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The present invention allows for a communication device (136) which roams within a communication system (100), the ability of maintaining in contact with other communication units, even while the unit is away from its home sub-system. Communication system (100) comprises a wide area paging system which includes a wide area paging controller (184) which controls at least one local area paging controller (108, 182 and 156). When a communication unit is away from its home system, the home system sends out a page via the wide area paging system in order to locate the communication unit and direct the unit to a local sub-system which the unit can use to communicate with the calling unit.
1. A method for establishing communication with a communication device in a communication system including a plurality of operatively interconnected communication sub-systems each having defined coverage areas, the communication system also including a wide area communication system having a communication coverage area which overlaps the communication coverage areas of the plurality of communication sub-systems, one of the plurality of communication subsystems being the communication device's home communication sub-system, the method comprising the steps of:
initiating a call message to the communication device;
determining if the communication device is located in the communication device's home communication sub-system;
determining at the wide area system which of the communication sub-systems to recommend to be used by the communication unit considering the type of call message that is being sent to the communication device and the communication device's capabilities;
transmitting a message over the wide area system directed to the communication device if the communication device cannot be found in the communication device's home communication sub-system;
receiving the wide area system message at the communication device; and
switching the communication device to operate in a communication sub-system directed by the wide area system message.
2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting a wide area system message comprises paging the communication device.
3. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising the step of:
establishing a communication link between the communication sub-system the communication device was directed to and the home communication sub-system in order for the communication device to be able to receive the call message.
4. A method for establishing communication with a communication device in a communication system including a plurality of operatively interconnected communication sub-systems each having defined coverage areas, the communication system also including a wide area communication system having a communication coverage area which overlaps the communication coverage areas of the plurality of communication sub-systems, one of the plurality of communication sub-systems being the communication device's home communication sub-system, the method comprising the steps of;
initiating a call message to the communication device:
determining if the communication device is located in the communication device's home communication sub-system:
transmitting a message over the wide area system directed to the communication device if the communication device cannot be found in the communication device's home communication sub-system;
receiving the wide area system message at the communication device:
switching the communication device to operate in a communication sub-system directed by the wide area system message:
establishing a communication link between the communication sub-system the communication device was directed to and the home communication sub-system in order for the communication device to be able to receive the call message;
sending a message from the local communication sub-system to the wide area system, the message comprising information regarding the type of call message that is being sent to the communication device and the communication device's capabilities; and
determining at the wide area system which of the communication subsystems to recommend to be used by the communication unit considering the type of call message that is being sent to the communication device and the communication device's capabilities.
5. A communication device capable of operating in a communication system having a plurality of communication sub-systems and a wide area communication system overlapping the plurality of communication sub-systems, one of the plurality of communication subsystems being the communication device's home sub-system, the communication device comprising:
receiver means for receiving information messages and for monitoring the wide area communication system;
means coupled to the receiver means for determining if the communication device is located within its home sub-system and for providing a control signal if it is determined that the communication device is not located in the home sub-system, the receiver means monitors the wide area system in response to the control signal;
decoding means coupled to the monitoring means for decoding a message from the wide area communication system, the decoded message informing the communication device which communication sub-system from among the plurality of communication sub-systems to use, based on the type of call message that is being sent to the communication device and the communication device's capabilities, to establish a communication link with the home sub-system; and
controller means coupled to the decoding means for placing the receiver means in condition to receive the information message.
6. A communication device as defined in claim 5, further comprising:
a timer means responsive to the control signal for generating a timer signal which causes the receiver means to attempt to receive information from the home communication subsystem.
7. A communication device as defined in claim 5, wherein the controller means further comprises an inhibit determination means for determining if the communication device has received an inhibit command at the receiver means.
8. A communication device as defined in claim 6, wherein the receiver means comprises a first receiver section for monitoring the plurality of communication sub-systems and a pager section for monitoring the wide area communication system.
9. A communication system providing roaming capabilities to a communication device, comprising:
a plurality of operatively interconnected communication sub-systems each having a defined coverage area, one of the plurality of communication sub-systems serving as the communication device's home sub-system;
a wide area paging system operatively coupled to the plurality of sub-systems, the wide area paging system having a communication coverage area which overlaps the coverage areas formed by the plurality of communication sub-systems, the wide area paging system including a wide area controller and a plurality of local area controllers coupled to the wide area controller;
the home communication sub-system further comprising a sub-system controller for determining if the communication device is located within the home sub-system and for generating a message to the wide area system when it is determined that the communication device is not in its home sub-system; and
the wide area paging system further comprising a means responsive to the home sub-system message for generating a wide area message which directs the communication device to one of the plurality of communication sub-systems, considering the type of call message that is being sent to the communications device and the communication device's capabilities, in order for the communication device to establish a communication link with the home communication sub-system.
10. A communication system as defined in claim 9, wherein the plurality of local area controllers comprise a plurality of local paging systems each including a local area paging controller.
11. A communication system as defined in claim 10, wherein the plurality of local paging systems each have a communication coverage area which overlaps at least one communication sub-system coverage area and each of the local area paging controllers select from among the plurality of communication sub-systems the one communication sub-system from among the plurality of communication sub-systems that is to be used to establish a communication link to the communication unit's home communication sub-system.
12. A communication system as defined in claim 11, wherein the plurality of communication sub-systems are interconnected to each other via the public switched telephone network.
13. A communication system as defined in claim 11, wherein each of the local paging systems transmit as part of the wide area message to the communication device information regarding which communication sub-system within their respective coverage area to be used to link with the home communication sub-system.
This invention relates generally to communication systems and more specifically to a method of controlling communication units which roam over wide area systems.
One of the major problems for radio communication systems providing wide area two-way data and/or voice communication coverage is how to allow for a communication unit operating in the system to roam freely between sub-systems which form the wide area system. For example, a 10 site simulcast radio frequency trunked system may be considered a wide area two-way system on a regional level. The problem with such systems is how to provide a way of allowing the communication unit which is part of the system the ability to roam freely so that it is always part of a larger composite wide area system (or communication network), thereby allowing a caller to be able to communicate with the communication unit at any time the communication unit is in range of the wide area system.
Present day solutions to the above problem include communication systems such as Coverage Plus™ manufactured by Motorola, Inc. This system uses a registration process in which the roaming communications units use a "checking in" process on each communication network site as the communication unit moves from site to site. This "check-in" process occurs even if the communication unit is not communicating with other units.
In wide area systems, knowing the location of each of the communication units "ahead of time", before a call request that will involve these units occurs, helps speed up group calls that involve activating channel resources at many sites across the wide area system. Present day registration processes take a lot of time on the site control channel which has the effect of limiting the overall capacity of the local site. The overall effect on system capacity will depend on the number of roaming units and the frequency of operation the units are employing when moving from coverage area to coverage area (i.e., site to site registration "hand-offs"). Currently this is not a major problem with the current numbers of roaming units and the relatively large size of the coverage areas, since typically larger coverage areas see fewer hand-offs. However, as systems become more complex, and Coverage areas become smaller in size, system overhead delays will become a major problem for wide area systems.
In wide area trunked systems, communication units must find a site within their present coverage area by either scanning through a list of pre-programmed control channels or they must scan the entire trunking band for a "friendly" control channel that is broadcasting a "networking offered here" outbound signalling word (OSW). In other words, the communication unit must search for a control channel which is compatible with the communication unit. As one can quickly determine, acquiring access to a local site, while roaming into unknown coverage areas, in the manner discussed above, is extremely time consuming.
In comparison to wide area trunked systems, cellular telephone systems have relatively small cells and large numbers of communication unit users that only do individual oriented calls (i.e., mobile-to-land and land-to-mobile telephone calls). Given this, cellular systems do not use unit-to-site registration processes. Due to the relative low probability of an infrequent incoming land-to-mobile call, it is better for cellular systems to just send a unit respond signal over the control channel from every cell when incoming calls actually occur. Speed of call set ups is not of utmost criticality for these one unit phone calls. Therefore, the unit respond signals can go out constantly, over a period of several seconds, in order to determine if the communication unit is turned on and in communication range. Each cellular radio must scan the different system control channels as the unit moves from cell to cell.
In nation-wide satellite paging systems, although providing wide area coverage, these systems do not direct roaming communication units to local two-way systems. Also, these paging systems do not provide the pagers with local system availability information in order for the pagers to receive further information once they have been paged.
