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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7364623 | Confinement ring drive A confinement assembly for a semiconductor processing chamber is provided. The confinement assembly includes a plurality of confinement rings disposed over each other. Each of the plurality of confinement rings are separated by a space and each of the plurality of c... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7350482 | Oxygen producing non-polluting engine A non-polluting engine that produces mechanical, rotary motion, and produces oxygen as a principle gaseous byproduct. The engine employs a fuel mixture that includes two components that together produce oxygen. The fuel mixture is introduced to a combustion chamber ... | 04/01/2008 |
| 7296457 | Thermally-actuated press brake tool holder technology The invention provides press brake technology. In more detail, the invention involves a press brake tool holder having a thermally-responsive actuator. In certain embodiments, the actuator comprises a thermally-expandable polymer and/or a shape-memory alloy. ... | 11/20/2007 |
| 7237380 | Compact actuator A compact electrothermal actuator includes a housing having a longitudinal axis. A slot extends through the housing. A chamber within the housing contains a working fluid that changes phase upon heating. A piston is slidably disposed within the housing and movable a... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7175772 | Small scale actuators and methods for their formation and use An actuator assembly and method for making and using an actuator assembly. In one embodiment, the assembly includes an actuator body having an actuator channel with a first region and a second region. An actuator is disposed in the actuator channel and is movable wh... | 02/13/2007 |
| 7146814 | Micro-machine and a method of powering a micro-machine A rotatable micro-machine is comprised of a solvent reservoir, a porous evaporation region and a channel connecting the solvent reservoir to the evaporation region. The evaporation region may be constructed of capillary paths that enable a capillary action which pul... | 12/12/2006 |
| 7131270 | Apparatus and method for a heat engine A heat engine includes a plurality of heating side expansion chambers and cooling side expansion chambers, positioned on opposite sides of an axis, for providing rotation of an apparatus about its axis when the fluids inside the chambers expand and contract on the s... | 11/07/2006 |
| 7044729 | Gas burner control for a bake oven The system (1) for controlling the combustion (7) of a cooking oven burner (2), comprises in combination a thermostat valve (3) with a rotary hand knob (4) and a non-electric temperature sensor (6) for modulating the burner ... | 05/16/2006 |
| 6935109 | Monoprolellant/hypergolic powered proportional actuator Systems and methods involving monopropellant and hypergolic powered proportional actuators that may be used in applications such as robotics. A blowdown tank delivers fuel to a reaction site, produce gaseous products. Those gaseous products are transported to a pres... | 08/30/2005 |
| 6931852 | Steam engine A steam engine increases efficiency and prevents corrosion, abrasion, and the like in a part receiving steam pressure. A heater and a cooler are provided on one side of a U-shaped fluid container, and a piston for output is provided on its other side. The heater hea... | 08/23/2005 |
| 6922998 | Apparatus and method for a heat engine A heat engine includes a plurality of heating side expansion chambers and cooling side expansion chambers, positioned on opposite sides of an axis, for providing rotation of an apparatus about its axis when the fluids inside the chambers expand and contract on the s... | 08/02/2005 |
| 6699442 | Visible light pH change for activating polymers and other pH dependent reactants A method and apparatus for initiating a rapid and long-lasting pH change to a pH dependent polymer or other pH driven reactant is provided by a pH jump molecule in solution. Visible light is used to excite the pH jump molecule. The attendant pH change occ... | 03/02/2004 |
| 6612535 | MEMS valve A valve where the valve membrane is made from silicone rubber. Preferably the valve is a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) thermopneumatic valve. Because of the advantageous physical properties of silicone rubber, the valve provides desirable performa... | 09/02/2003 |
| 6564551 | Gas expansion apparatus for a system for the conversion of thermal energy into motive energy, in particular for a hot-water motor The invention relates to a gas expansion apparatus which is part of a system for the conversion of thermal energy into motor energy, especially for a hot-water motor.... | 05/20/2003 |
| 6499297 | Micromachined parylene membrane valve and pump A micromachined fluid handling device having improved properties. The valve is made of reinforced parylene. A heater heats a fluid to expand the fluid. The heater is formed on unsupported silicon nitride to reduce the power. The device can be used to form... | 12/31/2002 |
| 6481204 | Expansible polymer clamping device A clamping device includes an expansible polymer that is disposed in a polymer chamber (14). A heat transfer conduit (22) transports heat transfer fluid and brings it into thermal conductivity with the polymer. By cooling or heating the polymer as needed,... | 11/19/2002 |
| 6470679 | Apparatus and method for transferring entropy with the aid of a thermodynamic cycle The invention relates to regenerative working and thermal processes, the drive energy of which is supplied by external combustion of the fuel. The heat supply for this, almost always assumed to be isothermic, is achieved only in exceptional cases, since t... | 10/29/2002 |
| 6345502 | Micromachined parylene membrane valve and pump A micromachined fluid handling device having improved properties. The valve is made of reinforced parylene. A heater heats a fluid to expand the fluid. The heater is formed on unsupported silicon nitride to reduce the power. The device can be used to form... | 02/12/2002 |
| 6016824 | Control method and circuit for valve device An analog voltage signal VA generated from a command signal generating device is converted to a PWM signal VB by a converter, and a drive transistor is ON/OFF controlled by the PWM signal VB, whereby a current is conducted... | 01/25/2000 |
| 5916140 | Hydraulic engine powered by introduction and removal of heat from a working fluid A thermal hydraulic engine including a frame. A working fluid changes volume with changes in temperature. A working fluid container houses the working fluid. A cylinder secured to the frame includes an interior space. The cylinder also includes a passage ... | 06/29/1999 |
