Author: claimsbot

1. A windmill, comprising:
a nose assembly configured to accelerate an inlet air stream so as to create laminar flow around a nose body of the nose assembly and to direct the accelerated air stream into a first series of fixed vanes;
a turbine wheel having an array of turbine blades configured to accept the accelerated air from the first series of fixed vanes; and
a tail assembly having a tail body and a second series of fixed vanes configured to accept an exit air stream from the turbine blades and to direct the exit air stream away from the windmill, wherein the first series of fixed vanes are curved to accelerate the inlet air stream and turn it less than nine degrees tangentially toward the array of turbine blades, wherein the array of turbine blades are curved more than ninety degees so as to reverse the direction of the air stream, and wherein the second series of fixed vanes are curved so as to direct the exit air stream towards the tail body.
2. The windmill of claim 1, wherein the turbine wheel includes a plurality of power absorbing pinwheel blades.
3. The windmill of claim 1, wherein the turbine wheel includes a plurality of air foil blades.
4. The windmill of claim 1, further comprising a first cowling around the fixed nose vanes, a second cowling around the turbine wheel blades and a third cowling around the fixed tail vanes.
5. A windmill, comprising:
a turbine wheel having a perimeter army of turbine blades;
a nose assembly configured to accelerate an inlet air steam so as to create laminar flow around the nose assembly and to direct the accelerated air stream into the perimeter array of turbine blades;
a tail assembly configured to accept an exit air stream from the turbine blades and to direct the exit air stream away from the windmill; and
a tubular backbone positioned proximate a longitudinal centerline of the windmill, wherein the nose assembly and the tail assembly are each fixed on the backbone, and wherein the turbine wheel is rotatably positioned on the backbone and between the nose assembly and the tail assembly,
wherein the nose assembly includes a first trailing edge having a first array of wind directing vanes enclosed by a first cowling having a first leading edge configured to capture an accelerated air stream from the nose assembly, wherein the tail assembly includes a second leading edge having a second array of wind directing vanes enclosed by a second cowling having a second trailing edge being curved in toward the nose assembly so as to send the exit air stream along a tapered portion of the tail assembly, and wherein the turbine wheel includes an array of curved, power absorbing blades enclosed by a third cowling, such that the first, second and third cowlings are aligned to provide a flow path for the accelerated air stream.
6. The windmill of claim 5, wherein the turbine wheel includes a plurality of power absorbing pinwheel blades.
7. The windmill of claim 5, wherein the turbine wheel includes a plurality of air foil blades.
8. The windmill of claim 5, wherein the wind directing vanes of the first array are curved to accelerate the inlet air stream and turn it less than ninety degrees tangentially toward the turbine blades, wherein the turbine wheel blades are curved more than ninety degrees so as to reverse the direction of the air stream to absorb power and redirect the exit air stream into the second array of wind directing vanes, and wherein the wind directing vanes of the second array are curved to receive and to direct the exit air stream towards the tapered portion of the tail assembly.
9. The windmill of claim 8, further comprising at least one electric generator assembly fixed to the nose assembly and configured to transfer power from the turbine wheel.
10. The windmill of claim 9, wherein each electric generator assembly is positioned proximate the turbine wheel and includes a friction wheel connected to a shaft of a generator.
11. The windmill of claim 10, wherein each electric generator assembly is programmed to sequentially turn on or off in response to varying winds and to safely hold the turbine and generator speeds at their highest levels of power production over an extended range of wind speeds.
12. A power generator, comprising:
a tubular backbone positioned proximate a longitudinal centerline of the power generator;
a first turbine wheel including an array of curved, power absorbing blades enclosed by a first cowling such that the turbine wheel blades are curved more than ninety degrees so as to reverse the direction of a fluid stream;
an aerodynamically shaped nose assembly fixed on the backbone and configured to direct an inlet fluid steam into the army of turbine blades, the nose assembly including a first array of fluid directing vanes enclosed by a second cowling such that the vanes of the first array are curved to accelerate the inlet fluid stream and turn it less than ninety degrees tangentially toward the turbine blades; and
a low-drag tail assembly fixed on the backbone and configured to accept an exit fluid stream from the turbine blades and to direct the exit fluid stream away from the power generator, the tail assembly including a second array of fluid directing vanes enclosed by a third cowling configured to direct the exit fluid stream along a tapered portion of the tail assembly and substantially parallel to the inlet air stream, wherein the first turbine wheel is rotatably positioned on the backbone and between the nose assembly and the tail assembly.
