Inventor's Corner
06/01/2001
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Fan filter unit
This cleanroom unit has baffle structures sized and placed to limit the paths of entry of airflow from the unit's motorized fan to the outlet ports. The baffle structures extend for a vertical height that is sufficient to avoid reversal of airflow within the enclosure. This provides for lower energy requirements in the unit while controlling noise levels and keeping BTU output low.
Patent number: 6,174,342
Date granted: January 16, 2001
Inventor: Peter Jeanseau, HEPA Corp. (Anaheim, CA)
Polymers par for the course
Electrostatic discharge, cleanroom flooring and gloves are probably three things that won't go through Tiger Woods' mind as he launches one from the tee at this month's U.S. Open.
But it isn't every day that a professional golfer can tee up a ball that just so happens to have electrostatic dissipative qualities or contain the same material used to make cleanroom flooring and gloves.
Professionals and hacks alike may get that chance, however, now that Callaway Golf Co. (Carlsbad, CA) has been granted patent 6,117,024 for a "golf ball with a polyurethane cover."
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Inventor Pijush K. Dewanjee says the polyurethane cover is formed from a p-phenylene diisocyanate- (PPDI) based prepolymer, which can be either thermoset or thermoplastic, processes which making polymers chemically-, electrically-, puncture- and abrasion-resistant—all important attributes when it comes to cleanroom flooring and gloves.
Those characteristics also apply out on the links.
"The PPDI-based polyurethane cover has a high flexural [elasticity] at a lower hardness, which gives a better feel yet maintains good distance, higher resilience, tensile strength, tear resistance, improved elongations and better playability and control," according to Dewanjee's patent abstract.
Using polyurethane for golf ball covers is nothing new. In fact, Titleist and Maxifli use different blends of the polymer, which Callaway's patent refers to as "conventional polyurethane covers." Callaway's contention is that changes to the polymer's molecular structure as well as the introduction of PPDI makes for a more durable ball.
Like the contamination control industry, the golf industry regards polyurethane as having greater durability than materials such as balata and gutta percha, natural materials derived from trees that were once used to make golf balls. These materials can now be made synthetically.
According to Callaway, natural balata- and gutta percha-covered golf balls have poor durability as well as cut-and shear-resistance—not exactly the material for cleanroom floors and gloves, either.
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Airborne contaminant indicator
The indicator system provides a visual indication of the cumulative level of an airborne contaminant. The indicator is a transparent sheath with a support medium that has an acidic surface and is treated with a color pH indicator. As a basic contaminant is adsorbed by the medium, the medium color changes. As additional contaminant is adsorbed, the color front progresses the length of the indicator. The indicator system may be used with an adsorptive filter system to predict the life of adsorption bed assemblies. A sample flow is taken upstream of the adsorption beds and is passed through the indicator. Preferably, the flow rate is calibrated so that the rate of the color change in the indicator is proportional to the rate of depletion of the adsorption bed. Users can make an accurate prediction of adsorption bed life by monitoring the indicator.
Patent number: 6,187,596
Date granted: February 13, 2001
Inventors: Andrew J. Dallas, Kristine Marie Graham and Timothy H. Grafe, Donaldson Company Inc. (Minneapolis, MN)
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Light assembly
The lighting assembly extends through a wall. It comprises at least one replaceable light source to illuminate an area on one side of the wall. The light is replaced from the opposite wall by at least one duct that extends from one side to the other. The light source and its mount and power supply are movable through the duct.
Patent number: 6,179,435
Date granted: January 30, 2001
Inventor: Graham John Wilson, British Nuclear Fuels PLC
(Heswall, Great Britain)
Send your inventions
Information on the patents highlighted was obtained through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Inventors who have been granted patents within the last six months for new cleanroom and contamination technology are encouraged to submit them to CleanRooms magazine for publication. Send a brief description of the invention along with a detailed drawing to Mark A. DeSorbo, associate editor, CleanRooms, 98 Spit Brook Road, Nashua, NH 03062, or e-mail at [email protected].