires the algorithm and key.",
"[0248] The algorithm and key are generated as follows.",
"[0249] The interface portion 271 B of this embodiment can read the specific information added to the encrypted data.",
"The specific information is the information for identifying the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data for having the specific information added thereto.",
"[0250] For instance, in the case where the specific information is the algorithm and key themselves used when encrypting the encrypted data, the interface portion 271 B reads the algorithm and key from the encrypted data and transmits them to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B via the preprocessing portion 272 B for instance.",
"The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B decrypts the encrypted cut data based on the algorithm and key.",
"[0251] In the case where the specific information is the solutions used to generate the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data, the interface portion 271 B reads the solutions from the encrypted data so as to transmit them to the algorithm generating portion 275 B and the key generating portion 276 B. In this case, the algorithm generating portion 275 B and the key generating portion 276 B generate the algorithm and key based on the received solutions respectively.",
"The algorithm and key match with the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data having the solutions added thereto.",
"The algorithm generating portion 275 B and the key generating portion 276 B transmit the generated algorithm and key to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B. The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B decrypts the encrypted cut data based on the algorithm and key.",
"[0252] In the case where the specific information is the information indicating what number generated solutions are the solutions used on generating the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data, the interface portion 271 B reads the information from the encrypted data so as to transmit it to the solution generating portion 274 B. The solution generating portion 274 B having received the information generates the solutions up to the indicated order.",
"The solutions match with those used when encrypting the encrypted data having the above-mentioned information added thereto.",
"In this case, at least the initial matrixes should be held without being erased so that the solutions generated in the same order are always the same.",
"The solution generating portion 274 B transmits the generated solutions to the algorithm generating portion 275 B and the key generating portion 276 B. The algorithm generating portion 275 B and the key generating portion 276 B generate the algorithm and key based on the received solutions respectively.",
"The algorithm and key match with the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data having the solutions added thereto respectively.",
"The algorithm generating portion 275 B and the key generating portion 276 B transmit the generated algorithm and key to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B. The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B decrypts the encrypted cut data based on the algorithm and key.",
"[0253] The encrypted cut data is changed back to the plain text cut data as described above.",
"[0254] Next, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B removes the dummy data from the plain text cut data as required (S 1404 ).",
"[0255] Here, if the dummy data included in the plain text cut data is included at an appropriate position based on the solutions, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B requires the solutions used on encrypting the plain text cut data last time when removing the dummy data.",
"In the case where the specific information is the solutions used when the plain text cut data was encrypted last time, the interface portion 271 B transmits the solutions to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B. In the case where the specific information is the information indicating what number generated solutions are the solutions used when the plain text cut data was encrypted last time, the solution generating portion 274 B transmits the generated solutions to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B. The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B removes the dummy data included at the appropriate position based on the solutions by using the solutions.",
"[0256] In the case of including the dummy data included in the plain text cut data at an appropriate position based on the solutions, it is not desirable to render the specific information as the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data.",
"It is because, if rendered so, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 B cannot obtain the solutions so that the dummy data cannot be removed.",
"[0257] The plain text cut data from which the dummy data has been removed is transmitted to the connecting portion 277 B. The plain text cut data is connected as one by the connecting portion 277 B to be changed back to the subject data (S 1405 ).",
"[0258] The plain text cut data is transmitted to the bus 29 via the interface portion 271 B, and is then transmitted to the encryption apparatus 27 A associated with the first data processing apparatus 11 which requested transmission of the encrypted data as a source of the plain text cut data.",
"[0259] On receiving this, the encryption apparatus 27 A performs the above-mentioned process of S 160 of encrypting the subject data to render it as the encrypted data.",
"[0260] The encryption apparatus 27 A performs this process as the same one as the process described in S 110 performed by the encryption apparatus 27 of the first data processing apparatus 11 on rendering the subject data as the encrypted data.",
"[0261] The encrypted data generated on the encryption apparatus 27 A is transmitted to the communication apparatus 28 of the second data processing apparatuses 12 via the bus 29 , and is transmitted from there to the communication apparatus 28 of the first data processing apparatus 11 which requested transmission of the encrypted data via the network 13 .",
"This corresponds to the above-mentioned process of S 170 .",
"[0262] The encrypted data is decrypted on the encryption apparatus 27 in the first data processing apparatus 11 .",
"This is the above-mentioned process of S 180 .",
"The encryption apparatus 27 performs this process as the same process as the process described in S 130 performed by the encryption apparatus 27 A of the second data processing apparatus 12 on decrypting the encrypted data as the subject data.",
"[0263] In short, the encryption apparatus 27 built into each of the first data processing apparatuses 11 of this embodiment and the encryption apparatus 27 A in the second data processing apparatuses 12 associated with that first data processing apparatus 11 are capable of mutually decrypting the encrypted data encrypted by the other.",
"[0264] The subject data decrypted and generated on the encryption apparatus 27 in the first data processing apparatus 11 is the same as the data which was on the HDD 23 in the first data processing apparatus 11 before the process of S 110 was performed.",
"The subject data is recorded on the HDD 23 in the first data processing apparatus 11 for instance.",
"The first data processing apparatus 11 can use it as appropriate.",
"Second Embodiment [0265] There is only one data processing apparatus according to the second embodiment.",
"[0266] The hardware configuration of the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first data processing apparatus 11 of the first embodiment.",
"However, the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment does not need to communicate, and so it does not have the communication apparatus 28 provided to the first data processing apparatus 11 .",
"[0267] To be more specific, the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment includes a CPU 21 , an ROM 22 , an HDD 23 , an RAM 24 , an input apparatus 25 , a display apparatus 26 , an encryption apparatus 27 and a bus 29 .",
"The functions thereof basically match with the functions of the CPU 21 , ROM 22 , HDD 23 , RAM 24 , input apparatus 25 , display apparatus 26 , encryption apparatus 27 and bus 29 of the first data processing apparatus 11 .",
"[0268] The configuration of the encryption apparatus 27 of the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment is almost the same as the configuration of the encryption apparatus 27 built into the first data processing apparatus 11 of the first embodiment (shown in FIG. 4 ).",
"However, it is different from the encryption apparatus 27 of the first embodiment in that the algorithm generating portion 275 is replaced by a first algorithm generating portion 275 X and a second algorithm generating portion 275 Y, and the key generating portion 276 is replaced by a first key generating portion 276 X and a second key generating portion 276 Y ( FIG. 14 ).",
"[0269] The data processing apparatus of the second embodiment performs the processes of encrypting the subject data recorded on the HDD 23 with the encryption apparatus 27 , recording the encrypted data generated by the encryption on the HDD 23 , decrypting the encrypted data recorded on the HDD 23 with the encryption apparatus 27 and recording the subject data generated by the decryption on the HDD 23 as will be described later.",
"According to the second embodiment multiple pieces of the encrypted data are decrypted, and the order of decrypting the encrypted data matches with the order in which the encrypted data was encrypted from the subject data.",
"[0270] There arise the differences, in conjunction with this point, between the encryption apparatus 27 of the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment and the encryption apparatus 27 built into the first data processing apparatus 11 of the first embodiment.",
"[0271] The encryption apparatus 27 of the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment has the configuration shown in FIG. 14 as described above.",
"[0272] The encryption apparatus 27 in the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment has an interface portion 271 , a preprocessing portion 272 , an encrypting and decrypting portion 273 , a solution generating portion 274 and a connecting portion 277 , which have basically the same functions as those in the encryption apparatus 27 of the first data processing apparatus 11 of the first embodiment.",
"The interface portion 271 exchanges the data between the bus 29 and the communication apparatus 28 .",
"[0273] The preprocessing portion 272 cuts the subject data or encrypted data received from the bus 29 via the interface portion 271 by a predetermined number of bits to generate the plain text cut data or the encrypted cut data and transmits them to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 .",
"The preprocessing portion 272 may include the dummy data in the plain text cut data.",
"[0274] The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 receives the plain text cut data or encrypted cut data from the preprocessing portion 272 , encrypts the plain text cut data if received and decrypts the encrypted cut data if received.",
"The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 has the standard number of bits as the processing unit for performing the processing of the encryption and decryption fixed at 8 bits according to this embodiment.",
"[0275] The solution generating portion 274 sequentially generates the solutions.",
"According to this embodiment, the solutions are generated each time the preprocessing portion 272 receives the subject data.",
"The solutions are pseudo-random numbers.",
"[0276] The connecting portion 277 has a function of connecting the plain text cut data generated by decrypting the encrypted cut data in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 in original order to render it as a set of the subject data.",
"The connecting portion 277 also has a function of connecting the encrypted cut data generated by encrypting the plain text cut data in the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 to render it as a set of the encrypted data.",
"[0277] The first algorithm generating portion 275 X generates the algorithm based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 .",
"The algorithm is used when performing the encryption.",
"The second algorithm generating portion 275 Y generates the algorithm based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 .",
"The algorithm is used when performing the decryption.",
"The first algorithm generating portion 275 X and the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y generate the same algorithm in the case of generating the algorithm by using the same solutions.",
"[0278] The first key generating portion 276 X generates the key based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 .",
"The key is used when performing the encryption.",
"The second key generating portion 276 Y generates the key based on the solutions received from the solution generating portion 274 .",
"The key is used when performing the decryption.",
"The first key generating portion 276 X and the second key generating portion 276 Y generate the same key in the case of generating the key by using the same solutions.",
"[0279] According to this embodiment, the first algorithm generating portion 275 X and the first key generating portion 276 X generate the algorithm and key each time the preprocessing portion 272 receives the subject data.",
"And the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y and the second key generating portion 276 Y generate the algorithm and key each time the preprocessing portion 272 receives the encrypted data.",
"[0280] Operations of the data processing apparatuses of the second embodiment will be described by using FIG. 15 .",
"[0281] First, the subject data is read (S 1501 ).",
"The subject data is read from the HDD 23 according to this embodiment.",
"The subject data is transmitted to the encryption apparatus 27 from the HDD 23 via the bus 29 .",
"To be more precise, the subject data is transmitted to the preprocessing portion 272 via the interface portion 271 .",
"[0282] The subject data is cut by a predetermined number of bits to be rendered as the plain text cut data in the preprocessing portion 272 (S 1502 ).",
"The preprocessing portion 272 includes the dummy data in the plain text cut data as required.",
"[0283] The method of generating the plain text cut data from the subject data is the same as that described in S 1102 of the first embodiment.",
"[0284] On receiving the information on reception of the subject data from the interface portion 271 , the solution generating portion 274 takes the opportunity to generate the solutions.",
"The solutions may be generated each time the subject data is cut in the preprocessing portion 272 .",
"In this case, the generation of the subject data in the preprocessing portion 272 is synchronized with the generation of the solutions in the solution generating portion 274 .",
"[0285] The method of generating the solutions of this embodiment is the same as the method performed by the solution generating portion 274 when the first data processing apparatus 11 of the first embodiment performed the encryption.",
"[0286] The generated solutions are transmitted to the first algorithm generating portion 275 X, second algorithm generating portion 275 Y, first key generating portion 276 X and second key generating portion 276 Y. [0287] The first algorithm generating portion 275 X and first key generating portion 276 X having received this generate the algorithm and key respectively.",
"The method of generating the algorithm and key of this embodiment is the same as the method performed by the algorithm generating portion 275 and key generating portion 276 when the first data processing apparatus 11 of the first embodiment generated the algorithm and key.",
"[0288] The first algorithm generating portion 275 X and first key generating portion 276 X transmit the generated algorithm and key to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 .",
"[0289] The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 encrypts the plain text cut data received from the preprocessing portion 272 based on the algorithm received from the first algorithm generating portion 275 X and the key received from the first key generating portion 276 X (S 1503 ).",
"This process is performed as the same process as that of S 1103 described in the first embodiment.",
"[0290] The encrypted cut data thus generated is transmitted to the connecting portion 277 and connected as one there to be rendered as the encrypted data (S 1504 ).",
"[0291] The encrypted data generated as above is recorded on the HDD 23 in the data processing apparatus via the bus 29 .",
"[0292] Such an encryption process is performed a number of times in this embodiment.",
"[0293] The data processing apparatus decrypts the encrypted data recorded on the HDD 23 .",
"[0294] Hereunder, the step of the decryption will be described in detail by referring to FIG. 16 .",
"[0295] The decryption is started by having the encrypted data recorded on the HDD 23 read by the encryption apparatus 27 (S 1601 ).",
"[0296] If the preprocessing portion 272 in the encryption apparatus 27 receives the encrypted data from the HDD 23 via the interface portion 271 , the preprocessing portion 272 cuts the received encrypted data by a predetermined number of bits to generate the encrypted cut data (S 1602 ).",
"[0297] In the case of generating the encrypted cut data by cutting the encrypted data, the preprocessing portion 272 performs a process reverse to the process performed as the above-mentioned encryption process.",
"To be more specific, the encrypted data is cut by 8 bits from the head to be divided into multiple pieces of the encrypted cut data.",
"This process is the same process as that of S 1203 of the first embodiment.",
"[0298] Next, the encrypted cut data is transmitted to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 , where it is decrypted and rendered as the plain text cut data (S 1603 ).",
"[0299] The decryption is performed as a process reverse to the above-mentioned encryption process performed by the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 .",
"For that reason, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 requires the algorithm and key used on performing the encryption.",
"Here, the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y generates the algorithm and the second key generating portion 276 Y generates the key by using the solutions generated in advance.",
"As the order in which the encrypted data is decrypted matches with the order in which the encrypted data was encrypted from the subject data, the algorithm and key generated by the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y and the second key generating portion 276 Y are generated based on the solutions used when encrypting the encrypted data about to be decrypted.",
"It means that the algorithm generated by the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y and the key generated by the second key generating portion 276 Y match with the algorithm and key used when encrypting the encrypted data about to be decrypted.",
"[0300] After having the solutions generated by the solution generating portion 274 , the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y and the second key generating portion 276 Y may generate the algorithm and key in any timing before the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 requires the algorithm and key for the sake of performing the decryption.",
"[0301] The algorithm generated by the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y and the key generated by the second key generating portion 276 Y are transmitted to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 .",
"The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 uses the algorithm and key to sequentially decrypt the encrypted cut data and render it as the plain text cut data.",
"This process is performed as the same process as the process described in S 1204 of the first embodiment.",
"[0302] Next, the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 removes the dummy data from the plain text cut data as required (S 1604 ).",
"This process is performed as the same process as the process in S 1205 of the first embodiment.",
"[0303] The plain text cut data thus generated is transmitted to the connecting portion 277 .",
"The connecting portion 277 connects the received plain text cut data as one and generates the subject data (S 1605 ).",
"[0304] The generated subject data is transmitted from the connecting portion 277 to the interface portion 271 , and is then recorded on the HDD 23 via the bus 29 .",
"Deformed Example [0305] The data processing apparatus of the second embodiment may be deformed as follows.",
"[0306] The data processing apparatus of this deformed example has a configuration of the encryption apparatus 27 slightly different from the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment.",
"Otherwise, it is the same as the above-mentioned data processing apparatus of the second embodiment.",
"[0307] The encryption apparatus 27 of the deformed example is configured as shown in FIG. 17 .",
"This encryption apparatus 27 is different from the encryption apparatus 27 of the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment having only one solution generating portion 274 in that it has two solution generating portions of a first solution generating portion 274 X and a second solution generating portion 274 Y. [0308] Both the first solution generating portion 274 X and second solution generating portion 274 Y generate the solutions as with the solution generating portion 274 of the second embodiment.",
"[0309] On receiving the information from the interface portion 271 that the interface portion 271 received the subject data, the first solution generating portion 274 X takes the opportunity to generate the solutions.",
"The first solution generating portion 274 X may also generate the solutions each time the subject data is cut in the preprocessing portion 272 .",
"The solutions generated by the first solution generating portion 274 X are transmitted to the first algorithm generating portion 275 X and first key generating portion 276 X. As in the case of the second embodiment, the first algorithm generating portion 275 X and first key generating portion 276 X having received the solutions generate the algorithm and key respectively, and transmit them to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 .",
"The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 performs the encryption process by using the algorithm and the key received from the first algorithm generating portion 275 X and first key generating portion 276 X. [0310] On receiving the information from the interface portion 271 that the interface portion 271 received the encrypted data, the second solution generating portion 274 Y generates the solutions.",
"However, the second solution generating portion 274 Y may also generate the solutions each time the encrypted data is cut in the preprocessing portion 272 .",
"The solutions generated by the second solution generating portion 274 Y are transmitted to the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y and second key generating portion 276 Y. As in the case of the second embodiment, the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y and second key generating portion 276 Y having received the solutions generate the algorithm and key respectively, and transmit them to the encrypting and decrypting portion 273 .",
"The encrypting and decrypting portion 273 performs the decryption process by using the algorithm and key received from the second algorithm generating portion 275 Y and second key generating portion 276 Y. [0311] The solutions generated by the second solution generating portion 274 Y are the same solutions as those generated by the first solution generating portion 274 X if the solutions generated in the same order are mutually compared.",
"On this point, it is the same as the first embodiment wherein the solution generating portion 274 in the encryption apparatus 27 built into the first data processing apparatus 11 and the solution generating portion 274 A in the encryption apparatus 27 A built into the second data processing apparatuses 12 generate the same solutions if the solutions generated in the same order are mutually compared.",
"To be more specific, the second solution generating portion 274 Y and the first solution generating portion 274 X of the deformed example have the same solution generating algorithm and also have the same initial matrix.",
"[0312] The data processing apparatus of this deformed example performs the same processes as the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment except the processes of generating the solutions and generating the algorithm.",
"[0313] The encryption apparatuses of the second embodiment and the deformed example thereof may be replaced by the encryption apparatus 27 B of the first embodiment."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method of producing a lamp having a coated layer such as a fluorescent lamp with a plural number of glass element tubes having openings at both ends and connected at the side of the openings to form a single discharge path, and more particularly to a method of producing a lamp in which an internal portion of a connecting portion cannot be seen and in which the connecting portion also emits light in the same manner as the other portions of the glass tube.
In recent years, linear glass element tubes having either two or four openings at each end have been connected in the vicinity of these openings to form so-called compact fluorescent lamps that form discharge paths that are bent into either an H-shape or a double H-shape.
The following are known as methods of producing such compact fluorescent lamps.
A fluorescent lamp having such a shape and structure is manufactured using technology such as that for "METHOD OF PRODUCING A LOW-PRESSURE MERCURY VAPOR DISCHARGE LAMP" as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,447 (hereinafter cited as Wolf et al.).
As is clear from referral to Wolf et al., after several fluorescent tubes have been manufactured, had one end closed and a luminescent agent coated to their inner walls, the gas fusion method is used to introduce a gas flow via a discharge tube and at the same time fuse the glass element tubes so that an aperture is formed between adjacent tubes.
However, according to such a method, the gas tubes are fused after the luminescent layer has been formed and so it is easy for the luminescent substance to enter into the connecting portion and produce cracks. In addition, when the luminescent substance on the inside walls of the connecting portion is cleaned, it is difficult to do so unless the diameter of the connecting portion is large. This is because the particles of the luminescent substance are sized in the order of several microns in the case of a luminescent layer and so unless the diameter is made large, it is not possible to connect the tubes without removing the luminescent layer. Accordingly, it is possible to perform coating of a protective layer of aluminum or titanium particles that have particle diameters in the sub-micron order, and this creates a problem for the application of this method to fluorescent tubes of the type where a protective layer is provided. The following prior art has been proposed in order to overcome this problem.
(A) A method to form an opening for tube connection without causing cracks or breakages by attaching a phosphor-coating adherence preventing member in the vicinity of an open end of a glass element tube, and by removing the preventing member after application of a phosphor screen to the tube inner surface (refer to Japanese patent application Laid-Open Publication No. 62-287545 (1987)).
(B) A method to apply a phosphor-coating layer to the inside wall of a glass element tube and to form a luminescent layer by baking after drying, and then removing the phosphor coating layer on the glass tube in the vicinity of their open ends, sealing the tubes at these parts and also providing a through hole on the side of the tube so as to join the plural number of tubes (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 63-13233 (1988)).
(C) A method to form a phosphor coating layer in the same manner to the inside wall of a glass element tube, closing the openings with the luminescent layer still attached and then connecting the portions of the glass element tubes where they are to be connected (See Japanese patent application Laid-Open Publication No. 62-281229 (1987)).
However, there are the following problems with these conventional technologies.
With method (A) of J.P. No. 62-287545, it is necessary to have a coating prevention layer, and the labor involved in attaching and removing this cannot be ignored as the production processes become complex and an increased price is unavoidable.
With method (B) of J.P. No. 63-13233, it is necessary to have the tools and the labor to partially remove the luminescent layer and this complicates the production processes and also inhibits mass production. In particular, when a protection layer of aluminum particles or the like is provided using the luminescent layer as the base, it is necessary to use much labor and special tools such as wire brushes as the removal of the protection layer is difficult.
With method (C) of J.P. No. 62-281229, the portion of the tube where the connection is to be made is connected by blowing out the tubes while the luminescent layer is in place and so the luminescent layer is drawn out when the glass at the connecting portion is made pliant and connected, and so the thickness of the luminescent layer on the inside wall of the connecting portion becomes thinner, and the amount of light emitted is consequently less so that there is an uneven brightness distribution which is not desirable for the external appearance.
Accordingly, fluorescent lamps produced by the above conventional methods are not desirable as they have the problems of reliability, performance and maintenance of the external appearance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a method of producing an effective fluorescent lamp which is simple, inexpensive, and which does not involve the use of special tools or require complex procedures.
In addition, a secondary object of the present invention is to provide a fluorescent lamp that eliminates the discontinuity in the brightness and the external appearance when the luminescent layer is also provided on the inner surface of the connecting portion, and in which the internal portion of the tube portion cannot be seen and in which there is no difference in the degree of brightness when light is emitted from the connecting portion.
In order to attain the above objects, the fluorescent lamp producing method according to the present invention comprises a step of forming a plural number of glass element tubes that have both of their ends open as opening portions, a step of sealing the opening portions of the glass tubes by melting the glass at required portions on the side walls in the vicinity of one end portion and forming a complex glass tube that is connected in an airtight manner, a step of introducing a substance from an open portion of the complex tube so as to form a coated layer on the inner wall surface of the tube, and a step of closing the open portions of the complex tube at the side of the connecting portion so as to form a discharge path.
The present invention eliminates the problem described above by using a plural number of glass tubes that have openings at both of their ends, and for example, blowing out the respective portions at which a connecting portion is to be formed, forming a coated layer such as a luminescent layer on the inner surface of the connected tube, and then closing the openings in the vicinity of the connecting portions. More specifically, the steps are greatly reduced. If the luminescent layer is formed after connecting the tubes in this manner, then the luminescent layer is formed on the inner wall surface of the connecting portion to a thickness which is approximately uniform to that of the other portions. In addition, the same also applies when a protection layer is applied prior to the formation of the fluorescent layer.
In this manner, as the method of producing a fluorescent lamp according to the present invention comprises the step of connecting the glass element tubes to form the complex tube by blowing out connecting portions thereof, a step of forming a coated layer on the inner surface of the tube, and a step of closing the opening portions of the complex tube, there is no difference between the degree of brightness of the connecting portion and that of the other portions of the tube, the connecting portion also emits light, and the external appearance is satisfactory.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings:
FIG. 1 is an outline perspective view showing a step of forming a connecting portion of an element glass tube for describing a method of producing a fluorescent lamp according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a step of connecting portions where a connection is to be made according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the step of connecting the glass tube according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a step of forming a protecting layer according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a step of forming a luminescent layer according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7A and 7B are sectional views and partial views respectively showing steps of forming the protection and luminescent layers according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a step of closing the opening portions on the side of the connecting portion according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a step of closing the opening portions on the other side according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view showing a fluorescent lamp of a linear tube connection type and produced by the method according to the first or second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a step of forming a blown out portion in the manufacture of a fluorescent lamp of the four linear tube type, according to a third embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a step of applying a luminescent layer and a protection layer according to the third embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a fluorescent lamp of the four tube type according to the third and fourth embodiments of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The following is a description of a first embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. 1-5 and 8-10. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a linear glass tube having openings at both ends is formed with blown-out portions 4 and 4 by heating portions 3 and 3 for connection in the vicinity of one of the openings 1a and 1a and blowing them out towards the outside.
As shown in FIG. 1, the blown-out portion 4 is formed as follows. The two ends 1a and 1b of the linear glass tube 1 of a cylindrical shape have rubber stoppers 5 and 6 inserted into them and are closed. The rubber stopper 6 has a pipe 7 for introducing a special gas into the linear elemental tube 1. After these preparations have been made, the portion 3 for connection at the end closest to the opening portion 1a is heated by a gas burner and at the same time, gas is blown into the tube 1 via the pipe 7. The glass at the portion 3 for connection which has been heated by the burner 8 is made pliable by the heat so the pressure of the gas applied uniformly to the inside of the glass tube 1 blows out this pliant portion to form the blown-out portion 4.
Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the two tubes 1 and 1 in which the blown-out portions 4 and 4 have been formed are placed so that the blown-out portions 4 and 4 correspond and are connected.
Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the blown-out portions 4 and 4 of both of the tubes 1 and 1 are heated and made pliant and fused together to form the connecting portion 9 and so form an H-shaped tube 11 that has a single, continuous discharge path 10. The tube 11 that is connected into an H-shaped tube in this manner can have gas blowing into it via the pipe 7 while the four end portions have the rubber stoppers 5 and 6 inserted into them and the connecting portion 9 shown in FIG. 3 is heated and annealed so that the diameter of the connection can be made to a required size.
Then, as shown in FIG. 4, aluminum powder or titanium powder or some other organic solvent suspension liquid is applied to the inner surface of the connected H-shaped tube 11 and a protection layer 12 formed. The protection layer 12 is also formed on the inner surface of the connecting portion 9. However, the vicinity of both of the openings 1a and 1b is avoided when this layer is applied.
Then, as shown in FIG. 5, a phosphor suspension is applied to the surface of the protection layer on the inner surface of the tube 11 to form a luminescent layer 13 as a thick fluorescent film. When this is done, it is necessary to perform application of the luminescent layer 13 after the protection layer 12 has been applied and baked or else the protection layer 12 and the luminescent layer 13 will dissolve into each other. Conversely, if both the layers have not been dissolved into each other and can be thickly applied to a predetermined thickness without an unevenness, there can be a single baking after both the layers have been applied one over the other.
In the first embodiment described above, the protection layer 12 and the luminescent layer 13 are not limited to the direction of application or the like, but in the method of producing a fluorescent lamp according to a second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7A and 7B, the directions of application of the layers are not the same.
More specifically, in the step of applying the layers, the application of the protection layer 12 is such that an organic suspension of aluminum powder, titanium powder, or zinc powder is allowed to flow in from the side of the opening portion 1a of the connecting portion 9. If this is done, then the suspension liquid is drawn into an arc that flows in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 6B. The liquid flows from the top to the bottom and so the layer thickness D P1 on the side of the opening portion 1a is thinner than the layer thickness D P2 at the side of the opening portion 1b and the liquid at the central portion of the connecting portion 9 flows around slightly so that the lower side of the connecting portion 9 has the protection layer 12 formed slightly thicker by the portion of an area 12A shown in FIG. 6B. There is little that can be done about the formation of these two types of application patterns, but when the luminescent suspension is allowed to flow from the side of the opening portion 1a, the inside wall surface of the glass tube 1 becomes status where the thickness of the layer approaches that of the side of the opening portion 1b. In order to prevent this, in the step of applying the layers in the method according to the second embodiment, when the luminescent layer 13 is applied, the tube 11 is inverted and the thickness D L2 of the luminescent layer 13 on the side of the opening portion 1a becomes "D P1 +D L2 " and so the diameter of the discharge path 10 inside the glass tube 11 is uniform because "D P1 +D L2 " is approximately equal to "D P2 +D L1 ". In addition, application unevenness of the luminescent layer 13 is formed in an area 13A shown in FIG. 7B on the side of the opening portion 1a of the connecting portion 9 but the area 12A of the protection layer 12 spans the central portion of the connecting portion 9 and so the sides are opposite and there is not a thick portion on only one side.
The later steps are the same for both the first embodiment and the second embodiment and so the description is the same as that for the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 8, the openings 1a and 1a on the side of the connecting portion 9 are blown out and closed to form closed ends 1c. When this is done, either one portion or the entire inner surface closed ends 1c and 1c have the luminescent layer 13 remaining in the status where it is laminated on the protection layer 12 base.
Finally, as shown in FIG. 9, in to the other ends 1b and 1b of the tube 11 are inserted stems 14 and 14 to which filaments 14a and 14a are mounted and the air is exhausted through the air exhaust tubes 14b and 14b and the starting gas and mercury (or amalgam) introduced and the air exhaust tubes 14b and 14b sealed.
As described above, since the method according to the first and second embodiments comprises the step of forming the luminescent layer 13 on the protection layer 12 as the base on the inner surface of the H-shaped tube 11 after the glass element tubes 1 and 1 have been connected to form the tube 11, these embodiments have as advantages that the protection and luminescent layers 12 and 13 are formed to the same thickness for the inner surface of the connecting portion 9 and for the other portions, the inside of the tubes 1 and 1 cannot be seen from the connecting portion 9, when lit, light is also emitted from the connecting portion 9, and the degree of brightness is uniform and external appearance consequently good. In addition, there is no embedding of component particles of the protection layer 12 and the luminescent layer 13 to the glass of the connecting portion 9 and so there is also the advantage of a high connection strength. Furthermore, the luminescent layer 13 is also formed on top of the protection layer 12 on the inner surface of the closed ends 1c and the inside of the glass tube 11 cannot be seen from the closed ends 1c, and these portions also emit light when lit so that the external appearance is also good. Also, no external force is applied to the closed ends 1c and so component particles of the protection layer 12 and the luminescent layer 13 are not embedded into the glass so that there is no deterioration of the strength and no reduction in the product value.
Moreover, the glass tube is not limited to a linear glass tube in the present invention, but can be a U-shaped tube, for example, with both ends open, and linked at only one end, but there is no limit to other configurations.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, four glass tubes can be connected to form two H-shaped tubes 11. This connection is performed, as shown in FIG. 11, by forming a pair of tubes 11 by the connection step described for the first embodiment, inserting rubber stoppers 5 and 5 into both of the opening portions 1a and 1b of one of the glass tubes 1, and then inserting a rubber stopper 5 into the opening portion 1a on the side of the portion 3 for connection of the other glass tube 1 and a rubber stopper 6 with a pipe 7 into the opening portion 1b of the other side. The connecting portions 9 are different as one is for the middle two tubes and the others for the outer two tubes and so opening portions 1b and b become the opening portions 1a and 1a when the two tubes are connected. FIG. 11 shows the status where the middle two tubes are connected after the outer two tubes 1 and 1 have been linked and a pair of the H-shaped tubes 11 and 11 have been formed. This connection step is the same as that for the first embodiment described in FIGS. 1 through 5 and 8 through 10 and so the description of it is omitted.
As described above, the connecting portion 9 is formed with connected tube 21 having four element tubes 1 so that their end portions are mutually different. The tube 21 then has the rubber stoppers 5 and 6 that are in the eight end portions removed and then as shown in FIG. 12, suspension liquid is applied to the inner wall surfaces via each of the opening portions and the protection and luminescent layers 12 and 13 are formed step by step. The details of this are as explained above for the first and second embodiments with reference to FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7A and 7B and so the corresponding description of them will be omitted.
Then, as shown in FIG. 13, the end portions 21A and 21B, to which a connecting portion 9 is not formed, are removed and the end portions 21C through 21H are heated by a burner not shown in the figures, and the glass tube melted to seal the end portion 1a. The details of this melting step are as explained above for preceding embodiments and so the corresponding description of them will be omitted. Following this, the remaining two end portions 21A and 21B are sealed in the same manner as explained above for preceding embodiments by the stems 14 and 14 having filaments 14a and 14a and the air inside is exhausted via the air exhaust tubes 14b and 14b and the starting gas and mercury (or amalgam) introduced and the air exhaust pipes 14b and 14b sealed.
Moreover, in the manufacture of a tube 21 having four connected tubes 1, the present invention is not limited to this third embodiment described above as the connection process can be that of a fourth embodiment described below.
In the fourth embodiment, each of steps described above for the first and second embodiments are used to form two H-shaped tubes 11 which are then connected to form a tube 21 having four connected element tubes 1. The H-shaped tubes used here are those at the stage prior to the fitting of the stem to both of the opening end portions. A pair of the H-shaped tubes is prepared and then the method of the prior art (B) is used to link the two H-shaped tubes by blowing out the portions for connection. In this step, the end portions in the vicinity of the portions for connection (such as the end portions 21E and 21F in the case of FIG. 13) have rubber stoppers fitted into them in the status where they are open, and the rubber stopper 6 having the pipe 7 for the introduction of gas is inserted to the opening portions 21A and 21B and gas blown in from the pipe 7 while the portions for connection are heated from the outside by a burner and connected.
A fluorescent tube having four glass element tubes as described above, has the overall shape shown in FIG. 13. A fluorescent tube manufactured in accordance with the third and fourth embodiments of the present invention has a discharge path formed as indicated by the dash and dotted line in FIG. 13 and the element tubes and the connecting portion both have the same degree of brightness and excellent external appearance.
In addition, it is not essential to have the protection layer and the luminescent layer on the inner surfaces of the closed ends as for example, when the glass element tubes are connected at the middle portion on the side of the stem, then even if the closed ends are made of element glass, these portions will be housed inside a metal fitting when the product is completed and so there is no deterioration of the product value. Furthermore, it is not essential to have a protection layer as the base because the luminescent layer can be directly applied to the inner surfaces of the glass tubes and the connecting portions.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the manufacture of fluorescent lamps having a luminescent layer, but is also applicable to other lamps such as UV lamps and the like. | A method of producing a lamp having a coated layer and of a type in which linear tubes in parallel are interconnected, comprises the steps of forming a connected glass tube by making an airtight connection via connecting portions between side walls of a plural number of glass tubes having openings at both ends and main portions that are linear and arranged parallel to each other; of forming a coated layer on the inner wall surface of the connected tube including the connecting portions by introducing a coated substance from opening end portions of the connected glass tube; and of forming an airtight path as a discharge path in the connected tube including the main and connecting portions by sealing the opening end portions on a side of the connecting portions of the connected tube after the formation of the coated layer. | Briefly describe the main idea outlined in the provided context. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method of producing a lamp having a coated layer such as a fluorescent lamp with a plural number of glass element tubes having openings at both ends and connected at the side of the openings to form a single discharge path, and more particularly to a method of producing a lamp in which an internal portion of a connecting portion cannot be seen and in which the connecting portion also emits light in the same manner as the other portions of the glass tube.",
"In recent years, linear glass element tubes having either two or four openings at each end have been connected in the vicinity of these openings to form so-called compact fluorescent lamps that form discharge paths that are bent into either an H-shape or a double H-shape.",
"The following are known as methods of producing such compact fluorescent lamps.",
"A fluorescent lamp having such a shape and structure is manufactured using technology such as that for "METHOD OF PRODUCING A LOW-PRESSURE MERCURY VAPOR DISCHARGE LAMP"",
"as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,447 (hereinafter cited as Wolf et al.).",
"As is clear from referral to Wolf et al.",
", after several fluorescent tubes have been manufactured, had one end closed and a luminescent agent coated to their inner walls, the gas fusion method is used to introduce a gas flow via a discharge tube and at the same time fuse the glass element tubes so that an aperture is formed between adjacent tubes.",
"However, according to such a method, the gas tubes are fused after the luminescent layer has been formed and so it is easy for the luminescent substance to enter into the connecting portion and produce cracks.",
"In addition, when the luminescent substance on the inside walls of the connecting portion is cleaned, it is difficult to do so unless the diameter of the connecting portion is large.",
"This is because the particles of the luminescent substance are sized in the order of several microns in the case of a luminescent layer and so unless the diameter is made large, it is not possible to connect the tubes without removing the luminescent layer.",
"Accordingly, it is possible to perform coating of a protective layer of aluminum or titanium particles that have particle diameters in the sub-micron order, and this creates a problem for the application of this method to fluorescent tubes of the type where a protective layer is provided.",
"The following prior art has been proposed in order to overcome this problem.",
"(A) A method to form an opening for tube connection without causing cracks or breakages by attaching a phosphor-coating adherence preventing member in the vicinity of an open end of a glass element tube, and by removing the preventing member after application of a phosphor screen to the tube inner surface (refer to Japanese patent application Laid-Open Publication No. 62-287545 (1987)).",
"(B) A method to apply a phosphor-coating layer to the inside wall of a glass element tube and to form a luminescent layer by baking after drying, and then removing the phosphor coating layer on the glass tube in the vicinity of their open ends, sealing the tubes at these parts and also providing a through hole on the side of the tube so as to join the plural number of tubes (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 63-13233 (1988)).",
"(C) A method to form a phosphor coating layer in the same manner to the inside wall of a glass element tube, closing the openings with the luminescent layer still attached and then connecting the portions of the glass element tubes where they are to be connected (See Japanese patent application Laid-Open Publication No. 62-281229 (1987)).",
"However, there are the following problems with these conventional technologies.",
"With method (A) of J.P. No. 62-287545, it is necessary to have a coating prevention layer, and the labor involved in attaching and removing this cannot be ignored as the production processes become complex and an increased price is unavoidable.",
"With method (B) of J.P. No. 63-13233, it is necessary to have the tools and the labor to partially remove the luminescent layer and this complicates the production processes and also inhibits mass production.",
"In particular, when a protection layer of aluminum particles or the like is provided using the luminescent layer as the base, it is necessary to use much labor and special tools such as wire brushes as the removal of the protection layer is difficult.",
"With method (C) of J.P. No. 62-281229, the portion of the tube where the connection is to be made is connected by blowing out the tubes while the luminescent layer is in place and so the luminescent layer is drawn out when the glass at the connecting portion is made pliant and connected, and so the thickness of the luminescent layer on the inside wall of the connecting portion becomes thinner, and the amount of light emitted is consequently less so that there is an uneven brightness distribution which is not desirable for the external appearance.",
"Accordingly, fluorescent lamps produced by the above conventional methods are not desirable as they have the problems of reliability, performance and maintenance of the external appearance.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A primary object of the present invention is to provide a method of producing an effective fluorescent lamp which is simple, inexpensive, and which does not involve the use of special tools or require complex procedures.",
"In addition, a secondary object of the present invention is to provide a fluorescent lamp that eliminates the discontinuity in the brightness and the external appearance when the luminescent layer is also provided on the inner surface of the connecting portion, and in which the internal portion of the tube portion cannot be seen and in which there is no difference in the degree of brightness when light is emitted from the connecting portion.",
"In order to attain the above objects, the fluorescent lamp producing method according to the present invention comprises a step of forming a plural number of glass element tubes that have both of their ends open as opening portions, a step of sealing the opening portions of the glass tubes by melting the glass at required portions on the side walls in the vicinity of one end portion and forming a complex glass tube that is connected in an airtight manner, a step of introducing a substance from an open portion of the complex tube so as to form a coated layer on the inner wall surface of the tube, and a step of closing the open portions of the complex tube at the side of the connecting portion so as to form a discharge path.",
"The present invention eliminates the problem described above by using a plural number of glass tubes that have openings at both of their ends, and for example, blowing out the respective portions at which a connecting portion is to be formed, forming a coated layer such as a luminescent layer on the inner surface of the connected tube, and then closing the openings in the vicinity of the connecting portions.",
"More specifically, the steps are greatly reduced.",
"If the luminescent layer is formed after connecting the tubes in this manner, then the luminescent layer is formed on the inner wall surface of the connecting portion to a thickness which is approximately uniform to that of the other portions.",
"In addition, the same also applies when a protection layer is applied prior to the formation of the fluorescent layer.",
"In this manner, as the method of producing a fluorescent lamp according to the present invention comprises the step of connecting the glass element tubes to form the complex tube by blowing out connecting portions thereof, a step of forming a coated layer on the inner surface of the tube, and a step of closing the opening portions of the complex tube, there is no difference between the degree of brightness of the connecting portion and that of the other portions of the tube, the connecting portion also emits light, and the external appearance is satisfactory.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings: FIG. 1 is an outline perspective view showing a step of forming a connecting portion of an element glass tube for describing a method of producing a fluorescent lamp according to a first embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a step of connecting portions where a connection is to be made according to the first embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the step of connecting the glass tube according to the first embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a step of forming a protecting layer according to the first embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a step of forming a luminescent layer according to the first embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7A and 7B are sectional views and partial views respectively showing steps of forming the protection and luminescent layers according to a second embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a step of closing the opening portions on the side of the connecting portion according to the first embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a step of closing the opening portions on the other side according to the first embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view showing a fluorescent lamp of a linear tube connection type and produced by the method according to the first or second embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a step of forming a blown out portion in the manufacture of a fluorescent lamp of the four linear tube type, according to a third embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a step of applying a luminescent layer and a protection layer according to the third embodiment of the present invention;",
"and FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a fluorescent lamp of the four tube type according to the third and fourth embodiments of the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following is a description of a first embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. 1-5 and 8-10.",
"As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a linear glass tube having openings at both ends is formed with blown-out portions 4 and 4 by heating portions 3 and 3 for connection in the vicinity of one of the openings 1a and 1a and blowing them out towards the outside.",
"As shown in FIG. 1, the blown-out portion 4 is formed as follows.",
"The two ends 1a and 1b of the linear glass tube 1 of a cylindrical shape have rubber stoppers 5 and 6 inserted into them and are closed.",
"The rubber stopper 6 has a pipe 7 for introducing a special gas into the linear elemental tube 1.",
"After these preparations have been made, the portion 3 for connection at the end closest to the opening portion 1a is heated by a gas burner and at the same time, gas is blown into the tube 1 via the pipe 7.",
"The glass at the portion 3 for connection which has been heated by the burner 8 is made pliable by the heat so the pressure of the gas applied uniformly to the inside of the glass tube 1 blows out this pliant portion to form the blown-out portion 4.",
"Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the two tubes 1 and 1 in which the blown-out portions 4 and 4 have been formed are placed so that the blown-out portions 4 and 4 correspond and are connected.",
"Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the blown-out portions 4 and 4 of both of the tubes 1 and 1 are heated and made pliant and fused together to form the connecting portion 9 and so form an H-shaped tube 11 that has a single, continuous discharge path 10.",
"The tube 11 that is connected into an H-shaped tube in this manner can have gas blowing into it via the pipe 7 while the four end portions have the rubber stoppers 5 and 6 inserted into them and the connecting portion 9 shown in FIG. 3 is heated and annealed so that the diameter of the connection can be made to a required size.",
"Then, as shown in FIG. 4, aluminum powder or titanium powder or some other organic solvent suspension liquid is applied to the inner surface of the connected H-shaped tube 11 and a protection layer 12 formed.",
"The protection layer 12 is also formed on the inner surface of the connecting portion 9.",
"However, the vicinity of both of the openings 1a and 1b is avoided when this layer is applied.",
"Then, as shown in FIG. 5, a phosphor suspension is applied to the surface of the protection layer on the inner surface of the tube 11 to form a luminescent layer 13 as a thick fluorescent film.",
"When this is done, it is necessary to perform application of the luminescent layer 13 after the protection layer 12 has been applied and baked or else the protection layer 12 and the luminescent layer 13 will dissolve into each other.",
"Conversely, if both the layers have not been dissolved into each other and can be thickly applied to a predetermined thickness without an unevenness, there can be a single baking after both the layers have been applied one over the other.",
"In the first embodiment described above, the protection layer 12 and the luminescent layer 13 are not limited to the direction of application or the like, but in the method of producing a fluorescent lamp according to a second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7A and 7B, the directions of application of the layers are not the same.",
"More specifically, in the step of applying the layers, the application of the protection layer 12 is such that an organic suspension of aluminum powder, titanium powder, or zinc powder is allowed to flow in from the side of the opening portion 1a of the connecting portion 9.",
"If this is done, then the suspension liquid is drawn into an arc that flows in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 6B.",
"The liquid flows from the top to the bottom and so the layer thickness D P1 on the side of the opening portion 1a is thinner than the layer thickness D P2 at the side of the opening portion 1b and the liquid at the central portion of the connecting portion 9 flows around slightly so that the lower side of the connecting portion 9 has the protection layer 12 formed slightly thicker by the portion of an area 12A shown in FIG. 6B.",
"There is little that can be done about the formation of these two types of application patterns, but when the luminescent suspension is allowed to flow from the side of the opening portion 1a, the inside wall surface of the glass tube 1 becomes status where the thickness of the layer approaches that of the side of the opening portion 1b.",
"In order to prevent this, in the step of applying the layers in the method according to the second embodiment, when the luminescent layer 13 is applied, the tube 11 is inverted and the thickness D L2 of the luminescent layer 13 on the side of the opening portion 1a becomes "D P1 +D L2 "",
"and so the diameter of the discharge path 10 inside the glass tube 11 is uniform because "D P1 +D L2 "",
"is approximately equal to "D P2 +D L1 ".",
"In addition, application unevenness of the luminescent layer 13 is formed in an area 13A shown in FIG. 7B on the side of the opening portion 1a of the connecting portion 9 but the area 12A of the protection layer 12 spans the central portion of the connecting portion 9 and so the sides are opposite and there is not a thick portion on only one side.",
"The later steps are the same for both the first embodiment and the second embodiment and so the description is the same as that for the first embodiment.",
"As shown in FIG. 8, the openings 1a and 1a on the side of the connecting portion 9 are blown out and closed to form closed ends 1c.",
"When this is done, either one portion or the entire inner surface closed ends 1c and 1c have the luminescent layer 13 remaining in the status where it is laminated on the protection layer 12 base.",
"Finally, as shown in FIG. 9, in to the other ends 1b and 1b of the tube 11 are inserted stems 14 and 14 to which filaments 14a and 14a are mounted and the air is exhausted through the air exhaust tubes 14b and 14b and the starting gas and mercury (or amalgam) introduced and the air exhaust tubes 14b and 14b sealed.",
"As described above, since the method according to the first and second embodiments comprises the step of forming the luminescent layer 13 on the protection layer 12 as the base on the inner surface of the H-shaped tube 11 after the glass element tubes 1 and 1 have been connected to form the tube 11, these embodiments have as advantages that the protection and luminescent layers 12 and 13 are formed to the same thickness for the inner surface of the connecting portion 9 and for the other portions, the inside of the tubes 1 and 1 cannot be seen from the connecting portion 9, when lit, light is also emitted from the connecting portion 9, and the degree of brightness is uniform and external appearance consequently good.",
"In addition, there is no embedding of component particles of the protection layer 12 and the luminescent layer 13 to the glass of the connecting portion 9 and so there is also the advantage of a high connection strength.",
"Furthermore, the luminescent layer 13 is also formed on top of the protection layer 12 on the inner surface of the closed ends 1c and the inside of the glass tube 11 cannot be seen from the closed ends 1c, and these portions also emit light when lit so that the external appearance is also good.",
"Also, no external force is applied to the closed ends 1c and so component particles of the protection layer 12 and the luminescent layer 13 are not embedded into the glass so that there is no deterioration of the strength and no reduction in the product value.",
"Moreover, the glass tube is not limited to a linear glass tube in the present invention, but can be a U-shaped tube, for example, with both ends open, and linked at only one end, but there is no limit to other configurations.",
"For example, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, four glass tubes can be connected to form two H-shaped tubes 11.",
"This connection is performed, as shown in FIG. 11, by forming a pair of tubes 11 by the connection step described for the first embodiment, inserting rubber stoppers 5 and 5 into both of the opening portions 1a and 1b of one of the glass tubes 1, and then inserting a rubber stopper 5 into the opening portion 1a on the side of the portion 3 for connection of the other glass tube 1 and a rubber stopper 6 with a pipe 7 into the opening portion 1b of the other side.",
"The connecting portions 9 are different as one is for the middle two tubes and the others for the outer two tubes and so opening portions 1b and b become the opening portions 1a and 1a when the two tubes are connected.",
"FIG. 11 shows the status where the middle two tubes are connected after the outer two tubes 1 and 1 have been linked and a pair of the H-shaped tubes 11 and 11 have been formed.",
"This connection step is the same as that for the first embodiment described in FIGS. 1 through 5 and 8 through 10 and so the description of it is omitted.",
"As described above, the connecting portion 9 is formed with connected tube 21 having four element tubes 1 so that their end portions are mutually different.",
"The tube 21 then has the rubber stoppers 5 and 6 that are in the eight end portions removed and then as shown in FIG. 12, suspension liquid is applied to the inner wall surfaces via each of the opening portions and the protection and luminescent layers 12 and 13 are formed step by step.",
"The details of this are as explained above for the first and second embodiments with reference to FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7A and 7B and so the corresponding description of them will be omitted.",
"Then, as shown in FIG. 13, the end portions 21A and 21B, to which a connecting portion 9 is not formed, are removed and the end portions 21C through 21H are heated by a burner not shown in the figures, and the glass tube melted to seal the end portion 1a.",
"The details of this melting step are as explained above for preceding embodiments and so the corresponding description of them will be omitted.",
"Following this, the remaining two end portions 21A and 21B are sealed in the same manner as explained above for preceding embodiments by the stems 14 and 14 having filaments 14a and 14a and the air inside is exhausted via the air exhaust tubes 14b and 14b and the starting gas and mercury (or amalgam) introduced and the air exhaust pipes 14b and 14b sealed.",
"Moreover, in the manufacture of a tube 21 having four connected tubes 1, the present invention is not limited to this third embodiment described above as the connection process can be that of a fourth embodiment described below.",
"In the fourth embodiment, each of steps described above for the first and second embodiments are used to form two H-shaped tubes 11 which are then connected to form a tube 21 having four connected element tubes 1.",
"The H-shaped tubes used here are those at the stage prior to the fitting of the stem to both of the opening end portions.",
"A pair of the H-shaped tubes is prepared and then the method of the prior art (B) is used to link the two H-shaped tubes by blowing out the portions for connection.",
"In this step, the end portions in the vicinity of the portions for connection (such as the end portions 21E and 21F in the case of FIG. 13) have rubber stoppers fitted into them in the status where they are open, and the rubber stopper 6 having the pipe 7 for the introduction of gas is inserted to the opening portions 21A and 21B and gas blown in from the pipe 7 while the portions for connection are heated from the outside by a burner and connected.",
"A fluorescent tube having four glass element tubes as described above, has the overall shape shown in FIG. 13.",
"A fluorescent tube manufactured in accordance with the third and fourth embodiments of the present invention has a discharge path formed as indicated by the dash and dotted line in FIG. 13 and the element tubes and the connecting portion both have the same degree of brightness and excellent external appearance.",
"In addition, it is not essential to have the protection layer and the luminescent layer on the inner surfaces of the closed ends as for example, when the glass element tubes are connected at the middle portion on the side of the stem, then even if the closed ends are made of element glass, these portions will be housed inside a metal fitting when the product is completed and so there is no deterioration of the product value.",
"Furthermore, it is not essential to have a protection layer as the base because the luminescent layer can be directly applied to the inner surfaces of the glass tubes and the connecting portions.",
"It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the manufacture of fluorescent lamps having a luminescent layer, but is also applicable to other lamps such as UV lamps and the like."
] |
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/506,818 filed on Sep. 29, 2003, which is herein incorporated by reference.
[0002] The present invention relates generally to communication networks and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus of effectively supporting resource allocation and admission control of Virtual Private Networks in a service provider network.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] A Virtual Private Network (VPN) securely connects multiple customer sites that are possibly geographically spread out and wish to communicate among each other. Frequently, such a network provides a pre-specified Quality of Service assurance (a Service Level Agreement—SLA) in the form of expected loss rates and delays. A service provider provisions the network to ensure that the SLAs for an admitted VPN are met based on information provided by the VPN customer. The QoS achievable for a given VPN is influenced by the way customer sites are inter-connected by the provider. The most straightforward solution is to have a mesh of point-to-point links connecting customer sites. A more efficient and scalable solution would be to multiplex multiple VPN customers on a common core network that incorporates mechanisms to maintain an individual VPN's QoS through mechanisms of admission control, queuing and scheduling. While this option is far more scalable, the question of providing per-VPN QoS becomes harder. When aggregates from different VPN customers are multiplexed, the traffic distortions introduced are not easily quantified. These distortions can severely degrade the quality of service. However, with appropriate admission control mechanisms at the entry of the network combined with a core network capacity adjustment mechanism, the provider can meet the QoS requirements with much flexibility.
[0004] Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus to effectively support admission control and core network resource allocation of a customer VPN in a service provider network.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] In one embodiment, the present invention addresses the VPN resource allocation problem featuring two complementary components—one, an edge provisioning problem, two, a core provisioning problem. Specifically, the edge problem features a port-assignment problem where one has to quantify the trade-off between the cost of backhaul distance to a provider edge versus the cost of increased routing table size. Simultaneously, the core provisioning involves sizing uplink capacities and designing backbone links to suit the particular port assignment at the edges. In a packet-oriented network the natural question is the extent to which core provisioning can exploit statistical multiplexing gains while honoring a given SLA.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The teaching of the present invention can be readily understood by considering the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0007] FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of an exemplary VPN network with a plurality of customer endpoints CE 1 -CE 4 , a plurality of service provider edge equipment PE 1 -PE 4 , and a core network interconnecting the PE's;
[0008] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary admission decision for the aggregate T 1 split among a plurality of PE's;
[0009] FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a method for admission control and resource allocation of a VPN into a service provider network;
[0010] FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method for customer VPN admission;
[0011] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method for customer VPN admission control criterion;
[0012] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method for customer VPN traffic matrix computation; and
[0013] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method for the core network provisioning to support the customer VPN request;
[0014] FIG. 8 illustrates a diagram of the timescale relationships among various events related to the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of the variation of a method for admission control and resource allocation of a VPN into a service provider network;
[0016] FIG. 10 illustrates a diagram of an exemplary VPN network with a plurality of customers, a plurality of customer endpoints CE 11 -CE 16 and C 21 -CE 24 , a plurality of service provider edge equipment PE 1 -PE 4 , and a core network interconnecting the PE's;
[0017] FIG. 11 illustrates a diagram of the definition of a PE-PE Path between 2 PE's, PEA and PE B .
[0018] To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] A typical admission control test involves deciding whether to admit a new flow into the network. The decision depends on whether existing contracts are violated, in which case the new flow cannot be admitted. When admitting a new customer VPN, the admission criterion has to account for traffic aggregates that will be introduced from all sites of the new VPN customer into the network. In this sense it involves multiple steps, each of which resembles a traditional admission control problem. But unlike the problem of admitting a new flow onto a link, one has to deal with point-to-multipoint nature of the traffic from each customer site.
[0020] To better understand the present invention, a description of the components of such a customer VPN network is provided below. FIG. 1 shows an exemplary communication network 100 of the present invention. Network 100 contains a plurality of customer endpoints CE 1 to CE 6 , a plurality of service provider edge equipment PE 1 to PE 4 , and a plurality of core network equipment P 1 to P 3 .
[0021] Consider the example where it is necessary to decide whether to admit the VPN with endpoints CE 1 ;CE 2 ;CE 3 ;CE 4 ;CE 5 ;CE 6 , as shown in FIG. 1 . The provider edge routers corresponding to these endpoints are denoted as PE 1 ; PE 2 ; PE 3 ; PE 4 . The traffic aggregate emanating from the network at CE 1 possibly contains traffic toward CE 2 , CE 3 , CE 4 , CE 5 and CE 6 . Consider the admission decision for the aggregate bandwidth of T 1 as depicted in FIG. 2 . There are two pieces of information that an admission control entity needs here:
1. A traffic matrix that provides statistics about traffic exchanged between CE 1 and any of the other endpoints. 2. The capacity available between PE 1 and any of the other network edges through which the customer endpoints are reached.
[0024] In an ideal situation, the customer traffic is perfectly characterized so that a traffic matrix is obtained that specifies the amount of traffic that is directed toward each of the other endpoints. Further, the network would support per-hop signaling-based admission control so that one has a precise idea of the capacity available to a given endpoint. However, neither of these pieces of information is easily available in a real situation. It is usually hard to obtain the customer's traffic matrix because it is often unknown even to the customer. Further, today's core networks do not support per-hop admission control functions. The question then becomes, what is the relative importance of these components and what mechanisms can help a provider go beyond a naïve peak provisioning approach while still being relevant from a deployment perspective. The service provider would naturally want to exploit the multiplexing gains offered by the temporal and spatial variability in the traffic generated by the endpoints of VPNs in the network. There are two levels of multiplexing that can be taken advantage of:
multiplexing of traffic from the endpoints of a given VPN sharing a part of the network multiplexing of traffic from different VPNs sharing the network
[0027] To address these problems, the present invention provides a method and apparatus of providing edge network admission control and core network resource allocation of a customer VPN being admitted into a service provider network.
[0028] The present invention uses an optimization-driven edge provisioning strategy coupled with data-driven analysis of the core network problem to address issues regarding VPN admission control and the nature of SLAs and statistical multiplexing gains that are achievable in a single unified framework. The optimization component ensures that customers are assigned to provider edge router (PE) ports so as to achieve the best trade-off between the cost of longer backhaul distances and higher routing table sizes. The coupling with the core provisioning means that the SLA promised to customer is maintained while the provider's objectives are optimized. In addition to maintaining the SLA, the core provisioning based on optimal sizing of uplink and backbone links implies that maximal statistical multiplexing gains can be exploited.
[0029] FIG. 1 shows a key component of the present invention, the Service Provider Monitor (SPM) 110 , which is logically a single service provider monitoring and decision making entity. The SPM continuously collects SNMP data using a timescale, e.g., in the order of 5-minute intervals from all the different routers, including both the edge routers, PE's, and the core routers, P's. The SNMP data collected from all the routers include traffic statistics as well as topology information of the service provider network. The collected data are then used over a longer timescale, e.g., in the order of hours or days to obtain the available capacity within the service provider network. In addition, the collected data can then be used as inputs into the “gravity model” to derive the traffic matrix for each customer VPN. Moreover, the gravity model accuracy to derive traffic matrices can be enhanced when there is additional information about the network. The entropy model for traffic matrix estimation incorporates the gravity model in a penalized least-squares estimation formulation to deliver more accurate estimation. The SPM 110 helps the deriving of the actual traffic load, both the mean and standard deviation of the traffic coming in from each CE to each PE for each customer, placed on the service provider network. The SPM can use the derived information to do the following:
If the prediction of the customer load during admission control is too low, the information about the customer traffic load, traffic matrix, and the available capacity in the network can be used to re-size the overloaded links, both PE-to-P and P-to-P links, within the network; The information on available capacity in the network collected by the SPM can be distributed to all the PE's in the network; in turn, each PE can use the distributed information to make edge based admission control decision.
