Abstract: Educational kit which combines a unitized regenerative fuel cell with a demonstration platform to illustrate the principals of fuel cell use and application. A fuel cell education kit provides valuable exposure to the principals of fuel cell generated electricity to children. The fuel cell is a regenerative fuel cell converting water into hydrogen and oxygen during a charging cycle and reversing the process during discharge. A proton exchange membrane drives the process.

Abstract: An improved electrical discharge weapon having a longer range of effectiveness than conventional TASER® weapons. In a preferred embodiment, the improvement comprises an adaptor having dual spaced-apart dart cartridges which, because of their relative spacing and angular orientation, provide an effective range of 2 to 30 feet. The adaptor is configured to be connected to the single cartridge receiver of a conventional TASER® weapon.

Abstract: A collimating screen simulator comprising a projector and a holographic diffuser screen. The projector is adapted to project a viewable image onto a focal plane that is spaced from the projector. The focal plane has a backside and a viewing side opposite the focal plane backside. In operation, the projector is able to project the image onto the focal plane backside. The holographic diffuser screen is adapted to permit light from a source and incident upon a surface of the diffuser screen to pass through the screen. The holographic diffuser screen has a first surface facing the focal plane viewing side for receiving the incident light. The holographic diffuser screen also has a second surface opposite the first surface. The holographic diffuser screen is spaced from the focal plane viewing side by a distance effective for enabling a viewer facing the second surface of the holographic diffuser screen to see collimated light exiting the holographic screen.

Abstract: Measurement of respective distances to two remote points and measurement of the included angle, permit electronic calculation of the distance between the two remote points such as points on the opposed edges of an interior wall the length or other linear dimension of which is to be measured. The preferred embodiment is implemented using two laser-based pointer devices connected on a common housing through a shaft encoder. Each pointer device has a laser transmitter and detector for determining the distance to selected points at opposite ends of a wall. The angle between the pointers is determined by a shaft encoder as one of the two pointers is rotated from pointing at a first edge of the wall to the point at the second edge while the other of the pointers remains directed toward the first edge.

Abstract: An endotracheal tube which facilitates rapid intubation of the trachea, especially in situations where anatomical variation creates difficult intubating conditions, includes a portion that can be bent during placement to control the position of the distal end of the tube. The distal end of the endotracheal tube may be selectively curled or bent by a mechanism or fluid passage accessible from the proximal end of the endotracheal tube. The endotracheal tube provides for manipulation of the insertion end without occluding the lumen of the tube, to facilitate placement of the tube.

Abstract: A light-weight armor hard-face component with elastomer encapsulation and lateral confinement to effectively improve multi-hit performance. The preferred embodiment is an integrated package consisting of a large elastomer plate, which contains confined, shock isolated ceramic tiles. This plate can be formed to a variety of sizes and shapes by cutting the elastomer along the gap between ceramic tiles. The attachment of this integrated package to a vehicle structure can be easily accomplished by bolting or adhesive bonding. Elastomer encapsulation limits lateral damage, increases ballistic efficiency and allows multiple impacts without ballistic performance degradation. The armor component is an integrated package, containing a continuous elastomer phase around segmented ceramic tiles. The elastomer is used to (1) attenuate stress waves, (2) accommodate the lateral displacement of ceramic fracturing, and (3) isolate adjacent tiles during the backing vibration stage.

Abstract: An alerting system for fire stations utilizes programmable message centers, zone-coded lighting and audio modules to alert only selected personnel for a particular type of emergency, i.e. fire, medical, etc. to decrease response time while reducing stress to remaining personnel who need not be alerted. Related features include night vision lighting, low level lighting, remote sensing and activation of station doors, ceiling mounted lighting signals, bed proximity audio alerts, automatic control of Emergency Response Facility audio sources and daisy-chain Ethernet cabling for simple installation.

Abstract: A security device for a slide fastener, including a housing adapted to be fitted to an object to which the slide fastener is attached, the housing substantially surrounding the slider of the slide fastener in its fully closed position, a closure member adapted to cooperate with the housing which, in use, covers the slider to prevent access thereto and a frangible locking element adapted to link the housing to the closure member, the locking element being resiliently yieldable and slidably insertable into the closure member but not retractable therefrom without fracturing the frangible locking element. The closure member is attached at one end to a puller and the puller is attached to the slider. In a preferred embodiment the closure member can pivot about the housing and block withdrawal of the slider from the housing in its closed position.

