Abstract: Disclosed is an illumination controller for use with at least one three-color LED module. The illumination controller includes a command input, three color control outputs, and a processor. The command input receives a unitary illumination control command having first, second and third color level values, and a fade rate value. First, second, and third color control outputs pulse modulates respective first, second and third signals that powers an illumination level for each color. The processor, responsive to a control command, transitions the first color control output in accordance with the received command's first color level value and the fade rate value, transitions the second color control output in accordance with the received command's second color level value and the fade rate value, and transitions the third color control output in accordance with the received command's third color level value and the fade rate value. The three colors may be red, green, and blue.

Abstract: Disclosed is an internet traffic monitoring method. In the method, a first packet, sent from a user client, having a web content request meeting certain monitoring selection criteria is detected. Upon detection of the first packet, a second packet is forwarded to the user client. The second packet has a redirection with a fabricated web content request to a monitoring web page including at least one monitoring implement.

Abstract: Modular panels can be attached to a substratum, e.g. a wall or ceiling, to display an actively lighted star field. Each panel displays a respective subarea of the star field, the panels being attached onto the substratum in edgewise juxtaposed relationship according to the star field. Each panel defines a set of apertures extending through the panel and distributed over the panel according to the panel's respective subarea. On a back face of each panel is a set of light pipes respectively corresponding to the panel's set of apertures, each light pipe being illuminated by a light emitting diode. Panels can include twinkling stars, constant stars, and/or shooting stars, and energization of the corresponding light emitting diodes is constant or varied accordingly.

Abstract: Disclosed is an internet traffic monitoring method. In the method, copied packets that are based on original packets sent from a user client are monitored for a web content request meeting certain monitoring selection criteria. Upon detection of a copied packet having a web content request meeting the selection criteria, a replacement packet is forwarded to the user client such that the user client receives the replacement packet before receiving a response packet from a target server of the corresponding original packet, wherein the replacement packet has a redirection with a fabricated web content request to a monitoring web page including at least one monitoring implement.

Abstract: Modular panels can be attached to a substratum, e.g. a wall or ceiling, to display an actively lighted star field. Each panel displays a respective subarea of the star field, the panels being attached onto the substratum in edgewise juxtaposed relationship according to the star field. Each panel defines a set of apertures extending through the panel and distributed over the panel according to the panel's respective subarea. On a back face of each panel is a set of light pipes respectively corresponding to the panel's set of apertures, each light pipe being illuminated by a light emitting diode. Panels can include twinkling stars, constant stars, and/or shooting stars, and energization of the corresponding light emitting diodes is constant or varied accordingly.

Abstract: Disclosed is a disk drive having a disk, a masked read-only memory (ROM) device, a reprogrammable nonvolatile memory device, and a microprocessor for executing program code. The disk has a magnetic data storage surface with embedded servo wedges for defining data storage tracks including reserve tracks. The masked ROM device stores program code for implementing a spindle motor controller, program code for implementing a portion of a servo controller for track following along a data storage track, and program code for implementing a portion of a disk controller for controlling writing disk data to and reading disk data from the reserve tracks. The reprogrammable nonvolatile memory device stores data parameters relating to the disk drive's configuration. The reserve tracks store program code for implementing a cache control system for controlling caching of disk data in a cache memory.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for identifying wedge time shift zones on a magnetic disk of a disk drive. The disk drive further includes a spindle motor for rotating the disk at an operating speed in response to a spindle control current generated by a spindle control system, and a head that is actuated over the disk. During operation, the control systems causes a seek of the head across the disk and measures wedge-to-wedge times between servo wedges. The control system then calculates a wedge-to-wedge time shift value using the wedge-to-wedge times and determines whether the wedge-to-wedge time shift time value exceeds a predetermined threshold. If the wedge-to-wedge time shift value exceeds the predetermined threshold, then the control system identifies a wedge time shift zone, and stores information for compensating for the identified wedge time shift zone during disk operations.

Abstract: A disk drive and method are disclosed for data transfer initiated by nonstandard disk-drive commands on a serial interface that only supports standard disk-drive commands. In the method, a nonstandard disk-drive command for data transfer is embedded within a first data block accessible using a first standard disk-drive command. The first standard disk-drive command is transmitted through the serial interface causing the first data block to be transferred from the host computer to the disk control system. The embedded command is extracted from the transferred first data block and provided to the disk control system. A status response is transmitted to the host computer based on the extracted command. At least one additional standard disk-drive command is transmitted through the serial interface to the disk control system for transferring the identified data between the host computer and the disk drive.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for improving servo performance in a disk drive having a plurality of concentric tracks. Each track has a plurality of first-type servo sectors and a plurality of second-type servo sectors. In the method, track identification information and track position information are read from a first-type servo sector. A track number and a transducer position are estimated for a second-type servo sector. Track position information is read from the immediately following second-type servo sector. An odd/even property from the second-type servo sector is compared with an odd/even property for the estimated track number. The odd/even property of the estimated track number is conditionally adjusted such that the odd/even property of the estimated track number matches the odd/even property from the second-type servo sector. A position error signal is determined using the adjusted track number and the track position information read from the second-type servo sector.

