Abstract: An automatically retractable needle safety syringe apparatus having an integral safety feature that automatically and immediately retracts the piercing tip end of the needle body after a single use, due to a punch which frictionally engages the foundation of the ferrule and a vacuum created within the syringe body during the process of injecting fluid therefore causing the piercing tip end of the needle body to permanently reside enclosed within the syringe body protectively pressed against the inner surface of the tube thus alleviating needle reuse and accidental needle prickings with contaminated syringe needles and therefore ultimately preventing the transmission of blood-borne pathogens and other diseases by contaminated syringe needles. The method of operation is also disclosed.

Abstract: An electronic contacting method for contacting a chip having a plurality of conductive contact areas, which are not provided with an additional metallization layer, a carrier substrate is provided, which has a first surface having arranged thereon a plurality of conductive connecting sections. A non-conductive adhesive layer is arranged on the first surface of the carrier substrate and subsequently, the carrier substrate is aligned with a chip to be contacted in such away that a plurality of conductive contact areas on said chip to be contacted is in alignment with the connecting sections on the first surface of said carrier substrate. Then the carrier substrate is connected to the chip to be contacted by means of the adhesive layer in such a way that the connecting sections of the carrier substrate and the contact areas of the chip abut on one another by means of pressure contact, without any intermetallic connection being established.

Abstract: An improved knee pad for industrial applications that require kneeling, which has an outer shell, an inner cushion pad within the shell, a laminated fabric pad against the inner cushion pad and extending beyond the ends of the shell, the fabric pad being adapted for contacting a wearer; and straps for conforming the knee pad to the shape of the wearer's knee. A method for making the knee pad is also disclosed.

Abstract: An apparatus (10) for driving an electro-luminescent device (12), characterized by: a transformer (14) including a ferrite core (72) and a first primary winding (66), a second primary winding (68) and a secondary winding (70) wound onto said core (72) without an air gap; one end of each of the first and second primary windings (66, 68) being connected together; an electrical circuit arranged to drive said one ends of the first and second primary windings (66, 68); a feed back circuit connected between the electrical circuit and the other end of the second primary winding (68) to control operation of said electrical circuit; one end of the secondary winding (70) being connected to said other end of the second primary winding (68); and the other end of the secondary winding (70) being connected to the electro-luminescent device (12).

Abstract: A protective cover for preventing the entry of debris into an outdoor air conditioning unit while providing for the safe operation of the unit in the event of unintentional activation of the unit while the invented apparatus is installed. During normal operation, the invented protective air conditioning cover provides a covering for the top surface of an outdoor air conditioning unit, including the fan discharge opening, which is usually covered by a metallic grate. The protective cover is held in place on top of the unit by magnets. The placement of the magnets and the types of magnets used in the invented cover are designed to provide just enough attraction between the magnets and the metallic surface of the air conditioning unit that the invented cover is maintained in position upon the top of the unit during normal weather conditions, and all but the most extreme wind conditions.

Abstract: A screen frame is made by joining four (three or more) screen frame segments together at corners to form a generally rectangular or multi-sided screen frame. Corner joint inserts are placed within each corner of the four screen frame segments and the inserts are spot welded to adjoining screen frame segments to provide a sturdy and rigid screen frame. The screen frame segments are metal extrusions having two parallel flanges extending from a generally square shaped hollow body. A metal screen is secured in the screen frame by spot welding the screen between the flanges of the screen frame segment. The resulting screen frame and screen provides a long-lasting, corrosive resistant, and rigid frame and screen for positioning in window or door frames which can withstand damage from intruders, projectiles, and environmental stresses.

Abstract: An interface for mating a vertically oriented electric motor underneath a gearbox or other motor driven, fluid containing apparatus which substantially isolates the motor rotor and driven shaft from the external environment while facilitating the removal of leaking oil or other fluid from the area between the motor endshield and gearbox housing to the to the outside of the apparatus in order to prevent accidental oil penetration into the motor housing, the invented interface having a base plate component and a flinger component, wherein the flinger projects escaping oil away from the rotor shaft of the attached electric motor, which oil then drains through exit ports to the outside of the invented interface, such interface being connectable between electric motors and motor driven equipment through use of standardized C-face connection means.

