A driving apparatus for moving an object has a stage which moves the object mounted thereon, a base member supporting the stage, a reaction force reception structure for receiving a reaction force generated upon driving the stage, a damp member for damping transmission of vibration with a predetermined frequency range from the reaction force reception structure to a floor and an actuator for generating a force between the base member and the reaction force reception structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driving apparatus for moving an object and an exposure apparatus including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as typical exposure apparatuses used to manufacture semiconductor devices or the like, there are step-and-repeat exposure apparatuses (also referred to as steppers) which sequentially transfer the pattern of a master (reticle or mask) onto a plurality of exposure regions on a substrate (wafer or glass substrate) by exposure while moving the substrate stepwise, or step-and-scan exposure apparatuses (also referred to as scanners) which repeat step movement and scanning exposure to repeatedly transfer a pattern onto a plurality of regions on a substrate by exposure. Especially, the step-and-scan exposure apparatuses are expected to be a mainstream in the future because they limit light through a slit and use only a portion relatively close to the optical axis of the projection optical system, and therefore, allow exposure using a precise and wide-angled fine pattern.
Such an exposure apparatus has a stage unit (wafer stage or reticle stage) for moving a wafer or a reticle at a high speed and positioning it. When the stage is driven, the inertial force generates a reaction force in accordance with acceleration/deceleration. This reaction force is transmitted to a platen to swing or vibrate it. This may excite natural vibration of the mechanical system of the exposure apparatus and generate high-frequency vibration to impede high-speed and accurate positioning.
Several proposals have been made to solve the problem of the reaction force. For example, an apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-77126 employs a system for preventing swing of the stage platen due to a reaction force by supporting the stator of a linear motor for driving the stage on the floor independently of the stage platen. An apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-121294 uses a system for decreasing swing of the apparatus due to a reaction force by applying, to a machine frame supporting a wafer stage and a projecting lens, a compensation force equivalent to the reaction force according to drive of the stage by a force actuator which generates a force in the horizontal direction.
In both the prior arts, however, although swing of the stage unit itself can be reduced, the reaction force according to drive of the stage is transmitted to the floor directly or through a member which is substantially integrated with the floor. Since the floor vibrates, apparatuses set around the exposure apparatus also vibrate and are adversely affected. Normally, a floor on which an exposure apparatus is set has a natural frequency of about 20 to 40 Hz. When natural vibration of the floor is excited according to the operation of the exposure apparatus, the peripheral apparatuses are considerably adversely affected.
Recently, the stage acceleration is constantly increasing along with improvement of the process speed (throughput). For example, in a step-and-scan exposure apparatus, the maximum acceleration of the reticle stage is 4 G, and that of the wafer stage is 1 G. In addition, the stage mass also increases as the reticle or substrate size increases. For this reason, the driving force defined by  less than mass of moving body greater than xc3x97 less than acceleration greater than  is very large, and the reaction force thereof is enormous. Hence, the problem of vibration of the setting floor due to an increase in acceleration and weight is unnegligible.
In addition to the problem of vibration, the apparatuses which are becoming bulky also pose the problem of an increase in occupation area in a manufacturing factory where many manufacturing apparatuses are set.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above situation, and has as its object to realize highly accurate stage positioning control by decreasing the influence of vibration or swing according to movement of a stage.
It is another object of the present invention to minimize the influence of a reaction force generated upon acceleration/deceleration of a stage on a floor and prevent vibration from being transmitted to another apparatus set on the same floor.
It is still another object of the present invention to reduce the setting area of a driving apparatus and an exposure apparatus.
A driving apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a stage which moves with the object mounted thereon, a base member supporting the stage, a reaction force reception structure for receiving a reaction force generated upon driving the stage, and a damp member for damping transmission of vibration with a predetermined frequency range from the reaction force reception structure to a floor.
In the driving apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, preferably, the damp member has an elastic support between the floor or a member substantially equivalent to the floor and the reaction force reception structure, and the reaction force reception structure is supported by the floor or the member substantially equivalent to the floor through the elastic support.
In the driving apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the elastic support preferably elastically supports the reaction force reception structure from a lower side and/or from one side.
The driving apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention preferably further comprises an application section for applying a force between the base member and the reaction force reception structure.
In the driving apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the application section preferably has an actuator for generating a force in a horizontal direction and/or in a vertical direction.
In the driving apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, preferably, the stage moves in a horizontal plane, and the application section comprises an actuator for generating a force in an X direction in the horizontal plane and an actuator for generating a force in a Y direction in the horizontal plane.
In the driving apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the application section preferably comprises a linear motor.
In the driving apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, a level of a barycenter of the stage preferably substantially equals a level at which the application section applies the force to the reaction force reception structure.
Preferably, the driving apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention further comprises a mount between the floor or a member substantially equivalent to the floor and the base member, and the base member is supported by the floor or the member substantially equivalent to the floor through the mount.
In the driving apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the mount preferably comprises an air spring.
In the driving apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the reaction force reception structure is preferably arranged under the base member.
In the driving apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the damp member preferably damps transmission of vibration having a frequency containing a natural frequency of the floor from the reaction force reception structure to the floor.
In the driving apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the damp member preferably damps vibration having a frequency not less than 10 Hz from the reaction force reception structure to the floor.
In the driving apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, preferably, the stage moves in a horizontal plane, the damp member has an elastic support between a member fixed to the floor and the reaction force reception structure, and the reaction force reception structure is supported from one side by the member fixed to the floor through the elastic support.
In the driving apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, preferably, the stage moves in a horizontal plane, the damp member has an elastic support between the floor or a member substantially equivalent to the floor and the reaction force reception structure, and the reaction force reception structure is supported from a lower side by the floor or the member substantially equivalent to the floor through the elastic support.
The driving apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention preferably further comprises a stage platen having a reference surface in moving the stage, an interferometer for measuring a vertical position of the stage, and a reference mirror paired with the interferometer, the stage platen being supported by the base member, and the reference mirror being fixed to the stage platen.
The driving apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention preferably further comprises an air outlet port for supplying a temperature-controlled gas to the stage, the air outlet port being supported by the reaction force reception structure.
The driving apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is suitable when the air outlet port has a gas filter.
A driving apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention comprises a stage which moves with the object mounted thereon, a base member supporting the stage, a reaction force reception structure for receiving a reaction force generated upon driving the stage, a first mechanical filter for damping transmission of vibration between the reaction force reception structure and a floor, and a second mechanical filter for damping transmission of vibration between the base member and the floor.
In the driving apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the first mechanical filter preferably damps transmission of vibration with a frequency not less than 10 Hz.
In the driving apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, preferably, a lower limit of the frequency of vibration damped by the first mechanical filter is higher than a lower limit of the frequency of vibration damped by the second mechanical filter.
A driving apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention comprises a stage which moves with the object mounted thereon, a base member supporting the stage, a reaction force reception structure for receiving a reaction force generated upon driving the stage, and an elastic support interposed between the reaction force reception structure and a floor or a member substantially equivalent to the floor, wherein the reaction force reception structure is supported by the floor or the member substantially equivalent to the floor through the elastic support.
A driving apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is a driving apparatus for moving an object and comprises a stage which moves with the object mounted thereon, a base member supporting the stage, a reaction force reception structure for receiving a reaction force generated upon driving the stage, and an application section for applying a force between the base member and the reaction force reception structure.
In the driving apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, preferably, the stage moves in a horizontal plane, and the application section has a plurality of actuators for applying a force in a vertical direction between the base member and the reaction force reception structure.
