Abstract: A bonding pad structure for a semiconductor integrated circuit permits miniaturization of the bonding pad size by utilizing an opening in an overlying insulating layer to an exposed surface of an underlying multi-layer, interconnecting wiring of the integrated circuit, constituting a bonding pad for exposure to wire bonding. As a result, miniaturization of bonding pad size can be accommodated with integrated circuit scale reduction while maintaining good bonding adhesion strength at the bonding pad for subsequent wiring bonding.

Abstract: In a liquid crystal display device, support columns are formed on the outside of a seal area in an edge area of opposing substrates, thus reducing substrate deformation and preventing the occurrence of air bubbles inside the liquid crystal layer, undesirable coloring of the display area, and color irregularity. Support columns 9 formed using a conductive ink are provided on the outside of seal material 6 used for sealing liquid crystal layer 5 contained between top substrate 1 and bottom substrate 2. The support columns 9 prevent the warping of substrates 1 and 2 caused by the shrinkage of mold material 8 during hardening, reducing the changes in the liquid crystal layer thickness. Support columns 9 are print-formed simultaneously with the conductive connection area of the liquid crystal panel, and are hardened simultaneously with the seal material.

Abstract: A modular, multi-function information processing device suitable for point-of-sale (POS) station arrangements wherein separate printer and controller components are individually housed and arranged in a stacked vertical configuration. This arrangement save space by minimizing the overall footprint of the station. The connection between these components can be easily established or terminated for performing maintenance on a particular component or subassembly. Subassemblies within the housing may be extracted without impacting the overall structure of the device or use of the other components, and additional components can be easily added.

Abstract: A flexible clock and reset signal generation and distribution system and method for distributing a relatively low frequency clock signal to various elements of a computer system that require higher frequency clock signals for operation and includes programmable frequency synthesizers containing phase locked loop (PLL) type frequency multipliers, which are located physically adjacent to the computer system elements for receiving the low frequency clock signal and generating the various required higher frequency clock signals. The source of the relatively low frequency clock signal is a real-time clock (RTC) module having a crystal oscillator, a reset signal generator, and a low voltage detector. The RTC module switches off the low frequency clock signal when the main system power supply falls below a prescribed voltage level, such as, a battery voltage, or a voltage reference, or a combination battery voltage and voltage reference.

Abstract: A boardless connection assembly establishes flying connections to an electronic device such as an IC module by means of flexible circuits terminated by connectors clamped to the perimeter of the device so that the electrical contacts of the connectors engage the contacts of the electronic device. All of the connectors of the assembly may be clamped to the device by a band ring which surrounds the electronic device and includes a closure member to press the connectors against the electronic device with sufficient force to maintain reliable electrical connections between the contacts of the connector and those of the device.

Abstract: A compact, miniaturized pointing device for use with an electronic apparatus, such as a computer, personal data assistant (PDA), or digital watch display screen, is provided to indicate the position of a cursor mark on the display screen. The pointing device includes an elastic member which has a body portion that extends above the surface of the electronic apparatus with a section below the surface including pressure sensitive elements and corresponding position indicators. When a finger is placed on the elastic member, vibrational pressures are generated and pressure signals are propagated through the elastic member reaching the pressure sensing elements housed in the submerged section. The intensity of the propagating signal attenuates with a square of the distance traveled and, therefore, from a determination of the ratio of the magnitude the output voltage signals from the pressure sensing elements, the position of the pressed point on the elastic member can be computed.

