Abstract: A 4-cycle, 4-cylinder internal combustion engine which comprises a hollow cylindrical engine casing with only three moving parts, a single rotary piston wall and two rotatable valve cylinders. A hollow cylindrical motor casing is divided in half vertically by an internal dividing wall. A single oil-cooled rotary piston wall is pivotally attached to the center of the internal dividing wall to create four variable size cylinders as the rotary piston wall pivots back and forth with the firing of the four spark plugs each firing into one of the four cylinders.

Abstract: A deadbolt mechanism including a lock out mechanism that functions to disable the operation of the deadbolt from at least one side of the deadbolt mechanism. The deadbolt mechanism includes a deadbolt, key cylinder, housing, turn knob and a shaft that connects the key cylinder and turn knob. To place the deadbolt mechanism in lock out mode, the turn knob is moved to the locked positioned and then pulled outward away from the door. By pulling the knob outward, the shaft engages a portion of the housing which prevents rotation of the shaft and thereby prevents movement of the deadbolt from the locked position.

Abstract: A heating assembly for a printing device includes a heating device configured to be energized or deenergized. A switching device includes a bimetallic element efficiently thermally coupled to the heating device and configured to deenergize the heating device in a defined period of time in the event of an over temperature condition.

Abstract: A fuser member adapted to fuse toner onto the surface of a recording medium as the recording medium passes a nip area of the fuser member comprises a electrically conductive polymer layer, a resistive layer, and an electrically conductive layer. The fuser member further comprises a current supply element and a current return element, wherein the current supply element and the current return element are configured to provide current flow through the electrically conductive polymer layer and the resistive layer to generate fusing heat at the nip area.

Abstract: A fuser member adapted to fuse toner onto the surface of a recording medium as the recording medium passes a nip area of the fuser member comprises a electrically conductive polymer layer, a resistive layer, an electrically conductive layer, a primer layer, and a release layer. The fuser member further comprises a current supply element and a current return element, wherein the current supply element and the current return element are configured to provide current flow through the electrically conductive polymer layer and the resistive layer to generate fusing heat at the nip area.

Abstract: A large area heater used, for example, in a laser printer belt fuser or as cooking surface, has an alumina substrate in which two bowed parts of alumina ceramic having opposed concave regions are formed together as a laminate. Electrical resistors are deposited on the laminate. The alumina laminate provides excellent resistance to uneven heating or other thermal stress. Alumina ceramic is readily shaped during manufacture and manufacturing costs and yield are good. A wide variety of large area heaters can usefully employ the laminate.

Abstract: An improved laser printer is provided that keeps its fuser at a standby temperature that is somewhat raised above the ambient temperature, which allows the printer to operate more quickly (to begin printing the first page) when a print job arrives at the printer. The time needed to raise the fuser's temperature is minimized, so that other printer operations become the determining factor in the time to first print parameter. The electrical energy that energizes the fuser is provided in a form that prevents light flicker, by use of AC waveform phase control, or by use of integer half cycle control. The present invention uses closed-loop feedback control, and the type of controller is a PID controller.

Abstract: An electrophotographic imaging device includes a print media transport assembly and a fuser positioned in association with the print media transport assembly. The fuser includes a heater assembly having a ceramic substrate and an endless flexible belt positioned around the heater assembly. The flexible belt includes an inner base layer comprised of a polyimide with a thermally conductive filler; a metallic layer adjacent the base layer; a first primer layer adjacent the metallic layer; a thermally conductive elastic coating adjacent the first primer layer; a second primer layer adjacent the thermally conductive elastic coating; and an outer release layer adjacent the second primer layer.

Abstract: A deadbolt mechanism including a lock out mechanism that functions to disable the operation of the deadbolt from at least one side of the deadbolt mechanism. The deadbolt mechanism includes a deadbolt, key cylinder, housing, turn knob and a shaft that connects the key cylinder and turn knob. To place the deadbolt mechanism in lock out mode, a release mechanism is actuated and the turn knob is pulled outward away from the door. By pulling the knob outward, the shaft engages a portion of the housing which prevents rotation of the shaft and thereby prevents movement of the deadbolt from the lock-out position.

Abstract: A dual bipolar LED indicator light circuit is connected between the blades of a blade fuse in parallel with the fuse link. When the fuse link blows, one of the LEDs lights to indicate a blown fuse. Parallel dual bipolar light emitting diode (LED) indicators are in series with an integrated resistor. The fuse may be inserted in either direction without concern for polarity. The indicator light circuit may be built into a blade fuse, or snapped onto an existing blade fuse as an attachment.