In the driving apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, preferably, the stage moves in a horizontal plane, and the application section has an actuator for applying a force in a horizontal direction between the base member and the reaction force reception structure.
In the driving apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a level of a barycenter of the stage preferably substantially equals a level at which the actuator applies the force to the reaction force reception structure.
A driving apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention comprises a stage which moves with the object mounted thereon, a base member supporting the stage, a reaction force reception structure for receiving a reaction force generated upon driving the stage, an elastic support interposed between the reaction force reception structure and a floor or a member substantially equivalent to the floor, and a mount interposed between the base member and the floor or the member substantially equivalent to the floor, wherein the elastic support and the mount independently support the reaction force reception structure and the base member, respectively.
A driving apparatus according to the sixth aspect of the present invention comprises a stage which moves with the object mounted thereon, a base member supporting the stage, and a reaction force reception structure for receiving a reaction force generated upon driving the stage.
In the driving apparatus according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the reaction force reception structure is preferably arranged under the base member.
Preferably, the driving apparatus according to the sixth aspect of the present invention further comprises a mount between the base member and the floor or a member substantially equivalent to the floor, and the base member is elastically supported by the floor or the member substantially equivalent to the floor through the mount.
In the driving apparatus according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the mount preferably comprises an air spring.
The driving apparatus according to the sixth aspect of the present invention preferably further comprises an air outlet port for supplying a temperature-controlled gas to the stage, the air outlet port being supported by the reaction force reception structure.
In the driving apparatus according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the air outlet port preferably has a gas filter.
An exposure apparatus according to the seventh aspect of the present invention comprises a projection optical system, a master stage, and a substrate stage to which any one of the above driving apparatuses is applied, wherein a pattern of a master mounted on the master stage is transferred to a substrate mounted on the substrate stage.
An exposure apparatus according to the eighth aspect of the present invention comprises a projection optical system, a master stage to which any one of the above driving apparatuses is applied, and a substrate stage, wherein a pattern of a master mounted on the master stage is transferred to a substrate mounted on the substrate stage.
An exposure apparatus according to the ninth aspect of the present invention comprises a projection optical system, and master and substrate stages to which any one of the above driving apparatuses is applied, wherein a pattern of a master mounted on the master stage is transferred to a substrate mounted on the substrate stage.
An exposure apparatus according to the 10th aspect of the present invention comprises a substrate stage which moves with a substrate mounted thereon, a base member supporting the substrate stage, a plurality of first mounts interposed between the base member and a floor or a member substantially equivalent to the floor to elastically support the base member from a lower side, a master stage which moves with a master mounted thereon, a projection optical system, a lens-barrel platen supporting the master stage and the projection optical system, and a plurality of second mounts interposed between the lens-barrel platen and the floor or the member substantially equivalent to the floor to elastically support the lens-barrel platen from the lower side, wherein when viewed from an upper side, the plurality of first mounts are arranged in an inner region of the plurality of second mounts.
In the exposure apparatus according to the 10th aspect of the present invention, preferably, the substrate stage is supported on the base member by three support legs, and the three support legs are arranged in an inner region of the plurality of first mounts when viewed from the upper side.
In the exposure apparatus according to the 10th aspect of the present invention, preferably, the number of first mounts is three or four, and the number of second mounts is three or four.
In the exposure apparatus according to the 10th aspect of the present invention, preferably, the number of first mounts is three, and the three first mounts are arranged so as to substantially make an isosceles triangle as a triangle having representative points of the first mounts as vertices.
An exposure apparatus according to the 11th aspect of the present invention comprises a substrate stage which moves with a substrate mounted thereon, a base member supporting the substrate stage, a plurality of first mounts interposed between the base member and a floor or a member substantially equivalent to the floor to elastically support the base member from a lower side, a master stage which moves with a master mounted thereon, a projection optical system, a lens-barrel platen supporting the master stage and the projection optical system, and a plurality of second mounts interposed between the lens-barrel platen and the floor or the member substantially equivalent to the floor to elastically support the lens-barrel platen from the lower side, wherein when viewed from an upper side, at least two of a barycenter position of a polygon defined by the plurality of first mounts, a barycenter position of a polygon defined by the plurality of second mounts, and an optical axis of the projection optical system substantially match.
In the exposure apparatus according to the 11th aspect of the present invention, preferably, when viewed from the upper side, all of the barycenter position of the polygon defined by the plurality of first mounts, the barycenter position of the polygon defined by the plurality of second mounts, and the optical axis of the projection optical system substantially match.
In the exposure apparatus according to the 11th aspect of the present invention, preferably, when viewed from the upper side, the master stage moves in a horizontal direction to cross the barycenter position or optical axis.
An exposure apparatus according to the 12th aspect of the present invention comprises a substrate stage which moves with a substrate mounted thereon, a base member supporting the substrate stage, a first reaction force reception structure for receiving a reaction force generated upon driving the substrate stage, a master stage which moves with a master mounted thereon, a projection optical system, a lens-barrel platen supporting the master stage and the projection optical system, and a second reaction force reception structure for receiving a reaction force generated upon driving the master stage.
In the exposure apparatus according to the 12th aspect of the present invention, preferably, the apparatus further comprises a first mount interposed between the base member and a floor or a member substantially equivalent to the floor to elastically support the base member from a lower side, and a second mount interposed between the lens-barrel platen and the floor or the member substantially equivalent to the floor to elastically support the lens-barrel platen from the lower side, and the base member and the lens-barrel platen are independently supported by the first and second mounts, respectively.
The exposure apparatus according to the 12th aspect of the present invention preferably further comprises an actuator for generating a force corresponding to the reaction force generated upon driving the substrate stage to reduce the influence of the reaction force.
The exposure apparatus according to the 12th aspect of the present invention preferably further comprises an actuator for generating a force corresponding to the reaction force generated upon driving the master stage to reduce the influence of the reaction force.
The exposure apparatus according to the 12th aspect of the present invention preferably further comprises a first actuator for generating a force corresponding to the reaction force generated upon driving the substrate stage to reduce the influence of the reaction force, and a second actuator for generating a force corresponding to the reaction force generated upon driving the master stage to reduce the influence of the reaction force.
The exposure apparatus according to the 12th aspect of the present invention preferably further comprises an elastic support interposed between the first reaction force reception structure and a floor or a member substantially equivalent to the floor to elastically support the first reaction force reception structure.
The exposure apparatus according to the 12th aspect of the present invention preferably further comprises an elastic support interposed between the second reaction force reception structure and a floor or a member substantially equivalent to the floor to elastically support the second reaction force reception structure.
The exposure apparatus according to the 12th aspect of the present invention preferably further comprises a first elastic support interposed between the first reaction force reception structure and a floor or a member substantially equivalent to the floor to elastically support the first reaction force reception structure, and a second elastic support interposed between the second reaction force reception structure and the floor or the member substantially equivalent to the floor to elastically support the second reaction force reception structure.
The exposure apparatus according to the 12th aspect of the present invention preferably further comprises a control section for controlling the actuator in accordance with the drive of the substrate stage.
The exposure apparatus according to the 12th aspect of the present invention preferably further comprises a control section for controlling the actuator in accordance with the drive of the master stage.
The exposure apparatus according to the 12th aspect of the present invention preferably further comprises a control section for controlling the first actuator in accordance with the drive of the substrate stage and controlling the second actuator in accordance with the drive of the master stage.
In the exposure apparatus according to the 12th aspect of the present invention, the control section preferably performs feedforward control of the actuator in correspondence with acceleration or deceleration of the substrate stage.
In the exposure apparatus according to the 12th aspect of the present invention, the control section preferably performs feedforward control of the actuator in correspondence with weight movement according to movement of the substrate stage.
In the exposure apparatus according to the 12th aspect of the present invention, preferably, the apparatus further comprises a measurement device for measuring an acceleration of the substrate stage, and the control section controls the actuator on the basis of a measurement result by the measurement device.
A device manufacturing method according to the 13th aspect of the present invention comprises the step of transferring a pattern onto a substrate using the above exposure apparatus.

