Author: claimsbot

1. A method for producing a rod lens having a light guiding element and a lens element, comprising the steps of:
providing a glass body made of a sealing glass having a comparatively low melting temperature (Tg1) and a predefined thermal expansion coefficient (CTE1);
providing a holder made of a material selected from the group consisting of holder glass, ceramic, glass ceramic, and metal, the material having a melting temperature (Tg2, Tmelt3) higher than that of the sealing glass, and having a thermal expansion coefficient (CTE2) either close to the thermal expansion coefficient (CTE1) of the sealing glass, or in case of a metallic holder a thermal expansion coefficient (CTE3) different from that of the glass;
combining the glass body of the sealing glass with the holder to ensure some mechanical support of the glass body by the holder, with at least a portion of the glass body projecting beyond the holder;
melting the glass body at a temperature such that the portion of the glass body projecting beyond the holder is deformed into a cap having a partially spherical or approximately spherical surface, while the holder remains dimensionally stable to produce the rod lens; and
allowing the rod lens to cool down.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the holder comprises a solid glass holder, further comprising the step of joining the solid glass holder to the glass body of the sealing glass.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the holder or a part of the holder comprises an annular glass or metallic holder.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the holder encloses at least two partial bodies of sealing glass.
5. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a light-active substance enclosed by the holder.
6. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a metallic cover anchored in glass.
7. A rod lens comprising:
a holder made of a material selected from the group consisting of holder glass, ceramic, glass ceramic, and metal; and
a melted lens element made of sealing glass having a comparatively low melting temperature (Tg1) and a predefined thermal expansion coefficient (CTE1), and having a spherical or nearly spherical surface extending from the holder, wherein the holder has a higher melting temperature than the sealing glass, but a similar thermal expansion coefficient as the sealing glass, or in case of a metallic holder, a thermal expansion coefficient (CTE3) different from that of the glass.
8. The rod lens as claimed in claim 7, wherein the holder comprises a holder glass body having a shape selected from the group consisting of a circular cylindrical shape, a prismatic shape, a conical shape, and pyramidal shape, the holder glass body having a first light transmitting face that faces the lens element, and a second light transmitting face that faces away from the lens element.
9. The rod lens as claimed in claim 7, wherein the holder comprises an annular socket for the melted lens element.
10. The rod lens as claimed in claim 7, wherein the melted lens element comprises at least two partial bodies.
11. The rod lens as claimed in claim 7, wherein the melted lens element consists of at least two sealing glasses having different optical properties selected from the group consisting of refractive index, dispersion, partial dispersion, group delay dispersion, and combinations thereof.
12. The rod lens as claimed in claim 7, further comprising an intermediate layer of a light-active substance is enclosed between the melted lens element and an adjacent glass body.
13. The rod lens as claimed in claim 8, wherein the holder comprises a cover which is anchored between the melted lens element and the holder glass body.
14. The rod lens as claimed in claim 7, wherein the holder is at least partially made of metal.
15. The rod lens as claimed in claim 14, wherein the holder comprises a coating or surface-treatment, the coating or surface-treatment adjusting a property selected from the group consisting of surface tension, interfacial tension to the sealing glass, and combinations thereof.
16. The rod lens as claimed in claim 14, wherein the holder comprises a reflectance adjusting coating or surface-treatment.
17. The rod lens as claimed in claim 14, wherein the holder has a wall thickness of less than 100 \u03bcm.
18. An array arrangement of rod lenses as claimed in claim 7.
19. The array arrangement of rod lenses as claimed in claim 18, said array arrangement being bonded to a wafer selected from the group consisting of solar cells, photodetectors, CCD or CMOS sensors, LEDs, and lasers.
20. The array arrangement of rod lenses as claimed in claim 19, wherein the array arrangement comprises a common housing, which forms a hermetically sealed joint with the wafer.
21. The array arrangement of rod lenses as claimed in claim 19, further comprising a filling selected from the group consisting of polymer, glass, liquid, a composite, and any combinations thereof, the filling filling spacings next to the solar cells, photodetectors, CCD or CMOS sensors, LEDs, or lasers.

