Abstract: An improved means and method for accomplishing floating point calculations in computational apparatus includes a primary microprocessor and a secondary microprocessor, each with its own control ROM. The normal or fixed point calculations are handled by the primary microprocessor under the control of a first segment of the associated control ROM. When a floating point calculation is called for, a second segment of that ROM is addressed. The addressing of the second segment of the first ROM also effects the coincident addressing of the ROM of the secondary microprocessor. For floating point calculations, the exponent portion of the numbers being manipulated is handled by the primary microprocessor. Simultaneously therewith, the mantissa portion of the numbers being manipulated is handled by the secondary microprocessor under the control of its associated control ROM. The resultant calculations are recombined in the primary microprocessor to produce a complete solution for the floating point calculation.

Abstract: Apparatus for implementing a single computer instruction for moving a binary number of from one to four characters, with the characters of a given binary number having either eight or nine bits per character, from storage in a word addressable memory to a designated addressable register. The characters of the binary number are stored in the word addressable memory with each word of memory being divided into four 9-bit bytes. The most significant character of the binary number can be stored in any designated byte position of a word location with the characters of the number stored in contiguous byte locations in descending order of significance. The apparatus causes the binary number to be stored in the designated addressable register with the binary number being right justified in that register. Higher order bit positions of the register not needed to store the bits of the binary number will have stored into them fill bits or the sign bit of the number.

Abstract: A system for transferring substantially identical fixtures, on each of which is mounted a workpiece, from a stack of said fixtures in a transferor magazine to a transferee magazine. Each of the magazines has substantially planar walls defining a prismatic interior space having a substantially rectangular cross-section and open top and bottom, or end, faces. The walls of the magazine are provided with spring catches for retaining in the storage space fixtures placed therein, with the catches defining that portion of the interior of the magazine constituting a fixture storage space. The transferor magazine is mounted on a transferor base, which is provided with a transferor station and apparatus for placing the catches of the transferor base in a condition so that fixtures in the storage space can descend into the transferor station. The transferee magazine is mounted on a transferee base which is provided with a transferee station.

Abstract: The method of mounting on a substrate an integrated circuit (I.C.) chip having flexible beam leads bonded to input/output (I/O) terminals on the active face of the I.C. chip. The substrate has a chip pad and outer lead (OL) pads associated with the chip pad on a surface of the substrate. Preforms of a fiber glass web coated with a thermosetting plastic are cut to a size that substantially conforms to that of the chip pad. The substrate and the chip pad are heated to a first temperature which the preform will adhere to the chip site, the preform is placed on the chip pad, and the active face of the I.C. chip is pressed into the preform. The temperature of the substrate, preform and chip, are then raised to a second temperature higher than the first to partially cure the thermoplastic material and to encapsulate the active face of the I.C. chip and portions of the leads proximate the chip in the thermoplastic material of the preform. The I.C.

Abstract: A multiposition switch is connected to two input data buses which buses can apply binary digital signals of two operands to the switch at one time. An output data bus is also connected to the switch. Depending upon the position of the switch, bits from one or both of the operands as well as bits from other sources are applied by the switch to the output bus so that the format of the operand on the output bus has a predetermined relationship to the operands on the input buses.

Abstract: An Integrated Circuit Package in which integrated circuit (I.C.) chips having flexible beam leads, the inner lead bond sites of which are bonded to input/output (I/O) terminals on the active faces of the chips, are mounted active face down on a surface of a substrate. The surface of the substrate is provided with chip sites and outer lead (OL) pads associated with each chip site. A preform of a fiber glass web coated with a thermosetting plastic is positioned on each chip site between a chip site and the active face of the I.C. chip. The plastic material of the preforms encapsulates the active faces of the chips, including a portion of each of the leads proximate a chip, and secures each chip to its chip site. The outer lead bond sites of the leads are bonded to OL pads of the substrate with the exposed portions of the leads between the OL pads and the encapsulated portion being bent away from the substrate and under compression.

