Abstract: A drinking cup has a generally cylindrical rim portion above an at least semi-cylindrical base portion. A generally semi-cylindrical rear wall is disposed between a segment of the rim portion and the base portion, while an also semi-cylindrical front wall is disposed between the remaining segment of the rim portion and a level significantly above the base portion. A rear floor joins the lower end of the rear wall and the base portion, and an upper floor joins the front wall at the defined level. A vertical generally central divider defines with the rear wall and the rear floor a long rear compartment and also defines with the front wall and the upper floor a short front compartment. A handle is shaped to permit handling by either the right or left hand and may be formed during manufacture as a separate sub-assembly which includes an insert that is received to become a continuation of the front wall below the upper floor.

Abstract: An oral hygiene appliance includes a base on which upstands a cabinet having top, front and rear vertical walls. A pair of recesses are formed in either side of that front wall. A plurality of seats within those recesses are each receptive of a jet tip. An inlet is defined in the top wall. A cover is shaped to envelope the cabinet over the recesses and the inlet with the cover being invertable to serve as a reservoir. Disposed within the cabinet is a pump responsive to a pressure control for delivering water received from the inlet.Seated toward one end of the base is the lower end of an elongated electric toothbrush body. Individual brushes are seated in the base around the body and those brushes ordinarily to the rear of the body are elevated on a pedestal. At the opposite end of the base is a well in which is seated the lower end of a handle in which a faceted lower end of one of the jet tips may be captivated.

Abstract: A T-post fence extender is formed from a cylindrical tube by swedging both end portions of the tube while leaving the central portion as a cylinder. In an alternative the tube is swedged throughout its length. Each swedged portion has a cross-section similar to that of a studded T-post and is sized to fit closely over the end of the T-post. Once in place, the extender may be welded to the T-post, the marginal end portions of the extender may be struck so as to be formed against the T-post between adjacent studs or a slot may be cut out to define a finger which may be deformed inwardly to seat between adjacent studs. The extender may be used either to raise the height of an existing fence or to erect a high fence from the beginning.

Abstract: A battery-powered toothbrush has an elongated housing shaped to be grasped by the human hand. The housing encloses a battery-energized motor which drives a brush shaft that has a stub projecting through a nose of the housing and upon which in use a brush is mounted. A generally tubular housing shell confines the battery, motor and shaft. An upper half shell is of a U-shaped exterior cross section over a substantial portion of its length, while a lower half shell is mated to the upper half shell in definition of the housing and is of semi-cylindrical exterior cross-section over a like substantial portion of its length. The distance along those substantial portions approximates the width of the adult human hand. The shaft is offset downwardly from the longitudinal geometric axis. All shell portions of different diameter merge smoothly into other portions of the shell.

Abstract: A showerhead is either wall mounted or provided with a handle connected through a flexible hose to an incoming water outlet. The showerhead has a turbine which may cause the delivery of pulses of circumferentially distributed groups of pulses of water so as to provide either fast or slow massage action. Also included is a pause mode in which flow is reduced without complete shutoff and a center spray mode which provides a concentrated spray pattern. Other modes possible are a needle spray, a combination pulse and needle spray, a combination needle spray with a body spray, just a body spray, and an oval shape spray pattern. Various water paths are defined from a flow selector through the unit to different ones of front-facing orifices as defined for the different modes. Selection is achieved by a combination of a flow director and a control plate. User access for mode selection is by way of an external circumferential control ring operatively coupled to the control plate through a control arm.

Abstract: A pair of dissimilarly-sized electrodes are driven by a radiofrequency source to create a plasma. A magnetic field is oriented to be parallel to a surface area on the smaller electrode. The field strength increases to either side of that smaller electrode. As shown, ions are electrostatically accelerated out of the plasma, but they instead may be accelerated magnetically, electrons may in the alternative be extracted or there may be no accelerating mechanism.

