text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Jan 27, 1998
|Filing date
|Sep 23, 1996
|Priority date
|Sep 23, 1996
|Fee status
|Publication number
|Edward Dials, Dean Frederick Herring, Aubrey Lamond Hodges, Steven Richard Luglan
|Original Assignee
|International Business Machines, Corporation
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (9), Referenced by (13), Classifications (12), Legal Events (7)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
The present invention is believed to be related to the following pending applications:
Application Ser. No. 08/721,651, filed Sep. 23, 1996, and entitled "SPLIT SYSTEM PERSONAL COMPUTER" (further identified as Attorney Docket No. RP9-95-045);
Application Ser. No. 08/721,653, filed Sep. 23, 1996, and entitled "MEDIA CONSOLE FOR A SPLIT SYSTEM PERSONAL COMPUTER" (further identified as Attorney Docket No. RP9-95-046);
Application Ser. No. 08/721,650, filed Sep. 23, 1996, and entitled "MULTI-CONDUCTOR CABLE ARCHITECTURE AND INTERFACE FOR A SPLIT SYSTEM PERSONAL COMPUTER" (further identified as Attorney Docket No. RP9-96-009);
Application Ser. No. 08/717,558, filed Sep. 23, 1996, and entitled "METHOD FOR INTERFACING A MEDIA CONSOLE AND A SYSTEM UNIT" (further identified as Attorney Docket No. RP9-96-014);
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to personal computer systems and more particularly to a split system personal computer which includes a media console having a direct access storage device (DASD) having an opening for receiving a removable storage medium, the DASD disposed within a drive housing that can be moved within a base member between an open position and a closed position, and wherein a raise/support assembly in the media console allows the drive housing to move smoothly between the closed position and the open position and vice-versa.
2. Description of Related Art
Personal computer systems are well known in the art. Personal computer systems in general, and IBM Personal Computers in particular, have attained widespread use for providing computer power to many segments of today's modern society. Personal computers can typically be defined as a desktop, floor standing, or portable microcomputer that is comprised of a system unit having a single central processing unit (CPU) and associated volatile and non-volatile memory, including all RAM and BIOS ROM, a system monitor, a keyboard, one or more flexible diskette drives, a fixed disk storage drive (also known as a "hard drive"), a so-called "mouse" pointing device, and an optional printer. One of the distinguishing characteristics of these systems is the use of a motherboard or system planar to electrically connect these components together. These systems are designed primarily to give independent computing power to a single user and are inexpensively priced for purchase by individuals or small businesses. Examples of such personal computer systems are IBM's Personal Computer AT and IBM's Aptiva.
Historically, a personal computer (PC) was a relatively large box that sat on top of a desk and contained all of the electronics--the processor, memory, IO devices, floppy disk drive, etc. This was known as the system unit and required a significant amount of desktop work space. The monitor was traditionally a cathode ray tube (CRT) that was placed on top of the system unit. The keyboard and (eventually a mouse) was placed in front of the system unit to provide for user input. Accordingly, these "desktop" computer systems combined all PC functions and accessibility in one enclosure on the desktop where significant space is required and noise sources are relatively close to the user. In addition, there was no way to compact the elements when the PC was not in use.
In order to reduce the clutter that a personal computer caused on the desktop, a tower design soon emerged that moved the system unit components into a tower form-factor that sat along-side the desk. The CRT now sat directly on the desk with the keyboard and mouse in front of it. However, this "minitower" type unit is typically placed on the floor where accessibility to drives (floppy and CD-ROM), power, and system activity (LEDs) is compromised and awkward. These two form factors (the "desktop" and "minitower" systems) have endured for quite some time with just various changes in the size, shape and color.
In addition, the above conventional desktop and mini-tower computer systems either expose all of their media devices (e.g., floppy disk drive, CD-ROM drive) or cover the devices with a horizontally or vertically sliding door, respectively. The door, however, is undesirable during use because it represents an additional step to open, or if left open, is often in the way, can easily be damaged and can require additional work space.
It is therefor desirable to provide a personal computer system form factor that significantly reduces the amount of desktop space needed, and provides easy user friendly accessibility to the media devices.
The present invention is directed to a raise/support assembly for a media console of a computer system. The media console includes a base member and a drive housing that can be moved within the base member between an open position and a closed position. A spring is connected to a bottom of the base member and to the drive housing for biasing the drive housing in the open position. A pair of gear tracks are integrally formed in opposite sides of the base member for cooperating with a pair of geared dampers attached to opposite ends of the drive housing. The drive housing includes a direct access storage device disposed at a front end thereof and the direct access storage device has an opening for receiving a removable storage medium. The spring, gear tracks and geared dampers cooperate with each other (1) to allow the drive housing to move smoothly from the closed position to the open position wherein a user may access the opening, and (2) to allow the drive housing to move smoothly from the open position to the closed position.
The raise/support assembly of the present invention allows the drive housing to reside within the base member when closed, but raise in a smooth, fluid motion from the base member when opened and remain supported in the open position. The assembly is based on a spring that provides significant function without requiring several moving parts or linkages thus providing a low complexity of assembly. The damper action against the gear tracks provide effective dampening and consistent control of the drive housing ascent with minimal complexity of design.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a computer system embodying the present invention wherein a drive housing is in an open position.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the media console of FIG. 1, wherein the drive housing is in a closed position.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of certain elements of the media console of FIG. 1 including a base member, drive housing, raise/support mechanism, a latch, electromechanical direct access storage devices and an electronic card, and illustrating certain relationships among those elements.
FIG. 4 is a cut-away perspective view of the media console showing the latch of FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the track portion of the latch of FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the front and left sides of the media console base member showing the raise/support mechanism in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of certain elements of the processing unit of FIG. 1 including a planar board, CPU, power supply, hard disk drive, ISA interface electronic card and cover, and illustrating certain relationships among those elements.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the processing unit of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing how FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C fit together and FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C are a block diagram of certain components of the computer system of FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of the ISA interface electronic card, cable and media console electronic card of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a cycle timing diagram of a block read I/O cycle between the ISA interface in the system unit and the CD-ROM drive of the media console via the connecting electrical cable.
FIG. 12 is a table of each signal of the 10 pin planar connector on the ISA interface card along with its function description.
FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of the power distribution between the ISA interface card and media console electronics card of the present invention.
FIG. 14 is table of the signal layout of the multi-conductor flexible cable used in accordance with the present invention.
While the present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown, it is to be understood at the outset of the description which follows that persons of skill in the appropriate arts may modify the invention here described while still achieving the favorable results of this invention. Accordingly, the description which follows is to be understood as being a broad, teaching disclosure directed to persons of skill in the appropriate arts, and not as limiting upon the present invention.
Referring to the accompanying drawings, a split system personal computer embodying the present invention is there shown and generally indicated at 10 (FIG. 1). The computer system 10 may have an associated monitor 12, keyboard 14, mouse 15 and printer (not shown). The computer 10 includes a media console 16 which is connected to a system or processing unit 18 by a multi-conductor flexible cable 20. The media console 16 can be placed on top of a desk near the monitor 12 and includes all of the user interactive components of the computer system 10 including a floppy disk drive 22, CD-ROM drive 24, power on/off switch 26, status indicators 28 (e.g., power and hard drive activity) and input device ports (e.g., keyboard and mouse). The system unit 18 on the other hand contains all the power, bulky and noisy components that a user does not need to interact with and can be placed under or behind the desk. For example, as will be described in more detail below, the system unit 18 includes a central processing unit (CPU), planar, memory, hard disk drive, expansion bus slots (PCI, ISA), expansion drive bays, power supply, fan(s) and video/graphics subsystem.
The internal mechanical elements (described in more detail below) allow the drive bay housing 30, which contains the floppy disk drive 22 and CD-ROM drive 24, to move between an open position shown in FIG. I and a closed position shown in FIG. 2. In the open position, a user can access the openings in floppy disk drive 22 and/or CD-ROM drive 24 to insert/remove a floppy or compact disk respectively as needed. On the other hand, in the closed position, the openings in FDD 22 and CD-ROM drive 24 are concealed with a front panel of the base member 32 and cannot be accessed. In addition; an optional lock (not shown) can be provided on the media console 16 to lock the drive housing 30 in the closed position providing added security to prevent unauthorized access to the drives 22 and 24.
The internal mechanical assembly allows the drive housing 30 to raise from the console base 32 in one smooth, fluid motion when unlatched and remain supported in the open position (FIG. 1). The drive housing 30 can be raised and unlatched from the closed position (FIG. 2) to the open position (FIG. 1) by a user simply pressing down on the push pad 34, and lowered and latched from the open position to the closed position by a user again pushing down on the push pad 34. This conserves and minimizes space on the desktop, protects the floppy disk drive 22 and CD-ROM drive 24 when in the closed position and also provides easy accessibility of the drives 22 and 24 to the user when needed.
The personal computer system 10 is a split system in that it separates the media components (e.g., floppy disk drive 22 and CD-ROM drive 24) within media console 16 from the central processing unit (CPU), hard drive and power supply which are located within the separate system unit 18. In other words, the computer system 10 removes all the components which a user does not need to interact with away from the desktop work space. As a result, the components which are disposed in the media console 16 on the desktop have a much smaller profile than conventional desktop personal computers. (For example, the dimensions of media console 16 when the drive housing 30 is in the closed position can be 55 mm high, 260 mm deep and 390 mm Wide as compared to a conventional desktop unit of dimensions 125 mm high, 435 mm deep and 380 mm deep. Yet, unlike the tower design, all user interaction is made easily accessible on the desktop without the need to reach down to a tower unit. In addition, when the computer 10 is not in use, the keyboard 14 may be stored on top of the media console 16 under the monitor 12 to provide an even more compact system. Moreover, the media console 16 is also very low power compared to the processing unit 18 such that it does not produce excessive heat or require a fan.
The monitor 12 can have multimedia speakers 36 and 38 built into opposite sides of the front thereof or the system 10 can have separately detached speakers (not shown) for providing sound. The monitor 12 can be suspended above the media console 16 with a cantilevered monitor stand 40. The monitor stand 40 is self supportive so the monitor weight is not placed on top of the media console 16 and allows the drive housing 30 to raise unimpeded. The stand 40 fits underneath the opposite ends of the media console 16 to keep the monitor 12 within the same "footprint" space as the media console 16. The stand 40 can be formed from standard tubular steel with a steel plate welded to the top for use in interfacing with the monitor's tilt swivel device (not shown).
Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a schematic diagram of the elements which make up the media console 16. As shown therein, the media console 16 includes a movable top cover 42 which cooperates with a base member 32 in defining an enclosed, shielded volume for receiving electrically powered data processing and storage components for processing and storing digital data. More specifically, the storage components include floppy disk drive 22 and CD ROM drive 24. The floppy disk drive 22 can be a removable medium direct access storage device (DASD) capable of receiving a diskette inserted there into and using the diskette to receive, store and deliver data as is generally known. The CD-ROM drive 24 can be a removable medium direct access storage device capable of receiving a compact disk inserted there into and using the disk to deliver data as is generally known. Alternatively, either the floppy disk drive 22 or CD-ROM drive 24 could be replaced with a digital versatile disk (DVD) drive. The FDD 22 and CD-ROM drive 24 are mounted on a direct access storage device bracket 44. The DASD bracket 44 is mounted to the top cover 42 such that the drives 22 and 24 will move with the top cover 42. The top cover 42 includes a user push pad 34 and is disposed between right and left wings 46 and 48 respectively.
User access features and indicators such as a power button 26 and various LEDs 28 (e.g., power light indicator, hard disk drive activity indicator) are included in the media console 16 operator panel 50. A standard keyboard port 52 and mouse port 54 exit the rear of the media console 16. A media console electronics card 56 is disposed within the console housing 30 and is coupled to the floppy disk drive 22 and CD ROM drive 24. The card 56 is also connected to multi-conductor cable 20 via connector 58. As will be described in more detail below, the electronics card 56, in cooperation with an interface in the processing unit 18, is used to receive address and data information from the processing unit 18 and to transfer interrupt state information to the processing unit 18.
Referring now to FIGS. 3-5, there is shown schematic diagrams of the integrated latch 60 for latching the console drive housing 30 in the closed position and unlatching the top housing 30 to allow the housing 30 to move to the open position. The latch 60 includes a wire form latch pin 62 that is attached to the bottom of the console base 32 by three supports 64, 66 and 68. The first support 64 attaches the wire 62 to the base 32. The second support 66 is used to prevent the wire 62 from moving vertically up or down and horizontally to the right. The third support 68 prevents the wire 62 from moving horizontally to the left. Accordingly, all three supports 64, 66 and 68 cooperate with each other to secure latch wire 62 to the base 32 and prevent it from moving vertically or horizontally. In addition, the wire 62 is made of a flexible material such that when a horizontal force is exerted on the end 70 of the latch wire 62 the three supports 64, 66 and 68 serve as positioning elements to center and bias the latch wire 62 when undeflected in a preselected position. A support bar 72 having a groove 74 therein supports the wire end portion 70 and allows horizontal movement thereof.
The latch 60 further includes a track 76 which is integral with and protrudes from inside the console top cover 42. The track 76 includes a lower triangular track 78 and an upper notch 80. The dashed line 82 shows the equilibrium or center position of wire end 70 (:i.e., the position of wire end 70 when no external forces are exerted thereon).
In operation, as the top cover 42 is moved from the open position to the closed position, the wire end portion 70 contacts the track 78 at A and travels along path 84 and then comes to rest at position B. As the wire end 70 travels along path 84 the track 78 pushes the end 70 to the right but since the wire is trying to return to its center position 82, the wire end 70 will ride adjacent track 78 in path 84. Once the wire end 70 passes the first nub 86 it will move to the left and into 88 and then finally resting and being held at position B by second nub 90 and its spring force pushing the end 70 toward the center position 82 into nub 92. At position B the top cover 42 is latched in the closed position as the upward force exerted by top cover 42 and track 78 is stopped by the wire end 70.
To unlatch the top cover 42, a user presses on the pad 34 and as the top cover 42 is moved from the closed position to the open position, the notch 80 and track 78 will first move downward and the wire end 70 will move toward its center position 82. Once the second hub 90 of track 78 is below the horizontal level of the wire end 70, the end 70 will move to center line 82. The top cover 42 then moves upward by the raise/support assembly (described below) and the wire end 70 travels along path 92 and then come to rest at position C. The wire end is at its center position at position C and the cover 42 is fully open.
The integrated latch assembly 60 provides positive latching without additional, discrete latching parts which provides for simple, error-free, and consistent latch operation while also minimizing the number of moving parts.
Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 6, there is shown schematic diagrams of the raise/support assembly 100 which allows the drive housing 30 (FIGS. 1-3) to reside within the main console base 32 when latched and raise in a smooth, fluid motion from the console base 32 when unlatched and remain supported in the open position in accordance with the present invention. In addition, the raise/support assembly 100 provides the resiliency that a user feels when pushing on the push pad 34 when moving the drive housing 30 from the open position to the closed position. The assembly 100 includes a wire form spring 102 held in place by the tab 104 in console base 32 and holes 106 in DASD bracket 44 of the console top cover 42, the latter of which attaches the ends 108 of spring 102 to the drive housing 30. The spring 102 provides the lifting force to raise the housing 30 when unlatched. The spring 102 has a non-linear force profile (i.e., the spring does not compress linearly with position of the housing 30). One type of non-linear force profile is where the spring 102 has approximately equal force at the open and closed positions but has less force therebetween (e.g., a bi-center or bi-polar spring). Another type of non-linear force profile is where the spring 102 has more upward force in the open position than in the closed position or vice-versa. Either of these profiles can be used in the present invention and the discussion below will use the latter profile as an example.
The spring 102 is biased toward position D and in cooperation with snap tabs 110 support and hold the top cover in the open position when unlatched. When the drive housing 30 is in the closed (latched) position the spring end 108 is at position E and is exerting an upward force on drive housing 30 but the housing is prevented from moving up to the open position by the push-push latch 60 described above.
Hinge pins 112 (FIG. 3) at the rear of the top cover 42 fit within grooves 114 in the base 32 and cooperate with each other to provide the pivot point for the drive housing 30. Snap tabs 110 on each side of the top cover 42 provide a hard stop for the housing 30 under load from the spring 102 when moved to the open position. When moving the drive housing 30 into the closed position, the front of the drive housing abuts a front ledge of the base member 32 to prevent any further downward movement of the housing 30.
Centrifugal geared dampers 116 are attached to each end of the console top cover 42 by platform members 118 and a screw 120 (see FIG. 3) inserted into the opening on the platform member 118 and into a boss (not shown) in the top cover 42. The geared dampers 116 control the speed of ascent of the drive housing 30 and dampen spring oscillations. Each damper 116 includes platform member 118 which holds circular roller 122 allows it to freely rotate. The circular roller 122 is held by circular edges 123 of the platform member 118. The rollers 122 includes an integral gear 124 which rides along a cooperating radiused gear track 126 when the top cover moves up or down. The gear track 126 is designed to match an arc of a moving point rotating about a fixed pivot point since the drive housing 30 pivots about the fixed hinge pins 112 and grooves 114. The radiused design of gear track 126 allows the damper 116 to flow smoothly when the housing 30 is opened or closed.
In operation, when the drive housing 30 is latched in the closed position, the spring end 108 is at position E exerting an upward force but held closed by the latch 60. When a user presses down on push pad 34, the housing 30 is unlatched (as described above) and the spring end 108 exerts an upward force on the housing 30 as it moves from position E to position D and the dampers 116 cushion and smooth out that movement as they move from position F to position G along the gear track 126. The drive housing 30 is then held in the open position by spring ends 108 and the snap tabs 110 prevent the housing 30 from going up any further. Thus, the spring 102, geared dampers 116 and gear tracks 126 provide a raise/support assembly which allows the drive housing 30 to move smoothly from the closed position to the open position when housing 30 is unlatched.
To close the drive housing 30, a user presses on the pad 34 with a sufficient force to overcome the upward force of spring 102. This will move the spring ends 108 from position D to slightly past position E as the dampers 116 move from position G to slightly past position F and the front ledge of the base member 32 prevents any further downward movement of cover 42. The spring ends 108 and dampers 116 will then move to position E and F respectively and the housing 30 will be latched in the closed position by latch 60 (described above).
The raise/support assembly 100 of the present invention allows the drive housing 30 to reside within the main console base 32 when latched, but raise in a smooth, fluid motion from the console base 32 when unlatched and remain supported in the open position. The assembly 100 is based on a wire form spring 102 that provides significant function without requiring several moving parts or linkages thus providing a low complexity of assembly. The damper action against molded-in gear racks 126 provide effective dampening and consistent control of the housing 30 ascent with minimal complexity of design.
Referring now to FIG. 7, there is shown a schematic diagram of the tower type system unit 18 of the present invention. As mentioned above, the processing unit 18 is designed to be placed on the floor and contains system components which the user does not need to interact with regularly. More specifically, the system unit 18 contains the remainder of the computer components including a microprocessor, memory, video/graphics subsystem, hard disk drive(s), expansion bus slots (PCI/ISA), expansion drive bays, power supply and fan(s). Accordingly, the processing unit 18 contains all of the high power, bulky and noisy components that the user does not need to interact with. Unless the user chooses to install an accessible drive (like a 5.25" floppy drive or tape backup unit) the processing unit can be completely hidden from view. The multi-conductor electrical cable 20 connecting the processing unit 18 and the media console 16 allows the processing unit 18 to be placed along side, underneath or even behind the desk supporting the media console 16, or in a different room or office than the media console 16.
More specifically, the system unit 18 includes an internal mounting or base chassis assembly 130 disposed within an outer decorative cover 132. Cover 132 has a handle to allow for easy carrying or moving of the tower type processing unit 18. A power supply 134 for supplying power to both the processing unit 18 and the media console 16 is disposed within an upper portion of the assembly 130. A hard disk drive 136 is attached to the top of the assembly 130 by screws 138. The hard disk drive 136 is a fixed medium direct access storage device capable of storing and delivering data as is generally known. A planar 140 is mounted vertically in the right side portion of assembly 130 and includes a central processing unit (CPU) 142, ports 144 for connecting additional RAM memory and a riser card port 146 for connecting a riser card 148. The planar 140 provides a means for electrically interconnecting the components of the computer 10 including those identified above. The system unit 18 also includes a modem/sound card 150 coupled to an expansion bus slot (see FIG. 9A). An expansion bus interface card 152 is disposed within the assembly 130 and is coupled between another expansion bus slot and the multi-conductor cable 20. The interface card 152 will be described in more detail below.
