68304results about "Pump components" patented technology

An active matrix microfluidic platform employs thin film transistor active (“TFT”) matrix liquid crystal display technology to manipulate small samples of fluid for chemical, biochemical, or biological assays without moving parts, for example, using a two-dimensional matrix array of drive electrodes. The active matrix microfluidic platform may employ existing active matrix addressing schemes and / or commercial “off-the-shelf” animation software to program assay protocols. A feedback subsystem may determine an actual location of a fluid in the microfluidic structure, and provides location information to for display, for example, on an active matrix display, and / or to control movement of one or more fluid bodies in the microfluidic structure.

The invention relates to a device for displacement of at least a small volume of liquid (5) under the effect of an electrical control, including a substrate (1) provided with first electrically conducting means (2), the device also comprising second electrically conducting means (3) arranged facing the first electrically conducting means (2), the first electrically conducting means and the second electrically conducting means possibly being connected to electrical power supply means to enable the application of electrostatic forces to the small liquid volume (5). The second electrically conducting means include at least one conducting wire (3) arranged parallel to the substrate and at a fixed distance from the substrate to enable displacement of the small volume of liquid (5) along said conducting wire (3) under the effect of the applied electrostatic forces.

An article is described, including an inner surface which can be exposed to a first fluid; an inlet; and an outer surface spaced from the inner surface, which can be exposed to a hotter second fluid. The article further includes at least one row or other pattern of passage holes. Each passage hole includes an inlet bore extending through the substrate from the inlet at the inner surface to a passage hole-exit proximate to the outer surface, with the inlet bore terminating in a chevron outlet adjacent the hole-exit. The chevron outlet includes a pair of wing troughs having a common surface region between them. The common surface region includes a valley which is adjacent the hole-exit; and a plateau adjacent the valley. The article can be an airfoil. Related methods for preparing the passage holes are also described.

A wall in a gas turbine engine includes inner and outer surfaces having a row of compound chevron film cooling holes extending therethrough. The chevron holes diverge both longitudinally and laterally between an inlet at the wall inner surface and a chevron outlet at the wall outer surface.

A catheter includes a sealed multi-lumen heat transfer extension designed to internally circulate a coolant, and thereby cool tissue or fluid surrounding the catheter. The heat transfer extension includes a tube having a distally positioned region that coils about the tube's longitudinal axis. The tube houses multiple lumens running longitudinally along the tube. These lumens include one or more supply lumens and one or more return lumens. A distal fluid exchange reservoir resides at the tube's tip, for the purpose of redirecting fluid from the supply lumen(s) to the return lumen(s). The heat transfer extension may include a shape memory structure causing the heat transfer extension to vary its shape according to temperature. Namely, the extension assumes a coiled shape under predetermined shape-active temperatures, and it assumes a non-coiled shape under other predetermined shape-relaxed temperatures. The catheter also includes an interface having supply and return lines to provide coolant to the heat transfer extension, and remove coolant returning therefrom. To connect the supply / return lines with the supply / return lumens, the invention may include a fluid transfer housing. Optionally, one or more of the lumens may be configured as flow-through lumens to exchange fluids with the patient.

A turbofan includes a row of fan blades extending from a supporting disk inside an annular casing. Each blade includes an airfoil having opposite pressure and suction sides extending radially in span between a root and tip and axially in chord between leading and trailing edges. Adjacent airfoils define corresponding flow passages therebetween for pressurizing air. Each airfoil includes stagger increasing between the root and tip, and the flow passage has a mouth between the airfoil leading edge and the suction side of an adjacent airfoil and converges to a throat aft from the mouth. The row includes no more than twenty fan blades having low tip solidity for increasing the width of the passage throat.

The catheter device comprises a drive shaft connected to a motor, and a rotor mounted on the drive shaft at the distal end section. The rotor has a frame structure which is formed by a screw-like boundary frame and rotor struts extending radially inwards from the boundary frame. The rotor struts are fastened to the drive shaft by their ends opposite the boundary frame. Between the boundary frame and the drive shaft extends an elastic covering. The frame structure is made of an elastic material such that, after forced compression, the rotor unfolds automatically.

Systems and methods are disclosed for controlling and diagnosing the health of a motorized system. The systems may comprise a diagnostics system and a controller, wherein the diagnostics system employs a neural network, an expert system, and / or a data fusion component in order to assess the health of the motorized system according to one or more attributes associated therewith. The controller may operate the motorized system in accordance with a setpoint and / or a diagnostics signal from the diagnostics system. Also disclosed are methodologies for controlling and diagnosing the health of a motorized system, comprising operating a motor in the motorized system in a controlled fashion, and diagnosing the health of the motorized system according to a measured attribute associated with the motorized system, wherein the motor may be operated according to a setpoint and / or the diagnostics signal.

