| Patent Number |
Title Of Patent |
Date Issued |
| 5781029 |
Broadband matching technique for high speed logic and high resolution video signals |
July 14, 1998 |
| A termination circuit for RGB signal lines provides a high frequency termination impedance that matches the impedance of a monitor cable and monitor termination, without adversely affecting the monitor-sense circuitry of an ASIC that generates the RGB video signals. The termination c |
| 5778446 |
Rule-based optimizing DRAM controller |
July 7, 1998 |
| A rule-based DRAM controller asserts memory access and control signals (including the CAS, RAS, WE, and address data signals) based upon pre-specified control rules. Certain pre-specified rules, or conditions, are used by the DRAM controller to determine the timing and sequence of th |
| 5777854 |
Integrate flexible contacts grounding system for a computer system chassis |
July 7, 1998 |
| A computer system chassis, including a base and a cover, implements an improved grounding system by integrally forming a plurality of flexible protruding contacts into predetermined contact regions throughout the base during the metal punching manufacturing phase of the chassis base blan |
| 5777853 |
Printed circuit board having a dual square pattern footprints for receiving one of two electroni |
July 7, 1998 |
| A printed circuit board has a first plurality of pin receptors configured to receive a first type of keyboard controller and a second plurality of pin receptors configured to receive a second type of keyboard controller. The first plurality of pin receptors are in the form of a square wh |
| 5771276 |
Voice templates for interactive voice mail and voice response system |
June 23, 1998 |
| Method and a system for a user-customizable interactive voice mail/voice response system are disclosed. In a preferred embodiment, an interactive voice mail/voice response ("IVR") system of the present invention enables a user to build and operate custom IVR functions using voice templat |
| 5764488 |
Printed circuit board having a dual pattern footprint for receiving one of two component package |
June 9, 1998 |
| A printed circuit board having a footprint that is capable of receiving one of two electronic components having differing pin configurations. The footprint includes a first and a second common pin receptor arranged about a first axis. The first and second common pin receptors are configu |
| 5754176 |
Pop-up help system for a computer graphical user interface |
May 19, 1998 |
| A system for implementing a pop-up help system for a computer graphical user interface is disclosed. In a departure from the art, the pop-up help system provides help information on graphical display elements (GDEs), such as icons and text instructions, in the form of a help window that |
| 5751557 |
Printed circuit board having a triple pattern footprint for receiving one of three component pac |
May 12, 1998 |
| A printed circuit board has a first plurality of pin receptors configured to receive a first type of SRAM memory device, a second plurality of pin receptors configured to receive a second type of SRAM memory device and a third plurality of pin receptors configured to receive a third type |
| 5745669 |
System and method for recovering PC configurations |
April 28, 1998 |
| A computer utility automatically monitors changes in configuration files stored on the computer hard disk. The recovery tool indicates to the user when changes are detected in the configuration files and provides the option to restore the configuration files to their state before they we |
| 5737769 |
Physical memory optimization using programmable virtual address buffer circuits to redirect addr |
April 7, 1998 |
| A virtual addressing buffer circuit has improved address mapping and control flexibility for improved physical resource management and a unique opportunity for forward-compatible system design. The virtual addressing buffer formats the output address utilizing a format register as a |
| 5737627 |
Pipelined data ordering system utilizing state machines to order data requests |
April 7, 1998 |
| A data ordering system for use with personal computers having data pipelining capability is disclosed. The personal computer comprises a central processing unit (CPU) which issues data requests to one or more data exchange units, such as memory units or data Input/Output units. The d |
| 5737557 |
Intelligent window user interface for computers |
April 7, 1998 |
| A system for implementing an intelligent window user interface for computers ("software suite") is disclosed. Each of a plurality of software suites of the present invention comprises a compound computer display object that provides a single integrated visual representation, via a "s |
| 5737393 |
Script-based interactive voice mail and voice response system |
April 7, 1998 |