System unit 18 also includes a fan (not shown) disposed behind fan vent 154 for cooling the components of system unit 18 such as the CPU 142, graphics controller, hard disk drive 136 and power supply 134. Since the tower or base unit 18 is meant to be placed under a table or desk, the volume of the enclosure is less critical (1) allowing the fan inside to circulate air inside the unit 18 rather than through it allowing for quieter cooling and (2) allowing the unit 18 to be cooled with optional heat pipes (not shown) that bring the heat to outer surfaces of the box.
A television card 156 is also disposed within processing unit 18 and coupled to an expansion bus slot (FIG. 9A). The TV card 156 allows standard television signals from a coaxial cable or composite video input to be tuned and subsequently displayed in a window on the monitor 12. A 40 pin ribbon cable 158 is used to couple the output of the TV card 156 to the graphics subsystem. An electromagnetic interference (EMI) shield 160 is disposed between the cover 132 and chassis 130.
The processing unit 18 includes other elements which are conventional and as such are not described herein.
Referring now to FIG. 8, there is shown an alternative embodiment of the processing unit 18 wherein a subwoofer 162 has been integrated therein. The subwoofer 162 is integral with the system unit 18 and is disposed at a bottom thereof. The subwoofer 162 fits under the cover 132 and is part of the system unit's base 164. The subwoofer includes vents 166 on opposite sides of the base 164 for allowing acoustic energy to escape. A shield 168 is disposed between the hard disk drive 136 and the subwoofer 162 for shielding a magnetic field that emanates from the subwoofer's magnet. The shield 168 can be made of a metal such as for example, mumetal, aluminum or iron.
The addition of the integrated subwoofer 162 to the processing unit 18 has the added advantage of saving space by reducing the number of separate system components (i.e., combining system unit and subwoofer), reduces complexity and connections for the end user. In addition, the integrated subwoofer 162 reduces cost by sharing the same enclosure and system power supply.
Prior to relating the above structure to the present invention, a summary of the operation in general of the personal computer system 10 may merit review. Referring to FIGS. 9, 9A, 9B, and 9C, there is shown a block diagram of a personal computer system illustrating the various components of the computer system such as the system 10 in accordance with the present invention, including components mounted on the planar 140 and the connection of the planar to the I/O slots and other hardware of the personal computer system. Connected to the planar 140 is the system CPU or processor 142 which is connected by a high speed CPU local bus 170 through a memory control unit 172, which is further connected to a volatile random access memory (RAM) 174. The memory control unit 172 is comprised of a memory controller 176, an address multiplexer 178, and a data buffer 180. The memory control unit 172 is further connected to RAM 174 as represented by the four RAM modules 182. The memory controller 176 includes the logic for mapping addresses to and from the microprocessor 142 to particular areas of RAM 174. This logic is used to reclaim RAM previously occupied by basic input output system (BIOS). Further generated by memory controller 176 is a ROM select signal (ROMSEL), that is used to enable or disable ROM.
While the present invention is described hereinafter with particular reference to the system block diagram of FIGS. 9, 9A, 9B, and 9C, it is to be understood at the outset of the description which follows that it is contemplated that the apparatus and methods in accordance with the present invention may be used with other hardware configurations of the planar board. For example, the system processor 142 could be an Intel PENTIUM processor, Cyrix 586-P75 processor or Advanced Micro Devices 8486 processor or any other suitable microprocessor.
Returning now to FIGS. 9, 9A, 9B, and 9C, the CPU local bus 170 (comprising data, address and control components, not shown) provides for the connection of the microprocessor 142, a math coprocessor 184 (if not internal to the CPU 142), a system cache memory 186, and a cache controller 188. Also coupled on the CPU local bus 170 is a core chipset 190 which includes a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bridge and an integrated drive electronics (IDE) fixed disk controller. The core chipset 190 can be an Intel Triton VX chip and an Intel PIIX3 chip. The PCI bridge within chipset 190 provides an interface between the local bus 170 and a PCI bus 196. Connected to the PCI bus 196 are a plurality of I/O slots 198 for receiving peripheral devices, one of which is a video controller 200. The video controller 200 has associated with it a monitor (or video display terminal) 12 and a video memory 202.
The chipset 190 is itself connected to a slower speed (compared to the CPU local bus 170) system bus 204, also comprising address, data and control components. The system bus 204 extends between the chipset 190 and a buffer 206. The system bus 204 is further connected to a bus control and timing unit 208 and a DMA unit 210. The DMA unit 210 is comprised of a central arbiter 212 and a DMA controller 214. An additional buffer 216 provides an interface between the system bus 204 and an optional feature or expansion bus 218 such as the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus. Connected to the bus 218 are a plurality of I/O slots 220 for receiving ISA adapter cards, one of which is a host interface ISA card 152 (another of which is the modern/sound card 150). Additional ISA adapter cards can be pluggably connected to the I/O slots 220 and may provide additional I/O devices or memory for the system 10. The host card 152 is connected by the multi-conductor cable 20 to the electronic card 56 which is disposed in the media console 16. The host card 152, cable 20 and console electronics card 56 will be described in more detail below. It is sufficient at this point to note that the electronics card 56 includes a de-multiplexer 222 which is coupled to a keyboard controller 224, a 8277 diskette adapter 226 and an IDE disk controller 228 via bus 230. The keyboard controller 224, is the slave processor that interfaces with the keyboard 14 and the mouse 15. The de-multiplexer 222 is also coupled to the power switch 26 and the power/feedback LED 28. The keyboard controller 224, FDD controller 226 and IDE disk controller 228 can all be included in a single super I/O circuit such as for example, a SMC37C932 chip.
An arbitration control bus 232 couples the DMA controller 214 and central arbiter 212 to the I/O slots 220 and another diskette adapter 234.
While the microcomputer system 10 is shown with a basic 8 megabyte RAM module 174, it is understood that additional memory can be interconnected as represented in FIGS. 9A and 9B by the addition of optional higher-density memory modules 182. For purposes of illustration only, the present invention is described with reference to the basic eight megabyte memory module.
A latch buffer and decoder 206 is coupled between the system bus 204 and a planar I/O bus 236. The planar I/O bus 236 includes address, data, and control components respectively. Coupled along the planar I/O bus 236 are a variety of I/O adapters and other components such as the diskette adapter 234, an interrupt controller 238, an RS-232 adapter 240, nonvolatile CMOS RAM 242, also herein referred to as NVRAM 242, a CMOS real-time clock (RTC) 244, a parallel adapter 246, a plurality of timers 248, the read only memory (ROM) 250, the keyboard controller 252, and the power management circuitry 254. The keyboard controller 252 and diskette adapter 234 are duplicated in the media console 16 in order to allow additional diskette drives or tape drives to be installed in the system unit 18 (via 234), or the keyboard and mouse can be plugged into the system unit 18 instead of the console 16 (via 252). In addition, the duplication allows the same planar to be used without such a console 16. The power management circuitry 254 is in circuit communication with the power supply 134, the switch 26, the power/feedback LED 28, and an internal modem 256 and/or an external modem 258. The external modem 258 is typically connected to a transformer 260, which is connected to a typical wall outlet, as is known to those skilled in the art. The modems 256, 258 are connected to a typical telephone outlet.
The read only memory 250 includes the BIOS that is used to interface between the I/O devices and the operating system of the microprocessor 142. BIOS stored in ROM 250 can be copied into RAM 174 to decrease the execution time of BIOS. ROM 250 is further responsive (via ROMSEL signal) to memory controller 176. If ROM 250 is enabled by memory controller 176, BIOS is executed out of ROM 250. If ROM 250 is disabled by memory controller 176, ROM is not responsive to address inquiries from the microprocessor 142 (i.e. BIOS is executed out of RAM).
The real-time clock 244 is used for time of day calculations and the NVRAM 242 is used to store system configuration data. That is, the NVRAM 242 will contain values which describe the present configuration of the system 10. For example, NVRAM 242 contains information describing the capacity of a fixed disk or diskette, the type of display, the amount of memory, time, date, etc. Furthermore, these data are stored in NVRAM 242 whenever a special configuration program, such as SET Configuration, is executed. The purpose of the SET Configuration program is to store values characterizing the configuration of the system to NVRAM 242.
The interface card 152, multi-conductor cable 20 and media electronics card 56 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 10-14. The ISA interface card 152 allows IDE controller 228, FDD controller 226 and 8042 keyboard controller 224 to be used in the media console 16. The ISA card 152 which is plugged into the base system unit 18 can be programmed to decode certain ranges of I/O addresses. The BIOS ensures that the proper I/O ranges for the devices in the console 16 ("split" devices) are enabled and that possibly conflicting planar devices are disabled. When the interface card 152 detects a valid input/output (I/O) or direct memory access (DMA) cycle for a split device, it intercepts the cycle and issues the I/O (or DMA) cycle to the media console 16 electronics card 56 which responds to the I/O (or DMA) cycle.
A multiplexing scheme was developed to multiplex address, data, and interrupts in order to keep the number of signals in the cable 20 to a reasonable number. In addition to the multiplexed I/O signals, some other signals had to be brought up independently--auxiliary 5 volts, the power light indicator signal, and the power switch signal. These signals must be separate because they must be active even when the main power is off.
The present invention provides a generic ISA bus I/O extender interface that minimizes the number of signals needed to transfer data, address and interrupts between devices in the consol 16 and devices n the system unit 18. In addition, the present invention allows the media console 16 electronics to be based around a super I/O device 286 that contains the IDE, FDD and keyboard controllers 228, 226 and 224 respectively. In addition, new devices could easily be added simply by adding the appropriate decode range to the base card and adding the ISA device to the media console 16 with no changes to the cable 20 protocol.
Referring now to FIG. 10, there is shown a schematic diagram of the ISA interface card 152, the media card 56 and the coupling therebetween via the multiconductor cable 20. The interface card 152 includes a multiplexer 270 for multiplexing addresses from the ISA bus 218, data to/from the ISA bus 218 and interrupt requests (IRQs) from the console 16 to the ISA bus 218. Multiplexer 270 includes a tristateable address driver 272 coupled to the address signals of ISA bus 218, a tristateable transceiver 274 coupled to the data signals of ISA bus 218 and an IRQ latch 276 coupled to the control portion of ISA bus 218. A sequencer or control circuit 278 is coupled to the address and data signals of the ISA bus 218 and multiplexer 270. Configuration registers 280 are used by BIOS to enable the appropriate I/O address ranges and DMA channels for the sequencer 278 to pass through to the media console 16. A description of the registers 280 and an unlocking/locking sequence is described below.
The sequencer 278 constantly monitors the ISA bus 218 waiting for I/O or DMA cycles that it must act upon. During ISA bus idle times, the address signals are constantly driven through the multi-conductor cable 20 to the media console 16. When the sequencer 278 detects an I/O cycle that needs to be passed through to the media console 16, the address enable signal (ADR-- EN) is deasserted to latch the address into the media console 16 and tristate the cable data bus 282 (MUX DATA). Next, the data enable (DAT-- EN#) is asserted to enable the data transceivers to pass the data to/from the media console 16 across the multi-conductor cable data bus 282.
At the end of each I/O and DMA cycle (even those not decoded) as well as memory refresh cycles, the sequencer 278 samples the 8 IRQ signals that the media console 16 is capable of generating (IRQs 1, 3, 6, 9, 11, 12 14 and 15). The media console 16 was designed to only generate 8 IRQs and allow a single byte to be transmitted. It should be understood that the media console 16 could be designed to generate 16 IRQs but this would increase cost. The 8 IRQs chosen are typical ones used by the devices in the console 16 (e.g., IRQ1 for the keyboard 14, IRQ6 for the floppy disk drive 22, IRQ 12 for the mouse 15 and IRQ15 for the CD-ROM drive 24. Extra IRQs (IRQs 3, 9, 11 and 14) are included to allow a Plug-n-Play operating system to reconfigure the IRQs. The sequencer 278 activates the IRQ strobe signal (IRQ-- STRB#) for one clock cycle. In response to this signal, the media console 16 drives the current state of the interrupts onto the cable data bus 282. The IRQ latch 276 then latches the interrupt states and drives them onto the ISA channel with open collector drivers. This IRQ cycle overlaps the ISA bus I/O recovery time so that there is no performance penalty. No interrupts are lost since all devices generate interrupts in a level triggered fashion. An interrupt never occurs as a short pulse as they are always latched by the generating device and it requires action by the CPU 142 (usually reading a status I/O port) to clear the IRQ.
The electronics card 56 in the media console 16 is an I/O bus demultiplexer. The demultiplexer 222 includes an address latch 284 for latching the addresses from the base card 152. A super I/O device (SIO) (e.g., SMC 37C932) 286 is coupled to the address latch 284, the FDD 22, the CD-ROM 24, the sequencer 278, the tristateable transceiver 288 and the IRQ tristateable buffer 290. As noted above, the SIO device 286 contains the diskette adapter 226 and IDE disk controller 228 for the floppy disk drive 22 and CD-ROM drive 24 respectively. The demultiplexer 222 is a slave to the sequencer 278 in the base card 152. More specifically, the demultiplexer 222 responds to the address enable (ADR-- EN) and data enable (DAT-- EN#) signals generated by the sequencer 278 and the IRQ strobe (IRQ-- STRB#) signal also generated by the sequencer 278 to latch/drive the appropriate signal groups.
The output of the demultiplexer 222 is a pseudo ISA bus in that it does not support all I/O addresses, memory cycles, master cycle etc. but rather only carries certain I/O address ranges. In addition, this pseudo ISA bus only carries up to 3 DMA channels and 8 IRQ signals. One DMA channel (channel 2) is used for the floppy disk drive 22 and the other two channels are spares. The 3 DMA channels and 8 IRQs were chosen to be sufficient for the devices currently in the console 16 and allow upgrades as well with the unused DMA channels and IRQs. Of course, more DMA channels and IRQs would require more conductors in the cable 20. The setup and hold timings for the pseudo ISA bus are slightly more stringent than the ISA bus 218. The timing restrictions are due to the additional propagation delays through the buffers and cable 20. The super I/O integrated circuits available today have much less setup and hold specifications than the original ISA bus allowed for. This allows the split system 10 of the present invention to operate with no additional wait states.
The host interface card 152 is configured to pass the appropriate I/O addresses through to the media console 16. In addition, the console 16 is programmed to respond to the appropriate addresses as well. It should be noted that interrupt request levels do not need to be programmed as they are automatically passed through from the media console as they are generated. This is possible because they are driven back to the ISA bus 218 using open collector drivers (i.e., output of IRQ latch 276).
The sequencer 278 is configured through a pair of 8 bit I/O ports or registers 280 within sequencer 278; a first I/O port (CFG-- ADDR) at address 370H and a second I/O port (CFG-- DATA) at address 371H. The CFG-- ADDR register is a write only register which is used to open and close the configuration space and to select one of the configuration registers. Bits 0-3 of this register are Index bits and bits 4-7 are unused. The CFG-- DATA register is a read/write register used to access the configuration register currently specified by CFG-- ADDR. Bits 0-3 of this register are used for data and bits 4-7 are unused.
The configuration registers are unlocked by writing the following sequence to the CFG-- ADDR register: "ODH", "OCH". The logic within sequencer 278 enters the first stage of the unlock sequence after the "ODH" is received. It is important that the "OCH" be received immediately afterwards because any other output cycle (even to another I/O port) will reset the lock. Once unlocked, the configuration registers 280 can be accessed until the locking key ("OFH") is received. Also when the configuration is unlocked, any configured decodes are disabled.
The following configuration registers 280 are used to select the appropriate I/O and DMA cycles to route through to the media console 16:
______________________________________IDE.sub.-- MISC index 0 Default = 0 Bit 1 . . . 0 00 - Enable no IDE 01 - Enable IDE1:1F0H-1F7H,3F6H 10 - Enable IDE2:170H-177H,376H 11 - Enable IDE3:1E0H-1E7H,3E6H Bit 2 Enable programmed I/O ranges. "0" means computer system IF is off.FDD.sub.-- DCD index 1 Default = 0 Bit 0 Enable FDD1:3F0H-3F7H Bit 1 Enable FDD2:370H-377H Bit 2 Enable SMI generation on write to FDD control port. This bit is cleared when the SMI occurs. This bit also enables shadow writes to the FDD1 address range even when bit 0=0.DMA.sub.-- ACK index 2 Default = 0 Bit 1 . . . 0 00 - Enable no DACK cycles 01 - Enable DACK0 cycles 10 - Enable DACK1 cycles 11 - Enable DACK2 cycles Bit 2 Enable all I/O address ranges (use for configuration only).KBM.sub.-- DCD index 3 Default = 0 Bit 0 Enable 8042 I/O address ranges. This bit also automatically enables SMIs for reset/A20 emulation (SMI occurs for writes of X1, XC, XD, XE, XF to "64"). The bit is cleared when the SMI occurs. Enable SMIs on writes Bit 1 to port "60". The bit is cleared when the SMI occurs.______________________________________
Turning now to FIG. 11, there is shown a cycle timing diagram of a 16 bit I/O cycle through the ISA interface of the present invention. The cycle timing is characteristic of a block read of data from the CD ROM 24. More specifically, a device in system unit 18 generates an ISA address at A. The sequencer 278 detects that this is an ISA address directed to the media console 16. As stated above, the sequencer 278, during bus idle times constantly drives the address signals through the cable 20 to the media console 16. Accordingly, at point B the multiplexer 270 provides the ISA address to the media console electronics card 56 via the cable 20. At C the sequencer 278 deasserts the ADR-- EN to latch the address into the media console 16 and tristate the cable data bus. Next, the demultiplexer 222 switches to provide data on its output at D, the data is then transferred to ISA bus 218 at E, and the device requesting the data then latches the data at point F. The I/O read cycle also ends at F when the requesting device driving the ISA bus 218 deasserts the IOR-- signal. The sequencer 278 then activates IRQ-- STRB# for one cycle at G. In response thereto the media console electronics card 56 drives the current state of the interrupts onto the cable data bus at H. The IRQ states are latched into IRQ latch 276 at point J.
As shown in FIG. 11, the I/O read cycle takes 312 nsec and the recovery takes 563 nsec to yield a total cycle time of 875 nsec for a 16 bit IO read. This yields a maximum sustained transfer rate of 2.3 MB/sec.
The main connection between the host interface 152 and the planar 140 is the ISA bus 218 itself. All ISA bus signals used are buffered appropriately so that the multi-conductor cable 20 and media console 16 do not adversely affect the ISA bus loading. There are a few other signals that must be picked up from sources other than the ISA bus 218. As noted above, these signals include AUX5, the power light indicator signal and the power switch signal. The red book audio interface from the CD-ROM 24 is included in the multi-conductor cable 20 and made available on the host interface card 152. The connector has been chosen such that the same cable that is currently used to connect the CD and sound card can be used between the host interface card 152 and sound card. Various other signals are required from the planar. Many of these are available through existing planar connections. However, to reduce the number of discrete jumper cables required and ease assembly of the system unit 20, all necessary signals have been incorporated into a single 10 pin (2�5) connector on the planar 140 which is connected to planar connector 292 on the ISA card 152. Each of the signals of the 10 pin connector along with their function description are shown in the table of FIG. 12.
Turning now to FIG. 13, there is shown a power distribution between the host interface card 152 and media electronics card 56 of the present invention. Since the media console 16 is powered through the multi-conductor cable 20, the necessary voltage (+12VDC) is obtained by using one of the large DASD connectors 294 from the power supply. This avoids the potential problem of pulling too much current through the ISA edge connector. The number of available DASD connectors should not be an issue because the CD-ROM 24 is not located in the base unit 18 of the split system 10. The power voltages that exit the system through the multi-conductor cable 20 connector go through a 2.5 amp resettable fuse to prevent cable or circuit damage in the event of a short.
Bulk +12V is provided to the media console 16 from cable 20. This is used to provide power to the CD-ROM and floppy disk drive DASD connectors 296, and 298 respectively. (It should be noted that +12V is still available in the DASD connector 298 to the floppy disk drive 22 even though current FDD's typically do not use +12V motors.) There is also a current limited +12VDC bulk voltage that is used to regulate down to +5VDC. In order to handle the current requirement of each component of the media console 16, 3 independent regulators are implemented. One regulator 300, is for the 5VDC supply to the electronics (including keyboard and mouse), another regulator 302 is for the 5VDC to the floppy disk drive power connector 298 and a third regulator 304 is for the 5VDC for the CD-ROM power connector 296. The current to all three regulators is limited by a voltage dropping resistor 306. This resistor has been chosen to be a 2.4 ohm 10 watt resistor. Therefore the three regulators can supply a total of about 2 amps of current before dropping out of regulation. The regulators are attached to a sufficient heat sink to prevent overheating. The dropping resistor 306 is physically located on the host card 152 in the processing unit 18 so that the total heat dissipation would not be concentrated in the media console 16 where there is no fan. This means that there are two bundles of power conductors in the multi-conductor cable: +12VDC and +12V-- DROP.
The multi-conductor cable 20 is a 28 gauge, 50 conductor cable composed of 25 pairs with a 50 pin Centronics connector on one end (SCSI) which connects to the Centronics connector 153 on host card 152 and a 50 pin header connector on the other end which connects to a connector port 58 on media console 16. The table in FIG. 14 shows the signal layout of the header. The cable 20 can be in a range of between 4 and 7 feet long with 61/2 feet being the preferred length. The cable 20 allows the processing unit 18 to be placed along side, underneath or even behind the desk supporting the media console 16, or in a different room or office than the media console 16.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with respect to preferred embodiments thereof, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims,
|Cited Patent
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|U.S. Classification
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Owner name: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP., NEW YORK
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|Fee payment
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text:
Perfect Placement King's Lynn PE30, UK
08/09/2017Car Dealership
Our Client, A car Dealer in the Kings Lynn area is currently looking to hire an experienced New and Used Car Sales Executive for their busy Sales Department. Job Specification: As a Car Sales Executive you will be required to sell New and Used Vehicles, Accessories, Finance, Finance related products and Warranties with the aim of reaching and exceeding targets. You will be required to keep customers informed of delivery progress and advise customers of any delays that may progress. Car Sales Executives are required to ensure demonstration vehicles are well maintained, clean and available at all times. You will be required to resolve any queries which may arise and collect payment from customers before releasing the vehicle. Car Sales Executives must explain Warranty, Service arrangements, introduce customer to the Aftersales team and demonstrate the cars features and offer any other support that may be required. Applicant Specification: To succeed for this role you must have strong and stable car sales experience, an insatiable desire to produce results, a commitment to excellence and be able to build outstanding customer relationships. You will need to have excellent customer service skills, a positive and helpful attitude and the drive, energy and commitment to seek every sales opportunity. For your hard work, our Client is offering an excellent salary package a company car and long term progression within a large dealer group If this role interests you and you would like to know more about it or other Dealership Jobs in Kings Lynn, please contact Danielle @ Perfect Placement

