Abstract: An apparatus cuts a substrate having first and second portions, each portion having a respectively different level. A first support surface is located at a first level. The first portion of the substrate is supported by the first support surface. A second support surface is located at a second level different from the first level. The second portion of the substrate is supported by the second support surface. The first and second support surfaces are first and second die surfaces, respectively. A punch cuts the substrate between the first support surface and the second support surface. The punch has a V-shaped cross section. A stripper plate has first and second portions. The punch is positioned between the first and second portions of the stripper plate. The first portion of the substrate is clamped between the first portion of the stripper plate and the first die surface. The second portion of the substrate is clamped between the second portion of the stripper plate and the second die surface.

Abstract: A heating/cooling apparatus for electronic components of a wireless base station is described. The apparatus includes a heat exchanger having a material-filled chamber and a plurality of extrusions. The chamber is located adjacent to the electronic components. A heater is provided within the chamber. The material within the chamber, which is preferably a liquid, serves to conduct heat from the electronic components to the extrusions. The heater serves to heat the material within the chamber, which in turn conducts that heat to the electronic components, when heat is required to maintain operation of the components with prescribed parameters.

Abstract: An electro-optic device which includes a mirror array attached to a base substrate is disclosed. The mirror array comprises a substrate having a plurality of spaced-apart mirrors with underlying cavities (each having a diameter at least about the same size as that of the overlying mirror) formed therein. The base substrate includes a plurality of electrodes as well as a plurality of electrical interconnections. The mirror array is attached to the base substrate so that each mirror of the array as well as a cavity are supported above a set of electrodes. Each mirror of the mirror array rotates relative to the major plane of the substrate in response to an electrical signal. The application of an electrical potential to each mirror relative to at least one electrode of the set of electrodes causes the desired rotation (depending on the magnitude of the electrical potential) up to an angle of about 20 degrees.

Abstract: The present invention provides a heat sink that, in an advantageous embodiment, includes a spine having a width with first and second opposing sides that are oriented to be abnormal to the substrate when the heat sink is mounted on the substrate. The heat sink further includes an electronic device support leg that extends generally transverse from the first side and that is configured to support a heat generating electrical component thereon. Alternative embodiments of the present invention may include a plurality of such electronic device support legs. A plurality of cooling fins are also included in the present invention, extending from the second side. Moreover, each of the plurality of cooling fins has a depth that is substantially less than the width of the heat sink, which give this unique heat sink an exceptional cooling efficiency. In particular advantageous embodiments, the depth to width ratio of the fins and spine, may range from about 1 to 5 or 1 to 10, respectively.

Abstract: A simple high speed Real-Time method and apparatus for processing a queue in a network queue server is presented. Long packets at the beginning of the queue are processed while a pointer chains down the queue to find shorter packets. When a shorter packet is found the pointer stops and waits for a timing threshold to be met. When the timing threshold is met the short packet is processed until completion and then work is resumed on the long packet. The method is implemented using a pointer to identify the position in the queue that is currently being processed, a pointer to search for the shorter packets, two registers to hold values of the respective pointers and memory to hold the location of the discontinued packet. An additional register is utilized to hold the incremented cycle processing time, and a final register is used to hold a threshold value for processing a packet. Lastly, a previous pseudo head register is also utilized when the queue is not doubly linked.

Abstract: For use in a power distribution system having first and second output power feeds having corresponding first and second circuit protection devices associated therewith, a monitoring system and a method of monitoring a utilization of the power distribution system. In one embodiment, the monitoring system includes: (1) first and second status sensors that sense statuses of the first and second circuit protection devices, respectively and (2) a controller, coupled to the first and second status sensors, that employs the statuses to determine a loading of the first and second output power feeds and calculates a utilization of the power distribution system based on the loading.

Abstract: A method of built-in self-testing field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) including the programmable logic blocks, the programmable routing networks and the programmable input/output cells or boundary ports at the device, board or system level includes testing the programmable logic blocks, reconfiguring a first group of he programmable logic blocks to include a test pattern generator and an output response analyzer, and configuring the programmable routing network into groups of wires under test. This step is followed by generating test patterns propagated along the wires under test and comparing the outputs utilizing the output response analyzer. Based on the result of the comparison a pass/fail test result indication is routed to the associated boundary port. The results from a plurality of output response analyzers can be compared utilizing an iterative comparator in order to reduce the number of boundary ports required during testing.

Abstract: A bus holdup circuit for a module of a distributed power system, a method of bolstering bus voltage and a distributed power system employing the circuit or the method. In one embodiment, wherein the module has a backplane interface adapted to be removably coupled to a DC backplane of the distributed power system, the bus holdup circuit includes: (1) an energy storage circuit, coupled across the backplane interface, adapted to store and dissipate energy to bolster a voltage across the DC backplane and (2) an inrush limiting circuit, series-coupled to the energy storage circuit, adapted to limit an inrush current to the module.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for ensuring that queries presented to a database are safe thus providing solutions to both undecidability and lack of effective syntax issues. In a one aspect of the invention, a method for use in a database system includes obtaining an original query entered by a user. The invention then provides for pre-processing the query before submittal to a database engine associated with the database system wherein a result of the pre-processing operation is to ensure that a query provided to the engine is safe. Safety has a different meaning depending on the application. For example, safety may include ensuring that a query will return an output with finite results or it may include ensuring that certain geometric properties in the query are preserved in the output.

Abstract: In a distributed network of processors, a method for completing update transactions using update transaction timers after failure of one processor. Failed slave processors are updated with other slave processors using a record of the last completed database update transaction at each processor prior to failure and using a journal in the master processor that records steps of database update transactions generated by the master database processor.

