Abstract: A method and apparatus for the efficient management of electronic communications in a ring topology network. Each Send packet and Echo packet includes a mechanism used to request to share bandwidth. In one implementation a single bit is used, while in another the mechanism includes a traffic control field providing a hierarchy of request to share bits accompanied by priority information, thereby enabling a multi-level system. When a Send packet reaches the target node the information is returned to the source node via the echo packet's request to share bit or the traffic control field, depending upon the implementation. The source node then alters its rate of packet transmission as a function of the number of requests to share it receives and, in the second implementation, as a function of the priority of the requesting nodes in relation to the priority of the source node. In one embodiment, each node conditionally gives output packets preference over passing through packets.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for efficiently translating virtual to physical addresses is provided. An embodiment of the apparatus includes a TLB descriptor table that includes a series of TLB descriptors. Each TLB descriptor includes an offset that selects a TLB segment within a translation lookaside buffer (TLB). To perform a virtual to physical address translation, a processor sends a virtual address and a descriptor ID to the memory request unit. The descriptor ID is used to select the TLB segment that will be used to perform the virtual to physical address translation. Each TLB segment may have different physical and logical characteristics. In particular, each TLB segment may be associated with a different type of memory page. In this way the present invention, enables the simultaneous use of a range of page types and sizes in a single computer system.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for navigating through electronically stored information using an expandable, hierarchical index or TOC, in a hypertextual client-server network environment such as the World Wide Web. The client-server network comprises at least one client computer coupled by network link to at least one server computer. In accordance with the invention, a publisher of the TOC provides to the server a digital specification of the TOC, defining the TOC as a plurality of hierarchically related nodes. In a preferred feature of the invention, the digital specification includes a unique name, a display label, and a hierarchial level for each node of the TOC, and an optional target URL for each leaf node of the TOC. Using a browser program or the like at the client computer, an end-user transmits a network request including an address path to the server.

Abstract: An integrated software architecture for a highly parallel multiprocessor system having multiple tightly-coupled processors that share a common memory efficiently controls the interface with and execution of programs on such a multiprocessor system. The software architecture combines a symmetrically integrated multithreaded operating system and an integrated parallel user environment. The operating system distributively implements an anarchy-based scheduling model for the scheduling of processes and resources by allowing each processor to access a single image of the operating system stored in the common memory that operates on a common set of operating system shared resources. The user environment provides a common visual representation for a plurality of program development tools that provide compilation, execution and debugging capabilities for multithreaded user programs and assumes parallelism as the standard mode of operation.

Abstract: An assembly designed to increase the ease with which a printed circuit board carrier may be inserted or extracted from an enclosure. The assembly includes a movable lever mounted to the carrier and curved pin slot in the enclosure. A pin on the lever engages the curved pin slot. During insertion, the shape of the pin slot guides the carrier into its position, then the lever rotates to place the pin in a portion of the pin slot that is oriented in a substantially different direction from the direction of insertion, thus holding the carrier in place. During removal, the pin holds the carrier in place while the lever rotates away from the carrier and thus becomes accessible to permit removal of the carrier by pulling on the lever. Two assemblies, one on each side of the carrier, are typically used.

Abstract: A projective body is aligned with a surface to generate texture coordinates for the surface. The present invention includes selecting an appropriate projective body for a given surface, orienting and positioning the surface with respect to the projective body, projecting the surface onto the projective body, and then mapping the projective body onto the texture rectangle. An inertial ellipsoid is used to orient the surface and the projective body. The inertial ellipsoid can also be used as the projective body. Ellipsoidal coordinates are preferably used to project the surface onto the projective body.

