Abstract: Lock release assemblies which are accessible at the rear of a rotatable fold-down back of a collapsible home or office chair. The lock release assemblies are adapted to be manually manipulated by the user to control the rotation of the fold-down back from a locked upright position standing vertically above the seat of the chair to an unlocked folded position lying horizontally over the seat in face-to-face alignment therewith. With the back rotated to its folded position, the chair will have a compact, space-efficient configuration which is suitable for storage and/or transport.

Abstract: A guard to prevent direct touch contact between an individual's hand and a handle or a contact surface of a door to which a pushing or pulling force is applied to cause the door to open. According to a first preferred embodiment, a hollow cylindrical core is moved into removable surrounding engagement with a door handle. A plurality of protective strips are laid one above the other in a roll that surrounds the core. According to another preferred embodiment, a plurality of protective strips or coverings are disposed one above the other in a stack that is attached over a pushing surface of the door. Successive ones of the plurality of strips and coverings can be removed from the roll or stack and discarded following use. One surface of each of the strips and coverings is treated with a layer which includes a mixture of adhesive and microbicide.

Abstract: A rotatable scrub brush having particular application for removing dried residue from a bucket or similar container. The scrub brush includes a shaft, one end of which can be coupled to a conventional drill. The opposite end of the shaft is connected to a hollow bulb having cleaning bristles projecting outwardly therefrom. Openings through the bottom of the hollow bulb communicate with respective water inlet ducts. When the bulb is dipped in water standing in the bucket to be cleaned, the water will flow upwardly through the inlet ducts to be collected inside the bulb. A rotational force generated by the drill is imparted to the bulb by way of the shaft to cause the bulb to spin at high speed. As the spinning bulb is lifted out of the standing water and moved along the sides of the bucket, the water collected at the interior of the bulb will be expelled therefrom through outlet ports in order to moisten the cleaning bristles and the residue on the bucket to be removed by the bristles.

Abstract: A cylindrical housing assembly with an adjustable aperture or orifice using an iris shutter system to control the volumetric flow of fuel mixture or exhaust gas by movable blades or leaflets arranged inside a sealed enclosure which is operated by external actuators connected in series.

Abstract: An improved rotatable wedge spacer to be removably positioned in a gap between opposing upper and lower surfaces (e.g., tiles) that are being bonded (e.g., by means of mortar) one above or adjacent the other to a flat surface (e.g., a wall or a floor). The spacer includes a curved (e.g., circular) body having a thin tip at one end and a thick tail at the opposite end. The height of the circular body between an upward sloping top surface thereof and a flat bottom surface increases from the thin tip to the thick tail. A series of flat load-supporting plateaus having predetermined increasing heights are regularly spaced from one another along the top surface so as to lie parallel with the flat bottom surface. With the flat bottom surface of the wedge spacer seated upon the lower tile, the curved body is rotated within the gap until one of the flat load-supporting plateaus along the top surface engages the upper tile.

Abstract: An intra-digital orthosis for use in shooting a ball such as a basketball comprising: index and ring finger receptacles each having an aperture; a middle finger backstop; and first and second shafts joining the index and ring finger receptacles to the middle finger backstop. The orthosis preferably spaces apart and/or encourages flexion of the distal phalanges of at least a user's index and ring fingers and/or facilitates an arch angle between those fingers and the user's middle finger that approximates the curvature of the ball being thrown so as to facilitate and enhance the user's ability to position the hand when shooting the ball.

Abstract: A quick-release adjustable mounting bracket to be detachably connected to, for example, a handlebar of a bicycle to permit, for example, a bright flashing light source to be attached to and removed from the handlebar without the use of tools so that neither the mounting bracket nor the light source need remain attached when the bicycle is not in use. The mounting bracket includes a grip to engage a portion of the handlebar and a light stand pivotally coupled to the grip. The light source is removably received by the light stand so that the light stand and the light source received thereby are rotatable relative to the grip. The grip includes a hook-shaped locking catch, a coupling cavity within which a plurality of spaced, parallel-aligned coupling pin retaining slots are formed, and a flexible clamping band. A locking latch pivotally coupled to a first end of the flexible clamping band is pulled towards and rotated into locking engagement with the locking catch.

Abstract: A pump comprises a driving rotor and a driven rotor that are positioned in a housing such that, as the driving rotor and the driven rotor rotate, the teeth of the driving rotor and the teeth of the driven rotor mesh to form a positive displacement seal. The teeth of the driving rotor and the driven rotor are configured such that seals between the inlet side and the discharge side of the pump are formed between only the leading surfaces of the teeth of the driving rotor and the trailing surfaces of the teeth of the driven rotor.

Abstract: A rotatable wedge tile spacer to be removably positioned in a gap between adjacent upper and lower tiles that are being bonded one above the other to a vertical surface (i.e., a wall). The tile spacer includes a curved (i.e., circular) body having a thin tip at one end and a thick tail at the opposite end. The height of the circular body increases along a tile-supporting top surface thereof that runs from the thin tip to the thick tail. With the tile spacer seated upon the lower tile, the circular body is rotated continuously around its longitudinal axis until the tile-supporting top surface engages the upper tile. Accordingly, the circular body of the rotatable wedge tile spacer will fill the gap and thereby prevent the upper tile from moving through the gap towards the lower tile during the bonding process.

Abstract: A seat plate assembly that is secured without the use of tools or special skill to the bottom of a seat of a home or office chair that is sold disassembled. The no-tools seat plate assembly includes a seat plate housing that is connected to and slidable along the seat relative to a catch and a cam lock that is pivotally connected to and rotatable relative to the seat plate housing. The seat plate housing has a gas cylinder receiver in which to receive a gas lift cylinder. When the seat plate housing is first connected to the seat, the cam lock is rotated over top the gas cylinder receiver to block receipt of the gas cylinder. During installation, the seat plate housing slides axially along the seat, and the cam lock is rotated into locking engagement with the catch. The gas cylinder receiver is now unblocked to accept the gas cylinder therewithin.

Abstract: An encoder-type register for an automatic meter reader to be interfaced with a visual read-only register of the kind found in a water meter that measures water consumption. The water meter register has a rotatable sweep hand that carries a magnet and rotates around a register plate in relation to the speed and volume of water moving through the water meter. A plurality of (e.g., three) magnetic (e.g., Hall effect) sensors are fixedly positioned one-after-another in the path of the magnet carried by the rotating sweep hand. The magnetic sensors measure the magnetic field produced by the rotating magnet and generate corresponding output signals. A microprocessor receives the output signals generated by the magnetic sensors whenever the magnet rotates therepast. The microprocessor stores information concerning the number of rotations of the magnet carried by the sweep hand depending upon the direction in which the magnet is being rotated as an indication of water consumption.