1. An alignment device for use in maintaining the alignment of longitudinal frame members of a trench-forming assembly during formation of a trench, the longitudinal frame members being positioned in a generally parallel orientation about a form such that the longitudinal frame members are spaced at a distance apart from each other, the alignment device comprising:
a cross member having a length greater than the distance between the longitudinal frame members, said cross member having first and second ends;
at least one pair of first lateral extensions, a first one of each pair of said first lateral extensions extending from said first end of said cross member in a first direction and a second one of each pair of said first lateral extensions extending from said second end of said cross member in the first direction;
at least one interior extension corresponding to at least one of said pair of first lateral extensions, said at least one interior extension extending from said cross member in the first direction and between said corresponding at least one pair of first lateral extensions; and
wherein one of said first and second ones of said at least one pair of first lateral extensions and said at least one interior extension defines a slot structured to receive at least a portion of one of the longitudinal frame members when said cross member extends between the longitudinal frame members to thereby maintain the alignment of the longitudinal frame members when forming the trench.
2. An alignment device according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of said cross member defines at least one aperture so that the alignment device may be removed from the trench-forming assembly after the trench is formed.
3. An alignment device according to claim 1 further comprising at least one pair of interior extensions corresponding to each of said at least one pair of first lateral extensions, wherein a first one of said at least one pair of interior extensions corresponds to a first one of said at least one pair of first lateral extensions and a second one of said at least one pair of interior extensions corresponds to a second one of said at least one pair of first lateral extensions.
4. An alignment device according to claim 1 wherein said cross member, said at least one pair of first lateral extensions and said at least one interior extension defines a planar cross section.
5. An alignment device according to claim 1 further comprising two pair of first lateral extensions, said first ones of each of said pair of lateral extensions being spaced apart by a predetermined distance and said second ones of each of said pair of lateral extensions being spaced apart by a predetermined distance.
6. An alignment device according to claim 5 wherein said cross member, said pairs of lateral extensions and said at least one interior extension corresponding to each of said pair of lateral extensions defines a C-shaped cross-sectional configuration.
7. An alignment device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said lateral extensions or said at least one interior extensions comprises an aperture in a surface of said lateral extensions or said at least one interior extension.
8. An alignment device for use in maintaining the alignment of longitudinal frame members of a trench-forming assembly during formation of a trench, the longitudinal frame members being positioned in a generally parallel orientation about a form such that the longitudinal frame members are spaced at a distance apart from each other, the alignment device comprising:
a cross member having a length extending between first and second ends; and
at least one pair of first lateral extension spaced apart from one another and extending in the same direction from said cross member,
wherein the distance between said pair of first lateral extensions is selected such that said pair of first lateral extensions are in contact with either an inside surface or an outside surface of the longitudinal frame members of the trench-forming assembly.
9. An alignment device according to claim 8,
wherein said pair of first lateral extensions are spaced so to contact the outside surfaces of the longitudinal frames,
wherein said device further comprises at least one interior extension corresponding to at least one of said pair of first lateral extensions, said at least one interior extension extending from said cross member in the first direction and between said corresponding at least one pair of first lateral extensions, and
wherein one of said first and second ones of said at least one pair of first lateral extensions and said at least one interior extension defines a slot structured to receive at least a portion of one of the longitudinal frame members when said cross member extends between the longitudinal frame members to thereby maintain the alignment of the longitudinal frame members when forming the trench.
10. An alignment device according to claim 8,
wherein said pair of first lateral extensions are spaced so to contact the outside surfaces of the longitudinal frames,
wherein said device further comprises at least one pair of interior extensions corresponding to each of said at least one pair of first lateral extensions, wherein a first one of said at least one pair of interior extensions corresponds to a first one of said at least one pair of first lateral extensions and a second one of said at least one pair of interior extensions corresponds to a second one of said at least one pair of first lateral extensions.
11. A trench-forming assembly comprising:
a form;
a pair of longitudinal frame members secured to said form, said pair of longitudinal frame members being positioned in a generally parallel orientation about said form such that said longitudinal frame members are spaced at a distance apart from each other; and
a plurality of alignment devices, each of said alignment devices comprising:
a cross member having a length greater than the distance between the longitudinal frame members, said cross member having first and second ends;
at least one pair of first lateral extensions, a first one of each pair of said first lateral extensions extending from said first end of said cross member in a first direction and a second one of each pair of said first lateral extensions extending from said second end of said cross member in the first direction;
at least one interior extension corresponding to at least one of said pair of first lateral extensions, said at least one interior extensions extending from said cross member in the first direction and between said corresponding at least one pair of lateral extensions; and
wherein one of said first and second ones of said at least one pair of lateral extensions and said at least one interior extension defines a slot structured to receive at least a portion of one of the longitudinal frame members when said cross member extends between the longitudinal frame members to thereby maintain the alignment of the longitudinal frame members when forming the trench.
