Abstract: A resilient friction pad is pushed by a spring against a conveying roller for feeding paper automatically in a printer. The function pad is placed in a recess at the end of the paper tray. A flat auxiliary spring may be used to share the pressure of a heavy paper load and to prevent the separation of the resilient friction pad and the conveying roller. A support block may be placed underneath the resilient friction pad to prevent sagging of the resilient friction pad. A corrugated arm may be inserted between the push-up spring and the resilient friction pad to provide wider contact between the resilient friction pad and the conveying roller.

Abstract: An optical sensor switch system is used to effect a selection function of a scanner. The depressed switch for a selected function changes the light intensity incident on the pixels of a light sensitive panel in two steps. This change in light intensity activates the operation of the particular function. The change in light intensity is effected by shuttering the light from a source to the pixels. The pixels of the panel are divided into different sections, each designated to a particular function for the scanner.

Abstract: A high temperature cookware is made with material to render it heat more uniformly, at a lower temperature to avoid over-burning, more resistant to cracking due to sudden change in temperature, and less fragile. The material includes cordierite to possess small expansion coefficient, mullite to store more heat, talc to lower the firing temperature, and refractory clay for high heat conductivity. Other ingredients are added to enhance far-infrared radiation with certain kinds of metallic oxide. After the body is fired, the cookware is glazed to be impervious to water and coated with Teflon to make the cookware non-sticking.

Abstract: A heat conducting metal is placed under a semiconductor chip and wraps around a substrate of the semiconductor device package to serve as the heat sink for the chip. The metal can wrap around a through-hole in the middle of the substrate, or wrap around the edge of the substrate. A metal plate can be placed between the chip and the heat conducting metal to hold the semiconductor chip.

Abstract: During transient operation of a voltage regulator, the gate of p-channel MOS pass transistor may be pulled down during the transient period to cause excessive surge current. The surge current is limited by using the pass transistor as a current mirror during the transient period. After the transient period, the pass transistor resumes its role as an element together with a differential amplifier and a reference voltage in a feedback loop to regulate the output voltage.

Abstract: An optical reader and the driving motor of a scanner are integrally mounted on a movable module, which can slide back and forth along a track to scan an image. The driving motor exerts a force on a fixed rack attached to the frame of the scanner through a pinion. The reaction to the force causes the movable module to slide. The rack and pinion mechanism can be replaced with a friction tape and roller combination, or a steel wire wrapped around a wheel attached to the movable module.

Abstract: A control circuit is used to increase the dc current of a low noise amplifier for a mobile wireless communication system in the presence of jamming signal to preserve high dynamic range and low intermodulation distortion. The control circuit compares the peak jamming signal with the average input signal. The average signal is obtained by filtering the input signal with a low-pass filter. The difference signal between the input signal with jamming signal and the average input is detected by a peak detector. The detected signal is then again compared with the average input signal to obtain a dc control signal to control the power consumption of a LNA.

Abstract: In the scanning optical module of a scanner, the light source module is mounted over the lens module through a spring to push the light source module against the scan window. Thus, the light source is moved closer to the document to be scanned and irradiates the document with higher intensity than prior art light source, which must be clear away from the scan window to allow for manufacturing tolerances.

Abstract: The frequency of oscillation of two cross-coupled CMOS inverters with a parallel LC tank connected between the two drains can be varied by a control voltage which varies the capacitance value of the tank circuit. The gate-to-source capacitance is used as the variable capacitance. The gate-to-source capacitance is varied by changing the dc gate voltage, which can be effected by either changing the dc current through the inverters or by varying the dc voltage across the inverters. The control voltage may also be made to vary with temperature such that the free running frequency of the oscillator is held constant with varying temperature.

Abstract: An array antenna is steered by moving two sets of optical fibers of different optical lengths between a number of light signal sources and an array antenna. By changing the lengths of the optical paths of the different light signal sources, the wave front can be steered. The light signal traverses five sections of optical delay lines with at least two selectable optical lengths. One set of selectable optical lengths provides coarse adjustment of steering, and a second set of selectable optical lengths provides fine adjustment of steering. The coarse adjustment is implemented by using a larger increment of selectable optical lengths between adjacent optical lengths than the increment for the fine adjustment. The antenna can serve both for a transmitter or a receiver.