[0032] There are two different ways to perform edge based admission control by a PE using the distributed information from the SPM:
The PE's can perform admission control with specification only of peak hose capacity requirements from the customer without providing the traffic matrix. This admission control decision operates on a much faster timescale, whenever customer requests arrive, than the time scale that SPM operates; or Alternatively, as the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the PE's or a provisioning tool that has the knowledge of where the customer endpoints are going to be provisioned into the network can request the SPM, which has information on the multiple endpoints, for guidance on the admission control decision for the customer VPN request. The information supplied to the SPM will be peak hose capacity requirements from the customer without providing the traffic matrix. The provisioning tool can also run an optimization algorithm optimizing routing table size against backhaul distance to first determine which set of PE's will be used to satisfy a customer request before asking the SPM for guidance. The SPM uses its estimate of the current available capacity in the network, the path from PE to PE given its knowledge of the network topology, and the peak hose requirements to arrive at an admission control decision. This decision is then provided back to the PE's so that the admission decision made by the SPM can be executed by the PE's.
[0035] The gravity model to derive traffic matrices can be made more accurate when there is additional information about the network. The entropy model for traffic matrix estimation incorporates the gravity model in a penalized least-squares estimation formulation to deliver more accurate estimation.
[0036] The formulation can be specified as:
Min x {||y−Ax|| 2 +λ 2 Σ {k:gk>0} x k /T log( x k /g k )}
[0037] Here, the variables have the following meaning:
x—vector of traffic matrix variables such that x i indicates the traffic from source s j to destination d k y—vector of link traffic measurements such that y i indicates the traffic on link i. A—a routing matrix indicating which variables x i sum together to a given y i . λ—a small real number g—a vector of traffic matrix estimates computed using the Gravity Model. T—the total traffic in the network
[0044] To understand the intuition behind this formulation, consider the following. The formulation minimizes a sum of two quantities—first, a measure of squared error in estimation as compared to measurement; second, a proportion of the estimate to the gravity model. Observe that the sum can be reduced by either reducing the squared error or by reducing the difference from the gravity estimate. In essence, the optimization is striking the best balance between these two options—finding the assignment which is as close as possible to the gravity estimate while minimizing the squared error from measured data.
[0045] The formulation stated above featured measurements for all links and variables associated with all contributing nodes. In the case of VPNs such a formulation quickly becomes computationally unwieldy. There is a need to adapt this model so that essential insights are retained while the scale of the formulation is reduced. In order to achieve this goal, an examination of the structural characteristics distinct to the problem is performed.
[0046] The first important observation is that endpoints in a VPN communicate within the VPN and not with any endpoint outside the VPN. In FIG. 10 , two customers are illustrated sharing a core network. The endpoints of customer 1 (indicated by CE 11 , CE 12 etc.) do not communicate with CE 21 , CE 22 etc. This means that the traffic matrix formulation for the network can be broken down and solved on a per-VPN basis, so long as the information about the traffic on various links due to a given VPN is available. For example, the formulation discussed above for Customer 1 alone can be constructed if the present invention has the information about the traffic due to Customer 1 on all the relevant links, viz., (a) the links between CE 1x and PE y , and (b) on the paths between PE x and PE y . Existing measurement information contains aggregate traffic information for all links. Since the links between CE 1x and PE y are used by Customer 1 alone, the present invention has the information specified by (a). However the aggregate measurement data for paths between PE x and PE y is representative of data due to all VPNs using the path between PE x and PE y .
[0047] In order to obtain the information specified by (b), an approximation can be made. An upper-bound on the contribution of this customer to the traffic measured along a path between PE x and PE y can be found. To do this, the total contribution of Customer 1 to a given PE x -PE y path is observed and is dependent only on the amount of traffic offered by the endpoints of Customer 1 that are connected to PE x and PE y . Referring to FIG. 10 , the contribution of Customer 1 to the path between PE 1 and PE 3 is only due to CE 11 , CE 12 and CE 16 . Thus the sum of traffic going out from CE 11 and CE 12 serves as an upper-bound on the contribution of Customer 1 . So the equations that account for the bytes along the path between PE 1 and PE 3 are changed to reflect this:
T ( PE 1 , PE 3 )= TM ( CE 12 , CE 16 )+ TM ( CE 11 ,CE 16 )+ v′
[0048] Here, TM(k,j) is the traffic matrix variable that represents the amount of traffic that endpoint k communicated to j and is the quantity for which is being solved. The term v′ is a variable introduced to indicate that the constant on the left hand side is greater than or equal to the sum of TM variables. Hence it is a dummy variable representing the contribution of all other VPNs to the PE 1 -PE 3 path. This equation can be further refined by observing that the T(CE 11 )+T(CE 12 ) is the maximum observable traffic on the PE 1 -PE 3 path due to Customer 1 . Thus the following equation can be obtained:
min( T ( CE 11 )+ T ( C 12 ), T ( PE 1 , PE 3 ))= TM ( C 12 , C 16 )+ TM ( C 11 ,C 16 )+ v′
[0049] Now, v′ represents the part of T(CE 11 )+T(CE 12 ) that does not traverse the link between PE 1 and PE 3 .
[0050] Thus the new formulation adds one variable for each PE-PE path. Now, this formulation computes traffic matrices for each VPN independently of other VPNs and hence drastically reduces the computation scale of the problem.
[0051] An admission decision is based on whether the additional traffic offered by the new VPN can be accommodated by the available capacity between every pair of PEs affected by this VPN. Thus every pair of PEs is associated with a quantity termed the PE-PE capacity that indicates the amount traffic that can be carried between that pair. An analogy can be drawn to a pair of nodes connected by a “logical” link of a given capacity and say that there exists a PE-PE path of a given capacity. Thus the term PE-PE path is used to mean a logical link between a pair of PEs with a particular capacity. The routing and traffic engineering modules decide the route that connects the given pair of PEs. The admission entity only relies on the capacity associated with the pair of PEs. FIG. 11 illustrates the concept of a PE-PE path between edge router PE A and edge router PE B through a network or core routers, P's, within the network. Thus the traffic engineering entity is free to alter the route connecting a pair of PEs so long as the capacity remains the same or higher.
[0052] Once the admission decision is made, the aforementioned SPM monitoring capability can be used to correct any admission control errors, especially in the case that the prediction of customer load has been too low.
[0053] FIG. 8 provides an overall timescale diagram of different key operations performed within the network. Periodic monitoring of traffic statistics and topology is performed at an interval in the order of 5-minute or so. Derived available capacity information and traffic matrix information from the “gravity model” by the SPM is used at an interval in the order of hours or days to re-size overloaded core network links (i.e., on the PE-PE path) and refine traffic matrix information. While these operations are on-going, a new customer request can arrive at any instant to trigger an edge provisioning and admission control related tasks to be performed.
[0054] FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of the overall method 300 for admission control and resource allocation of a VPN into a service provider network. Method 300 starts in step 310 .
[0055] In step 310 , upon the arrival of a new customer VPN add request to be added to the service provider network, the method proceeds to step 320 . In step 320 , the method makes a decision whether to admit the VPN add request or not. Step 320 can be further divided into sub-steps shown in method 400 in FIG. 4 . If there is inadequate resource to admit the VPN add request, the method proceeds to step 340 ; otherwise, the method proceeds to step 330 . In step 330 , the newly admitted customer traffic aggregates will begin to be monitored by the SPM. Then the method proceeds to step 340 .
[0056] Steps 340 and 350 form a continuous loop as part of the longer timescale PE to PE line measurement background activity performed by the SPM. This loop will be temporarily interrupted whenever a new customer VPN request arrives so that the data structures updated by these steps will take into account of the arrival of a new customer VPN and new measurement targets will be added when necessary. The interruption of this loop is represented by the flow from step 320 to step 340 and then back to step 310 when a decision to reject a customer admission request is made and the flow of step 330 to step 340 and then back to step 310 when a decision to accept a customer admission request is made.
[0057] In step 340 , the PE to PE and CE traffic matrices are updated accordingly. Step 340 can be further divided into sub-steps shown in method 600 in FIG. 6 . The method then proceeds to step 350 in which available capacity is computed and provisioning decisions are made to perform adjustment to appropriate links within the network. Step 350 can be further divided into sub-steps shown in method 700 in FIG. 7 . Once step 350 is done, the method proceeds back to step 340 as part of a continuous execution loop.
[0058] FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method 400 for customer VPN admission. Method 400 starts in step 405 . In this method, the information supplied to the SPM will be peak hose capacity requirements from the customer without providing the traffic matrix. An optimization algorithm is run to optimize routing table size against backhaul distance to first determine which set of PE's will be used to satisfy a customer request before asking the SPM for guidance. The SPM uses its estimate of the current available capacity in the network, the path from PE to PE given its knowledge of the network topology, and the peak hose requirements to arrive at an admission control decision.
[0059] In step 410 , edge resources will be provisioned based on the optimization of routing table sizes versus backhaul distance. One example of the pseudo code of the optimization algorithm is provided below.
set customers; set endpoints{customers}; set p_edges; param pe_cap{p_edges}; # The required bandwidth for a customer endpoint param capacity{i in customers, endpoints[i]}; # Contribution of customer to the routing table param routesize{customers}; # Distance of customer endpoint to every PE param distance{p_edges,i in customers,endpoints[i]}; # Distance of customer endpoints to the PE it is currently # homed -- obtained from ICORE database param curr_dist{i in customers, endpoints[i]}; param curr_clustersize {customers}; # Higher the value of w1 more important is the cost of distance param w1; # Higher the value of w2 more important is the cost of # routing table size param w2; # A measure of risk increase with multiple endpoints of a customer # homed on the same PE param w3; # Compared to existing assignment, don't want distance to # PE to increase beyond a factor of w4 param w4; # A 3-d table of 0-1 variables, X[i,j,k] is l if endpoint k # of customer j is homed into PE i var X {p_edges,i in customers,endpoints[i]} binary; # The maximum routing table size across all PEs var rmax; # A table indicating whether a customer has some endpoint # homed in on a given PE.. for all customer endpoints homed # into a PE, the contribution to the routing table is 1 unit. var Xk_max {p_edges,customers} binary; # Objective: minimize the weighted sum of costs minimize obj1: sum {i in p_edges, j in customers, k in endpoints[j]} w1*distance[i,j,k] * X[i,j,k] + w2*rmax; # Subject to: even distribution of routing table sizes # and reduction of risk subject to rou1 {i in p_edges}: rmax >= sum{j in customers} (Xk_max[i,j] * routesize[j]) ; # Linear constraint to find Xk_max subject to rou2 {i in p_edges, j in customers, k in endpoints[j]}: Xk_max[i,j] >= X[i,j,k]; # Number of customers homed into PE should be in line # with PE capacity subject to cap {i in p_edges}: pe_cap[i] >= sum {j in customers, k in endpoints[j]} X[i,j,k]*capacity[j,k] ; # All customer endpoints must be assigned to some PE # subject to asgn {i in customers, j in endpoints[i]}: sum {k in p_edges} X[k,i,j] = 1; # Prune the search space -- with reference to the existing # assignment of endpoints, don't want the new assignment to # increase distance to PE by more than a factor of w4 subject to dist {i in customers, j in endpoints[i], k in p_edges}: X[k,i,j]*distance[k,i,j] <= w4*curr_dist[i,j]; subject to risk {i in p_edges, j in customers}: sum {k in endpoints[j]} X[i,j,k] <= curr_clustersize[j] ;
[0060] In step 420 , the initial traffic matrix of a customer VPN will be computed based on customer specified peak rates and the available capacity information collected by the SPM will also be obtained. In step 420 , given that initially the customer VPN traffic matrix is not available, the peak traffic rate information provided by the customer can first be used as inputs to method 600 to form an initial estimate of the customer VPN traffic matrix. Then, the network starts obtaining available capacity information for the newly added customer VPN as specified in method 700 . Once step 420 has been executed, the continuous loop in method 300 , between step 340 and step 350 , will appropriately update the customer VPN traffic matrix information using method 600 and 700 on a continuous basis.
[0061] In step 430 , the admission criterion will be evaluated to result in either accepting or rejecting the customer VPN. Step 430 can be further divided into sub-steps shown in method 500 in FIG. 5 . If the admission request is accepted, the method terminates in step 450 ; otherwise, the method proceeds to step 440 . In step 440 , an increase in provisioned capacity will be requested to accommodate the VPN admission request. When step 440 has been done, the method will terminate in step 450 .
[0062] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method 500 for customer VPN admission control criterion. Method 500 starts in step 505 . In this method, the SPM uses its estimate of the current available capacity in the network, the path from PE to PE given its knowledge of the network topology, and the peak hose requirements to arrive at an admission control decision.
[0063] In step 510 , the method will obtain the capacity available along each PE-PE path. In step 520 , the customer traffic expected, known from the traffic matrix, along the PE-PE path can be admitted without violating the loss rate assurances will be examined. In step 530 , if the loss-rate threshold will be violated, then the method will proceed to reject the admission request in step 540 ; otherwise, the method will proceed to accept the admission request in step 550 .
[0064] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method 600 for customer VPN traffic matrix computation. Method 600 starts in step 605 . In this method, the “gravity model” is used to derive customer traffic matrix using data collected by the SPM over the shorter timescale operation. This method tries to approximately derive the contribution of every other CE toward the total traffic received by this CE from the PE. FIG. 11 illustrates an example that for CE 1 , this method will derive the contribution of traffic by CE 2 sent through the network via PE 1 toward CE 1 . Thus, if the present invention is executing this method for CE 1 , it is trying to find out the number of bytes CE j sent to CE 1 for all j≠1. The variable share(N) is attempting to find the fraction of total traffic received by CE 1 , from all other endpoints of the VPN, to be attributed to some CE N . The fraction is being computed using a popular model known as the “gravity model”, widely applied in transportation networks (e.g., to estimate the fraction of people arriving to NYC from another given city). The term “gravity” refers to the fact that more bytes are attributed to a CE which pours in more traffic into the network (much like how the gravitational pull is more for a body of higher mass). Once share(N) is estimated, it indicates the fraction of total traffic, received by CE 1 , from all other endpoints, that can be attributed to CE N . At the end of the procedure, the present invention has a traffic matrix that indicates the traffic from a given CE to any other CE.
[0065] In step 610 , the aggregate traffic in octets from a PE to CE i , in_bytes(i), as well as from CE i to a PE, out_bytes(i), are observed for all i in the customer VPN. FIG. 11 illustrates the direction of in_bytes and out_bytes in reference to a CE and a PE. In_byte refers to the number of bytes sent in the direction from a PE to a CE, while out_byte refers to the number of bytes sent in the direction from a CE to a PE. The variable N is set to the number of customer endpoints in the customer VPN. In step 620 , if N is greater than 0, then the method proceeds to step 630 ; otherwise, the method terminates in step 680 . In step 630 , the variable M is set to, N, the number of customer endpoints in the VPN. In step 640 , if M is greater than 0, then the method proceeds to step 660 ; otherwise, the method proceeds to step 650 to decrement N by 1 and then further proceeds to step 620 . In step 660 , the total number of out_bytes, total_outbytes, for all M<>N is summed. Then, the parameter share(N) is derived by calculating out_bytes(N)/total_outbytes. The parameter total_outbytes is defined to be the total of out_bytes for M<>N. Then, the traffic metric T(N,M) can be populated by calculating in_bytes(M)*share(N). Then, in_bytes(M) is decremented by the value of TM(N,M). Then the method proceeds to step 670 . In step 670 , M is decremented by 1 and then the method proceeds to step 640 .
[0066] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method 700 for the core network provisioning to support the customer VPN request. Method 700 starts in step 705 . This method represents the continuous longer timescale SPM monitoring capability that is used to correct any admission control errors, especially in the case that the prediction of customer load has been too low, by re-sizing overloaded network links when necessary.
[0067] In step 710 , the PE-PE traffic statistics will be measured. In step 720 , the variable N will be set to be the number of PE-PE paths needed to support the VPN request. As previously defined, a PE-PE path is the logical link between a pair of PEs with a particular capacity. In step 730 , if N>0, then the method proceeds to step 740 ; otherwise, the method terminates in step 780 . In step 740 , the available capacity allocated to a PE-PE path will be increased if there has already been a request for capacity increase (i.e. from step 440 ) or if the utilization threshold has been exceeded. In step 750 , if a higher link bandwidth is needed to support the capacity increase, then the method proceeds to step 760 to re-provision the link bandwidth and then to step 770 to decrement the variable N; otherwise, the method proceeds directly to step 770 to decrement the variable N. The method then proceeds to step 730 .
[0068] FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of the overall method 900 as a variant to method 300 for admission control and resource allocation of a VPN into a service provider network. Method 900 starts in step 910 . This variant provides the flexibility to admit and monitor the customer end-point load of a customer VPN add request even when there is not enough capacity to meet the SLA requirements initially. Since the SPM continuously adjusts the network link capacity when there are overload conditions, in the order of hours or days, based on collected data done through constant monitoring, the SLA objective of the newly added VPN that cannot be met initially will be met sometime later through the adjustments made by the SPM anyway.
[0069] In step 910 , upon the arrival of a new customer VPN add request to be added to the service provider network, the method proceeds to step 920 . In step 920 , the method makes a decision whether to admit the VPN add request or not. Step 920 can be further divided into sub-steps shown in method 400 in FIG. 4 . Whether there is adequate resource to admit the VPN add request or not, the method proceeds to step 930 to admit the new VPN regardless of the decision made in step 920 . In other words, even if the decision in method 400 is to reject the admission of the new VPN in the network, the method proceeds to admit the new VPN add request anyway.
[0070] Steps 940 and 950 form a continuous loop as part of the longer timescale PE to PE path available capacity measurement background activity performed by the SPM. This loop will be temporarily interrupted whenever a new customer VPN request arrives so that the data structures updated by these steps will take into account the arrival of a new customer VPN and new measurement targets will be added when necessary. The interruption of this loop is represented by the flow from step 920 to step 940 and then back to step 910 when a decision to reject or to admit a customer admission request is made.
[0071] In step 940 , the PE to PE and CE traffic matrices are updated accordingly. Step 940 can be further divided into sub-steps shown in method 600 in FIG. 6 . The method then proceeds to step 950 in which available capacity is computed and provisioning decisions are made to perform adjustment to appropriate links within the network. Step 950 can be further divided into sub-steps shown in method 700 in FIG. 7 . Once step 950 is done, the method proceeds back to step 940 as part of a continuous execution loop.
[0072] Furthermore, the present VPN admission and resource allocation methods can be represented by one or more software applications (or even a combination of software and hardware, e.g., using application specific integrated circuits (ASIC)), where the software is loaded from a storage medium, (e.g., a ROM, a magnetic or optical drive or diskette) and operated by the CPU in the memory of a general computer system. As such, the present admission and resource allocation methods and data structures of the present invention can be stored on a computer readable medium, e.g., RAM memory, ROM, magnetic or optical drive or diskette and the like.
[0073] While various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of a preferred embodiment should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents. | Method and apparatus for effectively supporting resource allocation and admission control of a Virtual Private Network in a service provider network. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the invention. | [
"[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/506,818 filed on Sep. 29, 2003, which is herein incorporated by reference.",
"[0002] The present invention relates generally to communication networks and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus of effectively supporting resource allocation and admission control of Virtual Private Networks in a service provider network.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] A Virtual Private Network (VPN) securely connects multiple customer sites that are possibly geographically spread out and wish to communicate among each other.",
"Frequently, such a network provides a pre-specified Quality of Service assurance (a Service Level Agreement—SLA) in the form of expected loss rates and delays.",
"A service provider provisions the network to ensure that the SLAs for an admitted VPN are met based on information provided by the VPN customer.",
"The QoS achievable for a given VPN is influenced by the way customer sites are inter-connected by the provider.",
"The most straightforward solution is to have a mesh of point-to-point links connecting customer sites.",
"A more efficient and scalable solution would be to multiplex multiple VPN customers on a common core network that incorporates mechanisms to maintain an individual VPN's QoS through mechanisms of admission control, queuing and scheduling.",
"While this option is far more scalable, the question of providing per-VPN QoS becomes harder.",
"When aggregates from different VPN customers are multiplexed, the traffic distortions introduced are not easily quantified.",
"These distortions can severely degrade the quality of service.",
"However, with appropriate admission control mechanisms at the entry of the network combined with a core network capacity adjustment mechanism, the provider can meet the QoS requirements with much flexibility.",
"[0004] Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus to effectively support admission control and core network resource allocation of a customer VPN in a service provider network.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0005] In one embodiment, the present invention addresses the VPN resource allocation problem featuring two complementary components—one, an edge provisioning problem, two, a core provisioning problem.",
"Specifically, the edge problem features a port-assignment problem where one has to quantify the trade-off between the cost of backhaul distance to a provider edge versus the cost of increased routing table size.",
"Simultaneously, the core provisioning involves sizing uplink capacities and designing backbone links to suit the particular port assignment at the edges.",
"In a packet-oriented network the natural question is the extent to which core provisioning can exploit statistical multiplexing gains while honoring a given SLA.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0006] The teaching of the present invention can be readily understood by considering the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: [0007] FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of an exemplary VPN network with a plurality of customer endpoints CE 1 -CE 4 , a plurality of service provider edge equipment PE 1 -PE 4 , and a core network interconnecting the PE's;",
"[0008] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary admission decision for the aggregate T 1 split among a plurality of PE's;",
"[0009] FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a method for admission control and resource allocation of a VPN into a service provider network;",
"[0010] FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method for customer VPN admission;",
"[0011] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method for customer VPN admission control criterion;",
"[0012] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method for customer VPN traffic matrix computation;",
"and [0013] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method for the core network provisioning to support the customer VPN request;",
"[0014] FIG. 8 illustrates a diagram of the timescale relationships among various events related to the present invention;",
"[0015] FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of the variation of a method for admission control and resource allocation of a VPN into a service provider network;",
"[0016] FIG. 10 illustrates a diagram of an exemplary VPN network with a plurality of customers, a plurality of customer endpoints CE 11 -CE 16 and C 21 -CE 24 , a plurality of service provider edge equipment PE 1 -PE 4 , and a core network interconnecting the PE's;",
"[0017] FIG. 11 illustrates a diagram of the definition of a PE-PE Path between 2 PE's, PEA and PE B .",
"[0018] To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0019] A typical admission control test involves deciding whether to admit a new flow into the network.",
"The decision depends on whether existing contracts are violated, in which case the new flow cannot be admitted.",
"When admitting a new customer VPN, the admission criterion has to account for traffic aggregates that will be introduced from all sites of the new VPN customer into the network.",
"In this sense it involves multiple steps, each of which resembles a traditional admission control problem.",
"But unlike the problem of admitting a new flow onto a link, one has to deal with point-to-multipoint nature of the traffic from each customer site.",
"[0020] To better understand the present invention, a description of the components of such a customer VPN network is provided below.",
"FIG. 1 shows an exemplary communication network 100 of the present invention.",
"Network 100 contains a plurality of customer endpoints CE 1 to CE 6 , a plurality of service provider edge equipment PE 1 to PE 4 , and a plurality of core network equipment P 1 to P 3 .",
"[0021] Consider the example where it is necessary to decide whether to admit the VPN with endpoints CE 1 ;CE 2 ;CE 3 ;CE 4 ;CE 5 ;CE 6 , as shown in FIG. 1 .",
"The provider edge routers corresponding to these endpoints are denoted as PE 1 ;",
"PE 2 ;",
"PE 3 ;",
"PE 4 .",
"The traffic aggregate emanating from the network at CE 1 possibly contains traffic toward CE 2 , CE 3 , CE 4 , CE 5 and CE 6 .",
"Consider the admission decision for the aggregate bandwidth of T 1 as depicted in FIG. 2 .",
"There are two pieces of information that an admission control entity needs here: 1.",
"A traffic matrix that provides statistics about traffic exchanged between CE 1 and any of the other endpoints.",
"The capacity available between PE 1 and any of the other network edges through which the customer endpoints are reached.",
"[0024] In an ideal situation, the customer traffic is perfectly characterized so that a traffic matrix is obtained that specifies the amount of traffic that is directed toward each of the other endpoints.",
"Further, the network would support per-hop signaling-based admission control so that one has a precise idea of the capacity available to a given endpoint.",
"However, neither of these pieces of information is easily available in a real situation.",
"It is usually hard to obtain the customer's traffic matrix because it is often unknown even to the customer.",
"Further, today's core networks do not support per-hop admission control functions.",
"The question then becomes, what is the relative importance of these components and what mechanisms can help a provider go beyond a naïve peak provisioning approach while still being relevant from a deployment perspective.",
"The service provider would naturally want to exploit the multiplexing gains offered by the temporal and spatial variability in the traffic generated by the endpoints of VPNs in the network.",
"There are two levels of multiplexing that can be taken advantage of: multiplexing of traffic from the endpoints of a given VPN sharing a part of the network multiplexing of traffic from different VPNs sharing the network [0027] To address these problems, the present invention provides a method and apparatus of providing edge network admission control and core network resource allocation of a customer VPN being admitted into a service provider network.",
"[0028] The present invention uses an optimization-driven edge provisioning strategy coupled with data-driven analysis of the core network problem to address issues regarding VPN admission control and the nature of SLAs and statistical multiplexing gains that are achievable in a single unified framework.",
"The optimization component ensures that customers are assigned to provider edge router (PE) ports so as to achieve the best trade-off between the cost of longer backhaul distances and higher routing table sizes.",
"The coupling with the core provisioning means that the SLA promised to customer is maintained while the provider's objectives are optimized.",
"In addition to maintaining the SLA, the core provisioning based on optimal sizing of uplink and backbone links implies that maximal statistical multiplexing gains can be exploited.",
"[0029] FIG. 1 shows a key component of the present invention, the Service Provider Monitor (SPM) 110 , which is logically a single service provider monitoring and decision making entity.",
"The SPM continuously collects SNMP data using a timescale, e.g., in the order of 5-minute intervals from all the different routers, including both the edge routers, PE's, and the core routers, P's.",
"The SNMP data collected from all the routers include traffic statistics as well as topology information of the service provider network.",
"The collected data are then used over a longer timescale, e.g., in the order of hours or days to obtain the available capacity within the service provider network.",
"In addition, the collected data can then be used as inputs into the “gravity model”",
"to derive the traffic matrix for each customer VPN.",
"Moreover, the gravity model accuracy to derive traffic matrices can be enhanced when there is additional information about the network.",
"The entropy model for traffic matrix estimation incorporates the gravity model in a penalized least-squares estimation formulation to deliver more accurate estimation.",
"The SPM 110 helps the deriving of the actual traffic load, both the mean and standard deviation of the traffic coming in from each CE to each PE for each customer, placed on the service provider network.",
"The SPM can use the derived information to do the following: If the prediction of the customer load during admission control is too low, the information about the customer traffic load, traffic matrix, and the available capacity in the network can be used to re-size the overloaded links, both PE-to-P and P-to-P links, within the network;",
"The information on available capacity in the network collected by the SPM can be distributed to all the PE's in the network;",
"in turn, each PE can use the distributed information to make edge based admission control decision.",
"[0032] There are two different ways to perform edge based admission control by a PE using the distributed information from the SPM: The PE's can perform admission control with specification only of peak hose capacity requirements from the customer without providing the traffic matrix.",
"This admission control decision operates on a much faster timescale, whenever customer requests arrive, than the time scale that SPM operates;",
"or Alternatively, as the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the PE's or a provisioning tool that has the knowledge of where the customer endpoints are going to be provisioned into the network can request the SPM, which has information on the multiple endpoints, for guidance on the admission control decision for the customer VPN request.",
"The information supplied to the SPM will be peak hose capacity requirements from the customer without providing the traffic matrix.",
"The provisioning tool can also run an optimization algorithm optimizing routing table size against backhaul distance to first determine which set of PE's will be used to satisfy a customer request before asking the SPM for guidance.",
"The SPM uses its estimate of the current available capacity in the network, the path from PE to PE given its knowledge of the network topology, and the peak hose requirements to arrive at an admission control decision.",
"This decision is then provided back to the PE's so that the admission decision made by the SPM can be executed by the PE's.",
"[0035] The gravity model to derive traffic matrices can be made more accurate when there is additional information about the network.",
"The entropy model for traffic matrix estimation incorporates the gravity model in a penalized least-squares estimation formulation to deliver more accurate estimation.",
"[0036] The formulation can be specified as: Min x {||y−Ax|| 2 +λ 2 Σ {k:gk>0} x k /T log( x k /g k )} [0037] Here, the variables have the following meaning: x—vector of traffic matrix variables such that x i indicates the traffic from source s j to destination d k y—vector of link traffic measurements such that y i indicates the traffic on link i. A—a routing matrix indicating which variables x i sum together to a given y i .",
"λ—a small real number g—a vector of traffic matrix estimates computed using the Gravity Model.",
"T—the total traffic in the network [0044] To understand the intuition behind this formulation, consider the following.",
"The formulation minimizes a sum of two quantities—first, a measure of squared error in estimation as compared to measurement;",
"second, a proportion of the estimate to the gravity model.",
"Observe that the sum can be reduced by either reducing the squared error or by reducing the difference from the gravity estimate.",
"In essence, the optimization is striking the best balance between these two options—finding the assignment which is as close as possible to the gravity estimate while minimizing the squared error from measured data.",
"[0045] The formulation stated above featured measurements for all links and variables associated with all contributing nodes.",
"In the case of VPNs such a formulation quickly becomes computationally unwieldy.",
"There is a need to adapt this model so that essential insights are retained while the scale of the formulation is reduced.",
"In order to achieve this goal, an examination of the structural characteristics distinct to the problem is performed.",
"[0046] The first important observation is that endpoints in a VPN communicate within the VPN and not with any endpoint outside the VPN.",
"In FIG. 10 , two customers are illustrated sharing a core network.",
"The endpoints of customer 1 (indicated by CE 11 , CE 12 etc.) do not communicate with CE 21 , CE 22 etc.",
"This means that the traffic matrix formulation for the network can be broken down and solved on a per-VPN basis, so long as the information about the traffic on various links due to a given VPN is available.",
"For example, the formulation discussed above for Customer 1 alone can be constructed if the present invention has the information about the traffic due to Customer 1 on all the relevant links, viz.",
", (a) the links between CE 1x and PE y , and (b) on the paths between PE x and PE y .",
"Existing measurement information contains aggregate traffic information for all links.",
"Since the links between CE 1x and PE y are used by Customer 1 alone, the present invention has the information specified by (a).",
"However the aggregate measurement data for paths between PE x and PE y is representative of data due to all VPNs using the path between PE x and PE y .",
"[0047] In order to obtain the information specified by (b), an approximation can be made.",
"An upper-bound on the contribution of this customer to the traffic measured along a path between PE x and PE y can be found.",
"To do this, the total contribution of Customer 1 to a given PE x -PE y path is observed and is dependent only on the amount of traffic offered by the endpoints of Customer 1 that are connected to PE x and PE y .",
"Referring to FIG. 10 , the contribution of Customer 1 to the path between PE 1 and PE 3 is only due to CE 11 , CE 12 and CE 16 .",
"Thus the sum of traffic going out from CE 11 and CE 12 serves as an upper-bound on the contribution of Customer 1 .",
"So the equations that account for the bytes along the path between PE 1 and PE 3 are changed to reflect this: T ( PE 1 , PE 3 )= TM ( CE 12 , CE 16 )+ TM ( CE 11 ,CE 16 )+ v′ [0048] Here, TM(k,j) is the traffic matrix variable that represents the amount of traffic that endpoint k communicated to j and is the quantity for which is being solved.",
"The term v′ is a variable introduced to indicate that the constant on the left hand side is greater than or equal to the sum of TM variables.",
"Hence it is a dummy variable representing the contribution of all other VPNs to the PE 1 -PE 3 path.",
"This equation can be further refined by observing that the T(CE 11 )+T(CE 12 ) is the maximum observable traffic on the PE 1 -PE 3 path due to Customer 1 .",
"Thus the following equation can be obtained: min( T ( CE 11 )+ T ( C 12 ), T ( PE 1 , PE 3 ))= TM ( C 12 , C 16 )+ TM ( C 11 ,C 16 )+ v′ [0049] Now, v′ represents the part of T(CE 11 )+T(CE 12 ) that does not traverse the link between PE 1 and PE 3 .",
"[0050] Thus the new formulation adds one variable for each PE-PE path.",
"Now, this formulation computes traffic matrices for each VPN independently of other VPNs and hence drastically reduces the computation scale of the problem.",
"[0051] An admission decision is based on whether the additional traffic offered by the new VPN can be accommodated by the available capacity between every pair of PEs affected by this VPN.",
"Thus every pair of PEs is associated with a quantity termed the PE-PE capacity that indicates the amount traffic that can be carried between that pair.",
"An analogy can be drawn to a pair of nodes connected by a “logical”",
"link of a given capacity and say that there exists a PE-PE path of a given capacity.",
"Thus the term PE-PE path is used to mean a logical link between a pair of PEs with a particular capacity.",
"The routing and traffic engineering modules decide the route that connects the given pair of PEs.",
"The admission entity only relies on the capacity associated with the pair of PEs.",
"FIG. 11 illustrates the concept of a PE-PE path between edge router PE A and edge router PE B through a network or core routers, P's, within the network.",
"Thus the traffic engineering entity is free to alter the route connecting a pair of PEs so long as the capacity remains the same or higher.",
"[0052] Once the admission decision is made, the aforementioned SPM monitoring capability can be used to correct any admission control errors, especially in the case that the prediction of customer load has been too low.",
"[0053] FIG. 8 provides an overall timescale diagram of different key operations performed within the network.",
"Periodic monitoring of traffic statistics and topology is performed at an interval in the order of 5-minute or so.",
"Derived available capacity information and traffic matrix information from the “gravity model”",
"by the SPM is used at an interval in the order of hours or days to re-size overloaded core network links (i.e., on the PE-PE path) and refine traffic matrix information.",
"While these operations are on-going, a new customer request can arrive at any instant to trigger an edge provisioning and admission control related tasks to be performed.",
"[0054] FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of the overall method 300 for admission control and resource allocation of a VPN into a service provider network.",
"Method 300 starts in step 310 .",
"[0055] In step 310 , upon the arrival of a new customer VPN add request to be added to the service provider network, the method proceeds to step 320 .",
"In step 320 , the method makes a decision whether to admit the VPN add request or not.",
"Step 320 can be further divided into sub-steps shown in method 400 in FIG. 4 .",
"If there is inadequate resource to admit the VPN add request, the method proceeds to step 340 ;",
"otherwise, the method proceeds to step 330 .",
"In step 330 , the newly admitted customer traffic aggregates will begin to be monitored by the SPM.",
"Then the method proceeds to step 340 .",
"[0056] Steps 340 and 350 form a continuous loop as part of the longer timescale PE to PE line measurement background activity performed by the SPM.",
"This loop will be temporarily interrupted whenever a new customer VPN request arrives so that the data structures updated by these steps will take into account of the arrival of a new customer VPN and new measurement targets will be added when necessary.",
"The interruption of this loop is represented by the flow from step 320 to step 340 and then back to step 310 when a decision to reject a customer admission request is made and the flow of step 330 to step 340 and then back to step 310 when a decision to accept a customer admission request is made.",
"[0057] In step 340 , the PE to PE and CE traffic matrices are updated accordingly.",
"Step 340 can be further divided into sub-steps shown in method 600 in FIG. 6 .",
"The method then proceeds to step 350 in which available capacity is computed and provisioning decisions are made to perform adjustment to appropriate links within the network.",
"Step 350 can be further divided into sub-steps shown in method 700 in FIG. 7 .",
"Once step 350 is done, the method proceeds back to step 340 as part of a continuous execution loop.",
"[0058] FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method 400 for customer VPN admission.",
"Method 400 starts in step 405 .",
"In this method, the information supplied to the SPM will be peak hose capacity requirements from the customer without providing the traffic matrix.",
"An optimization algorithm is run to optimize routing table size against backhaul distance to first determine which set of PE's will be used to satisfy a customer request before asking the SPM for guidance.",
"The SPM uses its estimate of the current available capacity in the network, the path from PE to PE given its knowledge of the network topology, and the peak hose requirements to arrive at an admission control decision.",
"[0059] In step 410 , edge resources will be provisioned based on the optimization of routing table sizes versus backhaul distance.",
"One example of the pseudo code of the optimization algorithm is provided below.",
"set customers;",
"set endpoints{customers};",
"set p_edges;",
"param pe_cap{p_edges};",
"# The required bandwidth for a customer endpoint param capacity{i in customers, endpoints[i]};",
"# Contribution of customer to the routing table param routesize{customers};",
"# Distance of customer endpoint to every PE param distance{p_edges,i in customers,endpoints[i]};",
"# Distance of customer endpoints to the PE it is currently # homed -- obtained from ICORE database param curr_dist{i in customers, endpoints[i]};",
"param curr_clustersize {customers};",
"# Higher the value of w1 more important is the cost of distance param w1;",
"# Higher the value of w2 more important is the cost of # routing table size param w2;",
"# A measure of risk increase with multiple endpoints of a customer # homed on the same PE param w3;",
"# Compared to existing assignment, don't want distance to # PE to increase beyond a factor of w4 param w4;",
"# A 3-d table of 0-1 variables, X[i,j,k] is l if endpoint k # of customer j is homed into PE i var X {p_edges,i in customers,endpoints[i]} binary;",
"# The maximum routing table size across all PEs var rmax;",
"# A table indicating whether a customer has some endpoint # homed in on a given PE..",
"for all customer endpoints homed # into a PE, the contribution to the routing table is 1 unit.",
"var Xk_max {p_edges,customers} binary;",
"# Objective: minimize the weighted sum of costs minimize obj1: sum {i in p_edges, j in customers, k in endpoints[j]} w1*distance[i,j,k] * X[i,j,k] + w2*rmax;",
"# Subject to: even distribution of routing table sizes # and reduction of risk subject to rou1 {i in p_edges}: rmax >= sum{j in customers} (Xk_max[i,j] * routesize[j]) ;",
"# Linear constraint to find Xk_max subject to rou2 {i in p_edges, j in customers, k in endpoints[j]}: Xk_max[i,j] >= X[i,j,k];",
"# Number of customers homed into PE should be in line # with PE capacity subject to cap {i in p_edges}: pe_cap[i] >= sum {j in customers, k in endpoints[j]} X[i,j,k]*capacity[j,k] ;",
"# All customer endpoints must be assigned to some PE # subject to asgn {i in customers, j in endpoints[i]}: sum {k in p_edges} X[k,i,j] = 1;",
"# Prune the search space -- with reference to the existing # assignment of endpoints, don't want the new assignment to # increase distance to PE by more than a factor of w4 subject to dist {i in customers, j in endpoints[i], k in p_edges}: X[k,i,j]*distance[k,i,j] <= w4*curr_dist[i,j];",
"subject to risk {i in p_edges, j in customers}: sum {k in endpoints[j]} X[i,j,k] <= curr_clustersize[j] ;",
"[0060] In step 420 , the initial traffic matrix of a customer VPN will be computed based on customer specified peak rates and the available capacity information collected by the SPM will also be obtained.",
"In step 420 , given that initially the customer VPN traffic matrix is not available, the peak traffic rate information provided by the customer can first be used as inputs to method 600 to form an initial estimate of the customer VPN traffic matrix.",
"Then, the network starts obtaining available capacity information for the newly added customer VPN as specified in method 700 .",
"Once step 420 has been executed, the continuous loop in method 300 , between step 340 and step 350 , will appropriately update the customer VPN traffic matrix information using method 600 and 700 on a continuous basis.",
"[0061] In step 430 , the admission criterion will be evaluated to result in either accepting or rejecting the customer VPN.",
"Step 430 can be further divided into sub-steps shown in method 500 in FIG. 5 .",
"If the admission request is accepted, the method terminates in step 450 ;",
"otherwise, the method proceeds to step 440 .",
"In step 440 , an increase in provisioned capacity will be requested to accommodate the VPN admission request.",
"When step 440 has been done, the method will terminate in step 450 .",
"[0062] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method 500 for customer VPN admission control criterion.",
"Method 500 starts in step 505 .",
"In this method, the SPM uses its estimate of the current available capacity in the network, the path from PE to PE given its knowledge of the network topology, and the peak hose requirements to arrive at an admission control decision.",
"[0063] In step 510 , the method will obtain the capacity available along each PE-PE path.",
"In step 520 , the customer traffic expected, known from the traffic matrix, along the PE-PE path can be admitted without violating the loss rate assurances will be examined.",
"In step 530 , if the loss-rate threshold will be violated, then the method will proceed to reject the admission request in step 540 ;",
"otherwise, the method will proceed to accept the admission request in step 550 .",
"[0064] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method 600 for customer VPN traffic matrix computation.",
"Method 600 starts in step 605 .",
"In this method, the “gravity model”",
"is used to derive customer traffic matrix using data collected by the SPM over the shorter timescale operation.",
"This method tries to approximately derive the contribution of every other CE toward the total traffic received by this CE from the PE.",
"FIG. 11 illustrates an example that for CE 1 , this method will derive the contribution of traffic by CE 2 sent through the network via PE 1 toward CE 1 .",
"Thus, if the present invention is executing this method for CE 1 , it is trying to find out the number of bytes CE j sent to CE 1 for all j≠1.",
"The variable share(N) is attempting to find the fraction of total traffic received by CE 1 , from all other endpoints of the VPN, to be attributed to some CE N .",
"The fraction is being computed using a popular model known as the “gravity model”, widely applied in transportation networks (e.g., to estimate the fraction of people arriving to NYC from another given city).",
"The term “gravity”",
"refers to the fact that more bytes are attributed to a CE which pours in more traffic into the network (much like how the gravitational pull is more for a body of higher mass).",
"Once share(N) is estimated, it indicates the fraction of total traffic, received by CE 1 , from all other endpoints, that can be attributed to CE N .",
"At the end of the procedure, the present invention has a traffic matrix that indicates the traffic from a given CE to any other CE.",
"[0065] In step 610 , the aggregate traffic in octets from a PE to CE i , in_bytes(i), as well as from CE i to a PE, out_bytes(i), are observed for all i in the customer VPN.",
"FIG. 11 illustrates the direction of in_bytes and out_bytes in reference to a CE and a PE.",
"In_byte refers to the number of bytes sent in the direction from a PE to a CE, while out_byte refers to the number of bytes sent in the direction from a CE to a PE.",
"The variable N is set to the number of customer endpoints in the customer VPN.",
"In step 620 , if N is greater than 0, then the method proceeds to step 630 ;",
"otherwise, the method terminates in step 680 .",
"In step 630 , the variable M is set to, N, the number of customer endpoints in the VPN.",
"In step 640 , if M is greater than 0, then the method proceeds to step 660 ;",
"otherwise, the method proceeds to step 650 to decrement N by 1 and then further proceeds to step 620 .",
"In step 660 , the total number of out_bytes, total_outbytes, for all M<>N is summed.",
"Then, the parameter share(N) is derived by calculating out_bytes(N)/total_outbytes.",
"The parameter total_outbytes is defined to be the total of out_bytes for M<>N.",
"Then, the traffic metric T(N,M) can be populated by calculating in_bytes(M)*share(N).",
"Then, in_bytes(M) is decremented by the value of TM(N,M).",
"Then the method proceeds to step 670 .",
"In step 670 , M is decremented by 1 and then the method proceeds to step 640 .",
"[0066] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method 700 for the core network provisioning to support the customer VPN request.",
"Method 700 starts in step 705 .",
"This method represents the continuous longer timescale SPM monitoring capability that is used to correct any admission control errors, especially in the case that the prediction of customer load has been too low, by re-sizing overloaded network links when necessary.",
"[0067] In step 710 , the PE-PE traffic statistics will be measured.",
"In step 720 , the variable N will be set to be the number of PE-PE paths needed to support the VPN request.",
"As previously defined, a PE-PE path is the logical link between a pair of PEs with a particular capacity.",
"In step 730 , if N>0, then the method proceeds to step 740 ;",
"otherwise, the method terminates in step 780 .",
"In step 740 , the available capacity allocated to a PE-PE path will be increased if there has already been a request for capacity increase (i.e. from step 440 ) or if the utilization threshold has been exceeded.",
"In step 750 , if a higher link bandwidth is needed to support the capacity increase, then the method proceeds to step 760 to re-provision the link bandwidth and then to step 770 to decrement the variable N;",
"otherwise, the method proceeds directly to step 770 to decrement the variable N. The method then proceeds to step 730 .",
"[0068] FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of the overall method 900 as a variant to method 300 for admission control and resource allocation of a VPN into a service provider network.",
"Method 900 starts in step 910 .",
"This variant provides the flexibility to admit and monitor the customer end-point load of a customer VPN add request even when there is not enough capacity to meet the SLA requirements initially.",
"Since the SPM continuously adjusts the network link capacity when there are overload conditions, in the order of hours or days, based on collected data done through constant monitoring, the SLA objective of the newly added VPN that cannot be met initially will be met sometime later through the adjustments made by the SPM anyway.",
"[0069] In step 910 , upon the arrival of a new customer VPN add request to be added to the service provider network, the method proceeds to step 920 .",
"In step 920 , the method makes a decision whether to admit the VPN add request or not.",
"Step 920 can be further divided into sub-steps shown in method 400 in FIG. 4 .",
"Whether there is adequate resource to admit the VPN add request or not, the method proceeds to step 930 to admit the new VPN regardless of the decision made in step 920 .",
"In other words, even if the decision in method 400 is to reject the admission of the new VPN in the network, the method proceeds to admit the new VPN add request anyway.",
"[0070] Steps 940 and 950 form a continuous loop as part of the longer timescale PE to PE path available capacity measurement background activity performed by the SPM.",
"This loop will be temporarily interrupted whenever a new customer VPN request arrives so that the data structures updated by these steps will take into account the arrival of a new customer VPN and new measurement targets will be added when necessary.",
"The interruption of this loop is represented by the flow from step 920 to step 940 and then back to step 910 when a decision to reject or to admit a customer admission request is made.",
"[0071] In step 940 , the PE to PE and CE traffic matrices are updated accordingly.",
"Step 940 can be further divided into sub-steps shown in method 600 in FIG. 6 .",
"The method then proceeds to step 950 in which available capacity is computed and provisioning decisions are made to perform adjustment to appropriate links within the network.",
"Step 950 can be further divided into sub-steps shown in method 700 in FIG. 7 .",
"Once step 950 is done, the method proceeds back to step 940 as part of a continuous execution loop.",
"[0072] Furthermore, the present VPN admission and resource allocation methods can be represented by one or more software applications (or even a combination of software and hardware, e.g., using application specific integrated circuits (ASIC)), where the software is loaded from a storage medium, (e.g., a ROM, a magnetic or optical drive or diskette) and operated by the CPU in the memory of a general computer system.",
"As such, the present admission and resource allocation methods and data structures of the present invention can be stored on a computer readable medium, e.g., RAM memory, ROM, magnetic or optical drive or diskette and the like.",
"[0073] While various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation.",
"Thus, the breadth and scope of a preferred embodiment should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents."
] |
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to communication networks, and in particular, relates to a method and apparatus for reducing break duration in handover of a VoIP conversation from a packet switch domain to a circuit switch domain in a communication network.
BACKGROUND
At present, we are experiencing a rapid integration of fixed and mobile networks, while IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) is generated under such environment. IMS is a global, independent on access and standard-based IP channel and service control architecture, which enables the terminal users based on ordinary internet protocol to use different types of multimedia services. IMS system not only offers a variety of access modes, but also provides inter-operations with the circuit switch domain. For a multi-mode mobile terminal currently locates in a packet switch domain, it may handover a conversation from a packet switch domain to a circuit switch domain to ensure the quality of the conversation, when it moves to an edge of or outside a network covered by the packet switch domain, or when it is located in a network covered by the circuit switch domain while the network covered currently by the packet switch domain becomes unavailable.
In prior art, if a user terminal can receive and transmit information over a packet switch domain and a circuit switch domain simultaneously, a handover is generally completed before the current connection is released. In other words, the user terminal establishes a call or session in the circuit switch domain and meanwhile maintains the existing voice call in the packet switch domain. The user handovers a voice media to the call or session of the circuit switch domain only after the call or session of the circuit switch domain is established, and then releases network resources in the packet switch domain before the handover. This manner usually has the shortest break duration. However, for the terminals which cannot receive and transmit information over two domains simultaneously, this method is inapplicable.
Therefore, 3GPP TS 23.216 specifies a SRVCC (Single Radio Voice Call Continuity) solution for maintaining voice call continuity between EPS (Evolved Packet System) PS (Packet Switch) access and UTRAN/GERAN (Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network/GSM EDGE Radio Access Network) CS (Circuit Switch) access for calls that are anchored in IMS system. In this situation, UE (user equipment) is can merely transmit or receive data via one of the preceding two access networks at a given time.
However, SRVCC solution prescribed by the 3GPP TS 23.216 also contains some disadvantages, such as uncertain voice break duration, complex signaling flows, or the like. Why there is uncertain voice break duration will be described in detail in the following.
FIG. 1 illustrates SRVCC network architecture of a handover of VoIP conversation from E-UTRAN (Evolved UTRAN) to UTRAN/GERAN as prescribed by the 3GPP TS 23.216.
As shown in FIG. 1 , UE accesses IMS via E-UTRAN and S-GW/PDN GW. The E-UTRAN is also referred to as LTE (Long Term Evolution), including a plurality of E-Node B in charge of the wireless access network part. EPS conducts a functional integration on NodeB, RNC (Radio Network Controller) and CN (Core Network) in the existing WCDMA and TD-SCDMA systems, and is simplified as two network elements, eNodeB and EPC. EPC comprises MME (Mobility Management Entity) for acting as a control node responsible of signaling processing of the core network, and S-GW (Serving Gateway)/PDN-GW (Packet Data Network Gateway) responsible of data processing of the core network. Wherein, non-3GPP wireless access network may access EPC via PDN-GW, and 3GPP wireless network may access EPC through S-GW.
In addition, FIG. 1 also illustrates interfaces between network elements suggested by the Specification. For example, E-UTRAN connects with EPC via a S1 (similar to lu) interface. E-UTRANs connect with each other via a X2 (similar to lur) interface (not shown), and UE connects with E-UTRAN via a LTE-Uu interface.
In the environment shown in FIG. 1 . UE may decide to handover to the circuit switch domain provided by UTRAN/GERAN when it is located at an edge of the coverage of E-UTRAN or outside an area covered by E-UTRAN. In UTRAN/GERAN, the UE accesses the IMS network via a base station and a MSC (Mobile Switch Centre) server.
Wherein, UTRAN is a kind of relatively new access network for UMTS, and has now became an important access manner of UMTS, which includes NodeB, RNC, CN, etc. While GERAN is a key part of GSM specified and maintained by 3GPP and also be included in UTMS/GSM network, comprising base stations BSs, base station controllers BSCs and interfaces thereof (e.g. Ater interface, Abis interface, A interface, etc.). Commonly, the network of a mobile operator is composed of a plurality of GERANs, and combined with UTRAN in UMTS/GSM network.
Detailed information regarding the other network elements and the communication manners of the network elements in FIG. 1 can refer to TS23.216.
FIG. 2 shows a call flow for a handover of SRVCC from E-UTRAN to UTRAN/GERAN without DTM/PSHO (Dual Transfer Mode/Pack Switch Handover) support as prescribed by 3GPP TS 23.216. In order to accomplish the handover of voice conversation, the voice conversation needs to be anchored beforehand in IMS, such as on a SCC AS (Service Centralization and Continuity Application Server).
As shown in FIG. 2 , when source E-UTRAN decides to perform a handover from a packet domain to a circuit domain on a ongoing VoIP call of a local UE in according to a measurement report received from local/source UE, it sends a handover request to local MME, and then the source MME splits the bearer (used for transferring the voice service subsequently), and sends a corresponding request of handover from the packet domain to the circuit domain to the MSC server or media gateway capable of covering the local UE currently. The corresponding MSC/media gateway initiates a session transfer after a handover preparation and setting up a circuit. Here, it should be noted that, if the target MSC to which the local UE is to be handover and the MSC that received the handover request from the MME are the same MSC, steps 6 , 8 and 9 in the dashed part could be omitted (so as steps 20 and 21 ).
Next, SRVCC contains a session handover procedure at IMS layer and a cell handover procedure to the target cell at layer 2 . That is to say, there are two user-plane handovers in the SRVCC.
1) Steps 10 to 12 , SCC AS in IMS executes a session handover procedure, updates remote UE (i.e. the counter party that establishes the VoIP conversation with the local UE) with the SDP of the target CS access leg, and releases the source EPC PS access leg. These steps will result in a switch of the voice component of the ongoing conversation from EPC to MGW on user-plane.
2) Steps 15 to 21 , a handover from E-UTRAN to UTRAN/GERAN is executed on the local UE and access network. This is a handover between RATs (Radio Access Type) performed at the local UE and access network, and will result in a handover of the local UE from the current E-UTRAN cell to the target UTRAN/GERAN cell.
VoIP call break, namely, voice flow break, will be generated in both of the above two handover procedures. Although each step in FIG. 2 is numbered with successive numbers, however, it does not mean the relationship on time between steps 10 - 12 and steps 15 - 21 . On contrary, it is entirely possible that steps 10 - 12 are executed after step 15 , or at the same time with step 15 . In other words, there is no synchronization between the two handover procedures, which makes the voice break duration become uncontrolled and is uncertain. In the worst case, the voice break duration could be extreme long and deteriorates users' experiences.
FIG. 3 illustrates the duration of the break of VoIP conversation in the above SRVCC solution. Wherein, T 1 represents the break duration of the cell handover procedure at layer 2 , and meanwhile indicates the start time and finish time of the break. T 2 represents the break duration of the session handover procedure at IMS layer, and meanwhile also indicates the start time and finish time of the break.
Case 1 : the break caused by the session handover procedure at IMS layer happens before the break caused by the cell handover procedure. In this case, the break duration generated by SRVCC will greater than the maximum value of T 1 and T 2 , with no greater than T 1 +T 2 , and in the worst case, equal to T 1 +T 2 .
Case 2 : the break caused by the session handover procedure at IMS layer happens at the same time as the break caused by the cell handover procedure. In this case, the break duration generated by SRVCC is equal to the maxi value of T 1 and T 2 .
Case 3 : the break caused by the cell handover procedure happens before the break caused by the session handover procedure at IMS layer. In this case, similar as the Case 1 , the break duration generated by SRVCC will greater than the maximum value of T 1 and T 2 , with no greater than T 1 +T 2 , and in the worst case, equal to T 1 +T 2 .
It can thus be seen that the break duration generated in the SRVCC solution proposed in 3GPP TS 23.216 Specification is inconstant and uncontrollable.
SUMMARY
In order to overcome the disadvantages hereinabove in prior art, the invention proposes a method and apparatus for reducing break duration in handover of VoIP conversation.
According to the first aspect of the invention, a method for reducing break duration in handover of VoIP conversation is provided, when a control device in a circuit switch domain receives a request of handover from a control device in a packet switch domain indicating a handover of the current conversation from the packet switch domain to the circuit switch domain, the method comprising: calculation step of calculating a first time duration which is a time required from the time the control device in the circuit switch domain transmitting a message to this message arriving at a remote end communication terminal; comparison step of comparing the calculated first time duration with a predetermined second time duration, the second time duration being a time required from the time the control device in the circuit domain transmitting a message to this message arriving at a local communication terminal; and synchronization step of the control device in the circuit switch domain determining an order and time for transmitting a request of session handover to a device anchoring VoIP conversation and transmitting a request of cell handover to the control device in the packet switch domain, in according to the comparison result of the first time duration and the second time duration, and transmitting the two requests in according to the order and times, to ensure that the request of session handover arrives at the remote end communication terminal at or almost at the same time as the arrival of the request of cell handover at the local communication terminal.
Preferably, said calculation step further comprises the control device in the circuit switch domain transmits a request message of non-session handover request to the device anchoring VoIP conversation; the device anchoring VoIP conversation interacts with the remote end communication terminal after the receipt of the request message; the device anchoring VoIP conversation transmits a reply message to the control device in the circuit switch domain after interacting with the remote end communication terminal; and the control device in the circuit switch domain calculates the first time duration in according to the time of transmitting the request message and the time of receiving the reply message.
Preferably, said calculation step further comprises: according to the time of transmitting the request message and the time of receiving the reply message, the control device in the circuit switch domain calculates the first time duration as a certain proportion of the time duration spanning the two time.
Preferably, said synchronization step further comprises: if the first time duration is longer than the second time duration, the control device in the circuit switch domain transmits a request of session handover to the device anchoring VoIP conversation; the control device in the circuit switch domain initiates a timer with a time interval being the difference of the first time duration and the second time duration; and after the timer expires, the control device in the circuit switch domain transmits a request of cell handover to the control device in the packet switch domain.
Preferably, said synchronization step further comprises: if the first time duration is shorter than the second time duration, then the control device in the circuit switch domain transmits a request of cell handover to the control device in the packet switch domain; the control device in the circuit switch domain initiates a timer with a time interval being the difference of the second time duration and the first time duration; and after the timer expires, the control device in the circuit switch domain transmits a request of session handover to the device anchoring VoIP conversation.
Preferably, said synchronization step further comprise: if the first time duration is equal to the second time duration, then the control device in the circuit switch domain transmits a request of cell handover to the control device in the packet switch domain and a request of session handover to the device anchoring VoIP conversation simultaneously.
According to the second aspect of the invention, an apparatus for reducing break duration in handover of VoIP conversation in a control device in a circuit switch domain is provided, comprising: receiving means for receiving a request of handover from a control device in a packet switch domain, the request indicating a handover of the current conversation from the packet switch domain to the circuit switch domain; calculation means for calculating a first time duration which is the time required from the time the control device in the circuit switch domain transmitting a message to this message arriving at a remote end communication terminal; comparison means for comparing the calculated first time duration with a predetermined second time duration, the second time duration being the time required from the time the control device in the circuit domain transmitting a message to this message arriving at a local communication terminal; synchronization means for determining the order and time for transmitting a request of session handover to a device anchoring VoIP conversation and transmitting a request of cell handover to the control device in the packet switch domain, in according to the comparison result of the comparison means; and transmitting means for transmitting the two requests in according to the order and time determined by the synchronization means for transmitting a request of session handover to the device anchoring VoIP conversation and transmitting a request of cell handover to the control device in the packet switch domain.
