Patents Assigned to Micronics
  • Publication number: 20090051382
    Abstract: A probe includes an arm region extending in the back and forth direction, and a tip region extending downward from the front end portion of the arm region. The tip region has a pedestal portion integrally continuous to a lower edge portion at the front end side of the arm region and having an underside inclined to an imaginary axis extending in the vertical direction; and a contact portion projected from the underside of the pedestal portion and having a tip orthogonal to an imaginary axis. Thus, the position of the tip can be accurately determined.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 7, 2005
    Publication date: February 26, 2009
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA NIHON MICRONICS
    Inventors: Shinji Kuniyoshi, Hideki Hirakawa, Akira Soma, Takayuki Hayashizaki
  • Patent number: 7488957
    Abstract: A method may comprise emitting electromagnetic radiation onto a workpiece and storing data describing geometrical elements in a pattern. The electromagnetic radiation may be focused and/or reflected in a first direction, and a power level of the electromagnetic radiation may be modulated according to the stored data. A guiding rail may be moved in the first direction and a carriage may be moved in a second direction, each in one of a continuous and stepwise manner. The second direction may be substantially perpendicular to the first direction. A pattern may be exposed on the workpiece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2009
    Assignee: Micronic Laser Systems AB
    Inventors: Peter Ekberg, John-Oskar Larsson
  • Publication number: 20090036280
    Abstract: A movement control apparatus for a machine tool includes a travel boundary arc setting unit and a control unit. The machine tool includes a tool post that supports plurality of tools, and a drive unit adapted to relatively move at least one of the tool post and the workpiece in a direction of a first axis and in a direction of a second axis that intersects the first axis to change a tool. The travel boundary arc setting unit sets an arc so that the arc is inscribed in the first and the second axes and an axial center of the workpiece passes through a position distant from a corner portion of a tool by a radius of the workpiece. The control unit is adapted to control the drive unit so that the workpiece travels along a travel locus outside the arc while changing a tool.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 30, 2008
    Publication date: February 5, 2009
    Applicant: Star Micronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Noriyuki Yazaki
  • Publication number: 20090035960
    Abstract: The electrical connecting apparatus disclosed herein includes a frame member having a recess for receiving a device under test provided with a plurality of electrodes, a plurality of contacts provided in correspondence to the electrodes, a plurality of slots formed in the bottom portion of the recess of the frame member and arranged parallel to each other so as to receive the contacts such that the tip of each contact can abut the corresponding electrode, an elastic member disposed across the slots over the bottom portion within the recess to elastically hold the contacts, and a cap member mounted on the frame member and sandwiching the elastic body together with the frame member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 21, 2005
    Publication date: February 5, 2009
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA NIHON MICRONICS
    Inventors: Eichi Osato, Yoshihito Goto
  • Publication number: 20090028423
    Abstract: The invention addresses the lack of comprehensive and quantitative methods for measurements of unwanted visual “mura” effects in displays and image sensors. Mura is generated by errors that are significantly smaller than what is needed for the function of the device, and sometimes smaller than the random variations in the patterns or structures. Capturing essentially all mura defects in a workpiece in a short time requires a daunting combination of sensitivity, statistical data reduction and speed. The invention devices an inspection method, e.g. optical, which maximizes the sensitivity to mura effects and suppresses artifacts from the mura inspection hardware itself and from noise. It does so by scanning the sensor, e.g. a high-resolution camera, creating a region of high internal accuracy across the mura effects. One important example is for mura related to placement errors, where a stage with better than 10 nanometer precision within a 100 mm range is created.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2008
    Publication date: January 29, 2009
    Applicant: Micronic Laser Systems AB
    Inventors: Torbjorn Sandstrom, Lars Stiblert
  • Publication number: 20090021274
    Abstract: An electrical connecting apparatus comprises a plurality of plate-shaped probes. Each probe has a cut-off portion opening on its inside surface side and both sides in the thickness direction of the probe and is engaged with a dropout preventing member disposed in a plate-shaped housing at the cut-off portion, thereby being prevented from dropping out of the housing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2005
    Publication date: January 22, 2009
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA NIHON MICRONICS
    Inventor: Ken Kimura
  • Publication number: 20090022624
    Abstract: The present invention relates to microfluidic devices and methods for manipulating and analyzing fluid samples. The disclosed microfluidic devices utilize a plurality of microfluidic channels, inlets, valves, filter, pumps, liquid barriers and other elements arranged in various configurations to manipulate the flow of a fluid sample in order to prepare such sample for analysis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 30, 2008
    Publication date: January 22, 2009
    Applicant: Micronics, Inc.
