Abstract: A handheld electronic device includes a processor; a battery; a flash device; a number of loads powered by the battery; and a flash driver outputting a flash current to the flash device. The processor determines a temperature operatively associated with the battery and different voltage values corresponding to different combinations of the loads as a function of the determined temperature, and starts the flash device at a predetermined flash current value. The flash driver selects a corresponding different voltage value as a function of: (a) a determined number of the loads which are active, or (b) a current flowing from the battery; determines the battery voltage, and if the battery voltage is less than or equal to the corresponding different voltage value, reduces the flash current below the predetermined flash current value until the battery voltage is greater than the corresponding different voltage value.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for reducing power consumption and digital logic noise in a time division multiplexed memory switch. The method is embodied in an egress selection switch (ESS) block architecture. The ESS block includes a data disable block which prevents the propagation of data, in particular ingress grains, to a given group of egress ports if the data is not selected by any of the egress ports in a given group. While the ingress data disable method partitions ports into groups and saves power by disabling the fanout tree from the root on a port group basis, the egress data disable method saves power on a port group basis by disabling the fanout tree from the tail end in addition to applying the ingress data disable method. The ESS block also includes an grain select block for selecting and storing a given ingress grain for eventual output to an egress port.

Abstract: An encrypted file storage solution consists of a cluster of processing nodes, external data storage, and a software agent (the “File System Watcher”), which is installed on the application servers. Cluster sizes of one node up to many hundreds of nodes are possible. There are also remote “Key Servers” which provide various services to one or more clusters. The preceding describes a preferred embodiment, though in some cases it may be desirable to “collapse” some of the functionality into a smaller number of hardware devices, typically trading off cost versus security and fault-tolerance.

Abstract: A method for executing a program verify operation in a non-volatile memory. A data register having master and slave latching circuits is used for concurrently storing two different words of data. In a program operation, the master latch stores program data which is used for programming selected memory cells. In a program verify operation, the data programmed to the memory cells are read out and stored in the slave latches. In each data register stage, the logic states of both latches are compared to each other, and a status signal corresponding to a program pass condition is generated if opposite logic states are stored in both latches. The master latch in each stage is inverted if programming was successful, in order to prevent re-programming of that bit of data.

Abstract: A method and system for high speed testing of memories in a multi-device system, where individual devices of the multi-device system are arranged in a serial interconnected configuration. High speed testing is achieved by first writing test pattern data to the memory banks of each device of the multi-device system, followed by local test read-out and comparison of the data in each device. Each device generates local result data representing the absence or presence of a failed bit position in the device. Serial test circuitry in each device compares the local result data with global result data from a previous device. The test circuitry compresses this result of this comparison and provides it to the next device as an updated global result data. Hence, the updated global result data will represent the local result data of all the previous devices.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of electrochemical polishing of surfaces of cobalt or cobalt alloys. It employs an electrolyte comprising glycolic acid and at least one alkane-sulfonic acid with an alkyl residue that has 1 to 3 carbon atoms. This electrolyte is also one aspect of the present invention. In one embodiment, at least one alkane-sulfonic acid comprises methane-sulfonic acid. The electrolyte and the method using this electrolyte are suitable in particular for surfaces of cobalt or cobalt alloys, including cobalt-chromium alloys such as stellite.

Abstract: Content is managed and delivered to mobile devices, often through a wireless network. Mobile devices have content management software containing instructions to receive and manage content at the mobile device. Content management servers select and manage content and transmit content to the mobile devices, receiving requests for content, and up-to-date information regarding quantity of content to be transmitted. Up-to-date information regarding quantity is repeatedly sent and received, and content is repeatedly selected and transmitted using the information to make selections. Specific embodiments provide methods, systems, and devices for automatically managing content to increase the probability that the user is gaining access to the content they want to see and for decreasing the chance that the delivery of content is tying up limited resources of mobile devices.

Abstract: A spacer for use in a mobile device fills the space between a component assembly and a housing. The spacer includes a layer of compressible material for insertion between the component assembly and the housing. A plurality of compressible features are provided on a face of the layer. Upon insertion of the component assembly and assembly of the housing, the compressible features are compressed to fill a gap between the component assembly and the housing without over-compressing the main body of the spacer, allowing the body of the spacer to cushion any subsequent impact to the mobile device.

Abstract: A filtration device is provided for withdrawing permeate essentially continuously from a multicomponent aqueous substrate containing growing microorganisms in a reservoir. A vertical skein of fiber is scrubbed with coarse bubbles which emanate from a conversion baffle positioned under the skein. The substrate is aerated with fine bubbles in a size range small enough to transfer oxygen to the substrate efficiently. The baffle traps the fine bubbles and converts them to coarse bubbles which are effective to scrub the fibers. In the most preferred embodiment, the finished headers of the skein are derived from composite headers comprising a fixing lamina of resin in which the fibers are potted near their terminal ends, and a fugitive lamina of fugitive powdery material in which the terminal ends of the fibers are potted. The fugitive lamina is removed, preferably by dissolving the powder, e.g. finely divided common salt in water.

