Abstract: An injection reservoir or button is adapted for implantation beneath the skin of human and animal patients in conjuction with tissue expanders and drug delivery devices. The injection reservoir includes a base and an exterior wall which define a chamber of liquid reservoir. A duct connects the chamber with an expandable bag of the tissue expander. An elastic rubber member is affixed within the interior of the chamber to act as a sealing member. The rubber member is an inverted dome and is self-sealing to needle punctures because it has a concave interior side which is under compression as a result of having been manufactured into a substantially dome-shaped configuration and thereafter inverted. A metal guard plate is included within the interior of the chamber to guard the base against accidental puncture by an over extended hypodermic needle.

Abstract: A garment or pant specifically adapted for providing protection to a person's knees in kneeling position while performing gardening or like chores, is disclosed. The garment has a pair of legs, and a pocket affixed to the exterior of each leg. A padded cushioning member is substantially fixedly held in each pocket. The pockets are affixed to the legs in such positions that the pockets and the cushioning member register in the appropriate positions to provide a cushioning and insulating barrier between the wearer's knees and the ground when the wearer is in kneeling position.

Abstract: A device for protecting the beauty rims of ceilng-mounted water sprinklers comprises a shield member having a closed end removably attached to one end of an elongate handle. The shield member has an open end, the interior surface of which may be provided with a ring of adhesive material. In one preferred embodiment, the shield member is attachable to the beauty rim solely by the adhesive material. In another preferred embodiment, the shield member has a plurality of longitudinal, inwardly-directed ribs that are frictionally engageable against the protective receptacle within the beauty rim of the sprinkler on which the shield is installed.

Abstract: A strain-relief end bell for an electrical connector assembly includes a ratcheting mechanism that allows the end bell to resist vibration-induced decoupling once it is threaded onto an electrical connector. The ratcheting mechanism includes a retainer ring that is seated between an internally-threaded coupling ring and an annular fitting around which the coupling ring is rotatably mounted. The retainer ring is fixed to the coupling ring so that both rings are rotatable together. The inner peripheral edge of the retainer ring has a plurality of equidistantly-spaced detents that engage a plurality of rotational bearings on the annular fitting as the coupling ring and the retainer ring are rotated with respect to the annular fitting. The engagement between the detents and the bearings creates a ratcheting effect that restrains the coupling ring from rotating with respect to the fitting unless a manual effort is applied to it.

Abstract: A spray can holding and actuating device includes a body that is removably attachable to the top of a spray can. The body includes a handle and a valve actuation lever, operated by a trigger, that engages the push-button valve of the spray can when the trigger is pressed. A locking plate is pivotally attached to the front of the body for movement between an unlocked position and a locked position. In the unlocked position, the actuation lever has an unobstructed path for engagement with the valve. When the plate is in the locked position, it locks the actuation lever in a position disengaged from the valve. A trigger lock is advantageously provided selectively to disable the trigger. The trigger lock includes a pin movable between an unlocked position, in which it is received in an orifice in the body when the trigger is pressed, and a locked position, in which the pin engages the body before the trigger is moved sufficiently to bring the actuation lever into operable engagement with the valve.

Abstract: A disposable combination of a hypodermic syringe and needle has a sheath movably mounted on the syringe barrel to normally occupy a first position wherein the sheath extends to cover and protect the needle. In a second position of the sheath, relative to the barrel and needle, the needle is at least partially exposed. In a third position of the sheath, which is used for disposal of the syringe and needle combination, the needle is again covered by the sheath and preferably the sheath is irreversibly locked whereby abuse or misuse of the syringe and needle combination is substantially prevented. The sheath is made from a plastic material, such as styrene butadiene or acrylic styrene copolymer, which has a deflection temperature below the temperature required for heat sterilizing syringes. Consequently, upon attempted sterilization by heat, the sheath melts, thereby further rendering the combination usable only once.

Abstract: An injection reservoir or button is disclosed which is adapted for implantation beneath the skin of human and animal patients in conjunction with tissue expanders and drug delivery devices. The injection reservoir includes a base and an exterior wall which define a chamber or liquid reservoir. A suitable duct connects the chamber with an expandable bag of the tissue expander. An elastic rubber member is affixed within the interior of the chamber in a configuration wherein its side abutting the chamber is in compression, thereby rendering the member self-sealing to punctures by a hypodermic needle. A metal guard plate is included within the interior of the chamber to guard the base against accidental puncture by an over-extended hypodermic needle.