| Method and a system for a user-customizable interactive voice mail/voice response system are disclosed. In a preferred embodiment, an interactive voice mail/voice response ("IVR") system of the present invention enables a user to build and operate custom IVR functions. The system compris |
| 5721877 |
Method and apparatus for limiting access to nonvolatile memory device |
February 24, 1998 |
| A method and apparatus for limiting access to a nonvolatile memory device by inserting access limiting circuitry between CPU generated read and write command signals being sent to the nonvolatile memory device and the nonvolatile memory device itself such that write commands can be recei |
| 5721853 |
Spot graphic display element with open locking and periodic animation |
February 24, 1998 |
| A system for implementing an unobtrusive, always-on-top interface-to-interfaces comprises a spot interface that is sufficiently small that it may lie unobtrusively over any open window such that it is always on top thereby enabling a user conveniently to access any available window w |
| 5721404 |
Thin wall frame construction for electronic devices |
February 24, 1998 |
| A frame component for a notebook computer wherein the frame component has tapered (e.g., conical) depressions that receive protrusions from printed circuit boards mounted adjacent the frame component. The tapered depressions are formed during plastic injection molding of the frame co |
| 5717565 |
Easily changeable notebook keyboard |
February 10, 1998 |
| Circuits and methods for providing electrical communication between the keyboard and PC board of a notebook computer, and notebook computers employing such circuits and methods. A plurality of contacts electrically coupled to a keyboard and a plurality of contacts electrically coupled to |
| 5694614 |
Minimum latency bus interface circuit with reduced I/O pin count through multi-mode operation |
December 2, 1997 |
| A method and apparatus for interfacing multiple integrated circuit chip devices to a system bus includes higher speed portions of a circuit within a primary IC chip and lower speed portions of a circuit within a secondary IC chip. The primary IC chip connects directly to the system bus w |
| 5689286 |
Component-based icon construction and customization system |
November 18, 1997 |
| System and method for constructing and customizing icons for use in a graphical user interface (GUI) is disclosed. A GUI is provided with a set of available user interface components that may be selected and combined by a user to create new icons or to modify existing icons. Each icon |
| 5686871 |
Method for minimizing radio frequency emissions from plug-in adapter cards in computer systems |
November 11, 1997 |
| Noise generated in a computer system on a modem adapter card is effectively suppressed by providing an extension to a voltage reference plane. The extension reference plane is coupled to the voltage reference plane of the adapter card by an impedance circuit. The extension reference plan |
| 5682509 |
Bus interface to a RAID architecture |
October 28, 1997 |
| A file server system provides increased bandwidth between a processor, a memory and a redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID). The file server includes a processor connected to a processor bus. A first bridging circuit couples the processor bus to a peripheral bus. An array of disks |
| 5682297 |
Dual pattern microprocessor package footprint |
October 28, 1997 |
| A dual footprint for servicing either of two types of microprocessor packaging systems. A first footprint capable of receiving and servicing a first type of microprocessor packaging system, for example, a tape carrier package microprocessor package, is formed within a second footprint |
| 5682124 |
Technique for increasing the range of impedances for circuit board transmission lines |
October 28, 1997 |
| A shielded flexible cable includes a first shielding grid having conductive elements formed as squares. A second shielding grid is also formed as squares. The two shielding grids are positioned with respect to each other so that the vertices of the squares of the two grids are respective |
| 5680295 |
Ventilated backplane for mounting disk drives in computer systems |
October 21, 1997 |
| An improved cooling system for a computer system includes a ventilated backplane for a disk drive cage. The backplane is rigidly secured to the rear of the disk drive cage and includes a plurality of apertures therein to permit convective heat transfer between the inner cavity of the dri |
| 5679923 |
Shielding panel |
October 21, 1997 |
| A shielding panel for shielding circuit card slots on a computer chassis, and particularly a shielding panel for use with printed circuit board brackets and/or blank brackets to shield circuit card slots provides an arrangement for reducing the leakage of electromagnetic waves and/or rad |
