A substrate processing method of the present invention prevents the reattachment of particles to substrates, such as semiconductor wafers, when processing and cleaning the substrates by immersing the substrates held in a vertical attitude in a processing liquid and a cleaning liquid. After processing the substrates in the processing liquid, they are drawn out from the processing liquid. Then, lower parts of the processed substrates are immersed in the cleaning liquid and temporarily kept stationary in the cleaning liquid. Alternatively, the cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the lower parts of the processed substrates. After a predetermined time, the substrates are immersed entirely in the cleaning liquid.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate processing method and a substrate processing apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to a substrate processing method and a substrate processing apparatus for processing objects, such as semiconductor wafers or LCD substrates, with a processing liquid and cleaning the objects with a cleaning liquid.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus has prevalently been used in fabricating semiconductor devices to remove particles, organic substances, metallic contaminants and/or an oxide film from objects, such as semiconductor wafers, (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cwafersxe2x80x9d) by sequentially conveying the wafers through processing tanks containing processing liquids (chemical liquids) and cleaning tanks containing cleaning liquids (rinsing liquids) to immerse the wafers in the processing liquids and the cleaning liquids and to dry the wafers.
A wafer processing apparatus of this kind comprises processing tanks respectively containing processing liquids (chemical liquids), such as HF+H2O (a hydrogen fluoride solution (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cHFxe2x80x9d)), NH4OH+H2O2+H2O (an ammonia peroxide solution) and HCl+H2O2+H2O (a hydrochloric acid peroxide solution), cleaning tanks respectively containing cleaning liquids, such as rinsing liquids (pure water), wafer holders, such as wafer boats, for holding a plurality of wafers, for example, fifty wafers, in a vertical attitude, and lifting devices for immersing the wafer boat holding wafers in, and taking out the same from the processing tanks and the cleaning tanks.
The processing tanks, the cleaning tanks and the wafer boats are placed in a downflow atmosphere in which a clean gas, for example, clean air flows down to handle the wafers or the like in a clean atmosphere.
Generally, the wafers or the like made of silicon are provided on their surfaces with an oxide film serving as an insulating film, and a predetermined pattern or the like. When a silicon wafer provided on its surface with an oxide film is processed with a processing liquid, the processing liquid remains on the surface of the silicon wafer because the oxide film is hydrophilic while silicon is hydrophobic. Experiments were conducted to verify this fact. In the experiments, a wafer boat B holding coated silicon wafers Wa coated with an oxide film and bare silicon wafers Wb as shown in FIG. 18A was immersed in a processing liquid, such as HF, contained in a processing tank for processing, and then the wafer boat was taken out of the processing liquid. At this stage, the processing liquid (HF) remained on the surfaces of the coated silicon wafers Wa as shown in FIG. 18B. When the coated silicon wafers Wa and the bear silicon wafers Wb were immersed in a processing liquid or a cleaning liquid for the subsequent process, particles P contained in the processing liquid (HF) remaining on the coated silicon wafers Wa adhered to the surfaces of the coated silicon wafers Wa and therefrom to the surfaces of the adjacent bare silicon wafers Wb as shown in FIG. 18B. As is obvious from the results of the experiments, particles adhere to the surfaces of wafers when silicon wafers coated with an oxide film are processed with a processing liquid and cleaned with a cleaning liquid, and those particles reduces the yield of products.
When etching oxide films formed on the surfaces of wafers W with a processing liquid, such as HF, the wafers W are immersed in the processing liquid (HF) contained in a processing tank, the wafers W are taken out of the processing tank, and the wafers W are carried to a cleaning tank. While the wafers W are thus being carried to the cleaning tank, the processing liquid (HF) remaining on the wafers W flows downward along the surfaces of the wafers W held in a vertical attitude and, consequently, the oxide films coating the wafers W are exposed partly as shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B. Since the etching of the exposed parts of the oxide films is stopped, while the etching of the coated parts of the oxide films continues, the oxide films cannot uniformly be etched, which reduces the yield of products.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to prevent the reattachment of particles to wafers or substrates by removing dust contained in a processing liquid remaining on the surfaces of the substrates after the substrates have been processed with the processing liquid by recleaning the substrates when processing the substrates by immersing the same in the processing liquid and cleaning the substrates by immersing the same in a cleaning liquid, in order that the yield of products can be improved.
Another object of the present invention is to prevent the downward flow of a processing liquid remaining on substrates along the surfaces of the substrates after the substrates have been processed with the processing liquid in order that etching uniformity and the yield of products can be improved.
With the foregoing object in view, according to an aspect of the present invention, a substrate processing method, which processes substrates by immersing the substrates held in a vertical attitude in a processing liquid and a cleaning liquid, is characterized in cleaning lower parts of the substrates at at least one of the time when the substrates are immersed in one of the processing liquid and the cleaning liquid contained in a tank and the time when the substrates have been exposed to one of the processing liquid and the cleaning liquid contained in the tank. The term xe2x80x9csubjected to one of the processing liquid and the cleaning liquidxe2x80x9d refers to either an act of pulling out the substrates from the processing liquid or the cleaning liquid contained in the tank or an act of draining the processing liquid or the cleaning liquid from the tank. Immersing the substrates in the processing liquid or the cleaning liquid signifies either an act of immersing the substrates in the processing liquid or the cleaning liquid contained in the tank or an act of wetting the substrates with the processing liquid or the cleaning liquid.
In the substrate processing method of the present invention, the lower parts of the substrates can be cleaned by ejecting a cleaning liquid on the lower parts of the substrates or by immersing the lower parts of the substrates in a cleaning liquid contained in a tank for a predetermined time. The lower parts of the substrates may be immersed in and kept stationary in the cleaning liquid. When thus immersing the lower parts of the substrates in the cleaning liquid, it is preferable that the cleaning liquid is supplied to the tank so that the cleaning liquid overflows the tank.
The substrates are supposed to be made of a hydrophobic material to have surfaces coated with hydrophilic films. Hydrophilic substrates are, for example, bare silicon substrates and metal substrates. Hydrophilic films are, for example, oxide films or insulating films.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a substrate processing method, which brings substrates held in a vertical attitude into a processing liquid and a cleaning liquid to process the substrates, processes the substrates in an atmosphere in which a clean gas flows down, and reduces or stops the flow of the clean gas when carrying the substrates processed by the processing liquid to the next processing unit for processing the substrates with another processing liquid or the cleaning liquid.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, a substrate processing method, which brings substrates held in a vertical attitude into a processing liquid and a cleaning liquid to process the substrates, blows a clean gas upward from below the substrates against the substrates when carrying the substrates processed with the processing liquid to the next processing unit for processing the substrates with another processing liquid or the cleaning liquid. The clean gas may be, for example, clean air or clean nitrogen gas.
According to a still further aspect of the present invention, a substrate processing apparatus, which carries out a substrate processing method of the present invention, comprises a processing tank containing a processing liquid in which substrates are to be immersed, a cleaning tank containing a cleaning liquid in which the substrates are to be immersed, substrate holding means for holding the substrates in a vertical attitude, lifting means for vertically moving the substrate holding means holding the substrates relative to the processing tanks or the cleaning tanks, in which liquid ejecting means for ejecting a processing liquid or a cleaning liquid toward lower parts of the substrates is disposed above the processing tanks or above the cleaning tanks.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a substrate processing apparatus, which carries out a substrate processing method of the present invention, comprises a processing tank containing a processing liquid in which substrates are to be immersed, a cleaning tank containing a cleaning liquid in which the substrates are to be immersed, substrate holding means for holding the substrates in a vertical attitude, lifting means for vertically moving the substrate holding means holding the substrates relative to the processing tanks or the cleaning tank, in which a control means controls the lifting means so that the lifting means is stopped when lowering the substrate holding means holding the substrates to immerse the substrates in the cleaning liquid contained in the cleaning tank at a position where lower parts of the substrates are immersed in the cleaning liquid.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, a substrate processing apparatus, which carries out a substrate processing method of the present invention, comprises a processing tank in which substrates are brought into contact with a processing liquid, a cleaning tank in which the substrates are brought into contact with a cleaning liquid, substrate holding means for holding the substrates in a vertical attitude, and lifting means for vertically moving the substrate holding means holding the substrates relative to the processing tank or the cleaning tanks, in which the processing tanks are disposed in a downflow atmosphere in which a clean gas flows down, and a control means stops or reduces the downflow of the clean gas creating the atmosphere. Preferably, the control means stops or reduces the flow of the clean gas when the substrates are carried from the processing tank to another processing tank or the cleaning tank.
According to a still further aspect of the present invention, a substrate processing apparatus, which carries out a substrate processing method of the present invention, comprises a processing tank in which substrates are brought into contact with a processing liquid, a cleaning tank in which the substrates are brought into contact with a cleaning liquid, substrate holding means for holding the substrates in a vertical attitude, and lifting means for vertically moving the substrate holding means holding the substrates relative to the processing tank or the cleaning tank, in which a clean gas ejecting means ejects a clean gas upward from below the substrates when the substrates processed with the processing liquid are carried to another processing tank or the cleaning tank. The lifting means may include a carrying means for carrying the substrates between the processing tank and the cleaning tank. The substrate processing apparatus may further comprise, besides the lifting means, a carrying means for carrying the substrates between the processing tank and the cleaning tank. Although the cleaning tank may be of any type provided that the same are able to contain cleaning liquids, it is preferable that the cleaning tanks are overflow tanks that allow the overflow of the cleaning liquids.
In the present invention, the lower part of the substrate is a part having a region extending between the lower edge of the substrate and a region near a circuit region in which semiconductor devices are built.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.