12. An alignment device according to claim 11, wherein at least a portion of said cross member defines at least one aperture so that the alignment device may be removed from the trench-forming assembly after the trench is formed.
13. An alignment device according to claim 11 further comprising at least one pair of interior extensions corresponding to each of said at least one pair of lateral extensions, wherein a first one of said at least one pair of interior extensions corresponds to a first one of said at least one pair of lateral extensions and a second one of said at least one pair of interior extensions corresponds to a second one of said at least one pair of lateral extensions.
14. An alignment device according to claim 11 wherein said cross member, said at least one pair of lateral extensions and said at least one interior extension defines a planar cross section.
15. An alignment device according to claim 11 further comprising two pair of first lateral extensions, said first ones of each of said pair of first lateral extensions being spaced apart by a predetermined distance and said second ones of each of said pair of first lateral extensions being spaced apart by a predetermined distance.
16. An alignment device according to claim 15 wherein said cross member, said pairs of first lateral extensions and said at least one interior extension corresponding to each of said pair of first lateral extensions defines a C-shaped cross-sectional configuration.
17. A trench-forming assembly comprising:
a form;
a pair of longitudinal frame members secured to said form, said pair of longitudinal frame members being positioned in a parallel orientation about said form such that said longitudinal frame members are spaced apart a predetermined distance; and
a plurality of alignment devices, each of said alignment devices comprising:
a cross member having a length extending between first and second ends; and
at least one pair of first lateral extension spaced apart from one another and extending in the same direction from said cross member,
wherein the distance between said pair of first lateral extensions is selected such that said pair of first lateral extensions are in contact with either an inside surface or an outside surface of the longitudinal frame members of the trench-forming assembly.
18. A method of forming a trench of predetermined shape, the method comprising:
providing a trench-forming assembly comprising a form and a pair of longitudinal frame members secured to the form, the pair of longitudinal frame members being positioned in a parallel orientation about the form such that the longitudinal frame members are spaced apart a predetermined distance;
providing at least one alignment device having at least one slot for at least partially receiving each one of the longitudinal frame members;
positioning the trench-forming assembly into a prepared ditch;
engaging the at least one alignment device with the trench-forming assembly whereby the at least one alignment device extends across the distance between the longitudinal frame members and each longitudinal frame member is at least partially received within at least one corresponding slot of the alignment device; and
pouring a moldable trench forming composition around at least portions of the trench-forming assembly to form the trench of predetermined shape and wherein the at least one alignment device maintains the alignment of the longitudinal frame members during said pouring step.
19. A method according to claim 18 further comprising repeating said engaging step prior to said pouring step.
20. A method according to claims 18 wherein said second providing step comprises providing at least one alignment device comprising;
a cross member having a length greater than the distance between the longitudinal frame members, the cross member having first and second ends;
at least one pair of first lateral extensions, a first one of each pair of the first lateral extensions extending from the first end of the cross member in a first direction and a second one of each pair of the first lateral extensions extending from the second end of the cross member in the first direction;
at least one interior extension corresponding to at least one of said pair of first lateral extensions, the at least one interior extensions extending from the cross member in the first direction and between the corresponding at least one pair of first lateral extensions; and
wherein one of the first and second ones of the at least one pair of first lateral extensions and the at least one interior extension defines a slot structured to receive at least a portion of one of the longitudinal frame members when the cross member extends between the longitudinal frame members.
21. A method according to claim 20 wherein the first providing step comprises forming slots in the form of the trench-forming assembly, where the slot is structured to receive the at least one interior extension.
22. A method according to claims 18 wherein said second providing step comprises providing at least one alignment device comprising;
a cross member having a length extending between first and second ends; and
at least one pair of first lateral extension spaced apart from one another and extending in the same direction from said cross member,
wherein the distance between said pair of first lateral extensions is selected such that said pair of first lateral extensions are in contact with either an inside surface or an outside surface of the longitudinal frame members of the trench-forming assembly.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A storage management device (5, 12) for managing storage areas (DSB, VSB) of a mass storage (9), it being possible by means of the mass storage (9) to store concatenation data (VD) in management storage areas (VSB), which define a concatenation of data storage areas (DSB), in which associated information data (ID1, ID2, ID3) can be stored by the mass storage (9), having
storage control means (8) for determining data storage areas (DSB) identified by the concatenation data (VD) as unassigned, and for determining modified concatenation data (GVD), which identify a concatenation modified by writing information data (ID) to be stored to unassigned data storage areas (DSB), and having
buffer storage means (6) for buffer storing the modified concatenation data (GVD), and having
writing means (7) for writing the information data (ID) to be stored to unassigned data storage areas (DSB) determined by the storage control means (8) and for writing all the modified concatenation data (GVD) to a first concatenation subarea (VTB1) and a to second concatenation subarea (VTB2) of the management storage area (VSB),
characterized in that
backup means (12) are provided for determining backup data (SD) identifying the modified concatenation data (GVD) to be written, and in that the writing means (7) are designed, before writing the modified concatenation data (GVD) to the first and the second concatenation subarea (VTB1, VTB2), to write the backup data (SD) to a backup subarea of the management storage area (VSB), and in that the backup means (12) are designed, following an unscheduled interruption in writing the modified concatenation data (GVD), to determine by reference to the backup data (SD) whether the concatenation data (VD) stored in the first concatenation subarea (VTB1) or in the second concatenation subarea (VTB2) form valid concatenation data (VD, GVD).
