Abstract: A microprocessor comprises a defined execution unit coupled to internal buses of the processor for execution of a predefined, fixed set of instructions, combined with one or more programmable execution units coupled to the internal buses for execution of a set of program instructions, to provide an on chip reprogrammable instruction set accelerator RISA. Reprogrammable execution units may be made using field programmable gate array technology having configuration stores. Techniques for translating a computer program into executable code relying on the RISA involve providing a library of defined and programmed instructions, and compiling a program using the library to produce an executable version of the program using both defined and programmed instructions. The executable version can be optimized to conserve configuration resources for the programmable execution unit, or to optimize speed of execution.

Abstract: A data line for an integrated circuit such as field programmable gate array, has a relatively fast rise time, consumes relatively low amount of current, and maintains a relatively fast fall time. A data conductor is connected to a circuit element providing a current path from the data conductor to a source of the supply voltage. A plurality of data-in drivers are connected to the data conductor which act in one state to pull the data conductor from the supply voltage to ground, and act in another state to present high impedance to the data conductor. A dynamic element is included, which connects an additional current path between the data line and the supply during transitions from ground to the supply, and which disconnects the additional current path otherwise. This speeds up the transitions from low to high, while not opposing the transitions from high to low.

Abstract: A non-volatile semiconductor memory device is implemented in a manner which allows programming and erasing at low voltage. The non-volatile semiconductor memory device includes a plurality of blocks, each including a plurality of wordlines acting as control gates, buried diffusion layers acting as sources and drains, metal lines arranged one for every two buried diffusion layers, and memory cells formed between the two buried diffusion layers. Block transistors are connected to both ends of the buried diffusion layers for connecting the buried diffusion layers to the corresponding metal lines. The buried diffusion layers of each block are connected through the block transistors in the form of a bellows.

Abstract: An electrophoretic display is provided which includes first and second plates spaced apart to define a volume of space therebetween. The display also includes a first electrode positioned on the first plate, a second electrode positioned on the second plate, and an emulsion positioned within the space. The emulsion includes a non-polar phase forming a continuous phase of the emulsion and a polar phase forming a non-continuous phase of the emulsion.The polar phase of the emulsion is capable of forming droplets (reverse micelles or reverse emulsions) in the non-polar phase. The polar phase includes a dye which is insoluble in the non-polar phase, a polar solvent, and a detergent. Images are provided by the display by controlling the distribution of the polar phase droplets containing the dye in the non-polar liquid phase using an electric field formed between the first and second electrodes.A method is also provided for forming an image by electrophoretic phase separation of an emulsion.

Abstract: An oscillator system which produces a single mode output from a multimode seed beam and a multimode optical power source. The seed source employed in the oscillator system produces a multimode seed beam that is used to injection seed a multimode optical power source. The optical power source has a short cavity such that the longitudinal modes of the multimode optical power source are sufficiently spaced apart that a mode of the optical power source can be positioned relative to the multimode seed beam such that the seed beam does not significantly overlap with neighboring longitudinal modes of the optical power source. By positioning a single longitudinal mode to overlap with the seed beam where the seed beam does not significantly overlap with neighboring longitudinal modes of the optical power source, a high energy single longitudinal mode output is produced. The multimode seed beam preferably has a bandwidth, defined as the full width half maximum of the spectral output, of between about 0.025 cm.sup.

Abstract: A circuit for speeding up the pre-programming of floating gate storage transistors such as FLASH EPROMS, and particularly speeding up the pre-programming of a block or array of floating gate storage transistors includes a controllable voltage source that supplies gate programming potential across the control gate and source of the FLASH EPROM transistor cells to be programmed. A control circuit is provided that controls the voltage source to vary the gate programming potential during a programming interval as a function of time in order to decrease the time required for a given amount of charge movement to program the selected floating gate transistors. The wordline voltages are varied, while the source voltage is held constant. By starting at a lower wordline voltage, and increasing during the programming interval to a high wordline voltage, the programming speed is increased, and the high final turn-on threshold voltage for the programmed floating gate storage transistors is achieved.

