Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Fliesler, Dubb, Meyer & Lovejoy, LLP
  • Patent number: 6418273
    Abstract: A portable video compact disc player capable of playing both audio compact discs and MPEG-1 video compact discs is provided. A system control determines the type of signal that is being produced from the disc and controls the processing of that signal. If the signal is audio the system control directs the audio out to the speakers or alternative audio output ports. If the information is encoded MPEG-1 audio/video the system control sends the signal to the digital signal processing section. The digital signal processing section produces an MPEG-1 audio signal and a MPEG-1 video signal. This information is further processed and decoded by an MPEG audio/video processor then sent directly to a display screen through a control circuit board. The power consumed is minimized by reducing the number of semiconductor devices used to display the signal and by limiting the power supplied to the backlight when the device is being operated on DC power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2002
    Assignee: The Original San Francisco Toymakers
    Inventors: Joseph Lubinski, Saul B. Jodel
  • Patent number: 6416776
    Abstract: A BMP carrier is described for use with humans and animals. The carrier includes human hair and a block copolymer of ethylene glycol and propylene glycols that can be implanted into an intervertebral disc space with the polymer in liquid form and then changing into a solid viscoelastic state. The copolymer can be a carrier for BMP. The carrier also includes processed human hair.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2002
    Assignee: St. Francis Medical Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Nicholas Shamie
  • Patent number: 6411252
    Abstract: A test system is provided operating in the 76-77 GHz range for testing components of a collision avoidance radar system. The system uses a Scorpion vector network analyzer (VNA) having an internal stimulus source synthesizer operating over a narrow 3-6 GHz range. The source signal from the Scorpion VNA is up-converted in a test module to a 75-78 GHz signal, without using a non-linear multiplier between the Scorpion VNA source and a device under test (DUT). A 72 GHz. local oscillator (LO) signal is provided for up-conversion as well as down-conversion using a dielectric resonator oscillator (DRO) phase-locked to a crystal oscillator of the Scorpion VNA. The DRO is included internal,to the test module. Fundamental up-conversion and down-conversion is provided in the test system so that significant conversion losses do not occur, as when higher order harmonics are used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignee: Anritsu Company
    Inventor: Martin I. Grace
  • Patent number: 6410448
    Abstract: A plasma etch reactor 20 includes a reactor chamber 22 with a grounded upper electrode 24, a lower electrode 28 which is attached to a high frequency power supply 30 and a low frequency power supply 32, and a peripheral electrode 26 which is located between the upper and lower electrode, and which is allowed to have a floating potential. Rare earth magnets 46, 47 are used to establish the magnetic field which confines the plasma developed within the reactor chamber 22. The plasma etch reactor 20 is capable of etching emerging films used with high density semiconductor devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignee: Tegal Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen P. DeOrnellas, Alferd Cofer, Robert C. Vail
  • Patent number: 6407009
    Abstract: This invention describes improved apparatus and methods for spin-on deposition of semiconductor thin films. The improved apparatus provides for controlled temperature, pressure and gas compositions within the deposition chamber. The improved methods comprise dispensing of solutions containing thin film precursor via a moveable dispensing device and the careful regulation of the pattern of deposition of the precursor solution onto the wafer. The invention also comprises the careful regulation of deposition variables including dispensation time, wafer rpm, stop time and rates of wafer rotation. In one embodiment, the precursor solution is dispensed from the outer edge of the wafer toward the center. In alternative embodiments, processors regulate the movement of the dispensing arm and the precursor pump to provide an evenly dispensed layer of precursor solution. The invention also describes improved methods for evaporating solvents and curing thin films.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Lu You, Dawn Hopper, Richard J. Huang
  • Patent number: 6408389
    Abstract: A system is disclosed for controlling intelligible access to secured files by means of a user-memorized password in combination with a user-associated passport record. The passport record takes on two forms, one when it is physically secured within the workstation and a different second form when the passport record is in-transit. Log-in privileges are granted after a presented passport record passes a number of tests including digital signature authentication, and the ability to extract two different encrypted keys from the passport record. The in-transit record does not carry one of those two keys.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Assignee: Symantec Corporation
    Inventors: David Grawrock, Shawn R. Lohstroh
  • Patent number: 6406925
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for minimizing or eliminating arcing or dielectric breakdown across a wafer during a semiconductor wafer processing step includes controlling the voltage across the wafer so that arcing and/or dielectric breakdown does not occur. Using an electrostatic clamp of the invention and by controlling the specific clamp voltage to within a suitable range of values, the voltage across a wafer is kept below a threshold and thus, arcing and/or dielectric breakdown is reduced or eliminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Assignee: Tegal Corporation
    Inventors: Satish D. Athavale, Leslie G. Jerde, John A. Meyer
  • Patent number: 6407622
    Abstract: A low-voltage reference circuit is provided wherein (i) the output voltage can be set to be a fraction of the silicon bandgap voltage of 1.206 volts, or on the order of 0.9 volts, (ii) the output voltage can have a zero thermal coefficient (TC), and (iii) the operating supply voltage Vcc can be less than 1.5 volts, or on the order of 1.1 volts. In one embodiment, the reference circuit modifies a conventional Brokaw bandgap circuit to lower both the required Vcc level and the output voltage by a constant offset. Referring to FIG. 3, the modification includes adding bipolar transistor (Q6), an opamp (A3) and resistors (R5, R6 and R7). In another embodiment, the reference circuit modifies a conventional circuit with PNP transistors connected to the substrate, referring to FIG. 4, by adding current source I6, NMOS transistor M3, opamp A4 and resistors R8-R10. A further embodiment modifies FIG. 4, referring to FIG. 5, by omitting the current source I6, and moving the location of resistor R4.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Inventor: Ion E. Opris
  • Patent number: 6404127
    Abstract: A resonant microcavity display (20) having microcavity with a substrate (25), a phosphor active region (50) and front and rear reflectors (30 and 60). The front and rear reflectors may be spaced to create either a standing or traveling electromagnetic wave to enhance the efficiency of the light transmission.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2002
    Assignee: University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc.
