All The Claims

1. An exposure method of exposing an object with an energy beam, the method comprising:
mounting the object on a movable body that can move at least in a first direction and a second direction orthogonal in a predetermined plane;
measuring positional information of the movable body using an encoder system, which has one of a grating section and a head unit arranged at the movable body where the object is held and the other arranged external to the movable body and measures positional information of the movable body in the predetermined plane with a head that faces the grating section among a plurality of heads of the head unit; and
controlling a position of the movable body in the predetermined plane, based on correction information to compensate for at least a measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to a position or displacement, in a direction orthogonal to a measurement direction in the predetermined plane, of a detection point of the head used for the measurement and measurement information of the encoder system.
2. The exposure method according to claim 1 wherein
the plurality of heads are placed apart in the direction orthogonal to the measurement direction in the predetermined plane, and in the encoder system, the head used for the measurement is switched according to the position of the movable body in the direction orthogonal to the measurement direction in the predetermined plane.
3. The exposure method according to claim 1, further comprising:
a measurement device, different from the encoder system, that measures positional information of the movable body in the predetermined plane, wherein
positional information of the detection point is obtained based on the measurement information of the encoder system and measurement information of the measurement device.
4. The exposure method according to claim 1 wherein
the correction information compensates for a measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least one of the head unit and the grating section.
5. The exposure method according to claim 4 wherein
the correction information compensates for a measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least optical properties of the head unit.
6. The exposure method according to claim 4 wherein
the correction information compensates for a measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least one of flatness and formation error of the grating section.
7. The exposure method according to claim 1 wherein
the correction information compensates for a measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to displacement of the movable body in a direction that is different from the first and the second directions on the measurement.
8. The exposure method according to claim 7 wherein
the different direction includes at least one of a direction orthogonal to the predetermined plane, a rotational direction around an axis orthogonal to the predetermined plane, and a rotational direction around an axis parallel to the predetermined plane.
9. The exposure method according to claim 1 wherein
the correction information compensates for a measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to inclination of the movable body with respect to the predetermined plane.
10. The exposure method according to claim 1 wherein
in the encoder system, the head used for the measurement is switched by a movement of the movable body, and
the correction information compensates for a measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to displacement of the movable body in a direction that is different from the first and the second directions on the switching.
11. The exposure method according to claim 10 wherein
the direction that is different from the first and the second directions on the switching includes a rotational direction in the predetermined plane.
12. The exposure method according to claim 10 wherein
the switching is performed in a state where the head before the switching and the head after the switching both face the grating section.
13. The exposure method according to claim 1 wherein
in the encoder system, the head used for the measurement is switched by a movement of the movable body, and
positional information which should be measured by a head after the switching is decided, based on positional information measured by a head before the switching and positional information of the movable body in a direction that is different from the first and the second directions on the switching.
14. The exposure method according to claim 13 wherein
positional information which should be measured by a head after the switching is decided so that the position of the movable body is maintained before and after the switching, and the positional information that has been decided is set as an initial value of positional information measured by the head after the switching so that the positional information of the movable body is continuously linked before and after the switching.
15. The exposure method according to claim 13 wherein
the direction that is different from the first and the second directions on the switching includes a rotational direction in the predetermined plane.
16. The exposure method according to claim 13 wherein
the switching is performed in a state where the head before the switching and the head after the switching both face the grating section.
17. The exposure method according to claim 1 wherein
positional information of the movable body in the first direction, the second direction, and in a rotational direction in the predetermined plane is measured by at least three heads that face the grating section among the plurality of heads, and also by a movement of the movable body, the three heads used for the measurement are switched to three heads which include at least one head different from the three heads before the switching, whereby
on this switching, positional information which should be measured by the at least one head among the three heads after the switching which is different from the three heads before the switching is decided, based on positional information measured by the three heads before the switching.
18. The exposure method according to claim 17 wherein
positional information which should be measured by the at least one head after the switching is decided so that the position of the movable body is maintained before and after the switching, and the positional information that has been decided is set as an initial value of positional information measured by the at least one head after the switching so that the positional information of the movable body is continuously linked before and after the switching.
19. The exposure method according to claim 17 wherein
the positional information which should be measured by the at least one head after the switching is to be decided, using positional information in a plane parallel to the predetermined plane of the detection point of each head before and after the switching.
20. The exposure method according to claim 17 wherein
the switching is performed in a state where the head before the switching and the head after the switching both face the grating section.
