All The Claims

1. An ignition coil comprising:
a coil body including a center core made of a soft magnetic material, a primary coil and a secondary coil, which are accommodated in a coil case;
a plug connection portion protruding from the coil body, the plug connection portion being adapted to bring a high-voltage side winding end of the secondary coil into conduction with a spark plug; and
a connector for electrically connecting the coil body to an outside of the coil case,
wherein the primary coil is arranged on an inner peripheral side of the secondary coil, and the center core is arranged on an inner peripheral side of the primary coil,
wherein the secondary coil includes a secondary electric wire having thereon an insulating film, wound around an outer periphery of a resinous secondary spool, and
wherein the connector is formed integrally with an end of the secondary spool in an axial direction.
2. The ignition coil according to claim 1, further comprising
an igniter arrangement portion for arranging an igniter including a switching control circuit for energization and non-energization to the primary coil,
wherein the igniter arrangement portion is formed integrally with the secondary spool, and
wherein the connector is formed integrally with the igniter arrangement portion and the secondary spool, while protruding from the igniter arrangement portion.
3. The ignition coil according to claim 2, further comprising
conducting members insert-molded into the igniter arrangement portion and the connector, the conducting members being adapted to bring a positive side winding end and a negative side winding end of the primary coil and a low-voltage side winding end of the secondary coil into conduction with conducting pins of the igniter.
4. The ignition coil according to claim 2, further comprising:
an outer peripheral core made of a soft magnetic material and arranged on an outer peripheral side of the secondary coil; and
an intermediate core made of a soft magnetic material and arranged between the outer peripheral core and an end of the center core in the axial direction,
wherein the intermediate core is arranged in a core arrangement concave portion that is provided between the end of the secondary spool in the axial direction and the igniter arrangement portion.
5. The ignition coil according to claim 1, wherein the plug connection portion is arranged perpendicularly to the axial direction of the coil body to protrude from an intermediate position in the axial direction of the coil body,
wherein the outer peripheral core has a C-like sectional shape with a cutout portion arranged on a side of the plug connection portion, and
wherein the secondary spool has on the side of the cutout portion, a low-voltage side terminal provided on one end side in the axial direction and electrically connected to a low-voltage side winding end of the secondary coil, and a high-voltage side terminal provided on the other end side in the axial direction and electrically connected to a high-voltage side winding end of the secondary coil.
6. The ignition coil according to claim 5, wherein the low-voltage side terminal is formed using a diode terminal connected to the secondary coil.
7. The ignition coil according to claim 1, wherein the primary coil includes a primary electric wire wound in a cylindrical shape and fusion-bonded by a fusing agent, and is directly arranged on an outer peripheral side of the center core.
8. The ignition coil according to claim 1, wherein the coil case is made of resin.
9. The ignition coil according to claim 2,
wherein the igniter arrangement portion, the secondary spool and the connector are molded integrally by using resin, and
wherein the connector protrudes from the igniter arrangement portion in a direction approximately parallel with the axial direction.

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 determining by a device whether to prefetch an object identified from a page by fetching header information of the object from a remote object server, the method comprising:
(a) receiving, by a device, a page including an identifier of an object;
(b) transmitting, by the device, a request generated by the device to obtain header information of the object from a remote object server;
(c) receiving, by the device, in response to the generated request, header information for the object; and
(d) determining, by the device, responsive to the received header information whether to prefetch the object from the remote object server.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) comprises determining, by the device, responsive to the received information, to store the object in a cache.
3. The method of claim 1, comprising identifying, by the device, the identifier of the object from the page, and determining the object is not stored in a cache.
4. The method of claim 1, comprising forwarding, by the device, the page to one of a user, a client or a browser.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein one of step (b), step (c) or step (d) is performed prior to a user requesting the object from the page.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) comprises intercepting the page including a hyperlink identifying an object.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) comprises transmitting, by the device, an HTTP HEAD command to a remote object server identified by a uniform resource locator associated with the object of the page.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) comprises receiving, in response to the generated request, header information of the object identifying a maximum amount of time for which the object is valid.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) comprises receiving, in response to the generated request, header information of the object identifying a date on which the object was last modified.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) comprises determining, responsive to the received header information, to identify the object already stored in a cache as valid.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) comprises determining, responsive to the received header information, to modify the time period for which an object that is already stored in a cache is valid.
12. The method of claim 1, comprising transmitting, by the device, a request to obtain the object from the remote object server in response to the received header information.
13. The method of claim 13, comprising storing, by the device, in a cache the object received from the remote object server.