A process to avoid or limit corrosion at the junction of two piping comprising devices welded together, said piping comprising devices being adapted to flow corrosive gases through them, said process comprising the steps of:. a) providing a first piping comprising device and connecting it to an inert gas source; PA1 b) purging it with an inert gas comprising substantially not more than 10 ppb of an oxidizing gas selected from the group consisting of oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor or mixtures thereof, said inert gas flowing from a first opening to a second opening of said piping comprising device; PA1 c) providing a second pipe comprising device in flow communication with the first one, while continuing to purge the first piping comprising device; PA1 d) welding the two piping comprising devices, said welding being carried out under an inert gas atmosphere; and PA1 e) repeating steps c and d if necessary.

In the manufacture of electronic components such as integrated circuits, corrosive gases are used (pure or mixtures) to carry out various operations, particularly the various etching steps. These gases need to be very pure, i.e., their particulate and gaseous contaminants should be as low as possible. These gases are usually flowing from a cylinder located remotely from the point of use through a piping network installed throughout the plant from said gas cabinet to the point of use. To make this piping system, it is necessary to use several individual pipings and various components such as valves, fittings, filters, pressure regulators or the like which are usually welded together. It is known that 316L stainless steel electropolished tubings are corrosion resistant; however welding of these tubings together or with other various components induce localized areas sensitive to corrosion. These areas are of concern regarding both safety and micro contamination aspects. Particularly, it is believed that those localized areas sensitive to corrosion might be a source of micro contamination of the gases flowing through these tubings. A distribution system of gases for semiconductor manufacture is disclosed in the article entitled "HCl Gas Distribution System: The Effect of Surface Finish and Point of Use Purification", R. Diguid et al., July 1993, Solid State Technology, pp. 79-85. Also, the Orbital Tungsten Inert Gas welding process is disclosed in the article entitled "Orbital TIG Welding of Electropolished High Alloy Steel Tubes", by Herbert Geil; Stainless Steel Europe, May 1992.
Corrosion resistance of a stainless steel surface is known (from H. H. Uhlig & R. W. Review, "Corrosion and Corrosion Control" by John Wiley & sons, 3rd Edition, 1985) to be related to the surface enrichment in chromium oxide while on the contrary the presence of superficial iron oxide would have a detrimental effect on corrosion resistance.
The welding bead area is known to be the corrosion sensitive point of a welded assembly of stainless steel parts. The experiments conducted by the inventors indicate that the corrosion occurs mainly in a zone distance between about 2 mm and 10 mm from the bead in the case of electropolished stainless steel tubing of 1 mm thickness. The length of the above zone depends on the energy input from the welding, and the corrosion sensitization of this zone is attributed to modifications of the surface near the welding bead during the welding.
The oxidation reduction properties are controlled by the thermodynamic equilibrium between the metal surface and the gas atmosphere as explained in the Ellingham diagram disclosed in B. J. Reed, "Free Energy of Formation of Binary Compounds", Eds. (1985).
The inventors thus believe that the modification of the surface is related to the oxygen partial pressure of the back shielding gas both directly by chemical surface reaction and indirectly via elemental diffusion phenomena between the base alloy and the modified surface.
The level of oxidetire impurities in the common industrial grade argon creates in the zone of the device heated by the welding a layer composed of a mixture of iron oxide and chromium oxide near and on the welding bead. It is therefore very important to control the level of oxygen containing chemicals such as moisture, oxygen, or carbon dioxide, in the welding back shield gas.
In the Tungsten Inert Gas welding (TIG) process, the gases used as back shielding gases obtainable from the gas supplier ere usually pure argon having a purity which is at least equal to 99.999% (the impurities content is below 10 ppm).
In addition, in the case of tube welding, the source of impurities arises from the gas itself as well as by desorption from the wall of the tube upstream. These impurities are as defined hereabove, essentially oxygen-containing compounds such as H.sub.2 O, O.sub.2, CO.sub.2 or the like.
The usual technique is to decrease the oxygen partial pressure at the welding bead at the time of the welding. To do so, it is known to add hydrogen, but this has some drawbacks, especially when it comes to the safety point of view. (In the microelectronics industry, hydrogen detectors are present in the clean rooms where the welding work is performed). Furthermore, hydrogen can be dissolved in the alloy, which is detrimental to its mechanical and outgassing properties.
It is also known from M. Morin, S. Miyoshi, K. Kawada, and T. Ohmi, "Ultra Clean Welding for High Grade Gas Handling Technology", in Electro Chemical Society, Meeting, Hi. (1993), that manganese particles formed during the welding and deposited downstream (the maximum deposition occurs at about 5 mm from the welding bead) are detrimental to corrosion resistance.
It is also known that corrosion by gases such as HCl or HBr is accelerated in the presence of impurities, particularly H.sub.2 O. Even with high purity HCl or HBr, the metallic surface state will strongly affect the corrosion, particularly when H.sub.2 O is adsorbed at the metal surface prior to corrosive gas exposure of high or low purity.
When making a piping system, e.g., for a semi-conductor plant, between the gas cabinet and the point of use, tubes are usually welded together, then the entire line of piping is purged in order to clean it essentially by removing moisture before using it. However, there is still a problem regarding the use of corrosive gases with which even such a procedure is not very efficient, and the corresponding piping system has to be changed frequently.

Process for assembling piping or components by TIG welding

L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude


A loading mechanism is for use in a tape drive having a supply reel motor for driving a supply reel in a tape cartridge and a chassis supporting the supply reel motor fixed thereto. For engaging a rotor of the supply reel motor with the supply reel, the loading mechanism is provided a drive gear which is arranged coaxially with the rotor and movable in an axial direction. When the drive gear is moved towards one direction in the axial direction, the drive gear is engaged with a drive hub fixed to the rotor and with the supply reel in a rotating direction. The drive gear is urged by a spring towards the one direction in the axial direction. For controlling the movement of the drive gear in the axial direction, a control mechanism has a ring cum, a cylindrical member, and a drive ring. The ring cam is arranged coaxially with the rotor to be rotatable and has a plurality of cam grooves, N in number, formed on its peripheral surface. The cylindrical member is formed coaxially with the rotor by bending a part of the chassis towards the other direction in the axial direction, and having a plurality of guide slits, N in number, extending in the axial direction. The drive ring has a plurality of engaging pins, N in number, engaged with the cam grooves through the guide slits. The drive ring is engaged with the drive gear in the axial direction against the urging force of the spring.

