All The Claims

1. A method of retrofitting an orifice meter comprising:
providing an orifice fitting body having a bore, an orifice plate, a plurality of tap holes, and a plurality of pressure sensors installed in the plurality of tap holes;
removing the orifice plate and the plurality of pressure sensors from the orifice fitting body;
installing a plurality of transducers into the plurality of tap holes;
wherein at least one of the plurality of transducers is configured to generate a signal and at least one of the plurality of transducers is configured to receive the signal; and
measuring a flow rate of a fluid flowing through the bore based on an output of each of the plurality of transducers.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein installing a plurality of transducers comprises installing a plurality of ultrasonic transducers that are configured to send and receive acoustic signals.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:
reflecting the signal off of an inner wall of the bore; and
receiving the signal with one of the plurality of transducers after reflecting the signal off of the inner wall.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising offsetting a first transducer of the plurality of transducers from a second transducer of the plurality of transducers within the bore.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein measuring a flow rate of a fluid flowing through the bore comprises utilizing a flow computation system that is coupled to at least one of the plurality of transducers.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein measuring a flow rate of a fluid flowing through the bore comprises computing the flow rate by utilizing the flow computation system to receive a signal from at least one of the plurality of transducers.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein measuring a flow rate of a fluid flowing through the bore comprises computing the flow rate based on the Doppler shift of the signals received from the plurality of transducers.
8. A method of retrofitting an orifice meter comprising:
providing an orifice fitting body having a bore, an orifice plate, a plurality of tap holes, and a plurality of pressure sensors installed in the plurality of tap holes;
removing the orifice plate and the plurality of pressure sensors from the orifice fitting body; and
installing a plurality of transducers into the plurality of tap holes;
wherein at least one of the plurality of transducers is configured to generate a signal and at least one of the plurality of transducers is configured to receive the signal.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein installing a plurality of transducers comprises installing a plurality of ultrasonic transducers that are configured to send and receive acoustic signals
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
reflecting the signal off of an inner wall of the bore; and
receiving the signal with one of the plurality of transducers after reflecting the signal off of the inner wall.
11. The method of claim 8, further comprising offsetting a first transducer of the plurality of transducers from a second transducer of the plurality of transducers within the bore.
12. A flow meter manufactured by the method of claim 8.

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 backlight module, comprising:
a base plate;
a first reflector comprising a first reflecting surface facing the base plate and providing a first reference point and a second reference point, wherein the first reference point and the second reference point have a common reference point; and
a light source substantially disposed on the common reference point, emitting a first initial beam reflected by the first reflecting surface to form a first reflecting light beam and a second initial beam reflected by the first reflecting surface to form a second reflecting light beam, wherein the first reflecting light beam and the second reflecting light beam substantially pass through the base plate in parallel.
2. The backlight module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first reflecting surface is substantially a parabolic surface.
3. The backlight module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first reflecting surface is substantially a parabolic surface, and the common reference point is a focus of the first reference point and the second reference point of the first reflecting surface.
4. The backlight module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base plate is made of transparent material.
5. The backlight module as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a second reflector disposed on the base plate and provided with a second reflecting surface facing the light source.
6. The backlight module as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a second reflector provided with a second reflecting surface, the light source emitting a first initial beam sequentially reflected by the second reflecting surface and the first reflecting surface to form a first reflecting light beam, wherein the first reflecting light beam passes through the base plate.
7. The backlight module as claimed in claim 5, wherein the second reflecting surface of the second reflector is a total-reflecting surface.
8. The backlight module as claimed in claim 5, wherein the second reflector is made of trans-reflective material.
9. The backlight module as claimed in claim 5, wherein the second reflecting surface is substantially a flat surface.
10. The backlight module as claimed in claim 5, wherein the second reflecting surface of the second reflector is substantially a parabolic surface.
11. The backlight module as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a second reflector provided with a second reflecting surface facing the light source and a third reflecting surface not facing the light source.
12. The backlight module as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a second reflector disposed on the base plate and provided with a second reflecting surface facing the light source and a third reflecting surface not facing the light source.
13. The backlight module as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a second reflector and a diffusive plate, wherein the second reflector comprises a second reflecting surface facing the light source and a third reflecting surface substantially facing the diffusive plate.
14. The backlight module as claimed in claim 11, wherein the second reflecting surface and the third reflecting surface of the second reflector are total-reflecting surfaces.
15. The backlight module as claimed in claim 11, wherein the second reflector is made of trans-reflective material.
16. The backlight module as claimed in claim 11, wherein the second reflecting surface of the second reflector is substantially a parabolic surface.
17. The backlight module as claimed in claim 11, wherein the third reflecting surface of the second reflector is substantially a parabolic surface.
18. The backlight module as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a diffusive plate disposed next to the base plate.
19. The backlight module as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a diffusive plate and a diffusive film, wherein the diffusive plate and the diffusive film are disposed next to the base plate.
20. The backlight module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first reflecting surface of the first reflector comprises at least two segments and each of which provides the first reference point, the second reference point and the common reference point, and wherein the light source comprises at least two light tubes, each of which is disposed on the common reference points of the segments respectively, for being simultaneously actuated.
21. The backlight module as claimed in claim 20, wherein the segments are parabolic.
22. A liquid crystal display, comprising:
a housing;
a display unit disposed in the housing; and
a backlight module disposed in the housing with respect to the display unit,
comprising:
a base plate;