Abstract: Process and apparatus for measuring liquid level changes in horizontally disposed cylindrical storage tanks compensates for thermal expansion and contraction of the liquid in the tank during the measurements. A vertically disposed substantially cylindrical container in the storage tank has a valve which controls fluid communication between the container and the storage tank. A float and associated sensing mechanism measure the level of liquid in the container. A measurement of the liquid level is made in the beginning of the test with fluid communication open between the container and the tank. A second measurement is taken after a fixed time period during which fluid communication between the container and the tank is closed. From the second measurement a theoretical liquid level is calculated which would exist in the tank due to temperature effects, and without leakage.

Abstract: A cleaning instrument for removing plaque and calculus deposits from the titanium anchor cylinders of tissue integrated dental prostheses is disclosed. The instrument, molded from hard plastic, such as polypropylene or glass reinforced nylon, has an elongated handle and a substantially crescent-shaped scraper body disposed at one end of the handle. The scraper body defines an interior opening which is of the same internal diameter as the external diameter of the titanium anchor cylinders to be cleaned. Interior walls of the crescent-shaped scraper have teeth or ridges to provide a scraping or cutting action for the calculus deposits. The crescent-shaped body extends more than one-half of the corresponding circle. Therefore, in order to place the scraper on the titanium cylinder the jaws of the scraper must be slightly spread apart and thereafter the scraper body snaps onto and is removably held on the titanium cylinders.

Abstract: A display button includes a front body member which has an opening or window. A disc-shaped member is rotatably mounted behind the front body member and retained there by a retainer member wedged or friction-fitted into a rearwardly folded circumferential lip or ear of the front body member. The disc-shaped member has at least one slot into which an indicia carrying insert can be inserted either through a slot of the window or of the retainer member. A plurality of distinct and unique indicia are affixed to the disc-shaped member on the side which faces the front body member, positioned so that each indicia can be brought into registry with and selectively displayed through the window.

Abstract: A tool holder that is particularly adapted for holding garden tools and hose nozzles includes a laterally-slotted rack element which is removably attachable to either a vertical or a horizontal water pipe or the like. The rack element has a first clamp member fixed to its rear edge, with a second clamp member removably securable to the first clamp member to attach the rack element to a vertical pipe. The rack element is removably mountable onto one end of a vertical support, the other end of which has a third clamp member fixed to it. A fourth clamp member is removably securable to the third clamp member to attach the vertical support, and the rack element mounted on it, to a horizontal water pipe. The lateral slots in the rack element extend inwardly toward the center of the rack element, and they gradually increase in width from their inner ends to their outer ends. The tapered configuration of the slots allows them to receive and hold a wide variety of garden implements.

Abstract: A monitoring system is arranged to monitor and record each transaction taking place on a gaming table. The system includes a tray for receiving gaming chips and sensors for sensing the chips held by the tray. A cash box is provided for the deposite of cash received in return for chips dispensed from the tray. A keyboard is provided to record each deposit of cash into the cash box. A central processing unit is responsive to a timer, the keyboard and the sensors to record each transaction which takes place on the gaming table into data storage means. A warning light lights up in the event that money which has been deposited in the cash box is not entered into the keyboard. The system enables management to conduct a complete analysis of the transactions taking place on the gaming table, to provide not only figures giving the profitability of the table but also an indication of the competance and integrity of the croupier.

Abstract: Equipment in an enclosure is shielded from affecting, or being affected by, external electromagnetic and magnetic fields. A flooring within the enclosure includes first and second portions. The first portion supports the enclosure walls and provides electromagnetic and magnetic shielding. The second portion is paramagnetic and is disposed inwardly of, and spaced from, the first portion. A third flooring portion disposed between the first and second portions and expansible with heat provides a compatible coupling with the first and second portions. A door in a wall aperture is movable between opened and closed positions. Resilient fingers on the door co-operate with the door jambs to provide an electromagnetic coupling between the door and the walls when the door is closed. A window in another wall aperture provides for a visual inspection of the enclosure and for electromagnetic coupling with the walls.

