A method of exposing a wafer to a charged-particle beam by directing to the wafer the charged-particle beam deflected by a deflector includes the steps of arranging a plurality of first marks at different heights, focusing the charged-particle beam on each of the first marks by using a focus coil provided above the deflector, obtaining a focus distance for each of the first marks, obtaining deflection-efficiency-correction coefficients for each of the first marks, and using linear functions of the focus distance for approximating the deflection-efficiency-correction coefficients to obtain the deflection-efficiency-correction coefficients for an arbitrary value of the focus distance. A device for carrying out the method is also set forth.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to charged-particle-beam exposure devices, and particularly relates to a charged-particle-beam exposure device which forms a pattern on a wafer by exposing the wafer to charged particles.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the circuit density of semiconductor integrated circuits increases, a finer processing technique is required. Compared to the light exposure method widely used in the manufacturing of LSI chips, the charged-particle exposure method has much superior characteristics in terms of the resolution and the focus depth. With respect to the resolution, a processing limit of the photolithography method is about 0.3 .mu.m, while processing as fine as 0.1 .mu.m can be achieved in the charged-particle-beam exposure method.
However, the charged-particle-beam exposure method is inferior compared to the light exposure method in terms of an exposure positioning accuracy, an overlay accuracy, and a field stitching accuracy. Because of this, the charged-particle-beam exposure method is not widely used in the field for manufacturing purposes of LSI chips.
The charged-particle-beam exposure device has a smaller area to be able to be exposed at one time, compared to a light exposure device such as a stepper. (This area is called a deflection field hereinafter.) Thus, in order to expose one LSI chip, stage movement is required to successively shift the deflection field on the LSI chip. In doing so, if the connecting precision across borders of the deflection fields is low, severance of wires and/or short-circuits are generated which greatly degrades the yield of the chips.
In order to improve the yield, the connecting precision at the field borders must be enhanced, which requires a higher precision of the deflection of the charged-particle beam. In the charged-particle-beam exposure device, the charged-particle beam is generally deflected by a magnetic field generated by coils. The coils include two systems for x-direction deflection and for y-direction deflection. Separate currents are applied to these two systems to deflect the beam in the x direction and the y direction independently. Unfortunately, the amount of beam deflection is not in proportion to the amount of current applied to the deflection coils, but is represented as a complex function of the current amount.
In order to deflect the beam with a high precision, the amount of the current applied to the deflector must be corrected. There are two types of corrections. One is a distortion correction for establishing a linear relation between the input and the deflection amount, and the other is a deflection-efficiency correction for correcting coefficients for linear factors. The distortion correction is a time consuming process since it requires data collection at various points within the field. However, the data needs to be collected only one time since a time variation of the distortion is small. On the other hand, correction coefficients can be obtained in a short period of time for the deflection-efficiency correction. However, the deflection-efficiency-correction coefficients must be frequently obtained because the deflection efficiency varies over time due to a change in thermal distribution of the deflector, etc.
In order to calibrate the deflection field, coordinates of the deflector are generally matched with coordinates of the stage, whose measure and orthogonality are guaranteed through the laser-interferometer system. In order to measure the coordinates of the deflector, an actual position of the charged-particle beam must be obtained by directing the beam to mark positions on a wafer and detecting reflected charged particles.
FIG. 1A is an illustrative drawing for explaining a method of detecting mark positions through the charged-particle-beam scan. As shown in FIG. 1A, the charged-particle beam is scanned by the deflector over a mark 306 formed as a groove in a reference chip 305. Reflection detectors 300 and 301, symmetrically arranged with respect to the axis of the beam optical system, detect reflected charged particles. Outputs of the detectors are added by the adder 302. A signal after the addition is successively obtained in synchronism with the scan of the deflector, providing a reflection signal form to be analyzed. When such a process is conducted by using the position-detection mark 306 as shown in FIG. 1A, a reflection signal form as shown in FIG. 1B is obtained. The reflection signal form obtained in this manner is analyzed by an analyzing device 303 to detect a center position of the mark. A result of the analysis is sent from the analyzing device 303 to a control-purpose computer 304, which uses the result in processes such as a correction of the beam. In general, a groove (dent) formed in a wafer (silicon) is used as a mark.
The detection of the position mark described above is conducted at various points by shifting the mark on a wafer through stage movement. In this manner, the deflection-efficiency-correction coefficients for correcting the linear factors and a distortion map of the deflector for the distortion correction are obtained.
In the mark-position-detection method described above, the detected mark positions contain errors. This is because a relative position of the mark with respect to the reflection detectors changes when the mark is detected at various points.
When the mark is detected at various points, an angle at which charged particles are reflected by the mark toward a reflection detector varies depending on a relative position of the mark with respect to the reflection detector. When reflected charged particles are detected in a configuration as shown in FIG. 2A, signal forms as shown in FIG. 2B are obtained. As shown in figures, a reflection signal having a symmetric form without a distortion can be obtained when the mark is positioned at an equal distance from the two reflection detectors. When the mark is positioned at other locations, however, a reflection signal form having an asymmetry is obtained. This is because the angle of the reflection is different for the different reflection detectors.
In addition to the problems of errors regarding the mark-position detection, there is a problem concerning the focusing of the charged-particle beam in the charged-particle-beam exposure device.
FIG. 3 is an illustrative drawing showing a configuration for the focusing of the beam in the related-art charged-particle-beam exposure device. As shown in FIG. 3, an optical system 310, using a type of light not affecting a resist, is provided between a wafer and a charged-particle lens. The optical system 310 includes a light source 311 and a light detector 312. When the wafer is exposed to the charged-particle beam, the light source 311 illuminates light on the wafer, and the light detector 312 detects light reflected from the wafer to measure the height of an exposed surface. Based on the height of the exposed surface, a focusing distance of the charged-particle lens is changed.
Such a related-art charged-particle-beam exposure device has such problems as:
a) when the focusing distance of the reflection path is changed, the deflection path of the charged-particle beam is affected to cause a displacement of the beam position on the wafer surface; and PA1 b) since structures under the exposed surface have complex patterns in a LSI device, light reflected from these patterns has an adverse effect of causing errors in the detection of the height.
The problem a) will be described below. In the charged-particle-beam exposure device, deflection coordinates X=(X, Y), having an origin at the axis of the beam optical system, are entered into a correction circuit to obtain corrected deflection coordinates X'=(X', Y'). EQU X'=Gx.cndot.X+Rx.cndot.Y+Dx(X, Y) (1) EQU Y'=Ry.cndot.X+Gy.cndot.Y+Dy(X, Y) (2)
Here, G=(Gx, Gy) are correction coefficients concerning the gain, R=(Rx, Ry) are correction coefficients concerning the rotation, and D=(Dx, Dy) are distortions of higher orders other than the gain and the rotation. In the charged-particle-beam exposure device, a current proportional to the corrected deflection coordinates X'=(X', Y') is applied to the deflector to direct the beam at a desired position X=(X, Y) on the wafer.
When the focusing distance of the lens is changed, the beam cannot be directed to the desired position X. Thus, G, R, and the distortion D(X) must be changed in accordance with the change in the focusing distance.
In order to direct the charged-particle beam at a desired position X on a wafer surface having a given focusing distance (height) f, the correction coefficient G, the correction coefficient R, and the distortion D(X) at various heights f must be measured. In this manner, correction coefficients having the height as a variable, i.e., the correction coefficient G(f), the correction coefficient R(f), and the distortion D(X, f), are obtained. Taking these measurements, however, increases the time for adjusting the beam deflection, and leads to the correction circuit being more complex.
The problem b) will be described below. Instead of using the optical system of FIG. 3 to take the real-time measurement of the height at the time of exposure, reference marks provided on each chip to be exposed can be used for the measurement of the height. Namely, the height of each chip is measured by using the reference marks arranged at four corners of the chip to carry out the focusing and the correction. Since the reference marks have the same predetermined structure irrespective of the chips, the use of such marks allows an easy measurement of the height. In this method, however, the reference marks at the four corners must be detected for the measurement of the height each time the exposure is made. Thus, the processing time is increased. Also, the same as the method of measuring the height in real time, errors in the measurements lead to deviation of the focusing. Further, in case that the heights of the reference marks are not measured for some reason, the focusing on the chip surface cannot be carried out.
In addition to the problems of the mark-position-detection errors and the focusing described above, there is another problem concerning the accuracy of exposed patterns in the charged-particle-beam exposure device.
FIG. 4 is an illustrative drawing for explaining a process of the charged-particle exposure on a wafer. The wafer is divided into areas of a 20-mm square. Here, an IC chip pattern or the like exposed on the wafer generally has a size ranging from a 5-mm square to a 20-mm square. When the IC chips are small, four to nine chips are included together in one area. When the IC chips are large, one chip is included in one area. At the time of exposure, the corrections of the gain, the rotation, the distortion are carried out for each area on the wafer. In general, the exposure data is set for each area unit.
The charged-particle-beam exposure device generally has a main deflector capable of deflecting the beam within a large region and a sub-deflector capable of deflecting the beam at high speed within a small region. The main deflector first directs the beam at a predetermined desired position, and, then, the sub-deflector draws a pattern around the predetermined desired position. In FIG. 4, one area is divided into cells (hereinafter called cell fields), in each of which the main deflector can deflect the beam. When a center point of one cell field is aligned with the axis of the beam optical system, the main deflector can deflect the beam over this cell field. Each cell field has a size of a 1-to-2 mm square. Thus, one area is comprised of about 100 cell fields. Further, the cell field is divided into sub-fields having a size of about a 100-.mu.m square. The sub-deflector can deflect the beam within the sub-field.
The measurements of the deflector-correction data prior to the exposure are conducted within the cell field. Based on the correction data, the correction coefficients of the main-deflector coordinates, the sub-deflector coordinates, and the distortion relative to the stage coordinates are determined. Normally, the correction coefficients of the main deflector are set for each area, and the correction coefficients of the sub-deflector are set for each cell.
The exposure is conducted for a frame, which is a region comprised of a plurality of cell fields arranged in a line. Since the width of the frame is the same as that of a cell field, the beam can be deflected by the main deflector within the width of the frame. For the exposure along a longitudinal direction of the frame, the wafer is successively shifted in the longitudinal direction of the frame through the stage movement. Namely, for the exposure in a transverse direction of the frame, the main deflector deflects the beam for positioning thereof, and the sub-deflector is used for the exposure. For the exposure in the longitudinal direction of the frame, the wafer is successively moved by the stage. After a completion of a one frame exposure, the stage takes a U turn to move the wafer in an opposite direction.
In general, the accuracy of the exposed pattern must be within a 10% tolerance of the exposed pattern. For example, when a 0.15-.mu.m pattern is exposed, the accuracy must be higher than 0.015 .mu.m. In order to achieve this accuracy, the beam correction described above must be precisely conducted. Moreover, there is an effect of a thermal drift of the deflectors during the wafer exposure. Thus, the correction coefficients of the main and sub-deflectors obtained prior to the exposure must be updated during the exposure.
In order to achieve a high precision, therefore, the updating of the correction coefficients must be conducted for each cell or more frequently. The correction coefficients stored in a correction operation circuit must be updated during a break of the exposure such as between the cells or between the sub-fields. Unfortunately, the updating of the correction coefficients is a time consuming process. Thus, frequent updating leads to an increase in exposure time, thereby degrading the performance.
In order to obviate this problem, all the correction coefficients may be calculated and transferred to the correction operation circuit during a time period from a data collection prior to the exposure to the beginning of the exposure. Assuming that 40 coefficients are required for one cell, for example, these 40 coefficients must be calculated for about 4000 points when a 6-inch wafer is used. This means that 1-to-5 seconds are required for the calculation. The data transfer also needs a similar time period. Furthermore, a large-volume memory for storing the correction coefficients is needed in the correction operation circuit. Also, when the correction coefficients are updated during the exposure, all the correction coefficients need to be rewritten after the collection of the correction data.
As described above, there are problems of the mark-position-detection errors, the focusing of the beam, and the setting of the correction coefficients in the related-art charged-particle-beam exposure device. A combination of these problems leads to defects of the generated exposure pattern. When counter measures are taken to avoid these defects, the time required for the adjustment and the exposure is increased, and the device becomes undesirably complex.
Accordingly, there is a need for a device and a method of exposing the charged-particle beam which can create accurate exposure patterns with high productivity.
Also, there is a need for a device and a method of exposing the charged-particle beam which can achieve high-accuracy beam focusing and high-accuracy beam positioning without requiring a long time for beam-deflection adjustment.
Also, there is a need for a device and a method of exposing the charged-particle beam which can accurately detect a mark position.
Also, there is a need for a device and a method of exposing the charged-particle beam which can use correction coefficients provided for small units of areas without sacrificing the exposure processing time.

