Abstract: An automated sales promotion selection system uses neural networks to identify promising sales promotions based on recent customer purchases. The system includes a customer information device that receives customer data relating to customer purchases of items from an inventory of items, a central processing unit having a sales promotion neural network and a storage unit containing a plurality of item identifiers comprising potential customer purchases of additional items from the inventory, wherein the sales opportunity neural network responds to customer data received from the customer information device by determining if one or more of the item identifiers in the storage unit corresponds to an item likely to be purchased by one of the customers, and an output device that receives the item identifiers of the likely purchases determined by the sales promotion neural network and produces a sales promotion relating to at least one of the item identifiers.

Abstract: In a first form, a voltage controlled oscillator includes delay cells connected in a ring, and control elements connected to selectively bypass respective sets of the delay cells. The delay cells are operable to receive respective differential inputs and to generate inverted outputs. The control elements are operable to receive respective differential inputs and to generate non-inverted outputs with variable delays. The control element delays are variable responsive to respective differential control voltages.

Abstract: Methods and systems for testing speech recognition systems are disclosed in which the speech recognition device to be tested is directly monitored in accordance with a text-to-speech device. The collection of reference texts to be used by the speech recognition device is provided by a text-to-speech device preferably, in one embodiment, implemented within the same computer system. In such an embodiment, a digital audio file stored within a storage area of a computer system is generated from a reference text using a text-to-speech device. The digital audio file is later read using a speech recognition device to generate a decoded (or recognized) text representative of the reference text. The reference text and the decoded text are compared in an alignment operation and an error report representative of the recognition rate of the speech recognition device is finally generated.

Abstract: The present invention describes the use of two semiconductor layers, a thin film (TF) layer and a bulk Si wafer layer, to make high density and high speed merged logic and memory IC chips. The memory cells use three-dimensional (3D) SRAM structures. Two kinds of 3D logic cells are disclosed. 3D form of the differential cascode voltage switch (DCVS) architecture, and a 3D form of the DCVS with pass gate (DCVSPG) logic architecture. A high density “system on chip” architecture is described. The high density is achieved by locating large PMOS transistors in the TF Si layer, and the fast NMOS transistors in a bulk Si wafer layer. A single process sequence to simultaneously make the logic and memory circuits on the IC chip is also described.

Abstract: A method, apparatus and program product provides an indication to a programmer of the efficiency of a created program and comprises monitoring of insertion and deletion of one or more functions within the program and determining a performance statistic for the function which is indicative of the efficiency of the function. A humanly perceptible output is provided to the programmer which is reflective of the performance statistic of the function to provide an indication to the programmer related to the efficiency of the created program.

Abstract: A method for insertion of inserting printed circuit card into socket connectors which prevents sockets from getting contaminated or damaged during the insertion of a printed circuit card comprises the steps of: inserting a cam for moving a socket connector's contacts outwardly so that they will not make contact with a card's edge when it is inserted between the contacts of the sockets connector as it is inserted, and after the printed circuit card is inserted the printed circuit card moving the printed circuit card until it makes contact with a stop in the socket connector, and after the printed circuit card has contacted the stop in the socket connector, moving the cam to a closed position allowing the printed circuit card to be seated, and seating the printed circuit card by moving it to cause and allow for an amount of wipe to clean the connector's contacts without contaminating or damaging the socket connector's contacts during the insertion of said printed circuit card.

Abstract: An antifuse structure for improved programming efficiency is disclosed wherein the antifuse structure including a first node providing a first voltage, a plurality of antifuse elements, and a plurality of first switches. The plurality of antifuse elements are commonly connected to the first node. The plurality of first switches are sequentially activated during a program mode to individually apply the first voltage to each antifuse element. The antifuse structure may include a second node to which a second voltage is provided. Each of the plurality of first switches may be coupled between the second node and a corresponding one of the plurality of antifuse elements. The antifuse structure may also include a third node to which a fuse latch is connected. A plurality of second switches may be coupled between the third node and a corresponding one of the plurality antifuse elements. The plurality of second switches may be simultaneously activated during a read mode.

Abstract: A portable computer includes a battery and a connection to an external power source, a two-speed data storage device being supplied power from one or more of the battery and the external power source, and a controller attached to the storage device. With the invention, when the storage device is powered by the internal battery, the controller not only reduces the rotation speed and the clock rate of the storage device, but also reduces the power consumption of the read/write electronics module inside the disk drive by lowering the power supply voltage for the write driver inside said module and lowering the tail currents for the amplifier stages in the readback amplifier inside said module.

Abstract: Semiconductor devices having deep trenches with fill material therein having low resistivity are provided along with methods of fabricating such semiconductor devices.

Abstract: An apparatus for performing semiconductor planarizing operations is disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus includes a carrier assembly for maintaining a workpiece therein in a face up orientation. A roller assembly includes a first cylindrical roller and a cylindrical second roller, the first and second rollers being linked to one another through a pair of arms. Each of the first and second rollers may be independently positioned with respect to a horizontal plane, the horizontal plane being substantially parallel to a top surface of the workpiece.

