1-19. (canceled)
20. A graphite electrode comprising a graphite body having a threaded male tang formed in one end of the body, the threaded male tang comprising at least one slot which extends partially along the length of the male tang with a slot length less than a length of the threaded portion of the male tang, the electrode further comprises a threaded socket formed in a second end of the body.
21. The electrode of claim 20 wherein the socket further comprises a source of flowable adhesive.
22. The electrode of claim 20 wherein the male tang comprises a tang factor of at least about 0.6.
23. The electrode of claim 22 wherein the ratio of the diameter of the male tang at the base of the tang to the tang length comprises no greater than 2.5 times the tang factor.
24. The electrode of claim 22 which comprises a taper factor of at least about 15 when the tang factor is about 0.85 or less.
25. The electrode of claim 24 wherein for each 0.01 the tang factor is less than 0.85, the taper factor increases by about 1.2 greater than 15.
26. The electrode of claim 20 wherein the socket is capable of receiving a tang with a tang factor of at least about 0.6.
27. A graphite electrode comprising a graphite body having a threaded socket formed in one end of the body, and at least one slot which extends partially along the length of the threaded socket with a slot length less than a length of the threaded portion of the socket.
28. The graphite electrode of claim 27 further comprising a threaded male tang located at a second end of the body.
29. The graphite electrode of claim 27 wherein the tang further comprises at least one slot which extends partially along its length with a slot length less than a length of the threaded tang.
30. The graphite electrode of claim 27 further comprising a source of a flowable adhesive located in a base of the socket.
31. The graphite electrode of claim 27 wherein the socket is capable of receiving a tang with a tang factor of at least about 0.6.
32. The graphite electrode of claim 28 wherein the tang comprises one or more bore holes.
33. An electrode column wherein at least one of the electrodes in the column comprises a graphite body having a threaded male tang formed in one end of the body, the threaded male tang comprising at least one slot which extends partially along its length with a slot length less than a length of the threaded portion of the male tang, wherein the male tang oriented vertically upward.
34. The column of claim 33 wherein a second electrode in the column adjacent the electrode includes a threaded socket juxtaposed to the tang of the electrode, the threaded socket of the second electrode includes a source of a flowable adhesive material.
35. The column of claim 33 wherein a second electrode in the column adjacent the electrode includes a threaded socket juxtaposed to the tang of the electrode and an adhesive located along the slot of the tang and the threads of the socket.
36. The column of claim 33 wherein a tang factor of the tang comprises at least about 0.6.
37. The column of claim 36 wherein the ratio of the diameter of the male tang at the base of the tang to the tang length comprises no greater than 2.5 times the tang factor.
38. The column of claim 36 which comprises a taper factor of at least about 15 when the tang factor is about 0.85 or less.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method of updating parity information in a data storage system comprising:
reading data to be overwritten;
reading one block of existing parity information from one of a first block of existing parity information and a second block of existing parity information, wherein the first block of existing parity information and the second block of existing parity information are both associated with the data to be overwritten;
generating new parity information based on data to write, the existing parity information, and the data to be overwritten;
generating new complimentary parity information based on the data to write, the existing parity information, and the data to be overwritten;
overwriting the data to be overwritten with the data to write;
overwriting the first block of parity information with the new parity information; and
overwriting the second block of parity information with the new complimentary parity information.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating new parity information includes a exclusive disjunction operation.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein generating new complimentary parity information includes a exclusive disjunction operation.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein generating new parity information includes a Galois field operation.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein generating new complimentary parity information includes a Galois field operation.
6. A method of load balancing read operations in a data storage system comprising:
comparing a first parity block counter to a second parity block counter,
wherein:
the first parity block counter is associated with a first parity block; and
the second parity block counter is associated with a second parity block;
reading parity information from one of the first parity block and the second parity block based on the comparison of the first parity block counter and the second parity block counter;
generating new parity information for each of the first parity block and the second parity block based on the read parity information and new data;
overwriting a data block with the new data, and the first parity block and the second parity block with the new parity information; and
incrementing one of the first parity block counter and the second parity block counter based on which parity block of the first parity block and second parity block was read.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein:
the first parity block counter is less than the second parity block counter;
parity information is read from the first parity block; and
the first parity block counter is incremented.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein:
the second parity block counter is less than the first parity block counter;
parity information is read from the second parity block; and
the second parity block counter is incremented.
9. The method of claim 6, wherein generating new parity information includes a exclusive disjunction operation.
10. The method of claim 6, further comprising generating new complimentary parity information.
11. A data storage apparatus comprising:
a processor;
memory connected to the processor and containing non-transitory computer code; and
a plurality of storage disks connected to the processor,
wherein the non-transitory computer code is configured to:
receive data to write;
read data to be overwritten from one of the plurality of disks;
read one block of existing parity information from one of a first block of existing parity information and a second block of existing parity information, wherein the first block of existing parity information and the second block of existing parity information are both associated with the data to be overwritten;
generate new parity information based on the data to write, the existing parity information, and the data to be overwritten;
generate new complimentary parity information based on the data to write, the existing parity information, and the data to be overwritten;
overwrite the data to be overwritten with the data to write;
overwrite the first block of parity information with the new parity information; and
overwrite the second block of parity information with the new complimentary parity information.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein generating new parity information includes a exclusive disjunction operation.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein generating new complimentary parity information includes a exclusive disjunction operation.
14. The method of claim 11, wherein generating new parity information includes a Galois field operation.
15. The method of claim 11, wherein generating new complimentary parity information includes a Galois field operation.
16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the non-transitory computer code is further configured to:
compare a first parity block counter to a second parity block counter,
wherein:
the first parity block counter is associated with the first block of parity information; and
the second parity block counter is associated with the second block of parity information; and
increment one of the first parity block counter and the second parity block counter based on which parity block of the first parity block and second parity block was read.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein:
the first parity block counter is less than the second parity block counter;
parity information is read from the first block of parity information; and
the first parity block counter is incremented.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein:
the second parity block counter is less than the first parity block counter;
parity information is read from the second block of parity information; and
the second parity block counter is incremented.