Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080212282 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COOLING AN EQUIPMENT ENCLOSURE THROUGH CLOSED-LOOP LIQUID-ASSISTED AIR COOLING IN COMBINATION WITH DIRECT LIQUID COOLING - A method and an apparatus for cooling, preferably within an enclosure, a diversity of heat-generating components, with at least some of the components having high-power densities and others having low-power densities. Heat generated by the essentially relatively few high-power-density components, such as microprocessor chips for example, is removed by direct liquid cooling, whereas heat generated by the more numerous low-power or low-watt-density components, such as memory chips for example, is removed by liquid-assisted air cooling in the form of a closed loop comprising a plurality of heating and cooling zones that alternate along the air path. | 09-04-2008 |
20080245847 | Compliant Mold Fill Head with Integrated Cavity Venting and Solder Cooling - A mold fill head includes a solder delivery head and an interface portion having a compliant portion secured to the solder delivery head and a dispensing region associated with the compliant portion. The dispensing region is formed with at least one aperture configured to interface with cavities in a mold plate, the at least one aperture being in fluid communication with the solder delivery head. The compliant portion is configured and dimensioned to urge the dispensing region against the mold plate when held a predetermined distance therefrom and to substantially tolerate variations in flatness of the mold plate, variations in the predetermined distance, and/or variations in an angular orientation of the interface portion and the mold plate. | 10-09-2008 |
20080298016 | COOLING AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE UTILIZING SPRING ELEMENTS WITH FINS - A method for cooling an electronic device includes forming a spring structure by coupling a plurality of spring elements with a fin portion oriented at an angle, wherein a first end of the fin portion has a narrowed tip; coupling the spring structure with a planar heat-conducting material to form a first heat-conducting layer; positioning the first heat-conducting layer such that the planar heat-conducting material is on top; and placing the first heat-conducting layer over the electronic device such that the fin portion is oriented at an angle toward the electronic device, and such that the narrowed tip of the fin portion is in contact with the top surface of the electronic device. | 12-04-2008 |
20080302860 | AIR BEARING GAP CONTROL FOR INJECTION MOLDED SOLDER HEADS - An air bearing gap control arrangement for injection molded solder filler heads. Also provided is a method of providing for a gap control for injection molded solder filler heads utilizing an air bearing arrangement. Provided is a C-ring seal, at the lower or dispensing region of the solder filler head structure, wherein the C-shape is open at the leading edge thereof. Hereby, a prevalent leading edge gap is tightly controlled by means of pressurized air in order to form an air bearing. Downstream of this leading edge is the molten solder, which is contained within a very narrow gap height between the solder filler head and the mold. As the solder fills the pits or recesses which are formed in the mold surface, air will rush out or be displaced from the pits towards the air bearing and is then expelled, while the deposited solder remains in place. | 12-11-2008 |
20090014146 | C4NP COMPLIANT SOLDER FILL HEAD SEALS - A seal, fill head, and system are provided. The seal is adapted to cooperate with a fill head that is configured to place conductive bonding material into cavities on a mold. The seal comprises a first outer wall that is configured to abut a first adjacent wall of a support groove in a fill head. A second outer wall is configured to abut a second adjacent wall of a support groove in a fill head. An outer horizontal wall is situated between the first outer wall and the second outer wall. The outer horizontal wall comprises at least a first portion that is configured to abut an upper portion of the support groove. A convex bottom portion extends from the first and second outer walls. The convex bottom portion is configured to cooperate with a top surface of a mold. | 01-15-2009 |
20090151893 | HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPLIANT THERMAL INTERFACE COOLING STRUCTURES - A method for producing a compliant thermal interface device for cooling an integrated circuit includes steps of: cutting a plurality of high thermal conductivity sheets according to at least one pattern, the sheets made up of a first material; forming spring elements in at least one of the plurality of sheets; coating the sheets with a second material, wherein the second material is different from the first material; stacking the high thermal conductivity sheets; and bonding areas of the stacked sheets using thermo-compression bonding. | 06-18-2009 |
