Smith & Nephew Donjoy, Inc.

Carttronics, Llc.

Other

Dj Orthopedics, LLC

Expertise Products, LLC

Hypoguard USA Inc.

Gps International Technologies, Inc.

Joseph Francis Nebolon

Cory Lee McCluskey

Charles A Bastyr

Jay S Means

Khang Nguyen

Paul T Kolen

David A Poirier

April A Marano-Ford

Robert D Adams

John R French

Netzer Ruperto

Dante Galli

Vance D Campbell, Jr

Sarah Joan Gardner

Patrick Chng

A passenger tracking system that combines fobs carried by passengers and a passenger detector that detects when a fob is nearby. The fobs are battery powered and consume very little power; therefore, they can be sealed and waterproof, and may last for years before replacement. A fob is asleep until awakened by a short-range magnetic field broadcast by the passenger detector. After awakening, the fob listens for an encrypted message from the passenger detector, and responds with an encrypted response that contains the fob's identity. Tracking is secure because a fob is completely invisible unless and until it receives a magnetic field of the correct frequency and time-varying pattern, and an encrypted request message from an authorized sender; responses are also encrypted so that listeners cannot discover the fob's identity. The system is suitable for example for tracking schoolchildren entering or exiting a school bus.

Low-power person tracking system that uses magnetic signals

Low-power, secure passenger tracking system

A thermal therapy device comprising a flexible, water-impermeable container containing a plurality of discrete, non-water-soluble hydrophillic absorbers, a hydrating liquid mixture comprising water, means for physically separating at least two adjacent absorbers thereby providing a means for preventing clumping, and a plurality of insulating members. The means for preventing clumping maintaining the pliability of the device in a frozen state after prolonged and extend cycles of freezing/thawing. A rigid storage container is also provided.

Thermal therapy device

A braking member for rotatable mounting on a wheel axle of a hand-driven wheeled vehicle such as a shopping cart has a first part having an opening for mounting on a wheel axle, and a second part releasably secured to the first part and having a braking surface adapted to engage the ground when the braking member is in an operative position. When the braking member becomes worn, the entire member does not have to be removed from the wheel or caster, but instead the second part is released from the first part while the first part remains on the wheel. The second part can only be released using a special tool which is provided to store personnel.

Braking shell for shopping cart security device

A locking system for stopping a shopping cart includes a caster that can be selectively disabled when the cart encounters an electronic barrier. The caster includes a brake that is mounted on the frame of the caster. Also mounted on the frame are two receivers for separately receiving different signals from an electronic barrier. Respective decoders on the frame decipher lock commands in the signals, and a controller selectively activates the brake to prevent further movement of the cart in response to the lock commands. The electronic barrier can include an underground loop antenna and an above-ground RF beacon.

Caster-lock with dual receivers

Systems and methods are provided for two-stage location. In one implementation, there is provided a method for receiving a first location of a first radio, the first radio providing the first location of the first radio; using the received first location to determine when to transmit an activation command from a portable locator to a second radio, the second radio coupled to the first radio; and receiving at the portable locator a beacon transmitted to enable the portable locator to precisely locate the second radio and the coupled first radio.

Two-stage location system

An anti-tilt device for impeding tilting or tipping of a hand-driven, wheeled vehicle has a rigid bracket for attachment to a selected wheel yoke or axle on an outer side of the wheel and a resilient brake shoe attached to a lower portion of the bracket and projecting downwardly from the bracket. The brake shoe has a lower surface for engaging the ground and providing a braking action if the vehicle is tilted or tipped. The brake shoe has a braking portion extending inwardly from the inner surface towards a wheel when the bracket is mounted on the wheel. The braking portion will engage the wheel and resist rotation of the wheel when the cart is tilted or tipped.

Shopping cart tilt and tip prevention device

A disposable, single use syringe comprised of a hollow body, a retractable needle assembly positioned in the hollow body, and a plunger assembly in the hollow body. The plunger assembly includes an elongated frame portion including at least one guide track between its ends. A retraction member is releasably secured to one end of the frame and a catch member, including a catch element, is positioned with a guide configured to travel in the plunger frame guide track. An elastic member extends between the retraction member and the catch member. A retention assembly depends from the opposite end of the plunger frame and is configured to receive and secure the catch element and thereby tension the elastic member. The needle assembly and the retraction member have complimentary mating members, whereby the tension on the elastic member is released and the injection means is drawn into the hollow body after the needle assembly and the retraction member mate. A method of manufacture is also provided.

