Author: claimsbot

1. A pipe lap joint, comprising:
an inside pipe having a first pipe end;
an outside pipe telescopically receiving said first pipe end and having a second pipe end and a slot, said slot being located in said second pipe end;
a gasket located over said first pipe end and within said second pipe end and at least partly sandwiched between said first and second pipe ends, said gasket having an embossment extending radially outwardly from an outer surface of said gasket and being received at least partly in said slot of said outside pipe;
a band located over said second pipe end and extending circumferentially from a first end to a second end; and
a tightening mechanism connected to said band at said first and second ends, said tightening mechanism including at least one fastener to bring said first and second ends toward each other to tighten said band.
2. A pipe lap joint as defined in claim 1, wherein, upon tightening of said band, said slot at least partly circumferentially collapses and compresses said embossment.
3. A pipe lap joint as defined in claim 2, wherein said slot has an open end located at a terminal end of said second pipe end and has a closed end located axially inward of said terminal end, and wherein said at least partial circumferential collapsing of said slot causes a portion of said embossment to migrate toward said closed end of said slot.
4. A pipe lap joint as defined in claim 1, wherein said embossment has substantially the same width and length dimensions as said slot.
5. A pipe lap joint as defined in claim 1, wherein said gasket has an outwardly-extending flange that, upon insertion of said gasket into said second pipe end, engages a terminal end of said second pipe end, thereby restricting further insertion of said gasket into said second pipe end.
6. A pipe lap joint as defined in claim 5, wherein said gasket extends axially from a first edge to a second edge and wherein said flange is located at one of said edges.
7. A pipe lap joint as defined in claim 1, wherein said embossment has a radial height which is about 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm greater than a radial height of said outside pipe.
8. A band clamp, comprising:
a band extending circumferentially from a first end to a second end and being sized to fit over an outside pipe end to be clamped;
a tightening mechanism connected to said band at said first and second ends, said tightening mechanism including at least one fastener to bring said first and second ends toward each other to tighten said band over the outside pipe end; and
a gasket constructed to fit over an inside pipe end and within the outside pipe end such that the gasket is at least partially sandwiched between said inside and outside pipe ends, said gasket having an embossment extending radially outwardly from an outer surface of said gasket and being constructed to be received at least partly within a slot of said outside pipe end.
9. A band clamp as defined in claim 8, wherein said embossment has a length and a substantially uniform width along its length.
10. A band clamp as defined in claim 8, wherein said gasket extends axially from a first edge to a second edge and wherein one of said gasket has an outwardly extending flange at only one of said edges.
11. A band clamp as defined in claim 8, wherein said embossment has a radial height which is about 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm greater than a radial height of the outside pipe end.

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 method for selecting animations corresponding to a text in a natural language, said method comprising the steps of:
receiving a text of request in a natural language;
dividing said text into sentences;
dividing said sentences into words;
reducing each word to a normalized form;
selecting a sequence of templates for the normalized text;
combining the sequences of templates for each sentence in a certain order into a single common sequence of templates;
selecting an animation for each template;
combining the selected animation files into a resulting clip.
2. The method of claim 1, characterized in that words, phrases and symbols are formally replaced in the predefined words, phrases or symbols equivalent thereto.
3. The method of claim 1, characterized in that misprints are corrected in the words.
4. The method of claim 1, characterized in that neutral background animations for each template are selected if necessary.
5. The method of claim 1, characterized in that it is determined whether any sequences of templates corresponding to the normalized text are available in the cache, wherein
if a sequence of templates is available in the cache, the sequence of templates is selected from the cache.
6. The method of claim 1, characterized in that it is determined whether an animation style is set for the incoming text, wherein
if the style is set, animations corresponding to the style are selected provided that for the selected style, an animation of each template from the sequence is available in this style; and
if no style is set, the style is randomly selected for which all animations are available for the selected templates;
if there is a number of such styles, any style is randomly selected;
if no styles are available, a selection of animations in various styles is used.
7. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the original text of request, the selected sequence of templates are saved in the database; and
statistics for templates, words, animations, the list of unknown words and statistics for unknown words is updated.
8. A method for searching an optimum sequence of templates for subsequently selecting animations corresponding to the sequence of templates, comprising the steps of:
a) selecting from the list, all templates having all template words included in a sentence, wherein if a particular animation style is set, selecting templates from the list of templates having animations in the selected style rather than from the list of all templates;
b) deriving from the list of templates obtained in the previous step, the information regarding the hierarchy of templates, wherein the template hierarchy level determines the template rank;
c) if templates belonging to the same hierarchy but having different levels are included in a single set of templates obtained in step a), deleting from this set the templates with a minimum rank (a higher level);
d) selecting from the list of templates obtained in step c), an optimum set of templates for which a target function will have the most optimum value,
wherein the target function is given by:
f
\ue8a0

