Abstract: A roof screen system comprises a number of triangular frames assembled from aluminum beams held together with pivotable clamps. Such clamps also bolt down onto roof footers with flashing boots that prevent roof leaks. A number of clips are attached to the upright triangular frames. Horizontal rails are then attached with the clips to the triangular frames, and screen panels are hung and attached to the rails. The pivotable clamps allow a slip-connection anywhere along the aluminum beams that can be locked down with ordinary wrenches. As such, the screen panels can be tilted back or forward to accommodate painted signs, electric signs, advertising, and even solar photovoltaic panels.

Abstract: A rain-gutter cleaning system has an agitator head that is mounted to the top end of a long suction tube and pole and supported aloft by them. A vacuum pump on the ground is connected to bring rain-gutter debris down the suction tube and into a collection bag. The agitator head includes rotating paddles that tear and break up tangles and clogs encountered in a rain gutter and has a rotating auger screw inside that helps direct the loosened debris down the throat of the suction tube. A camera mounted atop the agitator head allows an operator on the ground below to see the inside of the rain gutter on a small monitor screen.

Abstract: A weather cover for a boat comprises a fabric cover that completely covers the boat while floating in the water. The cover is gathered tight above the waterline. An air-duct fan inside the cover draws in clean dry air from outside through a filtered vent and a connecting flexible air duct. Such fan runs on electricity provided by shore power, the boats electrical system, or solar panels. The exhaust air is directed through another vent through the cover. The intake cover vent is filled with a replaceable filter foam material. In both vents, a louver opening is directed downward to prevent rain or water spray from entering. The fan need only keep the air inside the boat dry over the long term. The fan therefore may run continuously, or as power is available, e.g., during daylight when the sun is shining.

Abstract: A prosthetic nucleus replacement comprises a solid flattened oval disk. The top surface of the disc is domed and has a crest that is about three times higher than the crest on the domed bottom surface. Both top and bottom surfaces are therefore convex. A peg extends down from the middle of the bottom domed surface and is used to pin the disc to the lower of two vertebrae it fits between. Metal markers are inserted into the peg and an outside edge of the disc so that radiographs can be used to determine the disc's in situ position. The prosthetic nucleus replacement is surgically implanted into the hollowed out intervertebral space through a flap cut in the natural annulus fibrosis. The lower vertebrae is prepared to receive the peg by clearing the material covering the top of the bone matrix. Bone cement is used around the peg to ensure a tight fit and immobile attachment of the disc to the lower vertebrae.

Abstract: A gastric-tube feeding system comprises a table-top stand with a loop that holds a feeding syringe aloft at an adjustable elevation. A funnel is used to simplify the filling of the feeding syringe with liquid food diet from a can.

Abstract: A displayer panel system comprises a universal hinge that can be used for top, middle, and bottom, and either left and right. The hinge has a parallelogramatical post that sticks out and bears the weight of a frame on a plastic wedge shaped disk attached to the frame bosses. A set of pins through the bosses, the plastic wedges, and the posts allow the frame to swing left and right out from a storage rack column. A double-pronged hook allows left or right corner face attachment of the hinge to slots in the storage rack column.

Abstract: A spine-stabilization implant has a one-piece shell with bone-tapping screw threads on its outside surface. The screw threads are longitudinally interrupted by several end-to-end flutes distributed in parallel around the circumference. Bone-growth access windows are provided at several locations through the flutes. Such construction gives the spine-stabilization implant a hexagonal cross-section with a hollow central core. A drive tool can be slipped into the back end. After spreading two adjacent vertebrae as much as the interconnecting tissues will allow, a bore is made by a surgeon during an operation into the inter-vertebral space of a patient's spine, e.g., deep into the disc. The drive tool is then used to push the spine-stabilization implant down the bore and into the inter-vertebral space. The tool is then twisted such that the bone-tapping screw threads cut into and lock onto the opposite surfaces of the adjacent vertebrae. The tool is then withdrawn.

Abstract: A foundation pier coupling system is semi-permanently attached to a movable dwelling, such as a mobile home or commercial coach, is provided. The invented system includes coupling members that are attached to a support beam of the dwelling and to a pier, for securing the pier to the dwelling. The coupling members are hingably coupled together, enabling the pier to pivot relative to the support beam. The pier is pivoted against the beam when transporting the dwelling with the pier attached to the beam. A retaining member is provided for retaining the pier against the beam, to prevent the pier from accidentally contacting a ground surface when the dwelling is in transit. At an installation site, the pier is pivoted away from the beam, until it is perpendicular thereto and to the ground, for installing the dwelling. The height of the pier is then adjusted to secure the pier to the ground and support the dwelling.

