Abstract: An electrosurgical handpiece applies electrical energy to a blade electrode to accomplish blade electrosurgery or to a transfer electrode in a nozzle to transfer electrical energy in arcs in a flowing gas to accomplish conductive gas electrocoagulation. The blade electrode may be selectively extended to conduct blade electrosurgery and withdrawn when conductive gas electrocoagulation is accomplished. Finger activated switches on the handpiece control the application of electrical energy to the blade electrode and the application of gas to the nozzle and the electrical energy to the transfer electrode within the nozzle. A cord includes a tubing for supplying gas to the handpiece. The cord also includes a plurality of conductors for conducting electrical energy to the two electrodes and conducting control signals to an electrosurgical apparatus which delivers the electrical energy and the gas. A nozzle and electrode assembly fits within the end of the tubing.

Abstract: A "flight bag" style carry-on bag incorporates a pair of wheels positioned at a bottom corner of the bag and spaced along the width dimension of the bag. A pull handle is integrated with the bag, and preferably both the pull handle and the wheels are attached to an internal support structure such as a bottom pan. The wheels have an exterior surface presenting an edge upon which the wheels roll at the furtherest spaced apart locations to increase the width of lateral support provided by the wheels. The pull handle assembly includes at least one rod moving in a channel with a slider member connected to the rods to effectively transmit torque between a grip connected to the rod and the internal support structure.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for interconnecting electronic circuits using nearly pure soft annealed gold mechanically compressed within through-plated holes. The invention has its application in attaching integrated circuit dice directly to circuit boards by ball bonding gold wires to the bonding pads of the integrated circuit dice in a substantially perpendicular relationship to the surfaces of the dice and inserting the gold leads into through-plated holes of circuit boards which provide an electrical and a mechanical connection once the leads are compressed within the through-plated holes. The present invention also finds its application in the interconnection of sandwiched circuit board assemblies where soft gold lead wires are inserted into axially aligned through-plated holes of the circuit boards and compressed so that the gold lead wires compress and buckle within the through-plated holes, forming an electrical connection between the circuit boards.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for interconnecting electronic circuit boards through the use of twisted wire jumpers which are formed from multifilament wire and which have enlarged bird cages formed along the pins. The pins are drawn through a stack of circuit boards to position the cages in contact with interconnection apertures located in the printed circuit boards. The frictional engagement of the cages in the apertures provides both electrical inter connection of, and mechanical coupling between the printed circuit boards.

Abstract: Coagulation related activities are detected in a fluid sample in a plunger sensor cartridge. The cartridge includes a test cell with a reagent chamber and a reaction chamber and a plunger assembly. A reagent drive subassembly forces the contents of the reagent chamber into the reaction chamber. The plunger assembly is raised and released by a plunger lifting subassembly to allow it to descend through the sample of liquid in the bottom of the reaction chamber. A dispenser subassembly automatically meters precise quantities of fluid into the test cells. The plunger lifting subassembly and the reagent drive subassembly are mechanically separate and are controlled separately. Stepper motors are used to provide precise control over the degree, rate and sensitivity of movement of the plunger lifting subassembly, the reagent drive subassembly and the dispensing subassembly.

Abstract: A digital test system for functionally testing undiced ICs on wafers at relatively high test frequencies includes an improved probe card and interface assemblies. The probe card and interface assemblies each include a plurality of printed circuit boards laminated together as a single laminated structure. Equal length and equal impedance elongated micro strip test signal traces conduct the signals to and from a probe ring with a plurality of resilient probes physically and electrically in contact with the contact pads of the IC. Other circuit patterns includes a relatively large reference plane and a power plane of approximately equal size. The interface assembly performs selective I/O functions to electrically conduct input signals from a test signal generator to the probe card assembly and to electrically conduct response signals from the probe card assembly to the signal analyzer for determining the proper functionality of the IC.

Abstract: A current leakage control circuit regulates the output power of an electrosurgical generator to limit the amount of leakage current. The leakage current is monitored with a differential transformer which has the output and return leads of the electrosurgical generator as first and second windings. A third or sense winding produces a control signal whenever the currents in the output and return leads are not equal, thus indicating current leakage. The control signal is compared to a predetermined maximum safe level of leakage current. If this predetermined level is exceeded, a power control feedback loop of the electrosurgical generator reduces the output power to a sufficiently lower level to reduce the leakage current within a maximum acceptable limit.