(
x
)
=
k
1

*

1

N
crosses
+
k
2

*

N
coverage
+
k
3

*

N
rank
+
k
4

*

N

pairs
\ue89e
\ue89e
in
\ue89e
\ue89e
\ue89e
correct
\ue89e
\ue89e
sequence
–
k
4

*

N

pairs
\ue89e
\ue89e
in
\ue89e
\ue89e
incorrect
\ue89e
\ue89e
\ue89e
sequence
->
MAX
,
where:
Ncrosses is a number of crossings of the template words in the set of templates,
Ncoverage is an aggregate coverage of all words by the templates (number of all words from a sentence, encountered in the templates),
Nrank is an aggregate rank of all templates from the set,
Npairs in correct sequence is a number of word pairs of the composite (i.e., consisting of a few words) templates corresponding to the sequence of words in a phrase,
Npairs in incorrect sequence is a number of word pairs of the composite templates not corresponding to the sequence of words in a phrase, and
k1, k2, k3, k4 are empirically calculated coefficients. They have a value of 0.4, 0.33, 0.4, 0.2, respectively.
9. The method of claim 8, characterized in that an optimum value of the target function is searched either by means of an exhaustive search of the sequence of templates (successively going through all combinations of unique templates) or by means of multicriteria optimization.
10. The method of claim 8, characterized in that it is determined whether any sequences corresponding to the normalized test are available in the cache, wherein,
wherein if a sequence of templates is available in the cache, the sequence of templates is selected from the cache.
11. The method of claim 8, characterized in that it is determined whether an animation style is set for the incoming text, wherein
if the style is set, animations corresponding to the style are selected provided that for the selected style, an animation of each template from the sequence is available in this style; and
if no style is set, the style is randomly selected for which all animations are available for the selected templates;
if there is a number of such styles, any style is randomly selected;
if no styles are available, a selection of animations in various styles is used.
12. The method of claim 8, characterized in that the original text of request, the selected sequence of templates are saved in the database; and
statistics for templates, words, animations, the list of unknown words and statistics for unknown words is updated.
13. The method of searching an optimum sequence of templates for subsequently selecting animations corresponding to the sequence of templates, said method comprising the steps of:
using the Levenshtein edit-distance algorithm, finding all templates all words of which are found in the phrase being sought;
sorting the found templates by the number of words in ascending order; sequentially determining for each template from this formed set of templates, whether the template is part of any other template from the set, wherein if the template is part of any other template from the set, deleting the same;
in the resulting set of templates, defining the templates non-crossing each other and crossing each other;
adding the non-crossing templates to the resulting set;
calculating for each template an average value of the template word positions in the text; and
sorting the templates by that average value to obtain an optimum sequence of templates.
14. The method of claim 13, characterized in that the rate of crossing (number of word crosses) of the words from the set of non-crossing templates and the number of new words not included in this set, covering the phrase is determined in the crossing templates.
15. The method of claim 13, characterized in that if no non-crossing templates exist, an optimum set of templates is formed from the crossing templates, considering the following criteria: maximum aggregate rank, maximum coverage, minimum crosses; wherein
the set of templates is formed by carrying out the following steps of:
a) selecting a first template with a maximum weight, said template weight being the number of words in the template;
b) selecting templates minimally crossing the first template and non-crossing each other;
c) selecting from the remaining templates those templates that contain >=50% of new words; wherein
d) if in step a) a few templates with a maximum weight were available, selecting as the resulting set of templates the set having a maximum difference between the aggregate rank of templates and the number of word crosses.
16. A method of animation of SMS messages, said method comprising the steps of:
receiving a SMS message from a sender;
analyzing the received SMS message by defining the message text;
sending a request containing the text to an animation service;
selecting animations using the method of claim 1;
combining the selected animations and sending to a service processing service;
forming an MMS containing the received animation and sending to a recipient.
17. The method of claim 16, characterized in that the recipient’s subscriber number and the message text are included in the SMS message.
18. The method of claim 16, characterized in that the sender and the recipient are identified in the received SMS message.
19. The method of claim 16, characterized in that a SMS message is sent to the sender saying that the animation has been sent or failed.
20. A method of animation of SMS messages, said method comprising the steps of:
receiving a SMS message from a subscriber;
analyzing the received SMS message by defining the message text;
sending a request containing the text to an animation service;
selecting and image or animations using the method of claim 1;
sending the selected image or animations to a service processing service;
forming an MMS containing the received image or animation and sending to a subscriber.
21. The method of claim 20, characterized in that the subscriber is identified in the received SMS message.

