Abstract: A protective ear canal covering includes a piece of netting (e.g., a mosquito netting material, crinoline, or an other open weave fabric). The piece of netting has first and second chin-strap attachment regions and forward and rearward marginal edge portions extending between the first and second chin-strap attachment regions. The chin strap has first and second ends that are each attached to the netting at a respective one of the first and second chin-strap attachment regions. The piece of netting is so shaped and dimensioned to fit the head of a dog without covering the eyes of the dog that when the piece of netting is in place on the dog's head (a) the forward marginal edge portion extends across an upper portion of the dog's head and downwardly ahead of the ears, (b) the rearward marginal edge portion extends across the head behind the ears, and (c) the chin-strap attachment regions lie below the ear canals with the netting covering the external ears and the ear canals.

Abstract: A method of installing a floor fixture includes the step of providing a support structure for stabilizing the floor fixture relative to a floor foundation at an installation location. The method proceeds by coupling the floor fixture to a drainpipe at the installation location before a concrete floor is poured, stabilizing the floor fixture with the support structure, and pouring a concrete floor on the floor foundation while the support structure stabilizes the floor fixture. An apparatus for stabilizing a floor fixture includes a plate for coupling the body of the floor fixture to a plurality of legs extending to the floor foundation. The plate has a central opening such that the plate can be placed over the body of the floor fixture to a horizontal position in which the body of the floor fixture extends through the central opening.

Abstract: An RC controller includes a circuitboard with a circuit for variably coupling power from a battery to the drive motor of a radio controlled model. The circuit includes braking componentry that produces a low resistance path in parallel with the motor in order to brake the motor under operator control. The braking componentry includes a flyback diode and a semiconductor device connected across the terminals of the drive motor. The flyback diode may be a separate component or a part of the semiconductor device. According to a major aspect of the invention, a fuse is provided in series with the flyback diode to protect it against damage in the event the battery is connected backwards. The fuse is placed to protect the flyback diode without introducing an undesired voltage drop between the battery and the drive motor. Various fuse placements are disclosed. Instead of a separate fuse, one embodiment includes an unfused flyback diode that doubles as a fuse.

Abstract: An apparatus [10] is disclosed for a lightweight bipolar battery of the end-plate cell stack design. Current flow through a bipolar cell stack [12] is collected by a pair of copper end-plates [16a,16b] and transferred edgewise out of the battery by a pair of lightweight, low resistance copper terminals [28a,28b]. The copper terminals parallel the surface of a corresponding copper end-plate [16a,16b] to maximize battery throughput. The bipolar cell stack [12], copper end-plates [16a,16b] and copper terminals [28a,28b] are rigidly sandwiched between a pair of nonconductive rigid end-plates [20] having a lightweight fiber honeycomb core which eliminates distortion of individual plates within the bipolar cell stack due to internal pressures. Insulating foam [30] is injected into the fiber honeycomb core to reduce heat transfer into and out of the bipolar cell stack and to maintain uniform cell performance.

Abstract: A device for tuning a circuit includes a substrate, a transmission line on the substrate that includes first and second conductors coupled to a circuit to be tuned, and a movable short-circuit for varying the impedance the transmission line presents to the circuit to be tuned. The movable short-circuit includes a dielectric layer disposed atop the transmission line and a distributed shorting element in the form of a conductive member that is configured to be slid along at least a portion of the transmission line atop the dielectric layer. The conductive member is configured to span the first and second conductors of the transmission line and to define at least a first opening that spans the two conductors so that the conductive member includes first and second sections separated by the first opening.

Abstract: A controller includes a circuitboard with a circuit for variably coupling power from a battery to the drive motor of a radio controlled model. The circuit has positive and negative input terminals for connection to the battery and an output port for connection to the motor. The circuit also includes braking componentry that produces a low resistance path in parallel with the motor in order to brake the motor under operator control, and the circuit includes a fuse in series with the braking componentry for protecting it from damage in the event the input terminals are connected to the battery with the polarity reversed. An inventive fuse is disclosed that may be used with the controller or elsewhere. The fuse includes a conductive element of predetermined current rating and first and second connectors connected to the conductive element that are configured to plug onto first and second terminal posts with interference fits so that any component fatigue is substantially restricted to the fuse.

