Patents Examined by Jeffrey T. Knapp
  • Patent number: 5769305
    Abstract: A soldering device includes a solder vessel for containing a molten solder, solder ejecting nozzle disposed in the solder vessel for upwardly ejecting the molten solder to form a solder wave thereabove, a cover plate covering the vessel and having an opening such that the solder wave can pass therethrough, a nozzle forming body provided adjacent at least one side of the solder wave to define a thin space between the nozzle forming body and the cover plate, and a gas feed conduit connected to the nozzle forming body for feeding a gas to the thin space, so that the gas is jetted through the thin space and flows toward the solder wave.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 23, 1998
    Assignee: Nihon Den-Netsu Keiki Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshio Takeda, Yogo Kaneko
  • Patent number: 5769679
    Abstract: In a method, a film for a gate electrode, exposed through the sidewall of a trench, is thermally treated to grow a thermal oxide film which is, then, removed at the lateral side of the gate electrode, to spatially separate the gate electrode from the gate insulating film in space. This method precisely controls the thermal oxide film formed at the lateral side of the gate electrode, so that the distance between the gate electrode and the electron emission cathode can be accurately adjusted. The electron emission cathodes are homogeneous in shape. Also, the reliability of the display can be improved since a silicide metal is formed on the electron emission cathodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 23, 1998
    Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
    Inventors: Jong-Moon Park, Yeong-Cheol Hyeon, Kee-Soo Nam
  • Patent number: 5766054
    Abstract: In order to heat a field emission type cold cathode 10 of a cathode ray tube, which generates electron beams, to a temperature high enough to obtain a desired electron emission characteristics of the field emission type cold cathode even when an inner temperature distribution of an evacuating furnace 20, which includes furnace temperature setting heaters 21 and a vacuum pump 23, is not uniform, the field emission type cold cathode 10 of an electron gun 3 of the cathode ray tube, which is provided within a neck portion 2a of a bulb 2 of the cathode ray tube, is locally heated by a neck heater 22 detachably mounted on an outer peripheral surface of the neck portion 2a while the bulb 2 is being evacuated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1998
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Toshio Kaihara
  • Patent number: 5765744
    Abstract: A process of producing small metal bumps includes the steps of simultaneously holding small metal balls on an arrangement baseplate in the positions corresponding to those of electrodes of a semiconductor chip, a film carrier, or a substrate; aligning the small metal balls held on the arrangement baseplate with the electrodes; lightly pressing the small metal balls against the electrodes; to provisionally fix the balls to the electrodes; and pressing the provisionally fixed small metal balls to flatten the pressed surfaces of the small metal balls, and at the same time, to bond the small metal balls to the electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1998
    Assignee: Nippon Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Kouhei Tatumi, Kenji Shimokawa, Eiji Hashino
  • Patent number: 5762528
    Abstract: An alignment measurement apparatus is used for measuring an exposure pattern during an exposure operation for forming phosphor layers on a panel surface of a color cathode-ray tube, and includes an image sensor, an image spatial filter, and an image processing equipment. The image sensor photographs the exposure pattern on the panel surface to which an illuminating device is provided, the image spatial filter makes 3-color phosphor dots brighter and clearer, and the image processing equipment calculates and outputs a value of deviation between the exposure pattern of the 3-color phosphors and a reference exposure pattern. Any blurred exposure pattern is made bright and clear by the image spatial filter so that the degree of any deviation between the black matrix hole and the center of the exposure pattern is measured at a high precision.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 9, 1998
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Takafumi Ninomiya
  • Patent number: 5759080
    Abstract: A display device includes an electron-emitting device which is a laminate of an insulating layer and a pair of opposing electrodes formed on a planar substrate. A portion of the insulating layer is between the electrodes and contains fine particles of an electron emitting substance, that portion acting as an electron emitting region. Electrons are emitted from the electron emission region by applying a voltage to the electrodes, thereby stimulating a phosphorous to emit light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 2, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Seishiro Yoshioka, Ichiro Nomura, Hidetoshi Suzuki, Toshihiko Takeda, Tetsuya Kaneko, Yoshikazu Banno, Kojiro Yokono
  • Patent number: 5758816
    Abstract: A method is provided to heat a plurality of components to a preselected temperature that creates a tackiness at the surface of a preformed solder component and permits the preformed solder component to adhere to a first metallic surface of a first component. When the preselected temperature is reached, the components are rapidly cooled to prevent diffusion that would result from further heating and melting of the preformed solder component. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the first component is a lens that has a first metallic surface rigidly attached thereto. A second metallic surface is attached to a ceramic body and a preformed solder component is disposed between the first and second metallic surfaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 2, 1998
    Assignee: Honeywell Inc.
