Author: claimsbot

1. An exposure apparatus comprising:
an optical system which projects exposure light incident on a mask bearing a pattern onto a substrate; and
a stage apparatus which holds and aligns the substrate or the mask,
the stage apparatus including:
(i) an electromagnet having a coil for driving the substrate or the mask;
(ii) a first control system which has an input portion which receives command information and an amplifier which supplies a current to the coil; and
(iii) an offset compensation system comprising a first integrator which time-integrates a signal at an input portion of the amplifier,
wherein the offset compensation system is configured to negatively feed back an output from the first integrator to the input portion of the first control system.
2. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said offset compensation system is configured to reduce an offset current supplied to the coil when the command information represents zero.
3. The exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said offset compensation system reduces the offset current supplied to the coil on the basis of a predetermined offset of the amplifier.
4. A moving member mechanism comprising:
an electromagnet having a coil for driving a moving member;
a first control system which has an input portion which receives command information and an amplifier which supplies a current to the coil; and
an offset compensation system which comprises a first integrator which time integrates a signal at an input portion of the amplifier,
wherein the offset compensation system is configured to negatively feed back an output from the first integrator to the input portion of the first control system, and
wherein the offset compensation system is controlled such that the current supplied from the amplifier to the coil is set to zero when the command information represents zero.
5. A moving member mechanism comprising:
an electromagnet having a coil for driving a moving member;
a first control system which has an input portion which recieves command information and an amplifier which supplies a current to the coil; and
an offset compensation system which comprises a first integrator which time integrates a signal at an input portion of the amplifier,
wherein the offset compensation system is configured to negatively feed back an output from the first integrator to the input portion of the first control system, and
wherein the offset compensation system comprises a first hold switch which performs the negative feed back when the command information represents zero, and sends a preceding value to the input portion when the command information does not represents zero.
6. A moving member mechanism comprising:
an electromagnet having a coil for driving a moving member;
a first control system which has an input portion which recieves command information and an amplifier which supplies a current to the coil;
an offset compensation system which comprises a first integrator which time integrates a signal at an input portion of the amplifier;
a gap sensor which measures a gap between the electromagnet and the moving member;
a gap correction unit which calculates a predetermined correction coefficient on the basis of the gap measured by the gap sensor;
a current calculation unit which calculates a current supplied to the electromagnet on the basis of the command information; and
a multiplier which multiplies by the correction coefficient the current calculated by the current calculation unit,
wherein the offset compensation system is configured to negativeley feed back an output from the first integrator to the input portion of the first control system.
7. A moving member mechanism comprising:
an electromagnet having a coil for driving a moving member;
a first control system which has an input portion which recieves command information and an amplifier which supplies a current to the coil;
an offset compensation system which comprises a first integrator which time integrates a signal at an input portion of the amplifier;
a search coil which measures an induced voltage generated in the electromagnet;
a second integrator which time integrates the induced voltage measured by the search coil; and
a second control system which feedback controls the electromagnet on the basis of a difference value between the command information and the induced voltage time integrated by the second integrator,
wherein the offset compensation system is configured to negatively feed back an output from the first integrator to the input portion of the first control system.
8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the second control system comprises a drift compensation system which detects a drift of the second integrator and supplies to the second control system a compensation signal for canceling the drift.
9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the drift compensation system is configured to multiply an output from the second integrator by a gain and negatively feed back a product to an input portion of the second control system.
10. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the drift compensation system is configured to supply to the second integrator a signal which has substantially the same absolute value as an absolute value of a signal representing the drift and has an opposite sign.
11. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the drift compensation system comprises a second hold switch which holds an output from the second integrator when the command information represents zero, and supplies the held output from the second integrator to the input portion of the second control mechanism when the induced voltage does not represent zero.
12. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the drift compensation system is configured to negatively feed back an output from the first hold switch to an input portion of the second control system.
13. A method of controlling a moving member mechanism including an electromagnet having a coil for driving a moving member and an amplifier which supplies a current to the coil, said method comprising:
a control step of controlling the electromagnet on the basis of input command information; and
an offset compensation step of time integrating a signal at the input portion of the amplifier, and negatively feeding back a time integrated value to the command information input in the control step,
wherein the offset compensation step includes a step of setting the current supplied from the amplifier to the coil zero when the command information represents zero.
14. A method of controlling a moving member mechanism including an electromagnet having coil for driving a moving member and an amplifier which supplies a current to the coil, said methog comprising:
a control step of controlling the electromagnet on the basis of input command information; and
an offset compensation step of time integrating a signal at the input portion of the amplifier, negatively feding back a time integrated value to the command information input in the control step,
wherein the offset compensation step further includes a step of performing the negative feed back when the command information represents zero, and sending a preceding value to the command information input in the control step when the command information does not represent zero.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for assisting a child to walk, comprising:
a handlebar including:
a first handle having a grip portion;
a pair of second handles each having a grip portion substantially coplanar with one another, the second handles being connected to and extending laterally outwardly from the first handle, and the first handle and the second handles together defining a space disposed laterally inwardly of the second handles sized to accommodate a child’s head; and