| 5899067 | Hydraulic engine powered by introduction and removal of heat from a working fluid A thermal hydraulic engine including a frame. A working fluid changes volume with changes in temperature. A working fluid container houses the working fluid. A cylinder secured to the frame includes an interior space. The cylinder also includes a passage ... | 05/04/1999 |
| 5833446 | Deriving mechanical power by expanding a liquid to its vapour An apparatus is provided for deriving mechanical power from expansion of a working fluid, other than water, from a liquid state at a first pressure to vapour at a second, lower pressure, which apparatus includes positive displacement machinery, wherein th... | 11/10/1998 |
| 5720169 | Thermochemical/mechanical actuator A housing (10, 46, 64, 90, 100) has an internal opening in which a thin recess is defined for receiving a heat expansible polymer (30) and a heating element (24). In some embodiments, an insert (14, 98, 102) is inserted into the housing bore such that the... | 02/24/1998 |
| 5666810 | Electro-thermal actuator system An electro-thermal actuator has linear displacement of its actuator rod accurately controlled and monitored. The actuator includes a sealed chamber containing an expansible and contractible working fluid. The working fluid is heated by way of pulse width ... | 09/16/1997 |
| 5419133 | High speed thermochemical actuator A heat sink (14) provides thermal communication between an actuator (18) and fluid controlled by a valve (12) which is flowing through a conduit (10). The actuator includes a vessel which is defined on its largest surfaces by plates (22, 50) of beryllium ... | 05/30/1995 |
| 5334629 | Control of continuous phase pH using visible light to activate pH-dependent fibers and gels in a controlled and reversible manner A transparent polyelectrolyte fiber or gel, such as cross-linked polyacrylic acid, which contracts and expands upon the addition of an acid or base to an aqueous medium solution, is placed in the same solution with a pH dependent dye, a colored photochrom... | 08/02/1994 |
| 5195321 | Liquid piston heat engine This heat engine, uses a Stirling cycle design, wherein a cold exchanger section of a cylinder and a hot exchanger section of the same cylinder are attached to an axis in an off-center positioned. The axis is preferably capable of rotation, but in some em... | 03/23/1993 |
| 5193343 | Pressure element A pressure element can be used for generating traction forces and pressure forces. The pressure element has a first component serving as a ram and a second component having a variable length. The second component can be extended and an outward pressure fo... | 03/16/1993 |
| 5174118 | Fluid pressure-responsive unit The fluid pressure-responsive unit of the invention defines a chamber formed of a base plate, a top plate and a heat-exchange bellows sidewall joining the two plates. Relative movement of the plates is controlled by springs and guiding cylinders within th... | 12/29/1992 |
| 5046586 | Control valve for a hydraulic elevator Control valve for a hydraulic elevator provided with a speed regulating plug which moves in response to the flow of hydraulic fluid, whereby the position of the speed regulating plug determines the rate of flow of hydraulic fluid into the actuating cylind... | 09/10/1991 |
| 5025627 | Remote controlled high force actuator A piston (14) is slidably received in a chamber (10). The chamber is filled with an expandable medium (16), such as wax, that expands and contracts significantly as it undergoes a phase change from a solid to a liquid state. A Peltier effect chip (20) sel... | 06/25/1991 |
| 4823745 | Conformable bladder engine This invention relates to an internal combustion engine comprising: a combustion chamber having at least one rigidly fixed inner wall surface and at least two movable inner wall surfaces reciprocally mounted and adapted to reciprocate from a first positio... | 04/25/1989 |
| 4824073 | Integrated, microminiature electric to fluidic valve There is disclosed herein an apparatus for converting control signals of an electrical or optical nature of any other type or signal which may be converted to a change of temperature of a fixed volume of material trapped in a chamber to flexure of a membr... | 04/25/1989 |
| 4760699 | Thermostatic servo-motor, particularly for valves The invention relates to a thermal servomotor which includes two operating elements which act oppositely on an actuating bridge. The operating elements are thermally insulated from each other and each has a temperature-dependent filling and a separate hea... | 08/02/1988 |
| 4692213 | Adjustment device for a lip of a headbox slice A control mechanism for a lip of a headbox slice. A first vessel contains a substantially incompressible liquid. The temperature of the incompressible liquid can be varied. An expansible member communicates with the first vessel and is also full of a subs... | 09/08/1987 |
| 4660589 | Optical feedback loop system for a hydraulic servovalve An optical feedback loop system used in conjunction with an optical hydraulic servovalve. The system uses light energy from a single fiber optic bundle for expanding a gas in a pair of bellows. When one of the bellows is expanded a jet pipe connected to a... | 04/28/1987 |
| 4648246 | Arrangement for determining the difference between differing and changing temperatures for activating a control, regulating, measuring or recording process and the application of the arrangement in a heat counter The interior of two metallic bellows is in fluid connection through capillary tubes with temperature sensors. The temperature sensors are located in places whose relative temperature difference should be determined. In the presence of a temperature differ... | 03/10/1987 |
| 4631923 | Solenoid operated check valve A check valve to be interposed between a source of pressure and a device to be moved by the application of the pressure. The valve has a passageway communicating with the source of pressure and a passageway communicating with the device. There is a valve ... | 12/30/1986 |
| 4599993 | Temperature sensor A hydraulic expansion temperature sensor is provided with such a large surface, by a spiral, meander-like or similar coiling of its sensing tube, that it has an extremely fast reaction time. The sensing tube forms a structural unit with a flat support, wh... | 07/15/1986 |
| 4553394 | Spindle drive with expansible chamber motors Spindle drive for a power shaft. A pawl is mounted on the spindle, the spindle being connected to be rotated by stroke action of the pawl. An expansible chamber motor is connected to the pawl to rotate the spindle. The expansible chamber motor contains tw... | 11/19/1985 |
