Abstract: An improved method of manufacture for wire feed-through devices, wherein a pre-formed tubular seal having a central axial opening for accommodating the wire insulates the wire from the ferrule and provides a tight environmental seal between the ends of the ferrule. The seal is radially compressed and then inserted, either by itself or with the wire, into the central opening of the ferrule so that the seal is maintained in compression between the wire and an inside diameter of the ferrule. In devices where one end of the ferrule opening is enlarged to accommodate one or more filter elements, the seal is positioned in the narrow portion of the ferrule opening, and additionally serves to maintain an inherent concentricity of the wire within the ferrule during installation and attachment of the filter elements, and injection or insertion of encapsulant material into the enlarged portion of the ferrule opening.

Abstract: A vehicle-borne spray boom apparatus has multiple articulated sections that are foldable and individually supported with respect to the ground to maintain a consistent and optimal distance between the boom sections and the ground on hilly and uneven terrain. A center section of the boom is mounted on a forward facing frame element of the vehicle, and boom arms extending from either end of the center section each comprise at least first and second sections, each supported by a ground-engaging wheel. Each first section is coupled at one end to the center section to permit vertical inclination with respect to the center section, and each second section is coupled at one end to a respective first section to permit vertical inclination with respect to such first section.

Abstract: An improved hollow grinder bevel angle control wherein a height-attitude coupling mechanism links the height and attitude motions of an adjustable tool-rest, and a scale on a stationary portion of the grinder cooperates with a pointer on the height-attitude coupling mechanism to indicate a relationship between bevel angle and grinding wheel radius. The coupling mechanism is implemented with a linkage mechanism that provides a wide range of tool-rest adjustment, subject to the height-attitude relationship defined by the linkage. The pointer is mounted for rotation with the linkage mechanism about its fixed pivot point, and is user-adjustable so that a dimension from the fixed pivot point to the tip of the pointer coincides with the radius of the grinder wheel. The bevel angle scale is stationary with respect to movement of the linkage mechanism, and arranged so that the tip of the pointer sweeps across the scale as the linkage mechanism is adjusted through its full range of movement.

Abstract: An improved technique for realizing the benefits of magnetic therapy in the field of equine care and treatment, in which a thin magnetic pad is positioned against the sole of a horse's hoof and a shoe fastened to the hoof sandwiches the magnetic pad between the hoof and shoe. Preferably, the magnetic pad is relatively thin, and the shoe is formed of a non-magnetic material such as aluminum. The pad and shoe may be separately applied, with the pad being temporarily held in place by an adhesive such as a quick drying rubber cement, or the pad may be bonded to the shoe and applied as a single item. The therapeutic effects of the magnetic pad are maximized because the shoe holds the pad in place, and the pad is maintained in contact with the hoof continuously, providing a simple and economical way of realizing the benefits of magnetic therapy.

Abstract: An improved and cost-effective plug-in coupling for leak-proof attachment of a pressure pipe to a pressure vessel, including a weldable ferrule secured in an opening in the pressure vessel, a plug-in fitting attached to the pressure pipe and having a plug portion inserted into a central bore of the ferrule, a pair of O-rings sealingly engaging the plug portion of the fitting and the central bore of the ferrule, and a snap ring for retaining the plug portion of the fitting in the central bore of the ferrule. The ferrule includes a broad cylindrical head that contacts the outer periphery of the pressure vessel, the ferrule being welded to the pressure vessel at the outer radial periphery of such head to form a leak-proof and durable seal between the ferrule and the pressure vessel. The broad ferrule head absorbs and dissipates the heat from the welding operation, minimizing any heat-related distortion of the central bore.

Abstract: An improved putter in which the frontal surface of the club head is curved both horizontally and vertically, with the frontal surface being defined by a portion of a sphere centered behind the club head and below a bottom face of the club head. The horizontal curvature of the frontal surface compensates for horizontal inclination of the club head with respect to the intended line of travel of the golf ball, and the vertical curvature of the frontal surface provides a consistent degree of loft despite variations in vertical inclination of the club head.

