Author: claimsbot

1. A gear mounting having a spindle extending substantially normal to a carrier and capable of radial excursions from an initial position, when under load, characterised in that the spindle and carrier have generally frusto-conical abutment surfaces, normals to which extend substantially through the centroid of a projecting portion of the spindle and in that in the initial position of the spindle there is a gap between the abutment surfaces, said gap being sufficiently dimensioned to allow the spindle to be stressed in bending only up to a pre-determined load, such that when the pre-determined load is reached or exceeded, the abutment surfaces will engage to generate a reaction load whereby the spindle is stressed in tension and bending.
2. A gear mounting as claimed in claim 1 wherein the spindle is cantilevered from the carrier and includes radially inner and outer members and wherein the spindle abutment surface is on the outer member.
3. A gear mounting as claimed in claim 2 wherein, the inner member is a tension bolt.
4. A gear mounting as claimed in claim 1 wherein the carrier includes a ring or generally annular insert, which defines the abutment surface on the carrier.
5. A gear mounting as claimed in claim 3, wherein the tension bolt is surrounded by a sleeve.
6. A gear box including one or more gear mountings as claimed in claim 1.
7. A gear mounting having:
a spindle extending substantially normal to a carrier and capable of radial excursions from an initial position, when under load, characterised in that the spindle and carrier have generally frusto-conical abutment surfaces, normals to which extend substantially through the centroid of a projecting portion of the spindle, and in that in the initial position of the spindle there is a gap between the abutment surfaces, said gap configured to allow the spindle to be stressed in bending only up to a predetermined load;
wherein the abutment surfaces are configured to engage each other at or above the predetermined load to generate a reaction load whereby the spindle is stressed in tension and bending.
8. A gear mounting as claimed in claim 7, wherein the spindle is cantilevered from the carrier and includes radially inner and outer members and wherein the spindle abutment surface is on the outer member.
9. A gear mounting as claimed in claim 8, wherein the inner member is a tension bolt.
10. A gear mounting as claimed in claim 9, wherein the tension bolt is surrounded by a sleeve.
11. A gear mounting as claimed in claim 7, wherein the carrier includes a ring or generally annular insert, which defines the abutment surface on the carrier.
12. A gear box including one or more gear mountings as claimed in claim 7.

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 exposure apparatus comprising:
air pressure measurement means for measuring air pressure in a neighborhood of or inside a projection optical system;
first correction means, including aberration adjustment by driving a lens of the projection optical system, for repeatedly executing correction of an aberration based on the air pressure which is measured by said air pressure measurement means; and
second correction means, including aberration adjustment by changing a wavelength of an exposure light source, for executing correction of an aberration at a time interval longer than a repetition of the aberration correction executed by said first correction means, based on the air pressure which is measured by said air pressure measurement means.
2. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second correction means corrects more aberrations than that of the first correction means.
3. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first correction means performs correction at least during a shot of an exposure, and said second correction means performs correction in a non-shot state of the exposure.
4. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first correction means performs correction from the beginning of an exposure process for a wafer to the end of all shots of the exposure, and said second correction means performs correction while the wafer is exchanged after the end of said exposure process.
5. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second correction means performs aberration correction by changing the wavelength, or by changing the wavelength and driving the lens.
6. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising stage driving means for adjusting an aberration by driving a wafer stage in the optical-axis direction,
wherein said first correction means and said second correction means performs aberration correction using said stage driving means.
7. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said air pressure measurement means comprises:
a first barometer for detecting an absolute value of air pressure;
a second barometer for detecting an absolute value or a relative value of air pressure at higher speed than said first barometer; and
calibration means for calibrating an output of said second barometer based on an output of said first barometer, and outputting a calibration result as the measured air pressure value.
8. An exposure apparatus comprising:
a first barometer for detecting an absolute value of air pressure;
a second barometer for detecting an absolute value or a relative value of air pressure at higher speed than said first barometer;
calibration means for calibrating an output of said second barometer based on an output of said first barometer, and outputting a calibration result as a measured air pressure value; and
aberration correction means for performing aberration correction based on the air pressure value outputted by said calibration means.
9. The exposure apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said aberration correction means performs aberration correction by employing at least one of: aberration correction utilizing wavelength changing means which adjusts an aberration by changing a wavelength of an exposure light source, aberration correction utilizing lens driving means which adjusts an aberration by driving a lens of a projection optical system, and aberration correction utilizing stage driving means which adjusts an aberration by driving a wafer stage in an optical-axis direction.
10. The exposure apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said second barometer is configured with a laser interferometer.
11. An aberration correction method for correcting an aberration based on an air pressure value measured by air pressure measurement means that measures air pressure in a neighborhood of or inside a projection optical system, said method comprising:
a first correction step of repeatedly executing correction of a predetermined number of aberrations based on the air pressure value which is measured by the air pressure measurement means, said step including aberration adjustment by driving a lens of the projection optical system; and
a second correction step of executing aberration correction at a time interval longer than a repetition of the aberration correction executed in said first correction step, based on the air pressure which is measured by the air pressure measurement means, said step including aberration adjustment by changing a wavelength of an exposure light source.
