Author: claimsbot

1. A ball screw with a changeable oil-storage unit comprising:
a screw shaft being a column-shaped structure and provided at its outer surface with a plurality of teeth;
a nut mounted on the screw shaft and provided with inner threads for mating with outer threads of the screw shaft, a plurality of rolling elements rotatably disposed between the inner threads and the outer threads, the nut defined with a circulating unit for permitting the rolling element to circulate endlessly, so as to cause a motion of the nut relative to the screw shaft, on the nut being defined an oil filler hole;
oil-storage unit having an oil feeding hole and an oil-storage space in communication with the oil feeding hole;
a connector having a through hole, at both ends of the through hole being disposed two connecting portions for mating with the oil filler hole of the nut and the oil feeding hole of the oil-storage space, respectively;
wherein one of the connecting portions has a tongue and groove arrangement so as to provide a quick connection, so that the through hole of the connector is connected to the oil filler hole of the nut and the oil feeding hole of the oil-storage space, forming an oil route that is used to provide lubricating oil for the ball screw, one of the ends of the through hole of the connector is sealed with a spring plug.
2. The ball screw with a changeable oil-storage unit as claimed in claim 1, the oil feeding hole of the oil-storage unit is sealed with the spring plug, the connecting portion of the connector is provided with a knock pin that will push the spring plug away when the oil-storage unit is engaged with the connector, so that the oil feeding hole of the oil-storage unit will be in communication with the through hole of the connector.
3. The ball screw with a changeable oil-storage unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connecting portion of the connector is a projecting structure, and the oil feeding hole of the oil-storage unit is a concave structure.
4. The ball screw with a changeable oil-storage unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the oil storage space of the oil-storage unit is made up of a base and a cover.
5. The ball screw with a changeable oil-storage unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the oil-storage unit is provided with hooks, and the nut is correspondingly provided with locking cavities.
6. The ball screw with a changeable oil-storage unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the nut is provided with hooks, and the oil-storage unit is correspondingly provided with locking cavities.
7. A ball screw with a changeable oil-storage unit comprising:
a screw shaft being a column-shaped structure and provided at its outer surface with a plurality of teeth;
a nut mounted on the screw shaft and provided with inner threads for mating with outer threads of the screw shaft, a plurality of rolling elements rotatably disposed between the inner threads and the outer threads, the nut defined with a circulating unit for permitting the rolling element to circulate endlessly, so as to cause a motion of the nut relative to the screw shaft, on the nut being defined an oil filler hole;
oil-storage unit having an oil feeding hole and an oil-storage space in communication with the oil feeding hole;
a connector having a through hole, at both ends of the through hole being disposed two connecting portions for mating with the oil filler hole of the nut and the oil feeding hole of the oil-storage space, respectively;
wherein one of the connecting portions has a tongue and groove arrangement so as to provide a quick connection, so that the through hole of the connector is connected to the oil filler hole of the nut and the oil feeding hole of the oil-storage space, forming an oil route that is used to provide lubricating oil for the ball screw, one of the ends of the through hole of the connector is sealed with a ball.
8. The ball screw with a changeable oil-storage unit as claimed in claim 7, the oil feeding hole of the oil-storage unit is sealed with the ball, the connecting portion of the connector is provided with a knock pin that will push the ball away when the oil-storage unit is engaged with the connector, so that the oil feeding hole of the oil-storage unit will be in communication with the through hole of the connector.
9. The ball screw with a changeable oil-storage unit as claimed in claim 7, wherein the connecting portion of the connector is a projecting structure, and the oil feeding hole of the oil-storage unit is a concave structure.
10. The ball screw with a changeable oil-storage unit as claimed in claim 7, wherein the oil storage space of the oil-storage unit is made up of a base and a cover.
11. The ball screw with a changeable oil-storage unit as claimed in claim 7, wherein the oil-storage unit is provided with hooks, and the nut is correspondingly provided with locking cavities.
12. The ball screw with a changeable oil-storage unit as claimed in claim 7, wherein the nut is provided with hooks, and the oil-storage unit is correspondingly provided with locking cavities.
13. A ball screw with a changeable oil-storage unit comprising:
a screw shaft being a column-shaped structure and provided at its outer surface with a plurality of teeth;
a nut mounted on the screw shaft and provided with inner threads for mating with outer threads of the screw shaft, a plurality of rolling elements rotatably disposed between the inner threads and the outer threads, the nut defined with a circulating unit for permitting the rolling element to circulate endlessly, so as to cause a motion of the nut relative to the screw shaft, on the nut being defined an oil filler hole;
oil-storage unit having an oil feeding hole and an oil-storage space in communication with the oil feeding hole;
a connector having a through hole, at both ends of the through hole being disposed two connecting portions for mating with the oil filler hole of the nut and the oil feeding hole of the oil-storage space, respectively;
wherein one of the connecting portions has a tongue and groove arrangement so as to provide a quick connection, so that the through hole of the connector is connected to the oil filler hole of the nut and the oil feeding hole of the oil-storage space, forming an oil route that is used to provide lubricating oil for the ball screw, one of the ends of the through hole of the connector is sealed with a film.