21. The exposure method according to claim 1 wherein
one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.
22. The exposure method according to claim 1 wherein
the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at a time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so that the measurement error is compensated for, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.
23. The exposure method according to claim 1 wherein
the grating section is arranged with a measurement direction of the positional information of the movable body by the head serving as a longitudinal direction, and the head unit has the plurality of heads placed apart in a direction orthogonal to the measurement direction.
24. The exposure method according to claim 1 wherein
the grating section has a pair of first grating sections whose longitudinal direction is the first direction and which are placed apart in the second direction, and a pair of second grating sections whose longitudinal direction is the second direction and which are placed apart in the first direction, and
the head unit has a pair of first head units having a plurality of first heads placed apart in the second direction, the first head facing the pair of first grating sections on exposure, and a pair of second head units having a plurality of second heads placed apart in the first direction, the second head facing the pair of second grating sections on exposure.
25. The exposure method according to claim 1 wherein
the grating section is arranged on a surface of the movable body, and the head unit is arranged facing the surface of the movable body.
26. The exposure method according to claim 1 wherein
a measurement system is further used, which measures positional information of the movable body in a third direction orthogonal to the predetermined plane by a sensor facing the grating section of a plurality of sensors placed on the same side as the head unit, and a position of the movable body in the third direction is controlled based on measurement information of the measurement system.
27. The exposure method according to claim 26 wherein
the measurement system measures the positional information in the third direction and inclination information of the movable body with a plurality of sensors that face the grating section.
28. The exposure method according to claim 26 wherein
of positional information of the movable body in directions of six degrees of freedom, positional information in directions of three degrees of freedom including the first direction, the second direction, and a rotational direction in the predetermined plane is measured by the encoder system, and positional information in directions of the remaining three degrees of freedom is measured by the measurement system.
29. The exposure method according to claim 28 wherein
the position of the movable body in at least an exposure operation is controlled, based on the positional information measured in the directions of six degrees of freedom.
30. The exposure method according to claim 26 wherein
in a measurement operation of surface position information of the object, in addition to the encoder system and the measurement system, a position measuring device which measures positional information of the object in the third direction is used.
31. The exposure method according to claim 26, the method further comprising:
preparing a mark detection system that detects a mark on the object, wherein
in a detection operation of the mark, the encoder system and the mark detection system are used.
32. The exposure method according to claim 26 wherein
to drive the movable body, the measurement information of the encoder system is used in an exposure operation, and measurement information of an interferometer system that measures positional information of the movable body in at least the first and the second directions is used in an operation that is different from the exposure operation.
33. The exposure method according to claim 32 wherein
in a detection operation of a mark andor surface position information of the object, the measurement information of the encoder system is used.
34. The exposure method according to claim 32 wherein
at least a part of the measurement information of the interferometer system is used in the exposure operation.
35. A device manufacturing method including a lithography process wherein
in the lithography process, the exposure method according to claim 1 is used to expose a sensitive object mounted on the movable body, and to form a pattern on the sensitive object.
36. An exposure apparatus that exposes an object with an energy beam, the apparatus comprising:
a movable body that holds the object and is movable at least in a first direction and a second direction which are orthogonal in a predetermined plane;
an encoder system in which one of a grating section and a head unit is arranged at the movable body where the object is held and the other is arranged external to the movable body, and which measures positional information of the movable body in the predetermined plane by a head that faces the grating section of a plurality of heads of the head unit;
a controller that controls a position of the movable body in the predetermined plane, based on correction information to compensate for at least a measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to a position or displacement, in a direction orthogonal to a measurement direction in the predetermined plane, of a detection point of the head used for the measurement and measurement information of the encoder system.
37. The exposure apparatus according to claim 36 wherein
the plurality of heads are placed apart in the direction orthogonal to the measurement direction in the predetermined plane, and in the encoder system, the head used for the measurement is switched according to the position of the movable body in the direction orthogonal to the measurement direction in the predetermined plane.
38. The exposure apparatus according to claim 36 further comprising:
a measurement device, different from the encoder system, that measures positional information of the movable body in the predetermined plane, wherein
positional information of the detection point is obtained based on the measurement information of the encoder system and measurement information of the measurement device.
39. The exposure apparatus according to claim 36 wherein
the correction information compensates for a measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least one of the head unit and the grating section.