a harness including:
a loop for surrounding the torso of a child; and
means for coupling the loop to the handle.
2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the harness includes straps.
3. An apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein the coupling means of the harness includes first and second back straps each coupled at a first end to the loop, and each coupled at a second end to the handlebar.
4. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein the first and second back straps are coupled at the first ends generally to opposite rearward sides of the loop relative to each other, and coupled at the second ends to a different one of the second handles with respect to each other such that the first and second back straps are crisscrossed.
5. An apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein the harness further includes first and second shoulder straps having first ends coupled generally to opposite rearward sides of the loop relative to each other, and having second ends coupled generally to opposite frontward sides of the loop relative to each other.
6. An apparatus as defined in claim 2, further including means for adjusting the length of the straps.
7. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the first handle and the second handles are substantially coplanar with one another.
8. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein a length of the second handles extend along a common axis.
9. An apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein the first handle includes a pair of first elongated members and a second elongated member including the grip portion, the first members being spaced in generally parallel relation with one another and having first ends coupled to a respective second handle, and having second ends coupled to respective ends of the second elongated member.
10. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the loop has ends including hook and loop fasteners for connecting the ends together.
11. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the loop has ends including a releasable snap-fit connector.
12. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the handle includes means for enhancing a grip thereon.
13. An apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the means for enhancing a grip thereon includes a plurality of grooves defined by the grip portions of the first and second handles.
14. An apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the means for enhancing a grip thereon includes a sleeve having a generally non-slippery surface.
15. An apparatus as defined in claim 14, wherein the non-slippery surface is selected from the group including rubber and plastic.
16. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the handlebar is generally rigid.
17. An apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein the coupling means of the harness includes first and second back straps, the first back strap having first and second ends coupled to opposite rearward sides of the loop relative to each other, the second back strap having first and second ends coupled to opposite sides of the handlebar relative to each other, and further including a connector for releasably connecting the first and second back straps to each other.
18. An apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein the connector is a releasable snap-fit connector.
19. An apparatus for assisting a child to walk, comprising:
a generally rigid handlebar including:
a first handle having a grip portion;
a pair of second handles each having a grip portion substantially coplanar with one another, the second handles being connected to and extending laterally outwardly from the first handle, and the first handle and the second handles together defining a space disposed laterally inwardly of the second handles sized to accommodate a child’s head; and

a harness including:
a loop including a strap for surrounding the torso of a child; and
a pair of back straps coupling the loop to the handle, the pair of back straps generally forming a crisscross pattern.

1. A computer system comprising:
a database having a database table for storing records comprising data values, the database table having first columns for storing the data values, each one of the first columns being assigned to a data field of a set of predefined data fields, and at least one second column for storing keys, each key identifying one of the records stored in the database, and a set of index tables, each index table being assigned to one of the data fields and having assigned thereto an index table identifier,
means for receiving a query, the query specifying the subset of the set of data fields and a search range for each specified data field,
means for storing a predefined ordered sequence of index table identifiers,
means for processing the query by checking each one of the index tables for being relevant for the execution of the query, one of the index tables being relevant if the one of the index tables is assigned to one of the specified data fields, storing the index table identifier for each relevant index table in a query execution table, sorting the query execution table in accordance with the predefined ordered sequence, executing the query using the index tables identified in the query execution table in the order given by the sorting of the query execution table.
2. The computer system of claim 1, further comprising query optimization means for determining the ordered sequence, the ordered sequence being determined by determining the sizes of all index tables and sorting the index tables by size.
3. The computer system of claim 2, the query optimization means being operable for determining the ordered sequence at consecutive time intervals.
4. The computer system of claim 3, further comprising load determination means for determining a load parameter of the database, wherein the duration of the time intervals is inversely proportional to the load determined by the load determination means.
5. The computer system of claim 1, the means for receiving the query being adapted to receive a data structure as part of the query, the data structure containing data field names of at least some of the specified data fields, a search range for each one of the data field names and a Boolean term specifying a relation between the data field names, and further comprising means for transforming the data structure into a character string, wherein the means for processing the query are operable to use the character string for execution of the query.
6. The computer system of claim 1, the means for receiving the query being operable to receive a mapping table as part of the query from a user interface, the mapping table specifying a mapping of a result returned by the query to one or more elements of the user interface.
7. The computer system of claim 1 being an enterprise resource planning system, each record of the database constituting a document.
8. A computer-implemented method for performing a database query, the database having a database table for storing records comprising data values, the database table having first columns for storing the data values, each one of the first columns being assigned to a data field of a set of predefined data fields, and at least one second column for storing keys, each key identifying one of the records stored in the database, and a set of index tables, each index table being assigned to one of the data fields and having assigned thereto an index table identifier, the method comprising:
receiving a query, the query specifying the subset of the set of data fields and a search range for each specified data field,
processing the query by checking each one of the index tables for being relevant for the execution of the query, one of the index tables being relevant if the one of the index tables is assigned to one of the specified data fields, storing the index table identifier for each relevant index table in a query execution table, sorting the query execution table in accordance with a predefined ordered sequence of index table identifiers, executing the query using the index tables identified in the query execution table in the order given by the sorting of the query execution table.
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising determining the ordered sequence by determining the sizes of all index tables and sorting the index tables by size.
10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the determination of the ordered sequence is performed at consecutive time intervals, wherein the duration of the time intervals is inversely proportional to the actual load of the database.
11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising receiving a data structure as part of the query, the data structure containing data field names of at least some of the specified data fields, a search range for each one of the data field names and a Boolean term specifying a relation between the data field names, and further comprising transforming the data structure into a character string and using the character string for execution of the query.
12. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising receiving a mapping table as part of the query from a user interface, and mapping of a result returned by the query to one or more elements of the user interface in accordance with the mapping table.
13. A computer program product comprising executable instructions for performing a computer implemented method of claim 8.

