Abstract: Techniques for managing data received from devices in a point of sale system are described. A point of sale system is operated utilizing independent software objects including a device sequence manager. The device sequence manager communicates with each device producing data for which proper sequencing must be maintained. Upon receiving a data event from a device, the device sequence manager creates a data object and stores the data object in an output queue. Upon receiving a request for data from an executive application, the device sequence manager retrieves the data object from the output queue and transfers it to the executive application, maintaining the sequence in which the data objects were received from the devices.

Abstract: A selective compression and distraction instrument useful in manipulating bone, such as a person's spine during surgery. There are two handle sections and one jaw section. One handle section produces a compression action and the other produces a distraction action. The user determines which action to apply, and then selects the appropriate handle section which is releasably attached to the one jaw section. The jaw section is arranged to have two tips, and the jaw section moves the tips in a parallel relationship toward and away relative to each other. The tips are releasably and interchangeably attachable to the jaw section, and they provide selective spacing of tip blades from each other.

Abstract: A facsimile of article to be produced by tooling is laid in register with a first tooling part and sprayed metallic material is deposited over the first tooling part and the facsimile of the article in order to form a second tooling part. The first tooling part typically comprises a metallic material and portions of the first and second tooling parts bounding the article facsimile are typically in metal to metal contact with one another. The tooling parts are separated and the article facsimile removed.

Abstract: A will call system for automating the management of storage and retrieval of items, preferably medical prescriptions. The automated system provides informational control of all items in the system. The automated will call monitors the length of time an item remains in the system, and into which location an item is placed. An article sensor provides absolute confirmation that an item has been placed or removed from a designated location in the storage units. The automated will call system uses a controller to permit users to monitor and optimize the storage and retrieval procedures.

Abstract: In a system including a collection of cooperating cache servers, such as proxy cache servers, a request can be forwarded to a cooperating cache server if the requested object cannot be found locally. An overload condition is detected if for example, due to reference skew, some objects are in high demand by all the clients and the cache servers that contain those hot objects become overloaded due to forwarded requests. In response, the load is balanced by shifting some or all of the forwarded requests from an overloaded cache server to a less loaded one. Both centralized and distributed load balancing environments are described.

Abstract: Indane compounds of general formulae (1) to (4) and their pharmaceutical use, particularly to achieve mast cell stabilising activity and/or anti-inflammatory activity are described.

Abstract: In a system including a collection of cooperating cache servers, such as proxy cache servers, a request can be forwarded to a cooperating cache server if the requested object cannot be found locally. An overload condition is detected if for example, due to reference skew, some objects are in high demand by all the clients and the cache servers that contain those hot objects become overloaded due to forwarded requests. In response, the load is balanced by shifting some or all of the forwarded requests from an overloaded cache server to a less loaded one. Both centralized and distributed load balancing environments are described.

Abstract: A voice processing system comprising a digital trunk processor 135 and a system unit 145 incorporates a local voice recognition resource 185 provided on a digital signal processing board 180, and can access a remote voice recognition resource 320 in a server 300 via a local area network 250. The system provides a barge-in facility for the recognition resource on the remote server, whereby a prompt is played out to the user, and the incoming telephony signal is fed into a voice activity detector on the digital trunk processor. Responsive to a detection of incoming voice activity, the outgoing prompt is terminated, and the incoming data is transferred over the local area network to the remote server for recognition.

Abstract: A bus connection controller in a voice processing is for managing the connection of a timeslot on a time-division multiplex (TDM) bus to a port on an adapter. The voice processing system includes basic time-division multiplex (TDM) connection management to enable the coordination of connections between resources such as channels on line cards (SPacks or VPacks), and channels on digital signal processor (DSPs) cards that provide, amongst others things, voice recognition, text-to-speech, fax capabilities and so on. Problems are encountered when a telephone call in a voice processing system ends suddenly because one of the callers hangs up. If the telephony channel has connections with other channels or resources via a TDM bus, callers may hear spurious data. To address this problem each call is associated with its corresponding connection on the TDM bus and each connection is associated with its connection details including the adapters and ports involved in connecting the calls.

Abstract: A voice processing system is attached to a switch via an ATM link, the switch being in turn attached to the telephone network. The voice processing system handles incoming or outgoing calls transmitted over the ATM link, which supports a plurality of virtual connections. The voice processing system includes a time division multiplex (TDM) bus having multiple timeslots, and an adapter card for attachment to the ATM link for transferring data between a virtual connection on the ATM link and one or more timeslots on the TDM bus.