Preferably, the transmitting means is further for transmitting a request message of a non-session handover request to the device anchoring VoIP conversation; the receiving means is further for receiving a reply message transmitted by the device anchoring VoIP conversation after interacting with the remote end communication terminal to the control device in the circuit switch domain; and the calculation means is further for calculating the first time duration in according to the time of transmitting the request message and the time of receiving the reply message.
Preferably, the calculation means calculates, in according to the time of transmitting the request message and the time of receiving the reply message, the first time duration as a certain proportion of the time duration spanning the two times.
Preferably, if the comparison result of the comparison means is that the first time duration is longer than the second time duration, the synchronization means triggers the transmitting means to transmit a request of session handover to the device anchoring VoIP conversation; the synchronization means initiates a timer with a time interval being the difference of the first time duration and the second time duration; and the synchronization means triggers the transmitting means to transmit a request of cell handover to the control device in the packet switch domain after the timer expires.
Preferably, if the comparison result of the comparison means is that the first time duration is shorter than the second time duration, the synchronization means triggers the transmitting means to transmit a request of cell handover to the control device in the packet switch domain; the synchronization means initiates a timer with a time interval being the difference of the second time duration and the first time duration; and the synchronization means triggers the transmitting means to transmit a request of session handover to the device anchoring VoIP conversation after the timer expires.
Preferably, if the comparison result of the comparison means is that the first time duration is equal to the second time duration, the synchronization means triggers the transmitting means to transmit a request of cell handover to the control device in the packet switch domain and a request of session handover to the device anchoring VoIP conversation simultaneously.
By the use of the method and apparatus of the invention, a synchronization mechanism is introduced into the two main handover procedures which cause voice break in the SRVCC solution, namely, the session handover procedure at IMS layer and the cell handover procedure at layer 2 , resulting in that the break of the two handover procedures happens at or almost at the same time, such that the break of the whole SRVCC procedure becomes controlled and constant, and the duration of the break is shortened to the minimum value, whereby system performance is enhanced and quality of service is apparently improved. In addition, the solution of the invention nearly has no impact on the existing network environment, and thus possesses a high compatibility.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other characteristics, objects and advantages of the invention will be more obvious by reading the following detailed description in conjunction with figures non-limited embodiments.
FIG. 1 is the network architecture for SRVCC as prescribed by 3GPP TS 23.216;
FIG. 2 is related SRVCC flow of a handover from E-UTRAN to target GERAN without the support of DTM/PSHO in prior art;
FIG. 3 is a diagram of SRVCC break duration in prior art;
FIG. 4 is an illustrative flow chart of an improved SRVCC according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 5 is an illustrative flow chart of an improved SRVCC according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 6 is an illustrative flow chart of an improved SRVCC according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 7 is an apparatus in MSC server for reducing break duration in handover of VoIP conversation according to an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Based on the above analysis, it can be seen that the voice break in SRVCC solution given by 3GPP TS 23.216 is generated mainly by two parts, the procedure of session handover at IMS layer and the procedure of cell handover to the target cell at layer 2 (handover executed between local UE and the access network). However, there is no synchronization mechanism between the two procedures, which makes the duration of voice break become uncontrollable with uncertainty. In the worst case, as stated above, the duration of voice break may be too long that users' experiences will be deteriorated extremely. This is caused by the absence of synchronism mechanism between the two procedures of handover. If a synchronism mechanism can be introduced, the duration of voice break will be shortened to a fixed value.
The basic idea of the invention is that a synchronization mechanism is introduced between the session handover procedure at IMS layer and cell handover procedure at layer 2 , so that the two handover procedures start simultaneously or almost simultaneously. Thus the break duration of the whole SRVCC will be a minimum constant value as in Case 2 hereinabove.
For this purpose, a value P 2 is required to be predetermined in MSC server, representing the average time required from the MSC server transmitting a PS to CS Response message to the MME, to the local UE finally receiving a HO Command from EUTRAN. Such average time mainly comprise two parts, the total processing time on the message by the communication nodes that the message passes by, and the required time of transmission of the message in networks. Since the number of nodes the message passed by in its delivery to UE is fixed, the time required by those nodes to process the message can be computed. In addition, as both the MSC server and the local UE are located in the same local network, and the distance passed by the message from the MSC server to the UE in the local network does not have many changes, the time required for the transmission of the message in the network does not have many changes, too, and can be estimated based on experiences. Thus we can see that the time required from the message being sent by the MSC server to the message finally arriving at the local UE can be calculated and estimated based on experiences, thus P 2 can be assumed in advance.
FIGS. 4 , 5 and 6 illustrate improved SRVCC flows according to specific embodiments of the invention. It should be noted that although each step shown in the figure is numbered with successive numbers, it does not mean the order of execution of each step. It can be seen that steps 1 - 9 are the same with steps 1 - 9 in FIG. 2 .
The difference is that, in step 10 of FIGS. 4 , 5 and 6 , the INVITE message sent by the MSC server to the SCC AS in the IMS does not contain SDP information of MGW, and meanwhile, the MSC server records the time when it transmits the INVITE message as T 4 . Upon receipt of the INVITE message, the SCC AS interacts with the remote end UE (not shown in the figures), and then transmits a 200 OK reply message to the MSC server, wherein SDP information of the remote end UE is included therein. Because the remote end UE does not obtain the SDP information of MGW, the handover procedure of the remote end UE cannot be initiated, and the media stream of the current session is still kept as connected till now. The MSC server records the time when it receives the 200 OK message as T 5 . Then the MSC server calculates the time P 1 it requires to transmit a message to the remote end UE according to the round trip of the above message, e.g. calculating P 1 as a certain proportion of the time duration between time T 4 and T 5 , wherein the proportion can be set in according to experiences and network conditions, such as 50% or 45%. Steps 10 - 11 aims to calculate P 1 , however, the calculation of P 1 is not limited to the preceding INVITE-200 OK message pair, but may employ other messages, like INVITE-183 temporary response message.
It should be noted that the INVITE message in step 10 of FIG. 2 is a request of session handover, and since it contains SDP information of MGW, a session handover procedure will be initiated by the remote end UE once it receives this INVITE message via the SCC AS. However, the INVITE message in step 10 of FIGS. 4 , 5 and 6 is a request message of non-session handover request, because it does not contain SDP information of MGW, thus the remote end UE cannot initiate a session handover procedure after receiving the INVITE message via the SCC AS. The INVITE message is mainly used for computing the value of P 1 .
After calculating P 1 , the MSC server will compare P 1 with the predetermined P 2 . The MSC server will conduct different actions based on different comparison results.
If P 1 is greater than P 2 , i.e., the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the remote end UE is longer than the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the local UE, then subsequent flow is as shown in FIG. 4 . The MSC server transmits a request of session handover to the SCC AS first, such as the ACK message as shown in step 12 of FIG. 4 , the message has SDP information of MGW therein. At the same time, the MSC server initiates a timer with a time interval of P 1 -P 2 . Upon receipt of the ACK message with SDP information of MGW, based on this ACK message, the SCC AS immediately transmits a ACK message to the remote UE to initiate a session handover procedure and updates the remote end UE, and subsequent procedure is similar as the one defined by the existing 3GPP TS 23.216 specification. After the timer expires, the MSC server will transmit a request of cell handover to the source MME, such as the PS to CS Response message as shown in step 14 of FIG. 4 . Then steps 15 and 16 are executed, thereby initiating a cell handover procedure of handover to the target cell at the local UE side, and the subsequent procedure is the same with prior art.
If P 2 is greater than P 1 , i.e., the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the local UE is longer than the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the remote end UE, the following flow is as shown in FIG. 5 . The MSC server firstly transmits a request of cell handover to the source MME, such as the PS to CS Response message as shown in step 14 of FIG. 5 , then initiates a cell handover procedure at the local UE side, and the subsequent procedure is similar as the one defined by the existing 3GPP TS 23.216 specification. Simultaneously, the MSC server initiates a timer with a time interval of P 2 -P 1 . After the timer expires, the MSC server will transmit a request of session handover to the SCC AS in IMS, such as the ACK message as shown in step 12 of FIG. 5 , the message has SDP information of MGW therein. Upon receipt of the ACK message with SDP information of MGW, based on this ACK message, the SCC AS immediately transmits a ACK message to the remote UE to initiate a session handover procedure and updates the remote UE, and the subsequent procedure is similar as the one defined by the existing 3GPP TS 23.216 specification.
If P 1 is equal to P 2 , i.e., the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the local UE is as long as the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the remote end UE, as shown in FIG. 6 , the MSC server transmits a request of session handover to the SCC AS and a request of cell handover to the source MME simultaneously, that is, the ACK message (with SDP information of MGW) as shown in step 12 of FIG. 6 and the PS to CS Response message as shown in step 14 of FIG. 6 are sent at the same time. Upon receipt of the ACK message, based on this ACK message, the SCC AS immediately transmits a ACK message to the remote UE to initiate a session handover procedure and updates the remote UE, and the subsequent procedure is similar as the one defined by the existing 3GPP TS 23.216 specification. The source MME will further initiate a cell handover procedure at the local UE side after receiving the PS to CS Response message.
In this way, the time the request of session handover finally arriving at the remote end UE is the same or almost the same as the time when the request of cell handover finally arriving at the local UE. When the request of session handover reaches the remote end UE, the remote end UE will update the SDP information of the peer communication entity (namely, the local UE) as SDP information of MGW, and thereby causes start of the break due to the session handover at IMS layer. On the other hand, when the request of cell handover finally reaches the local UE, the break caused by the cell handover at layer 2 will start. Therefore, the break caused by the session handover at IMS layer happens simultaneously or almost simultaneously with the break caused by the cell handover at layer 2 , as shown in Case 2 of FIG. 3 . In this case, as stated above, the break duration of the whole SRVCC procedure is the shortest.
It has been pointed out above that, if the target MSC to which the local UE is to be handover and the MSC server are the same MSC server, steps 6 , 8 and 9 could be omitted. In addition, in order to speed up the handover, the MSC server may transmit the INVITE message to the SCC AS as soon as it receives a PS to CS Req message from the source MME, i.e. executing step 10 after step 5 immediately. In this situation, the MSC must satisfy the following two conditions before executing step 12 (that is, before transmitting the ACK message): 1. having received the 200 OK message in step 11 ; and 2. having received the message in step 7 when steps 6 , 8 , 9 are omitted, in other words, the MSC server and the target MSC are the same MSC server; if steps 6 , 8 , 9 need to be performed, in other words, the MSC server and the target MSC are not the same one, having received the message in step 9 .
FIG. 7 illustrates an apparatus in MSC server for reducing break duration in SRVCC according to an embodiment of the invention. Receiving means 701 triggers calculation means 703 to calculate the first time duration P 1 , i.e., the average time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the remote end UE, when receiving means 701 receives a request of handover from the source MME, such as the PS to CS Req message in step 5 of FIGS. 4-6 , wherein the request of handover indicates a handover of the current conversation from a packet switch domain to a circuit switch domain. It should be noted that if the MSC server is different from the target MSC to which the local UE is to be handover, when receiving means 701 receives the PS to CS Req message from the source MME, steps 6 , 8 and 9 in FIGS. 4-6 will be executed. However, there is no sequential relation between two groups of actions of the execution of steps 6 , 8 , 9 and the calculation of the first time duration P 1 by calculation means 703 , in other words, the calculation of the first time duration P 1 by calculation means 703 may be performed simultaneously with step 6 . If the MSC server and the target MSC to which the local UE is to be handover are the same one, steps 6 , 8 and 9 in FIGS. 4-6 will be omitted, that is, receiving means 701 will trigger calculation means 703 to calculate the first time duration P 1 as soon as it receives the PS to CS Req message from the source MME.
Specifically, calculation means 703 informs transmitting means 702 to transmit a request message of non-session handover request to the SCC AS in IMS, such as the INVITE message in step 10 of FIGS. 4-6 . Different from the INVITE message in step 10 of FIG. 2 , this INVITE message does not contain SDP information of MGW. The calculation means 703 records the time when it transmits the INVITE message as T 4 . Because fails to obtain SDP information of MGW, the SCC AS cannot initiate a session handover procedure at the remote end UE side after receiving the INVITE message. The SCC AS transmits a 200 OK reply message to the MSC server after interacting with the remote end UE. The MSC server receives this message via the receiving means 701 . The receiving means 701 informs this event to the calculation means 703 , and records the time when it receives the 200 OK message as T 5 . The calculation means 703 calculates P 1 based on time T 4 and T 5 , e.g. calculating P 1 as a certain proportion of the time duration between time T 4 and T 5 , wherein the proportion can be set in according to experiences and network conditions, such as 50% or 45%.
Then calculation means 703 notifies the comparison means 704 of the calculated value of P 1 . The comparison means 704 compares P 1 with the predetermined P 2 , and informs synchronization means 705 of the comparison result. The synchronization means 705 determines the order and time for transmitting a request of session handover to the SCC AS and transmitting a request of cell handover to the source MME based on the comparison result, to ensure that the request of session handover arrives at the remote end communication terminal at or almost at the same time with the arrival of the request of cell handover at the local communication terminal.
In particular, actions performed by the synchronization means 705 are as follows.
If P 1 is greater than P 2 , i.e., the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the remote end UE is longer than the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the local UE, the synchronization means 705 firstly triggers the transmitting means 702 to transmit a request of session handover to the SCC AS, such as the ACK message as shown in step 12 of FIG. 4 , the message has SDP information of MGW therein. At the same time, the synchronization means 705 initiates a timer with a time interval of P 1 -P 2 . Upon receipt of the ACK message with SDP information of MGW, based on this ACK message, the SCC AS immediately transmits a ACK message to the remote UE to initiate a session handover procedure and update the remote UE, and the subsequent procedure is similar as the one defined by the existing 3GPP TS 23.216 specification. After the timer expires, the synchronization means 705 triggers the transmitting means 702 to transmit a request of cell handover to the source MME, such as the PS to CS Response message as shown in step 14 of FIG. 4 , then executes steps 15 and 16 , thereby initiating a cell handover procedure of handover to the target cell at the local UE side, and the subsequent procedure is the same with prior art.
If P 2 is greater than P 1 , i.e., the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the local UE is longer than the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the remote end UE, the synchronization means 705 firstly triggers the transmitting means 702 to transmit a request of cell handover to the source MME, such as the PS to CS Response message as shown in step 14 of FIG. 5 , then initiates a cell handover procedure at the local UE side, and the subsequent process is similar as the one defined by the existing 3GPP TS 23.216 specification. Simultaneously, the synchronization means 705 initiates a timer with a time interval of P 2 −P 1 . After the timer expires, the synchronization means 705 triggers the transmitting means 702 to transmit a request of session handover to the SCC AS in IMS, such as ACK message as shown in step 12 of FIG. 5 , this message carrying SDP information of MGW. Upon receipt of the ACK message with SDP information of MGW, based on this ACK message, the SCC AS immediately transmits a ACK message to the remote UE to initiate a session handover procedure and update the remote UE, and the subsequent process is similar as the one defined by the existing 3GPP TS 23.216 specification.
If P 1 is equal to P 2 , i.e., the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the local UE is as long as the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the remote end UE, the synchronization means 705 triggers the transmitting means 702 to transmit a request of session handover to the SCC AS and a request of cell handover to the source MME simultaneously, that is, the ACK message (with SDP information of MGW) as shown in step 12 of FIG. 6 and the PS to CS Response message as shown in step 14 of FIG. 6 are sent at the same time. Upon receipt of the ACK message, the SCC AS immediately transmits a ACK message to the remote UE based on said ACK message to initiate a session handover procedure and update the remote UE, and the subsequent procedure is similar as the one defined by the existing 3GPP TS 23.216 specification. The source MME will further initiate a cell handover procedure at the local UE side after receiving the PS to CS Response message, and the subsequent process is the same with prior art.
Although above illustrates the basis idea of the invention by taking the 3GPP TS 23.216 as application environment and employing entities such as MME, MSC sever, MGW or the like, the application of the invention is not limited to this. For example, the invention may also be applied to 3GPP TS 23.237, 23.292, etc. In fact, all the entities capable of providing corresponding management/control on VoIP calls in a packet switch domain can act as the MME aforementioned; all the entities capable of providing corresponding management/control on VoIP calls in the circuit switch domain, such as MGW, MSC server managing/processing media or the like, can act as the corresponding control unit in the circuit switch domain; and all the entities capable of anchoring calls of users can act as the SCC AS above.
Specific embodiments of the invention have been described hereinabove. It should be understood that the invention is not limited to above specific embodiments, and those skilled in the art may make various modifications and adaptations within the scope of the appended claims. | The invention proposes a method and an apparatus for reducing break duration in handover of a VoIP conversation from a packet switch domain to a circuit switch domain. The main idea is that a synchronization mechanism is introduced between the session handover procedure at IP multimedia subsystem IMS layer and a cell handover procedure at layer 2, so that enable the two handover procedures to start at or almost at the same time. When a Mobile Switching Center MSC server receives a request of handover from the source Mobility Management Entity MME, the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at a remote end user equipment UE is computed first, and then is compared with a predetermined time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the local UE. According to the comparison result, determining an order and time for the MSC server transmitting a request of session handover to the Service Centralization and Continuity Application Server (SCC AS) and transmitting a request of cell handover to the source MME, and transmitting above two requests in according to the order and time, to ensure that the time that the request of session handover arrives at the remote end communication terminal is the same or almost same as the time that the request of cell handover arrives at the local communication terminal. | Summarize the patent document, focusing on the invention's functionality and advantages. | [
"TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to communication networks, and in particular, relates to a method and apparatus for reducing break duration in handover of a VoIP conversation from a packet switch domain to a circuit switch domain in a communication network.",
"BACKGROUND At present, we are experiencing a rapid integration of fixed and mobile networks, while IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) is generated under such environment.",
"IMS is a global, independent on access and standard-based IP channel and service control architecture, which enables the terminal users based on ordinary internet protocol to use different types of multimedia services.",
"IMS system not only offers a variety of access modes, but also provides inter-operations with the circuit switch domain.",
"For a multi-mode mobile terminal currently locates in a packet switch domain, it may handover a conversation from a packet switch domain to a circuit switch domain to ensure the quality of the conversation, when it moves to an edge of or outside a network covered by the packet switch domain, or when it is located in a network covered by the circuit switch domain while the network covered currently by the packet switch domain becomes unavailable.",
"In prior art, if a user terminal can receive and transmit information over a packet switch domain and a circuit switch domain simultaneously, a handover is generally completed before the current connection is released.",
"In other words, the user terminal establishes a call or session in the circuit switch domain and meanwhile maintains the existing voice call in the packet switch domain.",
"The user handovers a voice media to the call or session of the circuit switch domain only after the call or session of the circuit switch domain is established, and then releases network resources in the packet switch domain before the handover.",
"This manner usually has the shortest break duration.",
"However, for the terminals which cannot receive and transmit information over two domains simultaneously, this method is inapplicable.",
"Therefore, 3GPP TS 23.216 specifies a SRVCC (Single Radio Voice Call Continuity) solution for maintaining voice call continuity between EPS (Evolved Packet System) PS (Packet Switch) access and UTRAN/GERAN (Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network/GSM EDGE Radio Access Network) CS (Circuit Switch) access for calls that are anchored in IMS system.",
"In this situation, UE (user equipment) is can merely transmit or receive data via one of the preceding two access networks at a given time.",
"However, SRVCC solution prescribed by the 3GPP TS 23.216 also contains some disadvantages, such as uncertain voice break duration, complex signaling flows, or the like.",
"Why there is uncertain voice break duration will be described in detail in the following.",
"FIG. 1 illustrates SRVCC network architecture of a handover of VoIP conversation from E-UTRAN (Evolved UTRAN) to UTRAN/GERAN as prescribed by the 3GPP TS 23.216.",
"As shown in FIG. 1 , UE accesses IMS via E-UTRAN and S-GW/PDN GW.",
"The E-UTRAN is also referred to as LTE (Long Term Evolution), including a plurality of E-Node B in charge of the wireless access network part.",
"EPS conducts a functional integration on NodeB, RNC (Radio Network Controller) and CN (Core Network) in the existing WCDMA and TD-SCDMA systems, and is simplified as two network elements, eNodeB and EPC.",
"EPC comprises MME (Mobility Management Entity) for acting as a control node responsible of signaling processing of the core network, and S-GW (Serving Gateway)/PDN-GW (Packet Data Network Gateway) responsible of data processing of the core network.",
"Wherein, non-3GPP wireless access network may access EPC via PDN-GW, and 3GPP wireless network may access EPC through S-GW.",
"In addition, FIG. 1 also illustrates interfaces between network elements suggested by the Specification.",
"For example, E-UTRAN connects with EPC via a S1 (similar to lu) interface.",
"E-UTRANs connect with each other via a X2 (similar to lur) interface (not shown), and UE connects with E-UTRAN via a LTE-Uu interface.",
"In the environment shown in FIG. 1 .",
"UE may decide to handover to the circuit switch domain provided by UTRAN/GERAN when it is located at an edge of the coverage of E-UTRAN or outside an area covered by E-UTRAN.",
"In UTRAN/GERAN, the UE accesses the IMS network via a base station and a MSC (Mobile Switch Centre) server.",
"Wherein, UTRAN is a kind of relatively new access network for UMTS, and has now became an important access manner of UMTS, which includes NodeB, RNC, CN, etc.",
"While GERAN is a key part of GSM specified and maintained by 3GPP and also be included in UTMS/GSM network, comprising base stations BSs, base station controllers BSCs and interfaces thereof (e.g. Ater interface, Abis interface, A interface, etc.).",
"Commonly, the network of a mobile operator is composed of a plurality of GERANs, and combined with UTRAN in UMTS/GSM network.",
"Detailed information regarding the other network elements and the communication manners of the network elements in FIG. 1 can refer to TS23.216.",
"FIG. 2 shows a call flow for a handover of SRVCC from E-UTRAN to UTRAN/GERAN without DTM/PSHO (Dual Transfer Mode/Pack Switch Handover) support as prescribed by 3GPP TS 23.216.",
"In order to accomplish the handover of voice conversation, the voice conversation needs to be anchored beforehand in IMS, such as on a SCC AS (Service Centralization and Continuity Application Server).",
"As shown in FIG. 2 , when source E-UTRAN decides to perform a handover from a packet domain to a circuit domain on a ongoing VoIP call of a local UE in according to a measurement report received from local/source UE, it sends a handover request to local MME, and then the source MME splits the bearer (used for transferring the voice service subsequently), and sends a corresponding request of handover from the packet domain to the circuit domain to the MSC server or media gateway capable of covering the local UE currently.",
"The corresponding MSC/media gateway initiates a session transfer after a handover preparation and setting up a circuit.",
"Here, it should be noted that, if the target MSC to which the local UE is to be handover and the MSC that received the handover request from the MME are the same MSC, steps 6 , 8 and 9 in the dashed part could be omitted (so as steps 20 and 21 ).",
"Next, SRVCC contains a session handover procedure at IMS layer and a cell handover procedure to the target cell at layer 2 .",
"That is to say, there are two user-plane handovers in the SRVCC.",
"1) Steps 10 to 12 , SCC AS in IMS executes a session handover procedure, updates remote UE (i.e. the counter party that establishes the VoIP conversation with the local UE) with the SDP of the target CS access leg, and releases the source EPC PS access leg.",
"These steps will result in a switch of the voice component of the ongoing conversation from EPC to MGW on user-plane.",
"2) Steps 15 to 21 , a handover from E-UTRAN to UTRAN/GERAN is executed on the local UE and access network.",
"This is a handover between RATs (Radio Access Type) performed at the local UE and access network, and will result in a handover of the local UE from the current E-UTRAN cell to the target UTRAN/GERAN cell.",
"VoIP call break, namely, voice flow break, will be generated in both of the above two handover procedures.",
"Although each step in FIG. 2 is numbered with successive numbers, however, it does not mean the relationship on time between steps 10 - 12 and steps 15 - 21 .",
"On contrary, it is entirely possible that steps 10 - 12 are executed after step 15 , or at the same time with step 15 .",
"In other words, there is no synchronization between the two handover procedures, which makes the voice break duration become uncontrolled and is uncertain.",
"In the worst case, the voice break duration could be extreme long and deteriorates users'",
"experiences.",
"FIG. 3 illustrates the duration of the break of VoIP conversation in the above SRVCC solution.",
"Wherein, T 1 represents the break duration of the cell handover procedure at layer 2 , and meanwhile indicates the start time and finish time of the break.",
"T 2 represents the break duration of the session handover procedure at IMS layer, and meanwhile also indicates the start time and finish time of the break.",
"Case 1 : the break caused by the session handover procedure at IMS layer happens before the break caused by the cell handover procedure.",
"In this case, the break duration generated by SRVCC will greater than the maximum value of T 1 and T 2 , with no greater than T 1 +T 2 , and in the worst case, equal to T 1 +T 2 .",
"Case 2 : the break caused by the session handover procedure at IMS layer happens at the same time as the break caused by the cell handover procedure.",
"In this case, the break duration generated by SRVCC is equal to the maxi value of T 1 and T 2 .",
"Case 3 : the break caused by the cell handover procedure happens before the break caused by the session handover procedure at IMS layer.",
"In this case, similar as the Case 1 , the break duration generated by SRVCC will greater than the maximum value of T 1 and T 2 , with no greater than T 1 +T 2 , and in the worst case, equal to T 1 +T 2 .",
"It can thus be seen that the break duration generated in the SRVCC solution proposed in 3GPP TS 23.216 Specification is inconstant and uncontrollable.",
"SUMMARY In order to overcome the disadvantages hereinabove in prior art, the invention proposes a method and apparatus for reducing break duration in handover of VoIP conversation.",
"According to the first aspect of the invention, a method for reducing break duration in handover of VoIP conversation is provided, when a control device in a circuit switch domain receives a request of handover from a control device in a packet switch domain indicating a handover of the current conversation from the packet switch domain to the circuit switch domain, the method comprising: calculation step of calculating a first time duration which is a time required from the time the control device in the circuit switch domain transmitting a message to this message arriving at a remote end communication terminal;",
"comparison step of comparing the calculated first time duration with a predetermined second time duration, the second time duration being a time required from the time the control device in the circuit domain transmitting a message to this message arriving at a local communication terminal;",
"and synchronization step of the control device in the circuit switch domain determining an order and time for transmitting a request of session handover to a device anchoring VoIP conversation and transmitting a request of cell handover to the control device in the packet switch domain, in according to the comparison result of the first time duration and the second time duration, and transmitting the two requests in according to the order and times, to ensure that the request of session handover arrives at the remote end communication terminal at or almost at the same time as the arrival of the request of cell handover at the local communication terminal.",
"Preferably, said calculation step further comprises the control device in the circuit switch domain transmits a request message of non-session handover request to the device anchoring VoIP conversation;",
"the device anchoring VoIP conversation interacts with the remote end communication terminal after the receipt of the request message;",
"the device anchoring VoIP conversation transmits a reply message to the control device in the circuit switch domain after interacting with the remote end communication terminal;",
"and the control device in the circuit switch domain calculates the first time duration in according to the time of transmitting the request message and the time of receiving the reply message.",
"Preferably, said calculation step further comprises: according to the time of transmitting the request message and the time of receiving the reply message, the control device in the circuit switch domain calculates the first time duration as a certain proportion of the time duration spanning the two time.",
"Preferably, said synchronization step further comprises: if the first time duration is longer than the second time duration, the control device in the circuit switch domain transmits a request of session handover to the device anchoring VoIP conversation;",
"the control device in the circuit switch domain initiates a timer with a time interval being the difference of the first time duration and the second time duration;",
"and after the timer expires, the control device in the circuit switch domain transmits a request of cell handover to the control device in the packet switch domain.",
"Preferably, said synchronization step further comprises: if the first time duration is shorter than the second time duration, then the control device in the circuit switch domain transmits a request of cell handover to the control device in the packet switch domain;",
"the control device in the circuit switch domain initiates a timer with a time interval being the difference of the second time duration and the first time duration;",
"and after the timer expires, the control device in the circuit switch domain transmits a request of session handover to the device anchoring VoIP conversation.",
"Preferably, said synchronization step further comprise: if the first time duration is equal to the second time duration, then the control device in the circuit switch domain transmits a request of cell handover to the control device in the packet switch domain and a request of session handover to the device anchoring VoIP conversation simultaneously.",
"According to the second aspect of the invention, an apparatus for reducing break duration in handover of VoIP conversation in a control device in a circuit switch domain is provided, comprising: receiving means for receiving a request of handover from a control device in a packet switch domain, the request indicating a handover of the current conversation from the packet switch domain to the circuit switch domain;",
"calculation means for calculating a first time duration which is the time required from the time the control device in the circuit switch domain transmitting a message to this message arriving at a remote end communication terminal;",
"comparison means for comparing the calculated first time duration with a predetermined second time duration, the second time duration being the time required from the time the control device in the circuit domain transmitting a message to this message arriving at a local communication terminal;",
"synchronization means for determining the order and time for transmitting a request of session handover to a device anchoring VoIP conversation and transmitting a request of cell handover to the control device in the packet switch domain, in according to the comparison result of the comparison means;",
"and transmitting means for transmitting the two requests in according to the order and time determined by the synchronization means for transmitting a request of session handover to the device anchoring VoIP conversation and transmitting a request of cell handover to the control device in the packet switch domain.",
"Preferably, the transmitting means is further for transmitting a request message of a non-session handover request to the device anchoring VoIP conversation;",
"the receiving means is further for receiving a reply message transmitted by the device anchoring VoIP conversation after interacting with the remote end communication terminal to the control device in the circuit switch domain;",
"and the calculation means is further for calculating the first time duration in according to the time of transmitting the request message and the time of receiving the reply message.",
"Preferably, the calculation means calculates, in according to the time of transmitting the request message and the time of receiving the reply message, the first time duration as a certain proportion of the time duration spanning the two times.",
"Preferably, if the comparison result of the comparison means is that the first time duration is longer than the second time duration, the synchronization means triggers the transmitting means to transmit a request of session handover to the device anchoring VoIP conversation;",
"the synchronization means initiates a timer with a time interval being the difference of the first time duration and the second time duration;",
"and the synchronization means triggers the transmitting means to transmit a request of cell handover to the control device in the packet switch domain after the timer expires.",
"Preferably, if the comparison result of the comparison means is that the first time duration is shorter than the second time duration, the synchronization means triggers the transmitting means to transmit a request of cell handover to the control device in the packet switch domain;",
"the synchronization means initiates a timer with a time interval being the difference of the second time duration and the first time duration;",
"and the synchronization means triggers the transmitting means to transmit a request of session handover to the device anchoring VoIP conversation after the timer expires.",
"Preferably, if the comparison result of the comparison means is that the first time duration is equal to the second time duration, the synchronization means triggers the transmitting means to transmit a request of cell handover to the control device in the packet switch domain and a request of session handover to the device anchoring VoIP conversation simultaneously.",
"By the use of the method and apparatus of the invention, a synchronization mechanism is introduced into the two main handover procedures which cause voice break in the SRVCC solution, namely, the session handover procedure at IMS layer and the cell handover procedure at layer 2 , resulting in that the break of the two handover procedures happens at or almost at the same time, such that the break of the whole SRVCC procedure becomes controlled and constant, and the duration of the break is shortened to the minimum value, whereby system performance is enhanced and quality of service is apparently improved.",
"In addition, the solution of the invention nearly has no impact on the existing network environment, and thus possesses a high compatibility.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other characteristics, objects and advantages of the invention will be more obvious by reading the following detailed description in conjunction with figures non-limited embodiments.",
"FIG. 1 is the network architecture for SRVCC as prescribed by 3GPP TS 23.216;",
"FIG. 2 is related SRVCC flow of a handover from E-UTRAN to target GERAN without the support of DTM/PSHO in prior art;",
"FIG. 3 is a diagram of SRVCC break duration in prior art;",
"FIG. 4 is an illustrative flow chart of an improved SRVCC according to an embodiment of the invention;",
"FIG. 5 is an illustrative flow chart of an improved SRVCC according to an embodiment of the invention;",
"FIG. 6 is an illustrative flow chart of an improved SRVCC according to an embodiment of the invention;",
"FIG. 7 is an apparatus in MSC server for reducing break duration in handover of VoIP conversation according to an embodiment of the invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION Based on the above analysis, it can be seen that the voice break in SRVCC solution given by 3GPP TS 23.216 is generated mainly by two parts, the procedure of session handover at IMS layer and the procedure of cell handover to the target cell at layer 2 (handover executed between local UE and the access network).",
"However, there is no synchronization mechanism between the two procedures, which makes the duration of voice break become uncontrollable with uncertainty.",
"In the worst case, as stated above, the duration of voice break may be too long that users'",
"experiences will be deteriorated extremely.",
"This is caused by the absence of synchronism mechanism between the two procedures of handover.",
"If a synchronism mechanism can be introduced, the duration of voice break will be shortened to a fixed value.",
"The basic idea of the invention is that a synchronization mechanism is introduced between the session handover procedure at IMS layer and cell handover procedure at layer 2 , so that the two handover procedures start simultaneously or almost simultaneously.",
"Thus the break duration of the whole SRVCC will be a minimum constant value as in Case 2 hereinabove.",
"For this purpose, a value P 2 is required to be predetermined in MSC server, representing the average time required from the MSC server transmitting a PS to CS Response message to the MME, to the local UE finally receiving a HO Command from EUTRAN.",
"Such average time mainly comprise two parts, the total processing time on the message by the communication nodes that the message passes by, and the required time of transmission of the message in networks.",
"Since the number of nodes the message passed by in its delivery to UE is fixed, the time required by those nodes to process the message can be computed.",
"In addition, as both the MSC server and the local UE are located in the same local network, and the distance passed by the message from the MSC server to the UE in the local network does not have many changes, the time required for the transmission of the message in the network does not have many changes, too, and can be estimated based on experiences.",
"Thus we can see that the time required from the message being sent by the MSC server to the message finally arriving at the local UE can be calculated and estimated based on experiences, thus P 2 can be assumed in advance.",
"FIGS. 4 , 5 and 6 illustrate improved SRVCC flows according to specific embodiments of the invention.",
"It should be noted that although each step shown in the figure is numbered with successive numbers, it does not mean the order of execution of each step.",
"It can be seen that steps 1 - 9 are the same with steps 1 - 9 in FIG. 2 .",
"The difference is that, in step 10 of FIGS. 4 , 5 and 6 , the INVITE message sent by the MSC server to the SCC AS in the IMS does not contain SDP information of MGW, and meanwhile, the MSC server records the time when it transmits the INVITE message as T 4 .",
"Upon receipt of the INVITE message, the SCC AS interacts with the remote end UE (not shown in the figures), and then transmits a 200 OK reply message to the MSC server, wherein SDP information of the remote end UE is included therein.",
"Because the remote end UE does not obtain the SDP information of MGW, the handover procedure of the remote end UE cannot be initiated, and the media stream of the current session is still kept as connected till now.",
"The MSC server records the time when it receives the 200 OK message as T 5 .",
"Then the MSC server calculates the time P 1 it requires to transmit a message to the remote end UE according to the round trip of the above message, e.g. calculating P 1 as a certain proportion of the time duration between time T 4 and T 5 , wherein the proportion can be set in according to experiences and network conditions, such as 50% or 45%.",
"Steps 10 - 11 aims to calculate P 1 , however, the calculation of P 1 is not limited to the preceding INVITE-200 OK message pair, but may employ other messages, like INVITE-183 temporary response message.",
"It should be noted that the INVITE message in step 10 of FIG. 2 is a request of session handover, and since it contains SDP information of MGW, a session handover procedure will be initiated by the remote end UE once it receives this INVITE message via the SCC AS.",
"However, the INVITE message in step 10 of FIGS. 4 , 5 and 6 is a request message of non-session handover request, because it does not contain SDP information of MGW, thus the remote end UE cannot initiate a session handover procedure after receiving the INVITE message via the SCC AS.",
"The INVITE message is mainly used for computing the value of P 1 .",
"After calculating P 1 , the MSC server will compare P 1 with the predetermined P 2 .",
"The MSC server will conduct different actions based on different comparison results.",
"If P 1 is greater than P 2 , i.e., the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the remote end UE is longer than the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the local UE, then subsequent flow is as shown in FIG. 4 .",
"The MSC server transmits a request of session handover to the SCC AS first, such as the ACK message as shown in step 12 of FIG. 4 , the message has SDP information of MGW therein.",
"At the same time, the MSC server initiates a timer with a time interval of P 1 -P 2 .",
"Upon receipt of the ACK message with SDP information of MGW, based on this ACK message, the SCC AS immediately transmits a ACK message to the remote UE to initiate a session handover procedure and updates the remote end UE, and subsequent procedure is similar as the one defined by the existing 3GPP TS 23.216 specification.",
"After the timer expires, the MSC server will transmit a request of cell handover to the source MME, such as the PS to CS Response message as shown in step 14 of FIG. 4 .",
"Then steps 15 and 16 are executed, thereby initiating a cell handover procedure of handover to the target cell at the local UE side, and the subsequent procedure is the same with prior art.",
"If P 2 is greater than P 1 , i.e., the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the local UE is longer than the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the remote end UE, the following flow is as shown in FIG. 5 .",
"The MSC server firstly transmits a request of cell handover to the source MME, such as the PS to CS Response message as shown in step 14 of FIG. 5 , then initiates a cell handover procedure at the local UE side, and the subsequent procedure is similar as the one defined by the existing 3GPP TS 23.216 specification.",
"Simultaneously, the MSC server initiates a timer with a time interval of P 2 -P 1 .",
"After the timer expires, the MSC server will transmit a request of session handover to the SCC AS in IMS, such as the ACK message as shown in step 12 of FIG. 5 , the message has SDP information of MGW therein.",
"Upon receipt of the ACK message with SDP information of MGW, based on this ACK message, the SCC AS immediately transmits a ACK message to the remote UE to initiate a session handover procedure and updates the remote UE, and the subsequent procedure is similar as the one defined by the existing 3GPP TS 23.216 specification.",
"If P 1 is equal to P 2 , i.e., the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the local UE is as long as the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the remote end UE, as shown in FIG. 6 , the MSC server transmits a request of session handover to the SCC AS and a request of cell handover to the source MME simultaneously, that is, the ACK message (with SDP information of MGW) as shown in step 12 of FIG. 6 and the PS to CS Response message as shown in step 14 of FIG. 6 are sent at the same time.",
"Upon receipt of the ACK message, based on this ACK message, the SCC AS immediately transmits a ACK message to the remote UE to initiate a session handover procedure and updates the remote UE, and the subsequent procedure is similar as the one defined by the existing 3GPP TS 23.216 specification.",
"The source MME will further initiate a cell handover procedure at the local UE side after receiving the PS to CS Response message.",
"In this way, the time the request of session handover finally arriving at the remote end UE is the same or almost the same as the time when the request of cell handover finally arriving at the local UE.",
"When the request of session handover reaches the remote end UE, the remote end UE will update the SDP information of the peer communication entity (namely, the local UE) as SDP information of MGW, and thereby causes start of the break due to the session handover at IMS layer.",
"On the other hand, when the request of cell handover finally reaches the local UE, the break caused by the cell handover at layer 2 will start.",
"Therefore, the break caused by the session handover at IMS layer happens simultaneously or almost simultaneously with the break caused by the cell handover at layer 2 , as shown in Case 2 of FIG. 3 .",
"In this case, as stated above, the break duration of the whole SRVCC procedure is the shortest.",
"It has been pointed out above that, if the target MSC to which the local UE is to be handover and the MSC server are the same MSC server, steps 6 , 8 and 9 could be omitted.",
"In addition, in order to speed up the handover, the MSC server may transmit the INVITE message to the SCC AS as soon as it receives a PS to CS Req message from the source MME, i.e. executing step 10 after step 5 immediately.",
"In this situation, the MSC must satisfy the following two conditions before executing step 12 (that is, before transmitting the ACK message): 1.",
"having received the 200 OK message in step 11 ;",
"and 2.",
"having received the message in step 7 when steps 6 , 8 , 9 are omitted, in other words, the MSC server and the target MSC are the same MSC server;",
"if steps 6 , 8 , 9 need to be performed, in other words, the MSC server and the target MSC are not the same one, having received the message in step 9 .",
"FIG. 7 illustrates an apparatus in MSC server for reducing break duration in SRVCC according to an embodiment of the invention.",
"Receiving means 701 triggers calculation means 703 to calculate the first time duration P 1 , i.e., the average time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the remote end UE, when receiving means 701 receives a request of handover from the source MME, such as the PS to CS Req message in step 5 of FIGS. 4-6 , wherein the request of handover indicates a handover of the current conversation from a packet switch domain to a circuit switch domain.",
"It should be noted that if the MSC server is different from the target MSC to which the local UE is to be handover, when receiving means 701 receives the PS to CS Req message from the source MME, steps 6 , 8 and 9 in FIGS. 4-6 will be executed.",
"However, there is no sequential relation between two groups of actions of the execution of steps 6 , 8 , 9 and the calculation of the first time duration P 1 by calculation means 703 , in other words, the calculation of the first time duration P 1 by calculation means 703 may be performed simultaneously with step 6 .",
"If the MSC server and the target MSC to which the local UE is to be handover are the same one, steps 6 , 8 and 9 in FIGS. 4-6 will be omitted, that is, receiving means 701 will trigger calculation means 703 to calculate the first time duration P 1 as soon as it receives the PS to CS Req message from the source MME.",
"Specifically, calculation means 703 informs transmitting means 702 to transmit a request message of non-session handover request to the SCC AS in IMS, such as the INVITE message in step 10 of FIGS. 4-6 .",
"Different from the INVITE message in step 10 of FIG. 2 , this INVITE message does not contain SDP information of MGW.",
"The calculation means 703 records the time when it transmits the INVITE message as T 4 .",
"Because fails to obtain SDP information of MGW, the SCC AS cannot initiate a session handover procedure at the remote end UE side after receiving the INVITE message.",
"The SCC AS transmits a 200 OK reply message to the MSC server after interacting with the remote end UE.",
"The MSC server receives this message via the receiving means 701 .",
"The receiving means 701 informs this event to the calculation means 703 , and records the time when it receives the 200 OK message as T 5 .",
"The calculation means 703 calculates P 1 based on time T 4 and T 5 , e.g. calculating P 1 as a certain proportion of the time duration between time T 4 and T 5 , wherein the proportion can be set in according to experiences and network conditions, such as 50% or 45%.",
"Then calculation means 703 notifies the comparison means 704 of the calculated value of P 1 .",
"The comparison means 704 compares P 1 with the predetermined P 2 , and informs synchronization means 705 of the comparison result.",
"The synchronization means 705 determines the order and time for transmitting a request of session handover to the SCC AS and transmitting a request of cell handover to the source MME based on the comparison result, to ensure that the request of session handover arrives at the remote end communication terminal at or almost at the same time with the arrival of the request of cell handover at the local communication terminal.",
"In particular, actions performed by the synchronization means 705 are as follows.",
"If P 1 is greater than P 2 , i.e., the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the remote end UE is longer than the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the local UE, the synchronization means 705 firstly triggers the transmitting means 702 to transmit a request of session handover to the SCC AS, such as the ACK message as shown in step 12 of FIG. 4 , the message has SDP information of MGW therein.",
"At the same time, the synchronization means 705 initiates a timer with a time interval of P 1 -P 2 .",
"Upon receipt of the ACK message with SDP information of MGW, based on this ACK message, the SCC AS immediately transmits a ACK message to the remote UE to initiate a session handover procedure and update the remote UE, and the subsequent procedure is similar as the one defined by the existing 3GPP TS 23.216 specification.",
"After the timer expires, the synchronization means 705 triggers the transmitting means 702 to transmit a request of cell handover to the source MME, such as the PS to CS Response message as shown in step 14 of FIG. 4 , then executes steps 15 and 16 , thereby initiating a cell handover procedure of handover to the target cell at the local UE side, and the subsequent procedure is the same with prior art.",
"If P 2 is greater than P 1 , i.e., the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the local UE is longer than the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the remote end UE, the synchronization means 705 firstly triggers the transmitting means 702 to transmit a request of cell handover to the source MME, such as the PS to CS Response message as shown in step 14 of FIG. 5 , then initiates a cell handover procedure at the local UE side, and the subsequent process is similar as the one defined by the existing 3GPP TS 23.216 specification.",
"Simultaneously, the synchronization means 705 initiates a timer with a time interval of P 2 −P 1 .",
"After the timer expires, the synchronization means 705 triggers the transmitting means 702 to transmit a request of session handover to the SCC AS in IMS, such as ACK message as shown in step 12 of FIG. 5 , this message carrying SDP information of MGW.",
"Upon receipt of the ACK message with SDP information of MGW, based on this ACK message, the SCC AS immediately transmits a ACK message to the remote UE to initiate a session handover procedure and update the remote UE, and the subsequent process is similar as the one defined by the existing 3GPP TS 23.216 specification.",
"If P 1 is equal to P 2 , i.e., the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the local UE is as long as the time required from the time the MSC server transmitting a message to this message arriving at the remote end UE, the synchronization means 705 triggers the transmitting means 702 to transmit a request of session handover to the SCC AS and a request of cell handover to the source MME simultaneously, that is, the ACK message (with SDP information of MGW) as shown in step 12 of FIG. 6 and the PS to CS Response message as shown in step 14 of FIG. 6 are sent at the same time.",
"Upon receipt of the ACK message, the SCC AS immediately transmits a ACK message to the remote UE based on said ACK message to initiate a session handover procedure and update the remote UE, and the subsequent procedure is similar as the one defined by the existing 3GPP TS 23.216 specification.",
"The source MME will further initiate a cell handover procedure at the local UE side after receiving the PS to CS Response message, and the subsequent process is the same with prior art.",
"Although above illustrates the basis idea of the invention by taking the 3GPP TS 23.216 as application environment and employing entities such as MME, MSC sever, MGW or the like, the application of the invention is not limited to this.",
"For example, the invention may also be applied to 3GPP TS 23.237, 23.292, etc.",
"In fact, all the entities capable of providing corresponding management/control on VoIP calls in a packet switch domain can act as the MME aforementioned;",
"all the entities capable of providing corresponding management/control on VoIP calls in the circuit switch domain, such as MGW, MSC server managing/processing media or the like, can act as the corresponding control unit in the circuit switch domain;",
"and all the entities capable of anchoring calls of users can act as the SCC AS above.",
"Specific embodiments of the invention have been described hereinabove.",
"It should be understood that the invention is not limited to above specific embodiments, and those skilled in the art may make various modifications and adaptations within the scope of the appended claims."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] None.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] None.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0003] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a system and method for managing synchronization of devices and in particular to a system and method for providing a single aggregation point used to manage synchronization of multiple devices.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] Computer users in today's environment may use a number of different computing devices. For example, a computer user may use a stationary computer terminal, a laptop computer, and a blackberry or other mobile device. Often, these computing devices are used to store similar or related information. For example, a calendar storing a user's appointment schedule may be present on a stationary computer terminal, a laptop computer, and a mobile device. As another example, a document may be stored on a stationary computer terminal and then copied to a laptop computer, where a user may edit the document.
[0005] After updating or altering information on one device, the user may wish to transfer the updated information to another device. In order to transfer information between devices, the user may choose to synchronize, or “sync,” two or more devices. One or more of the devices may contain a “sync manager,” which performs syncing operations. When two devices are synced, it is typically determined which device contains the most recent information. The device with the most recent information may, for example, transfer information to the other device.
[0006] Syncing is also useful in networking applications. For example, two or more users may have access to the same document, calendar, or other information in a networked computing environment. Syncing may be used in such an environment to ensure that the most recent copy of the information is used.
[0007] Conventionally, a user may connect a first device to a second device to begin a sync operation. For example, a user may rest a handheld device in a cradle which is connected to a computer terminal, may connect a laptop computer to a stationary computer terminal, or the like. The sync manager then begins to reconcile the different versions of files stored in the two devices. In some instances, the sync manager may reconcile versions of the files without user input, such as by determining which version of information has been most recently edited. In other instances, the sync manager requests input from the user in determining which version(s) of a file to keep.
[0008] While a sync operation is being performed, the user is typically presented with information detailing the status of the sync operation. For example, the user may be presented with a dialog box indicating that a sync operation is being performed, and containing a status bar indicating the progress of the sync operation.
[0009] In addition, the user interface presented to a user during a sync operation is typically prominent and may require input from the user during the sync operation. A user may not wish to be presented with a large, bulky display during a sync operation, for example, because the user may wish to perform other tasks.
[0010] Furthermore, a user wishing to perform multiple sync operations may be required, for example, to connect and sync each device in turn. Because the user may be required to sync each device in turn and provide input for each sync operation, syncing more than one device may prove to be a lengthy and cumbersome process. Also because each device may have to duplicate and store events such as exceptions, failures, or errors that have occurred during a sync operation into the storage provided and in a manner dictated by the sync manager, the sync operation is burdened with a sub-optimal operational condition. For instance, when a device running a sync handler encounters a communication error due to a network failure, it may have to save the event into its storage first. The sync handler must then duplicate the event and store the duplicate into the sync manager's storage for it to bring to the user's attention. Furthermore, each device may provide its own display presenting the user with information regarding sync operations. A user may therefore be required to access multiple displays to obtain sync information. For example, a user wishing to determine whether all sync operations were completed successfully may be required to access a laptop sync display, a Palm Pilot sync display, and a BlackBerry sync display.
[0011] On the other hand, when a sync operation is not initiated by users but is instead initiated in the background, for instance, by an external sync application, the information pertinent to such operation may not be made available for the users to view and act on. For instance, when a sync operation is initiated in the background between an external sync application and a sync server according to a predetermined schedule, users may not be aware of the operation and, therefore, cannot stop or cancel the operation.
[0012] There is therefore a need in the art for a centralized display that allows a user to quickly and easily manage sync operations for multiple devices. There is a further need in the art for a lightweight sync display that allows a user to perform other tasks during a sync operation.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] Embodiments of the present invention include a method for displaying and managing information related to at least one user initiated or application initiated sync operation. The method may include displaying a first-layer graphical user interface presenting first information related to the at least one user initiated or application initiated sync operation, determining whether a user requests a second-layer graphical user interface, and, if the user requests a second-layer graphical user interface, displaying a second-layer graphical user interface presenting second information related to the at least one user initiated or application initiated sync operation.
[0014] In a further embodiment of the invention, a system for displaying information related to at least one user initiated or application initiated sync operation may include at least one sync handler being implemented in accordance with a sync application program interface. The system may further include a sync user interface configured to receive sync operation information from a plurality of sync handlers, to display a first-layer graphical user interface presenting first information related to the at least one user initiated or application initiated sync operation, and to display a second-layer graphical user interface presenting second information related to the at least one user initiated or application initiated sync operation.
[0015] In still further embodiments of the invention, a sync user interface is configured to receive information from a plurality of sync handlers and to display a tray icon presenting first information related to at least one user initiated or application initiated sync operation.
[0016] The foregoing systems and methods may provide a centralized display that allows a user to quickly and easily manage and act upon user initiated or application initiated sync operations for multiple devices. The invention may also provide a layered sync display, in which each layer presents a user with successively more information. The layered sync display may ensure that a user is not presented with extraneous information, which simplifies management of sync operations and allows user to perform other tasks during sync operations.
[0017] In implementations of the present invention, sync operations may occur without user input, so that the user may continue working on other tasks while a sync operation is taking place. The user may elect to enter input, such as input used to resolve conflicts or other input requested by the sync operation, at a later time that is convenient for the user. Sync operations may also be initiated in the background, for instance, by an external sync application without user initiation. Therefore, the user may also act on the background initiated sync operation through the layered sync display.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings figures, wherein:
[0019] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overview of a system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0020] FIG. 2 is block diagram illustrating a computerized environment in which embodiments of the invention may be implemented;
[0021] FIGS. 3-5 display exemplary graphical user interfaces (GUIs) in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and
[0022] FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method for performing a sync operation in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0000] I. System Overview
[0023] A system and method are provided for implementing a sync manager. The sync manager may be used to sync two or more devices, folders, or other data sources.
[0024] The system may include a terminal 200 , which includes a sync manager 201 . The terminal 200 may be connected to one or more devices 202 , 204 via couplings 206 , 208 , respectively. Each device 202 , 204 may be or include, for example, a mobile communication device, a laptop computer, a gaming device, a camera, a computer terminal, or the like. A sync operation may begin, for example, when a user connects the device 202 to the terminal 200 via the coupling 206 and/or connects the device 204 to the terminal 200 via the coupling 208 .
[0025] The sync manager 201 contains a Sync Application Program Interface (API) 218 that contains objects and methods used in a sync operation. The objects included in the Sync API may include, for example, one or more Sync Handlers 220 , 222 , 224 , each of which specifies how a sync operation is to be performed, for example, by providing the logic necessary to link with a particular device, folder, or other data source. The objects included in the Sync API may also include, for example, one or more Sync Monitors 226 , 228 , 230 , each of which monitors a device, folder, or other data source to determine when a sync operation should be performed.
[0026] The Sync API 218 may include a general Sync Handler 220 , for example, which is the default sync handler used in performing a sync operation. The Sync API 218 may also be or include an extensible API that is extended, for example, to create specialized sync handlers for particular devices and/or applications. As a particular example, BlackBerry developers can write a sync handler specifying how sync operations including a Blackberry are to be performed. As shown in FIG. 1 , specialized Sync Handler 222 may be an extension of the Sync API 218 that is used to perform sync operations originating from the device 202 . Sync Handler 222 may be stored, for example, on the terminal 200 , in the device 202 , or in both locations. As another example, specialized Sync Handler 224 may be an extension of the Sync API 218 that is used to perform sync operations originating from the device 204 . Specialized Sync Handler 224 may be stored, for example, on the terminal 200 , in the device 204 , or in both locations.
[0027] The Sync API 218 may also include a general Sync Monitor 226 , for example, which is the default sync monitor used to determine when a sync operation should take place. The Sync API 218 may also be or include an extensible API that is extended, for example, to create specialized sync monitors for particular devices and/or applications. As a particular example, BlackBerry developers can write a sync monitor specifying how when sync operations including a Blackberry are to be performed. As shown in FIG. 1 , specialized Sync Monitor 228 may be an extension of the Sync API 218 that is used to perform sync operations originating from the device 202 . Sync Monitor 228 may be stored, for example, on the terminal 200 , in the device 202 , or in both locations. As another example, specialized Sync Monitor 230 may be an extension of the Sync API 218 that is used to perform sync operations originating from the device 204 . Specialized Sync Monitor 230 may be stored, for example, on the terminal 200 , in the device 204 , or in both locations.
[0028] When one or more of the Sync Monitors 226 , 228 , 230 determines that a sync operation should occur, a Sync User Interface (UI) 232 may alert a user. The Sync UI 232 may be stored, for example, on the terminal 200 , the device 202 , and/or the device 204 . The Sync UI 232 may alert the user, for example via a display 242 , 246 , and/or 250 included in or connected to the terminal 200 , device 202 , or device 204 , respectively. The user may then choose to initiate the sync operation. Alternately or in addition, the Sync Monitors 226 , 228 , 230 may automatically initiate the sync operation. In an embodiment, sync operations can be also initiated in the background between a sync server 234 and an external sync application that is running in device 202 or device 204 . Sync operations can also be initiated in the background by the sync server 234 in response to changes in system environment or changes on particular data sources, or in response to a schedule or some other event, such as a network connection being established or the machine reaching an idle state. The user may view and act on the background initiated sync operation in the same manner in which user initiated sync operations can be viewed and acted upon.
[0029] Sync operations are performed by the Sync Server 234 using methods specified in one or more of the Sync Handlers 220 , 222 , 224 . In performing sync operations, the Sync Server 234 may cache one or more of the Sync Handlers 220 , 222 , 224 to expedite sync operations.
[0030] During a sync operation, one or more of the Sync Handlers 220 , 222 , or 224 , or one or more external sync applications may report to the sync manager 201 , which, in turn, may present to users via display 242 various events such as exceptions, failure, or errors that have occurred during sync operations. This centralized event reporting arrangement provides an extensibility mechanism that allows a sync handler to either report its events directly or provide them through their own store.
[0031] As sync operations occur, the Sync UI 232 may present information to a user via one or more of the displays 242 , 246 , 250 . In one implementation, the Sync UI 232 has a layered structure, and includes a plurality of UI components 252 , 254 , 256 . For example, the Sync UI 232 may include a first-layer UI component 252 , which may present a user with a first-layer GUI such as a tray icon. The Sync UI 232 may also include a second-layer UI component 254 , which may present a user with a second-layer GUI, such as a “mini-mode” that includes more information than the first-layer GUI. The Sync UI 232 may further include a third-layer UI component 256 , which may present a user with a third-layer GUI, such as a “full-mode” that includes still more information. The first-, second-, and third-layer GUIs will be discussed further hereinbelow with reference to FIGS. 3-5 .
[0032] In displaying information to a user, the Sync UI 232 may cache one or more of the Sync Handlers 220 , 222 , 224 to expedite the display.
[0033] In implementations of the present invention, developers may extend the Sync UI 232 , for example, by specifying additional information or user options to be presented by the second-layer UI component 254 and/or the third-layer UI component 256 . This allows developers to utilize the Sync UI 232 to present data relevant to a particular device.
[0000] II. Exemplary Operating Environment
[0034] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a suitable computing system environment 100 on which the sync manager UI and API may be implemented. The computing system environment 100 is only one example of a suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the invention. Neither should the computing environment 100 be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary operating environment 100 .
[0035] The invention is described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.
[0036] With reference to FIG. 2 , the exemplary system 100 for implementing the invention includes a general purpose-computing device in the form of a computer 110 including a processing unit 120 , a system memory 130 , and a system bus 121 that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit 120 .
[0037] Computer 110 typically includes a variety of computer readable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media. The system memory 130 includes computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) 131 and random access memory (RAM) 132 . A basic input/output system 133 (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer 110 , such as during start-up, is typically stored in ROM 131 . RAM 132 typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/or presently being operated on by processing unit 120 . By way of example, and not limitation, FIG. 2 illustrates operating system 134 , application programs 135 , other program modules 136 , and program data 137 .