This invention relates to a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus such as a linear tape storage system represented by DLT (Digital Linear Tape) or LTO (Linear Tape Open) and, in particular, to a loading mechanism for transmitting driving force of a supply reel motor to a reel hub of a tape cartridge.
A linear tape storage system of the type has been developed as a backup for a computer system. A variety of linear tape storage systems have heretofore been proposed. For example, a digital linear tape drive as the DLT is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,014.
The digital linear tape drive (hereinafter may simply be called the xe2x80x9cdrivexe2x80x9d or the xe2x80x9ctape drivexe2x80x9d) is adapted to receive a tape cartridge (hereinafter may simply be called the xe2x80x9ccartridgexe2x80x9d) having a single reel (supply reel). The digital linear tape drive includes a take-up reel in the interior thereof. When the tape cartridge is received in the drive, a magnetic tape is pulled out from the tape cartridge to be wound up around the take-up reel through a head guide assembly (HGA). The head guide assembly serves to guide to a magnetic head the magnetic tape (hereinafter may simply be called xe2x80x9ctapexe2x80x9d) pulled out from the tape cartridge. The magnetic head exchanges information to and from the tape. Typically, the head guide assembly comprises an aluminum plate having a boomerang-like shape and a plurality of large guide rollers, six in number, comprising bearings.
The head guide assembly is also called a tape guide assembly which is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,585. An example of the guide roller is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-100025 (JP 2000-100025 A).
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,793,574 for example, a tape drive typically comprises a generally rectangular housing having a common base. The base has two spindle motors (reel motors). The first spindle motor (reel motor) has a permanently mounted spool (take-up reel) permanently mounted to the base and dimensioned to accept a magnetic tape streaming at a relatively high speed. The second spindle motor (reel motor) is adapted to receive a removable tape cartridge. The first spindle motor (reel motor) is called a take-up reel motor while the second spindle motor (reel motor) is called a supply reel motor. The removable tape cartridge is manually or automatically inserted into the drive via a slot formed on a housing of the drive. When the tape cartridge is inserted into the slot, the cartridge is engaged with the second spindle motor (reel motor). Prior to rotation of the first and the second spindle motors (reel motors), the tape cartridge is connected to the permanently mounted spool (take-up reel) by means of a mechanical buckling mechanism. A number of rollers (guide rollers) are positioned between the tape cartridge and the permanently mounted spool and guide the magnetic tape as it streams at a relatively high speed back and forth between the tape cartridge and the permanently mounted spool.
The digital linear tape drive of the above-mentioned structure requires a pulling device for pulling the tape from the supply reel to the take-up reel. Such pulling device is disclosed, for example, in International Publication No. WO86/07471. According to the disclosure in the publication, the take-up reel is provided with take-up leader means (first tape leader) coupled thereto. To the tape on the supply reel, supply leader means (second tape leader) is fixed. The first tape leader has a tab formed at its one end. The second tape leader has a locking hole. The tab is engaged with the locking hole.
Furthermore, a mechanism for joining the first tape leader to the second tape leader is required. Such joining mechanism is disclosed, for example, in International Publication No. WO86/07295.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-100116 (JP 2000-100116 A) discloses xe2x80x9cStructure of Leader Tape Engaging Partxe2x80x9d capable of locking an end of a leader tape (second tape leader) to a tape end hooking part of the tape cartridge without requiring a tab protruding on a lateral side of the leader tape.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,634 discloses a lock system for preventing the rotation of the take-up reel of the tape drive when the tape cartridge is not inserted into the drive.
The tape drive further comprises a tape head actuator assembly. The tape head actuator assembly is positioned between the take-up reel or spool and the tape cartridge along a tape path defined by a plurality of rollers. During operation, the magnetic tape streams back and forth between the take-up reel or spool and the tape cartridge, coming into close proximity to the head actuator assembly while streaming along the defined tape path. An example of the head actuator assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,793,574 mentioned above.
On the other hand, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-149491 (JP 2000-149491 A) discloses an example of the tape cartridge to be received in the digital linear tape drive.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,171. discloses a xe2x80x9ctape drivexe2x80x9d in which a tape leader is urged from a tape cartridge to a take-up reel without using a buckling mechanism or a take-up leader.
As described above, the tape drive comprises the first and the second reel motors (i.e., the take-up reel motor and the supply reel motor). The first and the second reel motors are mounted on a chassis (more specifically, on a back surface of the chassis). As the first and the second reel motors, use is typically made of inner-rotor motors. After the tape cartridge containing the supply reel is inserted into the slot of the tape drive, the supply reel must be engaged with the supply reel motor in order to rotate the supply reel. Such engaging operation is called xe2x80x9cloadingxe2x80x9d in this field of the art. A mechanism for engaging the supply reel with the supply reel motor is called a xe2x80x9cloading mechanismxe2x80x9d. More in detail, a rotation driving surface (reel hub) of the supply reel is exposed out from a bottom surface of the tape cartridge, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-149491 mentioned above. On the other hand, as will later be described in detail, the loading mechanism comprises a drive gear attached to a rotation shaft of a rotor of the supply reel motor to be movable up and down. When the tape cartridge is inserted into the slot of the tape drive, the loading mechanism is activated so that the drive gear is moved upward from the lower surface of the chassis. As a consequence, the drive gear is engaged with the reel hub of the cartridge so that the supply reel can be rotated by the supply reel motor.
Now referring to FIGS. 1 through 7, an existing loading mechanism will be described.
At first referring to FIGS. 2 through 4, description will be made of an existing magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus 10xe2x80x2 comprising the existing loading mechanism.
The magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus 10xe2x80x2 includes a chassis 20xe2x80x2 having an upper surface (front surface) 20xe2x80x2U and a lower surface (back surface) 20xe2x80x2L. The chassis 20xe2x80x2 comprises a diecast of a non-magnetic aluminum material. The upper surface 20xe2x80x2U is divided into first and second upper regions 20xe2x80x2U1 and 20xe2x80x2U2. Similarly, the lower surface 20xe2x80x2L is divided into first and second lower regions 20xe2x80x2L1 and 20xe2x80x2L2 faced to the first and the second upper regions 20xe2x80x2U1 and 20xe2x80x2U2, respectively. The chassis 20xe2x80x2 is provided with first and second openings 20xe2x80x2a1 and 20xe2x80x2a2 formed in the first and the second upper regions 20xe2x80x2U1 and 20xe2x80x2U2 (the first and the second lower regions 20xe2x80x2L1 and 20xe2x80x2L2), respectively. The first opening 20xe2x80x2a1 has a cylindrical shape formed by bending a part of the first upper region 20xe2x80x2U1 downward. Similarly, the second opening 20xe2x80x2a2 has a cylindrical shape formed by bending a part of the second upper region 20xe2x80x2U2 downward.
The magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus 10xe2x80x2 further comprises a take-up reel 30, a first reel motor 40xe2x80x2, a slot portion 50, and a second reel motor 60. The first and the second reel motors 40xe2x80x2 and 60 may be called a take-up reel motor and a supply reel motor, respectively.
The take-up reel 30 is rotatably mounted to the chassis 20xe2x80x2 on the first upper region 20xe2x80x2U1. The first reel motor (take-up reel motor) 40xe2x80x2 is fitted into the first opening 20xe2x80x2 a to be attached to the chassis 20xe2x80x2 in the first lower region 20xe2x80x2L2. The first reel motor 40xe2x80x2 serves to rotate the take-up reel 30. The first reel motor 40xe2x80x2 comprises a first motor substrate 41xe2x80x2 made of a magnetic material, a first rotor 42xe2x80x2 rotatably attached onto the first motor substrate 41xe2x80x2, and a first stator 43xe2x80x2 fixedly mounted on the first motor substrate 41xe2x80x2. The first reel motor 40xe2x80x2 is of an inner-rotor type such that the first rotor 42xe2x80x2 is disposed inside. The first rotor 42xe2x80x2 has a first magnet 421xe2x80x2.
On the other hand, the slot portion 50 is formed on the second upper region 20xe2x80x2U2 of the chassis 20xe2x80x2. The slot portion 50 is adapted to receive a tape cartridge (not shown) comprising a rotatable supply reel (not shown). The second reel motor (supply reel motor) 60 is fitted into the second opening 20xe2x80x2a2 to be attached to the chassis 20xe2x80x2 in the second lower region 20xe2x80x2L2. The second reel motor 60 serves to rotate the supply reel when the cartridge is inserted into the slot portion 50. The second reel motor 60 comprises a second motor substrate 61 made of a magnetic material, a second rotor 62 rotatably attached onto the second motor substrate 61, and a second stator 63 fixedly mounted on the second motor substrate 61. Like the first reel motor 40xe2x80x2, the second reel motor 60 is of an inner-rotor type such that the second rotor 62 is disposed inside. The second rotor 62 has a second magnet 621.
As seen from FIGS. 2 and 4, the first reel motor (take-up reel motor) 40xe2x80x2 is arranged in a reversed position with respect to the second reel motor (supply reel motor) 60. In other words, in the first reel motor 40xe2x80x2, the first rotor 42xe2x80x2 and the first stator 43xe2x80x2 are arranged on the lower surface of the first motor substrate 41xe2x80x2. On the other hand, in the second reel motor 60, the second rotor 62 and the second stator 63 are arranged on the upper surface of the second motor substrate 61. Thus, in the second reel motor 60, the second magnet 621 of the second rotor 62 is exposed. Since the second magnet 621 has strong magnetism, the second reel motor 60 is covered with a plate 70 made of an iron-based magnetic material in order to shield magnetic leakage. The plate 70 may be called a floor receiver.
In the magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus 10xe2x80x2 of the above-mentioned structure, a magnetic head 80 carries out information exchange upon a magnetic tape (not shown) pulled out from the supply reel and wound up around the take-up reel 30.
Next referring to FIGS. 1, 5, and 6, the existing loading mechanism 100xe2x80x2 will be described. The loading mechanism 100xe2x80x2 is arranged in the second opening 20xe2x80x2a2 between the supply reel motor 60 and the floor receiver 70. In other words, the loading mechanism 100xe2x80x2 is arranged at the side of the lower surface 20xe2x80x2L (in the second lower region 20xe2x80x2L2) of the chassis 20xe2x80x2.
