1. An apparatus, comprising:
a first flexible material having an outer perimeter portion;
a second flexible material having an inner perimeter portion and an outer perimeter portion, the inner perimeter portion and the outer perimeter portion collectively defining a sleeve, the second flexible material being different than the first flexible material, the inner perimeter portion of the second flexible material being fixedly coupled, at least in part, to the outer perimeter portion of the first flexible material;
an inflatable bladder disposed within the sleeve,
the apparatus having an extended configuration when inflated for use in water and a collapsed configuration when not inflated, the inflatable bladder being a sufficient size when inflated to maintain the apparatus in the extended configuration and support the weight of a user of the apparatus when the apparatus is disposed in water and the user is disposed in a supine position on the apparatus; and
an inflatable pillow fixedly coupled to at least one of the first flexible material or the second flexible material, the second flexible material and the inflatable pillow collectively defining an interior region, the first flexible material being disposed within the interior region.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
a spring coupled to the second flexible material and configured to form a closed loop, the spring being moveable between a coiled configuration when the spring is collapsed and an uncoiled configuration when the spring is expanded.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inflatable pillow is disposed offset from the outer perimeter portion of the first flexible material.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
a membrane coupled to the inflatable pillow, the inflatable pillow is disposed between the membrane and at least one of the first flexible material or the second flexible material.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
a valve coupled to the inflatable bladder and accessible from outside of the second flexible material, the valve configured to communicate air to at least a portion of the inflatable bladder.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the inflatable bladder has a diameter when inflated of approximately 3 inches.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inflatable pillow having a length and a width when inflated, the width being greater than the length to support a user’s head above a remaining portion of the user’s body when the inflatable pillow is inflated.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first flexible material is substantially planar when the inflatable bladder is inflated and the apparatus is in the extended configuration.
9. An apparatus, comprising:
a first flexible material having an outer perimeter portion;
a second flexible material having an inner perimeter portion and defining a first inflatable bladder, the inner perimeter portion of the second flexible material being coupled to the outer perimeter portion of the first flexible material;
the first inflatable bladder being a sufficient size when inflated to support a user on the apparatus when the apparatus is disposed in water and the user is disposed in a supine position on the apparatus;
a second inflatable bladder coupled to at least one of the first flexible material or the second flexible material, the first inflatable bladder and the second inflatable bladder collectively defining an interior region, the first flexible material being disposed within the interior region; and
a third flexible material coupled to at least one of the first flexible material or the second flexible material, the third flexible material forming a pocket, the second inflatable bladder being disposed within the pocket of the third flexible material.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising:
a sleeve having an inner perimeter portion coupled to the outer perimeter portion of the first flexible material, the second flexible material disposed at least partially within the sleeve.
11. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising:
a spring coupled to an outer perimeter portion of the second flexible material, the spring configured to form a closed loop, the spring being moveable between a coiled configuration when the spring is collapsed and an uncoiled configuration when the spring is expanded.
12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first flexible material is formed with a mesh material such that at least a portion of the user’s body is exposed to water when the user is disposed on the apparatus, and the second flexible material is one of a nylon material or a polyester material.
13. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising:
a valve coupled to the first inflatable bladder, the valve configured to communicate air to the first inflatable bladder.
14. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising:
a first valve coupled to the first inflatable bladder, the first valve configured to communicate air to the first inflatable bladder; and
a second valve coupled to the second inflatable bladder, the second valve configured to communicate air to the second inflatable bladder.
15. An apparatus, comprising:
a first flexible material having an outer perimeter portion;
a second flexible material defining an inflatable chamber and an inner perimeter portion, the inner perimeter portion of the second flexible material being fixedly coupled to the outer perimeter portion of the first flexible material;
an inflatable pillow coupled to at least one of the first flexible material or the second flexible material, at least a portion of a perimeter portion of the inflatable pillow and the second flexible material collectively defining an interior region, the first flexible material being disposed within the interior region, the inflatable pillow having a size when inflated sufficient to support a head of a user of the apparatus above a remaining portion of the user’s body when the apparatus is disposed in water and the user is disposed in a supine position on the apparatus; and
a valve coupled to the second flexible material, the valve configured to communicate air to the inflatable chamber of the second flexible material.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:
a spring coupled to the second flexible material, the spring forming a closed loop and being moveable between a coiled configuration when the spring is collapsed and an uncoiled configuration when the spring is expanded.
17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the valve is a first valve, the apparatus further comprising:
a second valve coupled to the inflatable pillow and configured to communicate air to the inflatable pillow.
18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first flexible material is formed with a mesh material such that at least a portion of the user’s body is exposed to water when the user is disposed on the apparatus, and the second flexible material is at least one of a nylon material or a polyester material.
