Abstract: An electric vehicle with a modular frame that includes a main chassis with a rider platform (standing position), front fork/wheel assembly, handlebar assembly, and rear trailing arm assembly with left and right rear wheels. The front fork assembly bolts to the main chassis. The handlebar assembly fastens to the pivoting steer tube of the front fork assembly. The trailing arm assembly bolts to the main chassis and pivots to provide rear suspension for the vehicle. The trailing arm includes a stabilizer bar connecting the right and left trailing arms. Electronics enclosures are integral to the main chassis and are structural members of the vehicle. The battery pack can be installed or removed from the main chassis with a hand-activated latch. The electronics plate contains traction system electronics and is removable from the main chassis. The handle bar assembly includes a folding mechanism.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of producing particles via a supercritical fluid processing technique, an apparatus for carrying out the method and the particles produced thereby. The method includes: (1) providing: a supercritical fluid; a first solvent that is soluble in the supercritical fluid; a second solvent that is substantially insoluble in the supercritical fluid and is at least partially soluble in or miscible with the first solvent; and a solute that is soluble in the first solvent and is substantially insoluble in the second solvent and the supercritical fluid; (2) contacting the first solvent, the second solvent and the solute together to form a solution; and (3) contacting the solution with the supercritical fluid to extract the first solvent from the solution and precipitate the solute in the form of particles that are suspended in the second solvent.

Abstract: A method and system for conditioning a vapor deposition target is described. In one illustrative embodiment, a vapor deposition system is operated in which a vapor deposition target is used, the occurrence of electrical arcs in the vapor deposition system is detected, and the vapor deposition target is conditioned by adjusting an output current of a power supply that powers the vapor deposition system and adjusting an interval during which energy is delivered to each arc to deliver substantially the same energy to each arc. In some embodiments, the energy delivered to each arc is approximately equal to the maximum energy that the vapor deposition target can withstand without being damaged. The described method and system significantly reduces the time required to remove impurities from a target and does not require the venting of the vacuum chamber or the removal of the target from the chamber.

Abstract: A wall system, particularly for thin stone or thin brick veneer walls, has a plurality of stones or bricks with grooves running along the upper and lower edges and a plurality of clips for linking the stones or bricks. One type of clip having one or more connecting flanges links an upper stone or brick to a lower stone or brick with the one or more connecting flanges housed within the groove in the lower edge of the upper stone or brick and within the groove in the upper edge of the lower stone or brick. The one or more connecting flanges of the clip depend from one or more base flanges of the clip and have a width just equal to the distance from the rear face to the groove of the upper and lower stones or bricks. The one or more base flanges of the clip depend from a support flange of the clip. The support flange has one or more apertures for accepting a screw or nail for fastening the clip to a structural wall.

Abstract: A non-impact keyless chuck suitable for use with manual or powered drivers is disclosed. The chuck comprises a body which carries a rotatable split nut having a relatively fine thread and a plurality of slidable jaws, which may be identical, driven by the rotatable nut. An anti-friction bearing is disposed between the rotatable nut and a bearing thrust ring mounted on the body. A clutch or torque limiting mechanism is provided to limit the tightening torque to a predetermined value while the loosening torque may be limited or unlimited. The front sleeve, and rear sleeve, if used, may be formed from a structural plastic to reduce manufacturing costs. A relatively soft elastomeric grip boot may be placed on the front sleeve to improve the grip and temporarily restrain and center the tool during chuck tightening or loosening operations. A relatively soft elastomeric grip boot may also be placed on the rear sleeve, if used.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods and apparatus for producing particles via supercritical fluid processing. In one embodiment, the method includes expanding a supercritical fluid plasticized melt across a pressure drop to form solid composite particles that are simultaneously dispersed, foamed and cooled, and milling the solid particles produced to achieve the desired size distribution. In another embodiment, a pressure vessel containing a supercritical fluid plasticized melt is depressurized to form a cooled solid porous mass, which is then milled to obtain solid composte particles.

Abstract: A method of producing solid composite lipid/drug nanoparticles that includes the steps of: (1) dissolving a lipid and a drug in a suitable organic solvent to form a solution; (2) emulsifying the solution in a liquid to form an emulsion having a discontinuous phase of micelles comprising the organic solvent, the drug and the lipid, and a continuous phase comprising the liquid; and (3) contacting the emulsion with a supercritical fluid under conditions suitable to keep the supercritical fluid in a supercritical state, whereby the supercritical fluid extracts the organic solvent from the micelles, causing them to precipitate as organic-solvent free solid composite lipid/drug nanoparticles suspended or dispersed in the liquid.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system for integrating a plurality of data structures by modeling the existing data structures, and creating a data dictionary that links logical elements to data elements in those data structures. A user can simply request logical data elements that he would like to see and the system will calculate the links necessary to return the proper data from the appropriate data structures. This system may integrate most types of data structures including relational databases, object-oriented databases, hierarchical files and flat files. Furthermore, the system can process textual, numeric, audio and visual data.