40. The exposure apparatus according to claim 39 wherein
the correction information compensates for a measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least optical properties of the head unit.
41. The exposure apparatus according to claim 39 wherein
the correction information compensates for a measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least one of flatness and formation error of the grating section.
42. The exposure apparatus according to claim 36 wherein
the correction information compensates for a measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to displacement of the movable body in a direction that is different from the first and the second directions on the measurement.
43. The exposure apparatus according to claim 42 wherein
the different direction includes at least one of a direction orthogonal to the predetermined plane, a rotational direction around an axis orthogonal to the predetermined plane, and a rotational direction around an axis parallel to the predetermined plane.
44. The exposure apparatus according to claim 36 wherein
the correction information compensates for a measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to inclination of the movable body with respect to the predetermined plane.
45. The exposure apparatus according to claim 36 wherein
in the encoder system, the head used for the measurement is switched by a movement of the movable body, and
the correction information compensates for a measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to displacement of the movable body in a direction that is different from the first and the second directions on the switching.
46. The exposure apparatus according to claim 45 wherein
the direction that is different from the first and the second directions on the switching includes a rotational direction in the predetermined plane.
47. The exposure apparatus according to claim 45 wherein
the switching is performed in a state where the head before the switching and the head after the switching both face the grating section.
48. The exposure apparatus according to claim 36 wherein
in the encoder system, the head used for the measurement is switched by a movement of the movable body, and
positional information which should be measured by a head after the switching is decided, based on positional information measured by a head before the switching and positional information of the movable body in a direction that is different from the first and the second directions on the switching.
49. The exposure apparatus according to claim 48 wherein
positional information which should be measured by a head after the switching is decided so that the position of the movable body is maintained before and after the switching, and the positional information that has been decided is set as an initial value of positional information measured by the head after the switching so that the positional information of the movable body is continuously linked before and after the switching.
50. The exposure apparatus according to claim 48 wherein
the direction that is different from the first and the second directions on the switching includes a rotational direction in the predetermined plane.
51. The exposure apparatus according to claim 48 wherein
the switching is performed in a state where the head before the switching and the head after the switching both face the grating section.
52. The exposure apparatus according to claim 36 wherein
positional information of the movable body in the first direction, the second direction, and in a rotational direction in the predetermined plane is measured by at least three heads that face the grating section among the plurality of heads, and also by a movement of the movable body, the three heads used for the measurement are switched to three heads which include at least one head different from the three heads before the switching, whereby
on this switching, positional information which should be measured by the at least one head among the three heads after the switching which is different from the three heads before the switching is decided, based on positional information measured by the three heads before the switching.
53. The exposure apparatus according to claim 52 wherein
positional information which should be measured by the at least one head after the switching is decided so that the position of the movable body is maintained before and after the switching, and the positional information that has been decided is set as an initial value of positional information measured by the at least one head after the switching so that the positional information of the movable body is continuously linked before and after the switching.
54. The exposure apparatus according to claim 52 wherein
the positional information which should be measured by the at least one head after the switching is to be decided, using positional information in a plane parallel to the predetermined plane of the detection point of each head before and after the switching.
55. The exposure apparatus according to claim 52 wherein
the switching is performed in a state where the head before the switching and the head after the switching both face the grating section.
56. The exposure apparatus according to claim 36 wherein
one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.
57. The exposure apparatus according to claim 36 wherein
the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at a time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so that the measurement error is compensated for, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.
58. The exposure apparatus according to claim 36 wherein
the grating section is arranged with a measurement direction of the positional information of the movable body by the head serving as a longitudinal direction, and the head unit has the plurality of heads placed apart in a direction orthogonal to the measurement direction.
59. The exposure apparatus according to claim 36 wherein
the grating section has a pair of first grating sections whose longitudinal direction is the first direction and which are placed apart in the second direction, and a pair of second grating sections whose longitudinal direction is the second direction and which are placed apart in the first direction, and
the head unit has a pair of first head units having a plurality of first heads placed apart in the second direction, the first head facing the pair of the first grating sections on exposure, and a pair of second head units having a plurality of second heads placed apart in the first direction, the second head facing the pair of the second grating section on exposure.
60. The exposure apparatus according to claim 36 wherein
the grating section is arranged on a surface of the movable body, and the head unit is arranged facing the surface of the movable body.
