Author: claimsbot

1. A mail production system comprising:
a mail finishing system (12) for converting documents into finished items of mail ready for hand-over to a postal service; and
a secure accounting system (14) for generating accounting data relating to the items of mail produced by the mail finishing system (12);
wherein the secure accounting system (14) is able to generate signals to control operation of the mail finishing system (12).
2. A mail production system according to claim 1, wherein the mail finishing system (12) comprises a print sub-system (120) for applying a postage indicium to an item of mail produced by the mail finishing system (12) in accordance with the accounting data generated by the secure accounting system (14); and the secure accounting system (14) controls operation of the print sub-system (120).
3. A mail production system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the secure accounting system is able to delay or stop operation of the mail finishing system (12).
4. A mail production system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the mail finishing, system (12) comprises an inserter machine for inserting collations of documents into envelopes and an inserter system controller for controlling said inserter during normal operation thereof, said secure accounting system (14) being able to override control of said inserter machine by said inserter, system controller by providing control signals to said inserter system controller.
5. A method of producing mail comprising converting documents into finished items of mail ready for hand-over to a postal service under control of a secure accounting system for generating accounting data relating to the items of mail thus produced.
6. A method of producing mail according to claim 5, further comprising applying a postage indicium to an item of mail being produced in accordance with the accounting data generated by the secure accounting system.
7. A method of producing mail according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein control of the mail production by the secure accounting system includes delaying or stopping production of the items of mail.
8. A method of producing mail according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein converting documents into finished items of mail comprises inserting said documents as collations into envelopes under control of an inserter system controller, normal operation of which can be overridden by said secure accounting system.

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 operating a portable communication device, comprising the steps of:
detecting a communication uplink change;
determining whether said communication uplink change is practicable including detecting whether said communication uplink change will cause an uplink resource limit to be exceeded; and
permitting said communication uplink change when said communication uplink change is determined by the portable communication device to be practicable.
2. The method according to claim 1, further including the step of evaluating alternatives when said uplink change event is not practicable.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of detecting a communication uplink change includes detecting an uplink allocation change event.
4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said step of detecting an uplink allocation change event includes detecting an event requesting a time slot characteristic change.
5. The method according to claim 3, wherein said step of detecting an uplink allocation change event includes detecting an event requesting a change in the number of channel codes.
6. The method according to claim 3, wherein said step of detecting an uplink allocation change event includes detecting a power change request.
7. A method of operating a portable communication device, comprising the steps of:
monitoring uplink performance including determining whether the portable communication device is in a data mode, a voice mode, or a data and voice mode;
detecting a communication uplink change;
determining whether said communication uplink change is practicable; and
permitting said communication uplink change when said communication uplink change is determined by the portable communication device to be practicable, wherein said step of permitting said uplink communication change includes permitting a higher data throughput capacity in a data only mode.
8. The method according to claim 7, wherein said step of monitoring includes monitoring data throughput capacity.
9. A method of operating a portable communication device, comprising the steps of:
detecting a communication uplink change;
determining whether said communication uplink change is practicable;
permitting said communication uplink change when said communication uplink change is determined by the portable communication device to be practicable;
detecting a near-field mass; and limiting data throughput when detecting proximity to the near-field mass.
10. A method of operating a portable communication device, comprising the steps of:
detecting a communication uplink change;
determining whether said communication uplink change is practicable;
permitting said communication uplink change when said communication uplink change is determined by the portable communication device to be practicable; and
evaluating alternatives when said uplink change event is not practicable including evaluating feasibility of decreasing power and increasing data throughput capacity.
11. A method of operating a portable communication device, comprising the steps of:
detecting a communication uplink change;
determining whether said communication uplink change is practicable;
permitting said communication uplink change when said communication uplink change is determined by the portable communication device to be practicable; and
evaluating alternatives when said uplink change event is not practicable including evaluating feasibility of decreasing data throughput capacity and increasing power.
12. A method of operating a portable communication device, comprising the steps of:
detecting a communication uplink change;
determining whether said communication uplink change is practicable;
permitting said communication uplink change when said communication uplink change is determined by the portable communication device to be practicable; and
evaluating alternatives when said uplink change event is not practicable including evaluating as alternatives to increasing power making no change; requesting handoff to another link; and reducing data throughput capacity.
13. A method of operating a portable communication device, comprising the steps of:
detecting a communication uplink change;
determining whether said communication uplink change is practicable;
permitting said communication uplink change when said communication uplink change is determined by the portable communication device to be practicable; and
evaluating alternatives when said uplink change event is not practicable including evaluating as alternatives to increasing data throughput capacity making no change and requesting hand-off to a better communication link.
14. A portable communication device comprising:
a transceiver; and
a controller coupled to said transceiver, said controller operable to respond to a channel uplink change event to determine whether an uplink change resulting from said channel uplink change event is practicable, and to permit said uplink change if said uplink change is practicable, and to evaluate alternatives
wherein said controller is further operable to receive a power change request, and is responsive to said power change request to request a change in data throughput if said power change request exceeds a setting limit.
15. The portable communication device as defined in claim 14, wherein said controller is operable to request an increase in an uplink allocation.
16. The portable communication device as defined in claim 14, further including a link monitor.
17. A method of operating a network to communicate with at least one portable communication device, the method comprising the steps of:
determining that a portable communication device requires a power change;
transmitting to the portable communication device a power change request;
receiving from the portable communication device a response to said power change request comprising an uplink allocation change; and
transmitting an updated uplink channel allocation when available, including terminating a data resource to support a voice only mode.
18. The method as defined in claim 17, further including the step of retransmitting a power change request upon transmitting said updated uplink channel allocation.
19. The method as defined in claim 17, further including the step of participating in a hand-off procedure to a better communication link when a decrease in channel allocation is required to support a higher uplink transmit power.

