Author: claimsbot

What is claimed is:

1. A positioning system, comprising:
a movable stage;
a cable carrier movable relative to the stage, the cable carrier being configured for carrying at least one cable so as to prevent cable drag forces from acting on the stage.
2. The positioning system as recited in claim 1 wherein the stage is configured for carrying a work piece.
3. The positioning system as recited in claim 1 wherein the cable carrier is configured for carrying a first cable that is coupled to a device external to the stage, and a second cable that is coupled to the stage.
4. The positioning system as recited in claim 1 wherein the cable carrier moves independent of the movable stage.
5. The positioning system as recited in claim 1 wherein the cable carrier is movably coupled to the stage via a carrier linkage.
6. The positioning system as recited in claim 5 wherein the carrier linkage is a bearing, a pivot arm or a flexure.
7. The positioning system as recited in claim 1 wherein the cable is selected from a group consisting essentially of an electrical cable, a control cable, an air supply cable, a vacuum supply cable or a cooling cable.
8. A high precision stage system, comprising:
a movable stage;
a cable carrier movably coupled to the stage; and
a control system for controlling the positions of the stage and cable carrier so as to prevent cable drag forces from acting on the stage.
9. The stage system as recited in claim 8 wherein the control system includes a first drive unit for moving the stage and a second drive unit for moving the cable carrier relative to the movable stage.
10. The stage system as recited in claim 9 wherein the first drive unit outputs a stage force for moving the stage, and the second drive unit outputs a carrier force for maintaining a predetermined carrier position relative to the stage.
11. The stage system as recited in claim 10 wherein the carrier force is applied to the cable carrier to overcome the cable drag forces and wherein a resultant force, which is the combination of the carrier force and the stage force, is applied to the stage to overcome the effects of the carrier force.
12. The stage system as recited in claim 9 wherein the second drive unit is a force type actuator selected from the group consisting essentially of a voice coil motor, an E-I actuator, a pneumatic cylinder, a torque motor, or an air motor.
13. The stage system as recited in claim 8 further including a position measurement system for determining the actual positions of the stage and cable carrier.
14. The stage system as recited in claim 13 wherein the position measurement system includes a laser interferometer, encoder sensors, potentiometer sensors, capacitance sensors, or inductance sensors.
15. The stage system as recited in claim 8 wherein the control system includes a first drive unit for moving the stage, and a springdamper device for supporting the cable carrier in a predetermined carrier position relative to the moving stage.
16. The stage system as recited in claim 15 wherein the springdamper device includes a spring element and a damper element.
17. The stage system as recited in claim 15 wherein the first drive unit outputs a stage force for moving the stage, and the springdamper device forms a resilient force for maintaining the predetermined carrier position relative to the stage.
18. The stage system as recited in claim 17 wherein the resilient force is configured to overcome the cable drag forces acting on the cable carrier, and wherein a resultant force, which is the combination of the resilient force and the stage force, is applied to the stage to overcome the effects of the resilient force.
19. The stage system as recited in claim 8 wherein the stage system is used in a planar stage.
20. The stage system as recited in claim 8 wherein the stage system is used in a semiconductor processing system.
21. A method for preventing cable drag forces from acting on a stage, the method comprising:
providing a cable carrier that is movably coupled to the stage, the cable carrier being configured for carrying a cable that is operatively coupled to a device external to the stage;
applying a first force to the cable carrier so as to cancel the cable drag forces acting on the cable carrier; and
applying a second force to the stage so as to move the stage and to cancel the first force acting on the stage.
22. The method as recited in claim 21 further comprising:
providing a control system for outputting the first and second forces, and a position measuring system for determining the positions of the stage and cable carrier.
23. The method as recited in claim 22 further comprising:
measuring an actual position of the cable carrier and the stage with the position measurement system; and
sending positional signals associated with the actual positions of the stage and cable carrier to the control system.
24. The method as recited in claim 23 wherein the first and second forces are determined using the positional signals from the position measuring system.
25. The method as recited in claim 23 further comprising:
comparing the actual position of the stage to a desired position of the stage; and
comparing the actual position of the cable carrier to a desired position of the cable carrier.
