Abstract: Systems and methods facilitate and automate well abandonment procedures. In an embodiment, well field data for a plurality of wells is categorized into well types. An inspection set of wells, including wells of each type, is determined from the entire plurality of wells. Inspection data is collected for each well type, including environmental, regulatory, and well condition data. The inspection data is extrapolated onto wells with similar types for the entire filed and analyzed. The analysis may include determining an optimal sequence of well abandonment activities, and an estimate of costs for abandoning each well, all wells of each type, and the entire well field. In an embodiment, a risk assessment analysis is performed and may include an analysis of factors that may change the cost of abandoning the well field or a sequence of well abandonment activities.

Abstract: An electronically controlled fuel blending system that injects compressed natural gas into the air intake of a diesel engine resulting in lower emissions, increased fuel economy is disclosed.

Abstract: A method for facilitating the listing in an ad of items within an electronic catalog of an online ad repository, comprising a process of providing an item category tree, which contains a plurality of nodes arranged in a plurality of levels, wherein the plurality of nodes are made up of distal nodes to represent items of the catalog and non-distal nodes to represent categories of items, and presenting successive non-distal nodes for selection until a user places the ad according to item categories and subcategories that represent characteristics of the item for sale.

Abstract: Automatic and assisted playlist generation is accomplished by collecting data from users of a world-wide music information system. Attributes of the recordings listened to by users are extracted from data collected when the users access the music information system. The attributes are correlated with other attributes in the system to verify data accuracy. Users can specify a set of attributes of their music collection for automatic generation of a playlist. The playlist can then be further edited, even on devices with a limited display and a few buttons designed for playback of recordings, by re-mapping the functions of the buttons for playlist generation.

Abstract: A method of marketing items, such as vehicles, is disclosed. The method may include creating a vehicle listing for a user by receiving input from the user relating to a specific vehicle. The listing may be created over a global computer network through a user interface such as a webpage. The user input may include an asking price for the vehicle, information relating to the type, make, model and specifications of the vehicle, as well as mileage and condition of the vehicle. As part of the method, access may be provided to a vehicle information database that comprises average retail values, average trade-in values and other vehicle data for comparison. The user input may then be compared to the vehicle information database, resulting in a vehicle listing for marketing the vehicle to potential purchasers.

Abstract: A method of marketing items, such as vehicles, is disclosed. The method may include providing a database of contact information of potential purchasers including vehicle dealers. The database may be accessible via a global computer network. The method may include receiving input describing desired sales locations from vendors desiring to sell vehicles. The vendors may also supply data describing the vehicles to be sold. The data regarding the vehicles to be sold may be submitted to the dealers in the sales location selected by the vendor. The dealers may be allowed to assess the data and provide purchase offers. The purchase offers may be submitted to the vendors such that the vendors can quickly sell vehicles at a fair price.

Abstract: An improved sole contour for a wedge golf club head is provided comprised of one or more V-shaped cuts (16) into the sole of said club head creating multiple bounce sole contours (26) for sand play, while eliminating the dangerously raised leading edge (28) that limits the utility for play of conventional sand wedge golf clubs. Said V-shaped cuts (16) are made substantially parallel to the grooves of the club face (12), and the more forward surface (24) created by any V-shaped cut (16) is substantially parallel to the impact surface (12) of the club head, while the rearward surface (26) is employed to provide whatever bounce surfaces (14), shapes, and angles (b) that are desired for play.

Abstract: This invention detects the crank angle location where combustion switches from premixed to diffusion, referred to as the transition index, and uses that location to define integration limits that measure the portions of heat released during the combustion process that occur during the premixed and diffusion phases. Those integrated premixed and diffusion values are used to develop a metric referred to as the combustion index. The combustion index is defined as the integrated diffusion contribution divided by the integrated premixed contribution. As the EGR rate is increased enough to enter the low temperature combustion regime, PM emissions decrease because more of the combustion process is occurring over the premixed portion of the heat release rate profile and the diffusion portion has been significantly reduced. This information is used to detect when the engine is or is not operating in a low temperature combustion mode and provides that feedback to an engine control algorithm.

Abstract: Stereolithography is used to fabricate directly a single-piece, missile-usable, accurate, flightweight igniter without the use of intermediate, non-operational molds or prototypes in the fabrication process. The same prototype-less, direct stereolithography can be used to produce other missile-usable parts by designing each such part to be of a single-piece configuration and by using material that is suitable for both stereolithography and functional missile application.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for supporting circuit board assemblies and for aligning and guiding plugs on the rear of said circuit board assemblies for insertion into mating sockets of a backplane. A vertically oriented guide plate has horizontal guide slots. Each circuit board assembly has a pair of guide posts that are inserted into a guide slot to support the circuit board assembly. The guide slot and the guide post maintain proper alignment of a plug on a rear extremity of said circuit board extremity with a backplane socket as the circuit board assembly is moved inwardly towards the backplane.

Abstract: Automatic and assisted playlist generation is accomplished by collecting data from users of a world-wide music information system. Attributes of the recordings listened to by users are extracted from data collected when the users access the music information system. The attributes are correlated with other attributes in the system to verify data accuracy. Users can specify a set of attributes of their music collection for automatic generation of a playlist. The playlist can then be further edited, even on devices with a limited display and a few buttons designed for playback of recordings, by re-mapping the functions of the buttons for playlist generation.