    Inventor: Simon M. Rabinovich
  • Patent number: 5752868
    Abstract: An apparatus for collecting a cathode-ray tube (2) from a waste cathode-ray tube device (1) and recycling the cathode-ray tube (2) includes a conveyor (15) having a moving pallet (21) for detachably holding a panel portion (10) of the cathode-ray tube (2) by vacuum adsorption portions (63a) through (63d) and sequentially conveying the panel portion (10) to a predetermined position, a device for leaving only the cathode-ray tube (2) by scrapping the waste cathode-ray tube device (1) held on the moving pallet (21) and separating and removing a device housing (4) from the waste cathode-ray tube device (1), and a conveyor for conveying the separated device housing (4). According to an apparatus for and method of collecting a used cathode-ray tube, a cathode-ray tube can be collected from a waste cathode-ray tube device easily and inexpensively, and natural resources can be recycled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 19, 1998
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Fujio Yabuki, Yukio Abe, Hajime Koike, Koji Kanehira
  • Patent number: 5749760
    Abstract: An electron gun assembling apparatus has a cathode driving mechanism (12,13) for moving a cathode (1), a laser displacement gage (14) to measure a height of a surface of the cathode (1) in a non-contact manner at a cathode surface measuring position outside an electron gun assembly (24), an electric micrometer (11) to measure a height of an upper surface of a first electrode (3) in the electron gun assembly (24), and an electric micrometer (8) to measure a height of a lower surface of a second electrode (4) in the electron gun assembly (24).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 12, 1998
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yasuki Kimura, Takashi Shirase, Masamitsu Okamura, Shuichi Maezono
  • Patent number: 5749763
    Abstract: A display device consists of an electron-emitting device which is a laminate of an insulating layer and a pair of opposing electrodes formed on a planar substrate. A portion of the insulating layer is between the electrodes and a portion containing an electron emitting region in between one electrode and the substrate. Electrons are emitted from the electron emission region by a voltage to the electrodes, thereby stimulating a phosphorous to emitting light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 12, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Seishiro Yoshioka, Ichiro Nomura, Hidetoshi Suzuki, Toshihiko Takeda, Tetsuya Kaneko, Yoshikazu Banno, Kojiro Yokono
  • Patent number: 5749762
    Abstract: A field emitter cold cathode has a substrate possessing a first main surface on one side of itself and a second main surface on the other side of itself and has windows formed in itself. An emitter layer is formed on the first main surface side of the substrate, and has emitters disposed at the positions of the windows. A gate electrode layer is formed on the second main surface side of the substrate. In addition, openings are so formed as to enclose untouched the periphery of at least the leading end part of the emitters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 12, 1998
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Masayuki Nakamoto, Tomio Ono
  • Patent number: 5746634
    Abstract: A process method and system for making field emission cathodes exists. The deposition source divergence is controlled to produce field emission cathodes with height-to-base aspect ratios that are uniform over large substrate surface areas while using very short source-to-substrate distances. The rate of hole closure is controlled from the cone source. The substrate surface is coated in well defined increments. The deposition source is apertured to coat pixel areas on the substrate. The entire substrate is coated using a manipulator to incrementally move the whole substrate surface past the deposition source. Either collimated sputtering or evaporative deposition sources can be used. The position of the aperture and its size and shape are used to control the field emission cathode size and shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 5, 1998
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: Alan F. Jankowski, Jeffrey P. Hayes
  • Patent number: 5735452
    Abstract: A method for forming a ball grid array to provide a chip carrier with I/O capabilities is described. The method includes combining three distinct steps into one: partitioning a solder sheet into identical solder pieces using a mask provided with openings that match the footprint of the chip carrier; reflowing the solder pieces into solder balls; and joining the balls to the I/O pads of the chip carrier. By combining these three steps into one, a high throughput, high volume, defect free and contamination free operation for forming I/O connections thus results.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 7, 1998
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Roy Yu, William Harrington Brearley, Kimberley Ann Kelly, Patrick Michael O'Leary, Arthur Gilman Merryman, James Patrick Wood
  • Patent number: 5735450
    Abstract: An apparatus for heating a module mounted on a card includes a heating chamber adapted to receive the card and module, a nozzle adapted to surround the module and provide a flow of heated gas thereover, and a heated support surface for heating a bottom surface of a card immediately underlying the module. The method of removing and replacing a module on a card includes preheating the card and module prior to heating the contact sites to a solder reflow temperature and also preheating a card and a replacement module to an equilibrium temperature prior to increasing the temperature of the contact sites to the reflow temperature. The apparatus and method embodying the present invention effectively addresses the problem of providing a faster heating cycle, and a more even temperature distribution across the contact sites of the module and card.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 7, 1998
