An alarm-including protection apparatus and method thereof are used to protect a lithium-ion battery with a plurality of series cells. The protection apparatus includes a voltage balance controller for detecting the terminal voltage of each cell and correcting the terminal voltage of each cell. A protection unit and the lithium-ion battery are connected in series. A microprocessor connects to the voltage balance controller and the protection unit for receiving the terminal voltage of each cell and figuring out a voltage difference between the maximum terminal voltage and the minimum terminal voltage of the series cells. According to the comparison result of the voltage difference and a plurality of critical voltage differences, the microprocessor is used to correct the terminal voltage of each cell, generate an alarm signal or stop charging to the lithium-ion battery.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lithium-ion battery alarm-including protection apparatus and method thereof; in particular, relates to apparatus and method of providing lithium-ion battery alarm protection by means of joint operations of hardware circuit and software program.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to the restrictions on material features, the charging voltage for a lithium-ion battery generally should not exceed 4.2V/cell, as the life thereof would be significantly reduced otherwise. Another risk of applying an excessive charging voltage to a lithium-ion battery is that it puts the battery at risk of burning or explosion. Another restriction on lithium-ion batteries is that when discharging, the voltage should not drop below 2.7V/cell, as the battery may not be rechargeable otherwise.
Therefore, in the prior art a protection apparatus would be, installed onto a lithium-ion battery in its application device in order to provide lithium-ion battery protection. Please refer to FIG. 1, which illustrates a circuit block diagram of a conventional protection apparatus. The conventional protection apparatus 1 consists of a heat-sensitive unit 10, a heat-melted fuse 11, a charging control switch 12, a discharging control switch 13, a short circuit protector 14 and a central microprocessor 15. Herein, the heat-sensitive unit 10 is used to detect any abnormal temperature generated during the charging/discharging of the lithium-ion battery 2. The heat-melted fuse 11 is to break while overheated, preventing possible damage to the lithium-ion battery 2 caused by high temperature. The central microprocessor 15 controls the charging control switch 12 and the discharging control switch 13, for performing charging or discharging on the lithium-ion battery 2. The short circuit protector 14 can provide circuit protection while short circuit exists.
In conjunction with FIG. 1, now refer to FIG. 2, in which illustrates a diagram of charging voltage distribution for a conventional lithium-ion battery. When the charger 5a charges on the lithium-ion battery 2, each cell 21, 22, 23 therein will be affected by different internal resistances during the charging process, causing the phenomenon of inconsistent terminal voltage distribution on each cell 21, 22, 23. At this moment, the conventional protection apparatus 1 will protect the cell first reaching the upper voltage limit, further stopping charging the entire lithium-ion battery 2, thus leaving the other cells which have not yet reached the upper voltage limit not fully charged. As shown in FIG. 2, the voltage in cell 21 is 4.35V, the voltage in cell 22 is 4.15V and the voltage in cell 23 is 4.1V, while the charging voltage offered by the charger 5a is 12.6V.
Besides, in case of discharging, the lithium-ion battery 2 will behave merely contrarily to charging, wherein the conventional protection apparatus 1 will protect the cell first reaching the lower voltage limit, further stopping discharging the entire lithium-ion battery 2, thus leaving the other cells which have not yet reached the lower voltage limit not fully discharged.
As a result, when using the conventional protection apparatus 1 to protect the lithium-ion battery 2, it would generate in a cyclic way an accumulated interference effect, hence while charging the lithium-ion battery 2, the situation of overly high charging voltage might occur in certain cells, causing burning or explosion; alternatively, during discharging, the situation of overly low discharging voltage might exist in certain cells, resulting in being unable to restore its capacity and to perform recharging.

Alarm-including protection apparatus for lithium-ion battery and method thereof


A sensor assembly for monitoring gas concentration and a method of the same are provided. The sensor assembly includes a start-up sensor and a long-run sensor. The start-up sensor is characterized by a first power-on period and the long-run sensor is characterized by a second power-on period that is longer than the first power-on period. The sensor assembly also includes a controller in communication with the start-up sensor and the long-run sensor. The controller is configured to cause the start-up sensor and the long-run sensor to power on. The controller is further configured to power off the start-up sensor and monitor the gas concentration via the long-run sensor upon the expiration of the second power-on period. A corresponding method of monitoring gas concentration is also provided.

Modern gas sensors come in various forms, which may have large power consumption requirements or require extended initialization time to reach a steady-state of operation capable of generating accurate gas concentration measurements. Traditional oxygen sensors employed lead electrodes and consumed little to no power during operation. However, these lead-based oxygen concentration sensors had a limited useful life as the electrodes were consumed during operation. Moreover, lead-based devices, including these lead-based oxygen concentration sensors have been phased out of operation over time due to health concerns. Replacement technologies used for oxygen sensors are not limited by the same short usable life-spans as the original lead-based sensors, however these replacement technologies are characterized by relatively high levels of power consumption, which require these sensors to be connected to a continuous power supply or a relatively large on-board power supply (e.g., a battery) to enable use of the sensor over an extended period of time. Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, many of these identified problems have been solved by the methods and apparatus of the present disclosure.

Method and apparatus for fast-initialization gas concentration monitoring


A high capacity polymer hydrogen storage material, including a linear high molecular polymer as a main chain. At least one side chain or a terminal group of the linear high molecular polymer is first aminated using a polyamine compound and then reacts with a borohydride to yield an ammonia borane derivative grafted to the side chain or the terminal group of the linear high molecular polymer.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a high capacity polymer hydrogen storage material and preparation method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Based on the hydrogen adsorption forces, hydrogen storage materials are divided into two categories: physical adsorption material and chemical absorption material. Chemical adsorption material includes metal hydride material, hydride material, ammonia borane derivative, and so on Ammonia borane (NH3BH3, AB) has superhigh hydrogen density (19.6 wt. %), moderate heat stability and good chemical stability. The preparation method of AB includes borane method and sodium borohydride method. However, both the methods have such problems as low hydrogen release speed and limited hydrogen storage capacity, and produce harmful impurity gases. In addition, the resulting hydrogen storage material suffers uneven heating in use.

Polymer material having high capacity for hydrogen storage and preparation method thereof

Wuhan Kaidi Engineering Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd.


A steering device is provided for controlling steering torque applied to a steering wheel of a vehicle. A braking device is provided for controlling longitudinal force applied to each wheel, and a control device is provided for performing at least one of an anti-skid control and a traction control. It is observed whether the control device is performing the control on a split road surface. The steering torque is controlled on the basis of a difference of longitudinal force applied to the right and left wheels, and a turning state amount deviation between a turning state amount and a desired amount thereof. The desired amount of turning state is calculated, on the basis of the turning state of the vehicle obtained when one of the anti-skid control and the traction control is performed on the split road surface.

The present invention relates to a steering control apparatus for a vehicle, and particularly relates to a steering control apparatus capable of restraining deflection of the vehicle, when the vehicle is turning, with an anti-skid control or traction control being performed on a μ-split road surface.
In Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2004-532153, which corresponds to US Publication No. 20050189163A1, with respect to a stability compensation system for stabilizing a vehicle, it is proposed to provide the system which is capable of stabilizing the vehicle by adjusting a steering wheel, when a split μ (may be called as a μ-split) braking operation is performed to cause unbalanced braking torque, thereby to deteriorate the vehicle stability. It is described in the US Publication that there is provided a vehicle stability compensation system which is arranged to adjust dynamically the self-centering position and the steering feel of the steering system during split μ braking operation, the adjustment being based on at least one operational variable representing a corrective steer angle for the vehicle which is added to the main EAS assistance torque via a driver feedback controller whereby to maintain the vehicle stable and controllable.
Then, it is described that one possible operational variable representing a corrective steer angle is the braking yaw moment. This can be established, for example by generating and subtracting from each other, estimates of the brake pressures at the front left and front right wheels, multiplying the difference by a constant to give the difference in brake forces for the front wheels, and dividing the result by the track width of the vehicle. The braking yaw moment is multiplied by a gain to give the corrective steer angle. A second possible operational variable representing a corrective steer angle is yaw oscillation. This can be established, for example, by inverting a yaw rate signal, multiplying this by a gain and using the result as a feedback signal providing yaw oscillation correction. And, it is described that a vehicle model is driven by inputs of steering angle (at the road wheels), yaw moment disturbance input and vehicle speed.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent No. 2676726 discloses a pressure estimation in case of an anti-skid control, as will be described later, and Japanese Patent No. 3443951 discloses a pressure estimation in case of an traction control, as will be described later.
However, according to the invention as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2004-532153, it relates to the stability compensation system for stabilizing the vehicle, when the anti-skid control is performed on the so-called μ-split road surface, with different coefficients of friction being provided at the right and left front wheels, and the control prevails completely, as long as the vehicle driver is following the control. Then, it is so constituted that the corrective steer angle is obtained on the basis of a difference in braking pressure between the right and left front wheels, or an error between an estimated yaw rate (may be called as desired yaw rate) based on a vehicle speed and steering angle, and an actual yaw rate, and that an assist torque for an electric assist steering system (may be called as electric power steering system) is controlled on the basis of the corrective steer angle.
With respect to the electric power steering system, the steering wheel and steered wheels are mechanically connected with each other, to provide one to one relationship through a steering gear ratio. According to the system with the control prevailing completely as disclosed in the aforementioned Publication No. 2004-532153, it is possible to calculate the desired yaw rate based on the vehicle speed and steering angle, even in the case where the μ-split road surface exists in the turning course of the vehicle. However, according to such an assist system that the steering maneuver of the vehicle driver prevails, and that is aimed to assist the maneuver of the vehicle driver with the steering torque, it is difficult to be determined whether the steering angle of the steering wheel is resulted from the intention of the vehicle driver, i.e., the maneuver of the vehicle driver, or the one resulted from the control. Therefore, it may be caused that the desired yaw rate based on the vehicle speed and steering angle can not be determined.