19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first flexible material has an outer most perimeter defining a shape of the first flexible material in a top view when the inflatable chamber of the second flexible material is inflated,
the second flexible material has an outer most perimeter defining a shape of the second flexible material in a top view when the inflatable chamber of the second flexible material is inflated, the shape of the first flexible material in the top view being different than the shape of the second flexible material in the top view when the inflatable chamber of the second flexible material is inflated.
20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first flexible material has a maximum length greater than a maximum width of the first flexible material, the first flexible material has a centerline defined along the maximum length of the first flexible material,
the inflatable pillow has a maximum width greater than a maximum length of the inflatable pillow, the inflatable pillow has a centerline defined along the maximum length of the inflatable pillow, the centerline of the inflatable pillow is substantially aligned with the centerline of the first flexible material.
21. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein at least a portion of the inflatable chamber has a diameter when inflated of approximately 3 inches.
22. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first flexible material is substantially planar when the inflatable chamber of the second flexible material is inflated.
23. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first flexible material is formed with a mesh material such that at least a portion of the user’s body is exposed to water when the user is disposed on the apparatus, and the second flexible material is formed with at least one of a nylon material or a polyester material.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A device diminishing an eddy current loss for a transformer having an air-gap, comprising:
a conductive case having an eddy current diminishing opening opposite to the air-gap; and
an insulator disposed between the eddy current diminishing opening and the transformer.
2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the eddy current diminishing opening is exactly opposite to the air-gap and is a single opening larger than the air-gap so as to diminish the eddy current loss caused by the transformer, the conductive case is a metal case, and the insulator is used to wrap the transformer so as to form an insulating layer.
3. A device according to claim 1, wherein the eddy current diminishing opening is larger than the air-gap and includes a plurality of elongate covering areas and a plurality of elongate openings, each the covering area is a part of the conductive case, and two adjacent ones of the plurality of covering areas form one of the plurality of openings.
4. A device according to claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of covering areas has a substantially equal width.
5. A device according to claim 4, wherein each the covering area comprises a first and a second terminals, within the eddy current diminishing opening, which are separate from each other except a direct connection through the covering area therebetween.
6. An electronic product, comprising:
a transformer having an air-gap; and
a conductive case having an eddy current diminishing opening opposite to the air-gap so as to diminish an eddy current loss caused by the transformer.
7. An electronic product according to claim 6, wherein the eddy current diminishing opening is a single opening larger than the air-gap and the conductive case is a metal case.
8. An electronic product according to claim 6, wherein the eddy current diminishing opening includes a plurality of elongate covering areas and a plurality of elongate openings, two adjacent ones of the covering areas form one of the plurality of elongate openings, and each the covering area is a part of the conductive case and is separate from any other of the covering areas within the eddy current diminishing opening.
9. An electronic product according to claim 8, wherein each the covering area has a first and a second terminals, within the eddy current diminishing opening, which are separate from each other except a direct connection through the covering area therebetween.
10. An electronic product according to claim 6, wherein the electronic product is an electronic ballast.
11. An electronic product according to claim 10, wherein the electronic ballast is a low profile electronic ballast.
12. An electronic product according to claim 6, wherein the transformer is a horizontal type transformer.
13. An electronic product according to claim 6, wherein the conductive case comprises an upper cover and a lower cover, and the upper cover comprises the eddy current diminishing opening.
14. An electronic product according to claim 6 further comprising an insulator and a printed circuit board (PCB), wherein the transformer is disposed on the PCB, and the insulator is disposed between the eddy current diminishing opening and the transformer and wraps the PCB and the transformer so as to form an insulating layer.
15. A controlling method of a device diminishing an eddy current loss for a transformer, wherein the transformer has an air-gap, and the device comprises a conductive case having an eddy current diminishing opening opposite to the air-gap, comprising steps of:
(a) causing the air-gap to be covered by the eddy current diminishing opening; and
(b) causing a fringing flux of the air-gap to go through the eddy current diminishing opening and to be separate from any other part of the conductive case except the eddy current diminishing opening.
16. A method according to claim 15, wherein the device is the one as claimed in claim 2.
17. A method according to claim 15, wherein the device is the one as claimed in claim 5, and the step (b) further comprises steps of:
(b1) causing the plurality of covering areas to be separate from each other within the eddy current diminishing opening; and
(b2) forming a plurality of eddy currents on each the covering area by the fringing flux, wherein the plurality of eddy currents are separate from each other, so as to diminish the eddy current loss.
18. A method according to claim 17, wherein every adjacent two elongate openings define therebetween a respective covering area defining two opposite edges forming therebetween a respective eddy current.
19. A method according to claim 15, wherein the air-gap in the step (a) is covered completely by the eddy current diminishing opening.