Intel Corporation

Cbs Corporation

Other

Gerald A Budelman

Nitin V Sarangdhar

Tsvika Kurts

Kenneth B Oliver

William A Hobbs

Stephen J Peters

Daryl James Nelson

Mark B Trobough

Leonard O Turner

James S Dinh

Daniel W Gravereaux

Muralidhar Tirumala

William O Brooks

Peter O Butler

James A Turner

A method and apparatus for detecting and repairing any number of faulty lamp assemblies in a substantially series-connected lamp string, typically used for holiday decoration. The apparatus comprises a pair of probes fashioned to temporarily penetrate the insulation of lamp connecting wire on either side of a number of lamps thus bridging such lamps either directly or via a current limiting means. The methods of use of such apparatus provide a minimal number of separate tests for determining the faulty lamp assemblies and/or providing a more intuitive method for special circumstances.

Method and apparatus for diagnosing and repairing faults in a series-connected lamp string

A semiconductor package including a conical or pyramidal vapor chamber body coupled to a package bottom to enclose a vapor chamber within which are disposed a semiconductor die and working fluid. A matching conical or pyramidal heatsink is coupled to the vapor chamber body. The conical or pyramidal shape allows a tight fit and good thermal performance, without undue force being applied to the package bottom, and further allows a variety of heatsinks to be used with a standardized shape vapor chamber body.

Semiconductor package with integrated conical vapor chamber

A multi-phase DC&mdash;DC converter having redundant DC&mdash;DC phases or modules. If a DC&mdash;DC phase fails, such as from a short circuit, it is decoupled from the output of the DC&mdash;DC converter. In some embodiments, the other DC&mdash;DC phases bear the burden of the extra power output. In other embodiments, additional DC&mdash;DC phases are coupled in, in response to the failure.

Multi-phase DC&mdash;DC converter

An apparatus including a protocol watcher adapted for use with a bus, a state machine adapted to detect known bug signatures on the bus, and a perturber adapted to intervene on the bus to prevent occurrence of bugs having those signatures. A system utilizing such includes a bus, a first agent coupled to the bus, a second agent coupled to the bus for communicating to the first agent according to a bus protocol, and the bus patcher coupled to the bus for monitoring a communication from the second agent to the first agent to identify an event which would cause an error in the apparatus, and for modifying the communication such that the event is avoided. Any of the protocol watcher, state machine, and/or perturber may be programmable.

Bus patcher

A heat removal system for removing heat from an electric device. The heat removal system includes a heat sink coupled to an electric device. The heat sink absorbs heat generated by the electric device, and may be in direct contact or remotely thermally coupled to the electric device. A gas source is provided to flow or direct a gas stream such as air onto the heat sink. A liquid source is provided from which liquid droplets such as water are dispensed onto the heat sink. The liquid droplets absorb heat from the heat sink and evaporate into the gas stream moving across the heat sink from the gas source. The thermal efficiency of the heat sink is improved by exploiting the energy absorption characteristics of the vapor phase of the liquid.

Method and apparatus for improving the thermal performance of heat sinks

A device that efficiently transfers heat from a heat source. The device includes a heat sink, the heat sink comprising a thermally conductive base, and a plurality of thermally conductive pin fins coupled to the thermally conductive base. A gas source, such as a blower, proximate to the pin fins, directs a gas, such as ambient air, axially along at least a portion of the pin fins, and then in a direction radial to the pin fins and substantially parallel to the heat source, to transfer heat away from the heat source. The heat transfer device may be utilized in any application that requires efficient removal of heat from a heat source, for example, an electronic device such as an integrated circuit or microprocessor.

Heatsink with integrated blower for improved heat transfer

An apparatus and method for providing dynamic voltage regulation for a system with a fluctuating current demand are disclosed. A first voltage regulator is used for producing regulated output to the system. A control circuit activates a second voltage regulator with faster transient response than the first voltage regulator to help source current when the first voltage regulator is unable to adequately respond to an increase in current demand from the system. The control circuit activates a load element to help sink current at the output of the first voltage regulator when the first voltage regulator is unable to adequately respond to a decrease in current demand from the system.