Finally, system to system roaming, like that implemented by Ameritech Inc. in their "Easy Roaming" scheme, use a roaming unit-to-system registration process as the communication unit enters a non-home system. In this system, the registration process sends a message back to the communication unit's home system so it knows where to forward future calls addressed to the unit, should someone try to reach the roaming unit at its normal home system number. One problem with this roaming arrangement is that calls can only be completed if the unit-to-location information is constantly known. This "back to the home system" registration process suffers when communication units are not able to reach the home system (e.g., RF noise, traffic, etc.). This type of registration process also tends to add a lot of control traffic overhead that may be unnecessary to the wide area system.
More importantly than all of the above mentioned problems is that neither cellular or trunked communication systems are not presently located everywhere, in order to allow communication units the freedom to roam over wide coverage areas. Presently, communication units are not constructed such that they can use either system type interchangeably. For example, today's cellular radios can't switch over to trunking when a cellular system is not available and a trunked system is, or vice versa. The problem has not been limited by the technology of a radio that has sufficient RF bandwidth to cover both services. The problem arises in that the roaming communication units can't decide which system to move to, even if they could, since the communication units do not know how to find these different types of systems quickly enough and they also do not know which one of the communication systems is "best" for their particular service needs at any given point in time (e.g., data, voice, etc.). This scenario will only worsen as newer small cell systems and other different types of communication systems emerge. With more different communication systems become available to effectuate a wide area communication system. As can be seen from the above discussion of prior art systems, a need exists for a way of controlling communication units which operate over wide areas encompassing more than one communication system.
Briefly, according to the invention, a communication system providing roaming capabilities to a communication device comprises a plurality of operatively interconnected sub-systems each having a defined coverage area and a wide area system having a coverage area which substantially overlaps the coverage areas formed by the plurality of communication subsystems. The wide area system communicates with communication devices which have roamed outside of their local communication sub-systems when messages are directed to them. The wide area system directs the roaming unit to an appropriate communication sub-system which allows for the communication device to receive the message.
FIG. 1 is a diagram of a wide area communication system in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a communication unit in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of a communication unit in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing local network service availability reporting in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing typical communication unit operation in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing how a communication unit responds to an inhibit or un-inhibit command.
Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1, there is shown a radio communication system 100 in accordance with the present invention. System 100 comprises several two-way communications systems scattered about a wide area coverage area. The diagram shows the communication system comprising sub-systems "A" 138, "B" 132, "C" 178, and "D" 158. Each sub-system having defined communication coverage areas. In most wide area applications, the wide area system 100 will include hundreds of such communication systems. The communication systems 138, 132, 178 and 158 can be comprised of many different types of communication systems, e.g., trunked, cellular, ARDIS™, etc. Each individual communication sub-system may have as few as one RF site or as many as the system type (e.g., trunking, etc.)can allow. For example, a trunking communication system may comprise a ten site simulcast regional system.
Each communication sub-system will typically include a sub-system controller such as system controllers 128, 146, 114, and 172 which are responsible for the coordination of their specific communication system. Coupled to each of the central controllers are data bases 116, 130, 152, 174 which store information relating to the units residing in the particular system and other system information. Each system controller is in turn coupled to the public switched telephone network (PSTN, shown as 120, 140 and 160) via appropriate communication links 150, 148, 170 and 180. As shown, each system controller may be in control of one or more communication sites (repeaters). For example, communication system "B" 132 is shown having two sites 126 and 134, system "C" 178 is shown having two sites 112 and 118, system "A" 138 is shown with one site 154, and system "D" 158 is shown having one site 176. Each site or repeater will include a receiver and transmitter as is well known in the art for relaying messages within their appropriate systems.
Each individual communication system 138, 132, 178 and 158 is interfaced to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 120, 140 and 160 in order to provide a connection to the paging control system (discussed later) and to land parties that wish to connect to these radio equipped users. System 100 shows two such examples, where a telephone may be used to dial and converse with a target radio unit as shown by telephone 122 and communication unit Y 136 in system 132, or where a computer 124 may be used to dial and connect to a data equipped radio unit. In addition, mobile communication units may initiate a voice or data call and end up using the PSTN to connect to the intended target communication unit roaming on another system. Calling parties will "dial" into the home system where the target unit is normally associated and the present invention will take care of finding the roaming unit and linking the call. This process will be described in more detail later on as well.
Overlaying the entire geography of communication system 100 is a wide area system such as a multi-site same frequency paging system which will serve as a one way (outbound to the field unit) control channel for the communication system. The paging system is comprised of paging coverage areas 102, 104 and 106 which substantially overlap the coverage areas of communication sub-systems 138,132, 178 and 158. It is constructed with a single transmitter per site 110, 142 and 162, with sites arranged such as to provide a blanket of continuous coverage over the entire wide area service area. Each paging transmitter 110, 142 and 162 is supported by a Local Area Paging Coordinator (LAPC) 108, 182 and 156. The LAPCs job is to format the pages for transmission on its associated paging transmitter and to collect the page requests and other information from the two-way systems in its vicinity.
LAPCs 108, 182 and 156 will support two-way systems in the coverage area of its paging transmitter. While the paging transmitters are depicted as a single transmitter per region, it is also feasible to use multiple paging transmitters in a simulcast fashion to blanket a larger metro region more effectively. Also, instead of using a one-way paging system as described above, one could as easily employ a two-way communication system as the overlaping wide area system.
Each IAPC 108, 182 and 156 is interfaced to the PSTN as well, so that the two-way systems can connect to them in order to update the LAPCs with service availability information, and to locate roaming units when they can't be found in their home or local sub-system (systems 132, 138, etc.). The communication device's home sub-system can be either be the sub-system where the communicaiton device is usually located and where most calls to the device are generated, or the sub-system where the calling communication unit is using to locate the communication device. For example, unit X 144 may be attempting to locate unit Y 136 in sub-system 138, thereby making system "A" 138 the home sub-system for unit X 144. Each LAPC is also connected to a Wide Area Paging Coordinator (WAPC) 184 where all the page requests are distributed back out to all the LAPC's. This connection could either be via dedicated line, as shown, or over dial up circuits through the PSTN.
Unit Y 136 in System B 132, and a Unit X 144, in System A are included for examples which will be discussed later on, and in practice system 100 could support thousands of these radio units.
In FIG. 2, a block diagram of a roaming capable communication unit such as a radio 200 in accordance with the present invention is shown. Radio 200 includes a control means such as controller 210, which controls the overall operation of the radio. Controller 210 can be a microprocessor or microcontroller as known in the art. Controller also acts as a decoder means for decoding incoming messages and also determines if radio 200 is operating in its home system. Controller 210 further comprises appropriate control software for performing the overall radio funtions. One of such functions performed by controller 210 is a timer means function which produces a signal after radio 200 has been away from it's home sub-system for a predetermined period of time. The signal directs controller 210 to begin looking for a message from the paging system which will direct the radio to an appropriate communication sub-system. The functional aspects of radio 200 will be discussed in more detail later in the description.
Coupled to the controller 210 are electrically erasable read-only memories 212 and random access memory 214, which are used for storage of radio information. Also, coupled to the controller are a keypad 208 for user entry of information, a display 206, and speaker 204. Controller 210 is also coupled to synthesizer 218, transmitter 220 and receiver 216. A microphone 202 is coupled to transmitter 220. Duplexer 222 controls the flow of information between transmitter 220 and receiver 216 and antenna 224. Radio 200, should preferably have a wide band operation range for both the transmitter and receiver, in order for radio 200 to access multiple system types, such as trunking, cellular, as well as the system wide paging channel.
In FIG. 3, an alternate embodiment of the radio shown in FIG. 2, is shown. Radio 300 instead of using one receiver for both the normal system operation functions and receipt of paging signal functions, uses a separate paging receiver 308 for reception of the system wide paging frequency. Radio 300, also includes a microphone 316, speaker 318, display 320 and keypad 322. Coupled to controller 314 are EEPROM'S 312 and RAM 310. Transceiver portion 306 and paging receiver 308 are coupled to antenna 302 via duplexer 304.