12. A method of correcting an aberration caused by a change in air pressure in an exposure apparatus, comprising:
a calibration step of calibrating an output of a second barometer based on an output of a first barometer and outputting a calibration result as a measured air pressure value, said first barometer detecting an absolute value of air pressure and said second barometer detecting an absolute value or a relative value of air pressure at higher speed than the first barometer; and
an aberration correction step of performing aberration correction based on the air pressure value outputted in said calibration step.

1. A head stack assembly (HSA) circuit assembly, comprising:
at least one actuator pad to be electrically coupled to a printed circuit board;
a flexible circuit substrate to electrically couple a slider to the at least one actuator pad; and
a stiffener to be mounted between the flexible circuit substrate and an actuator arm.
2. The HSA circuit assembly of claim 1, wherein the stiffener is made of aluminum.
3. The HSA circuit assembly of claim 1, wherein the flexible circuit substrate is made of an organic material.
4. The HSA circuit assembly of claim 3, wherein the flexible circuit substrate has at least one embedded lead connecting the slider to the at least one actuator pad.
5. The HSA circuit assembly of claim 1, wherein the flexible circuit substrate is coupled to the stiffener with an adhesive.
6. The HSA circuit assembly of claim 1, wherein the stiffener is mounted to the actuator by soldering at least one pin extending from the actuator arm through the stiffener and the flexible substrate.
7. The flexible circuit assembly of claim 1, wherein the stiffener is mounted to the actuator by laser welding the stiffener to the actuator arm.
8. A head stack assembly, comprising:
an actuator arm to place a slider above a magnetic storage medium;
a printed circuit board to control the slider and the actuator arm; and
a flexible circuit assembly, including:
at least one actuator pads to be electrically coupled to a printed circuit board;
a flexible circuit substrate to electrically couple a slider to the at least one actuator pad; and
a stiffener to be mounted between the flexible circuit substrate and an actuator arm.
9. The head stack assembly of claim 8, wherein the stiffener is made of aluminum.
10. The head stack assembly of claim 8, wherein the flexible circuit substrate is made of an organic material.
11. The head stack assembly of claim 10, wherein the flexible circuit substrate has at least one embedded lead connecting the slider to the at least one actuator pad.
12. The head stack assembly of claim 8, wherein the flexible circuit substrate is coupled to the stiffener with an adhesive.
13. The head stack assembly of claim 8, further comprising at least one pin extending from the actuator arm through the stiffener to be soldered to the stiffener.
14. The head stack assembly of claim 8, wherein the stiffener is mounted to the actuator by laser welding the stiffener to the actuator arm.
15. A hard disk drive, comprising:
a magnetic storage medium to store data;
a base to support the magnetic storage medium;
an actuator arm to place a slider above a magnetic storage medium;
a pivot to move the actuator arm in relation to the magnetic storage medium;
a printed circuit board to control the slider and the actuator arm; and
a flexible circuit assembly, including:
at least one actuator pad to be electrically coupled to a printed circuit board;
a flexible circuit substrate to electrically couple a slider to the at least one actuator pad; and
a stiffener to be mounted between the flexible circuit substrate and an actuator arm.
16. The hard disk drive of claim 15, wherein the stiffener is made of aluminum.
17. The hard disk drive of claim 15, wherein the flexible circuit substrate is made of an organic material.
18. The hard disk drive of claim 17, wherein the flexible circuit substrate has at least one embedded lead connecting the slider to the at least one actuator pad.
19. The hard disk drive of claim 15, wherein the flexible circuit substrate is coupled to the stiffener with an adhesive.
20. The hard disk drive of claim 15, further comprising at least one pin extending from the actuator arm through the stiffener to be soldered to the stiffener.
21. The hard disk drive of claim 15, wherein the stiffener is mounted to the actuator by laser welding the stiffener to the actuator arm.
22. A method, comprising:
electrically coupling a slider to at least one actuator pad with a flexible circuit substrate; and
mounting the flexible circuit substrate to an actuator arm with a stiffener between the flexible circuit substrate and the actuator arm.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein the stiffener is made of aluminum.
24. The method of claim 22, wherein the flexible circuit substrate is made of an organic material.
25. The method of claim 24, wherein the flexible circuit substrate has at least one embedded lead connecting the slider to the at least one actuator pad.
26. The method of claim 22, further comprising coupling the flexible circuit substrate to the stiffener with an adhesive.
27. The method of claim 22, further comprising mounting the stiffener to the actuator by soldering at least one pin extending from the actuator arm through the stiffener and the flexible substrate.
28. The method of claim 22, further comprising mounting the stiffener to the actuator by laser welding the stiffener to the actuator arm.

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 method for sorting out parts by means of air blasts, wherein the air blasts directed onto the parts to be sorted out are generated in the form of toroidal eddies.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the air for the generation of the eddying air blasts is pushed in a pulsed manner through an ejection opening having a circular cross-section.
