Abstract: A capture device for use with circuit boards of varying thicknesses prevents the spacing between the boards from increasing and has a unitary body including a flexible arm, a clip cavity and multiple living hinges that enable the device to be pivotally self-locked between the circuit boards. The capture device can be engaged and disengaged in poor visibility and limited access areas densely packed with circuit boards. The capture device may be made of a semi-rigid material that provides enough flexibility for the living hinges, yet is rigid enough to exert pressure on the boards and prevent the spacing between the boards from increasing. In alternative embodiments, more than two circuit boards may be secured using alternative configurations of the capture device with either multiple arms or multiple clip cavities.

Abstract: A valve pin actuator is disclosed that includes a cylinder mounted to the clamping plate, a piston slidably mounted in the cylinder, and a valve pin assembly carried by the piston. A hydraulic or pneumatic circuit is provided for controlling the movement of the piston, and in turn translation of the valve pin between the seated and unseated positions. The valve pin assembly includes a first part removably secured to the piston so as to translate therewith, and a second part for receiving the valve pin and secured to said manifold. The actuator assembly enables removal of the clamping plate without removal of the valve pin assembly, and also adjusting of the valve pin without removal of the clamping plate. The assembly further provides a clearance between the piston and valve pin assembly, to accommodate expansion and movement of the manifold that would otherwise cause a side load to be exerted on the valve pin.

Abstract: A photonic crystal amplifier that employs a photonic crystal gain medium for a telecommunications system. Pump light is coupled into the amplifier at one end of the gain medium and signal light is coupled into and out of the amplifier at an opposite end of the gain medium. The pump light input end includes a wavelength reflector that reflects the signal wavelengths of light, but transmits the pump wavelengths of light. The signal light input/output end includes a pump wavelength reflector that reflects the pump wavelengths back into the gain medium, but is transparent to the signal wavelengths. The diameter of the gain medium is relatively large, but only allows a single mode to propagate at the pump and signal wavelengths.

Abstract: In a knowledge classification system, both the information sources and queries are processed to generate knowledge representation graph structures. The graph structures for both the query and the information sources are then converted to views and displayed to a searcher. By manipulating the graph structure views for each information source, the searcher can examine the source for relevance. A search can be performed by comparing the graph structure of the query to the graph structure of each information source by a graph matching computer algorithm. Information sources are classified by constructing hierarchies of knowledge representations. The simplest construction is obtained by using the knowledge representation of a query as the top of the hierarchy. The structures in the hierarchy are substructures of the query. The hierarchy of structures may also be constructed by using the knowledge representation of the query as the bottom of the hierarchy.

Abstract: A demultiplexing apparatus for wavelength division multiplexed optical communications makes use of an interleaver to separate alternating wavelengths into separate wavelength groups. These separate wavelength groups may then be demultiplexed using conventional demultiplexers. An optical coupler such as an optical circulator or a curved grating is used to direct the reflected wavelengths to a separate output path. The interleaver preferably has a square wave reflectivity response in the wavelength domain, and reflects every other wavelength to a separate output path than those wavelengths that are transmitted past the interleaver. The interleaver may be a diffraction grating that may be apodized or chirped. The grating may also be a sampled grating structure. Alternatively, the interleaver may be a planar waveguide that has a periodic change in the refractive index conditions of a section of the waveguide.

Abstract: A “firewall” apparatus is placed between a single bus master device and a multimaster I2C bus system. The firewall apparatus transforms all multimaster bus errors into simple NAK errors and isolates the single bus master from the multimaster bus. Therefore the single bus master needs only to retry transactions that receive unexpected NAKs and all complex multimaster issues, such as bus collisions, transaction termination and bus recovery, associated with the actual error that occurred on the multimaster bus are handled by the firewall apparatus. In accordance with one embodiment, when the single bus master attempts to launch a transaction at a time when the multimaster I2C bus is busy, the firewall apparatus absorbs the address driven by the single bus master and then stalls the transaction until the firewall apparatus is able to successfully acquire and drive the address on the multimaster bus. The firewall apparatus is implemented in a preferred embodiment by a programmed microcontroller.

Abstract: A system and method are provided in which the rate of material flow to a plurality of gates can be controlled by a single controller. According to one embodiment, material is provided to first and second runners, the first runner comprising a plurality of distribution nozzles, and the flow to the first runner being controllable independently of the flow to the second runner.

Abstract: In an injection molding machine having first and second nozzles for delivering melt material from a common manifold to one or more mold cavities, apparatus for controlling delivery of the melt material from the nozzles to the one or more mold cavities, each nozzle having an exit aperture communicating with a gate of a cavity of a mold and being associated with an actuator interconnected to a melt flow controller, the apparatus comprising a sensor for sensing a selected condition of the melt material through at least one of the nozzles; an actuator controller interconnected to each actuator, each actuator controller comprising a computer interconnected to a sensor for receiving a signal representative of the selected condition sensed by the sensor, the computer including an algorithm utilizing a value corresponding to a signal received from the sensor as a variable for controlling operation of an actuator for the at least one nozzle; wherein the melt flow controller controls the rate of flow of the melt materi

Abstract: An optical amplifier includes a plurality of optical paths each carrying an optical signal and each including active optical fiber. A shared pump laser is coupled to the plurality of optical paths and provides pump power to the plurality of optical paths to individually amplify the optical signals. The plurality of optical paths includes input and output optical isolators and a coupler for coupling the pump power to the optical path. The active optical fiber is doped with an implant selected from the group of rare earth metals, erbium, ytterbium, and both ytterbium and erbium. A variable attenuator can be connected between the pump laser and the coupler of at least one of the plurality of optical paths or adjacent to the output isolator of one of the optical paths. Another optical amplifier serially couples optical signals to the optical path on a common gain media.