13. The power generator of claim 12, further comprising an electric generator 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 one-piece corner protector, comprising:
a first side;
a second side;
coupling means for detachably coupling said first side to said second side;
wherein said one-piece corner protector being made of a clear material;
wherein said one-piece corner protector to be used for the purposes protecting items containing corners or edges such as frames or mirrors.
2. The one-piece corner protector as recited in claim 1, wherein the one-piece corner protector includes said first side containing at least one protrusion and said second side containing at least one corresponding recess, wherein said at least one protrusion is inserted into said at least one recess. Said coupling means ensures the one-piece corner protector is securely fastened to a desired item such as a picture frame or mirror.
3. The one-piece corner protector as recited in claim 1 being made of plastic.
4. The one-piece corner protector as recited in claim 1 wherein said first side contains at least one tab that is foldable and be inserted into any area on the front portion of said item. Said at least one tab ensures the one-piece corner protector is securely fastened to a desired item such as a picture frame or mirror.
5. The one-piece corner protector as recited in claim 1, wherein said coupling means is selected from a group consisting of a snap button, hook and loop fasteners, grooves, tracks and zippers.
6. The one-piece corner protector as recited in claim 1 being able to be made in various shapes and sizes to accommodate different shapes and sizes of said items.
7. The one-piece corner protector as recited in claim 1 comprising of at least one corrugated-like bumper.
8. A frame protector for picture frames, comprising:
a first side;
a second side
coupling means for detachably coupling said first side to said second side;
wherein said one-piece corner protector being made of a clear material;
wherein said frame protector is used for the purposes protecting the corners or edges of picture frames.
9. The frame protector as recited in claim 8, wherein said first side and said second side each has a structure complementary to the other, allowing a user to attach and detach said first portion from said second portion.
10. The frame protector as recited in claim 8 wherein said complementary structures is selected from a group consisting of snap button, hook and loop fasteners, grooves, tracks and zippers.
11. The frame protector as recited in claim 8 wherein said frame protector is made from plastic.
12. The plastic as recited in claim 11 is clear.
13. The frame protector as recited in claim 8 wherein said first side containing at least one tab that can be inserted underneath the border on the front of the picture frame. Said at least one tab ensures the frame protector is securely fastened to the front of the picture frame.
14. The frame protector as recited in claim 8 comprising of at least one corrugated-like bumper.
15. A method of protecting corners of picture frames, the system comprising:
using a one-piece plastic apparatus having a first side and a second side, wherein said first side containing at least one protrusion and wherein said second side containing at least one corresponding groove which accepts said at least one protrusion.
16. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein said one-piece plastic apparatus is clear to allow the picture frame to be seen underneath said one-piece plastic apparatus.
17. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein said one-piece plastic apparatus is wrapped around the sides and top of the picture frame corners to protect against damage.
18. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein said one-piece plastic apparatus can be unfolded making said one-piece apparatus flat and easier for shipping.
19. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein said one-piece plastic apparatus comprises of at least one corrugated-like bumper.

1. A land grid array socket, comprising:
a dielectric housing defining a plurality of passages; and
a plurality of conductive terminals residing in corresponding passages, respectively, each terminal comprising a base section secured to the passage and a pair of opposing bent sections angled with respect to the base section, the bent sections each forming at least one resilient arm protruding upwardly and obliquely out of the housing and toward each other to electrically mate with an electronic component coupled thereto.
2. The land grid array socket of claim 1, wherein the resilient arms of the bent sections of the terminal extend toward each other and are arranged in a staggered fashion.
3. The land grid array socket of claim 1, wherein the housing is formed with a protrusion extending into the passage to divide the passage into a narrow retaining slot and a wide receiving slot in communication with each other.
4. The land grid array socket of claim 3, wherein the base section of the terminal is secured to the narrow retaining slot, and the bent sections of the terminal extend to and reside in the wide receiving slot.
5. The land grid array socket of claim 1, wherein the bent sections of the terminal are spaced from the sidewalls of the passage.
6. The land grid array socket of claim 1, wherein the at least one resilient arm of the terminal is formed with an arched contacting section at a distal end thereof.
7. The land grid array socket of claim 1, wherein each bent section of the terminal further comprises at least one resilient arm extending downwardly from a lower side thereof.
8. The land grid array socket of claim 1, wherein the housing is provided with a plurality of standoffs on at least one of an upper and a lower surfaces thereof, and each standoff is situated between two adjacent passages.
