Abstract: A control system for a vacuum milking system, and a method of controlling vacuum in such milking system. The system comprises an electric vacuum pump motor, a vacuum transducer for providing an output signal that varies as a function of changes in vacuum in the milking line and a variable frequency drive (VFD) connected to the vacuum pump motor and the transducer for controlling the speed of the motor. The VFD varies the frequency of the power signal it provides to the motor as a function of deviation between the output signal from the transducer, which the VFD is programmed to recognize as representative of vacuum, and a setpoint representative of vacuum.

Abstract: Stackable communication network repeater hub capable of performing segmentation while retaining full stack management. Each hub in a stack can control the stack so that if a hub or group of hubs is segmented, one of the hubs is automatically allocated as the master hub. The master hub supplies a synchronizing signal, interprets network commands, and provides control signals for executing the commands.

Abstract: A system and method for controlling a communications adapter interface such that supplemental data can be interleaved with data being transferred. The interleaving is performed in a manner such that the supplemental data is transparent to the data mover portion of the communications adapter. The supplemental data can be transferred in either read or write cycles that are interleaved at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of data bursts or block data transfers. As a result of the interleaving, the slave interface bus is more fully utilized because arbitration and bus ownership changes do not create unused cycles. The interleaving is accomplished by temporarily halting an existing transfer of data and transferring the requested supplemental data while the data transfer is halted. After the supplemental data is transferred, the transfer of the balance of the data block is then allowed to continue.

Abstract: The material similarity of all-silica waveguides or other devices and optical fibers is utilized to establish an epoxy-free fusion interfacing between optical fibers and integrated-optic devices by using laser welding techniques. This is uniquely applicable to all-silica integrated devices since they have virtually identical material properties to those of optical fibers. The method comprises the steps of machining a locating groove in a silica block, fixing a prepared length of the optical fiber in the locating groove, bringing the block and the device into juxtaposition and aligning the block and the device to provide maximum transmission of a signal from the fiber to the device and laser welding the block and the device together.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus decodes the address of a selected destination user in a time-distributed manner thereby allowing a faster bus cycle and providing earlier error detection. The method and system of the present invention provides for the distribution of the address decoding over two bus cycles, rather than one, so that a faster bus cycle is allowed. In addition, the present invention provides address decode circuitry within the bus arbitrator/controller so that address decoding and error detection can be performed in parallel with bus arbitration.