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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to garments for animals, and particularly to a protective garment for a dog working in a cleanroom.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Four-legged animals, particularly dogs, have long worn simple garments to protect them from cold or wet weather. Dogs have a wide assortment of sweaters, rain jackets, hats, and boots to keep them comfortable outdoors. Dogs that work often wear distinguishing uniforms, such as the colored capes or vests worn by assistance dogs. Dogs that work in law enforcement or the military may even wear armored apparel.
Dogs that have been groomed for a show may wear some sort of coverall suit to keep them clean, such as to keep them from accidentally rubbing against a dusty surface. Containment suits to keep insecticidal dust in contact with a dog's fur for a period of time are also known.
Both types of “cleanliness” garment for a dog are typically designed with air vents to keep the dog from overheating while wearing the coverall. Thus they prevent bulk transfer of dirt or insecticide between the inside and the outside of the suit, but do not totally prevent material, especially small particles and hairs, from entering or leaving the suit.
One very specialized job that dogs can perform is to identify and locate various harmful materials, such as bacteria, molds, and allergenic chemicals. Colonies of mold, yeast, or bacteria often create chemical products of their metabolism that have an odor that is diagnostic of the type of organism. Dogs can be trained to respond to these characteristic odors and to indicate the location of the strongest source of a detected odor.
For example, a dog trained to recognize characteristic odors from molds can locate infestations that are not visible, such as on the inner surface of wallpaper or underneath floor covering in houses. Dogs can also find colonies of harmful fungi and bacteria in restaurants, hospitals, and manufacturing areas such as semiconductor fabrication cleanrooms.
Bacterial types that can be identified by their odors include E. Coli, Salmonella , and Listeria . These genera include several pathogenic species that are health hazards to animals and humans. Bacteria and fungi can also cause various types of defects and yield loss in manufacturing.
It is desirable that dogs that perform jobs in restaurants, hospitals or other health care facilities, and manufacturing areas wear distinctive garments to indicate that they are service dogs and not unauthorized pets. Such garments are preferably also protective for the dogs and for the facility.
For example, dogs typically shed hairs, dander, and other materials when they move. These are allergenic to some people and are never seen as benign when found in a restaurant meal or on a semiconductor wafer. Thus, a garment for a dog working in a facility that prepares food, provides health care, or manufactures microscopic or sterile articles would preferably envelop the dog and keep hair and dander inside.
It is desirable that a work garment for a dog be constructed somewhat like “cleanroom” garb for humans: made of lintfree fabric that does not allow passage of small particles in either direction, composed of parts that overlap sufficiently that movement does not open a gap between parts or create a “bellows” effect to puff particles out between parts of the garment, and covering substantially all of the body.
However, human cleanroom garb typically either leaves the face bare or covers the face with a paper or fabric covering that air can penetrate. In the case of extremely “clean” applications, a human cleanroom suit may contain its own air source, such that the person may be totally enclosed in an impermeable unit.
A dog that is trained to detect certain odors uses a special type of breathing that maximizes the sensitivity of the sense of smell. The dog breathes more air in and out than is generally used for simple respiration and the air is preferably not filtered or obstructed. Filtration of the atmosphere through a permeable mask can add spurious odors and obscure the directionality of a scent. Thus, a cleanroom suit for a dog would have special requirements for the design of the face covering.
A dog trained to locate odors typically detects an odor then gradually approaches the strongest source of the odor. To signal the center of the odor, the dog may point to the source of odor with a paw, sit down directly in front of it, or stand close to it and wag the tail. Thus, an odor-detecting dog typically comes close to the source of an odor, which may be a pathogen or substance that may be harmful to the dog.
It would be desirable that a work suit for a dog protect the dog from hazards the dog encounters. Although the dog's nose must be relatively free to process air, it is desirable that the nose also be protected against accidental or careless contact with harmful substances. In fact, it would be desirable that the dog's entire body, including the pads of its paws, be protected from contact with pathogens or harmful chemicals.
There is a need for an identifying garment that a dog can wear while locating characteristic odors in restaurants, hospitals, laboratories, skilled nursing facilities, and cleanrooms. There is further a need for a garment that prevents particles from being shed by the dog while in the controlled facility. There is further a need for a garment that protects the dog from contact with dangerous materials. There is further a need for a protective garment for a dog that does not impede the dog's breathing or interfere with the dog's sense of smell.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is “clean” garb for a dog that uses the sense of smell to locate harmful bacteria or fungi in controlled environments such as hospitals and cleanroom manufacturing areas. The coverall covers nearly all of the dog's body and feet while providing a clear airway to the nostrils.
The garb generally includes a body covering suit with integral booties and a hood for covering the head. The body portion includes a back zipper for entry into the suit. Elongated portions enclose each leg separately for easy walking. An elastic band secures each leg portion above the foot to form a bootie, which may include a flexible sole for walking on.
Another elongate portion surrounds the tail. An elastic band holds the tail portion firmly near the base of the tail so that wagging or waving of the tail may be clearly seen by the dog's handler.
A hood for covering the head is donned after the body portion and overlaps it in the head and neck area. An elastic band secures the hood tightly against the base of the neck. The front of the hood is transparent plastic to allow the dog to see. The transparent portion surrounds the snout and extends slightly beyond it. The end of the transparent portion is open to allow free passage of air, but the extended end of the hood prevents the dog's nose from contacting any surface.
The invention will now be described in more particular detail with respect to the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective, partly exploded view of the dog wearing work garb of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a top view of the work garb alone.
FIG. 3 is a top view of the dog and work garb of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 4 is a side view of the dog and work garb of FIG. 1 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows a dog 100 wearing the work garb 10 of the present invention. Work garb 10 includes two main parts: coverall 20 for covering the body and hood 50 for covering the head.
FIG. 2 shows the parts of work garb 10 in top view. FIG. 3 is a top view of the dog of FIG. 1 . FIG. 4 is a side view of the dog of FIG. 1 .
Coverall 20 covers the dog's entire body except for the front part of the head. Body portion 40 covers dog 100 's torso and includes a long zipper 43 that selectively opens up back 42 of coverall 20 for dog 100 to don coverall 20 . Neck/head portion 44 covers dog 100 's neck and the back part of the head. Preferably, neck/head portion 44 terminates near the ears and preferably, as shown, terminates between dog 100 's ears and eyes.
Neck/head portion 44 includes a cinching means, such as elastic band 45 , for holding the edge of neck/head portion 44 snugly against the dog's head.
Coverall 20 includes a leg covering 22 for each leg. Each leg covering 22 is an elongated sleeve with a closed end. The closed end of leg covering 22 forms an integral bootie 24 for the foot. Cinching means, such as an elastic band 25 , located just above the dog's foot, holds bootie 24 in place so that dog 100 may walk easily. Alternatively, elastic band 25 may be replaced with other cinching means for holding the bootie in place, such as a strap that is tied or otherwise secured above dog 100 's foot.
Coverall 20 preferably includes a tail pouch 30 for enclosing dog 100 's tail. Tail elastic 35 secures tail pouch 30 close to dog 100 's tail about an inch or two from the base of the tail. Tail elastic 35 ensures that the tail does not slip inside coverall 20 . Because some dogs 100 are trained to indicate the location of an odor by wagging the tail, it is necessary that the tail remains within tail pouch 30 so that wagging is easily seen.
Work garb 10 also includes a hood 50 for covering dog 100 's head without interfering with dog 100 's senses of vision or smell. Hood 50 generally comprises a bonnet portion 52 and a face shield 56 .
Bonnet portion 52 is for covering the rear part of dog 100 's head and overlapping neck/head portion 44 of coverall 20 . Bonnet portion 52 includes neck elastic 55 to hold bonnet portion 52 tightly overlapped over neck/head portion 44 .
Face shield 56 is attached to bonnet portion 52 and covers the front portion of dog 100 's head. Face shield 56 is generally in the shape of a truncated cone and constructed from transparent, flexible plastic. Face shield 56 is open at the end near dog 100 's nostrils to allow for unobstructed breathing and sampling of air for odors. Face shield 56 extends slightly beyond dog 100 's snout so that dog 100 cannot touch any surface with unprotected nose 101 , lips, or tongue.
Face shield 52 is preferably constructed of sheet material that is flexible enough to form into the general shape of a truncated cone that fits fairly snugly around the dog's snout. The preferred material is also sufficiently rigid when rolled into a conical shape that it extends past dog 100 's nose 101 in a sufficiently rigid manner that dog 100 will not be able to easily dislodge or mash opening 57 and be able to contact dangerous materials with nose 101 .
Face shield 56 may be permanently attached to bonnet portion 52 , such as by adhesive or by sewing. Alternatively, face shield 56 may be detachable so that it is easily replaced if scratched or contaminated. For example, face shield 56 may be attached with snaps (not shown) that are covered by a placket.
In an alternative embodiment, not illustrated, face shield 56 comprises a transparent portion of hood 50 sufficient for dog 100 to see through. In such case, opening 57 in the distal end of hood 50 is rigidified, such as by including a plastic armature around opening 57 .
Coverall 20 and bonnet portion 52 are constructed of suitable woven, knit, or non-woven sheet material that prevents passage of particles and microorganisms. Tyvek is an example of a non-woven material that is suitable for a single wearing. Suitable fabrics woven from synthetic fibers can be used to make work garb 10 that can be laundered and re-used many times. Zipper 43 must be of a type that does not generate free particles when operated. Alternative closure means include ties, snaps, hook and loop fastener, or similar.
Dog 100 must be appropriately prepared before donning work garb 10 . Dog 100 is thoroughly brushed and bathed. After drying, dog 100 is vacuumed to remove loose hairs and dander. The vacuuming is done before entering the “gowning area” that is typically adjacent to the clean work area.
The vacuumed dog 100 then enters the gowning area. The human handler with dog 100 dons gloves before helping dog 100 don work garb 10 . Zipper 43 is fully opened and coverall 20 is spread open for dog 100 to step into. Each of dog 100 's feet goes into an appropriate leg cover 22 and the handler ensures that the foot is fully engaged into bootie 24 , with elastic 25 disposed above the foot. Dog 100 's tail is similarly placed into tail pouch 30 . Then zipper 43 is closed and neck/head elastic 45 is smoothed in front of dog 100 's ears.
Hood 50 is then pulled over dog 100 's head from the front. Dog 100 's snout goes into conical face shield 52 and neck elastic 55 is overlapped over neck/head portion 44 of coverall 20 . The handler checks that dog 100 's nostrils and lips are protected by face shield 52 and cannot touch any external surface.
This garbing process is typically performed with dog 100 and handler standing on a tacky mat so that any lint or bacteria stirred up by the process is eventually collected by the tacky mat. The human handler typically replaces the gloves with fresh ones after assisting dog 100 don work garb 10 .
While work garb 10 has been described for use by a dog 100 , it may be seen that work garb 10 can be adapted for use by a similar animal, such as a pig, without loss of the benefits of the invention.
Although particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, various changes may be made in the form, composition, construction, and arrangement of the parts herein without sacrificing any of its advantages. Therefore, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense, and it is intended to cover in the appended claims such modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the invention | Protective suit for a dog allows a dog to work in a cleanroom or other controlled environment. Suit 10 includes particle-blocking coverall 20 and hood 50 . Hood 50 includes transparent face shield 52 to cover dog's eyes and snout. Face shield 52 is open at the end to allow air and odors to reach dog's nose unimpeded. Face shield 52 extends slightly beyond dog's nostrils to prevent dog from contacting hazardous chemicals or pathogens. Coverall 20 includes fitted sleeves 22 with integral boots 24 ; also a tail pouch 30 to keep tail separate and visible. | 0 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention is concerned with a first responder system for predictively modeling contaminant transport during an environmental threat or a Chemical, Biological, or Radiological (CBR) threat or obscurant threat and for effective response after the threat.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
The effective defense of cities, large bases, and military forces against chemical, biological, or radiological (CBR) incidents or attack requires new prediction/assessment technology to be successful. The existing plume prediction technology in use in much of the nation is based on Gaussian similarity solutions (“puffs” or “plumes”), an extended Lagrangian approximation that only really applies for large regions and flat terrain where large-scale vortex shedding from buildings, cliffs, or mountains is absent. These current plume methods are also not designed for terrorist situations where the input data about the source (or sources) is very scant and the spatial scales are so small that set-up, analysis and situation assessment of a problem must take place in seconds to be maximally effective. Both greater speed and greater accuracy are required.
The CBR defense of a fixed site or region has a number of important features that make it different from the predictive simulation of a contaminant plume from a known set of initial conditions. The biggest difference is that very little may be known about the source, perhaps not even its location. Therefore any analysis methods for real-time response cannot require this information. It is a crucial requirement to be able to use anecdotal information, qualitative data, and any quantitative sensor data we may be lucky enough to have and instantly build a situation assessment suitable for immediate action.
A software emergency assessment tool should be effectively instantaneous and easy to use because we require immediate assessment of new data, instantaneous computation of exposed and soon-to-be exposed regions, and the zero-delay evaluations of options for future actions. The software should also be capable of projecting optimal evacuation paths based on the current evolving situation assessment.
To meet these requirements, a new tool is required that is much faster than current “common use” models with accuracy comparable to three-dimensional, physics-based flow simulations for scenarios involving complex and urban landscapes. The focus is on situation assessment through sensor fusion of qualitative and incomplete data.
Typical hazard prediction and consequence assessment systems have at their heart a plume simulation model based on a Gaussian plume/puff model. These systems typically employ Gaussian plume simulation models and require accurate velocity fields as input. The Gaussian plume method, while relatively fast, tends to be inaccurate, especially for urban areas. The setup for all these systems tends to be complicated, and require a-priori knowledge of the source characteristics.
Some examples of common-use hazard prediction and assessment systems are as follows:
CATS (Consequences Assessment Tool Set) is a consequence management tool package, developed by the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency, U.S. Federal Emergency management Agency, and Science Applications International Corp, that integrates hazard prediction, consequence assessment, emergency management tools, including the Hazard Prediction and Assessment Capability (HPAC) system, and critical population and infrastructure data within a commercial Geographical Information System. (CATS: Consequences Assessment Tool Set, U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency, U.S. Federal Emergency management Agency, and Science Applications International Corp.; SWIATEK et al. “Crisis Prediction Disaster Management, SAIC Science and Technology Trends II, Jun. 24, 1999)
CAMEO® (Computer Aided Management of Emergency Operations) is a system of software applications used widely to plan for and respond to chemical emergencies. It is one of the tools developed by EPA's Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office (CEPPO) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Response and Restoration (NOAA), to assist front-line chemical emergency planners and responders. (CAMEO®: Computer Aided Management of Emergency Operations, EPA's Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office (CEPPO) and NOAA; CAMEO “Computer Aided Management of Emergency Operations,” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, May 2002, pp. 1-306)
MIDAS-AT™ (Meteorological Information and Dispersion Assessment System—Anti-Terrorism), a product of ABS Consulting Inc. is the all-in-one software technology that models dispersion of releases of industrial chemicals, chemical and biological agents, and radiological isotopes caused by accidents or intentional acts. MIDAS-AT is designed for use during emergencies and for planning emergency response drills. Its Graphical User Interface (GUI) is designed for straightforward user entry of information required to define a terrorist scenario with enough detail to provide critical hazard information during the incident. (MIDAS-AT™: Meteorological Information and Dispersion Assessment System—Anti-Terrorism: ABS Consulting)
HPAC (Hazard Prediction and Assessment Capability), developed by Defense Threat Reduction Agency, is a forward-deployable, counter proliferation-counterforce collateral assessment tool. It provides the means to predict the effects of hazardous material releases into the atmosphere and its impact on civilian and military populations. It models nuclear, biological, chemical, radiological and high explosive collateral effects resulting from conventional weapon strikes against enemy weapons of mass destructions production and storage facilities. The HPAC system also predicts downwind hazard areas resulting from a nuclear weapon strike or reactor accident and has the capability to model nuclear, chemical and biological weapon strikes or accidental releases. (HPAC: Hazard Prediction and Assessment Capability, DTRA, HPAC Version 2.0 and HASCAL/SCIPUFF Users Guide, Defense Special Weapons Agency, July 1996; “Hazard Prediction and Assessment Capability” Fact Sheet, Defense Threat Reduction Agency Public Affairs, pp. 1-2)
VLSTRACK (Vapor, Liquid, and Solid Tracking), developed by Naval Surface Warfare Center, provides approximate downwind hazard predictions for a wide range of chemical and biological agents and munitions of military interest. The program was developed to be user-friendly and features smart input windows that check input parameter combinations to ensure that a reasonable attack is being defined, and simple and informative output graphics that display the hazard footprint for agent deposition, dosage, or concentration. The model also features variable meteorology, allowing for interfacing the attack with a meteorological forecast; this feature is very important for biological and secondary evaporation computations. (VLSTRACK: Vapor, Liquid, and Solid Tracking, [U.S. Pat. No. 5,648,914] Naval Surface Warfare Center, Bauer, T. J. and R. L. Gibbs, 1998. NSWCDD/TR-98/62, “Software User's Manual for the Chemical/Biological Agent Vapor, Liquid, and Solid Tracking (VLSTRACK) Computer Model, Version 3.0,” Dahlgren, Va.: Systems Research and Technology Department, Naval Surface Warfare Center.)