Abstract: An apparatus to assist the musical instruction of a student including one or more tone sources (e.g. flute, human voice, violin) playing monophonically as inputs, means to quantify aural parameters of pitch, amplitude, duration, and timbre of inputs, means to visually store and represent temporal history of said, means to store and playback audio signal of inputs, and means to arrive at and display musical related pitches. A digital waveform analyzer is used to control a tunable low-pass filter in the pitch tracker and preform spectral estimation of timbre. Also, a digital version is described. Pre-recorded music instruction and a karaoke player are used as examples of reference tone sources. Visual representation of aural parameters can be provided as video output.

Abstract: The ellipticity of a thermal lens is controlled in a diode-pumped anisotropic crystal, such as Nd:YVO4. The crystal has two opposing optical end faces through which a pump beam and an output beam pass. The crystal also has opposing "c" axis crystal faces normal to a "c" axis of the crystal, and opposing "a" axis crystal faces that are normal to an "a" axis of the crystal. A mount supports the crystal and serves as a heat sink. A path is created to conduct heat from the crystal through the "c" faces, while the "a" faces are thermally isolated from heat conduction. The thermal lens ellipticity is controlled in order to produce a round, diffraction limited gaussian beam suitable for applications that require a high power, good quality beam from a simple, reliable laser source.

Abstract: A touchscreen interface for a sound processing system, such as music synthesizers, which has a display panel and a touch sensitive panel overlying the display panel, includes an icon which represents an adjustable parameter used by the processing system. The processing resources supply a variable adjustment display to the display panel in response to a touch on the position of the icon, using pop-up slider or pop-up knob motif. The variable adjustment display overlies the interface display and has a size on the touch sensitive panel larger than the size of the icon to facilitate manipulation of the variable using a finger over a significant range of values. The variable adjustment display pops up when touched to obscure a portion of the graphical display used for the interface. When the variable is adjusted using the touch sequence, the variable adjustment display is removed, and the interface display is left unobscured.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method and apparatus for discerning the presence of one or more bar codes within the image of a scanned document and making the bar code data available to a document image management system. The scanned image is represented by a bit map which is searched for data blocks, such having been formed by a smearing technique. Each data block is analyzed to find bar code candidates which are then subjected to a dynamic width determination process so that an attempt to read them as a bar code can be made.

Abstract: An apparatus for automatic configuration of multiple peripheral interface subsystems in a computer system, the computer system including a system expansion bus for adopting a plurality of functional peripheral interface subsystems, the apparatus comprises a software identification code buffer for buffering a software-generated identification code sent via the system expansion bus; a hardware identification code memory for storing a unique hardware identification code; a software identification code register for transmitting the software identification code via the system expansion bus for the access of the computer system; an instruction register for receiving instructions transmitted by the computer system; a hardware identification code detector for receiving the instruction transmitted by the computer system and stored in the instruction register to control the hardware identification code detector; and an automatic jump state circuit for receiving the instruction transmitted by the computer system and reg

Abstract: According to the present invention, an anastomosis catheter with internally mounted cam pieces holding a plurality of curved needles adjacent apertures in the side of the catheter is provided. The curved needles are attached to lengths of suture material which are installed to run along the outer surface of the central cam pieces to their distal end, where they reverse back along the inner core of the catheter. When the central cam pieces are withdrawn, and moved proximally, the cam surface forces the curved needles out the associated apertures. As the catheter is deployed in a hollow organ, such as a human urethra, the curved needles, as they are deployed, grasp the end of the urethra, which then can be held in position for suturing to the bladder. The other end of the suture materials could have straight needles attached to them to facilitate attaching the urethra to the bladder.

Abstract: A faceplate for a field emission display includes a substrate defining a faceplate interior side. Pluralities of phosphor pixels are disposed on the faceplate interior side. A black matrix grid is formed of column and row guard bands on the faceplate interior side. At least one wall gripper is formed in a column or row guard band, with the wall gripper adapted to receive a spacer wall and mount it relative to the pluralities of phosphor pixels. The faceplate can include a faceplate fiducial that optically aligns to a corresponding backplate fiducial. A spacer wall is positioned in the wall gripper and mounted relative to a corresponding locator formed on a backplate interior side. The wall gripper includes a receiving trench that is positioned adjacent to a plurality of deformation accommodation gaps.

