Author: claimsbot

1. A wind energy conversion apparatus comprising:
a supporting structure;
a horizontal shaft having a first and a second end, said horizontal shaft being rotatably journalled in said supporting structure; and
at least one rotor blade constructed as a, flat flexible plate and having a first end and a second end, said at least one rotor blade being mounted on said shaft with both ends, such that during use, said at least one rotor blade exhibits a rotating chain line configuration, and the rotor blade being provided with additional wind capturing means, the additional wind capturing means comprising an asymmetrically positioned widened portion of the rotor blade.
2. The wind energy conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the widened portion has an ellipsoid merged therein.
3. The wind energy conversion apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a main axis of the ellipsoid coincides with a longitudinal axis of the blade.
4. The wind energy conversion apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a main axis of the ellipsoid has an angle with a longitudinal axis of the blade.
5. The wind energy conversion apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the angle is in the range of 0\xb0 to 60\xb0.
6. The wind energy conversion apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the angle is in the range of 20\xb0 to 40\xb0.
7. The wind energy conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the widened portion is circlular in shape.
8. A rotor blade for a wind energy conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotor blade is flexible and mountable on a rotatable horizontal shaft of the wind energy conversion apparatus by two ends of the rotor blade, said rotor blade being capable of rotating and exhibiting a rotating chain line configuration and the rotor blade being provided with additional wind capturing means, the additional wind capturing means comprising an asymmetrically positioned widened portion of the rotor blade.
9. The rotor blade according to claim 8, wherein the widened portion portion has an ellipsoid merged therein.
10. The rotor blade according to claim 8, wherein a main axis of the ellipsoid coincides with a longitudinal axis of the blade.
11. The rotor blade according to claim 8, wherein a main axis of the ellipsoid has an angle with a longitudinal axis of the blade.
12. The rotor blade according to claim 11, wherein the angle is in the range of 0\xb0 to 60\xb0.
13. The rotor blade according to claim 12, wherein the angle is in the range of 20\xb0 to 40\xb0.
14. The rotor blade according to claim 8, wherein the widened portion is circlular in shape.

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 fuel cell system, comprising:
a fuel cell;
an intake pipe for admitting an introduction of oxidizing gas;
an oxidizing gas moving source that is provided downstream of the intake pipe for moving the oxidizing gas to a fuel cell;
an exhaust pipe for discharging exhaust gas which contains vapor generated at an oxygen electrode side of the fuel cell through an operation of the fuel cell;
a circulating pipe that connects the intake pipe and the exhaust pipe;
a circulating valve that is provided in the circulating pipe for adjusting a flow rate of the exhaust gas supplied from the exhaust pipe to the intake pipe,
a pressure regulating valve that is provided in the exhaust pipe for regulating a pressure at a position at which the circulating pipe and the exhaust pipe are joined; and
a control unit for controlling the pressure regulating valve to regulate the pressure at the position at which the circulating pipe and the exhaust pipe are joined into a predetermined pressure value higher than a pressure within the intake pipe.
2. The fuel cell system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the pressure regulating valve to regulate the pressure at the position at which the circulating pipe and the exhaust pipe are joined to be higher than at least an atmospheric pressure.
3. The fuel cell system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the pressure regulating valve to regulate a pressure of the exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust pipe.
4. The fuel cell system according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the pressure regulating valve to regulate a pressure of the exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust pipe.
5. The fuel cell system according to claim 3, wherein one end of the circulating pipe that circulates the exhaust gas is connected to the exhaust pipe at a position between the fuel cell and the pressure regulating valve.
6. The fuel cell system according to claim 4, wherein one end of the circulating pipe that circulates the exhaust gas is connected to the exhaust pipe at a position between the fuel cell and the pressure regulating valve.
7. The fuel cell system according to claim 3, further comprising a sensor that is provided in the exhaust pipe for detecting a pressure of the exhaust gas, wherein the control unit electrically regulates an opening degree of the pressure regulating valve based on an electric signal output from the sensor.
8. The fuel cell system according to claim 4, further comprising a sensor that is provided in the exhaust pipe for detecting a pressure of the exhaust gas, wherein the control unit electrically regulates an opening degree of the pressure regulating valve based on an electric signal output from the sensor.
9. The fuel cell system according to claim 5, further comprising a sensor that is provided in the exhaust pipe for detecting a pressure of the exhaust gas, wherein the control unit electrically regulates an opening degree of the pressure regulating valve based on an electric signal output from the sensor.
10. The fuel cell system according to claim 6, further comprising a sensor that is provided in the exhaust pipe for detecting a pressure of the exhaust gas, wherein the control unit electrically regulates an opening degree of the pressure regulating valve based on an electric signal output from the sensor.
11. The fuel cell system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the pressure regulating valve to regulate a pressure within the fuel cell.
12. The fuel cell system according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the pressure regulating valve to regulate a pressure within the fuel cell.
13. The fuel cell system according to claim 11, wherein one end of the circulating pipe that circulates the exhaust gas is connected to the exhaust pipe at a position between the fuel cell and the pressure regulating valve.
14. The fuel cell system according to claim 12, wherein one end of the circulating pipe that circulates the exhaust gas is connected to the exhaust pipe at a position between the fuel cell and the pressure regulating valve.
15. The fuel cell system according to claim 11, further comprising a sensor that is provided in the exhaust pipe at a position close to the fuel cell for detecting a pressure of the exhaust gas, wherein the control unit electrically regulates an opening degree of the pressure regulating valve based on an electric signal output from the sensor.
16. The fuel cell system according to claim 12, further comprising a sensor that is provided in the exhaust pipe at a position close to the fuel cell for detecting a pressure of the exhaust gas, wherein the control unit electrically regulates an opening degree of the pressure regulating valve based on an electric signal output from the sensor.
17. The fuel cell system according to claim 13, further comprising a sensor that is provided in the exhaust pipe at a position close to the fuel cell for detecting a pressure of the exhaust gas, wherein the control unit electrically regulates an opening degree of the pressure regulating valve based on an electric signal output from the sensor.
18. The fuel cell system according to claim 14, further comprising a sensor that is provided in the exhaust pipe at a position close to the fuel cell for detecting a pressure of the exhaust gas, wherein the control unit electrically regulates an opening degree of the pressure regulating valve based on an electric signal output from the sensor.
19. The fuel cell system according to claim 1, wherein the oxygen gas supply source is provided with a compressor that introduces air from outside through the intake pipe.
20. The fuel cell system according to claim 19, wherein the air that is introduced by the compressor is ambient air.

