Author: claimsbot

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. A semi-submersible vessel adapted to resist heave motion, said semi-submersible vessel comprising:
a plurality of support columns, each column of said plurality of support columns having an upper end and a lower end;
a deck interconnected between said plurality of support columns at locations proximate said upper ends of each of said columns of said plurality of support columns;
a ring-pontoon connected to said plurality of support columns at locations proximate said lower ends of each of said columns of said plurality of support columns;
each of said plurality of support columns having a longitudinal axis inclined upwardly and inwardly from said ring-pontoon to said deck.
2. The semi-submersible vessel as recited in claim 1 wherein said longitudinal axis of each of said plurality of support columns is oriented substantially radially from a center point of said vessel.
3. The semi-submersible vessel as recited in claim 2 wherein an angle of incline of said longitudinal axis of each of said plurality of support columns is at least five degrees from vertical.
4. The semi-submersible vessel as recited in claim 2 wherein said ring-pontoon is substantially rectangular-shaped.
5. The semi-submersible vessel as recited in claim 2 wherein said ring-pontoon is substantially square-shaped having corner pontoon portions connected by elongate pontoon portions, and said square-shaped pontoon having a centerline intersecting center points of vertically taken cross-sections of said square-shaped pontoon.
6. The semi-submersible vessel as recited in claim 5 wherein each of said lower ends of said columns of said plurality of columns is substantially connected at a corner pontoon portion of said square-shaped ring-pontoon.
7. The semi-submersible vessel as recited in claim 6 wherein said deck is positioned substantially inboard of said centerline of said ring-pontoon.
8. The semi-submersible vessel as recited in claim 6 wherein said elongate pontoon portions comprise four box-shaped structures, each of said box-shaped structures having a substantially four-sided vertically taken cross-sectional configuration.
9. The semi-submersible vessel as recited in claim 6 wherein a center-point of said lower end of each of said columns of said plurality of columns is positioned inboard of said centerline of said ring-pontoon.
10. The semi-submersible vessel as recited in claim 9, further comprising:
a substantially triangularly-shaped tank having a height substantially equal to a height of said ring-pontoon, said substantially triangularly-shaped tank positioned at a location inboard of a corner pontoon portion and of a said lower end of a column connected to said ring-pontoon at said corner pontoon portion.
11. The semi-submersible vessel as recited in claim 9, further comprising:
each of said support columns being subdivided into four quadrants by cruciform bulkheads, each of said bulkheads being oriented at substantially the same inclination as said longitudinal axis of said support column; and
each of said bulkheads being arranged as extensions of inward sides of said ring-pontoon.
12. The semi-submersible vessel as recited in claim 9, further comprising:
each of said support columns being subdivided into four quadrants by cruciform bulkheads, each of said bulkheads being oriented at substantially the same inclination as said longitudinal axis of said support column;
each of said bulkheads being arranged as extensions of longitudinally oriented bulkheads contained within said ring-pontoon; and
said longitudinally oriented bulkheads dividing said pontoon box-shaped structures into at least two compartments.
13. The semi-submersible vessel as recited in claim 9, further comprising:
an external periphery of said ring-pontoon being substantially octagonally shaped.
14. The semi-submersible vessel as recited in claim 9, further comprising:
an internal periphery of said ring-pontoon being substantially octagonally shaped.
15. The semi-submersible vessel as recited in claim 9, further comprising:
an external surface of a corner pontoon portion being substantially rounded and forming an extension of a lower end of a respective column connected at said corner pontoon portion.
16. The semi-submersible vessel as recited in claim 9, wherein said deck is configured as a box-shaped structure.
17. The semi-submersible vessel as recited in claim 9, wherein said semi-submersible vessel is adapted for accommodating the production of hydrocarbons from at least one sub-sea well-head that is connected to said semi-submersible vessel by at least one substantially rigid pipe laying along the sea floor and extending upwards in a catenary to said semi-submersible vessel.
18. The semi-submersible vessel as recited in claim 9, wherein said semi-submersible vessel is adapted for accommodating the production of hydrocarbons through a substantially vertical rigid riser terminating at a well-head positioned proximate said deck and which in turn is connected to production equipment by a jumper-hose.
19. A method for providing a semi-submersible vessel adapted to resist heave motion, said method comprising:
providing:
a plurality of support columns, each column of said plurality of support columns having an upper end and a lower end;
a deck interconnected between said plurality of support columns at locations proximate said upper ends of each of said columns of said plurality of support columns; and
a ring-pontoon connected to said plurality of support columns at locations proximate said lower ends of each of said columns of said plurality of support columns;

locating a predominance of a buoyancy capacity of said ring-pontoon proximate said lower ends of said columns of said plurality of support columns; and
inclining each of said plurality of support columns upwardly and inwardly from said ring-pontoon to said deck.
