Abstract: A process for potting electrical circuits with asphalt based potting compounds by providing uniform strips of solid potting compound, of controlled shape and melt characteristics, which are placed in a container in a certain sequence with the circuit board. The strips, or the uppermost strip is then reflow melted by the application of Infrared Radiant heat from directly above. The melted strip flows into the can, filing all void spaces, potting the circuit.

Abstract: A computer system capable of booting currently manufacturable CD-ROMs or tapes without altering the ISO standard or requiring special, customized software to perform this function. A CD-ROM developed for booting according to the present invention contains a boot record as defined by the ISO but located at the end of the defined system area. The operating code of the computer scans for a boot record starting at the beginning sector of the CD-ROM and ending at either a default number or the volume descriptor terminator. The floppy disk boot images are contained at the end of the primary volume space and incorporated in the primary volume space, not external to the primary volume space as in the ISO standard. Boot code contained in the boot record determines the size of the volume, and the proper floppy image to be used and then the actual location of the floppy image. Booting of the system then commences using the floppy image.

Abstract: A two part polyurethane adhesive system and method of using the adhesive to bond polyurethane foams, polystyrene foams, and other substrates. The first part of the adhesive system is a hydrophilic polyurethane prepolymer prepared by reacting a high molecular weight, multi-functional polyol which has been copolymerized randomly from propylene oxide and ethylene oxide, with a diisocyanate or polyisocyanate. This reaction mixture is then diluted with either a flame retardant, a plasticizer, a solvent which is not considered a volatile organic compound, or a combination of these chemicals. The second part of the adhesive system is an aqueous phase curing agent. In addition to water, the components of the aqueous phase may include a tackifying agent or a catalyst or both.

Abstract: A composite reed switch-bracket which is suitable for mounting on conventional roll-up or overhead doors to avoid damage caused by shocks or alignment displacement of the reed switch during usage. The electric magnetically actuated switch is mounted with a non-magnetic bracket and the switch is enclosed in a close fitting rubber or cover to maintain the switch that is not securely fixed and that is suspended in a gas filled air pocket to prevent or minimize breakage of the glass reed or other enclosure of the switch during usage. This composite reed bracket switch is intended for use with any and all manufacturer's alarm products.

Abstract: A circuit for responding to a microprocessor-generated write of a write-protected area of memory by invalidating a cache line corresponding to a write address in a microprocessor's internal cache by using a microprocessor address pin as a snoop invalidate signal during snoop cycles. This allows write-protected areas of a main memory to be cached in the internal cache of the microprocessor. The circuit monitors a processor bus to determine if the address associated with a write cycle corresponds to the write-protected area of memory. If so, the circuit latches in the write address, gains control of the processor bus by asserting an address hold signal to float the address pins of the microprocessor, and generates a snoop cycle on the processor bus. The cache line of the microprocessor's internal cache corresponding to the snoop address is invalidated, thereby preserving coherency of the write-protected data.

Abstract: A valve assembly which is placed in an air conditioner drain line for cleaning and maintenance of the drain line. The valve may be positioned to permit water or condensate to run through the drain line to a sewage drain. When the line needs to be serviced, usually due to clogging, the valve plug can be rotated to seal off the drain line upstream or downstream of the valve assembly. A slight pressure or vacuum may then be introduced at the top of the valve to force clogs loose. The valve also has a receptacle at the bottom so that an anti-fungus pellet may be dropped in which inhibits the fungus growth.

Abstract: A system for pressurizing a liquid oxygen tank (20) in a pressure-fed hybrid rocket (100) provides pressure at a first end of the tank (20) so that liquid oxygen can exit the second end. A hybrid heater (50) creates the pressure by mixing gaseous oxygen with the solid fuel (51) in the hybrid heater (50) to create an extremely high temperature. Helium is then mixed with the combustion products via an inlet (60) and this hot, inert mixture enters the liquid oxygen tank (20) via a diffuser (70). A second hybrid heater (90) pressurizes the gaseous helium sphere (40) to reduce the pressure decay caused by the withdrawal of the helium. Two of the hybrid heaters (50 and 90) are fed gaseous oxygen from a sphere (30). A novel ignition system is used to ignite the hybrid heaters (50, 90, 250). One of the hybrid heaters (250) is used to ignite the hybrid motor (100) in the rocket (11).

