Abstract: A band-gap reference voltage generator comprises an operational amplifier comprising a first input and a second input, the first input being coupled to a first feedback network and the second input being coupled to a second feedback network both coupled to an output of the operational amplifier providing a reference voltage. The first feedback network contains an emitter-base junction of first bipolar junction transistor and the second feedback network contains an emitter-base junction of second bipolar junction transistor. A selectively activated current supply supplies a bias current to the operational amplifier, the current supply being deactivatable in a substantially zero power consumption operating condition for turning the reference voltage generator off. A start-up circuit activated upon start-up of the reference voltage generator for a fixed, prescribed time interval forces a start-up current to flow through the first bipolar junction transistor means.

Abstract: A counter circuit includes a series of registers driven by two phase shifted clocks. A clock generator in the counter circuit generates four asymmetrical clock signals to drive each of the registers. The registers are formed from input and output stages, each having two sets of switches. The first set of switches in each stage provides a supply voltage to a stage output in response to the asymmetrical clocks. The second set of switches supply ground to the stage output in response to the asymmetrical clocks. To accelerate response of the switching circuits, isolation switches decouple the first set of switches in each pair from the stage output during switching of the second set of switches, thereby removing loading of stage output by the second set of switches.

Abstract: There is disclosed a resin-coated overlay for bonding to solid substrates, and which imparts improved waterproofing and chemical resistance to the resulting resin-coated overlaid solid substrate. Depending upon the desired end use of resin-coated overlaid solid substrate, the resin-coating may be modified to impart desirable surface features and/or characteristics. For example, additives such as waxes, oils, silicones, fluorocarbons and fatty acid compounds may be used to promote the release of concrete from forms made of solid substrates overlaid with the resin-coated overlays of the present invention. Moreover, resin-coated overlaid solid substrates may be produced having a surface which is suitable for painting and which accepts application of various tape products. Other modifications are disclosed which can be used to gain desirable cure speed, cost, and chemical/mechanical properties in the resin-coating.

Abstract: An electric signal processing circuit with an operational amplifier having a signal input, a feedback input and a signal output, and a nonlinear circuit device having a characteristic with a distortion-producing nonlinearity and located in the input signal circuit or in the feedback circuit of the operational amplifier, wherein a compensating circuit device having a characteristic with generally the same nonlinearity as the characteristic of the nonlinear circuit device is disposed in the feedback circuit or in the input signal circuit of the operational amplifier for compensating the distortion of the nonlinear circuit device.

Abstract: A unified and straightforward approach to managing file and other resource security in a networked computing environment is disclosed. The invention can be implemented in a multi-user computer network that includes a client computer, a server computer that controls a resource sharable among users of the network, such as a shared file folder or directory, and a communications pathway between the client computer and the server computer. The resource is organized as a hierarchy of elements with a root element at the top of the hierarchy and additional elements below the root element. According to the invention, a request is received to change a protection, such as an access permission, of an element of the resource hierarchy (other than the root) with respect to a particular network user. If the element in question lacks an associated access control list, a nearest ancestor element of the hierarchy is located that has an associated access control list.

Abstract: The invention provides surface plasmon resonance-mass spectroscopy for the rapid, sensitive and accurate investigation of molecular interactions coupled with the identification and quantification of the same. Methods of the invention include capturing an analyte present within a sample by an interactive surface layer on a real-time interaction analysis sensor, analyzing the analyte by surface plasmon resonance while the analyte is captured by the interactive surface layer, and identifying the captured analyte by desorbing/ionizing the analyte from the interactive surface layer while under vacuum within a mass spectrometer. Devices of the invention include a transparent material, a conductive material capable of supporting surface plasmon resonance affixed to the transparent material, an interactive surface affixed to the conductive material, and a means for exposing the interactive surface to the interior of a mass spectrometer without breaking the vacuum therein.