Abstract: A clock pulse driver has applied to it a system clock pulse signal, or system clock and produces a first set of individually enabled clock pulse signals, the leading edges of the pulses of which substantially coincide with the leading edges of the pulses of the system clock, a second set and a third set of clock pulse signals, the trailing edges of the pulses of which substantially coincide with the leading edges of the pulses of the system clock. The width of the pulses of the three sets of output signals are controllable by first, second and third delay pulse signals. The clock pulse driver also produces delay signals the pulses of which have a predetermined relationship to the pulses of the system clock which delay signals can be used to control the widths of the first, second and third sets of clock signals produced by the driver circuits, and to control the delay or offset of the first, second and third sets of clock signals produced by the driver circuit.

Abstract: Material handling apparatus in which a rectangular laminar fixture for a segment of film is provided with asymmetrically positioned recesses. The fixtures are adapted to be loaded into, stored in, and removed from a magazine provided with projections around which the recesses of the fixture stored in the magazine slidably fit. Only fixtures having the correct orientation with respect to the magazine can be stored within the magazine. The recesses of the fixtures and the projections of the magazine prevent a fixture stored in the magazine from changing its orientation.

Abstract: A solderable conductor pattern is formed on a ceramic substrate. The material of the conductor pattern is made by dispersing gold and certain inorganic binders in an inert liquid vehicle composition. Limited variations in the ranges of the amounts of the material in the composition particularly the range in the amount of copper oxide in the binder produce good adhesion of the pattern to fired substrates and simultaneously provide strong solder joints between leads of electronic devices soldered with a lead-indium solder to pads of a pattern of such material after the pattern has been fired on a substrate without the necessity for physically or chemically cleaning the pads. The binders of the material comprise certain amounts of the crystalline materials, copper in the form of its oxides CuO or Cu.sub.2 O, cadmium in the form of CdO, lead in the form of PbF.sub.2, and the balance being a glass which also contains lead and some cadmium.

Abstract: A data mover for moving blocks of data stored in a first location of the working store of a data processing system to a second location in the working store. The data mover is provided with the necessary registers, switches, counters and control circuits to issue read and write commands to the working store, to receive and store in registers data read out of the working store as the result of its having issued a read command, and to write data read out of working store and stored in its registers in response to a read command issued by the data mover into another location in the working store. These steps are repeated until a block, measured in thousands, of data words has been moved from the first to the second location. The address preparation circuits of the high speed multiplexer of the data processing system through which the data mover communicates with the working store of the system is used to provide a substitute memory command for one of the two types of memory commands issued by the data mover.

Abstract: An improved method of forming raised input/output (I/O) terminals on the top surfaces of semiconductor elements of a semiconductor wafer. After via openings are formed through the passivation layer of such elements at locations where the I/O terminals are to be formed, which openings provide access to the metalization layers of the elements photolithographic techniques using a layer of heat resistant photoresist which is laminated to the top surface of the wafer are used to form openings through the photoresist layer to provide access to the metalization layers through the vias. A barrier metal layer is deposited on the exposed surfaces of the photoresist, and the metalization layers, and passivation layer of the elements. The barrier metal layer overlying the photoresist and then the photoresist are stripped from the wafer. The same photolithographic techniques using the same heat resistant photoresist material are used to define openings surrounding the barrier metal lining the via openings.

Abstract: Computer apparatus in a word organized computer system for implementing a single computer instruction for moving a binary number stored in one of a plurality of addressable registers to a designated memory location in a word addressable memory. The binary number is divisible into a maximum of four characters with characters of a given number having either 8 or 9 bits, and a word has 36 bits divisible into four bytes. If the characters have 8 bits, the characters are reformatted so that there is one character per byte. If the characters have 9 bits, they are not reformatted since there is already only one character per byte. The bytes are then shifted so that the byte position containing the most significant character of the binary number occupies a designated byte position in a first word stored in a data out register ready to be read into memory for storage at the designated memory location.

