Abstract: A stored-value card including a first surface and a second surface. The first surface stores data adapted to be read by an electronic device to perform at least one interactive activity. The second surface is opposite the first surface. The second surface includes account indicia signifying a financial account linked to the stored-value card, and brand indicia relating to a retail setting configured to redeem the stored-value card. The at least one interactive activity includes displaying at least one of a character, an object, a textual passage, and a symbol associated with the retail setting. Financial transaction card assemblies, packaged stored-value cards, and methods of using such cards are also disclosed.

Abstract: A cooling structure for an electronic device comprises a plate including a thermally conducting material disposed over the electronic device. The cooling structure includes a first support and a second support. One of the first support and the second support provides compliance in the x-y directions, and the other support provides compliance in the z direction. In another embodiment of the present invention, the plate comprises a material having high thermal conductivity.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing combined radial and timing multislot self-servowrite propagation is disclosed. Radial bursts are combined with each timing mark and requires only three recovery/read-write spacing allocations per sector. The channel operates without requiring the writing of any bursts between reading radial bursts.

Abstract: A cooling structure for an electronic device comprises a compliant cap preloaded over the electronic device. The compliant cap comprises a horizontal top surface and at least one vertical support for the surface, the vertical support comprising a compliant portion and wherein the compliant cap comprises a thermally conducting material.

Abstract: A structure for cooling an electronic device. The structure includes a first layer disposed over the electronic device for providing a heat path from the electronic device and a bottom layer including a fin structure and a lower surface opposite the fin structure, wherein the lower surface contacts the first layer. The structure further includes a liquid layer disposed over the fin structure of the bottom layer and a top layer including a fin structure and a top surface opposite the fin structure, wherein the fin structure of the top layer contacts the liquid layer. The structure further includes a heat sink in contact with or integral with the top layer.

Abstract: The periodic component of a timing mark position error of a self-servo write pattern on a disk of a disk drive is determined based on measurements that are made of the timing mark position error at selected radial track locations. The determined periodic component of the timing mark position error is then removed based on the radial location on the disk.

Abstract: The present invention relates to methods and systems of snapshot management of a file system in a data storage system. To represent the snapshots, the invention maintains pointers to the root block pointer of each snapshot. When the active file system is modified, this invention avoids overwriting any blocks used by previous snapshots by allocating new blocks for the modified blocks. When the invention needs to put an established block in a new location, it must update a parent block to point to the new location. The update to the parent block may then require allocating a new block for the new parent block and so forth. Parts of the file system not modified since a snapshot remain in place. The amount of space required to represent snapshots scales with the fraction of the file system that users modify. To maintain snapshot integrity, this invention keeps track of the first and last snapshots that use each block in space map blocks spread throughout the file system data space.

Abstract: The invention concerns a method and digital recording device for faster than normal playback of a 24 fps presentation without any loss of program information. A 24 fps playback signal is produced from a storage medium. Subsequently, a pull-down process can be performed to reformat the 24 fps playback signal for a video display, for example at 30 fps. Finally, redundant field pictures produced by the pull-down process can be selectively dropped to increase a playback speed of the presentation. The method can further include the step of selectively controlling a number of the redundant field pictures that are dropped responsive to a user input. This step can be performed automatically by calculating the rate at which the redundant field pictures must be dropped responsive to a user input.

Abstract: Improvements in placement of timing patterns in self-servowriting include correcting for systematic errors due to geometric effects. A correction is made for varying systematic errors, such as when the recording head has spatially separate read and write elements. Further, servopattern rotation due to residual or unmeasured systematic errors is reduced by using a once per revolution clock index derived from the motor drive current waveform or any other sensor. In one aspect of correcting for systematic errors in the writing of timing patterns on a storage medium of a storage device, a time interval between a trigger pattern written at a first radial position of the storage medium and a rotational index is measured. The rotational index is related to the rotational orientation of the storage medium with respect to a fixed frame of the storage device.

Abstract: A live insect container including a plurality of side walls and a bottom wall molded as a unitary structure, to form a hollow base, and having a common, peripheral, upper edge lying in a plane spaced-apart above the bottom wall, a first lid having a lower edge for fastenable sealing contact with the common, peripheral, upper edge of the base and including an upwardly oriented wall having a plurality of adjacent slots formed therethrough for allowing air currents to pass into and out of the container, a second lid formed in the first lid and pivotally openable upward therefrom to form, with the base and the first lid a fully enclosed container, a handle formed in the second lid, convertible from a first, carrying position, to a second, stored position, the second position out of conflict with the second lid during opening of the second lid, at least one hollow tube of terminal length for removable insertion through a one of the lids into the interior of the container, the tube first terminal end extending outs

Abstract: The present invention relates to methods and systems of snapshot management of a file system in a data storage system. To represent the snapshots, the invention maintains pointers to the root block pointer of each snapshot. When the active file system is modified, this invention avoids overwriting any blocks used by previous snapshots by allocating new blocks for the modified blocks. When the invention needs to put an established block in a new location, it must update a parent block to point to the new location. The update to the parent block may then require allocating a new block for the new parent block and so forth. Parts of the file system not modified since a snapshot remain in place. The amount of space required to represent snapshots scales with the fraction of the file system that users modify. To maintain snapshot integrity, this invention keeps track of the first and last snapshots that use each block in space map blocks spread throughout the file system data space.