Steering control apparatus for a vehicle


A solenoid having a housing and a coil disposed in the housing for generating a magnetic field when an electric current passes through the coil. A center pole is disposed within the coil, and the center pole is made of a ferromagnetic material. A rod assembly is movably disposed in the housing for movement between a rest position and an energized position. The rod assembly has a portion thereof disposed in the center pole, and includes a magnet having a polarity causing the magnet to be repelled from the center pole when an electric current passes through the coil. The magnet is encapsulated by an elastomeric material that contacts a stop surface when in the rest position to reduce noise resulting from shifting of the rod assembly from the energized position to the rest position.

Various types of solenoids have been developed to provide electrically powered linear motion. Such solenoids typically include either a soft magnetic material or a permanent magnet comprising the moving mass, and a coil. When the solenoid is in the deenergized or rest position, a portion of the moving mass is in contact with a stop surface. When the coil is electrically energized, the moving mass shifts away from the stop surface. When the coil is deenergized, the moving mass shifts back to the rest position, contacting the stop surface. The impact of the moving mass on the stop surface can create substantial noise that may not be acceptable for certain applications. Efforts to reduce this noise have included utilizing a separate resilient member such as a rubber washer or the like to reduce the noise otherwise caused by the moving mass impacting the stop surface when it shifts to the rest position. However, such resilient stops create added complexity and costs, and may also be prone to degradation.


A CVD process for producing a rare earth-doped, epitaxial semiconductor layer on a substrate is disclosed. The process utilizes a silane or germane and a rare earth compound in the gas phase. By this method single phase, rare earth-doped semiconductor layers, supersaturated in the rare earth, are produced. The preferred rare earth is erbium and the preferred precursors for depositing erbium by CVD are erbium hexafluoroacetylacetonate, acetylacetonate, tetramethylheptanedionate and flurooctanedionate. The process may be used to produce optoelectronic devices comprising a silicon substrate and an erbium-doped epitaxial silicon film.

In recent years increasing research has been focused on the realization of optoelectronic integrated circuits (OE-ICs) on silicon. Possible applications would be chip-to-chip interconnects, parallel processing and the integration of photonics on silicon chips. While the first two applications require basically a light source and a detector on silicon, operating above 77 K, the last application requires the operation of the light source at a certain wavelength, i.e., about 1.5 .mu.m, which falls in the absorption minimum of optical fibers.
In 1983 Ennen et al. [Appl. Phys. Lett. 43, 943 (1983)] pointed out the potential of rare-earth ions in semiconductor materials for the development of light-emitting diodes and lasers. One of the most promising candidates for the preparation of these devices is erbium doping of silicon. The 1.54 .mu.m luminescence of erbium is below the band gap of silicon, thus allowing the construction of optical wave guides within the silicon. This property presents exciting possibilities for creating optical devices in silicon and for integrating electrical and optical devices in circuits fabricated in silicon. The mature manufacturing technology of silicon can be extended into optical communications by this path as the limitation of the silicon indirect band gap is overcome. This wavelength is also becoming extremely important in optical communication because it corresponds to a transmission maximum in optical fibers and is also the output wavelength of IR-pumped Er-doped silica optical amplifiers.
The 1.54 .mu.m luminescence of erbium is the result of an internal 4f transition. The 5s and 5p shells shield the 4f orbitals of the Er.sup.3+ from first-order host lattice effects, and, thus, luminescence is fairly independent of the host materials. The optical transitions occur between the spin-orbit levels, .sup.4 I.sub.13/2 .fwdarw..sup.4 I.sub.15/2, of Er.sup.3+ (4f.sup.11). Since the influence of the crystal field of the host lattice is weak, erbium as an impurity in silicon is expected to show luminescence at room temperature.
Within the past decade, the photo- and electroluminescence, electrical characteristics, and structural properties of Er-doped silicon have been studied. However, prior to the present invention, all Er-doped silicon layers had to be prepared by ion implantation of bulk silicon or by low energy ion implantation of MBE grown silicon. After implantation, samples were annealed to both remove ion damage and to "activate" the implanted erbium. (Activate in the sense of possibly forming an Er-impurity complex which acts as the optical center in these materials.) The best results were obtained at annealing temperatures of 900.degree. C. Unfortunately, erbium possesses a solubility limit in Si of about 1.3.times.10.sup.18 atom/cm.sup.3 at 900.degree. C., and annealing results in the formation of platelets of ErSi.sub.2 which precipitate out within the silicon phase if the concentration of Er is higher than 1.3.times.10.sup.18.
Since higher levels of incorporation of rare earth into epitaxial silicon layers would provide more efficient and powerful devices, there is a need for a process which would produce levels of incorporation above the present limit of solubility at 900.degree. C.

Method of making supersaturated rare earth doped semiconductor layers by chemical vapor deposition

International Business Machines Corporation


A vehicle, in particular electric wheelchair, having a chassis and a driver's seat which is fastened thereto and can be set in its inclination with respect to the chassis. The vehicle includes an inclination sensor which determines the angular position (α) of the seat surface of the driver's seat with respect to the horizontal (H), an adjusting device which is connected to the chassis and to the driver's seat, and a control and regulating device which is operatively connected to the inclination sensor and the adjusting device and via which the driver's seat can be pivoted by the adjusting device in such a manner that its seat surface is always situated essentially parallel to the horizontal (H).

A vehicle is disclosed, for example, in DE 198 21 451 A1. The rails are connected fixedly to the chassis. The driver's seat is mounted over a region of movement on the rails, for example via wheels, which can be driven by electric motor. By means of this configuration of the seat mounting and of the adjustment region, the center of gravity of the loaded vehicle is situated relatively high up, which may result in critical handling on a flat, uneven underlying surface.
Physically disabled people very frequently use electric wheelchairs to travel along paths and roads. For outside, there are specially designed vehicles which have a more powerful drive and more stable running gear dimensions than vehicles designed primarily for inside, so that the vehicles can be used also to cope with relatively uphill and downhill sections. When traveling downhill, there is the problem that the person using the wheelchair has a tendency, as a consequence of the changed angle with respect to the axis of gravitational force, to slide on the seat surface of the driver's seat. As a consequence of their disablement, the drivers of electric wheelchairs frequently have reduced muscle function and therefore cannot physically counteract the changed center-of-gravity conditions. Therefore, the person either has to be fixed on the seat via a belt system, which is then associated with a high pressure loading of the fabric situated under the belt or a seat angle adjustment means has to be provided by means of which the inclination of the driver's seat with respect to the chassis can be set. Before traveling downhill, the seat then has to be inclined manually out of the normal position and, after the downhill section is finished, has to be brought back again into the normal position. The drivers frequently require external assistance for this. In addition, the actuation of the manual seat adjustment has to take place at a standstill, which means that the adjustment process is correspondingly costly.
EP 0 829 247 A2 describes a wheelchair which comprises a chassis and a seat mounted on the chassis, in which the inclination of the seat surface can reach any desired position by means of adjusting elements. An inclination measuring device controls the adjusting elements, so that the inclination of the seat surface can be kept horizontal even if the wheelchair is passing over uneven terrain.

Vehicle with driver's seat with adjustable inclination


According to one aspect of the present disclosure a method and technique for allocating and reserving virtualization-based resources is disclosed. The method includes: receiving, by a virtualization-based resource management system, a reservation request to reserve a set of computing resources; dynamically allocating the set of computing resources to the reservation request; assigning a key to the allocated set of computing resources; and maintaining the allocated set of computing resources in a reserved state until a utilization request is received to utilize the allocated set of computing resources, the utilization request including the key.