The discussion will now focus on the fixed end infrastructure for the wide area coverage system 100. Since it is the intent of the present invention to have each individual communication system's LAPC 108, 182 and 156 (shown in FIG. 1) decide which local communication system the particular roaming unit should operate on when the communication unit's home system has control information for the unit, the LAPC must have some information to base this on. There are two main sources for this information. One will be the home system, which when it passes along the unit type and call type information to the paging network at the time of the call. This will in turn set the stage for the system requirements information.
For example, the call information might indicate that the roaming communication unit that is going to be paged is a trunking only unit, and the call type is a control transaction since a home based system manager is trying to connect to the communication unit. The IAPC preferably looks into its own database to determine which trunking systems in the communication units area offer control connection service. This leads to the second piece of information that the LAPC needs to make a recommendation on, namely, local system types and their current availability to support various call types.
In FIG. 4, therefor a flowchart shows the steps that a local two-way communication system must carry out in order to provide the above mentioned information to its local LAPC. Firstly, the local system via its sub- system's central controller (e.g., if the local system is sub-system "A" 138, the sub-system controller would be system controller 146) determines its own list of currently available services such as voice, data, fax, etc., in step 404. Also, and especially for trunking systems, the local system may also determine a pool of roaming ID's for the roaming units to temporary use while the units are in the communication system. When these things are determined, the local communication system will connect to the IAPC as shown in step 406, through the PSTN, and send the information into the specific LAPC database. A timer located in the sub-system controllers (controllers 114, 128, 146, and 172) can then be used to refresh the sub-system's corresponding LAPC database on a periodic basis, to insure correct information. In step 408, the timer located in the sub-system controllers is started. In step 410, it is determined if time has run out in the timer. If the timer has run-out in step 410, the routine returns to step 404 where the available services are determined again in order to update the available services information. In step 412, when service availability changes, an update will be offered right away to the units involved.
In FIG. 5, a flowchart showing the steps a communication unit takes in order to be able to roam out of its "home system", and still stay in contact with the wide area system are shown. In step 502, the communication unit is turned on. In step 504, the communication unit determines its inhibit state, The inhibit flag can be a variable which is stored in the EEPROM of the communication unit. This allows for the stored inhibit flag variable information not to be lost in case the communication unit is turned off. If the radio is inhibited, such as in the case when the radio is first put into service, or when the communication unit had been previously inhibited, the communication unit will move to the paging channel to wait for an un-inhibit (enable and programming) command, as shown in step 506.
The communication unit in step 510, will then determine if it has received the un-inhibit command. If the communication unit receives its un-inhibit command, the unit moves on to step 508, were it follows the instructions received as to which local system to move to in order for the unit to be able to receive the programming for its new home system. The communication unit need not be within the coverage area of its new home system, since the information can be directed to any local system in order for the unit to gain access back to its home system.
As shown in FIG. 5, the communication unit stays on the paging channel while it is inhibited. This serves two purposes, first it keeps the unit from operating on any system (it can not initiate calls while in this state), and secondly, it can always be enabled no matter where it has roamed. The only command the communication unit will respond to while inhibited, is the uninhibit command while on the paging channel (e.g., the communication unit can not receive any voice, data, etc.).
If the communication unit is not inhibited, after the power-up or un-inhibit sequence just described, the unit will move on to its home system, in step 512. Since in a majority of cases the communication unit begins operation in its home system, it will start with its usual scan routine to try to find its home system first. This may entail searching a pre-stored list of frequencies for a control channel that is broadcasting the specific home system ID that the unit is searching.
If the home system is found in step 514, the communication will remain there, operating in a normal fashion where it may be called to respond to incoming data, voice, location, or facsimile calls shown in step 516. In step 518, the unit keeps checking the integrity of signaling and quality metrics of its home system so that it can judge when it has roamed outside its home system coverage area. While the communication unit is on an operational system, it will look for inhibit commands targeted for it in step 520. If in step 520, the unit is inhibited, in step 524, the inhibit command is acknowledged, after which the communication unit goes into an inhibited state.
Since the communication unit is inhibited, it can not stay in the operational system any longer (e.g., listening to traffic or initiating calls), and it must move to the paging channel as shown in step 506, in case the system manager would want to un-inhibit the communication unit. If in step 518, the communication unit roams outside its home area, and loses the home system, or if the communication unit has powered up outside its home system, the communication unit will attempt to acquire the paging channel, as shown in steps 522 and 526. If the communication unit can not find the paging channel in step 526, the communication unit will once again look for its home system in step 512. If the paging channel is acquired in step 526, as indicated by paging signaling, the communication unit will start a timer in step 528 that will remind the unit to look back for its home system later on. This is shown in step 532, where if the timer set in step 528 has expired, the radio will go back to step 512 in order to look for its home system.
When the communication unit is operating on the paging channel, it will attempt to decode its unique paging channel identification number. Every communication unit will be assigned a unique paging channel ID that will preferably be different than any ID it uses on its home two-way system. In step 530, the communication unit looks for paging commands and responds to them. If the communication unit decodes its ID, it will carry out the command decoded, which can include inhibit commands. The local system may call upon the paging system to find a target unit for an inhibit command, such as shown in step 534 should the home system be unable to find the target unit at home. This is one area where the present invention provides a big improvement over existing systems.
For example, a public safety radio (police radio) being stolen, and transported out of its home area before the system manager were able to initiate a local inhibit command. Without the present invention, the communication unit would still be operational in other areas, and could still be used to monitor sensitive traffic or disrupt authorized communication traffic. The inhibit command on the paging channel of the present invention would more than likely be able to get the stolen radio inhibited. The communication unit would then automatically move to a locally recommended system, as shown in step 536 where it would acknowledge the inhibit command with the inhibiting home system. Thereby, rendering the unit non-operational.
After having discussed the system operation from the communication unit's perspective, the system operation will now be discussed from the system fixed end side. In FIG. 6, a flowchart showing the way system 100 operates in response to an inhibit or un-inhibit request is shown. The intent of the system fixed end is to be able to enable or disable with operating information, a target unit that may be located in its home system or in another area of the wide-area system as the unit roams. The system manager will initiate the commands to the target units as it always does on the unit's home system. The commands will reach the target unit quickly if the unit is in its home system, or the target unit will be paged, in order to force the target unit to connect back to its home system if the unit is roaming. Once paged the unit links up to its home system and receives the command.
At the top of FIG. 6, we being in step 602, with the system manager attempting to inhibit or un-inhibit the target communication unit on the unit's home system. In step 604, the home system attempts to find the unit in the home system. Referring back to FIG. 1, assuming the system manager is computer 124 next to home system B 132, and the target unit is unit X 144 located away from its home system, in system A 156. Home system B 132, will try to find the target unit X 144 in the usual fashion. If the home system is a trunking system, it will likely have unit-to-site registration information and it will know which site to initiate the transaction on, in order to see if the unit is still operational.
In the case where the home system is a cellular system, the system will likely just send a page out on all of its cells to find the unit. In either case, in step 606, the home system will make a determination as to the target unit's location, e.g., at home and turned on, or roaming (or turned off). This transaction will usually take a few seconds to perform, with the time dependent on the complexity of the wide area system. In this specific example, unit X 144 is not home (system B 132) so the "find it" test of step 606 will fail. If the communication unit is found in it's home system, the target unit would be sent over to a home system channel resource, in step 608.
If unit X 144 can't be found in system B 132 (home system), the system will signal the system manager (e.g., located at system controller 128) that the unit was not found at home and that a wide area search will begin as shown in step 610. In step 612, the home system (system B 132) will connect with the WAPC 184, by way of dialing in through its local LAPC (LAPCa 108), to request that unit X 144 be paged. The request will contain the paging system ID of unit X 144, its capability specification, e.g., cellular only, trunked only, cellular and trunked capable etc., and the type of service that is required for the call, for example, a control programming command. In step 614, the WAPC 184 simply echoes this request to all of the LAPC's (LAPCa 108, LAPCb 182 and LAPCc 156).
Next in step 616, each LAPC determines which local system it will recommend should the roamer be found in its area. This is done by each LAPC looking into its own database of local two-way systems, in order to find a system that is compatible with the roamer and that can currently support the service type requested. In the current example, LAPCb 182 will recommend local system A 156, so that unit X 144 can use system A 156 to respond to its inhibit or un-inhibit command.