Abstract: A query object generator tool which generates interface definitions and code that implement a query object also generates a database schema access query object that retrieves the schema of an underlying database. Instead of retrieving data from the database, the database schema access query object retrieves “metadata”, including the names of tables and stored procedures in the database and their descriptions, from the database. The metadata is then displayed as part of a graphic user interface which is used to construct the SQL query implemented by the query object. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the database schema access object also verifies that an SQL query generated by a user is valid by submitting the query to the database engine of the underlying database. In accordance with another embodiment of the invention the database schema access object contains methods which perform automatic mapping of “standard” SQL data types to vendor-specific data.

Abstract: A self-cooling electrode for use with an ablation catheter has greater surface area that allows electrode to dissipate heat to the blood pool more effectively and increased thermal mass, and, therefor greater heating capacity/thermal conductivity for improved heat transfer between the electrode and tissue for more effective tissue heating. The electrode design allows increased power to be delivered with minimized risk of overheating or coagulation at the tissue-electrode interface. The increased thermal mass and thermal conductivity of the electrode design are achieved with a substantially solid electrode body with thick walls. Cooling and increased heat exchange are achieved with an alternating pattern of channels and projections that collectively define a plurality of edges either parallel or perpendicular to the electrode axis.

Abstract: A parental management controller for use in a DVD environment is disclosed that defines, in a distributive computer environment, department, country, or corporate controls over DVD content viewed by machines within the environment. The controller provides automated parental management installation on remote machines. It provides parental management enforcement on remote machines. It adjusts the default parental management enforcement level to local cultures and moral values. The controller also provides a logging of any parental management violations on local machines.

Abstract: Database tables which are to be loaded with large data objects (LOBs) are defined with a special logging attribute value. This attribute value causes the database management system to suspend recovery logging for the databases so defined, but to continue with the logging of control information, such as space management changes. Certain control information recovery log entries have a special status indicator. For LOBs, this status indicator is set to cause the associated LOB entry to be marked as invalid when the log entry is reapplied, for example, during a recovery operation from a media failure. Rather than invalidating the entire table, the database management system will only prevent access to the entries which have been invalidated during the recovery process.

Abstract: An interactive DVD browser in accordance with the DVD specification for read-only discs is capable of accessing remotely located data over the Internet through a technique which contemplates new navigation commands as well as the embedding of HTML page addresses in navigation commands in place of data stream identifiers currently unused by the DVD specification. A navigation command is supplied to the interactive DVD browser indicating the browser should change data sources. The navigation command includes a network protocol address, in the form of HTML page address, as well as a local address of the user's default Internet browser. A second command specifies a predetermined period of time in which the browser should wait until the Internet browser establishes a hyperlink to the remote source of presentation data specified by the network page address.

Abstract: A method and system for providing services in an object-oriented system. The method and system are in the form of an interface reference framework of objects, which create services, in response to requests. Clients request services which are created in response to the requests. In response to the request, the framework first develops a description of the service. The description is in the form of a stack of descriptions of services. From the stack descriptions the actual services are created by maker objects.

Abstract: For communication services, a metering and processing system for processing metered information incorporates configurable processing modules and a configuration manager. The system can by readily and flexibly configured, responsive to operator directions, to process metered information to meet the needs of data consumers, such as NSPs and ISPs. Each processing module performs a specific sub-part of a computation on the metered information, and the configuration manager generates a configuration file for specifying the order of operation, computation sub-part, and other operational parameters for the individual processing modules. A mechanism is provided for tracking and enforcing the ordering of data processing by the processing modules so as to take into account dependencies between them.

Abstract: In an injection molding machine, an apparatus for automatically controlling the movement of two or more valve pins wherein each valve pin is driven by a separately controlled fluid driven cylinder each cylinder being mounted on a heated manifold and being interconnected to a separate valve pin for effecting reciprocal movement of the valve pin wherein the reciprocal movement of the valve pin controls the flow of molten plastic being delivered through a nozzle which delivers molten plastic to a gate of a mold.

Abstract: Improved superconducting coils for a nuclear magnetic resonance probe use capacitive elements that are located in regions further from an active sample volume than magnetic field generating elements to which they are electrically connected. The sample volume is a substantially oblong shape, and the magnetic field generating elements run substantially parallel to the major axis of the shape, while the capacitor elements run perpendicular to the major axis. The magnetic field generating elements and the capacitor elements may vary in length relative to their distance from a center of the oblong shape. The total number of capacitors formed by the loops may vary from one embodiment to another, typically depending on the necessary resonant frequency. A coil may use sub-coils, each of which incorporates a plurality of the magnetic field generating elements and interdigital capacitor elements, the capacitor elements preferably being located to both sides of the oblong shape.

Abstract: An optically-based overfill detection probe is provided that has a prism made of a fluoropolymer, preferably TEFLON® PFA. The prism material has a high resistance to chemical solvents, is less prone to condensation and frost than plastic or glass, and enables the production of prisms at significantly less cost than glass. The probe also includes a two-piece housing structure that compresses an outwardly-extending portion of the prism material to firmly hold the prism in place, and forces the material into sealing contact with an inner surface of the housing. The housing has an elongate portion that encompasses the prism, and which extends toward the fluid, preventing any light which escapes the prism from being externally reflected back to the photodetector of the probe.

Abstract: Optical pumping arrangements are provided for the broadband or multiple wavelength pumping of optical sources. Sources may be based on Raman gain media for amplification. Broadband amplification is provided by using a laser source operating in coherence collapse. Such a source may make use of an optical generator and an output coupler which are sufficiently far apart from one another as to ensure coherence collapse.