14. The method of claim 1 where step (d) comprises determining, responsive to the received header information, to modify a time period for which an object that is already stored in a cache is valid.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the device comprises one of a client or an appliance intercepting and forwarding communications between a client and a server.
16. A device for determining whether to prefetch an object identified from an intercepted page by fetching header information of the object from a remote object server, the device comprising:
means for receiving a page including an identifier of an object;
means for transmitting a request generated by the device to obtain header information of the object from a remote object server;
means for receiving in response to the generated request, a header for the object; and
means for determining responsive to the received header information whether to prefetch the object from the remote object server.
17. The device of claim 16, wherein the device determines, responsive to the received information, to store the object in a cache.
18. The device of claim 16, wherein the device identifies the identifier of the object from the page, and determines the object is not stored in a cache.
19. The device of claim 16, wherein the device forwards the page to one of a user, a client or a browser.
20. The device of claim 16, wherein the device transmits the generated request to the remote object server prior to a user requesting the object.
21. The device of claim 16, comprising means for receiving the page including a hyperlink identifying an object.
22. The device of claim 16, wherein the device transmits an HTTP HEAD command to the remote object server identified by a uniform resource locator associated with the object of the intercepted page.
23. The device of claim 16, wherein the device receives, in response to the generated request, header information of the object identifying a maximum amount of time for which the object is valid.
24. The device of claim 16, wherein the device receives, in response to the generated request, header information of the object identifying a date on which the object was last modified.
25. The device of claim 16, wherein the device determines, responsive to the received header information, to identify the object already stored in a cache as valid.
26. The device of claim 16, wherein the device determines responsive to the received header information, to modify the time period for which an object that is already stored in a cache is valid.
27. The device of claim 16, wherein the device transmits a request to obtain the object from the remote object server in response to the received header information.
28. The device of claim 27, wherein the device stores the object received from the remote object server in a cache.
29. The device of claim 16, wherein the device determines, responsive to the received header information, to modify a time period for which an object that is already stored in a cache is valid.
30. The device of claim 15, wherein the device is one of a client an appliance intercepting and forwarding communications between the client and the server.
31. A method for prefetching by a device header information of an object from a remote object server, the method comprising:
(a) receiving, by a device, a page including an identifier of an object;
(b) determining, by the device, that a header of the object identified by the page is stored in a cache; and
(c) generating, by the device in response to the determination, a request for the header of the object from a remote object server prior to the user requesting the object from the page.
32. The method of claim 31, comprising receiving, by the device, in response to the generated request, header information for the object.
33. The method of claim 32, comprising updating, by the device, the cached header information based on the received header information.
34. The method of claim 31, comprising receiving, by the device, a request from a requester for the header information of the object.
35. The method of claim 34, comprising transmitting, by the device, the header information stored in the cache to the requester.
36. The method of claim 34, wherein the request comprises an HTTP HEAD command.
37. The method of claim 34, wherein the request comprises an HTTP GET command using an \u201cif-modified-since\u201d.
38. The method of claim 37, comprising determining, by the device, the object of the request has not been modified, and responding to the request with the header information stored in the cache.
39. The method of claim 34, comprising determining, by the device, the object of the request has been modified and in response to the determination, forwarding the request to a server.
40. The method of claim 39, comprising receiving, by the device, the object from the request.
41. The method of claim 40, comprising responding, by the device, to the request with the object received from the server.
42. The method of claim 40, comprising storing, by the device, the object to the cache.
43. A device for prefetching by a device header information of an object from a remote object server, the device comprising:
means for receiving a page including an identifier of an object;
means for determining that a header of the object identified by the page is stored in a cache; and
means for generating, in response to the determination, a request for the header of the object from a remote object server prior to the user requesting the object from the page.
44. The device of claim 43, comprising means for receiving, by the device, in response to the generated request, header information for the object.
45. The device of claim 44, comprising means for updating the cached header information based on the received header information.
46. The device of claim 43, comprising means for receiving a request from a requester for the header information of the object.
47. The device of claim 46, comprising transmitting the header information stored in the cache to the requester.
48. The device of claim 46, wherein the request comprises an HTTP HEAD command.
49. The device of claim 46, wherein the request comprises an HTTP GET command using an \u201cif-modified-since\u201d.
50. The device of claim 49, comprising means for determining that the object of the request has not been modified, and responding to the request with the header information stored in the cache.
51. The device of claim 46, comprising means for determining that the object of the request has been modified and in response to the determination, forwarding the request to a server.