14. The ball screw with a changeable oil-storage unit as claimed in claim 13, the oil feeding hole of the oil-storage unit is sealed with the film, the connecting portion of the connector is provided with a knock pin that will pierce through the film when the oil-storage unit is engaged with the connector, so that the oil feeding hole of the oil-storage unit will be in communication with the through hole of the connector.
15. The ball screw with a changeable oil-storage unit as claimed in claim 13, wherein the connecting portion of the connector is a projecting structure, and the oil feeding hole of the oil-storage unit is a concave structure.
16. The ball screw with a changeable oil-storage unit as claimed in claim 13, wherein the oil storage space of the oil-storage unit is made up of a base and a cover.
17. The ball screw with a changeable oil-storage unit as claimed in claim 13, wherein the oil-storage unit is provided with hooks, and the nut is correspondingly provided with locking cavities.
18. The ball screw with a changeable oil-storage unit as claimed in claim 13, wherein the nut is provided with hooks, and the oil-storage unit is correspondingly provided with locking cavities.

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 bag for containing a fill material comprising:
(a) a flexible bag wall forming a chamber for containing said fill material;
(b) a sealable opening for insertion of said fill material into said chamber; and
(c) a hole adjacent to an edge of said bag extending through said bag wall for receiving a bag attachment member, said hole being unconnected to said chamber.
2. An erosion-control element comprising:
(a) a plurality of sandbags, each said sandbag having a flexible bag wall forming a chamber containing a fill material, and a hole extending through said bag wall, said hole being unconnected to said chamber; and
(b) a bag attachment member extending through said holes forming a closed loop and attaching said sandbags together.
3. An erosion-control element comprising:
(a) at least three sandbags comprising first, second and third said sandbags, each said sandbag having a flexible bag wall forming a chamber containing a fill material, and a hole extending through said bag wall, said hole being unconnected to said chamber, said first sandbag having at least two said holes spaced apart from each other;
(b) a first bag attachment member extending through a first said hole in said first sandbag and through said hole in said second sandbag, forming a closed loop and attaching said first and second sandbags together; and
(c) a second bag attachment member extending through a second said hole in said first sandbag and through said hole in said third sandbag, forming a closed loop and attaching said first and third sandbags together.
4. An erosion-control element comprising:
(a) a plurality of sandbags, each said bag having a flexible bag wall forming a chamber containing a fill material, and a hole extending through said bag wall, said hole being unconnected to said chamber; and
(b) each of said holes having a respective bag attachment member extending therethrough and forming a closed loop; and
(c) a connector for connecting said bag attachment members together.
5. An erosion-control element according to claim 2, wherein said hole is adjacent to an edge of said bag.
6. An erosion-control element according to claim 3, wherein said hole is adjacent to an edge of said bag.
7. An erosion-control element according to claim 4, wherein said hole is adjacent to an edge of said bag.
8. An erosion-control element according to claim 2, wherein said attachment member is a cable tie.
9. An erosion-control element according to claim 2, in combination with one or more other said erosion control members to form a structure for protecting a ground area from erosion.
10. An erosion-control element according to claim 3, in combination with one or more other said erosion control members to form a structure for protecting a ground area from erosion.
11. An erosion-control element according to claim 4, in combination with one or more other said erosion control members to form a structure for protecting a ground area from erosion.
12. An erosion-control element according to claim 9, wherein said ground area is an underwater shoreline area.
13. An erosion-control element according to claim 10, wherein said ground area is an underwater shoreline area.
14. An erosion-control element according to claim 11, wherein said ground area is an underwater shoreline area.
15. An erosion-control element according to claim 9, wherein said ground area is an above-water sloping area.
16. An erosion-control element according to claim 9, wherein said combination of erosion control members is anchored to said ground area.
17. An erosion-control element according to claim 10, wherein said combination of erosion control members is anchored to said ground area.
18. An erosion-control element according to claim 11, wherein said combination of erosion control members is anchored to said ground area.