| 5675299 |
Bidirectional non-solid impedance controlled reference plane requiring no conductor to grid alig |
October 7, 1997 |
| A circuit board includes a plurality of signal conductors and a grid. The grid has a pattern of conductive material which forms cell structures oriented along a first axis. The grid pattern is configured so that when the signal conductors are oriented parallel to a first axis they overla |
| 5666538 |
Disk power manager for network servers |
September 9, 1997 |
| A computer network includes a network server in communication with a plurality of user terminals. The network server includes disk drives which store data accessible via the user terminals. To increase power efficiency of the network server, the number of accesses to the disk drives is |
| 5661502 |
Self-adjusting digital filter for smoothing computer mouse movement |
August 26, 1997 |
| A self-adjusting digital filter for smoothing computer mouse movement is disclosed. In one embodiment, a user-selectable inertial constant is applied to all types of mouse movements regardless of whether the movement is fast or slow and corrected mouse position data, or coordinates, are |
| 5659748 |
Booting of multiprocessor system from a boot ROM of narrower width than the system memory |
August 19, 1997 |
| A system for controlling initialization and self test operations in a multiprocessor system facilitates the use of central processing units based around differing microprocessor types. More specifically, the present invention involves storing configuration information, initialization |
| 5659709 |
Write-back and snoop write-back buffer to prevent deadlock and to enhance performance in an in-o |
August 19, 1997 |
| A multiprocessor computer system includes specially designed snoop circuitry to prevent data loss during write-back cycles. A memory controller within a main memory module determines if a data request at a specified address corresponds to a cacheable memory address. If it is determin |
| 5654905 |
System for tracking computer usage time |
August 5, 1997 |
| A system tracks the amount of time a computer system has operated, after its delivery to a new user. The system includes a terminate and stay resident (TSR) program which is loaded each time the computer is booted. The program counts system timer ticks and, at predetermined intervals but |
| 5652850 |
Panel creation engine using templates to automatically configure user interface screeen displays |
July 29, 1997 |
| A system for use in a computer having a display for automatically configuring graphical user interface ("GUI") display panels comprising buttons for representing groups, or suites, of related items in a visually attractive manner. In a preferred embodiment, a panel creation engine pr |
| 5652697 |
Computer system backplane having ground tabs for interconnecting the backplane ground to the com |
July 29, 1997 |
| An improved computer chassis having a backplane with ground pads thereon for contacting fingers formed in channels in the chassis. The backplane is secured in the chassis without the use of screws. The fingers are defined within channels formed by a structure at the rear of a disk drive |
| 5648973 |
I/O toggle test method using JTAG |
July 15, 1997 |
| A method for toggling the output pins of a IC chip to satisfy an ASIC manufacturer's output toggle test requirements parallel loads data from an IC tester into the IC's JTAG boundary scan data shift register, so that the parallel loaded data is an alternating high and low data bits. The |
| 5642110 |
Memory mapped keyboard controller |
June 24, 1997 |
| A memory mapped keyboard controller within a peripheral controller for use in an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) computer provides a method and apparatus for efficiently monitoring and reading a keyboard switch matrix. In a first mode of operation, the controller activates all the c |
| 5640585 |
State machine bus controller |
June 17, 1997 |
| A state machine bus controller for interfacing the CPU of a micro-computer based system with memory and I/O device is described. The controller, while capable of interfacing with a bus which is synchronous in nature, can maintain synchronous handshake with more than one type of micro |
| 5625275 |
Power supply which provides a variable charging current to a battery in a portable computer syst |
April 29, 1997 |
| A power supply for a rechargeable battery in a portable computer system is disclosed which adjusts the level of charging current depending upon the current drawn by the portable computer system. The power supply includes an AC adapter which supplies input current for operating the comput |
| 5616050 |
Flexible circuit connector |
April 1, 1997 |