52. The device of claim 51, comprising means for receiving the object from the request.
53. The device of claim 52, comprising means for responding to the request with the object received from the server.
54. The device of claim 52, comprising means for storing the object to the cache.
55. The device of claim 43, wherein the device is one of a client or an appliance intercepting and forwarding communications between the client and a server.

1. A system comprising: a coherent optical receiver configured to determine a frequency offset between a first frequency of a first optical carrier wave and a second frequency of a second optical carrier wave, wherein the first optical carrier wave is modulated with first information to form a first optical signal and the coherent optical receiver is configured to demodulate the first information associated with the first optical signal;
a tunable optical transmitter comprising a tunable laser configured to generate the second optical carrier wave at the second frequency and coupled to the coherent optical receiver such that the coherent optical receiver receives the second optical carrier wave from the tunable laser;
a control unit coupled to the coherent optical receiver and the tunable optical transmitter and configured to receive the frequency offset from the coherent optical receiver and adjust the second frequency of the tunable laser according to the frequency offset; and
a signal combiner circuit coupled to the tunable optical transmitter and configured to combine the first optical signal with a second optical signal generated by the tunable optical transmitter by modulating second information on the second optical carrier wave.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to compare a target offset with the frequency offset received from the coherent optical receiver and adjust the second frequency such that the determined frequency offset is substantially equal to the target offset.
3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a frequency translator coupled between the coherent optical receiver and the tunable laser, the frequency translator configured to shift the second frequency of the second optical carrier wave before the second optical carrier wave is received by the coherent optical receiver from the tunable laser.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the control unit is further configured to adjust the second frequency such that the determined frequency offset combined with the shift in the second frequency is substantially equal to the target offset.
5. The system of claim 3, further comprising:
a plurality of tunable optical transmitter s each comprising a tunable laser configured to generate an optical carrier wave; and
an optical switch coupled between the plurality of tunable lasers and the coherent optical receiver, the optical switch configured to select one of the plurality of tunable lasers to provide the second optical carrier wave to the coherent optical receiver.
6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a frequency comb generator coupled between the coherent optical receiver and the tunable laser, the frequency comb generator configured to receive the second optical carrier wave from the tunable laser and create a number of distinct frequencies from the second optical carrier wave before the second optical carrier wave is received by the coherent optical receiver.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the signal combiner circuit includes a wavelength selective switch (WSS).
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the first optical signal has a first phase and the second optical signal has a second phase, the system further comprising a signal controller coupled between the tunable optical transmitter and the signal combiner circuit and configured to adjust the second phase according to the first phase.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the first optical signal has a first polarization and the second optical signal has a second polarization, the system further comprising a signal controller coupled between the tunable optical transmitter and the signal combiner circuit and configured to adjust the second polarization according to the first polarization.
10. A method for spectrally spacing carrier waves comprising: receiving a first optical signal comprising a first optical carrier wave modulated with first information;
demodulating the first information associated with the first optical signal;
determining a frequency offset between a first frequency of the first optical carrier wave and a second frequency of a second optical carrier wave;
adjusting the second frequency according to the frequency offset; and
combining the first optical signal and a second optical signal into a multi-frequency signal, the second optical signal comprising the second optical carrier wave modulated with second information.
11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:
comparing a target frequency offset with the frequency offset; and
adjusting the second frequency such that the determined frequency offset is substantially equal to the target frequency offset.
12. The method of claim 10, further comprising shifting the second frequency before determining the frequency offset.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising adjusting the second frequency such that the determined frequency offset combined with the shift in the second frequency is substantially equal to the target offset.
14. The method of claim 10, further comprising optically selecting one out of a multitude of tunable lasers to source the second optical carrier wave.
15. The method of claim 10, further comprising adjusting a second polarization of the second optical carrier wave according to a first polarization of the first optical carrier wave.
16. The method of claim 10, further comprising adjusting a second phase of the second optical carrier wave according to a first phase of the first optical carrier wave.

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. In a hair relaxer comprising an aqueous composition of active human hair straightening ingredients and excipients having a pH value of about 12 to about 14, the improvement that comprises a naturally grey or white human hair discoloration-inhibiting amount of an alpha-hydroxy-C1-C6 sulfinate of Formula I dissolved or dispersed in said relaxer in
addition to said active straightening ingredients and excipients, wherein
R1 and R2 are the same or different and are hydrogen (hydrido) or hydrocarbyl, or
one of R1 and R2 is carboxy or carboxy-substituted hydrocarbyl and the other is hydrido or hydrocarbyl that together (R1+R2) contain a total of five carbon atoms, or
R1 and R2 together with the depicted carbon atom form a ring structure that can contain up to six carbon atoms, and
M is a proton or a cosmetically acceptable cation such as an ammonium ion, a monovalent metal ion or an equivalent of a divalent metal ion of the Groups Ia, IIa, IIb, IVa or VIIIb of the Periodic Table of the Elements.
