Other

Apogee Designs, Ltd.

Life Technologies Corporation

Restorative Therapies, Inc.

Robert W Flesher

Kevin J Barnes

Robert W Blakesley

Robert William Lynn

Michael D Monteleone

Susan Jill Harkema

Michael W Schuette

Peter Jihoon Kim

Mark S Berninger

Hallgrim Sagen

Andrew Bruce Barriskill

Finn Helge Lunde

Scott Simcox

Tony Mines

Stephen Bretherton

Kevin T Barnes

Michael DeManche

Daneel Robert Klanderman

Peter Pistilli

A therapeutic muscle exercise device for assisting subjects in maintaining and regaining muscle tone through the use of functional electrical stimulation has an extremity support and a functional electrical stimulation controller. The extremity support is mounted on a mobile support which allows the device to be easily used when the subject is laying on a bed.

Supine cycle

Endpoint for videoconference

A fastener includes a round, blind hole or pocket in its head. Installation and removal of the fastener is accomplished with a tool containing an eccentric segment on the end of a shaft. When rotated within the pocket, the eccentric segment displaces laterally relative to the shaft to provide a friction grip to the lateral wall of the pocket. The strength of the grip is proportional to the applied torque. Eccentric displacement allows rotation but prevents the tool from spinning out of the fastener thereby eliminating cam-out and surface damage resulting from contact with a spinning tool tip. The eccentric head of the tool can be made disposable and to shear off when a predetermined torque is reached. The smooth-sided round hole offers no purchase for commonly available tools; making the fastener tamper-resistance. In another embodiment, the fastener includes a raised portion in the pocket. A tool having a complementary opening shears off the raised portion at a predetermined torque.

Tamper-resistant fastener and method and tool for use with same

Torque-setting, tamper-resistant fastener and method and tool for use with same

A collapsible container includes a substantially rectangular plastic base, a first plastic wall coupled by a first hinge to a first edge of the base, and a second plastic wall coupled by a second hinge to a second edge of the base opposite the first edge of the base. A first corrugated element is folded to form a first corrugated floor portion and a first corrugated wall portion, wherein the first corrugated floor portion is attached to the base so that the first corrugated wall portion is positioned between and adjacent to the first and second plastic walls. The first corrugated wall portion mates with a first lip of the first plastic wall and a first lip of the second plastic wall. Similarly, a second corrugated element is folded to form a second corrugated floor portion and a second corrugated wall portion, wherein the second corrugated floor portion is attached to the base so that the second corrugated wall portion is positioned between and adjacent to the first and second plastic walls, and opposite said first corrugated wall portion. The second corrugated wall portion mates with a second lip of the first plastic wall and a second lip of the second plastic wall. When the container is in a collapsed position, the first and second corrugated wall portions are folded in toward the base, and the first and second plastic walls are folded in toward the base and over the folded-in first and second corrugated wall portions.

Collapsible container

A one-piece, dual-material suction cup includes an inner face having a concave shape when the cup is inactive (that is, unattached to a surface) and an outer portion having a convex shape when the cup is inactive. The inner and outer portions are formed from different elastic materials. The characteristics of the outer material are selected to exhibit relatively high memory, elasticity and recovery to provide a biasing force on the inner face of the cup to increase the vacuum and enhance attachment. The characteristics of the inner material are selected to exhibit conformity, compliance and softness as compared to the outer material. Such characteristics enhance mating and sealing with a surface to which the cup is to be attached. The inner and outer portions are permanently bonded together to form the one-piece suction cup.

One-piece, dual-material suction cup

A compact, low cost, automated electrophoresis apparatus provides for the optical detection of multiple DNA samples. A substantially cylindrical gel cartridge houses multiple sample lanes that are sealed on the outer periphery by a shrink tube, which allows for straightforward gel casting, as well as for the pre-casting of sequencing gels. The radial column design of the gel cartridge also facilitates the use of a light source to illuminate one or more sample lanes at the same time. The radial column design further provides for an increased sample lane depth that allows for reading through a greater optical path length of the migrated samples, yielding greater optical signal strength, and an increased signal to noise ratio. The gel lanes can be designed to vary in depth as a function of longitudinal length, allowing for a variable current density. Additionally, this radial design allows for different types of optical detection techniques to be performed on the sample, including transmittance and fluorescence. A system of cooling channels incorporated into the radial column design allows for a coolant to be recirculated in the cooling channels between the actual running sample lanes for better lane-to-lane thermal control. This cooling system allows higher operating voltages and facilitates the use of multiple thermal zones, as required, for instance, for single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) applications.