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. In a computer system having a video display device, the video display device having a screen, a method comprising:
providing a plurality of controls on the screen of the video display device;
identifying a control group, the control group being comprised of at least two controls associated in a data structure;
representing the control group with a single status indicator in the data structure, where the single status indicator is a bit of a control word that represents the at least two controls of the control group; and

directing the activation of the controls of the control group by storing an active value in the single status indicator.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising directing the activation of individual controls by storing an active value in a status indicator for each control.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising directing the deactivation of the controls of the control group by masking the active value in the single status indicator.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
directing the deactivation of the controls of the control group by masking the active value in the single status indicator; and

directing the activation of the controls of the control group by storing an active value in a status indicator for each control.
5. In a computer system having a video display device, the video display device having a screen and the computer system including a cursor which is displayed on the screen, a method comprising:
providing a plurality of controls on the screen of the video display device;
identifying a control group, the control group being comprised of at least two controls associated in a data structure;
representing the control group with a single status indicator in the data structure;
directing the activation of the controls of the control group by storing an active value in the single status indicator;
identifying a location on the screen that the cursor points to; and
for each control of the control group, identifying a control position, the control position defining a location on the screen for the activated control, determining a control distance, the control distance defining a control connecting path which connects the identified location with the control position, calculating a control angle, the control angle being an angle formed between the control connecting path and a last direction of cursor movement path, and calculating a weighted distance.
6. An apparatus for activating and deactivating a control grouping, the control grouping being comprised of at least two controls and being displayed on a screen of a video display device of a computer system, the apparatus including:
a memory formed within the computer system;
a control grouping identifier contained within the memory, wherein the control grouping identifier has an active state and an inactive state and wherein the control grouping identifier is a bit of a control word that represents the controls of the control grouping; and
an identifier for an individual control contained within the memory, the identifier for the individual control having an active state and an inactive state.
7. An apparatus for activating and deactivating a control grouping, the control grouping being comprised of at least two controls and being displayed on a screen of a video display device of a computer system, the apparatus including:
a memory formed within the computer system; and
a control grouping identifier contained within the memory, wherein the control grouping identifier has an active state and an inactive state and wherein the control grouping identifier is a bit of a control word that represents the controls of the control grouping.

1. A method of measuring a free air ball size during a wire bonding process of a wire bonder, the wire bonder having a position sensor and a bonding tool for forming an electrical connection between a semiconductor device and a substrate using a bonding wire, the method comprising the steps of:
forming a free air ball from a wire tail of the bonding wire;
using the position sensor to determine a positional difference between a first and a second position of the bonding tool with respect to a reference position, wherein the first position of the bonding tool is a position of the bonding tool with respect to the reference position when the free air ball contacts a conductive surface; and
measuring the free air ball size based on the positional difference of the bonding tool as determined by the position sensor.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second position of the bonding tool is a position of the bonding tool with respect to the reference position when the wire tail contacts the conductive surface.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second position of the bonding tool is a position of the bonding tool with respect to the reference position when the wire tail contacts a bonding surface of the semiconductor device.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of measuring the free air ball size is based on the conservation of mass between the wire tail and the free air ball.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second position of the bonding tool is a position of the bonding tool with respect to the reference position when a base of the bonding tool contacts the conductive surface.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second position of the bonding tool is a position of the bonding tool with respect to the reference position when a base of the bonding tool contacts a bonding surface of the substrate.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of measuring the free air ball size is based on a chamfered diameter of the bonding tool and a chamfered angle between the free air ball and the bonding tool.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of using the position sensor to determine the positional difference of the bonding tool comprises using an encoder to measure respective heights of the bonding tool with respect to a reference height.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the free air ball size is measured in relation to a radius of the free air ball.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second positions of the bonding tool with respect to the reference position are the respective positions of a base of the bonding tool.
11. A wire bonder, comprising:
a bonding tool operative to form an electrical connection between a semiconductor device and a substrate using a bonding wire;
a position sensor operative to determine a positional difference between a first and a second position of the bonding tool with respect to a reference position, wherein the first position of the bonding tool is a position of the bonding tool with respect to the reference position when a free air ball contacts a conductive surface, the free air ball being formed from a wire tail of the bonding wire; and
a processor configured to measure a size of the free air ball based on the positional difference of the bonding tool as determined by the position sensor.
12. The wire bonder of claim 11, wherein the second position of the bonding tool is a position of the bonding tool with respect to the reference position when the wire tail contacts the conductive surface.
13. The wire bonder of claim 12, wherein the second position of the bonding tool is a position of the bonding tool with respect to the reference position when the wire tail contacts a bonding surface of the semiconductor device.
14. The wire bonder of claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to measure the free air ball size based on the conservation of mass between the wire tail and the free air ball.
15. The wire bonder of claim 11, wherein the second position of the bonding tool is a position of the bonding tool with respect to the reference position when a base of the bonding tool contacts the conductive surface.
16. The wire bonder of claim 15, wherein the second position of the bonding tool is a position of the bonding tool with respect to the reference position when a base of the bonding tool contacts a bonding surface of the substrate.
17. The wire bonder of claim 15, wherein the processor is configured to measure the free air ball size based on a chamfered diameter of the bonding tool and a chamfered angle between the free air ball and the bonding tool.
18. The wire bonder of claim 11, wherein the position sensor is an encoder configured to measure respective heights of the bonding tool with respect to a reference height.
19. The wire bonder of claim 11, wherein the free air ball size is measured in relation to a radius of the free air ball.
20. The wire bonder of claim 11, wherein the first and second positions of the bonding tool with respect to the reference position are the respective positions of a base of the bonding tool.