1. An automatic accurate alignment method to be implemented by a semiconductor wafer cutting apparatus for positioning a semiconductor wafer at a required position, the semiconductor wafer being formed with an array of polygonal circuit areas, adjacent ones of the polygonal circuit areas being spaced apart by linear cutting streets, the semiconductor wafer cutting apparatus including
a platform for holding the semiconductor wafer, the platform being movable along a first axis and being rotatable about a second axis transverse to the first axis,
a camera unit disposed above the platform and operable so as to generate an electrical output corresponding to at least a part of an image of the semiconductor wafer on the platform, the camera unit being movable along a third axis transverse to the first and second axes,
a cutter unit movable with the camera unit along the third axis and further movable along the second axis, and
a processing unit coupled electrically to the platform, the camera unit and the cutter unit, the processing unit receiving the electrical output of the camera unit and controlling movements of the platform, the camera unit and the cutter unit,
the processing unit being configured with a key pattern database that contains a key pattern of a key polygonal circuit area having at least a first dimension along a first cutting direction and a second dimension along a second cutting direction,
said automatic accurate alignment method comprising the steps of:
(a) placing the semiconductor wafer on the platform, and enabling the processing unit to move the platform and the camera unit to initial positions;
(b) enabling the processing unit to match the electrical output of the camera unit with the key pattern to find a plurality of adjacent working patterns in the electrical output of the camera unit, and to record center point coordinates of the working patterns;
(c) enabling the processing unit to calculate at least one distance value associated with the center point coordinates of a corresponding adjacent pair of the working patterns;
(d) enabling the processing unit to determine whether any one distance value calculated in step (c) complies with one of the first and second dimensions of the key polygonal circuit area; and
(e) upon determination that there is one distance value calculated in step (c) that complies with one of the first and second dimensions of the key polygonal circuit area, enabling the processing unit to rotate the platform about the second axis so that an imaginary line interconnecting the center point coordinates that are associated with said one distance value is disposed parallel to one of the first and second cutting directions.
2. The automatic accurate alignment method as claimed in claim 1, wherein three working patterns are found in step (b), three distance values are calculated in step (c), and step (d) includes determining an optimum fit between each of the distance values calculated in step (c) and a preset one of the first and second dimensions of the key polygonal circuit area.
3. The automatic accurate alignment method as claimed in claim 2, wherein in step (e), the processing unit rotates the platform so that the imaginary line is disposed parallel to the cutting direction that is associated with the preset one of the first and second dimensions of the key polygonal circuit area.
4. The automatic accurate alignment method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the step of determining the optimum fit includes:
calculating a difference value between each of the distance values calculated in step (c) and the preset one of the first and second dimensions of the key polygonal circuit area, and
generating an alarm output and stopping further alignment operation of the processing unit when all of the calculated difference values exceed a default threshold value.
5. The automatic accurate alignment method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising, after step (e):
(g) enabling the processing unit to drive movement of the platform along the first axis, and to drive subsequent movement of the camera unit along the third axis so that the semiconductor wafer is disposed at a required cutting position.
6. The automatic accurate alignment method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising, between steps (e) and (g):
(f) enabling the processing unit to rotate the platform about the second axis so that the imaginary line is disposed parallel to another of the cutting directions, and thereafter repeating step (b) to step (e), wherein dimension compliance in step (d) is determined with reference to the other of the first and second dimensions of the key polygonal circuit area.
7. The automatic accurate alignment method as claimed in claim 1, wherein step (b) includes:
if a plurality of the working patterns is not found, enabling the processing unit to drive movement of the platform along the first axis and movement of the camera unit along the third axis so that a plurality of the working patterns can be found from the electrical output of the camera unit.
8. The automatic accurate alignment method as claimed in claim 1, wherein step (d) includes:
calculating a difference value between each distance value calculated in step (c) and said one of the first and second dimensions of the key polygonal circuit area, and
generating an alarm output and stopping further alignment operation of the processing unit when each calculated difference value exceeds a default threshold value.
9. The automatic accurate alignment method as claimed in claim 1, the semiconductor wafer cutting apparatus further including a display device coupled electrically to the processing unit, said automatic accurate alignment method further comprising, prior to step (a), the step of establishing the key pattern database that includes the sub-steps of:
placing a key semiconductor wafer on the platform, the key semiconductor wafer being formed with an array of identical key polygonal circuit areas;
activating the camera unit to generate the electrical output corresponding to at least a part of an image of the key semiconductor wafer on the platform;
enabling the processing unit to control the display device to display the image corresponding to the electrical output thereon;
performing a manual alignment operation to control the processing unit so as to adjust positions of the platform and the camera unit with reference to the image shown on the display device until the key semiconductor wafer is disposed at the required position; and
enabling the processing unit to configure parameters of the key pattern based on a selected one of the key polygonal circuit areas of the key semiconductor wafer once the key semiconductor wafer has been disposed at the required position.

