Abstract: A bend stiffener (50) includes an elongate stiffener body (52) having polymer material and two ends. A passage (58) extends through the stiffener body from end to end for receiving and embracing a flexible member (60). The stiffener body includes a coupling (66) for mounting the stiffener body in cantilever fashion. The stiffener body is sufficiently flexible to curve somewhat along with the flexible member under a bending load but is sufficiently stiff to resist excessive curvature which could damage the flexible member, and sufficiently resilient to recover its original shape afterwards. The stiffener body includes at least two stiffener body parts (64a, 64b) defining the passage. Each stiffener body part includes a respective interface member (68, 70) having material stiffer than the polymer material of the stiffener body. A securing arrangement (80, 83) secures the interface members of different stiffener body parts together around the elongate flexible member.

Abstract: The invention relates to a buoyancy module (100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 700) which comprises multiple buoyancy elements (104, 204, 304, 404, 504, 604, 704) coupled to one another. Each of the buoyancy elements has a recess (110, 210) and the buoyancy elements are laterally juxtaposed with their recesses aligned with one another to encircle the elongate member in use. Multiple buoyancy elements are stacked one upon another along a direction which is axial with respect to the elongate member in use, to form a buoyancy module of a predetermined axial depth. The recesses of the buoyancy modules together form an axially extending passage through which the elongate member passes.

Abstract: The invention concerns a bend stiffener (50) for locally protecting an elongate flexible member (60) from excessive curvature under bending loads. The bend stiffener comprises an elongate stiffener body (52) which comprises polymer material and which has a root end (54) and a free end (56). A passage (58) extends through the stiffener body from the root end to the free end for receiving and embracing the flexible member. A coupling (66) is provided at or toward the root end of the stiffener body for mounting the stiffener body in cantilever fashion. The stiffener body is sufficiently flexible to curve somewhat along with the flexible member when the flexible member suffers a bending load but is sufficiently stiff to resist excessive curvature which could otherwise damage the flexible member, and sufficiently resilient to recover its original shape upon relief of the bending load.

Abstract: An ultra-low distortion loudspeaker is described. The ultra-low distortion, on the order of 0.1% THD (total harmonic distortion) or less, is achieved by novel means. The signal from a typical preamplifier, i.e., line level signal, is fed into an ultra-low distortion, high order band-pass filter, the band-pass filter splitting the component frequencies into various bands. Secondly, the output of each band, or group of bands, is then input to an ultra-low distortion power amplifier, each driving an individual acoustic transducer. The band-pass filters, power amplifiers, and acoustic transducers, along with a suitable enclosure(s), comprise an ultra-low distortion integrated loudspeaker system.

Abstract: This invention relates to metal-containing inserts, such as transformers, that are encapsulated, via compression molding processes, with at least one wet lay thermoplastic sheet material and that do not experience significant visible cracking during heat cycling.

Abstract: A compression molding process for encapsulating a metal-containing insert with at least one layer of a thermoplastic sheet prepared via a wet lay process.

Abstract: A process for manufacturing a polymeric encapsulated "E" core transformer, a polymeric encapsulated "C" core transformer, and a polymeric encapsulated toroidal shaped transformer, said process requiring considerably less time to complete than do conventional transformer manufacturing processes.