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Triumph Poems. Below are examples of triumph poems. This list of poetry about TRIUMPH is made of PoetrySoup member poems. PoetrySoup is a great resource for examples of triumph poems or a list of triumph poetry. These examples show what triumph poems look like. There is also a link below to the definition of triumph and a page where you can discuss these types of poems.
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text:
Jordan to go on the rails?
Jordan's rail project is to be adopted by the 'Union for the Mediterranean'
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The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) announced on Tuesday that it would adopt the Jordanian National Railway Network Project as one of the UfM's regional projects.
In a UfM senior officials meeting held Tuesday in Barcelona, under a joint Jordanian-European co-presidency, the project received support from all participating Arab and European states.
The Jordanian National Railway Network Project was the only project adopted out of three that were presented by the union's secretariat general.
The UfM will now promote the project to secure financing from European and International financial institutions and banks.
Once the project is completed, officials said, it will boost Jordan's economy and increase the movement of passengers and goods through Jordanian territories, while encouraging exports, industrial and agricultural production, as well as mining.
The project is part of a network that will connect the Middle East with Europe and later continue to North Africa and the Arab Gulf.
Top Headlines
- Al Tayer bucks the US department store trend with Bloomingdale's Kuwait opening
- Gulf Islamic banks set to outperform conventional banks for second year: Moody's
- Jordan secures EU finance for socioeconomic and environmental programs
- Same-day service deliveries in GCC an untapped market: Wing CEO
- Will terror attacks damper Arabs' appetite for European holidays?


