The Dolcera Blog

There is an estimated 50 to 100 times more wind energy than plant biomass energy available on Earth.

Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into useful form, such as electricity, using wind turbines.

At the end of 2006, worldwide capacity of wind-powered generators was 73.9 gigawatts; although it currently produces just over 1% of world-wide electricity use, it accounts for approximately 20% of electricity production in Denmark, 9% in Spain, and 7% in Germany. Globally, wind power generation more than quadrupled between 2000 and 2006.

Until 2006 the wind energy industry was dominated by five countries which had a history of developing wind technology and manufacturing capability; Denmark, USA, Germany, Spain and India.
In 2006 China became significant and will be increasingly important in world markets in the future. 65% of the world’s wind power capacity was installed in Europe in 2006, compared with 69% in 2005, and 18% in North America compared with 17% in the previous year – Source GWEC

A second tier of wind energy countries has now emerged and seven have over 1,000 MW installed; Japan, Italy, United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Netherlands and Canada. Another two can now be included in this category because they have likely become eligible by mid 2007, these are Austria and Australia. – Source GWEC

But moves such as “Super-powered Magnetic Wind Turbine” are soon going to changes the above figures. Before I started working on this in blog 2 days back, it came in my mind that why not a massive structure as a wind turbine? and I came across “Super-powered Magnetic Wind Turbine”.

The way maglev wind turbine works:

• Magnetic levitation is an extremely efficient system for wind energy. Here’s how it works:
• The vertically oriented blades of the wind turbine are suspended in the air above the base of the machine, replacing the need for ball bearings.
• The turbine uses “full-permanent” magnets, not electromagnets — therefore, it does not require electricty to run.
• The full-permanent magnet system employs neodymium (”rare earth”) magnets and there is no energy loss through friction.
• This also helps reduce maintenance costs and increases the lifespan of the generator.

Advantages over conventional wind turbines:

They’re able to use winds with starting speeds as low as 1.5 meters per second (m/s).
They could operate in winds exceeding 40 m/s.
Currently, the largest conventional wind turbines in the world produce only five megawatts of power.
One large maglev wind turbine could generate one gigawatt of clean power, enough to supply energy to 750,000 homes.
It would also increase generation capacity by 20% over conventional wind turbines and decrease operational costs by 50%.
The maglev wind turbines will be operational for about 500 years!

Construction:

• Construction began on the world’s largest production site for maglev wind turbines in central China on November 5, 2007. Zhongke Hengyuan Energy Technology has invested 400 million yuan in building this facility, which will produce maglev wind turbines with capacities ranging from 400 to 5,000 Watts.
• In the US, Arizona-based MagLev Wind Turbine Technologies will be manufacturing these turbines. Headed by long-time renewable energy researcher Ed Mazur, the company claims that it will be able to deliver clean power for less than one cent per kilowatt hour with this new technology.
• It also points out that building a single giant maglev wind turbine would reduce construction and maintenance costs and require much less land than hundreds of conventional turbines.

Cost:
The estimated cost of building this colossal structure is $53 million.

Maglev Wind Turbine Patents:

Let me check what’s out there some time.

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In physics and other sciences, energy is a scalar physical quantity that is a property of objects and systems which is conserved by nature. Several different forms, such as

• Kinetic
• Potential
• Thermal
• Electromagnetic
• Chemical
• Nuclear and
• Mass have been defined to explain all known natural phenomena.

Energy is converted from one form to another, but it is never created or destroyed. This principle, the conservation of energy, was first postulated in the early 19th century, and applies to any isolated system. According to Noether’s theorem, the conservation of energy is a consequence of the fact that the laws of physics do not change over time.

Law of conservation of energy:
Energy is subject to the law of conservation of energy. According to this law, energy can neither be created (produced) nor destroyed itself. It can only be transformed.

Alternative Energy:
Fuel sources that are other than those derived from fossil fuels. Typically used interchangeably for renewable energy. Examples include:

• Wind – is the conversion of wind energy into useful form, such as electricity, using wind turbines.
• Hydropower – or hydraulic power is the force or energy of moving water.
• Biomass – refers to living and recently dead biological material that can be used as fuel or for industrial production. It can be broadly defined as solid, liquid, or gas fuel consisting of, or derived from biomass.
• Tidal power – is a form of hydropower that exploits the movement of water caused by tidal currents or the rise and fall in sea levels due to the tides.
• Wave – refers to the energy of ocean surface waves and the capture of that energy to do useful work
• Solar – is energy from the Sun. This energy drives climate and the weather supports virtually all life on Earth.
• Geothermal – Geothermal energy is energy obtained by tapping the heat of the earth itself, usually from kilometers deep into the Earth’s crust.
• Hydrogen & Fuel Cells – A fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device. It produces electricity from external supplies of fuel (on the anode side) and oxidant (on the cathode side).

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–There is no assignee country information and  no citation information in JPO patents.

