Abstract: A material for maintaining hydration in plants, whether potted or in natural soils may include a substrate treated with a binder, securing a layer of hydrating particles thereto. Typical binders may include lignicite, or other naturally occurring materials such as sugars, molasses, corn syrup, gelatin, or the like. A byproduct of wood, lignicite has been found to be very effective. Various materials can serve as a hydrating, particulate coating. Polyacrylamide has been found to serve well and provide relief from the stress of dehydration that normally occurs in plants between waterings.

Abstract: A trolley for traveling along a cable may include a frame having a first end, a second end, and a rail extending therebetween. A user may suspend from the frame in a harness, leveraging the user's weight about a fulcrum suspended by a sheave rolling along the cable. Opposite the user, across the fulcrum, a brake shoe or pad pivotably connected to the frame may be controlled by a user shifting weight, a trim brake adjustable by the user, or both to control a braking force generated by the trolley between the brake pad and the cable. Trim braking may be set to stop the trolley on any incline, roll with a constant braking bias, or roll freely. User-weight leveraging may be dynamically adjusted by a user likewise by selectively weighting a harness, weighting a handle and tether to draw the user's weight toward the fulcrum, or both.

Abstract: A relative positioning system enabling a user to return to a starting position or some other point on the user's path. The system may include an array of accelerometers. The output from the accelerometers may be integrated to quantify movement of the array. The various movements of the array may be reconstructed to determine a net two or three dimensional translation. The current location of the array may be compared to a reference point to derive at trajectory directing the user to the reference point, such as an originating point. The trajectory may be continuously or periodically updated. Applications may include various displays presenting images, numbers, pointers, paths, vectors, or data by digital screens, watch faces, or other devices integrated with or remote from the processor calculating the vector back to the point of origin.

Abstract: A patch for repairing an intra-abdominal defect is disclosed in one embodiment of the present invention as including a mesh layer providing a grid of material perforated by apertures through the mesh. This mesh is used to reinforce an area around an intra-abdominal defect. A containment layer is secured proximate an edge of the mesh layer. A filler is distributed across the apertures of the mesh to contain a fluid from passing through the mesh. The mesh layer, containment layer, and filler are connected to form a chamber to selectively expand upon receipt of a quantity of fluid between the containment layer and the filler.

Abstract: A user-computer-readable medium provides all or part of a product labeling system for engaging purchasers. Executables, data, or both are recorded in the medium embodied in a tag or other product labeling structure, in order to deliver to a consumer or purchaser engaging presentations of products, information, or registration templates. As a result, purchasers may receive launchers, browsers, viewers, e-mail systems, facsimile centers, players, or interface brokers for the foregoing, if organically installed already on a workstation of a purchaser. In certain embodiments, entertainment, games, skill tests, and the like, recorded in the medium as a product tag or label may execute to engage a purchaser and provide purchaser profiling information.

Abstract: A composite, time-delayed, polymer-coated, granulated material for maintaining hydration in plants is formulated to delay acceptance of water in order to operate in drilling, plugging, and disking equipment used for aeration, soil amendment, or both. Whether potted or outdoors, whether relying on a third-material binder or a small, hydrated portion of the polymer itself as a binder, the material may be injected or otherwise placed below the surface of soils. Water is eventually absorbed sufficiently to expose the bulk of the hydrating particles attached to each granule. Addition of the granulated material as a soil amendment resists dehydration normally occurring in plants between waterings, yet its initial delay in hydrating supports water-jet injection and soil integration by resisting premature expansion from hydration.

Abstract: A system comprising a cable held in suspension and a trolley traveling along the cable relies on a brake to control velocity and net downhill acceleration of the trolley. The trolley may include a brake pad positioned to contact the cable. At the downhill end of the ride, the lever actuating the brake is caught and lifted by a capture ring, thus relieving the braking load on the trolley. Also, the trolley engages a comparatively modest, second resistance mechanism, such as, for example, a system of springs, that gradually increases in resistance with distance of motion of the trolley thereagainst, bringing the trolley to a gradual halt.

Abstract: An apparatus and method provide an elastic resistance to a free-range of motion of a user. A cord running through a pulley and connected at either end to handles permits assisted resistance control (ARC) and a leverage advantage. In ARC, release by an anchor hand, still maintaining a load, may provide consistent or reduced force on the other, active, hand. One bodily member, such as a hand, may selectively halt and move as an “anchor” member, thereby simultaneously exercising itself and exerting control over another “active” bodily member operating in a “free range of motion.” Thereby, motion of the active hand may continue throughout a range desirable for a physical therapy regimen, a sporting activity, a work activity, or the like. A full range of motion of a bodily member and all supporting portions of the body is possible, without excessive stress or strain on joints due to a mismatch of position and load common to prior art systems.

