Abstract: An integrated circuit device is provided that has I/O bonding pads across the surface of the chip, where the I/O bonding pads can be electrically accessed via ancillary testing pads in order to perform functionality or other necessary tests prior to bump bonding formation without damaging the bonding pads or the underlying circuitry.

Abstract: An assembly of two printed circuit boards (PCBs) mounted either perpendicular to or parallel to each other within a housing, each PCB bearing one or more low-profile high-density board-to-board commodity connectors providing equal numbers of electrical contacts. These commodity connectors mate to connectors permanently mounted on the daughterboard and backplane/sideplane. The assembly housing provides for semi-permanent attachment of the assembly to either the daughterboard or to the backplane/sideplane, as desired for a particular application. The housing may be made of conductive material in contact with earth ground to provide electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. Electrical continuity between the PCBs within the assembly is provided by signal conductors of specified electrical impedance and propagation delay.

Abstract: A scanner is disclosed that may include a flatbed scanner with a scanner lid that has a keyboard of a desktop computer attached to the scanner lid in such a manner that the keyboard does not slide off the scanner lid when the scanner lid is lifted to scan bound documents, books or other 3D objects. The scanner of the present invention may also include a flatbed scanner that has the keyboard as an integral part of the scanner lid such that the keyboard/scanner lid is lifted when bound documents, books or other 3D objects are to be scanned. The scanner of the present invention may also include an automatic document feeder that can be attached to one of the sides of the scanner in such a manner that it would not interfere with the keyboard and mouse operations. The scanner of the present invention may also include a wrist pad and a mouse that are integral with the scanner lid.

Abstract: A bonding tool for use in tape automated bonding and wedge bonding of gold and gold plated leads or wires to contact pads of electronic devices is fabricated of Aluminum Oxide ceramic without electrically conductive metallic binders. The bonding tool has a microscopically rough surface that is brought into compressive contact with the gold leads or wires and manipulated ultrasonically or thermosonically in order to form a molecular bond between the gold lead or wire and the contact pad of the electronic device. The Aluminum Oxide ceramic bonding tool is sufficiently hard that it does not readily deform under normal ultrasonic bonding conditions and is not readily abraded by the gold leads.

Abstract: A hybrid test fixture is described that utilizes long, leaning or vertical test probes, guide plates and limited probe tip travel in order to achieve high-accuracy, fine-pitch probing of limited-access, no-clean test targets. The hybrid test fixture of the present invention also utilizes standard spring probes and long wirewrap posts or long wirewrap wires in order to probe standard-access test targets. The hybrid test fixture of the present invention also utilizes spring probes, a probe-mounting plate, personality pins and an alignment plate in order to couple test targets with multiplexed tester resources. Accordingly, the hybrid test fixture of the present invention is capable of sophisticated in-circuit and functional testing of a loaded-printed circuit board containing both standard-access and limited-access, no-clean test targets.

Abstract: An improved carriage locking system that prevents the power cord of an optical scanner from being plugged into the scanner when the optical carriage assembly of the scanner is in the locked position. The locking system may include a locking member that the user unlocks to access the power cord receptacle upon initial setup of the scanner. The locking system may also include a spring loaded locking member that latches the optical carriage assembly against movement whenever the power cord is removed from the power cord receptacle.

Abstract: An optical scanner that employs a pulsed light source that is synchronized to the scan position by a position encoder and a pulse control system. Such a scanner has an improved image sharpness and improved image registration. Moreover, a pulsed light source in a scanner of the present invention is more efficient and uses less power, which results in various cost and power savings. Such a scanner is capable of operating off a smaller power source (battery) and is capable of running for longer periods of time off a battery than scanners with a light source that is on during the entire scanning process.

Abstract: A line-focus system with a bulb in a bulb enclosure assembly, where the bulb has a lamp label attached to it in such a manner as to create an occluding aperture for directing light from the bulb toward the scan line in the line-focus system. The lamp label is shaped in such a manner that the light intensity across the photosensor line array in the line-focus system is relatively uniform. The lamp label is furthermore of an opaque, non-reflecting nature so as to prevent any stray light from being reflected into the line-focus system.

Abstract: A tape drive chassis with isolation mounting features in the back half of the chassis that enable the chassis to be mounted in a computer bay that is twisted or has misaligned mounting features. The isolation mounting features of the chassis are integral with the chassis and designed to deflect and conform to torque in the computer bay. The isolation mounting features include travel limit stops that limit the distance that the isolation mounting features can be bent. The isolation mounting features ensure that the drive chassis remains planar even if the host computer bay may be twisted or have mounting holes that are not co-planar.

Abstract: A molded, expanded polypropylene mass storage mounting scheme that snugly nests a disk mechanism between a bottom part of the mounting scheme housing and a top part of the mounting scheme housing. The mass storage device mounting scheme housing has holes or depressions that are formed to snugly correspond to protruding details in the bottom cover of a computer or workstation assembly enclosure. The mounting holes and protruding details permit the mass storage mounting scheme to be smaller than the entire inside of the computer assembly and still be held securely against horizontal and rotational movement. The top and bottom covers of the computer compressively secures the mass storage device mounting scheme against vertical movement.