The cloud computing environment is an infrastructure level virtualization of computing resources that enables such resources or disparate devices appear to an end-user or customer as a single pool of seamless resources. These resources may include such things as physical or logical compute engines, servers and devices, device memory, storage devices, etc. A cloud service provider may support resource level virtualization to provide computing resources as virtualized resources to cloud customers. In operation, a user can request computing resources from the cloud service provider. The cloud user then logs into the provided virtualized resources and deploys its applications. Thus, the user may make use of the virtualized resources without needing to own or manage the physical level resources.

Allocation and reservation of virtualization-based resources

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


In a combination of a printed wiring board and a memory device selecting circuit provided on the printed wiring board, the printed wiring board is provided with a predetermined number of device mount areas and a conductor pattern for connection with memory devices in the device mount areas. The number of the memory devices actually mounted in the mount areas is set in a device-number setting device, and in accordance with a predetermined bits of address code and on the basis of the number set, device select signals are produced, and are distributed over the conductor pattern. Identical printed wiring boards and memory device selecting circuits can be used, without alteration or re-designing, for forming electronic devices having different memory capacities or different number of memory devices.

The present invention relates to a combination of a printed wiring board and a memory device selecting circuit used for forming an electronic device including one or more data storage more memory devices (integrated circuits) which are mounted on the printed wiring board.
An electronic device, such as a data processing device, often employs a data storage memory module which may comprise a single memory device or a plurality of memory devices. The number of the memory devices is determined on the basis of the required memory capacity. When a plurality of memory devices is mounted, a circuit for selecting one of the memory devices is also provided on the printed wiring board. In the prior art, depending on the number of memory devices that are actually required, the circuit for selecting one of the memory devices needs to be altered or re-designed depending on the number of the memory devices used and the conductor pattern for connection with the memory devices must also be altered or re-designed.
Preparing different kinds of combinations of printed wiring boards and device selecting circuits for different number of memory devices is costly, and this leads to higher overall production costs.

Combination of a printed wiring board and a memory device selecting circuit


A through the wall insulated flue for low temperature venting of radiant heat from igniting combustibles produced by wood pellet, kerosene, fuel oil appliances such as stoves and hot water heaters. The flue assembly includes a protective metal tube, housing a ceramic insulated sleeve that is adapted to surround a flue pipe connected to the appliance, with the tube and insulating sleeve being of a length to be journalled through the wall for venting of the radiant heat. An inside wall plate and a complimentary outside wall plate provide necessary receiving collars for the opposite ends of the tube and insulating sleeve and function to correctly position them from internal wall structures.

Prior through the wall stovepipe installations were primarily adaptable for use with solid fuel, such as wood or coal and thus were required to be associated with an upstanding chimney, thus necessitating insulation only along the junction between the stove and the chimney. As an example of such prior assembly see U.S. Pat. No. 4,543,942, dated Oct. 1, 1985 and the references cited therein.
These prior devices not only required insulation against one structural wall but insulation along the stove pipe itself as it came within the proximity of such wall, with the insulation penetrating into the upright chimney. Thus these assemblies were expensive to manufacture and difficult to install.


Disclosed are processes for treating a subterranean formation to improve the permeability distribution by reducing the permeability in high permeability zones, so fluids injected for oil recovery purposes will sweep more uniformly through the formation. The processes involve injecting a polymerizable compound, preferably a monomer or oligomer of furfuryl alcohol, together with a diluent, preferably an ester such as butyl acetate, and a suitable acid catalyst for the formation conditions, generally toluenesulfonic acid. The fluid may be injected in a liquid phase or mixed with steam or non-condensable gas to form an aerosol, which is injected then into the formation prior to the injection of the oil recovery fluid, which may be water, surfactant fluid, polymer fluid, or steam.

When a deposit of petroleum is located in a subterranean formation, one or more wells are drilled into the formation and the petroleum is allowed to flow or is pumped to the surface of the earth during a period of production commonly referred to as primary production. Unfortunately, primary production recovers only a small fraction of the petroleum originally present in the formation. It has become common practice to apply some form of treatment commonly referred to as enhanced oil recovery to the formation to stimulate the production of petroleum, in order to obtain a larger portion of the petroleum from the formation. The commonest form or treatment comprises injecting water into the formation, which displaces a portion of the petroleum through the permeable formation to a remotely located well by means of which it is recovered to the surface of the earth. Various chemicals including viscosity increasing polymers and surface tension reducing surfactants have been incorporated in the injection water, in order to increase the total amount of petroleum PG,5 recovered from a formation. Injection of steam into subterranean formations containing viscous petroleum has been particularly successful, since primary production recovers very little and in some cases, none of the viscous petroleum originally present in the formation, and steam stimulation has resulted in significant production at relatively modest cost. Steam stimulation may involve injecting steam into one or more wells on a continuous basis and recovering oil from remotely located wells, or it may involve injecting steam into a well for a period of time followed by producing petroleum from the same well.
When a well is drilled into a subterranean petroleum formation, it is common practice to establish communication between the interior of the well and the formation over a substantial portion of the vertical thickness of the petroleum formation. When fluids are injected into the formation via these perforations, it is desirable that the recovery fluid enter the formation relatively evenly, e.g. half of the fluid enters the top half of the formation and half of the fluid enters the bottom half of the formation. Unfortunately, distributions in permeability in formations are so uneven that it is frequently observed that a substantial portion of the steam is entering only a very small portion of the total thickness of the petroleum formation. Oil field service companies offer well surveys which can measure and determine the injectivity profile of an interval, which indicates how evenly the fluid is entering the formation. If the injectivity profile is unfavorable, meaning a major portion of the recovery fluid is entering only a small portion of the thickness of the formation, then the effect of fluid injection on the well will be greatly reduced and some type of remedial treatment must be applied if a significant portion of the oil present in the formation is to be produced by the enhanced oil recovery process.
This problem has been long recognized by persons working in this particular area, and many prior art methods describe processes to be applied to wells for the purpose of altering the fluid injectivity profile of an interval penetrated by a well to a more favorable profile, e.g., to reduce the permeability of the more permeable intervals substantially without reducing the permeability of the less permeable intervals to a similar extent. A great many prior art references describe formation treating processes employing polymers such as carboxymethylcellulose which is injected into the formation, and cross-linking of the polymer within the formation is caused by the presence of trivalent ions such as chromium which, depending on the particular application, are injected previously or subsequently to the polymeric fluid. Many of these processes require successive injections of fluids in order to accomplish sufficient cross-linking of the polymers to accomplish significant reduction of permeability in the very high permeability zones, sometimes referred to as thief zones, in formations, in order to improve the injectivity profile of a subsequently applied oil recovery process involving injection of fluid into the formation for the purpose of stimulating oil production.
Other prior art methods involve injecting polymers into the formation which can be caused to thicken after they have entered the formation.
While many of these procedures have enjoyed success in certain situations, many formations have not responded favorably to prior art methods for a variety of reasons. Many treatment processes require injection of a plurality of different slugs into the formations to interact, and this greatly increases the time and cost of the treatment procedure. Many of the compounds utilized are quite expensive, and this also adds significantly to the cost of the permeability altering processes.
When the oil recovery method to be applied to a formation involves injection of steam, yet another weakness of prior art methods is encountered. Many of the polymers employed in prior art methods are not stable at the high temperatures encountered during the injection of steam into the formation, which may run from 220.degree. to 700.degree. F., and therefore these procedures cannot be employed when steam is to be injected into the formation.
In view of the foregoing brief discussion, it can be appreciated that there is an unfulfilled need for a relatively inexpensive process that can be applied to formation to reduce the wide variations in permeability of the formation. There is a particularly serious unfulfilled need for a process to be applied to a subterranean formation which will resist the temperatures of subsequently injected high temperature fluids such as steam.


The disclosed technology teaches correctly assembling a sequence of components for interacting with a user, including providing a sequence setup GUI with components that accept inputs and have input chain dependencies and outputs. The GUI supports construction of an executable sequence by connecting at least five of the components in a directed graph and tracing multiple paths through the components in the directed graph, resulting from at least one conditional branch at a first component, as the components are connected in the directed graph. Also taught is testing whether input chain dependencies of components under evaluation are satisfied when the components are invoked following any of the multiple paths and locating at least one error in use of a second component that results from failure to satisfy the input chain dependencies of the second component and reporting the error to a user, before executing the sequence and causing the error.

