The present invention provides systems and techniques for transmitting a streaming media file. One of the techniques includes sending a metering uniform resource locator (URL) from a first server to a client player over a network, and sending a streaming media file from a second server to the client player over the network. The streaming media file includes at least one embedded metering event. In response to receiving the metering URL and the embedded metering event at the client player, a user meter is ticked.

This invention relates generally to providing streaming media, and more specifically to providing a streaming media access system and a streaming media metering system based on metering information in a media stream.
Streaming media might comprise streaming audio, streaming video, a combination of the two, or similar data. Generally, streaming media is characterized by data that is transmitted or moved from a source to a destination where the destination can begin to use the data before the transmission or movement is complete, often without requiring an indication of an end to the data. As an example, an audiovisual presentation might be streamed over the Internet using data packets, wherein the recipient can start a presentation of the audiovisual presentation while data packets for later portions of the presentation are yet to be received.
Streaming media can be of indeterminate length, with no predetermined ending, such as might be the case for an Internet radio station streaming their broadcast, but streaming media might also have a finite length. While the term "streaming media" as used herein applies to indeterminate or predetermined length media unless otherwise indicated, for ease of understanding many examples refer to a "streaming media file", which is most commonly media having a well-defined beginning and end. Thus, it should be understood that streaming media need not always have a well-defined beginning and end, but it is often characterized by such concepts.
A streaming media file might be transmitted in a continuous stream in a compressed form over the Internet and played by a media player running on a user device, such as a personal computer (PC) or other device, as the continuous streaming media file arrives. To play a streaming media file as it arrives, the file is uncompressed in real time, and the video and audio data are played on the media player, which directs video data to the display and audio data to speakers. A media player may be either an integral part of a browser or transmitted over the Internet to the user just prior to consumption of the streaming media file. Examples of known streaming media players include Microsoft Corporation's Windows Media Player™, RealNetwork Incorporated's RealOne Player™, RealPlayer™, or RealJukebox™, or Apple Computer Incorporated's QuickTime Player™. Streaming media players use a standard and/or proprietary algorithms for video and audio compression. Programs that compress streaming media files prior to the files being sent to a user and decompress the received files are typically referred to as codec programs.
Streaming media files are typically sent from prerecorded digitized media files, but may be distributed as part of a digitized live broadcast feed. In a live broadcast using an analog capture system, video and/or audio signals are converted from an analog format to a compressed digital signal in real time and transmitted from a server. Various protocols can be used for serving media files over the Internet or other network where such media might be transmitted and consumed. For example, the HTTP protocol usable over the Internet between HTTP servers and HTTP clients might be used. In a common implementation, an HTTP server serves up HTML pages and media that is linked to by the HTML pages. As HTML pages with their links to other HTML pages are considered to form a "web", such as the "World Wide Web", HTTP servers are often thought of as "Web" servers. Although such a server might serve more than just HTML, they are referred to herein as "web" servers, according to common usage. In common usage, an HTTP client, i.e., a program or device that receives and "consumes" HTML and media, is often referred to as a "browser". Web servers used to stream streaming media files include Yahoo!'s web servers, such as Yahoo! Movies™, Yahoo! Music™, and Yahoo! News™, among others.
Streaming media, especially video, requires a large bandwidth channel to be effective, as the recipient often expects to begin a presentation shortly after the stream starts to be received and expects to consume the presentation continuously once it starts. Therefore, the bandwidth of the channel over which the streaming media is received typically needs to be on the order of the consumption rate of the media. For example, if a person desires to view a presentation that consumes 1 megabit/second, the person would probably need a channel that delivers on the order of 1 megabit/second to view the presentation as it is streamed. Attempts have been made to stream video over low bandwidth links, such as dial-up telephone lines, but the results are less than desirable as the presentation has to be made at low resolution or greatly compressed, both of which adversely affect the viewing experience.
While such low bandwidth channels might be acceptable for non-real-time downloading and free services, consumers are more likely to require higher quality presentations if they are to be paying for the presentations. Thus, as broadband connections become more available, more end users are able to receive streams of video presentations with sufficient quality that the end user is willing to pay for the streams. For example, if an end user connects to the Internet over a 56K dial-up line, the best the end user might expect for a video presentation is to watch the presentation with a low resolution or highly compressed, but an end user with a broadband connection might enjoy near full-screen video smoothly played. Examples of broadband connections include cable modems, optical fibers, wireless links, or digital subscriber line (DSL) channels, but other broadband connections in current use or later developed might be used instead.
Without users that are willing to pay for streaming services, some such services simply cannot be provided, as the costs of production are too great. As broadband has become more prevalent, more video streaming is economically possible. For example full length movies and live events, such as sports events or other media events, can be streamed and sufficient numbers of customers exist with broadband connections to make production of such streams economically viable. However, with the need to be paid to cover the production, new problems arise that are not present where the stream was being given away for free, for example, service providers need to ensure the streamed media provided to a user is paid for by the user.
Different payment models work in different situations and markets. Many cable broadcasters, for example, combine payment models, such as timed based subscriptions including the monthly subscription, the pay package, and the pay-per-view models. In the monthly subscription model, the user pays a monthly fee for unlimited access to a service for the paid months. In the pay package model, a user pays a one-time fee for unlimited access to a service for a fixed set of events, such as all the professional football game broadcasts for one football season. In the pay-per-view model, a user pays a one-time fee for access to the broadcasting of a single event. For example, a user may pay a one-time fee to view a live sporting event, such as Olympic sporting events that might not be broadcast on the public airwaves.
For television broadcasting of live and recorded events at times set by the broadcasters and the operators of the distribution channels, these models have been received by the consuming public with some success. Internet broadcasting, however, allows for on-demand viewing of events, with different viewers viewing the same or different streams at the same or different times and many paying customers have come to expect that offering. Thus, it is desirable to have a system wherein different viewers can consume different media streams and the providers of those streams can accurately track the consumption of the media streams, for billing, monitoring, planning, statistics tracking, and other purposes.

Access control and metering system for streaming media


The present invention concerns a process for the etherification of olefins. According to the process, an olefin or a mixture of olefins is reacted with an alcohol or a mixture of alcohols in the presence of a catalyst. According to the invention, a catalyst is used which comprises a grafted polymer fiber, there being functional groups attached to the grafted polymer fiber. By means of the invention it is possible to speed up the etherification process of, in particular, heavier ethers.