1. A ground engaging apparatus comprising:
a. a toolbar, wherein said toolbar is adapted to be coupled to a motive source;
b. a paired single disc opener unit affixed to said toolbar, wherein said paired single disc opener unit comprises:
i. a set of four-bar parallel linkage, wherein said set of four-bar parallel linkage is pivotable with respect to said toolbar at a first end of said set of four-bar parallel linkage;
ii. a support frame, wherein said support frame is rotatably coupled with said set of four-bar parallel linkage at a second end of said set of four-bar parallel linkage;
iii. a left opener disc rotatably coupled to said support frame, wherein said left opener disc is angled with respect to the direction of travel of said ground engaging apparatus so as to form a furrow in the ground surface;
iv. a right opener disc rotatably coupled to said support frame, wherein said right opener disc is angled with respect to the direction of travel of said ground engaging apparatus so as to form a furrow in the ground surface, wherein said left opener disc and said right opener disc are laterally spaced from one another by a distance sufficient to form adjacent furrows between 5 and 9 inches apart, and wherein a line of symmetry exists between said left opener disc and said right opener disc along the direction of travel of said ground engaging apparatus; and,
v. a depth regulating member, wherein the vertical position of said depth regulating member is fixed with respect to said support frame, said left opener disc, and said right opener disc, and wherein said depth regulating member is positioned between said left opener disc and said right opener disc.
2. The ground engaging apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said depth regulating member is further defined as a gauge wheel.
3. The ground engaging apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said depth regulating member is further defined as a skid.
4. The ground engaging apparatus according to claim 1 wherein adjacent said furrows are 7.5 inches apart.
5. The ground engaging apparatus according to claim 1 wherein adjacent said furrows are 7 inches apart.
6. The ground engaging apparatus according to claim 1 wherein adjacent said furrows are 8 inches apart.
7. The ground engaging apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said ground engaging apparatus further comprises:
a. a down pressure system coupled to said set of four-bar parallel linkage;
b. a seed delivery assembly positioned above said support frame;
c. a left opener disc seed delivery tube coupled to said seed delivery assembly;
d. a right opener disc seed delivery tube coupled to said seed delivery assembly;
e. a closing wheel mounting arm mounted to said support frame behind said left opener disc and said right opener disc;
f. a plurality of closing wheels rotatably mounted to said closing wheel mounting arm;
g. a right row cleaner arm mounted to said support frame;
h. a first row cleaning wheel rotatably mounted to said right row cleaner arm;
i. a left row cleaner arm mounted to said support frame; and,
j. a second row cleaning wheel rotatably mounted to said left row cleaner arm.
8. A ground engaging apparatus comprising:
a. a toolbar, wherein said toolbar is adapted to be coupled to a motive source;
b. a paired single disc opener unit affixed to said toolbar, wherein said paired single disc opener unit comprises:
i. a set of four-bar parallel linkage, wherein said set of four-bar parallel linkage is pivotable with respect to said toolbar at a first end of said set of four-bar parallel linkage;
ii. a support frame, wherein said support frame is rotatably coupled with said set of four-bar parallel linkage at a second end of said set of four-bar parallel linkage;
iii. a left opener disc rotatably coupled to said support frame, wherein said left opener disc is angled with respect to the direction of travel of said ground engaging apparatus so as to form a furrow in the ground surface; and,
iv. a right opener disc rotatably coupled to said support frame, wherein said right opener disc is angled with respect to the direction of travel of said ground engaging apparatus so as to form a furrow in the ground surface, wherein said left opener disc and said right opener disc are laterally spaced from one another by a distance sufficient to form adjacent furrows between 5 and 9 inches apart, wherein a line of symmetry exists between said left opener disc
9. The ground engaging apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said ground engaging apparatus further comprises:
a. a down pressure system coupled to said set of four-bar parallel linkage;
b. a seed delivery assembly positioned above said support frame;
c. a left opener disc seed delivery tube coupled to said seed delivery assembly;
