Abstract: An environment sensing/control circuit for use in conjunction with an electronic subsystem. The invention is capable of sensing and controlling conditions of the environment of the subsystem. The invention is capable of being implemented as a stand-alone device or replicated numerous times in an integrated circuit. The invention identifies changes including intermittent changes, in the environment of the subsystem from a reference state, the reference state being dynamically determined by a processor. Upon detecting such a change, the invention signals the processor. The invention can also serve as a flexible interface for control signals from the processor to the subsystem.

Abstract: A redundant array computer system having a high-speed CPU bus and lower-speed I/O buses, in which parity blocks are generated for a plurality of data blocks from multiple CPU bus logical channels in a randomly-interleaved manner to provide enhanced I/O transfer rates. For example, such a system may have two channels for processing two sets of data. The parity generation technique employs a switching circuit to switch channels on the CPU bus between the first set and the second set, generating parity information that can be transferred independently over two I/O buses. The parity generation technique achieves an effective I/O bus transfer rate more closely matched to the speed of the CPU bus. The invention shares a single XOR gate and related support circuitry between multiple logical channels by providing a configurable electronic memory, thus achieving economies in implementation. For certain system applications, it may be desirable to utilize the RAM as a large, unified FIFO.

Abstract: A fault-tolerant storage device array using a copyback cache storage unit for temporary storage. When a Write occurs to the RAID system, the data is immediately written to the first available location in the copyback cache storage unit. Upon completion of the Write to the copyback cache storage unit, the host CPU is immediately informed that the Write was successful. Thereafter, further storage unit accesses by the CPU can continue without waiting for an error-correction block update for the data just written. In a first embodiment of the invention, during idle time for relevant storage units of the storage system, an error-correction block is computed for each "pending" data block on the copyback cache storage unit, and the data block and corresponding error-correction block are copied to their proper location in the RAID system.

Abstract: A method for on-line restoration of redundancy information in a redundant array storage system. The invention provides alternative methods of restoring valid data to a storage unit after a Write failure caused by a temporary storage unit fault. In the first preferred method, a valid redundancy block is generated for the corresponding data blocks on all storage units. Resubmitting the interrupted Write operation causes the old (and potentially corrupted) data block to be "subtracted" out of the re-computed redundancy block. The uncorrupted new data block is written over the old data block, and is "added" into the recomputed redundancy block to create a new, corrected redundancy block. The new, corrected redundancy block is written to the appropriate storage unit. In the second preferred method, a new redundancy block is generated from all valid data blocks and the new data block. The new redundancy block and the new data block are then written to the appropriate storage units.

Abstract: An apparatus which adhesively binds a set of sheets by applying a strip having an adhesive to one surface thereof to the spine of the set. The apparatus includes a compiling station which holds at least one set of sheets. A transport advances the set of copy sheets from the compiling station to the bind and to a receiving station. The transport is movable from a non-operative position, coupling the compiling station to the receiving station, to an operative position coupling the compiling station to the binder. In addition, there is a manual insertion station located at the operative position enabling a set of sheets to be inserted into the transport when the transport is positioned in the operative position. The transport is then adapted to advance the manually inserted set of sheets to the binder which then binds the manually inserted set of sheets to one another.

Abstract: An arrayed disk drive system for providing memory to a computer, said arrayed system having a plurality of disk drives configured to form an array, said arrayed disk drives accessed by a plurality of channels, each channel accessing a plurality of disk drives, including a means for controlling the logical configuration of the arrayed disk drives to appear to the computer as any conceivable arrangement of disk drives, whereby the arrayed disk drive may appear to the computer as the plurality of disk drives, or as one large disk drive comprised of all the arrayed disk drives, or any combination in between. A means for providing a plurality of levels of redundancy on data read or written by the computer to the arrayed disk drives is provided, as well as means controlled by the controlling means for enabling from none to the plurality of levels of redundancy to operate on data being read or written from the arrayed disk drives.

Abstract: A warmup aid ball having an outer shell, an inner weighted core, and a multiplicity of contiguous finger retaining loops in a side-by-side lateral arrangement. Each separate loop is attached to the outer shell at a base portion. The base portions of the end loops are arcuated at the area where the base attaches to the outer shell of the ball to accommodate those digits not retained in a loop in a position to eliminate irritation and discomfort. Each loop is slightly displaceable, side-to-side to facilitate varying hand and finger sizes.

Abstract: A mechanism for shuttering of vacuum ports of a vacuum platen transport (VPT) plenum in correspondence with the size of the documents being transported from the document tray of a recirculating document handler. The shuttering mechanism is coupled to a movable side guide of the document tray and includes a flexible coiled tape mounted with respect to the vacuum plenum of the VPT and movable side guide of the document tray such that movement of the side causes the tape to seal off vacuum slots within the plenum that are not located beneath documents.