61. The exposure apparatus according to claim 36, further comprising:
a measurement system which measures positional information of the movable body in a third direction orthogonal to the predetermined plane by a sensor facing the grating section of a plurality of sensors placed on the same side as the head unit, wherein
a position of the movable body in the third direction is controlled, based on measurement information of the measurement system.
62. The exposure apparatus according to claim 61 wherein
the measurement system measures the positional information in the third direction and inclination information of the movable body with a plurality of sensors that face the grating section.
63. The exposure apparatus according to claim 61 wherein
of positional information of the movable body in directions of six degrees of freedom, positional information in directions of three degrees of freedom including the first direction, the second direction, and a rotational direction in the predetermined plane is measured by the encoder system, and positional information in directions of the remaining three degrees of freedom is measured by the measurement system.
64. The exposure apparatus according to claim 63 wherein
the position of the movable body in at least an exposure operation is controlled, based on the positional information measured in the directions of six degrees of freedom.
65. The exposure apparatus according to claim 61, further comprising:
a position measuring device that measures positional information of the object in the third direction, wherein
in a measurement operation of surface position information of the object, the encoder system, the measurement system, and the position measuring device are used.
66. The exposure apparatus according to claim 61, the apparatus further comprising:
a mark detection system that detects a mark on the object, wherein
in a detection operation of the mark, the encoder system and the mark detection system are used.
67. The exposure apparatus according to claim 61, further comprising:
an interferometer system that measures positional information of the movable body in at least the first and the second directions, wherein
to drive the movable body, the measurement information of the encoder system is used in an exposure operation, and measurement information of the interferometer system is used in an operation that is different from the exposure operation.
68. The exposure apparatus according to claim 67 wherein
in a detection operation of a mark andor surface position information of the object, the measurement information of the encoder system is used.
69. The exposure apparatus according to claim 67 wherein
at least a part of the measurement information of the interferometer system is used in the exposure operation.
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 of removing noise in an image that includes text, the method comprising:
receiving the image that includes the text;
convolving a shaped kernel centered on each of a plurality of subsets of pixels in the image to produce a convolution value for each subset of pixels in the plurality of subsets of pixels, the shaped kernel having a shape configured to identify subsets of pixels that are not part of the text based solely on pixels that surround the subsets of pixels centered in the shaped kernel;
setting a value for a subset of pixels to erase the subset of pixels in the image when the convolution value for the subset of pixels is less than a threshold to generate a filtered image; and
producing the filtered image.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein each subset of pixels comprises one pixel.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the shaped kernel is shaped with zeros in a center of the shaped kernel and ones everywhere else to identify isolated pixels that are unlikely to be part of the text.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising convolving a second shaped kernel centered on each of the plurality of subsets of pixels to produce a second convolution value for each subset of pixels, the second shaped kernel having a shape configured to assign higher weights to subsets of pixels that are likely to be part of an alphabet used in the text or other shapes in the image that are desired to be preserved.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second shaped kernel is shaped with values greater than one in at least one of a row, column, and diagonal.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein producing the convolution value for each subset of pixels comprises determining a summation of an inner product of a patch of pixels surrounding each subset of pixels and the shaped kernel.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising repeatedly convolving different shaped kernels centered on each subset of pixels to produce a plurality of convolution values and setting the value to erase the subset of pixels when any of the plurality of convolution values is less than any threshold associated with any of the different shaped kernels.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the different shaped kernels increase in size with each repetition.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the different shaped kernels increase in size for a number of repetitions and then decrease in size for a second number of repetitions.
10. An apparatus to remove noise in an image that includes text, the apparatus comprising:
an image interface to receive the image that includes the text; and
a processor coupled to receive the image, the processor being configured to convolve a shaped kernel centered on each of a plurality of subset of pixels in the image to produce a convolution value for each subset of pixels in the plurality of subsets of pixels, the shaped kernel having a shape configured to identify subsets of pixels that are not part of the text based solely on pixels that surround the subsets of pixels centered in the shaped kernel; and set a value for a subset of pixels to erase the subset of pixels in the image when the convolution value for the subset of pixels is less than a threshold to generate a filtered image, and to produce the filtered image.
11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein each subset of pixels comprises one pixel.
12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the shaped kernel is shaped with zeros in a center of the shaped kernel and ones everywhere else to identify isolated pixels that are unlikely to be part of the text.
