A human-interface device and a guiding apparatus for a visually impaired user including such human-interface device. The human-interface device includes a tactile module arranged to provide a set of haptic signals to a user, wherein the tactile module has a plurality of tactile units each arranged to provide at least a first haptic signal and operable to cooperate with one or more of other tactile units to provide different haptic signals.

Differential thermoelectric devices are provided for monitoring a change of areal thermal energy dissipation rate and surface temperature profile. The devices include a through electrode connecting to different sets of thermoelectric elements at different regions of the device. A sensing circuitry is electrically connected to the thermoelectric elements to measure a voltage output.

A TEG system is attached to a rotating shaft and generates electricity from radiant energy that is substantially radiatively transmitted through the atmosphere from a stationary source to the TEG system that is rotating with the shaft. The rotation of the shaft provides cooling to the TEG system, but not heat energy. The TEG system includes at least one TEG, each TEG equipped with an energy receiving and heat containment window and an energy conversion system in combination with controlled convection cooling enhanced by an airflow moving in response to the rotation of the rotating shaft. Individual TEGs having controlled convection cooling also are described.

Disclosed herein is a system suitable for X-ray detection. The system comprises a detector and cooling system configured to control temperature of the detector and prevent condensation of water vapor on the detector. The detector comprises an X-ray absorption layer and electronics layer. The X-ray absorption layer comprises a plurality of pixels, each pixel configured to count numbers of X-ray photons incident thereon whose energy falls in a plurality of bins, within a period of time. The electronics layer comprises an electronic system configured to add the numbers of X-ray photons for the bins of the same energy range counted by all the pixels. The cooling system comprises a chiller configured to lower temperature and moisture level of air, and a fan configured to blow the air that is cooled and dried to the detector.

Devices, systems, and techniques are described that relate to the monitoring of various types of components in industrial systems. These include battery-less monitors that run on power harvested from their environments, systems for acquiring monitor data for the components in a facility, and/or techniques for processing monitor data to reliably determine the status of individual components and other system parameters.

A lighting device includes a light-emitting device, a heat sink having a hollow unit inside, a translucent cover, and a thermoelectric element. The thermoelectric element includes a casing unit having a housing unit, and includes a first electrode unit, a second electrode unit having a work function different from that of the first electrode unit, and a middle unit including nanoparticles having a work function between the work function of the first electrode unit and the work function of the second electrode unit, which are provided inside the housing unit. The casing unit is provided on the inner surface of the hollow unit of the heat sink.

An apparatus for cooling electronic components includes a chassis having a hot side compartment having one or more first electrical components and a cold side compartment having one or more second electrical components. A coolant channel is connected to the cold side compartment. At least one thermoelectric cooler (TEC) is positioned within the cold side compartment. The TEC has a cold plate and a hot plate, the hot plate being connected to the coolant channel and the cold plate being connected to the one or more second electrical components. A method for cooling electronic components using at least one TEC includes identifying an amount of heat to be removed from the one or more second electronic components and determining the TEC with the peak performance based on a best Delta T. The method includes monitoring the Delta T and adjusting the input voltage to maintain the optimum Delta T.

A structure and a method for mounting thermocouple on an intermetallic compounds such as TiAl by suppressing occurrence of cracks are provided. A thermocouple mounting structure is provided with a substrate, a coating formed on the substrate and a foil joined on the coating, and sandwiches a thermocouple between the substrate and the foil. A thermocouple mounting method includes forming a coating on a substrate and welding a foil on the coating, and the welding includes arranging a thermocouple so that the substrate and the foil sandwiches the thermocouple. Occurrence of cracks in the substrate formed with intermetallic compounds can be suppressed by providing a thermal spray coating between the substrate and the foil.

The present invention is an integrated system of a carbon dioxide capturing processes from the atmosphere and producing electrical energy from the integrated system.

The objective of the current invention is; capturing carbon dioxide from the air through the tree fashioned carbon dioxide capturing system and generating electric power through the integrated systems. To generate electric power at maximum efficiency, and capture carbon dioxide, the present invention comprises different integrated processes, integrated systems, and techniques. The present system comprises; an ionized and non-ionized hydrogen gas turbine system unit, carbon dioxide capturing tree system unit, a hybrid thermoelectric-generator and solid oxide fuel cell system unit, a hybrid hydrogen-chlorine fuel cell and carbon dioxide reactor core system unit.

Furthermore to capture carbon dioxide and generate electric power, the present invention comprises various other alternative embodiments.

A system includes an electrochemical regenerator configured to receive a first solution having a first salt concentration and output a second solution having a second salt concentration lower than the first salt concentration and a third solution having a third salt concentration higher than the first salt concentration. The first and second solutions are sent to first and second reservoirs respectively absorb and emit heat in response to a phase change of one of the solutions. The absorption or emission of heat can be used in a heat pump system.