Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Douglas M. Clarkson
  • Patent number: 5047921
    Abstract: a system of arbitration for access to a common memory by two asynchronous microprocessors without excluding either microprocessor for more than a predetermined, limited period of time. Two asynchronous microprocessors are connected to a common memory through an arbitration controller with a connection to transmit a "not ready" signal to one microprocessor requesting access when the other is in the process of accessing the common memory. A flip flop is connected to generate a predetermined signal output when a microprocessor requires access to the common memory, and this predetermined signal initiates a shift register to provide the internal timing of the asynchronous microprocessor requiring such access to bring it into synchronism with the clock controlling the internal cycle of the common memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 1989
    Date of Patent: September 10, 1991
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Harold B. Kinter, Gerald R. Westcott
  • Patent number: 5028158
    Abstract: A one piece structure of a toothbrush is described with threads for attaching a toothpaste tube to the end of the handle. The handle is provided with an opening extending along the length of the handle with a diameter substantially equal to the opening from the toothpaste tube. The end of the handle with the bristles has, among the bristles, a plurality of openings with a total diameter of all openings substantially equal to the diameter of the handle opening as well as the toothpaste tube opening, so that toothpaste is extruded from the tube with substantially no increase in resistance.The end of the handle about the end with the toothpaste tube has an enlarged member with a flange therearound, so that a cover placed over the bristles is sealed against the flange, and a transparent cover placed over the toothpaste tube is sealed against the opposite surface of the flange. Several modifications are described for particular uses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 1990
    Date of Patent: July 2, 1991
    Inventor: Theodore Fey
  • Patent number: 4994986
    Abstract: A technique that performs both real time and online monitoring and fault diagnosis during the operation of mechanical equipment with at least one direct current motor. The method described includes the steps of selecting conditions of operation that correspond to acceptable equipment functioning, and monitoring these conditions continuously during the operation of the equipment. When a fault develops, the monitoring routine initiates a diagnosis subroutine which identifies the component causing the fault and establishes an error message to indicate the faulty component, prior to the initiation of equipment shutdown procedures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 1989
    Date of Patent: February 19, 1991
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Philip K. Cihiwsky, Andrew C. Jaw
  • Patent number: 4989139
    Abstract: The disclosure describes a system to permit communication between two dissimilar networks that involves an interface system. More particularly, it is an interface system to permit communication between a MAP network that is utilizing common application service elements (CASE) and a network of non-MAP computer equipment. The interface system that is described establishes a connection between the two networks which involves a process of decoding data from one network into predetermined component parts, and then encoding the component parts into data for transfer to computer equipment in the other network, and then, releasing the connection when the data transfer is completed, in accordance with the State Table of FIG. 3 of the drawings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 29, 1991
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Robert M. Friedman, Grayson W. Randall, Richard J. Sheftic, David P. Spencer
  • Patent number: 4987100
    Abstract: The disclosure describes a form of packaging for an electronic device and a method of achieving it in order to overcome the problem of damage because of cycles in environmental temperature.A thin, flexible foil functioning as a carrier of electrically conductive material selected from the group including Invar, copper-Invar-copper and Kovar is coated with a preselected polyimide, on which is formed a thin metallized coating of chromium, in the order to 200 Angstroms, and copper, in the order of 80,000 Angstroms.A predetermined electrical circuit is formed out of this metallized coating by a photolithographic process and is connected electrically to the flexible metal foil by vias through the polyimide coating. At least one electronic device is bonded to the electrical circuit at a predetermined location to operate functionally with the circuit, and both the device and the circuit are connected electrically by the vias to the thin, metal carrier which functions as a power plane for the package.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 1989
    Date of Patent: January 22, 1991
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Donald G. McBride, Theron L. Ellis
  • Patent number: 4965700
    Abstract: The disclosure describes a method of manufacturing a structure of a thin, flexible package assembly that permits electrical devices to be bonded to an electrical circuit utilizing mixed bonding techniques. A sacrificial metal carrier material is used to support a thin polyimide or TEFLON substrate, through which openings, called "vias", are formed at locations where bonding pad areas are needed to affix electrical devices. An electrical circuit is formed on the thin flexible substrate, including making the vias conductive, utilizing known processes, and then, the sacrificial metal carrier material is removed, as for example by etching it away, except in locations where metal bumps will be needed to bond a device by thermo compression bonding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 1989
    Date of Patent: October 23, 1990
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Donald G. McBride
