1. A rotary seal for dynamically sealing against a surface of a shaft, the rotary seal comprising:
an elastomeric seal body having a central axis that is parallel to an axis of the shaft when the seal body seals against the surface of the shaft, the seal body having a sealing surface that is parallel to the central axis and an outer surface opposite the sealing surface and opposed first and second sides that extend between the sealing surface and the outer surface;
the sealing surface engaging the surface of the shaft such that the shaft is permitted to rotate relative to the sealing surface, at least a portion of the sealing surface having at least one circumferential row of discrete fluid pockets retaining liquid lubricant positioned on the sealing surface, the portion of the sealing surface having the circumferential row of discrete fluid pockets being parallel to the central axis prior to installation on the shaft; and
a seal housing that encloses the outer surface and the first and second sides of the seal body, and the seal housing constraining the seal body such that axial fluid pressure applied to the seal is also applied to the liquid lubricant retained in the discrete fluid pockets.
2. The rotary seal of claim 1, wherein the sealing surface has a primary sealing lip and a secondary sealing lip, the discrete fluid pockets being positioned between the primary sealing lip and the secondary sealing lip.
3. The rotary seal of claim 1, wherein the sealing surface has more than one secondary sealing lip.
4. The rotary seal of claim 1, wherein the discrete fluid pockets have a substantially rectangular shape.
5. The rotary seal of claim 1, wherein the discrete fluid pockets have a substantially circular shape.
6. The rotary seal of claim 2, wherein at least one of the primary sealing lip and at least one secondary sealing lips protrude inward from the sealing surface, such that the at least one protruding sealing lip is adapted to form a seal against the surface of the shaft with a higher interference than the sealing surface.
7. The rotary seal of claim 1, wherein the sealing surface defines discrete fluid conducting openings at the second side whereby lubricating fluid is supplied to the discrete fluid pockets.
8. The rotary seal of claim 7, wherein the discrete fluid pockets compress and decompress in response to vibrations due to the rotation of the shaft thereby pumping fluid through the discrete fluid conducting openings.
9. A rotary seal for dynamically sealing against a surface of a shaft, the rotary seal comprising:
an elastomeric seal body having a central axis that is parallel to an axis of the shaft when the seal body seals against the surface of the shaft and a sealing surface that is parallel to the central axis of the shaft and engages the surface of the shaft such that the shaft is permitted to rotate relative to the elastomeric seal body, the seal body further comprising an outer surface opposite the sealing surface and opposed first and second sides that extend between the sealing surface and the outer surface;
the sealing surface comprising:
a primary sealing lip positioned toward a first side edge of the sealing surface, the primary sealing lip engaging the surface of the shaft for sealing against a first fluid;
at least one secondary sealing lip positioned between the primary seal lip and a second side edge of the sealing surface; and
rib supports extending from the sealing lip toward the second side edge of the sealing surface, the rib supports engaging the surface of the shaft, the rib supports forming discrete fluid openings between the at least one secondary sealing lip and the second side edge, and at least one circumferential row of discrete fluid pockets that retain liquid lubricant between the at least one secondary sealing lip and the primary sealing lip, the circumferential row of discrete fluid pockets being parallel to the central axis prior to installation on the shaft; and
a seal housing that encloses the outer surface and the first and second sides of the seal body, and the seal housing constraining the seal body such that axial fluid pressure applied to the seal is also applied to the liquid lubricant retained in the discrete fluid pockets.
10. A method of dynamically sealing a surface of a shaft, comprising the steps of:
providing a rotary seal comprising an elastomeric seal body having a central axis that is parallel to an axis of the shaft when the seal body seals against the surface of the shaft and a sealing surface that is parallel to the central axis, the seal body having an outer surface opposite the sealing surface and opposed first and second sides that extend between the sealing surface and the outer surface, the sealing surface having a first side edge and a second side edge, at least a portion of the sealing surface having at least one circumferential row of discrete fluid pockets that retain liquid lubricant positioned between the first side edge and the second side edge, the portion of the sealing surface having the circumferential row of discrete fluid pockets being parallel to the central axis prior to installation on the shaft;
placing the rotary seal within a seal housing such that the seal housing encloses the outer surface and the first and second sides of the elastomeric seal body and such that the seal housing constrains the seal body such that axial fluid pressure applied to the seal is also applied to the liquid lubricant retained in the discrete fluid pockets;
installing the rotary seal on the surface of the shaft such that the sealing surface engages the surface of the shaft such that the shaft is permitted to rotate relative to the sealing surface; and
rotating the shaft relative to the sealing surface.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the rotation of the shaft causes the discrete fluid pockets to compress and decompress, such that the discrete fluid pockets pump fluid from the second side edge toward the first side edge of the sealing surface.
