A magnet mounting apparatus including a cage, a magnet carriage and first actuator for use in testing Magnetic Tunnel Junction (MTJ) devices. The cage can be configured for mounting to an Automated Test Equipment (ATE). The magnet carriage can be configured for coupling to a wafer test magnet. The first actuator can be coupled between the cage and the magnet carriage. The first actuator can be configured to move the magnet carriage between a first position and a second position along a z-axis. The first position can be configured for locating the wafer test magnet within a predetermined proximity to a Device Under Test (DUT) wafer, and the second position can be configured for replacing a probe card.

Computing systems have made significant contributions toward the advancement of modern society and are utilized in a number of applications to achieve advantageous results. Numerous devices, such as desktop personal computers (PCs), laptop PCs, tablet PCs, netbooks, smart phones, servers, and the like have facilitated increased productivity and reduced costs in communicating and analyzing data in most areas of entertainment, education, business, and science. One common aspect of computing systems is the memory subsystem that is used to store data. Computing systems may include one or more types of memory, such as volatile random-access memory, non-volatile flash memory, and the like.
An emerging non-volatile memory technology is Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM). In MRAM devices, data can be stored in the magnetization orientation between ferromagnetic layers. Typically, if the ferromagnetic layers have the same magnetization polarization, the cell will exhibit a relatively low resistance value corresponding to a '1' bit state; while if the magnetization polarization between the two ferromagnetic layers is antiparallel the memory cell will exhibit a relatively high resistance value corresponding to a '0' bit state. Because the data is stored in the magnetic fields, MRAM devices are non-volatile memory devices. MRAM devices are characterized by densities similar to Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DRAM), power consumption similar to flash memory, and speed similar to Static Random-Access Memory (SRAM).
MRAM devices typically employ an array of Magnetic Tunnel Junctions (MTJs). The MTJs can include two ferromagnetic layers separate by a thin insulator layer. Electrons can tunnel from one ferromagnetic layer into the other. However, the orientation of the magnetization on the ferromagnetic layers affects the rate of electron tunneling such that the junction can be switched between a low resistance state and a high resistance state.
When testing MTJ devices, a probe card can be coupled to the MTJ devices on a wafer for sending and receiving signals for testing features of the MTJ devices. The probe card can include a plurality of contacts, pins or the like for making electrical connection between an Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) and wafers under test. The contacts, pins or other electrical connections on the probe card typically wear out over time and therefore the probe card may need to be replaced periodically. In addition, when different devices are tested on an ATE, a different probe card may be needed for the different devices. When testing MTJ devices, a magnet is typically placed over the wafer to induce a magnetic field in the MTJ devices. The applied magnetic field can be used to test features of the MTJ device. The control of the applied magnetic field is important to the reporting of accurate and reproducible test result. However, the magnet may interfere with replacement of the probe card, which can slow down production testing of wafers. The magnet may also need to be realigned with the wafer after each time the probe card is replaced to provide for accurate test results, which can also slow down production testing of wafers. Accordingly, there is a continuing need for improved test devices, systems and methods for use with MTJ devices.

Magnet mounting apparatus for MTJ device testers


A method of controlling a plasma are torch in cutting or marking a workpiece along a path of travel having a starting point and stopping point in accordance with a predetermined program and in which an arc extinguish order in issued at a predetermined point or location on the path of travel spaced upstream of the stopping point a distance determined by the speed or velocity of the torch and the arc extinguish delay time between issuance of the arc extinguish order and actual extinguishment of the arc so that the arc is extinguished at the precise instant the torch arrives at the stopping point.

The use of plasma arc torches to cut workpieces is well-known. It is also known to provide control systems for such plasma arc torches which control the operation of the torches such that the torches establish an arc between the torch and the workpiece at a starting point, move along a predetermined path of travel in accordance with the pattern in which the workpiece is to be cut, and stop such movement at a stopping point and extinguish the arc. In such control systems, the order to extinguish the arc is not issued by the control system program until the torch has reached the stopping point and ceased its movement. During the time delay between issuance of the extinguish order and actual extinguishment of the arc, there usually is a voltage increase which results in waste of electrode material and other undesirable effects.
Plasma arc torches may also be used to mark, but not cut, workpieces by forming a shallow groove in the surface of the workpiece. With previous control systems, plasma arc torches could not be used effectively for precision marking because the torches were not extinguished at the precise end or stopping point of the marking and formed a deeper dimple or hole at the end of the marking.

Method of controlling a plasma arc cutting torch


A method of encoding a video signal representing a sequence of pictures, the method comprising comparing a first picture with a second picture, calculating a measure of the similarity between the first and the second pictures, comparing the measure of similarity with a predetermined criterion of similarity and, when the measure of similarity does not meet the predetermined criterion of similarity, outputting an indicator indicating that a non-temporally predictive error concealment method should be used by a subsequent decoder and, when the measure of similarity meets the predetermined criterion of similarity, outputting an indicator indicating that a temporally predictive error concealment method should be used by a subsequent decoder.