text:
The Lexus RX 400h represents probably the boldest yoking of contradictions our time has seen since Madonna turned children's author. Much hurrah'd as the world's first eco-friendly SUV, it was the car in which David "Dave" Cameron eagerly gave notice of his "green credentials". For a certain kind of conscience-troubled driver with a hankering after life's baubles, it could seem like the bright and shining answer to a feverish prayer - all that huggable, middle-class prestige with none of the bad-mannered gas-guzzling.
The RX 400h achieves this seeming miracle by being a hybrid. Its supplementary electric engine stores and recycles energy from the car's own braking, then unburdens the conventional petrol engine, which, in a deeply restful and calming way, falls silent instead of idling. Thus the car can claim to consume less petrol than other SUVs, and to chuck out fewer emissions, even while boasting such guilt-soaked fripperies as an air-cushioned ride, an elevated seating position, a reversing camera and one of Lexus's staggeringly plush hi-fi systems.
At the same time, for an SUV to be entirely socially acceptable, wouldn't it have to be smaller? Wouldn't it have to have fewer blind spots? Wouldn't its bumpers have to represent a less explicit threat to the heads of three-year-old children? Wouldn't it have to be, well, not an SUV?
The trouble is, of course, that people's increasingly loud objections to SUVs are not exclusively limited to the way they slurp up diminishing fuel resources and fart out so much carbon that an Inuk loses his house every time you change up to fourth. For people who hate SUVs, those objections are merely part of a portfolio of grievances relating to the way in which these cars appear to be saying, "Stuff you."
For instance, the Lexus RX 400h could run on ditchwater and emit a pheromone known to encourage endangered species to mate and that still wouldn't get you round the fact that it weighs the best part of two tonnes and squats across its lane with sublimely indifferent arrogance.
To drive an SUV these days is to feel a strengthening pulse of resentment from the world beyond its tinted windows - some of that resentment politically reasoned, some of it just good old-fashioned, entirely opportunistic class hatred, of the kind that has been twiddling its thumbs since foxhunting was banned. I got my Lexus into a moment of mild difficulty arising from a failed traffic light, and the intolerance that instantly surged my way from momentarily inconvenienced fellow road users had an edge to it that, I feel sure, would not have been provoked by a car that wasn't an SUV.
I raise this only in order to say that, if I were going to drive an eco-friendly SUV, I would want it to announce its eco-friendliness a good deal more unmistakably than the RX 400h does. Let's face it, for a supposed good guy, the RX looks awfully like one of the bad guys, and this is an area where it can't hurt to make your differences clear. To that end, I'd want solar panelling on mine or a wind turbine poking out of the roof. I'd want it to be dressed like a hedgehog or resemble a tree. I'd want it to scream "green" before other people screamed something else.
Lexus RX 400h
Price From £36,393
Top speed 126mph
Acceleration 0-60 in 8.1 seconds
Consumption 34.9mpg
Emissions 192g/km
Eco rating 6/10
At the wheel Michael Vaughan
Top gadget Reversing camera
In a word Conflicted