Electrophoresis sequencing apparatus

A pipettor operable by a lateral pushing movement of a thumb of a user. The pipettor includes an ergonomically designed non-tubular body that has an operating surface and a supporting surface. The body of the pipettor is configured to be grasped between the thumb placed on the operating surface and at least one finger placed on the supporting surface in an opposing manner. The pipettor includes one or more fluid pick-up means disposed in the body of the pipettor for drawing a calibrated volume of fluid into the pipette tip. The fluid pick-up means is operable by the lateral pushing movement of the thumb against the operating surface of the body of the pipettor. Dispensing means is provided for dispensing the calibrated volume of fluid from the pipette tip. The dispensing means is operable by the lateral pushing movement of the thumb against the operating surface. A tip holder is coupled to the body and is configured to mate with a pipette tip. Ejecting means for ejecting the pipette tip from the tip holder is disposed in the body of the pipettor. A pipetting apparatus is also disclosed that provides for simultaneously performing multiple pipetting operations.

Micro-pipettor apparatus

An autoradiography cassette maintains a sample in close contact with a film and prevents extraneous light from exposing the film. The cassette includes a substantially flat base plate and two flexible magnetic sheets. A first flexible magnetic sheet is attached to the base plate by rivets. The rivets allow the first magnetic sheet to move relative to the base plate in a plane defined by the base plate. A second flexible magnetic sheet is positioned above the first magnetic sheet to magnetically couple with the first magnetic sheet. The rivets allow relative lateral movement between the base plate and the magnetic sheets to account for differences in the coefficients of thermal expansion for the base plate and the magnetically coupled flexible magnetic sheets.

Autoradiography cassette

A pipettor assembly includes a pipettor and a pipette tip. In one embodiment, the pipettor has a tubular body which defines a hollow central bore. The central bore is closed at a first end and open at a second end. A cutout penetrates a side wall of the body near the second end to expose the central bore. A resilient, flexible member sealably covers the cutout. The pipette tip is coupled to the second end of the pipettor. A liquid is drawn into the pipette tip by depressing and then releasing the flexible member. A liquid is expelled by depressing the flexible member. In another embodiment, the pipettor has an elongated body with an air passage between the second and a side portion of the body. A flexible membrane is sealably attached to the side portion of the body. A deflection of the flexible membrane will cause a change in the volume of the air passage for picking-up and expelling liquids from the pipette tip.

Micro-pipettor assembly

For collecting a batch of liquid samples, such as in the laboratory testing of body fluids, there is provided a collecting sheet having an array of resiliently deflectable fingers formed in the sheet. The fingers can be deflected out of the plane of the sheet to dip into respective liquid containers such as wells in a microtiter plate so as to absorb liquid samples therefrom. When released, the fingers snap back into the plane of the sheet retaining the liquid samples therein.

Liquid collecting apparatus for sample testing

A protective cover for vehicles is disclosed, wherein a flexible material having a magnetic base portion with a resilient top portion laminated thereto is cut in segments to conform to a portion of an exterior body surface of a vehicle. More than one segment is placed adjacent to each other in side by side relation to provide a protective cover for a vehicle. The vehicle may be any known type of vehicle, and the protective cover may be cut to cover any portion of the vehicle where protection is desired. Indicia may be disposed upon at least one segment of the protective cover, and the resilient top portion is preferably visually distinct from magnetic base portion for ease of assembly. A plurality of spaced grooves are provided across the magnetic base portion of each segment so that moisture may pass beneath the flexible material, while the segments are removably secured to the vehicle.

Protective cover for vehicles

A vertical gel electrophoresis apparatus featuring a support plate mounted in a buffer solution container, the support plate securing a gel assembly in position and dividing the container into two laterally juxtaposed isolated chambers. The support plate includes two vertical support members which are mounted along opposite vertical sides of the container, and an integral support member mounted along the bottom of the container. A face is cut in each vertical support member to receive opposite vertical edges of a gel assembly. The integral bottom support member includes a face terminating at flanges proximate the vertical support members. The bottom edge of the gel assembly rests on the flanges over the face of the integral bottom support member. The gel assembly is sealed against the integral bottom support member isolating the top opening of the gel assembly from the bottom opening and the gel assembly effectively separates the container into two chambers with the bottom opening being exposed in one electrically charged chamber and the top opening being exposed in the other electrically charged chamber of the opposite polarity.

Vertical gel electrophoresis apparatus having universal gel assembly

An apparatus provides for casting a gel and for presenting the gel for electrophoresis. The apparatus comprises a casting tray and the casting plate which combine to form a mold for the gelable liquid, and an electrophoresis tank in which the electrophoresis process occurs. The floor of the electrophoresis tank rises to form the plate pedestal upon which the casting plate rests during electrophoresis. The floor of the electrophoresis tank forms a cavity at the edges of the plate pedestal in which the casting tray rests during the electrophoresis process. The casting plate is first firmly seated in the bottom of the casting tray forming a mold for the gelable liquid. The gelable liquid is poured into the mold. The comb is placed in the comb slots so as to form wells in the gel. The gelable liquid is allowed to gel, and the comb is removed. The material to undergo electrophoresis is placed in the wells left by the comb. The entire assembly is then placed and aligned on the plate pedestal. The casting tray is then pushed down into the casting tray well. Electrophoresis buffer sufficient to fill the tank to approximately the top of the gel is then poured into the electrophoresis tank. An alternate embodiment is shown.

Growing community of inventors

Baltimore, MD, United States of America

Robert W Flesher