Abstract: A two-dimensional coded character string linker for eliminating duplications when first and second two-dimensional coded character string files partially overlap each other, by automatically deleting the duplicated coded character data from one file, and linking the two-dimensional coded character string files. In order to achieve this object, in the two-dimensional file linker of this invention, any duplications between a first file written into a first memory and a second file written into a second memory are identified by an aligner. A linking element removes any duplication, and links the first and second files as one two-dimensional coded character string file.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a display FIFO module for use in DRAM interface that includes a DRAM controller sequencer which prioritizes requests for DRAM access received from various modules, such as a CPU, a blit engine module, and a half frame buffer logic module, etc. The display FIFO module is connected between the DRAM controller sequencer and a display pipeline which is connected to a display device. The display FIFO module issues low and high priority requests for DRAM access to the DRAM controller sequencer for loading the FIFO with display data to be transferred to the display device. The low priority request is issued at the earliest time when the display FIFO is capable of accepting new data without overwriting unread data. This is determined by comparing the FIFO data level against a predetermined low threshold value. The low priority request is issued when the FIFO data level falls below or is equal to the low threshold value.

Abstract: A disk drive suitable for receiving removable, cartridge-based media including a movable shutter, comprising a cartridge holder having a bottom guiding area divided into two sections along the side of the cartridge, along with a shutter guide formed therebetween near a central rotary drive used to position the media within the cartridge. The shutter guide guides the cartridge shutter upward from the central rotary drive when a cartridge is either being inserted into or extracted from the holder. Therefore, the cartridge can always be extracted even when the cartridge shutter comes close to the rotary drive due to its own weight and without being directly guided by the cartridge holder.

Abstract: An electro-optical device, such as a liquid crystal display device, that utilizes MIM-type or other nonlinear pixel driver elements having a first conductor, an insulator, and a second conductor, with a ratio of the capacitance or surface area of pixel electrodes to that of the overlapping parts of first and second conductors and an insulator forming the nonlinear driver being set to maximize contrast at normal use temperatures even when these ratios are changed to nearby values. This results in more efficient pixel driving and good display performance without making the capacitance of the nonlinear driver extremely small.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for altering the length of time a print head in a dot-matrix type of printer mechanism receives driving voltage in accordance with the type of recording media being used by the printer, and preselected print head driving modes selected as a result of control commands provided by a host computer. The print head driving voltage is also measured and digitized, and then used along with the paper type as a parameter for altering the print mode. Memory elements can be used to establish print mode, print media, and drive voltage relationships for automatically selecting an optimum driving time interval in response to one of the selected parameters.

Abstract: A touch panel input device is provide with a panel capable of propagating surface acoustic waves and in which surface acoustic wave attenuation is caused by a object in contact with said panel. An emission circuit outputs a surface acoustic wave drive; and an emission transducer emits surface acoustic waves in the panel in accordance with the surface wave drive outputted from said emission circuit. A reception transducer receives surface acoustic waves in the panel and outputs a received acoustic signal. A reception circuit receives the received acoustic wave signal from the reception transducer to detect a position at which the received acoustic wave is attenuated as indicative of a position that the object contacts the panel. A controller controls the emission circuit and the reception circuit, and comprises a processor for computing a width of the contact by the object on the panel in accordance with a waveform detected by the reception circuit.

Abstract: In a data print unit (40), a lower frame (50) and an upper frame (60) are assembled into a single unit by retaining tabs, shafts (71) and (81) of a year-month data indicator wheel (70) and of a day data indicator wheel (80) are inserted from the outside surface of upper frame (60), and print data plates (75) and (85) are fixed to the ends of shafts (71) and (81) from the outside surface of lower frame 50 by press fitting flanged insertion pins (78) and (88). A light-emitting diode (91) and a reflecting mirror that reflects the light beam emitted from light-emitting diode (91) and projects it on the rear surface of the film via light transmission holes (53a) and (53b) are built into the sandwich structure of lower frame (50) and upper frame (60). Translucent year-month data sections are formed on data plate (75) and translucent day data sections are formed on data plate (85).