Abstract: An improved hand-held bowl lifter for safely lifting and transporting hot bowls from one area to another. The bowl lifter is used with bowls having a circular base, and a wall that tapers outward from the base in substantially circular cross-section. The bowl lifter is defined by a generally planar rigid board having a first end adapted to be grasped by a user, and a second end having a semi-circular opening that intersects an edge of the second end to define a pair of arms. The ends of the arms are separated by a dimension less than the diameter of the opening but greater than the diameter of the bowl base. A user grasps the first end of the board and moves it toward the bowl, allowing the arms to surround the base of the bowl adjacent the underlying support surface. Then the user raises the board so that the inner periphery of the arms evenly contact the outer periphery of the bowl. At this point the bowl is supported in an level and stable manner, and may be safely transported.

Abstract: An improved horse drawn sulky for harness racing, which is inexpensive to manufacture, and which compensates for the lateral forces caused by banking of the track and turning. The frame of the sulky is formed so that the wheel on the outside of the track is forwardly offset relative to the wheel on the inside of the track. In addition, the frame affords each wheel a camber which more nearly aligns the wheels with the surface of the track. The simple offset design improves traction on a banked track and improves tracking in turns.

Abstract: An SIR has an AND gate for selectively passing a deployment signal from a deployment circuit to a firing circuit. An arming circuit includes a logic circuit containing a small normally closed arming sensor which disables the AND gate until a prescribed acceleration level occurs to open the arming sensor. A pulse stretcher ensures that if the sensor opens only briefly, the AND gate will remain enabled long enough to complete deployment. The arming sensor comprises a plastic housing with a cylindrical cavity, terminals closing opposite ends of the cavity, and a spring biased mass in the cavity which electrically connects the terminals until an acceleration moves the mass to break the connection.

Abstract: In a preferred embodiment, an object orientation sensor device, including: a first LC tag disposed at a first selected location in the object; a driver/reader circuit disposed so as to detect the presence of the first LC tag when the object is in a first orientation and to not detect the presence of the first LC tag when the object is not in the first orientation; and the driver/reader circuit being arranged to energize the first LC tag with a magnetic field and to subsequently detect a first resonant frequency echo produced by the first LC tag when the magnetic field is removed.

Abstract: An adaptive digital filter for filtering noise from a binary signal having a baseline that is low and including valid pulses that are high, a system for monitoring a rotating element employing such an adaptive digital filter, and a method for filtering. The adaptive filter discriminates noise pulses from valid pulses by eliminating pulses of shorter duration than a specified high time threshold and eliminating pulse occurring prior to the expiration of a specified low time threshold from the filtered signal generated by the filter from the binary signal. The filter also includes a mechanism for analyzing the filtered signal and dynamically and automatically adjusting the specified high time threshold and specified low time threshold based on timing changes in the filtered signal. A method of filtering is also presented whereby the specified high time and low time thresholds are adjusted dynamically in accordance with the timing data calculated by the filter.

Abstract: A pressure sensor comprises a diaphragm mounted on a housing and subject to pressure. Stress sensitive resistors are connected to circuit traces on the diaphragm which in turn are wirebonded to a compensation IC. The IC is directly mounted on the diaphragm principally or wholly in an area which is not subject to flexing. A connector has a dome partially covering the diaphragm and holds terminal blades having ends extending away from the diaphragm and opposite ends carrying bond pads located adjacent the diaphragm. An opening in the dome permits wirebonder access to connect bond pads on the traces with terminal bond pads. A cover is installed over the connector and sensor.

Abstract: A high temperature thick-film hybrid circuit is characterized by a surface-mount circuit component that is electrically interconnected with a conductor. The surface-mount circuit component of the thick-film hybrid circuit is bonded to the conductor with a soldering technique employing dual-solder layers. The dual-solder layers enable component attachment to the conductor at a temperature below the maximum processing temperature of the component, while forming a solder joint that exhibits suitable adhesion properties at temperatures in excess of 165.degree. C. The dual-solder layers can be chosen to inhibit tin diffusion from the solder, silver leaching from the conductor, and the formation of a brittle intermetallic at the solder-conductor interface.

