Abstract: A storage system is provided which can effectively store a variety of magnetic storage elements such as VHS video cassette packs, standard audio cassette packs, Beta video cassette packs, 51/4" floppy disc packs, and CD (compact disc) packs alternately in a given space in a drawer. The drawer has opposite sides with vertical tabs spaced along each side to form spaces that closely receive opposite ends of a VHS cassette pack. A pair of cassette adaptors can each lie in spaces otherwise occupied by a VHS cassette pack, the adaptors having vertical ribs that store standard audio cassettes in an orientation perpendicular to that of the VHS cassettes. A pair of disc pack adaptors can be mounted at opposite sides of the drawer, these adaptors having walls forming wide slots for holding CD disc packs and narrower slots at the bottom of the wide slots for holding 51/4" floppy disc packs. The disc pack adaptors hold the disc packs at an incline from the vertical to reduce their height and facilitate reading of titles.

Abstract: A system for remotely controlling multiple light strings to achieve a wide variety of visual effects including, on the same string, variations in color, blink rate, and brightness.

Abstract: An earplug of the slow recovery type is described, which has open cells for expelling gas to the outside during compression, but which resists the entry of water through the outside and the soiling of the outside by dirt. The earplug includes a body formed of pressure-molded slow recovery resilient foam material forming multiple gas-filled shells. The plug body has a surface region forming a skin wherein the average cell cross-sectional area is less than half that of cells at the center of the body, and is less than one-tenth millimeter, the surface region being primarily continuous.

Abstract: Apparatus is described for use with a projector which can direct light substantially horizontally through a projection location and which can project the image of a slide thereat onto a screen, which enables the projection of the images of slides contained in a flexible storage sleeve of a type which is normally stored in a three-ring binder with the slides coplanar. A carrier has a pair of slightly spaced walls for receiving the storage sleeve between them, the walls having rows and columns of transparent regions corresponding to the location of the slides in the sleeve. A holder slidably supports the carrier so one of its slides lies at the projection location for projecting the image onto a screen. The holder allows the carrier to be slid horizontally to show any of the slides in a row of slides on the sleeve, and allows the carrier to be moved vertically to show the slides on another row of the sleeve.

Abstract: A garage door opener with solenoid latches is provided with a circuit for energizing the coils of the solenoid latches with power from a 24-volt step-down transformer, either as 120 volt power is applied to a motor to move the door in response to detection of an initial surge of current or as a manual or radio controlled command switch is actuated. In either case, current at a higher level is applied initially to pull in the armature locking pins of the solenoid latches, and thereafter at a lower hold-in level. A transformer with a single turn primary winding or a Hall-effect device may be used to detect the initial surge of current to the motor and in response thereto pull in the locking pins. Thereafter, hold-in current is applied as long as current to the motor is sensed.

Abstract: An electronically variable active analog delay line utilizes cascaded differential transconductance amplifiers with integrating capacitors and negative feedback from the output to the input of each noninverting amplifier. The delay of each section may be controlled through a conductor having distributed resistance connected at distributed points to the transconductance control terminal of the amplifiers with a controllable voltage gradient between the two ends of the conductor. Signals may be coupled in and added to a propagating signal using capacitors, or transconductance amplifiers which may also be of the differential transconductance type, particularly when coupling signals from a second delay line having substantially the same propagation velocity.

Abstract: A method is provided for forming a mold surface with microscopic upstanding pillars for molding the inside surface of a vascular prostheses (synthetic blood vessel). The mold article is formed from a quantity of Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene) which has a polished, flat surface on which a gold film has been sputter deposited. A photoresist layer, which cannot adhere directly to Teflon, adheres to the gold. The photoresist is exposed and developed leaving a sputter resistant mask defining the desired pillar locations, and the resulting workpiece is ion etched to form the pillars in the Teflon. A synthetic blood vessel material is cast against the Teflon mold to form blind recesses on the inside of the synthetic blood vessel, with the recesses being of predetermined uniform cross section and present in a predetermined uniform pattern.

Abstract: This invention relates to an analog to digital convertor in which zero drift and span drift are eliminated. The first differential amplifier has inputs of an analog voltage which can be switched between its positive input terminals in polarity and a reference voltage which can be switched between its negative input terminals. The output of the summing amplifier is integrated in a positive differential integrator, preferably, and fed through a crossover detector to detect crossover of the signals from the two sides of the integrator. Integration is carried out while adding the reference voltage and the analog voltage over a first fixed time period. The reference voltage is then reversed over a second time period to perform a first conversion. The start and stop signals of these time periods are used to start and stop a pulse counter.