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. An apparatus for generating music, comprising:
a. a harmonic sequence generator that is configured to receive a nucleotide sequence, determine an amino acid that is defined by a three-segment nucleotide sequence, and determine a chord in response to the defined amino acid, whereby a harmonic sequence is generated in response to a succession of defined amino acids; and
b. a melodic sequence generator that is configured to receive the nucleotide sequence and the chords generated from the determined amino acid sequence, and generate a melodic sequence of tones in response to the received nucleotide sequence within the determined chords.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a decoder that is configured to determine codons within the DNA sequence and synchronize the harmonic sequence generator in response to a determined codon.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a music signal generator that is configured to receive the melodic sequence and the harmonic sequence and generate a music signal in response to the received melodic and harmonic sequences.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a root of each determined chord is determined in response to a particular chemical property of the determined amino acid.
5. A method for musically transcribing DNA sequences, comprising:
a. determining a sequence of amino acids from a sequence of nucleotides;
b. determining a sequence of chords in response to the determined amino acid sequence;
c. generating a sequence of tones in response to the nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid of each determined chord; and
d. generating musical output comprising the determined chords and tones.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:
a. determining codons within the received DNA sequence; and
b. synchronizing the harmonic generator in response to the determined codons.
7. The method of claim 5, further comprising generating a music signal in response to the generated melodic and harmonic sequences.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the music signal is an audio waveform.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the music signal is a musical command sequence.
10. The method of claim 5, further comprising:
a. classifying the determined amino acid according to a chemical property of the determined amino acid; and
b. determining the chord in response to the classification of the amino acid.
11. The method of claim 5, wherein the melodic sequence is further generated in response to the determined amino acid.
12. A DNA transcriber for generating music, comprising:
a. means for generating a harmonic sequence that is configured to receive a nucleotide sequence, determine an amino acid that is defined by a three-segment nucleotide sequence, and determine a chord in response to the defined amino acid, whereby a harmonic sequence is generated in response to a succession of defined amino acids; and
b. means for generating a melodic sequence that is configured to receive the nucleotide sequence and the chords generated from the determined amino acid sequence, and generate a melodic sequence of tones in response to the received nucleotide sequence within the determined chords.
13. A data carrier comprising the musical output of claim 5.
14. A consumer product comprising the data carrier of claim 13.
15. The consumer product of claim 14, wherein the product is a greeting card.
16. The consumer product of claim 15, wherein the greeting card is an e-card.
17. A method for comparing genetic sequences comprising:
a. generating a first and a second music sample using the method of claim 5;
b. comparing the first and second music samples;
c. generating an audible signal when the first and second music samples differ; and
d. correlating the audible signal with a difference in the compared genetic sequences.
18. An apparatus comprising:
a. a polynucleotide transcriber for receiving a polynucleotide sequence and determining therefrom a sequence of nucleotides and a sequence of amino acids wherein each amino acid is encoded by a triplet of said nucleotides;
b. a harmonic generator for selecting a chord in response to a chemical property of a first determined amino acid of said encoded amino acid sequence;
c. a melodic generator for selecting a first tone of the selected chord in response to a first nucleotide of the triplet encoding the first determined amino acid and for selecting a second tone of the selected chord in response to a second nucleotide of the triplet encoding the first determined amino acid; and
d. an output generator for generating musical commands in response to the selected chord and the selected tones.
19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the chord comprises four tones, each tone being associated with a specific nucleotide.
20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the melodic generator selects a third tone of the selected chord in response to a third nucleotide of the associated nucleotide triplet.
21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the harmonic generator selects a subsequent chord in response to a chemical property of a subsequent amino acid.
22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein each measure is in \xbe time.
23. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein each triplet corresponds to one measure in the generated musical commands.