Abstract: A method of displaying information comprises the steps of applying informational indicia to the armpit regions of a shirt so that the indicia are substantially concealed when a wearer of the shirt has their arms lowered by their sides, a wearer donning the shirt, and the wearer raising their arms above their head to reveal the informational indicia. Preferably, the indicia are in two successive, different parts, the first part being applied to the right armpit region and the second part being applied to the left armpit region.

Abstract: A device for supporting a plate and a beverage container with one hand includes a body of material having a surface with which to support a plate, the body of material being dimensioned and arranged to enable a user to hold the body of material in one hand with the surface in an upwardly facing position. The body of material includes structure for inhibiting lateral movement of the plate while the body of material is so held with the plate on the surface, together with structure for supporting a beverage container next to the plate. The device inhibits lateral movement of the plate by being dimensioned and arranged to cradle the plate, one embodiment taking the form of a shallow, bottomless dish having a peripheral receptacle for the beverage container.

Abstract: A device for controlling an earthquake-vulnerable or other operation according to seismic activity, such as the flow of water from a reservoir or natural gas to users, includes a control unit for controlling the operation when actuated by a predetermined triggering movement, an actuator unit for producing the triggering movement when the actuator unit is subjected to a threshold level of seismic activity, and a coupling unit for coupling the triggering movement from the actuator unit to the control unit. Mounting components are provided for mounting the coupling unit on the control unit and the actuator unit on the coupling unit so that a user can adjustably set the position of the actuator unit relative to the control unit in order to level the actuator unit in two different directions.

Abstract: A device for use in diagnosing a cassette transport includes a shell having a size and shape enabling it to be inserted into a cassette transport in place of a tape cassette configured for use with the cassette transport. The shell has no tape, reels, or moving parts and it is so configured that when it is inserted into the cassette transport it actuates switches that are part of the cassette transport which the tape cassette actuates when the tape cassette is inserted into the cassette transport. That enables the cassette transport to function while still leaving components of the cassette transport accessible to a technician.

Abstract: Complex small objects such as ophthalmic lenses are quickly and accurately fabricated from plastic or glass blanks of ablatable material such as plastic or glass by cutting, shaping, and radiusing the blank entirely by laser light, using appropriate masks with focusing and imaging optics.

Abstract: A feedscrew system includes a support structure for rotatably supporting a selected feedscrew assembly adjacent a conveyor in order to control articles moving on the conveyor toward a processing station, mounting components for mounting the selected feedscrew assembly on the support structure, and drive components for driving the selected feedscrew assembly at a desired rotational speed. A plurality of interchangeable feedscrew assemblies is included, including at least a first feedscrew assembly configured to be driven at a first rotational speed and a second feedscrew assembly configured to be driven at a second rotational speed that is different from the first rotational speed. The first feedscrew assembly includes a first feedscrew and a first coupling component connected to the first feedscrew for coupling the first feedscrew assembly to the drive components so that the first feedscrew assembly rotates at the first rotational speed.

Abstract: A forceps includes elongated arms with proximal and distal sections, the distal sections extending to the forceps tips. The arms are arranged and interconnected to enable appositional movement of the tips in order to enable a user to grip an object between the tips and thereby apply a component of force to the object that is generally perpendicular to the direction of such appositional movement. The proximal and distal sections of the first arm are connected with a break-away joint that is arranged to quickly reduce the amount of coupling when the component of force being applied to the object exceeds a predetermined level. Joints enabling pivotal or linear movement of the distal sections relative to the proximal sections may be provided, spring-biased mechanical break-away components or strain-gauge-based electrical break-away components may be used, and a human sensible signal indicating when the force exceeds the predetermined level may be produced.