20090151907 | COMPLIANT THERMAL INTERFACE DESIGN AND ASSEMBLY METHOD - A method for producing a compliant thermal interface device for cooling an integrated circuit includes steps of: cutting a plurality of high thermal conductivity sheets according to at least one selected pattern, the sheets made up of a first material; forming spring elements in at least one of the plurality of sheets, such that the sheets include both flat areas and spring elements; coating the sheets with a second material, wherein the second material is different from the first material; stacking the high thermal conductivity sheets; and bonding at least a portion of at least one of the stacked sheets using thermo-compression bonding. | 06-18-2009 |
20090183849 | FULL-FIELD SOLDER COVERAGE - A system, apparatus, and method, are provided to deposit conductive bonding material into cavities in a mold. A fill head is placed in substantial contact with a mold that includes cavities. The fill head includes a sealing member that substantially encompasses an entire area to be filled with conductive bonding material. The conductive bonding material is forced out of the fill head toward the mold. The conductive bonding material is provided into at least one cavity of the cavities contemporaneous with the at least one cavity being in proximity to the fill head. | 07-23-2009 |
20090254705 | BUS ATTACHED COMPRESSED RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY - A computer memory system having a three-level memory hierarchy structure is disclosed. The system includes a memory controller, a volatile memory, and a non-volatile memory. The volatile memory is divided into an uncompressed data region and a compressed data region. | 10-08-2009 |
20090276707 | DIRECTED COMMUNICATION IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT - The present invention is directed to directed communication in a virtual environment. A method for method for providing directed communication between avatars in a virtual environment in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes: determining a relative location of a first avatar and a second avatar in a virtual environment; and adjusting an aspect of a communication between the first avatar and the second avatar based on the relative location. | 11-05-2009 |
20100050004 | INTRODUCING SELECTIVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT - In some embodiments, a method comprises hosting a virtual universe in which one or more avatars interact with one or more virtual objects. The method can also include presenting energy conservation options that reduce amounts of power consumed in rendering the avatars and virtual objects in the virtual universe, detecting a selection of the energy conservation options, and configuring logic for rendering the avatars and virtual objects according to the selected energy conservation options. The method can also comprise rendering, according to the selection of energy conservation options, the avatars and virtual objects in the virtual universe. | 02-25-2010 |
20100108272 | AIR BARRIER FOR DATACENTER USAGE WHICH AUTOMATICALLY RETRACTS WHEN FIRE SPRINKLERS ARE ACTIVATED - An air barrier structure located in an airflow passageway for datacenter usage, which is automatically retractable upon activation of fire sprinklers in the event of a conflagration. The barrier structure is a shade-type roll up member, which in the absence of any complex mechanical structure, will automatically retract about a spring-loaded roller upon the activation of a fire sprinkler, and whereby the barrier incorporates water-soluble structural aspects which will facilitate such automatic retraction upon being impinged upon and dissolved by a flow of water emanating from the fire sprinkler. | 05-06-2010 |
20100162136 | DEGRADING AVATAR APPEARANCES IN A VIRTUAL UNIVERSE - An invention that degrades avatar appearances in a virtual universe is provided. In one embodiment, there is a degradation tool, including a visual obstruction component configured to: identify an object in the virtual universe as an object of interest, and determine whether a set of avatars within the virtual universe is likely to cause a visual obstruction of the object of interest to an avatar. The degradation tool further comprises a modification component configured to degrade an appearance of at least one of the set of avatars within the virtual universe if the set of avatars within the virtual universe is likely to cause a visual obstruction of the object of interest to the avatar. | 06-24-2010 |
20100214829 | MEMORY PROGRAMMING - Systems, methods, and devices for iteratively writing contents to memory locations are provided. A statistical model is used to determine a sequence of pulses to write desired contents to a memory location. The contents can be expressed as a resistance value in a range to store one or more bits in a memory cell. For phase change memory, an adaptive reset pulse and one or more annealing pulses are selected based on a desired resistance range. Reading the resistance value of the memory cell can provide feedback to determine adjustments in an overall pulse application strategy. The statistical model and a look up table can be used to select and modify pulses. Adaptively updating the statistical model and look up table may reduce the number of looping iterations to shift the resistance value of the memory cell into the desired resistance range. | 08-26-2010 |
