109results about How to "Eliminate replacement" patented technology

A fluid management system including a pass-through fluid volume measurement system to provide continuous measurement of fluid returned from a surgical site during transit to a waste collection system. The pass-through fluid volume measurement system eliminates the need to physically replace full fluid collection containers during the medical procedure with new, empty fluid collection containers.

Data throughput rates are increased in an optical fiber communication system without requiring replacement of the existing optical fiber in a link. Channel throughput is increased by upgrading the components and circuitry in the head and terminal of an optical fiber communication system link. Aggregate throughput in a fiber optic link is increased beyond the range of conventional Wavelength Division Multiplexed (WDM) upgrades, while precluding the necessity of replacing existing fiber plants. The increase in system throughput is achieved by using advanced modulation techniques to encode greater amounts of data into the transmitted spectrum of a channel, thereby increasing the spectral efficiency of each channel. This novel method of increasing transmission capacity by upgrading the head and terminal of the system to achieve greater spectral efficiency and hence throughput, alleviates the need to replace existing fiber plants. Spectrally efficient complex modulation techniques can be supported by interface circuits with an increased level of signal processing capability in order to both encode multiple bits into a transmitted symbol and decode the original data from the received symbols.

Devices and methods for performing a point of care blood, cell, and / or pathogen count or a similar blood test. Disclosed herein are systems that can be used to provide rapid, accurate, affordable laboratory-quality testing at the point of care. The systems described herein are capable of imaging and counting individual cells in a prepared cell sample (e.g., a peripheral blood smear or a blood sample prepared in a microfluidic device) or another prepared cell-containing sample without the need for a microscope or other expensive and cumbersome optics. The systems described herein are designed to eliminate or replace expensive, centralized clinical testing equipment and technical personnel. Such systems may include automated data reporting and decision support.

A pump drive head for a progressing cavity pump comprises a top mounted stuffing box rotatably disposed around a compliantly mounted standpipe with a self or manually adjusting pressurization system for the stuffing box. To prevent rotary and vertical motion of the polish rod while servicing the stuffing box, a polished rod lock-out clamp is provided with the pump drive head integral with or adjacent to a blow-out-preventer which can be integrated with the pump drive head to save space and cost. A centrifugal backspin braking system located on the input shaft and actuated only in the backspin direction and a gear drive between the input shaft and output shaft are provided.

The invention provides a projector capable of reducing costs and promoting miniaturization while also being dust-proof. A second sirocco fan with an air-inlet opposing a projection lens is used, and an air-inlet of an outer case is formed on a side face thereof. Thereby, it is difficult for dust to be sucked therein compared with an air-inlet formed on the bottom or top face of the outer case, enabling the projector to be dust-proof without any filter. Since the filter is not required, the number of parts is reduced, thereby reducing costs. Furthermore, the second sirocco fan is placed by utilizing a space under the projection lens, which is liable to be a dead space, enabling the arrangement space to be efficiently used thereby promoting miniaturization of a projector.

A novel retaining ring having a wear pad of such construction, design and material such that it provides improved resistance to wear and / or degradation as compared to currently available products for use in the chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) of semiconductor wafers and similar materials. The retaining ring with wear pad of the invention is able to withstand increased operating temperatures and pressures at the polishing surface of the wafer with less wear than would normally be encountered with currently used materials and designs. The ability to operate at increased temperature and pressure can accelerate the rate of removal of material from a semiconductor wafer in some processes. The flexibility of a manufacturer to use an expanded range of temperature and pressure in CMP processes, combined with a significant reduction in the cost of consumables, provides a significant advantage in the final cost of ownership in the production of multilayer, integrated circuit devices and other products where CMP is utilized in manufacture. Moreover, the retaining with wear pad of the present invention may also retrofitted to previously used and worn retaining rings of the prior-art design, thus salvaging the major structural component of the CMP processing apparatus, thereby reducing costs. It is also an integral part of this invention to make the consumable component of the new design replaceable, so as to make replacement of this part less costly when such replacement finally does become necessary.

A circuit breaker (such as a miniature circuit breaker) that wirelessly communicates state and fault information to a main energy monitoring module. The wireless circuit breaker includes a transceiver and a power supply that harvests energy inductively from the line current conductor without the need for a connection to a neutral conductor. The wireless circuit breaker can be implemented in the same package as existing circuit breakers, eliminating the need to replace the panel when upgrading to a system that employs a main energy monitoring module. The wireless circuit breaker can also include an energy storage device for supplying power to the circuit breaker after it has tripped, allowing the circuit breaker to transmit information after a trip. The main energy monitoring module includes a processor and a gateway for evaluating and transmitting information received from the circuit breaker to other applications, such as webpages and smartphones.