Syringe with retractable needle assembly

An orthopaedic brace having a cuff formed as a single piece from bendable sheet material comprises a generally U-shaped: frame having a center segment and two extensions projecting from the ends of the center segment in a common direction. The center segment has a reduced stiffness as compared to the extensions to permit the center segment to be more readily shaped to conform to the body part of a wearer. A molded one-piece covering, such as a thermoplastic material, forms a continuous covering surrounding portions of the cuff. The cuff may be fabricated by stamping it from a sheet of metal, such as aluminum, or a composite material. By forming the sheet such that it has a variable thickness along one edge thereof, the center segment may be formed by the portion of the sheet having reduced thickness, while the extensions may be formed from the remainder of the sheet.

Orthopaedic brace having one-piece cuff

An orthopaedic brace having a cuff formed as a single piece from bendable sheet material comprises a generally U-shaped frame having a center segment and two extensions projecting from the ends of the center segment in a common direction. The center segment has a reduced stiffness as compared to the extensions to permit the center segment to be more readily shaped to conform to the body part of a wearer. A molded one-piece covering, such as a thermoplastic material, forms a continuous covering surrounding portions of the cuff. The cuff may be fabricated by stamping it from a sheet of metal, such as aluminum, or a composite material. By forming the sheet such that it has a variable thickness along one edge thereof, the center segment may be formed by the portion of the sheet having reduced thickness, while the extensions may be formed from the remainder of the sheet.

A cost-effective, high heat capacity thermal therapy device is described. The therapy device includes a plurality of discrete hydrophilic absorbers hydrated with a liquid containing a substantial amount of water. The water-retention mechanism of the discrete hydrophilic absorbers allows the water to freeze under normal freezer conditions (-20.degree. F.), to 32.degree. F., increasing the heat capacity of the therapy device. At the same time, the therapy device remains highly pliable when frozen as a result of reduced water flow out of the absorbers during the freezing process. The therapy device also remains highly pliable through repeated freezing/melting cycles because the discrete absorbers do not lose their discrete forms when thawed.

Thermal therapy devices and methods of making the same

Knee brace shell

A method is provided for prefitting a stiffened member to a curved body having a geometry approximatable by a cone. Two points are initially selected on the surface of the body which also lie on two different planes passing through the body, such that the intersection of the surface and the planes defines two closed curves. A cone is approximated based on parameters relating to the curves and the selected points. A three-dimensional pattern of a stiffened member is then superimposed onto the conical surface at a modeling position corresponding to the desired placement position of the member on the body. The geometry and dimensions of the pattern are mathematically specified relative to the conical surface and the specifications provide a model for fabricating the prefitted stiffened member.

Method for prefitting an orthotic member to the body

A hinge assembly is provided for an orthopedic brace having a rotatable hinge and a detent mechanism to automatically, yet releasably, lock the hinge in a fixed position of rotation. The hinge includes two rotatably attached members and the detent mechanism includes an indentation formed in the attached end of one member and a block pivotally mounted on the other member. The block has a locking projection that is biased toward the indentation and cooperates therewith to provide three positions of operation, a locked position, a release position, and an activated position. In the locked position, the locking projection fittingly engages the indentation, thereby substantially preventing rotation of the hinge. The release position displaces the locking projection a radial distance away from the indentation, thereby permitting the hinge to rotate freely. In the activated position, the block disengages the indentation and maintains an angular distance therefrom so that the detent mechanism does not obstruct rotation of the hinge, but enables automatic repositioning of the hinge assembly to the locked position whenever the locking projection and indentation angularly realign.

Detent mechanism for a hinged orthopedic brace

An orthopedic brace for supporting a joint has a plurality of compliant support components, including a hinged shell of stiffened elastic material and at least one supple support strap engaging the brace at two points on opposite sides of the hinge to stabilize the weakened joint throughout its range of motion, The shell has a pair of cuffs adapted to engage the body adjacent to the joint and connected to one another across a rotatable hinge by arms integrally extending from the cuffs, The support strap is adjustable in length enabling the user to modify the support strap tension, and consequently the degree of support the brace provides to the joint.

Growing community of inventors

Del Mar, CA, United States of America

Joseph Francis Nebolon