Otis Elevator Company

Other

Scm Corporation

Staubli International Ag.

Vincent P Jalbert

Richard J Casler, Jr

Kenneth E Daggett

Eimei M Onaga

Booth Barrett L

A disposable dental flosser has a floss release feature that is operated with one hand. A movable section of a flosser provides a clamp that clamps one end of a length of floss. Deforming the movable section opens the clamp to release the end of the length of floss. The release of one end of the floss from the flossing device facilitates the easy removal of the floss from teeth.

Flossing apparatus with quick release

The present disclosure refers to an apparatus for flossing teeth having a handle with a fixed anchor point for holding one end of a length of dental floss that passes through an eyelet and is affixed to a breakaway anchor tab on a lever. Breaking the breakaway anchor tab releases one end of the floss so that it may be pulled through a space between teeth. An adjustment lever allows for the easy transition of the flossing loop from tight for the insertion process to slack to enable the flossing process. The guidelines for flossing require that the flossing loop should form the required 'C' shape around the base of the tooth.

Adjustable dental-floss apparatus

The present disclosure refers to a touchless and motion-sensing hand sanitizing dispenser that also engages a switch. In some embodiments the hand-sanitizing dispenser functions as a door-opening pushbutton for an automatic door system. The embodiment may be used with existing systems or configured for new installations.

Touchless sanitizing apparatus

A touchless and motion-sensing hand sanitizing dispenser that functions as an elevator call button. This invention is intended as a hallway call button retrofit device for existing systems, and it will also benefit both new and modernized installations. In addition to improving on public hygiene, this call system improves on the functionality of conventional call systems by obtaining a better estimate of the people waiting for the elevator in a given direction. This invention will also collect utilization and performance data for the elevator system.

Touchless sanitizing elevator button

Hall call apparatus for a low-cost, low rise simplex elevator, all disposed on the hoistway doors, include a slider 25 which is released by depression of a hall call button 21 so that it is pulled upwardly by a spring 49 until it engages a stop 50. A clapper 33 overtravels when the slider stops and contacts a bell 34 to provide an audible indication that a call is registered. Holes 23, 24 in the hoistway doors form a chevron-like pattern through which colored chevron-like stripes 28 on the slider will show, to provide a visual, directional indication of the registration of the call. A passive transmitter disposed on the slider passes through flux of a permanent magnet 30 to cause a unique RF signal transmission from an antenna 31 that is picked up by an antenna 71 on the elevator car to indicate the floor and direction of the requested hall call, which may simply be applied to the car operating panel to force a car call in order to answer the request for service at a given floor. The slider is rest downwardly by a stationary reset arm when the doors are fully opened, and held in a downward position by a latch 43 until subsequently being released by pushing the hall call button 21. Instead of RF signals, each bell 34 may have a different tone sensed by a microphone to distinguish the different floors and directions of hall calls requested. Flags 36, 37 may be sensed, when the slider is in the call registering position, by sensors 60, 61 disposed on the elevator car as a backup method of determining the presence of hall calls.

Passive hall fixtures mounted in elevator doors

An ultrasonic wave is propagated through a brake pad to determine various brake conditions including brake pad wear, brake status (engaged/disengaged), a wet brake failure or a brake drag failure. The propagation and reflection time of an echo signal generated at a far boundary of the pad is indicative of brake wear. Brake drum or disc speed is determined by using radial indicia on the periphery of the drum or disc to modulate an ultrasonic wave reflected from or transmitted through the drum or disc and demodulating the sensed modulated signal as a speed indication. The various other conditions are determined by means of filters, comparators and logic.

Active brake sensor

The invention prioritizes elevator service by an electronic lock and key circuit which uses a pre-existing capacitive touch button, an electronic key for receiving a 10 KHz first button pulse train from the face of the capacitive touch button and modulating said capacitive touch button pulse train with a signal of a preset frequency. A modulated first pulse train is provided back to the capacitive touch button face and an electronic lock for modulating a demodulated first pulse train received at the capacitive touch button face so as to provide a high priority hall call or a car call.

Elevator button improved to function as a lock

An electronic control or touch button, with no moving button parts and operated by sound absorption, including in a first embodiment (FIG. 1) a cylindrical, metal, outer casing (1) of comparable diameter to standard buttons. The casing holds a glass, ball-shaped button (2) serving as a sound transmitting medium, the exposed side of which serves as the button touch surface (3). Behind the ball-shaped button is a printed circuit board (4), carrying on it an integrated circuit (IC; 5), an ultrasound transducer (6), and a series of light emitting diodes (LED; 7). In operation the transducer routinely sends sound (or ultrasound) waves into the glass ball and then receives back the echoes of its transmission--in sonar fashion. If skin or other material comes into contact with the touch surface, some of the sound will be absorbed by the material, and the reduced echoes detected by the IC, which is analyzing the echoes. When the echoes are so reduced (compare upper and lower wave form traces in FIG. 4B), the IC then causes the electrical or electronic function controlled by the touch button to be activated (or deactivated, depending on the design, or otherwise altered). The LEDs then are activated, providing visual feedback to the button pusher. Additionally, tactile and/or audio feedback may be implemented. An exemplary circuit is illustrated in FIG. 3. A second embodiment (FIGS. 2 & 2A) uses a solid metal plate (11) having two button-like-configured depressions (13A & B) surrounded by two, concentric isolation rings (14A/14A & 14B/14B).

Electronic control button operated by sound absorption

The partitioning of circuitry and software on electronic boards in a robot control is arranged to enable respective controls for varied types of robots to be readily assembled and packaged with use of a few standard boards. The basic control system is formed from an arm interface (AIF) board and a torque processor (TP) board and a servo control (SCM) board. The AIF board has a VME bus terminated in multiple pin connectors for interconnection with the TP and SCM boards and any other boards or additional units to be included in a particular robot control. An AIF connector is also provided for TP board connection on a VMX bus. Robot controls with extended control performance are packaged by including additional boards. For example, the system control board includes a VME bus connector for connection to the AIF board to provide a robot control with higher control capacity. Input/output devices such as programmable controllers, peripherals such as CRTs, and supervisory computers can also be coupled to the control through AIF interconnectors. The AIF board contains robot dependent circuitry so that different AIF boards can be used to assemble different controls for different robots. For example, different board circuitry is used for absolute position feedback as opposed to incremental position feedback or for brush type DC motors are opposed to brushless DC motors.

Universal robot control board configuration

Encoding apparatus for a business machine includes a resilient striker for inducing diverging sound waves within a rod by impact with it at a given location. Transducers positioned along the rod on each side of the striker and at unequal distances from it, convert the sound wave fronts into a first and a second output signal having a predetermined time interval between them which is dependent upon the location of impact with the rod. The transducers are connected to a logic unit which includes an oscillator-driven binary counter. The first output signal starts the counter and subsequent arrival of the second output signal determines the elapsed time, the counter output at that instant being a binary code value usable for any desired purpose: control, display, etc. The encoding apparatus may be incorporated in a keyboard having a number of keys and a corresponding number of strikers differentially positioned along the rod such that each key produces output signals with a predetermined time interval between them and accordingly a unique binary code may be obtained upon actuation of each key.

Acoustic encoding apparatus

An encoding apparatus in which strikers actuated by the keys of a keyboard, for example, impact selected ones of a group of parallel bars (equivalent to sonic delay lines) at points substantially equally distant from single transducers located on each bar. A timer controls transfer of data signals--the transducer output of the bars--to a display, a printer, etc. The transfer includes storage in a multibit electronic latch.

Growing community of inventors

Middlebury, CT, United States of America

Vincent P Jalbert