Driving apparatus and exposure apparatus


This invention relates to the field of electrophoretic displays. In particular, it relates to imagewise opening, filling and sealing multicolor display components and the manufacture of multicolor displays.

Electrophoretic displays (EPDs) are known non-emissive displays suitable for use in the display of digital, alphanumeric, analog or graphical information. An EPD system typically comprises a suspension of pigment particles in a dielectric liquid held between two electrodes, at least one of which is transparent. Applied potential across the electrodes causes the charged particles to migrate to one or the other electrode. Where the suspension includes pigment particles and a dielectric liquid of contrasting colors, the movement of the pigment particles will cause images to be displayed, which are visible through the transparent electrode(s) or a viewing sheet.
EPDs have attributes of excellent brightness and contrast, wide view angles, bistability and low power consumption when compared with liquid crystal displays. The basic technology associated with the development and manufacture of EPD's has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,961,804, 4,732,830, 4,680,103, 4,298,448, 4,732,830 and cited patents therein; and the disclosures of these patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Among the advantages of an EPD over other types of flat panel displays is the very low power consumption. This salient advantage makes the EPD particularly suitable for portable and battery powered devices such as laptops, cell phones, personal digital assistants, portable electronic medical and diagnostic devices, global positioning system devices and the like.
In order to prevent undesired movements of particles such as sedimentation in the dielectric fluid, partitions were proposed between the two electrodes for dividing the space into smaller cells. See for example, M. A Hopper and V. Novotny, IEEE Trans. Electr. Dev., Vol ED 26, No. 8, pp. 1148-1152 (1979). However, the filling and sealing processes of electrophoretic fluids in these cells are of very low throughput and high cost.
Attempts have been made to enclose the suspension in microcapsules. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,961,804 and 5,930,026 describe microencapsulated EPDs. These displays have a substantially two dimensional arrangement of microcapsules each having therein an electrophoretic composition of charged pigment particles suspended in a dielectric fluid that visually contrasts with the particles.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,930,818 and 6,933,098 (the '818 and '098 Patents), assigned to the same inventive entity, describe EPDs comprising microcups of well-defined shape, size and aspect ratio, filled with charged pigment particles dispersed in an optically contrasting dielectric solvent. The methods of manufacturing such microcups have also been described in the '818 and '098 Patents and are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
The methods of preparing the improved color EPD disclosed in the '818 and '098 Patents include laminating preformed empty microcups with a layer of positively working photoresist, imagewise exposure of the positive photoresist to selectively open a certain number of microcups, developing the photoresist, filling the selectively opened microcups with a colored electrophoretic fluid, and sealing the filled microcups. The sequence of opening and developing the photoresist, and filling and sealing of the microcups may be performed in iterative steps to create sealed microcups filled with electrophoretic fluids of different colors.
One aspect of the above cited '818 Patent relates to a novel roll-to-roll process and apparatus which permit the manufacture of a display to be carried out continuously by a synchronized photolithographic process. The synchronized roll-to-roll process and apparatus are also useful for manufacturing liquid crystal displays (LCD) and other structures and assemblies for electronic devices.
The '098 Patent also describes the manufacture of a plurality of microcups which are formed integrally with one another as portions of a structured two-dimensional array assembly, being formed upon a support web including a patterned conductor film, such as addressable indium-tin oxide (ITO) lines. Each microcup of the array assembly is filled with a suspension or dispersion of charged pigment particles in a dielectric solvent, and sealed to form an electrophoretic cell.
The substrate web upon which the microcups are formed includes a display addressing array comprising pre-formed conductor film, such as ITO conductor lines. The conductor film (ITO lines) and support web are coated with a radiation curable layer. The film and radiation curable layer are then exposed imagewise to radiation to form the microcup wall structure. Following exposure, the unexposed area is removed by using a developer, leaving the cured microcup walls bonded to the conductor film/support web. The imagewise exposure may be by UV or other forms of radiation through a photomask to produce an image or predetermined pattern of exposure of the radiation curable material coated on the conductor film. Although it is generally not required for most applications, the mask may be positioned and aligned with respect to the conductor film, i.e., ITO lines, so that the transparent mask portions align with the spaces between ITO lines, and the opaque mask portions align with the ITO material. The '818 and '098 Patents also describe a microcup array prepared by a process including embossing a thermoplastic or thermoset precursor layer coated on a conductor film with a pre-patterned male mold, followed by releasing the mold. The precursor layer may be hardened by radiation, cooling, solvent evaporation, or other means. Solvent-resistant and thermomechanically stable microcups having a wide range of size, shape, pattern, and opening ratio can be prepared by either one of the aforesaid methods.
In addition, the above cited '818 and '098 Patents describe the manufacture of a monochrome EPD from a microcup assembly by filling the microcups with a single pigment suspension composition, sealing the microcups, and finally laminating the sealed array of microcups with a second conductor film pre-coated with an adhesive layer.
The '818 and '098 Patents also relate to the manufacture of a color EPD from a microcup assembly by a process of sequential selective opening and filling of predetermined microcup subsets. The process includes laminating or coating the pre-formed microcups with a layer of positively working photoresist, selectively opening a certain number of the microcups by imagewise exposing the positive photoresist, followed by developing the photoresist, filling the opened microcups with a colored electrophoretic fluid, and sealing the filled microcups by a sealing process. These steps may be repeated to create sealed microcups filled with electrophoretic fluids of different colors for a color EPD.
The '098 Patent also describes a synchronized roll-to-roll photolithographic exposure method and apparatus, which may be employed for a number of useful processes, including the process of making the microcup array and the process of selectively filling of the array of microcups to form a color display assembly. The imagewise roll-to-roll photolithographic exposure is performed through a moving photomask synchronized with a moving web substrate, to permit imagewise exposure of the workpiece (e.g., microcup array or color display) in a continuous or semi-continuous and seamless manner. This synchronized roll-to-roll exposure photolithographic process is also amenable for the manufacture of color displays.
The synchronized roll-to-roll process may be adapted to the preparation of a wide range of structures or discrete patterns for electronic devices formable upon a support web substrate, e.g., patterned ITO films, flexible circuit boards or the like.
However, where the manufacture of high contrast ratio color displays requires the use of microcups that are structurally wide and deep, resulting in relatively thin partitions between the microcups, defects in the finished displays are often observed.
These defects may be attributed to, in part, defects in various individual manufacturing steps, including poor mechanical and dissolution characteristics of the positive photoresist, error in the undercutting of the photoresist by a developer, and poor adhesion of the photoresist to the walls or partitions of the microcups. These manufacturing defects appear as indefinite microcup structures and adversely affect the quality of the display images. Therefore, there exists a need for a defect free manufacturing process for imagewise opening the microcups and filling them with selectively colored electrophoretic fluid for color EPDs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Process for imagewise opening and filling color display components and color displays manufactured thereof


An example electronic device is disclosed. The electronic device includes a communication circuit for communicating with a server storing information on a plurality of clips and storing keywords by the plurality of clips; an output device; an input device; and a processor which, when a voice uttered by a user is received via the input device, transmits a clip request signal to the server, based on a keyword included in the received uttered voice and information on content outputted by the output device, and outputs a short clip via the output device, based on information on the short clip received from the server in response to the request signal.

Recently, various types of multimedia devices have been developed due to the development of electronic technology. In particular, multimedia devices such as TVs, PCs, laptop computers, tablet PCs, smart phones and the like are widely used in most households.
In addition, in order to meet the needs of users who desire various functions, an effort is being made to develop a new personal assistant service (Smart Assistant) that combines voice recognition with a multimedia device.
However, according to the related art, a text-based search result for a user's query is only provided as an unnatural voice using a TTS.
Further, when the video or audio content is included in the search result, the content is provided as an original. In this case, since the original content includes a plurality of parts irrelevant to the user's question, there is a problem that the search result that is meaningless to a user is accepted.
Therefore, there is a necessity that only parts related to a user's query from the original content are provided as a search result.

Electronic device and control method thereof


A force limiter for limiting the force with which two articles come into contact with each other, which force limiter comprises a control member (11) displaceable with respect to a holder (5), which member is pneumatically prestressed with a force which is substantially independent of the relative position between the holder (5) and the control member (11). The force limiter can be used in devices in which, after stopping a drive the contact force between the driven first article and the second article in contact therewith mustnot exceed a given threshold value. More particularly the use in ultrasonic deformation devices is considered.

The invention relates to a force limiter comprising a control member displaceable with respect to a holder and a chamber, whose shape is determined inter alia by the holder and the control member and which is located between a gas supply and a leakage resistance.
The invention also relates to a device for ultrasonically deforming an article made of synthetic material by means of a sonotrode that can be pressed against the article by a displacement device.
The invention further relates to a method of limiting a contact force with which a first article displaceable by a motor drive is pressed against a second article, the motor drive when switched into operation being switched off in response to the contact force with which the two articles come into contact with each other.
In a so-called force-to-pressure converter known from German Patent Application DE-A1-3326138, an air current at a pressure which is kept constant exerts a force on a ball connected to the control member. A counter force exerted on the control member in the form of a rod ensures, when the force exerted by the air current is exceeded, a relative displacement between the rod (control member) and a housing (holder). The leakage control provided between the ball and an edge of an opening in the housing and located between an air inlet, a chamber and an air outlet connected thereto varies comparatively strongly upon a displacement of the rod with the ball. This involves the disadvantage that the force exerted on the ball by the air current can be kept constant only with great difficulty. Such a disadvantage is only recognized if the recognition is obtained that a substantially constant force is necessary if the known a disadvantage is only recognized if it is realized that a substantially constant force is necessary if the known force-to-pressure converter should be used as a force limiter. This use has not been mentioned, however, in German Patent Application DE-A1-3326138.
Further, a device for ultrasonically deforming, for example, polymeric synthetic material by means of a sonotrode that can be pressed by a displacement device against the synthetic material is known from the book "Ultrasonic Engineering" by J. R. Frederick (1965), pp. 191-192. This book does not state the manner in which the contact force between the sonotrode and the synthetic material to be deformed is limited.
Finally, it should be noted that methods are well known in which, when a first article is pressed against a second article, the motor drive is switched off at the instant at which contact is made between the two objects. However, overshooting of the first article due to the mass inertia involves the risk of an inadmissibly great contact force between the articles.