Abstract: A method and system of drilling multiple radial wells using underbalanced drilling, by first drilling a principal wellbore. There would then be provided a first carrier string having a deflection member on its lowermost end to a certain depth within the principal wellbore. There is then lowered a second drill string, such as coiled tubing, down the bore of the carrier string, so that the drill bit on the end of the second string is deflected by the deflection member in a predetermined direction from the principal wellbore. A second fluid is then pumped into an annular space between the coiled tubing and the carrier string to a position that it co-mingles with the first fluid. The co-mingled fluids and any hydrocarbons are then returned upward to the rig through the annular space between the borehole and the carrier string. There is then provided a volume of fluid to establish an equilibrium within the carrier string. The drill bit at the end of the coil tubing is retrieved from the bore hole.

Abstract: A cleaning device which can be used as a personal hygienic unit, as a unit for cleaning a diaper area of an infant, and rinsing soiled diapers, or as a cleaning unit for clearing clogs in a toilet or drain pipe. There is included a flexible hose which is connected to a water supply and to an inlet of a flow control valve. An outlet of the flow control valve is connected to a rigid hollow handle for delivery of water through the handle to a sprayhead secured at an acute angle in relation to a longitudinal axis of the handle so as to deliver water upwardly from the spray head openings when the device is in use. A secondary unit is independently connected to a water supply for delivery of water to a hand-held spray nozzle to allow cleaning of a diaper area of an infant and rinsing soiled diapers. As an alternative to the sprayhead, there is provided a flexible, bendable pipe having a free open end, through which a stream of water can be delivered to an immediate proximity of a clogged toilet or drain.

Abstract: A distal femoral sizing instrument includes an intramedullary rod for referencing the patient's intramedullary canal. A valgus module mounts to the intramedullary rod at a bore of the valgus. The bore of the module has a slant with respect to the flat reference surface of a valgus block. The module slidably connects to the block. The valgus block, referencing guide and a stylus (for connecting the valgus block and cutting together) are removed as a unit before shaping of the distal femur. An indexing system includes a gauge having a series of openings corresponding to "anterior" referencing and to "posterior" referencing. During anterior referencing, the gauge allows the surgeon to select the next smaller size prosthesis if the size falls in between available sizes. In posterior referencing, the gauge allows the surgeon to select the next larger size prosthesis if the gauge measures a size that falls in between available sizes.

Abstract: A bridge for coupling two buses together utilizes a data buffer to act as a point of synchronization to provide effective data operations between the buses. The data buffer includes a number of dual ported memories for write posting and read ahead operations. The data buffer further includes address incrementing and comparison circuitry to synchronize the flags into the clock domain of each bus.

Abstract: A wastewater treatment system uses a primary treatment vessel and a secondary vessel with a filtration unit therebetween. Continuous backwashing of the filtration unit occurs when a well pump is activated to empty the secondary vessel. A portion of fluid discharged by the well pump backwashes the filter continuously as the secondary treatment vessel is emptied.

Abstract: A method for treating conditions responsive to nicotine therapy, and particularly for smoking cessation therapy and for reducing nicotine craving, is described that utilizes transdermal nicotine delivery for obtaining base-line nicotine plasma levels coupled with transmucosal administration of nicotine to satisfy transient craving.

Abstract: A power management circuit for managing low power modes in a computer system, which implements four power modes, from highest power consumption to lowest power consumption: RUN mode, SLEEP mode, IDLE mode, and STANDBY mode. The computer system includes a PCI bus and an ISA bus, with a CPU-PCI bridge to connect the host bus and the PCI bus and a PCI-ISA bridge to connect the PCI bus and the ISA bus. The power management circuit transitions from SLEEP mode to IDLE mode by first determining if the CPU-PCI bridge is parked on the PCI bus and if it is in SLEEP mode. The power management circuit then waits for one refresh period and for all internal queues to empty before checking again to determine if the CPU-PCI bridge is still parked on the PCI bus and if it is still in SLEEP mode. If true, the CPU-PCI bridge transitions to IDLE mode. The power management circuit also performs low power refresh cycles when it is in IDLE or STANDBY mode.