The subject matter discussed in this section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in this section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in this section or associated with the subject matter provided as background should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in this section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves can also correspond to implementations of the claimed technology.
Businesses depend on computing systems to survive, and enterprise companies often utilize software as a service (SaaS) solutions in the cloud instead of installing servers within the corporate network to deliver services. According to International Data Corporation, almost half of all information technology (IT) spending will be cloud-based in 2018, "reaching 60% of all IT infrastructures and 60-70% of all software, services and technology spending by 2020."
Administrators who set up instances of applications served as SaaS need to be able to customize the experience for each client, such as a regional library system, considering privacy, consent, user role and whether the user is an adult or minor, in addition to security considerations. Customization of modules can be complex, due to the size and complexity of the application modules, which can result in sequences that are difficult to write. Also, the specific rules of a client for authenticating, registering and validating their users can be complicated, and in some cases may need to be altered over time, as client policies change.
An opportunity arises to enable administrators at organizations to assemble trusted sequences of components for interacting with users of services delivered via SaaS applications that run under sovereign control of the organization.

Methods and systems for correctly assembling component sequences


The present invention is a network which automates the operation of the IBM AT task file registers used in hard disk drives and hard disk controller systems that are compatible with the IBM AT BIOS (Basic Input/Output System). The present invention provides registers that interface between the disk controller circuit and the IBM AT computer. The network utilizes four 8-bit digital upcounters, one 4-bit digital upcounter, an 8-bit data register and a 4-bit data register. These counters indicate the physical address of the sector of data being transferred and are incremented or reloaded as required as each sector of data is transferred. The present invention employs the 8-bit data register, the maximum sector register, to hold the number of sectors and the 4-bit register, the maximum head register, to hold the number of heads on the disk drive. The counters are then reloaded or incremented as required based upon the contents of the maximum head and maximum sector registers without microprocessor support as each sector is transferred. External circuitry (typically a microprocessor) is not required in any of these operations. Having an automatic update of the AT task file is desirable for it reduces the command overhead and microprocessor band width requirement in supporting the AT task file.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of hard disk controller systems that are compatible with the IBM AT BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) and in particular the AT interface between host and microprocessor.
2. Background Art
Computers and their associated disk drives are used for storing large amounts of data. Typically, data is stored on a magnetic disk in a series of concentric tracks on the surface of the disk. A read/write head moves back and forth radially on the disk so that it can be selectively positioned over one of the tracks. To effectively read and write data, it is necessary that the position of the tracks in relation to the head be known. In addition to knowing which track the head is over, it is necessary to know where on that particular track the head is positioned. A servo pattern is used to provide position information. One type of servo pattern is the sector servo, which comprises bursts of servo information disposed on a disk surface in between data areas.
Also, it is necessary to know at which circumferential position in the track the head is located. This is done by an "index" which is generally defined at a specific circumferential location in the servo pattern to indicate the start/end location of each data track. Also necessary for proper addressing is cylinder information which is a combination of all the tracks that are currently accessed by the heads in a drive. Once in position over a track, the head remains in place as the track rotates beneath it, allowing the head to read or write data on the track.
The host computer communicates with the disk drive through an interface such as the AT Bus interface. An AT Bus interface often contains several registers that the host uses to communicate with the disk drive controller. The entire set of registers is collectively referred to as an AT Task File. The control registers of the interface are used for writing and reading data and also issuing commands between the host and the disk microprocessor. The control registers also provide status information including error status to the host. Other registers of the AT Task File specify the physical address for a read or write command. All of these registers that comprise the interface are necessary for proper coordination between the host and drive.
Thus, data information as well as status information from the disk is then provided to the AT Bus interface before the data information is provided to the host computer. The AT task file registers within the AT interface receives the status information from the drive for updating the registers. After each data sector is transferred, AT task file registers of the AT interface are updated in order to indicate the physical address of the sector of data being transferred.
A block diagram of the AT interface is given in FIG. 4. The host computer block 120 and disk drive microprocessor 110 are coupled to AT interface 130 through bus line 160. AT interface block 130 is also coupled to AT task file block 140 which is a part of AT interface 130. AT task file 140 is coupled to microprocessor 110. AT interface is coupled to other electronics block 170 which is coupled to Head Drive Assembly (HDA) 150. Head Drive Assembly 150 is also coupled to microprocessor 110. The other electronics block 170 along with AT interface 130 make up the disk controller of the disk drive. In operation, commands are sent to the disk drive to read or write data. This data is transferred back to the computer. When the data information is transferred through the AT interface 130 and bus 160 to the host 120 or microprocessor 110, AT task file block 140 is updated by the microprocessor with the status information. These task file registers (that are updated after each data block or sector is transferred for providing the physical address of data sectors being transferred) comprise a sector count register, a sector number register, a drive/head number register, a cylinder low register and a cylinder high register.
The AT sector number register is a dual-ported, read/write register available to both the host and microprocessor. This register is an 8 bit parameter register used to provide the sector ID. This register is used to specify the starting sector number for the current/read write sector command. This register is usually incremented by the local microcontroller after each sector is transferred by the host and controller, or transferred from the controller to the host (read operation).
When the sector number register is incremented high enough so that the register value reaches the largest sector ID on the track, (the upper bound of the sector number register), the next time a data sector is transferred, the microprocessor must reset the register for proper updating. The microprocessor stores this upper bound value and prevents the register from incrementing above this value.
The AT sector count register is used to specify the number of sectors to be transferred during a read/write sector command. This register is decremented by the local microcontroller usually after each sector is transferred. If this register is loaded with zero then 256 sectors are transferred.
The AT drive/head register is an 8 bit register used by the host to specify the head number and the drive number. In addition, bit four of this register is used to select one of the two drive status registers, drive zero status register or drive one status register, accessible from the host. Bits 3-0 contain the binary coded address of the head to be selected. In previous AT task files, the microprocessor changes the head address as each track or cylinder boundary is crossed.
The AT cylinder low register is used to specify the lower eight bits of the disk cylinder address. This register, in conjunction with the cylinder high register, constitutes a 16-bit cylinder address. This register is incremented by the local microcontroller usually as each cylinder boundary is crossed. At the end of the command, this register is updated to reflect the current cylinder number.
The cylinder high register contains the high order bits of the starting cylinder address for any disk access. At the end of the command, this register is updated to reflect the current cylinder number. The most significant bits of the cylinder address are loaded into the cylinder high register.
Upon completion of each data sector transfer, the registers described above must be updated with the current sector, head, and cylinder information. This process, in prior art, is typically performed by the system microprocessor. This requires that the microprocessor maintain, increment and reload each of the task file registers for each block of data transferred. Unfortunately, this reduces the available microprocessor bandwidth and increases the time over-head in transferring data from the disk drive to the host computer. It is desirable to have the microprocessor bandwidth free from maintaining the task file register values. If a single microprocessor is used in disk drives to support all the drive functions, including task file updates, microprocessor bandwidth may not be available to maintain the task file register values. It is desirable to free the microprocessor from updating the task file registers.

Task file with automatic update of task file registers


The present invention provides a device and method for assisting a person in achieving proper alignment. The device and method are particularly useful for achieving proper alignment for a golf stroke in which a golf ball is struck to move towards a target. In one embodiment, the device comprises a support member to be worn by the person. A light source is attached to the support member. The light source is adapted to generate a generally linear, visible alignment beam of light on the ground in front of the person when the person is in position to perform a task. The alignment beam is generally parallel to an alignment of the portion of the person's body upon which the support member is worn and, thus, provides an indication of such alignment readily visible to the user in real time.

It is widely believed that proper initial body alignment and initial club face alignment are essential to a consistent and effective golf stroke. Proper alignment is thought to be critical in both the full swing and putting.
For example, a number of studies have indicated that improper initial alignment results in subconscious compensation during the full swing and the putting stroke. For example, golfers that consistently align to the right of the target have been found to compensate for such alignment by developing a "pull" putting stroke that starts the ball rolling to the left of their actual alignment. Thus, poor alignment generally results in poor stroke mechanics. See Pelz, D., "The First Fundamental of Putting," GOLF Magazine, 146 (June 1995).
In developing proper alignment in a putting stroke, it is generally believed that the eyes of the golfer should be aligned generally parallel to the target line and either be inside of or directly over the target line. During the full swing, it is believed that the golfer's body and eyes should be aligned generally parallel to the target line.
It is also widely accepted that it is nearly impossible to recognize and develop proper alignment simply by practicing on the course or range. A number of devices have thus been developed to provide feedback to the golfer to allow the golfer to recognize proper alignment. For example, laser alignment putting aids are available. Such device, however, are relatively expensive. Less expensive, "alignment tracks" are also available but are often cumbersome to use and transport.
It is, therefore, very desirable to develop a device for assisting a person, and particularly a golfer, to determine proper alignment that is inexpensive and easy to use.

