Author: claimsbot

1. An apparatus for measuring the characteristics of an optical fiber, the apparatus comprising:
an optical pulse generator that generates a series of first and second optical pulses from a coherent light, the first and second optical pulses having a time interval between them, the time interval being equal to or shorter than a life time of an acoustic wave in the optical fiber, the optical pulse generator emitting the series of first and second optical pulses toward the optical fiber;
a detector that couples the coherent light with a Brillouin backscattered light which includes first and second Brillouin backscattered lights belonging to the first and second optical pulses respectively, thereby generating an optical signal, the detector converting the optical signal into an electrical signal;
a signal processor that takes the sum of the electrical signal and a delay electrical signal which is delayed from the electrical signal by a delay time corresponding to the time interval, thereby generating an interference signal, the signal processor finding the characteristics of the optical fiber based on the interference signal; and
a frequency-varying device that allows the signal processor to obtain a Brillouin spectrum from the electrical signal.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
a polarization state varying device that varies at least one of a polarization state of the coherent light and a polarization state of the Brillouin backscattered light.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
a remover that removes unnecessary component from the series of the first and second optical pulses that are to be transmitted to the optical fiber.
4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
a signal generator that generates a mixing signal having a frequency that generally corresponds to Brillouin frequency shift of the optical fiber.
5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the life time is a time period from appearance of the power peak of the acoustic wave until the power of the acoustic wave is decayed to not more than 5% of the peak power.

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. An optical communication system, comprising:
a first optical device comprising a transmission optical switch and a controller coupled to the transmission optical switch; and
a second optical device coupled to the first optical device via each of a first fiber and a second fiber, wherein the transmission optical switch is configured to operate in one of a first mode associated with the first fiber and a second mode associated with the second fiber based on control signals generated by the controller, wherein the controller is configured:
(a) to transmit a first control signal to the transmission optical switch that prompts the transmission optical switch to operate in the first mode;
(b) to determine whether a predetermined condition is satisfied with respect to the first fiber;
(c) if the predetermined condition is satisfied with respect to the first fiber in step (b), to return to step (b); and
(d) if the predetermined condition is not satisfied with respect to the first fiber in step (b), to transmit a second control signal to the transmission optical switch that prompts the transmission optical switch to transition from the first mode to the second mode.
2.-8. (canceled)
9. A method of operating an optical communication system, wherein the optical communication system comprises a first optical device comprising a transmission optical switch and a controller coupled to the transmission optical switch; and a second optical device coupled to the first optical device via each of a first fiber and a second fiber, wherein the transmission optical switch is configured to operate in one of a first mode associated with the first fiber and a second mode associated with the second fiber based on control signals generated by the controller, wherein the method comprises:
(a) transmitting a first control signal to the transmission optical switch that prompts the transmission optical switch to operate in the first mode;
(b) determining whether a predetermined condition is satisfied with respect to the first fiber;
(c) if the predetermined condition is satisfied with respect to the first fiber in step (b), returning to step (b); and
(d) if the predetermined condition is not satisfied with respect to the first fiber in step (b), transmitting a second control signal to the transmission optical switch that prompts the transmission optical switch to transition from the first mode to the second mode.
10.-78. (canceled)