Abstract: A hydrotherapy method for discharging a water stream through a rigid conduit while concurrently translating the conduit discharge orifice along a nonlinear path describing an area. The conduit is comprised of a supply section and a discharge section having an axis misaligned with the supply section axis for discharging a stream in a direction tending to rotate the conduit around the supply section axis. Frictional loading of the conduit, attributable to suction produced by the supply water jet, is mitigated by providing a passageway which permits the suction to draw tub water into a cavity for entrainment by the water jet for discharge through the conduit.

Abstract: Real time "exclusive or" operation, image subtraction, intensity inversion, and first- and second-order differentiation is achieved by an interferometer with a phase conjugate mirror for retroreflection of two or more beams derived from a single beam by a beam splitter and recombined interferometrically by the beam splitter.

Abstract: Most gaseous ion lasers run with continuous drive and operate under steady state thermal conditions. They cannot be driven according to the needs of the application, and their kilowatts of waste heat must be removed from the working environment. A fast transient effect, ion loss to the wall of the bore, is dealt with by pre-saturating the wall during novel bore-conditioning pulses applied at startup. Additional improvements provide denser gas during this step, otherwise only small bore tubes could be presaturated. Other improvements provide means for overcoming the transient effect of discharge gas pumping. And a thermal thinning of the column gas is avoided by means of a novel gas density regulation. The result is a switched, dynamically operating gas laser, whose drive can follow the peak needs of the application while its waste heat is averaged to a low output level acceptable in the working environment.

Abstract: An air regulated cleaner discharge device is for use in a toilet water tank, the tank having a ballcock for discharging water to fill the tank from a minimum water level to a maximum water level, a flush valve connected to a toilet bowl for flushing water therein from the tank, and an overflow pipe projecting above the maximum water level having a ballcock refill tube connected thereto for directing tank water to refill the toilet bowl after flushing. The novel device has a preferably plastic container for receiving a mixture of liquid or other chemical material therein with an air supply tube having an inlet end opening into the tank spaced above the minimum water level and below the maximum water level, and an outlet end opening into the container preferably at an extreme upper portion above the minimum water level. A liquid cleaner supply tube also preferably of plastic is connected into the container at preferably an extreme lower end portion thereof and particularly below the air supply tube outlet end.

Abstract: A backside illuminated CCD imaging sensor for reading out image charges from wells of the array of pixels is significantly improved for blue, UV, far UV and low energy x-ray wavelengths (1-5000.ANG.) by so overthinning the backside as to place the depletion edge at the surface and depositing a thin transparent metal film of about 10.ANG. on a native-quality oxide film of less than about 30.ANG. grown on the thinned backside. The metal is selected to have a higher work function than that of the semiconductor to so bend the energy bands (at the interface of the semiconductor material and the oxide film) as to eliminate wells that would otherwise trap minority carriers. A bias voltage may be applied to extend the frontside depletion edge to the interface of the semiconductor material with the oxide film in the event there is not sufficient thinning.

Abstract: A surgical instrument and support unit for enabling a user using one hand to probe an incision and illuminate, irrigate, and aspirate the incision. The surgical instrument has a probe with illumination, irrigation, and aspiration ports on the end. The probe is coupled to a handle having controls for the irrigation and aspiration functions. Light from a high intensity lamp in the handle is transmitted through an optical fiber to the illumination port. A heat sink enclosing the lamp draws heat away from the lamp and transfers the heat to the aspirated fluid passing through the heat sink. The support unit is controlled by a microcomputer and provides an electrical supply for the lamp and a pressurized fluid supply for irrigation. The sources of the irrigation fluid is a standard hospital flexible bag. A bladder inflated by an air pump pressurizes the flexible bag. The pump is also utilized to deflate the bladder to allow rapid changing of the flexible bag during a surgical procedure.

Abstract: A roll film processor for developing film wound into a roll. The processor has a plurality of substantially aligned tanks containing processing liquids. A removable film drive module having a "U" shaped section for each tank carries the film along a serpentine path through the tanks. Each "U" shaped section has down path leg for carrying the film into the liquid and an up path leg for carrying the film out of the liquid. The rollers for moving the film are positioned outside the liquid. Opposed "V" shaped grooves guide the edges of the film in the liquid. One of the grooves is on a front portion of the drive module and the other is on a rear portion. If a jam occurs, the film drive module is removed from the processor and opened by removing retainer clips by hand from retainer pins. The grooves are thereby separated allowing removal of the jammed film. Reassembly of the film drive module on the processor is facilitated by latitudinally flexible couplers for the module drive shafts.