26. The method as recited in claim 25 further comprising:
generating a stage force command signal if there is a difference between the actual position of the stage and the desired position of the stage; and
generating a carrier force command signal if there is a difference between the actual position of the carrier and the desired position of the carrier.
27. The method as recited in claim 26 further comprising:
sending the carrier force command signal to a first drive unit;
combining the carrier force command signal with the stage force command signal; and
sending the combined force command signal to a second drive unit.
28. The method as recited in claim 27 wherein the first drive unit applies the first force to the cable carrier via the carrier force command signal, and wherein the second drive unit applies the second force to the stage via the combined command signal.
29. The method as recited in claim 23 further comprising:
comparing the actual position of the stage to a desired position of the stage;
generating a first stage force command signal if there is a difference between the actual position of the stage and the desired position of the stage;
estimating the first force by comparing the actual position of the cable carrier to a desired position of the cable carrier;
generating a second stage force command signal that is based on the estimated first force;
combining the first stage force command signal with the second stage force command signal; and
sending the combined force command signal to a first drive unit, wherein the first drive unit applies the second force to the stage via the combined command signal.
30. The method as recited in claim 29 further comprising:
providing a springdamper device that is configured to apply the first force to the cable carrier.

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 computer program product, comprising:
a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code embodied therewith, the computer-readable program code comprising:
computer-readable program code configured to receive a case by a question answering system;
computer-readable program code configured to identify a policy relevant in generating a response to the case, wherein the policy contains a set of criteria used in generating the response to the case;
computer-readable program code configured to swap, in the question answering system, the case and the policy, wherein the policy becomes the case, wherein the case becomes a candidate answer for the policy;
computer-readable program code configured to produce, by a first annotator selected from a predefined set of annotators, one or more relevant passages of the case;
computer-readable program code configured to compute a criteria score for a first criterion, of the set of criteria, based on the one or more relevant passages of the case; and
computer-readable program code configured to determine that the first criterion is met by the case when the criteria score for the first criterion exceeds a predefined threshold.
2. The computer program product of claim 1, further comprising:
computer-readable program code configured to, prior to computing the criteria score, merge the one or more relevant passages of the candidate answer to create a first updated candidate answer; and
computer-readable program code configured to score, by a first scorer, the first updated candidate answer to compute the criteria score for the first criterion.
3. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein a size of a text of the received case is too large to be processed by the first scorer, wherein the one or more relevant passages of the candidate answer are produced to allow the question answering system to score the candidate answer with the first scorer.
4. The computer program product of claim 2, further comprising:
computer-readable program code configured to process the first updated candidate answer by a second annotator, of the set of annotators, to produce an updated one or more relevant passages of the candidate answer;
computer-readable program code configured to merge the updated one or more relevant passages of the candidate answer to create a second updated candidate answer; and
computer-readable program code configured to score, by a second scorer, the second updated candidate answer to update the criteria score for the first criterion.
5. The computer program product of claim 2, further comprising:
computer-readable program code configured to adjust the criteria score for the first criterion based on a confidence score of the first scorer, wherein the confidence score for the first annotator indicates a level of confidence in the criteria score produced by the first scorer.
6. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the received case and the policy are swapped to improve performance of the question answering system.
7. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the first criterion comprises a concept, wherein the criteria score is based on whether the concept is detected in the candidate answer.
8. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the one or more relevant passages comprises a subset of the text of the candidate answer deemed relevant in determining whether the first criterion is met by the candidate answer.
9. A system, comprising:
one or more computer processors; and
a memory containing a program, which, when executed by the one or more computer processors, performs an operation, comprising:
receiving a case by a question answering system;
identifying a policy relevant in generating a response to the case, wherein the policy contains a set of criteria used in generating the response to the case;
swapping, in the question answering system, the case and the policy, wherein the policy becomes the case, wherein the case becomes a candidate answer for the policy;
producing, by a first annotator selected from a predefined set of annotators, one or more relevant passages of the candidate answer;
computing a criteria score for a first criterion, of the set of criteria, based on the one or more relevant passages of the candidate answer; and
determining that the first criterion is met by the candidate answer when the criteria score for the first criterion exceeds a predefined threshold.