1. A wind turbine transmission system comprising:
a rotor;
at least one hydraulic pump coupled to the rotor;
a branch manifold having a trunk portion defining a main flow path connected to an outlet port of the hydraulic pump and a plurality of branch portions each defining a branch flow path extending from the main flow path;
a plurality of hydraulic motors each having an inlet port connected to at least one of the branch flow paths to provide fluid communication between the hydraulic pump and the plurality of hydraulic motors; and
a plurality of generators each coupled to at least one of the plurality of hydraulic motors.
2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of fluid return lines each connecting an outlet port of at least one of the plurality of hydraulic motors to an inlet port of the hydraulic pump.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the branch manifold includes a transition zone in which the plurality of branch flow paths have a total cross-sectional flow area that is substantially equal to a cross-sectional area of the main flow path.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the branch manifold includes a transition zone in which the plurality of branch flow paths are collinear with the main flow path.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the transition zone has a length of approximately two to three times a square root of a cross-sectional flow area of the main flow path.
6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of speed increasing gear mechanisms each connecting at least one of the plurality of hydraulic motors to at least one of the plurality of generators.
7. The system of any of claim 1, further comprising at least one fluid bypass line in fluid communication with at least one of branch flow paths to selectively divert hydraulic fluid from the at least one of the plurality of branch portions away from the corresponding at least one of the hydraulic motors.
8. The system of claim 7, further comprising a sensor in communication with the hydraulic pump, the sensor being configured to determine a pressure within the hydraulic pump and to direct hydraulic fluid from the at least one of the plurality of branch portions to the corresponding at least one fluid bypass line when the determined pressure is less than a predetermined threshold pressure.
9. The system of claim 7, further comprising a sensor in communication with the rotor, the sensor being configured to determine a rotational speed of the rotor and to direct hydraulic fluid from the at least one of the plurality of branch portions to the corresponding at least one fluid bypass line when the determined rotational speed is less than a predetermined threshold rotational speed.
10. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one fluid bypass line is connected to the hydraulic pump inlet port.
11. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one fluid bypass line is connected to the inlet port of another one of the plurality of hydraulic motors.
12. The system of claim 7, further comprising at least one switching valve connected with at least one of the branch flow paths for selectively directing hydraulic fluid to either one of the corresponding at least one hydraulic motor and the corresponding at least one fluid bypass line.
13. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one hydraulic pump comprises a reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pump.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one hydraulic pump comprises a plurality of reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pumps.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pumps is out of phase with at least one of the remaining ones of the plurality of reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pumps.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pumps is 90\xb0 out of phase with at least one of the remaining ones of the plurality of reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pumps.
17. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pump includes a slider crank mechanism having connection points provided with hydrostatic bearings.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein hydraulic fluid is provided to the hydrostatic bearings by the at least one reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pump.
19. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one hydraulic pump is vertically aligned with the rotor, the plurality of hydraulic motors being vertically spaced apart from the hydraulic pump.
20. The system of claim 19, further comprising a fluid elevating device connected with the plurality of hydraulic motors, the fluid elevating device being configured to return hydraulic fluid from the plurality of hydraulic motors to the at least one hydraulic pump.
21. A method of generating power from a variable speed wind turbine, the method comprising:
positioning a rotor to face a wind current, the rotor being coupled to a hydraulic pump to pump a hydraulic fluid;
dividing the pumped hydraulic fluid into a plurality of branch flow paths;
directing the pumped hydraulic fluid through each of the plurality of branch flow paths to at least one of a plurality of hydraulic motors to drive the plurality of hydraulic motors; and
applying an output torque of each of the plurality of hydraulic motors to at least one of a plurality of generators for generating power.
22. The method of claim 21, further comprising determining a rotational speed of the rotor and diverting the pumped hydraulic fluid away from at least one of the plurality of hydraulic motors when the determined rotational speed is less than a predetermined threshold rotational speed.
23. The method of claim 21, further comprising determining a pressure within the hydraulic pump and diverting the pumped hydraulic fluid away from at least one of the plurality of hydraulic motors when the determined pressure is less than a predetermined threshold pressure.
24. The method of claim 21, further comprising recirculating the pumped hydraulic fluid from the plurality of hydraulic motors back to the hydraulic pump.
25. The method of claim 21, wherein dividing the pumped hydraulic fluid into the plurality of branch flow paths comprises directing the pumped hydraulic fluid through a branch manifold having a trunk portion defining a main flow path and a plurality of branch portions each defining one of the plurality of branch flow paths.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein the branch manifold includes a transition zone in which the plurality of branch flow paths have a total cross-sectional flow area that is substantially equal to a cross-sectional area of the main flow path.
27. The method of claim 25, wherein the branch manifold includes a transition zone in which the plurality of branch flow paths are collinear with the main flow path.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein the transition zone has a length of approximately two to three times a square root of a cross-sectional area of the main flow path.
29. The method of claim 27, wherein the rotor is coupled to a plurality of reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pumps.
30. The method of claim 29, further comprising combining the pumped hydraulic fluid from the plurality of reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pumps into a main flow path upstream from the plurality of branch flow paths.
31. The method of claim 29, wherein each of the plurality of reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pumps is out of phase with at least one of the remaining ones of the plurality of reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pumps.
32. A branch manifold comprising:
a trunk portion defining a main flow path; and
a plurality of branch portions each defining a branch flow path, the plurality of branch portions collectively forming a transition zone in which each of the branch flow paths is collinear with the main flow path, and in which a total cross-sectional flow area of the branch flow paths is substantially equal to a cross-sectional area of the main flow path.
33. The branch manifold of claim 32, wherein the transition zone has a length of approximately two to three times a square root of a cross-sectional area of the main flow path.
34. A wind turbine transmission system comprising:
a rotor;
a plurality of reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pumps coupled to the rotor, with each of the plurality of reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pumps including an intake port and a discharge port;
at least one hydraulic motor having an inlet port connected to at least one of the plurality of discharge ports to provide fluid communication between the plurality of reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pumps and the at least one hydraulic motor; and
at least one generator coupled to the at least one hydraulic motor.
35. The system of claim 34, wherein each of the plurality of reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pumps is out of phase with at least one of the remaining ones of the plurality of reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pumps.
36. The system of claim 35, wherein each of the plurality of reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pumps is 90\xb0 out of phase with at least one of the remaining ones of the plurality of reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pumps.
37. The system of claim 34, wherein at least one of the plurality of reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pump includes a slider crank mechanism having connection points provided with hydrostatic bearings.
38. The system of claim 37, wherein hydraulic fluid is provided to the hydrostatic bearings by the at least one reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pump.
39. The system of claim 34, wherein at least one of the plurality of reciprocating hydraulic cylinder pumps includes a piston having first and second pressure relief devices disposed in the piston, the first pressure relief device permitting reverse flow through the piston as a result of fluid overpressurization outward of the piston, and the second pressure relief device permitting forward flow through the piston as a result of fluid overpressurization inward of the piston.

