Abstract: A method that decodes serially received MPEG variable length codes by executing instructions in parallel. The method includes an execution unit which includes multiple pipelined functional units. The functional units execute at least two of the instructions in parallel. The instructions utilize and share general purpose registers. The general purpose registers store information used by at least two of the instructions.

Abstract: A device to thermally couple a thermal management apparatus to at least one heat generating component of a circuit substrate includes at least a first portion that is adapted to couple to the thermal management apparatus, and at least a second portion that is adapted to couple to the thermal management apparatus. The first portion and the second portion may be symmetrically arranged relative to each other. The first portion and the second portion are adapted to thermally couple the thermal management apparatus to the heat generating component with a first spring bias. The first portion and the second portion are further adapted to maintain the thermal management apparatus thermally coupled to the heat generating component with a second spring bias.

Abstract: A buffer is associated with each of a plurality of data lanes of a multi-lane serial data bus. Data words are timed through the buffers of active ones of the data lanes. Words timed through buffers of active data lanes are merged onto a parallel bus such that data words from each of the active data lanes are merged onto the parallel bus in a pre-defined repeating sequence of data lanes. This approach allows other, non-active, data lanes to remain in a power conservation state.

Abstract: The present invention is a method of writing information to a synchronous memory device by examining a present word of N bits to be written, where each bit has a high or low value. The present word is compared to a previous word also having N bits to identify the number of bit transitions from a low value to a high value of vice versa. The present bit is inverted when the number of transitions is greater than N/2. To avoid the need for having an extra bit accompany data bytes to indicate the presence or absence of inversion, the present invention takes advantage of a data mask pin that is normally unused during writing operations to carry the inversion bit. Non-inverted data is written directly into the memory device while inverted data is first inverted again before writing to storage locations, so that true data is stored in the memory device.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for superword register value numbering includes hashing an operation code and the value numbers of a plurality of sources to generate a flint hash value. The method and apparatus further includes retrieving an operation value number from the first hash table based on the first hash value. The method and apparatus further includes generating a result value number based on a previous bit hash value and the operation value number. The result value number is a combination of the operation value numbers for each component having a live indicator (e.g., a false write mask value) and a previous value numbers for the components without the live indicator (e.g., a true write mask value). Thereupon, the method and apparatus includes searching a second hash table using the result value number. As such, the method and apparatus provides using two separate hash tables for value numbering with superword instructions.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for SSA dead code elimination includes examining a first instruction off a worklist, wherein the first instruction includes previous link and a write mask and the first instruction is an SSA instruction. The method and apparatus further includes examining at least one second instruction of the machine code, wherein the at least one second instructions are sources of the first instruction and the at least one second instructions are SSA instruction. In the method and apparatus, each of the at least one second instructions include a previous link and a write mask. The method and apparatus further includes determining if any components within a particular field of the at least one second instruction are live. If none of the components are live, the method and apparatus provides for deleting the second instruction from the machine code as it is determined that this instruction is extraneous, dead code.

Abstract: A linearly actuated switch assembly is adjustably disposed in a housing stem bore of a robotic crash protector device. An actuation plate is disposed over the central bore of the contact surface. As the piston moves toward the housing base in response to a crash force or torque applied to the actuator, the actuation plate moves in an axial direction, and contacts and actuates the switch. The actuation plate is biased towards the contact surface by an actuation spring disposed between the actuation plate and a spring plate that is rigidly affixed to the housing stem. This arrangement allows the actuation plate to “float” with respect to the fixed spring plate. In particular, the actuation plate may assume the orientation of the piston, which may be canted from its default orientation—normal to the device central axis—by uneven application of force by the actuator.

Abstract: A method of signal processing according to one of several embodiments includes estimating a deterministic component of a received signal. The estimating is based on an estimated response of a transmission channel. Based on the estimated deterministic component, a non-deterministic component of the received signal is estimated. Based on corrupted portions of the estimated non-deterministic component, a noise estimate is obtained, and the received signal is compensated based on the noise estimate. A method according to another embodiment includes replacing received samples at corrupted locations with values from a calculated model.

Abstract: A memory interface allows access SDRAM by receiving a column address for a data read or write of a burst of data units. Each data unit in the burst has an expected bit size. The interface generates n(n>1) column memory addresses from the received column address. The interface accesses the synchronous dynamic memory to read or write n bursts of data at the n column memory addresses. Preferably, the SDRAM is clocked at n times the rate of the interconnected memory accessing device, and the memory units. The data units in the n bursts preferably have one nth the expected bit size. In this way, SDRAM may be accessed with high memory bandwidth, without requiring an increase in the size of data units in the SDRAM, and the associated data bus. Conveniently, the interface may be operable in two separate modes or configurations. In one mode, SDRAM may be accessed through the interface in a conventional manner. In the second mode, SDRAM is accessed in multiple bursts for each received burst access.

Abstract: A mipmap generator generates pairs of mipmaps that are each of a lower resolution that its respective source image. A single-pass, gradient-based motion vector generator generates an image motion vector map having values that represent the motion trajectories for pixels in the first and second source images. An image interpolator generates an interpolated image based on the source images and the image motion vector map. A motion detector generates a motion factor map based on a pair of mipmaps from those generated by the mipmap generator that represents a detected degree of motion between the first and second source images. The blending module generates a blended, upconverted new image using the motion factor map, the interpolated image and one of the first and second motion maps.

