Abstract: A cooling system has a cabinet and a plurality of separate cooling stages including an upstream cooling stage and a downstream cooling stage. At least the upstream cooling state is a variable capacity cooling stage. Each cooling stage has a cooling circuit. Evaporators of the cooling circuits are arranged in the cabinet so that air passes over them in serial fashion. A controller when a Call for Cooling first reaches a point where cooling is needed, operating the upstream cooling circuit to provide cooling and not the downstream cooling circuit. When the Call for Cooling has increased to a second point, the controller additionally operates the downstream cooling circuit to provide cooling. The cooling capacity at which the upstream cooling circuit is being operated is less than its full capacity when the Call for Cooling reaches the second point.

Abstract: In a water treatment system described in this specification, an ED device (which may be an EDR device) is combined with an ion exchange unit and a bipolar electrodialysis (BPED) device. The ion exchange unit, for example a weak acid cation exchange unit, is placed upstream of the ED device and removes divalent cations from the feed water to the ED device. The BPED device receives the salt-concentrated solution from the ED device and produces a regenerating solution. This regenerating solution is used to recharge the ion exchange unit when required. The regenerating solution may be an acidic solution.

Abstract: A cooling system has a cooling circuit that includes an evaporator disposed in a cabinet, a condenser, a compressor, an electronic expansion valve and a liquid pump. a direct expansion mode and a pumped refrigerant economizer mode. When the cooling system is in the pumped refrigerant economizer mode, the controller controls a temperature of the refrigerant to a refrigerant temperature set point by regulating a speed of a fan of the condenser, controls a temperature of air in a room in which the cabinet is disposed to a room air temperature setpoint by regulating a speed of the liquid pump, and maintains a pressure differential across the liquid pump within a given range by regulating an open position of an electronic expansion valve.

Abstract: A cooling system has a cabinet and a plurality of separate cooling stages including an upstream cooling stage and a downstream cooling stage. At least the upstream cooling state is a variable capacity cooling stage. Each cooling stage has a cooling circuit. Evaporators of the cooling circuits are arranged in the cabinet so that air passes over them in serial fashion. A controller when a Call for Cooling first reaches a point where cooling is needed, operating the upstream cooling circuit to provide cooling and not the downstream cooling circuit. When the Call for Cooling has increased to a second point, the controller additionally operates the downstream cooling circuit to provide cooling. The cooling capacity at which the upstream cooling circuit is being operated is less than its full capacity when the Call for Cooling reaches the second point.

Abstract: The present invention provides a composite electrode and method of manufacturing such a composite electrode, the method comprising the steps of: providing a first substrate layer with an electrically conducting surface; providing a non-conducting curable material; providing a second substrate layer which has a surface relief pattern defining at least one retaining feature corresponding to a desired metal track pattern; forming a line of contact between the conducting carrier layer and at least a part of the surface relief pattern; depositing curable material onto at least part of the surface relief pattern or the electrically conducting surface along the line of contact; advancing the line of contact and curing the curable material through the second substrate layer; releasing the cured material from the surface relief pattern feature so as to leave behind a surface relief pattern on the conducting carrier layer; depositing a first metal layer onto the exposed regions of the electrically conducting surface of

Abstract: A computer room air conditioner (“CRAC”) has a cabinet having an air inlet through which return air from an area is drawn and an air outlet through which air cooled by the CRAC is exhausted. An air moving unit is disposed in the cabinet as are a plurality of cooling coils, which are in separate cooling circuits. The cooling coils are arranged so that the air passes through the cooling coils in serial fashion, that is, first through an upstream cooling coil and then through a downstream cooling cool. The upstream cooling coil acts as a pre-cooler to the subsequent downstream cooling coil. The CRAC includes a controller that controls the cooling provided by the cooling circuits. The controller controls the cooling provided by the upstream cooling circuit so that when it is being used to provide cooling, it provides only sensible cooling.

Abstract: A system for cooling heat-generating objects, such as computer boards situated in a rack, includes an enclosure in which the heat generating objects are situated. The enclosure has an air inlet and an air outlet, and a fan induces airflow into the air inlet, through the enclosure and out the air outlet. A heat exchanger is situated in the enclosure such that the heat exchanger is in a spaced apart relationship with the heat-generating object. Air moving through or past the heat-generating object is warmed, and the heat exchanger removes the heat before the air exits the enclosure.

Abstract: A system for cooling heat-generating objects, such as computer boards situated in a rack, includes an enclosure in which the heat generating objects are situated. The enclosure has an air inlet and an air outlet, and a fan induces airflow into the air inlet, through the enclosure and out the air outlet. A heat exchanger is situated in the enclosure such that the heat exchanger is in a spaced apart relationship with the heat-generating object. Air moving through or past the heat-generating object is warmed, and the heat exchanger removes the heat before the air exits the enclosure.

Abstract: The disclosure provides an improved cooling system and associated cabinet for electronic equipment, and optionally, a backup ventilation system for cooling related failures. Generally, the disclosure includes a high capacity closed loop refrigeration system in a modified cabinet, while accommodating standard sized computer equipment. Further, the system provides directed heat removal by altering typical airflow paths within the cabinet. The backup ventilation system is powered by auxiliary power in the case of power failure and uses the same fan(s) for ventilation as is used for cooling. The disclosure provides a more efficient, higher capacity cooling cabinet in less space than otherwise known in the art. Further, the cooling system can anticipate heat loads and therefore operate in a predictive capacity by monitoring input power to the electronic equipment and adjusting the cooling for the expected increase or decrease in heat load generated based on the input power.

