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United States midfielder Robbie Rogers has signed for the Los Angeles Galaxy - less than four months after he came out as gay and quit football. The Galaxy announced they were bringing him in by securing first refusal on his signature from the Chicago Fire in an exchange that sees Mike Magee move to Toyota Park.
Rogers' new club said he could be involved against Seattle Sounders tomorrow. The 26-year-old said on the Galaxy's website: "I'd like to thank everyone at Major League Soccer, the LA Galaxy and the Chicago Fire for allowing me to return to playing the game that I love. I look forward to getting back out onto the field and continuing my soccer career as a member of the Galaxy."
He posted a picture of himself in Galaxy kit on Twitter, adding the message: "An exciting future lies ahead, not only for me but for our society."
He becomes the world's most high-profile openly gay footballer, and Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena said: "We are pleased to be able to add a player of Robbie's qualities to our roster and feel that he will help improve our team now and in the future."
Rogers, capped 18 times by the United States and a 2008 Olympian, wrote on his blog in February that he had been afraid of revealing his sexuality, saying he wanted to live a new life outside of the game. He wrote at the time: "Secrets can cause so much internal damage. People love to preach about honesty, how honesty is so plain and simple. Try explaining to your loved ones after 25 years you are gay.
"Try convincing yourself that your creator has the most wonderful purpose for you even though you were taught differently. Now is my time to step away. It's time to discover myself away from football."
He has previously played for Heerenveen, Columbus Crew, Leeds and, on a loan basis, Stevenage. He was a Leeds player when he announced he was leaving the game behind.


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The idea of an OS on a pluggable stick is not new. However, what is definitely new, is a full-fledged processing unit with a dedicated GPU packed into a USB + HDMI stick. This stick leverages the screen real estate of any device with a USB port or an HDMI port, and takes portability to a new level.Read More
Ubuntu for Android shows all our Android applications, contacts and calls in a Unity style application dashboard. It also lets us read and write text messages remotely, from the desktop. All this is facilitated with a custom Linux kernel, and this custom kernel will let us run Android and Ubuntu in parallel.Read More
Boot to Gecko wants to create an open platform, that will let developers and users get on the web to use apps, without depending on platform specific technologies. Undoubtedly, in theory, this is as good as any other open idea. However, in my opinion, the ground realities will not permit this project to have a smooth take-off.Read More
The Document Foundation (TDF) has an advisory board, which was formed back in June last year. The initial members of this foundation included Google, SUSE, Red Hat and the FSF. Although Canonical is missing from the advisory board, Intel will be a valuable addition to it.Read More
You can simply put your Android phone in a dock, and connect it to a television. Certified business apps from Adobe and Cirtix make this product ready for the enterprise sector too. Moreover, Android and Ubuntu share the same Linux kernel, allowing users to switch between the world's most popular Linux distro, and the world's most popular open mobile platform.Read More
Apache Software Foundation announces the release of Apache HTTP Server 2.4Read More
for the third time in a row, Oracle has come up with inflated damage reports claiming more than the applicable reasonable amount. The initial claim from Oracle was a ridiculous 6 billion USD, which has come down to 52.4 – 169 million USD. Google is still not satisfied with these estimates, and has filed a motion to cut this damage list and hence the claim amount, shorter.Read More
A small how-to on installing VLC 2.0 in Ubuntu 11.10, the Oneiric OcelotRead More
One of the most popular media players, VLC, gets an update.Read More
Development of Perl has slowed down considerably over the last decade, with new versions primarily resolving bugfixes, and including minor syntax changes. This donation should be a boost for the Perl Foundation, and should help it revamp the development of the "duct tape of the Internet".Read More
If you have not heard of Wayland until today, it is because Wayland has not had any public release of their display protocol. Wayland will replace the X Window System in Ubuntu and Fedora, after its release.Read More
The biggest complain that open-source advocates have against Android, is that all the Android development done by handset manufacturers happens behind closed doors. This goes against the true philosophy of Open Source. This Plasma Active based tablet, developed by Aaron Seigo and team, aims to change this scenario.Read More
With this release of Cinnamon, the API and the desktop are fully stable. However, Cinnamon is not the only product that the Mint team has in plan. They want to build a complete desktop environment ecosystem with themes, applets, extensions, user ratings and comments.Read More
HTTP is an old protocol, and the web has improved by leaps and bounds since then. There could not have been a better time for a new application layer protocol.Read More
The IT department of the region has estimated about 40,000 computers that will be migrated to open source technologies, as part of this move. If the project proceeds as planned, it will be Europe's second largest desktop migration project.Read More

subset: commoncrawl


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Only hotels in Clear Spring are listed below. Search for cheap and discounted hotel and motel rates in or near Clear Spring, MD for your business or personal leisure travel. Discover the most favored Clear Spring Maryland hotel/motel rooms. Review the Clear Spring hotel list below to find the perfect lodging. We also have a map of the Clear Spring hotels. Group booking? Search Clear Spring Group Hotel RatesThe Clear Spring center is approximately 5 miles from Fort Frederick State Park and 6 miles from Antietam Bible College.
Clear Spring Hotels/Accommodations
Next 20 Clear Spring Hotels > [1 - 20 of 50]
Next: See My Clear Spring Hotels with Pricing >


text:
Residence Inn Oklahoma City Downtown/Bricktown
800-627-7468, 405-601-1700
400 E Reno Ave
Oklahoma City, OK 73104
Residence Inn by Marriott Oklahoma City Downtown is Bricktown's first hotel located on the Bricktown Canal. Enjoy your ... read more...
1205 S Broadway
Edmond, OK 73034
This motel offers nice, spacious guest rooms with microwave, refrigerator and free local calls. ... read more...
30285 Bronco Curve
Stillwater, OK 74075
Nestled 10 miles outside of Stillwater, Lake McMurtry Natural Resource and Recreation Area is a quiet, family friendly ... read more...
800-721-7893, 405-728-9913
6410 NW Expy
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
Stay at the Executive Inn on Northwest Expressway in Oklahoma City and experience luxurious rooms at competitive rate. ... read more...
Wyndham Garden Oklahoma City Airport
800-622-7666, 405-685-4000
2101 S Meridian Ave
Oklahoma City, OK 73108
The Wyndham Garden Oklahoma City Airport is a full service, quality performing hotel. The indoor pool and atrium, ... read more...
3305 SW 29th St
Oklahoma City, OK 73119
One story motel with 19 rooms. Offers nice, clean comfortable rooms with air conditioning, TV and HBO, at reasonable ... read more...
Hwy 48 S
Holdenville, OK 74848
Holdenville Lake is the only lake owned by the city of Holdenville and offers several facilities for recreation and ... read more...
12005 N I-35 Service Rd
Oklahoma City, OK 73131
... read more...
311 W Oklahoma
Holdenville, OK 74848
The Pallmer Inn is located in a renovated 1923 hotel on the only brick street in Holdenville. The inn offers six rooms, ... read more...
1737 S Green Ave
Purcell, OK 73080
Ruby's specializes in American cuisine. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. ... read more...
Email: email@example.com


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Find hotels & motels in Needles using the list below. Search for cheap and discounted hotel and motel rates in or near Needles, CA for your upcoming personal or group trip. We show the best Needles, California motel and hotel rooms. Browse the Needles area hotels to find the perfect lodging! Please use the provided map of the Needles hotels. Need 5+ Rooms? Secure Needles Group Hotel RatesThe Needles center is about 4 miles from Needles Amtrak Station and 18 miles from Prospectors Rv Resort and Spa.
Needles Hotels & Accommodations
Next 20 Needles Hotels > [1 - 20 of 50]
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text:
A Trail of FirePaperback
Currently unavailable
We can notify you when this item is back in stock
Additional formats available
- Format
- Paperback $10.09
- Publisher: Orion (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )
- Format: Paperback | 352 pages
- Dimensions: 156mm x 231mm x 26mm | 466g
- Publication date: 9 November 2012
- Publication City/Country: London
- Edition statement: Trade Paperback.
- Sales rank: 15,198
Product description
In LORD JOHN AND THE PLAGUE OF ZOMBIES, Lord John Grey is posted to Jamaica to assist the Governor as he faces a most unusual kind of uprising among the colony's slave population. In THE SPACE BETWEEN, Jamie Fraser's step-daughter, Joan, is on her way to an abbey in Paris to become a nun - but when she meets the Comte St Germain, a wealthy French aristocrat rumoured to deal in the occult - she discovers her destiny lies on quite a different path. In THE CUSTOM OF THE ARMY, Lord John Grey is summoned as a witness in a court martial in the wilds of Acadia, only to find himself playing a crucial role in the Battle of Quebec. In A LEAF ON THE WIND OF ALL HALLOWS, a WW2 Spitfire pilot called Jerry MacKenzie crashes near a stone circle and wakes up in the eighteenth century. Can the strange man he meets - who impossibly seems to know him - help him return to his wife and baby son before a terrible fate overtakes them?
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Diana Gabaldon is the internationally bestselling author of many historical novels. She lives with her family in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Back cover copy
'Gabaldon is a born storyteller' LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS Trails of tracer bullets, and the fiery trail of a wounded Spitfire falling out of the sky. The burning of plantations in a Jamaican night, in a trail leading down from the mountains, straight toward Kingstown. The trail blazed by night by the handful of heroic Highlanders who fought their way straight up a vertical cliff to stand on the Plains of Abraham in a fiery dawn. And the trail of a torch burning green, through the eerie surrounds of a Parisian cemetery, down into the mysteries of the earth. Four tales from Diana Gabaldon, each set in a different time and place - from Paris before the Revolution to London during the Blitz, from the West Indies in the grip of slavery to Quebec at the height of the French and Indian War - and yet each one a fiery thread in the warp and weft of the epic story that began in Scotland in 1945, when Claire Randall first touched a boulder in an ancient stone circle and was hurled back in time... 'From London's literary salons and political intrigue to fearsome battle scenes, Gabaldon's writing is always vivid and often lyrical' WASHINGTON POST


