Author: claimsbot

1. A method of determining a work surface of a planar material for cutting a plate of a uniform thickness from a planar material, comprising the steps of:
setting, with a surface plate of a measuring device as coordinates (X, Y), orthogonal coordinates (X, Y, Z) composed of the coordinates (X, Y) and a Z coordinate perpendicular to the coordinates (X, Y) on the surface plate, and mounting a planar material as an object to be measured on the surface plate;
virtually configuring a plane ABCD that is parallel to the XY plane;
setting the distance or height from the coordinates (Xm, Yn) of the virtual plane ABCD to the plate thickness center plane composed of midpoints of segments connecting an upper and lower surface of the planar material as the object to be measured as Z(m, n), measuring Z(m, n) across the entire area of the planar material to be measured for m distances or heights in the X direction and n distances or heights in the Y direction while changing the coordinates (X, Y), and storing the measured data in a storage apparatus of a computer;
seeking a maximum and minimum value of Z(m, n) for all coordinate points and calculating the difference thereof, and setting the obtained value as difference H(0.0, 0.0) when the measured value is not manipulated in any way;
subsequently fixing end A of the virtual plane ABCD and respectively moving end B and end C vertically at a prescribed deflection width B, C regarding a predetermined maximum deflection width and pitch in the Z-axis direction so as to tilt the virtual plane ABCD against the surface plate on the computer;
calculating the distance or height Z(m, n)(B, C) from all coordinate points (Xm, Yn) on the virtual plane ABCD to the plate thickness center plane of the coordinate points corresponding to the planar material each time the tilt is changed, and seeking the maximum and minimum value of Z(m, n)(B, C) and calculating the difference H(B, C) thereof; and
repeating the calculation for all predetermined B and C combinations, and determining the virtual plane ABCD with the smallest value of H(B, C) calculated in all B and C combinations as a plane that is parallel to a plane of minimum machining cost.
2. A method of determining a work surface of a planar material for cutting a plate of a uniform thickness from a planar material, comprising the steps of:
setting, with a surface plate of a measuring device as coordinates (X, Y), orthogonal coordinates (X, Y, Z) composed of the coordinates (X, Y) and a Z coordinate perpendicular to the coordinates (X, Y) on the surface plate, and mounting a planar material as an object to be measured on the surface plate;
virtually configuring a plane ABCD that is parallel to the XY plane;
setting the distances or heights from the coordinates (Xm, Yn) of the virtual plane ABCD to an upper surface and a lower surface of the planar material as the object to be measured as S1(m, n), S2(m, n), respectively, measuring S1(m, n), S2(m,n) across the entire area of the planar material to be measured for m distances or heights in the X direction and n distances or heights in the Y direction while changing the coordinates (X, Y), and storing the measured data in a storage apparatus of a computer;
seeking a maximum and minimum value of S1(m, n) and S2(m, n) for all coordinate points and calculating the difference thereof, and setting the obtained values as difference H1(0.0, 0.0) and difference H2(0.0, 0.0), respectively, when the measured value is not manipulated in any way;
subsequently fixing end A of the virtual plane ABCD and respectively moving end B and end C vertically at a prescribed deflection width B, C regarding a predetermined maximum deflection width and pitch in the Z-axis direction so as to tilt the virtual plane ABCD against the surface plate on the computer;
calculating the respective distances or heights S1(m, n)(B, C), S2(m, n)(B, C) from all coordinate points (Xm, Yn) on the virtual plane ABCD to the upper and lower surface on the planar material of the coordinate points corresponding to the planar material each time the tilt is changed, and seeking the maximum and minimum value of S1(m, n )(B, C) and S2(m, n)(B, C) and calculating the differences H1(B, C) and H2(B, C) thereof; and
repeating the calculation for all predetermined B and C combinations, and determining the virtual plane ABCD with the smallest total value of H1(B, C) and H2(B, C) calculated in all B and C combinations as a plane that is parallel to a plane of minimum machining cost.
3. The method of determining a work surface of a planar material according to claim 2, wherein a distance or height S1(m, n) between a virtual plane ABCD that is parallel to a surface plate positioned at Z=h, which is higher than the upper surface of the planar material, and the upper surface of the planar material and a distance or height S2(m, n) between a virtual plane ABCD\u2032 that is parallel to a surface plate positioned at Z=I, which is lower than the lower surface of the planar material, and the lower surface of the planar material are measured so as to obtain a thickness T(m, n) of the planar material calculated from T(m, n)=h\u2212I\u2212S1(m, n)\u2212S2(m, n).