    Inventors: Patrick Saltsman, Mingchao Shen, Jeffrey M. Houkal, Christy A. Lancaster, C. Frederick Battrell, Bernhard H. Weigl
  • Publication number: 20090015276
    Abstract: A method of producing a probe assembly which uses thermal energy of a laser light for bonding a plurality of connection pads provided on a probe board and a probe disposed on each connection pad. In the neighborhood of at least one of the connection pads on the probe board, a dummy connection pad with no probe adhered is formed in order to uniform the thermal energy by irradiation of each bonding portion of each connection pad and the corresponding probe.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 26, 2008
    Publication date: January 15, 2009
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA NIHON MICRONICS
    Inventors: Masatoshi YOKOUCHI, Katsushi MIKUNI, Masahisa TAZAWA, Norihiro IMAI
  • Patent number: 7476861
    Abstract: A passenger detection device that determines whether a passenger sits in a passenger seat or backseat, and if YES, determines whether the passenger is an adult or a child, and whether the passenger is sitting in a normal attitude. A pair of thermopile sensors 13 and 14 are disposed on a dashboard 11 at a predetermined distance from each other in a horizontal direction. The pair of thermopile sensors 13 and 14 are disposed such that they monitor a predetermined same position P on a surface of the passenger seat 12 when a passenger 15 does not sit in a passenger seat 12. Output signal which are output from the pair of thermopile sensors 13 and 14 are subtracted by a subtraction circuit 25, an output difference signal of the pair of thermopile sensors 13 and 14 is taken out, and it is detected whether a passenger sits in the seat by this signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2009
    Assignee: Matsuda Micronics Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Yajima, Mitsuyoshi Ito
  • Publication number: 20090009201
    Abstract: A probe for electrical test provided with positioning marks parallel to a plane where tips are provided and at a height position lower than the plane on a plane directed in the same direction as the plane, the positioning marks are in a predetermined positional relation to said tips. The positioning marks contain information indicating an existing direction of the tips when the positioning marks are observed from the projecting direction of the tips.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2006
    Publication date: January 8, 2009
    Applicant: Kabushiki Kaisha Nihon Micronics
    Inventors: Yuji Miyagi, Tetsuya Iwabuchi
  • Publication number: 20090008451
    Abstract: A magnetic ink character reading apparatus includes a similarity acquisition unit, a character recognition unit and a character recognition limiting unit. The similarity acquisition unit acquires a similarity between one-character-corresponding data extracted from detection result data and reference data corresponding to each of the magnetic ink characters. The character recognition unit recognizes the magnetic ink character having the highest similarity as the magnetic ink character corresponding to the one-character-corresponding data. When the difference between the highest similarity and the second highest similarity among the similarities acquired is smaller than a predetermined reference difference, the character recognition limiting unit limits the determination that the magnetic ink character having the highest similarity is the magnetic ink character corresponding to the one-character.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2007
    Publication date: January 8, 2009
    Applicant: STAR MICRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Masamitsu Ozawa
  • Publication number: 20090008580
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to phase-sensitive calibration of an SLM system. In particular, it relates to selecting among local calibrations when there is more than one calibration that satisfies a calibration intensity criteria. It utilizes information available before Fourier filtering, from non-zeroth order diffraction components to counter drift among alternative local calibrations.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 3, 2007
    Publication date: January 8, 2009
    Applicant: Micronic Laser Systems AB
    Inventor: Jarek Luberek
  • Publication number: 20090009197
    Abstract: A probe for electrical test comprises an arm region extending in a first direction, and a tip region leading to one side in a second direction intersecting the first direction of the arm region, and has a plate form making a direction interesting the first and second directions a thickness direction. The tip region includes a pedestal portion leading to the arm region and a contact portion leading to the pedestal portion, and the contact portion includes a base portion forming a part of the pedestal portion and a projecting portion leading to the base portion and projecting from the pedestal portion in the second direction. By this, damage to the contact portion is prevented.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2007
    Publication date: January 8, 2009
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA NIHON MICRONICS
    Inventors: Hideki HIRAKAWA, Akira SOUMA, Yoshikazu URUSHIYAMA
  • Patent number: 7474111