Charged-particle-beam exposure device and charged-particle-beam exposure method


In a method for measuring a dose of a drug inhaled by an animal, the momentary concentration of the drug in an aerosol supplied to the animal and the momentary inhalation flow rate of the animal are determined. An inhaled partial dose is calculated from each determined inhalation flow rate value and a corresponding concentration value. The calculated inhaled partial doses are added to obtain the total dose inhaled by the animal.

The present invention relates to a method for measuring a dose of a drug in aerosol form inhaled by an animal as well as a system for implementing the measuring method. The present invention also relates to a method for administering a predetermined dose of a drug in aerosol form to an animal and a system for implementing the administering method.
When performing animal experiments for testing a new drug, it is often desirable to administer a predetermined dose of the drug to each animal.
A method known in the art for administering a dose of a drug inhaled by an experimental animal in aerosol form is the fixed time administration method. The experimental set-up of this method is schematically shown in FIG. 1. An aerosol generator 1 is connected to one end of a tube 2, the other end of which is connected to a nose mask 3, through which the animal is to inhale during the experiment. The tube 2 is provided with an air inlet 4, comprising a one-way flap valve 5 and a filter 6, as well as an air outlet 7, also comprising a one-way flap valve 8 and a filter 9.
In a preparatory phase of the method, the exposure time required for administering a desired dose of the drug is calculated from the following relation EQU Exposure time=desired dose.times.BW/(aerosol concentration.times.respiratory minute volume)
where BW is the body weight of the animal, the aerosol concentration is a predetermined particle concentration in the flow of aerosol generated by the aerosol generator, and the respiratory minute volume is calculated in a predetermined way according to a theory or empirical knowledge. Then, the aerosol generator 1 is adjusted so as to generate, in the tube 2, a fixed volumetric flow of aerosol of the predetermined concentration.
In the measurement phase, the animal inhales the aerosol through the nose mask 3 during the predetermined exposure time. If the animal needs more air than what is provided by the aerosol generator 1, additional air is supplied through the air inlet 4. Exhaled air and any air not inhaled by the animal leaves the system through the air outlet 7. The filters 6, 9 prevent contamination of the air outside the system.
However, it has been found that this prior-art fixed time administration method is not sufficiently accurate for use in certain experiments where the doses actually delivered must be in keeping with the planned doses.

Method and system for measuring a dose of drug inhaled


A stabilized pharmaceutical composition in lyophilized form comprising: a cyclic polypeptide compound represented by the general formula (I):

Among the cyclic polypeptide compounds represented by the above formula (I), a compound wherein R1 is a hydrogen atom and R2 and R3 are hydroxyl groups and a compound wherein R1, R2 and R3 are hydrogen atoms are obtained by a fermentation process disclosed by European Patent No. 0462531 and processes disclosed by WO97/32975 and by WO97/47738. A compound wherein R1 is an acyl group and its production process are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,376,634 and 5,569,646 and WO96/11210 and WO99/40108.
The cyclic polypeptide compounds (I) and their salts are generally unstable to light, humidity, acids, heat and the like. Therefore, desired is development of pharmaceutical preparations in which the cyclic polypeptide compounds and their salts are stabilized.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Stabilized pharmaceutical composition in lyophilized form

Abstract: wherein R1 is a hydrogen atom or an acyl group and R2 and R3 are, the same or different, a hydrogen atom or a hydroxyl group, or a salt thereof and the stabilizer.


In one embodiment, the invention is a substrate edge gripper assembly for positioning a semiconductor substrate upon a transfer robot. In one embodiment, a modular assembly comprises spring loaded jaws that are mounted on either side of a robot end effector. The jaws are adapted to be actuated by a feature remote from the robot end effector to release the substrate for delivery.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the processing of semiconductor substrates, and relates more particularly to apparatuses for gripping an edge of a semiconductor substrate on a robot blade.
2. Background of the Related Art
Semiconductor substrate processing is typically performed by subjecting a substrate to a plurality of sequential processes to create devices, conductors and insulators on the substrate. Each of these processes is generally performed in a process chamber configured to perform a single step of the production process. In order to efficiently complete the entire sequence of processing steps, a number of process chambers are typically coupled to a central transfer chamber that houses a robot to facilitate transfer of the substrate between the process chambers. A semiconductor processing platform having this configuration is generally known as a cluster tool, examples of which are the families of AKT PECVD, PRODUCER®, CENTURA® and ENDURA® processing platforms available from Applied Materials, Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif.
Generally, a cluster tool comprises a central transfer chamber generally surrounded by one or more process chambers. The process chambers are generally utilized to process the substrate, for example, performing various processing steps such as etching, physical vapor deposition, ion implantation, lithography and the like. The transfer chamber is typically coupled to a factory interface that houses a plurality of removable substrate storage cassettes, each of which houses a plurality of substrates. To facilitate transfer of a substrate between a vacuum environment of the transfer chamber and a generally ambient environment of the factory interface, a load lock chamber is disposed between the transfer chamber and the factory interface.
A substrate transfer robot is disposed in the cluster tool and used to transfer substrates between the process and load lock chambers. Proper positioning of the substrate on the blade of the transfer robot is critical to ensure that the substrate does not become damaged or misaligned during transfer to process chambers and to achieve repeatable processing results. Thus, the manner in which the transfer robot contacts and positions the substrate on the robot blade may affect the final processing results.
Existing methods for centering a substrate on the robot blade are typically passive in nature (e.g., in some embodiments, the substrate sits in a pocket in the blade or compensate for misalignment by altering the motion of the motor). While these methods have generally proven to be reliable and repeatable, processes directed at reducing dimensions during device fabrication are increasingly demanding finer, more accurate and repeatable substrate placement on the blade to ensure robust processing results. As such, it is desirable that more active positioning mechanisms be developed that are capable of accurately centering a substrate on a blade without damaging the substrate itself.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved apparatus for positioning a substrate on a robot blade.