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 for dynamic power control in an electronic system implemented on an integrated circuit, which electronic system comprises at least one or several hardware units, a hardware based power control logic substantially implemented with logic circuits, as well as a programmable power control mode register containing information about powered-down modes defined for said one or more hardware units, in which method
a single hardware unit transmits, by means of a hardware-unit-specific level-sensitive status signal, information about its activity to the power control logic,
a power control mode register transmits, by means of a hardware-unit-specific level-sensitive requirement signal, information to the power control logic about the powered-down mode defined for a single hardware unit by programming, wherein
the power control logic combines said status signal and said requirement signal and, on the basis of this, transfers said hardware unit from the operational mode to the powered-down mode or vice versa, by influencing the clock frequency to be supplied to said hardware unit,
wherein to transfer a single hardware unit from the powered-down mode to the operational mode, said hardware unit transmits to the power control logic

a first level-sensitive status signal for transferring said hardware unit from the powered-down mode to the wake up mode, and further
a second level-sensitive status signal for transferring said hardware unit from the wake up mode to the actual operational mode.
2. A power control system for dynamic power control in an electronic system implemented on an integrated circuit, which electronic system comprises at least one or several hardware units, a hardware based power control logic substantially implemented with logic circuits, as well as a programmable power control mode register containing information about powered-down modes defined for said one or more hardware units, in which power control system
a single hardware unit is arranged to transmit, by means of a hardware-unit-specific level-sensitive status signal, information about its activity to the power control logic,
a power control mode register is arranged to transmit, by means of a hardware-unit-specific level-sensitive requirement signal, information to the power control logic about the powered-down mode defined for a single hardware unit by programming, wherein
the power control logic is arranged to combine said status signal and said requirement signal for transferring said hardware unit from the operational mode to the powered-down mode or vice versa, by influencing the clock frequency to be supplied to said hardware unit,
wherein to transfer a single hardware unit from the powered-down mode, said hardware unit is arranged to transmit to the power control logic

a first level-sensitive status signal for transferring said hardware unit from the powered-down mode to the wake up mode, and further
a second level-sensitive status signal for transferring said hardware unit from the wake up mode to the actual operational mode.
3. The power control system according to claim 2, wherein the power control logic is arranged to influence the clock frequency to be supplied to the hardware unit.
4. The power control system according to claim 2, wherein the power control logic is arranged to influence the operating voltage to be supplied to the hardware unit.
5. The power control system according to claim 2, wherein the first and second hardware-unit-specific level-sensitive status signals as well as the hardware-unit-specific requirement signal are all binary digital signals, which signals have two different logical states, 0 and 1.
6. The power control system according to claim 5, wherein several parallel binary requirement signals are used to define several powered-down modes for one hardware unit.
7. The power control system according to claim 2, wherein the power control logic is arranged to individually meet the requirements of each hardware unit with respect to the clock frequency andor operating voltage.
8. The power control system according to claim 2, wherein the power control logic is arranged to combine the first and second status signals of several hardware units, and to supply all of said hardware units with the same clock frequencyfrequencies andor operating voltagevoltages according to the requirements of the most active hardware unit.
9. The power control system according to claim 2, wherein the single hardware unit comprises means for activating said first and second status signals at a moment of time which has been predetermined by software.
10. The power control system according to claim 9, wherein said means are arranged to operate at a reduced clock frequency andor at a reduced operating voltage.
11. The power control system according to claim 2, wherein the power control system is arranged to be used in application specific integrated circuits (ASIC).
12. The power control system according to claim 2, wherein the power control system is arranged to be used in a mobile station.