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The following is an archive of a post made to our
'vox-tech mailing list'
by one of its subscribers.
On Wed, May 30, 2001 at 03:56:39PM -0500, Jay Strauss wrote:
> Also I don't think:
> > print "<form name="a_form">\n";
> > print "<select name="pull_my_finger" size=1>\n";
> is not properly formed (unless a_form and pull_my_finger are function names
> (even then I don't know if it would work)). I think you may want:
> print q[<form name="a_form">]."\n";
> or
> print '<form name="a_form"'."\n";
D'oh! Jay's right, the double quotes in the HTMl need to be escaped. Besides
the two forms above,
print "<form name=\"a_form\">\n";
will also do the trick. See perldata(1), under "Scalar value constructors"
for more that you even wanted to know about how to quote strings.
Henry House
OpenPGP key available from http://hajhouse.org/hajhouse.asc
Hosting provided by:
Sunset Systems
Sunset Systems offers preconfigured Linux
systems, remote system administration and
custom software development.
LUGOD: Linux Users' Group of Davis
PO Box 2082, Davis, CA 95617
Contact Us
LUGOD is a 501(c)7 non-profit organization
based in Davis, California
and serving the Sacramento area.
"Linux" is a trademark of Linus Torvalds.


text:
Original recipe yields 8 servings
Amount per serving ({{servings}} total)
Based on a 2,000 calorie diet
Ready In
Great - but different - meatloaf recipe! I was kind of hesitant when I read this over - having no glaze, and no "stuffing" (bread crumbs, cracker crumbs, etc.) - but was VERY pleasantly surpris...
Excellent!!!! Have made several times and my family loves it. I almost left out the hotsauce, but it gives great flavor and does not make spicy. Yum.
This was so good! It looked a little funny, but the taste was delicious!


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R N D Rustics Inc filed as a Domestic For-Profit Corporation in the State of Texas on Thursday, February 25, 2010 and is approximately five years old, as recorded in documents filed with Texas Secretary of State. The filing is currently active as of the last data refresh which occured on Thursday, July 2, 2015.
Debra Rodriguez serves as the Director
Debra Rodriguez is also the registered agent for the company. Also known as a statutory or resident agent, the registered agent is responsible for receiving legal notifications regarding court summons, lawsuits, and other legal actions involving the corporate entity.
Key roles for R N D Rustics Inc
Debra Rodriguez
Director, President
|Filing Type:
|Domestic For-Profit Corporation
|State ID:
|Date Filed:
|Thursday, February 25, 2010
|Registered Agent
|Debra Rodriguez
Comprehensive Insight Plus Report
|Learn More
|The D&B Comprehensive Insight Plus Report for R N D Rustics Inc combines D&B's proprietary statistical scoring with business, payment and financial information all in one report.
US Company Profile Report
|Learn More
|The D&B U.S. Company Profile contains basic information such as address and telephone number, executive names and titles, line of business and SIC codes, D-U-N-S Numbers, organization status, and year and location of incorporation for R N D Rustics Inc.


text:
Moist chlorine-free baby wipes
The Toyota Prius is a full hybrid electric mid-size car developed and manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation. It first went on sale in Japan in 1997, making it the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle. It was subsequently introduced worldwide in … see full wiki
disposable Baby diapers
Moist chlorine-free baby wipes
Multinational corporation headquartered in Japan


text:
Both electric and acoustic strains of the country music scene are showcased in the series soundtracks The Music of Nashville, Volume 1 and Volume 2, and it's the original songs that make an impact. The best are the sweet yet sultry duets, especially those featuring newcomer Clare Bowen, but there's something for every mood.
Check It Out
Cathleen's Pick: Music of Nashville
LISTS: Lounge Music
You are leaning at the hotel bar, sipping a cucumber mint concoction, or maybe you are at the casino, dropping a quarter in a slot while making eyes with a certain lithe someone across the aisle. All the while, sleek, sometimes exotic, lounge music plays overhead. Or maybe you are at home and need to escape the norm…
Click here for a taste of the Library's lounge music collection.
House Sings the Blues
It's been two years since Hugh Laurie's first album, but finally rabid fans can get their hands on Dr. Gregory House belting the blues while on piano and guitar, backed by the Copper Bottom Band. In fact, Laurie steps side stage on more than a few of Didn't It Rain's thirteen tracks, allowing his band members to shine. As such, the album bends from jazz to blues to R&B, and even dips a few notes into tango. Laurie has a love of the Great American Songbook and it is well on display. The first half of Didn't It Rain will make you boogie while the second half will calm down enough to play in the background on a September, sweet-tea-sipping stroll.
Patty's Pick: Gillian Welch
Gillian Welch is a singer-songwriter with bluegrass and Appalachian influences. Her albums The Harrow and the Harvest, Time (The Revelator), and Hell Among the Yearlings contain dark ballads, deep love, and feel both innovative and old time. If you like the Civil Wars, give Gillian Welch a listen!
An Interview with Lonesome Wyatt
Lonesome Wyatt is the Ambrose Bierce of underground country. He plays the kind of music you'd hear while walking down a dirt road headed deep into the woods weaving your way through haints and shadows. When he isn't touring with Those Poor Bastards, Wyatt's penning pulp novels to support their albums or working on his side project, Lonesome Wyatt and the Holy Spooks. His music is dark, atmospheric, desperate, and pained by life and the people in it. Murder ballads, ghost tales, broken hearts, bad relationships, benders, lost souls – it isn't exactly uplifting, and yet, this isn't a man who is weltering in misery. There's a difference between shouting out wrongs and awfuls and wallowing in them.
Lonesome Wyatt is a mad-eyed architect of exquisitely desperate music. The Library was able to steal some of his time for a short talk about his reading habits and upcoming projects.
Mount Prospect Public Library: What was the last good book you read?
Lonesome Wyatt: The last two books I read were The Mammoth Book of Frankenstein and Farewell, My Lovely and they were both very enjoyable.
MPPL: Is there any genre or author you refuse to read? Why or why not?
LW: I don't like to read things about teens or romance unless it's from the 1950's or earlier. I'm just not interested.
MPPL: How often do you read? What genres are your go-tos?
LW: I read around 2-3 hours every day. My favorite genres are mystery, horror, western, science fiction and anything strange or offbeat.
MPPL: You've mentioned in other interviews that Poe and Lovecraft have been inspirations to you…what other writers (or musicians…or artists) inspire you?
LW: I like the author Robert Lowry a whole bunch. His book The Big Cage really got me going. Also Nightmare Alley, They Shoot Horses Don't They, and all those classic noir stories are very inspiring. The Silver Surfer 1968 series and the Ghost Rider 1970's series have a lot of great stuff in them too. That's what comes to mind right now, but the list of brain expanding and inspiring creations is almost endless.
MPPL: What book could draw you into joining a book club?
LW: I don't know. I'm pretty sure it would have to have a monster or robot on the cover though.
MPPL: When was the last time you were in a library? Do you think libraries are still important in today's world?
LW: I go to the library at least once a week. It's one of my favorite places. You can get almost anything you want to read or watch without having to spend your hard earned dough on it. We always went to the library when I was growing up and I discovered some great things just browsing around. Libraries are full of an endless supply of fertilizer for the imagination. They are immeasurably important.
MPPL: Both books and music are becoming more and more a digital culture. Do you think anything is lost when the physical world gets digitized?
LW: I have absolutely no interest in digital stuff. I can't understand the appeal. This old goat prefers paperback books and either vinyl records, cassette tapes, or CDs as a last resort.
MPPL: We heard tell that there's a Halloween album in the works. Tell us more…and is there a novel to go with it?
LW: Some of my favorite albums are those old Halloween ones from the 60's and 70's. It's a real shame that no one makes that kind of stuff anymore. Nothing beats listening to them in the gloom of the basement on a 1978 Fisher Price record player. It's just perfect. They're often refreshingly weird and unique.
Anyhow, those old records really moved me and I wanted to try to make something special out of that initial spark of inspiration. This record is like the musical equivalent of a homemade Halloween costume; kind of strange and clunky, but made with real heart. I'm awful fond of the thing. There's no book with this one. It's just a collection of stories and songs about monsters and death.
MPPL: What else is upcoming for you and Those Poor Bastards in 2013?
LW: Those Poor Bastards are playing some shows in August, then I'll be releasing that Halloween album in October, and finally an Edgar Switchblade 7" will arrive in December. It should be a pretty frightening year.
For more information on the fantastic and foreboding art of Lonesome Wyatt, check him out on tour or at his website. Gotta have Lonesome Wyatt in your life right now? Stop by the Fiction/AV/Teen desk at the Library for Gospel Haunted by Those Poor Bastards or Lonesome Wyatt's duet album with Rachel Brooke, Bitter Harvest.
New Broadway Soundtracks
Can't wait for buzzed-about Broadway shows to make their way to the Midwest? Ease that longing with the best new cast recordings of the Great White Way. Kinky Boots won six 2013 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Actor in a Leading Role (the fabulous Billy Porter), and Best Original Score for composer/lyricist /pop icon Cyndi Lauper. Honors for Best Musical Revival went to Pippin, reimagined with a circus theme and featuring the spellbinding performance of Best Actress in a Leading Role Patina Miller. If jukebox hits are more your flavor, you can't miss the energetic medleys of Motown: The Musical. Though the stage may be only in your mind, the theater experience will inspire a personal standing ovation.
Colleen's Pick: George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Martin Scorsese directed George Harrison: Living in the Material World — a fascinating look at George Harrison's life, focused on the period after he found success with the Fab Four. Displaying personal strife, finding his spiritual self, and the way he expertly created music, this is a must-see for any fan.
LISTS: Solo Beatles Works
The final announcement that the Beatles had officially broken up came by a Paul McCartney press release on April 10, 1970. The break-up didn't stop the music from spilling out of the Fab Four. George, Ringo, John, and Paul separately soldiered on.
Click here to see albums by each Beatle when they went solo.
Cathleen's Pick: Peace, Love & BBQ
Summertime begs a soundtrack that can back both active afternoons and sultry evenings. For a fun, bluesy, energizing mix, try Marcia Ball's Peace, Love & BBQ. The influence of her Texas/Louisiana upbringing gleams in the pep of her piano and in her soulful singing. Just try to sit still!
That Day Dave Grohl and Paul McCartney Hung Out
Dave Grohl, of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame, has made his directorial debut with Sound City, a documentary on the L.A. recording studio where Nirvana made Nevermind – arguably the most groundbreaking album of the '90s. Grohl claims that the custom Neve soundboard at Sound City is what helped define Nirvana's music and gave him his career. Grohl uses archival footage and contemporary interviews with bands who recorded at Sound City, like Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Rick Springfield, The Pixies, and Rage Against the Machine. Not only does Grohl chronicle the history of Sound City, he reunites famous musicians like Stevie Nicks and Paul McCartney with the Neve in a 24-hour marathon recording session of all new songs.