4. The method of determining a work surface of a planar material according to claim 1, wherein, upon reversing the planar material and mounting it on a surface plate of a processing machine, a point on a plane facing the virtual plane ABCD of the planar material corresponding to the coordinate points in which a value {Z(m, n)\u2212\xbd T(m, n)} obtained by deducting \xbd of the thickness T(m, n) of the planar material at the coordinate points (Xm, Yn) from the distance or height Z(m, n) up to the planar material among the coordinate points (Xm, Yn) of the virtual plane ABCD that is parallel to the minimum machining cost becomes the smallest value {Z(m, n)\u2212\xbd T(m, n)}min is set as a point for coming in contact with the surface plate.
5. The method of determining a work surface of a planar material according to claim 1, wherein, upon reversing the planar material and mounting it on a surface plate of a processing machine, a value sought by deducting a value {Z(m, n)\u2212\xbd T(m, n)}, which is obtained by subtracting \xbd of the thickness T(m, n) of the planar material at the coordinate points (Xm, Yn) from the distance or height Z(m, n) up to the planar material among the coordinate points (Xm, Yn) of the virtual plane ABCD becomes the smallest value {Z(m, n)\u2212\xbd T(m, n)}min, from the measured value of the distance or height of four corners of a plane facing the virtual plane ABCD of the planar material is set as the thickness of a spacer to be inserted into the four corners upon mounting the planar material on the processing machine.
6. The method of determining a work surface of a planar material according to claim 1, wherein the distance or height of the Z direction is measured at positions in intervals of 20 mm or less in both the X direction and Y direction of the coordinate axis of the planar material.
7. The method of determining a work surface of a planar material according to claim 1, wherein the distance or height from the planar material is measured with a laser distance sensor or a contact distance sensor.
8. The method of determining a work surface of a planar material according to claim 1, wherein the tilt of a biaxial tilt machining table of an NC-controllable processing machine is adjusted in order to set the work surface of the planar material to a prescribed position in relation to the surface plate based on the data.
9. A machining method of determining a work surface of a planar material based on a method according to claim 1, and, based thereon, performing machining to cut out a plate of a uniform thickness from a planar material.
10. A machining method of determining a work surface of a planar material based on a method according to claim 1, and, based thereon, grinding one surface of the planar material, subsequently reversing the planar material and mounting it on a surface plate, and processing the rear surface.
11. A machining method of fixing a planar material on a surface plate of a processing machine doubling as a measuring device by way of adhesive bonding or electromagnetic adsorption, determining the optimal tilting conditions based on the measurements performed with the method according to claim 1, subsequently using a biaxial tilt mechanism of the surface plate of the machining so as to tilt the surface plate to be parallel to the plane obtained with the optimal tilting conditions without reversing the material, and processing the planar material in such a state.
12. A device of determining a work surface of a planar material for cutting a plate of a uniform thickness from a planar material, comprising:
a system for setting, with a surface plate of a measuring device as coordinates (X, Y), orthogonal coordinates (X, Y, Z) composed of the coordinates (X, Y) and a Z coordinate perpendicular to the coordinates (X, Y) on the surface plate, mounting a planar material as an object to be measured on the surface plate, and virtually configuring a plane ABCD that is parallel to the XY plane;
a system for setting the distance or height from the coordinates (Xm, Yn) of the virtual plane ABCD to the plate thickness center plane composed of midpoints of segments connecting an upper surface and a lower surface of the planar material as the object to be measured as Z(m, n), measuring Z(m, n) across the entire area of the planar material to be measured for m distances or heights in the X direction and n distances or heights in the Y direction while changing the coordinates (X, Y), and storing the measured data in a storage apparatus of a computer;
a system for seeking a maximum and minimum value of Z(m, n) for all coordinate points and calculating the difference thereof, and setting the obtained value as difference H(0.0, 0.0) when the measured value is not manipulated in any way; and
a system for subsequently fixing end A of the virtual plane ABCD and respectively moving end B and end C vertically at a prescribed deflection width B, C regarding a predetermined maximum deflection width and pitch in the Z axis direction so as to tilt the virtual plane ABCD against the surface plate on the computer, calculating the distance or height Z(m, n)(B, C) from all coordinate points (Xm, Yn) on the virtual plane ABCD to the plate thickness center plane of the coordinate points corresponding to the planar material each time the tilt is changed, and seeking the maximum and minimum value of Z(m, n)(B, C) and calculating the difference H(B, C) thereof, and repeating the calculation for all predetermined B and C combinations;
wherein the virtual plane ABCD with the smallest value of H(B, C) calculated in all B and C combinations is determined to be a plane that is parallel to a plane of minimum machining cost.