Abstract: A power converter circuit is disclosed. The power converter circuit comprises an oscillator for receiving an input wherein the oscillator operates with a fixed frequency and a resonant circuit coupled to the oscillator, wherein the resonant circuit is adjusted to minimize switching losses. Through the use the power converter circuit in accordance with the present invention, high switching losses are avoided thereby resulting in an increase in the overall efficiency of the power converter circuit.

Abstract: A method and system are disclosed to prevent significant degradation of a data transfer rate in write cache transfer, thereby keeping the minimum data transfer rate high. The initial value Ti of the virtual buffer full capacity T(tx) is set to F/N (where F is a data capacity of the buffer, and N>1) and it is determined if the amount of write cached data S(tx) reaches the virtual buffer full capacity T(tx) so that write cache transfer is enabled during an S(tx)<T(tx) period and if virtual buffer full (S(tx)=T(tx)) is satisfied, the write cache transfer is inhibited until S(tx)<T(tx) is satisfied and the virtual buffer full capacity T(tx) is increased by a predetermined value K from the current one each time disk writing is stopped (each time a write error occurs) while the virtual buffer full is continued, thereby enabling write cache transfer while disk writing is stopped.

Abstract: A user interface is provided to receive electronic mail addresses for printer alert notification recipients. The alert notifications to be received by each individual recipient are designated based on the underlying alert condition prompting the alert. Once all desired recipients and corresponding alert notifications have been specified, this alert notification configuration is implemented for one or more printers within a group of monitored printers.

Abstract: In connection with blind source separation, proposed herein, inter alia, are: expectation-maximization equations to iteratively estimate unmixing filters and source density parameters in the context of convolutive independent component analysis where the sources are modeled with mixtures of Gaussians; a scheme to estimate the length of unmixing filters; and two alternative initialization schemes.

Abstract: A printed circuit board and method for reducing the impedance within the reference path and/or saving space within the printed circuit board. In one embodiment of the present invention, a printed circuit board comprises a plurality of conductive layers. The printed circuit board further comprises two or more vias for interconnecting two or more conductive layers. The printed circuit board further comprises an electrical component embedded in a particular via between two conductive layers to reduce the impedance within the reference path and/or save space within the printed circuit board.

Abstract: A system and method for DEN/LDAP client database access with backoff capability. A current tree of directory information maintained at an LDAP server is used by LDAP clients to retrieve policy configuration information. When an LDAP client wishes to update policy configuration information, a new tree is created by cloning the current or a previous tree or by building a new tree. When the LDAP client is finished updating the new tree, the path for using LDAP clients is set to the new tree and the clients are requested to read LDAP policy configuration information using the new path. If the new tree of policy configuration information is found to be unsuitable, the clients' path is reset to the original tree and the clients are requested to read LDAP information policies using the reset path.

Abstract: The electroplated components of a magnetic head of the present invention are fabricated utilizing a seed layer that is susceptible to reactive ion etch removal techniques. A preferred seed layer is comprised of tungsten or titanium. Following the electroplating of the components utilizing a fluorine species reactive ion etch process the seed layer is removed, and significantly, the fluorine RIE process creates a gaseous tungsten or titanium fluoride compound removal product. The problem of seed layer redeposition along the sides of the electroplated components is overcome because the gaseous fluoride compound is not redeposited. The present invention also includes an enhanced two part seed layer, where the lower part is tungsten, titanium or tantalum and the upper part is composed of the material that constitutes the component to be electroplated.

Abstract: An apparatus for performing vibration testing of fiber optic components is disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus includes a base member and a mounting assembly for holding a plurality of connectors therein, The plurality of connectors optically couple a plurality of fiber optic cables with one another in a serial configuration. In addition, a securing mechanism for adjustably secures the mounting assembly in a selected axial orientation with respect to the base member, wherein the mounting assembly allows simultaneous vibration testing of each of the plurality of connectors.

Abstract: The improved process according to the invention prepares samples for subsequent imaging by directing the FIB beam so that its incident angle is not parallel to the planar boundaries between the materials with different etch rates. This nonparallel alignment has the effect of evening out the etch rate, since most of the key beamlets cut more than one type of material. SEM images of the resulting samples are easier to interpret than those produced by the prior art since the obscuring effect of curtaining is reduced. This allows greater accuracy of measurement from the image obtained by an SEM. A method according to a preferred embodiment of the invention is used to prepare a pole piece tip of a magnetic transducer so that the bottom width may be more accurately measured.

Abstract: A method of constructing data classifiers in cases where the number of features is much larger than the number of training examples and it is critical to avoid overtraining, is particularly useful in recognizing computer objects containing or likely to contain a computer virus. The method provides a novel way of tolerating imperfectly classifiable data, of learning in time polynomial in the size of the input data, and of avoiding overtraining. Training is performed by constructing and solving a linear program (LP) or integer program (IP).