Abstract: A corrective lens system with selectable optical characteristics includes a lens element for placement in the optical path of a human eye ahead of the retina of the eye and a polarizer element for placement in the optical path of the human eye ahead of the lens element. The polarizer element is configured to pass plane polarized light toward the lens element and the lens element has first and second regions with different optical characteristics, the first region being polarized and arranged to restrict the passage of plane polarized light having other than a given direction of polarization. The lens element may be an intraocular lens, a contact lens, or a corneal implant lens, and one embodiment includes a polarizer element mounted on a spectacles frame as a component of an ocular telescope utilized to treat macular degeneration so that when the spectacles are worn light is restricted from passing through the first region of the lens element.

Abstract: A speed controller includes a housing adapted to be mounted in a radio controlled model car having a DC motor, a battery, and a receiver, and a control circuit for controlling the amount of votage supplied to the DC motor according to speed information supplied by the receiver. The control circuit is mounted in the housing and it is adapted to be electrically connected to the DC motor, the battery, and the receiver. It includes circuitry for producing an output signal related to the amount of current supplied to the motor and a test point arrangement for facilitating the connection of a separate readout device to the control circuit for purposes of reading the output signal.

Abstract: A battery booster apparatus includes a portable support structure on which are mounted a battery, jumper cables for connecting the battery in parallel with an external battery that is in a low charge condition, an AC-powered charger for charging the battery, and a solar panel for charging the battery when the charger is not powered. The apparatus may include components for switching between the charger and the solar panel so that the solar panel is connected to the battery when the charger is not powered and disconnected when the charger is powered. The switching components may operate automatically and include a relay electrically connected to the charger so that the relay operates when the charger is powered.

Abstract: An ocular telescopic lens system for low-vision conditions such as macular degeneration includes an intraocular lens having a converging lens portion and a diverging lens portion, and multiple-element spectacles having anterior and posterior lenses arranged to converge light toward the diverging lens portion. The intraocular lens includes an optic with a generally continuous rearward surface that combines with a first portion of the forward surface as the converging lens portion and with a second portion of the forward surface as the diverging lens portion, while the anterior and posterior lenses of the spectacles may have concave surfaces, combine to serve as an objective lens, and provide at least +8 diopter power.

Abstract: A guidepost includes an elongated post member and an anchor member, the post member having first and second ends and a tip portion extending to the second end that narrows in at least one dimension in order to facilitate penetration into the ground. The post member defines an opening adjacent the second end, the anchor member has at least a first leg, and the anchor member extends through the opening in the post member to a position such that the first leg of the anchor member extends outwardly from the opening and away from the second end. According to another aspect of the invention, the post member includes first and second sides facing in generally opposite directions and a runner arrangement defining at least one longitudinally extending rib for abutting a sleeve placed over the post member for post driving purposes in order to limit the amount of post member surface area contacting the sleeve and thereby to facilitate sliding of the post member through the sleeve.

Abstract: A batting practice method using a batting practice device to restrain the batter's hips against certain movement while the batter is swinging the bat. The batting practice device is coupled to the batter and to a fixed location, and the batter executes a batting stroke as though a ball were moving along a path from one location and with the batter being located along the path intermediate such location and the fixed location. The batting practice device restrains the batter's hips against significant movement toward such one location while allowing the hips to pivot as the batter executes the batting stroke.

Abstract: A reverse osmosis water purification system includes a support structure dimensioned and arranged to facilitate manual transportation, purification components mounted on the support structure for producing product water and waste water from feedwater by reverse osmosis, and pump components mounted on the support structure for pumping feedwater from a separate source to the purification means. An accumulator may be included for accumulating the feedwater under pressure, and the support structure may take the form of a suitcase-like component housing a battery supply, a solar panel, water pressure and amperage instrumentation, electrical connectors for various external power sources, and water line connectors for feedwater inlet and both product water and waste water outlet purposes.