2. The improved hair relaxer according to claim 1, wherein said alpha-hydroxy-C1-C6 sulfinate has the structure of Formula III
HO\u2014CH2\u2014SO2M. \u2003\u2003III
3. The improved hair relaxer according to claim 1, wherein said alpha-hydroxy-C1-C6 sulfinate is an alpha-hydroxy-C1-C6-carboxy sulfinate of Formula II
4. The improved hair relaxer according to claim 3, wherein said alpha-hydroxy-C1-C6-carboxy sulfinate is a compound of Formula IV
5. The hair relaxer according to claim 1, wherein said alpha-hydroxy-C1-C6 sulfinate is present in an amount that provides an equivalent of about 4 to about 6 weight percent of sodium sulfinomethanolate based upon the total weight of relaxer composition applied to the hair.
6. An aqueous hair relaxer composition having a pH value of about 12 to about 14 comprising i) an aqueous composition of active human hair straightening ingredient, ii) a cosmetically useful amount of excipient, and iii) a naturally grey or white human hair discoloration-inhibiting amount an alpha-hydroxy-C1-C6 sulfinate of Formula I in addition to said active straightening
ingredients and excipients, wherein
R1 and R2 are the same or different and are hydrogen (hydrido) or hydrocarbyl, or
one of R1 and R2 is carboxy or carboxy-substituted hydrocarbyl and the other is hydrido or hydrocarbyl that together (R1+R2) contain a total of five carbon atoms, or
R1 and R2 together with the depicted carbon atom form a ring structure that can contain up to six carbon atoms, and
M is a proton or a cosmetically acceptable cation such as an ammonium ion, a monovalent metal ion or an equivalent of a divalent metal ion of the Groups Ia, IIa, IIb, IVa or VIIIb of the Periodic Table of the Elements.
7. The hair relaxer according to claim 6, wherein said alpha-hydroxy-C1-C6 sulfinate being dissolved or dispersed in said relaxer in an amount that provides an equivalent of about 4 to about 6 weight percent of sodium sulfinomethanolate based upon the total weight of relaxer composition applied to the hair.
8. The hair relaxer according to claim 6, wherein M is sodium or potassium.
9. The hair relaxer according to claim 6 that is formulated as a no-lye relaxer in which said active human hair straightening ingredient is a mixture of an alkaline earth hydroxide and an amidino group-containing organic base.
10. The hair relaxer according to claim 6 that is formulated as a no-base, no-lye relaxer.
11. The hair relaxer according to claim 6, in which said active human hair straightening ingredient is an alkali metal hydroxide.
12. The hair relaxer according to claim 11, wherein said alkali metal hydroxide is sodium hydroxide.
13. The hair relaxer according to claim 6, wherein said alpha-hydroxy-C1-C6 sulfinate is disodium 2-hydroxy-2-sulfinatoacetate.
14. The hair relaxer according to claim 6, wherein said alpha-hydroxy-C1-C6 sulfinate is sodium sulfinomethanolate.
15. In a method of straightening naturally grey or white human hair with an aqueous hair relaxer composition containing active straightening ingredients and excipients in which said relaxer composition is applied to the hair, the hair is physically smoothed and maintained smoothed for a time period sufficient for hair straightening to occur, rinsed, shampooed, and dried, the improvement which comprises using the aqueous human hair relaxing composition according to claim 1.
16. The method according to claim 15, wherein said alpha-hydroxy-C1-C6 sulfinate has the structure of Formula III
HO\u2014CH2\u2014SO2M. \u2003\u2003III
17. The method according to claim 15, wherein said alpha-hydroxy-C1-C6 sulfinate is an alpha-hydroxy-C1-C6-carboxy sulfinate of Formula II
18. The method according to claim 17, wherein said alpha-hydroxy-C1-C6 sulfinate is a compound of Formula IV
19. The method according to claim 15, wherein said alpha-hydroxy-C1-C6 sulfinate is present in an amount that provides an equivalent of about 4 to about 6 weight percent of sodium sulfinomethanolate based upon the total weight of relaxer composition applied to the hair.