[0038] The computer 110 may also include other removable/nonremovable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. By way of example only, FIG. 2 illustrates a hard disk drive 141 that reads from or writes to nonremovable, nonvolatile magnetic media, a magnetic disk drive 151 that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile magnetic disk 152 , and an optical disk drive 155 that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile optical disk 156 such as a CD ROM or other optical media. Other removable/nonremovable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media that can be used in the exemplary operating environment include, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards, digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solid state ROM, and the like. The hard disk drive 141 is typically connected to the system bus 121 through an non-removable memory interface such as interface 140 , and magnetic disk drive 151 and optical disk drive 155 are typically connected to the system bus 121 by a removable memory interface, such as interface 150 .
[0039] The drives and their associated computer storage media discussed above and illustrated in FIG. 2 , provide storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computer 110 . In FIG. 2 , for example, hard disk drive 141 is illustrated as storing operating system 144 , application programs 145 , other program modules 146 , and program data 147 . Note that these components can either be the same as or different from operating system 134 , application programs 135 , other program modules 136 , and program data 137 . Operating system 144 , application programs 145 , other program modules 146 , and program data 147 are given different numbers here to illustrate that, at a minimum, they are different copies. A user may enter commands and information into the computer 110 through input devices such as a keyboard 162 and pointing device 161 , commonly referred to as a mouse, trackball or touch pad. Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 120 through a user input interface 160 that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor 191 or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus 121 via an interface, such as a video interface 190 . In addition to the monitor, computers may also include other peripheral output devices such as speakers 197 and printer 196 , which may be connected through an output peripheral interface 195 .
[0040] The computer 110 in the present invention will operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer 180 . The remote computer 180 may be a personal computer, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the computer 110 , although only a memory storage device 181 has been illustrated in FIG. 2 . The logical connections depicted in FIG. 2 include a local area network (LAN) 171 and a wide area network (WAN) 173 , but may also include other networks.
[0041] When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 110 is connected to the LAN 171 through a network interface or adapter 170 . When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 110 typically includes a modem 172 or other means for establishing communications over the WAN 173 , such as the Internet. The modem 172 , which may be internal or external, may be connected to the system bus 121 via the user input interface 160 , or other appropriate mechanism. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 110 , or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. By way of example, and not limitation, FIG. 2 illustrates remote application programs 185 as residing on memory device 181 . It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.
[0042] Although many other internal components of the computer 110 are not shown, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that such components and the interconnection are well known. Accordingly, additional details concerning the internal construction of the computer 110 need not be disclosed in connection with the present invention.
[0000] III. Systems and Methods of the Invention
[0043] As set forth above, FIG. 1 illustrates a system for implementing a sync manager in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As described above with respect to FIG. 2 , the system may include one or more user computers.
[0044] FIGS. 3-5 display exemplary GUIs, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As discussed with reference to FIG. 1 , the Sync UI 232 may include first-, second-, and third-layer UI components 252 , 254 , and 256 , which may display first-second, and third-layer GUIs, respectively.
[0045] The first-layer UI component 252 may present a user with a first-layer GUI, such as a tray icon 300 , as shown in FIG. 3 . The tray icon 300 may be, for example, the user interface typically presented during a sync operation. The tray icon 300 may be presented, for example, in a system tray 302 or on a display 304 , and may indicate the status of one or more sync operations. For example, the tray icon 300 may become illuminated or rotate when one or more sync operations is in progress. In addition, the tray icon 300 may change colors upon completion of sync operations. The color of the tray icon 300 may also be used to indicate the status of the sync operations. For example, the tray icon 300 may become green to indicate that all sync operations were completed successfully, become yellow to indicate that user input is requested, or become red to indicate that an error occurred during one or more sync operations.
[0046] Because the tray icon 300 may be out-of-the-way and non-intrusive, the user may be free to perform other tasks, for example, via the display 304 .
[0047] A user may also use the tray icon 300 for example, to select common tasks 306 associated with sync operations. Common tasks 306 , such as, for example, a “sync all” task that initiates a sync operation with all connected devices, may be presented to the user via the tray icon 300 . A user may select a common task 306 , for example, by right-clicking on the tray icon 300 and selecting the common task 306 from a drop-down menu 308 , or by some other appropriate method.
[0048] The tray icon 300 is one example of a lightweight, out-of-the-way interface that may be presented to a user to indicate the status of a sync operation. If the user requires more information than that provided by the tray icon 300 , the user may enter a “mini-mode,” for example, by double-clicking on the tray icon, by selecting “more info” from the drop-down menu 308 , or by some other appropriate method.
[0049] As shown in FIG. 4 , a mini-mode 400 may be a second-layer GUI presented by the second-layer UI component 254 . The mini-mode 400 may be or include, for example, a small GUI that provides further detail about sync operations. If a sync operation is in progress, for example, the mini-mode 400 may present the user, for example, with a list of devices being synced and with information about the progress and status of each separate sync operation. If a sync operation is not in progress, the mini-mode 400 may present the user with information describing, for example, the status of the last sync operation and/or the last time a successful sync operation was completed with each device. The mini-mode 400 may also allow a user to select from one or more tasks, such as, for example, ending the sync operation 402 , resolving a conflict 404 , or obtaining more information 406 . The tasks presented to the user by the mini-mode 400 may include, for example, one or more of the common tasks accessible from the tray icon, in addition to less-frequently used tasks.
[0050] If the user desires more information than is available in the mini-mode, the user may access a “full view,” for example, by selecting an option 406 in the mini-mode 400 or by some other appropriate method. As shown in FIG. 5 , a full view 500 may be a third-layer GUI presented by the third-layer UI component 256 . The full view 500 may provide the user with still further detail about sync operations, such as specific error information and the like. In addition, the full view may allow the user to select from full-view tasks 502 , 504 , 506 , which may be, for example, all tasks available to the user, including the common tasks available from the tray icon 300 , the less frequently used tasks available from the mini-mode 400 , and rare tasks, which may only be available through the full view 500 .
[0051] In implementations of the full mode 500 , a user may be able to separately view information for a particular device, for example, by clicking on a tab 508 , 510 , 512 or by some other appropriate method. A user may be able to view general sync information, for example, by clicking on a general tab 514 or by some other appropriate method. Each of the tabs 508 , 510 , 512 , 514 may allow the user to select one or more full-view tasks 502 , 504 , 506 .
[0052] In implementations of the present invention, developers may extend the Sync UI 232 , for example, by specifying additional information or user options to be presented by the in the mini-mode 400 and/or the full mode 500 . This allows developers to utilize the Sync UI 232 to present data relevant to a particular device.
[0053] FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method for performing a sync operation in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 6 , one or more sync operations may begin in step 600 , for example, when a user connects two or more devices, selects an option to initiate sync operations, or otherwise initiates sync operations. In step 602 , a tray icon or other GUI may be displayed to a user to indicate that sync operations are in progress. The tray icon or other first-layer GUI displayed in step 602 may be, for example, the GUI presented by a first-layer UI component. In implementations of the present invention, a tray icon is presented to a user in a system tray, and upon initiation of a sync event, the tray icon brightens, spins, or is otherwise indicates that sync operations are in progress. The tray icon may also allow the user to select common tasks.
[0054] In step 604 , the user may request more information than the information provided by the tray icon or other first-layer GUI. If the user requests more information in step 604 , a mini-mode or other second-layer GUI may be displayed in step 606 . The mini-mode or other second-layer GUI may, for example, display more information than the tray icon or other first-layer GUI. In addition, the mini-mode or other second-layer GUI may present the user with the option to select additional tasks not presented in the tray icon or other first-layer GUI.
[0055] In step 608 , the user may request more information than the information provided by the mini-mode or other second-layer GUI. If the user requests more information in step 608 , a full mode or other third-layer GUI may be displayed in step 610 . The full mode or other third-layer GUI may, for example, display more information than the mini-mode or other second-layer GUI. In addition, the full mode or other third-layer GUI may present the user with the option to select additional tasks not presented in the mini-mode or other second-layer GUI.
[0056] While sync operations are in progress, the tray icon or other first-layer GUI, the mini-mode or other second-layer GUI, and/or the full mode or other third-layer GUI may present the user with information regarding the progress or status of sync operations. For example, a tray icon may remain bright or continue spinning during sync operations, and may change its color if user input is required, such as in the case of a conflict. As another example, progress bars or status listings of various sync operations in the mini-mode or in the full-mode may change to reflect sync operations in progress. Other examples are possible.
[0057] In step 612 , sync operations are completed, and in step 614 , one or more displays are altered to alert the user to the completion of the sync operation. For example, a tray icon may reduce its brightness and stop spinning, or may change its color, for example, to green to indicate that sync operations were successfully completed or to red to indicate that sync operations were unsuccessful. As another example, the mini-mode or the full mode may be altered to indicate the completion of sync operations.
[0058] While particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described in detail herein, it should be understood that various changes and modifications might be made to the invention without departing from the scope and intent of the invention. For example, while the invention has primarily been described in terms of mobile devices connecting to a stationary computer terminal, the invention is equally suited to other environments, such as a network of computer terminals or other appropriate environment. In addition, while the devices have been described as being connected via couplings, any method of communication, such as, for example, wireless communication, is suitable. The embodiments described herein are intended in all respects to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternate embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from its scope.
[0059] From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all the ends and objects set forth above, together with other advantages, which are obvious and inherent to the system and method. It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. This is contemplated and within the scope of the appended claims. | A system and method are provided for presenting a centralized display that allows a user to quickly and easily manage user or application initiated sync operations for multiple devices. The invention may also provide a layered sync display, in which each layer presents a user with successively more information, including information about the event that occurred during the sync operations. The layered sync display ensures that a user is not presented with extraneous information, which simplifies management of the sync operations and allows user to perform other tasks during the sync operations. In implementations of the present invention, the sync operations may occur without user input, so that the user may continue working on other tasks while a sync operation takes place. The user may elect to enter input, to resolve conflicts, for instance, or other input requested by the sync operation, later when that is convenient for the user. | Briefly describe the main idea outlined in the provided context. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] None.",
"STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT [0002] None.",
"TECHNICAL FIELD [0003] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a system and method for managing synchronization of devices and in particular to a system and method for providing a single aggregation point used to manage synchronization of multiple devices.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004] Computer users in today's environment may use a number of different computing devices.",
"For example, a computer user may use a stationary computer terminal, a laptop computer, and a blackberry or other mobile device.",
"Often, these computing devices are used to store similar or related information.",
"For example, a calendar storing a user's appointment schedule may be present on a stationary computer terminal, a laptop computer, and a mobile device.",
"As another example, a document may be stored on a stationary computer terminal and then copied to a laptop computer, where a user may edit the document.",
"[0005] After updating or altering information on one device, the user may wish to transfer the updated information to another device.",
"In order to transfer information between devices, the user may choose to synchronize, or “sync,” two or more devices.",
"One or more of the devices may contain a “sync manager,” which performs syncing operations.",
"When two devices are synced, it is typically determined which device contains the most recent information.",
"The device with the most recent information may, for example, transfer information to the other device.",
"[0006] Syncing is also useful in networking applications.",
"For example, two or more users may have access to the same document, calendar, or other information in a networked computing environment.",
"Syncing may be used in such an environment to ensure that the most recent copy of the information is used.",
"[0007] Conventionally, a user may connect a first device to a second device to begin a sync operation.",
"For example, a user may rest a handheld device in a cradle which is connected to a computer terminal, may connect a laptop computer to a stationary computer terminal, or the like.",
"The sync manager then begins to reconcile the different versions of files stored in the two devices.",
"In some instances, the sync manager may reconcile versions of the files without user input, such as by determining which version of information has been most recently edited.",
"In other instances, the sync manager requests input from the user in determining which version(s) of a file to keep.",
"[0008] While a sync operation is being performed, the user is typically presented with information detailing the status of the sync operation.",
"For example, the user may be presented with a dialog box indicating that a sync operation is being performed, and containing a status bar indicating the progress of the sync operation.",
"[0009] In addition, the user interface presented to a user during a sync operation is typically prominent and may require input from the user during the sync operation.",
"A user may not wish to be presented with a large, bulky display during a sync operation, for example, because the user may wish to perform other tasks.",
"[0010] Furthermore, a user wishing to perform multiple sync operations may be required, for example, to connect and sync each device in turn.",
"Because the user may be required to sync each device in turn and provide input for each sync operation, syncing more than one device may prove to be a lengthy and cumbersome process.",
"Also because each device may have to duplicate and store events such as exceptions, failures, or errors that have occurred during a sync operation into the storage provided and in a manner dictated by the sync manager, the sync operation is burdened with a sub-optimal operational condition.",
"For instance, when a device running a sync handler encounters a communication error due to a network failure, it may have to save the event into its storage first.",
"The sync handler must then duplicate the event and store the duplicate into the sync manager's storage for it to bring to the user's attention.",
"Furthermore, each device may provide its own display presenting the user with information regarding sync operations.",
"A user may therefore be required to access multiple displays to obtain sync information.",
"For example, a user wishing to determine whether all sync operations were completed successfully may be required to access a laptop sync display, a Palm Pilot sync display, and a BlackBerry sync display.",
"[0011] On the other hand, when a sync operation is not initiated by users but is instead initiated in the background, for instance, by an external sync application, the information pertinent to such operation may not be made available for the users to view and act on.",
"For instance, when a sync operation is initiated in the background between an external sync application and a sync server according to a predetermined schedule, users may not be aware of the operation and, therefore, cannot stop or cancel the operation.",
"[0012] There is therefore a need in the art for a centralized display that allows a user to quickly and easily manage sync operations for multiple devices.",
"There is a further need in the art for a lightweight sync display that allows a user to perform other tasks during a sync operation.",
"BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0013] Embodiments of the present invention include a method for displaying and managing information related to at least one user initiated or application initiated sync operation.",
"The method may include displaying a first-layer graphical user interface presenting first information related to the at least one user initiated or application initiated sync operation, determining whether a user requests a second-layer graphical user interface, and, if the user requests a second-layer graphical user interface, displaying a second-layer graphical user interface presenting second information related to the at least one user initiated or application initiated sync operation.",
"[0014] In a further embodiment of the invention, a system for displaying information related to at least one user initiated or application initiated sync operation may include at least one sync handler being implemented in accordance with a sync application program interface.",
"The system may further include a sync user interface configured to receive sync operation information from a plurality of sync handlers, to display a first-layer graphical user interface presenting first information related to the at least one user initiated or application initiated sync operation, and to display a second-layer graphical user interface presenting second information related to the at least one user initiated or application initiated sync operation.",
"[0015] In still further embodiments of the invention, a sync user interface is configured to receive information from a plurality of sync handlers and to display a tray icon presenting first information related to at least one user initiated or application initiated sync operation.",
"[0016] The foregoing systems and methods may provide a centralized display that allows a user to quickly and easily manage and act upon user initiated or application initiated sync operations for multiple devices.",
"The invention may also provide a layered sync display, in which each layer presents a user with successively more information.",
"The layered sync display may ensure that a user is not presented with extraneous information, which simplifies management of sync operations and allows user to perform other tasks during sync operations.",
"[0017] In implementations of the present invention, sync operations may occur without user input, so that the user may continue working on other tasks while a sync operation is taking place.",
"The user may elect to enter input, such as input used to resolve conflicts or other input requested by the sync operation, at a later time that is convenient for the user.",
"Sync operations may also be initiated in the background, for instance, by an external sync application without user initiation.",
"Therefore, the user may also act on the background initiated sync operation through the layered sync display.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0018] The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings figures, wherein: [0019] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overview of a system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;",
"[0020] FIG. 2 is block diagram illustrating a computerized environment in which embodiments of the invention may be implemented;",
"[0021] FIGS. 3-5 display exemplary graphical user interfaces (GUIs) in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;",
"and [0022] FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method for performing a sync operation in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0000] I. System Overview [0023] A system and method are provided for implementing a sync manager.",
"The sync manager may be used to sync two or more devices, folders, or other data sources.",
"[0024] The system may include a terminal 200 , which includes a sync manager 201 .",
"The terminal 200 may be connected to one or more devices 202 , 204 via couplings 206 , 208 , respectively.",
"Each device 202 , 204 may be or include, for example, a mobile communication device, a laptop computer, a gaming device, a camera, a computer terminal, or the like.",
"A sync operation may begin, for example, when a user connects the device 202 to the terminal 200 via the coupling 206 and/or connects the device 204 to the terminal 200 via the coupling 208 .",
"[0025] The sync manager 201 contains a Sync Application Program Interface (API) 218 that contains objects and methods used in a sync operation.",
"The objects included in the Sync API may include, for example, one or more Sync Handlers 220 , 222 , 224 , each of which specifies how a sync operation is to be performed, for example, by providing the logic necessary to link with a particular device, folder, or other data source.",
"The objects included in the Sync API may also include, for example, one or more Sync Monitors 226 , 228 , 230 , each of which monitors a device, folder, or other data source to determine when a sync operation should be performed.",
"[0026] The Sync API 218 may include a general Sync Handler 220 , for example, which is the default sync handler used in performing a sync operation.",
"The Sync API 218 may also be or include an extensible API that is extended, for example, to create specialized sync handlers for particular devices and/or applications.",
"As a particular example, BlackBerry developers can write a sync handler specifying how sync operations including a Blackberry are to be performed.",
"As shown in FIG. 1 , specialized Sync Handler 222 may be an extension of the Sync API 218 that is used to perform sync operations originating from the device 202 .",
"Sync Handler 222 may be stored, for example, on the terminal 200 , in the device 202 , or in both locations.",
"As another example, specialized Sync Handler 224 may be an extension of the Sync API 218 that is used to perform sync operations originating from the device 204 .",
"Specialized Sync Handler 224 may be stored, for example, on the terminal 200 , in the device 204 , or in both locations.",
"[0027] The Sync API 218 may also include a general Sync Monitor 226 , for example, which is the default sync monitor used to determine when a sync operation should take place.",
"The Sync API 218 may also be or include an extensible API that is extended, for example, to create specialized sync monitors for particular devices and/or applications.",
"As a particular example, BlackBerry developers can write a sync monitor specifying how when sync operations including a Blackberry are to be performed.",
"As shown in FIG. 1 , specialized Sync Monitor 228 may be an extension of the Sync API 218 that is used to perform sync operations originating from the device 202 .",
"Sync Monitor 228 may be stored, for example, on the terminal 200 , in the device 202 , or in both locations.",
"As another example, specialized Sync Monitor 230 may be an extension of the Sync API 218 that is used to perform sync operations originating from the device 204 .",
"Specialized Sync Monitor 230 may be stored, for example, on the terminal 200 , in the device 204 , or in both locations.",
"[0028] When one or more of the Sync Monitors 226 , 228 , 230 determines that a sync operation should occur, a Sync User Interface (UI) 232 may alert a user.",
"The Sync UI 232 may be stored, for example, on the terminal 200 , the device 202 , and/or the device 204 .",
"The Sync UI 232 may alert the user, for example via a display 242 , 246 , and/or 250 included in or connected to the terminal 200 , device 202 , or device 204 , respectively.",
"The user may then choose to initiate the sync operation.",
"Alternately or in addition, the Sync Monitors 226 , 228 , 230 may automatically initiate the sync operation.",
"In an embodiment, sync operations can be also initiated in the background between a sync server 234 and an external sync application that is running in device 202 or device 204 .",
"Sync operations can also be initiated in the background by the sync server 234 in response to changes in system environment or changes on particular data sources, or in response to a schedule or some other event, such as a network connection being established or the machine reaching an idle state.",
"The user may view and act on the background initiated sync operation in the same manner in which user initiated sync operations can be viewed and acted upon.",
"[0029] Sync operations are performed by the Sync Server 234 using methods specified in one or more of the Sync Handlers 220 , 222 , 224 .",
"In performing sync operations, the Sync Server 234 may cache one or more of the Sync Handlers 220 , 222 , 224 to expedite sync operations.",
"[0030] During a sync operation, one or more of the Sync Handlers 220 , 222 , or 224 , or one or more external sync applications may report to the sync manager 201 , which, in turn, may present to users via display 242 various events such as exceptions, failure, or errors that have occurred during sync operations.",
"This centralized event reporting arrangement provides an extensibility mechanism that allows a sync handler to either report its events directly or provide them through their own store.",
"[0031] As sync operations occur, the Sync UI 232 may present information to a user via one or more of the displays 242 , 246 , 250 .",
"In one implementation, the Sync UI 232 has a layered structure, and includes a plurality of UI components 252 , 254 , 256 .",
"For example, the Sync UI 232 may include a first-layer UI component 252 , which may present a user with a first-layer GUI such as a tray icon.",
"The Sync UI 232 may also include a second-layer UI component 254 , which may present a user with a second-layer GUI, such as a “mini-mode”",
"that includes more information than the first-layer GUI.",
"The Sync UI 232 may further include a third-layer UI component 256 , which may present a user with a third-layer GUI, such as a “full-mode”",
"that includes still more information.",
"The first-, second-, and third-layer GUIs will be discussed further hereinbelow with reference to FIGS. 3-5 .",
"[0032] In displaying information to a user, the Sync UI 232 may cache one or more of the Sync Handlers 220 , 222 , 224 to expedite the display.",
"[0033] In implementations of the present invention, developers may extend the Sync UI 232 , for example, by specifying additional information or user options to be presented by the second-layer UI component 254 and/or the third-layer UI component 256 .",
"This allows developers to utilize the Sync UI 232 to present data relevant to a particular device.",
"[0000] II.",
"Exemplary Operating Environment [0034] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a suitable computing system environment 100 on which the sync manager UI and API may be implemented.",
"The computing system environment 100 is only one example of a suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the invention.",
"Neither should the computing environment 100 be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary operating environment 100 .",
"[0035] The invention is described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer.",
"Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc.",
"that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.",
"Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like.",
"The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network.",
"In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.",
"[0036] With reference to FIG. 2 , the exemplary system 100 for implementing the invention includes a general purpose-computing device in the form of a computer 110 including a processing unit 120 , a system memory 130 , and a system bus 121 that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit 120 .",
"[0037] Computer 110 typically includes a variety of computer readable media.",
"By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media.",
"The system memory 130 includes computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) 131 and random access memory (RAM) 132 .",
"A basic input/output system 133 (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer 110 , such as during start-up, is typically stored in ROM 131 .",
"RAM 132 typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/or presently being operated on by processing unit 120 .",
"By way of example, and not limitation, FIG. 2 illustrates operating system 134 , application programs 135 , other program modules 136 , and program data 137 .",
"[0038] The computer 110 may also include other removable/nonremovable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media.",
"By way of example only, FIG. 2 illustrates a hard disk drive 141 that reads from or writes to nonremovable, nonvolatile magnetic media, a magnetic disk drive 151 that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile magnetic disk 152 , and an optical disk drive 155 that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile optical disk 156 such as a CD ROM or other optical media.",
"Other removable/nonremovable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media that can be used in the exemplary operating environment include, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards, digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solid state ROM, and the like.",
"The hard disk drive 141 is typically connected to the system bus 121 through an non-removable memory interface such as interface 140 , and magnetic disk drive 151 and optical disk drive 155 are typically connected to the system bus 121 by a removable memory interface, such as interface 150 .",
"[0039] The drives and their associated computer storage media discussed above and illustrated in FIG. 2 , provide storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computer 110 .",
"In FIG. 2 , for example, hard disk drive 141 is illustrated as storing operating system 144 , application programs 145 , other program modules 146 , and program data 147 .",
"Note that these components can either be the same as or different from operating system 134 , application programs 135 , other program modules 136 , and program data 137 .",
"Operating system 144 , application programs 145 , other program modules 146 , and program data 147 are given different numbers here to illustrate that, at a minimum, they are different copies.",
"A user may enter commands and information into the computer 110 through input devices such as a keyboard 162 and pointing device 161 , commonly referred to as a mouse, trackball or touch pad.",
"Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like.",
"These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 120 through a user input interface 160 that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB).",
"A monitor 191 or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus 121 via an interface, such as a video interface 190 .",
"In addition to the monitor, computers may also include other peripheral output devices such as speakers 197 and printer 196 , which may be connected through an output peripheral interface 195 .",
"[0040] The computer 110 in the present invention will operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer 180 .",
"The remote computer 180 may be a personal computer, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the computer 110 , although only a memory storage device 181 has been illustrated in FIG. 2 .",
"The logical connections depicted in FIG. 2 include a local area network (LAN) 171 and a wide area network (WAN) 173 , but may also include other networks.",
"[0041] When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 110 is connected to the LAN 171 through a network interface or adapter 170 .",
"When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 110 typically includes a modem 172 or other means for establishing communications over the WAN 173 , such as the Internet.",
"The modem 172 , which may be internal or external, may be connected to the system bus 121 via the user input interface 160 , or other appropriate mechanism.",
"In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 110 , or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device.",
"By way of example, and not limitation, FIG. 2 illustrates remote application programs 185 as residing on memory device 181 .",
"It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.",
"[0042] Although many other internal components of the computer 110 are not shown, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that such components and the interconnection are well known.",
"Accordingly, additional details concerning the internal construction of the computer 110 need not be disclosed in connection with the present invention.",
"[0000] III.",
"Systems and Methods of the Invention [0043] As set forth above, FIG. 1 illustrates a system for implementing a sync manager in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.",
"As described above with respect to FIG. 2 , the system may include one or more user computers.",
"[0044] FIGS. 3-5 display exemplary GUIs, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.",
"As discussed with reference to FIG. 1 , the Sync UI 232 may include first-, second-, and third-layer UI components 252 , 254 , and 256 , which may display first-second, and third-layer GUIs, respectively.",
"[0045] The first-layer UI component 252 may present a user with a first-layer GUI, such as a tray icon 300 , as shown in FIG. 3 .",
"The tray icon 300 may be, for example, the user interface typically presented during a sync operation.",
"The tray icon 300 may be presented, for example, in a system tray 302 or on a display 304 , and may indicate the status of one or more sync operations.",
"For example, the tray icon 300 may become illuminated or rotate when one or more sync operations is in progress.",
"In addition, the tray icon 300 may change colors upon completion of sync operations.",
"The color of the tray icon 300 may also be used to indicate the status of the sync operations.",
"For example, the tray icon 300 may become green to indicate that all sync operations were completed successfully, become yellow to indicate that user input is requested, or become red to indicate that an error occurred during one or more sync operations.",
"[0046] Because the tray icon 300 may be out-of-the-way and non-intrusive, the user may be free to perform other tasks, for example, via the display 304 .",
"[0047] A user may also use the tray icon 300 for example, to select common tasks 306 associated with sync operations.",
"Common tasks 306 , such as, for example, a “sync all”",
"task that initiates a sync operation with all connected devices, may be presented to the user via the tray icon 300 .",
"A user may select a common task 306 , for example, by right-clicking on the tray icon 300 and selecting the common task 306 from a drop-down menu 308 , or by some other appropriate method.",
"[0048] The tray icon 300 is one example of a lightweight, out-of-the-way interface that may be presented to a user to indicate the status of a sync operation.",
"If the user requires more information than that provided by the tray icon 300 , the user may enter a “mini-mode,” for example, by double-clicking on the tray icon, by selecting “more info”",
"from the drop-down menu 308 , or by some other appropriate method.",
"[0049] As shown in FIG. 4 , a mini-mode 400 may be a second-layer GUI presented by the second-layer UI component 254 .",
"The mini-mode 400 may be or include, for example, a small GUI that provides further detail about sync operations.",
"If a sync operation is in progress, for example, the mini-mode 400 may present the user, for example, with a list of devices being synced and with information about the progress and status of each separate sync operation.",
"If a sync operation is not in progress, the mini-mode 400 may present the user with information describing, for example, the status of the last sync operation and/or the last time a successful sync operation was completed with each device.",
"The mini-mode 400 may also allow a user to select from one or more tasks, such as, for example, ending the sync operation 402 , resolving a conflict 404 , or obtaining more information 406 .",
"The tasks presented to the user by the mini-mode 400 may include, for example, one or more of the common tasks accessible from the tray icon, in addition to less-frequently used tasks.",
"[0050] If the user desires more information than is available in the mini-mode, the user may access a “full view,” for example, by selecting an option 406 in the mini-mode 400 or by some other appropriate method.",
"As shown in FIG. 5 , a full view 500 may be a third-layer GUI presented by the third-layer UI component 256 .",
"The full view 500 may provide the user with still further detail about sync operations, such as specific error information and the like.",
"In addition, the full view may allow the user to select from full-view tasks 502 , 504 , 506 , which may be, for example, all tasks available to the user, including the common tasks available from the tray icon 300 , the less frequently used tasks available from the mini-mode 400 , and rare tasks, which may only be available through the full view 500 .",
"[0051] In implementations of the full mode 500 , a user may be able to separately view information for a particular device, for example, by clicking on a tab 508 , 510 , 512 or by some other appropriate method.",
"A user may be able to view general sync information, for example, by clicking on a general tab 514 or by some other appropriate method.",
"Each of the tabs 508 , 510 , 512 , 514 may allow the user to select one or more full-view tasks 502 , 504 , 506 .",
"[0052] In implementations of the present invention, developers may extend the Sync UI 232 , for example, by specifying additional information or user options to be presented by the in the mini-mode 400 and/or the full mode 500 .",
"This allows developers to utilize the Sync UI 232 to present data relevant to a particular device.",
"[0053] FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method for performing a sync operation in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.",
"As shown in FIG. 6 , one or more sync operations may begin in step 600 , for example, when a user connects two or more devices, selects an option to initiate sync operations, or otherwise initiates sync operations.",
"In step 602 , a tray icon or other GUI may be displayed to a user to indicate that sync operations are in progress.",
"The tray icon or other first-layer GUI displayed in step 602 may be, for example, the GUI presented by a first-layer UI component.",
"In implementations of the present invention, a tray icon is presented to a user in a system tray, and upon initiation of a sync event, the tray icon brightens, spins, or is otherwise indicates that sync operations are in progress.",
"The tray icon may also allow the user to select common tasks.",
"[0054] In step 604 , the user may request more information than the information provided by the tray icon or other first-layer GUI.",
"If the user requests more information in step 604 , a mini-mode or other second-layer GUI may be displayed in step 606 .",
"The mini-mode or other second-layer GUI may, for example, display more information than the tray icon or other first-layer GUI.",
"In addition, the mini-mode or other second-layer GUI may present the user with the option to select additional tasks not presented in the tray icon or other first-layer GUI.",
"[0055] In step 608 , the user may request more information than the information provided by the mini-mode or other second-layer GUI.",
"If the user requests more information in step 608 , a full mode or other third-layer GUI may be displayed in step 610 .",
"The full mode or other third-layer GUI may, for example, display more information than the mini-mode or other second-layer GUI.",
"In addition, the full mode or other third-layer GUI may present the user with the option to select additional tasks not presented in the mini-mode or other second-layer GUI.",
"[0056] While sync operations are in progress, the tray icon or other first-layer GUI, the mini-mode or other second-layer GUI, and/or the full mode or other third-layer GUI may present the user with information regarding the progress or status of sync operations.",
"For example, a tray icon may remain bright or continue spinning during sync operations, and may change its color if user input is required, such as in the case of a conflict.",
"As another example, progress bars or status listings of various sync operations in the mini-mode or in the full-mode may change to reflect sync operations in progress.",
"Other examples are possible.",
"[0057] In step 612 , sync operations are completed, and in step 614 , one or more displays are altered to alert the user to the completion of the sync operation.",
"For example, a tray icon may reduce its brightness and stop spinning, or may change its color, for example, to green to indicate that sync operations were successfully completed or to red to indicate that sync operations were unsuccessful.",
"As another example, the mini-mode or the full mode may be altered to indicate the completion of sync operations.",
"[0058] While particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described in detail herein, it should be understood that various changes and modifications might be made to the invention without departing from the scope and intent of the invention.",
"For example, while the invention has primarily been described in terms of mobile devices connecting to a stationary computer terminal, the invention is equally suited to other environments, such as a network of computer terminals or other appropriate environment.",
"In addition, while the devices have been described as being connected via couplings, any method of communication, such as, for example, wireless communication, is suitable.",
"The embodiments described herein are intended in all respects to be illustrative rather than restrictive.",
"Alternate embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from its scope.",
"[0059] From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all the ends and objects set forth above, together with other advantages, which are obvious and inherent to the system and method.",
"It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations.",
"This is contemplated and within the scope of the appended claims."
] |
BACKGROUND
[0001] Some users of electronic devices, such as notebook computers and the like, may use their devices in harsh environments (e.g., dusty, wet, etc.). Such conditions may be detrimental to the operation of the electronic device. For example, dust and/or water entering an electronic device may short out circuits in the electronic device thereby damaging the device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0002] For a detailed description of exemplary implementations, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:
[0003] FIG. 1 illustrates an electronic device with a hinged connector door in accordance with various examples;
[0004] FIG. 2 illustrates the hinged door in an open position in accordance with various examples;
[0005] FIG. 3 shows a cut-away view of an external connector mated to a system connector with the hinged door in the open position in accordance with various examples;
[0006] FIG. 4 illustrates a cut-away view of the system connector area without the hinged door in place in accordance with various examples;
[0007] FIG. 5 a shows a cut-away view of the back side of the hinged door with the hinged door in a partially closed position in accordance with various examples;
[0008] FIG. 5 b shows a cut-away view of the back side of the hinged door with the hinged door in a fully closed position in accordance with various examples;
[0009] FIG. 6 shows a side view of the hinged door in accordance with various examples;
[0010] FIGS. 7 and 8 show the hinged door in the partially closed and fully closed positions, respectively, in accordance with various examples;
[0011] FIG. 9 shows a cut-away view of the hinged door in the open position in accordance with various examples; and
[0012] FIGS. 10-16 show the operation of the hinged door upon removal of an external connector in accordance with various examples.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] Various embodiments, such as those described herein, are directed to a ruggedized electronic device. In particular, the electronic device has one or more externally available connectors for a user to connect, for example, an external cable (e.g., an Ethernet cable, a universal serial bus (USB) cable), an external device (e.g., a USB Flash memory device), or receive an electronic card (e.g., a memory card). When not needed, each connector is protected by a hinged door. A seal is also provided around the connector that protects the connector from contaminants such as water, dust, dirt, etc. The seal is automatically engaged by the action of closing and locking the hinged door. The hinged door further includes or is coupled to a biasing member, such as a spring, that biases the door toward its closed position. As such, upon removal of the external cable or external device from the connector, the hinged door automatically hinges toward its closed position by action of the biasing member.
[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates an electronic device 100 in accordance with various embodiments. As shown, electronic device 100 comprises a base 102 to which a display lid 104 (containing a display 106 ) is coupled by way of a hinge. The electronic device 100 may be representative of a notebook computer, but the electronic device 100 need not have a hinged lid and can be other than a notebook computer. Electronic device 100 , for example, may comprise a tablet computer. In general, electronic device 100 comprises one or more connectors that are externally available for connection by a user of a cable or external device. At least one, and possibly every, connector is protected by a hinged door. Each connector provided on the electronic device is also referred to herein as a “system connector” simply to avoid confusion when referring to an external connector to which the system connector mates.
[0015] FIG. 1 shows a hinged door 120 in a closed position. A system connector is provided on the base 102 but is concealed by door 120 and thus not shown in the view of FIG. 1 . The base 102 comprises a front surface 110 , side surfaces 112 , and a top surface 114 . A keyboard 113 , or other type of user input device, is accessible on the top surface 114 of base 102 .
[0016] FIG. 1 shows a single hinged door, but in general in number of hinged doors and system connectors can be provided as desired. Each system connector is protected by its own hinged door, but in some embodiments, a hinged door can be large enough so as to cover and protect more than one system connector.
[0017] FIG. 2 shows a view of the hinged door 120 in an open position by way of a person puffing the door down as shown. With the door 120 open, a system connector 130 is exposed and can receive an external mating connector from a cable (shown in other figures) or an external device. As shown, the hinged door 120 comprises a top angled lip 138 . The connector 130 is provided in an opening defined by a recessed area 132 in the side 112 of the electronic device. When closed, the hinged door 120 generally occupies the recessed area 132 in the surface 112 of the electronic device which permits the hinged door to generally fit flush with regard to surface 112 .
[0018] FIG. 2 also shows a biasing member 134 which couples to the hinged door. In some embodiments, the biasing member 134 comprises a torsion spring although other types of biasing members are possible as well. The biasing member 134 pivotally biases the hinged door 120 from the open position, in which the system connector 130 can receive an external connector, to a partially closed position in which the hinged door at least partially covers the system connector 130 . The process of closing the hinged door 120 will be explained below.
[0019] FIG. 3 illustrates the hinged door 120 in the open position and an external connector 140 connected to the system connector 130 . While the biasing member 134 tends to force the hinged door 120 towards the closed position, the hinged door contacts the bottom side 142 of the external connector 140 thereby preventing the door from actually closing.
[0020] FIG. 4 shows a cut-away view of the system connector area without the hinged door. A seal is comprised of two gaskets 172 and 174 provided around the system connector 130 . Connector gasket 172 is made from any suitable material such as silicone rubber and provides a groove as shown for receiving a tongue 177 from a door mating gasket 174 which also may be made of silicone rubber. The gaskets 172 , 174 form a compression seal when fully engaged, which occurs when the hinged door 120 is in its fully closed position as discussed below. Door mating gasket 174 is provided on an interior surface of a door mating gasket floating carrier 170 . The door mating gasket floating carrier 170 is forced inward, that is toward the system connector 130 , by action of the hinged door 120 (not shown in FIG. 4 ) being forced downward in a vertical direction by a user's hand or the display lid 104 of the electronic device 100 .
[0021] The biasing member 134 is wrapped around a generally cylindrical member 135 in the embodiment of FIG. 4 . FIG. 4 also shows an inner door frame 176 to which the biasing member 134 couples. The biasing member 134 pivotally biases the inner door frame 176 toward the system connector 130 . By forcing the inner door frame 176 outward, and thus opposing the force created by the biasing member 134 , the door mating gasket floating carrier 170 is also forced outward thereby disengaging the two gaskets 172 , 174 of the compression seal.
[0022] FIG. 4 further shows a plurality of system catches 160 on one side of the recessed area 132 . Two system catches 160 are shown but in general any number (one or more) can be provided. In some embodiments, both sides of the recessed area 132 on opposite sides of the hinged door 120 have one or more system catches 160 .
[0023] FIGS. 5 a and 5 b illustrate a back side view of the hinged door 120 . The hinged door 120 comprises one or more door catches 122 and at least one door ramp 124 . In the embodiment of FIGS. 5 a and 5 b , each side of the hinged door 120 comprises two door catches 122 and one door ramp 124 . The door catches 122 catch behind the system catches 160 (i.e., on the system connector 130 side of system catch 160 ) to retain the hinged door 120 in place. As the door 120 is slid downward in the direction of arrow 129 ( FIG. 5 a ), the door catches 122 slide along and behind the system catches 160 .
[0024] FIG. 4 also shows alignment ribs 162 which are provided on opposing sides of the inner door frame 176 . The alignment ribs 162 , which are part of the inner door frame 176 , are used to keep door mating gasket floating carrier 170 aligned with the connector opening, allowing the receiving tongue 177 and door mating gasket 174 to be in alignment before a seal is made.
[0025] Referring again to the embodiment of FIG. 5 a , the door ramp 124 is angled. FIG. 6 shows a side view of the hinged door 120 depicting the angled geometry of the angled door ramp 124 . The door catches 122 are also shown in FIG. 6 . Surface 124 a of door ramp 124 is angled as shown and generally is thicker towards angled lip 138 and tapers towards the opposing end 119 .
[0026] Referring back to FIG. 4 , a tab 171 is shown extending laterally from door mating gasket floating carrier 170 . In some embodiments, each side of the door mating gasket floating carrier 170 has at least one such tab 171 . The hinged door's angled door ramps 124 contact the tabs 171 as the door is forced downward along direction of arrow 129 ( FIG. 5 a ). The angled surface 124 a of the angled ramp 124 ( FIG. 5 b ) causes a lateral force on tabs 171 along the direction of arrow 131 as the door is forced downward in the direction of arrow 129 . These lateral forces (inward towards system connector 130 ) forces the door mating gasket floating carrier 170 inward thereby fully engaging the compression seal gaskets 172 , 174 .
[0027] FIG. 5 a shows the hinged door 120 in a partially closed position meaning that the door at least partially covers the system connector 130 and begins to engage the seal's gaskets 172 and 174 . FIG. 5 b shows the hinged door 120 in its fully closed position after being slid downward as discussed above. Lateral pressure on tabs 171 from angled door ramps 124 cause the compression seal 172 , 174 to be fully engaged. At that point, the system connector 130 is sealed and protected from contaminants such as water, dirt, and dust. In some embodiments, gaskets 172 and 174 form a hermetic seal.
[0028] FIGS. 7 and 8 also illustrate the hinged door 120 in the partially closed position ( FIG. 7 ) and in the fully closed position ( FIG. 8 ). In the partially closed position of FIG. 7 , the compression seal (gaskets 172 and 174 ) begins to engage and is fully engaged when the door 120 reaches its fully closed position ( FIG. 8 ).
[0029] FIG. 9 shows a cut-away view of the hinged door in the open position with an external connector 140 mated to the system connector 130 . The door mating gasket 174 , which is provided on the back side of the door mating gasket floating carrier 170 , is shown separated from connector gasket 172 .
[0030] FIGS. 10-16 illustrate the sequence of events in removing the external connector and closing the hinged door 120 . FIG. 10 shows the hinged door 120 in the open position with an external connector 140 mated to the system connector 130 . In FIG. 11 , a user has removed the external connector 140 which then permits the biasing member 134 to begin to pivotally bias the door 120 from the open position toward the partially closed position as indicated by arrow 151 in FIG. 12 .
[0031] FIG. 13 illustrates the hinged door 120 in the partially closed position. The door 120 extends upward by a small amount over the top surface 114 of the base 102 . FIG. 14 shows the display lid 104 beginning to be closed by a user. Once the display lid 104 contacts the top angled lip 138 of the hinged door 120 , further downward pressure on the display lid 104 forces the hinged door 120 downward in a vertical direction as indicated by arrow 129 in FIG. 15 . Once the display lid 104 is fully closed, the hinged door 120 will have reached its fully closed position as shown in FIG. 16 thereby fully sealing and protecting the system connector 134 .
[0032] The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various embodiments of the present invention. Numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications. | An electronic device includes a housing, a system connector accessible at an external surface of the housing, and a hinged door to selectively expose or cover the system connector. The electronic device may also include a mechanism coupled to the hinged door that pivotally biases the door from an open position, in which the system connector can receive an external connector, to a partially closed position in which the hinged door at least partially covers said system connector. The hinged door is to slide along the housing if the hinged door is moved from the partially closed position to a fully closed position. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the concept presented in the passage. | [
"BACKGROUND [0001] Some users of electronic devices, such as notebook computers and the like, may use their devices in harsh environments (e.g., dusty, wet, etc.).",
"Such conditions may be detrimental to the operation of the electronic device.",
"For example, dust and/or water entering an electronic device may short out circuits in the electronic device thereby damaging the device.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0002] For a detailed description of exemplary implementations, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which: [0003] FIG. 1 illustrates an electronic device with a hinged connector door in accordance with various examples;",
"[0004] FIG. 2 illustrates the hinged door in an open position in accordance with various examples;",
"[0005] FIG. 3 shows a cut-away view of an external connector mated to a system connector with the hinged door in the open position in accordance with various examples;",
"[0006] FIG. 4 illustrates a cut-away view of the system connector area without the hinged door in place in accordance with various examples;",
"[0007] FIG. 5 a shows a cut-away view of the back side of the hinged door with the hinged door in a partially closed position in accordance with various examples;",
"[0008] FIG. 5 b shows a cut-away view of the back side of the hinged door with the hinged door in a fully closed position in accordance with various examples;",
"[0009] FIG. 6 shows a side view of the hinged door in accordance with various examples;",
"[0010] FIGS. 7 and 8 show the hinged door in the partially closed and fully closed positions, respectively, in accordance with various examples;",
"[0011] FIG. 9 shows a cut-away view of the hinged door in the open position in accordance with various examples;",
"and [0012] FIGS. 10-16 show the operation of the hinged door upon removal of an external connector in accordance with various examples.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0013] Various embodiments, such as those described herein, are directed to a ruggedized electronic device.",
"In particular, the electronic device has one or more externally available connectors for a user to connect, for example, an external cable (e.g., an Ethernet cable, a universal serial bus (USB) cable), an external device (e.g., a USB Flash memory device), or receive an electronic card (e.g., a memory card).",
"When not needed, each connector is protected by a hinged door.",
"A seal is also provided around the connector that protects the connector from contaminants such as water, dust, dirt, etc.",
"The seal is automatically engaged by the action of closing and locking the hinged door.",
"The hinged door further includes or is coupled to a biasing member, such as a spring, that biases the door toward its closed position.",
"As such, upon removal of the external cable or external device from the connector, the hinged door automatically hinges toward its closed position by action of the biasing member.",
"[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates an electronic device 100 in accordance with various embodiments.",
"As shown, electronic device 100 comprises a base 102 to which a display lid 104 (containing a display 106 ) is coupled by way of a hinge.",
"The electronic device 100 may be representative of a notebook computer, but the electronic device 100 need not have a hinged lid and can be other than a notebook computer.",
"Electronic device 100 , for example, may comprise a tablet computer.",
"In general, electronic device 100 comprises one or more connectors that are externally available for connection by a user of a cable or external device.",
"At least one, and possibly every, connector is protected by a hinged door.",
"Each connector provided on the electronic device is also referred to herein as a “system connector”",
"simply to avoid confusion when referring to an external connector to which the system connector mates.",
"[0015] FIG. 1 shows a hinged door 120 in a closed position.",
"A system connector is provided on the base 102 but is concealed by door 120 and thus not shown in the view of FIG. 1 .",
"The base 102 comprises a front surface 110 , side surfaces 112 , and a top surface 114 .",
"A keyboard 113 , or other type of user input device, is accessible on the top surface 114 of base 102 .",
"[0016] FIG. 1 shows a single hinged door, but in general in number of hinged doors and system connectors can be provided as desired.",
"Each system connector is protected by its own hinged door, but in some embodiments, a hinged door can be large enough so as to cover and protect more than one system connector.",
"[0017] FIG. 2 shows a view of the hinged door 120 in an open position by way of a person puffing the door down as shown.",
"With the door 120 open, a system connector 130 is exposed and can receive an external mating connector from a cable (shown in other figures) or an external device.",
"As shown, the hinged door 120 comprises a top angled lip 138 .",
"The connector 130 is provided in an opening defined by a recessed area 132 in the side 112 of the electronic device.",
"When closed, the hinged door 120 generally occupies the recessed area 132 in the surface 112 of the electronic device which permits the hinged door to generally fit flush with regard to surface 112 .",
"[0018] FIG. 2 also shows a biasing member 134 which couples to the hinged door.",
"In some embodiments, the biasing member 134 comprises a torsion spring although other types of biasing members are possible as well.",
"The biasing member 134 pivotally biases the hinged door 120 from the open position, in which the system connector 130 can receive an external connector, to a partially closed position in which the hinged door at least partially covers the system connector 130 .",
"The process of closing the hinged door 120 will be explained below.",
"[0019] FIG. 3 illustrates the hinged door 120 in the open position and an external connector 140 connected to the system connector 130 .",
"While the biasing member 134 tends to force the hinged door 120 towards the closed position, the hinged door contacts the bottom side 142 of the external connector 140 thereby preventing the door from actually closing.",
"[0020] FIG. 4 shows a cut-away view of the system connector area without the hinged door.",
"A seal is comprised of two gaskets 172 and 174 provided around the system connector 130 .",
"Connector gasket 172 is made from any suitable material such as silicone rubber and provides a groove as shown for receiving a tongue 177 from a door mating gasket 174 which also may be made of silicone rubber.",
"The gaskets 172 , 174 form a compression seal when fully engaged, which occurs when the hinged door 120 is in its fully closed position as discussed below.",
"Door mating gasket 174 is provided on an interior surface of a door mating gasket floating carrier 170 .",
"The door mating gasket floating carrier 170 is forced inward, that is toward the system connector 130 , by action of the hinged door 120 (not shown in FIG. 4 ) being forced downward in a vertical direction by a user's hand or the display lid 104 of the electronic device 100 .",
"[0021] The biasing member 134 is wrapped around a generally cylindrical member 135 in the embodiment of FIG. 4 .",
"FIG. 4 also shows an inner door frame 176 to which the biasing member 134 couples.",
"The biasing member 134 pivotally biases the inner door frame 176 toward the system connector 130 .",
"By forcing the inner door frame 176 outward, and thus opposing the force created by the biasing member 134 , the door mating gasket floating carrier 170 is also forced outward thereby disengaging the two gaskets 172 , 174 of the compression seal.",
"[0022] FIG. 4 further shows a plurality of system catches 160 on one side of the recessed area 132 .",
"Two system catches 160 are shown but in general any number (one or more) can be provided.",
"In some embodiments, both sides of the recessed area 132 on opposite sides of the hinged door 120 have one or more system catches 160 .",
"[0023] FIGS. 5 a and 5 b illustrate a back side view of the hinged door 120 .",
"The hinged door 120 comprises one or more door catches 122 and at least one door ramp 124 .",
"In the embodiment of FIGS. 5 a and 5 b , each side of the hinged door 120 comprises two door catches 122 and one door ramp 124 .",
"The door catches 122 catch behind the system catches 160 (i.e., on the system connector 130 side of system catch 160 ) to retain the hinged door 120 in place.",
"As the door 120 is slid downward in the direction of arrow 129 ( FIG. 5 a ), the door catches 122 slide along and behind the system catches 160 .",
"[0024] FIG. 4 also shows alignment ribs 162 which are provided on opposing sides of the inner door frame 176 .",
"The alignment ribs 162 , which are part of the inner door frame 176 , are used to keep door mating gasket floating carrier 170 aligned with the connector opening, allowing the receiving tongue 177 and door mating gasket 174 to be in alignment before a seal is made.",
"[0025] Referring again to the embodiment of FIG. 5 a , the door ramp 124 is angled.",
"FIG. 6 shows a side view of the hinged door 120 depicting the angled geometry of the angled door ramp 124 .",
"The door catches 122 are also shown in FIG. 6 .",
"Surface 124 a of door ramp 124 is angled as shown and generally is thicker towards angled lip 138 and tapers towards the opposing end 119 .",
"[0026] Referring back to FIG. 4 , a tab 171 is shown extending laterally from door mating gasket floating carrier 170 .",
"In some embodiments, each side of the door mating gasket floating carrier 170 has at least one such tab 171 .",
"The hinged door's angled door ramps 124 contact the tabs 171 as the door is forced downward along direction of arrow 129 ( FIG. 5 a ).",
"The angled surface 124 a of the angled ramp 124 ( FIG. 5 b ) causes a lateral force on tabs 171 along the direction of arrow 131 as the door is forced downward in the direction of arrow 129 .",
"These lateral forces (inward towards system connector 130 ) forces the door mating gasket floating carrier 170 inward thereby fully engaging the compression seal gaskets 172 , 174 .",
"[0027] FIG. 5 a shows the hinged door 120 in a partially closed position meaning that the door at least partially covers the system connector 130 and begins to engage the seal's gaskets 172 and 174 .",
"FIG. 5 b shows the hinged door 120 in its fully closed position after being slid downward as discussed above.",
"Lateral pressure on tabs 171 from angled door ramps 124 cause the compression seal 172 , 174 to be fully engaged.",
"At that point, the system connector 130 is sealed and protected from contaminants such as water, dirt, and dust.",
"In some embodiments, gaskets 172 and 174 form a hermetic seal.",
"[0028] FIGS. 7 and 8 also illustrate the hinged door 120 in the partially closed position ( FIG. 7 ) and in the fully closed position ( FIG. 8 ).",
"In the partially closed position of FIG. 7 , the compression seal (gaskets 172 and 174 ) begins to engage and is fully engaged when the door 120 reaches its fully closed position ( FIG. 8 ).",
"[0029] FIG. 9 shows a cut-away view of the hinged door in the open position with an external connector 140 mated to the system connector 130 .",
"The door mating gasket 174 , which is provided on the back side of the door mating gasket floating carrier 170 , is shown separated from connector gasket 172 .",
"[0030] FIGS. 10-16 illustrate the sequence of events in removing the external connector and closing the hinged door 120 .",
"FIG. 10 shows the hinged door 120 in the open position with an external connector 140 mated to the system connector 130 .",
"In FIG. 11 , a user has removed the external connector 140 which then permits the biasing member 134 to begin to pivotally bias the door 120 from the open position toward the partially closed position as indicated by arrow 151 in FIG. 12 .",
"[0031] FIG. 13 illustrates the hinged door 120 in the partially closed position.",
"The door 120 extends upward by a small amount over the top surface 114 of the base 102 .",
"FIG. 14 shows the display lid 104 beginning to be closed by a user.",
"Once the display lid 104 contacts the top angled lip 138 of the hinged door 120 , further downward pressure on the display lid 104 forces the hinged door 120 downward in a vertical direction as indicated by arrow 129 in FIG. 15 .",
"Once the display lid 104 is fully closed, the hinged door 120 will have reached its fully closed position as shown in FIG. 16 thereby fully sealing and protecting the system connector 134 .",
"[0032] The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various embodiments of the present invention.",
"Numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated.",
"It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications."
] |
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/243,905 filed Oct. 5, 2005.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a platform especially suited for use supporting vehicle wheels to provide traction while traveling off-road especially through environmentally sensitive topography and to prevent unnecessary and excessive wear and damage to such off-road paths or trails. More specifically, this invention relates to a grid-type platform designed to provide all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and four-wheel drive vehicles the necessary traction to reduce tire slippage and rutting when traveling through off-road trails or paths particularly through environmentally sensitive areas. Furthermore, this invention will minimize ecological damage, destruction and wear, for example, to wetlands, by retaining loose or saturated soil, rock, sand, etc., on the off-road trails.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Over recent years, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicles have become more and more popular for recreational purposes. “Off-roading” or “four-wheeling” are terms used to describe the act of driving an ATV or 4WD vehicle off a normal paved or unpaved streets. Off-roading is usually done in rural areas on trails, open fields or wooded areas. While some people use ATV or 4WD vehicles for transportation to hunting or fishing grounds, most people use them strictly for recreational purposes.
There are many state parks and private land owners which allow ATV and 4WD vehicles, usually on marked trails. One of the biggest problems faced with these off-roading trails is that because of the rather large tires and necessary engine torque inherent in such ATVs substantially deep ruts and grooves begin to form in the trails, especially in low-lying wetlands, after excessive use. Consistent wear on a trail by ATV and 4WD vehicle tires can cause irreparable ecological damage to the trail and to the local (environment especially in ecologically sensitive areas such as wetlands.
The deep treaded tires found on ATV and 4WD, have a damaging effect on nearly all types of surfaces. On a hard surface, such as a paved road, a tire is very efficient. An ATV or 4WD vehicle can move forward with the engine at an idle and very little power. Loose dirt on the hard surface will be compressed, but not kicked-up or displaced. On such a surface, there is minimal wear damage, however, the loose dirt on the hard surface may be displaced and eventually erode the surface until it reaches a near irreparable state.
On softer surfaces, such as a meadow, open field or wetland, the wheel and tire will typically sink into the surface under the weight of the vehicle. In these situations, the tire has to continually climb out of the depression it has created. This continuous climb requires extra power, similar to a car climbing up a hill at a similar angle to the tire climbing out of its depression. The climb out is such hard work for the tire that the lugs slip a small amount before they can compress the soil behind the lug enough to grip the surface. This slippage is constant as the vehicle moves forward. As the tire slips, plants under the tire are torn or pulled from the ground. On these surfaces, it takes as few as one vehicle to cause permanent damage to the ground, wetland and the vegetation.
No matter how slowly and carefully a vehicle is driven on soft ground, the tire always has to climb at a climb out angle and, therefore, a certain amount of slippage and resulting damage always occurs. In fact, high speed may cause less damage on softer ground because there is less time for a deeper depression to occur and thus the climb out angle would be less.
On very soft ground, such as a wetland, an open field after a heavy rain or a meadow at the base of a steep hill, the tire sinks even deeper than in the previous situation. This deeper depression increases the climb out angle and, therefore, more power is needed. As previously described, the tire must overcome the greater angle and, therefore, even greater slippage and thus more destruction results. In these situations, it is common for the tires to be slipping to the point where the dirt and plants which have been compressed will be thrown in the air behind the vehicle.
There may be situations where the ground is so soft and corresponding climb out angle is so steep that the tire spins and the vehicle comes to a halt. As the tire spins into a near vertical wall, dirt and plants are constantly thrown high into the air as the vehicle sinks deeper and deeper in the rut it has created.
Many states in the U.S. have passed laws and regulations banning ATVs and 4WD vehicles from certain parks and areas where the ecological system is too fragile to withstand the damage imposed by use of such vehicles. In some jurisdictions, it is required to use structures for minimizing such trail wear in an attempt to minimize the damage. Traction mats and vehicle support platforms are one solution to this problem.
Traction mats and vehicle support platforms, known in the art, are similar to the present invention, but with certain drawbacks. One of the largest problems with many of the traction mats known in the art is that they are very expensive to manufacture. They are typically made of a heavy material so as to withstand the weight of a vehicle without suffering from permanent deformation, however, many still become permanently warped from continued use. Another problem with previously known vehicle support platforms is their inability to easily connect with another adjacent platform. Many platforms use a pin-pinhole connection method which makes the platforms very difficult to move once it is placed on the ground. Others are not capable of interlocking or interconnecting with other platforms at all.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show two types of traction mats known in the art at the time of the invention. Viewing FIG. 1 , the traction mat is made up of certain basic structural features found in door mats used in association with entrance doors of buildings and other places to provide a convenient walking surface for catching mud, dirt or snow from a person's shoes walking thereon. These types of mats are constructed with a unvarying construction and uniform planar upper and lower surfaces.
This mat comprises a series of serpentine traction strips which may be formed from any suitable metal or high-impact plastic. Each strip has alternately opposing undulations defining corresponding alternating openings. The undulations are substantially U-shaped with leg portions that slightly diverge so that the crest portions can fit inter-digitally by projecting into the mouth ends of each opening.
