Abstract: Disclosed is an invention relating to golf tees on practice ranges and more particularly to the construction of a golf tee having a ball support portion associated with a piston portion, the piston being adapted to be vertically moveable within a housing secured within a base of the practice tee. In one embodiment, the piston and housing have a mechanism to detachably lock the two together and to provide controlled "drag" to relative movement of the two so as to provide a "feel" to the vertical adjustment of the ball support portion. In another embodiment, the ball support and piston are integrally molded of a flexible plastic material and the housing is of a harder plastic material. The piston reciprocates within the housing and has a lower end with a slit skirt encompassing a circular wire spring which forces the skirt outwardly with contact with the housing walls to provide the desired "drag".

Abstract: Disclosed is a device which, when installed in cooperation with the wall of a shower stall and the front upper edge of a bathtub, prevents water from exiting the gap between a shower curtain and the wall during use of the shower. The device comprises an elongate, generally U-shaped device, one leg of the U-shape or first side wall for sealing engagement with the wall of the stall and the other leg or second wall directed or angled toward the tub. The upper portion of the device on the side wall is cut away to facilitate movement of the shower curtain and rings past the side wall.

Abstract: In a safety razor, a blade assembly (2; 22; 52) is mounted to a handle by a mounting arrangement including several spring devices (8; 28: 68; 70) adapted so that the blade assembly is movable relative to the handle with several degrees of freedom, including pivotal movement about a longitudinal axis, pivotal movement about a transverse axis and translational movement in a downward direction substantially perpendicular to the plane defined by these axes. The longitudinal and transverse pivotal axes are not fixed in position and are variably located due to the spring suspension, allowing the blade assembly to follow closely the contours of a skin area being shaved.

Abstract: Disclosed is an elongate peg, preferably of wood, which has lips or shoulders generally perpendicular to the length of the peg body and adjacent opposite ends. The lips or shoulders are on opposite sides of the peg body. The peg is used to tighten or tension the vertical lacing in "bongo" type drums by contacting adjacent pairs of vertical lacing with the peg whereby each lip is in contact with one of the adjacent pair of vertical lacing so that when the peg is flipped generally horizontal end forward, a twist is formed in the lacing pair at one end of the peg held by the lip while the other end of the peg is forcibly held against the drum shell by the force in the twist. In a preferred aspect, the drum profile is such that the spacing between the vertical lacing and the drum shell is increased slightly to facilitate more easily the flipping of the peg but still retain a peg end in forceable contact with the shell once flipped.

Abstract: A shaving unit includes a skin engagement surface member for contact with the skin in advance of a blade edge and defined by a series of resiliently mounted elements (9) defining between them slots (10) through which hairs can pass while being subjected to a light pulling force to increase the length of hair projecting from the skin prior to cutting. The skin engagement surface member may be a guard of the shaving unit or it can be mounted between two blades.

Abstract: A power tool (20) includes a modular drive system in which the motor (22) and transmission (24) consist of separate self-contained modular units which can be assembled together by simply sliding and rotating the motor housing (42) and the transmission housing (70) relative to each other. The motor (22) has a D-shaped rotary drive shaft (44) which is inserted into a D-shaped aperture (86) in the drive gear (84) of a planetary gear system (80) contained within the transmission housing (70). Guide pins (92) extending from the transmission housing (70) are inserted into guide holes (94) in the motor housing (42) when the D-shaped drive shaft (44) is inserted into the D-shaped aperture (86) in the drive gear (84) to align the housings (42,70) with each other. A bushing (46) at the front of the motor housing (42) is inserted into a central opening (76) at the rear of the transmission housing (70) to couple the housings (42,70) together.

Abstract: An improved surgical instrument is provided for applying surgical fasteners, such as staples, to human tissue which is particularly suited for applying one or more rows of fasteners across a tissue lumen. The surgical instrument can be used in thoracic and abdominal surgical procedures where access to the surgical site is restricted. The surgical instrument includes an articulated fastener applying assembly mounted on a rotatable and flexible support shaft assembly to provide more convenient access to restricted surgical sites. The fastener applying assembly has a compact construction including a fixed jaw which supports a fastener cartridge and a movable jaw which supports an anvil for clamping the tissue therebetween. The fastener applying assembly includes a pin placement mechanism which is actuated by the movable jaw to control the movement of a tissue retaining pin on the fixed jaw.

Abstract: Disclosed is a device for use with golf clubs in order to provide an assembly of clubs on the ground to assist a golfer in practicing his/her golf stance and swing. The device is of plastic material and includes a plate with one or more clip-like connector elements on each face of the plate whereby two clubs may be secured at least in a cross-like formation. Additional clip-like connector elements on the faces of the plate enable two of the devices to be used whereby three and four clubs can be assembled in selected formation to provide a grid on the ground for visual assistance not only on the stance of the golfer, but also in the position of the club being swung at the major checkpoints in the swing. The devices are easily carried by the golfer in his/her bag and can be used with clubs in the bag to assist in practicing the stance and swing.