The supply reel motor 60 has a rotation shaft 611 fixed to the second motor substrate 61 and standing up from an approximate center thereof. The rotation shaft 611 rotatably supports the second rotor 62 through a ball bearing 612. Specifically, the second rotor 62 comprises a cylindrical rotary member 622 attached to the ball bearing 612, a dish-shaped rotary member 623 extending from a lower end of the cylindrical rotary member 622 in a direction perpendicular to an extending direction of the rotary shaft 611 and having an outer peripheral end perpendicularly bent upward, and the second magnet 621 having a ring shape and fixedly attached to an outer peripheral surface of the outer peripheral end of the dish-shaped rotary member 623.
On the other hand, the second stator 63 is disposed on the second motor substrate 61 in close proximity to an outer periphery of the second magnet 621. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the second stator 63 comprises a plurality of stator cores radially extending outward and a plurality of stator coils wound around the stator cores, respectively.
As seen from FIG. 3, the loading mechanism 100xe2x80x2 has a drive hub 110 fixed to an upper end of the cylindrical rotary member 622 of the second rotor 62 by three screws 101. The drive hub 110 has a generally annular shape and has an outer peripheral end bent downward. Specifically, the drive hub 110 has a ring-shaped portion 111 extending in parallel to the second motor substrate 61 and fixed to the upper end of the cylindrical rotary member 622, and a cylindrical portion 112 perpendicularly bent downward from an outer peripheral end of the ring-shaped portion 111. The cylindrical portion 112 is provided with three grooves 112a (only one being illustrated in FIG. 1) formed on its outer peripheral wall to extend in a vertical direction (i.e., a direction along which the rotary shaft 611 extends) at an angular interval of 120xc2x0. The cylindrical portion 112 has three engaging holes 112 (two of them being illustrated in FIG. 1) formed at its lower end between every adjacent ones of the three grooves 112a at an angular interval of 120xc2x0.
Around the drive hub 110, a drive gear 120 is arranged. The drive gear 120 has a generally double-cylinder shape. Specifically, the drive gear 120 comprises an inner cylindrical portion 121, an outer cylindrical portion 122 spaced from the inner cylindrical portion 121 at a predetermined distance, and a ring-shaped portion 123 connecting the inner and the outer cylindrical portions 121 and 122 at their upper ends. Therefore, the drive gear 120 has a cylindrical groove 120a formed between the inner and the outer cylindrical portions 121 and 122. When the drive gear 120 is moved upward as illustrated in FIG. 6, the cylindrical portion 123 is engaged with a reel hub of the cartridge. In the cylindrical groove 120a, a spring 130 is disposed. The spring 130 continuously urges the drive gear 120 upward. The inner cylindrical portion 121 has an inner peripheral wall provided with three rod-like protrusions 121a (only one being illustrated in FIG. 1) inserted into the three grooves 112a of the drive hub 110 and extending in the vertical direction. The drive gear 120 further comprises an inner ring-shaped flange 124 formed at a lower end of the inner cylindrical portion 121 to protrude inward, and an outer ring-shaped flange 125 formed at a lower end of the outer cylindrical portion 122 to protrude outward. The inner ring-shaped flange 124 is provided with three engaging protrusions 124a (only one being illustrated in FIG. 1) formed at its upper end at positions corresponding to the three engaging holes 112b of the drive hub 110. Thus, when the drive gear 120 is moved upward as illustrated in FIG. 6, the three engaging protrusions 124a and the three engaging holes 112b of the drive hub 110 are engaged with each other.
When the loading mechanism 100xe2x80x2 is not operated, the drive gear 120 is received in the second opening 20xe2x80x2a2 as illustrated in FIG. 5. When the loading mechanism 100xe2x80x2 is operated, the drive gear 120 protrudes upward from the lower surface 20xe2x80x2 L of the chassis 20xe2x80x2 as illustrated in FIG. 6. Thus, the loading mechanism 100xe2x80x2 has an elevation control mechanism (which will later be described in detail) for controlling an elevating movement of the drive bear 120. Briefly speaking, when the loading mechanism 100xe2x80x2 is not operated, the elevation control mechanism carries out control so that the drive gear 120 is located at a lower level against the urging force of the spring 130 and received in the second opening 20xe2x80x2a2 as illustrated in FIG. 5. On the other hand, when the loading mechanism 100xe2x80x2 is operated, the elevation control mechanism carries out control so that the drive gear 120 is located at a higher level utilizing the urging force of the spring 130 as illustrated in FIG. 6.
Next, description will be made in detail about the existing elevation control mechanism used in the existing loading mechanism 100xe2x80x2.
The existing elevation control mechanism comprises a ring cam 140xe2x80x2 which is arranged to be rotatable around the rotary shaft 611 and which covers the second stator 63 of the supply reel motor 60, the second magnet 621 of the second rotor 62, and the outer peripheral end of the dish-shaped rotary member 623. More in detail, the ring cam 140xe2x80x2 comprises a ring-shaped member 141xe2x80x2 covering the second stator 63, the second magnet 621, and the outer peripheral end of the dish-shaped rotary member 623 and spaced at a predetermined distance from upper surfaces thereof, an inner cylindrical member 142xe2x80x2 perpendicularly bent downward from an inner peripheral edge of the ring-shaped member 141xe2x80x2 and spaced at a predetermined distance from an inner peripheral end of the second stator 63, and an outer cylindrical member 143xe2x80x2 perpendicularly bent downward from an outer peripheral edge of the ring-shaped member 141xe2x80x2 and spaced at a predetermined distance from an outer peripheral end of the second stator 63. The outer cylindrical member 143xe2x80x2 is provided with a gear portion 140xe2x80x2a formed at a part thereof to be engaged with a gear (not shown). As illustrated in FIG. 1, the inner cylindrical member 142xe2x80x2 is provided with three cam grooves 142xe2x80x2a (only one being illustrated in FIG. 1) formed on an inner peripheral wall thereof to obliquely extend from its lower end towards its upper end. The three cam grooves 142xe2x80x2 a are arranged at an angular interval of 120xc2x0 to be rotationally symmetrical with respect to the rotary shaft 611.
On the inner peripheral wall of the inner cylindrical member 142xe2x80x2 of the ring cam 140xe2x80x2, a cylindrical ring cam pivot 150xe2x80x2 is disposed. The ring cam pivot 150xe2x80x2 is provided with a flange 151xe2x80x2 formed at its lower end to extend outward in a radial direction. The flange 151xe2x80x2 is brought into contact with the lower end of the inner cylindrical member 142xe2x80x2. The ring cam pivot 150xe2x80x2 is provided with three long holes or guide slits 150xe2x80x2a (two of them being illustrated in FIG. 1) formed at an equiangular interval of 120xc2x0 to extend in the vertical direction in parallel to the rotary shaft 611.
A drive ring 160xe2x80x2 is arranged to be movable vertically (up and down) in sliding contact with an inner peripheral wall of the ring cam pivot 150xe2x80x2. The drive ring 160xe2x80x2 is provided with three through holes 160xe2x80x2 a (two of them being illustrated in FIG. 1) formed at positions corresponding to the three guide slits 150xe2x80x2a and extending in the radial direction at an equiangular interval of 120xc2x0. From the outside in the radial direction, three rod-like engaging pins 161xe2x80x2 are fitted into the three through holes 160xe2x80x2 a through the three guide slits 150axe2x80x2 of the ring cam pivot 150xe2x80x2. The three engaging pins 161xe2x80x2 have radially outward ends engaged with the three cam grooves 142xe2x80x2 a formed on the inner cylindrical member 142xe2x80x2 of the ring cam 140xe2x80x2, respectively.
When the drive gear 120 is received in the second opening 20xe2x80x2a2 as illustrated in FIG. 5, the three engaging pins 161xe2x80x2 are located at lower ends of the three cam grooves 142xe2x80x2a. On the other hand, when the drive gear 120 is operated as illustrated in FIG. 6, the three engaging pins 161xe2x80x2 are located at upper ends of the three cam grooves 142xe2x80x2a.
The drive ring 160xe2x80x2 has an inner peripheral wall provided with a protruding portion 162xe2x80x2 protruding inward from its upper part. The protruding portion 162xe2x80x2 is engaged with the outer ring-shaped flange 125 of the drive gear 120. Thus, it will be understood that the position of the drive gear 120 is restricted by the position of the drive ring 160xe2x80x2.
As illustrated in FIG. 5 or 6, an upper surface of the ring-shaped member 141xe2x80x2 of the ring cam 140xe2x80x2 is covered with the floor receiver 70.
In the existing loading mechanism 100xe2x80x2 described above, the elevation control mechanism comprises the ring cam 140xe2x80x2, the ring cam pivot 150xe2x80x2, the driver ring 160xe2x80x2, and so on. Thus, the number of the components is large and a complicated assembling process is required to assemble such a large number of the components. This results in degradation of productivity.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a loading mechanism capable of reducing the number of components.
It is another object of this invention to provide a loading mechanism capable of simplifying an assembling process.
According to the present invention, there is provided a loading mechanism for use in a tape drive comprising a supply reel motor for driving a supply reel in a tape cartridge and a chassis supporting the supply reel motor fixed thereto. The loading mechanism is for engaging a rotor of the supply reel motor with the supply reel and comprises a drive hub fixed to the rotor and a drive gear arranged coaxially with the rotor to be movable in an axial direction. The drive gear is engaged with the drive hub and the supply reel in a rotating direction when the drive gear is moved towards one direction in the axial direction. The loading mechanism further comprises a spring urging the drive gear towards the one direction in the axial direction and a control mechanism for controlling the movement of the drive gear in the axial direction. The control mechanism comprises a ring cam arranged coaxially with the rotor to be rotatable and having a plurality of cam grooves, N in number, formed on its peripheral surface, a cylindrical member formed coaxially with the rotor by bending a part of the chassis towards the other direction in the axial direction and having a plurality of guide slits, N in number, extending in the axial direction, and a drive ring having a plurality of engaging pins, N in number, engaged with the cam grooves through the guide slits, the drive ring being engaged with the drive gear in the axial direction against the urging force of the spring.
According to the present invention, there is provided a tape drive which comprises a supply reel motor for driving a supply reel in a tape cartridge, a chassis supporting the supply reel motor fixed thereto, and a loading mechanism according to claim 1, the loading mechanism being arranged between the chassis and the supply reel motor to engage a rotor of the supply reel motor with the supply reel.