Abstract: Heart performance is evaluated by collecting ultrasound images of at least one chamber of the heart of a patient after peak exercise. The images are subsequently displayed and analyzed to determine the presence and degree of heart disease, such as coronary artery disease (CAD). Collecting the images is done continuously at a rate of at least eight images per heart beat synchronized to a predetermined point in each heart beat over a time period which is normally sufficient to capture ischemic events resulting from the peak exercise. Each image thus synchronized represents a similar condition of each heart beat, thereby facilitating accurate comparisons. Collecting of images can be interrupted to eliminate blank or obscured images while the ultrasound sensor is repositioned. The collected images can be displayed and subsequently analyzed to determine the presence and degree of heart disease by comparing the images from successive heart beats.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for generating lubricant at the head/disk interface throughtout the life of a disk drive utilizing friction at the slider/disk interface to activate the polymerization of a monomer at the catalytic surface on the slider and/or the disk surface. The monomer is supplied to the catalytic surface through the vapor state from a reservoir.

Abstract: A cooling system employs a cooling liquid and a cooling gas in a combined thermodynamic cycle to overcome the flow resistance of dense assemblies of heat generating components and to improve heat transfer by inducing turbulence, thereby reducing the effects of thermal hysteresis and boundary layer formation. Sensible heat gain to the cooling liquid and gas and latent heat of vaporization of the cooling liquid also occur in channels through and over the components. The flow of cooling gas propels the cooling liquid through the channels. The cooling system is advantageous for cooling electronic components such as integrated circuits which exhibit relatively high degree of energy and physical density, in supercomputers. The cooling system may also be advantageously combined with an immersion cooling system for the power supply components in the computer.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for interconnecting electronic circuit boards through the use of twisted wire jumpers which are formed from multifilament wire and which have enlarged bird cages formed along the pins. The pins are drawn through a stack of circuit boards to position the cages in contact with interconnection aperture located in the printed circuit boards. The frictional engagement of the cages in the apertures provides both electrical interconnection of, and mechanical coupling between the printed circuit boards.This application is a division of co pending patent application Her. No. 07/347,507, filed May 4, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,419, issued May 14, 1991, U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 07/347,507 was a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/053,142, filed May 21, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,192, issued Oct. 8, 1991. All of these applications and patents are assigned to the same assignee.

Abstract: An adaptive throughput control for controlling the transfer of individual bytes of a message communicated between network controllers of adapters at nodes of a LAN enhances or maximizes the rate of transfer of bytes between the sending and receiving nodes at the time of each byte transmission. The adaptive throughput control is embodied in the logic of the network controllers and provides a minimum time gap between sequential ones of the data bytes transferred. The network adapter uses the motherboard DMA or programmed-I/A of the PC attached at the node for obtaining the data transfers between system memory of the PCs, rather than any local intelligence or on-board packet buffering. The adaptive throughput control incorporates handshaking which incorporates a unique signal in each data byte transferred and the unique signal is detected by the receiving network controller and in response to which a response signal is sent when the receiving network controller means is ready to accept the next data byte.

Abstract: An ultrasonic energy detector advantageously supplies both frequency and amplitude information which is related to the ultrasonic frequency and the amplitude of the detected ultrasonic energy. Frequency division is employed to reduce the relatively broad range of ultrasonic frequencies into a narrower audio frequency range while still providing information useful to identify the ultrasonic energy by frequency detection. The effect of anticipated background noise at all levels of gain selected is eliminated by subtracting a signal representative of the anticipated background noise and proportional to the selected predetermined gain from the amplitude of the detected ultrasonic energy.

Abstract: Multiple different operational capabilities, such as data transfer rates or communication protocols, are selectable for use on a single LAN. Enchanced nodes of the LAN have the capability of utilizing either an enhanced capability or a common capability in communicating with other nodes. Those basic nodes which are not of the enhanced variety have the capability of communicating utilizing the common capability. The enhanced nodes dynamically select the operational capability for the most efficient communication with other nodes.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for notching a wire so that it can be severed at the notched location by applying an axial force thereto. The apparatus includes a linearly reciprocal mechanism adapted to move forwardly, placing a pair of cutting blades in straddling relationship with the wire and includes an actuating mechanism for laterally reciprocating the cutting blades to form notches in opposite sides of the wire before retracting the cutting blades from the straddling relationship with the wire. The method of the invention includes the steps of moving a pair of cutting blades into straddling relationship with a wire, reciprocally moving the cutting blades into and out of cutting engagement with the wire and subsequently retracting the cutting blades from the straddling relationship with the wire.

Abstract: An electrosurgical generator in an electrosurgical unit (ESU) controls the repetition rate and the energy content of bursts of RF energy delivered to a gas jet supplied by the ESU, in order to maintain RF leakage current within acceptable limits while still achieving a sufficient state of ionization in the gas jet to reliably initiate the conduction of arcs to the tissue. The repetition rate of the RF bursts is substantially reduced in an inactive state when no arcs are delivered. A relatively small number of the RF bursts delivered during the inactive state have an increased or boosted energy content to assure an adequate ionization state in the gas jet.