al Fast pyrolysis catalytic cracking pipe for producing bio-oils By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A pyrolyzer apparatus (i.e. a “cracking pipe”) comprises a first screen, a second screen, and a catalyst material positioned between the first and second screens. The pyrolyzer is structured so that feedstock is pyrolyzed and pyrolyzer-generated gas is drawn through the first screen, through the catalyst material, and then through the second screen in series. The gas may then be directed to other processing equipment so that bio-oil is extracted from the gas. Full Article
al Method to reduce heat radiation losses through coke oven chamber doors and walls by adapting the coal cake in height or density By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A method for reducing the coking time in the oven area near the door or end wall and for improving coke quality and situation of emissions by compensating for radiation losses through coke oven chamber doors and end walls is described. This compensation is accomplished by varying the height of the coal cake in the environment of the frontal coke oven chamber doors. The variation is achieved both by increasing or decreasing the coal cake over part of the length or over the entire length of the coke oven chamber door. The reduction in the height of the coal cake can be generated by omission of coal or coal compacts, the increase in height can be accomplished by stacking of coal and pressing or adding of coal compacts, with it also being envisaged to omit the pressing cycle so as to obtain a recess with a lower coal cake density which also has less heat radiation. Full Article
al Controllable air ducts for feeding of additional combustion air into the area of flue gas channels of coke oven chambers By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 26 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A device for feeding and controlling secondary air from secondary air ducts into flue gas channels of horizontal coke oven chambers is shown. The flue gas channels are located underneath the coke oven chamber floor on which coal carbonization is realized. The flue gas channels serve for combustion of partly burnt coking gases from the coke oven chamber. The partly burnt gases are burnt with secondary air, thus heating the coke cake also from below to ensure even coal carbonization. Secondary air comes from the secondary air ducts connected to atmospheric air and to the flue gas channels. Controlling elements are mounted in the connecting channels between the flue gas channels and secondary air ducts which can precisely control the air flow into the flue gas channels. Thereby, it is possible to achieve a much more regular heating and heat distribution in coke oven chambers. The actual controlling devices in the connecting channels can be formed by turnable pipe sections, wall bricks, or metal flaps. It is particularly advantageous to utilize a hump-like facility (tabouret) which sits in the secondary air ducts and which is comprised of a tabouret plate with a central opening that is slid under the corresponding embranchment to regulate the gas stream. The controlling mechanism can be actuated manually, electrically, or pneumatically. Thereby, the controlling device can also be automated. Full Article
al Digital sheet-fed printing method By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 21 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT A digital sheet-fed printing method includes providing one cycle of printing to print on a series of sheets of paper whose number is equal to the least common multiple of respective numbers of allocated positions; producing a reference signal on the basis of which an image in each color is printed on the sheet of paper; detecting with an image detection sensor means a mutual out of register between images in different colors printed on each sheet of paper in the series, furnishing the printing control means with a detection signal for each sheet of paper from the image detection sensor, and correcting the timing at which each image is printed on each sheet of paper in one cycle of printing so that timings to print the images in different colors on each sheet of paper coincide with one another; and printing images in the different colors. Full Article
al Screen printer and method for detecting amount of residual paste By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT A light receiving section 27b receives a measurement beam, which is cast from a light projection section 27a and partially blocked by cream solder 19 scraped up by a squeegee 16, whereby a sensor 27 measures a one-dimensional size of a predetermined region of a cross sectional profile of the cream solder 19 as a cross sectional paste length and takes the cross sectional paste length as an index for an amount of residual cream solder 19. The amount of residual cream solder 19 can be numerically grasped at all times, so that versatility and accuracy in detecting the amount of residual cream solder 19 can be assured. Full Article
al Method and apparatus to position and align pre-punched printing plates on an imaging cylinder By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT An apparatus and method for positioning and aligning one or more pre-punched printing plates on a cylinder for imaging a plate in a computer-to-plate drum imaging device. The apparatus includes an imaging cylinder and a registration device connectable to the cylinder. The apparatus includes at least one groove and one pair of register pins, with a first register pin in a fixed position, and a second register pin movable in the groove to a second position, and collinear with the first register pin in the axial direction of the cylinder, arranged such that when connected to the cylinder, the registration device allows a plurality of pre-punched printing plates with variable widths to be positioned and aligned on the cylinder with simplicity. Full Article