A radio frequency receiver (300) typically contains electronic devices commonly used in amplifying or mixing circuits (315) which are seldom ideal. The non-ideal characteristics of these devices lead to intermodulation (IM) distortion. A measurement of the amplitude of the received signal (301) is taken both unattenuated (503) and attenuated (507). The difference between the two measurements is compared (511) to predetermined limits (L1, L2 or L3) wherein the received signal (310) is determined to be valid, invalid or unsure. A valid received signal is demodulated in the receiver (300). An invalid signal, confirming the presence of IM distortion, is rejected. The unsure signal may be rejected or demodulated as determined by the receiver designer. This type of signal characterization is particularly useful for cellular radiotelephones (101) attempting to gain access to the system provider (111) in which it is registered.

A radio frequency (RF) receiving device, of which a cellular radiotelephone mobile subscriber unit is a convenient example, provides an appropriate setting for describing the need for the present invention. Subscriber units are designed to operate with all cellular systems (for example: A or B) that provide competing services in a particular geographical area. Each system is assigned a number of channels with a particular channel spacing and each channel has a particular center frequency as called out in Electronic Industries Association (EIA)-553, .sctn. 22.214.171.124 "Mobile Station-Land Station Compatibility Specification", September 1989. The subscriber unit gains access to the system in which it is registered, System A for example, by scanning the access channels to determine the strongest two access channels per EIA-553, .sctn. 18.104.22.168. Upon gaining access, the subscriber unit may communicate through the System A provider with the landline system. However, the subscriber unit also receives signals from the System B provider which may produce one or more undesired signals in the subscriber unit on the same channel as the desired signal from System A. The undesired signal created from System B signals is of no use to the subscriber unit desiring service from System A. A receiver typically determines which channel to use by measuring the channels signal strength. But, a receiver cannot distinguish between the undesired and desired signals using only signal strength information. Since the undesired signal strength information may be generated by the System B provider, the system access signal may be on the undesired signal channel and the subscriber unit may roam to the undesired signal channel. If both of the two strongest signals from the access channel scan are undesired signals without access system modulation (typically 10 KHz manchester) the subscriber unit will lose service and the no service light will turn on. Thus, economical receiver technology has not reached the point where the mobile subscriber unit can operate with impunity close to one system's transmitting base station while communicating with the other.
A particular undesired signal response produced by receivers is commonly referred to as intermodulation distortion (IM). IM distortion develops in the presence of two unmodulated interfering signals so separated from the assigned input signal frequency and from each other that the n'th order mixing of the two undesired signals can occur in nonlinear electronic devices of the receiver producing a third signal whose frequency is equal to that of the assigned input signal frequency. The transfer functions of electronic devices commonly used in amplifying and mixing circuits within receivers are seldom if ever ideal--linear in the case of an amplifier, square law in the case of a mixer. The non-ideal characteristics inherent in these devices lead to IM distortion.
It is well known that a 1 dB change in signal strength of the interfering signals results in a 3 dB change in signal strength of the undesired third order IM distortion. Those wishing to understand the background for this 3:1 relationship may reference a paper presented by Richard C. Sagers of Motorola Inc. entitled "Intercept Point and Undesired Responses", presented before the 32nd IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference May 23-25, 1982. Knowing this 3:1 relationship is very helpful in detecting IM distortion in receivers and is commonly used in designing receivers to maximize the rejection of IM distortion.
Consumer radio receivers, such as an AM/FM radio, process a received voice signal through an attenuator automatically via control circuitry or when the user manually depresses the "local/DX" button in response to receiving a degraded channel. In areas where the receiver encounters a desired voice signal and a strong interfering voice signal causing third order IM distortion, the attenuator reduces the desired voice signal by the magnitude of the attenuator whereas the third order IM distortion in the receiver is reduced by three times the magnitude of the attenuator. Thus, signal reception of the desired signal is improved.
For many situations, of which a cellular radiotelephone mobile subscriber unit is merely an example, the prior art has not produced an apparatus or method of channel characterization to meet the difficult requirement of detecting IM distortion while providing for the advantage of an economical receiver.

Apparatus and method for detecting intermodulation distortion in a radio frequency receiver


A system is disclosed for wirelessly detecting movement of a target. The system comprises a reference oscillator, a transmitter, a receiver, a demodulator, and a processor, wherein: the reference oscillator generates references frequencies for the transmitter, the receiver, and the demodulator; the transmitter generates a continuous-wave signal at a frequency based on the transmitter reference frequency and wirelessly transmits it to the target; the receiver wirelessly receives a reflected signal from the target having a phase angle corresponding to movement of the target and converts the reflected signal into an intermediate frequency signal based on the receiver reference frequency; the demodulator demodulates the intermediate frequency signal into an in-phase component and a quadrature component; and the processor converts the in-phase component and the quadrature component into a movement signal corresponding to movement of the target.

As background, radar systems may be used to wirelessly detect movement of a target. The radar system may transmit a signal to the target and receive the corresponding reflected signal from the target. The phase angle and/or frequency of the reflected signal from the target may correspond to movement of the target. Thus, the radar system may detect movement of the target based on the phase angle and/or frequency of the reflected signal.
The target may include a human, an animal, or an inanimate object such as an airplane. If the target is a human, the radar system may be capable of determining vital signs of the human such as the respiratory rate or the heart rate of the human. If the target is an inanimate object, the radar system may be capable of determining vibration characteristics of the inanimate object.
Operating the radar system at a relatively high frequency such as, for example, at millimeter-wave/Terahertz (MMW) frequencies may allow the radar system to operate at longer distances, penetrate objects that may interfere, and offer higher resolution. Accordingly, a radar system is needed which can operate at MMW frequencies.

Systems for detecting movement of a target


A system for providing a visual representation of electronic, on-line journals, such as those generally referred to as “Weblogs” or “Blogs”, that uses a treemap display object in a graphical user interface to represent social networking characteristics discovered in, and aggregated from a set of on-line journals. The generated display object includes on-line journal representations shown within the social network communities to which they belong. This visual organization is provided through a treemap representation, in which an enclosing region for a set of journals is broken up into sub-regions corresponding to social network communities. Representations of individual on-line journals are provided as inner regions within the sub-regions for the communities. The enclosing region, sub-regions and inner regions may be rectangular, or any other specific geometric shape as appropriate for a given application. The relative size of an inner region representing a specific journal may be determined based on how strongly related that journal is to the other members of the community, or on how active that journal is in terms of reads or writes, or based on some other criteria.