Abstract: A method and system for detecting a voice channel grab by a pirate in a cellular telephone network. Initially, RF signals transmitted to and from an authorized cellular telephone over the control and voice channels are monitored to track call processing activities and obtain various data that are used to detect potential voice channel grabbing attempts. The data may include such things as RSSI, change power output messages and responses, and hook-flash signal. From the data, the system looks for two events. A first event is an unexpected change or an absence of an expected change in the voice channel RF signal indicating that the pirate may be transmitting on the voice channel. The first event may be any one or more of the following: (1) a sudden upward shift in the voice channel RSSI; (2) an unexpected phase shift of either the RF signal or the SAT signal contained in the RF signal; and (3) an absence of an expected shift in the RSSI that corresponds to the change power level message from the network.

Abstract: A fully-differential high speed differential amplifier is formed by four pairs of complementary MOS transistors arranged as inverters connected between a current source node and a current sink node. Current is coupled to the current source node from a positive supply voltage by one or a pair of PMOS current source transistors, and current is coupled from the current sink node to a negative supply voltage by one or a pair of NMOS currents sink transistors. Two of the complementary pairs of transistors receive respective input signals and generate respective output signals. The remaining two complementary pairs of transistors also receive respective input signals, but they generate bias control signals that are applied to the current source and sink transistors. Where a pair of current source and sink transistors are used, each current source and sink transistor receives its control signal from a respective complementary pair of transistors.

Abstract: A gas laser includes a plurality of electrically conductive electrodes contained within a hollow housing that contains a laser gas medium. The electrodes surround and define a laser bore in which a plasma is excited by the electrodes. Each of the electrodes defining the laser bore has an ungrounded electrical potential that provides improved laser gain at a lower gas temperature. Each of the electrodes may be driven with a controlled, varying electrical potential, such as a radio frequency electrical potential.

Abstract: The circuit is for translating a switching signal disposed between ground level and Vdd to a translated switching signal disposed between first and second voltages Vhsrc and Vhstrap. The circuit includes a bistable circuit formed by two branches which include two nMOS transistors the sources of which are connected to ground and are controlled, respectively, by a switching-on signal and by a switching-off signal derived from the switching signal by means of a buffer and an inverter, respectively. Two pMOS transistors having their sources at the voltage Vhstrap and the drain of one connected to the gate of the other output the translated switching signal at one of their drains. Two further pMOS transistors having gates at the first voltage Vhsrc are interposed between the two nMOS transistors and the two pMOS transistors.

Abstract: A filter circuit adjustably decreases or increases the amplitude of audio signals in a predetermined frequency range. The filter circuit includes a filter module having an RC network with at least one frequency-response-determining RC member whose resistor component R is realized in SC technology. A setting device is connected to the filter module such that its setting determines the frequency response of the SC filter. The setting device renders possible a neutral setting in which the effective audio signal path of the filter circuit circumvents the filter module so that no decrease or increase of the amplitude of individual frequency portions takes place. Furthermore, an audio signal processor comprises at least one audio signal input, at least one audio signal output, and at least one control input.

Abstract: A submersible, foldable seat for use in a hot tub. The seat is folded down to be used as a seat and folded up to provide an increased unobstructed area for use of the hot tub for other activities such as exercise. The foldable seat uses pivoting attachment members which allow flush connection to the curved hot tub wall. Frame members of the seat use connectors with transverse apertures to rotatably receive tubular portions of the seat frame to allow folding of the seat.

Abstract: A method for forming a plastic package for a power semiconductor electronic device to be encapsulated within a plastic case and to be coupled thermally to a heat sink element having a major surface exposed and at least one peripheral portion extending outwards from at least one side of the plastic case. The method forms the plastic case of the package by molding inside a main cavity of a mold after positioning a heat sink element in a suitable housing provided in a lower portion of the mold which opens into the main cavity of the mold. The method forms the heat sink element such that at least side surfaces jutting out of said side of the plastic case are, at least in a zone adjacent to that side and in the peripheral portion, inclined to form an angle .alpha. substantially greater than zero with a normal line to the major surface, so as to have a negative slope from outside.