This invention relates to video coding and in particular to concealing artefacts introduced by errors.
A video sequence consists of a series of still pictures or frames. Video compression methods are based on reducing the redundant and perceptually irrelevant parts of video sequences. The redundancy in video sequences can be categorized into spectral, spatial and temporal redundancy. Spectral redundancy refers to the similarity between the different colour components of the same picture. Spatial redundancy results from the similarity between neighbouring pixels in a picture. Temporal redundancy exists because objects appearing in a previous image are also likely to appear in the current image. Compression can be achieved by taking advantage of this temporal redundancy and predicting the current picture from another picture, termed an anchor or reference picture. Further compression is achieved by generating motion compensation data that describes the motion between the current picture and the reference picture.
However, sufficient compression cannot usually be achieved by only reducing the inherent redundancy of the sequence. Thus, video encoders also try to reduce the quality of those parts of the video sequence which are subjectively less important. In addition, the redundancy of the encoded bit-stream is reduced by means of efficient lossless coding of compression parameters and coefficients. The main technique is to use variable length codes.
Video compression methods typically differentiate between pictures that utilise temporal redundancy reduction and those that do not. Compressed pictures that do not utilise temporal redundancy reduction methods are usually called INTRA or I-frames or I-pictures. Temporally predicted images are usually forwardly predicted from a picture occurring before the current picture and are called INTER or P-frames. In the INTER frame case, the predicted motion-compensated picture is rarely precise enough and therefore a spatially compressed prediction error frame is associated with each INTER frame. INTER pictures may contain INTRA-coded areas.
Many video compression schemes also use temporally bi-directionally predicted frames, which are commonly referred to as B-pictures or B-frames. B-pictures are inserted between anchor picture pairs of I- and/or P-frames and are predicted from either one or both of these anchor pictures. B-pictures normally yield increased compression as compared with forward-predicted pictures. B-pictures are not used as anchor pictures, i.e., other pictures are not predicted from them. Therefore they can be discarded (intentionally or unintentionally) without impacting the picture quality of future pictures. Whilst B-pictures may improve compression performance as compared with P-pictures, their generation requires greater computational complexity and memory usage, and they introduce additional delays. This may not be a problem for non-real time encoding such as video streaming but may cause problems in real-time applications such as video-conferencing.
A compressed video clip typically consists of a sequence of pictures, which can be roughly categorized into temporally independent INTRA pictures and temporally differentially coded INTER pictures. Since the compression efficiency in INTRA pictures is normally lower than in INTER pictures, INTRA pictures are used sparingly, especially in low bit-rate applications.
A video sequence may consist of a number of scenes or shots. The picture contents may be remarkably different from one scene to another, and therefore the first picture of a scene is typically INTRA-coded. There are frequent scene changes in television and film material, whereas scene cuts are relatively rare in video conferencing. In addition, INTRA pictures are typically inserted to stop temporal propagation of transmission errors in a reconstructed video signal and to provide random access points to a video bit-stream.
Compressed video is easily corrupted by transmission errors, mainly for two reasons. Firstly, due to utilisation of temporal predictive differential coding (INTER frames), an error is propagated both spatially and temporally. In practice this means that, once an error occurs, it is easily visible to the human eye for a relatively long time. Especially susceptible are transmissions at low bit-rates where there are only a few INTRA-coded frames, so temporal error propagation is not stopped for some time. Secondly, the use of variable length codes increases the susceptibility to errors. When a bit error alters the codeword, the decoder will lose codeword synchronisation and also decode subsequent error-free codewords (comprising several bits) incorrectly until the next synchronisation (or start) code. A synchronisation code is a bit pattern which cannot be generated from any legal combination of other codewords and such codes are added to the bit stream at intervals to enable resynchronisation. In addition, errors occur when data is lost during transmission. For example, in video applications using the unreliable UDP transport protocol in IP networks, network elements may discard parts of the encoded video bit-stream.
There are many ways for the receiver to address the corruption introduced in the transmission path. In general, on receipt of a signal, transmission errors are first detected and then corrected or concealed by the receiver. Error correction refers to the process of recovering the erroneous data perfectly as if no errors had been introduced in the first place. Error concealment refers to the process of concealing the effects of transmission errors so that they are hardly visible in the reconstructed video sequence. Typically some amount of redundancy is added by the source or transport coding in order to help error detection, correction and concealment. Error concealment techniques can be roughly classified into three categories: forward error concealment, error concealment by post-processing and interactive error concealment. The term "forward error concealment" refers to those techniques in which the transmitter side adds redundancy to the transmitted data to enhance the error resilience of the encoded data. Error concealment by post-processing refers to operations at the decoder in response to characteristics of the received signals. These methods estimate the correct representation of erroneously received data. In interactive error concealment, the transmitter and receiver co-operate in order to minimize the effect of transmission errors. These methods heavily utilise feedback information provided by the receiver. Error concealment by post-processing can also be referred to as passive error concealment whereas the other two categories represent forms of active error concealment.
There are numerous known concealment algorithms, a review of which is given by Y. Wang and Q.-F. Zhu in "Error Control and Concealment for Video Communication: A Review", Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 86, No. 5, May 1998, pp. 974–997 and an article by P. Salama, N. B. Shroff, and E. J. Delp, "Error Concealment in Encoded Video," submitted to IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications.
Current video coding standards define a syntax for a self-sufficient video bit-stream. The most popular standards at the time of writing are ITU-T Recommendation H.263, "Video coding for low bit rate communication", February 1998; ISO/IEC 14496-2, "Generic Coding of Audio-Visual Objects. Part 2: Visual", 1999 (known as MPEG-4); and ITU-T Recommendation H.262 (ISO/IEC 13818-2) (known as MPEG-2). These standards define a hierarchy for bit-streams and correspondingly for image sequences and images.
To assist in error concealment, the MPEG-2 video coding standard allows for the transmission of motion vectors for INTRA macroblocks within INTRA pictures. These motion vectors are used only for error concealment, as follows: if an INTRA macroblock is lost (or corrupted), the decoder uses the motion vectors belonging to the macroblock above the lost one to get resembling blocks from a reference picture. If the INTRA macroblock does not contain motion information, the decoder conceals the errors with a spatial algorithm.
In H.263, the syntax has a hierarchical structure with four layers: picture, picture segment, macroblock, and block layer. The picture layer data contain parameters affecting the whole picture area and the decoding of the picture data. Most of this data is arranged in a so-called picture header.
The picture segment layer can either be a group of blocks layer or a slice layer. By default, each picture is divided into groups of blocks. A group of blocks (GOB) typically comprises 16 successive pixel lines. Data for each GOB consists of an optional GOB header followed by data for macroblocks. If the optional slice structured mode is used, each picture is divided into slices instead of GOBs. A slice contains a number of successive macroblocks in scan-order. Data for each slice consists of a slice header followed by data for the macroblocks.
Each GOB or slice is divided into macroblocks. A macroblock relates to 16×16 pixels (or 2×2 blocks) of luminance and the spatially corresponding 8×8 pixels (or block) of chrominance components. A block relates to 8×8 pixels of luminance or chrominance.
Block layer data consist of uniformly quantised discrete cosine transform coefficients, which are scanned in zigzag order, processed with a run-length encoder and coded with variable length codes. MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 layer hierarchies resemble that used in H.263.
In H.263, the issue of error concealment is typically perceived as a post-processing function and is generally left to the decoder. In ITU-T Study Group 16 Question 15 documents no. 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 & 22, presented at the Ninth meeting of ITU-T Study Group 16 in New Jersey in the USA in October 1999, it is proposed to add normative language to H.263 to specify several error concealment techniques and to define a signalling mechanism by which an encoder can announce this to a decoder, preferably on a picture-by-picture basis.
However this approach is unduly restrictive on the decoder since the error concealment method to be used by the decoder is specified by the encoder. Thus other concealment methods cannot be used, even if the decoder has these methods available to use.


An apparatus and method for processing substrates are provided. The apparatus includes a first processing unit and a second processing unit. A substrate holder is vertically displaceable over the first processing unit, and is guided outside the first and second processing units. In a raised position of the substrate holder relative to the first processing unit, the second processing unit is movable between the substrate holder and the first processing unit.

The present invention relates to a device for processing substrates, in particular semiconductor wafers, with a first processing unit and a substrate holder that is vertically movable above the first processing unit, and furthermore relates to a method for processing substrates, in particular semiconductor wafers, in which a substrate holder carrying a substrate is moved into a processing position above a first processing unit, a first substrate processing is performed, and the substrate holder is raised vertically after the first substrate processing.
Apparatus and methods of this type are known, for instance, from U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,310, which has a processing bowl and a cover arranged vertically movable thereabove, which cover is embodied as a substrate holder. In the known apparatus and method, a wafer carried by the cover is introduced into the processing bowl, processed, and after the processing and subsequent raising of the cover, is removed from the cover by a substrate handling apparatus. Thus, in this apparatus it is necessary to use the substrate handling apparatus to move the wafer to an additional processing unit for a subsequent wafer processing and to use another substrate holder if one is required.
Each time the substrate is handled, however, there is a risk that it will be damaged. In addition, as a rule there is limited space available for the handling units. Furthermore, providing two independent processing units requires a large amount of space. Finally, the substrate must frequently be transported when wet, which can lead to a higher incidence of contamination problems.
Known from JP-10-4079 A is another apparatus for processing substrates. In this apparatus, a substrate to be processed is placed on a substrate holder located thereunder, which substrate holder can be moved vertically via a shaft below it. The shaft extends through the bottom of a first processing device and positions the substrate holder in the first processing device in a first step. Then the substrate holder and the substrate are raised vertically out of the first processing apparatus and a second, two-part processing device is moved from the side around the substrate holder so that a second processing apparatus is formed above the first processing apparatus. The second processing device must be sealed in the area of the shaft and in the area of the interface of the two parts of the processing device, which substantially complicates the movement control for these parts and substantially increases the costs associated therewith.
Known from DE 196 526 A are an apparatus and a method for processing substrates in a fluid container, whereby a cover for receiving the substrates can be positioned above the fluid container. The cover has a device that guides and holds the substrate, which ensures that the substrate is transported safely within the cover.
Known from JP 6-163 505 A is a semiconductor substrate cleaning apparatus in which a plurality of fixed chambers are arranged vertically one above the other and which can be sequentially fitted with substrates.
JP 10-242 106 A suggests an apparatus in which a bowl receiving a substrate can be moved along a track and can be connected to various processing fluid connections in order to perform various processing procedures within the same bowl.
Starting with the state of the art as stated in the foregoing, in particular JP-10-4079 A, the object of the present invention is therefore to provide an apparatus that reduces the handling steps between various substrate processing procedures in a simple and economical manner and that eliminates sealing problems between multi-part processing devices.
Starting with the apparatus known from JP-10-4079 A, this object is achieved in that the substrate holder is guided outside of the first and second processing units, and the second processing unit is a single or unitary part. This simplifies the structure of the processing units, since the guiding does not extend through the processing bowls and thus it is not necessary to have a seal on the shaft of the substrate holder. Furthermore, because the processing device is one, i.e. a unitary, part the sealing problems are eliminated in the area of the interface between different parts of a processing unit. The apparatus is thus simpler and more cost-effective in terms of structure. In addition, media contamination due to media adhering to the shaft is prevented.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the second processing unit can be moved in a straight line, while in another embodiment it pivots.
Advantageously, the second processing unit has a rinsing apparatus. Substrates, especially semiconductor wafers, must be rinsed frequently during a manufacturing process comprising a plurality of steps, and must especially be rinsed after certain processing steps, so that a rinsing apparatus is useful as a second processing unit above a first processing unit. In accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the second processing unit has a drying apparatus. Given a preceding wet processing procedure, it is particularly important that the substrate that has been processed is dried in a controlled manner as rapidly as possible in a drying apparatus, that is, without it first having to be transported by a handling apparatus. It is particularly advantageous when the second processing unit includes a combined rinse/dry apparatus.
In another embodiment of the present invention, one part of the substrate holder can be placed on the second processing unit. When the substrate holder comprises two parts, placing a part of the substrate holder on the second processing unit makes it possible to set down one of the parts while the other is raised in order to provide access to the substrate.
In another particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one additional, third processing unit and one second substrate holder that is vertically moveable above the third processing unit are provided, whereby the second processing unit is movable in a raised position of the second substrate holder between the second substrate holder and the third processing unit. By providing a third processing unit, the movable second processing unit can be alternately used for the first and third processing unit, so that additional space savings can be achieved since the second processing unit is used with two other processing units. In addition, this results in cost savings since the need for one of the processing units is obviated.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, it is also possible to provide more than two processing units, for example, arranged in a circle, which units are operated similarly one after the other by a common processing unit that is located, for instance, in the center of the other processing unit.
In order to prevent the processing procedures of the first and third processing units from affecting one another due to the mutual use of the second substrate holder, in that, for instance, contaminants from one processing unit are conveyed to the other, the first and third processing units are essentially identical. The first and third processing units can also be different when there is no risk of contamination due to the mutual use of the second processing unit.
Advantageously, the second processing unit can be moved to a rest position between the first and third processing units, in which rest position the second processing unit does not perform any processing and also does not affect or overlap the first or third processing unit. The rest position need not necessarily be situated between the first and third processing unit. It is also possible to move the second processing unit into any position in which it does not affect or overlap the first or third processing unit.
In accordance with a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first processing unit is a metal plating unit. A handling apparatus for loading and unloading the substrate holder is advantageously provided.
The object of the present invention is achieved in a method for processing substrates, in particular semiconductor wafers, that has the following method steps: moving a substrate holder carrying a substrate to a processing position above a first processing unit; performing a first substrate processing; raising the substrate holder after the first substrate processing; moving a second processing unit between the raised substrate holder and the first processing unit; and performing a second substrate processing realized in that the substrate holder is guided outside of the first and second processing units and the second processing unit is a single part. This method results in the same advantages that were enumerated in the foregoing with respect to the apparatus. Preferred embodiments of the inventive method result from the subordinate claims, again resulting in the advantages enumerated in the foregoing with respect to the apparatus.