After the LAPC has determined which system to recommend, it transmits the page, on its transmitter(s), in hopes of alerting the roaming unit in step 618. The page contains the paging system ID of the roamer, the system type of the recommended system, its control access frequencies, its system ID, the call type that the unit is to respond to (e.g., control, and perhaps a roaming ID that the unit can use to call home), and any other required system information.
Receiving the page in step 620, from any one of the paging sites, the roaming unit (unit X 144) will decode the page and "wake up" (come out of its inhibit state). The information field of the page will direct the unit to the recommended system, in this example system A 156 where it will gain access. Gaining access means generating a call request for the control call type specified in the page. Unit X 144 then links to its home system (system B 132), via the PSTN, where it identifies itself by its normal home system ID in step 622. In the present example, unit X 144 gains access to System A 156 where it dials back to its home system B 132.
At this point, the home system and the target unit are connected. If unit X 144 had been in the home system area to start with, it would have been assigned a home system channel resource. If unit X 144 was roaming and dialed back in, we now go forward with the unit informing its home system that it's ready to complete the programming. If the command signal had been an inhibit command, the unit simply would acknowledge the inhibit command and disconnect. If it is an un-inhibit command, the unit must receive programming information from the home system, i.e., system type, system ID, system control frequencies, its new home system individual ID, a group ID for trunking operation, and perhaps other operational parameters. These parameters are preferably stored in the radio unit's non-volatile EEPROM memory (212 in FIG. 2). In step 624, the radio unit acknowledges the programming, after which the unit disconnects with the home system and all of the resources are de-assigned. Preferably, the system manager is also informed that the programming was successful and the routine is completed in step 626.
As been shown by the above description, the present invention solves several problems associated with prior art wide area systems. Some of the major problems solved by the present invention include:
1) Easier control and programming of communication units since a communication unit is capable of gaining access to any system in order to respond to an incoming call.
2) Over-the-air programming of communication units is now feasible for use in wide area systems, since with the present invention, a system user has a higher probability of getting access to roaming radios in the system. The prior issues of either bringing in the radio to the programming service shop, or entering the data directly into the radio, can be eliminated.
3) The present invention solves the registration problems associated with prior art systems, especially unit-to-system registrations. The present invention solves the registration problem by using a separate paging channel to page targeted units, in order to eliminate the registration complexity. The roaming units are also only paged when they are required for a call.
4) In present trunking systems, it is very time consuming for roaming units to link up with a proper system to communicate on, since the roaming radio must scan through many potential control channels to find a good system. Keeping a list of control channel candidates in the roaming radio helps the problem, but adds to the complication of radio unit programming. Radio scanning also wastes a lot of time and causes the roaming unit to be out of communication contact during the time the radio is scanning. The present invention solves this problem by using one predefined paging channel to page roaming units that are targeted for traffic, and directing the units to the appropriate channel resource.
5) Roaming units find it difficult to find a system that provides the services the roaming unit needs for its incoming calls when the unit is away from its home system. Coverage Plus™ systems, for example, broadcast commercial OSW's that announce the services it is currently providing. However, roaming units may have to potentially scan through many systems to find the right one. This new invention solves this problem by directing the targeted unit to a suitable system at the time of the call (no scanning is required on the part of the roaming unit).
6) Presently, communications units that can operate on only one type of system (e.g., cellular only radios, trunking only radios, etc.) can not take advantage of the other system types, even when the other system types could provide the units with better service. On the other hand, multi-service type radios, like radios capable of operating in cellular and trunking systems, are technically possible today, but the efficient use of multiple systems is limited due to the complexity of determining when to use what type of system (e.g., when to use cellular over trunking, etc.). The present invention allows for the ease of use of multi-service communications units, by keeping them constantly in contact through the single paging channel and moving most of the system type determinations to the fixed end side of the system. For example, the best system suitable for use by a roamer could be automatically selected by the system, knowing where the radio is located and who the radio needs to contact.
In summary, the present invention provides for an efficient and quick of way of determining where in a wide area system a roaming radio may be. It also provides information to the roaming unit in order for the unit to "link up" with its home system when required. By overlapping a paging channel over an entire wide area system which can comprise a multitude of smaller systems each being of different types (e.g., cellular, trunking, etc.) a simple and yet very effective way of coordinating the problems associated with roamers is solved.
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It was a warm August day in 2008, surprisingly devoid of humidity, when Bryan Thompson worshipped in the pews of a downtown Charleston Episcopal parish as he normally did.
Two Sundays earlier, he and his partner of about 13 years, Edward Bryan III, had traveled to California to get married. But after this worship wrapped up, a retired Episcopal priest approached them.
He'd heard that Thompson and Bryan had married. But had their marriage been blessed?
Performed in a civil ceremony, it had not.
"How about right now?" Thompson recalled the priest asking.
Then, the man added: "God is in this."
Stunned, around 12:30 p.m., Thompson and Bryan stepped back into the hushed, empty sanctuary with two witnesses. The priest stood at the altar and blessed their marriage.
"It was as powerful an experience as my own confirmation," Thompson recalled. "I felt the Holy Spirit was there, and that we were blessed by the divine."
It also reaffirmed his faith in the church and clergy at a time when same-sex relationships were the subject of considerable anger and dispute, especially within churches.
"A man of the cloth has blessed my marriage from the altar," said Thompson, a cradle Episcopalian and the recent past warden at St. Stephen's Episcopal in downtown Charleston. "It may not mean anything legally. But it means everything from a human perspective."
The priest, whom Thompson said he promised to keep anonymous, risked much back in those days, when local Episcopal clergy answered to a much more traditional bishop. No more, though. Bishop Charles vonRosenberg on Tuesday gave priests in The Episcopal Diocese in South Carolina permission to perform a rite blessing lifelong same-sex relationships.
But back in 2008, the James Island couple felt overwhelmed by the priest's selflessness. Now, Thompson hopes other gay couples will receive the same blessing, minus the secrecy.
"It's wonderful. It shows the Holy Spirit is alive and well and living in the church and that love doesn't have bounds," Thompson said. "It doesn't have prejudice - not even prejudice authorized by the church."
Reach Jennifer Hawes at 937-5563 or follow her on Twitter at @JenBerryHawes.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Here's a lovely little Internet Explorer "feature" that may have web developers cursing, so I figured I would write a brief post about it in the hope that IE doesn't waste an hour of your life like it did mine.
If you develop in PHP and need to add image upload functionality to a project, you will hopefully check the mimetype of each uploaded file to reduce the chance that it is a virus-laden script file or something equally nasty.
It's quite easy to do by querying the "type" property of the uploaded file object. This page from the online PHP documentation has the details.
When checking an image upload, I normally check that the uploaded file's mimetype is either image/jpeg, image/png or image/gif. These are standard mimetypes and everything works as it should, with users of the site uploading images to their hearts' content.
Well, it works as it should until someone using Internet Explorer tries to upload a progressive JPEG image (a progressive JPEG is simply one that appears gradually more detailed when loaded, instead of loading from the top edge down). Every browser in the world treats such files as normal image/jpeg files, as they should. Except Internet Explorer of course, which uses the completely made-up mimetype of image/pjpeg.
Yes, that's right, Microsoft invented their OWN mimetype for this solitary JPEG sub-type, presumably for no other reason than to annoy web developers the world over.
Add this to the list of mimetypes you check, and of course everything works fine. But you shouldn't have to.
All I can say is, way to go Microsoft. Just when I thought you couldn't surprise and disappoint me any more, you've succeeded in doing it again.


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Resources tagged: Calvinism
Page 1 of 2 pages NEXT
Adjunct Faculty, Darryl G. Hart | November 4, 2013 | Category: Interviews, Office Hours
Office Hours talks with Darryl G. Hart about his recent book "Calvinism: A History."
Guests, Richard Muller | February 29, 2012 | Category: Lecture Series
A study of John Calvin's doctrine of assurance and its frequent misrepresentation in subsequent Calvin historiography.
Guests, Richard Muller | February 28, 2012 | Category: Lecture Series
The identification of Calvinism with the unique theology of John Calvin is nothing short of a fallacy.
Resident Faculty, Michael S. Horton | October 5, 2011 | Category: Interviews, Office Hours
Dr. Michael Horton talks about his latest book, For Calvinism.