Loading mechanism capable of reducing the number of components


A method and apparatus for performing a computer application trace without interference with other operations. An embodiment of a method includes establishing a server session for a computer application, where the computer application is operating on a computer system. A trace session is established on the computer system, the trace session being connected with the server session. A performance trace of the computer application under the trace session is enabled, and a set of trace data for the performance trace is collected, where the set of trace data to correlated with the server session.

In the operation of computers, it may be necessary to perform a trace of a computer application when issues arise in operation, such as when the application is not performing correctly or excessive memory is being consumed.
In an example, a trace may be required in a large, complex computer landscape that includes numerous different systems and different types of systems. However, such large systems are commonly productive systems that cannot be easily isolated or shut down. In such a complex environment, it may be expected there may be many different operations required by multiple users, including potentially multiple traces. Because of the distribution of data and resources, the various operations will likely share the same data while they overlap in time.
While it may be expected that overlapping operations will affect each other in that each operation may modify the common data, this is problematic for trace operations. If the traces interfere with each other, then the traces will not provide useful results. In certain circumstances, it could be necessary to limit traces to avoid interference.

Performing computer application trace with other operations


A system and method for issuing an authorization token and performing real time multi-factor authentication using a unique device or devices to enable authorization to perform secure services for an online service based on desired on demand level of assurance. The level of assurance of the authentication may be on a distributed and dynamic authenticated system. This dynamic system delivers on-demand level of assurance depending on the Relying Party's (RP) requirements, orchestrated by policies set by the RP and/or the consumer (or user agent), and possibly augmented by other regulatory requirement based on a fine-grain control requirement of the authentication token(s). The level of assurance throttles up and down depending each transaction authentication requirement.

With the explosion of passwords and the ever increasing threat of online fraud, the need to improve authentication of users and their transactions as well as the usability of relying party applications across multiple sectors (financial institutions, healthcare, retailers, education institutions, government agencies and associated social services, social networks, etc.) is essential to mitigate the occurrence of information security fraud on a global scale. Furthermore, current authentication and authorization schemes provide an all or nothing approach, where the user either has complete control of all the resources provided by the login or none at all.

Dynamic authorization with adaptive levels of assurance


Apparatus is described for detaching a coiled strip from a wound sheet material construct containing a plurality of coiled strips interconnected by intermittently spaced tabs of partially sheared material that bridge the parting lines between adjacent strips. The apparatus is effective to separate the selected coiled strip from the construct and to thereafter pay out the strip to a point of use.

An improved practice for the production of coiled sheet metal strip material is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,155,238, 4,170,691 and 4,173,313 granted May 22, 1979, Oct. 9, 1979 and Nov. 6, 1979, respectively, to John W. Rogers. According to this improved practice an elongated web of sheet metal is slit along parallel lines in a manner that produces parting lines containing intermittently spaced residuums of only partially sheared metal that bridge the parting line between adjacent strips and interconnect their facing edges. Thus, upon coiling of the slit product there results a wound construct containing a plurality of coiled strips integrally joined by frangible connections or tabs defined by the aforementioned partially sheared residuums of metal.
Detachment of individual strips from the construct can be effected by a breakaway device such as that described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 898,001 to John W. Rogers filed Apr. 20, 1978 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,759, granted Apr. 1, 1980 in which all the interconnecting tabs in the parting line to be separated are fractured substantially simultaneously by the application of a shear force directly to the concerned strip coil. Separating coils in this manner requires great forces due to the requirement to break all the tabs substantially together. The magnitude of the forces that must be applied to the web material requires the use of heavy, expensive equipment. It furthermore places the material in danger of being damaged due to deformation of the coiled strip selected for removal or of the remaining construct.
The above problem is avoided, however, through the use of an alternate form of apparatus, such as that described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 055,848 to John W. Rogers filed July 9, 1979 in which the tabs in each parting line to be severed are fractured sequentially by paying the concerned strip over a wedge-like body. Use of this apparatus significantly reduces the degree of force required to separate the strip; however, removal of the strip in coil form is precluded unless, of course, the payed out strip is subsequently rewound into a coil.
In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 129,964, filed Mar. 13, 1980 to William A. Box, there is described a method of and apparatus for fracturing the tabs that attach a coiled strip to a construct in a manner that retains the separated strip in a coil. According to the practice of this invention, however, before the separated coil can be payed out to a work station such as a stamping press or the like, it must be transferred to a strip uncoiler. To transfer the separated strip from the construct at the separation station to an uncoiler at the processing station, of course, requires an expenditure of time, effort and equipment that is costly to any production process.
This problem is addressed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 972,552 to John W. Rogers, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,318 which discloses an integrated coil separating and pay-out apparatus that is capable of both detaching a strip coil from a construct and of enabling the strip material to be unwound for feeding to a processing station. The described apparatus, while being capable of performing its intended function, suffers from the drawback that excessive operating forces are required for severing a coil from the construct and in that an external motive force is required for uncoiling the separated strip material.
Accordingly, it is to an improved form of apparatus of the described type, therefore, that the present invention is directed.


In an electronic clinical sphygmomamometer of the type which measures blood pressure on the basis of a Korotkoff-sound signal in a pulse-wave gate signal, the level of a detected pulse-wave signal is compared with a predetermined threshold level to form a pulse-wave gate signal the duration of which corresponds to a period over which the level of the pulse-wave signal is higher than the predetermined threshold level. If no Korotkoff-sound detection signal is provided in the pulse-wave gate signal thus formed, the duration of the pulse-wave gate signal is extended by a predetermined time period. The thus-extended duration of the pulse-wave period required to measure the systatic blood pressure gate signal serves as the measurement.

The present invention relates generally to an electronic clinical sphygmomanometer and, more particularly, to an electronic clinical sphygmomanometer for measuring blood pressure on the basis of a Korotkoff-sound signal in a pulse-wave gate signal.
In general, conventional clinical sphygmomanometers of this type are susceptible to external noise derived from such factors as motion of the body since Korotkoff-sound signals are weak, thus occasionally resulting in erroneous measurements. To eliminate such erroneous measurements, Japanese Patent Application No. 279225/1986 proposes an electronic clinical sphygmomanometer of the type which is arranged to utilize the correlation between a pulse-wave signal and a Korotkoff-sound signal to compare the level of the pulse-wave signal with a predetermined level, thereby creating a pulse-wave gate signal for the purpose of improving noise resistance.
However, the wave forms of pulse-wave signals are not constant and, in addition, the correlation between pulse-wave signals and Korotkoff-sound signals is not constant. As a result, a Korotkoff-sound signal occasionally deviates from a pulse-wave gate, and it has therefore been difficult to reliably detect Korotkoff-sound signals.