A fully submersible apparatus for generating electricity from liquid flow as in an ocean or river current. A buoyant structure is fully submersible and has at least one pair of counter-rotating side-by-side motors with a plurality of angularly spaced radial vanes each having a plurality of rotatable subvanes such that current impinging upon the motor will impinge on a closed or solid vane to effect rotation of the motor and its shaft during a first phase of the rotational cycle and will impinge on open vanes for free passage therethrough on the return or second phase of rotation of the motor. Motors may also be provided with vanes in overlying and underlying relationship. An associated method is provided.

A redundant fan system for a computer includes two fans installed in series with at least one of the fans having collapsible blades. A fan system of this type reduces the fan inefficiency caused when one fan in a series mounted pair is not operating, either because it is free-wheeling or in a locked rotor condition. When non-operational, the fan blades of the collapsible fan fold inward due to airflow generated by the operational fan over the collapsible blades. The ability of the blades to fold reduces the inefficiency of the operational fan, having less of an effect on fan life. Also, because the flow of air is less restricted, proper airflow can be maintained, thus preventing overheating of the computer.

An impeller includes a hub and at least one blade supported by the hub. The impeller has a stored configuration in which the blade is compressed so that its distal end moves towards the hub, and a deployed configuration in which the blade extends away from the hub. The impeller may be part of a pump for pumping fluids, such as pumping blood within a patient. A blood pump may include a cannula having a proximal portion with a fixed diameter, and a distal portion with an expandable diameter. The impeller may reside in the expandable portion of the cannula. The cannula may have a compressed diameter which allows it to be inserted percutaneously into a patient. Once at a desired location, the expandable portion of the cannula may be expanded and the impeller expanded to the deployed configuration. A flexible drive shaft may extend through the cannula for rotationally driving the impeller within the patient's body.

A method for detecting ice on a wind turbine having a rotor and one or more rotor blades each having blade roots includes monitoring meteorological conditions relating to icing conditions and monitoring one or more physical characteristics of the wind turbine in operation that vary in accordance with at least one of the mass of the one or more rotor blades or a mass imbalance between the rotor blades. The method also includes using the one or more monitored physical characteristics to determine whether a blade mass anomaly exists, determining whether the monitored meteorological conditions are consistent with blade icing; and signaling an icing-related blade mass anomaly when a blade mass anomaly is determined to exist and the monitored meteorological conditions are determined to be consistent with icing.

A generally cylindrical rotor very closely confined between two rigid thrust bearing surfaces is radially suspended by an array of attracting or repelling magnets or by a combination of permanent magnets and ring shaped members composed of ferromagnetic material. The geometry permits very small spacing between magnetic components to achieve high radial stiffness. High magnetic axial forces exerted between the rotor and stationary component on one end of the rotor are counter-balanced by equal and opposite forces at the other end of the rotor. Precise positioning of the rotor in the location where the opposing axial magnetic forces counterballance each other yields a net magnetic axial force on the rotor of near zero, hence the reference to this as the null position. Wear resistant mechanical thrust bearings confine the rotor axially to maintain this position during rotatioin. Precisely balance the magnetic axial forces in the proper geometry with relation to the mechanical thrust bearings. Blood pumps utilizing this type of bearing are disclosed, including both axial flow pump and centrifugal flow pump configurations with high flow washing of the junction of the rotating and stationary parts to prevent thrombus accumulation.

A blower includes a stationary portion including an inlet and an outlet, a rotating portion provided to the stationary portion, and a motor adapted to drive the rotating portion. The inlet and outlet are co-axially aligned. The stationary portion includes a housing, a stator component provided to the housing, and a tube providing an interior surface. The rotating portion includes one or more bearings that are provided along the interior surface of the tube to support a rotor within the tube. In an embodiment, the blower is structured to supply air at positive pressure.

A multiple stage variable speed blower for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) ventilation of patients includes two impellers in the gas flow path that cooperatively pressurize gas to desired pressure and flow characteristics. Thus, the multiple stage blower can provide faster pressure response and desired flow characteristics over a narrower range of motor speeds, resulting in greater reliability and less acoustic noise.

A segmented abradable ceramic coating system having superior abradability and erosion resistance is disclosed. The system includes a duct segment having a metallic substrate, a MCrAlY bond coat on the substrate and a segmented abradable ceramic coating on the bond coat. The segmented abradable ceramic coating includes a base coat foundation layer, a graded interlayer and an abradable top layer for an overall thickness of preferably about 50 mils (1.270 mm). The coating is characterized by a plurality of vertical microcracks. By precisely controlling the deposition parameters, composition of the layers and layer particle morphology, segmentation is achieved, as well as superior abradability and erosion resistance.