The present invention relates to the preparation of ethers. The invention relates in particular to the etherification process for the etherification of an olefinic hydrocarbon feed, according to which process the olefin or mixture of olefins is reacted with an alcohol or mixture of alcohols in the presence of a catalyst, characterized in that a catalyst is used which comprises a grafted polymer fiber, there being functional groups attached to the grafted polymer fiber.
According to such a process, the olefins of an olefinic hydrocarbon precursor, in particular C8 . . . C2 olefins, are reacted with a suitable alcohol in the presence of a catalyst in order to produce corresponding ethers. The reactions can be carried out in a stirred reactor, a fixed-bed reactor, a fluid-bed reactor, a tubular reactor or a catalytic distillation column. These ethers are recovered, and they are treated further when necessary in order to prepare engine fuel components.
The invention also relates to the use of the fiber catalyst as an etherification catalyst, which has been grafted and to which grafted polymer fiber there are attached functional groups, as an etherification catalyst.
Tertiary ethers are compounds used as components in gasoline, having many properties which improve the quality of gasoline. Being oxygen-containing compounds they enhance the combustion of the fuel and thus reduce emissions from traffic. Owing to their high octane number they replace in gasoline lead and aromates, which have previously been used for increasing the octane number. By means of etherification it is also possible to decrease the concentration of olefin in gasoline. It is expected that in the future the use of ethers as gasoline components will increase along with emission restrictions and legislation concerning the environment. Methyl-tert-buty ether MTBE and tert-amyl-methyl ether TAME are the most commonly used gasoline ethers, but continuous research is also being carried out into new tertiary ether molecules. It is also expected that in the future new ethers, having molecule sizes greater than have conventional ethers, will gain a foothold on the market.
In the preparation of tertiary ethers there have been used as catalysts, for example, zeolites, heteropolyacids and their salts, silicates and clays modified in different ways, and homogenous acid catalysts. In commercial applications, however, strongly acid cationic ion exchange resins are used almost without exception.
Ion exchange resins are by their basic structure styrene and divinyl benzene copolymers sulfonated with sulfuric acids. The active sites of the catalyst are made up precisely of these hydrogen ions of the acid. The catalyst particles are spherical in shape, and their diameters range typically from 0.3 to 1.0 mm. The sulfonic acid groups are evenly distributed over the entire catalyst particle, and in order for the reaction to take place, the starting materials of the reaction must pass to the active sites of the catalyst.
In ion exchange resin catalyst particles the components must thus first pass from the bulk solution to the catalyst particle. Thereafter the components must further pass under the effect of diffusion to the catalyst""s active sites, where the reaction occurs. Also, the reaction products must pass, under the effect of diffusion, out of the pores of the catalyst particle, and further back into the bulk solution.
In spherical porous particles the distances become large. The tertiary olefins used as the precursors in the etherification reaction, as well as the product components, ethers, are by structure branched products. The larger and the more branched the molecules which are being etherified, the more difficult and slower is the passage of the component in the pores of the catalyst particle. In fact, a situation is approached in which the total rate of reaction is determined by the mass transfer, i.e. the rate of diffusion, and no longer by the rate of the chemical reaction.
Also cross-linking, which is an important variable for resin particles in terms of the structure, stiffens the structure of the resin and thereby renders the diffusion of the components in the pores of the catalyst particle more difficult. Resin catalysts are indeed quite complicated in structure. Changes in the conditions easily cause changes in the catalyst structure. Furthermore, the ion exchange resin matrix swells under the effect of polar substances. For example, methanol, which is often used as a starting material in etherification, is strongly polar. The effect of swelling on the number and quality of the active sites in a catalyst is not precisely known, but as the matrix swells the concentration of the polar component increases and the mass transfer of the other components in the pores of the catalyst is probably slowed down further.
Publication EP-A-629 441 describes the preparation of a fibrous polyethylene or polypropylene catalyst. The said catalysts were packed in a net-like fabric before they were used. The publication reports that the object is to prepare a catalyst the active sites of which are easily accessible, but does not discuss in detail the potential uses of the catalyst except that they can be used in organic syntheses.
The object of the present invention is to eliminate the problems of the prior art and to provide an entirely novel process for the preparation of ethers.
The invention is based on the idea that olefins, in particular branched C8-C2 olefins, are reacted with alcohol in the presence of a fibrous catalyst. The catalyst is based on a polyolefin backbone to which a compound which contains reactive groups is grafted, whereafter a functional group is introduced into the fibrous structure. Surprisingly, the catalyst according to the invention has been found to be highly reactive, in particular in the etherification reaction of heavier olefins and methanol. The use of the fiber improves the rate of the reaction as compared with known catalysts, in particular when the molecule size of the ether being produced increases, whereupon the difference from conventional etherification catalysts is considerable.
More precisely, the process according to the invention is characterized by the etherification of an olefinic hydrocarbon feed, according to which process the olefin or mixture of olefins is reacted with an alcohol or mixture of alcohols in the presence of a catalyst, characterized in that a catalyst is used which comprises a grafted polymer fiber, there being functional groups attached to the grafted polymer fiber.
The catalytic properties of the catalyst according to the invention are highly similar to those of conventional ion exchange resins, but owing to its structure its mass transfer properties differ from those of ion exchange resins. The active sites of the catalyst are on the catalyst surface, and mass transfer to the fiber surface is significantly easier than into the pores of a spherical catalyst particle. On the other hand, the catalytically active sulfonic acid groups are located in a side chain of the polymer, and the side chains of the polymer are not cross-linked in the catalyst according to the invention. Thus the mobility of the side chains is greater than in ion exchange resin particles, and the diffusion resistance to the passage of components is, even on account of this fact, less than in ion exchange resins.
When, according to the invention, a fiber catalyst is used in etherification, higher rates of reaction are achieved and thus shorter residence times in the reactors are made possible. Thus it is possible to speed up the etherification process and thereby to increase production. The advantages of the invention are especially prominent when there are produced ethers having more than 6 carbon atoms, and in particular when there are 9-10 carbon atoms. According to the invention, the catalyst can also be used in the reaction in the form of a slurry, since the good filterability of the fibers ensures that the fibers are easily separated from the reaction solution. Even in other respects, processing with fibers is easy, since the mechanical strength of the fibers is good. It can be noted further that in the conditions used the fibers are also chemically stable.
The fiber catalysts used in the invention are supplied by, for example, Smoptech Oy. Table 1 shows a summary of the properties of the Smopex-101 fiber catalyst manufactured by Smoptech Oy and the conventional commercial ion exchange resin Amberlyst 35 (Rohin and Haas).
As is shown in the table, the properties of the fiber catalyst according to the invention and conventional resin catalysts cannot be compared directly with each other, because of structural differences, for example, the specific surface area and the dimensions of the catalyst are not comparable.
The catalyst used in the invention is typically made up of polymer fibers grafted with a compound which contains reactive groups. The polymer fiber is, for example, of a polyolefin or a polyolefin which contains fluorine. Preferably there is used a homo- or copolymer of polyethylene or polypropylene or a fluorine-containing ethylene or propylene, of which the homo- and copolymers of polyethylene are regarded as especially suitable for the present invention.
The compound which contains reactive groups usually comprises at least one double bond. Preferably the reactive group is styrene or a derivative thereof.
A functional group is introduced into the grafted polymer fiber. The functional group applicable to the catalysis of the etherification reaction is an acid group; preferably sulfonic acid groups are used. When a grafted polyolefin fiber is sulfonated using chlorosulfonic acid, the catalytically active sulfonic acid groups attach specifically to the reactive groups of the side chains. During the preparation of the fibers the sulfonic acid content of the catalyst and thereby the ion exchange capacity can be regulated, and thus the properties of the catalyst can be tailored according to the need at a given time. An especially advantageous catalyst in the context of the present invention is a styrene-grafted and sulfonated polyethylene fiber.
It is also possible to graft a polymer fiber with a monomer which already contains a functional group.
The diameter of the catalyst fibers is typically approx. 20-40 xcexcm, most commonly approx. 30 xcexcm, and their length approx. 1-10 mm, preferably 3-4 mm.
The catalyst may be in the reactor in the form of a slurry, in which case it is fed into the reactor as such or can be fixed in place in any manner, known per se, which restrains the movement of the catalyst fibers. If the catalyst is in the form of a slurry, it is separated from the reaction solution after the reaction, for example by filtration. In a continuous-working process it is preferable to fix the catalyst in place.
According to the invention, olefins are reacted with alcohol. The reactor feed may be made up either of one specific olefin or of a mixture of one or more olefins. The olefins may be branched or linear. Preferably there are used branched C4-C12 olefins the linear carbon backbone of which comprises a chain of 3-11 carbon atoms. Especially preferably there are used branched C8-C10 olefins the linear carbon backbone of which comprises a chain of 5-6 carbon atoms. This chain of carbon atoms has at least one double bond, at least one of the carbon atoms connected by the bond being substituted in such a manner that there is not a single hydrogen atom linked thereto. The oxygen atom of the alcohol attaches to this carbon atom, whereby an ether is formed. The rest of the olefin backbone may be branched or linear. The substituent may be any hydrocarbon chain. Very branched substituents in the substituted carbon atom of the double bond may cause steric hindrance to the access of the oxygen atom to the carbon atom, and thus preferably the substituent of the substituted carbon atom of the double bond is a straight-chain hydrocarbon group, and most typically it is a methyl group.
2,4,4-trimethyl-1-pentene and 2,4,4-trimethyl-2-pentene can be mentioned as examples of olefins highly suitable for etherification according to the invention.
In the etherification, the alcohol used is preferably methanol, but other alcohols, typically C2-C8 alcohols can also be used. In particular alcohols in which the OH group is at the end of a straight carbon chain, such as ethanol, propanol and butanol, are good options, but also alcohols in which the carbon chain is branched can be used in etherification according to the invention. On the other hand, alcohols in which the OH group is located in the carbon chain, such as 2-propanol, can well also be used. The alcohol feed may also be a mixture of several different alcohols. The best etherification result is, of course, achieved using as pure alcohol as possible, but on an industrial scale it is well possible to use an alcohol of a low degree of purity, although in general water is removed from the alcohol feed.
The starting materials are fed into the reactor typically at a molar ratio of 0.1:10-10:0.1, preferably 0.5:5-5:0.5. The etherification is carried out at a temperature of approx. 50-120xc2x0 C. preferably within the range of 70-90xc2x0 C. Since the etherification reaction is slow, it is recommendable to use high temperatures, although the thermal stability of the catalyst used in each given case is to be taken into account. The reactor used may be a continuously operated or batch or semi-batch stirred reactor, fixed-bed reactor, fluid-bed reactor, tubular reactor or catalytic distillation column.
The use of overpressure in the etherification reactor enables the use of higher temperatures, since, owing to the overpressure, the alcohol and olefin as well as the reaction product formed can be kept in the liquid phase. The required overpressure thus depends on the reaction components and the temperature used. At the temperatures used in connection with the present invention, preferably at least a slight overpressure is used in order that all of the reaction component should remain in the liquid phase. Typically the pressure in the reactor is below 20 bar.

Process for the etherification of olefins


The present invention concerns size- and shape-controlled, colloidal superparticles (SPs) and methods for synthesizing the same. Ligand-functionalized nanoparticles such as nonpolar-solvent-dispersible nanoparticles, are used, and the solvophobic interactions can be controlled. Advantageously, supercrystalline SPs having a superlattice structure, such as a face-centered cubic structure, can be produced. Further, the methods of the invention can provide SPs that self-assemble and are monodisperse. The SPs can be doped with organic dyes and further assembled into more complex structures.