Abstract: A system provides automatic protection switching in case of failure or degradation in a function. For example, a system node may have a working server function, a protection server function, one or more client functions, and a control function. In its baseline configuration, the working server function is active, meaning that it is operating on-line with respect to the client functions, while the protection server function is standby, meaning that it is either inactive (i.e., cold standby) or operating off-line with respect to the client functions (i.e., hot standby). The control function monitors the operations of the working server function, and, if a failure or degradation is detected, or if an externally generated switch command is received, the control function will (1) instruct the working server function to change its status from active to standby and (2) instruct the protection server function to change its status from standby to active.

Abstract: This invention relates to an arrangement for efficiently providing an up to date neighbor list for base stations serving a wireless cellular telecommunications call. The neighbor list is required by a mobile station measuring signal strengths of signals for surrounding base stations in order to locate base stations from which the mobile station can receive strong signals. When one base station receives a revised neighbor list from another base station, it receives a revised neighbor list from another base station, it receives a time stamp identifying when that revised neighbor list was created. Thereafter, when a request for data from a base station is transmitted, it is transmitted with that time stamp; no neighbor list is returned if the time stamp matches the time stamp stored with the neighbor list of the base station receiving the request.

Abstract: A controller for a full bridge power converter having controllable switches, a method of operating the controller and a power supply employing the controller or the method. In one embodiment, the controller includes (1) a signal generator circuit designed to drive the controllable switches in a phase-shifted mode and (2) a switching network, coupled to the signal generator circuit, adapted to enable the signal generator circuit to operate the converter in an alternative one of (2a) the phase-shifted mode, wherein the controllable switches in each of first and second legs of the converter are complementarily switched, the signal generator circuit capable of adjusting a relative phase between the first and second legs and (2b) a normal mode, wherein diagonal pairs of the controllable switches are switched substantially simultaneously and at a substantially full duty cycle.

Abstract: A radar detector is equipped with a positional tracking system, such as a global positioning satellite (GPS) system which can track the location of the vehicle in which the detector is located, and a processor enabling the detector to “learn” about the location of sources of false alarms. The learned information is stored in a “false alarm” database. When an alarm is detected, a comparison in made between the present location in the vehicle and stored information indicative of known locations at which false alarms have previously occurred. If the comparison is positive, the alarm is disabled, or the user is otherwise alerted to the fact that the alarm is likely to be false. If desired, a signal strength profile, frequency band of the energy causing the alarm, and/or time of day information can also be used to distinguish false from real alarms.

Abstract: A tool for verifying the wetting of a “Hollow D” gasket adhesive sealing a panel, door or cabinet frame substrate and the like, including a pair of substantially symmetrical gripping surfaces having upper portions fastened together to receive a force gauge for measuring the upwards pulling on the gasket, and also having lower portions with inwardly facing extensions of a thickness equal to or less than that of the adhesive carrier for grasping the gasket when in place, and with a spacing between the facing extensions equal to or greater than the width of the adhesive carrier of the gasket.

Abstract: The system and method of the present invention, according to one embodiment, employs an adaptive finite impulse response filter having a second order Least Mean Square (LMS) architecture. The filter comprises a plurality of signal feedback loops coupled in parallel, each feedback loop having a correlation multiplier, a loop filter and an integrator coupled in series. Each feedback loop is configured to generate a variable tap coefficient signal. Each loop filter is configured to generate a signal corresponding to the sum of a signal received by the loop filter and the integral of the signal received by the loop filter. The output of each loop filter is provided to an integrator which in turn provides the variable tap coefficient. The filter is configured to sum the products of the tap coefficient signals with delayed versions of the input signal in a tap delay line so as to generate the output signal of the filter.

Abstract: In an optical fiber communication system a pulse reshaper can transform a distorted input light pulse into a reshaped output light pulse. The disclosed pulse reshaper is an all-optical pulse reshaper that comprises an optical waveguide having an effective length, the waveguide connecting the input and the output and comprising optical non-linear material, with a periodic variation of an effective refractive index of the optical waveguide. The optically non-linear material and the periodic variation are selected such that the reshaped output light pulse is a substantially transform-limited output light pulse.

Abstract: An improved packet delay estimation method results from an indirect measurement method that employs an estimation method based on sampled lengths of queues and measured traffic. A complex system of queues sharing the same constant rate server and driven by a non-trivial scheduling scheme is split into logical clusters of queues. The method estimates packet delay based on a two-level approximation. On the first level of approximation, effects of the fact that the server is shared by other clusters is approximated by an equivalent reduction of the service rate. On the second level of approximation, individual queue lengths within a cluster are sampled and, based on the knowledge of the scheduling discipline, used to obtain the upper and lower bounds on the occupancy of the equivalent FIFO buffer. Estimate of the delay is found based on the effective buffer occupancy, and the effective service capacity.

Abstract: A Multicode (MC) Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) receiver receives J encoded multicode channels (where J>1) over L multiple air signal paths (where L>1) and forms a decorrelator output vector in which for each of the J multicode channels, the interference caused by the other J−1 multicode channels has been cancelled. When the MC CDMA receiver is a coherent receiver, a pilot interference canceller cancels a received pilot signal from the J channel code of each of the received J multicode channels prior to forming the decorrelator output vector.

Abstract: The invention is a method for forming semiconductor devices from a substrate having a non-planar surface. An anti-reflection coating is formed between the substrate and photoresist layer to alleviate the problems caused by non-uniform reflection at the substrate surface during exposure of the photoresist layer. Three-layer and two-layer stacks are described for use with UV and i-line exposure.