text:
I love being organized! I could spend all day organizing something in my house! Some might classify my need to be organized a sickness, but I can't help how good it feels when I finish organizing something! (I am not claiming to have an immaculate … [Read more...]
20 Perfect Pantry Ideas
My kitchen pantry is still one of my very favorite DIY projects to date. I love an organized space where everything has a place. It is pretty and it is functional. Today I want to share with you even more pantry ideas. Ready to make your space … [Read more...]
Spice Jar Label Template
Well, our new kitchen is finally coming together! We've got most of the big items out of the way which (naturally) leaes me to fret about the small ones. For months I've been planning a spice jar overhaul, asking friends to collect baby food jars, … [Read more...]
A Beautiful Pantry
I am excited to show you the project I've been working on the past month- my beautiful pantry! I've never loved the location of my pantry- it is tucked on the wall behind our kitchen table so when someone is sitting at the head of the table, the … [Read more...]
7 Steps to an Organized Pantry
Every year before New Year's day I like to completely re-organize my home. It feels great to wake up to a new year with all of last year's clutter behind you. I've been working on one room at a time over the last several weeks. Yesterday, however, … [Read more...]
"SOUP" – Giant Wood Letters Above My Pantry
One of my favorite things about my newly made-over pantry are these darling giant wood letters above my pantry doors that spell SOUP. Here is how I made them: Wood Letters- I used the Large 16 inch letters from Poppy Seed … [Read more...]
The Snack Bin
Do you have kids who think they are hungry every time they are bored? Me too, and it is frustrating!!! But I discovered a way to help keep the kids from asking if they can have something to eat every 20 minutes- the snack bin snacking system. Here is … [Read more...]
Tips for Organizing the Kitchen
Happy May everyone! Wow, how did it get to be May already!? I hope you feel like organizing today, because today I've got a great post for you on how to get organized in the kitchen. Last month I participated, along with 8 other bloggers, in an … [Read more...]


text:
DescriptionWe'll take a wild guess and say that your favorite hoodie probably isn't golf course-appropriate. Next best thing for chilly mornings? This long sleeve quarter-zip top. With its dryCELL functionality, flatlock stitching, and feminine fit, all you have to worry about is your swing.
- 89% Polyester 11% Spandex
- Stretch dryCELL fabrication for moisture-wicking properties that help keep you dry and comfortable
- ¼ zip with stand-up collar
- Cover stitch contrast detailing
- Moss finish for super soft hand- it's a cozy one!
- Flatlock stitching details for reduced friction with every swing
- Embroidered PUMA Cat Logo at left chest & 18 Hole Logo at back neck


text:
Walker Administration Sees Strong Movement in Job Creation
Only 190 thousand jobs to go for governor Walker. New numbers from the
Wisconsin governor's labor department show the state added about 60 thousand jobs in the first two years of his current term. The governor promised to create 250 thousand jobs by the end of his term. Department of Workforce Development secretary Reggie Newson says the increase shows the state is moving "in the right direction."