Abstract: A cooled plasma source for producing ions by electrical discharge. A cooled plate is positioned in the chamber of the plasma source for blocking thermal radiation from an electron-emitting cathode. The presence of the cooled plate results in significantly decreased substrate temperatures, as compared to use of conventional plasma source apparatus. As a result, the cooled plasma source may be used for treatment of heat-sensitive plastic substrates.

Abstract: A barrel serves as a reservoir in which a treatment fluid is to be contained and within which barrel is a slideable plunger. A connector at one end of the barrel is receptive to attachment of a cannula. Another connector is located at the other end of the barrel. A housing has a coupling attachable to that other connector. On the housing is a detachable fitting receptive of a hose which delivers air under pressure. Included in the housing is an adjustable air pressure regulator in an air flow path between the detachable fitting and the coupling with the regulator being selectively adjustable to control the flow of the air in that path. Associated with the irrigator is a container for the treatment fluid and which includes a pump sealingly attachable to the one end of the barrel for delivering the fluid into the reservoir in response to movement of the barrel.

Abstract: A coaxial cable has a plurality of insulated beads threaded onto an inner conductor and individually having an exterior shape such that a gap exits between each adjacent pair of beads with the gap increasing in width radially. A conductive flexible braid ensleeves the beads with that braid having interstices ventive of air but preclusive of the passage of plasma. An insulative covering ensleeves the braid and also is ventive of air but preclusive of passage of the plasma. A connector includes a termination having a barrel-shaped body fitting over the outer cable conductor. An outer connector element projects outward from the outer end of the body with that element having longitudinal slots that define a circumferentially-spaced series of flexible fingers. Those slots are ventive of air but have a size sufficiently small to preclude passage of a plasma. An inner electrical connector element projects outwardly from the inner cable conductor beyond the body.

Abstract: A pair of dissimilarly-sized electrodes are driven by a radiofrequency source to create a plasma. A magnetic field is oriented to be parallel to a surface area on the smaller electrode. The field strength increases to either side of that smaller electrode. As shown, ions are electrostatically accelerated out of the plasma, but they instead may be accelerated magnetically, electrons may in the alternative be extracted or there may be no accelerating mechanism.

Abstract: A hydraulically-piloted switch assembly includes a housing through which runs a hollow conduit that in use contains a fluid under pressure. A linear conduit portion defines a bore one end of which projects away laterally from a portion of the conduit. Slidable sealingly within the bore is a piston. There is an opening in the housing to the exterior atmosphere from the bore with one end of the pistion being movable through the opening to a position exposed beyond the housing. The piston is urged by a compression spring away from the opening to retract the piston end. An elongated leaf spring is secured at one end fo the housing, has an intermediate bend disposed adjacent to the exit of the opening and has its other end defining a finger that projects away from the opening. An outwardly-biased plunger of a microswitch is located in the path of flexure of the finger as the piston end is engaged and disengaged from the bend.

Abstract: A reverse osmosis method includes a sediment filter which cleans feed water from a source and from which that feed water is fed to a reverse osmosis membrane filter. Permeate from the latter is fed to a bladder within a storage tank. Concentrate from the membrane filter is fed to and used within the storage tank as squeeze water for the bladder. When a faucet that delivers permeate to the user is open, squeeze water is used to cause permeate to flow out of the storage tank through an impurity filter to supply the faucet. A valve unit is included to control the amount of squeeze water fed to the storage tank and to regulate permeate flow so that the water outletted from the faucet remains at a constant pressure and provides relief as against overpressure in the system. A proportioning valve within the valve unit serves to maintain at all times a constant ratio of concentrate to permeate flow through the membrane filter for adequate cleansing of the membrane.