Nanoparticles are microscopic particles that are less than 100 nanometers (nm) in at least one dimension. They are often referred to as "artificial atoms" because of their unique physical properties that allow them to behave similar to atoms (Alivisatos, A. P., Science, 1996, 271:933; Banin, U. et al., Nature, 1999, 400:542; Yu, D. et al., Science, 2003, 300:1277). The ability to assemble nanoparticles into desired nanoscopic architectures, such as nanoparticle superlattices, may result in a new way to fabricate functional materials of interest for a wide variety of practical applications, including biomedical diagnosis (Mirkin, C. A. et al., Nature, 1996, 382:607; Han, M. et al., Nature Biotechnol., 2001, 19:631; Sonnichsen, C. et al., Nature Biotechnol., 2005, 23:741), catalysis (Somorjai, G. A. et al., in Clusters and Nano-Assemblies, Jena, P. et al., Eds., World Scientific Publishing, New Jersey, 2005, pp. 97-125), plasmonics (Ozbay, E., Science, 2006, 311:189; Van Duyne, R. P., Science, 2004, 306:985), and high-density data storage (Sun, S. et al., Science, 2000, 287:1989).
Molecular self-assembly is the assembly of molecules without guidance or management from an outside source. Self-assembly often refers to the ability of molecules to form supramolecular assemblies. A simple example is the formation of a micelle by surfactant molecules in solution. Many biological systems use self-assembly to assemble various molecules and structures. Imitating these strategies and creating novel molecules with the ability to self-assemble into supramolecular assemblies is an important technique in nanotechnology. In self-assembly, the final structure is often "encoded" in the shape and properties of the molecules that are used, as compared to traditional techniques, such as lithography, in which the desired final structure must be effectively "carved out" from a larger block of matter. Self-assembly is thus referred to as a "bottom-up" manufacturing technique, as compared to lithography being a "top-down" technique.
Current methods for the assembly of nanoparticle superlattices have been based on controlling driving forces such as hard-sphere entropic depletion, electrostatic forces, and van der Waals, steric, and dipolar interparticle interactions (Rabani, E. et al., Nature, 2003, 426:271; Velev, O. D., Science, 2006, 312:376). These methods have led to the preparation of nanoparticle thin films and colloidal crystals with a variety of superlattice structures (Velev, O. D., Science, 2006, 312:376; Kiely, C. J. et al., Nature, 1998, 396:444; Murray, C. B. et al., Science, 1995, 270:1335; Saunders, A. E. and Kirgel, B. A., ChemPhysChem, 2005, 6:61; Shevchenko, E. V. et al., Nature, 2006, 439:55; Kalsin, A. M. et al., Science, 2006, 312:420), from which new collective properties have been discovered (Collier, C. P. et al., Science, 1997, 277:1978; Courty, A. et al., Nature Mater., 2005, 4:395). However, size- and shape-controlled nanoparticle superlattices have yet to be synthesized. These supercrystalline "superparticles" made of artificial atoms would be very useful in many industries.
Typical approaches for attempting to control the size and shape of nanoparticle assemblies include spray drying (Iskandar, F. et al., J. Colloid Interface 2003, 265:296), emulsion polymerization (Xu, H. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2006, 128:15582), mediator-induced assembly (Boal, A. K. et al., Nature, 2000, 404:746; Elussain, I. et al., Langmuir, 2006, 22:2938; Maye, M. M. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2005, 127:1519), and Debye screening (Kalsin, A. M. and Grzybowski, B. A., Nano Lett., 2007, 7:1018). Nanoparticle assemblies made by these existing approaches are susceptible to problems, such as poor size-distributions, poor shape-distributions, and a lack of long-range ordering (Iskandar, F. et al., J. Colloid Interface Sci., 2003, 265:296; Xu, H. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2006, 128:15582; Boal, A. K. et al., Nature, 2000, 404:746; Hussain, I. et al., Langmuir, 2006, 22:2938; Maye, M. M. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2005, 127:1519; Kalsin, A. M. and Grzybowski, B. A., Nano Lett., 2007, 7:1018).
Thus, it would be advantageous to have available a method of synthesizing nanoparticle assemblies that permits efficient control of size- and shape-distributions and long-range ordering.

Supercrystalline colloidal particles and method of production

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.


Disclosed is a system method and software for user customizable device insertion. A new device is to be inserted in a loop based network such as an FC-AL network. The network is facilitated by a dedicated networking element, such as a switch. In order to ensure that the new device does not adversely affect the network, the new device is tested before it is inserted. Several tests are provided and the user is allowed to choose which tests are to be used. Alternatively, the user is allowed to define his/her own tests. The device is inserted into the network only after it has satisfactorily completed the applicable tests.

Fibre Channel is a well known standard for high speed networks. In various implementations it allows speeds of 1-10 Gbit/s. Fibre Channel is usually implemented on fiber optic cable, but the standard may be used with other suitable transmission mediums, such as, for example, twisted pair copper wires.
Fibre Channel is very suitable for networks that require high data transmission rates as well as low latencies, such as storage area networks (SANs). A SAN is a network that connects various devices (usually file servers and storage devices) for the purpose of storing large amounts of data. Another feature of storage area networks is that they provide low level storage. For example, data in SANs is addressed by block and not by some abstract identifier (such as a file/directory name).
The Fibre Channel standard supports several topologies. A topology is a manner in which devices are connected in a network. The simplest supported topology is Point to Point (FC-P2P) which only allows connecting two devices in a network. Switched Fabric (FC-SW) is a complex Fibre Channel topology which requires that one or more switches connect the various devices. The switches route data packets among the devices so that each packet travels to its destination. Thus, the FC-SW topology is very similar to the topology of a switched Ethernet network, for example. However, due to the high throughput speeds of Fibre Channel, FC-SW switches are usually very expensive, as they have to route high numbers of packets.
An Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) topology allows for the placement of multiple nodes on a Fibre Channel network without requiring the high costs of FC-SW switches. In an arbitrated loop, the devices of a network are connected to a loop and communicate by passing data along the loop. FIG. 1 is an example of an arbitrated loop. There, the network comprises six devices—A, B, C, D, E and F (100-105). If device A is to send a message to device D, for example, device A sends the message to device B. Device B then forwards the message to device C which forwards it to device D.
In order to operate within an FC-AL network, each device must be specifically designed and configured. For example, each device must be able to follow a common and known protocol in order to obtain an address in the network, to determine what the addresses of the other devices in the network are, to determine which information it receives is to be kept and which is to be forwarded on to the next device in the loop, to determine when it can send information without compromising existing transmissions, etc.
A problem with FC-AL networks is that it is difficult to create innovations for these networks. That is the case because in an FC-AL network there is no dedicated networking equipment which could be improved; instead the networking functionality is placed at the devices. And since the networking functionality requires cooperation from all of the devices according to well established protocols, it is harder to make improvements. Each improvement would probably require modification of the protocols, which would make many existing devices obsolete. This may be compared with the case of a FC-SW topology, where improvements may be easily made to the internal structures of the switches as long as they communicate with other devices according to the established protocols.
To remedy this, many companies offer FC-AL dedicated networking elements, such as switches and hubs. These networking elements usually conserve the loop nature of the network by creating the necessary connections between the devices in order to form a loop or loops, but they may also monitor or create communications along the loop or even reshape the loop itself in order to add additional functionality to the network. An example of such a switch is shown in FIG. 2, wherein the devices of FIG. 1 have been connected in an FC-AL network through a switch 200. The network is very similar to the one shown in FIG. 1, however the connections between the devices 201 pass trough the switch. The switch may offer additional features by monitoring the connections, inserting information into the connections and even reforming the connections. For example, the switch may monitor the connections of device A and upon determining that device A is malfunctioning it may connect device B and F directly, thus removing device A from the network.
Additionally, the switch may initially keep all devices disconnected from the network. If the switch detects that a first device requests to communicate with a second device, the switch would then connect the first and second devices in a two device loop, allowing them to communicate, and disconnect the loop when the communication is complete. Thus, by creating multiple two device loops, the switch can provide performance similar to that of a FC-SW network by using a loop based network. An example of a switch used in FC-AL networks is the SWITCH ON CHIP (SOC) provided by EMULEX.
An important characteristic of an FC-AL network is that each device may be critical for communications even if the communications are not directed to or originated by that device. Referring back to FIG. 1, if A sends a message to D, C is neither the recipient nor the initiator of the message, yet C can easily cause the message to not be delivered, by failing to forward the message to D. This should be distinguished from the FC-SW scenario where each device can usually only disrupt communications to which it is a party.
This characteristic presents a significant problem for the reliability of FC-AL networks. Device failures are not uncommon; thus the ability of one failed device to bring down a whole network is worrying. Usually, a device is tested for failure after being connected to the network. In other words, after a device is connected to a network, other devices (or the switch 200) on the network may determine whether the device behaves as expected and alert a user of a failure, if that is the case. However, a malfunctioning FC-AL device may corrupt communications between other devices before it is determined that the device is malfunctioning and thus before the device can be removed form the network.
A further difficulty is presented by the fact that not all FC-AL networks are the same. And while FC-AL devices should adhere to established protocols, some of them adhere to different versions of a protocol, and some of them adhere to only limited parts of the protocol. Thus, a device may be configured to behave so that it operates perfectly in one FC-AL network, but it may cause failure in another FC-AL network.
For the above reasons, the Fibre Channel industry would greatly benefit from a new method or system for preventing a malfunctioning device from disrupting an FC-AL network.