Abstract: A system and method that maps temporal control functions into a six degree of freedom pointing device. The six degree of freedom pointing device controls both transport and view modes within a time-based media editing system and allows a user to toggle between modes without losing visual contact with graphical objects appearing on a video screen. During playback operations in the transport (temporal) mode, the system allows a cap on the six degree of freedom pointing device to be divided into multiple uneven regions in one direction along a single degree of freedom. Each of the multiple regions then corresponds to a unique rate of frame increments/decrements.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a software tool that permits creation of electronic surveys and the automatic collection and tabulation of survey results corresponding to user responses. Using the tool, a survey is automatically created and posted at a Web site address. With a Web client, or browser, computer users access the URL and complete the survey via the Web. Survey results are collected in a relational database as each user completes the survey. Thereafter, statistical tools or other analytical software applications may be applied to data mine the tabulated results. In another preferred embodiment, the software tool is utilized to access remote servers running relational databases from an internet computer via the Web. Advantageously, the computer does not require the computational processor power or memory (i.e. system memory or disk storage capacity) normally required to load and operate the applicable relational database application software.

Abstract: A multiprocessor computer system and method for maintaining coherency between virtual-to-physical memory translations of multiple requestors in the system. A poison bit is associated with a memory block in the system. The poison bit is set to indicate that a virtual-to-physical memory translation for the memory block is stale. An exception is generated in response to an access by one of the requestors to the memory block if the poison bit is set, thereby indicating to the requestor that the virtual-to-physical memory translation entry for the memory block is stale. The virtual-to-physical memory translation for the memory block is then updated with a virtual memory translation corresponding to a new physical location for the memory block. In an embodiment having a cache-based multiprocessor system, the method further comprises the step of invalidating all cached copies of the memory block. In this case, the invalidating step and the setting step must be performed as an atomic operation.

Abstract: The present invention provides a hybrid classifier, called the NB-Tree classifier, for classifying a set of records. According to the present invention, the NB-Tree classifier includes a Decision-Tree structure having zero or more decision-nodes and one or more leaf-nodes. At each decision-node, a test is performed based on one or more attributes. At each leaf-node, a classifier based on Bayes Rule classifies the records. Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for inducing the NB-Tree classifier from a set of labeled instances. To induce the NB-Tree classifier, a utility C1 of a Bayes classifier at a root-node is first estimated. Next, a utility D1 of a split into a plurality of child-nodes with a Bayes classifier at the child-nodes is estimated. The utility of a split is the weighted sum of the utility of the child-nodes, where the weight given to a child-node is proportional to the number of instances that go down that child-node. Next, it is determined if C1 is higher than D1.

Abstract: A method, system and computer program product for dynamically allocating large memory pages of different sizes. Each process can select multiple page sizes. An algorithm referred to as a “Coalescing Daemon” is used to allocate large pages. “High water marks” are specified to the operating system. A high water mark is the maximum percentage of total system memory that the Coalescing Daemon coalesces for a given page size. The high water marks are used to allocate a number of free memory pages for each specified page size. Separate freelists are created and maintained for each page size. Each freelist comprises a linked list of data structures that represent free physical memory pages. A bitmap is set-up by the operating system to represent all memory available to processes. The bitmap is used for determining which memory pages are free during coalescing. The Coalescing Daemon allocates memory pages using a weak, mild and strong coalescing policy.

Abstract: A system is described for providing an integrated, efficient and consistent production environment for the shared development of multimedia productions. Examples of multimedia productions include feature animation films, computerized animation films, interactive video games, interactive movies, and other types of entertainment and/or educational multimedia works. The development of such multimedia products typically involve heterogenous and diverse forms of multimedia data. Further, the production tools and equipment that are used to create and edit such diverse multimedia data are in and of themselves diverse and often incompatible with each other. The incompatibility between such development tools can be seen in terms of their methods of operation, operating environments, and the types and/or formats of data on which they operate upon. Disclosed herein, is a complete solution that provides a consistent and integrated multimedia production environment in the form of common utilities, methods and services.

Abstract: Diamond is used as an electrically insulating substrate in multi-layer devices. In a transformer, the first electrical conductor forms a coil. The first electrical conductor is formed in a plurality of layers. Electrical carriers are formed on a layer to make an electrical path around a core of ferrous material. The second conductor forms a second coil of the transformer and also wraps around the core of ferrous material. Using diamond is advantageous in a transformer since the diamond is very effective at transferring heat from the core. The diamond also electrically insulates the various portions of the transformer. An electronic packaging concept includes mounting one or more electronic components to a substrate including a layer of diamond. The layer of diamond is sufficient to transfer heat from the one or more electronic components attached to the diamond substrate. The entire substrate can also be made of diamond.

