Author: claimsbot

1. An apparatus for raising poultry comprising:
a wall defining an interior of a facility for housing the poultry;
at least one curtain opening in the wall of the facility;
a curtain movable into an open position permitting the passage of light through the curtain opening, and movable into a closed position restricting the passage of light through the curtain opening;
at least one fan opening in the wall of the facility;
a ventilation fan mounted in the at least one fan opening, the ventilation fan including a component coated with a light-absorbing coating; and
a controller operably coupled to the ventilation fan and to the curtain and being configured to operate at least one of the ventilation fan and the curtain to limit the exposure of the interior of the facility to light to produce light cycles to mimic daylight duration variation representative of seasonal changes in the interior of the facility;
wherein the inclusion of the light-absorbing coating on the component aids production of the light cycles to mimic daylight duration variation representative of seasonal changes in the interior of the facility.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to operate at least one of the ventilation fan and the curtain to expose the interior of the facility to natural light cycles of an outside environment for a period.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a climate control device, wherein the controller is coupled to the climate control device and configured to operate the climate control device to regulate an interior temperature of the facility.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a static regain cone associated with the ventilation fan to aid in preventing undesirable transmission of light through the ventilation fan into the interior of the facility.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a light trap associated with the ventilation fan to aid in preventing undesirable transmission of light through the ventilation fan into the interior of the facility.
6. An apparatus for raising poultry comprising:
a wall defining an interior of a facility for housing the poultry;
at least one curtain opening in the wall of the facility;
a curtain movable into an open position permitting the passage of light through the curtain opening, and movable into a closed position restricting the passage of light through the curtain opening;
at least one fan opening in the wall of the facility;
a ventilation fan mounted in the at least one fan opening, the ventilation fan including a component coated with a light-absorbing coating; and
a controller operably coupled to the ventilation fan and to the curtain and being configured to operate at least one of the ventilation fan and the curtain to limit the exposure of the interior of the facility to light to produce a brown-out lighting effect in the interior of the facility;
wherein the inclusion of the light-absorbing coating on the component aids production of the brown-out lighting effect in the interior of the facility.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to operate at least one of the ventilation fan and the curtain to expose the interior of the facility to natural light cycles of an outside environment for a period.
8. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a climate control device, wherein the controller is coupled to the climate control device and configured to operate the climate control device to regulate an interior temperature of the facility.
9. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a static regain cone associated with the ventilation fan to aid in preventing undesirable transmission of light through the ventilation fan into the interior of the facility.
10. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a light trap associated with the ventilation fan to aid in preventing undesirable transmission of light through the ventilation fan into the interior of the facility.
11. An apparatus for raising poultry comprising:
a wall defining an interior of a facility for housing the poultry;
at least one curtain opening in the wall of the facility;
a curtain movable into an open position permitting the passage of light through the curtain opening, and movable into a closed position restricting the passage of light through the curtain opening;
at least one fan opening in the wall of the facility;
a ventilation fan mounted in the at least one fan opening, the ventilation fan including a component formed from a light-absorbing resin; and
a controller operably coupled to the ventilation fan and to the curtain and being configured to operate at least one of the ventilation fan and the curtain to limit the exposure of the interior of the facility to light to produce light cycles to mimic daylight duration variation representative of seasonal changes in the interior of the facility;
wherein the inclusion of the light-absorbing coating on the component aids production of the light cycles to mimic daylight duration variation representative of seasonal changes in the interior of the facility.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the controller is further configured to operate at least one of the ventilation fan and the curtain to expose the interior of the facility to natural light cycles of an outside environment for a period.
13. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a climate control device, wherein the controller is coupled to the climate control device and configured to operate the climate control device to regulate an interior temperature of the facility.
14. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a static regain cone associated with the ventilation fan to aid in preventing undesirable transmission of light through the ventilation fan into the interior of the facility.
15. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a light trap associated with the ventilation fan to aid in preventing undesirable transmission of light through the ventilation fan into the interior of the facility.
16. An apparatus for raising poultry comprising:
a wall defining an interior of a facility for housing the poultry and
at least one curtain opening in the wall of the facility,
a curtain movable into an open position permitting the passage of light through the curtain opening, and movable into a closed position restricting the passage of light through the curtain opening; and
at least one fan opening in the wall of the facility;
a ventilation fan mounted in the at least one fan opening, the ventilation fan including a component formed from a light-absorbing resin;
a controller operably coupled to the ventilation fan and to the curtain and being configured to operate at least one of the ventilation fan and the curtain to limit the exposure of the interior of the facility to light to light to produce a brown-out lighting effect in the interior of the facility;
wherein the inclusion of the light-absorbing coating on the component aids production of the brown-out lighting effect in the interior of the facility.
17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the controller is further configured to operate at least one of the ventilation fan and the curtain to expose the interior of the facility to natural light cycles of an outside environment for a period.
18. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a climate control device, wherein the controller is coupled to the climate control device and configured to operate the climate control device to regulate an interior temperature of the facility.
19. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a static regain cone associated with the ventilation fan to aid in preventing undesirable transmission of light through the ventilation fan into the interior of the facility.
20. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a light trap associated with the ventilation fan to aid in preventing undesirable transmission of light through the ventilation fan into the interior of the facility.

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 computerized method for computing an approximation for irradiance at a point in space from a plurality of distant lights sources comprising:
determining by a computer a normal to a surface at a point on the surface being illuminated by the light sources;
determining by the computer a direction from the light sources to the point;
retrieving by the computer from a non-transitory computer-readable memory a function of the normal and the direction wherein the function is configured to provide an approximation of the irradiance;
combining by the computer the function with a function of distance, wherein the distance is from the light sources to the point; and
determining by the computer an approximation for the irradiance at the point from the combined function with the function of distance based on the normal, the direction, and the distance.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step includes determining by the computer a direction from the center of the light sources to the point, and the distance is from the center to the point.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the function is separable.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein each factor in the separation is a linear combination of basis functions.
5. The method of claim 2, wherein the function is a four-dimensional lookup table.
6. The method of claim 2, wherein the function is two two-dimensional lookup tables.
7. The method of claim 2, wherein the function is a linear combination of basis function.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the basis functions are spherical wavelets.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the spherical wavelets are four-dimensional wavelets.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein the basis functions are spherical harmonics.
11. The method of claim 2, wherein the function is a pre-computed function.
12. The method of claim 2, further comprising storing by the computer in the non-transitory computer-readable memory a value for the approximation for the irradiance for the point.
13. The method of claim 2, wherein the irradiance value represents a reflection of the light sources from the point.
14. The method of claim 2, further comprising repeating by the computer the steps of the method for a plurality of points on the surface to generate a reflection image of the light sources from the points.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising storing by the computer in the non-transitory computer-readable memory values for the irradiance at the points.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the values are configured for use to generate an image that is configured for use in a feature.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the feature is an animated feature.
18. The method of claim 2, wherein the function of distance is an inverse function of the distance.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the function is an inverse function of the distance squared.
20. A computer program product storable on a non-transitory memory for a computerized method for computing an approximation for irradiance at a point in space from a plurality of distant lights sources comprises:
code for determining a normal to a surface at a point on the surface being illuminated by the light sources;
code for determining a direction from the light sources to the point;
code for retrieving a function of the normal and the direction wherein the function is configured to provide an approximation of the irradiance;
code for combining the function with a function of distance, wherein the distance is from the light sources to the point; and
code for determining an approximation for the irradiance at the point from the combined function with the function of distance based on the normal, the direction, and the distance.
21. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the code for the determining step includes code for determining a direction from the center of the light sources to the point, and the distance is from the center to the point.
22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the function is separable.
23. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein each factor in the separation is a linear combination of basis functions.
24. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the function is a four-dimensional lookup table.
25. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the function is two two-dimensional lookup tables.
26. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the function is a linear combination of basis function.
27. The computer program product of claim 26, wherein the basis functions are spherical wavelets.
28. The computer program product of claim 27, wherein the spherical wavelets are four-dimensional wavelets.
29. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein the basis functions are spherical harmonics.
30. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the function is a pre-computed function.
31. The computer program product of claim 21, further comprising code for storing a value for the approximation for the irradiance for the point.
32. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the irradiance value represents a reflection of the light sources from the point.
33. The computer program product of claim 21, further comprising code for repeating the code steps of claim 2 for a plurality of points on the surface to generate a reflection image of the light sources from the points.
34. The computer program product of claim 33, further comprising code storing values for the irradiance at the points.
35. The computer program product of claim 34, wherein the values are configured for use to generate an image that is configured for use in a feature.
36. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein the feature is an animated feature.
37. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the function of distance is an inverse function of the distance.
38. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the function is an inverse function of the distance squared.
39. A computer system for running a computer program product for a computerized method for computing an approximation for irradiance at a point in space from a plurality of distant lights sources comprises:
a processor for executing computer code;
a memory for storing the computer code;
a bus system for transferring the computer code from the memory to the processor for processing,
wherein the computer code includes:
code for determining a normal to a surface at a point on the surface being illuminated by the light sources;
code for determining a direction from the light sources to the point;
code for retrieving a function of the normal and the direction wherein the function is configured to provide an approximation of the irradiance;
code for combining the function with a function of distance, wherein the distance is from the light sources to the point; and
code for determining an approximation for the irradiance at the point from the combined function with the function of distance based on the normal, the direction, and the distance.
40. The computer system of claim 39, wherein the code for the determining step includes code for determining a direction from the center of the light sources to the point, and the distance is from the center to the point.