Abstract: A system and method for improved self-servo-writing of multi-slot timing patterns is described. Individual timing marks are replaced with groups of timing mark slots. At each timing mark location, a time measurement is made by detecting a timing mark in one of the slots. Also, extensions to the existing timing marks are written in other slots. The combination of timing measurements at every timing mark and extensions to those timing marks written at every opportunity improves the overall precision of the timing propagation. The improved accuracy of timing mark placement produces a commensurate improvement in the placement of the concomitantly written servo-data. In addition, the alignment accuracy of the written pattern is less sensitive to variations in rotation speed and variations in the shape of written transitions. Moreover, only a single disk revolution is required at each servo radius to write servo data and propagate the timing marks to maintain timing alignment.

Abstract: A reloadable stored-value card assembly includes a stored-value card adapted for use in making purchases, and a reloader card, separable from the stored-value card, adapted for loading value on the stored-value card. The stored-value card and the reloader card are initially attached together, each share a common bar code, and are each linked to a common financial account or record.

Abstract: A live insect container including a plurality of side walls and a bottom wall molded as a unitary structure, to form a hollow base, and having a common, peripheral, upper edge lying in a plane spaced-apart above the bottom wall, a first lid having a lower edge for fastenable sealing contact with the common, peripheral, upper edge of the base and including an upwardly oriented wall having a plurality of adjacent slots formed therethrough for allowing air currents to pass into and out of the container, a second lid formed in the first lid and pivotally openable upward therefrom to form, with the base and the first lid a fully enclosed container, a handle formed in the second lid, convertible from a first, carrying position, to a second, stored position, the second position out of conflict with the second lid during opening of the second lid, at least one hollow tube of terminal length for removable insertion through a one of the lids into the interior of the container, the tube first terminal end extending outs

Abstract: A circuit provides an output signal having a portion with a constant maximum amplitude, followed by a portion decreasing down to a constant zero value when an input voltage increases from zero. The circuit includes an asymmetrical differential stage having a low gain branch and a high gain branch, respectively controlling two branches of a symmetrical differential stage. The current of the asymmetrical differential stage corresponds to the end of the decreasing portion. The current of the symmetrical differential stage corresponds to the maximum amplitude of the signal which is provided by one of the branches of the symmetrical differential stage. The high gain branch and low gain branch are respectively controlled by the input voltage and by a voltage corresponding to the beginning of the decreasing portion.

Abstract: Apparatus for use in draining, cleaning and refilling an aquarium tank including an elongated flexible hose having first and second opposite ends, a tube including an upper distal end for connection to the first end of the flexible hose, and a lower distal end adapted to be immersed in the aquarium tank such that the lower end may be placed near the bottom of the aquarium tank, a first device attachable to the second end of the flexible hose and for connection to a flowing water source for creating a flow of water from the tank through the tube and the flexible hose, and a grille, defined by a chamber and including a plurality of apertures formed in the walls thereof that are narrower than the width of the gravel particles, the grille and chamber attached to the lower distal end of the tube for contact with the gravel for moving the gravel about the floor of the tank such that the gravel particles are forced by the movement to bump and rub against each other outside the tube to dislodge the sediment and impur

Abstract: A coring circuit for an input signal in the form of a differential input current having two components in phase opposition. A first pair of cascode transistors biased by a first reference voltage applies a first fraction of each of the components of the differential current to respectively first and second resistors. A second pair of cascode transistors biased by the first reference voltage provides a second fraction of each of the components of the differential current to a differential current output of the coring circuit and respectively to first and second branches of a differential stage that also receives voltages across the first and second resistors. Two coring current sources respectively connect first and second outputs of the differential stage to a supply voltage and are connected to each other through a third resistor.

Abstract: An auxiliary video data slicer for extracting auxiliary video information from a video signal includes a peak detector. The peak detector determines a peak amplitude of horizontal sync pulses that are included in the video signal and a peak amplitude of a run-in-clock (RIC) waveform that is included in an auxiliary information component of the video signal. A variable threshold level for the peak detector is varied in a first range to detect the peak amplitude of the sync pulses. A threshold voltage for detecting the leading edge of sync pulses is derived from the peak amplitude of the sync pulses. The location of the RIC waveform within a video line interval is determined in response to detection of a sync pulse edge. The variable threshold level of the peak detector is varied in a second range to detect the peak amplitude of the RIC signal. A data slicing threshold level for extracting auxiliary video information is derived from the peak value of the RIC signal.

Abstract: An auxiliary power supply system includes an internal combustion engine driving an alternator the output of which is rectified and supplied to DC bus lines across which a storage battery is connected. The DC bus lines may supply a consuming device such as an uninterruptible power supply or telecommunications system. The voltage across the bus lines is sensed and when the voltage drops below a selected value, indicating that the consuming devices is drawing power from the battery beyond a desired limit, the engine is turned on for a period of time to warm it up, during which the power from the generator is not supplied to the DC bus lines. Thereafter, the generator supplies power to the DC bus lines to supply the consuming device and partially recharge the battery until the consuming device is no longer drawing power, after which the engine is shut off.

Abstract: An auxiliary power supply system includes an internal combustion engine driving an alternator the output of which is rectified and supplied to DC bus lines across which a storage battery is connected. The DC bus lines may supply a consuming device such as an uninterruptible power supply or telecommunications system. The voltage across the bus lines is sensed and when the voltage drops below a selected value, indicating that the consuming devices is drawing power from the battery beyond a desired limit, the engine is turned on for a period of time to warm it up, during which the power from the generator is not supplied to the DC bus lines. Thereafter, the generator supplies power to the DC bus lines to supply the consuming device and partially recharge the battery until the consuming device is no longer drawing power, after which the engine is shut off.