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 short detection circuit for detecting an output node corresponding to an output voltage converted from an input voltage of a power converter, the short detection circuit comprising:
a first current source;
a chargingdischarging unit performing charging operation in accordance with the first current source to generate a charging signal in a shorted condition of the output node;
a comparator outputting an enable signal by comparing the charging signal with a reference signal; and
a logic control unit controlled by the enable signal to generate a fault signal for turning off a first switch coupled between the output node and the input voltage in the shorted condition of the output node, wherein the logic control unit further comprises:
a second current source;
a detecting element coupled between the input voltage and the second current source, and
a second switch turned on by the enable signal to switch off the second current source such that the fault signal is generated according to the detecting element and the input voltage.
2. The short detection circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the chargingdischarging unit further comprises:
an energy storing element; and
a charging element coupled to the energy storing element such that the energy storing element is charged to generate the charging signal in the shorted condition of the output node.
3. The short detection circuit as claimed in claim 2, wherein the chargingdischarging unit further comprises:
a discharging element coupled to the energy storing element and connected in parallel with the charging element such that the energy storing element is discharged to generate a discharging signal in a non-shorted condition of the output node.
4. The short detection circuit as claimed in claim 3, wherein the comparator outputs a disable signal by comparing the discharging signal with the reference signal to turn off the second switch such that the second current source is switched on and a non-fault signal for turning on the first switch is generated according to the detecting element and the input voltage.
5. The short detection circuit as claimed in claim 3, wherein the chargingdischarging unit further comprises:
a multiplexer coupled to the charging element and the discharging element and selecting current path for current flowing through the charging element or the discharging element.
6. The short detection circuit as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
a third switch coupled between the output node and the first current source and turned on in a non-shorted condition of the output node.
7. A power converter, comprising:
a first switch coupled between an input voltage and an output node corresponding to an output voltage converted from the input voltage; and
a short detection circuit generating a fault signal for turning off the first switch in a shorted condition of the output node, the short detection circuit comprising:
a chargingdischarging unit performing charging operation in accordance with a first current source to generate a charging signal in the shorted condition of the output node;
a comparator outputting an enable signal by comparing the charging signal with a reference signal; and
a logic control unit controlled by the enable signal to generate the fault signal,

wherein the logic control unit further comprises:
a second current source;
a detecting element coupled between the input voltage and the second current source; and
a second switch turned on by the enable signal to switch off the second current source such that the fault signal is generated according to the detecting element and the input voltage.
8. The power converter as claimed in claim 7, wherein the chargingdischarging unit further comprises:
an energy storing element; and
a charging element coupled to the energy storing element such that the energy storing element is charged to generate the charging signal in the shorted condition of the output node.
9. The power converter as claimed in claim 8, wherein the chargingdischarging unit further comprises:
a discharging element coupled to the energy storing element and connected in parallel with the charging element such that the energy storing element is discharged to generate a discharging signal in a non-shorted condition of the output node.
10. The power converter as claimed in claim 9, wherein the comparator outputs a disable signal by comparing the discharging signal with the reference signal to turn off the second switch such that the second current source is switched on and a non-fault signal for turning on the first switch is generated according to the detecting element and the input voltage.
11. The power converter as claimed in claim 9, wherein the chargingdischarging unit further comprises:
a multiplexer coupled to the charging element and the discharging element and selecting current path for current flowing through the charging element or the discharging element.
12. The power converter as claimed in claim 7, further comprising:
a third switch coupled between the output node and the first current source and turned on in a non-shorted condition of the output node.
13. A method for detecting short of an output node corresponding to an output voltage converted from an input voltage of a power converter, the method comprising the steps of:
performing charging operation to generate a charging signal by utilizing a first current source in a shorted condition of the output node;
comparing the charging signal with a reference signal to generate an enable signal; and
controlling a logic unit by the enable signal to generate a fault signal for turning off a first switch coupled between the output node and the input voltage in the shorted condition of the output node, wherein the controlling step further comprises:
turning on a second switch by the enable signal to switch off a second current source; and
generating the fault signal according to a detecting element and the input voltage.
14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the step of performing charging operation further comprises the step of:
charging an energy storing element by the first current source and a charging element coupled to the energy storing element to generate the charging signal.
15. The method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising the step of:
performing discharging operation to generate a discharging signal in a non-shorted condition of the output node.
16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the step of performing discharging operation further comprises the step of:
discharging the energy storing element by a discharging element coupled to the energy storing element to generate the discharging signal.
17. The method as claimed in claim 15, further comprising the steps of:
comparing the discharging signal with the reference signal to generate a disable signal; and
controlling the logic unit by the disable signal to generate a non-fault signal for turning on the first switch.