Apparatus and method for processing substrates


The present invention is directed to a latch actuating device that includes a handle and a base. The handle has a cavity that houses a lockset, a drive cam, and a driven cam. The drive cam has a protrusion that is removably received within a locking receptacle in the base so as to permit and restrict rotation of the handle with respect to the base. The drive cam causes the driven cam to translate along a rotational axis of the drive cam when the drive cam is rotated by the lockset, thus effectuating the insertion and retraction of the protrusion with respect to the locking receptacle.

The present invention relates generally to a latch actuating device that is used to actuate a latch for releasably sealing a door. Generally speaking, in one embodiment the latch actuating device includes a handle that is housed within a base. The handle is rotatable with respect to the base when in an unlocked position. There is a driven cam within the handle that translates along the body of the handle, i.e., along the axis of rotation of the handle, when the lockset is actuated, e.g., by a key. Thus, the rotation of the key rotates a tail of the lockset, thus causing the driven cam to translate along the housing and insert a protrusion into a locking receptacle of the base. There is a drive cam between the driven cam and the tail that engages the tail.
The Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and after-market manufacturers in the light truck and utility truck industries use a variety of handle actuated latches that secure doors and panels to storage areas contained on vehicles. This latch actuating device focuses on a common latching device known as a T-handle. The handles include a variety of key actuated tumbler locksets that offer a range of sophistication. A growing trend is to include locksets that offer the ability to mechanically program numerous locksets on one vehicle with one key configuration. This type of lockset is commonly called a codeable lockset. This invention uniquely provides features and benefits for use with codeable or traditional locksets.


A plasma torch for the treatment of gases of particles, or for the deposition of particles onto a substrate, which has two concentrical electrodes coaxially mounted onto a support. The gases or particles to be treated or deposited are injected through an injection passage that is coaxial with the central electrode and opens centrally into an outlet nozzle so as to inject the gases or particles centrally and coaxially within the center of the flame torch without unduly affecting the characteristics of the plasma. In use, the central electrode extends well downstream of the peripheral electrode, whereby the electric arc may not block the injection passage. Moreover, a magnetic field is generated externally to the electrodes in the direction parallel to the annular passage defined between the electrodes in order to rotate the electric arc within the passage and thus reduces the erosion of the electrodes while ensuring better heating of the plasma gas.

a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma torch particularly well adapted for the treatment of gases and/or particles and for the deposition of particles onto a substrate.
b) Brief Description of the Prior Art
It has been known for years to use plasma torches for the treatment of gases and/or particles, or for the deposition of particles onto a substrate. Thus, plasma torches can be used for the deposition onto a substrate of one or more layers of particles of different sizes to form, for example, a coating of ceramic particles. Plasma toches can also be used for the treatment of ceramic layers already deposited on a substrate. Plasma torches may further be used for the production or purification of gases and/or particles, in particular ceramic particles, by solid/gas or gas/gas reaction. The particles and/or gases that are injected into the plasma or put in contact therewith, chemically react or are physically modified during their displacement before being deposited onto the substrate, collected in a crucible or recovered.
In most of the plasma torches presently used for the treatment of gases and/or particles or for the deposition of particles onto a substrate, the gases or particles to be treated or deposited are radially injected into the flame. In the case of particles, such an injection calls for a substantial amount of a bearing gas that is usually at ambient temperature, viz. at a temperature substantially different from the temperature of the flame. In practice, this results in a substantial reduction in the temperature of the plasma and consequently in the heat transfer that is required between the plasma and the particles to be deposited, treated or reacted. This also affects the arc voltage. Moreover, radial injection of the particles into the flame causes a segregation of said particles as a function of their sizes, the larger particles having different residence times and heating than the smaller ones. This results in a non-uniform heating of the particles and in poor coatings. In this connection, reference can be made to the preamble of the article of Daniel R. Marantz, entitled "Electromagnetically coalesced multi-arc plasma torch with true axial powder feed" (Thermo Spray Research and Application, Proceedings on the third National Thermo Spray conference, Long Beach, Calif. May 20 to 25, 1990).
To overcome this problem, it has already been suggested to inject the gases and/or particles directly in the middle of the flame. This solution is proposed in the above mentioned article of Daniel R. Marantz, which discloses an apparatus comprising a plurality of plasma torches of conventional structure, which are equally distributed along a circle in such a manner that their flames converge to a same place where the gases or particles to be treated or deposited, are injected.
The main problem with this particular arrangement it that the gases or particles are not injected in the middle of a ring of plasma, but between a plurality of plasma flames whose temperatures, flow rates and viscosities may be different. As a result, the distribution of the injected gases or particles within the flame may be very bad, thereby leading to products or coatings of very bad quality.
In this connection, it is worth mentioning that, due to its flow rate, speed and temperature, the flame of a plasma torch has a given viscosity which can make the injection and the mixing of another gas or particles with the plasma very difficult and/or the distribution of particles within the flame, very irregular.
To tentatively solve this other problem, it has been suggested by another author, Yoshiaki ARATA, in an article entitled "New Technology for processing and evaluating thermo-spray coatings", to use a new kind of plasma torch comprising electrodes that are concentrically mounted to define between them an annular passage which opens into an outlet nozzle. This particular arrangement allows for a much better distribution of gases or particles in the flame, because the gases or particles are injected in the middle of the plasma tunnel that is created when the plasma gas is injected in the annular passage. The gases or particles that are injected in the middle of the plasma tunnel are "sucked in" by the plasma and are thus very well distributed within the flame. However, this arrangement where the central electrode is short and extends upstream of the peripheral electrode, has proved to be a source of problem. Indeed, in such a case, the gases or particles are injected into the arc, thereby interfering with the characteristics of the plasma formed by this arc. It has also been found that the arc, depending on its position, may even "block" the outlet through which the particles are injected into the flame, due to the melting of the coming particles or even the electrode tip.

