Abstract: A device such as an electrotherapy device implementing the invention includes multiple power module receptacles each of which is configured to received at least one type of power module, and a power management system that selectively routes power provided by one or more installed power modules to the device components and, preferably, to other power module receptacles. The types of power modules that operate in the power module receptacles include, for example, rechargeable battery packs, non-rechargeable battery packs and AC power packs. Preferably these power modules are each fully integrated, functionally self-contained power modules. For example, the rechargeable battery pack includes a charge controller specifically designed to charge the battery pack in which it is implemented.

Abstract: A defibrillator system capable of defibrillation and patient monitoring. When used as a patient monitor, the defibrillator system includes a defibrillator and removable monitoring electrodes. The monitoring electrodes communicate with a monitoring adapter and the defibrillator. A method of detecting the presence of the monitoring electrodes by the defibrillator is also included. A removable monitoring adapter. The removable monitoring adapter having a test impedance. Defibrillators include semi-automatic defibrillators and automatic defibrillators (“AEDs”).

Abstract: The invention relates to an interface circuit FE intended to receive a pseudo-periodical input signal Vin having a reference level and a video level, and to supply a signal Vs having a level which is representative of the difference between the reference level and the video level, said interface circuit comprising: two sampling branches BR1 and BR2 simultaneously supplying the reference level and the video level, and a subtracter SUB having inputs which receive the outputs of the branches BR1 and BR2. According to the invention, the inputs of the branches BR1 and BR2 are jointly connected via a first capacitance C1 to the input of the interface circuit FE, which comprises control means CM allowing adjustment of the values of the signals at the inputs of the subtracter SUB so that they are equal when they are representative of one and the same reference level.

Abstract: The invention describes a method for measuring a property of a sample by: 1) irradiating a portion of the sample with an excitation pattern characterized by at least one spatial phase and spatial period; 2) diffracting a portion of a probe beam off a surface of the sample; 3) detecting the diffracted portion of the probe beam with an optical detector to generate a light-induced signal; 4) adjusting the spatial phase of the excitation pattern; 5) repeating the irradiating, diffracting and detecting steps to generate an additional light-induced signal; and 6) processing the light-induced signals to determine a property of the sample.

Abstract: A reset device is disclosed which is part of a micro-controller formed on an integrated circuit. The reset device has a counter which outputs a count enable signal after counting a predetermined number of counts. In response to an input reset signal, an input device of the reset device provides a start signal to the counter for initiating count-down thereof. An output device outputs an output reset signal in response to the start signal and the count enable signal. The start signal is inhibited by a control signal, which is provided from a control device in response to an external reset signal received at an input pin of the micro-controller. The input device includes an AND gate which receives the input reset signal, an inverted delayed version of the input reset signal, and the disable signal. The reset device further includes an OR gate which receives the start signal and the count enable signal to provide an input signal to the output device for generation of the output reset signal.

Abstract: A video indexing system analyzes contents of source video and develops a visual table of contents using selected images. The source video is analyzed to detect video cuts from one scene to another, and static scenes. Keyframes are selected for each significant scene. A keyframe filtering process filters out less desired frames including, for example, unicolor frames, or those frames having a same object as a primary focus or one primary focuses. A visual index is created from those frames remaining after the keyframe filtering and stored for retrieval. The visual index may be retrieved by a user who may then display the visual index on a display. The user may select one of the frames displayed in the visual index and the source video may be manually (by the user) or automatically advanced to that frame of the source video. Additionally, a user may print the visual index.

Abstract: The invention provides an apparatus for measuring a property of a sample (using, e.g., ISTS) that includes: 1) an excitation laser that generates an excitation laser beam; 2) an optical system aligned along an optical axis that separates the excitation laser beam into at least three sub-beams; 3) an imaging system aligned along the optical axis that collects the sub-beams and focuses them onto the sample to form an optical interference pattern that generates a time-dependent response in the sample; 4) a probe laser that generates a probe laser beam that diffracts off the time-dependent response to form a signal beam; 5) a detector that detects the signal beam and in response generates a radiation-induced electronic response; and 6) a processor that processes the radiation-induced electronic response to determine the property of the sample.

Abstract: An X-ray fluorescent method for performing measurements on a thin layer provided on a substrate, notably a silicon substrate provided with a layer of tungsten silicide (WSix). The layer thickness and the concentration of the chemical elements in the layer can be determined in known manner by measurement of the intensity of a hard and a soft X-ray line in the fluorescent radiation. In conformity with the invention, the reliability and/or the accuracy of this determination can be established by measurement of the intensity of a third X-ray line, preferably being a line whose wavelength lies between that of the first two lines. Using a minimization procedure (least squares method applied to &khgr;2), the optimum values of c and d are determined. The accuracy of the determination can be established by variation of the optimum value of &khgr;2.

Abstract: A circuit includes a drive transistor or selectively coupling an output terminal to a power supply. The transistor has a control terminal coupled to an input terminal by a slew rate control device to control the slew rate of the drive transistor. In an embodiment, the slew rate control device includes two parallel pass gates which implement a variable resistance for switching between a normal and a slow slew mode. In one embodiment, a tri-state output buffer is disclosed including a pull-up device and a pull-down device, each with associated pass gates for implementing slew rate control. In a favorable embodiment, a control circuit controls the pass gates so that in the slow slew mode, the drive transistors turn off as quickly as in the normal slew mode.

Abstract: A master-slave programmable controller arrangement is disclosed for implementing control schemes in various control system topologies. The arrangement employs a modular design which allows a master unit to set operational modes for one or more instances of the same generic slave unit. The master unit and the slave unit communicate via a communications interface. Each slave unit is configured by the master unit to monitor/control one or more components or stages of, for example, a power supply.