Abstract: Apparatus for cutting segments from a strip of film and for mounting the segments in reusable fixtures. Each segment is severed from the strip and mounted in a single cycle of operation of the apparatus. A cutting die is provided with a nonlinear symmetrical cutting edge lying in a die cutting plane. A punch is provided with a bottom surface substantially the size of a segment. The cutting plane of the punch has a linear punch cutting edge formed at the intersection of the bottom surface and the punch cutting plane, and the punch is mounted in cutting relationship with the die. Positioning means position the strip so that a boundary between segments lies in the die cutting plane. As the punch moves toward the die and a fixture located below the die, a segment is severed from the strip by the cutting action of the punch and die cutting edges which co-operate to minimize the forces applied to the segment tending to change the orientation of the segment to the punch.

Abstract: A method of protecting from physical damage the upper surface of medium and large scale integrated IC circuit chips. Certain types of IC chips are provided with a plurality of input/output terminals, or bumps, which project above the upper surface of the chips on which they are formed. The upper surface of each such chip, including its bumps, are spin coated with a thin adhesion promoter which is then dried. The chips and its terminals are next spin coated with a layer of a heat curable resin which is partially cured. The resin and the adhesion promoter are then removed from the upper surfaces of the bump by rubbing with a soft abrasive material. The resin remaining on each IC chip is then finally cured.

Abstract: A programmable communications controller having a microcomputer system for buffering and controlling data communications between a communication processor and a plurality of input/output (I/O) ports of the microcomputer system to which ports/terminals can be connected directly, or indirectly, by digital data communication lines. The random access memory of the microcomputer system is divided into blocks of addresses of locations in which digital data can be stored. One of these blocks is designated as a service block. The service block in turn is divided into sectors, one for each I/O port to which is connected a communication line, for example. Each sector in the service block is adapted to have written into it and read from it data unique to the servicing of a given communication I/O port and the communication line or data terminals connected to that port. The microcomputer system of the controller is provided with an automatic addresser which is under the control of the microcomputer system.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for cleaning the top surfaces of raised input/output (I/O) terminals of semiconductor elements of a semiconductor wafer prior to electronic leads being reflow bonded to such terminals. The top surfaces of the I/O terminals substantially lie in I/O plane. The wafer is mounted on a work handler and the handler is fixedly mounted on a vacuum plate holder which is mounted for oscillatory movement in a plane at a predetermined amplitude and frequency. A vinyl eraser having a planar surface of greater area than the area of the wafer occupied by the elements is mounted directly above the wafer. The eraser is operatively connected to an actuator which presses the planar surface of the eraser against the top surfaces of the I/O terminals with a predetermined force.

Abstract: An improved high current low voltage switching regulator power supply in which the major heat producing components of the power modules of the power supply are mounted on a pair of chill plates with a liquid cooled heat exchanger between the plates. The chill plates are electrically isolated from each other and the heat exchanger. One chill plate also serves as the positive power output bus and the other as the negative power output bus of the power supply which significantly reduces the parasitic inductance of the power supply.

Abstract: Apparatus for cutting and removing layers of photoresist overlaying tooling holes in a printed wire board blank. A lower cutter is mounted on a base so that its cutting edge projects above the upper surface of the base a distance substantially equal to the thickness of a layer of photoresist. A cutter head is mounted on the base for movement parallel to the upper surface of the base. An upper cutter is mounted on the cutter head for movement by a cutter actuator to cause the upper and lower cutters to sever segments of layers of photoresist overlaying a tooling hole of a PWB blank positioned between them. Each cutter is provided with a plunger movable within their respective cutters. The upper surface of the lower plunger, when the lower plunger is retracted, projects above the lower cutting edge of the lower cutter; and the upper plunger is biased downwardly so that its bottom surface projects below the cutting edges of the upper cutter.

Abstract: A reusable fixture for a segment of a film strip having a flexible beam lead frame mounted on the segment and an integrated circuit chip bonded to the inner portions of the leads of the lead frame. The fixture is made from an integral laminar layer of a suitable material. The improvements are in providing a plurality of pairs of projections with protuberances which overlie, to a slight degree, the attachment webs of a segment. The fixture is also provided with detachment openings to provide access to the attachment webs which detachment openings facilitate removal of a segment from the fixture.