20. The method as recited in claim 19, further comprising:
orienting a longitudinal axis of each of said plurality of support columns substantially radially from a center point of said vessel.
21. The method as recited in claim 19, further comprising:
configuring said ring-pontoon into a substantially rectangular shape.
22. A semi-submersible vessel adapted to resist heave motion, said semi-submersible vessel comprising:
a plurality of support columns, each column of said plurality of support columns having an upper end and a lower end;
a deck interconnected between said plurality of support columns at locations proximate said upper ends of each of said columns of said plurality of support columns;
a ring-pontoon connected to said plurality of support columns at locations proximate said lower ends of each of said columns of said plurality of support columns;
at least four of said plurality of support columns having a longitudinal axis inclined upwardly and inwardly from said ring-pontoon to said deck and said longitudinal axis being oriented substantially radially from a center point of said vessel.
23. A semi-submersible comprising:
a superstructure deck;
a ring pontoon having four box-structures having a substantially four-sided cross-section and formed into a symmetrical square ring;
four columns inclined inwards toward the upper end with an angle of inclination of at least five degrees from vertical; and
a longitudinal axis of said pontoon box-structures being located outside of lower end center-points of said columns.

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 balancer device for a parallel twin cylinder internal combustion engine in which a common crankshaft is provided with a first crankpin and a second crankpin at a predetermined phase angle, and a cylinder block is formed with a first cylinder corresponding to the first crankpin and a second cylinder corresponding to the second crankpin,
the balancer device for the parallel twin cylinder internal combustion engine being configured to reduce first cylinder vibratory force and second cylinder vibratory force which are generated when the crankshaft is rotated, in the parallel twin cylinder internal combustion engine,
the first cylinder vibratory force generating force directed outward in a radial direction of the crankshaft while performing inverse rotation with the same period as the crankshaft based on a position where a first piston stored in the first cylinder is at a top dead center,
the second cylinder vibratory force generating force directed outward in the radial direction of the crankshaft while performing the inverse rotation with the same period as the crankshaft based on a position where a second piston stored in the second cylinder is at the top dead center,
wherein when viewed in an axial direction of the crankshaft, a straight line for bisecting an angle formed between the first cylinder vibratory force and the second cylinder vibratory force is defined as an angle bisector,
force with the first cylinder vibratory force and the second cylinder vibratory force resolved in a direction parallel to the angle bisector is defined as an inertial force component,
force with the first cylinder vibratory force and the second cylinder vibratory force resolved in a direction parallel to a plane perpendicular to the angle bisector is defined as a couple component,
an inertial force balancer is provided for generating force facing the inertial force component, and wherein
a couple balancer is provided for generating force facing the couple component.
2. The balancer device for a parallel twin cylinder internal combustion engine according to claim 1,
wherein the inertial force balancer comprises the first inertial force balancer and the second inertial force balancer which have the equal amount of unbalance,
the crankshaft is configured along a width direction of the parallel twin cylinder internal combustion engine,
in a planar view, the first inertial force balancer and the second inertial force balancer are configured symmetrically with a bisection point positioned around the center of the crankshaft as the center, on a plane that bisects a segment for connecting the center of the first cylinder to the center of the second cylinder and that is perpendicular to the segment, and
the couple balancer is configured in such a manner that the first couple balancer and the second couple balancer are configured coaxially with each other, and also are symmetrical at 180 degrees about the shaft.
3. The balancer device for a parallel twin cylinder internal combustion engine according to claim 2, wherein at least any one of the first inertial force balancer, the second inertial force balancer, the first couple balancer and the second couple balancer is configured outside of a crankcase.
4. The balancer device for a parallel twin cylinder internal combustion engine according to claim 3,
wherein at least one of the first inertial force balancer and the second inertial force balancer is configured outside of the crankcase, and
a drive shaft of at least one of the first inertial force balancer and the second inertial force balancer that are configured outside is supported by a side surface of the crankcase and a crankcase cover for covering the side surface of the crankcase.
5. The balancer device for a parallel twin cylinder internal combustion engine according to claim 2,
wherein a combined balancer is composed by combining one of the first inertial force balancer and the second inertial force balancer with one of the first couple balancer and the second couple balancer, and
in the planar view, the other of the first inertial force balancer and the second inertial force balancer, and the combined balancer are configured symmetrically with the bisection point positioned around the center of the crankshaft as the center, on the plane that bisects the segment for connecting the center of the first cylinder to the center of the second cylinder and that is perpendicular to the segment.