Abstract: For non-volatile memory devices, such as flash EPROM integrated circuits, which have memory cells and reference cells, and sense circuitry responsive to addressed memory cells and the reference cells, and in which a read potential is supplied to the gate of the selected memory cells and a reference potential is supplied to the gate of a reference memory cell during a read mode, the state of the programmable memory cells is verified by (1) supplying a first verify potential to the gate of an address programmable memory cell; and (2) supplying a second verify potential to the gate of the reference cell which is different from the first verify potential. Because cell current is a very strong function of the gate voltage, applying different gate voltages to the memory and reference cells is equivalent to adjusting the sense ratio.

Abstract: A passive fixation device, defined by a generally elongated body with proximal and distal ends, and a connecting member to connect the two, is used for the anastomosis of body lumens without sutures. The proximal and distal ends are non-deployed in a non-deployed position, and are deployed in a deployed position. While in the non-deployed positions, the passive fixation device is inserted into one or more body lumens. After insertion, both the proximal and distal ends are deployed and become expanded. One end is first deployed, and then the other. The deployed proximal end becomes retained in a first lumen, and the deployed distal end becomes retained in a second lumen. In one embodiment, the first lumen is the urethra, and the second lumen is the bladder. The two lumens are permitted to become anastomized without sutures. The passive fixation device may be made of different materials and can have coiled proximal and distal ends that are expanded to their deployed positions by a Foley catheter.

Abstract: Network traffic from a central device across a communication link to a remote device is controlled based upon central traffic management resources in the central device. The central traffic management resources are coupled to a communication link and monitor data packets received across the communication link to learn characteristics of the remote network. Based on the learned characteristics, traffic management messages are generated in the central traffic management resources. These messages are forwarded to an interface device on the remote network, where traffic on the communication link is controlled in response to the traffic management messages. Thus, the remote interface is configured automatically by central traffic management resources running in the central device without human intervention at the remote network. The traffic management messages manage traffic across a communication link of two types.

Abstract: A circuit for speeding up the pre-programming of floating gate storage transistors such as FLASH EPROMS, and particularly speeding up the pre-programming of a block or array of floating gate storage transistors includes a controllable voltage source that supplies gate programming potential across the control gate and source of the FLASH EPROM transistor cells to be programmed. A control circuit is provided that controls the voltage source to vary the gate programming potential during a programming interval as a function of time in order to decrease the time required for a given amount of charge movement to program the selected floating gate transistors. The wordline voltages are varied, while the source voltage is held constant. By starting at a lower wordline voltage, and increasing during the programming interval to a high wordline voltage, the programming speed is increased, and the high final turn-on threshold voltage for the programmed floating gate storage transistors is achieved.

Abstract: A method is provided for monitoring the progress of nucleic acid amplifications that rely on a nucleic acid polymerase having 5'.fwdarw.3' exonuclease activity. An important feature of the method is providing an oligonucleotide probe having a reporter molecule and a quencher molecule at either end such that the quencher molecule substantially quenches any fluorescence from the reporter whenever the oligonucleotide probe is in a single stranded state and such that the reporter is substantially unquenched whenever the oligonucleotide probe is in a double stranded state hybridized to a target polynucleotide.

Abstract: A tissue ablation apparatus includes a delivery catheter with distal and proximal ends. A handle is attached to the proximal end of the delivery catheter. At least partially positioned in the delivery catheter is an electrode deployment device. The electrode deployment device includes a plurality of retractable electrodes. Each electrode has a non-deployed state when it is positioned in the delivery catheter. Additionally, each electrode has a distended deployed state when it is advanced out of the delivery catheter distal end. The deployed electrodes define an ablation volume. Each deployed electrode has a first section with a first radius of curvature. The first section is located near the distal end of the delivery catheter. A second section of the deployed electrode extends beyond the first section, and has a second radius of curvature, or a substantially linear geometry.

Abstract: DLL devices are built with multiple MAC address instead of a single MAC address, and provide a multiple virtual DLL interfaces to the upper layers (3-7) in a computer. This results in a new class of multi-function computers for attachment to a network system which take advantage of the multiple virtual DLL interfaces, to increase performance of the respective functions executed by the computer. Thus, a new network interface control apparatus and a new class of multi-function computer systems for attachments to networks are provided. The memory in the medium access control device stores a plurality of additional network addresses in addition to the assigned network addresses. The address filtering logic includes circuits responsive to the additional network addresses, such as logic for blocking a particular frame on at least one of the plurality of data channels when the source and destination address of a particular frame are found in the additional addresses stored in the memory.