20100214830 | MEMORY READING METHOD FOR RESISTANCE DRIFT MITIGATION - Techniques for reading phase change memory that mitigate resistance drift. One contemplated method includes apply a plurality of electrical input signals to the memory cell. The method includes measuring a plurality of electrical output signals from the memory cell resulting from the plurality of electrical input signals. The method includes calculating an invariant component of the plurality of electrical output signals dependent on the configuration of amorphous material in the memory cell. The method also includes determining a memory state of the memory cell based on the invariant component. In one embodiment of the invention, the method further includes mapping the plurality of electrical output signals to a measurements region of a plurality of measurements regions. The measurements regions correspond to memory states of the memory cell. | 08-26-2010 |
20100218071 | WRITING A SPECIAL SYMBOL TO A MEMORY TO INDICATE THE ABSENCE OF A DATA SIGNAL - A method for writing in a memory system that includes receiving an address corresponding to a memory location in a memory, receiving a desired content to be written, encoding the desired content into a symbol, and writing the symbol to the memory location using an iterative write process of at least one write and one read to the memory location. The iterative write process includes determining if the symbol was successfully written to the memory location and exiting the iterative write process in response to the symbol being successfully written to the memory location. The iterative write process also includes determining if a halt condition has been met and exiting the iterative write process if the halt condition has been met. Once the iterative write process has been exited, the memory location may be identified as a candidate for being written with a special symbol. | 08-26-2010 |
20100220097 | ALTERING AVATAR APPEARANCES BASED ON AVATAR POPULATION IN A VIRTUAL UNIVERSE - An invention for the alteration of avatar appearances based on avatar population in a virtual universe is provided. In one embodiment, there is a degradation tool, including an identification component configured to count an amount of a plurality of avatars within a region of a virtual universe. The degradation tool further comprises a modification component configured to degrade the appearance of a set of avatars from the plurality of avatars in the virtual universe based on the amount of the plurality of avatars within the region of the virtual universe. | 09-02-2010 |
20110096594 | MEMORY READING METHOD FOR RESISTANCE DRIFT MITIGATION - Techniques for reading phase change memory that mitigate resistance drift. One contemplated method includes apply a plurality of electrical input signals to the memory cell. The method includes measuring a plurality of electrical output signals from the memory cell resulting from the plurality of electrical input signals. The method includes calculating an invariant component of the plurality of electrical output signals dependent on the configuration of amorphous material in the memory cell. The method also includes determining a memory state of the memory cell based on the invariant component. In one embodiment of the invention, the method further includes mapping the plurality of electrical output signals to a measurements region of a plurality of measurements regions. The measurements regions correspond to memory states of the memory cell. | 04-28-2011 |
20110203762 | FILL-HEAD FOR FULL-FIELD SOLDER COVERAGE WITH A ROTATABLE MEMBER - A method and apparatus are provided to deposit conductive bonding material into cavities in a mold. A fill head is placed in substantial contact with a mold that includes cavities. The fill head includes a sealing member that substantially encompasses an entire area to be filled with conductive bonding material. The conductive bonding material is forced out of the fill head toward the mold. The conductive bonding material is provided into at least one cavity of the cavities contemporaneous with the at least one cavity being in proximity to the fill head. | 08-25-2011 |
20110228600 | MEMORY PROGRAMMING - Systems, methods, and devices for iteratively writing contents to memory locations are provided. A statistical model is used to determine a sequence of pulses to write desired contents to a memory location. The contents can be expressed as a resistance value in a range to store one or more bits in a memory cell. For phase change memory, an adaptive reset pulse and one or more annealing pulses are selected based on a desired resistance range. Reading the resistance value of the memory cell can provide feedback to determine adjustments in an overall pulse application strategy. The statistical model and a look up table can be used to select and modify pulses. Adaptively updating the statistical model and look up table may reduce the number of looping iterations to shift the resistance value of the memory cell into the desired resistance range. | 09-22-2011 |