As it is generally known, the World Wide Web is a major service provided over the Internet, using Web server computer systems that store and disseminate Web pages. Web pages are HTML (HyperText Mark-up Language) documents containing text, graphics, animations and videos, and are accessible via Web browser application programs such as Internet Explorer®, Netscape®, Safari, Opera and Firefox. The browser program renders Web pages it obtains via HTTP (HyperText Transport Protocol) on a display screen. A collection of Web pages makes up a Web site. Weblogs, or Blogs, are an increasingly popular type of Web site. Weblogs are an example of personalized, on-line electronic journals. Weblogs typically contain dated entries, usually in reverse chronological order, about a particular topic or individual. Weblogs are associated with and written by one or more contributors, sometimes referred to as Bloggers, and referred to herein as authors. Entries (also referred to herein as "postings" or "posts") contain content defined by a Weblog author, and commentary by other users about the entry, or links to such commentary. A set of links to other Weblogs, sometimes referred to as a Blogroll, and a search facility are often also included in a Weblog.
The popularity of Weblogs has increased since development applications such as Pitas, Blogger and GrokSoup were released. Template-based software has made it increasingly easy to add entries to a Weblog, while hosting services have made it easy to create and maintain a Weblog. Various implementations of Weblogs can be found on the Web. Examples of Web sites currently containing Weblog implementations include www.blogger.com, www.userland.com, www.socialtext.com.
Though postings in Weblogs are typically created by one, or a small group of authors, many Weblog authors and other users also subscribe to, read, and enter comments to postings in multiple Weblogs. For example, Weblog subscriptions are often provided using the RSS (Rich Site Summary) format for syndicating Web content. Additionally, Weblog users often enter links to Weblog postings in Weblogs other than the one on which the postings were originally made. Such links are sometimes referred to as "trackbacks". Trackbacks related to a given posting are often made available to readers of the original posting through the Weblog user interface. As noted above, Weblog authors also often maintain a publicly available list of other Weblogs they find interesting, referred to as a Blogroll. These and other features relating authors and other users through different Weblogs allow Weblog users to form social networks, some of which have become popular and influential.
In existing systems, it is difficult for a user to identify social networks defined through Weblogs, or to identify influential Weblogs within such social networks. This problem results in part from the large and growing number of Weblogs, and also from the limited features of tools that are currently available. The most common tools today provide Weblog listings identifying Weblogs 1) with the most recent posts, 2) with the most comments over a given time period, or 3) with the most hits over a given time period. Some Weblog implementations also list newly created Weblogs. Additionally, users can performs searches via existing search tools, such as Google™ and the like, to find Weblogs or Weblog posts containing specified keywords of interests. However, none of these tools help users identify social networks defined by Weblogs, or influential Weblogs within such networks.
Some existing systems have attempted to provide visualizations of Weblogs, in some cases using specific approaches based on what are known as "treemap" visual constructs. However, existing Weblog visualization systems do not address identification or visualization of social networks created by groups of Weblogs. Instead, they focus on characteristics such as the relative size of Weblogs or Weblog posts, the number of comments to a post, or the recentness of a post. For example, in one existing system, top level rectangles within a display object are used to represent each Weblog, with the size of each rectangle determined by the number of posts in the corresponding Weblog. Inner rectangles are used to represent individual posts, and each have a size determined by the length of the corresponding post. Another existing system uses inner rectangles to represent posts, with the inner rectangle size determined by the number of related comments. None of these systems includes the features needed to provide a user with a convenient and rich user interface display object or objects that represents the social networks within a set of Weblogs, or the influence of specific Weblogs on such social networks.
For the above reasons and others it would therefore be desirable to have a new system for representing a set of on-line journals that enables users to quickly visualize social network communities within the journal set, as well as the significance of individual journals within the communities.

Method and system for visualizing weblog social network communities

International Business Machines Corporation


A data management and networking system and method are provided for automatically retrieving and storing data from a machine tool for distribution to a remote terminal over a network. Raw data related to a machine operation parameter, such as vibrations, are collected. This data is associated with machining operation data, such as the particular cutting tool being used, or the particular feature being cut by the cutting tool. An algorithm is applied to the raw data to generate a parametric representation of the data, thereby significantly reducing the size of the data. At least some data related to non-machining time is separated out, further reducing the size of the data. The associated data is sent to a network server for storage, where it may be accessed by one or more remote terminals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data networking system and a method for networking data, and in particular, a system and method for automatically managing machine tool data and providing the data to a remote terminal over a network.
2. Background Art
The ever-increasing emphasis on product quality continues to put pressure on manufacturers to find new ways to produce high quality products without increasing production time or otherwise increasing manufacturing costs. Inherent in this high quality, low cost dichotomy is a need to reduce scrap, while obtaining the longest possible life from manufacturing tools and equipment. Thus, increasing the number of tooling changes and/or decreasing the time between machine tool maintenance may increase product quality, but it may result in an unnecessary increase in tooling costs and/or lost production time.
Over time, manufacturers have developed systems and methods of predictive and preventative maintenance. Such systems may include a scheduled tool change based on a number of parts produced, or scheduled machine down time, during which bearings and other components may be replaced prior to their having an adverse effect on product quality. In order to implement these systems in a cost effective manner, or to reduce the frequency of these preventative maintenance tasks, decision-makers need information. In particular, information that is indicative of historical trends is useful, so that accurate predictions can be made regarding future production runs. In addition, the ability to isolate particular problem areas is also useful; this helps to concentrate efforts where they will have the most impact and produce the most benefit.
Toward this end, manufacturers have continued to analyze machine tools and their associated components in an effort to gather information they can use to make efficacious decisions regarding their production systems and processes. One type of machine tool analysis used is a vibration analysis. Information gathered from this type of analysis may be indicative of a variety of different production problems.
One system and method of characterizing a machining process using vibrational signatures of machines is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,663,894, issued to Seth et al. on Sep. 2, 1997. Seth et al. describes characterizing the vibrational signatures of machines by discriminating vibrational activity at various positions on the machines. This is done both with and without machining loads. Both time and frequency domain analysis may then be stored in a database for future comparison and tracking.
In addition to gathering vibration data with and without machining loads, it may also be desirable to associate vibration data with particular operations performed on a machine. Once this data is gathered, it would then be desirable to collect it for storage on a network server that can be accessed by one or more terminals remotely located from the machining area. In general, traditional monitoring systems are based on individual tool condition analysis, and are used primarily for tool breakage. Templates are used, but trend analysis is not performed. Because data, such as vibration data, can occupy a large amount of storage space, and bandwidth when it is being transferred, it would also be desirable to reduce the size of the data, while still providing operation specific, and even tool specific, data that can be used to evaluate the machining operations.

Data management and networking system and method


A biodegradable food container for holding and insulating food. The food container includes a wall structure constructed from heat-expanded grains bound together with a biodegradable bonding agent. In the preferred embodiment, the heat-expanded grains are popcorn and the bonding agent is a starch paste or other type of biodegradable bonding agent of food grade quality. The wall structure is formed by heating expandable grains to form the heat-expanded grains. The heat-expanded grains are then ground and mixed with the bonding agent to form a moldable popcorn mixture. The moldable popcorn mixture is molded to form a wall structure of a selected shape for holding and insulating food.

Prior art food containers are typically constructed from plastics, styrofoam, and other materials which are not biodegradable. These non-biodegradable food containers are widely used because they are relatively inexpensive to make, are easily formed into chosen shapes, and have excellent insulation characteristics. Despite making excellent containers during use, the fact that these prior art containers are non-biodegradable creates a serious waste disposal problem.
Used food containers made from plastics and styrofoam form waste which must be indefinitely stored in landfills. Nonbiodegradable food containers of the prior art fail to decompose in landfills and create waste storage problems. As the population and food consumption continues to grow, the problem of storing non-biodegradable waste, including food containers, will become an increasing problem. This is especially a serious problem in the fast food industry which sells large quantities of individually containerized food to the general public. The problem is so serious that at least one major fast food chain has discontinued use of styrofoam containers.
A food container is needed that is biodegradable and includes the characteristics of being a good insulator, inexpensive, and easily formed into selected shapes.


An apparatus for tapering a tube having a frame, a tube receiving end connected to the frame, a variable-orifice die arranged so as to be movable relative to the frames, and an axial tension cylinder connected to the tube receiving end so as to apply tension forces to the tube. The variable-orifice die includes a stand having a housing and a plurality of die segments arranged within the housing. The die segments contain a circular groove of varying radius. The die segments define an orifice having an entry plane and an exit plane. The exit plane and the entry plane are offset from the plane of rotation of the die segments. The orifice is truly round in a plane parallel to and offset from the plane of rotation. A motion control processer is interactively connected with the die stand and with the axial tension cylinder for controlling a position of the axial tension cylinder relative to a rate of reduction of the diameter of the tube.