Methods and Apparatuses for deicing a wind turbine blade are described herein. In one embodiment, an exemplary process includes detecting an icy condition on a wind turbine blade and causing at least a portion of the wind turbine blade to vibrate, causing the ice built up on the wind turbine blade to break off.

A turbine engine provides a spool supporting a turbine. The spool is arranged in a core nacelle and includes a thrust bearing. A fan is arranged upstream from the core nacelle and is coupled to the spool. A fan nacelle surrounds the fan and core nacelle and provides a bypass flow path that includes a fan nozzle exit area. A flow control device is adapted to effectively change the fan nozzle exit area. A controller is programmed to monitor the thrust bearing and command the flow control device in response to an undesired load on the thrust bearing. Effectively changing the fan nozzle exit area with the flow control device actively manages the bearing thrust load to desired levels.

A blower for use in a climate controlled system includes an outer housing, a plurality of protruding members extending from the outer housing, an inlet opening in the outer housing, an impeller positioned with an internal cavity or space defined by the outer housing and a filter configured for placement against at least some of the protruding members. In some embodiments, the space created by the protruding members between the filter and outer housing facilitates the transfer of air or other fluids into the internal cavity of the blower.

An impeller according to an example of the present invention comprises a hub, and at least one blade supported by the hub. The impeller has a deployed configuration in which the blade extends away from the hub, and a stored configuration in which the impeller is radially compressed, for example by folding the blade towards the hub. The impeller may comprise a plurality of blades, arranged in blade rows, to facilitate radial compression of the blades. The outer edge of a blade may have a winglet, and the base of the blade may have an associated indentation to facilitate folding of the blade.

A radial exhaust gas turbine apparatus has a gas turbine engine that includes a radial exhaust diffuser section and a casing apparatus consisting essentially of polygonal walls, substantially straight plates, and substantially straight sidewalls. The casing apparatus encloses the radial exhaust diffuser section and is configured to direct at least a substantial portion of the gas exiting the radial exhaust diffuser section to an exit in the casing apparatus via an approximately involute path.

A liquid pump, in particular a water pump, comprises a pump housing, which has a thrust bearing seat, a bearing bolt and a bearing mounted on the bearing bolt. In this case, a thrust washer is arranged between the thrust bearing seat of the pump housing and the bearing. Furthermore, a flexible washer is arranged between the thrust bearing seat and the thrust washer.

A composite thermal barrier coating system includes a honeycomb metallic structure filled with high thermal expansion ceramic hollow spheres in a phosphate bonded matrix. The composite thermal barrier coating system may be manufactured to thicknesses in excess of current thermal barrier coating systems, thereby imparting greater thermal protection. Superior erosion resistance and abrasion properties are also achieved. The composite thermal barrier coating is useful on combustion turbine components such as ring seal segments, vane segment shrouds, transitions and combustors.

A metal vane core or strut (64) is formed integrally with an outer backing plate (40). An inner backing plate (38) is formed separately. A spring (74) with holes (75) is installed in a peripheral spring chamber (76) on the strut. Inner and outer CMC shroud covers (46, 48) are formed, cured, then attached to facing surfaces of the inner and outer backing plates (38, 40). A CMC vane airfoil (22) is formed, cured, and slid over the strut (64). The spring (74) urges continuous contact between the strut (64) and airfoil (66), eliminating vibrations while allowing differential expansion. The inner end (88) of the strut is fastened to the inner backing plate (38). A cooling channel (68) in the strut is connected by holes (69) along the leading edge of the strut to peripheral cooling paths (70, 71) around the strut. Coolant flows through and around the strut, including through the spring holes.

A robust multiple-walled, multi-pass, high cooling effectiveness cooled turbine vane or blade designed for ease of manufacturability, minimizes cooling flows on highly loaded turbine rotors. The vane or blade design allows the turbine inlet temperature to increase over current technology levels while simultaneously reducing turbine cooling to low levels. A multi-wall cooling system is described, which meets the inherent conflict to maximize the flow area of the cooling passages while retaining the required section thickness to meet the structural requirements. Independent cooling circuits for the vane or blade's pressure and suction surfaces allow the cooling of the airfoil surfaces to be tailored to specific heat load distributions (that is, the pressure surface circuit is an independent forward flowing serpentine while the suction surface is an independent rearward flowing serpentine). The cooling air for the independent circuits is supplied through separate passages at the base of the vane or blade. The cooling air follows intricate passages to feed the serpentine thin outer wall passages, which incorporate pin fins, turbulators, etc. These passages, while satisfying the aero / thermal / stress requirements, are of a manufacturing configuration that may be cast with single crystal materials using conventional casting techniques.