System method and software for user customizable device insertion

Emulex Design & Manufacturing Corporation


A tail flag assembly for installation on a rear end of an utility pole laid on a pole trailer. The tail flag assembly comprises a ring mountable over the rear end of the pole and a plurality of screws extending radially through the ring for clamping the ring onto the rear end of the pole. The tail flag assembly also comprises a plurality of staffs affixed to the ring and extending outwardly tangentially from the ring, with each staff having a rectangular brightly coloured flag affixed thereto. In one aspect of the invention, each flag has a stripe sewn thereon. The stripe is made of a highly light-reflecting material. The stripe is sewn on a first side of the flag from an upper outside corner thereof to a midpoint on the hem thereof, and on the other side of the flag, from a midpoint on the hem to the lower outside corner thereof. When the flag flaps back and forth, the movement of the stripe simulates a flashing light bar when seen at night under the reflection of the headlights of a vehicle for example. In another aspect of the invention, each staff is made of a flexible material and is pliable for engagement under the crossbar handle of one of the screws. Hence, when all staffs are bent and engaged under a respective crossbar handle, the tail flag assembly is compact in size and easily stowed in a tool compartment of an utility truck.

Utility poles carried on a pole trailer typically extend 50 feet or more behind a truck of an utility company. Although the truck is highly visible and normally has operating flasher lights when driving, the far ends of the poles represent a safety hazard for the following vehicles.
The image projected by the far end of a pole to a following driver is relatively small as compared to the size of the trailer and of the truck. Therefore, the background view of the truck and trailer to the following driver, can at times cause the illusion that the far end of the pole is further away than it actually is.
Similarly, the driver of the utility truck can misestimate the actual distance of the far end of the pole, especially when the pole is aligned with a line of sight of the driver. These misjudgements often result in backing the pole against nearby structures, fences and other vehicles for examples.
Different types of warning flags have been developed in the past and are still used nowadays for increasing the visibility of the far end of a pole carried on a pole trailer. As a first example, a very popular method for making such warning flag comprises the wrapping a red cloth around a wood stake and nailing the wood stake to the far end of the pole. The red cloth normally lays on the upper surface of the pole or hangs down alongside the pole. In both cases, the flag is hardly visible by the driver of the truck pulling the trailer. Moreover, when the truck is moving at a low speed, or when it is stopped for example, the flag hangs in folds and creases and is hardly visible by the driver of the vehicle following the pole trailer.
A second example of the warning flags of the prior art is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,678,886 issued on Jul. 25, 1972 to James W. Tibbet. This warning flag is attached to the pole by means of an elastic cord wrapped around the end of the pole. Although this flag always hangs in a fully deployed mode, it normally hangs under the far end of the pole and is not visible by the driver of the truck pulling the trailer.
Yet another example of a tail flag for vehicle is illustrated in Canadian Patent 645,710 issued on Jul. 31, 1962 to Gordon Stanley. This tail flag comprises a C-clamp which is attachable to the load extending behind a vehicle and a U-shaped rod welded to the C-clamp for attaching a red cloth thereto. The flag of this device also hangs down under the load where it is hardly visible to the driver of the vehicle carrying the long objects.

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A system and/or method for receiving a data capture from an elevator sensor and executing a prognostic analysis of the data capture to identify operational issues and resolutions to the operational issues. The system and/or method can further receive at least one of a verification of the operational issues and the resolutions and execute the resolutions upon verification to resolve the operational issues.

Elevators and elevator systems comprise complex electro-mechanical mechanisms for transporting people and items. Over time and through use these complex electro-mechanical mechanisms can malfunction and, in turn, require repair. When a request for the repair is received, mechanics commonly travel to a location of the elevators and elevator systems multiple times to fix the malfunction. For example, the mechanics will travel multiple times to and from a location of the elevators and elevator systems with respect to diagnosing the malfunction, retrieving parts, analyzing elevator operations, diagnosing, retrieving additional parts, etc. This repetitive travel incurs unwanted costs due to time wasted and delays in repair.
The disclosure relates generally to a prognostic analysis of elevator performance using sensors and the internet of things.

Prognostic analysis of elevator performance using sensors and internet of things


Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a biofield apparatus. The apparatus includes a first vial and a second vial configured to hold fluid for storing biofield information associated with a subject. The apparatus includes an input plate and an output plate. The input plate and the output plate include an input plate vial well and an output plate vial well, respectively. The apparatus includes a control unit configured to provide a first signal to the input plate for capturing the biofield information from the subject. The control unit encodes and transmits the biofield information captured from the subject, to the fluid within the first vial. Further, the control unit amplifies the biofield information within the first vial based on a target amplification level. The control unit transmits the biofield information from the fluid within the second vial to the subject for enhancing the biofield information and properties of the subject.

In recent times, biofield science has become an emerging field of study for alternative modalities, biophysics, biology, bio-agriculture, functional genomics, neuroscience, and psychoneuroimmunology and remedies. Biofield science deals with biofield information (or energy waves) that is emitted from a host (such as living organisms and non-living things) and surrounding the host. Conventionally, a user (such as an operator, a specialist or a practitioner) uses biofield devices to modify and/or manipulate the energy waves associated with the host such as the living organisms like plants, animals, humans etc., and the non-living things like soil, minerals, water, food etc. However, some limiting factors commonly associated with conventional biofield devices are that the biofield devices generally emit extrinsic frequencies onto the host, rather than using the frequencies emitted from the host. The frequencies from the conventional biofield devices are predetermined and/or are not based on the biofield information of the host. Moreover, the conventional devices do not have functionalities of inverting or infinitely amplifying and refining the biofield (i.e. the frequencies) of the host. Additionally, biofield therapy investigation is limited by an inability to quantify the therapeutic effect.
Therefore, there is a need for biofield systems to overcome one or more limitations stated above in addition to providing other technical advantages.


A system and component for generating a drive signal suitable to operate a fuel injector. The drive signal includes one or more injector pulses. Each injector pulse is characterized by a desired pulse profile. The system includes an injector driver and a controller. The injector driver is operable to apply a supply voltage to the fuel injector. The controller is configured to store a plurality of state definitions that determine an operation state of the injector driver when a selected definition of the plurality of state definitions is communicated to the injector driver. The controller is further configured to receive a sequence of state values that determine an order that the state definitions are communicated to the injector driver to generate piecewise an injector pulse exhibiting the pulse profile, and thereby generate the drive signal.

It is desirable to control current and voltage applied to a fuel injector solenoid of an engine. For example, a boosted voltage of fifty to sixty-five Volts (50V-65V) may be applied to open the injector quickly, and then a lower voltage of ten to sixteen Volts (10V-16V) may be used to control injector current to keep the injector open. In order to meet future reduced engine emission regulations, more advanced and flexible injector current control techniques are required. For example, an initial low current level (e.g. pre-charge) may be applied prior to injector opening to reduce the opening time and the amount of boost energy required. Intermediate current levels between peak and hold may also be used. Some applications vary the injector current levels depending upon vehicle or engine conditions such as the available system voltage, estimated cylinder pressure, or angle of injection. Gaseous fuel injectors require additional control pulses to reduce the closing forces. Similar requirements are present for high-pressure fuel pump solenoids. All of these advanced control techniques require the ability to easily define and vary the solenoid control waveforms.
Existing solutions typically require constant intervention by a microprocessor to update the desired solenoid control voltages and currents. If multiple fuel pulses per cylinder event are needed, updating control parameters between these pulses places an undue throughput burden on the microprocessor and may not even be feasible due to timing constraints.

Fuel injector control system and component for piecewise injector signal generation