13. A device of determining a work surface of a planar material for cutting a plate of a uniform thickness from a planar material, comprising:
a system for setting, with a surface plate of a measuring device as coordinates (X, Y), orthogonal coordinates (X, Y, Z) composed of the coordinates (X, Y) and a Z coordinate perpendicular to the coordinates (X, Y) on the surface plate, mounting a planar material as an object to be measured on the surface plate, and virtually configuring a plane ABCD that is parallel to the XY plane;
a system for setting the distances or heights from the coordinates (Xm, Yn) of the virtual plane ABCD to an upper surface and a lower surface of the planar material as the object to be measured as S1(m, n), S2(m, n), respectively, measuring S1(m, n), S2(m, n) across the entire area of the planar material to be measured for m distances or heights in the X direction and n distances or heights in the Y direction while changing the coordinates (X, Y), and storing the measured data in a storage apparatus of a computer;
a system for seeking a maximum and minimum value of S1(m, n) and S2(m, n) for all coordinate points and calculating the difference thereof, and setting the obtained values as difference H1(0.0, 0.0) and difference H2(0.0, 0.0), respectively, when the measured value is not manipulated in any way; and
a system for subsequently fixing end A of the virtual plane ABCD and respectively moving end B and end C vertically at a prescribed deflection width B, C regarding a predetermined maximum deflection width and pitch in the Z axis direction so as to tilt the virtual plane ABCD against the surface plate on the computer, calculating the respective distances or heights S1(m, n)(B, C), S2(m, n)(B, C) from all coordinate points (Xm, Yn) on the virtual plane ABCD to the upper surface and the lower surface on the planar material of the coordinate points corresponding to the planar material each time the tilt is changed, and seeking the maximum and minimum value of S1(m, n)(B, C), S2(m, n)(B, C) and calculating the differences H1(B, C) and H2(B, C) thereof, and repeating the calculation for all predetermined B and C combinations;
wherein the virtual plane ABCD with the smallest total value of H1(B, C) and H2(B, C) calculated in all B and C combinations is determined to be a plane that is parallel to a plane of minimum machining cost.
14. The device of determining a work surface of a planar material according to claim 13, wherein a distance or height S1(m, n) between a virtual plane ABCD that is parallel to a surface plate positioned at Z=h, which is higher than the upper surface of the planar material, and the upper surface of the planar material and a distance or height S2(m, n) between a virtual plane ABCD\u2032 that is parallel to a surface plate positioned at Z=I, which is lower than the lower surface of the planar material, and the lower surface of the planar material are measured so as to obtain a thickness T(m, n) of the planar material calculated from T(m, n)=h\u2212I\u2212S1(m, n)\u2212S2(m, n).
15. The device of determining a work surface of a planar material according to claim 12, wherein, upon reversing the planar material and mounting it on a surface plate of a processing machine, a point on a plane facing the virtual plane ABCD of the planar material corresponding to the coordinate points in which a value {Z(m, n)\u2212\xbd T(m, n)} obtained by deducting \xbd of the thickness T(m, n) of the planar material at the coordinate points (Xm, Yn) from the distance or height Z(m, n) up to the planar material among the coordinate points (Xm, Yn) of the virtual plane ABCD that is parallel to the minimum machining cost becomes the smallest value {Z(m, n)\u2212\xbd T(m, n)}min is set as a point for coming in contact with the surface plate.
