Ikona announces patent application filing on clutch based actuator mechanism

COQUITLAM, BC, Oct. 18, 2004 -- Ikona Gear International, Inc. , a leader in innovative gearing systems technology, announced today it has filed a new patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The application is titled "Spring Return and Manual Override Mechanism Actuator". The invention relates to rotary actuators and the need for a highly compact and purely electro-mechanical form of rotary actuator to replace hydraulic or pneumatic solutions. These innovative mechanisms will be suitable replacements for existing hydraulic and pneumatic valve actuators in the oil and gas sector, and in any process-based industry.

Ikona Gear has so far received patents in the USA, Canada and Europe for a unique, highly compact, high gear-ratio gearing technology developed by the company under the guidance of Dr. J. R. Colbourne, one of the world's foremost authorities on gear design and gear engineering.

Ikona CEO Laith Nosh said, "This latest patent filing reflects our ongoing commitment to further innovations in gearing technologies that will help people in their daily lives. We believe the growing strength of our intellectual property will provide Ikona Gear with a superior suite of application offerings for the gearing industry."

The invention includes methods for converting torque from an electrical motor into a rotary actuator by transferring torque through mechanical, electrical or spring based clutching mechanisms. A unique epicyclic gear reducer provides a large mechanical gear ratio with few components. When combined with the new clutching mechanisms, this provides simple and elegant solutions for unrestricted spring return for fail safe actuators without back driving through the gears, or low effort manual override or freewheeling of the output. Safe, purely electro-mechanical actuators are therefore, now capable of replacing hydraulic and pneumatic actuators in critical applications.

To clients with high torque applications or a constrained space in which to place an actuator, Ikona Gear actuator products can mean an actuator solution where one was not previously possible. Ikona Gear products offer high strength scaled-down solutions to clients without heavy, potentially leaky hydraulic or pneumatic lines. The result is greater satisfaction, with a simplified and elegant electromechanical solution which provides the ability to control a de-energized application safely without the added weight and costs of hydraulics or pneumatics. In most cases, that translates into lower total cost of ownership and increased product life.

Ikona gear has entered into a technology licensing agreement with Aircast Inc. for medical devices and a joint development agreement with Magna Advanced Technologies for applications in the automotive sector.

Ikona Gear International, Inc. designs, manufactures and markets innovative gearing-enabled applications and gear increasing and reduction systems. Ikona's patented intellectual property involves a unique gear tooth form that provides very high gear reduction, very high gear tooth contact, and rolling rather than sliding contact between gear teeth. Our technology affords significant advantages over traditional planetary gearing systems including: very high torque, size and weight reductions, zero backlash, accurate back-and-forth actuation, low wear, superior efficiency, and low noise. Ikona Gear is presently focusing on developing business in the Aviation, Aerospace, Automotive, Industrial Machinery, Robotics, Oil and Gas and Wind energy sectors where its technological advances are most important. Ikona is traded over the counter on the NASD Bulletin Board, under the symbol "IKGI", and on the Frankfurt Exchange under the symbol "IG2".

Ikona Gear International, Inc. "Laith Nosh" Laith I. Nosh, President and CEO