Resident Faculty, W. Robert Godfrey | July 26, 2010 | Category: Articles
It is essential to be concerned about both the head (sound doctrine) as well as the heart (the life of faith).


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Teaks North, Jaycito among offerings at upcoming Fasig-Tipton sale
The catalog for the inaugural Fasig-Tipton Kentucky summer selected horses of racing age sale is now available online. The catalog features 69 entries, headlined by Grade 1 winners Teaks North and Jaycito, with the potential for more to come.
The sale will take place immediately following the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July sale of selected yearlings on July 15 at the auction company's Newtown Paddocks headquarters in Lexington, Ky. The yearling sale features a catalog of 258 horses and is set to begin at 10 a.m. Eastern.
The horses of racing age catalog will be online-only until the day of the auction, when print editions will be available on the sale grounds. Because of this, entries may be accepted up to about a week until the sale, meaning the number of horses slated to go through the ring could increase. Potential buyers may sign up for email alerts on the Fasig-Tipton website to receive updates on horses added to the sale, as well as any updated racing and training information.
A diverse sampling of offerings can be found in the catalog, from unraced 3-year-olds and winning juveniles to older horses with Grade 1 wins on their résumés. In total, 11 of the horses entered in the sale have won at least one graded or listed stakes race.
The sale's roster is highlighted by the aforementioned Teaks North, winner of the 2011 United Nations and Gulfstream Park Turf; and Jaycito, the 2010 Norfolk winner. Another key entry is Fusaichiswonderful, a multiple stakes winner in Puerto Rico who shipped to the U.S. for 2013. She has won the listed Primal Force and placed in the Grade 3 Eight Belles and Victory Ride in her last three starts
Other horses cataloged with standout victories on their résumés include Grade 2 winners Ciao Bella Luna and Soul Warrior, as well as stakes winners Belief System, Candyman E, Lulu Wong, Shimmering Moment, Sweet Cassiopeia, and Unstoppable U.
To view the online catalog, click here.
Can't Zayat do better for this horse than the sale ring?? Guess he isn't adored by Zayat like Paytner. Private sale maybe, second career, deserves that much. Good luck Jaycito, always pulled for you.
I guess Zayat does not "love" Jaycito as much as he does Paynter.....LMAO you cannot make this stuff up.
I have made a lot of $$$$$ with Teaks North.Had him when he paid 70$ .He got me into the NTRA contest.Used him in many p4s tri and supers.I wish him all the best with his new owner.


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Warriors suffer Wilson setback
Fri, 05 Jul 2013 11:02
Glasgow Warriors back row forward Ryan Wilson will be out of action for up to six months with a shoulder injury.
Wilson sustained the injury playing for Scotland against South Africa last month and has undergone an operation at Spire Murrayfield Hospital.
Ryan Wilson said: "I'm disappointed to miss the start of the season but now I've had the operation I'm looking forward to beginning a period of rehabilitation, in order to get back playing as quickly as possible."
Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend added: "This is a setback for Ryan after a very good season for club and country, but we wish him all the best in his recovery.
"I'm expecting him to play an important role for us off the field in the early part of the season and we look forward to him playing even better when he's back fully fit."
|South African news
|» From a deep dark pit comes belief
|» Cheika in Vic and Bakkies farewell
|» McCaw try: Referees in public spat
|» The best of enemies
|» Du Plessis, Louw out for Pumas


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This is one of the films that sealed Alfred Hitchcock's destiny early on in his career, along with The 39 Steps. The beginning opens a little confused and disorganized but once Hitchcock moves the action to a train, everything comes into place. The story is simple enough with a woman going missing on a train. The one woman who talked with the vanished lady makes it her mission to find out what happened to this missing woman. All of the tell-tale Hitchcock signs are here…mistaken identity, the "wronged" man/woman, and, of course, a little romance and humor. Some elements of the film almost seem "screwball" in how outlandish they are, but since it is a good story with good characters, we allow Hitchcock to take us along for the ride.
Posts Tagged: spies
Over the course of his career, Hitchcock followed his trademark "thriller" genre fairly closely. He made one totally non-suspenseful work early in his career (Mr. and Mrs. Smith from 1941 is a screwball, romantic comedy) and some of his works had more intense thrills than others did. On the whole, though, Hitchcock's films made his audience sit on the edge of their seats and Notorious (1946) is no exception. Yet, it is somewhat unique since it is the closest Hitchcock ever came to making an outright dramatic love story. Starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman (both of whom had worked with Hitchcock prior to this film), Notorious is a masterpiece on every front. It works perfectly as a thriller and passionately as a love story and it features both supreme directing and stellar acting performances. Bergman plays the daughter of a former Nazi who is convicted for his wartime crimes. Her father's connections place Bergman in a perfect position to play spy for the U.S. government, which she does under the watchful eye of governmental agent Grant. A love affair between Bergman and Grant cools off after her assignment involves her becoming more than just an acquaintance with one of her father's friends. Hitchcock's sense of style is unmatched in this film. The camera movements add to both the intensity of the romance (following Grant and Bergman from room to room as they continue their embrace) and the drama of the suspense (following a key in Bergman's hand).


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Defining playing season segments for men's and
women's golf and tennis
The subcommittee reviewed the Championship Committee survey that indicated, in part, that institutions sponsoring men's and women's tennis support defining men's and women's golf and tennis seasons. The subcommittee noted that the current standard allows institutions to declare when its traditional and non-traditional segments occur. Concerns about allowing the fall traditional segment include having a different roster play the traditional segment than the roster that is represented at the NCAA championship in the spring and generally treating golf and tennis differently than the rest of the automatic qualification sports that share similar scheduling challenges. Concerns about requiring a spring traditional segment include scheduling challenges caused by weather, a strain on coaching and physical facilities, and creating a larger disruption for women's tennis than men's tennis. Based on the survey results and concerns listed, the subcommittee is forwarding the following two issues to the golf and tennis committees:
(1) What are the challenges created by limiting the nontraditional segment to a five week period, with 16 days of athletically related activity and including one date of competition? If the 16 day model is not appropriate for the sport, what is the appropriate model in light of the survey results?
(2) What are the challenges created by requiring that the nontraditional segment be conducted in the fall? What are the challenges created by a 16 day model versus a model not specifically limited by days or weeks?
Comments and questions should be sent to D'Ann Keller at the NCAA via email at email@example.com by September 1st


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- A Place & Date Made Pune, India
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Indian Figure - Parsi House Servant, Poona, Clay, circa 1867 Reg. No: ST 039846
- Summary:
- Alternative Names: Poonah Figure, Poona Figure
This clay figure of a Parsi house servant was made in Pune in India in the latter half of the nineteenth century. It was exhibited as part of a group of figures representing various castes, occupations and religious sects. Such figures were exhibited at International Exhibitions and often won awards. This figure was accessioned by the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in 1867 as a purchase from Stubb and Co.
- Description:
- Figure of a man on a wooden base. The base is painted black turned wood. The figure is plaster/composition modeled over wooden dowels, it is painted with a fair skin tone and dressed in fabric. His garments consist of a white tunic and white trousers. He has a painted red hat and painted black shoes.
- Acquisition Information:
- Donation (Probable) from Exhibition: 1880 International, Melbourne, 1880
|10.5 cm (Height), 4.5 cm (Width)
More information
|Tagged with:
|museum history, handcrafts, indigenous cultures, sculpture, religions zoroastrianism
|Themes this item is part of:
|Clay Modelling in India, Poona (Poonah/Pune) Clay Modelling, Royal Exhibition Building Collection, Public Life & Institutions Collection
|Primary Classification:
|Secondary Classification:
|Affiliated Institutions
|Tertiary Classification:
|exhibition heritage
|Place & Date Made:
|Pune, Maharashtra, India, circa 1867
NGV Stockbook gives date range.
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Michael Hall
Michael Hall graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1979. Before joining Texas Monthly in 1997, he was an associate editor of Third Coast magazine and the managing editor of the Austin Chronicle. Hall won two 2001 Katy Awards: one for Best Reporter Writing Portfolio and one for Personality Profile/Interview for his July 2001 story "Lance Armstrong Has Something to Get Off His Chest." He won a Texas Gavel Award in 2003 for his story about capital punishment, "Death Isn't Fair," which was also nominated for a National Magazine Award. Hall's stories have appeared in the Best American Magazine Writing, the Best American Sportswriting, the Best American Nonrequired Reading, and Da Capo Best Music Writing. He has also written for Trouser Press, the New York Times, Men's Journal, and the Austin American-Statesman.