Abstract: The present invention may be embodied in a disk drive comprising a rotating magnetic media having tracks identified by binary codewords, and in a related method. Each track codeword for a particular track within a contiguous band of tracks differs from a track codeword for an adjacent track within the contiguous band of tracks by a defined number of bits, and differs from a track codeword for a nonadjacent track within the contiguous band of tracks by at least the defined number of bits. The defined number N of bits is greater than four such that at least two bit errors may be corrected when reading a track codeword.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a method and related system for determining a feature location in multiple dimensions including depth. The method includes providing left and right camera images of the feature and locating the feature in the left camera image and in the right camera image using bunch graph matching. The feature location is determined in multiple dimensions including depth based on the feature locations in the left camera image and the right camera image.

Abstract: The invention relates to a technique for generating an animated three-dimensional video head based on sensed locations of facial features and texture mapping of corresponding two dimensional video image frames onto a shaped head mesh generated using the sensed locations.

Abstract: A magnetic disk drive having a reduction in repeatable runout (RRO) effects is disclosed. The disk drive has a head disk assembly (HDA) and a sampled servo controller. The HDA includes a rotating magnetic disk, an actuator, and a transducer head. The magnetic disk has a plurality of embedded servo sectors for storing servo information including repeatable runout (RRO) cancellation values and RRO cancellation value error correction code (ECC) data at a servo data rate. The RRO cancellation value ECC data is only for detecting and correcting errors in the RRO cancellation values. In between the embedded servo sectors are data sectors for storing user data at a user data rate that is different from the servo data rate. The actuator positions the transducer head in response to a control effort signal generated by the sampled servo controller based on the servo information.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for defining tracks on a rotating magnetic disk medium of a disk drive. Reference tracks are followed using a servo control loop while writing servo burst patterns defining a first target servo track. The servo control loop includes a two-dimensional digital state compensator having a first input that receives position error signals, a first output that generates control signals for positioning a transducer head, a second output that generates track-following state variables, and a second input that receives processed and stored track-following state variables. The first target track is followed using the servo control loop while servo burst patterns are written, and while the processed and stored track-following state variables corresponding to the servo burst patterns defining the first target track are applied to the second input.

Abstract: The present invention may be embodied in a method of determining a repeatable runout (RRO) compensation value set for a data track on a magnetic disk in a disk drive. The track comprises a plurality of embedded sectors that define a circumferential path having RRO requiring compensation during data read and write operation. In the method, track following is performed along the track and a position error signal (PES) is determined for each servo sector. An RRO compensation value is iteratively learned for each servo sector using the previously learned value for the servo sector and using the PES for the servo sector and for adjacent servo sectors.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for improving head position determination in a disk drive having a transducer head and a rotating disk with a plurality of embedded servo wedges for defining a plurality of concentric data tracks. Each servo wedge has a plurality of servo bursts for providing radial track position information. In the method, the servo bursts within a servo wedge are read and a burst amplitude is determined for each servo burst. The burst amplitudes are compared to determine a radial servo position zone. A fine radial head position within the radial servo position zone is determined based on a ratio having a numerator consisting of an algebraic sum and difference of the burst amplitudes and a denominator consisting of an algebraic difference between a largest burst amplitude and a smallest burst amplitude.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for reducing disk expansion effects while writing spiral reference patterns on a disk. The disk drive comprises control circuitry and a head disk assembly (HDA). In the method, an external spiral servo writer is used to control a radial location of the head for writing a plurality of the spiral reference patterns in an order such that at least two of the spiral reference patterns are not written temporally sequential to an adjacent spiral reference pattern. The head internal to the disk drive is used to read the spiral reference patterns in order to write product servo bursts to the disk, thereby defining a plurality of radially spaced, concentric data tracks.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for reducing disk expansion effects while writing spiral reference patterns on a disk of a disk drive. The disk drive comprises control circuitry and a head disk assembly (HDA) for positioning a head radially over the disk. In the method, an external spiral servo writer is used to control a radial location of the head for writing a plurality of the spiral reference patterns between inner and outer seed tracks. A head velocity profile is adjusted for writing each spiral reference pattern to account for thermal disk expansion. The head internal to the disk drive is used to read the spiral reference patterns in order to write product servo bursts to the disk that define a plurality of radially-spaced circular data tracks.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for determining repeatable runout (RRO) cancellation values in a disk drive having a head disk assembly (HDA) and a sampled servo controller. The HDA includes a disk having distributed position information in servo wedges, a rotary actuator carrying a head that periodically reads the position information, and a voice coil motor circuit that responds to a control effort signal. The servo controller periodically adjusts the control effort signal during a track-following operation. In the method, the position information related to a predetermined track is read during track following for more than one disk rotation. The position information is averaged for each servo wedge obtained during the disk rotations. The averaged servo position values are filtered with a filter for compensating effects of the sampled servo controller, which tend to distort the averaged servo position values, to generate the RRO cancellation values for the predetermined track.

Abstract: A serial ATA disk drive having a parallel ATA test interface is disclosed. A bridge circuit has a serial ATA port that is coupled to a serial ATA interface for receiving and transmitting serial ATA data signals, a parallel ATA port for receiving and transmitting parallel ATA signals, and a disable input for selectably disabling the parallel ATA port. The bridge circuit performs signal conversions between the ports. The test interface is for coupling the disk drive to a disk-drive test system. The test interface includes a connector having contacts for parallel ATA signals, and having a contact for a disable signal coupled to the disable input. The connector may be a pad pattern on a printed circuit of the disk drive. The disk drive may have an industry standard form factor, and the connector may be configured such that it lies within the disk drive's form factor.