The inter-digited crest portions of the undulations are articulately coupled by way of suitable hinge pin rods desirably formed from gauge wire and extending through aligned holes. To retain the rods against endwise displacement, they are provided with a locking means at their opposite ends. For support at each opposite end of the mat, reinforcing and stabilizing means, such as a closure strip bar, may be provided and which may be formed from the same strip material as the traction strips or may be of a slightly heavier gauge, if preferred. Each of the end bars is secured to the crests of the endmost undulations of the mat as by means of rivets.
Another type of traction mat, as shown in FIG. 2 , is primarily made from a plurality of parallel linear strips arranged with the sides of an elongated, generally rectangular protecting grid having a high traction top surface. A second series of parallel linear strips is positioned to the sides of the protecting grid. The grid is fitted on one side with an interlocking means adapted to fit one grid to another. This interlocking means may consist of adapting sides with a plurality of spaced apertures therein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
There is a need in the art for a vehicle support platform which can overcome the previously discussed problems. The present invention is directed at further solutions to address this need.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle support platform is designed to disperse the weight of a vehicle and provide improved traction on unstable terrain surfaces.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a vehicle support platform has a non-interlocking jigsaw, profile structure with congruent surface features so the sidewalls of adjacent vehicle support platforms compliment one another.
A further aspect of the present invention is to provide a vehicle support platform with a reinforced grid structure to enhance strength and minimize weight.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is providing strategically positioned cleats to the underside of the vehicle support platform to stabilize motion and to provide a retention support for the platform on the ground underneath.
The invention relates to a vehicle support platform for use in protecting off-road trails and ecologically sensitive terrain comprising a molded platform having a contiguous sidewall defining an outer edge of the platform and connecting a plurality of longitudinal and lateral intersecting support walls defining a planar top and bottom surface for supporting a vehicle thereon; a plurality of cleats depending from the bottom surface of the platform, at least one of a recess or projection formed by the sidewall in the outer edge of the molded platform; the recess or projection being sized to receive or to be received by a corresponding projection or recess in an adjacent vehicle support platform.
The invention also relates to a method of protecting off-road trails and ecologically sensitive terrain from damage from off-road vehicles, the method comprising the steps of placing a molded platform in a desired location having a contiguous sidewall defining an outer edge of the platform and connecting a plurality of longitudinal and lateral intersecting support walls defining a planar top and bottom surface for supporting a vehicle thereon; affixing the molded platform into the terrain by a plurality of cleats depending from the bottom surface of the platform; aligning the molded platform with at least a second adjacent molded platform by forming at least one of a recess or projection in the sidewall in the outer edge of the molded platform; the recess or projection being sized to receive, or to be received by a corresponding projection or recess in the second adjacent molded platform.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a top broken view of a known traction mat;
FIG. 2 is a top elevational view of another known traction mat;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the top surface of one embodiment of the present invention designed for use in flat terrain;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a bottom surface of the first embodiment of the present invention designed for use in flat terrain;
FIGS. 5A , 5 B and 5 C are cross-sectional front, side and perspective elevational views of the present invention designed for use in flat terrain;
FIG. 6 is a top planar view of the top surface of the grid support of the first embodiment;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the top surface of a second embodiment of the present invention designed for use in sloping, hilly terrain;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a bottom surface of the second embodiment of the present invention designed for use in sloping hilly terrain,
FIGS. 9A , 9 B and 9 C are cross-sectional front, side and perspective elevational views of the present invention designed for use in sloping, hilly terrain;
FIG. 10 is a top planar view of the top surface of the grid support of the second embodiment;
FIG. 11 is perspective view of a third embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 12 is a side elevation view of the third embodiment;
FIG. 13 is a top plane view of the grid support of the third embodiment;
FIG. 14 is a top plan view of an alternative arrangement of the peg bars for the grid support of the third embodiment;
FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the support grid split into separate sections along a longitudinal cut channel;
FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the support grid split into separate sections along a lateral cut channel; and
FIG. 17 is a top plan view of a series of grid supports and grid support pieces arranged to form a pedestrian walkway.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention, a vehicle support grid 1 shown in a first embodiment in FIG. 3 , is defined, in general, by a framework which is a substantially rigid, single-piece, molded grid structure. The vehicle support grid 1 is defined by a top surface 2 and a bottom surface 4 and delineated by an outer perimeter sidewall 6 . A plurality of depending cleats 8 extend from the bottom surface 4 of the grid structure in order to provide an adequate means of securing the grid structure into a desired ground surface. Preferably, the cleats 8 are integrally positioned depending from the outer perimeter sidewall 6 of the vehicle support grid 1 , however, it is possible to place the cleats 8 at any location depending from the bottom surface 4 of the platform to accommodate various terrain surfaces.
Each vehicle support grid 1 has a lateral width w and a longitudinal length L, the width w being in the range of about 30 to 60 inches, preferably about 42 inches, and the length being in the range of about 25 to 40 inches, preferably about 30 inches. The sidewall height is between about 2-5 inches and preferably about 3 inches, and the length of the depending cleats 8 between about 2 to 5 inches and preferably about 3 inches. It is important to note the right angular formation of the cleats 8 which facilitates maintaining the support grid in position once positioned on the ground. The right angular nature of the cleats 8 presents perpendicularly adjacent walls 9 and 11 to provide both lateral and longitudinal support horizontally against the ground into which the cleats 8 are placed. Such lateral and longitudinal support keeps the support grid 1 from moving horizontally or twisting once positioned in the ground.
It is to be appreciated that the lateral width w, length L, sidewall height, and cleat length may be variable to some extent, and should not be unduly limited by the above noted ranges, however, it is important that within such ranges as defined above, the vehicle support grids 1 are easily stacked, carried and placed at an appropriate trail location by hand or from an ATV vehicle itself.
The vehicle support grid 1 has a grid pattern encompassed by the outer perimeter sidewall 6 composed of intersecting longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 and lateral reinforcement bars 12 . For purposes of the following description, a longitudinal axis l is defined through the center of the vehicle support grid 1 aligned parallel with the longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 and also aligned in the general direction in which an ATV vehicle will travel over the support grid 1 . A lateral axis A is correspondingly defined through the middle of the support grid 1 , but parallel aligned with the lateral reinforcement bars 12 substantially perpendicular to vehicle travel.
The longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 10 , 12 intersect perpendicular with one another and are each provided with respective top edges 18 , 20 which are co-planer with one another and further define the top surface 2 , as well as bottom edges 19 , 21 also co-planar with one another and together define the bottom surface 4 of the support grid 1 as seen in FIG. 4 .
The embodiment shown in FIGS. 3-6 is generally for being positioned on relatively flat ground as opposed to a second embodiment to be discussed below for placement on a slope. In this first embodiment, the perpendicularly aligned longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 10 , 12 define a plurality of grid sections 24 . As seen in FIG. 6 , each grid section 24 in the present embodiment is shown substantially as, square or rectangular in nature, although other shapes may be possible as well, where each side of the grid section is formed by portions of the intersecting longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 10 , 12 . Each grid section 24 is divided by an intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bar 26 , or web, which is aligned parallel, but spaced from the longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 forming the sides of each grid section 24 . Correspondingly, the intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bar 26 is integrally connected at a right angle with opposing sides of the grid sections 24 formed by the lateral reinforcement bars 12 .
The support grid 1 is usually placed on the ground in a position where the longitudinal axis l of the support grid 1 is aligned parallel with the direction of travel of the vehicle to be supported. In this arrangement, the wheels of the vehicle generally grip the lateral reinforcement bars 12 as the vehicle wheels travel across the support grid 1 in a manner perpendicular to the lateral axis A. The longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 provide little traction or friction to assist in moving the vehicle forward, except for providing structural support to the lateral reinforcement bars 12 and, of course, some vertical support to the vehicle wheels. However, the longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 do impede lateral slippage or sliding of the wheels by intersecting between extending portions of the tire tread, often referred to as “knobbies”. These knobby extending protrusions from the wheel are blocked or impeded from lateral movement along the lateral axis A because the knobbies are permitted by the above discussed structure of the grid sections 24 to extend below the level of the top surface 2 as defined by the top edges 18 , 20 of the longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 10 , 12 . This is further facilitated by the shorter intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bar 26 allowing more of the vehicle wheels and the knobby tread to fall within the grid section 24 to grip the lateral and intermediate reinforcement bars 12 and 26 .
Observing the side, cross-sectional view of FIG. 5A , the intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bar 26 in each grid section 24 has a height h less than that of the adjacent lateral reinforcement bars 12 . The intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bar 26 extends from a bottom edge 27 generally aligned co-planar with the bottom surface 4 of the support grid 1 , to a top edge 29 spaced from, i.e., lower than the top surface 2 . The intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bar 26 also connects the lateral reinforcement bars 12 forming the sides of each relative grid section. The lateral and longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 , 12 , are similar in height to the sidewall 6 , thus being in the range of about 2 to 5 inches and preferably about 3 inches. The thickness of the sidewall, reinforcement bars, intermediate reinforcement bars as well as the cleats 8 being about 0.25 to 0.5 of an inch and preferably about 0.38 of an inch. The intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bar 26 has a height h may be about one half the height of the longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 12 , but is generally in the range of about 1 to 2.5 inches and preferably about 2 inches. As discussed, this assists with the traction of the vehicle by allowing a certain amount of the tread and the wheel to fall below the top surface 2 of the support grid 1 as defined by the top edges 18 , 20 of the longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 14 , 16 . This permits more of the vehicle wheel to grip both the lateral and intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 , 26 to provide traction, as well as permit additional contact and traction with the ground surface which becomes interspersed between grid sections 24 .
It is notable that the intermediate longitudinal support 26 could also be aligned in parallel with the lateral reinforcement bars 12 , however in the preferred embodiment the intermediate longitudinal supports 26 are parallel aligned with the longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 so that the torque applied by vehicle wheels perpendicularly directly against the lateral reinforcement bars 12 is better supported. In other words, where the vehicle direction of travel is substantially along the longitudinal axis l, the torque applied by the wheels of the ATV to the support grid 1 will generally be born directly by the lateral reinforcement bars 12 where they are contacted directly by the wheel. Without support, such torque could cause the lateral reinforcement bars 12 to twist, deform or even break. With the perpendicular support of the intermediate longitudinal supports 26 in addition to the support provided by the longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 , the lateral reinforcement bars 12 are bolstered to resist the direct torque applied by vehicle wheels.
Turning to FIG. 6 , the vehicle support grid 1 is further defined by the grid sections 24 being adjacently formed in lateral rows and longitudinal columns 32 . In an advantageous aspect of the present invention, certain of these rows and columns are offset lateral rows 34 or offset longitudinal columns 36 from one another. This arrangement of offset lateral rows 34 and offset longitudinal columns 36 forms a jigsaw-like circumferential profile of the outer perimeter sidewall 6 . By offsetting a lateral row of grid sections 24 by one grid section, a profile in the sidewall 6 is created having at least a recess 40 on one side of the support grid 1 and a protruding grid square 42 defining the sidewall on the opposing side of the support grid, i.e., on the other end of the respective lateral row. Similarly, one or more offset longitudinal columns 36 of grid sections 24 could be offset from the other columns 32 so that a recess 41 is formed in one end of the support grid 1 and a protruding grid square 43 extends at the opposite end of the support grid 1 from the recess.
It is also to be appreciated that the offset rows and columns 34 , 36 do not have to be offset as described above or offset by a complete grid square 24 . It could be that certain rows and columns may define a recess 40 , 41 by providing one less grid section or a smaller grid section on the peripheral edge of the support grid 1 defining the sidewall 6 . Similarly, an additional grid section or partial grid section may compliment the end of any row or column of grid sections 24 to provide a protruding extension 42 , 43 to the sidewall 6 of the vehicle support grid 1 .
It is to be recognized that each vehicle support grid 1 has a similar jigsaw-like profile of the sidewall 6 and thus each opposing side and opposing end of each vehicle support grid 1 being respectively complimentary, so as to flexibly engage and interleave with an adjacently positioned support grid 1 . In this manner, the individual vehicle support grids 1 may be laid side by side and end-to-end and interleaved to the extent that while each vehicle support grid 1 may move independently in a vertical direction relative to one another and the ground. The support grids 1 are interleaved with the recess' 40 , 41 defined on one support grid 1 engaging the corresponding protruding grid squares 42 , 43 in the adjacent grid support sidewall 6 , so as to prevent relative planar movement and rotation between one another and to prevent lateral and longitudinal displacement relative to one another and the ground.
When the support grid 1 is placed on the ground, whether on a trail, an open field or any other natural surface, the cleats 8 will sink into the ground until the bottom surface 4 of the support grid 1 presses against the ground surface. Although the support grid 1 may continue to sink down with use and time, the top surface 2 of the platform defines the new support surface for any off-road vehicle over the terrain. Although the soft, saturated or loose ground surface upon which the support grid 1 is placed may flow or be forced up into the grid sections 24 , especially over time and use, this support grid 1 and the top surface 2 thereof, allows for a vehicle to travel along the trail, field, etc., without significantly impacting or destroying the ground underneath the support grid 1 . As several of these platforms are laid adjacent and interleaved with one another, it is possible to cover the entire length of a desired environmentally sensitive area with these platforms without significantly disturbing the ground underneath and preventing further disruption, erosion or rutting.
Lastly, in this embodiment the preferable spacing between lateral reinforcement bars 12 is about 5 to 6 inches and also about 5 to 6 inches between longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 . In this regard, the intermediate reinforcement bars are thus parallel spaced from the longitudinal reinforcement at about 2.5 to 3 inches. Such spacing can be important to the usefulness and function of the present invention in regards to ATV vehicles. If the grid sections 24 are too small, very little of the tire will be able to grip the reinforcement bars and the potential to slide off the support grid 1 and into the unprotected terrain is increased. If the grid sections 24 are to large, more radial surface are of the wheels will fall below the surface 2 of the support grid 1 and the ATV wheels will labor and thus require more torque to overcome the impediments presented by the reinforcement bars.
The jig-saw pattern of the present invention as discussed above allows for two similarly positioned adjacent support grids 1 to fit geometrically together without a secured fastening type device directly between each individual support grid 1 as shown in the previously known traction mats. Therefore, when one support grid 1 is already defining a pathway and a second support grid 1 is placed in the same direction, adjacent to the first support grid 1 , the interleaved recesses and protruding grid sections will allow for each support grid 1 to have the ability to withstand the weight of a vehicle independently without transferring the vertically induced forces to adjacent support grids 1 . However, because the jig-saw fit limits the degree of planar rotation between adjacent support grids 1 , the platforms will not twist relative to one another and the pathway created by these platforms remains intact.
In FIGS. 7-10 , a further embodiment of the vehicle support grid 1 is designed in regards to the needs of the off-road vehicle while traveling on sloped terrain. In this second embodiment in which like elements are identified by the same reference letters and numerals as in the first embodiment, a complete description of the common elements is not provided for sake of brevity. The difference in structure between this second embodiment and that previously disclosed is the alternation in the arrangement and height of certain of the longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 in order to provide better grip or traction for the vehicle wheels when traveling uphill or downhill.
This novel sloping terrain structural arrangement can be explained by understanding the increase in required torque for a vehicle traveling up or down an incline. When traveling on flat terrain, low to medium torque is sufficient to accelerate the vehicle under normal operating conditions. As the vehicle begins to ascend a slope, the necessary torque is greatly increased to compensate for the gravitational forces acting against the vehicle. Therefore, there is a much greater demand for power from the tires and hence an increase in torque to the wheels can lead to slippage between the wheels and the ground.
Observing a central portion of the vehicle support grid 1 as shown in FIG. 7 , the longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 , which define respective sides of the grid sections 24 , are lowered to be the same or similar height as the intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bars 26 . In this manner are created a plurality of adjacent intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bars 26 within elongate, rectangular shaped grid sections 25 . These rectangular shaped grid sections 25 are aligned with their longer sides defined by the lateral reinforcement bars 12 parallel with the lateral axis A to facilitate better traction of the vehicle wheels as discussed in further detail below.
In this second embodiment, these plurality of adjacent intermediate reinforcement bars 26 may have a height of between about 1 to 2.5, and more preferably about 2 inches. The remaining longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 10 , 12 may be generally the same height as described with respect to the first embodiment.
Similar to the first embodiment, the vehicle support grid 1 of the second embodiment is defined by the grid sections 24 and, also in this case, elongate grid sections 25 , being adjacently formed in lateral rows and longitudinal columns 32 . In an advantageous aspect of the present invention, certain of these rows and columns are offset lateral rows 34 or offset longitudinal columns 36 from one another. This arrangement of offset lateral rows 34 and longitudinal columns 32 forms a jigsaw-like circumferential profile of the outer perimeter sidewall 6 . By offsetting a lateral row of grid sections 24 by one grid section, a profile in the sidewall is created having a recess 40 on one side of the support grid, and a protruding grid square 42 defining the sidewall on the opposing side of the support grid, i.e., on the other end of the respective lateral row. Similarly, one or more longitudinal columns 32 of grid squares could be offset from the other columns so that a recess 41 is formed in one end of the support grid and a protruding grid square 43 extends at the opposite end of the support grid from the recess 41 .
It is also to be appreciated that the rows and columns do not have to be offset as described above or offset by a complete grid section. It could be that certain rows and columns may define a recess 40 , 41 by providing one less grid section or a smaller grid section on the peripheral edge of the support grid 1 defining the sidewall. Similarly, an additional grid section or partial grid section may compliment the end of any row or column of grid sections 24 to provide a protruding extension 42 , 43 to the sidewall 6 of the vehicle support grid 1 .
It is to be recognized, observing FIG. 10 , that each vehicle support grid 1 has a similar jigsaw-like profile of the sidewall 6 and thus each opposing side of each vehicle support grid 1 being respectively complimentary so as to flexibly engage and interleave with one another. In this manner, the individual vehicle support grids 1 may be laid side by side and end to end, and interleaved to the extent that while each vehicle support grid 1 may move independently in a vertical direction relative to one another and the ground, the support grids 1 are interleaved with the recess 40 defined on one support grid 1 engaging the corresponding protruding grid square 42 in the adjacent grid support sidewall 6 , so as to prevent relative planar movement and rotation between one another, and to prevent lateral and longitudinal displacement relative to one another and the ground. In general the vehicle support grids 1 of both the first and second embodiment have complimentary recesses and protruding grid sections 42 , 43 so that flat terrain sections of the support grids 1 will interleave also with the sloping terrain support grids 1 of the second embodiment.
Also, as seen in FIG. 7 the grid sections 24 making up the left and right sides, i.e., the longitudinally aligned grid sections 24 making up the left and right sides on either side of the elongate grid sections 25 may be of different sizes. For example, observing FIG. 7 , the grid sections on the right side of the support grid 1 may have a plurality of intermediate supports 26 , where the grid sections on the left side are most similar to those of the first embodiment with only one intermediate support 26 . This may facilitate better traction of a vehicle towards a center of adjacently side by side positioned support grids 1 .
Turning to FIG. 9A , by lowering the height of certain of the adjacent longitudinal reinforcement bars 26 in the sloping terrain support grid 1 of the second embodiment to create the elongate grid sections 25 , this embodiment allows for more surface area on the outer circumference of the tire to “sink in” to the platform, i.e., a larger radial portion of the wheel falls below the top surface 2 of the vehicle support grid 1 , into the elongate grid section 25 . The depth to which the radial portion of the wheel will fall is defined by the height h of the lower intermediate reinforcement bars 26 . Thus, the wheel is provided with more circumferential surface area to grip, minimizing slip and maximizing traction between the wheel and the support grid 1 . Greater traction allows the tire to more easily climb the sloped incline while also minimizing the risk of the vehicle slipping and sliding on an incline and creating damage to the trail.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, a support grid 51 is shown in FIG. 11 having a framework which, like the previously described embodiment is a substantially rigid, single-piece, molded grid structure. Also similar, the support grid 51 is defined by a top surface 52 and a bottom surface 54 and delineated by an outer perimeter sidewall 56 . Different from the previous embodiment, support grid 51 has no integral cleats depending from the bottom surface 54 . Instead, a series of peg bars 58 are provided to receive a separate peg (not shown) for assisting in anchoring the support grid 51 if necessary. A further description of the peg bars 58 is provided below. Without the cleats, the present embodiment can be turned, or flipped over so that the bottom surface 54 , described in further detail below, constitutes a substantially planar support surface with smaller grid sections for pedestrians, i.e. human foot traffic, as opposed to the top surface 52 which is generally designed as a surface for vehicles with tires.
Each vehicle support grid 51 has a lateral width w and a longitudinal length L, the width w being in the range of about 30 to 60 inches, preferably about 42 inches, and the length being in the range of about 25 to 40 inches, preferably about 30 inches. The sidewall height is between about 2-5 inches and preferably about 3 inches. It is to be appreciated that the lateral width w, length L and sidewall height may be variable to some extent, and should not be unduly limited by the above noted ranges, however, it is important that within such ranges as defined above, the support grids 51 are easily stacked, carried and placed at an appropriate trail location by hand or from an ATV vehicle.
The support grid 51 has a grid pattern encompassed by the outer perimeter sidewall 56 composed of intersecting longitudinal reinforcement bars 60 and lateral reinforcement bars 62 . For purposes of the following description, a longitudinal axis l is defined through the center of the support grid 51 aligned parallel with the longitudinal reinforcement bars 60 . A lateral axis A is correspondingly defined through the middle of the support grid 51 , but parallel aligned with the lateral reinforcement bars 62 .
The longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 60 , 62 intersect perpendicular with one another and are each provided with respective top edges 61 , 63 which are co-planer with one another and further define the top surface 52 , as well as bottom edges 55 , 57 also co-planar with one another and together define the bottom surface 54 of the support grid 1 as seen in FIGS. 11 and 12 .
The embodiment shown here is for use as either a support grid 51 for vehicles where the top surface 52 is exposed and the bottom surface 54 in contact with the ground, or upon the support grid 51 being flipped over so that the bottom surface 54 is exposed and the top surface 52 is in contact with the ground, the device may be used for a walking path for pedestrians where the bottom surface 54 provides a more stable walking surface due to the planar alignment of the webs 66 , 67 and reinforcing bars 60 , 62 discussed in further detail below.
As seen in FIG. 11 , in this second embodiment the perpendicularly aligned longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 60 , 62 define a plurality of grid sections 64 . Each grid section 64 in the present embodiment is shown substantially as square or rectangular in nature, although other shapes may be possible as well, where each side of the grid section 64 is formed by portions of the intersecting longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 60 , 62 . Each grid section 64 is divided by a lateral and longitudinal perpendicularly intersecting reinforcement webs 66 , 67 , which are aligned substantially parallel, but spaced from the respective lateral and longitudinal reinforcement bar 60 , 62 forming the sides of each grid section 64 . Correspondingly, the lateral and longitudinal reinforcement webs 66 , 67 are integrally connected at a right angle with one another in the center of each grid section 64 .
Each of the respective reinforcement webs 66 and 67 have a bottom edge 71 generally planar aligned with the respective bottom edges 55 , 57 of the lateral and longitudinal reinforcing bars 60 , 62 . The webs 66 , 67 also have a flat web top edge 68 defining an intermediate plane between the top surface 52 and the bottom surface 54 and parallel aligned with the planes defined by the respective top and bottom surfaces 52 , 54 . This flat web top edge 68 on both the longitudinal reinforcing web 66 and lateral reinforcing web 67 extends from the intersection of the reinforcement webs 66 , 67 outwards toward the respective lateral and longitudinal support bars 60 and 62 . Each flat web top edge 68 is connected to the respective lateral or longitudinal support bar 60 , 62 by a web slope top edge 70 which extends upwards from the flat web top edge 68 defining the intermediate plane of the support grid 51 , to the top edges 61 , 63 of the respective longitudinal and lateral bars. This web slope top edge 70 increases the stability of the reinforcing bars 60 , 62 by providing support along the entire height of the lateral and longitudinal reinforcing bars. The web slope top edge 70 may be a constant slope or also curved as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 . But in any event, the slope or curve extends between the intermediate plane defined by the flat top edge 68 and the plane defined by the top edges 61 , 63 of the reinforcing bars 60 and 62 .
Observing FIGS. 13 and 14 , while the above described lateral and longitudinal side walls 60 , 62 and lateral and longitudinal reinforcement webs 66 and 67 form a plurality of substantially rectangular or square minor grid sections S, the peg bars 58 extend at approximately forty-five degree, 45° angle between adjacent lateral and longitudinal reinforcing bars 62 , 60 and/or, lateral and longitudinal reinforcement webs 66 and 67 and alternatively, between perpendicularly adjacent webs and bars.
The peg bars 58 extend at approximately a 45° angle relative to each of the respective bars and/or webs to which it is attached and constitutes the formation of a generally right angular passage P within the minor grid sections S. This right angular passage P is important in that a separate cleat or peg (not shown) for securing the grid support 51 is provided having matching right angular surfaces to facilitate secure entry downward through the right angle space and into the ground to secure the grid 51 to the surface upon which it is supported. By way of example, a tent peg which as generally known has a longitudinal right angular bend may be inserted into the right angular passage P and then pushed downward into the soil in order to secure the support grid 51 . It is important to note the right angular formation of the cleats or pegs which facilitates maintaining the support grid in position once positioned on the ground. The right angular nature of the cleats or pegs presents perpendicularly adjacent walls similar to those sidewalls 9 and 11 seen in the integral cleats 8 of the previous embodiment to provide both lateral and longitudinal support horizontally against the ground into which the pegs or cleats are placed. Such lateral and longitudinal support keeps the support grid 51 from moving horizontally or twisting once positioned in the ground.
Additionally, because the top edge of the peg bar 58 is below the top edges 61 , 63 of the reinforcing bars 60 , 62 and the peg bar 58 is substantially aligned with the intermediate plane defined by the flat web top edges 68 , any securing peg or cleat used therewith does not interfere with the vehicle passing over the grid.
Another feature of the second embodiment of the support grid 51 as seen in FIG. 14 , is a lateral and longitudinal cut channel 75 , 77 formed therein. The longitudinal cut channel 77 is defined by slightly spaced apart longitudinal reinforcing bars 60 a , 60 b so as to form the narrow channel therebetween along substantially the entire length of the support grid 51 . The longitudinal cut channel 77 is traversed by respective lateral reinforcing bars 62 , the channel 77 provides for a space whereby a saw blade or other cutting instrument can be run through the channel 77 severing the lateral reinforcing bars 62 therein, or other such connecting portions and so change either the width w of the support grid 51 . Similarly, the lateral cut channel 75 is defined by slightly spaced apart lateral reinforcing bars 62 a , 62 b so as to form the narrow channel there between along substantially the entire width of the support grid 51 . The lateral cut channel 75 is traversed by respective longitudinal reinforcing bars 60 , the channel 75 provides for a space whereby a saw blade or other cutting instrument can be run through the channel 75 severing the longitudinal reinforcing bars 60 therein, or other such connecting portions and so change the length of the support grid 51 .
Observing FIGS. 15 and 16 , in FIG. 15 we see the longitudinal cut channel 77 has been severed to separate the support grid 51 into separate longitudinal pieces 51 a , 51 b . Each piece 51 a , 51 b having a substantially flat planar sidewall 79 and a crenellated side wall 81 . In FIG. 16 , the lateral cut channel 75 has been cut to separate the support grid 51 into corresponding lateral sections 51 c , 51 d . The cutting or severing of the respective longitudinal support bars 60 inside the channel 75 forms the separation along the lateral cut channel and each piece 51 c , 51 d having a substantially flat planar sidewall 83 and a crenellated side wall 85 .
The ability to separate or cut the support grid 51 into separate sections 51 a - d is important as seen in FIG. 17 where we observe a number of the support grids 51 and 51 a,b arranged to form a pedestrian walkway. In this configuration where the bottom surface 54 of the grids 51 is now exposed (and the top surface 52 flipped over and in contact with a supporting ground surface) each grid 51 and 51 a,b is interlocked with other grid sections to form the pedestrian walking support where the smaller minor grid sections S are defined by the planar aligned bottom edges 55 and 57 of the reinforcing bars 60 , 62 and the bottom edges 71 of the longitudinal and lateral reinforcing webs 66 and 67 . In this example, there is shown two adjacent whole, i.e. unbroken, support grids 51 interlocked together. The free sides of the interlocked whole grid supports 51 are engaged with the respective longitudinal cut sections 51 a , 51 b as shown in FIG. 15 . These cut sections 51 a , 51 b are interlocked such that the crenellation side walls 81 engages with the crenellations formed on the whole grid supports 51 and the planar sidewall 79 of cut sections 51 a , 51 b are aligned to define the linear outer edge of the walkway. This is critical where the grid supports are utilized for pedestrians on both sides of the walking trail which is particularly important so that foot traffic does not slip or fall between crenelation sections and the path is consistent and better linearly defined.
Since certain changes may be made in the above described improvement, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention herein involved, it is intended that all of the subject matter of the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted merely as examples illustrating the inventive concept herein and shall not be construed as limiting the invention. | A grid-type platform especially suited for use supporting vehicle wheels to provide traction while traveling off-road especially through environmentally sensitive topography, and to prevent unnecessary and excessive wear and damage to such off-road paths or trails. More specifically this invention relates to a grid-type platform having a plurality of grid sections defined by intersection lateral and longitudinal walls and having an intermediate support designed to provide all-terrain vehicles and four-wheel drive vehicles the necessary traction to reduce tire slippage and rutting when traveling through off-road trails or paths particularly through environmentally sensitive areas. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the invention. | [
"This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 11/243,905 filed Oct. 5, 2005.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a platform especially suited for use supporting vehicle wheels to provide traction while traveling off-road especially through environmentally sensitive topography and to prevent unnecessary and excessive wear and damage to such off-road paths or trails.",
"More specifically, this invention relates to a grid-type platform designed to provide all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and four-wheel drive vehicles the necessary traction to reduce tire slippage and rutting when traveling through off-road trails or paths particularly through environmentally sensitive areas.",
"Furthermore, this invention will minimize ecological damage, destruction and wear, for example, to wetlands, by retaining loose or saturated soil, rock, sand, etc.",
", on the off-road trails.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Over recent years, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicles have become more and more popular for recreational purposes.",
"“Off-roading”",
"or “four-wheeling”",
"are terms used to describe the act of driving an ATV or 4WD vehicle off a normal paved or unpaved streets.",
"Off-roading is usually done in rural areas on trails, open fields or wooded areas.",
"While some people use ATV or 4WD vehicles for transportation to hunting or fishing grounds, most people use them strictly for recreational purposes.",
"There are many state parks and private land owners which allow ATV and 4WD vehicles, usually on marked trails.",
"One of the biggest problems faced with these off-roading trails is that because of the rather large tires and necessary engine torque inherent in such ATVs substantially deep ruts and grooves begin to form in the trails, especially in low-lying wetlands, after excessive use.",
"Consistent wear on a trail by ATV and 4WD vehicle tires can cause irreparable ecological damage to the trail and to the local (environment especially in ecologically sensitive areas such as wetlands.",
"The deep treaded tires found on ATV and 4WD, have a damaging effect on nearly all types of surfaces.",
"On a hard surface, such as a paved road, a tire is very efficient.",
"An ATV or 4WD vehicle can move forward with the engine at an idle and very little power.",
"Loose dirt on the hard surface will be compressed, but not kicked-up or displaced.",
"On such a surface, there is minimal wear damage, however, the loose dirt on the hard surface may be displaced and eventually erode the surface until it reaches a near irreparable state.",
"On softer surfaces, such as a meadow, open field or wetland, the wheel and tire will typically sink into the surface under the weight of the vehicle.",
"In these situations, the tire has to continually climb out of the depression it has created.",
"This continuous climb requires extra power, similar to a car climbing up a hill at a similar angle to the tire climbing out of its depression.",
"The climb out is such hard work for the tire that the lugs slip a small amount before they can compress the soil behind the lug enough to grip the surface.",
"This slippage is constant as the vehicle moves forward.",
"As the tire slips, plants under the tire are torn or pulled from the ground.",
"On these surfaces, it takes as few as one vehicle to cause permanent damage to the ground, wetland and the vegetation.",
"No matter how slowly and carefully a vehicle is driven on soft ground, the tire always has to climb at a climb out angle and, therefore, a certain amount of slippage and resulting damage always occurs.",
"In fact, high speed may cause less damage on softer ground because there is less time for a deeper depression to occur and thus the climb out angle would be less.",
"On very soft ground, such as a wetland, an open field after a heavy rain or a meadow at the base of a steep hill, the tire sinks even deeper than in the previous situation.",
"This deeper depression increases the climb out angle and, therefore, more power is needed.",
"As previously described, the tire must overcome the greater angle and, therefore, even greater slippage and thus more destruction results.",
"In these situations, it is common for the tires to be slipping to the point where the dirt and plants which have been compressed will be thrown in the air behind the vehicle.",
"There may be situations where the ground is so soft and corresponding climb out angle is so steep that the tire spins and the vehicle comes to a halt.",
"As the tire spins into a near vertical wall, dirt and plants are constantly thrown high into the air as the vehicle sinks deeper and deeper in the rut it has created.",
"Many states in the U.S. have passed laws and regulations banning ATVs and 4WD vehicles from certain parks and areas where the ecological system is too fragile to withstand the damage imposed by use of such vehicles.",
"In some jurisdictions, it is required to use structures for minimizing such trail wear in an attempt to minimize the damage.",
"Traction mats and vehicle support platforms are one solution to this problem.",
"Traction mats and vehicle support platforms, known in the art, are similar to the present invention, but with certain drawbacks.",
"One of the largest problems with many of the traction mats known in the art is that they are very expensive to manufacture.",
"They are typically made of a heavy material so as to withstand the weight of a vehicle without suffering from permanent deformation, however, many still become permanently warped from continued use.",
"Another problem with previously known vehicle support platforms is their inability to easily connect with another adjacent platform.",
"Many platforms use a pin-pinhole connection method which makes the platforms very difficult to move once it is placed on the ground.",
"Others are not capable of interlocking or interconnecting with other platforms at all.",
"FIGS. 1 and 2 show two types of traction mats known in the art at the time of the invention.",
"Viewing FIG. 1 , the traction mat is made up of certain basic structural features found in door mats used in association with entrance doors of buildings and other places to provide a convenient walking surface for catching mud, dirt or snow from a person's shoes walking thereon.",
"These types of mats are constructed with a unvarying construction and uniform planar upper and lower surfaces.",
"This mat comprises a series of serpentine traction strips which may be formed from any suitable metal or high-impact plastic.",
"Each strip has alternately opposing undulations defining corresponding alternating openings.",
"The undulations are substantially U-shaped with leg portions that slightly diverge so that the crest portions can fit inter-digitally by projecting into the mouth ends of each opening.",
"The inter-digited crest portions of the undulations are articulately coupled by way of suitable hinge pin rods desirably formed from gauge wire and extending through aligned holes.",
"To retain the rods against endwise displacement, they are provided with a locking means at their opposite ends.",
"For support at each opposite end of the mat, reinforcing and stabilizing means, such as a closure strip bar, may be provided and which may be formed from the same strip material as the traction strips or may be of a slightly heavier gauge, if preferred.",
"Each of the end bars is secured to the crests of the endmost undulations of the mat as by means of rivets.",
"Another type of traction mat, as shown in FIG. 2 , is primarily made from a plurality of parallel linear strips arranged with the sides of an elongated, generally rectangular protecting grid having a high traction top surface.",
"A second series of parallel linear strips is positioned to the sides of the protecting grid.",
"The grid is fitted on one side with an interlocking means adapted to fit one grid to another.",
"This interlocking means may consist of adapting sides with a plurality of spaced apertures therein.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION There is a need in the art for a vehicle support platform which can overcome the previously discussed problems.",
"The present invention is directed at further solutions to address this need.",
"In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle support platform is designed to disperse the weight of a vehicle and provide improved traction on unstable terrain surfaces.",
"In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a vehicle support platform has a non-interlocking jigsaw, profile structure with congruent surface features so the sidewalls of adjacent vehicle support platforms compliment one another.",
"A further aspect of the present invention is to provide a vehicle support platform with a reinforced grid structure to enhance strength and minimize weight.",
"Yet another aspect of the present invention is providing strategically positioned cleats to the underside of the vehicle support platform to stabilize motion and to provide a retention support for the platform on the ground underneath.",
"The invention relates to a vehicle support platform for use in protecting off-road trails and ecologically sensitive terrain comprising a molded platform having a contiguous sidewall defining an outer edge of the platform and connecting a plurality of longitudinal and lateral intersecting support walls defining a planar top and bottom surface for supporting a vehicle thereon;",
"a plurality of cleats depending from the bottom surface of the platform, at least one of a recess or projection formed by the sidewall in the outer edge of the molded platform;",
"the recess or projection being sized to receive or to be received by a corresponding projection or recess in an adjacent vehicle support platform.",
"The invention also relates to a method of protecting off-road trails and ecologically sensitive terrain from damage from off-road vehicles, the method comprising the steps of placing a molded platform in a desired location having a contiguous sidewall defining an outer edge of the platform and connecting a plurality of longitudinal and lateral intersecting support walls defining a planar top and bottom surface for supporting a vehicle thereon;",
"affixing the molded platform into the terrain by a plurality of cleats depending from the bottom surface of the platform;",
"aligning the molded platform with at least a second adjacent molded platform by forming at least one of a recess or projection in the sidewall in the outer edge of the molded platform;",
"the recess or projection being sized to receive, or to be received by a corresponding projection or recess in the second adjacent molded platform.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top broken view of a known traction mat;",
"FIG. 2 is a top elevational view of another known traction mat;",
"FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the top surface of one embodiment of the present invention designed for use in flat terrain;",
"FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a bottom surface of the first embodiment of the present invention designed for use in flat terrain;",
"FIGS. 5A , 5 B and 5 C are cross-sectional front, side and perspective elevational views of the present invention designed for use in flat terrain;",
"FIG. 6 is a top planar view of the top surface of the grid support of the first embodiment;",
"FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the top surface of a second embodiment of the present invention designed for use in sloping, hilly terrain;",
"FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a bottom surface of the second embodiment of the present invention designed for use in sloping hilly terrain, FIGS. 9A , 9 B and 9 C are cross-sectional front, side and perspective elevational views of the present invention designed for use in sloping, hilly terrain;",
"FIG. 10 is a top planar view of the top surface of the grid support of the second embodiment;",
"FIG. 11 is perspective view of a third embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 12 is a side elevation view of the third embodiment;",
"FIG. 13 is a top plane view of the grid support of the third embodiment;",
"FIG. 14 is a top plan view of an alternative arrangement of the peg bars for the grid support of the third embodiment;",
"FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the support grid split into separate sections along a longitudinal cut channel;",
"FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the support grid split into separate sections along a lateral cut channel;",
"and FIG. 17 is a top plan view of a series of grid supports and grid support pieces arranged to form a pedestrian walkway.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention, a vehicle support grid 1 shown in a first embodiment in FIG. 3 , is defined, in general, by a framework which is a substantially rigid, single-piece, molded grid structure.",
"The vehicle support grid 1 is defined by a top surface 2 and a bottom surface 4 and delineated by an outer perimeter sidewall 6 .",
"A plurality of depending cleats 8 extend from the bottom surface 4 of the grid structure in order to provide an adequate means of securing the grid structure into a desired ground surface.",
"Preferably, the cleats 8 are integrally positioned depending from the outer perimeter sidewall 6 of the vehicle support grid 1 , however, it is possible to place the cleats 8 at any location depending from the bottom surface 4 of the platform to accommodate various terrain surfaces.",
"Each vehicle support grid 1 has a lateral width w and a longitudinal length L, the width w being in the range of about 30 to 60 inches, preferably about 42 inches, and the length being in the range of about 25 to 40 inches, preferably about 30 inches.",
"The sidewall height is between about 2-5 inches and preferably about 3 inches, and the length of the depending cleats 8 between about 2 to 5 inches and preferably about 3 inches.",
"It is important to note the right angular formation of the cleats 8 which facilitates maintaining the support grid in position once positioned on the ground.",
"The right angular nature of the cleats 8 presents perpendicularly adjacent walls 9 and 11 to provide both lateral and longitudinal support horizontally against the ground into which the cleats 8 are placed.",
"Such lateral and longitudinal support keeps the support grid 1 from moving horizontally or twisting once positioned in the ground.",
"It is to be appreciated that the lateral width w, length L, sidewall height, and cleat length may be variable to some extent, and should not be unduly limited by the above noted ranges, however, it is important that within such ranges as defined above, the vehicle support grids 1 are easily stacked, carried and placed at an appropriate trail location by hand or from an ATV vehicle itself.",
"The vehicle support grid 1 has a grid pattern encompassed by the outer perimeter sidewall 6 composed of intersecting longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 and lateral reinforcement bars 12 .",
"For purposes of the following description, a longitudinal axis l is defined through the center of the vehicle support grid 1 aligned parallel with the longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 and also aligned in the general direction in which an ATV vehicle will travel over the support grid 1 .",
"A lateral axis A is correspondingly defined through the middle of the support grid 1 , but parallel aligned with the lateral reinforcement bars 12 substantially perpendicular to vehicle travel.",
"The longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 10 , 12 intersect perpendicular with one another and are each provided with respective top edges 18 , 20 which are co-planer with one another and further define the top surface 2 , as well as bottom edges 19 , 21 also co-planar with one another and together define the bottom surface 4 of the support grid 1 as seen in FIG. 4 .",
"The embodiment shown in FIGS. 3-6 is generally for being positioned on relatively flat ground as opposed to a second embodiment to be discussed below for placement on a slope.",
"In this first embodiment, the perpendicularly aligned longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 10 , 12 define a plurality of grid sections 24 .",
"As seen in FIG. 6 , each grid section 24 in the present embodiment is shown substantially as, square or rectangular in nature, although other shapes may be possible as well, where each side of the grid section is formed by portions of the intersecting longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 10 , 12 .",
"Each grid section 24 is divided by an intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bar 26 , or web, which is aligned parallel, but spaced from the longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 forming the sides of each grid section 24 .",
"Correspondingly, the intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bar 26 is integrally connected at a right angle with opposing sides of the grid sections 24 formed by the lateral reinforcement bars 12 .",
"The support grid 1 is usually placed on the ground in a position where the longitudinal axis l of the support grid 1 is aligned parallel with the direction of travel of the vehicle to be supported.",
"In this arrangement, the wheels of the vehicle generally grip the lateral reinforcement bars 12 as the vehicle wheels travel across the support grid 1 in a manner perpendicular to the lateral axis A. The longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 provide little traction or friction to assist in moving the vehicle forward, except for providing structural support to the lateral reinforcement bars 12 and, of course, some vertical support to the vehicle wheels.",
"However, the longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 do impede lateral slippage or sliding of the wheels by intersecting between extending portions of the tire tread, often referred to as “knobbies.”",
"These knobby extending protrusions from the wheel are blocked or impeded from lateral movement along the lateral axis A because the knobbies are permitted by the above discussed structure of the grid sections 24 to extend below the level of the top surface 2 as defined by the top edges 18 , 20 of the longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 10 , 12 .",
"This is further facilitated by the shorter intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bar 26 allowing more of the vehicle wheels and the knobby tread to fall within the grid section 24 to grip the lateral and intermediate reinforcement bars 12 and 26 .",
"Observing the side, cross-sectional view of FIG. 5A , the intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bar 26 in each grid section 24 has a height h less than that of the adjacent lateral reinforcement bars 12 .",
"The intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bar 26 extends from a bottom edge 27 generally aligned co-planar with the bottom surface 4 of the support grid 1 , to a top edge 29 spaced from, i.e., lower than the top surface 2 .",
"The intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bar 26 also connects the lateral reinforcement bars 12 forming the sides of each relative grid section.",
"The lateral and longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 , 12 , are similar in height to the sidewall 6 , thus being in the range of about 2 to 5 inches and preferably about 3 inches.",
"The thickness of the sidewall, reinforcement bars, intermediate reinforcement bars as well as the cleats 8 being about 0.25 to 0.5 of an inch and preferably about 0.38 of an inch.",
"The intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bar 26 has a height h may be about one half the height of the longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 12 , but is generally in the range of about 1 to 2.5 inches and preferably about 2 inches.",
"As discussed, this assists with the traction of the vehicle by allowing a certain amount of the tread and the wheel to fall below the top surface 2 of the support grid 1 as defined by the top edges 18 , 20 of the longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 14 , 16 .",
"This permits more of the vehicle wheel to grip both the lateral and intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 , 26 to provide traction, as well as permit additional contact and traction with the ground surface which becomes interspersed between grid sections 24 .",
"It is notable that the intermediate longitudinal support 26 could also be aligned in parallel with the lateral reinforcement bars 12 , however in the preferred embodiment the intermediate longitudinal supports 26 are parallel aligned with the longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 so that the torque applied by vehicle wheels perpendicularly directly against the lateral reinforcement bars 12 is better supported.",
"In other words, where the vehicle direction of travel is substantially along the longitudinal axis l, the torque applied by the wheels of the ATV to the support grid 1 will generally be born directly by the lateral reinforcement bars 12 where they are contacted directly by the wheel.",
"Without support, such torque could cause the lateral reinforcement bars 12 to twist, deform or even break.",
"With the perpendicular support of the intermediate longitudinal supports 26 in addition to the support provided by the longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 , the lateral reinforcement bars 12 are bolstered to resist the direct torque applied by vehicle wheels.",
"Turning to FIG. 6 , the vehicle support grid 1 is further defined by the grid sections 24 being adjacently formed in lateral rows and longitudinal columns 32 .",
"In an advantageous aspect of the present invention, certain of these rows and columns are offset lateral rows 34 or offset longitudinal columns 36 from one another.",
"This arrangement of offset lateral rows 34 and offset longitudinal columns 36 forms a jigsaw-like circumferential profile of the outer perimeter sidewall 6 .",
"By offsetting a lateral row of grid sections 24 by one grid section, a profile in the sidewall 6 is created having at least a recess 40 on one side of the support grid 1 and a protruding grid square 42 defining the sidewall on the opposing side of the support grid, i.e., on the other end of the respective lateral row.",
"Similarly, one or more offset longitudinal columns 36 of grid sections 24 could be offset from the other columns 32 so that a recess 41 is formed in one end of the support grid 1 and a protruding grid square 43 extends at the opposite end of the support grid 1 from the recess.",
"It is also to be appreciated that the offset rows and columns 34 , 36 do not have to be offset as described above or offset by a complete grid square 24 .",
"It could be that certain rows and columns may define a recess 40 , 41 by providing one less grid section or a smaller grid section on the peripheral edge of the support grid 1 defining the sidewall 6 .",
"Similarly, an additional grid section or partial grid section may compliment the end of any row or column of grid sections 24 to provide a protruding extension 42 , 43 to the sidewall 6 of the vehicle support grid 1 .",
"It is to be recognized that each vehicle support grid 1 has a similar jigsaw-like profile of the sidewall 6 and thus each opposing side and opposing end of each vehicle support grid 1 being respectively complimentary, so as to flexibly engage and interleave with an adjacently positioned support grid 1 .",
"In this manner, the individual vehicle support grids 1 may be laid side by side and end-to-end and interleaved to the extent that while each vehicle support grid 1 may move independently in a vertical direction relative to one another and the ground.",
"The support grids 1 are interleaved with the recess'",
"40 , 41 defined on one support grid 1 engaging the corresponding protruding grid squares 42 , 43 in the adjacent grid support sidewall 6 , so as to prevent relative planar movement and rotation between one another and to prevent lateral and longitudinal displacement relative to one another and the ground.",
"When the support grid 1 is placed on the ground, whether on a trail, an open field or any other natural surface, the cleats 8 will sink into the ground until the bottom surface 4 of the support grid 1 presses against the ground surface.",
"Although the support grid 1 may continue to sink down with use and time, the top surface 2 of the platform defines the new support surface for any off-road vehicle over the terrain.",
"Although the soft, saturated or loose ground surface upon which the support grid 1 is placed may flow or be forced up into the grid sections 24 , especially over time and use, this support grid 1 and the top surface 2 thereof, allows for a vehicle to travel along the trail, field, etc.",
", without significantly impacting or destroying the ground underneath the support grid 1 .",
"As several of these platforms are laid adjacent and interleaved with one another, it is possible to cover the entire length of a desired environmentally sensitive area with these platforms without significantly disturbing the ground underneath and preventing further disruption, erosion or rutting.",
"Lastly, in this embodiment the preferable spacing between lateral reinforcement bars 12 is about 5 to 6 inches and also about 5 to 6 inches between longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 .",
"In this regard, the intermediate reinforcement bars are thus parallel spaced from the longitudinal reinforcement at about 2.5 to 3 inches.",
"Such spacing can be important to the usefulness and function of the present invention in regards to ATV vehicles.",
"If the grid sections 24 are too small, very little of the tire will be able to grip the reinforcement bars and the potential to slide off the support grid 1 and into the unprotected terrain is increased.",
"If the grid sections 24 are to large, more radial surface are of the wheels will fall below the surface 2 of the support grid 1 and the ATV wheels will labor and thus require more torque to overcome the impediments presented by the reinforcement bars.",
"The jig-saw pattern of the present invention as discussed above allows for two similarly positioned adjacent support grids 1 to fit geometrically together without a secured fastening type device directly between each individual support grid 1 as shown in the previously known traction mats.",
"Therefore, when one support grid 1 is already defining a pathway and a second support grid 1 is placed in the same direction, adjacent to the first support grid 1 , the interleaved recesses and protruding grid sections will allow for each support grid 1 to have the ability to withstand the weight of a vehicle independently without transferring the vertically induced forces to adjacent support grids 1 .",
"However, because the jig-saw fit limits the degree of planar rotation between adjacent support grids 1 , the platforms will not twist relative to one another and the pathway created by these platforms remains intact.",
"In FIGS. 7-10 , a further embodiment of the vehicle support grid 1 is designed in regards to the needs of the off-road vehicle while traveling on sloped terrain.",
"In this second embodiment in which like elements are identified by the same reference letters and numerals as in the first embodiment, a complete description of the common elements is not provided for sake of brevity.",
"The difference in structure between this second embodiment and that previously disclosed is the alternation in the arrangement and height of certain of the longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 in order to provide better grip or traction for the vehicle wheels when traveling uphill or downhill.",
"This novel sloping terrain structural arrangement can be explained by understanding the increase in required torque for a vehicle traveling up or down an incline.",
"When traveling on flat terrain, low to medium torque is sufficient to accelerate the vehicle under normal operating conditions.",
"As the vehicle begins to ascend a slope, the necessary torque is greatly increased to compensate for the gravitational forces acting against the vehicle.",
"Therefore, there is a much greater demand for power from the tires and hence an increase in torque to the wheels can lead to slippage between the wheels and the ground.",
"Observing a central portion of the vehicle support grid 1 as shown in FIG. 7 , the longitudinal reinforcement bars 10 , which define respective sides of the grid sections 24 , are lowered to be the same or similar height as the intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bars 26 .",
"In this manner are created a plurality of adjacent intermediate longitudinal reinforcement bars 26 within elongate, rectangular shaped grid sections 25 .",
"These rectangular shaped grid sections 25 are aligned with their longer sides defined by the lateral reinforcement bars 12 parallel with the lateral axis A to facilitate better traction of the vehicle wheels as discussed in further detail below.",
"In this second embodiment, these plurality of adjacent intermediate reinforcement bars 26 may have a height of between about 1 to 2.5, and more preferably about 2 inches.",
"The remaining longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 10 , 12 may be generally the same height as described with respect to the first embodiment.",
"Similar to the first embodiment, the vehicle support grid 1 of the second embodiment is defined by the grid sections 24 and, also in this case, elongate grid sections 25 , being adjacently formed in lateral rows and longitudinal columns 32 .",
"In an advantageous aspect of the present invention, certain of these rows and columns are offset lateral rows 34 or offset longitudinal columns 36 from one another.",
"This arrangement of offset lateral rows 34 and longitudinal columns 32 forms a jigsaw-like circumferential profile of the outer perimeter sidewall 6 .",
"By offsetting a lateral row of grid sections 24 by one grid section, a profile in the sidewall is created having a recess 40 on one side of the support grid, and a protruding grid square 42 defining the sidewall on the opposing side of the support grid, i.e., on the other end of the respective lateral row.",
"Similarly, one or more longitudinal columns 32 of grid squares could be offset from the other columns so that a recess 41 is formed in one end of the support grid and a protruding grid square 43 extends at the opposite end of the support grid from the recess 41 .",
"It is also to be appreciated that the rows and columns do not have to be offset as described above or offset by a complete grid section.",
"It could be that certain rows and columns may define a recess 40 , 41 by providing one less grid section or a smaller grid section on the peripheral edge of the support grid 1 defining the sidewall.",
"Similarly, an additional grid section or partial grid section may compliment the end of any row or column of grid sections 24 to provide a protruding extension 42 , 43 to the sidewall 6 of the vehicle support grid 1 .",
"It is to be recognized, observing FIG. 10 , that each vehicle support grid 1 has a similar jigsaw-like profile of the sidewall 6 and thus each opposing side of each vehicle support grid 1 being respectively complimentary so as to flexibly engage and interleave with one another.",
"In this manner, the individual vehicle support grids 1 may be laid side by side and end to end, and interleaved to the extent that while each vehicle support grid 1 may move independently in a vertical direction relative to one another and the ground, the support grids 1 are interleaved with the recess 40 defined on one support grid 1 engaging the corresponding protruding grid square 42 in the adjacent grid support sidewall 6 , so as to prevent relative planar movement and rotation between one another, and to prevent lateral and longitudinal displacement relative to one another and the ground.",
"In general the vehicle support grids 1 of both the first and second embodiment have complimentary recesses and protruding grid sections 42 , 43 so that flat terrain sections of the support grids 1 will interleave also with the sloping terrain support grids 1 of the second embodiment.",
"Also, as seen in FIG. 7 the grid sections 24 making up the left and right sides, i.e., the longitudinally aligned grid sections 24 making up the left and right sides on either side of the elongate grid sections 25 may be of different sizes.",
"For example, observing FIG. 7 , the grid sections on the right side of the support grid 1 may have a plurality of intermediate supports 26 , where the grid sections on the left side are most similar to those of the first embodiment with only one intermediate support 26 .",
"This may facilitate better traction of a vehicle towards a center of adjacently side by side positioned support grids 1 .",
"Turning to FIG. 9A , by lowering the height of certain of the adjacent longitudinal reinforcement bars 26 in the sloping terrain support grid 1 of the second embodiment to create the elongate grid sections 25 , this embodiment allows for more surface area on the outer circumference of the tire to “sink in”",
"to the platform, i.e., a larger radial portion of the wheel falls below the top surface 2 of the vehicle support grid 1 , into the elongate grid section 25 .",
"The depth to which the radial portion of the wheel will fall is defined by the height h of the lower intermediate reinforcement bars 26 .",
"Thus, the wheel is provided with more circumferential surface area to grip, minimizing slip and maximizing traction between the wheel and the support grid 1 .",
"Greater traction allows the tire to more easily climb the sloped incline while also minimizing the risk of the vehicle slipping and sliding on an incline and creating damage to the trail.",
"In a further embodiment of the present invention, a support grid 51 is shown in FIG. 11 having a framework which, like the previously described embodiment is a substantially rigid, single-piece, molded grid structure.",
"Also similar, the support grid 51 is defined by a top surface 52 and a bottom surface 54 and delineated by an outer perimeter sidewall 56 .",
"Different from the previous embodiment, support grid 51 has no integral cleats depending from the bottom surface 54 .",
"Instead, a series of peg bars 58 are provided to receive a separate peg (not shown) for assisting in anchoring the support grid 51 if necessary.",
"A further description of the peg bars 58 is provided below.",
"Without the cleats, the present embodiment can be turned, or flipped over so that the bottom surface 54 , described in further detail below, constitutes a substantially planar support surface with smaller grid sections for pedestrians, i.e. human foot traffic, as opposed to the top surface 52 which is generally designed as a surface for vehicles with tires.",
"Each vehicle support grid 51 has a lateral width w and a longitudinal length L, the width w being in the range of about 30 to 60 inches, preferably about 42 inches, and the length being in the range of about 25 to 40 inches, preferably about 30 inches.",
"The sidewall height is between about 2-5 inches and preferably about 3 inches.",
"It is to be appreciated that the lateral width w, length L and sidewall height may be variable to some extent, and should not be unduly limited by the above noted ranges, however, it is important that within such ranges as defined above, the support grids 51 are easily stacked, carried and placed at an appropriate trail location by hand or from an ATV vehicle.",
"The support grid 51 has a grid pattern encompassed by the outer perimeter sidewall 56 composed of intersecting longitudinal reinforcement bars 60 and lateral reinforcement bars 62 .",
"For purposes of the following description, a longitudinal axis l is defined through the center of the support grid 51 aligned parallel with the longitudinal reinforcement bars 60 .",
"A lateral axis A is correspondingly defined through the middle of the support grid 51 , but parallel aligned with the lateral reinforcement bars 62 .",
"The longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 60 , 62 intersect perpendicular with one another and are each provided with respective top edges 61 , 63 which are co-planer with one another and further define the top surface 52 , as well as bottom edges 55 , 57 also co-planar with one another and together define the bottom surface 54 of the support grid 1 as seen in FIGS. 11 and 12 .",
"The embodiment shown here is for use as either a support grid 51 for vehicles where the top surface 52 is exposed and the bottom surface 54 in contact with the ground, or upon the support grid 51 being flipped over so that the bottom surface 54 is exposed and the top surface 52 is in contact with the ground, the device may be used for a walking path for pedestrians where the bottom surface 54 provides a more stable walking surface due to the planar alignment of the webs 66 , 67 and reinforcing bars 60 , 62 discussed in further detail below.",
"As seen in FIG. 11 , in this second embodiment the perpendicularly aligned longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 60 , 62 define a plurality of grid sections 64 .",
"Each grid section 64 in the present embodiment is shown substantially as square or rectangular in nature, although other shapes may be possible as well, where each side of the grid section 64 is formed by portions of the intersecting longitudinal and lateral reinforcement bars 60 , 62 .",
"Each grid section 64 is divided by a lateral and longitudinal perpendicularly intersecting reinforcement webs 66 , 67 , which are aligned substantially parallel, but spaced from the respective lateral and longitudinal reinforcement bar 60 , 62 forming the sides of each grid section 64 .",
"Correspondingly, the lateral and longitudinal reinforcement webs 66 , 67 are integrally connected at a right angle with one another in the center of each grid section 64 .",
"Each of the respective reinforcement webs 66 and 67 have a bottom edge 71 generally planar aligned with the respective bottom edges 55 , 57 of the lateral and longitudinal reinforcing bars 60 , 62 .",
"The webs 66 , 67 also have a flat web top edge 68 defining an intermediate plane between the top surface 52 and the bottom surface 54 and parallel aligned with the planes defined by the respective top and bottom surfaces 52 , 54 .",
"This flat web top edge 68 on both the longitudinal reinforcing web 66 and lateral reinforcing web 67 extends from the intersection of the reinforcement webs 66 , 67 outwards toward the respective lateral and longitudinal support bars 60 and 62 .",
"Each flat web top edge 68 is connected to the respective lateral or longitudinal support bar 60 , 62 by a web slope top edge 70 which extends upwards from the flat web top edge 68 defining the intermediate plane of the support grid 51 , to the top edges 61 , 63 of the respective longitudinal and lateral bars.",
"This web slope top edge 70 increases the stability of the reinforcing bars 60 , 62 by providing support along the entire height of the lateral and longitudinal reinforcing bars.",
"The web slope top edge 70 may be a constant slope or also curved as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 .",
"But in any event, the slope or curve extends between the intermediate plane defined by the flat top edge 68 and the plane defined by the top edges 61 , 63 of the reinforcing bars 60 and 62 .",
"Observing FIGS. 13 and 14 , while the above described lateral and longitudinal side walls 60 , 62 and lateral and longitudinal reinforcement webs 66 and 67 form a plurality of substantially rectangular or square minor grid sections S, the peg bars 58 extend at approximately forty-five degree, 45° angle between adjacent lateral and longitudinal reinforcing bars 62 , 60 and/or, lateral and longitudinal reinforcement webs 66 and 67 and alternatively, between perpendicularly adjacent webs and bars.",
"The peg bars 58 extend at approximately a 45° angle relative to each of the respective bars and/or webs to which it is attached and constitutes the formation of a generally right angular passage P within the minor grid sections S. This right angular passage P is important in that a separate cleat or peg (not shown) for securing the grid support 51 is provided having matching right angular surfaces to facilitate secure entry downward through the right angle space and into the ground to secure the grid 51 to the surface upon which it is supported.",
"By way of example, a tent peg which as generally known has a longitudinal right angular bend may be inserted into the right angular passage P and then pushed downward into the soil in order to secure the support grid 51 .",
"It is important to note the right angular formation of the cleats or pegs which facilitates maintaining the support grid in position once positioned on the ground.",
"The right angular nature of the cleats or pegs presents perpendicularly adjacent walls similar to those sidewalls 9 and 11 seen in the integral cleats 8 of the previous embodiment to provide both lateral and longitudinal support horizontally against the ground into which the pegs or cleats are placed.",
"Such lateral and longitudinal support keeps the support grid 51 from moving horizontally or twisting once positioned in the ground.",
"Additionally, because the top edge of the peg bar 58 is below the top edges 61 , 63 of the reinforcing bars 60 , 62 and the peg bar 58 is substantially aligned with the intermediate plane defined by the flat web top edges 68 , any securing peg or cleat used therewith does not interfere with the vehicle passing over the grid.",
"Another feature of the second embodiment of the support grid 51 as seen in FIG. 14 , is a lateral and longitudinal cut channel 75 , 77 formed therein.",
"The longitudinal cut channel 77 is defined by slightly spaced apart longitudinal reinforcing bars 60 a , 60 b so as to form the narrow channel therebetween along substantially the entire length of the support grid 51 .",
"The longitudinal cut channel 77 is traversed by respective lateral reinforcing bars 62 , the channel 77 provides for a space whereby a saw blade or other cutting instrument can be run through the channel 77 severing the lateral reinforcing bars 62 therein, or other such connecting portions and so change either the width w of the support grid 51 .",
"Similarly, the lateral cut channel 75 is defined by slightly spaced apart lateral reinforcing bars 62 a , 62 b so as to form the narrow channel there between along substantially the entire width of the support grid 51 .",
"The lateral cut channel 75 is traversed by respective longitudinal reinforcing bars 60 , the channel 75 provides for a space whereby a saw blade or other cutting instrument can be run through the channel 75 severing the longitudinal reinforcing bars 60 therein, or other such connecting portions and so change the length of the support grid 51 .",
"Observing FIGS. 15 and 16 , in FIG. 15 we see the longitudinal cut channel 77 has been severed to separate the support grid 51 into separate longitudinal pieces 51 a , 51 b .",
"Each piece 51 a , 51 b having a substantially flat planar sidewall 79 and a crenellated side wall 81 .",
"In FIG. 16 , the lateral cut channel 75 has been cut to separate the support grid 51 into corresponding lateral sections 51 c , 51 d .",
"The cutting or severing of the respective longitudinal support bars 60 inside the channel 75 forms the separation along the lateral cut channel and each piece 51 c , 51 d having a substantially flat planar sidewall 83 and a crenellated side wall 85 .",
"The ability to separate or cut the support grid 51 into separate sections 51 a - d is important as seen in FIG. 17 where we observe a number of the support grids 51 and 51 a,b arranged to form a pedestrian walkway.",
"In this configuration where the bottom surface 54 of the grids 51 is now exposed (and the top surface 52 flipped over and in contact with a supporting ground surface) each grid 51 and 51 a,b is interlocked with other grid sections to form the pedestrian walking support where the smaller minor grid sections S are defined by the planar aligned bottom edges 55 and 57 of the reinforcing bars 60 , 62 and the bottom edges 71 of the longitudinal and lateral reinforcing webs 66 and 67 .",
"In this example, there is shown two adjacent whole, i.e. unbroken, support grids 51 interlocked together.",
"The free sides of the interlocked whole grid supports 51 are engaged with the respective longitudinal cut sections 51 a , 51 b as shown in FIG. 15 .",
"These cut sections 51 a , 51 b are interlocked such that the crenellation side walls 81 engages with the crenellations formed on the whole grid supports 51 and the planar sidewall 79 of cut sections 51 a , 51 b are aligned to define the linear outer edge of the walkway.",
"This is critical where the grid supports are utilized for pedestrians on both sides of the walking trail which is particularly important so that foot traffic does not slip or fall between crenelation sections and the path is consistent and better linearly defined.",
"Since certain changes may be made in the above described improvement, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention herein involved, it is intended that all of the subject matter of the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted merely as examples illustrating the inventive concept herein and shall not be construed as limiting the invention."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to methods and systems of echo cancellation and particularly to method and systems of achieving echo cancellation using an adaptive Infinite Impulse Response (IIR) filter and an adaptive Finite-Impulse Response (FIR) filter.