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 digital scanning device for decoding a digitally encoded symbol comprising:
a light source comprising individually-controllable lighting elements for providing low angle dark field illumination to an encoded data symbol;
an image sensor for detecting image data reflected from the encoded data symbol when illuminated by the light source; and
a controller connected to each of the individually-controllable lighting elements, the controller being programmed to selectively activate a subset of individually-controllable lighting elements, wherein when the subset of the individually-controllable lighting elements are activated the light source illuminates the data encoded symbol in a desired direction.
2. The digital scanning device of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to selectively activate the lighting elements such that all of the individually-controllable lighting elements are activated.
3. The digital scanning device of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to process the image data collected by the image sensor to decode the symbol.
4. The digital scanning device of claim 1, wherein the individually-controllable lighting elements comprise portions of at least one of a circular ring, an oval ring, or an elliptical ring.
5. The digital scanning device of claim 4, wherein the portions of the circular ring comprise quadrants.
6. The digital scanning device of claim 1, wherein the individually-controllable lighting elements comprise a plurality of electrically-connected individual light elements.
7. The digital scanning device of claim 1, wherein the individually-controllable lighting elements provide at least one of a rectangular ring, an oval ring or an elliptical ring.
8. The digital scanning device of claim 1, wherein the controller is programmed to evaluate the data acquired by the image sensor and to vary the light applied to the data symbol from the individually-controllable lighting elements to optimize symbol decoding.
9. The digital scanning device of claim 1, wherein the light source comprises a passive illumination pipe.
10. The digital scanning device of in claim 1, wherein the light source comprises an active light pipe.
11. The digital scanning device of claim 1 wherein the individually-controllable lighting elements comprise portions of a ring light source.
12. The digital scanning device of claim 11 wherein the portions of the ring light source comprise quadrants.
13. The digital scanning device of claim 1 further comprising a bright field light source for providing bright field illumination to the encoded data symbol.
14. A digital scanning device for decoding a digitally encoded symbol comprising:
a dark field light source comprising individually-controllable lighting elements for providing low angle dark field illumination to an encoded data symbol;
a bright field light source for providing bright field illumination to the encoded data symbol;
an image sensor for detecting image data reflected from the encoded data symbol when illuminated by the light source; and
a controller connected to each of the individually-controllable lighting elements and the bright filed light source, the controller being programmed to selectively activate a subset of the individually-controllable lighting elements and to selectively activate the bright field light source, wherein when a subset of the individually-controllable lighting elements are activated the light source illuminates the data encoded symbol in a desired direction.
15. A digital scanning device, comprising:
a ring light source comprising individually-controllable lighting elements providing low angle dark field illumination to an adjacent surface including a symbol to be decoded;
a controller connected to the ring light source for selectively activating a subset of the individually-controllable lighting elements, wherein when a subset of the individually-controllable lighting elements are activated the light source illuminates the data encoded symbol in a desired direction; and
an image sensor connected to the controller for acquiring image data of the symbol, wherein the controller is programmed to evaluate the image data to determine whether the image data is sufficient to decode the symbol and to vary the light projected from the light source until the image data is sufficient to decode the symbol.
16. The digital scanning device of claim 15, further comprising a bright field light source for providing bright field illumination to the adjacent surface, wherein the controller is further programmed to selectively activate the bright field light source to illuminate the symbol.
17. The digital scanning device of claim 15, wherein the ring light source comprises a passive light pipe.
18. The digital scanning device of claim 15, wherein the ring light source comprises an active light pipe.
19. The digital scanning device of claim 15, wherein the ring light source comprises a plurality of individually-controllable lighting segments.
20. The digital scanning device of claim 15, further comprising a memory component connected to the controller for storing light conditions.