Abstract: One aspect of the invention provides a structure for holding cards having electronic and/or micromachined components. The structure provides a chassis comprising a plurality of bays for receiving cards such that the cards are oriented parallel to one another. Each bay comprises a fin front-plate fabricated from thermally-conductive material(s). Each fin front-plate is coupled to or integrally formed with a base in a manner which permits thermal conductivity therebetween. A backplane is located in a concave region in the base. For each bay holding a card, the backplane comprises an electrical connector for electronically coupling to a corresponding electrical connector on the card. When held in their respective bays, cards are thermally coupled to the fin front-plates. The base of the chassis preferably comprises an ingress port, an egress port and a network of conduits for conducting fluid which cools and/or redistributes the heat created by the cards and their components.

Abstract: Some embodiments of this invention relate to methods and apparatus for implementing bussed transactions between one or more components connected to a system bus. A clock generator circuit generates an independent clock signal for each component connected to the system bus. The clock generator circuit may use system signals, sideband busses, component signals, controller signals, arbiter signals or other means to determine the target component and/or the initiator component for a particular transaction. The individual clock signals may be gated or otherwise suppressed to selectively activate the components to participate in the transaction. If the components participating in a transaction are capable of operating at frequencies higher than the nominal system frequency, then the clock generator circuit may increase the frequency of the individual clock signals of the participating components during the course of the transaction.

Abstract: This application is concerned with laser triangulation sensors for object dimension and position determination, and in particular, more effective measurement of object shapes and/or thickness using laser triangulation sensors having multiple projected laser beams and at least two linear or matrix array cameras to view the images of light reflected from the object due to the beams impinging on the object surface. Besides disclosure of the basic operation of “multi-point” sensors of this type, novel methods and apparatus are also disclosed to assure function of the device even with objects, such as lumber, having pronounced protrusions and depressions in their surface.