2. A storage management device (5, 12) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the first and the second concatenation subarea (VTB1, VTB2) contain concatenation data (VD) of a so-called File Allocation Table (FAT32).
3. A storage management device (5, 12) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the backup means (12) are designed to determine a checksum of the modified concatenation data (GVD) as backup data (SD).
4. A storage management device (5, 12) as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the writing means (7) are designed to write the backup data (SD) to a part of the first concatenation subarea (VTB1) andor of the second concatenation subarea (VTB2) not occupied by the File Allocation Table (FAT32).
5. A storage management device (5, 12) as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the backup means (12) are designed, following an unscheduled interruption in writing of the modified concatenation data (GVD), to check completion data (AD) stored in the File Allocation Table (FAT), which identify whether writing of the modified concatenation data (GVD) was validly completed before the unscheduled interruption, the backup means (12) being designed to determine the valid concatenation data (VD, GVD) stored in the concatenation subareas (VTB1, VTB2) by reference to the backup data (SD) only after an invalid completion of writing the modified concatenation data (GVD).
6. A storage management device (5, 12) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that directory data (DIR), which in each case contain a start address (AP1, AP2, AP3) for all data storage areas identified by a concatenation as belonging thereto, can be stored in the management storage areas (VSB), and in that directory data (GDIR) modified by writing in information data (ID3) to be stored can be stored by the buffer storage means (6), and in that before writing the modified directory data (GDIR) stored in the buffer storage means (6) to the management storage area (VSB), the writing means (7) copy the directory data (DIR) already stored in the management storage area (VSB) to an unassigned part of the management storage area (VSB), and in that the backup means (12), following an unscheduled interruption in writing the modified concatenation data (GVD), are designed to determine the valid directory data (DIR, GDIR) according to the result of determining the valid concatenation data (VD, GVD).
7. A storage management device (5, 12) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the storage management device (5, 12) is formed by a computer (1), which performs a storage management method.
8. A storage management method for managing storage areas (VSB, DSB) of a mass storage (9), it being possible by means of the mass storage (9) to store concatenation data (VD) in management storage areas (VSB), which define a concatenation of data storage areas (DSB), in which associated information data (ID1, ID2, ID3) can be stored on the mass storage (9), the method comprising the steps of:
determining data storage areas (DSB) identified by the concatenation data (VD) as unassigned;
determining modified concatenation data (GVD), which identify a concatenation modified by writing information data (ID3) to be stored into unassigned data storage areas (DSB);
buffer storing of the modified concatenation data (GVD);
writing the information data (ID3) to be stored to unassigned data storage areas (DSB) determined;
writing all the modified concatenation data (GVD) to a first concatenation subarea (VTB1) and to a second concatenation subarea (VTB2) of the management storage area (VSB),
the method comprising the further steps of:
determining the backup data (SD) identifying the modified concatenation data (GVD) to be written in;
writing the backup data (SD) to a backup subarea of the management storage area (VSB) before writing the modified concatenation data (GVD) to the first and the second concatenation subarea (VTB1, VTB2);
determining by reference to the backup data (SD), following an unscheduled interruption in writing the modified concatenation data (GVD), whether the concatenation data (VD) stored in the first concatenation subarea (VTB1) or in the second concatenation subarea (VTB2) form valid concatenation data (VD, GVD).
9. A storage management method as claimed in claim 8, comprising the further steps of:
writing the backup data (SD) to a part of the first concatenation subarea (VTB1) andor of the second concatenation subarea (VTB2) not occupied by a File Allocation Table (FAT32).
10. A storage management method as claimed in claim 9, comprising the further steps of:
checking completion data (AD) stored in the File Allocation Table (FAT32) following an unscheduled interruption in writing the modified concatenation data (GVD), which completion data (AD) identify whether writing of the modified concatenation data (GVD) was validly completed before the unscheduled interruption, it being determined by reference to the backup data (SD) only after an invalid completion of writing the modified concatenation data (GVD) which of the concatenation data (VD) stored in the concatenation subareas (VTB1, VTB2) was validly stored.