ALOHA (Areal Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres), from EPA/NOAA and a component of CAMEO, is an atmospheric dispersion model used for evaluating releases of hazardous chemical vapors. ALOHA allows the user to estimate the downwind dispersion of a chemical cloud based on the toxicological/physical characteristics of the released chemical, atmospheric conditions, and specific circumstances of the release. Graphical outputs include a “cloud footprint” that can be plotted on maps to display the location of other facilities storing hazardous materials and vulnerable locations, such as hospitals and schools. (ALOHA®—Areal Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres, EPA/NOAA; “ALOHA Users Manual”, Computer Aided Management of Emergency Operations, August 1999, pp. 1-187)
FASTD-CT (FAST3D—Contaminant Transport) is a time-accurate, high-resolution, complex geometry computational fluid dynamics model developed by the Naval Research Laboratory in the Laboratory for Computational Physics and Fluid Dynamics. The fluid dynamics is performed with a fourth-order accurate implementation of a low-dissipation algorithm that sheds vortices from obstacles as small one cell in size. Particular care has been paid to the turbulence treatments since the turbulence in the urban canyons lofts ground-level contaminant up to where the faster horizontal airflow can transport it downward. FAST3D-CT has a number of physical processes specific to contaminant transport in urban areas such as solar chemical degradation, evaporation of airborne droplets, re-lofting of particles and ground evaporation of liquids. (FAST3D-CT: FAST3D—Contaminant Transport, LCP & FD, NRL Boris, J. “The Threat of Chemical and Biological Terrorism: Preparing a Response,” Computing in Science & Engineering, pp. 22-32, March/April 2002.)
NARAC (National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center) maintains a sophisticated Emergency Response System at its facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The NARAC emergency response central modeling system consists of a coupled suite of meteorological and dispersion models that are more sophisticated than typical Gaussian models. Users access this system using a wide variety of tools, also supplied by NARAC. With this system NARAC provides an automated product for almost any type of hazardous atmospheric release anywhere in the world. Users must initiate a problem through a phone call to their operations staff or interactively via computer. NARAC will then execute sophisticated 3-D models to generate the requested products that depict the size and location of the plume, affected population, health risks, and proposed emergency responses. (NARAC: Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, “Forewarning of Coming Hazards,” Science & Technology Review, pp. 4-11, June 1999, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.)
State-of-the-art, engineering-quality 3D predictions such as FAST3D-CT or the NARAC Emergency Response System that one might be more inclined to believe can take hours or days to set up, run, and analyze.
All of the above-mentioned systems take several minutes, hours, or even days to return results. Simplified systems such as PEAC® (Palmtop Emergency Action for Chemicals [U.S. Pat. No. 5,724,255] originally developed by Western Research Institute provide the necessary emergency response information to make quick and informed decisions to protect response personnel and the public. PEAC-WMD 2002 provides in hand information compiled from a number of references with very fast recall. PEAC provides emergency responders with instant access to vital information from a number of sources and evacuation distances based on several sets of guidelines. This system, can return results within seconds, requires less detailed knowledge of the source, but the resulting fixed-shape plume does not take into account any effect of complex terrain or buildings.
Waiting even one or two-minutes for each approximate scenario computation can be far too long for timely situation assessment as in the current common-use hazard prediction systems. Overly simplified results can result in inaccurate results. The answer to this dilemma is to do the best computations possible from state-of-the-art 3D simulations well ahead of time and capture their salient results in a way that can be recalled, manipulated, and displayed instantly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Greater accuracy and much greater speed are possible at the same time in an emergency assessment system for an environmental threat or airborne chemical biological and radiological (CBR) threats. The present invention is a portable, entirely graphical hazard prediction software tool that exploits the new dispersion nomograph technology in order to achieve its speed and accuracy. The Nomograph technology has been filed as a provisional application at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, provisional application No. 60/443,530 on Jan. 30, 2003. The use of the dispersion nomograph representation and processing algorithms also allow some new features not available in existing systems. Multiple sensor fusion for instantaneous situation assessment is an automatic consequence of the nomograph technology. Reports from sensors about a contaminant can used to determine the affected area downwind. Using three or four appropriate sensor readings, the present invention can also backtrack and locate an unknown source graphically with zero computational delay. The present invention can accept qualitative and anecdotal input and does not require knowledge of a source location or a source amount.
The present invention provides an easy to use graphical user interface (GUI) to manipulate sensor, source, or site properties (i.e. location) and immediately provides an updated display of potential CBR hazards from a contaminant plume. The implementation has fast forward and fast reverse for the plume envelope displays, direct sensor fusion, and the ability to vary environmental properties in mid scenario. The present invention also plots evacuation routes automatically. The capability appears to the user as an infinite library of scenarios with a graphical controller to select, morph, and manipulate the CBR scenarios directly.
With the development of networked chemical sensors, and their possible deployment in cities and bases, it is vital to deploy them in optimal locations to provide the most beneficial effect. The characteristics of a sensor network, and the placement of sensors within the network, need to be evaluated for performance for a given situation. A sensor network should be capable of minimizing the detection delay of a source release. This maximizes the response time of people within the effected area, allowing them to take the appropriate measures to limit their exposure to the release.
The costs and logistics of running, building, and maintaining a sensor network makes it difficult to provide zero detection delay if point detectors are used exclusively. While some delay may be tolerated, the present invention minimizes this delay within other constraints of the situation. To find an optimal sensor network, the present invention uses a genetic algorithm using features of the present invention is an attractive solution.
An approach using genetic algorithms was selected for sensor optimization because the characteristics making up a robust sensor network were largely unknown. This approach also made it easy to modify specific characteristics while leaving the search method intact. Furthermore, advances in contaminant transport modeling made it possible for this search technique to be utilized.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall structure, and main components of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an Event Flow diagram illustrating how the components of the present invention respond to events generated internally, and externally.
FIG. 3 is a diagram representing the components of the graphical user interface of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the presentation of Nomograph displays generated by the Nomograph library.
FIG. 5 is a detailed scenario using the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the various events generated externally, and internally in the present invention.
FIG. 7 shows a block diagram representing the main event loop, a component of the present invention to Nomograph Interface.
FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of the interface used to communicate with the Nomograph libraries, a component of the present invention to Nomograph Interface.
FIG. 9 a is an exemplary Nomograph display of the upwind danger zone in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 9 b is another exemplary Nomograph display of the upwind danger zone in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a graph showing the fractional area covered versus number of sensors for detection delay of three, six, and nine minutes in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 11 a is an exemplary Nomograph display showing 40 sensors within a domain in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 11 b is an exemplary Nomograph display showing 10 sensors within a domain in accordance with the present invention.
FIGS. 12 a and 12 b are exemplary Nomograph displays showing plume envelopes for the release of two sources within a domain in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a graph depicting the coverage of the sensor network versus a random sensor placement run for the same number of intervals in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Refer to FIG. 1 for the overall data flow of the invention. There are two main components to analyzer 1000 , the Graphical User Interface (GUI) 100 , and the Nomograph Interface 101 . This modular configuration allows manipulation either from analyzer 1000 , or an External Interface 107 . This flexibility enables analyzer 1000 to be a stand-alone system or as a component of larger command and control system. This modular approach is used throughout analyzer 1000 , which allows it to be flexible, robust, and easily extendable.
Nomograph Interface 101 translates from the data format used in GUI 100 , and External Interface 107 to the data format used by a Nomograph Library 102 . Within analyzer 1000 , the properties of each sensor, source, and site (SSS) are represented as an object. An object is defined as the set of properties that comprise a sensor, source or site. The number of properties for each sensor, source, or site object may vary, depending on what type of sensor, source, or site the object represents. Each SSS is represented as a state vector in Nomograph Library 102 . A state vector is defined as the properties Nomograph Library 102 uses for a sensor, source, or site to calculate a Nomograph Display 106 . An object will always have a corresponding state vector. The SSS objects will include at a minimum the properties represented by its corresponding state vector. An object may be modified by: 1) user of GUI 100 ; 2) by an outside program, script, network, or other connection via External Interface 107 ; or 3) by the reconciliation of the properties between an object and its state vector counterpart after a new set of Nomograph displays has been generated. Similarly, an environment object exists that contains the overall properties used by Nomograph Library 102 . Any changes 103 - 105 to a property of any object, made by External Interface 107 , or GUI 100 are reported to Nomograph Interface 101 . Depending on the object property changed, Nomograph Library 102 would be called, and new displays 106 would be generated. The change of a property of an object will send out a notification that the object has been changed to GUI 100 , and to External Interface 107 .
All SSS objects have the following properties, position of the object, and a property, which includes, or excludes the object from the generation of Nomograph Display 106 .
Sensor objects typically represent external sensors 203 (sensor in external mode). A sensor object in external mode will have most of its properties determined by a connection to a real sensor via External Interface 107 . The sensor state can be either hot or cold. A sensor in a hot state is defined as a sensor that has detected a contaminant at its location, while a sensor in a cold state has not. Sensor objects have all of the general properties of an object, along with additional properties depending on the type of sensor represented. This includes sensor modes, its current state, the timestamp of its last state change, the concentration, mass, type and other relevant properties of the contaminant detected. The additional sensor modes include manual, and simulation modes. A sensor object in manual mode has all of its properties determined by the user and are typically used for anecdotal reports entered by the user in GUI 100 . In the simulation mode, a sensor's state is determined by the contaminant plume as determined by Nomograph Library 102 . For example, sensors in simulation mode within the contaminant footprint will change its state from cold to hot, while a sensor in manual or external mode would not. Depending on the information provided by the external, or manual sensor, additional sensor states showing intermediate states between hot and cold might be represented by the sensor object. However, the additional sensor states would be translated into hot and cold states in the corresponding state vector depending on the sensitivity of the sensor network, and user preference. Multiple sensor objects could represent one real sensor. An example would be a mobile sensor taking sensor readings at fixed interval in time. Sensor objects can be grouped together. Examples of sensor groups include a sensor group for a fixed sensor network, and a sensor group for mobile sensors.
Source objects represent a contaminant release at a location. The number of properties can vary in a Source object. At a minimum, it has the general properties of a standard object. Additional properties can include the concentration, mass, type, and other relevant properties of the contaminant. These additional properties would increase the level of detail provided by Nomograph Displays 106 , but are not required. Multiple source objects can be grouped together to form other types of contaminant releases. This includes line sources.
Site objects represent a region, or area of interest. A site object is used to provide detailed properties about that area. They are typically used to generate additional Nomograph displays 106 specifically pertaining to that site. A site object has the general properties of a standard object. Additional properties could include building parameters, or other relevant information used to protect that site.
An environmental object exists for analyzer 1000 . The properties in an environmental object consist of temperature, time, season, wind speed, and direction, and other meteorological properties. These properties may be set by the user manually, or updated automatically via External Interface 107 .
Nomograph Library 102 takes the SSS state vectors, and the environmental vector as input and outputs Nomograph displays 106 . These state vectors only include the properties used to generate Nomograph display 106 . Properties common to SSS state vectors are its position, and a flag that allows the vector to be excluded from the calculation of Nomograph Displays 106 .
The sensor state vectors 109 consist of the current state, the timestamp of its last state change, its mode, the concentration, mass, type, and other relevant properties of the contaminant detected. Source state vector properties include the amount of contaminant released, timestamp of release, mass, type, and other relevant properties of the contaminant. Site state vectors contain the special properties pertaining to that site. The environmental state vector 108 consists of the time of day, season, current temperature, wind direction, and speed, and other meteorological properties.
The Nomograph Options 110 passed to Nomograph Library 102 include the requested size of Nomograph Display 106 , the selected area of the Nomograph, and which set of Nomograph tables to be used in the generation of Nomograph Display 106 .
A more detailed description of the invention is found in FIG. 2 which depicts the event flow between GUI 100 , External Interface 107 , and Nomograph Interface 101 . An event is defined as a notice communicated to a component of analyzer 1000 that an object, or a component of analyzer 1000 has been modified. Upon receipt of an event, the recipient will take the appropriate action. For example, if a user changes a manual sensor's state from cold to hot, the sensor object would post a SSS Altered event ( FIG. 6 , 602 ). This is received by Nomograph Interface 101 , which calls Nomograph Library 102 to generate an updated Nomograph Display 106 . Nomograph Interface 101 would then post an event notifying GUI 100 that an updated Nomograph Display 106 is available. If necessary, this change will be shown to a user. The use of events in analyzer 1000 allow for uniform handling of internal and external changes. This allows objects, and components of analyzer 1000 to synchronized regardless of the source of the change, internal or external.
Nomograph Interface 101 receives events from the components of analyzer 1000 , and from all the objects in analyzer 1000 . A change in a property of an object from any component of analyzer 1000 would be sent to Nomograph Interface 101 . From this component, other objects and components would be notified of the change via events. Examples of actions from Nomograph Interface 101 that post events are: 1) a modification of an SSS object, or the environmental object by External Interface 107 or GUI 100 , 2) modification of a SSS object, or the Environmental object after a reconciliation of an object with its corresponding state vector after the generation of an updated Nomograph Display 106 . Depending on the type of event received, Nomograph Interface 101 will call Nomograph Library 102 to generate a new Nomograph Display 106 , or will wait some period of time for more events to arrive before updating Nomograph Display 106 .
GUI 100 posts events through actions of the user, and reacts to events from Nomograph Interface 101 . Examples of user actions that generate events through GUI 100 are: 1) the addition or removal of SSS objects, 2) A modification of a property of an SSS object, 3) modification of properties in the Environment object, 4) saving/loading of SSS objects and the Environmental object from a storage device, 5) a change in how Nomograph Displays 106 are presented, 6) changing the set of nomograph tables used to generate Nomograph Displays 106 . The events that GUI 100 reacts to are changes in the properties of SSS objects, changes to properties in the environment object, and updates to Nomograph Displays 106 .
External Interface 107 posts events through changes to SSS objects, and the environment object via connections 203 to External Interface 107 . External Connections 203 to External Interface 107 typically include sensors, meteorological information, an external program, or network connections. External Interface 107 reacts to events from Nomograph Interface 101 . Examples of actions from External Interface 107 that generate events are: 1) modifying a property of a SSS objects, 2) modifying a property of the environmental object, 3) a generation of updated Nomograph Displays 106 .
As shown in FIG. 3 , the user and monitor of Chemical, Biological or Radiological Attacks interacts with present invention through a graphical user interface. GUI 100 displays the SSS objects as graphical elements. GUI 100 is one of the key components of analyzer 1000 , through which the user ( FIG. 2 , 200 ) interacts with analyzer 1000 . The simplicity, and ease of use of GUI 100 is in stark contrast to other emergency response systems. The user has to merely point and click to manipulate properties of SSS objects, or environmental properties. The user is not required to input detailed information about the contaminant prior to obtaining a useful result. Additional information can be added as it becomes available. Because of its simplicity of use, training in the use of analyzer 1000 is minimal.
Using GUI 100 , the user can add, remove, or modify the properties of the SSS objects. The various environmental properties can also be modified 302 . The user may also load, and save scenarios, run simulations, and change how Nomograph Displays 106 are presented 303 . GUI 100 translates Nomograph Displays 106 into a display format 300 , which is viewable by the user. This includes translating Nomograph Displays 106 into the required coordinate system, adding maps, or other graphical layers ( FIG. 1 , 111 ) representing buildings, terrain features, or other relevant geographical information about the area ( FIG. 1 , 111 ), and merging the selected Nomograph Displays 106 into an image, or images.
