Abstract: An internally-illuminated medical data card in a credit card format containing a summary of the medical history of the bearer germane to his existing medical condition. The card, which is of laminated construction, includes a plastic core panel having light-transmitting properties, one face of the panel having formed thereon a metallized layer functioning as a double-faced mirror. Mounted on the layer and on the other face of the panel, respectively, are front and rear film transparencies containing medical data in a directly legible scale, the combined data affording the required summary. The long edges and one end of the panel are in a concave formation to define reflective convex terminations whereby light entering the remaining flat end is transmitted through the panel and is reflected by the convex terminations and by the inner face of the mirror to provide multiple internal reflection, causing the light to illuminate the front transparency to enhance its readability.

Abstract: A fabric headband which incorporates a replaceable thermal cartridge and is integrated with a miniature radio set whereby when the band is worn about the head as a crown, it then provides beneficial thermal effects as the wearer listens to the radio through a pair of earphones which depend from the crown. The headband is constituted by a central pouch adapted to receive both the cartridge and a flexible card in front thereof having a metallized face, and a pair of hollow fabric wings extending from opposite ends of the pouch. When the band is encircled about the head and the wings are joined to define the crown, the cartridge in the pouch then lies in heat-exchange relationship with the brow of the wearer.

Abstract: A long-life aroma-generating miniature capsule attachable to the surface of an incandescent light bulb to be activated by heat emanating therefrom. The capsule is constituted by a flexible pad of porous material impregnated with a volatile liquid fragrance, the pad being sandwiched between base and cover plies formed of a metal foil-plastic laminate peripherally joined together to create an envelope whose cavity is occupied by the pad. The cover ply has a vent hole therein, and the outer surface of the base ply is coated with a layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive, whereby the capsule may be conformed and adhered to the contoured surface of the light bulb. The adhered capsule is in heat transfer relation to the bulb, as a consequence of which the liquid impregnant is volatilized to produce an aromatic vapor that is discharged through the vent hole.

Abstract: A dual-purpose baking pan assembly suitable for use in a conventional oven wherein the assembly as well as the food therein are exposed to a high-temperature atmosphere, and in a microwave oven wherein the atmosphere is close to ambient temperature and the assembly and the food are subjected to microwave energy. All components of the assembly are formed of a dielectric material unaffected by microwave energy and capable of withstanding high temperatures. The assembly is constituted by a circular base which fits into an annular groove formed in a cylindrical shell defined by a pair of complementary half-sections whose rear ends are hinged together by a removable pivot pin and whose front ends are joinable by a detachable clamp. Thus, after a food product is baked in the assembly, the shell thereof may be detached from the base to expose the food product without disrupting its structure.

Abstract: A toy work vehicle propelled by a bi-directional d-c motor in a forward or reverse direction depending on the polarity of battery voltage applied thereto, the vehicle including a power take-off device driven by the same motor to raise or lower a load. A gear shift mechanism operatively coupled either to the wheel axles or to the power take-off device, is controlled by a shift stick which in neutral operatively couples the motor only to the power take-off device. The shift stick is movable to a lateral position having a forward and a reverse mode in which the motor is operatively coupled to the wheel axles.

Abstract: An easily-opened case for housing diskettes having data magnetically recorded thereon. The case not only acts to protect the diskettes from contamination and physical injury but also shields it from stray magnetic fields, electrostatic discharges and from ionizing radiation which, if the diskettes were exposed thereto, would act to erase or distort the data recorded thereon. The case is formed of a box adapted to house the diskettes and a cover to the rear of the box. The box and its cover are fabricated of aluminum or other material having shielding properties with respect to stray fields, electrostatic discharges and ionizing radiation. The cover is provided with front and side flanges which when the cover is closed lie against the front and side walls of the box, and with an outwardly inclined rear baffle which when the cover is closed assumes about a 45 degree angle with respect to the rear wall of the box, whereby when the cover is raised, the rear baffle then lies against the rear wall of the box.