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 remote control positioning system, comprising:
a signal transmitting module, electrically connected to a display, for transmitting a first sensing signal;
a wireless transceiving module, installed on a remote control, for transmitting a second sensing signal after receiving the first sensing signal;
at least three wireless access points, arranged at different non-collinear positions, wherein the wireless access points transmit a first detecting signal and a second detecting signal after receiving the first sensing signal and the second sensing signal, respectively; and
a signal processing module, electrically connected to the display, for receiving the first and the second detecting signals and generating a positioning information.
2. The remote control positioning system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal transmitting module comprises:
a transmitter, for transmitting the first sensing signal; and
a starting module, electrically connected to the transmitter, for starting the transmitter.
3. The remote control positioning system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the starting module is a key module or a touch panel.
4. The remote control positioning system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal processing module comprises:
a receiver, for receiving the first and the second detecting signals; and
a CPU, electrically connected to the receiver, for operating and processing the first and the second detecting signals to generate the positioning information through a positioning mode.
5. The remote control positioning system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the positioning mode is one of a Time of Arrival (TOA) positioning technique, a Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) positioning technique, and a Received Signal Strength (RSS) positioning technique.
6. The remote control positioning system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the positioning information includes relative distance and relative position relation.
7. The remote control positioning system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the positioning information defines the relative distance and the relative position relation according to a reference position.
8. The remote control positioning system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the reference position is a position of the display.
9. The remote control positioning system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and the second sensing signals and the first and the second detecting signals are a radio frequency (RF) signal.
10. The remote control positioning system as claimed in claim 9, wherein a frequency of the RF signal is in a range of 2 GHz to 3 GHz.
11. A remote control positioning system, comprising:
a signal transmitting module, electrically connected to a display, for transmitting a first sensing signal;
an image capturing module, installed on a remote control, for capturing an external image and converting the external image into a wireless data signal;
a wireless transceiving module, electrically connected to the image capturing module, for starting the image capturing module after receiving the first sensing signal, and transmitting a second sensing signal and the wireless data signal;
at least three wireless access points, arranged at different non-collinear positions, wherein the wireless access points transmit a first detecting signal and a second detecting signal after receiving the first sensing signal and the second sensing signal, respectively; and
a signal processing module, electrically connected to the display, for receiving the wireless data signal and the first and the second the detecting signals and generating a positioning information.
12. The remote control positioning system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the signal transmitting module comprises:
a transmitter, for transmitting the first sensing signal; and
a starting module, electrically connected to the transmitter, for starting the transmitter.
13. The remote control positioning system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the starting module is a key module or a touch panel.
14. The remote control positioning system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the signal processing module comprises:
a receiver, for receiving the first and the second detecting signals; and
a CPU, electrically connected to the receiver, for operating and processing the wireless data signal and the first and the second detecting signals to generate the positioning information through a positioning mode.
15. The remote control positioning system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the positioning mode is one of a Time of Arrival (TOA) positioning technique, a Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) positioning technique, and a Received Signal Strength (RSS) positioning technique.
16. The remote control positioning system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the positioning information includes relative distance, relative position relation, and an external environment image of the remote control.
17. The remote control positioning system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the positioning information defines the relative distance and the relative position relation according to a reference position.
18. The remote control positioning system as claimed in claim 17, wherein the reference position is a position of the display.
19. The remote control positioning system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the first and the second sensing signals and the first and the second detecting signals are a radio frequency (RF) signal range of 2 GHz to 3 GHz.
20. The remote control positioning system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the external environment image is displayed in the display by means of a sub-picture.