Plasma torch for the treatment of gases and/or particles and for the deposition of particles onto a substrate


In order to improve the ease of operation of a conventional walk-through system using panoramic photographic images, a system is provided with a view calculating unit for calculating view information in accordance with a user instruction from an operation unit, the view information including view position information and view direction information; a panoramic image storing unit for storing a plurality of panoramic images; a path storing unit for storing path information of the panoramic images; an allowable path calculating unit for calculating allowable path information at a next dividing point in accordance with the view information and the path information; and an image generating unit for generating a cut-out image from the panoramic image in accordance with the view information, generating a sign figure representative of the allowable path in accordance with the allowable path information, and synthesizing the cut-out image and the sign figure to generate a display image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to walk-throughs in a virtual space.
2. Related Background Art
An approach has been proposed in which a real space is photographed with an image pickup apparatus mounted on a moving body, and in accordance with the taken photography image data, the photographed real space is rendered into a virtual space by using a computer. For example, refer to "Building Image-Based Cybercities By Using Vehicle-Mounted Cameras," by Endo, Katayama, Tamura, Hirose, Watanabe and Tanigawa (SINGAKU SOCIETY, PA-3-4, pp. 276-277, 1997), "Building Image-Based Cybercities By Using Vehicle-Mounted Cameras (2),—Generation Of Wide-Range Virtual Environment By Using Photorealistic Images—," by Hirose, Watanabe, Tanigawa, Endo, Katayama and Tamura (Papers of Second Meeting of Japan Virtual Reality Society, pp. 67-70, 1997), and the like.
As an approach to photographing a real space with an image pickup apparatus mounted on a moving body, and in accordance with the taken photography image data, rendering the photographed real space into a virtual space by using a computer, conventional computer graphics techniques are utilized to realize a geometrical model of a real space in accordance with actually photographed image data. However, there are some limits in terms of correctness, precision, and fidelity to nature of the model. Instead of realizing a model, popular modern image-based rendering (IBR) techniques have been used in which a virtual space is expressed by using photographed images. IBR techniques are based upon photographed images so that a virtual space with a high fidelity to nature can be formed.
In order to configure walk-through by utilizing such IBR techniques, it is necessary to generate and present images at any respective position of an observer in a virtual space. In such a system, correspondence between each frame of photographed image data and its position in a virtual space is stored, and a corresponding frame is reproduced in accordance with the position and view direction of an observer in the virtual space.
In walk-through in such a virtual space, an observer is allowed to look at an image at each view position along a desired direction. To this end, an image at each view position is stored as a panoramic image which encompasses a wider area than the angle of view displayed when the image is reproduced. A proper panoramic image is selected in accordance with the view position and view direction of an observer in the virtual space, and a part of the image reproduced is displayed. For example, the panoramic image along the road on which a car which mounts an image pickup apparatus runs is recorded and reproduced. The observer can feel as if the observer gets in a car and travels along the road. After the observer arrives at an intersection and the observer selects another road different from the road that was previously displayed, the reproduced panoramic image group is changed to another panoramic image group to reproduce the image along a new path.
There are, however, some operational facets of conventional walk-through systems that can be improved.
Since allowable paths at an intersection are not displayed by using a figure such as an arrow and synthesizing the figure and a panoramic photographic image, a user is unable to distinguish between an allowable path and an unallowable path due to lack of photographic data.
With a conventional walk-through system, the motion of an observer on a path is limited to forward or backward motion. Advancement along a path in the view direction of the observer is regarded as forward motion. When the observer arrives at an intersection after the car had traveled on the path, a path nearest to the view direction of the observer is used as the next path. In this case, if a path having an angle of 90° or smaller relative to the forward direction of the path on which the car traveled is to be selected as the next path at the intersection, it is necessary to set the view direction to 90° or smaller relative to the forward direction. However, if the view direction is set to 90° or larger, the forward and backward directions are reversed, and the car moves away from the crossing. Therefore, in a conventional system, one is unable to continue along a view path having an angle of 90° or larger relative to the forward direction.

Information processing apparatus and method


A developer storage container includes a container main body, a developer discharge port, a moving shaft, a moving plate, a guide portion and an elastic member. The container main body includes a wall defining an internal storing space. The developer discharge port is arranged at a predetermined position of the container main body. The moving shaft is arranged to extend in a first direction in the internal space. The moving plate moves in the first direction along the moving shaft in the internal space and conveys the developer toward the developer discharge port. The guide portion guides a movement of the moving plate in the first direction while maintaining the posture of the moving plate. The elastic member is attached to the moving plate and slides in contact with an inner surface of the wall of the container main body when the moving plate moves in the first direction.

The present disclosure relates to a developer storage container for storing a developer and an image forming apparatus provided with the same.
In an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet using toner (developer), a toner container for supplying the toner to a developing device is assembled. In terms of effectively using a toner material, it is desirable to exchange the toner container with a new one after the toner stored in the toner container is completely used up. However, it is difficult to use up the toner since the toner adheres to an inner peripheral wall of the container and stays in a corner part in the container.
A technology for arranging a partition plate movable toward a discharge port in a toner container is known as a conventional technology. The partition plate is biased in a direction to move the toner toward the discharge port by a spring.

Developer storage container and image forming apparatus provided with same


A windscreen wiper has a rubber blade, an beam being mounted on the rubber blade, multiple clips being mounted respectively through the beam, multiple spoilers being mounted on the beam, two end caps being mounted respectively on the spoiler and around the ends of the beam and the rubber blade and a connector assembly being mounted securely on the beam and between two adjacent spoilers. The beam that is held firmly on the rubber blade, and the clips hold the beam stably on the rubber blade. Therefore, the rubber blade is connected firmly to other components of the windscreen wiper, will not deform or deteriorate easily and has improved life span.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a windshield wiper, especially to a windshield wiper that has a strengthened structure and will not deform or deteriorate easily so has improved life span.
2. Description of the Prior Arts
A windshield wiper is mounted on a windshield of a car and is pivoted back and forth over the windshield to wipe rain and dirt from the windshield to keep the windshield clean.
With reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, a conventional windshield wiper (90) comprises a rubber blade (91), two pads (92), four inner frames (93), two middle frames (94) and an outer frame (95).
The rubber blade (91) and has a back surface, two opposite sidewalls, two clip recesses (911) and two pad recesses (912). The clip recesses (911) are formed respectively and oppositely in the sidewalls of the rubber blade (91). The pad recesses (912) are formed respectively and oppositely in the sidewalls of the rubber blade (91) between the back surface of the rubber blade (91) and the clip recesses (911).
The pads (92) are mounted respectively in the pad recesses (912) of the rubber blade (91) to support and strengthen the rubber blade (91).
The inner frames (93) are mounted respectively on the back surface of the rubber blade (91). Each inner frame (93) has two ends and two clips (931). The clips (931) are mounted respectively on the ends of the inner frame (93) and clip respectively to the rubber blade (91) in the clip recesses (911) of the rubber blade (91).
The middle frames (94) are mounted respectively on the inner frames (93). Each middle frame (94) has two ends. The ends of the middle frame (94) are connected respectively to two adjacent inner frames (93).
The outer frame (95) is mounted on the middle frames (94) and has two ends. The ends of the outer frame (95) are connected respectively to the middle frames (94).
However, only the pads (92) being mounted in the pad recesses (912) of the rubber blade (91) strengthen a structure of the rubber blade (91) and the clips (931) of the inner frames (93) respectively hold the pads (92) to the rubber blade (91). The rubber blade (91) is delicate, deforms and deteriorates easily and has to be replaced frequently.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a windshield wiper to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A frost clip is provided for a rotary sprinkler of the type which includes a sprinkler body, a nozzle for emitting a stream and a rotatable distributor plate adapted to receive and redirect the stream. The frost clip is attachable to the sprinkler body so as to be intermittently engaged by the stream as the distributor plate rotates about its axis of rotation. The frost clip is formed with a channel facing radially towards and extending substantially parallel to an axis of rotation of the rotor plate. The channel is constructed and arranged to intermittently deflect the stream back toward the rotor plate and at least a portion of the sprinkler body as the stream rotates past the clip, to thereby inhibit ice buildup on the rotor plate and adjacent sprinkler body portions.