d. a right opener disc seed delivery tube coupled to said seed delivery assembly;
e. a closing wheel mounting arm mounted to said support frame behind said left opener disc and said right opener disc;
f. a plurality of closing wheels rotatably mounted to said closing wheel mounting arm;
g. a depth regulating member rotatably mounted to said support frame:
h. a right row cleaner arm mounted to said support frame:
i. a first row cleaning wheel rotatably mounted to said right row cleaner arm;
j. a left row cleaner arm mounted to said support frame; and,
k. a second row cleaning wheel rotatably mounted to said left row cleaner arm.
10. The ground engaging apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said depth regulating member is further defined as a gauge wheel.
11. The ground engaging apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said down pressure system is further defined as being selected from a group consisting of springs, pneumatic devices, and hydraulic devices.
12. The ground engaging apparatus according to claim 9 wherein adjacent said furrows are 7.5 inches apart.
13. The ground engaging apparatus according to claim 9 wherein adjacent said furrows are 7 inches apart.
14. The ground engaging apparatus according to claim 9 wherein adjacent said furrows are 8 inches apart.
15. A ground engaging apparatus comprising:
a. a toolbar, wherein said toolbar is adapted to be coupled to a motive source;
b. a paired single disc opener unit affixed to said toolbar, wherein said paired single disc opener unit comprises:
i. a set of four-bar parallel linkage, wherein said set of four-bar parallel linkage is pivotable with respect to said toolbar at a first end of said set of four-bar parallel linkage;
ii. a support frame, wherein said support frame is rotatably coupled with said set of four-bar parallel linkage at a second end of said set of four-bar parallel linkage;
iii. a left opener disc rotatably coupled to said support frame, wherein said left opener disc is angled with respect to the direction of travel of said ground engaging apparatus so as to form a furrow in the ground surface;
iv. a right opener disc rotatably coupled to said support frame, wherein said right opener disc is angled with respect to the direction of travel of said ground engaging apparatus so as to form a furrow in the ground surface, wherein said left opener disc and said right opener disc are laterally spaced from one another by a distance sufficient to form adjacent furrows between 5 and 9 inches apart, and wherein a line of symmetry exists between said left opener disc and said right opener disc along the direction of travel of said ground engaging apparatus;
v. a left depth regulating member, wherein the vertical position of said left depth regulating member is fixed with respect to said support frame and said left opener disc, and wherein the depth of the furrow formed by said left opener disc is set by adjusting the vertical position of said left depth regulating member with respect to said left opener disc; and,
vi. a right depth regulating member, wherein the vertical position of said right depth regulating member is fixed with respect to said support frame and said right opener disc, and wherein the depth of the furrow formed by said right opener disc is set by adjusting the vertical position of said right depth regulating member with respect to said right opener disc.
16. The ground engaging apparatus according to claim 15 wherein said left and right depth regulating members are further defined as first and second gauge wheels.
17. The ground engaging apparatus according to claim 15 wherein said ground engaging apparatus further comprises:
a. a down pressure system coupled to said set of four-bar parallel linkage;
b. a seed delivery assembly positioned above said support frame;
c. a left opener disc seed delivery tube coupled to said seed delivery assembly;
d. a right opener disc seed delivery tube coupled to said seed delivery assembly;
e. a closing wheel mounting arm mounted to said support frame behind said left opener disc and said right opener disc;
f. a plurality of closing wheels rotatably mounted to said closing wheel mounting arm;
g. a right row cleaner arm mounted to said support frame:
h. a first row cleaning wheel rotatably mounted to said right row cleaner arm;
i. a left row cleaner arm mounted to said support frame; and,
j. a second row cleaning wheel rotatably mounted to said left row cleaner arm.
18. The ground engaging apparatus according to claim 15 wherein said down pressure system is further defined as being selected from a group consisting of springs, pneumatic devices, and hydraulic devices.
19. The ground engaging apparatus according to claim 15 wherein said ground engaging apparatus further comprises a plurality of said paired single disc opener units.