9. The land grid array socket of claim 1, wherein the resilient arms of the bent sections of the terminal are arranged in a symmetrical fashion.
10. A conductive terminal, comprising:
a planar base section, the base section being in a vertical plane; and
a pair of opposing bent sections angularly stretching out from two lateral sides of the base section, each bent section forming at least one resilient arm extending upwardly and obliquely to mechanically and electrically contact with an electronic component seated thereon.
11. The conductive terminal of claim 10, wherein the resilient arms of the opposing bent sections extend toward each other and are arranged in a symmetrical fashion.
12. The conductive terminal of claim 11, wherein distal ends of the resilient arms of the opposing bent sections are spaced from each other.
13. The conductive terminal of claim 10, wherein the resilient arms of the opposing bent sections extend toward each other and are arranged in a staggered fashion.
14. The conductive terminal of claim 10, wherein the resilient arms each form an arched contacting section at a distal end thereof.
15. The conductive terminal of claim 10, wherein each bent section comprises at least one resilient arm extending downwardly and obliquely from a lower side thereof.
16. The conductive terminal of claim 10, wherein the planar base section is formed with a plurality of barbs at two lateral sides thereof.
17. An electrical connector comprising:
an insulative housing defining at least one passageway extending upwardly through an upper face of the housing;
at least one contact disposed in said passageway, said contact defining a U-shaped main body with first and second spring arms extending respectively from two opposite transverse side plates of said main body obliquely and upwardly toward each other in a transverse direction;
wherein
tips of said two spring arms are located above the upper face and offset from each other along in a front-to-back direction perpendicular to said transverse direction, so as not to interfere with each other when both first and second spring arms are downwardly pressed by an electronic component mounted upon the upper face.
18. The connector as claimed in claim 17, further including a third spring arm extending from the corresponding transverse side plate beside said first spring arm with a gap in which the tip of the second spring arm is moveable without interference when all first, second and third spring arms are downwardly pressed by the electronic component.

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 comprising:
obtaining, by an ingress call filter, cached signaling information indicative of a plurality of calls, wherein each of the plurality of calls failed to connect to a respective called party;
receiving, at the ingress call filter from a call router, a query indicating a newly called party, wherein the query corresponds to a request from a calling party to establish a new call between the calling party and the newly called party;
in response to receiving the query, analyzing, by the ingress call filter, the received cached signaling information to determine if the newly called party is indicated in the received cached signaling information; and
based on the analysis of the received cached signaling information, one of:
(i) generating, by the ingress call filter, an indication that the new call should be completed, wherein the indication is communicated to the computer device configured to route calls, or
(ii) generating, by the ingress call filter, an indication that the new call should not be completed, wherein the indication is communicated to the computer device configured to route calls.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least some of the plurality of calls failed to connect to the respective called parties because each of the respective called parties corresponds to an invalid phone number, and wherein determining if the newly called party is indicated in the received cached signaling information includes determining if a phone number corresponding to the newly called party is invalid as indicated in the received cached signaling information.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the invalid phone number corresponding to each of the respective called parties is an unallocated number.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the invalid phone number corresponding to each of the respective called parties is a previously called phone number which returned at least one of a user busy, no user responding, call rejected, or destination out of order cause code following an attempted connection to the previously called phone number.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the cached signaling data includes periodically obtaining the cached signaling information.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the cached signaling data includes obtaining the cached signaling data in response to a trigger event.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication that the new call should not be completed includes an industry-standard cause code.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the industry-standard cause code is at least one of an ISUP cause code or a SIP release code.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication that the new call should not be completed includes a proprietary cause code.
10. A method comprising:
receiving, from a first provider corresponding to a first calling party, a request to establish a connection with a called party;
based on the request from the first provider, generating, by a call router, a query to be transmitted from the call router to an ingress call filter, wherein the query indicates the called party;
in response to submitting the query to the ingress call filter, receiving, from the ingress call filter, an indication that the connection with the called party is to be filtered; and
based on the indication that the connection with the called party is to be filtered and without establishing the connection with the called party, generating, by the call router, a message to be returned to the first provider corresponding to the calling party, wherein the message indicates that the connection with the called party was not established.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein the indication received from the ingress call filter includes:
a proprietary cause code indicating a reason that the connection was not established.
12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:
determining that the first provider is one of a pre-determined number of providers for which calls are not filtered.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein determining that the first provider is one of the pre-determined number of providers includes querying a list of providers stored on a data storage device, wherein the list of providers indicates the pre-determined number of providers for which calls are not filtered.
