National Research Development Corporation

Brunel University

Thomas Bolton & Johnson Limited

Heinz Siegfried Wolff

David W Hawes

Robert M Abrams

John P Royston

Eleanor Ann Tinnion

Felicity Ann Jowitt

Simon J Humphrey

A device for collecting urine includes a container kept at vacuum, an interface locatable at the urethral opening of a person and a pump operable to create a vacuum within the container. A sensor senses the presence of urine at the interface and opens a valve to allow the pumping of urine from the interface to the container.

Urine collection device

A fire sprinkler has a flow passage for water or other extinguishing fluid closed by a frangible body, which may be a simple disc. A separate mechanism responsive to temperature-rise conditions shatters the frangible body, and the fluid then flows from the passage to impinge on a distributor (as in conventional sprinklers). The shattering mechanism is preferably actuated by a shape-memory alloy, preferably in sheet form, which can be located below the distributor for maximum exposure to radiant as well as convective heat; it can also be thermally insulated, contributing further to speed of response.

Fire sprinklers with frangible body closing a flow passage and separate

Temperature readings from a thermistor 16 can be recorded in a counter 20 by means of a self-balancing bridge 17 when gate 15 is open for the same four hours of each day. Clock 10 is set to initiate the four hour period at say 06.00 hrs. so that the body temperature measurement is taken after waking but before rising. Measurements for the first three days of the menstrual cycle are rejected (19) and for the next eight days are accummulated in a store 22. These measurements are subject to a diurnal correction 21 to reduce them to the temperature at the beginning of the 4 hour period. The mean of eight readings is determined (23) and subsequent readings compared (24) with the mean. A Cusum statistical test is then applied to determine the beginning of the infertile period signalled by a rise in body temperature and produce a corresponding display 27.

Measurement of basal body temperature

Growing community of inventors

London, United Kingdom

Heinz Siegfried Wolff