16. The device of determining a work surface of a planar material according to claim 12, wherein, upon reversing the planar material and mounting it on a surface plate of a processing machine, a value sought by deducting a value {Z(m, n)\u2212\xbd T(m, n)}, which is obtained by subtracting \xbd of the thickness T(m, n) of the planar material at the coordinate points (Xm,Yn) from the distance or height Z(m, n) up to the planar material among the coordinate points (Xm, Yn) of the virtual plane ABCD becomes the smallest value {Z(m, n)\u2212\xbd T(m, n)}min, from the measured value of the distance or height of four corners of a plane facing the virtual plane ABCD of the planar material is set as the thickness of a spacer to be inserted into the four corners upon mounting the planar material on the processing machine.
17. The device of determining a work surface of a planar material according to claim 12, further comprising machining equipment for performing cutting work, grinding process, and electrical discharging in order to cut out a plate having a uniform thickness from a planar material.
18. The device of determining a work surface of a planar material according to claim 12, further comprising a device for grinding one surface of the planar material, subsequently reversing the planar material and mounting it on a surface plate, and processing the rear surface.
19. The device of determining a work surface of a planar material according to claim 12, further comprising a device for measuring the distance or height of the Z direction at positions in intervals of 20 mm or less in both the X direction and Y direction of the coordinate axis of the planar material.
20. The device of determining a work surface of a planar material according to claim 12, further comprising a device for measuring the distance or height from the planar material with a laser distance sensor or a contact distance sensor.
21. The device of determining a work surface of a planar material according to claim 12, further comprising a device for adjusting the tilt of a biaxial tilt machining table of an NC-controllable processing machine in order to set the work surface of the planar material to a prescribed position in relation to the surface plate based on the data.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. An intraluminal medical device comprising:
a bifurcated main graft having a compressed configuration and an expanded configuration and comprising a proximal end, a distal end, and a body portion;
the main graft body portion having an axial length from the proximal end to the bifurcation of the main graft;
the distal end comprising a first branch and a second branch;
a first extension graft and a second extension graft, each of the extension grafts having a compressed configuration and an expanded configuration and comprising at least one stent and having a body reinforcing portion having an axial length and a branch reinforcing portion;
where, in the expanded configuration, each of the body reinforcing portions have a larger expanded dimension than the expanded dimension of the respective branch reinforcing portion;
where, in the expanded configuration, the body reinforcing portions, together, have an expanded dimension that is generally equal to the expanded dimension of the main graft body;
where, in the expanded configuration, the body reinforcing portions contact one another and sealingly engage one another within the main graft body to prevent fluid leakage; and
where, in the expanded configuration, the axial length of the body reinforcing portion is substantially equal to the axial length of the main graft body portion.
2. The medical device of claim 1, where the main graft is unstented between the proximal and distal ends and where body reinforcing portions comprise only internal stents.
3. The medical device of claim 2, where the main graft comprises an anchor.
4. The medical device of claim 1, where the main graft comprises at least one stent.
5. The medical device of claim 1, where the first and second extension graft body reinforcing portions each comprise at least one balloon-expandable stent.
6. The medical device of claim 5, where the first and second extension graft branch reinforcing portions each comprise at least one self-expanding stent.
7. The medical device of claim 1, where the first and second extension graft branch reinforcing portions each comprise at least one balloon-expandable stent.
8. The medical device of claim 1, where the length of the main graft first branch is substantially the same as the length of the main graft second branch.
9. The medical device of claim 1, where, in the expanded configuration, the first and second extension graft body reinforcing portions comprise an expanded radial contour selected from the group consisting of a generally elliptical expanded radial contour, a D-shaped expanded radial contour, and a generally cylindrical expanded radial contour.
10. The medical device of claim 1, where the main graft comprises a material having a stretch ratio not greater than 1.1.
11. The intraluminal medical device of claim 1 where one body reinforcing portion has a greater axial length than the other body reinforcing portion.
12. The intraluminal medical device of claim 1 where in the expanded configuration one body reinforcing portion has a larger dimension the other body reinforcing portion.