Abstract: A method and system for reconfiguring a communications stack. The system provides a comstack manager that can be used with a communications stack having any number of layers, which may be located on different computers. In addition, the comstack manager facilitates the reconfiguration of a communications stack without having to modify any communications stack layers. Each layer provides a single entrypoint through which it communicates to its adjacent layers, and the communications stack layers communicate with each other using a message transfer system that has a single entrypoint for transferring messages. The single entrypoint of the layer provides compatibility among the layers and flexibility since each layer is not bound to a specific definition of another layer's functions. That is, each layer only needs to know how to access the single entrypoint which is the same for each layer.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a digital-to-analog converter having a plurality of inputs for digital signals, and an output for an analog signal. It also contains a charge integration circuit having an input and an output coupled to the converter output, and a plurality of floating gate MOS transistors corresponding to the plurality of converter inputs, the MOS transistors all having their source and drain terminals coupled together and to the input of the integration circuit, and having control terminals coupleable, under control from the plurality of inputs of digital signals, to different reference voltages having selected fixed values.

Abstract: A computer system and method process memory requests for access to a computer memory. The computer system arbitrates between current memory requests based on an immediately previous memory request that was most recently selected for transmission to the memory. The computer system minimizes the number of read/write delays by selecting one of the current memory requests based on the request types (read or write) of the current memory requests and the immediately previous memory requests. The number of RAS/CAS delays are reduced by selecting one of the current memory requests based on whether any of the rows to which the current memory requests are directed matches the row to which the immediately previous memory request was directed. The number of pre-charge delays is reduced by selecting one of the current memory requests based on whether any of the current memory requests is directed to a memory bank other than the memory bank to which the immediately previous memory request was directed.

Abstract: A method of operating a keyboard assembly for a personal computer. In one embodiment, the keyboard assembly has a housing and an actuator coupled to the housing. The housing may have an elongated front edge, an elongated rear edge, a lower surface, and an upper surface. A plurality of keys may project from the upper surface of the housing. The actuator is coupled to the housing to rotate the housing about a rotational axis for changing the inclination of the housing and the keys during operation. For example, the actuator may continuously rotate the housing about a rotational axis during operation in a manner that causes a computer operator to continuously flex his/her wrists. In another embodiment, the housing may be attached to a separate base that has a bottom surface for resting on a support surface. The base may also have a top surface with a channel extending along the rotational axis that is defined by a curved surface with a circular cross-section.

Abstract: A system for adjusting the phase of an internal clock signal relative to an external clock signal in a packetized dynamic random access memory device. The system applies a plurality of initialization packets to the memory device that are captured in a shift register responsive to a transition of the internal clock signal. However, the phase of the internal clock signal is sequentially incremented after each initialization packet has been captured in the shift register. After a plurality of initialization packets have been captured, an evaluation circuit identifies which phases of the internal clock signal clocked the shift register at the proper time to accurately capture each initialization packet. A single phase of the internal clock signal is then selected from within the range of internal clock signal phases that successfully captured initialization packets. This selected phase of the internal clock signal is used during normal operation of the memory device.

Abstract: A computer-based method and system for accessing objects of different thread types in a single process. The system provides single-threaded apartments (STAs) for loading apartment-threaded objects and a multi-threaded apartment (MTA) for loading free-threaded objects. Each STA has a single thread, and the MTA has multiple threads. When an STA thread requests to access a free-threaded object, the system creates an MTA thread and requests the MTA thread to instantiate the free-threaded object. The STA thread then receives a marshalled pointer to the free-threaded object and unmarshals the received pointer. The STA thread then accesses the free-threaded object using the unmarshalled pointer so that the MTA thread accesses the free-threaded object on behalf of the STA thread. When an MTA thread requests access to an apartment-threaded object, the system creates an STA thread and requests the STA thread to instantiate the apartment-threaded object.