Other

Xerox Corporation

Becton Dickinson and Company Limited

The Boeing Company

Paul D Hansen

Sheldon F Raizes

Daniel Lee Schwarz

Garrett B DeCerce

Frederick Pierre Dimpfel

William J Schmidt, Jr

Charles C Hart

John R Brustad

Mark Philip Ashby

Said S Hilal

Louis J Bailey

Lee L Swanstrom

Robert W Mead

Joseph Zappel

Bounsavanh Pravongviengkham

Jeff Cross

Ferdinando Dijkstra

Michael D Rumsey

Keith Johnson

William D Barton

A human-powered watercraft may include a frame, a forward hydrofoil attached to the frame, and a first rear hydrofoil attached to a first strut with the first strut rotatably attached to the frame at a pivot point and the first rear hydrofoil configured to pivot about a rear end of the first strut. The human-powered watercraft may also include a second rear hydrofoil attached to a second strut with the second strut rotatably attached to the frame at the pivot point and parallel to the first strut and the second rear hydrofoil configured to pivot about a rear end of the second strut and a tension system coupled between the first strut and the second strut. The tension system allows the first strut and second strut to move in a generally stair-stepping manner which causes the first rear hydrofoil and the second rear hydrofoil to propel the human-powered watercraft forward.

Human-powered watercraft

A sustainable linear sound-deadening board with a tongue and groove design, which allows multiple boards to connect linearly and giving a both clean and attractive appearance. The board is effective in reducing reverberation within a room as well as acting to improve the soundproofing aspect of undesired sound leaking from one room to another. The board can be made from reused or biodegradable materials thus creating a device that is both cost-effective and less harmful to the environment.

Sound control system

A method of providing meteorological data for aeronautical use. The method includes collecting data from a plurality of data sources, processing the data to determine current meteorological conditions of a current location of an aircraft in an airspace, and providing the current meteorological conditions to the aircraft and other users as appropriate, such as airline operations centers, air navigation service providers, and national weather service providers. Based on current aircraft behavior data and guidance systems design, beneficial wind and meteorological data can be established for a given flight and its cleared route and descent path.

Determining current meteorological conditions specific to an aircraft

An improved system and method for stirring suspended solids in a liquid media to enhance sample growth and improve sample detection results. The system and method employs a sample vessel holder which adapted to receive at least one sample vessel which contains the solids and liquid media and a stirrer, such as a ferrous metal filled stirrer, and maintain the sample vessel in a position such that the longitudinal axis of the sample vessel extends at an angle substantially less than 90 degrees with respect to the horizontal, such as within the range of about 15 degrees to about 25 degrees with respect to the horizontal. The system and method further employs a magnet driver, adapted to move a magnet, such as a rare earth magnet, proximate to an outer surface of the sample vessel to permit the magnet to impose a magnetic influence on the stirrer to move the stirrer in the sample vessel. Specifically, the magnet driver is adapted to move and, specifically, rotate the magnet such that the magnetic influence moves the stirrer along a side wall of the sample vessel. The magnet driver is further adapted to move the magnet away from said outer surface of the sample vessel to allow gravity to move the stirrer toward the bottom of the sample vessel. This technique therefore provides a more gentle and controlled stirring of the suspended solution.

System and method for stirring suspended solids in a liquid media

System for stirring growth medium

A catheter includes an introducer and a flow isolator adapted for disposition in a primary conduit to facilitate flow in the primary conduit while inhibiting flow and intersecting secondary conduits. The flow isolator may include a tubular mesh and surrounding balloon structure. Alternatively, a sleeve can be provided with a primary opening and a secondary opening which are sized to inflate the sleeve with the body fluid. Structures for deploying the sleeve between a low-profile state and high-profile state may include expandable fingers, or pneumatic chambers inflatable from an external source. In operation the sleeve can be forced by the body fluid against the intersection with the secondary conduits to achieve isolation. Alternatively, the pneumatic chambers can be inflated to form seals with the primary conduit. A blood filter or snare is contemplated to filter any blood clots which may develop around the flow isolator.