A plastic link toy including a plurality of geometrically shaped elements having a series of equally spaced slots formed by a series of equally spaced slots formed by a series of equally spaced roughened protrusions, having a thickness equal to the width of the slots. The elements are mounted onto a carrying element so that when two of the slotted elements are placed next to each other with the slots facing in the opposite direction, they can be linked to one another by having one set of protrusions penetrate the opposite slot cavities, and the linked elements can be swiveled around the axis formed by them. Other described modifications of the link toy enable the user to construct three-dimensional hinge connections.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a plastic link to be used as a toy.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Several toys are known in the prior art linking together different types of geometric elements to form differently shaped objects. One such toy is the series of building blocks known as "Lego" toys. These comprise a series of building elements linked together by a specifically shaped protrusion on one element to be inserted into a similarly shaped cavity in the other element.
Other forms of linkage known in the prior art describe different attachment means between all kinds of shaped elements enabling children to form all sorts of imaginary multi linked shapes. None of these known toys enable children to both link the elements and simultaneously swivel them in the form of a hinge.


It has been discovered that organic photoresists may be quickly, coveniently, and completely stripped using a hot hydrogen atmosphere. The substrates are preferably exposed to such atmosphere utilizing a hydrogen conveyor furnace. The gases from the furnace are burned to carbon dioxide and water thereby eliminating the need to dispose of a stripping agent.

Photoresist are employed in the manufacture of devices having a varying topology such as circuit patterns. Typically the photoresist is applied by various well known techniques and imaged through a mask using actinic radiation such as ultraviolet light. Photoresists can be either positive acting or negative acting. In the negative acting resists actinic radiation causes the exposed areas to polymerize. The non-polymerized areas of photoresist are removed in a solvent during development. In the positive acting resists, the opposite occurs, and the exposed areas are removed after development. The workpiece is then processed, typically the workpiece is etched to remove portions of the surface that are not protected by the photoresist or additive plating is performed. Thereafter, the remaining photoresist is stripped from the substrate typically using organic solvents. Such organic solvents are increasingly becoming the subject of governmental regulation. Moreover, stripping solvents are typically costly to dispose of and precautions must be taken to vent volatile solvents during use.
For example, to strip conventional polyisoprene photoresists, which are negative acting resists, chemical strippers containing perchloroethylene, o-dichlorobenzene, phenol, and dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid and solvents such as xylene and isopropanol are employed. These solvents are costly to dispose of off site, and under certain conditions fail to completely remove the photoresist. It is desirable to have an alternative stripping method to thoroughly remove photoresist that does not require costly disposal and which are more environmentally friendly than conventional stripping procedures.

International Business Machines Corporation


A component mounting system includes: a component mounter that moves a mounting head and allows a suction nozzle mounted in the mounting head to suck a component supplied by a parts feeder to mount the component on a substrate; a head maintenance device that executes maintenance of the mounting head; an inspection section that inspects a state of the mounting head undergone the maintenance; a use suitability determination section that determines whether or not use of the mounting head undergone the maintenance is suitable based on a result of the inspection; and a registration section that registers the mounting head determined to be not suitable for use.

A component mounter which constitutes a component mounting system moves a mounting head by a head moving mechanism and allows a plurality of suction nozzles provided in the mounting head to suck components supplied by a parts feeder to mount the components on a substrate. It is necessary to perform maintenance regularly on the mounting head (each shaft member) of the component mounter. As a head maintenance device which performs maintenance, for example, a head maintenance device is known, in which an operator detaches the mounting head from the head moving mechanism of the component mounter and sets the mounting head on the pedestal of the maintenance device, and a washing liquid and grease flow into an air pipeline corresponding to each shaft member to wash the shaft members (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1 is JP-A-2011-3679.

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A power supply shunt for an electronic circuit. The power supply shunt includes at least two Field Effect Transistors (FETs), a first of the FETs having its drain coupled to a terminal of an electronic circuit and its source coupled to another of the FETs, and a second of the FETs having its source coupled to ground and its drain coupled to another of the FETs. The first FET has a bulk terminal that floats with respect to ground.

When an integrated circuit chip is being handled there is a danger that an electrostatic discharge (ESD) onto one or more of the chip's pins will damage the chip's circuitry. One way to reduce the possibility that an ESD will damage a chip is to incorporate "clamping circuitry" within the chip. The clamping circuitry is typically made up of a "voltage clamp" at each of the chip's pins (or "terminals"), with the exception of the ground pin(s). The clamp associated with a given pin is designed to divert ESD charge from the pin to ground or to the positive power supply. To prevent the voltage between the positive power supply and ground from becoming large enough to damage internal circuitry, a "power supply shunt" is placed between the positive supply and ground. The clamps and shunts operate together to prevent the voltage between any pair of terminals within the chip from exceeding a maximum allowed voltage.
When an integrated circuit chip is not being handled and is powered-up for operation, a termination voltage (Vtt) is typically applied to circuitry at each of the chip's input and output pins. The termination voltage is a power supply voltage associated with a terminator. The terminator, typically a resistive element with resistance equal to the characteristic impedance of the transmission line connected to the pin, is used to "absorb" signal reflections from impedance discontinuities in the transmission line at a transmitting pin, and to prevent reflections from signals at a receiving pin. Accordingly, the clamp and shunt elements must be able to safely withstand the termination voltage that is applied when the chip is in operation.


Disclosed is a system for assisting in guiding and performing a procedure on a subject. The subject may be any appropriate subject such as inanimate object and/or an animate object. The guide and system may include various manipulable or movable members, such as robotic systems, and may be registered to selected coordinate systems.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
A surgical procedure may be performed on a subject, such as a human subject. The surgical procedure may require an incision into a subject to obtain access to tissue or organs covered by a dermal layer of a subject. Visual access or visual acuity in these areas may be limited due to covering by opaque tissues. Accordingly, determining a pose of an instrument within a subject may be selected.


The connecting element for transporting gaseous, liquid or solid substances include a tubular coupling which has on the inside a cylindrically running first recess, in which a corrugated tube is arranged, and which has a cylindrically running second recess which adjoins the first recess and In which an annular seal is arranged adjacent to the first recess and an expanding ring is arranged adjacent to the annular seal. The expanding ring has, on the outside, a first projection which points toward the coupling and engages in an encircling groove arranged in the second recess. With its projection which points toward the corrugated tube, both the expanding ring and the annular seal are in each case in engagement with the corrugated tube from outside. The subject matter of the invention is also the use of the connecting element as a subassembly in windshield washer units.

The invention relates to a connecting element for transporting gaseous, liquid or solid substances and to the use of the connecting element.
Connecting elements are known. A connection device for a corrugated tube line is described in DE 199 43 764 A1, this connection device having a connection piece with a nozzle for coupling to a corrugated tube piece and a locking collar for holding the corrugated tube piece on the nozzle. It is designed in such a way that, in a fastening state, a corrugated end section of the corrugated tube piece is put onto the nozzle, and the locking collar surrounds the corrugated tube piece.


Scanning and analysis of cytology and histology samples uses a flatbed scanner to capture images of the structures of interest such as tumor cells in a manner that results in sufficient image resolution to allow for the analysis of such common pathology staining techniques as ICC (immunocytochemistry), IHC (immunohistochemistry) or in situ hybridization. Very large volumes of such material are scanned in order to identify cells or clusters of cells which are positive or warrant more detailed examination, and if analysis at higher resolution is necessary, information regarding these positive events is transferred to a secondary microscope, such as a conventional scanning microscope, to allow further analysis and review of the selected regions of the slide containing the sample.

