Abstract: A cable for transmitting electromagnetic signals has a central conductor. A pair of insulator filaments, each having a circular cross section, are twisted around each other to form an insulator wrap. The insulator wrap is helically wound around the conductor. An insulator sheath, provided as an outer cover for the cable, surrounds the wrapped central conductor and is supported by the insulator wrap. Since the insulator sheath is offset from the conductor, an enclosed air space is formed between the sheath and the conductor in the spaces not occupied by the insulator wrap. The twist pitch of the filaments and the pitch of the wrap around the conductor can both be modified to adjust the amount of insulator material located in the air space and thereby the cable's effective dielectric constant, which effects the propagation speed of the electromagnetic signals carried by the cable.

Abstract: A rapid mounting, “square” electrical outlet or junction box (4″ square, 4-{fraction (11/16)}″ square, 2-gang, etc.) includes a back plate and four upstanding sidewalls attached to the back plate and defining a front opening. One or more of the sidewalls has a number of conduit knockouts, as well as a plurality of cable access ports, which allow entry of AC, MC, NM, or other cables. The sidewalls also have a mounting hole pattern for rapidly mounting the outlet box, by way of any of the sidewalls, to a wood or metal stud. Accordingly, regardless of the box's orientation, conduit and/or electrical cables can always be routed to the box, and conduits that approach the box from any direction can be easily accommodated without bending or rerouting. Among other things, the outlet box may also be provided with cable clamps, fold-out depth tangs, device connection flanges, and pre-attached ground leads.

Abstract: A dual C-arm angiographic device for flat panel x-ray receptor (“dual C-arm gantry”) comprises: a base attached to the floor; an outer C-shaped track non-movably attached to the base; a crawler carriage that moves along the outer track; and a counterweighted, inner C-shaped instrument bracket (“inner C-arm”) pivotally attached to the crawler carriage. A detector/counterweight housing, flat-panel x-ray receptor, and x-ray tube and collimator are attached to the inner C-arm. The bottom end of the outer track terminates at the base, such that the outer track arches over the side and top of a separate patient support table. Additionally, the outer track, crawler carriage, and inner C-arm are mutually configured such that the dual C-arm gantry is capable of full spherical angulation and of providing a full range of clinical positioning, while minimizing interference with clinical use patterns (i.e., the head end of the table is left clear for all angulations).

Abstract: A rotary, tubular hole cutter for quickly cutting holes through materials such as wood, fiberboard, and drywall. The device includes a tubular member with a backing plate attached to one end, with holes in the backing plate that enable the attachment of a conventional heavy-duty hole saw arbor. The device includes three equally spaced gullets, each of which has a cutting bit mounted adjacent to the trailing edge of the gullet, with the cutting face lying in the direction of rotation. The combination of three gullets and cutting bits, along with the cutting bit geometry, enable fast extraction of the “puck” or core from the tubular member after the cut is completed, by hand or other suitable device. The nature and aggressiveness of the cutting action is limited by the geometry of the cutting bits and their relationship to the top surface of the tubular member.

Abstract: An inflatable tube ski vehicle with steering mechanism comprises an inflated, torus-shaped tube or bladder and a ski insert disposed in the central opening of the bladder. The ski insert may be dish-shaped, or it may partially wrap around the top and/or bottom of the bladder. In either case, the ski vehicle has a steering/braking mechanism comprising left and right lever arms pivotally attached to and extending down through the ski insert. To turn, a rider simply pulls on one of the lever arms, causing a lower portion of the lever arm to extend past a bottom of the insert. To brake, both arms are pulled simultaneously. Because the ski vehicle is round and because the weight of the vehicle and rider are largely uniformly distributed over the center of the vehicle, a pivot or fulcrum point occurs directly under the rider's seat, affording a significant degree of control.

Abstract: An inertia-resistant preventer mechanism is provided for use in a firearm safety enhancement system to reliably and selectably prevent or to unblock a firing mechanism of a firearm. The inertia-resistant preventer mechanism includes a first solenoid having a moveable blocking rod with a first actuation response speed. The blocking rod is normally interposed in the firearm to prevent activation of the firing mechanism and is selectably activated to unblock the firing mechanism. A second solenoid is also included, having a second blocking rod with a second actuation response speed equal to or faster than the response speed of the first solenoid. The second blocking rod of the second solenoid is normally interposed at an angle to the first solenoid to block the first blocking rod of the first solenoid against accidental unblocking caused by inertia and relative movement of the firearm.