What is claimed is:

1. A closure for a vial comprising:
a head portion; and
a stem portion which projects from a lower surface of the head portion, said stem portion being inserted in an opening of a vial;
wherein said stem portion is provided with a small diameter portion and a seal portion, in that order from said lower surface the head portion, the diameter of said small diameter portion being smaller than the diameter of the seal portion;
and wherein the entirety of said small diameter portion and said seal portion are substantially uniformly fitted in the opening of the vial.
2. The closure for a vial according to claim 1, wherein the following condition is satisfied:
0.80Dd0.98D;
wherein
d designates the diameter of the small diameter portion; and
D designates the diameter of the seal portion.
3. The closure for a vial according to claim 1, wherein the stem portion is further provided with a leg portion connected to the seal portion, said leg portion being provided with at least one radial opening and a plurality of half-insertion projections formed on the outer peripheral surface of the seal portion, the diameter of the seal portion being smaller than the diameter of a circumscribed circle of the half-insertion projections.
4. The closure for a vial according to claim 1, wherein the following condition is satisfied:
S5jS20;
wherein
j designates the axial length of the small diameter portion; and
S designates the axial length of the seal portion.

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 modular musical performance system, comprising:
a plurality of first modules, each first module including
a plurality of keys;
a plurality of key switches that operate in response to the striking and releasing of the keys,

wherein an arrangement of the keys is such that when connected to another first module the keys of the two modules form a section of a continuous music keyboard;
a switch array bus including address lines and data lines each line being connected to a switch such that each switch is attached between only one data line and one address line and no data line is connected to the same address line via two different switches;
an element that polls the switch array bus and converts switch closing information into coded messages sent to an adjacent module; and

a plurality of second modules, each second module including a component selected from the group consisting of a performance controller, a computer interface, a musical tone generator, a musical accompaniment, a speaker, a performance recorder, an audio amplifier, an audio mixer, an audio processor, and a support extending to the floor, wherein the first and second modules are irremovably connectable to form a single rigid structure.
2. A modular musical performance system, comprising:
a computer interface that exchanges both performance data and digital audio between the system and a computer; and
a plurality of first modules, each first module including
a plurality of keys;
a plurality of key switches that operate in response to the striking and releasing of the keys;
a switch array bus including address lines and data lines each line being connected to a switch such that each switch is attached between only one data line and one address line and no data line is connected to the same address line via two different switches;
an element that polls the switch array bus and converts switch closing information into coded messages sent to an adjacent module;

wherein an arrangement of the keys is such that when connected to another first module the keys of the two modules form a section of a continuous music keyboard, wherein the first modules are irremovably connectable to form a single rigid structure.
3. A modular musical performance system, comprising:
a plurality of physically separable modules that connect to form a single rigid structure;
a means for communication between the modules;
the modules comprising:
a plurality of separate alignment parts that slide into channels extending into each of the modules from the ends that face an adjacent module;
a virtual instruments and effects module that can allow the use of Virtual Studio Technology (VST) plug-ins as part of the musical performance system;
a plurality of keyboard modules each of which is a module comprising:
a plurality of keys along the module’s length;
a plurality of key switches that operate in response to the striking and releasing of the individual keys;
an arrangement of mounting the keys such that when connected to another keyboard module the keys of the two modules form a section of a continuous music keyboard;
a switch array bus including address lines and data lines each line being connected to a switch such that each switch is attached between exactly one data line and one address line and no data line is connected to the same address line via two different switches; and
an active electronic processing element that polls the switch array bus and converts the switch closing information into coded messages sent to an adjacent module using the means for communication.