Providing frost protection for fruit and nut trees; is a common but necessary occurrence, usually in early spring. Freezing of buds, flowers, or fruit can be detrimental to the crop, but fortunately, there are several ways to help protect against frost damage.
Generally, all frost/cold protection methods consist of one or more of the following principles according to the Washington State University Irrigated Agricultural Research and Extension Center:
(1) good site selection for adequate air drainage;
(2) mixing of air (for example, wind machines or helicopters);
(3) direction convention heating of the air (heaters or under-tree sprinklers);
(4) radiant heating directly to the plant (for example, heaters or under-tree sprinklers);
(5) release of the latent heat of fusion (for example, freezing water directly on the plant via over-tree sprinklers);
(6) release of the latent heat of condensation (for example, humidification, fogs or sprinklers);
(7) radiative heat loss interception (for example, fog or cover);
(8) utilization or soil heat storage (for example, bare soils);
(9) thermal insulation (for example, covering foams or greenhouses);
(10) bloom delay (for example, over-tree sprinklers and/or tree wraps and paint);
(11) planting cold hearty and/or late blooming varieties; and
(12) genetic development of cold resistant plants.
Insofar as sprinklers are a common link to many of the above described modes of protection, it is critical to prevent ice formation on the sprinkler itself which would otherwise render the sprinkler useless as a frost protection device. All sprinklers inevitably freeze up at some point in varying weather conditions and are unable to function properly. Accordingly, the present invention relates to a removable clip that is attachable to a variety of rotating type sprinklers that will enable the sprinkler to function in severe weather conditions. When the clip in accordance with this invention is installed on the sprinkler body, a small burst of water is deflected off the clip and onto the top of the rotating stream distributor plate as well as onto other adjacent parts of the sprinkler body. The deflected water helps warm the rotating plate and the sprinkler body and keeps water flowing across these parts, thereby discouraging ice build up. The clip is constructed so that it can be easily attached and removed, but it will be appreciated that the clip could also be made integral with the sprinkler body itself, or with the sprinkler rotating distributor plate.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a clip is described for use with a rotating sprinkler manufactured by the assignee, Nelson Irrigation Corporation, and known as the R-10 "mini" rotator. The sprinkler includes a sprinkler body mounting a nozzle for emitting a single vertical stream upwardly into a contoured groove within a rotatable distributor plate which is supported by the sprinkler body directly above and in axial alignment with the nozzle axis. The stream emitted from the nozzle causes the rotator plate to rotate about its own axis (the speed of rotation is controlled by a viscous brake also mounted within the sprinkler body) and the groove in the rotator plate is configured to redirect the stream substantially horizontally radially outwardly from the sprinkler body. The controlled rate of rotation of the rotator plate results in a substantially single stream rotating relatively slowly about the axis of the rotator plate. The frost clip in accordance with this invention is mounted to a sprinkler body arm which is otherwise directly in the path of the rotating stream. The sprinkler body arm is typically tapered to a point to split the stream without creating a "blind spot" but, in this instance, the frost clip deflects a portion of the stream back onto the rotor plate and adjacent the sprinkler body portions.
In the exemplary embodiment, the clip includes a relatively flexible horizontal portion adapted to clip onto the vertical portion of one of the sprinkler body arms, and also includes a vertical portion having an integral groove which faces radially towards the axis of rotation of the rotator. As the rotator plate rotates, the single stream will impinge upon the frost clip groove and direct the water back on top of the rotor plate and adjacent sprinkler body portions.
Thus, in accordance with the broader aspects of the invention, there is provided in a rotary sprinkler having a nozzle for emitting a primary stream along a center axis of the nozzle and a rotary distributor plate spaced from the nozzle for redirecting the stream to achieve a desired sprinkling pattern, the improvement comprising means for intermittently deflecting at least a portion of the stream redirected by the distributor plate back onto the distributor plate.
It will be apparent that the frost clip in accordance with this invention helps keep ice from building up on the plate, allowing it to run at lower temperatures than are possible without the clip. Moreover, the back splash feature has only a minimal effect on the distribution pattern of the sprinkler. Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the detailed description which follows.


Cleaning device to clean a roll, e.g., a concrete or granite roll, in a paper machine. The cleaning device may include a spray unit that may include a high-pressure spray device having an operational pressure of at least approximately 10 bar to spray a surface of the roll with a cleaning agent and a device to remove the cleaning agent from the roll surface.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaning device for cleaning a roll in a paper machine. The cleaning device may include a spray unit for spraying the roll with a cleaning agent and a device for removing the cleaning agent from the roll surface.
2. Background and Material Information
In a paper machine, numerous rolls are used that come into contact with the paper sheet or web being produced. In the course of operating the paper machine, these rolls become fouled with, e.g., paper fibers, adhesives, or other additives associated with the web production process. When ceramic rolls are utilized, the pores in the roll surface can become clogged with loading material, e.g., calcium carbonate.
Thus, rolls of this type must be continuously cleaned during operation to eliminate the above-noted drawbacks. In the prior art, the continuous cleaning generally is performed by two sequentially arranged scrapers having a fluid sprayed onto the outer roll surface between the scrapers. However, cleaning units of this type have often been insufficient in operation.


A reticle defect inspection apparatus that suppresses deterioration of optical components resulting from luminescent spots generated by an integrator and can sustain a defect inspection with high precision for a long time is provided. The reticle defect inspection apparatus is a reticle defect inspection apparatus for inspecting for defects on a reticle using a pattern image obtained by irradiating the reticle on which a pattern is formed with light. And the apparatus includes an illuminating optical system for irradiating the reticle with an inspection light and a detecting optical system for detecting a pattern image of the reticle irradiated with the inspection light, wherein the illuminating optical system comprises an integrator for equalizing illumination distribution of the inspection light and a moving mechanism for enabling the integrator to slightly move in a direction perpendicular to an optical axis of the integrator.

Some patterns constituting a large-scale integrated circuit (LSI), as exemplified by DRAM of a gigabit class, have a minimum feature size on the order of submicron to nanometer. One of major causes for yield reduction in a manufacturing process of such an LSI includes defects on a reticle (also called a mask) used for lithography.
Particularly with increasingly finer pattern dimensions of LSI formed on a semiconductor wafer, dimensions that must be detected as pattern defects are also becoming extremely smaller. Thus, reticle defect inspection apparatuses with high resolution for inspecting for extremely small defects are vigorously being developed.
An effective method of improving resolution is to make wavelengths of inspection light shorter. Thus, DUV (Deep Ultra Violet) light sources providing short wavelengths are increasingly used as light sources for generating inspection light. In addition, it is desirable to obtain high-precision images in order to improve resolution and, for this purpose, it is necessary to irradiate a reticle with a uniform inspection light (or illumination light) using an illuminating optical system of a reticle defect inspection apparatus. To obtain such a uniform inspection light, an effective method is considered to provide an integrator (also called a homogenizer or fly eye lens) in the illuminating optical system (for example, JP-A. 2006-98156(KOKAI)). An integrator is constituted, for example, by bundling a plurality of rod lenses having a length of several dozen mm and a diameter of about 1 mm and a uniform inspection light can be realized by causing a laser light to pass through the integrator.
An object of the present invention is to provide a reticle defect inspection apparatus that can sustain a high-precision defect inspection for a long time and an inspection method using thereof.