BACKGROUND
[0002] In transmission or communication system, signals originating from a far end of a communication circuit are received at a near end of the circuit. The received signals, either electrically or acoustically, may find their way into the return path along with near-end input. Far-end reception of the near-end input may include an attenuated and delayed reflection, i.e., an echo, of the original far-end input signals. In telephone systems, whether wired or wireless, these echo phenomena can make a conversation unintelligible. In data communication systems, again whether wired or wireless, such echoes can cause errors in transmission or otherwise degrade throughput performance.
[0003] Adaptive filters are used in numerous applications to remove undesired frequency content from a signal and are used in telecommunication systems as echo cancellation systems to remove from a signal echoes that may arise as a result of the reflection and/or unwanted coupling of input signals back to the originator of the input signals. For example, echoes occur in instances where signals that were emitted from a loudspeaker are then received and retransmitted through a microphone, i.e., acoustic echo, or when reflections of a far-end signal are generated in the course of transmission along wiring junctions where impedance mismatch occur, i.e., line echo.
[0004] Presently, an adaptive finite-impulse response (FIR) filter may be used to reduce or eliminate the echo where the echo cancellation characteristics are defined in the International Telecommunication Union-Standardization Sector (ITU-T) Recommendations G.165 and G.168 and the contents of each of the foregoing ITU Recommendations being incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full. FIG. 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of an echo cancellation circuit 150 interposed between the far end and the near end of a telecommunication system 100 where the echo cancellation circuit operates at a near end 102 . The near-end input 130 to return signal 132 is shown as combining with a near-end echo signal 122 represented by the far-end input signal 110 as filtered by, that is, as attenuated and delayed by, the z-domain echo transfer function 120 , H(z). The resulting return signal 132 is represented then as a linear combination of the near-end input signal 130 and the near-end echo signal 122 .
[0005] Accordingly, when a digital representation of the echo transfer function is in the form of an adaptive FIR 156 , and the gains are adjusted to mimic the echo transfer function 120 , when the far-end input signal 110 is filtered by the adaptive FIR 156 , the resulting signal 158 may be differenced with the return signal 132 to cancel the echo from the return line signal 132 . As illustrated in FIG. 1 , to accomplish this canceling effect, the post-cancellation return line signal 140 is directed into a nonlinear processing module 152 that may pre-filter background or ambient noise and establish a threshold above which little or no adaptation of the IIR filter is permitted. The threshold logic is us used to address the double talk situations where the return signal may have both near-end input and echo in temporal proximity. If the pre-filtered return line signal is below the threshold, it may be used, at each step k, as an error signal 154 , e k , to drive the adaptation of the gains the FIR filter 156 . The FIR filter may require several delay states with each output or input state being tapped, multiplied by a gain and summed. The gains for the FIR filter may be chosen to represent the most likely echo transfer function 120 , H(z), and subsequently, these gains may be adjusted by relationships driven by the error signal, e k . Least-mean-square (LMS) adaptive algorithms are commonly implemented in adaptive cancellation devices to adjust the gains of the adaptive FIR filter. A FIR filter may be represented as
H k ( z ) = ∑ n = 0 L h n , k · z - n [ 1 ]
[0006] A typical rule of adaptation or adjustment of the FIR filter gains is to use the product of the error signal 154 , the normalized input signal, and a step size, or adapting gain, β, to adjust the gains. For example, for each filter coefficient, n, where n=0, 1, 2, . . . L:
h n,k+1 =h n,k +β*e ( k )* x k−1 /x max . [2]
[0007] FIR filters typically require a long tap delay to model effectively an echo return path. FIR filters, while stable representations of all zero transfer functions, are typically slow to adapt, require more memory than recursive filters memory, and, due to the number of taps, can be computationally cumbersome.
[0008] With certain types of input signal, such as human speech, are characterized by the dominance of distinct peaks followed by a long decay over time. A majority of the computation is devoted to FIR coefficient update on the long decay portion of the signal, which actually contributed little significance to the actual echo energy. In addition, performing aggressive adaptive filtering on these low energy decays actually causes error in estimation in many types of adaptive FIR filters, e.g. normalized LMS filters, and degrades the overall echo cancellation performance.
[0009] Infinite impulse response (IIR) filters, or recursive filters, are implemented forms of pole-zero transfer functions that do not require a long tap delay. Typically, IIR filters are used to numerically mimic very specific echo return paths in which stability of the pole-zero transfer function can be guaranteed during adaptation. In addition, the poles must be properly represented numerically and thus practical embodiments in digital signal processing require a high degree of precision in implementation because small bit errors can cause large filter errors including instability. Methods of adaptation mechanisms are known to those of ordinary skill in the art and are found described in Adaptive Signal Processing, by Bernard Widrow and Samuel D. Stearns, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1985, particularly pages 99-101 and 154-161.
[0010] Accordingly, there remains a need for the rapid convergence of an IIR filter and the stability of an FIR filter to be applied to echo cancellation. The present invention, in its several embodiments provides echo cancellation using an adaptive IIR filter and an adaptive FIR filter.
SUMMARY
[0011] The invention, in its several embodiments, provides a method and system adapted to receive an input signal, to receive a return signal, and to inject into the return signal a corrective signal, which by way of exemplary application, appreciably cancels echoes in communication systems. A first exemplary system includes a return signal conditioning module adapted to receive the return signal and output a conditioned return signal and an adaptive IIR filter adapted to receive the input signal, wherein the adaptive IIR filter is also adapted to receive one or more gain adjustments from an IIR gain adaptation mechanism that itself is adapted to receive an IIR filter error signal derived from the difference of the adaptive IIR filter outut and the conditioned return signal. The first exemplary embodiments also includes an adaptive FIR filter that is adapted to receive the input signal, wherein the adaptive FIR filter is also adapted to receive one or more gain adjustments from its FIR gain adaptation mechanism that itself is adapted to receive a FIR filter error signal that is preferably derived from the difference of the adaptive FIR filter output and the conditioned return signal. In addition, the first exemplary embodiment includes a selector, or selector subsystem or selection module, that is adapted to receive the IIR filter error signal and the FIR filter error signal and adapted to select the corrective signal from the FIR filter output and the IIR filter output preferably based one or more derived performance measures. The exemplary first embodiment may include one or more adaptive IIR filters and one or more adaptive FIR filters from which the corrective signal selection is made.
[0012] A second exemplary system includes: a nonlinear processing module adapted to receive the return signal and output a conditioned return signal and an adaptive IIR filter that is adapted to receive the input signal, wherein the adaptive IIR filter is also adapted to receive one or more gain adjustments from its IIR gain adaptation mechanism that itself is adapted to receive an IIR filter error signal derived from the difference of the adaptive IIR filter output and the conditioned return signal. The second exemplary system embodiment also includes an adaptive FIR filter that is adapted to receive the input signal and output the corrective signal, wherein the adaptive FIR filter is also adapted to receive one or more gain adjustments from its FIR filter gain adaptation mechanism that itself is adapted to receive a FIR filter error signal that is preferably derived from the difference of the corrective signal and a signal preferably selected from either the adaptive FIR filter output and the conditioned return signal preferably based one or more derived performance measures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, and in which:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of the prior art;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and
[0016] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0017] Adaptive IIR filters have been long prevalent in modeling acoustic signals, particularly due to their effectiveness in mimicking specific decaying behavior. The use of one or more adaptive IIR filters in echo canceling applications, to the exclusion of other filter structures, is not done due to the wide varying range of conditions in the common echo return paths. Nevertheless, these filters offer many advantages that are desired in echo cancellation when combined with adaptive FIR filters.
[0018] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the present invention as an echo canceling device 200 where the input signal 110 , x k is sent both to an adaptive IIR filter 210 , F k (z), and an adaptive FIR filter 220 , G k (z). The adaptive FIR filter 220 , G k (z), may be represented as the a sum of L taps weighted by adjustable weights or one or more delay states each having a feed-forward gains, g n , for n=0, 1, 2, . . . L. For example, at each time step, k, and for L+1 coefficients, the adaptive FIR filter 220 , G k (z), may be represented as:
G k ( z ) = ∑ n = 0 L g n , k · z - n . [ 3 ]
[0019] The adaptive IIR filter may be represented with poles and zeros or feed-forward gains, b n , for n=0, 1, 2, . . . L, and feedback gains, an, for n=1, 2, . . . L. For example, at each time step, k, and for L+1 feed-forward coefficients and L feedback coefficients, the adaptive IIR filter 210 , F k (z), may be represented as:
F k ( z ) = ∑ n = 0 L b n , k · z - n 1 + ∑ n = 1 L a n , k · z - n . [ 4 ]
[0020] While one adaptive FIR filter and one adaptive IIR filter have been illustrated by example in FIG. 2 , the present embodiment is readily extendable to more than one adaptive FIR filter having an adaptation mechanism and more than one adaptive IIR filter having an adaptation mechanism.
[0021] Both adaptive filters 210 , 220 have coefficients that may be adjusted, or adapted, during the course of the operation of the echo canceling device 200 . The return signal 132 is sent through nonlinear processing (NLP) module 230 for conditioning with the NLP module preferably executing functions including line noise filtering and a double talk threshold testing. The output of the adaptive IIR filter 212 is subtracted from the conditioned return signal 232 and provided as an IIR filter error signal 214 , e F k , to the adaptive IIR filter adaptation mechanism 216 . Similarly, the adaptive FIR filter 220 generates an output signal 222 using the far end input signal 110 as input. The adaptive FIR filter output 212 is subtracted from the conditioned return signal 232 and provided as an FIR filter error signal 224 , e G k , to the adaptive FIR filter adaptation mechanism 226 . Preferably, the IIR error signal 214 , e F k , is used to assess the real time performance of the FIR filter and the FIR error signal 224 , e G k , is used to assess the real time performance of the IIR filter. The derived performance measures are preferably used to select, from the outputs of the adaptive filters, a signal to inject into the return signal path in order to cancel the echo.
[0022] Derived performance measures may also require the return signal. The Echo Return Loss Enhancement (ERLE) is typically defined as the amount of echo signal reduction between the echo signal, e.g., y k , and the error signal, e k =y k -ŷ k . So, for example, the ERLE(dB) may be calculated for K time steps according to:
ERLE ( dB ) = 10 log ( E [ y 2 ( k ) ] E [ e 2 ( k ) ] ) . [ 5 ]
[0023] Poor reductions in the error signal tend to indicate poor fits to the echo signal and may indicate where a filter is behaving erratically, and for the IIR filters, may be working with an unstable set of coefficients.
[0024] Other performance measures that may establish a performance-based selection rule include the magnitude of filter coefficient adjustments over time steps. For example, an indication of an unstable adaptation mechanism may be discerned from the time history of the adjusted coefficients indicating variations inconsistent with settling into a best fit.
[0025] On a performance basis, such as, but not limited to, the ERLE, the IIR filter output 212 or the FIR filter output 222 is selected and used as the echo signal estimate ŷ k 262 , which is presumed the signal having the best estimate of the echo signal 122 , y k , ( FIG. 1 ) and accordingly subtracted from the return signal 132 to yield the near-end input signal estimate 270 , {circumflex over (r)} k . The IIR error signal 214 , e F k , may be used to assess and detect the state of the IIR filter 210 stability, by for example the mean squared error algorithm. Should instability of the adaptive IIR filter 210 be detected, the switch 260 is preferably thrown to select the FIR filter output 222 as the echo signal estimate ŷ k 262 . With the selection of the FIR filter output 222 , the IIR filter is preferably reset and may use a new set of gains selected from a matrix having initial gain sets stored in constituent vectors and the IIR adaptation step size may be adjusted. Additional noise filtering may be applied to the estimated input signal as well preferably prior to sending the estimated input signal 270 , {circumflex over (r)} k . to the far end.
[0026] Preferably, the FIR adaptation mechanism 226 may also be used to determine the stability of the adaptive IIR filter 210 and its adaptation mechanism 216 . For example, the stability detector 240 may continually monitor 248 the relative changes in the filter coefficients of the adaptive FIR filter and its ERLE to determine that the FIR adaptation mechanism 226 has become stable or otherwise self-adjusting in very small and consistent steps. Concurrently, the stability detector 240 is preferably provided the relative changes 246 in the IIR filter gain coefficient values. If the IIR adaptation mechanism 216 is updating its coefficients wildly and producing varying ERLE while the adaptation mechanism of the FIR 226 has settled into a set of gain values consistent over time, the adaptive IIR filter is preferably reset. The stability detector 240 may use ERLE and or other performance measures to assess a preferred filter output as the corrective signal 262 to subtract form, or inject into, the return signal 132 . The stability detector 240 may be included in a switching mechanism, or selector subsystem or selector, to effect the selection of the corrective signal or the switching mechanism may be a separate module 260 .
[0027] Preferably, the selection of one of the outputs 212 , 222 of the adaptive filters 210 , 220 , F k (z) and G k (z), is tied 244 to an increase in the step size, or β, or the value of the adapting gain, in the adaptation mechanism of the unselected filter and is also preferably tied 244 to a decrease in the step size, β, or adapting gain value, in the adaptation mechanism of the selected filter. These step sizes are preferably stored in a table of adapting gains 250 . Accordingly, a new adapting gain for the adaptive FIR adaptation mechanism 254 and a new adapting gain for the adaptive IIR adaptation mechanism 252 may be provided should a selection 242 be sent to throw the switch 260 .
[0028] The adaptive FIR filter adaptation mechanism 226 preferably has a set of initial gains. The gains may stored in a table 250 as a vector of gains where a matrix of these gain vectors may provide for the selection of more than one initial set of filter gains. The initial set of gains may be adjusted at each time step according to an adaptation process. For example, each FIR filter coefficient may increased or decreased by adding to the last coefficient value the product of the step size, β, the error signal, e G k , the normalized far-end input signal, X k /X max . In addition, the adaptation mechanism 226 may be halted or the step size reduced temporarily should the double talk threshold test on the return signal 132 , r k +y k detect a double talk state (DT k ) 234 .
[0029] The adaptive IIR filter adaptation mechanism 216 also preferably has a set of initial gains. As with the adaptive FIR filter 220 , the gains may stored as a vector of gains where a matrix of these gain vectors may provide for the selection of more than one initial set of filter gains from a table 250 . The initial set of gains may be adjusted at each time step according to an adaptation process. Algorithms for recursive adaptive filters preferably include the LMS algorithms, hyperstable adaptive recursive filter algorithms, and sequential regression algorithms. For a minimal number of executions, the LMS algorithms are presently preferred. In addition, the adaptation mechanism of the IIR may be halted or the step size reduced temporarily should the threshold test on the return signal, r k +y k detect a double talk state (DT k ) 234 .
[0030] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary functional block diagram of an alternative embodiment 300 of the present invention. In this example, the far-end input signal 110 , X k , is provided to both the adaptive FIR 320 , G k (z), and the adaptive IIR 310 , F k (z). The output of the adaptive FIR filter 322 , ŷ k , is presumed the best estimate of the echo signal 122 and subtracted from the return signal 132 , r k +y k , to yield the estimated input signal 370 , {circumflex over (r)} k . Additional noise filtering may be applied to the estimated input signal 370 as well prior to sending the estimated input signal to the far end.
[0031] The return signal 132 having both the near-end input signal, r k and an echo signal, y k , is provided to a nonlinear processing module 330 for conditioning where the return signal 132 is preferably filtered for noise and a double talk threshold test is preferably applied. The output of the adaptive IIR filter 312 is subtracted from the conditioned return signal 332 yielding the IIR filter error signal 312 , e F k , where the IIR filter error signal in turn drives, in part, the IIR adaptation mechanism 316 . Preferably the IIR mechanism 316 uses an LMS algorithm taking in the far-end input signal 110 , X k , and the IIR filter error signal 312 , e F k , and other adaptation algorithms for recursive filters may be used instead or in combination such as for example hyperstable adaptive recursive filter algorithms and sequential regression algorithms. By this adaptive IIR filter stage 302 , the echo canceller 300 prepares the adaptive IIR filter 310 as an echo model reference for the adaptive FIR filter 320 . Accordingly, more than one adaptive IIR filter may be used where the selection of the reference for the adaptive FIR filter 320 is based on determined performance characteristics of all of the adaptive IIR filters.
[0032] The adaptive IIR filter output 312 is subtracted from the FIR filter output 322 yielding the FIR filter error signal 324 , e G k , where this FIR filter error signal 322 in turn drives, in part, the FIR adaptation mechanism 326 . The FIR adaptation mechanism 326 preferably uses an LMS algorithm taking in the far-end input signal 110 , X k , and the FIR filter error signal 324 , e G k , as described above and other adaptation algorithm may be used instead or in combination. The adapting gains, or step sizes, β, of the FIR adaptation mechanism 326 are preferably drawn 352 from a table 350 where larger adapting gains may be used for the FIR adaptation mechanism 326 when the adaptive IIR filter 310 is used as the echo reference to aggressively drive the adaptive FIR 320 to converge, that is to drive the FIR filter error signal 324 , e G k , to zero. Accordingly, a stability detecting module 340 is preferably used to monitor the IIR filter error signal 312 , e F k , and monitor 344 the adjustments to the IIR filter gains as generated by the IIR adaptation mechanism 316 . Once the stability detecting module has determined the IIR filter 310 is processing in a stable fashion typically driving the IIR filter error signal 314 , e F k , to or near zero and consistently sustaining this level. Preferably based on the determinations 342 of stability detecting module 340 , the step sizes for the FIR adaptation mechanism 326 preferably provided by the adapting gains table 350 may be increased 352 and the step sizes for the IIR adaptation mechanism 315 preferably provided by the adapting gains table 350 may be increased 354 may be decreased.
[0033] Preferably based on a double talk state (DT k ) 334 provided by a nonlinear processing module 330 having double talk threshold-based detection, both the IIR adaptation mechanism 316 and the FIR adaptation mechanism 326 preferably reduce or halt their respective adaptation mechanisms should a double talk state 334 be signaled by the nonlinear processing module 330 . In addition, the IIR error signal 314 , e F k , is preferably monitored for stability using for example the mean squared error compared with a stability threshold. In addition, continued large adjustments of the IIR gains may be provided 344 to the stability detection module 344 by the IIR adaptation mechanism 316 for determining the stability of the IIR adaptation mechanism. A selector subsystem may include both the stability detection module 430 and a switch 360 or the selector subsystem may be distributed within the system. If the instability threshold is achieved, the stability detection module 340 preferably signals 342 the switch 360 so the output of the FIR filter 322 is subtracted from the conditioned return signal 332 and the IIR gains are reset and may be supplied a new set of gains that are selected from a matrix having gains represented in vectors. Once the IIR is reset, the switch 360 may reset to derive the FIR error signal from the IIR output. In addition, the IIR adapting gain may be selected from a table 350 having values lower in step size than that previously used in the unstable event.
[0034] The words used in this specification to describe the invention and its various embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings, but to include by special definition in this specification structure, material or acts beyond the scope of the commonly defined meanings. Thus if an element can be understood in the context of this specification as including more than one meaning, then its use in a claim must be understood as being generic to all possible meanings supported by the specification and by the word itself.
[0035] Many alterations and modifications may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and its several embodiments disclosed herein. Therefore, it must be understood that the illustrated embodiments have been set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as limiting the invention as defined by the following claims. | Disclosed is a method and system adapted to receive an input signal from a far end transmission, to take in a near end return signal, and to inject into the return signal, prior to sending the return to the far end, a corrective signal whereby, for example, echoes in the return signal may be reduced or cancelled. A first exemplary embodiment includes one or more adaptive infinite impulse response (IIR) filters and one or more adaptive finite-impulse response filters (FIR) filters running in parallel each having an output that may be selected as the corrective signal based on filter performance determinations. A second exemplary embodiment includes an adaptive FIR filter outputting the corrective signal where the adaptive FIR filter has selected for it, based on filter performance determinations, an output of one or more adaptive IIR filters or a conditioned return signal selected as a reference. | Summarize the information, clearly outlining the challenges and proposed solutions. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to methods and systems of echo cancellation and particularly to method and systems of achieving echo cancellation using an adaptive Infinite Impulse Response (IIR) filter and an adaptive Finite-Impulse Response (FIR) filter.",
"BACKGROUND [0002] In transmission or communication system, signals originating from a far end of a communication circuit are received at a near end of the circuit.",
"The received signals, either electrically or acoustically, may find their way into the return path along with near-end input.",
"Far-end reception of the near-end input may include an attenuated and delayed reflection, i.e., an echo, of the original far-end input signals.",
"In telephone systems, whether wired or wireless, these echo phenomena can make a conversation unintelligible.",
"In data communication systems, again whether wired or wireless, such echoes can cause errors in transmission or otherwise degrade throughput performance.",
"[0003] Adaptive filters are used in numerous applications to remove undesired frequency content from a signal and are used in telecommunication systems as echo cancellation systems to remove from a signal echoes that may arise as a result of the reflection and/or unwanted coupling of input signals back to the originator of the input signals.",
"For example, echoes occur in instances where signals that were emitted from a loudspeaker are then received and retransmitted through a microphone, i.e., acoustic echo, or when reflections of a far-end signal are generated in the course of transmission along wiring junctions where impedance mismatch occur, i.e., line echo.",
"[0004] Presently, an adaptive finite-impulse response (FIR) filter may be used to reduce or eliminate the echo where the echo cancellation characteristics are defined in the International Telecommunication Union-Standardization Sector (ITU-T) Recommendations G[.",
"].165 and G[.",
"].168 and the contents of each of the foregoing ITU Recommendations being incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full.",
"FIG. 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of an echo cancellation circuit 150 interposed between the far end and the near end of a telecommunication system 100 where the echo cancellation circuit operates at a near end 102 .",
"The near-end input 130 to return signal 132 is shown as combining with a near-end echo signal 122 represented by the far-end input signal 110 as filtered by, that is, as attenuated and delayed by, the z-domain echo transfer function 120 , H(z).",
"The resulting return signal 132 is represented then as a linear combination of the near-end input signal 130 and the near-end echo signal 122 .",
"[0005] Accordingly, when a digital representation of the echo transfer function is in the form of an adaptive FIR 156 , and the gains are adjusted to mimic the echo transfer function 120 , when the far-end input signal 110 is filtered by the adaptive FIR 156 , the resulting signal 158 may be differenced with the return signal 132 to cancel the echo from the return line signal 132 .",
"As illustrated in FIG. 1 , to accomplish this canceling effect, the post-cancellation return line signal 140 is directed into a nonlinear processing module 152 that may pre-filter background or ambient noise and establish a threshold above which little or no adaptation of the IIR filter is permitted.",
"The threshold logic is us used to address the double talk situations where the return signal may have both near-end input and echo in temporal proximity.",
"If the pre-filtered return line signal is below the threshold, it may be used, at each step k, as an error signal 154 , e k , to drive the adaptation of the gains the FIR filter 156 .",
"The FIR filter may require several delay states with each output or input state being tapped, multiplied by a gain and summed.",
"The gains for the FIR filter may be chosen to represent the most likely echo transfer function 120 , H(z), and subsequently, these gains may be adjusted by relationships driven by the error signal, e k .",
"Least-mean-square (LMS) adaptive algorithms are commonly implemented in adaptive cancellation devices to adjust the gains of the adaptive FIR filter.",
"A FIR filter may be represented as H k ( z ) = ∑ n = 0 L h n , k · z - n [ 1 ] [0006] A typical rule of adaptation or adjustment of the FIR filter gains is to use the product of the error signal 154 , the normalized input signal, and a step size, or adapting gain, β, to adjust the gains.",
"For example, for each filter coefficient, n, where n=0, 1, 2, .",
"L: h n,k+1 =h n,k +β*e ( k )* x k−1 /x max .",
"[2] [0007] FIR filters typically require a long tap delay to model effectively an echo return path.",
"FIR filters, while stable representations of all zero transfer functions, are typically slow to adapt, require more memory than recursive filters memory, and, due to the number of taps, can be computationally cumbersome.",
"[0008] With certain types of input signal, such as human speech, are characterized by the dominance of distinct peaks followed by a long decay over time.",
"A majority of the computation is devoted to FIR coefficient update on the long decay portion of the signal, which actually contributed little significance to the actual echo energy.",
"In addition, performing aggressive adaptive filtering on these low energy decays actually causes error in estimation in many types of adaptive FIR filters, e.g. normalized LMS filters, and degrades the overall echo cancellation performance.",
"[0009] Infinite impulse response (IIR) filters, or recursive filters, are implemented forms of pole-zero transfer functions that do not require a long tap delay.",
"Typically, IIR filters are used to numerically mimic very specific echo return paths in which stability of the pole-zero transfer function can be guaranteed during adaptation.",
"In addition, the poles must be properly represented numerically and thus practical embodiments in digital signal processing require a high degree of precision in implementation because small bit errors can cause large filter errors including instability.",
"Methods of adaptation mechanisms are known to those of ordinary skill in the art and are found described in Adaptive Signal Processing, by Bernard Widrow and Samuel D. Stearns, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1985, particularly pages 99-101 and 154-161.",
"[0010] Accordingly, there remains a need for the rapid convergence of an IIR filter and the stability of an FIR filter to be applied to echo cancellation.",
"The present invention, in its several embodiments provides echo cancellation using an adaptive IIR filter and an adaptive FIR filter.",
"SUMMARY [0011] The invention, in its several embodiments, provides a method and system adapted to receive an input signal, to receive a return signal, and to inject into the return signal a corrective signal, which by way of exemplary application, appreciably cancels echoes in communication systems.",
"A first exemplary system includes a return signal conditioning module adapted to receive the return signal and output a conditioned return signal and an adaptive IIR filter adapted to receive the input signal, wherein the adaptive IIR filter is also adapted to receive one or more gain adjustments from an IIR gain adaptation mechanism that itself is adapted to receive an IIR filter error signal derived from the difference of the adaptive IIR filter outut and the conditioned return signal.",
"The first exemplary embodiments also includes an adaptive FIR filter that is adapted to receive the input signal, wherein the adaptive FIR filter is also adapted to receive one or more gain adjustments from its FIR gain adaptation mechanism that itself is adapted to receive a FIR filter error signal that is preferably derived from the difference of the adaptive FIR filter output and the conditioned return signal.",
"In addition, the first exemplary embodiment includes a selector, or selector subsystem or selection module, that is adapted to receive the IIR filter error signal and the FIR filter error signal and adapted to select the corrective signal from the FIR filter output and the IIR filter output preferably based one or more derived performance measures.",
"The exemplary first embodiment may include one or more adaptive IIR filters and one or more adaptive FIR filters from which the corrective signal selection is made.",
"[0012] A second exemplary system includes: a nonlinear processing module adapted to receive the return signal and output a conditioned return signal and an adaptive IIR filter that is adapted to receive the input signal, wherein the adaptive IIR filter is also adapted to receive one or more gain adjustments from its IIR gain adaptation mechanism that itself is adapted to receive an IIR filter error signal derived from the difference of the adaptive IIR filter output and the conditioned return signal.",
"The second exemplary system embodiment also includes an adaptive FIR filter that is adapted to receive the input signal and output the corrective signal, wherein the adaptive FIR filter is also adapted to receive one or more gain adjustments from its FIR filter gain adaptation mechanism that itself is adapted to receive a FIR filter error signal that is preferably derived from the difference of the corrective signal and a signal preferably selected from either the adaptive FIR filter output and the conditioned return signal preferably based one or more derived performance measures.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0013] The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, and in which: [0014] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of the prior art;",
"[0015] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;",
"and [0016] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0017] Adaptive IIR filters have been long prevalent in modeling acoustic signals, particularly due to their effectiveness in mimicking specific decaying behavior.",
"The use of one or more adaptive IIR filters in echo canceling applications, to the exclusion of other filter structures, is not done due to the wide varying range of conditions in the common echo return paths.",
"Nevertheless, these filters offer many advantages that are desired in echo cancellation when combined with adaptive FIR filters.",
"[0018] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the present invention as an echo canceling device 200 where the input signal 110 , x k is sent both to an adaptive IIR filter 210 , F k (z), and an adaptive FIR filter 220 , G k (z).",
"The adaptive FIR filter 220 , G k (z), may be represented as the a sum of L taps weighted by adjustable weights or one or more delay states each having a feed-forward gains, g n , for n=0, 1, 2, .",
"L. For example, at each time step, k, and for L+1 coefficients, the adaptive FIR filter 220 , G k (z), may be represented as: G k ( z ) = ∑ n = 0 L g n , k · z - n .",
"[ 3 ] [0019] The adaptive IIR filter may be represented with poles and zeros or feed-forward gains, b n , for n=0, 1, 2, .",
"L, and feedback gains, an, for n=1, 2, .",
"L. For example, at each time step, k, and for L+1 feed-forward coefficients and L feedback coefficients, the adaptive IIR filter 210 , F k (z), may be represented as: F k ( z ) = ∑ n = 0 L b n , k · z - n 1 + ∑ n = 1 L a n , k · z - n .",
"[ 4 ] [0020] While one adaptive FIR filter and one adaptive IIR filter have been illustrated by example in FIG. 2 , the present embodiment is readily extendable to more than one adaptive FIR filter having an adaptation mechanism and more than one adaptive IIR filter having an adaptation mechanism.",
"[0021] Both adaptive filters 210 , 220 have coefficients that may be adjusted, or adapted, during the course of the operation of the echo canceling device 200 .",
"The return signal 132 is sent through nonlinear processing (NLP) module 230 for conditioning with the NLP module preferably executing functions including line noise filtering and a double talk threshold testing.",
"The output of the adaptive IIR filter 212 is subtracted from the conditioned return signal 232 and provided as an IIR filter error signal 214 , e F k , to the adaptive IIR filter adaptation mechanism 216 .",
"Similarly, the adaptive FIR filter 220 generates an output signal 222 using the far end input signal 110 as input.",
"The adaptive FIR filter output 212 is subtracted from the conditioned return signal 232 and provided as an FIR filter error signal 224 , e G k , to the adaptive FIR filter adaptation mechanism 226 .",
"Preferably, the IIR error signal 214 , e F k , is used to assess the real time performance of the FIR filter and the FIR error signal 224 , e G k , is used to assess the real time performance of the IIR filter.",
"The derived performance measures are preferably used to select, from the outputs of the adaptive filters, a signal to inject into the return signal path in order to cancel the echo.",
"[0022] Derived performance measures may also require the return signal.",
"The Echo Return Loss Enhancement (ERLE) is typically defined as the amount of echo signal reduction between the echo signal, e.g., y k , and the error signal, e k =y k -ŷ k .",
"So, for example, the ERLE(dB) may be calculated for K time steps according to: ERLE ( dB ) = 10 log ( E [ y 2 ( k ) ] E [ e 2 ( k ) ] ) .",
"[ 5 ] [0023] Poor reductions in the error signal tend to indicate poor fits to the echo signal and may indicate where a filter is behaving erratically, and for the IIR filters, may be working with an unstable set of coefficients.",
"[0024] Other performance measures that may establish a performance-based selection rule include the magnitude of filter coefficient adjustments over time steps.",
"For example, an indication of an unstable adaptation mechanism may be discerned from the time history of the adjusted coefficients indicating variations inconsistent with settling into a best fit.",
"[0025] On a performance basis, such as, but not limited to, the ERLE, the IIR filter output 212 or the FIR filter output 222 is selected and used as the echo signal estimate ŷ k 262 , which is presumed the signal having the best estimate of the echo signal 122 , y k , ( FIG. 1 ) and accordingly subtracted from the return signal 132 to yield the near-end input signal estimate 270 , {circumflex over (r)} k .",
"The IIR error signal 214 , e F k , may be used to assess and detect the state of the IIR filter 210 stability, by for example the mean squared error algorithm.",
"Should instability of the adaptive IIR filter 210 be detected, the switch 260 is preferably thrown to select the FIR filter output 222 as the echo signal estimate ŷ k 262 .",
"With the selection of the FIR filter output 222 , the IIR filter is preferably reset and may use a new set of gains selected from a matrix having initial gain sets stored in constituent vectors and the IIR adaptation step size may be adjusted.",
"Additional noise filtering may be applied to the estimated input signal as well preferably prior to sending the estimated input signal 270 , {circumflex over (r)} k .",
"to the far end.",
"[0026] Preferably, the FIR adaptation mechanism 226 may also be used to determine the stability of the adaptive IIR filter 210 and its adaptation mechanism 216 .",
"For example, the stability detector 240 may continually monitor 248 the relative changes in the filter coefficients of the adaptive FIR filter and its ERLE to determine that the FIR adaptation mechanism 226 has become stable or otherwise self-adjusting in very small and consistent steps.",
"Concurrently, the stability detector 240 is preferably provided the relative changes 246 in the IIR filter gain coefficient values.",
"If the IIR adaptation mechanism 216 is updating its coefficients wildly and producing varying ERLE while the adaptation mechanism of the FIR 226 has settled into a set of gain values consistent over time, the adaptive IIR filter is preferably reset.",
"The stability detector 240 may use ERLE and or other performance measures to assess a preferred filter output as the corrective signal 262 to subtract form, or inject into, the return signal 132 .",
"The stability detector 240 may be included in a switching mechanism, or selector subsystem or selector, to effect the selection of the corrective signal or the switching mechanism may be a separate module 260 .",
"[0027] Preferably, the selection of one of the outputs 212 , 222 of the adaptive filters 210 , 220 , F k (z) and G k (z), is tied 244 to an increase in the step size, or β, or the value of the adapting gain, in the adaptation mechanism of the unselected filter and is also preferably tied 244 to a decrease in the step size, β, or adapting gain value, in the adaptation mechanism of the selected filter.",
"These step sizes are preferably stored in a table of adapting gains 250 .",
"Accordingly, a new adapting gain for the adaptive FIR adaptation mechanism 254 and a new adapting gain for the adaptive IIR adaptation mechanism 252 may be provided should a selection 242 be sent to throw the switch 260 .",
"[0028] The adaptive FIR filter adaptation mechanism 226 preferably has a set of initial gains.",
"The gains may stored in a table 250 as a vector of gains where a matrix of these gain vectors may provide for the selection of more than one initial set of filter gains.",
"The initial set of gains may be adjusted at each time step according to an adaptation process.",
"For example, each FIR filter coefficient may increased or decreased by adding to the last coefficient value the product of the step size, β, the error signal, e G k , the normalized far-end input signal, X k /X max .",
"In addition, the adaptation mechanism 226 may be halted or the step size reduced temporarily should the double talk threshold test on the return signal 132 , r k +y k detect a double talk state (DT k ) 234 .",
"[0029] The adaptive IIR filter adaptation mechanism 216 also preferably has a set of initial gains.",
"As with the adaptive FIR filter 220 , the gains may stored as a vector of gains where a matrix of these gain vectors may provide for the selection of more than one initial set of filter gains from a table 250 .",
"The initial set of gains may be adjusted at each time step according to an adaptation process.",
"Algorithms for recursive adaptive filters preferably include the LMS algorithms, hyperstable adaptive recursive filter algorithms, and sequential regression algorithms.",
"For a minimal number of executions, the LMS algorithms are presently preferred.",
"In addition, the adaptation mechanism of the IIR may be halted or the step size reduced temporarily should the threshold test on the return signal, r k +y k detect a double talk state (DT k ) 234 .",
"[0030] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary functional block diagram of an alternative embodiment 300 of the present invention.",
"In this example, the far-end input signal 110 , X k , is provided to both the adaptive FIR 320 , G k (z), and the adaptive IIR 310 , F k (z).",
"The output of the adaptive FIR filter 322 , ŷ k , is presumed the best estimate of the echo signal 122 and subtracted from the return signal 132 , r k +y k , to yield the estimated input signal 370 , {circumflex over (r)} k .",
"Additional noise filtering may be applied to the estimated input signal 370 as well prior to sending the estimated input signal to the far end.",
"[0031] The return signal 132 having both the near-end input signal, r k and an echo signal, y k , is provided to a nonlinear processing module 330 for conditioning where the return signal 132 is preferably filtered for noise and a double talk threshold test is preferably applied.",
"The output of the adaptive IIR filter 312 is subtracted from the conditioned return signal 332 yielding the IIR filter error signal 312 , e F k , where the IIR filter error signal in turn drives, in part, the IIR adaptation mechanism 316 .",
"Preferably the IIR mechanism 316 uses an LMS algorithm taking in the far-end input signal 110 , X k , and the IIR filter error signal 312 , e F k , and other adaptation algorithms for recursive filters may be used instead or in combination such as for example hyperstable adaptive recursive filter algorithms and sequential regression algorithms.",
"By this adaptive IIR filter stage 302 , the echo canceller 300 prepares the adaptive IIR filter 310 as an echo model reference for the adaptive FIR filter 320 .",
"Accordingly, more than one adaptive IIR filter may be used where the selection of the reference for the adaptive FIR filter 320 is based on determined performance characteristics of all of the adaptive IIR filters.",
"[0032] The adaptive IIR filter output 312 is subtracted from the FIR filter output 322 yielding the FIR filter error signal 324 , e G k , where this FIR filter error signal 322 in turn drives, in part, the FIR adaptation mechanism 326 .",
"The FIR adaptation mechanism 326 preferably uses an LMS algorithm taking in the far-end input signal 110 , X k , and the FIR filter error signal 324 , e G k , as described above and other adaptation algorithm may be used instead or in combination.",
"The adapting gains, or step sizes, β, of the FIR adaptation mechanism 326 are preferably drawn 352 from a table 350 where larger adapting gains may be used for the FIR adaptation mechanism 326 when the adaptive IIR filter 310 is used as the echo reference to aggressively drive the adaptive FIR 320 to converge, that is to drive the FIR filter error signal 324 , e G k , to zero.",
"Accordingly, a stability detecting module 340 is preferably used to monitor the IIR filter error signal 312 , e F k , and monitor 344 the adjustments to the IIR filter gains as generated by the IIR adaptation mechanism 316 .",
"Once the stability detecting module has determined the IIR filter 310 is processing in a stable fashion typically driving the IIR filter error signal 314 , e F k , to or near zero and consistently sustaining this level.",
"Preferably based on the determinations 342 of stability detecting module 340 , the step sizes for the FIR adaptation mechanism 326 preferably provided by the adapting gains table 350 may be increased 352 and the step sizes for the IIR adaptation mechanism 315 preferably provided by the adapting gains table 350 may be increased 354 may be decreased.",
"[0033] Preferably based on a double talk state (DT k ) 334 provided by a nonlinear processing module 330 having double talk threshold-based detection, both the IIR adaptation mechanism 316 and the FIR adaptation mechanism 326 preferably reduce or halt their respective adaptation mechanisms should a double talk state 334 be signaled by the nonlinear processing module 330 .",
"In addition, the IIR error signal 314 , e F k , is preferably monitored for stability using for example the mean squared error compared with a stability threshold.",
"In addition, continued large adjustments of the IIR gains may be provided 344 to the stability detection module 344 by the IIR adaptation mechanism 316 for determining the stability of the IIR adaptation mechanism.",
"A selector subsystem may include both the stability detection module 430 and a switch 360 or the selector subsystem may be distributed within the system.",
"If the instability threshold is achieved, the stability detection module 340 preferably signals 342 the switch 360 so the output of the FIR filter 322 is subtracted from the conditioned return signal 332 and the IIR gains are reset and may be supplied a new set of gains that are selected from a matrix having gains represented in vectors.",
"Once the IIR is reset, the switch 360 may reset to derive the FIR error signal from the IIR output.",
"In addition, the IIR adapting gain may be selected from a table 350 having values lower in step size than that previously used in the unstable event.",
"[0034] The words used in this specification to describe the invention and its various embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings, but to include by special definition in this specification structure, material or acts beyond the scope of the commonly defined meanings.",
"Thus if an element can be understood in the context of this specification as including more than one meaning, then its use in a claim must be understood as being generic to all possible meanings supported by the specification and by the word itself.",
"[0035] Many alterations and modifications may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and its several embodiments disclosed herein.",
"Therefore, it must be understood that the illustrated embodiments have been set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as limiting the invention as defined by the following claims."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No. 104133811 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Oct. 15, 2015, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Some references, if any, which may include patents, patent applications and various publications, may be cited and discussed in the description of this invention. The citation and/or discussion of such references, if any, is provided merely to clarify the description of the present invention and is not an admission that any such reference is “prior art” to the invention described herein. All references listed, cited and/or discussed in this specification are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties and to the same extent as if each reference was individually incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a thin film transistor and a manufacturing method thereof, and in particular, to a thin film transistor having a gate electrode provided with through holes and a manufacturing method thereof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Flat display panels having excellent features such as radiation free and high definition have dominated the market. Common flat displays include liquid crystal displays, plasma displays, organic electroluminescent displays, and the like. By using the most common liquid crystal displays as an example, the liquid crystal display is mainly formed by a pixel array substrate, a color filter substrate, and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the two. On the conventional pixel array substrate, thin film transistors are mostly used as switching elements of pixel structures, and therefore, the performance of the liquid crystal display depends on the quality of the thin film transistors. In other words, the conductivity of a channel layer in the thin film transistor greatly affects the quality of the thin film transistor and the performance of the liquid crystal display.
On the other hand, in the process of manufacturing the thin film transistor, four masks are needed to respectively pattern a gate electrode, an oxide semiconductor, an etching stop layer and a source electrode/drain electrode. However, the masks are expensive, and using a large number of masks to manufacture the thin film transistors will increase the overall manufacturing cost. Therefore, how to reduce the number of the masks as well as improve the quality of the thin film transistor becomes a task for the liquid crystal display industry that is in urgent need to be solved.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect, the present invention relates to a thin film transistor, where a gate electrode thereof has through holes, so as to effectively reduce the number of masks required in the process and improve the conductivity of a channel layer.
In one embodiment, a thin film transistor includes a substrate, a gate electrode, a channel layer located on the gate electrode, a gate insulation layer disposed between the gate electrode and the channel layer, an etching stop layer disposed on the channel layer, and a source electrode and a drain electrode disposed on the etching stop layer. The gate electrode has multiple through holes, the etching stop layer has multiple contact holes to expose a part of the channel layer, and the source electrode and the drain electrode are respectively electrically connected to the channel layer through the contact holes.
In certain embodiments, the through holes overlap the contact holes.
In certain embodiments, edges of the through holes are substantially aligned to edges of the contact hole.
In certain embodiments, a conductivity of a region of the channel layer exposed by the contact holes is greater than a conductivity of a region of the channel layer shielded by the etching stop layer.
In certain embodiments, a diameter of each through hole is about 1-2 μm greater than a diameter of each contact hole. In one embodiment, the diameter of each contact hole is between 3 μm and 5 μm.
In certain embodiments, the gate insulation layer comprises SiOx, SiNx, or a stacked structure thereof. The channel layer is made of a material selected from at least one of an amorphous silicon material, a polysilicon material, and a metal oxide semiconductor material. The etching stop layer is made of a material selected from at least one of silicon oxide (SiOx) and aluminum oxide (AlOx).
In another aspect, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a thin film transistor. In certain embodiments, the method includes the steps of: providing a substrate; forming a gate electrode on the substrate, where the gate electrode has a plurality of through holes; forming a gate insulation layer on the gate electrode; forming a channel layer on the gate insulation layer; forming an etching stop layer on the channel layer; patterning the etching stop layer, so as to forming a plurality of contact holes in the etching stop layer to expose part of the channel layers; and forming a source electrode and a drain electrode on the etching stop layer, where the source electrode and the drain electrode are respectively electrically connected to the channel layer through the contact holes.
In certain embodiments, the step of patterning the etching stop layer includes: forming a photoresist layer on the etching stop layer; patterning the photoresist layer by using the gate electrode as an exposure mask, so as to expose a part of the etching stop layer; and removing the part of the etching stop layer exposed by the photoresist layer, so as to form the contact holes.
In certain embodiments, the step of patterning the photoresist layer includes: irradiating an ultraviolet light from a bottom side of the substrate, such that a conductivity of a region of the channel layer exposed by the contact holes is greater than a conductivity of a region of the channel layer shielded by the etching stop layer.
In certain embodiments, the contact holes overlapped with the through holes in a direction perpendicular to the substrate.
Based on the above, the gate electrode in the thin film transistor has the through holes, so that the process of forming the contact holes in the etching stop layer can be implemented by using backside exposure. Therefore, compared with the conventional thin film transistor, a mask can be saved, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost and reducing alignment error. On the other hand, as part of the channel layer is irradiated by light in the process of backside exposure, the conductivity of the regions can be improved, thereby improving the quality of the thin film transistor and the liquid crystal display.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the following drawings, although variations and modifications therein may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings illustrate one or more embodiments of the disclosure and together with the written description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements of an embodiment.
FIGS. 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A are top views of schematic flow charts of a manufacturing method of a thin film transistor according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 1B, 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B and 6B are cross-sectional views of the schematic flow charts along a line A-A′ of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A , respectively. FIG. 7 is a linear IDS-VGS curve graph of a conventional thin film transistor and a thin film transistor according to one embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Various embodiments of the invention are now described in detail. Referring to the drawings, like numbers indicate like components throughout the views. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Moreover, titles or subtitles may be used in the specification for the convenience of a reader, which shall have no influence on the scope of the present invention.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “on” another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may be present therebetween. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” another element, there are no intervening elements present. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Furthermore, relative terms, such as “lower” or “bottom” and “upper” or “top,” may be used herein to describe one element's relationship to another element as illustrated in the Figures. It will be understood that relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the Figures. For example, if the device in one of the figures is turned over, elements described as being on the “lower” side of other elements would then be oriented on “upper” sides of the other elements. The exemplary term “lower”, can therefore, encompasses both an orientation of “lower” and “upper,” depending of the particular orientation of the figure. Similarly, if the device in one of the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements would then be oriented “above” the other elements. The exemplary terms “below” or “beneath” can, therefore, encompass both an orientation of above and below.
As used herein, “around”, “about” or “approximately” shall generally mean within 20 percent, preferably within 10 percent, and more preferably within 5 percent of a given value or range. Numerical quantities given herein are approximate, meaning that the term “around”, “about” or “approximately” can be inferred if not expressly stated.
As used herein, the terms “comprising”, “including”, “carrying”, “having”, “containing”, “involving”, and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to.
The description will be made as to the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in FIGS. 1-7 . In accordance with the purposes of this invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, this invention, in one aspect, relates to a thin film transistor and a method for manufacturing the thin film transistor.
FIGS. 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A are top views of schematic flow charts of a manufacturing method of a thin film transistor according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 1B, 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B and 6B are cross sectional views of the schematic flow charts along a line A-A′ of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A , respectively.
Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B , a substrate 100 is provided, and a first conductive material layer 200 is formed on the substrate 100 . In certain embodiments, the material of the substrate 100 may be glass, quartz, organic polymer, or other applicable materials. In certain embodiments, since backside exposure is performed in the subsequent process, the material of the substrate 100 is a material having high light transmittance. In certain embodiments, considering the conductivity, a metal material is generally used as the first conductive material layer 200 , but the present invention is not limited thereto. The first conductive material layer 200 may also be another type of conductive material, for example, alloy, a nitride of a metal material, an oxide of a metal material, an oxynitride of a metal material, or a stacked layer of metal materials and other conductive materials.
Then, a patterning process is performed on the first conductive material layer 200 , so as to form a gate electrode G on the substrate 100 , as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B . The gate electrode G has a plurality of through holes TH, and each of the through holes TH respectively have the diameter Y. In this embodiment, two through holes TH are used as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, as required in the subsequent process, the gate electrode G may also have more than two through holes TH. In certain embodiments, the diameter Y of each of the through holes TH is between 3 μm and 7 μm.
Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B , after the gate electrode G is formed, a gate insulation layer GI and a channel layer CH are formed sequentially on top of the gate electrode G. The material of the gate insulation layer GI is, for example, an inorganic dielectric material. In certain embodiments, the material of the gate insulation layer GI may include, for example, silicon oxide (SiOx), silicon nitride (SiNx), or a stacked structure thereof In certain embodiments, the material of the channel layer CH may be selected from at least one of an amorphous silicon material, a polysilicon material, or a metal oxide semiconductor material, including amorphous silicon (a-Si), indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), tin oxide (SnO), indium-zinc oxide (IZO), gallium-zinc oxide (GZO), zinc-tin oxide (ZTO) or indium-tin oxide (ITO), but the present invention is not limited thereto. In certain embodiments, the two through holes TH in the channel layer CH and in the gate electrode G overlap with each other.
As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B , an etching stop layer ES and a photoresist layer PR are formed on the gate insulation layer GI and the channel layer CH. In certain embodiments, the material of the etching stop layer ES is, for example, SiOx or aluminum oxide (AlOx). However, the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, other suitable materials may also be used as the etching stop layer ES. The etching stop layer ES is function as blocking an etchant used in the subsequent process, so as to prevent the etchant from damaging other elements such as the channel layer CH. In certain embodiment, the material of the photoresist layer PR is, for example, photosensitive resin or other photosensitive materials.
Then, ultraviolet (UV) light is used to conduct backside exposure and etching processes on the semi-finished product of the thin film transistor, so as to pattern the etching stop layer ES, thereby obtaining the structure shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B . In certain embodiments, in the process, the gate electrode G having the through holes TH is used as the mask, and the photoresist layer PR is patterned by the UV light so that the photoresist layer PR exposes part of the etching stop layer ES. Then, the part of the etching stop layer ES exposed by the photoresist layer PR is removed, so as to pattern the etching stop layer ES, such that the etching stop layer ES has contact holes C that expose part of the channel layer CH. The gate electrode G is used as the mask, and therefore, in certain embodiments, the contact holes C of the etching stop layer ES will completely overlap the through holes TH of the gate electrode G. In other words, edges of the contact holes C of the etching stop layer ES substantially align with edges of the through holes TH of the gate electrode G. In this case, the diameter X of the contact hole C equals the diameter Y of the through hole TH. In certain embodiments, based on using of different etching methods matched with corresponding photoresist, the edges of the contact holes C of the etching stop layer ES may also not be aligned with edges of the through holes TH of the gate electrode G. In one embodiment, the contact hole C may be smaller than the through hole TH. For example, the diameter X of the contact hole C is between 3 μm and 5 μm, and the diameter Y of each through hole TH is between X and X+2 μm. In certain embodiments, the UV light is used as an example of the irradiation light, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, other types of light may be used with specific photoresist to reach the same patterning effect.
In view of the above, the patterning of the etching stop layer ES is implemented by using backside exposure, and therefore, the UV light will irradiate the part of the channel layer CH corresponding to the through hole TH of the gate electrode G, thereby forming a first channel region 300 a . On the other hand, the region of the channel layer CH that is shielded by the gate electrode G and is not irradiated by the UV light forms a second channel region 300 b . The first channel region 300 a is irradiated by the UV light, so that it has greater conductivity than the second channel region 300 b . In other words, the conductivity of the first channel region 300 a exposed by the contact hole C is greater than the conductivity of the second channel region 300 b shielded by the etching stop layer ES.
Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B together, after finishing the patterning of the etching stop layer ES, the photoresist layer PR is first removed, and a source electrode S and a drain electrode D are then formed on the etching stop layer ES. In certain embodiments, a second conductive material layer (not shown) is formed on the etching stop layer ES, and the second conductive material layer is patterned by using photolithography to form the source electrode S and the drain electrode D. The material of the second conductive material layer may be the same as or different from the material of the first conductive material layer 200 . In other words, the source electrode S and the drain electrode D may be formed by at least one material selected from a metal material, alloy, a nitride of a metal material, an oxide of a metal material, an oxynitride of a metal material, or a stacked layer of a metal material and other conductive materials. The source electrode S and the drain electrode D are respectively electrically connected to the channel layer CH through the contact holes C. In certain embodiments, the first channel region 300 a is electrically connected to the source electrode S and the drain electrode D respectively through the contact holes C and the second channel region 300 b is shielded by the etching stop layer ES. The region exposed by the contact hole C is the first channel region 300 a , and therefore, the source electrode S and the drain electrode D are substantially electrically connected to the corresponding first channel region 300 a having greater conductivity. Therefore, the thin film transistor according to certain embodiments of the present invention has better conductivity.
