1. A puzzle comprising:
a plurality of elements arranged to define at least one row of elements and at least one column of elements, each of the plurality of elements being rotatable about a first axis and a second axis, the first axis of each of the plurality of elements being parallel to the first axis of every other of the plurality of elements, the second axis of each of the plurality of elements being parallel to the second axis of every other of the plurality of elements;
a case that restrains non-rotational movement of each of the plurality of elements; and
a linkage structure that forces all elements in the at least one row of elements to rotate about their respective first axes when any one of the plurality of elements in the at least one row of elements is rotated about its first axis and that forces all elements in the at least one column of elements to rotate about their respective second axes when any one of the plurality of elements in the at least one column of elements is rotated about its second axis.
2. The puzzle of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of elements comprises a plurality of faces and each of the plurality of faces is of a different color or design than the other of the plurality of faces on that one of the plurality of elements.
3. The puzzle of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of elements comprises a sphere having an outer surface.
4. The puzzle of claim 3, wherein the sphere includes a first array of co-planar holes located on the outer surface of the sphere.
5. The puzzle of claim 4, wherein the linkage structure comprises at least one row gear having an array of teeth, each row gear is located between two adjacent elements of the at least one row of elements, and the array of teeth of the row gear engage the first array of co-planar holes of both of the two adjacent elements of the at least one row of elements.
6. The puzzle of claim 5, wherein the linkage structure comprises at least one column gear having an array of teeth, each row gear is located between two elements of the at least one column of elements, and the array of teeth of the column gear engage the first array of co-planar holes of both of the two elements of the at least one column of elements.
7. The puzzle of claim 6, wherein the at least one row gear includes an axle about which the at least one row gear rotates and wherein the at least one column gear includes an axle about which the at least one column gear rotates
8. The puzzle of claim 6, wherein non-rotational movement of the at least one row gear and the at least one column gear is restrained by the case, rotational movement of the at least one row gear is restricted to a single axis of rotation and rotational movement of the at least one column gear is restricted to a single axis of rotation, and the axis of rotation of each of the at least one row gear is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of each of the at least one column gear.
9. The puzzle of claim 8, wherein the axis of rotation of each of the at least one row gear is co-planar to the axis of rotation of each of the at least one column gear.
10. The puzzle of claim 4, wherein the sphere further comprises a second array of co-planar holes and a third array of co-planar holes, the first array of co-planar holes being perpendicular to the second array of co-planar holes and third array of co-planar holes, and the second array of co-planar holes being perpendicular to the first array of co-planar holes and the third array of co-planar holes.
11. The puzzle of claim 1, wherein the case includes top and bottom halves and a pair of opposing top and bottom openings through which each sphere protrudes.
12. The puzzle of claim 11, wherein each sphere is visible from outside the case and can be manipulated from outside the case;
13. The puzzle of claim 1, wherein the first axis of each of the plurality of elements is co-planar to the first axis of every other of the plurality of elements and the second axis of each of the plurality of elements is co-planar to the second axis of every other of the plurality of elements;
14. The puzzle of claim 2, wherein the plurality of faces of each of the plurality of elements consists of six faces.
15. A puzzle comprising:
a plurality of spheres arranged in X rows and Y columns, where X and Y are positive integers, the number of spheres being X times Y, each sphere comprising:
an outer surface including a plurality of faces, each of the plurality of faces having a different color or design than all other faces of that sphere;
a first axis of rotation and a second axis of rotation that is perpendicular to the first axis of rotation;
a case including a top half, X times Y top openings, wherein each of the plurality of spheres protrudes through the top opening so that a portion of the outer surface of each of the plurality of spheres is visible from outside the case and each of the plurality of spheres can be manipulated from outside the case;
at least one row gear providing a mechanical link between each of the spheres in each row, so that when any one of the spheres in a row is rotated about the first axis, all other spheres in that row are forced to rotate about their respective first axes; and
at least one column gear, one column gear of the at least one column gear being located between each of the spheres in each column, so that when any one of the spheres in a column is rotated about the second axis, all other spheres in that column are forced to rotate about their respective second axes.
