Abstract: A slider of the type for use with a rotatable magnetic disk is disclosed. The slider has two ends and a bottom surface which includes an air bearing surface. An adhesive layer and continuous coating of carbon is located on the air bearing surface. A method of sputter depositing this continuous layer of carbon upon the air bearing surface of the slider is also provided. The continuous layer of carbon is crown-shaped and deposited using the sputtering technique. The carbon is directed from a source at the air bearing surface of a slider. A mask is placed between the source and slider so that the carbon is deposited in a crown shape. When the slider is viewed from front to rear the maximum depth of the coating is less than about 6 to 10 nm, while at the ends of the slider the coating depth is near 0 nm. The resistivity of the protective carbon layer is controlled for the additional benefit of protection from damages by electrostatic discharge.

Abstract: A well-forming and loading-guide comb for electrophoresis gels. The comb includes a comb body, to which well-forming teeth and a loading guide are attached in an opposing fashion. The comb can be used with the teeth pointing downward into the gel to form sample wells in either vertical or horizontal electrophoresis gels. Upon hardening of the gel, the comb is once removed from the gels, leaving sample wells therein. The comb is then rotated 180 degrees, and notches (in the case of vertical electrophoresis gels) or L-shaped extensions (in the case of horizontal electrophoresis gels) of the loading guide are aligned with the sample wells so as to provide for easy guided access of a sample delivering instrument during the loading of samples into the wells.

Abstract: An apparatus for locking and ejecting a media module in a media bay includes a locking device engaging the media module to lock the media module in a locked position in the media bay, a rod engaging the locking device to disengage the locking device from the media module, a rotating body mounted on a pivot, the pivot physically coupled to the media bay, and a first spring, the first spring generating a force against the rotating body, the force against the rotating body rotating the rotating body on disengagement of the locking device from the media module, the rotation of the rotating body ejecting the media module from the locked position.

Abstract: An improved sputtering process increases the perpendicularity of the sputtered flux to the target surface by bombarding the target with both low and high mass ions, with low mass ions predominating, packing the target with both low and high mass implanted ions, and causing target atoms ejected as a result of high mass incident ions to have a higher probability of perpendicular or near perpendicular ejection. An alternative improved sputtering process bombards the target with both low and high mass ions, with high mass ions predominating, resulting in a higher sputter rate than achievable with either the high or low mass species alone. Including in either process as the high or the low mass species a species having a lower ionization energy than a standard species allows a reduced pressure plasma, resulting in less scattering of the sputtered flux. A low ionization energy species may also be employed to assist in striking a plasma before sputtering by a single species during deposition.

Abstract: A slider of the type for use with a rotatable magnetic disk is disclosed. The slider has two ends and a bottom surface which includes an air bearing surface. An adhesive layer and continuous coating of carbon is located on the air bearing surface. A method of sputter depositing this continuous layer of carbon upon the air bearing surface of the slider is also provided. The continuous layer of carbon is crown-shaped and deposited using the sputtering technique. The carbon is directed from a source at the air bearing surface of a slider. A mask is placed between the source and slider so that the carbon is deposited in a crown shape. When the slider is viewed from front to rear the maximum depth of the coating is less than about 6 to 10 nm, while at the ends of the slider the coating depth is near 0 nm. The resistivity of the protective carbon layer is controlled for the additional benefit of protection from damages by electrostatic discharge.

Abstract: A housing for a desk top personal computer incorporating a novel integrated cooling system. The housing features a cast magnesium chassis that acts as a heat sink that conductively absorbs heat from internal components. A recessed, rectangular, open-sided cooling channel is integrally formed in the bottom of the chassis. A fan is mounted to one end of the cooling channel. A series of fins running lengthwise extends down from the top of the channel. A power supply module, which dissipates heat from a conduction plate along its bottom, is mounted on the top side of the chassis directly above the channel. In operation, the fan draws air into the housing through a series of openings along the top back edge of the chassis. The air passes over the inside surfaces of the chassis, dissipating the relatively small amount of heat generated by the components mounted thereon and flows into the cooling channel.

Abstract: A baseball batting practice device in which a diametral bore in a baseball is snugly lined by a metal tube, the ends of which are flared to secure the cover of the baseball adjacent the ends of the ball bore. A suspending line secured adjacent its upper end to an overhead support extends successively through a sleeve and the tube in the ball and has ball restraining means below the ball which rests thereon. A swing-and-lift line connects the suspending line above the sleeve to an upright support below and laterally of the suspended ball. When a batter bats the ball the suspending and swing-and-lift lines are wound progressively about the upright support toward the ball until the ball strikes and rebounds from the upright support and returns to the batting zone to be batted again.

Abstract: A system gathers and displays information concerning status of a communications network without overloading the communications channels in the network. The monitoring system includes a monitor node, including an operator input interface. The monitor node is coupled to a first switching node in the distributed switching nodes of the network. The monitor node includes a first application maintaining topology data indicating the topology of the network and supporting a first protocol for updating the data with the first switching node. In addition, the monitor node includes a second application maintaining a list of alarm conditions entered in the node event logs in the network, and supporting a second protocol for updating the list with the plurality of distributed switching nodes. A third application runs in the monitor node for maintaining a monitor database indicating the configuration of the switching nodes as it is entered in the node configuration databases in the network.

Abstract: An optical sensor system (10) in the form of a hand held tonometer probe has an infrared emitting diode (34) and a phototransistor detector (36) positioned to receive light from the diode (34). A rod (18) serves as a variable attenuator to intercept a portion of light from the diode (34) directed at the detector (36). A signal level detecting amplifier (104) is coupled to the detector (36) to receive an output signal from the detector (36) in response to light from the diode (34) received by the detector (36). The amplifier (104) has a non-inverting input (102) and an inverting input (106). The amplifier (104) receives the output signal from detector (36) at non-inverting input (102). A +5 volt reference potential is connected through a variable resistor (110) and a resistor (108) to establish a bias at the inverting input (106) which is approximately equal to signal levels supplied by the detector (36) to the non-inverting input (102).