al Web coating applicator with cooling and material recovery By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT Apparatus and method for applying a water-based emulsion of silicone fluid to a printed web required to be cooled, such that evaporative cooling of the web is promoted in addition to coating of said web with a silicone material. Water evaporated following the application of the silicone fluid to the web is recovered by condensation on the applicator(s) and reapplied to the web, thus economizing the amount of silicone fluid mixture necessary to provide both cooling and enhanced slip characteristics necessary for further handling and processing of the web. The condensation step is effected by containing the evaporated water from the web within a compact enclosure enveloping both the applicator(s) and the web, and optionally chilling said applicator(s) with a cooling medium, preferably water, by means of said cooling medium flowing through at least one of the applicators. In certain embodiments, in addition to condensing the evaporated water, the airborne silicone mist created in the coating step is captured and is returned to the fluid applicator. Full Article
al Systems for dampening fluid removal, vapor control and recovery for ink-based digital printing By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT A system for dampening fluid recovery in an ink-based digital printing system includes a seal manifold having a front seal portion, the front seal portion having an upper wall facing the imaging surface, the upper wall being configured to define an air flow channel with the imaging surface, the upper wall being contoured to form a distance between the upper wall and the imaging surface at an evaporation location that is less than distance between the upper wall and the imaging surface at locations interposing the evaporation location and a vacuum inlet channel of the seal manifold. Full Article
al Environmental control subsystem for a variable data lithographic apparatus By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT Methods and structures are disclosed to minimize the presence of vapor clouding in the path between an energy (e.g., radiation) source and the dampening fluid layer in a variable data lithography system. Also disclosed are conditions for optimizing vaporization of regions of the dampening fluid layer for a given laser source power. Conditions are also disclosed for minimizing re-condensation of vaporized dampening fluid onto the patterned dampening fluid layer. Accordingly, a reduction in the power required for, and an increase in the reproducibility of, patterning of a dampening fluid layer over a reimageable surface in a variable data lithography system are disclosed. Full Article
al Laser-assisted alignment of multi-station flexographic printing system By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A multi-station flexographic printing system includes a plurality of flexographic printing stations. Each flexographic printing station includes a flexo master. Each flexo master comprises a Fresnel zone pattern in a unique position. A method of aligning a plurality of flexographic printing stations includes printing a Fresnel zone pattern on a substrate in a unique position for each flexographic printing station. Light is directed through the Fresnel zone patterns on the substrate. The light focused by the Fresnel zone patterns is captured with a sensor device. Full Article
al Marking device for golf balls By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 12 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A marking device for golf balls comprises a seat, an arch-shaped retainer, and a bottom plate. The seat defines a central recess and defines a bottom opening that communicates with the central recess. The seat is provided with an anti-slip pad within the central recess. Also, the seat is provided with upper positioning means and lower positioning means. The arch-shaped retainer is provided with retainer positioning means corresponding to the upper positioning means of the seat. The bottom plate is provided with plate positioning means corresponding to the lower positioning means of the seat. Therefore, the arch-shaped retainer and the bottom plate can be properly positioned on the seat. Furthermore, the arch-shaped retainer defines a central slit and the bottom plate defines a plurality of hollowed-out symbols. As such, the marking device can mark a line or symbol on a golf ball conveniently. Full Article
al Dampening fluid deposition by condensation in a digital lithographic system By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A system and corresponding methods are disclosed for depositing of a layer of dampening fluid to a reimageable surface of an imaging member in a variable data lithography system by way of condensation. Dampening fluid in an airborne state is introduced proximate the reimageable surface in a condensation region. Conditions in the condensation region are such that the airborne dampening fluid preferentially condenses on the reimageable surface in a precisely controlled quantity, to thereby form a precisely controlled layer of dampening fluid of desired thickness over the reimageable surface. Among other advantages, improved print quality is obtained. Full Article