13. An intraluminal medical device comprising:
a bifurcated main graft having a compressed configuration and an expanded configuration and comprising a proximal end, a distal end, and an unstented body extending between the proximal end and the bifurcation of the main graft, the main graft further comprising a graft material having a stretch ratio not greater than 1.1;
the proximal end comprising an anchor;
the distal end comprising a first branch and a second branch, the branches extending distally from the body;
a first extension graft and a second extension graft, each of the extension grafts having a proximal end, a distal end, a compressed configuration and expanded configuration and comprising a body reinforcing portion and a branch reinforcing portion;
the first extension graft and second extension graft body reinforcing portions each comprising at least one balloon expandable stent;
the first extension graft and second extension branch reinforcing portions each comprising at least one self-expanding stent;
where in the expanded configuration the first and second extension graft body reinforcing portions have a larger dimension than the-their respective branch reinforcing portion;
where in the expanded configuration the first extension graft body reinforcing portion contacts and sealingly engages the second extension graft body reinforcing portion within the main graft body to prevent fluid leakage; and
where the proximal end of at least one of the first and second extension grafts extends substantially to the proximal end of the main graft.
14. The medical device of claim 13, where the first and second extension grafts each comprise a graft material having a stretch ratio not greater than 1.1.
15. The medical device of claim 13, where the first and second extension grafts each comprise a material having a stretch ratio greater than 1.1.
16. The medical device of claim 13, where the first and second extension graft body reinforcing portions comprise a material having a stretch ratio greater than 1.1 and the first and second extension graft branch reinforcing portions comprise a graft material having a stretch ratio not greater than 1.1.
17. The medical device of claim 13, further comprising a third extension graft having a compressed and expanded configuration, where in the expanded configuration the third extension graft sealingly engages at least one of the first and second extension grafts in the expanded configuration.
18. The medical device of claim 17, where at least a portion of the third extension graft comprises a graft material having a stretch ratio not greater than 1.1 and at least a portion of the third extension graft comprises a graft material having a stretch ratio greater than 1.1.
19. A multi-component intraluminal grafting system comprising:
a first component comprising a main graft having a body, a first branch extending distally from the body, and a second branch extending distally from the body, the main graft having a compressed and an expanded configuration the body having an axial length between a proximal end of the main graft and the first and second branches;
a second component comprising a first extension graft and a third component comprising a second extension graft, each having a compressed and expanded configuration;
where in the expanded configuration the first extension graft reinforces the first branch and substantially the entire axial length of the main graft body and comprises a first branch lumen;
where in the expanded configuration the second extension graft reinforces the second branch and substantially the entire axial length of the main graft body and comprises a second branch lumen; and
where in the expanded configuration the first extension graft contacts and interacts with the second extension graft within the main graft to provide sealing forces about the main graft body to prevent fluid leakage and to divide fluid flow within the main graft body.
20. The grafting system of claim 19, where the first extension graft and second extension graft comprise at least one balloon-expandable stent and at least one self-expanding stent.
21. The grafting system of claim 19 further comprising a fourth component comprising a third extension graft, where the third extension graft extends at least one of the first and second extension grafts.

What is claimed is:

1. A switching method for an optical ring, comprising the steps of:
establishing a non-interruption path along a currently working line, the non-interruption path extending from an add node from which a signal is inserted into the ring to a drop node from which the signal is extracted from the ring;
establishing a fault bypass backup path along a protection line running in the opposite direction from the currently working line, the fault bypass backup path extending from the add node to the drop node;
inserting the signal from the add node into both the currently working line and the protection line;
determining whether a failure occurs on the currently working line; and
selecting the fault bypass backup path and extracting the signal having propagating through the protection line at the drop node if a failure occurs on the currently working line.
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of giving a phase identifier to the signals inserted into the currently working line and the protection line at the add node.
3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:
switching a signal path back to the currently working line if the failure is restored; and
extracting the signal having propagated through the currently working line at the drop node.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein only a single non-interruption path is established for each time slot, and the method further comprising the step of:
controlling establishment of the non-interruption path using a path connection management table.
5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:
determining whether a manual switching command is received in the ring;
determining whether the manual switching command is addressed to the non-interruption path if the manual switching command is received; and
switching a signal path from the currently working line to the protection line if the manual command is addressed to the non-interruption path.
6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:
determining if path switching of the non-interruption path is available; and
providing a notification of unavailability of path switching of the non-interruption path if the path switching is not available.