Abstract: An article of apparel such as sportswear whose outer surface exhibits a chromatic pattern related to thermal variations in the body of the wearer. The fabric of the garment is tailored to make direct contact with the skin of the wearer at different body sites. Integrated with the fabric or portions thereof are cholesteric liquid crystals. These are subjected to heat energy emanating from the skin of the wearer and therefore to variations in temperature that depend on the amount of body heat being dissipated in the area of contact. Because these liquid crystals have temperature-sensitive chromatic properties, the color pattern displayed by the garment undergoes changes in the course of wear.

Abstract: An electronic algesimeter adapted to determine by cutaneous sensation the threshold of pain experienced by a patient at any skin site on the body. The instrument includes a hand-held, pressure-sensitive transducer having projecting therefrom a sensor constituted by a pointed probe. When the point of the probe is pressed against the skin, the transducer then yields an electrical signal proportional to the applied pressure, this signal being fed to a resettable digital display. And when the pressure applied to the skin reaches a threshold value at which the patient experiences pain, a switch is actuated by the patient or the examiner to retain the digital indication at that value whereby it may be read by the examining physician and recorded after the instrument is withdrawn from the skin.

Abstract: A dual-valve controller having a single rotary control element for concurrently adjusting both an air-control valve and a gas-control valve to supply an air/gas combustible mixture to a gas-fired burner. Applied to the inputs of the controller valves are pressurized streams of air and a gaseous fuel. These streams are conducted through the respective valves into a common mixing chamber to provide an output air-gas mixture in a predetermined ratio which is fed into the burner to produce a heating flame. When the control element is manually turned by an operator or automatically by a control motor, it acts to more or less open the valves to corresponding degrees to concurrently adjust the volumetric flow rate of the air and gas, thereby changing the intensity of the flame without, however, altering the air-gas ratio which is set for optimum combustion efficiency.

Abstract: A detecting head assembly provides output signals relating to individual ionizing events due to radioactive decay of material in a medium such as a radiochromatogram or electrophoretogram. The detecting head assembly comprises a scanning head which includes an ionization chamber comprising two spaced detecting electrodes each including an array of spaced conductors. The conductors extend transversely of one another to provide a plurality of conductor crossing points. A mask having a plurality of radiation transmissive zones or apertures is supported relative to the detecting electrodes such that said zones or apertures respectively correspond with the conductor crossing points.

Abstract: A laser beam surgical system provided with a cannula insertable into a body passage leading to a surgical site. The cannula includes a rotatable inner tube whose inlet section has two input ports, one being in line with the tube axis and being coupled to a white light source, the other being at right angles to the axis and being coupled to a carbon dioxide laser projecting a collimated beam. Supported at a 45.degree. angle within the inlet section is a pellicle that is permeable to the beam of white light impinging thereon and reflective to the laser beam whereby both are directed toward an outlet section at the other end of the tube. Supported within the outlet section at a 45.degree. angle with respect to the tube axis is a normally planar reflective membrane which directs both beams through a lateral output port toward the surgical site which is illuminated by the white light.

Abstract: An electromagnetic flowmeter for metering the flow rates of fluids of low conductivity, the flowmeter including a non-magnetic spool within which is disposed a pair of electrode assemblies at diametrically-opposed positions embedded with an insulating layer molded against the inner surface of the spool. Each assembly is constituted by a curved measuring electrode plate and a curved shielding electrode plate concentric with the spool, the face of the measuring electrode plate being exposed. Received within the insulating layer and covering the faces of the measuring electrode plates is a tubular liner made of dielectric material whose properties are appropriate to the fluid being metered, the liner defining a flow conduit for the fluid.

Abstract: A player for a multi-aroma cartridge constituted by a planar array of like frame assemblies held within a multi-section framework, each assembly being formed by a pad of absorbent material sandwiched between a pair of frames whose margins are joined together to define a central zone exposing the pad. The pad of each assembly is impregnated with a liquid fragrance that differs from those of the others. When the cartridge is inserted in a slot in the player case, it lies over a complementary honeycomb, each of whose cells is then in registration with a respective assembly. The cells are provided with individual electric heaters such that when a selected cell heater is energized, it heats the air in the cell to produce a positive pressure therein that acts to force the heated air through the zone to volatilize the liquid fragrance, the resultant aromatic vapor being discharged into the atmosphere through vents in the case.