al Method and an apparatus having a compressible collar for thermally treating a photosensitive precursor By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT The invention pertains to a method and apparatus for preparing a printing form from a precursor, particularly a method and apparatus for preparing the printing form by thermally treating a photosensitive precursor having a photopolymerizable layer. The method and apparatus includes heating the photosensitive precursor to a temperature sufficient to cause a portion of the layer to liquefy, contacting the precursor with a development medium to remove the liquefied material, and supporting a development medium with a core member adjacent an exterior surface of the photosensitive precursor, wherein a compressible collar of a closed-cell foam having a Poisson's ratio of less than 0.4 is disposed between the core member and the development medium. Full Article
al Silicone rubber material for soft lithography By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 26 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT The present invention relates to a silicone rubber like material and a printing device including a stamp layer (100;201) comprising such a material. The material is suitable for use in soft lithography as it enables stable features having dimensions in the nanometer range to be obtained on a substrate, and also allows for the accommodation onto rough and non-flat substrate surfaces. The invention also relates to methods for manufacturing the silicone rubber like material and stamp layer (100;201) and use thereof in lithographic processes. Full Article
al Image forming material, planographic printing plate precursor, and method for manufacturing a planographic printing plate By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 26 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT The invention provides an infrared-sensitive positive-working image forming material which provides excellent development latitude, image formability and image region strength, and in which decrease in development property is prevented even when a certain time has passed after pattern exposure until development treatment; an infrared-sensitive positive-working planographic printing plate precursor which is formed from the image forming material and has excellent image formability and image region printing durability; and a method for manufacturing a planographic printing plate using the planographic printing plate precursor. The image forming material includes; on a support, a lower layer containing a polymer having carboxylic acid groups at side chains thereof, at least a part of the carboxylic acid groups forming a salt structure with a monovalent basic compound, and an infrared absorbing agent; and an upper layer whose solubility to aqueous alkaline solution is increased by heat, in this order. Full Article
al EQUALIZER CIRCUIT AND RECEIVING APPARATUS USING THE SAME By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT An equalizer circuit includes an phase-to-phase connectors including an phase-to-phase capacitor and four phase-to-phase switches, four output buffers, and control signal generation circuitry. One terminal of each phase-to-phase switches is connected to one of four connection paths on which four conversion signals being different in phase by 90° are input. The other one terminal of each phase-to-phase switches is connected to the phase-to-phase capacitor. Each output buffer is connected to one of the four connection paths and outputs an output signal. The control signal generation circuitry outputs control signals to control turning-on/off of the respective four phase-to-phase switches. A closing of the first, second, third, and fourth phase-to-phase switches are started from any one of phase-to-phase switches in one of a first ascending circulation and a first descending circulation based on the 4-phase control signals. Full Article
al PHASE NOISE IMPROVEMENT TECHNIQUES FOR WIDEBAND FRACTIONAL-N SYNTHESIZERS By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT The disclosure provides a frequency synthesizer. It includes a PFD that generates an up signal and a down signal in response to a reference signal and a feedback signal. A charge pump generates a control voltage in response to the up signal and the down signal. A low pass filter generates a filtered voltage in response to the control voltage. An oscillator circuit generates an output signal in response to the filtered voltage. A feedback divider is coupled between the oscillator circuit and the PFD, and divides the output signal by a first integer divider to generate the feedback signal. A sigma delta modulator (SDM) generates a second integer divider in response to the feedback signal, the reference signal, the output signal and the first integer divider. A digital filter is coupled between the SDM and the feedback divider, and filters quantization noise associated with the SDM. Full Article
al HALF-RATE CLOCK DATA RECOVERY CIRCUIT By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A half-rate clock data recovery circuit includes: a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) for generating a data sampling clock and an edge sampling clock according to a control voltage; an adjusting circuit for dynamically controlling the VCO to adjust the phase difference between the data sampling clock and the edge sampling clock to be different from 90 degrees in multiple test periods; and a control circuit for instructing the adjusting circuit to respectively utilize different control value combinations to control the VCO in the multiple test periods, and for recording multiple recovered-signal quality indicators respectively corresponding to the multiple test periods. Afterwards, the control circuit instructs the adjusting circuit to utilize a control value combination corresponding to the best quality indicator among the multiple recovered-signal quality indicators to control the VCO. Full Article