text:
Action Express Racing Canada Notes & Quotes 7-6-16
LAST WEEK AT WATKINS GLEN: Last Sunday (July 3), the Action Express Racing team recorded a one-two finish in the six hour endurance race at Watkins Glen International. The No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP of Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi crossed the finish line first followed by teammates Dane Cameron and Eric Curran in the No. 31 Whelen/Team Fox Corvette DP. Race-winners Barbosa and Fittipaldi combined to lead more than half the race (107 of 197 laps), including the final 22 circuits around the Watkins Glen permanent road course. En route to the runner-up result, Cameron and Curran led 26 laps.
WIN No. 1: The win at Watkins Glen was the first of the 2016 IMSA season for Action Express Racing. It was also the third win for the team – and Barbosa – at Watkins Glen. Barbosa previously finished first at Watkins Glen in 2012 (with Darren Law) and in 2013 (with Fittipaldi).
BREAK OUT THE BROOM: The one-two finish for Action Express Racing marks the third time the team has recorded a sweep of the top-two finishing positions in sports car competition. Along with the one-two result at Watkins Glen this past weekend, the team has also finished first and second at Wisconsin's Road America (2015) and The Raceway at Belle Isle, MI (2012). At Road America last year, Cameron and Curran captured the checkered flag with Barbosa and Fittipaldi ending up in second-place.
POINTS PACE: The win at Watkins Glen enabled Barbosa and Fittipaldi to move into sole possession of first-place in the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech Championship Prototype standings with 187 points. Cameron and Curran are tied for second in the standings with 180 points. Following Watkins Glen, Barbosa and Fittipaldi now also lead the IMSA Patron North America Endurance Cup standings with 35 points.
COMING TO CANADA: This year, the Action Express Racing lineup at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park will be the same as it was one year ago at the 2.459-mile permanent road course. Barbosa and Fittipaldi will team up in the No. 5 entry, while Cameron and Curran will be back behind the wheel of the No. 31 race car. In 2015, Cameron and Curran crossed the finish line second in the No. 31 Corvette DP after leading 54 of 128 laps. The No. 5 entry (Barbosa and Fittipaldi) was leading the field before a flat tire with about 11 minutes remaining in the race. They recorded a fifth-place result after leading the field for 17 circuits. Two years ago in 2014, Barbosa and Fittipaldi also finished fifth at the track
WORK WEEK: Rather than return to the team's North Carolina race shop following the Watkins Glen race, the Action Express Racing team spent a few extra days at the upstate New York track preparing the race cars for the event in Canada. The team spent Monday and Tuesday at Watkins Glen before traveling to Canada.
KEEPING TRACK: Action Express Racing has recorded wins at six of the 10 tracks on the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule. The team has registered victories at Belle Isle, MI (2012 and 2015), Daytona (2010 and 2014), Road America (2014 and 2015), Road Atlanta (2015), Watkins Glen (2012, 2013 and 2016) and Sebring (2015).
HERE ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS: Since Action Express Racing was formed in 2010, the team has captured back-to-back titles in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (2014 and 2015), as well as consecutive Patron North America Endurance Cup championships (2014 and 2015). Last year, the team collected four wins during the season (Sebring, Detroit, Road America and Road Atlanta) and the team has 14 career victories.
DANE CAMERON, No. 31 Whelen Corvette DP, Action Express Racing
Are there any challenges to having back-to-back race weekends?
"Back-to-back race weekends are much more challenging logistically and for the crew guys – from the standpoint of hours and work – compared to the drivers. I really enjoy the back-to-back races. We have 10 races on the schedule, so when there are two in a row you're a bit fresher when you get back into the car the next weekend. I think when you've been out of the race car only a handful of days rather than a couple weeks – that makes a big difference. Getting through the weekend is a lot tougher on the team, but it only happens one time a year – so we'll power through it."
Do you enjoy racing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park?
"It's one of my favorite race tracks. I've been there a number of times in a number of different race cars, and always seem to do well at the track. I haven't won there yet, but I've been on the podium a number of times. Eric (Curran) and I had a really strong run there last year, but came up a little short. I'm confident we can go back there and challenge for a win."
CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI, No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP, Action Express Racing
Are you looking forward to the race in Canada?
"Obviously, we are very happy with the Watkins Glen finish because it was a strong win. As a team we worked hard to earn that win and finishing one-two was an excellent moment. I'm looking forward to going back to Canada. Historically, we've been strong there and have had good race cars at the track. We're looking to carry the momentum from our performance at Watkins Glen into Canada."
How did it feel to get the first win of the season at Watkins Glen?
"It feels really great because this is the first race of the second part of the season and we couldn't have started any better. If you're looking to go for the championship — you have to be strong everywhere you go. It was definitely a strong race for us from lap one. We drove on the limit the whole time. A big part of the reason for our success was pure race craft — we were perfect on the pit stops and we were really good in traffic."
JOAO BARBOSA, No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP, Action Express Racing
How did it feel to win at Watkins Glen last weekend?
"It was probably one of the fastest pace races that I've done in a while. They did an amazing job with the (repave of the) surface. We were able to keep up the pace for a long time. This team has been working really hard to get a win, and we did it in great style. We were really matched with our teammates in the No. 31, so track position was really important. When I got out in clean air, I felt like I had an edge on the No. 31 and then just had to maintain the gap. It was a great day for Action Express Racing."
What are your expectations for this weekend's race in Canada?
"We're hoping to have the pace we had last year. We were leading the race and then the flat tire happened with just a handful of laps remaining. So, we were unable to get any positions back before the race ended. We look forward to returning to Canada and following our strong performance last weekend at Watkins Glen with another good race weekend."