10. The system of claim 9, the operation further comprising:
prior to computing the criteria score, merging the one or more relevant passages of the candidate answer to create a first updated candidate answer; and
scoring, by a first scorer, the first updated candidate answer to compute the criteria score for the first criterion.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein a size of a text of the received case is too large to be processed by the first scorer, wherein the one or more relevant passages of the candidate answer are produced to allow the question answering system to score the candidate answer with the first scorer.
12. The system of claim 10, the operation further comprising:
processing the first updated candidate answer by a second annotator, of the set of annotators, to produce an updated one or more relevant passages of the candidate answer;
merging the updated one or more relevant passages of the candidate answer to create a second updated candidate answer; and
scoring, by a second scorer, the second updated candidate answer to update the criteria score for the first criterion.
13. The system of claim 10, the operation further comprising:
adjusting the criteria score for the first criterion based on a confidence score of the first scorer, wherein the confidence score for the first annotator indicates a level of confidence in the criteria score produced by the first scorer.
14. The system of claim 10, wherein the received case and the policy are swapped to improve performance of the question answering system.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the first criterion comprises a concept, wherein the criteria score is based on whether the concept is detected in the candidate answer.
16. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more relevant passages comprises a subset of the text of the candidate answer deemed relevant in determining whether the first criterion is met by the candidate answer.

What is claimed is:

1. A method for facilitating a peer review process for a computer-based activity, comprising:
receiving a computer-based activity to be evaluated through the peer review process;
making the computer-based activity available for evaluation by a plurality of evaluators, by making the computer-based activity available on a computer system coupled to a network, so that the computer-based activity can be accessed by remote computer systems across the network;
receiving evaluations from the plurality of evaluators across the network; and
tabulating the evaluations from the plurality of evaluators to produce an evaluation result.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer-based activity includes one of:
a computer-based quiz;
a computer-based examination; and
a computer-based game.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the computer-based activity involves receiving a nomination for the computer-based activity from a creator of the computer-based activity.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein making the computer-based activity available for evaluation involves making the computer-based activity available on a web site that is accessible by the plurality of evaluators.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein if the evaluation result exceeds a threshold, the computer-based activity is placed in a public directory on the computer system, so that the computer-based activity becomes available to activity users from remote computer systems across the network.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the method further comprises making the evaluation result available to activity users who can access the computer-based activity.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises automatically screening the computer-based activity for offensive language before making the computer-based activity available for evaluation.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein tabulating the evaluations involves waiting until a minimum number of evaluations are received for the computer-based activity before tabulating the evaluations.
9. The method of claim 1,
wherein the computer-based activity is a computer-based quiz; and
wherein the evaluations include scores for,
spelling and grammar,
accuracy,
topic coverage, and
usefulness of the computer-based quiz.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein making the computer-based activity available for evaluation involves making the computer-based activity accessible under an activity category that is specified by a creator of the computer-based activity.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the evaluations include textual comments from the plurality of evaluators.
12. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method for facilitating a peer review process for a computer-based activity, the method comprising:
receiving a computer-based activity to be evaluated through the peer review process;
making the computer-based activity available for evaluation by a plurality of evaluators, by making the computer-based activity available on a computer system coupled to a network, so that the computer-based activity can be accessed by remote computer systems across the network;
receiving evaluations from the plurality of evaluators across the network; and
tabulating the evaluations from the plurality of evaluators to produce an evaluation result.
13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the computer-based activity includes one of:
a computer-based quiz;
a computer-based examination; and
a computer-based game.
14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein receiving the computer-based activity involves receiving a nomination for the computer-based activity from a creator of the computer-based activity.
15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein making the computer-based activity available for evaluation involves making the computer-based activity available on a web site that is accessible by the plurality of evaluators.
16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein if the evaluation result exceeds a threshold, the computer-based activity is placed in a public directory on the computer system, so that the computer-based activity becomes available to activity users from remote computer systems across the network.
17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises making the evaluation result available to activity users who can access the computer-based activity.
18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the method further comprises automatically screening the computer-based activity for offensive language before making the computer-based activity available for evaluation.
19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein tabulating the evaluations involves waiting until a minimum number of evaluations are received for the computer-based activity before tabulating the evaluations.
20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12,
wherein the computer-based activity is a computer-based quiz; and
wherein the evaluations include scores for,
spelling and grammar,
accuracy,
topic coverage, and
usefulness of the computer-based quiz.
21. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein making the computer-based activity available for evaluation involves making the computer-based activity accessible under an activity category that is specified by a creator of the computer-based activity.
22. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the evaluations include textual comments from the plurality of evaluators.
23. An apparatus that facilitates a peer review process for a computer-based activity, comprising:
a receiving mechanism that is configured to receive a computer-based activity to be evaluated through the peer review process;
an access mechanism that is configured to make the computer-based activity available for evaluation by a plurality of evaluators, by making the computer-based activity available on a computer system coupled to a network, so that the computer-based activity can be accessed by remote computer systems across the network;
wherein the receiving mechanism is additionally configured to receive evaluations from the plurality of evaluators across the network; and
a tabulating mechanism that is configured to tabulate the evaluations from the plurality of evaluators to produce an evaluation result.
24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the computer-based activity includes one of:
a computer-based quiz;
a computer-based examination; and
a computer-based game.
25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the receiving mechanism is configured to receive a nomination for the computer-based activity from a creator of the computer-based activity.
26. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the access mechanism is configured to make the computer-based activity available on a web site that is accessible by the plurality of evaluators.
27. The apparatus of claim 23, further comprising a publication mechanism that is configured to place the computer-based activity in a public directory on the computer system if the evaluation result exceeds a threshold, so that the computer-based activity becomes available to activity users from remote computer systems across the network.
28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the publication mechanism is additionally configured to make the evaluation result available to activity users who can access the computer-based activity.
29. The apparatus of claim 23, further comprising a screening mechanism that is configured to automatically screen the computer-based activity for offensive language before making the computer-based activity available for evaluation.
30. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the tabulating mechanism is configured to wait until a minimum number of evaluations are received for the computer-based activity before tabulating the evaluations.
31. The apparatus of claim 23,
wherein the computer-based activity is a computer-based quiz; and
wherein the evaluations include scores for,
spelling and grammar,
accuracy,
topic coverage, and
usefulness of the computer-based quiz.
32. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the access mechanism is configured to make the computer-based activity accessible under an activity category that is specified by a creator of the computer-based activity.
33. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the evaluations include textual comments from the plurality of evaluators.

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 computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving a first message, in a network protocol connection establishment handshake, from an initiator, the first message comprising source information indicating a source of the first message;
generating a transaction identifier using private information and the source information indicating the source of the first message, the generated transaction identifier comprising a first aspect and a second aspect;
sending a second message, in the network protocol connection establishment handshake, to the initiator, the second message comprising the generated transaction identifier;
receiving a third message, in the network protocol connection establishment handshake, from the initiator, the third message comprising the generated transaction identifier and source information indicating a source of the third message;
terminating the network protocol connection establishment handshake when the first aspect of the generated transaction identifier does not match a first expectation corresponding to the first aspect, the first expectation being independent of the source information indicating the source of the first message matching the source information indicating the source of the third message;
establishing a connection with the initiator when the first aspect of the generated transaction identifier matches the first expectation, and the second aspect of the generated transaction identifier matches a second expectation corresponding to the second aspect, the second expectation being dependent on the source information indicating the source of the first message matching the source information indicating the source of the third message; and
continuing the network protocol connection establishment handshake to establish the connection when the first aspect of the generated transaction identifier matches the first expectation, but the second aspect of the generated transaction identifier does not match the second expectation.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the first message comprises receiving the first message indirectly from the initiator through an intermediary.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein continuing the network protocol connection establishment handshake comprises:
generating a new identifier using private information and the source information indicating the source of the third message; and
sending a fourth message, comprising the new identifier, to the initiator to cause the initiator to resend the third message using the new identifier.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the transaction identifier comprises:
applying a trapdoor function to first input to create a first data portion;
applying a trapdoor function to second input to create a second data portion, the second input comprising the source information indicating the source of the first message; and
combining the first and second data portions into a cookie comprising the transaction identifier.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the private information comprises a secret key, and applying the trapdoor function to the second input comprises applying a cryptographic hash function to the second input using the secret key, wherein the second input further comprises current time information, and the source of the first message comprises a network address.
6. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoding a computer program product operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:
receiving a first message, in a network protocol connection establishment handshake, from an initiator, the first message comprising source information indicating a source of the first message;
generating a transaction identifier using private information and the source information indicating the source of the first message, the generated transaction identifier comprising a first aspect and a second aspect;
sending a second message, in the network protocol connection establishment handshake, to the initiator, the second message comprising the generated transaction identifier;
receiving a third message, in the network protocol connection establishment handshake, from the initiator, the third message comprising the generated transaction identifier and source information indicating a source of the third message;
terminating the network protocol connection establishment handshake when the first aspect of the generated transaction identifier does not match a first expectation corresponding to the first aspect, the first expectation being independent of the source information indicating the source of the first message matching the source information indicating the source of the third message;
establishing a connection with the initiator when the first aspect of the generated transaction identifier matches the first expectation, and the second aspect of the generated transaction identifier matches a second expectation corresponding to the second aspect, the second expectation being dependent on the source information indicating the source of the first message matching the source information indicating the source of the third message; and
continuing the network protocol connection establishment handshake to establish the connection when the first aspect of the generated transaction identifier matches the first expectation, but the second aspect of the generated transaction identifier does not match the second expectation.
7. The computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein receiving the first message comprises receiving the first message indirectly from the initiator through an intermediary.
8. The computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein continuing the network protocol connection establishment handshake comprises:
generating a new identifier using private information and the source information indicating the source of the third message; and
sending a fourth message, comprising the new identifier, to the initiator to cause the initiator to resend the third message using the new identifier.
9. The computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein generating the transaction identifier comprises:
applying a trapdoor function to first input to create a first data portion;
applying a trapdoor function to second input to create a second data portion, the second input comprising the source information indicating the source of the first message; and
combining the first and second data portions into a cookie comprising the transaction identifier.
10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the private information comprises a secret key, and applying the trapdoor function to the second input comprises applying a cryptographic hash function to the second input using the secret key, wherein the second input further comprises current time information, and the source of the first message comprises a network address.
11. A system comprising:
a first computer operable to send a first message, in a network protocol connection establishment handshake, from an initiator, the first message comprising source information indicating a source of the first message; and
one or more additional computers operable to:
receive the first message, in the network protocol connection establishment handshake,
generate a transaction identifier using private information and the source information indicating the source of the first message, the generated transaction identifier comprising a first aspect and a second aspect;
send a second message, in the network protocol connection establishment handshake, to the initiator, the second message comprising the generated transaction identifier;
receive a third message, in the network protocol connection establishment handshake, from the initiator, the third message comprising the generated transaction identifier and source information indicating a source of the third message;
terminate the network protocol connection establishment handshake when the first aspect of the generated transaction identifier does not match a first expectation corresponding to the first aspect, the first expectation being independent of the source information indicating the source of the first message matching the source information indicating the source of the third message;
establish a connection with the initiator when the first aspect of the generated transaction identifier matches the first expectation, and the second aspect of the generated transaction identifier matches a second expectation corresponding to the second aspect, the second expectation being dependent on the source information indicating the source of the first message matching the source information indicating the source of the third message; and
continue the network protocol connection establishment handshake to establish the connection when the first aspect of the generated transaction identifier matches the first expectation, but the second aspect of the generated transaction identifier does not match the second expectation.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more additional computers comprise a responder and an intermediary, the intermediary operable to receive the first message and redirect the first message to the responder.
13. The system of claim 11, wherein continuing the network protocol connection establishment handshake comprises:
generating a new identifier using private information and the source information indicating the source of the third message; and
sending a fourth message, comprising the new identifier, to the initiator to cause the initiator to resend the third message using the new identifier.
14. The system of claim 11, wherein generating the transaction identifier comprises:
applying a trapdoor function to first input to create a first data portion;
applying a trapdoor function to second input to create a second data portion, the second input comprising the source information indicating the source of the first message; and
combining the first and second data portions into a cookie comprising the transaction identifier.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the private information comprises a secret key, and applying the trapdoor function to the second input comprises applying a cryptographic hash function to the second input using the secret key, wherein the second input further comprises current time information, and the source of the first message comprises a network address.
16. The system of claim 11, wherein the first computer and the one or more computers each comprise a peer in a peer-to-peer network.