This invention relates generally to the automated analysis of samples (specimens) such as biological samples having microscopic features, and more specifically to the use of a flatbed scanner in such analysis.
The desirability of analyzing lymph nodes of cancer patients for micrometastatic (tumor) cells is well established, both as a indicator of patient prognosis and as a possible guide as to the advisability of treatment with adjuvant therapy (chemotherapy/hormones). Unfortunately, current practice makes it impractical to examine an entire lymph node.
Typically, a lymph node is on the order of 5 mm in length. In routine pathology this node is cut in two and embedded in paraffin. This results in two (half) nodes embedded next to each other with a depth on the order of 2.5 mm. The current practice is to take sections of this material, stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) which are then examined manually by a pathologist using a conventional microscope.
Routine diagnosis on sentinel nodes is performed by cutting six 4-μm sections at one level, but a number of recent papers have highlighted the inadequacy of such an approach. It has also been suggested to use immunohistochemical (IHC) staining and examining very substantial proportions of the entire node, and increases of between 7% and 35% in positive cases were reported. Thus, the implication is that current practice is missing this number of truly positive cases. Given that the lymph node status is a key element in decisions of post-operative therapy, this is clearly cause for concern.
However, even cutting at a distance of 8 μm and examining only every other section results in more than 150 sections to be analyzed. Assuming that three sections are placed on each slide, the node requires more than 50 slides. This is clearly out of the realm of manual inspection of the samples.
Automated microscopy is well established as a significant enhancement. A conventional microscope-based scanner (CMS) uses a computer controlled stage for scanning a sample and a digital recording camera to record an image of one or several relevant microscopic fields for subsequent analysis by the computer. For example, image analysis is used to distinguish tumor cells from disturbing artifacts such as dirt, debris, or other events that resemble the cells of interest. For this process, sufficient spatial resolution is required. That is, each object needs to be described with sufficient image elements (pixels) in order to facilitate proper recognition. Whereas the effectiveness of such systems in producing reproducible results has been successfully demonstrated in a number of applications, their performance is relatively slow (typically 20 minutes to scan 1 square cm).
With a lymph node section being on the order of 5–6 mm on a side, it would take on the order of 15–20 hours to scan the 150 lymph node sections prepared as described above. Thus, even current automated scanning systems do not have the throughput to make analysis of all, or even substantial parts, of the node practical. This is disturbing since current research indicates that such information derived from a substantial part of the node would provide a potentially significant increase in clinical sensitivity.

Automated scanning method for pathology samples


In accordance with one aspect of the present technique, a method of reducing pollutant emissions from a compression-ignition engine is provided. The method includes adjusting timing of fuel injection into a combustion chamber of a piston-cylinder assembly of the compression-ignition engine. The method of adjusting timing of fuel injection includes indexing a drive mechanism intercoupling a camshaft to a crankshaft by at least one tooth away from a standard position. The method of adjusting timing of fuel injection further includes adjusting a pre-stroke of a plunger of a fuel injector assembly.

The present invention relates generally to compression-ignition engines and, more particularly to, techniques for reducing undesirable pollutants in emissions from diesel engines.
Compression-ignition engines, such as diesel engines, operate by directly injecting a fuel (e.g., diesel fuel) into compressed air in a combustion chamber of one or more piston-cylinder assemblies, such that the heat of the compressed air lights the fuel-air mixture. Compression-ignition engines in some embodiments include a glow plug to provide heat that ensures ignition in the combustion chamber. The direct fuel injection atomizes the fuel into droplets, which evaporate and mix with the compressed air in the combustion chambers of the piston-cylinder assemblies. Typically, in a turbo-charged diesel engine, air is drawn from the atmosphere and compressed in a compressor. The compressed air is cooled in an intercooler. The compressed and cooled air is then introduced into the combustion chamber. Upon igniting, the fuel-air mixture causes the combustion chamber to expand by moving the piston along the cylinder, thereby producing output power for the particular application. The combustion exhaust gases also power a turbine coupled to the air compressor. A variety of operating parameters affect the engine performance, efficiency, exhaust pollutants, and other engine characteristics. For example, these operating parameters include compression ratio, fuel-air ratio, and fuel injection timing. Exhaust emissions generally include pollutants such as carbon oxides (e.g., carbon monoxide), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), hydrocarbons (HC), particulate matter (PM), and so forth.
A variety of techniques may be used to reduce pollutants in the emissions from compression-ignition engines. One technique is to reduce the temperature of the compressed air before introducing it into the combustion chamber. Disadvantageously, this method requires an additional cooling system, which is often expensive to implement. Another technique of reducing the emissions of NOx is to pass the exhaust gases through a NOx catalyst system. Disadvantageously, the NOx catalyst system operates only between certain ranges of temperature and requires additional heating and control systems for effective operation. A further technique involves injecting hydrocarbon into the cylinder of the diesel engine. This technique also requires an additional hydrocarbon injection system and is usually expensive to implement.
Accordingly, a cost effective technique is needed for reducing pollutants in emissions from compression-ignition engines.

Compression-ignition engine configuration for reducing pollutants and method and system thereof


A syringe-like device having a chamber in which a pressurizing piston reciprocates. The chamber is connected on one end to a vial containing a drug to be delivered to an eye and on the other end to a needle or cannula for administering the drug to an eye. Pulling proximally backwards on the piston creates a vacuum in the chamber and draws the drug out of the vial. Upon release of the piston, a spring pushes the piston forward, pressurizing the chamber. Delivery of the drug is controlled by a roller pinching off a section of compliant tubing between the chamber and the cannula, with a design similar to a peristaltic pump. A one-way valve prevents the drug from being expelled back into the vial. The flow rate of the drug out of the cannula can be controlled by rotation of the roller.

The present invention generally pertains to the delivery of ophthalmically acceptable pharmaceutically active agents to the back of the eye and more particularly to an apparatus for sub-Tenon delivery of a drug depot to the posterior segment of a human eye proximate the macula.
Several diseases and conditions of the posterior segment of the eye threaten vision. Age related macular degeneration (ARMD), choroidal neovascularization (CNV), retinopathies (e.g., diabetic retinopathy, vitreoretinopathy), retinitis (e.g., cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis), uveitis, macular edema, and glaucoma are several examples.
Age related macular degeneration (ARMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly. ARMD attacks the center of vision and blurs it, making reading, driving, and other detailed tasks difficult or impossible. About 200,000 new cases of ARMD occur each year in the United States alone. Current estimates reveal that approximately forty percent of the population over age 75, and approximately twenty percent of the population over age 60, suffer from some degree of macular degeneration. "Wet" ARMD is the type of ARMD that most often causes blindness. In wet ARMD, newly formed choroidal blood vessels (choroidal neovascularization (CNV)) leak fluid and cause progressive damage to the retina.
In the particular case of CNV in ARMD, two main methods of treatment are currently being developed, (a) photocoagulation and (b) the use of angiogenesis inhibitors. However, photocoagulation can be harmful to the retina and is impractical when the CNV is in proximity of the fovea. Furthermore, photocoagulation often results in recurrent CNV over time. Oral administration of anti-angiogenic compounds is also being tested as a systemic treatment for ARMD. However, due to drug-specific metabolic restrictions, systemic administration usually provides sub-therapeutic drug levels to the eye. Therefore, to achieve effective intraocular drug concentrations, either an unacceptably high dose or repetitive conventional doses are required. Various implants have also been developed for delivery of anti-angiogenic compounds locally to the eye. Examples of such implants are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,824,072 to Wong, U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,511 to Gwon et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,773,019 to Ashton et al.
In addition, it is known to use a straight, ⅝ inch long, 25 gauge needle to perform sub-Tenon injection of corticosteroids for the treatment of posterior uveitis or macular edema associated with uveitis or anterior segment surgery. In such methods, a physician attempts to dispose the tip of the needle near the macula but without penetrating the posterior ciliary arteries or the optic nerve. However, because the physician cannot see the tip, as well as movement of the eyeball within the orbit due to contact with the straight needle, it is very difficult to precisely place the tip at the desired location near the macula. For the same reasons, it is also very difficult to determine whether the tip is correctly positioned below the Tenon's capsule. Such methods do not insure a consistent delivery of a specific quantity of drug to a region over the macula. In fact, the literature reports that only about 57 percent of injections using this method result in drug being placed in the sub-Tenon space overlying the macular area. In addition, moving a straight needle along the curved surface of the sclera causes "tenting" or stretching of the overlying Tenon's capsule. Such movement may cause penetration of the Tenon's capsule, allowing drug to be injected into surrounding tissues. Furthermore, such movement may also cause inadvertent penetration of the sclera, resulting in injection of drug into the vitreous cavity. More importantly, penetration of the sclera may result in significant damage to the eye or even a loss of sight. Documented complications of such penetrations include orbital hemorrhage, central retinal vein occlusion, and central retinal artery occlusion.
A further concern with sub-Tenon delivery of a drug depot to the posterior segment of a human eye proximate the macula is that the drug must be administered slowly and under relatively low pressure so as to be retained in the tissue rather than leaking back out of the tissue through the needle channel.
Therefore, a need exists in the field of ophthalmology for an improved apparatus for sub-Tenon delivery of a drug depot to the posterior segment of a human eye proximate the macula.