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Krystlejosea.com ranks
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0.09% Negative growth. Krystlejosea.com servers are located in the United States.
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Krystle Joséa Design & Illustration
Design and illustration of beauty, hair and fashion
Google Safe Browsing - Safe website. Clean from Viruses, Malicious Worms, Adwares, Trojans, Spywares and Suspicious Phishing Attacks.


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Prosper de Mulder fined for two trade effluent breaches
Animal waste processor John Knight Ltd has been fined by Thames Water for twice breaching the sulphide conditions of its trade effluent consent.
Sorry you do not have access to this article. Please contact Customer Support at
or call 020 8267 8120


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Vancouver, Canada (PressExposure) November 16, 2009 -- According to Christina Newberry, author of The Hands-On Guide to Surviving Adult Children Living at Home, adult children may feel that, since they adults who no longer live with you full-time, they should be treated as guests, without any rules on restrictions for their behavior or their comings and goings. But Newberry says that adult children are nothing like other houseguests.
âThe relationship between parents and children will always be a parent-kid relationship, with all that that entails, no matter how old the child is,â Newberry says. âAn adult child visiting for Thanksgiving or Christmas may expect that you're going to do their laundry and cook their meals, whereas you may expect that you'll finally get a break from cooking every night because your adult child will be around to help out. If you donât talk about this beforehand, youâll both end up disappointed, resentful, and angry.â
The most important thing you can do is talk about what the living situation will be like before the adult child is home for any length of time, and make sure you all agree about what's acceptable, and what works for everyone. A written agreement can be an excellent way to make sure you cover all the issues and everyone is on the same page.
Newberry recommends that all families with adult children returning home from college for the holidays agree upon guidelines for:
- Household rules, including swearing, late nights, and noise: Remember that your college kid has been dealing with college-style language, music, and hours. Talk about what youâre comfortable with, and what youâre not.
- Who covers additional expenses: If your adult kid is just home for a long weekend, this probably isnât an issue. But if theyâre home for three months, whoâs going to pay for the extra groceries they consume and the electricity they use? What about long-distance calls they make keeping up with college friends?
- Fair use of shared resources: Make sure you all agree on appropriate use of the family computer and TV. You donât want to have battles over the remote just as someoneâs favorite show is about to begin. And be very clear about any guidelines for using (and gassing up!) the family car.
- The thorny issue of overnight guests: Whether you like it or not, your kidâs probably been having sleepovers with his girlfriend while at school. Can he have her stay over in his room at your home?
- Privacy rules for both you and your adult children: These rules will be different than they were when you kid lived at home full-time. You should agree to stay out of her room and her mail, and she should agree to stay out of yours.
- Which chores your grown kids will be responsible for: A Thanksgiving weekend or Christmas break no help from your adult kids could leave you fuming. Make sure you agree on whatâs expected beforehand so your kid doesnât feel imposed upon, and you donât feel resentful.
Resources and tips for setting up an agreement with adult kids for their breaks at home are available at http://www.adultchildrenlivingathome.com