The graphical representation of each object is dependant on some or all of its properties 304 - 307 . For example, a source object that is included in the Nomograph generation is depicted as a star 304 . Sensor objects are depicted using different colors and shapes, depending on their properties. Examples of sensor depictions are shown 305 - 307 . For instance, a simulation sensor 305 , in a hot state, which is included in the generation of Nomograph Display 106 , is easily identified from a manual sensor 306 , whose state is cold, which is also used in the generation of Nomograph Display 106 .
GUI 100 can provide multiple views of SSS objects, or the environment object. For example, a sensor object 306 is depicted in a main GUI 300 and an auxiliary GUI 301 . Main GUI 300 is used to display some information about all of the objects on the screen, as well as a presentation of Nomograph Displays 106 . Auxiliary GUI 301 is used to present the properties in an object in a different, or expanded format. Auxiliary GUI 301 may display the same information as main GUI 300 , but typically shows more detail about one or more SSS objects, the Environment object, or the Nomograph Options. Multiple auxiliary GUI's may be used depending on user preference. In this figure, two portions of the auxiliary display are shown, a GUI portion 302 to control the environment object's properties, and an auxiliary GUI portion 303 to control the Nomograph Options.
FIG. 4 shows diagrams of the main Nomograph Displays 106 generated by Nomograph Library 102 . This figure shows some of the unique diagnostic capabilities of analyzer 1000 . For example, the Backtrack display 401 is unique to analyzer 1000 due to the use of Nomograph Library 102 . The speed with which the displays are generated contribute to the usefulness of analyzer 1000 .
The Nomograph tables used to generate Nomograph Displays 106 are typically selected based on the properties of the state vector, and the area of interest. The main types of Nomograph tables generated are 1) the consequence display 400 , 2) the backtrack display 401 , 3) the footprint display 402 , 4) the simulation display 403 , 5) escape display 404 , 6) danger zone display 405 , and 7) the leakage display 406 . Nomograph Library 102 may generate specialized displays for a particular state vector, if requested.
Sensor vector states are used to generate two types of Nomograph Displays 106 , consequence and backtrack displays. The consequence display 401 consists of a region downwind, with an upwind safety radius from a sensor that could potentially be exposed to a contaminant. This is dependant on the whether the sensors states are hot or cold. The Backtrack display 402 shows the probability of a contaminant source location for different regions. The Backtrack display will display regions by different values, depending on the probability that a source originated from that area.
Source vector states are used to generate simulation 403 , footprint 402 , and escape route 404 displays. The footprint display shows the area downwind, with an upwind safety radius that could become exposed to the contaminant from the source. The simulation display shows a time evolution of a plume. The escape display shows the optimal escape routes, based on the footprint display from the source.
Site vector states are used to generate danger zone 405 , and leakage 406 displays. The danger zone display shows the area upwind from a site where a contaminant placed in that area could reach the site. The leakage display shows the area downwind of the site that could potentially be exposed to a contaminant if the site itself was exposed.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram detailing a user's response to information displayed by analyzer 1000 . In this scenario, a chemical agent has been released in an urban environment 500 . A fixed sensor net has been deployed in the urban area, and several of the sensors alarm 501 indicating that a chemical release has occurred in the area. The sensors are connected to External Interface 107 , and their change in status is received 502 . Nomograph Display 106 is generated 503 , which is displayed by GUI 100 , which also shows the change in status of the effected sensors. The user sees the change in state, and selects backtrack display 303 from GUI 100 . Sensor readings can also be obtained from mobile sensors, or other sources like first responder radio reports, or people becoming ill from the chemical release. If this information exists 505 , it can be entered into analyzer 1000 as a manual sensor reading 510 .
If any manual sensors, or automatic sensors are hindering the ability of analyzer 1000 to limit an area where the chemical release has occurred, the user can exclude 506 the sensor readings from the backtrack. The user can now determine if they have enough information to determine where the source is located 507 . If the backtrack area displayed by analyzer 1000 is not narrowed to a small region, the user has several options. They can wait for more information to come in via the fixed sensor network, or by manual sensor input 508 . They can also send mobile sensors to the potential chemical source area displayed by the backtrack 509 , with the goal of finding the edges of the chemical plume.
When the backtrack display from analyzer 1000 has narrowed the location of the chemical release to a small region, a source object can be placed in the backtrack region 511 . With the source object displayed in analyzer 1000 , the area downwind that could be contaminated by the chemical release is known. The user can now setup escape routes based on the source object 512 , and send out this information out to areas downwind of the source 513 . The escape route information can be sent out to remote sites via External Interface 107 of analyzer 1000 , or through other methods external to analyzer 1000 .
FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing the creation of events typically created in analyzer 1000 . These events are routed through analyzer 1000 to Nomograph Interface 101 to other components in analyzer 1000 . An event may affect multiple components of analyzer 1000 , or none at all.
Environmental Objects usually generate events by changing environmental parameters 600 , or changing the Nomograph tables used 601 . Changing the environment parameters generates a metEvent 606 . The environment parameters that are most frequently altered are the wind direction, and velocity 604 . Other miscellaneous parameters 605 that would generate a metEvent include time of day, season, and weather conditions, and other meteorological parameters. Changing the nomograph tables used or a change in the location viewed analyzer 1000 608 , will generate an areaEvent.
The two types of events that occur with Sensor, Source, or Site objects are a change in the properties of an SSS object 602 , and the addition/removal of an SSS object 603 . Changing a property of an SSS object 609 will generate an SSS Object Event 610 . The properties that typically create an SSS Object Event include altering the objects location, the type of object it represents, whether it is included in the calculation of Nomograph Displays 106 , and its state. Adding or removing an SSS Object 611 will generate an SSS Add/Remove Object Event 612 .
FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of the Event Loop. This is an internal component of Nomograph Interface 101 . The Event Loops is started 700 when Nomograph Interface 101 is initialized. It first checks see if any SSS events have occurred 701 . If an SSS event was generated, it is checked to determined what type of event it is 706 - 707 , and sets the updateFlag to true if the event is valid. If an environment object event has occurred 702 , a new nomograph table will be loaded depending of the parameters of the Environmental object 709 , and the updateFlag will be set. If the updateFlag has been set 703 , the NG Interface will be called 711 , which will update Nomograph Displays 106 . If the program hasn't finished, it will continuously process this loop 704 , otherwise the loop will exit 705 .
FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of the NG Interface. This is an internal component of Nomograph Interface 101 , which translates the SSS objects, and Environmental objects into the format that Nomograph Library 102 can use, and outputs updated SSS objects, and updated Nomograph Displays 106 .
First, the SSS objects, and the Environmental object are converted into their state vector equivalent 800 - 801 . Next, Nomograph Library 102 is called, and new Nomograph Displays 106 are generated 802 . Since Nomograph Library 102 can potentially alter the state vectors, each vector is checked to see if it has been altered 803 - 805 . If it has been altered, the SSS object and SSS vector are reconciled by updating the properties of the SSS object using the properties from the state vector 807 . New Nomograph Displays 106 are sent out to the other components of analyzer 1000 806 , and the NG Interface returns.
To maximize accuracy and speed in assessing an environmental threat or airborne CBR threat within a domain, e.g., a city, the city should be saturated with sensors. Such a system may be impractical with respect to financial budgets and data management. Therefore, it is a goal to optimize sensor placement based on a usable number of sensors that fit a particular financial budget and data management system. To find an optimal sensor network, a genetic algorithm using features of the present invention provides this ability.
Since its development in the 1960's, the genetic algorithm has been used successfully in many different fields. Genetic algorithms are a type of search algorithm that works particularly well if the search space is too large to run every potential case and when local maxima exist. For example, to exhaustively search every possible location of a group of 20 sensors in a grid of 350×350 potential locations at a rate of 20 evaluations per second would take months if not years. While the answer generated by a genetic algorithm might not be the best solution, it will typically be a very close approximation to it. The main disadvantage of genetic algorithms is that they potentially require a lot of time and computing resources, depending on the rate of convergence and the computational cost of a fitness function. However, given the amount of time required to evaluate a typical population, many examples of parallelized genetic algorithms exist.
A genetic algorithm evaluates the fitness of genomes in a population, and generates the next population based on the fitness of the previous generation. Each genome is a potential solution to the problem, where the elements of the solution are equivalent to chromosomes in the genome. The initial population is usually chosen randomly, but the initial population can also be seeded with solutions that are known to produce good results. The next population of genomes is determined by combining members of the current population to produce offspring that are based on the scores of each parent genome's fitness function. This is known as crossover. During crossover, individual chromosomes within the offspring can potentially mutate, giving the offspring slightly different characteristics that are unique from its parents. This is particularly useful in later generations of the population, where the population is fairly homogeneous. The user determines the fitness function of a genome, in which the performance of a genome is evaluated, and a fitness score is assigned. Members with a high fitness score will typically have many offspring in the next generation while those with a low fitness score could have few or none. New populations are generated, and evaluated until one of several requirements is met. This includes the desired fitness level of a member of the population, the average fitness of the population has reached some level, or the maximum number of generations has been calculated.
An approach using genetic algorithms was selected for sensor optimization because the characteristics making up a robust sensor network were largely unknown. This approach also made it easy to modify specific characteristics while leaving the search method intact. Furthermore, advances in contaminant transport modeling made it possible for this search technique to be utilized.
The use of computational fluid dynamics models or Gaussian plume models are not suitable for use as the fitness evaluation of a genetic algorithm due to their relatively long times to generate plumes, and the sheer number (many millions) of fitness evaluations and iterations required for a solution to converge. Even if the time to generate a Gaussian plume decreased significantly, the plumes generated would not take into account the 3 D geometry of an urban region. The plume capability of analyzer 1000 is well-suited for this type of evaluation because it produces plumes comparable to the computational fluid dynamics calculation as stated above while producing this result in about one millionth of the time. The speed of analyzer 1000 allows fitness functions to be evaluated for performance quickly. Table 1 shows the approximate amount of time required to run a genetic algorithm for 1000 generations using various plume models.
TABLE 1
Approximate time to run a fitness
evaluation for 1000 generations
Plume model
Computer
(population = 1000)
CFD(FAST3D-CT)
Supercomputer
~9000 hours (random sources)
Gaussian
Workstation
~500 hours (random sources)
Present
Laptop
~33 hours (random sources)
Invention
Present
Laptop
~4 hours (time dependent
Invention
sensor coverage, 20 sensors)
A genetic algorithm has been used where the members of the population with the highest fitness scores were kept in the next population. This ensures that the population's maximum fitness score will not decrease and also reduces the number of generations required to converge to an answer. The rate of crossover was set at 0.95 with the rate of mutation set at 0.25 percent, where the mutation increased if the rate of convergence decreased by a threshold. In one example, the genome was the set of locations of the sensors in the sensor network with the chromosomes consisting of (x, y) coordinates of the sensors. The population size was set to 1000. While the individual fitness function is now relatively fast, the algorithm was distributed over multiple processors using a message passing interface. The evaluations of the population are spread out over multiple processors, with the best results of a generation saved as candidates for the solution. This algorithm is computer bound so a high-speed interconnect is not necessary. Several different approaches were examined for the fitness function.
The first approach uses a plume model to generate plumes from randomly placed sources and then analyzes the sensor network's ability to detect the plume within time t of release. In this case, if a least one sensor is located within the plume, it counts as a detection of the plume. The sensor network individually evaluates a sequence of randomly located sources, with the fitness score based on the total number of sources detected. A new set of random sources must be calculated for each generation. If the set of source locations is fixed, the sensor network's solution would converge on the coverage of that set of fixed sources, but not on a optimal coverage of sources located anywhere in the region. This method has the advantage of being able to use a variety of plume prediction tools like Gaussian plume models, computational fluid dynamics models (e.g. FAST3D-CT), and Dispersion Nomograph tools (e.g. analyzer 1000 ). However analyzer 1000 is the best choice due to its speed and accuracy (Table 1, lines 1-3).
While this approach is acceptable, a much more efficient procedure was developed using the unique upwind capability of analyzer 1000 . FIG. 9 a is an exemplary Nomograph display 900 of the upwind danger zone in accordance with the present invention. In the figure, display 900 of a portion of a city, i.e., the domain, includes buildings, roads and trees. Display 900 additionally includes a site 902 of a sensor. The corresponding upwind zone 904 for the sensor at site 902 represents the upwind area where the contaminant from a source could hit the sensor. This upwind, probable source zone or “backtrack” zone is time-dependent and can also be described as an “anti-plume”. Sensor coverage is the union of the “anti-plumes” for all of the sensors in the region. FIG. 9 b illustrates this updated display. Specifically, FIG. 9 b is an exemplary Nomograph display 906 of the upwind danger zone in accordance with the present invention. In the figure, display 906 is of the same portion of the city as display 900 . Display 906 additionally includes a site 908 of a first sensor and a site 910 of a second sensor. The corresponding upwind zone 912 for the sensor at site 908 represents the upwind area where the contaminant from a first source could hit the first sensor, whereas the corresponding upwind zone 914 for the sensor at site 910 represents the upwind area where the contaminant from a second source could hit the second sensor. Using the union of anti-plumes as the fitness function decreases the time to evaluate a sensor network for a region drastically (see Table 1, line 4). The new fitness function is now the total area of sensor coverage for a given region ranging from zero to one, which could be calculated with a single call to analyzer 1000 .
Because of the increase in efficiency, the second approach was selected for the main optimization trials. To determine the optimal amount of sensors required for this region, sensor networks from five to forty sensors, in five sensor number increments were evaluated for total sensor coverage on a 2 km by 2 km region for a typical city. The wind was from the northwest, with a speed of three meters per second. The region itself is an urban area with varying degrees of building density ranging from open areas free of structures to city blocks with high building density. A dispersion nomograph utilized for this region was generated using FAST3D-CT, which includes all of the effects of buildings, streets, trees, etc. Analyzer 1000 is used to evaluate sensor configurations for a detection delay of three minutes, six minutes, and nine minutes. These times were selected based on results obtained from the walk away program. Nine minutes warning delay has been found to be maximum delay to be tolerated if at least 50% of a population in an area affected by a moderately large plume is to be saved.
FIG. 10 shows the fractional area covered versus number of sensors for detection delay of three, six, and nine minutes. The number of sensors required producing adequate coverage increases significantly as the plumes size decreases. Only 10 to 15 sensors are required to obtain 90% coverage for a nine-minute time delay, contrasted with over 40 for a three-minute detection delay. Even with 50 sensors, complete coverage of the region cannot be obtained for the three-minute delay while additional sensors became completely redundant past 30 sensors for these six- and nine-minute warnings.
FIGS. 11 a and 11 b are exemplary Nomograph displays 1100 and 1104 , respectively, of the same portion of the city as display 900 . FIGS. 11 a and 11 b represent the minimal sensor network required to detect at least 90% of the region for three- and nine-minute detection delays. For a nine-minute delay ( FIG. 11 b ), sensors are placed at sites 1106 towards the edge of the region, opposite of the wind direction because at nine minutes the “anti-plumes” are very large, and sensors are wasted if they are placed further upwind. If the time delay for detecting a plume is increased beyond nine minutes, the eventual result is a sensor network with all of the sensors placed along the edge of the domain. 40 sensors are required To provide the same coverage for a three-minute detection delay, 40 sensors at sites 1102 must be provided as illustrates in FIG. 11 a . The density of sensors for a given area in the region varied. More sensors were required for relatively open areas and where the plume funneled through gaps between buildings. This was particularly noticeable when the time delay allowed for detecting plumes was short.