text:
A washing machine, or washer, is a machine designed to clean laundry, such as clothing, towels and sheets. The term is mostly applied only to machines that use water as the primary cleaning solution, as opposed to dry cleaning (which uses alternative cleaning fluids, and is performed by specialist businesses) or even ultrasonic cleaners.
All washer machines work by using mechanical energy, thermal energy, and chemical action. Mechanical energy is imparted to the clothes load by the rotation of the agitator in top loaders, or by the tumbling action of the drum in front loaders. Thermal energy is supplied by the temperature of the wash bath.
|TIrreler Bauerntradition shows an early Miele washer machine in the Roscheider Hof, Open Air Museum
|This video size: 50% 100kbit
|Other sizes and bitrates: Rhof-histWaschmaschine 104x80 64kbit.ogg Rhof-histWaschmaschine 312x240 200kbit.ogg Rhof-histWaschmaschine 416x320 270kbit.ogg Rhof-histWaschmaschine.ogg
Clothing had been hand-washed for thousands of years, by flushing water through the fabric to remove loose dirt, rubbing with soap to remove oils and stains, and applying fragrances to cover odours. For particularly dirty clothing caked with mud or dirt, it was necessary to constantly rub and flex the cloth to break apart solids and help the soap penetrate through thick, dry, or sticky layers of soil on the cloth. At first this was done by pounding or rubbing the clothing with rocks in a river, and later developed into the corrugated wash board. In Roman times a fuller would whiten clothing by stomping on it in a bucket full of fermented urine.
Washing machine technology was developed as a way to reduce the drudgery of this scrubbing and rubbing process, by providing an open basin or sealed container with paddles or fingers to automatically agitate the clothing. The earliest machines were often hand-operated but were built with the belief that the machine itself was faster and easier to operate than washing the clothing by hand directly. As electricity was not commonly available until at least 1930, these early machines were often operated by a low-speed single-cylinder hit and miss gasoline engine.
Because water usually had to be heated on a fire for washing, the warm soapy water was precious and would be reused over and over, first to wash the least soiled clothing, then to wash progressively dirtier clothing. The load of soaking wet clothing would be removed, and another load of dirty clothes added to the machine. While the earliest machines were constructed entirely from wood, later machines made of metal permitted a fire to burn below the washtub, to keep the water warm throughout the day's washing.
Removal of soap and water from the clothing after washing was originally a separate process. The soaking wet clothing would be formed into a roll and twisted by hand to extract water. To help reduce this labour, the wringer/mangle was developed, which uses two rollers under spring tension to squeeze water out of the clothing. Each piece of clothing would be fed through the wringer separately. The first wringers were hand-operated, but were eventually included as a powered attachment above the washer tub. The wringer would be swung over the wash tub so that extracted wash water would fall back into the tub to be reused for the next wash load.
The modern process of water removal by spinning did not come into use until electric motors were developed. Spinning requires a constant high-speed power source, and was originally done in a separate device known as an extractor. A load of washed clothing would be transferred from the wash tub to the extractor basket, and the water spun out. These early extractors were often dangerous to use since unevenly distributed loads would cause the machine to shake violently. Many efforts have been made to counteract the shaking of unstable loads, first by mounting the spinning basket on a free-floating shock-absorbing frame to absorb minor imbalances, and a bump switch to detect severe movement and stop the machine so that the load can be manually redistributed. Many modern machines are equipped with a sealed ring of liquid around the top of the basket that works to counteract any imbalances.
What is now referred to as an automatic washer was at one time referred to as a washer/extractor, which combines the features of these two devices into a single machine, plus also includes the ability to fill and drain water by itself. It is possible to take this a step further, to also merge the automatic washing machine and clothes dryer into a single device, but this is generally uncommon because the drying process tends to use much more energy than using two separate devices; a combined washer/dryer not only must dry the clothing, but also needs to dry out the wash chamber itself.
The first English patent under the category of Washing and Wringing Machines was issued in 1691. A drawing of an early washing machine appeared in the January 1752 issue of "The Gentlemen's Magazine," a British publication. In Germany, Jacob Christian Schäffer's washing machine design was published in 1767. In 1782 Henry Sidgier was issued a British patent for a rotating drum washer.
The first United States Patent titled "Clothes Washing" was granted to Nathaniel Briggs of New Hampshire in 1797. Fire destroyed the patent office and no description of the device exists so it is not known what kind of washing device Briggs invented. A device that combined a washing machine with a wringer mechanism did not appear until 1843 when John E. Turnbull of Saint John, New Brunswick patented a "Clothes Washer With Wringer Rolls.
Electric Washing Machines were advertised and discussed in newspapers as early as 1904. Louis Goldenberg of New Brunswick, New Jersey invented the electric washing machine around the late 1800s to early 1900s. He worked for the Ford Motor Company at that time, and all inventions that were created while working for Ford under contract, belonged to Ford. The patent would have been listed under Ford and or Louis Goldenberg. Alva J. Fisher has been incorrectly credited with the invention of the electric washer. The US patent office shows at least one patent issued before Mr. Fisher's US patent number 966677 (e.g. Woodrow's US patent number 921195).
US electric washing machine sales reached 913,000 units in 1928. However, high unemployment rates in the Depression years hit sales; by 1932 the number of units shipped was down to about 600,000.
The first laundromat opened in Fort Worth, Texas in 1934. It was run by Andrew Clein. Patrons used coin-in-the-slot facilities to rent washing machines. The term laundromat can be found in newspapers as early as 1884 and they were widespread during the depression. It is almost impossible to determine who had the "first" laundromat. England established public "wash rooms" for laundry along with bath houses throughout the nineteenth century.
Washer design improved during the 1930s; the mechanism was now enclosed within a cabinet; more attention was paid to electrical safety; spin dryers were introduced, to replace the dangerous power wringers of the day.
Early automatic washing machines were usually connected to the water supply via temporary slip-on connectors to the sink taps. Later, permanent connections to both the hot and cold water supplies became the norm. Most modern front-loading European machines now only have a cold water connection (i.e. cold fill) and rely completely on electric heaters to raise the water temperature.
By 1940, 60% of the 25,000,000 wired homes in the United States had an electric washing machine. Many of these machines featured a power wringer, although built-in spin dryers were not uncommon.
Bendix introduced the first automatic washing machine in 1937, having applied for a patent in the same year. In appearance and mechanical detail, this first machine is not unlike the front loading automatic washers produced today. Although it included many of the today's basic features, the machine lacked any drum suspension and therefore had to be anchored to the floor to prevent "walking".
Many of these early automatic machines had coin-in-the-slot facilities and were installed in the basement laundry rooms of apartment houses. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, US domestic washer production had to be suspended for the duration of World War II. However, many US appliance manufacturers were given permission to undertake the research and development of washers during the war years. Many took the opportunity to develop automatic machines, realising that these represented the future for the industry.
An improved front loading automatic model, the Bendix Deluxe (which retailed at $249.50) was introduced in 1947.
General Electric introduced the first top loading automatic also in 1947. This machine had many of the features that are incorporated into modern machines.
A large number of US manufacturers introduced competing automatic machines (mainly of the top loading type) in the late 1940s/early 1950s. Several manufacturers even produced semi-automatic machines, where the user had to intervene at one or two points in the wash cycle. A common semi-automatic type (available from Hoover in the UK until at least the 70's) included 2 tubs: one with an agitator or impeller for washing and/or rinsing; another, smaller, tub for water extraction or centrifugal rinsing.
Since their introduction in the late 1930s/mid 1940s, automatic washing machines have relied on mechanical timers to sequence the washing and extraction process. Mechanical timers consist of a series of cams on a common shaft. At the appropriate time in the wash cycle, each cam actuates a switch to engage/disengage a particular part of the machinery (e.g. drain pump motor). The timer shaft is driven by a small electric motor via a reduction gearbox.
On the early mechanical timers the motor ran at a constant speed throughout the wash cycle, although it was possible for the user to truncate parts of the program, by manually advancing the control dial. However, by the 1950s demand for greater flexibility in the wash cycle led to the introduction of electronic timers to supplement the mechanical timer. These electronic timers enable greater variation in such functions as the wash time. With this arrangement, the electric timer motor is periodically switched-off to permit the clothing to soak, and is only re-energised just prior to a micro-switch being engaged/disengaged.
Despite the high cost of automatic washers, manufacturers had difficulty in meeting the demand. Although there were material shortages during the Korean War, by 1953 automatic washing machine sales in the US exceeded those of wringer-type electric machines.
In the UK and in most of Europe, electric washing machines did not become popular until the 1950s. This was largely because of the economic impact of World War II on the consumer market which did not properly recover until the late 1950s. The early electric washers were single tub, wringer-type machines, automatic washing machines being extremely expensive. During the 1960s, twin tub machines briefly became very popular, helped by the low price of the Rolls Razor washers. Automatic washing machines did not become dominant in the UK until well into the 1970s and by then were almost exclusively of the front-loader design.
In early automatic washing machines, any changes in impeller/drum speed were achieved by mechanical means or by a rheostat on the motor power supply. However, since the 1970s electronic control of motor speed has become a common feature on the more expensive models.
Early front loading machines, especially those manufactured in Mediterranean countries (e.g. Italy), had low spin speeds (e.g. 800 rpm or less). Nowadays, a spin speed of 1200 rpm is common and a peak spin speed as high as 1600 rpm is available on some machines. Now models in Europe have speeds of 1800 rpm and one washing machine has a spin speed of 2000 rpm. However, because they were not susceptible to gravitational forces, some early top loading machines had spin speeds in excess of 1000 rpm, although some were as low as 360 rpm.
In the late 1990s, the British inventor James Dyson launched a type of washing machine with two cylinders rotating in opposite directions; which, it is claimed, reduces the wash time and produces cleaner results; however, this machine is not now in production.
In the 1990s, upmarket machines incorporated microcontrollers for the timing process. These proved reliable, so many cheaper machines now incorporate microcontrollers, rather than mechanical timers. Washing machines are a classic application for fuzzy logic.
In 1994, Staber Industries released the System 2000 washing machine, which is the only top loading, horizontal-axis washer to be manufactured in the United States. The hexagonal tub spins like a front loading machine, only using about third of the water as conventional top-loaders. This factor has led to an Energy Star rating for its high efficiency.
In 2001, Whirlpool Corporation introduced the Calypso, the first vertical-axis high efficiency washing machine to be top-loading. A washplate in the bottom of the tub nutated to bounce, shake, and toss the laundry around. As this happened, water containing detergent was sprayed on to the laundry. The machine proved to be good at cleaning but gained a bad reputation due to frequent breakdowns and destruction of laundry and the washer was recalled with a class-action lawsuit and pulled off the market.
In 2006, Sanyo introduced the first drum type washing machine with 'Air Wash' function. This washing machine uses only 50L of water in the recycle mode.
In 2008, the University of Leeds created a washing machine that uses only a cup (about ) of water to carry out a full wash. The machine leaves clothes virtually dry, and uses less than 2 per cent of the water and energy otherwise used by a conventional machine. As such, it could save billions of litres of water each year.
The top loading design, most popular in Australia, Canada, the United States and some parts of Europe, places the clothes in a vertically-mounted perforated basket that is contained within a water-retaining tub, with a propeller-like agitator in the center of the bottom of the basket. Clothes are loaded through the top of the machine, which is covered with a hinged door. During the wash cycle, the outer tub is filled with water sufficient to suspend the clothing freely in the basket, and the movement of the agitator pulls the clothing downward in the center towards the agitator paddles. The clothing then moves outward and up the sides of the basket to repeat the process. Top-loaders are not well-suited to cleaning large objects such as pillows or sleeping bags due to the tendency for them to just float on the surface of the water without circulating, and the aggressive agitator action can damage delicate fabrics.