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. An apparatus for performing a boundary scan test of a device, comprising:
a boundary scan cell defined by an asynchronous flip-flop having a data input connected to receive a data signal from the device during normal operation of the device, a data output connected to an inputoutput pin of the device, a system clock input connected to receive a system clock signal from the device during normal operation of the device, a set input, and a reset input; and
a test controller having a test clock input, a first test data output, and a second test data output, the first test data output being connected to the set input of the asynchronous flip-flop, the second test data output being connected to the reset input of the asynchronous flip-flop, the test controller being configured to control the asynchronous flip-flop through the set input and the reset input during test mode operation of the boundary scan cell.
2. An apparatus for performing a boundary scan test as recited in claim 1, wherein the test controller is configured to communicate with the asynchronous flip-flop without communicating through intervening multiplexing circuitry.
3. An apparatus for performing a boundary scan test as recited in claim 1, wherein the test controller is configured to communicate directly with the asynchronous flip-flop.
4. An apparatus for performing a boundary scan test as recited in claim 1, wherein the first test data output of the test controller is capable of asserting the set input of the asynchronous flip-flop, asserting the set input causing a high signal to be maintained by the asynchronous flip-flop.
5. An apparatus for performing a boundary scan test as recited in claim 1, wherein the second test data output of the test controller is capable of asserting the reset input of the asynchronous flip-flop, asserting the reset input causing a low signal to be maintained by the asynchronous flip-flop.
6. An apparatus for performing a boundary scan test as recited in claim 1, wherein the set input is configured to dominate the reset input such that simultaneously asserting both the set input and the reset input causes a high signal to be maintained by the asynchronous flip-flop.
7. An apparatus for performing a boundary scan test as recited in claim 1, wherein the reset input is configured to dominate the set input such that simultaneously asserting both the set input and the reset input causes a low signal to be maintained by the asynchronous flip-flop.
8. An apparatus for performing a boundary scan test as recited in claim 1, wherein the asynchronous flip-flop is configured to transmit a signal received at the data input to the data output in accordance with the system clock input when both the set input and the reset input are not asserted.
9. An apparatus for performing a boundary scan test as recited in claim 1, wherein the test controller is a test access port (TAP) controller compliant with an IEEE 1149.1 standard.
10. An apparatus for performing a boundary scan test as recited in claim 9, wherein the first test data output is a test data in (TDI) pin of the TAP controller.
11. An apparatus for performing a boundary scan test as recited in claim 9, wherein the second test data output is a test reset (TRST) pin of the TAP controller.
12. An apparatus for performing a boundary scan test of a device, comprising:
a boundary scan cell defined by an asynchronous flip-flop having a data input connected to receive a data signal from the device during normal operation of the device, a data output connected to an inputoutput pin of the device, a system clock input connected to receive a system clock signal from the device during normal operation of the device, a set input, and a reset input; and
a test controller having a test clock input, a first test data output, and a second test data output, the first test data output being connected to the set input of the asynchronous flip-flop, the second test data output being connected to the reset input of the asynchronous flip-flop, the test controller being configured to communicate with the set and reset inputs of the asynchronous flip-flop during test mode operation of the boundary scan cell without communicating through intervening multiplexing circuitry.
13. An apparatus for performing a boundary scan test as recited in claim 12, wherein the first test data output of the test controller is capable of asserting the set input of the asynchronous flip-flop and the second test data output of the test controller is capable of asserting the reset input of the asynchronous flip-flop, asserting the set input causing a high signal to be maintained by the asynchronous flip-flop and asserting the reset input causing a low signal to be maintained by the asynchronous flip-flop.