1. A method for lancing the skin of a test subject and harvesting a body fluid sample with a lancing and harvesting device, the method comprising the acts of:
providing a lancing and harvesting device having a test strip including a collection chamber, a containing ring surrounding the collection chamber, a capillary channel fluidly coupled to the collection chamber, a test area in fluid communication with the capillary channel, and a lid disposed over at least a portion of the collection chamber and a least a portion of the capillary channel, wherein the capillary channel extends beyond the test area to form a vent the lancing and harvesting device further including a lancet configured to puncture the lid and to extend through the collection chamber when moving between a retracted position and an extended position;
placing the containing ring of the test strip on the skin of the test subject;
lancing an area of the skin of the test subject bounded by the periphery of the containing ring;

maintaining a body fluid sample produced at the lance site within the periphery of the containing ring;
collecting the body fluid sample produced at the lance site with the test strip; and
directing, with the lid, at least a portion of the body fluid sample from the collection chamber toward an inlet of the capillary channel.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising measuring the concentration of an analyte in the collected body fluid sample.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the measuring further comprises reacting the analyte in the collected body fluid sample with a reagent, the reagent being disposed on a test element received in the capillary channel of the test strip.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the analyte is glucose.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the test strip further comprises a test area includes a top and a bottom, the test element extending from one of the top and bottom of the test area, the test element including the reagent thereon.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the test strip further includes a vent extending from the test area.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the body fluid is blood.
8. A method for lancing the skin of a test subject and harvesting a body fluid sample with a lancing and harvesting device having a test strip and a lancet, the method comprising the acts of:
placing a containing ring of the test strip on the skin of the test subject, the containing ring surrounding a collection chamber;
puncturing a lid with a lancet, the lid being disposed over at least a portion of the collection chamber and at least a portion of a capillary channel, the capillary channel being fluidly coupled to the collection chamber;
extending the lancet through the collection chamber;
lancing an area of the skin of the test subject bounded by a periphery of the containing ring to form a lance site;
maintaining the body fluid sample produced at the lance site within the periphery of the containing ring;
collecting the body fluid sample produced at the lance site with the test strip; and
directing, with the lid, at least a portion of the body fluid sample from the collection chamber toward an inlet of the capillary channel and a test area in fluid communication with the capillary channel, the capillary channel extending beyond the test area to form a vent.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising measuring a concentration of an analyte in the collected body fluid sample.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the measuring further comprises reacting the analyte in the collected body fluid sample with a reagent.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the analyte is glucose.
12. The method of claim 8, wherein the test strip further includes a test area including a top and a bottom, the test area being in fluid communication with the capillary channel.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the test area includes a test element extending from one of the top and bottom of the test area, the test element including a reagent thereon.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein the test strip further includes a vent extending from the test area.
15. The method of claim 8, wherein the test strip includes a base having a top and a bottom, the collection chamber extending from the bottom of the base, the containing ring being disposed on the bottom of the base.
16. A method for lancing the skin of a test subject and harvesting a body fluid sample with a lancing and harvesting device having a test strip and a lancet, the method comprising the acts of:
placing a containing ring of the test strip on the skin of the test subject, the containing ring being disposed on a bottom of a base of the test strip and surrounding a collection chamber, the collection chamber extending from the bottom of the base;
lancing an area of the skin of the test subject bounded by a periphery of the containing ring to form a lance site;
maintaining a body fluid sample produced at the lance site within the periphery of the containing ring;
collecting the body fluid sample produced at the lance site with the test strip;
directing, with a lid, at least a portion of the body fluid sample from the collection chamber toward an inlet of a capillary channel, the lid being attached to at least a portion of a top of the base, the lid covering at least a portion of the collection chamber, the capillary channel, and a test area fluidly connected to the capillary channel, the inlet of the capillary channel being fluidly coupled to the collection chamber, the capillary channel being positioned adjacent to the top of the base, the capillary channel extending beyond the test area to form a vent;
venting air from the test strip via a vent; and
measuring the concentration of an analyte in the collected body fluid sample by reacting the analyte in the collected body fluid sample with a reagent.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising, prior to the act of lancing an area of the skin, puncturing the lid with the lancet.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein the test area includes a top and a bottom, the test element extending from one of the top and bottom of the test area, the test element including a reagent thereon.
19. The method of claim 16, wherein the analyte is glucose.
20. The method of claim 16, wherein the fluid sample is blood.