State supreme court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson appoints Texas legend Judge Louis E. Sturns to oversee the court of inquiry into Williamson County DA Ken Anderson.
What will state supreme court chief justice Wallace Jefferson do about Ken Anderson, the DA who sent an innocent man to prison? Based on these clues, Anderson is in for the fight of his life.
Houston attorney Bill Kroger and state Supreme Court chief justice Wallace Jefferson are on a mission to rescue thousands of crumbling, fading, and fascinating legal documents from district and county clerks' offices all over the state. Can they save Texas history before it's too late?
Sure, Texas's criminal justice system is tough. But as Fort Worth inmate Richard LaFuente could tell you, the federal criminal system is even tougher.
Texas Monthly senior editor Michael Hall on why GQ's story about Jerry Joseph, the too-good-to-be-true athlete in Odessa, was one of his favorites of the year.
It has been twenty years since four teenage girls were murdered in a north Austin yogurt shop—and still no answers.
In 1982 a man named Wayne East was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of one of Abilene's most prominent citizens. To this day, he maintains his innocence. And one member of the victim's family believes him.
The convicted killer of a prominent Abilene resident is set to be released.
Abilene law enforcement officials don't want the convicted murderer back in their part of the state.
Larry Swearingen has ten scientists and doctors who say he isn't a killer. He also has a new execution date.
In 1955 Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" transformed the sound of popular music and made him an international star. Twenty-five years later he was forgotten, desperate, and dying in Harlingen. How did one of the fathers of rock and roll land so far outside the spotlight?
The "Mineola Swingers Club" cases come to a disgraceful end.
Fifty-eight bands from around the world play Austin Psych Fest 4 April 29–May 1. Michael Hall sits down with the Black Angels, founders of the festival (and the "Reverberation Appreciation Society") and rejuvenated psychedelic godfather Roky Erickson.


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News, trends and ideas we're tracking today.
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Bar exam pass rates slip for Houston schools
A smaller percentage of law students from the University of Houston, Texas Southern University and the South Texas College of Law passed the Texas Bar Examination in February than previously, as nearly every law school in the state saw pass rates slip. According to statistics released this week by the State of Texas, 78 percent […] [Read More]


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ORNL researchers Joseph Vought (left) and Vinod Sikka (right) and Philip Morris' Seetharama Deevi (center), who was on a 1-year sabbatical at ORNL, developed the award-winning Exo-Melt process. This system enables low-cost manufacturing of advanced materials such as nickel and iron aluminides. Photograph by Bill Norris.
Nurtured by ORNL researchers for almost 15 years, nickel aluminides may have found their niche. ORNL's modified nickel aluminides are receiving considerable attention by the heat-treating industry in the United States and may have arrived just in the nick of time to make some companies more competitive.
Nickel aluminides are intermetallic materials that have long been considered potentially useful because, thanks to their ordered crystal structure, they are very strong and hard and melt only at very high temperatures. But they had a serious weakness: they were too brittle to be shaped into reliable components. Then, in 1982, ORNL researchers led by Chain T. Liu in the Metals and Ceramics Division found the secret recipe for producing a ductile nickel aluminide alloy: add trace amounts of a few alloying elements in the right proportion. It was like turning peanut brittle into taffy. Their most important discovery was that the addition of a small amount of boron (200 parts per million) to a nickel aluminide alloy (Ni3Al) makes the alloy highly ductile at room temperature.
Joseph Vought inspects a coil cast from nickel aluminide at Harrison Alloys in Harrison, New Jersey.
ORNL's modified nickel aluminides have been attractive for industrial applications because they are lighter and five times stronger than stainless steel. They are also affordable: they contain no expensive, difficult-to-obtain materials of strategic value. Unlike standard alloys, which have a disordered structure that becomes even more random and weaker at increasing temperatures, nickel aluminides with their ordered structure become stronger as temperature rises to about 800°C. At high temperatures, they are resistant to wear, deformation, and fatigue, which is failure by cracking resulting from repeated stress or temperature.
Since the mid-1980s, ORNL's nickel aluminide alloy compositions have been licensed to about a dozen companies for various uses, ranging from processing glass to making dies for forming beverage containers and other shapes from metal. Automobile and tool companies have found ORNL's nickel aluminides especially appealing. The reason: because of its high aluminum content, this class of materials is virtually unaffected by gases containing oxygen or carbon at high temperatures. Because of their resistance to oxidation and carburization at temperatures up to 1100°C (2000°F), nickel aluminides are considered potentially useful materials for "furnace furniture"assemblies used to contain parts during treatment at high temperatures to harden their surfaces. They are viewed as excellent candidate materials for tools for the metal-forming industry and for trays, belts, radiant tubes, mufflers, and other furnace components used to manufacture parts by the automobile industry.
"These vendors had experience adding less than 1% aluminum to steel to remove trapped oxygen," Sikka says, "but they resisted melting material that had as much as 8 to 12% aluminum. They feared that the molten aluminum would leak through tiny cracks in the furnace wall and attack the heating coils, possibly causing an explosion."
To address the safety concerns of the alloy preparation industry, Sikka and Joseph Vought developed a new process in collaboration with Seetharama Deevi, who was on a 1-year sabbatical at ORNL from the Research Center at Philip Morris in Richmond, Virginia. The development, called the Exo-Melt process, received a 1995 R&D Award from R&D magazine.
"Our process is a special way of loading the furnace crucible to take advantage of the heat that is generated in the reaction between nickel and aluminum, as in the case of reaction synthesis of materials," Sikka says (see sidebar "Aluminides: From Powders to Products Using Reaction Synthesis"). "The reaction that produces NiAl liberates a large amount of heat and is, therefore, called an exothermic reaction. The heat of the reaction can be used to dissolve the alloying elements, such as boron, chromium, molybdenum, and zirconium. These dopants give the aluminide special properties like ductility and strength.
Schematic of the furnace-loading sequence employed for the Exo-Melt process to form modified nickel aluminide (Ni3Al) by melting nickel, aluminum, and small amounts of alloying elements. A similar arrangement can be used to form iron aluminides.
"What we want to produce is Ni3Al, so we start by putting nickel on the furnace floor to provide the extra two atoms of nickel for each molecule of NiAl. For the next layer, we add the alloying elements. Then we add nickel, which is sandwiched between two stacks of aluminum at the top."
As the furnace elements are heated by induction coils, the exact temperature reached by each element depends on its properties. Nickel, which has a melting point of 1440°C, heats up to about 800°C as aluminum reaches its melting point of 660°C. As the aluminum melts and comes in contact with the heated nickel, NiAl forms, releasing large amounts of heat. In fact, droplets of NiAl, which has a melting point of 1639°C, begin to form and drip down along with unreacted molten aluminum. The superheated NiAl liquid dissolves the alloying elements on its way down. The molten aluminum also continues to react with the heated nickel and forms additional NiAl, which reacts with the nickel at the bottom of the furnace to form Ni3Al.
"The key to the success of the Exo-Melt process is the furnace-loading sequence," Sikka says. "It makes possible the NiAl reaction that provides much of the energy for melting the rest of the elements in the furnace. The efficient use of heat from the NiAl reaction gives the Exo-Melt process several advantages. It saves energy, using only one-half to two-thirds of the power required by the conventional process. Because it melts the elements rapidly, it minimizes oxidation of the alloying elements and increases furnace life by minimizing time at high temperature. It allows ease of vacuum melting because all alloying elements can be loaded at the start. Best of all, it eliminates vendors' safety concerns in melting nickel aluminides."
The Exo-Melt process has been communicated by ORNL to alloy preparation vendors, and journal articles have been published on the process (e.g., "Exo-Melt: A Commercially Viable Process," Advanced Materials & Processes, by Sikka et al., Vol. 147, No. 6, June 1995). The vendors using the Exo-Melt process to melt large heats of nickel aluminides and cast components are Alloy Engineering and Casting Company in Champaign, Illinois; United Defense in Anniston, Alabama; The BiMac Corporation in Dayton, Ohio; and Sandusky International in Sandusky, Ohio. The heats range from 150 to 3000 pounds.