Alignment device and method for aligning


A sealed electronic module is manufactured by forming a housing that is open at one end, dispensing a first quantity of potting material into the housing via the open end, inserting a circuit board and electrical connector assembly into the housing so that the inboard end of the circuit board is immersed in the potting material, and dispensing a second quantity of potting material into an area bridging the connector assembly and the housing. When cured, the first quantity of potting material attaches the inboard end of the circuit board to the housing, and the second quantity of potting material attaches the connector to the housing and environmentally seals the module.

In the manufacture of electronic modules, various electronic components are mounted on a printed circuit board, connector terminals are soldered to a marginal portion of the circuit board, and the assembly is packaged in a plastic or metal housing. Usually, some provision is made for affixing the circuit board to the inner periphery of the housing, and the housing closes around the circuit board, with the connector pins protruding through the housing to enable electrical signal transmission to and from the module. In applications where the module has to be environmentally sealed, it is desirable to minimize the length and number of sealing surfaces. Theoretically, the sealing surfaces can be minimized by forming the housing as a single part with one opening through which the circuit board/connector assembly is inserted, but such an approach makes it difficult to attach the circuit board to the inner periphery of the housing since the interior of the housing is inaccessible after insertion of the circuit board/connector assembly. Alternatively, the entire housing may be filled with a potting material such as epoxy, but that is undesirable for several reasons, including cost, weight and the inadvisability of coating certain electronic components with potting material. Accordingly, what is needed is an improved method of manufacturing a sealed electronic module where the enclosed circuit board is securely attached to the inner periphery of the housing.

Method of manufacturing a sealed electronic module


An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for decentralized data conversion. The present invention includes providing a server configured to be accessible over the Internet and receiving a payment from a user through a payment gateway module, the gateway module operated by the server. Additionally, the invention includes receiving a data source over the Internet into the server, transforming data in the data source to create converted data adapted to a target, the transformation directed by one or more integration objects configured to perform conversion steps, the integration objects in a hierarchical structure defining an order of execution, the transformation controlled by the server, and returning the transformed data over the Internet from the server. The present invention allows customers who would otherwise be unable to access powerful data conversion tools to convert data at a reasonable cost.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to data conversion and more particularly relates to internet-based data conversion.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern computer systems vary in their design and architecture, with many different models available to achieve the desired combinations of speed, power and efficiency for any given computer environment. This multitude of different computing environments allows a consumer to select the right computer for a particular job. For instance, an engineering firm might need a computer aided design station, which necessitates a very powerful, fast computer, using the newest and most powerful operating system. Meanwhile, a home user might simply want to connect to the Internet to send and receive email, which does not require the expense of a fast computer, nor the most current operating system. Further, computer professionals have the capability to create proprietary computer devices, structures and systems that may be unique and may be uniquely adapted to a particular user or user set. Thus, the proliferation of different computing environments has been beneficial.
Further, as technology rapidly advances, new devices, structures, and systems are developed and enterprises must make decisions as to when and what to adopt. Therefore, the variability of computer devices, structures, and systems is increased, as each enterprise must look to its own position and needs. Also, as an enterprise may acquire or merge with other enterprises, there may be collected a great variety of computing systems, including many diverse databases. Therefore there may be many reasons for an enterprise to find itself using a variety of systems of varying age and compatibility.
However, there are drawbacks to this multitude of computer systems. Because each computer system, including the operating system, may be designed differently, the way that data is actually stored on each computer system may be different. For instance, a set of data stored by a Cobol program looks very different from the same data stored by Oracle. Further, legacy systems (systems that continue to be used despite poor performance/compatibility with modern systems because of a prohibitive cost/time of redesigning/replacing) may be difficult to work with due to varying standards and/or inconvenient methods of storing data. Therefore, it becomes difficult to synchronize/port data between different computer systems.
Data is generally stored as a series of bytes, words, or double words, depending on the format of the medium holding the data and any format choices made by a storage program. Storage formats vary greatly as any format imaginable may be used. Where data must be transferred from a first format to a second format, it must first be transformed into a format appropriate to the second format. Therefore data is converted, usually by a data conversion program that is "hard-coded," meaning it has been written expressly to make such a specific conversion.
However, where the data format of the storage medium changes, the "hard-coded" data conversion program must also be changed or rewritten to deal with the new changes. For instance, if the data is the output of a database, and the database is changed to add additional data elements, the "hard-coded" data conversion program must be modified to comprehend and properly convert these new data elements. This process of rewriting and modifying data conversion programs can be tedious, expensive, and time consuming, as the data conversion program must be modified to comprehend the new data format(s) and element(s) and to know how to properly convert the data elements into the correct formats. Maintenance expenses for such proprietary code can be very high. Further, such "hard-coded" programs are useless for any purpose except for that which they have been written. Therefore, different data conversion needs must be met independently and without benefits from previous solutions.
There are data conversion tools configured to automate portions of a data conversion process and configured to be portable across different needs. However, most of these tools use proprietary scripting languages that are interpreted. This results in a slow execution. When handling very large conversions, using the tools instead of hard-coding may result in extra days of downtime processing that may result in downtime costs in the millions of dollars.
Further, the tools may be unable to handle more complex conversions. For example, the tools may be unable to handle very large flat files, or may be incompatible with a custom designed or uncommon database. Also, the tools may be insufficiently powerful and adaptable to convert data to an ideal state as would be desired by an enterprise. Still further, enterprises are required to purchase licenses to the tools for several hundred thousand dollars with maintenance costs typically starting in the tens of thousands of dollars.
For dissimilar computers that are connected by client-server architecture, modifying data conversion programs is especially tedious and time consuming. Many networks have "client-server" architectures that allow many clients to connect to one or more servers. Such architecture brings many benefits, such as centralized control, enhanced interconnectivity, increased flexibility and more user empowerment. Further, because servers are typically much faster, more powerful, and have greater storage space than clients, servers tend to outperform clients, especially when using programs that involve complex calculations or tremendous amounts of data. However, the above listed benefits come at a cost of increased need and complexity of data conversion. Each program, operating system, hardware device, and storage system included within the "client-server" architecture also typically requires some form of data conversion to properly meld with the entire system. As server systems may become quite complex, the data conversion needs and complexities may increase exponentially. Further, as the user base increases, there is an exponential increase in the likelihood over time that user needs will change and necessitate changes in data format or data types.
For example, having airline ticket information stored on a server allows ticketing agencies around the world to determine which seats are open for which flights. These agencies may all be using very different computer systems, but must all be capable of interpreting the data stored and managed by the server. Therefore, when the client (ticketing agency) calls a server (or Application Programming Interface, or API), the server or API will typically return a set of values.
For instance, if the program is returning a list of available seats on an airline flight, the number of seats can vary from zero (the plane is fully booked) to the capacity of the plane (there have been no seats sold). This may be even more complex where the seats are divided into categories such as isle or window seats, first and second-class seats, the type of dinners available, etc. The data conversion program must understand these varying data types and be able to interpret between the client and server. This may be complicated further wherein a component of the system may add security to the data, such as encryption or data boundaries (extraneous data at an end of a data set used to ensure an entire data set is transferred).
When the data format changes, for example adding a new class of seats, a new category such as laptop enabled seats, seats close to emergency exits, special needs seats, etc., then the "hard-coded" data conversion program must be modified to include the new categories. Thus as an enterprise may develop new strategies, needs, equipment, etc., these may have an impact on the data used by the enterprise. Adapting "hard-coded" data conversion programs to these changes can be very costly and complex.
These costs and complexities may be even more pronounced where an enterprise, such as an airline, may merge with another enterprise using a substantially different computing system and set of databases. These costs may be pronounced even further if there are legacy computing systems and sets of data that are difficult to use, such as where the data is stored as a very large flat file of an unknown format or is stored on a mainframe.
Further, current systems and methods of performing data conversion fail to address needs in the business community wherein current methods and systems may require purchasing a very expensive tool, such as but not limited to a conversion suite, may require long term agreements between data conversion providers and data conversion consumers, may require the onsite presence of tools, and/or may be unable to adapt to specific needs of consumers without significantly damaging other business models, thereby restricting data conversion providers to only select groups of consumers.

Apparatus, system, and method for decentralized data conversion


A system and method retracts and lets-out a laterally extending flexible bow seal on an air cushion vehicle having a bow ramp. Attachment loops on the forward outside surface of the bow seal receive a skirt cable. A separate cable routing system is connected to opposite ends of the skirt cable for selectively retracting and letting-out the bow seal. The cable routing systems also include ramp cables connected to the bow ramp to raise or lower the bow ramp. The cable routing systems retract the bow seal with the skirt cable simultaneously as the bow ramp is lowered by letting out the ramp cables, and the cable routing systems let-out the bow seal with the skirt cable simultaneously as the bow ramp is raised by drawing in the ramp cables.

