Abstract: The invention relates generally to a protective enclosure for electronic devices, for example, optical devices such as cameras. More specifically, the present invention is a protective enclosure featuring a customized hard or semi-hard front and rear shells for the camera body. The two components are attached at one end by a hinge and secured at the other end by a latch. An elastomeric skin, which can cover some or all of the camera body, serves a gasket between the front and rear shell. The lens is protected by customized enclosures made of elastomeric, and hard or semi-hard materials.

Abstract: A chair foot device for a wire frame chair stackable with other wire frame chairs includes a lower surface disposable on a support surface. An upper surface, opposite the lower surface is sized and shaped to carry the lower surface of an adjacent foot from an adjacently stacked upper chair. The chair foot also includes an alignment protrusion disposed on one of the lower and upper surfaces and an alignment indentation disposed on the other of the lower and upper surfaces. The alignment protrusion is sized and shaped to be receivable within an alignment indentation of a corresponding foot from an adjacently stacked chair. The foot is sized and shaped to carry an applied load from an adjacently stacked upper foot and to transfer the applied load to an adjacent load bearing surface. The foot is also sized and shaped to protect the wire frame chair from damage during stacking.

Abstract: The opposite plastic walls 20a and 20b can be made from a polymeric resin material such as thermoplastic or thermoset resin, and/or can be made from olefins, styrenes, nylons, or mixtures of these polymeric families. In one aspect, the opposite plastic walls can be formed from an olefin, such as polyethylene or polypropylene, or the like. In another aspect, the opposite plastic walls can be formed from a styrene, such as acrylonitrile or butadiene styrene, or the like. In still another aspect, the opposite plastic walls can be formed from a mixture of olefins and styrenes. The polymeric resin material can also be made from recycled olefin, styrene, or nylon products. It will also be appreciated that the material of the walls can include additives, such as glass, fiber, talc, UV resistive or protective materials, etc. In one aspect, plastic granules of different colors can be combined to obtain a wall color that is a composite color to more readily simulate another material.

Abstract: Network units such as switches for use in a cascaded stack are organised to provide a cascade connection in the form of a dual unidirectional connection so that, in its ordinary configuration, there is at least one and preferably more than one unidirectional ring for each direction around the cascade, each ring including a respective port on each unit. For each ring, each port on a unit is connected by a respective link to a corresponding port on the preceding unit and the following unit. The units provide a self-healing operation in the event of various kinds of operational failure. The self-healing operation includes loop-back of packets in units adjacent the failure and bypass of a packet switching process for other units. The units include control logic for passing control frames containing status information relating to the units and links between them and for co-operation with a CPU to control a switching engine to perform the self-healing operation in accordance with that status information.

Abstract: A drop box for a rotational molding system includes a substantially rigid outer shell, a substantially rigid inner shell, configured to contain unmelted polymer material, and thermal insulating material, disposed between the inner and outer shells. Substantially rigid bridge material interconnects the inner and outer shells and forms part of the rigid structure thereof. The bridge material is configured to provide a thermal break between the inner and outer shells, to reduce heat transfer therebetween.

Abstract: A connecting unit for use in a system comprising a ‘stack’ of network communication units having a cascade connection has three ports having lines for forwarding and receiving data packets and for forwarding and receiving control messages. The connecting unit increments a first signal value defining an identification number received by way of a control message at a first port, provides the received signal value by way of a control message to the third port and provides the incremented signal value by way of a control message to the second port. The connecting unit also receives a second signal value defining an active unit count by way of a control message at the first port and provides the second signal value, incremented or not in dependence on a control message received at the third port, in a control message at the second port.

Abstract: A method for providing cured coating films free of popping defects. The method requires the application to a substrate of at least 2.0 mils/50.8 microns of a uncured curable coating composition comprising an anti-popping component (a), a film-forming component (b), and a crosslinking component (c), wherein anti-popping component (a) has from 12 to 72 carbon atoms, is substantially free of any heteroatoms, is not a crystalline solid at room temperature and comprises a mixture of two or more structures selected from the group consisting of aliphatic structures for anti-popping component (a), aromatic-containing structures for anti-popping component (a), cycloaliphatic-containing structures for anti-popping component (a), and mixtures thereof, at least one of the two or more structures being a cycloaliphatic-containing structure or an aromatic-containing structure. The coated uncured substrate is cured to provide a cured film free of popping defects with an average film build of at least 2.0 mils/50.8 microns.

Abstract: The invention provides curable waterborne coating compositions comprising an aqueous dispersion (A) comprising an organic binder component (A1) comprising at least 5% by weight of a reactive component (a), based on the total weight of organic binder component (A1), and at least one crosslinking component (B). The reactive component (a) is substantially free of any heteratoms and is a not a crystalline solid at room temperature and comprises from (i) 12 to 72 carbon atoms, and (ii) at least two functional groups. The curable waterborne coating compositions of the invention show significantly improved pop resistance while also providing improved chip resistance, weathering resistance, flexibility, and/or scratch & mar resistance.