Abstract: An apparatus 10, and system 70 may be embodied as an article 70 or method implementing transactions between a central or “core” application 72, a fulfillment application 96 at a venue, and a wireless communication application 84, 86 hosted on a computing device 10, such as a cell phone, of an attendee at an event at that venue. Customers may sign up online, through a various types of web applications 88 or dedicated applications 92, to receive information, such as menus, catalogs, or the like of available products to be at the event. The core application 72 may manage a database 74 of records of customers, products, and fulfillment locations. The core application 72 may send to fulfillment applications 96 hosted by other computers 12 at fulfillment locations instructions to dispatch “runners” to deliver products to seat locations of customers who may order products (e.g., food, merchandise, etc.) over cell phones or other internet-connected, wireless computer devices 12 at a venue.

Abstract: Disclosed is a bed sheet and blanket system and method including a fitted foundation and a selectively detachable connecting sheet or blanket. Embodiments of the invention include a second connecting sheet or blanket disposed above or on top of the first connecting sheet or blanket. The fitted foundation, the first connecting sheet or blanket, and the second connecting sheet or blanket may be connected through interconnecting components such as zippers.

Abstract: A method of increasing bone mass throughout the body of a user. The method may include the steps of obtaining a distributor comprising a plurality of electromagnetic coils, obtaining a controller comprising a processor and a memory device, operably connected to one another, the memory device storing code executable by the processor, selecting a source of electrical current, connecting the source to the controller, and positioning a user proximate the distributor. The method may further include controlling, by the controller in accordance with the code, delivery of electrical current sequentially and exclusively to each coil of the plurality of electromagnetic coils to generate a magnetic field extending into the user.

Abstract: A system and method for a software override capability for enforcing a predetermined state for an otherwise hardware-programmable device. Software that may think it knows what it is doing may try to control a hardware device, but may not know about a hardware issue, such as another feature or defect requiring that the device stay in a certain state. The technique programmatically maintains a persistent hardware state independent of any other control software. To other software, the software layer of the invention is indistinguishable and inseparable from hardware. Nothing can slip in between. Any insertion attempt will be detected and disallowed. Features of the processor or system chips actually weld the software to the hardware, which feature disallows any software intervention between the welded software layer and the hardware.

Abstract: A programmatic time-gap defect correction apparatus and method corrects errors which may go undetected by a computer system. Buffer underruns or overruns, which may incur errors in data transfers, yet remain undetected and uncorrected in a computer system, are corrected by an error avoidance module in accordance with the invention. Bytes transferred to and from buffers, used by an I/O controllers to temporarily store data while being transferred between synchronous and asynchronous devices, are counted and an error condition is forced based on the count. If the count exceeds the capacity of the buffer, an error condition is forced, thereby reducing chances that errors are incurred into the data transfer.

Abstract: A system comprising a cable held in suspension and a trolley traveling along the cable. The trolley may include a brake pad positioned to contact the cable. The brake pad may include a plurality of segments contacting the cable. A first such segment may be formed from a first material. A second such segment may be formed from a second material, distinct from the first material. The sequence, composition, gaps, and the like of the plurality of segments may be selected to provide a desired resistance to wear, frictional coefficient, all-weather braking, and the like.

Abstract: A user-computer-readable medium provides all or part of a product labeling system for engaging purchasers. Executables, data, or both are recorded in the medium embodied in a tag or other product labeling structure, in order to deliver to a consumer or purchaser engaging presentations of products, information, or registration templates. As a result, purchasers may receive launchers, browsers, viewers, e-mail systems, facsimile centers, players, or interface brokers for the foregoing, if organically installed already on a workstation of a purchaser. Software may provide catalog presentations, user registration templates, communications, linkers, or engines, and the like. Operation modules and profile builders may provide information over ready links implemented by software on the medium.

Abstract: An aromatherapy air pump is damped and largely isolated against acoustic and mechanical transmission of vibrations in three dimensions by a combination of containment within multiple, nested housings and standoffs provided by elastomeric supports having anisotropic geometry. An elastomeric liner as well as unstable legs, physical separations, and hermetic seals combine to provide sound reduction for noise and vibration emanating from the pump and its drive motor.