A sheet detecting apparatus provided with a light emitter and a light receiver for receiving light emitted from the light emitter through a sheet conveying path, wherein the light receiver detects any change in a quantity of light from the light emitter caused by a sheet passing on the conveying path intercepting the light emitted from the light emitter, to thereby detect the presence or absence of the sheet is provided with a V/I converting circuit for driving the light emitter, a comparing circuit for effecting negative feedback on the V/I converting circuit by an output signal, and changing the quantity of light of the light emitter, and a limiter circuit for applying a limitation to the negative feedback effected on the V/I converting circuit by the comparing circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a sheet detecting apparatus for detecting the presence or absence of a sheet passing on a conveying path by a light emitter and a light receiver. The sheet detecting apparatus is utilized in an image forming apparatus such as a printer, an original conveying apparatus and a paper post-treating apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
A conventional sheet detecting apparatus shown in FIG. 9 of the accompanying drawings, as described, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-267767, has been comprised of a light emitter 510 and a light receiver 500 disposed in opposed relationship with each other with a sheet conveying path 530 interposed therebetween, a CPU 600 for controlling the state of the sheet detecting apparatus, a D/A converter 602 for converting a control signal from the CPU 600 into an analog signal, a voltage-current converting circuit (V/I converting circuit) 603 for converting an output from the D/A converter 602 into a current and generating a driving current for causing the light emitter 510 to emit light, a current-voltage converting circuit (I/V converting circuit) 604 for converting a photoelectric current generated by the light receiver into a voltage, and an A/D converter 605 for converting an output voltage from the I/V converting circuit into a digital signal and transmitting it to the CPU 600.
Such a conventional sheet detecting apparatus has detected the presence or absence of a sheet by the sheet intercepting light between the light emitter 510 and the light receiver 500 disposed in opposed relationship with each other as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-267767.
In the above-described conventional sheet detecting apparatus, however, there has been the problem that when dust such as paper powder adheres to the light emitter and the light receiver and an output value from the light receiver decreases, it is wrongly recognized that the sheet has passed, in spite of the sheet having not passed. If in this case, the sensitivity of the sheet detecting apparatus is set high in order to prevent the wrong recognition, there has arisen the problem that when a thin sheet is passed, light is transmitted therethrough and the sheet cannot be detected.
Also, there has been proposed a sheet detecting apparatus provided with an automatic correcting method of taking out and storing an output signal from a light receiver as the data of an initial state, comparing it with an output signal from the light receiver periodically measured, and adjusting the quantity of light of a light emitter in conformity with the comparison signal to thereby maintain it in an optimum state.
In such a sheet detecting apparatus however, it has been difficult to set the timing for monitoring the output signal from the light receiver, and this has led to the undesirable possibility that for example, automatic correction cannot be appropriately effected for such an unexpected cause as a sudden change in temperature or the temporary adherence of dust. Also, there has been the problem that the power supply to the sheet detecting apparatus is cut off during the renewal of correction data and the correction data so far backed up is destroyed.


A substrate for ultra high-density GMR recording is produced by patterning a solgel layer on the substrate. The resulting recording medium is capable of providing a controlled movement of the head on the substrate of a magnetic disk and exhibits improved flying stability, glide performance, reliability, tribology and long term durability for providing zero glide hits.

This application discloses subject matter related to subject matter disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent applications: Ser. No. 09/496,341, filed on Feb. 2, 2000; Ser. No. 09/634,253, filed Aug. 7, 2000; Ser. No. 09/612,319, filed on Jul. 7, 2000; Ser. No. 09/433,377, filed on Nov. 3, 1999; Ser. No. 09/433,375, filed on Nov. 3, 1999; Ser. No. 60/109,230, filed on Nov. 18, 1998; Ser. No. 09/433,378, filed on Nov. 3, 1999; and Ser. No. 09/421,393, filed on Oct. 20, 1999, incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to the recording, storage and reading of magnetic data, particularly rotatable recording media, such as thin film magnetic disks having smooth surfaces for data zone. The invention has particular applicability to high density recording media exhibiting low noise and having improved flying stability, glide performance and head-media interface reliability for providing zero glide hits.
Magnetic disks and disk drives are conventionally employed for storing data in magnetizable form. Typically, one or more disks are rotated on a central axis in combination with data transducing heads positioned in close proximity to the recording surfaces of the disks and moved generally radially with respect thereto. Magnetic disks are usually housed in a magnetic disk unit in a stationary state with a magnetic head having a specific load elastically in contact with and pressed against the surface of the disk.
Data are written onto and read from a rapidly rotating recording disk by means of a magnetic head transducer assembly that flies closely over the surface of the disk. It is considered desirable during reading and recording operations to maintain each transducer head as close to its associated recording surface as possible, i.e., to minimize the flying height of the head. This objective becomes particularly significant as the areal recording density increases. The areal density (Mbits/in2) is the recording density per unit area and is equal to the track density (TPI) in terms of tracks per inch times the linear density (BPI) in terms of bits per inch.
The increasing demands for higher areal recording density impose increasingly greater demands on flying the head lower because the output voltage of a disk drive (or the readback signal of a reader head in disk drive) is proportional to 1/exp(HMS), where HMS is the space between the head and the media. Therefore, a smooth recording surface is preferred, as well as a smooth opposing surface of the associated transducer head, thereby permitting the head and the disk to be positioned in closer proximity with an attendant increase in predictability and consistent behavior of the air bearing supporting the head.
In recent years, considerable effort has been expended to achieve high areal recording density. Among the recognized significant factors affecting recording density are magnetic remanance (Mr), coercivity, coercivity squareness (S*), signal/noise ratio, and flying height, which is the distance at which a read/write head floats above the spinning disk. Prior approaches to achieve increased areal recording density for longitudinal recording involve the use of dual magnetic layers separated by a non-magnetic layer as in Teng et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,796, and the use of a gradient magnetic layer interposed between two magnetic layers as in Lal et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,012.
However, the goal of achieving a rigid disk recording medium having an areal recording density of about 100 Gb/in2 has remained elusive. In particular, the requirement to further reduce the flying height of the head imposed by increasingly higher recording density and capacity renders the disk drive particularly vulnerable to head crash due to accidental glide hits of the head and media. To avoid glide hits, an accurately controlled movement of the head and a smooth surface of data zone are desired.
Conventional methods for accurately controlling the movement of the head use servo writers. Servo writer is a device which write xe2x80x9cservo patternxe2x80x9d on the disk surface.
Conventional techniques for producing a smooth surface on the disk include polishing and tape burnishing (buffing). See, for example, Nakamura et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,810 and Bornhorst et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,430,782. Typically, the polishing is done using a slurry and buffing is done after sputtering. However, these conventional techniques are attendant with numerous disadvantages. For example, it is extremely difficult to provide a clean and smooth surface due to debris formed by mechanical abrasions.
There exists a need for a recording medium having an areal recording density in excess of 10 Gb/in2, such as in the 20 Gb/in2 range, preferably up to 400 Gb/in2, exhibiting high coercivity and coercivity squareness and a relatively low Mrt (magnetic remanance x thickness), which could be employed for hard disk drives using GMR (giant magnetoresistance) heads. For a GMR media, there exists a need to reduce the fly height to below 1 microinch (25 nm) with zero glide hits.
Disk glide height test (glide hits, glide avalanche), head fly height, and recording performance (output voltage, half peak height PW50, signal-to-noise ratio SNR) are sensitive to the spacing between the head and media. Also, the conventional servo writers have a TPI (tracks per inch) limit. The limit of TPI of conventional servo writers is about 50 KTPI. Exceeding this limit causes inaccurate position of head, i.e. head cannot fly accurately on the desired track.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a system capable of providing a controlled movement of the head on the substrate of a magnetic disk, thereby providing zero glide hits to enhance the reliability, tribology and long term durability of the data storage device.
An object of the present invention is a recording medium comprising a substrate having a surface of data zone with an embossed pattern on a solgel layer on the substrate to provide Pattern Assisted Magneto-Recording (PAMR) media. The PAMR media is capable of providing zero glide hits, enhanced head-media interface reliability, tribology and glide performance of the head. Solgel is a SiO2-containing material capable of forming a thin film on a substrate. The thickness of the thin film that forms a sol gel layer could be in the range of a few angstroms to a few millimeters. A xe2x80x9cservo patternxe2x80x9d could be formed on a solgel surface. A stamper could be used to emboss the patterns on the solgel layer. The pattern could be a combination of dots, lines, and grooves in either radial direction, or circumferential direction, or spiral direction. The pattern could help the recording head and actuator to search for the position of sectors and tracks.
Another object of the invention is a method of preparing the PAMR media.
Additional advantages and features of this invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following description and from the knowledge gained by practicing the invention. The advantages of this invention may be realized and obtained and are particularly pointed out in the claims.
According to the present invention, the foregoing and other objects are achieved in part by a recording medium comprising a substrate and a solgel layer on the substrate, wherein the solgel layer comprises a pattern.
Another embodiment is a recording medium comprising a substrate and a pattern-assisted means for controlled movement of a head of the recording medium on the substrate. The pattern-assisted means for controlled movement of the head could be a pattern on the surface of the substrate. The pattern is not limited to any particular shape or size. One embodiment of the pattern-assisted means is a solgel layer having a pattern. The pattern could be made by embossing, photolithography, or magnetic film etching, or substrate etching.
Another aspect of the invention is a method of surface treating a substrate of a recording medium, comprising forming a solgel layer on the substrate and patterning the solgel layer.
Additional advantages of this invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description, wherein only the preferred embodiments of this invention is shown and described, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention. As will be realized, this invention is capable of other and different embodiments, and its details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, all without departing from this invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