al OFFSET VALUE CORRECTION DEVICE AND OFFSET VALUE CORRECTION METHOD FOR CORRECTING OFFSET VALUE IN RECEIVED SIGNAL By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A baseband filter unit inputs a received signal including a sine wave at least in a portion of the received signal. A differentiator differentiates the received signal. A first correlator correlates the received signal differentiated and a cosine waveform. An acquisition unit acquires a value of the received signal as an offset value, at a time estimated based on a result of correlation in the first correlator and at a time when the received signal includes a sine waveform. A correction unit corrects the received signal in accordance with the offset value acquired in the acquisition unit. Full Article
al PEAK CANCELLATION-CREST FACTOR REDUCTION DEVICE, PEAK-TO-AVERAGE POWER RATIO REDUCTION METHOD, AND PEAK VALUE DETERMINATION DEVICE By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A peak cancellation-crest factor reduction (PC-CFR) device includes a clipping unit configured to output a clipping error signal by clipping amplitude values of a first baseband complex signal based on a predetermined threshold value; a peak value determination unit configured to receive the clipping error signal, and determine a first amplitude value as a peak value when the first amplitude value is greater than a second amplitude value input before the first amplitude value and a third amplitude value input after the first amplitude value among amplitude values of the clipping error signal; a cancellation pulse generator (CPG) allocation unit configured to allocate the peak value to a CPG; and a subtractor configured to subtract a cancellation pulse generated from the CPG from the first baseband complex signal and output a second baseband complex signal with a reduced peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR). Full Article
al Communication device and method for signal determination in radio communication By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A mobile communication device is provided that includes a receiver configured to receive a signal. The communication device further includes a calculation circuit configured to determine a cumulant value of an order higher than two of the received signal, to determine a function value of the determined cumulant value and to compare the determined function value with a predefined value. The communication device further includes a decoder configured to decode the received signal. The communication device further includes a target signal detector configured to activate the decoder based on the comparison of the function value with the predefined value. Full Article
al SIGNALING METHODS AND APPARATUS By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A transmission apparatus and transmitting method for signaling parameters of a preamble, and a reception apparatus and receiving method for decoding the preamble. The transmitting method includes generating, using processing circuitry of a transmission apparatus, a bootstrap symbol based on the parameters of the preamble. The bootstrap symbol is prefixed to a frame that includes the preamble using the circuitry. The bootstrap symbol is selected from a plurality of patterns. Further, the plurality of patterns represent at least a subset of predetermined combinations of the parameters of the preamble including an FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) size, a guard interval, a frequency domain displacement component of a SPP (Scattered Pilot Pattern) and a L1 mode. Full Article
al DATA STRUCTURE FOR PHYSICAL LAYER ENCAPSULATION By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT Provided are a data structure including a header area, and a payload area comprising data, a method of generating the data structure, and extracting information from the data structure. At least one of the header area and the payload area includes at least one sub-area in which one or more signal fields are included. At least one signal field among the signal fields includes information for signalling presence or absence of one or more information fields located at least partly in the data structure, the one or more information fields corresponding to the one or more signal fields. Full Article
al TEMPORAL MOTION DATA CANDIDATE DERIVATION IN VIDEO CODING By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A method for derivation of a temporal motion data (TMD) candidate for a prediction unit (PU) in video encoding or video decoding is provided. The derived TMD candidate is for inclusion in an inter-prediction candidate list for the PU. The method includes determining a primary TMD position relative to a co-located PU in a co-located largest coding unit (LCU), wherein the co-located PU is a block in a reference picture having a same size, shape, and coordinates as the PU, and selecting at least some motion data of a secondary TMD position as the TMD candidate when the primary TMD position is in a bottom neighboring LCU or in a bottom right neighboring LCU of the co-located LCU, wherein the secondary TMD position is determined relative to the co-located PU. Full Article
