Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering - Volume 4, Issue 2, 2011

Continuous research efforts have been devoted to the fundamental understanding of aircraft aerodynamics and the introduction of new concepts and innovations for the improvement of basic and fundamental aircraft aerodynamic performance, and hence economy, which leads to the enhancement of lift and the reduction of drag. It is also well known that the trailing vortices which reflect the lift as well as drag charact Read More

Linear actuators are widely adopted in a variety of life industries, including hospital beds with automatic lifting mechanism, conveyors, automatic doors and windows, adjustable computer tables, and leisure equipments. The need for more efficient product classification for manufacturers and the demand for product safety for users are two major issues currently that the design of linear actuators encounters. The main purpos Read More

Quantification of residual stress distribution in materials is useful in the development, applications and quality control of engineering materials. Several residual stress measurement techniques are already well established for characterizing different engineering materials, while others remain largely unexplored. Yet for commercial success, the residual stress measurement methodologies must not only be efficacious bu Read More

In the era of miniature, laser microjoining has been evolving as a prospective smaller scale manufacturing process. The latest development in the field of laser technology brought new opportunities for laser to join wide variety of materials used in microsystems. In the growing technological field like micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and biomedical applications, the laser microjoining has the potential for application Read More

Advanced nonconventional renewable & clean energy technologies which are used for generation of electricity have shown real promise and received renewed interest in recent years due to an increasing concern of environmental issues of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions responsible for global warming effects, environmental pollution, and the limitations and conservation of natural energy resources. One of these innovati Read More

This paper presents a compliant actuator based on Dielectric Electroactive Polymer (DEAP) technology. The presented advanced robotics concept requires smart materials, mostly in the form of actuators, for the development of biomimetic and flexible robotic systems. Smart materials such as Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) and Electroactive Polymers (EAPs) are promising candidates for developing Bio-inspired smart robots witho Read More

Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) energy conversion devices which are used for direct generation of electricity as a clean energy source technology have shown innovative aspects and received renewed interest in recent years due to an increasing concern of environmental issues of emissions and the limitations of energy resources. TPV technology potentially offers several distinct advantages over other technologies. TPV power gener Read More

The patents annotated in this section have been selected from various patent databases. These recent patents are relevant to the articles published in this journal issue, categorized by different analytical methods, designs, manufacturing and analysis of automobiles, aircrafts, manufacturing plants, industrial instruments, machines, heating and cooling systems and processes involved and related to mechanical Read More