General MotorsSaginaw Division uses modified nickel aluminide furnace trays to hold automobile parts transferred to a furnace for heat treating.
Nickel aluminide parts made by the Exo-Melt process are already being used in the industrial world on an experimental basis. At the General MotorsSaginaw Division facility in Saginaw, Michigan, automobile parts, valves, ball bearings, and gears are heated in a carbon atmosphere in a furnace. "Carbon diffuses into metal," Sikka says, "and hardens the component surfaces to reduce wear."
Recently, an experiment was tried in a batch furnace at the General MotorsSaginaw facility. Gears were loaded onto two different trays that were moved into the furnace. One tray was made of the chromium-nickel alloyed steel (HU steel) conventionally used by GM. The other was made of nickel aluminide. Both trays and their gears were subjected to a carbon source for the same time and at the same temperature. Then the gears and tray were moved to a tank of oil for quenchingthey were cooled rapidly from between 800 and 900°C to 25°C, or room temperature. The gears or other parts being heat-treated to harden their surfaces are subjected to the heat-treatment cycle only once, but the trays holding the parts must endure hundreds of cycles in the furnace. The repeated thermal cyclesheating and rapid coolingand the hardening effects of the carbon atmosphere caused the HU steel tray to fall apart in 6 months. The nickel aluminide tray was barely affected.
Sikka explains that, because of its high aluminum content, nickel aluminide forms a thin film of aluminum oxide on its surface. "This aluminum oxide film is like a brick wall," he says. "It keeps carbon from diffusing into the alloy because carbon has very low affinity for aluminum."
As a result of the batch furnace test, Sikka says, "General Motors concluded that nickel aluminide has twice the life of the HU steel that they've been using in their furnace trays. It is expected that continued tests will show that nickel aluminide lasts three to five times longer than the conventional material. Because use of nickel aluminide extends the life of furnace furniture, the furnace can be operated much longer before furniture replacements are needed, saving General Motors millions of dollars."
General Motors is considering the evaluation of complete nickel aluminide furnace assemblies consisting of a base tray, upper and lower grids, and support posts. The evaluation is part of a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA), using funds from both DOE-ORNL and General Motors.
For another example, consider Rapid Technologies, a company in Newnan, Georgia, that manufactures furnaces to be used for heating metal for manufacture of horseshoes, pliers, and wrenches. This company is using ORNL's nickel aluminide from United Defense to make rails for its walking-beam furnaces. The heat-treating furnace moves steel bars to a very high-temperature region, softening them so they can be formed into tools and horseshoes. The company has found that use of nickel aluminide rails in walking-beam furnaces has made possible the commercialization of its rapid-heating furnace technology. Because this technology provides rapid heating, less natural gas and process cooling water are needed, resulting in lower emissions and reduced energy use. Such technology should enable U.S. companies to be more competitive and to save jobs.
A major steel company is interested in using transfer rollers made of nickel aluminide in its steel-mill heat-treating furnace. There it heat treats steel plates at 800900°C to soften them so they can be shaped into components for bridges and other structures. The current rollers, which are turned by a gear system to move each steel plate along through the mill, are fabricated from steel.
"These rollers eventually have two problems," Sikka says. "In the intense heat, they lose their strength, sag, and begin to wobble, jostling the steel plates. Also, they develop oxide particles on the surface that cause scratches. As a result, a large fraction of the steel plates produced at the steel mill are scratched. That's a problem because their competitors in Japan are selling steel plates that are not scratched."
The approach to the problem has been to shut down the furnace every third week for an inspection of the rollers. Sagging rollers are replaced with new ones. The needlelike oxides are ground out of the other rollers.
In the past year, the company has tried using rollers made from nickel aluminide in the mill. "Company engineers noticed that the oxides produced on the surface of the nickel aluminide are smooth," Sikka says. "Also, they concluded that nickel aluminides did not sag because they are three times stronger than the steel being used in the rollers.
"They hope to test a large number of nickel aluminide rollers soon. If the material performs as well as tests show, they should have to turn off the furnace only about once a year, not every 6 weeks, making it much more competitive in the steel industry."
Nickel aluminides have come a long way since 1981 when Liu received $10,800 from ORNL's seed money program to find ways to make nickel aluminides ductile. Over $21 million has been spent on ORNL research that has successfully developed ductile nickel aluminides and an efficient process to produce them that is becoming acceptable to the alloy preparation industry.
"At the end of 1995, 50,000 pounds of Ni3Al had been melted by industry," Sikka says. "Commercial sales of nickel aluminide are approaching a half million dollars. These amounts should climb rapidly now that a network of both nickel aluminide suppliers and users exists."
These successes would not have been possible without support from DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Advanced Industrial Materials Program; DOE's Office of Energy Research, Basic Energy Sciences Materials Program and the Energy Research Laboratory Technology Applications Program; and DOE's Office of Fossil Energy, Advanced Research and Technology Development Materials Program. These programs, especially Fossil Energy, also sponsored ORNL's research on iron aluminides described in the sidebar "ORNL's Iron Aluminides: An Emerging Success Story"
Thanks to nudges from and networking by ORNL researchers, nickel aluminides appear to have found a niche. Clearly, they possess special properties that make them well suited for specific uses. Because they may help U.S. industry become more competitive and save jobs, ORNL's nickel aluminides are now breaking into the marketplace.
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Date(s) - 04/04/2014
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The Huntington Club
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Join Creative Living for an evening of fine wine tasting, hors d'oeuvres, music, raffle, auction and friends. Tickets are $75 per person with 100% of the proceeds go to fund Creative Living's Resident Assistance Program. Click here to purchase tickets.


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In an interview on Grist, Bruce Bradley, former marketer for brands like General Mills, Pillsbury and Nabisco, talks about the food industry. He reminds readers that the food business is primarily interested in generating a profit, not making you healthy.
The Observation Deck
A blog of opinions on local, state and national issues


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On balance, what's more important for your party's convention this year—to energize the base or appeal to swing voters?
Democrats (102 votes)
Appeal to swing voters: 53%
Energize the base: 46%
Both (volunteered): 1%
Appeal to swing voters
"The base is fired up and ready to go; [Todd] Akin did that!"
"In a narrow election, swing voters are the deciders."
" 'Unconvinced' 2008 Obama voters are now the undecideds most crucial to victory; Paul Ryan will take care of the base for us."
"It's the first time the indies are tuning in, and the base is already locked in."
"While it is important to energize the progressive base of the Democratic Party, this group is not large enough to carry the important swing states like Ohio, Florida, Virginia, and Colorado."
"There are a vanishingly small number of swing voters, but they matter a lot in 50-50 elections. We'd better be able to speak to them in terms that resonate, or we're screwed."
"Obama needs to remember that his speech isn't directed to those in the hall but to those watching on television."
"But let's be honest—most won't be listening all that much."
Energize the base
"Conventions are for the party faithful, not for swing voters."
"Obama wins if blacks and Hispanics vote."
"You must energize the base first. Look at Democrats in 2010. No energy from the base, and [they] got their clocks cleaned. Swing voters are for October."
"We're ahead. We just need to make sure our people get to the polls. They will be watching. Swing voters likelier to be watching Wheel of Fortune."
"While I believe the single most important thing for both parties is to appeal to swing voters, the convention is designed to energize the base."
"There are just more nonenergized base voters than there are true undecideds."
"The base needs a little red meat before they start chanting "Yes, We Can!" again."
"No swing voters watch the convention—really bad TV."
On balance, what's more important for your party's convention this year—to energize the base or appeal to swing voters?
Republicans (154 votes)
Appeal to swing voters: 71%
Energize the base: 22%
Both (volunteered): 5%
Define Romney, his agenda (volunteered): 2%
Appeal to swing voters
"With the selection of Rep. [Paul] Ryan, the base is very excited. The appeal now is to swing voters—the few that are left."
"Obama has energized our base for us already. Now we need to appeal to swing voters and show them why a Romney-Ryan administration will get America back on track."
"You have to do both, but the obvious fact is that neither party's base is large enough to win outright."
"Appeal does not mean pander. Be consistent and direct."