Abstract: A method and apparatus that is able to favor keeping objects in motion intact is provided. Additionally a method and apparatus regularizing a motion vector field that has been previously determined by a traditional algorithm is provided. Finally, a mechanism is provided that allows for improving a contextual understanding of an object structure even when the group of pixels under consideration is much smaller than the object in motion.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are disclosed wherein a depth map is generated using a single camera (e.g., single lens of a camera) and multiple images are captured by the camera. In one example, a single digital camera is used to capture a set of images corresponding to a set of lens positions based on lens position data. In this example, the lens position data may be either uniform or nonuniform lens position data. The method and apparatus determines focus metric information for each of a plurality of regions of interest in each image of a set. A determination is made of a best lens position for each of the regions of interest based on the focus metric information from the images in the set and are stored as data in a depth map. Image generation operations are then performed based on the generated depth map, such as determining whether or not to use a flash to capture a final image, to determine a type of color operation to be performed on the final image, or any other suitable image generation operation.

Abstract: A method and apparatus improves an auto focus system by altering, such as by positioning, at least one lens of a digital camera to a plurality of predetermined nonuniform lens positions corresponding to predetermined nonuniform lens position data. The method and apparatus selects a final lens position for the lens based on the predetermined nonuniform lens position data. In one example, a fixed number of predetermined nonuniform lens positions define a set of lens positions used to capture images during an auto focus operation. A final image is captured using a final lens position. The final lens position is determined by comparing focus metric information from each of the frames obtained at the various predetermined nonuniform focus lens positions and selecting the frame with, for example, the best focus metric as the lens position to be used for the final picture or image capture.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for configuring multiple displays associated with a computing system begins when display preferences regarding at least one of the multiple displays are received. The display preferences indicate desired selections of which images are to be displayed on which displays and may be based on user selections or application selections. Having received the display preferences, a coupling controller within a video graphics processing circuit determines whether the display preferences can be fulfilled in observance of configuration properties. The configuration properties include limitations of the displays (e.g., refresh rate, resolution) and the computing system (e.g., display controller capabilities) and/or rules of the computing system (e.g., at least one screen must be actively coupled at all times). If the display preferences can be fulfilled, the coupling controller causes display controllers to be operably coupled to displays.

Abstract: An austenitic stainless steel composition including relatively low nickel and molybdenum levels, and exhibiting corrosion resistance, resistance to elevated temperature deformation, and formability properties comparable to certain alloys including higher nickel and molybdenum levels. Embodiments of the austenitic stainless steel include, in weight %, up to 0.20 C, 2.0-9.0 Mn, up to 2.0 Si, 16.0-23.0 Cr, 1.0-7.0 Ni, up to 3.0 Mo, up to 3.0 Cu, 0.05-0.35 N, up to 4.0 W, (7.5(% C))?(Nb+Ti+V+Ta+Zr)?1.5, up to 0.01 B, up to 1.0 Co, iron and impurities. Additionally, embodiments of the steel may include 0.5?(Mo+W/2)?5.0 and/or 1.0?(Ni+Co)?8.0.

Abstract: An austenitic stainless steel composition having low nickel and molybdenum and exhibiting high corrosion resistance and good formability. The austenitic stainless steel includes, in weight %, up to 0.20 C, 2.0-6.0 Mn, up to 2.0 Si, 16.0-23.0 Cr, 5.0-7.0 Ni, up to 3.0 Mo, up to 3.0 Cu, 0.1-0.35 N, up to 4.0 W, up to 0.01 B, up to 1.0 Co, iron and impurities. The austenitic stainless steel has a ferrite number less than 11 and an MD30 value less than ?10° C.

Abstract: Spatial or temporal interpolation may be performed upon source video content to create interpolated video content. A video signal including the interpolated video content and non-interpolated video content (e.g. the source video content) may be generated. At least one indicator for distinguishing the non-interpolated video content from the interpolated video content may also be generated. The video signal and indicator(s) may be passed from a video source device to a video sink device. The received indicator(s) may be used to distinguish the non-interpolated video content from the interpolated video content in the received video signal. The non-interpolated video content may be used to “redo” the interpolation or may be recorded to a storage medium.

Abstract: An upstream video processor may perform video processing upon video data to created processed video data. The video processing may include at least one of color correction, contrast correction, gamma correction, sharpness enhancement, and edge enhancement. Metadata indicative of the performed video processing may also be generated. The processed video data and metadata may be passed to a downstream video processor, the latter for use in determining what further video processing, if any, to apply. An intermediate video processor may receive video data and metadata indicating video processing performed thereupon by an upstream video processor. Based on the received metadata, additional video processing may be performed, and new metadata indicating the additional video processing may be generated.

Abstract: A method and apparatus of processing image data comprises correlating received image data. Image statistics are computed based upon the correlated image and eccentricity is estimated based upon the computed image statistics. An entropy metric of the correlated received image data is determined. An interpretation based upon the image statistics, estimated eccentricity, and entropy metric is performed and a report including the content of the processed image data is generated.

Abstract: A method and apparatus that augments the traditional Phase Plane Correlation (PPC) approach incorporates image structure into the correlation process. In so doing, the energy in spurious peaks that can occur in the phase plane correlation surface are dramatically reduced.