20110252215 | COMPUTER MEMORY WITH DYNAMIC CELL DENSITY - A computer memory with dynamic cell density including a method that obtains a target size for a first memory region. The first memory region includes first memory units operating at a first density. The first memory units are includes in a memory in a memory system. The memory is operable at the first density and a second density. The method also includes: determining that a current size of the first memory region is not within a threshold of the target size and that the first memory region is smaller than the target size; identifying a second memory unit currently operating at the second density in a second memory region, the second memory unit included in the memory; and dynamically reassigning, during normal system operation, the second memory unit into the first memory region, the second memory unit operating at the first density after being reassigned to the first memory region. | 10-13-2011 |
20110317481 | PLANAR PHASE-CHANGE MEMORY CELL WITH PARALLEL ELECTRICAL PATHS - A planar phase change memory cell with parallel electrical paths. The memory cell includes a first conductive electrode region having a length greater than its width and an axis aligned with the length. The memory cell also includes a second conductive electrode region having an edge oriented at an angle to the axis of the first conductive electrode region. The memory cell further includes an insulator region providing a lateral separation distance between an end of the first conductive electrode region and the edge of the second conductive electrode region, the insulator region including at least part of an insulator film and the lateral separation distance is responsive to the thickness of the insulator film. | 12-29-2011 |
20120131304 | Adaptive Wear Leveling via Monitoring the Properties of Memory Reference Stream - Adaptive write leveling in limited lifetime memory devices including performing a method for monitoring a write data stream that includes write line addresses. A property of the write data stream is detected and a write leveling process is adapted in response to the detected property. The write leveling process is applied to the write data stream to generate physical addresses from the write line addresses. | 05-24-2012 |
20120193833 | METHOD OF FULL-FIELD SOLDER COVERAGE - A method and apparatus are provided to deposit conductive bonding material into cavities in a mold. A fill head is placed in substantial contact with a mold that includes cavities. The fill head includes a sealing member that substantially encompasses an entire area to be filled with conductive bonding material. The conductive bonding material is forced out of the fill head toward the mold. The conductive bonding material is provided into at least one cavity of the cavities contemporaneous with the at least one cavity being in proximity to the fill head. | 08-02-2012 |
20120204071 | WEAR-LEVELING AND BAD BLOCK MANAGEMENT OF LIMITED LIFETIME MEMORY DEVICES - Performing wear-leveling and bad block management of limited lifetime memory devices. A method for performing wear-leveling in a memory includes receiving logical memory addresses and applying a randomizing function to the logical memory addresses to generate intermediate addresses within a range of intermediate addresses. The intermediate addresses are mapped into physical addresses of a memory using an algebraic mapping. The physical addresses are within a range of physical addresses that include at least one more location than the range of intermediate addresses. The physical addresses are output for use in accessing the memory. The mapping between the intermediate addresses and the physical addresses is periodically shifted. In addition, contents of bad blocks are replaced with redundantly encoded redirection addresses. | 08-09-2012 |
20120311262 | MEMORY CELL PRESETTING FOR IMPROVED MEMORY PERFORMANCE - Memory cell presetting for improved performance including a system that includes a memory, a cache, and a memory controller. The memory includes memory lines made up of memory cells. The cache includes cache lines that correspond to a subset of the memory lines. The memory controller is in communication with the memory and the cache. The memory controller is configured to perform a method that includes scheduling a request to set memory cells of a memory line to a common specified state in response to a cache line attaining a dirty state. | 12-06-2012 |
20130011993 | PLANAR PHASE- CHANGE MEMORY CELL WITH PARALLEL ELECTRICAL PATHS - A method of manufacturing a phase change memory cell on a substrate. The method includes: etching a first trench in the substrate; depositing a first conductor layer in the first trench; depositing a first insulator layer over the first conductor layer in the first trench; etching a second trench in the substrate at an angle to the first trench; depositing a second insulator layer in the second trench; depositing a second conductor layer over the second insulator layer in the second trench; and depositing phase change material. The deposited phase change material is in contact with the first conductor layer and the second conductor layer. | 01-10-2013 |
20130013860 | MEMORY CELL PRESETTING FOR IMPROVED MEMORY PERFORMANCE - Memory cell presetting for improved performance including a method for using a computer system to identify a region in a memory. The region includes a plurality of memory cells characterized by a write performance characteristic that has a first expected value when a write operation changes a current state of the memory cells to a desired state of the memory cells and a second expected value when the write operation changes a specified state of the memory cells to the desired state of the memory cells. The second expected value is closer than the first expected value to a desired value of the write performance characteristic. The plurality of memory cells in the region are set to the specified state, and the data is written into the plurality of memory cells responsive to the setting. | 01-10-2013 |