The shape of the plume envelope can explain this result. In areas with few buildings, the plume envelopes are narrow and elongated, looking very much like their Gaussian plume counterparts. In areas with many buildings, the shape of the plume envelope is broader, depending on the geometry of the buildings and wind angle. FIGS. 12 a and 12 b are exemplary Nomograph displays 1200 and 1210 , respectively, of the same portion of the city as display 900 . FIGS. 12 a and 12 b depict plume envelopes for the release of two sources at sites 1202 and 1204 , respectively, in the domain after three and after nine minutes. The first source is released at site 1202 , which is in an open region, while the second source is released at site 1204 , which is in an area with high building density. Note that a plume 1208 illustrated in FIG. 12 a develops into plume 1214 in FIG. 12 b , whereas plume 1206 illustrated in FIG. 12 a develops into plume 1212 in FIG. 12 b . Plume 1214 has a shape that starts to change at point 1216 as it encounters a city block with high building density 1218 . In order to detect a narrow plume more sensors are required.
FIG. 13 is a graph that shows the coverage of the sensor network versus a random sensor placement run for the same number of intervals. The random (brute force) sensor placement is evaluated in the same manner as the genetic algorithm with the best candidate produced of each generation reported as the maximum coverage attained. For the same amount of effort, here two million calls to analyzer 1000 , the generic algorithm covered over 90% of the region while the random-placement approach's best answer results in coverage of about 72% of the region.
The use of a genetic algorithm to produce a plausible and useful sensor optimization has been shown. This approach was not possible until the low-latency evaluation of contaminated regions of analyzer 1000 was developed. To calculate 1000 generations requires 1 million calls to analyzer 1000 and many millions of individual sensor backtrack “anti-plume” evaluations. With more complex fitness functions, and more stringent requirements for a sensor network, the time to calculate an optimal network will only increase. Use of other plume models is prohibitive. This approach is one technique for determining the optimal sensor placement. It has also shown that to provide guaranteed short detection delays will require many sensors.
Although this invention has been described in relation to an exemplary embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that still other variations and modifications can be affected in the preferred embodiment without detracting from the scope and spirit of the invention as described in the claims. | Networked groups of sensors that detect Chemical, Biological, and Radiological (CBR) threats are being developed to defend cities and military bases. Due to the high cost and maintenance of these sensors, the number of sensors deployed is limited. It is vital for the sensors to be deployed in optimal locations for these sensors to be effectively used to analyze the scope of the threat. A genetic algorithm, along with instantaneous plume prediction capabilities meets these goals. An analyzer's time dependant plumes, upwind danger zone, and sensor capabilities are used to determine the fitness of sensor networks generated by the genetic algorithm. | 6 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to refractory metal carbide grade powders. Such powders contain a refractory metal carbide, a matrix metal and a pressing aid.
It also relates to a process for producing cemented carbides from such grade powders.
2. Prior Art
Grade powders are defined herein as an intimate mixture of refractory metal carbides powder plus a metallic cementing phase or matrix. Generally the grade powders include a binder which also serves as a pressing lubricant. The most common example of a grade powder is a mixture of tungsten carbide, cobalt, and paraffin wax. The carbide powder can consist of other carbides or mixtures thereof and are generally the refractory carbides as used herein include carbides of metals from the groups IV, V, and VI metals that have a melting point above about 1895° C. Cobalt is the most common matrix, at least for WC, but, nickel, iron, and molybdenum either singly, in combination, or in combination with cobalt are sometimes used particularly when refractory metals other than tungsten are used. For example, the matrix phase for TiC is either nickel or a nickel-molybdenum alloy, thus as used herein the matrix metal is selected from the iron group of metals and alloys of the iron group of metals.
The most common practice for producing carbide grade powders involves a sequence of operations consisting of ball milling, drying and granulation. While this seems relatively straightforward, there are many intermediate processes and handling steps that complicate the operation. Typically, as an example, powders of WC and cobalt are weighed in the appropriate proportions and charged into a ball mill. To prevent oxidation of the powders, milling is always done in the presence of a milling fluid. Organic fluids such as hexane, heptane, primary alcohol, acetone, and the like are used. Depending on the particular grade of powder and desired powder characteristics milling times are from many hours to several days. After milling the fluid must be removed such that a dried powder is obtained. Drying generally involves some type of distillation process so that the fluid can be recovered and reused. A typical process would be to discharge the slurry into another vessel and then with the combination of heat and vacuum remove the fluid.
More recently, a process involving close-cycle spray drying has been used to remove and recover the milling fluid.
If the spray drying process is not used, several additional steps are required after conventional drying of the powders. Typically a wax, and most commonly paraffin wax, is added to the ball mill. If wax is not added to the mill, it must be incorporated into the dried powder. This step is called waxing and is done in a variety of ways.
The dried grade powders containing wax are generally fine and fluffy and have very poor flow characteristics. It is important that the powders have good flow to facililtate transfer from a powder hopper to the die cavity during pressing. Therefore, these fine, fluffy powders are converted by an operation called granulation to a flowable powder. One common method is to press the fine powders at low pressures into a loose compact or slug. This slug is then forced through a screen. The screened product is in the form of small, irregular shaped granules which will conveniently flow into compacting dies in a more controlled manner. If the spray drying process is used a free flowing powder is obtained directly as this is one of the purposes of spray drying. That is, in addition to drying a free flowing spherical powder is obtained.
Over the years, the following process has evolved as the most used method for preparing carbide grade powders. It involves the following steps, ball milling with alcohol or acetone, tungsten carbide, cobalt and paraffin wax and drying in a close-cycle spray dry system.
While this process is a considerable improvement from the previous practice it still has disadvantages compred to the process that will be described in this invention. Some of the disadvantages are the lengthy ball milling cycle. If this type of milling is used, a flammable solvent, the use of paraffin wax and an expensive drying system.
Additionally, the products produced from ball milling contain a relatively high level of sub-micron refractory metal carbide particles. During the subsequent sintering process, the fine particles preferentially and quickly dissolve in the binder and upon cooling become deposited upon the surfaces of the undissolved carbide. This procedure is known as grain growth and lowers the strength of the subsequently produced cemented carbide articles. Various techniques for reducing the amount and level of grain growth have been developed. The most commonly used technique for reducing grain growth is to use an additive which interferes with the grain growth mechanism. Another method not now widely used is a hot pressing technique. The hot pressing technique is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,451,791.
Attritor milling has been used recently for particle size reduction in place of ball milling because a given particle size reduction can be achieved in a shorter period of time than ball milling. In the production of grade powders of the subsequent production of cemented refractory metal carbides the purpose of ball milling is not to reduce the size of particles but rather to uniformly distribute the binder phase throughout the larger amount of the carbide phase.
The organic fluids previously used as milling aids, such as hexane, heptane, the primary alcohols, acetone and the like, are all flammable materials thus extreme safety precautions must be taken to prevent air leakage into the system used to remove the milling aid. The vapors from these milling aids also are toxic to the worker. Hence, additionally precautions in handling are required.
It is believed, therefore, a process that can be conducted in an open system without fire and health hazards and produces a carbide grade powder having improved properties and characteristics would be an advancement in the art. It is also believed that a carbide grade powder that exhibits a marked decrease in grain growth during sintering when processed by normal sintering techniques and does not contain a grain growth inhibitor is an advancement in the art.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved refractory metal carbide grade powder.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved process for producing carbide grade powders.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved process for producing cemented refractory metal carbides.
These and other objects are achieved in one aspect of this invention by a process comprising forming an aqueous slurry of water and solids consisting essentially of a refractory metal carbide and a suitable matrix metal or metal alloy in the desired ratio, the water and solids being in the weight ratio of from about 1:2 to about 1:4, attritor milling said slurry for from about 1 to about 10 hours, removing the slurry from the milling and forming a solid concentration of from about 70 to about 90% by weight, adding from about 1 to about 3% by weight, based upon the solids, of a water-soluble relatively long chain polyglycol to the slurry and spray drying the resulting slurry at a temperature sufficient to remove the water to from an improved powder consisting essentially of the refractory metal carbide, the binder and the polyglycol. The powder contains spherical particles having a relatively narrow size distribution and is capable of being pressed into shapes having an improved green strength and upon sintering the relative amount of grain growth is reduced.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
For a better understanding of the present invention, together with other and further objects, advantages and capabilities thereof, reference is made to the following disclosure and appended claims in connection with the above-description of some of the aspects of the invention.
The present invention is an improvement over the most modern practice used today for preparing carbide grade powders. It involves three basic and radical departures from the common practice.
1. The use of water as a milling fluid as opposed to flammable organics.
2. The use of an open-cycle spray-drying system as opposed to closed system.
3. The use of water soluble, long-chain polyvinyl alcohol as a mixing aid instead of paraffin wax. The basic advantages of the process of this invention are cost, safety, flexibility of operation, and product improvement.
The use of a long chain polyglycol as compared to standard paraffin is an important feature of this invention. After pressing these powders, much higher green strengths can be obtained than was possible with a paraffin wax system. The higher green strength has many ramifications which are important in the pressing of powders and handling of pressed compacts. One of the problems encountered in the pressing of grade powders is cracking upon release from the die. This cracking seems to be a direct function of the inherent strength of the compact after it is pressed. If conventional powders containing paraffin are pressed much above 25,000 psi, chances are high the cracking will occur. When the powders, spray dried into the open-cycle system with a long chain polyglycol, such as Carbowax 6000, are pressed at pressures up to 40,000 psi with no cracking occurring. This obviously allows much more flexibility in the pressing operation and more flexibility in controlling shrinkage.
Each step in this new process will be compared to the more conventional process to illustrate the differences and advantages of the new process.
As discussed, grade powders are typically prepared by ball milling. More recently attritor milling has been used. Attritor milling is used in this process because it is the quickest and most economical method for making the grade powder slurry. In common practice when using attritor milling an organic solvent is used as the milling fluid. In our process water is used as the milling fluid for its obvious advantages as far as cost and safety.
The attritor mill is commercially available from Union Process Corporation in this country and by foreign companies licensed by Union Process. Patents on the attritor have been issued to Dr. Andrew Szegvari, U.S. Patents: Nos. 2,764,359; U.S. Pat. No. 3,450,356; U.S. Pat. No. 3,149,789; U.S. Pat. No. 3,008,657; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,131,875.
Paraffin wax is the binder system that is most commonly used in all grades of carbide. As discussed, it is either incorporated in the ball mill or added to the grade powders by some method after the milled slurry has been dried. In the present invention, Carbowax 6000, a product typically known as a polyglycol and distributed by Union Carbide Corporation, is used. It is water soluble and has a relatively long chain length. It is added to the slurry after it has been discharged from the attritor mill.
The use of organic solvents as mentioned, and their flammability requires the use of a close-cycle spray drying system. This system, as inferred from its name, is closed loop and utilizes a nitrogen atmosphere. While this system works well, its two inherent drawbacks are high initial cost, because of the equipment necessary to recover the organic solvent. It is a large system and more easily operated with large lots of powder. This somewhat reduces its flexibility. Because water is used as a milling fluid, the expensive close-cycle system is not necessary but rather the relatively inexpensive open-cycle system which used air as the drying atmosphere. This type of equipment is one-fourth to one-third the cost of the close-cycle system. In addition, it has much greater flexibility in that the small lots can easily be dried. Lots as small as 15 kg can be dried. The close-cycle system generally requires a minimum lot size of 100 kg.
While the invention has been described in terms of using the refractory metal carbide grade powder to produce cemented carbides, the powder produced hereby can also have other usages such as in hard facing application e.g., plasma spray coating, mixing with brazing alloys and the like.
Normally the amount of matrix metal will be from about 2 to about 25% by weight of the refractory metal carbide and matrix metal composition and from about 5 to about 20% by weight is preferred.
The average particle size of the refractory metal carbide is generally from slightly less than 1 micron to about 25 micrometers. The most common tungsten carbide generally is between 1 to 2 micrometers. As previously mentioned, grain growth inhibitors can be employed to prevent grain growth. Materials commonly used are molybdenum carbide, vanadium carbide, and chromium carbide. If used they are incorporated into the first aqueous slurry, that is, prior to attritor milling, or can be subsequently added to the grade powder. Preferrably they are added prior to attritor milling to insure more uniform distribution.
To more fully illustrate the subject invention, the following examples are presented. All parts, proportions, and percentages are by weight unless otherwise indicated.
EXAMPLE I
The following charge is added to an attritor mill that contains WC-13 Co balls:
Wc powder -- 5,460 parts
Co Powder -- 540 parts
H 2 o -- 2,000 parts
The mill is adjusted so that the agitator shaft turns at 200 rpm. Milling time can vary from 1 to 10 hours. For this particular grade which contains 9% cobalt, and a medium particle size WC, 1 hour is sufficient time. Milling times have to be increased as cobalt content is decreased and more importantly when finer WC powders are used.
After the appropriate milling time is reached, the slurry is discharged from the mill. This generally requires the addition of some H 2 O to thin the slurry and rinse the mill. During discharging the slurry is passed through a 400 mesh screen. This allows for the removal of contamination that may have been introduced and any chips from the milling balls.
Water is decanted from the screened slurry to obtain the desired solids concentration for spray drying. Generally, this ranges from 70-90%, and for this example of WC-9% Co a solids concentration of 80% is used.
Next the slurry is transferred to the spray dryer feed tank. It is heated, to about 50° C, and agitated while the Carbowax 6000 addition is made. This addition is generally 1-3%. For this grade it is preferably 2%. At this point the spray drying process begins. A suitable spray drier is a Proctor - Schwartz spray tower with two-fluid top-nozzle atomization. Some of the important drying parameters are air pressure of 20 psi, an inlet drying temperature of 200°-230° C and an outlet temperature of 100°-130° C.
After drying the product is spherical and free flowing and ready for subsequent use. Some properties which distinguish it from conventional powders are listed below.
______________________________________ Spray Conventional Dried With Powders With Carbowax 6000 Paraffin Wax______________________________________Hall Flow Rate 20.00 27.00 sec/50gBulk Density, g/cc 3.80 4.10Green StrengthAfter Compacting 1350.00 520.00at 20 ksi, psi______________________________________
While there has been shown and described what are at present considered the preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. | A process for producing a refractory carbide grade powder having improved particle size distribution and pressing characteristics. The process comprises forming an aqueous slurry of a standard refractory metal carbide powder and the desired matrix, attritor milling for 1 to 10 hours, removing the milled slurry from the mill, forming an aqueous slurry having a desired solid concentration, adding a water-soluble relatively long chain polyglycol as a pressing aid and spray drying the slurry to form spherical particles suitable for pressing and sintering. During sintering less grain growth of the refractory metal carbide grade powders occurs than with conventional grade powders sintered under essentially the same temperature conditions. | 2 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for separating a food product from a tray, and more particularly separation from a tray having apertures defining a supporting lattice to which the food product is adhered.
2. Description of Related Art
Certain food products tend to adhere to the surfaces supporting them during food processing. As explained in more detail in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,404, separation of the food product from supporting trays is difficult where the food product is in thin strip form, as is the case with the long strips of meat jerky for human or animal consumption.
In preparing jerky, a meat containing mixture is extruded to form thin elongated strips which are arranged on a tray having apertures defining a supporting lattice. The apertures permit air circulation during drying of the product, but the nature of jerky material is such that the strips stick to the ribs or lattice of the tray during drying. The problem is made worse because the strips of meat tend to sag into the apertures as the meat dries.
The long strips of jerky must be separated intact, without breaking, so that they can be cut into predetermined short lengths for packaging. Any broken pieces cannot readily be packaged and must be discarded.
The apparatus of my U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,404 provided reasonably satisfactory separation of the strips of meat jerky from the tray lattice. However, the apparatus involved a two step procedure to effect separation, and a significant number of long strips were still broken into commercially unusable short pieces. In that apparatus a pair of conveyor belts were arranged in spaced apart end-to-end relation to define a gap across which the food product tray was carried. Preliminary separation of the jerky strips lying on top of the tray lattice was accomplished by one or more separating rollers located below the tray. Radially directed fingers of the tray were arranged to project upwardly through the tray apertures and into engagement with the food product. At least two backup rollers were located above the tray opposite each separating roller. These engaged both the food product and the tray, allowing the food product between the rollers to be moved up from the tray by the roller fingers, but keeping the tray from also moving upwardly.
Some portions of the jerky strips still stuck to the tray at various points along their lengths. Final separation was achieved by transferring the trays onto a third conveyor belt disposed at right angles to the first pair of conveyors. In making the transfer, each tray was inverted so that the already loosened jerky strips hung down in loose loops. A stripper plate above the third belt was arranged to lie within the space between the tray and the sagging strips as they moved along the belt. The partically separated strips were then pulled away from the tray by the plate and transported to a collection station. Some of the strips still adhered sufficiently tenaciously that this pulling action resulted in their breakage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, all food product separation occurs in a substantially continuous process on the same conveyor belt that supports the food product trays.
