Abstract: A brew module for use with a refrigerator appliance is provided. The brew module includes a brewing body and a pivotally attached lid that together define a brew chamber configured to receive a brew pod. A lower needle is positioned at the bottom of the brew chamber and an upper needle is slidably received within the lid. Pivoting the lid to the closed position forces the lower needle to pierce the brew pod first, thereby relieving any built up pressure. Thereafter, a moving water supply tube drives the upper needle downward to pierce a top cover of the brew pod along a substantially vertical direction, thus minimizing the size of the pierced hole in the top cover. The brew module thus facilitates an improved seal with the brew pod, reduces the risk of clogging the upper needle, and prevents the ejection of brew pod contents.

Abstract: A bearing (12) being a recessed section that receives a spindle (20) is provided in a lower surface (10B) of a susceptor (10). The bearing (12) has a tapers from the lower surface (10B) towards an upper surface (10A). A gap (12B) is provided in an side wall (12A) of the bearing (12), further on the outside of the bearing (12) than a fitting surface (12X) between the bearing (12) and the spindle (20) in the horizontal direction. As a result, reduction in the fitting force between the susceptor bearing and the spindle can be suppressed and susceptor temperature reduction in the vicinity of the bearing can also be suppressed.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for generating a vapor with a compact vaporizer design and exposing the gas and liquid mixture for vaporization to a reduced maximum temperature. A gas and liquid droplet flow through a metal housing configured to heat the gas and liquid droplet mixture flow for vaporization includes directing the gas and liquid droplet mixture through an inlet of the metal housing and flowing the gas through a tortious flow path defined by a plurality of tubular flow passageways arranged around a central axis for vaporization. The flow path is directed through a heat exchanger including one more changes in direction of flow path before flowing into the further tortious flow path described above. Residual liquid droplets may be further vaporized by flowing through a second metal housing configured to heat the gas and liquid droplet mixture for vaporization and having a similar construction to the first metal housing and providing a second tortious flow path.

Abstract: The laser welding apparatus includes a welding head and a welding head scanning apparatus. A collimate lens installed on a head body of the welding head is arranged opposite to an end face of optical fibers. The welding head includes only the collimate lens as a lens and the length is shortened. A laser generated by a laser oscillator is introduced into the optical fiber, enters the collimate lens, and then is converted to a parallel beam by the collimate lens. The laser of a parallel beam is irradiated on a surface a welding portion of the welding object through a laser path and the surface of the welding portion is melted. Metallic powder is jetted from powder feed paths formed in a head body to the melted portion and build-up welding is performed on the surface of the welding portion.

Abstract: An infusion extractor is provided including a plunger to be inserted into an infusing container containing the infusion mixture that has vertical inner walls oriented parallel to a vertical axis of the container. The plunger includes a first surface with a seal situated at an edge of the surface. The seal is adapted for sealing against the inner walls of the infusing container as the plunger moves within the container. The plunger also includes a second surface extending from the first surface and defining a second chamber. At least a portion of the extract flow openings are situated at a depth either above or below the first surface along the vertical axis.

Abstract: The invention also provides a heating apparatus including a holder capable of holding at least one part, an electric current generator and a flux concentrator electrically connected to the electric current generator, the flux concentrator being made of a non-magneto-dielectric material and having a coil with at least one turn forming an inductor to generate an alternating magnetic field that is driven by the alternating electric field, the alternating magnetic field resonating at a frequency of at least 1 MHz in response to the alternating electric current.

Abstract: A sheet includes a conductive film, and bus bars including an upper and lower bus bars connected to upper and lower sides of the conductive film. The conductive film includes a recess, a first region between the upper bus bar and the lower bus bar, a second region that is another region between the upper and lower bus bars, and openings in the first region. The upper or lower bus bar is formed along a side of the conductive film including the recess. The first region is between a bus bar at which the recess is positioned and another bus bar facing the recess. A distance between the upper and lower bus bars is shorter in the first region than in the second region. The openings are formed in an upper or a lower part of the first region on a side of the another bus bar.

Abstract: Multi-beam, multi-wavelength processing systems include two or more lasers configured to provide respective beams to a substrate. The beams have wavelengths, pulse durations, beam areas, beam intensities, pulse energies, polarizations, repetition rates, and other beam properties that are independently selectable. Substrate distortion in processes requiring local heating can be reduced by preheating with a large area beam at a first wavelength followed by exposure to a focused beam at a second wavelength so as to heat a local area to a desired process temperature. For some processing, multiple wavelengths are selected to obtain a desired energy deposition within a substrate.

Abstract: A grip unit including holding units in each of which an upper plate is placed on a lower plate to form a V-shaped groove, a grip unit control device that can change a distance between the holding unit in a range between a distance equal to or longer than a diameter of an electrode holder with an electrode feeding mechanism and a distance equal to a diameter of an electrode, a grip unit control device moving-shaft motor that can change a height of the grip unit in a range between a height at which the holding unit are placed lower than an electrode holder brim of an electrode holder having an electrode feeding mechanism attached to an electric holder gripping device and a height to which the holding units lift up the electrode holder brim of the electrode holder having an electrode feeding mechanism attached to the electric holder gripping device, and an electrode gripping device that can grip the electrode on a lower side of the grip unit are included.

Abstract: A device for processing a pineapple to produce pineapple flesh including a first processing unit for removing the outer ends from the pineapple and a second processing unit for simultaneously coring and peeling the pineapple, wherein the second processing unit includes a pusher and knife with two concentric blades and further includes a clamping unit.

