Abstract: A protective case for housing a vaporizer or modified electronic cigarette has an elongate body with a valve at its proximal end that may be opened to provide fluid access to the mouthpiece of a vaporizer housed within it. The elongate body may include a transparent and deformable region having a valve. The actuating button on a vaporizer housed within the body may be depressed by depressing the deformable region of the housing adjacent to the actuation button. The valve in the deformable region opens when the actuating button is depressed, providing fluid access to the intake valves of the modified electronic cigarette. The interior of the case includes padding around the interior of its distal region and a piston biased by a spring to hold a housed modified electronic cigarette in a proper orientation within the case.

Abstract: A protective case for housing a vaporizer or modified electronic cigarette has an elongate body with a valve at its proximal end that may be opened to provide fluid access to the mouthpiece of a vaporizer housed within it. The elongate body may include a transparent and deformable region having a valve. The actuating button on a vaporizer housed within the body may be depressed by depressing the deformable region of the housing adjacent to the actuation button. The valve in the deformable region opens when the actuating button is depressed, providing fluid access to the intake valves of the modified electronic cigarette. The interior of the case includes padding around the interior of its distal region and a piston biased by a spring to hold a housed modified electronic cigarette in a proper orientation within the case.

Abstract: A method and corresponding apparatus for ranging an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) in a Passive Optical Network (PON) is provided. An example method may include: (i) transmitting a ranging request from an Optical Line Terminal (OLT) to an ONT in connection with a transport layer ranging window; (ii) monitoring for a ranging response from the ONT during at least one physical layer ranging window within the transport layer ranging window, the transport layer ranging window having a duration longer than the physical layer ranging window; and (iii) determining at least one metric associated with the ranging response for use in connection with upstream communications between the ONT and the OLT. The metric(s), used in connection with upstream communications, are accurately determined, and communications faults during normal operations are thus reduced.

Abstract: An error in a passive optical network is identified by communicating to an optical network terminal on the passive optical network a request to transmit a response signal at a predetermined power level, receiving the response signal in response to the request, and measuring a power level of the response signal. A predetermined channel power level is compared to the power level of the response signal and a status of the optical network terminal is determined based on the result of the comparison.