1. A card connector for connecting a card, comprising:
a housing; and
a contact terminal, said contact terminal comprising:
a spring section capable of elastically displacing;
a securing section fixed to the housing; and
a connecting section for connecting to a printed circuit board by soldering,
wherein said spring section includes a plurality of split spring sections, at least one of said split spring sections having a base portion extending from the securing section, and a counter contact section extending from the base portion for contacting to a contact section of the card inserted in said card connector, said counter contact section being twisted around an axis aligned along an extending direction of the counter contact section to form a twist.
2. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein said twist extends over a part of said at least one of the split spring sections.
3. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein said twist extends over substantially a whole part of said at least one of the split spring sections.
4. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein said twist is bent obliquely relative to an extending direction of said at least one of the split spring sections.
5. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein said twist is formed by turning said at least one of the split spring sections.
6. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein said at least one of the split spring sections has a portion having a length or a thickness such that the at least one of the split spring sections has a resonance frequency different from that of the other of the split spring sections.
7. The card connector according to claim 6, wherein said at least one of the split spring sections is secured at a position different from that of the other of the split spring sections such that said portion has the length different from that of the other of the split spring sections.
8. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein said twist is inclined inwardly.
9. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein said twist is inclined outwardly.
10. A contact terminal for a card connector, comprising:
a spring section capable of elastically displacing;
a securing section to be fixed to the card connector; and
a connecting section for connecting to a printed circuit board,
wherein said spring section includes a plurality of split spring sections, at least one of said split spring sections having a base portion extending from the securing section, and a counter contact section extending from the base portion for contacting to a contact section of a card inserted in said card connector, said counter contact section being twisted around an axis aligned along an extending direction of the counter contact section to form a twist.
11. The contact terminal according to claim 10, wherein said twist is bent obliquely relative to an extending direction of said at least one of the split spring sections.
12. The contact terminal according to claim 10, wherein said twist is formed by turning said at least one of the split spring sections.
13. The contact terminal according to claim 10, wherein said at least one of the split spring sections has a portion having a length or a thickness such that the at least one of the split spring sections has a resonance frequency different from that of the other of the split spring sections.
14. The contact terminal according to claim 10, wherein said twist is inclined inwardly.
15. The contact terminal according to claim 10, wherein said twist is inclined outwardly.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A flow distribution network for supplying a process gas to two or more destinations, the flow distribution network comprising:
an inlet for receiving the process gas;
a network of flow distribution lines for carrying the process gas comprising a branch point downstream from the inlet and two or more branches downstream from the branch point, wherein each branch has an outlet for supplying process gas to a corresponding destination;
a variable flow element in each branch having a Cv value that varies by at least about 2% from element to element across the branches; and
a restrictive component downstream from the variable flow element in each branch, wherein the restrictive components are nominally identical,
wherein the flow of the process gas produces a system pressure drop, from the inlet to the outlets, across the flow distribution network is at least as great as the pressure at the outlets.
2. The flow distribution network of claim 1, wherein the variable flow elements operate in the unchoked flow regime.
3. The flow distribution network of claim 1, wherein the restrictive components produce at least about 3% of the system pressure drop on average across the restrictive components.
4. The flow distribution network of claim 1, wherein the restrictive components produce at least about 50% of the system pressure drop on average across the restrictive components.
5. The flow distribution network of claim 1, wherein the restrictive components produce between 10% and 80% of the system pressure drop on average across the restrictive components.
6. The flow distribution network of claim 1, wherein the variable flow elements produce at most about 10% of the system pressure drop in the flow distribution network on average across the variable flow elements.
7. The flow distribution network of claim 1, wherein the variable flow elements produce at most about 5% of the system pressure drop in the flow distribution network on average across the variable flow elements.