FIG. 7 is a linear IDS-VGS curve graph of a conventional thin film transistor and a thin film transistor of an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 7 , the curve A represents a curve of the thin film transistor in an embodiment of the present invention, and the curve B represents a curve of the conventional thin film transistor. Specifically, a gate electrode of the thin film transistor of the curve A includes through holes, a gate electrode of the thin film transistor of the curve B does not include any through hole, and therefore, a channel layer in the thin film transistor of the curve B will not be irradiated by a backlight source. As shown in FIG. 7 , under the same gate-source electrode voltage, the curve A has higher linear drain-source electrode amperage, and this is more obvious when the voltage is higher. In other words, the thin film transistor represented by the curve A has better conductivity than the thin film transistor represented by the curve B. The curves shown in FIG. 7 prove that, the source electrode S and the drain electrode D are substantially electrically connected to the first channel region 300 a having greater conductivity, so that the thin film transistor according to certain embodiments of the present invention has better conductivity as compared with the conventional thin film transistor.
In view of the above, the gate electrode in the thin film transistor according to certain embodiments of the present invention has the through holes, so that the process of forming the contact holes in the etching stop layer may be implemented by using backside exposure. Therefore, compared with the conventional thin film transistor, a mask may be omitted, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost and reducing the alignment error. Further, part of the channel layer is irradiated by the light in the process of backside exposure, so that the conducting performance of the regions may be improved, thereby improving the qualities of the thin film transistor and the liquid crystal display.
The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the invention has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments are chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and their practical application so as to activate others skilled in the art to utilize the invention and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from its spirit and scope. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and the exemplary embodiments described therein. | A thin film transistor includes a substrate, a gate electrode disposed on the substrate, a channel layer located on the gate electrode, a gate insulation layer disposed between the gate electrode and the channel layer, an etching stop layer disposed on the channel layer, and a source electrode and a drain electrode disposed on the etching stop layer. The gate electrode has multiple through holes, the etching stop layer has multiple contact holes overlapped with the through holes in a direction perpendicular to the substrate, and the source and drain electrodes are respectively electrically connected to the channel layer through the contact holes. A method of manufacturing the thin film transistor, where the contact holes in the etching stop layer are formed by backside exposure using the gate electrode as a mask. A conductivity of a region of the channel layer exposed by the contact holes has a great conductivity. | Briefly summarize the main idea's components and working principles as described in the context. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No. 104133811 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Oct. 15, 2015, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.",
"Some references, if any, which may include patents, patent applications and various publications, may be cited and discussed in the description of this invention.",
"The citation and/or discussion of such references, if any, is provided merely to clarify the description of the present invention and is not an admission that any such reference is “prior art”",
"to the invention described herein.",
"All references listed, cited and/or discussed in this specification are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties and to the same extent as if each reference was individually incorporated by reference.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a thin film transistor and a manufacturing method thereof, and in particular, to a thin film transistor having a gate electrode provided with through holes and a manufacturing method thereof.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Flat display panels having excellent features such as radiation free and high definition have dominated the market.",
"Common flat displays include liquid crystal displays, plasma displays, organic electroluminescent displays, and the like.",
"By using the most common liquid crystal displays as an example, the liquid crystal display is mainly formed by a pixel array substrate, a color filter substrate, and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the two.",
"On the conventional pixel array substrate, thin film transistors are mostly used as switching elements of pixel structures, and therefore, the performance of the liquid crystal display depends on the quality of the thin film transistors.",
"In other words, the conductivity of a channel layer in the thin film transistor greatly affects the quality of the thin film transistor and the performance of the liquid crystal display.",
"On the other hand, in the process of manufacturing the thin film transistor, four masks are needed to respectively pattern a gate electrode, an oxide semiconductor, an etching stop layer and a source electrode/drain electrode.",
"However, the masks are expensive, and using a large number of masks to manufacture the thin film transistors will increase the overall manufacturing cost.",
"Therefore, how to reduce the number of the masks as well as improve the quality of the thin film transistor becomes a task for the liquid crystal display industry that is in urgent need to be solved.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one aspect, the present invention relates to a thin film transistor, where a gate electrode thereof has through holes, so as to effectively reduce the number of masks required in the process and improve the conductivity of a channel layer.",
"In one embodiment, a thin film transistor includes a substrate, a gate electrode, a channel layer located on the gate electrode, a gate insulation layer disposed between the gate electrode and the channel layer, an etching stop layer disposed on the channel layer, and a source electrode and a drain electrode disposed on the etching stop layer.",
"The gate electrode has multiple through holes, the etching stop layer has multiple contact holes to expose a part of the channel layer, and the source electrode and the drain electrode are respectively electrically connected to the channel layer through the contact holes.",
"In certain embodiments, the through holes overlap the contact holes.",
"In certain embodiments, edges of the through holes are substantially aligned to edges of the contact hole.",
"In certain embodiments, a conductivity of a region of the channel layer exposed by the contact holes is greater than a conductivity of a region of the channel layer shielded by the etching stop layer.",
"In certain embodiments, a diameter of each through hole is about 1-2 μm greater than a diameter of each contact hole.",
"In one embodiment, the diameter of each contact hole is between 3 μm and 5 μm.",
"In certain embodiments, the gate insulation layer comprises SiOx, SiNx, or a stacked structure thereof.",
"The channel layer is made of a material selected from at least one of an amorphous silicon material, a polysilicon material, and a metal oxide semiconductor material.",
"The etching stop layer is made of a material selected from at least one of silicon oxide (SiOx) and aluminum oxide (AlOx).",
"In another aspect, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a thin film transistor.",
"In certain embodiments, the method includes the steps of: providing a substrate;",
"forming a gate electrode on the substrate, where the gate electrode has a plurality of through holes;",
"forming a gate insulation layer on the gate electrode;",
"forming a channel layer on the gate insulation layer;",
"forming an etching stop layer on the channel layer;",
"patterning the etching stop layer, so as to forming a plurality of contact holes in the etching stop layer to expose part of the channel layers;",
"and forming a source electrode and a drain electrode on the etching stop layer, where the source electrode and the drain electrode are respectively electrically connected to the channel layer through the contact holes.",
"In certain embodiments, the step of patterning the etching stop layer includes: forming a photoresist layer on the etching stop layer;",
"patterning the photoresist layer by using the gate electrode as an exposure mask, so as to expose a part of the etching stop layer;",
"and removing the part of the etching stop layer exposed by the photoresist layer, so as to form the contact holes.",
"In certain embodiments, the step of patterning the photoresist layer includes: irradiating an ultraviolet light from a bottom side of the substrate, such that a conductivity of a region of the channel layer exposed by the contact holes is greater than a conductivity of a region of the channel layer shielded by the etching stop layer.",
"In certain embodiments, the contact holes overlapped with the through holes in a direction perpendicular to the substrate.",
"Based on the above, the gate electrode in the thin film transistor has the through holes, so that the process of forming the contact holes in the etching stop layer can be implemented by using backside exposure.",
"Therefore, compared with the conventional thin film transistor, a mask can be saved, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost and reducing alignment error.",
"On the other hand, as part of the channel layer is irradiated by light in the process of backside exposure, the conductivity of the regions can be improved, thereby improving the quality of the thin film transistor and the liquid crystal display.",
"These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the following drawings, although variations and modifications therein may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings illustrate one or more embodiments of the disclosure and together with the written description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.",
"Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements of an embodiment.",
"FIGS. 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A are top views of schematic flow charts of a manufacturing method of a thin film transistor according to one embodiment of the present invention.",
"FIGS. 1B, 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B and 6B are cross-sectional views of the schematic flow charts along a line A-A′ of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A , respectively.",
"FIG. 7 is a linear IDS-VGS curve graph of a conventional thin film transistor and a thin film transistor according to one embodiment of the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art.",
"Various embodiments of the invention are now described in detail.",
"Referring to the drawings, like numbers indicate like components throughout the views.",
"As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the”",
"includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.",
"Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in”",
"includes “in”",
"and “on”",
"unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.",
"Moreover, titles or subtitles may be used in the specification for the convenience of a reader, which shall have no influence on the scope of the present invention.",
"It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “on”",
"another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may be present therebetween.",
"In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on”",
"another element, there are no intervening elements present.",
"As used herein, the term “and/or”",
"includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.",
"Furthermore, relative terms, such as “lower”",
"or “bottom”",
"and “upper”",
"or “top,” may be used herein to describe one element's relationship to another element as illustrated in the Figures.",
"It will be understood that relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the Figures.",
"For example, if the device in one of the figures is turned over, elements described as being on the “lower”",
"side of other elements would then be oriented on “upper”",
"sides of the other elements.",
"The exemplary term “lower”, can therefore, encompasses both an orientation of “lower”",
"and “upper,” depending of the particular orientation of the figure.",
"Similarly, if the device in one of the figures is turned over, elements described as “below”",
"or “beneath”",
"other elements would then be oriented “above”",
"the other elements.",
"The exemplary terms “below”",
"or “beneath”",
"can, therefore, encompass both an orientation of above and below.",
"As used herein, “around”, “about”",
"or “approximately”",
"shall generally mean within 20 percent, preferably within 10 percent, and more preferably within 5 percent of a given value or range.",
"Numerical quantities given herein are approximate, meaning that the term “around”, “about”",
"or “approximately”",
"can be inferred if not expressly stated.",
"As used herein, the terms “comprising”, “including”, “carrying”, “having”, “containing”, “involving”, and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to.",
"The description will be made as to the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in FIGS. 1-7 .",
"In accordance with the purposes of this invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, this invention, in one aspect, relates to a thin film transistor and a method for manufacturing the thin film transistor.",
"FIGS. 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A are top views of schematic flow charts of a manufacturing method of a thin film transistor according to one embodiment of the present invention.",
"FIGS. 1B, 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B and 6B are cross sectional views of the schematic flow charts along a line A-A′ of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A , respectively.",
"Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B , a substrate 100 is provided, and a first conductive material layer 200 is formed on the substrate 100 .",
"In certain embodiments, the material of the substrate 100 may be glass, quartz, organic polymer, or other applicable materials.",
"In certain embodiments, since backside exposure is performed in the subsequent process, the material of the substrate 100 is a material having high light transmittance.",
"In certain embodiments, considering the conductivity, a metal material is generally used as the first conductive material layer 200 , but the present invention is not limited thereto.",
"The first conductive material layer 200 may also be another type of conductive material, for example, alloy, a nitride of a metal material, an oxide of a metal material, an oxynitride of a metal material, or a stacked layer of metal materials and other conductive materials.",
"Then, a patterning process is performed on the first conductive material layer 200 , so as to form a gate electrode G on the substrate 100 , as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B .",
"The gate electrode G has a plurality of through holes TH, and each of the through holes TH respectively have the diameter Y. In this embodiment, two through holes TH are used as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto.",
"In other embodiments, as required in the subsequent process, the gate electrode G may also have more than two through holes TH.",
"In certain embodiments, the diameter Y of each of the through holes TH is between 3 μm and 7 μm.",
"Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B , after the gate electrode G is formed, a gate insulation layer GI and a channel layer CH are formed sequentially on top of the gate electrode G. The material of the gate insulation layer GI is, for example, an inorganic dielectric material.",
"In certain embodiments, the material of the gate insulation layer GI may include, for example, silicon oxide (SiOx), silicon nitride (SiNx), or a stacked structure thereof In certain embodiments, the material of the channel layer CH may be selected from at least one of an amorphous silicon material, a polysilicon material, or a metal oxide semiconductor material, including amorphous silicon (a-Si), indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), tin oxide (SnO), indium-zinc oxide (IZO), gallium-zinc oxide (GZO), zinc-tin oxide (ZTO) or indium-tin oxide (ITO), but the present invention is not limited thereto.",
"In certain embodiments, the two through holes TH in the channel layer CH and in the gate electrode G overlap with each other.",
"As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B , an etching stop layer ES and a photoresist layer PR are formed on the gate insulation layer GI and the channel layer CH.",
"In certain embodiments, the material of the etching stop layer ES is, for example, SiOx or aluminum oxide (AlOx).",
"However, the present invention is not limited thereto.",
"In other embodiments, other suitable materials may also be used as the etching stop layer ES.",
"The etching stop layer ES is function as blocking an etchant used in the subsequent process, so as to prevent the etchant from damaging other elements such as the channel layer CH.",
"In certain embodiment, the material of the photoresist layer PR is, for example, photosensitive resin or other photosensitive materials.",
"Then, ultraviolet (UV) light is used to conduct backside exposure and etching processes on the semi-finished product of the thin film transistor, so as to pattern the etching stop layer ES, thereby obtaining the structure shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B .",
"In certain embodiments, in the process, the gate electrode G having the through holes TH is used as the mask, and the photoresist layer PR is patterned by the UV light so that the photoresist layer PR exposes part of the etching stop layer ES.",
"Then, the part of the etching stop layer ES exposed by the photoresist layer PR is removed, so as to pattern the etching stop layer ES, such that the etching stop layer ES has contact holes C that expose part of the channel layer CH.",
"The gate electrode G is used as the mask, and therefore, in certain embodiments, the contact holes C of the etching stop layer ES will completely overlap the through holes TH of the gate electrode G. In other words, edges of the contact holes C of the etching stop layer ES substantially align with edges of the through holes TH of the gate electrode G. In this case, the diameter X of the contact hole C equals the diameter Y of the through hole TH.",
"In certain embodiments, based on using of different etching methods matched with corresponding photoresist, the edges of the contact holes C of the etching stop layer ES may also not be aligned with edges of the through holes TH of the gate electrode G. In one embodiment, the contact hole C may be smaller than the through hole TH.",
"For example, the diameter X of the contact hole C is between 3 μm and 5 μm, and the diameter Y of each through hole TH is between X and X+2 μm.",
"In certain embodiments, the UV light is used as an example of the irradiation light, but the present invention is not limited thereto.",
"In other embodiments, other types of light may be used with specific photoresist to reach the same patterning effect.",
"In view of the above, the patterning of the etching stop layer ES is implemented by using backside exposure, and therefore, the UV light will irradiate the part of the channel layer CH corresponding to the through hole TH of the gate electrode G, thereby forming a first channel region 300 a .",
"On the other hand, the region of the channel layer CH that is shielded by the gate electrode G and is not irradiated by the UV light forms a second channel region 300 b .",
"The first channel region 300 a is irradiated by the UV light, so that it has greater conductivity than the second channel region 300 b .",
"In other words, the conductivity of the first channel region 300 a exposed by the contact hole C is greater than the conductivity of the second channel region 300 b shielded by the etching stop layer ES.",
"Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B together, after finishing the patterning of the etching stop layer ES, the photoresist layer PR is first removed, and a source electrode S and a drain electrode D are then formed on the etching stop layer ES.",
"In certain embodiments, a second conductive material layer (not shown) is formed on the etching stop layer ES, and the second conductive material layer is patterned by using photolithography to form the source electrode S and the drain electrode D. The material of the second conductive material layer may be the same as or different from the material of the first conductive material layer 200 .",
"In other words, the source electrode S and the drain electrode D may be formed by at least one material selected from a metal material, alloy, a nitride of a metal material, an oxide of a metal material, an oxynitride of a metal material, or a stacked layer of a metal material and other conductive materials.",
"The source electrode S and the drain electrode D are respectively electrically connected to the channel layer CH through the contact holes C. In certain embodiments, the first channel region 300 a is electrically connected to the source electrode S and the drain electrode D respectively through the contact holes C and the second channel region 300 b is shielded by the etching stop layer ES.",
"The region exposed by the contact hole C is the first channel region 300 a , and therefore, the source electrode S and the drain electrode D are substantially electrically connected to the corresponding first channel region 300 a having greater conductivity.",
"Therefore, the thin film transistor according to certain embodiments of the present invention has better conductivity.",
"FIG. 7 is a linear IDS-VGS curve graph of a conventional thin film transistor and a thin film transistor of an embodiment of the present invention.",
"Referring to FIG. 7 , the curve A represents a curve of the thin film transistor in an embodiment of the present invention, and the curve B represents a curve of the conventional thin film transistor.",
"Specifically, a gate electrode of the thin film transistor of the curve A includes through holes, a gate electrode of the thin film transistor of the curve B does not include any through hole, and therefore, a channel layer in the thin film transistor of the curve B will not be irradiated by a backlight source.",
"As shown in FIG. 7 , under the same gate-source electrode voltage, the curve A has higher linear drain-source electrode amperage, and this is more obvious when the voltage is higher.",
"In other words, the thin film transistor represented by the curve A has better conductivity than the thin film transistor represented by the curve B. The curves shown in FIG. 7 prove that, the source electrode S and the drain electrode D are substantially electrically connected to the first channel region 300 a having greater conductivity, so that the thin film transistor according to certain embodiments of the present invention has better conductivity as compared with the conventional thin film transistor.",
"In view of the above, the gate electrode in the thin film transistor according to certain embodiments of the present invention has the through holes, so that the process of forming the contact holes in the etching stop layer may be implemented by using backside exposure.",
"Therefore, compared with the conventional thin film transistor, a mask may be omitted, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost and reducing the alignment error.",
"Further, part of the channel layer is irradiated by the light in the process of backside exposure, so that the conducting performance of the regions may be improved, thereby improving the qualities of the thin film transistor and the liquid crystal display.",
"The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the invention has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed.",
"Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.",
"The embodiments are chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and their practical application so as to activate others skilled in the art to utilize the invention and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.",
"Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from its spirit and scope.",
"Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and the exemplary embodiments described therein."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a method for identifying a first subscriber of a telecommunications network, a reception terminal for identifying a first subscriber of a telecommunications network and a transmission terminal. It is known that in various telecommunications networks the called subscriber of a telecommunications network is already informed of who the calling subscriber of the telecommunications network is during the connection set-up through a communication on a display unit of the reception terminal which is assigned to him/her. The performance feature of the telecommunications network which is known by the term “caller identification” is offered, for example, within the mobile radio network known as Global System for Mobile Communications GSM.
[0002] The communication of the terminal identifier of the calling subscriber to the called subscriber is also offered as a performance feature of the line-bound Euro-ISDN telecommunications network. It is also known by the name Calling Line Identification Presentation CLIP. However, the calling subscriber can suppress the transmission of his/her terminal identifier to the called subscriber within the Euro-ISDN telecommunications network. This performance feature is known by the name Calling Line Identification Restriction CLIR. The call number and the name of the calling subscriber can be presented on the display unit of the called subscriber. Furthermore, there is a display there indicating whether the connection is an internal telephone connection of an enclosed telecommunications network; for example, a company network, or an external telephone connection.
[0003] On the other hand, printed visitor's cards for identifying a person to other persons are handed over when people meet.
[0004] During the setting up of the telephone connection (i.e., in the signaling phase), a ringing tone generally sounds at the called subscriber of a telecommunications network. The type or form of expression of the ringing tone cannot be influenced by the calling subscriber.
[0005] The present invention is therefore directed to a technical solution for identifying a first subscriber of a telecommunications network, which solution entails a greater variety of identification possibilities.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] According to the present invention, in a method for identifying a first subscriber of a telecommunications network, the first subscriber is identified in such a way that information of at least one information type for identifying the first subscriber is output at at least one reception terminal, with only the output of information of the text information type at the at least one reception terminal being excluded.
[0007] One advantage of the present invention is that the calling subscriber of a telecommunications network is identified more quickly by the called subscribers of the telecommunications network if, for example, when the telephone connection is set up, a photo of the calling subscriber is on the display unit of the reception terminals of the called subscribers.
[0008] A further advantage of the present invention is that, by virtue of the possibility of connecting information of one or more information types, such as via a video or music, it is possible for the calling subscriber to present himself/herself to the called subscribers in a particularly advantageous and comprehensive fashion. Companies could, for example, make it obligatory for the company logo to appear on the display unit of the reception terminals of the called customers when a telephone connection from their employees is set up.
[0009] It is also advantageous for the information of at least one type of information, such as of a multimedia visitor's card, for identifying subscribers of the telecommunications network to be integrated both when setting up a voice connection and during an existing voice connection.
[0010] Furthermore, the inclusion of voice or music makes it possible that blind persons to whom a call is to be set up already can recognize the calling subscriber of the telecommunications network during the signaling phase.
[0011] It is also advantageous for the calling subscriber of the telecommunications network to assign a priority to the call when the telephone connection is set up. This priority, such as a particular urgency, is indicated to the called subscriber by a particular expression of the ringing tone. The called subscriber then decides whether he/she will accept the call.
[0012] Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described in, and will be apparent from, the following Detailed Description of the Invention and the Figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a telecommunications network in which a first subscriber having a transmission terminal which is operated by him/her sets up or maintains a telephone connection to one or more further subscribers, each of the one or more further subscribers operating a reception terminal.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Within a telecommunications network TKN there are a number of subscribers T 1 , . . . , Tn. The subscriber T 1 is operating a transmission terminal SEE 1 . Each of the subscribers T 2 , . . . , Tn is operating a reception terminal EEE 1 . The transmission terminal SEE 1 and reception terminal EEE 1 also may be embodied, for example, as a telephone terminal for line-bound or mobile communication. Furthermore, the transmission terminal SEE 1 and the reception terminal EEE 1 can be embodied as a computer with a telephone function or as a further terminal device for transmitting and receiving data.
[0015] The first subscriber T 1 sets up a call to the second subscriber T 2 within the telecommunications network TKN. Since the first subscriber T 1 has a particularly important and urgent request for the second subscriber T 2 , the first subscriber T 1 selects a high priority for his/her call. This is done by the first subscriber T 1 pressing a “priority key” on the transmission terminal SEE 1 or selecting the “high priority” feature from a memory of the transmission terminal SEE 1 after he/she has input the call number of the second subscriber T 2 . The first subscriber T 1 then presses the start key on the transmission terminal SEE 1 so that the call set-up starts. The fact that the call has a high priority for the first subscriber T 1 is indicated to the second subscriber T 2 by the type or expression of the ringing tone during the signaling phase. As a result, in the case of this call the ringing tone is expressed as a SOS tone. The called second subscriber T 2 can take into account the expression of the ringing tone in such a way that he/she accepts the call or records a message on an answering machine which is connected to the reception terminal EEE 1 .
[0016] The first subscriber T 1 , in turn sets up a call to the second subscriber T 2 . The first subscriber Ti would like the second subscriber T 2 to be able to identify him/her unambiguously during the setting up of the connection. The first subscriber T 1 selects a photo of the first subscriber T 1 from the memory of the transmission terminal SEE 1 , includes this photo in the call set-up after inputting the call number of the second subscriber T 2 and triggers the setting up of the connection to the second subscriber T 2 by pressing the start key on the transmission terminal SEE 1 . The photo of the first subscriber T 1 already appears on a display unit of the reception terminal EEE 1 of the second subscriber T 2 during the signaling phase. The second subscriber T 2 identifies the first subscriber T 1 directly from the displayed photo.
[0017] The first subscriber T 1 has a series of photos stored in the transmission terminal SEE 1 for different moods in which he/she could be. The first subscriber T 1 has just passed an exam and includes in the call set-up a photo in which he/she looks joyful. The called second subscriber T 2 sees the joyful first subscriber T 1 on the display unit of the reception terminal EEE 1 and can prepare himself/herself for the mood of the first subscriber T 1 before he/she accepts the call. If the first subscriber T 1 had failed the exam, he/she would have included in the call set-up a photo in which he/she looks sad, and the second subscriber T 2 would have been prewarned.
[0018] The first subscriber T 1 also may include in the call set-up a title of a current piece of music which is stored in the transmission terminal SEE 1 , other stored images, moving images (videos) or lines of text. If the first subscriber T 1 is a colleague in a company, the company logo which is stored in the transmission terminal SEE 1 could be included in the call set-up. If the second subscriber T 2 is a customer of the company of the first subscriber T 1 , the second subscriber T 2 could unambiguously identify the first subscriber as a colleague of this company by reference to the company logo which appears on a display unit of the reception terminal EEE 1 during the signaling phase. The company can present itself to its customers in a particularly advantageous way by including company logos.
[0019] The information which is already communicated from the first subscriber T 1 to the second subscriber T 2 during the setting up of a telephone connection, and which appears on the display unit of the reception terminal EEE 1 of the second subscriber T 2 , can be of different information types. Information types may include, for example, text, audio information types such as music, voice and ringing, and visual information types such as photos, images, graphics, moving images and videos. Text information is composed of alphanumeric characters; that is to say, numbers, letters and special characters. These information types also may be included in the call set-up in combination with one another. For example, when a connection is set up between the first subscriber T 1 and the second subscriber T 2 , a multimedia visitor's card, on which text information, a photo and a music video are integrated, is selected by the first subscriber T 1 and is signaled to the second subscriber T 2 during the connection set-up. The second subscriber T 2 also can be simultaneously presented with the call number of the calling first subscriber T 1 , a photo of the first subscriber T 1 and a ringing tone which is intended to indicate high priority of the call.
[0020] If the second subscriber T 2 is a blind person, the first subscriber T 1 can include a voice message or a piece of music in the call set-up so that the second subscriber T 2 already knows who is calling him/her before accepting the call.
[0021] The information which may include one or more information types and which is used to identify the first subscriber T 1 to the second subscriber T 2 is generally stored in a memory of the transmission terminal SEE 1 and can be selected in a known fashion; for example, through a selection using keys. This information, however, also can be stored in a memory of a telecommunications network TKN of a telecommunications provider. The first subscriber T 1 sets up a connection to the memory of the telecommunications network TKN before a connection to the second subscriber T 2 is set up, the first subscriber T 1 selects the desired stored information and includes this information in the setting up of the connection to the second subscriber T 2 .
[0022] Furthermore, the information for identifying the first subscriber T 1 also can be stored in a memory of the reception terminal EEE 1 of the second subscriber T 2 . If the reception terminal EEE 1 recognizes the first subscriber T 1 in the signaling phase by reference to his/her call number, the reception terminal EEE 1 assigns a photo of the first subscriber T 1 to the call number and causes a photo to be displayed on the display unit of the reception terminal EEE 1 .
[0023] Information of one or more information types can be stored at the transmission terminal SEE 1 or the reception terminal EEE 1 in multimedia telephone directories or can be created and selected by the subscribers T 1 , . . . , Tn who operate the respective transmission terminal SEE 1 and reception terminal EEE 1 .
[0024] It is also possible to include multimedia visitor's cards of the first subscriber T 1 in the short message service known as SMS, to transmit them to the second subscriber T 2 in order to identify the first subscriber T 1 and to display them on the reception terminal EEE 1 .
[0025] Of course, the called second subscriber T 2 can also determine which of the information of one or more information types, which is included in order to identify the first subscriber T 1 is to be output at the reception terminal EEE 1 . Thus, he/she can, for example, suppress the outputting of photos on a display unit of the reception terminal EEE 1 or limit the outputting of information on the display unit of the reception terminal EEE 1 to one information type for example, voice information. The second subscriber T 2 can also set the reception terminal EEE 1 in such a way that the second subscriber T 2 predefines the mode of expression with which incoming calls with high importance are to be signaled. The first subscriber T 1 , who sets up a call to the second subscriber T 2 , includes a ringing tone SOS as a high priority character in the call set-up so that the called second subscriber T 2 can ensure, by inputs into the reception terminal EEE 1 , that this call is output with high priority as a permanent ringing tone.
[0026] The possibility of including information of one or more information types is not restricted to the phase of the setting up of a telephone connection. It is also possible that, during an already-existing voice connection between the first subscriber T 1 and the second subscriber T 2 , the first subscriber T 1 includes a multimedia visitor's card with the identification data of the first subscriber T 1 to the second subscriber T 2 in the existing voice connection in order to permit the first subscriber T 1 to be comprehensively identified by the second subscriber T 2 .
[0027] The method of including information of one or more information types can also be implemented if a voice connection is set up, or already exists, between the first subscriber T 1 and a number of further subscribers T 2 , . . . , Tn.
[0028] If a group call to the members of the group, specifically to the number of further subscribers T 2 , . . . , Tn is set up by a first subscriber T 1 , information of one or more information types for permitting the first subscriber T 1 to be identified by the number of further subscribers T 2 , . . . , Tn can be included in the call set-up. When there is an existing voice connection (telephone conference) between the first subscriber T 1 and a number of further subscribers T 2 , . . . , Tn, the first subscriber T 1 can include a multimedia visitor's card in the existing voice connection to the number of further subscribers T 2 , . . . , Tn. The subscriber T 1 can determine whether he/she communicates the multimedia visitor's card to all the other subscribers T 2 , . . . , Tn or only to selected further subscribers; for example, the further subscribers T 2 and T 3 . Both the calling first subscriber T 1 and the called number of further subscribers T 2 , . . . , Tn have the possibility of communicating a multimedia visitor's card to any other desired subscribers T 1 , . . . , Tn during an existing voice connection.
[0029] Furthermore, the first subscriber T 1 can define which information of one or more information types for identifying the first subscriber T 1 is to be communicated to individual further subscribers T 2 , . . . , Tn which are participating in an existing voice connection. If there is a voice connection between the subscribers T 1 , T 2 , T 3 and T 4 , the first subscriber T 1 can communicate a multimedia visitor's card to the second subscriber T 2 , a ringing tone to the third subscriber T 3 and a music video to the fourth subscriber T 4 .
[0030] The present invention thus permits varied and comprehensive inclusion of information of one or more information types for identifying subscribers T 1 , . . . , Tn of a telecommunications network TKN into calls which are to be set up and into existing voice connections. In this way, the present invention enriches the communication between parties to a call within a telecommunications network TKN.
[0031] Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, those of skill in the art will recognize that changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the hereafter appended claims. | A method is provided for identifying a first subscriber of a telecommunication network, a receiving terminal for identifying a first subscriber of a telecommunication network, and a transmitting terminal. According to the inventive method, the identification of the first subscriber is carried out in such a manner that information of at least one type of information for identifying the first subscriber is output to at least one receiving terminal, whereby the output of information of the information type text is excluded on the at least one receiving terminal. This method enables identification capabilities to be integrated in a more diverse manner; in particular, multimedia representations are integrated during the identification of the first subscriber of the telecommunications network. | Identify and summarize the most critical technical features from the given patent document. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to a method for identifying a first subscriber of a telecommunications network, a reception terminal for identifying a first subscriber of a telecommunications network and a transmission terminal.",
"It is known that in various telecommunications networks the called subscriber of a telecommunications network is already informed of who the calling subscriber of the telecommunications network is during the connection set-up through a communication on a display unit of the reception terminal which is assigned to him/her.",
"The performance feature of the telecommunications network which is known by the term “caller identification”",
"is offered, for example, within the mobile radio network known as Global System for Mobile Communications GSM.",
"[0002] The communication of the terminal identifier of the calling subscriber to the called subscriber is also offered as a performance feature of the line-bound Euro-ISDN telecommunications network.",
"It is also known by the name Calling Line Identification Presentation CLIP.",
"However, the calling subscriber can suppress the transmission of his/her terminal identifier to the called subscriber within the Euro-ISDN telecommunications network.",
"This performance feature is known by the name Calling Line Identification Restriction CLIR.",
"The call number and the name of the calling subscriber can be presented on the display unit of the called subscriber.",
"Furthermore, there is a display there indicating whether the connection is an internal telephone connection of an enclosed telecommunications network;",
"for example, a company network, or an external telephone connection.",
"[0003] On the other hand, printed visitor's cards for identifying a person to other persons are handed over when people meet.",
"[0004] During the setting up of the telephone connection (i.e., in the signaling phase), a ringing tone generally sounds at the called subscriber of a telecommunications network.",
"The type or form of expression of the ringing tone cannot be influenced by the calling subscriber.",
"[0005] The present invention is therefore directed to a technical solution for identifying a first subscriber of a telecommunications network, which solution entails a greater variety of identification possibilities.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] According to the present invention, in a method for identifying a first subscriber of a telecommunications network, the first subscriber is identified in such a way that information of at least one information type for identifying the first subscriber is output at at least one reception terminal, with only the output of information of the text information type at the at least one reception terminal being excluded.",
"[0007] One advantage of the present invention is that the calling subscriber of a telecommunications network is identified more quickly by the called subscribers of the telecommunications network if, for example, when the telephone connection is set up, a photo of the calling subscriber is on the display unit of the reception terminals of the called subscribers.",
"[0008] A further advantage of the present invention is that, by virtue of the possibility of connecting information of one or more information types, such as via a video or music, it is possible for the calling subscriber to present himself/herself to the called subscribers in a particularly advantageous and comprehensive fashion.",
"Companies could, for example, make it obligatory for the company logo to appear on the display unit of the reception terminals of the called customers when a telephone connection from their employees is set up.",
"[0009] It is also advantageous for the information of at least one type of information, such as of a multimedia visitor's card, for identifying subscribers of the telecommunications network to be integrated both when setting up a voice connection and during an existing voice connection.",
"[0010] Furthermore, the inclusion of voice or music makes it possible that blind persons to whom a call is to be set up already can recognize the calling subscriber of the telecommunications network during the signaling phase.",
"[0011] It is also advantageous for the calling subscriber of the telecommunications network to assign a priority to the call when the telephone connection is set up.",
"This priority, such as a particular urgency, is indicated to the called subscriber by a particular expression of the ringing tone.",
"The called subscriber then decides whether he/she will accept the call.",
"[0012] Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described in, and will be apparent from, the following Detailed Description of the Invention and the Figures.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES [0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a telecommunications network in which a first subscriber having a transmission terminal which is operated by him/her sets up or maintains a telephone connection to one or more further subscribers, each of the one or more further subscribers operating a reception terminal.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0014] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.",
"Within a telecommunications network TKN there are a number of subscribers T 1 , .",
", Tn.",
"The subscriber T 1 is operating a transmission terminal SEE 1 .",
"Each of the subscribers T 2 , .",
", Tn is operating a reception terminal EEE 1 .",
"The transmission terminal SEE 1 and reception terminal EEE 1 also may be embodied, for example, as a telephone terminal for line-bound or mobile communication.",
"Furthermore, the transmission terminal SEE 1 and the reception terminal EEE 1 can be embodied as a computer with a telephone function or as a further terminal device for transmitting and receiving data.",
"[0015] The first subscriber T 1 sets up a call to the second subscriber T 2 within the telecommunications network TKN.",
"Since the first subscriber T 1 has a particularly important and urgent request for the second subscriber T 2 , the first subscriber T 1 selects a high priority for his/her call.",
"This is done by the first subscriber T 1 pressing a “priority key”",
"on the transmission terminal SEE 1 or selecting the “high priority”",
"feature from a memory of the transmission terminal SEE 1 after he/she has input the call number of the second subscriber T 2 .",
"The first subscriber T 1 then presses the start key on the transmission terminal SEE 1 so that the call set-up starts.",
"The fact that the call has a high priority for the first subscriber T 1 is indicated to the second subscriber T 2 by the type or expression of the ringing tone during the signaling phase.",
"As a result, in the case of this call the ringing tone is expressed as a SOS tone.",
"The called second subscriber T 2 can take into account the expression of the ringing tone in such a way that he/she accepts the call or records a message on an answering machine which is connected to the reception terminal EEE 1 .",
"[0016] The first subscriber T 1 , in turn sets up a call to the second subscriber T 2 .",
"The first subscriber Ti would like the second subscriber T 2 to be able to identify him/her unambiguously during the setting up of the connection.",
"The first subscriber T 1 selects a photo of the first subscriber T 1 from the memory of the transmission terminal SEE 1 , includes this photo in the call set-up after inputting the call number of the second subscriber T 2 and triggers the setting up of the connection to the second subscriber T 2 by pressing the start key on the transmission terminal SEE 1 .",
"The photo of the first subscriber T 1 already appears on a display unit of the reception terminal EEE 1 of the second subscriber T 2 during the signaling phase.",
"The second subscriber T 2 identifies the first subscriber T 1 directly from the displayed photo.",
"[0017] The first subscriber T 1 has a series of photos stored in the transmission terminal SEE 1 for different moods in which he/she could be.",
"The first subscriber T 1 has just passed an exam and includes in the call set-up a photo in which he/she looks joyful.",
"The called second subscriber T 2 sees the joyful first subscriber T 1 on the display unit of the reception terminal EEE 1 and can prepare himself/herself for the mood of the first subscriber T 1 before he/she accepts the call.",
"If the first subscriber T 1 had failed the exam, he/she would have included in the call set-up a photo in which he/she looks sad, and the second subscriber T 2 would have been prewarned.",
"[0018] The first subscriber T 1 also may include in the call set-up a title of a current piece of music which is stored in the transmission terminal SEE 1 , other stored images, moving images (videos) or lines of text.",
"If the first subscriber T 1 is a colleague in a company, the company logo which is stored in the transmission terminal SEE 1 could be included in the call set-up.",
"If the second subscriber T 2 is a customer of the company of the first subscriber T 1 , the second subscriber T 2 could unambiguously identify the first subscriber as a colleague of this company by reference to the company logo which appears on a display unit of the reception terminal EEE 1 during the signaling phase.",
"The company can present itself to its customers in a particularly advantageous way by including company logos.",
"[0019] The information which is already communicated from the first subscriber T 1 to the second subscriber T 2 during the setting up of a telephone connection, and which appears on the display unit of the reception terminal EEE 1 of the second subscriber T 2 , can be of different information types.",
"Information types may include, for example, text, audio information types such as music, voice and ringing, and visual information types such as photos, images, graphics, moving images and videos.",
"Text information is composed of alphanumeric characters;",
"that is to say, numbers, letters and special characters.",
"These information types also may be included in the call set-up in combination with one another.",
"For example, when a connection is set up between the first subscriber T 1 and the second subscriber T 2 , a multimedia visitor's card, on which text information, a photo and a music video are integrated, is selected by the first subscriber T 1 and is signaled to the second subscriber T 2 during the connection set-up.",
"The second subscriber T 2 also can be simultaneously presented with the call number of the calling first subscriber T 1 , a photo of the first subscriber T 1 and a ringing tone which is intended to indicate high priority of the call.",
"[0020] If the second subscriber T 2 is a blind person, the first subscriber T 1 can include a voice message or a piece of music in the call set-up so that the second subscriber T 2 already knows who is calling him/her before accepting the call.",
"[0021] The information which may include one or more information types and which is used to identify the first subscriber T 1 to the second subscriber T 2 is generally stored in a memory of the transmission terminal SEE 1 and can be selected in a known fashion;",
"for example, through a selection using keys.",
"This information, however, also can be stored in a memory of a telecommunications network TKN of a telecommunications provider.",
"The first subscriber T 1 sets up a connection to the memory of the telecommunications network TKN before a connection to the second subscriber T 2 is set up, the first subscriber T 1 selects the desired stored information and includes this information in the setting up of the connection to the second subscriber T 2 .",
"[0022] Furthermore, the information for identifying the first subscriber T 1 also can be stored in a memory of the reception terminal EEE 1 of the second subscriber T 2 .",
"If the reception terminal EEE 1 recognizes the first subscriber T 1 in the signaling phase by reference to his/her call number, the reception terminal EEE 1 assigns a photo of the first subscriber T 1 to the call number and causes a photo to be displayed on the display unit of the reception terminal EEE 1 .",
"[0023] Information of one or more information types can be stored at the transmission terminal SEE 1 or the reception terminal EEE 1 in multimedia telephone directories or can be created and selected by the subscribers T 1 , .",
", Tn who operate the respective transmission terminal SEE 1 and reception terminal EEE 1 .",
"[0024] It is also possible to include multimedia visitor's cards of the first subscriber T 1 in the short message service known as SMS, to transmit them to the second subscriber T 2 in order to identify the first subscriber T 1 and to display them on the reception terminal EEE 1 .",
"[0025] Of course, the called second subscriber T 2 can also determine which of the information of one or more information types, which is included in order to identify the first subscriber T 1 is to be output at the reception terminal EEE 1 .",
"Thus, he/she can, for example, suppress the outputting of photos on a display unit of the reception terminal EEE 1 or limit the outputting of information on the display unit of the reception terminal EEE 1 to one information type for example, voice information.",
"The second subscriber T 2 can also set the reception terminal EEE 1 in such a way that the second subscriber T 2 predefines the mode of expression with which incoming calls with high importance are to be signaled.",
"The first subscriber T 1 , who sets up a call to the second subscriber T 2 , includes a ringing tone SOS as a high priority character in the call set-up so that the called second subscriber T 2 can ensure, by inputs into the reception terminal EEE 1 , that this call is output with high priority as a permanent ringing tone.",
"[0026] The possibility of including information of one or more information types is not restricted to the phase of the setting up of a telephone connection.",
"It is also possible that, during an already-existing voice connection between the first subscriber T 1 and the second subscriber T 2 , the first subscriber T 1 includes a multimedia visitor's card with the identification data of the first subscriber T 1 to the second subscriber T 2 in the existing voice connection in order to permit the first subscriber T 1 to be comprehensively identified by the second subscriber T 2 .",
"[0027] The method of including information of one or more information types can also be implemented if a voice connection is set up, or already exists, between the first subscriber T 1 and a number of further subscribers T 2 , .",
", Tn.",
"[0028] If a group call to the members of the group, specifically to the number of further subscribers T 2 , .",
", Tn is set up by a first subscriber T 1 , information of one or more information types for permitting the first subscriber T 1 to be identified by the number of further subscribers T 2 , .",
", Tn can be included in the call set-up.",
"When there is an existing voice connection (telephone conference) between the first subscriber T 1 and a number of further subscribers T 2 , .",
", Tn, the first subscriber T 1 can include a multimedia visitor's card in the existing voice connection to the number of further subscribers T 2 , .",
", Tn.",
"The subscriber T 1 can determine whether he/she communicates the multimedia visitor's card to all the other subscribers T 2 , .",
", Tn or only to selected further subscribers;",
"for example, the further subscribers T 2 and T 3 .",
"Both the calling first subscriber T 1 and the called number of further subscribers T 2 , .",
", Tn have the possibility of communicating a multimedia visitor's card to any other desired subscribers T 1 , .",
", Tn during an existing voice connection.",
"[0029] Furthermore, the first subscriber T 1 can define which information of one or more information types for identifying the first subscriber T 1 is to be communicated to individual further subscribers T 2 , .",
", Tn which are participating in an existing voice connection.",
"If there is a voice connection between the subscribers T 1 , T 2 , T 3 and T 4 , the first subscriber T 1 can communicate a multimedia visitor's card to the second subscriber T 2 , a ringing tone to the third subscriber T 3 and a music video to the fourth subscriber T 4 .",
"[0030] The present invention thus permits varied and comprehensive inclusion of information of one or more information types for identifying subscribers T 1 , .",
", Tn of a telecommunications network TKN into calls which are to be set up and into existing voice connections.",
"In this way, the present invention enriches the communication between parties to a call within a telecommunications network TKN.",
"[0031] Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, those of skill in the art will recognize that changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the hereafter appended claims."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of preventing the formation of cracks on the backside of a silicon (Si) semiconductor chip or wafer during the processing thereof. Furthermore, the invention is also concerned with a method for inhibiting the propagation of cracks, which have already formed in the backside of a silicon chip during the processing thereof and prior to the joining thereto of a substrate during the fabrication of an electronic package. Moreover, the invention is also directed to the provision of an electronic package incorporating a substrate, particularly such as in a flip chip arrangement, wherein the substrate is to be joined to a silicon semiconductor chip or wafer, which may be subject to the formation of scratches and cracks, and wherein novel measures are taken to prevent the formation or propagation of the scratches and/or cracks in the backside of the chip.
In essence, the backsides of silicon chips or wafers are occasionally subjected to the forming of scratches on the backside surfaces during fabrication or processing. These scratches may be caused by the polishing, milling or grinding of the backside of the respective silicon chip or wafer, such as for example, by means of a grinding process, wherein the surface finishing is accomplished by either numerically controlled milling machines, which may be followed by a manual polishing, various chemical and mechanical polishing compositions or slurries, or wet etching and the like procedures which are intended to remove the machine milling or fabrication marks and scratches.
Moreover, there is also the possibility that scratches or cracks may be formed on the backside of the silicon chip or wafer during the process of joining the latter to a substrate at high temperatures, such as during reflow, whereby during subsequent of the joined cooling components, the silicon chip tends to shrink a lesser amount than the substrate, due to a higher coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) being present for the substrate in comparison with that of the silicon chip. This differential in shrinkage generates high tensile stresses during thermal cycling in the backside of the silicon chip or wafer tending to cause the formation of microcracks in the silicon chip at the locations of existing minute scratches. Consequently, it is imperative that steps be taken to prevent the cracks propagating from the backside scratches on the silicon chip or wafer towards the front surface thereof, whereby such scratches can be nucleation sites for the cracks during package fabrication or thermal cycling, and which may cause package failure if propagating to the front side of the silicon chip or wafer, which represents the electronic device region of the electronic package incorporating the electrical contacts and circuitry, by a potential short-circuiting thereof.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Various methods and devices are currently known in the technology, which are adapted in diverse modes to inhibit or restrict the formation of scratches and propagation of microcracks in which the surfaces, and particularly the backside surfaces of semiconductor chips or wafers, which may be constituted of a silicon (Si) material.
Chang, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,887,793 B2, disclose a method for plasma etching a wafer subsequent to the backside grinding thereof, and wherein this etching is adapted to remove a photoresist coating layer present on the wafer surface. The method disclosed in this patent, has nothing in common with the chip or wafer backside treatment analogous to the present invention in preventing the formation of scratches or propagation of cracks in the backside of the wafer or chip.
Peterson, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,844,623 B1 disclose the application of a temporary coating for the protection of a microelectronic device wherein the coating is applied to a wafer surface and thereafter removed. This has no bearing on the method of treatment for protection of the backside of a semiconductor wafer or chip in a manner analogous to the present invention, which is adapted to either inhibit the formation of cracks or scratches or the propagation of cracks in the silicon wafer or chip.
Hendrix, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,514,835 B1 provide for a stress control method for thin films due to mechanical deformation of wafer substrates. Again, this has nothing in common with the inventive methods of protecting the backside of a silicon semiconductor chip or wafer from the formation or propagation of scratches and cracks, which could potentially adversely influence the integrity of an electronic package utilizing the wafer or chip.
Kane, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,790,125 B2 disclose an arrangement for finishing the backside of a wafer or chip by means of a milling machine, and wherein a subsequent polishing or wet etching method is employed to remove machine milling marks and scratches. The foregoing has nothing in common with the present inventive method of protecting the backside of a silicon wafer or chip from the deleterious effects of scratches and cracks which may be present therein, or which have a tendency to substantially propagate internally of the wafer or chip.
Finally, Maurice, et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0241461 A1 discloses a method of protecting the back surface of a wafer by the application thereon of a capping layer thereon during the handling of the wafer. Again, this type of application of the capping layer is different from and has nothing in common with the method of protecting the backside of the wafer or chip pursuant to the present invention.
Accordingly, in order to prevent the formation of backside cracks or the propagation of cracks formed in the backside of a wafer or chip during processing thereof, pursuant to the invention, alternative methods may be utilized, which present significant advantages over the current state of the technology.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Pursuant to one particular aspect or embodiment of the invention, the backside of a silicon wafer or chip is equipped with a protective film layer, which is constituted of a material possessing a high degree of hardness, which will prevent the formation of cracks in the backside of the chip and propagation thereof during the subsequent processing of the wafer, such as under high thermal cycling conditions, and protect any electronic components and devices located on the front side of the chip or wafer.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the backside of a silicon wafer or chip may be equipped with a protective film layer having a high fracture toughness, in effect, resistance to fracture, which will prevent the propagation of any scratches which are present in the backside surface of the wafer or chip, and which, during high temperature processing and thermal cycling when combining the wafer or chip with a substrate, may cause high tensile stresses encountered in the chip or wafer due to differences in the coefficients of thermal expansion with the substrate, to have the scratches from cracks propagating into the wafer or chip tending to adversely influence the integrity of an electronic package incorporating the silicon chip or wafer.
As represented in a further aspect of the present invention, rather than equipping the backside of the chip or wafer with a film layer, as described hereinabove, the backside of the wafer or chip may be wet etched in order to blunt the internal tip or sharp leading point or apex of any micro crack, which may have already propagated into the silicon wafer or chip. This will reduce any stress concentrations and inhibit the crack from propagating further towards the front side of the chip or wafer where the crack could potentially adversely influence the integrity and functioning of electronic contacts or devices located on that surface.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide novel methods for inhibiting the formation or propagation of micro cracks in the backside surface of semiconductor chips or wafers.
Another object of the present invention resides in an arrangement for inhibiting the formation or propagation of micro cracks in the backside surfaces of semiconductor chips or wafers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Accordingly, in order to clearly represent the inventive aspects, reference may now be made to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings; in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates generally diagrammatically a side sectional view of one embodiment of an electronic package incorporating a silicon semiconductor chip structure;
FIG. 2 illustrates the arrangement of FIG. 1 , showing the silicon chip with the presence of a crack in the backside surface;
FIG. 3 illustrates, on an enlarged scale, the fragmentary encircled portion A of the silicon chip displaying a scratch and microcrack which has formed in the backside surface thereof;
FIG. 4 illustrates, in a view similar to FIG. 3 , a wet etch treatment of the silicon chip to blunt the microcrack in order to reduce generated stresses;
FIG. 5 illustrates in a diagrammatic view similar to FIG. 1 , the application of a crack preventive layer on the backside of the semiconductor chip; and
FIG. 6 illustrates, on an enlarged scale, a fragmentary portion of the chip of FIG. 5 showing the film layer for preventing the formation of cracks in the silicon chip.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring in detail to the drawings, wherein throughout the various embodiments, similar or identical components are designated with the same reference numerals, FIG. 1 illustrates, generally diagrammatically, an electronic package 10 including a substrate layer 12 , on which there is arranged a silicon semiconductor chip 14 (or wafer) which has a backside surface 16 facing away from the substrate 12 and a front side 18 , which includes a device region 20 , in effect, electronic circuitry and connections (not shown) and to which there are adhesively fastened or soldered arrays of solder balls 22 , which are in contact with the facing surface 24 of the substrate 12 . All of the foregoing components may be fabricated in the flip-chip technology, as is well known in the state of the art. Hereby, the solder balls 22 may be connected to the semiconductor chip 14 through C- 4 (controlled collapse chip connects), as widely employed. Communicating with the opposite side 26 of the substrate by means of electrical connections to further electrical components, such as bond pads or the like, are the solder balls through suitable electrically conductive vias 28 , extending through the substrate 12 . The silicon chip 10 may include an underfill 30 in the region facing the substrate 12 extending about the solder balls 22 , and is encompassed by a suitable dielectric encapsulant 32 so as to form a protective environment and which is also in contact with the facing surface 24 of the substrate about the periphery of the underfill 30 .
As indicated in FIG. 2 of the drawings, upon occasion, the backside surface 16 of the silicon chip 14 (or wafer), as represented on an enlarged scale in FIG. 3 by the encircled portion A of FIG. 1 , shows a scratch 34 having been previously formed in the silicon chip, possibly during grinding or the like surface finishing. This scratch may then, during packaging of the components and exposure to reflow and/or thermal cycling, nucleate into a sharp-pointed micro crack 38 due to a stress concentration at the sharp bottom tip or apex 36 of the scratch, and which micro crack 38 extends into the chip interior so as to end in a pointy tip 40 .
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, the micro crack 38 may extend downwardly, so as to cause it to propagate towards the front surface 18 of the chip 14 , which faces the region of the active devices and electronics. This microcrack 38 , when propagating through the entire thickness of the silicon chip, may then potentially result in a short-circuiting and create functional problems in the electronic package, and possibly render the latter subject to failure.
In this instance, prior to the forming of the package, in the event that the backside surface 16 of the silicon chip 14 evidences the presence of a scratch 34 which has propagated into a sharp-pointed micro crack 38 extending at least partially through the thickness of the silicon chip towards the front surface 18 thereof, the chip is subjected to a wet etch process in order to widen and blunt the tip 40 of the micro crack 38 , as shown in FIG. 4 , and thereby eliminate any stress concentration factor which would tend to cause the micro crack 38 to propagate further through thickness of the silicon chip 14 . This wet etch may be constituted of a solution of HF/HNO 3 , or other solutions which may exert such a blunting effect on the configuration of the microchip.
Pursuant to a further method of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings, wherein various structural components are identical or similar to those in FIG. 1 , set forth that prior to the processing and joining of the silicon wafer or chip 14 to the substrate 12 and encapsulation thereof to form the electronic package 50 , the backside surface 16 of the silicon wafer or chip 14 is equipped with a protective film layer 52 of a crack prevention material, as described hereinbelow
In one instance, this film material 52 possesses the property of high fracture toughness, such as an aluminum alloy. This film material, which is intended to prevent the scratching of the silicon wafer or chip 14 , after being contacted and located therebeneath may be subject to scratches 54 , which do not pass through so as not to penetrate into the silicon backside surface 16 ; i.e., thereby protecting the latter from forming micro scratches. Materials which also possess a high degree of fracture toughness and which would be suitable for the film layer when applied to the backside surface 16 may be WSi 2 having a fracture toughness of approximately 5.6 MPa m 1/2 ; SiO 2 with 0.85 to 1.15 MPa m 1/2 ; or aluminum alloys possessing a toughness of 33 to 54 MPa m 1/2 . Also employable is tungsten (W) with a toughness of 5.6 to 8.7 MPa m 1/2 , which is applied after a silicide process, or SiC with a fracture toughness of 3.1 MPa m 1/2 ; Si 3 N 4 with 8.3 MPa m 1/2 and wherein the silicon (Si) per se, has a toughness of 0.79 to 0.95 MPa m 1/2 . The aluminum is normally applied subsequent to a contact process, whereas the tungsten is ordinarily applied after effectuating a silicide process step.
In the event that the backside surface 16 of the silicon wafer or chip 14 is provided with a film layer 52 possessing a high degree of hardness in order to prevent the formation of scratches in the chip backside surface 16 , as also shown in FIG. 6 of the drawings, applied at preferably the beginning of the packaging process is a film layer constituted of Si 3 N 4 , SiC, DLC or WSi 2 ; whereby Si 3 N 4 has a hardness of about 14 GPa; SiC of 15-30 GPa; and a diamond-like carbon at 20 GPa; and with the silicon (Si) of approximately 12 GPa.
This process of applying the crack prevention film material to the backside surface of the silicon chip or wafer prior to implementing the process of heat bonding with the substrate 14 , encompassing with the encapsulant 32 will prevent the formation or propagation of micro cracks in the silicon chip or wafer.
It may also be advantageous that, under some circumstances, the backside surface of the chip or wafer is subjected to a wet etch treatment, as described hereinabove, and thereafter has a protective film layer 52 applied thereto.
From the foregoing, it becomes readily apparent that by utilizing the foregoing methods of protecting the silicon chip or wafer from the propagation or formation of cracks tending to propagate towards the front side of the chip containing the electronic devices or connections, this will provide an assurance that subsequent to the adhesion to the substrate and encapsulation with the dielectric adhesive, the electronic package will be secure from potential failure during operation.