Abstract: A circuit checks the value and the existence of an external load of a digital-to-analog current converter. A first comparator compares a digital word to be converted, with a comparison data word. The output signal of the first converter indicates during which periods the digital data word is greater and during which periods it is smaller than the comparison data word. A second comparator compares the voltage at the output of the converter with a reference voltage. The output signal of the second converter indicates during which periods the output voltage is greater and during which periods it is smaller than the reference voltage. A comparison circuit checks the existence and the value of the output load by comparing the time periods indicated by the output signals of the two converters. Thus, a conclusion about the existence and the value of the output load is possible at any time.

Abstract: An acceleration sensor (100) includes a spherical chamber (104) accommodating a spherical member (106) made from an inductance influencing material. The member is inductively coupled to one or more coils (110) outside the chamber. A force on the sensor pulls the member to a certain position in the chamber, which position corresponds to the direction of the force. The position is measured on the basis of the self induction of the coil or coils. In a steady state, the position of the member is representative of the orientation of the sensor with respect to the field of gravity.

Abstract: An electromotive actuating device having a movable member and a stationary member is disclosed. The device includes a first excitation part adapted to generate a constant magnetic flux and a second excitation part adapted to generate a magnetic flux of variable amplitude, a first and a second magnetic circuit is provided for guiding the magnetic flux generated by the first excitation part. The reluctance of the first and of the second magnetic circuit is controlled by means of the position of the movable member, and the second excitation part being included in the second magnetic circuit. An actuating device of this type has a rotary actuator having a range of more than 90.degree.. This is achieved in that the stationary member includes at least a first pole shoe, a second pole shoe and a third pole shoe. The first pole shoe and the third pole shoe form flux guiding elements of the first magnetic circuit. The second pole shoe and the third pole shoe form flux guiding elements of the second magnetic circuit.

Abstract: The invention relates to an information distribution system with a plurality of stations (100, 102, 104) and at least one shared resource (120, 122), such as an audio channel. Access to a shared resource is managed in a distributed manner. Each station comprises a controller 154. If a station requires a shared resource, the controller 154 of the station checks resource status information stored in a local memory 156 to determine whether the shared resource is available. If the resource is available, the controller 154 selects the available shared resource and uses communication means 150 to send a status message informing other ones of the stations that the station uses the selected resource. Next, the controller 154 uses access means 152, such as an audio selector, to access the selected resource. Upon receiving the status message, controllers 154 of the other stations update the resource status information stored in the local memory 156 according to a received status message.

Abstract: Custom operations are useable in processor systems for performing functions including multimedia functions. These custom operations enhance a system, such as PC system, to provide real-time multimedia capabilities while maintaining advantages of a special-purpose, embedded solution, i.e., low cost and chip count, and advantages of a general-purpose processor reprogramability. These custom operations work in a computer system which supplies input data having at least two operand data, performs operations on the operand data, and supplies result data to a destination register.

Abstract: A computer system, a cache memory and a process, supporting prefetch operations and cache access operations so as to store information duplicated from a high level memory for use by a processing device, the processing device issuing addresses, including prefetch addresses and cache access addresses. The cache memory comprises memory resources, and prefetch resources are coupled to the memory resources and to the processing device both for receipt and storage of prefetch addresses from the processing device and for injection management of the received prefetch addresses so as to coordinate prefetch operations with cache access operations. As for the process, the invention comprises the steps of receiving prefetch addresses issued by a processing device; providing for storing, in a prefetch memory, prefetch addresses; and providing for injecting prefetch addresses in a selected order from the prefetch memory for use in fetching, into the cache memory, information associated with the prefetch addresses.

Abstract: A video indexing system analyzes contents of source video and develops a visual table of contents using selected images. The source video is analyzed to detect video cuts from one scene to another, and static scenes. Keyframes are selected for each significant scene. A keyframe filtering process filters out less desired frames including, for example, unicolor frames, or those frames having a same object as a primary focus or one primary focuses. A visual index is created from those frames remaining after the keyframe filtering and stored for retrieval. The visual index may be retrieved by a user who may then display the visual index on a display. The user may select one of the frames displayed in the visual index and the source video may be manually (by the user) or automatically advanced to that frame of the source video. Additionally, a user may print the visual index.

Abstract: Film thickness variation is measured in a region determined to be particularly non-uniform. Preferably the region is a donut entirely disposed within 15 mm of the edge of the film. Preferably the measurements are effected by and ISTS apparatus. The method is particularly well adapted to copper films deposited by ECD.

Abstract: A pipelined circuit contains a cascade of stages, each with an intial register followed by a combinatorial logic circuit. The registers are clocked. At the beginning of each clock period, data in the initial register is updated. After that, during the clock period, data propagates from the initial register, along a path through the combinatorial logic circuits, to the initial register in the next stage where it is stored at the beginning of the next cycle. In the path there are several other registers, in which the data is stored at intermdiate phases of the clock cycle, while the data is kept in the initial register. Thus differences in propagation delay along different branches of the path are eliminated without increasing the number of clock cycles needed to pass data through the pipelined circuit. This reduces the number glitches which consume energy without affecting the function of the circuit.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of searching a plurality of values in an ordered list. Given a data set consisting of data items. With each data item one or more attribute values are associated, which are all stored in an ordered list. Efficiently retrieving the data items associated with a particular set of entered values is accomplished by using the list. The list (partially) resides in slow secondary memory and, and a subset thereof, the sparse index, resides in primary memory. Both indexes preserve some natural ordering of the values. The invention proposes to look up the particular set of entered values in the list in one combined operation, rather than individually. The accumulated retrieval time is substantially reduced as a result.