83results about How to "Faster cycle time" patented technology

Dual purpose lavatory units are disclosed. In one embodiment, a lavatory unit includes a first section, a second section, and a divider wall separating the first and second sections. The first section includes a commode and the second section includes at least one of a urinal and a sink. The dual-purpose lavatory may be constructed as a unit that is mountable in a vehicle such as an aircraft.

Active material actuator assemblies are provided that enable simplified control systems and faster actuator cycle times. A movable member is provided that has multiple active material components operatively connected to it. The active material components are separately selectively activatable for moving the movable member. Movement of the movable member via activation of a first of the active material components triggers activation of the second active material component to further move the movable member. Alternatively or in addition, previously activated active material components are protected from undesired stretching during activation of another active material component or, when desired, an active material component may be reset via activation of another of the active material components in order to prepare it for subsequent activation.

An integrated microfabricated instrument for manipulation, reaction and detection of microliter to picoliter samples. The instrument is suited for biochemical reactions, particularly DNA-based reactions such as the polymerase chain reaction, that require thermal cycling since the inherently small size of the instrument facilitates rapid cycle times. The integrated nature of the instrument provides accurate, contamination-free processing. The instrument may include reagent reservoirs, agitators and mixers, heaters, pumps, and optical or electromechanical sensors. Ultrasonic Lamb-wave devices may be used as sensors, pumps and agitators.

The present invention relates generally to the fields of chemistry and molecular biology. More particularly, the present invention relates to thermally-conductive compositions and reaction tubes for chemical- and biochemical-based analytical processing. Compositions and reaction tubes in accordance with the invention comprise at least one plastic and at least one compound having a higher thermal conductivity than the at least one plastic to result in compositions and tubes having increased thermal conductivity when compared to the at least one plastic alone. Such compositions and tubes are capable of facilitating rapid heat transfer in numerous heat transfer applications. The thermally-conductive compositions and reaction tubes are especially suitable for containing reaction constituents during thermal cycling of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

A method and system for storing instructions retrieved from memory in a memory cache to provide said instructions to a processor. First a new instruction is received from the memory. The system then determines whether the new instruction is a start of a basic block of instructions. If the new instruction is the start of a basic block of instructions, the system determines whether the basic block of instructions is stored in the memory cache responsive. If the basic block of instructions is not stored in the memory cache, the system retrieves the basic block of instructions for the new instruction from the memory. The system then stores the basic block of instructions in a buffer. The system then predicts a next basic block of instructions needed by the processor from the basic block of instructions. The system determines whether the next block of instructions is stored in the cache memory and retrieves the next basic block of instructions from the memory if the next block of instructions is not stored in memory.

A composite product and forming system are provided. In another aspect of the present invention, multiple layers of fiber, prepreg sheets are employed with an internal air channeling sheet to create a composite or laminate product. A further aspect of the present invention uses compression molding to form composite parts made from prepreg sheets.

The invention relates to a temperature-controlled injector for a chemical analysis unit, in particular a gas chromatograph, comprising an injector tube, which can be received by a receiving tube, having a cooling system, which surrounds the receiving tube, through which coolant can flow, which has coolant connections and which is designed as a metallic tube coil, and a resistance heating system for the injector tube, in which injector the receiving tube consists of a material of good thermal conductivity, is electrically insulating towards the outside, and the tube coil rests on the receiving tube, has an electrical resistance which is sufficient to rapidly heat the injector tube and can be acted on by current via electrical connection pieces.

A hybrid composite product and system are provided. In another aspect of the present invention, a structure is molded onto a composite substrate. Multiple layers of fiber, prepreg sheets are employed with an internal air channeling sheet to create a composite or laminate product for another aspect of the present invention. A further aspect of the present invention uses compression molding to form composite parts made from prepreg sheets and injection molding to create a permanently attached member.

Methods and systems for laser welding using a galvanometer to deliver laser energy in a multiple point sequence for high-speed and low-temperature welding of batteries, capacitors, medical devices, and related medical device components or the like.

The cycle time for a rotomolding process is improved through the use of a molding material comprising a blend of at least two polyethylenes having narrow molecular weight distributions and homogeneous comonomer distributions. Alternatively, the molding temperature may be reduced to conserve energy and reduce energy costs. The polyethylene blend also has a narrow molecular weight distribution of less than 3 and a density of from 0.930 to 0.950 g/cc. Rotomolded parts prepared from the blend composition have excellent impact resistance and are also resistant to warpage. A preferred process employs a blend composition which contains a blend component having a higher molecular weight and a lower density than another blend component—this blend may be used to prepare rotomolded parts with warpage resistance and improved environmental stress crack resistance (ESCR). A highly preferred process uses a blend composition which further contains aminor amount (from 0.5 to 10 weight %) of a third ethylene blend component which has a higher molecular weight and density—this highly preferred composition may be used to prepare rotomolded parts having warpage resistance, very good ESCR and comparatively high modulus (or stiffness).