7. A switching method for an optical ring, comprising the steps of:
establishing a non-interruption path along a currently working line, the non-interruption path extending from an add node from which a signal is inserted into the ring to a drop node from which the signal is extracted from the ring;
establishing a fault bypass backup path along a protection line running in the opposite direction from the currently working line, the fault bypass backup path extending from the add node to the drop node;
inserting the signal from the add node into both the currently working line and the protection line;
determining whether a failure detected in the ring is relevant to the non-interruption path; and
continuously inserting the signal from the add node into the protection line if the failure is relevant to the non-interruption path.
8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising the step of:
switching a signal path from the non-interruption path to the fault bypass backup path at the drop node if the failure is relevant to the non-interruption path.
9. A switching method for an optical ring, comprising the steps of:
establishing a non-interruption path along a currently working line, the non-interruption path extending from an add node from which a signal is inserted into the ring to a drop node from which the signal is extracted from the ring;
establishing a fault bypass backup path along a protection line running in the opposite direction from the currently working line, the fault bypass backup path extending from the add node to the drop node;
inserting the signal from the add node into both the currently working line and the protection line;
determining whether a failure detected in the ring is relevant to the non-interruption path; and
allowing a return path entering the add node along the protection line to pass through the add node, instead of adding the signal to the protection line if the failure is irrelevant to the non-interruption path.
10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising the steps of:
continuing to select the non-interruption path at the drop node if the failure is irrelevant to the non-interruption path, and returning other signal paths to produce the return path along the protection line.
11. The method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of:
resuming adding the signal to the protection line, instead of allowing the return path to pass through the add node, if the failure is restored.
12. A bidirectional line switched ring comprising:
an add node from which a signal is added to the ring;
a drop node from which the signal is extracted from the ring;
a non-interruption path extending from the add node to the drop node along a currently working line; and
a fault bypass backup path extending from the add node to the drop node along a protection line running in the opposite direction from the currently working line,
the add node being configured to add the signal to both the currently working line and the protection line, the add node having an addthrough determination unit configured to determined whether or not a failure occurs on the non-interruption path and to continuously add the signal to the protection line if the failure has occurred on the non-interruption path.
13. The bidirectional line switched ring according to claim 12, wherein the drop node has a path selector configured to select the fault bypass backup path if the failure has occurred on the non-interruption path.
14. The bidirectional line switched ring according to claim 12, wherein the addthrough determination unit allows a return path entering the add node along the protection line to pass through the add node if the failure is irrelevant to the non-interruption path.
15. An add node used in an optical ring having a currently working line and a protection line running in the opposite direction from the currently working line, the add node being configured to add a signal to the optical ring and comprising:
a first time slot assignment unit provided for the currently working line and configured to assign a first time slot to the signal so as to allow the signal to be added to the currently working line;
a second time slot assignment unit provided for the protection line and configured to assign a second time slot corresponding to the first time slot to the signal so as to allow the signal to be added to the protection line; and
an addthrough determination unit configured to determined whether or not a failure occurs on the currently working line extending from the add node to a drop node and to continuously add the signal to the protection line if the failure occurs on the currently working line from the add node to the drop node.
16. The add node according to claim 15, wherein the second time slot assignment unit allows a return path entering the add node along the protection line to pass through the add node if the determination result of the addthrough determination unit is negative.
17. The add node according to claim 15, further comprising a phase ID assigner configured to assign a phase ID to the signal to be added to the currently running line and the signal to be added to the protection line.
18. A bidirectional line switched ring comprising:
an add node from which a signal is added to the ring;
a drop node from which the signal is extracted from the ring;
a currently working line extending from the add node to the drop node; and
a protection line extending from the add node to the drop node running in the opposite direction from the currently working line, the add node being configured to add the signal to both the currently working line and the protection line, and
the drop node having:
a first error detector configured to detect an error on the currently working line;
a second error detector configured to detect an error on the protection line;
a path selector configured to receive the signal having propagating through the currently working line and the signal having propagating through the protection line and select one of the signals based on the error detection results of the first and second error detectors.
19. The bidirectional line switched ring according to claim 18, wherein the path selector selects the signal having propagating through the protection line if the first error detector detects the error on the currently working line.