The trays are inverted on the conveyor belt, and the belt is moved past a first row of roller bands located above the belt and a row of supports located below the belt. The supports are rigid and transversely spaced apart for slidable engagement with the under side of the belt. The belt is sufficiently flexible that it sags between the supports in a catenary-like configuration.
The roller bands are located between the supports, and radially directed fingers of the roller bands project downwardly through apertures in the tray and press the food product into the spaces between the food product and the sagged portions of the belt. Thus, the food product can be pushed downwardly by the roller belt fingers onto the conveyor belt despite the fact that the same belt is providing support for the tray.
The tray is preferably made of a resiliently deformable material so that it is flexed between the roller bands and supports to facilitate food product separation.
Portions of the food product overlying the first row of supports are not easily reached by the fingers of the first row of roller bands. Accordingly, a second row of roller bands and supports are located behind or beyond the first row of roller bands and supports, in staggered or laterally offset relation to the first row so as to operate on the portions of the food strips that were not acted upon by the first row of roller bands and supports.
Tray separation from the conveyor belt is accomplished by a transfer plate spaced slightly above the conveyor belt to intercept and move each tray upwardly where it can be engaged by conveyor rollers which move it up a ramp to a tray collection station.
The apparatus of the present invention thus eliminates two step strip separation, accomplishing all separation by roller belt fingers projecting downwardly through the trays for strip separation onto the same conveyor belt which provides support for the trays.
Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from consideration of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the present apparatus, and particularly the conveyor belt and overlying roller bands;
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a tray supporting a plurality of jerky strips;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the section indicated by the numeral 3 in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view taken along the line 4--4 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the present apparatus;
FIG. 6 is a view taken along the line 6--6 of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of the drive means for the roller bands and conveyors of the apparatus;
FIG. 8 is an enlarged view taken along the line 8--8 of FIG. 5;
FIG. 9 is an enlarged view taken along the line 9--9 of FIG. 5;
FIG. 10 is an enlarged view taken along the line 10--10 of FIG. 8;
FIG. 11 is a View taken along the line 11--11 of FIG. 5;
FIG. 12 is a view taken along the line 12--12 of FIG. 5;
FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of the discharge end of the apparatus, illustrating an embodiment utilizing a strip collector belt;
FIG. 14 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of the feed end of the apparatus, illustrating an embodiment employing a conveyor belt to transport inverted trays to the main conveyor belt;
FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic side elevational view similar to FIG. 14 but showing an alternate tray inverting chute.
FIG. 16 is a fragmantary top plane view of an alternate empty-tray engaging roller cosntruction and;
FIG. 17 is a side elevational view taken along line 17--17 of FIG. 16.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present apparatus relates to the separation of strips of dried meat products from tray support surfaces to which the products are adhered. One such product is a mixture, by weight, of 75% meat by-products, 15% beef, 1% wheat flour, 1% cane molasses, 2% dextrose, 2% salt, 2% water, and 2% spices and preservatives. The mixture is extruded into meat strips 10 approximately 11/4 inch wide, 0.165 inch thick, and 48 inches long, following which the strips are dried, and then cut into lengths of about 41/4 inches for packaging.
FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 illustrate a tray 12 onto which the meat strips 10 are extruded. The tray 12 is typically made of resiliently deformable plastic about 6 inches wide and 48 inches long. Four strips 10 are supported on each tray, as seen in FIG. 4. Each tray 12 includes a plurality of apertures 14 arranged to define a supporting lattice 16 comprised of crosswise and lengthwise ribs. Each aperture 14 is about 3/8 inches wide and 3/4 inches long, making a total of about 544 apertures per tray.
After the strips 10 are extruded onto the surface of the trays, the trays 12 are stacked on racks and placed in a drying oven (not shown) in which air circulates through the apertures 14, drying the meat strips 10 and forming a jerky product. During drying the strips 10 tend to bake onto and stick to the tray lattice 16, the strips also tending to sag into the apertures 14, as seen in FIG. 3. The purpose of the present apparatus is to remove the strips 10 from the trays without breaking the 48 inch long strips into unusable shorter pieces. The separated long strips can then be cut into the desired lengths of about 41/4 inches for packaging. As will be seen, the present apparatus accomplishes such separation through the unique interaction of separating roller bands and support structure located on opposite sides of the tray conveyor belt.
As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 5-7, the present apparatus includes a rigid frame, most of which is omitted for brevity, having a pair of longitudinally extending, transversely spaced apart I-beams or sides 18.
A continuous conveyor belt 24 is trained around rollers carried by a pair of belt shafts 20 and 22 which are rotatable in suitable bearings mounted to the front and rear extremities of the frame sides 18. Another roller, carried by an idler shaft 25 extending between the sides 18, presses upwardly against the conveyor belt 24 to eliminate slack and provide proper tensioning.
The belt 24 is preferably made of a wear resistant, flexible plastic material such as vinyl that can be tensioned longitudinally, but which droops or sags transversely in areas where it is unsupported. As will be seen, this feature is useful in the separating operation to be described.
The belt 24 is supported adjacent the front of the apparatus by a row of four longitudinally oriented, transversely spaced apart pipes or supports 26. The forward and rearward extremity of each support 26 is downwardly curved, as best seen in FIG. 6, to promote smooth engagement and disengagement with the underside of the upper run of the conveyor belt 24. The supports 26 are fixed against vertical movement by attachment to a pair of brackets 28 whose ends are fixed to the frame sides 18.
A second row of longitudinally oriented, transversely spaced apart pipes or supports 30 are located behind or beyond the supports 26. There are five such supports 30, all of which are downwardly curved at their forward and rearward extremities to facilitate sliding engagement with the underside of the upper run of the conveyor belt 24. The middle one of the supports 30 is approximately the same length as each of the forward supports 26, while the other four supports 30 extend from approximately the mid portion of the frame to its rearward extremity. In a manner similar to the mounting of the supports 26, the supports 30 are fixed against vertical movement by transverse brackets 32, two of which are seen in FIG. 6, which are attached at their ends to the frame sides 18.
It is important to note that the supports 30 are transversely offset relative to the supports 26. As will be seen, the flexible belt 24 is designed to hang or sag in a catenary-like configuration between adjacent supports 26, as seen in FIG. 8. As the belt 24 passes beyond the supports 26, the areas of such sagging changes so that the catenary-like sags of the flexible belt are longitudinally aligned with the first row of supports 26, as seen in FIG. 9.
The conveyor belt 24 supports each tray 12 and conveys it in the direction or conveyor path indicated by the arrow in FIG. 6. Each tray is placed across or transversely of the belt, and in an inverted position. The food product or strips 34 located on the underside of the tray thus engage the upper surface of the upper run of the conveyor belt 24, with the long axis of each strip 34 perpendicular to the conveyor path.
As the trays 12 move with the belt 24, separator means are arranged to project downwardly through the tray apertures 14 to engage with the strips 34 and gently separate them from the tray 12 and onto the upper surface of the belt 24.
The separator means comprise a row of five separator or roller bands 36 transversely spaced across and above the conveyor belt 24 adjacent the front end of the apparatus frame. The two outside roller bands 36 are narrower than the three central bands, but each band is characterized by a plurality of projections, protrusions, or fingers 38 made of flexible plastic material or soft rubber. Each finger 38 has a transverse cross-sectional area smaller than that of one of the apertures 14 so that the fingers can pass downwardly through the apertures into contact with the strips 10. As will be seen, the vertical position of the bands 36 can be adjusted so that engagement between the fingers 38 and the strips 10 is firm enough to separate the strips from the tray lattice 16 but not forceful enough to unduly deform and break the strips. This separating action is seen in FIGS. 8 through 10.
The base fabric or material of which the bands 36 is made is commercially available in wide, continuous belts. These are cut into narrow bands to provide the bands 36 with the integral fingers 38. Although the bands 36 could be adhered or otherwise secured to the periphery of large rollers carried on transverse shafts extending above the conveyor belt 24, the bands 36 are preferably adhered in transversely spaced apart relation to one one another on a wide separator belt 37 which extends across and above the belt 24. The belt 37 is supported so that each individual roller band 36 is upwardly inclined at its leading extremity, enabling a tray 12 to easily pass below the front of the roller band. The fingers 38 thereafter come into progressively closer relationship with the strips, and then firmly engage them along a rearward, horizontally disposed extremity of the band 36.
The sagging of the belt 24 between the supports 26 is clearly evident in FIG. 8, as is the projection of the fingers 38 through the tray apertures and into engagement with the strips 10. The sagging or yieldability of the flexible belt 24 between the supports 26 provides a space into which the strips 10 can be moved to separate them from the tray lattice portions between the supports 26. The size of the space is somewhat exaggerated for clarity. In some instances a pre-existing space is not necessary so long as the belt 24 is made sufficiently yieldable that it will move away from the tray with the separated food strips to accommodate their presence on the belt. Although not clearly seen in the drawings, the action of the fingers 38 on the tray also bends or flexes the portions of the tray 12 between the supports 26. This flexing induces relative movement between the adhered food product and the tray, and further facilitates separation of the strips 10 from the tray lattice 16.
FIG. 10 illustrates in detail the action of the fingers 38 in separating the strips 10 from the tray lattice 16 and into the spaces defined by the sagging portions of the conveyor belt 24. However, the portions of the strips 10 located between the roller bands 36 are not reached or engaged by the fingers 38 of the bands, and consequently separation of the strips 10 in these areas is not achieved.
Accordingly, a second row of four roller bands 40 is mounted on a continuous separator belt 41 like the front separator belt 37. The bands 40 are identical in construction and orientation to the bands 36, but are arranged behind the bands 36 and in transversely offset or staggered relation, that is, out of longitudinal alignment with the bands 36 and in longitudinal alignment with the supports 26 between the bands 36. With this arrangement the fingers 42 engage those portions of the food strips 10 not previously acted upon and separated by the fingers 38 of the first roller bands 36. The action of the fingers 42 on the strips 10 is best seen in FIG. 9.
The separated strips 10 pressed onto the conveyor belt 24 by the separating fingers 38 and 42 are carried by the conveyor belt 24 to its discharge end. At that point the belt 24 reverses direction around a belt shaft 22, as seen in FIG. 13. The strips can be collected in a bin (not shown), or a strip collection belt 44 can be located below the belt shaft 22 to catch the strips as they fall off the belt 24. The collection belt 44 preferably includes transverse ridges or ribs forming individual recesses for the strips 10. The collected strips are carried by the collection belt 44 to a station (not shown) where they are cut into shorter lengths and packaged.
The empty trays 12 leaving the rollers belts 40 are engaged adjacent their ends by a pair of rollers 46. These rollers have a continuous band of material adhered to their periphery like the material of the bands 36 and 40, and with the same type of flexible fingers. The rollers 46 engage the tray ends and force it into a horizontal plane, which is necessary for trays which have become warped through continued usage. In a horizontal plane the tray is properly positioned for interception by the pointed end 48 of a tray raising plate 50.
Plate 50 extends across the belt 24 and is secured at its opposite sides to the frame sides 18. As the tray moves toward it the end 48 passes beneath the tray 12 and above the sagging strips 10 and belt 24, as seen in FIG. 11.
The tray portion between the rollers 46 is flexed downwardly to help in completing the separation of the strips 10 from the tray lattice 16.
A pair of rollers 52 identical to the rollers 46 are located beyond and transversely inwardly of the rollers 46 to engage each tray 12 as it leaves the rollers 46, as seen in FIG. 12. The trays raised by plate 50 from the conveyor belt are first driven up the inclined surface of the plate 50 by the rollers 46, and then further driven downwardly by the rollers 52 until the end ones of the trays 12 drop into a pair of collection hangers 54 mounted to the rearward end of the plate 50. From this point the trays can be taken up for reuse in the strip processing operation.
Although the trays 12 can be manually inverted and placed on the belt 24 at the forward or feed end, as seen in FIG. 6, this operation is preferably automated by using a tray feed belt 56, as seen in FIG. 14. Trays coming from the drying oven (not shown) are normally in the upright position seen in FIG. 14, and the belt 56 is operated to bring the upright trays to a point adjacent an end shaft 58 where the direction of travel of the belt 56 reverses. The trays fall off the belt 56 and engage a vertical front plate 60 attached at its ends to the frame sides 18. The plate 60 holds the upper side of the tray against movement with the belt 24 so that the lower side of the tray 12 can be engaged by the belt 24 and carried away from the plate 60. This inverts the tray 12 and locates the food product on the underside of the tray.
The showing in FIG. 7 is exemplary of the means by which the various belts and rollers of the apparatus are driven and adjusted for operation.
The drive means comprises a suitable electric motor 62 which is mounted on the apparatus frame and operated to rotate a sprocketed drive shaft 64. This drives a chain engagable with a pair of sprocketed shafts 66 and 68.
Rotation of the shaft 66 is transmitted by a chain 70 for rotation of a sprocket mounted to the rear conveyor belt shaft 22. The belt roller on the shaft 22 acts upon the conveyor belt 24 to move it along the conveyor path previously described.
Rotation of the other sprocketed shaft 68 adjacent the motor 62 operates a drive chain 72 which rotates a sprocketed shaft 74 which drives the separating belt 41. A chain 76 trained about the sprocket of the shaft 74 also rotates a sprocketed shaft 78 which drives the separating belt 37.
Another chain 80 engages a sprocket of the shaft 68 and drives a sprocketed shaft 82 which is rotatable to drive a shaft 82 carrying the pair of rollers 46. The shaft 86 mounting the rearward pair of rollers 52 is driven by a chain 84 extending between the sprockets of the shafts 82 and 86.
The means for adjusting belt tensions and relative positions of the apparatus components is best seen in FIGS. 7, 13 and 14. The horizontal portion of the lower run of the separator belt 37 is urged downwardly by a pair of transverse rollers mounted to a pair of forwardly located adjustment shafts 88. As seen in FIG. 7, the vertical position of the shafts 88 can be adjusted by tightening or loosening nuts 92 which bear against an upward extension of the frame sides 18 and which operate upon vertical studs to raise and lower the bearing blocks which rotatably carry the shafts 88.
A similar arrangement of nuts 94 acting upon blocks mounting a pair of transverse adjustment shafts 96 raises and lowers the shafts 96 to adjust the vertical position of associated transverse rollers acting upon the horizontal portion of the lower run of the rearward separator belt 41.
The foregoing arrangement enables the degree of separating force exerted by the respective roller band fingers 38 and 42 to be adjusted for firm food strip separation, but without strip breakage.
An adjustment shaft 90 mounts an idler roller engaged upon the rearward portion of the separator belt 37 where it changes direction. The longitudinal position of the idler roller can be adjusted by tightening or loosening a nut 100, which adjusts the tension in the belt 37. Similarly, a nut 102 can be tightened or loosened to adjust the longitudinal position of a shaft 98 which mounts the idler roller engaged upon the separator belt 41, thereby adjusting the tension in the belt 41.
In operation, each tray 12 carrying food product strips 10 is placed in inverted position upon the conveyor belt 24, either manually or by the belt conveyor means of FIG. 14. The trays are carried by the conveyor belt 24 to the first row of roller bands 36, where the separating action illustrated in FIG. 8 occurs. The food product strips 10 are displaced downwardly from the tray 12 by the fingers 38 and into the space which exists by virtue of the cantenary sag of the belt 24 between each pair of adjacent supports 30. As previously indicated, displacement of the strips is not necessarily into existing sag spaces, but may be into spaces formed by downward yielding of the belt 24.
The portions of the food strips 10 not reached by the action of the roller fingers 38 are next acted upon by the fingers 42 of the roller bands 40 as the trays pass along the conveyor path, resulting in the separating action illustrated in FIG. 9.
Finally, the separated food strips are carried onto the strip collection belt 44, while the trays are moved up the inclined plate 50 onto the collection brackets 54 by the successive action of the rollers 46 and 52, as seen in FIG. 13.