al Histogram Segmentation Based Local Adaptive Filter for Video Encoding and Decoding By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT Reconstructed picture quality for a video codec system may be improved by categorizing reconstructed pixels into different histogram bins with histogram segmentation and then applying different filters on different bins. Histogram segmentation may be performed by averagely dividing the histogram into M bins or adaptively dividing the histogram into N bins based on the histogram characteristics. Here M and N may be a predefined, fixed, non-negative integer value or an adaptively generated value at encoder side and may be sent to decoder through the coded bitstream. Full Article
al Method of Alternative Transform for Data Compression By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A method and apparatus of adaptive image and video coding including an alternative transform other than the discrete cosine transform (DCT) and discrete sine transform (DST) type VII (DST-VII) are disclosed. For at least one block size belonging to the size group, a transform from multiple transforms comprising an alternative transform in addition to DCT and DST-VII is selected and applied to a current block. The alternative transform may correspond to DCT type IV (DCT-IV) or DST type IV (DST-IV). Full Article
al METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ENTROPY ENCODING USING HIERARCHICAL DATA UNIT, AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DECODING By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT Provided are video encoding and decoding methods and apparatuses. The video encoding method includes: encoding a video based on data units having a hierarchical structure; determining a context model used for entropy encoding a syntax element of a data unit based on at least one piece of additional information of the data units; and entropy encoding the syntax element by using the determined context model. Full Article
al SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TEMPORAL DIFFERENCING WITH VARIABLE COMPLEXITY By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A system and method for transmitting compressed video. A transmitter receives uncompressed video data from a video source, and compresses it using one or more reference frames. A receiver receives the compressed video data and decodes it, using the same reference frames, to form display data. The reference frames are stored in compressed form in both the transmitter and the receiver. Each frame of display data becomes a reference frame for the decoding of a subsequent frame. Full Article
al SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONSTRUCTING OPTICAL FLOW FIELDS By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A system constructs an optical flow field that corresponds with a selected video frame. The optical flow field is constructed based on a first motion of a mobile platform having an imaging device and a status of the imaging device. The first motion and the status are determined with measurements of sensors installed on the mobile platform and/or the imaging device installed on the mobile platform. The first motion includes at least one of a first rotation, a horizontal movement, or a vertical movement of the mobile platform. The status includes a rotation of the imaging device and/or an orientation of the imaging device relative to the mobile platform. Full Article
al METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ENCODING/DECODING THE MOTION VECTORS OF A PLURALITY OF REFERENCE PICTURES, AND APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR IMAGE ENCODING/DECODING USING SAME By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A video decoding method using an inter prediction, includes: reconstructing a first differential motion vector and a second differential motion vector of a current block by decoding encoded data; deriving a first predicted motion vector and a second predicted motion vector of the current block from one or more neighboring blocks of the current block; generating a first motion vector of the current block by adding the first candidate motion vector to the first differential motion vector, and a second motion vector of the current block by adding the second candidate motion vector to the second differential motion vector; generating a predicted block of the current block by using the first and second motion vectors; reconstructing a residual block by decoding residual signals included in the encoded data; and adding each pixel value of the predicted block to a corresponding pixel value of the residual block. Full Article
al METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ENCODING/DECODING THE MOTION VECTORS OF A PLURALITY OF REFERENCE PICTURES, AND APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR IMAGE ENCODING/DECODING USING SAME By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A video decoding method using an inter prediction, includes: reconstructing a first differential motion vector and a second differential motion vector of a current block by decoding encoded data; deriving a first predicted motion vector and a second predicted motion vector of the current block from one or more neighboring blocks of the current block; generating a first motion vector of the current block by adding the first candidate motion vector to the first differential motion vector, and a second motion vector of the current block by adding the second candidate motion vector to the second differential motion vector; generating a predicted block of the current block by using the first and second motion vectors; reconstructing a residual block by decoding residual signals included in the encoded data; and adding each pixel value of the predicted block to a corresponding pixel value of the residual block. Full Article
al METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DECODING A VIDEO SIGNAL By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT The present invention relates to a method for decoding a video signal, comprising the steps of: acquiring a transform size flag of the current macroblock from a video signal; checking the number of non-zero transform coefficients at each pixel position in a first transform block which corresponds to the transform size flag; changing a scan order of the first transform block by prioritizing the position of the pixel having the greatest number of the non-zero transform coefficients in the first transform block; determining the number of the non-zero transform coefficients at each pixel position in a second transform block, and setting the changed scan order of the first transform block as an initialized scan order of the second transform block; adding the number of the non-zero transform coefficients at each pixel position in the first transform block and the number of the non-zero transform coefficients at each pixel position in the second transform block, and changing the scan order of the second transform block by prioritizing the position of the pixel having the greatest number of the non-zero transform coefficients; and decoding the transform coefficients arranged in the scan order changed in the previous step, wherein the first transform block and the second transform block have sizes corresponding to the transform size flag, and are contained in the current macroblock. Full Article
al RECIPROCITY CALIBRATION FOR MULTIPLE-INPUT MULTIPLE-OUTPUT SYSTEMS By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT Systems and associated methods for reciprocity calibration of MIMO wireless communication are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, by a base station, a first set of pilot symbols by receivers (RXes) of the base station based on a first pilot symbol transmitted from a transmitter (TX) of at least one reference antenna, transmitting, by the base station, a second pilot symbol by TXes of the base station, wherein the transmitted second pilot symbol is received by an RX of the at least one reference antenna as a second set of r0,i pilot symbols calculating non-reciprocity compensation factors based on the first set of pilot symbols and the second set of pilot symbols. Full Article
al SEAL ASSEMBLY FOR A SUBMERSIBLE PUMPING SYSTEM AND AN ASSOCIATED METHOD THEREOF By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 08 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A seal assembly for a submersible pumping system is presented. The seal assembly includes a housing and a support tube disposed within the housing. Further, the seal assembly includes a shape memory alloy (SMA) foil disposed within the housing, surrounding the support tube to define a first chamber between the shape memory alloy foil and the support tube. The first chamber is configured to store a motor fluid, and wherein the shape memory alloy foil is configured to restrict a flow of a wellbore fluid to the motor fluid. Full Article
al AXIAL PUMP AND HYDRAULIC DRIVE SYSTEM By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 15 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A hydraulic device having an input shaft and an output shaft, the device comprising: a housing having the input shaft mounted at one end and the output shaft mounted at the other end; an axially reciprocating hydraulic pump mounted on the input shaft within the housing, the axially reciprocating hydraulic pump having: a plurality of pistons located in respective piston bores and configured for axial reciprocation therein; a cam plate connected to the input shaft, the cam plate having a plurality of cam surfaces distributed about the cam plate for driving the plurality of pistons towards Top Dead Center (TDC) of the piston bores; a rotating hydraulic motor mounted on the output shaft within the housing for rotating with the output shaft; and a pair of shared fluid conduits, one of the pair directly and fluidly connecting a fluid outlet of the axially reciprocating hydraulic pump with a fluid inlet of the rotating hydraulic motor and the other of the pair for directly and fluidly connecting a fluid outlet of the rotating hydraulic motor with a fluid inlet of the axially reciprocating hydraulic pump, such that the pair are contained within the housing; wherein flow of hydraulic fluid between the axially reciprocating hydraulic pump and the rotating hydraulic motor bypasses any fluid reservoir external to the housing. Full Article
al AXIAL THRUST CONTROL FOR ROTARY COMPRESSORS By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 15 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT Systems and methods are used to control operation of a rotary compressor of a refrigeration system to limit or prevent movement of rotors due to axial thrust loading resulting from rapid changes in speed of the rotors of the compressor. The operational profile of the motor is controlled to maintain acceleration torque and deceleration torque within predefined limits. The acceleration torque and deceleration torque are maintained within the predefined limits by controlling the speed of the motor, or by controlling the torque applied by the motor to the rotors during acceleration or deceleration. Full Article