Perfusion-isolation catheter apparatus and method

The present invention provides a supporting spindle and shipping system for shipping hard magnetic disks from the point of manufacture to the final assembly point where those disks are incorporated into a hard disk drive for computer use. The spindle is designed to be outwardly expanding to capture and hold the hard disks only by the central hole of each disks such that no disk comes into contact with any other disk. The loaded spindle is then inserted into a shipping tube that has end openings and an interior region where the smallest dimension is considerably larger than the diameter of the disks to be housed within the shipping tube. The spindle is supported within the closed shipping tube by the end caps of the shipping tube so that none of the disks on the spindle come into contact with the interior of the shipping tube. The shipping tube can also be formed to have an exterior shape that facilitates stacking of the shipping tubes. The shipping tube and the end pieces are each made of the same material to minimize the possibility of the creation of contamination within the shipping tube during closure and shipment of the loaded tube. Additionally, an air tight fitting can be proved in one of the end caps to permit the evacuation of the air within the closed shipping tube, and also charging the shipping tube with an inert gas if desired.

Magnetic hard disk transportation system and method

A single tray or multi tray sheet feed system is provided. A sensor is provided to sense the sheets leaving from the single tray or multi tray system. If the paper weight of sheets of paper on a tray fall within a first range of paper weight values, the sensor is designed to have a first given voltage response condition for sensing these sheets and if the paper weight of the sheets falls within a second range of paper weight values the sensor is designed to have a second given voltage response condition for sensing the latter sheets. A current value supplied to the emitter of the sensor can be controlled to provide the desired voltage response or a resistance in a phototransistor collector circuit can be varied to provide the desired voltage response condition. If the first range of paper weight values is lighter than the second range of paper weight values, the sensor, when in the first given voltage response condition, will have a voltage response, when sensing a sheet of a given paper weight, which is higher than the voltage response when the same sensor senses a sheet of the same paper weight, when the sensor is in the second given voltage response condition. A voltage response value sensed by the sensor of the first sheet fed from a tray is stored in memory as the voltage response value for all sheets on that particular tray. The voltage response value sensed by the same sensor of subsequent sheets fed from that particular tray is compared with the voltage response value in memory to detect a multi sheet feed from the tray.

Single tray and multi tray misfeed detector with voltage response

The sheets in each tray of a multi tray sheet feeder are of the same thickness, but the sheets in one tray may be of a different thickness than the sheets in another tray. The sheets are fed from each sheet feeder tray to an intermediate stacker and then to a printer. A first sensor is provided just prior to entry of a sheet into the intermediate stacker and a second sensor is provided to sense a sheet as it is fed from the intermediate stacker. If the paper weight of sheets of paper on a tray fall within a first range of paper weight values, each sensor is designed to have a first given voltage response condition when sensing those sheets and if the paper weight of the sheets falls within a second range of paper weight values each sensor is designed to have a second given voltage response condition sensing the latter sheets. A current value supplied to the emitter of a sensor can be controlled to provide the desired voltage response or a resistance in a phototransistor collector circuit can be varied to provide the desired voltage response condition. If the first range of paper weight values is lighter than the second range of paper weight values, each sensor, when in the first given voltage response condition, will have a voltage response, when sensing a sheet of a given paper weight, which is higher than the voltage response when the same sensor senses a sheet of the same paper weight, when each sensor is in the second given voltage response condition. The first sensor is placed in a proper voltage response condition to sense the thickness of a sheet that has been fed from a particular tray and that thickness value is compared with a single sheet thickness value, sensed by the first sensor when in the same voltage response condition, that has been placed in memory for the sheets on that particular tray to detect a multi sheet feed from the tray. The sheet then enters the intermediate stacker. When the same sheet is fed from the intermediate stacker, it is sensed by the second sensor. The second sensor is placed in the same voltage response condition as the first sensor when it sensed the same sheet and the thickness value sensed by the second sensor is compared with the thickness value sensed of the same sheet by the first sensor to detect a multi sheet feed from the intermediate stacker.