An automatic voltage regulator senses and controls the terminal voltage of a separately excited generator by controlling the field current applied to the field winding. In order to improve the response time of the circuit, the circuitry relies on the phasor relationships between the generator phase voltages to obviate the need for a rectification and filtering circuit, used in known AVR's. More specifically, each of the sinusoidal phase voltages is sampled and squared. The squared phase voltages are then summed together. The square root of the sum is used to provide a DC voltage signal, proportional to the terminal phase voltages V.sub.A, V.sub.B and V.sub.C. The DC voltage signal may then be compared with a reference signal to generate an error signal for use in regulating the generator terminal voltage by controlling the field current applied to the generator field winding.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for sensing electrical voltage in a polyphase electrical system and more particularly to a method and apparatus for sensing changes in amplitude of the terminal voltage of a polyphase electrical generator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Polyphase electrical generators, normally three phase, are generally used in the generation of electrical power in a utility system. As illustrated in FIG. 1, such generators 20 are normally driven by a prime mover 22, such as a steam, gas or water turbine, rigidly attached to the generator shaft to drive the generator rotor at a predetermined speed, which establishes the frequency of the generator output voltage, known as the terminal voltage.
Since the polyphase generator is normally connected to a transmission and distribution network, it is necessary to regulate the generator terminal voltage within a predetermined range. Accordingly, such generators are normally provided as separately excited generators with a separate generator field winding 24. As is known in the art, the magnitude of the terminal voltage is a function of the field current If applied to the generator field winding 24. Thus, in order to control the magnitude of the terminal voltage of a polyphase generator, it is necessary to control the magnitude of the field current I.sub.f applied to the generator field winding 24. Devices known as automatic voltage regulators (AVR's) are normally used to control the field current I.sub.f in order to regulate the terminal voltage. More specifically, such devices normally sense the phase voltages of an electrical generator by way of potential transformers 28 and compare the sensed phase voltages with a terminal voltage set point 30. Any difference between the sensed phase voltage and the terminal voltage set point 30 is used to create an error signal by closed loop control that is amplified, for example, by a power amplifier 32 and used to adjust the field current I.sub.f in the generator field winding 24 in order to minimize the error signal and regulate the terminal voltage of the generator 20.
A simplified block diagram of a known automatic voltage regulator 26 is illustrated in FIG. 2. In such a device, the phase voltages V.sub.A, V.sub.B and V.sub.C, as sensed by the potential transformers 28, are applied to a rectification and filtering circuit 34 in order to convert phase voltages, which are sinusoidal, to a suitable DC voltage that can be compared with the terminal voltage reference set point 30 by way of a comparator 36. The output of the comparator 36 defines an error signal which may then be combined with other signals by way of a signal mixing circuit 38 to control the field current I.sub.f in the generator field winding 24 to regulate the terminal voltage of the polyphase generator 20.
A known rectification and filtering circuit 34 is illustrated in FIG. 3. As shown, the rectification of the phase voltages V.sub.A, V.sub.B and V.sub.C is provided by six rectification diodes 40. In order to smooth out the output signal from the rectification circuit 34, the rectified voltage is then applied to a filtering circuit 42 which may consist of a resistor 44 and a capacitor 46.
A problem arises in selecting a time constant for the filtering circuit 42. As shown in FIG. 4, the filter time constant is related to the filter ripple amplitude. More specifically, filter circuits having relatively large filter time constants produce a relatively low amount of ripple but result in a relatively unacceptable response time. Conversely, providing relatively smaller filter time constants results in relatively unacceptable ripple amplitudes as shown in FIG. 5. Accordingly, it is relatively difficult to select a filter time constant for an AVR which provides a relatively small amount of ripple voltage and at the same time provide a acceptable response time.

Minimum time delay filtering method for automatic voltage regulators


A method and system for determining the eye pattern margin parameters of a receiver system during diagnostic testing is presented. The circuitry in the receiver's front end comprises a series of latches, XOR gates and OR gates which first provide the data samples and edge samples, i.e., data sampled at the rising or falling edge of an (edge) clock characterized by a phase delay relative to the data sampling clock. The receiver also comprises optimization circuitry for the ideal alignment of the edge clock (edges) with the data edges. The method further provides for a phase shifting of the edge clock to the left and right from the ideal/locked position to screen the data eye pattern in order to compute the Bit Error Rate (BER) value. The position of the edge clock relative to the data sampling clock determines the horizontal eye opening for the computed BER.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to electronic circuits and in particular to receivers for data communication systems. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to the on-chip diagnostic of receiver systems while operating in functional mode.
2. Description of the Related Art
High bandwidth chip-to-chip interconnection is a crucial part of many of today's digital communication systems. High speed input/output (I/Os) are extensively used in server processors, memory to central processing unit (CPU) interfaces, multiprocessor systems, and gaming applications. These I/Os which are part of the physical layer of a data communication system are designed to operate at a given Bit Error Rate (BER) with some predefined margins. These predefined margins are the vertical and horizontal eye openings of the received data as seen by the decision circuit of the receiver at the given BER. The margin is usually verified by mathematically modeling a link or by experimentation in the laboratory. Taking into account all the variability of all the link components, i.e. the electronic circuits, the transmission medium, external perturbation and other distortion and attenuation factors, the process of verifying the margins becomes very difficult and tedious.
The vertical eye opening is readily measured on-chip by utilizing an additional decision circuit having a pre-defined input voltage offset that matches the needed margin. The result of the decision circuit is then compared to that of the circuit processing the functional data. The additional cost of such an-chip diagnostic is minimal. However, checking the horizontal eye opening on-chip is difficult and usually incurs a penalty in power consumption and increased on-chip real estate. This difficulty and corresponding penalty is especially evident for receiver systems that use two (2) samples per symbol (known as 2× over sampling receivers) of the received data to extract the timing information and sample the data.

Method for on-chip diagnostic testing and checking of receiver margins

International Business Machines Corporation


A process for the extraction of a precious metal, such as gold or silver, from a sulphide ore or concentrate or other source material comprises subjecting the source material to pressure oxidation to produce a pressure oxidation slurry. The pressure oxidation slurry is flashed down to a lower temperature and pressure and is then subjected to a liquid/solid separation to obtain a pressure oxidation solution and a solid residue containing the precious metal. The solid residue is then subjected to cyanidation to extract the precious metal. The formation of thiocyanide during cyanidation is minimized or counteracted by effecting the cyanidation at an elevated oxygen pressure and a reduced retention time, such as 30 to 90 minutes. A method for the reduction of copper cyanide formation during cyanidation leaching is also provided.

