The present invention relates to a method for operating an undulating diaphragm pump comprising an undulating diaphragm and actuating means of the undulating diaphragm electrically powered according to a given frequency or voltage to make the undulating diaphragm oscillate and undulate. According to the invention, the method consists in modifying the electrical supply frequency and/or voltage of the actuating means according to at least one operating parameter, determined in advance, of the undulating diaphragm pump.

Oil tanker and or ore/oil carrier can take more good fuel oil consumption through cargo oil handling by usage of electric motor driven system instead of steam turbine driven cargo pump system. Its merit is about 20%.

The invention relates to a method for operating a piston pump (10) which is driven by means of a coil (1) of an electromagnet. A piston (2) of the piston pump (10) can be moved in a cylinder (3) for pumping purposes by means of the electromagnet. A voltage (U) is applied to the coil (1) during a switch-on period such that a current flows through the coil (1) and the piston (2) is accelerated, said voltage being applied by means of an actuation device (11). A time curve of an electric state variable (I, U) of the coil (1) is qualitatively detected, and the curve or a curve derived therefrom is analyzed in order to detect an impact of the piston (2) against a stop. The invention further relates to an actuation device and a piston pump.

A piezoelectric blower includes a housing, a vibrating body, and a piezoelectric element. The vibrating body includes a vibration plate, a reinforcing plate, and a restraining plate. The vibrating body forms a columnar blower chamber with the housing while holding the blower chamber therebetween from a thickness direction of the vibration plate. The vibrating body includes an outer peripheral region in contact with an area from the outermost node of pressure vibration in the blower chamber, of nodes of the pressure vibration formed by the bending vibration of the vibrating body, to an outer periphery of the blower chamber, and a center region located in an inner side portion of the outer peripheral region. The restraining plate that restrains the bending vibration of the outer peripheral region is provided in the outer peripheral region.

An electronic cigarette vaporiser is not dis-assembled for filling with e-liquid, but is instead filled from a user-replaceable e-liquid cartridge. The vaporiser includes a front section comprising a wick and heating assembly but no e-liquid cartridge, the front section being removably fitted to a body of the vaporiser to enable a replacement front section to be used once the original wick or heating element starts to degrade, that replacement front section being supplied to the end-user with no e-liquid in it.

An electronic cigarette vaporiser that includes a heating element and further includes or co-operates with an electronics module that (i) detects characteristics of the delivery of power, current or voltage to the heating element and (ii) determines if those characteristics are associated with degradation of the heating element. A characteristic that is associated with degradation of the heating element is an increase or other change in the heating element resistance. The heating element resistance can be established by the electronics module sending a test current through the heating element that is sufficient to enable a measurement of resistance to be made.

An electronic cigarette vaporiser that includes a heating element and further includes or co-operates with an electronics module that (i) detects characteristics of the resistance of the heating element and (ii) uses an inference of temperature derived from that resistance as a control input. The temperature of the heating element may be inferred from data stored in the electronics module that has been empirically obtained for a specific heating element design. The electronics module controls the power delivered to the heating element to ensure that it is no higher than approximately 130 C., plus an error tolerance.

An electronic cigarette vaporiser includes a heating element, an air pressure sensor and a microcontroller; the microcontroller stores, processes or determines the extent of each inhalation using signals from the air pressure sensor. The microcontroller can calculate the approximate e-liquid consumption from the extent of each inhalation or provide data that enables an external processor to calculate approximate e-liquid consumption. The extent of an inhalation is a function of one or more of: duration; peak flow rate; average flow rate.

An electronic cigarette vaporiser system includes a case and a vaporiser that is stored in the case; the system includes a non-contact sensor that detects release or withdrawal of the vaporiser from the case. When withdrawal of the vaporiser is detected, then the vaporiser electronic circuitry changes state, e.g. to a ready mode, or a pre-heating mode in which an inhalation detector is activated or to a heating mode, where an atomising unit in the vaporiser is at least partly activated so that the vaporiser is fully heated when the first inhalation is taken.

An electronic cigarette vaporizer includes a heating element and a microcontroller; the microcontroller monitors or measures external or ambient temperature and uses that as a control input. The control input automatically controls the power delivered to the heating element to ensure that the heating element operates at its optimal temperature. Where ambient temperatures are monitored or measured as very cold, then the power to the heating element is automatically increased to compensate.