Abstract: A method for cutting vegetation and simultaneously treating the remaining stems of the cut vegetation with a treatment fluid. In a mower having a cutting blade assembly rotatably mounted on a blade carrier, a treatment fluid in a removable fluid container cells is pumped to the cutting blade. The method includes the steps of cutting vegetation with at least one cutting blade, and delivering a treatment fluid to the underside of the at least one cutting blade in a continuous stream so that the treatment fluid is continuously available to the remaining stems of the cut vegetation. Metering the amount of treatment fluid that is pumped to the cutting blade assembly is precisely controlled at a very low, but effective, rate.

Abstract: A method for producing an anisotropic optical device that enables the viewer to perceive a repertoire of preselected images over a first range of angles of regard in previously unachievably thin anisotropic sheets. The device, which is useful as advertising media in a wide variety of forms, includes a bilaterally stabilized base film layer, a molded lenticular surface having lenses with substantially circular cross section adhesively affixed to a first side of the base film; and a computer-generated image that is registered to the lenticular surface and affixed to the second side of the bilaterally stabilized base film.

Abstract: The present invention is an optical device having an anisotropic lens array that enables the viewer to perceive a repertoire of preselected images over a first range of angles of regard or to see through the device to a scene beyond the device without distortion. The preselected images in one orientation gives the illusion of a repertoire of images at differing depths. The preselected images at a second orientation can produce a set of optical effects wherein: one image gradually transforms to another; the repertoire of images are unrelated and change suddenly from one to another; the repertoire of images are frames of a motion scene; or, the repertoire of images represent a scene at differing magnifications. Previous attempts at similar objectives have failed to achieve either distortion-free windowing or a reasonably rich repertoire of images. The device may also be applied to applications requiring optical anisotropy such as privacy filtering.

Abstract: In a method for detecting a manipulation performed on digital information the erroneous determination of a manipulation during processing disturbances is prevented by subdividing the information into information subunits from each of which an identification is derived which is assigned to the respective information subunit. After processing the information subunits together with their identifications, potentially manipulated information subunits are determined on the basis of their identifications. This enables the whole of the information to be classified as manipulated if at least two information subunits which are correlated with respect to time or location have been determined to have been potentially manipulated.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for testing the entire lower extremity as one functional unit, the apparatus comprising a horizontally planar base having a knee tripodal portion and a hip tripodal portion adjustably coupled to the knee tripodal portion by a variable length connector, a knee post fixedly attached to the knee tripodal portion and vertically extending orthogonally away from the horizontal plane of the horizontally planar base, a hip post fixedly attached to the hip tripodal portion and vertically extending orthogonally away from the horizontal plane of the horizontally planar base, a knee bar that is adjustably connected to the knee post and a hip bar that is adjustably connected to the hip post. The knee tripodal portion and the hip tripodal portion may each be releasably secured to the variable length connector by a respective locking fastener. Likewise, the knee bar may be releasably secured to the knee post and the hip bar may be releasably secured to the hip post by a respective locking fastener.

Abstract: General purpose parallel computer, latency reduction MIMD, with multiple processors, and multiple memory address spaces, wherein processors (SPU) are redundantly replicated on each memory (M) bus (C-BUS) and, formed/connected as either master-active or slave-active of the bus and to interface a suitable communication structure (A-S) for transferring among themselves the process context and the bus control, in such a way to execute in turn a unique migrant sequential process per bus (C-BUS), and wherein each processor is also directly and tightly coupled with devoted private buses (P-P) to one corresponding processor of another one bus (C-BUS) in a way to form, between distinct buses (C-BUS), biprocessor pairs (DPU) capable of allowing communication and synchronization of the parallel migrant processes.