The separating action developed by the roller bands 36, followed by the roller bands 40, and finally by the rollers 46, has been found to separate the strips 10 from the trays 12 with insignificant or no strip breakage. Moreover, utilization of the flexible conveyor belt 24, which sags or yields transversely between its underlying supports, makes possible separation of the strips in an essentially single operation, that is, with all separation occurring onto the same conveyor belt which supports and conveys the trays through the apparatus.
Referring now to FIG. 15, there is shown an alternate arrangement for feeding and inverting for the trays 12 onto the conveyor belt 24. Such means includes a vertical chute 110 having an open top 112 through which loaded trays 12 may be fed. The lower end of chute 110 is of reduced aide area and defines a tray discharge opening 114. The front of the discharge opening 114 is defined by a rearwardly and downwardly inclined wall 115 of chute 112. It will be apparent that as lowermost tray 12 enters the lower portion of chute 110, the inclined wall 115 will cause the tray to tilt into a generally, vertically extending position and forward movement of the upper run of the conveyor belt 24 (to the left of FIG. 15) will cause the tray to flip into an inverted position, with the meat strips 10 facing downwardly against the upper surface of the conveyor belt 24.
Referring now to FIGS. 16 and 17, there is shown a modified arrangement of the empty tray-engaging rollers designated 46 and 52 in FIG. 13. In the embodiment of FIG. 16, an extra set of rollers 120 are interposed between rollers 46 and 52 to assist in preventing the empty trays fro being twisted as they pass from plate 50 onto the upper run of conveyor belt 24.
Various modifications and changes may be made with regard to the foregoing detailed description without departing from the spirit of the invention. | An apparatus for separating a food product from a tray having apertures defining a supporting lattice to which the food product is adhered. A conveyor belt carries the tray in an inverted position with the food product on the bottom and engaging the upper surface of the belt. The undersurface of the belt is slidably supported by a first row of fixed, transversely spaced apart supports. A first row of roller bands with radially directed fingers is located above the belt with the roller bands midway between the supports. The fingers project through the tray apertures and move the product away from the tray and toward the conveyor belt. The conveyor belt sags between the supports, providing room for the product to move for separation from the tray. | 1 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to polymer blends and, more particularly, to a blend of thermoplastic polymers which form a single phase solid solution of excellent optical clarity and good flexural properties.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Thermoplastic polymers useful for injection molding and extrusion to form molded articles and films often are deficient in one or more properties. Efforts to modify the properties of a polymer that is otherwise suitable, for example, by blending it with another polymer usually produce an opaque or cloudy blend which is not acceptable when the molded article or film must be clear and transparent. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,927 to White et al. discloses blends of polyetherimides and of polyesters based primarily on terephthalic acid and isophthalic acid. The patent discloses blends which formed multiple phase solid state solutions in the composition range from about 25 to 90 weight percent polyester. Such compositions are understood to be opaque and cloudy. Blends of polyarylates with polyetherimide are disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,279 to Robeson et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,908,419 to Holub et al. Three components blends of polyetherimide, polyester and a third polymer are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,819 to Quinn et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,908,418 to Holub. None of these patents suggests a polymer composition having the combination of desired flexural properties, clarity and transparency.
There is a continuing need for thermoplastic polymer compositions that have high flexural moduli, high flexural strength and high heat deflection temperatures and that can be injection molded or extruded to form articles of excellent clarity and transparency.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The composition of the invention is a visually clear blend of thermoplastic polymers comprising (A) a polyetherimide which is described in more detail hereinafter and (B) a polyester of a dicarboxylic acid component comprising 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid and a glycol component comprising at least one aliphatic or cycloaliphatic glycol selected from the group consisting of ethylene glycol, 1,3-trimethylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, 1,7-heptanediol, neopentyl glycol, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol and diethylene glycol.
The invention also includes molded articles and films formed of the novel polymer blend. In addition, the invention includes a method for improving the physical properties of a polymer composition comprising a polyester of 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid that comprises melt blending or solution blending with the polyester a polyetherimide of the type described herein to form a single phase solid solution which is clear and transparent and of higher flexural modulus than the polyester.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The sole FIGURE of the drawings is a plot of polymer compositional ranges for certain clear and cloudy polymer blends.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As used herein, the term “polyester” means a polyester of a single dicarboxylic acid and a single glycol or a co-polyester of one or more dicarboxylic acids and one or more glycols. The term “dicarboxylic acid component” means the acid or mixture of acids (or their equivalent esters, anhydrides or halides) which react with a glycol or glycols to form a polyester. Similarly, the term “glycol component” means the glycol or glycols which react with such acid or acids (or their equivalent esters, anhydrides or halides) to form a polyester.
The novel polyetherimide/polyester blends of the invention comprise about 1% to 99% of a polyetherimide of the formula:
where n represents a whole number in excess of 1, for example 10 to 10,000 or more. The radical —O—R—O— is in the 3- or 4- and 3-′ or 4′-positions.
The radical —R— is a member of the class consisting of:
where m is 0 or 1 and Q is
and x is a whole number from 1 to 5, inclusive.
The radical —R′— is a divalent organic radical selected from the class consisting
(1) aromatic hydrocarbon radicals having from 6 to 20 carbon atoms and halogenated derivatives thereof;
(2) alkylene radicals and cycloalkylene radicals having from 2 to 20 carbon atoms; and
(3) radicals of the formula:
where R″ is:
and y is a whole number from 1 to 5, inclusive.
Such polyetherimides can be formed, for example, by the reaction of an aromatic bis(ether anhydride) of the formula:
with a diamino compound of the formula:
H 2 N—R′—NH 2
Included among the methods of making the polyetherimide are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,847,867; 3,847,869; 3,850,885; 3,852,242; 3,855,178; 3,887,588; 4,017,511; and 4,024,110. These disclosures are incorporated herein by reference.
The novel polyester/polyetherimide blends of the invention also comprise about 99% to 1% of a polyester of 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid and of one or a mixture of two or more of the following aliphatic and cycloaliphatic glycols:
ethylene glycol
1,3-trimethylene glycol
1,4-butanediol
1,5-pentanediol
1,6-hexanediol
1,7-heptanediol
neopentyl glycol
1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol (cis and trans isomers and mixtures thereof)
diethylene glycol
In addition, the polyester or copolyester may be modified by other acids or a mixture of acids including, but not limited to:
terephthalic acid
isophthalic acid
phthalic acid
4,4′-stilbenedicarboxylic acid
oxalic acid
malonic acid
succinic acid
glutaric acid
adipic acid
pimelic acid
suberic acid
azelaic acid
sebacic acid
1,12-dodecanedioic acid
dimethylmalonic acid
cis-1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid
trans-1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid
The glycols or mixture of glycols may also be modified by other glycols or a mixture of glycols including, but not limited to:
1,8-octanediol
1,9-nonanediol
1,10-decanediol
1,12-dodecanediol
2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol
The amount of modifying acid or glycol (preferably less than 10 mole percent) which may be incorporated in the polyester while still achieving a clear, single phase blend depends on the particular acids and glycols which are used. Although it is not intended for this invention to be limited by any particular theory, the polyester and copolyester compositions which will produce single phase, clear materials can generally be determined by the method of Coleman, et al. [M. M. Coleman, C. J. Serman, D. E. Bhagwagar, P. C. Painter, Polymer, 31, 1187 (1990).] for prediction of polymer-polymer miscibility. Polyesters of 1,6-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid having solubility parameters between about 10.85 (cal·cm −3 ) 0.5 and about 15.65 (cal·cm −3 ) 0.5 as calculated by the method of Coleman et al. in general form single phase, clear blends.
Polyetherimides of the invention which are preferred are those in which:
R′ is an aromatic hydrocarbon radical having from 6 to 10 carbon atoms, or an alkylene or cycloalkylene radical having from 2 to 10 carbon atoms; or where
m, x and y are as defined above.
Polyetherimides of the invention which are even more preferred are those in which:
Polyetherimides of the invention which are even more preferred are those in which
Preferred blends of polyetherimides and polyesters of the invention are those in which the glycol component is ethylene glycol or 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol or a mixture of ethylene glycol and 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol.
In another aspect of the invention, a blend wherein the dicarboxylic acid component of said polyester comprises 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylic and terephthalic acid and the glycol component of said polyester comprises ethylene glycol and 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol is preferred.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a blend wherein said polyester has an acid component which comprises 100 to 10 mole percent 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid and 0 to 90 mole percent of terephthalic acid, isophthalic acid, or a mixture of terephthalic and isophthalic acid is preferred.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a blend wherein said polyester has an acid component which comprises 50 to 10 mole percent 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid and 50 to 90 mole percent terephthalic acid, or a mixture of terephthalic acid and isophthalic acid is preferred.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a blend wherein the dicarboxylic acid component of said polyester consists essentially of 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid and terephthalic acid and the glycol component of said polyester consists essentially of ethylene glycol and 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, and wherein the amount of 2,6-dinaphthalene dicarboxylic acid in said dicarboxylic acid component is at least about 32 mole percent and the amount of 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol in said glycol component is no more than about 65 mole percent, is preferred.
A most preferred embodiment of the composition of the invention comprises (A) about 10 to 50 weight percent of a polyetherimide and (B) about 90 to 50 weight percent of the polyester. Preferred polyesters are polyesters of 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid and ethylene glycol or copolyesters of 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid and ethylene glycol modified with terephthalic and/or isophthalic acid and with butanediol and/or 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol.
The blends of the invention can be compounded in the melt, for example, by using a single screw or twin screw extruder. They may also be prepared by solution blending. Additional colorants, lubricants, release agents, impact modifiers, and the like can also be incorporated into the formulation during melt blending or solution blending.
The examples which follow further illustrate compositions and the method of the invention and provide comparisons with other polymer blends.
This invention can be further illustrated by the following examples of preferred embodiments thereof, although it will be understood that these examples are included merely for purposes of illustration and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention unless otherwise specifically indicated. The starting materials are commercially available unless otherwise indicated.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
Polyesters and copolyester of Table 1 below were blended in equal parts by weight with a polyetherimide (PEI). The polyesters were prepared by reacting the acids, 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid (NA) or terephthalic acid (TA), or mixtures thereof, with ethylene glycol (EG) or 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol (CG), or mixtures thereof. The polyetherimide was Ultem 1000™ polyetherimide, which is commercially available from General Electric Company. This polyetherimide is essentially the reaction product of 2,2-bis[4(3,4-dicarboxyphenoxy)phenyl] propane dianhydride:
and meta-phenylenediamine.
The 50/50 by weight polyester/polyetherimide blends were prepared in a solution of 75/25 by volume methylene chloride/hexafluoroisopropanol and precipitated by dropping into methanol, with stirring. The precipitate was isolated by decanting and dried under vacuum at ≈60° C. for three days. The blends were tested by differential scanning calorimetry in order to determine the glass transition temperature (T g ), crystallization temperature (T c ), and melting temperature (T m ). Particular note was taken as to whether each blend exhibited one or two glass transition temperatures, intermediate between the glass transition temperatures of the polyester and polyetherimide. The blends were also melt pressed into thin films at ≈280° C. The films were inspected visually for clarity.
The results of differential scanning calorimetry and film clarity observations shown in Table 1 demonstrate the particular copolyester composition ranges over which a solid single phase blend with good clarity may be obtained. All of the pressed films exhibited a light brown color similar to that of the pure polyetherimide. Based on the observations of T g s and film clarity, a map of the composition range over which a visually clear blend is obtained is illustrated in the drawings.
TABLE 1
Mole % in Acid
Mole % in Glycol
Number
Film
Sample
NA
TA
EG
CG
of Tgs
Clarity
A1
0
100
100
0
Two
Cloudy
B1
0
100
42
58
Two
Cloudy
C1
0
100
28
72
Two
Cloudy
D1
0
100
0
100
Two
Cloudy
E1
100
0
100
0
One
Clear
F1
68
32
0
100
One
nd
G1
100
0
35
65
One
Clear
H1
66
34
35
65
One
Clear
I1
66
34
68
32
One
Clear
J1
32
68
36
64
One
Clear
K1
34
66
67
33
One
Clear
L1
5
95
0
100
Two
Cloudy
M1
10
90
0
100
Two
Cloudy
N1
20
80
0
100
Two
Cloudy
O1
51
49
100
0
One
Clear
P1
16
84
100
0
One
Clear
Q1
16
84
29
71
Two
Cloudy
nd: not determined
The blends of polyetherimide with polyesters of terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol or 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, or mixtures thereof, formed two phase solid solutions and thus resulted in cloudy films (i.e. samples A1, B1, C1, D1), in accordance with the teachings of White et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,927. The blends with polyesters of terephthalic acid with ethylene glycol or 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, or mixtures thereof, which were modified by 20 mole percent or less of 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid (i.e. samples L1, M1, N1) also resulted in two phase solid solutions and cloudy films. In contrast, the blends of polyesters based on 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid with ethylene glycol and 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, or mixtures thereof, (i.e. samples E1, G1) surprisingly formed single phase solid solutions and clear films. The results also demonstrate that visually clear blends may still be obtained if a polyester based on 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid with ethylene glycol and 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, or a mixture thereof, is modified with certain amounts of terephthalic acid. This is demonstrated by samples H1, I1, J1, K1, O1 and P1. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that the amount of modifying terephthalic acid which may be used while still obtaining a visually clear blend is dependent on the particular glycol or mixture of glycols which is used. For example, the polyesters of both samples P1 and Q1 are composed of 16% 2,6-naphthalendicarboxylic acid and 84% terephthalic acid. However, sample P1 is a clear blend while sample Q1 is a cloudy blend. The difference is due to the particular glycols which are used in these samples, namely, 100 mole percent ethylene glycol in the clear blend P1 and 100 mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol in the cloudy blend Q1.
Example 2
Blends of polyesters and the same polyetherimide described in Example 1 were compounded in the melt and injection molded. The polyesters compounded were as follows: poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylate); poly(ethylene terephthalate); poly(ethylene-cocyclohexane-1,4-dimethylene terephthalate) with 42 mole % ethylene and 58 mole % cyclohexane-1,4-dimethylene in the glycol; and poly(ethylene-co-cyclohexane-1,4-dimethylene terephthalate) with 28 mole % ethylene and 72 mole % cyclohexane-1,4-dimethylene in the glycol.
The polyester compositions along with the blend compositions and observed clarity are reported in Table 2. All of the blends exhibited a light brown color similar to that of the pure polyetherimide.
The diffuse transmittance of injection molded articles formed from several of the blends, which is a measure of the visual clarity of the articles, was determined by the procedure of ASTM D1003. The results of these measurements are included in Table 2.
TABLE 2
Polyester Composition
Mole % in
Mole % in
Weight %
% Diffuse
Acid
Glycol
PEI
Visual
Transmit-
Sample
NA
TA
EG
CG
in Blend
Clarity
tance
A2
0
100
100
0
0
Clear
B2
″
″
″
″
10
Cloudy
C2
″
″
″
″
20
Opaque
D2
″
″
″
″
30
Opaque
19
E2
0
100
42
58
0
Clear
80
F2
″
″
″
″
10
Opaque
G2
″
″
″
″
20
Opaque
13
H2
″
″
″
″
30
Cloudy
17
I2
0
100
28
72
0
Clear
81
J2
″
″
″
″
10
Opaque
K2
″
″
″
″
20
Opaque
11
L2
″
″
″
″
30
Opaque
5
M2
100
0
100
0
0
Clear
N2
″
″
″
″
10
Clear
51
O2
″
″
″
″
20
Clear
51
P2
″
″
″
″
30
Clear
46
Samples B2, C2, D2, F2, G2, H2, J2, K2, L2 were opaque or cloudy because they formed two phase solid solutions, as taught by White and Matthews in U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,927. However, samples N2, 02, and P2 (which are compositions of this invention) were surprisingly clear. In addition, the molded articles formed from these compositions exhibited a high percentage of diffuse light transmittance.
Example 3
Blends of poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylate) with the same polyetherimide described in Example 1 were prepared by first compounding on a co-rotating twin screw extruder and the injection molding into parts for mechanical testing. All of the blends exhibited excellent transparency and a light brown color similar to that of the pure polyetherimide. The blend compositions, processing conditions, and mechanical properties are given in Table 3. The diffuse transmittance of the articles formed from blends of the invention, measured according to ASTM D1003, are also included in Table 3.
