Abstract: Disclosed herein is a multi-directional toothbrush for protecting teeth. The multi-directional toothbrush includes a rotatable toothbrush part, a rotatable toothbrush part support frame, and a vertically moving toothbrush part. The rotatable toothbrush part is configured such that a cylindrical toothbrush part is provided on the outer surface of a cylindrical body. The rotatable toothbrush part support frame is configured such that the cam shafts of the rotatable toothbrush part are fitted into respective cam shaft holes. The vertically moving toothbrush part includes a vertically moving frame that is contained in the internal space of the rotatable toothbrush part support frame, and reciprocates up and down using a vertical moving means.

Abstract: A collapsible fluid containment bag for irrigating and cleaning wounds on extremities having semi-rigid support members and an elevated lower support member attached to the bottom of the proximal end of the containment bag creating a gradient for allowing irrigation fluids and biological tissue to drain to the distal end of the bag for removal. The containment bag is collapsible, making it a convenient size for storage, transport, and disposal.

Abstract: A differential microphone assembly with multiple membranes in a single package and oriented in mutually exclusive directions.

Abstract: An integrated digitally controlled linear-in-decibels attenuator circuit in which one or more sets of selection switches establish a desired attenuation by selectively connecting the input signal electrode to one or more corresponding resistive ladder networks connected in series, thereby providing a substantially more constant signal attenuation value over a wider frequency bandwidth. With a single resistive ladder network, attenuation control is achieved using a thermometer switching code. With multiple resistive ladder networks, coarse and fine attenuation control can be achieved using thermometer and bubble switching codes, respectively.

Abstract: In one aspect of the present invention, a device for sensing an absolute position of an encoded object, comprising: a position tracking module comprising: a track illumination module configured to illuminate the encoded object with one more light beams, and to detect one or more light beams resulting from said illumination of said encoded object; and an absolute position determinator configured to determine the absolute position of the encoded object based on said one or more light beams resulting from said illumination of said encoded object.

Abstract: A circuit (800) for controlling at least one piezoelectric actuator (142) includes a piezoelectric drive circuit (802) that generates unidirectional voltage drive signal, also referred to as Vout, at node (804). The piezoelectric actuator drive circuit (802) includes a boost switcher circuit or charging circuit (806), a buck switcher circuit or pulsed current sink discharge circuit (808) and a control signal generating circuit (810) that receives an input control signal (812) from, for example, a keyboard processor or other suitable processor (604) indicating that the device has requested generation of haptic feedback utilizing the piezoelectric actuator (142). The control signal generating circuit (810) provides at least two pulse-with-modulated control signals, one to control the charging circuit and one to control the discharging circuit to produce the unidirectional voltage drive signal, that in one example is a raised cosine drive signal (904).

Abstract: The present disclosure generally relates to a capacitance sensing apparatus equipped with self-calibrating capacity and method of use thereof. The disclosure contemplates the determination using a secondary means of precise fluid levels according to five possible embodiments, and the use of the determined fluid level to recalibrate the capacitance sensing apparatus along its continuous analog level, namely, a variation of the thickness of the insulation of a capacitance sensing apparatus, the variation of the surface geometry of the capacitance sensing apparatus, the use of a dual-probe sensor including a probe with a varied surface geometry, the use of an electromagnetic sensor adjoining the capacitance sensor, and the variation of the electromechanical sensor to serve as a capacitance sensing apparatus. The disclosure also contemplates methods for using the sensing apparatus previously disclosed to measure a fluid level using a self-calibrating capacitance sensing apparatus.

Abstract: In one embodiment, the present invention, one or more light modulating elements are controlled by a method comprising the following steps: controlling at least one pulse width using recursive feedback; and driving an electrode means using the pulse width to thereby control a light modulating element of an array of light modulating elements. In other embodiments, the present invention provides a method and system for determining a pulse wave form for each line of a two-dimensional array of drive bits using a recursive feedback process, wherein each drive bit in the array of drive bits is in an initialized state; and for turning all of the drive bits to an off state to thereby produce a blanking interval between fields for an image, wherein control of each of the pulse wave forms is staggered in time.

Abstract: A lock loop circuit (216) includes a precharge circuit (304), an oscillator circuit (306), and a calibration circuit (309). The calibration circuit includes at least one register (362). The precharge circuit provides a precharge signal (347). The oscillator circuit provides an output frequency signal (228) in response to a steering signal (334) that is based on the precharge signal. The calibration circuit, prior to the lock loop circuit entering a disabled mode of operation, determines a calibration value (368) for the precharge circuit based on the precharge signal and the steering signal. The calibration circuit stores the calibration value as a digital calibration value (370) in the register.

Abstract: A circuit including control logic; and configurable impedance logic, operatively coupled to the control logic, comprising a configurable transistor structure operative to selectively change from a high impedance mode where the configurable transistor structure is configurable as a plurality of series connected diodes having their cathodes coupled together, and a low impedance mode where the configurable transistor structure is configurable to include a plurality of cascoded transistors. The circuit may further include at least one control signal line from the control logic to the configurable impedance logic, where the control signal line is operative to provide a control signal for configuring the configurable impedance logic.