Abstract: An injector/ejector system that provides for easy insertion and removal of a printed circuit board module into and out of a mainframe. The injector/ejector system is defined by a unitary lever arm and two curved finger extensions oppositely situated and which is attached to a front panel of a circuit board module proximate to an exterior corner of the circuit board module. The lever is attached with a shoulder screw assembly to the module and operates through a cutout notch in the front panel that extends approximately 4.0 mm from the edge of the front panel. The grasping end of the lever arm is formed in such a manner that when the module is in the installed position, the grasping surface of the lever is approximately 3.7 mm away from the surface of the front panel, thus allowing the operator to insert his/her fingertip between the front panel of the module and the lever, thus permitting actuation of the ejection process by the operator's fingertip.

Abstract: A method for dynamically determining and adjusting the color balance of the light strip along one edge of the scanned area and adjusting the gains of independently controlled red, green and blue channels of a CCD array. Alternatively, the gain of one color channel may be held constant and measured to determine the light intensity of the light source as the temperature of the light source varies. The power to the light is then changed to maintain the intensity of the light source within a predetermined range. The three color channels are then compared to a predetermined color balance. If the color balance is outside of a predetermined range, the other two color channels gains are varied in order to maintain the color balance between the three color channels.

Abstract: An improved heat sink assembly apparatus and method of attachment that includes a heat sink with extruded fins, an integrated circuit package, a printed circuit board and a clamp. The printed circuit board is manufactured with L-shaped holes that correspond to opposing corners of the integrated circuit package and the distance between two notched feet on the clamp. To assemble, the integrated circuit package is mounted to the printed circuit board, the heat sink is mounted to a top surface of the integrated circuit package, the clamp is mounted between extruded fins on the heat sink, and then the feet of the clamp are locked into the L-shaped holes on the printed circuit board.

Abstract: Disclosed is a mixed fiber adapter cable, which is capable of performing direct data transfers from a multi-mode transceiver of a first FDDI node and a single-mode transceiver of a second FDDI node. The mixed fiber adapter cable comprises a multi-mode graded index optical fiber and a single-mode step index optical fiber. The multi-mode graded index fiber conducts an optical signal from an LED source of a multi-mode FDDI connector/transceiver combination to a photodetector receiver of a single-mode connector/transceiver. Conversely, the single-mode step index fiber conducts an optical signal from a laser source of a single-mode FDDI connector/transceiver combination to a photodetector receiver of the multi-mode connector/transceiver at the other end. This adapter cable is possible because the photodetectors of both the single-mode transceiver and the multi-mode transceiver accept optical input from either source with corresponding fiber type.

Abstract: An improved attachment method for attaching an heat sink to a integrated circuit package, which includes an heat spreader with a dove-tail feature attached to an upper surface of the integrated circuit package. The bottom surface of the heat sink has a dove-tail feature that matingly corresponds to the dove-tail feature of the heat spreader, such that the heat sink can be slide onto the heat spreader. The heat sink is prevented from sliding off of the heat spreader by a clip. A fan may be attached to the top surface of the heat sink using a clip that attaches to an outer edge of the heat sink or by making the outer two fins on the heat sink slightly taller than the fan with an inward dove-tail so that the fan can slide snugly between the top of the inner fins and the dove-tails of the outer two fins.

Abstract: This invention pertains to a lateral bipolar transistor comprising an emitter, a base and a collector. The transistor exhibits improved function and overall size reduction, due to the base and emitter structure. An island forms both the base and emitter regions in the transistor structure with the base region being above the collector region, below the emitter region, and surrounded by a dielectric region. The emitter is surrounded by emitter isolation walls, which are formed approximately 0.2 microns above the plane of the dielectric region, such that any manufacturing variances will not cause the emitter isolation walls to contact the dielectric region and pinch-off the base region from the base junction region. This structure also allows the size of the base-emitter junction to be decreased without increasing the parasitic characteristics of the transistor.

Abstract: A computer chassis with a mother board and at least one slot opening in the back of the chassis and a daughter board attached to the chassis by a bulkhead. The bulkhead is slid into the slot opening in a self-aligning manner until the daughter board is mated to an electrical connector on the mother board. The bulkhead fits snugly into the slot opening due to side and bottom flaps on the bulkhead and wedge shaped springs on the sides of the slot opening. The top of the computer housing contains a feature to capture and hold a top edge of the daughter board against movement. The top of the computer housing also contains an EMI liner and spring clips that correspond to the top edge of the bulkhead and secures the bulkhead in the computer housing, thus providing consistent and improved EMI/RFI containment.

Abstract: A document scanner method and apparatus is provided which allows for the detection of the presence and size of a document to be scanned. The scanner is also able to determine whether the document being scanned is skewed. The document scanner includes an automatic document feeder (ADF), which includes a light pipe. The light pipe on the ADF redirects light from a light source to extra CCD pixels in a CCD array. Accordingly, when a document is present, the document will come between the light pipe and the light source and the extra CCD pixels in the CCD array will not detect light. When this occurs, a controller will determine that a document is present and will send commands to the ADF to feed the document forward and to the scanner to begin the scanning process. Similarly, other light pipes along the document scan path redirect light to extra CCD pixels of the CCD array and permit document size and document skew to be determined.