In most top loading washers, if the motor spins in one direction, the gearbox drives the agitator; if the motor spins the other way, the gearbox locks the agitator and spins the basket and agitator together. Similarly if the pump motor rotates one way it recirculates the sudsy water; in the other direction it pumps water from the machine during the spin cycle. Because they usually incorporate a gearbox, clutch, crank, etc, top loading washers are mechanically more complex than front loading machines but are generally lower maintenance since there is no need for a complex door seal (described below).
The front loading design, most popular in Europe and the Middle East, mounts the inner basket and outer tub horizontally, and loading is through a door at the front of the machine. The door often but not always contains a window. Agitation is supplied by the back-and-forth rotation of the cylinder and by gravity. The clothes are lifted up by paddles on the inside wall of the drum and then dropped. This motion flexes the weave of the fabric and forces water and detergent solution through the clothes load. Because the wash action does not require the clothing be freely suspended in water, only enough water is needed to moisten the fabric. Because less water is required, front-loaders typically use less soap, and the aggressive dropping and folding action of the tumbling can easily produce large amounts of foam.
Front-loaders control water usage through the surface tension of water, and the capillary wicking action this creates in the fabric weave. A front-loader washer always fills to the same low water level, but a large pile of dry clothing standing in water will soak up the moisture, causing the water level to drop. The washer then refills to maintain the original water level. Because it takes time for this water absorption to occur with a motionless pile of fabric, nearly all front-loaders begin the washing process by slowly tumbling the clothing under the stream of water entering and filling the drum, to rapidly saturate the dry clothes with water.
Front loading washers are mechanically simple compared to top-loaders, with the main motor normally being connected to the drum via a grooved pulley belt and large pulley wheel, without the need for a gearbox, clutch or crank. But front-load washers suffer from their own technical problems, due to the drum lying sideways. For example, a top loading washer keeps water inside the tub merely through the force of gravity pulling down on the water, while a front-loader must tightly seal the door shut with a gasket to prevent dripping water onto the floor during the wash cycle. This access door is locked shut during the entire wash cycle, since opening the door with the machine in use could result in water gushing out onto the floor. For front-loaders without viewing windows on the door, it is possible to accidentally pinch fabric between the door and the drum, resulting in tearing and damage to the pinched clothing during tumbling and spinning.
Nearly all front-loader washers for the consumer market must also use a folded flexible bellows assembly around the door opening, to keep clothing contained inside the basket during the tumbling wash cycle. If this bellows assembly were not used, small articles of clothing such as socks could slip out of the wash basket near the door, and fall down the narrow slot between the outer tub and basket, plugging the drain and possibly jamming rotation of the inner basket. Retrieving lost items from between the outer tub and inner basket can require complete disassembly of the front of the washer and pulling out the entire inner wash basket. Commercial and industrial front-loaders used by businesses (described below) usually do not use the bellows, and instead require all small objects to be placed in a mesh bag to prevent loss near the basket opening.
This bellows assembly around the door is the source of problems for the consumer front-loader. The bellows has a large number of flexible folds to permit the tub to move separately from the door during the high speed extraction cycle. These folds can collect lint, dirt, and moisture, resulting in mold and mildew growth and a foul odor. Some front-loading washer operating instructions say the bellows should be wiped down monthly with a strong bleach solution, while others offer a special freshening cycle where the machine is run empty with a strong dosing of bleach.
A top-loading washer suffers from none of these continued maintenance problems and needs no regular freshening. During the spin cycle, a top-loading tub is free to move about inside the cabinet of the machine, using only a lip around the top of the inner basket and outer tub to keep the spinning water and clothing from spraying out over the edge.
There are many variations of these two general themes. Top loading machines in Asia use impellers instead of agitators. Impellers are similar to agitators except that they do not have the center post extending up in the middle of the wash tub basket. There is also a top loading variant of the horizontal axis design that is loaded from the top, through a small door in the circumference of the drum. These machines usually have a shorter cylinder and are therefore smaller, but offer the efficiency of a front-loader while eliminating the problems of the flexible bellows. This kind of washing machine is sold and popular in Europe, especially in small households, because it offers the same drum system as front loaders, just with a smaller footprint.
Front-loaded machines are ideal for fitted/finished kitchens, since they can be installed under a countertop/worktop. A front loading washing machine, in a fully-fitted kitchen, is often disguised as an ordinary base cabinet/unit. They are also ideal for small homes and apartments with limited space, because the dryer can be installed directly above the washer.
Many front loading machines have electrical heating elements to heat the wash bath to near boiling. Chemical action is supplied by the detergent and other laundry chemicals. Front loaders use special detergents that are designed to release different chemical ingredients at different temperatures. This is so that different type of stains and soils will be cleaned from the clothes as the wash water is heated up by the electrical heater. Front loaders also need to use low sudsing detergents because the tumbling action of the drum folds air into the clothes load that can cause over-sudsing. Due to the concentration of water and detergent, though, the sudsing issue of front-loaders can also be controlled by simply using less detergent without lessening cleaning action.
Tests comparing front loading and top loading machines have shown that, in general, front-loaders wash clothes more thoroughly, cause less wear, and use less water and energy than top-loaders. As a result of using less water, they require less detergent to be used, or conversely, they can use the same amount of detergent with less water, which increases detergent concentration and increases the amount of chemical action. They also allow a dryer to be more easily mounted directly above the washer.
Top-loaders have had the advantage that they complete a washing cycle much faster and allow clothes to be removed at intermediate stages of the cycle (for instance, if some clothes within a wash are not to be spun). Many current front-loaders, though, can be stopped and added-to or removed-from because the water level in the horizontal tub is still below the door level. They also tend to be easier to load and unload, since reaching into the tub does not require stooping. Again, this issue can be mitigated due to the offering of risers (usually with storage drawers underneath) to raise the door opening closer to the user's level. The top loader's spin cycle between washing and rinsing allows an extremely simple fabric softener dispenser, which operates passively through centrifugal force and gravity. The same objective must be accomplished by a solenoid-operated valve on a front loader. Another advantage to the top loading design is the reliance on gravity to contain the water, rather than potentially trouble-prone or short-lived front door seals.
Traditionally, top loading machines have tended to be more complex mechanically than front loading washers, because the former generally require a gearbox, clutch, crank, etc to perform the wash cycle. However, the recent introduction of direct drive motors has simplified some of the top loading washers on the market. Also, because of the introduction of electronics, modern machines are less complex than the early automatic washers. Consequently, the price of automatic machines, in real terms, has fallen.
Some features available in modern consumer washing machines:
Many of the features of the modern consumer washing machines now taken for granted, were available only in more expensive models 5-10 years ago.
|Top Loading Washer
|Front Loading Washer
|European Market Share
|US Market Share
In the United States, top-loading machines are the most commonly used. However, in Europe the front-loading style is preferred. A factor in the preference for front-loaders in Europe is the preference for integrated appliances that sit under countertops in kitchens and utility rooms or that can be fully integrated and concealed in kitchen cabinetry. Also, because the first mass marketed automatic washing machines sold from the 1950s onwards in Europe were almost exclusively front loaders European consumers tended to associate top loaders with labour intensive obsolete technology. European households also tend to pay more attention to water and energy conservation as heavy environmental taxes are levied on both water and energy use. Front loading machines also offer much higher spin drying speeds of up to 2000 RPM. This makes it possible to dry clothes very quickly by hanging them on washing lines or airing racks or can substantially reduce the length of time required in a tumble dryer. The EU also has a comprehensive energy efficiency, wash performance and spin dry performance labelling system which rates major appliance performance from A to G. This has driven consumers away from inefficient machines as they will generally try to buy A rated appliances. For example a "Triple A" (AAA) rated machine = Lowest Energy Consumption, Best Wash and Best Water Extraction (Spin) performance.
(**)It should also be noted that while 10% of European washing machines may be top loading they are not of the same design as North American machines. Rather than washing the clothes with an agitator, they also use a horizontally mounted drum. The clothes are loaded through a hatch in the drum wall. Their design is mechanically identical to that of a front loader. These machines are particularly popular for small apartments as they take up less floor space than a conventional front loader and for historical marketing reasons are more popular in certain EU countries. For example they are quite commonly found in French houses while they're practically unheard of in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
|Top Loading Washer
|Front Loading Washer
|Varies by manufacture
|Varies by manufacture
Though front-loaders feature a wash style that requires less water than a top-loader and todays front-loader's achieve much better washing results and treat the garments more gently. Meanwhile all front-loaders offer quick programs which are in the same time range as top-loader cycles.
|Top Loading Washer
|Front Loading Washer
|Cycle Time (fastest)
|Cycle Options
|Cleaning Effectiveness
Capacity and cost are the main considerations when purchasing a washing machine. If intended for use by a single person, a capacity of under 5 kg should be sufficient (thus saving energy and running costs).
Washing machines display an EU Energy Label with grades for washing performance, energy efficiency and spin efficiency. Grades run from A to G (best to worst), and provide a simple method for judging running costs and performance. An A++ machine will denote top performance in the three categories.
A commercial washing machine is intended for more frequent and long-term usage than a consumer washing machine. Because function is more important than style, most commercial washers have a sharp-edged square appearance, often with stainless steel exteriors to minimize rust and corrosion in a constantly moist environment. They are built with large easy-to-open service covers, and the washer mechanisms are internally laid out in a manner that does not require access to the underside of the unit for service. Often commercial washers are installed in long rows with a wide access passageway behind all the machines to allow maintenance without moving the heavy machine.
Many commercial washers are built for use by the general public, and are installed in publicly accessible laundromats or laundrettes, operated by money accepting devices or card readers. The features of a commercial laundromat washer are more limited than a consumer washer, offering just two or three basic wash types plus an option to choose wash cycle temperatures.
Commercial washers for business (still often referred to as a washer/extractor) can include extra features that are never seen in the consumer market. Many commercial washers offer an option for automatic chemical injection of five or more different chemical types, so that the operator does not have to deal with constantly measuring out soap products and fabric softeners for each load. Instead a precise metering system draws the detergents and wash additives directly from large liquid-chemical storage barrels and injects them as needed into the various wash and rinse cycles.
Some computer-controlled commercial washers offer the operator complete control over the various wash and rinse cycles, allowing the operator to program custom washing cycles.
One special type of continuous-processing washer is known as the tunnel washer which does not have separate, distinct wash or rinse cycles, but combines them all in sequence inside a single long large-diameter rotating tube.
An industrial clothes washer extends from the commercial washer to include extremely large capacities, severe-abuse textiles cleaning and processing, and automated robotic assembly-line systems.
These can be used to batch process up to 300 pounds (140 kg) of textiles at once, and can be used for extremely machine-abusive washing tasks such as stone washing or fabric bleaching and dyeing.
An industrial washer can be mounted on heavy shock absorbers and attached to a concrete floor so that it can extract water from even the most severely out-of-balance and heavy wash loads.
It may even be mounted on hydraulic cylinders, permitting the entire washer to be lifted and tilted so that fabrics can be automatically dumped from the wash drum onto a conveyor belt once the cycle is complete.