Surface treatment on solgel coated substrate to improve glide height performance


A method realizes gradations on a display employing an antiferroelectric liquid crystal material. The method involves at least two scan periods to drive the display. The waveforms of voltages applied to the display in the two scan periods are symmetrical to each other with respect to 0 V. Each of the scan periods consists of a selected period and an unselected period. The waveform of a voltage applied in the selected period is modulated to control the response time of the antiferroelectric liquid crystal material and adjust the light transmittance thereof in the following unselected period.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of driving a liquid crystal display employing an antiferroelectric liquid crystal material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-173724 of Nippon Denso and Showa Shell Petroleum discloses a liquid crystal display employing an antiferroelectric liquid crystal material. This display realizes a wide view angle, a high-speed response, and a good multiplex property, and therefore, has been energetically studied.
FIG. 3 shows a cell of the liquid crystal display employing the antiferroelectric liquid crystal material. Polarizer plates 21a and 21b are arranged in a cross-Nicol relationship. The liquid crystal cell 22 is placed between the polarizer plates 21a and 21b so that the direction of the major axis of an average molecule of the liquid crystal material is in parallel with the polarization axis of one of the polarizer plates 21a and 21b when no electric field is applied. The cell 22 is black when no voltage is applied, and is white when a voltage is applied. FIG. 4(A) shows a hysteresis loop indicating changes in the light transmittance of the cell 22 and voltages applied to the cell 22. When the voltage applied to the cell 22 is increased to a value V1, the light transmittance starts to change, and when the voltage reaches a value V2, the light transmittance is saturated. When the voltage is decreased to a value V5, the light transmittance starts to decrease. When the voltage applied to the cell 22 has an opposite polarity and when its absolute value is increased to a value V3, the light transmittance starts to change, and when the voltage reaches a value V4, the light transmittance is saturated. When the value of the voltage is decreased to a value V6, the light transmittance starts to change. The cell 22 takes a second stable state (a ferroelectric state) if the voltage of a pulse applied thereto is higher than a specific value intrinsic to the antiferroelectric liquid crystal material and if the product of the width and height of the pulse is above a threshold. Under the same conditions but with an opposite polarity, the cell 22 takes a third stable state (a ferroelectric state). The cell 22 takes a first stable state (an antiferroelectric state) if the absolute value of the product of the width and height of the pulse is below the threshold.
When the voltage applied to the liquid crystal cell 22 is decreased before the light transmittance is saturated, the light transmittance decreases along the same hysteresis loop as that along which it has increased, as shown in FIG. 4(B).
FIG. 5 shows a matrix of electrodes for driving the antiferroelectric liquid crystal material. The electrodes include scan electrodes Y1 to Y128 and signal electrodes X1 to X160. A select voltage is applied successively to the scan electrodes Y1 to Y128. In synchronization with the select voltage, information signals are simultaneously applied to the signal electrodes X1 to X160. As a result, selected liquid crystal pixels are switched to display information. This is a time-division driving technique.
FIGS. 8(A) and 8(B) show a method of driving the antiferroelectric liquid crystal display, according to a prior art. A frame for driving the display consists of two scan periods, and each of the scan periods consists of a selected period and an unselected period. Each scan period involves a scan voltage, a signal voltage, and a synthesized voltage corresponding to the difference between the scan and signal voltages. The waveforms of two scan periods in each frame are symmetrical to each other with respect to 0 V, to prevent the liquid crystal material from burning and deteriorating. Each selected period involves two phases. A pulse width is 100 .mu.s. Each unselected period is about 25 ms. In each selected period, a scan voltage has a predetermined height and a signal voltage determines the height of a synthesized waveform to select one of the first to third stable states. The selected state is maintained during the following unselected period. Namely, a light transmittance determined in a given selected period is maintained during the following unselected period, to display required data.
This conventional method only provides a large light transmittance for displaying white and a small light transmittance for displaying black, and is incapable of realizing intermediate levels of light transmittance. Namely, this method hardly displays gradations. One conventional technique for displaying gradations is an areal gradation technique. This technique groups pixels and handles each group as a pixel. This technique requires a complicated drive controller, provides poor resolution, and realizes only a limited number of gradations. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-34417 discloses a ferroelectric liquid crystal display that modulates pulse widths to realize gradations. This disclosure drives a ferroelectric liquid crystal material, which has SmC phases and only one stable state. Accordingly, this disclosure is quite different from the present invention, which drives an antiferroelectric liquid crystal material which has SmCA * phases and employs a different panel structure and different driving waveforms.
FIGS. 6 and 7 show a time-division technique of driving a liquid crystal display, disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-173724. This technique writes a screen in two frames. The waveforms of voltages applied in the first and second frames are symmetrical to each other with respect to 0 V. FIG. 6 shows the waveforms of voltages for setting an ON state of the display and corresponding light transmittance of the display. FIG. 7 shows the waveforms of voltages for setting an OFF state of the display and corresponding light transmittance of the display. As shown in FIG. 6, a signal applied to the scan electrodes consists of three phases. The first phase resets the liquid crystal material to the OFF state (antiferroelectric state). The second phase maintains the state set by the first phase. The third phase determines whether or not the liquid crystal material must be put in the ON state (ferroelectric state). In FIG. 6, the third phase is above a threshold for setting the ferroelectric state, so that the liquid crystal material is set to the ON state (ferroelectric state). In FIG. 7, the third phase is below the threshold, so that the liquid crystal material maintains the OFF state (antiferroelectric state).
In this way, the prior art realizes only the three stable states for an antiferroelectric liquid crystal material, to display only black and white. The prior art is incapable of displaying gradations.

Method of driving antiferroelectric liquid crystal display


In one embodiment, a method for forming a dry lamination for a composite fiber material structure, for example a wind turbine blade, includes cutting at least two plies of composite fiber material according to a predetermined pattern, arranging the at least two cut plies of composite fiber material in a predetermined arrangement relative to each other, stitching the at least two cut plies together using a thread to secure the at least two cut plies in the predetermined arrangement to form the dry lamination, and spooling the dry lamination into a single roll. The dry lamination can then be transported without misaligning the plies and placed into a resin infusion tool without requiring manual placement of individual plies of composite fiber material.