Abstract: A thick film hybrid multilayer circuit characterized by circuit components that are electrically interconnected with a multilayer structure composed of multiple layers of conductors interlaid with layers of a dielectric material in order to achieve high component density. The circuit components of the hybrid circuit are bonded to the multilayer structure with a novel soldering technique employing multiple solder compositions, which reduces the occurrence of dielectric fatigue cracking from thermal cycling. As a result, the multilayer structure exhibits significantly enhanced thermal fatigue resistance.

Abstract: A battery powered sensor in a tire has a microprocessor and a transmitter circuit permanently connected to a battery and a pressure switch or pressure sensor coupled to the microprocessor. The microprocessor has a sleep state and wakes up every few minutes to execute an algorithm which determines on a time basis whether to read the pressure state and transmit a report of significant changes, and determines on a randomly timed basis whether to transmit a status report. A factory test state permits only one signal transmission when the tire is inflated and inhibits other signals for a period to allow testing of many tires without interference from one another.

Abstract: An electrical cable for use in high-frequency, high power applications, such as with an inductive charging system used to charge batteries of an electric vehicle. The cable has multiple twisted-pairs of separately insulated stranded wire arranged in a pseudo-Litz wire architecture that surround a coaxial cable. The coaxial cable carries bidirectional RF communication signals between a power source of the charging system and the vehicle. The cable has an outer EMI shield that includes a metalized mylar layer surrounded by a high coverage tinned-copper braid layer. The multiple twisted-pairs of wires and coaxial cable are embedded in a polytetrafluoroethylene filler material that surrounds them inside the outer EMI shield. An outer silicone cover is disposed around the outside of the cable. The cable efficiently transfers power at high-frequency AC power, between 100 KHz to 400 KHz at high-voltage levels, on the order of from 230 V to 430 V. The cable carries bidirectional RF communication signals using a 91.

Abstract: A system for remotely controlling a desired door locking or other function in a vehicle or other protected environment has a transmitter and receiver for communicating a message including a sequence number, the code of a selected function to be performed and an authenticator. An algorithm in the transmitter and in the receiver has a cryptographic key and a seed code. Each algorithm generates the authenticator as a function of both the seed code and the function code; if the authenticators are equal, the message is valid. Upon each transmission the seed code is updated and the sequence number is incremented. The receiver updates its seed code according to the transmitted sequence number to keep the algorithms in synchronism. To initialize the receiver to recognize the transmitter IDs, the receiver is manually enabled for programming, a counter is set to zero, the ID is transmitted from each transmitter, each ID is stored in sequence, and the counter is incremented for each ID received.

Abstract: A system and method that may be implemented in a power inverter or controller, for example, that uses the speed of a rotor to control the torque output of a motor of an electric vehicle. A rotor encoder coupled to the rotor of the motor provides encoder signals that indicate the speed of the rotor and thus the speed of the vehicle. Alternatively, wheel speed sensors may be employed in lieu of the encoder to provide sensed signals that are processed to produce traction control of the vehicle. By monitoring the rate of change of the signals from the encoder or sensor, the controller determines if the drive wheels are spinning due to loss of traction. If this condition is detected, the controller reduces torque until traction has been regained.

Abstract: In a preferred embodiment, a multi-configurable output driver, including: circuit apparatus to provide driving current to an inductive load; and the circuit apparatus being configurable, without the addition or rearrangement of components, in at least two different output topographies.

Abstract: Ground detection apparatus that automatically detects continuity of a safety ground of a piece of equipment. The ground detection apparatus includes test relay circuitry for determining if a ground connection is open. Comparison logic circuitry is used to generate a fault signal if the ground connection is open and to prevent the electrical equipment from being energized. Delay circuitry is used to stabilize input voltage measurements, and to test the lines for a desired time period. Latching circuitry is used to latch the fault condition, and to ensure that all delays have elapsed and no fault condition exists before the electrical equipment is energized. Optionally, the latching circuitry may be used to prevent latching in a "brownout" condition. If the equipment safety ground is not present, power is not supplied to the equipment. This prevents possible shock to a user caused by ungrounded equipment.