text:
A multiprocessor computer control system for a process includes at least two central processors and respectively associated input/output systems. Control system faults are detected and a bootstrap microprocessor is triggered into its fault detector and recovery mode. The output control signals are placed on and central processors are stopped and restarted and then it is determined which if any of them is to be inoperative. A reconfigured control system is defined with the inoperative unit(s) excluded. The microprocessor switches the input/output systems as necessary to structure the control system in reconfigured form so that process control can resume without disturbance.
1. A multiprocessor computer control system comprising at least a first central processor and a second central processor, a plurality of sensors coupled to equipment in a production system, means for connecting said sensors to first and second process input/output systems, a plurality of controllable devices for operating the production system equipment, switch means including at least first switch means for coupling said first process input/output system to said first central processor and second switch means for coupling said second process input/output system to said second central processor, and means for detecting control system faults and providing control system recovery in reconfigured form as necessary with substantially no process disturbance, said fault detecting and recovery means including a system bootstrap microprocessor controller coupled to each said central processor, means forming a part of said microprocessor controller and said central processors for sensing any of a plurality of control system failures and for thereby triggering said microprocessor controller into a recovery mode of operation, means for stopping said central processors and placing process control signals in a hold state upon command by said microprocessor controller, means for detecting the integrity of each central processor, said central processors including means for defining reconfigured central processor hardware so that process control duties are loaded only on operational central processor hardware, means including said microprocessor controller for operating said switch means as required so that only operational central processor hardware is coupled to the process equipment, means for restarting said system after completion of control system reconfiguration if any, and means for returning said microprocessor controller to a monitor mode after completion of the fault detection and recovery mode.
2. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said central processors has associated therewith an input/output system which is switched on a unit basis when reconfiguration is required.
3. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said microprocessor controller includes means for registering and executing any input/output switching action determined to be required by the central processors.
4. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said system fault detecting means includes means forming a part of said microprocessor controller for responding to a manual demand signal for fault detection operation and for thereby triggering said recovery mode of operation.
5. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said microprocessor controller includes sequencing means for stepping the whole system through its fault detector and recovery mode of operation once such mode is triggered, said microprocessor controller coupled to said central processors and said input/output switching means to provide for execution of various steps in the fault detection and recovery sequence.
This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 146,933, filed May 5, 1980 and now abandoned.
A microfiche appendix comprising five microfiche of 299 frames of software listing has been deposited in compliance with 37 C.F.R. 1.96(b).
The present invention relates to industrial process controls and more particularly to complex, multiprocessor control systems which have redundancy capabilities to provide for continued operation of an industrial process even though a failure may occur in some portion of the control system.
Many industrial processes are so complex that the most cost effective way to design a control system for them is to base the design on the use of multiple, large, central processors (CPU's) which share the work load. One theoretical alternative is to use numerous hard-wired microprocessors, but design complexity makes this approach impractical or undesirable.
The industrial user of control systems places high priority on the availability of the production equipment used for process operations because process availability is a direct measure of productivity. It is desirable that multiprocessor control systems be structured to provide for stopping production when the status of the process or its control system becomes unsafe or otherwise undesirable. However, to provide best process availability, the multiprocessor control system should be structured to avoid unnecessary process trips. Specifically, a control system fault should not cause a process trip if the fault can be circumvented.
One past practice in the control art has been to provide manual operator override in the event of a failure in the automatic control. Another practice has been to provide a redundant backup automatic control system which is bumplessly switched into operation as the active control if a fault occurs on line in the designated primary automatic control. Process continuity and availability are thereby maintained.
Generally, these approaches have been acceptable for single CPU systems, but they are inadequate for multi-CPU shared-core systems. For example, in a typical four-CPU system, even the simplest restart, without system reconfiguration, typically requires the operator to sequence twelve push buttons. The provision of a duplicate multi-CPU system to serve as a backup is not a viable alternative due to the size and cost of usual multiprocessor systems. The use of a backup also does not take advantage of the inherent redundance which exists in a multiprocessor system.
In past data processing system practices, computer faults have been handled by stopping the computer and automatically restarting the computer through its bootstrapping operation to resume its duty if the shutdown was due to a program alarm as opposed to a deactivating hardware failure. However, no on-line control activity has to be maintained during computer system fault recoveries in the data processing art.
The known prior art activity thus provides no direction for automatically achieving high process safety and availability where an industrial process control system is structured with multiple central processors and where a discrete backup system does not exist because of prohibitive costs.
It is desirable that a multiprocessor computer control system have a high level of reliability, be easily maintained, be fault tolerant, and in the event of a failure, be quickly recoverable. Generally, system reliability can be incorporated into system hardware and software from the early design stages by the application of good design practices which limit fault propagation by the use of redundant logic for critical subsystems, and by the application of available error checks to trap faults before they can induce a system failure.
The design of the overall multiprocessor control system configuration should also generally take into account any single point of failure and provide the necessary backup equipment to sustain operation when such a failure occurs. Reliability and maintenance may also be enhanced by the use of modular construction which provides definable interfaces and simplifies the development of individual modules.
While system maintenance time is reduced by good mechanical design and construction, a significantly larger percentage of the cost of maintenance is expended diagnosing a failure rather than repairing it. Thus, as a result of the high level of complexity involved in large industrial production systems, it is desirable to have a multiprocessor control system diagnose its own failures and identify the equipment or module which has failed in some way.
A multiprocess control system in accordance with the present invention automatically analyzes system failures and provides for safe and reliable automatic recovery and compensation for a failure. Since the principal function of the multiprocessor control system is to monitor and control a process, there is no single point of control failure which stops the control and monitor activity.
Typically, input/output (I/O) subsystems for the processors are not exact duplicates, but can have sufficient redundancy such that the loss of one system can be tolerated for short periods of time while operating at reduced capacity.
When a control failure occurs, the compensation which the system takes or the recovery technique implemented is appropriate for the failure and the process operation. All failures can be recorded and annunciated either when they occur or immediately after the system recovers from the fault. For some types of failures annunciation may be sufficient, i.e. printer out of paper. In other cases, substitute alternate equipment is automatically switched to replace the failed equipment. In some instances, a failure triggers a complete automatic system reconfiguration.
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an industrial process which is operated by a multiprocessor control system arranged in accordance with the principles of the invention;
FIG. 2 illustrates a broad flow chart broadly showing the sequential operation of an automatic fault detection and recovery system in responding to a system fault and reconfiguring the control system accordingly;
FIG. 3 shows an operator panel used as a part of the fault detection and recovery system; and
FIGS. 4-8 respectively show flow charts for programs employed in the fault detection and recovery system including a bootstrap sequence, bootstrap ROM, a PROM CPU checker program, a sector zero program and a system start-up program.
More particularly, there is shown in FIG. 1 an industrial production system 10 such as a steel strip rolling mill or an electric power plant. A multiprocessor control system 12 is provided for monitoring parameters of the system 10 and for operating various controlled devices such as motors, pumps, fans, valves, etc. in generating production from the system 10.
Individual sensors 13 for temperature, pressure, flow, speed, position, electrical quantities and other parameters are coupled to the processors through conventional digital and analog input/output (I/O) systems 14. Output control signals are coupled from the processors to the production system 10 through the I/O systems 14.
In this case, two processors 16-1 and 16-2 (CPUs) are included in the multiprocessor control system 12 for sharing the monitor and control load. These processors can, for example, be W2500 units supplied by Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Process I/O systems 14-1 and 14-2 are respectively provided for the CPUs 16-1 and 16-2. Similarly, respective document I/O systems 18-1 and 18-2 are provided for the CPUs 16-1 and 16-2. A single bulk storage unit 20 is shared by both CPUs 16-1 and 16-2.
Each CPU has a large core memory (LCM) unit 21-1, 21-2. Suitable respective switch means 17-1, 17-2, 19-1 and 19-2 are provided for selectively coupling the process and document I/O systems to one CPU or the other CPU.
In the general case, three or more CPUs may be integrated into a control system with each CPU having its designated process I/O system and document I/O system. As shown in FIG. 1, the particular control system being described has the capability of employing up to seven CPUs. It is known as the PROTEUS system which is commercially supplied by the assignee hereof.
A system bootstrap controller (SBC) 22 is coupled to the CPUs to provide for automatic fault detection and system reconfiguration such that no single failure point interrupts the process control. A control panel 23 permits the operator to apply external control over the SBC 22.
As shown on the control panel 23 depicted in FIG. 3, various operator options are available such as options which include or exclude each CPU and each LCM. The following logic functions are also provided by suitable panel input circuitry in conjunction with SBC logic programming:
2--Large Core Memory Chassis (LCM)
2--Fixed Head Discs (FHD)
2--Interprocessor Interrupt Subsystems (IIC)
2--Document I/O Subsystems
2--Process I/O Subsystems
1--Bulk Storage Subsystem (e.g., Mag. Tape)
4--Core Modules
The equipment is arranged into the basic system configuration shown in FIG. 1. The principal function of the control system is to monitor and control a process. The hardware is configured so that no single point of control system failure prevents the monitor and control activity. A failure in the bulk storage subsystem would preclude some functions which would be an inconvenience but which are not normally essential to performance of the system's primary functions.
The SBC 22 is installed as shown in FIG. 1, and uses the control panel 23 shown in FIG. 3. The panel 23 provides the following external controls:
1. System Initialize--A protected push button that causes the bootstrap sequence to be initiated.
2. Option Stop Select--A switch that indicates to the SBC 22 that the bootstrap should stop for its various options rather than use normal default values.
3. Master Select Switch--A switch that indicates which of the two possible bootstrap "Master" CPUs is to be used first.