"If Republicans cannot appeal to swing voters or independents, we won't have any chance of reclaiming the White House."
"Base will be energized enough with the prospect of voting against Obama."
"You hope your base is energized already. An hour a night of network prime-time TV ideally reaches out beyond The Daily Show and [The Sean] Hannity audiences."
"The base knows what it needs to do. Frankly, if they're not hopping mad then they shouldn't be considered part of the 'base.' "
"The base is energized, but the swing voters are still up in the air. And, in order to actually govern, the victor needs more than just their base, as Bush 43 found out in his second term."
"Primary is over. Somebody tell Boston."
Energize the base
"There are very few swing voters out there: In this environment, it's the base that must be turned out."
"Romney is a moderate and already appeals to the swing voters. The hard-core Christians will never vote for a Mormon. Therefore, he needs to get the ones who will [get] behind him energized."
"With swing voters on vacation, the convention is to fire up, and then organize, the base."
"Persuadables aren't going to be happy with either of these nominees. Get out the anti-Obama majority."
When all is said and done, do you think this will be the most negative presidential campaign you've ever seen?
Democrats (101 Votes)
Yes: 64%
No: 36%
"Super PACs with no accountability!"
This article appears in the August 25, 2012 edition of National Journal Magazine.


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Need a date for Valentine's Day? Don't worry, you're covered!
Possibly one of the cutest fund raising ideas ever, the 'Five in Five' campaign challenges people to shake their single status, by going out on five dates in five weeks entirely in the name of charity. Instead of shopping through online profiles for matches, participants utilise their networks, social circles, friends and family to refer them dates and to donate to their dating adventure. And because they're getting dates referred to them by people who know them best, and because it's all in the name of charity, there's much less pressure and possibility of those awkward, silent, twiddling thumbs moments. It's all about putting yourself out there as a single, for charity at the very least, and feeling great about doing it!
The campaign works in three, simple steps:
1) Singles register online at www.fiveinfive.org.au, allowing them to share their donations page via social media channels, or by simply telling friends and family to take a look;
2) Participants encourage friends and family to sponsor them on their quest for dates, suggest potential dates for the five dates, and explain that it's all for charity and to please be generous;
3) If participants are nervous they've completely forgotten how to date, and think they're worried they'll bomb out the moment they open their mouths, they shouldn't worry – participants receive helpful tips and tools from 'Five in Five' campaign dating specialists throughout the entirety of their dating challenge! media release
Last year's campaign saw over 220 people take-up the challenge raising $60,000 for charity and feedback is that not only did people have fun, but they have had some real dating success.
The 'Five in Five' concept allows participants to 'date for charity' to ease the pressure of going on dates so they can be 'just for fun'. They can use the 'Five in Five' challenge as a great excuse, or even as an engaging icebreaker so they can finally ask out that interesting person they've been thinking about. And the fact that it's for charity, just might win them over. Because funds are raised through peer-to-peer sponsorship, it's great to get donors involved in the matchmaking. Friends, family, neighbours and colleagues can all suggest dates to our participating singles, helping to get dating back into the real world with help from people who know them best. 'Five in Five' supports three different charities across Australia, committed to helping marginalised women and at-risk and young people: Whitelion, St Kilda Gatehouse and Kids Under Cover.
You can register for the 2014 Five in Five campaign at www.fiveinfive.org.au, kicking off on Valentine's Day, 14th February to 21st March 2014


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Sony Alpha a77II Digital SLR Camera
- Product Details
Notes: We make every attempt to have a fully charged battery for you but we can't guarantee it 100%. If you need a fully charged battery, please request it via the order notes.
Rental Includes:
The Sony Alpha a77II Digital SLR Camera is an all-around versatile camera that shoots a quick 12 FPS and sports a tiltable LCD screen, full HD video, plenty of AF points, and built-in WiFi. The sensor utilizes a gapless on-chip lens design, which fills the gaps between neighboring pixels with optimized lenses that match the angle of incidence to increase light gathering ability and produce edge-to-edge sharpness and quality. This allows for less noise even at the highest ISOs. AF modes can be selected from depending on the subject, for example, Eye AF is a detail-oriented focusing function that can prioritize a subject's pupil and dedicate focusing performance on that for sharply-rendered portraits. SteadyShot INSIDE sensor-shift type image stabilization helps to minimize the appearance of camera shake with any mounted lens when recording still images. This camera is suited for both casual videography and photography


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Japanese Manga Comic Symposium to Be Held at Pomona College
Japanese manga comics have swept the country. Manga is one of the fastest growing segments of the American publishing industry, and over the course of two years, sales soared from $60 million to $110-140 million. While manga used to occupy a few bottom shelves at the neighborhood Borders or Barnes & Noble, it now easily takes up a full wall—with shôjo girl, shônen boys, supernatural, and even horror manga all in full translation. Manga, the hottest trend in comic books in America, is related to Japanese anime with its stylized big-eyed characters.
On Friday, February 17, the Pacific Basin Institute at Pomona College will host the symposium "Marauding Rabbits, Starry-Eyed Girls, Battling Boys, 'Ordinary Ladies': Japanese (American) Manga in Review." This event is open to the public and free of charge.
Stanley Sakai, the creator of the long running and highly successful samurai rabbit Usagi Yojimbo series, will provide a step-by-step demonstration of how a manga story is written and drawn. Also featured is Frederik L. Schodt, the premier scholar on manga in English and author of the seminal, Manga! Manga!: The World of Japanese Comics (1983) and Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga (1986). Kinko Ito, professor of sociology at the University of Arkansas, will speak to the genre of ladies comics, its emergence in the 1980s to its newest trends in the 21st century. Matthew A. Thorn, associate professor at Japan's only department of comic art at Kyoto Seika University and an expert on girls' shôjo manga, will round out the program.
The symposium will be held from 1:30-5:30 p.m. in Hahn 101 (420 N. Harvard Avenue, Claremont) and is organized by the Department of Asian Languages & Literatures; co-sponsored with Pacific Basin Institute. For further information contact Lynne Miyake at (909) 621-8931.
The Pacific Basin Institute is dedicated to expanding and enhancing comity and shared knowledge among the nations and cultures that face the Pacific. A valued study, media production and research center for the distinguished, PBI also offers books, film series and lecture programs to a general as well as academic audience. Since the turn of the past century Pomona College has been a leader in Asian Studies among American universities. Visit Pomona College on the web at www.pomona.edu .
Marauding Rabbits, Starry-Eyed Girls, Battling Boys, 'Ordinary Ladies': Japanese (American) Manga in Review
Friday, February 17, 2006
1:30 – 5:30 p.m. Hahn 101, Pomona College
1:30 Introductory Remarks: Lynne K. Miyake (Department of Asian Languages & Literatures, Pomona College)
1:40 Introduction: Mage Macchione (Classics Major, Pomona College)
1:45-2:30 Frederik L. Schodt (Conference Interpreter, Translator, and Freelance Writer)
"The Manga Way"
2:30 Introduction: Tom Bayles (Japanese Major, Pomona College)
2:35-3:10 Stan Sakai (Manga Artist and National Cartoonists Society Award Winner)
"Creating Comics, Making Manga"
3:10 Introduction: Chen Jiang (International Relations Major, Pomona College)
3:15-3:50 Kinko Ito (Department of Sociology, Anthropology, & Gerontology, University of Arkansas at Little Rock)
"Japanese Ladies' Comics: Now and Then"
3:50 Introduction: Julia Fields (Asian Studies Major, Pomona College)
3:55-4:30 Matthew A. Thorn (School of Cartoon & Comic Art, Kyoto Seika University)
4:30-5:30 Open Discussion
5:30 Buffet Dinner (hall outside Hahn 101)


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Mercedes Benz SLC 350 LHD from second owner in a very well original overall condition with a elec. sunroof,velours interior and automatic. Over 350... More
1977 Mercedes-Benz 350SLC Coupe Only 24,803 Miles! Top of the Line Model! Powerful and Smooth 3.5L V8 Engine! 4 Speed Manual Trasmission! Stunning Milan Brown Metallic Exterior! Extremely Rare Dark... More
1973 350SLC (Standard Shift) *Red Paint *Black Vinyl Interior *Very Good running car *No Air Conditioning *This SLC is a very good car $6000.00... More