Power regulation system for controlling voltage excursions

An apparatus for electrically connecting electrical contact pads on a first circuit board to electrical contact pads on a second circuit board is disclosed. Conductive bumps coupled to signal wires on a support element mate with the electrical contact pads on the first and second circuit boards. The mating provides an electrical connection allowing signals to be transmitted between the circuit boards. Alignment holes and alignment circuitry provide a means for verifying that the proper conductive bumps are mating with the proper electrical contact pads.

Scalable test interface port

A module which has an integral blower that cools an integrated circuit package. The blower is attached to a heat sink that is mounted to the integrated circuit package. Heat generated by the integrated circuit conducts to the heat sink. The blower generates a stream of air that flows across the heat sink and removes heat from the package. The module may have a manifold and duct that direct the airstream across the heat sink.

Integrated circuit package with an integral heat sink and fan

A power validation tool is used in place of an actual microprocessor to validate a power source to determine if the power source is capable of meeting power requirements of the microprocessor. The validation tool is placed into a socket reserved for the microprocessor. A pulse generator supplies a pulse signal to toggle a load between minimum and maximum load current values, while a window comparator monitors the voltage to determine if the load change causes the source voltage to rise above or fall below an accepted range.

Power validation tool for microprocessor systems

A heat removal system employing fluid circulation and vaporization for transferring heat from a primary heat sink to a secondary heat sink where the heat is dissipated into the surrounding air is disclosed. The present invention comprises a primary heat sink coupled to a secondary heat sink via flexible tubing. The primary heat sink is bonded directly to an electric device such as a semiconductor device. As the electric device heats up and thereby heats up the primary heat sink, a liquid coolant within the primary heat sink transfers excess heat via the tubing to the secondary heat sink where the heat is dissipated. The cooled coolant is then returned to the primary heat sink via the flexible tubing.

High efficiency heat removal system for electric devices and the like

A tone generating system for an organ comprises a first group of tone generators for producing notes of a first chromatic scale and second group of tone generators for producing notes of a second chromatic scale, slightly offset from the first. The tone generators are addressed via a microprocessor in response to keyboard input, wherein the fundamental and a first plurality of selected harmonic components of a given note are generated by respective tone generators of said first group, and the remaining harmonics are provided by generators of the second group. Harmonic amplitude coefficients for particular organ waveforms are stored in random access memory and are subject to change according to stop inputs coupled to the microprocessor.

Electronic tone generating system

An electronic organ circuit includes a multiplicity of keyers receiving control inputs from plural shift and store registers capable of operating any given keyer at different levels. The inputs for a given keyer are applied on a cyclic basis and for differing time periods in such manner that the keyer's output amplitude and waveshape vary in response to the number and duration of inputs. A processor responsive to keyboard key and stop actuation supplies information to shift register chains corresponding bit-wise to the operation of keyboard keys, and corresponding, in respect to bits destined for a given register, to the condition of organ stops. Individual registers are then operated on a duty cycle basis and provide outputs of selected duration for effecting different stop sounds.

Electronic organ circuit

A musical keyboard instrument is disclosed for recording and storing a musical performance and then automatically playing back the performance. As is conventional, a keyboard having a plurality of keys is provided, along with musical tone generators that are associated with the keys. In accordance with the disclosed invention, means are provided for sensing, at a sensing time, those of the keys which are activated. A sequence of frames are generated, each frame including digital information representative of the keys that are activated at a given sensing time. The duration of each frame is a function of the relative locations of the keys activated at a given sensing time, and is therefore a duration which can vary from frame to frame. Each sensing time is determined by the previously completed frame, i.e., when a frame is complete, the statuses of the keys are again sensed so that the next frame can be generated. The sequences of frames are stored on magnetic tape. In a preferred form of the invention, the keys are divided into groups or 'ports', and the digital information for each frame includes identification of the ports that have one or more activated keys and identification of the individual keys that are activated within that port. The rationale of this coding scheme is particularly compatible with the physical characteristics and manual dexterity of a human playing a keyboard instrument. The digital information of each frame is encoded in frequency shift keyed form and frequency shift keyed signals are recorded by generating digitally synthesized sinusoidal signals for application to magnetic tape.

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Aloha, OR, United States of America

Gerald A Budelman