Reticle defect inspection apparatus and inspection method using thereof


A redundant system is provided for simultaneously notifying a victim about the approach of an offender when a message is sent to a central data base. The system includes multiple communication paths and assured message delivery. The offender's portable tracking apparatus is equipped with a memory card that sends and receives data and instruction to/from a central data base. The offender's position, determined by a Global Position System, is communicated simultaneously to a victim's portable tracking apparatus, to the central data base, law enforcement and the offender's supervisory authority. A connectionless oriented analog or digital wireless or circuit switched connection oriented digital or analog wireless signal is employed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electronic monitoring and tracking of persons. More particularly, it refers to a system for providing advanced warning to victims and concurrently delivering immediate instructional commands to offenders, and timely notification to an offender supervising and law enforcement agency should an offender and victim come within an unallowable proximity of one another.
2. Description of Prior Art
Determining the location of a person or subject, such as an offender or victim, is possible outside the confines of their respective residence according to the method described in U.S. Pat. No.5,731,757. The apparatus employed in the method is a tamper resistant body worn ankle wireless transmitter communicating with an associated tamper resistant portable tracking apparatus. The portable tracking apparatus determines its location using Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. The portable tracking apparatus communicates with a central data base system using wireless communications when portable, and using land-line communications when placed in a charging stand at the subject's residence or work location. Algorithms in the offender's portable tracking apparatus executing on the processor compare the offender's current location against a schedule of location rules stored in the memory of the offender's portable tracking apparatus.
In order to provide dynamic safety perimeters for the victim (i.e. a safety perimeter that moves with the victim), both the offender's portable tracking apparatus and the victim's portable tracking apparatus must establish frequent wireless communication connections with the central data base system to maintain a location, health and status, hereinafter defined as heartbeat, to support location data fusion processing at the central data base system. Frequent wireless communication connections to the central data base system are required since the central data base system performs the location data fusion processing necessary to determine violation of the victim's dynamic safety perimeters as the location of the victim changes. The central data base system also notifies victims, supervising agencies and law enforcement agencies regarding the health and status of the offender's portable tracking apparatus and body worn device.
Other prior art portable locating apparatus using satellite signals and providing notification based on a location do not consider the issues of latency of data transfer or cost effective wireless data transfer associated with subject collision avoidance using a wireless portable locating apparatus. Such apparatus can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,594,425, 5,627,548, and 5,497,149.
Another approach to obtaining location, health and status is to poll the offender's and victim's portable tracking apparatus by placing a cellular phone call to the apparatus as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,390. This centralized polling approach increases notification time to the victim. Frequent cellular phone calls to the offender and victim portable tracking apparatus determines location, health and status. This will incur significant wireless cost.
In the prior art, a central data base system is responsible for a location data fusion processing and notifications. This requires multiple communication sessions in order to report violations to victims' supervising agencies and law enforcement agencies. A single point of failure in such multiple communication sessions results in total system failure.
Recently, digital wireless services have incorporated packet message capability which do not require establishing a full duplex (i.e. two-way) connection between a sender and a receiver before transferring digital information. The industry term for this type of analog or digital wireless service is called connectionless oriented service. An example of an implemented connectionless oriented wireless service is cellular digital packet data (CDPD). Devices that commonly use CDPD and other forms of connectionless oriented services are alphanumeric pagers, two way alphanumeric pagers and wireless personal communication services (PCS) such as mobile data terminals and mobile fax machines.
Currently, Transport Connection Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) packets are used to route wireless data packets from source to destination. Since the allocation of a send and receive wireless channel for a typical connection oriented full duplex communication session supporting ring, answer, data transfer and hang-up is not required for packetized connectionless oriented analog or digital wireless services, the data transfer is faster, shorter in duration and more cost effective. Devices that support connectionless oriented analog or digital wireless services include pagers, digital cellular phones and PCS devices. TCP/IP packets can also be routed between the wireless network, private land based networks, public switched telephone networks and the Internet enabling devices attached to the Internet, a public network or a private network to communicate directly with wireless devices and the portable tracking device referenced in U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,757.
The problem with a connectionless oriented analog or digital wireless message is that there is no end-to-end verification that a message is successfully delivered since there is only a half duplex (i.e. a transmit channel) connection between the source and destination for the message. This problem is further compounded for wireless applications because wireless media is less reliable and more susceptible to interference than wire or fiber optic media. Forward error correction, as is known in the art, can detect and correct some interference problems, but dropped packets due to severe interference or equipment failures between source and destination cannot be recovered.
There exists a need to reduce the wireless connection time between a subject's (i.e. offender or victim) portable tracking apparatus and a central data base system to provide more timely location, health and status data (i.e. heartbeat) in a cost-effective manner. In the case of an offender and associated victims, there exists a need for the offender's portable tracking apparatus and victim's portable tracking apparatus to communicate location, health and status data directly to each other rather than only relying on being relayed through the central data base system. The portable tracking apparatus also needs to perform location data fusion processing to eliminate the latency time and wireless communications cost associated with location data fusion processing being performed at a central data base system using multiple connection oriented circuit switched wireless communications. In the case of offender violation notifications to offender supervising agencies, law enforcement agencies and victims, there exists a need for direct communications between an offender's portable tracking apparatus and notification devices (i.e. pagers, digital cellular phones, mobile data terminals, etc.) with supervising agencies, law enforcement agencies and victims. In the case of notifications generated by a victim's portable tracking apparatus to offender supervising agencies and law enforcement agencies, there exists a need for direct communications between a victim's portable tracking apparatus and notification devices (i.e. pagers, digital cellular phones, mobile data terminals, etc.) with supervising agencies and law enforcement agencies. In the case of assured message delivery, end-to-end verification of data delivery is needed to assure victims are warned, supervising and law enforcement agencies are notified and the central data base system stores offender and victim location, health and status data, especially where violations have occurred.

Offender and victim collision avoidance and advanced warning system


An applying method for an adhesive according to an embodiment includes the following steps. First, gas is exhausted from a first exhaust pipe, so as to eliminate a part of the gas in a closed container. Next, the gas continues to be exhausted from the first exhaust pipe, so as to have the adhesive in the transmission pipeline become bubbled, and also to convey the bubbled adhesive to reach the supply vent. Later, gas is exhausted from the second exhaust pipe and continues to be exhausted from the first exhaust pipe, so as to greatly exhaust the gas in the closed container, and also to increase bubbling in the adhesive. Subsequently, the gas continues to be exhausted from the second exhaust pipe and ceases to be exhausted from the first exhaust pipe, so as to cause the adhesive to reach a gasified state. Also the gasified adhesive is supplied to the closed container from the supply vent, so that the gasified adhesive can adhere to and coat above the SiO2 layer. Finally, gas may be exhausted from the first exhaust pipe and ceases to be exhausted from the second exhaust pipe, so that the remaining gasified adhesive in the closed container is pumped out.

The invention relates in general to an applying method for an adhesive, and more particularly to an applying method for an adhesive used in micro-fabrication.
Generally speaking, a layer of adhesive, such as hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS), needs to be applied before applying a photoresist on a wafer with a SiO2 layer formed on the entire wafer surface so that the photoresist can adhere to the SiO2 layer in a process of photolithography used in micro-fabrication.
With reference to FIG. 1, a diagram of an apparatus used for applying an adhesive to a SiO2 layer of a wafer is shown. A wafer 100 is placed in a closed container 110 with a supply vent 120, which is connected with a transmission pipeline 130 for conveying an adhesive to the closed container 110. The closed container 110 also includes an exhaust vent or outlet 125, and the exhaust vent 125 is externally connected to a first exhaust pipe 140 and a second exhaust pipe 150. The first exhaust pipe 140 is externally connected to a pump, which can exhaust gas from the closed container 110. The second exhaust pipe 150 is externally connected to a general air-extracting or gas-extracting common pipe, which utilizes the Bernoulli Principle to eliminate the gas in the closed container 110. By using the above-mentioned pump to exhaust the gas from the first exhaust pipe 140 the flow rate is greater than if only the Bernoulli Principle method is used to exhaust the gas from the second exhaust pipe 150.
Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 simultaneously, FIG. 2 shows a conventional method for applying an adhesive on a SiO2 layer of a wafer. The method includes the following steps. First, in step 210, the coating process of applying an adhesive such as HMDS on an oxidation layer of the wafer 100 is begun. In step 220, gas is exhausted from the first exhaust pipe 140 so as to eliminate a part of the gas in the closed container 110. The operation time of this step is approximately five seconds. Next, in step 230, the gas continues to be exhausted from the first exhaust pipe 140 so as to cause bubbling in the adhesive in the transmission pipeline 130 and convey the bubbled adhesive to the supply vent 120. Operation time of this step is approximately five seconds. In step 240, the gas continues to be exhausted from the second exhaust pipe 150 and ceases to be exhausted from the first exhaust pipe 140. Thus the adhesive reaches a gasification state, and the gasified adhesive is supplied to the closed container 110 from the supply vent 120. The gasified adhesive can then adhere and be coated on the SiO2 layer. The operation time of this step is approximately forty seconds. Next, in step 250, the gas is exhausted from the first exhaust pipe 140 and ceases to be exhausted from the second exhaust pipe 150, and the remaining gasified adhesive in the closed container 110 is pumped out. The operation time of this step is approximately seven seconds. Finally, in step 260, the coating process of applying the adhesive on the upper oxidation layer of the wafer 100 is accomplished. The method as mentioned above can be applied to such machines as the TEL-MK5Z (produced by Tokyo Electron Limited of Japan) and the like.
In order to coat the photoresist precisely and uniformly on the SiO2 layer, a method of spin-coating is generally used. In spin-coating, a spinning apparatus drives the wafer 100 to rotate. The photoresist is dropped on the SiO2 layer and moves toward to the edge of the SiO2 layer due to the centrifugal force from spinning. In this way, a precisely and uniformly thick layer of the photoresist is eventually formed on the SiO2 layer.
An objective of applying an adhesive as mentioned above is to have a SiO2 layer coated with a photoresist in the following micro-fabrication, ensuring the photoresist adheres to the SiO2 layer tightly. However, due to the influence of the centrifugal force resulting from the rotation of a spinner during the photoresist application process, the binding force of the adhesive is often insufficient, resulting in the photoresist instability and subsequent flaking off the SiO2 layer. This is the so-called resist lifting issue. Therefore, the conventional applying method for an adhesive results in the photoresist degradation and flaking off the SiO2 layer very easily.


