Abstract: An exerciser includes a small trampoline, or rebounder (12), and a hand support (16) with handles (24, 26) that a person can grasp while jumping and rebounding to stabilize himself or herself, which is suitable for use in a commercial or public workout facility where there are likely to be many rebounders dedicated to such rebound exercising. The hand support lies immediately forward of the front end (46) of a rebounder that rests on a floor. The hand support includes a frame (40) that rests on the floor immediately forward of the rebounder front end and that has a top bar (44) that lies at least one meter above the rebounder mat (18). The top bar pivotally supports a handle device (22) that includes the handles (24, 26) at its lower end that can be grasped by a person who is jumping on the rebounder.

Abstract: A vessel with drilling and workover capability is constructed rapidly in a shipyard or dry dock by using an existing vessel that has most of the required hull. Bow and stern sections of the existing vessel are separated to leave them at opposite ends of a shipyard space, and a mid hull section is built in that shipyard space in the usual manner by welding together steel plates. The bow and stern sections are moved against opposite ends of the mid hull section and welded to it. Topside equipment is already on the bow and stern sections, and is added to the new mid hull section.

Abstract: An offshore system allows a vessel (12) to sail to a predetermined sea location (14), quickly set up a loading system and start the transfer of hydrocarbons to or from a pipeline (22), and then quickly disconnect and sail away. The vessel is a DP (dynamic positioning) vessel that does not require mooring or anchor lines, so the only apparatus to install is a conduit (30) that can be picked up by the vessel to extend between a stationary pipe end (24) that lies at the sea floor and the vessel. The conduit includes primarily a flexible hose (70) that extends in a sine wave with two loops (80, 82). The conduit includes a rigid reinforced hose section (34) that is pivotally connected to the sea floor. A chain (114) can be provided with a portion of the chain lying on the sea floor, to help the disconnected hose coupling (42D) remain at a stable position above the sea floor.

Abstract: A system is described for use at offshore locations of large depth, for mooring a production vessel or floating unit (14) at a location over a hydrocarbon reservoir (26) and for connecting risers (101) that can be carrying hydrocarbons up from the sea floor to a production vessel that stores the hydrocarbons, flowlines for water injection, gas lift, gas export, umbilicals and mooring lines that moor the vessel. Both the mooring lines and the risers are disconnectably connected to the vessel though a connection buoy, or connector (16). The invention concerns a system that allows a connector (16) to be used that is of minimum mass and volume, to ease its handling especially during its connection and disconnection to and from a vessel.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a cap (11) intended for use as hearing protection and adapted to enclosed the external ear of a user, characterized by at least one vibration-damping weight element (18, 38a-b) of the cap (11), which weight element is arranged so as to at least partly block an audio mode of vibration that would have existed in the cap in the absence of said weight element (18, 38a-b). The invention also relates to a method of producing such a cap, and use of the same.

Abstract: A pipe string (44) is pulled out by a tug boat (30) from a floating structure (12) such as a production vessel, as pipe sections (54, 56) are connected in series on the vessel, to eventually lay the pipe string in a catenary curve from the vessel to the sea floor and then along the sea floor to a distant subsea well head (86). To save time and cost in coupling the pipe sections, lower fatigue resistant pipe couplings, such as non weld-on couplings (120) that include a threaded sleeve (134), are used to connect pipe sections that will lie in a quiescent zone such as on the sea floor (zone Az), and in a zone (Cz) lying along the middle of the catenary curve. Higher fatigue resistant pipe couplings such as weld-on couplings (150) are used along active zones such as top and bottom zones (Dz, Bz) of the catenary curve.

Abstract: A surface-reinforced article includes a core assembly (12) comprising a foam core (20) with a surface region (22) that includes fine inner fibrous material intimately surround by foam that is integral with foam of the core, and an outer reinforcing covering (14) which includes an outer layer (32) of fibrous material and a resin (30) surrounding the outer layer of fibrous material and covering the primarily foam core assembly. The fine inner fibrous material (91-94) includes coupling fibers (100) with inner ends (102) embedded in the foam and outer ends (106) embedded in the resin, to better hold the resin to the foam. The primarily foam core assembly is molded within a first mold cavity (64) formed between spacers (60, 62) that lie within a second mold cavity (50).

Abstract: Earplugs (22, 24) and a combination (20) of a pair earplugs and a cord (26) that joins them, each can be detected by metal and/or magnetic detectors even if the parts of the combination becomes separated and fall into a batch of food, etc. Each earplug includes an earplug core (32) formed of a first elastomer with a multiplicity of metal-mag detectable particles (36) (particles detectable by electrical or magnetic detectors) embedded in the first elastomer, and an earplug covering (32) of a second elastomer (that may be the same as the first one) that is devoid of such particles. The cord includes a cord core (50) formed of a first flexible polymer with metal-mag detectable particles embedded therein, and a cord covering (54) formed of a second polymer that is devoid of such particles. The particles are preferably of iron, which is magnetically detectable but that can mark skin or clothing that it contacts, but which is isolated from the skin and clothing by the earplug and cord coverings.