| A flexible circuit connector is formed from a flexible printed circuit comprising a plurality of embedded electrically conductive lines partially exposed at a first end of the flexible printed circuit by bending or folding the flexible printed circuit to enable said first end to mate wit |
| 5613162 |
Method and apparatus for performing efficient direct memory access data transfers |
March 18, 1997 |
| A method and apparatus provide a direct memory access (DMA) system that transfers data between a memory in a computer system and a plurality of I/O devices. The DMA system includes at least two channels which operate independently and in an interleaved manner so that multiple DMA transfe |
| 5612520 |
Suspend switch for portable electronic equipment |
March 18, 1997 |
| A suspend (sleep) switch for a portable electronic device, such as a notebook computer, is mounted on a printed circuit board. The suspend switch includes a first contact which is positioned in juxtaposed relationship with a second contact. The contacts are formed from an electricall |
| 5606303 |
Flexible printed circuit sleep switch for electronic device |
February 25, 1997 |
| A notebook computer or other electronic device has a flexible cable interconnecting electronic circuitry in a base with electronic circuitry in a cover. A flexible potentiometer is coupled to said flexible cable in a location which bends when said cover is opened and closed with respect |
| 5603042 |
Pipelined data ordering system utilizing state machines to data requests |
February 11, 1997 |
| A data ordering system for use with personal computers having data pipelining capability is disclosed. The personal computer comprises a central processing unit (CPU) which issues data requests to one or more data exchange units, such as memory units or data Input/Output units. The d |
| 5598320 |
Rotable and slideble heat pipe apparatus for reducing heat build up in electronic devices |
January 28, 1997 |
| A rotatable and slidable heat pipe apparatus for transferring heat away from a microprocessor chip more rapidly than by heat sink surface area dissipation to the surrounding air alone, comprising a heat sink with an integral cylindrical passageway adapted to receive a first end of a heat |
| 5594627 |
Circuit card retainer |
January 14, 1997 |
| A circuit card retainer for securing a circuit card within a circuit card receiving channel to mitigate the possibility of a circuit card connector jarring loose from a motherboard slot during transit or other vibration or shock causing activity. The circuit card retainer securely retain |
| 5590377 |
Automatic control of distributed DMAs in a PCI bus system supporting dual ISA buses |
December 31, 1996 |
| A distributed direct memory access (DMA) system includes specially configured hardware connections between at least one slave DMA controller and a central, or master, DMA controller. The specially configured hardware connections allow the slave DMA controllers to request channel conf |
| 5590299 |
Multiprocessor system bus protocol for optimized accessing of interleaved storage modules |
December 31, 1996 |
| A multiprocessor information processing system has a system bus with interleaved memory modules in communication with multiple CPUs. The multiprocessor system includes a subsystem monitoring circuit which monitors the addresses requested by the local CPU. If the local CPU addresses a |
| 5588125 |
Method and apparatus for increasing bus bandwidth on a system bus by inhibiting interrupts while |
December 24, 1996 |
| A system for inhibiting interrupts during posted write transfers in a computer system utilizes a buffer to store incoming data and addresses while monitoring incoming addresses to determine if the address is an Input/Output reference to an interrupt controller. If an Input/Output ref |
| 5581440 |
Rotatable bushing for reducing bending stress in electrical cable |
December 3, 1996 |
| A rotatable bushing for reducing bending fatigue on a flat cable between a display screen cover and a base of a portable computer comprises an elongate cylindrical body having a diametric slot therethrough. The bushing is positioned along the hinge axis between the cover and the base |
| 5574943 |
Gate-A20 and CPU reset circuit for mircroprocessor-based computer system |
November 12, 1996 |
| A computer system includes a chipset which controls the gate-A20 signal and the CPU RESET signal in a conventional manner in response to commands from a system microprocessor. The computer system further includes a peripheral controller which is programmed to generate an alternative gate |
| 5572735 |
Method and apparatus for discharging the output voltage of a DC power supply |
November 5, 1996 |
| A voltage discharge circuit discharges the voltage across a charge storage device, such as a capacitor, at an output of a power supply. The discharge circuit may be used, for example, in a contrast power supply for an LCD panel. The discharge circuit uses one or more switches to control |