Abstract: A firearm safety enhancement system is provided for enabling use of a firearm only by an authorized individual. At least one electrically activated preventer is provided having a first position for preventing use of firearm and having a second position for enabling use of the firearm. An electrical activation circuit is operatively connected to the preventer to move the preventer between the first and second positions. A portable power supply is carried in said firearm and is coupled to the activation circuit for providing power. A power signal transmitter is operatively connected to the power supply for transmitting an electromagnetic power signal at a regular frequency. A passive identification tag is mounted to a personal adornment to be carried or worn by an individual and is preprogrammed with an authorized identification code preselected from a large number of available identification codes.

Abstract: A contoured thrust reverser and lobed nozzle noise suppressor is meant for use with gas turbine engines that have conventional post-exit thrust reversers and that require only moderate levels of noise suppression. The contoured thrust reverser and lobed nozzle noise suppressor comprises a conventional tailpipe frame terminating in a lobed nozzle, and a conventional thrust reverser mechanism holding a pair of contoured blocker doors. In a deployed position, the blocker doors lie aft of the lobed nozzle, having been moved there by the thrust reverser mechanism. The blocker doors abut one another and form a fore-facing scoop, wherein any engine exhaust exiting the lobed nozzle is redirected towards the fore of the engine. In a stowed position, the blocker doors lie over the tailpipe frame and align and nestle together with the engine's cowling.

Abstract: An apparatus or machine is disclosed for automatic establishing and cutting the corner lines in a piece of stone. The machine includes two pairs of saw blades, each pair disposed on opposite sides of the stone. The saw blades are adjustable in two directions with respect to each other to properly locate the saw blades with respect to the four corners of the stone. Laser light sources are positioned to provide light beams down onto the piece of stone at the precise location of the outer edge of the saw blade. The laser light sources assist the machine operator in properly positioning the stone with respect to the saw blades. Once the stone is properly located, the saw blades are moved into cutting engagement with the stone. After the four corner lines of the stone have been cut, these corner lines precisely establish the dimensions of the rectangles on the top and bottom stone surfaces, and the four vertical corner lines connecting the two rectangles.

Abstract: A table has a base, a tire table leg as a vertical support, and a surface top. The tire table leg is vertically disposed with the tire leg's side walls as the vertical lateral sides. The tire table leg has an upper portion and a lower portion. A base bracket fastens to the lower portion, which in turn can be fastened to a base. The base bracket has fastener surfaces for fastening to the tire's lower portion. A surface top bracket fastens to the tire's upper portion, which in turn can be fastened to a surface top. The surface top bracket has opposite fasteners that are spaced and angled to fit against the road contact surface area of the tire table leg. Also, a tire brace matching the internal curvature of the tire leg's inner periphery area may be fit there against to provide vertical strength to the tire table leg.

Abstract: A uniform film of sapphire and tungsten is deposited onto a surface of a substrate using the ionized cluster beam ("ICB") apparatus. During ICB deposition, a tungsten crucible containing sapphire is heated until a vapor of sapphire and tungsten is formed. The tungsten crucible is heated to form a tungsten vapor, which causes the crucible material to mix with the sapphire, thereby forming a vapor mixture of sapphire and tungsten. The vapor is ejected through a small nozzle into a vacuum region. The resulting adiabatic expansion of the vapor promotes formation of atomic clusters. Some of the clusters are ionized, and electrons are stripped off the clusters. The clusters are accelerated toward the substrate, which is also within the vacuum region. The clusters impact the surface of the substrate, where they are deposited to form the uniform sapphire/tungsten film. The film is deposited in an sapphire (aluminum oxide)/tungsten ratio of 2:1. The film has a relatively high index of refraction of approximately 2.

Abstract: End fittings for metal hose assemblies are disclosed, plus a method for their attachment. In a preferred embodiment, the hose assembly comprises: a standard flexible metal hose with a convoluted metal innercore; two cold-worked tubular end fittings with straight end portions that are inserted into opposite ends of the innercore, whereby stop beads on the tube limit the amounts of insertion and position the fittings; annular welds between crowns of the beads and adjacent flattened convolutions of the innercore that fix the fittings to the hose; and a pair of crimped locking collars or ferrules (carried on the fittings) that are mounted on the hose ends to protect the welds and hold the fittings in place. No prior machining of the inserted end portions of the fittings is needed to secure a stable weld.