Abstract: Multiple Video Graphic Adapters (VGAs) are used to render video data to a common port. In one embodiment, each VGA will render an entire frame of video and provide it to the output port through a switch. The next adjacent frame will be calculated by a separate VGA and provided to an output port through the switch. A voltage adjustment is made to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) of at least one of the VGAs in order to correlate the video-out voltages being provided by the VGAs. This correlation assures that the color being viewed on the screen is uniform regardless of which VGA is providing the signal. When a VGA is not providing information to the output port, a dummy switch can be selected to provide the video-output of the selected VGA a resistance path which matches the resistance at the video port.

Abstract: A power up biasing circuit for a split power supply based circuit includes a split power supply state sensing circuit that produces a pair of complimentary control signals indicating a presence or absence of a suitable biasing power supply voltage. A pseudo power supply voltage, based on a first power supply is selected by a selector circuit for acting as a biasing voltage for one or a plurality of components to be protected during initial power up where there is an absence of a second power supply voltage, based on the pair of complimentary control signals. Once the second power supply voltage has fully ramped up to steady state, the selector circuit selects the second power supply voltage as the biasing voltage for one or a plurality of component to be protected.

Abstract: A level shifting circuit includes a first stage and a second stage. The first stage and second stage are operatively coupled to a first and second power supply. The first stage translates a differential input voltage into an intermediate differential voltage. The second stage translates the intermediate differential voltage into a differential output voltage and provides feedback to the first stage in response to translating the intermediate differential voltage. The first stage reduces current flow between the first and second power supply through the second stage in response to the feedback.

Abstract: A method and system for accommodating at least one high priority data element from a plurality of data elements written into a ring buffer including a processor that preempts a ring buffer by modifying at least one of the data elements previously written to the ring buffer to create modified data elements in response to detecting a high priority data element to be written into the ring buffer. The processor modifies the plurality of data elements previously written to the ring buffer to create the modified data elements. The processor resubmits to the ring buffer at least one of the data elements corresponding to at least one of the modified data elements for execution by a graphics co-processor in response to processing the at least one high priority data element.

Abstract: A method for determining the appearance of a pixel includes receiving fragment data for a pixel to be rendered; storing the fragment data; and determining an appearance value for the pixel based on the stored fragment data, wherein a portion of the stored fragment data is dropped when the number of fragment data per pixel exceeds a threshold value enabling large savings in memory footprint without impacting perceivably on the image quality. A graphics processor includes a rasterizer operative to generate fragment data for a pixel to be rendered in response to primitive information; and a render back end circuit, coupled to the rasterizer, operative to determine a pixel appearance value based on the fragment data by dropping the fragment data having the least effect on pixel appearance.

Abstract: A graphics processing circuit includes an anti-aliasing and stippling circuit operative to provide a primitive texture coordinate set in response to vertex data, the anti-aliasing and stippling circuit performing anti-aliasing operations, in parallel, with at least one appearance attribute determination operation on the vertex data, a rasterizer, coupled to the anti-aliasing and stippling circuit, operative to generate a pixel texture coordinate set in response to the primitive texture coordinate set, and apply an appearance value to a pixel defined by the pixel texture coordinate set, and a texture circuit, coupled to the rasterizer, operative to retrieve the appearance value from a corresponding one of a plurality of textures in a multi-texture map in response to the pixel texture coordinate set, the multi-texture map including data representing point, line and polygon texture data.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a handheld, single-piece wear gauge for chains, and more specifically, to a wear gauge with an elongated body carved into segments with markings, varied widths, and varied heights arranged along a guiding back rail. A roller chain wear gauge includes a single-piece body with a measuring end and a handle connected to the measuring end, wherein the measuring end includes a plurality of adjacent and contiguous calibrated segments each having a measuring length, a measuring width, and a measurement marking, and wherein the measuring end defines on one side a back rail formed by an alignment of a first side of each of the calibrated segments and a step function formed by the second side of each of the calibrated segments.

Abstract: A fluidized bed apparatus includes a fluidizing container, a porous plate, a lower spray nozzle, a bag filter, an upper spray nozzle, a backwash nozzle, and a backwash nozzle elevator. The fluidizing container is formed in an inverted truncated conical cylindrical shape. The porous plate is provided so as to block a lower opening of the fluidizing container. The lower spray nozzle jets out air into the fluidizing container via the porous plate. The bag filter is provided at an upper opening of the fluidizing container. The upper spray nozzle sprays spray liquid downward. The backwash nozzle sweeps away powder particulates adhered to the bag filter by jetting out air from the outside of the bag filter toward the inside and is moved up and down by the backwash nozzle elevator. The fluidizing container may be vibrated by a vibrator.