  • Patent number: 4945828
    Abstract: A pulley for connecting a driven device, that is sensitive to speed variations, to be driven by an a.c. motor that is susceptible to speed variations, caused by power line disturbances. The pulley has a peripheral drive surface for a belt drive and two side surfaces through which an opening is formed to receive a drive shaft that is turned by the a.c. motor. One of the sides of the pulley has a slot formed therein with surfaces on each side of the slot. A resilient material of a preselected Durometer value is positioned within the slot and contiguous with at least one of the surfaces in the slot, against which an element projecting from the drive shaft acts to turn the pulley. During a momentary slowdown in the motor speed, the projecting element moves away from the resilient material and permits the momentum of the driven device to maintain its speed while the motor recovers its speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 1987
    Date of Patent: August 7, 1990
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Charles F. Gabriel, Randy J. Kisacky, John Mako, Lawrence A. Stone
  • Patent number: 4937707
    Abstract: The disclosure describes a form of packaging for an electronic device and a method of achieving it in order to overcome the problem of damage because of cycles in environmental temperature.A thin, flexible foil functioning as a carrier of electrically conductive material selected from the group including Invar, copper-Invar-copper and Kovar is coated with a preselected polyimide, on which is formed a thin metallized coating of chromium, in the order of 200 Angstroms, and copper, in the order of 80,000 Angstroms.A predetermined electrical circuit is formed out of this metallized coating by a photolithographic process and is connected electrically to the flexible metal foil by vias through the polyimide coating. At least one electronic device is bonded to the electrical circuit at a predetermined location to operate functionally with the circuit, and both the device and the circuit are connected electrically by the vias to the thin, metal carrier which functions as a power plane for the package.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 1988
    Date of Patent: June 26, 1990
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Donald G. McBride, Theron L. Ellis
  • Patent number: 4916259
    Abstract: The disclosure describes a technique whereby the electrical characteristics of an electrical circuit in a package may be adjusted to a predetermined value by changes in the dielectric structure between two levels of circuitry.This adjustment in the composite dielectric structure is accomplished by changes in the electrical properties of the composite dielectric material, one level being preset to a value and the other level being adjusted by alterations of predetermined amounts that depend upon the performance desired.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 1989
    Date of Patent: April 10, 1990
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Ronald S. Charsky, Leonard T. Olson, David P. Pagnani
  • Patent number: 4912767
    Abstract: A method and system for cancelling noise from sources that are distributed over a region, whereby two sensors are located so that a first sensor will detect both voice signals and noise signals, and a second sensor will detect only the noise signals. The voice signals picked up at the second sensor are negligible, and the noise signals picked up at both sensors are correlated. The signals output from each sensor are connected to a predetermined number of narrowband filters in order to divide each respective signal into a predetermined number of frequencies, such as 15 for example. Thereafter, both signals are combined to cancel effectively the noise component from the signal output having both voice and noise to leave a voice signal that is substantially noise free.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 1988
    Date of Patent: March 27, 1990
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Robert W. Chang
  • Patent number: 4896596
    Abstract: The disclosure describes a passive lubrication system for use in a high speed print hammer mechanism to provide continuous lubrication to all print hammer elements. Channels are formed along the length of a pivot pin and filled with a porous material having a finer porosity than the sintered print hammer block serving as the principal reservoir. Fins located at each side of print hammer elements also are of the same porosity as the print hammer block and communicate lubricant to the material in the pivot pin channels. From the channels, lubricant is conveyed to the interface between each print hammer element and the pivot pin by capillary action.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 1988
    Date of Patent: January 30, 1990
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Edward F. Helinski
  • Patent number: 4879661
    Abstract: A circuit to function as an interface between larger test instrumentation having a high capacitance, including connecting leads, and a small, low current, monolithic chip device. This interface circuit has no internal control logic, is capable of transactions in both directions and is small itself, thereby fitting close to the monolithic chip device and reflecting a relatively low capacitance load to the chip.The interface circuit includes an input buffer amplifier connected to provide a driving voltage to drive the test instrumentation in response to a voltage from the small monolithic chip device, and a sensing resistor is connected with the input buffer amplifier so that their combined equivalent resistance value is substantially equal to the resistance reflected by the test instrumentation. An operational amplifier is connected to drive a small monolithic chip device in response to a voltage across the sensing resistor that is developed by the test instrumentation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 1987
    Date of Patent: November 7, 1989
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Floyd W. Olsen
  • Patent number: 4841310