Tubes of the type having larger diameters at the base and smaller diameters at the top, are often used for street lights, tall signs, etc. Many times, these are made from nested cylindrical tubes of varying diameters which nest within one another and are welded together at their junctions. These techniques are generally slow and expensive and require more metal than necessary for the proper strength. These operations require machinery which is both costly and space consuming.
Alternatively, tubular members are tapered to a variety of useful shapes by conventional swaging operations. In these operations, the uniform wall thickness of the tubular member is swaged to reduce the diameter of the member at selected portions with the consequent result that the wall thickness increases at the reduced diameter portion. The swaging process includes multiple steps which are different and separate from each other. An initial stock must be passed through the step-by-step procedures until it can finally be finished to a desired shape. The steps start with cutting a flat metal blank to a tapered shape, followed by forming it to a tapered tubing with the opposite longitudinal edges left unjoined together. Then, the next step causes the edges of the tubing to be joined together by means of a welding process. Any undesired portions that are present along the welded edges of the tubing are removed by means of a polishing or finishing process. The manufacture of such a product involves many steps, each including different processes. As a whole, a combination of these processes permits the manufacture of the product. However, it is a highly inefficient mass production technique. This swaging process also increases the manufacturing cost for each item.
Single-step swaging processes are also known, in which the swaging machine is specifically designed to provide a small-length tapered metal tubing (such as forks for bicycles). For long tapered tubes which are between 12 and 30 feet long, such as lighting standards, it is practically impossible to implement a single-step swaging process.
Another type of tube tapering machine has been devised wherein tubular metal stock is rotated about its longitudinal central axis. During this rotation, spinning rolls or shoes work on the exterior of the tube to deform it from its initial cylindrical shape to a smaller diameter of either straight or tapered shape. The surface presented against the work piece or tubular stock by the rolls or shoes tends to bend or flex the metal of the tube wall in a direction opposed to its circumferential curve or configuration. This flexing, which is repeated revolution after revolution of the tube, has a tendency to produce longitudinal cracks or to propagate insignificant scratches on the tube wall into cracks. This is particularly true on the inner surface of the tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,977, issued on Apr. 29, 1975, to F. B. Cauffiel, describes an apparatus and method for producing tapered poles. In this patent, the tapered pole is made from a particular tapered strip which is wound in a pseudo-helical manner on a tapered mandrel. Suitable means are provided for directing and guiding the strip on the mandrel such that the strip is wound from the small end of the mandrel toward the large end. Welding procedures are provided so that the edges of the strips can be formed together so as to produce a tapered pole.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,735,463, issued on May 29, 1973, to A. Merola describes a method of forming tapered tubular members. In this method, a generally uniform wall thickness, hollow, cylindrical body is utilized as the starting material. The body is elongated by engaging the body at two spaced portions along its length. By applying a predetermined force to the body of the engagement portion, a substantial component of the force is directed parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body. When the body elongates between the engaged positions, the wall thickness of the elongated portion is reduced a predetermined amount. The process described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,735,463 was designed for the production of ball bats through a conventional type of swaging process.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,041,990, issued on Jul. 3, 1962, to C. K. Le Fiell describes a tube tapering machine. This machine tapers tubes by using a tool which works on the metal of the workpiece to deform it. This tool is in the form of an annular ring presenting a concave surface or line of contact toward the convex surface of the tubular stock.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,841, issued on Nov. 18, 1986, to K. Yoshida shows a single-pass swaging operation. In this invention, several swaging units are arranged in series in a tandem configuration. Each swaging unit includes a flywheel which acts as an anvil. It also includes a set of metal dies. In the tandem configuration, the die sets and the swaging units are arranged sequentially from one to another. On the entry side of the tandem configuration machine, a tubing stock of a prescribed length (which is to be tapered) is inserted, progressing through the machine toward the other side thereof. While the tubing stock is being fed forward, it is sequentially processed by the dies in the swaging unit that provide the tapered shape over the length. After having been processed through all of the dies, the stock is formed to a totally tapered shape.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,330,145, issued on Jul. 11, 1967, to G. F. Adolphi describes a machine and method for tapering rod-like tubular workpieces. In particular, this patent describes the technique in which a cylindrical tube is gripped at both ends and a tension is applied axially to the tube. The tube does not rotate during the forming pass but is rotated at the completion of each pass. This device is generally intended for the manufacturing of tapered tubes having a diameter of less than one inch.
In this Adolphi patent, the die orifice is round on the section through the axis of die segment rotation. At all other sections, it consists of concentric circular arcs with gaps therebetween. The orifice, so formed, is diametrically smaller adjacent to the gaps than at the root of the groove. In this configuration, the workpiece exiting the die is not perfectly round. This causes a limitation in the allowable workpiece reduction. A reverse curvature or concavity is created at the die segment juncture which causes the tube wall to buckle inwardly when subjected to the circumferential compressive force of the drawing operations.
It has been generally found that the Adolphi process may work properly on tubes having relatively small diameters (less than one inch). However, problems can be created using the Adolphi process when used in conjunction with the tapering of tubes having a greater diameter than one inch. It is important to be able t o achieve reductions of between fifteen to twenty-five percent on the diameter of the tapered tube. The reductions in diameters which were achieved by the Adolphi patent would be between 0.010 inch to 0.030 inch on tube diameters of between 0.3 inches and 0.7 inches.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for tapering tubes that reduces the requirements of die pressure
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tube tapering method and apparatus that prevents collapse of the tube wall during the forming process.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a tube tapering apparatus and method that provides a tapered tube having generally constant wall thickness.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a tube tapering apparatus that minimizes space requirements.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a tube tapering apparatus and method that enables tapered poles to be manufactured at minimal manpower and material cost.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.

Tube tapering apparatus having a variable orifice die


There is a method of determining properties relating to an underbalanced well, comprising inducing pressure variations in a fluid within a well, measuring the pressure variations, and calculating pore pressure of at least one fluid-producing formation. The pressure variations cause a change in flow rate from formations along a length of borehole, and as such a change in the production flow rate of the well. The variations in pressure are used to calculate the pore pressure. Variations in annular bottomhole pressure are induced by altering the flow rate of drilling fluid, or the density of drilling fluid or by acoustic pulsing downhole. The pore pressure, permeability and porosity of the formations is derived as a real time profile along the length of the borehole.

Boreholes are sometimes drilled using drilling fluid which has a pressure substantially less than the pressure of the fluid from the formation. This is known as underbalanced drilling. Underbalanced drilling is often used where fluid-bearing formations are known to be delicate and prone to damage, so as to maintain the integrity of the formation. Typically a number of different subterranean structures, with different properties, are drilled through before the actual production formation of interest is reached. The pressure of fluid from the formation will often therefore vary during drilling. It is often important to ensure that the drilling remains underbalanced at all times to minimise formation damage.
Underbalanced drilling is also used generally where, for example, faster drill speeds are required or where the life of a drill bit needs to be extended.
The formations surrounding the borehole can be characterised by a pore pressure, porosity and permeability. When underbalanced drilling, an estimate of the pore pressure is typically made, and the pressure of the drilling fluid is then chosen in an attempt to ensure that underbalanced drilling is achieved at all times. However, the estimates of pore pressure are generally very inaccurate and as such it is often difficult to perform underbalanced drilling with any degree of reliability or control.
The estimate of pore pressure can be used to derive the permeability of the formations, but the estimated pore pressure can be very inaccurate so causing errors in the values of permeability.
The present invention aims to provide a method which supplies more information about formations whilst drilling and aims to enable more controlled underbalanced drilling to be achieved.

Method of determining properties relating to an underbalanced well


Cartridges 4 and 5 are configured, such that first convex ribs 428a and 528a abut against second wall surfaces 762 of cartridge engagement wall surfaces 760 inclined with respect to a bottom wall 712 of a cartridge attachment structure 7 and move in friction with the second wall surfaces 762. Such abutting and moving causes contact portions of terminals 412 and 512 of circuit substrates 410 and 510 of the respective cartridges 4 and 5 to come into contact with electrode assemblies 810 of a carriage 8. This configuration enhances the reliability of electric connection between a contact portion, such as a circuit substrate, of a liquid supply unit and an electrode assembly, such as contact pins, of a carriage in the course of attachment.

The present invention relates to a liquid supply unit.
An ink cartridge (also simply called "cartridge") configured to supply ink to a printer as an example of a liquid ejection device has been known conventionally as a liquid supply unit configured to supply a liquid to the liquid ejection device. Ink contained in the cartridge is gradually consumed with the progress of printing. Data regarding, for example, the remaining amount of ink is transmitted between the cartridge and the printer. For the purpose of such data communication, a technique has been proposed to press the cartridge against the printer or more specifically against a carriage, in order to generally maintain the contact between an electrode assembly of the printer and a contact portion of the cartridge as described in Japanese Patent Publication (JP 2008-74090A).


A method and apparatus for verifying data for use on an aircraft. A plurality of digital certificates associated with the data is received by a processor unit. The processor unit verifies the data for use on the aircraft using a selected number of the plurality of digital certificates.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for verifying the authenticity and integrity of information used on aircraft. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to the use of multiple digital signatures to verify the authenticity and integrity of information used on an aircraft.
2. Background
Modern aircraft are extremely complex. For example, an aircraft may have many types of electronic systems on-board. These systems are often in the form of line-replaceable units (LRUs). A line-replaceable unit is an item that can be removed and replaced from an aircraft. A line-replaceable unit is designed to be easily replaceable.
A line-replaceable unit may take on various forms. A line-replaceable unit on an aircraft may be, for example, without limitation, a flight management system, an autopilot, an in-flight entertainment system, a communications system, a navigation system, a flight controller, a flight recorder, a collision avoidance system, a system to support maintenance functions, or a system to support crew processes. The various line-replaceable units on an aircraft may be parts of an aircraft network data processing system.
Line-replaceable units may use software or programming to provide the logic or control for various operations and functions. Typically, software on an aircraft is treated as one or more separate parts or is combined with a hardware part and is unchangeable without changing the hardware part number. Aircraft software that is treated as an aircraft part may be referred to as a loadable aircraft software part or an aircraft software part. Aircraft software parts are parts of the configuration of an aircraft.
Aircraft operators are entities that operate aircraft. Aircraft operators also may be responsible for the maintenance and repair of aircraft. Examples of aircraft operators include airlines and military units. When an aircraft operator receives an aircraft, aircraft software parts may already be installed in the line-replaceable units on the aircraft.
An aircraft operator may also receive copies of loaded aircraft software parts in case the parts need to be reinstalled or reloaded into the line-replaceable units on the aircraft. Reloading of aircraft software parts may be required, for example, if a line-replaceable unit in which the software is used is replaced or repaired. Further, the aircraft operator also may receive updates to the aircraft software parts from time to time. These updates may include additional features not present in the currently-installed aircraft software parts and may be considered upgrades to one or more line-replaceable units. Specified procedures may be followed during loading of an aircraft software part on an aircraft such that the current configuration of the aircraft, including all of the aircraft software parts loaded on the aircraft, is known.
It may be desirable that only approved software and other data from trusted suppliers is used on an aircraft. Unapproved software and other data may include data that is corrupted, data that is infected with a virus, or other unapproved data. Unapproved software and other data may affect the operation of the aircraft in undesired ways.
Data processing networks may employ digital certificates in a public key infrastructure to ensure that only approved software and other data are used on the network. Such digital certificates also may be known as public key certificates or identity certificates. The digital certificates are issued by a certificate authority that is trusted by the network. The digital certificate identifies the source of the software or other data to the network in a manner that can be trusted. The network may use the digital certificate to determine whether or not the software or other data will be used on the network.
Current systems and methods for verifying the authenticity and integrity of software and other data for use on entirely ground-based computer networks may not be applied effectively to mobile systems, such as aircraft. The particular environment in which network data processing systems on aircraft are operated and maintained may make it difficult or impossible to use such current methods for validating software or other data for use on an aircraft network data processing system.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that takes into account one or more of the issues discussed above as well as possibly other issues.