Abstract: An automatic cooking device standardization system is provided. The automatic cooking device standardization system includes a cold storage for storing food ingredients used for cooking, a cooking chamber capable of cooking dishes according to a cooking recipe, and a conveyor unit for conveying the food ingredients for each dish from the cold storage to cooking containers in the cooking chamber according to the cooking recipe. The automatic cooking device standardization system is capable of automatically cooking dishes without requiring user's manual work.

Abstract: To provide a shutter piece in a food shaping device that is capable of opening and closing an enclosure surrounded by a plurality of shutter pieces, the shutter piece including a flexure allowance part between a rotation center position of a shutter piece and a distal end part of the shutter piece to allow flexure of a distal-end side portion of the shutter piece in the opposite direction from a closing opening direction during a closing operation of the shutter piece, in which the flexure allowance part is constituted by a slit, a cutaway part, or a hole, and the flexure allowance part includes a flexure-amount adjustment mechanism to adjust the amount of flexure of the distal-end side portion of the shutter piece.

Abstract: The present invention provides a bean roasting device, comprising: a drum unit comprising a base, a drum pivotally provided in the base and having a receiving space, and a rotation device provided on one side of the base and configured to drive the drum into rotation relative to the base; a heat lamp unit comprising a positioning seat connected to the base, one or a plurality of heat lamp tubes connected at one end to the positioning seat and extending into the receiving space, and one or a plurality of air inlet ducts each provided around a said heat lamp tube and configured to guide air into the receiving space of the drum; and an air supply/venting unit provided on one side of the base, the air supply/venting unit comprising an air guiding portion in communication with the receiving space of the drum and an air blower/air extractor provided on one side of the air guiding portion and configured to provide a positive pressure/negative pressure to the receiving space of the drum through the air guiding portio

Abstract: A cooking system is disclosed which includes a wok for receiving food, the wok being placed on top of a base unit housing a heating element for heating up the wok, a lid substantially covering the wok, at least a portion of the lid being able to rotate relative to the wok, a shaft secured to the rotating portion of the lid, a stirrer pivotally mounted to the shaft, a controller housed in the base unit controlling the heating element and rotations of the shaft and the lid, the rotation of the shaft causing a part of the stirrer to sweep from an edge of the wok to approximately a center of the wok in a low path and return to an edge of the wok in a high path, in the low path the part of the stirrer approximately touching a surface of the wok, in the high path the part of the stirrer being high above and not touching the surface of the wok, and a computing device residing outside of the base unit and signally coupled to the controller, the computing device storing a computer program upon execution instructing th

Abstract: A device for extracting zest from a fruit includes a body, a carrier coupled to the body, and a blade coupled to the body. The carrier moves the fruit relative to the blade and holds the fruit as the blade separates a portion of the flavedo from the pith of the fruit's peel to extract zest from the fruit. The device also includes an arm that urges the blade against the fruit's peel to generate contact pressure as the carrier moves the fruit relative to the blade, and that allows the blade to move toward and away from the carrier to accommodate the contour of the fruit's peel, which is often curved. The blade includes a plurality of teeth, each configured to cut a portion of the fruit's flavedo from the fruit's pith without separating the pith from the berry.

Abstract: An apparatus, a system and a method are disclosed. An exemplary method includes providing a wafer process chamber and a plurality of radiant heat elements under the wafer process chamber, receiving a wafer holder configured to be used in the wafer process chamber, and processing a wafer located on the wafer holder in the wafer process chamber. The wafer holder includes: a wafer contact portion including an upper surface and a lower surface, an exterior portion including an upper surface and a lower surface, and a tapered region formed in the wafer contact portion.

Abstract: A method for cutting off an edge portion of a workpiece includes applying a laser to the workpiece to form multiple individual severing cuts in the edge portion such that the edge portion is cut off from the workpiece, the multiple individual severing cuts being arranged together along the edge portion. Applying the laser to the workpiece to form the multiple individual severing cuts includes, for each individual severing cut, translating a laser cutting head and/or the workpiece relative to one another, and detecting, at an end of each severing cut, an edge of the workpiece, in which the translation of the laser cutting head or the workpiece continues at least until the edge is detected.

Abstract: The disclosure is directed to a coding insert for associating to a food ingredient capsule adapted to be functionally inserted in the cavity of a food preparation machine, characterized in that said coding insert is a disc or a ring that comprises at least one deformable portion that is deformed when said insert is inserted into the machine cavity, and/or when said cavity is closed, so that at least one machine operational parameter is set by detection of there action force on the machine cavity by the deformed portion, so as to customize the machine brewing functional parameters to each coding insert inserted therein with the capsule it is associated with.

Abstract: A fiber laser apparatus that generates invisible laser light using an amplification optical fiber having a single-mode core and outputs the invisible laser light via an output optical fiber is provided. The fiber laser apparatus includes a visible laser light source that generates visible laser light, an introducing section that introduces the visible laser light generated by the visible laser light source into a core of one of the amplification optical fiber and the output optical fiber, and a drive unit that drives, in a case of performing alignment of an irradiation position of the invisible laser light with respect to a workpiece, the visible laser light source and emits the visible laser light via the core of the output optical fiber.

Abstract: A cord-shaped heater 10 has a plurality of conductive wires 5a that are covered with an insulating film 5b. The insulating film 5b includes a silicone resin. A quantity of the silicone resin included in the insulating film 5b is 40 to 80% by a weight ratio. The conductive wires 5a are wound around a core material 3 in a state of being paralleled together. An insulation body layer 7 is formed on an outer periphery of the conductive wires. A part or all of the insulation body layer 7 is formed of a heat-fusing material. A sheet-shaped heater 31 is wherein the cord-shaped heater 10 is arranged on a substrate 11.