The present invention discloses an improved method and system for verifying trackside conditions in safety critical railroad applications by reporting the status of trackside signals and switches to a remote train control system to confirm visual signals and control train movement. The system for verifying whether a trackside signaling electrical component is energized comprises a sensor for providing trackside conditions to a remote train control system electrically connected to a circuit for providing trackside conditions to a railroad interlocking adjacent to a trackside signaling electrical component, said sensor powered by voltage applied to said circuit such that said sensor is energized only when said electrical component is engaged. The fail safe method for sensing the status of an electrical component by powering the sensing means with voltage applied to a circuit when the electrical component is energized comprises electrically connecting a sensor to an electrical circuit associated with an electrical component, said circuit energized when said electrical component is engaged, said sensor adjacent to said electrical component; powering said sensor by voltage applied to said circuit such that said sensor is energized only when said electrical component is engaged; and indicating that said electrical component is engaged when sensor is energized by transmitting sensor status to a microprocessor.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention is a die casting apparatus and method evidencing increased apparatus output including the ability of using multiple die tools. The invention includes an indexing assembly removably engaged with at least one die block assembly for transporting between four stations, including an injection station, a cooling station, an ejection station, and a recovery station. The injection station includes a frame, a clamp assembly attached to the frame for clamping and releasing the die block assembly, a shot sleeve assembly engaged with the die block assembly for receiving molten material, such as metal, from a furnace means and injecting the molten material into the die block assembly, and a shot cylinder releasably coupled with the shot sleeve assembly for controlling the injection of molten material. The ejection station includes an ejector lift assembly which engages the die block assembly for ejecting a finished part from the die block assembly, and the recovery station includes an ejector drop assembly which engages the die block assembly for placing a preload on the die block assembly.

An arrangement for charging an accumulator with hydraulic fluid is provided. The accumulator is used in a hydraulic boom suspension system for a lift arm of a vehicle and the arrangement includes a first hydraulic pump arranged to supply hydraulic fluid to a hydraulic cylinder system of the lift arm, and a second hydraulic pump arranged to supply hydraulic fluid to a second hydraulic system. The second hydraulic pump is further arranged to supply hydraulic fluid for charging the accumulator.

A rivet setting machine is provided. In another aspect, a linear displacement sensor directly senses and detects a position of a rivet-setting punch relative to a nosepiece of a rivet setting machine. A further aspect provides a control system and software instructions for sensing the relative position of a punch and nosepiece used by a programmable controller to determine and monitor a rivet setting position without use of a force sensor, motor current/voltage sensor, or a rotation sensor.

This invention relates to an apparatus, comprising: at least one process microchannel having a height, width and length, the height being up to about 10 mm, the process microchannel having a base wall extending in one direction along the width of the process microchannel and in another direction along the length of the process microchannel; at least one fin projecting into the process microchannel from the base wall and extending along at least part of the length of the process microchannel; and a catalyst or sorption medium supported by the fin.

A method for making a multi-layer plastic preform employs blow molding air into the multi-layer parison until an outer layer of the multi-layer parison rests against the preform mold and thereafter inserting a compression core sized to fit the pre-blown preform to smooth the inner layer of the blown parison and finish the preform. A system for making a multi-layer plastic preform includes a blow stem assembly having a device for introducing air into a multi-layer parison captured by a preform mold in a blow-mold operation, and a compression preform core attached to an end of a compression rod wherein when the compression preform core is retracted into the device, air can be blown into the preform mold and when, the compression rod extends in a stroke through the device, the compression preform core extends out of the device into the preform mold.

Asynchronous circuitry provides a domino circuit having short cycle times and zero overhead latency. The control circuit of a datapath circuit may utilize a completion signal from the datapath circuit to develop a request signal to the datapath circuit. The request signal may also be based on a request signal from a previous stage. Using the completion signal of a stage to develop the request signal for the same stage allows the circuitry to reduce the impact of constraints that are required for the asynchronous circuitry to operate. Similarly, using the request signal from a previous stage of the asynchronous circuitry to develop the request signal for a present stage also allows the circuitry to reduce the impact of constraints required to implement the asynchronous circuitry. These techniques allow the achievement of fast cycle times while maintaining zero overhead.

A torque applying system includes a torque applying tool having a motor and rotating output spindle, a torque sensor that measures an instantaneous torque exerted by the output spindle during a fastening cycle, and a controller operatively connected to the tool to control the tool's rotational speed during the fastening cycle. The controller is programmed to control the tool's rotational speed to be [(τ_F−τ_C)/t]/r, wherein t is a time constant of speed control, τ_F is a target final torque for the fastening cycle, and r is a torque rate.