Abstract: A seabed region (18) that lies under a seabed surface area of over one square meter, is analyzed by comparing a core sample taken near the middle of the region and/or data from a geotechnical insitu cone penetrometer installed at the middle of the region, to an acoustic analysis of the region. Locations of the acoustic analysis are precisely correlated to the location of the core test sample or cone test by mounting an acoustic imaging apparatus (16) that holds acoustic transducers (44, 46), on a carriage (26) that is positioned on the core drill (12) or cone penetrometer barrel staff. The carriage of the acoustic imager apparatus is clamped to the core drill when the core drill is not rotating. An arm (30 and/or 32) is supported on the carriage through a frame (28), with at least one acoustic generator (44) and one acoustic echo detector (46) mounted on the arm. The arm can be rotated to positions lying about the drill axis (14) to accurately scan a wide area.

Abstract: The claimed invention is a novel container system that adds utility and convenience for the consumer “on-the-go”. The container system claimed includes a main tray member that holds food product (e.g. carrots), and lid member that is configured so that, when it is inverted, it acts as a secondary tray member that holds food product (e.g. condiment) and is further attachable to the rim of the tray member via an interference fit or snap-fit grip fit. The resulting utility is that the consumer is able to hold the main tray member with one hand or have held the main tray member (e.g. in a recess in an automobile consol) and access the contents of both trays with a free hand.

Abstract: Food containers formed of sheet plastic are latchably stackable on one another. Each container has base (14) and lid (16) elements, with one of them having an outer rim part with a pair of long handle sections (80, 82) that can be pivoted up to form a handle assembly for carrying the container. The sections that form handles are formed in the lid element (16) rather than in the base element (14), so a person does not have to contend with long bouncing sections if the person eats a meal out of the base. One of the elements has vertically undercut grooves (50) and the other element has horizontal projections (52) that slide into and along the grooves. The grooved element has vertical passages (120) along which the projections can move vertically until they can slide into and along the grooves.

Abstract: Contacts (16) of a circuit component (12) have contact top regions (30) that extend down close to the upper face of a circuit board, and have contact inboard regions (32) that each lies primarily in a plated circuit board hole (34), wherein each contact is formed of bent sheet metal. The contact has a box-shaped cross-section along most of its length, which includes rear and front walls (40, 41) and first and second side walls (42, 44). Along the inboard region, the first side wall has a forward extension (90) that is bent by 90° to form a front wall with a free edge (94) that lies against the front (52) of the second side wall. Along a lower portion of the top region the side walls have forward projections (64, 66) that form upper shoulders (60, 62) for receiving downward forces to press the inboard portions down into the circuit board holes.

Abstract: A pipeline (20) that lies primarily in the sea and that is formed of multiple steel pipe sections connected in tandem at pipe joints, includes a protective coating around the pipe sections and around the pipe joints. Each pipe section is first covered, at an onshore facility, by an initial coating (30, 32) that extends along at least 80% of the pipe section length while leaving its ends uncovered, to leave gripping areas (40, 42) where the steel of the pipe is uncovered so the pipe can be clamped by tools such as those with steel jaws to position and slide it axially, or turn it, or prevent it from turning. After a pair of pipe sections are connected, a completion coating (50) is applied around the pipe joint to leave the pipeline with a coating around all of it.

Abstract: An enclosure (10) that contains a switch (40, 42) and that is surrounded by an explosive or flammable environment that could be ignited by a spark from the switch, includes a body (52) that guides a flat cable (16) through a body bore (56) to the inside of the vessel. A tight and strong seal is formed around the flat cable by a tubular seal (60) that lies in the body bore, that is formed of Teflon, and that has a tapered seal section (84) that lies in a tapered section (74) of the bore. A nut (62) at the rear of the body can be turned to push the tubular seal forward within the body bore and thereby compress it against the outside of the flat cable to form an explosion-proof seal.

Abstract: A container clearly indicates that it has been opened after a store clerk loads food into the base of the container and closes a covering of the container onto the base. The covering (16) includes a peripheral cover portion (22) that becomes fixed to a peripheral base portion (32) when the clerk initially closes the container. To thereafter open the container, a person forcefully lifts a tab (30) on the covering to tear the covering along a long tear line (26) that separates the peripheral cover portion (22) from a lid (24) formed by a radially inner covering portion. The base (12) is fixed to the peripheral covering portion (22), and together they form a base device (40). After the lid has been torn free of the peripheral covering portion, the lid can be closed and latched to the base device and then can be easily opened again.

Abstract: Systems are provided for obtaining electrical energy from sea waves using deflectable material, especially EAP (electro-active polymers) type SSM (stretchable synthetic material) that generates electricity when an electrostatic charge is applied to the polymer and it is stretched. In one system (10), a buoyant element (12) has upper and lower parts (14, 22) connected by a quantity (36) of SSM, with the lower part anchored at a fixed height above the sea floor (24) and with the upper part movable vertically to stretch and relax the SSM as waves pass over. In another system (50) the buoy is rigid, but is anchored to the sea floor by at least one line (60) that includes, or is connected to at least a length (64) of SSM material. In still another system (160) a plurality of rigid buoys (162) that float on the sea surface, are connected in tandem by SMM (166, 172) that is stretched and relaxed as the buoys pivot relative to each other in following the waves.