Abstract: A reverse osmosis system includes a sediment filter which cleans feed water from a source and from which that feed water is fed to a reverse osmosis membrane filter. Permeate from the latter is fed to a bladder within a storage tank. Concentrate from the membrane filter is fed to and used within the storage tank as squeeze water for the bladder. When a faucet that delivers permeate to the user is open, squeeze water is used to cause permeate to flow out of the storage tank through an impurity filter to supply the faucet. A valve unit is included to control the amount of squeeze water fed to the storage tank and to regulate permeate flow so that the water outletted from the faucet remains at a constant pressure and provides relief as against overpressure in the system. A proportioning valve within the valve unit serves to maintain at all times a constant ratio of concentrate to permeate flow through the membrane filter for adequate cleansing of the membrane.

Abstract: A water filter cartridge has a cylindrical shell. A conduit runs between closing end walls and is disposed within a filtration material. There are additional openings in the respective end walls for communicating the flow of water through the material. A water filtration element of a porous medium is shaped to nest within a portion of the shell encircling a corresponding portion of the filtration material and defining space between the medium and the inner side wall of the shell with that space being in the water flow path from one of the end walls and the material through the medium. A reference color is exhibited over a portion of the exterior side wall of the shell adjacent to the location of the medium inside the shell, and the medium exhibits a given color upon beginning of usage but changes color with continued usage in response to its entrapment of matter in the water. The shell is transparent over the medium to enable the user to compare the medium color to the reference color.

Abstract: For use with an oral irrigating appliance which provides a series of pulses of fluid through a flexible hose to a user-held handle, a subgingival delivery tip is in the form of an elongated hollow shank with a knob at one end thereof. Formed at the other end of the shank is an in-turned constriction which defines a passage more narrow than the inner width of the shank. A probe of resilient material has an outer cone-shaped portion projecting away from and with its base seated adjacent to the outer end of the constriction. That probe also has a necked-down central portion continuing centrally from its base through the passage and continuing into an enlarged button-shaped inner portion on the inner end of that central portion with that inner portion being received within the shank in a position seated adjacent to the innermost end of the passage. A channel is pierced centrally through the entirety of all of the different portions of the probe.

Abstract: A reverse osmosis system includes a sediment filter which cleans feed water from a source and from which that feed water is fed to a reverse osmosis membrane filter. Permeate from the latter is fed to a bladder within a storage tank. Concentrate from the membrane filter is fed to and used within the storage tank as squeeze water for the bladder. When a faucet that delivers permeate to the user is open, squeeze water is used to cause permeate to flow out of the storage tank through an impurity filter to supply the faucet. A valve unit is included to control the amount of squeeze water fed to the storage tank and to regulate permeate flow so that the water outletted from the faucet remains at a constant pressure and provides relief as against overpressure in the system. A proportioning valve within the valve unit serves to maintain at all times a constant ratio of concentrate to permeate flow through the membrane filter for adequate cleansing of the membrane.

Abstract: A unitary probe cover for an infrared radiation thermometer has a frustum-shaped sheath which fits over the thermometer probe. A base, which is engageable with the probe, is formed integrally with and around the periphery of the proximal end of the sheath to hold the sheath over the probe. The sheath is made of an infrared transparent material and is formed to have a thinner distal end portion terminating in a thin window which passes infrared radiation through the probe into the thermometer.

Abstract: An irrigation appliance uses a reservoir which inverts to form a cover and includes a simplified valve in the reservoir as well as a switching mechanism adapted thereto. Liquid delivered to the unit from the reservoir is controlled as to pressure by adjustment on a hand-held device remote from the unit. In the base unit are elements which regulate forward and backward flow in order to obtain outlet pressure control.

Abstract: An electronic infrared thermometer is disclosed comprising a housing forming an interior chamber, a pyroelectric sensor mounted within the chamber for sensing temperature change and generating an indicative electrical signal, means for directing infrared radiation from the object to be measured to the pyroelectric sensor, a shutter assembly for controlling the passing of infrared radiation to the pyroelectric sensor, an ambient temperature sensor for sensing ambient temperature within the interior chamber and generating an electrical signal indicative thereof, an electrical circuit for processing the electrical signals to calculate the temperature of the object to be measured, and an indicator for indicating the calculated temperature.