A hand powered rotatable toothbrush is characterized by elements, such as tufts of brush bristles, positionally fixed to the brush head to frictionally engage tooth surfaces and thereby positionally stabilize the brush head so that a distal portion of the brush handle can be longitudinally reciprocated relative to the brush head. One or more rotatable brush members mounted on the brush head are operatively connected to the distal handle portion, as by a rack and pinion, to cause the brush members to be rotated in response to longitudinal handle reciprocation. In one embodiment the rotatable brush member cyclically rotates in opposite directions in response to back and forth linear motion of the handle. In another embodiment the rotation of the brush member is in the same direction, irrespective of the direction in which the handle moves.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to improvements in methods and apparatus for brushing teeth and, more particularly, to toothbrushes having bristles that are rotatable relative to the brush head in response to linear reciprocation of the brush handle.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
It has long been recognized to be advantageous to apply a rotary brushing action to teeth for the purpose of removing deposits that build up on tooth surfaces, particularly adjacent the gumline. The desired brush rotation is about an axis perpendicular to the tooth surface and, for the usual toothbrush configuration, is approximately perpendicular to the brush handle. The hand manipulation required of a conventional toothbrush to effect this desirable rotary brushing action is difficult at best, particularly in view of the small surface area to be cleaned and the small radius of movements of the hand required to accomplish the necessary brush strokes. Powered toothbrushes have been employed to accomplish the desirable rotary brush action but have achieved only, limited commercial success, primarily because of the reluctance by many consumers to place a powered implement in their mouths. Examples of such powered toothbrushes for effecting rotary brush action of the type describe are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,265,536 (Sharps), 1,947,324 (Zerbee), 4,156,620 (Clemens), 4,274,173 (Cohen), 4,827,550 (Graham et al) and 4,845,795 (Crawford et al).
In point of fact, consumers are most comfortable with nonpowered toothbrushes requiring longitudinal reciprocation of the handle to effect brushing. The present invention is concerned with providing an efficient and inexpensive non-powered (i.e., operated solely in response to movement of the user's hand) technique for converting longitudinal brush handle reciprocation to the desired rotational brush strokes. There have been a number of commercially unsuccessful attempts to accomplish this desirable result. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,557,244 (Domingue) there is disclosed a plurality of brush elements, each including plural tufts, mounted in a brush head by means of toothed pinions that are caused to rotate by longitudinal reciprocation of a rack secured to the brush handle and extending into the brush head. However, in order to use this brush, the brush head must be held stationary with one hand while the handle is reciprocated with the other hand. Such two-handed operation has not achieved acceptance among consumers, most likely because of the difficulty involved in holding the brush head stationary while cleaning teeth located in the back and sides of the mouth.
Although the apparatus disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,620 (Clemens) is a powered toothbrush, it is of background interest for the present invention because of its disclosure of a power driven rack that is longitudinally reciprocable to cyclically rotate a plurality of single tuft brush elements. Each tuft is controllably rotated about its central axis at a speed of approximately three thousand revolutions per minute. Since each brush element is a single tuft rotated about the central tuft axis, the individual bristles are caused to alternately twist in helical fashion and then release in a manner described by Clemens as essential in providing the desired tooth cleaning action. In addition, the single tuft elements of the Clemens device are rotated for equal numbers of revolutions in opposite directions during each cycle. The high speed, multiple revolution, twisting operation results from the power driven nature of the device. As noted above, consumers are most comfortable with nonpowered toothbrushes.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,620,330 (Douglass), there is a disclosure of plural brush sections symmetrically disposed about respective axes and mounted on the brush head to be freely rotatable about those axes relative to the head. However, there is no mechanism provided for positively rotating the brushes in response to longitudinal reciprocation of the brush handle. In fact, true longitudinal movement of the brush handle creates purely radial, as opposed to tangential, net forces on the rotatable brush sections so that there is no turning force applied thereto. Accordingly, in the absence of some mechanism for positively converting the longitudinal forces to rotational forces, there is negligible rotation of the symmetrically mounted brush sections.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,212,001 (Baxter) there is disclosed a toothbrush having plural brush sections mounted eccentrically on the brush head for pivotability between stops about respective axes. Once again, there is no positive mechanism for rotating the brush sections; rather, the frictional engagement between the ends of the bristles and the surfaces of the teeth provides the force for effecting pivoting of the brush sections during the initial portion of each linear stroke of the brush handle. While that pivoting action is taking place, the bristle ends flex but move very little, if at all, across the teeth. It is only after the brush sections reach the pivot stop members that the bristles move across the teeth, and such movement is linear, in the direction of handle movement, not rotational. Therefore, although the brush sections pivot with each change in handle direction, the bristles do not apply the desired rotary brush strokes to the teeth.
There are other prior art toothbrushes wherein longitudinal movement of the brush handle is intended to be converted into some other degree of motion in the brush itself. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,660,745 (Yusko) discloses a toothbrush wherein the entire brush head oscillates about the longitudinal axis of the handle in response to longitudinal reciprocation of the handle. The result is an up and down movement of the brush bristles across the surfaces of the teeth. This brushing action was, at one time, considered to be efficient but in recent years has fallen into disfavor among dental professionals.
Still other toothbrushes having bristles that move in relation to the handle or head are found in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Patentee ______________________________________ 618,690 Ter Laag 1,257,883 Kone 1,911,973 Ruse 2,160,836 Davids 2,184,850 Schloss 2,188,449 Stewart 2,290,454 Steinberg 2,411,610 Aaron 2,799,878 Brausch 2,917,759 Siampaus 3,110,918 Tate, Jr. 3,214,776 Bercovitz 3,994,039 Hadary 4,638,520 Eickmann 4,682,584 Pose 4,766,630 Hegemann ______________________________________
These patents all disclose devices having different brush action than the desirable rotary action described above, but are of general interest in that they show a wide variety of actuating mechanisms for achieving brush movement.


An image processing apparatus to be coupled to a DNS server through a network includes a name registration requesting unit configured to transmit a registration request to the DNS server to request registration of a correspondence between a host name and address information of the image processing apparatus, and an alias registration requesting unit configured to transmit a registration request to the DNS server to request registration of a correspondence between a uniquely defined alias and the address information of the image processing apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to image-processing apparatuses, image-processing systems, name registration methods, name registration programs, and record media, and particularly relates to an image-processing apparatus connected with a DNS server through a network, an image-processing system comprised of such image-processing apparatus, a name registration method for use in such image-processing apparatus, a name registration program corresponding to such a method, and a record medium having such program recorded therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the TCP/IP network environment, computers, network apparatuses, etc. connected to networks are uniquely identified by their IP addresses. Since IP addresses are nothing but a series of numerals, they are difficult for users to remember. In consideration of this, a system called DNS (Domain Name System) is employed, by which computers or the like are accessed by use of host names, which are character strings that are easier for users to handle.
In the DNS, DNS servers manage and control correspondences between host names and associated IP addresses. A DNS server resolves a host name in response to an inquiry from a client, and notifies the client of a corresponding IP address. As long as correspondences between the IP addresses assigned to computers or the like and the respective host names are correctly managed, proper name resolution by DNS servers is guaranteed.
IP addresses are generally assigned by a network administrator or the like. In each apparatus, a setup process must be performed to set an assigned IP address.
In order to reduce the user load for such work, to avoid a human error creating duplicate settings of the same IP address, and to facilitate effective use of IP addresses, DHCP servers are now used for the purpose of dynamically assigning IP addresses. DHCP servers can automatically assign IP addresses to individual apparatuses. Further, IP addresses assigned by the DHCP servers can be automatically set in apparatuses serving as clients associated with DHCP servers. This makes it possible to reduce the work load of network administrators and end users.
When a DHCP server is used in the DNS environment, however, a trouble may arise. As previously described, a DNS server manages correspondences between host names and associated IP addresses, and resolves names based on the correspondences. For such a DNS server, therefore, it is preferable to have static IP addresses, and the presence of a DHCP server that changes IP addresses dynamically contributes to the lowering of the reliability of the DNS server in terms of name resolution.
Against this background, the DDNS (Dynamic Domain Name System) has been developed as a technology for implementing the DNS also in the environment where IP addresses change dynamically. In the DDNS, each apparatus reports an IP address assigned by the DHCP server to the DNS server together with a hose name. With this provision, the DNS server keeps the latest correspondences all the time, thereby providing dynamic name resolution.
Moreover, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-101589 discloses a system that achieves a DDNS environment. This system provides for a DHCP server to report an IP address assigned to an apparatus to a DNS server, thereby keeping correspondences managed by the DNS server in the most recent status.
However, host names are also determined by humans in the DDNS environment. There is thus a possibility of a host name being mistakenly set to the same name as another apparatus.
FIG. 1 is an illustrative drawing for showing an example in which duplicate hose names are set. A system 500 of FIG. 1 includes a printer 510, a DHCP server 520, a client PC 530, a client PC 540, and a DNS server 550. The client PCs 530 and 540 are terminals such as PCs (personal computers) or the like for direct use by users. The client PC 530 has the IP address "192.168.1.4" and the host name "client.abc.co.jp", and the client PC 540 has the IP address "192.168.1.3" and the host name "hostname.abc.co.jp". Correspondences between the IP addresses and the host names are managed in the DNS server 550.
With respect to the printer 510, for example, the same host name ("hostname.abc.co.jp") as the client PC 540 is set by mistake (S1). The printer 510 requests the DNS server 550 to register the correspondence between the newly set host name and the associated IP address (S2). In response, the DNS server 550 registers the correspondence between the host name "hostname.abc.co.jp" and the IP address "192.168.1.2" as a new entry.
Learning that the host name of the printer 510 is set to "hostname.abc.co.jp", a user makes a setting such that the client PC 530 identifies the printer 510 as "hostname.abc.co.jp". When the user gives a print instruction to print document data to the printer 510, the client PC 530 requests the DNS server 550 to resolve the name "hostname.abc.co.jp" (S3).
The DNS server 550 attempts to resolve the name "hostname.abc.co.jp". Since there are two registered records indicative of the host name "hostname.abc.co.jp", the DNS server 550 may mistakenly return the IP address of the client PC 540 to the client PC 530 (S4).
In this case, the client PC 530 issues a print request to the client PC 540 rather than to the printer 510 as originally intended, resulting in a failure to perform the printing of document data.
The same argument applies not only when there are duplicate host names but also when the host name of the printer 510 is changed without the knowledge of other users. In such a case, the client PC 530 tries to access the printer 510 by use of the host name before the change. Since the DNS server 550 manages correspondences based on the latest host names at all times, name resolution may not be performed correctly.
Accordingly, there is a need for an image-processing apparatus, an image-processing system, a name registration method, a name registration program, and a record medium which provide a DNS server to perform proper name resolution even when a host name is changed or provided as a duplicate of the host name of another apparatus in the DDNS environment.

Apparatus and method for proper name resolution


This design incorporates four separate modules which are bolted together in this succession: a welded, structural single-unit steering tube/downtube module; independent, twin, front-to-rear horizontal frame rails which serve as the support for the rider to stand; a welded, structural single-unit module to mount shock absorbers and a swingarm; and, a welded swingarm. The defined space between the twin frame rails and the two adjoining modules can be modified by altering the length of the frame rails and/or using spacers between each rail and its corresponding module at the bolt-on location.

