Sri International

Other

Tokyo Electric Co.

University of California

Fmc Corporation

Videojet Systems International, Inc.

Stanford Research Institute

Motorla, Inc.

Multibeam Systems Inc.

Gerry B Andeen

Martin E Lee

Yasuo Matsumoto

Roy D Kornbluh

Eric J Shrader

Ronald Swidler

N William Parker

Robert I Keur

Hisashi Nishikawa

Ayumu Makino

S Daniel Miller

Arthur J Slemmons

Thomas L Siwecki

David M Auslander

Patricia O Cohn

Elaine A Pullen

William J Treytl

Fred J Kamphoefner

A system for precisely positioning and moving a platform relative to a support structure is disclosed herein. The platform is particularly suitable for carrying wafers. Charged particle optics can be attached to the support structure. The platform positioning system comprises a stage, comprising a base, a platform and stage actuators, the stage actuators being coupled to the platform and the platform being coupled to the base; a frame attached to the base; a support structure mechanically coupled to the frame; stage sensors attached to the support structure, for sensing the position of the platform relative to the support structure; and a current control system coupled to the stage sensors and the stage actuators. The current control system may include a predictor for generating an ouptut signal anticipating the actual position of the platform relative to the support structure in real time.

Platform positioning system

An ultra-high precision stage incorporating a novel, legged design suitable for applications requiring high voltage and vacuum is disclosed herein. The stage comprises: a base; a frame attached to the base; a platform with a bottom platform surface; at least three adjustable limbs coupled to the base and the bottom platform surface, each limb comprising a raising member attached to the base, a first attachment member attached to the raising member, a leg, a bottom end of the leg attached to the first attachment member, a second attachment member attached to a top end of the leg and the second attachment member attached to the bottom platform surface; and platform movement members coupled to the platform and the frame, providing precise positioning and movement of the platform. The attachment members can be flexure joints; further, they can be flexural thrust joints. The platform can have six degrees of freedom of movement and accommodate wafers with diameters of 300 mm. The stage can weigh less than 100 lbs.

Precision stage

An ink jet chamber communicates with an ink reservoir through an opening in a diaphragm plate. The chamber also includes a nozzle through which ink may be ejected on demand. A mass, such as a ball, is reciprocally driven into the diaphragm plate. The ball, upon striking the diaphragm, closes the chamber opening, pressurizing the ink in the chamber to eject a droplet from the nozzle. The ball is driven by a printer driver wire to which it may be attached. Large arrays may be constructed.

Impact-valve printhead for ink jet printing

A method of vapor jet printing is described, along with several embodiments of apparatus for practicing such method. The vapor phase of a sublimable dye is mixed with a carrier gas. The resulting mixture is then jetted toward a recording medium. The carrier gas in indirectly heated by the sublimable dye to maintain the latter in its vaporous state during its travel to the recording medium. One embodiment of the apparatus includes a removable cartridge for the sublimable dye which enables color interchangeability and a limited downtime for dye recharging.

Method and apparatus for vapor jet printing

A manipulator is disclosed which includes first and second interconnected limb sections, the second section of which is elongated and flexible in at least one direction normal to the longitudinal axis. The first limb section is connected to a base, and the second limb section is connected to an end effector. Relative to a reference frame with origin at the first limb section, the stiffness matrix of the second limb section is variable, and is under motor control. In one embodiment, the second limb section is inflexible in a direction orthogonal to the one direction and the longitudinal axis, and is supported by the first limb section for rotation about the longitudinal axis. In another embodiment, the second limb section is flexible in all directions normal to the longitudinal axis, and a plurality of adjustable-tension stays attached to the second limb section adjacent opposite ends thereof are used to control the stiffness matrix thereof. Methods of damping vibration of the flexible beam are shown.

Articulatable structure with adjustable end-point compliance

Disclosed is an image recording method and its apparatus, in which dye vapor generated by heating sublimable dye is mixed with condensable vapor generated by heating condensable substance and formed into mixed vapor having higher pressure than the pressure outside a recording head and the mixed vapor thus formed and provided with a force to blow out by the pressure difference between inside and outside the recording head is adapted to jet from a nozzle with its jet amount controlled by control means, and according to which, high speed image recording is made possible although the temperature for heating the sublimable dye can be kept low, and the condensable vapor included in the mixed vapor is cooled while flying or upon reaching the surface of a recording member to reduce in volume, and therefore, the picture element is made smaller in diameter and spreading out of the jet around the nozzle along the surface of the recording member is prevented so that recording of high resolution is made possible.