13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to convolve a second shaped kernel centered on each of the plurality of subsets of pixels to produce a second convolution value for each subset of pixels, the second shaped kernel having a shape configured to assign higher weights to subsets of pixels that are likely to be part of an alphabet used in the text or other shapes in the image that are desired to be preserved.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the second shaped kernel is shaped with values greater than one in at least one of a row, column, and diagonal.
15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to produce the convolution value for each subset of pixels by being configured to determine a summation of an inner product of a patch of pixels surrounding each subset of pixels and the shaped kernel.
16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to repeatedly convolve different shaped kernels centered on each subset of pixels to produce convolution values and set the value to erase the subset of pixels when any the convolution values is less than a thresholds associated with any of the different shaped kernels.
17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the different shaped kernels increase in size with each repetition.
18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the different shaped kernels increase in size for a number of repetitions and then decrease in size for a second number of repetitions.
19. An apparatus to remove noise in an image having text, the apparatus comprising:
means for receiving the image that includes the text;
means for convolving a shaped kernel centered on each of a plurality of subsets of pixels in the image to produce a convolution value for each subset of pixels in the plurality of subsets of pixels, the shaped kernel having a shape configured to identify subsets of pixels that are not part of the text based solely on pixels that surround the subsets of pixels centered in the shaped kernel;
means for setting a value for a subset of pixels to erase the subset of pixels in the image when the convolution value for the subset of pixels is less than a threshold to generate a filtered image; and
means for producing the filtered image.
20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein each subset of pixels comprises one pixel.
21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the shaped kernel is shaped with zeros in a center of the shaped kernel and ones everywhere else to identify isolated pixels that are unlikely to be part of the text.
22. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising means for convolving a second shaped kernel centered on each of the plurality of subsets of pixels to produce a second convolution value for each subset of pixels, the second shaped kernel having a shape configured to assign higher weights to subsets of pixels that are likely to be part of an alphabet used in the text or other shapes in the image that are desired to be preserved.
23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the second shaped kernel is shaped with values greater than one in at least one of a row, column, and diagonal.
24. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the means for producing the convolution value for each subset of pixels determines a summation of an inner product of a patch of pixels surrounding each subset of pixels and the shaped kernel.
25. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising means for repeatedly convolving different shaped kernels centered on each subset of pixels to produce a plurality of convolution values and means for setting the value to erase the subset of pixels when any the plurality of convolution values is less than any threshold associated with any of the different shaped kernels.
26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the different shaped kernels increase in size with each repetition.
27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the different shaped kernels increase in size for a number of repetitions and then decrease in size for a second number of repetitions.
28. A storage medium including program code stored thereon, comprising:
program code to receive an image that includes text;
program code to convolve a shaped kernel centered on each of a plurality of subsets of pixels in the image to produce a convolution value for each subset of pixels in the plurality of subsets of pixels, the shaped kernel having a shape configured to identify subsets of pixels that are not part of the text based solely on pixels that surround the subsets of pixels centered in the shaped kernel;
program code to set a value for a subset of pixels to erase the subset of pixels in the image when the convolution value for the subset of pixels is less than a threshold to generate a filtered image; and
program code to produce the filtered image.
29. The storage medium of claim 28, wherein each subset of pixels comprises one pixel.
30. The storage medium of claim 28, wherein the shaped kernel is shaped with zeros in a center of the shaped kernel and ones everywhere else to identify isolated pixels that are unlikely to be part of the text.
31. The storage medium of claim 28, further comprising program code to convolve a second shaped kernel centered on each of the plurality of subsets of pixels to produce a second convolution value for each subset of pixels, the second shaped kernel having a shape configured to assign higher weights to subsets of pixels that are likely to be part of an alphabet used in the text or other shapes in the image that are desired to be preserved.
32. The storage medium of claim 31, wherein the second shaped kernel is shaped with values greater than one in at least one of a row, column, and diagonal.
33. The storage medium of claim 28, wherein the program code to produce the convolution value for each subset of pixels comprises program code to determine a summation of an inner product of a patch of pixels surrounding each subset of pixels and the shaped kernel.
34. The storage medium of claim 28, further comprising program code to repeatedly convolve different shaped kernels centered on each subset of pixels to produce a plurality of convolution values and set the value to erase the subset of pixels when any the plurality of convolution values is less than any threshold associated with any of the different shaped kernels.
35. The storage medium of claim 34, wherein the different shaped kernels increase in size with each repetition.
36. The storage medium of claim 34, wherein the different shaped kernels increase in size for a number of repetitions and then decrease in size for a second number of repetitions.