This invention relates to high speed marine vehicles utilizing air cushion principles to increase performance. More particularly, this invention is for an air cushion vehicle such as a surface effect ship or hovercraft having a bow ramp and forward flexible seal provided with means for mechanically retracting the forward flexible seal to prevent its contact and damage between the vehicle and an off-loading surface.
Both the surface effect ship (SES) and hovercraft are types of high-speed marine vehicles referred to as air-cushioned vehicles (ACV). They ride on pressurized cushions of air that separate the vehicle from the surface over which it operates. This permits much lower drag and allows greater speeds to be achieved when compared to conventional displacement hulls of equivalent power. The air cushion is contained beneath the vehicle by a flexible skirt seal system which conforms to the irregular operating surface. The seal provided by this skirt reduces the flow of air escaping from the cushion. These vehicles may also utilize a swinging bow ramp for entry and exit of cargo.
In order to maintain performance in increasing sea states, the height of the skirt and total amount of skirt material must be increased to prevent contact between the vehicle and the waves to avoid creating additional drag. Also, in order to maintain proper forward cushion stability during impacts of waves, the laterally extending bag or seal at the bow must increase in diameter as well. The technology push into operation at higher sea states is causing the skirt seals of the craft to be made even larger. This direction in the design of air cushion vehicles creates a problem during landing and loading/unloading operations, as the skirt deflates and the excess bag material of the front seal comes to rest along the sides and front of the vehicle. When the bow ramp is lowered to allow transit of vehicles on or off the craft, the landing pads of the lowered bow ramp can contact and rest on the slack bow bag, resulting in significant wear and/or puncture damage. The traversing of heavy vehicles, such as tanks going on and off the craft, increase this damage rate and create possible further damage by pinching the flexible seal between the ramp and underlying land or dock surface. As the performance envelope for ACVs continues to drive toward increasing sea states and increasing skirt heights, the vulnerability of skirt damage due to ramp systems, and the corresponding costs to replace damaged skirts will increase.
FIG. 1 depicts a disadvantageous limitation of a prior art conventional air cushion vehicle 5 mounting a laterally extending forward flexible seal 6 as part of its skirt at the bow of the vehicle. The possibility of puncturing, pinching and/or excessive wearing damage of forward seal 6 (shown in its deflated or off-cushion condition) at the bow of vehicle 5 is clearly apparent during off-loading at a landing or supporting dock surface 7. A rotatable bow ramp 8 is rotated to its lowered position as viewed from starboard, and ramp landing pads 9 bear against and pinch the rubber coated or impregnated fabric material of the deflated, flattened seal 6 against supporting surface 7. The possibility of damage of the rubber coated or impregnated fabric material of seal/skirt 6 is high, particularly when heavily laden vehicles are off-loaded, and replacement of this damaged item can remove vehicle 5 from service for extended periods during refurbishment.
Some vehicles are currently equipped with skirt retraction aids utilizing elastic cords that extend across and are attached on the inside of the skirt. The elastic cords develop tension by being elongated during inflation of the skirt seal. Once the flow of air is stopped, the skirt will deflate under its own weight and the residual tension in the elastic cords causes the bow seal to fold over on itself, away from the lowering bow ramp, thus providing the necessary clearance. However, these currently deployed skirt retraction systems have limited life due to the operating environment. The constant exposure to salt and vibration of the skirt while underway plus vibration due to wave impacts degrades the material of the elastic cords over time. Another problem with the current system is that elastic materials stretch linearly as a function of displacement. As the diameter of bow skirt seals become larger and more massive, the length and required tension must increase accordingly to effectively function. Depending on the specific geometry of the bow seal, corrosion and oil resistance, elastic materials may or may not be able to satisfy the elongation verses tension requirements, particularly on the larger seals.
Thus, in accordance with this inventive concept, a need has been recognized in the state of the art for a system for reliably retracting the flexible seal at the bow of an air cushion vehicle during off-loading at the water-land interface to reduce the possibility of damage and/or undue wear of the seal.

Air cushion vehicle bow skirt retraction system

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


The present invention is related to a method of allowing a recipient to control responses from his or her communication device when the recipient is unavailable to receive incoming information. More specifically, the present invention is related to a method of delivering a corresponding message to a sender of the incoming information when the sender sends the incoming information to the recipient during a status of unavailability. Even more specifically, the present invention is related to a method that allow the sender to be notified with the status of unavailability of the recipient in real-time thus avoid sending the incoming information during said status.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a method of controlling and responding to information arrived at a communication device such as a cell phone when a user of the communication device is unavailable.
2. Description of Related Art
The number of active cell phones will reach 7.3 billion by 2014. On average, a cell phone user makes or receives 14-33 calls, 5-21 text messages, 35-40 emails, and other notifications like those from social media such as Facebook or Twitter every day.
However, not all incoming information, being calls, text messages or emails, is of importance and/or time-sensitiveness. The incoming information arriving to a cell phone at a wrong time and/or a wrong place, despite its contents, might not serve a recipient as a user of the cell phone well.
For example, a professional may not want to receive a hello call from her long-time friend in high-school during an office meeting. Or for another example, a driver might not want to check the text message while driving a moving vehicle. Thus, such incoming information may be classified as "unwanted information." According to a study by Pew Research Center, 42% of cell phone users agree that they "get irritated when an incoming call or text on a cell phone interrupts" them.
The unwanted information may distract the already stressed mobile networks in the US as well as other countries. In a recent study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, dropped calls were cited as the biggest complaint by cell phone owners. According to the study, 72% of cell phone owners experienced dropped calls at least occasionally, and 32% experience this at least a few times a week. That's an enormous number of people who are frustrated on a regular basis. The biggest reason cited for dropped calls is the over-worked cellular networks and limited number of cell towers that control the cellular signal to manage the extreme cell traffic of the towers. The issue of drop calls becomes even more significant in metro cities such as downtown New York, Chicago, or Mainland China, Bombay India etc. Wireless providers keep increasing the size and configuration of their mobile network to increase efficiency, meet the demands and eliminate issues such as drop calls. A real effort to control the unwanted information is now important and necessary.
More urgently, cell phone use leads to more than 120,000 vehicle crashes each year. In 2012, 2,600 people, mostly under the age of 26, died on US highways using cell phone while driving.
Thus, an effective control of the incoming information during a particular schedule, being in meeting, sleeping, dinning or driving, would be critical in enhancing wireless network's efficiency, promoting professional conducts, enjoying private moments, and saving lives.
In addition to Federal and State regulations to restrict cell phone under certain circumstances such as during driving, several products and cell phone applications have already been developed targeting the unwanted information.
AT&T's DriveMode application allows the cell phones to send an auto-reply message while the users carrying the cell phones are driving. When DriveMode is activated, all calls are automatically sent to voicemail as if the phone is off. Moreover, the user is also unable to use the phone. However, there is no system by which the user can retrieve missed calls and messages even after the driving has ended. Because of the complete disconnect feature of DriveMode application, the incoming information having importance and/or time-sensitiveness may also be disregarded.
Other products or applications, such as Cellcontrol, CellSafety, DriveSafe, iZUP, Key2SafeDriving Otter, Sprint Drive First, Strop Texting, Textecution, T-Mobile DriveSmart, Vlingo and tXtBlockers, also apply a similar strategy as that ofDriveMode. Without giving any choice to cell phone users, these products automatically block calls, text messages and emails on a cell phone for a particular period of time, for a specific location, or for a pre-set condition such as one triggered by speed.
Most of these products are designed for blocking incoming information during driving, but failed to concern other situations where the incoming information would also be unwelcomed. Nevertheless, these products or applications unselectively block all the incoming information. Thus if the incoming information having importance and/or time-sensitiveness is arriving, it might be rejected as well. In addition, most of them do not have a two-way communication between the recipient who uses the cell phone and a sender who sends the incoming information to the recipient's cell phone. Thus, other than knowing the incoming information such as a call is rejected, the sender does not know why it is rejected and when would be the best time to make another call.
US patent application US20130097270 discloses a method of automatic response to the incoming information, wherein a cell phone may identify context data of a first incoming message, then send a response message to the sender. However, such determination and sending processes are performed automatically by a serious of modules. Once a condition for context data set and the first incoming message arrived, the recipient may not be able to intervene and control the responses to the incoming messages.
Thus, there is a need to develop a method to notify the sender with the recipient's status prior to or during sending the incoming information thus to avoid the unwanted information. There is also a need to develop a method to allow the recipient to actively control responses to the incoming information even during the status of unavailability so that important and/or time-sensitive information could be timely received by the recipient.