Use of multiple digital signatures and quorum rules to verify aircraft information


A system and method for wireless transmission of high-definition audio and video signals include providing lossless raw video data wirelessly to a soundbar from a headunit to eliminate the multitude of wires that traditionally connect to a television in a home theater. In one embodiment, a wireless transmitter in the headunit transmits a wireless HDMI signal as the lossless raw video data.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to home theater systems and more particularly home theater systems with wireless audio and video capabilities.
2. Related Art
The popularity of liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions has increased over the last few years, partially due to the improved picture quality and the ability to mount the LCD televisions on walls. But, as with any television, there are numerous connections to audio/video components and content providers that typically require wired connections. These wires limit the placement of the audio/video components to within a few feet of the television and make for an unsightly mess of wires.
Newer televisions have been made with HDMI connectors and have associated copy protection provided by the HDMI standards. In order to get the highest quality digital picture from a device such as a Blue-ray disc, HDMI connections must be made between the television and all of the components. This results in HDMI cables being required from the audio/video component to the television. Thus, if the television is mounted on the wall there are only two approaches for cabling the television. The first approach is running a HDMI cable up the wall and results in an unsightly cable being visible. The other approach is running the HDMI cable in the wall. This requires changing the structure of the house and often requires a carpenter or electrician to actually do the work.
A problem exists relative to wire placement and the necessity of locating the audio/video components in relative close proximity to the television. Attempts to resolve the problem have included in-wall wiring approaches, such as A-bus and other wired Ethernet cabling system approaches or 900 Mhz wireless analog speaker and video approaches. All of these approaches fail to solve all of the cabling problems and maintain the encrypted HDMI signal that has the superior picture quality.
Therefore, there is a need for providing a wireless theater system in which HDMI signals are maintained while allowing audio/video components to be placed anywhere in a room while reducing the cabling connecting to a television or other display.

Harman International Industries, Incorporated


A method for preparing a liquid hydrocarbon from syngas. The method includes: 1) mixing crude syngas from a biomass gasifier and a hydrogen-rich gas to yield a mixed gas; 2) dehydrating and decarbonizing the mixed gas for removal of moisture, carbon dioxide, and impurities, to yield a fine syngas; 3) introducing the fine syngas to a Fischer-Tropsch synthesis device in the presence of a catalyst, controlling a reaction temperature of the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis at between 150 and 300° C. and a reaction pressure of between 2 and 4 MPa (A), to yield a liquid hydrocarbon and water which is discharged out of the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis device; and 4) returning 70-95 vol. % of exhaust gases from the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis device to step 3) to mix with the fine syngas, and introducing the resulting mixed gas to the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis device.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for preparing liquid hydrocarbons from syngas.
2. Description of the Related Art
The reforming procedure is a common step in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis process. Specifically, the raw gas is required to be reformed through a water-gas shift reaction: CO+H2O=>CO2+H2. However, the treated raw syngas still has low ratio of hydrogen to carbon, which cannot meet the requirement for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. In general, the treatment load of the water-gas shift reaction is heavy, which increases the production costs and reduces the production efficiency. And in addition, the produced exhaust gases are directly discharged, resulting in pollution and waste.

Method for preparing liquid hydrocarbons from syngas

Wuhan Kaidi Engineering Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd.


There is provided a micro-pump including: a bottom substrate; a flow path forming substrate coupled to the bottom substrate and including an inlet having a fluid introduced therein and an outlet having the fluid ejected therefrom; and a valve substrate coupled to the flow path forming substrate and including at least one valve controlling the fluid to be introduced and ejected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a micro-pump, and more particularly, to a micro-pump capable of uniformly supplying a small amount of fluid.
2. Description of the Related Art
Observation of a reaction between new drugs and a cell is required for developing new drugs and testing the stability thereof. In general, a reaction test between a drug and a cell is performed by using a culture dish, or the like.
However, since a reaction between a drug and a cell, occurring in the culture dish, is significantly different from a reaction between the drug and the cell, occurring inside a body, it may be difficult to accurately observe or examine a reaction between a drug and a cell only through a result of the test using the culture dish. Therefore, development of a new device that can observe the reaction between the drug and the cell in a similar environment to that of a body is required.
To this end, the applicant has developed a technology of circulating a culture medium. However, since a small amount of culture medium needs to be constantly supplied, for smoothly culturing the cell, the development of a micro-pump for uniformly supplying a small amount of fluid is needed.
Meanwhile, there are Patent Documents 1 and 2 as prior art inventions relating to micro-pumps. According to Patent Documents 1 and 2, a small amount of fluid may be moved by using driving force of a piezoelectric element. However, Patent Document 1 does not include a valve that completely blocks a fluid flow, which makes it difficult to transfer a quantitative amount of fluid. Unlike this, Patent Document 2 includes valves 5 and 6 provided in valve substrates 3 and 4, respectively, which makes it possible to transfer the quantitative amount of fluid; however, it is disadvantageously difficult to manufacture the valve substrates 3 and 4.


An apparatus and method for maintaining proper alignment of an iron-style golf club prior to and during installation of a handle grip includes generally U-shaped shaft supports and a biased, preferably gravity-driven, self-adjusting, leading edge alignment assembly creating a vertical plane defined by at least a pair of parallel horizontal rails positioned one over the other, the horizontal rails being slidable along inclined linear bearings to facilitate adjustment until the leading edge of the strike face of an iron-style club head contacts two of the rails to ensure vertical alignment. A clamp is further provided to lock a properly aligned iron-style golf club in place prior to installing a handle grip on the butt-end of the shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to providing handle grips on golf clubs and, more specifically, to a method and apparatus for ensuring a consistent alignment of golf clubs in a given set of iron-style clubs to ensure handle grips are installed with a similar orientation throughout the set of clubs.
2. Description of the Related Art
A well-known procedure for installing handle grips onto golf clubs includes first applying a double sided adhesive tape (known in the art as grip tape) to the handle (butt) end of a golf club shaft, second, covering the taped portion of the club shaft with an activating solvent, which not only activates the bonding of the handle grip to the tape, but also provides lubrication to facilitate the final step, which is installing the handle grip onto the taped portion of the shaft.
If handle grips were perfectly cylindrical and uniform, there would be no need to achieve a particular alignment of a golf club prior to installing a grip. However, modern handle grips for golf clubs typically have complex shapes, for example, they frequently include an interior axial "reminder" ridge that when the grip is installed on a cylindrical club shaft, results in a tear drop, ovalate shape to the grip that provides a golfer with a comfortable fit when holding the club. Golf club grips may also feature a logo or insignia identifying the manufacturer or model of the golf club, or have a repeating design. Additionally, they may include raised or grooved patterns, dimples, or other relief to provide tactile feedback in order to assist and assure the golfer's consistent and proper gripping of the club. Such complex designs for handle grips create a need for reliable, uniform means of alignment of the golf club just prior to and during installation of the grip so as to ensure consistent alignment of the grips relative to all the irons in a given set. This consistent alignment is important in order to achieve the club head's strike face's proper alignment to the target, and to avoid distractions to a golfer that might otherwise occur if different irons in a particular set of clubs had even slightly varying grip orientations relative to their corresponding club shafts.
One technique for aligning golf clubs to prepare for installing handle grips has been to simply clamp the shaft of the club using a vise-like device, as shown in Karns, U.S. Pat. No. 2,604,661. Because handle grips are typically installed at a late stage of manufacture of a golf club, usually after the permanent mounting of a club head to the club's shaft, a better technique for obtaining consistent alignment is to utilize the club head as a reference while positioning the overall club for installation of a handle grip. Hsu, U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,428, and Gore, U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,304, show handle grip mounting stations that use a head seat to align a club for grip installation.
There are several drawbacks associated with the alignment system disclosed in the prior art. For example, the design of the head seat in Gore (U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,304) is dependent on the shape of the particular club head to be seated therein, thus every different club head design requires a different head seat. Also, that alignment system does not compensate for varying shaft lengths. Another drawback is that because the shaft is not securely clamped, only a limited amount of force can be applied when installing a handle grip before the club will prematurely dislodge from the alignment system. Further, while the Hsu (U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,428) alignment system does have a shaft clamping means, it again has a seat design that is dependent on club head shape. Such head seats make multiple, unnecessary contact points with an iron club head, which can lead to undesired nicks, scratches, or gouges in the club head. If protective plastic is used over the club head prior to alignment, i.e. to avoid damaging the club head, the accuracy of the alignment with such prior head seats can be adversely effected, especially if the plastic is gathered.
Known alignment systems also suffer in that they require regular adjustment if they are to compensate for clubs of different lofts, different shaft lengths, and different offsets. Previously, the only means for adjustment has been to mount the head seat on horizontal and vertical sliding tracks. Thus, an operator has to adjust the head seat each time a club of different loft, length, or offset is to be gripped. This adversely effects production time. The only way to reduce production time with such a device is to provide grips on large quantities of a single loft of clubs, such as 3-irons, then reset the head seat for the next lofted clubs, i.e. 4-irons, and continue making adjustments in this fashion until all the different irons to be produced are gripped. Although this production system may reduce time spent adjusting the head seat, it creates a drain on valuable manufacturing floor space due to a need to stock large quantities of the respective club lofts, as opposed to cellular manufacturing procedures for assembling and completing sets of clubs as soon as each successive club for a given set of irons has been provided with a grip.