6. The balancer device for a parallel twin cylinder internal combustion engine according to claim 5, wherein the other of the first couple balancer and the second couple balancer, and the combined balancer are configured coaxially with each other.
7. The balancer device for a parallel twin cylinder internal combustion engine according to claim 5, wherein after an axial position of one of the first couple balancer and the second couple balancer is preliminarily determined, one of the first inertial force balancer and the second inertial force balancer is combined with one of the first couple balancer and the second couple balancer, and a phase of the combined balancer with respect to the other of the first couple balancer and the second couple balancer is set.
8. The balancer device for a parallel twin cylinder internal combustion engine according to claim 5, wherein the combined balancer, and at least one of the other of the first inertial force balancer and the second inertial force balancer and the other of the first couple balancer and the second couple balancer are configured outside of the crankcase.
9. The balancer device for a parallel twin cylinder internal combustion engine according to claim 8,
wherein the other of the first inertial force balancer and the second inertial force balancer is configured outside of the crankcase, and
the drive shaft of the other of the first inertial force balancer and the second inertial force balancer is supported by the side surface of the crankcase and the crankcase cover for covering the side surface of the crankcase.
10. The balancer device for a parallel twin cylinder internal combustion engine according to claim 8,
wherein the combined balancer, and the other of the first couple balancer and the second couple balancer are configured outside of the crankcase, the combined balancer, and the other of the first couple balancer and the second couple balancer being configured coaxially with each other, and
the combined balancer, and one of the other of the first couple balancer and the second couple balancer are formed integrally with a drive shaft thereof, the other thereof being separately fixed to the drive shaft by a fastening member.
11. The balancer device for a parallel twin cylinder internal combustion engine according to claim 5,
wherein the crankcase has a vertically divided structure,
the drive shaft of the other of the first inertial force balancer and the second inertial force balancer is arranged in an upper half body of the crankcase, and
the drive shaft of the combined balancer and the other of the first couple balancer and the second couple balancer is configured in a lower half body of the crankcase.
12. The balancer device for a parallel twin cylinder internal combustion engine according to claim 5,
wherein the drive shaft of the other of the first inertial force balancer and the second inertial force balancer is configured behind the crankshaft, and
the drive shaft of the combined balancer and the other of the first couple balancer and the second couple balancer is configured in front of the crankshaft.

1. A photovoltaic module mounting system comprising:
at least one photovoltaic module;
at least a first type of mounting bracket in contact with the module;
at least a second type of mounting bracket on an adjacent module, wherein the brackets are configured to interlock and connect multiple modules together.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the module is a frameless module.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein the first type of mounting bracket is configured so that the bracket can only be disengaged from the second type of mounting bracket by a pivoting motion of one bracket relative to one another.
4. The system of claim 1 wherein the bracket is configured to slidably engage a mounting structure.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein the bracket includes an angled portion that mates with an angled portion on another bracket.
6. The system of claim 1 wherein the brackets on one module are offset from brackets on another module so as not interfere with each other.
7. The system of claim 1 wherein the brackets on one module and brackets on another module both engage on another and both simultaneously engage a mounting structure.
8. The system of claim 1 wherein the bracket is configured to slidably engage a mounting structure and simultaneously engage a bracket of another module.
9. The system of claim 1 wherein the brackets on one module and brackets on another module both engage on another mate in a configuration that prevent the modules from pivoting upward beyond a substantially horizontal plane.
10. The system of claim 1 wherein a plurality of modules are coupled together by brackets which pivot together to define a string of modules that are locked in position, wherein only the modules at a first end and a second end of the string of modules are fixedly secured.
11. A universal mounting assembly comprising:
a bracket configured to provide attachment of a module to the bracket and then the bracket to mounting structure, wherein attachment of bracket to mounting structure is by way of at least two possible attachment methods.
12. The assembly of claim 10 wherein the bracket is configured wherein attachment of bracket to mounting structure is by way of at least three possible attachment methods.
13. The assembly of claim 10 wherein the bracket is configured wherein attachment of bracket to mounting structure is by way of at least four possible attachment methods.

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 method for producing a dual-textured foodstuff comprising:
(a) admixing ingredients including flour and water to form a slurry;
(b) exposing the slurry to heat at conditions sufficient to produce a gelatinized dough;
(c) adding a fat-based component to the dough to form a prebaked foodstuff;
(d) baking the prebaked foodstuff to obtain a foodstuff having a dual texture including a baked, fat-based component having a soft texture and a baked dough-based component having a crispy texture.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, before the adding a fat-based component to the dough to form a prebaked foodstuff, mixing the gelatinized dough with ingredients including starch.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the starch comprises potato starch.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the starch comprises pregelatinized corn starch.