14. An apparatus for performing a boundary scan test as recited in claim 12, wherein the asynchronous flip-flop is configured to transmit a signal received at the data input to the data output in accordance with the system clock input when both the set input and the reset input are not asserted.
15. A method for integrating a boundary scan cell into a circuit, comprising:
connecting a data input port of an asynchronous flip-flop to receive a data signal from the circuit during normal operation of the circuit;
connecting a data output port of the asynchronous flip-flop to a pin of a boundary scan compatible device;
connecting a first output port of a test controller to a set input port of the asynchronous flip-flop to supply a test data signal from the test controller to the set input port during test mode operation of the boundary scan cell; and
connecting a second output port of the test controller to a reset input port of the asynchronous flip-flop to supply a test data signal from the test controller to the reset input port during test mode operation of the boundary scan cell,
wherein the first output port and the second output port of the test controller are connected to the asynchronous flip-flop without connecting to multiplexing circuitry intervening between the test controller and the asynchronous flip-flop.
16. A method for integrating a boundary scan cell into a circuit as recited in claim 15, further comprising:
interposing a driver between the data output port and the pin, the data output port being connected to an input of the driver and the pin being connected to an output of the driver.
17. A method for integrating a boundary scan cell into a circuit as recited in claim 15, further comprising:
connecting a system clock circuit to a system clock input of the asynchronous flip-flop; and
connecting a test clock circuit to a test clock input of the test controller.
18. A method for operating a boundary scan cell, comprising:
communicating a first signal and a second signal from a test controller to an asynchronous flip-flop in accordance with a boundary scan timing signal, wherein the communicating is performed without having to communicate through a multiplexing circuit, wherein a high state of at least one of the first signal and the second signal causes the asynchronous flip-flop to operate in a boundary scan test mode;
receiving the first signal at a set input of the asynchronous flip-flop; and
receiving the second signal at a reset input of the asynchronous flip-flop,
wherein a high state of the first signal causes the asynchronous flip-flop to maintain a high state, a high state of the second signal causes the asynchronous flip-flop to maintain a low state, and a low state of both the first signal and the second signal causes the asynchronous flip-flop to operate in a normal function mode,
wherein the normal function mode includes transmission of a signal received at a data input of the asynchronous flip-flop to a data output of the asynchronous flip-flop in accordance with a system clock signal received at a clock input of the asynchronous flip-flop.
19. A method for operating a boundary scan cell as recited in claim 18, wherein a state maintained by the asynchronous flip-flop in response to the high state of at least one of the first signal and the second signal represents a portion of a boundary scan test input.
20. A method for operating a boundary scan cell as recited in claim 18, wherein simultaneously receiving both the first signal and the second signal in a high state causes the asynchronous flip-flop to maintain a high state.
21. A method for operating a boundary scan cell as recited in claim 18, wherein simultaneously receiving both the first signal and the second signal in a high state causes the asynchronous flip-flop to maintain a low state.
22. A method for operating a boundary scan cell as recited in claim 18, further comprising:
activating the asynchronous flip-flop to allow a state maintained by the asynchronous flip-flop to be transmitted through a data output of the asynchronous flip-flop to a pin of a boundary scan compatible device.
23. An apparatus for performing a boundary scan test of a device as recited in claim 1, wherein the set input of the asynchronous flip-flop is only connected to the first test data output of the test controller, and wherein the reset input of the asynchronous flip-flop is only connected to the second test data output of the test controller.
24. An apparatus for performing a boundary scan test of a device as recited in claim 1, wherein the system clock input is connected to receive the system clock signal without communication of the system clock signal through a multiplexer within the boundary scan cell.