Abstract: A coating of tetrafluoroethylene or other suitable material is present in the heating element of a bypass oil refining device for the purpose of substantially preventing deposit of carbon or carbonaceous material on the heating element during operation of the device. The heating element is located in a vaporization chamber. The bypass oil refining device incorporates a pressure control valve to shut off flow of oil from a mechanical filter to the vaporization chamber when the oil pressure in the mechanical filter exceeds a predetermined value. An externally adjustable flow control valve is also incorporated in the device to permit control of the rate of flow of the oil from the mechanical filter to the vaporization chamber. Water and fuel vapors which are distilled out of the oil in the vaporization chamber are released from the vaporization chamber through a vent and check valve, and are absorbed as condensates in a suitable, absorbent material. The absorbent is preferably placed into a disposable cartridge.

Abstract: A device for protecting the beauty rims of ceiling-mounted water sprinklers comprises a shield member having a closed end removably attached to one end of an elongate handle. The shield member has an open end terminating in a flared lip, the interior surface of which is provided with a ring of adhesive material. The method of using the device includes the steps of (a) attaching the closed end of the shield member to the handle end; (b) placing the open end of the shield member over the sprinkler to cover the sprinkler and the rim, whereby the adhesive material adheres to the rim; (c) removing the handle from the closed end of the shield member, leaving the shield member attached to the rim by the adhesive material; (d) painting the ceiling around the shield member; and (e) removing the shield member from the rim.

Abstract: An injection reservoir or button is disclosed which is adapted for implantation beneath the skin of human and animal patients in conjunction with tissue expanders and drug delivery devices. The injection reservoir includes a base and an exterior wall which define a chamber or liquid reservoir. A suitable duct connects the chamber with an expandable bag of the tissue expander. An elastic rubber member is affixed within the interior of the chamber in a configuration wherein its side abutting the chamber is in compression, thereby rendering the member self-sealing to punctures by a hypodermic needle. A metal guard plate is included within the interior of the chamber to guard the base against accidental puncture by an over-extended hypodermic needle.

Abstract: A container for intravenous fluid has a triangular cross-section to permit improved utilization of space during packaging of several containers in boxes or cartons, and a first opening sealed by a membrane seal which can be pierced with the spike of a conventional intravenous set. A second opening of the container is surrounded with a neck portion forming a joint to which an intermediate member is pivotably mounted. The intermediate member includes a hollow cylindrical portion having two circumferential ribs which are adapted to hold the neck of a standard small vial containing solid antibiotics and the like. The intermediate member also includes an internally mounted hollow spike so that the seal of the antibiotic vial is penetrated by the spike when the vial is mounted to the intermediate member. The duct of the spike of the intermediate member is not aligned with the second opening of the container until the intermediate member is rotated or pivoted into an extreme position.

Abstract: A system for automatically controlling lighting fixtures, appliances, an alarm, or the like in a room or enclosure has a pair of sensors installed in association with each entryway leading into a room. The sensors are triggered when a person passes through the entryway and send a signal to a logic circuit which is mounted in operative association with the sensors. The logic circuit distinguishes between entry or exit of persons from the room on the basis that in each entryway or door one of the two sensors is triggered first in case of entry, and the other one of the two sensors is triggered first in case of exit. The signals signalling entry are counted and stored in a first counting register separately from the signals signalling exit of persons from the room which are counted in a second counting register. The status of the first counting register storing the number of entries is continuously compared in a comparator circuit to the status of the second counting register storing the number of exits.

Abstract: A disposable combination of a hypodermic syringe and needle has a sheath movably mounted on the syringe barrel to normally occupy a first position wherein the sheath extends to cover and protect the needle. Substantially axial guide channels are provided in the exterior surface of the barrel to accept an inwardly pointed boss of the sheath to guide the sheath into a second position and a third position. In the second position of the sheath, relative to the barrel and needle, the needle is at least partially exposed. In the third position of the sheath, which is used for disposal of the syringe and needle combination, the needle is again covered by the sheath and preferably the sheath is irreversibly locked whereby abuse or misuse of the syringe and needle combination is substantially prevented. In alternative embodiments, instead of axial guide channels, the bosses of the sheath may be engaged in appropriately formed circumferential grooves or depressions formed in the outer surface of the barrel.