Abstract: A monolithic element has a substrate body and at least one macro-optical characteristic integral in a first portion of the optical element. A plurality of surface micro-structures are integral in a portion of the optical element. The micro-structures are designed to homogenize light passing through the optical element to produce a predetermined pattern of smoothly varying, non-discontinuous light exiting the optical element. The light exiting the optical element is therefore altered according to both the macro-optical characteristic of the optical element as well as the homogenizing characteristics of the micro-structures.

Abstract: An optical filtering element with minimized edge effects, larger clear center aperture, and thermally stable bonding area. The element consists of a modified ball lens. The glass material that comprises the ball lens can be selected from a variety of thermally matched glass specific to the intended application such as BK7, SiO2, et cetera. The lens is polished on two sides so that the polished surfaces are nearly parallel. The polished ball lens(es) are then loaded into a coating fixture and then into a coating chamber. Multiple dielectric layers are applied to one of the polished surfaces, creating a spectral modifying filter. The other side is coated with an anti-reflection coating (some applications do not require the anti-reflection coating). At the completion of the coating run, the now polished and coated ball lenses can be spectrally measured and binned for use.

Abstract: An improved golf driver club head wherein each driver club head has a tensioning device, which places the peripheral/outer structure of the club head in compression; thereby, resulting in a stronger, more rigid club head structure. In the preferred embodiment, the tensioning device comprises an elongated cylindrical member having respective end members. The top and bottom surfaces of the golf club head are each provided with a cylindrical depression or recess and an aperture or passage at the lower end of the depression. The passages are just large enough to accommodate the tensioning device, but are too small to pass the respective end members. During club head manufacture, the length of the device is selected to apply a compressive force between the head surfaces. Fine adjustment is accommodated by a threaded end member. The actual compression force may be selected to yield the best performance depending on the geometry, structure and material of the club head.

Abstract: A capacitive transducer apparatus converts mechanical force to electrical signal parameters by change of spacing between plates of a plurality of capacitors. The apparatus has two mechanical components. The first component includes an articulating member such as a post surrounded by a first capacitive plate. Means are provided for causing the articulating member to articulate responsive to user manipulation thereof, and thereafter, to return to a quiescent position. The second component includes a second capacitive plate made up of a plurality of printed metalized members disposed about the articulating member substantially parallel to the first capacitive plate. A circuit is provided for detecting respective signals from a plurality of capacitors formed by the plates, the respective signals varying in value depending on articulation of the articulating member which alters the capacitance of the respective capacitors depending on the direction and magnitude of an applied force.

Abstract: A direction-agile antenna system is implemented in a wireless network to allow wireless communication devices to establish and maintain wireless data links with each other.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for still image compression, video compression and automatic target recognition are disclosed. The method of still image compression uses isomorphic singular manifold projection whereby surfaces of objects having singular manifold representations are represented by best match canonical polynomials to arrive at a model saved and compressed using standard lossy compression. The coefficients from the best match polynomial together with the difference data, if any, are then compressed using lossless compression. The method of motion estimation for inhanced video compression sends I frames on an “as needed” basis, based on comparing the error between segments of a current frame and a predicted frame. If the error exceeds a predetermined threshold, which can be based on program content, the next frame sent will be an I frame.

Abstract: A glass diffuser is fabricated by first producing a metal shim submaster or other high temperature resistant diffuser having a surface relief structure on one surface. A glass substrate material is heated to a suitable temperature and at least one exposed surface is thereby softened to a desired degree. The submaster diffuser, and particularly the surface relief structure, is then placed in contact with the exposed and softened glass substrate material in order to replicate the surface relief structure in the glass material. The submaster diffuser and the glass substrate are separated and then the glass is allowed to cool to form a glass diffuser.

Abstract: A monolithic element has a substrate body and at least one macro-optical characteristic integral in a first portion of the optical element. A plurality of surface micro-structures are integral in a portion of the optical element. The micro-structures are designed to homogenize light passing through the optical element to produce a predetermined pattern of smoothly varying, non-discontinuous light exiting the optical element. The light exiting the optical element is therefore altered according to both the macro-optical characteristic of the optical element as well as the homogenizing characteristics of the micro-structures.