Abstract: A panel frame created by attaching molding pieces or tracks to a wall or other substrate to support a fabric panel whose margin has an excess tail that is anchored in the tracks. Each track is constituted by a plastic extrusion having a flat base that lies against the substrate and an overlying profiled strip having an edge wall joined to the base at right angles thereto along a line intermediate the upper and lower edges of the base, the section of the base below this line functioning as a mounting flange for the track. The strip further includes a raised flat face which is parallel to the base to define a storage channel therebetween, the face extending from the edge wall to a rounded cove terminating in a bent-in nose that normally abuts the upper border of the base to define a dilatable inlet leading into the storage channel.

Abstract: A hot air oven for heating food-loaded cartridges, each constituted by a stack of sealed trays nested within an open carton whose side walls have holes therein to admit heated air, the trays containing pre-cooked meals. The oven includes a rotating turntable provided with a raised annular shelf for supporting a circular array of cartridges, the side walls of which define a hollow center core. A driven propeller is disposed within the core, the space between the shelf and the turntable forming a restricted flow passage whose inlet communicates with the core and whose outlet lies at the periphery of the turntable. A heater assembly above the cartridge array produces heated air which is sucked by the propeller into the hollow core. Because of the flow restriction, a substantial portion of the heated air is forced through the holes of the cartons to heat the food in the trays.

Abstract: A method for filling a container for a cosmetic which initially is in a heated liquefied state and which assumes a solid form at ambient temperature. The container includes an open-ended cylindrical case whose bottom end is provided with a lip acting as an end stop with respect to a piston-type actuator slidable therein, the upper portion of this case being threaded to receive a screw-on cap within which is nested a removable filling cup which closes the top end of the case. The actuator is provided with a filling hole making it possible when the actuator occupies its stop position to fill the container from the bottom with the liquefied cosmetic. When the liquefied cosmetic filling the container solidifies, it forms a solid column therein that is seated on the actuator and is raised thereby. The actuator hole is sealed by a plug of a material having a high thermal coefficient of expansion, the plug being deposited in the hole in a cold state in which its diameter is slightly less than that of the hole.

Abstract: A random-access card file system formed by card-storing cartridges, each capable of accommodating at least one deck of cards, and an automatic card selector adapted to extract any desired card therefrom regardless of its location in the cartridge. Each card in the deck includes an upstanding tab whose longitudinal position is related to a particular point on an incremental linear scale extending the full length of the deck. The selector includes a carriage movable to a position in registration with any desired incremental point on the scale, the carriage supporting a crane having a card picker thereon, whereby when the carriage is set to a particular scale point and a switch is actuated, the crane completes an operating cycle in the course of which it bows down over the cartridge to enable the picker to engage and clamp onto the tab of the selected card and to then lift the card to withdraw it from the cartridge.

Abstract: A surgical stapling device loaded with staples each having a pair of parallel limbs bridged by a straight crosspiece. In operation, as the limbs are implanted by the device on opposite sides of a skin incision, they are bent inwardly toward each other below the skin surface to close the incision, the crosspiece being bent to create an arched air gap above the skin surface to allow space for post-operative swelling and to facilitate subsequent removal of the staple. In the device, a row of staples straddling a rail are advanced toward a metal mandrel projecting from the front end of the rail into an outlet. The mandrel, which has an arched formation, is flanked by a pair of abutments on the front end of the rail whereby the foremost staple in the advancing row is deposited onto the mandrel. Cooperating with the mandrel is a plate-like former whose leading edge has a recess therein leading to an inner arched section which conforms to the arched mandrel.

Abstract: A non-rotating toggle bolt assembly in which a trunnion nut received on the end of a screw whose length exceeds the thickness of the hollow wall for which the assembly is intended, pivotally supports a pair of spring-biased toggle wings. The wings are normally outstretched; but when the assembly is pushed through a hole drilled in the wall, the wings then fold in against the screw to permit passage therethrough. On emerging from the hole, the pivoting wings resume their outstretched state at a position well displaced from the inner surface of the wall. Included in the assembly are locking means which act to prevent rotation of the outstretched wings when, in the course of installation, the operator turns the screw to advance the toggle axially toward the inner surface of the wall to tighten the assembly, and which also acts to prevent loosening of the assembly such as might be caused by vibration, after such installation.