TABLE 3
Sample
A3
B3
C3
D3
PEI Weight %
0
10
20
40
Compounding Temp. (° C.)
295
295
295
295
Molding Temp. (° C.)
300
305
305
305
% Diffuse Transmittance***
51
41
42
Appearance
Clear
Clear
Clear
Clear
Izod Impact Strength (ft · lb/
in)****
Notched 23° C.
0.6
0.6
0.6
Notched −40° C.
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.5
Unnotched 23° C.
20.1
21.9
17.0
26.4
Unnotched −40° C.
10.2
8.5
11.8
14.5
Flexural Strength (psi)*
14410
15600
16510
18520
Flexural Modulus (kpsi)*
347
370
377
411
Heat Deflection Temperature
(° C.)**
at 66 psi
109
115
125
141
at 264 psi
88
98
110
125
*measured according tc ASTM D790
**measured according to ASTM D648
***measured according to ASTM D1003
****measured according to ASTM D256
Some of the advantages of these blends are demonstrated by these results. The flexural strength, flexural modulus, and heat deflection temperatures increase with the addition of the polyetherimide to the polyester. In addition, the blends can be processed at a much lower temperature than that which is required when processing the pure polyetherimide, and the molded articles exhibit high diffusive transmittance. Because of these properties of the novel polymeric blends, they can be molded at reasonably low temperatures to form articles which are resistant to deformation at elevated temperatures. For example, molded articles of the novel polymeric blends can be used as containers that can withstand heat such as cooking vessels or as polymeric. parts positioned near motors in golf carts, lawnmowers and the like. In all of these uses the optical clarity and the resistance to thermal deformation are valuable properties of the novel polymer blends of the invention.
The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention. | This invention relates to a visually clear blend of thermoplastic polymers comprising a polyetherimide and a polyester of (a) an acid component comprising 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid and (b) a glycol component comprising at least one glycol selected from the group consisting of ethylene glycol, 1,3-trimethylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, 1,7-heptanediol, neopentyl glycol, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol and diethylene glycol. | 2 |
The present application is a continuation of pending application Ser. No. 07/109,770 filed on 10/16/87 which in turn is a continuation-in-part of co-pending application Ser. No. 07/029,735 filed 03/24/87 for Card Holding, Carrying And Retaining System, which application is still being prosecuted concurrently with this application as Continuation application Ser. No. 07/293,690 filed 01/05/89.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved card holding, carrying and retaining system by which an individual can efficiently collect and mount cards such as a business card immediately upon receipt of the card during meetings, conventions, etc. and thereafter employ the mounting means to carry the card so that it will not be mutilated, misplaced or lost and thereafter upon return home or to his or her place of business immediately transfer the card to a retaining means such as a business card file box or a rotary file holder. The present invention further relates to a novel housing member for retaining the tray in which the retained cards are placed and further relates to a novel carrying member for retaining a series of card holding members for use during a business trip. The present invention also relates to business card retaining means which can be used in conjunction with conventional organizers and planners.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
In general, card filing systems are well known in the prior art. Conventionally, a multiplicity of filing cards are placed in a filing card retaining means. Conventional filing card retaining means include a tray or a wheel in which the filing cards are place, such as those manufactured by Eldon or by Rolodex respectively. The tray card holder or rotary card holder includes one or more card holding means such as tracks, rails, cylindrical rods, etc. onto which the filing cards are movably inserted. The filing cards, in turn, having mating slots adjacent their lower edge by which the cards may be movably and removably inserted onto the tracks, rails, rods, etc of the card holding means.
When people attend a business meeting, a trade show or a convention, they frequently receive a large number of business cards from individuals with whom they may be negotiating a transaction or who they meet at a trade show or convention. Many times these individuals may be prospective customers or clients. The cards are frequently placed in a coat pocket or purse and may thereafter be wrinkled, torn, misplaced or lost. In addition, assuming the business cards are brought back to the office, they are frequently placed in a desk drawer where they are forgotten. Alternatively, if the newly acquired business cards are maintained in a safe place and are brought back to the office, the information from the cards must be transmitted to the filing card system. One alternative is to transcribe the information from the business card onto the filing card. In addition to taking extra time to do this work with each business card, information may be incorrectly transcribed, leading to greater problems and a waste of time in locating the correct information. In an alternative process, the business card may be somehow attached to the filing card such as by tape or staples. Since the business card is usually about the same height as the filing card and an allowance must be made for the slots by which the filing card is movably attached to the tracks in the card holder, the business card is often too tall for the card holder trays, thereby preventing the tray from being closed. It is therefore necessary to cut the business card so that it fits onto the filing card so that the tray can be closed while at the same time not interfering with the slots at the lower edge of the filing card. Since telephone numbers and/or addresses are frequently placed adjacent the top or bottom of the card, this information is cut off and therefore must be written onto the body of the card.
Some Rolodex type trays have a closing lid to prevent the cards from getting dirty. Others, are left exposed. In embodiments where the cards are inserted onto a carrying tray, the tray itself does not include an appropriately fitted housing member so that the cards may be stored and thereby reduce the likelihood that they will become soiled.
When a businessperson wishes to go on a business trip, it is necessary for him or her to copy down the address from the business card or alternatively remove the card from the card holding file and place it in his or her wallet or briefcase (or pocket book). If the individual is a salesperson and must make frequent calls to a large number of customers or potential customers, this becomes a significant chore. In addition, there is a significant risk that the cards may becomes lost or soiled.
Loose-leaf type business organizers and planners have become very popular. Business cards are not conveniently stored in such organizers and are merely fitted into a slot therein from which they can fall out or become creased or soiled.
Therefore, the card filing systems known in the prior art all suffer from the same defects. Business cards can be dirtied, torn, lost or mislaid when received and if they are brought back to the office intact, they must be physically modified before they can be placed onto the filing card or information must be taken from the business card and written onto the filing card. In open tray type card holders (which are the most convenient), the prior art systems provide no housing with a matched fitting to the tray to keep the cards safe and to prevent them from getting dirty or from be soiled (such as coffee being spilled on them). In addition, no prior art system provides an efficient method by which a selected number of the business cards can be removed and taken on a trip, which system at the same time assures that the business cards will be kept safely and be prearranged in a given selected order or other system.
Therefore, there is a significant need for a product which permits a business card to be immediately mounted upon receipt and thereafter safely carried so that it will not become disfigured or lost and which further permits the card to be immediately inserted onto the tracks of a card file without any further work involved.
There further exists a significant need for a system by which business cards can be efficiently mounted, collected and safely stored when received and thereafter instantly inserted into a card holder or tray upon the individual's return to the office without a need for modifying the card in any way or transcribing information from the business card onto the filing card.
There is also a significant need for a system by which cards mounted in an open tray can be protected through a protecting housing member when the cards and tray are not in use. There is also a need for a system by which a multiplicity of the protective housing members can be stacked or mounted on a wall unit, for more efficient use.
There is additionally a significant need for an organizing and carrying system to selectively carry a group of business cards on a trip in a specific safe and organized manner.
There is a further significant need for efficiently carrying business cards in a loose-leaf type business planner or organizer.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention relates to an improved system whereby a business card can be immediately placed onto a card holding means which permits the card to be immediately stored in a card carrying means which can be carried in a coat pocket or purse and further upon return to one's office permits the business card to be immediately removed from the card carrying means and placed in a desk card retaining means such as a card file or rotary file without any need for physical alteration of the business card or transcription of the information from the business card to the filing card.
The present invention additionally relates to a housing member which perfectly matches the desk card retaining means to keep the cards and desk card retaining means or tray covered when not in use to thereby assure that the cards and tray will not become dirty by means such as food or drink being spilled on them. The matching housing member further includes features such as a tray to retain cards before they are alphabetically filed in the desk card retaining means.
The present invention further relates to a matching case member which permits a multiplicity of card carrying means to be stored and carried in a preselected order. As a result, if it is desired to select a group of cards retained by the present invention card holding means and carrying them on a business trip, the user can remove the business cards and associated card holding means from the card retaining means and place them in the card carrying means. If it is desired to have a preselected group of card carrying means on the trip so that each card carrying means contains a group of cards for businesses or individuals to be called on during a given period of time or a given location, the matching case member can hold a multiplicity of card carrying members in a preselected order with the associated preselected business cards therein. In this way, a business trip can be efficiently organized with the cards for individuals or business to be called on in a given morning placed in one card carrying means and the cards for individuals or businesses to be called on in the afternoon and during future days to be placed in selected additional card carrying means.
In addition, the present invention further permits the business card to be removed from the card retaining means and placed in the card carrying means for use when the individual is going to a meeting with that person, thereby eliminating the necessity of once again transcribing the information from the card in the card retaining means onto a piece of paper to be taken by the individual to the meeting.
It has been discovered, according to the present invention, that use of a card holding means or strip means comprising at least one slot adjacent one edge for movable mating engagement with the rail or track of a card carrying means or card retaining means and a self adhesive section along one face of the card holding means which self adhesive section may be protected by a removable covering means, enables a user to quickly affix a business card to the card holding means by removal of the covering strip and pressing the back of the business card adjacent the self adhesive section. This assembly thereby permits an individual to have a means for retaining a business card in a multiplicity of locations such as a card carrying means or card retaining means.
It has further been discovered that if a card carrying means such as a case comprising at least one rod or track capable of movably and removably receiving the at least one slot of the card holding means is used in conjunction therewith, then upon affixation of the business card to the card holding means, the card holding means can be retained in the card carrying means or case by insertion of the slot or slots in the card holding means onto a respective one of the track or tracks in the case.
It has additionally been discovered, according to the present invention, that if a card retaining means such as a tray or rotary file (for example an Eldon file tray or Rolodex Rotary File) comprising at least one track or rod which movably and removably accommodates the slot or slots in the card holding means is used in conjunction therewith, then upon return to the office or other location where the card retaining means is kept, the strip means and the business card affixed thereto can be removed from the card carrying means and transferred to the card retaining means.
In addition, if it is desired to remove the business card for use in a future trip to that individual, the card can be easily removed from the card retaining means and placed in the card carrying means or case which is carried to the meeting.
It has also been discovered that if the card retaining means is an open tray configuration, a matching housing member which permits the card retaining means or tray to removably slide within the housing member provides an efficient means to keep the cards and associated tray clean. If the housing member includes a storage tray, cards can be placed in the tray and later filed in the card retaining means when time permits.
It has also been discovered that if at least one and preferably a pair of openings are placed in the rear wall of the matching housing member, the matching housing member can be mounted on a wall for ready access.
It has further been discovered that if non-slip members such as Bumpons˜ (a Trademark of 3M Corporation) are placed on the floor or base of the housing member, the housing members can be stacked one on top of the other. In addition, if such Bumpons˜ are placed on the bottom of the card retaining member, the Bumpons˜ facilitate more easy use and non-slippage of the card retaining member.
It has additionally been discovered that a matching case member including a multiplicity of preformed slots for individually retaining a multiplicity of card carrying means provides an ideal means for carrying a multiplicity of card carrying means containing a multiplicity of preselected cards in each card carrying means, to thereby efficiently organize a business trip.
It has additionally been discovered that if two card retaining means are placed side by side on a backing member which incorporates a selected series of holes to enable the backing member to be inserted in a loose-leaf type book, the card retaining means of the present invention can be used in conjunction with conventional business planners or organizers in loose-leaf form.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a business card holding means such as a strip whereby the card can be permanently affixed to the strip so that it can be movably and removably retained in a card carrying case or card retaining file.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a business card retaining system whereby the card can be immediately affixed to a card holding means or strip which permits the card to be movably and removably inserted in and carried in a card carrying means such as a card carrying case from which it can be removed and movably and removably inserted in a card retaining means such as a tray file (either open or with a closing top) or rotary file (such as a Rolodex), all without the necessity of altering the physical shape of the card or transcribing information from the card onto another piece of paper such as a filing card.
It is another object of the present invention to substantially eliminate the possibility of mutilating or losing business cards or other cards or incorrectly transcribing information from the cards onto another piece of paper.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a matching housing member for open card retaining means to thereby enclose the card retaining means when not in use and further provide a means for storing unfiled cards in an efficient and safe manner so that they may be later filed when time permits.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a means by which housing members may be stacked one on top of the other and/or by which housing members may be mounted on a surface such as a wall.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a case means for carrying a multiplicity of card carrying means in a preselected order.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an embodiment of a card retaining means which can be used in conjunction with conventional business planners or organizers in loose-leaf form.
Further novel features and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, discussion and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the drawings.
DRAWING SUMMARY
Referring particularly to the drawings for the purpose of illustration only and not limitation, there is illustrated:
FIG 1 is a perspective view of the a card holding means of the present invention such as a strip member, with the self adhesive section completely covered by a covering strip.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the card holding means illustrated in FIG. 1, with a portion of the covering strip peeled away to disclose the self adhesive section.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a card holding means such as a strip member and a fragmentary view of a card affixed to the strip member.
FIG. 4 is an elevational view of two card holding means detachably affixed to each other along one lengthwise edge by a perforated central strip.
FIG. 5 a perspective view of a card carrying means such as a card carrying case used in conjunction with the card holding means illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 3 movably and removably inserted therein.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a card retaining means such as a card file tray, with the card holding means movably and removably inserted therein.
FIG. 7 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along line 7--7 of FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a rotary card retaining means such as a Rolodex file, with the card holding means movably and removably inserted therein.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of an open card retaining means such as a card file tray, with the card holding means movably and removably inserted therein.,
FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the card retaining means illustrated in FIG. 9, with the card holding means and associated business cards removed
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the card retaining means illustrated in FIG. 9, taken along line 11--11 of FIG. 10, to thereby illustrate the rails on which the card holding means are retained.
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the card retaining means illustrated in FIG. 9, taken along line 12-12 of FIG. 10, to thereby illustrate a longitudinal view of one of the rails and the handle member by which the card retaining means is moved.
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a card retaining meanings housing member including a slidable tray member therein for retaining unfiled business cards.
FIG. 14 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the housing member illustrated in FIG. 13, with a card retaining means and associated card holding means and business cards retained therein as well as the slidable tray for retaining unfiled business cards retained therein, to illustrate the relationship between (i) the rail means for slidably receiving the card retaining means within the housing member, (ii) the lower portion of the housing member which slidably receives the card holding tray and (iii) the clearance provided for the business cards carried in the card retaining means after it is inserted into the housing member.
FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a case means for carrying a multiplicity of card retaining means in a preselected order, illustrating two card retaining means carried therein.
FIG. 16 is an alternative embodiment of a card retaining means for use in conjunction with a business planner.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Although the apparatus and method of the present invention will now be described with reference to specific embodiments in the drawings, it should be understood that such embodiments are by way of example and merely illustrative of but a small number of the many possible specific embodiments which can represent applications of the principals of the invention. Various changes and modifications obvious to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains are deemed to be within the spirit, scope appended claims.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown at 10 a card holding means such as a strip member. The card holding means comprises at least one retaining means 12 located on one edge 14 of the card holding means. In the preferred embodiment, the strip retaining means are two slots 12, as shown in FIG. 1, with each slot having a wide portion 16 located in the body 20 of the card holding means or strip member 10, and a narrow portion 18 opening into the edge 14 of strip member 10 such that the card holding means may be inserted onto a pair of tracks or rails through its narrow portion 18 and retained by its wider portion 16.
The card holding means or strip member 10 further comprises a self adhesive section 24. In the preferred embodiment, the self adhesive section 24 is a strip located adjacent an edge 26 directly opposite to the edge along which the strip retaining means 12 are located, and further located on one face 30 of the card holding means 10. The self adhesive section 24 is protected by a removable section covering means 32 which completely covers the self adhesive section 24 when the card holding means 10 is not in use, as illustrated in FIG. 1 and is peeled off (as partially shown in FIG. 2) when the card holding means is to be used. In the preferred embodiment, when the self adhesive section 24 is a strip located adjacent one edge of the card holding means 10, the removable section covering means 32 is a paper strip which is removably placed over the self adhesive section.