Abstract: Disclosed is an air conditioning system which provides for controlling the flow of conditioned air from a duct to a predetermined location of an occupied area of a building. A fitting is secured at one end thereof to the duct and has a moveable butterfly valve mounted therein for selectively controlling flow of conditioned air therethrough, the fitting including a motor and motor control relay for controlling operation of the valve. An outlet is mounted in association with wall means adjacent the location and spaced from the fitting. A flexible conduit is connected to another end of the fitting means and extends from the fitting means to and is connected with the outlet means.

Abstract: The present invention provides a flexible support shaft assembly which is capable of bending transversely relative to its longitudinal axis or centerline with a predetermined limit on the bending range. The flexible support shaft assembly comprises a first helical member with a series of coils of round cross section and a second helical member with a series of coils of wedge-shaped cross section. The first and second helical members are coiled together along a common longitudinal axis with the round coils alternating with the wedge-shaped coils which separate the adjacent round coils from each other when the support shaft assembly is straight. The wedge-shaped coils are slidable relative to the round coils to allow the support shaft assembly to bend into a curved shape until the round coils on the inside of the bend engage each other and limit the bending range.

Abstract: A self-closing receiverless surgical fastener comprises a fastener body of biocompatible or bioabsorbable material including a bridge member and at least two tines extending from opposite ends of the bridge member. The tines are resiliently deformable from a normally closed position with the distal ends of the tines pointing toward each other to an open position with the distal ends of the tines extending substantially parallel to each other for penetrating into tissue. The tines are resiliently returnable to the closed position with the distal ends of the tines pointing toward each other to secure the fastener body to the tissue.

Abstract: A surgical stapling instrument for performing a circular anastomosis stapling operation is provided. The surgical instrument includes a stapling head assembly mounted by a curved shaft to an actuator handle assembly and incorporates an improved actuator mechanism for transmitting the required operating forces and movements from the actuator handle assembly through the curved shaft to an anvil and staple driver of the stapling head assembly. The stapling head assembly includes a longitudinally movable trocar detachably secured by one or more retainer clips on a hollow shaft of the anvil. When the trocar is retracted, the anvil shaft slides into a central support tube which aligns the anvil axially and circumferentially with a staple holder on the stapling head assembly. The retainer clips are locked against the trocar by the support tube and transmit tension from the trocar to the anvil with no tension load on the anvil shaft.

Abstract: Disclosed is an air conditioning system which provides for controlling the flow of conditioned air from a duct to a predetermined location of an occupied area of a building. A fitting is secured at one end thereof to the duct and has a moveable butterfly valve mounted therein for selectively controlling flow of conditioned air therethrough, the fitting including a motor and motor control relay for controlling operation of the valve. An outlet is mounted in association with wall means adjacent the location and spaced from the fitting. A flexible conduit is connected to another end of the fitting means and extends from the fitting means to and is connected with the outlet means.

Abstract: A surgical stapling instrument for performing a circular anastomosis stapling operation is provided. The surgical instrument includes a stapling head assembly mounted by a curved shaft to an actuator handle assembly and incorporates an improved actuator mechanism for transmitting the required operating forces and movements from the actuator handle assembly through the curved shaft to an anvil and staple driver of the stapling head assembly. The stapling head assembly includes a longitudinally movable trocar detachably secured by one or more retainer clips on a hollow shaft of the anvil. When the trocar is retracted, the anvil shaft slides into a central support tube which aligns the anvil axially and circumferentially with a staple holder on the stapling head assembly. The retainer clips are locked against the trocar by the support tube and transmit tension from the trocar to the anvil with no tension load on the anvil shaft.

Abstract: A surgical stapling instrument for performing a circular anastomosis stapling operation is provided. The surgical instrument includes a stapling head assembly mounted by a flexible support shaft to an actuator handle assembly. The support shaft is capable of bending in any radial direction relative to its centerline into a curved configuration suitable for insertion into a patient. The flexible support shaft includes a dual coil structure which is adapted to support itself in any curved configuration and to resist deflection upon insertion into the patient and actuation of the stapling head assembly. The stapling head assembly includes a driver assembly which is operable in multiple stages to separate the staple forming and tissue cutting actions to reduce the peak force required to operate the instrument.

Abstract: A razor blade body in the form of a cartridge structure includes a guard member assembled thereon forward of, and extending parallel to, the blade or blades. The guard is of a two part molded structure having an upper portion of elastomeric material with a plurality of upwardly projecting protrusions formed thereon and a lower base portion of rigid plastic material having a downwardly projecting V-shaped cross-sectional portion. A pair of upwardly projecting elements are disposed in spaced relation forming a recess on the blade cartridge structure for receiving the V-shaped base portion therebetween and a latch means disposed in the recess retains the guard member in the assembled position.