Abstract: A distributed voice processing system comprises two or more voice processing machines 50A, 50B, connected by an isochronous network. In the preferred embodiment this network comprises an ATM switch 80 and appropriate ATM links 82A, 82B. Each of the voice processing machines includes telephone line interface units 52 connected to the telephone network 5 via respective telephony channels 15, a TDM bus 54, voice resources 55 (such as voice recognition, voice response functionality, etc), and an ATM adapter 58 to allow communications over the ATM network. In operation, a call may be received at the line interface unit at a first voice processing machine, and placed onto a TDM bus at that machine. The call is then taken off the TDM bus by the ATM adapter, and routed over the ATM network to the ATM adapter at a second machine, which places the call on the TDM bus at this second machine.

Abstract: A bus connection controller in a voice processing is for managing the connection of a timeslot on a time-division multiplex (TDM) bus to a port on an adapter. The voice processing system includes basic time-division multiplex (TDM) connection management to enable the coordination of connections between resources such as channels on line cards (SPacks or VPacks), and channels on digital signal processor (DSPs) cards that provide, amongst others things, voice recognition, text-to-speech, fax capabilities and so on. One of the problems with known voice processing systems having a TDM bus is that there is no facility to allow the use of third party devices without modifications being made to the TDM connection controller.

Abstract: Porous regions or void regions of spray deposited articles of one composition are infilled with molten material of a differing composition which subsequently solidifies. The molten material flows to infill the porous or void regions under the influence of applied pressure or capillary type action. Typically, the sprayed material is molten metallic material, and the void porosity filling material is also metallic in composition but having a lower melting point.

Abstract: A system and method are provided which allows the monitoring of the allocation and use of buffers allocated from a buffer pool to processes executing within a data processing system. Conventionally, if an instance of a process crashes or loses a reference to a buffer, that buffer is rendered inaccessible by other processes. Eventually, the buffer pool will become exhausted. Errors in a communication system are difficult to attribute to a single cause and, in particular within a communication stack, often arise as a consequence of a series of events. Typically, prior art communication monitoring systems only keep track of the latest process to have had access to a buffer and do not allow an investigation into the past history of the possession or access to the buffers. Accordingly, the present invention provides a system and method for monitoring the history of the possession of or access to buffers within a communication system.

Abstract: Atomized metal is deposited metal onto a substrate so as to cause at least partial solidification of the deposited metal; further atomized metal is deposited onto the partially solidified deposited metal on the substrate; and the metal deposited onto the partially solidified deposited metal is allowed to fully solidify on the substrate; the cooling of the further deposited metal, and the composition of the metal and/or of a gas used in the atomization of the further atomized metal being tailored such that volumetric contraction on solidification and cooling of the further deposited metal is compensated for, when the deposited metal has been cooled to ambient temperature, by volumetric expansion in a reaction or phase change in the further deposited metal.

Abstract: Metallic articles having heat transfer channels are produced by solidification of molten metallic material about pre-formed channel defining members such that a solidified metallic deposit having heat transfer channels is formed. The channel defining members may be in the form of either solid elements (which are subsequently removed to leave the channels), or conduit elements (which may remain permanently embedded in the article). Moulds, dies, cores and other tools for use in moulding or casting of plastics and metals are particularly suitably formed by the process, the heat transfer channels being used for cooling of the respective articles during use. The molten metallic material is preferably deposited by spray forming utilizing one or more sprays of molten metallic material.

Abstract: A method of removing dispersed oil from an oil in water emulsion is accomplished by the steps of dissolving gas in water to form an aerated solution, introducing the emulsion and aerated solution into a treatment vessel in which is positioned a coalescing media formed by an assembly of closely spaced corrugated plates of oleophilic material, the emulsion and aerated solution passing in contact with the plates to cause oil droplets to coalescence on the plates and small gas bubbles carried with the aerated solution to adhere to the oil droplets to increase the buoyancy of the oil droplets so that the oil droplets more readily rise to the surface of the emulsion, accumulated oil being removed from the surface.

Abstract: Analysis apparatus with flexible multi-analysis capability, suitable for example for biochemical constituent analysis, has a single channel of reaction vessels arranged to receive reagents from any of a battery of reagent reservoirs and has photometer elements from measuring the reaction in each reaction vessel on a repetitive sequential basis. Control elements select the sample liquid delivered to each reaction vessel, select the reagents added thereto, and select the data processing for the photometer or other measurement information secured for reactants in that reaction vessel. The photometer elements apply and detect optical energy along selected directions to provide any of several photometric measurements, including for example of colorimetry, fluorometry, or nephelometry.