Apparatus and method for aligning a golf club for attaching a handle grip


Described is an alkali-free aluminoborosilicate glass with a viscosity of 10.sup.13 dPas at a temperature of above 700.degree.0 C., a processing temperature V.sub.A of less than 1220.degree.0 C., and very good chemical stability, which can be produced in a float unit and has the following composition, in % by weight based on oxide:. ______________________________________ SiO.sub.2 48 -- <55 B.sub.2 O.sub.3 7 -- 15 Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 >20 -- 26 MgO 0 -- 8 CaO 4 -- 12 BaO 0 -- 2 SrO 0 -- 2 ZnO 1 -- 8 ZrO.sub.2 0 -- 2 SnO.sub.2 0.5 -- 2 ______________________________________. The glass is especially suitable for use in display technology.

The requirements of a glass that is to be used in display technology, e.g., as a screen for a flat display, have been described in detail by W. H. Dumbaugh, P. L. Bocko and F. P. Fehlner ("Glasses for Flat-Panel Displays" in "High-Performance Glasses," edited by M. Cable and J. M. Parker, Blackie and Son Limited, Glasgow and London, 1992). The glasses that are available at this time for such uses are also listed in the article "Advanced Glass Substrates for Flat Panel Displays" by J. C. Lapp, P. L. Bocko and J. W. Nelson, Corning Research 1994.
Glasses that are to be used as substrates in LCDs (Liquid Crystal Displays), AMLCDs (Active Matrix Liquid Displays), TFELDs (Thin-Film Electroluminescent Displays) or PDPs (Plastic Display Panels) must have good resistance to thermal shock and good chemical stability with regard to reagents that are used in the production process of flat displays, and must be matched to the polycrystalline silicon as regards their thermal expansion behavior. In addition, these glasses should be as alkali-free as possible to keep integrated circuits, which can be placed directly on the glass substrate, from being "contaminated" by diffusing alkali ions. In this case, production-related proportions of sodium oxide can be tolerated up to a content of 1,000 ppm in the glass.
The glass panes that are suitable for the production of flat displays must have good dimensional stability at temperatures that occur in the production process, low shrinkage (compaction), and very good quality with regard to the absence of crystalline inclusions, knots, and bubbles.
Necessary properties of glasses for flat display uses are thus:
a thermal expansion coefficient .alpha..sub.20/300 of about 3.7.times.10.sup.-6 /K (for matching to polycrystalline silicon)
a viscosity of 10.sup.13 dPas at a temperature of above 700.degree. C. (for low compaction)
good chemical stability
low tendency toward devitrification.
The above-mentioned requirements are basically met by a commercially available glass (V1) which, according to an analysis, has approximately the following composition (in % by weight based on oxide): SiO.sub.2 57.7; B.sub.2 O.sub.3 8.4; Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 16.4: MgO 0.8; CaO 4.2; SrO 2.0; BaO 9.5; As.sub.2 O.sub.3 1.0. This glass is produced according to a special "overflow-fusion" process, which ensures the fabrication of thin glasses with high surface quality. The glasses that are suitable for this process, however, should exhibit only an extremely slight tendency toward crystallization, i.e., the liquidus temperature (any crystals that form dissolve again above this temperature) must lie considerably below the processing temperature V.sub.A (temperature for viscosity at 10.sup.4 dPas). This may also be the main reason for the very high V.sub.A value of this glass of >1,300.degree. C. The higher V.sub.A is, however, the faster the corrosion of the refractory materials advances, and the higher the primary energy costs in the gas production from the mixture.
Another drawback of the above-mentioned glass VI is the high proportion of arsenic oxide, which obviously is necessary as a refining agent for ensuring the required freedom from bubbles with the selected production process.
Apart from the fact that owing to the toxicity of arsenic oxide it is prudent to avoid the use of these glass components, the presence of arsenic oxide leads to the fact that such glasses cannot be drawn on a float unit since the reductive conditions that are present here (liquid tin, reductive protective gas atmosphere, generally forming gas) lead to precipitation of metallic arsenic, which imparts an undesirable gray hue to the glasses, making them unusable.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,496,401, glass composition ranges (% by weight based on oxide) that are similar to the composition of glass V1 are indicated for halogen light bulbs: SiO.sub.2 55-70; B.sub.2 O.sub.3 0-10 ; Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 13-25 ; alkaline-earth oxides 10-25 . No indications are given regarding refining, however. The thermal expansion values of these glasses are low; the temperatures for the viscosity of 10.sup.13 dPas are high. Their chemical stability is not described.
Japanese laid-open specification J 2-133 334 A describes alkali-free glasses for electronic components, which have good thermal stability, chemical stability, and optical homogeneity and have the following composition ranges (% by weight based on oxide): SiO.sub.2 54-60; B.sub.2 O.sub.3 6-10; Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 10-15 ; MgO 0-2 ; CaO 8-15 ; BaO 4-10 ; ZnO 1-6 ; TiO.sub.2 and/or ZrO.sub.2 0.3-4.
European laid-open specification EP 0 672 629 A2 describes aluminosilicate glasses for flat displays. It shows various composition ranges with various thermal expansion coefficients and different qualities relative to acid stability, which all require relatively large amounts of alkaline-earth oxides.
German laid-open specification DE-AS 20 58 210 describes borosilicate glasses that have separate phases and contain at least 55-70% by weight of SiO.sub.2, 1-8.3% by weight of B.sub.2 O.sub.3, 7-23% by weight of Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, and 6.7-16.5% by weight of MgO. These components ensure phase separation using heat treatment.

