Alopex Industries, Inc.

Other

Glaxo Australia Pty., Ltd.

Autarkic Flow Controls

Paul Greskovics

Donald R Chivens

J Jesus Alanis

Maria L Magre

George R Magre

Stephen G Hauser

Warren R Jewett

Edward C Kelm

Charles K Waterson

Brian R Heidsiek

Richard C Blanchard

Personal Spirometer

An improved safety device is provided for protecting medical personnel and the like against needle stick injuries and/or exposure to communicable diseases or other harmful agents. The safety device comprises an elongated protective sleeve supported by front and rear bearing members for sliding movement about a medical needle and its associated support structure, such as a support hub or barrel. The protective sleeve is slidable in a stable manner from a first position with the pointed end of the needle safely retracted within and shielded by the front bearing member to a second position with the needle projecting through and beyond the front bearing member for normal use. After use, the sleeve is slidable to a third position derailing the pointed needle end from the front bearing member, and exposing a visual indicator to indicate that the needle has been used. Closure flaps associated with the front bearing member positively prevent needle reinsertion through the front bearing member, and thereby prevent accidental or unauthorized needle re-use. Detent members interacting between the rear bearing member and the needle support structure releasably lock the protective sleeve in the various positions.

Safety device for medical needles

An improved safety syringe is provided to prevent access to or re-use of a used medical needle. The safety syringe includes a support member for mounting a medical needle on a syringe barrel of the type having a reciprocal sliding piston carried therein. When the syringe is used, the piston is advanced to a position engaging the support member. Subsequent retraction of the piston withdraws the support member and medical needle to a safety position within the syringe barrel. In the preferred form, the needle is withdrawn through a narrow needle aperture into the syringe barrel interior, thereby substantially preventing access to the needle or re-insertion through the aperture for re-use.

Safety syringe

A water-driven scrubber device is used particularly in scrubbing wall and floor surfaces of a swimming pool or the like. The scrubber device comprises a compact housing adapted for connection to a supply of water under pressure and encasing a water-driven turbine wheel in combination with reduction gear elements for rotatively driving removable scrubber members, such as brushes. In one operational mode, a mounting yoke is carried by the housing for connection to a standard pool service utility pole to manipulate the scrubber device over pool surfaces, wherein the mounting yoke can be installed on the housing in either of two positions to permit or prevent pivoting motion relative to the housing, as desired. A retractable stabilizer wheel is also provided on the housing to facilitate accurate and smooth movement of the scrubber device over pool surfaces. In another operational mode, a portion of the housing defines a handle for easy grasping and direct manual movement of the scrubber device over pool surfaces.

Pool scrubber device

Filter bag for swimming pool cleaners

An improved fixture and related method are provided for making spiral wound hose from elongated strips of thermoplastic material. The fixture includes feed rollers for spirally winding inner and outer interlocking strips from opposite directions onto a rotating mandrel. As the strips are wound together, a laser integrally fuses the strips to each other along a continuous line of contact to form an elongated hose. Rotating channeled guide rollers are spaced circumferentially about the mandrel to advance the formed hose continuously off the mandrel.

Fixture and method for making spiral wound hose

An improved pool cleaner is provided of the type for submerged random travel generally along the floor and sidewalls of a swimming pool to dislodge and collect debris. The pool cleaner comprises an hydraulically contoured housing consisting of a limited number of shell shaped housing portions designed for rapid assembly about an integrated drive assembly having a water-powered drive train encased within the housing and rotatable wheels outside the housing for supporting and driving the pool cleaner. Water under pressure is supplied through a water supply mast detachably mounted on the housing for flow into a pressure manifold from which individual water flows are coupled through appropriately sized nozzles to drive a water turbine of the drive train and through a plurality of jet pump orifices opening generally upwardly about the inner diameter of an open central suction mast through which debris is drawn upwardly into a collection bag. In addition, water from the pressure manifold may be directed through a rearwardly open thrust jet positioned for improved cleaner stability and a rearwardly open sweep hose jet coupled to a flexible sweep hose. A back up valve assembly is mounted within the housing and includes an hydraulic timer responsive to a small bleed flow from the supply mast to periodically divert the pressurized water inflow to a back up jet oriented to drive the cleaner rearwardly and/or upwardly for a short time interval thereby preventing entrapment of the cleaner in a confined region of the pool such as a corner.

Pool cleaner

An improved collection bag is provided for mounting onto a swimming pool cleaner of the type for traveling along submerged pool surfaces to dislodge and collect debris, wherein the improved collection bag is designed particularly for use in collecting relatively large debris, such as leaves, twigs, and the like. The collection bag is formed from relatively open mesh fabric to have a generally L-shaped configuration including a generally upright forward leg defining a lower open mouth for mounting onto the discharge end of a pool cleaner suction mast, and blending at its upper end with a generally horizontal rear leg releasably suspended from a water supply hose for the pool cleaner by a suspension strap. In use, water and debris suctioned by the pool cleaner flow upwardly into a forward flow chamber within the bag, with the debris guiding rearwardly incident to forward travel of the pool cleaner into a rear collection chamber within the bag rear leg for collection and storage. A split seam generally at the rear of the collection bag and defined, for example, by separable Velcro-type fastener strips may be opened to permit debris removal from the collection chamber without requiring bag removal from the pool cleaner.

Debris collection bag for pool cleaners

A flow control valve assembly is provided for timing and regulating fluid flow from a valve inlet to primary and secondary fluid flow outlets. The valve assembly comprises a regulator valve which, upon initiation of fluid flow to the valve assembly, is spring-biased to open the primary and secondary outlets and to modulate the primary outlet flow in a manner maintaining the secondary outlet flow at a predetermined minimum fluid pressure. Upon elapse of a predetermined time interval, a timer assembly responsive to the secondary outlet flow triggers an alteration in the spring bias acting on the regulator valve to permit fluid pressure at the valve inlet to shift the regulator valve to a position closing the secondary outlet and fully opening the primary outlet for the remaining time of a fluid flow cycle. When fluid flow through the valve assembly is halted, a return spring resets the regulator valve to its initial state. In a preferred operating environment, the valve inlet is coupled to the discharge side of a swimming pool circulation pump which draws pool water through a filter unit. The primary outlet of the valve assembly is coupled to a return conduit for recycling filtered water to the swimming pool, and the secondary outlet is coupled to a water-powered in-the-pool cleaning device. During a normal filtration cycle, the valve assembly initially supplies water to the cleaning device at a predetermined minimum pressure for a selected time interval and then automatically switches state to halt operation of the cleaning device and to recirculate filtered water to the pool through the return conduit.

Growing community of inventors

Manhattan Beach, CA, United States of America

Paul Greskovics