The kick-scooter was originally designed for children as a recreational toy. Various developments such as frame and/or wheel sizes and optional equipment have spurred popularity of the vehicle as a mode of short-hop transportation for people of all ages. In tandem, electric vehicles, specifically scooters, have also risen in popularity for use as commuter transportation as an alternative to automobiles or motorcycles. FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2, 3, 4A and 4B each show conventional scooters.

Modular frame for stand-up, motor-driven scooter


In one embodiment, the invention can be a touch input device capable of unlocking a passcode accordance with a touch pressure. The device can include a touch screen which displays a passcode input window; a controller which generates a first control signal as to whether or not a touch on the passcode input window matches a predetermined passcode; and a memory which stores the predetermined passcode. The passcode input window can include a plurality of nodes which are disposed in different positions. The number of touched nodes among the plurality of nodes, the order of the touched nodes among the plurality of nodes, and a pressure level of the touch on each of the touched nodes among the plurality of nodes can be set as the predetermined passcode. Further, the pressure level of the touch can be classified into at least two levels.

Field
The present invention relates to a feedback method according to a touch level and a touch input device performing the same, and more particularly to a technology of supplying feedback to allow a user to cheek a touch pressure, a touch area and/or a touch time period on a touch screen, thereby making it possible to unlock the touch screen by using the feedback.
Description of Related Art
A variety of input devices are being used to operate a computing system. For example, input devices like a button, a key, a joystick and a touch screen are being used. Since the touch screen is easy and simple to operate, the touch screen is increasingly being used in operation of the computing system.
The touch screen may include a touch sensor panel which may be a transparent panel including a touch-sensitive surface. Such a touch sensor panel is attached to the front side of a display panel, and then the touch-sensitive surface may cover the visible side of the display panel. The touch screen allows a user to operate the computing system by simply touching the screen by a finger, etc. In general, the touch screen recognizes the touch on the panel and touch position, and then the computing system analyzes the touch and performs operations in accordance with the analysis.
A variety of tasks can be done by the interaction between the user and the device through the touch screen in a touch input device including the touch screen. To accomplish various tasks, there are requirements for not only whether a touch occurs or not on the touch screen but also classifying a touch level. Also, as the touch input device, especially, a computing device including the touch screen gradually has a higher performance, the user is allowed to perform financial tasks as well as private tasks by using the corresponding devices and the range of the task is now gradually expanding. Accordingly, security for the touch input device is also required to be heightened.

Feedback method according to touch level and touch input device performing the same


A vehicle is provided with a driving environment information acquisition section, which acquires driving environment information, which is information on a driving environment of the vehicle. A center is provided with a driving environment evaluation section, which quantitatively evaluates the ease of traveling in the driving environment of the vehicle based on an analysis of the driving environment information acquired by the driving environment information acquisition section. A display section of the vehicle displays the result of evaluation by the driving environment evaluation section.

Services of providing information indicative of an environment on roads to vehicles or various types of information terminals have been developed progressively in recent years, and, as one example of such a system for monitoring the road environment, a road monitoring system described in Patent Document 1 is known.
The road monitoring system described in Patent Document 1 takes pictures of the driving environment on the road with a plurality of imaging cameras 30a to 30c set up at predetermined spacing on the side of the road, as shown in FIG. 28. The taken images are analyzed to determine an event happening on the road. If, for example, a plurality of fallen objects D is detected to be present 1 km ahead of a vehicle C through such a determination, this detection result is displayed on an information display panel 61. In this determination of events, an obstacle or a traffic congestion situation is detected through an analysis of the taken images.

Travel environment evaluation system, travel environment evaluation method, drive assist device, and travel environment display device


The recording sensitivity can be improved of a magneto-optical recording medium having a laminar structure consisting of a first dielectric layer, a recording layer, a second dielectric layer and reflecting layer successively formed on a transparent substrate plate by forming the reflecting layer from an alloy consisting of aluminum and from 0.05 to 3 atomic % of a rare earth element such as neodymium and gadolinium in place of pure aluminum as in conventional magneto-optical recording media.

The present invention relates to an improvement in a magneto-optical recording medium or, more particularly, to an improvement for greatly increasing the recording sensitivity of a magneto-optical recording medium.
Along with the rapid progress of the information-predominant society, electronic information recording media for storage of information are required to have more and more increased recording density and larger and larger capacity for information storage. In this regard, magneto-optical recording media are highlighted in respect of the rewritability of information and replaceability of one medium with another so that extensive and intensive investigations are now under way to improve the performance of magneto-optical recording media in several aspects.
Magneto-optical recording media in general have a laminar structure with a transparent substrate plate and layers successively formed thereon including a magnetic recording layer and a metallic reflecting layer with, optionally but in most cases, layers of an inorganic dielectric material intervening, one, between the substrate plate and the magnetic recording layer and, the other, between the magnetic recording layer and the metallic reflecting layer.
The magnetic recording layer in the magneto-optical recording media under current use is mostly formed from an alloy of transition metals including at least one kind of the rare earth elements such as an alloy of terbium, iron and cobalt. A problem in such a recording layer of a rare earth-based alloy is that, since the Kerr rotation angle of such a recording layer is relatively small, the C/N ratio in the reading-out of the recorded signals cannot be high enough because the C/N ratio is proportional to the product of the Kerr rotation angle and the square root of the reflectivity. It is known that the Kerr rotation angle can be increased by providing an interference layer or a reflecting layer so that a typical magneto-optical recording medium has a laminar structure consisting of a transparent substrate plate, a first dielectric layer, a magnetic recording layer, a second dielectric layer and a metallic reflecting layer as is mentioned above.
Needless to say, the properties of the reflecting layer has a great influence on the performance of the magneto-optical recording medium. In a magneto-optical recording medium having a structure in which the second dielectric layer in the above mentioned typical one is omitted, for example, the angle of optical rotation can be increased by utilizing the Faraday rotation occurring when the light transmitting through the recording layer and reflected on the reflecting layer again transmits the recording layer. In a typical magneto-optical recording medium having the second dielectric layer, the angle of optical rotation in read-out can be further increased by the multiple reflection on the second dielectric layer so as to increase the C/N ratio in read-out. A requirement for the reflecting layer is that the reflectivity thereof should be as high as possible as is self-explanatory. Besides, the reflecting layer is required to have a thermal conductivity as small as possible. The reason therefor is that, since recording by the incident light to the recording layer takes place when the temperature of the layer is increased approaching the Curie temperature or the compensation temperature by the energy of light absorbed by the layer, a larger thermal conductivity results in retardation of the temperature increase of the layer by the accumulation of heat as a consequence of an increase in the thermal diffusion.
A typical and most conventional metallic material of the reflecting layer is aluminum which exhibits, when it is pure aluminum, a reflectivity of as high as about 86% at a wavelength of around 800 nm which is the wavelength of the laser beams emitted from a semiconductor laser widely used in magneto-optical disc drives. The advantage of a reflecting layer of aluminum with such a high reflectivity is partly cancelled by the large thermal conductivity of aluminum which is as large as 150 W/m.multidot.K or larger resulting in an insufficient recording sensitivity, which is still lower when the velocity of the disc drive is increased and consequently the linear velocity of the light beam is increased resulting in a decrease of the applied energy to the recording layer per unit area per unit time.
A proposal is made in Japanese Patent Kokai 1-264649 according to which the reflecting layer of a magneto-optical recording medium is formed from palladium or platinum which is a metal having a small thermal conductivity of each about 70 W/m.multidot.K. These metals, however, are defective in respect of the low reflectivity of light which is about 60 to 70% so that the C/N ratio in reading-out of a magneto-optical recording medium cannot be large enough.


A storage container for attachment to the enclosed ceiling of a room. The container has an upper and lower portion with the portions being hinged together. An over-center linkage including a tension spring, connects the upper and lower portions and a pivot pin in the linkages engages a portion of the linkage to act as a physical stop to inhibit movement thereof.

This invention relates to storage containers generally and more particularly to storage containers for attachment to the ceiling of a room where the joists are above the enclosed ceiling.
It used to be the custom to build homes with a substantial amount of storage space, however, as the costs of homes has increased, the amount of storage space has been substantially reduced. As shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,331,645 and 4,446,660, one method of increasing storage was to incorporate storage containers in the space between the joists of the ceiling where the joists were not covered. While this is in some homes readily available space, in most homes today, even in the garage the ceiling joists are enclosed by a covering ceiling to prevent rodents or other pests from infiltrating the house through this entrance. The space between the joists is, therefore, not readily available. Furthermore, even if it is available it is of a very limited depth. It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a storage space for attachment to the lower surface of an enclosed ceiling. Other and further objects of this invention will become apparent from a reading of the remainder of this specification and the appended claims.


A nonvolatile memory device may include a memory cell array adapted to store tail-bit flag information indicating tail-bit memory cells, and a tail-bit controller adapted to calibrate a program start voltage of normal memory cells and a program start voltage of the tail-bit memory cells independently based upon the tail-bit flag information.