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 Indian patents can be searched using this web link:

http://patinfo.nic.in/

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While Qualcomm has racked up several legal victories against Nokia in their long-running patent disputes, it hasn’t had the same fortune in its legal battles with wireless chip rival Broadcom.

In the latest in a string of Broadcom court victories, on Friday federal judge James Selna let stand a jury verdict that Qualcomm infringes three Broadcom patents and owes the company $19.6 million. Broadcom says it will seek to stop Qualcomm from making chips that infringe on the patents.

But it’s an earlier ruling in a different Broadcom-Qualcomm case that has raised the most eyebrows. In that case, the Aug. 6 findings of Rudi Brewster, a U.S. senior district court judge, packed some high drama. It also lent credence to claims by many Qualcomm rivals — in complaints registered with the European Commission and the International Trade Commission — that Qualcomm is discriminatory in its business practices, deceitful, evasive and unfair. Read more

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Flashback:
After being approached by Burst.com in late 2004, Apple had filed for a declaratory judgment in January that it isn’t infringing on Burst’s patents, but Burst is going ahead with its lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in San Francisco. Burst is asking for royalties as well as an injunction.

In April 18, 2006 – News.com reports on a lawsuit by Burst.com claiming that Apple is infringing on patents held by Burst.com. The claims cover patents involving “the delivery of music or video over the Internet ‘faster than real-time.’” This involves the technology involved in streaming and delivering video and audio content on the internet as Apple does with iTunes and Quicktime streaming software. Burst is demanding royalties as well as an injunction.

In January, Apple filed for a declaratory judgment in January that it is not infringing on Burst’s patents after discussions with Burst “broke down”.

Burst made similar claims against Microsoft and received a $60 million settlement as well as an ongoing technology license to Microsoft.

Recent:
Apple and Burst.com have settled their patent dispute for $10 million dollars.

Burst.com sued Apple over patent claims involving “the delivery of music or video over the Internet ‘faster than real-time.’” This involves the technology involved in streaming and delivering video and audio content on the internet as Apple does with iTunes and Quicktime streaming software.

In the settlement, Apple will pay Burst.com a one-time $10 million license fee for its current patent portfolio. Meanwhile, Burst has one existing and three pending DVR patents that do not fall within this agreement.

However, the press release explicitly states that Burst will not sue Apple in the future over these DVR technology patents.

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Oral products company Blis Technologies upped its interim loss to $550,000 on higher marketing and patent costs, but expected to break even by the end of the year.

Sales for the six months ended September rose by a quarter, and total revenue rose by 18 per cent as Blis sought expansion overseas.

The company is not paying a dividend, and would not pay any tax.

Blis posted a loss of $391,000 a year earlier, but slightly increased its shareholder funds to $586,000.

The company posted a loss of $964,000 last year.

Blis was seeking a cornerstone shareholder, preferably involved in the same industry, and wanted to develop commercial relationships with global oral care companies.

The company already has two licensing and R&D agreements with Nestle Nutrition worth about $1 million, not expected to generate revenue for three years.

It is negotiating a marketing agreement with Dutch company DSM Nutriceuticals, with plans for a later research contract to expand into other products.

Shares in Blis were steady at 7.6c, having traded between 4.8c and 11.9c in the last year.

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Number of patents granted as distributed by year of patent application & by year of patent grant – between: 1st Jan, 1963 – 31st December, 2006

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Apple has filed for nine patents related to Flash memory, memory controllers, circuit boards and their applications.

This technology… may provide data storage in various portable devices, such as digital cameras, other image storing devices, portable audio devices, personal digital assistants (PDA), and digital video recorders, … desktop computers, servers, wireless routers, or embedded applications (e.g., automotive), particularly in situations where quick access to data is desirable.

Apple, of course, is using significant amounts of Flash memory for their iPod and iPhone product lines, but rumors have suggested that Apple will be using Flash memory in upcoming Mac notebooks.

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PCJoint.com points to ongoing research by Apple into multi-touch technologies. The most recent patent applications reveal techniques to recognize both palm and finger contacts in order to react appropriately.

PCJoint summarizes the possibilities:

- Need to move a cursor across the screen? Just slide your finger and it goes.
- Want to enter text? Just start typing and the text is there. You even get the touch feedback as if really pressing the keys.
- Need to erase some text? Use the backspace or just slide the finger backwards
- Have to write or draw something? Just pretend you hold a stylus or pen in your hand and start writing/drawing.
- If that is still not good enough, pick up the real stylus and start writing with it.
- All these cool touch gestures that Apple has implemented in iPhone and is exploring further? You know, scrolling, zooming, rotating & moving objects, etc; They are here too
- 3D object manipulation? Select a few 3D objects on the screen and use all 5 fingers on both hands to play with them.
- Want to take a break to relax and afraid to put your hands on the touch surface? Don’t worry Multi-touch 2.0 thingie knows that and does not pay attention to your resting palms or fingers

This should come as no surprise to those who have been following Apple’s patent applications as well as their previous acquisition of Fingerworks. Previous patent applications have also suggested the possibility of one surface acting for many different functions (such as typing and gestures).

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