What is claimed is:
1. An apparatus for sterilizing or disinfecting an object having exterior surfaces, comprising:
a substantially light-tight housing;
at least one ultraviolet light-emitting lamp disposed within the housing; and
a drum to change the orientation of the object in the housing so that light emitted by the at least one lamp contacts substantially all of the exterior surfaces of the object.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a surface of the drum is continuous.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the surface of the drum is substantially impenetrable to light.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one lamp is mounted to a wall of the housing that is interior to the drum.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one lamp is disposed within the housing such that the at least one lamp emits light that contacts an interior wall of the drum and not an exterior wall of the drum.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, further including a timer, coupled to the drum, to control power to the drum.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, further including a door to provide access to an interior of the housing.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, further including a safety interlock, coupled to the door and the at least one lamp, to turn off the at least one lamp when the door is opened.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one lamp is a flash lamp.
10. An apparatus for sterilizing or disinfecting an object having exterior surfaces, comprising:
a substantially light-tight housing;
at least one ultraviolet light-emitting lamp disposed within the housing; and
means for changing the orientation of the object in the housing so that light emitted by the at least one lamp contacts substantially all of the exterior surfaces of the object.
11. A batch process for sterilizing or disinfecting an object having exterior surfaces, comprising acts of:
enclosing the object within a substantially light-tight housing; and
changing the orientation of the object in the housing while irradiating the object with ultraviolet light, so that the ultraviolet light contacts substantially all of the exterior surfaces of the object.
12. The batch process of claim 11, further including acts of:
introducing the object into the housing via an opening; and
removing the object from the housing via the opening.
13. The batch process of claim 12, further including an act of closing a door on the housing, after introducing the object into the housing, to form a substantially light-tight seal at the opening.
14. The batch process of claim 11, wherein the act of changing the orientation of the object does not include any substantial lateral motion.
15. The batch process of claim 11, wherein the act of enclosing an object within a substantially light-tight housing includes placing an object in a substantially light-impermeable drum within the substantially light-tight housing, and further including an act of rotating the drum.
16. The batch process of claim 15, wherein the act of changing the orientation of the object includes changing the orientation of the object in the housing while irradiating the object with ultraviolet light from within the drum.
17. The batch process of claim 16, wherein the act of changing the orientation of the object further includes lifting the object and allowing it to fall while irradiating the object with ultraviolet light from within the drum.
18. The batch process of claim 11, wherein the act of enclosing an object within a substantially light-tight housing includes enclosing a medical device within the housing.
19. A method for sterilizing or disinfecting an object, comprising acts of:
introducing the object into a housing;
causing the object to move through the housing;
detecting the object with a sensor; and
activating a lamp based on a detection of the object with the sensor, the lamp illuminating the object as it moves through the housing.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the act of causing the object to move through the housing includes causing the object to fall through the housing.
21. The method of claim 19, wherein the act of activating a lamp includes activating an ultraviolet light-emitting lamp.
22. The method of claim 19, wherein the act of introducing the object into a housing includes introducing a medical device into the housing.
23. An apparatus for sterilizing or disinfecting an object, comprising:
a housing having a light seal to substantially prevent light from exiting the housing;
at least one ultraviolet light-emitting lamp disposed within the housing; and
a mechanism for moving the object within the housing;
wherein the mechanism forms at least part of the light seal.
24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the mechanism is activated by a sensor.
25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the sensor is activated by presence or movement of the object.
26. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the mechanism is one or more rollers.
27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the one or more rollers are interleaved.
28. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the one or more rollers are light-reflective.
29. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the mechanism for moving the object within the housing moves the object into the housing, and wherein the apparatus further includes a second mechanism for moving the object out of the housing.
30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the second mechanism is one or more rollers.
31. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the housing has a reflective interior.
32. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the at least one lamp is activated by a sensor.
33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the at least one lamp is activated by the object.
34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the sensor is an optical beam.
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 process of providing location information regarding a wireless client in a network, comprising:
receiving, at a physical location server, a location information request for location information associated with a wireless device;
selecting between a cached last known position of a relevant subscriber, and a next untried location retrieval scheme when no last known position has been retrieved;
determining, from said physical location server, a roaming status of said wireless device; and
selecting, with said physical location server, one of a plurality of location retrieval schemes to retrieve said location information associated with said wireless device, said selecting being based on said roaming status.
2. The process of providing location information regarding a wireless client in a network according to claim 1, further comprising:
retrieving a best available location information from a physical memory cache.
3. The process of providing location information regarding a wireless client in a network according to claim 1, further comprising:
returning an error as said location information if no current location information has been retrieved.
4. The process of providing location information regarding a wireless client in a network according to claim 1, further comprising:
returning a last known location information as a best available location information if an error has been returned, when said last known position exists in a cache and has not expired.
5. The process of providing location information regarding a wireless client in a network according to claim 1, further comprising:
setting a timer before an attempt to update said location information for said wireless device; and
returning an error as provided location information when said timer has expired.
6. The process of providing location information regarding a wireless client in a network according to claim 1, further comprising:
choosing as said next untried location retrieval scheme a navigational satellite system when said wireless device can access said navigational satellite system.
7. The process of providing location information regarding a wireless client in a network according to claim 1, further comprising:
choosing said next untried location retrieval scheme according to a version number of a software application employed.
8. A method of responding in a wireless network to a location request, comprising:
determining a requested accuracy to a response to a location request;
based on said requested accuracy, selecting between a cached last known position of a relevant subscriber, and a next untried locating scheme when no last known position of said relevant subscriber has been retrieved;
determining a roaming status of a relevant subscriber for which location information was requested; and
selecting between a plurality of possible location determination schemes based on said determined roaming status of said relevant subscriber.
9. The method of responding in a wireless network to a location request according to claim 8, wherein:
said next untried locating scheme includes use of a GPS system.
10. The method according to claim 8, wherein:
said next untried locating scheme provides location information determined by the wireless network.
11. The method of responding in a wireless network to a location request according to claim 8, wherein:
said next untried locating scheme includes using one of a GPS system and a land-based wireless network.
12. The method of responding in a wireless network to a location request according to claim 8, further comprising:
determining availability of said last known position in a cache.
13. A method of responding in a wireless network to a location request, comprising:
determining a requested accuracy to a response to a location request;
based on said requested accuracy, selecting between retrieval of a cached last known position record of a relevant subscriber, if available, and a next untried locating scheme when no current position record has been retrieved;
determining a roaming status of a relevant subscriber for which location information was requested; and
selecting between a plurality of possible location determination schemes based on said determined roaming status of said relevant subscriber.
14. The method of responding in a wireless network to a location request according to claim 13, wherein:
said last known position record is retrieved from a cache.
15. The method of responding in a wireless network to a location request according to claim 13, further comprising:
returning an error as provided location information when no current position record has been retrieved.