Fisher Scientific Company

Allied Corporation

Other

Instrumentation Laboratory

Larry A Nelson

Leon W Schmidt

Thomas O Tiffany

Norman G Kelln

William A Mace

Hamid Keramaty

Gregory C Healey

Joseph C Magnotti

Gary C Lu

A bed includes a base, a frame supported on the base for relative movement about a horizontal pivot axis between raised and lowered positions, and a drive assembly for driving movement of the frame. The drive assembly includes a drive box supported on the base for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis parallel to the pivot axis of the frame, a motor supported in the drive box, a pair of laterally spaced sleeves supported in the drive box for rotation about horizontal axes that are perpendicular to the pivot axis of the frame, a pair of transmission elements connected between an output shaft of the motor and the sleeves for rotating the sleeves in unison with one another when the motor is operated, and a pair of screws supported in the sleeves for relative rotational movement. The screws each include a distal end that is secured to the frame for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to the pivot axis of the frame such that rotation of the sleeves in a first direction extends the screws, moving the frame toward the lowered, supine position, and rotation of the sleeves in the opposite direction retracts the screws, moving the frame toward the raised upright position. A wheel chair can also be used with the bed for allowing a person to be transferred directly from a seated upright position to the bed. The wheel chair includes a frame presenting wheels and a pair of depending feet that engage a platform of the bed. The platform includes a pair of apertures into which the wheels of the wheel chair drop when the wheel chair is rolled against the raised bed such that the wheel chair remains held against the bed frame as it is moved to the lowered supine position.

Bed apparatus

A cryptographic method and system based on chaos theory is provided. Unique random 64-bit binary strings generated from an iterative chaotic equation are used as logic and arithmetic operands during encryption/decryption. The random 64-bit binary strings are generated based on 4 initializer values that produce thousands of iterated values from the chaotic equation z.sub.t+1 =Z.sub.t.sup.2 +c, where z and c are complex numbers. The 64-bit random numbers are translated into two 32-bit keys so that each 32 bits of message are encrypted/decrypted, using a bitwise logic operator such as an exclusive-or, with a unique 32-bit key for the length of the message file. For additional security, a combination of logic and arithmetic operators are used on the 32-bit keys and the 32-bit blocks of message text to produce 32N-bit blocks of ciphertext, where N=2.sub.r and r.ltoreq.2. For any set of 4 initializer values, the lifetime, n, is the number of iterations of the equation Z.sub.t+1 =z.sub.t.sup.2 +c before divergence of the output to infinity, and the number of unique 32-bit keys is 4n, where n can be over 300,000 for a multitude of initializer values.

32N +D bit key encryption-decryption system using chaos

An analysis system of the concurrent type has a multicuvette unit supply station, a loading station, an analysis station, and transport mechanism for transporting cuvette units in correlated orientation between the several stations. Each cuvette unit includes mechanical interlock structure that cooperates with orientation structure at each of the several stations and with orientation structure carried by the transport mechanism so that continuity of cuvette orientation information is maintained throughout loading and concurrent analysis of the several samples in the cuvette unit.

Cuvette handling

An analysis system has a first region in which sample materials are stored at an appropriate storage temperature and an analysis region which is maintained at a controlled and stabilized temperature higher than the temperature of the first region. Transfer mechanism for transferring a quantity of sample material from the first region for loading into an analysis cuvette in the analysis region includes a liquid handling probe that is mounted on a probe transport carriage, and a drive for moving the transport carriage between the first and second regions. The transport carriage includes a storage chamber connected to the liquid handling probe, thermal energy supplying means in heat exchange relation with the storage chamber, and thermal sensor means carried by the transport carriage. Means responsive to the thermal sensor supplies thermal energy to the transport carriage to maintain the storage chamber at substantially the same temperature as the analysis region.

Liquid handling

An analysis system has a first storage area in which sample and reagent materials are stored at an appropriate storage temperature and a second (analysis) area which is maintained at a controlled and stabilized higher temperature at which the analysis is to be performed. A plurality of analysis cuvettes of long thermal time constant material are stored adjacent the second storage area for time intervals sufficient for those analysis cuvettes to be equilibrated to the analysis temperature. A transport mechanism in the second storage area is adapted to transport the equilibrated analytical cuvettes sequentially from the supply station to a load station, then to an analysis station and then to a used cuvette station, and a transfer mechanism is arranged for movement between the first and second storage areas for transferring quantities of sample and reagent from the first storage for loading into the equilibrated analytical cuvette at the loading station in the second storage area.

Analysis system

A multicuvette rotor for use in a centrifugal analyzer defines a circumferential array of elongated radially extending cuvettes. The rotor includes a one-piece body member of material that is transparent at analytical wavelengths and has a planar upper surface and defines a circumferential array of elongated cuvette recesses, and a one-piece cover member of similarly transparent material that has a planar lower surface parallel to the planar upper surface of the body member. A continuous seal extends around each cuvette recess between the planar upper and lower surfaces to define the circumferential array of analytical cuvettes. Each elongated cuvette defines a first chamber for receiving a first constituent with a loading port in the cover member through which the first constituent is introduced into the first chamber region, a second chamber region for receiving a second constituent with a loading port in the cover member through which the second constituent is introduced into the second chamber region, divider structure between the first and second chamber regions provides a transfer passage between the first and second chamber regions through which the first constituent may be flowed into the second chamber region for forming a reaction product with the second constituent, and structure defining an analysis region adjacent the radially outer wall of the cuvette where the resulting reaction product is subjected to analysis. Extending along the top of each sidewall of each cuvette between the loading ports of the first and second chamber regions is barrier structure that fills the junction between the cover and body members so that there is no capillary channel at that junction and premature mixing of the constituents due to wicking movement of a constituent stored in one of the chamber regions to the other chamber region along that junction is inhibited.

Analytical system

A multicuvette rotor for use in a centrifugal analyzer defines a circumferential array of elongated radially extending cuvettes. Each elongated cuvette defines a first chamber for receiving a first reactant and a loading port through which the first reactant is introduced into the first chamber region, a second chamber region for receiving a second reactant and a loading port through which the second reactant is introduced into the second chamber region, and divider structure between the first and second chamber regions that has a ramp surface and a ramp crest spaced from the ceiling surface of the cuvette so that a transfer passage between the first and second chamber regions is defined through which the first reactant may be flowed into the second chamber region for forming a reaction product with the second reactant. Deflector structure extends downwardly from the cuvette ceiling surface adjacent each second loading port, each deflector structure being located radially outwardly from a line extension of the ramp surface and having a lower end substantially in alignment with the ramp crest. An analysis region is defined adjacent the radially outer wall of the cuvette where the resulting reaction product is subjected to analysis.

Centrifugal analyzer rotors

A chemical analysis system for analyzing a plurality of independent specimens that have time varying characteristics includes a circumferential array of analysis regions that hold the specimens. The analytical regions are sequentially and repetitively sensed and resulting analysis signals corresponding to monitored specimen characteristics are stored in corresponding memory locations. A signal transmission channel connected between the sensor and the memory includes a signal storage capacitor and variable slew rate circuitry. The stored data signal value from the location in memory corresponding to the next analysis region to be sensed is applied to the signal transmission channel while the slew rate circuitry is set in a fast slew rate condition to preset the storage capacitor, and then the data signal generated by said sensor is applied to the signal transmission channel while the slew rate circuitry is set in a slow slew rate condition to adjust the data signal value in the storage capacitor to the current analysis signal value provided by the sensor.

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Spokane, WA, United States of America

Larry A Nelson