20. A bidirectional line switched ring comprising:
an add node from which a signal is added to the ring;
a drop node from which the signal is extracted from the ring;
a non-interruption path extending from the add node to the drop node along a currently working line; and
a fault bypass backup path extending from the add node to the drop node along a protection line running in the opposite direction from the currently working line,
the add node being configured to add the signal to both the currently working line and the protection line, and
the drop node having:
a central controller configured to receive a manual switching command from an external higher-level apparatus and to generate a switching instruction;
a path selector configured to receive the signal from the non-interruption path and the signal from the fault bypass backup path and to select one of the signals; and
a switching controller configured to control a switching operation of the path selector based on the switching instruction.
21. A bidirectional line switched ring comprising:
an add node from which a signal is added to the ring;
a drop node from which the signal is extracted from the ring;
a non-interruption path extending from the add node to the drop node along a currently working line; and
a fault bypass backup path extending from the add node to the drop node along a protection line running in the opposite direction from the currently working line,
the add node being configured to add the signal to both the currently working line and the protection line, and
the drop node having:
a central controller configured to receive a manual switching command from an external higher-level apparatus and to generate a switching instruction;
a path selector configured to receive the signal from the non-interruption path and the signal from the fault bypass backup path and to select one of the signals; and
a switching availability determination unit configured to receive the switching instruction, determine if a switching operation of the path selector is available for the non-interruption path, and supply a switching negative signal to the central controller if the switching operation is unavailable.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. An ice maker comprising:
a tray accommodating water to make ice;
a first control box installed at a side of the tray, the first control box accommodating a predetermined part of a mechanism unit driving the ice maker; and
a second control box accommodating the other part of the mechanism unit which is electrically connected with the part of the mechanism unit accommodated in the first control part.
2. The ice maker as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second control box is installed outside an ice-making chamber accommodating the ice maker.
3. The ice maker as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second control box is provided above or below the tray.
4. The ice maker as claimed in claim 3, wherein the second control box is detachably coupled to an upper portion of the first control box.
5. The ice maker as claimed in claim 4, wherein the mechanism unit comprises,
a driving assembly relating to operations of an ejector ejecting ice out of the tray and an ice amount sensing lever sensing the ice amount;
a first circuit board on which electric parts controlling an operation of the driving assembly are mounted; and
a second circuit board on which electric parts controlling an overall operation of the ice maker except the operation of the driving assembly are mounted.
6. The ice maker as claimed in claim 5, wherein the driving assembly and the first circuit board are accommodated in the first control box.
7. The ice maker as claimed in claim 5, wherein the second circuit board is accommodated in the second control box.
8. The ice maker as claimed in claim 5, wherein a wire communication hole is formed at the first control box and the second control box for a wire electrically connecting the mechanism unit of the first control box with the mechanism unit of the second control box to pass through.
9. The ice maker as claimed in claim 4, further comprising:
an ejecting guide preventing the ice from being stuck at the second control box, when the ice is ejected from the tray.
10. The ice maker as claimed in claim 9, wherein the try comprises a vertical extension preventing the water from overflowing the tray.
11. The ice maker as claimed in claim 10, wherein the ejecting guide is coupled to an upper portion of the vertical extension.
12. The ice maker as claimed in claim 9, further comprising a water supply part installed adjacent to the ejecting guide to supply water to the tray.
13. The ice maker as claimed in claim 12, wherein the water supplied from the water supply part is drawn into the tray via a path formed at the ejecting guide.
14. The ice maker as claimed in claim 9, wherein an inner surface of the ejecting guide has a gentle curvature.
15. A refrigerator comprising:
a body comprising a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment;
an least one ice-making chamber provided in at least one of the refrigerating compartment, the freezing compartment and doors opening and closing the refrigerating and freezing compartments; and
an ice maker provided in the ice-making chamber, the ice maker comprising:
a tray accommodating water to make ice;
a first control box installed at a side of the tray, the first control box accommodating a predetermined part of a mechanism unit driving the ice maker; and
a second control box accommodating the other part of the mechanism unit which is electrically connected with the part of the mechanism unit accommodated in the first control part.
16. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 15, wherein the refrigerating compartment is provided in a lower portion of the body and the ice-making chamber is provided in an inner side surface of the door selectively opening and closing the refrigerating compartment.
17. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 16, wherein the second control box is coupled to an upper portion of the first control box.
18. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 17, further comprising an ejecting guide provided beyond the tray to guide the ice ejected out of the tray, an inner surface of the ejecting guide having a gentle curvature.