al Suction Pump with a Safety Valve By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 22 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A suction pump, in particular a breast pump, comprises a bleed valve with a bleed opening, a bleed body which seals the bleed opening and an operating means for operating the bleed body. The bleed body may be operated such that upon opening the valve initially only a partial region of the bleed opening is released and subsequently a greater part thereof or the whole bleed opening is released. The suction pump provides a large functionality with the smallest size and, furthermore, is cheap to produce and easily assembled. Full Article
al VARIABLE-CAPACITY COMPRESSOR CONTROL VALVE By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 22 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT Provided is a variable-capacity compressor control valve that can suppress a decrease in the efficiency by reducing the amount of leakage in the valve without requiring severe accuracy of the components, avoid possible operation failures, and suppress the influence on the sliding resistance as well as the influence on the control characteristics. A main valve element of a valve element or a valve body is provided with a flexible or elastic sealing member. The sealing member is adapted to, when the valve orifice is closed by the main valve element, abut an end portion on the higher pressure side in a gap between sliding surfaces that is formed between the main valve element and a guide hole into which the main valve element is adapted to be slidably fitted and inserted, and thus seal the gap between the sliding surfaces. Full Article
al VARIABLE-CAPACITY COMPRESSOR CONTROL VALVE By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 22 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT Provided is a variable-capacity compressor control valve where a valve body can be easily machined and the machining time and machining cost can be reduced without a decrease in the valve closing property or a decrease in the slidability of the valve element due to shaft misalignment. The valve body includes a support member having formed therein a valve orifice and a guide hole into which the valve element is adapted to be slidably fitted and inserted; and a body member having formed therein a Ps inlet/outlet port, a Pd introduction port, and a Pc inlet/outlet port. The support member is fixedly inserted into a recess hole provided in the body member. In addition, a chip sealing portion (pocket portion) for sealing chips of the body member and/or the support member is provided between the body member and the support member. Full Article
al VARIABLE-CAPACITY COMPRESSOR CONTROL VALVE By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 22 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT Provided is a variable-capacity compressor control valve where a decrease in the sealability or the operability due to shaft misalignment can be effectively suppressed without requiring high dimensional accuracy. The dimensions and the shape of each part are designed such that when the sub valve element closes the in-valve release passage, the tapered portion (sub valve element portion) provided at the lower end portion of the sub valve element enters the release through-hole of the in-valve release passage, and the sub valve element is thus aligned with the main valve element by the tapered portion. Full Article
al VARIABLE -CAPACITY COMPRESSOR CONTROL VALVE By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 22 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT Provided is a variable-capacity compressor control valve where the size of a plunger can be reduced, the machining and assembly process can be simplified, weight reduction can be achieved, and cost reduction can also be achieved, for example. The plunger has a slit through which a valve element is assembled to the plunger by being inserted from a lateral side. The slit serves as a flow path for releasing the pressure Pc in the crank chamber to the suction chamber of the compressor from the Ps inlet/outlet port when the sub valve element has opened the in-valve release passage. Full Article
al BELLOWS INSTALLATION AND RETENTION METHOD By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 22 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A reciprocating pump includes a housing, a rod, a sleeve, a bellows, and a nut. The housing includes a bellows chamber and a working chamber. The rod extends into the reciprocating pump such that the rod extends through the bellows chamber and partly into the working chamber. The rod includes a shoulder. The sleeve is connected to the rod such that the sleeve surrounds a portion of the rod. The bellows is connected to the sleeve such that the bellows surrounds a portion of the sleeve. The nut is attached to a bottom end of the sleeve such that the nut clamps an end of the bellows to the bottom end of the sleeve. Full Article
al BELLOWS PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 22 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A valve for a reciprocating pump includes a housing, a first chamber, a second chamber, a first valve element, and a second valve element. The housing includes an inlet and an outlet. The first and second chambers are within the housing. The first chamber includes a first valve seat and is fluidly connected to the inlet. The second chamber includes a second valve seat and is fluidly connected to the outlet. The first valve element is disposed in the first chamber and includes a spring-loaded check valve element. The second valve element is disposed in the second chamber and includes a buoyant material. Full Article