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Craig Grant Heim, Christian Robert Le Coz, Russell H. Lewis
  • Patent number: 5735451
    Abstract: High frequency electrical discharge or nonpolar discharge using microwaves is generated in a gas that is introduced into a gas duct formed by a dielectric material, such as glass or ceramic. Surface treatment is applied to components, which are under atmospheric pressure, by exposing them to the gas flow containing the active species generated by the above mentioned electrical discharge. The components are soldered before, during, or after the application of this surface treatment. The surface of the components is exposed to the active species by either directly exposing the components to the electrical discharge, or by directing the reactive gas flow containing the active species at the component surfaces. By selecting an appropriate gas for generating the active species, it is possible to improve the wettability of the surface of the component to be soldered, or to remove organic substances or oxide film surfaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 1995
    Date of Patent: April 7, 1998
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Mori, Takuya Miyakawa, Yasuhiko Asano, Osamu Kurashina, Satoshi Miyamori, Yohei Kurashima, Makoto Anan
  • Patent number: 5735449
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for forming electric connections between predetermined bonding pads of semiconductor electronic devices and respective electric contact leads formed on a frame holding the devices in a tidy arrangement is disclosed. The apparatus includes a supporting structure, a conveyor for advancing the frame along a longitudinal direction in a work plane on the supporting structure, a bonding head, and a high-precision X-Y table carrying the bonding head for accurately setting the bonding head in the work plane. The bonding apparatus further includes a carriage guided on the supporting structure for movement in a transverse direction to the longitudinal direction, the X-Y table being mounted on the carriage. The bonding head working range always spans a sufficiently large area for a single device, thereby enabling connections to be made even when the side-by-side devices are arranged in two or more rows.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 7, 1998
    Assignee: SGS-Thomson Microelectronics S. r. l.
    Inventor: Pierangelo Magni
  • Patent number: 5735447
    Abstract: A friction welding apparatus and a method for its use is disclosed where the apparatus includes a plurality of interchangeable components including a drive means, an actuator assembly, a support system and a control system, the combination operable to friction weld a workpiece to a valve body. The apparatus features a means to maintain a positive fluid pressure within the weld chamber during burn-off and upset phases. Such a means is provided to keep out explosive gases emitted by one of the members being welded. The apparatus features a means to maintain a positive fluid pressure within the weld chamber during burn-off and upset phases. Such a means is provided to keep out explosive gases emitted by one of the members being welded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 7, 1998
    Assignee: The Safe Seal Company, Inc.
    Inventor: John W. Fix, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5732873
    Abstract: An ultrasonic wirebonder has a horn and a transducer for vibrating the horn at a predetermined frequency. A magnet affixed to the horn generates a magnetic field. A coil coupled to the magnet has an output signal induced from the magnetic field moving relative to said coil. A filtering means filters the output signal from the coil to determine the reliably of the ultrasonic bond. An output device is used to monitor the output signal and determine whether the bond is reliable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 31, 1998
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: Mark S. Topping, Cuong V. Pham, Brian J. Hayden
  • Patent number: 5733159
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for exhausting and combined exhausting and seasoning of x-ray tubes having glass envelopes for a high performance x-ray system having a rotating anode therein. The methods include providing a glass tubulation having a diameter greater than about 20 mm, then operatively connecting the glass tubulation to the x-ray tube glass envelope, providing a glass sealing cup inside the glass tubulation, the glass sealing cup having a smaller diameter than the glass tubulation, providing a vacuum to the glass tubulation, positioning a heater on the outside of the glass tubulation, heating the anode of the x-ray tube to a temperature inside the x-ray tube glass envelope of about 1500.degree. C., positioning the glass sealing cup inside the glass tubulation proximate the position of the heating means on the outside of the glass tubulation, heating the glass tubulation proximate the glass sealing cup to about 1300.degree. C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 31, 1998
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Thomas Robert Raber, William Joseph Jones, Michael Patrick Dennin
  • Patent number: 5732875
    Abstract: A method for producing a sector conductor for electric power cables is introduced, whereby a number of metal wires are joined closely together into a core (8) with a sector-shaped cross section. A lengthwise running metal strip is formed around the core (8) and its longitudinally abutting edges are welded into a tube (9), whose dimensions are reduced so that it lies closely against the core (8) and surrounds it.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 31, 1998
    Assignee: Alcatel Kabel AG & Co.
    Inventors: Gerhard Ziemek, Michael Meyer