While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with respect to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in forms and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the present invention not be limited to the exact forms and details described and illustrated, but to fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. | A method of preventing the formation of cracks on the backside of a silicon (Si) semiconductor chip or wafer during the processing thereof. Also provided is a method for inhibiting the propagation of cracks, which have already formed in the backside of a silicon chip during the processing thereof and prior to the joining thereto of a substrate during the fabrication of an electronic package. The methods entail either treating the backside with a wet etch, or alternatively, applying a protective film layer thereon prior to forming an electronic package incorporating the chip or wafer. | Provide a concise summary of the essential information conveyed in the context. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of preventing the formation of cracks on the backside of a silicon (Si) semiconductor chip or wafer during the processing thereof.",
"Furthermore, the invention is also concerned with a method for inhibiting the propagation of cracks, which have already formed in the backside of a silicon chip during the processing thereof and prior to the joining thereto of a substrate during the fabrication of an electronic package.",
"Moreover, the invention is also directed to the provision of an electronic package incorporating a substrate, particularly such as in a flip chip arrangement, wherein the substrate is to be joined to a silicon semiconductor chip or wafer, which may be subject to the formation of scratches and cracks, and wherein novel measures are taken to prevent the formation or propagation of the scratches and/or cracks in the backside of the chip.",
"In essence, the backsides of silicon chips or wafers are occasionally subjected to the forming of scratches on the backside surfaces during fabrication or processing.",
"These scratches may be caused by the polishing, milling or grinding of the backside of the respective silicon chip or wafer, such as for example, by means of a grinding process, wherein the surface finishing is accomplished by either numerically controlled milling machines, which may be followed by a manual polishing, various chemical and mechanical polishing compositions or slurries, or wet etching and the like procedures which are intended to remove the machine milling or fabrication marks and scratches.",
"Moreover, there is also the possibility that scratches or cracks may be formed on the backside of the silicon chip or wafer during the process of joining the latter to a substrate at high temperatures, such as during reflow, whereby during subsequent of the joined cooling components, the silicon chip tends to shrink a lesser amount than the substrate, due to a higher coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) being present for the substrate in comparison with that of the silicon chip.",
"This differential in shrinkage generates high tensile stresses during thermal cycling in the backside of the silicon chip or wafer tending to cause the formation of microcracks in the silicon chip at the locations of existing minute scratches.",
"Consequently, it is imperative that steps be taken to prevent the cracks propagating from the backside scratches on the silicon chip or wafer towards the front surface thereof, whereby such scratches can be nucleation sites for the cracks during package fabrication or thermal cycling, and which may cause package failure if propagating to the front side of the silicon chip or wafer, which represents the electronic device region of the electronic package incorporating the electrical contacts and circuitry, by a potential short-circuiting thereof.",
"Discussion of the Prior Art Various methods and devices are currently known in the technology, which are adapted in diverse modes to inhibit or restrict the formation of scratches and propagation of microcracks in which the surfaces, and particularly the backside surfaces of semiconductor chips or wafers, which may be constituted of a silicon (Si) material.",
"Chang, et al.",
", U.S. Pat. No. 6,887,793 B2, disclose a method for plasma etching a wafer subsequent to the backside grinding thereof, and wherein this etching is adapted to remove a photoresist coating layer present on the wafer surface.",
"The method disclosed in this patent, has nothing in common with the chip or wafer backside treatment analogous to the present invention in preventing the formation of scratches or propagation of cracks in the backside of the wafer or chip.",
"Peterson, et al.",
"U.S. Pat. No. 6,844,623 B1 disclose the application of a temporary coating for the protection of a microelectronic device wherein the coating is applied to a wafer surface and thereafter removed.",
"This has no bearing on the method of treatment for protection of the backside of a semiconductor wafer or chip in a manner analogous to the present invention, which is adapted to either inhibit the formation of cracks or scratches or the propagation of cracks in the silicon wafer or chip.",
"Hendrix, et al.",
", U.S. Pat. No. 6,514,835 B1 provide for a stress control method for thin films due to mechanical deformation of wafer substrates.",
"Again, this has nothing in common with the inventive methods of protecting the backside of a silicon semiconductor chip or wafer from the formation or propagation of scratches and cracks, which could potentially adversely influence the integrity of an electronic package utilizing the wafer or chip.",
"Kane, et al.",
", U.S. Pat. No. 6,790,125 B2 disclose an arrangement for finishing the backside of a wafer or chip by means of a milling machine, and wherein a subsequent polishing or wet etching method is employed to remove machine milling marks and scratches.",
"The foregoing has nothing in common with the present inventive method of protecting the backside of a silicon wafer or chip from the deleterious effects of scratches and cracks which may be present therein, or which have a tendency to substantially propagate internally of the wafer or chip.",
"Finally, Maurice, et al.",
", U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0241461 A1 discloses a method of protecting the back surface of a wafer by the application thereon of a capping layer thereon during the handling of the wafer.",
"Again, this type of application of the capping layer is different from and has nothing in common with the method of protecting the backside of the wafer or chip pursuant to the present invention.",
"Accordingly, in order to prevent the formation of backside cracks or the propagation of cracks formed in the backside of a wafer or chip during processing thereof, pursuant to the invention, alternative methods may be utilized, which present significant advantages over the current state of the technology.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Pursuant to one particular aspect or embodiment of the invention, the backside of a silicon wafer or chip is equipped with a protective film layer, which is constituted of a material possessing a high degree of hardness, which will prevent the formation of cracks in the backside of the chip and propagation thereof during the subsequent processing of the wafer, such as under high thermal cycling conditions, and protect any electronic components and devices located on the front side of the chip or wafer.",
"In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the backside of a silicon wafer or chip may be equipped with a protective film layer having a high fracture toughness, in effect, resistance to fracture, which will prevent the propagation of any scratches which are present in the backside surface of the wafer or chip, and which, during high temperature processing and thermal cycling when combining the wafer or chip with a substrate, may cause high tensile stresses encountered in the chip or wafer due to differences in the coefficients of thermal expansion with the substrate, to have the scratches from cracks propagating into the wafer or chip tending to adversely influence the integrity of an electronic package incorporating the silicon chip or wafer.",
"As represented in a further aspect of the present invention, rather than equipping the backside of the chip or wafer with a film layer, as described hereinabove, the backside of the wafer or chip may be wet etched in order to blunt the internal tip or sharp leading point or apex of any micro crack, which may have already propagated into the silicon wafer or chip.",
"This will reduce any stress concentrations and inhibit the crack from propagating further towards the front side of the chip or wafer where the crack could potentially adversely influence the integrity and functioning of electronic contacts or devices located on that surface.",
"Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide novel methods for inhibiting the formation or propagation of micro cracks in the backside surface of semiconductor chips or wafers.",
"Another object of the present invention resides in an arrangement for inhibiting the formation or propagation of micro cracks in the backside surfaces of semiconductor chips or wafers.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Accordingly, in order to clearly represent the inventive aspects, reference may now be made to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings;",
"in which: FIG. 1 illustrates generally diagrammatically a side sectional view of one embodiment of an electronic package incorporating a silicon semiconductor chip structure;",
"FIG. 2 illustrates the arrangement of FIG. 1 , showing the silicon chip with the presence of a crack in the backside surface;",
"FIG. 3 illustrates, on an enlarged scale, the fragmentary encircled portion A of the silicon chip displaying a scratch and microcrack which has formed in the backside surface thereof;",
"FIG. 4 illustrates, in a view similar to FIG. 3 , a wet etch treatment of the silicon chip to blunt the microcrack in order to reduce generated stresses;",
"FIG. 5 illustrates in a diagrammatic view similar to FIG. 1 , the application of a crack preventive layer on the backside of the semiconductor chip;",
"and FIG. 6 illustrates, on an enlarged scale, a fragmentary portion of the chip of FIG. 5 showing the film layer for preventing the formation of cracks in the silicon chip.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring in detail to the drawings, wherein throughout the various embodiments, similar or identical components are designated with the same reference numerals, FIG. 1 illustrates, generally diagrammatically, an electronic package 10 including a substrate layer 12 , on which there is arranged a silicon semiconductor chip 14 (or wafer) which has a backside surface 16 facing away from the substrate 12 and a front side 18 , which includes a device region 20 , in effect, electronic circuitry and connections (not shown) and to which there are adhesively fastened or soldered arrays of solder balls 22 , which are in contact with the facing surface 24 of the substrate 12 .",
"All of the foregoing components may be fabricated in the flip-chip technology, as is well known in the state of the art.",
"Hereby, the solder balls 22 may be connected to the semiconductor chip 14 through C- 4 (controlled collapse chip connects), as widely employed.",
"Communicating with the opposite side 26 of the substrate by means of electrical connections to further electrical components, such as bond pads or the like, are the solder balls through suitable electrically conductive vias 28 , extending through the substrate 12 .",
"The silicon chip 10 may include an underfill 30 in the region facing the substrate 12 extending about the solder balls 22 , and is encompassed by a suitable dielectric encapsulant 32 so as to form a protective environment and which is also in contact with the facing surface 24 of the substrate about the periphery of the underfill 30 .",
"As indicated in FIG. 2 of the drawings, upon occasion, the backside surface 16 of the silicon chip 14 (or wafer), as represented on an enlarged scale in FIG. 3 by the encircled portion A of FIG. 1 , shows a scratch 34 having been previously formed in the silicon chip, possibly during grinding or the like surface finishing.",
"This scratch may then, during packaging of the components and exposure to reflow and/or thermal cycling, nucleate into a sharp-pointed micro crack 38 due to a stress concentration at the sharp bottom tip or apex 36 of the scratch, and which micro crack 38 extends into the chip interior so as to end in a pointy tip 40 .",
"As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, the micro crack 38 may extend downwardly, so as to cause it to propagate towards the front surface 18 of the chip 14 , which faces the region of the active devices and electronics.",
"This microcrack 38 , when propagating through the entire thickness of the silicon chip, may then potentially result in a short-circuiting and create functional problems in the electronic package, and possibly render the latter subject to failure.",
"In this instance, prior to the forming of the package, in the event that the backside surface 16 of the silicon chip 14 evidences the presence of a scratch 34 which has propagated into a sharp-pointed micro crack 38 extending at least partially through the thickness of the silicon chip towards the front surface 18 thereof, the chip is subjected to a wet etch process in order to widen and blunt the tip 40 of the micro crack 38 , as shown in FIG. 4 , and thereby eliminate any stress concentration factor which would tend to cause the micro crack 38 to propagate further through thickness of the silicon chip 14 .",
"This wet etch may be constituted of a solution of HF/HNO 3 , or other solutions which may exert such a blunting effect on the configuration of the microchip.",
"Pursuant to a further method of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings, wherein various structural components are identical or similar to those in FIG. 1 , set forth that prior to the processing and joining of the silicon wafer or chip 14 to the substrate 12 and encapsulation thereof to form the electronic package 50 , the backside surface 16 of the silicon wafer or chip 14 is equipped with a protective film layer 52 of a crack prevention material, as described hereinbelow In one instance, this film material 52 possesses the property of high fracture toughness, such as an aluminum alloy.",
"This film material, which is intended to prevent the scratching of the silicon wafer or chip 14 , after being contacted and located therebeneath may be subject to scratches 54 , which do not pass through so as not to penetrate into the silicon backside surface 16 ;",
"i.e., thereby protecting the latter from forming micro scratches.",
"Materials which also possess a high degree of fracture toughness and which would be suitable for the film layer when applied to the backside surface 16 may be WSi 2 having a fracture toughness of approximately 5.6 MPa m 1/2 ;",
"SiO 2 with 0.85 to 1.15 MPa m 1/2 ;",
"or aluminum alloys possessing a toughness of 33 to 54 MPa m 1/2 .",
"Also employable is tungsten (W) with a toughness of 5.6 to 8.7 MPa m 1/2 , which is applied after a silicide process, or SiC with a fracture toughness of 3.1 MPa m 1/2 ;",
"Si 3 N 4 with 8.3 MPa m 1/2 and wherein the silicon (Si) per se, has a toughness of 0.79 to 0.95 MPa m 1/2 .",
"The aluminum is normally applied subsequent to a contact process, whereas the tungsten is ordinarily applied after effectuating a silicide process step.",
"In the event that the backside surface 16 of the silicon wafer or chip 14 is provided with a film layer 52 possessing a high degree of hardness in order to prevent the formation of scratches in the chip backside surface 16 , as also shown in FIG. 6 of the drawings, applied at preferably the beginning of the packaging process is a film layer constituted of Si 3 N 4 , SiC, DLC or WSi 2 ;",
"whereby Si 3 N 4 has a hardness of about 14 GPa;",
"SiC of 15-30 GPa;",
"and a diamond-like carbon at 20 GPa;",
"and with the silicon (Si) of approximately 12 GPa.",
"This process of applying the crack prevention film material to the backside surface of the silicon chip or wafer prior to implementing the process of heat bonding with the substrate 14 , encompassing with the encapsulant 32 will prevent the formation or propagation of micro cracks in the silicon chip or wafer.",
"It may also be advantageous that, under some circumstances, the backside surface of the chip or wafer is subjected to a wet etch treatment, as described hereinabove, and thereafter has a protective film layer 52 applied thereto.",
"From the foregoing, it becomes readily apparent that by utilizing the foregoing methods of protecting the silicon chip or wafer from the propagation or formation of cracks tending to propagate towards the front side of the chip containing the electronic devices or connections, this will provide an assurance that subsequent to the adhesion to the substrate and encapsulation with the dielectric adhesive, the electronic package will be secure from potential failure during operation.",
"While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with respect to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in forms and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.",
"It is therefore intended that the present invention not be limited to the exact forms and details described and illustrated, but to fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates, in general, to wind electric plants, and more particularly, to a wind electric plant of the type which includes a wind driven propeller or the like to drive an alternator for producing electrical energy as disclosed in applicants' U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,771, issued Nov. 22, 1977.
The above-referenced patent and applicants' co-pending application for Letters Patent Ser. No. 887,373, filed Mar. 16, 1978, disclose battery controlled variable speed alternator systems for wind electric operation wherein battery current is utilized as the source of excitation current for the field winding of the alternator which battery current controls the excitation of the alternator field to provide a relatively constant excitation current for the alternator field winding, whereby the alternator field is fully excited at substantially all speeds of operation thereof.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,771, alternator output is controlled directly through controls responsive to alternator speed and battery voltage to provide a relatively constant excitation current for the field winding of the alternator from a storage battery, wherein battery current is directly applied to the alternator field and whereby the alternator field is fully excited at substantially all speeds of operation thereof.
In applicants' above-referenced co-pending application, an improvement of U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,771 is disclosed wherein alternator output is controlled indirectly through the field control of an exciter and battery current is utilized to provide the excitation current for the exciter field winding which thereby, via an associated exciter armature, controls the excitation of the alternator field winding. Associated circuitry is also provided so that power can be alternatively supplied to either hot water heater loads or to auxiliary loads, at least one of which is solar-powered, thereby maintaining a full or constant load on the wind electric power plant to ensure the quiet operation of that plant even at times of strong wind conditions.
In the present improvement, alternator output is controlled through the use of an exciter including an exciter armature and an associated permanent magnet exciter field which eliminates the use of battery current as the source of excitation current for the field winding of the alternator and which thereby eliminates the need for the more expensive solid-state battery current control system required in applicants' herein-referenced U.S. patent and co-pending application.
As disclosed in the above-referenced co-pending application, the inventors have found that the field of wind electric plants has need of means for energizing the field of an alternator so that the alternator can develop full voltage at slow speed while also permitting speed increases of two or three times the starting speed. Such means should also permit full control of the energy output of the overall device. The present improvement further satisfies this need by providing a wind electric plant which increases the efficiency of the alternator while at the same time advantageously providing a much less costly wind electric generation plant of the type described.
The inventors have noted that during the operation of a wind electric plant of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,771 and, more specifically, during operation of a variable pitch speed controlled propeller device, there is considerable "on and off" pressure strain applied to the propeller area from the wind as a governor device, associated with the wind electric plant operates to change the pitch or blade angle of the propellers to keep them from overspeeding when the load is removed from the alternator. This "on and off" pressure against the propeller blades, caused by the rapid change in pitch of the propellers when the load on the alternator is removed, creates a considerable fluctuating pressure against the propellers, which is also applied against the wind electric plant and its supporting tower structure causing the tower to move back and forth to a considerable degree. This action places considerable strain on the tower and is repeated frequently when the alternator controls remove the load from the alternator. Also, frequent operation of the governor device causes considerable wearing of the governors' control parts.
Furthermore, the fluctuating pressure against the propellers, which is caused by the action of the governor device, causes the wind electric plant located at the top of the tower to sway. Since the wind electric plant has considerable weight, the swaying of that plant causes strain of and possible damage to the tower structure. As the wind pressure against the propellers reduces at the time when they "feather", the strain on these propellers is, accordingly, reduced greatly. Then as the governor device acts to change the pitch of the propellers, the pitch of these propellers being flattened to the wind, this action applies a considerable increase in wind pressure thereto. The action of the governor device causing the beforementioned fluctuating pressure on the propellers, which results in causing the tower structure to sway back and forth, is quite disadvantageous for the following reasons.
The inventors have noted that the sudden swaying of the tower, occurring when the governor device changes the pitch of the propeller blades, may cause the entire wind electric plant and its supporting tower structure to "spring back" or sway several inches. This movement places considerable strain on the propellers and their hub mounts as the propellers shift their operating plane in accordance with the action of the governor device.
The inventors have further noted that when large propellers are utilized such as those having a 20 foot diameter or larger, these propellers have nearly 1500 pounds of "centrifugal" weight in each blade during full speed operation and this "centrifugal" weight travels at a speed of over 100 miles-per-hour while the propellers operate in their revolving plane which is in line with their hub position. When the increased wind pressure is suddenly applied to the propeller diameter due to the action of the governor, the hub is pushed back, along with the wind electric plant and the tower structure, shifting the operating plane of the propellers and causing them to be "sprung" out of their revolving plane until they can shift their considerable "centrifugal" weight to a new position. These beforementioned actions create considerable strain and vibration which may cause damage to the entire wind electric plant system including the propeller blades, the tower structure and other parts of the tower. Furthermore, the resulting strain and vibration also causes jerking and shaking of the tail vane and other mounting and tower parts.
Accordingly, when the propellers are traveling at a high rate of speed and the propellers are forced to change their pitch or operating angle to the wind via the action of a governor device, when the load is removed from the alternator, considerable noise is created by the propellers due to the fact that they no longer present an airfoil contour to air movement past the propellers. This air movement past the propellers may exceed 100 M.P.H. tip speed even though the speed of the wind driving the propellers may only be 12 to 15 M.P.H. when there is no lead on the alternator.
Therefore, the field of wind electric plants has need of means for keeping a constant or full load on the wind electric plant in order to keep the propellers loaded. The present improvement satisfies that need by providing means to keep a constant load on the wind electric plant thereby ensuring quiet operation of that plant.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an improvement of the wind electric plants of the type disclosed in above-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,771 and co-pending application Ser. No. 887,373, filed Mar. 16, 1978. In the present improvement, alternator output is controlled via the use of an exciter including an exciter armature and an associated permanent magnet exciter field which eliminates the use of battery current as the source of excitation current for the alternator field winding, thus increasing the efficiency of the alternator, and thereby eliminating the need for the more expensive soild state battery current control system required in the herein referenced U.S. patent and co-pending application. The use of permanent magnets in the exciter field, in lieu of conventional exciter field windings or electromagnets, eliminates the utilization of battery current as the source of excitation current for the alternator field winding and provides a relatively constant field pole magnetic strength to the exciter, which is required to enable the alternator device of a wind electric plant to produce full voltage over the entire speed range of the alternator, as provided in the herein-mentioned U.S. patent and co-pending application.
The inventors have found that the field of wind electric plants has need of means for energizing the field winding of an alternator so that the alternator can develop full voltage at a slow speed of operation while also permitting speed increases of two or three times the starting speed. The present improvement satisfies this need by providing a wind electric plant which increases the efficiency of the alternator while at the same time advantageously providing a much less costly wind electric generation plant.
An alternator that operates over a wide range of speed, such as required in wind driven propeller systems, must produce full voltage at the starting or cut-in speed thereof at times of low speed wind conditions and yet not exceed its full voltage capacity when the maximum speed of a wind driven alternator is reached during times of high speed wind conditions. If the magnetic strength of the exciter field is maintained at a constant level over the entire speed range of an alternator, this requirement is met. Therefore, the use of an exciter having a permanent magnet exciter field, as provided by the present improvement, thus increases the efficiency of the alternator and supplies, to the exciter, the same relatively constant field pole magnetic strength, as provided by the herein referenced U.S. patent and co-pending application, thereby satisfying this requirement.
The inventors have noted, and have ascertained through testing, that if the exciter field magnetic strength is kept constant, as it is with the present disclosed permanent magnet exciter field, the power input required to operate the alternator increased in direct proportion to the increased power output of the wind driven propeller as the wind speed increased, thus providing a balance between wind power delivered by the propellers and the power required to drive the alternator over its operating speed range.
The present invention thus provides a method of energizing the alternator field winding of a wind driven alternator device by maintaining the magnetic field strength of the exciter field at a constant level over the entire speed range of the alternator.
The present improvement further provides circuitry which operates to keep a constant load on a wind electric generation plant in order to maintain quiet operation of the propellers even at times of strong wind conditions. By providing means to keep a constant or full electric load on the alternator, which in turn keeps the propellers loaded, the present invention ensures the quiet operation of the propellers of the wind electric plant. Furthermore, by keeping the propellers loaded, the present device eliminates the "on and off" pressure strain or fluctuating pressure applied to the propellers by the action of a governor device which operates to change the pitch or blade angle of the propellers to keep them from overspeeding when the load is removed from the alternator.
Accordingly, by keeping a constant load on the wind electric plant, the present invention eliminates all of the disadvantages described heretofore including the bending back and forth of the propellers, the swaying movement of the wind electric plant, the strain of and potential damage to the tower structure and the swaying movement thereof, the considerable strain existing on the propellers and their hub mounts, the shifting of the operating plane of the propellers in accordance with the action of the governor device, the considerable strain and vibration which may cause damage to the entire wind electric plant system including the propellers, the tower structure and other parts of the tower; elimination of the jerking and shaking motion of the tail vane and other mounting and tower parts, the considerable wearing of the governors' control parts, and the noise generated by the propellers when the governor action or operation occurs. Additionally, by keeping a constant load on the wind electric plant, governor action is only required during severe storm or weather conditions which may only occur a few times a year, whereby the considerable advantage of eliminating wearing of the governors' parts is secured by the present invention.
Furthermore, since the utilization of a permanent magnet field eliminates the use of battery current, as described above, the present improvement permits the elimination of the energy loss of battery current exciter field magnetic flux generation, eliminates all of the extensive and expensive battery current control and regulation circuits, eliminates any battery requirement and its cost if no battery is to be charged by the wind electric plant, and saves the cost of all of the cables and/or wires previously needed to connect the storage battery and control circuits, located at ground level, to the alternator or exciter device which is located at the top of the tower structure. If the wind electric plant and tower structure is located on top of a hill, approximately 1000 feet of wiring may be needed to connect the battery and control circuits to the alternator or exciter at the top of the tower and according the cost of these cables and/or wires may be considerable.
The present invention further provides a wind electric generation system capable of alternatively supplying the D.C. power required to charge a bank of storage batteries, the A.C. power required to supply and energize hot water heater loads contained in a heat storage unit and the A.C. power to supply ballast resistor or other auxiliary loads wherein the electric power output of the wind electric plant is fully utilized at all times thusly greatly increasing the efficiency of the wind electric plant while ensuring the quiet operation of that plant.
The present invention also provides, in another embodiment thereof, a wind electric generation system capable of alternatively supplying A.C. power to hot water heater loads contained in a thermal storage unit or to various types of auxiliary loads which may be solar-powered such as air conditioners, devices which manufacture hydrogen gas or any type of electric load requiring A.C. power, or to ballast resistor loads thereby maintaining a constant load on the wind electric generation plant to ensure the quiet operation thereof and thereby efficiently utilizing the entire power output of that plant. Thus, a combined wind and solar energy electric generation system is provided wherein the power output of the wind electric plant may be diverted to assist in supplying solar-powered auxiliary loads.
Other features, objects, advantages and a fuller understanding of the instant invention will be had by referring to the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing illustrating a wind electric generation system, employing a permanent magnet exciter field, for supplying the D. C. power required to charge batteries and the A.C. power required to supply either hot water heater loads or other auxiliary or ballast loads;
FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing illustrating another embodiment of a wind electric generation system, employing a permanent magnet exciter field, wherein a combined wind and solar electric generation system is shown; and
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the exciter and its permanent magnet exciter field.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a schematic drawing of a wind electric generation system which incorporates a permanent magnet exciter field and which system supplies the D.C. power required to charge batteries B and A.C. power required to supply either hot water heater loads 110, 111, and 112, or ballast resistor or auxiliary loads 113, 114, and 115. As shown therein, the exciter includes an exciter armature X and a permanent magnet exciter field 10 associated therewith. The exciter armature X also includes a wye-connected transformer 100 having single diode means 101 in each output phase leg thereof and an alternator field winding 104 connected to the output thereof. The wind driven alternator device comprises an alternator field winding 104 and three-phase A.C. output transformer 105 having A.C. output phase legs 106, 107, and 108.
The wind electric plant of the present invention generally comprises a wind driven propeller device, a governor means (not shown), an alternator, and an exciter, all of which are mounted at the top of a supporting tower structure. The alternator rotor and the exciter armature are mounted on the same shaft which is rotatably driven by a wind driven propeller device.
Before discussing the operation of the wind electric generation system depicted in FIG. 1, the exciter and its associated permanent magnet exciter field will now be described as follows:
FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the exciter device utilized in conjunction with the three-phase alternator of the present invention. A conventional 8-pole exciter normally comprises an exciter armature and an exciter field frame (stator) which comprises eight (8) field poles, each of which have field wires or electromagnets attached thereto. As shown in FIG. 3, the exciter comprises a rotatably driven exciter armature X and an exciter field frame (stator) which comprises field poles 11 having permanent magnets (alnico) 12 attached thereto by means of bolts 14. As shown in FIG. 3, the exciter field frame is devoid of any field wires or electromagnets which are accordingly depicted in broken-line form. The inventors have taken a conventional 8-pole exciter and having modified it by, firstly, removing all of the field wires or electromagnets 13 from the field poles 11 and, secondly, attaching a permanent magnet means 12 to each field pole 11 of the exciter field frame. The permanent magnets 12 may be fixedly attached to the field poles 11 by any suitable means other than bolts 14. Thusly, an exciter having an associated permanent magnet exciter field is provided.
As shown in FIG. 1, the exciter armature or rotor output is connected to the alternator field winding 104. The permanent magnet exciter field 10 provides a constant field pole magnetic strength to the exciter armature and its wyeconnected transformer 100 which, in turn, via its output circuit, supplies D.C. excitation current to the alternator field winding 104 connected at its output. Since the magnetic strength of the exciter field is held constant, as it is with permanent magnets, this enables the alternator to produce full voltage over its entire speed range, as previously described.
The wind electric generation system of FIG. 1 provides associated circuitry that operates automatically to alternatively supply the power required by various load devices in order to maintain a constant or full electric load on the alternator at all times to ensure the quiet and efficient operation of the wind electric plant. As shown in FIG. 1, the alternator three-phase A.C. output transformer 105 includes A.C. output phase legs 106, 107, and 108 which are connected in circuit to a battery charging network through circuit lines 116, 117, 118 and respective TRIACS TR1, TR2, and TR3. Phase legs 106, 107, and 108 are further connected in circuit to hot water heater loads 110, 111, 112 and ballast resistor or auxiliary load devices 113, 114, 115 through TRIACS TR4, TR5, TR6 and TR7, TR8, TR9, respectively. These TRIAC devices are A.C. triggered TRIACS, the operation of which is well-known. As shown, the gate electrodes for each of the beforementioned TRIAC devices are connected in circuit to phase legs 106, 107, and 108 through two separate, three pole-double throw switch means S1 and S2. Relays K1 and K2, which respectively control the operation of switch means S1 and S2, are connected in circuit with a battery charging network comprising rectifier network 130, a bank of batteries B to be charged, and a voltage regulator means. Diodes D10 and D20, connected respectively across relays K1 and K2, are anti-kickback diodes provided for the protection of these relays. Relay K1 is connected in circuit between the output of the voltage regulator and the battery charging network, as shown in FIG. 1. Relay K2 is connected in circuit with the thermostat device T of the heat or thermal storage unit and the circuit line connecting K1 to the collector of Q1 of the voltage regulator means.
The output of the alternator is initially used to charge the electrical energy storage batteries B. Diodes D1 through and including D6 form a full wave 3-phase battery charging rectifier device 130 which is connected between TRIACS TR1, TR2, TR3 and batteries B. The operation of the wind electric generation system is as follows:
With switch means S1 and S2 in the "up" position, as shown in FIG. 1 (Relays K1 and K2 de-energized) and with the alternator outputting A.C. power on phase legs 106, 107, and 108 (when the wind electric plant is in operation), TRIAC devices TR1, TR2, and TR3 are energized, via their respective gate electrodes, to supply A.C. power from phase legs 106, 107, and 108 to the rectifier network 130 as follows: phase leg 106, line 116 through TR1 to the junction of D1 and D4; phase leg 107, line 117 through TR2 to the junction of D2 and D5; and phase leg 108, line 118 through TR3 to the junction of D3 and D6. TRIAC devices TR1, TR2, and TR3 are energized by the application of an A.C. signal to each of their respective gate electrodes as follows: A.C. signal applied from phase leg 106, line 116, line 122 through the top switch blade connection of S1 to the gate electrode of TR1; A.C. signal applied from phase leg 107, line 117, line 123 through the middle switch blade connection of S1 to the gate electrode of TR2; and an A.C. signal applied from phase leg 108, line 118, line 124 through the bottom switch blade connection of S1 to the gate electrode of TR3.
Rectifier network 130 provides the D.C. current required to charge batteries B and the voltage regulator device, which is connected across the batteries B, is utilized to ascertain when the batteries have attained a full charge level. Any suitable type of voltage regulator circuit device, similar to that shown in FIG. 1, may be used and the operation of the depicted voltage regulator will not be described in that the operation thereof is well-known.
When "full" battery voltage is sensed by the voltage regulator, transistor Q1 conducts thereby energizing relay K1. If the thermostat T associated with the heat storage unit is closed, relay K2 is also energized. The energization of relays K1 and K2, respectively, cause switch means S1 and S2 to be actuated to the "down" position which is shown in broken line form in FIG. 1. With S1 in the "down" position, the A.C. gate signals applied to TR1, TR2, and TR3 are removed, thereby de-energizing these TRIAC devices which cease to supply power to rectifier network 130. With S1 and S2 actuated to the "down" position, TRIACS TR4, TR5, and TR6 are energized to supply A.C. power from phase legs 106, 107, and 108 to their respectively connected hot water heater loads 110, 111, and 112. TRIACS TR4, TR5, and TR6 are energized by the application of an A.C. signal to each of their respective gate electrodes as follows: A.C. signal applied from phase leg 106, line 116, line 122, top switch blade connection across S1, and through the top switch blade connection across S2 to the gate electrode of TR4; A.C. signal applied from phase leg 107, line 117, line 123, middle switch blade connection across S1, and through the middle switch blade connection across S2 to the gate electrode of TR5; and an A.C. signal applied from phase leg 108, line 118, line 124, bottom switch blade connection across S1, and through the bottom switch blade connection across S2 to the gate electrode of TR6. With S1 and S2 in the "down" position, TRIACS TR7, TR8, and TR9 are de-energized and no power is supplied to the ballast resistor or auxiliary load devices 113, 114, and 115.
When thermostat T "opens" thereby indicating that the temperature of the heat storage unit, or the like, is at or above the desired temperature, relay K2 is de-energized and switch means S2 returns to its "up" position, which thereby removes the A.C. gate signals from the gate electrodes of TRIACS TR4, TR5, and TR6 and applies these A.C. gate signals to the gate electrodes of TRIACS TR7, TR8, and TR9, whereupon TRIACS TR7, TR8, and TR9 are energized to respectively supply A.C. power from phase legs 106, 107, and 108, through lines 119, 120, and 121, respectively, to their respectively connected ballast resistor or auxiliary loads 113, 114, and 115.
The heretofore mentioned description of the circuit operation of FIG. 1 ensures that a full or constant electric load is at all times connected to the alternator output of the wind electric plant thereby increasing the efficiency of said alternator while at the same time ensuring the quiet operation of the wind electric plant.
Other operations of the wind electric generation system of FIG. 1 should be apparent in view of the above description.
The combined wind and solar electric generation system depicted in FIG. 2 will now be discussed as follows:
As shown in FIG. 2, the wind electric generation system incorporates a permanent magnet exciter field 20. The A.C. power output of the wind electric system is utilized to supply the A.C. power required to energize and operate hot water heater loads 210, 211, and 212 contained in a thermal or heat storage unit. Associated circuitry is provided to automatically divert the supply of power from the hot water heater loads to ballast resistor or auxiliary load devices 213, 214, and 215, which further receive power from a solar energy power source. Thus, the power output of the wind electric generation system may be diverted to assist in supplying supplemental power to the solar powered loads 213, 214, and 215.
With reference to FIG. 2, the exciter includes an exciter armature X and a permanent magnet exciter field 20 associated therewith. The exciter armature includes a wyeconnected transformer 200 having single diode means 201 in each output phase leg thereof and an alternator field winding 204 connected to the output thereof. The wind driven alternator device comprises an alternator field winding 204 and threephase A.C. output transformer 205 including A.C. output phase legs 206, 207, and 208. This wind electric generation plant corresponds to that shown in FIG. 1 and need not be discussed further with regard to its operation.
A.C. output phase legs 206, 207, and 208 are connected in circuit to hot water heater loads 210, 211, and 212 through TRIACS TR10, TR11, and TR12, respectively, and are further connected in circuit to ballast resistor or auxiliary loads 213, 214, and 215, as follows: phase leg 206, line 221 through TR13 to load 213; phase leg 207, line 220 through TR14 to load 214; and phase leg 208, line 219 through TR15 to load 215. As shown in FIG. 2, the gate electrodes for each of the beforementioned TRIACS are connected in circuit to phase legs 206, 207, and 208 through a three-pole-double throw switch means S3 which is controlled and actuated by relay K3. Relay K3 is connected in circuit between the thermostat of the thermal storage unit and rectifier network 230, which supplies the D.C. current required to energize relay K3. Rectifier network 230 comprises a threephase rectifier device which is connected, as shown, to phase legs 206, 207, and 208 through lines 216, 217, and 218, respectively. D40 is connected across relay K3 for the protection of relay K3.
With switch means S3 in the "up" position (relay K3 de-energized, thermostat "open") and with the alternator outputting A.C. power on phase legs 206, 207, and 208, TRIACS TR13, TR14, and TR15 are energized, via their respective gate electrodes, to supply A.C. power to their respectively connected loads 213, 214, and 215. This application of A.C. power supplements that power supplied to loads 213, 214, and 215 by the solar energy power source.
When the thermostat "closes", thereby indicating that the temperature of the heat storage unit or the like is below the desired temperature, relay K3 is energized via rectifier network 230. The energization of relay K3 causes switch means S3 to be actuated to its "down" position which thereby removes the application of the A.C. gate signals from the gate electrodes of TR13, TR14, and TR15 and applies these A.C. gate signals to the gate electrodes of TR10, TR11, and TR12 which causes TRIACS TR13, TR14, and TR15 to cease supplying A.C. power to their respectively connected loads. Accordingly, when the A.C. gate signals are applied to the gate electrodes of TR10, TR11, and TR12, these TRIACS are energized to supply A.C. power from phase legs 206, 207, and 208 to their respective hot water heater loads 210, 211, and 212.
Conversely, when the thermostat "opens", thereby indicating that the temperature of the thermal storage unit is at or above the desired temperature, relay K3 is de-energized, switch means S3 returns to its "up" position and the A.C. power is diverted back to supply the ballast resistor or auxiliary loads 213, 214, and 215.
The above description of the circuit operation of the combined wind and solar electric generation system of FIG. 2 ensures that a constant or full electric load is at all times connected to the alternator output of the wind electric plant thereby increasing the efficiency of that plant while at the same time ensuring the quiet operation thereof.
The separate uses of the present invention, as disclosed herein, are merely for the sake of convenience and are not intended to be limiting. Thus, combinations of the two systems can be effected without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Furthermore, various different types of exciters may be modified, in accordance with the teaching of the present invention, to include a permanent magnet exciter field.
As this invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the present embodiments are, therefore, illustrative and not restrictive, since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the description preceding them, and all changes that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims or that form their functional as well as conjointly cooperative equivalents are, therefore, intended to be embraced by those claims. | An improvement in a wind electric plant of the type disclosed in applicants' U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,771 and applicants' co-pending application Ser. No. 887,373, filed Mar. 16, 1978. The improvement comprises utilization of an exciter including an exciter armature and an associated permanent magnet exciter field to provide the excitation current for the field winding of a three-phase alternator. The use of permanent magnets in the exciter field, in lieu of conventional exciter field windings, eliminates the utilization of battery current as the source of excitation current for the field winding of a three-phase alternator. The improved wind electric power plant is utilized to supply A. C. power to hot water heater loads and/or auxiliary loads such as air conditioners, devices to manufacture hydrogen gas, and the like, which may be solar powered. The present invention also provides associated circuitry operable so that power can be supplied alternatively to either the hot water heater loads or to the auxiliary loads thereby maintaining a constant load on the wind electric power plant to ensure the quiet operation of that plant. | Summarize the patent document, focusing on the invention's functionality and advantages. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates, in general, to wind electric plants, and more particularly, to a wind electric plant of the type which includes a wind driven propeller or the like to drive an alternator for producing electrical energy as disclosed in applicants'",
"U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,771, issued Nov. 22, 1977.",
"The above-referenced patent and applicants'",
"co-pending application for Letters Patent Ser.",
"No. 887,373, filed Mar. 16, 1978, disclose battery controlled variable speed alternator systems for wind electric operation wherein battery current is utilized as the source of excitation current for the field winding of the alternator which battery current controls the excitation of the alternator field to provide a relatively constant excitation current for the alternator field winding, whereby the alternator field is fully excited at substantially all speeds of operation thereof.",
"In U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,771, alternator output is controlled directly through controls responsive to alternator speed and battery voltage to provide a relatively constant excitation current for the field winding of the alternator from a storage battery, wherein battery current is directly applied to the alternator field and whereby the alternator field is fully excited at substantially all speeds of operation thereof.",
"In applicants'",
"above-referenced co-pending application, an improvement of U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,771 is disclosed wherein alternator output is controlled indirectly through the field control of an exciter and battery current is utilized to provide the excitation current for the exciter field winding which thereby, via an associated exciter armature, controls the excitation of the alternator field winding.",
"Associated circuitry is also provided so that power can be alternatively supplied to either hot water heater loads or to auxiliary loads, at least one of which is solar-powered, thereby maintaining a full or constant load on the wind electric power plant to ensure the quiet operation of that plant even at times of strong wind conditions.",
"In the present improvement, alternator output is controlled through the use of an exciter including an exciter armature and an associated permanent magnet exciter field which eliminates the use of battery current as the source of excitation current for the field winding of the alternator and which thereby eliminates the need for the more expensive solid-state battery current control system required in applicants'",
"herein-referenced U.S. patent and co-pending application.",
"As disclosed in the above-referenced co-pending application, the inventors have found that the field of wind electric plants has need of means for energizing the field of an alternator so that the alternator can develop full voltage at slow speed while also permitting speed increases of two or three times the starting speed.",
"Such means should also permit full control of the energy output of the overall device.",
"The present improvement further satisfies this need by providing a wind electric plant which increases the efficiency of the alternator while at the same time advantageously providing a much less costly wind electric generation plant of the type described.",
"The inventors have noted that during the operation of a wind electric plant of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,771 and, more specifically, during operation of a variable pitch speed controlled propeller device, there is considerable "on and off"",
"pressure strain applied to the propeller area from the wind as a governor device, associated with the wind electric plant operates to change the pitch or blade angle of the propellers to keep them from overspeeding when the load is removed from the alternator.",
"This "on and off"",
"pressure against the propeller blades, caused by the rapid change in pitch of the propellers when the load on the alternator is removed, creates a considerable fluctuating pressure against the propellers, which is also applied against the wind electric plant and its supporting tower structure causing the tower to move back and forth to a considerable degree.",
"This action places considerable strain on the tower and is repeated frequently when the alternator controls remove the load from the alternator.",
"Also, frequent operation of the governor device causes considerable wearing of the governors'",
"control parts.",
"Furthermore, the fluctuating pressure against the propellers, which is caused by the action of the governor device, causes the wind electric plant located at the top of the tower to sway.",
"Since the wind electric plant has considerable weight, the swaying of that plant causes strain of and possible damage to the tower structure.",
"As the wind pressure against the propellers reduces at the time when they "feather", the strain on these propellers is, accordingly, reduced greatly.",
"Then as the governor device acts to change the pitch of the propellers, the pitch of these propellers being flattened to the wind, this action applies a considerable increase in wind pressure thereto.",
"The action of the governor device causing the beforementioned fluctuating pressure on the propellers, which results in causing the tower structure to sway back and forth, is quite disadvantageous for the following reasons.",
"The inventors have noted that the sudden swaying of the tower, occurring when the governor device changes the pitch of the propeller blades, may cause the entire wind electric plant and its supporting tower structure to "spring back"",
"or sway several inches.",
"This movement places considerable strain on the propellers and their hub mounts as the propellers shift their operating plane in accordance with the action of the governor device.",
"The inventors have further noted that when large propellers are utilized such as those having a 20 foot diameter or larger, these propellers have nearly 1500 pounds of "centrifugal"",
"weight in each blade during full speed operation and this "centrifugal"",
"weight travels at a speed of over 100 miles-per-hour while the propellers operate in their revolving plane which is in line with their hub position.",
"When the increased wind pressure is suddenly applied to the propeller diameter due to the action of the governor, the hub is pushed back, along with the wind electric plant and the tower structure, shifting the operating plane of the propellers and causing them to be "sprung"",
"out of their revolving plane until they can shift their considerable "centrifugal"",
"weight to a new position.",
"These beforementioned actions create considerable strain and vibration which may cause damage to the entire wind electric plant system including the propeller blades, the tower structure and other parts of the tower.",
"Furthermore, the resulting strain and vibration also causes jerking and shaking of the tail vane and other mounting and tower parts.",
"Accordingly, when the propellers are traveling at a high rate of speed and the propellers are forced to change their pitch or operating angle to the wind via the action of a governor device, when the load is removed from the alternator, considerable noise is created by the propellers due to the fact that they no longer present an airfoil contour to air movement past the propellers.",
"This air movement past the propellers may exceed 100 M.P.H. tip speed even though the speed of the wind driving the propellers may only be 12 to 15 M.P.H. when there is no lead on the alternator.",
"Therefore, the field of wind electric plants has need of means for keeping a constant or full load on the wind electric plant in order to keep the propellers loaded.",
"The present improvement satisfies that need by providing means to keep a constant load on the wind electric plant thereby ensuring quiet operation of that plant.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an improvement of the wind electric plants of the type disclosed in above-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,771 and co-pending application Ser.",
"No. 887,373, filed Mar. 16, 1978.",
"In the present improvement, alternator output is controlled via the use of an exciter including an exciter armature and an associated permanent magnet exciter field which eliminates the use of battery current as the source of excitation current for the alternator field winding, thus increasing the efficiency of the alternator, and thereby eliminating the need for the more expensive soild state battery current control system required in the herein referenced U.S. patent and co-pending application.",
"The use of permanent magnets in the exciter field, in lieu of conventional exciter field windings or electromagnets, eliminates the utilization of battery current as the source of excitation current for the alternator field winding and provides a relatively constant field pole magnetic strength to the exciter, which is required to enable the alternator device of a wind electric plant to produce full voltage over the entire speed range of the alternator, as provided in the herein-mentioned U.S. patent and co-pending application.",
"The inventors have found that the field of wind electric plants has need of means for energizing the field winding of an alternator so that the alternator can develop full voltage at a slow speed of operation while also permitting speed increases of two or three times the starting speed.",
"The present improvement satisfies this need by providing a wind electric plant which increases the efficiency of the alternator while at the same time advantageously providing a much less costly wind electric generation plant.",
"An alternator that operates over a wide range of speed, such as required in wind driven propeller systems, must produce full voltage at the starting or cut-in speed thereof at times of low speed wind conditions and yet not exceed its full voltage capacity when the maximum speed of a wind driven alternator is reached during times of high speed wind conditions.",
"If the magnetic strength of the exciter field is maintained at a constant level over the entire speed range of an alternator, this requirement is met.",
"Therefore, the use of an exciter having a permanent magnet exciter field, as provided by the present improvement, thus increases the efficiency of the alternator and supplies, to the exciter, the same relatively constant field pole magnetic strength, as provided by the herein referenced U.S. patent and co-pending application, thereby satisfying this requirement.",
"The inventors have noted, and have ascertained through testing, that if the exciter field magnetic strength is kept constant, as it is with the present disclosed permanent magnet exciter field, the power input required to operate the alternator increased in direct proportion to the increased power output of the wind driven propeller as the wind speed increased, thus providing a balance between wind power delivered by the propellers and the power required to drive the alternator over its operating speed range.",
"The present invention thus provides a method of energizing the alternator field winding of a wind driven alternator device by maintaining the magnetic field strength of the exciter field at a constant level over the entire speed range of the alternator.",
"The present improvement further provides circuitry which operates to keep a constant load on a wind electric generation plant in order to maintain quiet operation of the propellers even at times of strong wind conditions.",
"By providing means to keep a constant or full electric load on the alternator, which in turn keeps the propellers loaded, the present invention ensures the quiet operation of the propellers of the wind electric plant.",
"Furthermore, by keeping the propellers loaded, the present device eliminates the "on and off"",
"pressure strain or fluctuating pressure applied to the propellers by the action of a governor device which operates to change the pitch or blade angle of the propellers to keep them from overspeeding when the load is removed from the alternator.",
"Accordingly, by keeping a constant load on the wind electric plant, the present invention eliminates all of the disadvantages described heretofore including the bending back and forth of the propellers, the swaying movement of the wind electric plant, the strain of and potential damage to the tower structure and the swaying movement thereof, the considerable strain existing on the propellers and their hub mounts, the shifting of the operating plane of the propellers in accordance with the action of the governor device, the considerable strain and vibration which may cause damage to the entire wind electric plant system including the propellers, the tower structure and other parts of the tower;",
"elimination of the jerking and shaking motion of the tail vane and other mounting and tower parts, the considerable wearing of the governors'",
"control parts, and the noise generated by the propellers when the governor action or operation occurs.",
"Additionally, by keeping a constant load on the wind electric plant, governor action is only required during severe storm or weather conditions which may only occur a few times a year, whereby the considerable advantage of eliminating wearing of the governors'",
"parts is secured by the present invention.",
"Furthermore, since the utilization of a permanent magnet field eliminates the use of battery current, as described above, the present improvement permits the elimination of the energy loss of battery current exciter field magnetic flux generation, eliminates all of the extensive and expensive battery current control and regulation circuits, eliminates any battery requirement and its cost if no battery is to be charged by the wind electric plant, and saves the cost of all of the cables and/or wires previously needed to connect the storage battery and control circuits, located at ground level, to the alternator or exciter device which is located at the top of the tower structure.",
"If the wind electric plant and tower structure is located on top of a hill, approximately 1000 feet of wiring may be needed to connect the battery and control circuits to the alternator or exciter at the top of the tower and according the cost of these cables and/or wires may be considerable.",
"The present invention further provides a wind electric generation system capable of alternatively supplying the D.C. power required to charge a bank of storage batteries, the A.C. power required to supply and energize hot water heater loads contained in a heat storage unit and the A.C. power to supply ballast resistor or other auxiliary loads wherein the electric power output of the wind electric plant is fully utilized at all times thusly greatly increasing the efficiency of the wind electric plant while ensuring the quiet operation of that plant.",
"The present invention also provides, in another embodiment thereof, a wind electric generation system capable of alternatively supplying A.C. power to hot water heater loads contained in a thermal storage unit or to various types of auxiliary loads which may be solar-powered such as air conditioners, devices which manufacture hydrogen gas or any type of electric load requiring A.C. power, or to ballast resistor loads thereby maintaining a constant load on the wind electric generation plant to ensure the quiet operation thereof and thereby efficiently utilizing the entire power output of that plant.",
"Thus, a combined wind and solar energy electric generation system is provided wherein the power output of the wind electric plant may be diverted to assist in supplying solar-powered auxiliary loads.",
"Other features, objects, advantages and a fuller understanding of the instant invention will be had by referring to the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing illustrating a wind electric generation system, employing a permanent magnet exciter field, for supplying the D. C. power required to charge batteries and the A.C. power required to supply either hot water heater loads or other auxiliary or ballast loads;",
"FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing illustrating another embodiment of a wind electric generation system, employing a permanent magnet exciter field, wherein a combined wind and solar electric generation system is shown;",
"and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the exciter and its permanent magnet exciter field.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a schematic drawing of a wind electric generation system which incorporates a permanent magnet exciter field and which system supplies the D.C. power required to charge batteries B and A.C. power required to supply either hot water heater loads 110, 111, and 112, or ballast resistor or auxiliary loads 113, 114, and 115.",
"As shown therein, the exciter includes an exciter armature X and a permanent magnet exciter field 10 associated therewith.",
"The exciter armature X also includes a wye-connected transformer 100 having single diode means 101 in each output phase leg thereof and an alternator field winding 104 connected to the output thereof.",
"The wind driven alternator device comprises an alternator field winding 104 and three-phase A.C. output transformer 105 having A.C. output phase legs 106, 107, and 108.",
"The wind electric plant of the present invention generally comprises a wind driven propeller device, a governor means (not shown), an alternator, and an exciter, all of which are mounted at the top of a supporting tower structure.",
"The alternator rotor and the exciter armature are mounted on the same shaft which is rotatably driven by a wind driven propeller device.",
"Before discussing the operation of the wind electric generation system depicted in FIG. 1, the exciter and its associated permanent magnet exciter field will now be described as follows: FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the exciter device utilized in conjunction with the three-phase alternator of the present invention.",
"A conventional 8-pole exciter normally comprises an exciter armature and an exciter field frame (stator) which comprises eight (8) field poles, each of which have field wires or electromagnets attached thereto.",
"As shown in FIG. 3, the exciter comprises a rotatably driven exciter armature X and an exciter field frame (stator) which comprises field poles 11 having permanent magnets (alnico) 12 attached thereto by means of bolts 14.",
"As shown in FIG. 3, the exciter field frame is devoid of any field wires or electromagnets which are accordingly depicted in broken-line form.",
"The inventors have taken a conventional 8-pole exciter and having modified it by, firstly, removing all of the field wires or electromagnets 13 from the field poles 11 and, secondly, attaching a permanent magnet means 12 to each field pole 11 of the exciter field frame.",
"The permanent magnets 12 may be fixedly attached to the field poles 11 by any suitable means other than bolts 14.",
"Thusly, an exciter having an associated permanent magnet exciter field is provided.",
"As shown in FIG. 1, the exciter armature or rotor output is connected to the alternator field winding 104.",
"The permanent magnet exciter field 10 provides a constant field pole magnetic strength to the exciter armature and its wyeconnected transformer 100 which, in turn, via its output circuit, supplies D.C. excitation current to the alternator field winding 104 connected at its output.",
"Since the magnetic strength of the exciter field is held constant, as it is with permanent magnets, this enables the alternator to produce full voltage over its entire speed range, as previously described.",
"The wind electric generation system of FIG. 1 provides associated circuitry that operates automatically to alternatively supply the power required by various load devices in order to maintain a constant or full electric load on the alternator at all times to ensure the quiet and efficient operation of the wind electric plant.",
"As shown in FIG. 1, the alternator three-phase A.C. output transformer 105 includes A.C. output phase legs 106, 107, and 108 which are connected in circuit to a battery charging network through circuit lines 116, 117, 118 and respective TRIACS TR1, TR2, and TR3.",
"Phase legs 106, 107, and 108 are further connected in circuit to hot water heater loads 110, 111, 112 and ballast resistor or auxiliary load devices 113, 114, 115 through TRIACS TR4, TR5, TR6 and TR7, TR8, TR9, respectively.",
"These TRIAC devices are A.C. triggered TRIACS, the operation of which is well-known.",
"As shown, the gate electrodes for each of the beforementioned TRIAC devices are connected in circuit to phase legs 106, 107, and 108 through two separate, three pole-double throw switch means S1 and S2.",
"Relays K1 and K2, which respectively control the operation of switch means S1 and S2, are connected in circuit with a battery charging network comprising rectifier network 130, a bank of batteries B to be charged, and a voltage regulator means.",
"Diodes D10 and D20, connected respectively across relays K1 and K2, are anti-kickback diodes provided for the protection of these relays.",
"Relay K1 is connected in circuit between the output of the voltage regulator and the battery charging network, as shown in FIG. 1. Relay K2 is connected in circuit with the thermostat device T of the heat or thermal storage unit and the circuit line connecting K1 to the collector of Q1 of the voltage regulator means.",
"The output of the alternator is initially used to charge the electrical energy storage batteries B. Diodes D1 through and including D6 form a full wave 3-phase battery charging rectifier device 130 which is connected between TRIACS TR1, TR2, TR3 and batteries B. The operation of the wind electric generation system is as follows: With switch means S1 and S2 in the "up"",
"position, as shown in FIG. 1 (Relays K1 and K2 de-energized) and with the alternator outputting A.C. power on phase legs 106, 107, and 108 (when the wind electric plant is in operation), TRIAC devices TR1, TR2, and TR3 are energized, via their respective gate electrodes, to supply A.C. power from phase legs 106, 107, and 108 to the rectifier network 130 as follows: phase leg 106, line 116 through TR1 to the junction of D1 and D4;",
"phase leg 107, line 117 through TR2 to the junction of D2 and D5;",
"and phase leg 108, line 118 through TR3 to the junction of D3 and D6.",
"TRIAC devices TR1, TR2, and TR3 are energized by the application of an A.C. signal to each of their respective gate electrodes as follows: A.C. signal applied from phase leg 106, line 116, line 122 through the top switch blade connection of S1 to the gate electrode of TR1;",
"A.C. signal applied from phase leg 107, line 117, line 123 through the middle switch blade connection of S1 to the gate electrode of TR2;",
"and an A.C. signal applied from phase leg 108, line 118, line 124 through the bottom switch blade connection of S1 to the gate electrode of TR3.",
"Rectifier network 130 provides the D.C. current required to charge batteries B and the voltage regulator device, which is connected across the batteries B, is utilized to ascertain when the batteries have attained a full charge level.",
"Any suitable type of voltage regulator circuit device, similar to that shown in FIG. 1, may be used and the operation of the depicted voltage regulator will not be described in that the operation thereof is well-known.",
"When "full"",
"battery voltage is sensed by the voltage regulator, transistor Q1 conducts thereby energizing relay K1.",
"If the thermostat T associated with the heat storage unit is closed, relay K2 is also energized.",
"The energization of relays K1 and K2, respectively, cause switch means S1 and S2 to be actuated to the "down"",
"position which is shown in broken line form in FIG. 1. With S1 in the "down"",
"position, the A.C. gate signals applied to TR1, TR2, and TR3 are removed, thereby de-energizing these TRIAC devices which cease to supply power to rectifier network 130.",
"With S1 and S2 actuated to the "down"",
"position, TRIACS TR4, TR5, and TR6 are energized to supply A.C. power from phase legs 106, 107, and 108 to their respectively connected hot water heater loads 110, 111, and 112.",
"TRIACS TR4, TR5, and TR6 are energized by the application of an A.C. signal to each of their respective gate electrodes as follows: A.C. signal applied from phase leg 106, line 116, line 122, top switch blade connection across S1, and through the top switch blade connection across S2 to the gate electrode of TR4;",
"A.C. signal applied from phase leg 107, line 117, line 123, middle switch blade connection across S1, and through the middle switch blade connection across S2 to the gate electrode of TR5;",
"and an A.C. signal applied from phase leg 108, line 118, line 124, bottom switch blade connection across S1, and through the bottom switch blade connection across S2 to the gate electrode of TR6.",
"With S1 and S2 in the "down"",
"position, TRIACS TR7, TR8, and TR9 are de-energized and no power is supplied to the ballast resistor or auxiliary load devices 113, 114, and 115.",
"When thermostat T "opens"",
"thereby indicating that the temperature of the heat storage unit, or the like, is at or above the desired temperature, relay K2 is de-energized and switch means S2 returns to its "up"",
"position, which thereby removes the A.C. gate signals from the gate electrodes of TRIACS TR4, TR5, and TR6 and applies these A.C. gate signals to the gate electrodes of TRIACS TR7, TR8, and TR9, whereupon TRIACS TR7, TR8, and TR9 are energized to respectively supply A.C. power from phase legs 106, 107, and 108, through lines 119, 120, and 121, respectively, to their respectively connected ballast resistor or auxiliary loads 113, 114, and 115.",
"The heretofore mentioned description of the circuit operation of FIG. 1 ensures that a full or constant electric load is at all times connected to the alternator output of the wind electric plant thereby increasing the efficiency of said alternator while at the same time ensuring the quiet operation of the wind electric plant.",
"Other operations of the wind electric generation system of FIG. 1 should be apparent in view of the above description.",
"The combined wind and solar electric generation system depicted in FIG. 2 will now be discussed as follows: As shown in FIG. 2, the wind electric generation system incorporates a permanent magnet exciter field 20.",
"The A.C. power output of the wind electric system is utilized to supply the A.C. power required to energize and operate hot water heater loads 210, 211, and 212 contained in a thermal or heat storage unit.",
"Associated circuitry is provided to automatically divert the supply of power from the hot water heater loads to ballast resistor or auxiliary load devices 213, 214, and 215, which further receive power from a solar energy power source.",
"Thus, the power output of the wind electric generation system may be diverted to assist in supplying supplemental power to the solar powered loads 213, 214, and 215.",
"With reference to FIG. 2, the exciter includes an exciter armature X and a permanent magnet exciter field 20 associated therewith.",
"The exciter armature includes a wyeconnected transformer 200 having single diode means 201 in each output phase leg thereof and an alternator field winding 204 connected to the output thereof.",
"The wind driven alternator device comprises an alternator field winding 204 and threephase A.C. output transformer 205 including A.C. output phase legs 206, 207, and 208.",
"This wind electric generation plant corresponds to that shown in FIG. 1 and need not be discussed further with regard to its operation.",
"A.C. output phase legs 206, 207, and 208 are connected in circuit to hot water heater loads 210, 211, and 212 through TRIACS TR10, TR11, and TR12, respectively, and are further connected in circuit to ballast resistor or auxiliary loads 213, 214, and 215, as follows: phase leg 206, line 221 through TR13 to load 213;",
"phase leg 207, line 220 through TR14 to load 214;",
"and phase leg 208, line 219 through TR15 to load 215.",
"As shown in FIG. 2, the gate electrodes for each of the beforementioned TRIACS are connected in circuit to phase legs 206, 207, and 208 through a three-pole-double throw switch means S3 which is controlled and actuated by relay K3.",
"Relay K3 is connected in circuit between the thermostat of the thermal storage unit and rectifier network 230, which supplies the D.C. current required to energize relay K3.",
"Rectifier network 230 comprises a threephase rectifier device which is connected, as shown, to phase legs 206, 207, and 208 through lines 216, 217, and 218, respectively.",
"D40 is connected across relay K3 for the protection of relay K3.",
"With switch means S3 in the "up"",
"position (relay K3 de-energized, thermostat "open") and with the alternator outputting A.C. power on phase legs 206, 207, and 208, TRIACS TR13, TR14, and TR15 are energized, via their respective gate electrodes, to supply A.C. power to their respectively connected loads 213, 214, and 215.",
"This application of A.C. power supplements that power supplied to loads 213, 214, and 215 by the solar energy power source.",
"When the thermostat "closes", thereby indicating that the temperature of the heat storage unit or the like is below the desired temperature, relay K3 is energized via rectifier network 230.",
"The energization of relay K3 causes switch means S3 to be actuated to its "down"",
"position which thereby removes the application of the A.C. gate signals from the gate electrodes of TR13, TR14, and TR15 and applies these A.C. gate signals to the gate electrodes of TR10, TR11, and TR12 which causes TRIACS TR13, TR14, and TR15 to cease supplying A.C. power to their respectively connected loads.",
"Accordingly, when the A.C. gate signals are applied to the gate electrodes of TR10, TR11, and TR12, these TRIACS are energized to supply A.C. power from phase legs 206, 207, and 208 to their respective hot water heater loads 210, 211, and 212.",
"Conversely, when the thermostat "opens", thereby indicating that the temperature of the thermal storage unit is at or above the desired temperature, relay K3 is de-energized, switch means S3 returns to its "up"",
"position and the A.C. power is diverted back to supply the ballast resistor or auxiliary loads 213, 214, and 215.",
"The above description of the circuit operation of the combined wind and solar electric generation system of FIG. 2 ensures that a constant or full electric load is at all times connected to the alternator output of the wind electric plant thereby increasing the efficiency of that plant while at the same time ensuring the quiet operation thereof.",
"The separate uses of the present invention, as disclosed herein, are merely for the sake of convenience and are not intended to be limiting.",
"Thus, combinations of the two systems can be effected without departing from the scope of the present invention.",
"Furthermore, various different types of exciters may be modified, in accordance with the teaching of the present invention, to include a permanent magnet exciter field.",
"As this invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the present embodiments are, therefore, illustrative and not restrictive, since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the description preceding them, and all changes that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims or that form their functional as well as conjointly cooperative equivalents are, therefore, intended to be embraced by those claims."
] |
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