al ENVIRONMENTAL SENSOR AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 22 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A gaseous-fluid environmental sensor having a gaseous-fluid flow system that defines a flow path coupling an intake port to an exhaust port. The gaseous-fluid flow system includes a blower and a flow sensor. The blower includes a motor and the flow sensor is for sensing a flow parameter. The gaseous-fluid environmental sensor further includes a controller electrically coupled to the flow sensor and the motor. The controller is configured to drive the motor with a first commutation sequence and to drive the motor with a second commutation sequence different than the first commutation sequence. The controller is further configured to select the first commutation sequence and the second commutation sequence based on the sensed flow parameter. Also discloses is a method for controlling the gaseous-fluid environmental sensor. Full Article
al METHODS AND APPARATUS TO CALIBRATE ROD PUMP CONTROLLERS By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 22 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT Methods and apparatus to calibrate rod pump controllers are described. An example method includes obtaining initial values related to a pumping unit, determining parameters based on the initial values, the parameters including at least one of a leaked off load value, a residual friction value, and a buoyant rod weight value, and based on one or more of the initial values and the parameters, calculating one or more dimensions of a rod string, the one or more dimensions to be used to determine a pump card of the pumping unit. Full Article
al INTERNAL BELLOWS BEARING By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 22 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A reciprocating pump includes a housing, a rod, a bellows, and a bearing. The housing surrounds a bellows chamber and a displacement chamber. A first portion of the rod extends into the bellows chamber. The bellows has a first end connected to the housing and a second end connected to the rod. The bellows surrounds a second portion of the rod. The bellows includes a plurality of convolutions. The bearing is disposed within the bellows between the bellows and the rod. Full Article
al THERMAL ENHANCEMENT OF CABIN AIR COMPRESSOR MOTOR COOLING By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 22 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A cabin air compressor assembly includes a cabin air compressor, and a cabin air compressor motor operably connected to the cabin air compressor. The cabin air compressor motor includes a rotor and a stator having a plurality of end windings. A cabin air compressor housing includes at least one cooling airflow hole formed therein. A motor cooling flow is movable across a portion of the cabin air compressor motor to cool the stator and the end windings. A duct extends from the cabin air compressor housing to an adjacent end winding such that a cooling outlet flow provided via the at least one cooling air flow hole is arranged in fluid communication with the end winding. Full Article
al SHOCK ABSORBING AND WEAR RESISTANT BALL CHECK SEAT FOR ABRASIVE MEDIA By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 22 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A check valve includes a ball and a seat. The seat includes a body and a hole extending through the body. The hole is smaller in diameter than the ball. The body of the seat is formed from ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene. The ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene of the seat has an ASTM D648 heat deflection temperature of 46.7° C. at 1.8 MPa. Full Article
al PRECONDITIONING FLOW TO AN ELECTRICAL SUBMERSIBLE PUMP By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT A system and method of producing fluid from a wellbore by pressurizing the fluid and then directing the pressurized fluid to a centrifugal pump. Pressurizing the fluid compresses gas or vapor within the fluid, thereby decreasing the volume ratio of the gas or vapor within the fluid, which in turn increases operating efficiency of the centrifugal pump. A positive displacement pump, such as a gerotor pump, is used for pressurizing the fluid prior to sending it to the centrifugal pump. Full Article
al MICRO SCALE ELECTRO HYRDODYNAMIC (EHD) MODULAR CARTRIDE PUMP By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 08:00:00 EDT An electro hydrodynamic pump apparatus includes a cartridge body member including an interior cavity portion and openings on either end of the cartridge body member; a first electrode member disposed within the interior cavity portion of the cartridge body member, the first electrode member including a conductive bar member with a plurality of spaced apart elements extending therefrom; a second electrode member disposed within the interior cavity portion of the cartridge body member, the second electrode member including a conductive bar with a plurality of spaced apart element extending therefrom; and wherein the elements of the first electrode member are configure to be interspersed with the elements of the second electrode member when the first electrode member and the second electrode member are disposed within the interior cavity portion of the cartridge body member. Full Article