An improved process for bonding a semiconductor chip to a substrate is disclosed. In the process, a gold bump is formed on an aluminum bond pad of the chip thus forming a flip chip. A screen with an opening is placed on the substrate prior to dotting insulating epoxy on the opening. The epoxy is bladed with a printing blade thus forming an epoxy layer having a predetermined area and uniform thickness. The flip chip is, thereafter, placed on the substrate such that the gold bump is brought into electrical contact with a lead finger of the substrate through thermocompression bonding. Then the chip and substrate are put in an oven in order to permanently cure the epoxy layer. It is preferable to precure the epoxy layer prior to the permanent curing step thereby allowing thermal stress to be distributed to both the gold bump and the precured epoxy layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a process for bonding a semiconductor chip to a substrate and, more particularly, to a chip bonding process for bonding a flip chip, that has a bump on its bond pad, to the substrate while turning the flip chip over to direct the bump surface of the chip downward.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIGS. 1A to 1F show a typical process for bonding a flip chip 1 to a substrate 30. As shown in the drawings, the typical chip bonding process is started by a flip chip forming step. In the flip chip forming step, a gold (Au) bump 20 is formed on the aluminum bond pad 11 of a semiconductor chip 10 thereby forming the flip chip 1 as shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C. The flip chip forming step is followed by an electrical contact step. In the above electrical contact step, the flip chip 1 is placed relative to the substrate 30 such that the gold bump 20 of the chip 1 is aligned with a lead finger 31 of the substrate 30. The gold bump 20 is, thereafter, bonded to the lead finger 31 using a reflow process as shown in FIG. 1D. Thereafter, an underfilling step is carried out. In the above underfilling step, epoxy 40 is injected from the edge of the semiconductor chip 10 in order to fill the gap between the chip 10 and the substrate 30 as shown in FIG. 1E. The epoxy 40 in the gap between the chip 10 and substrate 30 not only relieves thermal stress of the chip 1, it also protects the electrical contact between the semiconductor circuit and chip 10 and the substrate 30. The underfilling step is followed by a curing step. In the above curing step, both the flip chip 1 and the substrate 30 with the epoxy 40 charged in the gap therebetween is put in an oven prior to permanently curing the epoxy 40 in the oven as shown in FIG. 1F.
However, the above chip bonding process has the following problems. That is, since the epoxy 40 is injected from the edge of the chip 10, the air in the gap between the chip 10 and substrate 30 fails to be completely degassed. In this regard, voids may form in the epoxy 40. In addition, it is difficult to relieve the thermal stress applied to the gold bump 20 during and just after the flip chip bonding process. The above thermal stress may cause deformations or cracks on the bump 20 thereby reducing the quality of the resulting semiconductor packages and reducing the production yield of the packages.
In accordance with another typical embodiment, optical-curing resins may be applied to the substrate by a dispenser after the flip chip forming step. After applying the optical-curing resins, the bump of the semiconductor chip is aligned with the electrode of the substrate prior to radiating ultraviolet rays to the resins while compressing the chip with a compressing jig, thereby curing the optical-curing resins.
However, the above chip bonding process according to the other typical embodiment has the following problems. That is, the optical-curing resins are applied to the substrate by the dispenser under different resin applying conditions, so the thickness of the optical-curing resins at the edge of the semiconductor chip is not uniform. Therefore, neither the deposited state of the optical-curing resins nor the height of the resins from the substrate's surface at different positions can be uniformed. The semiconductor chip thus comes into contact with the optical-curing resins having the different state and height as the chip and substrate are compressed together by the compressing jig. Therefore, the air between the bump of the semiconductor chip and the substrate cannot be completely degassed but remains in the optical-curing resins thereby forming voids in the resins after optically curing the resins. Such voids may cause cracks in the chip, reducing the quality of the resulting semiconductor packages.


A jet propulsion boat includes a boat body, an engine, a jet propulsion mechanism, and a reverse gate. The reverse gate is arranged rearward of the jet propulsion mechanism and is configured to move to a forward movement position that allows a jet flow from the jet propulsion mechanism to flow backward, a reverse movement position that allows the jet flow from the jet propulsion mechanism to flow forward and downward, and a neutral position that allows the jet flow from the jet propulsion mechanism to flow in the lateral direction. The reverse gate includes a first member and a second member. The first member includes a downward opening and a pair of lateral openings open to the right and left when the reverse gate is positioned in the neutral position. The second member covers at least a portion of the downward opening when the reverse gate is positioned in the neutral position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a jet propulsion boat.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. S62-258890 discloses a jet propulsion boat that includes a jet propulsion mechanism and a reverse gate that moves to change the direction of a jet flow from the jet propulsion mechanism. The reverse gate moves to a forward movement position that allows the jet flow to flow backward, a reverse movement position that allows the jet flow to flow forward and downward, and a neutral position that allows the jet flow to flow downward.
However, when the reverse gate is switched to the neutral position in the jet propulsion boat disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. S62-258890, a phenomenon in which the bow of the boat sinks into the water (so-called bow diving) occurs due to the jet flow from the jet propulsion mechanism flowing downward.


A method of adaptively attenuating image-noise according to a degree of motion of an image signal and an apparatus therefor are provided. An input image signal is filtered in a spatial area to attenuate noise of the input image signal. The input image signal is filtered in a temporal direction to attenuate noise of the input image signal. A degree of motion of the input image signal is extracted each predetermined period. An image signal whose noise is spatially attenuated is mixed with an image signal whose noise is temporally attenuated according to the degree of motion of the input image signal and a mixed image signal is output.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for attenuating noise of an image signal, and more particularly, to a method of attenuating image-noise adaptively according to a degree of motion in an image signal, and an apparatus therefor. The present application is based on Korean Patent Application No. 2001-88225, filed Dec. 29, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a view of a three-dimensional image signal. Referring to FIG. 1, a plurality of frames of an image signal are arranged in a temporal direction. Each frame has a spatial area with a vertical component and a horizontal component.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conventional apparatus for attenuating image-noise. Referring to FIG. 2, a spatial noise attenuator 110 attenuates noise of an image signal in a spatial area using a low-pass filter. A temporal noise attenuator 120 attenuates noise of the image signal output from the spatial noise attenuator 110 in a temporal direction using the low-pass filter.
Here, the spatial noise attenuator 110 attenuates radio frequency components as well as noise components, which causes damage to the image signal and results in reduced noise attenuation as the degree of motion of the image signal increases.
Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 1, if the spatial noise attenuator 110 and the temporal noise attenuator 120 are connected to each other, the spatial noise attenuator 110 damages the image signal regardless of the degree of motion of the image signal.

Apparatus for attenuating image-noise adaptively and method thereof


A combination stand and shelter for bicycles includes an anchored shelter made of two side members interconnected by a frame which also serves as a bike stand. A stiff sheet captured between the side members provides a weather shield for the front wheel of the bicycle, and also houses a storage bin for tools and spares. The rear portion of the bike may be covered, when desired, by drawing a flexible cover from a reel within the shelter, and securing its free end to the rear of the vehicle.

This invention relates generally to bicycles, and more particularly to a combination stand and shelter for bicycles.
Cyclists often have to store their bicycles outside. When they do, rain can rapidly rust the bicycle's components, particularly the chain. Exposed bicycles are also good targets for theft and vandalism.
Garaging a bicycle protects it from the weather, thieves and vandals, but a garage or shed is in many cases not available. Besides, bicycles consume large volumes in a garage, unless very carefully stowed.
It would be useful to have a combination shelter and bike stand that could be quickly set up and installed anywhere, and whose function would be dedicated just to bicycle storage.
Prior inventors have proposed various devices for protecting vehicles, including bicycles. U.S. Pat. No. 1,918,523, for example, discloses a vehicle cover which is stored on a reel affixed above the rear bumper of the vehicle. A length of material is drawn from the reel, over the front of the car, and then is secured to the rear bumper. Wings on either side of the material can be folded out, once the cover is withdrawn, so that they drape over the sides of the car. Other reel-type vehicle covers are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,991,612; 4,834,128; and 2,097,923.
Prior covers designed specifically for bicycles have typically been affixed to and carried on the vehicle. U.S. Pat. Nos. 587,569; 594,057 and 1,853,742 are representative. The obvious difficulty with such arrangements is their bulk and weight. Modern cyclists, obsessive about these factors, would reject such an approach.

Combination stand and shelter for bicycles


An electronic module group can include an electronic module including a first housing defining a housing cavity; a power supply driving module positioned within the housing cavity; and a first concentric terminal connected in electrical communication with the power supply driving module by a first wire and a second wire; and a second concentric terminal rotatably connected in electrical communication with the first concentric terminal, the second concentric terminal configured to transmit power to the first concentric terminal.