Alkali-free aluminoborosilicate glass and its use


A heat exchange system for a vehicle includes: a heat exchange module disposed at a rear, in a length direction, of a vehicle body, formed of a plurality of plate-shaped plates including a plurality of through-holes; a radiator installed at a front, in the length direction, of the vehicle body; a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) module disposed at the rear, including an air conditioning cases that includes an evaporator, an indoor condenser, and an opening/closing door provided therein; an electric compressor; a rear driving motor disposed at the rear; an autonomous driving controller disposed at the rear; and a switching valve including a first valve installed on a first refrigerant line, a second valve installed on a second refrigerant line; and a third valve installed on a third refrigerant line.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Generally, an electric vehicle is operated by using a driving motor that receives electricity from a battery module as a power source.
The electric vehicle does not emit carbon dioxide, has low noise, and energy efficiency of the driving motor thereof is higher than that of an internal combustion engine, so the electric vehicle is spotlighted as an environment-friendly vehicle.
A core technology in implementing the electric vehicle described above is a technology related to a battery module, and recently, studies on weight reduction, miniaturization, and reduction of charging time of the battery module have been actively conducted.
The battery module should be used in an
optimum temperature environment to maintain optimum performance and long life.
However, in a current situation, it is difficult to use the battery module in the optimal temperature environment due to heat generated during operation and external temperature change.
In addition, the electric vehicle does not have a waste heat source generated during combustion in an internal combustion engine like the internal combustion engine, so vehicle indoor heating in winter is performed with an electric heating device.
In addition, since the electric vehicle needs warm-up to improve battery charging/discharging performance in cold weather, a separate coolant heating type of electric heater is provided.
In other words, the electric vehicle employs a technology of operating a cooling/heating system for temperature control of the battery module separately from a cooling/heating system for indoor air conditioning of the vehicle in order to maintain the optimal temperature environment of the battery module.
That is, the electric vehicle according to the prior art has two independent cooling and heating systems, one used for indoor cooling and heating, and the other used for temperature control of the battery module.
The cooling and heating system for the electric vehicle according to the prior art has a disadvantage of increased number of parts, a large installation space, and increased weight of the vehicle.
In the electric vehicle according to the prior art, the increased weight is directly related to the fuel economy.
On the other hand, recently, as well as the electric vehicle, there is a trend that an autonomous driving controller is added even to a vehicle of a general specification, and the autonomous driving controller is a fundamental component of vehicle control.
Like the battery module, such an autonomous driving controller desires a cooling and heating system so that it may operate in a guaranteed temperature range.
A heater core is provided inside a heat, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) module for the purpose of effectively cooling and heating the autonomous driving controller as described above.
The heater core serves to increase a temperature of air for air conditioning by heat-exchanging a coolant heated by a heater with air flowing through the inside of the HVAC module.
In this case, the HVAC module is connected to a main heat exchanger, a receiver dryer, an expansion valve, an accumulator, a compressor, and the like through a refrigerant line.
The inside of the HVAC module is provided with an opening/closing door which controls the air passing through the evaporator to selectively flow into an indoor condenser and the heater core according to a cooling mode, a heating mode, and a dehumidifying mode of the vehicle.
The opening/closing door is opened so that outside air passing through the evaporator flows into the indoor condenser and the heater core in the heating mode of the vehicle.
Conversely, the opening/closing door at the indoor condenser and heater core side is closed so that outside air cooled while passing through the evaporator in the cooling mode of the vehicle is directly introduced into the vehicle.
Most of the HVAC modules according to the prior art are disposed in front of the vehicle in which the engine room is installed based on the length of the vehicle body as desired, and when the HVAC module is disposed at the rear side of the vehicle in which the trunk is positioned, since it is inevitable to adopt a method of branching and extending the refrigerant line from the cooling system disposed in the engine room, the performance of the rear HVAC module may be degraded, resulting in a decreased efficiency.
In consideration of the above-described disadvantages, we have discovered that research and development of a heat exchange system that improves the cooling and heating of the HVAC module disposed at the rear of the vehicle, and the cooling efficiency and performance of the autonomous driving controller disposed at the rear of the vehicle corresponding thereto are desired.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the disclosure, and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.


The invention allows the relaxation of the precision of fitting the inner lid to the cap body while making removal of the inner lid more reliable. In the bottle unit of the tire puncture repair kit that has an extraction cap attached to the mouth portion of the bottle container, the extraction cap is provided with: a first flow channel for taking in compressed air from a compressor into the bottle container; a second flow channel for successively taking out the puncture repair liquid and compressed air from the bottle container; and first and second closing means for closing the first and second flow channels in the pre-coupling state. The extraction cap is provided with a release means for releasing the second closing means and opening the second flow channel when connection occurs.

For example, the following patent document 1 describes a bottle unit (c) for a puncture repair kit with an extraction cap (b) attached to a mouth portion (a1) of a bottle container (a), as shown in FIG. 8.
The extraction cap (b) for use in the bottle unit (c) includes a cap body (g) including a first flow channel (e) and a second flow channel (f), and an inner lid (h) to simultaneously close the first and second flow channels (e) and (f). The first flow channel (e) is to take in the compressed air from (a) compressor (d) into the bottle container (a). The second flow channel (f) is to sequentially take out the puncture repair liquid and the compressed air from the bottle container (a).
Specifically, the cap body (g) includes a boss portion (g2) extending upward from a bottom surface of a fitting recess portion (g1) to screw thereto the mouth portion (a1) of the bottle container (a). Upper opening portions (e1) and (f1) respectively for the first and second flow channels (e) and (f) communicate with an upper surface of the boss portion (g2). The inner lid (h) integrally includes an inner lid body (ha) to fit to an outer peripheral surface of the boss portion (g2), and a plug shank portion (hb) to fit into the upper opening portion (f1).
The bottle unit (c), prior to use, is subjected to on-vehicle storage with the first and second flow channels (e) and (f) closed by the inner lid (h). At the time of a puncture repair, the extraction cap (b) in this state is to be piped to operate the compressor (d). This allows the compressed air to flow through the first flow channel (e) into the inner lid body (ha), and upon an increase in internal pressure therein, the inner lid (h) is to automatically come off to open the first and second flow channels (e) and (f).
Accordingly, the inner lid (h) needs not to come off during the storage, and needs to easily come off under the compressed air at the time of the puncture repair. It therefore becomes necessary to enhance precision in fitting dimension between the inner lid (h) and the cap body (g) to control with high precision an interlocking force between the inner lid (h) and the cap body (g).
However, the conventional structure requires that both the inner lid body (ha) and the plug shank portion (hb) be subjected to fitting, and hence interlocking variations occur in both. Therefore, still higher precision is needed for the fitting dimension, thus causing a drop in yield rate and an increase in process costs for a product inspection process.
Additionally, the inner lid (h) needs simultaneous release in the fitting of the inner lid body (ha) and the fitting of the plug shank portion (hb). For example, when the plug shank portion (hb) is first about to come off to cause a gap, the compressed air in the inner lid body (ha) leaks from the gap to the second flow channel (f). Consequently, the internal pressure of the inner lid body (ha) stops increasing. On the other hand, when the inner lid body (ha) is first about to come off to cause a gap, the compressed air leaks from the gap into the bottle container (a) and the pressure in the bottle container (a) increases. Consequently, a pressure difference between the inside and outside of the inner lid body (ha) is reduced. As a result, in either case, the inner lid (h) does not separate from the boss portion (g2). Thus, the inner lid body (ha) and the plug shank portion (hb) need to come off simultaneously. That is, it is required to ensure the high precision in the fitting dimension between the inner lid body (ha) and the plug shank portion (hb).


Power is supplied to an information handling system chipset with a single voltage regulator having dual phases. A first phase of the voltage regulator provides power to a low power state power rail in an independent mode to support a low power state, such as a suspend or hibernate state. A second phase of the voltage regulator provides power to a run power state power rail in combination with the first phase by activation of a switch, such as a MOSFET load switch, that connects the low power state power rail and the run power state power rail. Voltage sensed from both power rails is applied to control voltage output so that the run power state power rail is maintained within more precise constraints than the low power state power rail.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system power subsystems, and more particularly to a system and method for powering an information handling system in multiple power states.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Portable information handling systems have gained widespread acceptance among consumers as a replacement for desktop systems. Portable information handling systems integrate into a common housing a display, such as an LCD, power source, such as a battery, and I/O devices, such as a keyboard, mouse and wireless network interface card. Integration of these devices allows a portable information handling system to operate free from physical assets, such as peripheral display devices and external AC power sources. One difficulty that accompanies portable information handling system use is that the internal battery power source has a limited charge so that continuous operation of the system requires periodic recharge of the battery with an external AC-to-DC adapter. In an attempt to reduce power consumption, portable information handling systems typically employ a variety of low power states that reduce power consumption. Four common power states used by information handling systems are an on state (S0) with full power applied to all components, a standby or suspend state (S3) with power applied to RAM to maintain an active operating system for rapid power-up to the on state, a hibernate state (S4) where the active operating system and open data files stored on a hard disk drive for essentially zero power consumption and allows for a quick power-up to an on state, and an off state (S5) with no power applied. In order to save power in the standby and hibernate states, power supply rails are typically turned off in those power states to at least some components. For example, the chipset receives different amounts of power based on the power state of the information handling system.
FIG. 1 depicts an example of a conventional voltage regulator that supports reduced power states in supplying power to a chipset. A "run" power rail is active along with a "suspend" power rail when the information handling system is in an S0 "on" power state. A MOSFET load switch PQ5 prevents load current passing to components on the "run" power rail when the information handling system is in a reduced power state while load current continues to a "suspend" or "reduced power state" power rail. Typically, each power rail is built in one of plural planes of a printed circuit board, such as a motherboard. Newer generation portable CPU chipset current requirements have increased to as much as 25 Amps on some "run" rails while voltage tolerances have tightened from +/−5% to +/−2%. Therefore, for example, a 1.1 Volt rail only allows +/−22 mVolts of variation over a load range of 25 Amps as compared with previous generation variations of +/−55 mVolts. The combination of higher output and tighter tolerances has made the use of a MOSFET switch PQ5 as depicted in FIG. 1 impractical since even a high quality 2.5 mOhm MOSFET will drop 63 mVolts over a 25 Amp load range. In addition, such a MOSFET dissipates greater than 1.5 Watts of power, which increases power consumption and MOSFET thermal concerns. To avoid the use of MOSFET load switches, industry has shifted to the use of two independent switching voltage regulators as depicted in FIG. 2. A single phase voltage regulator supports a suspend reduced power state by providing power to a suspend rail while an independent two phase voltage regulator provides power to a run power rail. The 25 Amp run requirement requires the use of a two phase voltage regulator so that adequate power and load regulation are available and so that an acceptable regulator efficiency may be achieved in order to meet thermal design requirements.

System and method for powering an information handling system in multiple power states