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19 years of age a fair beauty by complexion, standing five feet and five inches tall Nisha Pathak is representing Miss Heritage International 2015. Miss Heritage International 2015 is being hosted for the second consecutive year by E Planet Pvt. Ltd. after successfully hosting the inaugural edition of Miss Heritage international 2014 in Nepal which was a grand success. For the 2015 edition India would be the host country for Miss Heritage International 2015 and would be organized by Eplanet Pvt. Ltd., in assistance of a social organization called WE FOR WE as the local partner for the event.
Nisha Pathak would be competing with 29 other global beauties at the event. The lady residing at Maligaun, Kathmandu is currently pursuing her BBA at Padma Kanya Campus. She is interested in movies, dancing and modeling. She aims to help and serve orphans. Also involved in modeling and emceeing the events Nisha was the winner of Miss Global International 2014 along with the Miss Discipline title under her name. Also featured in national newspapers for the promotional modeling assignments Nisha is associated HVPP (organization that created nepals largest human flag). She is also the brand ambassador of Model Global Visas consultancy.
Miss Heritage International 2015 would take place from 6th to 13th December 2015 at New Delhi, India. For the event Media Person and Choreographer Mr. Rojin Shakya from Nepal would be the choreographer while Bollywood choreographer Simran Deenz Ahuja from India would be the joining hands for the choreography of Miss Heritage International 2015. The 2015 edition of the event would have thirty global beauties which would include the representatives from countries like Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Denmark, Netherlands, Russia, Belarus, Phillipines, Myanmaar, Morocco, Nigeria and others.


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Chinese Yellow River: Stone Grottoes By the River/The History... DVD
Three films about different aspects of China's second-largest river, the Yellow River or Huang He. 'Stone Grottoes by the River' explores the dozens of gigantic grottoes scattered along the Yellow River, from Dunhuang Grotto to Longmen Grotto and Yungang Grotto. 'The History of the Old Ferries' looks at the influence of the Yellow River ferries on politics, the economy, local culture and the military. 'The Mother River: The Yellow River' explore the three topographies, each with over 1000 metres of height between them, through which the Yellow River flows.
- Format: DVD
- Region: 2
- Certification: (Ex)
- Catalogue number: DT121
- Studio: Quantum Leap
- Release date: 07/12/2009
- Genre: General
- Colour: Colour
Free Home Delivery
on all orders
Pick up orders
from local bookshops


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Eddie Vedder Plans Brief West Coast Tour
Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:41:47
Eddie Vedder Photos
Eddie Vedder Videos
The success of Eddie Vedder's Into the Wild soundtrack (it's sold 243,000 copies so far) has pushed the Pearl Jam frontman onto the road for his first-ever solo tour. Running just two weeks in April, it includes Vancouver and several cities in California.
"This will be an amazing opportunity for fans to see Eddie Vedder in such intimate settings,"Matt Shay, RCA Music Group's VP of A&R/marketing, told Billboard.com. "Working with Eddie on the music from Into the Wild has been an honor, and the tour will be a true highlight for all of us."
Details on how to score tickets to the rare tour can be found at PearlJam.com. Fans worried about the future of Pearl Jam in the meantime can rest assured that they're currently working on new material and will co-headline Bonnaroo in June.
Jam-less sessions:
4/2 Vancouver, BC - the Centre
4/5 Santa Cruz, CA - Civic Auditorium
4/7 Berkeley, CA - Zellerbach Auditorium
4/10 Santa Barbara, CA - Arlington Theatre
4/12-13 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern Theatre
4/15 San Diego, CA - Spreckels Theatre
—The ARTISTdirect Staff


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House , urban with 4 bedrooms , sleeps 7 , 2 bathroom(s) , floor area of 175 m2 (1885 sq.ft) , WCs 1 , car optional , children OK , NO smoking , including internet (highspeed), number of travellers: 5
We are open for all dates, mail us.
We are flexible with dates over the summer period.
We are a married couple ( Martin and Fiona) with three children. We are both teachers (Additional Support Needs and German) so we have lots of holidays together. We have done house swap seven times successfully and enjoyed it each time. Our children are twins aged 14 and our eldest son is age 15, so our house is family friendly. We like to travel with our children and spend family time together. We love the outdoors and enjoy walking and cycling in our local area, as well as swimming in our local pool. The children enjoy music and cinema, plus all the usual electronic diversions! We have a cocker spaniel called Piper who could travel with us or she could go and stay with family.
Contact details
Homepage: <members only>


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I hadn't heard of the #RockingMotherhood tag until I was tagged by Lynne at New Mummy Blog and Becky at Bringing up the Berneys (the idea originally came from Patricia at White Camellias).
Now I've seen loads of people's #rockingmotherhood lists and boy are these women rocking it. I spend so long worrying if I'm doing it right, or feeling like a down right failure (3 year old who will not use the toilet unless he's naked, regardless of what I do and try, fail!), but as you know I am big on positivity and this tag is all about the positivity so I'm in.


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The Moreno Valley Master Chorale is holding its Songs of the Seasons concert 4 p.m. Sunday, June 5 at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, 11650 Perris Blvd., Moreno Valley. Admission is $15 for adults and $10 for seniors, students and children over age five. Tickets will be available at the door.
Information: 951-485-8414 or MorenoValleyMasterChorale.org


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Posts Tagged 'Focus Group Facilities'
How Disruptions are Born—and How It Applies to the Market Research DisciplineMonday, June 9, 2014, 7:08 am 1 Comment
As an industry, if our primary reason for being is to guide organizations toward smarter consumer-centric decisions, then our path to delivering that value is certain to evolve over time. We're bound to see ebbs and flows—periods where fresh ideas will create a new trajectory to "jump the curve."
Physician, Heal Thyself (and Thy Marketing)Tuesday, March 26, 2013, 7:48 am 5 Comments
In an industry where we claim to be able to help our clients brand and market their products, why is so much branding and marketing so poor in our industry?
Brother, Can You Spare A (Nickel &) Dime?Sunday, September 19, 2010, 12:42 pm 15 Comments
I'm sitting here reviewing yet another focus group facility invoice. It has all the "usual suspects" in the charges – recruiting, facility rental, incentives, client meals, respondent meals, etc.
Plus $11.00 for copies.
Seriously? I'm paying you around $6,800 for …


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Capt. Lew Morgan specializes in fly fishing for Tarpon during season along the beaches, the passes, and in the Harbor. The remainder of the year he likes to live bait and fly fish for Snook, Redfish, and Speckled Trout in the backcountry.
His boat is a 21′ Lake and Bay Flats skiff.


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Diodorus Siculus 07:48 01 Nov 2004
Some are not necessary - eg messages from IBM
nor \Sonic\Update Manager\sgtray.exe
Others I am not sure of. Why not disable one or two at a time and restart. Then after a few hours use, you can tell if they are needed. Some will just add functionality that you will not miss anyway; others may be integral to the full running of the machine. None, however, should prevent it from starting and running.
Trial and error may be the only way.


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(The following statement was released by the ratings agency) May 24 - Fitch Ratings has today withdrawn Gabriel India Limited's (GIL) 'F2+(ind)' rating assigned to its INR150m Commercial Paper Programme. There is no outstanding amount against the rated instrument. Fitch will no longer provide analytical coverage on the issuer. >> Fitch Ratings has recently made significant enhancements to both the content and format of its credit research on EMEA and AsiaPac region corporates. The ...
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Colour: warm grey. 2 drawers with soft-close mechanism, 2 metal handles. The set includes: mounting set, mounting instruction. Can be combined with washbasin 80 cm, M21180.
LIFE! 80 cm Washbasin with tap hole, with overflow
LIFE! Toilet seat, hard, made of Duroplast, soft-close
LIFE! 60 cm Washbasin cabinet, white glossy
LIFE! 60 cm Washbasin cabinet, warm grey
LIFE! 100 cm Washbasin with 2 tap holes, with overflow
site index


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This championship course, designed by two legendary architects Donald Ross & Ellis Maples, is set amid majestic North Carolina pines. Rarely crowded and just minutes from I-95. Championship (6550 yards); Back (71.6 rating, 121 slope); Middle (6096 yards, 69.6 rating, 117 slope); Forward (5051 yards, 69.6 rating, 115 slope). 18 holes, par 72. Clubhouse, restaurant/lounge, range, putting green, chipping green, pro shop, and rentals.
Fall is here and its time to get your golf game ready.
We have the 2017 Tournament Schedule posted.
Be sure to sign up for the CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP 9-30-17


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19.7 grams Holey chunky Gold Nugget ore Chicken Alaska
Sold for:
Start Free Trial
or Sign In to see what it's worth.
- Sold Date:
- Source: eBay
This hefty specimen is from the historic and still active placer mining camp at Chicken Alaska. This is a great area for dense, high quality smoothed nugget. It's a tough life but the dedicated miners t still produce the occasional big keeper like this one although most of the gold is much smaller. This is a great nugget because it has a natural hole, perfectly sized for a chain or setting a jewel into . The ruler you see is in centimetres, and the complete specimen weighs 19.7 grams . I have been a professional geologist for nearly thirty years, prospecting gold in Ontario , British Columbia , Alaska and California through all that time. I have worked with international mining companies and have my own claims. I go underground in mines, use a gold pan and sluicebox in rivers, explore with a metal detector in old workings, and trade with other prospectors in several countries for secrets and nuggets. Most of the gold I sell I have found or purchased directly from the finder. The fact that you are reading this means you know gold is rare, that nuggets are remarkably rare, decent sized nuggets are incredibly rare , and gold has increased it's value since the start of mankind. As society moves forward it will be gold, not oil, US dollars or Swiss francs that remain the standard of currency throughout the world. It ... read more