Abstract: A surface emitting semiconductor laser, with a resonator cavity transverse to the planar extent of the deposited layers, is provided with a first reflection mirror on the substrate side composed of alternating layers comprising a first layer that is made of a Group III-V compound semiconductor and a second layer that is made of a Group III-V compound semiconductor with an energy bandgap that is larger than that of the first layer. A second reflection mirror is provided at the opposite end of the cavity adjacent to a column like resonator portion. At least the first reflection mirror comprises a distributive Bragg reflection (DBR) multiple layer mirror that has an interface region between first and second layers having a carrier concentration that is higher than that of other regions. The column like resonator portion is surrounded by a buried layer which may consist of two layers, the first layer functioning as barrier layer and the second layer functioning as a flattening layer.

Abstract: A data print unit or camera assembly capable of imparting data onto film or similar media disposed within the camera. Preferably, the data print unit includes a lamp chamber having slit limiting projections disposed therein for attenuating reflections created when the lamp is activated in order to produce a cleaner data image overlay on the exposed frame. Also, preferably, this data print unit or camera assembly may include a photosensing lamp triggering circuit in optical communication with the shutter aperture for more accurately timing data lamp activation and duration in response to subject lighting conditions.

Abstract: A system and method for reducing switching noise generated when an audio signal envelope is abruptly changed provides for gradual change of the audio signal envelope from one level to another. This gradual change over time in the audio signal envelope can be either near-linear or logarithmic. The system has a volume control register for storing a digital value representative of the envelope magnitude, an up/down counter initialized to a predetermined value, a comparator for comparing the contents of the volume control register and the up/down counter, and a digital-to-analog converter (D/A) which produces the audio signal envelope. The up/down counter output forms the input to the D/A. If the value of the volume control register is larger than the value of the up/down counter then the counter counts up until the values are equal. If the value of the volume control register is smaller than the value of the up/down counter then the counter counts down until the values are equal.

Abstract: A point-of-sale (POS) terminal is provided with a control device for sending control and/or print data to a printing apparatus. The control device includes a general purpose processor controlled by a general purpose operating system and a control device connector for connecting the control device to the printing apparatus. The printing apparatus comprises a first connector connecting the printing apparatus to the control device through the control device connector. A second connector connects the printing apparatus to an external device. A processor for processes first data input from the first connector and second data input from the second connector. The first connector is in communication with the second connector. The POS terminal also comprises a housing including a first body frame for accommodating the printing apparatus and a second body frame for accommodating the control device, the first body frame being detachably mounted on the second body frame.

Abstract: A high speed multiplex-driven liquid crystal display device is capable of utilizing a bistable nematic liquid crystal medium while maintaining high contrast, fast switching capability and a wide viewing angle. The chiral nematic liquid crystal medium has a twisted structure wherein a first voltage waveform applied in a first time period brings on Frederick's transition followed by a selected second voltage waveform applied in a second time period capable of generating one of two selectable metastable states representing switchable bistable states.

Abstract: The image processing performance of a present day or existing page printer, e.g., electrophotographic printer, is improved and accelerated with the use of a detachable intelligent cartridge which contains a CPU and necessary memory to process print data into image dated for the electronic control unit of the printer to which the cartridge is attached. Depending, upon the page description language (PDL) to be employed, a cartridge can be selected for use with the printer and accelerate its PDL conversion and printing output. The intelligent cartridge CPU, which is different from the printer CPU, receives print data are from the printer and, since the data bus connecting the intelligent cartridge and the electronic control unit of the printer has only a read only capability from the electronic control unit, data transfer to the cartridge is made possible by utilizing the print data as an index for the read address accomplished by the printer CPU.

Abstract: A data transfer control apparatus capable of continuously transferring large amounts of data without decreasing the performance of a system CPU. The data transfer control apparatus uses one or more external storage device interfaces to control transfer of data to or form such storage devices, buffer memory interfaces to control transfer of data to and from one or more buffer memory devices, other system and data processing device interfaces, and at least one arbitration unit which controls access to buffer memory data storage. The arbitration element is programmable in response to one or more stored priority values or command signals, and can alter system response to requests for data transfer without accessing the CPU. Data can be efficiently distributed to among devices, including such output devices as televisions having periodic display and non-display periods, or other display devices requiring data on an irregular basis.