Abstract: A locking mechanism for a support leg hingedly attached to a support surface includes a base, attached to the support surface, with a plurality of angularly spaced, radial teeth, and a coupler, attached to the support leg, having a plurality of angularly spaced, radial teeth configured to mate with the teeth of the base. A selectively releasable engagement mechanism is configured to engage and disengage the teeth of the base with the teeth of the coupler, to allow selective rotation of the support leg between an extended position and a folded position, and to lock the leg in the extended or folded position.

Abstract: A coating composition contains solid particulates of a mixture of an aminoplast crosslinking agent, a solid polymer having functionality reactive with the aminoplast crosslinking agent, and a crystalline, carbamate-functional additive. The crystalline, carbamate-functional additive has a melting point of at least about 30° C. and is up to about 15% by weight of the powder coating composition.

Abstract: A control device for a unit in a cascade connection of network units includes control logic which increments a count of active units and passes the count to the next control device. The count is initiated and terminated by an absence of control messages at the down port and up port respectively. The incremented count is passed up the cascade and a final count is passed down the cascade.

Abstract: A network device is arranged to transmit a specific identification such as the device's MAC address in Next Pages of auto-negotiation and to determine a link status to be ‘down’ if ‘Next Pages’ containing that address are received by the same port. The invention avoids the use of signal detect pins for fiber optic links.

Abstract: An Ethernet data packet including a VLAN tag header and a VLAN identification field is modified. The modification is accomplished by inserting in place of the VLAN tag header a field of the same size including selected information. The VLAN identification may be retained. The inserted field may include a first field indicating the presence of the VLAN identification field and a second field of selected information, the second field being longer than the first field.

Abstract: Traffic through a port of a network switch is monitored and controlled by a token bucket system having a duplex mode in which the bandwidths available for incoming and outgoing packets are controlled by a single token bucket and a half-duplex mode in which the bandwidths for incoming and outgoing packets are controlled by a respective one of two token buckets.

Abstract: A basecoat composition includes an acrylic polymer prepared from a combination of monomers including at least about 30% by weight ethyl acrylate, methyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, or a combination of these. The basecoat composition also includes methylated melamine-formaldehyde resin and up to about 10% by weight of a butylated melamine-formaldehyde resin, based on the weight of the basecoat composition vehicle and butylated melamine resin. An at least partially cured layer of the basecoat composition offers improved adhesion with a coating composition layer applied over it and cured, whether the coating composition layer applied over it is another layer of the basecoat composition itself or a layer of a clearcoat composition.

Abstract: The curable coating compositions of the invention comprise a particulate component having at least one binder component (a) which is a solid at 75° F./24° C., and an additive component (b). The curable coating compositions further comprise a crosslinking component (c) reactive with the at least one binder component (a). Additive component (b) has from 12 to 72 carbon atoms, is substantially free of any heteroatoms, is not a crystalline solid at 75° F./24° C. and comprises a mixture of two or more structures selected from the group consisting of aliphatic structures for additive component (b), aromatic-containing structures for additive component (b), cycloaliphatic-containing structures for additive component (b), and mixtures thereof, wherein at least one of the two or more structures is either a cycloaliphatic-containing structure or an aromatic-containing structure.

Abstract: A stackable multi-port communication device for a packet-based data communication system, having a multiplicity of physical ports for the reception and dispatch of data in the form of packets, includes switch logic for selecting for a packet at least one destination selected from a multiplicity of ports which include a logical port common to a specified group of said physical ports. A cascade trunk logic, coupled to the switch logic, is used for determining, for the dispatch of a packet directed to said logical port, a selected port of said group of said physical ports; and a remote monitoring logic is used for forwarding a copy of the packet.

Abstract: Powder coating composition for automotive exterior coatings with compatibility with other coatings and resistance to yellowing include a film-forming material such as a polyepoxide and an acid-functional crosslinker that is a reaction product of 1,3,5-tris(2-hdyroxyethyl)isocyanurate and a cyclic anhydride.

Abstract: A multiport network device includes a multiplicity of receive queues, a multiplicity of transmit queues and a forwarding engine for transferring entries from the receive queues to the transmit queues. When a transmit queue is greater than a first hysteresis point, the forwarding engine prevents transfer of entries from a receive queue to the transmit queue and transfer of entries to the transmit queue is allowed when the length of the transmit queue falls below a second hysteresis point.

Abstract: A coating composition contains solid particulates of a mixture of an aminoplast crosslinking agent, a solid polymer having functionality reactive with the aminoplast crosslinking agent, and a crystalline, carbamate-functional additive. The crystalline, carbamate-functional additive has a melting point of at least about 30° C. and is up to about 15% by weight of the powder coating composition.