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- select colour
it's an internet thing!
it's an internet thing!
10:08 23 June 2013
A massive explosion at BEM Fireworks plant in Coteau-du-Lac killed two people, as of time of writing. The blast occurred Thursday morning flattening at least one building and charring others. The massive blast was followed by fire and more explosions.
Police temporarily closed the town to a nearby highway in both directions. Reportedly, they also evacuated about 40 homes.
Police are yet to identify the two people they've found - as of time of writing - but have earlier confirmed that there are two employees who are unaccounted for.
Local fire chief Stephane Massicotte said that it was difficult to stop the fire as the warehouse was filled with pyrotechnics. He told reporters: "This caused a huge amount of flames and very intense heat."
There were 150 firefigthers on the scene. Meanwhile, reports on the ground said that there are no fire hydrants in the vicinity.
Mario Cramerstetter, a resident and whose office is just over a mile away from the site said: "All of a sudden, I heard, boom, boom, bang."
"Initially I thought it was a bulldozer or a tractor but then we saw a big puff smoke. We kept on hearing popping, fireworks going off all the time."
Disclaimer: Supanet is not responsible for, and disclaims any and all liability for the content of comments written by contributors to this website


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All Android applications categories
Moon Sea Live Wallpaper
Beautiful moonlit night at sea. Ships sailing and stars falling on the horizon....this animated Live Wallpaper brings a very romantic mood.
*Does not drain your battery life time.
*Option to enable / disable sailing ships (by default - "Disabled").
*Option тоenable / disable "falling stars" (by default - "Disabled").
*Option to select one of the five most common resolutions - 720x1280, 480x854, 480x800, 320x480 and 240x320 .
*Can be moved to SD Card(App2SD support).
TO USE: Home->Press Menu->Wallpapers->LiveWallpapers-> Moon Sea Live Wallpaper from the list.
We want to keep the app completely free, In order to keep free is ad supported and may contain ads. This will help keep it free and help us bring you more cool apps like this in the future.
The permissions are for ads and it does not get any personal information.
Tags: moonsea live wallpaper
from 38 reviews
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Free - 1.01 - 1M
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Bikini Girls
It is a little north of dreary in this town right now – looking out the window reveals rain, clouds, and…well, better not to depress you. Instead, i will treat you to what I was treated to this morning when I opened an envelope from Elegant Angel: pictures of girls in bikinis from the upcoming Swimsuit Calendar Girls 2, sequel to the equally sunny Swimsuit Calendar Girls.
and then the front of Carmella Bing…
and then the brand new Kagney Lin Karter:
I try not to feel like Elegant Angel is teasing me, but it's difficult some days.


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Above: A flyer from the Iowa Department of Agriculture
To hear Brandon's coverage of the latest emerald ash borer infestation in the Agribusiness Report, click here.
DES MOINES, Iowa – All 99 of Iowa's counties are now under the shadow of the emerald ash borer. On February 4, authorities enacted a statewide restriction on the movement of hardwood firewood, ash logs, wood chips and ash tree nursery stock out of the state.
The quarantine was prompted by the discovery of emerald ash borer in Black Hawk County; city officials in Waterloo trimming street trees found the insect in three separate locations. Waterloo City Forester Todd Derifield says there are no doubts that the infestation is widespread.
"I've seen at least three dozen that I"m sure have [an infestation] just by the symptoms that they show," says Derifield, "but we physically didn't feel the bark and find the insect."
Waterloo is estimated to have 4,364 public ash trees, which Derifield estimates at 17% of public trees in the city. The latest infestation marks the sixth confirmed case of emerald ash borer in the state, after its discovery in 2010. In Waterloo, ash trees will be removed from the ten square block area surrounding the infested trees, and Derifield says the overall reduction of ash trees in the town is ongoing.
"We are removing ash trees in the rights of way that are adjacent to property owners who have requested those ash trees to be removed now," Derifield says. "So those are just public trees between the sidewalk and street in front of an address. We're doing these advantageous removals where we remove a number of ash trees that are in a grove, in a park, or in a golf course, and sprinkle some other plantings in there so that those established while we still have some ash trees present there."
Infestations of the emerald ash borer in Iowa have been discovered in Allamakee County in May 2010, Des Moines County in July 2013, Jefferson County in August 2013, Cedar County in October 2013 and Union County in December 2013.
Once ash trees are out, there's not exactly a replacement tree. Iowa State University Extension Horticulturalist Jeff Iles explains.
"Boy, the last thing we want to do is recommend one species to come back and replace the ash," says Iles. "I think that's what continually gets us into problems. What we're preaching to communities is to get a handle on what you have, and then diversify."
Instead, Iles suggests communities decide how to replace ash trees based on lists provided by ISU Extension, one of which concerns shade, while the other addresses stature.
You can click here to learn more about EAB and other pests that are threatening Iowa's tree population at www.IowaTreePests.com.


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Peep the recent Music-Express article about MTV Home V-Jane Palina Rojinski below. We're just loving the knuckle ring chain over our BODEGA Tee. Way to keep it Gangsta Palina!
here our some images of our BSTN x HRVST release party that took place last
Our latest Spring/Summer collection is titled "pink cookies". The lookbook was shot in the heart
As a part of the unique collaboration between HRVST & BSTN, both parties selected 5
© 2017 | Beastin GmbH


text: I am stuck here. I just want to go ahead and change the icon for the people/person contact app. Without installing a program (like open home) are there any icon packs out there that work on there own that will do this? BTW I tried Better Cut but I couldnt get it to work for some reason with the person app... There were three choices titled "People" and all 3 (after creating a shortcut) came up "could not find"


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Brunette provides with impressive boobfuck
Description:Dude just have a look at this busty chick! You'll never seen such horny student in your life for sure! This busty babe with long curly black hair sucks teacher's dick like pro licking the balls and jams tool between her boobs, till it ejects hot cum on her tits.
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text: The hotel itself is a fine complex with spacious rooms surrounded by a beautiful palm tree garden. The rooms are built and furnished in the traditional Cretan style all with private facilities, (WC, bath or shower) music, direct dial telephones, balcony with individual units. Thus offering the comfort and the luxury of the modern living. The hotel large swimming pool and the modern Snack Bar completes the complex while the Safe deposit box, at the reception can be used for your valuables.


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I'm going to be blogging the Wonder Festival this weekend, if you still want to see more PARCO please follow this link: ThreeAShowJapan The show website has more photos of last night's festivities along with guests and limited editions etc. And yes, Ash is wearing glasses, (years and years of fine close up work have finally caught up with him).
Next posts Wonder Festival - stay tuned!


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Paul McGuire | Legally LGBT
What should a judge do when three people show up in court claiming to be parents of a single child? Until recently, a judge would not have been able to recognize more than two legal parents. However, a new law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown allows the recognition of more than two legal parents, in specific circumstances.
The case that prompted a change in the law is the complete opposite of responsible parenting. In a 2011 California case, three people claimed parental rights to a single child. The biological mother and father conceived the child together, but by the time the child was born, the mother was married to another woman and the father was not around. The court became involved after the child was removed following an incident where the biological mother's boyfriend stabbed her wife.
The biological mother, her wife and the biological father each claimed to be parents in the resulting juvenile court proceedings. The court stated that none of the three parents seeking recognition in this case was particularly suited to provide a safe and stable family environment for the child.
Nonetheless, the judge also recognized that California's existing statutory framework is ill equipped to "accommodate rapidly changing familial structures … and novel parenting relationships." In the past, the California Supreme Court "rejected the concept of dual paternity or maternity where such recognition would result in three parents," documents state.
Typically, judges will avoid ruling in a way that would significantly change the law because it is for the state legislature to decide if a change is necessary. Judges are not well equipped to understand the needs and desires of the public. The judge here included this note specifically to give the legislature a chance to change the law if they saw fit.
Under the new law it is unlikely that the case would have turned out differently.
The California legislature responded to this case with a bill in 2012, SB 1476, that would have allowed for the recognition of more than two parents in certain cases. I previous wrote about SB 1476 here in March, where I explained the objections that were raised and the concerns Gov. Brown noted when he vetoed the bill.
Gov. Brown signed a similar bill, SB 274, into law Oct. 4. The new law allows judges to "find that more than two persons with a claim to parentage … are parents if the court finds that recognizing only two parents would be detrimental to the child." The law also requires courts to "allocate custody and visitation among the parents based on the best interests of the child."
The new law also addresses one of the concerns with the previous bill: how to deal with determining child support. Child support in California is calculated using a formula based on a statewide guideline. The new law says it does not intend to change the calculations used for determining child support.
The new law will also not change how California treats sperm donors. Under the California Family Code, a sperm donor is presumed to not be a legal father of the child if the couple uses a licensed physician for the procedure.
A couple could now work up an agreement through which a donor would be involved in the child's life and become responsible like a parent, including any financial responsibility for the child. Same-sex couples using a sperm donor may choose to do so in order to preserve the biological connection between the donor and the child.
Though the new law allows judges to recognize more than two legal parents, it is important to speak with an attorney to determine the best way to ensure that a judge will recognize your specific setup.
—Paul D. McGuire is an openly bisexual family law attorney in San Diego who assists families dealing with dissolution of marriage and domestic partnerships. He writes a blog on family law and LGBT issues at paul-mcguire.com.