Abstract: An expandable ice chest including a base member having a first pair of opposing walls, a second pair of opposing walls, and a bottom surface. The first and second pairs of opposing walls are attached to the bottom surface to form a box-like receptacle having an open upper end. An adjustable inner liner has a first pair of opposing liner walls and a second pair of opposing liner walls. The first pair of opposing liner walls are connected to the second pair of opposing liner walls. The adjustable inner liner has an open lower end and is slidably engaged within the base member. A lid member is received on the adjustable inner liner. A seal is positioned between the inner liner and the base member. The inner liner is adjustably secured to the base member in a plurality of positions via a slot through the base member and a pocket in the inner liner. A plug is received in the pocket and the slot to secure the relative position of the inner liner to the base member.

Abstract: A method of emulating a peripheral device in a multiprocessor computer system to test device driver programs. The emulation program is loaded by a host microprocessor into one or more of the other microprocessors (target microprocessors) which are not being accessed by the operating system software. After the emulation program is loaded, control vectors to the entry point of the emulation program, where the environment in each of the target microprocessors are initialized for the emulator program. If more than one target microprocessor are utilized, then one of the target microprocessors are designated as the "master" microprocessor, which accepts interprocessor interrupts from the host microprocessor. When the device driver program running on the host microprocessor invokes an I/O command, and emulation mode is selected, then an interprocessor interrupt (IPI) is asserted to the master microprocessor.

Abstract: Cardiovascular and other medical implants fabricated from low-modulus Ti--Nb--Zr alloys to provide enhanced biocompatibility and hemocompatibility. The cardiovascular implants may be surface hardened by oxygen or nitrogen diffusion or by coating with a tightly adherent, hard, wear-resistant, hemocompatible ceramic coating. The cardiovascular implants include heart valves, total artificial heart implants, ventricular assist devices, vascular grafts, stents, electrical signal carrying devices such as pacemaker and neurological leads, defibrillator leads, and the like. It is contemplated that the Ti--Nb--Zr alloy can be substituted as a fabrication material for any cardiovascular implant that either comes into contact with blood thereby demanding high levels of hemocompatibility, or that is subject to microfretting, corrosion, or other wear and so that a low modulus metal with a corrosion-resistant, hardened surface would be desirable.

Abstract: A FIFO with locked exchange capability is disclosed. The FIFO has a memory for storing and retrieving data submissions, a write address generator and a read address generator for sequentially addressing the memory. A difference counter maintains the difference between the number of writes to the queue and reads from the queue. The net difference, as tracked by the counter is a measure of the FIFO utilization. To detect the queue full condition, a comparator compares the maximum FIFO stack depth against the counter output. The result of this comparison is latched and provided to a write strobe generator so that, in a subsequent write operation, if the FIFO is full, the write strobe from the producer is blocked and the data will not be written to the FIFO. Otherwise, the write strobe from the producer is passed to the memory. Additionally, a remaining space count is maintained in a status register.

Abstract: The present invention relates to circuitry for selecting a master battery pack for supplying power to a computer system capable of incorporating multiple battery packs. A bi-directional master battery signal is communicated to the microcontroller of each installed battery pack and arbitration circuitry contained within the host computer system. The master battery signal operates in conjunction with a serial communications interface between each of the installed battery packs and the host computer system. Battery status information is communicated to the host computer system via the serial communications interface, and the host computer system then selects a master battery pack. The battery pack selected to be the master asserts the master battery signal while all other battery packs monitor this signal waiting for it to be deasserted. Other battery packs utilize the master battery signal to control their own charge and discharge circuitry.

Abstract: Cardiovascular and other medical implants fabricated from low-modulus Ti--Nb--Zr alloys to provide enhanced biocompatibility and hemocompatibility. The cardiovascular implants may be surface hardened by oxygen or nitrogen diffusion or by coating with a tightly adherent, hard, wear-resistant, hemocompatible ceramic coating. The cardiovascular implants include heart valves, total artificial heart implants, ventricular assist devices, vascular grafts, stents, electrical signal carrying devices such as pacemaker and neurological leads, defibrillator leads, and the like. It is contemplated that the Ti--Nb--Zr alloy can be substituted as a fabrication material for any cardiovascular implant that either comes into contact with blood thereby demanding high levels of hemocompatibility, or that is subject to microfretting, corrosion, or other wear and so that a low modulus metal with a corrosion-resistant, hardened surface would be desirable.