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 system comprising:
a processing unit; and
a memory system coupled to the processing unit;
wherein the processing unit is configured to:
mark a memory access in a series of instructions as a priority memory access as a consequence of the memory access having a dependent instruction following less than a threshold distance after the memory access in the series of instructions; and
send the marked memory access to the memory system.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory system is configured to receive the marked memory access and, in response, perform the marked memory access before at least one other memory access that is unmarked and arrived at the memory system before the marked memory access.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing unit is configured to determine a priority rating for the memory access based on a distance between the memory access and the dependent instruction in the series of instructions or an estimate of a load level of the processing unit or both and to mark the memory access with the priority rating.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory system is configured to reorder a number of memory accesses in a stream of accesses so that the prioritized memory access is performed before at least one other memory access that is unmarked and arrived at the memory system before the marked memory access.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory system is configured to swap out a first stream of accesses for a second stream of accesses that includes the prioritized memory access.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein the first stream of accesses are from a second processing unit.
7. The system of claim 5, wherein the first stream of accesses are from a first thread and the second stream of accesses are from a second thread.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory system comprises a cache, and wherein the memory system is configured to perform cache allocation based on the marked memory access.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the cache allocation specifies that the marked memory access is allocated to the cache because it is marked.
10. The system of claim 8, wherein the cache allocation specifies that a stream of accesses is allocated to the cache because the stream of accesses include the marked memory access.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory system is configured to exit a currently executing stream of accesses to service a different stream of accesses having the marked memory access because the marked memory access is marked.
12. The system of claim 1, further comprising a compiling processing unit configured to:
process source code into the series of instructions for the processing unit;
find, within the series of instructions, the memory access; and
edit the series of instructions so that, when the processing unit executes the instructions, the processing unit marks the memory access as a prioritized memory access.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the compiling processing unit is configured to process the source code by arranging at least a first independent instruction between the memory access and the dependent instruction in the series of instructions, the first independent instruction not depending on the memory access.
14. The system of claim 12, wherein the compiling processing unit is configured to determine a priority rating for the memory access based on one or both of the following: a distance between the memory access and the dependent instruction in the series of instructions or an estimate of a load level of the processing unit.
15. The system of claim 1, wherein the threshold distance is based on one or more of: a number of instructions between the memory access and the dependent instruction, execution time of instructions between the memory access and the dependent instruction, or a type of one or more instructions between the memory access and the dependent instruction.
16. A method performed by one or more processing units, the method comprising:
processing source code into a series of instructions for a first processing unit;
finding, within the series of instructions, a memory access followed by a dependent instruction less than a threshold distance from the memory access in the series of instructions; and
editing the series of instructions so that, when the first processing unit executes the instructions, the first processing unit marks the memory access as a prioritized memory access before sending the memory access to a memory system.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein processing the source code comprises arranging at least a first independent instruction between the memory access and the dependent instruction in the series of instructions, the first independent instruction not depending on the memory access.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein editing the series of instructions comprises:
determining a priority rating for the memory access based on one or both of the following: a distance between the memory access and the dependent instruction in the series of instructions or an estimate of a load level of the first processing unit; and
inserting an instruction for the first processing unit to mark the memory access with the priority rating.
19. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processing units, causes the one or more processing units to perform operations comprising:
processing source code into a series of instructions for a first processing unit;
finding, within the series of instructions, a memory access followed by a dependent instruction less than a threshold distance from the memory access in the series of instructions; and
editing the series of instructions so that, when the first processing unit executes the instructions, the first processing unit marks the memory access as a prioritized memory access before sending the memory access to a memory system.
20. The computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein editing the series of instructions comprises:
determining a priority rating for the memory access based on one or both of the following: a distance between the memory access and the dependent instruction in the series of instructions or an estimate of a load level of the first processing unit; and
inserting an instruction for the first processing unit to mark the memory access with the priority rating.