5. The method of claim 2, wherein the ingredients comprise sugar andor leavening agent.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising, before the adding the fat-based component to the dough to form a prebaked foodstuff, mixing the dough with ingredients including a processing aid.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising, before the adding the fat-based component to the dough to form a prebaked foodstuff, forming the dough into a prebaked configuration for accepting the fat-based component.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the forming the dough includes sheeting the dough into at least two layers and adding the fat-based component between the sheeted dough layers.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the dough and fat-based component are extruded.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the heat comprises steam.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the steam has a temperature of about 212\xb0 F.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein the slurry is exposed to the steam for about 10 minutes to about 20 minutes.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein the steam is injected into the slurry.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein the exposing of the slurry to heat is sufficient to produce about 90% to about 100% gelatinization of the flour.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the flour of the slurry comprises about 70 wt % of the baked dough-based component.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein the flour of the slurry comprises about 75 wt % of the baked dough-based component.
17. The method of claim 1, wherein the flour of the slurry comprises about 80 wt % of the baked dough-based component.
18. The method of claim 1, wherein the fat-based component is completely enclosed within the baked dough-based component.
19. The method of claim 1, wherein the fat-based component comprises a fat content of at least 40 wt %.
20. The method of claim 1, wherein the dough-based component comprises a fat content of less than 5 wt %.
21. The method of claim 1, wherein the foodstuff maintains the dual texture for at least 6 months after baking .
22. The method of claim 1 wherein adding the fat-based component to the dough comprises placing the fat-based component in direct contact with the dough.
23. A dual-textured foodstuff prepared by the method of claim 1.
24. A dual-textured foodstuff comprising:
(a) a baked dough-based component based on a pre-baked heat-treated flour, the baked dough-based component having a first fat concentration and a crispy texture;
(b) a baked fat-based component in direct contact with the baked dough-based component, having a second fat concentration that is higher than the first fat concentration, the baked fat-based component having a soft texture;

wherein the foodstuff exhibits a dual texture comprising a crispy texture of the dough-based component and a soft texture of the fat-based component, and wherein the dual texture is maintained throughout the shelf life of the foodstuff.
25. The foodstuff of claim 24, wherein the pre-baked heat-treated flour comprises at least about 70 wt % of the baked dough-based component.
26. The foodstuff of claim 24 wherein the pre-baked heat-treated flour comprises about 75 wt % of the baked dough-based component.
27. The foodstuff of claim 24, wherein the pre-baked heat-treated flour comprises about 80 wt % of the baked dough-based component.
28. The foodstuff of claim 24, wherein the fat-based component is savory.
29. The foodstuff of claim 24, wherein the fat-based component is sweet.
30. The foodstuff of claim 24, wherein the fat-based component is completely enclosed by the dough-based component.
31. The foodstuff of claim 24, wherein the baked dough-based component comprises a cracker.
32. The foodstuff of claim 24, wherein the first fat concentration is less than 10 wt % and the second fat concentration is greater than 40 wt %.
33. The foodstuff of claim 24, wherein the second fat concentration is greater than the first fat concentration.
34. The foodstuff of claim 24, wherein the first fat concentration is significantly constant throughout the shelf life of the foodstuff.
35. The foodstuff of claim 24, wherein the second fat concentration is significantly constant throughout the shelf life of the foodstuff.
36. The foodstuff of claim 24, wherein the baked dough-based component comprises about 45 wt % to about 90 wt % of the foodstuff.
37. The foodstuff of claim 24, wherein the baked dough-based component comprises about 60 wt % to about 75 wt % of the foodstuff.
38. The foodstuff of claim 24, wherein the fat-based component comprises about 10 wt % to about 55 wt % of the foodstuff.
39. The foodstuff of claim 24, wherein the fat-based component comprises about 25 wt % to about 40 wt % of the foodstuff.
40. A method of producing a baked foodstuff comprising:
forming a first dough layer having a first affinity for fat migration;
forming a gelatinized dough-based fat migration-barrier layer including by admixing ingredients comprising flour and water to form a slurry and exposing the slurry to heat at conditions sufficient to transform the slurry to an at least partially gelatinized dough;
assembling the foodstuff by positioning the gelatinized dough-based fat migration barrier layer between a first dough layer and an edible composition having a fat content that is greater than the fat content of the first dough layer;
baking the pre-baked food stuff to form a baked foodstuff.
41. A dual textured cooked foodstuff comprising:
a crispy cooked dough-based portion based on a steam-treated slurry of water and flour;
a cooked soft fat-based filling in direct contact with the cooked dough portion; and
a fat gradient between the cooked soft fat-based filling and the crispy cooked dough-based portion that is approximately zero.