20130013886 | ADAPTIVE WEAR LEVELING VIA MONITORING THE PROPERTIES OF MEMORY REFERENCE STREAM - Adaptive write leveling in limited lifetime memory devices including performing a method for monitoring a write data stream that includes write line addresses. A property of the write data stream is detected and a write leveling process is adapted in response to the detected property. The write leveling process is applied to the write data stream to generate physical addresses from the write line addresses. | 01-10-2013 |
20130016556 | PLANAR PHASE- CHANGE MEMORY CELL WITH PARALLEL ELECTRICAL PATHS - A method for operating a phase change memory that includes initializing a memory cell that includes: a first conductive electrode having a length greater than its width and an axis aligned with the length; a second conductive electrode having an edge oriented at an angle to the axis of the first conductive electrode; an insulator providing a separation distance between an end of the first conductive electrode and the edge of the second conductive electrode; and a phase change material covering a substantial portion of the first conductive electrode and at least a portion of the second conductive electrode. The initializing the memory cell includes creating a first amorphous material region in the phase change material. An active crystalline material region is created inside the first amorphous material region. Information is stored in the memory cell by creating a second amorphous material region inside the active crystalline material region. | 01-17-2013 |
20130199767 | COMPLIANT PIN FIN HEAT SINK AND METHODS - A heat sink includes a plurality of layers being disposed substantially parallel with a surface of a heat source. The layers include a plurality of pin portions spaced apart from each other in a planar arrangement wherein the pin portions of the layers are stacked and bonded to form pin fins extending in a transverse direction relative to the heat source to sink heat. A compliant layer is disposed between the pin fins and a mechanical load. The compliant layer provides compliance such that the pin fins accommodate dimensional differences when interfacing with the heat source. | 08-08-2013 |
20130200321 | POST-FABRICATION SELF-ALIGNED INITIALIZATION OF INTEGRATED DEVICES - Defining an active region of a phase change memory (PCM) cell including depositing a first layer of material having a first chemical composition. A second layer of material having a second chemical composition is deposited on top of the first layer of material. An electrical current pulse is applied to locally heat a region of the first layer of material and the second layer of material to cause at least one of an inter-diffusion and a liquid mixing of the first layer of material and the second layer of material. This results in in the PCM cell containing a self-aligned region that includes a phase change material that is a mixture of the first chemical composition and the second chemical composition. | 08-08-2013 |
20140281725 | DETECTION OF MEMORY CELLS THAT ARE STUCK IN A PHYSICAL STATE - A method for detecting memory cells that are stuck in a physical state. The method includes performing a diagnostic read of a memory cell in a memory system. The memory system is configured to utilize at least one read threshold value to determine a read data value stored in the memory cell when performing a data read operation on the memory cell. Performing the diagnostic read includes: comparing a measurement property of the memory cell to at least one diagnostic threshold value, where at least one of the diagnostic threshold values is different from all of the read threshold values; and identifying the memory cell as being stuck in a physical state based on the comparing. Based on identifying the memory cell as being stuck in a physical state, an indication that memory cell is stuck is output along with a diagnostic data value associated with the physical state. | 09-18-2014 |
20140368543 | DIRECTED COMMUNICATION IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT - The present invention relates to directed communication between avatars in a virtual environment controlled by end-users from outside the virtual environment. A method in accordance with an embodiment includes: determining a relative location of a first avatar and a second avatar in a virtual environment, wherein at least one end-user of the first avatar and the second avatar wears a headset configured to track head movements thereof, wherein the head movements of the end-user translate to their avatar and influence volume of voice communication from their avatar; adjusting aspects of a voice communication between the first avatar and the second avatar based on the relative location and the track head movements; referring to a list of avatars whose audio characteristics are to be portrayed differently in a voice communication; and further adjusting the audio characteristics of one of the first avatar and the second avatar in accordance with the list. | 12-18-2014 |