At present, LED lamps and speakers can be designed with a module group structure. This structure can facilitate maintenance and save costs. For example, the so-called lamp module group can be formed by integrating a light source and/or speaker and a power supply, which is assembled in a lamp housing to form a lamp. Once the lamp fails to work, the module group is damaged in most of the cases. Then, only the damaged module group needs to be replaced, which saves the cost of the lamp housing. However, in this way, when a module group without a waterproof function is installed in the lamp housing, it should be ensured that the lamp housing can waterproof, so that the LED lamp can meet the requirements of outdoor work.


An exerciser includes a post having a lower portion rotatable secured to a base, and a bevel gear secured to the post and rotated in concert with the post. Another bevel gear is rotatably supported on the base at a pivot shaft and engaged with the bevel gear of the post. A pair of foot supports are supported on the base and coupled to the bevel gears for rotating the post via the bevel gears. A beam is secured to the pivot shaft and coupled to the foot supports. Another beam is rotatably secured on the base for supporting the rear ends of the foot supports in place.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exerciser, and more particularly to a stepping and swinging exerciser.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Two typical stepping exercisers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,545,111 to Wang et al. and 5,645,512 to Yu and comprise a complicated structure for coupling the handle to the foot supports and for allowing the handle to be rotated by the foot supports. However, the structures are complicated such that the manufacturing costs are greatly increased.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional stepping exercisers.


A supporting arm with a suction cup and a handle for attaching various equipment within a mechanical vehicle. The arm is composed of a suction cup, a push button, which slides within a housing, a rigid part, connected with the housing, and a hinging part, connected with the rigid part by means of a joint. The arm is provided with an elastic support for resting on a dashboard, which is situated opposite to the mounting joint of the suction cup under its hinged part, and with a ball joint, located above the elastic support and connected to the handle, which is fitted with an electrical connection.

Various electronic equipment e.g. mobile phones, TV screens, navigation monitors etc., have an extensive application in mechanical vehicles. These devices are sometimes fastened by suction cups to a windshield of the mechanical vehicle, but more often a reliable fastening to the dashboard of the mechanical vehicle is required. Suction cups can bear small loads only, and are usually ineffective for heavier loads.
European patent EP 1571045 describes a supporting arm for various electronic equipment, provided with a part for mounting the supporting arm to a suitable surface, a holder for mounting a device, and an oblong arm for connecting these parts together. The supporting arm is in the form of a flexible metal tube with corrugated walls and has a polygonal, preferably hexagonal cross-section, blinded on both sides with thick-walled bushings connecting it with the arm and the holder. The cross-section of bushings reflects the cross-section of the supporting arm. Bushings are fastened to the supporting arm so as these components do not turn against each other.
European patent EP 1598487 relates to a supporting element for sanitary ware, provided with a main member for mounting the supporting element to a surface, and a holder for mounting equipment, attached to the main member by a connecting element, which can be blocked or unblocked in any given position. The connecting element is provided with a joint element, which sets the supporting element in any convenient angular position.
European patent EP 1666308 discloses a support for various equipment, provided with a base and a stand with a mounting plate attached to it by a connector. The mounting plate includes an equipment holder. A jointed member is connected to the stand by a telescopic connection, which is blocked once a required position is determined. The mounting plate is connected by two-segment intermediate member to the jointed member, blocked in a required position.
Described above known designs of supports are inconvenient in certain applications, especially in mechanical vehicles, due to insufficient stability developing vibrations of the single-side-supported element. This is of great importance, especially in the case of heavier equipment attached to the support holder.

Supporting arm with a suction cup and a holder for attaching various equipment within a mechanical linkage


A sewer drain trap primer valve includes a case defining a volume; a flexible diaphragm separating the volume into an upper, water chamber and a lower, sealed, air chamber; a conduit connecting the water chamber with an outlet orifice defined by a lower end of the case; a valve element moveable between a first position and a second position in response to differential of pressure between an inlet, defined by an upper end of the case, and the water chamber; and a check valve that permits flow of water in a direction from the inlet toward the water chamber and restricts flow of water in the opposite direction. The inlet orifice is located between the volume and a source of domestic water. The outlet orifice is located between the volume and a sewer drain trap. The conduit defines a valve seat and, in first position, the valve element engages the seat to restrict flow of water from the water chamber into the conduit. In second position, the valve element is spaced from engagement with the seat to permit flow of water.

The invention relates to automatic valves for priming sewer line drain traps.
Sewer line drain traps are provided to prevent escape of gas from sewer lines. Typically, an elbow is provided in the sewer line adjacent to a drain, and the elbow is filled with water to prevent flow of gas from the sewer through the elbow. It is well recognized that water in the trap will evaporate over time, thus adversely affecting operation of the trap, so it is important that the trap be charged periodically to maintain the required level of water.
It is desirable that the sewer trap be charged with water automatically. However, such a system typically requires a connection between the sewer drain trap and a source of water, which creates a potential for contamination of the water source by siphoning of sewer water should there be a loss of water supply pressure. Sullivan U.S Pat. No. 4,204,556 sought to address this concern with an automatic primer valve having a case defining an intermediate supply chamber for water to be delivered to the sewer trap in which the biasing force for charging water into the intermediate supply chamber is a volume of air trapped within the upper portion of that chamber. Mosbrucker et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,337 describes a primer valve in which the biasing force for charging water into the sewer trap is a volume of air trapped below a sliding piston.


A solid electrolyte capacitor includes a capacitor element, an anode lead, and a cathode lead. The capacitor element includes a capacitor chip, an anode wire projecting from the capacitor chip, and a cathode electrode formed on outer surfaces of the capacitor chip. The anode lead is electrically connected to the anode wire, whereas the cathode lead is electrically connected to the cathode electrode. A method for making such a solid electrolyte capacitor includes a laser irradiation step for irradiating the anode wire with a laser beam, and a connection step for connecting the anode wire with the anode lead after the laser irradiation step.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of making a capacitor, in particular a solid electrolyte capacitor. The present invention also relates to a method of processing a capacitor element incorporated in such a solid electrolyte capacitor.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 14 shows a known solid electrolyte capacitor (see e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,693,104) The solid electrolyte capacitor shown in FIG. 14 comprises a capacitor element 90 enclosed in a resin package 91. The resin package 91 also encloses part of external connection leads 92, 93. The remaining parts of the leads 92, 93 extend out of the resin package 91. One lead 92 (cathode lead) is connected to a cathode electrode 90a formed on the capacitor element 90, whereas the other lead 93 (anode lead) is connected to an anode wire. 90b extending out of the capacitor element 90. The anode lead 93 may be connected to the anode wire 90b by means of resistance welding or thermocompression bonding for example.
The capacitor element 90 is provided by forming a dielectric layer and a solid electrolyte layer in pores of a sintered porous mass, and then forming the cathode electrode 90a. The anode wire 90b is partially enclosed in the sintered porous mass. The anode wire 90b may be buried in the sintered porous mass before forming the solid electrolyte layer.
By burying the anode wire 90b in the sintered porous mass before the solid electrolyte layer is formed, however, the surface of the anode wire 90b are oxidized due to the heating treatment included in the forming process of the solid electrolyte layer. Further, the sintered porous mass is formed by sintering a compressed metal powder. If the anode wire 90b is buried before this sintering process, it becomes oxidized during that process. In any case, to connect the anode wire 90b and the anode lead 93, an oxidized film exists therebetween. Consequently, the oxidized film inhibits proper bonding (performed by compatibility, atomic diffusion or alloying) between the metal in the anode wire 90b and the metal in the anode lead 93 even if energy is applied to the connecting portion. The oxidized film may remain, for all the applied energy, at the boundary surface (interfacial alloyed layer) and weaken the connection between the anode wire 90b and the anode lead 93.
In order to eliminate the above problem, it has been proposed to remove the oxidized film on the anode wire by sandblasting or partially remove the oxidized film by making a cut in the anode wire. However, it becomes more difficult to perform these mechanical treatments as the downsizing of the capacitor element proceeds. Further, these mechanical treatments give a large load on the anode wire as well as the portion in the sintered mass where the anode wire is buried, which may lead to breakage of the anode wire or ill-conduction between the anode wire and the sintered mass (the main part of the element), thereby deteriorating electric characteristics. In particular, the anode wire becomes thinner in accordance with the downsizing of the capacitor element, whereby the ill conduction or the breakage of the anode wire is more likely to occur.

Method of making solid electrolytic capacitor having oxidized anode wire