16. The puzzle of claim 15, wherein each sphere comprises six faces, each face being of a different color.
17. The puzzle of claim 15, wherein the first axis of rotation of each sphere is co-planar to the first axis of rotation of all other spheres of the plurality of spheres and the second axis of rotation of each sphere is co-planar to the second axis of rotation of all other spheres of the plurality of spheres.
18. An element of a puzzle comprising:
six interlocking parts including first, second, third and fourth quads, a front end and a rear end;
each of the first, second, third and fourth quads comprising:
a face;
a deck;
a pair of blades that are parallel, spaced apart and protrude from the deck, each blade of the pair of blades includes a transverse hole extending therethrough; and
a pair of bridges outboard of the pair of blades, each bridge of the pair of bridges extending to a vertex and including a transverse hole therethrough;
each of the front and rear ends comprising:
a face;
a deck; and
four parallel pins extending from the deck;
wherein the transverse holes of the pair of bridges of each of the first, second, third and fourth quads align with the transverse holes of the pair of bridges of the first, second, third and fourth quads to define four locking channels into which one of the four pins of each of the front and rear ends extends when the first, second, third and fourth quads, front end, and rear end are assembled.
19. The element of claim 18, wherein the face of each of the first, second, third and fourth quads, the front end and the rear end form a spherical outer surface when the first, second, third and fourth quads, the front end and the rear end are assembled.
20. The element of claim 18, wherein the pair of blades of each respective quad is oriented so that the pairs of blades of each respective quad nest with the pairs of blades of the other quads when the first, second, third and fourth quads are assembled.
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 wavelength division multiplexed optical amplifier comprising:
a first-stage optical amplifying unit and a second-stage optical amplifying unit arranged in series with respect to an optical signal, where a first pumping light is supplied to said first-stage optical amplifying unit at an input side of said first-stage optical amplifying unit, a second pumping light is supplied to the first-stage optical amplifying unit at an output side of said first-stage optical amplifying unit, and a third pumping light is supplied to said second-stage optical amplifying unit at an input side of said second-stage optical amplifying unit,
a common automatic gain control circuit
performing automatic gain control in accordance with the optical signal at the input side of the first-stage optical amplifying unit and the optical signal at an output side of said second-stage optical amplifying unit,
producing a first control signal for controlling the first pumping light, and
producing a second control signal for commonly controlling both the second pumping light and the third pumping light, and
a pumping light distribution function unit receiving the second control signal from said common automatic gain control circuit and, in accordance with the received second control signal, supplying said second pumping light to the first-stage optical amplifying unit at the output side of the first-stage amplifying unit and said third pumping light to the second-stage optical amplifying unit at the input side of the second-stage optical amplifying unit with a predetermined distribution ratio of a:b (a<b) in their levels, which ratio is constant at any level of said first pumping light.
2. An optical amplifier as set forth in claim 1, wherein said pumping light distribution function unit comprises:
a single pumping light source, and
an optical coupler for splitting pumping light from said single pumping light source with the predetermined distribution ratio into said second pumping light and said third pumping light, and supplying said second pumping light and said third pumping light to said first-stage optical amplifying unit and said second-stage optical amplifying unit, respectively.
3. An optical amplifier as set forth in claim 1, wherein said pumping light distribution function unit comprises:
a first pumping light source providing said second pumping light,
a second pumping light source providing said third pumping light, and
a driving unit driving said first and second pumping light sources to match said predetermined distribution ratio.
4. An optical amplifier as set forth in claim 1, wherein said optical amplifier is provided with at least three stages of optical amplifying units including an additional optical amplifying unit arranged in series with said optical signal, and two of said optical amplifying units are made to be said first-stage optical amplifying unit and said second-stage optical amplifying unit.
5. An optical amplifier as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:
a distribution ratio control function unit able to change said predetermined distribution ratio.
6. An optical amplifier as set forth in claim 5, wherein said distribution ratio control function unit is an optical attenuator able to change an intensity of at least one of said second pumping light and said third pumping light.
7. An optical amplifier as set forth in claim 1, wherein
said first-stage optical amplifying unit comprises an optical amplifying medium through which the second pumping light travels to thereby amplify the optical signal as the optical signal travels through said optical amplifying medium, said optical amplifying medium of said first-stage optical amplifying unit being a rare earth-doped fiber or an optical waveguide, and
said second-stage optical amplifying unit comprises an optical amplifying medium through which the third pumping light travels to thereby amplify the optical signal as the optical signal travels through said optical amplifying medium, said optical amplifying medium of said second-stage optical amplifying unit being a rare earth-doped fiber or an optical waveguide.