1. A system for blending gasoline and butane comprising:
a tank of gasoline;
a tank of butane;
a blending unit downstream of and in fluid connection with the tank of gasoline and the tank of butane; and
a rack downstream of and in fluid connection with the blending unit, wherein the rack is adapted to dispense gasoline to a gasoline transport vehicle.
2. The system of claim 1 further comprising a process control unit, wherein the process control unit generates a ratio input signal that controls the ratio of butane and gasoline blended by the blending unit.
3. The system of claim 1 further comprises
a gasoline vapor pressure sensor operable for measuring the vapor pressure of gasoline upstream of the blending unit; and
a butane vapor pressure sensor operable for measuring the vapor pressure of butane upstream of the blending unit.
4. The system of claim 3 further comprising a process control unit operable for
receiving the measured gasoline vapor pressure from the gasoline vapor pressure sensor;
receiving the measured butane vapor pressure from the butane vapor pressure sensor; and
calculating a ratio for blending the gasoline and the butane from the measured gasoline vapor pressure and the measured butane vapor pressure.
5. A method for blending gasoline and butane comprising:
drawing a gasoline stream from a tank of gasoline;
drawing a butane stream from a tank of butane;
blending the butane stream and the gasoline stream to form a blend; and
dispensing the blend to gasoline transport vehicles using a rack.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of:
determining a blend ratio of the butane and gasoline streams that will yield a desired vapor pressure; and
blending the gasoline stream and butane stream at the blend ratio.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the blend ratio is determined from a vapor pressure of the gasoline stream and a vapor pressure of the butane stream.
8. The method of claim 5, wherein a vapor pressure of the gasoline stream and a vapor pressure of the butane stream are determined by:
drawing a sample of gasoline from the gasoline stream;
measuring the vapor pressure of the sample of gasoline;
drawing a sample of butane from the butane stream; and
measuring the vapor pressure of the sample of butane.
9. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of:
measuring the vapor pressure of the blend; and
generating a report of the vapor pressure of the blend.
10. A system for blending gasoline and a volatility modifying agent comprising:
a tank of gasoline;
a tank of the volatility modifying agent;
a blending unit downstream of and in fluid connection with the tank of gasoline and the tank of the volatility modifying agent; and
a rack downstream of and in fluid connection with the blending unit, wherein the rack is adapted to dispense gasoline to a gasoline transport vehicle.
11. The system of claim 10 further comprising a process control unit, wherein the process control unit generates a ratio input signal that controls the ratio of the volatility modifying agent and the gasoline blended by the blending unit.
12. The system of claim 11 wherein the ratio input signal is derived from a calculation of the ratio of the volatility modifying agent and the gasoline that will yield a desired vapor pressure.
13. A method for blending gasoline and a volatility modifying agent comprising:
drawing a gasoline stream from a tank of gasoline;
drawing a volatility modifying agent stream from a tank of the volatility modifying agent;
blending the volatility modifying agent stream and the gasoline stream to form a blend; and
dispensing the blend to a gasoline transport vehicle at a rack.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:
determining a blend ratio of the volatility modifying agent stream and the gasoline stream that will yield a desired vapor pressure; and
blending the volatility modifying agent stream and the gasoline stream at the blend ratio.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the blend ratio is determined from a vapor pressure of the gasoline stream and a vapor pressure of the volatility modifying agent stream.
16. The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of:
determining the volatility of the blend; and
generating a report comprising the volatility of the blend.
17. A computer-implemented method for blending a butane stream with a gasoline stream comprising the steps of:
receiving a first measurement indicating a vapor pressure of the gasoline stream;
receiving a second measurement indicating a vapor pressure of the butane stream;
calculating a blend rate at which the butane stream can be blended with a gasoline stream; and
transmitting an instruction to a programmable logic controller for adjusting the butane stream to the calculated blend rate for blending with the gasoline stream and distributing at a rack.
18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, wherein the blend rate is based on a predetermined vapor pressure for the blended gasoline and butane.
19. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, wherein the blend rate is associated with the rack that distributes the blended gasoline stream and butane stream.
20. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, wherein the blend rate is stored to generate a report of butane consumption.
21. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, wherein the blend rate is used to predict butane consumption over a period of time.
22. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, further comprising the steps of:
receiving a third measurement indicating a vapor pressure of the blend of the gasoline stream and the butane stream; and
generating a report comprising the third measurement.
23. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the steps recited in claim 17.
24. A computer-implemented method for blending a volatility modifier stream and a gasoline stream comprising the steps of:
receiving a first measurement indicating a vapor pressure of the gasoline stream;
receiving a second measurement indicating a vapor pressure of the volatility modifier stream;
calculating a blend rate at which the volatility modifier stream can be blended with the gasoline stream; and
transmitting an instruction to a programmable logic controller for adjusting the volatility modifier stream to the calculated blend rate for blending with the gasoline stream and distributing at a rack.
25. The computer-implemented method of claim 24, wherein the blend rate is based on a predetermined vapor pressure for the blended gasoline and volatility modifier.
26. The computer-implemented method of claim 24, wherein the blend rate is associated with the rack that distributes the blended gasoline and volatility modifier.
27. The computer-implemented method of claim 24, wherein the blend rate is stored to generate a report of volatility modifier consumption.
28. The computer-implemented method of claim 24, wherein the blend rate is used to predict consumption of the volatility modifier over a period of time.
29. The computer-implemented method of claim 24, further comprising the step of receiving a third measurement indicating a vapor pressure of the blend of the gasoline stream and the volatility modifier stream.
30. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the steps recited in claim 24.
31. A computer-implemented method for blending a butane stream and a gasoline stream comprising the steps of:
receiving a first measurement indicating a vapor pressure of the gasoline stream;
calculating a blend rate at which the butane stream can be blended with the gasoline stream;
transmitting an instruction to a programmable logic controller for adjusting the butane stream to the calculated blend rate for blending with the gasoline stream and distributing at a rack; and
receiving a second measurement indicating a vapor pressure of the blended gasoline stream and butane stream.
32. The computer-implemented method of claim 31, further comprising the step of generating a report comprising the second measurement.
33. The computer-implemented method of claim 32, wherein the report further comprises the first measurement.

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. An electrical junction box for connecting to a vehicle body side support member, the electrical junction box comprising:
an electrical junction box main body having an upper surface;
a bolt connecting section provided on the upper surface of the electrical junction box main body;
an external wiring having a terminal fitting fastened to and fixed on the bolt connecting section; and
a bracket incorporated in the electrical junction box main body for attaching the main body to the vehicle body side support member,
wherein the bracket includes
an L-shaped base plate section having a flat lateral plate portion that extends along the vehicle body side support member, and
a projecting plate portion that is bent from one end of the lateral plate portion in its longitudinal direction and protrudes in a direction apart from the vehicle body side support member, and

wherein the lateral plate portion and projecting plate portion are each provided with latch portions for securing the bracket to the electrical junction box main body, the latch portion of the lateral plate portion of the bracket being positioned on one side of the electrical junction box main body beyond the bolt connecting section in a longitudinal direction of the lateral plate portion, and the latch portion of the projecting plate portion of the bracket being disposed on an other side of said electrical junction box main body.
2. An electrical junction box according to claim 1, further comprising:
engaging sections that are open downward, and under the condition that the electrical junction box main body is attached to the bracket from an upper side, the latch portions of the bracket are inserted into and secured to the engaging sections of the electrical junction box main body.
3. An electrical junction box for connecting to a vehicle body side support member, the electrical junction box comprising:
an electrical junction box main body having an upper surface;
a bolt connecting section provided on the upper surface of the electrical junction box main body;
an external wiring having a terminal fitting fastened to and fixed on said bolt connecting section; and
a bracket incorporated in the electrical junction box main body for attaching the main body to the vehicle body side support member,
the bracket having a lateral plate portion and a projecting plate portion, the lateral plate portion and projecting plate portion are each provided with latch portions for securing the bracket to the electrical junction box main body, the latch portion of the lateral plate portion of the bracket being positioned on one side of the electrical junction box main body beyond the bolt connecting section in a longitudinal direction of the lateral plate portion, and the latch portion of the projecting plate portion of the bracket being disposed on an other side of said electrical junction box main body.
4. An electrical junction box according to claim 3, wherein the lateral plate portion includes two latch projecting pieces that are spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction, the two latch projecting pieces protruding in a same direction from the lateral plate portion, one of the latch projection pieces is provided on one end of the lateral plate portion and the other latch projecting piece is provided at a center of the lateral plate portion.
5. An electrical junction box according to claim 4, wherein each of the latch projecting pieces include an aperture.