4. Cold Bootstrap--A switch that causes all available CPUs to be started including those which the software has chosen to exclude.
5. Auto-Boot Disable--A switch that disables the automatic bootstrap of the system.
6. SBC Disconnect--A keyswitch that disconnects the SBC 22 from the system and allows manual bootstrapping of the system.
In accordance with the invention, the fault detection and recovery system employs the SBC 22 in detecting a system failure, identifying the failure and restarting the system with a reconfigured control if necessary.
The fault detection and recovery operation occurs with little or no process disturbance since outputs from the control system 12 continue to operate the process as the self-analysis and control system restructuring occurs.
The SBC 22 monitors the control system for stoppage and in the event of a stoppage, automatically sequences the control system through its bootstrap procedure, taking advantage of the extent to which the system has been designed with fault tolerance. Each time the system is bootstrapped, it is reconfigured to use all the available hardware.
Generally, the SBC 22 performs the following:
1. Reset, bootstrap, and start all CPUs individually.
2. Exclusion of failed CPUs from the system.
3. Exclusion of failed LCMs from the system.
4. Automatic selection of the bootstrap master.
5. Automatic system start-up on power-up.
6. Deadman timer initiated bootstrap.
7. Operator initiated system bootstrap.
Preferably, the SBC 22 comprises a system bootstrap controller, which may be an Intel 8080 microprocessor-based logic sequencer, and an auxiliary bootstrap interface card (ABC) for each CPU in the system so as to provide an interface for the SBC 22 to each CPU.
The SBC interface to the ABC for each CPU in the system includes the following:
1. Bootstrap Control Data--This includes two 16-bit words which are comprised of data from the various control panel switches and the status of deadman timers. This information is bussed to the ABC card in each processor 16-1 or 16-2.
2. CPU Output Register--This 8-bit register is loaded by the selected master CPU and is used to mask CPUs which the system software has determined should not be used by the system. The eighth bit in this byte is used to initiate a bootstrap sequence if required by the software.
The following describe anticipated system faults and the means by which the faults are detected and system recovery is triggered:
______________________________________Peripheral Failure______________________________________Card readers CRT display processorsCard punches Line printersTape readers Magnetic tapesTape punches Modems______________________________________
When a device handler detects an invalid device status which indicates a peripheral failure, it attempts to clear the fault through a software reset command and retry the I/O operation. On failure to complete successfully the operation after a predetermined number of retries, the handler bids an applications program. This program notifies the system operator of the device failure and may also substitute an alternate device for the failed one. This function is moved to the applications level to provide the flexibility required to deal with various system configurations.
______________________________________Process I/O Failure______________________________________A to D Converter Digital inputsPoint cards Digital outputsMaster crate Analog outputsRemote crate______________________________________
When a process I/O handler detects a fault in a portion of the I/O equipment, it attempts to clear the fault through a software reset command and retry the I/O operation. On failure to achieve a successful completion of the operation after a predetermined number of retries, the handler attempts to substitute any available backup hardware. If in retrying the operation on the backup equipment a successful completion is obtained, the handler bids an applications program to notify the system operator of the primary equipment failure and continue operation on the backup. If a successful completion is not obtained, the handler bids an applications program. This program notifies the system operator of the loss; and the applications program elects to continue operation in a reduced state, reconfigure the system, or trip to manual control.
______________________________________I/O Subsystem Failure______________________________________I/O chassis ICD/IBD cardsI/O bust expansion (IXE)/extender (IXR) cards Z-panelDeadman timer test (ITT) card Intermediate controllers______________________________________
When the ITT card handler detects the failure of an I/O bus, by the ITT card not responding correctly, it bids an applications program. This program notifies the system operator of the bus failure. It then elects to allow the system to continue to operate in a degraded state, reconfigure the system, or trip to manual control.
______________________________________Fixed Head Disc Failure______________________________________Disc controller Disc drive______________________________________
When the dual disc handler detects an invalid status word from a disc, it bids an applications program which notifies the system operator of the loss. The handler disconnects the failed disc from the system and continues operation on the remaining disc. The failover is accomplished without loss due to the discs having been written with redundant images.
______________________________________CPU I/O Bus Failure______________________________________CPU I/O slots CPU I/O drivesIntermediate controllersITT card______________________________________
When the ITT card handler detects the failure of a CPU I/O bus, it treats the failure as a basic CPU fault and handles it in the same manner as a failure in the CPU confidence check.
______________________________________CPU Confidence Check Failure______________________________________Basic CPU operation Floating pointInstruction set______________________________________
During the idle loop in the duty cycle calculation task, each CPU executes a confidence check routine which tests the CPU integrity. If a failure is detected in this routine, the system reconfigures itself without the suspect CPU. After reconfiguration the system notifies the system operator of the loss.
______________________________________Time-Out Error (I/O Bus, DMA Request, Interrupt, etc.)______________________________________CPU Bus Device ControllersI/O Bus______________________________________
If these interrupts are the result of a device controller failure, they also show up as peripheral failures. The occurrence of these errors are annunciated so that reconfiguration may be done if the number of interrupts is excessive.
The occurrence of a CPU power failure appears the same as a CPU stoppage. The CPU also fails its confidence check on restart and will not be included in the system reconfiguration.
The LCM power fail interrupt indicates that an LCM chassis has lost power. However, it does not identify which LCM chassis was powered down. Not knowing which chassis failed precludes the use of this interrupt as a valid fault indicator. The majority of LCM power failures are the direct result of service personnel repairing a chassis which is not being used by the system. If the system attempts to access core in a powered down chassis, a core parity error is generated and handled appropriately.
When an instruction violation interrupt occurs, the system assumes it is the result of the execution of data. The address of the violation is saved for output after system recovery. This is treated in the same manner as a non-recoverable software error.
When a recoverable software error is detected, the operator is notified of the error condition and the software which detected the error recovers from it.
When a non-recoverable software is detected, the system saves the current task running, the condition of various system flags and other pertinent information about the error. The system then bootstraps and the saved information is output.
When the software becomes hung in an infinite loop, it causes the ITT card associated with the hung CPU to drop out and the system is bootstrapped and restarted.
______________________________________Memory Parity Error______________________________________Extended addressing unit (EAU) LCMCore______________________________________
In a virtual memory system, it is imperative to determine the real memory address of a parity error. Any questionable core pages must be promptly eliminated from system use before they cause other problems. The method of determining the address of a parity error varies with the cause of the memory access. In the case of DMA devices the CPU is interrupted on the device channel with a status bit from the device controller indicating a parity error. The handler for the device determines the location of the error for that device and transfers to a common parity error routine with the real address of the error. If the parity error is the result of executing a program instruction or the out-of-sequence execution of a buffered I/O request, a processor interrupt is generated and the real address is saved in two temporary registers. The parity error interrupt macro reads these registers and transfers to the common parity error routine. The parity error routine is entered with the real address in two parts, the virtual address and the map setting. If the virtual address indicates that the parity error took place in dedicated core, the CPU must be tagged as unreliable and the system reconfigured excluding it just as if it had failed its confidence check. If the virtual address was in shared core, the routine checks that the map setting is correct for the running system. If it was found to be an invalid setting, the EAU is suspect, as well as the software, and the CPU is eliminated from the system configuration. If the map setting is a valid page, then the page is assumed to be bad and is not used in reconfiguring the system. In all cases, the real address and user are annunciated after the system is reconfigured.
The IIC handler in each CPU tests the status of the IIC subsystem each time it is used; if an incorrect status is obtained, the handler bids an applications program to annunciate the loss and switch over automatically to the backup system. In addition to this status checking, each CPU periodically interrupts itself on each subsystem. This basic check confirms the availability of both systems and helps to isolate failures. If a single CPU indicates a failure, it is probably a failed IIC card. However, if several CPUs on the same bus exhibit the failure, it is likely to be a bus on the IIC arbiter card that has failed.
Whenever a system is reconfigured around a failure, great care must be taken to avoid partial recoveries. Since most reconfigurations are the result of a serious failure or software error, it is easy for random damage to be done to other parts of the system before the error can be detected. Rather than risk continued operation with an unreliable system which could result in plant damage, it is necessary to restore the system to a known state. For this reason the system bootstraps itself every time it is reconfigured. As it is being bootstrapped, the system determines what hardware is available to it and configures itself accordingly.
The system configuration is based upon a failure matrix in a system start-up module and a hardware status table which is maintained in the system's communication block (SCB). The failure matrix defines the alternate to be used when each CPU fails. This matrix also allows for the discontinuation of selected funtions in the event of certain CPU failures. The hardware status table is used to maintain a record of the various hardware which is available for use in system configuration. Hardware may be removed from system usage either for service by flagging it in this table manually or as a result of its failure. This table is also used to generate the system configuration status report which is printed after each system bootstrap. In order to accomplish the reconfiguration bootstrap, the following is performed:
A. Bootstrapping all CPUs simultaneously
B. Providing a 1K word Prom
C. Providing external switch setable data registers
D. Providing external switch selectable CPU exclusion
E. Auto-bootstrap on timeout
F. Auto-selection of master
G. Software setable CPU exclusion registers
H. Software initiated restart
As shown generally in FIG. 2, the SBC 22 monitors the CPU's 16-1 and 16-2 and the panel as indicated by block 30. If a manual bootstrap signal, a data failure signal from one of the CPU's 16-1 or 16-2, or a deadman signal from the conventional deadman relay card provided with the CPU 16-1 or 16-2 is generated (block 32), the SBC 22 executes a recovery algorithm (block 34). The SBC detection and recovery algorithm is shown in FIG. 4 and described in greater detail below.
The CPU's are then stopped (block 36) and output control signals to the process are held stable to avoid a process disturbance. Status information on the CPU deadman relays and the settings on the panel 23 at the time of failure is broadcast to the CPUs (block 38). Each CPU which was in the system at the time of failure is restarted (block 40), at which time each CPU executes its bootstrap procedure (block 41) and its internal firmware confidence check (block 42). Thereafter each CPU signals to the SBC 22 that it is alive or failed.