8. An optical amplifier as set forth in claim 4, wherein
said first-stage optical amplifying unit comprises an optical amplifying medium through which the second pumping light travels to thereby amplify the optical signal as the optical signal travels through said optical amplifying medium, said optical amplifying medium of said first-stage optical amplifying unit being a rare earth-doped fiber or an optical waveguide, and
said second-stage optical amplifying unit comprises an optical amplifying medium through which the third pumping light travels to thereby amplify the optical signal as the optical signal travels through said optical amplifying medium, said optical amplifying medium of said second-stage optical amplifying unit being a rare earth-doped fiber or an optical waveguide.
9. An optical amplifier as set forth in claim 1, wherein said predetermined distribution ratio is made a value giving a gain increased near an upper limit where oscillation occurs in said first-stage optical amplifying unit so as to obtain a low noise figure.
10. An optical amplifier as set forth in claim 1, wherein said predetermined distribution ratio is made a value enabling fluctuation of output at the output side of the second-stage optical amplifying unit due to amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) to be suppressed when a number of input wavelengths of the optical signal received at the input side of the first-stage optical amplifying unit rapidly decreases.
11. An optical amplifier comprising:
a first-stage optical amplifying unit supplied with a first pumping light to an input side of the first-stage optical amplifying unit and a second pumping light to an output side of the first-stage optical amplifying unit, receiving a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) optical signal at the input side, and amplifying the received WDM optical signal in accordance with the supplied first and second pumping lights to thereby output a first-stage amplified WDM optical signal;
a second-stage optical amplifying unit supplied with a third pumping light to an input side of the second-stage optical amplifying unit, receiving the first-stage amplified WDM optical signal at the input side of the second-stage optical amplifying unit, and amplifying the received first-stage amplified WDM optical signal in accordance with the supplied third pumping light to thereby output a second-stage amplified WDM optical signal at an output side of the second-stage optical amplifying unit;
a common automatic gain control circuit producing first and second control signals in accordance with power level of the WDM optical signal at the input side of the first-stage optical amplifying unit and power level of the second-stage amplified WDM optical signal at the output side of the second-stage optical amplifying unit, wherein the first control signal is used to control the first pumping light supplied to the first-stage optical amplifying unit; and
a pumping light distribution function unit, in accordance with the second control signal, supplying the second pumping light to the first-stage optical amplifying unit and the third pumping light to the second-stage optical amplifying unit with a predetermined distribution ratio of a:b (a<b) in their levels, which ratio is constant at any level of the first pumping light, wherein the first and second control signals thereby cause gain of the optical amplifier to be automatically controlled.
12. An optical amplifier comprising:
a first-stage optical amplifying unit supplied with a first pumping light to an input side of the first-stage optical amplifying unit and a second pumping light to an output side of the first-stage optical amplifying unit, receiving a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) optical signal at the input side, and amplifying the received WDM optical signal in accordance with the supplied first and second pumping lights to thereby output a first-stage amplified WDM optical signal;
a second-stage optical amplifying unit supplied with a third pumping light to an input side of the second-stage optical amplifying unit, receiving the first-stage amplified WDM optical signal at the input side of the second-stage optical amplifying unit, and amplifying the received first-stage amplified WDM optical signal in accordance with the supplied third pumping light to thereby output a second-stage amplified WDM optical signal at an output side of the second-stage optical amplifying unit;
means for producing first and second control signals in accordance with power level of the WDM optical signal at the input side of the first-stage optical amplifying unit and power level of the second-stage amplified WDM optical signal at the output side of the second-stage optical amplifying unit, wherein the first control signal is used to control the first pumping light supplied to the first-stage optical amplifying unit; and
means, in accordance with the second control signal, for supplying the second pumping light to the first-stage optical amplifying unit and the third pumping light to the second-stage optical amplifying unit with a predetermined distribution ratio of a:b (a<b) in their levels, which ratio is constant at any level of the first pumping light, wherein the first and second control signals thereby cause gain of the optical amplifier to be automatically controlled.