Abstract: A system for cooling heat-generating objects, such as computer boards situated in a rack, includes an enclosure in which the heat generating objects are situated. The enclosure has an air inlet and an air outlet, and a fan induces airflow into the air inlet, through the enclosure and out the air outlet. A heat exchanger is situated in the enclosure such that the heat exchanger is in a spaced apart relationship with the heat-generating object. Air moving through or past the heat-generating object is warmed, and the heat exchanger removes the heat before the air exits the enclosure.

Abstract: A sensing apparatus is provided for use downhole, comprising a housing and sensing means with the housing containing a plurality of separable elements to which data acquired by the sensing means is transferred. The separable elements are releasable from the housing to convey the acquired data to surface. The separable elements have a spherical outer casing of around 1 to 10 cm diameter which surrounds a memory chip. The casing has a sealable aperture so that electrical connection to the chip can be established within the housing.

Abstract: A modular microfluidic system is described having at least one base board with a plurality of fluidly linked fluid supply apertures, optional intermediate level boards of equivalent construction, a plurality of microfluidic modules adapted to be detachably attached to the base board/intermediate boards, each having one or more fluid inlets and/or outlets, and a plurality of fluid couplings preferably in the form of projecting ferrules to effect releasable fluid connection between a module and a base board/intermediate level board via a supply aperture on the board and an inlet/outlet on the module. A method of providing a microfluidic system as a modular assembly is also described.

Abstract: A boom structure is deployable from a collapsed, stowable configuration to an elongated truss configuration. The boom structure contains a plurality of truss-forming multi-sided bays. A bay contains a pair of battens joined together at corner regions by foldable longerons. A side of a bay has a plurality of diagonal cord members crossing one another and connected to diagonally opposed corner regions of the side. When the longerons are in their folded positions, the battens are nested together against one another in a stacked arrangement and the diagonal cord members flex into a compact stowed configuration between adjacent battens. The stowed battens are compressed to each other at their corners to form a stowed structure capable of reacting loads.

Abstract: A cooling system for transferring heat from a heat load to an environment has a volatile working fluid. The cooling system includes first and second cooling cycles that are thermally connected to the first cooling cycle. The first cooling cycle is not a vapor compression cycle and includes a pump, an air-to-fluid heat exchanger, and a fluid-to-fluid heat exchanger. The second cooling cycle can include a chilled water system for transferring heat from the fluid-to-fluid heat exchanger to the environment. Alternatively, the second cooling cycle can include a vapor compression system for transferring heat from the fluid-to-fluid heat exchanger to the environment.

Abstract: A method for the manufacture of patterned optical elements such as retarders or liquid crystal elements for use in optical retarders is described comprising the steps of forming an alignment layer comprising a spatially patterned monograting-like surface relief microstructure formed into a suitable receptive material; laying down a coating material onto the alignment layer which exhibits an alignable LC phase; solidifying the coating material layer to fix the alignment established during the LC phase. Patterned optical elements such as retarders or liquid crystal elements for use in optical retarders are also described.

Abstract: A polymer thin film and method of making the thin film, the thin film having at least one polymeric structure for use as an organic optical component. The thin film includes a first layer of an optically transmissive first polymer having a first refractive index, and having a surface in which is defined at least one retaining feature, an optically transmissive UV curable second polymer retained within the retaining feature, the second polymer having a second refractive index which is greater than the first refractive index, and an overlay of the second polymer having a thickness in the range 0.001 &mgr;m to 1.5 &mgr;m over the surface of the first layer.

Abstract: A golf club having a blade which is securable to the shaft of the club at a plurality of different angular positions to vary the loft of the striking face of the blade. The invention is a substitute for an entire set of iron golf clubs, including a putter. The club shaft has a frustoconical spline at a lower end thereof having a plurality of teeth which taper inwardly. The spline is received in a mating socket formed at the tail end of the blade when the blade and shaft are releasably coupled together.

Abstract: A byte of binary data to be stored is recorded as a synthetic Fourier transform hologram of the byte of data. A time varying control signal representing the synthetic hologram is used to intensity modulate a coherent light beam as the beam scans transversely across a photosensitive recording film. The amplitudes of different spatial frequencies in the data band are differently altered to compensate for signal to noise roll-off over the data band. The thus compensated signals are also modified to compensate for nonlinear gain characteristics. The thus modified signals are processed to provide the modulating control signal. During the readout process an inverse Fourier transformation is performed optically on the light diffracted by the synthetic hologram in order to produce the original byte of data in the form of an optical intensity pattern. This pattern is transversely distributed on an array of photosensitive detectors which converts the optical intensity pattern to an electrical data signal.

Abstract: An apparatus for removing form (background) information from an image for data compression; and for adding the form information during reconstruction of the image.Each object in an image is compressed by contour following of the exterior and interior borders of the object, and encoded in chain link form. Each object in the image as it is compressed is correlated with the appropriate object in the form image by comparing the encoded objects with the already stored encoded objects of the form. If there is a match, the image object which matches the form is deleted from the compressed image. Since the order in which the objects are encountered is known, it is only necessary to correlate each image object with at most a single form object. The correlation includes comparing the starting points of the contour information, the perimeter of the object (the length of its border chain) and the object area. The comparisons are made within a predetermined acceptable tolerance.

Abstract: In a continuous tone image approximated by a two-dimensional array of gray scale coded points, more than one bit per picture element is required. Compression coding consists firstly of delta coding sequences representative of the successive scan lines of the continuous tone image and secondly applying them to a predictive encoder having a particular transfer function and thirdly run-length encoding the error image. Central to the invention is the observation that delta coded sequences of gray scale pel values along a given scan line having a high expectancy of alternating, i.e. 101010. Also, the gray scale trend in the ith scan line is expected to be the same as the trend of the ith - 1 scan line. Relatedly, gray scale image expansion is achieved by applying the compressed image to a run-length decoder, a predictor stage, and delta decoder.