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Overcoming the Hurdles of Today’s Technology
Influent's Reaction DriveTM is a smart answer to a significant multi-market problem: the need to move fluids (air, liquids and gases) in space-limited applications efficiently. Conventional piezo pump technology has never delivered the performance required to enable these applications. Influent’s breakthrough products provide 100X the pumping performance of conventional piezo technology; opening the door for a new class of fluid movers. In addition, our products can overcome the limitations of today’s most common thermal management solutions: fans, heat sinks and heat pipes.
Life, reliability and noise are constraints that fans have struggled to overcome. Influent’s pulsed air jets provide considerably longer life, quiet operation as well as energy conscious operation. Our air jet devices are “smart,” with 100% variable flow capability and 3-4X more efficient in cooling today’s overheating electronics. Additionally our flexible design enables one Influent air jet device to deliver precision-targeted cooling to a multitude of discreet hot spots within the complex systems of consumer and commercial electronics. Heat pipes cannot keep high powered laptops from overheating and have limited the computing and graphics horsepower available in laptops. OEMs are looking for active liquid cooling systems that are the appropriate size for these low profile machines; however a liquid pump capable of generating the required flow that fits in a laptop has not been available; until now. Influent’s liquid pumps deliver the flow required to drive liquid cooling systems in a size profile that works for laptop computing products.
Our solution provides our customer's products with greater flexibility, improved efficiencies and extended life. The Reaction Drive system can be efficiently scaled up or down in size without compromising its superior performance. The performance advantage and scalable design give our solution first entry opportunities in multiple applications.
We are currently focused on thermal management solutions for electronics, but please view all of our applications below to learn more about the versatility of Reaction Drive technology. The applications are grouped according to function—thermal management, sensors/sampling, propellants and emerging markets.
Thermal Management
- Consumer and Commercial Electronics
In an industry where overheating is becoming a barrier to innovation, our pulsed air jets and
liquid pumps are an attractive thermal solution. Our products provide spot "on-chip"
cooling solutions for cable set top boxes, gaming systems, servers, laptops and other heat
constrained devices. We can also create high efficiency cooling for subcomponents such as
CPUs, GPUs, memory, graphics cards and VRegs. Our device enables faster, smaller and highly
dependable electronics.
- Lasers
The laser industry is witnessing a drastic acceleration, specifically in the military and medical
markets. However, the reliability of lasers is beginning to degrade severely because it is difficult to remove the heat generated within the laser. The trapped heat increases the
laser's temperature during operation and reduces its overall efficiency. The excess heat has
also proven to decreases the potential life of the laser. Influent's pulsed air jets can
easily dissipate the heat while keeping the laser at a steady temperature, creating increased
life and reliability.
- Solar
Photo voltaic (PV) panels are currently unable to compete with fossil fuels as a cost
effective energy source. This is primarily due to the inefficiency caused by overheating
of the panels during the solar conversion process. PV designers would use air movers such
as fans or blowers if these products could meet the reliability requirements but they cannot. Influent's
pulsed air jets can provide the required life, decrease the power input required to cool
PV panels and drastically increase their power output. Our technology gives PV solar panels
a real opportunity to compete as a major energy production player.
- Industrial Controls
Programmable controllers, automated drive circuits and other key production devices are
facing a serious constraint—the decrease of life and reliability. Unscheduled production
downtime is a multibillion dollar problem. Our liquid pumps and pulsed air jets have the
potential to provide 10 years of life in extreme industrial conditions, giving companies
higher productivity and increased profits.
Sensors/Sampling
- Gas Sensors
Gas sensors are used in biochemical detection, environmental monitoring and first response systems.
Our air pumps can increase the portability and convenience of gas sensors by allowing them to scale down to the size of a user's palm. This small form factor would allow sensors to be used more widely by war fighters. Audible components also serve as an inhibitor in the use of gas sensors. Our air pumps have the potential to make these sensors virtually silent.
Battery life can be extended from several hours to several days with our efficient solution. Our air pumps decrease size and
noise and prolong battery life, giving sensors increased usability.
- Water Sampling Pumps
Water conservation and purity has never been more important. Water quality rules, such as the Clean Water Act, are becoming
ever more stringent, complex and costly. As a result, there is an increasing demand for sampling pumps to monitor effluent water from industrial plants, determine the safety of water in
public places, test the sanitation in waste water removal facilities and
to conduct general environmental research. Many of these sampling pumps are not suitable in necessary field locations because they lack the needed portability and
reliability. Influent’s liquid pumps enable enhanced mobility and dependable service, allowing water sampling pumps to become an even greater asset in maintaining water purity.
Propellants - Chemical Replacement
- Medical Devices
Many medical devices, such as metered-dose inhalers, require high pressure pulmonary delivery.
This is currently accomplished through environmentally hazardous propellants, like HFCs.
Influent has the capability to provide a small liquid pump that can eliminate the need for
harmful propellants, by providing pressures high enough to aerosolize medications for respiratory
delivery. Influent believes that these products can provide environmentally responsible
alternatives to propellant inhalers.
- Aerosol Sprayers
Household sprayer products from insect repellant to hairspray are powered by hydrocarbon and
HFC propellants that contaminate the environment. Some companies are turning to battery-powered
sprayers for their products, but the internal pumps used are currently too large to penetrate
the mainstream aerosol sprayer markets. Influent's scalable liquid pump design could fit inside current sprayer products—eliminating the need for
aerosolized propellants.
Emerging Markets
- HBLEDs
HBLEDs are a highly efficient emerging lighting technology that use 40% less power than fluorescents and
have a targeted life of 9 years. The problem—they cannot radiate their waste heat away like florescent and incandescent
bulbs and so will overheat without a cooling solution. Influent's pulsed air jets give
HBLEDs the ability to overcome these thermal constraints, reduce energy consumption and
increase life. Influent allows HBLEDS to run harder while accelerating their
potential to become the world's new standard lighting solution.
- Micro Fuel Cells
Micro fuel cells(MFCs) have a high potential to become a leading source of portable
power. MFCs have an attractive multi-billion dollar market opportunity that requires small
size, extreme reliability and low cost. Projections anticipate that MFC technology will
replace lithium-ion batteries as the energy source of choice for portable power applications.
Lithium-ion batteries currently hold over 98% of the market share. However, the leading MFC
technologies need a reliable air pump solution to become a viable battery replacement option.
Influent's air pumps can enhance reaction efficiencies, reduce balance of plant
power consumption and enhance the viability of this emerging market.
©2009 Influent Corp.
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