The United States of America

The United States of America As Represented by the Director of the

The United States of America As Represented by the Director, National

Donald Lee Knapp

Christopher Scott Anderson

Gary Sturgill Clevinger, Jr

Charles Forrest Mountford

A PCMCIA card connector that minimizes bent pins by employing a U-shaped outer guide rail, having a plurality of rigidly fixed pins, having at least one movable release pin, and having at least one alignment recess; a U-shaped inner guide rail, where the inside surface of the inner guide rail is shaped like a sideways flat-bottomed 'V,' having at least one alignment projection, and having a plurality of apertures; at least one guide spring; and at least one U-shaped release spring so that the PCMCIA card is aligned to the fixed pins of the connector prior to insertion of the pins into the PCMCIA card and the fixed pins are supported during insertion into the PCMCIA card.

PCMCIA card connector that minimizes bent contact pins

A female portion of an electrical connector that minimizes bending of electrical connector pins that are inserted therein by eliminating all flat surfaces on the face of the connector that meets the inserting pins. The connector has only curved surfaces on the face of the connector that meets the pins. The curved surfaces are created by opening holes in the connector that are wider than required for the pins. The holes are then tapered down to a size that snugly accommodates the pins. At the end of the taper, a hole, or shaft, extends through the connector so that the pins are accommodated snugly. The shaft is clad with conductive material so that the connector makes electrical contact with the pins.

Electrical connector that minimizes bent pins

A tamper-evident container is disclosed that can be reused a limited number of times with the tamper-evident feature for secure storage or transport of material. The container is made up of a base and a lid. The base has a hollow interior for holding material and an open top. The base also has a number of platform-like holders, each with a hole, that project perpendicular to and inwardly from the interior walls of the base. The holders are used in attaching the lid to the base. The lid is the same shape as the base (i.e., multisided, hexagonal, or circular). The lid contains frangible elements which outnumber the holders in the base. Each frangible element is made up of a shaft tipped with a cone. Frangibility of the element is achieved by dividing it into quadrants and scoring the base. Each element extends downward from the interior-top of the lid. A subset of the frangible elements align with the holders in the base. The container is closed when a subset of frangible elements engage with the holders. The lid and the base each have a built-in handle. The container is opened by pulling on the handles to separate the lid from the base. The frangible elements are broken when the container is opened. Tampering is defined as unauthorized opening. The container can be reused with this tamper-evident feature by rotating the lid with respect to the base so that another subset of unbroken frangible-elements align with the holders so that the container upon engagement of the new subset.

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Pasadena, MD, United States of America

Donald Lee Knapp