8. The flow distribution network of claim 1, wherein the variable flow elements produce, on average, a first portion of the system pressure drop in the flow distribution network and the restrictive components produce, on average, a second portion of the system pressure drop in the flow distribution network, and wherein a ratio of the second portion to the first portion is between about 5:1 to about 20:1.
9. The flow distribution network of claim 1, wherein the variable flow elements produces a mass flow rate that vary by at least about 2% on average from element to element across the branches when each element experiences substantially the same pressure drop.
10. The flow distribution network of claim 1, wherein the restrictive components in the branches have Cv values that on average vary by 1% or less from component to component across the branches.
11. The flow distribution network of claim 1, wherein the restrictive components in the branches have Cv values that on average vary by 4% or less from component to component across the branches.
12. The flow distribution network of claim 1, wherein the variable flow element in each branch includes a valve.
13. The flow distribution network of claim 1, wherein the restrictive component is a constriction in an associated flow distribution line downstream of the variable flow element.
14. The flow distribution network of claim 1, wherein the restrictive components provide process gas at a nominally uniform mass flow rate to respective outlets supplying the destinations.
15. The flow distribution network of claim 14, wherein the nominally uniform mass flow rate varies by less than about 1% between outlets.
16. The flow distribution network of claim 14, wherein the nominally uniform mass flow rate varies by less than about 2% between outlets.
17. The flow distribution network of claim 1, further comprising a controller in communication with the inlet and the outlets to control the system pressure drop.
18. The flow distribution network of claim 1, wherein the inlet pressure is less than about a 200 torr.
19. A method of balancing flow to two or more destinations, the method comprising:
receiving process gas at an inlet;
carrying process gas through a network of flow distribution lines comprising a branch point downstream from the inlet and two or more branches downstream from the branch point, each branch having a variable flow element with a Cv value that varies by at least about 2% from element to element across the branches;
supplying process gas through an outlet in each branch to a corresponding destination;
locating a restrictive component downstream from each variable flow element in each branch, wherein the restrictive components are nominally identical across the branches; and
producing a system pressure drop, from inlet to the outlets, across the flow distribution network is at least as great as the pressure drop at the outlets.
20. The method claim 19, further comprising operating the variable flow elements in an unchoked flow regime.
21. The method of claim 19, wherein producing a system pressure drop comprises producing, by the restrictive components, between 10% and 80% of the system pressure drop on average across the restrictive components.
22. The method of claim 19, wherein producing the system pressure drop comprises producing, by the variable flow elements, at most about 10% of the system pressure drop in the flow distribution network on average across the variable flow elements.
23. The method of claim 19, wherein producing the system pressure drop comprises:
producing, by the variable flow elements on average, a first portion of the system pressure drop; and
producing, by the restrictive components on average, a second portion of the system pressure drop, wherein a ratio of the second portion to the first portion is between about 5:1 to about 20:1.
24. The method of claim 19, wherein the restrictive components in the branches have Cv values that on average vary by 1% or less from component to component across the branches.
25. The method of claim 19, further comprising providing, by the restrictive components, process gas at a nominally uniform mass flow rate to respective outlets supplying destinations.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein the nominally uniform mass flow rate varies by less than about 1% between outlets.
27. The method of claim 19, wherein producing the system pressure drop, comprises controlling the system pressure drop by a controller in communication with the inlet and the outlets.
28. The flow distribution network of claim 1, wherein the two or more destinations are in a single reactor.
29. The flow distribution network of claim 1, wherein the two or more destinations are in multiple reactors.
30. The flow distribution network of claim 1, where the pressure at the outlet of each branch is about 7 torr or less.
31. The flow distribution network of claim 1, where the pressure at the outlet of each branch is about 5 torr.
32. The method of claim 19, wherein the two or more destinations are in a single reactor.
33. The method of claim 19, wherein the two or more destinations are in multiple reactors.
34. The method of claim 19, where the pressure at the outlet of each branch is about 7 torr or less.
35. The method of claim 19, where the pressure at the outlet of each branch is about 5 torr.