a first reflector comprising a first reflecting surface facing the base plate and provided with a first reference point and a second reference point, wherein the first reference point and the second reference point have a common reference point; and
a light source substantially disposed on the common reference point, emitting a first initial beam reflected by the first reflecting surface to form a first reflecting light beam and a second initial beam reflected by the first reflecting surface to form a second reflecting light beam, wherein the first reflecting light beam and the second reflecting light beam substantially pass through the base plate in parallel.
23. The liquid crystal display as claimed in claim 22, wherein the first reflecting surface is substantially a parabolic surface.
24. The liquid crystal display as claimed in claim 22, wherein the first reflecting surface is substantially a parabolic surface, and the common reference point is a focus of the first reference point and the second reference point of the first reflecting surface.
25. The liquid crystal display as claimed in claim 22, wherein the base plate is made of transparent material.
26. The liquid crystal display as claimed in claim 22 further comprising a second reflector disposed on the base plate and provided with a second reflecting surface facing the light source.
27. The liquid crystal display as claimed in claim 22, wherein the backlight module further comprises a second reflector provided with a second reflecting surface, and the light source comprises a first initial beam sequentially reflected by the second reflecting surface and the first reflecting surface to form a first reflecting light beam, wherein the first reflecting light beam passes through the base plate.
28. The liquid crystal display as claimed in claim 26, wherein the second reflecting surface of the second reflector is a total-reflecting surface.
29. The liquid crystal display as claimed in claim 26, wherein the second reflector is made of trans-reflective material.
30. The liquid crystal display as claimed in claim 26, wherein the second reflecting surface is substantially a flat surface.
31. The liquid crystal display as claimed in claim 26, wherein the second reflecting surface of the second reflector is substantially a parabolic surface.
32. The liquid crystal display as claimed in claim 22, wherein the backlight module further comprises a second reflector provided with a second reflecting surface facing the light source and a third reflecting surface not facing the light source.
33. The liquid crystal display as claimed in claim 22, wherein the first reflecting surface of the first reflector comprises at least two segments and each of which provides the first reference point, the second reference point and the common reference point, and wherein the light source comprises at least two light tubes and each of which is disposed on the common reference points of the segments respectively, for being simultaneously actuated.
34. The liquid crystal display as claimed in claim 33, wherein the segments are parabolic.