The applicant has developed a hydrometallurgical process for the treatment of copper concentrate so as to produce refined cathode copper by an efficient and environmentally clean process. This process is known as the "CESL™ copper process" and embodiments of the process are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,708 (the '708 patent) the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The process as described in the '708 patent in broad terms comprises subjecting the copper concentrate to pressure oxidation in the presence of an acidic chloride solution to produce a solid containing, inter alia, a basic copper salt and a pressure oxidation solution, containing copper in solution depending on the nature of the concentrate and the pH during pressure oxidation. The solid containing the basic copper salt may be subjected to a subsequent acid leaching step, typically at atmospheric pressure, to leach the basic copper salt into solution, thereby obtaining a copper solution which is treated, along with the pressure oxidation solution (should it contain recoverable amounts of copper in solution) to copper solvent extraction and electrowinning to produce cathode copper.
While the CESL copper process as described in the '708 patent, is suitable for the treatment of different copper concentrate compositions, various improvements, modifications or extensions to the process were made to further accommodate different copper concentrate compositions, as well as to provide for the recovery of other metals, such as zinc, cobalt, nickel and precious metals, where these occur in the copper concentrate, or without copper being present in the concentrate. Some of these modifications which pertain particularly to the recovery of precious metals are described in applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 5,902,474 (the '474 patent), the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention is concerned with the recovery of precious metals. It is significantly different from the process as described in the '474 patent and has the advantage of being simpler than the earlier process with overall lower costs.
Cyanidation of gold and silver ores is generally carried out in air at ambient pressure. Oxygen is needed in the process, but usually the amount needed is so small that it is adequately supplied by ambient air, which of course contains about 21% oxygen.
Equipment and conditions for cyanidation in commercial plants include:
(a) Agitated (open) tanks, in which the ore is slurried up in a cyanide solution usually with high percentage solids, and leached with free access of air from the surface. The ore must first be crushed and ground to allow it to be suspended by agitation. Several types of agitation have been used including mechanical agitation and air agitation (pachucas).
(b) Retention times are generally 1-3 days. Agitated tanks are used for ores that are relatively high grade in gold or silver, as this method produces better recovery than heap leaching, albeit at higher operating and capital cost. Sparging of air can be done to increase flow of oxygen into the slurry, but that generally increases the loss of expensive hydrogen cyanide into the offgas. Sparging of pure oxygen into the slurry is also known, as is the addition of other reagents such as liquid hydrogen peroxide to accelerate leaching.
(c) Large heaps of crushed ore, which are leached in place by cyanide solution that is sprayed onto or dripped over the surface of the heap. This low cost process is used for low grade ores and takes place over a longer period time of time, generally several months. Air ingress to the heaps by natural processes such as convection is generally sufficient for cyanidation to proceed at an acceptable rate.
With pressure cyanidation of gold and silver ores, oxygen is applied at elevated pressures, i.e. higher than oxygen partial pressure in air at atmospheric pressure, to agitated slurry.
The use of elevated oxygen pressure generally increases the leaching rate of gold and silver. Cyanide leaching is believed to involve oxygen as a reagent, as in the familiar Elsner equation:4Au+8NaCN+O2+2H2O→4NaAu(CN)2+4NaOH
Although the exact stoichiometry of the reaction may be in doubt, (e.g. hydrogen peroxide has been proposed as an intermediate product and reagent), most observers agree that the overall reaction includes oxygen as a reagent.
A similar equation can be written for silver, and with substitution of alternative cyanide reagents, such as KCN instead of NaCN.
Despite several disclosures in the literature of pressure cyanidation processes over many years, commercial application to date has been scarce. Perhaps this is because the obvious advantages of the improved leaching kinetics may be outweighed by the higher capital costs for such a process, with normal gold and silver ores.
However, the inventor is aware of two commercial plants that were built and operated and include pressure cyanidation, namely the Consolidation Murchison plant in South Africa and the Calmet process developed by Calmet of Colorado, USA.
The process employed at Consolidated Murchison was specifically designed to treat some high grade refractory gold concentrates containing arsenic and/or antimony. These rather unusual feed materials required much lower pH conditions than normal, i.e. pH<10, with much higher cyanide concentrations than normal, to obtain satisfactory leaching. Under these low pH conditions cyanide consumption would be very high, using conventional cyanidation (in open tanks) at ambient pressure, because of the excessive volatilization of HCN gas, which increases rapidly with decreasing pH, and also because of the high levels of cyanide needed with this unusual feed material. The process developed at Consolidated Murchison resulted in a commercial plant which satisfactorily resolved these difficulties.
The Consolidation Murchison plant reportedly uses a pipe reactor, operating in batch mode with recirculating slurry, at pH 10 or less, with high cyanide concentrations, and obtains 80-90% gold recovery with acceptable cyanide consumption.
This process is specifically designed for the feed materials on hand at this site, i.e. containing stibnite (Sb sulphide) and arsenopyrite minerals, which requires the low pH, at least low in comparison the usual pH 12 employed elsewhere at this site.
The process of the present invention, as will become apparent below, is capable of dealing with a residue from a copper leach process which has specific components, namely elemental sulphur and cyanide-soluble copper which would otherwise consume large amounts of cyanide with conventional cyanidation processes. In the present invention pressure cyanidation for this feed material is designed to limit thiocyanate production by operating at unusually low retention times. The process of the present invention is not limited to low pH, and the normal pH range is 10-11, but is not limited to this range. The present invention therefore overcomes a different problem than is dealt with by the Consolidated Murchison process.
The Calmet process on the other hand is a combined pressure oxidation and pressure cyanidation process, and was used for a variety of gold containing concentrates including tellurides, sulphides and carbonaceous preg-robbing materials.
Details of the process are scarce, but it seems that pressure oxidation of sulphides in low pH solution was combined with pressure cyanidation of the gold and silver.
It used an agitated autoclave operated in batch mode, in contrast to the pipe reactor at Consolidated Murchison, with a reported capacity of 15-30 tpd concentrate. It was built in Colorado in the 1980's evidently, but apparently closed down a few years later.
The objective of the Calmet process was to treat refractory but high grade gold-silver materials in a one-step pressure oxidation, which simultaneously oxidized sulphides and leached gold and silver. This is different from the present invention, in which pressure oxidation and leaching of base metals, such as copper, if present, is effected first in a separate operation, and the residue from this operation is then subsequently treated for precious metals recovery, as will be described in more detail below.
Gold and silver often occur as trace elements associated with copper in nature, such as in copper sulphide ores. Such ores typically contain 0.3% to 2% Cu, and are usually first subjected to milling and flotation to produce a concentrate of about 30% Cu, which is sufficient to make the subsequent smelting process efficient.
Gold and silver generally follow the copper into the concentrate in fairly high yield, and although they are minor constituents of such copper concentrates, frequently there is enough gold and silver present to be economically significant. Typically, the value of the gold and silver is about 10% of the value of the copper in the concentrate, although this varies widely from one concentrate to another. Rarely is the combined gold and silver content so low as to be negligible.
Occasionally, the combined value of gold and silver in such concentrates is actually higher than the copper, and thus the concentrate is more properly termed a gold or silver concentrate.
When copper sulphide concentrates containing gold and silver are processed by smelting and refining, these metals are generally recovered in high yield from the concentrates (about 90-98%). The extra cost to the copper smelter/refinery of such precious metal recovery is quite low, (incremental to the copper smelter/refining cost itself). The precious metals follow the copper through the various steps of matte smelting and converting to blister copper. The blister copper is then usually refined by electrolysis to remove impurities and during this refining process precious metals report almost quantitatively to the (refinery) anode slime, which has a low mass, (typically only a few kg per tonne of Cu metal). The anode slime therefore has a high concentration of the precious metals relative to the original copper concentrate fed to the smelter, e.g. 1000 to 3000 times more concentrated. Such low mass and high concentrations of gold and silver in the slime lead to low processing costs for final recovery and refining of the precious metals.
The monetary returns from such precious metals in concentrate processed in a smelter are economically significant, and any alternative process for sulphide concentrates (competing with the smelters), must take this into consideration. Smelters will generally pay at least 90% of the value of the gold if there is at least 1 g Au per tonne concentrate. For silver the minimum for payment is about 15-30 g/t. Probably over 85% of copper concentrates traded worldwide have at least this much gold and/or silver, so there is a significant credit for such values when the concentrate payment terms are negotiated between seller and buyer. Typically this credit amounts to about 10% of the value of the concentrate, and generally the gold value is about 80-90% of this, with silver making up the remainder.
Turning to a hydrometallurgical copper recovery process, such as the process described in the '708 patent, if gold and silver are not recovered efficiently along with copper, then the overall economics of the process could be adversely affected in comparison with smelting, even fatally for some concentrates which are particularly rich in gold and silver.
Gold and silver generally do not leach to any significant extent in a hydrometallurgical copper process, and are therefore left almost quantitatively in the residue after recovery of base metals. Therefore, any recovery process for precious metals must be an additional or subsequent step(s) processing such residue, which still has a mass of about 80% of the original concentrate. Concentrations of gold and silver in such residue are only slightly higher therefore in this residue, and still quite low, for example 6 g/t Au and 60 g/t Ag.
In comparison, as mentioned above, anode slimes produced by the smelting and refining process are greatly upgraded from the original concentrate. Thus a typical Cu concentrate with say 5 g/t Au and 50 g/t Ag, might have about 15,000 g/t Au and 150,000 g/t Ag in the slimes that need to be refined.
The challenge to the hydrometallurgical process is the efficiency or economics of the process. Treating such a large mass to recover only small amounts of precious metals at low cost (specifically a cost that is low in comparison to the value of the precious metal content in the residue) is clearly a difficult process to design.
It is possible to leach many gold and silver ores that have very low grades, (even lower than the typical residues of 6 g/t Au and 60 g/t Ag given above), using the well-established cyanide leach process, often with excellent results and low costs. The low concentrations of cyanide necessary to leach gold and silver, and the very low consumption of such cyanide with many such ores, together with the conditions, (ambient temperature and pressure, low corrosion conditions, etc), leads to exceptionally low operating costs for many gold and silver ores, (in terms of $/t ore). This enables ores to be economically treated when the gold content for instance is only 1 g/t Au. Often the cyanide consumptions are less than 0.25 kg NaCN per tonne ore, the cost of which is small compared to the value of gold recovered.
However, the residue generated by a hydrometallurgical process when copper sulphide concentrates are treated has unusual characteristics in regard to cyanidation (compared to naturally occurring ores) which can greatly increase the cost of the process, even to the point of making it uneconomic.
The copper residue contains two components in particular which tend to consume very large amounts of cyanide, i.e. copper and sulphur, when the residue is leached under "standard" cyanide leach conditions, i.e. leaching with dilute(alkaline)sodium cyanide solution at ambient temperature and pressure for 1 to 3 days.
Firstly, the residue still has a significant copper content, despite the fact that it has already been processed specifically for copper extraction. For example, the CESL copper process is about 95-98% efficient for Cu extraction, and thus the residue typically contains 1.2-1.8% Cu. This remaining Cu content is partly (15-25%) soluble in standard cyanide leach conditions, leading to the formation of soluble copper cyanide compounds, such as Na3Cu(CN)4, as well as other cyanide compounds such as sodium cyanate, NaCNO.
Also present in the residue is elemental sulphur which is a by-product of the CESL copper process and typically constitutes 25-35% of the residue. The elemental sulphur also reacts partly with cyanide solutions leading to the formation of thiocyanate compounds, such as NaSCN.
Both of these phenomena lead to very high cyanide consumption with the residue of the CESL copper process, under the conditions of a standard cyanide leach, e.g. 30 kg NaCN consumed per tonne of copper residue, or more than 100 times the consumption typically experienced in leaching gold ores. Such levels of cyanide consumption render the process far too expensive in view of the modest value of gold and silver to be extracted.
At a typical cost of US$ 1.50 per kg NaCN, the cost of cyanide consumed is about $45/tonne of residue. It is worthwhile to consider the effect of such high cyanide consumption on the economics of a typical copper concentrate producing a residue by the CESL copper process.
Assuming a gold and silver content at say 6 g/t Au and 60 g/t Ag, this hypothetical residue has a gross metal value of about $140/tonne of residue, at current prices (time of writing, November 2006).
To the $45/t cyanide cost must be added other reagent costs, (lime and various reagents needed for cyanide destruction), which typically will be at least equal to the cyanide cost alone, leading to a total reagent cost in this case of about $90/tonne residue. Then there are the other necessary operating costs such as labor, energy, maintenance costs plus amortization costs for the capital investment. Typically reagent costs are only a fraction (e.g. 50%) of the total operating cost, so the overall operating cost might be $180/tonne residue, given the original assumption above of 30 kg cyanide/t residue. Thus the total operating costs are of the same order of magnitude as the gross metal value of the gold and silver, with this high cyanide consumption, which clearly renders the process uneconomic.
The total operating cost should not be more than 50% of the value of the metals recovered. Thus to make the process profitable for the example quoted above, (with say 90% recovery of the $140 gross value, i.e. $126), the total operating cost should be no more than $63/tonne residue. Using the assumptions above, the cyanide costs should be no more than 25% of the overall operating cost, or about $16/tonne residue which is equivalent to 10 kg NaCN/tonne residue, in this example.
Thus the typical cyanide consumption for a "standard" cyanide leach on a CESL copper process residue consumes at least 3 times more cyanide than is economically allowable. In addition, the gold and silver themselves cannot easily be extracted from the Cu process residue by cyanide leach solutions.
In summary, with standard cyanide leaching of the copper residue, costs are high, gold and silver recoveries are poor, and the costs of the process tend to outweigh the value of the recovered metals.
It is accordingly the purpose of the present invention to provide a simpler process for gold and silver recovery from sulphide concentrates or other source material which alleviates the above economic challenges.