Abstract: A controller of the cross sectional area and shape of an X-ray beam includes two or more disks disposed in the center of the path of the beam, each disk being radio-opaque except for a window centered on the beam. One or more of the disks has a tracks at each side of the window in which shutters can slide between positions in which they close or open the window and select the size and shape of the X-ray beam passed through the controller and a subject to an image intensifier or other X-ray utilization device. One of the disks has a cam track which is engaged by a cam following element attached to a shutter on the other disk. The disks are mounted for relative rotation by drive motors which causes the shutter with the cam follower to change position and alter the size or shape of the transmitted beam cross section. With the shutter in desired position the disks can be rotated together to reorient the shaped beam around its central axis.

Abstract: A slidable card device is disclosed for assisting coaches, and assistant coaches, in alternating player positions during a T-Ball League or Little League ball game. In the preferred embodiment, the invention includes a thin, generally rectangular housing or sheath having a front, a back, two closed sides, and two opened ends. The front of the sheath includes a roster box for the coach to handwrite the names of his/her players in column format, as the players show up. Next to the player names is a viewing window which exposes an insert card inside the sheath. This insert card has a series of preprinted matrices that match the number of possible player positions for a ball game. Once the number of players has been determined, the coach selects which matrix appears in the window. Each matrix includes a series of columns which lists the possible player positions, for that game, in various orders.

Abstract: A system of plastic plant trays is disclosed for conveniently transporting, displaying and removing (for planting) young plants or seedlings. In the preferred embodiment, each tray comprises a plurality of cells for removably housing the plants; unique pull-out tabs for gently lifting plants atop them from individual cells; and a color-coded handle that identifies the price of the plants. By pulling up on a dangling end of a tab, a gardener can lift and later extract a plant with minimal damage to its roots or flowers.

Abstract: Various embodiments of a rod for cleaning and/or polishing embodiments of a ferrule in a fiber optic connector are disclosed. In a first embodiment, the rod is formed of an ultra high molecular weight polyethylene hydrophobic material, preferably absorbent. Each end of the rod has a hole that is a tight fit to the diameter of a male-type ferrule and is at least as deep as the length of the ferrule. The rod material is strong and pliable, so that after it is slipped over the male-type ferrule the rod can be rotated for cleaning the sides of the ferrule while being withdrawn from its snug fit with the ferrule. The holes may have polishing inserts formed therein. Alternatively, the rod has a male protrusion on one end. The male end inserts into the recess formed by the connector adaptor when using a female-type ferrule. The rod is then rotated to effect cleaning and/or polishing of the end face of the optical fiber together with cleaning of the insides surfaces of the side walls of the connector adaptor.

Abstract: A situation-based monitoring system monitors various activities of persons in rooms of a home or residential care facility, determines when the person is in distress and communicates that fact to appropriate personnel. The system includes a programmable processor connected with sensors in the monitored area. The sensors detect various physical parameters associated with the monitored persons, such as motion or the identity of the persons themselves. From the sensed conditions, the processor determines when a distress situation or condition exists (e.g., a person has fallen) and communicates information about the distress condition to a notification device. Various situations may be configured differently for different people. The communication can either be an alarm indicating a condition requiring immediate attention, or may be information-only.

Abstract: A mixer/ejector suppressor is disclosed for reducing the noise level created by the exhaust flows in gas turbines. In the preferred embodiment, the suppressor comprises a mixing ring of alternating lobes attached to the engine's tailpipe; an ejector shroud mounted onto the mixing ring; and a plurality of arcuate gaps, between the mixing ring and ejector shroud, that permit ambient air to be entrained into the shroud. The preferred mixing ring has ten curved lobes of alternating designs. Five of the mixing lobes are shallow, with contours similar to those of mixing lobes in an earlier TSMEC version, disclosed in a related U.S. utility patent application, Ser. No. 08/729,571. The other five lobes are much longer, and they are designed to penetrate deeply into the engine's hot core flow. Together, the ten lobes rapidly mix (mostly at supersonic conditions) the engine exhaust flows with secondary ambient air inside the shroud.