Abstract: A wellhead 10 for use with subterranean wells includes an improved tubing hanger 16 including an improved electric power cable pack-off port 20 that permits positioning an electric submersible pump (“ESP”) power cable 40 through the port 20 in the tubing hanger. The improved wellhead permits installation of packing 34 and compression rings 30, 32 within the power cable port 20 to create a vapor-tight pressure seal around the outer cable jacket 41. The seal may be rated at pressures of at least 750 psia. The wellhead 10 comprises a wellhead body 12 for supporting a tubing hanger 16, the tubing hanger including a tubing port 22 and a power cable port 20 for passing electrical power from an electrical power source 72 through the power cable port to the electric motor M. The wellhead 10 also includes a cable seal 34 within the power cable port, a lower packing seat 66, and a packing gland 24 selectively moveable with respect to the seat for compressing the cable seal 34 to form a pneumatic seal.

Abstract: The present invention provides a critical design element for the sole (20) of a golf shoe that has been heretofore overlooked. This novel improvement is provided by precisely defining a previously unknown proper angle (26) of inclination at 4.5 degrees for the height of the heel area (24) of the sole above the ball of the foot area (22) of the sole. This better balanced “foot print” permits better traction during the golf swing by means of more of the sole being in contact with the ground. More importantly, the present invention defines an improved “platform” angle of inclination for playing golf that provides proper posture, proper balance, optimum body position versus the ball position, enhanced weight distribution for better traction, and better short game posture.

Abstract: A wellhead 10 for use with subterranean wells includes an improved tubing hanger 16 including an improved electric power cable pack-off port 20 that permits positioning an electric submersible pump (“ESP”) power cable 40 through the port 20 in the tubing hanger. The improved wellhead permits installation of packing 34 and compression rings 30, 32 within the power cable port 20 to create a vapor-tight pressure seal around the outer cable jacket 41. The seal may be rated at pressures of at least 750 psia. The wellhead 10 comprises a wellhead body 12 for supporting a tubing hanger 16, the tubing hanger including a tubing port 22 and a power cable port 20 for passing electrical power from an electrical power source 72 through the power cable port to the electric motor M. The wellhead 10 also includes a cable seal 34 within the power cable port, a lower packing seat 66, and a packing gland 24 selectively moveable with respect to the seat for compressing the cable seal 34 to form a pneumatic seal.

Abstract: A system is disclosed for presenting information which reflects the users' cultural preference, including language and other conventions, that can manage locale categories without requiring application programs to manage all the overhead of repetitive changes to locale category values. Users merely specify their cultural preferences through the application programs and the operating system assigns a stack from the working memory for each specified category of cultural preference, and pushes onto the stack the location in the working memory of a file for the category of cultural preference specified, the file having been transferred from a locale database of files that contain code for formatting according to the cultural preferences.

Abstract: Processing an event signifying a condition in a computer system is described. The computer system maintains an invocation stack which includes a plurality of stack frames. Such event processing operates by selecting a stack frame from the invocation stack, and then determining whether a user specified event processing procedure capable of processing the event has been registered with the selected stack frame. If a user specified event processing procedure has been so registered, then the event is processed using the user specified event processing procedure as specified by a set of rules and options defined for the disposition and/or processing of the specific event. Optionally, it is then determined whether a language specific event processing procedure capable of processing the event has been registered with the selected stack frame.

Abstract: An improved method and system is described for generalized handling of conditions occurring during program execution in a computer system having a multi-language Condition Manager (CM). A general signaling routine having object code for an external entry point suitable for linking to application programs written in any language supporting external calls is used. The signaling routine may be used by programs to eliminate the step of checking return codes from subroutines by coding the subroutine to automatically signal the proper condition to the CM which in conjunction with user defined condition handlers takes proper actions in response to the condition. A general condition token which may be used as a feedback token is defined as a condition identifier, a format code for the condition identifier, a severity code for the condition, a control code for a facility identifier, a facility identifier and an optional handle for instance specific information.

Abstract: A tracking method and apparatus for use with a computer including a processor for executing code, input/output devices for providing data, memory for storing account data and a display. In operation, a plurality of transaction images are displayed on the computer display. In response to selection of one of the transaction images, a corresponding entry sequence is executed. The execution causes a display of one or more entry fields for receiving transaction data in response to the execution of the entry sequence. The transaction data is entered in response to the entry sequence and the entry fields displayed. The transaction data entered is stored in an account store corresponding to the selected one of the transaction images. Each account has a plurality of fields for data. The entry fields presented by the entry sequence are only the ones necessary for the particular transaction as determined by the selected transaction image and the corresponding entry sequence.

Abstract: A method of recovering a resin material from an infusible phenolic plastic composition. The infusible phenolic plastic composition is ground to a powder and mixed with an alkali solution to produce a liquid mixture. The liquid mixture is heated to a temperature selected between 260.degree.-340.degree. C and maintained at this temperature between 160 and 3 minutes causing the resin in the infusible phenolic plastic composition to dissolve in the alkali solution and produce a liquor. Thereafter the liquor is passed through a filter to remove any insoluble plastic composition therefrom. An acid solution when added to the filtered liquor causes a solid to precipitate from the liquor. The solid is separated from the liquor and washed in a water bath to remove any water soluble salts, phenols, and cresols from the recovered resin material.