3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the diameter of the ejection opening is at least half as large as a smallest dimension of the part to be sorted out by the application of an air blast.
4. A method according to claim 1, wherein a diaphragm unit comprising a flexible displacement diaphragm is driven, using electric activation pulses, in such a way that its resulting deflection effects by active displacement of air a pulsed ejection of air from a working chamber through an ejection opening.
5. A sorting device for sorting out parts by means of air blasts, comprising at least one air blast generator having a generator housing in which at least one reversibly deflectable diaphragm unit bounds a working chamber connected to at least one ejection opening wherein the ejection of an air blast from the working chamber through the ejection opening can be caused by the activation of the diaphragm unit, and wherein the diaphragm unit forms an air displacement unit comprising a flexible displacement diaphragm, which can be deflected by activation for a sudden reduction of the volume of the working chamber in order to perform an ejection movement, so that it actively displaces in a pulsed manner the air forming the air blast from the working chamber through the ejection opening.
6. A sorting device according to claim 5, wherein the diaphragm unit and the ejection opening are arranged such that the connection between the working chamber and the ejection opening is always open, irrespective of the activation state of the diaphragm unit.
7. A sorting device according to claim 5, wherein the ejection opening allows the passage of air in both directions and simultaneously forms an intake opening through which air flows or is drawn from the outside into the working chamber when the diaphragm unit performs a return movement opposed to the ejection movement.
8. A sorting device according to claim 5, wherein precisely one ejection opening terminating into the working chamber is provided.
9. A sorting device according to claim 5, wherein the ejection opening has a sharp-edged outlet orifice such that the ejection opening shapes the emerging air blast into a toroidal eddy (vortex).
10. A sorting device according to claim 5, wherein the at least one diaphragm unit is designed for electric activation.
11. A sorting device according to claim 10, wherein the diaphragm unit has a piezoelectric configuration.
12. A sorting device according to claim 10, wherein the diaphragm unit comprises a spring-elastic displacement diaphragm supported on the generator housing with its outer edge section and a piezoelectric transducer securely connected to the displacement diaphragm.
13. A sorting device according to claim 11, wherein the displacement diaphragm is made of metal and also forms an electrode of the piezoelectric transducer.
14. A sorting device according to claim 5, wherein the displacement diaphragm has an inclined orientation in the interior of a housing chamber of the generator housing, lying diagonal therein, wherein it divides the housing chamber in a gas-tight arrangement into a first sub-chamber forming the working chamber and a second sub-chamber, the second sub-chamber being used for measures for driving the diaphragm unit.
15. A sorting device according to claim 5, wherein the generator housing encloses a housing chamber, the dimensions of which in the axial direction of a main axis are smaller than those perpendicular thereto, wherein the diaphragm unit has an inclined main dimensional plane with respect to the main axis in the housing chamber and divides the housing chamber into two sub-chambers one of which forms the working chamber.
16. A sorting device according to claim 15, wherein the housing chamber has a rectangular cross-section, the shorter sides of which extend parallel to the main axis and the longer sides of which extend at right angles to the main axis, the normal axis of the diaphragm unit, which is perpendicular to the main dimensional plane, extending at an angle to the main axis.
17. A sorting device according to claim 16, wherein the main dimensional plane of the diaphragm unit extends between two diagonally opposite corner regions of the rectangular cross-section of the housing chamber.
18. A sorting device according to claim 14, wherein the sub-chamber of the housing chamber which is opposite the working chamber forms a connecting chamber in which the electric connection measures taken with respect to the diaphragm unit are located, the working chamber not containing any such electric connection measures.
19. A sorting device according to claim 5, wherein the ejection opening is oriented transversely to the direction of the ejection movement of the diaphragm unit.
20. A sorting device according to claim 5, wherein the surface area of the displacement diaphragm, converted to a circle area has five to twenty times the diameter of the ejection opening with its circular cross-section.
21. A sorting device according to claim 5, wherein the diameter \u201cD\u201d of the ejection opening with its circular cross-section fulfils the condition
D=a\xb7V13,
wherein \u201ca\u201d is a numeric value between 0.3 and 3 and \u201cV\u201d is the volume displaced from the working chamber by the diaphragm unit as it is activated.
22. A sorting device according to claim 5, wherein the generator housing externally has a flat shape and smaller external dimensions in the direction of a main axis than perpendicular thereto.
23. A sorting device according to claim 5, wherein the working chamber is bounded by several diaphragm units which can be activated simultaneously and in the same sense.
24. A sorting device according to claim 23, wherein the working chamber is located between two diaphragm units which lie opposite each other and are inclined relative to each other while enclosing an acute angle.
25. A sorting device according to claim 5, further comprising an electronic control unit for the activation of the at least one diaphragm unit of the at least one air blast generator.
26. A sorting device according to claim 25, further comprising a detection unit connected to the electronic control unit for checking the parts to be sorted.
27. A sorting device according to claim 5, further comprising at least one generator package made up from a plurality of air blast generators fitted to one another in a line-up direction, the ejection openings of all air blast generators having an identical orientation.