Composite materials have the capability to deliver increased structural performance over traditional metal or polymer options. Typically, composites combine the environmental resiliency of polymers with the strength and stiffness properties of the fibers from which they are derived. This family of fibers most regularly includes glass, aramids, and carbon. Composite fibers can be woven into fabrics, which are typically classified by type, e.g., satin weave, twill, burlap, etc., using the same nomenclature as other textiles. Composite fibers may also be gathered in bundles.
In a fiber composite material, the fiber properties drive the primary material properties. Fiber properties are extremely orthotropic, meaning they have dramatically different properties in the fiber and cross-fiber directions. These highly orthotropic properties are both the advantage and disadvantage of composite materials. Composite structures can be designed with structural material placed only in the areas required, and the properties of the material can be tailored to the specific area and type of stress they see in operation. A simple example is that of an "I" beam, where straight fibers are used along the caps and those fibers see primarily tension and compression loads, while biased fibers are placed on the beam web where primarily shear loads are present.
When this highly tailored, orthotropic design approach is used significant weight savings can be realized over traditional homogeneous material properties. However, the fiber laminate material properties are susceptible to slight changes in fiber orientation during manufacturing. For instance, a design may call for a 45-degree orientation for optimal performance, and shear stiffness performance will generally change with the sine of the angle, meaning a 5-degree misalignment will reduce axial properties by as much as 8.7% off the peak axial value. A variation of 5 degrees is not uncommon after manual handling of fabric and application using large manual tools.
The higher the degree of orthotropy in the fiber, the more susceptible that a lamination made from that fiber is to misalignment. For example, fiberglass unidirectional tape has extensional stiffness of approximately 5.6×106 lb/in2 and lateral stiffness of 1.3×106 lb/in2, a ratio of 4:1. In contrast, carbon fiber has an extensional stiffness of 16.7×106 lb/in2 and lateral stiffness of 1.7×106 lb/in2, a ratio of 10:1. Therefore the fall off of axial direction properties is much more sensitive with carbon unidirectional fibers than it is for glass unidirectional fibers.
In the creation of large composite structures, for example wind turbine blades, vehicle chassis, and structures for building construction, much of the fiber and/or fabric placement is conducted by hand, using manual tools. Fibers and/or fabrics are placed into an infusion tool dry, which allows for considerable slippage during the infusion phase. Dry fibers and/or fabrics must be used because of the limited handling time of mixed resins. Typically, resin is infused into the structure after dry fiber and/or fabric placement. Additionally, dry fibers and/or fabrics are traditionally handled and positioned together in an infusion tool at the final manufacturing site because of the difficulty in controlling their relative positioning. Pre-positioning of fabrics, followed by movement of the mold or transportation to an infusion site would cause significant misalignment and movement of dry fibers.
The majority of large composite structures are laminated at a location close to the place where the structures will be manufactured due to the limited handling time and reduced workability of a pre-infused or "prepreg" fibers and/or fabric. Although fiberglass infusion has been well-proven in large structures, as the need for even larger structures increases, the use of stiffer additive materials will be necessary. Unfortunately carbon fiber is not as absorptive as fiberglass, and attempts to infuse structures made of a combination of fiberglass and carbon often create voids and dry regions in the final structure. One method of increasing the wetting ability of carbon fiber in a laminate is to intersperse it within a fiberglass laminate. This allows resin to infiltrate thinner stacks of carbon layers and has the added benefit of dispersing the high tension loads of a carbon layer into the adjacent fiberglass structure through interlaminar shear.
Interleaving different materials introduces increased labor into the already time-consuming process of placing the composite materials into an infusion tool. For large structures the process of placing fibers and/or fabrics in the infusion tool is a major cycle time restriction. To alleviate this, large structures are often made of thicker fibers and/or fabrics to enable a rapid buildup of material thickness in the infusion tool. In addition, weaves of several fabric directions have been created to allow placement of several different plies at once, although these multi-axial fabrics are expensive. In some cases, mixes of carbon and glass fibers have been created. However all these methods are limited in total single ply laydown thickness to around 0.080 inches. This means that a large structural laminate with a thickness of 1-1.5 inches will require a minimum of 12-18 plies.
There is, therefore, an unmet need to have the ability to accurately control the positioning of dry laminate plies, particularly for relative fiber orientations, in an infusion tool.

Laminate stitching method for improved fiber logistics and placement precision


A method for drilling with a liner includes: providing a liner string including an upper portion extending towards surface and a lower portion; drilling to a depth with the liner string; disconnecting the upper portion from the lower portion; pulling the upper portion from the well; and leaving the lower portion in the well to line the wellbore. A drilling assembly for drilling a borehole with a borehole liner includes: an upper liner string; a lower liner string including an upper end and a lower end; a releasable connector connecting the lower liner string to the upper liner string; and a drilling assembly connectable at the lower end of the lower liner string.

Methods for drilling with casing have been developed wherein drilling tools are retrievable through the casing, which acts as the drill string. Much research has also been dedicated to exploring ways to develop a liner drilling technology based on the conventional method of running a liner on drillpipe. There are significant technical and economic hurdles to overcome to develop a retrievable liner drilling system using drillpipe as the means of driving the liner. However, a liner drilling system based on using the already developed Casing Drilling tools® would be much more economical to develop and provide to the market.
There is a relatively large usage of liners in drilling programs, particularly those in lateral wellbores and for deepwater wells where the pressure gradient is very steep. In fact, all casing strings in deepwater wells must be run as a "liner" because the top of the casing is located at the sea bed which may be several thousand feet below the rig floor.
A prior art assembly for liner drilling is shown schematically in FIG. 1. Prior art liner drilling systems normally utilize a drillable bit 10 attached to the bottom of the liner 12 and a liner hanger 14 to attach the top of the liner to drillpipe 16. The drillpipe then extends back to the surface 17. This assembly is used to drill a wellbore 18 to accommodate the liner. Drilling fluid circulation and drillstring rotation is provided to the liner through the drillpipe. Once the liner is drilled to the desired depth, for example to a point where the liner has penetrated the formation, the liner hanger is activated to support the weight of the liner in the wellbore and the drill pipe is detached from the liner. In some cases a liner hanger is not used and the top of the liner is left unsupported. In other cases the top of the liner is expanded to engage the wellbore open hole or liner in which it is installed. The liner may be cemented in place before the drillpipe is detached from the liner hanger. Once the drillpipe is withdrawn from the well, a new drilling assembly may be made-up to the drillpipe and run into the well to drill through the "drillable" bit that remains attached to the liner.
There are a number of disadvantages of this method of liner drilling. First, there is no convenient way to replace the drill bit in cases where it wears out before reaching the desired liner setting depth. Replacing the bit requires the entire liner and drillpipe string be tripped out of the well and this defeats the advantages of drilling with the liner. There is no ability to drill directional wells with the system because it is not possible, to recover the expensive directional drilling and formation logging tools that are required to drill directional wells. The drilled hole must be no larger than the ID of the previously set casing because the "drillable bit" is of a fixed diameter. This may induce undesirable high circulating fluid pressure losses in the annulus.

Method for drilling with a wellbore liner


A door-ajar switch assembly for a door movable between open and closed positions relative to an opening in a vehicle body. The switch includes a housing supported adjacent to the opening in a position of inward and outward adjustment. An actuator projects outwardly from the housing and is retractable inwardly to a switch-actuating position. A switch operator is mounted on the door and moves the switch-actuator to the switch-actuating position when the door is closed. The switch operator has an actuator-engaging front face. An adjustment member is secured to the front face of the operator to engage the actuator when the door is initially closed to retract the actuator beyond the switch-actuating position and push the housing inwardly to an adjusted position. The adjustment member is made of a water-soluble material and dissolves away when subjected to water treatment, leaving the front face of the operator to engage and to retract the actuator to its switch-actuating position when the door is subsequently closed.

Many motor vehicles have a warning lightbulb on the dash board which lights up when a door is open or ajar. When the door is closed the light goes off. A switch is provided on a pillar of the vehicle body to control the operation of the lightbulb. A button-like operator on the door engages a switch plunger when the door is closed, opening the circuit to the lightbulb. When the door is open, the switch plunger is released and extended, closing the circuit to the lightbulb.
One problem in the manufacture of automotive vehicles is the proper setting of the switch. Typically, the switch will have a housing in which the switch plunger is slidably supported. A casing mounts the housing on a pillar in an adjusted position such that the plunger extends out exactly the right distance to open the circuit to the lightbulb only when the door is fully closed. In the past, a special tool has been provided to make the adjustment. The tool is mounted on the door in place of the switch operator. When the door is closed, the tool projects further from the door than the operator and will not only retract the switch plunger, but will press the switch housing into the pillar to an adjusted position. With the switch housing thus adjusted, the tool is replaced by the usual button-like operator which will operate the switch when the door is closed.
This method of setting the switch performs satisfactorily, but occasionally a worker will fail to use the tool, in which event the switch will not be set properly and no indication of this failure is readily visible.
The present invention dispenses with the need for a separate tool. Instead, a disc of a water-soluble material, preferably polyvinyl-alcohol, is applied to the head of the operator. The operator-disc combination serves the function of a tool to properly set the switch in adjusted position. Thereafter, the disc is sprayed or flushed with water which washes away the polyvinyl-alcohol disc. The disc thus "disappears" leaving only the operator which thereafter serves its usual function of operating the lightbulb switch.
One object of this invention is to provide a means for adjusting a door-ajar switch having the foregoing features and capabilities.
Another object is to provide a means for adjusting a door-ajar switch which is of simple construction, can be readily and inexpensively manufactured, and is easy to operate.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent as the following description proceeds, especially when considered with the accompanying drawings.