As shown in FIG. 3, after the section covering means 32 is peeled away, a card such as a business card 40 can be permanently attached to the card holding means 10 by aligning the card 40 onto the card holding means 10 and pressing the back of the card onto and against the uncovered self adhesive section 24 until a firm bond is secured. In the preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 3, the bottom of the card 40 has been aligned just above the upper portion of the strip retaining means 12. It will be appreciated that the business card 40 could be aligned at any location although the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is preferred since it provides the shortest practical combined vertical height of the business card 40 and card holding means 10. Therefore, a card 40 can be easily and permanently retained on the card holding means 10.
In the preferred embodiment, the card holding means is a rectangular strip which is approximately the same length as a conventional business card. Conventional business cards are approximately three and one-half inches long and two inches high. In the preferred embodiment, the strip is approximately three and one-half inches long and one and one-eighth inches high. The two slots extend through the faces of the strip and extend out one edge. They are spaced apart such that the distance 15 between their centers is approximately one inch. This conforms to the distance between the longitudinal centerlines of the tracks on card retaining files such as those made by Eldon or Rolodex. In the preferred embodiment, the self adhesive section is a strip located on one face of the rectangular strip.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, one convenient method of storing a multiplicity of unused card holding means 10 is to detachably affix two such card holding means 10 to each other along one lengthwise edge by a perforated central strip 11. When the card holding means 10 are to be used, they are torn apart at the location of the perforated central strip 11.
Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown one embodiment of a card carrying case 50. The card carrying means or case 50 comprises at least one rail or track 52 which can accommodate the strip retaining means 12 of the card holding means 10. In the preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 5, a pair of rods or tracks are aligned in generally parallel relationship to each other and spaced apart so that their longitudinal centerlines are approximately the same distance apart as the distance between the centers of the strip retaining means -2 on the card holding members 10. The configuration of the remainder of the card carrying means or case 50 is optional and one of many possible embodiments is illustrated in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, the card carrying case 50 comprises a front ledge 54, a bottom 56, a rear portion 58 and a flexible cover 60 which can be opened to permit insertion of the card holding means 10 (with or without business cards attached) and thereafter closed by folding the lower edge 61 of the cover 60 immediately behind the front ledge 54, thereby protecting the card holding means 10 and attached cards 40 inside the card carrying case 50. The rods or tracks are held in place by being affixed to the front ledge and rear portion of the card carrying case. As shown in FIG. 5, the card holding means 10 can be snapped into place on the rods or tracks 52 through the narrow portion 18 and held therein by the wider portion 16 of the strip retaining means 12.
As shown in FIG. 5, the card holding means 10 can be snapped into place on the rods or tracks 52 of the card carrying case 50 and retained thereon for ready use. At such time as a card holding means 10 is needed, it can be easily snapped out of its position in the card carrying case 50 and the card 40 can be permanently affixed to the card holding means 10 as previously described. As shown in FIG. 5, the internal height of the card carrying means 50 is large enough to accommodate a conventional business card affixed to the card holding member 10. Through this method, a card 40 can be immediately affixed to a card holding member 10 and thereafter movably and removably held in the card carrying case 50.
Upon return to the office or other location where the card retaining file is kept, the business cards can be removed from the card carrying case 50 and snapped into place in the card retaining file.
One possible embodiment of the card retaining means 60 is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The card retaining file must comprise at least one rail or track which can accommodate the strip retaining means or slots 12 of the card holding member 10. In the preferred embodiment, the card retaining means 60 is a file which has a pair of rods or tracks 62 which are aligned in generally parallel relationship to each other and spaced apart so that their longitudinal centerlines are approximately the same distance apart as the distance between the centers of the strip retaining means 12 on the card holding means 10. One additional feature on the card retaining file is a well or temporary card placement area 64 located at the front of the file. Cards can be placed in this area and later filed alphabetically. While the card retaining means 60 is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 as an open tray, it will be appreciated that it can be an enclosed type file comparable to the ones commercially sold by Eldon Corporation.
Another possible embodiment of the card retaining means 70 is the rotary file shown in FIG. 8. Once again, the important component for purposes of the present invention is that the rotary card retaining file 70 comprises at least one rail or track 72 which can accommodate the strip retaining means 12 of the card holding member 10. In the preferred embodiment, the rotary card retaining means 70 is a file which has a pair of tracks 72 which are aligned in generally equidistant relationship to each other along a circular path and spaced apart so that their longitudinal centerlines are approximately the same distance apart as the distance between the centers of the strip retaining means 12 on the card holding means 10.
An alternative embodiment of the card retaining means 80 is shown in FIGS. 9 through 12. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an open card retaining means 80 such as a card file tray. Also shown in FIG. 9 is a multiplicity of separator members 100 used to divide the cards along a specific order, such as alphabetical order. FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the card retaining means 80. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 11--11 of FIG. 10. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 12--12 of FIG. 10. The body of the card retaining means 80 is formed of one piece construction (as by plastic injection molding) and comprises a rear wall 82, a floor 84, a front wall 86 and a handle 88. In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the front wall 86 and the rear wall 82 are generally parallel to each other and are generally perpendicular to the floor 84. The handle 88 extends from the front wall 86 and is preferably offset at an angle thereto. A well 90 is formed by and bounded by the front wall 86, the floor 84 and the rear wall 82. The card retaining means must comprise at least one rail or track which can accommodate the strip retaining means or slots 12 of the card holding member 10. In the preferred embodiment, the card retaining means 80 comprises a pair of rods or tracks 92 and 94 respectively which are aligned in generally parallel relationship to each other and spaced apart so that their longitudinal centerlines are approximately the same distance apart as the distance between the centers of the strip retaining means 12 on the card holding means 10. The pair of rods 92 and 94 are aligned in the well 90 and as illustrated in FIG. 12 extend for the entire length of the well 90 from the front wall 86 to the rear wall 82. As shown in FIG. 11, in the preferred embodiment the rods are part of the one piece construction of the front wall, floor and side wall, and extend upwardly from the floor. Rod 92 is supported on stem 96 which extends from floor 84 and rod 94 is supported on stem 98 which extends from floor 84. In each case, the rod 92 is offset from the stem 96 so that one portion of the circumference of each rod is aligned with the inwardmost portion of its supporting stem, as shown in FIG. 11. Of course, it is also possible for the rod to be centered on its supporting stem. Alternatively, the rods could be merely cylindrical tubes which are supported by the front and rear walls, comparable to the illustration of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7. The card holding means 10 and associated cards 40 (or card holding means alone) are supported on the rods 92 and 94 as previously described.
As part of the system of the presently invention, the card retaining means 80 can itself be retained within a housing member whose interior dimensions are design to accommodate the card retaining means 80 when it is filled with card holding means 10 and associated cards 40. A preferred embodiment of such a housing member 110 is illustrated in FIG. 13. The housing member 110 is comprised of an open faced chamber which includes and is bounded by a pair of generally parallel and oppositely disposed side walls 112 and 114 and a pair of generally parallel and oppositely disposed walls 116 and 118 which serve as the top and bottom walls respectively. A rear wall 120 completes the chamber which is completely open on its front surface area 122. In the preferred embodiment, all of the walls 112, 114, 116, 118 and 120 are created in a one-piece construction (such as by plastic injection molding) and essentially form a box which is open on one face. The embodiment shown in FIG. 13 is generally square, but other shapes such as rectangular with walls 112, 114, 116, and 118 being longer than wall 120 are within the spirit and scope of the present invention. The interior surface of side walls 112 and 114 further comprise a pair of rails or shelves. Interior surface 113 of side wall 112 comprises a pair of rails or shelves 124 and 126. As illustrated in FIG. 14, each rail or shelf 124 and 126 abuts rear wall 120 and extends forward to a distance adjacent but not at the front opening 122. The interior surface of side wall 114 also comprises a pair of rails or shelves 128 and 130 which are oppositely disposed to the rails or shelves 124 and 126, and are parallel to them, to thereby form two sets of rails. Lower rails 124 and 128 are oppositely disposed and parallel to each other. Upper rails 126 and -30 are oppositely disposed and parallel to each other. Rails 124 and 126 are generally parallel to each other and as illustrated in FIG. 14 are set apart by a distance slightly larger than the height of rear wall 82 of card retaining member 80. Rails 128 and 130 are generally parallel to each other and are set apart by a distance slightly larger than the height of rear wall 82 of card retaining member 80. As shown in FIG. 14, the distance between lower rails 124 and 128 and the floor 118 is set so that the card retaining means 80 filled with card holding means 10 and associated cards 40 and separator members 100 can fit within the interior space 130 of housing means 110. The card retaining means 80 is inserted into the housing means 110 such that the respective edges of the floor 84 slidably rest on a respective one of the lower rails protruding from the interior sidewalls of the housing means 110 and such that the respective edges of the rear wall 82 abuts a respective one of the lower surfaces of the upper rails protruding form the interior sidewalls of the case member, as illustrated in FIG. 14. The rails 124, 126, 128 and 130 protrude only a sufficient distance so as to provide support for the floor 84 and stabilization on the rear wall 82, and not so far into the space 132 so as to interfere with the business cards 40 or separator members 100.
In the space 134 between the floor 118 and the lower pair of rails 124 and 128, the housing member 110 further comprises a slidable tray 140 whose dimensions are designed to fit within space 134. The upper portion of the sidewalls of tray 140 abut the lower portions of lower rails 124 and 128 such that the tray 140 can slide in and out of the housing member or means 110 along its floor 118. The tray can be used to hold business cards 40 which have not yet been filed in the card retaining means 80.
As shown in FIG. 14, the card retaining means 14 is inserted such that the handle 88 protrudes from the open surface 122. It is also within the spirit and scope of the present invention to make the housing member 1-0 sufficiently deep to accommodate the handle within the space 132 such that the handle 88 does not protrude from the case member 110.
Several optional features help make the housing member 110 more accessible and easier to use. A least one opening in the rear wall 120 serves to provide a means for mounting the housing member 110 on a wall or other surface. In the illustration in FIG. 13, the rear wall 120 of housing member 110 includes a pair of openings or mounting means 121 and 123 by which the housing member can be mounted on a wall or other surface (through hooks, nails or comparable apparatus).
The housing member 110 may also include a multiplicity of stacking means 127 such as Bumpons˜ located on the lower surface 118, as illustrated in FIG. 14. In the preferred embodiment, there are four stacking means 127, with one located adjacent each corner on the lower surface of the housing member. In this way, the Bumpons˜ provide a nonslip surface by which the housing members can be stacked one on top of the other. Comparable stacking means or Bumpons˜ 129 can be located on the lower such of the card retaining means 50 (as illustrated in FIG. 14) to enable them to be more easily used on a surface, as the Bumpons˜ 129 provide a nonslip surface.
Therefore, through the case member as described, the present invention includes an entire system which comprises the card holder member, the card carrying means, the card retaining means and the housing member or means.
The housing member and its associated components can be made of plastic or any other suitable material such as pressed cardboard or styrofoam.
An additional element of the system is a matching case means which permits a multiplicity of card carrying means to be stored and carried in a preselected order. The case means 150 is illustrated in FIG. 15 and includes a conventional case comprising a rectangular shaped base 152 having a floor and four walls and defining an interior space 154 therein. The case 150 is closed by a lid 160 which can be hingeably attached to the base 150 at end one. The interior space 154 is partitioned into a multiplicity of slots 162, each of which is shaped in the same configuration as a card carrying means and is just large enough to accommodate one card carrying means 50. In the preferred embodiment, the space 154 is partitioned into two parallel rows of slots as illustrated in FIG. 15. The slots can be formed of styrofoam, rubber, or other insert material which can be individually formed and then inserted into the case means 150. Alternatively, the slots can be made of wood or comparable material and built into the case means 150. The case means 150 may include a handle 156.
As a result, if it is desired to select a group of cards retained by the present invention card holding means and carrying them on a business trip, the user can remove the business cards and associated card holding means from the card retaining means and place them in the card carrying member. If it is desired to have a preselected group of card carrying means on the trip so that each card carrying means contains a group of cards for businesses or individuals to be called on during a given period of time or a given location, the matching case means 150 can hold a multiplicity of card carrying means 50 within each of the respect slots 162 in a preselected order with the associated preselected business cards therein. In this way, a business trip can be efficiently organized with the cards for individuals or business to be called on in a given morning placed in one card carrying means 50 and the cards for individuals or businesses to be called on in the afternoon and during future days to be placed in selected additional card carrying means.
One alternative embodiment to the card carrying case 50 is to carry the business cards 40 in an alternative embodiment of the present invention which is designed to be used in conjunction with a conventional loose-leaf planner or organizer. This embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 16. The planner card carrying means 200 comprises a back sheet 202 which can be made of plastic, cardboard, or comparable suitable material, and which is generally rectangular in shape and is dimensioned to fit into a conventional loose-leaf planner or organizer. The back sheet 202 includes a multiplicity of holes 204 adjacent one longitudinal edge and aligned to fit onto the rings of the loose-leaf planner. The preferred embodiment is three holes 204 as illustrated in FIG. 16, but any embodiment with two or more holes is within the spirit and scope of the present invention. At the opposite longitudinal edge and protruding from one lateral face of the back sheet 202 is at least one but preferably a pair of card retaining sections 205 each of which includes a front ledge or face 206, a bottom 208 and a rear wall parallel to the front wall 206, which rear wall may be a portion of the backing sheet 202. Each card carrying section further comprises at least one rail or track which can accommodate the strip retaining means 12 of the card holding means 10. In the preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 16, each section 205 has a pair of rods or tracks 210 and 212 which are aligned in generally parallel relationship to each other and spaced apart so that their longitudinal centerlines are approximately the same distance apart as the distance between the centers of the strip retaining means 12 on the card holding means 10. The rods or tracks 210 and 212 are supported by the front wall 206 and the portion of the back sheet 202 parallel to the front wall 206. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 16, there are two such sections 205, but it will be appreciated that any multiplicity of sections are within the spirit and scope of the present invention and are limited only by the design of the planner or organizer for which the particular embodiment is designed. In the illustration shown in FIG. 16, the two sections 205 are aligned adjacent each other, however, they can also be aligned one above the other if the width of the back sheet 202 for the particular embodiment has sufficient room to permit this design.
Of course the present invention is not intended to be restricted to any particular form or arrangement, or any specific embodiment disclosed herein, or any specific use, since the same may be modified in various particulars or relations without departing from the spirit or scope of the claimed invention hereinabove shown and described of which the apparatus and method shown is intended only for illustration and for disclosure of an operative embodiment and not to show all of the various forms of modification in which the invention might be embodied.
The invention has been described in considerable detail in order to comply with the patent laws by providing a full public disclosure of at least one of its forms. However, such detailed description is not intended in any way to limit the broad features or principles of the invention, or the scope of patent monopoly to be granted. | The present invention relates to an improved system whereby a business card can be immediately placed onto a card holding means which permits the card to be immediately stored in a card carrying means which can be carried in a coat pocket or purse and further upon return to one's office permits the business card to be immediately removed from the card carrying means and placed in a desk card retaining means such as a card file or rotary file without any need for physical alteration of the business card to transcription of the information from the business card to the filing card. In addition, the present invention further permits the business card to be removed from the desk card holder and placed in the carrying case for use when the individual is going to a meeting with that person, thereby eliminating the necessity of once again transcribing the information from the card in the desk card holder onto a piece of paper to be taken by the individual to the meeting. The present invention further relates to a novel housing member for retaining the desk card holder in which the retained cards are placed and further relates to a novel carrying member for retaining a series of card holding members for use during a business trip. The present invention also relates to business card retaining means which can be used in conjunction with conventional organizers and planners. | 1 |
"CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION \n This application claims the priority of German Applic(...TRUNCATED) | "A fiber processing machine includes a fiber processing roll carrying a roll clothing on a circumfer(...TRUNCATED) | 3 |
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION \n [0001] The present invention relates to the field of insulatio(...TRUNCATED) | "A method is provided for forming a relatively thick, lightweight, nonwoven insulating mat. The meth(...TRUNCATED) | 3 |
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION \n The present invention relates to a surgical draping system for r(...TRUNCATED) | "A two-part surgical draping system comprising a disposable drape (1) for adhesion to an operation s(...TRUNCATED) | 0 |
"This application is a division of application Ser. No. 801,640 filed Nov. 25, 1985, now U.S. Pat. N(...TRUNCATED) | "A meter (10) for measuring cervical dilation during labor includes rings (20 and 22) that fit at th(...TRUNCATED) | 0 |
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