Multi tray and buffer tray misfeed detector with voltage response

A sheet feed sensor is designed to have a first given voltage response condition for sensing sheets within a first range of paper weight values and a second given voltage response condition for sensing sheets within a second range of paper weight values. A current value supplied to the emitter of the sensor can be controlled to provide the desired voltage response or a resistance in a phototransistor collector circuit can be varied to provide the desired voltage response condition. If the first range of paper weight values is lighter than the second range of paper weight values, the sensor, when in the first given voltage response condition, will have a voltage response, when sensing a sheet of a given paper weight, which is higher than the voltage response when the same sensor senses a sheet of the same paper weight, when the sensor is in the second given voltage response condition. This way the difference between a voltage response at the phototransistor for a single sheet and a voltage response for two sheets, each of the same paper weight as the single sheet, fed through the sensor is large enough throughout all paper weight ranges to obviate the possibility of voltage response overlap.

Misfeed detector with voltage response adjustment

The invention relates to an apparatus for detecting sheet misfeed from a tray having at least two sheets whose thickness differs from each other. The thickness of each sheet is detected as it enters into the tray and that value is placed in memory. The thickness of each sheet is detected as it leaves the tray and that value of each sheet is compared to the thickness value in memory for the same sheet when it entered into the tray. If the values match, then only one sheet has been fed from the tray. If the thickness value of the sheet as it leaves the tray is more that the thickness value in memory, then that indicates that more than one sheet has left the tray and a signal is produced which results in the sheet feed system being shut down to enable an operator to correct the situation.

Misfeed detector for a stack of different weight sheets

The thickness of a first sheet fed from each tray of the multi-tray sheet feeder is detected by a first sensor and a thickness value is placed in memory for that tray. Each sheet subsequently fed from the same tray is detected by the same sensor and the thickness value sensed is placed in memory and compared with the thickness value in memory for that tray. When a tray is reloaded, the thickness value in memory for the sheets previously loaded in the tray is erased and the first sheet fed from the reloaded tray is sensed and a thickness value for that sheet is placed in memory for the reloaded tray. After the thickness value of a sheet is sensed by the first sensor, the sheets enter into the intermediate tray. The thickness value of a sheet is detected by an outlet sensor as it leaves the intermediate sheet tray and that value is compared to the thickness value in memory which was detected for the same sheet by the first sensor. During the comparison steps, if the values match, then only one sheet has passed through a sensor. If the thickness value sensed is more that the thickness value in memory, then that indicates that more than one sheet has passed through the sensor and the system is shut down to enable an operator to correct the situation or the offending sheets can be sent to a purge tray at the printer without shutting down the system.

Misfeed detector for multi-tray and intermediate tray sheet feeders

A latching mechanism for affixing a first item to a second item includes a male latching portion affixed to the first item, and a cavity defined within the second item disposed to receive the male latching portion. The male latching portion includes a tongue affixed to, and extending outward from, the surface of the end of the first item that is to abut the surface of the end of the second item when the first item is affixed to the second item. The tongue of the male latching portion defines a spring finger therewithin having one end thereof affixed to the end of the tongue closest to the surface of the end of the first item and extends outward therefrom surrounded by the sides and end of the tongue. The spring finger has at its free end a locking tooth that extends downward from the tongue to be captured within the cavity of the second item.

Latching mechanism with integral key member

A tooth brush with a handle portion in the shape of a bent trapezoid and a head portion affixed thereto, and a latch mechanism to affix two items to each other. The tail region is affixed to one end of the main body region and angled upward with respect to the main body region. The 'S' shaped region is affixed to the other end of the main body region with an upper and a lower curved indentation to form the 'S'. The surfaces of the 'S' shaped region that form the 'S' are extensions of the top and bottom surfaces of the main body region. Finally, the head portion is affixed to the proximate end of the 'S' shaped region, with the head portion having bristles affixed thereto in a selected pattern. The latching mechanism for affixing a first item to a second item includes a male latching portion affixed to the first item, and a cavity defined within the second item disposed to receive the male latching portion. The male latching portion includes a 'U' shaped body with the top of each leg of the ' U' being affixed to, and extending outward from, the surface of the end of the first item that is to abut the surface of the end of the second item when the first item is affixed to the second item. The male latching portion also includes a spring finger having one end thereof affixed to the same surface to which the legs of the 'U' shaped body are affixed and extends outward therefrom between the legs of the 'U' shaped body. The spring finger has at its other end a locking tooth that extends outward from between the legs of the 'U' shaped body to be captured within the cavity of the second item.

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Paul D Hansen