    Abstract: The probe assembly has a plurality of probes, a probe base provided with the probes, and a plurality of guard members provided on the probe base. Each probe has an arm portion supported on the probe base at its one end and extending from a mounting surface of the probe base at a distance substantially along the mounting surface. At the other end of each arm portion is formed a tip projecting so as to project in a direction to be away from the mounting surface of the probe base. The guard member is supported on the probe base near at least one side of each arm portion. The guard surface is positioned in the vicinity of the height position of one surface and the opposite other surface of the arm portion opposing the mounting surface of the probe base.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2009
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Nihon Micronics
    Inventor: Satoshi Narita
  • Patent number: 7471095
    Abstract: An electrical connecting apparatus is used for electrical inspection of a device under test having electrodes each of which a recess is formed on a flat upside. The electrical connecting apparatus is provided with a plurality of probes, each probe including a base portion combined with a probe board, an elastically deformable arm portion extending above the electrodes of the device under test from the base portion along the probe board and at a distance therefrom, and a tip portion projecting from the arm portion in a direction to be away from the probe board. The front end of the tip portion of each probe can abut a flat surface area except the recess on the upside of the electrode in a state that no flexural deformation is caused in the arm portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2008
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Nihon Micronics
    Inventors: Satoshi Narita, Yoko Ichinohe, Nobuyuki Yamaguchi
  • Publication number: 20080316457
    Abstract: This disclosure relates to lithography using pulsed laser illumination. In particular it relates to lithography for producing electronic devices on wafers using multi-mode excimer and molecular lasers, e.g. KrF, ArF, and F2 lasers. It may also apply to illumination systems where several single-mode sources are mixed or one single-mode laser beam is split and recombined with time delays, thereby creating an equivalent multimode source and to EUV lithography. Particular aspects of the present invention are described in the claims, specification and drawings.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 22, 2008
    Publication date: December 25, 2008
    Applicant: Micronic Laser Systems AB
    Inventor: Torbjorn Sandstrom
  • Publication number: 20080315893
    Abstract: A contact and a connecting apparatus are provided to enable miniaturization and shortening and cost reduction in response to further miniaturization and finer pitch of inspection objects. The contact is one electrically for contacting a terminal of a wire and includes a one-side plunger portion, an other-side plunger portion, and an elastic deformation portion provided between the plunger portions. The elastic deformation portion is made of an annular and conductive elastic member integrally connected to the one-side plunger portion and the other-side plunger portion. The plurally arranged elastic deformation portions are disposed in a zigzag shape in the up-down direction with their adjacent heights different from each other. The connecting apparatus includes the plurality of contacts electrically contacting terminals disposed on an inspection object and a contact plate for integrally supporting the respective contacts to make the contacts contact with the respective terminals of the inspection object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 30, 2008
    Publication date: December 25, 2008
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA NIHON MICRONICS
    Inventor: Eichi Osato
  • Publication number: 20080315901
    Abstract: The present invention provides a multilayer wiring board in which resistive elements each of whose error from a desired value is smaller than in a conventional case are built, a method for manufacturing the same, and a probe apparatus utilizing the multilayer wiring board. The present invention is based on a basic concept of forming a flat surface on a surface of a multilayer wiring layer on which a resistive element material is to be deposited and depositing the resistive element material on the flat surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 8, 2008
    Publication date: December 25, 2008
    Applicant: Kabushiki Kaisha Nihon Micronics
    Inventors: Tatsuo INOUE, Osamu ARAI, Katsushi MIKUNI, Norihiro IMAI
  • Patent number: 7468610
    Abstract: An electrical connecting apparatus comprising: a circuit board on which a reinforcing plate is mounted and a plurality of first electric connections are provided; a probe board on which second electric connections corresponding to the first electric connections are provided, with a plurality of probes electrically connected to the corresponding second electric connections; an elastic connector having plural pairs of both contacts capable of contacting the first and second electric connections corresponding to each other of both boards therebetween and receiving a biasing force in directions for both contacts to separate from each other; screw members for integrally combining them; and a spacer member for holding the probe tips substantially on the same plane by tightening of the screw members. Between the reinforcing plate and the probe board, a spacer plate is inserted for adjusting a distance from the other surface of the probe board to the probe tips.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2008
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Nihon Micronics
    Inventors: Yuji Miyagi, Hidehiro Kiyofuji, Akihisa Akahira, Yoshinori Kikuchi
  • Patent number: D583856
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2008
    Assignee: Star Micronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Osamu Mizuno, Hiroshi Mochizuki