Abstract: A valve system that affords up stream isolation and recirculation of fluid flowing along a flow path, while simultaneously enabling a purge process to be performed is provided. The valve system allows recirculating fluid flow on a supply side thereof, while enabling componentry on a load side thereof to undergo maintenance, for maintaining the temperature and flow rate of supply side fluid. Upon completion of maintenance, setup or initialization time is reduced, since the supply fluid is continuously recirculating. Fluid flow rate and temperature are constant on the supply side, for reducing wear on temperature control devices. The supply side is preferably mechanically isolated from load side componentry during maintenance for eliminating contamination of critical components on the supply side, so that the system is suited for use with process equipment.

Abstract: A method and apparatus employing a microwave applicator for use with an ECR plasma source for applications including etching and chemical vapor deposition is provided. A magnetic field is generated by magnets circumferentially arranged about a chamber that is symmetrical about its longitudinal axis. The microwave applicator, which comprises at least one pair of coaxial resonant multiport microwave antenna arrays, injects and distributes microwave power about a plasma forming portion of the chamber. The antenna arrays include a plurality of radiating stubs for radiating microwave power. The stubs are positioned along the arrays at predetermined intervals and selected orientations relative to a coaxial transmission line, for efficiently distributing microwave power uniformly about the plasma forming portion.

Abstract: A controller system for a CD-ROM drive or other slow access device such as a magneto-optical device using a conventional hard disk drive as a cache memory. In some embodiments, the hard disk cache is partitioned to use a portion thereof to clone the most often used data blocks on the CD-ROM disk such as the directory/file allocation table, while the balance of the hard disk is used to cache some or all of the balance of the CD-ROM disk using conventional cache memory least recently used rules. Three bus controllers for the host computer, CD-ROM drive and the hard disk cache are controlled by a microprocessor which runs a control program that implements the cloning and cache rules. The three bus controllers are connected by a DMA bus for faster transfer of data. The microprocessor controls the directions of the DMA transfers by data written to a control register.

Abstract: A foundation pier for supporting a movable dwelling, such as a mobile home or commercial coach, is provided with an anchor assembly for positively anchoring the pier to the ground. The invented pier includes a plurality of force distribution members affixed to a base and an adjustment mechanism of the pier. The force distribution members are coupled to the adjustment mechanism for distributing force, including temporarily increased environmental forces applied to the dwelling and to the pier, to prevent the pier from failing. The adjustment mechanism adjusts the height of the pier and includes coupling members for securing the pier to a support beam of the dwelling. Clamp members are affixed to the force distribution members for causing the force distribution members to cooperate with the adjustment mechanism to increase the pier's ability to withstand increased environmental forces.

Abstract: A roof screen system for securing a roof screen to a roof is provided. The system includes a plurality of mounting units that are secured to the roof by means of cylindrical supports. A weatherproofing assembly is disposed about each support and its base to prevent the roof from leaking, due to mounting of the supports on the roof. The weatherproofing assembly includes a collar that extends around the support to prevent water from flowing down the support and to a base cover that inhibits water from collecting on the base to prevent the roof from leaking. The cylindrical configuration of the support and weatherproofing assembly coact to prevent water and debris from collecting about the support and its base, to aid with maintaining roof integrity and to prevent the roof from leaking. Each mounting unit comprises a plurality of braces affixed in a triangular relationship. The triangular relationship of the braces aids with supporting the roof screen in the presence of extreme natural forces.

Abstract: An improved billowing rotary kite is provided. The rotary kite includes a hollow, collapsible wind receiving surface. An air inlet end of the wind receiving surface is retained open by a collapsible and adjustable frame affixed to the surface on a leading edge of the inlet end. Air flow through the kite is controlled by a flexible trailing edge at an air outlet end of the surface. The flexible trailing edge comprises a plurality of longitudinal vanes that extend about the air outlet end of the surface. The fully collapsible surface, and collapsible and adjustable frame, provide a rotary kite that is fully collapsible for packaging or stowage purposes. The depth of the frame is adjustable for obtaining the highest possible rotative flight characteristics and rotative diving capabilities of the kite. In flight, air currents pass through the air inlet end of the kite, through the surface along a longitudinal axis thereof, and out the outlet end.