14. The method of claim 10, wherein the request to establish a connection with the called party is a first request, the method further comprising, prior to receiving the first request:
receiving, from the first provider, a second request to establish a connection with the called party;
attempting, by the one or more processors, to establish the second connection attempt with the called party;
receiving, from a called party provider corresponding to the called party, at least one cause code indicating that the connection could not be established; and
causing, by the one or more processors, information corresponding to the failure to establish the connection to be stored in a cache of signaling information, wherein the ingress call filter utilizes the information corresponding to the failure to generate the indication that the connection with the called party is to be filtered, and wherein the information corresponding to the failure includes at least one cause code.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein multiple cause codes are received from the called party provider corresponding to the called party, and wherein causing information corresponding to the failure to be stored in the cache of signaling information includes, based on a prioritization of cause codes, causing only one of the cause codes to be stored in the cache of signaling information.
16. A system for filtering calls that are likely to fail, the system comprising:
a data storage unit storing information indicative of a plurality of calls, wherein each of the plurality of calls failed to connect to a respective called party, and wherein the data storage unit stores a portion of the information indicative of the plurality of calls corresponding to each of the plurality of calls for a length of time indicated by a respective time-to-live value before the portion is removed from the data storage unit;
an access mechanism to access the information indicative of the plurality of calls stored on the data storage unit; and
an ingress call filter configured to, upon receiving queries from a call router, access, by the access mechanism, the information indicative of the plurality of calls to determine whether attempted connections routed by the call router are to be filtered;
the call router communicatively coupled to the ingress call filter, the call router configured to:
receive, from a call provider corresponding to a calling party, a request to establish a connection with a particular called party
based on the request, generate a particular query to be transmitted to the ingress call filter, wherein the particular query indicates the particular called party;
in response to transmitting the particular query to the ingress call filter, receive, from the ingress call filter, an indication that the connection with the particular called party is to be filtered; and
based on the indication that the connection with the particular called party is to be filtered, generate a message to be transmitted to the call provider, wherein the message indicates that the connection with the particular called party was not established.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein at least one of the time-to-live values corresponding to the plurality of calls is different from other of the time-to-live values.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein the call router routes calls originating from a plurality of providers including the provider corresponding to the calling party, wherein a first subset of the time-to-live values corresponds to calls originating from a first provider of the plurality of providers, wherein a second subset of the time-to-live values corresponds to calls originating from a second provider of the plurality of providers, and wherein the first subset of time-to-live values differs from the second subset of time-to-live values.
19. The system of claim 17, wherein the first subset of time-to-live values includes a first time-to-live value corresponding to a first cause code and a second time-to-live value corresponding to a second cause code, and wherein the first time-to-live value is different from the second time-to-live value.
20. The system of claim 17, wherein the information indicative of the plurality of calls includes a first portion of information corresponding to a first failed call that returned a first cause code and a second portion of information corresponding to a second failed call that returned a second cause code different than the first cause code, and wherein a first time-to-live value corresponding to the first portion of information is different than a second time-to-live value corresponding to the second portion of information.
21. The system of claim 16, wherein the time-to live value is determined prior to receiving the request to establish a connection with the particular party.
22. The system of claim 16, wherein the time-to-live value is determined dynamically in response to receiving the request to establish a connection with the particular party.
23. A system for filtering calls that are likely to fail, the system comprising:
a data storage unit storing information indicative of a plurality of calls, wherein each of the plurality of calls failed to connect to a respective called party, and wherein the data storage unit stores a portion of the information indicative of the plurality of calls corresponding to each of the plurality of calls for a length of time indicated by a respective time-to-live value before the portion is removed from the data storage unit;
an access mechanism to access the information indicative of the plurality of calls stored on the data storage unit; and
a call router communicatively coupled to an ingress call filter;
the ingress call filter configured to:
obtain, from the data storage unit, the stored information indicative of a plurality of calls;
receive, from the call router, a query indicating a newly called party, wherein the query corresponds to a request from a calling party to establish a new call between the calling party and the newly called party;
in response to receiving the query, analyze the obtained information indicative of a plurality of calls to determine if the newly called party is indicated in the received cached signaling information; and
based on the analysis of the obtained information indicative of a plurality of calls, one of:
(i) generate, an indication that the new call should be completed, wherein the indication is communicated to the call router, or
(ii) generate, an indication that the new call should not be completed, wherein the indication is communicated to the call router.