Process for gold and silver recovery from a sulphide concentrate


An assembly for an aircraft, the assembly including a pylon with a lateral wall pierced by a window, a tank with a neck blocked by a film and carrying a first anchoring arrangement, and a fixing arrangement for fixing at least a part of the tank bearing the neck inside the pylon, a discharge pipe, and a discharge head. The head includes an explosive cartridge and a hole with a second anchoring arrangement in which discharges the discharge pipe. The discharge head is fixed inside the pylon facing the window. The explosive cartridge is designed to generate in the hole a shockwave sufficient to rupture the film. An assembly of this kind enables simple and rapid removal of the tank from and installation thereof inside the pylon.

An aircraft classically includes at least one nacelle in the interior of which is disposed an engine, for example of the turbojet type. The nacelle and the engine are fixed to the structure of the aircraft by means of a pylon fixed under the wing of the aircraft.
In order to prevent damage to the structure of the aircraft if the engine catches fire, the aircraft is equipped with an anti-fire system that includes two tanks.
FIG. 4 shows a prior art assembly 550 that includes a pylon 500 and two tanks 502 that are installed in the pylon 500 and each of which contains an extinguisher fluid. Each tank 502 is spherical and the pylon 500 includes, for each tank 502, a window 504 that passes through a lateral wall of the pylon 500 and through which the tank 502 is introduced and fixed inside the pylon 500.
Each tank 502 is equipped with a discharge head 506 that includes a film that closes the tank 502 and an explosive cartridge that destroys the film when it is activated. The anti-fire system also includes, for each tank 502, a discharge pipe 508 that extends inside the pylon 500 between the discharge head 506 and the engine.
The destruction of the film enables release of the extinguisher fluid which then flows in the discharge pipe 508.
If a tank 502 has to be demounted, it is necessary to disconnect the discharge head 506 and to detach the tank 502 from the pylon 500. This procedure is relatively lengthy and complicated because of the reduced space around the pylon 500.
It is therefore necessary to find a different installation that facilitates installing and removing the tank.

Assembly for an aircraft, the assembly including a pylon and a tank containing an extinguisher fluid


An application server may be instrumented to provide a resource measurement framework to collect resource usage data regarding request processing by the application server and applications executing on the application server. The resource measurement framework of an application server may collect hardware and software resource usage data regarding request processing at interception points located at interfaces between application components and services or other components of the application server by instrumenting those interfaces. The resource measurement framework may collect resource usage by instrumenting standard interfaces and/or methods of various specifications, such as implemented by containers or other components of the application server. Thus, the resource measurement framework may collect resource usage for applications or application components that do not include any resource measuring capabilities. The collected resource usage data may be parsed and combined to create an overall characterization of resource usage corresponding to the application server's request processing.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of hardware and software performance analysis and workload characterization, and more particularly to workload characterization in application server environments.
2. Description of Related Art
The field of application servers is a fast-growing and important field in the computing industry. As web applications and other distributed applications have evolved into large-scale applications that demand more sophisticated computing services, specialized application servers have been developed to provide a platform supporting these large-scale applications. Applications that run on application servers are generally constructed according to an N-tier architecture, in which, for example, presentation, business logic, and data access layers are kept separate. The application server space is sometimes referred to as "middleware", since application servers are often responsible for deploying and running the business logic layer and for integrating, and interacting with, various enterprise-wide resources, such as web servers, databases, and backend or legacy systems.
Application servers typically provide application services for tasks that web applications and other networked applications commonly need. Application servers often incorporate these services and components into an integrated platform specialized for creating web applications. The platform may leverage various standard software component models, such as the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), the (Distributed) Component Object Model (COM/DCOM), Enterprise JavaBeans™ (EJB), etc., or the platform may provide its own software component model or may extend standard component models.
An application server may implement application component containers. An application component container, or simply "container", generally refers to a software framework that manages and supports the execution of application components. For example, a Java™ based application component container may include a container that functions according to the Java™ 2 Platform Enterprise Edition Specification, v1.3 (J2EE™). In many instances, J2EE™ services in a J2EE™ application server tier, such as web services, enterprise beans, message beans, etc., may be implemented using a container environment. This container environment may provide services (e.g. security, transaction, life-cycle management) that are used by server applications written in Java™ for the J2EE™ platform. In a J2EE™ environment, a web component may be assembled into a J2EE™ web module and deployed within a web container, and an enterprise bean may be assembled into a J2EE™ EJB module and deployed within an EJB container. One example of such an environment is the JES Application Server (frequently referred to as AppServer) from Sun Microsystems, Inc. With AppServer, application developers may create their applications that are accessed through Web services (HTTP, XML/SOAP, JMS, etc.) or rich-client paths such as RMI/IIOP. An example of a J2EE™ application is an online retail E-commerce web site that serves as a product catalog, has a shopping cart, and a checkout module.
A growing number of Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE™) applications are middleware applications that use a variety of technologies (web, xml, relational and object databases, portal, messaging, transaction, legacy, etc.) and support various lines of business. Many modern on-line services are frequently implemented using a multi-tiered approach, placing different services on different tiers of the total system. A typical system configuration may be made up of three tiers, for example, a web server tier, a application server tier, and a database tier.
The first, or client tier may include a number of different clients communicating with application components (e.g., servlets, server pages, beans) in the middle tier or application server. The clients may communicate with the application server via a network, an example of which may be the Internet. A backend tier may include various system resources, such as databases or other information systems.
Application components within a tier typically communicate with remote application components in an adjacent tier. For example, multiple users with access to an application component configured to operate in a client tier (e.g., an application client accessible via a web browser) may initiate requests to remote application components configured to operate in a middle tier, such as an application server. Each application component in the middle tier may, in turn, initiate requests to the backend tier, such as to system resources, on behalf of the application component in the client tier. For example, an application component in the middle tier may receive a remote request from a web browser operating in the client tier and in response invoke another application component to access a database object in the backend tier, for example. The application component accessing the backend tier may then provide a response to the application in the middle tier, which may complete the remote request, in this example.
A user of a multi-tier computer system may connect to the Internet and access the system using a web browser. The browser may send a request for service to a node in the web server tier. In some cases, the requested information may be in the form of a static page stored on the web server nodes; in these cases, the page may be returned immediately to the requesting browser. In other cases, the requested information may be developed dynamically for the specific request. These requests may be forwarded to a node in the application server tier. A forwarded request may invoke a particular application component or program that determines or generates the content for the request and may deliver this back to the web server, which in turn may deliver this back to the requesting browser.
Furthermore, the performance of the system may be a major factor in a user's perception of the service delivered by the system, namely response time. Systems maintaining service-level agreements (e.g., 90-th percentile response time <1.2 sec) may attract and retain customers for the site, while systems exhibiting sub-standard levels of performance may discourage customers from visiting the site. From the website administrator and deployer's perspective, throughput may be an important metric, as well as response time. Throughput measurements may provide the ability to gauge the system's ability to handle multiple user requests concurrently.
Applications running in an application server are frequently difficult to understand from a performance perspective (given their distributed nature and complexity) and they have traditionally not been characterized in any automated fashion. Application server vendors may provide performance tools and utilities. However, most performance tools focus on optimizations at development time, providing very limited capabilities to use them for any other task. Several Java™ performance tools provide the ability to identify "hot" methods or lines of code. When compared to other methods, the "hot" methods may be using more resources such as processor (CPU), memory (heap), lock (latency), disk and network 10, etc., affecting the response time of a service. Many Java™ performance tools use the Java™ virtual machine profiler interface [JVMPI] and also the Java™ virtual machine tool interface [JVMTI]; JVMTI, included in the Java Development Kit v1.5 [JDK], provides the ability to instrument Java™ classes statically, at load-time or dynamically. Several profilers, such as JFluid [JFLUID], provide developers an intuitive graphical user interface to display "hot" methods. However, workload characterization of standard benchmarks traditionally takes significant time and resources. It is generally non-trivial to characterize a customer/user application in sufficient detail due to time and resource constraints or due to an application's limited lifetime.
Studies of system performance generally require accurate descriptions of the system workload. Typically, the goal of a performance study is to gain an understanding of how the system is behaving currently and to make recommendations about corrective steps that may result in improved performance in the future. Each of these tasks may depend on having several key ingredients. One is an accurate description of the system components and how they interoperate. Another is an accurate description of the demands being made by the elements of the workload for use of these components. It may be important to understand the behavior of both the hardware and software environments and methods in order to get a comprehensive view of resource usage and performance. Traditional methods of workload characterization have been focused on either a high-level, software-centric analysis or a low-level, processor-centric analysis and have not tied hardware and software analysis together. Often, characterization is focused on a single application or a limited set of benchmarks. However, workload characterization determined by running benchmarks is often an inaccurate estimate of workload performance for any particular application since real applications do not utilize system resources exactly the same as benchmarks.