Abstract: An in situ method for forming a bypass capacitor element internally within a PCB comprising the steps of arranging one or more uncured dielectric sheets with conductive foils on opposite sides thereof and laminating the conductive foils to the dielectric sheet simultaneously as the PCB is formed by a final lamination step, the conductive foils preferably being laminated to another layer of the PCB prior to their arrangement adjacent the dielectric sheet or sheets, the dielectric foils even more preferably being initially laminated to additional dielectric sheets in order to form multiple bypass capacitive elements as a compound subassembly within the PCB. A number of different dielectric materials and resins are disclosed for forming the capacitor element.

Abstract: A combination cartridge ?21! and grip ?20! for propelling a projectile ?28! having frangible walls ?89! forming a cavity ?93! for holding a disabling agent such that when the projectile strikes an object it will burst and spread the agent over the target, and wherein the cartridge includes a chamber ?27A! for receiving a projectile and the grip includes a firing assemblies ?46A!, moveable between cocked and uncocked positions, and a trigger actuator ?37A! for allowing the associated firing assembly to move from the cocked to the uncocked position, with means for latching the cartridge to the grip including cocking means for cocking the firing assembly when the cartridge and grip are latched together, and means for propelling the projectile from the cartridge towards the object in response to the firing assembly being activated by the trigger.

Abstract: A foundation pier for supporting a movable dwelling that substantially resists environmental forces, such as seismic and wind forces, and which is semi-permanently attached to the movable dwelling, such as a mobile home or commercial coach, is provided. The invented pier includes coupling members that are attached to a support beam of the dwelling and to the pier, for securing the pier to the dwelling. The coupling members are hingably coupled together, enabling the pier to pivot relative to the support beam. The pier is pivoted against the beam when transporting the dwelling with the pier attached to the beam. A retaining member is provided for retaining the pier against the beam, to prevent the pier from accidentally contacting a ground surface when the dwelling is in transit. At an installation site, the pier is pivoted away from the beam, until it is perpendicular thereto and to the ground, for installing the dwelling.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed employing a microwave applicator for use with an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma source for applications including, but not limited to, etching and chemical vapor deposition. A magnetic field is generated by magnets circumferentially arranged about a chamber that is symmetrical about its longitudinal axis. The microwave applicator, which comprises one or more pairs of slotted antenna arrays, injects and distributes microwave power about the entire periphery of a plasma forming portion of the chamber. The antenna arrays include a plurality of radiating stubs for radiating microwave power. The stubs are positioned along the arrays at predetermined intervals for efficiently distributing microwave power uniformly about the periphery of the plasma forming portion. The position and orientation of the radiating stubs cause microwave power to be launched into the plasma in the form of propagating waves with a polarization suitable of electron cyclotron heating.

Abstract: A circuit component assembly and a method for forming the assembly as an annular body in a laminate, preferably between a trough-hole or via and a surrounding conductive layer in a PCB are disclosed, the circuit component assembly including one or more resistors/conductors, inductors and dielectrics/capacitors or combinations thereof, outer and inner peripheries of the circuit component preferably having substantially constant radii permitting simple determination of operative electrical characteristics for the circuit component from (a) the inner and outer radii, (b) an effective thickness for the circuit component and (c) its electrical characteristics determined by the material formed in the annular recess, the circuit component body preferably being formed from a liquid precursor forming conductive interconnections for the circuit component assembly at its outer and inner perimeters.

Abstract: A tool and method for applying a texture slurry to a surface is provided. The tool comprises a flat, rectangular body for mating to a smooth surface, such as a repaired portion of drywall. The body has a multiplicity of spatially positioned openings disposed therethrough. Each of the openings has a predetermined configuration and position on the tool, for providing a pattern substantially matching the appearance of existing textured surface adjacent to the smooth surface. The invented method includes first affixing the tool to the smooth area of the surface, then applying a texture slurry to the tool. The spatially positioned openings receive the slurry to apply the slurry to the smooth surface for forming a newly textured area. The spatially positioned openings in the tool enable a user to substantially match the appearance of the newly textured area, with the appearance of the existing adjacent textured surface.