Responses and controls of incoming information


A method and apparatus for intelligent packet forwarding utilizing virtual ports defined by a grouping of one or more STS-1s allocated to source and destination I/O devices (client) connected to an NxSTS-1 SONET network. A data flow path for transporting the client data is established from one virtual port at the source port to another virtual port at the destination port. The data flow path is established by notifying each of the ports of the data flow path and providing to the source port an address identifying the destination port and providing to the destination port an address identifying the source port.

A bridged ethernet network sometimes requires that a physical port be subdivided into virtual ports to allow peering with more bridging elements than the number of physical ports allows. Currently, ATM VPs/VCs and Frame Relay paths are used in the communications industry to establish such virtual ports. However, for very high bandwidths these technologies are not suitable due to both technical reasons and their high cost. On the other hand SONET/SDH devices can easily scale to very high bandwidths and are widespread in metropolitan and wide area networks (MAN/WAN).
There is a need, therefore, for means to economically and effectively bridge network access devices transporting optical line data, such as from a fiber channel (FC) or Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) interface, to a SONET metropolitan area network (MAN)/wide area network (WAN).

Method and apparatus for providing OC-n virtual bridge ports


An installation for distributing ballast in a track bed supporting a track and for tamping the ballast comprises a machine frame comprised of a first machine frame part and a second machine frame part, the first machine frame part preceding the second machine frame part in the operating direction. The machine frame is supported by undercarriages on the track for movement in an operating direction. Mounted on the first machine frame part are a ballast tamping unit and a track lifting and lining unit, and mounted on the second machine frame part are a ballast storage bin having outlets for delivering ballast from the bin to the track, a ballast conveyor having an output end above the ballast storage bin and an input end, and a vertically adjustable broom arrangement for sweeping excess ballast from the track to the ballast conveyor input end.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a machine for delivering ballast to a track and for tamping the ballast, which comprises a machine frame supported on the track by undercarriages for movement in an operating direction and mounted on the machine frame a ballast tamping unit, a track lifting and lining unit, a ballast storage bin having outlet means for delivering ballast from the bin to the track, a ballast conveyor means having an output end above the ballast storage bin and an input end, and a vertically adjustable broom arrangement for sweeping excess ballast from the track to the ballast conveyor means input end.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A machine of this general type has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,104, this machine being comprised of a ballast cleaning machine preceding a ballast tamping machine. The machine frame of the ballast tamping machine carries a ballast tamping unit and a ballast lifting and lining unit which is preceded, in the operating direction, by a ballast storage bin having outlet means for delivering ballast to the track and receiving cleaned ballast from an output end of a ballast conveyor means arranged above the bin. A vertically adjustable broom arrangement sweeps excess ballast to the lower input end of the ballast conveyor means. Since the ballast is discharged through the outlet means of the ballast storage bin while the ballast tamping machine advances continuously, it is relatively difficult to limit the discharge of the ballast into the cribs of the track.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,331 discloses a machine for cleaning the ballast and then to compact the cleaned ballast. This machine comprises a ballast cleaning machine preceding a ballast compacting machine coupled to the ballast cleaning machine. A ballast storage bin having outlet means for delivering the cleaned ballast to the track is positioned at the front end of the ballast compacting machine, and a ballast conveyor band conveys the cleaned ballast from the ballast cleaning machine to the bin. A vertically adjustable broom arrangement is mounted rearwardly of the ballast compacting unit. This machine serves for compacting the cleaned ballast immediately after it has been delivered to the track.

Machine for delivering ballast to a track and for tamping the ballast having pivotal ballast distributing conveyors and sweeper broom ballast take-up

Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen-Industriegesellschaft m.b.H


A selection is received of a copy of an application backed up from a first FaaS environment for deployment into a second FaaS environment. An application manifest used to backup the application is accessed. The manifest specifies application functions, backend services, and application function mappings. An application function interacts with a backend service in executing the application. An application function mapping includes a condition under which the application function is invoked. The copy of the application is restored into the second FaaS environment. A condition specified in the restored version of the application function mapping is changed. Based on the changed condition, the restored version of the application function is invoked when the restored version of the backend service performs an operation, and the application function of the application corresponding to the restored version of the application function is not invoked.

Many organizations have turned to cloud computing for the delivery of computing services. Companies offering cloud computing services are referred to as cloud providers. Typically, organizations are then charged for such services based on usage. Some cloud-based compute services allow organizations to build and run applications without having to manage servers. These types of applications may be referred to as "serverless" or Function-as-a-Service ("FaaS") applications because the administration of compute resources such as server and operating system maintenance, scaling, and so forth is generally managed by the cloud provider. One example of a cloud compute service that supports serverless applications is Amazon Web Service (AWS) Lambda as provided by Amazon.
Conventional approaches to application maintenance such as backup, de-bugging, testing, development, and so forth are problematic with serverless applications. The reasons are because these applications are composed of many different parts and components and do not maintain application state information. Instead, state is kept in external persistent services such as databases and object stores.
Thus, when for example, a bug or other defect occurs, a user often troubleshoots the problem by reviewing message logs or may even attempt a debugging session on a production system. These practices can be error prone, laborious, and fraught with danger. For example, message logs may lack sufficient detail, may require an inordinate amount of time to parse, may be overwritten, and so forth. Debugging on the production system may result in the loss of transactions, a commingling of test data with production data, and so forth.
Therefore, there is a need for improved systems and techniques for the maintenance of serverless or FaaS applications.
The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.

Repurposing serverless application copies


A signal manipulator for manipulating an audio signal having a transient event may have a transient remover, a signal processor and a signal inserter for inserting a time portion in a processed audio signal at a signal location where the transient event was removed before processing by the transient remover, so that a manipulated audio signal has a transient event not influenced by the processing, whereby the vertical coherence of the transient event is maintained instead of any processing performed in the signal processor, which would destroy the vertical coherence of a transient.