Abstract: The reflection mirrors in the optical system of a scanner is arranged to have reflections in a vertical direction instead of a horizontal direction as is commonly done. Then, the horizontal dimension of the scanner can be reduced.

Abstract: A package for multiple IC chip module. The IC chip is attached to electric wires on ceramic substrate which has good heat dissipating capability. The bonding pads along the periphery of the ceramic substrate are lead-bonded to a second substrate with printed wiring on at least one side of the surfaces and ball grid array at the bottom surface. Double-sided printed wiring can be used to provide multiple-layered interconnection. The IC chip is separated from the second substrate by a resin to cushion the stress due to difference in thermal expansion coefficients of the IC chip and the second substrate.

Abstract: A method of making accurate alignment layers in a liquid crystal display (LCD) cell is provided so that the LCD seal band can be placed as close to the pixel as possible. This method is implemented by ablating the apolyimide film on the glass substrates of the LCD cell to remove the alignment film where the sealing material is to be dispersed later. Thus, the sealing band can butt against the liquid crystal mixture without any clearance. In so doing, the display area is increased, and the reliability of the seal is improved.

Abstract: A resettable fuse is connected in series with a bonding pad of an IC chip, In the presence of a high voltage surge, the resettable fuse breaks the connection temporary. After the surge is over, the resettable reset itself and the IC resumes operation.

Abstract: A structure of a light emitting diode (LED) having high brightness is disclosed. This LED includes a substrate on a first electrode, a first cladding layer of a first conductivity type on the substrate, an active layer on the first cladding layer, a second cladding layer of a second conductivity type on the active layer, a window layer of the second conductivity type on the second cladding layer, wherein the electrical resistivity of the window layer is less than that of the second cladding layer, a contact layer of the second conductivity type on the window layer for providing ohmic contact, and a conductive transparent oxide layer on the contact layer, wherein the electrical resistivity of the conductive transparent oxide layer is less than that of the window layer and the contact layer.

Abstract: For multiple layer interconnections using copper, the top interconnection layer and the via hole to the bottom layer are self-aligned on at least one side. The self-alignment eliminates the need for providing a border for the contact of the via hole to the interconnection. The self-alignment is accomplished by using a nitride mask, which defines one side of both the via hole and the interconnection. After the top surface of the copper interconnection is planarized, another layer of copper interconnection can be superimposed over the first interconnection in a similar manner.

Abstract: A light source for scanning a transparent film is equipped with a light intensity adjustment plate inserted between a light reflector and a light slot. The light intensity adjustment plate is partially painted to absorb light, so that the stronger light from the parallel center section of a linear light is weakened to produce a more uniform light along the whole scanning length.The light intensity adjustment plate can be placed between the U-shaped light tube, or attached to the inner wall of the U-shaped light tube housing. The light intensity adjustment plate can have a frame which is rectangular or concave. The light intensity adjustment plate can also have an shaped extension toward the light tube to produce more uniform light.

Abstract: The focused light incident from the light source on the document to be scanned has two different lengths of light path. The shorter light path is incident on the document near the light source. The longer light path is incident on the document away from the light source with a larger light spot and scans the document at a higher speed to yield a lower resolution. The high resolution light ray reflected from the document and the low resolution light ray reflected from the document pass through a set of transmitting lenses tilted at different angles to irradiate two different sets of charge coupled device sensors.

Abstract: A micro ball grid array package is devised for a multiple-chip module (MCM). The IC chips in the package are butted together to save space. The bonding pads for the lower IC chip or chips are placed along the edges not butted with one another. The bonding pads of the chips are wire-bonded to a printed wiring plate, which has via holes through the printed wiring plate for connection to the ball grid array at the other side of the printed wiring plate and for surface mounting to a printed circuit board. A heat dissipating plate may be placed at the top of the IC chips away from the ball grid array.

Abstract: An automatic document feeding device has a document feeding roller which feeds a document from a stack to a conveying roller which conveys the document for further processing. The document feeding roller has intermittent motion which feeds the conveying roller with three different speeds: first, at a first speed for feeding the document; then, at a speed faster than the first speed as dragged by the document; and finally, a temporary stop. The temporary stop provides sufficient interspace between the successive documents so that a correct pagination signal is generated. The intermittent motion is provided by a power transmitting component which is coupled to the document feeding roller to speed it up when engaged and is decoupled during the stop interval.