1. A wire discharge-machining apparatus comprising:
a wire electrode set as cutting wires provided in parallel with a distance therebetween and facing a workpiece;
a machining power source that generates a machining voltage; and
a plurality of feeder units that are electrically connected to the cutting wires respectively of the wire electrode and supply the machining voltage between the cutting wires and the workpiece respectively, wherein
in the parallel cutting wires, the feeder units are arranged such that a direction of a current passed to at least a part of the cutting wires becomes a direction different from a direction of a current passed to other cutting wires.
2. The wire discharge-machining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the feeder units are electrically connected to the wire electrode by having feeders connected to the cutting wires alternately arranged at a side where the cutting wires come close to the workpiece and at a side where the cutting wires move far from the workpiece such that directions of currents passing through the cutting wires become opposite between the cutting wires adjacent to each other.
3. The wire discharge-machining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the feeder units are electrically connected to the wire electrode by having the feeders connected to the cutting wires alternately arranged at a side where cutting wires come close to the workpiece and at a side where cutting wires move far from the workpiece such that a plurality of adjacent cutting wires are set as groups, directions of currents passed to cutting wires in a same group become a same direction, and directions of currents passed to cutting wires in adjacent groups become opposite to each other.
4. The wire discharge-machining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the feeder units are electrically connected to the wire electrode by having the feeders connected to the cutting wires alternately arranged at a side where cutting wires come close to the workpiece and at a side where cutting wires move far from the workpiece such that directions of currents passed to cutting wires arranged at both ends in a parallel direction of a plurality of parallel cutting wires become opposite to directions of currents passed to cutting wires arranged at other than the both ends.
5. The wire discharge-machining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the feeder units are provided at both sides of cutting wires, any one of the cutting wires is selected, and the machining voltage from the machining power source is supplied between the cutting wires and the workpiece.
6. The wire discharge-machining apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the feeder units that include the feeder units not selected and provided at both sides of cutting wires function as supporting members of the wire electrode.
7. The wire discharge-machining apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the feeder units provided at both sides of the cutting wires are connected in such a manner that these feeder units are arranged in a line in a direction orthogonal to the cutting wires.
8. The wire discharge-machining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a positional relationship among the feeder units, the workpiece or a stage on which the workpiece is mounted, and a guide roller that winds cutting wires is that the feeder units are arranged at both sides of the workpiece or the stage on which the workpiece is mounted and that at least one of guide rollers arranged at both sides of the workpiece or the stage on which the workpiece is mounted is arranged between the feeder units and the workpiece or the stage on which the workpiece is mounted.
9. The wire discharge-machining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a positional relationship among the feeder units, the workpiece or a stage on which the workpiece is mounted, and a guide roller that winds cutting wires is that the feeder units are arranged at both sides of the workpiece or the stage on which the workpiece is mounted and that the guide roller is arranged at a side of the feeder units where the workpiece or the stage on which the workpiece is not mounted.
10-23. (canceled)
24. A wire discharge-machining method, wherein the workpiece is slice-machined by the wire discharge-machining apparatus according to claim 1.
25. A thin sheet manufacturing method using the wire discharge-machining apparatus according to claim 1.
26. A semiconductor wafer manufacturing method using the wire discharge-machining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the workpiece is a semiconductor wafer material.
27. The semiconductor wafer manufacturing method according to claim 26, wherein the semiconductor wafer material is silicon or silicon carbide, or a material having silicon or silicon carbide as a main component.

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 ventricular assist system comprising:
(a) a ventricular assist device including a pump and an inlet element defining an inlet opening communicating with the pump, the inlet element being adapted for positioning with the inlet opening disposed within a ventricle of a heart when the system is in an operative condition; and
(b) an expandable stent adapted for positioning within the ventricle when the system is in the operative condition.
2. The system of claim 1 further comprising a mounting securing a part of the stent in position relative to the inlet element when the stent is positioned within the ventricle.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein the mounting includes an anchor element configured for attachment to the heart and wherein the inlet element and the stent are secured to the anchor element with the system is in the operative condition.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the anchor element includes a channel extending therethrough.
5. The system of claim 4, further comprising a one-way valve positioned at least partially within the channel.
6. The system of claim 5, further comprising a sealing element configured to be positioned within the channel proximal to the one-way valve to seal the channel.
7. The system of claim 4, wherein the channel has a diameter and the stent has a collapsed condition and an expanded condition, the diameter of the channel being adapted to allow the stent to pass through the channel when the stent is in the collapsed condition.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein the anchor element includes a ring.
9. The system of claim 7, wherein the anchor element includes a substantially cylindrical member configured to be mounted to the heart at various positions along a length of the substantially cylindrical member.
10. The system of claim 1 wherein the stent includes a plurality of struts, the struts having inner ends and outer ends, the inner ends being disposed adjacent one another and the outer ends extending away from one another when the stent is in an expanded condition.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein the stent has a collapsed condition and an expanded condition, the stent being substantially cylindrical when in the expanded condition.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein the stent is formed of a braided mesh.
13. A method of installing a ventricular assist device in a subject comprising:
mounting the ventricular assist device to the subject so that an inlet opening of an inlet element is disposed within a ventricle of the heart and the inlet opening communicates with a pump;
positioning an outflow cannula so that the outflow cannula communicates with the pump and with an artery;
positioning a stent in the ventricle at least partially upstream of the inlet of the pump.
14. The method as claimed in claim 13 further comprising operating the pump to draw blood from the ventricle and return the blood to the artery, and holding a wall of the ventricle away from the inlet opening with the stent.
15. The method of claim 13, further comprising passing the stent through a channel in the ventricular assist device while the stent is in a collapsed condition.
16. The method of claim 15, further wherein the step of passing the stent through the channel in the ventricular assist device includes passing the stent through a one-way valve positioned at least partially within the channel.
17. The method of claim 15, further comprising transitioning the stent from the collapsed condition to an expanded condition.
18. The method of claim 17, further comprising sealing the channel with a sealing element.