Image recording method and its apparatus

Motor-pumping method and apparatus for recovery of energy from spent brine discharged from a reverse osmosis desalination system are disclosed. Energy of spent brine discharged from the reverse osmosis system is used to pump a portion of the fresh brine input to the system. The novel apparatus includes a pair of closed cylinders having pistons reciprocable therein which are interconnected for simultaneous piston movement. First valve means movable between first and second conditions are provided for atternatively connecting a source of fresh brine to the reduced piston area side of one of said cylinders while connecting the reduced area piston side of the other cylinder to the inlet of the reverse osmosis canister included in the reverse osmosis system. Second valve means movable between first and second conditions are provided for atternatively connecting the spent brine outlet from the reverse osmosis system canister to the large piston area side of the other cylinder while venting spent brine from the large piston area side of the one cylinder. Because of the differential opposite surface areas of the motor-pump pistons, fresh brine is pumped from the cylinders at a pressure higher than the pressure of spent brine operating liquid supplied to the motor-pump means from the reverse osmosis system. The first and second valve means operate under control of the position of the pistons in the cylinders for reciprocal piston operation.

Fluid motor-pumping apparatus and method for energy recovery

A slip sensor and method of sensing slip for object supporting structure such as a manipulator which includes a pair of relatively movable jaws having opposing jaw faces between which an object may be gripped are shown. At least one thermistor is located at the face of the object supporting structure, which thermistor is intimately engageable with the supported object. The thermistor is maintained at a substantially constant temperature, above ambient temperature, by the passage of current therethrough. The temperature of the gripped object adjacent the thermistor is raised to the above-ambient temperature by heat conduction thereto from the thermistor. With slippage of the gripped object between the jaws, the thermistor is exposed to another portion of the object which is at a different temperature than the temperature of the thermistor whereby the resistance of the thermistor changes. The thermistor is included in a temperature sensing and control unit which maintains the thermistor at a substantially constant temperature, and which has an output related to power supplied to the thermistor to maintain the set-point temperature. The output is digitized and supplied to a digital computer for determining whether or not slippage of the object between the jaws has occurred.

Slip sensing method and apparatus

Salt water and other solutions are accelerated in a rotating structure and applied to a cannister containing reverse osmosis membrane material. The desalinated water is removed after passing through the large surface area concentration of membrane material in the cannister. The enriched brine is removed from the cannister at a point furthest from the axis of the rotating structure and returned to the vicinity of the axis to prevent the buildup of dense material. The membrane material is configured in the cannister so that the flow is generally radially with respect to the axis of the rotating structure.

Rotating solution separation system

A heliostat apparatus includes a frame which is rotatable about an axis which is parallel to the aperture plane of an elongate receiver. A plurality of flat flexible mirror elements are mounted to the frame between several parallel, uniformly spaced resilient beams which are pivotally connected at their ends to the frame. Channels are mounted to the sides of the beams for supporting the edges of the mirror elements. Each of the beams has a longitudinally varying configuration designed to bow into predetermined, generally circular curvatures of varying radii when the center of the beam is deflected relative to the pivotally connected ends of the beams. All of the parallel resilient beams are simultaneously deflected by a cam shaft assembly extending through openings in the centers of the beams, whereby the mirror elements together form an upwardly concave, cylindrical reflecting surface. The heliostat is rotated about its axis to track the apparent diurnal movement of the sun, while the reflecting surface is substantially simultaneously bowed into a cylindrical trough having a radius adapted to focus incident light at the plane of the receiver aperture.

Method of and apparatus for collecting solar radiation utilizing

A compact apparatus for analyzing a signature or other handwritten markings, including a horizontal platen which can support paper on which a signature is written, a pair of inner beams extending horizontally from opposite sides of the platen to an intermediate structure, and a pair of outer beams extending horizontally, and in directions perpendicular to the inner beams, between the intermediate structure and a supporting frame. Strain gauges are attached to the sides of the inner and outer beams to sense forces applied to the platen by the tip of a writing instrument in the horizontal 'X' and 'Y' directions, and additional strain gauges are attached to opposite faces of the outer beams to sense forces in the vertical, or 'Z,' direction.

Growing community of inventors

Menlo Park, CA, United States of America

Gerry B Andeen