Generally, the CPU with fixed head disc is designated as the master CPU, which downloads operating systems to each CPU and initiates the operating system after computer restarts are initiated by the SBC 22 (block 44). After the individual CPU confidence checks, the status of each is sent to the SBC 22 and other CPUs. If a CPU is unavailable for service, the remaining CPU(s) logically determine a reconfigured control system from the aforementioned failure matrix without the failed CPU, and appropriate decisions are made for the switching actions required to transfer the I/O from the failed CPU to the designated alternate CPU (block 44). In the illustrative embodiment being described, only one alternate CPU exists, but in the general case more CPUs could be provided and the designation of CPUs for backup I/O service is made appropriately in the failure matrix.
The transfer of I/O systems to an alternate CPU can, as preferred here, be on the basis of switching the whole I/O system. In the alternative, segregable I/O portions could be switched to multiple alternate CPUs designated for the respective portions of the I/O system from the failed CPU.
Once the CPUs make the reconfiguration decision, if any, and I/O switching decisions are made, the SBC 22 next executes the I/O switching and the contact system is reconfigured with the available CPUs and with all process and document I/O systems serviced by the active CPUs (block 46). The CPU deadman timers are then pulled in (block 48) and the SBC 22 returns to is monitor mode.
The operating sequence of the SBC 22 is essentially the same regardless of the cause of a system restart (i.e., either manual intervention, software restart IOA, or ITT response failure). The sequence is shown in FIG. 4. An example of programs comprising the sequence is listed in the microfiche appendix at pages A-73 through A-258.
When the sequence is initiated, all of the CPUs included in the system are reset; those which are included and not masked out by the CPU output register, are hardware bootstrapped. Hardware bootstrapping loads a 64-word W2500 bootstrap ROM into each machine's dedicated core. An embodiment of this bootstrap program is listed in the microfiche appendix at pages A-263 through A-265.
The CPUs are then started and the SBC 22 initiates its first time-out timer. The SBC waits for the deadman relay to be closed in the selected master CPU.
If the timer expires, the SBC 22 assumes the master to be inoperable and selects the alternate master and retries the bootstrap. Assuming that the timer did not expire, the second timer is started and the SBC 22 waits for the deadman relays to close in all the CPU's which were started.
If the second timer expires, the sequence is restarted with the same master CPU to allow the failed CPU to be excluded. If the timer did not expire, the SBC 22 then monitors the status of the system initialize button on the panel 23 and the closed deadman relays and restarts the system if the button is depressed or a relay opens.
The SBC 22 has the following external controls:
1. System initialize--actuation of this control causes the system to be bootstrapped.
2. CPU isolation switches--this group of seven switches allows CPUs to be disconnected from the system.
3. LCM bank isolation switches--this group of eight switches allows the isolation of LCM core, in blocks which correspond to one-half chassis, from the system.
4. Option stop--this switch allows the selection of stopping for various bootstrap options or the automatic use of default options.
5. Master select--this switch allows the specification of which CPU is to be used as the primary master.
6. Reset CPU register--this switch clears the software setable CPU register for manual override so that CPU may be restored to service after they have failed.
7. Auto-bootstrap disable--this switch disables the auto-bootstrap on failure sequence.
8. Auto start-up after system power up.
It also has the following W2500 software controls and data registers.
1. CPU mask register--this 7-bit register is set via an IOA instruction. It contains one bit per CPU and is used to mask those CPUs which are to be started and monitored.
2. ITT Register--this 7-bit register contains the status of the ITT cards at the time the system was bootstrapped. If the bootstrap results from an ITT dropout, the ITT which dropped is indicated.
3. LCM bank register--these eight bits of data correspond to the LCM bank isolation switches.
4. Option stop--this bit of data corresponds to the Option stop switch.
5. Master ID--this bit of data corresponds to the currently selected master.
6. IOA Restart--the execution of this instruction causes the SBC 22 to restart the system.
The 64-word W2500 hardware bootstrap ROM is based upon an LCM bootstrap ROM, an example of which is listed in the microfiche appendix at pages A-358 through A-371. The code which is normally used to set the default map registers is replaced with the IOA instruction required to load a 1K word ROM program from the ABC card into the W2500 processor core and transfer to it. A modified portion of the standard ROM is shown in FIG. 5.
The 1K word W2500 ROM, which is loaded into core by the 64-word bootstrap program, is contained on the ABC card in each CPU. This program, depicted in FIG. 6, begins by verifying the CPU instruction set and addressing modes for correct operation. It then checks the Extended Addressing Unit (EAU) by cycling all 256 possible combinations through each of the eight registers on all 128 addressing planes, verifying each for correct contents. If an error is detected during this confidence checking routine, the CPU stops to cause it to be excluded from the system.
The eight bits of LCM isolation data are used to mask out the areas of LCM which the system is not to use; the remaining area is searched for all available core which can be correctly accessed. This information is used to construct a core accessibility table which indicates all the core that this CPU can address.
More particularly, the 1K word ROM is loaded into the core of each active CPU starting at location 1000x. The 64-word ROM leaves the (P) register sitting at location 13FFx, executing a DCR P instruction. When the last word of the 1K ROM is loaded into this location, it causes a jump to the program start. The 1K ROM bootstrap program begins by checking the basic CPU operation, including the proper execution of all instructions, designator jumps, addressing modes and floating point hardware. It also cycles a data pattern into each map register on all planes and reads them back to verify the EAU operation. If any failure is detected, the CPU is stopped.
The 8-bit LCM isolation register is input and used to mask out the core which is not to be used. The bootstrap program locates all the core which it can correctly address and access at least one location per 4K page. This information is used to build a core accessability map which is used to determine what core is available to the entire system. If a CPU cannot access at least eight pages, it is stopped.
A CPU 7 map plane in each CPU is set to the first eight core pages which are available. The bootstrap program then checks to see if the CPU is one of the two possible master CPUs. If the CPU is not a master, the program transfers to a location in LCM, where it awaits completion of the system bootstrap.
If the CPU is a master, it checks the master selected flag to determine which CPU is being used as the master. The CPU which is not selected then functions as if it was not a master. The CPU which is selected as the master reads the next segment of the bootstrap program into core (low 32K) from the fixed head disc and transfers to the program. An example of the portion of the 1K bootstrap ROM program described above is listed in the microfiche appendix at pages A-266 through A-287.
The first disc-resident segment of the bootstrap is shown in FIG. 7. This program is loaded and executed in the master CPU dedicated core. It uses the LCM to communicate with the other CPUs in the system, and does this by putting a program into LCM and causing the waiting CPUs to execute the program. The first function this program provides is to have each CPU move its core table into LCM. It then determines if the SCB is in the same core page, via checking the contents of LCMINDEX.
Based upon the individual CPU core tables and the table in the system's communication block, a system core table is constructed. This table identifies all of the core which can be accessed by the entire system. The program then sets the maps in all CPUs to the same initial values. It then determines if the correct CPUs are running, by their agreement with the CPU register settings.
If a CPU which is expected to be running is not running, the CPU register is updated and an IOA Restart issued. If the expected CPUs are running, the second disc resident portion of the bootstrap is loaded into core. The second segment sets up the system loader program and then loads the core image in each CPU. Z:FAILED, Z:CUP, and Z:CPU, and Z:ALT locations are modified in each CPU to correspond to the duties of each CPU. An example of the portion of the bootstrap program depicted in FIG. 7 is listed in the microfiche appendix at pages A-288 through A-309.
The disc handler zone is then loaded from disc and the IIC card scanners are started. The program then starts the system in all CPUs. This segment of the bootstrap is shown in FIG. 8. During this program the master CPU ITT card has to be exercised. An example of the portion of the bootstrap program depicted in FIG. 8 is listed in the microfiche appendix at pages A-309 through A-357.
Immediately after system startup, the highest priority task which is to be run is the system bootstrap task, an example of which is listed in the microfiche appendix at pages A-358 through A-371. This task runs in all CPUs, but shuts itself off in all but the master CPU.
The first function which the system bootstrap task performs is the selection of I/O for each CPU. This is done by software which selects the subsystems which each CPU requires in the configuration which resulted from bootstrapping.
The system bootstrap task determines the status of the various subsystems from the information in the system's communication block. The bootstrapping task may require modification from system to system due to variations in the hardware supplied with successively produced systems.
The system bootstrap task is also responsible for updating the information on disc to reflect the current SCB contents. The bootstrap program bids an applications program which prints out the system configuration summary after the bootstrap is complete.
The implementation of the automatic recovery procedure is done in a fashion which does not reduce overall system reliability. In view of the fact that the SBC 22 communicates with all of the CPUs in the system, it is conceivable that its failure could result in a system failure. One approach to minimize this possibility is to construct the SBC out of triple redundant voting logic with dual power supplies. However, it is preferred that a programmable microprocessor be employed for the SBC 22, and a simple means of disconnecting it from the system is provided in case of its failure. In particular, the SBC 22 consists of standard Q-line hardware, programmed in the Westinghouse Electric Corporation Microcomputer Applications Programming Language (WEMAP-80). The configuration consists of the following cards in a standard Q-line CAMAC compatible card cage:
1--Microcomputer Card (QMC)
Control Panel Interface
2--Digital Input Cards (QBI)
1--Digital Output Card (QBO)
W2500 Interface (per CPU in system)
1--Digital Input Card (QBI)
1--Digital Output Card (QBO)
In addition to the SBC, a W2500 ABC card, which contains the 1K bootstrap ROM and the SBC-to-W2500 interface, is employed as previously noted.
Appendix pages are included on microfiche and detailed information which is presented to provide a fuller understanding of an implementation of the invention.
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'Glee' dating guide: From Rachel & Finn to Mercedes & MarcusAdd to Favorites | Glee
None of the people in the above photo are dating each other.
When high school journo Jacob Ben Israel asked Mercedes ( Amber Riley) if she was still dating Sam ( Chord Overstreet) at the beginning of "Glee's" season 3 premiere, she replied, "Honey, that is so June."
She's right. It's been a while. With that in mind, we've assembled this handy list of the many tangled "Glee" romantic entanglements and where they stand (if anywhere) as of this fall.
Mr. Schuester & Emma Pillsbury: We love it! They're happily cohabitating. But, wait -- we're not sure they've quite consummated that cohabitation yet. It would seem Emma's still having intimacy problems. Rut-roh.
Rachel & Finn: The odd couple is back together, though Rachel's Broadway-bound bond to Kurt struck us as way stronger than anything she's got going on with Finn. But sometimes that's how it goes in high school. We meet our true BFFs while boyfriends come and go.
Kurt & Blaine: Speaking of Kurt, he and Blaine will now conduct their very civilized and mature relationship in close proximity since Blaine transfered to McKinley High and immediately joined the glee club. We predict a little competition in their future, though.
Mercedes & umm... Marcus: If you're the last person to know, we truly apologize -- but Chord Overstreet is gone. Which means that Sam and Mercedes are "so June." But Mercedes has a hot new relationship with Marcus ( LaMarcus Tinker), who promises her, "We're gonna make beautiful cocoa babies."
Puck & Lauren: Lauren Zises ( Ashley Fink) dumped both Puck and the glee club, not necessarily in that order. We're kind of annoyed.
Tina & Mike: They seem to have settled into couple-hood just fine.
Brittany & Santana: Aside from a comment from Sue Sylvester ( Jane Lynch) about Santana "playing both sides," there was nary a mention of their lady love.
Photo/Video credit: FOX