The present invention relates to audio signal processing and, particularly, to audio signal manipulation in the context of applying audio effects to a signal containing transient events.
It is known to manipulate audio signals such that the reproduction speed is changed, while the pitch is maintained. Known methods for such a procedure are implemented by phase vocoders or methods, like (pitch synchronous) overlap-add, (P)SOLA, as, for example, described in J. L. Flanagan and R. M. Golden, The Bell System Technical Journal, November 1966, pp. 1394 to 1509; U.S. Pat. No. 6,549,884 Laroche, J. & Dolson, M.: Phase-vocoder pitch-shifting; Jean Laroche and Mark Dolson, New Phase-Vocoder Techniques for Pitch-Shifting, Harmonizing And Other Exotic Effects", Proc. 1999 IEEE Workshop on Applications of Signal Processing to Audio and Acoustics, New Paltz, N.Y., Oct. 17-20, 1999; and Zölzer, U: DAFX: Digital Audio Effects; Wiley & Sons; Edition: 1 (Feb. 26, 2002); pp. 201-298.
Additionally, audio signals can be subjected to a transposition using such methods, i.e. phase vocoders or (P)SOLA where the special issue of this kind of transposition is that the transposed audio signal has the same reproduction/replay length as the original audio signal before transposition, while the pitch is changed. This is obtained by an accelerated reproduction of the stretched signals where the acceleration factor for performing the accelerated reproduction depends on the stretching factor for stretching the original audio signal in time. When one has a time-discrete signal representation, this procedure corresponds to a down-sampling of the stretched signal or decimation of the stretched signal by a factor equal to the stretching factor where the sampling frequency is maintained.
A specific challenge in such audio signal manipulations are transient events. Transient events are events in a signal in which the energy of the signal in the whole band or in a certain frequency range is rapidly changing, i.e. rapidly increasing or rapidly decreasing. Characteristic features of specific transients (transient events) are the distribution of signal energy in the spectrum. Typically, the energy of the audio signal during a transient event is distributed over the whole frequency while, in non-transient signal portions, the energy is normally concentrated in the low frequency portion of the audio signal or in specific bands. This means that a non-transient signal portion, which is also called a stationary or tonal signal portion has a spectrum, which is non-flat. In other words, the energy of the signal is included in a comparatively small number of spectral lines/spectral bands, which are strongly raised over a noise floor of an audio signal. In a transient portion however, the energy of the audio signal will be distributed over many different frequency bands and, specifically, will be distributed in the high frequency portion so that a spectrum for a transient portion of the audio signal will be comparatively flat and will, in any event be flatter than a spectrum of a tonal portion of the audio signal. Typically, a transient event is a strong change in time, which means that the signal will include many higher harmonics when a Fourier decomposition is performed. An important feature of these many higher harmonics is that the phases of these higher harmonics are in a very specific mutual relationship so that a superposition of all these sine waves will result in a rapid change of signal energy. In other words, there exists a strong correlation across the spectrum.
The specific phase situation among all harmonics can also be termed as a "vertical coherence". This "vertical coherence" is related to a time/frequency spectrogram representation of the signal where a horizontal direction corresponds to the development of the signal over time and where the vertical dimension describes the interdependence over the frequency of the spectral components (transform frequency bins) in one short-time spectrum over frequency.
Due to the typical processing steps, which are performed in order to time stretch or shorten an audio signal, this vertical coherence is destroyed, which means that a transient is "smeared" over time when a transient is subjected to a time stretching or time shortening operation as e.g. performed by a phase vocoder or any other method, which performs a frequency-dependent processing introducing phase shifts into the audio signal, which are different for different frequency coefficients.
When the vertical coherence of transients is destroyed by an audio signal processing method, the manipulated signal will be very similar to the original signal in stationary or non-transient portions, but the transient portions will have a reduced quality in the manipulated signal. The uncontrolled manipulation of the vertical coherence of a transient results in temporal dispersion of the same, since many harmonic components contribute to a transient event and changing the phases of all these components in an uncontrolled manner inevitably results in such artifacts.
However, transient portions are extremely important for the dynamics of an audio signal, such as a music signal or a speech signal where sudden changes of energy in a specific time represent a great deal of the subjective user impression on the quality of the manipulated signal. In other words, transient events in an audio signal are typically quite remarkable "milestones" of an audio signal, which have an over-proportional influence on the subjective quality impression. Manipulated transients in which the vertical coherence has been destroyed by a signal processing operation or has been degraded with respect to the transient portion of the original signal will sound distorted, reverberant and unnatural to the listener.
Some current methods stretch the time around the transients to a higher extent so as to have to subsequently perform, during the duration of the transient, no or only minor time stretching. Such known references and patents describe methods for time and/or pitch manipulation. Known references are: Laroche L., Dolson M.: Improved phase vocoder timescale modification of audio", IEEE Trans. Speech and Audio Processing, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 323-332; Emmanuel Ravelli, Mark Sandler and Juan P. Bello: Fast implementation for non-linear time-scaling of stereo audio; Proc. of the 8th Int. Conference on Digital Audio Effects (DAFx'05), Madrid, Spain, Sep. 20-22, 2005; Duxbury, C. M. Davies, and M. Sandler (2001, December). Separation of transient information in musical audio using multiresolution analysis techniques. In Proceedings of the COST G-6 Conference on Digital Audio Effects (DAFX-01), Limerick, Ireland; and Röbel, A.: A NEW APPROACH TO TRANSIENT PROCESSING IN THE PHASE VOCODER; Proc. of the 6th Int. Conference on Digital Audio Effects (DAFx-03), London, UK, Sep. 8-11, 2003.
During time stretching of audio signals by phase vocoders, transient signal portions are "blurred" by dispersion, since the so-called vertical coherence of the signal is impaired. Methods using so-called overlap-add methods, like (P)SOLA may generate disturbing pre- and post-echoes of transient sound events. These problems may actually be addressed by increased time stretching in the environment of transients; however, if a transposition is to occur, the transposition factor will no longer be constant in the environment of the transients, i.e. the pitch of superimposed (possibly tonal) signal components will change and will be perceived as a disturbance.

Device and method for manipulating an audio signal having a transient event

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.


High-tensile steel, particularly automotive coil springs formed of high-tensile steel, are coated first with an epoxy coating powder containing high levels of zinc and then with a poly(ethylene/acrylic acid copolymer) coating powder. Both coatings are applied and fused or fused and cured at temperatures of 325.degree. F. or below so as not to affect the metallurgic properties of the steel. The dual-coating protects the steel from pitting and corrosion.

Steel coil springs in the wheel assemblies of automobiles and other vehicles are subjected to very corrosive conditions. Conventional steel springs were expected to rust, and to allow for such rusting, conventional coil springs were formed of appropriately thick steel.
To improve the steering and ride control of automobiles, it is desirable to move the wheels outward, toward the corners of the vehicle. This increases torsional stress on the automobile body structure which must be nullified using a stronger frame assembly or weight reduction of the suspension components moved toward the corners. Reduced diameter, high tensile steel, coil springs weigh less than conventional automotive suspension coil springs, so they offer means to reduce the weight of these components.
High tensile steel, coil springs are scratch and notch sensitive, so they require protection from impact damage caused by flying stones and gravel encountered during driving on paved or unpaved roads. Also, to maintain desired metallurgical properties and prevent premature flex damage failure, the high tensile steel cannot be heated beyond 325.degree. F.
Conventional "E" coat primers and/or epoxy powder coatings used on strut type automotive suspension springs are unacceptable at inhibiting flying stone damage as determined by low temperature gravelometer testing followed by accelerated scab corrosion testing of high tensile springs. Neither layer applied alone will provide the chip and corrosion protection required.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a coating for high tensile steel springs and the like which protects the steel when subject to both impact and corrosive environments. A further requirement when coating high-tensile steel is that the coating be applied, fused, cured, etc. at relatively low temperatures, i.e., 325.degree. F. (163.degree. C.) or below and preferably 300.degree. F. (149.degree. C.) or below. If subjected to significantly higher temperature during coating, the metallurgy of the high-tensile steel tends to change, resulting in flex damage failure of the spring.

Dual-layer coating on high-tensile steel


Various arrangements are presented for alerting a user to household environmental sounds. Data representative of a sound may be captured using a microphone. A sound profile may be received, the sound profile may include a definition associated with the sound and an acoustic signature. A match may be identified between the data indicative of the sound recorded by the microphone and the sound profile. A message may be output to a television for visual presentation based on the definition from the sound profile identified as the match.

From buzzing washing machines to breaking glass and barking dogs to dripping pipes, sound can be an excellent indication of the status of various objects and animals in an environment, such as a household environment. Based on such sounds, a person can take appropriate action as necessary (e.g., empty the washing machine, find the source of the broken glass, repair the pipe). Typically, sound in a home is identified by a person who happens to be in the vicinity. However, when a person is not nearby, is hard of hearing, or is otherwise distracted or prevented from hearing the sound, such sound may not serve to alert the person.

Methods and systems for providing alerts in response to environmental sounds


A positive photosensitive composition comprises: (A) a compound that generates an acid upon irradiation with actinic ray or radiation; and (B) a resin that increases its solubility in an alkali developer by action of an acid, wherein the resin (B) has a repeating unit that has an acid-decomposable group and is represented by formula (I):

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a positive photosensitive composition for use in the manufacturing processes of semiconductors such as IC and the like, liquid crystals, the manufacture of circuit substrates for thermal heads and the like, and other photo-fabrications, and a pattern-forming method using the same. More specifically, the invention relates to a positive photosensitive composition suitable for use in the case where far ultraviolet rays of 250 nm or less, preferably 220 nm or less, are used as exposure light sources, and electron beams are used as irradiation source, and a pattern-forming method using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Chemical amplification photosensitive compositions are pattern-forming materials capable of generating an acid at an exposed part upon irradiation with radiation such as far ultraviolet rays, changing the solubility in a developing solution between the irradiated part with the actinic radiation and the non-irradiated part by reaction with the acid as a catalyst, and forming a pattern on a substrate.
In a case where a KrF excimer laser is used as an exposure light source, resins having poly(hydroxystyrene) small in absorption in the region of 248 nm as a fundamental skeleton are mainly used, so that a good pattern having high sensitivity and high resolution can be formed as compared with conventional naphthoquinonediazide/novolak resins.
On the other hand, when a light source of a shorter wavelength, e.g., an ArF excimer laser (193 nm), is used as an exposure light source, even these chemical amplification photosensitive compositions are not sufficient, since compounds containing an aromatic group substantially show large absorption in the region of 193 nm.
Therefore, resists containing a resin having an alicyclic hydrocarbon structure for an ArF excimer laser have been developed. Various improvements have been tried in resists for an ArF excimer laser. For example, in JP-A-2005-331918, JP-A-2004-184637 and JP-A-2003-330192, various improvements of characteristics have been done in repeating units having an alicyclic acid-decomposable group by the introduction of repeating units having a spacer part between the main chain and the acid-decomposable group.
However, in forming a pattern having a line width of as fine as 100 nm or less, a line pattern formed falls down even if resolution performance is excellent, which causes a drawback such as falling down of a pattern leading to a defect in manufacturing a device, and the stability of performances to the change in exposure quantity (exposure latitude) is not sufficient.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Positive photosensitive composition and a pattern-forming method using the same

Abstract: wherein Xa1 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, a cyano group, or a halogen atom; Ry1 and Ry2 each independently represents an alkyl group or a cycloalkyl group; Rx represents an alkyl group having 2 or more carbon atoms, or a cycloalkyl group; and Z represents an alkylene group.