Abstract: This invention discloses a slide-out room mechanism for recreational vehicles that allows the smooth and stable contraction and extension of slide-out rooms while requiring a minimum of parts or modifications to the recreational vehicle chassis or stationary floor. The slide-out room mechanism includes one or more rollers which facilitate contraction and extension of the slide-out room. The slide-out room mechanism includes an inclined plane configured to roll upon the one or more rollers. The slide-out mechanism can also use electro-mechanical or other mechanisms to assist the rolling of the rollers and/or assist the extension and contraction of the slide-out room.

Abstract: A thermostat system includes a temperature sensor, an LCD for selectively displaying alphanumeric and graphic devices on a touchscreen with virtual buttons, a processor having a memory for storing program and data information, and means for establishing communication with a remote correspondent. In one embodiment, the communication from the remote correspondent includes functional programming adding functions or virtual buttons to the thermostat not previously available to it. A communications interface connects the processor and a remote correspondent which is a source of functional programming.

Abstract: A unique educational medium for teaching children to recognize various objects by sight and touch including animals, vegetables, minerals, articles, items, and environmental features according to a thematic scene associated with the medium. The medium is preferably at least one sheet of material having a surface with a plurality of objects thereon and forming a part of the thematic scene, the objects representing at least two of the group consisting of images, shapes, forms, and numbers. Tactile material forms at least a part of each object and is used to represent the actual object such that a user may touch the tactile material and recognize the object. The sheet is of a size sufficient to allow a user to walk on the sheet, cover themselves with the sheet, and identify objects on the sheet by touch.