1. Field
Embodiments relate to a semiconductor memory device. More particularly, embodiments relate to a nonvolatile memory device calibrating a program start voltage and a programming method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Semiconductor memory devices are devices that are able to store data and read data when it is necessary. Semiconductor memory devices are generally classified into Random Access Memory (RAM) devices and Read Only Memory (ROM) devices. RAM devices are volatile memory devices in which stored data may be lost when a power supply is turned off. ROM devices are nonvolatile memory devices in which stored data may be maintained, e.g., not lost, even when a power supply is turned off. RAM devices include Dynamic RAM (DRAM) devices, Static RAM (SRAM) devices, etc. ROM devices include Programmable ROM (PROM) devices, Erasable PROM (EPROM) devices, Electrically EPROM (EEPROM) devices, flash memory devices, etc. Flash memory devices are generally classified into NOR and NAND flash memory devices. An integration degree of a NAND flash memory device is higher than that of a NOR flash memory device.
A nonvolatile memory device such as the NAND flash memory device stores data using memory cell transistors. Each of the memory cell transistors may include a charge storage layer such as a floating gate or a charge trap layer. Charge may be accumulated or trapped in the charge storage layer when a program voltage having a predetermined level is applied to a control gate of the memory cell transistor. Accumulated or trapped charge may effectively change a threshold voltage of the memory cell transistor. As a result, the memory cell transistor may store data.
As a result of process variations, memory cell transistors may have different characteristics from each other. That is, e.g., some of the memory cell transistors may be programmed faster than others of the memory cell transistors. A memory cell transistor that is programmed faster than normal memory cell transistors is called a "tail-bit memory cell transistor". If the same program voltage is applied to memory cell transistors in a selected row, tail-bit memory cell transistors may be over-programmed to have higher threshold voltages than the normal memory cell transistors. Thus, tail-bit memory cell transistors may operate as off-cell transistors, which are always maintained at a turn-off state, and may cause read errors of the nonvolatile memory device.

Nonvolatile memory device, program method thereof, and memory system including the same


A predictive kinetic model is disclosed for simulating fluid catalytic cracking of large hydrocarbon molecules having a lumping scheme that includes hydrocarbon descriptions based on boiling point distribution and chemical properties. The simulation results in a nearly continuous prediction of products as function of boiling point temperature. The lumping scheme defines a relatively large number of small fixed boiling-point range pseudo-components for describing product material, and a smaller number of larger boiling-point range pseudo-components for describing feed conversion and selectivity. The chemical properties for describing hydrocarbons include total hydrogen, aromatic carbon and aromatic hydrogen.

The most important hydrocarbon refining process, which in the 1940's revolutionized the refining industry, is catalytic cracking of large hydrocarbon molecules. The catalytic cracking process is the largest catalytic process in the world, and is extensively used today for the production of gasoline from high boiling hydrocarbons such as residual and gas oil fractions. In many refineries heavy residual oil resulting from distillation of crude oil, or so called topped crude or simply resid, is pretreated in a hydrotreating process before sending the resid to a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process step. As used herein a "heavy oil" is taken to mean a hydrocarbon liquid boiling at atmospheric pressure in a range of from about 650.degree. F. to as high as 1500.degree. F., and which contains a variety of very complex chemical compounds.
A principal factor which affects the economic viability of a fluidic catalytic cracking unit is the amount of the feedstock that is converted to a desired product such as gasoline. In many refineries the feed to an FCC unit consists of a heavy oil containing an unlimited mixture of complex molecules of straight and branched paraffins, cycloparaffins, and aromatics ranging from monoaromatics to four or five rings with a vast variety of side chains. It is generally very difficult to maintain a desired conversion of this heavy oil feedstock in an FCC unit.
In recent years the use of computers has increased greatly as a means to examine complex chemical reactions by simulation techniques. Digital computer simulation of catalytic cracking reactions is particularly valuable in many areas relating to refining of heavy oil such as predicting what a cracking reaction will yield under different operating conditions, in optimizing operation of a riser reactor, in planning and scheduling operations, and perhaps most importantly in selecting optimum crude and catalyst purchases.
An effective kinetic model to describe riser reactor cracking of hydrocarbon oils includes two essential features: First is a reasonable physical description of the riser reactor dynamics, accounting for variations in temperature, space velocity, residence time, cracking rates and catalyst deactivation over a wide range of feed stock composition and process conditions. Second is reliable predictions of the variation of the rate constants for cracking and product selectivity as a function of oil and catalyst properties.
A highly effective method and apparatus for simulating a catalytic cracking reaction by relating conversion, selectivity, and product yields to feedstock properties is disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 5, 774,381 issued Jun. 30, 1998, to Paul F. Meier. However, the method disclosed in that patent relates hydrocarbon conversion to process variables and to feedstock properties that are routinely measured at the refinery such as API gravity, measured impurities (sulfur, Ni, and V), basic nitrogen, carbon residue and viscosity. While the disclosure of this patent is regarded as representing a significant contribution to the simulation art in predicting conversion of heavy hydrocarbons to cracked products, it is insufficient to differentiate chemical differences between crude feed types, i.e., sweet or sour, or between pretreatment, i.e., virgin or hydrotreated, or between fresh or recycle streams. Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to have a kinetic model for a riser reactor in catalytic cracking that is independent of the feed source or pretreatment.
An object of this invention is to improve efficiency of commercial refining operations.
A more specific object is to predict how well a specific oil fraction would run in a riser reactor of an FCC Unit.
Another object of this invention is to obtain data that facilitates improved selection of catalyst and/or crude oil stocks purchased for processing in a refinery.
Yet another object is to obtain kinetic reaction data that can be integrated into a process model for optimized operation of a total FCC process.
Still, another object of this invention is to make the kinetic model independent of the feed source and pretreatment.
Another more specific object of this invention is to predict essentially continuous boiling point distribution curves of C.sub.5 cracked hydrocarbon products.

Riser reactor simulation in catalytic cracking


The invention relates to a tester apparatus of the kind including a portable supporting structure for removably holding and testing a substrate carrying a microelectronic circuit. An interface on the stationary structure is connected to the first interface when the portable structure is held by the stationary structure and is disconnected from the first interface when the portable supporting structure is removed from the stationary structure. An electrical tester is connected through the interfaces so that signals may be transmitted between the electrical tester and the microelectronic circuit to test the microelectronic circuit.

1). Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus that is used for full-wafer testing and/or burn-in testing and/or built-in self-testing.
2). Discussion of Related Art
Microelectronic circuits are usually fabricated in and on semiconductor wafers. Such a wafer is subsequently "singulated" or "diced" into individual dies. Such a die is typically mounted to a supporting substrate for purposes of providing rigidity thereto and electronic communication with an integrated or microelectronic circuit of the die. Final packaging may include encapsulation of the die and the resulting package can then be shipped to a customer.
It is required that the die or the package be tested before being shipped to a customer. Ideally, the die should be tested at an early stage for the purposes of identifying the defects that occur during early-stage manufacturing.
The earliest stage that a die can be tested is after completion of the manufacture of microelectronic circuits at wafer level and before a wafer is singulated. Full wafer testing carries with it a number of challenges. One challenge in full wafer testing is that there is a large amount of contacts on a wafer and that a large number of power, ground, and signal connections thus have to be made. Another challenge is that burn-in testing requires a thermal management system that can maintain the wafer stable at a relatively high temperature, while providing a system that is simple to operate and relatively inexpensive.

Electronics tester with group and individual current configurations


A riding exercise machine has a frame with a pull housing operable by a user on a seat. The pull housing is secured to a frame by a pin. Upon removal the riding machine can be folded. A push housing may also be incorporated into the machine.

1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to riding exercise machines and more particularly to a riding exercise machine that may be reconfigured between a use configuration and a storage configuration.
2. State of the Art
Exercise machines in which the user mounts the machine and sits upon a moving seat interconnected to a handle which is pulled to raise the seat against the weight of the user may be regarded as riding exercise machines. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,760 (Bobroff) illustrates one form of exercise machine in which the user mounts the machine and operates a lever mechanism with the arms and the feet against a resistance which is the user's weight positioned upon the seat.
Commercial riding exercise machines are known including the HEALTHRIDER.TM. machine, sold by HealthRider, Inc. of Salt Lake City, Utah. The HEALTHRIDER machine has a frame with a rotatable or movable lever interconnected to a seat. The lever is operated by the user's hands and feet against the resistance of the user reclining on a seat in a fashion similar to that illustrated in the Bobroff patent. The CARDIOGLIDE machine sold by ICON Health & Fitness, Inc. of Logan, Utah also has a frame with a seat interconnected with a lever. It also has a resistance mechanism interconnected to resist movement of the lever and seat. U.S. Pat. No. 3,446,503 (Lawton) illustrates another form of riding machine in which a handle is interconnected with a seat. U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,997 (Chen) also shows a riding-type exercise machine in which the user's weight is used to resist movement of feet and hands. Other patents disclosing similar or related machines include U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,218 (Chen), U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,428 (Liao), U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,594 (Grinblat) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,357 (Wang, et al.).