41. The computer system of claim 40, wherein the function is separable.
42. The computer system of claim 41, wherein each factor in the separation is a linear combination of basis functions.
43. The computer system of claim 40, wherein the function is a four-dimensional lookup table.
44. The computer system of claim 40, wherein the function is two two-dimensional lookup tables.
45. The computer system of claim 40, wherein the function is a linear combination of basis function.
46. The computer system of claim 45, wherein the basis functions are spherical wavelets.
47. The computer system of claim 46, wherein the spherical wavelets are four-dimensional wavelets.
48. The computer system of claim 47, wherein the basis functions are spherical harmonics.
49. The computer system of claim 40, wherein the function is a pre-computed function.
50. The computer system of claim 40, further comprising code for storing a value for the approximation for the irradiance for the point.
51. The computer system of claim 40, wherein the irradiance value represents a reflection of the light sources from the point.
52. The computer system of claim 40, further comprising code for repeating the code steps of claim 2 for a plurality of points on the surface to generate a reflection image of the light sources from the points.
53. The computer system of claim 52, further comprising code storing values for the irradiance at the points.
54. The computer system of claim 53, wherein the values are configured for use to generate an image that is configured for use in a feature.
55. The computer system of claim 54, wherein the feature is an animated feature.
56. The computer system of claim 40, wherein the function of distance is an inverse function of the distance.
57. The computer system of claim 56, wherein the function is an inverse function of the distance squared.

1. A method of distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) by interrogating a length of optic fibre, said optic fibre providing a change in phase of signal propagation in response to a sensed parameter, said method comprising:
introducing an input signal into a length of optic fibre;
receiving a return signal backscattered from said optical fibre in response to said input signal;
comparing a first return signal backscattered from a portion of said fibre at a first time, and a second return signal backscattered from the same portion of said fibre at a second, different time; and
deriving from said comparison a measure of the rate of change of phase with time of said backscattered signal.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said first return signal is frequency shifted relative to said second return signal.
3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the first return signal is modulated by a first frequency shift, and the said second return signal is modulated by a second frequency shift.
4. A method according to claim 1, wherein said method comprises passing received return signals through an output interferometer, said output interferometer arranged to modulate the signal in each arm by a different frequency shift.
5. A method according to claim 1, wherein said input signal comprises a pair of temporally spaced pulses.
6. A method according to claim 5, wherein said pulses have different frequency shifts.
7. A method according to claim 1, further comprising obtaining a value of phase based on said measured rate of change of phase.
8. A method according to claim 1, further comprising comparing a first return signal backscattered from a first portion of said fibre at a first time, and a second return signal backscattered from a second different portion of said fibre at substantially the same time; and deriving from said comparison a measure of phase of said backscattered signal.
9. A method according to claim 8, wherein said measure of phase and said measure of rate of change of phase are determined substantially simultaneously in response to a common input signal.
10. A method according to claim 1, wherein said input signal comprises three temporally spaced pulses.
11. A method according to claim 10, wherein said input pulses include at least two different wavelengths.
12. A method according to claim 10, wherein the temporal spacing between said first and third pulses is greater than twice the temporal spacing between the first and second pulses.
13. A distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) system for interrogating a length of optic fibre, said optic fibre providing a change in phase of signal propagation in response to a sensed parameter, said system comprising:
a receiver for receiving a signal backscattered from said optic fibre in response to an input signal,
an output interferometer adapted to combine a first received signal backscattered from a portion of said fibre at a first time, and a second received signal backscattered from the same portion of said fibre at a second, different time, wherein said output interferometer includes a frequency modulator on at least one arm to impose a frequency difference between said first and second return signals; and
a phase detector for receiving said combined signals and determining the rate of change of phase with time of said backscattered signal.
14. A system according to claim 13, wherein said output interferometer includes a frequency modulator on each arm of said output interferometer, each frequency modulator imposing a different frequency shift.
15. A system according to claim 13, wherein said system includes a second phase detector for determining the phase of said backscattered signal.
16. A system according to claim 13, wherein said system includes a demultiplexer for separating signals backscattered from inputs having different wavelengths.
17. A system according to claim 16, wherein backscattered signals at a first wavelength are passed to said output interferometer, and signals at a second wavelength are passed directly to said second phase detector.

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 comprising:
reading a cell of a memory including a phase change memory element and an ovonic threshold switch using a refresh pulse followed by a read pulse to determine a threshold voltage of the cell to be read.
2. The method of claim 1 including determining whether the cell is on.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein if the cell is not on, using a refresh pulse greater than the cell’s maximum expected threshold voltage.
4. The method of claim 3 including increasing a resulting current.
5. The method of claim 4 including, depending on a resistance that is determined, recording a detected state or forcing another refresh pulse and another read pulse.
6. A phase change memory comprising:
a phase change memory array including phase change memory elements and ovonic threshold switches; and
circuitry to read said array using a refresh pulse followed by a read pulse to determine the threshold voltage of a cell to be read.
7. The memory of claim 7 said circuitry to determine whether the cell is on.
8. The memory of claim 7 wherein, if the cell is not on, said circuitry to generate a refresh pulse greater than the cell’s maximum expected threshold voltage.
9. The memory of claim 8, said circuitry to increase a resulting current.
10. The memory of claim 9, said circuitry to record a detected state or force another refresh pulse and another read pulse, depending on a determined resistance.