Abstract: System and methods for managing content on a media device such as a portable digital audio device are described. The system recognizes when a digital audio device is connected to a computer and it automatically notifies a user that the audio device is connected and provides an entry point through which content of the audio device can be managed. The audio device is presented in an extended namespace (UI extension) of an operating system user interface in the same manner that typical storage devices (e.g., hard drives and floppy drives) are presented by the operating system user interface. Contents (e.g., music files) of the audio device are manageable through the UI extension in the same familiar manner as the contents of other typical storage devices of the computer.

Abstract: A large area heater used, for example, in a laser printer belt fuser or as cooking surface, has an alumina substrate in which two bowed parts of alumina ceramic having opposed concave regions are formed together as a laminate. Electrical resistors are deposited on the laminate. The alumina laminate provides excellent resistance to uneven heating or other thermal stress. Alumina ceramic is readily shaped during manufacture and manufacturing costs and yield are good. A wide variety of large area heaters can usefully employ the laminate.

Abstract: A deadbolt mechanism including a lock out mechanism that functions to disable the operation of the deadbolt from at least one side of the deadbolt mechanism. The deadbolt mechanism includes a deadbolt, key cylinder, housing, turn knob and a shaft that connects the key cylinder and turn knob. To place the deadbolt mechanism in lock out mode, the turn knob is moved to the locked positioned and then pulled outward away from the door. By pulling the knob outward, the shaft engages a portion of the housing which prevents rotation of the shaft and thereby prevents movement of the deadbolt from the locked position.

Abstract: A high efficiency system for generating ozone includes a high frequency, high voltage AC power supply, preferably 20 khz at 100 watts. The ozone generator in the system comprising a pair of conductive plates mounted parallel and opposed to each other and a pair of dielectric films. Preferably fused quartz, adhesively secured to the opposed faces of the plates by a heat-conductive, electrically-conductive adhesive. The dielectric films are spaced from each other to define an air space for flow of an oxygen containing air stream there through. The air space encloses corona discharges created when power is delivered to the conductive plates, the corona discharges converting a portion of the oxygen flowing there through to ozone. Cooling means are also provided to the plates.

Abstract: A method and system is disclosed for purposefully modifying the accessibility of information encoded upon an optical medium for indicating a state or history of the optical medium and/or a state or history of an item associated therewith. In one embodiment, the optical medium is purposefully damaged when the information is initially accessed so that upon subsequent access attempts of the information on the optical medium, a previous access of the information is detected by the purposefully induced errors. Thus, there is provided an effective technique for limiting illegal duplication and/or use of, e.g., software, movies, and music on compact disks and digital versatile disks. The present invention provides verification of persons and/or financial transaction cards during financial transactions. In another embodiment, a compact data storage device is disclosed having the approximate dimensions of a credit card that is capable of storing large amounts of data (e.g., 50-100 Megabytes).

Abstract: The invention relates to systems for collecting excess water applied to crops, treating the collected water and reusing the treated water for agricultural purposes or delivering it to ground water streams with so as to achieve cost savings, healthier plants, and reduce the environmental burden. The cost of providing water to crops, the amount of herbicides and/or pesticides delivered to the crops and the quantities of nitrogen fertilizer required is significantly reduced by a) capturing as much as possible of the water provided to the planting area which is not taken up by the planted crops, b) treating that captured water with ozone and c) reapplying the ozone treated water to the crops. The quality and quantity of food stuffs produced is also increased by the process.

Abstract: A system with a RAID controller connected to a plurality of hosts, and having a storage area configurable as a plurality of logical units. The RAID controller stores in an associated memory a table of access rights for the hosts to the logical units. Updates can be provided and additional material can be provided in new memory space that is subsequently made available to the various hosts by providing updated access rights that include the new space. In one embodiment, the present invention also maps the logical unit number from that requested by the host to an actual number used in the RAID subsystem.

Abstract: A high efficiency system for generating ozone includes a high frequency, high voltage AC power supply, preferably 20 khz at 100 watts. The ozone generator in the system comprising a pair of conductive plates mounted parallel and opposed to each other and a pair of dielectric films. Preferably fused quartz, adhesively secured to the opposed faces of the plates by a heat-conductive, electrically-conductive adhesive. The dielectric films are spaced from each other to define an air space for flow of an oxygen containing air stream there through. The air space encloses corona discharges created when power is delivered to the conductive plates, the corona discharges converting a portion of the oxygen flowing there through to ozone. Cooling means are also provided to the plates.