    Inventors: Stuart M. Jacobsen, Steven M. Jaffe, Hergen Eilers, Michieal L. Jones, Irving Jaffe
  • Patent number: 6404925
    Abstract: Methods for segmenting audio-video recording of meetings containing slide presentations by one or more speakers are described. These segments serve as indexes into the recorded meeting. If an agenda is provided for the meeting, these segments can be labeled using information from the agenda. The system automatically detects intervals of video that correspond to presentation slides. Under the assumption that only one person is speaking during an interval when slides are displayed in the video, possible speaker intervals are extracted from the audio soundtrack by finding these regions. Since the same speaker may talk across multiple slide intervals, the acoustic data from these intervals is clustered to yield an estimate of the number of distinct speakers and their order. Clustering the audio data from these intervals yields an estimate of the number of different speakers and their order.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2002
    Assignees: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd., Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Jonathan T. Foote, Lynn Wilcox
  • Patent number: 6403447
    Abstract: A method for forming a semiconductor substrate is provided including the general sequential steps of: providing a handle wafer and a device wafer; implanting at least a first impurity region in a first surface of the device wafer; bonding the first surface of the device wafer to a first surface of the handle wafer having a silicon dioxide layer; removing a portion of the device wafer at a second surface; and forming an epitaxial silicon layer on the second surface of the device wafer. The process enables the thickness of the device wafer to be minimal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2002
    Assignee: Elantec Semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventor: Sameer Parab
  • Patent number: 6404006
    Abstract: An EEPROM cell is described that is programmed and erased by electron tunneling across an entire portion of separate transistor channels. The EEPROM cell has three transistors formed in a semiconductor substrate. The three transistors are a tunneling transistor (PMOS), a sense transistor (NMOS) and a read transistor (NMOS). Electron tunneling occurs to program the EEPROM cell through a sense tunnel oxide layer having a thickness to allow the electron tunneling across an entire portion of a sense channel upon incurrence of a sufficient voltage potential between a floating gate and the tunnel channel. Electron tunneling also occurs to erase the EEPROM cell through a tunnel oxide layer having a thickness to allow electron tunneling across an entire portion of a tunneling channel upon incurrence of a sufficient voltage potential between the floating gate and the tunneling channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2002
    Assignee: Vantis Corporation
    Inventors: Xiao-Yu Li, Steven J. Fong
  • Patent number: 6400372
    Abstract: The level of detail selected for each object in a scene is determined based upon a variable normalized risk parameter which may be supplied by the application. A recursive composite parent object process is invoked upon the two children of the scene object in order to allocate graphics resources to objects A and B. Primary and secondary hit value means corresponding to objects A and B are computed. The hit value means are the average sum of hit values recorded for all the leaf objects contained by the objects over a predetermined number of frames. The statistical variances of the primary hit value and secondary hit value are also computed over the previous predetermined number of frames in order facilitates the mapping of the normalized risk parameter to a non-normalized risk parameter indicating the optimal risk for objects A and object B. A quadratic parametric variance equation is solved for the optimal fraction of the remaining graphics resources to be allocated to object A.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2002
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Richard Carl Gossweiler, III, Bernardo A. Huberman
  • Patent number: 6396287
    Abstract: A method is provided for eliminating the source harmonic component from VNA measurements of the output of a device under test (DUT). A standard vector measurement, GHx, is first measured from the DUT using the VNA. The value GHx is composed of two elements, the DUT's harmonic response to a fundamental input from the source, and the DUT's linear response to the harmonic input from the source. The harmonics from the source which are linearly passed by the DUT, GNx, are then measured with the VNA. The output harmonic generated by the DUT, Hx, is then calculated using vector subtraction according to the equation Hx=GHx−GNx. The output harmonic Hx will then be free from source harmonic components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2002
    Assignee: Anritsu Company
    Inventors: Peter Kapetanic, Jon Martens, David Rangel
  • Patent number: D457945
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2002
    Assignee: Sharper Image Corporation
    Inventor: Rene C. Pinchuk
  • Patent number: D458016
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2002
    Assignee: Sharper Image Corporation
    Inventor: Tristan M. Christianson
  • Patent number: D458318
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2002
    Assignee: Sharper Image Corporation
    Inventor: Tristan M. Christianson
  • Patent number: RE37723
    Abstract: A device for use as an aid to computer users. The device is coupled to an associated personal computer and performs various functions which provide the user with concurrent explanations of running software, searches and multimedia integration without interfering with the functioning of the associated computer or its running software.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2002
    Inventor: Michael Goren
  • Patent number: D459987
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2002
    Assignee: Sharper Image Corporation
    Inventor: Tristan Christianson
  • Patent number: D460065
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2002
    Assignee: Sharper Image Corporation
    Inventor: Tristan M. Christianson