Abstract: A method of accommodating legacy devices in which application memory is not able to operate fast enough to reliably receive data from a relay or other external device is disclosed. An application queue memory space is provided, either as a separate memory chip or as an area created and maintained by program code, to act as an intermediary between the slower application memory and the external device. This application queue memory space is preferably a transport stack.

Abstract: An apparatus to electrically and optically characterize a multijunction solar cell. The apparatus can have as many light sources as there are subcells in the multijunction solar cell. Each light source has an optical spectrum that falls within the bandgap energy of a corresponding subcell. Each light source has a controllable intensity level.

Abstract: In order to improve interactive compression using compression state information, the side information caches of communicating parties must be updated, or synchronized. The present invention is directed to a method of synchronizing side information databases within an interactive compression system comprising two communicating parties comprising the steps of transmitting, from the a first communicating party to the second communicating party, a device hierarchical node index; comparing the device hierarchical node index with a server hierarchical node index and then determining a shared hierarchical node index based on common entries in the two hierarchical node indexes.

Abstract: For application to analog, mixed-signal, and custom digital circuits, a system and method to begin with a complex problem description that encompasses many variables from statistical manufacturing, the circuit's environment, and the circuit's design parameters, but then apply techniques to prune the scope of the problem to make it manageable for manual design and more efficient automated design, and finally use that pruned problem for more efficient and effective design.

Abstract: For context based compression techniques, for example Context Based YK compression, a method and system for grouping contexts from a given context model together to create a new context model that has fewer contexts, but retains acceptable compression gains compared to the context model with more contexts is provided. According to an exemplary embodiment a set of files that are correlated to the file to be compressed (hereafter called training files) are read to determine, for an initial context model, the empirical statistics of contexts and symbols. In some embodiments, this includes determining the estimated joint and conditional probabilities of the various contexts and symbols (or blocks of symbols). The initial context model is then reduced to a desired number of contexts, for example, by applying a grouping function g to the original set of contexts to obtain a new and smaller set of contexts.

Abstract: A method for managing the allocation of memory to one or more applications. The method includes allocating a variety of fixed size memory blocks to a requesting application, each of the fixed size memory blocks being free of header information to maximize memory usage. Free, or unused blocks of data of the same fixed size are maintained in a freelist having a number of block roots corresponding to the number of differently fixed size memory blocks. Each block root stores a root pointer to an unused memory block previously allocated to the application. To conserve memory, each unused memory block will store branch pointers to other identically sized unused memory blocks, thereby forming a sequential chain of unused memory blocks with the block root. Therefore, applications requesting the same sized memory block can re-use previously allocated fixed size memory blocks.

Abstract: A flash memory device having at least one bank, where the each bank has an independently configurable page size. Each bank includes at least two memory planes having corresponding page buffers, where any number and combination of the memory planes are selectively accessed at the same time in response to configuration data and address data. The configuration data can be loaded into the memory device upon power up for a static page configuration of the bank, or the configuration data can be received with each command to allow for dynamic page configuration of the bank. By selectively adjusting a page size the memory bank, the block size is correspondingly adjusted.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for reducing signal interference within a cellular radio system to increase both coverage and capacity. The method and apparatus include altering the direction of beams within cell sectors is among discrete angular positions according to a predetermined, cyclic pattern. The predetermined, cyclic pattern varies in a group of adjacent cell sectors such that inter-cell interference is significantly reduced or eliminated by rotating at a different cycle the beams in adjacent cells. This discrete, angular movement of beams provides for downlink transmissions to be timed in such a way (i.e., scheduled) such that transmission to a user will occur in accordance with the beam and time slot having the best carrier to interference (C/I) ratio for that user.

Abstract: An improved handheld electronic device and keypad include tactile features that help a user to identify certain keys of the keypad. In the present exemplary embodiment, the keypad includes keys in a predetermined region that can be employed during a telephone operation. The keypad additionally includes other keys outside the predetermined region. The keys in the predetermined region include tactile features that enable the user to identify and actuate the keys in the predetermined region during a telephone operation with the user directing minimal visual attention to the handheld electronic device.

Abstract: A holster for a handheld electronic device. The holster has integrated therein one or more piezoelectric elements that provide an output voltage to the handheld electronic device upon insertion of device in the holster. The output voltage can be used to charge the battery of the device, to power, at least in part, the device, or both. The output voltage is generated by harvesting vibration energy at the piezoelectric elements upon the holster being subjected to acceleration caused by a user carrying the holster when walking, running, or during any other suitable activity.

Abstract: A method of measuring drop impact at an electronic device includes detecting a fall based on signals from drop detection sensor of the electronic device, receiving an output from a piezoelectric sensor in response to detecting the fall, and storing drop data based on the output from the piezoelectric sensor in a memory at the electronic device.