Abstract: A card cage for connecting circuit board cards to a computer is disclosed. The card cage includes connector receptacles for receiving circuit board cards such as PCI cards. The card cage also includes a connection mechanism for electrically coupling the connector receptacles to the computer. In one embodiment, the connection mechanism includes a compression connector and a locking mechanism for electrically and mechanically coupling the card cage to the computer. Thus circuit board cards may be easily coupled to a computer by inserting the circuit board cards into the card cage and attaching the card cage to the computer.

Abstract: An apparatus for electrically connecting a plurality chips to a circuit board includes a pair of ceramic chip carriers that have flexible circuits connected to the electrical contact locations on each ceramic chip. The apparatus for electrically connecting a plurality chips to a circuit board may also include an area between two chip connect surfaces which has multiple metallization layers isolated from one another by flexible isolation material. A flexible circuit extends beyond the edge of the ceramic chip or the chip-connect area and forms a flap. The flexible circuit flap includes electrical paths to pads on the chip-connect area of the device. Each flap portion of the flexible circuit has a set of pads. The pads on the flaps of the first and second ceramic chips are positioned to connect to a third set of pads on a printed circuit board. The printed circuit board is provided with pads positioned so that the pads on the flaps will correspond to the pads on the flaps of the ceramic chips.

Abstract: A system and method for the distribution of client requests received from a digital computer network provides an intermediary between the client and one or more content servers that actually service the client request. Client requests are distributed amongst groups of content servers according to a one or more static rules. These static rules are applied to determine which group of content servers will service each client request. Content servers may be grouped without regard to hardware configuration and without regard to where the content server resides within the network. Client requests may be distributed amongst the content servers within each group according to a dynamic metric. The dynamic metric includes time-varying measurements of the available processing capacity of each content server within a group. Client requests may then be distributed to those content servers within a group that are best able to handle additional processing burdens.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an improved system and method for cooling electronic devices. The present system is particularly adapted for cooling computer equipment. The system comprises a sealed enclosure which houses one or more heat generating electronic devices; a blower; and a heat exchanger. The sealed enclosure may be pressurized with a gas medium such as dry nitrogen up to a pressure of approximately two atmospheres. The elevated pressure increases the gas density, effectively increasing the mass flow rate and heat carrying capacity of the gas. The blower is also a constant volume device such that it can move the same volume of gas regardless of density. Accordingly, for a given heat load, the size of the blower may be reduced. Or, alternatively, a given blower can cool a device having a higher heat load. Finally, by pressurizing the enclosure, the present invention eliminates the need to size a forced air cooling system based on high elevation requirements.

Abstract: The present invention is drawn to a system and a method for attaching and tightening a mechanism onto an IC package such that a load-balanced thermal contact is formed securely between the mechanism and the IC package without risking damages to the IC package. The mechanism is then used to support a heat sink that utilizes the thermal contact formed for dissipating heat away from the IC package. Specifically, the mechanism is modified in stages. During the tightening stage, the mechanism is modified from a first configuration into a second configuration in order to trigger the process of tightening the mechanism securely onto the IC package. More specifically, in its first configuration during the attaching stage, the mechanism includes a spring compressed within a first spacing formed by a bearing plate and a compression screw.

Abstract: A low cost high performance three dimensional (3D) graphics system is disclosed that can model a world in three dimensions and project the model onto a two dimensional viewing plane selected based on a changeable viewpoint. The viewpoint can be changed on an interactive, real time basis by operating user input controls such as game controllers. The system rapidly produces a corresponding changing image (which can include animated cartoon characters or other animation) on the screen of a color television set.The richly featured high performance low cost system is intended to give consumers the chance to interact in real time right inside magnificent virtual 3D worlds to provide a high degree of image realism, excitement and flexibility. An optimum feature set/architecture (including a custom designed graphics/audio coprocessor) provides high quality fast moving 3D images and digital stereo sound for video game play and other graphics applications.