System and method for automated workload characterization of an application server


Personalized content is provided over a communications network such as the Internet. Providing personalized content includes both generating content which depends on the recipient of that content and delivering that content in a manner that depends on the recipient. Although methods of providing personalized content are known, none of those methods provide a mechanism for deciding when and how to personalize content. By enabling a content provided to send policy data to local caches and having a local agent computer arrange for content files to be delivered in accordance with those policy files, such a mechanism is provided.

1. Technical Field
Since the first release of the Mosaic Web browser in 1993, use of the Internet to download Web-pages, audio files, video files, software files and the like (hereinafter content files) has grown rapidly.
2. Related Art
The attraction of using the Internet in this way would increase further if the content that was delivered to an individual depended on the identity of that individual—in other words, if the content was personalised. Indeed, content providers have begun to offer their customers personalised content. For example, since 1998, Yahoo! Inc. has offered its customers the chance to choose the content and layout of the Web-page they see when browsing my.yahoo.com.
The Internet comprises a large number of local networks (some being regional/national networks) and backbone networks. Many of the local networks only connect to other local networks, but some are connected to backbone networks which are in turn connected to remote local networks. Because the Internet cannot yet offer fast, reliable delivery of content from a remote network, local network operators often provide caches in their networks which store content files frequently requested by customers of that local network. Customers of that local network who subsequently request that content file receive the file quickly since it only need be delivered over the local network.
Personalised content files are generally not stored in caches because they differ in dependence on which user requested them. However, in late 1999, a number of companies announced that they intended to work together to provide an 'Internet Content Adaptation Protocol' (see http://www.i-cap.org for details). The protocol is intended to be used by a network cache in sending a content file received by (or stored at) that cache to another computer which modifies the content file and returns it to the cache for forwarding onto a user. In this way, a user is provided with some of the benefits of both caching and personalisation.
To date, no company has offered people who browse its web-site a quality of network service that differs in dependence on the identity of the individual who is browsing. However, international patent application WO 98/24208 discloses a data communication system which, in response to a request from a user for remotely stored data, reserves, in a connection-oriented wide area network between that user's access network and the remote store, an amount of bandwidth for transferring that file in accordance with a user's level of subscription to the relevant content provider and differential delivery service provider. The reservation only takes place if the amount of bandwidth is suitable for the type of data concerned and if the access network has that amount of bandwidth available to the user.
None of the prior proposals for personalised content delivery has disclosed a mechanism for personalising quality of content delivery when the content is to be delivered from a cache. Since both caching and personalisation of quality of delivery are beneficial, there is a need to provide such a mechanism.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating a communications network comprising a remote network in communication with a local network, said method comprising:    transmitting content delivery policy data from said remote network to said local network, said content delivery policy data being analysable to find content delivery parameters given at least one communication attribute;    operating said local network to:    store said content delivery policy data at said local network;    receive a communication attribute for the delivery of content data to a recipient;    analyse said content delivery policy data to find content delivery parameters for said content data delivery; and    deliver said content data to said recipient in accordance with said parameters for said delivery;    wherein:    said local network further comprises a local content data store arranged to store said content data; and    said content data delivery step comprises delivering said content data from said local store over said local network with one of a plurality of qualities of delivery selected in accordance with said parameters.
The plurality of qualities of delivery might be two or more classes of delivery service, or might be a range of bandwidths, delays, amounts of jitter etc.
In this specification 'personalised content provision' and equivalent expressions cover both the personalisation of a content file and the personalisation of network service when delivering a content file.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of operating a communications network comprising a remote network in communication with a local network, said method comprising:    transmitting content provision policy data from said remote network to said local network, said content provision policy data being analysable to find content provision adaptation parameters given at least one communication attribute;    operating said local network to:    store said content provision policy data at said local network;    receive a communication attribute for the provision of a content file to a recipient;    analyse said content provision policy data to find content provision adaptation parameters for said content file provision; and    provide said content file to said recipient in accordance with said parameters for said provision.
By transmitting content provision policy data (which might, for example, be generated by a content provider at a remote network) to a local network, said data being analysable to find content provision adaptation parameters given at least one communication attribute, receiving a communication attribute for the provision of a content file to a recipient and then analysing said data to find said content provision adaptation parameters for said provision, a local network operator is able to provide personalised content delivery to said recipient in accordance with one or more content provision policies of, for example, said content provider. Furthermore, by carrying the analysis of the content provision policy data at the local network, the personalisation processing load on said remote network is reduced. Communication attributes might include attributes of the content file to be provided and/or recipient attributes. Recipient attributes might include attributes of the network facilities used to provide communication with the user (including the type of receiver used by the user) as well as characteristics of the user himself.
In the preferred embodiment described below the content provision adaptation parameters comprise a destination port/source port pair and a Diff-Serv marking to be applied to packets flowing between those ports. However, in a second embodiment they comprise a 'bid' which is convertible into Diff-Serv marking and source/destination port pair in dependence on the current price of bandwidth in the local network. The expression content provision adaptation parameters is also intended to cover any other parameters that are convertible to such a packet-marking policy.
Preferably, said communication attribute comprises one or more recipient attributes, said method further comprising the steps of operating said remote network to:    a) store data listing one or more recipient attributes for each of a plurality of first recipient identifiers;    b) receive an recipient attributes request message including an indication of a first recipient identifier;    c) responsive to said recipient attributes request message, sending a recipient attributes reply message containing said recipient attributes associated in said stored data with said first recipient identifier to said local network.
This provides a mechanism for using a database stored at the remote network to generate one or more recipient attributes corresponding to a recipient identifier (e.g. a user name). This has the advantage that the operator of that database (which might, for example, be a content provider) can cause information they hold about the recipient to be taken into account when deciding how to provide the content file over the local network to the user.
Preferably, said recipient attributes request message further comprises a recipient network address;    said recipient attributes reply message further comprises said recipient network address;    said method further comprises the step of operating said local network to store said recipient attributes in association with said recipient network address for a predetermined period of time;    said content file provision step comprises:    receiving a content file request, said content file request including a recipient network address;    finding the recipient attributes associated with said network address; and    providing said content file over said network in accordance with said recipient attributes.
This has the advantage that the recipient need not provide the local network with a user identifier.
Preferably, said predetermined period of time extends for one user session with the remote network. Note that the IP address changes between user sessions with the local network. A user session with the remote network normally forms part of a user session with the local network. Such embodiments of the invention have the advantage that the personalised content provision can adapt between user sessions with the remote network.
Preferably, said content provision policy data comprises a plurality of subsets of content provision policy data, each subset relating to a predetermined class of content file;    said method further comprising:    receiving a request that a content file be provided to a user, said request including a name for said content file;    classifying said content file as belonging to a predetermined content class based on said name; and    said content provision policy data analysis step comprises:    selecting a subset of said content provision policy data which corresponds to said content class; and    analysing said subset to find content provision adaptation parameters for said provision.
This allows for more flexible personalisation which takes into account both the nature of the content file to be provided and the recipient attributes.
In some embodiments, each first recipient identifier comprises a user name, said recipient attributes comprise one or more user attributes, and said content file provision step comprises providing, in accordance with said user attributes, said file to a user associated with said first recipient identifier. In these cases, personalised content provision depends on the user, rather than, say, the physical characteristics of parts or the whole of the local network over which the file is to be delivered.
In some embodiments, said local network further comprises a local content file store and said method further comprises:    operating said local network to store said content file at said local content file store, said content file provision step comprising delivering said content file from said local store over said local network with a quality of network service in accordance with said recipient attributes.
In this case, it is the quality of the delivery of the file by the local network that is personalised. In other cases, it is the content itself which is personalised.

Delivering personalized content data via local network


In some implementations, a device may receive action information, for an action from multiple actions, that indicates at least one of code associated with the action or one or more inputs required to complete the action. The device may receive workflow information, for a workflow included in a set of workflows, that indicates one or more actions from the multiple actions and an order in which the one or more actions are to be completed for the workflow. The device may receive, via an application programming interface (API) call, a request to complete the workflow The device may identify the workflow information associated with the workflow in a data structure. The device may perform the workflow based on the workflow information and the one or more inputs by executing code for the one or more actions indicated by the workflow information and in the order indicated by the workflow information.

An application programming interface (API) is a tool that provides machine-to-machine communication. For example, an API may be a computing interface that defines interactions between multiple devices. An API may define the types of calls or requests that can be made, how to make the calls or request, the data formats that should be used, and/or the conventions to follow, among other examples.

Common platform for fulfilling different actions