    Abstract: While present-day ink jet print heads are operable technically, they are too inconsistent and unreliable, and none has remained operational for as long as one year.The disclosure describes three structural improvements to these present-day ink jet print heads, any one of which offers a dramatic improvement over present-day head structures. However, if all three improvements described in the disclosure are included in the same print head, as high performance as 100% is available from those produced.The first improvement described relates to the gasket between the ink reservoir, with its nozzle plate attached, and the drop generator body that encloses the dynamic pressure transducer. If this gasket is formed of very soft material, having a durometer value in the order of 60, then it is only necessary to clamp the plate to the drop generator body with sufficient torque to seat and seal the ink reservoir to prevent ink leakage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 1988
    Date of Patent: June 20, 1989
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Arthur R. Hoffman
  • Patent number: 4829405
    Abstract: The disclosure describes a new and improved Tape Automated Bonding package which admits of certain advantages that are not available with the packages as used in the past, and it overcomes some limitations with the previous packages which permits a significant step forward in realizing these advantages.Briefly, the disclosure describes a division of the dielectric support used to package integrated circuit chips in order to separate the power conductors and the signal conductors into different parts of the support. The conductors formed on at least one of these parts, preferably the part used to connect input/output signals to and from a chip, are arranged in radially extending rows to achieve more than twice the number of such connections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 1988
    Date of Patent: May 9, 1989
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Keith A. Snyder
  • Patent number: 4813130
    Abstract: The method and apparatus described in the disclosure utilizes the known technique of extrusion to form a plurality of very small pins, with diameters of 0.020 inch or smaller, in a substrate of electrically nonconductive material. The number of pins is 360 or more, and the electrically conductive material described in the extrusion process is copper. A pin die is formed with the same number and pattern of holes as are in a blank substrate, and it is positioned over an extrusion die with matching orifices that is fixed on an extrusion press. A head die presses the blank substrate firmly on the pin die during the extrusion operation, and when completed, the pins are sheared and the substrate is ejected as a new blank is positioned to repeat the cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 1987
    Date of Patent: March 21, 1989
    Assignee: International Business Machines
    Inventors: Donald Fey, John T. Legg, Mark V. Pierson
  • Patent number: 4766555
    Abstract: A system for generating digital image data bases automatically that is principally for use in visual systems of simulators and for use when a particular geographic area is not required. A data processing circuit generates high detail realistic images statistically under the control of a control data base. A conflict resolution data base retains data for identifying and for resolving geographic conflicts among features generated for a visual system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 1985
    Date of Patent: August 23, 1988
    Assignee: The Singer Company
    Inventor: William S. Bennett
  • Patent number: 4756246
    Abstract: The disclosure describes in detail one of the most serious problems in connection with maintaining the operating life of print hammers at the high speeds of todays printers. Also described in detail is a structural arrangement to solve this problem without involving a major redesign of a print hammer module. A significant aspect of this solution is that a high speed print hammer is kept out of contact with structure that serves as a reservoir for the pivot pin lubricant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 1987
    Date of Patent: July 12, 1988
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas J. Kotasek, Ho C. Lee, Joseph Pinter, Alex T. Shalkey
  • Patent number: 4748572
    Abstract: The specification describes a way of using distance sorting in order not to require a prioritization of those polygons that are to be rendered prior to a pixel-by-pixel construction of an image. The video processor recalls the input data into the pixel processor at least a number of times equal to the number of objects to be displayed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 1984
    Date of Patent: May 31, 1988
    Assignee: The Singer Company
    Inventor: Roy W. Latham
  • Patent number: 4734875
    Abstract: A logarithmic mixer circuit in the form of a conversion circuit for mixing digital representations of logarithmic values eliminating the usual mathematical processes of determining anti-logs, summing them and then determining the logs again, the invention using addition, subtraction and a look up table. Additional utiity is obtained by the use of scaled offset representations of logarithmic values for digital processing and separate representations for zero values. Also the final output values are limited to the range of the inputs in anticipation of further processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 1985
    Date of Patent: March 29, 1988
    Assignee: The Singer Company
    Inventors: Judit K. Florence, Roy W. Latham
  • Patent number: 4703439
    Abstract: The disclosure describes a circuit to avoid overloading a computer-generated image system with limited capacity for processing image data in real time. A circuit that is constructed and arranged according to this description avoids such overloads by varying the resolution of the image in real time under the control of a real-time control computer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 1984
    Date of Patent: October 27, 1987
    Assignee: The Singer Company
    Inventor: Robert W. Lotz